THE CHURCH & MODERN THOUGHT.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1561, 3 October 1912, Page 4

THE CHURCH & MODERN THOUGHT.

STIMULATING BOOK BY A NEW ZEALANDEIi. The Rev. D. H. A. Major, formerly of New Zealand, has just published an interesting book entitled "The Gospel of Freedom. ' Mr. Major was .educated nt St. John's College, Auckland. Uo look (ho li.A. degree of the University of New, Zealand in 1895, and the JI.A. degree (firstclass in geology) in 18!) li. After acting as curate at St. .Mark's, Itemucra, and Waitotara, and as Vicar of St. Peter's, Hamilton, Mr. Major went to Exeter College, Oxford, where lie won the Greek IVfiament Prize, andtook the B.A. degree with first-cla.ss. theulogieal honours. He was subsequently appointed to (he position of Vicc-I'rincipal ot , the Clergy College, l?i----pim. Kefei-ring. to Mr. Major's book "Ariifox," in the "Manchester Guardian." says: —"Tito Gospel of Freedom" is a collection of addresses, mostly given to theological students and ordination candidates, by the liov. 1). H. A. Major, rector of Copgrovo and Vice-I'riiicipul of Ripon Clergy College. Mr. Major describes the book as t>.n effort to emphasise, the moral, social, and spiritual aspects of Christianity as compared with what he calls the dogmatic, institutional, and miraculous aspects. , Ho docs so in a series of papers, remarkable for their thonghtfulness, sincerity, and spirit of sweet reasonableness, on such topics ns the Gospel of Freedom, Signs of the Times. Dogma and howno Treat It, Theological Readjustment, and similar subjects. I suppose that it would be difficult to find any man of experienco or original thought who would be prepared to endorse every statement, which Mr. Major makes; but it is equally impossible to think of anyone who could read the lmok carefully, and with an effort at .sympathy, who would not fin'd any amount to sot him thinking and any amount to feel thankful for. For the stimulating thing about the. book is that, while it is often quite possible to deny that things are as Mr. Major sees them, it is at the same time impossible to deny that he has shown us .'omeHiiiij; fresh and worth seeing. Things may not bo on the point of changing in the direction lie supposes; ho nt least makes it clear that there is movement, and Hint tilings are not going to remain as they are. In a word, ho lets us eco the Church as essentially a living organism, constantly growing, constantly changing, modifying with each modification of her environment, yet for this very reason much nioro truly one and alive and the same as of old than could be Hie case, if tiiis oneness and sameness consisted only in an unchanging uniformity.