PRIVILEGE AND SCHOLARSHIP.

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1740, 3 May 1913, Page 4

PRIVILEGE AND SCHOLARSHIP.

& TnE cablegram which appeared in Thursday's issue of The Dominion, referring to the action of . Oxford University Convocation in rejecting tho proposal to throw open its Divinity degrees without restriction, requires some explanation in order to make the position intelligible to the average reader. At present these degrees are confined to the clergy of tho Church of England, and the ease with which thoy have been obtained tended to rob them of all real distinction. The feeling that a change was urgently necessary has been growing for some time, and the Divinity professors, headed by Dn. Scon' Holland,_ recently took definito action with the double object of raising the _ standard for the degree and abolishing existing restrictions. As regards the latter, the position is stated very clearly by the Dean of St. Paul's (Dit. Inge), in a letter to the Morning I'ost, in which the following passage occurs: —

Tho restriction which it is now proposed to remove is a relic of. tho timo wliea all members of the University worn Anglicans. This hns, of course, long ceased to bo tho case. Men of nil denominations nro members of the University, and claim to bo fairly treated in the distribution of its honours. The University lias encouraged the establishment of two Nonconformist colleges for tho study of theology, and has shared in tho credit which tho" distinguished scholars belonging to those colleges have gained for English Divinity. The relations between the Faciillv of Theology and Hippo two foundations hnvo been most cordial. Much useful work has been done in co-operation l,v AuhHoim 'i"i( Nonconformists, Tho divisions of Christcadom ire easily trana.

oemled when scholars moot, as indeed they are wherever good men pray, and in every kind of social work. It is too litlo to raise tho question whether, in a University, (Jiero enn bo such ft tiling i\s a common Christianity. 'J'lio brotherhood of fetlow-woi'lrers exists; tho quest ion lias long n(,'o been answered. It would blj mi ungracious tliinc for Churchmen to contend for the mijh ami tatters of ancient privilege, which have lost nil relation to actual facts. Anions tho largo majority of residents, I believo that this is fully recognised.

Dr. Inok go en on to point out that tho real difficulty is in deciding how far the door ought to be ripened. There are distinguished laymen and Nonconformists to whom few would deny the right to the highest theological honours in the gift of tho University, and it would also seem impossible to exclude so eminent a theologian as the late Dit. Mahtinhaij, who was a Unitarian; but if disbelicC in the Divinity of Christ is no barrier, the question arises: Where is tho lino to bo drawn ? What if a learned Buddhist or Hindoo desired tho degree 1 To mako such men Doctors of Divinity in a Christian country would Burcly be ridiculous, say 9 Dn. Inoe, even though tlioy might pass tho necessary intellectual test with ease. The framcra of the new statutes had either to abolish all restrictions or uudortako thfl i difficult task of defining Christianity, and they took the former course. Dit. Inge doubts the wisdom of their choice, and is _of opinion that those who are studying Christian theology as Christians, and who have attained distinction in it, should all be qualified for degrees in Divinity; but theso degrees should certainly not bo open to those who regard Christianity as a house built upon tho sand. This seems a reasonable way out of the difficulty, and the statute was probably rejected by Convocation becauso it opened tho door so wide that, as one critic pointed out, an attack on Christianity might qualify for a Doctor of Divinity's degree, a state of affairs which most people would regard aa "both outrageous and absurd." On the other hand, tho Professora of Divinity and many others think that it would be wisest to push the door wido open, believing that the alarming possibilities foreshadowed by some critics are very improbable, and that in actual practice it is unlikely that anything would happen to shock anyone's sense of tho fitness of things. Tho rejection of the statute i 9 not likely to prove a final bar to reform, but will probably pave the way for a new proposal on the lines indicated by the Dean of St» Paul's.