DEMOCRACY AND THE CHURCH.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1897, 4 November 1913, Page 5

DEMOCRACY AND THE CHURCH.

CAN THEY COME TO TERMS; A STRIKINC ARTICLE. The - tremendous influence of Democracy and Science 011 the life of the day is discussed wiCh great insight and ability by ]!ov. Stewart Means (Rector of the Protestant Episcopal Church, New Haven) in the "Harvard Review." " One of the great questions of today is, as a recent writer has said, ' whether Christianity can come to terms with th© awakening self-consci-ousness of modern civilisation, equipped with a|vast mass of new scientific knowledge and animated for the first time by ideals which are not borrowed from classical or Hebrew antiquity.' (Dean Inge.)' But Christianity itself has already been deeply influenced by some of the changes which have taken place. Two VKal Forces. "It is not an exaggeration to say that no other two ideas or forces have had such influence in the last hundred years as Democracv and Science. Whether one likes or dislikes them, it cannot bo disputed that, as shaping forces in the life of the world to-day. no other ideas have had such a vital influence as these," says Mr.. Means. "One of the most thoughtful students of the great forces of history to-day (John Morley) has said: llt is no mere platitude that we have reached the threshold of a new age. Democracy Nationality, Socialism, the constitution of the modern State, the standing of the churches —all have come within the attraction of forces hitherto unknown.' Every social disturbance, every national movement, every theoretical discussion of the great probloms of history and civilisation is influenced by this full and vital idea of democracy. A Now Spirit. "It is not political equality, civil rights, representative institutions alone. It is all these and much more —a new spirit in the world, which looks out on life from a now point of view, a burning consciousness of personality bound up with the sense of wide and universal' relations., This it is which makes democracy the most powerful social force of the modern world. " It is the most dissolving force over brought to bear upon old institutions and tho ancient organisation of society and the most penetrating spirit which has touched the min4 of the modern man. It seems to work with the releutlessness of a physical law. . "To political institutions and political theorisers it is the- greatest portent in history.- ' . , vl "Not only as an institution has the church felt the influence of democracy; it has also been affected in its interior life. Democracy knows nothing and cares nothing for historical precedents; what, it demands is efficiency. lhe doctrine of efficiency may seem to some to be overworked in the present my, but in opposition to the historic platitudes which are continually brought forth by ecclesiastics and theologians, it has vitality. The Real Problem. "Tho roal problem is not to win over the rich or tho fashionable, but_ to get hold of the common people. 'So the church which will make itself mos't effective, and will have tho largest influence in shaping the social life and moral growth of the nation, is the onewhich recognises 'the full meaning of the democratic spirit, "Tho denial of idealism has brougnt the cheapening of life, the vulgarising of the human soul and the repudiation of thoso 'high instincts' which make the worth of life, and the vindication ofthe reality of man's spiritual nature if* the first step towards a, sure appeal to the multitude. Religion is idealism, and in the directness and somplicity of its 1 appeal lies its moral efficiency. The prime necessity of a democracy is_ character, for character is tho foundation of national life. A thoughtful English historian (Lecky) says, "The essential qualities of national greatness aro moral not material. "To say, however, that democracy, as we now understand it, is to be the ultimate form of human society, isF_ to deny tho law of social evolution, which is progress; to define the outcome of that progress is at once to sot tho bounds and end the movement of our social lifo; but for the present and the immediate future, democracy is the great factor in tho political evolution of the most modern and progressive na- , tions.' The Purest of tho Mighty. "Christianity itself lias not oscaped the influence of the scientific movement," adds Mr. Means, and lro goes on to show that the new appreciation of Christ is itself "one of tho most significant • results of this last century in a field which seems purely technical and remote from the living interests of the ordinary man. "Christ stands out now more clearly in tho simplicity of his moral and spiritual power than he has over before been soen. Those who first knew him j and loved him most did not, and could not see all that he and all that lie would he, and would do for man and in man. It is the historical reality of this personal influence through races and ages, through the infinite variety and conflict of different forces and stages in civilisation, which makes him the profoundest fact in our modern lifo. As a spiritual force he-is. related to men in thoir highest endeavours. ".He is the Universal Man, the Son of Man, the Divine Democrat, 'the purest of the miehtv, the mightiest of the pure, who with His pierced hands lifted a world.' His message comes clear and straight, answering to the deepest needs of man's deepest nature. He stands before the soul that is swathed in tho grave-clothes of selfisTiness, sin, and death, bound hand and foot by the fetters of custom, tradition, and ignorance, and tho clear voice, in calm and conquering tones, utters the command: 'Loose him and let him go.'"