THE BIBLE IN RELATION TO MODERN PROBLEMS.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1963, 21 January 1914, Page 5

THE BIBLE IN RELATION TO MODERN PROBLEMS.

ADDRESS BY DR. ADENEY

"The Bible and Modern Problems" was the subject 01, an address delivered bv the Kev. Dr. W. F. 'Adeney at the Ourtenay Place Congregational Chuj;eh last niglu. The 11 bv. A. K. Hunt, who presided, briefly introduced the lecturer, explaining that Dr, Adeney bad made the Bible his special life study and bad gained a wide audience through his writings. ' In his opening remarks Dr. Adeney pointed out (hat the Bible, the New Testament as well as the Old, was the product of antiquity and came from the Hast. The question was, how did it stand in relation to modcfyi problems? To what extent could we employ those Oriental problems fdr our guidance? Not so vqry long ago the Bible had been regarded as a linai Court of Appeal, texts were quoted as authorities for all sides of a qtiestion and no matter where the text came from it was put forward as the absolute authority of God's word. Then, since, the Old Testament did net always agree with Christian teaching, it was brought into line bv an ingenuous allegorical interpretation. 13ut nowadays by historical interpretation we had been taught to read every text in conjunction with its context and this had taken' a'heavy load off the shoulders of the apologists. The Now Testament was our record of Christ and the calm, convincing power of His teachings proved to lis-'His mastery of the mysteries of the Divine Kingdom. "God is Love" was the most important truth a man could face. Christ brought us through sweet reasonableness to the atmosphere of real life, and led us on beyond that to discover the truth for ourselves. Many parts of the New Testament must be regarded as echoing tho teachings of Christ and there would always remain vast central luminous ideas which would never be superseded because they sprang from the Light of the AYorld. In fact, tho Bible would always remain our guide to spiritual truth because :it was inspired. Then oamc the other question, the relation of the liiblo to modem moral and social problems—how i'nr was the Hiblo n guide to conduct ? Socialists and the advocates of the rights of private property could both point to texts in the Bible to support their respective views, but the proper use of the Bible was to throw illuminating principles on the problems of the day. Here in New Zealand, as in England, the people were face to face with tremendous social upheavals that must be dealt with, and one or two' guiding' lights could bo pointed out. In the first place Jesus never even spoke of wealth as a matter of primary importance, but always treated it as a hindrance and offered his best things to the poor, Ho taught the fundamental duty of doing to others os we would have them do to us, and this had to bo applied to business as to the other affairs of life. It would not do for a man to grind down his brother in trade and then dole out charity to him, and where, in the older countries, horrors existed side by side with abundant wealth and gross luxury, the teachings of Christ cried out for something little less than a social revolution.