CHURCH UNITY

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2935, 22 November 1916, Page 4

CHURCH UNITY

."WILL BE FORCED."

BY FOREIGN MISSION

SITUATION

PRESBYTERIAN MODERATOR'S VIEWS

• In an address delivered last evening to the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church, tho Rev. R.:M. Kyhurn, Moderator, dealt at length with the eubject of . Tho Porsonal Element in Christianity," and expressed tho opinion: that the foreign mission situation will'force union upon tho churches. ''The quostion anses,"'ho said, "what can tho Church do to help in the present crisis and after the war, and with this in view I offer you a few suggestions under tho title of 'The Personal Element in Christianity and some of its Implications.' "The-belief in a Porsonal God is fundamental to Christianity. Theism •haseyer'becn to the spirit of man the \4'itisfying - mean between deadening materialism on the ono hand and intangiblo pantheism on the other. In the personal relation alono can man find the inspiration and, instruction'he requires, and in that alono the frnition of his desires. To ascribe personality to tho Infinite is no limitation of His •being; but it is such to deny to Him ■ self-consciousness, self-determination, and other personal qualities, as well as the ability to be tho resting place of the .human spirit. Neither, oh the other hand 1 , should He be limited to tho personal qualities known to men. The origin of our belief in'a personal God may be obscure, but that belief persists. Apparently there has always liecn a belief in personal power behind Nature. The popular practice in the .distant past'of assigning the origin of Minds'and other natural phenomena to : personal agency —to the gods—is not so foolish as at first it might seem.;. Man looked at himself,'.arid, knew himself to be the cause of many things, and ! assumed—perhaps unconsciously for the most, part—a personal agency for what he could not understand. It is an instinct of man's being to assume a personal causo in the. universe; Viewed from another point, it is the hearing by man of God's voice in Nature. All scien?e. with its great progress in knowledge, is but an ever-increasing and overwhelming proof that man can think tho thoughts already placed in Nature. He created nothing, but as-: certains what'has been dono| and thus •science confirms the belief in a personal God. Moro aud more tho,originof all things being found in the will of a personal God is approved. Man is the crown of creation as far as- he can know, and tho explanation of all things . is in their relation to personal beings. ~.■;•: A' Rooted Belief. ;; V \ , ?:"But the Christian belief in a per- ' sonal God is rooted more in the moral . than tho physical. There can be no Tight or wrong apart from personality. Morality is based upon personal action. Man is the end and meaning of: creation, and the moral nature is his highest activity. All the moral intercommunication of man with man demands tho existonco of an absolute morality which, as far as man can judge, must bo a person. Thus on every hand ,'th'o'ro is- pressuro brought upon us■ in ■ our experience, though, perhaps.. for the most part unconsciously felt, compelling belief in a personal God! As with belief in tho existence of the external world which, though - difficult of ■■. proof, sis so readily believed and must of necessity he : accepted, so is it with the belief in a personal God. Through; nut the experience of mankind that belief has subsisted, and has become purified;: The .highest of all human lives has accented it; Jesus prayed to God. Can we imagine Jesus arguing for_ tho existence of a personal God? It is a nreat fundamental: axiom of human life.

,;"If there is a personal God who satisfies the human heart He must reveal Himself, and such a revelation can only take the form of a person. Further, there can only he one person who ciin make known the personal God. A little thought will shotv that it.-is utterly impossible l .to-have an adequate, witness to the character and purposo of God in many masters. Only one person can completely and reveal the nature and plan of Go'd. : ,'

.'• "Letus turn and view tho personal clement in Christianity from man's standpoint. ; The Christian Church sprang from personal contact with and knowledge of Jesus !.Chnst. Such, a contact and knowledge enabled His disciples to say of Him, ''My Lord and my God' ; 'we beheld "His glory, glory as of tho only begotten ot the Father? They heard Him, saw Him with their eyes, beheld handled Him. They Him to bo the effulgence .'of God's glory,' and the very image of His substance: Christianity was propagated by personal, .witness empowered by the Holy Ghost. It was not adherence to ceremonial nor prim-' arily acceptance of creed, but personal witness to the power and salvation of Jesus. The New Testament was the great work of tho Holy Ghost for tho consolidation and purity of tho Christian Church, but the Church began before the New Testament. As the Church of Jesus Christ began by personal witness, is it not to be continued by tho power of tbo-Holy Ghost testifying of Jesus in the personal life, rather than by intellectuality alone or by accurate exposition of doctrine, or by eloquence or by art ? "Turn to the Holy Scriptures. Whito Christianity had such an origin, the New Testament soon became of the-ut-most importance to it. .The whole Biblo plays an essential part in tho spread of' Christianity. The Bible is not a text book of scienco' nor of theology nor of history, hut a record of the per-sonal-acts of God and of man's intercourse with Him. It is pre-ominentiv a personal book. Tho story of Creation is'not science, hut a pure and wholesome account of God's relation to the world, and on© that cannot be equalled to-day. Tho Psalms derive their attractiveness and never-dying power to comfort from their dealing with the personal relation of man and God. The New Testament given a fourfold view of the life of Jesus to moro fully present His person. Even,tho writing of tho Epistles was prompted by' practical necessities more than by'theoretical. Tho intellectual inquiry, and statement of Christian truths is , an absolute necessity. Man's reason rightly demands progress in dootrinal statement; but this does not whollv constitute Christianity. Tho free, loving ' personal relation is'wider than- the statement of it. The Present Situation. "In the light, then, of these considL erations, what does such a view of tho Christian religion require in tho practical working of the Church? Has it any lessons to teach as to tho duty of tho Church in the present crisis? Does it make plain what will bo necessary in ,tho altered conditions after the war? It may be safely assumed that no new method or new organisation or now idea will suddenly so change tho Church as to onable it to meet its obligation's, present and future. But it will take tho form rather of 'strengthening all the 'stakes.' ■''.-■': "The present situation should! givo t% serious thought regarding the suitability of tho Church's message to the present time and the desirability of

presenting a moro united and powerful front to tho onemies of righteousness. Tho first implications to be noticed aro in connection with the training for tho Christum ministry. A review of the personal element in our religion'implies-that tho personality of the Christian minister is all important. Now a mere intellectual training will make a one-sided minister. Equally important, and, in fact, more important, than education, is personal piety. A well-educated ministry is of the utmost importance,, but a genuinely godly man of meagre education will generally succeed when a less pious, hut highly educated, man will fail. 'Knowledge puffeth up, but love edifietli.' Faith does not produce a knowledge inferior to reason, but superior; only by personal trust can full assurance and certainty be reached. It is imperative that theOhristian ministry. should have a. definite message Btecpcd in genuine personal experi'enco; and that the Holy Spirit, should be regarded as the great power, in every departmentl of Church activity, and not the attainments of men. "As a Church, then, are we devoting as much time and energy to tho personal spiritual equipment of mon for the ministry as to tho intellectual side? Tho two certainly' dovetail; but how often the former aspect is left alone! My experience of the Christian ministry indicates that the defect in training was in tho development of the pjersonal relation to Jesus Christ. ' "Again the student requires for adequate training some experience of contact with all classes and conditions of men. Too often he is reared in an intellectual atmosphere that is quite apart from ordinary life, and ho is left to adapt what ho has received to the needs of the community in which he is placed. Preaching while studying and the charge of districts removes this difficulty to a considerable extent, and yet some object to students doing any preaching while studying. The all-im-portant thing is not the attainment of knowledge, but the adapting knowledge to the needs of individuals. Love, sympathy, and the experience of personal contact are necessary, and it seems possible to givo students more training and experience in personal dealing- than at present obtains. Some Bible Institutes develop this side of preparation for Christian work, and some of their plans might be helpful examples. Here, again, my experienco of the /ministry shows the vast importance of personal dealing and tho moro or less hopeless groping in this direction might have been materially altered by adequate training. Lessons also'can bo learnt for the ministry itself. Is the pulpit a diluted theological seminary ? Does it oxist for cssays i on morality or exhibitions of literary skill and of eloquence? Does it exist to discuss all tho passing topics of the hour? Does it not rather fulfil its mission in the declaration of a loving Saviour, in tho witness from personal experience of His power to deliver from sin and to fill human life with joy and power by His friendship?

Those Away From tho Churoh. ,"An implication is the power of personal testimony to. uiako the Christian Church aggressive. Are wo not overlooking the great usefulness of personal testimony? Experience of camps and conferences shows what a power for good such are in tho lives of our .young men and women; and the usefulness of these meetings should bo acknowledged. Tho teaching of tho Church week nftor week, year after year, is, of course, of immense value; but experience shows that one great means of leading to decision for Christ is personal testimony; Such witness gives forcible reality to the' Christian religion. Tho aggressiveness of Methodists at the beginning of their movement, of tho Salvation Army, and tho success of many slum missions, etc., aro duo to personal testimony, which reaches the human heart much more readily/than learned explanations. It must:bo admitted that statements of personal experience can easily become stereotyped and utterly useless; but tho. great fact remains that the Christian Church was born by personal confession of Christ and declaration of Him in the power of tho Spirit; and as it began, so it must continue, and lack of' may be. due partly to tho hiding of.' this talent in tho earth.

"Again, what will hold men and women to the Church of Christ is personal interest and sympathy in them. Undoubtedly a very- large proportion of those now out of touch with the Church are • In that position because they Mt, rightly or wrongly, no man cared, for them. Missions to tho heathen have been greatly' helped by medical missions'because of the appeal to the wholo personality. The method of Jesus Christ was to do good as well as to speak; he was intensely practical and personal in all His work and teaching. Our Church has done well in considering actual lifo and' showing interest" in the needy in such work, as th'e\Homo Mission work in one direction and tho Presbyterian Social Service Association in another. There is a distinct danger, however, in the Church becoming merely institutional; but it has always to show the utmost sympathy to the hea'tTien abroad and at heme, and to preach is not alone sufficient. In showing sympathy to all men, sitch' sympathy-should have as its highest purpose the spiritual good, and not simply the bodily well-being. Vast stores of latent undeveloped talent for this work are in tho Churchi -and tho task of. tho future is the utilisation of tlic hidden talents. The Church, to fulfil its purpose, must be increasingly evangelistic; it is not sufficient to bo evangelical.

How Union Will Gome, "To sum up,' therefore, - these thoughts regarding the work of the ministry'the Church must set beforo it tho declaration of the truth—that is, the personal embodiment- of the Truth. But is there not the tendency to re-" main satisfied with this? No effort should be spared to increase knowledge and improve teaching; but more.is required—viz., personal subjection to the truth; i.e., to the Master. To accomplish this the Church should declare its message with the utmost compassion for men, with the most intense earnestness, and witli tho never-ceas-ing prayer for tho power of God, tho Spirit. To bo successful after the war it will be necessary for tlio Christian Church, as at all times of its history, to recognise with increasing clearness that sho' is completely dependent upon the Holy Ghost, and can only accomplish the work entrusted to her of bringing men to Christ by humble penitent obedience to Him. Tho last reference will bo to the relation of our Churoh to others. Tho demand of tho immediate future will.bo for tho united Christian Church. Tho present wastage must givo place to a united effort. The presentation of a solid front to evil is imperative. Tho war will surely bring closer international co-operation. An international Parliament may yet' bo distant, but tho Church has set tho example, and what has been in tho Edinburgh Missionary Conferenco must continue, and bo brought to tlio assistance of the Christian Church in every department of activity. Tho Foreign Mission situation will force union upon the Churches. The aspect of Christianity noticed implies that such union will come by tho recognition of tho personal facts fundamental to our toligion rather than by uniformity of doctrine and thought. . Tho internretation of those facts may vary, but personal union with God in Christ is tho outstanding necessity. Union will como I by a personal acknowledgment of tho | fundamental dogma of Christianity. It , could easily take place if Christians viewed tho things that matter in right proportion, and woro filled with zeal

for the spread of the Gospel. Union will come not by discussion of theoretical matters, hut by a groat practical aim and purpose, by a larger vision of the fields white to harvest, by a holy enthusiasm for tho cvaugalisat-oa of the world."