AGNOSTICISM OR CHRISTIANITY?

King Country Chronicle, Volume VII, Issue 613, 22 October 1913, Page 6

AGNOSTICISM OR CHRISTIANITY?

In 'dealing with thiasubject last j Sunday evening, the Rev. S. Griffiths i expressed the opinion that there ia i [ass openly avowed athaiem in the i -vorla tc-day than there was a gsneraj ticn as'c. Charles Brerilaiigh, M.P., ' wa?, as fsr as the preacher knew, the i last prominent atheist in England; and | his brother declared that he had good I reason for believing that, before he j died, Charles had modified his vifv/a. ♦ gnosticism was a much milder form jof scepticism than atheism, gesung j that it neither affirmed not denied the j Divine existence. The word agnostic j had bean coined by Professor Huxley. llt was take from the Greek, and : meant, "without knuwledge." PracI tically it ivas'the word used by Sr. j Paul in the text, I. Corinthinus, xv. ; ! 34, the latter part of the verse. Mr ! Griffiths referred to Lord liorley as an I agnostic of the noblest type, a gentleJ man whom the late Mr Stead bad described as the most spiritually-minded member of the Cabinet of that day, with the exception of Mr Gladstone. There was a sense in which every Christian was an agnostic, because of the heights and depths of thought which were beyond human comprehension. But if there were unfathomable depths, there were also delightful shallows into whieh a child could wade. Among thesa might be mentioned the unspeakable privilege of conscious union and communion with God. Some years ago there lived in Lancashire a working man who was a pronounced infidel; and amongst hia work mates there waa an equally proj.nounced Christian who wss known as ! "Bob." One night the sceptic became 'seriously ill; and, fearing that he was about to die, he began to pray; and the burden of his prayer was that Bob might be sent t) him. "0, Lord," he exclaimed; "if there is a Gcd, •'end Hob to me! Send Bob to me!!" Impressed by a dream' Bob, who lived hard fey, left hia bed to vifcit bis sceptical neighbour, and when he got to his house, he found him crouching by the fire. "Bon," said the quondam infidel, "there's a God! There's a God, Bob; and lie has answered my prayer!" From that hour he became a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. "If there were Christians of the type of Bob," said the preacher, "there would be fewer infidels." Mr Griffiths could not agree with Bishop Julius' recent utterance, that "undenominational teaching ia not Christian teaching, nor anything like it." Was not love the essential element in the teaching of every Christian denomination? He (the preacher) had given a Bible lesson weekly for several years in the Devonport public school; but he nr-vsv onse utterrd a word of denominational •Leachi"g there. And yet the head ■ nastev and i; vo of hi" v : ."?;:tanis all man. At the closo of: i :'■" sen:;; 1;', >■■■-. which lap above i-i n Line:'.' f ; j>;;o;no, I\:r Griffiths :ui opni.irL'jnity icr relevant question, and i;_ius concluded a very impressive ser-ioe. i