MODERNISM’S THREAT

Sun (Auckland), Volume II, Issue 613, 15 March 1929, Page 9

MODERNISM’S THREAT

ADDRESS AT BIBLE RALLY “MENACE TO CIVILISATION’’ “At this very hour in theological and ecclesiastical circles men are tremulous with excitement and fear,” said the Rev. Joseph W. Kemp, speaking on “The Menace of Modernism” at the great Bible demonstration in the Town Hall last evening. “I am not on© of those,” he continued, •‘who look on this situation with calmness. We have been told that, given humility and sacrifice among a certa'.n sect, within 20 years Modernism will prevail. Surely that is a dangerous enough position.” A great theologian had said, continued Mr. Kemp, that Christianity according to fundamontalism was one religion and that Christianity according to Modernism was a totally different one. That meant that between the two schools of thought or belief there was a chasm too wide and too deep to bo bridged. It must not be- thought that Modernism was a new complaint. This was quite against the evidence. A great historian and theologian had said Modernism was older than what is known as Mediaeval ism. MODERNISM’S DENIALS “But what exactly is this modernism?” Briefly, it was the natural put in place of the supernatural. The modernist denied the claim that the Bible was a supernatural book. The Bible said that God made man in H.is own image—the modernist said man was descended from the brutes. FinaJly. the Bible claimed divinity for Christ and Modernism denied the claim. In fine. Modernism was a subvertion of the Christian faith. “Modernism,” said Mr. Kemp, ‘‘is menacing the morals of the people. There is ample evidence of this, and we cannot ignore it. “Tho average man believes what his spiritual teachers tell him, so that if they teach that the Bible is wrong and that God made mistakes he will believe it and say to himself, ‘Oh, well! It doesn’t matter. I can do whatever 1 like.* ” WORLD’S MORALS THREATENED Once the morals of man began to fail it would only bo a matter of a short time before the civilisation of the* world would collapse and that would happen just as soon as man began to disbelieve in tho Bible. “I declare,” the speaker conclu«.# 1. . “that Modernism is attacking our missionary work, that Modernism is destroying our faith in the miraculous, that it is attacking Christ in the very pulpit and that it is even taking away our faith in God.” THE ANTIDOTE Tho Rev. Evan R. lJarrics spoke at the end of the meeting on “The Antidote to Modernism.” “Tho Sadducees,” he said, “wef-e the Modernists of Judah. They were trying to bring up-to-date the religion of the Jews and to do this they had to rationalise it. Therefore they refused to believe in the resurrection of tho dead. “A fpw vk hpfnrA the P:i on ihev

'A few days before the Passion they came to Our Lord and with a supercilious air asked of the poor uneducated carpenter, who was none of your modern ‘expert.* a ouestion which they thought would make the whole theory of the resurrection look ridiculous. The poor carpenter coolly looked them up and down and said, ‘Your’e wroftg, and you’re wrong because you know that you’re wrong - .* That’s what we ought to say to the Modernists. HELP FROM THE BIBLE

“Now take the Bible just as it is. It won’t help you to be told that tlio first live books were written by live men of whom we don’t even know the names—that the story of the wanderings in the wilderness is all disproved —that the prophets were little better in their behaviour than Dervishes —all that won’t help you. But, listen to this. The British and Foreign Bible Society publishes Bibles without either notes or comment, yet thousands of men and women have been converted simply by reading the book. XctLeed, there are records of whole villages being converted by it and it alone. GOD AND REASON

‘‘Now some people,’* continued. Mr. Harries, “assume that because a man is a believer in God he does not use his reason. Now what would your reason tell you that God should be like, provided that you believed in Him? Mine would tell mo that lie ought to be the only God —that He ought to be au almighty God, unconfined In power or will and. finally, that He ought to be a god of love —my reason demands all that. “Brethren, that C*d T have been depicting is the God of the Bible—belief in Him should be absolutely irresistible to all men. “Read the Bible for yourself as God a own message to you. It is the only way you can receive the salvation of Jesus Christ —by accepting its testimony for yourself. You have no power to help yourself, but it says that there is On© who can set you up upon a rock, who can establish your goings and who can put a new song in your mouth. T *ui yo your trust in Him.’’