CHRISTIANITY PAYS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 876, 21 January 1930, Page 10

CHRISTIANITY PAYS

DIVIDENDS FOLLOW DIVINE TEACHINGS MR. H. R. JENKINS SAYS SO “The greatest Umpire builders have not been generals and admirals, but missionaries. They have been responsible for Britain’s great prosperity. The nation that turns its back upon God, goes down.” Thus, Mr. H. R. Jenkins, M.P. for Parnell, in a speech on “Empire Builders.” given at the Rotary Club luncheon yesterday. Mr. S. Reid presided. “The UiS.A. and Britain have, realised the truth of the Biblical injunction ‘Cast thy bread upon the waters; for thou shalt find it after many days,’ ” said Mr. Jenkins. “Many of us think that we get nothing from the missionaries—that we should leave other peoples to their own religions, and that it is no business of ours anyway. “But the reason that these two great countries are prospering is because they have been following Christ .and the Christian religion.” The Greeks were a great nation, the speaker continued, and we could still learn from them. They had produced Alexander who was a great general and a wonderful philosopher. “In my opinion,” said Mr. H. R. Jenkins, “Socrates was also a remarkable man, and a groper after the truth. I believe his writings are still worth reading—even today.” He went on to say that Greece had fallen, and touched on the failure of Spain which had been a powerful Christian country. “The reason for Spain’s downfall, despite its Christianity, was due, 1 believe, to the fact that it used the Christian religion only as a cloak to plunder,” said the speaker, who went on to speak of China, which after being Christianised by the missionaries, had returned hundreds of millions of pounds to British investors. “Confucius has done nothing for China, and nothing for civilisation. If it wasn’t for the existence of Christianity in the country there would be greater numbers of people starving there today. We have done a good deal for China,” said Mr. Jenkins. “Certainly it is pointed out that our position in China is somewhat shaky: but I would suggest that perhaps it is because our own hold on Christianity is shaky.” In India, our wealth had been brought about by teaching the Bible to tho people. Neither Hinduism nor Buddhism had benefitted this great country in the least. Touching on the practice of “suttee” which had been stamped out in India by the British Government, Mr. Jenkins said that Christian countries would not tolerate such a practice. “Here we are, quibbling over what kind of hooks should be used to catch sharks without undue cruelty and here we have our Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals,” said the speaker. “Yet before the advent of Christianity wives were burned at the death of their husbands in India. “Prosperity has come to us because we have followed the Divine commands,” Mr. Jenkins concluded. “The influence of the missionaries has been followed by prosperity not only in the countries of the East, but also in New Zealand. The teachings of Christ have brought their own reward to us.” The speaker was accorded a hearty vote of thanks at the conclusion of his address.