"CHRISTIANITY AND ITS EARLY SURROUNDINGS" Auckland, September 9.

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 402, 14 September 1889, Page 4

"CHRISTIANITY AND ITS EARLY SURROUNDINGS" Auckland, September 9.

A lecture was delivered in the Cook-street Hall yesterday evening by the Rev. E. H. Gulliver, M.A.f on " Christianity as Influenced by its Early Surroundings." Mr Gulliver, in opening, said it might bo wondered why he, a Church of England clergyman, should be standing that night on a secular platform. He objected to the word secular being used in a reproachful sense. No single department of human affairs had the right to arrogate the sole right to the name •' sacred ;" what was Divine was secular. There were men and women who had drifted outside the orthodox churches ; and in many cases no pretence of pride, caprice, or spite could be urged against them ; their severance was due to the feeling that in the realm of religion there must be an imperious recognition of intellectual honesty. He contended that there could be no reason why intellect should not reign supreme in the department of religion as well as in every other. This was the reason why he was standing there that evening. Mr Gulliver then referred to the personal grandeur of the marvellous character of Jesus, and said that it was not to be wondered that such a character should be . the foundation of one worldextending Church ; but what they did wonder at was that there should be such a marvellous distinction between the life of Christ, the founder, and what they saw manifested throughout all time in the various branches of the Christian Church. Before they realisod what Christianity had become, they must consider the giant power of ancient Rome, The lecturer then spoke of the condition of Roman society in days gone by, and referred to the horrible cruelties to which the slaves were subjected,, the luxurious life of the wealthy citizens, and the atheism and superstition which prevailed, as well as the terrible sadness. Patriotism did not exist ; public life was a farce ; literature and art had become corrupted, and so torturing was the monotony that numbers of people committed suicide ; whilst the emperors were ■ types of the most brutal and debauched humanity. There was in ancient Rome no standing army, no censorship of the press, no police, no system of public servants or government officer.", and a considerable amount of liberty was enjoyed by all. They must realise that in the midst of all this Christianity arose. He maintained that if they claimed that Christianity affected the world for good, they must also see on the other side that it had been influenced by its surroundings, and this was why the manifestation of r.he life of its Founder in ecclesiastical systems fell bo far short of what it ought to be. As Napoleon, who rose amidst the crash of falling systems and the changing of ideas, had been afiected by his surroundings, Christianity had in the same way been affected. Mr Gulliver pointed out that Christianity had retained some of the features of the pagan life. of Rome in the names of its pontiffs and the dresses of its priests, and quoted the stories of miracles to prove this. They found iL difficult to accept what were called the dogmatic statements of Christianity. ; there was a sort of hesitation natural to the intellect, a turning-away from many of these statements ; but the realm of superstition was now being further and further removed, and the kingdom of knowledge was taking its place. Mr R. A. Hould announced that a collection would be taken at the doors to defray expenses. He hoped that this, the first of a series of lectures, would be the beginning of a permanent lectureship to be held by Mr Gulliver. Mr Gulliver said that though that was not a religious service, there was one prayer which they all could repeat. He then recited the " Lord's Prayer," and the proceedings closed.