REV. J. FLANAGAN'S MISSION.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LI, Issue 94, 9 April 1908, Page 4

REV. J. FLANAGAN'S MISSION.

(To the Editor.)

•Sir.—l trust that you will allow me to make a few comments ou -oine utterances which the lirv. J. Flanagan gave vent to ou Monday evening last 1-irst let uie state that I don't think any good can be served to a movement,' be it political, moral. o r religious, bv anvonei who makes exaggerated statement's or I who put a statement in such a frame of words that it causes a misunderstanding to arise. Rev. Flanagan, 1 submit, did this on Mondav eveuili" ' He said that intellectual atheism wa.l now dead in England, and as a proof of this he evidenced the fact that where there ii.„.d to I score of meetings on every Sunday evening addressed bv atheist- and freethinkers there were now gospel meetings. He was talking »l a ~-rtain part ~f London. Sow, I I.ike il. .Hid I f.el that every evangelical preacher w.ll do ,|„. ~..„.,,_ n, a t "IntelIvtlMl atheism ,„.. ir ., t | u , (1 ,, ni .,] Ju belief ol till- cxi,lc,lcc ,„ ~ „,„! j„ ~,,, -aai»- „f man. The intellectual atheist -ay-: -I do not believe j M || l( , existence of <«', l.' liilcllcctual atheism is not dead." Regarding the disappearance ot open air meetings of the tree-thought color, I have i„ , : , y that tile freethinkers ••!• intellectual atheists have just altered their method ol propaganda. Rev. Flanagan doe- not H . c tln/signof the times in the great freethinkers' conference of mm which was held in Rome and wa. attended bv thousands from France, Spain and Italy, with a group of the first scholar- in Europe at their head. Thi I'ope protested solemnly against th e holding of such a congress under the shadow ot the Vatican. In reply, the Government announced that it would extend to the freethinking pilgrims all the privileges it had ever granted to Roman Catholic pilgrimages. In IS*; the British Weekly took a census of church-going people; another one was taken in VMS, and the comparison made revealed the fact that in London alone in twenty years the churches lost lialf a million worshippers. Here are some uttert an.es, from the mouth- of prominent churchmen: —Dr. .lessopp, at a medical dinn»r: "Yours is a rising, mine a decaying profession." Rev. I'. Ballard, author of -Clarion Fallacies'': "The outlook is a serious one. . . . The modern atmosphere is in general tending away from rather tiau towards all that is distinctive of Christianity (vide <:reat Thoughts)." Kev. R. Williams: "Already it is the fact that the cultured laity, on the one land, ami the great bulk of the democracy on the other, are outside the churches."" The Bishop ot London declared that in his own old dioeesr only one working man out ot fifteen went to church. EverywJTcre we hear this fact bemoaned by" ministers and preachers. Here in New Zealand it is very patent. Bishop Xeligan ha-bis-n saying some strong things jus; lately 011 this self-same matter. Coming from the Rev. J. Flanagan, a statement that the editor of the Clarion pos. -e--e- a wooden head, sounds very harsh indeed. Who gave him thai head? Rev. Flanagan, -.peaking -till 1.1 IHatchtord. declared that hi- i„lluence amounts to nothing. Thi- can lie answered by the tact that no writer on pupnlar economic, has had such a great demand for his work-, which have been translated into several languages. And by another fact that the hi- Dii|ier since his attack eai religion has increased ju-t 011 fifty per cout: al-o that this attack brought into the arena of controversy some of I lie doughtiest champions of t'liri-tiauitv. who in writing have recognised that'hi- i- indeed a great iiiilueuee. To hear it stated -weepingiy thai Spencer's philosophy is out ol date ha- no other ellei-t than to loner one'- e-timate of the intelligence or knowledge of thi' per-011 mlhi makes -licli .1 slateinciit. the Key. Mr. l-'lana-gan .lid so. A- to If kel lieing laughed at another ol Mr. liana f- state- ■ enl.-nln. iallglied at him; \ few Iheologian- ol (he old s,-|,o„|. -.., , whom, howeivr. were 100 hitler 1,1 ,| M .i r enmity to laugh. i;,e,,t niiud- like \. K. Wall-o-c >„• iijjie,. i.,,,);.,., n„, i,,,, L-ud Ki-hin. all take him -.-ri'm-lv. a - • though they iimv dill'cr iii'jn him in - dcbi.'-tion- and in 1 ,„ ''•" -' ' ""■'» With -eie,,;-... ~|,j,|| ■He lint their own. I,ud Kelvin Hied to do thi- by sjpeaking iii the n-ii, t biology, but wa. iinnieiliately eonirii dieted by all our tno-t di-i"iiiguis|ied biologist-, in conclusion let ine -tut ■ what may be news to niuiiv of vottr reader-: that Professor Ilaeckel.' on whom the vial, of so much bitterm-s have been poured, only ditler. by -light shades in his estimate of the Iti'ble alio of Christ from the leading -,-hoiar. id the German Church. If proof fur tli ; - j statement is needed, flicu a con-ulta-1 tiim of the Encyclopedia Biblica iuiider almo-t any artiehM —remembering tiii-1 i- a work written by Christian -cholai's for ordinary Christian reader- -w ill I ' pin,- my statement. See al-o Dr. l .

Cone's llandlwoks, atul the article of (.'anon lleiison in the Contemporary Review lor February, IJIO-1. Lot there be k">> heat and bitterness and an endeavor to approach the truth, however unpalat- , able. at all times. Fur the truth shall | make Ua lieu!—l am, etc.. jx; -