RELIGIOUS REVIVALS.

Waimate Daily Advertiser, Volume IV, Issue 278, 4 November 1902, Page 3

RELIGIOUS REVIVALS.

TO THS EDITOR.' Bib, —I cannot help myself. I must write and congratulate you upon the stand you have taken. It is a good sign of the times to have in our midst a broad minded press, and a broad minded Isador writer who is willing to sacrifice both caste and money in order to voice an opinion which thousands hold, yet are afraid to openly avow or express. It it evident that we have too much religious cant and humbug. It is making us a subservient race of human beings. The efforts to reintroduce the Bible in schools is the thin end of the wedge of the parson destined to make us more subservient, lowly and reverent to our betters “ whom God hath ordained to reign over us,” and to enable the parson to maintain his spiritual and temporal supremacy. What is the teaching of history on the subject? Has not the Church been from all ages of civilised history the arch-enemy of the people ? Who was it bub the Church that opposed, tooth and nail, the factory, agricultural and training legislation? The artisans and factory operatives were virtually slaves prior to and in the eighteenth century. Even go no further back than thirty years ago, the parson held full sway in Britain. Every sectarian church considers itself the body of Christ with only one head, with the result that there are hundreds of bodies on their way to heaven in different directions with only one head to guide them. What rancour, animosity and kicking there is amongst these different heavenly bidies! Did ever anyone (outside the dogma of ci>.ed) read of suoh a conglomeration of ■ « and interpretations of a text designed for their guidance ? Its i lishment and maintenance were effo

by blood, rapine and murder. 'J are historical facts whioh wo ca. t deny. If we open the Old and Now Testament, we read therein of some of the moat abominable crimes ever perpetrated by mankind, and every one committed and sanctioned by the will of the Christian’* God, “ for His mercy endureih forever I" Had euah a book

been written bv one of our present day ( writers we would not bare allowed it to | have been exposed for sale on a book i stall Take she story of creation, and of that most astute and most powerful indiv dual, the serpent. Read the lives of the prophets—the instruments through which the Christian God was supposed to communicate his messages. If the story of these lives were fit for decent people to read I would quote some of the incidents, but they are unfit for publication. Compare the numerical strength of the Ch istian dogma to the millions of human be ngs who have never heard, and have no desire to hear, the Christians’ gospel. What is wanted is a religion of humanity, that will bind man to man as brothers working for one common good of all. The Christians’ God and religion have uttedy failed in this respect. It is more of a pastime and a fine art than a work of utility. What has she done for the alum dwellers of our towns and cities ? Has she not largely helped to create the slums, owing to the parson’s pernicious title and rack renting propensity'—compelling the poor to l ave the country and lira in congested districts in our towns and cities ? What has she done towards the progress of mankind ? Has she not been against reformation of every kind destined for the amelioration and emancipation of mankind ? What is wanted now is more fact and less theory —more practice and less dogma, and more honesty and less cant, more education and less bigotry and animosity. We do not want the masses to read and think by proxy. What we want is for them to read and think for themselves, to exercise their own reasoning powers. I believe in a God, but not in a jealous God. The attributes of our God is justice and love and truth. He is a father who has the same ideals of life as an earthly father —who has the same passions and love and sympathy and justice and desire \ for the welfa e of his children, the same noble and virtuous attributes which are possessed by our own parents- The Christians’ God is a changeable being whose virtues and vices are confusing.—! am, etc., J. B. St. J. Jaxon.