THE CHRISTIAN UTOPIA.

Inangahua Times, Volume X, Issue 1604, 23 September 1885, Page 2

THE CHRISTIAN UTOPIA.

The Rev. P. R. Monro, of Westport, delivered liis lecture on the above subj«ct at the Presbyterian Clinrch on Friday, the 18th inst. The Rev. Mr Gow occupied the chair, aud introduced the lecturer, who opened by referring to the Hon. R. Stoat's recent visit to Westport. Mr Monro gave a very succinct restim-* of the lecture entitled " Utopias, PuSL and Present," delivered l»y Mr Stout on that occasion After passing in review the Utopias of Plato. Moore and Carlyle, be described and discussed briefly the socialistic societies formed by Robert Oweu in England, Rosean in France, and by George Ripley and others in America, laying emphasis on the favorable conditions under which Cancord in America whs founded* Its founders were men of genius, honest in their eo'ivictii .-, moral in their character an! full of ■<•• sources. If such men, under such condi tions, coeld not found a socialistic state, he concluded the thing to be impracticable. The lecturer then canvassed Mr Stouts own notions of an Utopia, and the means by which it was to be realised, aid dec'ared himself at one wit' i Mr Stout in almost all he said. i His objection "'as that there was too i littU — not too niu *h, s*id. He could ' not understand how Mr Stout, in • setting an Uo[ ia for the ra^ . and ! means to work that end, could fosget or neglect to evrn ment'n:i one who , !nd do ie m >re to bring a : out tin state j of things all good men l<>ng» d f t. than < all other men put together. He askvil them to leave the supernatur.il out of j sight for a moment, and cousiuer the I life, teaching a«d influence of the man Jesus. Has it come to this ; that his day has come aud gone ? that he is despised and rejei-tivl by the raster spirits of the Ni :et»"jtt?> Cp:ifiiry! Mr Stout, a leader of th»- ie^de'-s of the most, enlightened and advanced in our g|and, can find no place in his famous I lecture even for the mention of the ! name of Jesna. Tlie lecturer then ! went on to state that it be hoves all who believe ill Jesus, to examine his claims and assumptions, and make I snre. that they are not boiug led astray I and deceived. Jesus did a great deal 1 more for the good of the human race, than ever entered the mind of any I socialistic reformer. His Utopia 1 includes all matters, as a whole > includes its parts. He proposed to do all i hat they dtvatnt of, and much ' more. The socialistic reformer says : | " I wonld draw all men unto me to j think as I think, fed as I feel, and act iis I net. I would enlighten, purify, j and regenerate mankind !" A very : great proposal if he could but carry it out Plato and Moor drew their nic- ! tures, and there it ended. Not so J*-sn-~. | He named his Utopia the Kingdom of I God, and forthwith set about estab-. j lishing it on the earth. His pans | were fully matured. Look \t his J manifesto. His Utopia is not to be a | Secnlaristic Society. Religion must I be the throbbing heart, dominating aud I energizing every part of every member iof the community. It was to be a ! very different sort of Religion from I anything the world had seen before. [ It netded to be so, because the Xi» '» | dom differed from all others a;.d lis religion would be, universal. Jupiter, Zens, and even Jehovah had (heir local habitations. The universal reiigion would be spiritual, creative, and formative of life and character. Every other religion had temples, priests, etc., His religion knew little or nothing of these. God is a spirit, and they who worship him acceptably must worship in spirit and in truth. This alone is essential to true worship. This, then, is the Utopia of Christ. The Rev. lecturer then proceeded to show how Christ proposed to advance it among men by the means of persuasion, and by persuasion alone. There was to be no foroe or compulsion. The Christian Church had made, and alas ! is still making, large use of these forbidden elements, and in d ing so she is to be unsparingly condemned j as Anti-Christian. In glancing at the J history of the Church, the lecturer sought to show that she had adminis tered " sweetness and light " wherever she had gone, and that in spite of her grievous declination from the New Testament stand point and teaching. He particularly dwelt on her influence in drawing races aud peoples together int" a common bond for their mutual good and of the place she had won for wonan in the social scale. Hospitals, ■■ i Reformatories and other institutions ' for th« benefit of ihe poor and down j ; trodden, are children of Her Spirit. ! i Christ's teachings are condncive to • ( rains chief good, namely, holiness and j happiness, the moralists phrase is, | , virtue and happiness. It is the climax ; s of unwisdom for any reformer tc : g- oro 1

or oppose -T^us of Nazareth. His teachings are the most living and powerful influences operating in our a^e on our imlivMinl h'<ov?y and happiness, aid on the every day doctrines of Cupit ii .ttui lalnmr, land aud reform, political and ivliu'ious j liberty. The Socialistic reformers aims I and objects art' summed np ii the | watch word nf the French Rnvolntion. j "Libeitv, Eq.Ti ity, Fra*ernity,'Cii:i>t offers all these, lint in a far purer and higher sense. The Christian Utopia is, then, a pe. ft it man in a perfect state. The leetwv took an hour and j twenty minutes to deliver, and was listened to with untieing interest by \ a thoroughly ap|>rcoiHtivp audience.