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THE FAITH FROM A NEW ANGLE. ■ BY 1. W. BARNES, Sc.D., F.R.S., Canon of Westminster. As all know there is an incon- sistency between two recorded say- ings of Christ which, while it puzzles readers who discover it for the first time, does not trouble those who reflect on the many-sidedness of life. He that is not with Me is against Me," is an utterance which St. Matthew's Gospel has preserved. But St. Mark and St. Luke both record that our Lord en- j joined His disciples not to forbid a man who was working cures in Jesus' name, "-For he that is not against us is for us." The paradox that lies on the surface of these statements comes vividly before us as we read Mr. Gardner's Redemp- tion of Religion. A re we: to approve or condemn his book? In it he re- writes the life of the Lord Jesus and gives us a restatement of some of the great doctrines of our faith. He .first shows what were the apocalyptic hopes and expectations of Christ's time and how He was influenced by them. He then traces the career of Jesus from the stand- point of one who hesitates with re- gard to the Virgin Birth and pre- fers to be silent as to the miracles recorded in the Fourth Gospel, though he accepts practically all the miracles which St. Mark and the other two Synoptists narrate. In taking this standpoint Mr. Gardner may be criticised as being somewhat "rough and ready," but much more important and serious is the contention which follows that as regards the speedy coming of His Kingdom Jesus worked under an illusion. Mr. Gardner holds thai there is an element of illusion in the inspired thought of all great pro- phets, and in this matter classes our Lord with His predecessors. Notwithstanding this belief, how- ever, he is ready to affirm that Jesus was the Christ, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God." To most of us it will seem that Mr. Gardner's position involves in- herent contradictions. That Christ, in becoming M an, emptied Himself I of some of the attributes of His divinity, we accept with St. Paul. He became, we contend, perfect Man; and, as such, had limitations Imposed by His humanity. But I that among those limitations was I an element of illusion is a destruc- tive and, we hold, untenable doc- trine. It is destructive; for could an illusion have been present with- out weakening the value of the moral precepts with which it must have been closely conjoined? Are we not driven further than Mr. Gardner would go, and forced, on his hypothesis, to admit it possible that Christ set forth the principles of the Sermon on the Mount not as standards of everlasting value, but for the "temporary guidance of men who in a few months or years at most would see the coming of the I Kingdom and its King? Yet we cannot adopt this conclusion, for the whole teaching of history

The Redemption, of, Religion." Charles Gardner (Longmans, Green and Co. 7s. Cd. net). affirms that civilisation can only be perfected if Christ's ethical system is accepted by humanity. All man's highest social aspirations are increasingly an echo of the Gospel idealism. Now, when a dilemma confronts us it is wise to accept the solution which best harmonises with re- levant facts. In the present case, as we try to ascertain the truth, we must remember that popular ex- pectation in the time of Christ assumed the. speedy coming of the Millennium. Under the, influence of this belief the Lord's hearers may easily have mistaken the im- port of His words. Surely to them and not to Jesus we ought to attri- bute the form of those sentences which seem to promise the speedy return of Christ as Lord of the Kingdom of Heaven: a return which we know did not come to pass. The doctrine of the Kingdom was central in Christ's teaching. It followed from His idea of God and was fundamental in His view of the destiny for which God had created man. But it is not an easy or a simple doctrine. As Professor Sanday has well said, the Kingdom is both inward and outward; pre- sent and future; Divine, but with a place in it for human co-opera- tion; Judaic in its origin, but uni- versal by reason of its natural growth. It is, in Dr. Hort's words, The world of invisible. laws by which God is ruling and blessing His creatures." When such a superb, but com- plex, idea was-first given to men it was almost inevitable that misun- derstanding should arise. Misun- derstanding, we hold, did arise. Our Lord's prophecies of the im- pending destruction of Jerusalem were seized upon by men who had learnt from the current Apocalypses that the coming of the Kingdom of the Messiah would be catastrophic; and they conflated this belief with, Christ's greater prediction. There is no need to assume that the Lord deceived Himself. We can be con- fident that His spiritual certainty rested on no basis of illusion. We have deliberately picked out and discussed this topic raised by Mr. Gardner's book, for it is the one on which he breaks most de- cisively with normal Christian be- lief. In many points we could challenge his views. Especially do we believe him mistaken in his ex- planation of the nature of the Resurrection. But, though in such, matters he does not win our assent, we should not appraise his book fairly if we did not emphasize that he writes with reverence and sincerity. He says many true and beautiful things with regard to the redemptive power of our Lord's life and work. He has read widely, and has, we feel sure, felt. in his own spiritual life the value of the great dogmas of the Christian faith. We cannot think that his presenta- tion of the Christian religion will satisfy either theological eon- servativea or theological liberals among us. In fact, the critical inquiries of the last two genera- tions will almost assuredly lead to a- different way of venera- ting Christ and His life-work from that by which Mr. Gardner is satisfied. But his book is emphatic- ally one to which we should apply our Lord's words He that is not against us is for us." Of its readers a large proportion will feel with increased certainty the greatness of Jesus and His unique place in the evolution of civilised man. Some, as they reflect, will be led by Mr. Gardner's earnestness to dream of a future when all the present and past of Christianity shall be as nothing compared with the glory that through Christ will come to the earth; they will perhaps under- stand a little better the, promise latent in St. Paul's vision, "Christ all and in all."

THE NATIONAL ASSEMBLY, IMPORTANT STEP. THE Archbishops of. Canterburp and York have addressed the following letter. to the Diocesan Bishops of England: As the outcome of careful discussion with Diocesan Bishops, and with laymen who have been prominently concerned in the committees and debates on the for- mation of the National Church Assembly, I which is shortly to replace the existing Representative Church Council, wo de- sire to address to all Dioceses in England a few lines of information or direction as to the duty which seems now to devolve upon us. The Representative Church Council, after full debates last February, agreed upon the new constitution under which (with the changes therein adopted) it will come into fresh life with the title thenceforward of The National As- sembly of the Church of England." In order that every Diocese may be pro- perly represented in that Assembly it is essential that the Dioceean Conferences, as containing the electors to the House of Laity in the Central Assembly, shall be themselves elected in all Dioceses under ■' the conditions prescribed in the new con- stitution. It will be remembered that the initial steps to be taken are the for- t mation in each parish of a roll of dnly. qualified electors, and the holding of a parochial Church meeting of these elec- i tors "not later in the year than in: Easter week or in the following week. The further steps.to be taken for the election of members of the House of Laity are set forth in the "Rules for the Re- presentation of the Laity appended as a schedule to the constitution of the u National Assembly. It may be pointed out that in accordance with Section iv. 7. of the Rules it is not necessary that an actual meeting of the Diocesan Confer- ence, or even of its lay members, should be held in order to elect representatives to the House of Laity. We are well aware of the inconvenience which may be caused in many Dioceses by the necessity of a new election of the lay members of Diocesan Conferences. But unless this is done the National As- sembly of the. Church of England cannot come into being for a considerable time, it might be for years. And it is obviously of the utmost importance that the As- sembly should be in existence and ready to exercise the powers which would be- long to it if, in accordance with our hopes, the Enabling Bill now before Par- liament became law without any great delay. We, therefore, earnestly hope that each Diocese will now take steps to secure its representation in the Assembly, which, by God's help, may strengthen the Church in the fulfilment of the great task entrusted to us at this critical moment in the life of the nation and of the world, •—We are, .yours very truly, RANDALL CANT TAR. COSMO EBOR.

BISHOP S VARIED EXPERIENCES. IT is much to be hoped that Bishop v Golding-Bird, who lately resigned, the See of Kalgoorlie, West Australia, (on acount of a throat trouble), will write th, story of his life, if he has not alreaely, done so. We suppose there are few IBislioPS who in such a comparativeily brief spaca have had more varied experiences. In his early dayshe determined to find out the exact conditions existing in the under- world. He wor-ked for a period, as an ordinary docker, with all the vicissitudes to which in those diays an, ordinary docker was liable,, including doss-houses and railway arches for sleeping-places. He was cam- paigning in South Africa as a chaplain! to the Forces in 1900; later he was Dean. of the Falkland Islands, tblat,far-Rung outpost of. Empire of which toany, only apparently heard after the great naval victory there. Then he was Dean! of N'eivoa N.S.W., and later Bishop of Kalgoorlie, where he spent—except when, on leave—six eventful years of i pioneering work in the jsoldfielda.