and Expeditionary Force Canteens have been spoken of as if they were schools for teaching drunkenness. Even if we granted the truth of much that has been said, and accepted at its face value every accusation that has been made, we might still demand of these Puritans an entire readjustment of their scheme of moral values in the light of the teaching of Christ. These sins of sense are precisely those which He regarded as least hopeless. It was He Who said of those in His day who mistook respectability for religion "The publicans and harlots go into the Kingdom of Heaven before you."

I do not want to represent our men as saints, or to claim that the Army presents humanity as Christ would have it. I know and deplore the coarse, sensual sins that are far too common. But the sensualist and the drunkard are not the heroes of our men. They sin often, boldly or carelessly, but-and this is the real point-they feel such sin to be failure. Their admiration is for those who live temperately and cleanly. The Church has not failed to give the average man a respect for temperance. He has learned that, and even when he fails most signally he owns that he ought to practise the thing which he respects.

The Church's failure, if she has failed, is something quite different. It is this: She has not recognized how near to Christ her children are. She has been inclined to reckon as aliens to the commonwealth of God those to whom she should have said joyfully, "The Kingdom of God is within you." Then, as a consequence of this, our men, believing what the Church says of them, have regarded themselves as irreligious. There is nothing more common than to hear a man say: "But of course I'm not religious. I don't think I've been to church except to be married, since I was a boy." And yet this man is constantly doing the things, and continually hoping and trying to do the things which Christ wants men to do. His life is visibly affected by a spirit, some spirit-what spirit, if it be not Christ's?

We proclaim Christ, and men stare at us uncomprehending, though the Christ we proclaim is in them all the time. We preach the Cross, and our words have little meaning to men who, even while they fail to understand, are nailed to the Cross along with Christ, offering themselves as sacrifices for the saving of the world.

This is the extraordinary contradiction in which we are involved. We have the men of a great empire so near to Christ that only a little space divides them from Him. Yet they do not see Him

or know Him or recognize Him as the Lord of all which they themselves count best. Can it be that the Church has somehow hitherto preached Christ imperfectly, her saints and doctors and faithful people having indeed seen Him imperfectly? They have seen a gracious and well-ordered Christ, one trimmed, clipped, defined, like a yew tree in a formal garden. No doubt men may see Him so and love Him well and save their souls. But Christ is greater. The Saviour of the world must be greater. For the world is more than an ordered garden. Humanity, vast, tumultuous, incoherent, needs and should find in Him a Saviour in all points like as it is, save for sin.

DISCUSSION.

In some measure the discussion dealt with forms of expression occurring in the Lectures, forms which do not appear in the text as now revised. In individual cases, also, speakers introduced topics of theological controversy which are properly left outside the purview of the Institute. Such elements in the discussion are not now reproduced.

Lieut.-Colonel MACKINLAY: There is much to admire in the graphic descriptions of the religious state of our soldiers, and also of the methods and teachings of many of the chaplains. Canon Hannay's reference to the natural religion which largely prevails, points to its unchristian character. Christ and His Cross are not in it, as he says on page 186. It is natural to pray to the Deity when in danger, and it is also natural to pray but little when the danger is past. According to I Corinthians ii, 14: "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man." Natural religion is therefore unchristian. It is true that the spiritual teaching of Christ has created a good atmosphere among our men who hold a natural religion, but the same thing is noticeable among Hindus in India, who have started hospitals and other good works in combination with Christians.

The ordinary soldier has a high ideal, and most of them know that to become a good Christian involves being born again by the Holy

Spirit. Many men will say it is impossible to be a Christian in the Army or Navy. I had an example, talking to a sailor on the top of a 'bus, and to a soldier a few minutes afterwards, whilst waiting for a tram. The sailor said: "It is impossible to be a Christian," and the wounded soldier said: "It is impossible to be a Christian over there." One sad feature in the Army is that many a man who has lived quite an upright life gets led away by the bad language and erroneous teaching, but this is not to be wondered at, if the heart has not been changed. A Christian worker was distributing Gospels in a camp. A soldier said to him: "We do not want anything like that if we die at the Front, we shall be all right for heaven." Another man said: We are not giving our lives for the country, we are fighting for our own. Why should our faith be undermined? I have often wished I could believe, but it seems to me all an awful muddle." Unscriptural teaching does indeed produce an awful muddle.

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One young man writes from Edinburgh: "One Sunday a soldier was seen outside a tent, with unmistakable signs of sin and depravity on his face, while a service was being held, to which he was listening attentively. At the close I went up and wanted to shake hands. He said: "You would not shake hands if you knew who I was: I am the worst man in the camp, and only came out of prison yesterday." After a few minutes, he drew a dirty copy of St. John's Gospel out of his pocket, and said: "I would like to be a good lad." He soon believed in Christ, and before leaving for the East gave a splendid testimony for Him. We are all very grateful to Canon Hannay for his interesting paper, and even if we do not all agree with much that he says, our thanks are still warmly given to him for his very good paper.

Captain MACNAUGHTON: Canon Hannay has stated that the Church of England is at least conscious of failure in dealing with men in the Army. That is a tremendous step, but I think we should make a very clear distinction between the Church of England, the Church of Rome, and the Nonconformist bodies. For my part, in an experience of nearly three years in the Army, the Church of Rome has not failed. She makes tremendous claims, and says to the men : "You only trust in us, we will see you straight through earth and through Heaven." I confess I really believe that Nonconformist

bodies have the affection and love which the Church of England has not got. If you want to know why the Church of England has failed in the past to do much, and will fail to all eternity, the reason is not far to seek. The Church of England, rightly or wrongly (I speak in all love, for I know some of its curates and vicars are living the most saintly lives, and many of them are my friends), is in the eyes of the ordinary " Tommy," a worldly Church. If you want a cure for the worldliness of the Church of England (and I would dearly love to see her unworldly), if we want a cure for it, we must go and preach JESUS. Ladies and gentlemen, if you go to your parishes and teach Jesus, you will find that "Tommy" will no more think the Church of England is a worldly Church, but will hear you very gladly.

Dr. A. T. SCHOFIELD: In the dearth of first-hand speakers, I should like to make one criticism of the Canon's valuable paper. He speaks of " the Christ we proclaim being in them all the time." "If Christ be not in you, then is faith vain." Christ your in man is clearly indicative of subjective grace. I would submit to the Canon that perhaps the reason why trust in God, which includes the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, is not more known to the men in the trenches, is owing to the absence of organisations which follow up Scripture teaching at the Front.

Christ crucified, dying and rising again as the Saviour of the world, must be the basis of all Christian faith. I am sure that the Canon would agree with me, that the clause wherein he spoke of men being nailed to the Cross "along with Christ" is an unfortunate rendering. I would suggest that He to Whom we all owe such infinite reverence, the Son of God, the Saviour of the world, Who, though He was rich yet for our sakes became poor that we through His poverty might become rich, must not be put-I am sure the Canon would not put His unique and glorious work on a par with a man dying for the sake of his country, and I think they should be carefully distinguished. From what I hear from second-hand intelligence from the Front, that is one of the great reasons for what the Canon deplores-the want of Christianity in the men. It is the substitution of the sacrifice of themselves for the sacrifice of Christ which has to be deplored. Once they know the objective Christ, there will not be far to seek to find the love for Him.

Mr. PHILIP JOHNSTON: I feel we want to lift the whole consideration of this question far above our party differences. Surely we want to come to Jesus Christ in the questions which have divided Christian men so unhappily for many centuries. We want a great unifying thought, and can we find a better thought than that contained in the word "Prayer"? It is prayer alone that will bring Jesus Christ back to this troubled earth. It is prayer alone which will bring to an end this terrible war, which is a scourge upon Christendom, which has forgotten her absent Lord and Master.

A few months ago I had a letter from a Major in France, who had been put in charge of the responsible task of forming the roadsso necessary a work for the transmission of munitions of war. My correspondent said that, on a certain date in 1917, he had been ordered to take up a new position with the company of men working under him. In obedience to his senior Officer's command, he took the men to the billets assigned to them. They were hardly settled there -in fact had not had time to make themselves comfortable and get something to eat before an urgent telegraphic message came through that the Germans were about to shell the little town out of existence. Humanly speaking, there was no chance for them. The enemy had the exact range of their billets, and so they must shift for themselves as best they could. He gathered his men and explained the terrible situation to them. Speaking as a Christian man, he said: We have no hope but in God; we each have our separate rooms-let us go there, and pray to God." He went and poured out his heart to God. He felt that many of the men were ignorant, and would not follow his example. But he felt that God had given him the charge of the men, their bodies and souls, for the time being.

As he was praying, the first shell came hurtling through the air, and seemed as though it must lay the place in ruins, and he was thrown down on the floor; but nothing happened. He picked himself up, and went on with his prayer. This was at seven o'clock in the evening, and until five the next morning the shelling went on without intermission. But at five o'clock the shelling ceased. He went out, and looked round. The whole earth for a great area was entirely ploughed up by the shells, but although the tiles had been broken in the roof, and glass had been broken by concussion, not a splinter was knocked off the whole range of buildings. He met one of his sergeants as he was coming inside, and the man said to him,