HONG KONG DAILY PRESS, MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 1933.
HOW TO READ THE GOSPELS
BISHOP HALL'S INTERPRETATION
OF MODERN SCHOLARSHIP
HOW THE RECORDS. WERE WRITTEN
The Bishop of Hong Kong (the Right Rev. Ronald Hall) preached yesterday morning in St. John's Cathedral the first of a series of sermons on How to Read the Gospels." The Bishop made some apt remarks on how not to read the Bible and explained some of the difficulties in the path of the reader. The congregation was then taken back to the early days of the church, the Bishop explaining how, in the view of modern scholarship, the New Testament came to be written.
There was a very large congregation.
COLLECTED RECOLLECTIONS
The Bishop sald:-
!?
tiam of the Ethiopian eunuch he returns to Caesaria
Imagine how St. Paul and St.
CRASH ON WAY TO BLAZE
Shanghar Fire Engine
Luke would listen to Philip's stor- Wrecks Hospital Wall
les for though he la Philip the deacon and not the apostle, he must have been in very close touch with the apostles: perhaps himself a follower of Christ. He would' tall them this story and that story of the Good Samaritan, which Philip must have told and retold to his Samaritan converts.
SLS
INJURIES TO FOUR OF CREW
Shanghai-Four firmen were in. jured, оде somewhat seriously, The "we-sections" of Acts con when a Shanghai Fire Brigade ma tinues to Jerusalem and back to thine from Hongrew Station, Caesarea, shewing that when St.its way to an outbreak at 843 Paul is brought there again
Broadway afternoon, becaune out of prisoner St. Luke was still with St control when swerving to avoid Paul St. Luke may have stayed street improvement work in Boone again with Philip to be near St. Road near the carner of Seward Paul in prison. Perhaps it was Road and crasheed hadlong into the there that he pieced together all side wall of the St. Luke's Hos the stories he had heard, and spital, overturning after the impact.
of. Christ.
made an outline life This outline fe he filled in later when in Rome ne got in touch with Mark, and the Clospel he had written.
.us
Luckily the machine, a bouse and ladder tarnaut, was the second as- swering the fire call, and before the amash occurred the first crew had already sent through word that the fire, a minor, affair involving a quantity of bedding, matting, and dooring, had been satisfactorily ex- tinguished.
Officers' Lucky Escape
Another important thing to no- tice is that no recorded sermon ta the New Testament is like the Gospels. The recorded sermons deal with God and the power of
Portion of the roadway is up to the resurrection and the meaning of the Cruifixion, with God's pur Boone Read, and this made it neces- post for Israel, and His way with sary for the machine to swerve.. On attempt- sinners. The reason for this dif-sharply to the left. ference is, I belleve, because the ing to make the turn back to the Gospel are not like these reorded right, the driver found it impossible sermans preached to non-be- to straighten üp, with the result devout recollec that the heavy vehicle, travelling" object it is to make the Bible more levers, but the In reading the Gospels as in understandable. The first is the tons of devoted followers. Liberal at, about 90 miles an hour, mounted succession of New Translations of Scholarship has taken away from the pavement and struck the wall window of the hospital, other things the how-not is much
which I have just spoken. At first us the old picture of four evan-under 2 easter than the how, and the how itself much easier said than done. sight this movement has some re-gelistic automatans writing at the smashing brickwork and crushing
In spouting before falling over. The goal of these addresses is not semblance to the movement begun dictation of the Holy Spirit the bow-not but the how: not the by Wself, carried forward by Tyn its place they have set for saying only but the doing. From dale and Coverdale, finally cul- countless little groups of wor- the first I would have us see our-minating in the perfect beauty of shippers, meeting on the first day
The officer in charge of the crew, of the week to break bread, and to seives doing-reading our gospels.
remind one another of Him who Sub-Officer Somers, jumped when he was their unseen leader.
saw that a crash was inevitable, and as we read, living ourselves into. them and them into us: 30
The second movement,
The Gospels are the devotional and brought up against the wall, that He Who is their inspiration and their Lord may also be our movement of Liberal Scholarship' deposit of a devoted Church: liv being extremely lucky to "Inspiration and our Lord: that we stupidly called Higher Criti ing in the closest touch with the with nothing worse than a severe .may dwell in Him und He in us. cism is the real parallel to that Lord they worshipped. This close shaking. Turning to the wreck- Latin-into-English move touch was kept not only by humaned machine he helped to extricate The vine and the branches will no early
that will and human love, but by hu- members of the Chinese crew, 'Longer then be parable, but drama: ment. Indeed, it carries not something said; but something movement on to its goal; for it man imagination and memory covered with spilt oil as to be un- being acted, being lived. being recaptures the precious thing that making the unseen Lord visible recognisable, from beneath the near done-in us, by us, and through was lost at the Reformation-the again as ane after another told side."
interprétation by living agents, by the old stories of what the Lord Can you envisage that drama? the living Church of the living had said and done. You
Christ. For living is our problem, imagine how easily comment" and Yourself the branch growing,
our task and our joy, and the Gos- explanation get entangled with building, bearing frült, because the tissues of your soul, so frail so in. pels are concerned with living the narrative. Think of the par- operating thenthe and thence to a visibly delicate and sensitive. are with communicating life from the able bf the Sower. How can our Lord have given that obvious in- knit closely, gladly, grateful to living God to ving people.
Recently in St. Alban's. Catheterpretation? If that is what the the vine of life itself?
US.
our
Version (still Authorised known in Scotland affectionately and briefly as "King James.")
the
can
escape
80
Suffering from a crashed chest and contusions, the leading fireman was the most severely injured. He was carried into St.Luke's Hospital ward where he was detained.. Two other men. one of them the driver of the machine, had meanwhile been If you cannot envisage that asdral a great service of thanksgiy- parable meant it needed no inter rushed to the Police Hospital. drama--a drama in which you ing was held for three movements. pretation. Just because the point Firemen who had been clinging to Movement was not obvious it did need inter- the off-side either jumped clear or were thrown right over the machine. play a central part-perhaps it is The Anglo-Catholic because the how-not is so strident whose centenary it is this year; pretation-but a different inter-
Extensive damage was done to in your own experience and your the Evangelical Revival, which had pretation from that given in our
the machine, the front axle and one such enormous influence in Eng- Gospels. friends.
To some that may come as a of the front springs being broken There are
so many "how-nots. land and in the World in the last i Mr. Gandhi began dutifully with century; and thirdly the Movement shock. To others I know it will and the nearside running board I have no come as a relief. I hope to all of splintered. In answer to a report Geneals and got stuck in Levit of Libéral Scholarship. cus. We all know folk who have hesitation in aaying that this third you it will bring new understand-of the accident--which took place. read every word of the Bible seven movement is much the most sign- ing of God, and the meaning of only about three minutes after the WIS dispatched from Central times, or eight, and are reading it ficant of the three, and likely to His Kingdom, when you come to fire call was received a rescue van have far more reaching influence. see in the parable not a Sunday again from cover to cover. It 18 It combines the two aspects of school exhortation to try harder Station, and with the aid of about shceeded in righting just blasphemous, to use reading to make dreary records for truth expressed in the other two. to keep the weeds out of the gar thirty men
The Anglo-Catholic Movement den of men's soul: but a trium- the machine. The front was then stresses the Church; the Evangell- phant asertion that God is God. Facked up and the front wheels re- cal Movement the Bible: the Mo- The tiniest handful of seed falling moved in preparation for towing vement of Liberal Scholarship 13
on god ground makes up for all back to Hongkow Station,
God can the living Church in action, in- that is wasted
bring paratus from the machine being terpreting the Gospel of the living His Kingdom. His Harvest an piled into another Fire Brigade Christ to living people. Up to the hundred-fold from this handful van. present it has spent long hours in
Many pedestrians were in Boone quantitative achievement, The Road at the time of the crash, and laborious work on manuscripts, seed sown on the Cross were only it was extremely fortunate study and library, in devoted and The Kingdom of God is not a and in patient and honest endea the one seed of one Man's life, but
none of them was injured. vour to draw the right conclusions look what it has brought forth. from all available date. But move God is that kind of Sower, and
momentum aments gather
from such long study. Karl Marx spent His Harvest is certain.. many long years in the British Museum. The fruit of that study
endurance.
Bible
Worse still is the "Tit-Bits" type of Bible reading. Where a section or more verses. with no of six unity in themselves, are the por- tion for the day. We must search those verses for beautiful see the through the day's work. thought, or some sound moral to Such snippets can only make
B
Pharisees not Christians.
Some of you may have tried an- other way: reading through Gospel perhaps or an Epistie with a good commentary. But you soon give it up, because the springs of your heart and life are not touch-in the system he elaborated is in- ed by it.
of the
Devotional Portraiture.
In the catacombs of" Rome was fluencing every corner
made the first pictorial represen world to-day.
tation of Christ known to us, a The Bible Not Yet Understandable
In the same way the laborious statue of a young shepherd with a of Christian scholars has lamb on his shoulder, Forbidden Now all this difficulty is not study your fault. It is not something made possible the second stage in by their old laws the Jews did not lacking in you that makes Bible the movement they begun. It is make graven images or paint pic
now possible to use the patient tures. Therefore, they must use reading so little help to you: nor are those who find it helpful and toll of the scholars to make the words to take the place or pic- tell you what their Bible reading Gospels live again for those who tures. The Gospels are word por means to them either hypocrites are hungry and thirsty for the traits, or rather collections of por. traite. No one artist, no one pie or llars. Though some have found word of life:
.
ap-
that
OKI
those who made them came. not come to them to find answers to life's countless questions: come rather to find the answer to fe itself. Do not come asking "Shall I do this or that?" Come saying "My soul was made for thee thou
Come Master of Men, and cannot rest until it rest in Thee." rather as to the Louvre or the Tate Gallery, or to some beautiful col- feetion of Chinese art treasures. expecting more than the but thrill and joy of material beauty- for this beauty is the beauty of a way, the Bible is not yet in such That is what I would try to do ture, can capture His whole ike a form that it can be readily "un-in these addresses. Without your ness. Each Gospel is like a picture the living God. It is the sculptur- stored with sketches, ed story of a heart on are with derstanded of the people." It has help and your co-operation I can- gallery: taken us three hundred years to not do it. That is why I have miniatures, and full length por Love, reconciling his world unto These Himself. No man hath seen God: And out that putting the Bible in asked you to come during the week traits of the beloved Lord. plain English has put its secret and ask questions and make your, portraits were collected into gal- All men hunger to see God and so leries by the evangelists, but they find rest for their souls. Come further out of the reach of many own comments.
were made in the power of the then fust expecting God-expect- people than when it was still in Latin. In those days the Bible was
Spirit of love by the first Chrising God-hungry for God-want- Interpreted, as it has been made,
- Recollections
tians as they met to break breading to know Him and be known of with their Risen Leader. Jesus was im-and with no other thought.
Holy by living agents, by the living
in the
Spirit Church. People knew little, but
Arst step which Liberal himself, also, supremely sculptor Come that little was living knowledge of Scholarship has made it possible in words. His stories. His sayings, of Christmas to this Crib where Christ and His ways, and of God for us to take in understanding His thoughts, were cut Hike beau Christ is laid, singing in your and His will, and of the power of the Gospels, is the light it has tiful precious tones. They made a the Holy Spirit of God. Of course, thrown on the method of their deep and vivid impression on those this could not go on: it was too writing. No, angel guided the hand who heard Him. They do not lose easily and too often abused.
of a saint whose only business was this freshness as they were repeat-
go
Not Sermons but Collected
The
But in the same way we cannot to see that there was always ink ed. Sunday after Bunday by the Out of the treasure on putting the Bible into on his pen.. Nor, like Diana of the faithful. plainer English, fondly imagining Ephesians, did a complete. Gospel, house of memory, in the Joy of we have made it plainer to Eng- or even a complete verse fall in worship, these memories were told Hishmen and Englishwomen. "Intact from Heaven.
and told again; until first one and
heart,
"O Come let us adore Him O Come let us adore Him
O Come let us adore Him
Christ the Lord.".
DISCUSSION ON THE BISHOP'S SERMON
deed, the plainer the English the Take St. Luke's Gospel; here is then another put down what he further may be the real message a glimpse of how the stories in it knew and what he had heard; and
As to-day is a Bank Holiday the of the Bible from the plain Eng may have been collected. In the the Church in reverent care, and
miniatures Men's Tifin Discussion Group lishmen. There is about the sub-Acts you notice there are we love collected these Ume English of the Authoris sections"; and: "they-sections." and kept them safe and secret in will be held to-morrow at Lane, ed Version ... beauty
and Plainly the writer is present when the house where they met to wor Crawford's. The remaining Dis perfection which in itself speaks the word wo" is used, so follow ship.
Our Approach
cussion Groups will be held as previously announced viz Wo- men's Group at Helena May In-
of God to men. Such beauty often ing the "ge-sections" we find him brings men into closer touch with coming with Paul to Jerusalem the living Spirit of God than a and staying at Caesarea with This study of origins, shows us stitute 10.30 am Friday, Septem- more accurate Modern Version Philip. In the earlier part of the how we must approach the Gober 8 and the Mixed Group at the Two movements have been going book Philip's preaching in Sama pels. We must come to them as Bishop's House at 8 pm on Fri on for the last half century whose riis described After the bap
Continued en next enlumn) day, September 8,
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