Article November 25, 1916 Issue

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with contributions from T. Rhondda Williams, John Wright Buckham, E. S. Woods, H. Maldwyn Hughes, Carl G. Doney

[T. Rhondda Williams in The Christian World]

Christians have often spoken of the apostolic age as if the apostles had succeeded in adapting themselves to every age, so that their creeds and forms and institutions must be the model for all time. The apostles never made such pretensions as have since been made for them. Paul exhorted the Christians of his day to adapt themselves to the age in which they were living. Christians of every age must do the same. As the times change we can follow Paul's principles at times only by departing from his practices.

If by clinging to the form of an apostolic institution or to apostolic opinions we get out of touch with the mind of our time and fail to reach our people, we are not buying up our opportunity. If the needs of our age require a different kind of service from that which other ages required, it is only by being prepared to render the service now that we can do our duty. In order to do this we must take account of the prevailing modes of thought in our time and its prevailing methods of life, and we must learn the language of our age. Some old forms of service are dropping out simply because the age no longer needs them, and because it does need the old religious spirit to incarnate itself in other forms of service. The main reason why so much of the modern world is outside the Christian churches today is because it feels that the churches belong so much to a world that has passed away. A clear and candid recognition of this is the first condition of advance.

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