CHRISTIANITY AND SOCIALISM. 



91 



occupying responsible positions in life. He succeeded in securing 

 200 fellow-workers, some of whom held open-air services four times 

 a, week. The communicants rose to 800 ; three Bible Women and six 

 Scripture Eeaders were supplied to Liverpool, and nine men were 

 trained to become clergymen. Let such an example be imitated — 

 where such is not the case— in the East end of London, and in the 

 large towns throughout our land, and SociaHsm will speedily die of 

 inanition. 



Let us hear a converted socialist. " Christ is the solution of all 

 problems. Not Christ with an ' ism ' attached to His Name, but 

 Christ Himself, the living Christ. There is chaos in society, but 

 when the Son of God was sent from the bosom of the Father to 

 reveal the Divine plan, and that plan is rejected by the Church and 

 the world, how can it be other than chaos 1 Why must professing 

 Christians go to atheistic socialism and accept their plans for putting 

 society right, rather than go to the Son of God for His Divine plan." 

 This was said to a meeting of socialists, who put to the speaker 

 some thirty questions, to which unanswerable replies were given. 



Eev. A. Irving, D.Sc, B.A., made no pretension to speak as an 

 expert on the subject of the paper. Yet it presented in a connected 

 form some well thought-out views on questions which were 

 constantly presenting themselves in a very real and practical way ; 

 and as one who had these matters constantly pressed on his attention, 

 he begged to thank Dr. Cunningham for the very able paper to 

 which we had listened, point after point of which would set us 

 thinking more deeply. He had listened with great interest also to 

 some of the remarks of the previous speakers. He did not think that 

 " Socialism," as it presented itself here in England, was to be met 

 with the thunder of artillery. He agreed that it was utterly devoid 

 of constructive principles ; but it was here as a fact, and we Avere 

 bound to deal with it as an actual factor of modern life. It was 

 based no doubt largely on ignorance, but it gave expression to felt 

 needs and aspirations, which Christianity could neither ignore nor 

 condemn. He ventured to dissent from the learned author of the paper 

 in his contention as to the impossibility of such a thing as " Chris- 

 tian Socialism." He was rather disposed to hear in " Material 

 Socialism " a warning voice to those who profess the Christian 

 name ; calling upon them to consider their ways ; to ask themselves 

 whether Christians as a body have understood the true meaning of 



