The Henson Journals

[50]

Friday, November 28th, 1919.

I sent off the article to Harold Cox, and then fell to the proofs of the Anson Memoir. I sent the two first slips to the Press with letter to the secretary calling attention to some points. Also I wrote to Miss Anson, saying that her paragraph about her father shd be inserted: & to Buckle, apologising for the stupid attribution of my work to him! Fearne Booker arrived from Durham. Somebody sent me a copy of the "Manchester Guardian" of Nov. 26. It contains a trenchant article by Ralph commenting on some recent utterances by Peter Green, which have attracted some public notice. The following is rather "strong meat" for the religious public:–

I think Canon Green may be rather too pessimistic about the present state of religion in the country. Why shd we make church–going the test? Public worship bores a great many religious people, because they prefer to say their own prayers, & because we are now a nation of readers, not of listeners. The whole system is becoming an anachronism: but this does not mean that people are less religious than they were. The change in our habits is very unfavourable to organized religion: but what attempt did the founder of Xity make to organise religion?

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