The Henson Journals

[184]

Wednesday, August 8th, 1928.

A bright morning, cool and wholesome. I was engaged until noon in dealing with the morning's post, which contained nothing of importance. Letters from my Canadian nephew, Harold, from William, and from Mary Radford had a personal interest of their own.

We called on old Mr Hughes, whose relative Miss Simpson had called on us. He is aged 95, and still seems remarkably intelligent. He said that he had heard me preach in S. Margaret's, that he had been to Canada & Australia with the British Association, that he had met Bishop Patterson the martyr, & that in his opinion the present generation was going to the devil, materially assisted in the process by motors!

Then we went on to Boddington, and had tea with the Principal & Mrs Braley with whom was their fat infant Jane, whom I baptized six months ago in Durham. After tea we motored 5 miles to a water–fall, and then walked across the hills for about 6 miles to see "Cuthbert's Cave". The views across the valley of the meandering Till to the Cheviots were magnificent. I had much conversation with Braley whom I found both intelligent and interesting. He meditates offering Dobson the chaplain's position at Bede College.

[185] [symbol]

The task of the critical scholars of the N.T. cannot extend to a revision of the Apostolic Version of Christ's Revelation. It can assist us to distinguish the genuine tradition of the Apostles from later accretions, to detect and discount the elements of current opinion which have confused & distorted the Apostolic Version of Christ's Life & Teaching, to separate the permanent from the temporary factors in their Tradition, but can it convict them of essential error, & replace their teaching by another vouched for by the critics themselves? Take such fundamental matters as the following:–

1.That Jesus Christ is Himself Divine.

2.That He instituted the Holy Eucharist.

3.That the Old Testament has Divine Authority in the Church.

4.That the Christian Ministry exists by Divine Appointment.

5.That Jesus Christ "legislated" about marriage.

The list might be considerably lengthened, but these will suffice for the argument. Can the Apostolic Position disclosed in the New Testament with respect to all of these vital matters be modified or altered in deference to Critical opinions in the XXth century? And if not, if the Apostolic Church must stand by the Apostolic Tradition, how can an unshackled freedom of critical studies be conceded to the English Churchman?