The Henson Journals
Thu 4 October 1928
Volume 46, Pages 104 to 105
[104]
Thursday, October 4th, 1928.
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The glorious weather continues. Today, the papers dealt with "The Faith & Modern Thought". Ralph led off with an admirable paper on 'Evolution and the Idea of God', which was much applauded. He was followed by a pleasant but feeble paper by R. J. Campbell on "The place of the Incarnation in Modern Thought". Then came a clever but sophistical & unconvincing paper by N.P. Williams on "The Fall & the Atonement in the light of Scientific Teaching". The last of the morning papers was one on "The Uniformity of Nature & the Freedom of Man" by the Bishop of Birmingham. I was impressed by the friendly reception given to all the Modernist speakers, & I marvelled at the strength of Evangelical partisanship. Modernism is utterly hateful to the Evangelicals, but they will condone it, if only the Modernists will attack the Anglo–Catholics!
The afternoon session was demure & dull. The papers were good enough, but from the nature of the case so completely destitute of any relieving trait of humour that many were unable to resist the slumbrous tendency of the time.
[105]
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The service in the Cathedral was impressive but very ill managed. The confusion in leaving the church after the service was ludicrous, & evidently amused the Eastern ecclesiastic, Germanos, who calls himself the Metropolitan of Thyateira. The preacher was the Archbishop of Dublin. I was placed behind him in the choir, & could hear no more than detached words & phrases. The sermon was an exhortation to Anglicans to exercise on one another that unique power of reconciling divergences, which as the 'bridge Church' they claimed to exercise in Christendom. It was fluent but commonplace. The congregational singing was very impressive, & matched well the austere majesty of the building. The ill–will which exists between the Bishop of Gloucester and his Dean was disclosed in the petty but exasperating detail that no seats were reserved for the ladies from the Palace. Gee has absented himself from all the meetings of the Congress, & done nothing to assist in the arrangements. He is an odd creature, & seems to have lost interest in everything. Certainly he contributes to the sorely needed apology for the existence of Deans!