One thing I gained from my school-days was a close acquaintance with the preface to my school hymn-book. Why so, you ask? Well, it was a convenient passage to be copied by an offender as an imposition, or punishment. It did contain one classic, never-to-be-forgotten statement. It went: ‘The inclusion in a School Hymnal of some famous German, Latin and Greek hymns in the original language needs no comment.’
‘Wow!’ you may say. Wow, indeed. It has to be pointed out that this preface dated from 1913. That makes this old-fashioned hymn-book rather older than I am It also introduces us to the way people thought during the belle époque. Quite enlightening, I have to say. In 1913 some things were taken for granted – an acquaintance with other languages (especially dead ones) being one of them. Accomplished Englishmen knew about these things just as they knew about cricket, bloodstock and tying a bow-tie. A different aspect of the book was a curious readiness to give house-room to some decidedly second-, third- and fourth-rate compositions in its pages. Who was it – Dean Inge, perhaps? – who said: ‘If you marry the spirit of the generation you will become a widow in the next’? The dictum came from the same era as my hymn-book.
‘No comment needed.’ Here is a password for anyone ready to support the status quo. Given this, no industrial revolution would have taken place. Horses and stage-coaches would still be with us. Hot-air balloons would be the only means of looking down on planet earth. Clippers would be carrying their meagre loads of tea and spices across the oceans.
‘No comment needed’? We need comments on our hymn-books (and worship-songs), our schools and all our other institutions. Without comment they become grotesque, purposeless, unfit for purpose. There are always assumptions to be questioned, habits of thought to be examined. Schleiermacher, regarded as a pioneer of modern protestant thought, held that the beginning of true religion was felt dependence rather than an incarnation or a sacred text. Hegel said that if that were so, the most religious creature was the dog. Anthropologists introduce us to matriarchal societies. Astro-physicists tell us of black holes and inconceivable dimensions of time and space. We may have reservations about options placed before us but we are wrong to ignore them. We should be in a sorry state if other people were asking all the questions and we were saying ‘No comment.’
PORTOBELLO FORUM
Portobello community forum catering for a variety of interest groups -- craft and photography, drama, sewing, Christians against Poverty – is active in Sandal Magna parish church. The Vicar is Rupert Martin.
An escape from lockdown is an opportunity. We’re venturing into new territory. We can help each other. As far as this blog is concerned, we invite you to share ideas. Humpty and I welcome contributions to our letters page. It hasn’t been crowded so far. Does that mean all our readers agree with us? It can’t be. We’re also inviting you to send a picture of a project or event that is or will be coming into play in your church. (Be careful about safeguarding issues. Be sure subjects of photographs know what is happening.) Send photos to the email address on page one.
The strength of the C of E is to be found in the parishes. And as Humpty might say, better to build a wall than fall off one. Let’s hear about your post-lockdown initiatives.
If you have a comment on this post please send an email to Revd John King at johnc.king@talktalk.net Edited extracts may be published. To forward this to a friend click on the chain icon below.
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