The Spike or Victoria College Review, June 1908

Meetings

Meetings.

At the first meeting, held on Tuesday, April 2nd, Mr W. Gray delivered an address upon "Difficulties of the Spiritual life of Students." He showed how, during the period of life which is spent at a University, —the period of adolescence,—there takes place an immense broadening of the student's view of life, He finds it necessary to examine the bases of all that he has hitherto accepted without question, and often the process involves an ill-considered rejection of the grounds of his religious belief. It is one of the object of the Christian Union to keep constantly before the minds of students the claims of Christianity, —claims which, among the complex secular activities of College life, are far too apt to be overlooked. Not even in the quest of knowledge can there be found anything which will compensate a student for the loss of his religious beliefs.

On Saturday, April 18th, Rev. Osborne, of Melbourne, delivered an address on "The evolution of the Jewish Religion regarded as an apology for Christianity." He traced the history of the Jews from Moses to Christ showing the gradual development of their National Religion, and the part played in this development by the prophets of Israel. The Jews expected a world wide supremacy, almost realized under Isaiah, but overturned by the power of Babylon. During these years of captitity one section of the Jewish hope, and the further development of this conception prepared the way for the Christian Revelation.

The evening of Saturday, May 2nd, was devoted to the reading of reports upon the various phases of the Trentham Conference. Report were read by Misses C. M. Taylor, M. E. Gibbs, and A. E. Currie, and Messrs D. S. Smith and H. E. Evans, each dealing with separate matters, so that those who were not able to be present at the Conference might get a general idea of the results of its work.

On Saturday, May 16th an address was given by the Rev. T. H. Sprott, M. A. upon the political condition of Judea in the item of Christ. In part of address was a summary of the series of lectures given by Mr Sprott during the vacation, but its scope was somewhat different. The study of historical matters such as these has a great value in aiding us to conceive the proper setting in which the Gospel stories are to be placed, —a setting in which they appear in their full unity and consistency.