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Salient. Victoria University of Wellington Student's Newspaper. Volume 31, Number 4. March 26 1968

Chaplain illogical, banal

Chaplain illogical, banal

Sir—It is to be hoped that the illogicalities and banalities of the leading article in the last but one issue of Salient can be attributed to bad reporting rather than to Geering-like theologizing on the part of the speaker. To refresh memories. the leading article mentioned was that which reported the sermon preached by the new N.C.C. Chaplain, the Rev. Mr. Jennings.

It is patently absurd to quote any minister of religion as saying that man has no spiritual needs, as absurd say. as quoting a dentist who says that man has no teeth. To be fair. several sentences later, the article says: "We can't be cut up into parts", which, one can only assume, means that spiritual needs cannot be confined to an isolated part of one's life. That may well be true, but there should be no need to make such a supposition.

However, worse was to come. Following straight after the above-quoted sentence comes this: "We are all parts together or we are nothing. The Church must be in all of university life or in nothing." Now this, to my mind, is an illogical leap from the point. no the supposition, that a man's spiritual concerns cannot be isolated from his whole personality, to a quite different point that within the university the Church should not be relegated to an insignificant place. Certainly, an analogy can be made, but not such a juxtaposition with the rather absurd implication that the Church (a term Mr. Jennings apparently did not define) is absolutely indispensable within the university.

The report then began to improve—wisdom is not just academic knowledge, but the functioning of a person to his full limits, in all his activities. Though may I be permitted to remind the Chaplain, if these were his words, that wisdom is not acquired by simply studying for a degree or by taking part in extra-curricular activities; not is it ever acquired. at least in my opinion by anyone lacking a sound and joyous Christian faith.

Janice N. Eames