Notes of a sermon preached by the Rev. C. E. Darwent in Union Gf wren, Tientsin, Sunday, February 8 {Text Acts 11. 44. "And all that b fe were together, and had things common, and they sold their possessions and goods; and parted them all, accordmsg as any man had need."
There has lately been a Conference in Peking, for the purpose of trying to design some new method of bringing Christianity home to the Chinese. And for one thing a form of Christian socialism has been proposed. As this is a matter of great interest, not only to Methodists, but to us all, and as seems worth while spending a little it is a very live subject to-day, it
time on it. The idea is the establishment of what they call Christian communes among the Chinese, The church in any locality may organize groups of two or three hundred of the poorest people in the community, for ce-operative support. And all that the church has to do is to provide each commune with land and instrvetion.
Of course free land is a big thing to provide. However, that is the idea. Then we read that "there will be no money." One wonders how the Chinese will take to that. "Nor will the commune raise and manufacture anything to sell. It will raise collectively the food needed, and the clothing worn in the community, it will build houses, and if there is any -surplus it. will be given away to the needy."
Anyone can see, that if adopted, with no money and no chance of making a bit by trade, it will be a very remarkable thing if it succeeds. The Methodists always have been a bold people: one admires the attempt to strike out a new line in mission work. But still the question remains, has Christianity any sympathy with any form of socialism? Can there be such a thing as "Christian socialism?" this is mooted, the thought of most Now when any such scheme as
of us will turn back to these first days of the church, when the members of it in Jerusalem, "had all things in common," and sold all they had and gave the proceeds to the apostles for the use of the community. The inference drawn from this action on the part of the first Christians, is, that if we were as good as they, we should do the same; possibly, you heads of firms eve, and indeed everyone of us, would sell all our stocks, debentures and shares and give the proceeds to the fund for helping the Russian refugees, So it is inferred; that was ideal Christian conduct it is held that if we were not all base renegades from the Gospel, we should all be Christian socialists. Is not the church a brotherhood? Didn't Christ preach love and sacrifice? So it is said. And generally speak-
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.