13 AUGUST 1932, Page 14

THE OXFORD GROUP MOVEMENT

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—I wish Mr. Watts or anyone else would explain the meaning of the phrase, " a maximum experience " of Jesus Christ, how such an experience is a " principle " in the Group Movement. The word experience has become one of the most elusive in the English language. But as the word is often used, it stands for something which is not ours to command, but is given " from without," however true it be that it is then taken up into the stuff of the individual life. And in this sense, the sense which the word " experience " often bears in religious writings, it varies immensely.

Christians are called " believers " in the New Testament ; and there is a quality of life harmonious with that essential faith in Christ. But the word " experience " seems to take