Noble lecturer Alexander Miller stressed last night the dependence of the Church and of society upon the contemporary heretic," and the "intellectual frontiersman" for the revitalization of traditions.

The Stanford professor of Religion stated that "in spite of the Church's dedication to its traditions, it has been forced to assess its own claims by attacks from so-called heretics."

Speaking on the topic "Our Intellectual Age," Miller asserted that "these may not be times to try men's souls as in other times, but they are certainly times to try men's minds. The strength of Christianity lies in finding spokesmen who can move freely on the intellectual frontiers."

While acknowledging their importance for having refeshing ideas, Miller sniped at such varied personalities and institutions as H. L. Mencken, Christian Science, Marxism and "athelstic existentialsm." The latter, he said, lacks spiritual and social vitality, while Christan Science he called an "opium cloud of religion, the idolatry of spiritualism."

"Marxist attacks on Christianity," Miller stated, "taught the Church a lesson in keeping its temper and in discipline of debate." Although Mencken "spent a lifetime lambasting the Church," he said, "we will be worse off if we don't see his kind again."