Europe News: May 27, 1957

Fervor In Norway

Norway hasn’t seen anything since the 1930’s to match the religious revivals now under way.

The harvest in the Hoyland Church, Jaeren, (western Norway) has been going on for more than six months. People from surrounding towns and far-off countrysides are attending the meetings. From 14 to 80, they are finding Christ.

Another big movement has been surging through the valley of Audnedal in the southern part of the country, led by a young lay preacher, John Olav Larsen and assisted by local ministers of the Lutheran State Church.

Larsen also preached to overflow crowds in the largest halls of Oslo.

—T. B.

‘Air Raid’ Church

A church 50 feet below ground is being planned for the rapidly growing Swedish industrial city of Vasteras.

The project is designed to meet two major needs of the city—an A-bomb shelter and a new church. Vasteras, with 70,000 inhabitants, has only one state church, its 700-year-old cathedral.

According to plans, only the belfry will project above ground. The church, which will seat 500, will be reached by stairs and elevators.

Barth Hits Tests

Dr. Karl Barth, famed Swiss Protestant theologian, has called upon people in leading public positions to “take matters into their own hands” regarding atomic and hydrogen tests.

He urged them to “appeal to mankind and not be satisfied with political appeasing assurances.”

Dr. Barth said these leaders “must use all possible means to make their governments and press understand they wish neither to exterminate nor be exterminated—neither in defense of the ‘free world’ nor in defense of socialism.

“They should cry ‘Stop,’ to pierce the eardrums of men with responsibility in the West and East; to halt preparations for war with weapons making it from the outset senseless for all taking part; halt experiments which clearly imperil us already in peacetime.

“People in the West and East must oppose the current lunacy.”

The theologian said the matter was not one of principles, ideological systems or considerations of power but “of life.”

“Mankind must help settle the matter before it is too late,” he said.

New Russian Bishop

Archimandrite Anthony Bartochevitch, formerly of Brussels, Belgium, was installed recently as Russian Orthodox Bishop of Geneva and Switzerland.

He was elected to replace his brother, Bishop Leonty, who died last summer at the age of 42.

Bishop Anthony, whose family comes from Yugoslavia, is affiliated with the Russian Orthodox Church Outside Russia which does not recognize the authority of the Moscow Patriarchate.

Middle East News: May 27, 1957

‘Act Of Injustice’

“Israel is founded on an act of injustice and nothing good can ever come of it,” an official of the Lutheran World Federation asserted in Copenhagen.

Axel Christensen made the statement as he left Denmark to become senior representative in the Middle East of the LWF’s Department of World Service. He will direct the organization’s large relief program in Jordan, Syria and Egypt.

“The Arabs have been living in Israel for a thousand years, just as we have been living in Denmark,” he said. “What should we say if some foreign country suddenly turned up and declared that it was their country?”

Mr. Christensen said he sympathized with the one million Arab refugees from Palestine who, he said, will not forego their right to return and to obtain damages.

He warned against letting oneself be “blinded” by sympathy for the Jewish people, a sympathy which he said he shared because of all they have suffered.

“I am not anti-Semitic,” he added. “I admire the Jewish nation, but I am opposed to the State of Israel because it is founded on injustice. This is also the opinion of many Jews, but we do not hear much about it here at home.”

Africa News: May 27, 1957

Ambassador for Christ

Dr. Joseph Simonson, who recently completed a four-year term of service as U. S. Ambassador to Ethiopia, was given an unusual tribute before his departure by Protestant evangelical missions in the country.

James Luckman of the Baptist Mission expressed the conviction of all:

“Mr. Ambassador, it has been a great joy to have you in our midst as fellow members of heaven’s diplomatic corps. And we as missionaries have now no excuse for failing to understand Paul’s words to the Corinthians, ‘We are ambassadors for Christ.’ You, sir, have shown us by your example the meaning of a good ambassador.”

Dr. Simonson’s response revealed his humility and the truth that he was, indeed, a “fellow member.”

He said:

“I have often thought of this passage also, and as I have told you before, Mrs. Simonson and I have come out here with a sense of vocation. Most of you serve full-time as missionary teachers, nurses, translators, pastors, etc., and there will always be great need for such dedication of the entire life in Christian service; others of us believe that we can make our service in other fields just as directly unto our Lord and Master. After all, perhaps we should not divide our lives into the religious and the secular, but rather consider the fact that either Christ has all of us or he has none of us.”

Kanpur Campaign

Over 900 persons made decisions for Christ recently during evangelistic services in the industrial city of Kanpur, under sponsorship of the Evangelical Fellowship of India.

Dr. Akbar Haqq, who observed campaigns conducted by Billy Graham in the United States, preached to increasing crowds of 800 to 2,500.

Sixty-three per cent were first-time decisions for Christ.

The EFI aided churches in arranging the services. Preparatory meetings were held in all parts of the city. Counsellors were trained under the direction of Dr. Everett L. Cattell, EFI secretary.

Small prayer and fellowship cells are being formed by pastors engaged in follow-up work.

Books

Book Briefs: May 27, 1957

Vital Truth

Redemption—Accomplished and Applied by John Murray. Eerdman’s, Grand Rapids, 1955. $3.00.

Central in Christian faith and experience is the doctrine of the atonement. Professor Murray of Westminster Theological Seminary has provided us with a fresh and vigorous study of this vital truth. The title of the book indicates the contents. Murray first deals with the accomplishment of redemption in terms of its necessity, its nature, its perfection and its extent. The death of Christ is seen as necessary to accomplish man’s salvation but not to win God’s love. Indeed, it is God’s very love which is the cause or source of the atonement. But unless the death of Christ was a necessity, it is hard to see how the cross is a supreme exhibition of love. The nature of the atonement is found in sacrifice, propitiation, reconciliation and redemption. Atonement was made, in Murray’s view, only for the elect. He argues vigorously that unlimited atonement leads to universalism.

Redemption, once secured by Christ, must be applied to men. In the second half of the book, Murray expounds the biblical teaching on Effectual Calling, Regeneration, Faith and Repentance, Justification, Adoption, Sanctification, Perseverance, Union with Christ and Glorification. An introductory chapter to this section discusses the order of application of the various aspects of applied redemption; and Murray argues that regeneration must precede faith and produce it. “Faith is a whole-souled act of loving trust and self-commitment. Of that we are incapable until renewed by the Holy Spirit” (p. 103). “Without regeneration it is morally and spiritually impossible for a person to believe in Christ, but when a person is regenerated it is morally and spiritually impossible for that person not to believe” (p. 133).

Any book is of value not so much for the positions it sustains as for the vigor with which the material is presented. A book which does not challenge and stimulate is of little value, whatever its view point. Professor Murray has given us an excellent book which no thoughtful reader will lay down unmoved. The positions taken are exegetically grounded and frequently interact with important optional interpretations. The book is attractively bound and includes a helpful text and subject index.

GEORGE ELDON LADD

Deity And Humanity

God Became Man by Alan M. Stibbs. Tyndale Press, London. 1s. 6d.

The person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ are rightly described by Mr. Stibbs as “the distinctive truth of Christianity.” It is this—if there were nothing else—that justifies the careful and thoughtful considerations which the author offers in this little monograph. Because so much recent thinking about the person of our Lord has been determined, not by Scripture but by scientific theory and philosophic speculation, Mr. Stibbs devotes a separate chapter to each of these alternative ways of approach. In a chapter on “Christian Truth and the Scientific Method” he deals with the insufficiency of “kenotic” theories and shows that the reasonable man is compelled to accept by faith the truths that are inherent in the Biblical view of the Person of Christ.

In a similar chapter on “Some Philosophical Speculations” the author discusses Anglo-Catholic views such as those represented by E. L. Mascall and L. S. Thornton who “have interpreted the incarnation in terms of human elevation and fulfilment.” Mr. Stibbs points out that these views are based upon unscriptural assumptions as to the purpose of the incarnation, for the Bible indicates that “what man needs is moral redemption, not metaphysical completion.” The author exposes “the evolutionary and optimistic humanistic ideas which underlie some of these suggestions.”

Against the above speculative notions Mr. Stibbs sets out the biblical data in a lucid manner. He draws attention to the evidence both for the full deity of Jesus and for his true humanity and emphasizes the fact that Jesus was born not for the purpose of realizing the metaphysical completion of man but to die for man’s redemption.

The fellowship of Christ’s sufferings which a Christian may know is nevertheless not “redemptive” in itself but is part of the cost of testimony which he in some small degree shares with his Lord.

ERNEST F. KEVAN

Evangelical Movement

Cooperation without Compromise, by James DeForest Murch, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids. $3.50.

Any movement which claims the interest and devoted service of great numbers of evangelicals is worthy of careful study. In its fifteen years of existence, the National Association of Evangelicals has established itself as such a movement, and the history of its growth and development is bound to be of deep interest to all who are concerned about the religious currents of our day.

Dr. Murch, well qualified by his gifts and by his close association with the N.A.E., has written its story, and an interesting one it is. He begins by presenting the theological and ecclesiastical context in which the new movement was born. Briefly, but clearly, he portrays the rise of theological liberalism, the inroads of apostasy in the great denominations, the failure of the old Evangelical Alliance to claim the support of American conservatives and the shortcomings which rendered the Federal Council incapable of representing the evangelical movement.

The author traces, with careful documentation, the rise and growth of the N.A.E. and its early expansion into new fields of service on behalf of the evangelical cause. He presents the work of the organization in such realms as radio and television, missions, Sunday School work, social action and international cooperation. He closes the book with a moving appeal for fresh advances in the realm of cooperative activity among evangelicals, sounding a high spiritual note for the days ahead.

It is neither unkind nor unfair to say that Dr. Murch’s work sometimes lacks the objective quality which characterizes the best historical writing. It may well be that we are still too close to the beginnings of this important movement to form a fully objective evaluation of it. Besides, the author’s own enthusiasm for the work to which he is devoting his life and service probably makes impossible a full-orbed view of it. His writing sometimes seem more like a promotional release than a history. This tendency is manifested in his use of superlatives, in his passing over lightly some of the serious differences of opinions which have existed at times within the organization and in the omission of any adequate mention of the defection from it of some individuals and groups. Dr. Murch has every right to his enthusiasm for this work and is to be commended for it, but the reader may well feel on occasion that this factor has colored the presentation of his story, and that the full story of the evangelical movement in our times remains to be written.

HORACE L. FENTON

Wealth Of Material

The Story of Stewardship, by George A. Salstrand, Baker, Grand Rapids, 1956. $3.50.

Mr. Salstrand states in his introduction: The purpose of this treatise is to trace the record of stewardship from colonial times to our present day, seeking to determine in so far as possible the origin, growth and development of the stewardship movement.

To achieve his goal he received the cooperation of many denominations and several stewardship organizations in our country. This is a book containing a wealth of material gathered from numerous sources including many charts and statistics. To add to its value he includes a large bibliography of both original sources and secondary works. He shows how stewardship has been an American contribution to theological thinking since the separation of church and state made it necessary for individuals to support the church. As the church has awakened to its missionary responsibility, the financial needs have grown so that stewardship and missions have gone hand in hand.

It is amazing to observe what some churches and denominations have accomplished that have stressed tithing and courageously preached and taught the matter of biblical stewardship. One gets the feeling that the success of stewardship lies not primarily in clever schemes and techniques but in emphasizing the biblical truth that what a man possesses is the Lord’s.

Dr. Salstrand, who was instructor in Evangelism and New Testament at Tennessee Temple Schools in Chattanooga, Tennessee, is also the author of The Tithe, the Minimum Standard of Christian Giving and How to Preach from the Gospel of John. The Story of Stewardship contains 153 pages and is a powerful message to open the eyes of many of us as to what can and should be done to be faithful stewards and thus hear at our Lord’s return, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”

GORDON L. VAN OOSTENBURG

Fresh Meaning

The Book of Revelation by J. B. Phillips. Macmillan, New York. $2.00.

For those already familiar with J. B. Phillips’ translations of the New Testament (and who, among those sufficiently interested in books to be reading this review, is not?), the task of the reviewer of a volume such as this is more to announce than to describe. Sufficient unto the task is the bare assertion that with this volume Phillips completes the New Testament.

In this translation of the Apocalypse, there has been less room than elsewhere in the New Testament for Phillips’ magnificent prose to convey fresh meaning. The account is too factual to lend itself well to the sort of interpretative writing for which the author is justly famous. On the other hand, by the use of tenses and idioms, it has been possible for him to convey meaning where before there was obscurity. Occasionally this is very refreshing. Occasionally it makes one pause.

For instance, in chapter 4, Phillips uses a continuous present tense to convey a dramatic impression of never-ending worship which is quite effective. But he translates the familiar “He that hath an ear …” by “Let the listener hear …” which, to this reviewer, weakens the suggested selectivity implied by the phrase. A similar weakness of idiom occurs elsewhere as, for instance, in the next-to-last verse in the book where “He which testifieth these things …” becomes “He who is witness to all this.…”

G. AIKEN TAYLOR

Light On The Scrolls

Second Thoughts on the Dead Sea Scrolls by F. F. Bruce. Paternoster Press, London, 1956. 10s. 6d.

The Teacher of Righteousness in the Qumran Text by F. F. Bruce. Tyndale Press, London, 1957 2s.

Discriminating readers will distinguish between the reliable and the sensational books on the Scrolls. All books on the subject at present must contain considerable speculation, but in several cases hypothesis has been presented virtually as fact.

Professor Bruce’s book and his monograph are reliable treatments, and the reader is clearly shown the boundary between fact and conclusion. The book tells the story of the discovery of the Scrolls, their dating and the type of community from which they emanated. A chapter setting forth their bearing on the O.T. text is followed by a discussion of how the Qumran commentators treated the Messianic hope. Prof. Bruce points out that whereas Qumran looked for what we might call both a sacred and a secular Messiah, the N.T. finds all the O.T. prophecies fulfilled in the one person of Jesus Christ.

Who is the Teacher of Righteousness who is so greatly venerated by the community? Prof. Bruce holds that at present the evidence is insufficient to identify him with any known character of history, but he inclines tentatively to the view that the Wicked Priest, who persecuted him, is Alexander Jannaeus.

In estimating the relationship of the Qumran community to primitive Christianity, it is unlikely that the Teacher was himself regarded as the Messiah, nor was there any saving efficacy in his death.

Certain ideas are obviously common to any religion that is grounded on the O.T., and these must not be treated as though Christ and his disciples drew their teaching from Qumran. Yet the Scrolls have shown some interesting points of contact between the vocabularies of Qumran and St. John’s Gospel, indicating that some features that were formerly traced to Greek sources are likely to have been already current coin in Palestine in the time of Christ.

J. STAFFORD WRIGHT

Calvin Revival

American Calvinism, a Survey edited by Jacob T. Hoogstra. Baker, Grand Rapids. $2.50.

About twenty years ago Georgia Harkness wrote, “Calvin’s theology is in eclipse. Nobody now accepts his strange ideas.” After reading this survey of contemporary American Calvinism, one is not likely to accept Georgia Harkness’ judgment for 1957. The spirit of the times has changed. There is a great new interest in Calvin among students in the Southern Presbyterian Church. The same is true in the Reformed Church of America and in some seminaries of the Presbyterian Church. New translations of The Institutes have appeared in Hungarian, German and French; new printings have appeared in English also.

These and other facts are included in this unusual volume which embodies the talks given at the Calvinistic Conference held in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on June 20, 21, 1956. The Conference was sponsored by the American Branch of the International Association of Reformed Faith and Action. Speakers included John H. Gerstner (Pittsburgh-Xenia), Paul Woolley (Westminster), Donald F. Tweedie (Gordon), J. Moody McDill (Pastor, Southern Presbyterian), Jerome DeJong (Pastor, Reformed Church of America), Jacob T. Hoogstra (Pastor, Christian Reformed Church), Cornelius Jaarsma (Calvin) and M. Eugene Oosterhaven (Western, Holland, Michigan).

The two papers by Gerstner and Woolley are well worth the price of the entire book. Prof. Gerstner sketches the history of Calvinism in the United States, especially in New England, before 1900. This is his field. Not only does he know the dominant characters but he knows their theology. He has the knack of painting with broad strokes the sweeping movements and then filling the canvas with details. Prof. Woolley takes up the picture with Darbyism and traces the social and doctrinal difficulties of the Northern Presbyterians to the present day expanding interest of the Reformed churches in Christian education and evangelism.

There follow ecclesiastical surveys of the various regions of our country. These are well done and form a basis for the growing optimism of Calvinists. It is regrettable that a survey of the North-Eastern region was not given. Many would like to know what theological direction Harvard is taking in 1957.

The inclusion of the discussion which followed each paper gives the reader the feeling he is listening in on a Calvinistic “bull-session”!

The collaborators on this book represent a broad front of Calvinism, as evidenced by their attempts to define it. Their talks cover American Calvinism in a comprehensive sweep.

FRANK LAWRENCE

Thematic Interpretation

Philippians, The Gospel at Work by Merril C. Tenney. Eerdmans, Grand Rapids. 1956.

Immediately upon seeing a new book on Philippians, two questions come to my mind. (1) How has the author treated the Kenosis passage, and (2) how are the key words translated and applied? Satisfaction for both questions is to be found in The Gospel at Work. This is an “in between” book. It is not a comprehensive commentary of the Epistle to the Philippians, but neither is it a “thin” book in the sense of lack of scholarship or purpose. It is small, but it is filled with good things.

While completely “fair” with the text, a contemporary note is maintained throughout by the illustrations and applications utilized. Historical unity is maintained by frequent reference to Paul’s experiences in Philippi and also to his knowledge of the needs of that church.

The author has chosen thematic interpretation as his literary method; a natural method derived from the fact that the chapters of his book were originally lectures given in the spring of 1955 at Goshen College, Goshen, Indiana. The theme is built around the nine appearances of the word “gospel” in the Philippians.

Five divisions; i. e. “Beginning”, “Fellowship”, “Pattern”, “Experience” and “Effects” are then developed. In interpretation, the author seems to be motivated by a desire to help rather than to dogmatize, and where necessary he will use variants of a text to make the meaning clear, including personal translation.

Each section of Philippians receives approximately equal treatment, including an analysis of Paul’s autobiography in chapter three. The “humiliation and exaltation” passage is treated briefly but adequately. The reader can be satisfied with what is there. In many instances, suboutlining by the paragraph and italics method makes the points more readily available.

As I read, I kept waiting for something to be said about the peculiar political status of the city of Philippi in the Roman system. This appeared in the last chapter; I could wish that there had been more.

ROBERT WINSTON ROSS

Theology

Review of Current Religious Thought: May 27, 1957

G. C. Berkouwer

In 1956 a book was published by the well-known dogmatician, Professor T. F. Torrance of the University of Edinburgh, with the title Kingdom and Church: A Study in the Theology of the Reformation. It appears to be a study of the eschatology of the Reformers: Luther, Bucer and Calvin. It can be called an important study which will interest all who are involved in the vigorous discussion on “the last things” in our time.

The problem of these last things has more than ever before regained its place in the theological discussion, a fact which is not difficult to understand, because there is no reason in the modern world to accept anymore the optimistic, evolutionistic view of many in the nineteenth century, that in the development of human, social and moral powers there would be a glorious future for the world. In the theology of our time we read again more about sin and corruption, about strange powers and destructive elements in the world and in the human soul and in catastrophic times the last things came more and more to the fore, not as a result of human forces but as the future of God in the coming of his kingdom.

Of course, this does not mean a self-evident renewal of the biblical message of the future. Everybody knows that in our time also the problem of the demythologizing of the New Testament arose, in which also the last things were included: the second coming of Christ belongs according to Bultmann to the mythological elements of the New Testament. And in Holland appeared a study from the side of a non-Christian thinker in which he tried to analyse modern thinking—also theology—as thinking without expectation of a real future. There was a tremendous one-sidedness in his book, but the question is important, whether there is in the changing of the times a real hope for the future.

It is interesting to see, in the book by Torrance, that there was a real eschatology in the time of the Reformation. In a time when the reality of church-life was taking all the time of the Reformers, there was simultaneously an outlook. Apparently there was no competition between being interested in the problems of the day and the expectation of the future.

Often in history we face such a competition: interest in the problems of the day or expectation of the future. But there is according to the Scriptures an inner connection. When Paul is writing on the real problems of the Church, he can do that in an epistle, in which he is preaching the future: his first epistle to the Corinthians. There is no competition, but the outlook for the future influences immediately the real problems of the Church. Exactly because of the coming of Christ there is an actual message for the Church and for every believer in the daily practice of Christian life.

That is what we see also in the eschatology of the Reformers. Their expectation of the future was not a threatening of their work in this world but the strengthening of their activity.

Now Torrance makes a remarkable distinction. He characterizes the eschatology of Luther as the eschatology of faith, that of Bucer as the eschatology of love, and the eschatology of Calvin as the eschatology of hope. In the light of 1 Corinthians 13 (faith, hope, charity) the division seems rather constructive and Torrance himself acknowledges that there was much in common in their eschatology, because their eschatological thinking was connected with faith, love and hope.

Nevertheless it will be good to notice the question which arises from the expectation of the Reformers in their time, which was in their conception an apocalyptic time. They were under the impression of the power of the antichrist, which they saw in the persecutions of the Roman Catholic Church and especially 2 Thessalonians 2:4 had their attention: “that he as God sitteth in the temple of God.” Even a Lutheran confession took up the identification of pope and antichrist and everybody understands that this identification influenced their eschatological thinking. Now there is a remarkable change, as far as this identification is concerned, in the following centuries and already Calvin identified the Roman Catholic Church more with the kingdom of the antichrist than with the personal pope.

But what interests us now is their being interested in the work of the Church (i. e., the unity of the church) and their eschatological outlook. That will always be the question for the Church of Jesus Christ, whether she is not only talking about today or about the future, whether she knows of the task today in the light of the future. The Reformers were occupied all the hours of the day but their eschatology was not a small closing chapter of their dogmatics but the stimulating factor in their difficult life. And when Sadolet reminds Calvin of the glorious future of Christ and asks him what he will have to say to the Lord when he is coming on the clouds of heaven (Sadolet was Roman Catholic), Calvin answers with the perspicuous message of Scripture on the task of the Church.

Love, faith and charity.… Only when the church lives in the richness of all three and never forgets that the greatest of these is charity, she will be able to live in the expectation of the future. Our century is called the century of eschatological thinking. Is the analysis right? The answer is not easy. There is a rethinking of the New Testament problems of the future, but there is also a criticizing of the New Testament message. There is a temptation of secularized eschatology again, although not in the same sense as in the optimistic 19th century. But there is another possibility: the possibility of pessimism. Optimistic eschatology expects a future from the human nature and now there is the danger that pessimism threatens every expectation and leaves the world without the responsibility which is included in the trustful message of the second coming of Christ.

More and more it becomes evident, that there is only one resistance: faith, hope, charity, these three.

- More from G. C. Berkouwer

Cover Story

Can Billy Graham Slay the Giant?

Edward John Carnell

Billy Graham has made elaborate preparations for the New York Campaign. This is only natural, for New York City is the cultural and economic center of the world. It is the home of the Metropolitan Opera and the vast financial interests of Wall Street. Name anything essential to the human venture and it seems that New York City can boast of it in a superlative degree. This complex metropolis is a veritable Goliath. Billy Graham has his sling and his smooth pebbles from the stream, but what are these against the granite towers of Manhattan?

But more exciting for the Christian community, the New York Campaign brings Billy Graham to the very doorsteps of Reinhold Niebuhr. This leads to an interesting question. If Reinhold Niebuhr has not succeeded in stirring New York City for Christ, what chance has Billy Graham? The issue is not academic. It involves the very essence of Christianity.

Billy Graham defends Christian orthodoxy, while Reinhold Niebuhr defends Christian realism. Orthodoxy mediates problems of man and history from the perspective of Scripture, while realism mediates problems of Scripture from the perspective of man and history. This is the difference between these two positions, but how does this difference work itself out in practice?

Modern Man’S Need

Since Reinhold Niebuhr restricts himself to issues arising out of modern life, he enjoys a provisional advantage over Billy Graham. Realism subjects theology to very severe tests. Unless a doctrine answers to the religious and moral needs of twentieth-century man, it is cast into the fire and burned. This is one reason why young seminarians often find realism intellectually more stimulating than orthodoxy. Judged by the contemporaneity and dexterity of realism, orthodoxy seems unimaginative and vapid.

Reinhold Niebuhr’s theological abilities were verified when he delivered the celebrated Gifford Lectures. The Lectures called for a critical interaction with issues which concern cultured people in an age of great anxiety. Reinhold Niebuhr rose to the occasion with acceptable skill. He succeeded in challenging human pride on every level of life. His finished work The Nature and Destiny of Man is now the systematic theology of Christian realism.

Problems Of Relevance

It is this prophetic defiance of religious and moral complacency which keeps Reinhold Niebuhr in the forefront of theology. Orthodox theologians often become so devoted to hallowed forms that they shrink from participating in the modern Christian dialogue. They rarely succeed in relating Christianity to the peculiar difficulties rising out of contemporary life. Furthermore, orthodoxy’s reliance on revelation tempts it to overlook, if not forthrightly defy, the relative insights of science and philosophy. This partly explains why orthodox scholarship is often a full generation behind the times. It also helps explain why the theological leadership has been caught up by Christian realism. While orthodoxy is distracted by such questions as whether there is any common ground between Calvinists and Arminians, or whether the Church will be raptured before or after the tribulation, Reinhold Niebuhr is quietly constructing a systematic view of sin, mercy and the total creative and destructive possibilities of man.

Since he is such an astute observer of human nature, Reinhold Niebuhr has developed a rather profound insight into the polarity tension between law and grace. Orthodoxy usually supposes that the law of love is only a convenient summary of the Ten Commandments. Reinhold Niebuhr scores this as a capital theological error. He properly contends that Jesus Christ gave substance to ideal human nature by actuating the terms of love. Only love can comprehend the self-transcending limits of human nature. Reinhold Niebuhr’s insight into the essence of love is so broad in scope and so exact in detail that the dialectic of law and grace impinges on every area of human experience. The total enterprise of man is simultaneously inspired and judged by the heights of love in Christ Jesus.

I cheerfully acknowledge a personal indebtedness to Reinhold Niebuhr. It was only as I studied Christian realism, long after I graduated from seminary, that I began to sense the power of pride and pretense in my life. Orthodoxy has an easy conscience about its own sins because it does not understand the connection between Christ’s active obedience and the total creative and destructive possibilities of man.

The Relevance Of Realism

But back to the problem of the New York Campaign. Since Billy Graham defends the traditions of orthodoxy, it would seem that his prospects of stirring Manhattan for Christ are not very good. But this need not necessarily be the case and for a very convincing reason.

When the man on the street asks about the plan of salvation, he receives very little precise guidance from the theology of Reinhold Niebuhr. This, I assert, is the grand irony of Christian realism. Reinhold Niebuhr can prove that man is a sinner, but man already knows this. Reinhold Niebuhr can develop the dialectical relation between time and eternity, but this is beyond the tether of a dime store clerk or a hod carrier. When it comes to the acid test, therefore, realism is not very realistic after all. A concrete view of sin converts to an abstract view of salvation. And all of this is a direct fruit of realism’s decision to mediate problems of Scripture from the perspective of man and history. For example, Reinhold Niebuhr does not speak about Christ’s literal cross and resurrection at all. He speaks, at most, of the “symbols” of the cross and the resurrection. But of what value are these symbols to an anxious New York cabby?

The Relevance Of Orthodoxy

Billy Graham has no fear of New York City. Like David of old, he confronts his Goliath in the name of the Lord God of Israel. His sermons are drawn from the clear teachings of Scripture. He deems human speculation as flax before the flame. When Billy Graham rises to speak, he patterns his words after those of the Apostle Paul. “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve” (1 Cor. 15:3–4, R.S.V.).

Billy Graham may not succeed in relating the biblical message to the total life of modern man, but he does succeed in telling a sinner how to go to heaven. God made a covenant with Abraham, and the blessing of this covenant is Christ. “Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring. It does not say, ‘And to offsprings,’ referring to many; but, referring to one, ‘And to your offspring,’ which is Christ” (Gal. 3:16, R.S.V.). Since God found none with whom he could enjoy fellowship, he began a new race of righteous men through the resurrection of Christ. Christ invested human nature with perfection by living a sinless life. He offered up this perfection as a vicarious sacrifice. The cross of Christ makes it possible for a holy God to receive penitent sinners into fellowship. “It was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies him who has faith in Jesus” (Rom. 3:26, R.S.V.). Here, perhaps, is the clearest line of demarcation between orthodoxy and realism—and Billy Graham knows it. Orthodoxy teaches that Christ propitiated an offended judicial element in the character of God. Realism does not. Moreover, orthodoxy contends that this difference decides the gaining or losing of the Christian gospel.

If a student of theology wants to examine the complex relation between law, grace and human freedom, he may find Christian realism more rewarding than Christian orthodoxy. After Billy Graham has reviewed the plan of salvation, he has very little to add. Billy Graham has not been to seminary. He has no criteria by which to measure the shades of better and worse in the complex systems which vie for the modern mind. And his weakness pretty well sums up the weakness of orthodoxy itself. Orthodoxy tries to relate Scripture to the more technical phases of science and philosophy, but its efforts are seldom very profound. Orthodoxy does not know enough about modern presuppositions to speak with authority. Publishers confront such a paucity of first-rate orthodox literature that they must fill out their lists by reprinting the works of older apologists and divines.

Let us bear one thing in mind, however. When we say that Billy Graham does nothing but make the plan of salvation clear, we intend to pay him a gratifying compliment. As one studies the Book of Acts, one finds that the apostles devoted most of their energies to this same task of clarification. Thus, if orthodoxy is naive, so were the apostles. What is the work of an evangelist, if not to tell sinners how to be saved? Billy Graham preaches Christ in such clear and forceful language that even a bartender can find his way to the mercy seat. This is why the multitudes discover a power in Billy Graham which they miss in Reinhold Niebuhr. Billy Graham may know little about the inner technicalities of theology, but he does rest in the full and undoubted persuasion that Christ was delivered for our offenses and was raised for our justification. And this is the good news that repentant sinners are waiting to hear. The common man is weary of theories; he is hungry for the gospel; he craves a firm note of authority. And Billy Graham meets this need. He stands before the anxious multitudes and thunders, “Thus saith the Lord!”

Despite its anachronisms and inconsistencies, therefore, orthodoxy remains a stronghold of biblical Christianity. It puts first things first. It preaches that “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (Hebrews 9:22, R.S.V.). If the church fails to tell sinners how to be saved, of what final value is anything else that is said?

Realism’s diagnosis of human sickness is profounder than that of orthodoxy. No one can safely question this. But it so happens that sick people are more anxious to get well than they are to learn how sick they are. And since this is the case, it may turn out that Manhattan’s granite towers will offer little final resistance to the message of Billy Graham. There are no giants in the sight of God.

Edward John Carnell holds the Th.D. and Ph.D. degrees from Harvard Divinity School and Boston University respectively. He is author of The Theology of Reinhold Niebuhr and other works, and contributed a chapter on “Niebuhr’s Criteria of Verification” to the Niebuhr volume in The Library of Living Philosophy. His latest work, Christian Commitment, will soon be published by Macmillan. Since 1954 he has been President of Fuller Theological Seminary.

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Cover Story

Universalism

G. C. Berkouwer

Theological problems sometimes have a way of rising with urgent contemporaneity without any specific way of accounting for them. Many historical factors can contribute to their rise; the underlying spirit and mentality of a given era can form a point of contact with various specific ideas that are thrown out at that time. Recent discussions about universalism present a theological problem of this sort. The doctrine of universalism is also called the doctrine of apokatastasia, the restoration of all things and redemption for all men. This doctrine is at present high on the agenda of theological debate. It is urgent, as always, because it is a genuinely existential problem. Since it is concerned with all men, it includes us. This is why universalism has a certain compelling quality that touches us all.

Salvation for all men: this is the thesis of universalism. One day the bad dream of sin will be over. We shall all rise and go back to our father and home. There is, to be sure, a powerful resistance to the grace of God in the world. There is rebellion and a hardening of hearts. But sin’s rebellion shall be done away. This is not to suggest that sin and unbelief are not taken seriously in universalism. It is not to say that according to universalism man has not earned God’s judgment. It does mean, however, that the grace of God shall triumph in the end and break down all resistance. Universalism proclaims the glorious victory of divine grace. This is the thought that will not down. Though ancient forms, such as given by Origen, are rejected, the main motif continually returns to brace the human spirit. Contemplating the final end of the ways of God, universalists cannot imagine that there can be any other than this good ending for the human drama.

Palatable To The Heart

It is understandable that this doctrine recurrently exercises strong influence in theological thought. It is palatable to the human heart. For our hearts find it hard to take the judgment of God upon human sin with complete earnestness. With a kind of universalistic optimism, it is considered unthinkable that God’s love should not triumph. Dr. J. A. T. Robinson, for example, ended an article which he called “Universalism—Is It Heretical?” with these words: “Christ, in Origen’s old words, remains on the Cross as long as one sinner remains in hell. This is not a speculation: it is a statement grounded in the very necessity of God’s nature. In a universe of love there can be no heaven which tolerates a chamber of horrors, no hell for any which does not at the same time make it hell for God. He cannot endure that—for that would be the final mockery of his nature—and he will not” (Scottish Journal of Theology, 1949). This statement drew a reply from Dr. T. F. Torrance for whom the argument of Robinson seemed too simplistic. “Dare we go behind Calvary,” asked Torrance, “to argue our way to a conclusion which we could reach by logic, and which would make the Cross meaningless?” What, he asks, must we think of the Scripture passages “which declare in no uncertain terms that at the last judgment there will be a final division between the children of light and the children of darkness?” This is typical of the kind of discussion that universalism arouses: it is never abstract, but is always charged with emotion, for it has to do with the love of God. Is universalism not “the very necessity of God’s nature?” asks Robinson. And is it not self-evident and forced upon us? Is God’s love not almighty and triumphant even over the dark rebellion of the human heart? “Its will to lordship is inexhaustible and ultimately unendurable: the sinner must yield.”

The discussion of universalism has also been carried on in Germany and Switzerland. Wilhelm Michaelis wrote a book in 1950 called, Universal Redemption: The Good News of the Grace of God, in which he attempted to give universalism an exegetical basis. But perhaps the weightiest discussion about universalism has centered around Karl Barth. Barth has insisted many times that he rejects the doctrine of universalism. Yet, Emil Brunner has declared that Barth teaches the most radical form of universalism that has ever been proposed, more far-reaching than that of Origen. This is not the place to enter into this discussion, but it is enough to remind us how minds are being moved by the doctrine of God’s final purpose.

Significance Of Unbelief

We will limit ourselves here to one question: the relationship between universalism and the preaching of the Gospel. This is the urgent question that concerns every one who would preach. For what is the significance of preaching, granted the truth of universalism? If we can reason from the “necessity” of the nature of God to the conclusion of the universal triumph of divine love, what must we preach? This is the decisive question that is asked more and more frequently within the contemporary discussion of universalism. Must we, in preaching, inform the people of this “logical” conclusion; is this the preaching of the Gospel? According to universalism, we are driven to ask, is preaching a factual communique instead of an urgent message which places aweful responsibility on the hearer and calls him to a decision? It is not surprising that certain Scripture passages are much in the discussion. For example, the word of our Lord in John 3:36, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life and he that believeth not shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him.” Thus, the discussion concentrates on the character of the Gospel message.

Universalism does indeed attempt to show that its doctrine also has room for a kind of preaching that sets men before responsibility, but it is not clear how the communique regarding the necessity of God’s nature leading to universal redemption can bring man to feel the need for making an important decision. Is the human choice—belief or unbelief—really important in universalism, if God in his love actually cannot be anything else but merciful to all men?

Urgency Of Decision

It is natural that there is also a good deal of discussion about the teaching of Scripture regarding the future, about the final judgment and the coming of Christ, in short about the eschatological message of the Gospel. But what was the message of the evangelists of the Kingdom of God? Was there not a tension in their message, an urgent appeal to a decision, a call to a decisive choice? Is there really not the terrible possibility of both belief and unbelief according to the Bible? Is there not a danger that we draw conclusions out of the well of human optimism which are really totally different from the original Gospel? When the Church rejected the teaching of Origen, it was not prompted by a lack of feeling or a failure to appreciate the love of God or the power of the Spirit. It only refused to tone down the command to go into the world with the Gospel of the cross and the resurrection, a Gospel full of responsibility, calling and pleading. No, the Church was not calloused in the regions of its heart. Pharisees exclude people because they do not fit into their categories of righteousness. But the Church preaches a broad Gospel, Christ as a door that is really open. It preaches the seriousness of the Gospel whose content is the Cross, a stumbling block and an offense. This was the seriousness that Simeon saw when, filled with the Spirit, he said, “Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel and for a sign which shall be spoken against” (Luke 2:34).

Earnestness Of Preaching

Thus, the Church upholds the earnestness of preaching which demands a decision concerning the “kindness and love of God our Saviour toward men” (Titus 3:4). It will not be led to a conclusion that, dislodged from the historical cross, proclaims a divine “necessity” which is self-evident and which ultimately takes the edge of reality away from redemption. The Church is not to speculate but to preach. For “how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard; and how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Rom. 10:14).

It is no accident that the discussion about universalism is concentrated on the preaching of the Gospel. For here is where it must appear whether or not the Church has understood its command. Its command is not to investigate into the secrets of God, not to soften the Gospel into a communique informing the world that everything is going to come out all right in the end. Its command is to let the voice of the Cross resound through the world with its summons to faith and repentance. This is the only “necessity” which is allowed in our preaching, the “necessity” which Paul felt when he said: “for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is me if I preach not the Gospel” (1 Cor. 9:16).

When the Spirit was poured out on all flesh, when Peter preached and thousands turned to the light, an urgent appeal went out: “And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, ‘Save yourselves from this untoward generation’ ” (Acts 2:40).

G. C. Berkouwer is the peer of evangelical theologians in our day. Professor of Systematic Theology at the Free University of Amsterdam, he has provided our generation with the most extensive theological effort next to Barth’s Church Dogmatics. Berkouwer’s Studies in Dogmatics are now in process of translation in 18 volumes. In his most recent work, The Triumph of Grace in the Theology of Karl Barth, he deals fully with the universalistic tendencies of Barth’s theology.

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Cover Story

This Can Happen in New York

George Burnham

If you care enough to pray, a number of incredible things will happen during Billy Graham’s New York Crusade, beginning May 15.

Here are a number of predictions, based on taking God at his word and what he has done in the past—not with an idea of trying to go before him:

1. Billy Graham will tell more people about Jesus Christ during the next six weeks than he has during all of his phenomenal ministry, with the exception of the worldwide radio program, “Hour of Decision.”

An estimated 20,000 will be present for each meeting in Madison Square Garden. Scores of other meetings, will be held daily by various members of the team. The demand for seats will grow and result in several stadium rallies, boosting the possibility of extending the crusade.

(London’s Harringay Arena was filled practically every night for three months after critics laughed that even an orator like Sir Winston Churchill couldn’t fill it for two consecutive nights. A crowd of 120,000 attended the final rally at Wembley Stadium.)

Nationwide Telecasts

Daily radio and television opportunities will take the message into hard-to-reach areas of the huge city, often referred to as the capital of the world because of the United Nations headquarters. Nationwide telecasts from Madison Square Garden over the ABC network from 8 to 9 p.m. each Saturday night, beginning the first week in June, will start with an audience in excess of 20 millions. The number of viewers will show such a startling growth each week that the “gray flannel suit” advertising executives on Madison Avenue, most of whom worship comparative rating charts, will rush new evaluations on the power of God.

“Thank God he’s going off the air at 9 o’clock,” muttered an agency vice-president, without any attempt at reverence, when informed about the program. His show to sell coffee for another sponsor begins at 9.

(In 1955, Mr. Graham spoke from Glasgow, Scotland, over BBC-TV. The audience was estimated at 30,000,000—second only in British history to the number of viewers for the Coronation telecast. Queen Elizabeth and members of the royal family watched the service from beginning to end. She was so deeply moved that she wrote a letter, inviting him to speak at private services in Windsor Castle. In less regal surroundings, teen-agers passed up parties to hear a preacher. Bartenders said men lined their rails and watched for an hour without buying a drink).

Response To Invitation

2. The number of inquirers who respond to the invitation at the close of each message, by the grace of God, will surpass any campaign to date.

From New York’s melting pot of 60 nationalities, the inquirers will represent every phase of society—a name television performer, major league baseball player, playboy, prostitute, business executive, criminal, housewife, teen-age gang leader, etc. The same message, used by the Holy Spirit, will affect all types.

Scoffers then will ask the question: “Will it last?”

Some won’t last. All didn’t last when Christ was doing the preaching. Part of the seed fell on rocky ground and was blown away. Some fell on poor soil and failed to take root. But other seed fell on good earth and grew.

Billy Graham, a fun-loving young baseball player, made a decision to live for Christ over 20 years ago. He has lasted. His buddy, Grady Wilson, was sitting in the choir next to him and made the same decision. He has lasted. People will stand up around the world, look you straight in the eye and testify they have lasted.

Revival In Churches

3. Ministers and church members will be revived. Unity and love will spread as they place Christ first and denomination second, endeavor to help instead of hinder, offer comfort instead of criticism.

(A minister in Great Britain told Mr. Graham: “You are having a serious effect on my ministry. For years I have taught in my church that many of the stories in the Bible are myths, but I realize now that I have never had any power in my sermons. You stand there on the platform night after night and tell these same stories as the gospel truth. And I have seen with my own eyes the power of God as the people get out of their seats and walk to the front.…” The revolution against formalism spread fast among ministers of Britain, most of whom had never given a public invitation for people to accept Christ. One clergyman gave his first invitation and was shocked when 25 people walked down the aisles. Next day, he sought out the crusade chairman and asked, “Now that I’ve got them, what am I going to do?” He was advised to, first, start a Bible class; second, begin a weekly prayer meeting, and then to inaugurate a regular visitation program with the new members doing the visiting.)

(Dr. Marc Boegner, a past president of the World Council of Churches and known in his native France as “Mr. Protestant,” refused to take any part in the five-day Paris campaign. He changed his opinion after talking with two former members of his church who found Christ at the evangelistic services. At a testimony meeting a few weeks later, Dr. Boegner rose to his feet and declared, “I didn’t take any part in the campaign, but I’m sorry that I didn’t. I have been shown very clearly that the decisions were real and I believe they will be lasting. I want to state in public that if Dr. Graham returns to Paris for a campaign, I will be privileged and happy to support the meetings in any way possible.”)

Encouraged Christians

4. The name of Jesus Christ will be for many the biggest topic of conversation on the streets, in factories and offices and on the dimly-lit night circuit of such spots as the Stork Club and Toots Shor’s.

Not all the conversation, of course, will be favorable. But God can use criticism to arouse interest. Sophisticates already are inventing excuses to explain why they are going to attend at least one meeting. The smart, bored set, on the spur of the moment, will make up gay little parties to visit Madison Square and squeeze another laugh out of life. Some will find eternal life. The new existence will mean so much they will tell their friends about it. (A few name performers already are strong boosters of the crusade.)

With Christ brought out into the open, partly through the talk of unbelievers, encouraged Christians will rejoice in the new-found freedom to witness for Christ.

The Press Speaks

5. The effect of the campaign will be felt in many parts of the world.

The press and radio will spread the news from Madison Square Garden to all nations, where thousands have been praying for months. Some of the stories will be written by reporters with suddenly-changed perspectives. They will go to the meetings with clever journalistic phrases of derision running through their heads. Expecting a religious circus of sorts, they will be strangely impressed by the sincerity of the effort, as Cliff Barrows leads the mammoth choir in old songs of the church, as the voice of George Beverly Shea comes rolling from a loving heart and as Billy Graham, carefully avoiding any emotional tactics, paints a clear word picture of man’s need to be born again by the Spirit of God.

Not all the writers will be impressed. A few will jeer to the end. But others will toss their false pride into a cocked hat to publicly surrender their hearts and talents to the Lord.

(At a press conference in India, Mr. Graham was asked to explain about sin, death and eternal life. His answers came from the Bible. As reporters were milling around the room at the end, one walked up to him, stuck out his hand and said, “I want to become a Christian.” … In the press room at Glasgow, two writers were discussing the campaign. “Every night,” one voiced, “Graham says Christ died for me.” A puzzled expression came over his face. He repeated the words, slowly, “Christ died for me.” The Holy Spirit had shot home the meaning. He made a public profession.… England’s most famous columnist, Cassandra, complained that Mr. Graham had all the best of it in a setting of worship and asked the evangelist to meet him on “sinners’ ground.” They met in a pub. Cassandra had beer. Mr. Graham had milk. And they talked. Next day in print Cassandra retracted the disparaging things he had written, saying, “Sincerity and truth are weapons too sharp to oppose”.)

Communist Smears

6. Communists in New York will face the rising threat to their godless way of life by smearing Mr. Graham in any way possible.

(In another city the communist publication said, “We are assured that not a penny for Billy comes from the churches, ministers or countries that invite him to run campaigns. If this is true, then his activity is subsidized by the American Wall Street interests. It is one way or the other. He is spreading what is really a definite anti-Christian and pro-capitalist gospel in the name of Jesus Christ.” The communist paper in Germany, after a meeting in Berlin, gave a detailed eye-witness account of Mr. Graham taking his team to a night club, buying liquor by the case and then getting thrown into jail for trying to slip out without paying the bill.)

The communists evidently are unaware that people laugh at such “whoppers” instead of believing them.

7. Opposition will continue to come from small extreme groups within the Church.

Some of the criticism will fall away as the expected blessings of God on the campaign become too evident to ignore. The jeers will turn to joy for many as God honors the simple preaching of his Holy Word, without pulled punches. Along with Paul, these people will say, “Christ is proclaimed; and in that I rejoice.”

(Two years ago, when Mr. Graham was preaching in Scotland, rumors spread through America that he had compromised his hard-hitting Bible sermons in favor of a modern social gospel more pleasing to man. Dr. John R. Rice, widely-known evangelist and publisher, visited Glasgow to see for himself. After hearing several sermons, he told this writer, “Thank God for Billy Graham and members of his team. He is preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ in all its simplicity, authority and power—like Dwight L. Moody and Billy Sunday. He preaches a plain message leading to a definite point—repentance and faith in Christ.… Have you ever noticed that when a man runs 15 yards in a (football) game, he always seems to have plenty of interference, but when he gets loose on a long touchdown run, he has to get way out ahead of the interference and some of the blockers don’t like to be left behind.… I followed the converts into the counseling room. Billy didn’t tell them what church to join, but he told them to get into a good church where the Bible was preached”.)

Mr. Graham has announced on scores of occasions that he will preach the same kind of sermon in New York. He will go there with no strings attached.

United In Prayer

8. Most important of all, Jesus Christ will be glorified.

Members of the evangelistic team secluded themselves in a home recently to spend a weekend in prayer and meditation. Friday and Saturday were spiritual feasts. On Sunday morning they met for devotions. Dr. Ralph Mitchell, who fills an important role as spiritual counsellor, began to speak. His words went something like this:

“The man was burdened for real revival. He recalled a sermon illustration he had heard about a Christian and a circle. Even though aware that his actions probably would seem peculiar, he drew a large circle in the kitchen of his home, knelt inside and prayed, ‘Oh, God, send a revival to our city and let it start in me.’ He spent hours there pleading with God. His wife had seen him pray many times, but didn’t quite know what to think when she came home and found him kneeling in the circle. After he explained, she said, ‘You have room in there for me.’ They prayed together. Later, their daughter arrived and asked what was happening. She listened quietly before saying, ‘There is enough space left for me.’

“They prayed for revival, with each asking, ‘Let it begin in me.’

“From the prayers of this united family came the beginning of a great revival in that city.”

Dr. Mitchell paused for a moment, then continued:

“In my mind’s eye, I am going to draw a circle here on the floor.”

He dropped to his knees and prayed, “Oh, God, send a revival to New York and let it begin in me.”

Billy Graham was sitting at the back of the room. He rushed to the front and fell on his face before God. Nineteen persons were present. Within seconds, all were kneeling in the unseen circle, with each pleading, “Oh, God, send a revival and let it begin in me.”

A Broken Heart

It was an unforgettable moment. Members of the most publicized team in the history of evangelism prayed, wept and confessed.

Mr. Graham, visibly affected, spoke for a few moments before the closing:

“You men know that I am not very emotional, but while we are here I want to confess that as late as one month ago my heart had grown cold. I didn’t have the passion and love that I should have had for the souls in New York. I don’t know why. Maybe some of the criticism centered around the campaign got into my heart unawares and brought on the coldness. On a mountaintop in North Carolina, alone before God and deeply troubled, I told him that I couldn’t go to New York without tears for the lost and love for all people. In my prayers I asked the Lord to break my heart—no matter how awful the consequences might be, no matter how dear the loss.

“A week later God answered my prayers. He broke my heart and filled it with compassion, without making me go through the pain of a close personal loss.”

These are the men who are going to New York for a crusade which can, under God, be the most significant and far-reaching event within Protestantism in our generation.

Dependent Upon God

The men are talented and superbly trained, but they will go, in their own words, totally dependent upon God.

Mr. Graham will give all the praise and honor and glory, without hesitation and before any group, to Jesus Christ. Better than anyone else, he knows that the organization and publicity will amount to nothing unless the power of God falls. A warning ever before him will be, “It is not by might nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the Lord,” and, “My glory I will not share with another.”

Greater things than the few listed here can happen in New York.

They will happen … if you care enough to pray—without ceasing!

George Burnham, news editor of Christianity Today, has covered all major Billy Graham campaigns abroad the last three years for as many as 600 secular and religious publications. His two books on the world tours are entitled Billy Graham: A Mission Accomplished and To the Far Corners. Burnham, formerly with the Associated Press and The Chattanooga News-Free Press, will record significant highlights of the New York Crusade for Christianity Today.

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Cover Story

Evangelizing America’s Cities

Faris D. Whitesell

America has become an urban nation. This change, from rural to urban dominance, has proceeded with ever-quickening pace through the last century. In 1850, the population of the United States was only 15.3% urban; by 1920 the figure had jumped to 51.2%. In 1950 it was 64%, and today it is approximately 67%.

Virtually saturated cities are now bulging into their suburbs. For example, Chicago’s population in 81 suburbs increased 35% in five years following the 1950 census. The United States not only has five cities of over a million population, and 14 metropolitan areas of over a million each, but it contains 103 cities of between 100,000 and 1,000,000 inhabitants; 127 of between 50,000 and 100,000; 266 of between 25,000 and 50,000.

God’s Concern For Big Cities

If our nation is to be evangelized, we must reach these urban areas. We dare not neglect the metropolitan masses. In Jonah’s day Jehovah was concerned over Nineveh, “that great city wherein are more than six-score thousands [120,000] persons that cannot discern between their right hand and their left hand and also much cattle” (Jonah 4:11). Jesus had compassion for Jerusalem: “And when he was come near, he beheld the city and wept over it” (Luke 19:41). The major item in Paul’s first-century evangelistic strategy was to evangelize the important city centers and to plant churches there before moving on.

Difficulties rise mountain-high in the path of an urban program of reaching the lost. The mobility of city dwellers makes them hard to find, hard to reach and hard to hold. People find it easy to isolate themselves and to dodge religious responsibility when they live in the city. The sense of loneliness, the constant tension and the discouraging frustration of city life cause many to plunge deeply into worldly amusements, drinking, gambling, immorality and even drug addiction. Thus, they easily become Gospel-hardened slaves of Satan.

Obstacles Require Multiple Effort

City life is so complex with its variety of racial groups and social strata that any single thrust is hardly enough. Moreover, our cities are beset with false cults and inadequate religions that oversow the field with tares to offset the evangelistic approach. Roman Catholicism is strong in our major cities. The 1956 official Catholic directory claims 1,899,357 Catholics for the Chicago area; 1,490,229 for Boston; 1,458,240 for New York: 1,325,740 for Philadelphia; 1,179,469 for Newark; 1,125,000 for Detroit, and 1,075,000 for Los Angeles.

While we cannot hope to win a large city 100% to Christ and evangelical allegiance, yet the writer believes that it is possible so to saturate a city with Christian witnesses and to make such a Gospel impact that every normal individual will be challenged and the city evangelized.

How can we do it? The writer does not suggest adding more agencies but rather revitalizing and empowering those we have. The breath of God in mighty revival across our land would do it! But while we pray, wait and work for that, we must do all we can to reach the city multitudes on their way to hell. Not more man-made machinery but more Holy Spirit power is the need.

For convenience, we can examine all existing evangelistic efforts in our cities under four headings.

The Local Church Thrust

Evangelism is the primary responsibility of every evangelical congregation. Every local church must work to carry out the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18–20). There were 273,508 Protestant churches in the United States in 1950, enough to evangelize each city quickly and thoroughly—if God’s people would launch out earnestly and sacrificially to do it.

Most local churches lack a view to aggressive evangelism. Each church should have an evangelistic committee of three, five, seven or nine burdened Christians who are not loaded with other duties. This committee should study the church’s past evangelistic record, what it is doing now, what its evangelistic responsibilities are and how other churches are doing the job. With this information, the committee can make intelligent and effective recommendations to the church and all its organizations for bigger and better evangelism.

Evangelistic Task Force

The evangelistic committee should see that the church has an efficient and growing prospect list; that Sunday services are geared to evangelism; that the Sunday School faces its evangelistic opportunities; that a permanent program of lay evangelistic calling is in operation and that the prayer power of the church supports its evangelistic program. This committee should retain every possible means of soul-winning—radio, clubs for boys and girls, the vacation Bible school and summer camping. Christian literature should be widely distributed. The use of church buses, deputation teams and outdoor meetings could be emphasized. Advertising, family worship programs and extension work in new housing areas, hospitals, jails and institutions are of vital importance. Occasional evangelistic campaigns in the home church produce inspirational results.

If every local church, depending on its size, would attempt to evangelize faithfully every person within a radius of one-fourth mile to one mile from its walls, the territory in every city would be covered.

The Denominational Thrust

The major Protestant denominations have a history, a size, a standing, an organization and an over-all bulk that cannot be discounted when it comes to evangelistic impact. By marshalling the strength of its member churches a denomination can accomplish evangelistic feats virtually impossible otherwise.

The major Baptist groups of the United States are planning a joint evangelistic effort to begin in 1959 and to run for five years, the climax to be reached in 1964 with the 150th anniversary of organized Baptist life in this country. If these Baptist groups could actually get together for such an effort, backing it with all-out praying, preaching, personal witnessing, advertising and organizing, we might see the United States swing into the Baptist column numerically. And what Baptists could do, any other major denomination might do.

The larger denominations have departments of city church work which do significant work wrestling with city church problems, particularly that of city evangelism. Denominations are able to foster new churches in our mushrooming suburban areas better than any other agency, but they should be doing more.

Neglected Downtown Churches

Upon denominations largely rests the problem of aiding and encouraging struggling inner city churches saddled with huge buildings and declining memberships. Often these old inner city churches are in the midst of more people and greater needs than ever before, and without their evangelistic ministry paganism closes in on a big mass of people.

Many of the social service ministries with indirect evangelistic influence must look to the denominations for support. Among these are settlement houses, work among foreign groups, student projects, and chaplaincies in public institutions.

Roman Catholics specialize in hospitals in our cities. We need more hospitals under the sponsorship of evangelical denominations. Southern Baptists have done a good work through hospitals in the larger southern cities. But we know of only one local church (First Baptist in Evansville, Illinois) able to own and operate its own hospital. Christian hospitals condition their patients for the evangelistic approach.

Denominational radio and television programs are able to reach many city dwellers with the Gospel. An independent Gospel broadcaster needs a long time to buildup the respectful and responsive listening audience that a denomination has to start with. Lutherans, Southern Baptists, Free Methodists, Mennonites and a few others are doing a good job in the broadcasting field.

When we remember that about 90% of Protestant church members in America belong to just eight or ten leading denominations, we can understand what evangelistic impact these denominations might have, both on urban and rural areas, if they all threw their whole weight into evangelism and missions.

The Interdenominational Thrust

When denominations keep on an evangelical and evangelistic footing, they can make a tremendous impact by cooperative effort. The National Council of Churches of Christ in America is the cooperative agency of about 30 Protestant denominations. While its theology may not be as biblical and evangelical as we wish, yet we must recognize that it does have a department of evangelism which prints literature, maintains radio and TV programs and supports certain types of mass evangelism. Affiliated with the National Council are local councils of churches in practically every American city. It is encouraging to note that these local councils or federations have been backing the Billy Graham campaigns.

If evangelicals, without compromise of theology or conscience, could make their weight felt and voices heard for evangelism in local church councils, a great deal more might be done toward evangelizing our cities. Often the National Council affiliate is the only organized interdenominational channel through which we may evangelize.

The National Association of Evangelicals is another interdenominational organization, conservative in theology and evangelistic in spirit. Among the smaller Protestant communions it has done and is doing a fine work for evangelism, missions and other interdenominational projects.

In addition, the American Bible Society is an interdenominational organization deserving the support of all evangelicals. It accomplishes the basic evangelistic task of putting the printed Word of God into the hands of the people. During 1955 it distributed 14,918,343 volumes of the Scriptures in the United States and abroad. Since its founding in 1816, it has made available nearly one-half billion copies of the Scriptures. Many city people do not possess a Bible. A good evangelistic activity would be to put a Bible or New Testament into the hands of every person who would promise to read it.

Evangelicals might well give thought to the Young Men’s Christian Association. This interdenominational organization was originally evangelical and evangelistic. Its facilities in most cities may still be used by evangelistic organizations and some of its staff members are evangelical Christians. If we could somehow reclaim and redeem every local “Y” for Christ and evangelism, we would do much to reach the boys and men of our cities.

The Independent Thrust

We include in this category all organizations, groups and individuals operating without specific denominational backing but supported by Christians from many denominations. Our century has produced a multitude of independents in the field of city evangelism. If older denominations had remained true to the Bible and to their original doctrines, perhaps most of the independents never would have arisen. But they are here and are doing a big work.

The Bible institute movement belongs to the last 75 years. Every major city in the United States has one or more Bible institutes, and nearly all of them are independent. The total weight of these schools is on the side of grass roots evangelism in the streets, hospitals, jails, factories, missions and churches of our American cities. Every student is trained to be a personal evangelist and a supporter of every sound evangelistic cause. Where American Christianity would be today without the influence of the Bible institutes, it is hard to say.

The rescue mission movement seeks to reach the inhabitants of skid row. Every city has one or more rescue missions to reach these socially disinherited people. Chicago alone has some 25 rescue missions. All could use more financial support, and if to the staff of each mission could be added a Christian doctor, a Christian psychiatrist and a Christian social worker, its power to reach and hold more men and women would be evident.

The Gideons, a traveling men’s organization, seek to put the Bible into the hotels, motels, hospitals and schools. These Christian men are nearly all personal soul-winners. They have done a splendid work.

The Christian Business Men’s Committee International has its group of organized laymen in every citv of any significant size in our land, with many branches abroad. The big burden of CBMCI is to win fellow business men for Christ. This they do through breakfasts, dinners, evangelistic meetings, service men’s centers, distribution of tracts and Gospels and personal evangelism.

Youth for Christ has enjoyed the blessing of God in its evangelistic emphasis. Some of our leading evangelists got their start in Youth for Christ, and thousands of young people have not only been saved through this organization but have dedicated their lives to full-time Christian service. The Hi-C clubs affiliated with Youth for Christ have some 2,000 Bible study clubs in high schools across the country, reaching about 25% of our high schools. Hi-C alone reports some 23,000 high school youth won for Christ last year.

Press And Radio Media

The independent tract publishers such as American Tract Society, the Good News Publishing Company and Moody Press are doing a needed operation in furnishing and distributing evangelistic tracts.

Independent gospel broadcasters, such as Charles E. Fuller, have large listening audiences, and many are turned to Christ both in the cities and country areas. No better means of reaching a total city population has ever been found than broadcasting. Chicago will certainly be under heavier judgment than ancient Chorazin and Bethsaida (Matt. 11:21) if it rejects the Son of God, after having Moody Institute’s WMBI broadcasting the Gospel to it every day for over 25 years.

The Child Evangelism Fellowship seeks to win the children not otherwise being reached for Christ. Christian women open their own homes and invite in the neighboring children to sing choruses, learn Scripture passages and hear simple gospel messages. This organization has world-wide scope.

Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship endeavors to reach the students on college campuses for Bible study, Christian fellowship and evangelistic projects.

Future Prospect For Evangelism

What more can we say? Time and space prohibit a discussion of the many additional aids to evangelism today—the independent evangelists, evangelistic bands, personal workers groups, Christian publishers, radio stations, churches, tabernacles, gospel halls and Salvation Army citadels, all trying to win the lost in our cities to Christ.

How can we do the job better? More spiritual power is the big need! Let all in these four classifications repent of liberalism, unbelief, worldliness and materialism, wherever these exist, whether in the local church, denominational, interdenominational or independent groups. Let denominational bigotry, rivalry and pride be put away; let group and individual jealousy, bitterness, narrowness and carnality be renounced.

Let us all love God with all our hearts and our neighbors as ourselves; let us pray more, give more, witness more, love one another more, help one another more and join our hands and hearts in evangelizing our cities while we may.

Faris D. Whitesell has served on the faculty of Northern Baptist Theological Seminary for more than 30 years, from 1925–44 as Professor of Evangelism and since 1944 as Professor of Practical Theology and Homiletics. He holds the A.B. degree from William Jewell College, M.A. from Loyola University and Th.M. and Th.D. from Northern. He is author of a number of books in the sphere of practical theology.

- More from Faris D. Whitesell

Cover Story

Let the Bible Speak for Itself

Robert A. Traina

One of the heartening signs in Christianity today is the resurgence of Bible study in many quarters. Of greatest significance, the Bible is increasingly coming to the fore in the training of Christian ministers and in the program of local churches.

Though thankful to God for this progress, we would be unrealistic not to recognize two outstanding shortcomings of Bible study today.

Failures In Bible Study

The first is that this renewed emphasis on Bible study is not as widespread as it needs to be if the Christian church is to be revitalized and equipped for its crucial mission to our needy world. Many preparing for Christian work are still not being trained for a Bible-oriented ministry. And the rate of “Bible literacy” among the laity is still relatively low.

A second shortcoming has to do with the fact that the way in which the Bible is studied has a great bearing on the value of such study. As a result, our lack of concern about study methods or our espousal of unsound methods may make some Bible study less beneficial than it should be or may even result in study that is more detrimental than uplifting.

Doctrine And Practice

One underlying cause of these shortcomings is of special significance to those who have a high regard for the Scriptures. It is the fact that we have often not put into actual practice the theory we profess to accept, that the Bible is the final authority for faith and conduct. We have not been sufficiently aware that it is possible to hold to a strict doctrine of Scriptural inspiration and authority and at the same time neglect to give the Bible the vital place in church and personal life that such a high view requires.

This discrepancy between doctrine and practice poses an especially subtle threat, because we often succumb to it with the best of intentions and without malice aforethought. This schism can often be traced to our acceptance of a creed or confession apart from an open-minded study of biblical evidence. The creed or confession then becomes our final authority, our doctrine of Scripture notwithstanding. As a result, the study of the Bible becomes dispensable, and it is therefore dispensed with, or if Bible study is attempted at all, it becomes an exercise in finding biblical support for a position already accepted. For instance, a minister once warned that he did not want anyone who came to his church to teach any doctrine that conflicted with his denomination’s position, even if it were found in the Bible. Not very many ministers, of course, are willing to make such a statement, but some may think the same though not choosing to express it in so many words. Again, in studying the Bible with a group, one often finds resistance to changing of convictions previously held. Even before the biblical evidence is examined, some will take the position that anything which deviates from their present beliefs cannot possibly be sound. Some fear that if they examine the Bible with an open mind, they may have to change their views. One student, for example, when queried as to why he did not do his assignments, admitted that he was afraid that he might find something in the Scriptures which contravened his doctrinal position. Then there are those who declare a certain theological point of view, but are unable to give the biblical data from which their point of view is derived. In fact, a leading official of a certain denomination, when questioned about the scriptural grounds for his group’s unique emphasis, freely admitted that he was not conversant with them. And yet in each of these cases, if the question had been asked whether the individual concerned accepted the Bible as the final authority for faith and practice, the answer would have been in the affirmative.

Return To Bible Study

What then should be done in order that we may realize in practice the commonly accepted view of biblical authority? Of first importance is a more general return to the study of the Scriptures themselves. And that study must be carried on with the proper attitude and purpose. For if the Bible is to be genuinely authoritative, it must be allowed to speak freely without the imposition of our prejudices upon it. Bible study needs to be approached with a sincere willingness to find the evidence, whatever it may be, and to come to whatever conclusions the evidence justifies, whether they accord with our confessions or not. Our first concern should be, “What is justified by the biblical evidence?” not, “How can I find support for my point of view?” With fearless and bold spirits we must venture forth in faith, like Abraham, not knowing beforehand the doctrinal land to which we are going.

The Inductive Spirit

This willingness to examine biblical evidence carefully and to make valid deductions from the data found, whatever these deductions may mean for changing our doctrines and lives, may be called the inductive spirit. Such a spirit is the very essence of sound Bible study.

It is not to be inferred, however, that perfect objectivity is a practical possibility. Gamaliel Bradford was right when he observed, “There are simply those who think they are impartial and those who know they are not.” But such a realistic acknowledgment should not deter us from making impartiality our goal. Indeed, it should be the prelude to a valiant effort to be as open-minded as, with God’s help, we can be. And though the practice of perfect induction is beyond our reach, our grasp for it should be marked by wholehearted devotion to the ideal of biblical authority.

Without such devotion to the Scriptures, one may easily abuse a concept of authority based on his own examination of biblical evidence. In fact, one reason for giving a focal place to confessions is to avoid the danger that an unbridled individualism may masquerade under the guise of induction. However, it should also be realized that a position based primarily on the fear of the abuse of another position is not on sure ground. For to negate points of view because they are susceptible of abuse would be to negate all truth, since no truth is beyond abuse. Furthermore, the determination of truth by ecclesiastical majority carries with it even more disastrous abuse. The Romanism against which Luther protested represented such abuse. Thus, in view of our limitations as men, we may find it wise to accept the Reformation principle that each individual is to study the Scriptures for himself and to draw the conclusions which he judges to be valid under the guidance of the Spirit.

To do so is not to deride the value of historic creeds. In fact, because they have gained such a widespread following and because they have survival value, they need to be considered an important part of the data for interpreting Scripture. But creeds must never be elevated to the place of final authority, lest they replace the Bible. Rather, they should be brought constantly under the judgment of the Scripture.

Sound Bible study, then, has as its point of departure and as its prevailing attitude the spirit of induction. But it must involve more, for spirits need embodiment and implementation. No matter how well-intentioned we may be, it is possible to negate in the area of techniques what we affirm in the area of principles. Thus, a methodology is needed to express the inductive spirit.

Marks Of A Sound Method

Such a methodology should involve, first, the working out of definite study procedures so that men from all walks of life may be enabled to examine biblical evidence for themselves and to draw sound conclusions. To accomplish this task we need to translate our topical approach to hermeneutics into a psychological approach, which relates the laws of explanation to the study experience of people of varying capacities.

In so doing we need to recognize the primacy of the firsthand study of biblical text. For the moment some other text is made primary, it tends to become authoritative. It does not follow that commentary helps should be shunned. They are valid in the study process, but only as they are secondary to the Bible itself.

Attention should also be given to enabling individuals to make sound applications of biblical truths to present-day life. The necessity for such training may be underscored by conducting an experiment with a Bible study group. All one needs to do is to have the group agree on the meaning of a scriptural statement, and then to let individual members suggest its relevance for life. In many cases applications will be offered that are not only contradictory but at times bizarre and even shocking.

We have outlined briefly a task which, in some ways, is ideal and beyond achievement: to develop with Christians in all walks of life an inductive spirit and a Bible study procedure in harmony with such a spirit. But much can be done, and even an approximating these goals will bring impressive compensations.

Anticipated Results

One result will be a movement toward a sounder theology because it will be more biblically based. For even if certain man-made confessions were infallible, the need still remains to interpret them. And it is often more difficult to make valid interpretations of abstract creeds than it is to understand correctly the concrete, historical revelation embodied in Scripture.

Another salutary effect of inductive Bible study will be a more vital Christian faith. We come into a closer relationship with the Spirit who underlies the record and who uses the record when we have firsthand experience with the record itself. For the words of our Lord are spirit and they are life. The Bible nourishes and revives the human spirit in a way that statements about the Bible can never do.

The result of an intense personal faith will be a witness given with assurance and with enthusiasm. One who has gone to the source itself testifies to what he has seen and heard, and his testimony will carry the authority and the contagion that cannot be generated by secondhand experience.

The ultimate outcome of the resurgence of genuine Bible study will be the greater realization of the oneness of the Church for which our Lord so fervently prayed. The true spirit of ecumenicity will be realized when we gather in one accord to find the biblical message and to experience biblical faith. In so doing we will come to understand the complex problems involved in interpreting and applying Scripture. And even though we may differ from our brothers in some of our conclusions, we will gain a sympathetic understanding of their views. But, more important, we will find a great body of fundamental biblical verities to which we can give common and wholehearted allegiance. When this happens, the world will believe that our Lord was sent by the Father, and that the Father has loved those who are in the world as he loved his own Son.

Robert A. Traina is Associate Professor of English Bible at The Biblical Seminary, New York City. He holds the B.A. degree from Seattle Pacific College and the S.T.B. and S.T.M. degrees from Biblical Seminary, where he has taught since 1945. He has published two works, Methodical Bible Study and Methodical Bible Teaching.

- More from Robert A. Traina

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