Review of Current Religious Thought: November 26, 1956

The present day stream of literature in Europe dealing with religious and theological questions is best described as overwhelming. It appears that almost all the questions of the previous era are again being considered; also those that were given little attention by the past generation.

Restricting ourselves on this occasion to the dogmatical literature, we refer first of all to newly published dogmatical works such as: Werner Elert (Lutheran), Der Christliche Glaube, 1940; P. Althaus (Lutheran), Die Christliche Wahrheit, 1948; Th. L. Haitjema, Dogmatiek als Apologie, 1948; H. Vogel, Gott in Christo (1000 pages); O. Weber, Grundlagen der Dogmatik, Vol. 1, 1954 (a second volume will follow); H. Diem, Dogmatik, Ihr Weg zwischen Historismns und Existentialismus, 1955. In addition, not to mention more, two volumes of Barth’s Kirchliche Dogmatik (IV, 1 and IV, 2) appeared in 1953 and 1955.

¶ Alongside the Protestant activity there is a profuse stream of Roman Catholic dogmatical publications, some dealing only with particular subjects, some covering the whole field. Important particular studies are those of W. Stahlin, Allein. Reckt und Gefahr einer polemischen Formel, 1950 (dealing with the “sola Scriptura, sola gratia, sola fide” doctrines); and M. Lackmann, Sola Fide, Eine exegetische studie uber Jacobus 2 zur reformatorischen Rechtfertigungslehre, 1949. With respect to comprehensive Roman Catholic dogmatical works, a dogmatics (succeeding the old works of Scheeben, Pohle, Bartmann and Diekamp) is in the process of being published by Michael Schmaus, whose pen has already produced the volume on Mariology (1955).

In the Netherlands the beginning of a new dogmatics by P. Schoonenberg has been published under the title: Het Geloof van ons Doopsel (Vol. I, 1955; II, 1956). This is an important contribution because Schoonenberg is one of the most brilliant representatives of the so-called “New Theology,” a movement which arose in France about 1942 and which is letting itself be heard at the present time. This movement has given a different version of the relation between nature and grace than that found in the traditional Roman Catholic theology, as well as a trenchant analysis of the influence of philosophy on scholastic thought. Without speaking of a radical revolution, one can say that through this “New Theology” the controversy between Rome and the Reformation has taken on new aspects, especially since the criticism made by the Reformation was narrowly connected with the dualistic Roman Catholic vision of the relation of nature and grace. An important point in the discussions is the evaluation of the already famous papal encyclical of 1950 (Humani Generis), in which the new streams of irenism and existentialism were rejected, but in which also a warning was sounded against a relativizing of dogma and an underestimation of the significance of Thomas Aquinas. In spite of the fact that many were of the opinion that the “New Theology” was condemned by this encyclical, the representatives of this theology, through many publications, are playing a very important role in current discussions. We see in this movement one of the important phases of contemporary Roman Catholic thought.

¶ In addition to the literature concerning “Humani Generis” and the “New Theology”, the fixation of the Marian dogma of 1950 (the assumption of Mary) has received special attention. The interest here undoubtedly centers around an infallible proclamation (ex cathedra) because it is declared that whoever denies or doubts this dogma “has totally fallen away from the divine and catholic faith.” A very orientating study has been published by F. Heiler: Das neue Mariendogma im Lichte der Geschichte und im Urteil der Oekumene, 1951. It contains the views of many scholars with respect to this new dogma, including, among others, that of B. E. Mascall (Anglo-Catholic). From all sorts of angles the question is discussed as to the deepest meaning of this new dogma concerning Mary. It appears very clearly that the intention is not to deify Mary. The interest turns rather on the share that Mary (as creature) has in the redemptive work. In this light the Marian dogma takes on its distinct significance at the peak of the Roman Catholic system, because precisely this share of Mary is connected with her physical glorification in heaven.

Although in the above-mentioned “New Theology” new perspectives are visible in the Rome-Reformation controversy, this new Marian dogma has again pointed up the conflict in spite of all the attempts by Rome to demonstrate that its Mariology in no wise constitutes a threat to the glory of Christ as our only Redeemer. Already before 1950 there were signs pointing to the fact that the proclamation of the assumption of Mary would not yet mark the end of the Mariological development. We think of the feelings (not yet firmly established) concerning Mary as participating, not only in the subjective redemption (the distribution of the treasures of Christ), but also in the objective redemption. This dogma is at present not yet fixed, but already studies are appearing under titles such as: Mary as Co-Redemptress alongside Jesus our Lord. It is understandable that in this development there is a constant demand from the Reformation camp for scriptural proof. But tradition plays such a powerful role here that in the proclamation of 1950 of Mary’s assumption, no scriptural proof is given, and the only texts appearing in it are the citations to be found in the church fathers. The power of the Reformation remains here also the power of the “sola Scriptura”!

¶ Besides that already mentioned, there is in continental theology a many-sided interest in the theology of Luther. Excellent studies have been made, e.g., W. von Lcewenich, Theologia crucis, 1954; idem, Luther als Ausleger der Synoptiker, 1954; J. T. Bakker, Coram Deo, Een Bijdrage tot het Onderzoek naar de Structuur van Luthers Theologie, (dissertation at the Free University) 1956; R. Prenter, Spiritus Creator, Studien zu Luthers Theologie, 1954 (translated from Danish into German). In these studies there is a continual discussion of the relation between Luther and Calvin, and this is understandable because there is a growing feeling that in spite of all their differences (e.g., concerning the sacraments), a deep unity in faith bound these two reformers.

¶ It is impossible in any respect to set forth in one “review” a complete survey of what is now in the center of interest in continental reflection. This incompleteness already appears in the fact that we have made no mention up to this point of the continuing discussion surrounding the theology of Karl Barth, who recently put his doctrine of redemption into print (IV, 1 and IV, 2). In commemoration of Barth’s seventieth birthday many articles and “Festschrifte” have reviewed his theology anew.

G. C. Berkouwer, Ph.D., is Professor of Systematic theology, Free Universty of Amsterdam.

News about North and South America: November 26, 1956

Lutheran Merger

Representatives of four American Lutheran bodies, with a combined membership of more than 2,861,000, will meet in Chicago on December 12–13 to begin conversations toward organic union.

The denominations are the United Lutheran Church in America, Augustana Lutheran Church, Finnish Evangelical Lutheran Church (Suomi Synod) and American Evangelical Lutheran Church.

All Lutheran denominations in America were invited last December to “consider such organic union as will give real evidence of our unity in the faith.”

Three other Lutheran bodies now engaged in negotiations for a separate merger said they will be “unable to participate in the meeting, whose sole stated purpose is to consider organic union.” They are Evangelical Lutheran, American Lutheran and United Evangelical Lutheran.

Also absent from the unity conference will be the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod, the Wisconsin Synod and the Norwegian Synod. They declined the invitation on the grounds that they cannot discuss organic union before doctrinal agreement has been reached.

Baptists Add Colleges

A trend toward establishing Southern Baptist colleges in large cities will result in the opening of perhaps 12 new schools in the next 15 years.

(Records show that it costs about half as much per student to operate a college in a city of over 50,000 population).

R. Orin Cornett, executive secretary of the Southern Baptist Education Commission, said some of the schools will be junior colleges and universities.

The plans, hailed in many quarters, aren’t meeting with approval everywhere. Dr. W. A. Diman, executive secretary of the Chicago Baptist Association of the American Baptist Convention, denounced the move to Chicago and the North as “a bad case of bigitis.”

Dr. Diman, who said Southern Baptists intend to start 60 new churches and open a theological seminary in Chicago, said such action may “further divide a badly-splintered Protestantism here.”

(The University of Chicago has offered a 150,000-square-foot area on its campus to American Baptist Convention officials for headquarters of the denomination. Adoption or rejection will be decided at the annual meeting in Philadelphia next May.)

Major Religious Trends

Intense interest in the Bible and increased interest in theology on the part of laymen are among the major religious trends of the past 10 years, Dr. L. Harold DeWolf, of the Boston University school of theology, said recently. Dr. DeWolf, speaking to deans of Methodist pastors’ schools at Dickson, Tennessee, also noted that “extreme controversy” among theologians has given way to “a mood of mediation and communications and conciliation.”

He added:

“It was only a few years ago that theologians couldn’t understand each other and didn’t want to.”

The Bible, he said, occupies a place of greatly enhanced esteem and influence over previous years.

“There’s a new and increasing hunger for real biblical learning,” Dr. DeWolf asserted.

Unhappy Liquor Stores

God works in mysterious ways His wonders to perform!

Church folk of Hamilton County, Tennessee, decided they wanted to vote Chattanooga’s 54 legal liquor stores out of business.

The Christians organized under the leadership of Major General Paul H. Jordan, who is retiring as leader of Tennessee’s National Guard in order to give more time to the three rural Methodist churches he is pastoring.

Sufficient signatures were obtained for a referendum, but Jordan, using the military’ tactic of surprise, kept the wets guessing as to when the vote would be called. The drys reportedly favored a special referendum because of the heavy vote in “controlled” wards on general election days. To offset this planning, the wets got some signatures of their own and filed for an unprecedented referendum to be held on November 6, with a big vote assured by the Presidential election.

The battle about bottles began, with the liquor store operators catching it from all sides. They had to finance the wet campaign. Political leaders of one party, with the “say so” on retail licenses, put the squeeze on them for funds. The other party, irritated about the money given to the opposition, passed the word their followers would vote dry unless contributions were forthcoming.

J. B. Collins, staff writer for The Chattanooga News-Free Press, said the liquor dealers, fearful of being drained by politicians and then being voted out of existence, were in a sad plight … somewhat like the farmer who knocked down a hornets’ nest while trying to beat out a grass fire around his barn. He didn’t know whether to fight fire or swat hornets.

Then came the vote. With well-organized church support, the drvs collected 29,704, and the wets trailed with 27,180. The wets asked a court injunction to keep the election commission from certifying the results, on charges that phrasing of the ballots and vote machines was confusing. Chancellor J. Clifford Curry denied the injunction and the votes were certified.

The 54 stores have 90 days to liquidate their liquid.

This case may be the only one in history where whiskey stores asked for a referendum in which they were voted out of business.

Philadelphia Story

The New Berean Baptist Church is located in a section of Philadelphia where a large part of the population is colored.

Eighteen months ago the church called as its pastor the Rev. David E. Gregory, 40, a graduate of Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky.

He believed in ministering to the people of his community, no matter what their color. In 1955 about 30 per cent of children in the Vacation Church School were colored. This year, a Negro minister was invited to participate in the Vacation School program. Another adult Negro worker was enlisted.

The enrollment was 194 children, and 80 per cent of them were Negroes.

Deacons of the church became alarmed at the trend, especially when Negroes began attending the worship services. A questionnaire was sent out by the deacons to the membership, asking three questions:

First, should the church seek members among the Negro race?

Second, would members be willing to receive Negroes into the church if they applied?

Third, would the present members remain in the church if Negroes were received?

To the first question, most members said they would not seek Negro members, but would not reject those who applied of their own volition. A majority replied in the affirmative to the second. In answering the third, 31 said they would leave and over 50 said they would stay.

The deacons then sent out a letter to the congregation stating that the church policy would be neither to seek nor admit Negroes to membership. A special meeting of the congregation was called. Mr. Gregory said that according to the church constitution the deacons could not formulate a policy for the congregation. Deacons pressed for a vote to uphold their stand. The church constitution required a month’s notice before a vote could be taken on a change of policy and said a two-thirds majority vote of those present was necessary in order for it to become a law of the church. A majority endorsed the deacons’ stand when a vote was taken.

Mr. Gregory resigned as pastor.

Integration problems, seemingly, are not confined to the South!

R.E.G.

Milestone In Mexico

The year 1957 will mark the 100th anniversary of Benito Juarez’s “Reform Constitution of 1857,” a milestone in Mexico’s struggle to achieve civil and religious liberties.

Appropriate ceremonies throughout the republic will celebrate the occasion.

The Reform Constitution opened the doors to Protestant missions and introduced evangelical Christianity to the people of Mexico, after 300 years of domination by the Roman Catholic clergy.

Benito Juarez, described by Stuart Chase (author of Mexico—A Study of Two Americas) as “perhaps the greatest name in Mexican history,” was a full-blooded Zapotec Indian from the state of Oaxaca. He was educated, first for the priesthood and later for the bar, becoming Minister of Justice and eventually Constitutional President of the Republic.

As president, he legislated against the special privileges of the military and the clergy, confiscating vast land holdings of the church valued at $125,000,000. Into his Reform Constitution he wrote the laws which decreed the separation of Church and State, severed relations with the Vatican, placed priests under civil authority, closed parochial schools and made the state responsible for the education of all children, forbade churches to own property, prohibited foreigners from officiating as priests or ministers, reserved the right to perform marriages and burials, and guaranteed liberty and equality for all religions.

His efforts were interrupted by foreign (French) intervention and the ill-fated empire of the Hapsburg Archduke Maximilian. Juarez died in Mexico City on July 18, 1872, before his program was carried into effect.

Thirty years of dictatorship under Porfirio Diaz further delayed the reforms. It was not until “The Revolution of 1910,” which overthrew Diaz, and “The Constitution of 1917,” which embodied all of the major tenets of the first reform, that Juarez’s dream of religious freedom for the common people was realized.

It is within the framework of this constitution that modern missions and churches operate today in Mexico.

Since the constitution forbids churches to own property, land and buildings for mission schools and hospitals are held in the name of legally constituted holding companies composed of individual missionaries and Protestant Mexicans.

When some of the mission schools were closed, student homes and hostels were opened, providing dormitory facilities under Christian supervision for Protestant young people attending nearby government schools.

Since no foreigner may be a minister or priest, only native-born Mexicans are pastors of the churches and only they may officiate at the sacraments. Foreign evangelistic missionaries, however, are allowed to preach, to hold special services and to engage in personal work—completely unmolested.

Celebration of the centenary of Juarez’s reforms is expected to be bitterly opposed by anti-Protestant church leaders, and some observers predict that the occasion will be used as a pretext for the Catholic church to make an open bid at regaining some of her former prestige and power. Should this occur, trouble undoubtedly will ensue.

But Juarez evidently thought the reforms were worth any trouble involved. He said, “Upon the development of Protestantism largely depends the happiness of our country.”

J.H.R.

Faithful And Fruitful

The Rev. David Finstrom had two great assets when he arrived in Venezuela in 1899—faith in God and willingness to serve.

He began his pioneering work in La Victoria, Aragua.

At the beginning of the century, when a great battle during a civil war was fought in La Victoria, he and his wife did everything they could to help the people. They cared for the wounded and dead.

As a reward, Grab J. V. Gomez, when he became president of the country, granted Mr. Finstrom a personal right to address the Congress of Venezuela. Gomez, a tyrant for 26 years, was a great admirer of the missionary. A mistress of the president was converted under the preaching of the faithful servant.

Mr. Finstrom lived to see the small beginning grow into churches and conventions of churches, with thousands of believers. A Bible Institute was founded. In 1914 he published the first issue of his paper, El Faro Evangelico (The Evangelical Beacon), which spread throughout the country.

The 57 years of fruitful service came to an end recently when he died in Palo Negro, Aragua State. His widow survives.

P.N.T.G.

Tongue In Cheek

Twenty-three Protestant ministers of Mount Ida, Arkansas, have proposed, with a trace of sarcasm, that speeding, theft and prostitution be legalized and taxed for revenue in the state.

The clergymen attacked arguments that “drinking and gambling should be legalized because people are going to do them anyway,” and said, “it is just as consistent to legalize and collect taxes” from other vices.

Bible And Flag

The Woodmont Kiwanis Club of Nashville, Tennessee, is sponsoring a drive to place a Bible and American flag in every home of the city.

Profits will be used to buy recreational equipment for church orphanages.

Offhand, the combination appears to be the world’s best buy!

Predestination

Clergymen as a group are “not good, safe drivers,” in the opinion of M. L. Allison, accident prevention department of Employers Mutual Casualty Company, Charlotte, North Carolina.

“Most clergymen drive like they are going to a fire,” he said.

Digest …

Dr. Harold J. Ockenga honored on 20th anniversary as minister of famed Park Street Church in Boston, Massachusetts … A. F. (Tex) Keirsey, church editor of Amarillo (Texas) News-Globe, wins 1956 Press Award of Baptist General Convention of Texas.

Rep. Ruth Thompson (R-Mich.), defeated at polls on November 6, seen working cheerfully as volunteer at Washington, D. C. Central Union Mission on November 7 … Superior Court Judge in Montreal, Canada, rules testimony not acceptable from witness who does not believe in heaven and hell … The Rev. H. Lawrence Love, Jr., pastor of Bethany Presbyterian Church, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, appointed associate executive director of World Evangelical Fellowship.

Baptist General Convention of Texas approves record $10,000,000 budget for missionary work during year.

Billy Graham speaks to over 7,000 in Moody Church auditorium and overflow halls. Service relayed to seven other churches … Mrs. Billy “Ma” Sunday, 88, widow of noted evangelist of 1920’s, elected president of Winona Lake (Indiana) Bible Conference.

Britain and the Continent News: November 26, 1956

‘Uneasy And Unhappy’

The respected voice of Dr. Geoffrey Francis Fisher, Archbishop of Canterbury, was heard in the House of Lords on the Anglo-French attack of Egypt.

“Christian opinion,” he said, is “terribly uneasy and unhappy. We cannot ignore the fact that the President of the United States thinks we have made a grave error, that world opinion on the whole—almost entirely—is convinced we have made a grave error.”

The Anglican Primate said he spoke “with fear and trembling.”

In Berlin, Bishop Otto Dibelius, head of the Evangelical Church in Germany, expressed great concern over Near and Middle East events through letters to British and French church leaders.

12 Days Of Life

Hungarian churches were making big plans when their brief hours of freedom were cut short by Russian butchery.

Bishop Lajos Ordass, imprisoned in 1948 on trumped-up charges, was reinstated as active head of the Lutheran Church of Hungary after the resignation of two communist-sponsored bishops.

He put into immediate practice the teaching of Jesus to “love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you …”

He sought to aid dependents of former church leaders.

New elections were planned—to replace all officials of the Reformed and Lutheran churches who received their posts after 1948. Many churchmen known for their collaboration resigned.

Church schools and-other institutions were to be reopened.

Millions of tons of food and clothing arrived from friendly countries and relief centers were opened.

Josef Cardinal Mindzenty, Primate of Hungary liberated by the rebels, called on the United Nations and the world for support.

The revolt seemed destined to succeed on October 31—Reformation Day. Then, during the night of November 3–4, the vanguard of a massive Russian force of 200,000 men and 5,600 tanks, supported by squadrons of bomber planes, launched a surprise attack on Hungary. Almost defenseless people were slaughtered like cattle.

(An American newscaster said Russia threw more armor against Budapest than U. S. General George Patton used in driving across France during World War II.)

Fighters for freedom put up stubborn resistance, but their cause was virtually hopeless. Millions prayed around the world.

Some Hungarian leaders were captured. Others took refuge in embassies or escaped across the border.

Twelve days had passed.

But in suffering defeat, Hungary emphasized to the world that Communism was crumbling around the edges. Hundreds of individual members left the party in European countries. Early returns from Italian regional elections showed heavy communist losses. Unrest was noted in East Germany.

And Russia looked around anxiously as she waited for the next shot.

Question In Norway

On January 25, 1953, a professor, Dr. Ole Hallesby, addressed the Norwegian people by radio with words which were to resound from one end of the country to the other.

He asked:

“How can you who are not converted go to bed calmly in the evening, not knowing whether you will awake in your bed or in hell?”

Testimony of several conversions was received as a result of the broadcast. Many newspapers, however, raged. One of the bishops of the Norwegian Church, Dr. Kristian Schjelderup, wrote a sharp article, denouncing the doctrine of eternal punishment as contrary to God’s love.

The debate raged until finally the question was put before the Government, as well as the Stortinget (assembly of the people). Views of all bishops and leaders of the two theological faculties were given.

As usual in such discussions, the controversy eventually subsided, with both sides holding to original beliefs.

But new fuel has been added to the fire.

A well-known Christian layman, manufacturer Otto Langmoen, made public a letter in which he declared himself unwilling to represent his local congregation at an all-diocese meeting—where Bishop Schjelderup was listed as one of the preachers.

Mr. Langmoen said it was a matter of conscience and cited Scripture to support his views.

Theological sides again came to life, with the press serving as a gleeful go-between for their eager readers.

The diocese meeting was held. Participation was great, and Bishop Schjelderup was elected chairman of the assembly.

Front page headlines next day said there would be no fight within the church after all.

But Norwegians long will remember the professor’s blunt question!

T.B.

Reds Razing Old Church

Historic Holy Spirit Church, dating back to the 13th century, is slated to be razed in Magdeburg, Germany (Soviet Zone), despite protests by the Evangelical Church of Saxony.

The church, considered one of the finest specimens of Gothic architecture in Germany, will mar the looks of a new city hall due to be built on an adjacent site, according to the Communist city planners.

Heavily damaged during World War II, the church was the first worship center to be rebuilt in Magdeburg after the end of fighting. Many foreign churches contributed to the reconstruction cost.

Significance of the razing, in the opinion of church leaders, can be traced to the fact that the Evangelical Church in Germany designated Magdeburg as the 1956 “City of Church Reconstruction.”

Some 275,000 of Magdeburg’s 337,000 residents are Protestants.

Powers Of Violence

The world is afraid of its own powers of violence “and can only be saved by suffering and forgiving love,” Dr. Martin Niemoeller, president of the Evangelical Church of Hesse-Nassau in Germany, told 9,000 at a Reformation rally in Kiel Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri.

In a reference to the H-bomb, he said, “Like Peter and John, we are tempted to bring down the fire of heaven upon the evildoers,” but warned “the danger is that we shall love our own truth and our own way and not put our trust in God.

“We must not give ourselves to our own ideas and our own beliefs, for both are dangerous, but we must remember that God’s promise to His children stands. Christ is the way, the truth and the life for a world in which men are caught in the nets of pride and despair.”

(On December 6, New York University will present Dr. Niemoeller with the University Medal, its “highest award to distinguished people.”)

Africa + Asia + Australia News: November 26, 1956

Action In Burma

A plan for the Burma Baptist Convention to take over duties previously handled by missionaries was approved by delegates to the 88th annual meeting in Rangoon.

Proposed by the missionaries themselves, the plan has a goal of making Baptist work in the country self-supporting, self-directing and self-propagating.

Main points of the agreement deal with the turning over of church properties on the mission field “to the appropriate holding bodies representing the indigenous Christian community,” assigning to the convention the responsibility of determining the number of missionaries needed in Burma, and giving the convention the major responsibility for financial needs.

Prime Minister U Ba Swe, in an address to the meeting, emphasized the guarantees of religious freedom in Burma.

‘Mistaken Policy’

A decree ordering full freedom of religion throughout Communist North Vietnam has been issued by the Council of Ministers.

The order reportedly corrects “a mistaken policy of the government in the past.”

North Vietnam is the first Asian Communist nation publicly to proclaim deviation from the Moscow line. It is also the first to admit the existence of anti-religious persecution within its boundaries.

From time to time, the Hanoi Radio has broadcast statements claiming that all religious groups in the country enjoy full liberty, despite reports to the contrary. Most of the North Vietnamese are Buddhists. The Christian minority is predominantly Roman Catholic. A majority of the Christians fled to the South after partitioning of the country.

“Freedom of religion must be strictly respected,” the new order declared. It specifically directed that the “unjustified” house detention or “unlawful” arrest of religious personnel be abolished.

Communist authorities in North Vietnam 17 months ago issued a decree of religious freedom which nevertheless provided many loopholes for persecution. One of the loopholes was the proviso that “when they preach, ministers of religion must impress on their flocks … respect for the democratic authorities and the laws of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.”

Another was a clause which said “the law will punish everyone who uses the pretext of religion to attack peace, unity, independence and democracy, to make propaganda for war, to break popular opinion, to keep believers from their duty as citizens, to attack other persons’ freedom of belief and thought, or to commit any other violation of law.”

These provisions were subject to communist interpretations that made religious groups especially vulnerable to attack.

Property confiscated during the land reform movement “will be restored to owners,” according to Hanoi Radio. But it did not say whether this measure applied to church-owned property.

The new decree may contain hidden implications, but for the moment Christians are grateful for the tiny crack of religious freedom in the Bamboo Curtain.

Turn About

Christian missionaries in India, who have been the target for much government criticism in recent months, received warm praise recently from Gov. K. N. Munshi of Uttar Pradesh.

At celebrations marking the centenary of the Methodist Church in southern Asia, he lauded missionaries for a century of “useful educational and humanitarian work. Above all, by the impact of their work, they have imparted a keener sense of mission to other religious and philanthropic bodies.”

Gov. Munshi said the “comparatively small Christian community of India” (5,000,000 Protestants in population of 400,000,000) had taken its full part in national life.

“Many Christians participated in the struggle for freedom,” he said, “and many now bear heavy responsibilities in this country.” He cited the role of Protestantism in “restoring to man his sense of individual dignity and freedom.”

The governor warned missionaries of all faiths, however, against an “active campaign of mass conversion” for social, political or economic motives. He said this could not be considered a “religious act,” and was bound to create resistance.

Scores of foreign Christians in India have been falsely charged with political activity and many have been sent home. Resident permits are extremely difficult to obtain, except in the cases of medical missionaries and other professional people.

Observers predict that the days of missionaries in India are numbered, but point out that God seems to be using the situation to make the Protestant Indian Church, under Indian leadership, stronger than it has ever been under foreign support.

Research In India

The National Christian Council of India has voted to establish a research center for the study of non-Christian religions in the country—especially Hinduism.

Dr. P. D. Devanandan, visiting professor at Union Theological Seminary in New York, will be invited to serve as the center’s director.

A statement of objectives for the center said “it will be allowed from the beginning to develop its own atmosphere where a free intercourse between scholarly Christians and leading non-Christians may take place.”

Religious Freedom Asked

Full religious freedom was given major emphasis in a document drawn up in Singapore by the Malayan Christian Council as a guide to the kind of country Christians want Malaya to become when it receives its independence from Great Britain next year.

“It is significant that the question of religious freedom has been given careful consideration by many Asian nations in recent years, notably India and Pakistan in their final constitutions and Indonesia in provisional constitutional proposals,” the Christian Council said.

“In all these,” the Council added, “there is careful protection of minorities in fundamental freedoms and the giving of full religious freedom to all residents of the country.”

Christians are a minority in Malaya.

Jerusalem + Judea + Samaria News: November 26, 1956

Paul Walked Here

Several threads of biblical history were woven together recently when the Stoa of Attalos was dedicated by the American School of Classical Studies as the Museum of the Agora of Athens.

(The “Agora” is the “market” where Paul “disputed daily” with the philosophers of Athens during his short stay in the city.)

Excavation of the Agora was undertaken by the school in 1931 and has continued to the present, with a five-year break during the war years. The 25-acre site formerly housed some 5,000 people.

East, west and south boundaries have been brought to light in the largest part of the excavation. Still to be explored is the north side, where the “painted Stoa”—birthplace of the Stoic school of philosophy—is to be found.

Discoveries now being studied include the ruins of the law courts, the Mint, the concert hall (Odeion) and the public library of ancient Athens. A broad road passing diagonally through the Agora was the one used once a year by the Panathenian Procession on its way to the Acropolis.

The Agora was surrounded by “stoas” (shed-like buildings with deep porches). Bordering the square on all sides, these buildings provided sunshine or shade, according to the needs of the season.

The Stoa of Attalos, on the east side of the Agora, has been reconstructed on the original site in the original design. Attalos II of Pergamum built the Stoa. Pergamum, which later became the seat of the “Emperor-cult” for the Roman province of Asia, was called “Satan’s seat” by the Lord.

Within the Stoa are housed the finds from the excavation: some 65,000 catalogued objects, along with 100,000 coins, great masses of pottery, ancient sculpture, inscriptions on marble, bronze voting ballots, water clock from the law courts and elaborate machines for selecting civic officials by lot.

Now, after 19 centuries, followers of the Bible can visit the place where Paul encountered the philosophers of ancient Greece and where he was sent to be tried by the Aeropagus.

G.A.H.

Scroll Revelations

The radiant beauty of Sarah, wife of Abraham and mother of Isaac, is noted in an excerpt of a Dead Sea Scroll made public in Jerusalem by the Hebrew University and the Institute of the Shrine of the Book.

Badly preserved and very brittle, the 2,000-year-old Aramaic-written scroll is the last of seven found in the Qumran caves of the Judean desert in 1947 and acquired by the university.

The excerpt enlarges on the story of Abraham’s journey to Egypt with Sarah, as related in Genesis, Chapter 12. Just before entering Egypt, Abraham persuaded her to pose as his sister, according to the biblical account.

Abraham, in the biblical story, said:

I know that you are a woman beautiful to behold; and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife’; then they will kill me, and keep you. Say you are my sister.”

The newly-deciphered scroll gives this description of Sarah:

“And how beautiful the look of her face. And how fine is the hair of her head; how fair indeed are her eyes and how pleasing her nose and all the radiance of her face.

“How beautiful her breast and how lovely all her whiteness. Her arms goodly to look upon and her hands how perfect. How fair her palms and how long and fine all the fingers of her hands.

“Her legs how beautiful and without blemish her thighs. And all maidens and all brides that go beneath the wedding canopy are not more fair than she. Above all women she is lovely and higher is her beauty than that of them all, and with all her beauty there is much wisdom in her. And the tip of her hands is comely.”

The scroll then gives Abraham’s account of how his fears about Sarah’s beauty were justified, when the Pharaoh Zoan heard she was “very beautiful,” had her brought to him, “marveled at all her loveliness and took her to him to wife,” unaware that she was the wife of another.

Abraham tells in the scroll how he prayed that God would show His “mighty hand” and descend upon the Egyptian king and “all his household and may he not this night defile my wife.”

Biblical accounts say that God afflicted the Pharaoh with plagues and “most grievous stripes.”

The scroll quotes Abraham as saying: “That night the Most High God sent a pestilential wind to afflict him (Pharaoh) and all his household, a wind that was evil. And it smote him and all his house and he could not come near her nor did he know her.”

Abraham’s account ends with a description of how, after two years, the ruler of Egypt sent for him and restored his wife, asking him to pray that the plagues might cease.

As the Bible relates, he tells how he was permitted to leave Egypt “exceedingly rich in cattle and also in silver and gold.”

News Report: Conflict of the Gospel with Paganism, November 26, 1956

Christianity Today November 26, 1956

WORLD NEWS

Strong Communist Thrust In Italy

The biggest Communist Party in the Democratic West exists today in Italy.

What causes have given rise to such a strong communist movement, with a membership of over 1,250,000 members? Youth organizations and fellow-travelers boost the total past 2,000,000.

Historical Causes

The fact that Italy is 99 per cent Roman Catholic accounts for much. For long generations, especially since the Counter Reformation, the Italian people have been nurtured with a religious system and doctrine which in denying freedom of investigation has deprived them of an effective sense of personal responsibility. This facilitated the rise of a formalistic and hence anti-democratic mind (for democracy requires freedom of thought and speech). In addition, the Italians were governed till 1870 by a number of absolute monarchies. They were kept bereft of many civil rights; to speak of freedom and democracy was a crime. This antidemocratic stream provided the cadres of Fascism, just as today it provides the cadres of communism. At the end of World War II, when Fascism collapsed, many leaders and members were accepted into the Communist Party. Entire brigades of fascist militia entered communist organizations.

Economic Causes

Poverty in Italy is a chronic disease. Many factors contribute to its permanence: shortage of resources, unemployment, underemployment, overpopulation and the egotism of privileged classes. These factors induce a large mass to long for an overthrow of the present situation, and to look at the Communist Party as the only agency able to operate such a change.

Political Causes

The powerful Soviet Union, reaching with her satellites to the borders of the peninsula, suggests to the majority of Italians a defensive attitude, but it excites in a strong minority feelings of attraction. Moreover, the overflowing of the Catholic Church into the political field has given rise to a revival of anti-clericalism, pushing many categories of Italians, especially intellectuals, into the hands of Communists.

Accidental Causes

When, in 1944, the new Italian nation was rising from the ashes of war, Russia first gave recognition, and Signor Togliatti, most skillful leader of Italian communism, entered into the first democratic government. Communists remained in power until 1947, with the approval of the Allied Control Commission. This meant placing communist leaders in many administration key-posts. Besides, the Communists have until now enjoyed full support from the Socialist Party, with which they signed an agreement for unity of action.

Signor Togliatti and his Etat Major, re-entering into Italy at the back of Allied Troops, after having been long catechized in Soviet Russia, were able to draw an unimaginable profit from all these historical, economical, political and accidental causes. They set up a model Party organization, through which they could reach all kinds of classes of people, imbuing them with communist doctrine.

Fortress Of Communism

Within a short time there arose in Italy the strongest Communist Party in the West. The strength, more than in numbers, lies in the devotion of every member to the Party. The Marxist ideology has for them the appeal of a religion. Week by week they meet in their cells for indoctrination. Whether in their office or workshop, out in the country or in the market place, they are active propagandists. This zeal earned them 6,125,000 votes at the last general elections in 1953. Added to 3,450,000 votes gained by the Socialist Party of Signor Nenni, this represents 35 per cent of the whole Italian constituency.

Nevertheless, it is doubtful if communism could make such a thrust in Italy if it lacked certain means. Apart from funds from the Cominform agency, some export-import communist sponsored companies have been set up in Italy to monopolize commerce with countries behind the Iron Curtain. Communist countries do business with Italian firms through these companies only.

But the power of communism in Italy would not be so matchless without the handling of a mighty weapon—the Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro (C.G.I.L.), the strongest labor organization in the land. Signor Di Vittorio, general secretary of the C.G.I.L. and president of the World Federation of Labour Organizations (communist), is one of the big bosses of international communism, frequently putting Italian Government in difficulty by strikes.

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Outlook For Future

Is there an answer? Part of the answer to communism undoubtedly lies in the strengthening of democracy.

There is evidence of this axiom. In 1946, the allied Communist and Socialist Parties together reported 41 per cent of the votes. In 1948, after the Socialdemocrats of Signor Saragat left the Socialist Party for a coalition government with the Christian Democratic Party, the Social-Communists garnered only 31 per cent of the votes. But the Vatican-inspired Christian Democratic Party, having obtained the absolute majority, made the government its monopoly and did not always rule democratically. In some instances civil and religious rights were denied to citizens. Many acts of intolerance and religious persecution were carried out against Protestants. At the political elections of 1953, Social-Communists lifted their votes again to 35 per cent, while Christian Democrats fell to 41 per cent. In these circumstances a coalition of the democratic parties was necessary. Christian Democrats sought alliance with Social-democrats, Liberals and Republicans. At last a democratic government was set up. Since then the political situation in Italy is undergoing favorable evolution. In addition, the recent deconsecration of Stalin and the revelations of Khrushchev have inflicted a big blow on Italian communism.

For the first time a crisis is in the making within the communist movement in Italy, and is already reaching the communist constituency and the leaders too. In local government elections last May they lost a half million votes. The “Unita,” organ of the Italian Communist Party, has reduced its printing 21 per cent, while sales have declined 27 per cent. The Confederazione Generale Italiana del Lavoro is floating in bad waters. Workers are more and more giving credit to the free and democratic labor organizations (C.I.S.L., Christian Democrat and U.I.L., Social-democrat).

This crisis, however, may be just a “momentary bewilderment.” Communism is still powerful and Italian conditions are not much changed. Only a continuous, untiring effort to broaden the basis of democracy can save the Italian nation from the Communist threat.

The next 12 months will indicate if democracy is to be firmly established in Italy or if the Communist threat shall continue to hang upon her like a Damocletian sword.

R.T.

Book Briefs: November 26, 1956

Human Predicament

Christianity and the Existentialists, by Carl Michalson (editor). Scribner’s, New York, 1956. $3.75.

This book is made up of a very readable series of public lectures delivered at Drew University during the academic year 1953–54. Eight well-known scholars contribute as follows: Carl Michalson, editor, and Professor of Systematic Theology, Drew University, on “What is Existentialism?”; H. Richard Niebuhr, Professor of Theology and Christian Ethics, Yale Divinity School, on Soren Kierkegaard; John A. Mackay, President of Princeton Theological Seminary, on Miguel de Unamuno; Mathew Spinka, Professor of Church History, The Hartford Seminary Foundation, on Nicholas Berdyaev; J. V. Langmead Casserley, Professor of Dogmatic Theology, the General Theological Seminary, on Gabriel Marcel; Erich Dinkler, Professor of New Testament Literature, Yale Divinity School, on Martin Heidegger; Paul Tillich, University Professor, Harvard University on “Existentialist Aspects of Modern Art”; and Stanley Romaine Hopper, Dean of the Graduate School, Drew University, on “On the Naming of the Gods in Holderlin and Rilke.”

A certain arbitrariness in the selection of the existentialists under consideration was inevitable, as acknowledged by the editor, but as a service to the uninitiated, the book serves as a useful introduction to a philosophy made difficult not only because of its vocabulary and the importance of subjective moods of existentialists, but also because it is so contemporary. The aim of the book is further served well by the inclusion of a bibliography directing the beginning reader to additional sources.

Each writer sets out in brief compass some of the basic principles of the existentialist philosopher he is discussing, but it is not always apparent to the reviewer that the writers relate these to specifically Christian forms of thought and experience. In the opinion of the writer of this review, Professor Dinkler gives us the most explicit attempt in the latter by devoting twelve pages out of thirty to the relationship between Heidegger’s thought and Christian teaching. President Mackay’s essay on Michael de Unamuno proved to be the most vibrant of the book due first to Dr. Mackay’s personal acquaintance with Michael de Unamuno and Spanish life, and also the fact that for most of us this philosopher is a new figure.

After reading the book a Christian gets a sense of the acuteness of the problems of human existence in the face of the ultimate questions of human experience. Four of these stand out here, namely, the problem of guilt, the problem of communion, the problem of history and the problem of death. It is refreshing to find in these philosophers a disdain for the categories of Naturalism in terms of which an adjustment is sought to whatever happens to be the prevailing current in the cultural stream. It must be pointed out, however, that the contributors to this volume and especially the editor make clear the distinction between atheistic and metaphysical or theistic existentialism. Carl Michalson exhibits this contrast by the poignant use of an apt illustration from Kierkegaard. Man is shipwrecked at a point in the sea where the water is 70,000 fathoms deep. The atheistic existentialist suggests that man, in this predicament, will find his support in his thrashing about, whereas, the theistic existentialist will find his in the hope that while thrashing, his arms will encounter something outside himself for support.

Existentialism rubs the salt into the wounds of the human predicament, but where are the answers to the problems of human existence? One wonders whether answers are really possible within the framework of reference suggested in existentialism. For if as Heidegger writes, “… belief, not permanently exposing itself to the question and danger of unbelief, is no faith at all, but mere convenience and agreement with one’s self to keep the doctrine as to a comforting tradition” (p. 121), then the certainties of Christian experience based on justification by faith and union with Christ are not possible to the existentialist. If it is the prerogative of the existentialist to ask, but not to give, or find, answers to ultimate questions, then Paul Tillich is right in saying, “… I would agree that there is no Christian existentialism. There are many Christian existentialists; but insofar as they are existentialists they ask the question, show the estrangement, show the finitude and show the meaningless ness. Insofar as they are Christians, they answer these questions as Christians but not as existentialists” (p. 141). The assurances of genuine Christian experience will always prove a stumbling-block to philosophies not taking into account as final God’s intervention in history in redemption and the application of this by the Spirit in assured spiritual experience in the heart of the believer. No better expression of the problem of human existence on the one hand, and the resolution of the problem on the other, can be suggested than Augustine’s famous opening words in the Confessions, “Thou hast made us for Thyself, and our hearts are restless till they may have found their rest in Thee.”

SAMUEL J. MIKOLASKI

Divine Revelation

Exploring the Old Testament, by W. T. Purkiser. Beacon Hill, Kansas City. $4.50

Exploring the Old Testament comes as the answer to a need which has existed for a long time in the area of conservative scholarship for an introduction to Hebrew Scriptures at the undergraduate level. The panel of contributors to this work have sought to combine Old Testament introduction with the materials usually incorporated in Old Testament “book studies.” The editor has done his work so well that the volume gives no indication of its composite authorship nor of any essential differences of outlook among its writers.

A review of such a work can hope to do little more than indicate its general plan and to give its major characteristics. Sections 1 and 2 are basically introductory, dealing respectively with the themes, “This is God’s Word” and “Why the Old Testament?” These, along with Section 16, under title of “The Message and Meaning of the Old Testament” serve to acquaint the reader with the significance of the Old Testament for today’s Christian.

Sections 3 and 15 combine an analysis of the respective sections of the Old Testament with a survey of their meaning. These deal chronologically with Israel’s history, and after the events of 975 B.C. deal almost entirely with Judah’s history, except Section 11, “The Northern Kingdom and Its Prophets.” The volume includes two valuable appendixes, the first being designed to relate the chronology of the Old Testament to general world chronology; the second giving well-written summaries of the Old Testament books.

To characterize the work in detail would require more length than this book review permits. Some features, however, require special mention. First of all, Exploring the Old Testament is a good statement of the historic Christian position with reference to the Hebrew Scriptures. This statement is made from a generally affirmative approach, letting the Old Testament speak for itself and proclaim its own message. The writers show, however, an awareness of the critical problems which have been raised in connection with Old Testament studies and of the basics of so-called liberal Old Testament criticism. Its answer to the positions of liberal critical scholarship is two-told: that the Old Testament taken by itself fails to support these positions (i.e., that liberal criticism has forced its conclusions), and that the evidence for many liberal contentions is insufficient.

The volume embodies a valuable statement concerning such questions as the Old Testament canon, the versions and the New Testament use of the Old Testament. In addition to good basic statements upon these questions, there is an excellent bibliography by means of which the undergraduate teacher in biblical studies can expand the work of his classes as much as his program will permit and his needs will indicate.

The volume indicates an awareness upon the part of the writers of the significance of contemporary cultures for the understanding of Hebrew life and thought. The writers have a good knowledge of contemporary usages in Babylonian and Mesopotamian civilizations. Parallels in thought and practice are not minimized nor neglected by the writers, but rather, are shown for what they really were, namely survivals from an original disclosure of the Divine purposes—in fine, of an original Revelation.

The over-all impact of this work seems to this reviewer to be capable of summary in one word: appreciation. The writers have sensed the high significance of the Old Testament as divine Revelation. Their blend of comment and homiletics, their cross-referencing of Old Testament with the New Testament and their general attitude all work toward this objective. College student or intelligent layman will find this volume equally challenging. It is a significant addition to the literature of Bible-believing scholarship.

HAROLD B. KUHN

For Undergraduates

Exploring the New Testament, by Ralph Earle, Harvey S. Blaney, and Carl Hanson. Beacon Hill, Kansas City. $4.50.

This companion volume to Exploring the Old Testament is designed to meet a similar need, namely to be a “text for the required course in New Testament survey for lower division students in college.” Exploring the New Testament is similar in form to the earlier volume, seeking to compress the basics of New Testament introduction into three chapters, and then to expound in a topical order that which will reflect the general order of events described.

Chapter 1, “Why Study The New Testament?” is essentially hortatory: it seeks to inspire a love for the written Word and to cultivate an appetite for study of it. Questions of the extent and quality of inspiration are passed over briefly, with the emphasis being upon the message rather than the form of the New Testament Scriptures. This work then, assigns the home work for the study of apologetics rather than seeking to do its lessons for it.

The discussion of “The World Into Which The New Testament Came” (Ch. 2) seems unusually well-done; this reviewer would like to have had such an introduction to his undergraduate studies in New Testament. The same may be said of Chapter 3, “The New Testament Transmitted and Translated.” The writers have sought to broaden the base of New Testament study for undergraduates by filling the vacuum which the inter-testamental period seems too frequently to be.

The chapters dealing with the four Gospels present our Lord in a four-fold role: as Messiah-King, as Conqueror-Servant, as Son of Man and as Son of God. This division is, to be sure, not wholly original; but the manner in which the work of the four Evangelists is shown to present one outstanding portrait is unusual in books of this kind. The approach is affirmative; the writers indicate an awareness of modern liberal New Testament criticism, but in general take the approach that the interpretation of historic Christian faith presents the fewest problems, while many critical views are lacking in supporting evidence.

Taken together, the conclusions to the chapters dealing with Matthew, Luke and John (pp. 112; 185 ff.; and 224 ff.) afford an excellent over-all view of the events which tie together the Gospels and the remainder of the New Testament. From this, as well as from the manner in which parallel passages in the Synoptics are treated, the student can scarcely fail to gain the impression of “togetherness” which underlies the volume—and which is a wholesome relief from the excessive analysis which has plagued New Testament critical scholarship.

This same factor finds emphasis in the continuity which the writers trace in the several studies of the Acts of the Apostles, and of the Pauline, Johannine and Petrine literature. In a similar vein, the treatment of the Epistle to the Hebrews in the chapter “God’s Last Word to Man” (Ch. 13) pursues the method of relating the Old Testament to the New Testament and of discovering in both the Incarnate Word. The same may be said for the treatment of the Book of Revelation. Here the writer(s) treat with reserve the areas in which legitimate difference of opinion and interpretation exists among scholars, and lay emphasis upon the One who is revealed, and who stands supreme over angels, living creatures and elders.

The volume, Exploring the New Testament, maintains in fine balance a careful scholarly analysis and a spirit of reverent regard for the Lord and Mediator of the New Covenant. Historical and background materials are well written, and documented so far as is essential to keep the work in line with standard volumes of its kind. Footnotes are, in general, kept to a minimum.

This reviewer asked himself the question: Suppose that, prior to becoming acquainted with the New Testament itself, the book Exploring the New Testament came into his hands. What major thought would be in his mind as he read this work? The answer seems clearly this: Where can he secure a copy of

the New Testament of which Dr. Earle and his colleagues have written? To all who approach the matter in reverse, having first the New Testament, such a volume as this is of great value in making the Scriptures to be the object of earnest study.

HAROLD B. KUHN

Church In Politices

The Kingdom Without God, by Gerald Heard, Edmund A. Opitz and others, Foundation for Social Research, Los Angeles, 1956. The Powers That Be, by Edmund A. Opitz. Foundation for Social Research, Los Angeles, 1956.

Recently some laymen urged the union of two denominations because they would then be more able “to mold public opinion.” Their argument reflects the struggle being waged today to win support for ideas and causes.

But the laymen’s argument produces a disturbing question. What is the content of the Church’s message? Or to state it differently, what is the function of the Church’s voice?

As many evangelists see it, the Church is here to proclaim God’s saving grace in Christ and to teach all the things that He commanded. This teaching has many social implications, but it builds upon an individual experience of salvation. Regeneration occurs, then nurture and instruction. Since the proclamation of the Gospel is public, the world outside of Christ’s fellowship will be aware of Christian ideals and standards and will be affected by the attitudes and actions of faithful Christians in all areas of life.

There are many liberals in American Protestantism who construe the message and function of the Church differently. While in varying degree they may pay tribute to the need for individual salvation, they are engrossed in social improvement. To achieve this improvement, the Church must be expert in political and economic matters. Having decided on the best program available at the moment, the Church must have a powerful, united voice to sway public opinion. Then the Church depends upon the State to legislate and enforce the program.

Two booklets published by the Foundation for Social Research present the cleavage in American Protestant thought incisively. The larger booklet, “The Kingdom Without God,” bears the revealing subtitle, “Road’s End for the Social Gospel.” It contains essays by Gerald Heard, Edmund A. Opitz and others.

The essayists contend that the social gospel movement was “a first cousin to modern socialism” (p. i.). The older flag bearers were Washington Gladden and Walter Rauschenbusch; the newer ones, Reinhold Niebuhr, John C. Bennett, Liston Pope and Roswell P. Barnes. Social Action departments in the denominations and in the Federal Council of Churches were the centers of social gospel strategy. Their refuge and strength was in the enlarged use of government’s power according to their theories.

Mr. Opitz contributes more than others to the indictment of the social gospel movement and argues effectively for the “libertarian” case. “The role of governments is to protect individuals in their God-given individual rights” (p. 162). He deplores the popularity of the axiom that “political action, i.e., legalized violence, has an efficacy in human affairs far surpassing uncoerced, voluntary action” (p. 69). “Collectivism,” he avers, “in its many varieties, is the great secular faith of our time” (p. 78).

The other booklet, “The Powers that Be,” written exclusively by Opitz, presents case studies of the Church in politics. It exposes the one-sidedness of positions and pronouncements of the Federal Council and of its successor, the National Council of Churches, in questions concerning labor, the United Nations, and other economic and political issues.

The title page of both booklets lists the Foundation for Social Research “as a nonprofit corporation.” Its president is James C. Ingebretsen, 1521 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles 17, California, at which address the booklets may be obtained.

CARY N. WEISIGER, III

Repentant Liberalism

Vocabulary of Faith, by Hampton Adams, Bethany, St. Louis. $2.50.

This little book, a series of popular messages on central Christian doctrines, could be mistakenly associated with the current revival of interest in the study of the theological key words of the Bible. In this respect the title is misleading.

Dr. Adams, distinguished pastor of Park Avenue Christian Church, New York City, teacher of courses in religion at New York City’s Union Theological Seminary and active representative of the Disciples of Christ in the ecumenical movement, confesses here a change in his own theological thinking (p. 113).

Against an apparent background of thorough-going liberalism, he now feels the language of the street cannot carry the Christian Gospel’s full weight of meaning (p. 7). In step with the repentant liberalism of today, he is ready to make fuller use of the once discarded vocabulary of faith.

On this basis the author proceeds in the course of 12 brief chapters, slanted particularly to the layman, to discuss such central doctrinal themes as: revelation, Christ, faith, God, the Holy Spirit, the atonement, reconciliation, redemption, resurrection, the Kingdom of God, the love of God, and grace. His point of departure in each instance is not the biblical witness but human experience, particularly the author’s own experience in counseling with those who “came to my study” (pp. 8, 9, 10, 23, etc.).

Some of the author’s ideas are: “Within their own experience, persons can have a positive revelation of God that is not traceable directly to God’s specific revelation” (p. 9); the early Christians called

Jesus Lord because “they could not believe in Jesus without believing in God” (p. 14); God is not to be thought of “as three separate, or even distinguishable, persons” (p. 52); faith that appropriates God’s forgiveness is “faith in God’s fatherhood that is inspired by Jesus’ death on the cross” (p. 64); we cannot be sure that anyone ever finally refuses to seek God’s forgiveness (p. 72); God’s forgiveness is “not an act but a quality of the love he gives to men” (p. 83); “many perhaps all, of the truest Christians have known themselves to be sinners ‘saved by grace’ ” (p. 116).

Although this is repentant liberalism, a chapter on sin is omitted.

Much could be said in appreciation of the book as far as it goes, particularly with reference to the author’s apologetic and his constant exposure of the inadequacy of contemporary secularism.

There are detracting oversights in printing: “Kupios” (p. 14), “authropos” (p. 27), “James S. Steward” (p. 51, f.n. 1), and “James Denny” (pp. 64 and 66, f.n. 1). There are inaccurate judgments: the Latin fathers are said to have written the historic creeds (p. 51); “nephesh” is said to indicate the principle of life which man as man possesses (p. 53); and a reference to the innate immortality of the soul is quoted without qualification (p. 92).

W. BOYD HUNT

Attractive Booklets

Booklets. American Tract Society, New York. 30c each.

These are five attractive booklets which a minister may desire to distribute to young Christians and others who desire knowledge of the subject treated. The first is “The Story of our Bible,” by Dr. David J. Fant. In simple and graphic form the study of the divine origin and growth of the Bible is told. Charts are given and there is a fine chapter on the scriptural portrait of Christ. The second booklet is, “The Spirit and Method of Bible Study,” by Dr. Wilbur M. Smith. This helpful booklet teaches the beginner how he may obtain the most out of the Scriptures. The third is a searching message to the minister titled, “Words to Winners of Souls,” by Horatius Bonar. This reveals the causes of an unfruitful ministry and indicates how one’s ministry may be enriched. The problem of prayer is dealt with in the fourth booklet, “Prayer,” by Dr. Samuel M. Zwemer. Along with suggestions regarding how to make prayer more effective, there is a brief exposition of the Lord’s Prayer. What to place in the hands of an inquiring Roman Catholic is sometimes a vexing problem. A fair presentation of the differences between Protestantism and Roman Catholicism is given in the fifth booklet, “Which Religion,” by Dr. George Wells Arms. It considers such doctrines as the Pope’s Infallibility, the Mass, Confessional, Indulgences, Purgatory and Mariolatry.

An Old Friend

A Dictionary of the Bible, by John D. Davis. Baker, Grand Rapids, Mich.

The Davis Dictionary of the Bible is not a new arrival but an old friend. It was in large measure the life work of Professor Davis who taught for many years at Princeton Seminary. The first edition appeared in 1898 and the fourth in 1924, about a year before Dr. Davis’ death. This fourth edition was reprinted seven times between 1924 and 1940; and it is a testimony to its enduring value that in 1954, thirty years after this edition appeared, the Baker Book House published this “photolith” reproduction which has been reprinted three times.

The reasons for the popularity of this Dictionary are briefly stated in the Preface to the original edition:

The book aims to be a dictionary of the Bible, not of speculations about the Bible. It seeks to furnish a thorough acquaintance with things biblical. To this end it has been made a compendium of the facts stated in the Scriptures, and of explanatory and supplementary material drawn from the records of the ancient peoples contemporary with Israel …

The serious defect in many of the books which have been written in recent years as “helps” to the study of the Bible has been that they have devoted too much time to theories about the Bible and have done this all too often for the purpose of imposing these theories upon the facts of the Bible. The facts remain the same; theories about them are often as ephemeral as they are various. Theories are discussed when it seemed advisable to do so. But they are distinctly secondary. It is also to be noted that Dr. Davis had the assistance of two of his distinguished colleagues at Princeton, Dr. George T. Purves and Dr. Benjamin B. Warfield.

Something should now be said about the second aim of Dr. Davis, to make the Dictionary a compendium “of explanatory and supplementary material drawn from the records of the ancient peoples contemporary with Israel.” It is quite superfluous to remark that archaeological research has made many and notable discoveries in the second quarter of the present century. Were Dr. Davis alive today he would make it his aim to incorporate them in what would be a fifth edition of the Dictionary. The present publishers have not deemed it advisable to revise the Dictionary in order to bring it up to date archaeologically. As to this two things are to be noted. The one is that the discoveries of the archaeologist, important and valuable as they are, concern the background and setting of Biblical history. They add nothing to the Biblical revelation per se. Helpful as they are in many ways they serve rather to show the vast difference between the religion of Israel and the religions of the peoples with which Israel came in contact. Furthermore, it must be remembered that many of the findings of archaelogy are inconclusive, that while it has solved some problems it has raised many others. The scroll of history which it unrolls before us is in many respects more obscure and fragmentary than we often realize.

Fifty years ago there were two main theories as to the date of Exodus. The one made Thothmes III the Pharaoh of the oppression, the other Rameses II, a difference of about two centuries. Dr. Davis advocated the later date, holding it to be in harmony with the facts given in the Bible. Other scholars held then and hold today that the earlier date is more probable. The question is much debated today. Many critical scholars hold that only a few of the Twelve Tribes ever were in Egypt, and the Conquest took place at several different times and from more than one direction, a view which is utterly incompatible with the facts stated in the Bible.

The distinction drawn by Dr. Davis between facts and theories is an important one. The Christian rejoices in every confirmation and illumination of the statements of the Bible which archaelogy has produced. But he does not accept these statements because the archaeologist tells him that he may do so, but because they are found in the Bible. And conversely he feels fully justified in rejecting the findings of the scientists when they contradict the statements of Scripture. Consequently, while we may regret that the archaeology of the Dictionary is not fully abreast of the clearest finding of the archaeologist, we welcome it and value it because it is primarily a dictionary of the Bible and not of speculations about the Bible and because a multitude of users have found its interpretations to be “sober, fair, and just.”

OSWALD T. ALLIS

Ideas

The Perils of Ecumenicity

The discussion of “The Perils of Independency” in the last issue of Christianity Today was not based upon a predisposition to condemn Independency, but rather to examine its foundations and to assess its weaknesses. It is time now to reflect on its antithesis, ecumenicity. In this issue we propose to speak of its perils.

Independency is often motivated, we conceded, by a commendable desire to glorify Christ and to exalt the Word of God. The ecumenical movement likewise, gains its appeal from a worthy biblical concept. That concept is the unity of the body of Christ. While it has been elaborated from time to time since the Reformation, not until lately have multitudes in the churches regarded it with great seriousness.

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The Christian leader can point to much in the Bible which speaks of Christian unity. We do not say there is never a biblical basis for division. Apart from the issue of apostasy, so much invoked by the separatists, there exists another biblical basis for separation about which little is said today in any Christian circle. There is clear biblical precedent for the discipline of true believers who, falling into gross sin, thereby invite excommunication. Such an act of discipline, which purposes the exclusion of the impenitent lest he contaminate other believers, is exercised not with a penal objective in view but aims to reclaim the offending person through refusing him fellowship in the ordinances or sacraments. But except for these reasons, divisions in the body of Christians originating in the pride of men are sinful.

*

The unity of the body, virtually all would stress, is a clear teaching and requirement of the Word of God. Nor should we minimize the fact that much of the current literature devoted to the study of church unity is biblically oriented. Thus John Bennett could assert (as one example): “The new emphasis upon the Church has been accompanied by a return to the Bible as the medium of revelation” (Toward World-Wide Christianity [edited by O. Frederick Nolde] [italics supplied] Harper, 1946.) Men look to the Scriptures as to a polished mirror which reflects the true unity of the body. This biblical appeal is significant. It acknowledges, consciously or unconsciously, a formal principle which Independency has always stressed, and represents in reality a dynamic change from that attitude and spirit of Liberalism long rampant in America.

Unfortunately, for the ecumenist, two main problems follow when he resorts to the Bible either as a temporary authority or witness. These problems jeopardize the major logic of the ecumenical movement because of the impasse to which they lead.

*

In the first place, proponents of organic church union who appeal to the Scriptures as a basis for the movement seldom choose to go much beyond this preliminary dependency on the Bible. But the Bible witnesses, in fact, to far more than the unity of believers. The question may rightly be asked: “Since the ecumenist lays stress on the biblically-taught unity of the body, why stop there? Why not accept the other teachings of the Scriptures, truths on which the Bible lays emphasis no less vigorously than on the truth of the unity of the body?” Many proponents of the ecumenical movement clearly resist such a step. They proclaim unity from the housetops, but they shy away from the virgin birth, the bodily resurrection of the dead, the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ, as well as from the historical trinitarianism of the church and other clear implications of Scripture. By what logic and authority, then, is there any justification for the isolation of one strand of the biblical teaching from all else, elevating it to a position of supreme importance and degrading the other teachings to positions of relative inconsequence? For such doctrines are as much a part of biblical theology as the unity of the body.

The ecumenical movement in general elevates the doctrine of the unity of the body above every other doctrine. There is a driving emphasis on this unity accompanied by a rather pale and anemic concern for basic Christian doctrine. This trend is regarded by those who cannot support ecumenicity as a key reason for their fears. Doctrinal laxity to many is vitally related to participation in a movement, and unless the great fundamentals of the faith have been spelled out intelligibly they cannot warm up to the concept of unity without dogma.

This theological vagueness which has been characteristic of ecumenicity makes it vulnerable to the charge of doctrinal inclusivism. Whereas Independency errs on the side of exclusivism, tending to spell out its position so minutely that it separates itself readily from true believers as well as from unbelievers, the ecumencial adherents tend to be so inclusive that they regard outsiders as members of the body. One group excludes some persons who really ought to be included; the other includes some whose lack of adequate credentials ought to exclude them from an apostolic fellowship.

A second problem which faces the ecumenical movement, if it professes to find its rationale in the Word of God, has to do with the nature of unity. No one can disagree with the emphasis that the Bible has a specific view of the nature of Christian unity. And, if there is to be unity, there must first be some agreement upon the nature of that unity. Precisely what is it? Here again the vessel of ecumenicity floats in waters filled with perilous shoals.

It would be unfair to ascribe to the ecumenical movement one definitive and authoritative voice touching the nature of the unity it seeks. There are divergent opinions on this subject. The question is being debated vigorously. These considerations suggest an adventurous search for a goal which is itself uncertain. Ecumenicity is “going someplace,” but it has not officially defined just where it is going. Passionately it believes in unity, but which unity it cannot, or does not, tell. Therefore those alert to the perils of ecumenicity must forge their criticisms with a view to what the advocates of union say.

*

Sincere, devoted men in the ecumenical grouping assert that the ultimate goal of the movement is organic union of the churches. This is not to say that all of them believe in it but a substantial number do and they are vocal and active in their desires to make this union a reality. Bishop G. Bromley Oxnam in a 1948 episcopal address in Boston before the Bishops of his church discloses the concept of unity cherished by him. He plainly advocated the ultimate union of all Protestant churches, looking forward to a future merger of the two remaining churches—Protestant and Roman Catholic—into one holy catholic church. Prior to the remarks of Bishop Oxnam, Harper and Brothers published the Interseminary Series. This series contained material written by leading ecumenists, and at least one volume of that series bulwarks Bishop Oxnam’s expressions.

John C. Bennett quotes Henry Pitt Van Dusen as saying (and he agrees with Mr. Van Dusen): “Henry Pitt Van Dusen rightly says that ‘Christian Unity which does not imply and make possible whatever degree of Church Union may be held to be the ultimate desideratum is something less than genuine and true Christian Unity.’ ” John A. Mackay of Princeton Theological Seminary is a fervent believer in union. He has declared that a world church will make the greatest contribution to world community. Thus, in 1946, he said: “While it is true that nothing will make a greater contribution to world community than a world Church, the possibility must also be contemplated that a world Church, a Church united in Jesus Christ with a membership in every part of the inhabited globe, might find itself in a very hostile world.” In a further word he says: “It would be much better that union be postponed until their differences have been frankly faced.” Henry Smith Leiper and Abdel R. Wentz have stated: “… a basic, if not the most important aspect of the ecumenical movement is its vision of a universal Church.”

*

H. Paul Douglass reflected the feeling of the Madras Conference of 1938 which foretold the same story. “It was especially emphasized by the Madras Conference of 1938 that there ‘has come in many fields a deep and growing conviction that the Spirit of God is guiding the various branches of His church to seek for a realization of a visible and organic union.’ ”

Such statements of sentiment can be expanded by quotations from men in the “Who’s Who of Ecumenicity,” O. Frederick Nolde, ed., Interseminary Series, Harper and Brothers, 1946, pps. 42, 44, 61, 66, 80, 197.

Still other perils, however, lurk in the background of the movement. Ecclesiasticism bedevils all movements which seek union. One need not go beyond the Roman Church to discover how true this is. Therein the right of private opinion and of private interpretation of the Scripture is denied. The concentration of power in the hands of the few is a corrupting device. The experiences of secular and religious history demonstrate that power corrupts and that complete power corrupts completely. When men are dependent upon their superiors for position and preference, they easily lose their freedom to speak the truth in charity without suffering ecclesiastical censure and loss of preferment. The seeds of this evil already exist in some of the denominations. More men would testify to these evils if they did not fear official reprisal.

Another certainty is that ecumenicity can never achieve the absolute visible organic union of Christ’s body in history. Assuming for the moment that the ultimate goal is the reunion of Christendom, then the ecumenical movement itself contains seeds of divisiveness as does Independency. There will always be those who will insist that unity is spiritual, and not visible nor organizational, and that true unity has in it a transcendental element in view of the communion of saints. Never will it be possible to bring together all these diverse elements which make up the true body of Christ. As long as so much as one segment of the body is excluded in history, absolute unity does not exist. It has never fully existed in history, although the Roman and Greek Churches before the Great Schism provide the fullest approximation in history. Any goal of absolute unity is ephemeral and chimerical; at best, visible unity can never be more than partial.

Ecumenicity tends to be just as intolerant as Independency, although this intolerance is expressed in a somewhat different fashion. Whereas Independency draws narrow lines, defining beliefs in such a detailed and technical fashion that it rules out many, ecumenicity also draws lines which are narrow and intolerant. It has little use or respect for those with whom it differs, easily regarding as fanatical and divisive those who refuse to cooperate within its orbit of inclusivism. It will tolerate and welcome those who will submit to its inclusivistic theology, but will try ruthlessly to crush and eliminate the opposition by ecclesiastical devices.

One of the tragic weaknesses of Independency is that it majors on minors. And ecumenicity does not entirely escape this same peril. It reverses the process, however. It minors on majors, exalting to a place of primacy what is not important, relegating to a secondary position that which is basic and necessary to a full-orbed Gospel. Both attitudes are essentially heretical. While they are opposite in polarity, they both rise from a departure from the apostolic base. One narrowly excludes divergence of opinion, so that it becomes difficult for some undoubted Christians to find standing room. The other is so broad and so indefinite that one cannot be sure on what ground he stands. Neither one is truly biblical nor finally acceptable. The narrow obscurantism of Independency is more widely known and challenged. The broad vistas of ecumenicity, indefinite and elusive, are less generally recognized as participating in the same spirit which characterizes those who major on minors. But the one is no less a peril than the other.

The discussion here does not concern the question of “elements of good” in ecumenicity or in independency. Rather, the purpose is to speak about the perils which beset both. This much is clear: neither movement is entirely in error. But neither possesses the sum total of truth. Neither movement possesses the ingredients of a permanent and suitable solution to the problems which vex the Church of Christ in history. The end of one is an unrestrained individualism: every man his own master, priest and congregation. The end of the other makes one man the master of all; its ultimate form is the pope of Rome, or another pope like him. The fact that both movements head in these directions does not mean that the end is inevitable. But it does suggest that, unless substantial changes are made to redirect the movements, this sad outcome remains a live possibility.

These observations are made neither in a spirit of criticism nor of condemnation. They follow rather from an earnest attempt to see the patterns in history, and from them to anticipate, however dimly, the shape of things to come. Silence has little influence; a word in season, spoken in an irenic spirit, may give pause for reflection and revision.

***

Does Jesus Repudiate the God of Mt. Sinai?

For several decades Liberalism has impressed upon the mind of the Church the notion that the God revealed by the prophets has little affinity with the God revealed by Christ. This strange concept still prevails in the thought life of the Church even though liberal theology is on the decline. Frequently “the thunderous war God of Sinai, demanding an eye for an eye” and “the merciful heavenly Father of Jesus Christ” are contrasted to each other.

That the God of Old Testament revelation differs in nature from the God revealed by Jesus is often vindicated—at least, so it is thought—by an appeal to the Sermon on the Mount: “Ye have heard that it hath been said, an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth: but I say unto you, that ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.” The God of Sinai established the principle of an eye for an eye. It would seem that Jesus rejects that dictum as unmerciful and ipso facto rejects the God who laid down such a principle.

Only a cursory reading of the passages involved in the Old and the New Testaments would give substance to this viewpoint. Jesus deals with a false application of the Old Testament principle. The Pharisees and scribes applied the text for the purpose of personal revenge, whereas the God of Sinai revealed the principle as a rule for the administration of justice. A guide for magistrates was misapplied as a regulation for private life.

The rule “an eye for an eye” appears first in Exodus 21, which is headed by the statement: “Now these are the judgments.” The word judgment in Hebrew signifies legal decision. Deuteronomy 19:18, 21 announces the precept as a guide for judges. Leviticus 24:19 also declares the regulation to be a law. To this day it is considered an elementary principle of sound jurisprudence that the punishment should fit the crime. If the God of Sinai be despised for promulgating this principle, modern day judges should also be condemned for measuring justice by this norm.

Jesus did, indeed, reveal God as merciful. But He did not thrust into the background the justice and holiness of God. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said, “For if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” An unforgiving “eye” on the part of man would receive an unforgiving “eye” from God. Further in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus declares, “with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.” These statements concern judgments and are no different from the pronouncements in the Old Testament.

Thus Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount reveals God also as demanding an eye for an eye as a principle of justice. The God whom Jesus disclosed is no different from the God of Sinai. Only a superficial interpreter of the Word would make an unsubstantiated contrast between “the thunderous war God of Sinai” and “the merciful heavenly Father of Jesus Christ.” This false concept must be effectively challenged and combatted. Neither Christianity nor the province of ethics is bound by attempts to magnify mercy that ignore or depreciate the claims of justice. Correctives must be vigorously employed to counteract erroneous concepts active in the theology of the church today.

What Is the Way to a New Society?

To thoughtful and conscientious Christians there comes the recurring problem of one’s Christian faith and the social application of this faith. None of us lives in a vacuum and each of us exerts an influence in these matters, either for righteousness or against. Neutrality is an impossibility.

The issue on which the greatest debate centers is how shall the Christian and the Church exercise influence for righteousness in the social order?

The easiest way is to permit the Church to speak through her agencies and leadership and, as the Church, to exert moral pressures in the areas of public opinion, legislative halls and enforcement agencies.

The hardest way is for the individual Christian, as a Christian citizen, to make his position known through his personal life, his publicly and privately expressed opinion and his vote.

There are many who will insist that both methods are necessary and legitimate.

To arrive at a satisfactory philosophy several questions must be asked. What is the primary task of the Church? What is the position of the Christian in the world? What is it that distinguishes both the Church and the Christian from the society in which they find themselves?

The primary task of the Church. One has but to take any Saturday edition of a metropolitan newspaper and read the topics for the one sermon to be preached in the majority of the larger churches the next day to see that for many the primary task of the Church is either a forgotten or a never-grasped truth. Instead of soul-searching messages based on a scriptural grasp of the Gospel of God’s transforming and redeeming power, there are homilies on any number of trivial problems the solution of which, one way or the other, has no eternal significance.

No greater tragedy exists in contemporary religious life than the fact that from thousands of American pulpits today there comes the faint peep of a tin horn rather than the clear blast of a trumpet sounding the call of the living God to a people who are bowing at the altars of a thousand modern Baals and who need to hear of righteousness and of judgment and of wrath to come.

But some will argue that proclaiming the social demands of a righteous God is the prophetic preaching so much needed today. Is not social unrighteousness on every hand? Is not the inhumanity of man to man, so much in evidence at home and abroad, justification for the plea of brotherly love? Must not the Church proclaim social justice?

The answer to these and other questions should be obvious. How can a new social order be built without new men? How shall there be new men unless they are born again? How shall they be born again until they come to a personal and saving relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ? How shall they come to such a relationship unless they hear the Gospel?

In our desire for social righteousness, by a rectification of the corporate sins of a corporate society we are forgetting that there is no such thing as corporate salvation other than in and through personal, individual salvation.

The primary task of the Church is therefore to win individuals to Christ. It is a spiritual mission, a mission not only alien to but completely obscure and meaningless to the unregenerate world in which it works.

What is the position of the Christian in the world? Although the formula is denied by some and considered trite by others, the fact remains that the Christian is “in but not of” this world. The moment he becomes a Christian he has transferred his citizenship from a dying and lost society to a heavenly fellowship which is eternal.

Does this mean that he no longer has a responsibility in this world? Just the opposite. For the first time, he has a responsibility, and it is a tremendous one. According to our Lord’s own statement, the Christian has now become “salt”; he has become “light”; he has become a “witness”; he has become a living man walking among those who are dead; he is no longer walking in darkness but in light.

Because of this transformation the Christian is the key to the improvement of society. By his personal life, by his private and public utterances, by his influence in every area of daily contact it is his duty to live for his Lord and in so doing to lead men to glorify the God whom he serves.

What distinguishes the Church and the Christian from the society in which they find themselves? The answer is this: the Church and the Christian are a spiritual force in the world. To substitute political and other factors for this spiritual force is to exchange the seamless robe of the Lord of Glory for the toga of a modern Caesar.

This does not for one minute imply that the Christion abdicates as a citizen. But it does mean that he recognizes that the transformation which has taken place in his own life is the same transformation his fellow men, individually and corporately, must also undergo if they are to live to the glory of God and for the good of their brothers.

At the same time when the Church, in the name of the Church, enters the secular arena and exerts political pressures for righteousness in the social order, then the Church is prostituting her mission and adding to the confusion of the world.

There are thinking and earnest Christians who will not accept the above. They honestly believe that the Church, as such, must exert political pressures for social righteousness.

Let us honestly try to face this problem. Let us take certain specific sins; slavery, alcoholism, lust, greed, prejudice, hate, to mention only a few. All of these have widespread social implications.

What happens when slavery is abolished? when there is no intemperance? when purity of life supplants licentiousness? when the material welfare of others take precedence over personal gain? when all race prejudice is eliminated and every evidence of this prejudice disappears from the horizon? when love reigns and hatreds are no more?

The obvious answer is that then we will have heaven here on earth. But a question immediately follows: How can such things be?

The final answer throws us back on the Bible and the Christ of the Bible and the Gospel He came to make possible. The solution of the spiritual and moral and social problems of the world is to be found in the redeeming and transforming work of the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ. This solution is found in that which Christ has done for individual souls; and that solution is called the Gospel.

Christian Responsibility and Communist Brutality

Events of the last few weeks are causing many Christians to experience an “agonizing reappraisal” of their concept of world order. How are the demands of an enlightened Christian conscience to be met when confronted by the situation in Hungary? When men are dying in their desire for freedom; when God-given aspirations for self determination are being brutally crushed; when a reign of terror of unexceeded rigor is being perpetrated even as these lines are written, what should be the reaction of Christians who are living in freedom and peace?

Is the Christian approach to expend itself in resolutions of disapproval? Is a renewed statement of the principles of Christian freedom and human justice a sufficient answer to the wilful destruction of a nation?

A relatively small number of trucks carrying Red Cross supplies does not solve the problem, although it is a part of our responsibility and can and will be amplified as opportunity presents itself. Nor will expressions of sympathy mean much unless sympathy is implemented by action.

The philosophy: “Anything short of war,” can do irreparable harm, for it gives the aggressor a sense of security which itself begets aggression. We believe just such a situation has developed.

The rape of Hungary may be the desperate act of a tottering regime which was born in terror and which has continued to exist in the same manner. But America and other free nations share the blame insofar as they have sustained that regime by recognition and given it a forum of respectability in which to operate.

A slap on the wrist is not the answer to what Russia has done in Hungary. Expulsion from the United Nations, with its accompanying disintegrating effect on world Communism, is the least Christians should demand in way of punishment.

Which shall take precedence—the preservation of an organization, or the certifying of a moral principle?

Bible Text of the Month: Isaiah 9:6

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6).

In the text there is a constellation of titles; and such a constellation, as, were it not for the blindness of the human mind and the obstinacy of the human heart, one should think, would be sufficient to confound all the Arianism and the confraternity of heresies upon the Divinity of Christ, to the end of the world.—HORAE SOLITARIAE.

It is manifestly impossible to associate these words of majestic prophecy with any other than the Messiah himself, and the Christian Church throughout the centuries has found here the certain attributes of the living and victorious King of the hearts of men, the only One able to deliver and to save the soul in its desperate plight and to lead men into the new and better way of the commandment of God.—W. FITCH.

When it is said that his name should be called, it does not mean he should actually bear these names in real life, but merely that he should deserve them, and that they would be descriptive of his character.—J. A. ALEXANDER.

He is given, freely given, to be all in all to us, which our case, in our fallen state, calls for. God so loved the world, that he gave him. He is born to us, he is given to us, us men, and not to the angels that sinned: it is spoken with an air of triumph, and the angel seems to refer to these words in the notice he gives to the shepherds: Unto you is born, this day, a Saviour.—MATTHEW HENRY.

Wonderful

Consider him in any point of view, either as God or man, or as God and man in one person; he is altogether wonderful. If we contemplate his works, both of creation and redemption, we shall find some legible characters of the wonderful Lord indelibly written upon them all.—HORAE SOLITARIAE.

By the first title he arouses the minds of the godly to earnest attention, that they may expect from Christ something more excellent than what we see in the ordinary course of God’s works, as if he had said, that In Christ are hidden the invaluable treasures of wonderful things (Col. 2:3). And, indeed, the redemption which he has brought surpasses even the creation of the world.—CALVIN.

Counsellor

There is no need for him to surround himself with counsellors; but without receiving counsel at all, He counsels those who are without counsel.—FRANZ DELITZSCH.

This word has been sometimes joined with “Wonderful,” as if designed to qualify it thus—wonderful counsellor. But it expresses a distinct attribute or quality. The name counsellor here denotes one of honourable rank; qualified to advise or counsel; one who is fitted to stand near princes and kings as their advisor. It is expressive of great wisdom, and of qualifications to guide and direct the human race.—ALBERT BARNES.

Mighty God

That the same person should be “the mighty God” and a “child born,” is neither conceivable nor possible, nor can be done, but by the union of the divine and human natures in the same person.—JOHN OWEN.

He is the mighty God. As he has wisdom, so he has strength, to go through with his undertaking; he is able to save to the utmost; and such is the work of the Mediator, that no less a power than that of the mighty God could accomplish it.—MATTHEW HENRY.

For if we find in Christ nothing but the flesh and nature of man, our glorifying will be foolish and vain, and our hope will rest on an uncertain and insecure foundation; but if he shows himself to be to us God and the mighty God, we may now rely on him with safety. With good reason does he call him strong or mighty, because our contest is with the devil, death, and sin, enemies too powerful and strong, by whom we would be immediately vanquished, if the strength of Christ had not rendered us invincible.—CALVIN.

For if we find in Christ nothing but the flesh and nature of man, our glorifying will be foolish and vain, and our hope will rest on an uncertain and insecure foundation; but if he shows himself to be to us God and the mighty God, we may now rely on him with safety. With good reason does he call him strong or mighty, because our contest is with the devil, death, and sin, enemies too powerful and strong, by whom we would be immediately vanquished, if the strength of Christ had not rendered us invincible.—CALVIN.

Everlasting Father

The title Eternal Father designates him, however, not only as the possessor of eternity, but as the tender, faithful, and wise trainer, guardian, and provider for his people even in eternity.—FRANZ DELITZSCH.

His fatherly care of his people and tenderness toward them are everlasting. He is the author of everlasting life and happiness to them, and so is the Father of a blessed eternity to them. He is the Father of the gospel-state, which is put in subjection to him. He was from eternity, Father of the great work of redemption: his heart was upon it; it was the product of his wisdom, as the Counsellor; of his love, as the everlasting Father.—MATTHEW HENRY.

The prophet is describing the nature of the Messiah, and therefore gives us his name, as the name of his nature. He is not describing the mode of his existence with the Father and Holy Spirit, but his essence as true and very God. For this reason, the application of this name to Jesus Christ by no means militates against the doctrine of the Trinity, or the peculiar relation of Christ in that Trinity; but establishes and confirms it. For if Christ be the Everlasting Father, and if there is but one God, the Father; then Christ being God, that divine person, who is usually styled the Father, must be of one essence with him, or there would be two Gods. And if these divine persons be of one and the same essence, they may bear the character of Father to all their creatures relatively, which they do not bear to each other, considered in the sacred essence, respectively. Thus the I ord Christ, though he is not the Father respecting the personality in the Godhead, is very properly and justly denominated Father respecting the universe of beings; for he created them all, as well as supports them all, by his power.—HORAE SOLITARIAE.

Prince Of Peace

The pole star of this constellation of titles, “Prince of Peace,” speaks to the deepest needs of the human heart; it is of utmost comfort and reassurance to every believer individually, and to the people of God as a community. In the first instance, it contained a particularly desirable promise to Israel. The nation was constantly harassed by war, their little land being the cockpit in which the surrounding great powers often waged their battles. Peace was the supreme longing of the true Israelite. It was promised in the reign of the Messiah. How appropriate also, in that respect, is this title of Christ to our own war-ridden generation! Through the reign of the Prince of Peace alone will real peace come to this earth, not only for Israel, but all nations.—HERBERT F. STEVENSON.

This is a Hebrew mode of expression denoting that he would be a peaceful prince. He would seek to promote peace. The tendency of his administration would be to restore and perpetuate peace. This expression is used to distinguish him from the mass of kings and princes who have been warriors and conquerors, and who have delighted in conquest and blood. In contradiction from all these, the Messiah would seek to promote universal peace and concord, and the tendency of his reign would be to put an end to wars and conflicts, and to restore harmony and order to the nations.—ALBERT BARNES.

Through the coming of Christ, as the angels sing, true peace will come on earth. Here in the first place is meant peace with God and a peace given by God through Christ. And when the inner harmony is there because the human soul has peace with its Lord, peace also spontaneously comes about in mutual relations between human beings. It is the work of Christ to bring peace into all human relations—in man’s relation to God, to himself (his own feelings, desires, and the like), to his life’s circumstances (calamities and trials), and to his fellow-men.—NORVAL GELDENHUYS.

Fulfillment

It is difficult to avoid the natural and striking application of the words to Jesus Christ, as the promised child, emphatically born for us and given to us, as the Son of God and the Son of man, as being wonderful in his person, works, and sufferings—a counsellor, prophet, or authoritative teacher of the truth, a wise administrator of the church, and confidential adviser of the individual believer—a real man, and yet the mighty God—eternal in his own existence, and giver of eternal life to others—the great peace-maker between God and man, between Jew and Gentile, the umpire between nations, the abolisher of war, and the giver of internal peace to all who being justified by faith have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.—J. A. ALEXANDER.

The name Jesus is the combination of all the Old Testament titles used to designate the Coming One according to his nature and his works. The names contained in Isaiah 7:14 and 9:6 are not thereby suppressed; but they have continued, from the time of Mary downwards, in the mouths of all believers. There is not one of these names under which worship and homage have not been paid to him.

—FRANZ DELITZSCH.

Eutychus and His Kin: November 26, 1956

HYPERTENSION

The fall Angst Lectures by the Professor of Dialectical Theology from Zwischen den Zeiten were fabulous. Einstein didn’t touch this chap for extrapolating in another dimension. His polysyllabic prose inspired me to try a cadenced reply:

Do you find it essential to be existential
Since you’ve been up-ended in time?
Dialectical tension describes your suspension
For you dare not ignore Kierkegaard’s either/or nor
Expect to find reason or rhyme
In a life where the moment foments that sheer torment,
The crisis of being in time.
But before such deep pathos descends into bathos
And poetry drowns in a shriek,
I would venture to ask if this temporal casket,
Inner lined with red woes, is the cause of neurosis
Which we existentially seek?
As we trace all our crime to this framework of time, since
We’re for the time-being too weak.

We are told that the blame must be ours just the same though
The fall did not happen in time.
By the sheerest invention we hold fast our tension.
Sharing Adam’s declension outside this dimension
In new super-temporal time.
But in all this two-timing our ego is climbing …
Existence! So tragic-sublime!

Blaming time and existence, we keep at a distance
The guilt of primordial crime.
We are evil and covet, we sin and we love it
As did Adam before us; but Christ to restore us
Lived sinless in calendar time.
Both our fall and salvation took place in duration
In that frame of creation, that time of decision,
That daily and commonplace time …
Momentous significant time!

EUTYCHUS

HODGE PODGE

How you are going to bundle together the World Christianity of today, and unscramble it, I don’t yet see. It certainly needs doing. I only wish some Power might be given, a la Omar Khayyam, to “Shatter it to bits and then remould it nearer to our heart’s desire.” It certainly is a hodge podge today. Enclosed is my subscription.…

C. TELFORD ERICKSON

Claremont, Calif.

Your magazine seethes with intellectual dishonesty. It should have been stillborn. Maybe it will die an infant.

Why do you fundamentalists-literalists feel that you and everyone else must swallow a rotten egg every morning before breakfast in order to prove religious faith?…

DAVID C. PAUL

Kyle Methodist Church

Kyle, Texas

Read with delight your first issue and gladly become one of the pioneer supporters.… We need a good religious journal that will command respect, have weight, and be quoted. Who knows whether thou art come to the churches for such a time as this.

GEORGE MCPHERSON HUNTER

First Presbyterian Church

Mannington, W. Va.

I feel that the theological point of view which you represent is barren.…

CHARLES M. KNAPP

Almira Community Church

Almira, Wash.

A welcome corrective to the idea that true conservatism is obscurantism.… Hand in hand with the upsurge in Biblical evangelism, your periodical will contribute to a renewed and scholarly orthodoxy.

ELVIN L. CLARK

Baptist Temple Church

Louisville, Ky.

It was with exuberance that I have read the publication.… Such an impact has been in-the-need for too many years.

MISS ARDIS JOHNSON

Bryan University

Dayton, Tenn.

I readily agree to differences of opinion, but … I cannot see that Almighty God has so endowed some few—or a few thousand—people with the infallible truth … May God bless your paper that it might be a mark of true unity, and not of diversity, among the Christians of the world.

FRANK D. MEDSKER

Colstrip Community Church

Colstrip, Montana

FORMULA FOR SUCCESS

Congratulations! The 3 year subscription shows my confidence in this venture, which has been badly needed. Publish something soon that will really help us with respect to: (1) healing, (2) the cults, (3) Pealeism, (4) soulwinning. Avoid denominational controversies and promotional schemes. Stay on a scholarly level.…

JOHN KENNETH OSBORN

Rosebush, Mich.

Praise the Lord for such a publication.

WILLIAM G. NYMAN JR.

Washington, D.C.

Perhaps a paper with as wide a contributing staff as CHRISTIANITY TODAY may arrive at a solution, from the Scriptures, which would bring together the diverse and often warring elements of Fundamentalism.

ROBERT A. WILDERMAN

Woden, Iowa

Why not a column entitled “Christianity on Stamps” for the stamp collectors among us?

Philadelphia, Pa.

LOUIS A. J. MEYER

Could you run a children’s page, so that my twelve-year-old could form the habit of reading CHRISTIANITY TODAY early?

Portland, Ore.

A. C.

ANNUAL INDEX

I saw so very much of permanent value that I plan to save every copy and put it into a note book.… An index published yearly would be a big help.

LANE ADAMS

Decatur, Ga.

• For the convenience of libraries and of subscribers saving their copies, CHRISTIANITY TODAY will print an annual index of articles, editorials, reviews and special features. The first such index will appear in Volume 1, Number 26.—ED.

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