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wo SPURGEON ON GRACE

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po Grace is not a thing which I use; grace is something which uses me...
ted, Grace is not something which I improve, but which improves me, employs
ver-
uch me, works on me; and let people talk as they will about universal grace,
sys-

it is all nonsense, there is no such thing, nor can there be. They may

sai talk correctly of universal blessings, because we see that the natural

gifts of God are scattered everywhere, more or less, and men may receive

or reject them. It is not so, however, with grace. Men cannot take the

grace of God and employ it in turning themselves from darkness to light.

1 The light does not come to the darkness and say, use me; but the light
-t comes and drives the darkness away. Life does not come to the dead man
sical and say, use me, and be restored to Life; but it comes with a power of
i its own and restores to life. The spiritual influence does not come to

- the dry bones and say, use this power and clothe yourself with flesh; but
stor it comes and clothes them with flesh, and the work is done. Grace is a
ae thing which comes and exercises an influence on us.

the —Charles H. Spurgeon
a SERMONS ON SOVEREIGNTY

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From Ben Hartley, editor of the
Survey, for whom we hold high, per-
sonal esteem, comes one of the best
arguments we have seen lately for
the value of the independent church pa-
per (such as the Journal). Wrote Mr.
Hartley, in response to complaints
that the Survey airs but “one side” of
certain issues: “. .. many other issues
resolved by our church cannot be
cpened to debate in the pages of the
denomination’s official publication.
For example, our church’s boards and
agencies have policies and programs
which Survey editors are committed
to support.” Right. And only the
independent paper can debate the
merits of these, analyzing trends and
suggesting improvements.

A letter from the esteemed author
of our Circle Bible Studies, Dr. Man-
ford Geo. Gutzke, tells us that his
home recently was broken into by
burglars evidently after money as noth-
ing else was taken. Dr. Gutzke went
on to say: “Perhaps I should feel
flattered that they seemed to pay
special attention to my office and my
desks with the result that all my files
and projects of work are strewn about
in chaos. I must admit they certainly
looked like confusion before, but I can
testify they are chaos now. There is
one sober truth which I would not
particularly want the burglar to know
and that is that my office certainly
did need reorganizing; and he did, in
a sense, some preliminary work along
that line.”

The Rev. Joseph S. Jones of Rt. 1,
Morehead City, N. C., had an article
in the Journal some time ago entitled
“Communism — Ku Klux Klan — and
the Presbyterian Church.” Subse-
quently someone obtained permission
to re-print it. Mr. Jones has lost the
name and source of the re-print. If
anyone knows, will he please contact
Mr. Jones?

One person who’s hard to find is
the failure who admits he is a self-
made man.—The Dry Side, Green Bay,

. Wis.

August 17, 1960

CONTENTS

THE UNIQUE BOOK aa ; 5
Rev. Edward B. Cooper

THE VOWS OF TEACHING AND

RULING ELDERS 7
Rev. Samuel Miller

EDITORIALS 10

A LAYMAN AND HIS CHURCH 1]
Dr. L. Nelson Bell

SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSON, August 28 a a

YOUTH PROGRAM, August 28 14

THE CHURCH AT HOME 16

BOOK REVIEWS 19

THE MAILBAG _ 20

Rev. G. Aiken Taylor, Ph.D. Editor

Rev. Henry B. Dendy, D.D.
L. Nelson Bell, M.D., F.A.C.S.
Arthur H. Matthews

Managing Editor
Associate Editor

Editorial Assistant

The Presbyterian Journal, a Presbyterian weekly magazine, devoted to the
statement, defense, and propagation of the Gospel, the faith which was once
for all delivered unto the saints, published every Wednesday by the Southern
Presbyterian Journal, Inc., in Weaverville, N. C.

Editorial Offices: 84 Kimberly Ave., Asheville, N. C. All editorial correspondence
should be addressed to Asheville, P. O. Box 3108.

Business Offices: Weaverville, N. C. All changes of address, business and
advertising correspondence.

Second-class mail privileges authorized at Weaverville, N. C. Vol. XIX, No. 16,
August 17, 1960.

Changes of address: Please send both old and new addresses, allowing three
weeks for changes in continental U. S.

6

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® and talk like you!

News ROUNDUP

HONG KONG — A
sight into the work of a missionary
is afforded if you just follow Miss
Gladys Aylward, affectionately known
as the “Small Woman” as she moves
about among the refugees in the work
to which God has called her.

revealing in-

Joined by a little Chinese Bible
woman, pbeiore going out they pray
for the people of China behind the
Bamboo Curtain and those who they
will meet in their walks.

Then, for several days they walk
together through the teeming masses
of refugees searching for those who
will listen. Meeting people in the
street she holds out her Bible and
asks, “Have you ever seen anyone
with a Book like this where you have
come from?”

The answer invariably is “No.”

Then, humming a little hymn tune,
she asks, “Do you ever hear people
singing songs like this?”

“No, we never do.”

Then she asks, “‘Do you know if peo-
ple ever get together in little groups
and talk like this. ..?” After listen-
ing a few moments to the Gospel,
sometimes their eyes take on new in-
terest as the hunger of the heart shows
through, exceeding the hunger of the
body. Occasionally, among the refu-
gees there will be one who says, with
excitement, “Oh yes, we do know of
} people who get together in little groups
And they still do!”

sen ate

Behind the evil Curtains of the
world, the light still shines!

mines RR em 6

“The grass withereth, the flower
fadeth: but the Word of our God
| shall stand forever” (Isaiah 40:8).

et ee dom

—Adapted from
World Vision Magazine

PAGE 3 / THE PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL

Roderic

M. Bell

Dallas Presbyterians
Planning For Hospital

DALLAS, Tex. — Presbyterians of
the Dallas area are planning to raise
$4 million to start construction of a
300-bed hospital.

Plans for public solicitation of that
amount to apply on the $7.5 million
cost were announced recently by Dr.
Frank H. Kidd, Jr., chairman of Pres-
byterian Hospital’s Board of Trustees
and a deacon in Highland Park
church. He simultaneously revealed
the appointment of Roderic M. Bell, al-
so a Highland Park deacon, as admin-
istrator.

The new institution will be under
joint sponsorship of the three branches
of Presbyterianism in the area: the
U. S., U.P. U.S.A. and the Cumberland
churches. Of the 15 board members,
11 are from U. S. churches. Five of
the 15 are ministers, five physicians
and five laymen.

The board expects the hospital to
help meet a critical bed shortage in
the Dallas area. There are now only
2.7 of the recommended 5.4 beds per
thousand population. Four existing
hospitals have urged construction of
a Presbyterian hospital.

j
/

AUGUST 17,

Men Of Congo Mission
Planning To Return

MONTREAT, N. C. — About 20
men from the Congo mission are plan-
ning to go back into the Congo from
Southern Rhodesia, officials of the
Board of World Missions have learned.

It was reported that the male mem-
bers of the mission volunteered at
Salisbury to return to their stations.
Leaders of the native Congolese Chris-
tian church sent an appeal to Dr. C.
Darby Fulton, executive secretary of
the Board, to allow the missionaries
to continue their work.

The Board has authorized the mis-
sion to take whatever action it deemed
proper during the emergency.

Those returning to the Congo will
find three Southern Presbyterian mis-
sionaries already there. They are
helping to man a dispensary set up in
Leopoldville after nearly 400 Belgian
doctors were forced to leave the coun-
try.

A group of Congo missionaries at
the World Missions Conference here
also met to make plans, looking to-
ward the possibility of returning.

Eisenhower Proclaims
‘Day Of Prayer’

WASHINGTON — (RNS) — Pres-
ident Eisenhower has designated Wed-
nesday, October 5, as a National Day
of Prayer. In a proclamation he re-
minded Americans that each citizen
can enjoy the blessings of liberty.

“It is not by our strength alone,”
he said, “nor by our own righteous-
ness, that we have enjoyed the abun-
dant gifts of our Creator... In this
time of testing we shall ever place
our trust in the keeping of God’s
Commandments, knowing that He who
has brought us here requires justice
and mercy in return.

“As we lift our thankful hearts to
Him, we will see clearly the vision of
the world that is meant to be and set
our hearts resolutely toward the
achievement of it.”

1960

TRENDS OF THE TIMES

Florida School Policy
Under Court Attacks

MIAMI, Fla. — Presbyterians and
other Protestants leading the opposi-
tion to an all-out legal attack on re-
ligious observances in Florida’s pub-
lic schools are preparing for their
second court skirmish late this month.

Companion suits were brought
against the Dade County school dis-
trict by a Unitarian, an agnostic and
three Jewish parents, who said they
intended to take the case to the United
States Supreme Court for a decision.
They have the backing of the Amer-
ican Jewish Congress and the Civil
Liberties Union.

It is the first time in American
jurisprudence that a whole constella-
tion of religious practices in the pub-
lic schools has been attacked in a
single case. Under attack are such
practices as Bible readings in as-
semblies and classrooms; distributions
of Bibles and religious literature to
students; prayers and grace before
meals; Christmas, Easter and Hanuk-
kah programs, baccalaureate services;
and the imposition of a religious test
for teachers and other school em-
ployees.

A Presbyterian lawyer, E. F. P.
Brigham, is an attorney for Protes-
tant intervenors who are defending
the religious observances in the
schools.

During the first four days of testi-
mony in July Mr. Brigham quizzed
a Unitarian minister on use of the
Lord’s Prayer in school. The Uni-
tarian said some members of his faith
did not approve of its use because
“locating God in heaven is objection-
able to many Unitarians.”

While the court battle raged, the
Presbytery of the Everglades ex-
pressed “genuine dismay” over the
suits. A resolution passed at the Pres-
bytery’s quarterly meeting noted:
“One of the original, fundamental
freedoms established by our Founding
Fathers was to worship as they de-
sired; the interpretation of religious
freedom taken by those opposing Bi-
ble reading is that of freedom from
worship, which is ungodly and con-
trary to human experience.”

The resolution recalled the place of
the belief in God in American history

PAGE 4 / THE PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL / AUGUST 17,

and the place of prayer in the prac-
tice of such public bodies as the U. S.
Congress.

Also voicing opposition to the suits
were the Greater Miami Council of
Churches and the Greater Miami Min-
isterial Association. The same two
organizations passed resolutions three
years ago expressing disapproval of
attempts to keep Christians from pray-
ing as Christians in public meetings.

Among the witnesses during the first
part of the trial was a 17-year-old
Jewish girl who said she found such
expressions as “in Jesus Christ our
Savior’s Name, we pray” to be “ex-
tremely offensive and sectarian.’”’ She
also said she objected to the use of
the name of God in school, except
when used in the pledge of allegiance
to the flag.

While testimony was being taken,
young people of Shenandoah Presby-
terian Church conducted an around-
the-clock prayer service.

More testimony will be taken later
this month, after a recess declared
because of a death in the family of
the judge. (See editorial, ‘More
Thoughts,” p. 10).

Dem’s Prayer Protested

ST. PAUL, Minn. (RNS)
Two Minnesota Jewish organizations
have protested reference to America
as “a Christian nation” by Methodist
Bishop Gerald Kennedy, Los Angeles,
in his benediction at a session of the
Democratic national convention in Los
Angeles.

A telegram was sent by Rabbi Moses
Sachs, secretary of the Minnesota
Rabbinical Association, and Samuel
L. Scheiner, executive director of the
Jewish Community Relations council,
to Sen. Hubert Humphrey, co-chair-
man of the Minnesota delegation.

“We were dismayed to hear Bishop
Kennedy in his benediction pronounce
America ‘a Christian nation’ and ex-
plicitly exclude a sizeable number of
Americans from his prayer,” the wire
said.

“As representatives of the Minne-
sota Jewish community, we hope that
you will use your good offices to the
end that future prayers at the Dem-

ogatic convention are as inclusive of

all Americans as possible.
for your cooperation.”

Thank-you

A Negro Baptist minister, the Rey.
E. A. Anderson, Los Angeles, who
gave the invocation at a later session,
also made reference to the United
States as “a Christian nation” in his
prayer.

Bible Course in Ohio

Ruled Unconstitutional

COLUMBUS, O. — (RNS) — A
Protestant church - sponsored Bible
course given in at least seven public
schools of the Blackriver Consolidated
School District was declared unconsti-
tutional here by Ohio Attorney Gen-
eral Mark McElroy.

The attorney general ruled on the
course — a 30-minute, non-sectarian
Bible study each week — at the re-
quest of Dennis Dannley, prosecutor of
Medina County.

Mr. McElroy said the course violat-
ed provisions of Article 1, Section 7
of the Ohio Constitution and the First
Amendment of the U. S. Constitution
which outlaw the establishment of a
state religion.

The course was sponsored by 14
Protestant churches united under the
name “Association for Religious Ed-
ucation in Public Schools.”

Schools involved are in rural areas
of three Ohio counties. The course,
or one similar to it, has been given
in some Ashland schools for 16 years.

Mr. McElroy noted in his decision
that constitutional objections to re-
ligious instruction in public schools
centered on four points: instruction
in a specific version of the Bible; the
singing of hymns or verse with in-
struction; compulsion or use of public
school authority to encourage atten-
dance, and the use of time and facili-
ties of a tax supported institution to
support a particular religion.

The ruling was asked for as a result
of the addition of the Spencer public
school to the Blackriver School Dis-
trict.

Children in the Spencer school were
given notices which told of the “re-
ligious. education in our. schools in
grades one through six.”” Miriam Jones,
a graduate of Moody Bible Institute,
was to teach the course, according to
the notice. She has also taught the
course in the other schools.

1960

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Years ago agnostic General Lew
Wallace determined to write a book
“exposing” supernatural Christianity
as a fraud. In order that he might
know his subject he began to study the
Bible. But the Spirit of God spoke
to him through the pages of the Book
Divine, and he finally became con-
vinced that its contents were true.
Instead of trying to undermine and
destroy it, he became its friend, and
wrote Ben Hur, one of the greatest
Christian novels ever produced.

The Bible is read today because it
is worth reading. The reason why
800 out of every 1000 books are for-
gotten within one year of their pub-
lication is that there is so little written
worth remembering. But the Bible
lives on because it is God’s Book. The
American Bible Society tells us that
the entire Bible or Scripture portions
have been translated into over 1100
different languages. The Word of
God has been burned, criticized, and
betrayed, yet it lives on.

In Psalms 119:140 we read, “Thy
word is very pure; therefore thy ser-
vant loveth it.” That word “pure”
in the Hebrew contains the idea of
refining, as when gold is purified
through the refiner’s fire. Someone
has said concerning the Word of God
that “it is absolutely perfect, with-
out the dross of vanity and fallibility
which runs through human writings.”

Experts tell us that pure gold is
so fixed that if an ounce of it were
set in the eye of a glass furnace for
two months it would not lose a single
grain. In the handling of gold bullion
it is necessary to weigh the gold at
regular intervals, because pieces of
it chip off and a certain amount of
deterioraton sets in because the bul-
lion is not pure gold. So even with
the most perfect of human words,
there is still some dross in them.

PAGE 5S / THE PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL / AUGUST 17,

th

Only the Word of God is beyond the
pale of criticism. It has stood the
fires of attack and corrosion for cen-
turies, and is just as upright in its
integrity today, just as pure, and just
as effective as the day it was written.
It is still “sharper than any two-edged
sword.”

When I use the term “unique” and
apply it to the Bible I do not mean
that it is odd, but that it stands ab-
solutely alone, that it is the only one
of its class in all the world, that it is
different from any other book ever

written. The Bible is unique in its
origin, unique in its message, and
unique in its effect upon men.
I. IN ITS ORIGIN

In answering the question “Can God

be known?” we believe that the only
way the true God can be known by
man is through His Holy Word. God,
then, has made Himself and His gra-
cious purposes known to man in an
immediate and direct Word of God
which is reverently to be received in
simple faith. This authoritative mes-
sage has not been attained by human
effort; discovered by human wisdom.
It stands entire waiting only to be ac-
cepted. In fact, both the revelation
and the process through which it was
enshrined in a written record must
be viewed as a part of the redemptive
work of God. “God, who at sundry
time and in divers manners, spake
in times past unto the fathers by the
prophets, hath in these past days spok-
en unto us by His Son.” (Heb. 1:1,2).

God, then, can be known because
God has spoken. The Bible comes
to us with the voice of authority and
must be believed because it is the
Word of God. For this reason the
prophets reiterated over and over
again, “Thus saith the Lord.” Our
own Westminster Confession of Faith,

Chapter I, Section 4 says, “The au-
thority of the Holy Scriptures, for
which it ought to be believed and
obeyed, dependeth not upon the testi-
mony of any man or church, but
wholly upon God, (who is truth itself)
the author thereof; and therefore it
is to be received, because it is the
Word of God.”

The Bible is a collection of 66
pamphlets or short books written by
about 40 different writers at different
places and at times extending over
a period of 1600 years. Few of the
writers of these books knew each
other, and none of them knew what
collection of their writings would be
included in one volume many hun-
dreds of years after they were written.
Yet the remarkable thing about these
writings is that they all fit together
like the stones of an arch and support
each other in a way which no other
literature could do.

This did not occur by chance. God
was behind these men guiding them
by His Holy Spirit and supernaturally
preserving them from making the er-
rors into which all other authors nat-
urally fall because they are human.
Yet we conservatives do not believe
in “the dictation theory of inspiration”
for we hold that the personalities of
the various writers appear in the books
they wrote. They were simply guided
by God so that they would make no
mistakes, and for that reason we be-
lieve that the Bible is our only “‘in-
fallible rule of faith and practice.”

We have, for instance, the wonder-
ful writings of Moses in the Penta-
teuch. He may not have been an
eloquent public speaker,: but he cer-
tainly wielded a facile pen. We see
the Shepherd—King David writing in
the Psalms descriptions of the beau-
ties of nature with which he was so
intimately familiar. Amos was called

1960

from being a herdsman and a vine-
dresser to be a prophet of God and we
see the rough marks of his calling in
his divinely inspired words.

In the New Testament, contrast the
simple, yet beautiful, style of the
Apostle John with the long in-
volved sentences of erudite, university-
trained Paul, the theologian; or think
of Luke, the physician-traveller, — and
note the medical and nautical terms he
employs in the two books he wrote.
God was working througk all these
men.

I am one of those who is old-fash-
ioned enough to believe that the Bi-
ble not only contains the Word of
God, but that the Bible is itself the
Word of God — that it is a unique
Book because it is of divine origin.
Those liberals who declare that “lit-
eral infallibility of Scripture is a
fortress impossible to defend” not
only utter sheer heresy, but would
foolishly stake their claims for eternal
life upon the fallible opinions of finite
men rather than upon the infallible
Word of the Infinite and Eternal God.

II IN ITS MESSAGE

The Bible is the only Book in all
the world that has the audacity to tell
man just what a miserable creature
he is. It claims, without contradiction
from cover to cover, that man was
specially created in the image of His
Maker with mental and spiritual fac-
ulties that fitted him for communion
with his Creator and for worship and
understanding of His works. It then
goes on to state that man by the ex-
ercise of his self-will disobeyed the
command of God and fell into sin,
and that this brought pain, sorrow,
and death into the world.

The Scriptures are clear and agreed
in stating that man is a sinner, and all
the writers emphasize that because of
our first parents’ sin all the world is
guilty before God. Romans 5:12 —
“Wherefore, as by one man sin en-
tered into the world, and death by
sin; and so death passed upon all men,
for that all have sinned.” Jer. 17:9—
“The heart is deceitful above all things
and desperately wicked.” Ezek. 18:4

“The soul that sinneth, it shall
die.”” Romans 6:23 — “The wages of
sin is death.” Eph. 2:1,4 — “You

. . were dead in trespasses and sins

. were by nature the children of
wrath.”

The Bible also harmoniously tells of
God’s wondrous plan of salvation. Yes,
while God is a God of holiness and
justice Who will in no wise spare the

PAGE 6,

THE PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL

guilty, He is also a God of mercy and
grace Who wants to see men live.
Therefore, when men because of sin
were unable to keep His covenant of
works, He provided another way —
a by-faith way of righteousness. He
sent His only begotten Son to die up-
on the cross for us. When we place
our faith in this Savior our sins are
laid upon Him, and His perfect right-
eousness is laid to our account. John
3:16 — “For God so loved the world,
that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in Him should
not perish, but have everlasting life.’

Romans 3:24 “We are justified
freely by His grace through the re-
demption that is in Christ Jesus.”

Titus 2:14 — “Our Savior Jesus Christ
gave Himself for us that He might re-
deem us from all iniquity.”

So the message of the Old and the
New Testaments is essentially the
same, for the scarlet thread of redemp-
tion runs throughout the entire Bible.
In the institution of sacrifice the of-
fering of the blood of a lamb looked
forward to the offering of the Lamb
of God and His precious blood on the

God has worked some very surpris-
ing results with some imperfect people.
cross of Calvary. Substitutionary
atonement is the teaching of both
Testaments, and the redemption fore-
told in the Old is the redemption re-
vealed in the New.

Furthermore, the Bible not only
agrees on what we need to know in
order that we might be saved from
sin, it also agrees on the information
necessary to live the Christian life.
There are some who object to the
view that the Bible contains our rule
of faith and practice, for they hold
that since we are under grace we no
longer need a law. However, the Bi-
ble clearly teaches that the law of
God is of eternal validity, and we en-
deavor to keep it today because we
love the Lord and desire to please
Him.

Ill. IN ITS EFFECT UPON MEN

No other book ever written has
changed the lives of men like the Bi-
ble. It has transformed enemies of
Christ and His Church into friends of
God and His Gospel; it has made sin-
ners into saints; it has changed man-
eating savages into dedicated Chris-
tians. It has lifted the level of so-
cieties, it has raised the status of
women in the world, it has been the
motivating force behind every good
movement ever started.

/ AUGUST 17,

An old professor of biology used
to hold a little brown seed in his hand,
and say, “I know exactly the composi-
tion of this seed. It has in it hydro-
gen, carbon, and nitrogen. I know
the exact proportions. And I can
make a seed that will look exactly
like this seed. But if I plant my
seed it will come to naught; its ele-
ments will simply be absorbed by the
soil. But if I plant in the good ground
this seed God made, it will became a
plant because it contains the mys-
terious principle we call life.”

The Bible looks like other books.
We cannot altogether understand its
marvellous power. But planted in good
ground, it shows that it has the life
principle in itself, for it brings forth
fruit in the hearts of its hearers.

How important it is, then, that we
get this Gospel out; that we take it
to the ends of the earth, and that we
send out more and more missionaries
to spread the glad tidings of salvation
through faith in Jesus Christ to those
who do not know Him. Much of the
world still lies in darkness, and many
do not know Christ Who alone can
cleanse from sin. There are still al-
most 2000 tongues into which the
Word has not yet been translated. The
immensity of the task sometimes stag-
gers us, but let us never forget that
we have a great God who is able to
accomplish great things through will-
ing hands and hearts.

This unique Book, the Bible, is the
only answer to competing “isms” such
as international Communism. Let no
one mistake it — we are already in
a great religious war, a war between
godless totalitarianism and Bible Chris-
tianity. Communism is a religion to
its devotees and if we only had the
zeal which they use in propagating their
gospel of hate, our Gospel of love
through the grace of God in Jesus
Christ would spread more quickly and
penetrate more deeply.

May God, then, enable us to appreci-
ate more fully the great heritage that
we have in the Gospel of His grace,
and in that Book, His Holy Word,
which stands alone as containing the
only answer to the problems that per-
plex this old world.

“How precious is the Book divine,
By inspiration given!
Bright as a lamp its precepts shine,
To guide our souls to heaven.”
* * id * *
The Rev. Mr. Cooper is pastor of
the Sharon church, Charlotte, N. C.

1960

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What does the Church expect when it asks: “Do you receive and adopt the Con-

fession of Faith... ?

The Vows of ‘Teaching
and Ruling Elders

3

Christian Brethren:

I need not say that the faithful
adherence to our doctrinal standards
is a matter which stands essentially
connected with the peace of the Pres-
byterian Church. On this subject, it
is of the utmost importance that there
be a concurrence of sentiment, in fa-
vour of some rational and scriptural
principles.

On the one hand, if such absolute
uniformity in the mode of explain-
ing every minute detail of truth be
contended for; if men are to be ac-
cused and subjected to discipline for
not expounding every doctrine con-
tained in the Confession of Faith, in
the same precise manner with every
other subscriber who has gone before
him — the Church must inevitably
be kept in a state of constant mutual
accusation and conflict. Quietness and
peace will be out of the question.

On the other hand, if all sorts of un-
scriptural opinion, except the extreme
of heresy, should be freely coun-
tenanced by any of our judicatories;
if that refusal to censure any form
of doctrinal error, short of palpable
Unitarianism, be adopted as the pre-
valent policy, it will be impossible
much longer to keep the Church to-
gether. Or rather, it will not, much
longer, be worth keeping together. For
it will cease to be what the Church
was constituted and intended to be,
a “WITNESS FOR GOD,” in the
midst of a corrupt and ungodly world;
— a witness for the truth as well as
the order of His family.

Following is a letter written in February, 1833, by the Rev. Prof. Samuel
Miller, of Princeton Seminary, on the subject, “Adherence to our doctrinal
Standards.” — Abridged by the Rev. Morton H. Smith.

It is well known, that when min-
isters are ordained in the Presbyterian
Church; or when those already
ordained are received into our body,
they are called upon to give their
formal assent, among others, to the
following questions:

1. “Do you believe the Scrip-
tures of the Old and New Testa-
ments to be the Word of God, the
only infallible rule of faith and
practice?”

2. “Do you sincerely receive
and adopt the Confession of Faith
of this Church as containing the
system of doctrine taught in the
Holy Scriptures?”

Here, it will be observed, the BIBLE
is declared to be the Only Infallible
Rule of Faith, and the Confession of
Faith of the Presbyterian Church is
recognized as only a summary or com-
pendious view of the manner in which
the members of that Church agree in
interpreting the Scriptures. In this
sense only are we in the habit of call-
ing our “Confession of Faith,” and
“Form of Government,” our “ecclesi-
astical standards.””’ Not ultimate stan-
dards of faith and practice; but stan-
dards or tests, for ascertaining the
manner in which we, as a Church,
profess to interpret the Bible.

How is this public subscription, or
assent to the Confession of Faith, to
be understood? Is it to be considered
as precluding all variety of opinion?
Is it to secure perfect uniformity in
the manner of construing every min-
ute article, as to censure and ex-
clude every possible diversity of ex-
position on any point? Such perfect

PAGE 7 / THE PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL / AUGUST 17,

uniformity among 3,000 ministers is
not to be realized. It is well known
that the framers of the Westminster
Standards differed on minor points,
yet they were all substantial and sin-
cere Calvinists. The same is true of
the Dutch Synod, and also of the
American Presbyterian Synod of Phila-
delphia of 1729, who first adopted the
Westminster Confession and Cat-
echisms for the American Presby-
terian Church. They were all sub-
stantial, sincere Calvinists; and, there-
fore, unanimously, and with good faith,
subscribed to the Westminster Stan-
dards.

An impartial jury would answer the
question of the meaning of the words
“the system of doctrine taught in the
Holy Scriptures,” in the following
manner: “Since the primary object
of subscribing an ecclesiastical creed
is to express agreement in doctrinal
beliefs; since the manifest design of
the Confession of Faith of the Pres-
byterian Church is to maintain what is
commonly called the Calvinistic sys-
tem, and since this has been the uni-
versal understanding, ever since that
Confession was formed, we judge that
no man who is not a sincere Calvinist,
that is, who does not ex animo (from
his heart) receive all the distinguish-
ing articles of the Calvinistic system,
can honestly subscribe it.

We cannot resist the conclusion, as
fair and honorable men, that unless
a candidate for admission does really
believe in the doctrine of the Trinity;
the incarnation and true Deity of

Jesus Christ; the personality and Deity
of the Holy Spirit; the fall and entire

1960

native depravity of man in virtue of
a connection with Adam, the progenitor

of our race; the vicarious atoning
sacrifice of the Redeemer; the justifi-
cation solely on account of the right-
eousness of Christ, set to our account,
and made ours by faith; sovereign
and unconditional personal election to
eternal life; regeneration and sancti-
fication by the power of the Holy
Spirit; the eternal punishment of the
impenitently wicked, etc; — unless he
sincerely believes all these and the
essentially allied doctrines which have
been considered as distinguishing fea-
tures of the Calvinistic system, and
believes them in substance, as they
are laid down in the Confession, our
verdict is, that he cannot honestly
subscribe to it.

It appears to me that nothing can
be plainer, than that a Pelagian, a
Semi-pelagian, or Arminian, to say
nothing of more radical errorists, can-
not possibly, with a good conscience,
subscribe the Confession of Faith of
the Presbyterian Church. To erect
a barrier against the encroachment of
these errors in England was one of
the main objects of the formulation
of the Westminster Standards. Again,
our own Church, in 1729, in her
“adopting act” had the errors of
Semi-pelagianism and Arminianism in
view.

The question, however, is, how
minor differences in the mode of ex-
plaining Gospel truth may be decided.
No position in morals can be plainer,
than those principles which the Con-
fession in language directly proscribes:
which it was expressly and specially
intended to exclude; and which the
actual administration of the Church
under it, is known to have again and
again condemned and excluded. The
advocate of such cannot possibly, with
a good conscience, subscribe to its
articles. Such a subscription is a
SOLEMN PERJURY.

If there be such a thing as “lying
to the Holy Ghost,” here it is. It is
destroying the very intention of a
creed; the object of which, as all al-
low, is to ascertain and secure con-
currence in faith. If the system of
doctrine taught in the Confession be
wrong, let it by all means be changed.
But as long as we profess to hold cer-
tain doctrines, let us really and honest-
ly. hold them. I would unspeakably
rather discard the Confession alto-
géther, than adopt a principle which
would render its use a solemn mock-
ery.

I shall close with remarks along
this same line made by the late Dr.
John Witherspoon: “I cannot for-
bear warning you against a piece of
dishonesty which may possibly be
found united to gravity and decency
in other respects. I mean a minister’s
subscribing to articles of doctrine
which he does not believe. This is
so direct a violation of sincerity, that
it is astonishing to think how men
can set their minds at ease in the
prospect, or keep them in peace after
the deliberate commission of it. The
very excuses and evasions that are
offered in defence of it are a disgrace
to reason, as well as a scandal to re-
ligion.

What success can be expected from
that man’s ministry, who begins it
with an act of such complicated guilt?
How can he take upon him to reprove
others for sin, or to train them up
in virtue and true goodness, while he
himself is chargeable with direct, pre-
meditated, and perpetual perjury? ...
I have particularly chosen to introduce
the subject upon this occasion, that
I may attack it, not as an error, but
as a fraud; not as a mistake in judg-

ment, but an instance of gross dis-
honesty and insincerity of heart. I
must beg every minister, but especial-
ly those young persons who have an
eye to the sacred office, to remember
that God will not be mocked, though
the world may be deceived. In His
sight, no gravity of deportment, no
pretence to freedom of inquiry, (a
thing excellent in itself,) no regular
exercise of the right of private judg-
ment, will warrant or excuse such a
lie for gain, as solemnly to subscribe
what they do not believe.” (Wither-
spoon’s Works, Vol. I, pp. 313-4.)

* a * a 3S

Dr. Miller’s Letter is taken from a
volume entitled LETTERS TO PRES-
BYTERIANS, ON THE PRESENT
CRISIS IN THE PRESBYTERIAN
CHURCH IN THE UNITED STATES.
It was published at the time of tension
between the Old and New School ele-
ments in the Church in the early
1830’s. Since our church today is
in many ways faced with similar ten-
sions, and since the question of sub-
scription is again involved, these words
of Dr. Miller may be useful for our
day.

eee ee

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PAGE 8 / THE PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL / AUGUST 17, 1960

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PAGE 9 / THE PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL / AUGUST 17, 1960

EDIJOHIALS

More Thoughts on Religious Freedom

The increasing consciousness of re-
ligion in American life has resulted in
an increasing tension between religions
with a consequent snarl in the practi-
cal application of the principles of re-
ligious “freedom” as such “freedom”
is guaranteed by the Constitution.

All over the country incidents are
occurring which tend to indicate that
there is no such thing as a society in
which people of different faiths can
live together without stepping on each
other’s toes. Apparently the day is
not far when America must decide
whether it shall be considered a god-
less nation or a Christian nation.
There seems to be no middle ground.

In Massachusetts, a man is unhappy
over “In God We Trust” on our coins.
In New York, a school principal ob-
jects to “this nation, under God,” in
the pledge of allegiance to the Flag.
In Miami, Fla., a Jewish girl finds
prayers in school ending with “in the
Name of Jesus Christ” highly offen-
sive. And — also in Miami a radio
advertising salesman insists that his
“freedom of religion’ allows him the
freedom to keep religious influences
away from his children. Therefore—
he insists in court — the rest of the
children in the school system must
also be kept from religious influences,
to protect his “freedom.”

In Pennsylvania, children belonging
to a strict sect refuse to watch edu-
cational films in school, throwing au-
thorities into a tizzy. And a harried
county prosecutor in Ohio has asked
the Supreme Court to close two Amish
schools because (in effect) they aren’t
teaching anything. It seems that the
Amish don’t believe in education be-
yond grammar school and in order to
comply with state requirements that
children attend school until they are
16, they are running their own schools
which — it is alleged — teach virtually
nothing.

We have all heard of cases where
Jehovah’s Witnesses refused to uphold
the government of the U. S. in pledge
or in service; where Quakers refused to
fight; where Mormons wanted to prac-
tice polygamy.

PAGE 10 /

One of these days we may be shocked
to hear of a sect caught in the act of
human sacrifice. Should such an
eventuality occur, what will we do if
they plead immunity on the grounds
of religious freedom? We will prose-
cute them to the full extent of the law,
that’s what we will do. And the law
under which they will be prosecuted
will be one based on the Christian in-
terpretation of right and wrong —
not on some obscure sect’s interpreta-
tion of right and wrong.

The fact is that it is the Christian
concept which secures the very free-
doms which the non-Christians enjoy
and for which they contend. We can
go further: It is the Protestant Chris-
tian concept which secures the very
freedoms which others are now trying
to claim as their own.

If there is to be real religious lib-
erty in America, we must — at the
very least — declare that this is a
Christian nation and that others who
enjoy the privilege of worshipping as
they choose must nevertheless recog-
nize that they are “guests” of a Chris-
tian “host’’; and that their “freedom”
must not destroy, upset or embarrass
the form and order native to the land
in which they enjoy their “freedom.”

This is to say that a Jew may prac-
tice his religion without molestation.
But if he (or she) goes to public
school in these U. S., he (or she) must
sit quietly while prayers are offered
in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

The NCC And
Party Platforms

Once again meddling in politics “fon
behalf of 33 constituent Protestant
and Eastern Orthodox communions’”’
the National Council of Churches
sought to influence the framing of
both party platforms prior to the na-
tional conventions. This is what the
NCC urged upon both Democratic and
Republican platform committees, as
an expression of the will of the
churches:

—More general disarmament.

—Recognition of Red China.
was couched in circumlocution: “
we urge the maintenance of channels
of reconciliation, communication and
influence with the community of man-
kind,whatever the form of government
to which peoples are subjugated.”

(This

“ee

—Support for the Connally Amend-
ment, respecting U. S. sovereignty be-
fore the International Court of Justice.

—Relaxation of immigration and nat-
uralization laws.

—Implementation of citizen’s rights
granted by the Constitution.

—Throttling of the Un-American Ac-
tivities committee. (The reference
was to “abuses in investigative pro-
cedure’).

—Government intervention against
those who would use “official docu-
ments” to attack such religious or-
ganizations as the NCC. (The refer-

ence was to the Air Force Manual
hassle).

There were a total of 12 points in
the communication. The reader is left
with a distinct impression that the
NCC wanted both political parties to
go further “left.” Thus, in politics
as well as in theology, there are quite
a few among the however many mil-
lions of Protestants they claim to rep-
resent, who would just as soon be
represented by someone else.

Lost — One
Christmas Gift

In December 1959 Dr. Carl MclIn-
tire put on a great campaign to raise
a Christmas gift for the Korean Pres-
byterian Church which he reported
was so courageously fighting the
ecumenical movement. It has been
reported that Dr. McIntire raised well
over $100,000. On the surface this
sounds like a most generous effort
in behalf of a church doing battle in a
common cause with Dr. McIntire.

But Dr. McIntire seems to have a
capacity for presenting “truths” or
“information” that support his claims
and ignoring any contrary evidence.
If Dr. McIntire had presented all the

THE PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL / AUGUST 17, 1960

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facts about his Christmas present, it
would have been embarrassing to him.

The most embarrassing fact about
this Christmas present is that it was
declined by the leaders of the church
for which Dr. McIntire claims to have
raised it. Dr. McIntire should have
this letter in his files if he keeps all
his correspondence.

A second embarrassing fact is that
the leadership of this same Anti-
Ecumenical Assembly has published
repeated statements for distribution
throughout the Korean Church, saying
that it has no connection and will
have no connection with the I.C.C.C.
sponsored by Dr. McIntire. This lead-
ership withdrew from the W.C.C. and
is opposed to certain phases of the
ecumenical movement related to the
W.C.C. but it is also opposed to Dr.
McIntire.

Meanwhile evidences of the distribu-
tion of funds to churches and institu-
tions over a wide area are beginning
to mount. Churches that had been
receiving small subsidies from our
pioneer evangelistic funds have been
offered larger subsidies to desert our
mission. Home areas that
have received help from the larger
churches in Seoul suddenly have plenty
of money from other sources. Institu-
tions by waving the banner of anti-
ecumenicity have had their coffers re-
plenished. Does this mean that the
I.C.C.C. team that had its offer reject-
ed by the church leadership, has taken
to by-passing that leadership and sub-
verting the church beneath? Would
the good fundamentalists who thought
they were giving to conserve purity of
Christian doctrine, have given so gen-
erously if they knew their money might
be used to subvert a church that was
already conservative through and
through? Dr. McIntire should give a
very careful accounting of his steward-
ship so that the leadership of the Ko-
rean Church that he claims to honor
and the generous donors in America
might know that all has been on the
level with this Christmas gift that
seems to have gone underground.

mission

—John Talmage
Southern Presbyterian Mission
Taejon, Korea

PAGE 11 / THE PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL

Dr. L. Nelson Bell

RATIONALISM AT BAY

In the April issue of Christianity
and Crisis there is a rather plaintive
editorial against conservatism, be it
theological, economic or political. At
one place we read:

“Precisely because the American
consensus has left these persons
behind, their voices have taken on
stridence and have sought forums
for expression in the church, the
armed forces and other somewhat
sheltered places. The public fo-
rum will no longer listen.”

The

words:

editorial ends with these

‘The leftward drifting of the whole

temper of America — in race,
economics, the use of government,
taxation — is the real fear. The
effort to normalize some old

pietistic theology is better seen as
the rationalization of a reaction-
ary political and social ideology.”

The effort to shrug off a rising tide
of resistance to a theological liberal-
ism which has fostered in its wake
economic and political philosophies
cannot be so easily accomplished for
there is a growing concern on the part
of intelligent Christians, a concern
not for the status quo or the so-called
American way of life, but for a Chris-
tian faith based on divine revelation
and not human hypothesis.

Relevant to this concern is an ar-
ticle in a recent issue of the Satur-
day Evening Post by one of America’s
most influential theologians. That he
is a chairman of the editorial board of
Christianity and Crisis makes the char-

acterizing of some who have never
succumbed to theological liberalism

(or who are now in the process of re-
jecting it) as “left behind persons”
more significant.

In the Post article the author says:

“Incidentally, most modern Bibli-
cal scholars take it for granted
that Christ’s resurrection was not
a public event in the same sense
as the crucifixion, but rather a
spiritual experience of his dis-

/ AUGUST 17,

ciples, a symbol of the early Chris-
tian faith that Christ’s death rep-
resented the climax of a histori-
cal drama in which both the di-
vine mystery and the human sit-
uation were definitely clarified.
The resurrection stories, however
dubious, as records of “public”
historical events, are witnesses to
the fact that the church, which
was formed by the inspiration of
the life and death of the Man
Jesus of Nazareth, did not regard
His death as merely the martyr-
dom of a noble man but as a
drama in which ultimate mys-
teries about God and man were
clarified.”

What these liberal theologians fail
to realize is that there is a growing
revolt against such rationalizing of
historic Christian truth and that this
revolt is wide-spread.

Those who teach in liberal theologi-
cal circles need to realize that the
world in which they live is not only
far removed from men and their needs
but it is incapable of reaching the
masses because it is predicated on the
explaining away of vital Christian
truth.

That the resurrection, on which the
Christian hope is centered, is ex-
plained away in this doctrinaire fash-
ion is a matter of the deepest concern
to the Church.

It is to be hoped that these liberal
theologians will some day awake to
the fact that they cannot explain away
vital doctrines of the Christian faith
and leave that faith intact. It is they
who stand in judgment, not those who
are willing to accept the record of
Holy Writ at face value.

—L. N. B.

The older I grow — and I now
stand on the brink of eternity — the
more comes back to me that sentence
in the Catechism which I learned when
a child, and the fuller and deeper its
meaning becomes: “The chief end of
man is to glorify God and enjoy him
forever.”’ — Carlyle THE NEW DIC-
TIONARY OF THOUGHTS.

1960

LESSON FOR AUGUST 28, 1960

Bible Material: Isaiah 30-31; 36:1-37:20
Devotional Reading: Ephesians 6:10-17

The making — and breaking — of military alliances
has been a favorite pastime of the nations from the
earliest days of history down to the present time.
In the fourteenth chapter of Genesis we have the in-
teresting account of the battle of the four kings allied
against five in which Lot was captured and then res-
cued; and the mysterious character, Melchizedek ap-
pears. When Joshua invaded the land of Canaan
the kings of the South and then the kings of the North
banded together against him. It has been this way
down through the ages.

As a sample of the danger of military alliances, let
us think of that wicked king Ahab: “And Ahab king of
Israel said unto Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Wilt
thou go with me to Ramoth and Gilead? And he
answered him, I am as thou art, and my people as thy
people; and we will be with thee in war’ (I Kings 22).
They enquired of the Lord, but in spite of the warning
of Micaiah the prophet they went to battle. The re-
sult was the death of Ahab. Jehoshaphat almost lost
his life also. “And Jehoshaphat the king of Judah
returned to his house in peace to Jerusalem. And Jehu
the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and
said to king Jehoshaphat, Shouldest thou help the
ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord? Therefore
is wrath upon thee from before the Lord”. (Read the
whole account in II Chronicles 18-20).

Jehoshaphat made other alliances with Ahab. The
worst was one in which he married his son to the
daughter of Ahab and Jezebel. This almost ruined
Judah, for Athaliah usurped the throne and led the
people into Baal-worship. These military and family
alliances often lead to terrible sins. We find ourselves
“helping the ungodly and loving those that hate the
Lord”. And this is the grave danger we face today.
We are far stronger if we go alone than when we ally
ourselves with heathen and ungodly nations.

Isaiah 30, 31

In these two chapters the prophet warns his people
about the danger of seeking help from Egypt: “Woe
to the rebellious children, saith the Lord, that take
counsel, but not of me; and that cover with a cover-
ing, but not of my spirit, that they may add sin to sin:
that walk to go down into Egypt, and have not asked
at my mouth; to strengthen themselves in the strength
of Pharaoh, and to trust in the shadow of Egypt! There-
fore shall the strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and
the trust in the shadows of Egypt your confusion .. .

I. Jsaiah’s Warnings about Egypt:
5S oS.

PAGE 12 / THE PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL / AUGUST 17,

By THE REV. J. KENTON PARKER

The Danger of Military Alliances

Woe to them that go down to Egypt for help; and
stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they are
many; and in horsemen, because they are very strong;
but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel, neither
seek the Lord! .. . Now the Egyptians are men, and not
God; and their horses flesh, and not spirit.”

How much better would it have been for them to
have steered clear of heathen Egypt and simply trusted
the Lord to save them! “For thus saith the Lord God,
the Holy One of Israel: In returning and rest shall ye
be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your
strength: and ye would not And therefore will
the Lord wait, that He may be gracious unto you,
and therefore shall he be exalted, that he may have
mercy upon you: for the Lord is a God of judgment:
blessed are all they that wait for him.” These words
of Isaiah are just as true today as when spoken by the
prophet, and just as true for us as for Israel. If we
will return to God and trust Him we shall be safe
and saved from the dangers which threaten us. Let us
not put our trust in any alliance with other nations,
but repenting of our sins, let us trust in God!

These messages of Isaiah must have had some effect,
for we study about what one king did and how God
wrought a great deliverance. We know that Isaiah had
great influence with good king Hezekiah, about whom
we now study.

II. Hezekiah and Sennacherib: 36:1-37:20

In the fourteenth year of King Hezekiah Sennacherib,
king of Assyria, came up against the defenced cities
of Judah and took them. He had already overthrown
the Northern Kingdom and taken Samaria. The king
of Assyria sent Rabshakeh against Jerusalem with a
great army. And Rabshakeh said to them, “Say ye now
to Hezekiah, thus saith the great king of Assyria, what
confidence is this wherein thou trusteth? Egypt is
like a broken reed. But if you say, we trust in the
Lord our God: is it not he, whose high places and
whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away? Then Rab-
shakeh stood, and cried in a loud voice in the Jews’
language, Let not Hezekiah deceive you: for he shall

(Cont. on p. 15, Col. 2)

PRESBYTERIAN
JUNIOR COLLEGE

Division of Consolidated Presbyterian
College of Synod of N. C.

EDUCATIONAL EXCELLENCE FOR
OUR MOST VALUABLE ASSET—

OUR YOUTH.
Louis C. LAMOTTE. PRESIDENT
Maxton North Carolina

1960

A memory ... the process of remembering or recalling a person, a thing, a happening.

A memory dear to you and your loved ones can be made to live forever through a
Memorial with the Board of World Missions.

Memories of things past can thus be perpetuated in things to come . . . memories
of a loved one who devoted his or her life to Christ can be retained through a
gift, the income from which carries the Gospel to distant lands in that person’s name.

A permanent memorial fund may be created as a remembrance for a person living
or for one departed. Also, it may be started with a small gift and added to later,
as has been done with many of the memorial funds now on our books.

For complete information about establishing a Memorial, just write

CURRY B. HEARN, TREASURER

BoaRD OF WORLD MiIssIONS

PreseyYTeRIAN CHURCH IN THE UNiteo STATES

POST OFFICE BOX 330, NASHVILLE 1, TENN.

"To Foreign Missions a Snare”

oh

PAGE 13 / THE PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL / AUGUST 17, 1960

YOUTH WORK

FOR AUGUST 28, 1960

God, Strong and Faithful

Scripture Lesson—Isaiah 40:18-31
Suggested Hymns—
“Great God, How Infinite Art Thou”
“My Hope Is Built on Nothing Less”
“How Firm a Foundation”

Program Leader’s Introduction:

When things are not going to please us, most of
us become impatient. When the fish are not biting
in one place, we want to move on to another. There
are times when impatience is justified, and there are
times when it is very unwise. It is always unwise
to become dissatisfied with God’s way of doing things.
Although it is clearly wrong, there are many who do
become impatient with God when the things of life
do not measure up to their expectations.

In these verses (18-31) of the fortieth chapter of his
prophecy, Isaiah speaks to his own people about their
dissatisfaction with God. ‘Their dissatisfaction shows
itself in two ways. (And if we become impatient with
God, we are apt to show it in the same way. We
either forsake the true God, or we accuse Him of for-
saking us. Both are terrible mistakes) .

The Lord’s people were not in a very enviable po-
sition when this prophecy was first given. The setting
of the story is in the latter part of Hezekiah’s reign or
in the early part of Manasseh’s reign. Only two tribes
still had their freedom, and they were economically
weak and threatened by enemies on every side. The
other ten tribes had already been conquered. In their
discouragement many of the people lost their faith in
the strength and faithfulness of God. Some sank to
idol worship along with their seemingly prosperous
enemy neighbors. These were the ones who forsook
God. Others had a nobler conception of God’s
strength, but they decided that God had forgotten
them. They complained that God no longer heard
their prayers or remembered His promises to them.

They were the ones who accused God of being unfaith-
ful.

Isaiah had some stern words for his people. These
same words apply to us, if we are tempted to become
dissatisfied with God and His dealings with us.

First Speaker:

In the first part of this passage (vv. 18-26) Isaiah
speaks in scornful tones to the idol worshippers. His
technique is to ridicule them. He does not try to prove
the existence of God or any particular thing about

By THE REV. B. HOYT EVANS

His nature. Those people were convinced of the ex-
istence of God just as surely as we are. They knew
Him as the mighty Creator. Their need was not
to have God proved to them, but to be reminded of
His greatness. They were not ignorant of God’s na-
ture, but they were forgetful. It is almost certain that
the majority of them went through the form of wor-
shipping God, but in daily practice they were trusting
something else. They were worshipping and serving
idols. They put their trust in creations of their own
hands. Isaiah used keen sarcasm to remind them of
the folly of idolatry. Their hand-made gods were
powerless to move themselves and would fall over had
they not been propped up. In sharp contrast to the
impotent idols, the prophet reminded them of the
creating, sustaining God. “It is He that sitteth
upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants there-
of are as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens
as a curtain, and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell
in: that bringeth the princes to nothing; he maketh
the judges of the earth as vanity” (vv. 22,23).

We, in this age, may not be tempted to carve out
images to worship, but can we truly say that our wor-
ship is devoted solely to God? We are convinced of
His existence and we have a clear knowledge of His
nature, (so did Isaiah’s people) but do we always wor-
ship the Creator instead of the creature? What comes
first in our lives? What is our idea of success? Is it
our idea of success to make a fortune, make a name
for ourselves, or to please God?

If any other goal comes before God in your life,
that goal is your God. We can make idols out of ideas
and ambitions just as surely as people in Isaiah’s time
made them of metal and wood. We, too, need to be
reminded constantly that God is our mighty Creator
and Redeemer. We need to remember that it is by
the Power of God that we have come into being. It
is by the power of God that we have been saved from
sin and death. There is no weakness in God, but the
weakness of our faith makes Him seem powerless in
our times of trouble and temptation. We do know
God, and we believe in Him. May He increase our
faith in His might.

Second Speaker:

There were other people in Isaiah’s time who had
a truer idea of God’s power. They knew that God
was strong enough to deal with their problems, but
they imagined that God had forgotten them. They
accused Him of being faithless. In the second part
of this passage (vv. 27-28) the prophet speaks to them.

PAGE 14 / THE PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL / AUGUST 17, 1960

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In-our own day, and sometimes in our own lives, we
can find people who utter similar judgments against
God. ‘There are those who say, in time of trouble,
“Why did God let this happen to me?” Others wonder
why God withholds the punishment of evil men and
the destruction of the wicked. They do not question
God’s power, but, far worse, they question His judg-
ment, His faithfulness, and His goodness. To them
it is not a matter of what God can do, but of what He
will do. To them it is not a matter of ability but of
character. Is it not worse to question God’s honesty
and goodness than it is to raise questions about His
ability?

To all people of this mind, both in modern and
ancient times, Isaiah spoke the convicting truth that
it is not a matter of God’s faithfulness but of theirs.
God “. . . fainteth not neither is weary . there is
no searching of His understanding. He giveth power
to the faint; and to them that have no might He in-
creaseth strength” (vv. 28b, 29). We are reminded
of the God whose promise we put to music in these
words: “I'll strengthen thee, help thee, and cause
thee to stand upheld by my righteous, omnipotent
hand.” If it ever seems to you that God is far away

that He has forgotten you, then examine your
faith. When faithlessness appears in our relationship
with God, it is sure to be our faithlessness. There is
no variableness with our Father in heaven, and our
Lord Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and
forever.

Third Speaker:

To those who have weak faith Isaiah gives another
reminder: Our own strength, at its very best, fails
miserably to meet the demands of life. “Even the
youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men
shall utterly fall.” Experience offers bitter proof of
the truthfulness of these words. All who try to live
their lives without reference to God will meet a sure
and certain spiritual defeat.

The opposite of self-trust is trust in God. This
brings us to one of the great verses of the Bible: “They
that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall
run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not
faint.” (vs. 31). These lofty words assure us that
when we trust in God we shall find sufficient strength
for every need. When we trust Him to remove the
burden of our sin through Christ, we are enabled to
spring up from the deep shadows of death and hell
and soar in the sunlight of His love. When we trust
in the Lord we find strength to be victorious through
the trials of life. Life, however, is not made up mostly
of crises. There is a great deal of sameness. Ordi-
narily, life is more like a long walk than it is like
a glorious race. The hum-drumness of much of life
is apt to make us discouraged and may tempt us to
forget God, but He has not forgotten even those of
us who are His walkers. When we trust in God, He
supplies strength to walk without fainting and the
inspiration to make everyday life beautiful and mean-
ingful. This is no mystery when we remember that
the Lord Jesus said, “Lo, I am with you alway, even
unto the end of the world.”

Closing Prayer.

PAGE 15 / THE PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL / AUGUST 17,

S.S. LESSON—from p. 12

not be able to deliver you.

But they held their peace:
for the king’s commandment was, answer him not.”

They came back and told Hezekiah the words of
Rabshakeh. And when the king heard it, he rent his
clothes, covered himself with sackcloth and went into
the house of the Lord. In our time of trouble let us
go to the house of the Lord. We will find help there.
He sent some men to Isaiah the prophet telling him
of his trouble. And Isaiah said unto them, “Thus
saith the Lord, Be not afraid of the words that thou
hast heard. Behold, I will send a blast upon him,
and he shall hear a rumor, and return to his own
land: and I will cause him to fall by the sword in his

own land ... Then the angel of the Lord went forth,
and smote in the camp of the Assyrians a hundred and
fourscore and five thousand . . . So Sennacherib went

and returned and dwelt at Nineveh. And it came to
pass, as he was worshipping in the house of Nisroch
his god, that Adrammelech and Sharezer his sons smote
him with the sword.”

We see in this account how Hezekiah trusted in the
Lord and Jerusalem was saved from the enemy. But
all the kings of Judah were not like Hezekiah and the
land was captured later by the king of Babylon. Oh,
if nations would only learn that it is better to trust
in the Lord than to trust in men, as Israel trusted in
Egypt and other allies. The Jews seemed to have had a
hankering after Egypt. They grew up in Egypt as a na-
tion and in their journeys in the wilderness they
often longed for the things of Egypt, forgetting, it
seems, that their lives had been made bitter by the
bondage of Egypt. It was but natural, perhaps, for
them to look to Egypt but Egypt was poor help. They
found real help only when they trusted the Lord.

PENSACOLA
THEOLOGICAL
INSTITUTE

Aug. 28 to Sept. 4
OUTSTANDING FACULTY—

C. DARBY FULTON, LL.D., D.D.—Missions

LEONARD GREENWAY, Th.D.—Sermons

KENNETH S. KANTZER, Th.M., Ph.D.—‘“Neo-orthodoxy”
JOHN W. KLOTZ, Ph.D.—“Evolution”

ROBERT STRONG, S.T.D.—Sermons

LEON MORRIS, Th.M., Ph.D.—‘Studies in John”

Seeking to honor the Word of God and the God of the Word.

At least 150 ministers, students, laymen will attend
from 12 states in addition to hundreds from the Pen-
sacola area. Here is an inspiring setting against the
background of Florida beach life for study and play.
Earlier offer of 18 meals for $9.50 still holds.

Register with $2.00 to:

MR. CHARLES H. THOMSON, Registrar
1214 East Blount Street
Pensacola, Florida

Ask for motel or dorm information.

1960

III.

Dangers for our Country.

During my lifetime our nation has made at least
two very unfortunate alliances. We were the ally of
Japan — a heathen nation — in the first world War
and had to fight her in the second after her sneak at-
tack on Pearl Harbor. We had Russia as an ally in the
Second World War and she has become our rival and
deadly enemy. We would have been better off with-
out either of these allies.

What is it that makes a nation great and strong?
Righteousness. What is it that weakens and destroys?
Sin. I am afraid we are putting our trust in the wrong
things. We are piling up deadly weapons but we
are not disturbed over our sin. We are trying to line
up allies all over the world, paying for their friendship,
and not always asking, “What sort of nations do we
need as allies: Christian or heathen; good or bad?”
Some of these nations may prove to be like Egypt, a
poor help.

Let us trust in God and see to our righteousness as
a nation and He will protect and guide us. Let our

STEELE CREEK PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

CHARLOTTE, N. C. — Steele

itors Friday afternoon, and that night

people turn from their sins and seek God before it is
too late. It is time for us to seek the Lord even as
Hezekiah sought Him, for we face some deadly foes
in Russia and China. These two countries would like
to see us fall.

IV. Personal Application;
Ephesians 6:10-17

How about our own personal lives? We face deadly
enemies in our war, “For we wrestle not against flesh
and blood, but against principalities, against powers,
against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against
spiritual wickedness in high places.” The arm of
flesh will fail us. If we trust in ourselves we will fall.
We need a stronger ally than Egypt, which might well
represent our old human nature. “Be strong in the
Lord, and in the power of His might. Put on the whole
armor of God — truth and righteousness, the Gospel
of peace and the shield of faith; the helmet of salva-
tion and the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of
God, praying always.” Our only safety is having God
as our ally. Have we put on the whole armor of
God and are we trusting Him each day?

Devotional Reading:

WOMEN OPEN BUILDING,
PRESENT BIRTHDAY GIFT

MONTREAT, N. C. — Women of
the Church dedicated their new
$50,000 Winsborough Building and
presented their annual birthday offer-
ing to Stillman College during the
Women’s Conference here.

Dr. Sam Burney Hay, Stillman pres-
ident, accepted the $170,298 check,
which he said will be used for con-
struction of a new classroom building.
It will be named for the late Dr.
Alex Batchelor, secretary of the
Church’s Division of Negro Work for
many years.

Following the presentation by Mrs.
W. A. McCutchen, board chairman,
and Miss Evelyn Green, executive, it
was announced that the 1961 offer-
ing will go to Christian literature —
one half for publication of literature

Creek Presbyterian Church, one of the
seven oldest churches in Mecklenburg
Presbytery, highlighted the celebra-
tion of its: 200th anniversary the week
of July 24-31.

Dr. Marion A. Boggs, moderator of
the General Assembly, preached July
24, and the Rev. Watt M. Cooper, for-
mer pastor, was guest minister July
3t.

Four colonial homes in the Steele
Creek Community were open to vis-

PAGE 16 / THE PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL / AUGUST 17,

“Steele Creek Heritage,” a presenta-
tion prepared in cooperation with the
Protestant Radio and Television Cen-
ter, was shown.

Historic articles were displayed Sat-
urday during a choir concert on the
lawn of the church and during a pic-
nic afterwards.

The Rev. J. R. McAlpine, III is cur-
rent pastor of the church, which has
had prominent guest speakers in the
pulpit each month of the bicentennial
year.

in the Tshiluba language for work in
the Congo, and one-half for Chinese
language literature for the new Chu-
pei Bible School in Taiwan.

Miss Mary Quidor, board treasurer,
revealed that the largest contributions
for the new Stillman building came
from the Synod of North Carolina,
with $22,956, and Texas, with $22,-
260. She reported, however, that per-
capita giving was led by Mississippi,
with an average of 65 cents and Ap-
palachia, with an average of 64 cents.

1960

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Members of the second largest group of missionaries
ever to be commissioned by the Presbyterian Church,
U. S., in one year, photographed with their language in-
structors at Montreat before their Aug. 3 commissioning,
are:

First row, left to right — Miss Aristeia Fontes, Portu-
guese instructor; Miss Edla Oliveira, Porteguese instruc-
tor; Mr. Mina Sa’adeh, Arabic instructor; Miss Esther
Cummings, Professor of Languages; Miss Elda Vivas,
Spanish instructor; Mrs. Margaret Chang, Chinese in-
structor; Mrs. George McKee, French instructor; Mr.
Lictor Martinez, Mexican scholarship student.

Second row — Eugene L. Daniel, Candidate Secretary;
Rev. J. K. Ha, Korean instructor; Rev. Chuhachi Eguchi,
Japanese instructor; Rev. and Mrs. Reuben Sulc, Brazil;
Miss Esther Rice, Taiwan; Miss Barbara Taggert, Mexico;
Mrs. Lictor Martinez, Mexican scholarship student.

Third row — Mr. and Mrs. Herbert H. Sisk, Brazil;

Linnie
George , Brazil; Dr. and Mrs. A. T. Trimble, Jr., Taiwan;
Rev. and Mrs. John R. Crawford, Congo.

Fourth row — Rev. and Mrs. Lawrence H. Richards,
Iraq; Rev. and Mrs. Carl J. Hahn, Brazil; Miss Rebecca
Glenn, Brazil; Miss Mary Lee Smith, Brazil; Mrs. E. G.
Cochrane, Brazil; Rev. and Mrs. John H. LaMotte, Congo;
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Etheridge, Brazil.

Fifth row — Mr. and Mrs. Adger McKay, Mexico;
Rev. and Mrs. James B. Moore, Japan; Miss Pansy Duke,
Brazil; Miss Nancy Wooddell, Congo; Miss Ann Broom,
Taiwan; Miss Mary Kay Kepler, Taiwan; Mr. and Mrs.
Dean Tuttle, Congo.

Sixth row — Rev. and Mrs. David Hamilton, Mexico;
Dr. and Mrs. Robert L. Goette, Korea; Rev. Clarence G.
Durham, Korea; Miss Mary Alice Mounts, Secretary to
Mr. Daniel; Mr. Donald Watt, Brazil; Rev. and Mrs.
Vincent Stubbs, Japan.

RETENTION OF SECTIONS
IN CONFESSION OF FAITH
ASKED IN RESOLUTION

sections.

for a copy to be sent to the Assembly’s
committee on possible revision of the

the Oct. 20 meeting, which will be
held at Greenville. A statement on
the subject, presented by the Rev.

ROLLING FORK, Miss. — Central
Mississippi Presbytery, in a quarterly
meeting here, adopted a _ resolution
affirming its stand in favor of reten-
tion of the present wording of Sec-
tions 3, 4.and 7 of Chap. III the Con-
fession of Faith. The resolution called

PAGE 17 / THE PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL /

The resolution described the sections
“as a part of the whole counsel of
God” and encouraged the proclama-
tion and exposition of the Doctrine
“with special prudence and care.”

A request for an overture on di-
vorce and remarriage wa; decketed for

AUGUST 17,

A. H. Freundt and signed by a num-
ber of ministers, was recorded in the
minutes.

Ruling Elder Clem O. Read of the
Edwards Church was elected to suc-
ceed Dr. R. McFerran Crowe as mod-
erator.

1960

FLYING STUDENTS DUE
AFTER TOUR OF ASIA
MAXTON, N. C. — Thirty stu-
dents in the “Flying College Course’”’
on Asia, sponsored by Presbyterian
Junior College and Flora Macdonald
College, are due back home the third
week in August.

Price H. Gwynn, Jr., dean of Con-
solidated Presbyterian College and
teacher of the course, reported after
arrival in Tokyo that all is well with
the group. The class is studying Asian
Civilization in one course and Con-
temporary Problems in Asia in anoth-
er. Credit will be given by the spon-
soring institutions.

The group left Los Angeles July 1,
and will return after flying around
the world.

ORDAINED AS LIBRARIAN

DECATUR, Ga. — Atlanta Presby-
tery has ordained Harold Bailey
Prince of Columbia Theological Sem-
inary to work as a librarian. He is
thought to be the first man ever or-
dained by the Presbyterian Church,
U. S., for such work.

He came to the Seminary in 1951
as its librarian and since that time
has completed the course of study for
the bachelor of divinity degree. He
was graduated in the class of 1960.

For ordination he was examined by
the Presbytery and approved for ordi-
nation in the category of a Teacher.

BUILDINGS COMPLETED

FAYETTEVILLE, N. C. — First
Church here has completed a $450,000
rehabilitation and enlargement pro-
gram that included enlargement of
the sanctuary, addition of a Christian
Education building and renovation of
the entire plant. Work began two
years ago. Dr. J. R. McGregor is pas-
tor.

STERLINGTON, La. — Grace
Church, located between Fairbanks
and Sterlington, has dedicated its new
building, which includes a sanctuary,
Sunday School rooms, kitchen and
study. The Rev. Robert R. Shepper-
son, minister, said men of the Church
completed the interior of the educa-
tional wing.

PAGE 18 / THE PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL /

Where Do

Great Ideas |:
Come From? :

the
[his is addressed to each member in a local congregation of the re
Presbyterian Church U.S. . . thi
The youth who will produce A GREAT IDEA may I Go
be in your congregation. a
He may not as yet have “waked up’? cal
Help him discover his potential. the
He may be confused about a possible life work? _=
Get him acquainted with the Presbyterian Guidance dis
Program. ) ab
He now is choosing a college: .
Give him the right kind of information and acquaint
him with our Presbyterian colleges.
He may need some financial help? |
Write for the Handbook on Scholarships for local
churches, and see about establishing such a scholarship 3} w
fund in your own congregation. 34
HIGHER EDUCATION un
( DIVISION OF HIGHER EDUCATION no
Y BOARD OF CHRISTIAN EDUCATION ; 8a
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, U. S. | TI
— BOX 1176, RICHMOND 9, VIRGINIA ‘ me
KEEP IT BRIGHT

AUGUST 17,

1960

THE CHRISTOLOGY OF THE
NEW TESTAMENT, by Oscar Cull-

The Westminster Press, Phila-
330 pp. $6.50.

mann.
delphia.

For the past 20 years, Dr. Cull-
mann has devoted a great deal of labor
to his study of the New Testament
Christology. His investigations in this
field are characterized by thoroughness
and precision.

Professor Cullmann describes Chris-
tology as the science whose object is
the Person and work of Christ. The
reader is reminded that the New Testa-
ment hardly ever speaks of the Per-
son of Christ without at the same time
speaking of His work.

All who are looking for a scholarly
answer to the question, “Who was
Jesus?” will find a vast amount of
helpful material here. All twelve chap-
ters lead to this conclusion: “We have
seen that the first Christians achieved
this perception in a threefold way:
through the acceptance of the witness
given in the life of Jesus with the
events of Good Friday and Easter;
through the powerful experience, both
personal and in common worship, of
the presence of the Kyrios, who is
identical with the incarnate Jesus, as
the ‘Lord’ of the Church, the world,
and the life of each individual; through
the reflection, carried out in faith in
the present Lord and the crucified
Son of Man, concerning the relation of
this Jesus Christ to all the rest of
God’s_ revelation. These are the
sources of early Christian Christologi-
eal conviction. For the modern man
there are no others. But all three in
mutually clarifying interaction are in-
dispensable for answering the question
about Jesus.”

—John R. Richardson, D.D.
Atlanta, Ga.

THIS IS MY GOD, by Herman
Wouk. Doubleday & Co., New York.
349 pp. $3.95.

Prior to the publication of this vol-
ume Herman Wouk, Pulitzer Prize
novelist and playwright, had been en-
gaged largely in the writing of fiction.
This is a work of non-fiction and is
marked by rare literary brilliance as

well as careful and thorough scholar-
ship.

Partly a history of Jewish customs
and religion, partly a statement of the
author’s own convictions, the book was
for some 10 years in preparation be-
fore it went to press. It is intended
for all who are interested in the his-
toric Jewish faith, and therefore should
have appeal to both Jews and Chris-
tians.

It is interesting to note that this
renowned Jewish scholar has greater
respect for conservative scholarship
than many professing Christians of
our day. He shows that those who try
to discredit most of the old Testa-
ment and especially the books of Moses
as chopped-up conglomerations of very
late forgeries rather than authentic
documents of antiquity do not base
their views on sound scholarship.

The theory that imposed evolution
on Old Testament religion, says Wouk,
stood the Bible on its head and must
be rejected. He observed that it is
a hard thing for men who have taught
these false ideas concerning the Old
Testament for so long and given their
lives to a theory to see these things
fall apart. He recommends that ser-
ious scholars dismiss the documentary
theory entirely and come back to the
reliability of the historicity of the
Old Testament. He observes that
with our safest scholars the Torah is
now taken as certainly Mosaic in ori-
gin and in content.

Seminary students who have become
confused in their thinking by teachers
who are weak in their faith will be
encouraged by the reading of this
work to reject the incompetent bibli-
cal scholarship that repudiates the his-
toric veracity of the Old Testament.
The purchase of this book by Chris-
tian ministers and seminarians will
prove to be a profitable investment.

—John R. Richardson, D.D.
Atlanta, Ga.

CALVIN ON SCRIPTURE AND DI-
VINE SOVEREIGNTY, by John Mur-
ray. Baker Book House, Grand
Rapids. 71 pp. $1.75.

Here the able Professor of Syste-
matic Theology in Westminster Sem-
inary sets forth the teaching of Cal-
vin on Holy Scripture and on Divine
Sovereignty. Calvin frequently speaks
of the Scriptures being dictated by the
Divine Spirit, but his emphasis there-

in is more on the result than on the gate.

PAGE 19 / THE PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL / AUGUST 17,

method. We are encouraged to hear
the Word as the Voice of God speak-
ing to His people, and to yield to His
authority. For the Word of Scrip-
ture to be divinely vivified it must
not be separated from Christ who is
the soul of the law and the focal
point of the whole of Holy Scripture.
But this involves no incongruity be-
tween the finality that belongs to
Christ as the incarnate Word and the
finality of the Scripture as the Word
of God written. For Christ is never
brought into contact with us apart
from Scripture. By the written Word
and in His Spirit Christ encounters us.

Concerning election Calvin teaches
that we were chosen in Christ, not
in ourselves. Treating of the sovereign
will of God, Murray holds that there
is an equal ultimacy here as to repro-
bation and election; but admits there
is a radical distinction between the two
in that condemnation always presup-
poses guilt and ill-desert: ‘“Reproba-
tion must never be conceived of apart
from the ground or basis which re-
sides in us... the ground of condemna-
tion is sin and sin alone. So reproba-
tion always finds in men themselves a
basis which never can be applied of
election...the ground of damnation
is sin and sin alone.” Perhaps, the his-
toric Methodist formulation is not as
far from Calvin on the doctrine of
Reprobation as it is of Election.

Murray is particularly able in set-
ting forth the distinction between the
secret and the revealed will of God.
Every sin is against the revealed will
of God but is in His decree. “It is
this sovereignty of God’s Providence
even in the realm of sin that is the
precondition of His sovereignty in re-
demption. Otherwise there would be
a sphere beyond His control and thus
beyond the reach of His saving grace.

—Wnm. C. Robinson, Th.D.
Decatur, Ga.

BOOK BRIEFS

A GLIMPSE OF WORLD MISSIONS, by
Clyde W. Taylor. Moody Colportage Li-
brary, Moody Press, Chicago. 128 pp. Pa-
per, $1.50. A survey, with maps, charts
and diagrams, of the world situation in
Missions, complete with tables of statistics,
by the Executive Secretary of the Evangeli
cal Foreign Missions Association.

LUKE: THE GOSPEL OF THE SON OF
MAN, by G. Coleman Luck. Moody Col-
portage Library, Moody Press, Chicago. 128
pp. Paper, $.39. A sort of running com-
mentary on the text of the Gospel of Luke,
preceded by a brief introduction contain-
ing statements of purpose, authorship and

1960

MINISTERS

Daniel B. Lott, from Eudora, Ark.,
to the Tallulah, La., church.

Arthur S. Gear, from Charlotte
C.H., Va., to the Cool Spring,
Laurel Grove and Peaks churches,
Bedford, Va.

R. W. Rien, from Meridian, Miss.,
to the Taylorsville, Miss., church.

W. O. Nelson, from Robbins, N. C.,
to the Heidelberg group in Meridian
Presbytery.

R. E. McCaskill, from Havana, Fla.,
to Quincy, Fla.

William E. Shenk, from Bristol, Va.,
to the Cottage Hill church, Mobile,
Ala.

Marvin Williams, from Austin, Tex.,
to the First church, Lufkin, Tex.

Francis E. Watson, from Clarkton,
Mo., to the Hunter Memorial church,
Sikeston, Mo.

Anderson W. Buchanan, from Good-
water, Ala., to the First Church,
Tifton, Ga.

Raleigh M. Engle, Chester, S. C.,
will become pastor of the Lafayette
church, Norfolk, Va., in Sepetmber.

M. McChesney, Pensacola,
Fla., has accepted a call to the First
Church, Rocky Mount, N. C.

J. Bruce Frye, Horse Shoe, N. C.,
will become Assistant to the Presi-
ident, King College, Bristol, Tenn.,
with special reference to the de-
velopment of the college, in Sep-
tember.

James

LETTERS
LOW VIEW OF THE BIBLE

Your editorial, “Why A Low View
Of The Bible Is Harmful” impressed
me very much. I don’t think the pro-
fessor of Bible at ____.____ where I
go to college thinks much of the Bi-
ble. He doesn’t seem to think it is
very wonderful and he is always chang-
ing things in it. But he says that it
is God’s Word and that we can be

PAGE 20 / THE PRESBYTERIAN JOURNAL /

a Christian while we understand it
differently from the people who lived
in other centuries . . . Sometimes I
don’t know what to think.

—Student

As we said, a low view of the Bible
(which in our book betrays an unbe-
liever) can be detected by two atti-
tudes: 1) the view that teachings of
the Bible are wrong or no longer ap-
plicable because “we know better’;
2) the view that other sources, other
texts, other information are as good or
as equally necessary in Christian teach-
ing. Thus we warn students (and any-
one else) against any teacher who,
confronted by a difficult passage, says
it is wrong instead of trying to under-
stand it; who wants to make the “testi-
mony of the Church,” or the “cumula-
tive experience of man” as important
as the Bible in learning about Christ.
—Ed.

LIBRARY SUBSCRIPTIONS

Enclosed is a check for a subscrip-
tion to the Journal for the Brandon
Public Library. Certainly our Library
must be one of those better libraries
that carry copies of the Journal.

—Mrs. Anna Neill
Brandon, Miss.

Several public libraries display the
JOURNAL on account of the far-sight-
ed interest of such friends as Mrs.

Neill.— Ed.

A ROMAN CATHOLIC PRESIDENT

What I am concerned about is the
specter of our political future. I am
a life-long Democrat. We must have
political parties of course to preserve
our nation as it is, but beyond all
of this I’m an AMERICAN and to
permit lesser considerations to endan-
ger our country is not proper al-
legiance to our heritage. In the re-
cent convention an organization was
revealed which in every detail dis-
closed that stealth which has char-
acterized the Roman Catholic hier-

archy’s threat to our existence. This
I cannot support.
Consider for the moment: I be-

lieve there are 25 Federal Judgeships
to be appointed in the near future.
At least two vacancies to be filled on
the Supreme Court. An entire Cab-
inet to be appointed. U. S. Marshals,
thousands of minor Federal appoint-
ments and many others not known

AUGUST 17,

to the ordinary citizen. It is frighten-
ing to realize that a vast number
of these will be Roman Catholic and
under the mesmeric control of the
priesthood. It simply must not come
to pass if America is to survive —
what nations have succeeded in
throwing off the yoke when once
about their necks?

—/(Rev.) Claude D. Peake
Clyde, Tex.

We will continue to try and pre-
serve our interest in principles rather
than i personalities. However, we
frankly confess that we share the an-
guish of one of our Brazil mission-
aries from whom we have just heard.
Said he: “When I think of a Roman
in the White House, all I can say is,
somebody don’t let it happen!!””—Ed.

CIRCLE STUDIES FOR NEXT YEAR

I praised the Lord when I read that
Dr. Gutzke was to furnish the Circle
Lessons for next year... This year
his lessons were gems. We so need
the Spirit inspired teaching of Dr.
Gutzke.

—Mrs. Pauline Hall
Columbia, S. C.

We have been looking over some
of the new lessons in Philippians. To
us they are even better than last
year’s.— Ed.

Tue Lorp Is WorKING
in the HoLy LAND

Ff

Rosenberg, Founder and General

Rev. Leon
Director, with two of our orphans
Our obligations to needy children

increase.

Conditions there are the Lord’s chal-
lenge for your cooperation, prayers
and help.

“WHO WILL BE THE LORD'S
HELPING HANDS?”

HEADQUARTERS:
The American European
Bethel Mission, Inc.

252 N. Dillon St.
Les Angeles 26, California

Dept. SP

1960