February, 1938
THE K I N G ' S BUS I NE S S
81
THE FOUR GREAT POWERS [ Continued, from page 49] The Underlying Philosophy in Four Theories of Government Third, one of the most remarkable aspects of the present situation is that in these four great powers, viewed from an external standpoint, we find four distinct theories of government. T o the north in Russia we have Communism. A t the opposite pole of thought in Italy there is Fascism. Under English rule, where the king is merely a symbol of unity, we find the stronghold of Democ racy. And in Japan there appears still an other type of government, a bureaucratic oligarchy based on Emperor-worship, dom inated largely by the military caste. Con sidering the magnitude of the respective powers, and the contrast between their governmental theories, it is fairly certain that history presents no parallel to the present situation. But fourth, beneath these sharply con trasting external forms of governmental theory, there is one tendency common to all four, namely, collectivism, which manifests itself in dictatorship, the planned economy, and the regimentation of the individual. Although under widely different labels, both Russia and Italy have frankly em braced this totalitarian scheme. Japan is using the same scheme in a practical man ner. And even England, with the other remaining democratic governments of the world, although struggling against the tide, is yielding here and there to the pressure of Socialist and Fascist philosophies. The same two tendencies are at work in our own country. And both lead inexorably to the same end. Now to the student of prophecy there is a deadly significance to all this. As Walter Lippmann has pointed out in a recent book, The Good Society, all forms of collectivist government are based on the supremacy of force, and such gov ernment can only maintain itself by the increasing exercise of more force. Its ideas and principles are not pounded out on the anvil of free discussion, but are determined by the rulers and enforced by the arm of the state. It should be clear, therefore, that every step toward a planned economy en forced by a dictatorial central government is a step toward war. The first stage of the conflict is internal, often breaking out in bloody civil strife. The second stage is external, nation against nation. But there is a third and final stage. For the very reason that national collectivism leads in evitably to war between nations, the theory must either be abandoned or else logically move on toward the ultimate goal of one vast supergovernment with a world plan including all nations. There is no other alternative. Collectivism's Inevitable Outcome Now it must be admitted by those who have eyes to see, that present trends give little hope that the collectivist philosophy will be abandoned. On the contrary, its present advocates see in every breakdown of the theory only a need for more of the same thing. It is also dishearteningly true
THE SCRIPTURES IN SHORTHAND SCRIPT From one of our mission posts comes a story of a young girl of fifteen years of age, whose father’s vile and immoral life has caused mental anguish to the mother, and she is now confined in a mental institution. This girl suffers much persecution at the hands of those into whose care she has been placed by her father. She is forbidden to come to the meetings in our hall, her New Testament and Psalms have been taken from her, but she has copied in shorthand Scripture portions and parts of the Psalms which she has secreted among her school studies, thus enabling her to pore over God’s Word. . ARE YOU ANXIOU S TO READ AND TO KNOW GOD’S W ORD ? Pray for this young girl, that she may take courage and continue to hide God’s Word in her heart; also pray fervently for thousands of Belgian people who need God’s Word to enlighten them in the W ay of Salvation. B E L G I A N G O S P E L M I S S I O N , I N C . Dr. Chas. G. Trumbull, Treasurer 325 N. 13th St., Philadelphia, Pa.
T H E W O R L D N E E D S C H R I S T ! He is the answer to strife and confusion now as he has been all through the ages. Bring the members of your community, of your Sunday-school, of your church closer to Christ by using CHRIST-CENTERED LESSON HELPS 9 T h e y are graded to meet the interests, experiences, and requirements o f every age group. 9 Th ey are based on the International Uniform Lessons. 9 Th ey bring Christian principles to grip with p rob lem s o f the d ay faced b y the various age groups. 9 Th ey are true to the Bible. SPIRITUALINAPPROACH. . . EVANGELISTIC IN PURPOSE. . . PRACTICAL IN APPLICATION
Tea ch er material presents the most e ffec tive m ethods o f presentation; pupil ma terial is stimulating and invites pupil par ticipation.
THE NEED OF THE WORLD IS YOUR OPPORTUNITY! MEET THAT NEED IN YOUR COMMUNITY !
O r d e r T h e s e L e s s o n H e l p s T o d a y ! david c. c o o k publish inc company JAe Petite 7AotSekv&i. 2 l-B LINCOLN STREET, ELGIN, ILLINOIS
Made with FlippingBook HTML5