for reservations. The Conference Direc tor again this year will be Dr. William W. Orr, vice-president of the Bible In stitute of Los Angeles. Inquiries con cerning the program should be addressed to him. Requests for rates and reserva tions should be addressed directly to the Mount Hermon Conference Association, Mount Hermon, California. About Bible Reading I T was the late Dr. James M. Gray who promoted the method of synthetic Bible study. By synthetic, Dr. Gray d:.d not mean artificial or non-genuine. Rather he used the root meaning of thé word in Greek which means in this con nection to look at Bible study as a whole. Dr. Gray would advise his stu dents as they began the study o f a book, to read the book through not once, but many times. The plan was to read and re-read without stopping at that time to analyze what was read. The result was that the student gradually received an indelible impression of the great divisions of the book. It is like going into a new city and climbing the highest building to look over the various sections of the city before making more minute exploration on foot; or, it is like reading a brief concise account of world history before taking up the various separate national stories; or again, it is like becoming ful ly acquainted with the world’s geography as a whole before studying the topogra phy o f individual continents and coun tries. A great deal is to be said in favor of this synthetic type of Bible study. Too often the Bible student limits himself to a chapter a day or even a few verses. As a consequence, his knowledge of truth is disjointed and unrelated. If at all possible, the student should read the book at a sitting even though the reading be somewhat hurried and of necessity somewhat superficial. The bene fits of such reading will be a compre hension o f the theme of the book in a way that will forever stick in one’s mind. After such a program of rapid reading, the analytical, exhaustive study may be profitably undertaken, yielding richer treasures of truth. Living Fossil Found I N the holy Hindu city of Benares, another blow was struck at the now really dead theory of organic evolution. This blow came from a tiny, transparent centipede-like shrimp. The director of the Zoological Survey of India reports that the shrimp’s ancestors flourished during the Mesozoic period of the earth’s history over 100,000,000 years ago. Yet, the shrimp of 1949 is the exact image o f its 100,000,000-year-old cousin! When God made shrimp, He told them to re produce after their kind, and they have been obeying Him ever since. T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
While the County Recorder’s office scratched its head and doubted if the marriage could be called illegal, there arose a terrific storm of protest in ecclesiastical circles and by civic leaders across the country. One Catholic clergy man stated that he believed a marriage solemnized by Charlie McCarthy would have been just as legal. Certainly there is no doubt but that this sorry spectacle brings reproach upon the cause of Christ. For any sup posedly right-thinking parents to be lieve that a child of five years could understand and properly perform one o f the most solemn services in all of life is utterly unthinkable. That it was done for sensationalism and publicity there seems to be little doubt. If state and county governments do not feel it their obligation to outlaw such travesties upon sacred institutions, then all good citizens ought to rise up and roundly censure those responsible. In this connection also we find child prodigy preachers o f five, six and seven who are exploited by their shallow thinking elders and who, parrot-like, preach messages which amuse rather than instruct the listener. Preaching is a man’s job and one that demands con secrated, mature judgment and spir itual wisdom. It is no task for children whose days should be spent in obeying their parents and listening to the truths of Scripture. Today more than any other day in the world’s history calls for preachers with souls large enough to stick unreservedly to what God has said, and hearts wise enough to comprehend the needs of a sin-sick world. Time To Plan For Vacation! T HE poet has written that “ the groves were God’s first temples.” Certainly the heart of the Christian is lifted near er to God under the inspiration of the beauties of nature in His great out- of-doors. To this end, the Bible Institute of Los Angeles each year sponsors a Bible Conference in beautiful Mount Hermon, a setting deep in the heart of the California redwood territory. The dates of this Conference will be August 14 to 21, and friends who are interested in attending are advised to write early
Still No Peace T HE years since the close of World War II have been strange in many respects. For instance, in these times practically no philosopher, statesman or opportunist has risen to proclaim the doctrine of an unadulterated op timism. On the other hand, almost without exception, the thinkers of the world have made dire predictions for the future. For instance, General H. H. Arnold, in an Associated Press release, states his opinion that the present year is to be one of “ fateful, ominous, and momentous decisions.” The General pointed to six shooting wars going on at present, namely: China, Indo-China, Indonesia, Kashmir, Palestine and Greece, and, of course, the unending “ cold war” between Russia and the de mocracies. Just what will be the status of the world on the last day of 1949 the General did not say. With such fateful foretellings the Bible has long agreed, saying that at the end of the age “ perilous times” would come; that “ wars and rumours o f wars” would continue; and that men’s hearts would be failing them because of fear. But the Word of God does not stop on this pessimistic note. It thrills the hearts of God’s children by reminding them that after the darkness of the world’s night will come God’s dawn. While there will never be any peace to the wicked, there will most surely come a day for the righteous when, under the benevo lent hand o f God’s righteous Ruler, peace will cover the earth as the waters cover the deep. We read the newspapers and see the shallowness of men’s pro phetic views and then look through the binoculars of God’s prophetic Word to learn the real truth. So we are con tent! Five Year Old Minister? S OUTHERN California has long been noted for bizarre and sensational happenings. Not the least was a recent marriage ceremony performed by a child five years of age! This youngster is the son of a father-mother minister com bination, and was “ ordained” to the Gospel ministry by an almost unknown organization called “ The Old Time Faith.”
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