T h e K i n g ’ s B u s i n e s s
August 1927
483
Congregational National Assembly T HE National Council of the Congregational Churches was certainly not characterized by Mod ernist-Fundamentalist debates. There are many Congregational preachers throughout the land who remain loyal to the Faith and who can continue without inter ference since the Council of churches is practically with out power over individual churches. These, however, were not the brethren who assembled in Omaha the latter part of May and voted “unanimously” to affiliate with the Universalista! and with the general convention of the Christian denomination. The authority of The National Council, which was practically a Modernistic gathering, extends no further than to recommend a closer, practical union of the separate interests of the denominations involved. No doubt in' some communities actual consolidation will take place, and in the interests of economy it might well be so. Both the Universalist and Christian churches split off from the Congregationalists and all three have been swépt along in the current of rationalism until there is practically no dif ference among them. O üt and O ut for L iberalism The report of the commission, on interchurch relations, which was adopted, provides' for holding simultaneous State conventions of the two denominations with certain joint meetings, co-operation in missionary education and in publications, exchanges in church membership, refusal of either denomination to build a church where a church of the other denomination is in operation, and the further study of the question of church merging. The National Council declared its willingness to give up the name Con gregational and return to its name of Churches of Christ, a name still in use, if the change will help church union. The National Council sermon was delivered by Dr. A. W. Palmer, of Oak Park, Illinois, and was devoted to ridicule of those “intolerable doctrines no longer believed by liberals.” Dr. Palmer gave the liberal view of the Bible and the church, and declared it not only is the privilege of Christians to believe the new interpretations, but to proclaim them with vigor, to shout them out and not be apologetic, as though they were teaching heresy. The old Christian epoch, he declared, is passing away, and in many quarters is completely gone. “In its place has come the new epoch, which accepts the universe as revealed by science, ancient, vast, evolving. I f man ever fell, he fell uphill.” These utterances are sufficient to show the trend of things in organized Congregationalism and no comment is necessary. —o— United Presbyterian Assembly T HE Sixty-ninth General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church of North America convened in the Wallace Memorial United Presbyterian Church, Washington, D. C., May 27th. The Assembly was happy in its choice of a Moderator, Rev. M. G. Kyle, D.D., internationally known scholar in the field of arch aeology, and President o f Xenia Seminary, St. Louis, Mis souri. This annual gathering o f United Presbyterian leaders from all of the United States and from the foreign mission fields of India, Egypt, the Sudan and Abyssinia, faced a number of serious and far-reaching problems. There was a square facing of the budget difficulty due to a shortage in funds pledged to carry on the activ
ities of the church for the coming year. With deep regret the foreign board was directed to curtail its activities in the field to the extent of fifteen per cent. There is hope and prayer that there may be recovery in this respect in the not-distant future. From both home and foreign field encouraging reports were presented, indicating healthy advance all along the line. The record in soul winning stirred the Assembly to greater effort this coming year. The Church feels deeply that much more should have been done. The members of the Assembly had the privilege of meeting the President of the United States and having him pose with them for a picture. —°—I Northern Baptist Convention “The Baptist Convention will be composed of a heterogen eous company of no certain faith or united purpose. The edu cational men will be there, the politicians will be there, the hired employees of the denomination will be there, and some of the people of God will be there. The assembly will be destitute of a common aim. The Modernists will be in control. They will hold devotional meetings led by a man who is quite uncertain about his own faith.. They will import a man of great eloquence from the South, they will display a motto, and the majority will in all probability be comnosed of men who deny the authority and infallibility of the Word of God. T HE above prophecy of the Northern Baptist Con vention appeared in a Fundamentalist Baptist organ published in California. We are glad to note that the editor Was so. magnanimous as to admit that “some of God’s people” would be in attendance. From all that we have been able to learn, the conven tion was quite largely comprised of the Lord’s people. Over 20,000 Baptists attended. The Modernists, it is true, have a powerful influence in the Baptist ranks, because of the prominence of some of their positions, but they are in fact a very small minority and it is safe to say that ninety percent of the 8,000 registered delegates would be classed as orthodox, even if not altogether in -sympathy with the group known as the Baptist Bible Union. 1927 seems to have been, in all the church assemblies, a year for avoiding controversy. Some went to the North ern Convention looking for a fight to the finish, resulting possibly in the organization of an “Orthodox Baptist Church” in this country. But this largest assembly of Baptists in history turned out to be an occasion when the majority of those in attendance were trying to get nearer to the Lord. It did not seem to be an opportune season to launch a conflict. Every session of the Northern Baptist convention since 1919 has been accentuated by sharp conflicts and acrimonious debate's involving questions of Baptist policy, Christian orthodoxy, denominational policy, and personal leadership. Lines were sharply drawn between “Modern ist” and “Fundamentalist” groups, the latter eventually further dividing into “co-operating Fundamentalists,” who continued to support the work of the convention while seeking to correct asserted evils, and the Bible Union faction, which waged open war against certain officials and refused to contribute to the work of the mis sion boards until radical changes in policy and leadership were effected. “ P la y B a l l ”— T he W atchword It is generally agreed that the most potent influence in the achievement of harmony this year was the work of the president, Dr. J . Whitcomb Btougher, of California. Dr. Brougher can never be accused of being even a half-
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker