February, 1946
pen. These works remain to bless the Church. We thank God for this man of vision and faith and courage. We praise God that His Blessed Son was, and is, the Alpha and Omega of Dr. Gaebelein’s life and ministry. The good work will go on. Dr. Frank E. Gaebelein succeeds his father as president of his publishing house, Dr. E. Schuyler English who has been Associate Editor of Our Hope now becomes its Editor. Our very best wishes to these men of God as they follow in the saintly footsteps of the founder, and our sincere sym pathy to those who will feel his loss so keenly even though they do not mourn as those who have no hope. May we be thrilled anew at the hope of the soon appearing of the great God and our Saviour, Jesus Christ, and pray to be as faithful to Him and His Word as our dear brother whom we have “ lost a while.” ★ ★ Latest News from China M ANY of our readers know that for many years the Bible Institute of Los Angeles has maintained a China Department in Changsha, Hunan, a Bible Institute, capable Of training five hundred Chinese students at once. Of course, during the war years, it was impossible to continue the. school. As the fighting raged in this par ticular section, the buildings suffered serious damage. Pictures from this area have just been received, showing that in 85% of the buildings, the de struction was almost complete, as only the walls were left intact. It is the desire of the Board of Directors that as soon as possible this work be resumed. To this end a few months ago, Dr. Charles Roberts, Who is director of the China Department, returned to Hunan, One of the first things that must be done is to erect temporary roofs on the dismantled buildings. This will entail great work and expense. Dr. Roberts reports that, in spite of the difficulties, some classes are being held at the school. We look forward to the day when the work of the China Department will be again operating at full capacity. Friends who are interested are asked to pray, and to send their gifts for this work to the Los Angeles Bible Institute, marked for Hunan. Pray as well for Dr. Roberts and his family, who are forced to be apart in this critical time. Mrs. Roberts con tinues to maintain the home in Glen dale. Such separations are difficult, but are glady borne for the Gospel’s sake. God grant that the day may soon come when missionary homes can again be established on the for eign mission fields.
Christianity. It is true that in our land Christianity has seen its widest freedom, with the r e s u l t that the United States has become the greatest nation on the face of the earth. How ever, let us not forget that Americans, too, desperately n e e d the salvation that comes only from a personal ex perience with the risen Son of God. ★ ★ A Spiritual Giant Goes Home I T has always seemed that the words of Jude 3 applied particularly to him. For that is what he was: a gal lant “contender for the faith.” Bril liant, courageous, forceful, Scriptural, logical and unanswerable in argument was he in both speaking and writing. Now he has gone in to see the King; a spiritual giant has gone home. We speak of Dr. Arno Clemens Gaebelein, who on Christmas Day, 1945, in his eighty-fifth year, after a brief illness, peacefully passed away at his home in Mt. Vernon, New York. The daily papers called* attention to the fact that “his end had come.” But we who knew him, and who know his Lord, are aware that for him life has really just begun. For a full three-score years, it was given to Dr. Gaebelein to “preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, exhort with all long- suffering and doctrine” (2 Tim. 4:2). Very well-known, on this side of the Atlantic, he was also much in de mand on the European continent and in Great Britain as a conference speaker. Up and 'down the land he went, with good tidings of eternal life for sinners, and a message to edify the saints. We marvel at the God-given ability to impart the Word of God, and for the tireless enthusi asm he put into his ministry. But the doctrine dearest to his heart was that of the Lord’s return. It is not an exaggeration to state that the "Blessed Hope” had fully captured his heart, and that he preached it fervently and fearlessly in a day when it was far from popular. And now, although he' fully expected to be “caught away” by his Lord/ he has gone through the gates of death. But who can say but that perhaps to morrow “we who are alive and re main” shall be “caught up together” with him? Some believe that Dr. Gaebelein’s pen was mightier than his spoken word. Certainly it was a well-sea soned weapon. For fifty years he ed ited Our Hope. Many t i m e s the p a g e s of the King's Business re sounded with the ring of his power ful arguments. No less than sixty books, booklets and expository writ ings have flowed from his prolific
Don’ t Give Cheap Bibles npHE war, with its unavoidable short- ages of material, made it neces sary to print Bibles upon paper of very poor quality, and to bind them in the cheapest of materials. It was better to do this than to stop the presses from printing the Book of books. But now it is different. The war is over, and in due course of time, things will return to normal. The Word of God can again be printed on the highest quality of paper and bound with the finest materials. So, it is not too soqn to resolve that we will never be guilty o f . giving “cheap” Bibles. Certainly one should never be presented to a child. One of the qualities of the heart which pays great dividends in later life is a reverential l o v e for the Scriptures. The time to plant the seed of this respect for God’s Word is in childhood. Too often have we noticed that chil dren were allowed to purchase their first Bibles from the counters of the “Five and Dime” store. Consequently the indifference with which the young person afterward regarded the Bible was inevitable. No greater treasure can ever be placed in childish hands than the Book of God. It is vital that this treasure be one that bears the mark of its greatness by being well printed in a clear, readable black-face type, and richly bound. One would not want to defeat his own purpose by making this serious mistake in pre senting a gift of the Holy Scriptures. ★ ★ We Are Ashamed A CCOUNTS continue to,come in from occupied countries with regard to the almost unbelievably rude conduct of American soldiers abroad. Without any doubt, there are mitigating rea sons for these shameful circumstances: the men desire above all else to come home; they, are unable to understand the temperament and habits of the Asiatics and the Europeans, and they have become the prey of the racket eers in every land. Perhaps we expect too much of the American soldier. We should stop to remember that our civilization is but a veneer, and that, under the stress of abnormal circumstances, that layer may crack, exhibiting that which men call "human nature,” but which God declares to be the wholly bad “natural man.” Would that every lad wearing thfe uniform of our great American nation had w i t h i n his breast a cleansed heart! We are positive that if such were the case no reports like this would emanate from the occupied nations. Far too many people confuse civili zation and democracy with genuine
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