»MAY / 1947
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"From these honored'dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they gave the last full measure of devotion; . . . we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth 'of freedom, and that gov ernment of the people,, by the peo ple, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” —ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
"GREAT IS THY FAITHFULNESS" By Kathryn Rader Hawthorne Marvellous Experiences oi a Missionary Pioneer to Sumatra, Netherland East Indies.
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Beautifully cloth bound, 190 pages, Price $2.00 per copy In graphic language Mrs. Hawthorne realtes her experiences in three main divisions: 1. The Early Years; 2. The Sumatra Years, 3. Internment Years. She climaxes her book with the story of God’s wonderful deliverance from Internment Camp. Kathryn Rader Hawthorne comes from a long line of ministers and missionaries. Her father Daniel L. Rader was a Methodist minister, as was his father and grandfather. Her brother, Paul Rader, was known throughout America and in foreign countries as a man with a real message. Proceeds from sale of this book above actual costs to go toward missionary work in Sumatra. Send at once your order and remittance to LIGHT AND HOPE PUBLICATIONS. Berne, Indiana
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Daniel Rose, .Director Trustee Bible Institute of Lbs Angeles, Elder, Church of the Open Door The Bible Institute of Los Angeles maintains a Jewish Department whose ministry deals with the preaching of the Gospel to God’s ancient people, Israel. From this o f fice go out thousands of pieces of literature especially prepared to in terest the Jews. Also many of the students are engaged in visitation work, calling upon the Jewish peo ple and inviting them to the meet ings. Teams of students hold regular s tre et' meetings in places where an audience can be secured. Various prayer meetings are held and every Sunday at 4 p.m. in the lower audi torium of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles a mass meeting is held with fine speakers. You are invited to pray for the work of the Jewish De partment, and to support this min istry by your prayers and gifts.
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O fficia l Pub lication of The Bible Institute of Los A ng e le s, Incorporated Louis T. Talbot, D.D. Betty Bruechert William W . Orr, D.D. Editor in Chief Managing Editor Associate Editor Copyright, 194 7» The King's Business No part of this magazine may be reproduced without permission. A ll Rights Reserved.
Memorial Day and' Mother’s Day Number
Vo l, 38
M ay , 1947
No. 5
TH E M O TH E R ’S TRUST
CON T EN TS Cover: American Cemetery, World War I I, Courtesy United States Coast Guard. Picture Credits: Philip D . Gendreau, N . Y ., p. 6 ; J. Walter Collinge, Santa Barbara, Calif., p. 8 ; U . S. Coast Guard, pp. 9, 15, 24, 25. Editorially Speaking......................................................................................... 4 “ Th is Is the Crisis,” Vance Havner. .......................................................... 6 H ow Does Y ou r Praying Rate? Betty Bruechert ................................... 7 Eternal Goodness, John Greenleaf Whittier. .............................. ............ 8 T h e Christian’s W arfare, David W . Ewart ............................................ 9 “ H ow Firm a Foundation,” George Keith ................................................ 11 Th e T w o Dollar Prayer, Fred H . Fielding ............................................ 13 T h e Christian Message, Elvis H . Egge ...................................................... 15 Earth’s Treasure Heaps, Paul R . Bauman ................................................ 18 Ou r Authors Th is M on th ............................................................................ 19 Junior K in g’s Business, Martha S. Hooker .............. ................................ 21 Miscellanea ...................... 23 T h a t W e M a y Remember, Pictorial Section ..................................... 24-25 Th e Bible in the News.................................... ............................................. 26 Eternal Security and Probation, Roy L . Aldrich ...................................... 27 D r. T a lb o t’s Question Box......................................................... ............... 28 Mothers of M en ....................................................................... .................. 29 Biola Family Circle.................................................. ...................... .............. 30 Young People’s Topics, Walter L . Wilson .... ........................................... 34 I t ’s an Idea, Carlton C. Buck .................... i ............................................... 35 Sunday School Lessons................................................................. 39 SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION— “ The K ing’s Business” is published monthly; $2.00,.one y r.; $1.00, six months; 20 cents, single copy. Clubs of three or more at special rates. W rite for details. Canadian and foreign subscriptions 25 cents extra. It requires one month for a change of address to become effective. Please send both old and new addresses. REM ITTANCES—Payable in advance, should be made by bank draft, express, or post office money order payable to “ The K ing’s Business.” Date of expiration w ill show plainly on outside wrapper or cover of magazine. ADVER TIS ING—For information, address the Advertising Manager, 558 South Hope Street, Los Angeles 13, California. MANUSCRIPTS— “ The K ing’s Business” cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage to manuscripts sent in for consideration. Entered as second-class matter November 7, 1938, at the Post Office at Los Angeles, California, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage provided for in the Act of February 28, 1925, embodied in paragraph 4, section 538, P. L. and R .f authorized October 1, 1918, and November 13, 1938. ADDRESS: The K ing’s Business, 558 So. Hope St., Los Angeles 13, Calif.
Beneath the bloodstained lintel I with my children stand; A messenger of evil is passing through the land. There is no other refuge from the destroyer’s face; Beneath the bloodstained lintel shall be our hiding place. The Lamb of God has suffered, our sins and griefs He bore; By faith the blood is sprinkled above our dwelling’s door. The foe who seeks to enter doth fear that sacred sign; Tonight the bloodstained lintel shall shelter me and mine. My Saviour, for my dear ones I claim Thy promise true; The Lamb is "for the household”— the children’s Saviour, too. On earth the little children once felt Thy touch divine; Beneath the bloodstained lintel Thy blessing give to mine. 0 Thou who gave them, guard them —those wayward little feet, The wilderness before them, the ills of life to meet My mother love is helpless, I trust them to Thy care! Beneath the bloodstained lintel, oh, keep me ever there! The faith I rest upon Thee Thou wilt not disappoint; With wisdom, Lord, to train them my shrinking heart anoint. Without my children, Father, I can not see Thy face; 1 plead the bloodstained lintel, Thy covenant of grace. O wonderful Redeemer, who suffered for our sake, When o’er the guilty nations the judgment storm shall break, With joy from that safe shelter may we then meet Thine eye, Beneath the bloodstained lintel, my children, Lord, and I. — A u thor U nknow n.
MAY, 1947
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about their insistent inquiries: “How could it be that One should rise from the dead? If it be true, what rela tionship to Him do I bear?” Today the cross of Christ needs continual and persistent emphasis, for by it alone is there salvation. But perhaps too often the sacrifice of Calvary is left to stand alone without its corresponding truth of the resurrection. Do we refrain from constant preaching on the resurrec tion merely because there has grown up in the minds of some that this theme must always be associated with Easter? Are we missing the joy and thrill of the Christian life by failing to emphasize continually the fact that Christ arose, and that now He lives? Should not our sermons always include the ecstatic note of that resurrection morning? The Book of the Acts contains twenty-six wonderful sermons. Per haps they have been placed there in order to be the example for our preaching today. If this be true, there can be no doubt but that the glorious resurrection theme should appear in some form in every mes sage we preach. ☆ Vacations I T IS not too early to begin to think and plan for a summer vacation. This year the Bible Institute of Los Angeles is sponsoring an eight-day Bible Conference at beautiful Mount Hermon, near Santa Cruz, California. This lovely vacation spot is in the heart of the tall redwood country and is an ideal spot for a most bene ficial vacation. The speakers at this Bible Conference will include Dr. William Evans, Dr. Vernon McGee, Dr. Harry Rimmer and our own Dr. Louis T. Talbot. In charge of the music will be Dr. Herbert Tovey and a special musical feature will be the Bible Institute Hour Quartet, The conference will continue from Sun day, August 24, to and including September 1 (Labor Day). All friends of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles along the West Coast are most cordially invited to be pres ent. Requests for Information regard ing accommodations should be ad dressed to Rev. Cyrus Nelson, Mount Hermon, California, and all other in quiries to the Conference Director, Dr. William W. Orr, 558 South Hope Street, Los Angeles 13, California.
Catholics Become Protestants rpHERE has been a great deal of -*■ fanfare in recent months over the conversion of a number of prominent Americans to Roman Catholicism. The press, which is known to favor Catholic propaganda, played up these items before the American public with a view of attempting to- prove that Protestantism is grad ually fading out of the picture. Subsequent to this publicity, the Christian Herald made an effort to point out that the swing has not been from Protestantism to Catholi cism, but rather the reverse. A sur vey of this matter made on a very inadequate basis, was seized upon by a number of Catholic journals in which it was made to appear that only 515 Catholics had joined the Protestant church in the past ten years. One of these Catholic journals was promptly called to account by the Evangelical Lutheran Synod, which pointed out that, as a matter of statistical record, 1,280 former Roman Catholics joined the Missouri Synod of the Lutheran Church, in the year of 1945. Furthermore, it was pointed out that, inasmuch as the membership requirements of the Missouri Synod are much higher than those of the average Protestant body, it seems reasonable to assume that the number of Catholics in America who turned Protestant runs into the hundreds of thousands each year. It is also true, as the Converted Catholic magazine has stated, that almost three times as many Roman Catholics joined the Baptist and other evangelical bodies as those Protestant denominations whose re quirements include adherence to fixed forms and rituals. While exact and accurate figures are not available, it seems a reason able supposition that for every Prot estant who embraces the Catholic church, there are one hundred Cath olics who turn from their faith in Romanism to seek admission into the various Protestant evangelical bodies. ☆ Foundations at Yale JT IS interesting to note the reli gious background of many of our great universities. Sorrow fills our hearts when we realize how far some T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
Never W HAT an inexhaustible storehouse of treasure is the Word of God! For instance, in the fifth verse of the thirteenth chapter of Hebrews, we find a most soul-satisfying state ment. Because its paraphrase is ob scured by our English translation, some have not “drunk to the full of its riches." The Authorized Version translates this verse: “I w ill never leave thee, nor forsake thee,” but in the original Greek, there are two negatives which the Greek writer could have selected, one much stronger than the other. When these negatives are employed as they are in this case, the meaning is tripled. The phrase may be rendered per fectly correctly: “I will in no wise leave you, and I will in no wise for sake you." Nor is this all; there is a fifth negative implied, and since we know the mind of the Lord regard ing this theme from other passages in the Bible, we may paraphrase in this manner: “I will never, never, never, never, never leave thee nor forsake theee.” The One speaking is our precious Lord; those addressed are His children; the statement itself is imperishable truth. The result: perfect peace. ☆ Main Theme W E BELIEVE the Book of the Acts to be a continuation of what Jesus “began both to do and teach” as recorded in “the former treatise" which Luke penned to his friend Theophilus, which we know as Luke’s Gospel. It is the first page of church history, with thousands of pages to follow. We have been struck by the constant use of the resurrec tion theme in a recent review of the addresses which form a large portion of this book. Time after time, the Holy Spirit, through the lips of His appointed evangels, calls attention to the amazing implications of the Lord’s resurrection. To be sure, the work of Christ on the cross is not overlooked, but the emphasis is strong indeed on this climax to His death—His resurrection. It seems this is what all Jerusalem was talking about in that early day, not so much the execution of the “criminals" on Calvary’s hill, but the fact that One of these three could not be “holden” by death. This is what provoked the curiosity of the people and brought PAGE FOUR
of them have strayed from the earnest Christian convictions of their founders. For instance, here are the words of President Timothy Dwight (1795-1817), through whose judicious management the foundations of Yale University were laid: "It is the great interest and duty of mankind to use the Scriptures as they are, in the most diligent and faithful manner, that the great ends for which they were Intended may be accomplished. Particularly we are required to read them daily, with profound attention, great care, and unceasing constancy, that we may learn their import; that we may un derstand them in the same manner, learn from them the same truths and precepts, and gain by means of them the same wisdom and excel lence which were designed by their Author. To this employment we are by our interest, as truly as by our duty, required to come with a spirit of entire candor, with humble sub mission, with a willingness that God should speak in His own manner, and the very things which He has in fact spoken, and without any desire or design to make the Scriptures speak in any different manner. The things which are contained in the Scriptures are partly truths which are the objects of our faith, and partly precepts, which are the rules of our duty, and both united are the means of our salvation.” ☆ Hints for Pastors W HAT kind of a man does the av erage churchgoer desire for his pastor? A recent book by Dr. Murray H. Leiffer, of Garrett Bible Institute, reveals some interesting facts in this connection. This book is the result of a survey conducted among Meth odists over a period of two years, and it reveals that church members desire their pastors to be effective in winning decisions for Christ; they want them to evince an attitude of spiritual optimism, and they like their sermons Biblical. Very definitely do they favor men who call in their homes, and, when the minister calls, they want him to pray in the home. Modern amuse ments on church property are taboo in the minds of most Methodists, though they want their pastor to be a good mixer in spiritual crowds. Three-fourths of the members object to ministers’ smoking, and as for untidiness, this is a real sin in the minds of 98 per cent. Time, from which these statistics are taken, adds the words of one wise layman, "After all, being a preacher is about like being a mem ber of a draft board; he can do his best, and be nearly perfect, but he’ll get criticized.” MAY, 1747
President Truman TN A letter recently received from Dr. K. Owen White, the pastor of the Metropolitan Baptist Church in Washington, D. C., and an alumnus of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, we find an interesting side light con cerning President Truman. It appears that thirty-five Baptist churches of the Washington District have just concluded a World Mission Week. During this time, through the courtesy of A. Leonard Allen, who is a regular attendant at the services of the Metropolitan Baptist Church, an appointment was secured for Dr. White to see President Truman in the White House. At that time, Dr. White presented to the President over twenty-eight missionaries who were present at the Conference. The President was very informal and friendly to them. Dr. White reported the joy of his heart in seeing the President of the United States in his private office, surrounded by this group of Christian men and mission aries of the gospel. We have before called to your at tention in these columns the rela tionship between the President’s suc cess and the prayers of God’s people for him. It is our sincere belief that, while we recognize that the man who lives in the White House dur ing any administration possesses merely human wisdom, it is possible for him to be supplied with super natural wisdom to make him ade quate for his great task if God’s peo ple will continually pray for him. We have now as our President a man earnestly desiring to be God’s man, and this he will be, if we are faithful in interceding with the Heavenly Father in his behalf. ☆ Catholic Scholarship fpHE American public is currently being given large doses of propa ganda regarding the alleged scholar ship and wonderful achievements of Catholic leaders in almost every branch of learning. Every time we have an earth tremor, the picture of Jesuit Father Joseph Lynch and his seismograph at Fordham University are Bure to be seen on the front pages. Priests are publicized as Bible scholars, and Catholic colleges and universities are lauded for eminent scientific re search. However, it is a well-proven fact that Catholic scholarship is far be hind the average of other institu tions of learning, both secular and Protestant. This fact is sorrowfully admitted by no less an authority than the Jesuits’ own magazine America. In the issue of August 3, 1946, probably for the purpose of shocking its readers, the editors
pointed out that "there are only half as many Catholics on the faculties of colleges and universities as there should be, and that half is producing only half as much per person as it should. This means that there is only one-quarter of the pro.ductive scholarship coming from Catholics as our numbers warrant.” Much more than this is proven in a statement from the Scientific Monthly in its issue of December, 1931, wherein are published the find ings of two scientists who studied the outstanding names among Amer ican men of science "and found just three Catholics among 1,189 out standing scientists.” The conclusion reached in the above article is very significant and was frankly stated: “The conspicu ous dearth of scientists among the Catholics suggests that the tenets of that church are not consonant with scientific endeavor.” ☆ Greatest Story /CURRENTLY over the American ^ Broadcasting Company network a new program is being released, entitled, “The Greatest Story Ever Told.” Each Sunday a different in cident or parable in the life of Christ is dramatized. This is the product of Fulton Oursler, senior editor of the Reader’s Digest, and is spon sored by a large rubber company. While the program, from the dra matic standpoint, is well done, our criticism of this and all similar pro grams is that the emphasis is mis placed. The events and parables are taken away from their context and thrown together in a way to suit the design of the radio broad caster which is certainly not the de sign of the Scriptures. We ques tion whether God can use programs which are lacking in spiritual under standing and appeal. ☆ 400 fPHE LARGEST number of Protes- tant missionaries' ever to arrive in a foreign port in one body reached China recently. There were four hundred on board the steamship Marine Lynx. This is one of the most encouraging signs of our post war world. I f there was ever a time when missionaries were needed to cover the nations of the world, it is today. The statesmen and politi cians are literally at the end of their rope. The United Nations are bound up in a hopeless tangle. Men’s hearts are failing them for fear and the nations tremble. God is giving be lievers additional opportunity to go into all the world and preach the Gospel before the end comes. PAGE FIVE
Coastline between Long Beach and Santa Monica, California.
A ND THIS is the condemnation [Gk. fcmis], that light is come into the world, and men loved dark ness rather than light, because their deeds were neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God” (John 3:19-21). To announce such a subject is to call two strikes on the writer before he even begins, for who wants to hear about a crisis? For years now we have heard nothing but emergencies: national, military, political, economic! Since V-Day, our country has been on a vacation; “V” stands for vacation, as well as for victory. We are in a holiday mood. We are in the midst of a national let down. Part of that is the natural reaction from the stress and strain of war, but such reactions can be very dangerous. This vacation mood has got into the church. Christians are more interested in cars and clothes, radios and refrigerators, than in revival. They are more inclined to yawn than to pray. Instead of saying, "Amen,” the average church-goer is saying, “So what?” However, whether we like it or not, the Word of God sets before us a crisis, beside which all other crises are as molehills beside mountains. There is a crisis past; there is a crisis present; and there is a crisis to come. That crisis is “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” Over nineteen hundred years ago, the world met this crisis, the test by which men are judged. Light came into the world, and ever since the world faced Christ, it has faced the crisis. “What shall I- do then with Jesus which is called Christ?” He, the Light of the world, has been showing us up. Did you ever overturn a large rock, and watch the creeping, crawling things underneath scurry for cover, when the light struck them? We do not know what is in a dark cellar until the light breaks in; then the snakes and lizards and vermin are revealed. We do not know what is in our hearts until we face the light in Jesus Christ. That explains why some people PAGE SIX
Here is a matter about which everyone must take action
evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light,
Vance Havner
do not come to church: they do not want the light turned on! If we really want to do God’s will, we wel come the light, but if we walk in darkness, we resent the light; we have photophobia—we fear the light. The idea that unsaved men are kindly disposed toward Christ is pure, unadulterated “ bunk.” The world hated Him when He was here and it still hates Him. People followed Him for loaves and fishes, but when they woke up to His real purpose, they forsook Him and fled. Not only does the light shine in the Person of the Sav iour; it shines in the Scriptures as well. “The entrance of thy words giveth light.” His Word is a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path. This explains why some do not like straight preaching from the Word of God. They do not want the light turned on. Paul told Timothy that the time, would come when men would not endure sound doctrine. One. would think that, since the gospel had such influence during the days of Paul, the time would come when men would welcome sound doctrine, but Paul did not say that, and such was not the case then, nor is it the case today. Men live in dark ness and love it, because their deeds are evil. They will not come to the light lest they be shown up, as indeed they will, if they face the Scriptures. The light also shines in the saints: “Ye are the light of the world.” That explains why the world does not relish the presence of godly people. How many times we have found that when we mention the things of God in an ungodly gathering, it casts a chill over the meet ing! The light is turned on, and the creeping things scurry for cover! “I f we walk in the light . . . we have fellowship one with another,” but light and darkness have no fellowship. We need not expect to be popular T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
with darkness if we walk in the light. The world will hate us because it hated Him. I f we are to be “hail- fellows-well-met,” we must dim our light under the bushel or the bed. But God expects us to let our light shine. We are not to shine it, mind you, in order to dazzle everybody with our goodness, but simply to let it shine. It is a glow, not a glare; nevertheless, if we let it shine, a lot of folks will squirm. So the crisis of the ages is that light has come into the world. It shines in the Saviour; it shines in the Scriptures; it shines in the saints. Men do not like it because it shows them up, for they are doing things that will not stand the light. Earnest souls never criticize plain preaching, because they are ever seeking more light. But men with skeletons in their closets want lavender and rose-water sermonettes. When Job saw the light, he abhorred himself. When Isaiah saw the light, he cried, “Woe is me!” When the Samaritan wom an came into the light, she invited her townspeople: “Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?” Jesus shows us up! The crisis is not the atomic bomb. The crisis is the Christ who has come, who stands among us now. “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already.” Men are con demned now, right where they are. There is also the sense in which the crisis is yet to come, for Jesus is coming again. Again and again, the Word of God sets before us crisis and conduct. In Titus we are told that the grace of God has appeared and that we are looking for that blessed hope of Jesus’ com ing. He tells us how to live between these two Ad vents: denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, living soberly, righteously and godly in this present world. In First Corinthians we read that the time is short, and that the fashion of this world is passing away. We are exhorted to make our conduct fit the crisis (1 Cor. 7:29- 31). Peter tells us that the end of all things is at hand, and that the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God. Between those statements, he calls us to conduct suited to the crisis (1 Pet. 4:7-19). In Romans we read that it is high time to awake out of sleep, that the night is far spent and the day is at hand. Then Paul exhorts us to godly conduct. Again Peter pictures the Lord coming as a thief, the heavens passing away with great noise, the elements melting with fervent heat, the earth and its works burning up. Since these things are to be dissolved, we are told what manner of persons we ought to be; our conduct should fit the crisis (2 Pet. 3:10-12). We are to exhort one another, and so much the more as we see the day of His coming approaching (Heb. 10:25). The Chinese have an ideograph for “crisis,” composed of the words for “danger” and “opportunity,” expressing “a dangerous opportunity.” We face a dangerous op portunity today. We are not to lose our heads, but rather to be sober, to walk circumspectly, to redeem the time, to love not the world, to let our moderation be known to all men. Our conduct should match the crisis. The crisis is not the coming of Christ, but the Christ who is coming. He is the issue. He has come, the Light of the world. He stands among us now, saying, “He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad.” He is com ing again, but the greatest issue is not: “What is the world coming to?” but rather, “What will you do with Jesus?” This is the crisis: “He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believed not is condemned al ready, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” MAY, 1947
How Does Your Praying Rate? A Q u iz for the Christian By Betty Bruechert 1. Do you actually pray in private at least one half an hour a day by the clock f 2. Are you able to keep your thoughts from wander ing to other matters when you pray? 3. Do you make yourself get up promptly in the morn ing in order not to neglect prayer? 4. In public prayer, are you able to forget the people present, and make real contact with God? 5. Do you always pray in the name of Jesus? 6. Do you diligently watch for answers to your pray ers, and are you careful to thank God for them? 7. After receiving an answer to prayer, do you fulfill any promises you may have made to God? 8. When you pray in public, do you resist the tempta tion to orate? 9. Do you witness to others of definite answers to prayer you have received? 10. Have you a prayer list? 11. Do you wake up in the morning with a prayer upon your lips or in your heart? 12. When others are praying, are you courteous and reverent, closing your eyes and praying silently? 13. Are you willing to be the instrument by which God answers your prayer? 14. Do you keep your promises to missionaries and others who ask your prayer help? 15. In sickness and trouble of any nature, is prayer your first thought? 16. In saying grace at the table, do you avoid mechan ical statements, and really pray? 17. Do you remember to pray regularly, as God has commanded, for our government? 18. When you instruct others in praying, do you teach them to talk to God? 19. Do you incorporate Scriptural expressions in your prayers? 20. Do you refuse to use your public prayers to instruct or attack others? 21. Are you so in earnest about your requests that you come to God again and again for them? 22. Is your most fervent prayer all the time for the salvation of the lost and the welfare of Christians? 23. Do you really fight the interruptions that would keep you from praying? 24. Do you resist the temptations of Satan on your knees f 25. When you pray, do you honestly seek the glory of God? You mo,y allow yourself 4 for each question to which you can honestly answer, "Yes.“ I f your score is 100, you are an outstanding Christian. I f your score is not more them SO, you should put yourself first on your own prayer list. Next month’s questions will deal with the Christian’s conversation. Following that, there will be quizzes on the Christian’s dress, on his witnessing, his pleasures, the way he spends his time, and other subjects of vital, practical interest to those who love the Lord. PAGE SEVEN
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I know not what the future hath O f inaryel otseerprise, A ssured alone tha t life and dea th H is mercy, underlies. And so beside the silent sea I w a it the muffled oa r; No harm from Him can come to me O n ocean or on shore. ■ I know not where H is islands lift Their fronded palms in a ir; I only know I cannot drift Beyond H is love and care. — John Greenlcaf W h ittier
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Yacht Harbor, Santa Barbara, California
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
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Christian flag indicates church services on shipboard. T h s follow ing a rticle la a aarmon w hich w aa prepared and preached by the author, the paator of the W eet Adam e B aptlet C h u rch of Loe Angela*, C alifo rn ia , to hie congregation on M arch 2, 1947. In order th at the force of th i* m essage m ight not be lost, the editorial blue pencil ha* been w ithheld. T h e concluding In stallm ent w ill appear In the Ju n e Issue, and plans are being m ade to publish the a rticle In booklet form . R ev. Mr. S w a rt, born In Scotland, Is now an en th u sia stic and patriotic Am erican citize n , and a t euch believes in com plete religious freedom . T HE theme of this morning's sermon, “The Chris cisely because we are Christians, prefer peace to war. We recognize with gladness that, in all of the Christian religions, there are many great beliefs which all of us hold in common. And even outside of religion there is the bond of humanity. We non-Catholic Christians are not merely humanitarians, but we are humanitarian. Our home is in heaven, yet we recognize that we have a citizenship here which compels us to understand our neighbor and to do right by him. To be a good citizen demands that we show this neighbor not tolerance, but friendship. However, we are not going to understand this neigh bor and we are not going to be much of a friend to him if we cannot speak frankly of the problems that con cern us mutually in living together without encroach ing upon each other’s rights. We shall try. not to be carping critics. We shall recognize his right to believe in dogma that is foreign to our own teaching and spirit But when he appears to infringe on our rights as citi zens, and espouses principles which seem to us to be threats to our liberty, then we shall ask him to desist, or to explain that it is a misunderstanding on our part. If he insists that his position Is so inviolate, and that such principles are so sacrosanct that they cannot MAY, 1947
be discussed, then we shall put him down as either a humbug or a menace. I f one of us, thereby, has be come a poor neighbor, it will not be the one who wished the matter discussed on the basis of citizenship, but rather the one who retreats into his theological and authoritarian shell. We non-Catholic Christians, in the spirit of good neighborliness, have something to say to our Roman Catholic friends regarding what we believe to be our rights as citizens, and we will not be dissuaded by the mighty red herring of the ages: the accusation that free discussion and expressions of sincere disagreement and concern constitute bigotry and intolerance. In a world where ideologies are fighting to the death for control of nations, we shall not be silent any longer. Our principles are not to be confined to our Sunday school rooms—and I say that in full appreciation of the significance of the Sunday school—but we Chris tians espouse principles without which peace and liberty will never come to men and nations. It is time to send those principles into the arena of the world to fight with those who would deny them. We have kept those great convictions almost in hiding. Just the other day I picked up the Loe Angeles Examiner and read a sports column in which, somehow, the columnist found occasion to refer to the contents of a St. Louis newspaper; the columnist was writing without animus and no criticism of him is intended but he stated, rather glibly, that this St. Louis newspaper had even “dusted o ff the old sep aration of church and state issue.” That is just one of the principles that I propose to send into the fray to the best of my powers. And I hope that dust will not gather on it again. The individual who thinks he can live in this throb bing, vital world without grievous conflict, simply does not understand the world, or else, perhaps he has never learned to love truth. A man, loving truth, cannot PAGE NINE
tian’s Peace,” was much more to my liking than the topic which we are to consider this evening, namely, "The Christian’s Warfare.” We Christians, pre
live at ease among the world’s lies. I f he is a Christian, there are times when he must fight. Jesus, our Master and Lord, made plain the obliga tion to fight for truth. “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance.” A t variance! Sad words. Even though these were words uttered by our blessed Saviour, how much more pleasing to our ears are the words of the Psalmist, “Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious oint ment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron’s beard; that went down to the skirts of his garments. As the dew of Hermon, and as the dew ‘ that descended upon the mountains of Zion.” But Jesus said these words! Jesus the Prince of Peace! “ . . . not peace, but a sword . . . I am come to set a man at variance . . . ” We are to fight, then. We are to fight for truth, for the faith, for the cause of Christ. We are not to assume that we can live in a state of perpetual peace. Whatever tolerance means, it apparently does not mean that we must not fight! We are to fight, not because of a natural belliger ence, and not because of dislike for any particular in dividuals or groups. Look again at the Master’s words: “I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother;” These are ties as strong as we can comprehend: father and son, mother and daughter. But even there Christ at times brings division. And note that Christ speaks, not of a father and son relationship that has been marred by strife and misunderstanding, not of a mother and daughter relationship where there have been maladjustments as there can be upon occasion. No, this breakup between them comes not out of any natural dislike. There is love there. Natural love and not misunderstanding, is the background of this teaching by the Master, for you notice, our Saviour goes on to say, “He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.” Ah, now we understand this principle! We do not de cide this matter on the basis of whether we like people or dislike them, on the basis of whether we like the Roman Catholic religion, or dislike it. I f we fight, it must be only because we believe we are fighting for princi ple, for truth, for that which is related to man’s wel fare in such matters as liberty, for instance; and whether we decide to fight or remain passive must be settled in accordance with the will of Christ to whom we give our first loyalty. We must ask ourselves whether our Master would have us to enter the lists to do battle. I f it appears that the strife would consume our time and interest to such an extent that our service for Him would be out of balance, that our desire to lead men to the Saviour for redemption would be re duced, then surely that is too great a price to pay. But if the issues are so important that they are related to the promulgation of the gospel in our land, if it ap pears that a battle for the soul of America is being waged, if the liberties of men are endangered, however minutely, even in principle, then it is time to fight. As for me, I must fight. What shall be the rules for such a conflict which will leave us open to much criticisin'and misrepresenta tion? In Sir Walter Scott’s Rob Roy, one of the char acters has a line that goes something like this, “Fight like a Christian and not like a de’il wi’ a red hot poker.” We had better learn to fight like Chris tians—without rancor, with an understanding of the reasons for our differences, and with a sense of fair ness. But we must also fight to win. Our role for too many decades has- been confined to making innocuous protests. We must seek results more satisfying than the shattering of the atmosphere with words of indig- PAGE TEN
nation. We must close the ranks of evangelical Prot estantism, and then we must plan; we must expose the subtle infiltration of Roman Catholic ideology into the body politic, and reaffirm for posterity what this generation of Americans means by religious liberty and separation of church and state. I f we are so disunited that we cannot rise to the challenge that has been thrown us in the last few decades, then we deserve to lose our religious and civil liberties. The process has already begun. Our ideo logical enemy is prepared. His strategy for the con quest of America, you may be sure, is planned a hun dred years in advance. We cannot blame him for that insofar as his plans are fair, and shaped so as not to conflict with the law of our land, but we can be sure that he will continue to be oblivious to some principles which we believe are inherently American. What is the Situation That Confronts Us? The I^oman Catholic Church has so dominated mo tion pictures that religious scenes are played up to their advantage. A pagan public must conclude that all Roman Catholic priests are paragons of perfection and that almost all Protestant ministers are imbeciles. In the motion picture, The Green Years, the little Scotch girl refuses to play with the little Irish playmate be cause he is a Roman Catholic. What’s wrong with that? There are Protestant bigots, aren’t there? Yes, of course, but the only bigots who ever get on the screen are the Protestant ones. I challenge Hollywood to name one motion picture which portrays one instance of Roman Catholic prejudice. Is all bigotry and a1! the intoler ance Protestant? Come now, Mr. Louis B. Mayer! Wouldn’t you say that the Roman Catholic minorities in Protestant lands, such as Scotland, have a little bit better time of it than the Protestant minorities in Spain? In another picture portraying a Lutheran community in Wisconsin, little Margaret O’Brien gives a reading in a Lutheran church program in which she speaks with veneration of the Virgin Mary. I do not speak dis respectfully of the Roman Catholic doctrine of the veneration of the virgin. To do so would be to hurt my Roman Catholic friends to whom this doctrine means so much. But I do suggest that either your minister or the Hollywood director has a grave misunderstanding about Lutherans. Subtly, so subtly, that even some of our Protestants are unaware of the deliberate intent of this motion picture strategy, our people are absorbing this propaganda. It is the same in radio. I listened to a drama on Christmas day about George Frederick Handel. This Mr. Handel, it seems, was very discouraged and about to take his life when a lady of shining eyes appeared and dissuaded him. She gave him the immortal words of the Bible story, and he gave them immortal music. After his great creative effort, he was exhausted, but the lady of shining eyes appeared again, and he followed her. Where do you think he went on this Christmas eve? To the Church of the Madonna, of course. And, so they tell it, Handel would have lighted a candle except that he did not have any money-with him. It is true they did point out, in a brief phrase or two, that this was only a vision, and that actually the words of the Bible were delivered by someone else, not the lady. But any one listening to that program would inevitably conclude that Handel was a Roman Catholic and that there again we are indebted to the Catholic Church for a great spiritual and cultural contribution to mankind, the ora torio, The Messiah. But such is the appalling ignorance of many Protes tants that a protest over such things as this would elicit the response: “What does it matter? It was only a story.” They are not astute enough to see that Christ mas is predominantly a Catholic festival, and that, more and more, the spiritual and cultural emphasis that the T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
now traditional rendering of the oratorio gives the Christmas season, should be kept by Protestantism. It appears that we have no alternative other than to surrender to Monsignor Sheen now, for obviously there are radio script writers who will convert us after we are dead. I cannot refrain from observing that it would be interesting to have a Mohammedan write the script for the Handel play next Christmas day. The Attitude of the Press And it is the same in the newspapers. Dr. Donald G. Barnhouse of Revelation instituted a very thorough investigation of the newspapers of representative cities, and found that Protestant religious news received about 35% of the space while the Roman Catholic received 65%, this, despite the fact that Roman Catholics form less than 20% of our population. In this respect, it is only fair to say that our own disunity and lack of organization could be an important factor in these sta tistics. Much more serious .is this accusation, which I now make without apology: The Roman Catholic Church enforces a policy on the newspapers which gives them a place of privilege, and violates the freedom of the press in many instances. We have a case in point right now in the publicity that is being given to a church whose minister is accused of arson. He was given no press immunity. The whole tragic story has been print ed, even though this minister has not yet been tried. It was news, so they printed it, and with appropriate head lines. But did you ever see a headline concerning an indiscretion or a scandal pertaining to a Roman Catholic priest? We read of plenty of that in Roman Catholic history. Has the Catholic church, then, become lily-white in these recent decades? No. Priests on the whole are good men, of course, but they, too, have their percentage of failures and disgraces. I take it that you are wise enough to know that. What kind of double standard is it, then, that our press has—an absolute refusal to print news unfavorable to the Roman Catholic Church but no compunction about printing any scandal concerning Prot estants? Nothing makes a headline more exciting than to add to it the words, “Choir Singer,” or “Sunday School Teacher,” or “Deacon,” or “Baptist Minister.” I f pi quancy is desired in the headlines, then let them add the word “Priest.” One of the admirable qualities of Americans is a sense of fair play. Does this square with your idea of fairness? Did you ever think to do anything about it? Do you take the time to tell these newspapers just what you think of their discrimination? ,Can you imagine such a thing! Discrimination against a majority! Some body has been asleep. Was it you? Recently I talked with an editor about this matter, and his reply was that the newspapers did not feature unfavorably the religious connections of ministers of “regular” Protestant denominations any more than they featured priests. In the first place, that is simply not true; and in the second place, I am just as concerned about the rights of these apparently “irregular” de nominations. How long does the Roman Catholic Church take to learn the lesson that in America we do not speak of religious minorities in that way? I propose that we teach them, however difficult the task! A few years ago the San Francisco News Chronicle was courageous enough to try to break down this news paper double standard. It printed news concerning a priest, which, although it was quite factual, brought on a scheme of coercion by the Roman Catholic Church which ended that adventure in truth. I say to the Roman Catholic Church, “We don’t like your tactics in this matter; they are un-American. They do not have the element of fair play in them.” And I say to non-Catholics, “What does it take to arouse your MAY, 1947
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