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
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