TH E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
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THE BIBLE
IN THE NEWS
In spite of the blood, sweat and tears of the last ten years, more than forty million Chinese have learned the art of reading since the war began. It is estimated that by the time the war is over, there will be fifty million Chi nese able to read—all potential read ers of the Bible. God has promised that His Word will accomplish His purpose and' here is a thrilling opportunity to prove God’s faithfulness. Let us pray that our great Bible societies will be awake to the tremendous possibili ties of distributing the Scriptures to this untouched multitude. ♦ The difference between religion and a truly born-again experience is exem plified in the life of the late Tom Pen- dergast, the most unrighteous political czar of the century, who ruled Kansas City until his death last January 26. It is impossible to fully estimate the extent of his corrupt practices. His average gambling expenses are re ported to have been $50,000.00 a day. He was one of the world’s worst poli ticians in the most evil sense of the word. But at his funeral, the Catholic monseigneur eulogized him as a man with a noble heart and further stated “I can vouch for the fact that he was at church every morning at 7:30 o’clock for a period of thirty years.” ♦ The Army has a new Chief of Chap lains, Colonel Luther D. Miller. Colonel Miller succeeds Major General William Arnold, who has served as Army Chief of Chaplains longer than any other man in the nation’s history. General Arnold is a Roman Catholic, while the new Chief of Chaplains is an Episco pal clergyman. Colonel Miller assumes his important post with an experience of 26 years in the Army. ♦ According to a current news item, we understand that there is more cash in the hands of the American public
than ever before In the nation’s his tory. Slightly over twenty-six billion dollars jingle in the pockets of Ameri can citizens. Coupled with this is the disheartening news that contributions toward religious work are at a new low ebb. What does God think of this discrepancy? What will He be forced to do? ♦ In a recently published book from the pen of a chaplain an instance is recorded of unsaved men, under the stress of battle conditions, referring to God as “the Old Man Upstairs.” This, the writer explains, was per fectly all right. It was the unique way in which the hearts of t h e s e men reached out for God. This impresses us as blasphemy of the worst sort. If there is anything of which God is jealous, it is His name. Our God, in His holiness, is as a con suming fire. When we address Him we s h o u l d bare our souls in His pristine presence, even as Moses re moved the shoes from off his feet. The conception of this chaplain is tanta mount to verbally slapping God on the back. By way of contrast we need only to refer to the worshipful dignity which characterized the Son of God in His public communication with His Father. ♦ The Department of Commerce, in reports recently released, shows that we are spending about $54.00 for liq uor for each man, woman, child and infant in the country. The grand total is staggering, showing that over seven billion dollars was^pent for alcoholic beverages in 1944. This is in spite of the restrictions which have been placed on the manufacture of alcoholic liquors. ♦
minute total of the various languages into which the entire Bible, or a por tion of the Bible, has been translated. The grand total as of the Spring of 1945 is 1,068 languages or dialects. This is an increase of six during the past year. Also, the Society reports an amazing total of 12,403,541 copies of the Scriptures circulated during 1944, breaking all previous records in this 129-year-old Society. ♦ An interesting new organization is being formed called “The Christian Airmen’s Missionary Fellowship.” This is to be composed of men and women who have received training as air plane pilots or maintenance workers during these years of war. The pur pose of the fellowship is to use air craft to speed the story of the Gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth. It is undenominational in its organ ization and aims to cooperate with all existing evangelical missions. It is our understanding that even though the most modern methods are being used, the story is the same, even that old, old story of God’s love for a lost world, as demonstrated in the death of His well beloved Son. ♦ The basic, unvarnished principle upon which the Roman Catholic Church operates was voiced by Arch bishop John Timothy McNicholas in a discussion relative to the cooperation of the Catholic Church in inter-faith ventures. He says in substance that while Catholics can meet members of the Protestant and Jewish faiths un der the auspices of civil authority, they cannot participate with mem bers of other faiths under the auspices of religion, the reason being that they do not believe one religion to be as good as another, but that the Catholic Church is the only guardian of the teachings of Christ, and the Pope is the only vicar of Christ upon earth.
A report just issued by the American Bible Society gives us the up-to-the-
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