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story, these gentlemen propose to step right in with their new theology brooms and sweep them all out for you. If you prefer to look after your own brains, they may go so far as to sweep you out of the church in due time. We note in the accounts of this “ In stitute on Christian Faith” that while, in one breath, “ Fundamentalism” is re ferred to as “ a new heresy that has cropped up since the war and spread like wildfire throughout the churches,” in the next, the doctrines for which the “ Fundamentalists” are contending are characterized as “ the teachings that carry us back 6,000 years” and “ the outworn dogmas of past ages.” “ Institute on Christian Faith” sounds a lot like “ Conference on Christian Fundamentals” . There are precious few laymen but that can discern thp counterfeit methods to which these broad-gauged gentlemen are obliged to resort in order to get a hearing. The sulphur fumes of one session* of such a conference would be sufficient to con vince the most ordinary layman that this was a conference on “Modern In fidelity”— not,“ Christian Faith” . Call ing the Word of God “ fairy tales”— saying that its truths “ lie outside reality and that there is no use tinkering with it”— sounds very little like “ Christian Faith” to most of us. There are laws against false labels, and the day may come when these laws will not be confined to foodstuffs, but broadened to take in religious cults. If an anti- Christian conference can be called “ Christian” , it will not matter so much if ground peahut-shucks are labeled “ Breakfast Food” . m m THE MONEY QUESTION It’s not what you’d do with a million, If riches should e’er be your lot, But what you are doing at present With the dollar and a quarter you’ve got.
Throw Overboard Old Teachings . “ It Is our purpose,” Rev. Dr. Evans said, “ to throw overboard the teach ing that for 6,000 years has taken us back to a mythical Garden of Eden, with a future that ends before a Great White Throne. That sounds like a fairy tale to us. We simply cannot believe in this utter disaster that came upon the world in the Fall, the Flood, the Ransom paid to the Powers of Evil, and the propitia tion of God’s wrath. It lies outside reality for most of us and there is no use tinkering with it. “ We accept Theistic evolution as a more rational and spiritual expression of man,” Rev. Dr. Evans said. “ It en ables us to believe our world is not hopelessly decayed." Discount Natural Man “ There is' a teaching that calls itself Christian that revels in discounting the moral qualities of the natural man,” Rev. Edwin A. Ralph, Plymouth Con gregational Church, declared in his ad dress on “ The Christian Idea of Man.” “ The Christian idea is not that man has fallen away or fallen low, and be cause of his having fallen is in a hope less condition; but rather this, that how ever far away man has drifted, or how ever low he has fallen, there are within him powers -that enable him to respond to the call of God.” Individualistic theories of salvation were scored by Rev. Gilbert S. Cox, In- dianola M. E., in an address on “ The Christian Idea of Salvation.” “ An individual salvation,” he said, “ something that takes place between man and God, without reference to men, is not enough for the modem world. We have seen to our dismay the failure of good men with bad influences. ‘An angel at home, a devil in business,’ as one man’s servant described his em ployer.” There you have it! If you have any of those old doctrines on file in your upper
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