711
B u s i n e s s
November 1927
T h e
K i n g ' s
but we shall continue to pray that he may, in every way, prove himself worthy of the confidence expressed in him by those who know him ; and we would call upon God’s people to join us in this prayer. We exceedingly regret that our friend Mr. Trumbull of The Sunday School Times, felt it necessary, in a veiled way, to reflect upon The Bible Institute of Los Angeles in his editorial concerning Dr. Jones’ book. It is only because it has been so widely interpreted to mean that our Institute is endorsing Modernism, that we have felt it necessary to give so much space to the discussion of this matter. Mr. Truipbt1!! very graciously published a telegram from Dr: -James M. Gray clearing the Moody Bible Insti tute, but when the Managing Editor of T h e K in g ’ s B u s i ness asked him to relieve our Institute of the suspicion of being modernistic, we received a delayed reply in which it was stated that it was not a necessary inference that the
church life. It is the booby of suspecting that every preacher and teacher is a Modernist, a materialist, who is secretly under mining the foundation of truth. It is a great accomplishment, and no doubt a source of supreme satisfaction, to be able to scent heresy from afar. No matter what may be the subject of con sideration, and no matter how full of information and inspiration an address may be, unless the speaker goes out of his way to declare himself specifically upon all the mooted questions of the day, he at once becomes an object of suspicion. The self- appointed defenders of the Faith which was once delivered to the fathers begin to whisper, ‘He is a Modernist; we saw indica tions of it all through his address. You had better watch that man.’ “The best illustration of this stalking booby is now before us. A missionary, Rev. Stanley Jones, has written a little book entitled ‘The Christ of the Indian Road.’’ It has to do with the practical application of the Gospel of Christ. It is a discus sion of the ability of Jesus to meet the needs of all races, classes, and conditions of men. It is not a theological discussion of the need and the process of salvation. It is a bit of experience out of the heart of a laborer in that portion of the vineyard. It is after the order of Paul’s letter to the Corinthians—‘For I deter- minded not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.’
Bible Institute of Los Angeles had taken a stand for Modern ism because it had commended this book. In three letters, he has suggested t h a t we s h o u l d p u b l i s h a clear disavowal of our recommenda tion of the book and forbid its sale by our Book Room. We felt it our duty to write Mr. Trumbull to the effect that evidence had continued to pile up indicating that he and others had been mistaken in their judgment of Dr. Jones, and that our earnest desire to walk according to our best
“And yet here is a religious journal that brings a railing ac cusation against the book on the ological grounds. The charge is made mainly upon the things that the author does not say. Conclu sions, are drawn upon insufficient evidence, and, in my judgment, the author is accused wrongly. He may be a Modernist, but the evidence of it is not in the book, except as it is read in by sus picious souls who are trembling for the ark of truth. What must a man do ? I received a letter some time ago which had, as a letterhead, the creed of the man who wrote it; ‘I believe,’ ‘I be lieve,’ ‘I believe,’ in solemn pro cession. I wonder if the time is
A Searching Paragraph from a California M in ister
tc$fSome o f the self-appointed inquisitors of Fundamentalism have certainly played havoc with real soul-winning zpork all over the world and brought the cause hohich they profess to defend into disrepute because of their un-Christian attitude. God give you grace to stand for the Spirit of Christ as well as the letter o f theology.”
, . . coming when every man who writes a book will be compelled to put upon the flyleaf everything that he believes, whether it relates to the subject of the book or not? . “It is a terrible thing to see red all the time. I know a busi ness man who failed and who made himself and everybody with whom he came in contact constantly miserable by believing that everybody was crooked. It is the same way in the moral and spiritual world. Cheer up, my suspicious brother. You are astride a booby. The truth will not die with you. ^ “It is a book to read, to ponder—even to be converted by.” D r . J o h n B. W orrall Dr. John B. Worrall well sums up the situation so far as we are concerned, when he writes; “I thought I was safe and sound as a Fundamental ist, being an old-school Presbyterian, but if this book is to be accused of Modernism, then I am a Modernist, for I am certainly for Christ, a living power and personality in the life of a Christian. The commendations of this book from men like Dr. G. Campbell Morgan, who said to a friend of mine that it was one of the strongest books he knows and profited him greatly, is enough. . I could not want a stronger backing for Fundamentalism against Modernism than this book which holds up the person ality of Christ so strongly.” How th e In s titu te is Involved W E believe we have covered the ground sufficiently to show not only that we have been sincere in our position and “eager to believe the best,” but that we are not alone in our convictions. If we have been deceived, many other Christian leaders who have not been known as superficial thinkers, have also been deluded. If Dr. Jones, in the future, should betray his trust, we should certainly consider it our plain duty to publish the facts;
light, would forbid our making the retraction suggested. Mr. Trumbull proceeded thereafter to publish in two succeeding issues of The Times, letters from readers who commended his stand against this supposedly modernistic book, all Of which has continued to cause unrest among friends of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. In our judgment, any number of such congratulatory letters would not constitute evidence that Mr. Jones is a Modernist. It seems significant to us that the many let ters received, by our Book Room and T h e K in g ' s B u s i ness prior to the simultaneous attack upon Dr. Jones by a few Fundamentalist papers, were commendatory of the book; but the tone of our correspondence changed when these “exposures” began. Ninety per cent of those who have written us since these attacks have frankly stated that they had hot personally read the book. It is, therefore, in the interests of fair play, both to Dr. Stanley Jones and to the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, that we lay this evidence before our readers. May we ask our friends to pray that we may be constantly given wis dom from above, and the spirit of our Lord and Master, whose heart we do not desire to grieve and whose work we would not in any wise hinder. —o— , Some Last M inu te Testim on ia ls T homas M. P aramanandam ,Thqmas Paramanandam is a native óf India and a student of our Bible Institute. His father is a missionary in India, and well acquainted with Dr. Jones. In a letter just received, Mr. Paramanandam says: . . “You say much about the criticism on Dt. Stanley Jones’ book, which I have with me. ' I read the book myself and find
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