Growing ¿8 Each year The Christian Herald takes careful note of the total United States church population. The figures for 1948 reveal that the over-all gain was nearly 2,200,000 or 2.8%, which was a good deal more than the population gain of 1.7%. The complete total of church members was nearly 80,000,000, or better than 53% of all the citizens. However, before any shouting should be done over this report, it should be carefully noted that only 30% of the church population attend with any de gree of regularity. Free Ride In Angola, Indiana, Gailen Eatinger, an elder of the Church of Christ, placed his taxicab company at the free dis posal of anyone going to or from Ango la’s seven churches. On one hot Sunday 303 took advantage of free rides. For Mr. Eatinger, the project is paying off in three ways, he reports. First, his regular business is up 25% because of the people who want to show their gratitude. Second, many of the people who ride free put the fares into the church collection plate and, third, the morale of his drivers benefited as well. Span of Life <¿8 Based on the mortality figures for 1947, the average life expectancy of a child at birth is 66.8 years. This is al most two years greater than the aver age for 1939-41. Translating this into mortality rates there were 267,026 fewer deaths than under the 1940 mor tality rates, with pneumonia and influ enza suffering the sharpest defeat. This is a long way however from endless iife, with the Biblical three score years and ten still ruling. Let none deceive him self, however, for God’s law that today < is the day of salvation still holds abso lutely true. Winged Missionaries ¿8 Back in 1904, Jack Miner estab lished a bird sanctuary at Kingsville, Ontario. Soon after that a bird-banding scheme was begun with Mr. Miner «clamping scientific data on one side of the band and a Scripture verse on the other. Reports of missionaries in this area reveal that this unique idea in duces great religious feeling among the Indians and Eskimos. They believe that these messages are sent direct from God, which indeed they are. God's Bounty «3* Last reports indicate that United States farmers will harvest a volume of food and fiber close to the all-time top. Cotton in the Mississippi River Delta country was all of good quality and plentiful. Corn in Iowa was climbing to “elephant eye” levels. The golden fields of ripe grain of the Great Plains was fabulous in its proportions. From coast to coast, God’s bounty was overwhelm ingly apparent. Now let it not be for gotten that God expects gratitude to be expressed by those to whom ‘ He gives so largely. T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
William W . Orr, D.D.
Manners First
Five Months ■¿8 The United States Census Bureau reports that the national population is growing twice as fast as before the war. There is a present increase of 200,000 a month or a million every five months. It is expected that the United States population will reach a total of 150,000,- 000 by November 1. Alert churches and Sunday schools should take careful note and provide adequately for substantial and regular increases in Sunday school and church membership. 200 B.C. & Every once in a while unexpected confirmation is received regarding the historicity and authenticity of the Scrip ture. Recently a goatherd, poking around in a small cave near the Dead Sea, found eight rolls of ancient Hebrew texts in good condition. Two of the rolls were Old Testament sections dat ing to about 200 B.C. The rich find in cludes manuscripts from the Book of Isaiah and portion? of Genesis, Deuter onomy, Leviticus, Judges and Daniel. These are, by far, the earliest manu scripts extant and constitute a real vic tory for the conservative forces who hold to the genuineness of the Biblical accounts. Zion's Trouble An amazing amount of progress has been made in the new Jewish State of Israel,, which is only slightly larger than Connecticut. Yet there is still much to be accomplished. It seems that the pressing problem relates to the ab sorption of immigrants. Some arriving from other lands felt that the rigors of pioneering were too much and sought to return. The United States Consulate in Tel Aviv has some 10,000 applications for visas to the United States. However, the Jewish agency is working desper ately to provide shelter and jobs, and at least 80% of the immigrants have been shoved, somehow, into the new economy.
Dr. Lucinda Templin, principal of the Radford School for Girls at El Paso, Texas, is the head of a movement which promises to rock educational circles all over the world. Dr. Templin’s idea is that the pupils under her care must first learn how to be good wives and mothers, and to have good manners and culture. Without passing grades in these men tioned subjects, she flunks them. Dr. Templin has no use for progressive education, and her greatest problem is with the parents. With this idea of education the Scriptures are in sur prising agreement. The child’s first nec essity is to know how to live, and let it not be forgotten that the fear of the Lord is the beginning both of wisdom Most of you remember the Supreme Court decision in the Champaign, Illi nois case. Recently the National Edu cation Association checked up on the results of this Supreme Court decision. There were replies from 2,639 public school systems revealing that 73% had no religious instruction program and a sixth of these had abandoned their pro grams presumably on account of the Supreme Court decision. However, about 13% more schools were releasing more pupils for religious education than in 1940. Advertising Plus One of the large motion picture producers expects to release a picture with a Biblical theme, “ Sampson and Delilah”, next January. As something of an experiment, a deluge of advertis ing regarding this picture will flood the country. As one phase of this publicity Sunday schools will receive, presumably free, a 16 mm film taken from earlier religious epics, and with just enough of the advertising of the new one to implant the desire to see the entire pro duction. A rather sad thing is that many Sunday schools will accept this film. Page Six and knowledge. After A Year
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