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T h e K i n g ’ s B u s i n e s s
May 1928
One educator criticizes the Ph.D. degree as circum stantial evidence o f a desire to evade the hard knocks of practical life. P. W . Wilson, in Sphere, a London paper, gives his impressions o f America as a land obsessed by an educa tion mania. He is dubious as to what will be the result o f withdrawing so many lives from rough labor, paid by the week. He reminds us that there was a country that believed, hundreds o f years ago, that it could achieve everything by mere education. That country was China. The Pathfinder sums it up as follows: “ Just watch the college students and you will get the impression that education is about the last thing they are interested in. They go wild over football, basketball, baseball, running, jumping, boxing, swimming, rowing, wrestling, hockey and the hurrah sports. They are much interested in social
B usiness ( “ The Higher Fundamentalism” ). “ What can be higher,” he asks, “ than Fundamentalism? Is there any higher truth than the deity o f Christ, the virgin birth, the substitutionary atonement, etc?” In one sense our brother is right. Fundamentalism should include everything that is vital to Christian belief and experience, but unfortunately, whenever a company of believers get together and take to themselves a name, there are always some o f whom it must be said: “ Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead.” It is no exception with the-word which has been in current use for the past few years—-“ Fundamentalist.” There has been a growing sentiment that greater emphasis must be given to the higher type of Funda mentalism, the kind that gets into heart-experience and
life, fraternities, sororities, dancing, suppers, joy-rid ing, necking a n d other forms of extra-curricula college activities; Some add the hip-flask and ciga rettes' for girls.” The college will no doubt continue in their merry way. It remains for Christian leaders to bring education in America back to first principles. The Bible Institutes are doing much to give young people the right foundation for practical life. Other in stitutions like the new Des Moines University w i l l come into existence in due time.
into the hands and feet. A well-known writer but recently was pleading for “ another Wesley.” “ Oh, for a man of God,” pleads this author, “ who will dare to be misunderstood and misinterpreted and mis quoted of men, but a man mightily used o f God to infuse into the barren pro fession o f our times the spark which will change the blackened wick into an ever-burning flame.” That, dear reader*;: is the “>‘Higher Fundamental ism” advocated in the edi tor’s recent book and for w h i c h " t h i s magazine pleads. Belief in the di vine inspiration of all Scripture, in our Lord’s absolute deity, His vica rious death, His literal res urrection and second com
Dr. D. M . Panton on “ Bullingerism” . “ The gravity of Bullingerism now stands revealed. A sys tem which so divorcés us from our Lord that, as ‘Jewish,’ His commands have for us no binding force, and His steps are steps to be carefully avoided; a system which cuts out all the injunctions involving the Church’s responsibilities, and the passages exposing our spiritual poverty, retaining, almost solely, the passages of grace and privilege; a system which reduces the Scriptures o f all Apostles except Paul to a dead letter, the debris of a defunct dispensation ; a system which banishes the Apocalypse, given explicitly ‘for the churches’ . (Rev. 22:16), and on, which rests a peculiar beatitude for present observance (Rev. 22:7), to the remote and the aca demic ; a system which denies us Baptism and the Lord’s Sup per as carnal ordinances long abrogated, and thus convicts the whole Church o f nineteen centuries o f gigantic error :— such a system, claiming to be peculiarly enlightened, and so critically revolutionary as to free the whole Church from age long bondage, stands forth as one o f the grave but masked perils of today.” While we are trying to save the Bible to the Church, let us not bring in a system o f interpretation that, as effectually as the critic’s pen-knife, robs the Church of seven-tenths of the New Testament.
. Eventually people will learn that no better advice can be given our young people than that once given by the great Spur geon to the young o f his congregation:
ing and the other great Scripture doctrines is indeed vital to the church, but be it remembered that until these doc trines become incarnated in lives like unto that of our Lord, they go not forth td conquer for Him. There are some diseases that are called the reproaches o f physicians and there are many professing Christians who may be called the reproaches of ministers. They are great hearers, great attendants at Bible conferences, great’ talkers about prophecies and dispensations, but never seem to wear the true badge of Christianity which our Lord Himself declared Should identify all His followers (Jn. 13:35), Has ever a man raised his voice against empty shib boleths and called upon the church for Christlike living, that he has not been made the target o f controversialists? Our Lord gave barren Judaism an object lesson by cursing a fig tree laden with nothing but the leaves of profession, and they sought to kill Him. Charles H. Spurgeon cried out against creed without deed, and ministers o f the Gospel railed against him. “ This empty profession,” said he, “ is just painted pagean try to go to hell in : it is like the plumes upon the hearse which bears men to their graves.” The devil has no greater dupes and none serve him so well as those who roar against Modernism and come short
“ Oh, young man! Build thy studio on Calvary; there raise thine observatory, and scan by faith the lofty things o f nature. Take thee a hermit’s cell in Gethsemane and lave thy brow with the waters of Siloa. Let the Bible be thy standard classic, thy last appeal in matters o f con tention ; let its light be thine illumination; and thou shalt become more wise than Plato; more truly learned than the seven sages of antiquity.” m M Higher Fundamentalism—What is It? W E were impressed recently with the comment of Dr. W . H. Fitchett upon the type of Christianity in the day that God brought John Wesley into the scene of action. He said: “ The fatal thing in the religion o f that day was that it had ceased to he a life. It was frozen into a theology. It was not realized as a spiritual deliverance; a deliverance at the very touch of the fingers. Christianity translated into terms of human experience and dwelling as a divine energy in the soul was a forgotten thing. What Wesley did was to pour the mystic current of a divine life through the soul o f a nation and so turn blackness to flame.” One of our orthodox leaders has taken exception to the sub-title of a recent book by the editor of T he K ing ’ s
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