MARCH, 1946
115
T
THE
I N
3 13 L £
NEWS
An Interpretation o f World Affairs in the Light o f the Scriptures.
^ A news item relates a matter of which we heartily approve. The First Baptist Church of Columbus, Missis sippi, has established a memorial fund of $30,000.00 for its war veter ans, which is to go to the cause of foreign missions. Far too often has Christian money been diverted into some imposing, but entirely useless, war memorial. Here is an example which other churches may well emu late. ^ Considerable publicity is being accorded the announcement that ap proximately one out of every two Americans has his name on some church roll. The total is said to reach the rather astounding figure of some 72,500,000. But before we shout too loudly about this fine figure, let us pause to remember that the Lord does not copy these figures verbatim for the Lamb’s Book of Life. ^ Dates for a revived National Sun day School Association Convention are set for October 2-6, 1946. The docket will include plans for the inaugura tion of new uniform Sunday school lessons which will place the empha sis upon evangelism and consistent Christian living. Mr. C. V. Egemeier of the Greater Chicago Sunday School Association is the new executive sec retary. There is a real shortage of mis sionary candidates. The mission fields of the world have been suddenly flung open, but due to the wartime deple tion of students in Bible institutes and Christian colleges, there are compara tively few qualified candidates for foreign service. This condition was unforeseen and could not be avoided. However, now is the time to devote every effort toward interesting accept able young people in dedication of their lives to the service of Christ, and to immediate preparation for it. ^ The Sunday School Times re ports a new area for evangelism, and gives a timely answer to some of the current industrial strife. During the
tianity and morality, this Is a dis graceful condition when considered from the standpoint of knowledge of classic literature. If this ignorance of the Word of God and its claims upon our lives is general among our young people, there can be but one result: the swift destruction of our civilizar tion. ' At last a decision has been reached in the court case dealing with religious education in the public schools. Sometime ago the suit was started in Champaign, Hlinois, by a pupil’s mother who objected to the Re leased Time Bible classes. After delib erating for nearly six months, the ver dict of a tri-judicial court is that it is both right and proper for the city to teach religion during school hours on school property. This is another vic tory for those who are endeavoring to reach the school children with one hour of Bible instruction each week. ^ A startling report from the Mar riage Guidance Council of London, England, indicates that one-third of all first-born children in England are conceived before marriage. Add to this report the observation from in formed sources that by far the over whelming majority of Britons have no connection whatever with the church or with any kind of Christian instruc tion, and you begin to understand how this deplorable condition can ex ist. Wise statesmen of all nations have declared that the knowledge of the truths of the Bible form the bul wark of an enduring civilization. Dr. Ralph W. Sockman, noted re ligious radio speaker over the Nation al Broadcasting network, is authority for the statement that religious radio is an aid to church attendance. Dr. Sockman, whose radio mail is said to average four thousand letters a week, says: “Religion is like art and music. The more of it you get, the more you want.” This is an interesting sidelight on the old controversy over the ques tion whether broadcasting church services increases or decreases the at tendance at places of worship. ,
war years, a n u m b e r of defense plants employed industrial chaplains on a trial basis. Foreseeing the end of the war, a group of Christian busi nessmen made a study of the situa tion and recommended chaplains for industry on a much wider scale. Early in 1945, Wheaton College offered a course to train these men in what is now c a l l e d “Theopsychotherapy.” Many industrialists who were inter viewed regarding the employment of these chaplains displayed great in terest. Certainly this new field offers a most wonderful opportunity to meet men and women on the plane of their everyday life, and more particularly to minister to them in their hours of need and sorrow. From early history, the Roman Catholic Church has always retained a majority of Italians in its highest body, the college of cardinals. This year marks a departure from this policy. The United States is soon to have five cardinals of its own. This is a radical change and undoubtedly a new bid for world recognition. ^ A new translation of the New Testament is soon to be placed on sale when the Revised Standard Version is made public February 11, 1946. This work, of eminent scholars, backed by over 40 Protestant denominations, has been going on for the past fif teen years. The purpose of this new translation may be expressed in the phrase, “The Word in new words,”— the rendition of the sublime thoughts of the Bible in the everyday English of the people. ^ Some startling statistics with re gard to the Bible knowledge of our young people have been quoted by the Watchman-Examiner. A questionnaire was circulated among 18,000 high school pupils. Of that number, it was discovered that 16,000 were unable to name three prophets of the Old Testa ment; 12,000 could not give the titles of the Four Gospels; 10,000 did not know the names of three of the Apos tles! Aside from the matter of Chris
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker