Jtt tljia 3 bbm F A S C I S T H O S T S A R E M ARCH ING :
T O E TH IO P IA , OR A R M A G E D D O N ?
By Louis S. Bauman
W HERE ARE T H E MARKS O F T H E CROSS? By Will H. Houghton T H E M IN IS T ER ’S SECULAR READ ING By Wilbur M. Smith
T H E HOU SE ACROSS T H E HEDGE ( A S to ry )
By Grace Livingston Hill
Bridal Veil Fall
The Problems of Christian Advertising NUM BER 3
“Y O U H AVE TH E CONF IDENCE OF Y O U R READERS”— Nothing is more important in the work of the average church—unless it be the calling of its Pastor—than the selection of the Congregational Hymn Book. The singing of the church must interpret, individualize, and apply the sermon. Its controlled appeal must be simple, vivid, yet subdued. Doctrinal correctness, lifetime associations, and, above all, devotion and divine beauty must be expressed in good choral music. The publishers of church music have therefore a difficult task in their advertising. The problems of the Choirmaster, the Organist, and the Soloists must be sensed intuitively and solved in advance. The mediums these leaders use must be sound, respected, and authoritative. PRESIDENT SHORNEY’S let ter, reproduced below, is a most valued commendation of the K ing ’ s B u s in e s s . The approval of two important music publishers such as THE HOPE PUBLISHING COMPANY and TABERNACLE PUBLISHING COMPANY, whose Hymnals are found in thousands of churches over the nation, is praise from a high source indeed.
Tabernacle Publishing Company CORNER LAKE STREET AND WALLER AVENUE
HOPE PUBLISHING CO. biglow - main • excell co
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS
'S»
July 11, 1955
Mr. H. S. Risley, Advertising Manager The King's Business 558 South Hope Street Los Angeles, California
Dear Mr. Risley:
The returns we have had from our advertising campaign in your publication over the period of the la s t year have been very sa tis factory both in low cost per inquiry and volume of traceable sales. As we have not advertised in The King's Business since the f a ll of 1928, our experience is practically that of any advertiser using your magazine for the f i r s t time and indicates you have the confidence of your readers and that they are responsive to advertising. Our parent company and a ffilia te , the Hope Publishing Company, used The King's Business with satisfactory resu lts th is spring in a campaign introducing two new and d ifferent hymnals, "The Service Hymnal" and "Devotional Hymns." In a fairly extensive l i s t of more than th irty publications, The King's Business rated well toward the top in advertising returns.
S-K
— “A N D TH EY {K IN G ’S BUS INESS READERS} ARE RESPONSIVE TO A DV ER T IS ING .” The critical character of the times through which civilization is passing places upon every Christian a responsibility which he should not shirk. In every choice of life he should exercise discrimination. Those churches which stand unflinchingly for the Word, those schools which give sound Christian training, those journals and periodicals that are loyal to the faith are the ones that should be supported. Only by such individual preference can there be compensation for the heavy finan cial loss, inevitably incurred through severely censored advertising. We rejoice in the accumulating evidence that K ing ’ s B u s in e s s readers are loyal to its advertisers, and offer the above interesting letter from TABERNACLE PUBLISHING COMPANY as another proof of the truth of this statement.
----------------- 1 • IF YOU ARE A PREMILLENARIAN
$iWeTamii#titta^lne Motto; “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.” —R ev . 1:5.
I have a message for you. It is of supreme .value if you wish light for these dark days. I advertised this same message some time ago. The letters I re ceived from those who had sent for it were filled with gratitude to God for a new revelation that had come to them; almost every one said in effect, “This should be read by every Christian in America.” So I am making the same announcement once again; I want to reach every true Christian who is. longing for the coming of the King, and I am doing my part to accomplish it. Whether I reach you de pends on yourself. Just enclose 10c (stamps will do) in a letter and say, “I am a premillena- rian ; send me your mes s a g e . I f you are not a premillenarian p lease do not answer this advertise ment.
Volume XXVI
August, 1935
Number 8
TABLE OF CONTENTS Around the King’s Table—Louis T. Talbot.................................... 282 Where Are the Marks of the Cross ?—Will H. Houghton............... 284 The Christian Minister’s Danger of Too Much Secular Reading—Wilbur M. Smith........................................... 286 The House Across the Hedge—Grace Livingston Hill.................. 288 V Socialism, Communism, and Fascism—Louis S. Bauman............... 292 Junior King’s Business—Martha S. Hooker.-................................... 295 Bible Institute Family Circle.................. ............._....................... ...... 297 International Lesson Commentary............................... 298 Are You Hungry for Something Good?........................................... 300 Notes on Christian Endeavor—Mary G. Goodner...........................309 Evangelistic Notices........................................ 313 Daily Devotional Readings................................................................. 314 Helps for Preachers and Teachers—Paul Prichard......................... 319 Our Literature Table..................................... 320
And may I remind you also of the con tinuou s needs of our missionary undertakings ? Our work merits your every confi dence. It is a program of world wide Gospel testi mony to the Jews. Your fellowship in prayer and in gift is always welcome and app re c ia ted . Our monthly publication, THE CHOSEN PEOPLE, is of course sent to all con tributors. J. HOFFMAN COHN American Boardof Missions To The Jews, Inc. 31 Throop Ave., Brooklyn, N. Y. I f interested in Annuities, ask for our booklet, “Jewish Mission Bonds.”
I N F O R M A T I O N
F O R S U B S C R I B E R S
ADVERTISING: For information with reference to advertising in TEE KING'S BUSINESS, address the ADVERTISING MANAGER, 558 SOUTH HOPE STREET, LOS ANGELES, CALIF., or our eastern representative, Religious Press Association, 325 North 13th Street, Philadelphia, Pa., or 333 N. Michigan Avenue, Chicago, Illinois. Entered as Second Class Matter November 17, 1910, at the Post Office at Los Angeles, California, under the Act of March 3, 1879. Acceptance for mailing at special rate of postage pro vided for in Section 1103, Act of October 3, 1917, authorized October 1, 1918. MANUSCRIPTS: THE KING'S BUSINESS cannot accept responsibility for loss or damage to manuscripts sent to it for consideration.
TERMS: Single Copies.............................................. 15c Annual S ubscription.................................................$1.50 Two-year subscription or two annualsubscriptions. 2.50 Five annual .subscriptions..................................... 5.00 Eleven annual subscriptions...........................................10.00 Subscriptions in countries outside of U. S. require 25c extra. REMITTANCE: Should be made by Bank Draft, Ex press or P. O. Money Order, payable to “Bible Institute of Los Angeles." Receipts will not be sent for regular subscriptions, but date of expiration will show plainly each month, on outside wrapper or cover of magazine. CHANGE OF ADDRESS: Please send both old and new address at least one month previous to date of de sired change.
POLICY AS DEFINED BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES (a) To stand for the infallible Word of God and its great fundamental truths, (b) To strengthen the faith of all believers, (c) To stir young men and women to fit themselves for and engage in definite Christian work, (d) To make the Bible Institute of Los Angeles known, (e) To magnify God our Father and the person, work and coming of our Lord- Jesus Christ; and to teach the transforming power of the Holy Spirit in our present practical life, (f) To emphasize in strong, constructive messages the great foundations of Christian faith. 558 So. Hope St., BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES, Los Angeles, California
THE K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
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August, 1935
Bible Institute o f Los Angeles c .Announces Coming o f New President
PAUL w. ROOD To Take Office September 16,1935
Paul W. Rood
T hose who have loved and aided the Bible Institute of Los Angeles will undoubtedly agree that the Insti tute’s most pressing need has been to find a wise and con secrated Christian leader who would be able to devote all his energies to the coordination of the Christian forces which have long supported this work. Dr. Louis T. Talbot, who has served the Institute willingly and without remuneration during a particularly trying period, has repeatedly requested freedom from the obligations of the presidency because of the increasing demands upon his time and strength. The invitation that was recently extended to Dr. Paul W. Rood to become President of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles was voiced by Dr. Talbot, who cordially urged upon his brother min ister the acceptance of the call, if the Lord should so lead. Not long ago, Dr. Talbot wrote to a number of In stitute friends: “For the past three years, I have endeavored to divide my activities between the pastorate of the Church of the Open Door and the presidency of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, and I have been fully conscious for some time that I had attempted an impossible task. I believe that in the selection as President of Dr. Paul W. Rood, President of the World’s Christian Fundamentals Association, the Board of Directors of the Institute has found the right man for the place. The Bible Institute of Los Angeles is growing in influence and is being blessed with a very fine enrollment from year to year. Its work demands the full time of the ablest Christian leader avail able. Through the grace of God, I believe that leader has been found.” E qu ipped for L arge S ervice Although he has spent twenty-four years in the pastor ate, Dr. Rood is still a young man. He was graduated from North Park College, Chicago, in 1911. For two years, he served the Mission Covenant Church in South Chicago. Later, for three years he was the pastor of Broadway Temple, Minneapolis. From 1915 to 1922, he ministered to the congregation of the Swedish Tabernacle, Seattle, Wash. During this latter pastorate, a church debt amount ing to $31,500 was paid, a pipe organ was installed and paid for, and the Sammammish Bible Conference was be gun—the grounds being bought and paid for during this period. From 1922 to 1933, Dr. Rood was pastor of Beulah
Tabernacle, Turlock, Calif., resigning this charge in order to accept the pastorate of the Lake View Mission Church, Chicago, where he is now in charge. In 1929, Dr. Rood became President of the World’s Christian Fundamentals Association, an office which he has held ever since. Under his leadership, the Association today has a large active membership, organized under local leaders in many states. His honorary degree, that of Doc tor of Divinity, was conferred by Wheaton College, Wheaton, 111., in 1932, in recognition of outstanding serv ice in the cause of evangelical Christianity. With broad experience, Dr. Rood comes to his new task. He is known as a pastor, evangelist, Bible teacher, and leader of youth. Yet it is with marked humility and dependence upon God that he assumes the tremendous and exacting duties of the presidency of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. In his letter of acceptance, written to the Board of Directors of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles, Dr. Rood concluded with these words: “In accepting your call, I am leaning on James 1 :5 and Jeremiah 33 :3. It is only as the omnipotent God gives grace, guidance, and wisdom that we can be successful in the great responsibility that has been placed upon us . . . May we keep very humble and very close to the heart of God, and He will see us through.” The two verses to which Dr. Rood refers are familiar and precious to many of the Lord’s people. “If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him” (Jas. 1:5). “Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not” (Jer. 33 :3). The many friends of Dr. Rood and of the Bible Insti tute of Los Angeles will rejoice in the evident and gracious guidance of the Lord which has caused His servant to asso ciate himself with this school. Mingled with the praise that arises to God, there must be also a great volume of that supporting prayer which is the only means of the accom plishment of great things on the part of an individual or an institution that seeks to serve God. Will you remember Dr. Rood, and the Institute that he represents, in faithful prayer? Will you say, as Samuel d id : “God forbid that I should sin against the Lord in ceasing to pray for you” ?
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^Around the King’s Tab ltj By Louis T. T albot
in this school shall go forth with an increasing devotion to Christ and to the whole Word of God.—L. T. T. The Haven of Rest “Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light” (Matt. 11:28-30). T h e world needs rest more than it needs any other bene fit. Christ has come to give rest. But few individuals, comparatively speaking, can sing with understanding the beautiful old hymn: I’ve anchored my soul in the “Haven of Rest,” I’ll sail the wide seas no more; The tempest may sweep o’er the wild, stormy deep, In Jesus I’m safe evermore. Nineteen hundred years ago, the Lord Jesus Christ said, “Come unto me, . . . and I will give you rest.” And, thank God, the invitation is as urgent today as it was in the day it was uttered. Have you ever thought that the words recorded in Mat thew 11:28-30 prove the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ? No human—though he be the best person in the world, a man with a great heart and sympathetic nature-—could promise rest, and then completely fulfill his word. But the Lord Jesus Christ not only makes the claim, but is able also to substantiate it. He is able to say to all the sinning men of earth, all the sorrowing, all who have hearts that are broken: “Come unto Me; I am the Haven of Rest. Come unto Me, and I will give you rest.” And whoever believes and accepts the message finds the words abundantly true. Among the causes of unrest in the world today are, first, an accusing conscience. Nothing in the world will age one so rapidly as will a troubled mind. What suffering it can cause! But for every one who is thus afflicted, there is promised peace, for the blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, can cleanse from all sin. But some one may say, “It is not a clouded conscience that robs me of peace. My burden is one of sorrow. I have just lost a loved one.” Brother, if your heart is broken over the fact that you have been separated from one who was as dear to you as life itself, the Word of God invites you and the servants of God intreat you : Come to the Haven of Rest, the Lord Jesus Christ. He will fill the aching void. He will give you a joy that, thank God, can flood even the death chamber with light, giving hope of a resurrection morning. Is your burden one of unemployment, of financial diffi culty? To you, as to all others, the Lord Jesus Christ says: “Come unto me.” Obeying the word, many a man and woman has proved, in these days of acute testing, that God means just what He says. In my home city, Sydney, Australia, there lives a man who, a short time ago, was worth approximately $150,000. [Continued on page 320]
Dr. Rood’s Message to Graduates A ddressing a vast company in the auditorium of the Church of the Open Door on the evening of June 13, Paul W. Rood was the speaker at the twenty-fifth annual commencement of the Bible Institute of Los Angeles. Earlier that same day, the Board of Directors of the Insti tute had extended to Dr. Rood a unanimous invitation to become the President of the Institute. It had long been felt necessary that the pastor of the Church of the Open Door be relieved of the executive duties connected with the presidency of the Institute—responsibilities which he had been unable to care for properly because of the growing demands of a great metropolitan pastorate. Space forbids the reproduction in full of Dr. Rood’s excellent and timely message, but the following excerpts will give an indication of its significance and forcefulness. Speaking on the subject of “The Ideal Christian Worker,” he said: The ideal Christian worker wi|l be, first of all, one who has a definite Christian experience. No one should presume to name the name of Christ and to go out in work for Him, who has not had a personal, vital contact with the Son of God. Be sure that you have the experience of salvation received by faith. Be sure that you have the in filling of the Holy Spirit. Be sure that you are in fellow ship with the Lord, with the dew of heaven upon you, so that you can go into the presence of the waiting company with the assurance that you are God’s man, that you are in touch with God, and that you have a fresh message from the Lord for the people who listen to you. In the second place, the ideal Christian worker will be one with a positive message. Why should you preach if you have no authoritative word? What right have you to stand behind the sacred desk in a building that has been built by the sacrifices and tears and prayers of people who believe in God, who believe in His Word, if you do not have a message from that Word to deliver? Man is by nature and practice a sinner. Every child of Adam who has not experienced salvation is undone and alienated from God. His understanding is darkened. Do not forget, * young people, as you go out to preach, that men and women'are' lost. Do not forget that men and women need Christ, and that He is the only answer, the only panacea, the only cure for the problems of the human heart. Of necessity, then, yours must be a gospel message. And it must be a dogmatic message as well. As you go out from this institution that stands upon the Rock of Ages, go with rock-riven convictions that Christ is the only solution for the problems of the human heart and the problems of the world. In the third place, the ideal Christian worker will be ong with a program. Do not go without a program—and be sare-^hat you have God’s program, not a man-made one. Finally^ the ideal Christian worker is one with a passion. Paul said: “Woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!” He realized his responsibility to a lost world, as well as to his crucified and risen Lord. You are going out into a world of confusion.. You are going with the greatest message about the greatest Person. I beseech you: Win souls. That is your business, your only business. . The truths that Dr. Rood voiced in his message to grad uates at the Institute are needing emphasis in every pulpit in the land. May the coming of this man of God to the Bible Institute of Los Angeles mean that students trained
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¿No p i m u t f r
J ^ c a r
Where^Artj
Hast thou no scars? No hidden scar on foot, or side, or hand? I hear thee sung as mighty in the land, I hear them hail thy bright ascen dant star, Hast thou no scar? Hast thou no wound? Yet I was wounded by the arch ers spent, Leaned Me against a tree to die, and rent By ravening beasts that compassed Me, I swooned, Hast thou no wound? No wound? no scar? Yet, as the Master shall the ser vant be, And pierced are the feet that follow Me, But thine are whole— can he have followed far Who has no wound nor scar? — Author Unknown.
the CROSS?
THE MARKS
B y WILL H. HOUGHTON Chicago, Illinois
“The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe” (John 20:25).,
Christians to present Jesus Christ to the world today —r and to present Him as Saviour. And if that is the mission of Christianity, I wonder whether those out side are not expressing, perhaps inaudibly, very much the same doubt that troubled Thomas, “Except I shall see the print of the nails, the marks of a crucified Christ. I will not believe.” As we think of the declaration of Thomas, we think of that verse from the. pen of the Apostle Paul, Galatians 2 :20: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Is it true ? “I am crucified with Christ.” I have been crucified with Christ. That is true. That is a judicial fact; that is true in the reckoning of God. I died with Christ on the cross. It is not for one Christian to exhort another Christian to become
I would not have you think for a minute that I am commending Thomas in this question of his concerning the Person of the Lord Jesus. I should like to suggest to you, however, that this question Thomas raised concerning the Lord Jesus is the question raised by every doubting Thomas concerning the followers of the Lord. Just as Thomas was saying concerning Christ. “I will not be convinced He is the Christ, until I see the marks of the cross, until I see the print of the nails,” the unbelieving
Dr. Houghton
Thomases today are saying to every disciple, “Are you a follower of the Lord Jesus, a follower of the Man who went to the cross? Where are the marks of the cross? Except I shall see the print of the nails, I will not believe.” Thomas is asking for the wound-prints of the Lord Jesus. There is something distinctive about the Son of God. Here is a Man who has been to the cross and who bears in His body the marks of the cross. And here the followers of Christ are saying: “We have seen the Lord.” But Thomas replies, in effect, “How do you know you have seen the Lord? Did He have on Him the marks of the cross ? Except I shall see those distinguishing marks, the print of the nails, I will not believe.” S earch ing Q uestions There is a great deal of Christianity in the day in which we live. There are churches with Christian companies scattered all over this land of ours and in most of the other lands. Yet there is a great deal of confusion accompanying Christianity, questions as to what it is, where it came from, what it is supposed to do, what is its particular mission. I suppose every one of us believes that it is the mission of [This informal address by the President of the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago zvas delivered to the students of the:Bible Institute of Los Anget.es when Dr. Houghton was in Southern California on his first trip to the Pacific Coast after his acceptance of his new position. —E ditor .]
crucified with Christ. I have been—every Christian car, say it. The weakest and frailest believer can say: “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” This latter statement is the place of exhortation. Is it true that this life I now live in the flesh—this life I now live today in school, not by and by when I have my diploma and I go out in Christian service—is lived “by the faith of the Son of God” ? We are thinking of the life of victory and triumph that is to be ours in the foreign field,; as pastors or evangelists. But what about the life I now live in the flesh—these contacts in school, the way in which I conduct myself in social relations and in the home? “The life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God.” Is that true ? T ragedies in F undam entalism We consider ourselves orthodox. I am talking very frankly to an out-and-out fundamentalist gathering, I am talking to those who say they believe the Bible, all the Bible, who- ¿ay they believe in a crucified Saviour, One who was rejected and scorned and put to death and who rose again arid Is coining again. We believe we hold the best things, and we do' Hold the best things. But believing the best
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the whole human race—and brought the kitten home and gave it to the little girl. The little girl spent a week or two with the new kitten. But the grandmother said to the little girl, “My dear, you are not acting right about this. You had that common kitten off the street, and then it dis appeared. And you grieved over it, and I bought you this beautiful Persian kitten, and you still seem to be grieving. You are not happy over this new kitten.” And the little girl swallowed a lump in her throat and said, “But, Grandma, you don’t seem to understand. It is the inside of a kitten that counts.” And it is the inside of a preacher that counts. It is the inside of a Christian worker that counts. It is not what you say, or how marvelously you say it; it is not what the members of the congregation think of you as you stand be fore them to Speak or testify. It is what you are. U nconventional , Y et S uccessful I learned that truth several years ago as a young Chris tian worker when I helped in some meetings with the pastor of a church in the East. I was young in Christian work then. He asked me to help him. We took turns speaking for ten days or two weeks in his church. It was in a section of the city where another race had moved in, and all the former churches in that district except his had closed, but his church had gone on growing.during the years. I sat there in amazement as I heard him preach. (He was prob ably just as amazed as he heard me,) I never met a man who knew as little about preaching as that man did, and yet received a salary for preaching. He broke every law of homiletics every time he opened his mouth. He cared nothing about his appearance. I saw him preach one night when his collar came off on one side and stuck up at a sharp angle. But he did not pay any attention. I do not think he had a suit pressed from the time he got it until he discarded it. I wondered how that mail had gone on all these years—how he had a growing church in that section of the city. One night after he had preached and I had sat there
things should produce the best results in character. We should be the best people on the face of the earth. We should be fundamentalists in our personal lives. Are there fundamentalists who lie, who are dishonest, and others who are unkind and critical and cruel and crooked in their judgments and in their dealings with others ? Such a situa tion is a tragedy. When in a certain house there lives a fundamental believer, a man outstanding so far as faith is concerned, some one who believes all the Bible and knows a great deal about the Bible, it is a tragedy if next door is the follower of some false cult—Eddyism or Unity or some thing else-—-an individual who nevertheless manifests in character a poise and power and seemingly a peace that this orthodox believer does not possess. I say it is a tragedy. It is a t'ragedy when our orthodox groups are divided and separated and quarreling and split over nonessentials and unimportant things. Are we not taught to believe in contending for the faith ? Oh, yes. But there are some Christian workers who dd not know the difference between contending for the faith and contending with the faithful, and who think that “contend” is the place of emphasis! Some followers of isms have one verse of Scripture, “God is love.” And there are some fundamentalists who have one verse of Scripture, “Contend” ; and their whole life is built on contention. There is a place to contend, no doubt, but we have divided churches and ruined testimonies because we have majored in contending instead of majoring in the faith, contending for the faith—the faith that is lived out in the personal life. The world around us, the world outside, is saying, “Except I shall see the print of the nails, except I shall see the marks of a crucified Christ, I will not believe.” W ha t t h e W orld R eally N eeds What is your ambition for the future, young Christian worker? Do you want to be a great preacher? Do you want to be a great missionary ? Do you long to be a success ful servant of the Lord? If that is your ambition, please give up that desire at once. It is much better to be a great
wondering at it all—-I knew he was a man of God, and I knew God was using him even as he stumbled on, trying to p reach — a man came up to me and said, “Mr. Houghton, I know, you are won,- d e rin g abou t our pastor. Lean tell you som e th ing that will give you a little in fo rm a tio n abou t him and perhaps the secret of it all. My wife was a member of
Christian than to be a great preacher. I do not think the world needs great preachers. I think the world needs some great Christians who really know the Lord Jesus, a living Lord, Christians who will recogn ize ‘that they have been cruci fied with Him and whowill identify them-, selves with Him day by day. The world needs some g re a t Christian living.
this church, but I wasn’t a Christian, I attended for several years occasionally, but I wasn’t a saved man. One day I had occasibn to go to the pastor’s house to ask him about something. I was told he would be down in a few minutes. As I sat there, I thought: When the pastor comes down stairs,, the first thing he is going to say to me is, ‘Brother, arejypjU :saved this morning?’ ’That was his greeting to everybody, the groceryman, the iceman, the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker—he greeted them all in that fashion. And a voice inside said; ‘What will you say ?’ I thought, I will have to say, ‘No, I am not saved.’ That voice said, ‘You can be saved.’ And the first thing I knew; [ Continued , on . page 290] Courtesy, Sunset
I remember the story a friend told me of a little five- year-old girl who one day came into the house hugging to, her breast a kitten she had picked up out in the street. No one owned it, and she had just gathered up the kitten and brought it home. And how that little girl loved that kitten! And the little kitten seemed to respond. ;For two weeks they were great chums, and then the kitten disappeared and was gone for a week, then two weeks, and the little girl grieved. One day the grandmother said, “I can’t stand this any longer—that child’s grief over that little kitten.” The grandmother went down town to a pet store and bought a beautiful Persian kitten—-one of those beautiful, silky, yet proud, disdainful creatures that look with condescension on
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The Christian M inister’s Danger o f Too Much Secular Teaching B y WILBUR M. SMITH* .,u Coatesville, Pennsylvania
P erha ps the author of this article should begin with just a personal note, so that he may not be misunderstood in some of the things he may say, I have been what is called an extensive reader ever since a boy, and a lover of books and of libraries; and now, at the age of forty, I have the joy and privilege of being surrounded with a library of my own of something over sixty-eight hundred volumes. I had rather browse around a second-hand bookstore than walk through the rooms of the most beautiful palace on earth. I get a greater thrill from discovering, for the first time, some rich volume that I had never heard of before, than I do from feeling a fishing rod’bending with a trout at the end of the line. A book cataloguéis to me an open door into an earthly paradise. On the other hand, I do not live to read. I live to preach. Between giving up my library or giving, up my pulpit, there would never be one moment’s hesitation, if a choice between the two had to be made. I would rather die than not preach. To con tinually read without being privileged to proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ would be, for me, the most terrible experience on earth. There aré thousands of books I would love to read that I will never open, but if to read them all would necessitate giving up preaching, I could easily look upon them being cast into a fire and consumed before my eyes before I could even debate for a moment as to my choice. One more personal note. I happen to be right now in a place where I have to read hundreds of books that other wise I would not feel absolutely required to absorb. Two years ago there came to me the great privilege of editing the annual volume of Peloubefs Select Notes on the Inter national Sunday-school Lessons. This work not only means the writing of a quarter of a million words every year, but it means also the reading of almost everything worth while on the different passages occurring, from week to week, in the International Sunday-school Lesson series, sometimes four hundred pages of commentaries and sermons for a lesson. However,' I am writing this article as a minister to ministers, ánd I should like to dismiss, for the time being, as far as this article is concerned, the requirements of such
T h e D anger of Too M uch S ecular R eading Having now introduced myself, and, I trust, made it clear that I have no prejudices against wide and extensive reading, I would like to sound just a note of warning, if I might, after nearly twenty years in the ministry. There is a great danger today, especially in our country—whether this is true in Great Britain, I do not know, though the English periodicals would seem to indicate that it is—that those who have been ordained to expound the Word of God and preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ may be wooed away from a constant devotion to the reading, under standing, and mastery of the Word of God, to a dispropor tionate devotion of their time to the reading of secular literature. A man can study only so many hours a daiy. If the great proportion of one’s time for study is assigned to the reading of secular volumes, or even religious volumes that have nothing to do with the Word of God—and there are hundreds of them today that have nothing to do with the Scriptures, appearing under the name of religion—then the time which that person gives to becoming intimately acquainted with the pages of the Word of God and to the understanding of its eternal truths must noticeably suffer. C auses of t h e T em ptation to E xcessive S ecular R eading Why are ministers tempted to give too great a propor tion of time to secular reading? There are many reasons today why this temptation is powerful. In the first place, there are so many thousands of books being published, probably more than ever before in the history of western civilization. In 1934 in this country alone, 6,788 new books were published, of which 579 are classified as relating to “Religion,” while there were issued the same year new editions of 1,410 previously published works, of which 23 were in the classification. “Religion.” I remember once hearing the charming wife of a famous religious editor in our country make the statement at her dinner table that the reason that people were tempted to overeat, these days, was that there was such a vast variety of' delicious foods .from which to choose. Our forefathers were severely re stricted in thé variety that could be set upon their tables, sometimes partaking of one particular dish, be it. corn meal,
a task as editing this volume. * Pastor, Presbyterian Church.
One of the finest private libraries to be found any where, now held in trust for use by the public, is the Henry E. Hunting- ton Library at San Marino, Calif. The accompanying pan orama shows the Huntington A r t Gallery (left) and the Library. —C ourtesy Pacifie Mutual Life Ins. Co.
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beans, or potatoes, every day of the year. Today one can walk into the market of any city and find vegetables and fruits of every conceivable variety. So it is with the books that are being published today. Their very multiplicity makes the temptation to read them more powerful than ever. Furthermore, there are many great books being pub lished today, epochal volumes in biography, history, and science. In spite of the fact that thousands and thousands of volumes pouring from the presses today are of no per manent consequence at all, nevertheless it must be admit ted that there are some hundreds of volumes every year from the pens of scholars and our finest writers that almost seem to cry out, “We must be read.” B ooks tha t B eg to be R ead I am writing these words in actual anguish myself, at tempting to resist the very temptation of which I am speak ing. For instance, there stand on my desk facing me every day six great volumes that I feel I must read thoroughly if I am to consider myself abreast of the times. There is the English translation from the fourth German edition of Bernhard Bavink’s The Natural Sciences; an Introduc tion to the Scientific Philosophy of Today, which has been called by Professor Northrop, of Yale, “by far the most systematic treatise in the field of science and philosophy that has appeared.” Next to it is a publication by the Ox ford University Press, the opening pages of which make one realize what a vast ,difference there is.between the re ligion of man and the revelation of God—Sir E. A. Wallis Budge’s From Fetish to God in Ancient Egypt. Then there is the latest complete edition of the Poems of John Mase field, where some of the most beautiful things in our lan guage are to be found. There has been standing in this row now for almost a year the monumental work by Eric Achorn— European Civilization and Politics, with its fifty pages of bibliography. And then there is in this row the most talked of work of fiction of this year—Thomas Wolfe’s O f Time and the River. Finally, there is the re cently published tenth volume of the Cambridge Ancient- History, The Augustan Empire, 44 B.C.-A.D. 70, the most exhaustive work in the English language dealing with the civilization of the ancient world at the time of Christ. Here are five thousand pages in these six books alone that ought to be in my mind, if I am to be an educated man. And then there ought to be some other books right in this row that fascinate me, but which I do not know how I would ever have time to read—-the four magnificent vol umes on Marlborough: His Life and Times, by Winston Spencer Churchill; the greatest biography to be published in this country for half a century— R. E. Lee, by Douglas Southall Freeman, also in four volumes; and William Henry Chamberlain’s recently published History of the Russian Revolution, in two volumes. The reading of any one of these works would be an education in itself. I re cently acquired that monumental work in bibliography— Essay and General Literature Index, 1900-1933. I have hardly dared look at the titles listed in these two thousand pages, but I have been glancing through the 1934 Supple ment, and, really, it is almost exasperating to see (among scores in which one has no interest at all) titles of so many books of which I, myself, I must confess, have never even heard before, and which seem to so allure one to their study, as, for instance, Pioneers of Freedom, by McAlister [The references to books and authors named in this article serve as excellent illustrations of the points which Dr. Smith makes. Neither the author of the article nor the publishers of the K ing ’ s B usiness would wish to give the impression that full en dorsement of each writer and book is necessarily implied in the quotation.- —E ditor .]
non ahi|tm ccmfiliomipioju*cr til ttuiftcotum non lient etui u cvow pcfhknticnon fedir.3 jp w Isjrro immuoUiHr.ioauô.ctinRgcaucmc dittbititrcUcJcnctrc^jj tatrdqm lignumquad piantimi cfmietccur
—Courtesy Pacific Mutual Life Ins. Co. In the Henry E. Huntington Library, San Marino, Calif., there are 5,300 incunabula, or books printed in the first half century of printing (1450-1500). The page pictured here is from an early manuscript Psalter, in Latin, made in Spain about 1450. The book is open at the first psalm. The large initial "B" contains a minia ture of King David playing on a harp. An increasing number of scholars from English and American universities are coming to the Huntington Library to use its unique and rare material. Here the Gutenberg Bible, the first folio of Shakespeare, and, in the art gallery, Gainsborough's "Blue Boy" may be seen. Coleman; English Literature in the Twentieth Century, by John William Cunliffe; Idealistic Argument in Recent British and American Philosophy, by G. W. Cunningham; Major Mysteries of Science, by H. Gordon Garbedian; Seven Psychologies, by Edna Frances Heidbrieder; Mod ern Men in Search of a Soul, by Karl Gustav Jung; Some Makers of the Modern Spirit, edited by John Macmurray; Recovery Through Revolution, edited by Samuel Daniel Schmalhausen; Religious Faith of Great Men, by Archer Wallace; and, The English Way: Studies in English Sanc tity from St. Bede to Newman, edited by Maisie Ward. I do believe my mind would be richer for the reading of these books. I would go even further and say that I think I could preach with more helpfulness to many of my young people if I were fully acquainted with the intriguing subjects unfolded in these volumes. I know that I could have hours and hours of the greatest intellectual joy in reading them. They do attract, but if I determine that they all will be read, one thing must suffer—my reading of the Word of God. I do not mean these should be neglected, but I do mean that there is a great temptation to make the reading of these new books first in our study program, and to relegate the Word of God to third or fourth place. I nterpreters of a C han g ing W orld Moreover, living in a world undergoing enormous changes, the average man finds that his outlook has been greatly enlarged since the war. The amazing discoveries [Continued on page 291]
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The HOUSE Across the HEDGE 1 By GRACE LIVINGSTON HILL Ilhistrations by Ransom D. Marvin
IR IAM , humm ing a happy little tune, hurried about her morning tasks, washing the dishes, shaking out the cloth and folding it care fully, sweeping the hearth and the front doorstone. Occasionally, with glad antici
and flowers. Everybody was gay. Mother, why would I have to be here at the feast ? Nobody would miss me if I stayed away.” “God would miss you!” .said her mother awesomely. “Listen, Miriam, we are going on a journey tonight! There is much to be done. It will take every minute to get ready.” “Oh, Mother ! You’ve been talking about that journey a long time, but we haven’t gone yet. Why do you think we are going tonight? Zelda’s father says that Pharaoh never intends to let us go^ and he is closllto the throne and ought to know. But anyway, even if we were allowed, Mother—why do we have to go with Israel? What do we want of a promised land ? Why can’t we stay right here ? We have a nice home, and Zelda’s father would always see that Father had a -good place. He might even get something to do in the palace. Why can’t we stay and.be Egyptians, and take the Egyptian gods for ours ? I’d like that so much better, Mother!” “Stop, Miriam!” said her mother sharply. “You are speaking blasphemies. Don’t you know that our God is greater than all gods, that He is the only true God ? Oh, my child! I have sinned ! We were told to keep our chil dren separate from all other peoples, lest they forget their God who has covenanted with them. We are a chosen generation, a royal people! We should not mingle with the world. And I have let you grow up in close companionship with these Egyptian children! That of which we were warned has come to pass ! My child is wanting to leave her God and serve those who are not gods at a ll! Oh, I have sinned!” she sobbed. “I thought there was no harm while you were little children, and you begged so hard to play with them! You were so little! I thought when you grew up you would learn to understand !” She lifted her tear-wet eyes and spoke earnestly: “Miriam, you must never speak this way again. It is sin !” Miriam stood sullenly with downcast countenance, still looking out the window toward Egypt. “Well, anyhow, Joseph is going!” she pouted. “I heard him tell Zelda he would be over early to help Balthazar. They are going to the Woods to get flowers to deck the house. And if Joseph goes, I don’t see why I can’t go. He is only a year older than I am !” The mother gave her a frightened look. “He must no t!” she said. “You don’t understand. He must help your father all day. And he must not be away from the house tonight! There is danger outside of our door.” Miriam gave her mother a quick startled look. “What do you mean—danger ?” Her mother faced her earnestly, sadly. “My dear, I haven’t told you yet. I dreaded to bring you sorrow. Moses was here last night after you were asleep. He told your father that God is sending another plague—the last one. It is coming tonight. And then we are to go.” Miriam turned away impatiently. “Oh, those horrid plagues!” she said angrily. “Zelda’s father doesn’t believe that Moses has anything to do with
pation in her eyes, she glanced out of the lattice to the house across the hedge, the hedge which sepa rated her father’s yard .from the handsome grounds of the rich influential Egyptian whose daughter Zelda was Miriam’s dearest friend. That hedge was also the dividing line between Goshen where Miriam lived, and the great, alluring, glittering Egypt where Zelda lived; but a hard-beaten path ran from door to door, and a distinct space in the hedge showed where the children of both houses had been wont to go back and forth from babyhood. Miriam turned from gazing out the lattice as her mother came in from the garden with a basket of herbs. “Mother,” she said eagerly, “I ’ve finished everything now and I ’d like to go over to Zelda’s right away. She’s giving a party tonight, Mother. A wonderful party. And she’s invited Joseph and me. She wanted us to come over this morning and help her prepare.” Miriam’s eyes shone like two dark stars; Her mother watched her with growing dismay as she put down her basket. “Oh, I ’m sorry, dear,” she said gently, “but you mustn’t either of you be away from the house today!” A stormy look came into Miriam’s eyes. “Oh, but Mother, you don’t understand! I must go. This isn’t just an ordinary party. It’s a dance, and there is to be an orchestra from the city, and caterers. A great many people are invited, the sons and daughters of officers high in authority. It is a great honor that we are invited. And you needn’t worry about having to get me a new dress to wear. Zelda is going to lend me a lovely new one of her own, green and gold with crimson threads in the border. It just fits me, and I look wonderful in it. There is a gold chain, and armlets and anklets of gold to wear with it, and Balthazar is getting me flowers from a real florist’s to wear in my hair. He said to me, ‘You will be the prettiest girl at my sister’s party.’ He has asked me to dance with him. Really, Mother, don’t you see I must go ? ' And Zelda’s father has been so kind to my father, putting him into a better position, it wouldn’t do to offend them.” “Miriam, I ’m so sorry, dear child!” said her mother steadily. :“But we are having a solemn feast tonight. God has commanded it. And you will have to be here!” “Oh, Mother!” cried Miriam in desperation, “Why do we have such a tiresome, solemn old religion? I wish we had a religion like Zelda’s. I went with her to the temple once. There was music and laughter, and dancing Copyright 1931 by American Bible Conference Association, Pub lishers of Revelation, and 1932 by J. B. Lippincott Company.
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them, nor our God either. He says they just happen ! But anyhow, Mother, those plagues don’t come to Goshen any more. Our cattle didn’t die, and our men were not sick. When the dreadful hailstorm came that spoiled all the gardens of Egypt, it didn’t touch us. Zelda’s father says we just happened to be out of its path. And don’t you remember when that awful darkness came, it was all light in Goshen?”
“But you, my child, are wanting to go out of Goshen tonight of all nights! Listen, my child; though it breaks your heart I must tell you. This plague is different from all others. Our God is passing through Egypt tonight to take the eldest son in every house. Only where He sees the sign of blood on the door will He pass over.” Miriam stood with' suddenly blanched face, her hands clasped at her throat, a great fear growing in her eyes. “Oh, Mother! Not every house! He wouldn’t take Balthazar, would He?” “He said every house/’ answered the mother sadly. “From the house of Pharaoh upon the throne, to the house of the maid behind the mill. Those were His very words.” “Oh, Mother, not Balthazar! Don’t say He will take Balthazar! Why, I was to dance with him tonight! And he is sending me flowers!” Suddenly down the path came flying footsteps, a tap sounded upon the door, and Zelda, bright-faced and eager, burst into the room. “Why don’t you come, Miriam? You promised to be over long before this, and where is Joseph? Balthazar says the sun is high and the flowers will droop if they are not picked right away. Won’t you call Joseph, and you both come at once ?” “I—can’t come, Z elda^”' murmured Miriam, whiter lipped, lifting eyes brimming with tears. “You can’t come? Why? What is the matter? You promised ! I am depending on you.” “Zelda rj,something has happened! We have—a feast-A tonight. I did not know about it before. And—we are going on a journey. But—oh—Zelda! It is .¡something more than that! Another plague is coming tonight.” “Another plague! How silly. I thought I had you all over that nonsense. How could you know a plague was coming, and why should that make any difference anyway ? Are you a coward ? We can take care of you if anything happens, though I don’t believe it will.” “You don’t understand, Zelda; this plague is different. Our God will pass through Egypt, and take the oldest son from every house unless the sign is over the door.” “How ridiculous!” laughed Zelda, with a sneer upon her lovely face. “My brother is well and strong. What do you think could happen to him between now and to morrow morning ? I told you all your family were super stitious, and now I know it. There! There is Joseph now in the yard with your father! I ’m going out to make him come home with me. He has common sense. He won’t be afraid to come.” She turned toward the door, her gaze still out the window, but suddenly stopped and drew back, her hands pressing at her throat. “Oh,” she cried out in fright, “what are they doing to that darling little white lamb? Isn’t that the lamb your father had penned up, the one without a single spot? They’re not going to kill it, are they ? Oh, why does your mother let them do that ? That darling little white lamb! I think they are cruel! Oh, see! There is blood!” She pressed her fingers against her closed eyes: “I cannot bear the sight of blood! It makes me feel fain t!” Then opening her eyes almost against her will she looked again: “Why are they dipping that bunch of hyssop in the lamb’s blood? Why are they doing that? Miriam, do you see ? They are smearing it all over the doorposts and over the lintel. Why doesn’t your [Continued on page 308]
"Oh , see! There is blood!"
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