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March 1929
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There is no justification either in history or in the Word of God for the belief that war can be abolished without the Son of God. The world needs His rule. He will abolish war. But until that day comes, anything is worth while that can shorten the periods of war and lengthen the periods of peace. The Christian should pray “ for kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life . . . . For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour” (1 Tim. 2:2, 3). A Senator Mentions Christ S ENATOR REED, who is from Missouri both lit erally and figuratively, asks whether it is plausible to suppose that the Kellogg Peace Pact in 1929 can accom plish what the teachings of Christ have failed to accomplish in 1,900 years—a question which should make men think, both the statesmen and the preachers. But Mr. Reed overlooks one thing. Nineteen hundred years ago governments didn’t bother even to discuss the possibility of universal Peace Pacts. That is something accomplished. The teachings of Christ exercise a restrain ing power over even those who have never accepted Him. The Church has never perfectly taught or practiced the teachings of Christ. But the nations, nevertheless, owe much to the Church’s ministry and presence in the world. They will know more about this when the Church is taken out of the world, as it will be one of these days. Read 1 Thessalonians, fourth chapter. Mr. Rickard and Dr. Torrey A S this is being written, the newspapers announce the ■iy. death of Tex Rickard, ex-saloonkeeper, gambler and promoter of prize fights. To this event over two and one- half full pages were devoted by the Examiner, leading morning paper in Los Angeles. The story of Mr. Rick ard’s life will follow in later issues, published serially. A few weeks ago a man lay dying in Berlin, Germany. Daily dispatches reporting his condition were given front page publicity in the city newspapers. His main distinc tion was marriage to and separation from a screen star. Not long before, Dr. R. A. Torrey died, a great Chris tian preacher, evangelist, author and educator, under whose world-wide ministry hundreds of thousands had been brought to accept Jesus Christ and to live a life of righteousness. If the passing of Dr. Torrey was given any notice in the newspapers, this writer did not discover it. If you are surprised at this peculiar blindness of the world to the worth and work of a great servant of God, read what the Apostle John says about the Master whom Dr. Torrey served: “He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and THE WORLD KNEW HIM NOT” (John 1 :10). The WORLD is still blind. Hoover and the M illennium D OES’ the election of Mr. Hoover indicate that the Millennium has arrived? It was a great victory, but here are some interesting figures. According to Current History, there are in this country 21,409,215 voters who believe in the ideals of Mr. Hoover. And there are 15,042,366 voters who swear by Mr. Smith’s ideas of gov ernment. The margin is exactly 6,366,849 voters. It looks impressive,, but how long will it last? The strength of the Democratic- candidate was in the large
cities, while Mr. Hoover was strongly supported by rural districts and smaller towns. Population is concentrating more and more in the large cities. How long will it take to wipe out the Hoover margin ? There is still need for prayer, even if the President-elect does all that is expected of him. The Devil’s Tail I N the rendition of “Faust,” the Chicago Opera Com pany is considering seriously the elimination of horhs and spiked tail from the costume worn by Mephistopheles, an evil spirit who represents the devil. They propose to dress him up in a more attractive costume. The world, at its best, is never very accurate when dealing with Biblical matters. But this is an evidence of increasing intelligence. The leering devil with horns and tail, so dear to the newspapers, is wholly an invention with no foundation in Scripture. Read Second Corinthians, the eleventh chapter, verses 14 and 15, for a true, description of Satan. The great Deceiver is wiser than his dupes. Making Progress Backward T HE next great step of the Church must be backward in order to regrasp the things that abide. This is the word of Dr. Robert E. Speer, great missionary leader, and it suggests that the Church is going forward in the wrong direction. It reminds us of a story. At a conference of a certain large denomination a young modernist professor said to a veteran pastor, “You fellows are getting so far behind that you will never catch up with us.” Said the old min ister, “We don’t expect to catch up. WE ARE NOT GOING IN THE SAME DIRECTION.” A church going in the right direction never needs to take a step backward. But some of our modern churches will never make any real progress until they begin to walk backward. For one thing, the Church and its ministry must go back to the Bible. The reading of books is, of course, a virtue. But mere books cannot take the place of “the Book.” Bengel, one of the greatest of all Christian schol ars, thanked God for the loss of his father’s library, because it kept him from reading too many books. But don’t burn your libraries. Read your Bibles more. cussing prospects for 1929, points one out as follows: “Prosperity cannot last forever in a country where the speculators are making most of the money while the pro ducers of the necessities of life are barely making both ends meet.................... When a man buys a stock or a commodity and merely sells it at a profit in the same mar ket form and quantity, he is doing the country no good. But when men raise fruit on the Pacific Coast or Florida, when men plant wheat or corn in the great Central West,' or when men grow cotton in the Southland, they are creating real wealth in which everyone ultimately shares.” This from anyone else than Mr. Babson would be called Socialistic. There are too many mere “buyers’and sellers,” and they are getting more than the “producers.” It will not always be so. Read tvhat Isaiah says, chapter Mr. Babson and Isaiah W E have other troubles besides prohibition enforce ment. Roger Babson, noted business expert, dis
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