China are extremely favorable to ward the propagation of the Gospel. Word reaches us from the head of one of the largest missionary socie ties that there is a desperate need for missionary evangelism in China at the present time. N. S. S. A. Sunday school workers from 35 states and 2 Canadian provinces met in Chicago early in October in the first convention of the Nation al Sunday School Association. Real progress was made in the adoption of a constitution, the approval of new Uniform Bible Lessons, and the for mation of a definite program of ex pansion. Most welcome is the Asso ciation’s decision to make available to the public in 1948 the new Uni form Bible Lesson outlines. These lessons are prepared by evangelicals and are thoroughly Biblical in plan and content. Outlines of these les sons will be released to editors, writ ers, and publishers shortly, so that preliminary work may be begun in order to get them into print at the appropriate time. Eliminated? A phenomenon of today’s Chris tian world is the remarkable virility of the Youth for Christ movement. Across America, each Saturday night between 700 and 1,000 meetings are held, each attracting from 100 to 500,000 young people. It has been unjustly charged that these Youth for Christ activities were communis tic, but the truth is out for all to know. The Young Communist League is planning a propaganda campaign in high schools against the Youth for Christ movement. Ted Schwartz, Communist leader in high schools, has declared: “Youth for Christ must be eliminated if Communism is to be spread in America.” This is good news. If Youth for Christ continues to lay emphasis on the middle word of their name, they will not only overcome their enemies, but prosper mightily under the blessing of God.
Radio India J* Plans are being formulated for the fuller use of radio on mission fields. Recently the Foreign Mission aries’ Conference reported a project to establish a community receiver set in every one of India’s 700,000 villages, and to erect approximately 130 new transmitting stations. The potential audience runs into the hun dreds of millions. This is surely the greatest challenge to the evangeliza tion of India in this century. Drink Crazy Mr. Ed L. Wilson, a baseball scout for the famous St. Louis Cardi nals, recently died at the age of 37. A dispatch from Dallas, Texas, ex plains the cause of his early decease: acute alcoholism. Found in a hotel room, his body was covered with cuts and bruises, evidently inflicted when he flung himself against the walls in a mad effort to drive away the mon sters created by his drink-crazed mind. There was blood on the base boards, blood as high as -a man’s shoulders on the walls, blood on the ceiling and blood on the broken fur niture. A medical investigation re vealed that his death was due to liquor, and liquor alone. Half a Billion & It is a widely-known fact that the world contains nearly 500,000,000 Chinese, but Robert Ripley has helped us to visualize this startling number of human beings. If a line of Chinese were to attempt to file past a given point, it could never fin ish passing the place. By the time 500,000,000 had passed, an entirely new generation would have been pro duced. So this march would continue as long as natural generation lasted and never would there be an end. Today China is our most promising mission field, not only because of the vastness of its population, but be cause there is being expressed a warm welcome and a new apprecia tion of the missionary. A large num ber of government officials of New Page 14
Fourteenth J* October heralded the beginning of the fourteenth year of the Lu theran Hour on the air. This splen did Christian testimony is now re leased through 800 stations in this land, and many others in foreign countries. The remarkable growth of this broadcast is due in a large meas ure to the brilliant, sincere, and un c ompr omi s i ng preachi ng of Dr. Walter A. Maier. It is difficult to esti mate the great good that is accom plished through the medium of broad casts of this character. There is no doubt but that thousands are con verted and tens of thousands are en couraged and built up in the faith. The heart of this writer has been thrilled more than once by the stir ring messages of the Lutheran Hour speakers. The kind words which were spoken on the Lutheran Hour at the inception of our own broad cast over the Mutual chain were deeply appreciated. Our prayer is that God will continue to bless this mission of “bringing Christ to the nations.” Half Figures indicate that the alarm ing increase in divorce is not abating. Certain sociologists estimate that by 1965 more than half of all marriages in this country will end in divorce. Investigation discloses that the chief cause for divorce is improper prepa ration for marriage. Alcoholism, how ever, runs a close second. Supreme Court Judge Edwin M. Robson as serts: “From an examination of some 300 cases in my court, I have found that in approximately 72 per cent the causes of the marital difficulties were directly or indirectly attributable to liquor.” While this is unquestionably true, the real underlying cause is the lack of recognition of God’s interest in the life, and the failure to give His Word the central place in the home. Until these are restored, there will never be a proper evaluation of the permanence of marriage, and the re sulting safety of the home. T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
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