F E A T U R E
James O. Henry, M.A., Editor Associate prof, of History, Biola Bible College
n eah B e e r fo r Children A cereal beverage with an alco holic content of Yu to 1 per cent is being sold as a beer for children ac cording to a report from the women’s division of Christian service of the Methodist Church. A spokesman for the group reported the beverage has been sold in the Pacific Northwest. Prospective buyers were told the canned beverage can be used as a television drink for children while mother and father sip real beer. Sale of the weak beer is legal since it is not considered an intoxicating liquor. Isra eli W om en Forbidden to W e a r Slacks Women employees in Tel Aviv, Israel, are forbidden to wear slacks in offices and men employees are en joined to wear long pants by a new ruling issued by the mayor, says a Tel Aviv dispatch. N ew Rgmna l It was recently reported that five Protestant Church groups in the Pres byterian-Reformed tradition are co operating in plans for a new hymnal, in the hope that it will help revital ize congregational singing. “The Hymnbook” will be issued in the fall of 1955 by the Joint Committee for the Pan-Presbyterian and Re formed Hymnal, 908 Witherspoon Building, Philadelphia, Pa. It will contain 600 selections, traditional hymns and choral selections revised “ to make them more singable” by the average congregation. It is stated that some 200,000 Christian hymns and psalms were considered before representatives from the five Pres byterian-Reformed d en om in a tion s settled on the ones which are in cluded. Toba cco In ju rg A Pittsburg man has brought suit against a tobacco company because after 32 years of smoking cigarettes he has a serious case of lung cancer. He says that the tobacco company advertised that their cigarettes were not harmful to health. TH E KIN G 'S BUSINESS
number of Japanese Christians. Most of the followers of the Christian faith were natives. There are at present 371 Protestant foreign missionaries working on the island representing 49 different mis sions and denominations. During the Japanese occupation there were only 40 foreign missionaries in Taiwan. Only two were Americans then. For the first time in 18 years, Minnesota probation and parole of ficers have included religion as a subject for a discussion at one of their meetings. This was done at a parole and probation institute at the University of Minnesota. According to an editorial in the Minneapolis Star this “ represents a significant and subtle change in the thinking of many engaged in probation and pa role' work. A few years ago religion would have been dismissed as non objective, unscientific, emotional and almost wholly valueless as a tech nique for working on problems of delinquency.” The Star continued, “ but times have changed. There is a growing realization that the warmth and understanding of re ligion can reach many problems that a cold, detached, scientific manner leaves untouched.” In stru c to r F ired fo r Refusing to Teach Dancing A physical education instructor in a public school at Alexandria, Va., has been dismissed by the Alexandria City Board of Education for refusing, on religious grounds, to teach danc ing. The board voted to discharge Walter A. Kirk, Jr., a former pro fessional baseball player, from his position as gym instructor at Jeffer son Junior High School. Mr. Kirk, a Southern Baptist, said his religious scruples would not permit him to teach the “ evil element” of dancing to teen-agers. “Much sin and ungod liness is committed on public dance floors,” he told the school board. P roba tion O fficers D iscuss Relig ion
B o ttled M essa g e s A total of 7,084 gospel messages were set afloat in bottles during the past year by members of the Chris tian Endeavor Union of Northern Ireland. Replies to the messages have come from behind the Iron Curtain and from Mexico. D iv o r ce v s. M arriage In Los Angeles County during 1954, 31,987 couples obtained mar riage licenses, juSt seven more than the number who applied for license to wed in 1953. On the other hand, divorces in the county dropped during 1954 and 29,496 couples sought marital release while in 1953, 29,976 couples sought to sever marital ties. It was pointed out that the totals of marriages and divorces were approximately the same as for the last two preceding years. In neither department, however, did the figures come close to chal lenging the all-time record estab lished in 1946, when there were 42,064 marriage licenses issued and 35,731 domestic relation suits filed. Christian M o v em en t Spreads in Taiwan The Christian movement which was little developed in Taiwan (For mosa) under Japanese occupation has gone through a spectacular growth during the past nine years, the China News reported. In Taipeh City, for example, in almost every street there is a church or a chapel, a hospital or a mission agency operated by Christians. But this Christian movement is spreading not only in the urban areas but also in the rural areas and mountainous abodes. It is estimated today that there are at least 150,000 Protestant followers on the island, with about 100,000 already baptized. This 150,000 total represents a 500 per cent increase in the church membership over the Japanese days when the Christian population was given as only about 30,000. There were then only a small 20
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