Jomes O. Henry, M.A., Editor/Associote professor of History, Biolo Bible College
ly in Hamburg. The Hamburg University Library opened a special display of the books the Nazis tossed i n t o bonfires throughout Germany May 10, 1933. Most of them were written by Jews or were anti-Nazi. West German President Theo dore Heuss sent a message saying the anniversary “ is not a jubilee, but rather a true day of shame.” Mixed Marriages Eased The Most Reverend John C. Heenan, Roman Catholic Archbish op of Liverpool, England, has in structed his clergy that marriage between a Catholic and a non- Catholic may now take place at the high altar in a parish church. He said the organ may be played, al though candles may not be lit on the altar. Mixed marriages have always taken place at a side altar or even in the sacristy, with the minimum of ceremony. Archbishop Heenan stated that he had been faced with a dilemma in the matter. “ On the one hand,” he said, “ he did not want to appear to encourage mixed marriages, which he wished never would take place. But on the other hand, they are permitted by the church and wha t is p e rm i t t ed should not be done in a furtive manner as though the church were ashamed of it.” 350,000 Bibles Issued The British and Foreign Bible Society in Canada distributed 350,- 000 copies of the Bible and Testa ments in Canada in 1957. The Rev. Kenneth G. McMillan, general sec retary, reported at the annual meet ing of the society that 75,783 issues had been distributed free of charge. To aid distribution in British and French West Africa, the board voted to contribute $25,000 a year beginning in 1959. Sunday schools throughout Canada will be asked to contribute funds for the African work.
sult solely from the practice of spiritualism, faith healing or Chris tian Science, after a five-year study of divine healing and related mat ters. The commission reported: “ Some members of the committee were not persuaded that demons may cause or complicate any malady. Yet on the other hand, they recognize that medical knowledge is not and can not ever be comprehensive and they would not like to assert a priori (presumptively) that no case will ever be found of such unusual char acter as suggests the need for exor cism.” The commission also reported that “ exorcism — or driving out — of demons still is practiced by the clergy of the Chinch of England, e s p e c i a l l y in allegedly haunted houses.” It recommended that an advisory panel of clergymen and doctors should be named to go into the matter more thoroughly. The commission denounced the practice of Christian Science. Its re port said: “ The error of Christian Science with which the commission is chiefly concerned is its belief that disease and suffering exist only be cause men will not deny their pres ence.” The commission said, “Dis cord, evil, disease and suffering are not to be met by any denial of their existence. The cross was no sham.” Cords Top Bible Sales United States playing cards were just a trifle more •popular in the foreign market in 1957 than Bibles printed in this country. Shipments of playing cards totaled $1,265,451, while exports of Bibles totaled $1,- 247,428. Most of the cards went to the Union of South Africa, Malaya and Hong Kong. The Bibles mainly were exported to Canada and the United Kingdom. Day of Shame Observed The 25th anniversary of Hitler’s book-burning was observed recent
Make Weddings Merry, Soviet Stores Ordered
Soviet department stores got or ders from the top recently to help make weddings merry. Minister of Trade Dmitri V. Pavlov ordered the big stores to open wedding de partments for the sale of gowns, rings, wedding cakes and other trimmings. At the same time, he instructed marriage bureaus to or ganize canteens for the sale of champagne and chocolates on the spot or for home delivery. “We want merry weddings,” Pavlov said. Meanwhile, a 50% drop in the Soviet marriage rate since 1940 was reported by the Communist youth newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda. Divorces have been more difficult to obtain since family legis lation was tightened in 1944. Archaeological studies and exam ination of cuneiform records in Iraqi and other museums, just con cluded by Professor Thorkild Jacob sen of the University of Chicago for the Iraqi Ministry of Development, show Iraq had irrigation canals in 4200 B.C. The studies show that Iraq’s agriculture nearly 3,500 years ago was producing better grain yields than Canada and the United States today. Professor Jacobsen’s principal studies were made in the ancient basin of the Dyiala River where a ceramic survey and excavations were carried out. His report con tains a full study of ancient meth ods of a g r i c u l t u r e , particularly drainage methods and means of removing salt from the land. Demons Could Cause Human Illness, Anglicans Conclude A Church of England commis sion concluded recently that “ hu man illness caused by demons could be possible.” At the same time, the commission expressed doubt that ernes of human ailments could re Ancient Progress in Iraq Disclosed
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