T HE K I N G ’ S B US I NE S S Dr. J. H. Shakespeare is trying to organize in England a “National Chris tian Church” with the avowed purpose of ultimately uniting with the Estab lished Church and thus wipe noncon formity from the face of the earth. And if any leaders of the “ Inter-church” movement have in view the making of an ecclesiastical organization which will render it easy to unite with the Church of Rome and thus annihilate Protestantism, they could not pursue a better policy than the one they have adopted. But we cannot follow them. 5. The autocratic spirit and policy of the “ Inter-church” movement does not harmonize with the democracy of the New Testament Church and is en tirely out of harmony with the demo cratic spirit of the times. A few men of brains and money have conceived the movement and are doing all they can to whip the people into line. Mighty is the power of both brains and money. A friend of mine, a few days ago, was in a railroad station waiting for a train, when he overheard two preachers discussing a third who had refused to come into the movement. “ Just wait,” said one of them, “ till we put on the thumb-screws and he will come in all right.” That smells of the Inquisition, and yet it is only an exaggerated state ment of the attitude of some leaders in this movement who are determined to thumb-screw men and churches who will not come in under more gentle pressure. For these reasons we cannot endorse the “ Inter-church” movement, and earnestly advise all Christians who love evangelical truth to keep out of it. a » DANGER SIGNALS In connection with the above article by Dr. Dixon, we wish to quote from an article recently published in “ The Friends Minister” under the head “ Some Danger Signals of the Inter
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church World Movement.” Edgar P. Sims is the author of the article. He says: “ One danger signal is the assumption which the ‘leaders* of the movement have taken; to pattern after the recent war activity leaders and with no official sanction from any religious body, start a movement to involve every church member, and every pastor, without their knowledge or consent; and boastfully saying, any ‘petty opposition’ they might bring will not stop a wonderful program. Who cannot see in this the domineering spirit of the age being man ifest in the ecclesiastical world, as it was in the political world when a prom inent official assumed to entangle his country in the league covenant stating: “ The American people are overwhelm ingly in favor of it.” Here in this move ment we have the same presumptuous, domineering spirit manifest.” Another danger signal to which Mr. Sims calls attention is as follows: “ In the Inter-church Bulletin of Jan uary 24th there appears an article stat ing that thirty schools for rural pas tors in thirty states are already planned. The course of study is surely enough to startle even the ‘sleeping’ believer: ‘Bible Study,’ ‘The Church in Commun ity Service,’ ‘Rural Sociology,’ ‘Church Promotion,’ ‘Church Methods,’ ‘Organ ized Play,’ ‘Illustrated Lectures on Bet ter Crops,’ ‘The Housefly and Health,’ ‘The Delco Light System,’ ‘Along the Border,’ etc. Courses especially pro vided for pastors’ wives are: Home dec oration, health and morals, family prob lems, poultry raising, marketing pro duce, baby clinics, church dinners, etc. “ If you know the kind of teaching that the College and Theological Semi nary near you puts out, you can sur mise whqt kind of teaching these pastor- students will have, for the Bulletin says: “ The faculty in each school will be drawn principally from colleges and theological seminaries in the area from
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