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September, 1945
hand of the Father, the creator and sustainer of all things. Surely this brings peace and quiet to the troubled heart. Let us read again verses 28-30 of the 10th chapter of John, and be comforted in our hearts. ★ ★ Christian Dress For years it has been common knowledge that partially civilized races wear almost no clothing. Pictures have been brought back from heathen lands, showing the life of pagans and semi-barbarians, portraying them ut terly nude or wearing scantiest gar ments. For the past decade, the scenes on the American bathing beaches have shown a decided tendency toward emulation of the savages in this re gard, but this year, encouraged by tacit approval of our popular magazines and periodicals, the bathing suit has become even more conspicuous by its startling brevity. We register our pro test against this immodesty. Nor do we have any patience with the current custom of wholesale exhi bition of the hairy-chested male torso. This brevity of covering, rather than improving a man’s appearance, makes him offensive and ugly. Of course, the reason given by the sun devotees is that its beneficent rays should be allowed to reach every por tion of the human anatomy. This is not only false reasoning, but it is a dangerous practice as well, for, as any honest doctor will admit, the rays of the sun penetrate light clothing easily, and a skin directly exposed to the sun for a long period is in danger of skin cancer. However, the root of this matter is deeper than many people think. In the early chapters of the world’s history, after sin had made its entrance, the first thing that God did was to pro vide a covering' for our first parents. The covering of our bodies is an ac knowledgment of sin’s presence and our need of a Redeemer. Those who openly flaunt unclothed bodies are saying in effect that they do not be lieve God’s Word and that they will have nothing to do with His Son. Surely Christians will be careful about this matter. ★ ★ Bible Distribution The postwar plan of the British and Foreign Bible Society is the printing and transportation of 7,000,000 Bibles to Europe and the Far East. At last we are awakened to the obvious fact that Europe is a foreign mission field. Let all Christian people pray that this campaign for distribution of the Word of God may exceed all expectations.
many. His help was declared to be un necessary. The Book of God was de clared to be unworthy of the attention of the Aryan mind—a mere opiate for weaker nations. God’s ancient chosen people werb declared to be the scourge of the earth and their extirpation was agreed upon. In the ignominious fall of Germany, there is a thrilling demonstration of the fact that God is not unaware of these blatant boasters who insolently order Him out of His world. While it may be true that not all of Germany is responsible for the' blasphemies of the past dacade, the curse of God must fall upon this country as a whole as it always does. What a lesson to other nations, our own nation included! What an example of swiftness of God’s hand o f .judg ment! If there is one thing above all others illustrated by the plight of pres ent day Germany, it is the absolute certainty of God’s wrath upon the na tions which fail to acknowledge that He is the Lord of lords, the King of kings, and the Prince of the judges of the earth. ★ ★ New Bomb With the thrill of achievement that went through the ,hearts of American people upon the announcement of the completion and first demonstration of the atomic bomb, there was also an unconscious shudder at the possibility of what might happen should this terrific weapon of destruction be em ployed by our enemies. Much is being written regarding the almost incon ceivable power of this mysterious energy. No one seems to understand just what is its underlying principle. One writer defines it as “matter turned into energy,” one gram of which would be like burning three thousand tons of coal in l/100th of a second. Other writers used the yard stick of our present destructive opera tions, comparing this one bomb to five train-loads o f TNT, or to the destructive cargo which could be car ried in 6,600 Flying Fortresses. Cer tainly this is taking the science of destruction on to new heights of terror. On the day that the news of the atomic bomb was received, the writer, along with many others, was meditat ing upon the havoc which could be caused in our own land were this new destructive power to fall into the hands of our enemies. At that very moment, the Spirit of God seemed to whisper concerning the safety of the position of the children of God. First, we are in the hand of God’s Son to whom is given all power both in Heaven and earth. Then we have the added protection of being in the
edgment of His hand in the affairs of nations. The desires and aspirations expressed are high, but somehow seem hopeless because they, lack that indi cation of dependence upon God to per form that which man has never been able to accomplish, and for which the world longs so earnestly. We do not propose a discussion of the charter, but merely desire to point out that the centuries are strewn with both rtations and combinations of na tions which have refused to recognize God and His hand in government. While this is unquestionably the most noble effort that has ever been made by the world’s statesmen, we know with absolute certainty that it cannot be a success when God’s help is not sought. Some will question that any conference comprising such varied re ligious views could call upon God. Our answer is that we have seen very few atheists in our time. While the United Nations as a whole may not hold to the various tenets oj Protestant faith, still there is among them a universal belief in an Almighty God. It is our profound conviction that there could have been worked out a basis upon which the representatives of all the nations might have been allowed at least to acknowledge their dependence upon God in their own way. We must continue to pray for the working out of this charter, although there is within our hearts the certain knowledge of its failure. However, above and beyond the horizon, we look forward to another United Nations Charter—this one to be presented by none other than the Son of God Him self. He will bring absolute peace and lasting security . . . “Even so come, Lord Jesus.” ★ ★ Potsdam Conference The long heralded meeting of the new Big Three has taken place, this time at Potsdam in Germany, and again questions involving momentous issues have been considered and de cided by the victorious allies. One of the matters which claimed their atten tion was what to do with conquered Germany. This was dealt with by plans to partition Germany, divesting it of its influencing character, and insuring, for a certain time at least, the impos sibility of revival of Germany’s mili tary power. Just a few months ago, the Nazi leaders proudly proclaimed that the Third German Reich would last for a thousand years. They loudly shouted that the Germans were a divinely or dained master race whose proper place was to sit in the seat of author ity, ruling the less fortunate peoples of the world. Officially, the name of God was ruled out of greater Ger
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