are members of a church or other re ligious body. The largest Protestant de nomination is the Methodist, with a membership of over 9,000,000, followed by the Southern Baptist who number 7,373,000. Motto on Stamps a* George Bourgraf, a long-time em ployee of a Cincinnati casket firm, has suggested to the United States Post Office that they issue stamps bearing the motto, “ In God We Trust.” He feels that stamps with this slogan would help tell the world that Americans are a believing people. Mr. Bourgraf has appealed to President Truman, the U.S. Postmaster General, and congressmen from his district and is urging others to do likewise. $60.00 Per Person at In a recent report issued by the Com merce Department it was shown that Americans spend annually on an aver age of $60.00 per person for wine, beer and liquor. The report estimated that a total of $9,150,000,000.00 was spent on spirits bought during 1951. Sales of beer rose 3 per cent over the preceding year and distilled spirits increased 8 per cent. We do not suppose that anyone has the slightest idea of nine billions of dollars but let us give a comparison. If these were silver dollars, and if they were laid flat on the ground, edge to edge, they would encircle the earth nine times! But these figures do not begin to equal the sorrow, tears, heartache, disease, crime and unutterable anguish that always follow in the train of alcohol. Bible in Advertising Ot A surprising number of advertise ments are appearing in our national magazines, sponsored by large commer cial firms, calling the American people back to simple faith in God and the Bible. In a recent full-page advertise ment paid for by the Electric Light and Power Companies, the que~.tio’i asked of a young lad’s parents whether four articles would be left to our chil dren: a Bible, a key, a pencil and the ballot. If this is a trend, it goes to show that thinking men in big business real ize the stabilizing and energizing in fluence of the Word of God. It could hardly be said that big business endorses the Bible on the grounds of mere senti ment. The truth is that it pays in actual dollars and cents to follow its teachings. A Pastor’ s Advice Eat less, breathe more. Talk less, think more. Ride less, walk more. Clothe less, bathe more. Worry less, work more. Preach less, practice more. Whine less, pray more. Frown less, laugh more. Knock less, saw more. Boast less, build more. Regret less, aspire more. Condemn less, cheer more. Hate less, love more. Loaf less, work more. Scold less, encour age more.— Rev. J. M. Hodgkin. T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
Gospel by Balloon at An all-out effort to combat atheism behind the Iron Curtain was recently decided upon by the International Coun cil of Christian Churches. Balloons are to be set adrift in Europe by Council workers and carried into the enemy ter ritory by the wind. A waterproof en velope containing a portion of Scripture or the entire Bible will be attached to each balloon. Japan's Need a* Japan is now controlling her own economy and directing her own govern ment. Recently the police of Tokyo al lowed the re-opening of the 17 tradi tional red-light districts, including the infamous Yoshiwara, which the Amer icans had closed. The latest figures from Tokyo Police Headquarters suggested that there were some 13,500 prostitutes in 2,000 brothels, plus uncounted hordes of streetwalkers. On the other hand, Japan is still wide open for the entrance of missionaries and the preaching of the gospel. 2,000 Year Liie at A recent account of a Japanese botanist living in a city some 25 miles southeast of Tokyo revealed that a lotus seed estimated to be 2,000 years old had germinated and was producing blossoms. Botanist Ohga kept a careful diary of the unfolding of this plant to note if modern lotus flowers had changed any in 2,000 years of reproduction. The ob servance revealed that the ancient plant was in no way different from modern lotus and the botanist watching care fully saw nothing that he had not seen a* Hope for a truce in Colombia’s bit ter Protestant-Catholic strife centered around a recent formula. A Colombian Catholic now teaching at Queens College in New York suggested that Protestants should agree to a missionary quota, stop publicizing persecutions, limit preaching to churches and avoid attacking Cath olic dogmas. It is interesting to note how the Catholics squirm under the floodlight of publicity. None of these things are ac ceptable to Protestant missionaries be cause they all run contrary to the Great Commission, nor are persecutions unex pected for the pattern of conquest by the gospel over the centuries has shown definitely that Satan never gives up his territory without a battle. Now 25% in Cars at In a recent report by a survey called “Pulse” it was disclosed that about 25% of our radios in the United States are now in automobiles, the number having jumped from 7.5 million to 27.5 million in the past six years. More than that, 92.5% of all postwar automobiles are radio equipped. Here is a field that TV cannot affect and in spite of what ex perts have had to predict, radio will be with us for a long time. This has a many times before. Formula for Peace
By William W. Orr, D.D.
direct bearing on methods of preaching the gospel. Obedience Pays a* The Rev. Philip Jerome Cleveland quotes a famous Connecticut child spe cialist: “When it comes to a serious illness, something truly critical, the child who has been taught to obey stands four times the chance for recov ery that the spoiled and undisciplined child does.” It is interesting to note how child educators and psychologists in their continuous search for truth are finally arriving at the safe, sane and sound principles which have been taught in the Scriptures for centuries. Religious TV Stations 0* According to Chairman Paul A. Walker of the Federal Communications Commission, religious groups are eligible to apply for TV stations, either com mercial or non-commercial. Mr. Walker pointed out that such licenses give the operator the right not merely to propa gate their own views and beliefs but instead are expected to offer a well- balanced program service. It is now shown that 25 religious groups in the United States hold licenses for the operation of radio stations although thus far no church-affiliated colleges have ap plied for TV stations. Insures Only Abstainers at A new firm is the Christian & Tem perate Insurance Company which re quires membership in a Christian church and total abstinence from alcohol as qualifications for insurees. Mr. A. E. Hammonds who has operated the new company since June points out that over 1,000 persons already have taken pol icies. The company is the result of sev eral years of planning and is offering insurance to abstainers at a greatly reduced rate, New Record High at A total membership of 88,673,005 people is reported in the 1952 yearbook of American churches. This is an in crease of nearly 2,000,000 over the pre vious year and purports to show that nearly three out of every five Americans
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