October, 1934
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
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the Lord Himself. The word “conform” means “to make like unto.” Paul’s expression would suggest that the proc ess through which Christ passed resulted in a certain form, and that a like form may be expected of the followers who proceed along the same pathway. The knowledge of which Paul speaks must mean a quickening of the soul. Likewise it will result in confirming our hope of immortality and our expectation of fellowship with Christ Himself throughout eternity. When one comes to know the power of His resurrection, that same Spirit of Him “that raised up Jesus from the dead . . . shall give life also to your mortal bodies through his Spirit that dwell- eth in you.” Knowing the power of His resurrection is a guaranty of our own: “Christ the firstfruits; then they that are Christ’s, at his coming.” Such knowledge must result in the assurance of our present justification: He “was raised for our justification.” The very fact of His resur rection, therefore, is the evidence that a divine justification has been wrought out and that through faith it has be come ours. “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrec tion, and the fellowship of his sufferings, becoming con formed unto his death”—shall we not make Paul’s ambi tion, as suggested in these brief statements, our own ambi tion for a fuller knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ? —E. L. McC. New President of Moody Bible Institute A wise executive, an unusually clear Bible teacher, a respected author, and a Christian gentleman always, Rev. James M. Gray, D.D., LL.D., has for many years carried, with amazing ability and fortitude, the increasingly heavy responsibilities in connection with the offices of Dean and President of the Moody Bible Institute of Chicago. Many of the Lord’s people have marveled that the pressure of recent times, combined with the physical frailty coinci dent with Dr. Gray’s advancing years, has not proved too great a burden for him to bear. But in the will of God, he has been graciously sustained in body and in spirit. To all those to whom Dr. Gray is “a beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord”—and their number is countless—it will be good news to learn that the heavy burdens connected with the leadership of the “school that D. L. Moody founded” are to be transferred to the shoul ders of a younger man-—one whom, it is believed, God has been preparing through the years for this position. In a news release made public on September 10, Dr. Will H. Houghton, pastor of Calvary Baptist Churah, New York, is announced as the new President of the Moody Bible Institute, beginning his duties on November L The report states that the call to the presidency was extended unanimously by the Board of Trustees, and that Dr. Gray will become President Emeritus, remaining on the teaching faculty and as editor of the Moody Bible In'stitute Monthly. Dr. Houghton was born and educated in Boston, and received his honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from Wheaton College, Wheaton, 111., in 1931. He first com manded attention when, as pastor of the Tabernacle in Atlanta, Ga., there were added 2,000 members to the church rolls during a period of four years. From this unusual ministry in the South, he went to New York in January, 1930, accepting the pastorate of the Calvary Baptist Church. Dr. Houghton is “instant in season, out of season” —preaching always with informality and in the language of the layman. His sympathy with the problems of youth has made him extremely popular as a youth leader. It is the hope of many of the Lord’s people—in which hope the Bible Institute of Los Angeles eagerly joins—Ahat God may continue to bless the Moody Bible Institute as it enters upon this new era in its notable history.
Campaign for Improved Motion Pictures T o the child of God whose passion is to “grieve not the Holy Spirit of God,” the question of whether or not he may patronize the modern motion picture industry does not constitute a problem. Many Christians have long real ized that obedience to the apostle’s command, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world,” de mands absolute separation from the products of an industry which, as a whole, has repeatedly shown a tendency to profit through the presentation, in popular style, of sin that God hates. While thus in a definite sense detached from the situa tion, many believers are nevertheless observing with inter est the motion picture industry’s reaction to the nation wide “Legion of Decency” campaign against salacious films. Every Christian may well thank God for any agitation which places a restraint upon the recent trend in the cinema. With Protestants, Catholics, and Jews engaged in a com mon effort in behalf of better and cleaner movies, pro ducers seem to have awakened with a jolt. It is the opinion of George J. Hecht, publisher of the Parents’ Magazine, that the producers are truly alarmed: Leaders in the industry have until now been wont to regard reform waves as a sort of seven-year-itch—bound to occur at intervals, uncomfortable while it lasts, but equally bound to wane and subside. A very different atti tude prevails since the recent storm broke. Martin Quigley, publisher of the Motion Picture Herald and the Motion Picture Daily, characterized the present situation as “the severest test it [the motion picture indus try] has encountered in its whole history.” What is the basis for such widespread concern? Arch bishop McNicholas, chairman of the Catholic bishops’ com mittee on motion pictures, answers in the Ecclesiastical Review, in an article which summarizes the committee’s campaign: The tragic thing about the producers of the salacious film is that . . . they seem to have no fixed moral stan dards ; they do not seem to be able to distinguish between what is moral and immoral . . . At present they recog nize that they have offended, but they do not seem to know why or how. While the thought is not expressed by any of the leaders of the present campaign, it is our opinion that fluc tuating moral standards will always exist so long as the authority of the Word of God is not sought and accepted: “The law of the Lord is perfect.” Is the motion picture industry prepared to measure its products by that rule? Such willingness to accept the divine dictum would con stitute reformation indeed! And since producers lack the disposition to recognize the law of God in its practical ap plication to the motion picture industry, although the cam paign may accomplish definite improvement in which every child of God could rejoice, we doubt whether the effort can produce the desired result. Meanwhile, the conflict of ideals continues. Regarding the Hollywood visit of Will H. Hays, in charge of the film industry’s self-imposed censorship program, the Los An geles Times of July 25 stated: “His only comment while here on the current attacks against motion pictures was that the pictures now being made will be Hollywood’s answer to these criticisms.” But in the same edition of the Timets appeared a United Press dispatch headed “Dil- linger Double Will Get Film Role.” The report read : While John Dillinger was alive Ralph Alsman’s re semblance to the outlaw was a nuisance. He was arrested seventeen times, shot twice and discharged from his job. Now he says he has signed to play the lead in a motion picture based on the bandit’s life. Is this the fulfillment of Mr.-Hays’ promise? Is this “Hollywood’s answer to these criticisms” ?
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