Q!uurnrbtu m4rulugtral flnutlJly Continuing LBHRB UNO WBHRB MAGAZIN FUER Ev.-LuTH. HOMILBTIK THBOLOGICAL Q UARTERLy-THEOLOGICAL M ONTHLY VoI.XIX May, 1948 No.5 CONTENTS Page Discourse of Luther on the Holy Trinity. Translated by W. Arndt .. 321 Our New Altar Service Books. w. G. Polack .. ............... .... __ .. ..... ........ . 327 Rhetoric in the New Testament. W. A. Jennrich .. ... ... __ ...... ........ __ ..... . 331 The Nassau Pericopes . .. ... . .......... . " .. " .......... ........... ................... . .. 346 Miscellanea ..................... . . .. ................................................ ................ __ .... 355 Theological Observer Book Review ........ Eln Predlger muss ntcht allein wei. den, also dass er die Schafe unter- weise. wle sic rechte Christen sollen seln. sondem auch daneben den Woel· fen wehTen, dass sle die Schafe nlcht angreifen und mit falscher Lelu'e ver - fuehren und Irrtum e1nfuehren. LutheT 371 . .................... .... 397 Es 1st kein Ding. das die Leute mehr bel der Kirche bebaelt denn die gute Predigt. - Apologie, An. 24 U the trumpet give an uncertain sound. who shall prepare himself to the ba tUe? - 1 Cor. 14:8 Published by the Ev. Luth. Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States CONCORDIA PUBLISHING HOUSE, St. Louis 18, Mo. PRINTED IN t1. s. A. Theological Observer Trouble for Dr. Asmussen. - The following report appeared in the Lutheran Companion of March 10. A move to oust Dr. Hans Asmussen as chancellor of the Evangelical Church in Germany has been launched in Wuert- temberg-Baden while the German churchman has been visiting the United States during the past two months. Dr. Asmussen learned of the attempt to remove him from office only a few hours before he left the United States by plane to return to Germany. He has been lecturing in this country since early December under the auspices of the U. S. National Committee for the Lutheran World Federation. "There will be a battle," Dr. Asmussen said. He voiced the belief that formal charges would be preferred against him through official channels of the Evangelical Church in Germany and that the matter would probably be considered at the next meeting of EKiD. Removal of Dr. Asmussen as chancellor of the Evangelical Church was demanded in an article which appeared in a recent issue of Arbeit und Besinnung, a church newspaper published in Wuerttemberg-Baden. The demand was made by the Theological Society of Wuerttemberg, composed of a group of pastors said to be followers of the noted Swiss theologian Karl Barth, whom Asmussen has sharply criticized. A. The School-Religion Decree. - When on March 8 of this year the Supreme Court made its sweeping decision in the McCollum case, reversing the decision of the Illinois Supreme Court that the Board of Education of School District 71 in Champaign County was within the Federal and State constitutions in permitting a local interdenominational council to use public school buildings for religious instruction during school hours, the religious and secular press, in its reaction to the decision, showed how widespread in our country is the interest of thousands of men and women in the cause of religious education. So far as the McCollum case was concerned, many writers seemed to agree with the United States Supreme Court that the plaintiff's point of view was well taken or could at least be justified. But they did not agree with the verdict in this, that religion must be barred from the American school system altogether. At any rate, the school-religion decree has brought the whole matter of education and religious instruc- tion to the fore, and it is well that we consider it anew with a view to obtaining greater clarity with regard to the matter. Among the many helpful editorials one which appeared in the St. Louis Globe-Democrat seems to the writer to offer sane and sober guidelines for the discussion of the problem. We read: "The 8 to 1 decision of the United States Supreme Court, banning use of the public schools to aid in religious instruction, settles a long con- troverted issue. The decree will be disputed in many particulars, [371] 372 THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER for the opmlOn delivered by Justice Black developed divergent comment even among members of the bench and an outright dissent by Justice Reed. We agree with Justices Reed and Frank- furter that the Black opinion was too general and lacking in clear definition of precisely what the Constitution does mean regarding religion and school or tax support. In the Illinois case, public school buildings were actually used in giving religious instruction by all sects interested. What of programs in which school author- ities dismiss students who go elsewhere for religious teaching? Justice Jackson considers [the] language of the major opinion so general that it could bar public school curricula that even touch on sacred music, church architecture, the historical influence of religion and the Bible as literature. Certainly the framers of the Constitution intended no such preposterous ostracism. The Found- ing Fathers were deeply wise in their determination to forge into the Constitution a separation of Church and State. At the time the First Amendment was pending in Congress, Madison inter- preted it to mean that 'the Congress should not establish a religion, and enforce the legal observation of it by law, nor compel men to worship God in any manner contrary to their conscience.' As Justice Reed observes, passing years have brought about a broader meaning. Perhaps it is best that public school premises be barred to all sectarian instruction. But public schools, mainly in later years, have abandoned from textbooks and instruction virtually all non-sectarian thoughts of God. It was never conceived by the Founding Fathers that the nation's youth should be reared apart from God and with no knowledge or faith in a Supreme Being. As Nicholas Murray Butler of Columbia University, one of the nation's leading educators, lamented some years before his death, the most urgent need of youth is a return to religious under- standing. The great problem is how to accomplish this duty under a system of public education divorced increasingly and more stringently from any concept of God. An unfortunate corollary to the Supreme Court decision will be to relegate children further from religious thought, knowledge or influence. The problem poses a tremendous challenge to churches, laboring in a frankly materialistic and non-religious era." One solution of the problem would lie in the establishment of Christian day schools by all denominations in our country, which, of course, will hardly happen. Nor need this be the only solution. The majority of writers favoring religious instruction on a wide scale are of the opinion that the method of released time for religious instruction, as employed by many churches in the past, violates neither the United States Con- stitution nor the special United States Supreme Court decision in the McCollum case. And, no doubt, they are right. J. T. M. Canadian Mennonites Emigrating. - It is reported that a large group of Mennonites now living in Canada no longer feels at home in that country and will leave for Paraguay. This South American state is said to have made them promises which they consider very THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER 373 precious. They have been told that military conscription will not touch their boys, that there will be freedom from taxes, that their children will not have to learn Spanish or, in general, attend the schools conducted by the state. The number of these people is said to be 1,500. They are loath to remain in Manitoba, the Canadian province in which most of them live, because they fear that another world war is coming soon and their young men will be drafted for military service. Besides, they find that their young people are in great danger of being affected by the worldliness which surrounds them on all sides. With a smile one reads that for the agricultural pursuits which they intend to follow in Paraguay they will equip themselves with nothing but the most primitive implements, and their plows are to be drawn, not by trac- tors, but by oxen. It is a valiant attempt to escape the snares of the world. Alas! geographical and cultural segregation is not a successful means for this praiseworthy end. A. Is Reason Taboo in Theology? - In the spring, 1948, number of Religion and Life Dr. Mack B. Stokes, professor of Christian Doctrine, Candler School of Theology, Emory University, Georgia, takes up the cudgels for reason, which he thinks has been unfairly treated by theologians throughout these many centuries. His article has the heading "Christianity and Reason." Deploring what he calls the present unhappy drift toward irrationalism in theology, he sets himself to the task of making an analysis of the various factors that should be considered. With consterna- tion he views what has been said in late years as well as in former generations on the subject of reason and revelation. Emil Brunner, we are told, in the last analysis must be listed among the opponents of reason. The thoughts of Dr. Stokes can be sum- marized thus: It must be admitted that the Church has not denied that reason plays any role at all in our dealing with divine truth, but its area has been much restricted. Why? The Church felt that to safeguard its doctrines the pertinency of reason in the realm of divine truth had to be severely limited. - One can see why the Church refused to accept what the philosophers operat- ing with reason offered. Their argumentations were not satis- factory. That is true of Hegel and many like him as well as of the philosophers who believe that God is not a Person, but simply what is best in man. Such a view kills prayer, and that means religion is strangled. But just as the philosophers do not satisfy us when they speak of the function of reason in theology, so the position of the orthodox theologians on this point is unacceptable. Man's intelligence is offended, and the way is opened for the wildest fancies. We must not forget that God gave us our reason and that we very properly exalt our right of private judgment. We cannot stand for the view that our rationality has to be renounced. The very contrary is true. To worship God, to trust in Him is the highest "wisdom." The teaching that reason must be rejected and revelation must be relied on means that we accept doctrines 374 THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER which cannot be verified. The Mohammedans have as much right to say that they rest their teachings on revelation as the Chris- tians. This anti-reason position is precisely the one that Hitler endeavored to inculcate with respect to the attitude toward his own person. He said in effect, Your reason may draw you away from me; do not listen to it; have faith in me. To proceed to the positive side of the argument, What is meant by a reasonable, a rational belief? We mean by these terms to describe a belief that has cogency. We find cogency in a position which can be proved by pure mathematics or in logical processes (syllogisms) where the conclusion is contained in the premises. But there are but very few of our doctrines which fall into this category, where the proof relied on can be called that of logical implication. Most of them have to do with facts of life and death, etc. These doctrines are justified by experience; in that area they obtain their cogency. We experience God, the Holy Spirit, the forgiveness of sins. Thus they are proved true to us and are invested with rationality or reasonableness. By way of contrast, an irrational position is one that is not forced on me by the evidence or the premises. At times the term non-rational is used to describe Christian doctrines. But that does not help us. We are not satisfied with finding that a certain view is merely conceivable; we wish to know it as a fact. - Christian doctrines have grown in the soil of experience. They represent facts that were felt and observed and verified. Even the Bible must not be regarded as being the source of doctrine. First came the ex- perience, then the Scripture teaching about them. In holding to the view that our Christian teachings are reasonable, we do not mean that they have been arrived at by speculative thought, but simply that we have found them to be true. If reasonable or rational is taken in the sense of possessing cogency, the terms should not be objected to. - Arriving at religious doctrines in this way, that is, through experience, agrees with the course we pur- sue in other fields, politics, medicine, etc. There may be "in- tellectuals" who object; but since we rest on our experience of the truth, their opposition need not disturb us. To think of the subject of prayer, the Christian has found that prayer is not an idle gesture, so he clings to it. In other words, he finds it reason- able to pray; for him true cogency resides in the Christian teach- ing on prayer. So far Dr. Stokes. It is impossible for us to discuss all the views which he propounds. To us it seems that his contentions do not touch the heart of the problem. Orthodox theologians do not deny that they find or experience their great teachings to be sources of comfort and strength. The question is whether our great God speaks to us in His holy Word and whether our reason has the right to criticize what He reveals about Himself, His ways, and about ourselves and our destiny. When God teaches us, have we the right to use the yardstick of our reason or of our experience THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER 375 in testing the correctness of His teachings, or should we not rather humbly say, Lord, Thou hast words of eternal life? We venture the remark that if the author thinks he by his method can stop some human vagaries which allegedly rely on revelation, he opens the door to a whole regiment of them when he makes human ex- perience the criterion. The enthusiasts will not hesitate to appeal to experience to prove evident absurdities. His article, however, is stimulating, and we may be thankful for this, that he draws our attention strongly to Christian experience, indirectly insisting that religion must be a matter of the heart as opposed to purely in- tellectual endeavors. A. Baptist Confessionalism Pleaded for. - In the Watchman- Examiner of March 4, 1948, Dr. Harold Lindsell, Registrar and Professor of Missions at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, Calif., submits an article having the title "Baptists and Church Union." Mutatis mutandis, his remarks have their application to the course loyal Lutherans must steer. We reprint that part of the article which is particularly pertinent from our point of view. "The movement for an ecumenical fellowship of all believers has caught fire among many real Baptists. They cannot help but envision a unity of all believers in Christ. They are impelled by the thought that the invisible church of Christ is now world-wide and that the visible unity ought to be world-wide too. There is the true feeling that we ought to be partakers in the problems, sorrows, hardships, and sufferings of our brethren who are true believers in Christ. And there is the urge to transcend so-called 'narrow' denominational lines or barriers; to leap over them that we might embrace all in one. One hears continually the cry, 'We do not call ourselves Baptists, or Presbyterians, or Methodists, but Christians.' Unfortunately, those who say this too often are the ones who insist on the acceptance of their 'Christian' concepts that delineate them sharply into competing camps. Thus, to be so liberal as to accept anything may appear at first glance to be excellent, but on second glance one hardly feels that this is an adequate test for a cohesive fellowship. "The ideal of embracing all in one is a splendid one, but the ideal ought not be confused with the reality. Reality demands that there be a basis for this fellowship. And the basis cannot be some vague, unrealistic sentimentality. It must have sub- stance and content, not just feeling. When this is seen and the basis of fellowship is made clear, the Baptists also see clearly that membership would destroy their own ideals which are presently a reality. The unity will not be consummated on the basis of Baptist views. Of that we can be sure. There are others who will not sacrifice their own views - and we do not ask them to do so, since we believe in full religious freedom for each to follow the Word of God and the light he has - so that if Baptists do join, it must be by making concessions to others. This no real Baptist can do, and again it prohibits Baptists from reaching out 376 THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER in such a world-wide organization unless it is on a basis that will have the agreement of Baptists. "The question will naturally rise: 'If Baptists refuse to join a world organization unless it is based on Baptist ideology, will it not mean that others would reject an organization founded on Baptist principles?' The answer is obvious. Others cannot be expected to agree to such a demand. And why should we? Logically, it follows that if Baptist distinctives cannot be ac- cepted, others must have in mind distinctives that make it im- possible or inexpedient to accept what Baptists offer. In the face of this, it inexorably eventuates that for Baptists to enter any union on other than Baptist principles is to destroy automatically the Baptist fundamentals. For to sit in union with a church-state or to commune at a table with sprinkled water baptism in infancy is to violate what Baptists have always held to be sacred. "Baptists are not quarrelsome, antagonistic people. They do not wish to obstruct anything that will further the work of the kingdom. They have no desire to become the fly in anyone's ointment. But they do have convictions, and where those con- victions are likely to be sacrificed, Baptists must firmly and quietly hold to their views without making any concessions. It is not with the wish to be different, nor is it with the idea of hin- dering anything or anybody. It rises solely out of the wish to remain true to the Word of God from which we obtain our dis- tinctives, and with the humble but unchanging belief that those distinctives are not peripheral matters, but central ones. These distinctives count so much to us that we cannot think of sacrificing them for the possible external good which might accrue. Deep down, we believe that the greater good can come from following honestly the convictions we have. "The famed Princeton Seminary scholar of a generation gone by, B. B. Warfield, had this to say: 'Men bewail the divisions of the Church of Christ, and propose that we shall stop thinking, so that we may no longer think differently. This is the true account to give of many of the phases of the modern movement for "Church Union." Men are tired of thinking. They are tired of defending the truth. Let us all stop thinking, stop believing, they cry, and what a happy family we shall be!' "In the light of Warfield's statement, let it be said that we wish no one ill. We advise each group to follow for itself what it believes and holds dear. We will pray for the blessing of God to follow any work that is being conducted for the glory of God. We believe in the spiritual unity and oneness of all believers in Christ. But we do not believe in the federal or organic unity of all believers except as this is accomplished on the basis of the New Testament model. With this in mind, then, the Baptists, for conscience's sake must say pleasantly, sincerely, firmly, and honestly to all who seek for them to join in a world-wide union-'No!'" A. THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER 377 Public Educatioll, a Propaganda for Atheism? -A Public Meet- ing, an Editorial, and a Dinner Conference. - Under this title Prof. J. Oliver Buswell, Jr., in The Bible Today (February, 1948), re- prints an article from the Sunday School Times which clearly shows the hostile attitude of many leading educators of our coun- try to positive religion. We can only publish a small part of the article, but even this, we believe, demonstrates how very eagerly secularistic educators are propagandizing agnosticism and even atheism. Dr. Buswell writes: "On Monday afternoon, November tenth, 1947, Teachers College of Columbia University conducted a conference on Philosophy of Education. The William H. Kilpatrick award for distinguished service in philosophy of education was presented to Professor Emeritus Boyd H. Bode, who has been, until recently, the head of the education department in Ohio State University. The Horace Mann Auditorium was crowded with more than a thousand teachers and students of education. Dr. John Dewey, at 88 years of age, gave a short but clear and vigorous address endorsing Bode's views. Professor Emeritus WilliamH. Kilpatrick, Professor George Counts of Columbia, and Professor H. Gordon Hullfish of Ohio State University, delivered extended eulogies, after which Professor Bode delivered the main address of the afternoon. In all these addresses Naturalism (which means anti-supernaturalism) was expounded and extolled. The readers of The Bible Today will be interested to know that Bode's address is rather effectively summarized in an editorial in Information Service, published weekly by the department of research and edu- cation of the Federal Council of Churches." Professor Bode's ad- dress is there summarized in the following words: "The significance, in this context, of Dr. Bode's address before the Philosophy of Education Conference is that it was a straightforward, unequivocal defense of a thorough-going secularist philosophy, as a basis for American Education. 'The moral factor in life,' he said, 'so it is assumed [by opponents of Naturalism], must be derived from some theory regarding the nature of the universe or of the cosmic order, or from what we may call, for convenience, the eternal verities. Right living then becomes a matter of getting in line with the eternal verities. For example, if a religious sanction is required, provision should be made for religious instruction, but it looks dis- turbingly like a return to those tyrannies of the past from which our brand of democracy was supposed to provide an escape. The under- tow of this doctrine of eternal verities is unmistakable. It is away from the principle of separation between church and state and away from the sentiments of Jefferson's declaration: I have sworn on the altar of God eternal hostility against all forms of tyranny! over the minds of men. It is hard to see how the American Dream can come to fruition on the basis of the theory that moral values require cosmic endorsement in order to give them authority. This authority must come from their relevancy to the purpose of making men free through changes in social relationships. The solution of 378 THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER the moral problem lies in the future and not in the past. It lies in the painstaking study of maladjustments and not in the con- templation of the cosmic order sub specie aeternitatis. Its reliance is not on conformity, but on method, so as to secure the delibera- tion of intelligence for the continuous improvement of human life through the medium of social relationships. Our present culture is a house divided against itself. It holds both to the tradition that morality rests on cosmic sanction and that it is product of social living. We are coming to the parting of the ways." The editorial, in concluding, characterizes Bode's address as a "bold and unques- tionably sincere statement of an anti-theistic position." In his "Conclusion" Professor Buswell says (quoted in part): "A careful study of the quotations from Professor Bode's afternoon address, as given above, will reveal the fact that Naturalism has only set up another kind of authority in its social theory of ethics. How utterly ridiculous for men to claim that liberty must throw off the authoritarianism of God and His moral law, while admitting that men cannot throw off the fact of empirically discovered social and economic principles! When Thomas Jefferson declared, as Bode quoted him, 'I have sworn on the altar of God eternal hos- tility against all forms of tyranny over the minds of men,' it must be remembered that this great democrat believed that there is an Almighty God. A Deist, and not a Bible-believing Christian, he nevertheless believed that the standards of right and wrong are grounded in the character of a Sovereign Creator. He would no more have thought of defining freedom as independence of the moral laws of God, than the modern Naturalist would think of defining freedom as independence of the facts of nature. What after all is the attitude of the Biblical Christian toward author- itarianism? Surely God and His laws are held to be facts, known in part, and open for further knowledge. Biblical Christianity is not opposed to discovering sociological facts and principles by empirical processes .... Wherever Bible-believing Christianity has spread, the tyranny of man over man has eventually decreased, and the freedom of the individual and of society has increased. On the other hand, many of the prominent Naturalists, shouting loudly for freedom from authoritarianism in religion and in morals, are vigorous propagandists for collectivism! Is the American pub- lic school an instrument for the propaganda of Naturalism? If not wholly so, to what extent is the assumption of control by the Naturalists a fact?" J. T. M. Was Judas Present at the Lord's Supper? - Under this head- ing, Olof H. Nelson, in the Lutheran Outlook (March, 1948), dis- cusses the age-old question whether or not Judas was present at the Lord's Supper. The writer admits that the greater part of the Christian Church believes and teaches that Judas was present at the institution of the Lord's Supper. Paintings and pictures of the Last Supper represent Judas as present. This is the teaching of the Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic Churches as also THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER 379 of the Anglican liturgy, while the Formula of Concord declares in two passages that Judas was present and received the body and blood of Christ (Jacobs Ed., pp.107 and 112). However, modem commentators pretty generally hold that the institution of the Lord's Supper took place after the departure of Judas. While the undersigned does not agree with every statement in the article, he has always inclined to the view which there is defended. In particular, he believes that the sop was eaten at the Passover meal, not at the Lord's Supper; that by His words: "What thou doest, do quickly," Jesus meant that .Judas should leave immediately, so as not to be present at the institution; that the presence of Judas would have been contrary to the design and purpose of the Eucharist; that the questioning among the disciples, referred to in Luke 22: 23, after the institution was not the same as that directed to Jesus by all Twelve at the Passover meal, when Judas also asked the question; that Judas fulfilled at the Passover meal the prediction in Ps. 41: 9: " ... which did eat of My bread hath lifted up his heel against Me," so that for this he did not have to be present at the Lord's Supper; and that no doctrine with regard to Christian Communion practice should be deduced from a fact so uncertain as Judas' attendance at the first Communion. This, of course, does not mean that total agreement can be reached on the moot point, but it is certainly to be welcomed that the Lutheran Outlook gives the matter its timely attention. J.T.M. Mission Work by Gospel Recordings. - In the Sunday School Times (March 20, 1948) Dr. Ernest Gordon reports a new mis- sionary method of preaching the Gospel to people who are still without the Bible in their vernacular, or who cannot read the Bible in their vernacular. The work was begun seven years ago by Miss Ridderhof, a young missionary, who had been driven home from Honduras by ill health. It is financed "from above" (in 1946 to the amount of $35,000), just as were the Muller orphanages and the China Inland Mission. Though there was no budget in 1946, yet it could be reported that "all bills were paid and there was not a cent to spare." The feeding of the staff and of numerous guests is not a small undertaking at the Gospel Recordings, In- corporated. Last year the food bill alone amounted to $250 a month. But the money keeps coming in. Recently half an acre was donated to the mission enterprise, which has its headquarters in Los Angeles. Records are made in a hundred languages- Asiatic, African, European, Latin American Indian, etc. Japanese records are the latest to go to the Far East. The movement is largely a women's enterprise. In June two representatives in- tend to go to Indians and Eskimos in Alaska and Canada to get recordings in that far-away field. A manufacturer supplies phono- graphs for missionaries at $8.00 apiece. These are small handwind phonographs. The box is made of waterproof plywood and weighs about ten pounds. The reason for this method of preaching the 380 THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER 'Gospel is the following: There are 1,500 languages and dialects into which the Bible has not yet been translated, while there are millions who cannot even read the translations that are made. The Gospel record meets this need at many points. It tells how to be saved and how to live a Christian life. It repeats Scripture passages, Bible stories, and hymns. It goes into villages where mission entrance is barred. It can be operated by untrained native Christians, and it thus prepares the way for missionary teaching. It is played over and over and thus sinks in, even into the dullest brain. It can be used where Gospel teaching is forbidden, as in Spain and other countries. It substitutes for the missionary when he is on furlough. Those who scorn to listen to a missionary will listen in on "a box"; Moslems, for example, whose interest is aroused with their curiosity. Already there are fifty thousand of these little mechanical evangelists at work in 101 languages, and over 80 languages are used in transcriptions over the air in Latin America alone.' J. T. M. A Voice Raised Against Superdenominations. - According to Ernest Gordon, in the Sunday School Times (March 20, 1948), Dr. Malcolm K. Burton, pastor of the Second Congregational Church, New London, Conn., has lifted up his voice against the attempt to rush the churches of America into a single organization. He is quoted as saying: "In any highly organized body there is danger of leaders getting beyond the reach of local constituents. The welfare of individuals and smaller groups is overlooked, while brain-trusters dream up their grandiose schemes for the better- ment of mankind. Churches which permit power to fall into the hands of a few men find themselves bedeviled with the evils of bureaucracy. As a country we have witnessed the machinations of boards, bureaus, and departments that want to run our lives for us, plan our betterment programs, and even protect us from our- selves. The organization of one big church would attempt on the religious level what we have already tried in government. The American people do not like the kind of inefficiency and waste which spawns within a powerful and top-heavy bureaucracy. A few years ago Mr. John D. Rockefeller, Jr., indicated his preference for projects of interdenominational scope. Some representatives of the Federal Council, spurred by this pronouncement of an eminent financier, dedicated themselves with great zeal to becoming a matrimonial bureau for the performance of shotgun weddings among our churches (i. e., church unions). They have applied un- relenting pressure to this self-appointed task of liquidating our denominations through organic union. This has compromised the whole purpose of the Federal Council. Meanwhile the Federal Council has become an integral part of the World Council of Churches, which represents the fruit of numerous ecumenical conferences. These have furnished the excuse in this country for demanding immediate church unity. It looks as though we had interlocking directorates between our denomination, the Federal THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER 381 Council, and the World Council of Churches. The unique con- tribution of American churches is their congregational polity. This has been part of the warp and woof of our democratic pattern and perhaps the most creative factor in shaping American life. For us to haul down the flag, and scurry off like whipped dogs at the first shot from their 'ecumenical' guns, is plain treason." This caution is not motivated by any fear of losing that unity in doc- trine and that unanimity of confession which must be regarded as the chief factors when church unions are contemplated, but by secondary considerations. However, also these are of importance, and it certainly is worth while to heed what this very frank and courageous Congregationalist pastor has to say on the point. J.T.M. What of Aid for Displaced Persons? - Everybody knows the misery suffered by millions of displaced persons in Europe, espe- cially in Germany. What has our country done to relieve the distress? The Christian Century of February 18, in a burst of wrath, published figures that are the very opposite of compli- mentary. It says editorially; "The figures for the relocation of Europe's displaced persons during November have just been released by the International Refugee Organization. Of 5,000 D. Po's who emigrated that month Britain opened its doors to 3,538. Canada took in 135. The United States received 10. "Moreover, the British and Canadian programs to secure homes and work for these war victims are expanding. It won't be long before 100,000 will thus have been provided with a new start in life in the two countries. But the Stratton Bill, which would permit 400,000 to come to the United States during a four-year period, languishes in Congress. Hundreds of organizations have endorsed it, including the principal Labor and Veterans bodies. Yet nothing happens to push it to enactment, and political prophets are now saying that nothing will. The United States is full of big talk about what should be done for the D. P.'s, but is doing next to nothing. Only 22,000 immigrants of all kinds have been admitted to this country since the end of the war, although the law provides for 150,000 quota entries a year. The record of Britain, desperately short of housing and grappling with a frighten- ing food problem, should shame every American with decent hu- manitarian instincts. In addition it should convict us of stupidity. For while we are thus delaying action, the D. P.'s with greatest ability and ambition will have gone to the first countries where opportunity beckoned. Our policy so far has been mean, hypo- critical, and dumb." These are hard words. We are sure that the politicians who are responsible for the state of affairs described do not truly represent public opinion in our country. A. On Catholicism in Belgium. - The Protestant Voice of Janu- ary 16 submits interesting information on the status of Roman Catholicism in the little country of Belgium. At Namur resides the Roman Catholic bishop Aloysius Picard, who is the head of 382 THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER Catholic Action in his country and who, after a year's research had been carried on, published the report of the investigators on conditions in his church body in Belgium. He states that the number of Catholics in that country is decreasing in the same pro- portions in which Protestantism is gaining ground. Here are some of the assertions of the report he published. "There can be little doubt that the present form of Catholicism in Belgium has not the same powers of attraction it used to have. The masses do not hesitate which to choose, between the glitter of window dis- plays and the glamor of technicolor films, between the evolutions of the church choir and that of the local soccer team, between the sermon of the priest and the lines of the popular columnist." According to the report the rites of the church have become "dusty and incomprehensible" to the people of today. "Latin is a dead language to more than millions, true religious conviction and sacrifice have become a matter of routine to most Catholic be- lievers." The people that drew up the report are of the opinion that the methods of the clergy will have to be changed completely if Catholicism is to be saved in Belgium. Without such a change fresh conversions "based on true feeling for the faith" will not be possible nor can the present members be retained in the fold. The reporter in the P?·otestant Voice says: "The group proposed complete renovation of the religious press, re-organization of works of charity, and creation of new methods to intensify the message given to the people. The report termed 'clearly insufficient' either a reform of the Church's propaganda methods or of its apostolic work, and said the only way to success lies in 'efficient charity and perfect honesty.' " This report agrees fully with what Dr. F. E. Mayer and the undersigned were told by German prisoners-of-war chaplains con- cerning conditions in France. Some prominent members of the Roman hierarchy have come to the conclusion that if their Church is not to collapse entirely, a real reformation is needed. They see that through the mere performance of ceremonies and the dis- play of pomp and glitter the Church cannot expect to win new members or even hold its own, conditions being what they are today. In certain parts of Germany, too, the younger R. C. priests seem to adopt a more· evangelical course. A. Crime and the Sunday School. - Under this heading, John Edgar Hoover, director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Department of Justice, in the Sunday School Times (Feb. 7, 1948) publishes a stirring article on the gravity of the crime situation in our country and the duty of the Sunday school to do what it can to keep young people from becoming criminals. We can quote here only a small portion of the excellent article. We read: "The rise in crime during 1946 revealed that we are still faced with an abnormally high rate of juvenile misbehavior. Youngsters under 21 years of age were responsible for 51 per cent of the auto thefts, 41 per cent of the burglaries, 28 per cent of the THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER 383 robberies, 27 per cent of the thefts, 26 per cent of the rapes, and 18 per cent of the arsons. More than one-half of all crimes against property during 1946 were committed by persons under 25 years of age." To eliminate crime, Mr. Hoover urges religious training by the home and the Sunday school. He writes: "Criminals are not born. They are the products of neglect, the victims of in- difference, the results of an age which has tossed morality into the junk yard. Moral chaos and crime run hand in hand as they eagerly attempt to destroy peace, order, and happiness. If we are to get down to fundamentals in approaching the problem of crime, it is necessary to begin to build the spiritual structure of the child at the cradle. This responsibility rests initially with the parents. The home must be the first great area of teaching. In the final analysis, the child who fails to learn honesty, discipline, and respect for authority from his parents can quickly become exposed to the virus of crime. Unhappily, there are many homes where parents are untrained in their obligations to their offspring; where unguarded talk is as regular as three meals a day; where disrespect for authority and criticism of officials are common occurrences; where childish independence is encouraged, and refractory con- duct is condoned; where breaches of discipline and antisocial whims are overlooked; where God and religion are considered too old-fashioned in an age dedicated to materialism. The chil- dren of such homes need help, and the Sunday schools can do much and are doing much to bring God and religion into the starved souls of these youngsters. . . . As true Crusaders for Christ, the Sunday school teachers want the nation's children to be honest, truthful, and unselfish. They are convincing youngsters that right habits, attitudes, and appreciations are necessary attributes for decent living. They are in the front ranks of the great living army of Americans who are courageously fighting to free our national scene from dishonesty, selfishness, greed, and moral instability. In recruiting for God, they are building for America. . . . If we are to make progress in the fight against crime, make certain that the children of the nation attend Sunday school. It is difficult to understand why many mothers and fathers refuse to afford to their children the wholesome, healthful, character-building en- vironment of the Sunday school. As a law enforcement officer, I am certain that unless children are given the opportunity of par- ticipating in activities which have God as their fundamental objective, we cannot hope materially to reduce crime in our country." Two thoughts might be added to these observations: (1) that the Sunday school, to be effective, must really teach its children the Word of God, and (2) that the Sunday school, because of its limitations, should be supplemented by the Christian day school. J. T. M. Christian Missions in Japan. - There are two things which are prominently reported in the religious press these days with respect to conditions in the mission field in Japan. In the first 384 THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER place, there seems to be a strong current in favor of Christianity running through all the country. The Watchman-Examiner reports: "Notes of encouragement that would mark this as the psychological time for the conversion of Japan come from every side. Professor Daisetsu Suzuki, of Otani University, Kyoto, is Japan's foremost authority on Zen Buddhism. He wrote in the Nippon Times: 'Before the war Christianity did not apparently make such good progress as its well-wishers might have hoped, but now the prospects are very bright because for many reasons young Japanese are likely to find Christianity very attractive.' Prince Higashi-Kuni was the Premier when Japan surrendered. When he addressed a group of Christian missionaries, he admitted that he was not a Christian, but he was frank to state that only Christianity could save Japan and her people from the consequences of their sins. The first group of missionaries to interview Emperor Hirohito after the war heard him say that his hope was that Chris- tian institutions might now be able to make their full contribution to re-construction and reform among the people of Japan. General Douglas MacArthur knows Japan, and he speaks with knowledge of the conditions, needs, and opportunities when he calls for a thousand missionaries, stating, 'Christianity has an opportunity without counterpart since the birth of Christ.' The United Chris- tian Church of Japan has set out upon an evangelistic campaign with a goal of three million souls in mind. It is reported that Dr. Toyohiko Kagawa is receiving such an overwhelming response that an admission charge of five yen for a series of three meetings has been made and still the halls cannot hold the throngs who come to hear the Gospel of Christ. Some 8,377 persons signed 'decision cards' on the Japanese island of Shikoku, indicating their desire to become Christians. During the past five months, Kagawa has held 203 meetings in 92 cities, attended by 123,354 persons, 34,551 of whom signed 'decision cards.''' What kind of Christianity is taught by the United Christian Church of Japan, we are unable to say. Many of its representa- tives, we have no doubt, preach Christ. Others, we fear, preach Modernism. But if the Japanese people as a whole show a willing- ness to listen to the message of the Gospel, we certainly rejoice. Another matter that is given attention in the papers pertains to the number of Roman Catholic and Protestant missionaries respectively. The figures are 859 Catholics and 270 Protestants. As a correspondent in the Christian Century points out, the formidable character of the Catholic figures is lessened when one considers that in the number are included not only priests, but nuns and lay brothers, and that of the latter many hold places which in the Protestant churches and schools are occupied by Japanese. But it remains true that the Roman Catholic forces far outnumber those of the Protestants. A. The Jews in Palestine. - Recently an article appeared in the Lutheran (in the issue of March 3) which is of special interest THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER 385 because it was written by a person who, as he says, has lived in Palestine for a number of years and who is now preparing for the ministry in the U. L. C. A. His name is Peter Ludwig Berger. He states very definitely that Jews in Palestine by and large must not be considered "a religious but a national community." He insists that it is an error to regard them as forming a denomination. They are rather a nation having its own "language, culturw, and political institutions." This agrees fully with the present writer's own observations made a year ago. The Jews in Palestine have their own language, they have revived the old Hebrew and teach it in the schools precisely as English is taught in the schools of our country. The boys and girls speak and write the Hebrew with an ease that arouses the envy of a person who has laboriously studied the Old Testament in the original and realizes that he has not nearly reached the goal at which he would like to arrive. The Old Testament is studied by these young Jews, but not so much as the source of divine revelation, but rather as an in- teresting textbook of Jewish national history. With respect to cultm'e and political institutions in general the ideals of the modern Palestinian Jew do not differ much from those of the average European or American citizen. In speaking of the work which the Church is to do in Palestine, Mr. Berger very properly insists that the Christian Church must not endeavor to become a political factor or attempt to direct the course of developments in the sphere of the State. When Jews are baptized, they must not be segregated into a Jewish Christian bloc, but must be received into the Christian Church, which is spread over the whole world. Baptism should not mean that a person ceases to be a Jew from the national or political point of view, but merely that he has accepted Jesus as His divine Savior. Mr. Berger holds that in the services which will be conducted for the benefit of the young Jews, Hebrew will have to be used so that the message can be preached effectively. He likewise thinks that mission work among the Jews should be carried on at other places than Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Haifa, the places to which it seems to have been restricted thus far. If the Gospel should make an impression on a larger number of Jews in Palestine and numerous converts to Christianity be won, that country, he believes, might become the steppingstone for effective work among the Mohammedans. A. Anti-Semitism in Russia. - Anti-Semitism in Russia? That seems incredible. We were told that the Russian revolution was engineered by Jews and that people of that race are chiefly responsible for the ideology which is now in the saddle in Moscow. In spite of all this, reports from Russia say that strong anti- Semitic currents are flowing there. An editorial in America (Roman Catholic weekly) says, the date being February 28: "An accumulation of evidence indicates that the lot of Israel is worsening in the land where a quarter of the survivors of that 25 386 THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER persecuted people live. Edward Weintal, diplomatic correspondent of Newsweek, reported in the issue of December 29 that officers of the Soviet-Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee had called on Molo- tov and protested at the unpublicized but nevertheless effective anti-Jewish policy whereby Jews are to be eliminated from the armed services, from positions of influence on the masses, and ftom any activity which would bring them into touch with for- eigners. Drew Middleton, former New York Times Moscow cor- respondent, reports that anti-Semitism is 'met in the streets and is evident in government departments. It flourishes in Moscow, but also in Odessa and Kiev.' Jews are barred from entering the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and military academies, and re- stricted in numbers in medical and law schools. Such a situation stimulates interest in the much-publicized autonomous Jewish Republic of Birobidjan, but an observer from there told C. L. Sulzberger, son of the publisher of the New York Times, that con- ditions are so disillusioning that the secret police prevent the pioneers from departing. "Writing in Commentary for February, Harry Schwartz, some- time 'expert on the Soviet Union for the United States Govern- ment: agrees that there is 'a substantial increase in the volume and virulence of anti-Semitism in the Soviet Union.' Deploring the impossibility of communicating with Soviet Jews, Mr. Schwartz concludes that 'it is hard to regard the problem of the Jew, either as a human being or as a Jew, as solved, in a country where stringent cultural uniformity and an all-pervasive dicta- torial regime leave him free to be neither.''' - St. Paul's words come to mind: "Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap." At the same time, considering that there are several millions of Jews in Russia, most of whom have exerted no influence what- ever on political developments, one bemoans the fate of these distressed people. A. American Preaching. - In Great Britain a monthly magazine is published which has the title Theology. Its editor, Dr. Alec Vidler, recently was over here in our country for a visit and at- tended the services in a number of American churches. Some of his remarks are worth quoting. He says, for instance: "While Americans go to church much more than the people of Britain, what shocks me most is the character of the preaching that seems to prevail in your churches." He is not the only observer who has noticed that on the whole our American public is more faithful in attending divine services than the people of Europe. Visitors from abroad are amazed to see the streams of people Sunday mornings on their way to church. In many sections of Europe, churchgoing is confined chiefly to the aged and the children. It is an indication that in the hearts of people there has taken place a deep alienation from God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who speaks to us in His holy Word. But while Dr. Vidler can speak words of commendation for Americans when he thinks of THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER 387 church attendance, he is not pleased with the preaching that he has heard. Here are his strictures: "So far as I can ascertain, the paradigm of American preaching is: 'Let me suggest that you try to be good.' Moralist homilies are still the order of the day." We assume that Dr. Vidler visited the churches of the leading men in the Federal Council of Churches in the East and his report is based on what he heard there. He is grieved that there is not more expository preaching and that the messages miss the mark. He says: "Who preaches sermons that are genuine expositions of the text and sense of Scripture, bringing to bear the great Biblical themes of God's judgment and mercy upon men who are dead in their complacency, self-confidence, or pride? Your preachers are still advocating justification by good works of one kind or another; they are not proclaiming the Gospel of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ." That is a terrible double indictment. Texts are not expounded, and the Gospel of salvation by faith in Jesus Christ is not proclaimed. We are sure that Dr. Vidler does not have in mind Lutheran preachers, but on account of the latitudi- narianism of our age one or the other of us may begin to lean to that type of pulpit work which Dr. Vidler describes. Constant vigilance is required. Concerning the preaching of the Law which he heard, the British critic says that he is not much impressed. "You are still preaching the Law, and a pretty easy-going or romantic law at that." In other words, the bullets that are shot would hardly hurt anybody. When he compares the message heard in Great Britain with those that he listened to here, he says: "While our churches are metaphorically if not literally falling into ruin, the disturbing and restoring presence of a living God is becoming an experienced reality amid the ruins. In the U. S. A., it seems to me, the cushion of religious efficiency and prosperity is still doing its comfortable, but fatal work." His words are not quite clear. The British churches are metaphorically falling into ruin, he says. He may be alluding to the fact that churches in Great Britain are very poorly attended and that, for instance, the services of the High Church party, in spite of all their pomp and ceremony, are "performed" in empty church buildings. When he speaks of "the disturbing and restoring presence of the living God," which "is becoming an experienced reality amid the ruins," he must have in mind the few that show deep spiritual interest. But what he says of the "cushion of religious efficiency and pros- perity" is a note of warning which we had better heed. The danger is always present that we confuse a smoothly working machinery with a spiritually alive church body. A. Religious Gallup Poll (RNS). - Results of an ll-nation Gallup Poll indicate that the highest proportion of people who believe in God reside in the United States, Canada, Brazil, and Australia. The poll shows that Brazil has the highest proportion of those 388 THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER believing in God with 96%, Australia and Canada each have 95%, while the United States has 94%. More than 9 out of 10 Americans profess a belief in God, but only 2 out of 3 Frenchmen believe in a deity. France with 66% showed the lowest proportion of people believing in God. The United States ranked 5th in the proportion of persons who expressed a belief in life after death with 60%. In first place were Canada and Brazil with 78%. Norway and Finland ranked next with 71% and 69%, respectively. Four principal replies were received to the question, How do you imagine life after death to be? These replies were: 1. Complete happiness, joy, peace, quiet; 2. reward for virtue, punishment for sin; heaven or hell; 3. dreamlike, disembodied, inanimate, spiritual; and, 4. as described in the Bible. The poll also indicated that faith in God varies by age. In the United States, the poll showed more older people believe in God than younger ones. Also, faith in God diminishes as people get away from nature and the outdoors. The poll covered the United States, Canada, Brazil, Australia, Great Britain, Norway, Finland, Holland, Sweden, Denmark, and France. Churches in A-Bomb Districts (RNS). - Church organizations were given permission by the Atomic Energy Commission in Washington, D. C., to use government-owned land at the principal atomic installations on which to construct churches and schools. The Commission said this policy was in accord with its wish to encourage the development of facilities properly a part of com- munity life. The desires of local residents for church or church school facilities and the designation of available land for building sites will be determined locally by the managers of the Oak Ridge, Tenn., the Hanford, Wash., and the Los Alamos, N. Mex., opera- tions. Managers will adhere to the following policy: 1. That all denominations be afforded equal privileges in respect to the con- struction of churches and schools; 2. that the government assumes no financial obligation, either for construction of the churches or schools or their operation, maintenance, or repair; 3. that arrange- ments be made on such conditions as to justify the building invest- ment by the church groups. The Cause of Religion in France (RNS). - A map of France showing areas in which Protestants and Roman Catholics have kept their faith and those in which religious indifference prevails has been prepared by a group of clergymen headed by Father Fernand Boulard, general chaplain to the Catholic Action Youth Movement. The map is intended to assist missionaries in planning campaigns to bring about a revival of religious practice, especially in districts which have been affected by anti-clerical tendencies since the revolution of 1789 or where socialism or communism have weaned many persons from their faith. Based on questionnaires sent to all parts of the country, the map shows four categories, as follows: 1. Catholic parishes where over 45% of adults make their Easter Duty and go regularly to church; 2. Parishes with a Chris- tian tradition, but which are now indifferent to religion, although THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER 389 still having a sizable minority of practicing Christians; 3. Mission areas, where a great number of parishes have less than 2% of children baptized or receiving religious instruction. In these areas, the total percentage of Christians may be more than 20% at present, but as the children are being neglected, the number, it is feared, will decrease considerably within a generation; 4. Protestant parishes where there are at least 500 practicing Protestants. Main areas where indifference exists are Paris, Bordeaux, and Marseille, while all the larger urban centers are surrounded by areas of in- difference. Alsace remains strongly Christian, as does the greater part of Brittany, the Basque country, Provence, and Auvergne. The influence of the capital spreads for a radius of more than 200 miles, although certain centers, such as Chartres, Lisieux, and Bourges, have a strong Catholic tradition and can themselves be counted as Christian parishes. The largest area where mission work is immediately essential in order to prevent them from be- coming areas of indifference are around Sens and Guret. Prot- estantism is shown to be strongest in Alsace, in the Cevennes near Valence, Nimes, Montpelier, and Castres, and around La Rochelle. Dr. Glueck on Palestinian Archaeology (RNS). - Despite archaeological work of the past, the ancient soil of Palestine hardly has been scratched, Hebrew Union College president, Nelson Glueck, declared in a radio address in Cincinnati. Former director of the American School for Oriental Research, Dr. Glueck said there was an infinite amount of new archaeological work to be done - thousands of sites in Palestine and Transjordan worthy of excavation, but hardly more than a baker's dozen had been completely or partly excavated. Dr. Glueck discovered and mapped more than one thousand ancient sites in Transjordan and the Jordan Valley, but has excavated only two of them. Each time he found such a wealth of new materials that it became necessary to undertake many more excavations to help solve the problems which those two answered in part and the new problems they posed. Rise and fall of civilizations in the Jordan Valley, as in all ancient Palestine, "must be attributed not to climatic changes but to political catastrophes caused by human weakness or passion for wars." It is amazing, according to Dr. Glueck, how much of the Bible story is verified by finds made in archaeological exploration or excavation. "The Bible, to be sure, requires no 'proof' for its validity, because it is primarily concerned with theology and secondarily with history, but archaeological finds con- tinue to substantiate the details and the general background of the Biblical accounts." A Woman Elder (RNS). - Miss Elizabeth M'Clune, a member of the historic Castlereagh Presbyterian Church, has the distinction of being the only woman elder in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. She has served the congregation in various departments, including the Sunday School, for over thirty years, and in recog- nition of this activity has been admitted to the Kirk Session. Other 390 THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER congregations in Belfast, Ireland, have not looked with favor on the admission of women to the eldership, but with Miss M'Clune as pioneer their attitude may change. The Presbyterian Church in Ireland is also rigorously opposed to women ministers, as com- pared with the Presbyterian communion in Scotland and England, where these are by no means rare. It is thought that the step taken by the Castlereagh church in opening the Session to women might also have far-reaching effects on the church's policy in other directions, including the ministry. Southern Presbyterians and the Federal Council (RNS).- With the unanimous vote of Mobile Presbytery, a majority of eighty-seven presbyteries of the Presbyterian Church of the U. S. (Southern) have declared themselves in favor of remaining in the Federal Council of Churches. Hard on the heels of Mobile's 20 to 0 vote came that of Southwest Georgia Presbytery, approv- ing 21 to 3, and Wilmington, N. C., with a favorable 33 to 11 vote. The vote now stands 51 for the Federal Council, 16 opposed, and 1 tied. The issue of Federal Council affiliation, which has been one of perennial debate in the Southern Church, was submitted to the presbyteries by the last General Assembly at the instiga- tion of Council opponents. Action by the presbyteries is not decisive, since such relations are determined by the General As- sembly, but the overwhelming decision of the presbyteries is ex- pected to be influential. Japanese Textbooks (RNS). - Several Christian educators have been named to a special committee appointed in Tokyo by the Religious Cultural Association to prepare textbooks for Jap- anese high schools. The books will be submitted to the Ministry of Education, which has announced that present schooltexts will be replaced by new books, beginning April, 1949. Head of the com- mittee is Shigenao Knoshi, former president of the Kyoto Imperial University. Christian members include the head of the religious education department of the Church of Christ in Japan; the gen- eral secretary of the National Christian Association, and a pro- fessor of St. Paul's University. The Rev. Darley Downs, Congre- gational missionary, has been asked to serve as general adviser to assist in contacts with occupation authorities, and as special consultant on English texts. News Respecting Amsterdam (RNS).-Selection of 137 rep- resentatives by 20 American Protestant denominations to the first Assembly of the World Council of Churches to be held in Amster- dam, Holland, August 22 to September 5, was announced in New York by Dr. Henry Smith Leiper, associate general secretary of the Council. John Foster Dulles, former U. S. delegate to the United Na- tions, will serve as consultant to the Assembly. Included among the delegates and alternates who will represent 23 million American Protestants are: Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr of THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER 391 Union Theological Seminary, Bishop G. Bromley Oxnam of the Methodist Church, Walter H. Judd, congressman from Minnesota, Dr. John R. Mott, a Nobel peace prize winner and a president of the Provisional Committee for the World Council of Churches, and Charles P. Taft, president of the Federal Council of Churches. Lauding the inclusion of 36 laymen among the 137 representa- tives, Dr. Leiper declared: "It is apparent that Protestant denominations here made their selection in order to insure an adequate representation of church laity at the Amsterdam meeting." American churches which have already appointed delegates to the Amsterdam Assembly are: The Methodist Church, the Northern Baptist Convention (USA), the Congregational Christian Churches, the Disciples of Christ, the Protestant Episcopal Church, the United Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church in the U. S. A., Seventh Day Baptist Churches, Church of the Brethren, Evangelical United Brethren Church. Also, Evangelical and Reformed Church, General Conference of . Friends (Quaker), Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (Quaker), American Lutheran Church, Evangelical Lutheran Augustana Synod, African Methodist Episcopal Church, Moravian Church (Northern Province), United Presbyterian Church, Reformed Church in America, and the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church. Total American participation will include 200 representatives from 25 denominations. Representatives will be made up of 75 delegates, 75 alternates, 25 consultants and staff, and 25 ac- credited visitors. Brief Items from Religious News Service. - Clergymen in Mexico can hold real estate as private individuals, and such hold- ings are not to be considered the property of their church, accord- ing to a ruling by the Mexican supreme court. Under Mexican law, all church possessions are regarded as owned by the state. The court ruling followed another recent decision in which private schools operated by sponsors "with religious affiliation" were de- clared as not being national property so long as they are used for educational purposes only. Recent religious disturbances in Sonnino, a small town outside Rome, during which one youth was killed and several persons arrested, have led to demands for relaxation of police restrictions against the holding of meetings by members of the Italian Pente- costal sect. The disturbances took place when Catholic parish.;. ioners allegedly sought to prevent a sect clergyman from address- ing a meeting. The demands were made by a representative of the Federal Council of Italian Evangelical Churches, who investi.;. gated the incident and charged it was inspired by efforts "to ex- terminate the Pentecostals as heretics." Vice Premier Pacciardi has been asked to do his utmost to bring about the abrogation of the Fascist law of 1935 prohibiting Pentecostal meetings. 392 THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER 300 delegates attended a 5-day meeting of the East China Conference of the Methodist Church in Soochow to commemorate the beginning of Methodist missionary work in China 100 years ago. They represented a total of 12,000 Methodists belonging to the conference. Plans for a United Lutheran Church of India have been ap- proved by the Federation of Lutheran Churches of India, accord- ing to information received in New York. Decision was taken at the federation's 2-day triennial conference held at Ranchi, India. Leaders at the conference stressed the need for a closer relation- ship between the various Lutheran groups, especially since the l'ecent merger of three large Protestant churches into the United Church of South India. An extensive sampling recently showed that church-related colleges had a larger percentage of enrollment increases in the present academic year than the state schools. The executive sec- retary of the Association of American Colleges Commission on Christian Higher Education, Gould Wickey, said another in- teresting trend was the number of Roman Catholic students en- rolled in Protestant colleges. He said that one group of fourteen colleges in 1937 had a Catholic enrollment of 254, or 5.4%, while in 1947 the Catholic enrollment was 995, or 9.2%, and that most church-related colleges have a larger distribution of students from other denominations than five years ago. Plans to strengthen Europe's theological faculties were pro- posed in Geneva at a conference sponsored by the Reconstruction Department of the W orId Council of Churches and attended by theologians from fifteen nations. The delegates, representing Prot- estant, Orthodox, and Old Catholic churches, urged the continued exchange of students and teachers between nations "to the mutual benefit of all concerned." The possibility of forming a central library under the guidance of the World Council was also explored. All Roman Catholic students attending Baldwin-Wallace Col- lege have been advised by a priest to withdraw from that Meth- odist institution if they wish to conform with the doctrines of their faith. Thus far 27 of the schoo1's 163 enrolled Catholics have withdrawn, while others are expected to leave momentarily. Father Joseph T. Moriarity, professor of religion at St. John's Col- lege and Cleveland diocesan director of the Confraternity of Chris- tian Doctrine, cautioned the Catholic students at a mass meeting in Berea, Ohio, that it was "impossible" for them to pursue a com- pulsory religion course and religious chapel programs at the Meth- odist school. Dr. J. Roswell Flower, general secretary and treasurer of the Assemblies of God, said that erection of a $1,000,000 printing plant for the· Gospel Publishing House in Springfield, Missouri, would get under way this spring. THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER 393 American Military Government Headquarters announced in Frankfurt, Germany, that permission has been granted for re- locating the Evangelical Lutheran Free Church Seminary at Frankfurl-Oberursel in the American Zone. Formerly it was situ- ated at Gross-Oesingen. Sandy Clippings is the name of the first Chipewyan Indian to become a minister of the Church of England in Canada. He was ordained by Bishop Lofthouse of the Keewatin diocese in the little church at Duck Lake, Hudson Bay Region, where Sandy and his Indian congregation erected the building. The Romanian Baptist Theological Seminary in Bucharest, which opened November 15 after having been closed for six years, has been compelled to limit the number of students because of the food shortage. Seventy students, all men, have been accepted and are attending classes regularly. A score of others are on the waiting list and will be received later if space and food can be obtained. Stronger ties between Waldensians in Uruguay and Argentina and those in Italy were advocated by Pastor Alberto Ricca of Bobbio Pellice upon his return to Rome from a tour of South America. There are 12,000 Waldensians in Uruguay and 3,000 in Argentina. Waldensians first started spreading to South America about 1858, when a small group of families traveled to Uruguay, where they founded a community known as "Colonia Waldense." Scarcely a single major denomination can today be called non- liturgical, according to Dr. Roger Hazelton, professor of philosophy and Christian ethics at Andover-Newton Theological School in Boston. He said the "trend toward more formal worship of greater historic content has touched them all." Completion of the first feature-length movie ever produced jointly by major Protestant denominations in this country was announced in New York by the Protestant Film Commission. The picture is entitled "Beyond Our Own." First in the series of seven films planned by the Commission, it is a drama portraying the need of casual churchgoers for greater participation through the church in community undertakings. It is keyed to the 1947-48 emphasis on "world evangelism" by Protestant churches. Dr. Elmer G. Homrighausen, chairman of the department of evangelism of the Federal Council of Churches and professor of Christian education at Princeton Theological Seminary, left for Geneva on February 11 to begin work on the formation of a per- manent department of evangelism for the World Council of Churches. His assignment involves traveling through many countries to promote spiritual reconstruction, revival of morale in the churches and among the people, and stimulation of interest in the ministry and the Church's work. 394 THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER The United Church of Canada has seventeen women on its list of ordained ministers - which makes it unique among the large Protestant bodies of the Dominion. In 1932 the United Church admitted women to be elders, and since then they have been eligible to sit in the higher courts of the Church. During 1936 the first woman minister, the Rev. Lydia Gruchy, was ordained. The Berkshire and Columbia Missionary Society, first organiza- tion of its kind to send emissaries into the wilds of upstate New York prior to 1800, is to be liquidated after 149 years of service. The Society has voted to turn over its endowment of approximately $6,000 to a joint committee of the North and South Berkshire Congregational Conference. There are 180,637 students currently enrolled in 73 Roman Catholic colleges and universities in the United States - a gain of 16.86 per cent over last year. The largest Catholic institutions at the present time, America, the national Catholic weekly, said, are De Paul University, Chicago, with 11,512 students; St. Louis University, with 10,579; and Fordham, in New York, with 9,346. Of the total of 180,637 students 97,032 are veterans of World War II. Laymen from eleven European countries, Indonesia, and Madagascar, assembled at the Ecumenical Institute in Geneva, sponsored by the World Council of Churches, for a six-week study course on evangelism, under the leadership of Dr. Hendrick Kraemer, the general director of the Institute. In his opening address Dr. Kraemer said the aim of the Institute is to seek a deeper understanding of the Gospel and the right answer to the question: "What is the role of Christians and of the Church in the world today?" Future activities at the Institute will include a conference of men and women in industry; the second con- ference of political leaders on "Christianity and National and International Problems"; a conference of teachers in training and secondary schools, and a conference for Christian youth leaders. Instruction in the Bible now is offered as an elective course in 229 public schools in North Carolina, located in 51 of the State's 100 counties. The classes have a total enrollment of 37,518 pupils, of Which 31,984 are in the elementary grades and 5,534 are in high school. The report of the North Carolina Council of Churches states that in schools where Bible is offered 98.5% of the elementary pupils take it, but only 17% of the students take the instruction in high schools. Bishop Arne Fjellbu of Trondhjem, Norway, was honored at a reception given in New York by the American committee for the World Council of Churches. In an address at the reception, attended by leading Protestant and Orthodox clergymen, the Iowa-born bishop said that despite the socialist government of the Norwegian Labor Party, "Christian education has not been im- peded and Norway remains an essentially Christian nation." THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER 395 The tithing campaign of Southern Baptists has brought about such a flow of money to Missouri Baptist Headquarters in Kansas City that the bookkeepers are unable to keep up to date. The following notice was printed in Word and Way, state denomina- tional paper: "To Church Treasurers, Pastors, Finance Commit- tees: Members of the bookkeeping staff in Kansas City at Head- quarters request your patience in our acknowledging your con- tributions and mailing receipts. As a result of the three months' Tithing Campaign, money received here has exceeded all past records. Last Saturday's deposit of more than $18,000 was an all-time record. That for the preceding day was almost as high. Every effort is being made to send all receipts as soon as humanly possible." Initiation of a referendum measure "prohibiting teachers in public schools from wearing any garb denoting religious order or denomination," was determined upon in a meeting at Fargo of the North Dakota "committee on separation of state and church." The meeting, held in First Presbyterian Church, was attended by 27 persons, nearly all of them Protestant clergymen. Laid before the committee was a statement from the North Dakota department of public instruction, disclosing that in the school year ending last July 1, seventy-four nuns of the Roman Catholic faith taught in various North Dakota schools. Of these, 30 were in Stark County, 13 in Emmons, 7 each in Pierce and Cavalier, 4 each in McHenry and Walsh, 2 each in Grant, Morton, Ward, and Richland, and 1 in Dunn. American Protestantism, seeking to clarify its own genius, in the next several months will launch an extensive survey to determine what shall be its total strategy in organized religion. Plans for the study were announced in Cincinnati by the National Protestant Council on Higher Education. In selecting a com- mission to make the study, the Council will seek the co-operation of the Federal Council of Churches and the International Council of Religious Education. The survey will cover problems and tasks of Protestantism, higher education and church leadership, theo- logical seminary life and teaching, the ministry, and leadership for religious education. During 1947 Methodists of the United States gave a total of $164,138,457 for all church causes. Of this amount, $31,076,049 was given for W orId Service missionary and educational work and other benevolences. The Woman's Society of Christian Serv- ice, which has a national membership of 1,508,924, contributed $14,793,689 for local church work and missionary projects. A request that legislation be enacted to provide for a full-time corps of chaplains to serve state penal and correctional institutions has been filed with the Wisconsin legislative council by the Lu- theran Charities Council of Wisconsin. 396 THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER For the first time in centuries, Protestant and Roman Catholic churches in Prague agreed to hold a joint gathering. It took place on Candlemas Day, February 2, and featured addresses calling for the establishment of lasting world peace. The Most Rev. Joseph Beran, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Prague, as well as representatives of the Slovakian-Lutheran and Czech Evangelical churches were among the featured speakers. No further evacuations of Lutheran missionaries and their families are planned at present from Laohokow, communist- threatened city 200 miles northwest of Hankow. Evacuations were suspended after two groups of Norwegian and United States mis- sionaries had been transported by air to Hankow. 15 Lutheran missionaries still remain in Laohokow, of whom 13 are Norwegian nationals. The others are the Rev. Palmer Anderson, a Canadian, and the Rev. Luthard Eid of the United Lutherari Church, of Minneapolis. At least 100 other Protestant missionaries are said to have streamed into Laohokow from outlying districts. The Laohokow evacuations began after three missionaries were mur- dered by "bandits" in Siagyang, 40 miles southwest of the city. Those slain were Evangelical 'Covenant workers: Miss Martha J. Anderson of Minneapolis; Miss Esther V. Nordlung of Chicago; and Dr. Alexis Berg, a Finn. Funeral services for the three were held in Hankow. Two other missionaries have been killed re- cently, one being Miss E. E. Linen of Stockholm, Sweden, who was slain by bandits or communists at Juicheng, in Shanai province. The identity of the other missionary, who was fatally injured by the accidental explosion of a hand grenade, has not yet been established. A. W. C. G.