ยท Q!nurnr~itt m~tnln!liral .nut~ly Continuing LEHRE UNO WEHRE MAGAZIN FUER Ev.-LuTH. HOMILETIK THEOLOGICAL QUARTERLY-THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY Vol. XX February, 1949 No.2 CONTENTS Page Essays on Sermonizing. John H. C. Fritz .. '' ... '' ' ... 81 Sermon Study on .Is. 50:4-10. Theo. Lae tsch 100 A Series of Sermon Studies fol' the New Chureh Year 109 Miscellanea Theological Observer Book Review __ __ . .,' __ , Ein Prediger muss nicht allein wei- den, also class er die Schafe unter- weise, wle sie rechte Chri'sten sollen sein, sondern auch daneben den Woel- fen wehren, dass sie die Schafe nicht angreifen und mit faIscher Lehre ver- fuehren und Irrtum einfuehren. Luther .. 119 142 153 Es ist kein Ding, das die Leute mehr bel der Kirche behaelt denn die gute Predlgt. - Apologie, Art. 24 If the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? -1 Cor. 14:8 Published by The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod CONCORDIA PUBLISHING HOUSE, St. Louis 18, Mo. PRlN'lD IN C'. 3. A. Theological Observer The American Lutheran Conference Discussion of Lutheran Unity. - On account of the importance of the subject we reprint an editorial of the Lutheran Companion of Dec. 1, which had the caption "Conference in Definite Lutheran Unity Move." Another decided impetus has been given to the movement for Lutheran unity. It comes this time from the American Lutheran Conference, which met in biennial convention in Faith Lutheran Church, Detroit, Mich., November 10-12. The Conference did not stop with giving mere formal endorsement to the ideal of Lu- theran unity, but offered a definite pattern by which it might be achieved. By unanimous vote, it committed itself to the follow- ing program: 1. It pledged its whole-hearted co-operation in the expanding activities of the National Lutheran Council and expressed the hope that all Lutheran bodies will find it possible to participate in the Council's program. 2. It asked the constituent bodies of the American Lutheran Conference to petition the National Lutheran Council to call an All-Lutheran Free Conference, with "a view to the permanent organization of such a Conference." 3. It looked "with favor" upon the steps toward organizational union now being considered by several bodies within the American Lutheran Conference and National Lutheran Council, and re- joiced "in the hope that each such step will lead toward the ulti- mate goal of complete Lutheran unity." 4. It called for a program of education throughout the con- gregations of the Conference in order to lead the rank and file of its membership "to a deeper and more informed consciousness of unity" and for "the further promotion of that unity at the congregational level." The American Lutheran Conference, it might be explained to readers who find the Lutheran organizational set-up in this coun- try more or less of a cross-word puzzle, is a rather compact federation embracing approximately one-third of the Lutherans of America. It was organized in 1930 and numbers five constituent bodies in its membership, namely, the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the American Lutheran Church, the Augustana Lutheran Church, the United Evangelical Lutheran Church, and the Lu- theran Free Church. While in the process of explaining, we might also add that these same five bodies are co-operating with the United Lutheran Church in America, the Suomi Synod and the Danish Evangelical Lutheran Church in the National Lutheran Council, which is a functional agency embracing two-thirds of the Lutherans of this land. The other third of America's Lutherans are included in the Synodical Conference, which is made up prin- cipally of the Missouri Synod and Wisconsin Synod. [142] THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER 143 It was evident from the very first day, when the Preliminary Committee of the American Lutheran Conference met at Detroit on November 9, that the urge for closer relations among the Lu- therans of this land had reached the proportions of a loud and insistent cry. Not least vocal was the voice of the laity, among whom a spirit of growing impatience over continued delay is being manifested. The report of the Commission on Lutheran Church Unity, if it accomplished nothing else, at least focused the thinking of the con- vention on the overpowering sense of urgency which is being felt in all Lutheran circles. It called attention to the remarkable fact that all of the constituent bodies of the Conference with the ex- ception of one had gone on record at their respective conven- tions this year in favor of considering some form of organic union. It also reviewed the far-reaching decisions in favor of Lutheran union made by the biennial convention of the United Lutheran Church in America. It suggested the thought that the very spon- taneity with which the movement for unity had sprung up in various groups might be regarded as a divine signal that one of "God's Moments" had arrived. Here is a summary of the offi- cial actions of various bodies, as enumerated in the report: The Augustana Lutheran Church had expressed willingness to participate in a merger of all groups of the National Lutheran Council, with a federation as an intermediate step, if necessary. The United Evangelical Lutheran Church had announced itself in favor of a merger of the American Lutheran Conference bodies as the first step toward union of all Lutheran groups. The Evangelical Lutheran Church had appointed a union com- mittee with authority "to institute negotiations with the United Evangelical Lutheran Church and with such other constituent bodies of the American Lutheran Conference as may officially ex- press desire for such approach" toward closer union. The American Lutheran Church had instructed its Committee on Fellowship and its Executive Committee to "explore the pos- sibilities of merger with interested bodies within the American Lutheran Conference," to "receive and consider" resolutions ema- nating from the United Lutheran Church in America, and "to dis- cuss with any and all Lutheran church bodies possible approaches and methods to attain fuller unity and closer affiliation." Its Fel- lowship Committee had also been instructed to negotiate with a similar committee of the Missouri Synod "toward the establish- ment of pulpit and altar fellowship or of fellowship commensurate with the existing degree of unity." The United Lutheran Church in America, which is not a member of the American Lutheran Conference, had expressed its willingness to consider organic union with all or any of the par- ticipating bodies of the National Lutheran Council, and it in- structed its Special Commission on Relation to American Lutheran Church Bodies to meet with similar commissions of Churches par- ticipating in the National Lutheran Council "to confer upon and 144 THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER negotiate organic union or steps leading thereto." It also author- ized its Commission to participate in drafting a constitution and in devising the organizational procedure that may seem necessary to effect such union. It was not difficult to sense the temper of the convention. The demand for some form of action was too strong to be denied. While it was thankfully recognized that a real inner, spiritual unity already exists among the Lutherans of America, perhaps to a larger extent than appears in many other communions, the scandal of organizational disunity is becoming increasingly intolerable and offensive to a large part of the Lutheran constituency, and this feeling gave expression to itself in many ways in Detroit. For one thing, the generous gesture from the United Lutheran Church in America, which practically offered to scrap its organiza- tion and formulate a new constitution in order to promote the cause of Lutheran unity, was not lost on the American Lutheran Conference. It was felt that the Conference, on its part, must meet the issue honestly and convincingly. It was only on the question of the best manner of approach to the problem of Lutheran unity that there was any real division of opinion. The decision to ask the National Lutheran Council to call an All-Lutheran Free Conference with a view to the per- manent organization of such a Conference seemed to offer the most logical solution. In the first place, this approach envisions participation of all Lutheran groups, rather than restricting mem- bership to the National Lutheran Council bodies. In the second place, the Detroit plan does not attempt to suggest the final form which such a permanent All-Lutheran Conference should take, but leaves the determination of this question to the proposed Free Conference. At Detroit the feeling was expressed by many that it should assume the nature of a federation, and as such it would become the American counterpart of the Lutheran World Federa- tion. More optimistic delegates hoped that it might become an organization having some of the characteristics of an organic union. Still others were confident that a federation would lead soon to organic union. The federation approach to Lutheran unity was first proposed by a group of Lutheran editors at a meeting of the National Lu- theran Council in 1942. The idea took fire at the time, and the National Lutheran Council commissioners appointed a special com- mittee to study the proposal. Nothing came of the move, however, except that the National Lutheran Council, in adopting a new constitution, made provision for the sponsoring of free conferences of Lutherans. On Sept. 23, this year, the Lutheran editors, at their annual meeting, reaffirmed their stand in favor of the organiza- tion of an All-Lutheran Federation and expressed the conviction that "it is part of the inescapable stewardship of the whole Lu- theran Church in America to face this problem of Lutheran unity without delay and without excuse." Will the Detroit plan be the answer to the hope and prayers THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER 145 of millions of Lutherans? The events of the next few months may tell the story. So far the editorial of the Lutheran Companion. Everybody will gladly admit that it contains a great deal of information and that it is written in a spirit of deep yearning for Lutheran union. Let the editorial be studied - that is our plea. The Missouri Synod, which our journal represents, is not opposed to union, but it desires that union should rest on real doctrinal unity. It wishes to advance all efforts that will lead to a God-pleasing union. At the same time we should be careful not to deceive ourselves by visions of what outward union would signify. Not that Lutherans here in this country represent a great organization is the most im- portant thing, but that in the various congregations the means of grace, the Gospel and the Sacraments, are faithfully used. The Kingdom of God does not come with observation; it comes in the still, small voice in which our divine Savior bestows His Holy Spirit. A. Search the Scriptures. - This is the title of a fine series of "Bible Class Outlines on Great Doctrines," presented by Rev. C. C. Stephan, University Lutheran Church, Bloomington, Ind., pre- dominantly for the use of student pastors in their indoctrination of university and college students. The outlines cover the whole range of doctrinal theology, are doctrinally sound, thorough, com- prehensive, lucid, and are so arranged that all answers must be supplied from the Bible. We recommend these outlines to pastors who seek new material for the instruction of adults for membership in the Church. In the November Bulletin of the Student Service Commission the executive secretary, Rev. R. W. Hahn, again re- ports a number of converts gained through our student pastors, and he adds this significant and true remark: "Give Christianity a chance. Let the Word of God speak along with sociology, psychology, and all the other 'ologies.' It is the people who listen to 'ologies,' but stop their ears when God speaks who lose their faith." J. T. M. The Liberty of a Christian Man. - In America (Nov. 13, 1948) appeared a review of The Failure of Individualism, by R. S. Devane, S. J. (Browne and Nolan, 342 p. 181). The review is far too long to be quoted here in full, but a part of it may interest our readers because it contains a striking, though not new, Roman Catholic criticism of Luther's The Liberty of a Christian Man. We read: "If we are, indeed, living through the dissolution of the modern age - if, that is to say, the world which began with hope and high spirits at the Renaissance and Reformation is dying and in process of being replaced - no task can be so important as to examine the path we have followed and ascertain at what point we went astray. Until this has been done, we cannot chart an intelligent course for the future, or direct the revolutionary ener- gies of our day into safe and constructive channels. Until we know what it was that turned the nineteenth-century dream of 10 146 THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER unlimited progress into the bloody nightmare of the twentieth, we can only drift blindly to a tide that seems to be carrying us not toward the blissful world of Roosevelt's Four Freedoms, but to- ward annihilation. For the first time in history, the human race is in a position to commit global suicide. It is the thesis of this book, which the author rightly calls a 'documented essay,' that modern society is dying because some four centuries ago the virus of individualism was injected into its bloodstream, and the only antidote that could have saved it was scorned and rejected. The poison was contained in Luther's famous tract, 'The Liberty of a Christian Man,' and the antidote was the old religion of the West with its unshakable center at Rome. From Luther's concept of freedom, Father Devane argues, there proceeded that spirit of anarchic individualism which dissolved not merely the unity of the Church, but ultimately the bonds by which economic and political society are held together. If Locke, Rousseau, and Adam Smith are the fathers of that liberalistic, capitalistic democracy which everywhere in Europe today is dead beyond resuscitation, then the grandfather is the maladjusted monk who rent in twain the seamless garment of the Mystical Christ." This criticism is, of course, egregiously false and unfair, so that it hardly merits a reply; but since papistic writers continue to lay the blame for the world's many economic, social, and political troubles on Lu- ther's Church Reformation, we must continue to point out Rome's lying fables whenever we meet with them. Luther's Reformation had nothing to do with Locke, Rousseau, and Adam Smith, who re- jected the precious Gospel which he preached. Again, what Lu- ther declares in his great masterpiece The Liberty of a Christian Man is precisely what St. Paul teaches in nuce in 1 Cor. 7: 21-23. Lastly, Rome has contributed toward the modern moral delin- quency as much as have other enemies who rejected the Gospel, which is the only salvation of a groping, erring, sin-bound world. A careful study of Luther's great writing would do our present generation much good. Fortunately Luther's work is still ap- preciated. As Theology Today (October, 1948) reports in a re- view on "Books of Faith and Power" (by John T. McNeill. 183 pp. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1947. $2.00), it has been published in this collection of outstanding books, and the reviewer, Dr. E. T. Thompson (Union Theological Seminary, Richmond, Va.) says of it: "They [the books of faith and power] include Martin Luther's beautiful little treatise On Christian Liberty, in which he explains that 'the Christian man is a perfectly free lord of all, subject to none,' and yet at the same time he 'is a perfectly dutiful servant of all, subject to alL'" He describes these books of faith and power also as "classics of western religion." Luther's The Liberty of a Christian Man is truly a classic of the Christian religion. J.T.M. Intersynodical Relations and the Doctrine of Inspiration.- It is but natural that these days, after the conventions of various THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER 147 Lutheran church bodies, the question of Lutheran union receives much discussion. An article that has some bearing on this topic appeared in the Lutheran Outlook for December and has the title "Distinctive Characteristics of American Lutheran and Scandi- navian Lutheran Theology." The author is Rev. A. V. Neve, a member of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church (Danish). He tries to write in an objective way, and what he says about the Missouri Synod must make us humbly grateful. We quote: "The Missouri Synod has exerted a greater influence on American Lu- theran theology than any other synod. There is spiritual power in the Missouri Synod. From a small beginning she has grown to be the second largest Lutheran body in America. It is incorrect to say that the only thing she has is cut and dried theology. The life of a church is manifested in its devotional literature. The Missouri Synod has produced a better type of devotional literature than any other Synod in America. Her strength has been her healthy type of spiritual life combined with her zeal for purity of doctrine. In this respect she has been watchman on the walls of Zion. Her zeal for doctrine has had a salutary influence on the other Lutheran bodies in America. In order to understand the Missouri Synod, we must know its founder, Dr. Walther. Walther had a brilliant university career in Germany. But he was swept off his feet by the spirit that prevailed in the universities in Germany, where human reason was enthroned. But human reason could not solve one problem for the brilliant Walther: how to find peace for his awakened soul which was longing for God. In his awakened state of mind Walther came into contact with an extreme emotional type of Christianity. But this type of life did not give his restless soul that rest that he was longing for. This peace he found in his private study of the Word of God and of Luther's writings. Com- ing to America as a younger pastor when extreme revivalism was sweeping the country, Walther took his definite stand for con- servative Lutheranism arrived at through convictions. Walther's type of life is clearly manifested in his book: The Right Distinction Between the Law and the Gospel. Walther remained a sound pietist on a conservative basis. If we evaluate the Missouri Synod correctly, we will find those two elements in that synod today. But I believe it is a just criticism when we say that the Missouri Synod has closed her doors and windows too tight to trends in European theology. She has built her retaining walls too high. All the Lutheran bowes of America are more or less gui:1ty of doing the same. The Augustana Synod has done it less than the others." It is our prayer that the author may be right when he says by implication that the Missouri Synod cultivates piety, and withal has remained conservative. That is the interpretation which we ven- ture to give to his words. Is it true that Missouri and other Lu- theran bodies in America have shut out European theology, and have shut it out to too great a degree? It may be that scholarship 148 THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER has not always been cultivated by us in the measure which was desirable. As far as European theology was concerned, so much of it was shot through with unbelief that a negative attitude seemed to be urgently demanded. In speaking of the things that divide Lutherans, the author points to the doctrine of inspiration. He voices the view that one cannot defend the position which holds the Bible to be absolutely inerrant. His words will have to be quoted so that the reader can correctly judge of his view. "Those that hold the view that every word of the Bible is inspired say that there were no inaccuracies in the original manuscripts. How does anyone dare make such a statement? It is neither intellectual nor moral honesty to build a theory on an unknown quantity. Why not be frank and honest in saying that we do not know if these inaccuracies were in the original manuscripts? Why did God permit Paul's lapse of mem- ory as he confesses in 1 Cor. 1: 14-16? How does anyone dare say that these words of Paul are infallible when Paul says that they are not infallible ? We must distinguish between negative Biblical criticism and textual criticism. A negative Bible critic approaches the Bible with the intention of tearing the Bible to pieces in order to undermine its authority. A textual critic is an honest seeker after truth. He approaches the Bible with an open mind to establish the truth in regard to God's revelation. Let us mention some obvious inaccuracies in the Bible. In Matt. 23: 35 we read, "Zacharias the son of Barachias.' But in 2 Chron. 24: 20 'Zechariah the son of Jehoiada.' In Mark 2:36 we read: 'Abiathar,' but in 1 Sam. 21:16 'Ahimelech.' In Gal. 3:17 Paul writes that the Law was given four hundred thirty years after the covenant of promise was made to Abraham. Four hundred thirty years is the tinie the Israelites sojourned in Egypt. But Jacob was one hun- dred thirty years old when he went to Egypt and Isaac was sixty years old when Jacob was born, which makes six hundred twenty years. In Heb. 9: 3 it is stated that the altar of incense was in the Holy of Holies, but in Ex. 40: 21-29 it is stated that it was placed in the Holy Place. There are inaccuracies in the Bible, and in- accuracies are not truth. Inaccuracies cannot be inspired because they are not the Word of God." What shall we say? The author here has brought together a number of points which are often referred to by critics when they attack the inerrant character of the Holy Scriptures. Our reply will have to be brief. Is it intellectually or morally dis- honest to say that the original manuscripts of the Bible which we no longer possess were without error? It is a position which we take on the basis of the Scriptures themselves. We have not seen the documents, but we know what, for instance, Christ says about them. He always appeals to the written Scripture, saying, "It is written," and that even minor matters were included we see from John 10: 35, where the use of one particular word in the Old Testa- ment is made the basis of discussion. It would be intellectually THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER 149 dishonest if we made a statement about documents that we have not seen and on whose character we do not possess any authorita- tive information. But here that authoritative information is not lacking. The author seems to think that our view of the inerrancy of the Scriptures is based on a posteriori considerations. That is not the case at all; we believe that the Scriptures are without error on account of their own statement about themselves. - It is true that 1 Cor. 1: 14-16 Paul confesses that he is not sure whether he baptized anybody else in Corinth besides the persons whom he has enumerated. This is a good illustration how the Scriptures were written by God's penmen. The Lord watched over these writers, seeing to it that what they wrote was exactly what He wanted them to write. It was His will that the message concern- ing the persons whom Paul baptized in Corinth should reach us precisely in the form in which it lies before us. In Matt. 23: 35 Zacharias is called the son of Barachias, we admit. That is not necessarily a contradiction of 2 Chron. 24: 20, where Zechariah is called "the son of Jehoiada." In the latter passage "son" may well have the meaning of descendant or grandson. With respect to Abiathar and Ahimelech, we know that the latter was the father and the former the son. Jesus says that the story to which He adverts happened in the days of Abiathar, the high priest. Since the latter became the companion of David and played a prominent role, why should it be wrong that our Lord in this case referred to the son instead of to the father? Both ways of dating the event were justified. As to the promise given to Abraham, we may well conceive that what Paul has in mind is the last time that God gave the promise to the patriarchs in Canaan, at the time when Jacob was leaving Canaan with his family, going down to Egypt. It should be noted that in Gal. 3: 17 Abraham is not mentioned, merely the giving of the promise is spoken of. Finally, the altar of incense mentioned in Heb. 9: 3 as being in the Holy of Holies while Ex. 40: 20-29 states that it was in the Holy Place, may well have been considered as belonging to both the Holy of Holies and to the Holy Place, because it stood next to the curtain which divided the two compartments mentioned. When this curtain was drawn aside the impression was created that the altar of incense belonged ~ -:;--; to the Holy of Holies. In general a person will have to say that ' 6?~ {i7"",-,..,..... / if a critic endeavoring to prove that the Bible is inaccurate can in'--- - - its 66 books not find other examples than those just examined, the dear old Scriptures have nothing to fear. A. ~L th Brief Items from Religious N eros Service Lutherans coming to Wisconsin under displaced persons legis- lation will be given homes and jobs through a new Wisconsin Lutheran resettlemen !.&.qgram, according to an announcement by the Lutheran Welfare So~iety of Wisconsin. The state resettle- ment service will ~rk in co: ordination With the National Lutheran 150 THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER Council, New York, which has announced that 10,000 assurances of jobs and housing will be needed for an estimated 35,000 to 40,000 European Lutherans scheduled to reach the United States in the next two years. Thus far, about 500 assurances for 1,500. persons have been processed by the Council. Formation of a special commission to handle international relations was approved in Stockholm by the General Synod of the Swedish State Lutheran Church. Similar to groups organized by Protestant churches in the United States and other countries, the new commission will support the Ecumenical Movement. It will also seek to enlarge contacts and fellowship between the Swedish church and Protestant bodies throughout the world. Luther an missionaries in China who are in areas now occupied or in dan~r of being occupied by communi~t forces defuiitely will e withdrawn. This decision was reached by foreign mission authorities of the Augustana Lutheran Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church, the Lutheran Free Church, and the United Lu- theran Church who met in Minneapolis to determine a course of action. Following reports on conditions in various areas served in China by these church bodies, the foreign mission heads decided that withdrawal was in the best interests of the Lutheran Church in China. There will be few exceptions to this decision. Dr. Theophilus Wurl1l has announced he will officially retire as LiiThdt eran bisIi0I>" ~tyv:~":r!t:~ber?~ in January because of ad- vance age. Gtest~nts at Ho; e) Greater study of personal counseling and of the sociological phase of marriage by the nation's clergy was urged in Cincinnati at the third annual National Conference on the Church and the Home. One of the recommendations suggested that the American Association of Theological Schools include in its pre-theological curriculum a course in marriage and the family, and emphasized that clergymen must become better acquainte"d with the solid results of sociological surveys of family life and marriage problems. Over 100,000 rural parsonages in this country need improve- ment, according to a study by Drew Theological Seminary, Madison, New Jersey. The study, published in Washington, D. C., by the Department of Agriculture as a booklet, was based upon a detailed survey of 100,171 parsonages of 12 denominations in 47 States. One fact brought out in the study is that only about 1/2 of rural pastors have real privacy in their study. Another is that % of the parsonages need repairs, and two out of five need painting. Plans for adding 2,000,000 new members to the Methodist Church in the next four years were made in Buck Hill Falls, Pa., at a meeting of the denomination's Conference secretaries of evan- gelism. The secretaries proposed a threefold program, including THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER 151 visitation, pulpit, and public evangelism. The pulpit evangelism plans call for pastors to receive training in "preaching for a verdict" through evangelistic preaching seminars to be held in every annual Conference. The public evangelism section calls for the use of such media as radio, television, motion pictures, audio-visual aids, literature, and the press under the leadership of Dr. Harry L. Wil- liams, associate secretary. Methodists attending the Jacksonville District Conference in Jacksonville, Florida, were urged to avoid the "easy-money way of life" by shunning raffies, punch boards, bingo games, and gambling on races. The 350 Methodis1 clergymen and lay leaders attending the Conference declared "Christian vocation is too sacred to be jeopardized by an easy-money way of life." C!:otestants ~road) Nearly 66,000 Chinese university students received aid during the past year from the National Student Relief Committee, a project which has been sponsored jointly by the National YMCA and the National YWCA since 1937. Agencies which have contributed funds or supplies to the work include the World Student Service Fund, United Service to China, British United Aid to China, the China Relief Mission with the U. S. State Department, Church World Service, and the Chinese Students' Christian Association of North America. The Soviet occupation authorities in Brandenburg province have ordered the immediate discontinuance of newsprint supplies to two evangelical church publications in the area. The publications are the Potsdamer Kirche and the Berliner Kirche, both of which are printed under Soviet license. The Nativity or other dramatic presentations may not be per- formed in Anglican churches without direct authorization in each case according to a ruling by Dr. Geoffrey Francis Fisher, Arch- bishop of Canterbury, published in the Canterbury diocesan bul- letin. Dr. Fisher added that application for authority to present a play in church should be made before the players are cast or rehearsals begun. Dr. John R. Temple of London, England, general secretary of the British and Foreign Bible Society, died suddenly in Hong Kong, China, on November 29. Roman Catholics Frank J. Lewis, prominent Roman Catholic layman, has given $100,000 to the Catholic Church Extension Society, home missions agency of the American Catholic bishops. Noted for his philan- thropy, Lewis, in the last few years, has given a 17-story office building valued at $700,000 to the Jesuits for use as a downtown campus of Loyola University and $1,000,000 for the same university's 152 THEOLOGICAL OBSERVER Stritch School of Medicine. Some years ago he gave the Chicago archdiocese the Lewis Memorial Hospital for maternal care for low- income families. He also donated the Lewis School of Technology, Lockport, Illinois, to the Catholic Youth Organization. / A new series of advertisements, designed to explain Roman v Catholic teaching to those "who would not voluntarily enter a Cath- olic church to hear it" is scheduled for publication in a number of national magazines beginning in January. The series will be sponsored by the supreme council of the Knights of olumbus with headquarters in New Haven, Connecticut~ each ad, a pamphlet will be offered without charge. Among other things the pamphlet will enable the reader to obtain a free course of Catholic instruction by mail. /~ Roman Catholic dioceses throughout the world have been V ' invited by the Vatican Commission for the celebration of the Holy Year of 1950 to organize collections in their parishes to provide a "powerful" new Vatican Radio installation. Officials of the Com- mission said improved facilities are needed if the Pope is to be able to reach the whole world with the large number of speeches he is expected to make during the Holy Year. Other Matters Sermons condemning anti-Semitism have been ordered preached on Sunday, December 5, in all Reformed churches in Hungary. Instructions for the nation-wide sermons were con- tained in a letter sent to pastors by Alexander Makkai, of the Reformed Church's Home Missions Committee. Religious instruction by mail is being offered by a Jewish synagogue in Detroit to children of families in Michigan areas that are remote from Jewish institutions. Rabbi Adler said the lessons would include Jewish religion, literature, and history. These will be available to children beginning at the first grade level. Plans call for enrollees to meet their instructors at least twice annually, in mid-winter and spring. Lotteries of all kinds operated by churches are banned in Boston hereafter, according to orders sent to police divisions by deputy police superintendent James A. Sheehan. Captains of all stations were ordered to report to him in a week and state what had been found regarding lotteries and games of chance conducted by churches "or any other organization." The periodical Christendom will merge with The Ecumenical Review, a new official organ of the ecumenical movement. The Review will be issued from Geneva, the headquarters of the World Council of Churches. H. Paul Douglass, editor of Christendom, will continue as an associate editor of the new combined publica- tion. The Autumn number of Christendom is the last published under that title.