942 Theological Observer. -.Rird)1id)<,8eHgefd)id)tltd)es. Theological Observer. - s t i r d j n d j " B e i t g e f d j i d j m d j e ~ . I. .2lmcrHttt. ~ i e fjumaniftifdie lBurlJifbnng bet $tebiget. Unfere G ~ n o b e erorted feit ~ a ~ r e n biefen @egenftanb. Gie erfennt, bat audj aUf biefem @ebie± ber t ~ e o l o g i f d j e n 180rbilbung fidj rin IDeangeI bemedbar madjt. SDa§ b i § ~ ~ e r i g e Survey Committee fjat fidj barfrber alfo au§geflJrodjen: "The place of languages in ministerial training. If in our ministerial training, both pretheologicaJ and theological, we lose sight of the objectives accepted by Synod in the meeting at St. Louis in 1926, we shall lower the standards which our Church in America has upheld since the founding of the first Concordia at Altenburg, in 1839, and which the Lutheran Church of Germany and the Scandinavian countries established and maintained with consistent endeavor these four hundred years. The training that we have hitherto offered is in keeping with the humanistic ideals of the age of the Reformation. This means, briefly stated, that the social sciences, the' natural sciences, and mathematical learning' were made secondary and subservient to linguistic training in our pretheological schools. What is to be said at the present time with regard to this policy? Shall we lower the standards of our language requirements in keeping with certain modern demands? . .. 'In the same measure that the Gospel is dear to us should we zealously cherish the languages. Let this be kept in mind, that we shall not preserve the Gospel without the languages.' (Luther.)" SDie G ~ n o b e fjat biefe ~ a c l j e unb lJie bamit 5ufammenfjiingenbe iSrage lie±reff§ ber 18ediingerung bes @ ~ m n a f i a I f u r f u s einem Stomitee aur roeiteren ~ r f r ~ fung iibergebcn. \lIuclj in SDelltfdjlanb befdjiiftigt man fidj mit bieier Gadje. \lIudj in bet Iu±r)criicfjen Stirdje SDeu±icljlanM ftefjt nidjt alIes io, IDie es fonte. SDie ,,\lIlIg. ~ b . ~ 2 u t f j . Sl'irdjenaeitung" bom 15. ~ u I i beridjtet f o I ~ genbe§, roobon nidjt aITes, aber bodj bieIe§ auf unfern ITuIT feine \ l I n r o e n ~ bung finbd. "SDer IDeangeI ~ u m a n i f t i f c l j e r 1BUbung liei ben jungen ~ e o l o g e n liebrofjt immer m e ~ r lJie geiftige §jofje be§ fiinfttgen ~ a i t o r e n f t a n b e s . \lIus bief er Gorge roenben fidj bie brei iir±eften ~ r o f e 1 f o r e n ber :itfjeologie in §jalIe, is eine , ITiefer unb Stattenliufdj, an ben ebangeIiidjcn ,oberfirdjenrat mit einem \lIntrag, unberaiigIidj eine ~ , l n b e r u n g ber fitt Sl'irCfje unb t ~ e o l o g i f d j e m5iiienfdjaft gfeicljermaten l i e b r o ~ I i c l j e n 2age f j e r b e i a u f i i ~ r e n . SDie ~ i n g a b e foIT auclj bem beu±fCfjcn ebangeIifcljen Stitcljenliunbe§rat unb tiimtriCfjen beutfdjen e b a n ~ gefifdjdfjeologifdjen iSafurtiiten frberreidjt roerben. Gie Iautet: ,SDie 1 8 o r ~ bHbung ber ebangeIifdjen ~ e o l o g e n erfiirr± uns mit immer roadjfenber Gorge. SDer ffiiicrgang in ber Si'enntnls bet urten Gpracljen, f djon lange cine fdjroere GdjiiDigung be§ afabemifcljen ltn±erridjt§, ~ a t iidj in ben I e ~ t e n ~ a f j r e n in erfdjreefenbem IDeate geftcigert. SDie ITolgen aeigen fidj beutHdj: Unroiffenfjeit unb Unfidjerfjeit in bem, luas unumgiingIidje 1 8 o r a u s f e ~ u n g be§ afabemifdjen roie bes burdj ba§ ganae 2eben f o r t a u f e ~ e n b e n t ~ e o l o g i ~ idjen Gtubium§ if±, berbinbet fidj mit @eringfdjiitung f j o ~ e r e r fpradjIicljer 1BiIbung unb ba§ 2urfrcfbleiben flJradjIidjer unb bamit audj geiftiger S D u r d j ~ biIbung mit bem 2 u r i i d ' f ± e ~ e n e b a n g e n f d j ~ t ~ e o l o g i f c l j e r \lIrlieit aUf b e r f d j i e ~ Denen roiffenfcljaftIicljen @e'bieten. :tlicfe iSolgen roerben ficlj aIi3lialb in Theological Observer. -oIrhd)Hcf),,seitge[cl)icf)tfir!)cs. 943 uUgemeinem Umfange au£lllJirfen: in bem ®infen ber i ~ e o r o g i f c l j e n S D u r c l j ~ fcljniH£lliUbung, in bem roiflenfcljaftricljen 3urild'treien be£l l.jSroieftan±i£lmu£l, 1m 91acljlaffen ber llJCitarlieit ber ebangeHfcljen 5 t ~ e o l o g i e an bem geiftigen 2elien be£l c r ~ r i f t e n ± l t m £ l . SDie jett gefdjaffenen ®lJracljenfonbUte finb nur ~ l o t b e ~ e r f e . ~ i e finb rein aU£lreicljenber (frfat filr bie l))(iingeI ber ~ o r ~ biIbung. (f£l ift gana unmogIiclj, baf3 in ber filr i ~ r e n B e ~ r p r a n Bur ~ e r ~ fiigung f t e ~ e n b e n furaen 3ett bie ficljere f S e ~ e r r f c l j u n g ber brei ®pracljen ueroonnen roirb, Me aHeinroiffenfcljaftliclje ~ c r l i f t i i n b i g f e i t getuiil.jdeifte±. SDa£l ulie1 mut b i e r m e ~ r an ber llliurael angefatt roerben. l l l i i i ~ r e n b bie f u t i . ) o ~ rifclje S1>irclje baran f e f ± g e ~ a r t e n i.)at, bat nur ~ l i i t u r i e n ± e n mit ber metfe be£l ~ u m a n i f t i f c ~ e n ®lJUlnafiuUl£l filr ba£l ~ ± u b i u m ber ~ e o r o g i e angenom' men roerben, ~ a b e n bie ebangeIifcljen S1>irdjen berfcljiebenen S1'onaeffionen augeftimmt unb fogar ben l10n ber mealfcljule S1'ommenben bail ± ~ e o ! o g i f d j e ~ t u b i u U l geoffnet. SDer 5 t ~ e o l o g e n m a n g e l ~ a t ber ebangeHfcljen SHrdje feineraeit baau bie ~ e r a n l a f f u n g unb bamit eine gellJiffe (fn±fcljuIbigung Qegeben. eFr bef±ei.)± gegenroiirtig nicljt m e ~ r , unb bamit entfiint jebllJebe (fntfcljulbigunn. SDami± fiiUt aUf bie ebangcIijclje SHrclje bie ~ e r a n ± t t J o r t u n n filr bie geniigenbe SDurcljbHbung i ~ r e r 5ti.)eologen jett aUfil neue in ber ganaen ~ c l j l t J e r e . Unil erfcljein± eil aril bail bringenbe ®ebo± ber ~ i u n b e , bat aUe '(frmiitigungen in ber fpracljIidjen ~ o r l i i I b u n g ber ebangeIifcljen Sti.)eoIogen a u f g e ~ o b e n unb baf3 aum ®tubium ber ~ e o l o g i e nut bie aUf ~ i n e m ~ u m a n i f t i f d j e n ® ~ m n a f i u m ~ o r g e b U b e t e n augdaffen roerbcn. SDie ebangeIifclje llirclje i.)at .I;;'iitertn au fein beil geiftigen (frbeil ber llirclje aUer 3eiten, aumal beil roftbaren, ba£l ii.)r bon ber meformaiion aI£l u n e n t b e ~ r ~ Iicljeil Bebenilgu± unb alil unediif3ficlje l.jSfIiclj± ilberan±roorte± roorben 1ft (g g e ~ t jett um ben roiffenfcljaftIidjen fSeruf beil ~ r o ± e f t a n ± i £ l m u s , e£l gei.)± urn bie geiftige 3ufunft ber ebangeHfdjen S1'irdje. D. Dr. iSeine. D. Dr. iShier. D. Dr. S1>aitenbufclj.' " (f. Sl)u!:l (};1:ge6ni!:l l l e ~ firdiHu)cn 3 c l t f u ~ in ~ m e t i f ( t . Un±er Diefer u b e r ~ i'cljrift bericljtet ber , , 2 u ± ~ . &jerolb" auil bern "iSriebenilboien", bern mIaii ber Unierien ~ i e r a u l a n b e : "SDie Stircljen i.)aben aroar unier bern SDrucf ber 91o± jcljroer au fiimlJfen, foferu bie l))(dteI in fSetradji tommen, i ~ r e lllierfe r o e i t e r a u f i l ~ r e n ; ciber es ift filr fie cine (frnteaett gefommen, roo fie mit neuer iSreube i ~ r e gottgegeliene ~ u f g a b e erfiiUen {onnen, ben ~ r m e n au ~ e r f e n , bie 5traurigen au hliften, bie ~ e r i l a g i e n au ermuntem unb bie bon ®oit ®efegneten ilu grof3erem (fifer im SDienft ber mebe anilufeuem. SDa£l 1ft bail (£rgebnis ber 2iiIJIforfcfJllng D. mnn SHeffer§;, ber aI0 9 1 a c l j ~ folger Dr. crarroIIil i i i ~ r n c l j im Gh1'i-stian H eraZd iiber bie 3 a ~ I ber S1>irdjen, mitgIieber unfer§; Banbe£l liericljie±. (fil finb nur 3ai.)Ien, aum Steil Ieere 3 a ~ I e n , bie feine ® e l t J i i ~ r fiir Me ~ ± l 1 r f e ber ®Ialllienilfraft geben; aber lie Betgen boclj, baB bie ®egner beil crljrifieniumil im ~ r r t u m iuaren, aIil fie borau£lfagien, baB bie Stircljen i ~ r e n (finfIuf3 berIieren unb aUilfterben luiirben. ~ t a ± ± beil bon ii.)nen eri.)offien miicfgang£l IUdft ni'cmIiclj bail b e r ~ gangene :;Sai.)t eine 3 u n a ~ m e bon 433,656 ®emeinbegriebern aUf. ~ n einer befonberen 3 a ~ I e n ± a f e I roetft ber iSorfci.)er nadj, roie bie 3 a ~ r ber S t i r c l j e n ~ mitglieber im ~ e r g I e i c l j ilur ~ e b j j n c r u n g i l 3 a i . ) r be§; !2anbei3 feit 1800 bon . ; s a i . ) r a e ~ n i au . ; s a ~ r a e l j n t fteiig augenommen fJat. llliir greifen bie folgenben 2 a ~ I e n i.)erau§;. .;sm .;sai.)re 1800 roaren bon je 100 f S e r o o ~ n e m be§; Eanbei:l je 6.8 SHrcljemnitgIicber, 1850: 15.2, 1900: 32.7, 1930: 40.1. 944 Theological Observer.·- . R i t d ) l i d ) ~ , 8 e i t g e f d ) i d ) m d ) e ~ . "D. Sfieffer ljat feljr fIeitig gearoeitet. '@r ljat in biefem ~ a l j r cineffieilje bon ffieIigion£;gemeinfdjaften unb gJereinigungen mit reIigiiifen ~ e . ftreoungen mitgeaaljrt, bon benen j1:iiljer ferne ~ n g a : o e n au er£)arten waren. @lin gJergleidj mit bem 1 e ~ t j a l j r i g e n ~ e r i d j t aeigt, bat me 3alj!en in bie1en tsallen niebriger finb. SDa£; ljat barin ieinen @runb, bat er bie 3alj!. me±ljobe cinljeitlidj geftartet ljat, inbem er fie in @linfIang gefJradjt qat mit ben 3enfu£;met£)oben ber ffiegierung. SDanadj werben nur fJJ!dje, bie brei. aeljn ~ a £ ) r e art unb bariifJer finb, aI£; Sfirdjenmitgrieber gesiiljrt. IDlandje ~ i r d j e n oeridjteten friiljer hie 3alj! ber @etaufien, aaljrten arfo bie ~ i n b e r mit. D. ~ i e f f e r ljat ftdj bie IDliilje gemadjt, ben I e ~ t j i i £ ) r i g e n ~ e r i d j t auf biefer @runblage UlnauarfJeiten, um ein ireue£; ~ i I b ber widIidjen 3unaljme geoen au fiinnen. lffiit 1affen cine furile 3ufammenfaffung feincr 3a£)1. tafern fo!gen. Unfern 2efern llJirb c£; auffaITen, bat ljier ber ~ I a m e unferer ~ i r d j e feljIt. SDer 3iilj1forfdjer ljat offenoar angenommen, bat me brei ~ i t d j e n , hie bie ~ e a e i d j n u n g ,ebangeIifdj' fiiljren, au e i n e r firdjridjen tsamiIie geljiiren. ~ o f f e n m d j Mrb er im niidjften ;s,aljr biefen ~ r r l u m oeridjtigen. 6eine 3aljIen fUr bie @bangeIifdje (unierte) 6 ~ n o b e bon morb. amerifa finb: IDIitgHeber: 255,141; 2ffJnaljmc: 2,583." i'!irdjengemeinfdjaften. lD1itgIieber. . R a t ~ o m e n (Illeftlidje), 3 .Riitj:letfdJaften .... , .... 14,528,176 18aj:ltiften, 18 .ffiitjJetfdjaften .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 9,067,152 W C e t ~ o b i f t e n , 19 .!tiitj:lerfdjaften ............... 8,135,627 :;Siibifdje @emeinben ........................ 4,081,242 £ut!)eraner, 17 .Riirj:letfdjaften ................ 3,032,350 ~ r e s b ~ t e t i a n e t , 9 .Riitj:letfdjaften ............. 2,557,541 :;Siinget ~ ! ) t i f t i , 2 .Riitj:letfdjaften ............. 1,865,979 ~ j : l i f t o j : l a l e .... . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1,261,158 . R o n g t e g a t i D n a I , ~ f ) t i f t i a n e t .... . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1,010,341 ffieformiette, 4 .RiirjJetfdjaften ........... , . . . . 563,580 WCotmonen, 2 RiitjJetfdjaften ................ 557,541 .Rat!)olHen (iiftridje), 8 .RiitjJetfdj.uften. . . . . . . . . . 535,503 ~ b a n g e I i f d j e , 3 .RiirlJerfd)aften .............. . . 479,967 mere1nigte 18tiibet in ~ l j t i f t D , 3 .Riitj:letfdjaften. . 377,214 ~ ~ t i f m d ) e m!iffenfd)aft ..................... 202,098 ~ b b e n t i f t e n , 5 .Riitj:lerfdjaften ................ 169,189 18tiibet ( ~ u n f a r b s ) , 4 .Riitpetfd)aften. . . . . . . . . . 167,317 Assemblies of God ................ . . . . . . . . 109,045 WCennoniten, 16 ~ i i t j : l e t f d j a f t e n ......... ,.... 102,180 {lufammen ...................... .48,803,200 .Rird)en, bie llleniget aIs 100,000 ffiHtgliebet 3 u n a ~ m e . 1.1;243 139,526 46,225 49,126 16,676 -4,477 6,931 -736 2,981 11,473 1,300 -2,288 3,073 6,854 11,319 12,491 2,125 317,842 ~ a D e n , 3ufammen ................... 949,243 115,814 @efamt3aljI ...................... 49,752,443 433,656 ~ . 5r. IDl. Lutheran Statistics. -From the Kirchliche Zeitsch1'ijt we take over the following paragraphs: -"Seventeen general bodies of Lutherans in the United States totaled 4,228,268 in baptized membership at the close of the last calendar year, as far as reports were ready by April 1, and 2,853,267 in communicant membership, a gain of 46,470, or 1.65 per cent. over the figures of the preceding year, according to figures released by the Rev. Dr. L. Kieffer, statistician of the National Lutheran Council. Theological Observer. -sthd)lid)'Seitgefd)id)tHd)d. "Of these 1,384,975 were members of the United Lutheran Church in America; 1 ,368,830 were members of the American Lutheran Conference, comprising the American Lutheran Church, the Augustana Synod, the Norwegian Lutheran Church, the Lutheran Free Church, and tlle United Danish Synod; and 1,332,421 were members of the Synodical Conference, comprising the Missouri Synod, the Joint Wisconsin Synod, the Slovak Synod, the Norwegian Synod, and the Negro Missions. "The greatest gains in membership were in the United Lutheran Church, with an increase of 16,505; the Missouri Synod, with an increase of 16,153; the Norwegian Lutheran Church, with an increase of 7,676 and the Augustana Synod, with an increase of 4,225. "Bodies which decreased in membership were the Eielsen Synod, with 100 decrease; the Danish Lutheran Church, with 716; the Norwegian Synod, with 321, and the Icelandic Synod, with a decrease of 3. "Comparing the United States Census figures of 1926 for 'members thirteen years and older,' with the estimated like figures for 1931, Dr. Kieffer reports a five-year gain of 194,630, to which the United Lutheran Church contributed a gain of 125,764, the Missouri Synod a gain of 40,256, the Finnish Apostolic Church a gain of 17,799, the American Lutheran Church a gain of 10,941, the Augustana Synod a gain of 5,653, the Negro Missions a gain of 3,756, the United Danish Church a gain of 2,568, and the :Finnish Suomi Synod a gain of 2,047, while the Joint Wisconsin Synod registered a loss of 12,236 and the Norwegian Lutheran Church a loss of 11,463. Communicant membership for the seventeen bodies totaled 2,853,267 in 1931 as compared with 2,806,797 in 1930. The total number of ministers increased from 11,336 in 1930 to 1l,735 in 1931, while churches increased from 15,238 to 15,501. "The communicant membership of nearly 3,000,000 is allocated to the general bodies as follows: United Lutheran Church, 962,461; American Lutheran Church, 328,602; Augustana Synod, 236,617; Norwegian Lutheran Church, 319,484; Lutheran Free Church, 30,504; United Danish Church, 21,419; Eielsen Synod, 900; Church of the Lutheran Brethren, 1,200; Danish Lutheran Church, 13,816; Icelandic Synod, 1,607; Finnish Suomi Synod, 22,711; Finnish National Church, 6,061; Finnish Apostolic Church, 25,300; Missouri Synod, 697,270 ; Joint Synod of Wisconsin, 153,506; Sloyak Synod, 8,675; Norwegian Synod, 5,351; Negro Missions, 3,756; independent Lutheran congregations, 14,027." NOTE. -The above statement that "the United Lutheran Church contributed a gain of 125,764, the Missouri Synod a gain of 40,256 communicant members" is not fully consistent with the fact since the United States CensHs for 1926 is not quite correct. According to our own statistics we had 645,345 communicant members in the United States in 1926 and 716,091 in 1931, a gain of 70,746. Mention should be made also of the fact that we changed from "souls" to "baptized members," thus excluding thousands of our non-Lutheran unbaptized Sunday-school children. 'fhere are enrolled in our Sunday-schools and day-schools more than 40,000 children of non-Lutherans. So our 1931 figures are too low in comparison with the figures of 1926. The United States Census for 1926 gave us 686,688 members of thir-60 '946 Theological Observer. - ~ h d ) H d ) ~ . 3 e i t g e f c f ) i d ) m c f ) e s . teen years and OVe1", while the children in our churches are confirmed at the age from thirteen to !oU1"teen years. The result is a difference of a few thousands of communicant members; that is to say, the census gives us ,a few thousands of communicant members more than we rcally have. Our 1931 figures cannot be compared with the United States Census of 1926. The method used in arriving at the above statement is an application of the percentage of thirteen years and over, which in 192(i in our Synod was 69.4 per cent. The Missouri Synod has now 1,120,156 baptized members in the United States only. 69.4 per cent. of this is 777,388 communi{Cant members, or since 1926 (686,688) a gain of 90,700. However, as we have already said, a correct comparison of our statistics with the United States Census, or a comparison of "souls" with "baptized members" is al-most impossible. E. E. The Church in Politics. -History informs us what is liable to happen when the Church enters the political arena. There was a time when President Andrew Johnson was considered by many a failure and a fit subject for impeachment. In the light of history he now bears a different character. But what happened in the days of his incumbency of the Presidency? The TTagic ETa, by Claude G. Bowers, published by the Literary Guild of America, 1929, relates this, naming its sources: "Then five days of utter madneF8. . .. One of the persecuted Senators wrote years later in cold blood that the consI,irators werc ready for assassination. . .. But intimidation -that was the thing! The Grand Army of the Republic, then a political machine, was making flourishing demands. The Methodist Episcopal Church, in General Conference in Chicago, was prevented from adopting a resolution for an hour of prayer for conviction only by the sanity and moral sense of an aged member, who reminded ministers of the sanctity of an oath. But Bishop Simpson .. rose to the occasion with an amendment for an hour of prayer 'to save our Senators from error.'" And that was unanimously agreed upon. (P. 193.) The General Conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Church at 'Washington acted along the same lines. (P. 195.) A prayer there offered need not be reproduced here. When the Church stands on the clear Word of God, she stands on safe ground. But in matters not decided in Scripture the churchmen are as liable to err as the politicians, and when they presume to clothe their politcal views and judgments with the authority of God, they disgrace the Church and the Gospel. The unthinking will blame the Church and the Gospel for the mistakes of the theological politieians. Bishop Simpson was certainly convinced of the justice and wisdom of his position, but he had no right to back it with the authority of God. The churchman is not infallible on political questions and may lose his balance in the turmoil of political warfare as well as others. POl' good and sufficient reasons God has commanded the Church to keep out of politics. History shows why. But the lesson of history is falling on deaf ears. Says the Luthc1"an II CT(dd of July 19: "Is the Church in possession of all facts regarding state, lmtional, and international questions to such an extent that it can determine in every case what is right and wrong and with dictatorial authority demand in the name of God what must be done? The Pope claims this authority, but not the Protestant Church. We notice that the Methodists in their convention at Atlantic City decided that Theological Observer. -.fl'hc!)!ic!v8eitgefc!)icljtlicljes. 947 Article 231 of the Versailles Treaty should be altered to removo the German war guilt clanse. It passed resolntions favoring our ratification of the "\Vorld Court protocol and our entry into the League of Nations. They demanded that Orientals should be include(l in the quota of immigration laws; that pacifists should not be barred from citizenship; that exemption clauses should be allowed Methodists as well as Quakers; that military training in all civilian educationrtl institutions should be abolishccl. ... We object to Congress's settling our religious questions, and we believe Congress and the Supreme Court should refuse to take dictation from a church convention." In an article on "Resubmission or Repeal of the Eighteenth Amendment" it said on July 26: "Furthermore, we do not believe it advisable" (make it stronger!) "for churches to open their doors to political or semipolitical organizations who for the 'good of the cause' are anxious to get into the churches and collect money for the support of politicrtl candidates and thus (lrag the Clmrch into the intrigue, chicanery, trickery, and underhanded work of political schemers. Let them have a hall and discuss their political matters there. It is not the duty of the pastor to tell hib Democrats, Republicans, Farmer Labol'ites, Prohibi-tionists, or Socialists what ticket to vote." E. ':!lie ;t:teiliftaft bet tilmifdjcn \j3reffe. m 5 i i ~ r e n b lJIotefiantifdje D t e b a f ~ teure liver ~ e r r u f i e an Be] ern i ~ r e r .Bettf djriften au Hagen f)aven, gebJinni bie fatr)ofifdje ~ r e n e ~ i e r a u r a n b e ftdig an madj±. StiiraIidj ~ a t Dr. ~ a m e £ ; @. Gl:larfe, ber Dtebafteur bes Pre8byterian A.dvance, ben in m5afljington, :D. Gl:., lJerfanunerten lJrotefiantifdjen Dtebafteuren firdjIidjer ).Bliitter n a d j ~ folgenben ).Brief gefu)rieven, ben bas lialJtiftifdje ).Blatt Watchman-Examine!" bJeitergivt. m5ir r u i ~ e r i f d j e n ~ a f t o r e n ~ a l i e n aIle Urfadje, liber ba£; @ e ~ fagie nadjaubenfen unb um 10 m e ~ r um Befer unferer ).Bliitter au bJeroen. :Das jj3alJfttutn madji fidj bJal)rfidj bie \j3reffe, bie B u i ~ e r aIS ein gciegneies mittel aur mervreitung bes @lJangeIiums fo ~ o d j anlJries, a U n l l ~ e . m5ir rcfcn in bem genannten IBrief: "As you know, there has been a steady decline in the circulation of Protestant religious periodicals during the past fifteen years. I undertook this spring an investigation of the situation in the Catholic Church, and I discover that in the ten-year period from 1920 to 19:.30 Catholic newspapers as a whole practically doubled their circulation. They have sustained a loss during the last year or two, but not nearly so serious a loss as in the case of Protestant papers, which indicates that there is more general interest in church periodicals among Catholics than among Protestants. "That is rather a surprising statement to make, but it seems to be an indisputable fact. It is unquestionably due to a church-wide determination on the part of Catholic leaders to create, from the church point of view, a more intelligent and better-informed constituency. I requested specific information on this point from Humphrey E. Desmond, who has succeeded his father as editor of the OathoZ·ic Oitizen in Milwaukee, and he confirms my conclusion, stating that the circulation gains have been 'lal'gely due to an intellsive promotional campaign for the Catholic press during this period,' the past fifteen years. " A ~ you probl1bly know, the elder Desmond, long editor of the Oatholic Oitizen, died this spring, and it was he who was largely responsible for 948 Theological Observer. - m t d ) l i d ) ~ . 8 e i t g e f d ) i d ) m d ) d . the movement in the Catholic Church. His son and successor writes: 'About 1911 my father suggested a Catholic Press Sunday, with the idea that that particular Sunday in the year would be used for sermons on the Catholic press in all Catholic churches. From this beginning has come the present Catholic Press Month; and in February of each year many sermons are delivered on the subject of the support of the Catholic press, and many programs are arranged for Catholic parochial schools, academies, and colleges. This has been very successful propaganda.' "It seems to me that the contrast betwccn the situation in the Protestant churches and that of the Catholic Church is a matter of intense interest. It is a rare exception that a Protestant minister or Protestant church official makes any effort to push the circulation of church-papers. Indeed, it is a very common thing in our Church for pastors and sessions to refuse to permit their congregations to be canvassed for any church periodicals. But our Catholic brethren give a whole month to arousing interest in their church periodicals. The priests preach on the subject, and their young people are faithfully taught the value of a church-paper. That is a tremendously significant fact. "I might add that the latest copy of the OathoUc Press Directory lists 310 Catholic publications. Of the total 267 report their circulation, giving an aggregate of more than 7,100,000. It occurs to me that it might be of much interest to present these facts to the editors assembled in Washington." J. T. M. A Shock to Darwinists. -@;ljrIiel)e @eleljrte ljaben fel)on fo oft bar. aUf ljingeluiefen, roie unljartliar bom roilfenfel)aftHel)en @S±anbvunft aus bie @;n±roicflungsleljre iff, baB man faum meljr aUf bie ~ i b e r l e g u n g e n roiffen. fel)aftriel)er Wpologeten ljinroeifen mag. Unb Doel) ift Dies notig. SElie Un. roaqrqcit ber @;bolutioniften roir» immer roieDer borgeiragen, unb aroar fo, DaB alle 3eugniff e roirfIiel)er @eIeljrter ignoriert luerDen. @So burfen benn aUel) roir niel)t fel)roeigen. ~ m Moody Bible Institute Monthly Tefen roir unter ber obigen i'tberfel)rift uber bies :rljema: "When it was learned that a salamander or a newt can reproduce a lost limb or an eye with a brand-new one, jt came as a great shock to the Darwinists. But when Hans Driesch showed how to separate the developing embryo in the four-celled or eight-celled stage in such a way that each of these separated cells would develop into a perfect individual, the entire mechanistic theory of heredity seemed to tumble in ruins. Even the venerable theory of the three germ-layers of the embryo failed utterly; for organs made of mesoderm cells are shown to be sometimes regenerated from ectoderm cells, or vice versa. "In short, all the mechanical theories of heredity have broken down, and with them the last refuges of mechanical explanations of life in other departments of biology. In all living things we seem to be face to face with the direct working of the Creator. And the persistent failures of mechanistic scientists to obscure this great truth have served only to focus the attention of the present generation on it in a way that makes it live before us as never before. "Scientists declare that their work is to push back the boundaries between the known and the unknown. Too often it seems as if they are trying to 'explain' the more mysterious phenomena of nature in terms of Theological Observer. -oRird)lid)={jeitgeid)id)tHd)es. 949 other processes which we think we already understand, but which in reality are as unknown as ever in respect to a real cause other than the direct act of the God of nature. It is thus that most of the phenomena of nature have been 'explained.' As a matter of fact they have been explained away, and in no other department is this so true as in biology. "This brings us to another great fact which is impressing the scientific world more and more. I refer to the truth of lite only trom Ute. Time and again since Pasteur demonstrated this truth nearly seventy years ago, have we seen men come forward with the claim that at last they have discovered how to make life where there was no life before. But without a single exception have we seen these men acknowledge their complete failure. And as long as scientists are not willing to draw the obvious conclusion from this perpetual failure, just so long will men fool away their own time and that of others in trying to rule God out of this one very significant point in the works of His creation. "A last fact in this series, and the only other one I have space to give here, is the gradually dawning fact that organic evolution is breaking down as a logical and scientific system. "A work like that of Dr. Austin H. Clark's The New Evolution, issued about two years ago, SllOWS the almost innumerable gaps in the system as revealed by modern biological research. The figure of a genealogical tree has often been used to illustrate the alleged common origin (stem and root) of all the twigs and branches, the latter representing the modern kinds of living things. As Clark candidly remarks: 'The twigs of the tree do not actually join the branches, and the branches do not join the main trunk; and besides, the main trunk itself is not continuous. . .. All lines are broken by gaps which may be small and insignificant or broad and striking.' (Pp. 181. 183.) "Additional evidence of this breakdown of evolutionary theory comes to us from the address before the London meeting of the British Association last autumn. One of the speakers, an ardent evolutionist, admitted: 'There is no reptile alive to-day which can give rise to a mammal, no fish that can become a reptile, and no animal that call become a man.' "The stanclard alibi of the evolutionist that much of his important evidence has been destroyed by the vicissitudes of the fossils in the rocks did not seem to satisfy Professor D'Arcy Thompson, who was reported to the following effect:-"'We have been told that rents have been torn in the veil which surrounds the mystery of evolution and that this has irretrievably destroyed chapters in the 01(1 book. That explanation does not suffice for me, and I honestly believe that we are as ignorant as we were seventy years ago. "'In the great gaps between vertebrates and invertebrates there is no possibility of one passing into the other. I am not defying the evidence of evolution, but I believe that any attempt to find an invertebrate which has passed into a vertebrate type is doomed to failure.' "Christian workers ought to know that the tide is turning among the leaders in the scientific world. The outstanding truths of revealed religion are being vindicated by modern research; and all Christians ought to be apprehended of this situation." J. T. M. 950 Theological Observer. - ~ i t d ) H d ) ~ . s e i t g e f d ) t d ) t 1 i d ) e s . Foreign Missions of Lutherans in America. -A general summary of the Lutheran Foreign Mission statistics of the Lutheran churches having headquarters in the United States and Canada, according to Rev. George Linn Kieffer, D. D., Litt. D., Statistical Secretary of the United Lutheran Church in America and Statistician and Reference Librarian of the ~ a t i o n a l Lutheran Council, states that there arc 719 missionaries at work in the fields in India, Africa, Argentina, British Guiana, China, New Gninea, Madagascar, South Africa, Japan, Santal, India, and Persia, aided by 5,440 native workers in 2,804 congregations. which have a baptized membership of 247,762 and a confirmed membership of 103,fi98. The accessions, according to the latest reports, were 14,721, and there were 16,305 inquirers. The Sunday-schools have 55,761 pupils; other mission-schools number 1,772, with 60,690 pupils. The natives contributed toward the work of missions $1138,484. -From the News Bulletin of N. L. C. Death of an Old Testament Scholar. -The Christian Centu1'Y reports: "Dr. J. M. Powis Smith, Professor of Old Testament Language at the University of Chicago, died September 26 aboard the Laconia in New York harbor as he was returning from a summer in England. His death was caused by cerebral hemorrhage. He was sixty-five years old. Dr. Smith was closely identified with the late Dr. William Rainey Harper, first president of thc university, as student, literary secretary, and later as colleague. At the time of his death he was vice-chairman of the Department of Oriental Languages in the University. While Dr. Smith's reputation for scbolarship was ~ w i d e l y recognized by all specialists in his field and by his lllany former stndents, his wider fame is due largely to the translation of the Old Testament, which he edited and a considemble part of which he himself made. He had reached the retiring age last December, but by special request of the administrative authorities of the university had continued his work till June, when his rctirement becamc effective." In theology Professor Smith was an outspoken liberal, denying many of the fundamental truths which Bible Christians hold dear. A. II. ,lu5illltb. Bringing Back Fond Memories. -A description of the divine services held in St. Thomas's Church at Leipzig, Germany, attended by Dr. 1. N. Nothstein on July 3 of this year, contains this interesting item: "After the Communion service was concluded, the organ began playing an interlude, during which the adults went out. and little children began coming into tlle church. At 11.30 the children's service began, and a very impressive service it was. The pastor conducted a liturgy, clad in the Luther robe and ruff. The children took part in the responses in a very reverent way. One part of the liturgy consisted of a repetition of a part of the Catechism. There was a fifteen-minute intermission, during which classes were conduded like in a Sunday-school. There followed a sermon on the Gospel-lesson for the day from the pulpit. It was made attractive to the children by being conducted in a conversational tone, questions being asked by the pastor and answered by the audience. After a closing service and a hymn the children's congregation was dismissed with the benediction." (Lutheran, July 28,1932.) The good old Ohristenlehr-e! Somewhat modi-fied, but still the good old Christenlehre. E. Theological OLserver. -. ~ i r d J 1 i c l ) ~ 3 e i t g c ( d J i c l J H i d J e s . 951 ,!lie i i u c t t t i t t ~ l l c \ t J c g u n g in ~ e l t t f d H ) f t c t r e i d ) . )fiie . b a ~ ,;CflJ. ) t ) e u t l d j ~ Tanb" oeridjtct, geI)± bie i \ . n e r t r i t t ~ n e l n e g u n g in S 8 c u t f d j ~ b f t e r r e i d j immer lneiter. )fiir 1elen baruner: , , ~ n ) t ) c u t f d j ~ o l t e r r e i d j finD im bergangenen ~ a ~ r i n ~ g c l a m t 3,7240 ~ e r f o n e n 31lr eban[leIildjen 8'Hrdje ubergeirctcn. ~ n : : D e u t l d j ~ o l ± c r r e i d j , in ben bcutfdjen @emcil1ben bon ) { \ i 5 ~ m c n , lmii'l)ren unb ~ a ! f J @:ldj1efien unD in ben tfdjedjifdjen (\jemeinben D e ~ f e ! f J e n @ e n i e t e ~ finD' im : ; ' j a ~ r e H131 aUfammen fl,249 ~ e r f o n m aur ebangeIifdjen Stirdjc u b e r ~ getreten. [lor belll St'rieg nctrug in belll ganaen bamaligen ofierreidj (all bem ja aUf3er ben gcnannten @eoie±en audj nodj ber berforengegangene: @:luben bon llRerm1 b i ~ llJ?arnurg llnb ~ r i e i t , ferner ~ a r b @:ldjlefien, gang @aIiaien unb ){\ufoluina gcI)i5rten) bie ~ i . i d ) l t a a ~ r ber unertrHte nidjt gana 6,700." ~ . ~ . m. Rev. E. S. Jones Visiting China. -A news item in one of our ex· changes tells us that next month Rev. E. Stanley Jones, the well·known Methodist missionary in India, will leave India and go to China to spend several months with the students of that country. He is q [luted as writing: "In July I go to Ohina. The different hodies of Ohina have sent an urgent appeal to me to come to China this autumn. There is a race on between Communism and Christianity for the soul of China, with Communism leading. The students are the key to the situation. This invitation was so pressing that I could not refuse." The same communication reports Rev. Jones as saying about the work of the last months in India: "The last thrce months have been a period of intense national crisis. Gandhi returned from the Round-table Conference, negotiations for a settlement broke down, and he was swiftly sent to jail along with thousands of others_ With constant jailings and the lathi charges, my work seemed impossible_ o But it has been the best three months I have ever had." Seeing the zeal of this man, who has but a very imperfect conception of Christ as our Substitute, what should we say who through the grace of God have been shown the full glory and significance of Calvary? A. ~ e r Stomn I.1crfagt. l2:[us lJem , , ) { \ r i i b c t ~ ) { \ o t f d j ' a f t e t U giM ber , , 2 u ± ~ . ~ e r o I D " bie fofgenDe fUr bie djriftHdje minion in m o ~ a m m e b a n i f d j e n 2 i i n ~ bern aUf3erft roidj±ige mitteilung rocHer: "Cfine iuidjtigere 9ladjridjt ift l u o ~ f fett langem nidjt burdj bie mlii±ter gegangen aW ber meridjt eines 3eitungsforreffJonbenten in [lorlJerafien, baB fid) Die tutfifdje 1mlJ bie fJcrfifdje megierung bar aUf geeinig± ~ a o e n , bas @:l±ubium bes CfbangeHums :iSt. ~ o ~ a n n i i 3 in ben :iSdjulen e i n a u f i l ~ r m 1 )t)er Sforan, bas ~ e m g e ){\udj ber mo1)ammebaner, bas b i s ~ e r Dori ausfd)HeBHd) ~ e r r f d j t e , ~ a o e beriagt unt fei fur Die muc!ftanbigfeit Die fer oeiben f8i5Uer beranirooriIidj; o ~ n e reHgiOfe ){\ceinfIu1111n9 ancr burfe bie ~ u g e n t nidjt aufroadjfen, unt fo ~ a o e man fidj auf bas @:liubium bes CfbangeHums @:It. ~ o , . ~ a n n is geeinig±. ,,)ffienn fidj Die 9ladjridji n e r o a ~ r ~ e i t e t , bie am 4. ~ u n i in Den @ r o f 3 f t a b t ~ aeitungen erfdjien, fo nelJeutet bafJ einen )fianbel bon faft unneredjennarer ~ r a g i ) J e i t e . LTnb feIbf± roenn b a ~ CfbangeIi1l111 nidj± an bie :iStelle be§ Sforan gefett, fonbern i ~ m nur eine @:ltellung nenen Diefem in ben @:ldjufen biefer f8i:Hfer angeroiefen fein foUte, fo ift aud) bamit fd)on eine ) { \ a ~ n filr b a ~ @ ; ~ r i f t e n t u m freigegeoen, lnie man fie in a o f e ~ o a r e r 3dt nidjt ilU e r ~ o f f e n getuag± ~ i i ± ± e in biefen 2iinbern, )uo o i i 3 ~ e r ein unertritt dum @ ; ~ r i f t e n t u m . 952 Theological Observer. - . R i r d ) n d ) ~ 3 e i t g e f d ) i d ) t l i d ) e ~ . nut mit E e l i e n ~ g e f a l j t getvagt tvetben bUtfte; benn bet moljammebanifdje g : a n a t i ~ m u ~ lieljettfdjte ! B o l f ~ . unb @StaaiilIelien bolIftiinbig. !mit Ielien in bet Stat in ,Beiten getuartiget UmtuiiIaungen aUf allen @eliieten, tuie fie bem ®inheten gana gto\3et ®teigniffe botanaugeljen pfIegen I" ,,!menn fidj Me ~ a d j t i d j t lietvaljtljeitei I " ~ a b o n ljiingt alIetbingil bieI ali. ~ e t !aetidjt jebodj ftimmt im allgemeinen mit bem, tua£l fonft . ! m i f f i o n ~ n a d j t i d j t e n iioet ~ e m e I ~ a f d j a i l @Stellung aum ~ o t a n fagen. ~ e u . Iidj foIl biefet fogat ben Stotan im !aeifein bidet .!miinnet mit bem g:u\3 butdj b a ~ ,Bimmet gefto\3en ljalien. ~ . St . .!m. ~ O t m l l r f d j b e ~ ~ ~ l l l m in Oftllftifll. illadj ben neueften ~ a d j t i d j t e n aui5 Dftaftifa nimmt bie !metlieatlieit bet .!moljammebanet im ~ a t e g e l i i t g e mit unbetminberiet ~ a f t iljten g:origang. !Bon ben 58,000 !aetvoljnetn beil @eoitgei5 finb oeteiti5 30,000 .!moljammebanet getuotben, unb bai5 in ben tvenigen ~ a l j t e n feit bet !aefetung Dftaftifai5 butdj bie ®ngIiinbet. !mie ift biefet au\3etgetviiljnIidje ®tfoIg au etfIiiten? -2rI!5 bie Reine @Sdjat Eettotv.!Botliecfi5 lJOt bet iioetmadjt bet ®ngliinbet autiicftveidjen mu\3te, ba matfdjierien biele !Jtegimentet moljammebanifdjdnbifdjet @Solbaten am g:u\3e bei5 ~ a t e g e l i i t g e i l entIang, um bie !Betfolgung bet ~ e u t f d j e n aufauneljmen. @Sofori Hef bail @etiidjt butdj bie ~ a t e t i i I e t : , , ~ i e moljammebanifdjen @Sol. baten ba btunten tvetben eudj alIe umotingen, tvenn iljt nidjt iljten @Iau. oen anneljmtl" ,Bu biefem etften @etiidjt gefeIlte fidj oalb ein atveitei5: ,,®i5 ift bet !munfdj bet neuen, engIifdjen !Jtegietung, ba\3 fljt fdne @Sljenai, b a ~ ljei\3t, .!menfdjen oljne ,BibiIifation, meljt oldot. @eoirbete Eeute folIt iljt tvetben." 2ru\3et bem ®utopiiet ift fiit ben ~ a t e n e g e t abet nUt bet IDloljammebanet ein geoirbe±et IDlenfdj. ~ e t SJiiljepunft bet 2rngft tvutbe jebodj etteidjt, aI!5 bie ®ngliinbet gleidj nadj iljtem ®inaug f iimtIidje beut. fdjen IDliffionate unb feIlift bie eingeliotnen lrljtiftenIeljtet atvangiltveife aui5· bem @eliitge forifUljten Iieten. ~ u n m e l j t gaIt eil alil eine au!5gemadjte Statfadje, bat bie ®ngliinbet feIlift IDloljammebanet fein miitten. -2rliet nidjt nut bie IDladjt juiIbet @etiidjte, audj bie eigentiimIidje 2rtoeiti5tveife bet moljammebanifdjen !mewet oegiinftigte bai5 fdjnelle !Bottviirlilbtingen. ,Bu. niidjft trieb jebet IDloljammebanet, tveil @Stanbei5 unb !aetufei5 et audj fein modjte, mit gtotem ®ifet IDliffioni5atoeit. ~ i e SJauptfadje abet, bie aum ®tfoIg fUljrie, lieftanb barin, bat bie moljammebanifdjen !metliearlieitet auf jeben Untenidjt betaidjieten unb feine innete Umtvanb!ung itgenbtveldjet 2fri bedangten. ~ i e oIote !milIeniletlIiirung, fein betenbeteil Stiet unb fein '@SdjtveinefIeifdj au effen, fonbern nut nodj gefdjladjietei5 g:Ieifdj au genieten, geniigte, unb bie Staufe tvutbe boIIaogen. -@So finb benn Staufenbe bei5 ~ a t e b o l f e i l au!5 g:Utdjt, auil ®iteIfeit, ~ fIuget !aetedjnung, aui5 mequem. Iidjfeit .!moljammebanet getvotben. ~ a t ein aui5 betattigen @tiinben boll. aogenet IDlaffeniibethitt auf bie ~ a u e t feine tvitfIidjen Eeoenilfriifte in fidj oitgt, liegt aUf bet SJanb. @Sdjon finb bieIe SJunberie wiebet abgefalIen. ~ i e @efamtIage ift fUr bie Eeipaiget IDliffion, Me im ~ a t e g e l i i t g e fUnf SJauptftationen unb bierunbbteitig 2rutenpIQte untetljiirt, f djon beilljaIli a I l e ~ anbete alil ljoffnungi5Ioil, tveir iljte lrljtiftengemeinben feft entfdjIoffen finb, bem Wnftutm bet IDloljammebanet entfdjiebenet aI!5 je bie @Stitn au bieten. (2rlIg . .!miffion!5nadjt.)