Full Text for CTM Theological Observer 5-1 (Text)

<1tnurnrbitt aJqrnlngirul flnutqly Continuing LEHRE UNO VVEHRE MAGAZIN FUER Ev.-LuTH. HOMILETIK THEOLOGICAL QUARTERLY-THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY Vol. V January, 1934 No.1 CONTENTS Page Foreword. P. E. Kretzmann • • • • • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 1 Die grosse Klnft in der Leme von der Tanfe. J. T. Mueller 9 Beginnings in Indianapolis. H. M. Zorn. • • • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • 19 The "New Creation" according to Is. 65. L. Aug. Heerboth • • 29 Das Verhaeltnis des Pietismns znm Rationalismns. P. E. Kretzmann • • • • •• 37 Lutherworte ueber Gottesdienst und liturgische Gebraeuche. 45 Long or Short Sermon Texts ~ John H. C. Fritz. • • • • • • • • • • • 52 Outlines for Funeral SermOnS............ . . . . . • . . • . . • • 55 Miscellanea. . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • • • • 58 Theological Observer. - Xirchlich·Zeitgeschichtliches. . • • 63 Book Review. - Literatur. . . .. . .. . . . . . . .. . .. • .. .. .. . . 73 EID Predfger mU88 nicht alleln weldiffen @5inn gefagt toerben. @5onft ~at unfere iiffen±ridje @5djufe nidjtiil mit 2utljeriil ®ebanfen au tun, unb fein UrteH tiller lie toilrbe ein fdjarfeiil, fritifdje§ Wort fein; benn gerabe ba§, h>a§ i~n betoogen ljat, ben ®cbanfen einer aUe umfalfenben @5djufe iniil &uge au faffen unb anfang§toeife burdjaujU~ren, ber ®ebanfe an bie IjSflidjt beiil refigiiifen Unterridj±iil, ift in unferer iiffen±ridjen @5djule lloUrtiinbig unb llrinaipieU au§gefdjartet. ®efte~en toir nun audj gerne au, ban unfere iiffentridje @5djule unter ben ~er~iiItniffen, ttrie fie nun einmal in unferm 2anbe finb, reIigion§Io§ fein mut, unb ±reten ttrir lellier bafilr ein, ban fie e§ bleif)t, fo erh>iidjft un§ barau§ nur um fo me~r bie fdjreienbe ~rage an unfere stirdje, baiil ~eiBt, an un§ fellier - benn h> i 17 finb bie Sftrdje: ®ellen toir unfern stinbern bie @5djule, bie h>ir i~nen aI§ inadjfolger 2ut~er§ geben folIten? ®eben toir iljnen toenigf±en§ ben ffieIigion§unterridjt in einem lman, in einer ®rilnbfidjfeit unb in einem ®eift, toie e§ uniil 2u±ljer vei unferm Woljfftanb unb unter unfern allgemeinen miIlJung§miigIidj~ feiten af§ unfere ljeUige IJSflidjt in§ ®etoiffen fdjieven toilrbe? @§ niltt fein ~uviIiiumfeiern, h>enn man nidj± h>idIidj gettrilIt ift, in§ @5elliftgeridjt ber !nune ~inavaufteigen, ®oti um ~eraeiljung jUr alle§ ~erfiiumte au vit±en unD im ®Iauven an feine ~ergebung ein ineue§ au llflilgen." &. Chiliasm in the "Lutheran Companion." - It wag, with regret tha,t we reM an a,rticle in the Lutheran Companion (Augustana Synod), in the issue of November 18, 1933, entitled "Signs of the Times," written by Dr. J. H. Ford, which plainly teaches chilia,stic doctrine. We quote some of the statements, in this, article. "From the Word of God we lea,rn also that the present world systems are not permanent, but they a,re to give way to the theocratic form of government in due time. That time is quite clearly indicated, and it may not be so yery fa,r off." "In the new world order the ideals and principles of Christ will be put into practical a,pplication, not only in the lives of individuals, but in the policies of government. Sa,tan will be bound, whereas he a,t the present time has great power in the shaping of the policies and actions of the nations." "The new world order is described in many plaees in the Bible, both in the New and in the Old Testament. It is spoken of by Peter as the 'times of refreshing and the restitution of all things,.' In the Book of Revela,tion these times are briefly described as a thousand yea,rs of the 64 Theological Observer. - ~itcf)1icf)~3eitgefd)icf)t!id)es. reign of Christ and of His saints. Christ Himself says tha,t the times of the Gentiles will end and Israel as God's chosen people will again occupy a place in the sun. These aTe not theories, blit facts, which any- body who will investiga,te can readily see." "In the mean time we a.re also watching and waiting for the coming of Christ and the new world order. This expecta,tion was the blessed hope of Paul (Titus 2, 13) and of the apostles and of the noblest spirits in aU the Ohristian centuries." Wha,t lamentable confusion and depaTture from sound tea.ching do we not behold here! The writer holds tha,t the thousand yeaTS of Revela- tion a.re s,till a.head of US, that Israel as God's chosen people will again become prominent, that the reign of the Gentiles will cease with the coming of the Millennium. Is this in keeping with the plain teaching of Christ when He says· that His kingdom is not of this world, John 18, 36; and with that of the apostles, who decla,re tha,t "we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God," Acts 14, 22? Was Paul looking forward to the millennium when he spoke of "that day" and the "appea.r- ance" of the Lord, 2. Tim. 4, 8? Article XVII of the Augsburg Confession here comes to mind, where the sta,tement is made of the people submitting the confession: "They condemn also others who a.re now spreading certain Jewish opinions, tha,t before the resurrection of the dead the godly shall take possession of the kingdom of the world, the ungodly being everywhere suppressed." How timely is, not the warning uttered in the same paper in the issue of November 4, 1933, by Dr. A. Hult: "To add to confusion, Christians specula.te more on the da,te of His coming than they live pre- pa.red for His advent, busy more with prophetic curiosities than. with the fundamental simplicities and richnesses of saving Gospel-truth." A. The Rosicrucians. - Answering the question Wha,t is the Rosicrucian Brotherhood? Rev. John P. Milton gives this answer in the Lutheran Oompanion: - "The question is difficult to answer briefly and concisely, first, because there a.re several separated groups in this country that presume to use the name Rosicrucian, and secondly, because of the va,riety of subjects included within Rosicrucian teaching. "The AMORO (Ancient and Mystical Order of Rosae Crucis), with headquaTters a,t San Jose, Cal., and affiliated with the international order of the same name, claims to be the real organiza.tion. It insists on the term Rosicrucian Order and is essentiaUy a fra.terna'! organization. In many respects it resembles the order of Freemasonry, though it denies any historical or present connection. In the Rosicruoian Manual (1929) we are told that the order is 'primarily :1, humanita,rian movement, making for greater health, happiness, and peace in the ea.rthly lives. of all man- kind.' It claims to be a· universal movement, including members of all lands and creeds, and therefore broadly non-sectarian in its religious principles. Like Freemasonry, it requires fa,ith in the existence of God as 'the divine Ruler, Architect, Mind, and Father of all men, regardless, of creed or doctrine.' It further claims to have members" including clergymen, in all denomina,tions and that nothing in Rosicrucian teachings will affect the personal religious belief of the individual except to strengthen it. It claims. that its real teachings a,re not to be found in book form in any country. In aU these things we recognize its simila.rity Theological Observer. - ~itd)lid)~i'lcitl1efd)idJtIidJes. 65 with the lodge religions generally. Yet in the 'Rosicrucian Dictionary,' which forms a, paTt of the Rosicrucian Manual., previously mentioned, we find much that pla,ces the movement more definitely. It is a, child of the mystery cnlts of the East, which ha,ve influenced all lodge religions and also such movements as theosophy. An essential doctrine is the teaching of reinca,rnation. It does, not believe tha,t there is a, dis,tinct crea,ted soul in each human being, bnt tha,t there is only one soul in the nniverse, God's, of which an unsepa,rated segment reincarnates itself from time to time in human beings. We recognize this for wha,t it is, pantheism. The 'Rosy Cross! does not snggest the Christian cross, the cross of Christ, but is traced ba,ck to an ancient Egyptian s;ymbol, a symbol of immortality and reincal'na,tion. It ha.s sanctnaries and sacred teachers in India, and in Tibet and terms and teachings which plainly come from the same source. We see, therefore, how fa,r removed it is from Christianity and how it antagonizes Christianity at every essential point. It sha,res all the anti- christian featnres of ordinaTY lodge religion, with some more added from the mysticism and occultism of the East. How any professing Chris,tian can belong to it would seem to be tbe grea,test mystery of all. In passing this judgment, I am guided solely by what I ha;ve read in the Rosicrucia.n Manual mentioned, which conta,ins an approving preface by the 'Impera,tor' of the order, H. Spencer Lewis." Continuing in a later issue of the Lutheran Oompanion, Pastor Milton discusses the Rosicrucian Fellowship as follows: "The Rosicrucian Fellow- ship, with headqua,rters at Oceanside, Gal., whose chief spokesman was Max Heindel, is somewhat different. It has eonntless books for sale, mostly by Heindel, and claims to set forth the real Rosicrucian teaching in full. AMORG denies tha,t his, teachings a,re those of the Rosicrucian Order, although it admits that he was a, keen student of both thcosophica1 and Rosicrucian teachings under a priva,te teacher. It cans his philosophy essentially Ghristian and theosophical; how both a,t the same time is another mys,tery! It is reany a, mixture of Christian terms, emptied of their original content, with the teachings. of the J~astern occnlt;~lll. The principal difference which he himself admits to exist between the teachings of the Rosicrucian philosophy a.nd the orthodox OhUl'ch is in regard to reinca,l'nation and the absolute individuality of eaeh soul of man. We find thus that he sharesi the general Rosierucian teaching of reincarnation and of pantheism. Much more conld be sa,id to show how he empties the Christian tea.ching concerning the cr08S and the forgiveness of sins, even while using the terms and professing to defend them. Of the whole Rosi- erucian movement it ean confidently be said tha,t it is not Christian in tIle historical, evangelieal sense of tha,t term." A. Evangelical Synod Votes for Union with the Reformed Church in the United States. - When the Evangelical Synod of North America held its convention in Cincinnati October 3-10, it discussed the question whether it should, as had been proposed, join the Reformed Church in the United States, which formerly, before 1867, bore the name German Reformed Church. The result was that the convention voted nnanimonsly to merge with this church-body. If the Lutheran element in the Evangelical Synod voiced any prot€st, it apparently dropped all resistance when the vote was taken. A. 5 66 Theological Observer. - .reitcf)fid)~2eitgefcf)iC\Jmcf)el!. What does Protestantism Teach on the Seat of Authority in Religion? - Writing in the Christian Century of October 4, the Episco- palian B. 1. Bell declares: "It is a fundamental principle, indeed the basic principle of Protestantism, that each individual Christian's own soul is the first, last, and sufficient guide and authoritative judge about truth or falsity, wisdom or lack of wisdom, in matters of faith and morals .... In consequence upon this principle every true, thoroughgoing Protestant minister is at liberty to believe anything, and teach anything, which he himself happens to think correct and to disbelieve anything, and fail to teach anything, wllich he does not happen to like. When we listen to a Protestant minister preach, it is the minister himself who is the authority. It is one man talking on the basis of one man's understanding. . .. This is not the conviction about authority on religion that was held by Chris- tians for the first fifteen hundred years of Christian history, and it is not the conviction held by two-thirds of all Christians to-day. It is not the notion held by the Orthodox Eastern churches or by the Roman Catholic Church or by the Episcopal churches. It is strictly a modern, Protestant idea." The Christian Century should have added a few footnotes to the remarks of its contributor. It should have reminded him that most men are acquainted with the axiomatic saying: "The Bible, the whole Bible, nothing but the Bible, is the religion of Protestantism." Protestantism is so named because it protestcd against the usurpation of authority in re- ligion by the Catholic hierarchy. It recognizes but one authority in religion, the written 'Word of God. It accepts that authority unreservedly. Did Dr. Bell never read the Smalcald Articles? "The Word of God shall establish articles of faith, and no one else, not even an angel." That "true, thoroughgoing Protestant minister" who assumes "the liberty to believe anything, and teach anything, which he himself happens to think correct" can find little comfort in the Lutheran Confessions, which warn "against the enthusiasts, i. e., spirits who boast that they have the Spirit without and before the Word and accordingly judge Scripture or the spoken Word and explain and stretch it at their pleasure, as lIiIuenzer did." (Smale. Art.; Trigl., p.495.) Protestantism repudiates Muenzerism, which makes the individual the seat of authority in religion. Did Dr. Bell never read the Westminster Confession Y "The Supreme Judge, by whom all controversies of religion are to be determined and all decrees of councils, opinions of ancient writers, doctrines of men, and private spirits are to be examined can be no other but the Holy Spirit speaking in the Scripture." (Chap. 1.) Did he never read the Articles of Religion of the Episcopal Church? "Holy Scripture containeth all things necessary to salvation, so that, whatsoever is not read therein nor may be proved thereby is not to be required of any man, that it should be believed as an article of the faith or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation." (Art. VI.) In the face of these un- equivocal statements a great amount of ignorance is required in order to produce the assertion tlmt Protestantism places the seat of authority in the individual. It is true that many, yea, most modern "Protestant" theo- logians have superseded the authority of Scripture with their own authority. But these men have forfeited their right to be called Protestants. They are repudiating a basic principle of Protestantism. The Smalcald Articles put them in a class with lIiIuenzer. Dr. Fosdick and his colleagues are Theological Observer. - .!l:ird)nd)~.3ettgefd)icl)t!id)es. 67 Muenzerites. - As to the Episcopalians, Dr. Bell has not classified them correctly. There are at least three kinds of Episcopalians. There are Thirty-nine-Articles Episcopalians, who believe in the sole authority of Scripture. There are Broad-church Episcopalians, who believe in the authority of the individual. And there are Anglo-Catholic Episcopalians, who believe in the dual authority of Scripture and of the Church. E. Controversy in the Protestant Episcopal Church Continuing. - In the circles of the clergy of this Church a protest is making the rounds, which now has been signed by 2,112 priests. It is addressed to the House of Bishops and is directed against "celebrations of Holy Communion by ministers not episcopally ordained" in Episcopal churches. The protest reads, as reported in the Living Chtlrch:- "We, the undersigned clergy of the Protestant Episcopal Church, desire respectfully to express to the House of Bishops our conviction that, with loyalty to the provisions of our Book of Common Prayer and of our canons and with Christian consideration for the consciences of our brethren in our own Church, our clergy cannot participate in celebrations of the Sacra- ment of the Lord's Supper by ministers who have not had episcopal ordi- nation, and we feel bound to state that, if celebrations of the Lord's Supper by ministers not episcopally ordained a,re permitted in our churches, this will precipitate a crisis in our own Church, will break the fellowship of our Church with the Anglican Communion, and will endanger the present hopes of Christian reunion." A strange statement indeed! Not a word about disloyalty to the one rule of faith, not a syllable about endorsement given to erroneous teachings on the Lord's Supper by joining in a Communion service with people who are en'orists with respect to the Eucharist. The reasons ad- vanced against such communions are of a minor nature. Was it possibly the lack of uuity among the Protestants which dictated such a colorless, feeble appeal? A. Mode,rnism in the Protestant Episcopal Church. - One stands aghast at reading the articles which the Living Church, conservative Protestant Episcopal weekly, publishes in a, series on "Liberal Catholicism and the Modern World" under the general editorship of Dr. Frank Gavin of General Theological Semina,ry. Before us lies the a,rtic1e written by Dr. F. C. Grant of Sea,bury-Western Theological Semina,ry, Evanston, Ill., on the New Tesltament. Among other things, Dean Grant says: "The sources of our faith aTe manifold and va,rious. 1. Scripture is one source, culmina,ting in the New Tes,tament. Z. Tradition is another - a vital, living, and life-conveying factor, by no means something dea,d and lifeless, but including, for example, the personal influence of men of faith who hand on the tradition. 3. Still another source is private religious expe- rience - the reaction of the individual to the tradition or teaching of the Church and to the personal handing on of it by those who believe; his response to the knowledge and illumination conveyed by the Scriptures,; and then on beyond these the crea,tive inner life of the man himself in a, progressive and increasingly close union with God, with the will and the wisdom, the power and the love, of the Eternal. And there are still other sources in the rich and ever-renewed and inexhaustible, fresh, creative life of faith. The Christian religion does not require anyone to go 68 Theological Observer. - .reirdJlicl)'8ettgefdJidJtrid)e~. contrary to his own experience either in faith or in conduct, i. e., not con- tra,ry to what in popula.r language is called reason, or the conclm;ions we dra.w, the outlook we derive, from our experience. This has. eyer been God's way with man; else what was reason for, which God implanted in us as a, guide through the mazes of conflicting sense impressions and of opinions, the latter but little removed, aoS P'la,to said, from the reaJm of sense impression?" "The question arises for those who have relied exclu- sively hitherto upon Scriptural authority: Wha.t is to take the place of the Bible now that Biblical criticism has weakened the founda,tions of its authority? For one who sha.res the Ca,tholic view, even in a, mea.sur~, the question is by no means as ba.filing as it is for the traditional Prot- estant, for the Bible has never occupied for him the supremely authoritative place it has held in Protestant theology and religious thought. The real authority for him is to be sought and found in the life of the Christian society; in the experience of the fellowship; in the long-continued and vitally continuous, and manifoldly Ya,rious, and aU-embracing, and pa- tiently thought-out experience of the whole Church of Christ, reaching back in its origins to the very beginning of the Christian movement in history, back even behind the New Testament and its earliest sources, and reaching out to embrace aU men everywhere in its universal a.ppea.!, drawing them ever closer to the hea.rt of the EternaL" What more definite renunciation of the formal principle of Protestantism can one imagine? When people search for authoritative truth in the bogs of shifting human experience, it is not surprising to sec that cthey discover as something divine the apos,tolic succession, the episcopa,te, and other remnants of Romanism. A. Does This Make It Unanimous,? - Our Sunday Visitor is a Ca,tholic weekly, published at Huntington, Ind. Under its hanner head, over the signature of P. Cardinal Gaspa.rri, it carries the Apostolic Benediction of the Holy Father Pius XI. In the issue of November 5 the Rev. John M. Riach, O. S. P., writes under the heading: "The Mass Is the Greatest Drama. in All the vVorlcl": "Tha.t 'life is a, drama.' is· a· pla,titude whic11 cannot be denied. . .. vVhy i~ life a drama? Precisely, because it em- bodies the four constituent elements of the dra.ma.: conflict, cha,raders, dialogs, and emotion. . .. Those four elements of the drama, a,re aD found in life" and it is our interest in the final unra.veling of the plot which makes us love to be alive. Instances of this inherent love of drama, in all stages of life could be specified galore. The fairy-tales of our children were really infantile plays, projections into the external world of the inchoate inner desires of our heing. Who among us ha.s not stood as tense specta,tor while the absorbing tragedy of Punch und Judy came to town? That was the thea,ter of our long ago. .All our games, too, a,re dramas translated into terms of athletics,; for a, stadium is hut the stage for an intensive conflict of cha,racter, dialog, and emotion in ya.rying degrees. Thus the list could be extended qd infinitum j our examinations a,t school, our fra,ternities, sororities, the competition of the business world, our daily intercourse with the world, the warfare of the soul to keep good, the signs, esoteric regalia" and theatrical ethos of secret societies, - all these things express in their own peculiar way the living fa,ct that life itself is a drama and the most thrilling encounter in all the world. Every Theological Observer. - .reitd)fid)~8eitgefd)id)md)es. 69 one, therefore, is irresistibly dra,wn to the drama,tic. It is. the spice of life, and in its enjoyment are satisfied the innate desires of man .... It follows from all this that, if a certain religion claims to bear the hall·ma,rk of divinity, it must appeal to the draIIllLtic side in order to satisfy the whole man. This is precisely what the C'a,tholic Church does. It sa,tisfies first of all the intellect [?]; ... in bodily worship it is no less satisfying, as the postures of kneeling, bea,ting the breast, bowing the head, etc., etc., testify; and finally it gives full pIa\}' to man's, dramatic instinct because its pivotal act of worship, the holy Mass, is the greatest drama, in the world. . .. These pages will be confined to a, portra,yal of the drama of the Ma.ss, in order to show that it is a, riot of pageantry, symbolism, and pantomime, in which no word, action, or posture is without meaning." - Yet, if we had said that the Roman Mass is a, show, de- liberately designed to appeal to the same instinct tha,t seeks satisfaction in a, Ba,rnum and Bailey circus, we should no doubt ha,ve been taxed with irreverence. T. H. Anent the Unio,n of Unitarians and Universalists. - The Na- tional Universalist Convention, meeting in Worcester, Mass., voted ap- proval of the plan of affiliation already adopted by the Unita,rian Asso- ciation. Two changes were made. A theistic basis was added to the preamble. It was proposed that some other name than the Free Church should be sought, since this is vague, undescriptive, and already appro· pria,ted by a minor denomination. - Ohristian Oentury. A. A Spiritualist Fraud Uncovered. - Without comment, because none is needed, we reprint the account of Marcus A. Spencer, who, as correspon· dent of the Ohristian Oentury from Scotland, reports on a sensational trial in Edinburgh in which a medium figured. "Great public interest was shown in our Edinburgh trial of a spiritual. istic medium, who was sued for fraud as the result of one of her seances. The charge was that 'she did pretend ... that she was a medium through whom the spirits of deceased persons were openly and regularly material- ized' and that at the given place and time she 'pretended that what was visible and audible in the room was the spirit and voice of a deceased child named Peggy, the truth, as she well knew, being that what she did pretend to be the materialized spirit of the child was in fact a woman's stockinet undervest and that the audible voice was her own voice, and she defrauded the eight persons each of lOs.' "The testimony was very interesting. "Five of the eight people who had attended the particular seance agreed in their testimony that one of them had grabbed 'Peggy' during the 'spirit's' conversation with them. 'She' proved to be of soft, stretchy material and rippccl in the scuffle; the lights were flashed on, and the medium was fonnd behind her curtains, not in a trance, trying to put some article up her dress. She was forced to undress, and the ripped undervest was found 011 her. "The defense was marvelolls. None of those present at the seance was summoned. There were two chief witnesses. A doctor who said he had about sixty sittings with this medium described her as the most remark- able woman in Europe. He remembered an occasion when a piece of cytoplasm six feet long had COme out of her mouth like a big snake, had 70 Theological Observer. - ~itdjfidj.3eitgefdjtdjtlidjes. wobbled about with imm<>llse rapidity, slung itself around his neck, and lifted him clear off his chair! Another time he had seen the medium sitting on an easy· chair with no body from the hips downwards! The fiscal (prose- cuting attorney) produced the undervest mentioned in the charge and asked him, 'You would not say that was an ectoplasmic garment?' 'No,' he replied; but he hastened to maintain that extraordinary things happened with Mrs. Duncan (the accused) - he had seen her shoes and stockings taken off and thrown at him! "The other chief witness was a Mr. Oaten of Manchester, president of the International Spiritualist Association, the editor of a paper dealing exclusively with psychic research. He was asked during his testimony how many spiritualists there were in Great Britain just now. He answered that there were 16,000 or 17,000 actual members of spiritualist societies, and he computed that 100,000 to 120,000 people assembled at spiritualist meetings every Sunday evening. "After a two·day hearing and a week to formulate his opinion, the judge found the charge proved. The crowd assembled to hear the verdict were mostly women who had waited in the rain outside for an hour to gain admittance. They were apparently deeply interested in spiritualism; some of them sat bowed in prayer before the judge came in. The lawyer for the defense asked for a light sentence because the accused had [Ln un- employed husband and a family of eight dependent for income upon her obtaining sitters at seances. He reminded the sheriff of the tremendous faith which thousands of people lJad in Mrs. Duncan and asked him to impose a penalty which would shake the faith of these people as little as possible. "The sheriff imposed a fine of £ 10, or a month's imprisonment. On leaving the dock and passing in front of the bench, she turned to him and said, 'God forgive you!'" A. Sixty-Five Years' Service in New York Pulpit. - Rev. G. U. Wenner, New York's oldest pastor in active service and holder of the longest continuous pastora,te in this country, announces that he has no intention of retiring from the pulpit of Ohrist Lutheran Church, New York City,. which he founded sixty-five years ago, despite the fact that the congregation there has been unable to pay him any sala,ry during the past two yeaJ·s. - Christian Century. A. Dr. Haldeman Deceased. - "Dr. 1. M. Haldeman, eighty-eight years of age and for nea,T1y fifty yea,rs pastor of the First Baptist Ohurch, Borough of Manhattan, Oity of New York, has passed to his reward. Despite his fa.iling health and ebbing strength great congrega,tions con- stantly waited on his ministry. His amazing primacy in the pulpit was not due to the fact tha,t he pandered to popular ta.ste, for his preaching ran counter to the prevailing ideals of the day and unsparingly condemned every departure from God's Holy Word. His uniquenesEl as a preacher consisted in his brilliant eloquence, his extraordina,ry knowledge of the Bible, and his profound and unshakable convictions. New York City being a, Mecca. for the people of the world, multitudes of strangers sought out this far-famed preacher and cauied back to their homes' the extra,- ordina;ry story of his rema,rkable ministry. While the pulpit was his throne, many books and countless pamphlets came from his busy pen and Theological Observer. - .reird)[id)~8eitgeid)id)md)es. 71 threaded themselves to the ends of the earth. Dr. Haldeman was too much absorbed in the deeper things of God to be a, good mixer and a, haH-fellow- well-met. If he was, not active in denominational life, it was not because he lacked the convictions, the courage and the consecra,tion of an old- fashioned and thorough-going Baptist." So writes the Watchman-Examiner reporting the dea,th of Dr. Haldeman, which occurred September 27. As we think of this sturdy Fundamentalist, we thank God that even in circles where doctrine is much vitia,ted by rationalism the divine Savior is exalted. A. II. ,lmtlanb. Chinese Government More Favorable to Religious Instruction in Schools. - The usually well-informed Fides Service reports a very impor- tant statement of the Chinese Minister of Education under date of Novem- ber 25, 1932, as the Ohinese Reoorder for September, 1933, informs us, by which the former inimical attitude of the Chinese government to religious instruction in educational institutions is completely reversed. In the in- terest of freedom of conscience and of Christian education one can only hope that the report is well founded. The statement is said to contain the fol- lowing paragraphs: - "There is one thing more - the question of religion. Whether or not religion deserves to be fostered is a question apart; however, since religion actually exists in society and wields an influence both universal and pro- found, it becomes a question most intimately connected with that of education. "It is evidently impossible, therefore, so far as education is concerned, not to have a definite policy of one kind or another as regards this question. A destructive policy of intervention, such as was formerly adopted, is clearly not a proper way of dealing with the matter. The present laissez- faire policy is not good either; for, while it recognizes the religious liberty of the individual, it simply ignores the influence of -religion upon education. "For this reason it is necessary that we adopt, in accordance with the ends and aims of education, a radically different attitude towards religion, so that religion may not only not obstrnct the national revival, but may be of actual assistance to it. This Department, therefore, after having re- viewed in detail its aims and methods in the readjustment of national edu- cation, desires in passing to clarify this point regarding the administration of education and the question of religion." A. Development of the Turkish Language. - All friends of Christian missions are interested in everything that will make Turkey more acces- sible to Christian missionaries. Repe>ttedly during the last years men- tion has been made of attempts on the part of the Turkish government to make its language a more fit and pliable instrument, removing difficulties formidable both for natives and foreigners. A correspondent of the Chris- tian Oentu1'Y has this to say on the latest developments in this field: "The past few months have brought us nearer a reform which, if it is carried out, will probably count as one of the most remarkable in the world. It is the attempt fundamentally to reform the Turkish language. Every text- book will tell students of Turkish that what is generally understood by 72 Theological Observer. - .reird)lid)~3eitgelc£)id)md)e5. that language is a compound of Turkish proper, Arabic, and Persian. If the text-book is rather old, it will add that Arabic and Persian grammar rules are allowed to interfere. But what in mpst cases it will omit to say is that to nine Turks out of ten written Turkish is incomprehensible. When the gazi decided to remedy this state of things by clearing the Turkish language of its foreign components, he had two objects in view. One was to sever the connection with the Oriental past, since for the per- fect knowledge of Turkish a thorough study of Arabic and Persian has, as a rule, been necessary. The other was to create a really popular lan- guage, accessible to all. To this end the whole nation was called to cooperate. For about one year there has been a passionate hunting for Turkish words, both in Turkish folk-lore and literature and, to some extent also, in imagination. The yield has been extraordinarily rich. Over 100,000 words are now submitted for examination, and from these the new Turkish language is to evolve. Like most changes in Turkey the simplification of the national language, too, has been something of a natural progress. The gazi's intervention represents the will to accelerate this evolution and to m'ake it radical. The compilation of the new Turkish dictionary is very likely to be a monument of human work; but much more important and also much more difficult will be its practical enforcement. Meanwhile old expressions are ejected, and new ones are borrowed from the French. The result is that Turkish papers are filled with words which a Turk, according to his knowledge of French, mayor may not under- stand, but which in no case he has the possibility of looking up in any of the existing Turkish dictionaries." A. Mrs. Besant Deceased. - The Ohristian Oentury reports: "Annie Besant, who had identified herself with India as perha.ps no other Britisher, died on September 21 at the advanced age of 84 at Adya.r, near Madras, ihe world headquarters of the Theosophical Society. The universal tribute paid to her by aU cla.sses of people is a. recognition of the unique ser- vices [?] she had done for India.. She first a.ppea.red in India as an advoca.te of theosophy. Though theosophy as such has made but little progress among the religions of India, the able [?] W8\y in which Mrs. Besant defended the religious beliefs and pra.ctises. of Hinduism against what she and India considered a.t the time as the onslaughts of Western Christian missionaries appealed to the popular imagination. "The esoteric practises and associations of Annie Besant culminating in a famous court ease about the cus.tody of the Brahmin boy Krishna- murti, who la.ter became the so-caned 'world-teacher' of theosophy, brought Mrs. Besant and theosophy under a. cloud. From that date, as if to regain the influence she had lost with the people of India., she threw herself hea.rt and soul into Indian politics and worked for India's freedom. She was responsible, before Mr. Gandhi came on the Indian scene, throug'h ller horne-rule movement for India, for a~vakening nationa.Iism and directing it along channels of persistent agitation and propaganda.. For the earnest and devoted work she elid for the political emancipa.tion of India Annie Besant will be ever remembered in this country." Tha.t Mrs. Besant was a bitter enemy of the Christian religion and that she is now facing the Judge whose truths. she here denied is some- thing which should be added to complete the account. A.