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