Full Text for CTM Theological Observer 5-8 (Text)

(!tnurnr~tu m~tnlngirul tlnut41y Continuing LEHRE UND VVEHRE MAGAZIN FUER EV.-LuTH. HOMILETIK THEOLOGICAL QUARTERLY-THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY Vol. V August, 1934 No.8 CONTENTS Pap The Chief Prinoiples of New Testament Textual Critioism. W. Arndt. • • • • • • • • • • •• 577 Zur Lehre von der Reue. Th. Engelder ..•••••••••••••.• " 584 The Catechism in the Christian Home. T. Laetach ••••••• 596 Der Gottesdienst in der alten Kirohe. P. E. Kretzmann ••••• 604 The Story of loseph in the Light of Reoent Researoh. P. E. Kretzmann. • • • • • • •• 611 Sermons and Outlines.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • • . . . . . . . .. 81lS lliscellanea. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 826 Theological Observer. - Kirchlich.Zeitgeschiohtliches .•• " 630 Book Review. - Literatur. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • • . . • . .. 644 Ein Predlger mugs n1cht alleln wf!iden, also dasa er die Schafe unterwelse, me 8i8 rechte Ohrieten aollen aeiD, sondern auch daneben den Woelfen wehre,., dll/lll sle die Schafe nfcht angrellen und mit talscher Lehre vertuebren und Irrtum eln· tnehren. - Lu,her. Es lot keto Diog, daa die Leute mehr bel der Kirchc behaelt df1lD die gute Predigt. - .Apologie, Arl.2J. If the trumpet give an oncertaiD lOund, who ohall prepare h1mle1f to the battle f 1 Oor. ,lJ, 8. Published for the Ev. Luth. Synod of lIIIissouri, Ohio, and Other States CONCORDIA PUlJLISBIlfG :S:OlJ'SlI:, St. Louf!l, lIIto. OH Theological Observer. - stirdjndj • .8eitgefdjidjmdje~. I. .2lmcrika. m:lt~ bet: iSi)ltobe. ~ie ~iftrift~Dfiitter her Ietten ID'lonate Befdjiiftigen tidj faft au~fdjnetHdj mit ben !J1adjrief)ten ti6er hie ~iftrift~f~noba!fitungen. 5trotbem hJir nodj faft iiBemII im 3eief)en ber ~eimfudjung @otte~ ftegen, aeugen biefe ber !J1adjridjten boef) bon ID'lut unb ®ottbertruuen. ~u~ ona~ goma rommt bie !J1adjridjt, bat fief) bie lBeHriige filr ben entfpreef)enhen 3dt" mum biefe~ ~a'fjr eihJa berboppeH 'fja6en. @i3 fdjeint lidj gier unb anherfhJo au aeigen, baB hie illjriften in unfern ®emeinben ben @rnft ber @Sadjlage erfennen unb Bereit finh, hJirfTidje Opfer au Bringen, hJenn ignen erfIiirl hJirb, 11.)ie ef tatfadjHdj ftelj±. @;i3 ift Durdjau~ notig, bal) jeber hJa'fjre ilqrif± in unfern @emeinben edenn±: ,,®ein' ~rr6eit harf nicljt ruqn." - @ana Befonheren ID'lut unb allBerorbentriclje ~ui3ballet: 6ehJeifen audj bie ~iftrifte in ®ilhamerifa, hJie bie lBeridjte iiBer bie 6dben ®l:)nohaIfttungen seigen. @;in bon bem C&oncorbia~Q3errag in ~orto ~negre ljeraui3gege6enei3 lBiidjIein fiiljrt in anfcljaulicljer )ffieife hie ~r6eit biefei3 @efdjafti3 bor. :vcr Q3erIag ar6eite± liclj je ranger, hefto entfdjiebener emprn:. - ~ui3 bem @SilhHef)en :viftrift fomm± bie !J1acljriclj±, baB in IJloriha cine ®onntagffcljnle 6eftegt, bie @SdjiiIer aui3 berfcljiebenen @St'racljen unb ffiaffen anfhJeift: engHfef)e, beutfclje, fcljottifdje, irifclje, ffanbinabifef)e, italienifclje, jiibifclje unb f\Janifdje ®djiiIer (au~ ben iTSljHippinen). ~nf ber IJidj±eninfef ljat man neuliclj ein Sfiref)enge6iinbe filr $25 erriclj±et. - ~fui3 berfcljiebcnen :viftriIten hJirh Berief)±ct, baB man ®ottei3bienfte filr bie ®ommerfrifef)Ier einricljtet. llJCancljer" ortf hJerhen bief e ®ottefbienfte im IJreien a6geljarten. ~udj in hen offent~ Hcljen ~nftar±en hJirh bie ID'liffion in mancljen :vif±riften mit groBem @ifer unb mit groter 3ieI6elt11tBtljeit 6e±rie6en, 10 i). lB. in WCinnefo±a. - :vie :vireftoren ber ®l)nobalanftarten aur ~u~6Hbung bon iTSaftoren unb Qeljrern hJer6en mit groBem @;ifer um @SdjiiIer, ba bie @Siatiftif nacljanhJeifen fdjeint, baB roir inner!jaI6 einef ;sa!jraeljng faum genug Sfanbibaten hJerben ent~ Iaffen fonnen, um bie gel1Joljnlicljen Qilcl'en (burclj ;ito]) unb ffiefignation) au fuUen. - linter ben Wlannern, bie biefei3 ~aljr i!jr gorbene~ ~mgju6iIiiura feiern, finben ficq bie foIgenben: iTSrof. D. O. ~attftiib± bon unferer ID'liI~ hJauleer lroncorbia, iTSrafe~ ~. ~ai6 in9Corb~)ffigconfin, P. ~. ~annenfelbt, P. Q3. SfeIIer bon S1anfai3, bel: hJiiljrenb ber fi\nfaig ~aljre berfef6en ®cmeinbe gebient !jat, P.~.~. Sfunt, ber jett in ber )sIinbenmiHion ±iitig ift, P. il. ID'ledel, ~orfteger bei3 )ffiaifenljanfef au ID'larhJoob, iTSa., P.~. ffiu\Jpredjt, ~aui3ebitor in unferm iloncorbia~~erIag. ~a8u fommen noef) bie foIgenben emeriti: ~. )8artHng in OrtonbiIIe, ID'linn., ~. SfaumelJcr in Qancafter, 0., ~. Sfudjle in lrlebeIanb, 0., unb O. iTSratoriuf in QouifbiIIe, Sfl). \13. @;. Sf. The· Quadricentennial of the German Bible. - Under this heading the AtLstralian Lutheran reports how the quadricentenniaI of Luther's Bible was observed by our Lutheran brethren living in and about the city of Adelaide, Australia" It says: "It was an imposing gat11ering that as- sembled at the Adelaide Town Hall on April 29, at 2.30 in the afternoon, to demonstrate that Luther's great work, the translation of the Bible, is appreciated still, though four hundred years have passed by since the work WMI completed. The gathering consisted almost exclusively of members Theological Observer. - .Ritd)(id)~8ettgefd)id)tltd)dl. 631 of the metropolitan congregations aa also of those near by in the country. It is estimated that well over a thousand people were present. A special program for the occasion had been printed in attractive form, and in it were set out not only the order of procedure for the afternoon, but also many interesting references to the German and English versions of the Bible as we now have them. Prof. M. T. Winkler read the lesson and led the prayer. The first speaker was Pastor H. Hassold of Eudunda, who outlined the work that Lutlwr accomplished in translating the Bible. He was fol- lowed by Pastor W. J anzow, who spoke on the relation of the Bible to the whole of Luther's work and the subsequent attitude of the Lutheran Church towards the Bible. Finally Prof. H. Hamann spoke on the influence of Luther's translation upon the English Authorized Version. An imposing feature of the celebration was the massed choir, which, under the baton of Mr. V. Appelt of Eudunda, rendered the anthems Send Out Thy IAght (Gounod) and Gl01'ious Is Thy Name (Mozart). A further gathering was held on Wednesday, May 2, in the Adelaide Town Hall. Some four hundred people, many of them strangers, attended. Addresses were delivered by Pastors C. Hoopmann, T. Lutze, and E. Graebner, and anthems were ren- dered by the choir. Pastor Hoopmannspoke on Modernism and t.he Bible, Pa.stor Lutze dwelt on the testimony of archeology to the truth of the Bible, and Pastor Graebner spoke on the inspiration of the Bible. To at- tract public attention to these celebrations, the Luther League had arranged for a, Bible exhibit in a prominent show-window in Rundle Street. The British and Foreign Bible Society kindly furnished a few rare Bibles to supplement the exhibit. A German Bible printed in 1543 - before Luther's death - served to illustrate what kind of type was used in the earliest printed Bibles. Another very interesting exhibit was that lent by General Dean of Mount Lofty, an old German Bible, illustrated with hand-paintings. The display attracted much attention." In concluding his address, Prof. H. Hamann said: "Luther was not like a, star, dwelling a.part; he was rather like some central sun, sending forth life-giving, fructifying, stimulating rays in all directions; and partly influenced by these rays, Tyndale became the great English translator. Hence we and aU who prize the English Bible owe some debt of gratitude for this treasure, under God, to Ma,rtin Luther." The Sunday aiternoon service (April 29) was broa.dcast by two radio stations, 5CL and 5CK of Adelaide. Prior to the celebration, on April 27, Prof. H. Hamann published in the Advertiser, South Australia's morning daily, an article entitled "Transla.tion of the Bible - Luther's Great Work." This a,rticle a Roman Catholic weekly, the Southern 01"OSS, answered with a tirade against Luther, "in which some of the many falsehoods which Rome keeps on hand to besmirch the fair fame of the great Reformer were repeated." In refuting the Roman Catholic "outburst of misrepresentation and falsehood," the Austr'alian Lutheran quotes. among others, the Jesuit historian Audin, who writes as follows of Luther's masterly translation: "Luther's translation of the Bible is a noble monument of literature; a vast enterprise, which seemed to require more than the life of a man, but which Luther accomplished in a few years. The poetic soul finds in this translation evidences of genius and expressions as natural, beautiful, and melodius as· in the original languages. Luther's translation some- 632 Theological Observer. - ~itd)!idHleitgefd)id)md)es. times: renders the primitive phrase with touching simplicity, invests itself with sublimity and magnificence, and receives all the modifications which he wishes to impart to it. It iE> simple in the recital of the patriarchs, glowing in the predictions of the prophets, familia,r in the gospels" and colloquial in the epistles. The imagery of the original is rendered with undeviating fidelity; the translation occasionally a,pproaches, the text. [n We must, then, not be astonished a,t the enthusiasm which Saxony felt a,t the a,ppearance of Luther'E> version. Both Catholics auel Protestants rega,rded it an honor done to their ancient idiom." J. T. M. Shall Lutherans over against Each Other Practise Open Com- munion and Pulpit-Fellowship P - On this question we find the follow- ing remarks in the Lutheran of May 10: ''We have in hand a pamphlet written by the talented, consecrated, and active president of St. Olaf Col- lege, Dr. L. W. Boe. He titles it 'God's Movement' and solemnly summons every Lutheran general body in the United States and Canada to revise the ruling that denies participation in the Lord's Supper to any Lutheran on the ground that the congregation to which this person belongs is con- nected with a general body which has not officially been declared in altar- fellowship with the gpneral body to which the congregation administerting the Sacraments belongs. That is a ponderous sentence, and we state a case, According to the rule now operative no member of a Church of the United Lutheran Church is allowed to receive the Lord's Supper in any adminis- tration of it conducted by the Missouri, Norwegian, or American churches. He can present himself (properly prepared) at altars of the Augustana and United Danish congregations. JliIissouri excludes all except its own members. Dr. Boe argues that pastors and congregations shall be given the right to admit Lutherans provided they are 'worthy' in doctrine and intention, regardless of the general body to which they belong. "He proposes a similar amendment of the rule 'Lutheran pulpits for Lutheran preachers,' so as to lodge jurisdiction over exchanges of pulpits among Lutherans in the individual pastors, with instruction of course to maintain confessional fidelity, dignity, and edifications in their ministry of the Word. Dr. Boe believes the doctrinal unity now existent among Lu- therans is so nearly complete as to justify this modification of the Gales- burg Rule. By so doing, all Lutherans can have access to the means of grace in any community in which a Lutheran church is located. HB urges the general bodies to consider revision of this rule at their next meeting. He does not believe we are yet ready for organic union." We merely wish to remark the following: -1. It is conceivable that a body bearing the Lutheran name is more heterodox than, let us say, a certain Presbyterian commullion; hence the mere possession of the name Lutheran callnot be held to entitle a person to a place at our altars or in our pulpits. 2. 'Whatever action charity may prescribe in certain special cases no policy regarding pulpit- and altar-fellowship must be adopted which will sanction false teaching. 3. The large Lutheran bodies are not yet in a position to establish pulpit- and altar-fellowship among themselves. There are grave diffi- ·culties in the way which first have to be removed. 4. VVhile it may be true that now and then harm has been done by Theological Observer. - ~itd)Hd)=Seit\1efd)id)md)es. 633 an overzealous emphasis on purity of doctrine, everybody who is not blind must see that the harm which has come, and is continually coming, to the Church through laxity and indifference in doctrine is far greater. 5. The U. L. C. itself, as the Northwestern Luthemn points out, is pledged to the above principle. Its Declaration says "that until a· more complete unity of confession is attained than now exists, the United Lu- theran Church in America is bound in duty and in consic(mce to maintain its separate identity as a witness to the truth which it knows, and its members, its ministers, its pulpits, its fonts, and its altars must testify only to that truth." There is no reason why this should not apply to rela- tions with heterodox Lutherans as well as with the Reformed. A. The Merger of the Reformed Church and the Evangelical Synod of North America. - On June 26 and 27, at a, convention held at Cleve- land, 0., the merger between the Reformed Church and the Evangelical Synod of North America. was con8u=ated. Since the Reformed Church in the United Sta,tes has 346,945 members and the Evangelical Synod 259,896, the united membership will 1m more than six hundred thousand. The faculty of Eden Seminary at Webster Gro:ves, Mo., will be strengthened by three professors from the Central Seminary of the T]pformecl Church, which until the merger was maintained a,t Da,yton, O. The Reformed Church, however, will retain its seminary a,t Lancas,ter, Pa", for the use of students living in the East, including those who are now in the Evan- gelical Synod. The church property of the united body is valued at $96,000,0000. The miss,ions of the Evangelical Synod are in South America, Honduras, and India; those of the Reformed Church are in China" India, Japan, and Iraq. Medical work and schools a,re included in the missions of both. The Evangelical Synod carries on nine dea<)oness hospitals and two homes fOT epileptics and feeble-minded, also six homes for the aged. The Reformed Clmrch maintains five orphanages and four homes for the aged. The Reformed Church is strong in the Eastern States, while the Evangelical Synod has most of its churches in the' Centra,l West. The merger was a,pproved by the "classes" of the Reformed Church in Sep- tember, 1933, and by the General Conference of the Evangelical Synod in October, 19,33. The lillion is to be organic, not federative nor ad- ministra,tive. J. T. M. Episcopalians Discuss Preserving a Properly Qualified Ministry. At their Church Congress, which met in April in Philadelphia and which, by the wa,y, is nothing but a free debating society within the confines of this communion, meeting annually, Episcopalian leaders looked at the question how their Church might keep men that are unfit out of the holy ministry. The essayist who treated this subject, Bishop Coadjutor '\Vash- burn, asserted that in a certain diocese, a,s a ca.reful investigation had disclosed, of sixty men who recently were admitted to the ministry one" third should never have been ordained. Episcopalians ha:ve a system which makes candidates, run a formidable gauntlet before they can reach the goal of a. rectorate. In the first place, the rector Rnd the vestry of the parish to which the candida.te belongs must testify to his fitness; next, a board of examining chaplains tes,ts his intellectual qualifications; in the- third pla<)€, the standing committee of the diocese scrutinizes his credentials and the results of the a,forementioned examina,tion and possibly 634 Theological Observer. - ~itd)lid)~8eitgefd)id)md)e~. launches into a little investiga,tion of its own before passing on his fitness; and finally the bishop of the diocese has to be satisfied that he is dealing with a worthy candidate. In this array of hurdles theological seminaries have not been mentioned, although they, too, playa role. It is taken for granted that, as a rule, candidates attend one of the theological seminaries of the Church, where they are equipped for meeting the board of examining chaplains. Bishop Washburn finds little fault with the rules of his denomination for admitting men to ordination. What he stresses, deserves repetition here: "We a·re all beginning to lea,rn, it is to be hoped, that legislation of itself cures few ills. Canonical as well as civil la,w can and will be disregarded if men wish to ignore it. Granted con- sciences adivcly functioning in those responsible for the admission of men to the ministry, the number of misfits will be greatly reduced." Now and then the view is expressed that church-bodies with an episcopalian polity function more smoothly than those that have a, congregational basis and that the former have fewer difficulties to contend with than the latter. It seems the above might help to disillusion those holding such a, view. A. The Convention of Northern Presbyterians. - In big head-lines the press reported that a,t the convention of the Northern Presbyterians, held in May in Cleveland, 0., the Fundamentalists were defeated. There were several issues on which thcy were outvoted. In the first place, their candidate for the position of Moderator was not elected, the position going to Dr. William Chalmers Covert, who in the LiterU1"Y Di.gest is described as a Liberal. In the second place, the Independent Board of Foreign Missions, organized by the Fundamentalists, was ordered by the Assembly to desist "from exercising any ecclesiastical or administrative functions, including solicitation of funds within the Church." All Presbyterian min- isters and laymen who are members of the board must, according to the resolution of the Assembly, sever their connection with it under pain of being made the subjects of church discipline if they do not obey within ninety days. This Independent Board, it will be recalled, was organized when it became evident that Modernism had invaded the foreign field of Presbyterian mission endea.vors. Matters came to a. head through the case of Mrs. Pearl Buck, who was one of the Presbyterian missionaries in China and who had come to doubt the virgin birth of our Savior. Although she resigned from mission service, the Fundamentalists were not satisfied with the attitude of the official board and decided to organize a mission venture of their own. Having called several missionaries to represent them abroad, it will have to be seen whether the Fundamentalists will submit to the decree of the Assembly. In the third place, the Funda- mentalists opposed the projected union of the Northern Presbyterians with the United PTesbyterian Church. It is a. rather strange situation which exists with respect to these two church-bodies. The Northern Presbyterians a,re described as a denominatiCin having a. good creed, but a, liberal con- stituency. The United Presbyterians" on the other hand, are said to have a poor creed, but a conservative membership. The document of union is cha.rgcd by the Fundamentalists to be of such a nature that the contem- plated union would represent a. church-body with a, poor creed and a large liberal membership. It was on this account tha,t the Fundamentalists Theological Observer. - .rettd)nd)~8eitgefd)td)md)e~. 635 opposed the union, feeling that the cause of truth would not gain thereby. When the vote was taken, however, it was shown that they were decisively defeated. The General Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church will likewise have to vote on the union project, and if it approves of it, the presbyteries of both churches will have to express themselves on it. "If two·thirds of the presbyteries of the Presbyterian Church and a majority of the presbyters in the United Presbyterian Church give their assent, the union becomes final in 1936." - The skies look dark for the Conservatives in the Northern Presbyterian Church. It is held by some observers that, if the proposed union comes about, a split is bound to occur, resulting in the formation of a Conservative Presbyterian Church. After the above had been written, press dispatches brought the infor- mation that the Assembly of the United Presbyterian Church voted nega- tively on the question of union with the Northern Presbyterians. A. The Ultimate Cause of Our Troubles. - The Northern Baptists are experiencing difficulties similar to those through which our Church is passing. A committee has drafted a plan looking to a complete reorgani- zation of the work of the denomination, and in the Watchman·Examiner issues of the last months this plan was thoroughly discussed by interested readers. What one of them writes in the issue of April 19 deserves to be heeded by us, too: "The real seat of our denominational difficulties is not in the realm of organization. In making these statements, I would not imply that there is no need of improving our organizational regime. There is grave uncertainty, however, as to whether the changes proposed, if adopted, will really improve the functioning of our convention and its cooperating agencies. The seat of our difficulties is in the local church; in the state of the though·life and the heart-life of the members individually and collectively. It is the quality of life that lies behind our organized life as a convention that is conditioning its efficiency. We need to turn our attention therefore to the problem of improving the life of the churches .... Even a cursory study of church-life will disclose the following realities in the situation: 1. Superficial understanding of what it means to be a Christian; 2. lack of vital religion in the lives of most church-members; 3. invasion of the churches by a vast body of pagan life and practises; 4. utterly inadequate programs of Christian education. The mere men- tion of these realities is sufficient for those who know the fellowship life of the Church." Must we not say that this Baptist hit the nail on the head 1 If we should he called on to diagnose our own case, would not the four points which he mentions he included in the list of ills which we should draw up? Proper diagnosis -let us not fail to engage in it. A. Fosdick and War. - One of the major topics of discussion in church circles this spring was a speech in which Dr. Fosdick set forth his attitude toward war. He ga.ve his address the title "My Account with the Unknown Soldier." We submit some of its striking sentences: "You may think that I, being a Christian minister, did not know him [the Unknown Soldier]. I knew him well. . .. I lived with him in dug-outs, in the trenches, and on destroyers, sea.rehing fo·r submarines off the shores of France. Short of actuaJ battle, from training-camp to hospital, from the fleet to, No-Ma.n's Land, I, a Christian minister, sa.w the war. Moreover, 636 Theological Observer. - .reitd)1id)<,8eitgefd)id)m~~. I, a, Ghristian minister, participated in it. I, too, was persuaded tha,t it was a, war to end war. I, too, was a, gullible fool and thought that modern wa,r could somehow make the world safe for democracy. They sent men like me to exphLin to the army the high meanings, of war and, by every argument we could command, to strengthen their morale. I wonder if I ever spoke to the Unknown Soldier. One night, in a ruined barn behind the lines, I spoke at sunset to the company of hand-grenadcrs who were going out that night to raid the German trenches,. They told me that on an a,verage no morc than half a, company came ba,ck from snch a, raid, and I, a, minister of Christ, tried to nerve them for their suicidal and murderous endeavor. . .. If I blame anybody about this matter, it is men like myself, who ought to have known better. We went out to the army and explained to these valiant men what a, resplendent future they were preparing for their children by their heroic sacrifice. 0 Unknown Soldier, however can I make that right with you? . .. When the words that I would speak about war are a blistering fury on my lips and the encouragement I gave to war is a, deep self·condemnation in my heart, it is of tha,t I think. For I watched war lay its hands OIL these strongest, loveliest things in men and use the noblest tributes of the human spirit for wha,t ungodly deeds! Is there' anything more infernal than this, to take the best that is in man and use it to do what war docs? . .. I am not trying to make others sentimental about this. I want them to' be haTd-headed. 'iVe can have, on the one side, this monstrous thing, or we can have Christ, but we cannot ha.ve both" 0 my country, sta,y out of war!" W11at marvelous, display of deep ·feeling for a, temporal blessing- earthly peace! Fosdick has so dedica,ted himself to. the abolition of war that he entirely loses his balance and brands. every participation in war as Hinful, it seems. But divine truth, revealed in the Scriptures, which leads to true, everlasting freedom, to hea,venly bliSH, is blithely ignored by this crusader. Fosdick and his associates, ha,ve caught a, vision of the life tha,t now is, but not of tha,t which is to. come. They aTe working fOT the things that are seen, which are temporal, and not for the things that are no.t seen, which a,re eternal, 2 Cor. 4, IS. A. An. Astronome,r Rebukes Modernistic Preachers.. - While many so-called ministers of Christ fail to see that JliIodernigm spells the death of Christianity, there are intelligent laymen who realize this very clea,rly. We take pleasure in reprinting the letter which an astronomer addressed to the Oh1'istian Oentury and which certainly is to the point. When the writer speaks of entertaining a, "reverent agnosticism," we do not quite understand what hOo means. It may be that he has no,thing more in mind than thee limitations of our human, intellectual powers,. We now suhmit the letter without further comment:- "SIR: A recent issue of the Oentury points. out a, superfluity of ininister". It would be most astonishing if, when aU other professions are ovcmto{;ked, the ministry should esca,pe congestion. But the results of a, quostiol1l1aire, as reported in your columns, indica,te that an ala,rming percentage of seminary students aJ'e either uncertain regarding ma,ttcrs of prime importance or, what is worse, definitely contrary to the most sacred teachings of Christianity. Wha,t business has one who questions the immoTtality of man or the divinity of Ohrist in the clergy? If Cillis- Theological Observer. - ~itc~nc9~,(leitllefc9id)mcges. 637 tianity to him is merely a. system. of ethics, let him live a.ccmding to its principles (as some of the rest of us a,re trying to do); but let it be made clear tha.t one cannot expect to be supported solely by good living. If he believell that the ministry offers. opportunities for culture and schola,r- ship, it ma\}" be pointecl out tlmt the average congrega.tion cannot finance the development. of his genius. Let him follow an aca.demic ca,reer. He ma.y find tlmt he has made a slip in cCHmting llis mental blessings. "As an astrononwr I do not turn to, the, Bible for cosm.ological infor- mation, but I do not worry OYer the much-harped-on scientific fallacies- tlley a.re inconsequential. I admit a, reyerent agnosticism; for certainly I should not expect to comprehend tIle Maker of this complex universe or the cosrnical significance of a, single human being. But when I go to church, I want to hear a sincerely con~ecra.ted man who speaks with con- victions and who pra.ys as though he were sure he had a, paJ'ty at the other end of the line. The Author of Ohristianity interpreted His position a.s well a.s our own with res,pect to God amI the future life in no uncertain terms. I can see no half way about Christianity; if divinely inspired, it leaves no· questions to be asked; hut if its origin is hmnan, it is shorn of its power, is. incongruow;" and a bitterly disappointing delusion. In any case the Ohurch will decay if it entrusts itself to these weak s,isters with their emasculated religion," - William A. Calder, Harvard Observatory, Harva.rd, Mass. A. Southe.l'u Preshyte'rians Vote Not to Return to Federal Council. At its meeting in Montrea,t, N. C., ea.rly in June, the P'resbyterian Church in the United Sta,tes., better known a,s the Southern Presbyterian Ohurch, considered the question whether it should again becomc a, member of the Federal Oouncil. Several presbyteries urged tha,t membership relations with the Federal Council be reestablished. ~When the ma,tter came before the Assembly, a lively deba,te ensued. By and by a vote was taken, and the resolution to rejoin the Federal Council wa,s, defeated. It is with an aclling heart tha,t one realizes that tllere aJ'e Presbyterians who are more critical of tI,e Federal Council than the U. L. C., which maintains a, con- sultative membership relation to the Council. A. The Baoklash of the Depression. - In the L'Ithemn H cmld Pastor O. J. Lutness of the United Norwegian Chm'ch sounds a' warning against "the backla.sh of the depression." He writes: "Maybe I should not use the word baoklash. Reaction would he a nicer word; but reaction is, such a broalJ, general term. It can be positive and constructive in its results as well a, negative ancl hurtful. Since there is a, lurking da.nger tha.t man may become depression-minded and reactiona.ry towards the· working program of our Church and since this will work havoc with both man and the Church, I ha.ve chosen to use' thisl harsher term. The term baoklash has a, decided sting in it. I am happy and proud to state tha.t t1 of this article:- "It will soon be ten years now tIl at a reformation has been in process among the Ukrainians, who constitute the majority population on the ea.stern border of Poland, a.t the door of Russia.. Most of the Ukrainian people live in Russia., where also, 3.8 a. result of uprooting experiences, a. strong religious ferment exists., which is being suppressed by tIle bol- shevistic terror. The Evangelical Movement there as also in Polish Wol- hynia lliltil now seems to have been in the hands of the sects. The 41 642 Theological Observer. - .!titd)fid)~8eitgefd)id)ttt~d. Ukrainians in Little Poland, formerly Galicia, are now turning away from the sects and striving toward a, national Ohurch. For this reason they ha,ve from the beginning inclined toward the existing Evangelical Diaspora Church, whose leader is Dr. Zoeckler in 8tanislau, the noted founder of large Evangelical Diaspora, institutions. In the course of these ten years twenty evangelical congregations of the Lutheran confession have be0n established in the villages and towns near Stanislau, where formerly the prea,ching of the Gospel \YflS entirely unknown. There a,re a,t present eight Ukrainian preachers, of whom three are fully trained pastors and five iLre lay evangelists engaged in the work of preiLching the Gospel. Four addi- tional students of theology and eleven evangelists are being trained in Erla:llgen and N euendettelsau. "Four eongrega,tions ha,ve already erected chapels, wherea,s four others, have made prepa,rations for such buildingf'. The members of the young congrega,tiOlLS a,re ready to make great sacrifices in order to build chapels, since there is no room for the services in their humble cottages. It is customaTy to hold the services in the open during the summer. In the winter those who cannot get inside crowd into the vestibule and stand at the windows,. It is urgently necessa,,.y that more. cha.pels be completed this yea,r .... "The Evangelical Movement has encountered the grea,test difficulty. The entire streIl'gth of the Greek Union Ohurch in Galicia, has been thrown against it. In the congTegation at Jezupol the members succeeded in building a simple chapel at the greatest sacrifices, but they are not given permission to use the building for services because it does not comply with the specifications of a house of worship. "The transfer to the Lutheran confession is made difficult in every possible way. The OiLtholic clergy ",ill not give the necessary documents. In addition, fees are demanded by the state authorities when official notice to go over to the Luthcl'an confession is given. These the poor people cannot pay. Above all, the people are aroused and incited against the Evangelical Ohurch by much literature and by statements in the press. The opposition, however, is not succe~ding. The Evangelical Movement is gaining very ra,pidly. RegulaT services have been begun in two addi- tional villages in this month. The caU for evangelical preaching is insis- tent from a number of other villages. Our ability is insufficient to under- take the work everywhere. Even in Wolhynia people a,re turning away from the sects and a,ppealing for Lutheran prea~hers. It is a pity that this golden opportunity cannot be made use of. "The services in Lutheran congregations are held with the full liturgy. The valuable old liturgy of the Eastern Church has been purified of its Catholic elements, but retained in its general form. In this way the people feel at, home ill the services in which the preaching of the pure Gospel is definitely the heart. In the past year an agenda was completed and given to the congregation for use. A new hymn-book for the service of worship was also printed in the past year. It contained in part translations of the evangelical chorals of the German and English churches and in part also old Ukrainian church hymns or such as have ooen revised. "It was a, great joy for the congregations tha.t in the past year the 643 Augsburg Confession was translated into the Ukrainian language· and may now take its place in the llOmes of the congregations by the side of Luther's Catechism, which had been translated some time before." While its connections make one doubt that doctrinally the movement is entirely sound, we rejoice to hear of these victories of evangelical truth. A. Famine Conditions in Russia. - Reports from the Ukraine, the former granary of Europe, speak of the awful conditions which prevail in tha,t part of Russia. One report, for example, from the single diBtrict of Kaliniwka, states that in the village of Saghwanschtechyna 2,000 of the 3,50{) inhabitants have died of hunger; that in N emyrintzi, a village of 700 inhabitants, only four or five families have survived; that in Kuma· niwka 1,40{) of the 3,000 inhabitanas have succumbed; and that in Sam- bovrodok in one year's time 800 of the 3,000 inhabitants. have died. The grea,test mortality is among children under fourteen years of age. The same reports speak of increasing cannibalism. The authorities ha,ve ordered that dead bodies may be interred only after decomposition has set in, as otherwise they are dug up and consumed. Cannibalism i", now punished with capital punishment; but capital punishment no longer has any terror for thebe people. It is, estimated that during the last eighteen months ten to fifteen million people have perished from hunger. - Evangelical News Bureau in Holland. ~uf! jffioUjljnicn, roo, toie toir frllf)er liereita geme!be± ~alien, eine groEe g)eroegung ijum Q;bangeIium ~in cn±ftanben ift, bringt ber "ffieicf;.Goote" bie ?tacf;ricf;t, ban in brei ebangeIifcf;en @emeinben un!iingft p rib ate eban- geHfcf;e ~on.Gfcf;uren erricf;tet hJorben finb. ~ie lmitteI bafilr finb ilum groE±en ;itcH bon ben @cmeinbcn feIbft aufgebracf;t hJorben. (Q;b.~,\3ut~. IJreUircf;e.l A Hoax? - With respect to the widely heralded information that six hundred Protestant pastors of Germany had asked the Pope. to be re- ceived into the Catholic Church, it seems a real canard has been foisted on the American public. The Allgemeine JjJ'v.-Luth. Kirchenzeitung informs its readers that one man whose name figured in the startling dispatch joined the Roman Church, although there is merely an identity of names here, not of persons. The number six hundred seems to have developed from the more moderate figure four hundred, referring to a group of pastors who asked the Pope for protection of the Church, without, however, utter- ing any wish to come into the Roman fold. But the Kirohenzeitung de- clares that it even has no knowledge of these four hundred pastors with their strange request addressed to the Pope. Did here, too, the reporter manifest a greater attachment to fanciful writing than to absolute truth? A. A New Testament Manuscript. - The town library of Augsburg reports that it has in its possession a German Bible codex dating not later than the year 1350. It consists of 337 pages in small writing of the New Testament in a, good German translation. In 1927 Prof. Dr. Adolf von Harnack resided in Augsburg for a, considerable time in order to study this manuscript. He believed the codex to be a, copy of a manuscript completed by a Regensburg Dominican order. -Flvangelical News Bureau in Holland.