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EDITORIAL COUNCILEdwin H. Rlan Ned B. Stonehouseleslie W. Sloat Murray Forst Thompsoll

Thomas R. BirchMallavlllg EdItor

Recent Developments at PrincetonAN EDITORIAL

SINCE the reorganization of Princeton Seminary in1929 several new professors have been appointed

at that institution. Only two of the old faculty remain.The first men to be appointed under the new regime

were Drs. Kuizenga, Zwemer and Mackenzie. It be­came apparent, especially from the writings of Dr.Mackenzie, that a new and different theology had beenintroduced at Princeton. In the articles that he con­tributed to the Encyclopedia of Religion and EthicsDr. Mackenzie substituted human experience for theBible as the last court of appeal for sound doctrine.We quote one typical sentence: "The defect of Augus­tinianism and Calvinism is that they start from aknowledge of God's absoluteness above experience, de­duce logically from this his eternal decrees, and soexplain individual experience. We must start from ex­perience, however, and, doing so, the problem is toreconcile God's absoluteness in grace with man's free­dom" (Vol. VI, p. 126).

Starting from experience as the final seat of author­ity Dr. Mackenzie feels free to wipe out the distinctionbetween the Reformed Faith and Arminianism. Herejects both unconditional election and limited atone­ment. He says that the synergist was right in rejectingthe doctrine which holds that God made "remedialprovision only for some" (Encyclopedia of Religionand Ethics, Vol. XII, p. 164).

But Dr. Mackenzie did not stop short with indiffer­ence to specifically Reformed truths. His inclusivism

extended itself even to non-Christian views. He soughtto bring evolution and creation into harmony with oneanother, as the following words indicate: "Perhaps theday may come also when the scientific view of naturalselection and the New Testament doctrine of an elec­tion by grace may be seen to be both sides of God'sactivity, and not the horns of an inescapable dilemma.Not 'either-or', but 'both-and'" (Christianity-TheParadox of God, p. 80). He even employed the conceptof chance in order to answer the problem of the rela­tion of a changeless God to human responsibility.

It appears then that the experience starting-pointhas in the case of Dr. Mackenzie, as in the case of somany others, bred an indifference to the uniqueness ofthe Reformed Faith and even an indifference to theuniqueness of Christianity. This theological indifferenceexpresses itself in the church by a tolerance of Armini­anism and of Modernism. The theology of Dr. Macken­zie fits in admirably with the inclusivist policy intro­duced into Princeton Seminary by its former president,Dr. J. Ross Stevenson.

THE NEW PRESIDENTThe new president, Dr. John A. Mackay, is follow­

ing in the footsteps of his predecessor. During Dr.Stevenson's regime Auburn Affirmationists were electedto the governing board of the seminary, and duringDr. Mackay's regime an Auburn Affirmationist hasbeen added to the faculty. Dr. William Robertson

The Presbyterian Guardian is published once a month by The Presbyterian Guardian Publishing Col'lloration. 5116 &hat! Building, 1505 Kane street. Philadelphia, Penna..at the follOWing rates. payable in ad.ance. for elther oid or new subscrlbers In any part or tbe world. pll8tage prepaid: $1.00 per year; ft.e or more coPi... eit.her to separatead_es or in a package to one address. SOC each per year; Introductory rate. for n..... sub8erlben oilly: Three months for 25c: lOC ~L_,l'8'IN9o responsfbl11tY Is assumedfor unsolicited manuscript&. Entered &8 lIllCOJId class matter Mare.b ~. 183T. at the Post 01lIce at PhIla.de1Pb1a. Pa., under tne Act of Ma"",. .

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Farmer, an Auburn Affirmationist, isnow teaching as "visiting Professor ofHomiletics" (Princeton Seminary Bul­letin, Nov. 1937, p, 24). Dr. Mackaywas a leader in the recent Oxford con­ference where the "orthodox" and theModernists sought for a common plat­form in theology. He has also openlyexpressed his sympathies with theBuchmanite movement.

Reformed men have sometimes re­joiced in the fact that Dr. Mackay isemphasizing the need of having a the­ology. But the theology Dr. Mackayis seeking to introduce is of the Bar­thian sort, as his article in The Jounralof Religion for January, 1937, shows.We shall not now speak of Barthian­ism in general. It has been pointed outin previous issues of THE PRESBYTE­RIAN GUARDIAN that Barthianism, likeModernism, is indifferent to the Bibleas the finished revelation of God. Andthis is, in effect, the same as substi­tuting human experience for the Bibleas the final court of appeal in all ques­tions of truth and practice.

Otto PiperIt must be said to the credit of Dr.

Mackay that he is bringing men ofscholarship and attainment to Prince­ton. One of these is Dr. Otto Piper, ofGermany. Dr. Piper is "Guest Pro­fessor of Systematic Theology" forthe year 1937-1938. Let us look atsome points in his theology.

As in the case of Dr. Mackenzie,Dr. Piper begins his theology with theexperience approach. He draws theline of orthodoxy straight from Lu­ther to Schleiermacher. He tells usthat the experience-theory of Schleier­macher is essentially the same as thatof Luther. He adds that Emil Brun­ner's criticism of Schleiermacher, asset forth in "Die Mystik und dasWort" rests chiefly upon misunder­standing (Gottes Wahrheit und dieWahrheit der Kirche, 1933, p. 57).Now if it be remembered that Schleier­macher is the "father of modern the­ology," that is, the father of modernisttheology which has broken with theBible as the sole source and seat ofauthority, the far-reaching signifi­cance of virtually identifying Luther'sconception of Christian experiencewith Schleiermacher's conception ofChristian experience, becomes clear.

In this pamphlet on "ErI6sung alsErfahrung" it is once more humanexperience that is set before us as thestandard of truth. The same is true of

PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN42 THE

his large two volume work on, "DieGrundlagen der evangelischen Ethik"(see p. xi ff.).

As in the case of Dr. Mackenzie theexperience-approach led to an indif­ference with respect to Reformed doc­trines so, in the case of Dr. Piper,there is a marked indifference to de­nominational distinctions. We quote:"Nothing would please the writermore than a removal of all Confes­sional differences in Protestantism.However, though the author is exert­ing himself in every way to furtherthis cause, he does not hide from him­self his fundamentally Luther.i.i atti­tude" (Ethik, Vol. 1. p. xxiii.). Thisis indeed remarkable. Princeton Semi­nary is by its charter solemnly com­mitted to the Reformed Faith. Dr.Piper has committed himself to thewiping out of all denominational dif­ferences and therewith to the destruc­tion of the Reformed Faith. And if inhis accepted program he should behindered by his tradition that traditionwould draw him toward Lutheranismrather than toward the ReformedFaith.

In his pamphlet, "Vom Machtwillender Kirche", Dr. Piper argues thattruth must not be thought of as com­ing to the church in a given and fin­ished revelation. Truth, he says, is notstatic but dynamic. And because truthis dynamic we can easily come to anunderstanding with those who holdviews opposite to our own. We shouldnot say that their views are false andour views are true. Accordingly, noone group in the church should pre­sume to possess the truth and torepresent the true doctrine of thechurch. "For that reason," he says,"it should never be our goal to haveone point of view dominate over otherpoints of view either in the church orin theology" (p. 34). It is not proper,he holds, to seek to replace the com­mon orthodoxy in the church by liber­alism or to replace liberalism byorthodoxy.

Thus we see again that when mensubstitute experience for the Bible asthe seat of authority they cannot stopshort at indifference to denomina­tional distinctions. They are bound inthe end to wipe out the distinction be­tween Modernism and Christianityas well.

Emil BrunnerThe last man to be appointed to the

faculty at Princeton is Dr. Emil

March

Brunner. Dr. Brunner, as is wellknown, was formerly associated withKarl Barth. He is one of the chiefexponents of "dialectical theology."We have no space to follow Brunner inthe intricacies of his theology. It maysuffice to mention the fact that Brun­ner, like the other men discussed inthis article, and like Dr. Homrig­hausen whose book was reviewed inthe February issue of THE PRESBYTE­RIAN GUARDIAN, substitutes humanexperience for the Bible as the ulti­mate standard of truth and for thatreason does not maintain the unique­ness of the Reformed or even of theChristian Faith.

That Brunner begins with experi­ence as something that must interpretthe Bible, instead of starting from theBible which must interpret human ex­perience, can be seen from the factthat he has no hesitation in acceptingthe principles of "higher criticism."He even feels that it is our business toengage in "higher criticism." The hu­man element in the Scripture, hethinks, is inherently wrong and wemust separate it from the divine. Inseveral of his books Brunner speaksin this vein. We quote from his recentbook, "Our Faith." It was published in1936. In this book, as well as in hisearlier books, he continues to give tothe human mind the right to find theWord of God in the Bible rather thanto accept the Bible as such as theWord of God. He asks the question:"Is the whole Bible God's Wordthen?" He answers with a proviso:"Yes, in so far as it speaks of thatwhich is 'here' in Christ" (p. 9).

Brunner gives us an interestinganalogy from which we can learn hisconception of Scripture. "Is every­thing true that is to be found in theBible?" he asks. In reply he says:"Let me draw a somewhat modernanalogy by way of answering thisquestion. Everyone has seen the tradeslogan 'His Master's Voice'. If youbuy a gramaphone record you are toldthat you will hear the Master Caruso.Is that true? Of course. But really hisvoice? Certainly! And yet-there aresome noises made by the machinewhich are not the master's voice, butthe scratching of the steel needle uponthe hard disk. But do not become im­patient with the hard disk! For onlyby means of the record can you hear'the master's voice.' So, too, is it withthe Bible. It makes the real Master'svoice audible-really his voice, his

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U8 THE PRE S B Y T ER I A N G U A RDI AN 43

ords, what he wants to say. Butere are incidental noises accorn­inying, just because God speaks Hislord through the voice of man"[J. 10). It is, in Brunner's latest asell as in his earlier writings, thelsi ness of man himself to pick out ofIe Bible that which he thinks of asis "Master's Voice."Dr. Mackay is anxious to assure us

iat Brunner is now more orthodoxIan he used to be. However, in theery letter from Brunner which Dr.Iackay publishes to prove his point,re have once more the fatal provisonat we noted above to the effect thatve must distinguish the human fromhe divine in the Bible. Brunner says:It is, however, my conviction thataith in the inspiration of the Bibleloes not exclude, but include, the dis­inction between the Word of God andhe earthly, temporal vessel which.arries it" (The Presbyterian, Febru­try 17, 1938). There is, then, nonoticeable difference between Brun­ner's earlier and later writings on thepoint of the relation of human ex­perience to Scripture. Brunner con­tinues to make experience the finalseat of truth.

'vVe note in conclusion that as Brun­ner accepts the negative criticism ofthe Bible so he also accepts the evo­lution theory of the origin of man asprobably true. Though he speaks fre­quently of the creation doctrine andits importance it is evident that hedoes not hold the Genesis narrative tobe an historical record. In his largework on Ethics, "Das Gebot und dieOrdnungen,' he says we have nothingto do with primitive man as a subjectof ethics (p. 4). The fall of man inparadise and original sin have no de­termining significance in Brunner'stheology. He holds that the wholequestion of man's animal origin hasno important bearing upon the Chris­tian Faith. "Whether or not God hasemployed an evolution of millions ofyears for the purpose of creating manis the critical concern of the naturalscientist; it is not a critical questionfor Faith" (Our Faith, p. 36).

What the recent developments atPrinceton mean ought now to be plain.Princeton once was a bulwark of theReformed Faith. Who can, in thelight of such facts as we have enu­merated, call it such today? But canwe at least look to Princeton for a de­fense of the evangelical faith? Itseems not. When men are called to its

.

faculty who, it is known, accept neg­ative Bible criticism and evolution,no great defense of the Bible and ofthe truths of the Bible can reasonablybe expected. Those who are sincerelyconcerned for the eternal welfareof men's souls in the PresbyterianChurch in the U.S.A. cannot afford toignore these facts.

-c. VAN TIL.

Dr. Speer's Re;ading List

TH E condition of the PresbyterianChurch in the U.S.A. gives no en­

couragement to true Christians andfriends of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Dr. Robert E. Speer is one of themost trusted leaders of that churchand is now serving as the President ofthe Board of Trustees of PrincetonTheological Seminary. A particularlyclear light has been thrown upon thetrend which dominates the leadershipof the Presbyterian Church in theU.S.A. and of Princeton TheologicalSeminary by the publication of a listof twenty books selected by Dr. Speerfor helpful reading at this season ofthe year. The group has appeared inThe Presbyterian Tribune for Febru­ary 17, 1938, as well as elsewhere.

In a list of twenty authors, selectedby Dr. Speer from men all over theworld, there are no fewer than foursigners of the Auburn Affirmation.This in itself suffices to characterizethe list, but it will be illuminating tonote very briefly some further factsconcerning authors on the list.

The first to appear is Dr. JohnBaillie. Dr. Baillie was formerlyProfessor of Christian Theology atAuburn Theological Seminary andlater Professor of Systematic Theol­ogy at Union Theological Seminary,New York. He is one of the signersof the Auburn Affirmation and hisaffiliations make clear the trend of histheology.

Following Dr. Baillie comes ErnestSutherland Bates. He appears as theeditor of the recently published "TheBible Designed to be Read as LivingLiterature." The modernistic natureof the rearrangement and omissionwhich characterizes this volume waswell set forth in The Sunday SchoolTimes. January 23, 1937.

Next comes another Auburn Affir­mationist, followed by Dr. HarryEmerson Fosdick. The character ofDr. Fosdick's preaching and writinghardly needs comment. Years ago thePresbyterian Church in the U.S.A.

was unwilling to allow him to continueto preach regularly in one of its pul­pits without a doctrinal subscriptionwhich Dr. Fosdick failed to make.Now one of his books is commendedto the Christian public of this countryby the President of the Board ofTrustees of Princeton Seminary.

Another prominent name appearingin the list is that of Dr. E. StanleyJones. The attack upon the founda­tional doctrine of Scripture whichcharacterizes Dr. Jones' "The Christof the Indian Road" is well known,and the thoroughly unevangelical char­acter of his missionary preaching hasbeen becoming more and more clearlyapparent with each passing year.

Dr. Jones is followed on the list byanother Auburn Affirmationist, Dr. J.V. Moldenhawer, pastor of the FirstPresbyterian Church of New YorkCity, the pulpit from which Dr. Fos­dick formerly preached and one whichhas been characterized by liberalpreaching.

Perusing these selections furtherwe come to a book by ProfessorReinhold Niebuhr who is William E.Dodge, Jr., Professor of AppliedChristianity at Union TheologicalSeminary, New York.

Another prominent name whichsoon appears is that of AlbertSchweitzer. Dr. Schweitzer's "VonReimarus zu Wrede", translated intoEnglish under the title, "The Questof the Historical Jesus," has long beena leading handbook of those who be­lieve that Jesus was mistaken concern­ing the future course of events hereupon earth and that the gospel whichHe preached during His earthly min­istry was one dominated by the mis­taken idea that the existing worldorder was, within a few years, to passaway. The ethics which He taughtwere those suitable to this mistakenidea.

The next author to appear is Ed­ward Shillito, the genial London cor­respondent of The Christian Century,whose interests and aims are wellindicated by his journalistic connec­tion.

A little further on we have a bookby Miss Evelyn Underhill, perhaps theleading exponent of mysticism in theworld today. Miss Underhill's concep­tion of communication with God is aconception entirely foreign to theScriptural doctrine of a trustworthyand infallible revelation delivered inthe entire Bible once for all.

44 THE PRE'S BY T E R I A N G U A R D I A N ManI

Miss Underhill gives way upon thelist to Dr. Robert B. Whyte, anotherAuburn Affirmationist and recognizedas a leader of the more liberal wingof the Presbytery of Philadelphia ofthe Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.at the time when he was a pastor in

that city.This is the type of reading which is

commended by perhaps the mostprominent leader of the PresbyterianChurch in the U.S.A. to those who areless well informed concerning recentreligious literature. It cannot be any-

thing else than a cause for deep regtand searching of heart that the Pr­byterian Church in the U.S.A. fa;ever further and further from ~

heavenly heights to which it was oncommitted.

-P.W.

The Christian Attitude Toward WarBy the REV. ROBERT S. MARSDEN

Pastor of the Calvary Presbyterian Church, Middletown, Penna.

fa

TH E RE is among Christians a uni­versal hatred of war. This is as it

should be, for war must surely be dis­tasteful to one who has the peace ofGod in his heart. It is conceded by allChristians that war is one of thegreatest evils that can come upon apeople. The destruction of life andproperty which are involved, as wellas the moral destruction which at­tends war, increases its abhorrence tothe people of God. Christians are notblind to its horrors. They entertainno illusions about the grandeur andglamour of war, and they know fullwell that another World War may,from all human points of view, de­stroy civilization. A Christian will doall in his power to 'avoid war.

Yet, when all this is said, a Christianwill still not be found in the ranks ofthe pacifists. Organized Protestantismhas been moving more and more inthe direction of an unbiblical pacifismsince the World War. During theWar it was officially decided by mostof the larger denominations of Prot­estants that that war was in the classof "just" wars which the Bible per­mits Christians to wage. The GeneralAssembly of the Presbyterian Churchin the U.S.A., with which many of uswere connected at that time, said, in1917: "The conflict into which wehave been irresistibly drawn is onethat is so manifestly for the mainte­nance of righteousness and in behalfof humanity that it should commandthe courageous and unreserved sup­port of all our people" (Minutes ofthe General Assembly, 1917, p. 155).In 1918 the War was called "just andnecessary" and the General Assemblycalled upon the church in its ministryand membership "to support in everypossible way and with all resourcesthe government of the United Statesin the just and necessary war in whichit is now engaged" (Minutes, 1918,

p. 53). In the same year the Assemblyrecorded its "profound conviction asto the righteousness of the cause forwhich the United States and her alliesare contending" (Ibid., p. 79). Suchwere the sentiments expressed bymost of the Protestant denominationsat that time.

Since then, however, there has beenan accelerated movement in most ofProtestantism toward a pacificismwhich goes to ridiculous extremes. In1937 the General Assembly of thePresbyterian Church in the U.S.A.veered sharply toward that position.A desperate attempt was made bypacifists to outlaw all war, and todeny that there can be "just" wars.That attempt was abortive, but com­petent observers agree that it is onlya matter of time until that positionwill be taken by that church. Thistrend is echoed in many other mod­ernist circles. Charles Clayton Mor­rison, a well-known liberal editor, saysin a recent article that the church"must excommunicate war from itsaltars" and "God does not will war."He tells us that millions will re­fuse to fight, will defy conscription,and take the consequences. I am notso sure that Modernism will providethe moral stamina to make pacifistswilling to "take the consequences" ofpacifism during a war, but that this isthe conviction of a large segment oforganized Protestantism is beyonddoubt. The newspapers just a fewdays ago carried a report of a youthwho is a student in the liberal UnionTheological Seminary in New YorkCity, and who purports to represent aMethodist youth organization, as say­ing, before a Congressional commit­tee, that he would not bear arms evento protect his own mother from in­vaders.

We who are orthodox Christiansmust face the fact that we are in a

hopeless minority when we hold to tl;historic Christian attitude toward waThe Federal Council of the Churcheof Christ in America and similapseudo - Christian organizations arlined solidly on the side of pacificisrrThese organizations claim to spea,for all Protestantism and we musmake it clear that they do not spealfor us in their pacifistic resolutions

The Supposed Biblical Basisof Pacificism

Now let us not suppose that paci­fists do not appeal to the Bible tosupport their contention. Most em­phatically they do. They quote theBible and particularly the words ofJesus in support of their contentionthat the Bible teaches pacifism. Theyare usually ready to admit that thereare other parts of the Bible whichspeak of war approvingly but they arequite certain that Jesus does not sospeak. They unblushingly contrastwhat they suppose to be the teachingof Jesus on this and on other pointswith the teaching of the rest of theBible. They often say, in effect, "Jesusteaches pacifism" or even, "The NewTestament is pacifistic," but never that"The Bible teaches pacifism."

Now the contrasting of Jesus withthe rest of the Bible, or of the NewTestament with the Old Testament,is one of the characteristics ofModernism. It is almost trite tosay that Christians admit no suchcontrast. They hold that the wholeBible is the Word of the same Godand that it is self-consistent one partwith the other. We are far fromadmitting any distinction between theGod of the Old Testament and Jesus,or between the "spirit" of the OldTestament and the "spirit" of Jesus.Modernism, in its underlying concept,contrasts the various parts of theBible, setting one against the other.

1938 THE PRESBYTERIAN' GUARDIAN 45

•

'...

On this point, pacifists would say, theyprefer to be governed by Jesus ratherthan by the rest of the Bible. How­ever, there is no such conflict betweenthe words of Jesus on this subjectand the teachings of the rest of theBible. Neither is such a conflict to befound between the teachings of Jesusand the teachings of the rest of theBible on any other subject. A carefulreading of the words of Jesus willreveal them to be in perfect harmonywith the rest of Scripture, and theNew Testament to be in perfect har­mony with the Old Testament. OneGod speaks in the whole Bible, andHe does not contradict Himself.

What, then, is the Scriptural basisto which pacifists appeal? Usually ap­peal is made to the words of Jesus inthe "Sermon on the Mount" (Matt.5-7 and Luke 6: 20-49). In these pas­sages, it will be remembered, we dofind Jesus saying such things as "Re­sist not him that is evil," and we findHim extolling the anti-war virtues ofmeekness, mercifulness and peace­making, and saying, "Love your ene­mies." Jesus demands in this passagethat evil be returned with good andcalls for arbitration in the settling ofdisputes. He commands forgiveness ofone's enemies and urges His disciplesto live peaceful lives. Not only that,but He, by His example, practicedwhat He preached. When He wasabout to be taken by His enemies,who were committing great evil, Hedid not resist, and in all His life Hewas meek and merciful. He displayedHis love for His enemies and prayedfor those who despitefully used andpersecuted Him. Does this not meanthat Jesus teaches pacifism? And, asit can be easily shown that the restof the Bible admits of just warfare,does this not mean that Jesus is inconflict with the rest of the Bible atthis point ? Well, as a matter of fact,neither of these things is true. Jesusdoes not teach pacificism and He isnot in conflict with the rest of theBible at this point. Then what shallwe say about these passages?

In the first place, those who appealto them in support of pacifism forgetthat many of the so-called pacifisticideas of the "Sermon on the Mount"are also found in the Old Testament.Do we find Jesus extolling meekness(Matt. 5: 5)? We have the samepromise for the meek in the OldTestament: "But the meek shall in­herit the earth" (Psalm 37: 10). Does

Jesus counsel arbitration (Matt. 5:23-26)? So does the Old Testament(Prov. 25: 8-10). Does Jesus urgelove and regard for one's enemies(Matt. 5: 43-48)? So does the OldTestament, and in no less emphaticterms (Prov. 25: 21, 22). Does Heforbid hatred (Matt. 5: 25)? So doesthe Old Testament: "Thou shalt nothate thy brother in thine heart" (Lev.19: 17).

And then, too, Jesus was hardly apacifist in His conduct. We shall seethis more clearly when we considerthe positive proof of the historicChristian position, but we remind our­selves right here that Jesus did usea weapon to scourge the money­changers out of the Temple. He for­bade His disciples to resist when Hewas about to be taken prisoner, butHe does not in any sense rebuke themfor possessing swords. As we shallsee, in none of His recorded sayingsdoes He speak against war, and infact clearly implies that it is some­times justifiable to fight (John 18:36).

But the questions still persist: "Doesnot Jesus flatly forbid all physicalresistance to evil?" "Does not the OldTestament sanction such resistancewith 'An eye for an eye and a toothfor a tooth' "? "Does not Jesus forbidthis with, 'I say unto you, That yeresist not evil' "? "Does this not flatlycontradict the Old Testament, and arewe not thereby flatly forbidden to takeup arms"? Let us look at this passagerather closely.

The quotation, "An eye for an eye,and a tooth for a tooth," is fromLev. 24: 20. In that passage somerules are laid down for the judicialprocedure of the Jews. The law wasmade in order to protect criminalsagainst injustice and unduly severepunishment. A man could not be killedfor causing the loss of his neighbor'seye-only an eye could be taken foran eye, and this only by judicial proc­ess. The Scribes and Pharisees, whosemisconception of the law Jesus wascorrecting, had made this provisionto apply to individual disputes. Theyheld that it permitted vindicative re­venge for personal injuries. Jesus isnot correcting the Biblical provision,but only the false interpretation whichthe legalistic minds of His day placedupon it. Jesus, you see, is not refer­ring in any sense to warfare, nor tothe application of deserved punish­ment, judicially applied. He does makeclear, in this passage and by His

consistent example, that individualvengeance is wrong, but to hold thatHe forbids all punishment of evil ismost ridiculous. Jesus often refers toHimself at His Second Coming as aJudge who will severely punish evil.The favorite passage to which thepacifists appeal in the words of Jesusis thus not even pertinent to thequestion.

The Biblical Basis of theChristian Attitude Toward War

If we reject pacificism as being un­biblical, what then shall be our atti­tude toward war? The attitude ofmost Presbyterian churches is foundexpressed in the Westminster Con­fession of Faith and in the LargerCatechism. There we find, "It is law­ful for Christians to accept and exe­cute the office of a magistrate, whencalled thereunto: in the managingwhereof, as they ought especially tomaintain piety, justice, and peace, ac­cording to the wholesome laws ofeach commonwealth; so, for that end,they may lawfully, now under theNew Testament, wage war upon justand necessary occasions" (Confessionof Faith, Ch. 23: 2). The LargerCatechism (Question 136) in answerto the question, "What are the sinsforbidden in the sixth command­ment?" replies, "The sins forbiddenin the sixth commandment are, alltaking away the life of ourselves, orof others, except in case of publicjustice, lawful war, or necessary de­fense...." This is the official attitudeof The Presbyterian Church of Amer­ica. The question may well be asked,"Is that the Biblical attitude?" Theanswer, we believe, will be found tobe, "Yes."

In the Old Testament we find rec­ord of many wars which were sanc­tioned by God. Wars were from timeto time commanded, and for their ex­ecution God endowed men with spe­cial qualifications as warriors. Whenconsulted by means of the Urim andThummin, or by the prophets whichHe had ordained, God often gave ad­vice on the propriety of militaryenterprises. One quotation will sufficeto illustrate this. "And the childrenof Israel enquired of the Lord (forthe ark of the covenant of God wasthere in those days, . . .) saying,Shall I yet again go out to battleagainst the children of Benjamin mybrother, or shall I cease? And theLord said, Go up; for to morrow I

46 THE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN March

wiII deliver them into thine hand"(Judges 20:27, 28). When His peoplewere engaged in battle God ofteninterfered miraculously, in order thatthe Israelites might be victorious(Josh. 8). God frequently sent Hispeople to battle in order that theymight not themselves be destroyed,and in order that the truth of Godwhich had been committed unto themmight not be destroyed from the faceof the earth with them. There can beno doubt that God in the Old Testa­ment did sanction wars.

But how about the New Testament?Was it not simply because of theweakness of the people that the Lordcondescended thus unto them, permit­ting them to war, and is not this per­mission abrogated in the New Testa­ment? A careful search of the NewTestament will fail to show any suchabrogation of the divine permission togo to war "upon just and necessaryoccasions," and unless there be suchexpress command, as in the case ofdivorce, we dare not assume onesimply to satisfy our desires in thematter.

As a matter of fact the New Testa­ment, and even the teachings of JesusHimself, imply the permission to goto war. When the soldiers came toJohn the Baptist and inquired of himwhat they should do in order to pre­pare for the kingdom of God, he didnot require them to cease being sol­diers, but simply commanded them tobe good soldiers (Luke 3: 14). Jesustook a similar attitude toward thecenturion who came to Him, and Hepraised him for a faith such as Hehad not found in all Israel (Luke7 :1-10). On these and similar occasionsJesus, if He had been so minded, couldhave forbidden His followers to besoldiers, especially of a heathen gov­ernment, but we find no such prohi­bition. Indeed, He implies that thereare occasions upon which His follow­ers might fight (John 18: 36), andtells us that His gospel will bring notpeace but the sword (Matt. 10: 34­36).

When we turn from the Gospels tothe rest of the New Testament wefind the apostles taking an identicalattitude. In Acts 10 we learn that itwas a Roman centurion to whom thegospel first came among the Gentiles.It was upon Cornelius, the Centurion,that the Holy Spirit came with mirac­ulous gifts while he was a centurion.Certainly if engaging in war were

sinful, the Holy Spirit could not de­scend upon such a person as a cen­turion who, while he was not thenengaged in war, by his office pro­claimed his willingness to serve whenwar came. We may quite pertinentlyask whether there were no Christiansengaged in the war that Jesus pre­dicted, the war which took place inPalestine in 69-70 A. D., when J eru­salem was destroyed. Certainly someparts of the New Testament werewritten after that war, and we findno record of the apostles, who wereinspired of God to direct the earlyChurch, forbidding the participationof Christians in that conflict. We mustremember that, if war be wrong, thenthe participation in it is not only un­becoming to a Christian, but is ac­tually sinful, and it seems unreason­able that the New Testament wouldhave been silent upon the subject ofa sin which has ensnared so many ofGod's people. We must conclude thatthe New Testament as well as theOld permits the engaging in and pro­moting of war when it is waged upon"just and necessary occasion."

Our Personal AttitudeToward War

What, then, shall be our personalattitude toward war? As we saw atthe very beginning of this discussion,a Christian will hate war. He will doall in his power to keep out of warhimself, and will use all his influenceto keep his nation, and any othernation in which he may have influ­ence, out of war. He will be sure thathis own actions have not been thosewhich have provoked war, save in so

Missionaries ofThe Presbyterian Church

of America

The REV. EGBERT W. ANDREWS, 8Tsitsiharskaya, Harbin, Manchou­kuo

The REV. AND MRS. HENRY W. CORAY,22 Post Street, Harbin, Manchoukuo

The REV. AND MRS. M. C. FREHN,Seijogakuinmae, Setagayaku, Tokyo,Japan

MR. AND MRS. RICHARD B. GAFFIN,2A First Chanshan Road, Tsingtao,Shantung, China

The REV. R. HEBER McILWAINE, 8Tsitsiharskaya, Harbin, Manchou­kuo

far as his righteous acts may provokeevil men to wage war against him.

A Christian will not consistentlytake the attitude many Christians taketoday, when they say, in effect, "Well,the Scriptures predict that there willbe wars until the Lord returns, andtherefore we must do nothing aboutthat situation." It is true that theScriptures thus speak, but they do notwarrant God's people remaining in­different when they may have a partin preventing wars.

But, you may say, "If the Scripturestell us there will be wars anyway,what is the use of our doing anythingto prevent them?" It is amazing howmany sincere Christians take that at­titude, and yet there could be no moreridiculous thought. Suppose we ap­plied that same line of reasoning inother spheres of life. Suppose, forexample, we were to become ill. Well,we might reason, "The Scripturesmake it clear that it is appointed untomen once to die, so therefore why doanything about our illness?" It willimmediately be evident how ridiculoussuch an attitude would be. We realizefull well, when we are ill and go toa physician, that we shall not be per­manently cured of all illness. Weknow full well that we shall sometimedie, unless the Lord should return be­fore that happens. But we also knowthat God has given us physicians tohelp us prolong our lives-that thesame God who has ordained that weshall die has also provided us withthe means of prolonging physical life.He intends us to use those meanswhich He has ordained. The verysame is true of means to the peace ofthe world. The Lord has told us thatthere will be wars until the return ofChrist, but He has also given us themeans of preserving peace. Thosemeans a Christian will cheerfully use,whether they be the means of one'sindividual love of one's enemies orthe means of international cooperationthrough peace treaties. A Christianwill hail all those means as of theLord, and will use them to the utmostof his ability. But, when just andnecessary occasion arises and warmust be waged for the maintenanceof piety, justice and peace, then aChristian will, with the assurance ofthe blessing of God and of the Princeof Peace, support, with arms if neces­sary, the lawful authorities in thepromotion of the war in which thenation is engaged.

..

},,,

1938 THE PRE 5 B Y T E R I AN G U A R D I AN

The Apostasy of the Presbyterian Churchin the U. S. A.By the REV. LESLIE W. SLOAT

47

'J.

...

TH E purpose of this article is toshow, on the basis of deliverances

of the General Assembly of the Pres­byterian Church in the U.S.A., thatthe present organization claiming thatname has abandoned the faith whichthe church formerly held, and is there­fore not the true spiritual successionof the historic Presbyterian Churchin the U.S,A.

\ The Church in 1910\ In the year 1910 the General As-

sembly of the Presbyterian Church inthe U.S.A. adopted the following de­liverance with reference to doctrine:

The Church of Jesus Christ, set to beboth a witness and an exemplar of sav­ing and sanctifying truth, has come upontimes when her mission is at once mostdifficult and most necessary.

It is an age of doubt. Many elements ofthe faith delivered, once for all, to thesaints, and embodied in the immemorialtestimony of the Christian Church, areby many openly questioned and rejected.Thereby the fundamentals not only ofour faith as a church, but of evangelicalChristianity, are assaulted. Laxity in mat­ters of moral opinion has been followedby laxity in matters of moral obligation.It is an age of impatience, of no re­straint. The spirit of license and lawless­ness is abroad. Authority in church andstate alike is decadent because itsdefi­ance has so often been unchecked. Thesafeguards of society are threatened. Thedecline in the elements of an essential re­ligion is followed by a groveling andgrowing superstition that shames our san­ity, our faith, and our civilization, It istherefore necessary that the church ofChrist should bear unflinching witnessagainst the errors in faith and the faultsin practice, by testifying to the truth, thewhole truth, and nothing but the truth,as God has been pleased to reveal it inHis Word and by His Spirit. Actuatedby that fervent charity which God hasmade the rule and grace of her life, shemust stand sturdily for that which is atonce the redemption of the individual andthe redemption of society. Ours has al­ways been a witnessing church, It mustcontinue to be such, or else consent toconditions of doubt that would dissolveher foundations and equally destroy his­toric Christianity.

In accordance with the purpose setclown in this deliverance, the Assem­bly adopted a declaration "with regardto certain essential and necessary arti­cles of faith," which was as follows:

It is an essential doctrine of the Wordof God and our Standards that "The HolySpirit did so inspire, guide, and move thewriters of the Holy Scriptures as tokeep them from error" [quotes Con£.I: 10l

It is an essential doctrine of the Wordof God and our Standards that "OurLord Jesus Christ was born of the Vir­gin Mary" [quotes Shorter CatechismQuestion 22]. '

It is an essential doctrine of the Wordof God and our Standards that "Christo!I~red .up .Himself a sacrifice to satisfydivine Justice and reconcil us to God"[quotes I Peter 3: 18].

It is an essential doctrine of the Wordof God and our Standards concerningour Lord Jesus Christ, that "On thethird day He arose from the dead withthe same body in which He suffered, withwhich also He ascended into heaven andthere sitteth at the right hand of HisFather, making intercession" (see Con­fession VIII: 4).

I t is an essential doctrine of the Wordof God as the supreme standard of ourfaith, that the Lord Jesus showed Hispower and love by working mighty mir­acles. This working was not contrary tonature, but superior to it [quotes Matt.9: 35] ..."

And the Assembly added, regardingthese articles:

These five articles of faith are essen­tial and necessary. Others are equally so.We need not fear for God's truth as itis revealed in the Holy Scriptures andcontained in our Westminster Standards.We bless God for the doctrine of HisWord shining in the Standards. Theystand firm like the towering beacon onthe shore, casting a beam across the darkwave of this world's sin. Foolish birds andbats dart out of the night and dash them­selves against the lenses of the lighthouse,only to fall back senseless at its base. Soheretics and skeptics have hurled them­selves against the Word of God andagainst the Westminster Standards, onlyto fall back baffled and broken.

In order to make their deliveranceeffective, the Assembly adopted thefollowing resolutions:

That . . . all presbyteries within ourbounds shall always take care not to ad­mit any candidate for the ministry intothe exercise of the sacred function unlesshe declares his agreement in opinion withall the essential and necessary articlesof our confession.

That all our parents in the home andour teachers in the schools be herebywarned of the prevalence of many insidi­ous doubts and denials of the faith, prev-

alent in our times, and be urged to bediligent in teaching the children the veryWord of God.

And that the deliverance be read inthe churches.

Here, then, is the PresbyterianChurch in the U.S.A. in 1910, estab­lishing certain fundamental articles offaith, declaring that unless the churchbelieves and preaches them, it con­sents to conditions which destroy his­toric Christianity, and declaring thoseto be heretics and skeptics who denythe Bible and the doctrines of thechurch standards.

In the year 1916 there was beforethe Assembly an issue involving theaction of N ew York Presbytery inlicensing candidates who would notaffirm belief in the virgin birth ofChrist. After due consideration, theAssembly adopted the report of acommittee considering the matter,which report called attention to thedeliverance of 1910 above cited, andthen added these significant words:

. 'presbyteries,. therefore, are hereby en­joined not to license or ordain any candi­date for the ministry whose views arenot in accordance with this deliverance of1910. This General Assembly renews itspositive mandate with full expectation ofloyal compliance by all our Presbyteries'and directs that when a candidate appear~who is found to be not clear and positiveon anyone of the fundamentals of ourfaith, his licensure shall be deferred untilsuch time as in the judgment of the Pres­bytery he has become so.

The Church in 1923In the year 1923 the Presbytery of

Philadelphia overtured the GeneralAssembly with regard to hereticalpreaching in the pulpit of the FirstPresbyterian Church of N ew YorkCity. The Assembly replied by order­ing the Presbytery of New York to"take such action ... as will requirethe preaching and teaching in theFirst Presbyterian Church of NewYork to conform to the system of doc­trine taught in the Confession ofFaith ..."; and in addition the As­sembly reaffirmed once more the de­liverance regarding essential doctrineswhich had been issued in 1910 andrepeated in 1916.

48 THE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN March

I;

The testimony of the General As­sembly is thus made perfectly clear.The rejection of these (and other)essential articles of faith is an assaultnot only upon the faith of the church,but upon evangelical Christianity. Thechurch must continue to bear unflinch­ing witness against errors in faith andfaults in practice. Candidates who arenot positive in affirming agreementwith these doctrines are not to be li­censed. And presbyteries are to re­quire that the teaching and preachingin their churches shall conform to thesystem of doctrine taught in the Con­fession of Faith.

The Auburn AffirmationNow what of the church since the

year 1923? In the General Assemblyof that year, 85 individuals signed aprotest against the action reaffirmingthe deliverance of 1910 about essentialdoctrines. And following the adjourn­ment of the Assembly, a documentwas prepared and circulated, receivingthe signatures of over twelve hundredministers of the church-a documentwhich openly and flatly repudiated thedeliverance of the Assembly on essen­tial doctrines.

It has been said that this document,the Auburn Affirmation, was not an"official" document. This is true, asfar as the Presbyterian Church in theU.S.A. is concerned. The Affirmationwas not adopted by the church. But itis thoroughly official as regards theindividual signatories to it. In deter­mining whether an individual is guiltyof heresy the church has always beensatisfied if a statement written orsigned by the individual, and contain­ing heretical teaching, was presentedin evidence. The Auburn Affirmationis such a document. Moreover, theaction of the church in approving va­rious individuals who signed that doc­ument, makes the church itself a partyto the heresy contained in it. To whatextent the church has approved thisdocument in this manner will appearpresently. But first we must considerthe Affirmation itself.

The Auburn Affirmation has usuallybeen considered from the point ofview of what it denies. But such aconsideration fails, in our opinion, toreveal the real teeth, the real danger,in it. Every denial involves a positiveaffirmation. These positive affirmationsshow what the real doctrinal positionof the signers is.

The Affirmation establishes a dis-

WestminsterInstallation

O N THURSDAY, April 14th, at8 P. M., three professors-elect

will be installed as professors at West­minster Theological Seminary. TheRev. Ned Bernard Stonehouse, A.B.(Calvin College); Th.B. and Th.M.(Princeton Seminary); Th.D. (FreeUniversity of Amsterdam), will be in­stalled as Professor of New Testa­ment. The Rev. John Murray, A.M.(University of Glasgow); Th.B. andTh.M. (Princeton Seminary); Universityof Edinburgh, 1928-29, will be in­stalled as Professor of SystematicTheology. The Rev. Paul Woolley,A.B. (Princeton University); Th.B. andTh.M. (Princeton Seminary); Uni­versity of Cambridge, 1925-26; Uni­versityof Berlin, 1926, will be installedas Professor of Church History.

Dr. Stonehouse will deliver the in­stallation address on a phase of NewTestament criticism. The public is in­vited to attend this important service.

tinction of its own between what itcalls "theories" and what it calls"facts and doctrines." It declares thatthe statements of the Assembly are"theories" intended to explain certainunderlying "facts and doctrines." Andit declares that those who hold to the"facts and doctrines," whatever theo­ries they may employ to explain them,are worthy of the confidence and fel­lowship of the church. Now let us seewhat this means in actual application.

Take, for example, the matter ofthe virgin birth. The virgin birth, weare told, is merely a "theory." The"fact and doctrine" underlying it isthat Jesus was "God manifest in theflesh." Very good, but what othertheories are possible? Only that Jesuswas not born of Mary, or that Marywas not a virgin at the time. The firstis not claimed. The second is the onlyalternative. The positive teaching ofthe Affirmation at this point, then, isthat those who hold that Jesus Christwas the illegitimate child of Mary andsome person unknown are, if in addi­tion they profess (and how can theyhonestly?) that He was God manifestin the flesh, worthy of the confidenceand fellowship of the church. This ishath intellectually dishonest and posi­tively immoral.

Or take the resurrection. The As­sembly states that Jesus arose fromthe dead on the third day in the samebody in which He suffered. TheAffirrnationist declares that this is a"theory" to explain the "fact and doc­trine" that He arose from the deadand is our ever-living Saviour. Thissounds very nice, but what othertheories are possible? Only that Hearose in the same body but not on thethird day, which none of these peopleclaim. Or that He did not rise in thesame body in which He suffered, how­ever He may have arisen. But, if thisis the case, where is the body in whichHe suffered? Its dust must be mixedwith the sands of Palestine. And so,as the logical consequence of theirstatement, the signers of the Affirma­tion assert that persons who believe­ministers who believe-that the hu­man body of our Lord Jesus Christstill lies, mingled with the dust ofcenturies in the land of Palestine, areworthy of all confidence and fellow­ship in the church.

Or take one more. The Assemblydeclared that the death of Christ wasa "sacrifice to satisfy divine justiceand reconcile us to God." This, say theAffirmationists, is merely a "theory"intended to explain the "fact" that"God was in Christ, reconciling theworld to Himself, and through Himwe have our redemption." Again anice sounding statement. But whatunderl ies it? Simply that some ofthese people do not believe that Christdied as a sacrifice, or that He died tosatisfy the justice of God, or that Hedied to reconcile us to God. If Christdid not satisfy the justice of Godthen that justice either remains un­satisfied and all persons are doomedto eternal punishment for their sins,or else God's justice is of no im­portance and needs no satisfaction.If Christ did not die as a sacrifice forsins, then no sacrifice has been of­fered. And we are told that those whoreally believe that the justice of Godremains unsatisfied or that it is ofsuch benevolence as to require nosatisfaction are worthy of the confi­dence and felIowship of the church.

It is not necessary to go further. Itis apparent from what has been saidthat these Affirmationists are them­selves holding or commending thevery views which the Assembly of1910 declared would dissolve the foun­elations of the church and dcstrov his-toric Christianity. .

J

I),

1938 THE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN 49

The Church Since 1923But one question remains. What at­

titude has the church taken towardsthese proponents of heresy, thesesigners of the Auburn Affirmation. Itis clear, I think, that the 'Assembly of1910, for example, would have takensteps to secure their removal from thechurch. But not so now. Rather, thereis hardly a single agency of the Pres­byterian Church in the U.S.A., admin­istrative, promotional, or educational,that does not have one or more ofthese signers upon it. Instead of beingremoved, they are honored, recog­nized, and given positions of author­ity. In proof of this claim, we presentthe following review:

According to the Minutes of theGeneral Assembly of the PresbyterianChurch in the U.S.A. for 1937 thereare at present 936 ministers on theroll of the church who signed theAffirmation. With reference to theagencies of the church the followinginformation emerges:

The General Council, having a totalof 26 members, has two Affirmation­ists on it, one of whom was electedthis year, and the other sits as repre­sentative of one of the boards.

The Permanent Judicial Commis­sion, having a total of 15 members,has three Affirmationists on it, one ofwhom is moderator of the commission.

The Committee on Amending theConfession of Faith, chapter xxiii,etc., has 13 ministers, of whom five,including the chairman, signed theAffirmation.

The Committee on Religious Ob­servance at the World's Fair haseight ministers, of whom three, in­cluding the chairman, signed theAffirmation.

The Board of National Missionshas 17 ministers, of whom nine, orover half, signed the Affirmation.

The Board of Foreign Missions has18 ministers, of whom two signed theAffirmation.

The Board of Christian Educationhas 11 ministers, of whom threesigned the Affirmation.

The Board of Trustees of the As­sembly has four signers of the Af­firmation, including the vice-presidentand the corresponding secretary.

Princeton Seminary: The visitingProfessor of Homiletics is an Affir­mationist.

Auburn Theological Seminary: TheBoard of the Seminary has on it tensigners, including the retiring Presi-

dent and the President-elect; and thefaculty has five additional signers onit. The seminary has averaged about42 regular students for the last 20years.

Western Theological Seminary:Five signers on the Board and two onthe faculty. At present there are 72students in the institution.

Louisville Seminary: One man onthe Board signed the Affirmation. Lastyear the seminary had 64 students.

The Presbyterian Seminary of Chi­cago: Two members of the Boardsigned the Affirmation. There areabout 150 students.

San Francisco Seminary: Vice­President of the Board and two mem­bers of the faculty are signers. About85 students are enrolled.

University of Dubuque TheologicalSeminary: One member of the Boardand one of the faculty signed.

Bloomfield Seminary: Five mem­bers of the Board and two of thefaculty signed.

Omaha Seminary: Two members ofthe Board signed.

We recognize perfectly well thatthe signers of the Auburn Affirmationare probably not the only ministers inthe church who hold or promote heret­ical doctrine. But the Affirmation isa definite statement of such a positionon the part of some ministers. Andthe evidence given above shows thatthe church of today welcomes andhonors those whom the church of afew years back shunned and ejected.On the basis of this evidence we arewilling to allow any impartial ob­server to decide whether or not theclaim of The Presbyterian Church ofAmerica in 1936 was correct, when itdeclared that the "true spiritual suc­cession" of the Presbyterian Churchin the U.S.A. had been "abandoned bythe present organization holding tothat name." In its open approval ofthe heresy represented by the Affirma­tion, the Presbyterian Church in theU.S.A. has apostatized from the faithonce for all delivered to the saints,and from the faith set down in itsown confessional standards, and noamount of counterclaims of sincerityand loyalty can set aside that fact.

The Presbyterian Church of Amer­ica was organized in 1936 by thosewho did desire to maintain and pro­mote the "true spiritual succession" ofthe Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.Though small and seemingly weak, itis set to that task. For it we ask

earnestly the sincere cooperation andsupport of all who truly desire to pro­mote that for which the PresbyterianChurch in the U.S.A. formerly stood,and which it has now abandoned. Andto God shall be the glory for what­ever success it may have in carryingon its task.

Westminster Campus ActivitiesBy CALVIN A. BUSCH

Westminster Seminary, Class of 1938

TH E deputation work carried onby Westminster students under

the direction of Mr. Adrian De­Young, chairman of this activity,mirrors in concrete fashion thedeeper reason for coming to West­minster. The seminary is a trainingground for men called by God topreach Jesus Christ and Him cruci­fied. The joy of testimony andpreaching, however, is not delayedfor a future permanent pastorate,but is experienced during the schoolyear in and about the Philadelphiaarea.

Once a month students go to theSunday Breakfast Association wherethe gospel is preached to the unfor­tunate men of the streets. Mr.Lawrence, father of a Westminstergraduate, supervises this excellentrescue work.

The Seamen's Church Institute pro­vides opportunity for the seminarymen to unfold the good news of salva­tion to the sailors who come and go.Mrs. McCready, in charge of thesetransients, has been most gracious inher invitations to the students to bringthe story of Jesus and His love.

The Westminster Seminary Quartetfrequently renders its program of gos­pel music and preaching of the Wordin many churches. Several of the menare teaching the Bible on Sunday andduring the week in churches and inprivate homes.

Although seminary life is confiningand there is intensive studying of theWord, yet the students rejoice inthese outward opportunities to bringthe gospel of salvation to sinners untothe glory of God. We rejoice in Christfor the faculty of Westminster whichby its teaching and life impels us tocarryon this work, and by its encour­agement and prayers enables us towitness for our Saviour.

50 THE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN March

A Review by the REV. PROFESSOR R. B. KUIPER

.A Good Book on a Great Theme

/

!•

teaching of Scripture that faith is agift of God the Holy Spirit before itbecomes an act of man is driven home,and thus the precious doctrine of sal­vation by grace is upheld.

As telling a statement as any in thelast chapter is this: "God is the authorof the covenant which He made withAbraham. God must needs be the au­thor of any covenant bringing maninto fellowship with the Most High"(p. 91). Precisely to the point is theremark: "The whole modern idea ofpreaching Jesus, but preaching Himwithout a creed, is not only theolog­ically, not merely Scripturally, butpsychologicaIly impossible in itself"(p. 95).

Because the content of the book isin the main so very excellent, the pityis all the greater that it should bemarred by inaccuracies. Typograph­ical errors are so numerous that wemust decline to hold the author re­sponsible for them. The frequent useof the archaic hath for simple has isannoying. Confusing is the suddenchange of metaphors in the sentence:"As I climb the ladder of faith leadingup to the gates of God, I rejoice thatGod has not given me a mere tightrope" (p. 61). In view of the fact thatfaith owes its origination to the HolySpirit alone, the phrase "God's part inestablishing faith" (p. 49) is mislead­ing. One wonders at the coordinationof "providential instruments" with"the Word" as means by which theHoly Spirit works faith in humanhearts (p. 103). One cannot help plac­ing a question mark in the marginalongside Principal McIntyre's words,which Dr. Robinson thinks beautiful:"If our Lord died in a sorrow whichnone can name, how shall we speak ofthe pain of God when He turned awayHis face from the Son of His love?"(p. 99). Does the latter half of thissentence teach patripassianism ormust it be interpreted as anthropop­athism? In plain words, does the au­thor actually mean to ascribe pain tothe Infinite, or is he speaking figura­tively of God after the manner ofman?

Though admiring Dr. Robinson'swide reading, we must express sincereregret that he has not exercisedgreater care in the choice of citationsto bolster up his argumentation. Hisfrequent quotations from Barth andBarthians may easily leave the im­pression with the reader that Barthand his followers hold a sound view

not merely a psychology of faith.Thirdly, under the title The Faith

of Abraham: The Faith of All ThoseWho Believe, the thesis is amplified:That Abraham is the Scriptural ex­emplar of [aitl«; hence everyone pro­fessing faith ought to compare hisfaith with that of the father of thefaithful ilZ order to ascertain whetherhis faith is of the type that will bereckoned for righteousness.

These titles and theses make it clearthat the author holds to the orthodox,the historic Christian, the Reformed,the Biblical, conception of the natureof Christian faith and aims to setforth that conception in positive fash­ion as well as to defend it against thecorruptions of present-day liberalism.Both these aims are accomplished ad­mirably, for which the author de­serves warm commendation and hisbook hearty recommendation to. thereading public.

The following are characteristicsentences of the first chapter: "Theloss of certainty is the result of aprogressive transference of Gospelemphases from God to man. Calvin­ism is a concentration of thought andlife upon God. Modernism partakesof the humanistic concentration uponman. Man is uncertain, changeable,multitudinous; God is one, eternal,certain" (p. 21). "In diametric oppo­sition to Kant we maintain that Chris­tian faith is not a less certain knowl­edge than the knowledge of things wesee, but a more certain knowledge"(p. 31). Quoting Thornwell, "No au­thority can be higher than the directtestimony of God, and no certaintycan be greater than that imparted bythe Spirit shining upon the Word"(p. 32).

It is heartening to observe that inthe second chapter the author combatsnot only the thoroughly naturalisticconception of faith's origin espousedby William James in The Will to Be"lieue, but also that compromising- viewwhich is proclaimed as g-ospel truthby any number of preachers and evan­g-elists who style themselves Funda­mentalists: that the natural man canof his own unregenerate volition be­lieve on the Lord Jesus Christ andthat the new birth is not the cause buta consequence of faith (p. 46). The

WHAT Is CHRISTIAN FAITH? by WilliamChilds Robinson, A.M., Th.D., D.D.,Professor of Historical Theology,Columbia Theological Seminary, De­catur, Ga. - Zondervan PublishingHouse, Grand Rapids, Mich., $1.

IN THIS very read-able little volume

of a hundred and sev­enteen pages, the lat­est from the facilepen of Dr. William C.Robinson, he contin­ues his defense and

Mr. Kuiper promulgation ofChristian truth, which for him-andfor the present reviewer-is synony­mous with the Reformed faith.

Dr. Robinson would have the readerdistinguish carefully between the ques­tion What is the Faith? and the ques­tion What is Faith?-in other words,between the content of faith and itsnature ;-in still other words, between"the faith which is believed" and "thefaith with which it is believed." Inthis book he is dealing with the latterrather than the former. However, heis well aware that the two are insep­arable, and that the content of Chris­tian faith determines its nature. Howevident, and withal how significant, afact! Christian faith is faith in theGod of the Bible. Faith in any otherobject, for instance in man or in an­other god than the God of the Bible,is a different sort of faith, so whollydifferent that it in no wise deservesto be named Christian. Therefore itis not at all surprising that the bookunder review says a great deal aboutthe content of Christian faith. It wasinevitable that it should.

There are three chapters presentingas many theses.

The first chapter is entitled Chris­tian Certainty: The Lost Chord inModern Thought, and sets forth thethesis That Christian Faith is not aman-made conjecture, but a God­given certainty.

The theme of the second chapter isChristian Faith: A Work of God, Nota Mere Wish of Man, and its thesisreads: That since its relation to Godis of the essence of Christian faith,therefore any definition of faith whichleaues God out is inadequate and er­roneous; or, that a true doctrine offaith involves a theology of faith, and

1938 THE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN 51

The Progress of Home MissionsBy the REV. ROBERT STRONG

General Secretary of the Home Missions Committee

Mr. Strong

of the Christian faith. But as a matterof fact they do not believe all thatGod has revealed to us in His Word.That, of course, is extremely serious.And, while the first stanza quoted onpage 57 is indeed beautiful-

"0 gift of gifts! 0 grace of faith!My God, how can it be

That Thou who hast discerning love,Shouldst give that gift to me?"-

in view of every man's utter unworth­iness of the grace of God, the secondstanza deprives the hymn of much ofits "greatness"-

"How many hearts Thou mightesthave had

More innocent than mine,How many souls more worthy far

Of that sweet touch of Thine!"

Dr. Robinson's book would havegained in practical value if in it hehad dealt more fully with the problemof subjective assurance of salvation.Is the Christian believer always cer­tain of his being a believer and con­sequently of his salvation? If hedoubts these things at times, does itfollow that he is not a believer?Though faith itself is supremely cer­tain, is it not a fact that, in the soulof the Christian, belief and unbeliefkeep battling with each other? Grantedthat faith invariably gives its posses­sor a measure of assurance of salva­tion, is full assurance essential toChristianity? Many of Christ's littleones would greatly appreciate light onthese questions. It is dear that Dr.Robinson did not intend to deal withthese questions at any length in thisvolume. Let us hope that he may atsome future time answer them morefully. The volume before us givesabundant evidence that he is eminentlyqualified to do this.

The Christian world owes Dr. Rob­inson a debt of sincere gratitude forhis most recent book. It is a forcefulreminder of which the church of ourday, with unbelief rampant in its verypulpits, has dire need.

More than once Dr. Robinson laudsthe heroic faith of the late Dr. J.Gresham Machen (pp. 80, 109). Wecannot refrain from expressing thefervent wish that Dr. Robinson, andmany with him, may follow Dr.Machen's example to the extent ofcarrying the fight for the faith intothe courts of the church, and therefig-hting- for it to a finish,

IT WAS mentionedin the February is­

sue of THE PRESBY­TERIAN GUARDIANthat the Committee onHome Missions hadrequested its mission­aries and aid-receiv­ing pastors to engage

in an intensive campaign of homevisitation. We are able to reportthe first returns from this specialeffort. Some items have proved suchinteresting reading that we cannot dobetter than to let the missionariesspeak for the most part in their ownwords.

For example, one working in theeast tells us:

For the month of January I made 27separate calls on people who are not mem­bers of our church; some I called ontwice. From these calls I estimate thatthere are about 19 likely prospects. Theresults of these calls are, so far, 15 newchildren attending Sunday school; oneperson who will join the church in Marchafter catechism instruction; five adultswho attend occasionally; one adult whohas expressed her desire to join thechurch. This latter person had been com­ing occasionally; regularly of late. On lastThursday an elder and I went to herhome and talked with her husband aboutsalvation and uniting with the church.She had said that she wanted to waituntil he decided, but now she wants tojoin anyway without waiting for him. Wehave several cases like this.

A missionary who is working hardto establish a church in a middlewestern city tells of how, when theoutlook seemed dark, friends werefound in sufficient number to organ­ize a particular church of The Pres­byterian Church of America. Withfour families that are well groundedin the Reformed Faith the missionarywell asks if that be not a good nucleusfor a real church. Others have sinceaffiliated with the new church, whichis to be established permanently in arelatively unchurched, attractive, resi­dential district.

Another missionary in the middlewest writes:

During the course of the month ofJanuary I made n calls. I found eightwho I think may be considered likelyprospects. Definite results secured thusfar are these: general interest in the work

we have undertaken; promises to attendour meetings; the presence of sevenstrangers at our service last Sunday.

From somewhat farther west comesthis word:

Thanks to the exceptionally mild weatherof January I am happy to report about30 calls within a radius of 20 miles ofour home. All of these were unchurchedfamilies, but only in one or two cases wasthe call received with indifference. I knowthat you will rejoice with me that enoughinterest was shown to make bright theprospect of opening another preachingpoint, which will make three points inthis charge. For last October the Lordled in opening up a door to the gospel ina school ten miles to the northeast. Theattendance sometimes runs as high as 45.And in our local church the attendancehas reached almost a new peak. Manynon-members are regular in attendance. InChristian Endeavor we are studying theShorter Catechism, and many of theyoung people are proving themselves Be­rean Christians in searching the Scrip­tures daily. Some of them have been ledto confess Christ for the first time.

Speaking of recent developments inthe work a missionary writes that inJanuary he made 39 calls on un­churched families. He adds, "Here Ihesitate, for 'Man looketh on theoutward appearance, but God lookethon the heart'; a number of childrenhave professed Christ; and threewomen and three men, of whom I be­lieve we have a right to record thatthey have been really regenerated bythe Holy Spirit."

One missionary in the course of hisspecial calling effort was able to pre­sent the issue of separation fromapostasy to a family belonging to thePresbyterian Church in the U.S.A.,with the result that this man and hiswife have had their names removedfrom that body in order to join ThePresbyterian Church of America.

From the east we have this addi­tional word:

I've been greatly encouraged in the lastfew weeks. Our services have been wellattended, and the spiritual life of themembers seems to be better. At the lastcommunion service we received four newmembers, two on confession and two onreaffirmation of faith.

The letters from which we havequoted tell a story of progress atmany different home mission points.Undoubtedly the work is movin~ for-

52 THE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN March

The Greatest MissionaryA Mission Study by the REV. CARY N. WEISIGER

General Secretary of the Committee on Foreign Missions

Mr. Weisiger

ward all along the line. How couldit be otherwise when men serve theLord in the spirit in which these menare working? This quotation from aletter just received from the west re­veals the spirit animating our ableand devoted representatives in thehome missions field:

The Lord is putting us through a severetest as a denomination. May we pray forgrace to meet it-to trust and not beafraid. I thank God every day for beingout of the old church. I thank God for afield of service. I thank God for West­minster Seminary. And I thank God forour denomination. Although our needsare great, yet I look for these needs togive us the victory by compelling us todraw closer, ever closer, to the Lord JesusChrist and wait patiently for Him.

Let the last word of our report

W H O was thegreatest mis­

sionary that everlived? This mightseem an idle questionto some. It mightseem to engender dis­cussion and debatewhich could not pos­

sibly be settled. Doubtless, everybranch of the Christian Church wouldput forward a figure of its own choos­ing, and arguments as to the merits ofthis or that hero of the faith wouldhave no end.

For example, the Roman Catholicchurch might point to the apostlePeter as the preeminent missionary ofall time, whereas many Protestantswould reserve that honor for theapostle Paul. Still others might lookfor a figure of post-apostolic times­for Patrick, Francis Xavier orFrancis of Assisi; and some might ad­vocate an ambassador of the crossnearer our own day: William Carey,David Brainerd, Henry Martyn, DavidLivingstone or Hudson Taylor.

The question may be settled veryeasily, however. None of these whohave been mentioned can comparewith the greatest missionary, the LordJesus Christ. He stands alone andunique as the missionary without rivalor peer.

It may not be customary to refer to

concern the need to which the aboveparagraph adverts. We do not hesitatefrankly to state that the need is large.Not only must we maintain 21 mis­sionaries already on the field, but wemust make preparation to send, toseveral openings that are ready toreceive them, men who are soon tobe graduated from seminary. Howmaterially it would help if 300 read­ers of this article who do not nowcontribute to the work of the HomeMissions Committee would resolve tosend in monthly to the committee atits office, 506 Schaff Building, Phila­delphia, a gift of a dollar each, ormore if ability permits! The mission­aries are faithfully at work. It is forus to be faithful in maintaining themin that work.

the Lord as a missionary, yet He cer­tainly was that, especially in His pro­phetic office. Noone ever preached asHe preached. Noone ever taught asHe taught. Noone has ever been ableto do the things that He has done anddoes in winning and holding men tothe end for His heavenly kingdom.

The supremacy of Jesus Christ inmissionary endeavor can be clearlyestablished by many lines of evidence.Perhaps one line of evidence willsuffice here, the line that has to dowith His missionary purpose.

First of all, He had a missionarypurpose before His birth. That pre­cious chapter of Christian revelation,chapter 17 of the Gospel according toJohn, admits us to the holy secrets ofeternity, the mysteries of the sacredcovenant between the Father and theSon whereby the Son undertook theresponsibility of carrying out theFather's plan of redemption for thoseupon whom the Father had in sover­eignty set His love. It is plain fromwhat is revealed in this chapter thatbefore His incarnation the Lord hada missionary purpose. In His prayerto the Father the Lord said: "Andnow, 0 Father, glorify thou me withthine own self with the glory which Ihad with thee before the world was. Ihave manifested thy name unto themen which thou gavest me out of theworld: thine they were, and thou

gavest them me; and they have keptthy word" (John 17: 5,6).

There is a very interesting passagein the first epistle of Peter which in­dicates that the Lord Jesus Christ wasactive in the world before His birth.Peter says of Christ that He "wentand preached unto the spirits inprison; which sometimes were diso­bedient, when once the longsufferingof God waited in the days of Noah,'while the ark was a preparing,wherein few, that is, eight souls weresaved by water." (I Pet. 3: 19, 20)Whatever else this passage may teach,it certainly teaches that the Lord'smissionary work began prior to thedays of His flesh.

A Purpose Throughout LifeSecondly, Christ had a missionary

purpose throughout His life. Therehave been notable examples of conse­cration to God's service in youthfuldays. Count Zinzendorf as a boyseemed to have an unusual experiencethat made God permanently real tohim. Yet Count Zinzendorf's conse­cration may not be compared withthat perfect devotion of the boy Jesusto the will of His Father. Luke re­cords enough about that incident inHis life when He was but twelveyears old to convince us of this. It isdifficult to imagine any merely humanchild of our day so precocious intel­lectually and spiritually as to enterinto a theological debate with minis­ters and seminary professors. Jesus'parents thought it was most unusual,but He simply said: "Wist ye not thatI must be about my Father's busi­ness?" (Luke 2: 49).

It is hardly necessary to remarkthat that purpose was the one consum­ing passion of the Lord throughoutHis life. Early in His ministry He ap­plied the prophecy in Isaiah 61: 1 toHimself: "The Spirit of the Lord isupon me, because he hath anointedme to preach the gospel to the poor...." (Luke 4: 18). At the end of Hisministry His closing words on thecross were: "It is finished" (John19 : 30). His has been and ever shallbe the only stainlessly perfect minis­try.

Thirdly, Christ had a missionarypurpose at His death. Other men, Godbe thanked, have had a missionarypurpose too. But He it was who notonly set the example but did thatwhich was unique. What He did thatno other could do is best expressed inHis words: "The Son of man came

1938 THE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN 53

not to be ministered unto, but to min­ister, and to give his life a ransom formany" (Matt. 20: 28). Christ's deathwas a missionary death in a supremesense. As the one preeminently sent byGod He discharged His commissionto perfection on the cross to provide"redemption through his blood, theforgiveness of sins."

Ah! Here was a missionary indeed!At death's door and in the throes ofunspeakable agonies He was still ac­tive as a missionary. To the dyingthief's "Remember me" He replied,"Verily I say unto thee, Today shaltthou be with me in paradise" (Luke23: 43). He could say that because Heknew what His death would accom­plish for penitent sinners.

Fourthly, Christ has a missionarypurpose now. Christianity is not onlya religion of the past and of the fu­ture but also of the present. Ever sincethe Lord was resurrected from thegrave and was received into Heavenuntil and including this very momentHe has been primarily interested inthe proclaiming of the gospel. Hisparting admonition to His disciplesholds good for all those who have for­saken their sins and followed Him infaith. "Ye shall receive power, afterthat the Holy Ghost is come uponyou: and ye shall be witnesses untome both in Jerusalem, and in alljudea,and in Samaria, and unto the utter­most part of the earth" (Acts 1: 8).

He is still calling Sauls to be Pauls,though in less direct and less spectacu­lar ways. He still has "much people"in this or that city and country untilthe number of the elect be complete.He still says today as He did to Isaiahof old: "Whom shall I send, and whowill go for us ?". And He still wantsChristian men and women to answer,"Here am I; send me" (Isa. 6: 8).

A Purpose Centeredin Himself

Yet one thing more remains to besaid about the missionary purpose ofthe Lord: It centers in Himself. It isat this point particularly that it ap­pears that between Christ and allother men there is "a great gulffixed." No other missionary was evercommissioned by God to take a mes­sage concerning himself. Even one'sown experience at conversion, spec­tacular and sudden as it may havebeen, can never be the content of one'smessage, the "sharing" practice of theOxford Group to the contrary not­withstanding. But Christ's message

concerned Himself and only Himselfand rightly so. For "no man comethunto the Father but by" Him. He andHe alone could say, "Come unto me,all ye that labour and are heavy laden,and I will give you rest" (Matt.11: 28).

Hudson Taylor once said that helamented that he followed Christ fromsuch a distance. If a notable mission­ary should say that of himself, whatconfession must most, if not all,Christians make of their failure toimitate Him who was the greatest ofall who ever witnessed to the truth ofGod? Yet there is hope. For He haspromised to empower His followerswith the indwelling Holy Spirit, thesource of all power. The solemn obli­gation resting upon every Christianis that he be a missionary like untohis Lord.

Word From the Field

IT IS always interesting to knowhow missionaries spend their time

from day to day. Therefore, we pre­sent an extract from a recent letter ofthe Rev. Egbert Andrews about him­self and the Rev. R. Heber McIlwaine :

The following will give you some ideaof what I am doing. For the last monthor so, seventeen hours a week on thelanguage with three different Chinese.One is a teacher and the other two arewell educated men. I am spending moretime with them than I would normally doin the third year because last year downat Haichow we only had one man withwhom to study. Also, this way I will beable to spend more time out in the coun­try in the Spring. Even now I have fiveafternoons free for street preaching anderrands. Henry and I find it hard to getinto homes where we are not known, es­pecially in the city. I am thinking of goingfrom shop to shop.

Every afternoon at 5 P.M. the LB. [In­dependent Board] missionaries and our­selves have a half-hour prayer meeting forthe work. On Saturday mornings theCorays and ourselves have a prayer meet­ing especially for our church, its com­mittees and Westminster Seminary. OnMonday evenings all the local Americanmissionaries-the Baptist and ourselves­have a reading club. On Thursday eve­ning we have our weekly prayer meeting.Other evenings are free for personal read­ing and social activities, both with localfriends and by letter with our friendsaround the world. Mac and I are readingtogether A. Kuyper's monumental "TheWork of the Holy Spirit." Also, we havea victrola and some very fine records leftin our charge, whose music we occasion­ally enjoy.

The Rev. R. Heber Mcl.lwaine, who

may shortly go from Harbin, Man­choukuo, to Tokio, Japan, in order towork with the Rev. M. C. Frehn andMrs. Frehn, has written about thatmove as follows:

In a way, reading the news to go toJapan at such an early date was somethingof a surprise.... However, I still feelthat I could accomplish more in Japanproper.

Recent developments in China arealways interesting, especially whenmissionaries of The PresbyterianChurch of America are concerned inthose developments. In a recent letterfrom Tsingtao on the seacoast Mr.Richard B. Gaffin had much to report,part of which was as follows:

Weare planning to stay right hereuntil we have definite knowledge that itwill mean risking the lives of our childrento stay. We feel that the Lord will leadus in this unusual situation and we are atgreat peace in the assurance that for our­selves we are doing His will by staying.We feel that our staying will mean muchfor our future work in this land and fur­thermore our Christian servants are stay­ing by us when they could have easily leftus.and now that they cannot return to theirhomes we feel we should stay by them andnot run when there is no evidence ofdanger....

We rejoice to hear from some of ourfriends who are at their stations that theChinese Christians are displaying realfaith in the Lord and that the unsaved arelistening to the gospel as never before.Two weeks ago I took a bus trip down toHaichow via Jihchao and back. ... Al­though I made a hurried trip I too foundthe people very receptive to my tracts andpersonal witnessing. The means of com­munication have been increased tremen­dously during the past year and even sincethe war started, for automobile roads havebeen built through the hitherto hard areasto reach.

No word has been received as yetof the Rev. M. C. Frehn's arrival inJapan. Prayers are requested for theFrehns and for all of the missionarieswho are serving God so faithfully un­der the auspices of The PresbyterianChurch of America.

SuC)C)ested Study MaterialTHE MISSIONARY PURPOSE OF CHRIST:

Before His birth-John 6: 38-40;Luke 19: 10; John 17: 5-8; I Pet.3: 18-20. Throughout His life­Luke 2: 49; 4: 18-21; Tohn 19: 30.At His death-Matt. 20: 28; John3: 14-16; Luke 23: 43. At present­Acts 1:8; 9:3; 18:9, 10. Centeringin Himself - John 14: 6; Matt.11: 28, 29; John 6: 28, 29.

"CHINA CALLING": Chapter Three:Language and Social Conditions.

54 THE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN

lIMy Presence Shall Go With Thee llA Meditation by the REV. CALVIN KNOX CUMMINGSPastor of the Covenant Presbyterian Church. Pittsburgh. Penna.

March

A S MOSES lingered in the pres­"ence of the Lord on MountSinai, the children of Israel becamevexed and rebellious because of theirunbelief. "Up, make us gods whichshall go before us; for as for thisMoses, the man that brought us upout of the land of Egypt, we wot notwhat is become of him." So theymade a golden calf to go before them.

For this outrage on His person anddistrust of His covenant, God, in Hisholy wrath, declared to Israel: "I willnot go up in the midst of thee. I willkeep my covenant to give thee thepromised land and I will send anangel to go before thee, but I will notgo with thee."

Bound up in this solemn warningof the Almighty were issues thatwould result in the greatest possibletragedy for Israel. The withdrawal ofGod's presence from their midst wouldinvolve a severance of God's cove­nant relationship with His chosenpeople. Henceforth the consumingwrath of God would be their portion:"I will come up into the midst of theein a moment and consume thee."Israel's only guarantee of separationfrom the sinful nations about herwould be taken away: "Is it not thatthou goest with us? so shall we beseparated." No longer would Israelbe able to enter into fellowship withher covenant God. The future with­out the presence of the Lord heldnothing but darkness and despair.

Moved with compassion for hispeople, Moses pleads with the Lord intheir behalf. "If I have found gracein thy sight shew me now thy way ...and consider that this nation is thypeople." In mercy and grace the Lordreplies: "My presence shall go withthee, and I will give thee rest." En­couraged by this promise Moses leadsforth the children of Israel.

Ever since the falI mankind, bynature, has been cut off from theglorious presence of the living Lord.The curse of Heaven, the miseriesand sins of earth, and an utter lackof joyous fellowship with his Fatherbecame the portion of fallen man. ButGod in His infinite mercy and gracehas vouchsafed to all His children

chosen from the counsels of eternityHis abiding presence. In the time ofMoses the Lord fulfilled His promiseto His redeemed children by mani­festing His presence in external ways."The Lord went before them by dayin a pilIar of cloud ... and by nightin a pillar of fire." The Lord prom­ised: "I will send an angel beforethee." Most blessed of all was thevisible presence of the Lord in theform of "the angel of the Lord," eventhe preincarnate Christ of whom Goddeclared: "My name is in him." Butto God's children of the New Testa­ment dispensation God chose an evenmore glorious way to make knownHis presence. To us is given theprivilege of experiencing the presenceof the Lord in the person of God'sonly Son, our Saviour, and the blessedHoly Spirit. Through the crucifiedand risen Lord we are restored tofavor and fellowship; we come intothe very presence of the living God."We who one time were afar off aremade nigh by the blood of Christ.""He that eateth my flesh and drinkethmy blood, dwelleth in me and I inhim." Through the Saviour waspoured forth in greater abundanceand power the Holy Spirit to indwellus. "I will pray the Father, and heshall give you another Comforter, thathe may abide with you forever . . .he dwelIeth with you, and shalI be inyou." By the gracious indwelIing ofthe Holy Spirit we realize the blessedpromise of our Saviour: "La, I amwith you alway, even unto the end ofthe world."

Wherefore then, oh child of God,do you fear? Has not the Lord prom­ised "my presence shalI go with thee ?"Does this not suffice? Christian, Hispresence means everything. Having it,there is nothing that can be added.Having it not, all else will not suffice.I n His presence there is salvation. InHis presence there is abiding strength,peace, and joy. Are you discouragedby depressing "circumstances whichsurround you? "As I was with Moses,so I wilI be with thee: I will not failthee, nor forsake thee." Is your heartdespairing at the thought of impend­ing war clouds ] "Fear not; for I am

with thee; be not dismayed, for I amthy God." Do you lack courage andstrength? Learn of Caleb: "If so bethe Lord will be with me, then I shallbe able to drive them out." Are youchafing under the loss of church prop­erty and the material triumphs of un­belief? "In thy presence is fulness ofjoy; at thy right hand there are pleas­ures forevermore." Are you lyingupon a bed of affliction? "I wilI notleave you comfortless: I will come toyou." Does death threaten you? "To­day shalt thou be with me in para­dise." "I will come again and receiveyou unto myself; that where I am thereye may be also." Yea, Lord, it sufficesthat Thy presence shall go with me.Most gracious Lord, forgive mewherein I have not regarded Thypresence as alI sufficient. Teach me, ohLord, to rest in Thy presence. Giveme no rest until I rest in Thee.Hasten, I beseech Thee, the appearingof Thy Son, that with consummate joyI may abide in His gracious presenceforevermore. And as long as I lingera pilgrim here below help me tosing with confidence and joy:

"The soul that on Jesus hath leanedfor repose,

I wilI not, I will not desert to hisfoes;

That soul, though all hell should en­deavor to shake,

I'1I never, no never, no never for­sake."

Nebraska News

UNDE R the leadership of the Rev.Thomas M. Cooper a group of

persons in Lincoln, Nebraska, plan toorganize a particular church of ThePresbyterian Church of America.Thirteen persons attended the firstmeeting of the group at the home ofone of the members, and severalothers have joined them at later serv­ices. At least three of those interestedhave not previously been regularlyattending any church services. Mr.Cooper hopes that the new churchwill be organized in the very nearfuture. No permanent site has yetbeen chosen,

1938 THE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN 55

By the REV. JOHN H. SKILTON

Studies in the Shorter Catechism

Mr. Skilton

ment of perfect obedience. As ourprophet He makes the moral lawknown to us by His Word and Spirit.Through the Holy Scriptures He hasgiven us a clear revelation of the willof God, and the Holy Spirit has en­abled us to receive that revelation asthe truth and assist us to obey it asa rule of conduct. Accordingly, be­cause of Christ's work, none of thosewho have belonged to the householdof faith in Old or New Testamenttimes is subject to the condemnationof the moral law as a covenant ofworks (Rom. 6: 14), but all have beensubject to it as a guide to righteousliving. Christ has saved His peoplenot that they should continue in sin,but that they should be made over inHis image and should fashion theiractions according to the holy, un­changing will of God as expressed inthe law. After man's fall, the Confes­sion of Faith says (XIX: 2), themoral law "continued to be a perfectrule of righteousness; and, as such,was delivered by God upon MountSinai in ten commandments" (J as.1: 25; 2: 8, 10-12; Rom. 13: 8, 9;Deut. 5: 32; 10: 4; Ex. 34: 1). And asthe Larger Catechism, Q. 97, says,"although they that be regenerate andbelieve in Christ, be delivered fromthe moral law as a covenant of works[Rom. 6: 14; 7: 4,6; Gal. 4: 4,5], soas thereby they are neither justified[Rom. 3: 20] nor condemned [Rom.8: 1, 34] : yet, beside the general usesthereof common to them with all men,it is of special use to show them howmuch they are bound to Christ for hisfulfilling it, and enduring the cursethereof in their stead and for theirgood [Rom. 7: 24, 25; Gal. 3: 13, 14;Rom. 8: 3, 4; II Cor. 5: 21]; andthereby to provoke them more tothankfulness [Col. 1: 12-14; see Luke1: 68, 69, 74, 75], and to express thesame in their greater care to conformthemselves thereunto as the rule oftheir obedience [Rom. 7: 22; 12: 2;Tit. 2: 11-14]."

For the uses of the law common toall men and for the unregenerate, seethe Larger Catechism, Questions 95and 96, and the Confession of FaithXIX:6.

Although the moral law, by theauthority of God, is ever in force andbinding upon all men, in all ages(Rom. 13:8-10; Eph. 6: 2; I John2: 3, 4,7,8; Matt. 5: 17-19; James2:8,10,11; Rom. 3:31; 10:4; Tit.2: 4), ceremonial laws "containing

independent God, creator of heavenand earth and sovereign over all. Thelaws governing physical universe, lawin history, and commandments rightlybinding the consicences of men areexpressive of the perfect will of God.Regulations established by men arenever justifiable unless they can pleadharmony with the divine will and theultimate authority of the Most High(Col. 3: 22-24; I Pet. 2: 13-16; Ex.20: 12).

The Moral LawAlthough "physical" and "moral"

law are both expressive of God's willand are very closely related, a dis­tinction must be drawn between them.Physical law has been defined as "theordinance of God for non-responsiblecreation" and moral law as "the or­dinance of God for his responsiblecreatures," as "that revelation of thewill of God which is designed to bindthe conscience and to regulate theconduct of men" or as the "rule es­tablished by God for the regulation ofour mental state and outward actionstoward Himself and our fellow crea­tures, particularly our fellow men." Ithas been well said that when man"acts selfconsciously in any directionto the law of God man acts morally"-"all selfconscious response to thewill of God, wherever revealed, ismoral action." See the Larger Cate­chism, Q. 93.

The Giving of the LawThe moral law was written in

Adam's heart (d. Rom. 1: 20; 2: 14,15). Created perfect, the first man"found in experience the manifesta­tion of and the spontaneous responseto the law of God." As the LargerCatechism, Question 92, expresses it:"The rule of obedience revealed toAdam in the estate of innocence, andto all mankind in him, beside a specialcommand not to eat of the tree of theknowledge of good and evil, was themoral law." When Adam broke thelaw in its form as a covenant ofworks, he brought death upon us all,placed us all in need of redemption,and lost for us true and sufficientknowledge of the moral law. OurSaviour in our place has suffered thepenalty of the law as a covenant ofworks and has fulfilled its require-

Belief and Duty

WE HAVE cometo the end of

the section of ourcatechism which treatsprimarily of whatman is to believe con­cerning God, and arenow entering on thedivision that deals

more manifestly with the duty whichGod requires of man. It is impor­tant for us to remember that, as wehave previously studied, there is avery close relationship between whatwe are to believe and what we are todo: (1) Faith in Christ is itself aduty. (2) Only after we are bornagain and receive our Redeemer asHe is offered to us in the gospel, arewe enabled to perform good works.(3) Our belief in Him will thence­forth assist us in obeying Him. And(4) the duties which we are now toconsider are themselves articles offaith. We must believe that they areall in God's revealed will and arebinding on us.

LESSON 52

The Law of GodQUESTION 39. What is the duty which

God requireth of man?ANSWER. The duty which God re­

quireth of man is obedience to hisrevealed will.

QUESTION 40. What did God at firstreveal to man for the rule of hisobedience?

ANSWER. The rule which God at firstrevealed to man for his obedience,was the moral law.

QUESTION 41. Wherein is the morallaw summarily comprekendedt .

ANSWER. The moral law is summarilycomprehended in the ten command­ments.

QUESTION 42. What is the sum of theten commandments?

ANSWER. The sum of the ten com­mandments is, to love the Lord ourGod, with all our heart, with allour soul, with all our strength, andwith all our miwd ; and our neigh­bour as ourselves.

Law and the Will of GodEverything depends on our great

56 THE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN March

several typical ordinances: partly ofworship, prefiguring Christ, his graces,actions, sufferings and benefits [Heb.9; 10: 1; Gal. 4: 1-3; Eph. 5: 2; Col.2: 17; Heb. 13: 11, 12]; and partlyholding forth divers instructions ofmoral duties [I Cor. 5: 7; II Cor.6: 17; Jude 23] ... are now abrogatedunder the New Testament [Co!. 2: 14,16, 17; Dan. 9: 27; Matt. 27: 50,51; Eph. 2: 15, 16; Heb. 10: 1-14]"(Confession of Faith, XIX: 3). Like­wise the judicial laws which God gaveto Israel as a nation "expired togetherwith the state of that people, notobliging any now, further than thegeneral equity thereof may require[Ex. 21; 22: 1-29; Gen. 49: 10; I Pet.2: 13-14; Matt. 5: 17, 38, 39; ICor. 9: 8-10]" (Confession of Faith,XIX: 4). Certain forms may neces­sarily have been abandoned by reasonof developments in redemptive his­tory, but the heart of God's law hasnot been altered.

The Sum of the CommandmentsThe moral law of God given in the

Scriptures is perfect. Whatever itcondemns is sinful, and nothing else issin; whatever it commends is good,and nothing else is binding on theconscience. The Biblical rule of lifeis full and final.

The ten commandments express thelaw in a brief form: but not a singleprohibition or duty required by Godescapes their broad implications. Theybind the heart as well as our externalactions and demand perfection of us.Invaluable to our understanding oftheir comprehensiveness is the answerto Question 99 of the Larger Cate­chism, rule 5. But the decalogue itselfmay be condensed to its fundamentalrequirements of perfect love to Godand to one's neighbour (Matt. 22: 37­40; Mk. 12: 29-31; Lk. 10: 29-37; Lk.10: 29-37).1 On these two command­ments hang all the law and theprophets.

SUBJEC'TS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION1. Who are subject to the law of God?

Why?2. What is the difference between the

law as a covenant of works and as a ruleof life?

1 See also Dent. 6: 5; 10: 12; Lev. 19: 18;Matt. 5: 43-48; 22: 39; Rom. 13: 9; and onlove, its fruits, and obedience, see I John 3: 14;4: 20; John 21: 15-17; I John 2: 5; Matt. 5: 20;Dent. 10: 12; I John 4: 20; John 6: 29; 14: 15,21, 23. On God's requirement of more than ex­ternal observances, see Isa. I: 10-20; 29: 30ff.;I Sam. 15:22; Ps. 50:7-15; 51:16-19; Hos.6: 6-8, cf. Matt. 9: 13 and 12: 7; Amos 5: 21-27;and Micah 6: 6-8.

3. Distinguish between God's revealedwill and His secret will or purpose (seeActs 2: 23). .

4. What is the ceremonial law? Makea study of the Old Testament offerings.

5. What is the judicial law? How canwe tell that a form of law has beenabrogated?

6. How is the moral law of God per­feet? Does the Bible classify all possibleactions of men as good or bad in them­selves?

LESSON 53

QUESTION 43. What is the preface tothe ten commandments?

ANSWER. The preface to the ten com­candments is in these words, I amthe Lord thy God, which havebrought thee out of the land ofEgypt, out of the house of bondage.

QUESTION 44. What doth the prefaceto the ten commandments teach us?

ANSWER. The preface to the ten com­mandments teacheth us, that be­cause God is the Lord, and our God,and Redeemer, therefore we arebound to keep all his command­ments.

QUESTION 45. Which is the first com­mandment?

ANSWER. The first commandment is,Thou shalt have no other gods be­fore me.

QUESTION 46. What is required in thefirst commandment?

ANSWER. The first commandment re­quireth us to know and acknowledgeGod to be the only true God, andour God; and to worship andglorify him accordingly.

QUESTION 47. What is forbidden inthe first commandment?

ANSWER. The first commandment for­biddeth the denying, or not worship­ping and glorifying, the true Godas God, and our God; and the giv­ing of that worship and glory to anyother, which is due to him alone.

QUESTION 48. What are we speciallytaught by these words, "before me,"in the first commandment?

ANSWER. These words, before me, inthe first commandment teach us,that God, who seeth all things,taketh notice of, and is much dis­pleased with, the sin of having anyother God.

The Preface

W E NOTED in our last lessonreasons why the moral law is

hinding upon us. The preface to theten commandments emphasizes thosereasons. The Lord uses the pronoun

"I". He is not nature, a force, a prin­ciple, a process, or a thing, but a liv­ing, conscious Personality. And He isthe only self-sufficient Personality onwhom all outside Himself must de­pend: "I am the Lord thy God." He isinfinite, eternal, and unchangeable inHis being and attributes, independentof all, designer, creator, preserver,governor of the universe, source oflaw, sovereign over all, God blessedfor ever. Sinful man may well trembleas the holy One of eternity issues Hiscommands, and should hasten to obey.But God sets Himself forth also as theGod of the covenant, who has es­tablished a special relationship withHis elect people (see the Lesson onthe Covenant of Grace). To them Heis God, even their own God. His mer­cies to His sons are like the stars ofthe sky in number. He mentions oneof them: He has brought Israel "outof the land of Egypt, out of the houseof bondage." And in His grace Healso rescues His people from the king­dom of spiritual darkness (I Cor.5: 7; I Pet. 1: 19; 2: 24; 3: 18; Lk.1: 74, 75). If the commandments arebinding upon all men, how much moreare the redeemed of the Lord, by rea­son of gratitude for the mercies theyhave received, bound to keep them(Rom. 12: 1; I Cor. 6: 20; I Pet.1: 17-20).

What Is RequiredThe first commandment requires the

perfect devotion of man in the full­ness of his personality, mind, emo­tions and will, to the glory of God. Itis the first and great commandment.All others depend on it. "In this com­mandment man in the inmost holy ofholies of his being is placed directlyface to face with God. The rela­tion of man's heart to God is all thatreally matters. If this relation issound all else is well. If this relationis false all else is false" (CorneliusVan Til). See Rom. 1: 21, 26, 28-31.

The first commandment requiresus to know God. We should haveknowledge of what He has revealedconcerning His being and His per­fections, of His works of creation,providence, and redemption, and ofour complete dependence upon Him.We should have true faith in Him asour own God and should confess Himin all our ways. We are ever to praise,adore, love, and fear Him and per­form His every desire for us.

The Larger Catechism, Q. 104,

19~8 THE 'PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN 57

News from the Presbyteries

summarizes the duties required inthe first commandment with helpfulfullness of expression: "The dutiesrequired in the first commandmentare, the knowing and acknowledgingof God to be the only true God, andour God [I Chron. 28: 9; Deut.26:17; Isa. 43:10; Jer. 14:22]; andto worship and glorify him accord­ingly [Ps. 95: 6, 7; Matt. 4: 10; Ps.29: 2], by thinking [Mal. 3: 16],meditating [Ps. 63: 6], remembering[Eccl. 12: 1], highly esteeming [Ps.79: 1], honoring [Isa. 45: 23; Ps.96], adoring [Isa. 45: 23], choosing[Josh. 24: 22], loving [Deut. 6: 5],desiring [Ps. 73: 25], fearing of him[Isa. 8: 13]; believing Him [Ex.14: 31]; trusting [Isa. 26: 4], hoping[Ps. 130: 7], delighting [Ps. 37: 4],rejoicing in him [Ps. 32: 11]; beingzealous for him [Rom. 12: 11; Num.25: 11]; calling upon him; giving allpraise and thanks [Phil. 4: 6], andyielding all obedience and submis­sion to him with the whole man [J er.7:23; Jas. 4:7; Rom. 12:1]; beingcareful in all things to please him[I John 3:22], and sorrowful whenin any thing he is offended [Ps.119: 136; Jer. 31: 18]; and walkinghumbly with him [Mic, 6: 8]."

What Is ForbiddenThe first commandment prohibits

any want of faith in God in Hisnature, attributes, work, and dignity,any failure to confess Him fully orto render to Him perfect adorationand service with all our powers, thesetting of our affections on objectsapart from God and ends other thanHe wills, and the worship and serv­ice of the creature rather than theCreator (Rom. 1: 25). The first com­mandment condemns all non-Christianreligions, philosophies, ethical sys­tems: atheism, which declares there isno God; practical atheism, whichpasses by God and His revealed will asif they were non-existent; nature re­ligions such as animism, fetishism,mythology, polytheism, deism, andpantheism; and religions which claimto worship one God who is other thanthe living 'and true. The gods of allother religions than Christianity aredead, idols, the work of men's handsand the imaginations of their minds,an abomination in the sight of theLord.

"Before Me"What greater sin could there be

than to give the glory due to the in­corruptible God to another? to placesome god, a creature, beside or inthe sight of the Creator? Dr. Voshas said that the words "before me"in the commandment "express theindignity such transgression wouldoffer to Him, subjectively." .TheLarger Catechism says, Q. 106, thatthey "teach us, that God, who seethall things, taketh special notice of,and is much displeased with the sinof having any other god; that so itmay be an argument to dissuadefrom it, and to aggravate it as amost impudent provocation [Ps.44: 20, 21] ; as also to persuade us todo as in his sight, whatever we do inhis service [I Chron. 28: 9]."

For an excellent summary of sinsforbidden by the first commandmentsee the Larger Catechism, Q. 105.

New Jersey

CA L V A R Y CHURCH, Wildwood:At the last communion service 28

new members were received into thechurch. A boys' club, two missionarysocieties and an Intermediate Chris­tian Endeavor Society have recentlybeen organized. Once a week a serviceis held at the Poor Farm, with theyoung people of the church assistingthe pastor, the Rev. James L. Rohr­baugh.

Grace Church, Westfield: The Rev.Donald Graham, pastor of the church,is holding regular gospel meetings inthe CCC camp at Clinton, New Jersey.Mr. Graham recommends such workto all ministers of the denominationas an opportunity not to be missed.

Faith Church, Pittsgrove: The Rev.Robert Moody Holmes, pastor of theCovenant Church of Rochester, NewYork, conducted a series of evangelis­tic services at Pittsgrove during theweek of February 6th. The pastorof the Faith Church is the Rev. Ed­ward B. Cooper.

Faith Church, Trenton: At the firstanniversary service held on Sunday,February 6th, a new set of hymnalswas used for the first time. At themorning service two persons were re­ceived into membership, both of whomare looking forward to full-timeChristian service.

Covenant Church, Vineland: TheRev. Alexander K. Davidson, pastorof the Covenant Church, is preparing

SUBJECTS FOR STUDY AND DISCUSSION

1. Which of the commandments dealprimarily with man's duty to God? withman's duty to other men?

2. What were the circumstances of thegiving of the ten commandments? Tracethe previous history of Israel.

3. What does the preface to the tencommandments indicate as the reasonswhy we should obey the law of God?

4. If we were to obey the first com­mandment perfectly would we obey thewhole law? If we break the first com­mandment would we break the whole law?

5. Look up the various scripture proofsgiven in the Larger Catechism, Questions104 and 105.

6. Make a study of various non­Christian religions. What is the radicaldifference between them all and Christian­ity? Do you find some resemblances incertain points in any of them to truths inthe Christian system? If you do, how doyou account for them?

7. Did theism ascend from polytheismor is polytheism a retrogression from anoriginal theism?

for two weeks of evangelistic services,beginning March 27th, with the Rev.Robert Strong and the Rev. DonaldGraham. On April 1st and 2nd thechurch will be host to a state-wideYoung People's Conference of ThePresbyterian Church of America.

The Dakotas

TH E Rev. C. A. Balcom of Wilton,North Dakota, is now conducting

a Bible Exposition hour every Tues­day from 3.15 to 3.45 (mountain time)over radio station KGCU, Mandan,North Dakota.

Heavy snows have added to thedifficulties of the work in the vicinityof Carson, North Dakota. The Rev.Samuel J. Allen, pastor of the BethelChurch of Carson, expects soon tosponsor a series of five sermons onCalvinism by the Rev. A. Culver Gor­don of Bancroft, South Dakota. Untilwarmer weather makes transportationmore possible, the work in the Dakotaswill be difficult and slow.

Philadelphia

COV EN AN T CHURCH, Pitts­burgh: The Rev. Calvin K. Cum­

mings reports that the CovenantChurch on February 13th receivedinto its membership three communi­cant members and three members bybaptism.

Calvary Church, Willow Grove:During the past 18 months 20 babieshave been born to members of the

58 THE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN March

The New Building of the Bethel Church, Oostburg, Wisconsin

Calvary Church, increasing substan­tially the membership roll of covenantchildren. The church plans an inten­sive campaign of personal work andevangelism during March.

Redeemer Church, Philadelphia: OnSunday, February 6th, the Rev. LeslieW. Sloat, pastor of the Knox Churchof Washington, D. c., exchanged pul­pits with the Rev. Charles G. Schauf­fele of the Redeemer Church. A recentseries of cottage prayer meetings hasbeen addressed by student members ofthe church who are seniors at West­minster Seminary. A special evangel­istic effort is being planned for March.

Faith Church, Quarryville: About30 young people are now attendingspecial classes for Bible study andmission study at Quarryville on thesecond and fourth Thursdays of eachmonth. The church grounds are nowbeing made ready by the congregationfor the fourth General Assembly ofThe Presbyterian Church of Americato be held early in June, and for thesecond Annual Quarryville Bible Con­ference later in the same month. To­gether with the church in Kirkwoodthe Faith Church has completed 13weeks of Sunday broadcasts overstation WGAL, Lancaster. It isplanned to continue these broadcastsuntil spring.

Eastlake Church, Wilmington, Dela­ware: The Eastlake Church, whosepastor is the Rev. John P. Clelland,reports a successful missionary festi­val on January 25th. At noon, thewomen served a covered dish lunch­eon, after which the Rev. RobertStrong and the Rev. Cary N. Weisigerspoke on the work of the Home andForeign Missions Committees. At 4there was a meeting for children andthe Rev. James L. Rohrbaugh spokeof missionary work in Ethiopia. At 6there was supper for the girls afterwhich Mr. Weisiger spoke. At 7 therewas a men's meeting with Mr. Strongas the speaker. At 8 there was a meet­ing of the entire congregation atwhich Mr. Rohrbaugh spoke. In thisway, every group in the church hadits own missionary meeting and onecommon to all.

The session is engaged in annualvisitation. Each family is being calledupon to examine its spiritual healthand promote its growth in grace.

New Covenant Church, Philadel­phia: The New Covenant Church,whose pastor is the Rev. David Free­man, has moved to a new location on

South 52nd Street, Philadelphia.Valley Forge Church, Norristown:

In slightly more than a year theValley Forge Church, under the pas­torate of the Rev. Stanley 1. Ray, hastrebled its membership. On February13th four more members were re­ceived. The attendance on that daywas 47 at morning worship, 38 atBible school and 25 at the eveningevangelistic service. This representsa tremendous increase during the briefmonths of the church's existence.

Wisconsin

O OS TB UR G : The building of theBethel Church has been com­

pleted and was dedicated amid re­joicing on Thursday evening, Febru-

ary 17th. The Rev. Professor R. B.Kuiper, of Westminster Seminary,preached the sermon. His subject was"Christ and the Church." Other min­isters of the Presbytery of Wisconsintaking part in the dedicatory servicewere: John Davies of Gresham, Wil­liam A. Swets of Milwaukee, John J.De Waard of Cedar Grove, andLeland Jorgensen of Almond. In theafternoon there was an organ recital,followed by an address by Dr. HarryJ. Hager of the Bethany ReformedChurch of Chicago.

Of fire-proof construction, thebuilding measures 52 by 92 feet andhas a seating capacity of 400. Thereare accommodations for a large Sun­day school, pastor's study and choirroom. The interior is Gothic style,with a center and two outside aisles,and a balcony.

Although the church at Oostburg isnot now affiliated with The Presby­terian Church of America, many per­sons in the Wisconsin area expect thatit will shortly unite with the denomi­nation.

The people of the Oostburg com­munity are all looking forward withsuch anticipation that it is difficult toreport news events without mention­ing what is uppermost in all minds. Itwas no small thing for them to leavean excellent church building, practi­cally free of debt and improved atconsiderable expense during the pastfew years, and build again anotherbuilding even more beautiful. To anoutsider, riding through Oostburg,seeing only brick and stone, the new

church must certainly seem like waste.Yet even a thoughtful stranger wouldpause to ask the question, "Why didthey do it?" And if he lingered alittle while among these people hewould without fail discover that theydid it because they are Americans wholove the liberty of their fathers, wholove the Reformed Faith and who lovethe Christianity of the Bible.

Calvary Church, Cedar Grove: Dur­ing the past winter the PresbyterianChurch in the U.S.A. has paid the$24,644 debt on the First Church,from which the Calvary Church with­drew. The Calvary PresbyterianChurch of America is thankful thatthis debt has been paid, since about$18,000 dollars of this sum belongedto the members of the CalvaryChurch. Dr. Lewis S. Mudge was inCedar Grove speaking on the subject

1938 THE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN 59

..

...

"The Five Points of Calvinism" a fewdays after the debt had been fullypaid. It was agreed that Dr. Mudgeknew "how to win friends and influ­ence people."

The members of the Calvary Churchwere far more interested in the visitof Professor John Murray, who spoketo the spiritual profit and delight ofall. Professor Murray's visits havealways been events of maj or impor­tance to the Cedar Grove church.

Milwaukee: The mission work inthe big city of Milwaukee is goingforward now under the enthusiasticleadership of the Rev. William A.Swets. A home is now rented for theholding of services. Until recently themeetings had been held in a down­town hotel. It was agreed that itwould be better to locate in some resi­dential community where the Sundayschool might be built up and wherethe unchurched people might bereached more easily. There is hopeand enthusiasm, and much hard workis being done. The Presbytery of Wis­consin expects to have a growingchurch in the city soon.

California

BEV ERL Y Presbyterian Church,359 S. Woods Ave. (near Atlantic

and Beverly), East Los Angeles: Theabove more desirable address for thechurch was entered recently at thetime of admission into presbytery. Boththe pastor, the Rev. Donald K. Blackie,moderator of the presbytery, and hispeople have been busily engaged inredecoration and outside improvementof the property. The present location,near which it is the desire of the con­gregation soon to purchase a buildingsite, is a strategic one. A new resi­dential section is fast growing up onall sides.

Covenant Presbyterian Church, Ad­dison and Grove Streets, Berkeley:The pastor, the Rev. Robert K.Churchill, is conducting a class eachweek in methods of leading men toChrist. Members of the church areengaged in a house-to-house canvassin that section of the city where thechurch is located, in the interest ofpersonal evangelism and bringing menregularly to the church to hear theexposition of the Word of God. TheLord is adding "such as should besaved."

A regular radio broadcast is heldevery Sunday from 2.30 to 3.00P.M., over station KLS. It is "The

Calvin Hour." Many friends as faraway as Los Angeles may enjoy re­ception. Those within a 100-mileradius find reception very easy. Asplendid young people's chorus fromthe Christian Reformed Church ofAlameda assists in the broadcasts.Pray for this witness, whose an­nouncement to the public reads:"The purpose of the Calvin Hour isto bring to you each Sunday stirringmessages from the Word of God,stressing with renewed emphasis thesovereignty of God and man's rela­tionship to Him as once taught bythe great Reformers."

Westminster Presbyterian Church,5638 York Boulevard, Highland Park,Los Angeles: At a congregationalmeeting on the evening of February2nd, the plan for a new house-to-housecanvass of the community was dis­cussed. Likewise, the matter of ac­quiring property for the permanentlocation of the church was considered.Definite action will be taken on boththese items at the next congregationalmeeting, February 16th.

General News: The Rev. M. C.Frehn, missionary to Japan under TheCommittee on Foreign Missions, amember of this presbytery and largelysupported by its churches, sailed fromSan Pedro on January 25th. He willjoin Mrs. Frehn and their three chil­dren who preceded him to the field.Their oldest child, David, lay at thepoint of death, according to the latestword received. Mrs. Frehn wrote onJanuary 5th, "In the natural we havevery little hope for David. Theyoperate this week [later news tells ofseveral operations, much suffering bythe dear boy, but lingering life]. Heis a child of the covenant. I leave allto Him Who doeth all things well."Your prayers are sought for this de­voted missionary family, that what­ever God's medium of release for thelad, He may give comfort to Hisservants.

New York and New England

THE Second Parish Church, Port­land, Maine: The 17th day of

March will mark the 150th anniver­sary of the incorporation of the Sec­ond Parish of Portland, Maine. TheSecond Parish Presbyterian Church isplanning to celebrate this event inwhich the church has such a vitalinterest.

Throughout February the sermonspreached by the pastor, the Rev. John

H. Skilton, on Sunday evenings dealtwith dramatic events in sacred his­tory. In the mornings his topics werebased on: "The Law of God: The TenCommandments."

The Second Parish Church pub­lishes a monthly bulletin in which theaffairs of the various groups and de­partments are pleasingly presented,and much valuable material and adviceis set forth by the pastor and otherleaders.

Ohio

TH E Presbytery of Ohio met atTrinity Chapel, Newport, Ken­

tucky, on February 7th and 8th. Thiswas the first visit made by the pres­bytery to this mission.

The opening gathering was a con­ference on public evangelism. Thisservice was introduced by the childrenof the chapel under the direction ofMr. Shaw. They sang heartily, frommemory, gospel songs and a numberof Scripture passages set to music.The conference was led by the Rev.R. E. Conant, pastor of the Christianand Missionary Alliance Church ofCincinnati.

On the second day a conference onpersonal evangelism was led by theRev. Carl A. Ahlfeldt, pastor of theCovenant Church of Indianapolis. Theaddresses of these leaders and theopen discussions showed a clear con­viction of the prime importance ofevangelism in the program of thechurch and in the personal life of theChristian.

The presbytery engaged in a periodof earnest and unhurried intercession,which was introduced by the Rev.Thomas H. Mitchell, pastor of theProvidence Church of Youngstown.The Rev. E. C. Comfort of BowlingGreen, Kentucky, a minister of thesouthern church, brought a messageof faith in the power of the gospel.

A special feature of the serviceswas an exhibit of the skillful needle­work done by the women of thechapel congregation under the leader­ship of Mrs. Shaw.

The presbytery passed an overtureto the fourth General Assembly call­ing attention to the evidence of direneed in our generation for knowl­edge of the Word of God and to thedecisiveness of that knowledge in thenurture of Christian life, and recom­mending a definite plan of reading tobe used by individuals and families inour church.

60 THE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN

DELAWARE CHURCH ABANDONSPROPERTY, REORGANIZES AND

MEETS IN LOCAL THEATRE

Votes Unanimously to JoinPresbyterian Church of

America

O N Sunday morning, January30th, the congregation of the

former Forest Presbyterian Churchof Middletown, Delaware, abandonedthe church property in which it hadbeen worshiping for many years andheld its services in the Everett Thea­tre. Fifty-nine persons attended themorning service, 49 were present atSU~day school, 35 at the young peo­ple s service, and 70 greeted the pas­tor, the Rev. Robert H. Graham, at~e ,even~ng worship. The congrega­tion s WIthdrawal from the ForestChurch building came as the climaxof months of persecution from thePresbytery of New Castle of the Pres­byterian Church in the U.S.A.

Following the Syracuse Assemblythe Forest Church renounced thejurisdiction of the PresbyterianChurch in the U.S.A. The trusteesunanimously favored the action andallowed the congregation to continuein the church property. No move tounite with The Presbyterian Churchof :'-~erica was made, although them~Jonty of the congregation wasfnen~ly to the new denomination.Certain members, though in sharp dis­agreement with Mr. Graham and themajority, remained with the grouponly because it still held the property.Because the congregation halted be­tween two opinions the work drifteda~d e!1thusiasm lagged. Sensing thissituation, and annoyed by Mr.Graham's activity in nearby Odessa,the Presbytery of New Castle pre­pared to disintegrate Mr. Graham andthose who sided with him. On January20th Auburn Affirmationist John Wat­son Cristie told Mr. Graham that thecase against the church had beencompleted and that court proceedings~ould ?e started unless the congrega­tion WIthdrew immediately. He alsosaid that if the presbytery were forcedto sue for the property it would alsoask the court for a return of allmonies spent during the past year anda half.

'Yelcoming this threat as an oppor­tunity to place the central issue oncemore before the people, Mr. Graham,after consultation with his membersannounced that January 23rd wouldbe the last Sunday in the old build­ing. Before the end of the day a gift,equal to about $1,000, had been offeredto the proposed "new" church. OnMonday the manager of the EverettTheatre offered the building for twoSundays free of charge. A faithfulvisitor at the services of the ForestChurch offered a part of her home asa temporary manse. Forty-five hym­nals, 50 song books and other equip­ment have now been purchased. At~o-tray silver communion set is beinggiven to the church by its faithfulorganist.

At a congregational meeting heldon Wednesday, February 2nd, thegr~up chose the name: Grace Presby­terian Church of Middletown, Dela­ware. The congregation voted unani­mo~sly to unite with The Presby­terran Church of America.

"Our hearts are full of praise untoGod," said Mr. Graham, "for the wayin which He has strengthened thehearts of the people. I have neverseen so much enthusiasm among thepeople of this community as I haveseen these past weeks."

On the first Sunday after the with­drawal the pulpit of the Forest Churchbuilding was filled by the Rev. Dr.William Gibson of New Castle Pres­bytery. He preached in the morningon "Consecrated Service" and in theevening on "The Love of the Father."

TABLE OF CONTENTSEDITORIALS 41

The Christian Attitude Toward War 44Robert S. Marsden

The Apostasy of the Presbyterian Churchin the u.s.A 47

Leslie W. Sloat

A Good Book on a Great Theme SOA Review by R. B. Kuiper

The Progress of Home Missions 51Robert Strong

The Gr~et!'st Missionary 52A MISSion Study by Cary N. Weisiger

"My Pres~nc.e Shall Go With Thee" .... 54A Meditation by Calvin Knox Cummings

Studies in the Shorter Catechism 55John H. Skilton

NEWS FROM THE PRESBYTERIES ..... 57

HOMECOMING OF ALUMNIMARKED BY WARMTH OF

CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP

YUE SDAY, February 8th, at thecampus of Westminster Theologi­

cal .Seminary in Laverock, Pennsyl­va~l1a, was the scene of a happy re­urnon of loyal alumni who had re­turned to the seminary for the annual:'homecoming." During the afternoonm~ormal groups enjoyed the hospi­tality of the seminary in its new andspacious quarters, talked over oldtimes and renewed old friendships.

So great was the turnout of alumniand their wives that dinner wasserved in two shifts in the students'dining hall. After dinner the groupwas addressed by Dr. Cornelius VanTil, the Rev. Edwin H. Rian and theRev. Professor R. B. Kuiper.

Dr. Van Til spoke on recent trendsat Princeton Seminary. He demon­s~rated conclusively that, in the lastrune years, Princeton had successfullywiped out the great Reformed tradi­tion which formerly had been itsglory. He analysed the list of Prince­ton's faculty members, exposing anumber of those who are eitherBarthians or frank Modernists.

Mr. Rian spoke optimistically aboutthe fut.ure of W ~stminster Seminary.He reiterated hIS hope that West­minster may become a great center ofChristian learning in America. Hespoke of an invitation which thefaculty is extending to the Rev. JohnMacLeod, D.D., principal of the theo­logical seminary of the Free Presby­terian Church of Scotland to lecturein the spring of 1939 in 'connectionwith the celebration of Westminster'stenth anniversary and to deliver thetenth anniversary commencement ad­dress.

Professor Kuiper spoke on pastoralproblems, in the course of which heemphasized the need of building upcommunicant members and the cove­nant youth in the Reformed Faith.":fter his address opportunity wasgiven to those present to ask questionson pastoral problems.

Alumni who attended the home­coming agreed that WestminsterSeminary was keeping its face to thefuture, "forgetting those things whichare behind, and reaching forth untothose things which are before."

I ' ,.,-,,

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