Inter-Church Conversations.
We are indebted to The English Churchman for a report on a recent meeting in January of delegates from the Church of England, Church of Scotland, Episcopal Church in Scotland, and of the Presbyterian Church of England. Among other particulars, the following significant statement emanated from this meeting:—”The Conference recorded its intention to set about the preparation, within three years, of a draft outline of practical ways and means whereby, with some measure of mutual adaptation and modification of their respective traditions, but without disloyalty to principles held to be essential, the Churches taking part in the Conversations might by God’s grace be enabled to attain mutually a fuller manifestation of catholicity in faith and order than was exhibited by any of them in separation.” Now, let this statement be read carefully and one will see that the professed Presbyterian Church, the Church of Scotland, is committed to changes presently undefined, but hinted at in these words as above, “. . . some measure of mutual adaptation and modification of their respective traditions . . .” We wonder what modification of their traditions the Church of England will agree to? As it is, the Church of England is becoming more and more Anglo-Catholic to-day; and thus it appears that the Church of Scotland will, more than likely, do all the modifying, which will be in the form of abandoning much inherent in Scriptural Presbyterianism and conforming to Episcopal practices by a gradual process. The question arises, how much are the lay people of the Church of Scotland consulted as to these conversations, apart from an annual report to the General Assembly each May, which is usually approved without much enquiry?
Evangelisation of Roman Catholics in Ireland.
The following is part of a report by Rev. F. R. Gibson, superintendent of the Irish Mission which seeks the preservation of Evangelical Protestantism in Ireland and the evangelisation of Roman Catholics, and which appeared in The English Churchman of January
28th, 1955:—There are many things in the Irish situation which encourage us to believe that a new day spiritually is going to dawn in Ireland and that the seed which has been so carefully sown in the past is going to bear abundant fruit. You will be interested to hear something of what is happening. Recently I presided over a conference of the colporteurs and staff of the Irish Mission. The reports given were full of confidence for the future. Several facts are evident from them: Though the Church of Rome was never stronger as an organisation than it is to-day in Ireland, yet it is clear that the Roman Church has not got the same hold on many of its adherents it once had. The ties which bind many to it are weakening; There is practically no opposition from the people to our work, but many are willing to buy and read the Word of God. One colporteur reported selling over 5,000 copies of the Scriptures to Roman Catholics in the past 11 months. These facts, together with others, reveal a situation which could not have been found even 25 years ago, and give encouragement and are a challenge to us to go forward to make the most of the opportunity.”
Jewish Rabbi on Scientific Humanism.
Following upon the recent broadcasts by Mrs. Knight, the Aberdeen lecturer, whose creed was described as “Scientific Humanism,” while she advised that children may be told the stories of the New Testament, but only as legend, it is interesting to read the observations of a Jewish Rabbi. In a lengthy article which appeared in the London paper, The Star, on January 21st, Rabbi Dr. Isidore Epstein, Principal of the Jews’ College, London, comments: “They call it ‘scientific humanism,’ which sounds more respectable than atheism, but, in effect, amounts to the one and the same thing.” And again the Rabbi writes: “But why argue with atheism? Atheism, however attractively dished up, is after all not a matter of the head but of the heart. ‘The fool saith in his heart, There is no God'” (Psalm xiv. 1). These statements by a Jew are pertinent and to the point, with Scripture added from the Old Testament. From reading the whole article we indeed thought what an able defender of the whole counsel of God and of the faith of the gospel of Christ would Dr. Epstein be, if converted by the grace of God to belief in the Jews’ Messiah. But the day will come when the Jews will be turned to Zion’s King.
The Conflict over Formosa.
Presently the Peking Communist Government, which controls the vast China mainland, is, by the employment of arms, seeking by stages the ultimate capture of the island of Formosa, well off the East Chinese Coast. Chiang Kai-shek, a General and a leader of the Chinese Nationalist Government, which formerly ruled in China and
now exiled in Formosa with quite a large Nationalist army, are naturally determined to defend Formosa in defence of themselves. The American Government policy is to side and assist the Nationalist forces and to defend Formosa and prevent it, at all costs, from falling into the hands of the Communists from the China mainland. The hostilities at the time of writing are confined to the Chinese opposing forces. Chiang Kai-shek, a number of years ago, had some reputation as to being a Christian. We have heard nothing of this for a long time now. What we do know is that near the end of the last war he and his party, while in China, received a great amount of American aid to resist and overcome Communist forces in China itself; and that this aid was badly used and mismanaged. Now Great Britain recognises the Communist Government of China as the government of that country. The U.S.A. does not. And the problem now before Great Britain, the Commonwealth countries, and the U.S.A. is how to bring the hostilities to an end and to arrive at a peaceful settlement. Statesmen are applying themselves to this question now. What a scene, depicting fruits and effects of the fall and sin! Man is not only at variance with and opposed to God, but men and nations are hateful and hating one another; and even men of the same nation, as in the Formosa conflict, bitterly opposed to one another. And those apart, seeking sincerely to bring such strife to an end, for fear it will extend, appear altogether forgetful of the fact that there is a God in heaven to appeal to for wisdom and guidance, and who ruleth in the kingdom of men. We read in the Old Testament of David, King Asa, King Jehoshaphat and others who, when their peace and liberty was threatened by powerful and heathen armies, turned to God in prayer for help, guidance and deliverance. Another view of this whole business is that, while the Communist Chinese Government has a vast country with hundreds of millions of inhabitants to rule, that they should be prepared to cast away human lives to obtain extra territory and involve themselves and others in a real and terrible war. Surely the Communist Government in China has more than enough to do than to fight for Formosa. But out of the depravity of the human heart proceed pride, lust for power, malice, revenge and covetousness, and these evils, at times, manifest themselves in the activities of nations as such. There is but one cure for this world and the nations thereof, plagued with iniquity of all kinds, strife, misery, hatred and suspicion, and that is the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, with the power of the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven on a universal scale. Then the nations will turn their swords into ploughshares and their spears into pruning hooks; and then, “All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord; and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee” (Psalm xxii. 27).