Actor to Portray the Saviour in Television Play.
Scottish actor, Tom Flenning, will portray the Lord Jesus in a series of religious plays dealing with the life of the divine Saviour. These plays are to be broadcast next year in the B.B.C.’s television children’s hour. This project was announced recently by Mr. Cecil McGivern, Controller of T.V. Programmes. This official, as we have pointed out before in these notes, is a Roman Catholic, and was responsible for arranging the televising of the Mass some time ago. The Roman Catholic religion, with its images of Christ, crucifixes, and statues, in places of worship, in Roman Catholic homes and in public places, is now to insinuate its idolatrous practices into the minds of children of all Churches throughout the land by means of encouraging veneration of a false portrayal of Jesus by an actor. We have, in fact, no authentic description of the bodily appearance and likeness of the holy Saviour when on earth. Again, many actually saw Him with their eyes when He tabernacled among men, and they spat upon Him and crucified the Lord of Glory. Others who saw and heard Him went back and walked no more with Him. And now He is infallibly exhibited before our eyes in the Scriptures and by the preaching of His pure gospel. And it is only the Holy Spirit who can glorify Jesus in the spiritual experiences of sinners, young and old, by making Him known to us through these divinely given means; and certainly not through the instrumentality of any worldly actor. If children become accustomed to see a man portraying Christ, it will then be easy for such children to give some place to idols of wood or stone purporting to represent Christ; and thus be led to idolatry!
South Uist and Government Missile Range.
As is now widely known, the Government propose to set up a guided missiles range in South Uist, which has a predominantly Roman Catholic population. Much opposition and propaganda has been stirred up against the proposal, and in South Uist itself one of the local R.C. priests was very prominent in voicing vehement disapproval of this Government encroachment upon the “way of life” of these islanders. Economically it would greatly benefit Uist. One Lewisman declared that they would be only too glad if the project was set up in Lewis. Another writer in a weekly paper, who belonged to South Uist, welcomed the proposal to assist crofters to live more comfortably as to increased work and wages. Other regions have been earmarked for Government activities of a like nature, such as Dounreay, in Protestant Caithness, but there has been no loud spoken opposition in Caithness where, let it be noted, quite a number of Roman Catholic incomers are working for high wages. Is the fear of an influx of Protestant and non-Roman Catholic influences at the root of the South Uist outcry against this project? The idolatrous and dead shrines throughout South Uist might, of course, receive a shaking at the foundations by missile experiments; and the proposed new and huge statue of Mary to be erected might not be a desirable erection in the locality in the Government view. This will all be to the good.
English Bishops and the Sabbath.
Two English Bishops spoke recently on the Sabbath question at their respective Diocesan Conferences, Dr. Glyn Simon at Brecon and Dr. Anderson at Salisbury. Dr. Simon expressed himself in terms that revealed his antagonism to the binding obligation of the Fourth Commandment. He did not think anything would be achieved by constant denunciation of games, recreations, cinemas, and excursions on that day. There had been too many of them, he said. “The rigid Sabbatarianism which treats Sunday as the Christian Sabbath and transfers to it all the Jewish legislation about the Sabbath, finds no place in our Church,” he said. Then he brought forward the weak and evil direction of the modern Churchman that it was wrong for Christians to spend Sunday “without taking part in some form of public worship.” We think a schoolboy with little religious instruction would consider this the minimum for a professed Christian. No wonder Churches are ignored by so-called Christians for the seaside, etc., on the Lord’s Day, when this is the considered views of a Bishop. Yet this same Bishop recognises the danger of the growing acceptance of work on the Sabbath. But he gives no basic principles on this part of the moral law to formulate any acceptable argument against Sabbath work. How confused this Bishop is! And what of the people under his care?
As for Bishop Anderson, he took a somewhat different line in his argumentation. If he had to choose between the severity of the Scottish Sabbath and the modern laxity of “Sunday” in England, his vote would unhesitatingly go to the Scots, he declared. Although he did not advocate the strictness of the Scottish Sabbath, he confessed to a sense of admiration for the self-discipline of the Scots. The pity is that Dr. Anderson has very few in Scotland to-day to admire on the matter of Sabbath-keeping. This Bishop also, although not so opposed to a right observance of the Lord’s Day, reveals a sad lack of a Scriptural and settled view of the requirements of the Fourth Commandment. And so it is no wonder that the so-called “Continental Sunday” is an accepted thing by multitudes who still retain an official connection with branches of the professed Christian Church. One serious feature of all this is that the “No Sabbath” section of our national society are beginning (if “beginning” is the right word) to make the Lord’s Day a recognised working day, while still claiming the double pay compensation, and those who do not fall in line are finding, in cases, that their services are not required and that evidences of a persecuting spirit are not lacking.
Scottish Car Club and the Sabbath.
The Scottish Stock Car Club, comprised mainly of Glasgow and Edinburgh business men, holds motor car race meetings periodically at Stepps Stadium, near Glasgow, and on the Lord’s Day. Last September five people were injured, before a crowd of 7,000, watching the racing. The crowd and the noise have been a real cause of complaint by local people, but no action has been taken. Councillor David Smith, of Lanarkshire County Council, was to bring the matter up again at a County Council meeting. Sabbath-breakers appear to have no feeling for the comfort or consciences of others. It is indeed the spirit of the god of this world, Satan, to oppress and trample upon all opposition to his devilish and dark kingdom. Transgressors, if unrepentant, will find themselves with the devil and his angels in hell, and not doing their own pleasure on racing tracks on God’s holy day. Motor cycle and motor car racing on the Sabbath seem to be one of the more recent devices of the devil to draw crowds and encourage atheism.