The Coming of One United Church for Scotland.—Such is the title of a pamphlet printed and published by the Church Union Association. It contains an account of the Union Meeting held in Edinburgh, 17th May, 1909, and the progress of the recent stages of the movement towards union, with a list of the members appointed by the Established and United Free Church Assemblies. Union on a scriptural basis is a commendable thing, and the bodies uniting on such principles may, with God’s blessing, look for strengthening; but there is such a thing as union which involves compromise, and compromise of a serious nature, and from such unions may we be preserved.
“That they may be One.”—This is the title of a sermon preached by Principal Alexander Whyte, extracts from which are given in the above pamphlet. At first sight it may appear almost incredible that intelligent men should so misinterpret and misapply those words used by our Lord in his Intercessory Prayer. To apply them to the gathering together in one body a mixed multitude such as must take place in every Church union, reveals a mind that trifles with one of the profoundest and most spiritual passages of scripture. Christ’s people, in the sense of the Intercessory Prayer, can be one, though they may not belong to the same Church organisation.
Sinful Partiality.—It may have at times struck careful observers that while it is a very common practice to speak of the New Testament writers and believers as saints, that no such honour is accorded to the Old Testament writers and worthies. We speak of St. Matthew, St. Mark, and St. Luke, but never of St. Isaiah, St. Jeremiah, or St. Ezekiel. Now, no one will deny
the honour to the New Testament worthies—they were saints indeed; but the whole practice is Romish, and rests on a false conception of the state of the Old Testament believers after death. According to Romish theologians, the Old Testament saints are in a Limbum Patrum, and have not entered the full blessedness of heaven. And it is as a protest against this view that all true Protestants should refrain from speaking of the New Testament worthies as “saints,” while they refuse to give that honoured title to the Old Testament worthies. Two apparent exceptions to the Romish practice are St. David and St. Enoch. But the former is not the king of Israel, but either the early Welsh missionary or the Scottish king of that name, and St. Enoch is a corruption of St. Thenoc, one of the early Celtic missionaries.
Frivolous and Sinful Amusements.—At a recent meeting of the Wesleyan Conference, held at Lincoln, it was resolved that “The Conference is strongly of opinion that dancing, card playing, games of chance, entertainments which legally require a dramatic licence, and amusements of a frivolous and vulgar type, are contrary to the general rules and usages of the people called Methodists, as affecting the use of trust property, and cannot be allowed.” When will the larger bodies of Presbyterians in Scotland pass a like resolution to stem the tide of worldliness and frivolity so often associated with many of their meetings?
“Ecclesiastical History of Caithness.”—This substantial and well-bound volume has recently been issued from the press by the Rev. D. Beaton, of the Free Presbyterian Church, Wick. It consists of two parts: first, the history of religion in the county of Caithness from the earliest times, and, second, “Annals” of Caithness parishes from the Reformation downwards to the present. The first section consists of nine chapters, and the titles of these are—”Introduction,” “Remains of Pagan Times,” “Remains of Early Christian Times,” “Early Ecclesiastical Ruins,” “Celtic Church Period,” “Roman Catholic Period,” “Reformation to Revolution Period,” “Revolution to Evangelical Revival,” and “Nineteenth Century to the Present Time.” These chapters are a valuable contribution to the history of religion in the far north, and are of special interest to the scholar and the student. The “Annals” of the several parishes form a useful source of reference for information with respect to the ministers occupying the various pulpits in Caithness during past and recent times, all denominations being noticed. Though the book must of necessity be chiefly interesting to students and to natives of the county of which it treats, it is no less valuable in its own place on this account. It fills a niche not hitherto occupied in the Church history of the north, and will be useful to coming generations who may inquire as to the movements of their fathers. It is questionable if any other county in Scotland has been so exhaustively dealt with in the same way. The volume has been printed and published by Mr. Rae, “Northern Ensign” Office, Wick, and the price is, cloth, 7/6 net; postage, 5d.