The late Prof. Cooper’s Dream of a United Church.
—In an article in this issue we call attention to the activities of the late Prof Cooper in connection with the Union movement. Dr Cooper, as may be seen from the above-mentioned article, was out for a much larger union than the gathering together of the Presbyterian denominations of Scotland, and his position is nowhere more clearly set forth than in a letter dated 1st May 1907, and addressed to the Rev. Thomas Hannan, the Episcopal clergyman of St Peter’s Church, Musselburgh:—”A United British Church,” he writes, “sound in faith, Catholic in order, full of good works, friendly with and helpful to the ancient Churches of the East, would be able even to make terms with the great Roman Church—so that we might help on unity in its fullness. Though this is to look far ahead. What all who love those things have most to dread is a merely Presbyterian Union, engineered by policy at the bidding of prejudice. Our safety is to set up the revealed will of Christ, to invoke the guidance of the Holy Spirit, and, believing in Him, to be brave enough to walk by principle.” Dr Cooper in his last years came to favour the projected union of the Established and United Free Churches, because it opened up, in his estimation, a way for the larger Union on which his heart was set. His views are more fully set forth in our article, “Scoto-Catholicism,” in this issue.
Society for the Propagation of Atheism in America.
—”The Presbyterian and Herald and Presbyter” (Philadelphia) in recent issues calls attention to the formation of the Atheist Club in Rochester University, a Baptist institution of Rochester, New York. The “English Churchman” makes the following comment on the aims and activities of the atheists:—”It appears that a Society has been formed in the United States called the “American Association for the Advancement of Atheism.” According to an announcement this society has started an extensive campaign to assail every kind of belief in God. Numerous branches of the Association are to be established. Colleges are to be instituted. The press is to be largely utilised, and public meetings are to be held far and wide. Moreover, a radio station is to be erected for the purpose of broadcasting the Association’s godless notions and principles. We have not come across any indication of a direct connection between this organisation and Russian Bolshevism, but the aims of the two seem to be very much alike. They want to destroy all the restraints of religion, and they realise that the most effectual way of achieving their purpose is to eradicate from minds, especially of the young, every vestige of the fear of God. It is a solemn thing to think of the power which the “prince of this world” now possesses and the manner in which he is using it for the destruction of souls. Apparently he is working with special vehemence and malignity, knowing that his time is short.”
The Convention of Royal Burghs and Sabbath Trading.
The question of Sabbath trading was raised at one of the meetings of the Convention of Royal Burghs recently held in Edinburgh. There were motions by the Provosts of Rothesay and Wick, calling attention to the necessity to grant local authorities more adequate control of refreshment shops and Sabbath trading. Provost Green, Wick, withdrew his motion in deference to Provost Hicks, Rothesay, whose motion he seconded. In the speeches the action of the Aberdeen Magistrates in granting the use of the Palais de Danse for musical entertainments and refreshments on the Lord’s Day was severely criticised. The action of the Aberdeen Magistrates called forth a strong protest at a public meeting held in the city. Some of the speeches delivered by the clerical speakers were of the milk and water type, but others sounded a more militant and scriptural call to the people to resist this new effort to rob them of the sanctity of the Sabbath.
United Free Church Vote on Union.
In the report of the United Free Church Committee on Conference with the Church of Scotland it is stated that of the 63 home presbyteries, 61 voted in favour of the Assembly’s remit as to whether the main causes of separation between the Churches had been removed. Islay was opposed and Uist made no return. The kirk-sessions showed a vote of 1155 in favour, and 235 were opposed; congregations showed 1122 in favour and 285 opposed. The “Scotsman,” which is using all its influence in favour of Union—a particularly bad omen—mentions that while the vote in favour in many cases was carried by small majorities, so also was the vote against. The plain fact of the matter is that the voting against was very much larger than most people anticipated, and must have come as a shock to the United Free Church leaders. This may account for the strain of the speeches recently delivered by the leading ecclesiastics in both Churches, in which they assert in strong terms that there is no going back now. We cannot prophesy what may happen, but past unions engineered by worldly-wise ecclesiastics have not been such successes as to encourage men to be reckless in trying another experiment in that direction.
Mississippi Follows Tennessee.
The State of Mississippi has now followed the good example of Texas and Tennessee in prohibiting the teaching of Evolution in the State schools. The vote was 29 to 16. The new legislation prohibits teachers teaching “that man descended or ascended from a lower order of animals.” A penalty of 100 to 500 dollars and cancellation of the contract of the offending teachers is to be exacted for violation of the Act. It is encouraging to learn that these State legislatures of the United States have set their faces against this illusory scientific obsession. No doubt the learned men will laugh to scorn the efforts of these legislators as symptomatic of medieval darkness and obscurantism, but we feel confident that the tide will one day turn, and the obscurantists will then be discovered to be the men who in face of the most damaging evidence clung to a theory which in its most approved form sought to banish God from the great work of creation.