Defence of the Bible.
—The above heading caught our attention in reading a recent issue of the “Glasgow Herald,” and being interested in the subject we proceeded to read the paragraph through. As we did so we soon learned that it was a lecture delivered by Prof. A. B. Macaulay, D.D., of the United Free College, Glasgow, to the School of Study and Training. Could it be after all that the United Free Church professors (or at least one of) were mending their ways? We were not left in doubt for long as the following paragraph shows:—
“Inerrancy might be claimed but could not be vindicated for the Bible. In its information about science it was not superior to contemporary knowledge. Yet it was inspired, and they need not think that its inspiration could be disputed by arguments which, after all, owed any force they possessed to an ill-judged choice of the ground on which it was sought to establish its reality. God could be discovered in other books, and for that reason inspiration could be claimed for them. But God was discoverable in the Bible in a character in which he was discoverable nowhere else. To put the inspiration of the Bible on the level of other books was not an evidence of insight and of right judgment.” If this be the kind of inspiration the Bible claims for itself we have read it in vain. Those who wish to know what the Bible teaches on this subject would do well to carefully study Dr Warfield’s recently published “Revelation and Inspiration.”
The American Sabbath.
—”The Bulletin of the New York Sabbath Committee” quotes the “Houston Post-Dispatch” as saying: “The conception of ‘Sunday’ as a day of rest has been breaking down for several decades, however, and in most of its aspects it has become the most restless day of the week, and by far the most violent. It is marked fifty-two times during the year by a nation-wide wave of motor accidents, murders, hi-jacking, and riotous disturbances . . . . Except in isolated instances it is no longer a day of rest. It takes the form of a frenzied re-action to a week of strenuous action. In the light of its divine origin there is grim irony in the fact that it acts as a reservoir to fill the hospitals, morgues and jails. The appalling violence of the American ‘Sunday’ shames the nation’s claim to being a religious land.” This is what we are fast heading for in Scotland. “Week-end Motor Accidents” is a standing heading now in newspaper printing offices, and men’s mad rush for pleasure is pursued swiftly by retributive justice.
Increase in Sabbath Desecration.
—That the concern for the increase in Sabbath desecration is not confined to the more orthodox branches of the Presbyterian Churches in Scotland is evident from the report recently given in to the Glasgow United Free Church Presbytery by the Rev. Archibald Dawson, Newton Place. Mr Dawson said in his report: “The general conclusion was that within the Presbytery there had been a decided increase in secular activities. More trains were running, more steamers were sailing, and more ‘buses and more private cars were on the roads. Excursions by rail, steamer, and ‘bus were made much more attractive and tempting on Sabbath than on any other day. It could also be said that the number of workmen who were being asked to work on Sabbath had increased.” We quote the above to show how serious the matter has become, and those of the working classes who were determined to turn the Lord’s Day into a day of pleasure may find that they sold their priceless heritage too cheaply if it ends in their being called to work on the divinely appointed Day of Rest.
“A Shorter Bible.”
—We are not surprised. The next thing will be no Bible at all. The teaching from our pulpits has been that we are to follow an ideal Jesus, and try to live an upright and honest life seeking the good of our fellow-creatures and looking up to God as our Heavenly Father; the question of being born again and the precious blood of Christ without which there can be no remission of sins, does not come into the theology of such preachers. We give an extract from the “Morning Post” of August 16th: “A Shorter Bible. The Authorised Version ‘Up-to-date.’ ‘The Shorter Bible’ will contain probably less than one-fifth of the contents of the Bible. Every passage which is not of much importance or interest as compared with the rest will be omitted. The first three Gospels appear in one as a running account of our Lord’s life on earth. Genealogies are left out, some fifty Psalms, Leviticus, Song of Solomon, Lamentations, and large parts of Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Revelation, Job, Proverbs, etc. The aim of the editors is that the book shall be interesting on every page.’ We have quoted enough to show the scope of the book. We are told that ‘some twenty clergy and laity are engaged upon the work, and sound common sense is asked for rather than scholarship.’ ” Poor souls! Commonsense rather than scholarship is asked for. These commonsense twenty men have set themselves up to have more commonsense than the Holy Spirit, who, as the Spirit of Truth, wrote of Him who is “the way, and the truth, and the life.” Are we to believe that according to the commonsense of these twenty men the portions that they have cut out are not inspired and not worthy of the commonsense of these men?” “Quarterly Record of the Trinitarian Bible Society” (October).
A Blind Leader of the Blind.
—The spread of worldliness has brought about a state of affairs in many professedly Christian Churches, where associations of people are held together by purely social ties, and their main function seems to be the provision of cheap amusement. Also, in many cases, the provision of funds for carrying on the work is chiefly dependent upon the proceeds of entertainments and the like. An indication of the depths to which such may sink is furnished by a sorry story in “The Christian World” of March 29th last, under the heading “A Parish Gamble,” where we are told of a church in the city of Manchester, the rector of which, requiring the sum of £50—for repairs—and, “having organised one or two other ‘mild gambles’ to assist the Christian cause . . . thought there would be no harm in a draw.” He “has many friends in the theatrical profession, and from these kindly disposed persons he received various articles to be given as prizes, including boxes at the theatre, six miniature liqueurs, two bottles of port, a bottle of old brown sherry, and a bottle of brandy. Over 5000 twopenny tickets had been disposed of when the police intervened.” Strange to say, when interviewed by “The Manchester Guardian,” the rector said “he did not see what harm the draw was doing and it might have done some good.”—”Quarterly Record of the Trinitarian Bible Society” (October.)
A Belated Compliment and a Reminder of Unchristian Conduct.
—The following from the “Record of the U.F. Church” (October) is the concluding paragraph in an “Open Letter to the Minority”:—”Finally, if you must separate, may we in all brotherly sympathy beg of you—whether you seek admission to another Church or whether you form a new secession—that your action, taken for conscience sake, be carried through quietly and without bitterness, in the spirit of those Free Churchmen who in 1893, on the passing of the Free Church Declaratory Act concerning the Confession of Faith, so respected the spiritual autonomy of the Church that they made no appeal to the civil courts, and so fulfilled the law of charity that they left the Church they loved without the world knowing of their sacrifice, whatever we may think of the principles for which they suffered, we honour them for following in the footsteps of Him who went to His cross holding His peace.” The writers of this letter seem to be quite at sea as to the reason for the separation in 1893, and it would be well to remind them that if the present United Free Church Minority get the same treatment as the Free Presbyterians got in 1893 they will be turned out of their manses and churches and left penniless as far as the tender mercies of the Majority are concerned.
Remarkable Decrease in Consumption of Strong Drink.
—In 1900 the consumption of spirits in England was 32,239,522 gallons. In 1913 it was 22,004,432 gallons; to-day it is 10,412,921, and growing less. The figures for Scotland are still more striking. In 1900 the consumption was 8,623,092 gallons; in 1913 it was 6,709,343; and last year it was 2,456,283. The same decline is seen in the consumption of beer. In 1913 England consumed 30,758,800 bulk barrels; in 1927 the consumption had fallen to 23,418,640 barrels. The figures for Scotland in 1913 were 2,119,666 barrels, and in 1927 1,673,576. £298,800,000 is given as an estimate for the drink bill of 1927 for Great Britain, as compared with £301,300,000 in 1926. This is the lowest figure since 1918. In 1920 the bill reached the extraordinary figure of £469,700,000. This worked out at a consumption of £10 per head. To-day the consumption per head is £6 15s. The total proceedings for drunkenness in England and Wales for 1927 were 74,303; five years ago the number was 84,257.
Sabbath Trading: “Unchristian and not Scottish.”
—At the annual meeting of the Scottish Federation of Meat Traders’ Associations (Incorporated), held recently in Greenock, the question of Sabbath trading was discussed. And it is a pleasure to know that the president (Mr Thomas Ritchie, Grangemouth), and others spoke out strongly against this growing evil in the meat trade. At the bi-annual meeting of Federation the president reported a resolution had been unanimously passed approving of the principle of the abolition of Sabbath trading, and he remarked the meat trade in Scotland was ready for this reform. Mr Andrew Haldane, Glasgow, declared Sabbath trading to be unnecessary, unchristian, and not Scottish. In Glasgow, with the exception of the Jewish shops, they had only one shop open. In Edinburgh a strong effort was made to bring to book the meat traders who kept their places open on the Sabbath. This effort was successful for a time, but it was an unfortunate thing, he remarked, that whenever some men found their principles were going to affect their pockets they pocketed their principles. A resolution was unanimously adopted that the Federation press for the amendment of the Shops (Hours of Closing) Act so as to have Sabbath made a closing day.
Recent Railway Disasters.
—The railways of this country have boasted that they are as free from accidents as any in the world, and we believe their claim is true, but within 48 hours three serious railway smashes took place, and there has been considerable loss of life. A railway disaster is always a distressing occurrence, its suddenness, its wreckage, mingled with human beings, hurled into eternity without a moment’s warning are fitted to fill one with a feeling of horror. The Railway Companies of this country have been, and are now, notorious Sabbath breakers. They barefacedly confess that their cheap excursions on the Lord’s Day is an effort to stave off financial difficulties. Now, while God does not always settle accounts in this world, yet he often does, and it would be well for the Railways to lay to heart that such disasters, apart altogether from the more serious matter—the great loss of life—mean a very heavy financial outlay for the Companies involved. Probably the worldly wise directors would laugh such sentiments to scorn, and guided by what they deem a superior wisdom, play with issues that will not appear so insignificant in the end.
Report of “Continental Sunday” Commission.
—Under the auspices of the Lord’s Day Observance Society a Commission, consisting of gentlemen interested in the Sabbath question, visited different places on the Continent. Their first experience of a “Continental Sunday” was at Ostend. It was beyond their worst anticipations. The day they saw seemed to be nothing less than “the devil’s counterpart of the Lord’s Day.” “Shops of all kinds were doing business; cafés and drinking saloons were open; opera bars were crowded; there were noisy street processions with bands and banners; horse races were attended by thousands; bookmakers and betting tipsters were doing a roaring trade; theatres and cabarets were in full swing, and wines, songs, and revelries were indulged in until past midnight. The next Sabbath was spent at Montreux-Territet, Switzerland. Here the influence of Calvin and Knox are seen in a better observance of the Sabbath, but for the gratification of the gay crowd that come to this well-known resort there are dances, concerts, and theatricals provided on the Lord’s Day. The last Sabbath was spent in Paris, and we give an extract in the succeeding note from the Lord’s Day Magazine describing it.
How Paris Spends the First Day of the Week.
—”Our last Sabbath sojourn was in Paris. It was a day of desecration we shall never forget. After the mid-day hour the Lord’s Day became more like a Bank Holiday, only much more hilarious. It became in fact a gala day, a great carnival, in which almost everybody seemed in pursuit of pleasure of some kind. The intensity of the traffic can hardly be imagined. Charabancs loaded with passengers thundered along the Boulevards. Motors, thousands of them, were hurrying hither and thither, and with their peculiar hooters and squeakers created a nerve-racking din. In the lovely Bois de Bologne (the largest playground in Paris) tens of thousands were on games and amusements bent. The horse races and bookmakers, the Champs-Elysées, with its café chantants, attracted thousands more. Almost every district seemed to vie with the other in offering new excitements — boxing contests, open-air markets, trading establishments, street jugglers, wrestlers, and peripatetic singers adding to the diversions which seemed to await one at almost every turn. The theatres and music halls were likewise open, whilst the cabarets and dance halls of the Montmartre quarter attracted their crowds as well. At nightfall the gaiety and excitement increased. The boulevards, of which there are 88, were thronged with streams of pedestrians. The cafes and drinking saloons, which exist every few yards along the pathway, were doing plenty of business. Indeed, it was impossible at many of them to get a seat at the little round tables with which they are provided. There the people sat drinking and chatting and card-playing and listening to songs until long past midnight.” — “Lord’s Day Magazine.”
The First Scottish Woman Minister.
—Miss Vera M. Finlay, M.A., has been called to the pastorate of the Partick Congregational Church, and is to be ordained this month. We have no hesitation in saying this is a bad beginning. The Word of God has spoken in no uncertain way as to women taking the office of the ministry. In an age, however, in which people are governed by their own wishes, one need not wonder what is happening. Congregationalism, like Presbyterianism in Scotland, it has travelled a long way from the ancient landmarks which were set up on the authority of God’s unerring Word. There are now about a score of women ordained preachers, who are distributed as follows:—Baptist, 3; Congregationalist, 6; and Unitarian, 11.
The Bishops of the Church of England Charged with Sedition.
—The Rev. C. E. Milnes, clerical secretary of the League of Loyal Churchmen, in the course of a statement issued on behalf of the League yesterday says:—”Although the House of Commons has twice rejected the Deposited Prayer Book, the Archbishops and Bishops have officially declared their policy of sanctioning and promoting the use of the rejected Prayer Book of 1928. The following extract from the Archbishop’s official announcement makes their policy quite clear—”The Bishops in the exercise of their legal or administrative discretion will be guided by the proposals approved in 1928 by the Houses of Convocation and by the Church Assembly. The decrees of the Houses of Convocation and the decrees of the Church Assembly have no force whatever unless they are made and ratified by the King’s Majesty’s supreme authority. The use of the Revised Book of 1928 is an unlawful act: the Bishops in promoting the use of that Book have committed and inaugurated a seditious conspiracy. The position is that the Bishops, acting with others, defy the House of Commons and tell the people of England that they are above the law. We call on the Prime Minister, as the leader of the House of Commons, to defend the Constitution and forthwith to take the measures required to put down such sedition and to bring the offenders to justice.”