By Rev. D. M. Macdonald.
SOME years back few would imagine in view of all the efforts for peace that we should soon be engaged in another great war. The lack of vital religion amongst the nations is the root cause of it. There are many factors involved but this may be regarded as the prime cause of all the conflicts that have been carried on during the last few years in different parts of the world and at present in Europe. All this is an indication, not of the failure of Christianity, but of the unwillingness of the nations to receive it and obey its precepts. True religion when believed and accepted has wrought mighty changes in the world since Christ sent out his Apostles to preach the everlasting Gospel. It has now changed the face of Europe by bringing about conditions that have ensured the civil and religious freedom of multitudes. The triumphs of the Gospel are writ large on places that were once priest ridden and wholly corrupt through heathen idolatry and superstitions and its progress is by no means at an end. It will yet be acknowledged universally as the only remedy for man’s ruined condition and the means whereby peace shall be permanently established amongst the nations of this sin-scarred and war-torn world. Then shall Christ be given His rightful place as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. When the kingdoms of the world shall submit to Sion’s King, the reign of righteousness shall begin and acts of aggression shall cease.
Wars between nations end some time or other, but the war waged by Christ and His followers against the forces of evil goes on ceaselessly. There is no discharge in it. As long as wrong-doing and wickedness are active in this evil world the conflict must continue and victory is certain. The Lord Jesus never loses. He is always victorious. The progress of His kingdom may be slow but its advance is sure and all who are under His banner opposing evil in the strength of His grace shall be more than conquerors through Him who loved them and gave Himself for them.
In this age, sin abounds in the individual lives of many and in nations. The god of this world, who is also the father of lies, is being well-served by the authorities who rule certain nations, for they are expert liars, whose word cannot be trusted; they break treaties and solemn covenants without scruple; they deprive their fellows of God given rights and persecute Christ’s witnesses mercilessly. The Apostle Paul says that in the latter days evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, so that judging by the conduct of many, it would seem that we are now in the latter days. It cannot be said that people have become more religious since the previous war. The signs indicate that there is a widespread indifference to the gospel and its claims. The idea of many is that the irreligious man may be quite as good as the professor of religion and that all religions are pretty much alike. This is largely due to ignorance of the Scriptures and their teaching.
A writer in the press some time ago said that “The pitiful preoccupation of the people of these Islands with the care of the body and the consequent neglect of matters of the soul is a glaring instance of our lack of faith in God. For years this country has been steadily turning its back on God. One after another the Ten Commandments have been thrown over. The worship of money, position, and the body has supplanted the worship of God; the Lord’s Day is no longer kept holy; parents are not honoured; the poor are oppressed; the Divorce Court laughs at Christ’s teaching, and so for years God has been mocked. Now we are reaping the whirlwind and we fly to prayer. Prayer for what? Do we pray to become more Christ-like in our lives? We rush to church to ask for peace again. Are we not really asking for comfort and security and material prosperity again? During the first crisis a year ago last September people rushed to the churches praying for peace and when God in his mercy prevented war, He was soon forgotten and the old careless way of life was resumed.” There was no sign of national repentance and no indication of a return to the
Lord. Although we are now engaged in a life and death struggle, we have not as yet humbled ourselves before Him. It is evident that there is a considerable falling away from attendance on church ordinances throughout the country. This is partly due to a widespread indifference to religion and to the absence of sound gospel preaching. The basic doctrines of sin, ruin by the fall, regeneration and redemption through the substitutionary sacrifice of Jesus are ignored in many pulpits. The result is that people cease to hear what can profit their souls. When the Gospel is earnestly and faithfully proclaimed, it will always attract hearers. We regret to say that neglect of the means of Grace is spreading throughout the Highlands and it is to be feared that public worship and private worship in the home are ignored and treated with contempt. God’s cause is not supported by such people and Gospel privileges are despised. A sad feature is the indifference of many young people to the great matters of Salvation from sin and its penalty. The only things of consequence to them are in the language of Scripture “What shall we eat, what shall we drink and wherewithal shall we be clothed?” To gratify the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye and the pride of life is their aim.
The Committee would earnestly appeal to the young in these solemn times when God is speaking loudly to us in Providence to flee youthful lusts, which war against the soul and to seek a saving interest in Christ, for those who seek Him early shall find him.
In connection with Sabbath Observance, we are pleased to note that Cinema entertainments on that day are not permitted by law in Scotland. In some places in England these entertainments have been prevented through the active zeal of the Lord’s Day Observance Society, but in several localities on the flimsy pretence that our troops needed some form of amusement, these ungodly attractions have been introduced. The sole aim of their promoters is to make money by wickedly commercializing the Lord’s Day.
The practice of Sabbath golf is spreading but the war has checked to some extent Sabbath hiking and travelling by car for pleasure. Other ways of profaning the Lord’s Day are unnecessary visiting, abuse of the wireless and newspaper reading.
Our Committee on Sabbath Observance is dealing with this question in their Report and we need not enlarge on it but may say that we cannot expect God’s blessing on our land if we as a nation will deliberately disregard the Fourth Commandment by encouraging our people to turn it into a day of pleasure and sport.
While God has given us six days for our own work, He has kept one for Himself and yet He is robbed of this one day by multitudes in our so-called Christian land. The Day was not given us to sell for gain or to waste in unholy wickedness but to use for the benefit of our souls and for God’s service. A famous poet describes it as “The golden clasp that binds the volume of the week.” Lord Macaulay the historian says, “If the Lord’s Day had not been observed as a Day of Rest in our land during the last three centuries, I have not the smallest doubt that we should have been at this moment a poorer people and a less civilised people than we are.”
It would appear that our drink bill is rising year by year. The efforts made to popularise liquor by catchy advertisements are succeeding and although drunkenness may not be so common in public as it used to be, there is a vast amount of unnecessary drinking going on amongst all classes. Cocktail and sherry parties were popular and visits to roadhouses were common—a thing unknown some years ago. A deplorable sign of the times was increased drinking among young women. At one time for a woman to be seen coming out of a public-house marked her as being lost to all sense of decency; but now young women who considered themselves high in the social scale could be seen emerging from public-houses without shame and it seems from information given that it is neither wine nor beer they drink but whiskey.
The liquor question is now linked up with Sabbath desecration for mala-fide travellers in large numbers can go to hotels with a seven-day licence and get strong drink on the Lord’s Day. Such hotels are being built not to accommodate genuine travellers but to supply liquor from their bars to long queues of drinkers. The public interest truly demanded that the Sabbath closing of those improved “pubs” should be secured by an extension of the Licensing Act of 1853 to include hotel bars.
The nation spends £240,000,000 a year on strong drink, £125,000,000 on tobacco, £50,000,000 on cinemas, £7,000,000 on cosmetics and lipstick, and only £1,000,000 on spreading the knowledge of God’s salvation. Is it any wonder that God should have a controversy with us when we show so little appreciation of Gospel privileges and opportunities?
It has been argued that to secure adequate revenue, it is necessary to allow the drink trade to go on and the answer to this is that by abolishing it we could do away with prisons, reduce largely the number of police and effect many other savings that would counterbalance the loss of revenue through the abolition of the liquor traffic.
But far more important than that was the manhood and womanhood of the country. They were the real assets of the nation and they should be protected from everything that might injure them morally and spiritually.
The menace of gambling is assuming alarming proportions. This is made clear by an influentially signed appeal in the “Times” to people of goodwill to exert themselves to combat and conquer the evil of gambling. This takes various forms and is sapping the morals of countless thousands and weakening national character and moral strength.
The promoters of gambling are frustrating by their iniquitous efforts the national endeavour for economy and sacrifice. Some of our national services have to curtail facilities for the transaction of important business to make way for their activities. Crowds of young people gather round gambling machines at fun
fairs wasting their cash and weakening their characters. A Committee of investigation has reported that ten million people now take part in football pool gambling. This number is almost the same as the number of homes in the land so that it would seem that this form of gambling is becoming almost universal. At the lowest estimate the annual turnover is £30,000,000 and the profits to the promoters are about £2,000,000.
The number of betting firms organising the “business” is now about sixty-five and their chief instrument is newspaper advertising. Many newspapers publish articles advising people how to proceed. The Post Office received in poundage on postal orders connected with betting £3,000,000 annually.
It is estimated that apart from Commercial and Stock Exchange speculation the national betting bill was today about £500,000,000 or 50 per cent. more than the charge on the National Exchequer for social services and the cost of administration put together and more than four times the amount of taxes and rates devoted to education. Of that colossal sum approximately £50,000,000 was profit to the promoters.
One well acquainted with the demoralising effects of the gambling mania says “Thousands of poor families find that their suffering is intensified by the gambling habit. This habit, moreover, is utterly selfish and is demoralising to parents, workers and citizens. Much responsibility for the growth of the gambling habit lies with the Press. If the newspapers with large circulations would ignore the dogs and the pools, both would immediately cease to be a public danger”
It has been suggested that one method of checking the evil would be for readers of the newspapers concerned to work in groups and notify them that they are withdrawing their support while the football pools and similar gambling evils are being promoted and announced.
As during the Great War, the Roman Catholic Church is doing its best to profit by the present conflict between the Allies and Germany. Evidence is not lacking which shows that it
helped the Nazis to power in Germany and although it has been treated roughly by them, it is still endeavouring to make Hitler and his followers subservient to its designs. The great majority of the Polish people are Roman Catholics, and while the Papacy has diplomatically endeavoured to champion their rights it gave the Papal blessing to the aggressors’ conquest of Abyssinia, Albania and Spain. German atrocities in that unfortunate land might have been to some extent prevented if the Pope had continued vigorously protesting against them, but his condemnation has been feeble for fear, it seems, of offending the ungodly rulers of Germany.
Our modern statesmen are easily imposed on by the Papacy. Their undiscerning simplicity is shown in the readiness to deal with the Pope through Envoys and diplomatic representatives. President Roosevelt is now following the foolish example set by our Government by appointing a personal representative to confer with the Pope on the prospect of peace measures. This is a wrong step and will not help the United States. Behind what is called “Catholic Action” is the endeavour to advance the interests of Papal Rome in every way possible. Its influence is reflected in the Press to a remarkable degree, in the B.B.C. wireless programmes, which have favoured Jesuit priests and have been broadcasting High Mass not only from foreign cities but from Westminster Cathedral. In countries where she is the State Church the Roman Catholic denomination denies to Protestants the liberty she claims for herself in our nation.
There may be a severe conflict ahead and Protestants should be on the alert to check Rome’s insidious propaganda in every direction for eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. A wave of secularism is passing over many countries and spiritual death has invaded the professing church. In totalitarian countries Christ is completely ignored and the dictators are seeking to remake the world without Him. In the democracies the slogan is “moral rearmament” and this also ignores Christ. It is only by His power exercised through His Spirit and Word that both aggressors and those
oppressed by them can be changed and made to live in harmony and peace with one another
The Committee deplore and condemn the practice of dancing in connection with Bible Classes, Concerts and Social Gatherings with frivolous entertainments in Churches where the Gospel should be proclaimed and the world kept in its own place. One of God’s judgments on the world for the neglect of His laws according to the prophet Ezekiel is war and while our cause in this war may be just, we have national and individual sins to confess and be humble for. We need national repentance and humiliation.
When God’s ancient people hearkened into His commands, He gave them victory over their enemies and peace. In Leviticus, Chapter 26, three conditions are laid down for peace, 1. Reverence for His name. 2. Observance of the Sabbath. 3. Regard for His Word. No one can say that these conditions are being fulfilled in our national life. On the contrary in all parts of the land and in numberless lives God is forgotten. His Sabbaths profaned and His Word neglected and set at nought. Above all His manifestation of love for lost sinners in Christ Jesus is widely disregarded and this alone is sufficient to provoke Him to leave us to become the prey of our literal and spiritual foes. But notwithstanding our transgressions, He is waiting to be gracious and let each and all pray earnestly for the outpouring of the spirit of penitence and humiliation so that as a nation we may turn to the Lord humbling ourselves before Him and seeking to do His will. Then we may look for deliverance and for peace based on the principles of truth and justice.