A Hundred Years Ago—
The following Royal Proclamation was made for a Day of General Fast and Humiliation before God. The Day appointed was 24th March, 1847. It was appointed for “a general Fast and Humiliation before Almighty God in order to obtain Pardon of our sins, as that we may in the most devout and solemn manner send up our Prayers and Supplications to the Divine Majesty: For the removal of those heavy judgments which our manifold Sins and Provocations have most justly deserved; and with which Almighty God is pleased to visit the Iniquities of this land by a grievous Scarcity and Dearth of divers Articles of Sustenance and Necessaries of Life.” Why should Britain, getting a lead from the Minister of Food, not make a similar recognition of the heavy judgments of God upon us approach the King to appoint a Day of Humiliation and Prayer. The conditions prevailing in 1847 were not so bad as they are in 1947 and perhaps then our leaders would not be giving such an illustration of what “vainly wandering means.”
The Roman Catholic Penetration of Protestant Agencies by Princess Despina Karadjja—
This is a lecture delivered at the Central Hall, Westminster. It is quite a revelation of Rome’s underhand work. The success which Rome has achieved in the Y.W.C.A. is an eye-opener. It is high time that this Association would waken from its perilous position and that all Protestants who support by their means or otherwise should let the officials know that they cannot do so any longer. The pamphlet may be had from the Women’s Protestant Union, 26 Denison House, 296 Vauxhall Bridge Road, London, S.W. Price 1 1/2d., post free.
Freemasonry—
The English Churchman, quoting from the S.S. Times (Philadelphia), has the following comment on Freemasonry:—”I have no doubt that Freemasonry derives its legends, its symbols, and its methods of instruction from the old religions—sun worship, tree worship, animal worship. . . . Among the pagans, rites of the most magnificent nature were often used in setting apart their temples to the purposes of worship. A Masonic Lodge is an imitation of these ancient examples.” In the Digest of Masonic Law, by G. W. Chase (page 207), is this official statement: “The Jews, the Chinese, the Turks, each reject either the New Testament or the Old, or both; yet we see no good reason why they should not be made Masons. In fact, Blue Lodge Masonry has nothing to do with the Bible. It was not founded upon the Bible. If it was, it would not be Masonry.” Such utterances seem to justify Dr. Slater’s conclusions: “The master-sin of Masonry is its claim to be God’s universal religion, though in no sense the Christian religion; in that it does not pretend to be founded upon the Bible as Christians accept it; and in that, in its use of that sacred book, it deliberately cuts out the sacred Name of our Saviour wherever it is found. Here, then, is a false religion whose institutions and forms of worship make no recognition of our need of a Mediator, that never mentions the personality and work of the Holy Spirit, that teaches a code of morals that is not Scriptural, that ignores all need of repentance and faith in Christ, conducting funeral services that are full of heathen superstitions; and promising unsaved sinners a future blessedness which they have earned by their own good works.”