Glorying in Their Shame.—Viscount Samuel, who is a Jew, and a distinguished philosopher and politician, had some serious things to say recently regarding the attitude, in some spheres, to the grosser sins of murder and adultery. Last September, he addressed the Royal Institute of Philosophy, at Brighton, and told the members: “In fiction, the theatre, and the cinema, crime was entertainment, murder a parlour game, and adultery taken as a matter of course.” Viscount Samuel is anything but a rash and hasty man in his public utterances, and the above are his considered and calm observations. What poisonous and polluted sources of carnal pleasure, fiction, the theatre and the cinema are! To these the large majority of the people, young and old, turn for satisfaction and entertainment in these times. Every sin has its root in the heart of man already; and what men need is the Gospel of Christ in power, to overthrow and subdue the reign of evil in the heart, to the end, that there may be a living soberly, righteously and godly in this present world. But Satan’s weapons, to entangle this generation in open and heinous sin, are such as appeal to and incite the evil hearts of men, through the eye and the ear; and the results are to be seen in the criminal courts and divorce courts. And thus morality is at a low ebb in our midst, as in Jeremiah’s day. No wonder that we look for peace and prosperity in vain, in these serious times.
Edinburgh Civic Reception to Cardinal Griffin.—As our readers will see elsewhere in this issue, the Lord Provost and Magistrates of the City of Edinburgh arranged to give a Civic Reception to Cardinal Griffin, of the Roman Catholic Church, Westminster, London, on the 23rd October last. We are gratified that timely protests were sent from members of presbyteries of our Church; and that these expressions of strong disapproval were given wide publicity in the Scottish daily papers, on the 21st of October. In a letter acknowledging these protests, Lord Provost A. H. A. Murray stated that the Reception was granted in accordance with the Corporation’s usual policy of recognising a distinguished visitor to the City, and that he was sorry the Presbyteries took the view they did, as it seemed to be contrary to an impartial and unbiased consideration of the case. In his speech at the Reception welcoming the Cardinal, the Lord Provost said: “I am neither impressed nor intimidated by such criticism.” In meeting this deplorable attitude of mind on the part of Edinburgh’s Civic Head, we must conclude that he is either ignorant of the history of the Roman Church down through the centuries, or that he deliberately closed his eyes to her proved, extreme and wicked partiality, bias and intolerance. Cardinal Griffin represents an ecclesiastical and political policy, directed from Rome, which is the very embodiment of partiality, bias and intolerance, having in view the ascendancy of Roman Catholicism and the undermining of Protestantism in this country. And in carrying out this policy the Cardinal was pleased to be entertained by those whom he looks upon as heretics, when they bowed to him in their civil capacity. Rome desires the day when the Magistrates of Edinburgh will bow to Cardinal and priest religiously. Heretics are good enough to dine with. Their hospitality, money and influence in temporal affairs, directed to the advantage of Rome, is welcome. But the religion and worship of Protestants in Edinburgh, as elsewhere, the Pope and Cardinal Griffin would eliminate from the face of the earth, if they could. Freedom to worship God in accordance with one’s conscience, is a principle which Rome holds as applying only to Roman Catholics. The heretics of Edinburgh have no right to this freedom, in Rome’s view, in spite of all the fine words of the Cardinal in his reply speech to the Lord Provost. A visit to Spain and then to Northern Ireland might help in rectifying the Lord Provost’s unwarrantable opposition to protesting Scottish Protestants.
Letters of Appreciation.—Members of the public, not of the Free Presbyterian Church, have written us expressing appreciation of our protest. This is what one says, “I was very pleased to read your spirited protest against Edinburgh giving a Civic Reception to Cardinal Griffin. Do they not know that Rome is the unsleeping enemy of Britain. Our public representatives seem to give them every assistance to build up a state within the State. Thanking you for your courageous protest. It has struck a chord in many hearts, hearts that are waiting for a lead.”
Canada’s R.C. Premier.—”That Mr. Louis St. Laurent has been appointed to succeed Mr. Mackenzie King as Prime Minister of Canada came as a shock to the Protestant world. And for the very sound reason that he is a Papist. However good the Papist may be—and Mr. St. Laurent has a good reputation—the fact remains that he is not his own master. Seven years ago Mr. St. Laurent sought the advice of the Cardinal-Archbishop of Quebec before entering politics. Consequently, he is now directed by that Church which lusts for world-power. Actually, therefore, the affairs of Canada will largely be in the hands of the Italian Pope-King. And now that Newfoundland, pro-Romanist, is joining Canada, the power of the Roman Church will soon be apparent to the detriment of that once free Protestant land.’ (Churchman’s Magazine, October, 1948.)