Conversations Between Church of Scotland and Church of England.
According to The English Churchman, members of the Church of England, appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, met with delegates appointed by the Inter-Church Relations Committee of the Church of Scotland, at Durham, on January the 4th and 5th, to open a series of discussions on the relations between the two Churches. These conversations have followed former endeavours, during 1932-1934 and later, to bring the two National Churches nearer to one another in the way of co-operation. The Church of England are not likely to concede anything pertaining to the fundamentals of the Episcopal form of Church government and mode of worship. They are not seeking to examine Presbyterianism in the light of the New Testament with a view to adopting anything which our forefathers in Scotland established, by God’s help, as pertaining Scripturally to the worship and government of Christ’s Church as opposed to Episcopacy. The strong trend to-day in such matters is co-operation first in what are called non-essentials, then acknowledgment of commonly held beliefs, and so on to the question of union, with Anglo-Catholics watching every opportunity to guide the whole movement Romeward. Let those in Scotland who value the Scripturalness of true Presbyterianism, keep clear of such conferences and conversations.
Widespread Neglect of Children.
Parental lack of love to and care for children is becoming common throughout the nation. One serious and deplorable case after another appearing in the Courts, is reported in the press. The Word of God gives a high place to motherly instincts in the normal mother, as we see in Isaiah xlix, 15, “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee.” The implication of this passage with respect to a woman is that it is most unusual and unnatural, although possible, that she should forget her sucking child. Yet we read of a case reported in the press in January when Sir Gerald Dobson, the Recorder in the Old Bailey, London, passing sentence on a 22-year-old mother, said, “The child was starved to death. The care of children is a sacred trust and society is profoundly shocked when this sort of thing happens.” Truly we live in perilous times, in this so-called advanced age; a mark of such times being the lack of natural affection, according to the Scriptures. Lack of Bible religion and disregard of the moral law has deprived many to-day of every vestige of outward decency and natural feeling and emotions even towards their own offspring. The Divine Physician, the Lord Jesus Christ, through the Gospel, is required to heal and give spiritual and moral health to all relationships.