The Harvest.
This autumn the ingathering of the crops has given a good deal of concern to farmers throughout the nation on account of excessively wet and changeable weather. Seed time and harvest have been promised by the God of providence; nevertheless our sins as a people obviously merit signs of divine displeasure in relation to harvest difficulties. Yet how wonderfully good the Most High is toward us in face of our grievous backslidings. There is food of all kinds in plenty for the millions in this island in these present times. It might well be otherwise only for the divine benevolence and patience. What need there is for national repentance along with thanksgiving, as toward God. What need there is for a day of power to turn sinners to the Bread which came down from heaven, even the Lord Jesus Christ, which if a man eat he shall never die. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord” (Matt. iv. 4). There have been again cases of harvest work being carried on during the Sabbath Day. Those guilty of this, not only violate the law of God, but manifest their deplorable lack of confidence in the God who makes possible a harvest at all. They think not that the God who reigns can give them sufficiently suitable weather during week days, so that they must trample on the Lord’s Day when weather is favourable on that day. Favourable weather on a Sabbath is but one of many calls to men to attend the House of God and the business of the soul’s salvation. But what have the wisdom of carnal man accomplishes in the ruin of the soul for time and eternity! It is good that the Lord has left in the land a remnant who fear God and emulate, by grace, the Psalmist saying, “O that men to the Lord would give praise for his goodness then.”
Free Church Ministers Disagree on Broadcasting Services on Sabbath.
At a recent meeting of the Free Church Presbytery of Inverness discussion arose regarding a religious service broadcast from Kingussie Free Church on a Sabbath. Rev. William Fraser, Kiltarlity, highly commended the service and said that he was delighted to find the service from beginning to end conducted as the service in a Free Church should be conducted. He asked the Presbytery to congratulate Rev. W. R. MacKay, Kingussie. But the Rev. Donald MacDonald, Free Church, Ardersier, took the opposite view, and declared that with others he did not listen to the wireless on Sabbath because he believed that the B.B.C. is one of the biggest desecrators of the Sabbath. He spoke for other ministers of the Presbytery. He said, “I want to clear myself and take a stand for the Sabbath.” We, of course, in this Magazine, heartily endorse Rev. D. MacDonald’s stand for the Sabbath on the wireless question. It appears that there is division in the Free Church concerning this vital question also; we mean the Sabbath question, and as it touches upon activities of ministers and office-bearers beyond the matter of listening to the wireless on Sabbath. A professed testimony is one thing and a divided practice is another.
Field-Marshall Montgomery and the Pope.
In September, London papers made known that Field-Marshall Montgomery had once more visited the Pope, this time at the Pope’s summer residence, on Thursday, 16th September. In one paper there was a photograph of the Field-Marshall entering the Pope’s apartments. We mentioned in a previous note on a former visit that it had been made known that the Field-Marshall was some sort of link between the Vatican and our nation (or more) connected with the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. But what the real purpose of his frequent visits is we know not officially, but more than likely the defence of the spurious Vatican State in case of Communist aggression and attack is subject matter for secret talks with the Pope. The Field-Marshall, whatever his previous professed religious affiliations, is certainly no Protestant. If required by his military position to consult with the Pope, and if he were a true Protestant, he would have resigned his present appointment rather than go into frequent conclave with the “Man of Sin.” The Field-Marshall was highly regarded during the last war, but we fear that he will be the loser now and recede into oblivion, under the blight of the Pope’s “blessing.”
Ban the Comics.
The banning of American and all similar comic papers for the young has been called for by different societies and organisations interested in the moral and social welfare of our children throughout the country. The Conference of the National Council of Women in Edinburgh last July passed a resolution condemning publications exploiting sex and horror. As reported in a letter to the press, one speaker at this Conference argued that the public got what they asked for, but this was countered by a delegate from Glasgow who pointed to the control of the drug traffic, liquor regulations, and certain wartime security precautions. It is high time responsible people in every walk of life raised their voices against these subtle instruments of the devil to corrupt the minds of the children of this generation, that he may have them outwardly and in their practice when they come to older years. Much is being done for our children to-day educationally and socially; but how much is being undone by the lack of parental supervision and moral sense, even in the matter of the children’s reading? Six million pounds is spent every year on the publication of comics in this country. We are glad to learn that the Glasgow Corporation are to ask the Secretary of State for Scotland to introduce legislation to ban the sale of children’s comic papers of the American “horror” type. A deputation from the Corporation is to seek an interview on the matter with the Secretary of State. A recent incident in the city involving children apparently brought the Corporation to resolve as above.
Obscene Literature.
The existence and publication of obscene books within Great Britain recently have once again given rise to prosecutions in the law courts. In one case the director of a well known publishing firm, and two publishing firms, were each fined £500, by Sir Gerald Dodson, the London Recorder. The Recorder observed regarding the condemned book by a jury, “I should have thought any reader, however inexperienced, would have been repelled by a book of this sort, which is repugnant to every decent emotion which ever concernd man or woman.” Later, in another case in England, several responsible men were sent to prison. We understand that the law anent obscene publications is not defined in many regulations, but a book or books complained of may be made a case for prosecution before a judge and jury by the appropriate Public Prosecutor, the verdict, of course, on the book being brought in by the jury. From recent events which have been revealed, even Public Libraries contain on their list of books such literature as we deem undesirable, indicating to us that a considerable section of reading material to-day, even in Libraries, might well be made the subject of scrutiny. That able writers and well-known publishing firms are catering to-day for the sensual and the immoral in the reading public is a deplorable and dangerous sign of the times. A people being entertained by the recital of violations of the moral law, in book form, are certainly not to give much heed to or be influenced by the Word and law of God, if at all. Man by nature is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be; and when his leisure hours are taken up with literature which glorifies in immorality, then no wonder there is even public declarations in one way and another that good is evil and evil good, and that darkness is light and light darkness. We have as a people, to a great extent, abandoned the Bible (while yet there are so many Bibles) and what wisdom and purity are in us? Spiritual wisdom and Gospel and moral purity are neither known nor sought by masses of the people of Britain. Truly we need the purifying influences of the Word of the truth of the Gospel of Christ, with the power of the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven.
Activities of Nuns.
The following is reprinted from The English Churchman of 17th September, 1954:—
Mrs. Kathleen Ann Drennan, a recent convert to Protestantism, had been admitted to a ward in a hospital at Enniskillen, Ireland, prior to the birth of her child. Two nuns asked to see her, and were left alone with her in the ward for about 15 minutes. During that time she was “put through very serious interrogation.” Though she had been married in Enniskillen Church of Ireland Cathedral, the nuns told her that she was unmarried and that her child would be illegitimate. Mr. T. Nelson, M.P. for Enniskillen in the Northern Ireland Parliament, took the matter up. He asked what the hospital authority intended to do to protect Protestant people from visits of this sort. He wanted to know what would be done to clear up this matter, not only in the Erne Hospital, but also in other hospitals in Northern Ireland. Formerly, no person was admitted to a hospital without signing a book. He asked that something similar should be introduced now. The Minister of Health, Dame Dehra Parker, said that she had asked the Hospital’s Authority for a report of what had occurred, and had been told that the report given by Mr. Nelson was substantially correct. She described the action of the midwife in admitting the nuns as “at the very least a very grave error of judgment.” She thought that she should be “seriously reprimanded.” If the language used by the two nuns was correctly reported, she could only say “it was one of the most disgraceful incidents that she had come across.” In a booklet issued by a group of Church of England clergy, it was mentioned that the clergy complained that the Roman Church is constantly “touting for converts” among seriously ill or dying Protestants. This is seen to be no exaggeration.