Spanish Protestants in Prison.
The following notes have been sent to us recently, and tell their own tale of conditions in present-day Spain.
On the 29th of June, 1954, Pastor Tornadijo and 14 of his congregation were discovered by the police reading the Bible together and each was heavily fined. On February 22, 1955, Pastor Tornadijo was imprisoned because he refused to pay the fine. This is the second time he has suffered imprisonment for the same offence.
These believers were led to think that they could claim to be included in the Amnesty for Minor Faults declared by General Franco last July, but on January 15th the Governor of Valencia refused their appeal.
Last November the same Governor imposed fines amounting to 16,500 pesetas (about £150) on members of the Baptist Church of Jativa for arranging to celebrate a baptismal service in a secluded spot in the country. The Governor sent a squadron of the Civil Guard to prevent the ceremony. Three women and two men were imprisoned on the 16th February for refusing to pay the fine for attending a meeting that never took place! About 20 more believers from Jativa and Sagunto are to be imprisoned for the same reason.
These evangelicals have applied for permission to meet for worship and have been refused, so they feel they must worship, whatever the cost. There are still a number of Evangelical Chapels in Spain that are closed by the authorities.
The Argentine Government and Roman Catholic Church.
The conflict between President Peron, himself an R.C., and the Roman Catholic Church in Argentina, continues and increases in intensity. From reports at the end of April the Argentine Government suspended religious and moral teaching in schools as the latest and most drastic step in its feud with the Roman Catholic Church. It is said that Peron’s Government intends to introduce constitutional reforms designed to separate Church and State. And we, in this country, must remember that the State in Argentina officially supported Roman Catholicism and that the President of that country must be a Roman Catholic. The root of all this trouble, in which the priests of Rome are being put in their own place, is once more reported to be interference in Government affairs. This is the background policy of the Roman Church in every country where such political interference and influence can at all be carried on. Whatever the motives and designs of Peron are people in our own and other countries should recognise from these events that the Pope still claims temporal as well as spiritual authority and power over rulers and nations. But we should be thankful to say that Papal power is receiving one undermining blow after another from quite unexpected quarters in these days. And should we not, in Protestant Britain, take warning from the action of Roman Catholics against their own Church, as in the case of Peron, that there is something wrong somewhere with the character of the official activities of the said Church in matters of State.
The Gateway Theatre Comes to Perth Church.
An article written by a journalist, Eileen Travis, and which appeared in the press in the late spring describes a visit to Perth. The attraction which delighted the writer in Perth included the performance of a play called “The Death of Adam.” This play was enacted in St. John’s Kirk, where John Knox is said to have preached a fiery sermon in 1599. The players, or actors, were from the Church of Scotland Gateway Theatre, Edinburgh. The time of this vain and carnal performance was a Sabbath evening, and was part of the evening service, which was certainly not divine service. After the play the players walked down the aisle out of the Church. The lights went up and the congregation sat up and the service continued, but in what manner we are not told. Indeed, a better title could not be given to any such performance in the midst of a professed Christian congregation. The death of the first Adam by the Fall in the garden of Eden was evidenced by the spiritual death apparent in this Perth congregation and in their conduct as fallen, sinful, spiritually dead children of Adam. What need there is to tell the Church of Scotland that a movement is needed to purge the Church of the world before the Rev. Tom Allan continues any longer to “Tell Scotland,” we know not what.
The Church of England and the Call of the Cloister.
An unknown friend of Protestantism has sent us an original copy of a circular which takes the form of an advertising and detailed review of a book entitled, The Call of the Cloister, by Peter F. Anson, containing 655 pages. The review begins: “This book is of special interest to all concerned with the cause of Christian unity because it is a story without parallel—the rebirth of religious communities in the Church of England after an interval of three centuries.” There is reference to the formation of the first brotherhood and sisterhood just over 100 years ago. The author is said to refer to the fact that most Englishmen 100 years ago regarded these brotherhoods and sisterhoods with contemptuous suspicion. And we may interject here, and no wonder! The review proceeds: “The amazing development of liturgical worship . . . will be of special interest to readers in communion with the Holy See.” This, of course, is the Vatican. Then further we are informed that 16 illustrations in the book are from photographs of the interiors of the chapels of monasteries and convents.
And our final quotation from this review will suffice to reveal what is going on in the Church of England. It is: “He (the author) has visited many of the communities and his knowledge of Anglican monasticism is also based on his experience as one of the members of the Benedictine Community at Caldey who made their submission to the Roman Church in 1913 . . .” And so it appears that this book is an open and bold revelation that Rome and the practices of the dark ages have come to stay and grow apace in the professed National Protestant Church of England. Those who have any authority and concern for the Protestant faith in the Church of England have lost control. And to this Church the Church of Scotland seeks officially to draw closer. The day is indeed dark, and the minds of ecclesiastical leaders are dark in the land of Knox and the Covenanters. Is the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland infected with a separatist spirit? Not at all. We are endeavouring, in a difficult time, to avoid at all costs being involved in the widespread downward trend in which Scottish Churches are entangled.
The General Election.
The General Election throughout Britain will have taken place just after our time of going to press. So, as we write, the political parties are just commencing their activities with a view to influencing the people of our country to vote for their respective policies. The Conservatives have been in power these recent years under the leadership of Sir Winston Churchill. They now face the country asking for support under the political leadership of Sir A. Eden, who received the office of Prime Minister just before the dissolution of Parliament on the 6th of May, and on the retirement from high office of Sir Winston Churchill. The Labour Party are eager and anxious to win this election also, and to return to power at Westminster to effect by legislation the continuance of those policies which they enacted when last governing the country. It remains to be seen whether Mr. A. Bevan will, as a result of this election, challenge the leadership of Mr. Attlee in the Labour Party as a whole. Mr. Bevan, able man as he is, is not a man we would like to see in power in our nation. The Liberal Party also seeks to return members of Parliament to the House of Commons. But what we need is that God, who rules in the Kingdom of Men, will so order matters in His divine and all-wise providence that men of honour and integrity who will have regard to His claims and glory will be raised up to rule in the affairs of State in Britain. The election day appointed is the 26th day of May, 1955. The Church of Christ is required by Holy Scripture to pray for rulers and all in authority in the State. This should not be neglected, if we graciously desire to lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness, in the mercy and kindness of God.