It was recently quoted in the press that the Russian newspaper Pravda had declared that religion is still a problem in the Soviet Union despite the Government’s 40-year campaign to discredit it. Pravda said—”It must be stamped out. Anti-religious lectures are not enough. To beat religion every force is needed, including cinema, radio and television.” This is indeed an up-to-date reminder of the continuance of the Russian Government’s anti-God campaign. Fighting against God, before Whom the arrogant men of the Kremlin are as grasshoppers, is an awful task for men to engage in. It appears that these men are having great success in a material way; but are having difficulty in eliminating religion from the minds of the Russian people as a whole. How can men who are atheists, with no moral standards and principles, be trusted to keep their word and promises in their agreements with other nations?
This is the very foundation of the tension between Russia and the Western Powers at the present time. God Himself will assuredly deal with those in Russia who propagate and support the continuance of an anti-God campaign. We in Great Britain should beware of wittingly or unthinkingly leaving out of Government thinking, policy and activities, the great and precious principles of a spiritual and moral nature set forth in the Word of God and in the Christian religion.
Another Modern Immoral Practice.
There has again come into prominence the evil and immoral matter and practice of artificial insemination by a donor. Lord Wheatley, Judge of the Court of Session, Edinburgh, recently found in law that a wife who had a child by A.I.D., even without the consent of her husband, had not committed adultery as the learned Judge interpreted the law as it now stands on the question of adultery. If Lord Wheatley’s judgment is unassailable as to its legal wisdom, then this new, modern and subtle evil must be brought under scrutiny with the purpose of enacting new laws which will make it an added and vital reason to sue for and obtain a divorce by an aggrieved husband. We, of course, believe this
practice to be a gross sin against God in every stage of it, and the Synod of the Free Presbyterian Church some years ago, when warned by Dr. M. Tallach, London, of the introduction of A.I.D., sent a protest against this practice to the Medical Council and the Home Secretary at that time.
Truly the powers of darkness and Satan are at work today in this modern world. Advances in science are going hand in hand with irreligion and perverted and unscriptural views regarding moral standards. Dr. Fisher, the Archbishop of Canterbury, made a very strong speech recently against A.I.D., and also asserted that it should be made a criminal offence. Where the Archbishop leaves himself open to criticism is in reference to his statement: “An honest and moving case can be made out for A.I.D. on compassionate grounds.” So the Archbishop would have, in his view, a criminal offence ordinarily to be allowable on compassionate grounds.
This is neither sound morals, nor theology. And, again, the Archbishop contended for the recommendation of the Wolfenden Report that the gross sin dealt with in that Report should not be dealt with as a criminal offence in the case of consenting adults. He appears to contradict himself. It is a great relief to us and many others that the Wolfenden Report recommendations have not been accepted by the Government; although the Archbishop and his Church by a majority vote supported the recommendation. One thing we perceive in the Archbishop’s expression of opinion on matters of religions and morals is, that questions adversely affecting marriage seem to stir him up to strong critical public utterance, much more so than the teaching of erroneous doctrine and the existence of Romish practises, and Sabbath desecration, etc. Of course, behind the Romish ban on divorce (except when a dispensation is granted) and other strictures regarding marriage, is no doubt the unscriptural view that marriage is a sacrament with all the “ecclesiastical” implications of that. Of course, we do not intend in these statements to support anything whatsoever which will weaken Scriptural teaching regarding the marriage bond.