The Buddha Cult in Britain.
We know there has been a Buddhist Temple in London for some years. But in an article in the “News Chronicle” of 6th January, it is disclosed that quite a considerable number of British people are turning to this pagan cult and the pagan philosophy connected with it. It is asserted that there are 2,000 British Buddhists and that the number is increasing steadily. Apart from the Temple there is a Buddhist Society of Britain, led by Mr. Christmas Humphreys, the well-known lawyer. Teachers, scientists and doctors are interested. The philosophy of this pagan religion is that happiness and the conquest of suffering can be reached only by self-knowledge, self-mastery and virtue. How diametrically opposed all this is to the glorious message and teaching of the gospel of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. True happiness and victory over sin and its curse can only be found and experienced in the sovereign grace of God, through the love and sufferings and infinite merit of the Son of God. But the fact is that when many men, intellectuals among them, turn completely away from God and the divine revelation of Scripture, they turn to gods that are no gods, like king Saul to the Witch of Eudor, and the Jews to Baallim. Sir Hugh Charles Rhys Rankin, who has a Scottish and Welsh connection, is a Buddhist, and recently asserted, that five perfect men control the destiny of the World and they meet once a year in a cave in the Himalayas to make their decisions. What utter nonsense is this! But it is worse. All this is just the work of the devil seeking to destroy the faith once delivered to the saints, and he is thus working, as in other ways, in the children of disobedience. How many anti-Christ’s there are today!
Church of England Clergyman for Continental Sunday.
Truly an unconverted ministry is a plague to the nation. Rev. V. D. W. Hyde, vicar of St. Bartholomew’s Church, Dover, recently propounded that, “It is right and proper for everyone to enjoy themselves for the rest of the day after having been to Church in the morning. England is adopting the Continental Sunday, and this is a good thing.” The conditions prevailing in France since many years, religiously, morally and politically, would not afford much comfort to the Rev. Hyde in arguing his God-dishonouring proposition.
Stained-glass Window Supports Purgatory.
The rector and Churchwardens of South Creak, Norfolk, have been granted the faculty of erecting in the parish church a stained-glass window in memory of the rector’s mother, with the inscription: “Pray for the soul of Elizabeth Smith.” It was considered that the words did not necessarily denote that her soul was suffering torments in purgatory. And so in the Church of England the Romanising goes on apace. Purgatory of course is a myth. We wonder if the rector was requesting people to pray for his mother when she was alive. The children of God when they get to heaven to be with Jesus, need not anyone’s poor prayers.
Free Church of Scotland and Christmas.
Among the “wide scale celebrations of Christmas at Oban,” reported recently in the Press there was a report of the entertainment of the Free High Church (Oban) Sabbath School children—juniors and seniors. Among the good things with which these were treated were “gifts from a Christmas tree.” This is paganism without further comment. Another report of the Press is from Strontian, where the children of the whole village were entertained in the Public Hall on “Christmas eve.” They had, of course, the usual “carols,” “Father Christmas” and a “brightly decorated Christmas tree.” Who would open the proceedings but the Rev. R. Park, Free Church, “with prayer and a suitable talk.” He had as his assistant a Church of Scotland Divinity Student. What does the report mean by “suitable talk?” Was it the association of the 25th of December, and of such an occasion, with the commemoration of the birth of Christ? One wonders. In any case it is very much out of keeping with the profession of the gospel to countenance such pagan rites as a Christmas tree and Santa Claus, and ask God to countenance them.
I quote the following from a good author for the benefit of our readers: “The first decorating of an evergreen tree was done by pagans in honour of their god Adonis, who after being slain was brought to life by the serpent Aesculapius.” An evergreen tree is symbolic to pagans of a god who cannot die. “In Egypt this god was worshipped in a palm tree as Baal Tamar. The fir tree was worshipped in Rome as the same new born god as Baal Berith, who was restored to life by the same serpent, and a feast was held in honour of him on December 25th called the ‘Birthday of the unconquered Sun,’ ” The Roman Catholic church has brought down through the ages to us the paganism of Baal, or the worship of the Sun. It is now being adopted by professed Protestant Churches. If the Free Church will not condemn such practices as the above, they will soon have the watchnight services on Christmas eve, common to other churches. The Free Church Magazine for the young, “The Instructor,” in the January issue, carries a reference to “a child ‘Santa’ has left out.” It is the thin end of the wedge that gets in first.—A.B.
Corrupted Bibles.
The propaganda experts of the Church of Rome make regular efforts to discredit the Protestant assertion that Roman Catholics are discouraged from reading the Bible. Considerable sums are spent on advertisements extolling the merits of “Catholic Family Bibles.” A recent eulogy of this kind encouraged the head of “every Catholic family to secure it and hand it on to his children.” It is described as a “magnificent volume” and “a family heirloom.” If the reader has the temerity to enquire about such an insignificant detail as the price, the answer is given in The Universe. One sentence, magnificently assuming universal affluence, announces that “no one who has even glanced at the work could think it expensive.” A mere six guineas per copy! Even the pauper and the beggar will be able to find this trifling sum. This is obviously a Bible for the few, but it is no doubt a profitable venture at the price, and it has its propaganda value. But let the buyer beware. All Roman Catholic Bibles are Corrupted Bibles. They are corrupted by:
(1) The addition of the Apocrypha.
(2) The addition of notes authorized by the Church and giving the erroneous impression that the Bible endorses the errors inherent in the Roman system.
(3) Mistranslations arising from the untrustworthy Latin Vulgate upon which all Roman Catholic versions are based.
It is the aim of the Trinitarian Bible Society to provide Roman Catholics throughout the world with Uncorrupted Versions of the Scriptures. In France, Spain, Italy, Austria, Brazil, Argentina, Colombia, and many other countries, the Society regularly helps forward the endeavours of Protestant ministers and missionaries by supplying Bibles, often freely and sometimes at prices far below actual cost of production.
(A leaflet giving details of the mistranslations in the Romish Versions may be obtained from this Society on request.)
—Trinitarian Bible Society Quarterly Record.