Violent Crime in London
A rise of 23 per cent in violent crime in London during 1977 has been reported. Of the arrests made for burglary during the year 44 per cent were of children aged 10 to 16. Both these matters give cause for alarm and serious steps will need to be taken to prevent the continuance of this trend.
So far as violent crime is concerned, there is little doubt that the absence of capital punishment as a deterrent contributes to the situation. The possession of arms by persons in the pursuit of crime should be regarded with the utmost gravity and condign punishment meted out to such.
With regard to theft by children in their teens, one aspect of matters which requires review is the lay-out of goods in shops today which puts temptation in the way of young people. Along with this there must be greater effort made by parents and teachers in instructing children of the evil nature of this sin and of its tendency to lead to greater evils ultimately. It is clear that the restraining influence of religious teaching in the home is largely lacking in our day.
Rhodesian Agreement
Mr Ian Smith, Prime Minister of Rhodesia has signed an internal agreement with some of the black leaders in the country which, if implemented, will give Africans majority rule by the end of the year. A transitional government, comprised of black and white leaders, is expected to operate in the country until the end of the year. As Mr Joshua Nkomo and Mr Robert Mugabe, two of the African leaders have refused to take part in the agreement, and as they command a substantial number of terrorist groups operating from outside the country, there is no guarantee that terrorist attacks will cease, supported as they are by Russian Communism.
It is to be hoped that, in the Lord’s good providence, an honourable peace may be established in Rhodesia — soon to be called Zimbabwe. If the devolved government proves to be responsible there is reason to hope that Mission work will continue and the Gospel be preached in the land. If this settlement is, as it appears to be, an answer to the prayers of the Lord’s people, then whatever changes a new government will necessarily involve in the country, we have reason to hope that these will not be at the expense of Christ’s Cause and Kingdom.
At the same time, as danger still surrounds our Mission staff, and particularly the African ministers through guerilla incursions, we would ask the praying people of the Church to remember them constantly at a throne of grace that, if it is the Lord’s will, they may be preserved from all danger and be spared for further usefulness in Christ’s Cause in the world.
Scottish Reformed Studies Conference
A new conference, ‘to encourage research into the teachings of the Scottish Reformers, and to stimulate interest in what they believed and ‘aught’, was held on January 3rd, in the Reformation Society Hall, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh. Attended by about 40-50 representatives of several denominations, the Conference opened with prayer, praise and the reading of Hebrews II.
Rev. M. Roberts of Ayr then gave a paper, in simple narrative form, on the life and ministry of John Welsh of Ayr, ‘that heavenly, prophetic and apostolical man of God’ (Rutherford). Concentrating on Welsh’s outstanding prayerfulness, uncanny ability to foretell certain future events, and tenacious faithfulness in his Divine Master’s service, despite severe persecution, Rev. Roberts illustrated these characteristics with numerous telling anecdotes.
After lunch, Rev. I. R. Tallach, Perth, gave a paper on James Durham on Schism, which provoked considerable discussion, without, however, coming to grips with the present ecclesiastical situation. Members of the Conference applied Rev. Tallach’s exposition of Durham’s teaching to our present denominational differences (some clearly advocating union on the basis of love, not truth), not having been informed that the Reformer’s treatise was written to compose differences within the Church of Scotland, not between several denominations each claiming to be the true Church of Scotland. The Redeemer’s High Priestly prayer of John 17:21 was also invoked, through faulty exegesis, in the cause of a professedly Reformed ecumenism. In the same cause, the Scottish divines were misrepresented as encouraging Episcopacy, which of course they never did. In the light of this, amongst other things, may we suggest that whatever our own predilections, ‘research into the teachings of the Scottish Reformers’ should not be abused to further objectives which they themselves abhorred and resisted, some unto death.-
The final paper, given by Rev. Sinclair Horne, presented Richard Cameron as the personification of Covenanting ideals. As one who first studied to live near to Christ, and then sought to give Christ the pre-eminence in Scotland, Cameron was portrayed faithfully and vigorously, not as a wild, intolerant and desperate man, but as a true herald of the Glorious Revolution, the fruits of which we continue to enjoy. The Conference closed with prayer and praise. J.M.B.