Newspaper Page Text
The
Vol. 96. No. 33.
RICHMOND, VA.
<??in .W'Cku
August 16, 1922
DK. li. DICK WILSON, in Princeton
Theological Keview, in replying to state
ments made by certain "modernists" in regard
to the history of man, makes such a clear state
ment of what we conceive to be the correct view
as taught in the Scriptures, that we are glad to
give it to our readers, lie says: "There are two
great and diametrically opposite theories of the
history of man. The lirst is the Christian the
ory, commonly called the philosophy of the plan
of salvation, or the history of the kingdom of
( i od on earth. It is based oil the belief that in
the beginning Cod created the heavens and the
earth, and made man in 1 Lis image, and that,
when man fell through disobedience to Jiis
divine will, Cod revealed a plan of redemption
which lie gradually unfolded and which culmi
nated in the Cross of Calvary, and will be con
summated when the kingdoms of this world
shall become the kingdom of our Jx)rd aud of
His Christ. In accordance with this theory,
Paul says that it was in the fulness of time
that God sent forth His Son and that of Him
and through llim and unto llim are all things;
and John, that all things were made by Him
and without Him was not anything made that
was made. In accordance with this theory we
lielieve that Cod hath foreordained whatsoever
<*oiues to pass and that all things work together
for good to them that love Him."
INSURANCE people say that preachers as a
class live longer than almost any other class
of men. This seems to be borne out by the ne
crological report of Princeton Theological Sem
inary just issued. This report is issued every
year. For the year ending March 31st last it
reports the death of fifty-four of its alumni. Of
the fifty-four the oldest was the Rev. James S.
Sinmonton, of the elass of 1857, who died at the
age of ninety- two years and nine months. Eleven
others had passed their eightieth year, six their
seventieth and twenty-one their sixtieth. The
youngest died at the age of thirty years and
eleven months. The average age of the lifty
lour was sixty-five years, two months and nine
teen days. <
MORAVIANS have always taken a high
stand among the churches of the world
011 acount of tlieir zeal for mission work in many
parts of the world. The Continent says: "The
Moravians this year are celebrating in this coun
try and in Europe a highly significant bi-cen
tennial. They trace their origin back to the
information of John Tins in Bohemia five hun
dred years ago. But persecution brought their
brotherhood almost to extinction, and what the
Moravian congregations arfe now commemorat
ing is the remarkable rebirth granted to the de
nomination just two centuries since. Tn 1722
a company of less than 700 Hussites, despairing
maintaining the succession of their faith
longer in their native land, fled to Saxony and
were welcomed to a settlement at TFermbut, on
?he estate of a rich young Protestant nobleman,
f'ount Zinzendorf. Soon the count himself
joined the congregation of his lowly tenants and
not unnaturally became in a short tinve their
leader. Missionary spirit grew in fervor among
them as their revived spiritual life gave them
new courage, and ten years later they embarked
?n that marvelous world-wide missionary enter
prise which marks the beginnings of thef modern
era of foreign missions. To this (lay the Mo
ravians are distinguished among all Christian
mission laborers as the most persistent seekers
of difficult and repellent situations for their
gospel enterprises. Their initial work was
among the slaves on the sugar plantations of the
West Indies and Guiana and among the Eski
mos of the northern Labrador. And no -Mo
ravian mission was ever yet established in an
inviting locality. With such servants of Christ
all servants of Christ must surely rejoice for
the success which the approving Spirit of God
has vouchsafed to them."
JLRJSTIAN PEOPLE are realizing more
and more the importance of not giving up
church services during the summer time, lie
ports elnnv that a number of the Women's Aux
iliaries and Cii'cles are holding their meetings
through the summer months. We have not
heard of any Sunday School that has been closed
on account of hot weather. The Young Peo
ple's Societies in many places are making spe
cial efforts to keep up the interest in their meet
ings. Churches are making careful arrange
ments to have their pulpits supplied acceptably,
and many of them are keeping up all of their
services. This is a very gratifying condition of
affairs and shows a growth in grace and conser
vation on the part of God's people, which prom
ises well for the future of the Church and its
work.
CEN TEN ARI AN S are not very common at
this period in the world's history, but one
ot the striking facts is that the number is mate
rially increasing. - The United {States census
for 1U10 reported 3,555 persons in this coun
try who were 100 years old or more. In 1920
the number reported was 4,207, which shows a
decided increase, it seems that women have
the best chance of reaching the hundred year
mark. The last census reported 1,501 men and
2,700 women who had reached that age. What
a wonderful opportunity to servo God and man
these long lives gave. The question may arise
why there are not more people who live so
long 2 The length of a man's life depends
largely upon the way in which he obeys God's
laws governing body, mind and soul. God
gives us our lives to be used for llis glory, and
we oughl to do all in our power to preserve
them.
GREAT BRITATN and Canada arc going
to aid the United States in carrying out
its prohibition laws. One of the most difficult
problems tins country has had to deal with in
this connection has been that of the smugglers
who bring in liquor from the British West In
dies, which lie only a short distance from our
southern coast, and of those who bring it across
the northern boundary line, which separates us
from Canada. These govern men tsv have prom
ised to aid our government in this matter in
every way possible. Such mutual help as this
whenever needed will do much to strengthen
the good will that exists between these countries
and our own. ^ ^
SOCIAL OOS5PEL is n term that is often
lienrd in these times. The way in which it
is used seems to imply tliat there is a gospel
to be given to a community or to society as a
whole. This is spoken of as the means of solv
ing all social, business and political problems.
But wo see nothing of such a gospel in the
Bible. It presents only a gospel for the inui
vidual. The gospel is God's message to man,
and God deals with the individual. What this
country and the world needs is for individuals
to accept the gospel of God, and regulate their
lives by it. When the individuals are what
they ought to Ik?, the community or the nation
will be what it ought to be, and it will not be so
otherwise. The great work of the Church,
therefore, is to give the gospel in all of its ful
ness to every individual. Home mission work
in its broadest sense is the best work that can
Ik? done for a community or country, and for
eign mission work is the best that can be done
for the rest of the world.
BRAZIL is to celebrate its centennial next
fall and Secretary of State Ilughes is to
make a visit to that country at that time as
the representative of this country. How ap
propriate it would be, if at that time our
Church could send all the re-enforcements that
our missions there need and with them semi
the means for fully equipping all of our work
in that field. Secretary Hughes will show to
Brazil the kindly feelings of the United States
to that country, but the missionaries and mis
sion equipment would mean far more to the
real welfare of the people. We wonder if there
are not men in our Church who can provide
the means for showing this practical interest
in our big sister of the South, and at the same
t ime advancing the interests of God's king
dom.
PHYSICIANS are some times said to be in
clined to become materialists as a result
of the close study ot' the human body, where
they find no visible proof of the existence of a
spirit. When the famous Austrian surgeon,
Dr. Adolph Lorenz, performed many wonder
ful bloodless operations, a newspaper reporter
asked him if his scientific studies had destroyed
or disturbed his religious faith, lie replied:
"Does medical science, or any other science,
tend to destroy belief in God? My friend, you
are young. I am old. Science, truly pursued,
does not tend to destroy belief in God. The
pursuit of scientific knowledge makes an hon
est man humble. It makes him realize how
little he knows. It makes him believe in God."
CANADA has about the same social prob
lems to deal with that confront the people
of this country. The Committee on Social Ser
vice of the Hamilton Methodist Conference, in
expressing its opposition to the introduction of
danoing in the high schools and other educa
tional institutions, savs: "The modes of danc
ing are Incoming very rapidly more coarse and
vulgar. Where dancing is encouraged in such
institutions there is a decided tendency for it
to supercede in the community other modes of
cultured entertainments and essential com
munity activities." It is said in this country
that it has become almost impossible to enter
tain- a set of young people for an evening with
out dancing. Is it to take the place of all other
forms of social entertainment? *