Covenanter Witness Vol. 54 - Rparchives.org

gospel."
us."
night.'"
Glimpses of the Religious World
Frank E. Allen, D. D.
Cowboy Game Fatal to Boy
The above is a headline in a daily
paper before me
as I write. The boy had been playing cowboy in a barn at
his home and the rope became tangled around his neck and
he was strangled. Nearly all boys want to play cowboy
these days, and much of the fun may be quite innocent.
However, it is common for boys to play cowboy or bandit
with toy revolvers and often they point it at some friend
and pull the trigger. This is not a wholesome type of
fun, but the danger is that one day the boy
of a real revolver and pretend to play
will get hold
with it when he
points it at some one and it may be loaded. Many acci
dents occur in this way and some of them are fatal. Parents
should guard very carefully the play of their children, the
shows which they
see and the television displays as well
as the comic books. Comic books are to blame for many
bad ideas in the minds of children, but let us not fool our
selves into thinking that they only
The Piney Woods School
are to blame.
The Piney Woods School was started in a small way
by Laurence C. Jones, a modest Negro educator, who want
ed to help his own people in a country
section of Missis
sippi, about 50 miles from Jackson. Dr. Jones has kept
the school going by securing small gifts from people of
modest means. Recently a popular television program,
"This Is Your Life," without previous announcement,
brought L. C. Jones to appear on its screen. At the close
of the program Dr. Jones and his friends told the story
of Piney Woods, and the master of ceremonies, Ralph
Edwards, suggested that those who wanted to help this
deserving cause could each send a dollar to the school.
At the last report the gifts have already amounted to
5625,000! The Piney Woods post office has had to hire
extra help, and the Trust Company of Jackson where the
dollar bills are accumulating to form an endowment for
the school, hired 50 extra employees to work after bank
ing hours just to count the money. What a powerful in
fluence TV can be for good also what for evil!
Gift for Cyprus
We are pleased to read in a letter from Rev. Clark
Copeland that Mr. Weir had received a check for $10,000
from the Crowell Foundation for the Larnaca building.
He also reports that the building in Nicosia is progress
ing so that it looks like a building and is expected to be
ready for the opening
of school next September. Perhaps
some day our missions or our CAM movement may have
an opportunity over the air like that of the Piney Woods
School.
Mr. Copeland also states that in their work of evan
gelism some children who came running to receive tracts
tore them up, but there are others who receive them
gratfully. Paul had preached in Cyprus before he wrote
to the church at Philippi: "Some indeed preach Christ
even of envy and strife; and some also of good will: the
one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing
to add affliction to my bonds: but the other of love, know
ing that I am set for the defense of the
114
Encouragement in Syria
One of the teachers, Michelene Aeesa, of our schools
in Syria has written recently that The Fellowship among
the students chose for this year's motto, Rom. 5:8, "But
God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we
were yet sinners, Christ died for
The girls were di
vided into two groups and so many have been attending
that they hold their meetings in a room where there are
the most benches. The writer says:
"Last week there
were 48 girls and 8 stood all the time for there was no
room to sit. Today Miss Helen was the speaker and there
were 53 girls beside the two student leaders; the Moslem
girl
brought 38 and the Christian 25." This is providing
a wonderful opportunity to witness to all, Christian, nomi
nal Christians and Moslems. We at home should uphold
this work, as well as elsewhere with our prayers.
Woman Judge and the Bible
The Moody Monthly gives us the following item:
"Honoring both her promise and her Bible, Judge Fannie
E. Burch was sworn into office in Livingston, La., as the
first woman to hold a major judgeship in Louisiana. Ful
filling a pledge, Judge Burch opened court in Division
A of the 21st Judicial District by reading a Scripture
verse (Ps. 1:1,2).
"The entire court was silent as she read: 'Blessed
is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the un
godly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in
the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of
the Lord; and in his law doth he meditate day and
Keep the Old Church
Dr. Oswald J. Smith explains why his church in
Toronto, which is 100 years old and overcrowded will not
be enlarged for at least another year, as he says: "We
see to it that we give more to missions than we spend on
ourselves at home." During 1953 his congregation, known
as "The People's Church," spent $43,000 at home and about
five times that amount $225,000, on 350 missionaries.
Testimony of an Ex-Mason
The Rev. M. L. Haney has been a minister in the
M. E. church for over 50 years and an evangelist for 30
years. He tells of his experience both in joining and leav
ing the Masonic Lodge in the current issue of the Chris
tian Cynosure. Two men urged him to join, one a preacher
and the other a class leader. They stated that he could
do a great deal of good to young men in their lodge. He
joined. After he had a deep conviction of his sin and his
duty to God, he wrote: "Next lodge night came around
and I as new convert, was on hand; I put on my little
apron and sat down to take in the excellencies of my new
brotherhood. I had not been seated long when the Holy
Spirit suggested that I look around and see my brethren.
I slowly and thoughfully scanned the whole circle and to
my surprise there were the most profane men in the city,
drunkards and vile characters mixed up with a few good
men. Having made the survey and considered the heart
relations I was brought into with these characters, the
Holy Spirit as by a pen of fire, wrote these words on my
heart, 'Come out from among them, and be ye separate.
saith the Lord.' I tarried not to confer with flesh and
blood, but obeyed the heavenly vision, and at the opening
(Continued on page 119)
COVENANTER WITNESS