Covenanter Witness Vol. 54 - Rparchives.org

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Glimpses of the Religious World
Frank E. Allen, D. D.
Boy of 12 Can Choose
The highest court of New York State has upheld a de
cision to the effect that a boy of 12 has a right to choose
his own religion. The mother, who is a Christian Scientist,
had made a premarital agreement to rear him in the Roman
Catholic religion.
India's Enforcement Problem
India is troubled with the enforcement of the prohibition
law just as the U. S. has been in the past. There is said to be
much bootlegging and illicit distillation of liquor. The min
istry in one state was forced to resign as a result of a
no-confidence vote over the drink problem.
A Student Revolt
David lamented, "How are the mighty fallen!" and if
he were here today he might weep over the fall of many
colleges which were founded for the purpose of giving Chris
tian instruction. William and Mary College has had a re
cent "student
revolt"
which originated because of restrictions
on fraternities which are housed in college-owned buildings
on the campus. One of the chief complaints of the students
was the prohibition of serving liquor to minors, even though
this is in violation of the law of Virginia. The students
burned the dean of the college in effigy.
Bible in Schools
A bill has been introduced in the State Legislature of
California to permit moral instruction in the public schools
including Bible reading. The measure would authorize the
State Board of Education to prepare a syllabus of Bible and
other moral books for classroom instruction.
A Retreat in Belgium
The Roman Catholic hierarchy has brought such strong
pressure in favor of subsidies in mission schools in the Bel
gian Congo that the government has retreated from its stand
against them. The government now agrees to pay these sub
sidies although they had decided that there should be less
tax money spent on sectarian projects.
To Curb Obscene Publications
Bills have been introduced in both the Senate and the
House to give the Postmaster General more power in sup
pressing or impounding mail which contains obscene material
which violates existing statutes. Last year such a bill passed
the House but failed in the Senate
Must Observe Holy Days
There is a bylaw in Montreal, Canada, which provides
fines for all stores which are not shuttered on 7 Roman
Catholic holy days of obligation. This year police of that city
issued more than 300 summonses to firms staying
open on
the Roman Catholic feast of the Epiphany in violation of the
bylaw. Seven of the large city stores are contesting this or
der. The Quebec Court of Appeals has upheld the bylaws, but
it has been appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada. Those
who are wilfully blind to the oppressive methods of the Ro
man Catholic Church, where it has a strong majority, should
take note of such actions and consider.
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Southern Baptists
The Southern Baptist Convention now has an all-time
high in a membership of more than 8,000,000, and its giving
to all causes was more than $300,000,000 during the past
year.
Convention of the NAE
The 13th Annual Convention of the National Association
of Evangelicals is to be held in the Sherman Hotel, Chicago,
111., April 18-22, 1955. The main part of the Convention will
begin on Tuesday evening, April 19, with Dr. Harold J. Ockenga
as the main speaker. On the same evening a part of
the service will be under the direction of Dr. Carl F. H. Hen
ry and the Social Action Commission with Lt. Gen. Harrison
as the speaker. On Wednesday morning in the Social Action
group the subject will be on "Spiritual and Moral Values in
Public Education." The main speakers on that subject are
Dr. Glenn L. Archer, Dr. Mark Fakkema, Dr. Frank E.
Gaebelein, and Dr. R. H. Martin.
A Revival in Argentine
Mr. Olav Eikland, writing in UEA says: "The religious
atmosphere (of Argentine) had been preserved in calmness.
For centuries Roman Catholicism had kept its people in
circumspect formalism while the voice of Protestantism was
hardly audible in the broad stream of the
masses."
When the
evangelist T. Hicks arrived in Buenos Aires he secured an
interview with President Peron who received him cordially
and granted permission for- him to hold mass meetings with
access to the press and the radio. The evangelical leaders of
the city
co-operated and meetings were crowded out from
one meeting place to another with 100,000 people to hear the
Gospel. Bibles were sold until the supply was exhausted.
Forty thousand Bibles and Testaments were sold. Eighty
thousand people signed cards and the established churches
in Buenos Aires saw their congregations doubled, tripled or
quadrupled at once. People began to testify in the stadium,
on the streets, in the trains and busses. Some testified before
priests when the priests denounced the meetings during
mass. Mr. Hicks said: "There was a great deal of opposition
from the main church of the land (Catholic) ....
the
greatest opposition was from the Communist elements. Their
propaganda was terrific and fierce!"
French Movement Against Alcohol
There is an article by Ernest Gordon in United Evangeli
cal Action (Feb. 15) entitled, "The French Movement against
Alcohol."
He writes: "France is showing us the way! Its
experience of near-prohibition in wartime opened the eyes of
the medical profession to the profound relations between
drink and disease. They started scientific investigation in the
fields of pathology, economics, demography. These confirmed
their
observations."
There followed a National Committee
for Defense Against Alcoholism which published and circu
lated a great deal of literature and hundreds of thousands
of tracts and posters were distributed. Careful investigations
were made and the injurious effects of alcohol were shown
in schools and to the people and officials of France.
The writer closes his article thus: "Now Premier Men
des-France is dramatizing the anti-alcohol movement by
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COVENANTER WITNESS