Covenanter Witness Vol. 86 - Rparchives.org

Glimpses of the Religious WorldRev. L. E. Kilpatrick, D. D.1031 E. Glenrosa AvenuePhoenix, Arizona 85014WOMEN'S LIB IN THE KINGDOM OF GODThe editor of Christianity Today wisely protectedhimself with a mild disclaimer, but author — a professorof Spanish at the State University of New York — Ruth A.Schmidt feels that "women's groups have in every sensebeen auxiliary ... to the activities of the men who make alldecisions in the Church and hold most or all of the importantoffices." She has one point if factual — and itdoubtless is — that the "few women officers of the church(in a certain denominational missionary office) were notpaid commensurate with their training or on the samesalary scale as the men on the staff." (Miss?) Schmidtmight have done well to stop with that point, for when sheturns to interpreting Scripture to establish her point, shealmost invariably loses it, by making what Paul says onthe subject an expression of "his personal wish," "hispreference," and as "revealing a personal bias in hisinstructions." Thank God we do have devoted women who"pray and prophesy" without being impatient for ordinationas ministers and elders.RELIGIOUS RADIO'S 50th BIRTHDAYIt was in 1921 that the first religious broadcast tookplace over KDKA, Pittsburgh. Most religious radio that ispaid for is evangelical, as the "free time" in the earlierdays was allotted to liberal preachers for the most part,and that audience apparently withered away. TheNational Religious Broadcasters organization representsabout 75 per cent of religious broadcasts. Probably thelargest network in the U.S. is "The Lutheran Hour" of theLutheran Church, Missouri Synod. Others are the RadioBible Class and Back to the Bible broadcasts, both whichare not denominational, both are dispensational in theirapproach to the Bible. Then there is "The Joyful Sound"(formerly the Old Fashioned Revival Hour) and thedenominationally sponsored (Christian ReformedChurch) Back to God Hour, and numerous broadcastssuch as the 20th Century Reformation Hour with a heavyemphasis of opposition to the influence of Communism inthe country. Some of these claim as many as 600 stations.RELIGIOUS TVThe churches were perhaps not quite so ready inusing TV as they were radio, but it is now getting wellstarted. Christianity Today tells us that "cassettes, whichare revolutionizing home entertainment, will soon beproviding not only sound but also pictures. Called EVR(for Electronic Video Recording), these cartridges will beplayed through a piece of hardware, already available,that is easily attached to a TV set. . . . TV viewing willbecome more selective in the next few years, and ifChristians are on the job, Biblical options will becomemuch more visible."In Arizona ultra high frequency channel 21, is in theprocess of being purchased by a local "undenominational"church. This station formerly catered tothe "adult" type movie watcher, and "went broke." Lastevening, this station, on the church's program"Christianity in Action" featured a family singing group,two or three choirs, including a Child Evangelism choir, aformer "rock" singer (who for the past five years hasbeen witnessing very effectively to Jesus Christ as hisSavior), and these interspersed with four-minute interviewsof local pastors — of whom one was the ReformedPresbyterian pastor.URBANA '70, NOW HISTORYThe Inter-Varsity sponsored missionary conferenceat Urbana drew some 4000 more students than were expected,and, according to EP News Service, heralded "theold refrain of hope in Christ for a dying, if changing,world," but, though "the lyrics were the same," theconference marched "to a different air." EP mentions"three major issues (that) surfaced" at this 9th triennialgathering: "(1) The gospel must no longer be dividedbetween social concern and 'pure evangelism'; (2) Thegospel must be completely unamericanized; and (3)There should be no longer a dichotomy among Christians— some 'full time' workers, others laymen.""The Christian Reformed Outlook"What has been published for 20 years (not underdenominational sponsorship) as the Torch and Trumpetnow has this new name. The editor tells us why the namewas changed and in substance it seems to boil down to anattempt to appeal more broadly to members of theChristian Reformed Church and more incisively, and todeal more specifically and directly with the problems ofour day as they face their own church. The new editor, theRev. John Vander Ploeg, recently retired as editor of theBanner.4COVENANTER WITNESS