Covenanter Witness Vol. 53 - Rparchives.org

creation."speeches."ago!"Glimpses of the Religious WorldFrank E. Allen, D. D.Meditation Room of U. N.During the past two years 100,000 men and women haveregistered in the guest books at the United Nations Meditation Room. There is no way to tell, so far as we know,how many of these were merely visitors and how manywent there to pray or meditate.The Pledge "Under God"When President Eisenhower signed the House joint resolution which adds the words "under God" to the pledge ofallegiance to the flag he stated that the change reaffirmed"the transcendence of religious faith in America's heritageand future."Prayer CardThe headquarters of the American Legion is distributingover the nation the "grace-before-meals" cards in hotels andrestaurants, and the Indiana chapter of the Legion is distributing a "Traveler's Prayer" card.Prize for Evangelical BoohThe Abingdon Press is offering $7,500 as a prize for abook which in the opinion of the judges will "accomplish thegreatest good for the Christian faith and Christian livingamong all people. Fiction and poetry are excluded, but otherunpublished manuscripts in the broad field of evangelicalChristianity which may be intended for Christian laymen,or works for Christian leaders and teachers are equallyacceptable. Those who wish further information shouldwrite to Award Editor, Abingdon Press, 150 Fifth Ave.,New York 11, N. Y.Missionary Van in KenyaA large cream-colored missionary van with the sloganprinted on it, "New Life in Christ" has been prepared bythe Church Missionary Society (Anglican) with the objectof bringing the gospel to the natives of Kenya, Africa. It carries a bookshop, medical dispensary, agricultural advisorycenter, and is designed to take a spiritual message to different sections of Kenya.Report of The World CouncilThe Rev. H. J. Kuiper, editor of The Banner, attendedthe meetings of The World Council of Christian Churcheswhich met recently at Evanston and gives his impressions inan editorial in the above paper. He says : "The World Councilis indeed a huge organization. It consists of 163 constituentdenominations, some small, others very large; it represents85 different countries, found on either side of the iron curtain, and it speaks for 170,000,000 church members Wecannot suppress the sigh: If all this were only indicative ofa new and widespread interest in the gospel of Jesus Christ !One could wish that the cause of orthodoxycould rejoicein such popularity and command such interest on the partof the 'Christian' nations! . . .Stress EcumenicityThe writer continues : "Churches stress the things theyhave in common rather than those in which they differ.Ecumenicity is the watchward today. The removal of denominational fences and the union of all churches is regardedas the most necessary of all religious projects. The divisionsin Christendom are branded as its worst sin and as an unmitigated disgraceBut even some of the leaders ofthe World Council understand that there are deeper causes178of the disunity of the churches and that any movementto unite them is bound to fail unless these causes are dealtwith in the divinely ordained waySome of the addresseswere decidedly conservative while others were definitelyliberal. We were heartened at the bold defense of biblicalteaching by at least a few speakers. For example, Dr. Edmund Schlink of Germany, who spoke in his native tongue,sounded a truly evangelical note and amazed some of hislisteners by his emphasis on the eschatology of the BibleHe affirmed that "Our striving for order in a just societydoes not bring in Christ's kingdom on earth, nor does itfashion the new creation. Christ's kingdom enters onlythrough the gospel; the communion of the saints is the newDr. Kuiper comments on this: "This speech greatlyheartened the conservatives in the Assembly. One need notask how it affected the modernists. One of them askedwhether this was the kind of theology he had come 2,000miles to hear and which he had cast aside 40 yearsSome ConclusionsAmong the conclusions expressed by the above editorare these: in some addresses there was a trend towardorthodoxy and these were mainly from the Continent inEurope, in others there was a liberal interpretation ofChristianity mainly from those in England and America."Some Reformed theologians, also in the Netherlands,favor entering the World Council for the sake of being ableto give a ringing testimony to their faith in the teachingsof the Bible. They lose sight of the fact that by the very actof joining this organization they admit that such a commonground exists or may be foundconsistent Bible believer can afford to make."The great weakness of the Assembly,an admission which noan irremediableone on its present basis, is the lack of a unanimous conviction that the Bible is the inspired, infallible Word of God, oursole rule of faith and conduct. This was one of the fundamental principles of the Reformation; but it is rejectedtoday by many who name the name of Christ. In fact,little use of the Bible was made in most of the EvanstonTHE COVENANTER WITNESSIssued each Wednesday by the Publication Board of theREFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHOF NORTH AMERICAat 129 West 6th Street, Newton, Kansas orthrough its editorial office at 1209 Boswell Avenue, Topeka, Kansasto promote Bible Standards of Doctrine, Worship and LifeFor individuals, churches and nationsOpinions expressed in our columns are those of the individual writers ;not necessarily the views of the Covenanter Church or of the Editor.Dr. Raymond Taggart, D.D., Editor1209 Boswell Avenue, Topeka KansasContributing EditorsFrank E. Allen. D.D.Prof. William H. RussellWalter McCarroll, D.D.Remo I. Robb, D.D.Departmental EditorsRev. John O. EdgarMrs. J. O. EdgarMrs. Ross LatimerSubscription rates: $2.50 per year; Overseas, $3.00; Single Copies10 cents.The Rev. R. B. Lyons, B.A., Limavady, N. Ireland, Agent for theBritish Isles.Entered as second class matter at the Post Office in Newton, Kansasunder the Act of March 3, 1879.Address communications to the Topeka office.COVENANTER WITNESS