Covenanter Witness Vol. 53 - Rparchives.org

solutely.". . .Now,stamp.". . Divorcecreditors."adultery."ButWeengagement."Reformedcome'age.'earningage'Glimpses of the Religious WorldFrank E. Allen, D. D.The Problem of DivorceHoward Whitman, who has written a series of articles inthe Des Moines Register on the subject of divorce, says thatdivorce has gotten out of bounds with one divorce to everyfour marriages. "We accept divorce today with fewer qualmsthan we once viewed a brokenOne judge remarked: "Some people wear their divorces like badges ofhonor. They don't think much more of divorce than oftradingan old car. Some actually boast that they have been marriedthree or four times."Change of Laws"Prior to the Civil War it took an act of the legislature inmost states to get a divorce. This followed the British patternof requiring an act of parliament to dissolve a marriage ab"the usual method is to set up a systemof divorce commissioners or 'masters.' These are lawyers, who,for a fee, hear the evidence in divorce cases and then makea recommendation to the court. The court's role is little morethan a rubberDivorce Is FailureThe writer, after consulting judges, psychiatrists, ministers and others,states: "Here is the consensus of opinion asI found it: Divorce is failure, and it would not hurt onewhit to face up to it as such .... Where there are children,divorce is defeat and surrender of a family. It is not something to be sought, but something to be fought ; not a way out,but a way down. with the.children as unpaidis family bankruptcy,Grim Experience"Divorce is sometimes romanticized, but those who seeit close at hand know that few human experiences are moregrim. One follow-up study among divorced people revealedthat in case after case individuals regarded divorce as 'thebiggest mistake of my life.' Men and women said they missedthe happy times in marriage. The word which popped up most'loneliness.' "frequently in their stories wasThose who contemplate divorce should not onlysee thatit brings loneliness, but that, unless for the one scripturalreason, it offends God in breaking His law. Jesus said, in theSermon on the Mount, "Whosoever shall put away his wife,saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commitadultery: and whosoever shall marryher that is divorcedcommirtethMania for Double EarningsDr. Henry Schultze, former president of Calvin College,who writes in The Banner on "The Christian Home" writesvery thoughtfullyon the above subject. He says: "There arewomen who go out of the home to work for the support ofthose economically dependent upon them. Various situationsmay call for such a program. And we must take off our hats^to those who engage in a kind of work that enables them tomaintain their homes ....I am interested here primarilyin the program of women who leave their homes in an effort tosecure double earnings for the family. This, of course, is farmore disastrous for the home ....want to have the latestand best in cars, television sets, and so on. We must keep up194with the Jonses that we and our children may not developan inferiority complex. But we are payingaltogether toomuch for our costly homes, cars, and television sets, if theycost us the price of real home life. And that, it is feared, isprecisely the cost of this craze for doubleBook on Chinese CommunistsThe Angelican bishop, Q. K. Y. Huang, who was a prisoner of the Chinese Communists, has written a book telling of hisphysical and mental tortures at the hands of the Communists.It is also said to be an inspiring story of faith and the dignityof the human spirit. The writer believes that ninetyper centof the Chinese people are anti-Communist. The title of thebook is, "Now I Can Tell" (Morehouse-Gorham Co., NewYork, $3.50).Graham in BerlinWhen Billy Graham spoke to an audience of 85,000 inBerlin, Germany, he gave the invitation to receive Christ asSaviour, and about 16,000 stood up. Mr. Graham thinkingthey misunderstood, asked them to sit down and told themhe wanted only those who were then and there acceptingChrist and committing their lives to Him to stand. Again,16,000 stood up. This seems to set a new record for onemeeting where the call to accept Christ was presented. A planwas prepared at once to follow up those who had made aprofession of faith in Christ.The Last DaysDays"In a discussion of "The Last by Prof. WickBroomall in the .AssociatePresbyterian, he asks,"Are there two 'last-days' periods one now for the Church,another after the second advent for Israel? This is the distinction actually made by the Scofield Reference Bible on Acts2:17. Dr. Scofield affirms that the Church's 'last days' are inthe present age, whereas Israel's 'last-days' are in the kingdomage after the second advent. That this is not a valid distinction we now attempt to show:"1. There is absolutely no foundation in the New Testament for such a distinction. Both Acts 2:17 and Hebrews 1:2equate 'the last days' with the New Testament age. There isa large degree of unanimity among commentators that this isthe meaning of the two passages just mentioned."2. The New Testament never puts beyond the second advent another temporal period called 'the last days' (as Scofield'sview maintains). To the New Testament the secondend'advent is 'the (Matthew 24:14; I Corinthians 15:23f);earth'beyond that lies 'the new heavens and the new (2 Peter3:13)."3. The New Testament distinguishes between 'thisand 'the age to(Matt. 12:32; Mark 10:30; Luke 18:30;age'20:35; Eph. 1:21; Heb. 6:5). 'This undoubtedly refers tocome'time (cf. Gal. 1:4; 2 Cor. 4:4), whereas 'the age to undoubtedly refers to eternity (cf. Luke 18:30; 20:35). 'The lastdays'cannot be placed in 'the age tocome,'for in that worldthere are no 'days.' The only place where 'the last days' canbe placed is in 'thisBut 'thisage'is terminated by thesecond advent. Therefore, it must follow that Dr. Scofield'sdistinction between two periods called 'last days'and one after the second adventis invalid."one beforeCOVENANTER WITNESS