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May 25, 1940
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1505 Race StreetPhiladelphia. Penna.
EDITORIAL COUNCILEdwin H. Rian Ned B. StonehouseLeslie W. Sloat
Murray Forst Thompson
Thomas R. BirchManaging Editor
We Must Build ChurchesBy the REV. ROBERT S. MARSDEN
A FE\V years ago, when many of us had been dis-appointed to
discover that seemingly good people
were unwilling to leave their fine church buildings andworship
with us in unsightly temporary structures, aScotch-Irish elder said
to me, "The trouble with Chris-tians in this country is that they
have become accustomedto the wrong use of an important word." The
word towhich this elder referred is the word "church," which inthis
country is widely used to refer to a building inwhich the church of
Jesus Christ worships. He went onto say that in the "old country"
one never referred to thePresbyterian "church" when one meant the
building, butto the Presbyterian "meeting house." As a matter
offact, the word "church" is never used in Scripture torefer to the
place where the church gathers for worship.That very noble word, in
Scriptural language, means,literally, "called out" and is not used
for the place ofmeeting but is reserved for the congregation which
is"called out" from the world to gather for the worshipof God. In
America, however, the word "church" usu-ally means the building in
which the church meets and,in that sense, we must build
churches.
The congregations of The Orthodox PresbyterianChurch are
undoubtedly hindered in their progress bylack of adequate church
buildings more than by anyother one factor. It is true that our own
people are will-ing to meet anywhere-in barns and shacks, if
neces-sary. Witness the faithfulness and undiminishing zeal
~j,t,h which some of our congregations have gathered in
most uninviting surroundings for nearly four years. Itwas indeed
a gracious providence of God that forced usout of attractive church
buildings in the beginning, forotherwise we should have drawn to
our banner manyunworthy folk who were not really willing to give
upeverything for Christ. Yet when strangers move into
theneighborhood-strangers who may be Christians butwho know nothing
of the issue which has been cleverlyconcealed from them by
modernist ministers-they driftinto buildings a little more
pretentious than ours. Onemay say that it is an evidence of the
spiritual declineof Christianity in this country when even nominal
Chris-tians put a fine building before a fine message, andwood and
stones before truth, but the fact remains thatit is so. We must
face the fact as it is and not as wewish it to be. Since people are
what they are-we mustbuild churches.
I f we must build churches why have we not alreadydone so? Why
are so many of our congregations stillworshipping in temporary
rented quarters that are sounattractive? Why does it appear to the
outside worldthat the Orthodox Presbyterians have joined what
Dr.Machen used to call the "cult of ugliness"? The situa-tion is,
simply, that our small churches do not have themoney to build, and
the more tragic situation is thatthey cannot acquire the money.
There was a time, notmany years ago, when a church could raise from
30 to40 per cent. of the cost of a building. go to a bank and,on a
mortgage note, borrow the rest. Many of us have
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146 THE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN May 25
discovered to our sorrow that this isno longer possible. Some of
us havewritten to banks, lending agenciesand individuals, and have
interviewed,until we were weary, everyone whowould see us, only to
discover that itis next to impossible to borrow anymoney for church
buildings. In somecases the local banks are controlledby the
enemies of our cause; in othersthey have a genuinely
well-establishedpolicy of not lending to churches.Church buildings
are "one purpose"buildings, and as such are regardedby banks as
poor investments. Unlessthe members individually are able todeposit
collateral to cover the note,bank loans seem to be out of the
ques-tion.
Illustrations are legion of the trag-edy of churches severely
handicappedthrough lack of funds to build and,at the risk of
wearying the reader, Ishall cite just four.
The first is a church in a large city.It is in a business
section of a veryold part of the city, and the immedi-ate
neighborhood of its temporarymeeting place gives no hope for
ex-pansion. It has the use of its presentbuilding only at certain
periods of theweek, and entrance to the meetingroom is through a
side basementdoor. It has realized that its presentsite is
impossible as a permanent loca-tion and at a good deal of sacrifice
onthe part of its members it has pur-chased a fine, large corner
lot in arapidly-growing neighborhood not toofar from its present
home. Since thelot has been purchased two otherchurch organizations
have bought lotsin the immediate neighborhood, andare proceeding
with the erection ofmodest chapels. People are movinginto the
neighborhood by the thou-sands-and our church is not there
toreceive them. About $10,000 wouldbuild a chapel for these people.
Un-doubtedly they would be willing tomake further sacrifices to
raise a partof this immediately, and would guar-antee the balance
with a first mort-gage on their land and building.Yet their witness
continues to behindered by lack of a building. Wemust build
churches!
In a very small mid-western townis a faithful little
congregation. Thepeople have gone through a great dealin the past
four years: first they werereviled by the church which they
left,
and then attempts were ~ade to dis-rupt the church from within.
Thesepeople and their pastor have stoodfirm; they have endured
great hard-ship as good soldiers of the cross, butthey have
continually been handi-capped by lack of a meeting place.There is
now an adequate buildingwhich can be secured, for in thedrought
area real estate values havedecreased sharply and a building canbe
purchased outright for a mere$500. The pastor offers to assume
themortgage for this amount himself,deed the property to the
church, andpay the mortgage at the rate of $10per month, until it
is paid, with in-terest. The property has rented con-sistently for
$15 a month, and is re-ported to be a most excellent invest-ment.
Yet these people who have losttheir homes during the great
droughtwhich has gripped that region for thepast decade are unable
to raise eventhis modest sum. Shall this church behandicapped
permanently in its wit-ness because it lacks this mere pit-tance to
purchase a building? Wemust build churches !
A church in a metropolitan areahas been meeting for nearly
four
TABLE OF CONTENTSMay 25, 1940
We Must Build Churches 145
Robert S. Marsden
The Theory of Evolution 147
A. Culver Gordon
History Speaks 150
John P. Galbraith
Editorial 151
The Book of Remembrance ....... , .. 152
Burton L. Goddard
The Christian Life 153
Oscar O. Holkeboer
Commencement Exercises ofWestminster Seminary .... 154
Orthodox Presbyterian Church News 156
years in a rented building belongingto a quasi-religious
organization. Thecongregation was started from thevery beginning,
without any sizablegroup having withdrawn from anyother church. It
has made excellentprogress, but has been handicappedboth by
location and by the buildingin which it meets. Property is
expen-sive in its suburban town; proper lo-cations are difficult to
find for a newchurch, but its people are determinedthat they will
build, for they knowthat they have nearly reached the endof their
growth in their present place.A few thousand dollars would
enablethem to purchase a lot and erect amodest but attractive
little buildingwhich would serve their needs for thepresent. The
carrying charges on theamount of money they would needwould not be
more than they now payin rent. For groups such as this-wemust build
churches!
In a small Pennsylvania town,which is growing rapidly under
theinfluence of a fast-expanding indus-try, is a group which came
out of thePresbyterian Church in the U.S.A. in1936. It has been
renting a buildingwhich was formerly a post office. Thegroup has
increased considerably, anda fine Sunday school has been
devel-oped. The lease on its present buildingexpires in two months,
and the con-gregation must vacate. There is noother adequate
building which can beoccupied, and the church faces theunpleasant
necessity of moving into atheatre. This congregation containsno
people of wealth, but is composedof working people. The average
in-come of the families is not over $1,500a year, yet the people
last year gavean average of about $200 per familyto the church.
They have purchased afine corner lot in the best section oftown,
and have paid for it in lessthan a year. They have $3,000 in cashon
hand, and have a $3,000 loan, with-out collateral, from a friend.
Thisgroup needs $4,000 to enable it to goahead with its building
program,Every cent of the $7,000 to cover thefree loan of $3,000
and a $4,000 mort-gage loan has been pledged by thepeople in three-
and five-year pledges.The past experience of this congrega-tion in
raising funds illustrates ade-quately their ability and
willingnessto pay the pledges. Yet to date they
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1940 THE f'RESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN 147
The Theory of Evolution
III. An Investigation of Evidenc:e
By the REV. A. CULVER GORDON
Gigantic: GuessesSurely anyone endowed with com-
mon sense and not utterly carriedaway by an enthusiasm for
evolutionmust protest against such alleged factsas the Java Ape
Man. And we wouldadd that the other fossil remains, sup-posedly
proving the existence of pre-historic, prehuman man, furnish
nobetter evidence. The Java Ape Man is
Two Bonesand Two TeethWhat is the actual evidence in sup-
port of the existence of this creatureof whom such definite
statements aremade? The evidence consists of "theupper part of a
cranium, two teeth,and a left thigh bone" (MacCurdy,Human Origins,
p. 313, as quoted byN. G. Moore in The Theory of Evolu-tion). What
is more surprising still isthat the thigh bone was found 50feet
from the piece of skull and abouta year afterwards. These seem
veryscanty remains from which to con-struct a man or a conclusion.
EvenDr. Lull, an authority on the evolu-tion of man, makes only
this guardedobservation, "They probably pertain
Pastor of Murdock Memorial Orthodox Presbyterian Church.
Bancroft. S. D.
cepts it as true because, as a working to one individual,
although they werehypothesis, it renders "intelligible a found
scattered through some 20vast array of observed phenomena" yards of
space, and were not all dis-in a way he feels no rival theory ap-
covered at the same time." It is hardproaches. "In other words, the
work- to resist the suspicion that Duboising hypothesis works and
is therefore allowed his eagerness to find an earlyacceptable as
truth until overthrown type of fossil man to control hisby a more
workable hypothesis." "facts," rather than allowing the true
We agree with Professor Newman facts to control his conclusion.
Notethat evolution is not proven, and we again the words, "He went
out fromchallenge his assertion that it is the Holland with the
avowed purpose ofbest working hypothesis. In examin- finding an
early type of fossil maning the evidence presented in support and,
by George, he did." It is no won-of the evolutionary theory, we
think der that other scientists who examinedit can be shown to the
satisfaction of these bones, such as Virchow andany open-minded
person that some of Dana, did not share his conclusionthe evidence
is of the most precarious that he had found an "ape-man."kind, and
that other evidence is, Let us observe what has since hap-in
reality, unwarranted conclusions pened. Despite all the uncertainty
indrawn from the observed phenomena. regard to this fossil find,
despite the
As an example of extremely pre- scantiness of the remains, the
dis-carious evidence, we cite the Java tance separating the bones,
the timeApe Man. The Director of the Amer- elapsing between the
finding of theican Museum of Natural History, Roy several parts,
and the conflict of ex-Chapman Andrews, has this to say of pert
opinion, the Java Ape Man hashim: "The earliest known creature
passed into the literature of evolutionthat can definitely be
called a man, as one of the standard evidences ofeven of the
lowliest sort, is only be- man's evolution. The writer knows
oftween a million and five hundred thou- no comprehensive book,
written in sup-sand years old. It is our old friend, port of
evolution since the finding ofthe Java Ape Man, Pithecanthropus
these bones, which does not includeerectus, discovered 47 years ago
by a the "Ape-Man" as evidence. NoteDutch army surgeon, Eugene
Dubois. again the quotation from AndrewsHe went out from Holland
with the with its positive statements, "Theavowed purpose of
finding an early earliest known creature that can defi-type of
fossil man and, by George, he nitely be called a man," and then
con-did." sider that this was written in July,
1939. The ugly (and wholly imagi-nary) face and features of the
Javaman are displayed in our museums,and snarl out of school text
booksand even popular magazines to con-vince the public of the fact
of man'sevolution, as if there were not theslightest doubt of his
reality.
IN DEALING with scientific ques-tions, it would seem proper
thatthe Christian should humbly acceptthe findings of scientists as
valid inthe field of science. It surely seemspresumptuous for the
Christian toenter into debate with scientists onsuch a question as
organic evolution.Common sense might lead us to be-lieve that the
professional scientist ismore competent than the theologianor
minister to pass on such ques-tions. And evolutionists have not
beenslow to point this out. E. G. Conklinasks, "Why should the
church claimfor itself authority in matters of sci-ence?" If this
be a proper question,so then is the reverse. As E. Y. Mul-lins has
remarked, Conklin shouldhave added, "Why should scienceclaim for
itself authority in mattersof religion? But this never seems tohave
occurred to him." As a matterof fact, Conklin and other
evolution-ists lay down laws which they holdto be valid not only in
the field ofscience, but also in the fields of his-tory and
religion. I f there can benothing but the operation of naturallaw,
as they claim, then the super-natural religion of the Old and
NewTestaments is declared to be a massof myths, or worse.
An Unproven TheoryIt would therefore seem proper that
the Christian should make an investi-gation of a scientific
subject making-such an attack upon Christianity.Such investigation
is not a presump-tuous invasion of another field, but adefensive
action against an attackingenemy. In this connection, we wouldadd,
however, that the Christian hasno quarrel with the final findings
ofscience. What is established as truthmust be accepted. This seems
self-evident. The most, however, that anintelligent evolutionist
can claim forhis subject is the standing of a theory.Says H. H.
Newman, a prominentevolutionist of Chicago University,"Reluctant as
he may be to admit it,honesty .compels the evolutionist toadmit.
that there is no absolute proofof.o,rganic evolution." He himself
ac-
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148 THE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN May 25
indeed typical of all such discoveriesin the scantiness of the
remains, thediscrepancies of scientific opinion con-cerning them,
and the final brazenpresentation of such "reconstructions"as
trustworthy evidence of an evolu-tionary process. The final
impressiona survey of this subject makes on theinquiring mind is
that there is abso-lutely no basis in fact for the allegedlinks
between animals and man. If itseem presumptuous for mere laymento
point this out, evolutionary scien-tists have no one to blame but
them-selves, for they have retained andpresented such "facts" as
the JavaApe Man as bona fide evidence. (Forthose who are interested
we recom-mend, as the best discussion of fossilman, the seventh
chapter of N. G.Moore's book mentioned above.)
We would make it clear in this con-nection that, in speaking of
"allegedfacts," we refer simply to extremelydubious material of
unproven worthpresented as fact, and not to con-scious distortion
or actual dishonesty.A great deal has sometimes beenmade of the
fraud of Haeckel, thedistinguished German scientist, whowas found
guilty by his associates offalsifying pictures and plates in
theinterests of evolution. It is importantto note that his fraud
was discoveredand exposed by his fellow-scientists.It may safely be
said that scientists asa whole' are seeking to be fair andobjective
in their work. But in grant-ing their honesty of purpose, we
mustwithhold approval of their judgment.When two bones and two
teeth, dis-covered under the circumstances thatDubois discovered
them, can be pre-sented as certain evidence of any-thing (unless it
be the universality ofdeath), it is time to call a halt.
In taking exception to such allegedfacts and in believing that
much ofthe presented evidence belongs in sucha category, we do not
for a momentdoubt that there is other and muchmore plausible
evidence which causesmen to believe in organic evolution.The fact
that such first-rate minds asDarwin, Huxley, Spencer and manyothers
have held to forms of this the-ory indicates that it is not
absurd.The evidence in support of evolutionhas been collected and
systematicallyexhibited under such heads as embry-ology (science of
the embryo), mor-phology (science of forms), and otherspecialized
studies. To illustrate oursecond type of criticism, namely,
ofunwarranted conclusions drawn from
real facts, we will continue to use onebranch of the evidence,
paleontology,as it has been applied to non-humanevolution of
life.
PaleontoloCJYPaleontology may be defined as "the
branch of biology that treats of theancient life of the globe or
of fossilorganisms." Fossils are found in threetypes: ( 1) actual
remains, such asmammoths frozen in the arctic ice;(2) petrified
remains, where the ani-mal or plant has, in popular language,turned
to stone; and (3) casts andimpressions made in some soft mate-rial
which has since hardened andpreserved them. Louis Agassiz
haswritten, "The earth is a vast ceme-tery where the rocks are
tombstoneson which the buried dead have writ-ten their own
epitaphs."
I f evolution were true, we wouldexpect to find in the record of
therocks the following two facts: (1 )that the oldest rocks would
normallybe at the bottom and the most recentrocks at the top of
layers of rock,and the ones between would be inorder from the
oldest to the youngest;(2) that the oldest rocks would havethe
simplest fossil life and the mostrecent rocks the most complex
fossillife. In fact, evolutionists have soclassified the rocks,
calling the oneswith the simplest fossils the oldestand the ones
with the complex fossilsthe most recent. We should expect al-ways
to find the oldest on the bottomand the newest on the top.
Such, however, is not the case.Sometimes the order is the exact
re-verse. If this were true only of smallareas, we might suppose
that someforce had turned them upside down.However, there are, in
this countryand in Europe, areas as large as20,000 square miles
where the reverseorder exists. There is no known forcecapable of
turning such an area up-side down-and any force capable ofdoing so
would shatter the rocks(which are not shattered). Other de-viations
from the expected evolution-ary order are "skipping" and
"recur-rence." Skipping, as its name indicates,is the absence of
layers of rock whichshould be present, since there is noevidence of
a geological gap. Recur-rence concerns the occurrence of thesame
laver of rock a number of timesin the 'same formation. In view
ofthese facts, and after an investiga-tion of many years, G. M.
Price hasformulated the following law: "Any
kind of fossiliferous bed whatever,'young' or 'old,' may be
found occur-ring conformably (i.e., without a gap)on any other
fossiliferous beds, 'older'or 'younger'" ( The New Geology, p.638).
If Price's law be true, then therocks show no evidence whatever
ofan evolutionary progression.
Another objection to the evolution-ary scheme of rock
arrangement con-cerns the supposition of evolutioniststhat
fossil-containing rock is, in acomprehensive way, indicative of
thehistory of ancient life. Let us illus-trate our objection:
Formation offossil-bearing rock is going on at thepresent moment.
Let us suppose thatthere are deposited in various parts ofthe.
world the following fossils: (1)oysters, (2) fish, (3) dogs. When,
inthe future, these rocks are uncovered,will not the layer with the
oyster (be-cause of its simple structure) be de-clared to be many
million years old,the layer with fish (because of itsmore advanced
structure) be declaredmillions of year old and the layer withdogs
(because of their existence to-day) but comparatively recent?
Yetall three layers will have been de-posited at the same time. As
it is to-day, so it could have been in the past.When trilobites
were laid down asfossils in one part of the world, muchmore complex
animals could havebeen laid down in another part of theworld. Thus
there is no compellingevidence that the earth ever
differedessentially from what it is today,when the simplest and the
most com-plex animals and plants co-exist.
If it be objected that no fossil lifewas exactly similar. to
life today, wecite the finding of the Coelacanth.The recent
discovery of this sup-posedly prehistoric fish has been calledby
the British Museum's AssistantCurator of Zoology "one of the
mostamazing events in the realm of nat-ural history in the 20th
century.""Yet just before last Christmas [1938]when a trawler off
the coast of SouthAfrica pulled its nets ... it found ...this
thrashing, biting specimen of pre-historic Coelacanth" (Life, April
3,1939). Here is a fish, officially de-clared by scientists to have
becomeextinct some SO millions of years ago,existing in our present
world. If itwere deposited as a fossil today anddug up in a hundred
years, would itnot be declared to be 50,000,000 yearsold, since
that is when it officially be-came extinct? What more proof
isneeded? If scientists can declare a
v
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1940 THE PRESBYTI:RIAN GUARDIAN 149creature co-existing with us
today tohave become extinct some 50 millionyears ago, they can
expect little confi-dence in a system of classificationthat makes
such mistakes possible.
Thomas Huxley has written, "Theprimary and direct evidence in
favourof evolution can be furnished only bypalaeontology . . . If
Evolution hastaken place there will its mark be left;if it has not
taken place there will beits refutation." We have had space
toinvestigate only one line of evidence,but we have chosen the most
impor-tant line, the line which Huxley re-garded as conclusive. Our
investiga-tion has not revealed the truth ofevolution. It has, on
the contrary, re-vealed evidence incompatible withthe theory of
evolution. If Price's lawof fossiliferous rock formation betrue, if
layers of rock can occur inany order, then the theory of evolu-tion
has been dealt a death blow, thenJ. W. Gibb's tribute is justified,
"WhatLyell did for the materialistic philos-ophy of the 19th
century, Price hasdone for the renaissance of faiththat is
coming."
BibliographySince we have been able to treat
only one line of evidence, and on thewhole to touch just the
outskirts ofthe evolutionary debate, we note, forthose readers who
wish to investigatefurther, some of the books we havefound
helpful.For Evolution:
Origin of Species, Darwin (Merrill& Baker)
Evolution, Genetics, and Eugenics,Newman (University of
ChicagoPress, 1930)
Concerning Evolution, Thompson(Yale University Press, 1925)
Apes, Men, and Morons, Hooton(G. P. Putnam Sons, 1937)
Outlines of Historical Geology,Schuchert (]. Wiley &
Sons,1931)
Against Evolution;1 The Case Against Evolution,
O'Toole (Macmillan)The Basis of Evolutionary Faith,
F. HamiltonThe Theory of Evolution, N. G.
1 This is, I believe, the best single bookagainst evolution. It
is now out of print,but a recent letter from its author in-forms us
that he is contemplating puttingout a revised edition. If
interested, writeto him in care of Catholic University,Washington,
D. C.
In places, unduly concessive to theclaims of evolutionists.
Moore (Lakeside Press, 1931)Evolution and Christianity,
Gibbs,
(Kingsport Press, 1930)2 Modern Ideas of Evolution, Daw-
Son (London, 1906)Organic Evolution Considered, Fair-
hurst (Standard Publishing Co.,1913)
The New Geology, G. M. Price(Pacific Press Publishing
Asso-ciation).
COURT UPHOLDS RIGHT OFMAINE CHURCH TO PROPERTY
A LL members of The OrthodoxPresbyterian Church will rejoicethat
the right of the Second ParishPresbyterian Church of
Portland,Maine, to continue in occupancy of itschurch structure and
to have a pastorof its own choosing has been upheldby Justice John
A. Peters of theUnited States District Court in anopinion filed on
April 29th.
The ruling was made in an equitycase brought by members and
repre-sentatives of the Presbyterian Churchin the United States of
America,against the Second Parish, owners ofthe church, and the
First Presbyte-rian Society of Portland, with
theCongregational-Christian Conferenceof Maine as intervenors.
The principal object of the proceed-ing "is to establish the
authority ofthe Presbyterian Church in the UnitedStates of America
over property nowheld by the Second Parish in theTown of Portland,
and especially toobtain the enjoyment of the use ofthe church
building of that Parish,and the opportunity to install a
pastoracceptable to the Presbyterian organ-ization represented by
the individualplaintiffs."
The involved transactions by whichthe Park Street Presbyterian
Churchand the Second Parish in the Townof Portland, a
Congregational Parishowning the present Second ParishPresbyterian
Church, were united in1923 to form the Second Parish Pres-byterian
Church, joining the Presby-tery of Newburyport and functioningfor
13 years under its jurisdiction,are set forth in the ruling, as
JudgePeters traces the history of the litiga-tion. In June, 1936,
the Second ParishPresbyterian Church voted at a spe-cial meeting to
withdraw from thePresbyterian Church in the U.S.A.,
and the Second Parish in the Townof Portland, still functioning
as theholder of the church property, con-curred with the church in
this action.
Ruling on the property issue JudgePeters held that
It should be borne in mind that the prop-erty (real estate) here
involved was notoriginally Presbyterian property. It onlybecame
such so far as the merger agree-ment made it so. .
... The question is, to what extent didthe agreement make it
Presbyterian prop-erty and subject it to Presbyterian judi-catory
control.
Also, there is no division in this local,Portland church, still
a Presbyterianchurch from its own point of view, thoughnot,
apparently, wholly agreeing with thedoctrines of the plaintiff
church. Thislocal congregation claims the right anddesires to
continue to have a minister ofits own choosing in the pulpit of a
churchedifice which it has occupied with theconsent of the owner
from 1923 to 1936,and with the consent of the same corpo-ration
still claiming to be the owner, since19.36.
Later, Judge Peters rules,The plaintiff claims that by the
mergeragreement the property was permanentlyimpressed with a trust
for the benefit ofthe larger organization. But the propertywas
already impressed with a trust forreligious purposes generally. A
trusteecannot by its sole action create anotherand narrower trust.
He cannot change andreduce the scope of the purposes forwhich he
held the property in trust.
Again he makes the ruling thatwhile the "parent body of the
Presby-terian organization, however, comesin and asserts the right
to select apastor and install him in the localchurch" such a right
"must grow outof the agreement, but the agreementmust be construed
subject to the Con-stitution of Maine."
On this point he rules that theMaine Constitutional provision
that
. . . all religious societies in this State,whether incorporate
or unincorporate,shall at all times have the exclusive rightof
electing their public teachers and con-tracting with them for their
support andmaintenanceapplies to this and all other
religioussocieties in the State andthe suggestion that it applies
only to thelarger body, the Presbyterian judicatory,which selects
pastors for the localchurches of that denomination, is unten-able.
It is a matter of local self-govern-ment. The larger body or
judicatory, ap-parently, does not require religious teach-ers for
itself. It is composed of suchteachers. If it did require teachers
it couldchoose them for itself, if living in Maine.It cannot
successfullv assert any right,superior to the Constitution, of
choosingfor others.
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150 THE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN May 25
History Speaks
A Review by the REV. JOHN P. GALBRAITHPastor of Gethsemane
Orthodox Presbyterian Churc:h, Philadelphia
THE PRESBYTERIAN CONFLICT, by theRev. Edwin H. Rian, A.M., Th.B.
Wil-liam B. Eerdmans Publishing Company,Grand Rapids, Michigan,
1940. $2.00.
A NEW and much needed book isabout to appear. 1fany havewondered
about the origin and detailsof the doctrinal controversy in
thePresbyterian Church in the U.S.A.which culminated, in 1936, in
the dis-cipline of certain individuals in thechurch who were
defenders of Chris-tianity. Under the title, The Presby-terian
Conflict, the Rev. Edwin H.Rian, President of the Board of
Trus-tees 0 f Westminster Theological Sem-inary, gives us a book
which is in-valuable for its careful presentationof the facts of
the gradual decline ofthe Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.
. from Biblical Christianity, and of thebattle which was waged
against thatfall.
Preeminently an historical work,the book is concerned primarily
withdisclosing the many historical factswhich are relevant to the
conflict,rather than subjective reactions to afew of these facts.
The thorough doc-umentation of the book by means ofnearly 400
footnotes is adequate evi-dence of its concern for accuracy. Inthe
preface Mr. Rian states that thebook is a "fairly dispassionate
exposi-tion of the events" in the struggle inthe church, and it is
exactly that.Though the author was active in theconflict from the
time of the foundingof Westminster Theological Seminaryin 1929, he
has overcome, by his dis-passionate style and objectivity, thegreat
danger of closeness to a strug-gle-subjective prejudice. He is to
behighly commended for this. Mr. Rianhas used his proximity to the
eventsto advantage, however, by revealingmany hitherto unpublicized
facts, par-ticularly with regard to The Inde-pendent Board for
Presbyterian For-eign Missions and to WestminsterTheological
Seminary.
The title of the book indicates thatthe subject matter has to do
with thePresbyterian communion. This is true,but at the same time
it is of inesti-mable value to every Protestant in
the land, for many of the doctrinaltrends which form a part of
the Pres-byterian conflict, and are dealt withby the author in
relating his story,are manifesting themselves in otherProtestant
communions. For example,many do not know what "Barthian-ism" is,
although they have heardthat it is gaining widespread favor inthe
churches throughout the country.In Chapter IV Mr. Rian briefly
setsforth some of the teachings of Barth-ianism and discloses their
anti-Bibli-cal nature. Then, too, Chapter V is ofvital interest to
such churches as thePresbyterian Church in the U.S.( Southern), the
United PresbyterianChurch, and the Protestant EpiscopalChurch, with
whom attempts towardunion with the Presbyterian Churchin the U.S.A.
have been made.
The thoroughness of the author'ssurvey maybe seen in the titles
of thefifteen chapters of which the book iscomposed: The Beginnings
of Unbe-lief, The Auburn Affirmation, TheReorganization of
Princeton Theolog-ical Seminary, Westminster Theologi-cal Seminary,
Union Movements, TheIndependent Board, The Deliveranceof the 1934
General Assembly, TheMachen Trial, The 1935 GeneralAssembly,
Philadelphia and ChesterPresbyteries, "We Must Obey God",The
Orthodox Presbyterian Church,Church Property Rights, ReformFrom
Within, and Whither Protes-tantism?
Following the main body of thebook is an appendix of about 50
pageswhich gives very valuable source ma-terial for ready
reference. The Au-burn Affirmation, about which manyhave heard but
never actually read,and other documents important in theconflict,
are reprinted in full. And acomplete and helpful index is also
in-cluded.
In the very first sentence of thefirst chapter the author gives
his opin-ion of the status of the PresbyterianChurch in the U.S.A.
when he speaksof the "theological struggle which hasjust ended."
From the year 1801 therehad been doctrinal conflict in thechurch.
But since 1936, Mr. Rian ob-
serves in the chapter on "ReformFrom Within," conflict has been
no-ticeably absent. The "conservative"forces in the church have
surrenderedto those of Modernism. The church isin the control of
the Modernists whopreach another "gospel which is notanother."
One wishes, however, that in awork of this size the author had
goneinto the question of apostasy ofchurches. Practically nothing
has beenwritten on that subject since the 16thcentury, when John
Calvin wrote hisInstitutes of the Christian Religion.With the
increasing departure of thechurches of Christendom from his-toric
Christianity some constructiveand original thinking is needed
onthat subject. It would have been par-ticularly in place here
because manytoday hold that the PresbyterianChurch in the U.S.A.
has reached astate of apostasy. Mr. Rian seems tohave studiously
avoided the use of theword "apostate" with reference to
thePresbyterian Church in the U.S.A.,but he really says as much
when hedeclares, in both the preface and thelast chapter, that that
church has, inits "corporate testimony . . . turnedaway from
historic Christianity, andis witnessing to another gospel. ..."One
cannot help but feel that thethrust of the book would have beeneven
more powerful had conclusionsbeen clearly drawn in a separate
chap-ter. History indeed does speak. Butwe feel that Mr. Rian has,
by theomission of a chapter dealing withapostasy, left the history
to speak alittle too much for itself.
This does not, however, vitiate thevalue of the book. It is
invaluable forany who want to know the facts ofthe Presbyterian
conflict from begin-ning to end-whether conservative orliberal,
Presbyterian or non-Presbyte-rian. Written in popular language,
itcan easily be understood by all, andshould find a place among the
posses-sions of every Protestant in this coun-try who is interested
in the mainte-nance of Christianity, and certainly itshould be in
every home in The Or-thodox Presbyterian Church.
r1
I1I
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1940 THE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN 151
EDITORIAL
The Church in aTime of War
TH E present war confronts theChristian church with a danger ofa
distinctive character. Wars of pre-vious generations, and
particularlythe great war of 1914-1918, no doubtinterfered with the
progress of thework of the church, but the threat tothe church's
welfare and growth isdifferent today because of the distinc-tive
form that war has taken. Wartoday is a "total war," that is, it
en-gages not merely the armies but theentire populations of the
nationswhich are involved. Through techni-cal advances, especially
in the devel-opment of the airplane, modern war-fare much more
immediately affectsthe non-combatant elements of thenation. And the
dreadful power of amodern war machine in high gear isso destructive
that it can be resistedonly if there is virtual mobilization ofthe
entire nation.
Even in the democracies, wherethere are constitutional
guarantees offreedom of religion, the practical ne-cessities of
waging war result in de-mands upon the citizens that canhardly fail
to utilize energies and re-sources that otherwise would be de-voted
to the work of the church.
We, who live in a country that isstill at peace, cannot but be
distressedat the secularization of life that warinvolves for our
Christian brethrenin other countries, and it is fittingthat we
should pray earnestly that theChristian church in these lands
maynot be turned aside from its divinemission. Meanwhile, our own
pros-pects for the extension of the gospelare not improved. For, as
our nationitself comes more and more under thetension which the
unsettled situationhas produced, and as the program ofpreparedness
increases in tempo, thestrength and resources that should bespent
in advancing the cause of Christ
may be diverted, at least to a certainextent.
There is great need, therefore, thatthe Christian church in
these timesshall resist vigorously the temptationto render unto
Caesar the things thatshould be rendered unto God. By di-vine
mandate the church is also en-gaged in warfare, and this
warfarelikewise makes imperative demands,which those who
acknowledge thekingship of Christ must implicitlyobey. Although our
weapons are spir-itual, and our motives and aims in theChristian
warfare are distinctly re-ligious, this warfare is surely not
lessdemanding upon the Christian thanthe warfare of the nations of
Europeis upon their citizens. "For our wres-tling is not against
flesh and blood,but against the principalities, againstthe powers,
against the world-rulersof this darkness, against the
spiritualhosts of wickedness in heavenly
The Pre!sbyterianConflict
SEND your order NOW foryour copy of the newbook, "The
PIesbyterian Con-flict," by the Rev. Edwin H.Rian. The price is $2,
and thebooks will be' ready for de-livery in a f,ew days.
Everymember of The OrthodoxPresbyterian Church-in fact,every
Christian who is inter-ested in the maintenance oftrue, historic
Christianity -needs the wei~lth of informa-tion contained in this
uniquesurvey of Presl)yterian history.Send your order today,
withyour remittence of $2 per copy.to The Presbyterian
Guardian,1505 Race Street, Philadel-phia, Penna.
places." Accordingly, our war is alsoa "total war"-it is a life
and deathstruggle which demands that we asChristian soldiers engage
in it withall of our energies. In this time ofcrisis, it is
incumbent upon the churchto take stock. It must once again bemoved
by the conviction that it has adivine commission to engage in
spir-itual warfare, and that all of itsstrategy and tactics are to
be directedtowards the end of winning the war.
This is not a plea for pacifism inthe civil sphere, nor for
indifferenceto the duties of citizenship in general.Indeed, only a
church that insistsupon the basis of the Scriptures thatthe things
that are God's must be ren-dered unto God will faithfully chargemen
to render unto Caesar the thingsthat are Caesar's. It is because
themodern church has so largely ceasedto be militant in the
proclamation ofthe gospel that it also so commonlysounds a retreat
when it speaks onthe issues of the day. Would that thechurch might
return again to its God-given charter, and that its ministersmight
boldly proclaim the full counselof God in its all-embracing claim
uponthe whole of our lives!
It will perhaps not be thought outof place to make a particular
applica-tion to The Orthodox PresbyterianChurch. Anniversaries and
other spe-cial occasions often serve the purposeof a review of the
past and a lookingahead to the future. The SeventhGeneral Assembly
meets early inJune, and our fourth anniversary as achurch falls on
June II tho In thesefew years the church has gained areputation for
militancy in the serviceof the King. The record of zeal
andself-sacrifice is one which may wellcall forth humble
thanksgiving. Ourchurch remains, indeed, a body ofsinful men, a
church not free fromspots and wrinkles. It is not a part ofthe
church victorious. And even asthanks are offered to God for
Hismercies, it must be remembered thathe that thinketh he standeth
shouldtake heed lest he fall. Nevertheless,in the consciousness of
a sincereeffort to be faithful to the great Headof the church,
earnest prayer shouldbe made that the pressure of worldlyinterests
and demands may not causeus to turn back upon the course thatwe
have sought to follow. Let us at-tend to our marching orders, and
en-gage in the great struggle as truesoldiers of the cross.
-N.B.S.
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152 THE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN May 25
The Book of RemembranceA Devotional Study in the Book of
Malachi
By the REV. BURTON L. GODDARD
Ye have said, It is vain to serve God:and what profit is it that
we have kepthis ordinance, and that we have walkedmournfully before
the LORD of hosts?
Then they that feared the LoRD spakeoften one to another: and
the LORD heark-ened, and heard it, and a book of remem-brance was
written before him for themthat feared the LORD, and that
thoughtupon his name.
And they shall be mine, saith the LoRDof hosts, in that day when
I make up myjewels; and I will spare them, as ':l. manspareth his
own son that serveth him.
For, behold, the day cometh, that shallburn as an oven; and all
the proud, yea,and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble:and the
day that cometh shall burn themup. saith the LoRD of hosts, that it
shallleave them neither root nor branch.
But unto you that fear my name shallthe Sun of righteousness
arise with heal-ing in his wings; and ye shall go forth,and grow up
as calves of the stall (Mal.3:14,16,17; 4:1, 2).
TH E inspiring narrative centeringabout Queen Esther makes
men-tion of a book of remembrance. Itbelonged to the Persian king,
Aha-suerus, Written in that book was therecord of how a certain
Jew, Mor-decai, had saved the life of the kingby bringing to light
a treasonable plot.But for the book of remembrance,Mordecai might
have swung from atowering gallows, victim of the hatredof a wicked
prince. Because his nameand deed were in the book, a day oftragedy
and mourning was turnedinto glory and great joy.
There is another book of remem-brance referred to in the
Scriptures,one far more important than that ofthe Persian monarch.
His was kepton earth; this in heaven. His waspenned by human
scribes; this by an-gels. His could spare from physicaldeath; this
is able to save from eter-nal death. It is the book of whichMalachi
speaks.
Its Guarantee of SafetyLads of the middle west, employed
to uproot stalks of golden-crownedmustard and bearded thistles
fromfields of waving grain, may well beaware of a truth which often
escapesthe most profound philosophers. It isthat expressed in a
parable related byour Lord: There are but two classes
of plants, wheat and tares. Great va-riety may exist within each
class, butevery field may be so divided, thefield of the world and
its populacenot excluded. God's all-seeing eye,looking down upon
men, never failsto behold them according to this divi-sion.
The Bible marks it in differentways. Sometimes the separative
cri-terion is belief or disbelief in the Sonof God. Again, it is
the doing oromission of works of righteousness,testimonies of
regeneration. It maybe the possession or lack of righteous-ness.
God's messenger, beholding inprophetic vision the day of the
Lord,describes the criterion as the presenceor omission of one's
name in the bookof remembrance.
The post-exilic skeptics were awareof the division, but their
hardenedhearts refused to believe that Godwould ever make it the
basis of anactual judgment. Why they thenfasted and donned the
garments ofmourning and repentance would bedifficult to understand
except for thetruth of the first chapter of Romans.There we are
told that, hidden withinthe conscience of men everywhere,God has
implanted a knowledge ofHimself and the surety of
righteousjudgment, leaving them without ex-cuse. Yet it is a
strange phenomenonwhen men, openly disbelieving God'srevelation,
are compelled by intuitionof divine truth to go through
cere-monies, the value of which is dis-counted in their expressed
sentiments.
Malachi is bold to assert that towhich the religious intuition
of thedoubters bore witness. There will bea day of awful
judgment."Lo! the last long separation!
As the cleaving crowds divide;And one dread adjudication
Sends each soul to either side!"
It will be a day of vindication for therighteous; one of
terrible condemna-tion for unrepentant sinners. Onemay now boast
disbelief in hell, butit will then become apparent that
theprophet's were not idle words whenhe spoke of a coming day
whichshould burn as an oven and consumethe wicked as so much
stubble. It may
be argued that the description is figu-rative, but who shall
deny that it isreal. Our Lord left no doubt whenHe said that those
placed on the leftwere doomed to go away into ever-lasting
punishment.
In that day there shall be but oneshelter of safety. It is by
the side ofthe slain Lamb. There the righteousmay find refuge. One
plea shall betheirs, "The Passover Lamb was slainfor us. It is
written in the book ofremembrance that we have believedon His name
and trusted in His propi-tiatory blood." Nor will the plea bein
vain. God will spare them and rec-ognize them as His own special
pos-session. So writes the messenger andprophet.
Its Promise of RewardJust as the king's book of remem-
brance not only saved Mordecai fromdeath but also brought him
greathonor, so the heavenly book is anassurance to those whose
names arewritten therein that rich reward liesin store for them
when the book is fi-nally opened and read.
The believer often needs the com-fort of that thought.
"Through the night of doubt and sor-row
Onward goes the pilgrim band."
It was ever thus, but never more truethan today. The evangelical
Chris-tians of continental Europe are un-dergoing untold suffering
at the handsof enemies of the gospel, crushed bythe ruthless,
grasping programs ofgodless rulers. In our own country hewho stands
for the full truth as it isin Christ pays dearly even within
thechurch itself. In recent years therehave been broken hearts and
crushedlives, ruptured ties and cruel railings.Loyal servants of
the Master havebeen treated with shame and con-tempt. Spiritual
wickedness has waxedmighty in high places. Wounds havebeen
inflicted on lambs and shepherdsalike. We live in a long night.
Thegloom of injustice presses us closeabout. We cannot See the way
ahead.Oh that the Great Physician wouldheal our hurts and take away
thedarkness!
"Fear not little flock." "Be of goodcheer." There is hope ahead,
if yourname is inscribed in the book of re-membrance. As the sun of
favor dis-appears from the view of the lost,never more to shine
upon them, thesun of righteousness will make quick
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1940: :
THE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN 153
A Series of Studies for Young PeopleBy the REV. OSCAR O.
HOLKEBOER
ascent until it stands at the meridianabove the company of the
redeemed.You shall bask beneath its healingrays. Your sufferings
will disappear.Your griefs will be assuaged. Yourwounds will be
bound up. Your heart-aches will cease. You will be withyour
altogether-lovely Saviour-andlike Him. Sin and sinners shall
trou-ble you no more.
Dear friend, does the comfort ofthe promise apply to you?
The Christian Life
June 2ndChristian Love
CH RIST I AN love belongs to thethings that are more
excellent.Concluding the 13th chapter of I Co-rinthians, Paul cites
three queenly vir-tues, faith, hope and love, and love,he says, is
the greatest. The word heuses for love in the chapter is
ofChristian origin, not pagan. It is somuch higher in character
than theworldly conception of love found inmuch of modern
literature that thedifference between them is as great asthat which
exists between the snow-capped, wind-swept mountain peaksand the
miasmic, disease-infected andstench-filled swamps.
We frequently sing, "Blest be thetie that binds our hearts in
Christianlove." But what is Christian love?Love in its broadest,
highest anddeepest sense cannot be defined, forGod is love and God
is infinite. Todefine is to place limits or to setbounds. But the
love of which wespeak is not the love of God for usbut the love we
have for Him and forour fellow-men. Moreover, we arenot speaking of
the love which allmen in general exhibit, but only ofthat which is
found in the heart ofthe Christian. There is a natural affec-tion,
for instance, which exists be-tween parents and children or
be-tween husband and wife among non-Christians. We do not speak of
thatin this article.
For the meaning of Christian lovewe need to go to the Word of
God,where it is expressly taught and per-fectly exemplified in
Christ. We look
"Is your name written there,On the page white and fair?
In the book of remembrance,Is your name written there?"
Only as you trust yourself for timeand eternity to the sinless
Saviourcan you look forward to the openingof the book and the
reading of yourname, the sure guarantee of lovingmercy and a reward
which fadeth notaway.
to such passages as I John 3: 16-18;I John 4: 7-12, 16-21; I
Cor. 13: 4-7.
The meaning of Christian love isheightened and its beauty and
strength
. enhanced when we consider its ob-ject. Briefly, we are to love
God aboveall and our neighbor as ourselves. Thereasons we are to
love God are obvi-ous. He is our Creator, our Redeemer,our
Provider. The Christian, further-more, cannot sever his love for
hisneighbor from his love for God. Theone God has commanded both.
Ourlove for our neighbor must includeour enemies as God's creatures
madein the image of God. God is no re-specter of persons. God loved
us whilewe were yet sinners. The Christianmay not hate those whom
God loves.And the parable of the Good Samari-tan teaches us that we
may not re-strict the word "neighbor." While onecannot sincerely
love God who hateshis neighbor, it is just as true thatone cannot
love his neighbor in theChristian sense of that term unlesshe loves
God first and foremost.
The ways in which this love maybe expressed are legion.
Manifestly,one who loves God will love HisWord, His Church, His
children. Thename of Jesus will not be an offenseto him. He will
not take God's namein vain nor desecrate the Lord's Day.His
devotion will be exclusive andentire. For those who love God
char-ity is a privilege and malice iseschewed. Sacrifices are
gladly madeand wrongs quickly forgiven. He wholoves God cannot at
the same timelove the world as Demas did (I John2: 15). Obedience,
the subject of ournext lesson, is born of love. Have you
ever felt this question was meant foryou? "Lovest thou Me?" What
wasyour answer?
June 9thChristian Obedience
It would be difficult to conceive ofanything more important in
the pres-ent day than a return to simple obedi-ence: of child to
parent, of both tothe law of God and of the land. Law-lessness is
rife. Men clamor for theirrights with little regard for
others'rights or their own duties. In fact,obedience and duty are
words quiteabhorrent to so many that our subjectmay lack popular
appeal, but its im-portance cannot be denied.
None can escape the requirementsof God's law. Although the
believer isfree from the condemnation of thelaw he remains under
obligation tokeep it. While the responsibility ofthose who know
God's law is greaterthan that of those who know it
not,nevertheless, ignorance of the law isno excuse.
Obedience is not Christian unless itproceeds from saving faith.
Mere pro-fession of faith is not enough. It isuseless to say, Lord,
Lord, when atthe same time we delight not to doHis will. No doubt,
there are manywho piously pray, "Thy will be done",who, in the
heart, do not love the lawof God. The kind of faith that savesa man
is the faith that bears fruit inloving obedience. "Wicked men
obeyfrom fear; good men from love,"wrote Aristotle. Love is the
motivat-ing power of Christian obedience. Itis the sum of all God's
command-ments. Jesus said, "If ye love me keepmy commandments."
That love is thechord found in the redeemed soulwhich responds
harmoniously to thelove of God. Obedience that is notborn of love
is not free. The Chris-tian obeys God's will not in order tobe
saved but because he has beensaved. "Obedience is love in
action,"said Charles Hodge.
Young people often hesitate to be-lieve and confess Christ as
Saviourbecause they believe the Christian lifeimposes too many
restraints upontheir freedom. A greater mistakecould not be made.
When one is savedhe experiences real freedom for thefirst time.
Until then he is in bondageto Satan. Only when he gives
implicitobedience to Christ is he truly free.When obedience is
given even thoughthe reason for a command is not fully
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154 THE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN May 25
The Eleventh AnnualCommencement Exercises
Of WESTMINSTER THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
understood, that is implicit obedience.A fish is free even
though he ishemmed in by shores; but once heleaps over the bounds
of his freedom,he dies. Likewise a man is free withinthe bounds of
God's law; when hetransgresses that law his liberty is
de-stroyed.
We find the Christ of the NewTestament no less insistent on
obedi-ence than the God of the Old Testa-ment. But Jesus was always
the per-fect example of His own teachings.He said, "Love your
enemies," andon the cross He died for the ungodly.In dying His
first thought was forHis enemies when He prayed, "Father,forgive
them for they know not whatthey do." Yes, Jesus was obedienteven
unto the death of the cross. Thatobedience was vicarious but also
ex-emplary. The One we must recognize
TH E Eleventh Annual Commence-ment Exercises of
WestminsterTheological Seminary were held at3 P. M. on Tuesday, May
7th, on theterrace of Machen Memorial Hall atthe campus in
Laverock, ChestnutHill, Philadelphia. This was the
thirdcommencement program to be held onthe 22-acre estate acquired
'by theseminary in 1937. Six members of thegraduating class
received the degreeof Bachelor of Theology and fivegraduate
students were granted thegraduate certificate of the seminary.Nine
graduates of former years werealso awarded the Th.B. degree.
TheRev. Edwin H. Rian, President of theBoard of Trustees,
presided.
A Her the processional hymn, "StandUp, Stand Up for Jesus," and
thedoxology, the invocation was offeredby the Rev. John J. DeWaard
of Ro-chester, New York. The Rev. ThomasM. Cooper of Lincoln,
Nebraska,chose for the Scripture reading thefourth chapter of II
Corinthians, andprayer was offered by the Rev. JohnP. Galbraith of
Philadelphia.
The AddressThe commencement address was de-
livered by the Rev. Louis Berkhof,President of Calvin
Theological Sem-inary, Grand Rapids, Michigan, andauthor of a
number of widely-read
as Lord, the One we ought implicitlyto obey, is the One who
Himself wasperfectly obedient. Let us say in thewords of Paul:
"Lord, what wilt thouhave me to do?" See also Heb. 5: 8;Phil. 2:8;
John 15: 10; Rom. 5: 19.
Disobedience born of doubt, rebel-lion and pride only leads to
grief anddisaster. This world has witnessed anendless train of
disobedience, begin-ning with the disobedience of our firstparents.
Outstanding examples can befound in Achan, Joshua, Saul
andJonah.
On the other hand, the man whodoes God's will is like one who
buildshis house upon a rock and is regardedas a member of God's
family (Matt.12: 50). Whereas disobedience bringswidespread woe,
obedience brings theblessings of God (James I: 25; Rev.22: 14).
books on Reformed doctrine. Profes-sor Berkhof chose as his
subject thequestion, "What Shall We Preach?"It is a sad fact, he
said, that manymen are graduated from seminariestoday not knowing
what to preach.Although he had no doubt that thegraduates of
Westminster Seminaryknew just what to preach, he stressedthe value
of a reaffirmation.
The Lord has determined the mes-sage of those who shall preach
in Hisname. Those messengers must speakwith the authority of the
King; theymay speak no message of their own,but only the message of
the King.That message is no emasculated socialgospel, for it is
centralized in theatoning blood of Christ. It begins atthe cross of
Calvary and flows throughevery domain of life and bears uponevery
facet of existence.
The servants of God in the days ofthe Reformers, declared
ProfessorBerkhof, were not in doubt as to whatthey should preach.
But modernpreachers have lost the original mes-sage, and their
substitute for it hasproven ineffective. Historical criti-cism
reduced the Bible to a falliblerecord of human experience, and
thesupernatural was ruled out of everysphere of existence and
thought. Al-though there were some who, in theface of the onslaught
of rationalism,
contended for the faith, they relied ina pietism that offered no
solution forthe ills of this world but only a brighthope for the
world to come. Thencame the so-called social gospel, de-signed to
erect the Kingdom of Godupon a naturalistic basis in this world.To
the proponents of this new "gos-pel," the chief end of life iwas
not theglory of God but the welfare of man.The social gospel
"liberated" men fromthe authority of the Word of God.But the
holocaust of the war two de-cades ago was evidence that even
theprogress of the social gospel was sub-servient to man's greed
and lust.
Modernism has had its day, de-clared Professor Berkhof, and is
rap-idly disintegrating. Fundamentalistshave exposed the dishonesty
of Mod-ernism and the humanists have ac-cused the Modernists of
inconsist-ency and insincerity. Barthianism hasjoined the attack on
the old Modern-ism. Although Barthianism representsa means by which
a return to apseudo-orthodoxy may be achievedwithout going back to
the Word ofGod, it, together with the humanistsand the
Fundamentalists, has beenable to wreak havoc upon the mod-ernist
camp. But Modernism will notreturn to the old gospel, to the
mes-sage of the King. It seeks a new mes-sage and is trying vainly
to mix thesocial and the individual gospel toform an entirely new
gospel.
If the students of WestminsterSeminary turn deaf ears to
everymessage save the divinely authorita-tive message of the King,
they needhave no doubt as to what to preach.They must bring that
message to theirministry in all its fullness and com-pleteness, in
order that they may reapthe richest fruit of their preaching."Go
forth in the name of your King!Preach a 'Thus saith the
Lord.'''
DeCJrees and AwardsThe degree of Th.B. was conferred
upon the following members of thegraduating class, as well as
upon nineformer graduates:
Paul BohnJohn Henry Gerstner, Jr.John Francis GrayDaniel
Cornelius MacPhersonDavid Augustus WatsonGeorge Jonathan Willis
Those receiving graduate certificateswere:
John Starr KimJohn Henry Gerstner, jr.Susumu Ikezuki
-
1940 THE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN 155
Yuichi KikutschArthur Wyndham Kuschke, Jr.
Mr. Gerstner also was awarded theFrank H. Stevenson Memorial
Schol-arship for graduate study. Mr. Wil-liam Young, a member of
the MiddleClass, was awarded the William Bren-ton Greene prize in
Apologetics.
Address to the GraduatesIn his address to the graduating
class, the Rev. Professor R. B. Kuiperspoke on the text of
Proverbs 23: 23,"Buy the truth and sell it not." Heurged the
students to remember theinestimable value of the truth of God.They
must continue to study thattruth through all the days of
theirministry and to appropriate it to them-selves. It is a very
good thing, saidProfessor Kuiper, for a man to knowthat he has the
truth of God in theBible; it is even better if he also hasthat
truth in his mind and heart.
To "buy the truth, and sell it not,"said Professor Kuiper, means
to buythe truth at any cost and not to sellit at any price. But the
temptationwhich the graduates will face willprobably not be a
temptation to sellall the truth. The temptation whichwill come to
them will be to sell justa little of the truth. Against yieldingto
that temptation in even the slight-est degree Professor Kuiper
gavestrong and incisive warning. "Buythe truth at any cost," he
declared;"sell the truth never!"
AnnouncementsMr. Rian announced that the Board
of Trustees, which had met duringthe morning, had appointed
Mr.Arthur W. Kuschke, Jr., to do fieldwork in behalf of the
seminary. Hewill engage in speaking, personal visi-tation and the
recruiting of students.His appointment is to be effective forone
year, beginning September, 1940.The seminary feels that in the
acqui-sition of Mr. Kuschke for this impor-tant work a forward
stride has beenmade. Mr. Rian also announced thatthe Women's
Auxiliary of Westmin-ster Seminary has reached and passedthe goal
which it set for itself ofraising $25,000 for the needs of
theseminary. It has set the same goal forthe year now
beginning.
Following the singing of a hymnand the benediction, the class of
1940presented to the seminary a picture ofMachen Hall to be hung in
the Com-mon Room. Tea was served for allthe friends and alumni.
Baccalaureate ServiceOn Sunday afternoon, May 5th, the
baccalaureate exercises were held inthe auditorium above the
library. Thesermon was preached by Dr. Ned B.Stonehouse, Professor
of New Testa-ment, on the text of Acts 4: 29: "Andnow, Lord, ...
grant unto thy serv-ants, that with all boldness they mayspeak thy
word." He urged the stu-dents to make this their prayerthroughout
their ministry, for it is aprayer for prophetic boldness. It
wasprayed with an acute awareness ofthe dangers confronting the
earlychurch and with a consciousness ofdeep need. The dangers which
wouldconfront the students about to begraduated would probably not
be ofthe same nature, but would rather bethe danger of yielding to
the tempta-tion to keep silent when the clearteaching of the Word
of God shouldbe proclaimed, and to compromise, beit ever so
slightly, with the forces ofunbelief. The prayer was based on afirm
confidence in the truth of God'sWord. It was, moreover, a prayer
forprophetic boldness-a prayer. for thespecially-appointed
ministers of theWord. Finally, it was prayed in aspirit of humble
reliance upon thepower of almighty God. Dr. Stone-house exhorted
the students always topray in the confidence that God alone,as
sovereign creator and Lord, cansupply their need of prophetic
bold-ness.
Alumni BanquetOn Monday evening, May 6th, the
alumni and their friends gathered atthe Robert Morris Hotel in
Philadel-phia for the ninth annual banquet.Nearly a hundred persons
enjoyedthe time of fellowship and the renew-ing of old friendships
and the inspira-tion of listening once more to thestories of God's
rich blessing uponthe graduates of Westminster Semi-nary.
Officers elected for the year 1940-41were: The Rev. Franklin S.
Dyrness,president; the Rev. Richard W. Gray.vice-president'; the
Rev. James W.Price, secretary; and the Rev. E.Lynne Wade,
treasurer. Members-at-large chosen to represent the
AlumniAssociation were the Rev. John P.Clelland, the Rev. Clifford
S. Smithand Dr. Robert Strong.
Mr. Robert E. Nicholas spoke brieflyof the work being done by
the Leagueof Evangelical Students, of which heis field secretary.
The Rev. Edwin H ..
Rian told of his thankfulness to Godfor the loyalty of the
graduates andfor the unity of purpose which nowcharacterizes both
the Board of Trus-tees and the faculty. Dr. CorneliusVan Til spoke
briefly on "Taking theCalendar Seriously", and the Rev.John J.
DeWaard discussed "TheOffice of the Ministry".
Following these informal addresses,several alumni told of
particular bless-ings attendant upon their labors andrequested
prayer for specific enter-prises in which they were engaged.The
devotional exercises were led byMr. Gray and a time of blessed
fel-lowship in prayer was the closing ex-ercise of the evening.
Women's AuxiliaryPreceding the commencement exer-
cises the members of the Women'sAuxiliary and their friends
gatheredfor luncheon in Machen MemorialHall. Most encouraging
reports weremade by captains of the several teamswho have been
engaged in securingcontributions for the support of West-minster
Seminary. The splendid workwhich has been accomplished with
en-thusiasm and loyalty by the ladies de-serves special
commendation. Mrs.Frank H. Stevenson is president ofthe
auxiliary.
Those who attended the Eleventh An-nual Commencement Exercises
wereconvinced that Westminster Seminaryis each year possessed of a
greaterspirit of united effort toward thesingle goal of God's glory
and ofa deeper bond of spiritual conviction.
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-
156 THE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN May 25
Orthodox Presbyterian Church NewsPresbytery of Philadelphia
CA L V A R Y CHURCH, WillowGrove: The sacrament of theLord's
Supper was recently celebratedby the largest number of persons
inthe history of the congregation. Anew elder, Mr. Edward F.
Hankin,was ordained on April 21st. The Rev.Clarence W. Duff was
guest preacheron April 28th, and the Rev. Edwin H.Rian will present
the cause of West-minster Seminary on June 9th.
Knox Church, Philadelphia: OnApril 14th a child of the
covenantwas baptized, and a week later the
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pastor, the Rev. George W. Marston,began another communicant
classwith an attendance of five members.Seventy-five persons
attended a fel-lowship supper on April 30th. Guestspeakers were the
Rev. John H. Skil-ton of Westminster Seminary and theRev. Robert S.
Marsden, general sec-retary of the missions committees.
Livingstone Memorial Church, Phil-adelphia: During the summer
monthsstudents from Westminster Seminarywill supply the pulpit. Mr.
Paul Bohn,who has been in charge of the workduring the past school
year, reportsthat the average attendance through-out the winter has
been 25.
Mediator Church, Philadelphia: Agroup of young people, older
than theusual age for young people's societies,has been meeting in
the homes ofmembers for informal Bible discus-sions and social
fellowship. Mr. AlanTichenor was the guest preacher onMay 5th.
Valley Forge Church, Norristown:On May 3rd the closing exercises
ofthe Colored Week-day Bible Classeswere held at the cottage
church. OnWednesday, May 8th, a farewell serv-ice was held for Miss
Harriett Teel,who is planning to leave shortly forDenver, Colorado.
She expects towork among the Negro and Mexicanchildren, conducting
Bible classes andvacation Bible schools.
Calvary Church, Germantown, Phil-adelphia: On Wednesday, May
1st,the Women's Missionary Society heldits annual meeting, preceded
by a boxsupper. The speaker of the eveningwas the Rev. George W.
Marston,pastor of the Knox Church, Philadel-phia. During the
evening mite boxes,previously distributed for contribu-tions to the
church's building fund,were opened and $110 was therebyadded to the
fund. It is hoped thatplans may soon be made for erectinga building
on the lot purchased lastyear by the congregation.
St. Andrew's Church, Baltimore,Maryland: On the first Sunday
inMay this congregation, under the pas-torate of the Rev. Theodore
J. Jansma,held its first services in its new tem-porary location at
225 W. 25th Street.
Kirkwood Church, Kirkwood: TheRev. E. Lynne Wade, formerly
ofSanta Ana, California, has acceptedthe call of this congregation,
and hasalready arrived to take up his pas-
toral duties. The installation servicewill be held in the near
future, andthe congregation is looking forwardeagerly to rich
blessing under Mr.Wade's ministry.
Redeemer Church, Philadelphia:The use of duplex envelopes
hasgreatly increased the benevolence giv-ing of the congregation. .
. . OnWednesday, May 22nd, Mr. EvanRunner will address the
missionarysociety concerning his trip to TheNetherlands.
Atonement Church, Philadelphia:The congregation is looking
forwardto the visit of the Rev. A. CulverGordon of Bancroft, South
Dakota.who will supply the pulpit for severalweeks.
Presbytery of Ohio
COVEN A N T CHURCH, Indianap-olis, Indiana: Ten days of
specialservices have been conducted by theRev. Alexander K. Davison
of Vine-land, New Jersey. As a result of hismessages, new people
have beenreached and many have been attractedto the church. The
services were pre-ceded by a week of prayer meetings.
Trinity Church, Cincinnati: Plansfor the approaching general
assemblyare occupying the attention and en-ergies of the
congregation and its pas-tor, the Rev. Everett C. DeVelde. Allwho
expect to attend are urged tocommunicate with Mr. De Vel de atonce,
in order that arrangements fortheir entertainment may be made.
Presbytery of New Jersey
TH E spring Young People's Con-ference sponsored by the
presby-tery was held at the Calvary Churchof Bridgeton on April
19th and 20th.I t was the largest and most suc-cessful ever
conducted by the pres-bytery, and there were 170 youngpeople at the
opening banquet. Theevening service which followed wasaddressed by
the Rev. Donald C. Gra-ham of Westfield. The Saturdaymorning
meeting was addressed bythe Rev. John P. Galbraith of
Phila-delphia, and discussion groups wereled on the subjects of
personal work,music for the society, helps for offi-cers and helps
for leaders. The Rev.Henry W. Coray spoke at the closingmeeting on
Saturday afternoon. Therewere 147 registered delegates
repre-senting the churches of The Ortho-dox Presbyterian Church in
NewJersey.
Faith Church, Pittsgrove: The min-
-
1940 THE PRES BYT ERI A N G UA R D I AN 157
ON THE CAMPUS OF
Laverock. Chestnut Hill. Philadelphia
Thursday, May 30, 1940
PROGRAM
3 P. M.-Rev. Richard W. Gray
7 P. M.-Rev. Edwin H. Rian
Morning: Recreation
All are cordially invited to attend
Church Road and Willow Grove Avenue
Westminster Seminary
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first services under the new name andat the new location were
held on May5th. The congregation is sharing theuse of the church
building with theowners, the Christian AdventistChurch of New
Haven. By holdingthe morning service at 9 :30 and Sun-day school at
10 :30, a satisfactoryschedule has been arranged. The newbuilding,
which is equipped with apipe organ, is located in a
promisingneighborhood.... The New Havenchurch was host to the Rev.
HenryW. Coray from April 26th to 28thand reports great blessing
from theservices. Gratifying offerings werereceived for the work of
the Commit-tee on Foreign Missions.
Second Parish Church, Portland:On Friday evening, April 26th,
theRev. Arthur O. Olson was installedas pastor of the church. There
were165 persons present at the impressiveservice conducted by the
presbytery,with the Rev. John H. Skilton, themoderator, presiding.
The installation
Presbytery of New Yorkand New England
FIR S T CHURCH, New Haven: Ata congregational meeting held
onApril 24th, the Calvin PresbyterianChurch of New Haven voted to
movefrom its present temporary quartersinto a church building and
to changethe name of the church to "The FirstOrthodox Presbyterian
Church." The
istry of Mr. Coray was enjoyed dur-ing special Easter services
held onMarch 21st, 22nd and 24th. On Sun-day, April 14th, six new
membersunited with the church.
Grace Church, Trenton: A Sundayschool has been started in
nearbyForest Valley, a hitherto neglectedfield, and 50 people
attended the firstsession. Nineteen of the young peo-ple of Grace
Church attended thespring conference in Bridgeton. OnApril 7th a
record crowd of 67 waspresent at the communion service,and three
new members were receivedand two infants baptized. The pray-ers of
all members of the denomina-tion are asked for the Rev. and
Mrs.Leslie A. Dunn in the sudden deathof their infant son, that God
maygive them strength and comfort intheir bereavement.
Covenant Church, Vineland: Theannual congregational meeting
washeld on April 11tho The meeting,which was preceded by a
well-at-tended supper, featured the alteringof the church name to
include theword "Orthodox." Encouraging re-ports were heard:
Approximately$1,300 was raised for missions andaround $5,200 for
local needs duringthe past fiscal year. The debt on thebuilding was
greatly reduced during-the year.
Calvary Church, Wildwood: Thecongregation regretfully
concurredwith their former pastor, the Rev.James L. Rohrbaugh, in
requesting thepresbytery to dissolve the pastoralrelation at a
special meeting held inWildwood, April 2nd. After a happyand
successful ministry of some threeyears in Wildwood, Mr.
Rohrbaughfelt that the condition of his health,which had been
adversely affected bythe climate of the beach town, madeit
imperative for him to seek a change.He has been affectionately
dismissedto the Presbytery of Philadelphia ofthe United
Presbyterian Church, un-der whose jurisdiction he is being
as-signed to a newly-opened work inManoah, Pennsylvania.
-
158 THE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN May 25
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sermon was preached by Dr. RobertStrong of Willow Grove,
Pennsyl-vania, on "The Search of the Proph-ets." The constitutional
questions werepropounded by Mr. Skilton, thecharge to the pastor
was given by Dr.William P. Green, and the charge tothe congregation
by Mr. Skilton.Prayer was offered by the Rev. DeanW. Adair.
Following the service areception was held for Mr. and
Mrs.Olson.
Presbytery of Wisconsin
TH E Rev. Oscar O. Holkeboer, pas-tor of Bethel Presbyterian
Churchof Oostburg, underwent an operationfor acute appendicitis on
May l st,Prayers of all members of the denom-ination are asked for
his speedy andcomplete recovery. The Bethel Men'sSociety is
studying the history ofIsrael and the Women's Societies arestudying
the Book of Genesis. About80 women and girls are enrolled inthe
latter organizations. The churchpublishes a monthly paper called
TheBethel Trumpet and on each Sundaya weekly bulletin is also
issued.
Cal'lfary Church, Cedar Groue :Guest preachers who have
suppliedthe pulpit during its vacancy are theRev. Leland C.
Jorgenson, the Rev.John Davies, the Rev. Theodore J.Jansma and Mr.
Henry VanTil.
Grace Church, Milwaukee: Twocommunicant members and seven
bap-tized children have recently beenadded to the roll of the
church. Inthe mid-week Bible study hour thecongregation is studying
the Old Tes-tament prophets. Attendance shows amarked and
encouraging increase.
The spring meeting of the presby-tery was held in Oostburg on
Aprilloth, The Rev. William Gray, a mem-ber of the presbytery who
is servinga Congregational church in Roscom-mon, Michigan, led the
devotions. TheRev. Leland C. Jorgensen was re-elected moderator for
the coming yearand the Rev. Oscar Holkeboer waschosen to serve as
stated clerk. Theexisting Committee on Home Missionswas dissolved
and a new committeeformed, composed of Mr. Jorgensen,Mr. Holkeboer
and Mr. ChesterHoover, an elder of the CalvaryChurch of Cedar
Grove. The Rev.John Davies was elected to the Com-mittee on
Standing Rules to fill thevacancy left by the Rev. John J.
De-Waard. In the evening, members ofthe presbytery attended a
gifheringheld in the Bethel Church of Oost-
burg in honor of Mr. and Mrs.Holkeboer and in expression of
ap-preciation of their loyalty, devotionand ministry.
Presbytery of the Dakotas
TH E Rev. Melvin B. Nonhof wasinstalled as pastor of the church
atHamill, South Dakota, on April 24th.The Rev. Walter J. Magee, the
Rev.Charles L. Shook, and the Rev. A.Culver Gordon took part in the
serv-ice. The congregation is looking for-ward to the visit of the
Rev. HenryW. Coray on May 17th and 18th.
Jennings Church, Omaha, Neb-raska: The Rev. Robert B.
Brown,pastor of the church, has been en-deavoring to reach all the
elders ofOmaha Presbytery of the Presbyte-rian Church in the U.S.A.
by meansof correspondence. In his letter Mr.Brown informs the
elders of condi-tions within their denomination, andin a forceful
and logical presentationgives proof of the fact that, by
theirmembership in the denomination, theyhave been unfaithful to
their ordina-tion vows. He has received one grati-fying response to
his efforts and hopesthat more will follow.
Presbytery of California
BE V ER L Y CHURCH, Los An-geles: At the annual congrega-tional
meeting, held on March 27th,the name of the church was changedfrom
"The Beverly PresbyterianChurch (Orthodox)" to "The Bev-erly
Orthodox Presbyterian Church."The building committee reported
thatduring the month of March over $200had been subscribed and
paid, raisingthe balance in this fund to a total of$630. The
Women's Guild voted tohelp finance The Home Evangel,about 500
copies of which will be dis-tributed monthly by various
organiza-tions of the church
Covenant Church, Berkeley: At arecent . congregational meeting
thenumber of elders was increased tofive. A general increase in
church at-tendance and giving was reported; abuilding fund was also
started. OnMay l st the new Orthodox Presbyte-rian Church of San
Francisco, ofwhich the Rev. Robert L. Atwell is thepastor, met with
the Covenant Churchin Berkeley for an inspirational mis-sionary
rally. Plans are being madefor summer young people's
confer-ences.
Westminster Church, Los Awqeles :On Easter morning an all-time
high
-
1940 THE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN 159
point was reached in Sunday schoolattendance. At the communion
servicefollowing, one new member was re-ceived on affirmation of
faith. At theannual congregational meeting, in-crease in attendance
was reported byall departments-most notably in theSunday school.
The Rev. E. LynneWade, former pastor of this congre-gation,
preached a farewell sermon onthe morning of April 14th before
hisdeparture for the east.
The Rev. Donald K. Blackie, amember of presbytery and pastor
ofthe First Congregational Church ofEscondido, was guest of honor
at areception recently held for the 60members who have joined the
churchduring his first year. . . . On April17th the Rev. Edwin H.
Rian waswell received by an appreciative audi-ence. He spoke on
"Westminster Sem-inary and the World Today."
TRIAL OF REY. L. C. LONGCONCLUDED BY PRESBYTERY
TH E Rev. L. Craig Long, formerpastor of the Calvin
PresbyterianChurch of New Haven, Connecticut,of The Orthodox
PresbyterianChurch, has been under trial forsome time and has now
been foundguilty by the Presbytery of NewYork and New England of
conductunbecoming a minister. The chargeswere brought by two
pastors of thedenomination. Date for imposition ofthe censure of
admonition has notyet been fixed. One other charge andadditional
specifications were dis-missed by the judicatory.
One of the specifications establishedby the trial judicatory
concerned thematter of a suit brought by Mr. Long
against his former church to recover$2,000 on a note which he
had pur-chased. The judicatory judged that,
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represents onlyabout 35 per cent. of the contemplatedtotal
investment. We must buildchurches!
How shall we build these churcheswhich are so necessary? Is
there notsomeone reading these words who canlend some of these
necessary funds?Is there not someone who sees thetragic situation
faced by thesechurches I have cited, and by manyothers, where a few
thousand dollarswould establish the churches firmlyand permanently?
A most pressingneed of our denomination is for afund to be lent, at
interest, to enablechurches to undertake building pro-grams which
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Fresh Up-to-the-Minute EXPOSITIONon the Sunday School Lesson
Text
-
160 THE PRESBYTERIAN GUARDIAN May 25.1940
WrHeforSamples
"without prejudice to the question ofthe propriety of bringing
suit, it wasunbecoming to have brought suitwithout giving to the
officers of thechurch an adequate opportunity tosettle the matter
out of court."
The two other specifications whichwere established concerned
certainarticles written by Mr. Long andpublished in The Christian
Beaconof Collingswood, N. J., which werefound, in one instance, to
"pre-judice the good name of WestminsterTheological Seminary and
the goodname of the members of the faculty
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in-volving Mr. Long's writings whichappeared in The Christian
Beacon,it was found that he had similarlyprejudiced the good name
of the thenPresbyterian Church of America andits ministers.
All sessions of the trial were opento the public, but no news
was re-leased by the presbytery while the trialwas in progress. Mr.
Long was, ofcourse, at liberty to release anypublicity he chose at
any time, butuntil charges had been either provenor dismissed the
presbytery did notwish, in fairness to Mr. Long, to pub-lish news
of the progress of the case.
DOCKET PROPOSED FORSEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLYTH E Committee on
Arrangementsfor the Seventh General Assemblyof The Orthodox
Presbyterian Churchhas submitted a tentative docket forthe sessions
of the assembly. Thesewill begin on Tuesday, June 4th, atthe Hotel
Alms, Cincinnati, Ohio.Trinity Orthodox Presbyterian Churchof
Cincinnati will be host to the gen-eral assembly.
The proposed docket follows :Tuesday, June 4, 194fJ
2.00 Service of worshipSermon by Moderator of 6th
AssemblyObservance of the Sacrament of
the Lord's Supper4.00 Constituting of the Assembly
Roll CallAdoption of DocketPresentation of Minutes of 5th
and 6th AssembliesElection of ClerkElection and installation of
Mod-
eratorPresentation of overtures and
papersAppointment of special Commit-
teesOn Overtures and PapersOn Examination of Minutes
of PresbyteriesOn date and place of next
meeting-8.00 Evening Meeting, to be arranged
Wednesday, June 5, 19409.00 Devotional Service9.15 Assembly
called to order
Minutes of previous day read9.30 Report of Committee on Home
Missions, etc.Nomination of members to Com-
mittee on Home Missions11.00 Report of Committee on Consti-
tution
4.30 Report of Committee on ForeignMissions
Nomination of members to Com-mittee on Foreign Missions
(6.00 Westminster Theological Semi-nary dinner)
8.00 Evening meeting, to be arrangedThursday, June 6, 194fJ
9.00 Devotional Service9.15 Assembly called to order
Minutes of previous day read9.30 Report of Committee on
Chris-
tian EducationNomination of members to Com-
mittee on Christian Education11.00 Reports of special
committees
appointed by previous Assem-bly
The Legal CommitteeCommittee to consider mat-
ter of secret societiesCommittee to consider mat-
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Missions
2.00 Election of members to standing-committees
(6.00 Buffet supper)8.00 Evening meeting, to be arranged
Frida)', June 7, 19409.00 Devotional Service9.15 Assembly called
to order
Minutes of previous day read9.30 Report of Committee on
Exami-
nation of Minutes of Presby-teries
Miscellaneous businessSetting- date and place of
next assemblyApproval of Minutes
Adjournment
FURTHER ACCOMMODATIONSANNOUNCED FOR ASSEMBLY
FDRTHER plans for the entertain-ment of commissioners and
theirwives at the Seventh General Assem-bly in Cincinnati, Ohio,
from June 4thto 7th, have recently been announced.As