VOLUME XXll DECEMBER 1962 NUMBER 9

Published monthly, evcept J u n e and A u g u s t CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: by thc Federation of Protestant Reformed Young Rcv. Robert LIarbsch .................... Truth vs. Error People's Societies. Aglttha Lubbers .......................................... Critiquc EXECUTIVE BOARD: Mrs. C. %ere1 .................................... Xeirs Editor

Harry Lnl~rerak .................................... . . T r i t Ch:irlcs H. \\:cstra .................. C u r r e ~ ~ t Conimenrs Cdvixi Reitsma .............................. \-ice President lfari lyn Onderbma Secretary Mary Pastoor ............................... A s t . Secretary Dare Ondersnia ..................................... l 'reas~rrer QA Ed\\*zrd Lsnrerak ....................... A s s t . Treasurer Sharon Prxrice ..................................... 1.ibrarinn

EDITORIAL STAFF: David Ex~srlarn? ........................... Eilitor-in-Chiei H. \V. Krtper .......................... As-ociatc Edi:or John Kdilibuek .......................... JIanaging Ediior Sancy Hezinstr, ........................ l'ir~ancc Xla~ragt-1-

STAFF: Hele:~ Flikkcma ............................................ Clcrk Carol Van Putten .............................. k t . ('lerk Clarice Sea.hof ..............

.................. Lois Schippcr ) 31a11. Koier Ha?bin

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TAXES . . . WITH A PURPOSE .................................................................................................... 1 Rev. B. Wo~denberg

EDITORIAL .................................................................................................................................. 3 Hcnry W. Kuiptr

BOOKS - I f Thou Sholt Confess ..........................................................................................

Re:. G. C. Lubbers

PHILIP MELANCHTHON 5 David Erg-lsmo

RECAPITUVITIGN AND RESOLUTION 7 Norcy He~mstrc

THE UNNOTICED - NOTICED 8 Doryl Huj:ken

CRiTiQUE 9 Ago:ho Lubbers

MISSIONARY NOiES 11 R=v G C Lubber>

TRUTH \ s ERROR 13 Re. R C Ho boch

16 NEWS Lots E K-eg-1

7age4 WITH fl PURPOSf !

REV. B. WOUDENBERG

And it carrre to pass in those cloys, that there \vent out a elc~crec~ from Caesar Aug~lstus that all thc worlcl should be taxed. (And tlris tilsi~lg was first made when Cyrcni~~s \\':IS governor of Syria.)

A I I ~ ;dl \vent Lo I)e titsc!d, r>vrqr one into his o\vn city.

And Joseph also \\rent 1111 from Cali- lee, out of the city of Ni~z;~rc:tli, into Judaea, unto the city of Dn\fid, which is called Bethlehem;

To bc t a ~ e d \\*it11 Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

Lrrkc 2:l-5 TAXES! -to most penplc. I I I L . ~ itrc6 a

scourge -the scourge of tlrc Iiunian race. Actually tines :Ire :IS old ;IS civilization

itsclt', and its nrost u~ipopr~lnr p:lrt no doubt.

Origi~lally Lases were \!cry s1111tilc. They \\,ere called gifts, and somctiti~cs they really \\.ere. So \ye arc told in Gcncsis tli;~t Al~ra- ha111 gave titlres of all that Irc possessed to ~lelchizedck king of Salem. This \vas a willing gift presentee1 by Al)r;~llitrn hrcause he recognized that hlclcl~izeclck was a priest of the most hidl God. 1-lis gift w;ts a recog- nition of tlre fact that all Iio ~~ossessrd was his only by the gooclncss of thc C:od who~u bfelcl~izeclek represcntccl. AI I~I tlicre nray

\yell have been other instance> abo when gifts were given to tlre heads of other na- tions or tribes ~nercly as espressions of friendship or g r i~ t i t~~de .

Usually, ho\\~c.vc*r, when these early k~fts of tribute wcre rcndrred, there were other, ulterior rnoti\.cn bel~ind them. The gifts so given almost inc\~itably flobved from the less po\\~erfnl tribes to the more powerful ones. Therr \verc. reasons for this. The small and \\.c:~k tribes \vere always con- scious of thrir inability to defend them- selves from invaclcrs. For them it was a matter of practicitl importance to establislr frien(Lqhips with more po\verf~d neighbors who conltl stanel by tl~enr and help tl~em shoulcl an e11c.111y appear.

It clid not titkc long for the inigl~ticr rulers to disco\fer t I i ; ~ t this could be ;I very lucrative source of \\~c.altlr. As times went on the stronger tribes and nations more and more sent fort11 tlicir ;innies into neigh- boring lands to i.silct from tlrenr suclr trib- utes or to tllreaten thcm 1~1th complete des- truction. It Ixcame a way of life. Perhaps the most successftrl practitioners of this sort of t i~~a t ion \\.ere king Da\id of Israel and SoIonlon his son. Under the armies of David the boundnrics of Isrncl and its tributaries \\-ere cstcntlctl from the Kile to the Euph- r ~ t c s river. It \V;IS 11y far the livgest !&gdoru

BEACON LIGHTS

ant1 the most wealthy that the \vorlil llad seen until tliat day. Each 11:ition s~i l~t l~led by David's armies \\.as compelled to prcsent a yearly L<ft or tribute to the nation of Israel. It was fro111 the great wei~llll so gathered tliat the fiin~cd glory of ~olon~on's great kingdom \\*as constnicted. And, al- tl1ocig11 t l ~ c strength of Isracl uri~s ~lnder- mined by the division in the kingdol~~, this method of conquest i~nd taxation continued to dominate the \vorlcl for rnnny cc*rrt~rl-ics.

It \\.as ]lot, ho\\~cvcr, until thr Iiomans \vere n~l ing the \\-orld tliat an entirely new concept in taxation was introduced. It hap- pened d~iring the rcisi of Caesar A~tg~lstus while Cyrcnius \\-its governor of Syri;~. At that time there was le\ied n tas, ~iot just upon the conqueretl nations 21s :I wl~olc. brit upon c \ e n su1,ject of the Rorr~:m em- pire indivicl~~ally, no matter to \vhiclt a?- tion he belonged. 'Tliis \\,as ;I tremc.llclous, epoch-making event in the Ilistory of tiisa- tion. It nieaxlt that Romans bat1 to go out arid make records of every individ~ti~l per- son in thcir realm. It nieaiit thnt c:vcry intlividual pcrson hilt1 to bc contacted ant1 the collection of his taxes llad to 1)e ~II-

forced. TIic complcdty of that task musl 11;lve been almost beyond c~mpr~l~c~ns ion in that day when it was introtlucecl. 'This \v:~s perh;lps the most significant illnow- tiori that \vas ever made in tlre long history of civilization and its taxations.

Unto this day the worltl still feels the cfrect of that in~~o\ri~tion ~n;ltle by Ci~esar ..\~ig~tstus \\?lien Cyrcni~~s was governor of Syria. Therc has harclly been an cn~pirc or kingdom since that time which has 11ot fol- leaved this ne\v ~netliotl of taxation. Almo~t e\,ery person eventvhere \\rho has livcd within the pale of ci\riliz1tion has I~ccn re- quirccl to register for tas:~tion afttsr thal method first dc\+setl when Cyrer~irls was governor of Syria. Although little is kno\vn ill~out it, this was o~lc- of the great lxcce- dent practices of all time.

o e c

011 yes, tlierc. is one othcr rvcnt \vhich \vc should mcntion coricemi~lg tlial rc.gistrtl- tion u.hic1i was introdriced by Caesar :\ugus- tiis. r\ct~~;tlly, of collrse, at thr time i t c*oulrl hartlly 11:lvc seeinctl important. It \\,as jnst one of those regrettable inconvenicnccs \vl~ich \\-ere bouxitl to take place ~ ~ n t l e r a command iis fnr reaching as th;it.

I t ;lpl~c:ars thitt in Palestine a11 Jews wert* rcquiretl to milkc their rc$gistrntion in the city of thctir fathers, regardless of where they h:~ppenetl to live at the titlie. This was an ;~wkward recluire~ncnt that tileant tlii~t every- one who h i ~ d rnoved into another temtory had to travel Ixtck to thr city in \\31ich hi.; f:~thers lived. Son~rtimes t l I is clislance was corisitlcral~le ant1 the l~artlships could bo vc:q- grcnt. -In instance of this tvas the case of n lnalr who 1i:itl to tri~vel to Bethlehem in Judac::~ 1111 thc. way from Nazareth in the province of Galilee. rind \\.hat made this journey especially cliffict~lt was that his wife \vllo tra\~rlc.tl \vith hini \vas bout to give birth to 21 cl~ild.

11% tlo not kno\v any of the tlctails of tllcir jo~lrney. oi~ly that t11c.y caiilc to the city as complete strangers unwelcomed and ~~nkmo\\,n. Actually they wc.re both people of mtlier imprrssive backgrounds. They \vere I:otli of the family of l)avicl, and thr young \\,oman was from the line of Israel's kings. She represented thc line fro111 \vhieli :~ccording to promise the hlessiah ~YIS to come forth. But in that modern clay people. regardless of hot\. religious thcy lo he, \\ere quitc satisfied with things as they were and really did riot cartb whether thc blcs.;iilh would rver came. The line of I)a\id.s ~rornisecl seed was ignored i~nd for- gott'n. 'The yo~ir~g couple clinic to the c i h of David ant1 no one c:~red. Recau~e of the registration, the city \vw cro\vderl when t11c.y caule. They n~c~nt froin door to tloor, I ~ u t \vherever they went there was no rooni until finally they were left \\it11 no clioicc but to spend thc night with the cattle in a public stable. It was clurix~g tli;lt night that llary's son was born.

This \vas one of the morc ~~nplcasant conserlucnces of that new fonn of txsation \vhich \\.as introduced. In itself it \sfas inci- tlentnl and did not reflect upon t l ~ r \ d u e I I ~ this form of titsation as sucl~. And yet. if it were not for that birtlr, he tax inno- vation of hugustus during the goven~orslup of C j ~ r n i u s \\vould no longer be remem- IIered. i\ltlioudi neither Caesar nor Cyre- ~ ~ i u s coufcl ha\+<. realized it. it was i rh~al ly their epoch-making f o m ~ of taxation that was rc;~lly incidental. Fiti;llly, it was only i~ means to bring IIar). to the city of her fathers that according to prophecy shc might Lllerc give birth to her firstl~orn son.

BEACON LIGHTS

This age, in \vl~ich man attempts to com- mcrcinlizc iultl cornrpt ;ill thzlt is holy and godly, is nonctl~elcss the age in \vllicl~ you, tlle yo11t11 of 0111. churches, ;ire c;~llr*tl to 11e saints of God, vrsscls cl~osen 1111to I l is honor and endless glory. I'ointedly. this is of kern interest to you 11s yorith of IIis covcnirn:, \\-110, though young, ne\.ertl~eless witness and perceive the atrocious car~~nlity and \$+eked rebellio~~ cshibited by Sittan ;~ntl all his hosts. Notice please, that yo11 tvit~ress, not only, but illso I'ERCEIVE thc nefarious enclenvors of S;~t;rn and his enlirc Iiost of ungodly collol.ts. You DO! For you too ilrc: His chosen in the Son. You too ;Ire c;~lled. You likewise i ~ r c the recipients of IIis g r a d and Spirit, e\~irlencccl in con\~crsion ;uld pos- session of siunctified hearts and ~nintls. And, hence, you too I~egin to discr-rn t l ~ c spiriti~al froni the ci~rnirl, the. truth from 111~. lic, con- secratior~ fro111 desecr.ltion.

1-ou (lo \v(sII to take note of this Inen- tionccl i~l~ove. \lonrcntous basis fc~r cou- tinueci tllanksgiving, isn't it? Vcry signif- icant, as tvcll, when you see that sucl~ con- dition \\,ill tuncluestionably bc rcllectcd in your spiritu;tl ;rttitrldcs and re-actions to\\;~rd all things. A chiltl of the Kingdon] of Light will re-act ;IS ;I s~~l~ jc -c t of tlrot K i ~ l g d o ~ ~ ~ , i~nd not as lie tvl~o rcvels in tile kingclonr of darkness! 'Tililt first of all. No ICSS t r~lc ;rnd si&mific:trlt is tllc resirltant portion of tl~ose who, with are called by the niiulr of Christ. As Cl~ristiarn, cspeci;rlly as Chris- tian uoritlt, yoi~ nlust. according to klis o\vn forewarning, cspect to rcccive tlne I~illo\\,s of scorn, derision, oppression and pc:sccution of His advcrs;~ries. 'Tl~is is your portion: "hated of ell nlen for 111). nal~~c.'s sake" !.\.l;itt. 10:22;1). This is also thc case. t l ~ x ~ r young pcoplc, its you find yourselvrs trnvcl- ing day by cl:iy through the "spccinl" days observed I>y t l ~ c Church each ycs;,r. 1l;ive regard for the day in the Scripturally-corrcxt sense. and yo11 \\till lie hbellcd ;IS "too l~ious," tlilrro\v, out-dated. Just rc-lnc~nbcr, in passing. thi~t tl~cy make the S;IIII~. rc*tnirrks about those vc:rsions of the Scriptrlrc!~ \vl~ic:l~

do not de-thronc the Aln~ighty SovCrcigu of all hl order tlnict man himself may I>(. es- a l t d (src reccmt, tinlely articles i ~ r I)otl~ The Stur~clnrrl Bcmrer and Necicori I.ig/~ls; and note, too the response of soille "fol.cig~~" clergy to said irrticles! )

The worltl endeavors to deny God in a rnultiplicity of Jvays. It tries brilzeirly or craftily to do so. Point is, do yon perceive t11e cnden\rors for \\.hat they are? For es- ample, yo11 set! a slogan in this l,rcbs(.~lt season, in \vhicl~ we arc concemcd witlr the celebration of our 1,ord's birth, sr~cll :IS this: "Put Christ I3;rck Into Clubtrnas." 'I'l~is \vns brought strikingly to mind this past wcbck as it was embli~zoned across the entire front of a dry cleaning estilblishment herc in the Chicago area. \\'hat it thing, you say, for the \vorld to t.rkc up and make known! For \\'hat reason sho~~lt l they take up tlre n;llnc of our 1,ortl. ant1 point out to the l~i~ssers-by tlrnt there is so~ncthing amiss in tl~c: trend of the celel)r:rtio~~ in this season? Tlrcy, u,llo have no concern for that \vhich is I~oly, lor that which is according to His \\'ord, for that \vhich is spiritual, are concerncd with and strive for it "proper" celebration of tllis day? So, indeed.

Yet, this somehow leaves the impression h t , if it is not correct that the ungotlly s h o ~ ~ l d take up and utter this slogall, it might be quitc proper that the child of C.c~c l give voicc in heart and \\,ord to such :I pica. Yet, you S C I I S ~ ~ inul~ediately that thcrc is in this slog;~n an ele~ncnt that is entirely f;~lse and dishonoring to our God, do yo11 not?

This plea i~ssrirws a lie. . h d thcrcforc, it becomes ol)viorrs tllat this phrnsc. is not properly forlntl ~ ~ p o n onr lips, as p i o ~ ~ s ;IS it niay sotlnd. That lie mentioned is this: Christ is no1 in C h i s h a s . That, yo~lng people of the Cl~urch of Cluist Jesus, is t l ~ c lie. Regard it ;ls such. Still more. T11;rt is the lie that is brought fortli by the evil, unquenchrd tlcsire in the heart of the \vick- ed. This is ihc dcsire of their rcl)cllio~~i ~uinds. \\~l1:11 \\,ouId be more p lces i r~~ for them th:un to know h a t h e Christ of Cod is really ortf of Cliristmas? Then itt last C:t)tl

BEACON LIGHTS Three

would be the li:lr, ant1 the serpcr~t \vottlrl not have Imtiscld the heel, but destroyc.cl the Seed I limself. D.tngrrous slognr~s? hloic than t1r:ct. -4bomin;ttions and lies! h'othirg more thirn mniinued tlistortions of the beau- tiful, yet sin~ple TRUTH of His \Vortl.

But you as cover~:~nt youth pcbrcc.ive, (lo you not? The CHURCH only 1l;is Christ- mas . . . and rest itsm~red that its I-lead. Jesus its the Christ. IS in it. None other have Christn~as. Sonr other have Christ.

Iloes it appear sotnc.tirnes that tl~is is n~,t so? Let this bc tiskcti: \\'here is Cllrist ir~ all the spheres of \vorltlly politics, I;il~clr,

chcl~rcillion, arn~rsrtner~ts, "religions," . . . . i r r t~~t!l of their sphcres? \\'here is lie? Scrip- t~trc. tells 11s t11at He is not in ;ill their tllougllts.

Yet He is present. To be srtrc., Me is not tl:cre as the l~lcssecl portion 111' tlirir soiils i~trd longing 1ie:irts. Hut He is tlrcrc as thc. supreme, sovereign H ~ ~ l e r of ; I I I t l lct complex society and intcr;rctions in the \vorld. .-\ritl thirt yon perceive 1,)- IIi* gr;rcc. too, don't yolt? 111 that kno\vledge and sl~owered nit11 :rlltrntlant grace. j.o~t are fortifictl lo fight the liglrt of faith ;rs the despised, scorned and ritliclrled youth of His Church. H.1V.K.

BOOKS -1 If Thou Shalt Confess J. K. \'AS RAAI-ES - Eerdmans - 6.5 pp. - $1.50

This booklet of 65 pages is intended for those confessing tllcir faith in the hosom of the Christian Rcfonned Churches. Tlre author touches upon rro less than c~igliteen topics, facets of the Christian life :und esper- ience. These topics are not in any tvay ar- rangt-tl logically to the subject wliich the book I)r.m as title, nor are they in ;my \tray nie;lnt to be sub-titles.

The ;tuthor. now ;itLnittedly ;itlv;tnced in year\. ~ i v c s many st~ggestionq of n pr;icticnl nature which arc tvorthy of bcirtg statecl, ant1 cc111;1lly \vortl~y of being rrrncvnl~crccl. Ho\vi-vvr, onc fails to dc.tect a s t r c ~ ~ ~ g Hc- forttretl oricritatiot~ in the hook, vir\\-cd against th- hack-gro~rnd of the t1irt.t. ques- tions ;~\ked of the confessor 1. Concerning f;;itl~ ill the doctrinc of the Oltl : I I I ( [ Nt\v Tcst;~rricnts 2. 'I'lrc proniisc L I B ~.t.ic.et all herehi(*\ repupnailt to this teacl~ir~g. ant1 . I

godly life. 3.Thc promise to s r ~ l ~ t ~ ~ i t to Chri3ti:irt discipline. This lack of oric.nt;ttion possil~ly accounts for the temiir~ology sitcll :is "joining church", ;tntl for cllnr;rctc.riziog

the Cli~trch as being an "am~y" rather than 111;rt slie is the "l~ody" of Christ.

\\'hat the author insists :IS bc:it~g the Bib- lical teaching concerning titltiiig simply is trot tnle. Since this is the only point he iirgltrs in this Ilooklet, and tli;~t, too. so very csrroncously, \vc must uttcr jusl ii t\,ord of prc.c;~ution to thc csffect that Scripture 111ost tlc:fir~itely te:ichvs that tithing \\*as an inte- gral part of the ccrerno~rial In\vs and odin- anccs. It was an integral p;rrt, the very \varp and woof of the Ia\vs of the first-fruits ol tlrr harvest, thr tenth part for the Levitcas, of \\~hich tenth part again :I lc~nth was as- sigricd to the priests proper. Confer Lev. 27:.'30-32: Nun~l,c.rs 15:24-28; Ileut. 1.7:6, 11. 17; Neh. 10:38 etc.

'1'0 argue for "tithing" in tlw literal sense is I I O ~ Nc\v l'cst;~~ncntaI. 1-1cr(: the rille is the principle of the "tithe", that in the tenth part tlw \v11olc is represented; pro- cl:~iming that ull 1,rlongs to the Lord. Hence tilt. Ne\v Test;~n~cnt nrle is "according to the nt.c~tl" ancl "nccortling to :rl~ilit)~" fron~ a lil)cr;~l heart.

\\'it11 these rt.sen.ations I rrcommend this I~ooklet to those interested to rc;~cl it.

Anti: sopir:titi suf!

Ilcv. G.C.L.

Four BEACON 1 IGHTS

DAVID ENGELSMA

( 3 ) 'I'l~c final aspect of Irlelanchthon's life

with which we will dcal has to do with his position as the: cliinf spokcsm;ln for tlrc Hcf- ormation in its colloq~~ics and consultntions \vith the Ro~nish Cl~urcli. In this corlnec- tio~l, his detractors 1111rl the accusntion of "co~nproniiser" against him. Usually, nod- cr11 critics of Philil, rnrrffle criticism ;IS rc- yilrtls Philip's \t~illingncss to collll~romise wit11 thr Ztvillglians ;111d C:11vi11ists since his co~~ccssions it] this sphere were morc or less correct. .\IelanchtI~on's own esprcssions : I ~ I V I I ~ h e Rou~an Catholic Chiuch were contradictory. In 1539, thinking himself to he al>out to die, P h i l i ~ \\,rote in his \\fill, "I also clnjoin upon my cl~iltlrc:n to itl~idr i l l our c l~~l rc l~es ancl to Ilcc, tho churches ant1 so- cicty of the Papists." In cotfict wit11 this a\ro\\,c.tl a3sh was his lcttcr to the p;lpal ~~utlcio, Canipeggitr, at :\ugsburg in 1530. "\\'r 11;1ve no tlogrn;~ different from the IZolnan Cllurch . . . \\'e are prep;rrcd to cll,c*y the 1to111;rn CIIII~CII , if 011ly SIIC \\'it11 thc clemency whicli she has always 11scd tow;~rtla all peoples, 1vo111d modify or rcl;ls sonic few matters \\,lticIi we, eve11 if \vc \vol~ld, could not alter . . . It is but :I slight divcarsity of ritrs which seerns tu st;lntl in the w:ly of concortl. But the canons tl1i.m- st:lvcas say that Ll~e concortl oP thr c41t1rch cat1 Ije retaillet1 cVell \vitl~ sucl~ tlivrrsity of rifCS.'p.i2

Pllilip's state of ~nind at the Colloqt~ic-s of Frankfurt, Ii'orms, nlld Regensburg (c. 1540) was :lnytlring but co~nposed. He felt very kc.c~rly the responsil)ility of his position.

His high rcgard for the visiblc unity of the Church and his awarcncss of the troul~led condition of Protestantism since episcopal 511pcn~ision was abolished lured 11un from tile fir111 stand \vhich \\;as necesslry. 'I'l~e \{-ant of discipline, the rapacity of the prirl- ces, ant1 the flrror among 1.11ther:tn theo- logians carlscd Irlelanchthon to overestimate that whicl~ the Romich Church offered and to i~ndc*rc\timatc the de:~rnes\ of the truth of Scril~t~~rt. . Beside\. IrIcl;~nchtlion was al- \rays re:lrly to concecle :I sort of papacy by hurn;~n right (iore I~rrn~ono.) Rut the en- tre~lched Catl~olics \vould accept nothing hut totill sl~rrender and the corlcessions of Philip i~v:~iletl not at d l .

The Diet of ~iugsburg (1530) told the same story. The same Philip \vho cor~lcl write "t11:lt the Pope is r\ntichrist stated and ruling in the 'tem1,ie of God'," failt!d critically to defend the faith just won \\-it11 diffic~~lty. 11s the immediilte prospect of unity pr(*sented itsclf, Philip co~lceded some tmths ;untl millimized or ig~lorrd olliers. Cen~rally, 11c. w:u: ready to find some low- rst comnlon denominator upon which the r~tlically tlifferent Lutlreral~ and Roman Catholic groups might merge. ..it Augsburg, l le la~lcl~t l~on insisted th;rt thc group he rep- r~~:ntccI \V;IS 1101 opposed to C.~tllolic doc- trines 11111 o111y to some nl,~~*tzs of practice. In resporlsc- to .\ Icl;~nchtlio~~'s ;u~sious qucr- ies from til~gsburg, 1,uther scnt hasty reply, "1 run \vondering \\;hat you rncan when you say you tlcsire to kno\\y \\.hat and how n~uch we may yield to the Papists. According to my opinio~~, too much is ;~lreacly conccded

BEACON LIGHTS

to them in the Apo10gy."33~ Time and again, Luthr-r exhorted his colleague to stand fast, to dispense with philosopliicul anxieties, and to herald boldly the tntth of Christ. At i\ttgsburg a at the previous Col- loquies, the Catholics refused Pllilip's gal- erous concessiorrs.

That which heaped the grratest 011locluy upon \lrlrulchthon, both at the tinir ancl long aftenvards, was Philip's acceptallcr of the Leipzig Intcarim. The ill-fated Smalkald- i m League (Protestant) hacl just heen de- feated by tile Ron~an Catholic powers. 'I'he sturdy Luther hacl already died. To klel- anchthon, now titular head of the Rcfornliz- tion, it si~emed as if d l Protestirntisrt~ was about to perish. Imperial troops men:~cc~d the entire country. In the light of his. \Ielanchthon accepted the stipulations 11311- ded down by t l ~ e Catholic ponrcrs. I-lc \vns g~tarded irr his view of the Augsburg Inter- im (\lay 15, 1 3 8 ) but s~rrrc~titioi~sly de- fended it. Slrtch better it was, said I'liilip, to acquiesce in this "adiaphoristic" lliattrr and wait for more advantageous tinli-b. Rather than risk the an~~i l l i l a t io~~ of the Lutheran movcmmt, he tvould "mitigale a bad set of circumstances." The "adk- phora" \vhicll the Augsburg Intrrirn de- nranded to be acho\vledged were episcopil mlc, seven sacraments, recognition of lllc pope as the interprrtrr of Scripturr, trm- substantiation, \vor!-s of supererogatiorl, in- vocation of saints, festivals, ancl va~ioils rites. Of this Interim. Schdlf, an ardent

-At tlzis same time, Luther sent o le~ter to Spukatine in tchicli he [cent tu tlte 11tv1rl of .\lelurrclztlron's tcillirzgness to csclrarlgc the birthriglzt of the Reformotion for the Cotho1ic rne3.s of pottoge (cxtertlol rrnit!l and carnal seatrif y): "otrr ft ierltl Pl~ilij) Jlclur~clztllml icill contrice und desire t11d God sho~rld rcork uccordirtg to trnd rc.i/h- in the compass of his puny notic~n.s. tltul he may lluoe sorneicl~ot ~chcreuf to glory. 'Certainly (he ~cotrld soy) thtts 1111(i tl~rrs it might fo be ,done; crrlrl tlzrrs untl thrts crotrld I do it. Htrr this is poor .sltr8: 'Tlicrs I, Phiiip, tcorrM tlo it.' T11i.s (I) is might!! flat. Hut Itc.clr lrorc: tllis rn1d.s: I A31 THAT I AJ1, tl~is is his ncr~tle, J E - HCI~'L.'IIII; Ile, w e n He, rcill do it. - Brrt I I~crce done. Be stro~zg in tlte Lord, u n d exlzort Jlelonchtl~on frorn me, t l~ot he ai111 not to sit in God's throne, brrt fight crgrnittd thaf innate, t l~ut clecilishly inzplnnterl ot~l- bition of our.s$ 1cAic11 tcotrld tr.ccrrp the pluce of God; for ,t,ltat atnbition reill neoer frrrtl~er mrr cnrrse.

supporter of Philip, has this to say, "It is very e\ident that the adoption of such a cn~rfession was a virtttal surrender of the cause of the Reformation, and would have endecl in a triumph of the papacy."." The following Interim of Leipzig was fully as tl(~~llarrding and more openly slipported by I\Ielanc.htllon. Cal\-in7s high estimation of alld clc*c.p fricndship n-ith Philip did not deter the Ccncvan from sternly rebuking him, "You extend the distinction of non- ~ssrntials too far . . . you ought not to have ~ n a d r such large concessiorls to the fap- ists.".:.i And the Gnesiolutherans under Fla- cius rag(.tl against Philip. From this point, h\ro partics stn~gglccl within the Lutheran Cht~rch. The official clecision of the 1~1th- erans \vent against \Ielanclithon, as st;~ted in Lhe For~~lllla of Concortl (1580): "in time of persecittion, \\,Iten a bolcl confession is rc~qnirecl of XIS, \IT should not yield to the enemies in regard to adiaphora."36

The pernicious ingredients incolcatcd through S~lclancl~tl~on into thc llefonnation have devastated a large part of the move- r ~ ~ c r ~ t . Yet, to cast the blanket jt~dgment of ''i:\ril" upon the Rcfom~er is to do him an injustice. One may very well suspect that Luther mid Calvin were too nrotlerate wit11 him but one mwt still reckon with tile fact that lmth of tltose perceptive and fearless theologiiins tcere moderate with him, al- thougl~ they knew his opposition to sev- eral of thcir chiefest doctrines. His talents and zed played a large positive role in ad- vancing the cause of the I<efornlation ancl everyone h e w this well.

As far ;IS concerns \,lelanclltlron's inces- scunt compromising, the heart of the trouble is revealed in this reproof of Pl~ilip 11y Luth- er. h~lelanchtl~on was inest~icably enmeshed ill the al~crglarrbe of dreams i~ntl astrology. Before hc would engage in h~lportant work he must investigate the favor;rLility of the stnrs. At first, Luther let thc: superstition pass as a mere foible. Finidly, however, the impatient Luther roilred that it did not rn;rtter if the stars \\.ere favoral~le, what countc.cl \vas that Christ was favorable.-" Th,: assurrulce, the confitlence, the faith that moves moulttdns was 11ol Xlelanch- than's. He mavrrecl, he v,!cill:ltcd, he con- cetled, he cqmprised, to tlic detriment of thc gospel and the defanliug of the name of Cod.

Six BEACON LIGHTS

.at thc very core of all Pl~ilip's spirih~al ailments lay the heresy of synergis~n with its host of concoi~~itnnls. Essentinlly, t1.1cre is no diflerence betwcen synergism and Pela- gianisln, as there is nolie hetwc.cn Pelafian- isrn and Ar~ninianism. hl ;w is naturally good. hla~l is a l~lc to assist Gotl, no, God must wait for ant1 tleper~d ~ i p o ~ r man's ac- cl~~icsccxncc. Sync.rgisrll tlethrones God and replaces Him wit11 tllc creattire. IVith this comes the denial of God's ahsol~~te sover- eignty. He docs not elect and reprobi~te accorcliiig to Iiis own good plcirsnre. SIei- ;~rlchthon carried tile Lutheri~n Church with l~ini on this score. The central position of Lutlier, \\rho stated that the only truths hc ever wrote were to he fou~ld in his Bonclage of the H ~ ~ n i a n W i l l and his Co~rimcr~tury or, Galatians, finds little cx11rc.ssion in nod ern Lutlrera~usm. -kt the very outset of the miglity lihrration of God's people frorn p.lpal I)o~~dagc, the false doctrines nrcrc present which were to ll:arrdss the forces of t r u h contin~tally, LIP to the prcs- cnt moment. There nerd bc no repetition

here of thc occasions \vhen the serpent of co - operation - in - salvation reared its llgly head against the tr11t11 of sovcrrign grace.

Philip h~elanchtlion \\as a hnrcl-pressed figure in harsh timcs. Hc was a~nhivalent, pamdosicd, and contradictory. As person, lw t1oc.s 1101 lrnd himself to judgment. Nor is drat the calling of theological critics. But lris teachings, lris tloctrines, his heliefs m \ ~ s t be \veigl~etl and found \\;anting, bolh as they appeared in tlte 16111 century and as they rcveal tlie~~isclves today. Sor will they be found in the c11urc11 alone. For hlelanch- thon was highly inflr~ential in the rstahlish- rnent of the school movement. \ITherever it be found, ho\vever it be clothed, by \vIlom- ever it be s o ~ ~ ~ ~ c l c d , the doctrine that denies '8y grace arc ye saved" is the doctrine that does not lead to the glory of Got1 the Father. -- 32. Hildehrruidt, op. cS., p. 67 33. .\lmrchreek. op. ci:., p. 195. quotina T.u~ber 34. SchaFi, op. cit., Val. 111. p. 603 35. Schaff, {hid., p. 39, quorinz 2 letter of Calvin

I l i:n1 .----, 3b. Quoted by Alan-c!ireck, op. cit.. p. 292 3;. Hildehr?~~d:. op. :if.. p. 70

NANCY HEEMSTRA

The year 1962 is al~nost Ilistory, and \ve see in retrospect m:iny events and h~lppen- ings, hoth plc;~sant and ~~nglrasant, tllat have ;~ffectcd us. 'I'lre ~~ilssilig year had different ~nei~nings for various people. For some it meant graduation, a new job, or i~ttendir~g collcgc; for otllers it mennt taking up residerlcy in :I (Litl'erent part of the coun- try, fulfilling arlnecl services cl~~ty, or mar- riage. Still others inay have 11ct.n hcrcavetl by tllc loss of :I relative or fricrld.

The world sit~~iltion cert:iinly ditl not im- prove. The leading world powers stood trc~nl)ling id t l ~ e l~rink of \v:u, c:tcl~ fear- ing what the otl~cr lnigltt do. In ollr own country iiftcr tlre c*xcitcnlcl~t of. tile United States' first o~kitnl fligl~ts clin~inisllrd, revtxr- heriitions of escitemcnt were liearc1 fro111 tlie

South. Tlicy wcre sounds of a diaerent nature, lio\\rcver - sounds of 1)ittr.r racial disn~ptions ant1 violence. Stock ~rrarket speculators became es-tre~nely anxious as their hvestmmts rapidly declinccl to their lo\ve\t ebb in over thirty years.

In 1963 tlrc Roman Catholic Chttrdl lteld \vli;~t it considered to he its most im- portant ecumenical cotlncil in its history, and various c11urci1 councils discussetl nni- hcniion \\it11 other denominations.

During t l ~ c past yrar it pleased the Lord to take fronl US Rev. G. 11. Ophofl, pro- fmsor in our Protestant Refomled Semi- Iiary. In 1962, also, t\rro of ollr mi~u'stcrs \vtlo wcre regularly coriirihntinq editors of the Bencorl Lights considered t l ~ c tnlth that God has entn~sted to us too insig~lifi-

BEACON LIGHTS Seven

cant to upholcl and maintain. So thcy left. Yes, 196" was full of changes. Tile state

of affairs certainly did not improve in 1962, and one \vould be inclined to fear \\.tlat 1963 \<<I1 briny in the light of 1962's 11is- tory. But the child of Gocl has 1x1 reasoli lo fear for he has an unchangeablc Cot1 to cling to. God re;nsures us of this in hlal. 3:6a, "For I am the Lord, I cllnngc not," \Vc have no reason to 1:ecome nlarnmecl Ily the happenings around 11s or by tvhat tlie forces of evil might do to us for IIc tll:~t pilots our ship abo controls the sea ahout us. \\That a comfort!

. it the be@nning of 1962111a11y people made Se\v Ileais resolutions for ;I bettcr course of life. I thin!! quite a few peoplc who made Sew Tear's resolutions tvor~lrl not be able to remern1,rr off hand that ihc~ir plans did not ~i~aterialize I~ccarlse of cer- tain incidents which came up and on whicl~ they had not counted. For the mas1 pa^.^,

these Ne\v Year's resoh~tions are fr~olisl~. \la11 fonns a purpose and sets ant tu ac- con~plisll it on his own strength ;ind ~bility, and thcy are intended selfishly for his ou-n good.

\Ve, as Christians, should have a rcstl- lution, but not one that changes from year to year. Our resolution is, or sho~~lcl I I ~ , one that is permanent. It shoi~ld not be

made at the I~eginning of the new year, but cAvc3ry day. This resolution is to love the Lortl, our God, ~vith all our I~cing and to rrsist that which is evil. 'Thiv is not such an easy resolution to keep, ancl it \vould be futile to make such a rewh~tion on om o\vn strength. Instead, \vc must ask Gocl every day for grace t l~a t \ve 1nig11t love him, serve Ilim, ancl \\-,tlk in his ways.

Jnsh~in tclls us of his resolution in Joshua 24:15b, "But as for me and 1ny house, we will senre thc Lord." .-\lthol~gh Cod mould not perinit hini to builcl the temple, we It-aril in Ps. 132 th.~t David lllade it his plirpose to builcl .a house* for thr Lord and tlrnt he \vould not rest until he had done $11. He made it his chief cclnc'rn to be I ) I I \ ~ in the ~vork of thc Lortl. I3arnabas. nrllile in ~ h t i o c h , exhortctl Llle people "that with purpose of heart thcy would cleave ilr~to the I.ord."

\\-hat does the future hold f o ~ us? \Ve do 1101 know, but \vc h o w \Vho holds the fr~htre. \\'e nlay have to go th ro~~gh suffer- ing and trials, 11nt \ye are given tl~is precious promise in Jab. 1 :12, "Blessed is the man that endureth tempt.~tion, for w11cr1 he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life wl~icll the Lord hat11 prollused to them t h a t love him."

DARYL HUISKEN

Last October I lucl a most intercstirig ancl enlightening Christian experience.

\Vhile approaching thc doors of First in Grand Rapids I halted and looked up. Tllclc above the three sets of twin cloors \verc thrce engravings projecting from the lintcls. These provoked me to take a longer ancl closer look - which I did with great iiiter- est. The first on the es%emr left was an engravina of the two tables of t11e law given to Moses on \It. Sinai. The sccc~ntl and central engraving was an open hook

representing the \lrord of God. The last engraving on the far right was that of a cup a~;d a small morsel of broken bread repre- seiltiilg the conununion of saints or IIoly Communion.

After I had observed the :~l~ove several questions came to my mind.

(1) \V11y are thesc eilgravings on a c h ~ ~ r c h ?

( 2 ) \Vhy are they arranged in this order: La\\., Word, Communion?

(3 ) \\'hat do thcy mcdn to us?

Eight BEACON LIGHTS

With niy l i~~~i tc r l amount of Ii~~o\vlrclge rnnlrnts \vl1icl1 \\?ere h t i tu ted I>y Christ on rcclasiolox)~ I proc.ecd(.d to answchr these before Ilis ;~scension to tlie riglit I I I I I I ~ of questions i l l niy ~ w i i mind :~ntl IIO\V I pre- sent thcni to you.

\\'hy ;Ire thcsc: t h e e engravings on a church building? hlany of you \\fill rrniem- her that in catc,cllism we learned that the cli~uch hat1 11trc.c disti~lct marks, viz, the adrninistrntiorr of Cllristian discipli~~c., the t n ~ e prc*;lcl~i~lg of the \\:orcl, ;mcl 1 1 1 1 , iltl~nin- istration of tl118 S;~cra~nents. Tl~c~rc~t'orc one sccs very rc.;~tlily in tlicsc tlrrc.c+ c.~~gravings- t l ~ e Law rc.prcbsenting Christiiw tliscil>linc.: the open \\'ortl representing tlie t r ~ ~ r prc.:tch- ing of tllr \\'ortl; and the Sacranlent of Corn- munion rrprctscnting the sncranlelrts.

\\'hy this clrtlrr, Law- \\'orcl- S;~cr; t~~~cnt? Since we arco cl~iltlrcr~ of Westt.rl~ Civilizil- tion we r(:ilcl, write, and sct 111, gr:~pliic scales on a Ic8ft-to-rip111 I>asis I~cviu~sc! our nu~nieric;~l ant1 ~~lphabetical systc.111~ progress in such ;I 1n;urnrr. In thr sallic. turn, tl~rsc. engravings \\?rre set up-first tile 1;1\\' nritten in the Old Dispensation st;lnds at the far Icft; ncbyt thr \\Ford, i.e., J ~ S I I S Christ according t o Jolrr~ 1:l-14; and I:~st the sac-

glory. Sow that we have considered the Icft-to-

right order, let us look at this order from a little different perspective.

The \Vord (Jesus Christ) is the center of this trilogy I ~ c c ; ~ i ~ \ e it (He) is intrinsic;llly related to Ix~t11 the Law and the Sncralnc:nts. Tlle \Vorcl not only states tlie L : I ~ on the pages of Iloly \\rrit, but also fi~lfills it i l l its minutest deti~il. The \Vord not onl!. prr- srnes thc. S;icr;cnicr~ts on its page5 but it also instituted them "a re~~iembranc~ of Hini." Tlic entire5 of tlle \\'ord gives n~eaning to I>otl~ the La\\- and tile Sacra- nients ancl presenres then), tllrougll thc cli- vine work of the Holy Spirit, for f ~ ~ h ~ r e posterity.

\\:hat is tl~is sr~~)posed to inean to us ;IS

Protestant 11c.formed 1-ou th? Basically it call only mean this: defend, nitness, and ;~tlhere to the prrlching of the \\ord, sccrpt Chris- t;m discipline prayfull>-, and commune \\pith the saints for that is the closest thing to heaven \\,e kno\\,.

CRITIQUE AGATHA LUBBERS

TO PAY OR NOT TO PAY

Conriirg its imtnigramlts into tlrc* ~ \ ~ ~ ~ c , r i c n n colonies a l o ~ ~ g \\,it11 other aliens i l l I l l ( : 17th century \vercb groups of Ger~ni~rr-spc;tking people kno\vn as hIennonites. In gcnernl these Lfennonites \\.ere a sect organized in Zurich, S\vitzcrlancl, in 1515. They Ir;~cl split from tllr Rorniul Catholic Churcl~ and they were n I~r;ulcI~ of the habaptists. It is the Anabaptist \vl~o is most commonly I;no\vn for the erroncolls tloctrine that ccrlnirr tl~ings

are in tlic~nselvrs sinful. The niunlc Slcnno- nites is derived from that of Slcnno S i ~ ~ ~ o n s , a Catholic priest \vho I~ccanlc tllr 1c:ltlcr of the .ha l~ ;~pt i s t ~novenlent in nortl~c.rn Gcr- many.

Sear tlie end of the 17th century mc~nljers of this sect settled in .-\merim in Gcrnian- to~vn, Pennsylt?ania, because of tllc ~ r o ~ n i s e of religious liberty. They were fatigued ~ 5 t h the pcrscc~~tion in Europc ;~ntl the

BEACON LIGHTS h'ine

pronlise of a measure of peace in the new lirntl inch~c'd them to nlove. 'l'hry settled in I' c 11 n \ y l v a n i a and sprc:;rtl \vcst\v:lrd througl~ the forests and fertile fa1111 country setting up comniu~~e-type conurrurnities as they \vent.

Today there are more than 17 branches of \Icnnonite groups in .inierica and there :arc Inore than -700.00 menihers in these groups. The \vatclrword of ; ~ l l tlic~\c~ Rlcnno- nitr gror~ps is con~monly knourn its "separ.t- tion from the \vorld." By tltib t l ~ c hlennonite me;ans physical separation fro111 tlie \vorlcl.

The llcnnonite groups are c11;ir;rcteristic- ally the sanle with slight variances. Some of thv ch.~mcteristics are: 1. opposition to 211 ecclesiastical control. -7. a ~ ~ t o n o ~ i ~ v of the ehurchc.~. 3. freed0111 of conscicncc. 4. sep- aration of Church and state. 5. pri~cticnl piety. 8. tlc.void of dogma I~ut ;I world n~.cl life view m;rnifest~l in clomcstic innd eco- nomic virh~es.

Sonlc of the exiemal tokens that clistin- g ~ ~ i s h these llennonite groups are: 1 . adult baptism. 2. avoidance of taking oaths. .3. non-resisti~n~e. 4. closely knit social ortlrr. .5. refusal to purchase insur:rnce. ti, refnsal to adopt the nrodem modcs of tr;r~rsport:~tio:i.

Son~c of the hlennonitc grottas \vlio .. - settled in this country arc nlorct co~nnlor~ly knotvn :IS Anrish folk. They tlcrive this name fro111 Jacob zinunann, ;I Swiss .\,len- nonitc Ici~der. The most conservative of this sect ciill thenlselves the Old Order .4mish. The Old order -4mish congrrgations art neress;trily dilall because they clo not build I:~rge mc.c-ting llouses. They \vorship in dwell- ing housrs itnd barns. 'I'llcy ;ire of tlie opinion that one place rallr~ot surpass an- ot1lc.r in sanctity. There n~usl in t l ~ e Ne1.v Testanlent dispensation Ilc no other house of Cmd than His true spirituirl home, die Church. "\'arious usages permitted under the old covenant such as resistiutce by force, thc. taking of human life, 1111- swc;rring of oaths, iuntl divorctt, were ;rl~c~lishe~l by Christ, \\'ho f~~lfilled the \vIiolc I;rw." (The Setr Scl~riff-Her;og Errcyc1o~1c:tlitr of Rr- Iigiorrs h'r~o~cledge.)

Thew .irnish may be s;titl to live in :I

volt~n~irry semi-communism. Thcir clothing ant1 houses are kept esceedingly plain and url~ssr~~ni~rg. Reader's Digcst in one of it, recrnt articles refers to thc.\c- it~tlivicIu:~lists in it wciety wllich predomin,~ntly conforn~s

as the "1'1,nin People." Thcb 1,oinl of refer- cncc in this article is the "rc~volt" of these Aniisli folk \\rho object to the enforcement of i i Cctlc-rat regulation with which they for conscic~~ce sake cannot co~nply. They are ol,posctl to all insurance anti will not co~irply \\,it11 federal stipulations lnitl tlo\cn by the Sociitl Srsc~lrity Commission tvhich coUects the prcmi~~ms from all emp1oyc.c:~ of busi- ~rc*ss c:st;~l)li*lrnients \\,it11 more, than three en~l>lopcc~s und now From scblf-supporting farn~rrs. Ucc;~use of ;I recent iumendment to tllc Social Security coclc prcn~iums can bc collectecl from self-supporting f;lmiers to IIC i~pplied to the "Olcl Age, Sunivors and I)ist~bility Insuranrr" rna11;rged by the Fedc:ri~l Govc-mment. To srtch insurance t11c A~nisli folk object.

\ 7 a l ' ~ ~ t i ~ ~ r Byler is the tall, rluict Anish furmer \\rho has been selcctctl I>y the In- tern.11 R r v e n ~ ~ e Service agents ;is thc trial casc in this present "revolt." Some day soon the horses and buggies oC these .imish folk \\.ill 11c. hitched to the parking meters in do\vnto\vn Philadelphia and the case of \';rlrntine Byler versus the Unitcd States of At~~cricit \\.ill open.

hl:~ny sclrrrnes have I,ec.~i 11.;ct1 to force the 1);lynlent of 8 x 4 4 3 in I~acl\-pay~acnl to t l ~ r . Socii~l Security Commissio~~, but none or tl~c-se \\.;is s-uch a nagrinnt violation of nnan's rights as the confiscation of Byler's horses in spring plo\\ing time. These hones \\-ere solcl ;and after all espenses \\ere paid I3ylcr \\..IS sent a refund of $37.89.

Becir~~>c the Aruish do not want their intc*rtIcpc~~idence on each otl~cr to shift to ;III o~~tsidc. source as this \vo~ ~ l t l rrsi~lt in thc evrntual break-up of their ortler, they have I~cgun proceedings to maintain rights \vlricl~ they consider to hc vital to their re- ligio~~s beliefs. Going to court hi~s al~vays been titl~oo in Amish circles l~ut it finally ;~grc:ctl that "it is not s l ~ ; ~ r ~ ~ e f u l to po illto ;I c o ~ ~ r t of law; it is only shameful to go for $1 shi~nieful pt~rpos~.." Reacler's Ulpc.~/, November, 19G.S) Attorney Shep- I~rrtl liolc hi~s been eng:cgctl to argue the r;tsc ngi~inst the United States of hnerica. If tllc case is lost in court the A~nish must dept-nd on bilk currently being hcld in mn- gressional conunittee. If they losct in Con- gress the~n what? The h ~ i s l t I~uggies may 11;1vc 111 retreat to some othrr lirntl.

1Svc.11 though \r-e are temptcd to snlile a t

Ten BEACON LIGHTS

tllc* seeming insigr~ific;~ncc. of this ripplc on the currrnt of worltl cvc.rtts it is wort11 a few ~nornmts of our time and \\tort11 solnr corrsitlcration. 'I'hesc. "plain people." ;trc in a certain sense to htr c*nvied. TIwy cc.rt;~inly h;rvc retained outwnrclly a principlr t11;rt thc cltr~rch fonnerly pr;~cticed more tll;u~ is pr;tc- ticc3tl today. The pri~lci~~le, thnt u11c11 one mc+tnher suffcrs 1111 111~. mcmbcrs sufl'cr, is at least or~t\vardly pructiced by thesc hnlish folk. In thr past the t:rsk of the care for the poor and the agecl clid not fall upon the shot~lclers of the wttlf;irc~ state but \\,;IS the decitlc.d respoiisil~ility of thc clrurclt. In this way the churcl~ w;rs blesscd and c.\li-

tlc*ncctl thc \vork ol' salvation wl~icll 1r;ttl

been \\,rought in them through the c~pt-r ;~t io~~ of thc Spirit of gr;rcc. ..\Rain I say thxt evc-n thouph \ve clifrer radically wit11 the ti~nish as they attempt to Ilee thirrgs we can still apprecii~tr tlrcir nttcwpts to nbnint;~irt t l l c , social order i ~ ~ ~ t l the religiorrs prir~ciplrs thcy have estahlislrc.tl ns this rigl~t is guar- nntc.cd to them I>)? tllc Rill of Ri<lrts i r r tlre Constitr~tion of this Iirnd. \\'e must Ile re-

mindctl, Irowever, that 110 k ~ o u p cat1 es~nb- l ih a littlv heaven here on earth. The nature of nl;rn precludes all such possibility. Even the no st lroly lrn, only a small be- ginning of thc ne\v obedirncc-.

llakinji a virluc judprler~t is ul\vayb diffi- cult but tllc Calvinistic \vorld ;irrd life vietv h,~s ncvcbl- ;1cl\7ocuted \\rorltl flight. We are in this world cverl thouglr we are not of it. \I7e seek n brtter country. Yrt tlre position of one \\rho is tnily Reformed and i Biblic- ally orient~tted is that the question in point is one of those nt/iol~horcl or indifferent things. I';~rticip;~tion or ttorrparticipation, when t11;rt is possible, i.r ;I vltoice left to the inclivitlual Cliristian bec;cuse participa- tion dots not directly involve. a denial of one's f;~ith in the Christ of the Scriptures. \taking orrc.'s calling ant1 election sure (cf. 11 Pctc:r 1:10) is not dcpentlerrt on one'a choice to pit); or not to 11;1y for "Oltl l igc, Survivors ; t~ i t l Disability Ins~~runce." Pulting one's tn~st ;uid hope in the rnammon of sin doe$ itrvol\~e such a cletri;rl of the Christ of the Scriphrres.

THE OFFICE OF THE MISSIONARY

It is :I condortirlg thought thnt Gotl, ac- cortlir~g to Iiis infi~~ilc mercy, has clroscn a chtrrch unto c\rcrl;~stitrg life, and gtrilrcr.~ it by llis blessed gospc:l unto everlasling life out of every nation, and from all peoples ;inti tongues, nuto thc fellowship of His Son, i l l t l ~ t . 111uty of trire faith.

I f it were no1 for tllc tnlth of election

there \voulcl be 110 church gatlrcrrd I,y Christ; now where hvo or three tire g(rthern1 in Christ's name He is in tllcir midst!

If it \\.ere not for this \\rork of the Sor~ of God, who gathers, defends and preserves to f inself n church unto ever1;sting lifr - there would bc no work for a nlinister to perfornr i r r a local congregation, nor ~o111d

BEACON LIGHTS Ekoen

there be "\vork", an office, a task, for a missionary, either among the "heathen" or among the "dispersed".

rill would be so much vanity, a beating of the wind, a vicious circle leading 110-

where, b11t only affording vesation of spirit: it ~vould be a v a ~ t trcad-rr~ill bringing one no\vhere.

Sow, ho\vever, the n~issionary's task, his work and office, is h l y anchored in God's elective purpose, His \\,isclorn and power in Jesus Christ. His task is simply: preacl~ing the Gospel in Jesus Christ with all that' this in~plies. Such \\.as the prirnary calling of Paul. I Cor. 1:l'i. It is preaching the Gospel, the \f70rd of the Cross, ~vhich, in- deed, is to those perishing foolishness, Iwt to us, wvho believe, it is the po\vt2r of Got1 and the nisclon~ of God unto salvation. The Lorcl Himself says. "For as the heavc.r~s iirc higher than the earth, so are my ways high- er than your \\*ays, and my thougl~ts than vour thou~hts. Far as the rain cometh dov;11 and the sno\v from heaven, and retun~rtlt not thither, but watereth the carth, a11d rndeth it to bring forth and to bod, and giveth seed to the sower 'and brracl to the eater, so shall my word I)c tliat goeth forth out of my mouth; it shall not r e t ~ ~ l n r~nto me void hut shall accolnplish tlvnt \\;lzich I please, and it shall prosprr in the thing \\.hereunto I sent it."

What ~a glory: the FVorcl docs not ret~lrn \-oid!

He n.ho. preacl~c-s the Worcl of Cotl, the IVord of the Cross, preaches a M'orcl wllicli is foolishness to those perishing, but to ;dl ~ v h o are saved by this same Ilrord it is tlhc power and \visdom of God.

Principally the Honle Slissionary's task is to preach the IVord. He lliust be ~irgenl in season and out of season preaclling tlic \\'ord amongst those \\.I10 arc dispersed nncl scattered. He must preach according to tllc-ir needs, but he n111st always preacll the \!'ord, the full co~tnsel of Cocl. Ire must reprove, rebuke, with all lortgs~~n-'eri~~g and teaching. He cannot and may not so "stream-line" llis preadiing that it is atlap- able to itching ears; he must stand out in strong contrast to all such preachcrs who make merchandise of the Gospel; out of God in Christ he ~ u s t speak before t l ~ c face of God!

Tlle "thus saith the Lord" must reverber-

ate in every sentence which he utters: he must be truly a scrv.Int of the IT'orcl. a ser- vint of God. Only thus is he strong and courageous, and is he ;issurecl h a t in spite of ;~l l the baffling circumstances and seem- ingly insurmountable odcls, hr is victorious. Being overcome by Christ, chained to the victory uqagon, the triumphi~l procession of the Lorcl of glow, he is victorious. Yes, he dies dnily a l ~ d bears about the dying of the Lord Jesus in his body, that o th~rs may live who hear and believe! Once when very lonrly, the writer of these lines was told b y .I vcry understanding sistcc in the Lord, "Hev. 1,ubhers. yokt arc very lonrly, and sometiines cliscouraged and seemingly be,lt- vn; Imt you are such for Christ's sake. It is given us inlthe behalf of Christ, not only to believe, but also a~ffer for Christ's Name." That put him "on t l ~ r bcam" once Inore.

Churchill, during \\'orlcl-\var I I , when Britain had suffered her Dullkirk on the \bore of \vestern France, and the boinbs of the Lrrfrr~-c~jfe were nightly falling on Lon- don, saicl, "I offer you uotl~ing but te,us \\\.vat and I~lood". IIowcver, Christ says to FTis f'iithful minbters, in the wo~lcl you shali have tribulation for the worrl of God and tht. tertunony of my lame. But when IIe calls an crst\vllile persccirtc~r of the cllurch to IIC the greatest apnstlc to thc Gentiles, IIc cnilses hint I)oldly to prcach ILint \ \ , ~ U I I I

he first persecuted. What was Paul in prosprct? IIis ofllice,

his task to stand before kngs of the earth, before a Ncro finally, to die for the faith, 1ool;ing for the appearance of the blessed Cot1 ill Christ on that Day! Through "blood, tcnrs and sweat" he enters into glory. .ind \vith this hope upon God he magnifies his office. He co~~siders hinlself in thc victory- mnrc.11 of Christ, the triumphal entry into the Ilra\,cnly Jerusalem, under thr chief Captain,, thr h t h o r and Fi~iislirr of our faith, the faith of all the elect 11nto glow. Ne endured all things for the elect's s'ke.

Such is the officc of a preacher, or a Home \Iissionar);, either to tllc heathen or to the dispersetl.

Here the lines too have fallcn into pleas- ; I ~ L places; it is a goodly I~eritagc. this office, tlu's task assigned by Christ.

\Vill yo11 too join these ranks of a preach- cr, :I missionary, my youthfnl Amice?

BEACON LIGHTS

VS.

A WORD ABOUT UNITARIANISM

Thc first cbstinctively liberal u~ovemc.ut in A~rleric;i w;is the Urutari;~~] ~ ~ ~ o v e m c n t . l Asidc from any n~o\~cnlent, ~ ~ ~ ~ i ~ a r i i ~ n i s ~ , ~ was and is to be found in Ari;uiism, Deis~n. Hum;~nism, Judaism, AIodal hlorlnrcliianis~n. hIoha~nrr~cdanis~n a r ~ d Soci~~i;~nism. \Vc! might say thal to(l;ly the C:h~~islacIe\plri;rris, Christiar~ Scientists and the 1311ssellitcs arc really unitarian. Still \rfe do not urisli to concetlc the entire right ant1 proper llse of the trrrn "uriitilrian" to tllosc \vho rcject the tloctrine of t l ~ o ontologici~l trinity. For, strictly, this desig~r:ltior~ is not I O I)e thought of us inherently ant i thet i~r l to trirritnriurl. For \vc \vho arc tlioroughly trinitarian tlo co11tc11tI as s t r e ~ ~ t ~ c ~ ~ ~ s l y as ally othdr rleno~~r- hati011 for the divine ~rrtily. IIo\+ever, \\,c generally use tlict tcrm to i11clic;ite deviation fro111 ~ I I I C I repudiiition of the ortliodos tloc- trine of tlle trinity, 13csidc.s ~ \ r i r ~ s ;und Soc- inus, othcr classical protagonisls of this c8rror were Servetus, Cillvin's encniy, and Eras- mus, Luther's opponent. Latest develop- ments lltlve it th;tt the American Uniturii~n Associiltion and ~ I I I ~ Universi~lisl: Churcll of America voted to llicrge a11t1 ror~n tlic, Ul~i- tari:~ri G'nivers;llist Associ;ttion \vlich has about 84.5 local bodies and 200,000 nicm- bers.2

E R REV. R.

R O R C. HARBACH

It is \veil that \rrc have so 111uch and for so long opposed . \r~i~inianisn~. It is also \veil that wc see how the conrirction of this heresy is a direct line to unitarianism. Now -%nni~li;~nism is n senu-Pelaginn defectio~i fro111 historic, orthorlos, Calvinistic Cluistian- ity \\,Ilich has takcn Ir~~rnanism for its gospel and sn~ugglcd thc smile into the c h ~ ~ r c l ~ . It is a rationalistic system \vhich does not thitlk i~nalogically, does not think God's thor~glit after h i~n , but tries to think auton- omously. Nthougli it clai~lls lo credit lllc principle of supernatural revelation, it nevcr- thele3s Proceeds on the basis that hurllan reason is the only sufficieut God-given rule for detc-r~nilling \\rliat is truth ; ~ n d error. -hniniilrlisln is fu~idamentillly lihcralis~ii. ( In this conncctior) 1 agree \villi A. Pringlc and .a. 11. Trlplady \\-ho said. rcspectivcly, '-.4mii1ii;1nis1n is Ihc religion of the falle~l nnhrr." ".\rn~inii~r~ism is :\theism.") 111

keeping with tlic pagan principle of "Got1 help.; those \vho help theniselves," it rcc- om~~lcnds follo\\ing the dictates of natural, innnto it11c1 acquirc?cl, reason in the intcrprc- tation of Scripture, \vlSch Got1 \ r i l l cithcr re\rartl \vitli assistnncc to discover the tn~t l i , or \vitli if tlic effort fall short of it. This pavcd the \\,;~y for e v c n l ~ ~ a l denial of

BEACON LIGHTS

the church's doctrine of thc trinity. In E ~ ~ g l i ~ i d , .%r~ninianis~n I,egnn to grow

from a nucleus of apMtate I'resbyteriiul and Anglican ministers \vho had secretly clcpart- etl from the \\'est~~rinstcr Confessir,~~~ : I I I ~

the Thirty-nine Articles of Religion. 111 de- fence of themselvrs. the .apostles' Creed \\.;IS slid to be adequate 1,asis for ellurch ~~lembenliip. Today, the Creecl is rt.g:lrdecl as outmotled as the Stone Age, and ;~lthough it niay he . Y I I I I ~ as an old battle-song of hy-gone conflicts, it niay not corlscien- tiously be wid, as it is wholly irrelevi~nt to faith for totlay. In this country, this drvia- tion goes Imck to the Protcstnnt Episvopal Church ui its 1785 revision of the Iiook of Common Prayer \\-hich eliminated thr Xiccne ;~ntl Athilniisian Creeds. It is to bc ;~tltlerl. however, that hy strong ohjc*ctions fro111 the Church of England, the Sicelre Cretatl tvns reinstated in 1789, I I I I ~ ;I rrstoratior~ of the Athanasian Creed \vas ref~~sctl..; ( It slrould he r t~nlrmherd t11:it acconlir~g to our I3c:lgic Confession, .Art. IS , "\vc do willingly rcacrive t l ~ r three creeds. . . the Apostles', A'iccne, ant1 .-\than;~sian. . ." In an 1860 copy of the Reformed Confessions, Doctrinal St;ulrlards ant1 Liturgy, inherited from 1114' 111i1tvnii11 grciit-grantlmother, all of tlresc creeds ilppear in full.) .Further Episcopal revision is cer- tain to follo\v in the direction of a shorter cornmunio~~ senice, in t l ~ c climinalio~r of thcn1opic;tl conceptions and eschatological p1ira.w~ '!\\~hich few people now nccc.pt."' There arc ,:'i~rchaic c.sprrssio~~s orrcc rc9g111.d- tstl ;IS essential to proper interpretatiol~" no\\' or~tgro\\n, which \vc no longer hold. Driup- ing l i t~~rgir i~l and confessional lang11;~ge up to clitte is i~l\\,ays extrrmc4y difficult, so il

is said, and, it is further allcgecl, in th(! case of the Apostles' Creed, proves hiipr~ssil>lr. H I I ~ the ch~~rc l i must rc.ach 111itture co~r~llrc- Irrnsion by conipmnlise \\pith the latest sci- cmtifie and culhiral tlevelop~nc*nts, ; I I I ~ by hilrnionizing itself with the ni~tional instillct,

'I'ht. Chr~rcll of England has not been able to rc;dl this lo\vest of cnmmorl tlenominators, viz., the h;t\,ing of no other tcbst for doctrine, cliscipline i~~lcl \vorsI~i~) tha~i ;I clebilit:~~ed, e~~~;t*;euhtetl and enen.atec1 Creed. For it is an established statc churcll governc~l by Parliimlrnt. Steps arc bring taken, htl\vcvcr, to obtdn from tlrr Crown right to ~nake variittions in the liturgical forms. This is said to he necessary, since thcre can Ile 110

cc~t~ne~liar l tjnity unless there I,e secured first liberty for rcbvision of liturgy and for moderniziition of the Prayer Book. Tlw aim is for evc*ntual and complctr. freedom from creclal 1)ondage. Only tlrcr~, \ve are infornied, can the cliurcll c5upect to present a united Christian front to the people of the \\*orld. In this \\'ily the once t n ~ c clit~rch apostatizes i111c1 ~rilclually I)eculmes Inore anti more co~rformable to the principles of atheism so popular i l l the n~otlrrn w~~r ld . \C'liile the canker spreads, tvc never;or rarely, hear a \\.ord said about the .doctrine of. thr trinity, IIII! all the other essential doctrirlc.~ of the Christi:ln, I'rotesti~~~t faith ;ire i~r~dcr~riined, nttacked, changcrl and tlropped. If all cllnrch liberals \\,ere honrst eiio~~gll, they \r,r~ulcl ;~cln~it that,. fro111 tl~cir point of vie\\., to ;tttain cc~~menic;~t.unity \ve must hecwnie unitarian.

One c'ot~tributory cause to tllr- influx of this cSrror illto Americ:~~~ thot~ght was tllc works of \'olt;~ir~. Ile \\*as a follo\ver of 18th cen- tury Deisn~, and had great inHuencc on thc opi~liorrs of .hiieric;l~i collcge shidcnts. He wi~s said to be no atheist, 11ut was liorrifietl ;it religio~~s (Homish) persecution ;mcl re- ligio~~s st~~pidity. iIe ditl not attack belief i l l God. "If thrrc. \rere no God," ,Ilc coun- tc:rcd, "it \vould he necessary ,to invent

2,- orlc. 3 Ileism ditl illst that; it i!ivcntcd a finite gntl, and rcg;~rded thc triune. God :IS

;I figment of "religious stupidity." Tom I'ilhle, similarly appraised, is defended as no iltheist. I I I I ~ merely the invc!tcrntr 'ellcmy of tlrc Cod of the libelous Bible. As :I result of these iulti-Christian influences. liuman rcason a s s ~ t ~ n ~ t l so\fereignty ovcr divine rev- cl:itiotl. Nith~rally, then, the tloctrinc. of the tri~iit). \\,as tacitly condemned.

hlany of the once best churches are con- C~lsctl with vague, misty, i111ti-doctrinal faith \vhich chitractcrizcs it< n~crmbcrs, a\, for c.uample, !\\*hen a \\.oman in a rleigh!>oring I'rcsbyteriicn ci)urch com~~icnted publicly t l ~ i ~ t Clrristian unity docs not inhere in creeds, for \\-c I I I I I S ~ have "SO Crectl, But Cllrist." \\:bat ignori~nce of what it meaas to be Prc.sl>ytrri;~~~! This clicllc is r~ot only v c n un-l'rcsbytrri;~~~, bu t vc-v un-Christian. For a c;~reful study of Scripture \\rill she\\- tI1i11 the \\'estmi~rster Conlessions itre full of Christ and the teaching of God's \iTord. It is faith which binds us to Christ, but it is ~ l l e crccd wlricll marks us as Christians.

Fourteen BEACON LIGHTS

The Scrint~~rct is Gotl's infallil~lr \\ford: tlie confession is ~ n a i s saying t l ~ r same: thing with Cod.

The Unitarian ~ ~ ~ o v r ~ n e n t is not ;I Chris- tian ~iiovemrnt. It )nay h r iul ethical or philosophical society ~ n o v e ~ i ~ r ~ r t . But it is not Christian. It uiitkcs this plain wvhen it honestly admits thnt it does not Iiold to "the C1iristi:mity of tlie irpostolic church nor to any c~cclesiastic;~lly. contrt~llt.tl sclie~llc of sal- vation, but r;~ther to lh'c leacl~ir~gs concern- ing htur~an rcl:~tians ill the r4*li$on-of Jtlsus." Jesus l~i~i~st~lf.\r:ts~rnt*rely ?a 11or1il:11 Inan . . . endowed .with pb\c.t,rs diffrring in clegrcc. but not in kind from those of other rnen."6 Denor~~inationd Uniti~riai~ism has no creed. It is :I free-tllinkcr's society .dshblisl~t-tl for the pllrpose of developing. .hrinian ch~lracter in ~ I I I * rtiurlc. of "lovd! a~ltl "libur;llity." \Vlicrc.ns Episcopiiliirns and A11glici111s have regarded tlic modernization of the Apostles' Crectl as, 1111 to now, an iml)ossibility,. the Unitarians have acco~nplishc~cl thc ~ ~ ~ c ~ d i f i c i ~ - tion in die bli~splic.~i~ous cynicism of Charles Eclw;~rel Park, for~~~c!r pastor of t l ~ c First Chr~rcli of I3oston:

"I I~rlievct in ( a sirrgle, ctcmiil, all-inclu- sivr, ;tll-pc~rvndin~ I>fe I'rinciplc. n.liosc. source and pc~lcct c~mbodin~c~~i is C;otl, who h d s v;~rying degrees of cn~hocliment in ;ill for~ns of lift:, \vho is tl~t- prt~t~~typc. 11f every grace, po\tit+r and 11ol)ility fr111nc1 inlhis cre- ation, anci.\vho~n I call) Cotl, tlie I7;~ther Al~r~ighty;~h'ls~lic!r of I I ~ ; I V C I I i ~ ~ l d eartl~; a r~d in Jcbsus Cllrist, (not) llis only Son, (for whose son am I? But) ollr Lord, ( I ~ c c x ~ s e he is more 11c:arly perfect c:~~~I>otli~nent of the l i f e prir~ciplc Illan any one I know;) who 1v;ls ( ric.itl~er) conceivctl by the Holy Ghost, (nor) I>orn of the \'irgin Aliuy, (but was conceivc*tl :~n(l I~onl e s i ~ c t l ~ as \ve arc all corlceivetl :incl I>orr~; a~ltl who) st~fferrtl untlcbr Polltills Pilatc, wns crucificbcl, dead ant1 I)uried. H e clrscc~~cled into (no) Hell, (for, as hell is not ;I place but ;r spiritual condition, he ncwfc!r saw tile, c~tltc:r eloomli~t of hrll). The third c!ay ( t l ~ o ei1gc.r \\,omen fol~ntl his tomb empty, ancl j~~n~prtcl to the concll~sio~~ tlli~t in the: nighl) he arosc: again fro111 the tlentl; hc aacenelecl into (no) heaven, (for hcnvc.~~ is not n pli~cr hut ;I

spirit~lal col~tlilio~i, he nevt!r left hec~ven,) and silteth OIL the right I ~ ~ I ~ I c I of God the Father -4ln1ighty (if it is any comfort to ~011,) Fro111 thence Iic shall conle (if he is

not i~lreiitly here) to judge the quick and the drad. 1 I~clieve in the Holy Ghost (wlio~n I call Holy Spirit, the spirit \vhich God works: ) the holy catliolic Church (so long ;is it tries to be holy ant1 catholic.;) the cnnl~nunion of (\\.hat ) saints (there are;) tllr .fork<,ivc.ness of sin<: the resurrection of the I)orly (if Imdy ~r~ciins personality; not if body means this mortal frame, for I iun sick to de;~th of Iny mort;tl frame, and hope to be ricl of it soon;) ;~tld the life everlasting (i~leaniny n chance to finish out the inter- n~ptc*tl opportt~~lities of this life.) i\111en."7

This makes it plain rnougl~ that Unitari- allisnl has no tlc!tcrniinecl, disting~~isliing doctrines. Thih mock-theology of Park's re- veals that this movement ha3 no Inorc illa11 a nc~hulous. tenuous pragmi~tic philosophy. Tnltl~, or fact, is that \vl~icll seems to work. It is a fact, anel re~l~ilins so o111y us it scenls to wvork. T11;lt \vhich wvorked yc.sterday, Imt tloes not work today, ccitses to corlvey tn~tli to us. It faih to rrniain ;I f;ic,t., But if we wvere to atte~llpt a curllpilation of lini- tariilrr tenets, it might look sol~lething like this: 1 ) Christ is not truly il clivine prrson. nor as Socim~s taught, a mere mall esi~ltecl to the! throne of the wllole created ~ ~ ~ ~ i v e r s e ; but ;I pmtgon of 11111nan perfectir~n, 2 ) Scripture is not a divine rcvclation, 11r1t an exclusively hu~nan 1,ook. 3) The Sabbath day iz to I)c ~ ~ s e d in resting fron~, stbcular bu4inc.s~. hut is not "set apart .fro~n our colllrnon livrs to religion." 4) The sol11 is prol):~hly a pcrso~iality dis t i~~ct id~l sc.l)aratca fro111 the body. 5 ) There are no. sucli spirit beings as deweil, angcls or tlm~ons. 6 ) The Scriptl~rc docas not tc~;tch tlie tloctrillr c ~ f the cter~iill punishment of the \ricked. 7 ) .iko rrjri,ted.are: the miraculous concc.ptior~ and v i rg i~~ I~irth of Christ, the tloctrinc* of thy atoncalnent as a satisfiletion to divine justice, the tloctrine of h ~ ~ p i ~ t n t i o ~ ~ of Adii~~r's sin and of Christ's righteousness. The cloctrinc c;f prcdestiniltion is ;I prcxluct of the age of dr;~gons.

Tc.;irs ago, modernist false propl~cts usetl to cull the Reformed i~nc! all Bible I>c.lievers xi-ho 11~lcI the traditionid, Scriptun1 tloctrines of the Protestant confc.ssions "~~ncharitable." -narrow\.-n~incled" ant1 "heresy-hunter." -%l- though the s;lrnc so~~ncl revcrber;~tc.s from the licads of modernists, liberitls, nco-Ortho- dox and neo-Evnngclic'&, it is very much out of place and out of datc. For i t is not

BEACON LIGHTS Fifteen

and never has been uncharitable to clcnn and unworthv to hear the name Cltristian! and keep clean our o\\n house (an11 lo keep I . TLc Risc O , I ~ ~rr~cloprnc~~r of L ~ ~ C W I T ~ ~ ~ I ~ ~ ~ our creeds free of corr~tption). Nor :!I .Jmcrua. \Virrfirld Hurggrad. Th.D.. Hd.

Pobl.. Ref. L%. ;\.ner.. chap. 11. is it narrow-minded to worship God 2. :\',-;cs ,li~d I.*ic:t..r. \\xeator~. 111.. VOI. 24. SO.

12, Sw. 1961, 11.1. accorchig to the tlictates of ortf con- 3. rl,,rerico,, fnruy,.r Book. IJarsons Jones, science?;, or to \s;irn nien against thc I~road ScriI111cn. lo.li. 1) 113.

4. Christiar~ Bmro;~. Val. 27. S o . 35. Oct. 11, \say leading to athhuisln. Long ago nic:tt may 1462. I). 5. ll;t\re [,ern ~lere .-~lul l ters , I,llt tocl;ly lle,.,.sy 5 , A l ~ i u ' . ~ Sfurx. F. \Vslrr-r \V;~lll~ank, Scott, Fore*-

III::II S. Co.. 1956, p. 35.1. hc~nts us, ant1 we ;Ire not only ut~cllirrita- 6 . 7'L,. IJri.rbyfcrklt~ G n d r d i a ~ ~ . Vol. 12. So. 5 .

Mar. 10. 19:3. p. i6. Ide if \se do not oppose it hut illso too IIiirro\\' ;, s~ . :~ .~ otld p-kl.s, sox-- ,961, p. 3.

I -...

NE\\;S ' t ..

'>,-, from, for, and about- our churches

LOIS E. KREGEL I

The cclntinp of Christmas brings with it the promise of several musical progriulis in the Grand Rapids area. On Dcceml,cr 10 thc IIope Choral Society pl;uns such a pro- gram in Hope Church; on ,Dcceml~cr 9 3 tl~ere \\.ins be a Cllristmas Singspuntion in First Church; and Hudsonville Choritl So- ciety has ..ct aside the nidit of Jzlnu'ary 6 for its program.

In thv recent p;ist singspirations w c ~ c Ileld nt So111h Hollnntl (Sov. 4 ) ant1 flopo (Nov. 18). Imth \\r.itll a fill1 house.

* O D 0 0

'I'he Young People of ottr Churches (at111 tlic older folk, too) can enjoy the singing of tlie "yot~ng" Young Peoplc of the Atlams St. Christi;lti School Ily mcittns of ihc:. Rc- fornied \I'itncss Hol~r. Thc Progr;inl Corrr- niittre of tlie Radio Committee reports that, the Lord \\lilling, during Dcccmber tlic com- I~itied talet~ts of tlie Radio Choir atlcl tlw choir of ollr .%dams St. Chr. Scliool, utider the direction of Alr. Roland Petersen and ec~ompanicd by Fran Lubbers, will 11o 11c-an1 December 9 and 16. Along with thcse fine singing grcups the radio listeners car1 hear sermons by Rev. 11. Hoeksema, w11o has

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i~gain bcxun a current wries of radio mes- siges. The Committee invites allqyllo love clistinctivc.ly Rcfornied prc,tcllinq~~intl sing- ing to tt~tlc in and listen to these &ograms. I'rinttd copies of the sermons 'cpn be ob- tained 11y writing to the ~cforthed \\'itness Ilour, P.0. Box 1230, Gr~nt l H~picls 1, hiidi.

Called Home: Carl Lee IIyk.rtr'l, son 01 RIr. and hlrs.

r\r11old Ilykstra, of Hope Church, at the age of t\r70 months, on Xovenlber 22.

lfrs. A. ~mrnttlcl, of our 111111 Church, on ?Job-einhcr 1, at the age of 75 years.

F r n t ~ ~ South Ilollantl'\ "Reflector," the \chool p.cper, \<c 1e.1m tl~:tt a Thanksgiving I1rogr,ui, \\.as prcscrltecl I)y the pupils in the Sottth Ilollnnd Chtlrch oti Novernl~cr 21. In :In editorial in the same p.rper hlr. H. W. Kuipr di\cussed "Our Purpose in Educa- tion," cor~c~lucling that it s11o111~1 1)e "it nlea~ns to fit the cllild for senice in the kitigdom."

The students of Adams St. Scl~ool \\?ere to present a Cl~ris-tmas progrdtit to the

BEACON LIGHTS

Ilotllcrs' Club at the school arm on Dec. 6. I4'i~tllc.r~ and friends werct invitccl also.

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Rev. B. \t'oude~~l)erg II:IS declioecl the call cxtcndecl to him 11s the knl:~~nazoo Church. That church now has s c l ~ ~ o cornposetl of th~ . Revs. I<. Harbach nnrl 11. Velchnan.

Rev. J. I-Ieys h:~s dc?clined the call Ct.onl our Lovclaricl Ch11rcl1,

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Our Servicemen: IIcnry and llauricc L)e Vries (Haudolph)

left for service in Oclol~er. Tcd Dc \Tries ret~trncd the same month, ;uld so tllr young people of the congrcg;~lic~~~ werc inviter\ to the parsonage for a combination w c ~ l c o ~ ~ ~ o and farewell.

Here are tlle adtlrcsscs of three of our servicemen, all from Rqndolph:

Pvt. IIenry DO \'ries US 5575729 Co. C. 10~11 BII 3Trg Bde US ATC Amlor Fort b o x , Kentucky Pfc. Slilton tllsum RA 16670961 Co. "B" 307 Eng Bn Fort Bragg, North Carolina Pfc. Frank Ile \'ries ~ 8 ' 5567732 1 ?Ad, I-Isp. Evac. Smbd. A P O 252, New York, New lork

Frank t ~ l o c k , of First Church, retrirned ho~nc the Iyt week in November.

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Co~~gr:~tulntior~s to hlr. and Mrs. 11. 1lood.1 of our O'Alawn Church, who celcl)r;~tcd their fiftieth wedding anniversary on So- vember 16, and to Slr. and Mrs. J. 5liedcmn ( IIope ), who celcbrntcd their fifty-second \vcdding auniversary on November 39.

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New :~rrivals on the Ch~lrch Scene: A daughter, born to hlr. and hlrs. T. Nc\v-

hof, Jr. (First) A daughter, born to Slr. and .\Irs. H. Gn~sc-

z)mski ( First) A claughtcr, born to hlr. and hlrs. 8 jonker

( First ) A son, born to hlr. i111d hlrs. Al1c.n Ilcn-

dricks (Edgerton ) h daughter, born to Slr. and hlrs. Gcr;~ltl

Lubbers (Hudsoriville) h daughter, born to hlr. and hlrs. B. Zi~nd-

str.1 (Odclawn)

\Vedding I~ells rang on Oct. 30 for Jeanette Bouve ant1 \I'm. Bleyenberg ( Edgcrton )

Membership changes: SIr. ,ulcI hlrs. P. Koole and si\ baptized

children calllc to IIope fro111 Creston. llr . Thom;~s Delnpscy I>cc;l~ne a member

of First Ch~~rcli. Slr. and Xlrs. Dale hlensch tr.insferrecl to

Loveland from Hope. The follo\ving members c'unc to South-

east from Crerton: Slr. and Mrs. C. Lubben; Slr. and Sin. John D e Vrics and four bap- tized chiltlrcn; and Slr. Leon,~rd Koppcnol, Sliss L ~ I I ; I Koppenol, and Sli5s Sl,~rie Kop- penol.

Southc.l\l received the mcmberslup papers of Rev. and hlrs. 11. Schipper, Lois, and Kenneth, from Southwest.

James I luizenga transfcrred to First Church from Randolph.

\Ir. ' ~ ' ~ I I I De Vries went to Love1,und Iron1 First.

First Church received the following mem- bers from Crcston: Slr. and SIrs. \iJilli;~ni Kamps and cight baptized children: Slr. \\'m. \;;lnbclkum; 5lrs. Slarie Vanbelku~n; 5lr. Jacob King; and hlrs. Sadie Dykstra.

Xlr. .~n(l hlrs. Gerrit Va~~dcrLee and hliss D o r o w \r;l~~derLee joined First Church, corning fro111 Grand Haven

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Some items of interest: Randolpl~'~ congregation now distril,utcs

635 parn1)lilcts every month, as..a rcsult of the generous support of this project by the people thrre.

The dencons of First Church were to be a: Adams St. School on Dec. 5, 6, and 7 to receive gifts of summer clothing for the poor of Jamaica.

Hudsonvillc's hlr. and hlrs. Society recent- ly sponsored a coffee and baked goods salc. the proceeds of which were donated to- \vards the ne\\. kitchen facilities.

Rev. G. Van Baren, of our Randolph Church, lectured there 0x1 Nov. 15 on "Crca- tion Days: 24 Hours or Long Periods." Thr foUo\ving Sunclay's bulletin contained a word of thanks to t l ~ e congregation for its \voncler- ful response.

a o o o e

From Lynden's bulletin: "Sometimes sil- ence is golclrr~. At other times it is jnst plain yellow."

BEACON LIGHTS Semteen

JOHS ZANDSTRA J A ? :

1 . B O X 206-B C f i I C A S ? HEIGHTS. l L l . . l L i ) I