VOLUME XXlll FEBRUARY, 1963 NUMBER 1

Publi-hfd monthly, except J u n e artd A u a u s t by the Federation of Ymtcstant Reformed You2g Pcople's Societies.

EXECUTIVE BOARD: Ha: ry I.nrtgerak ................... ... 1'1 csi11~11t

........................... (.'?J\i Rcitlrttn \'ice President JIarilytt l)ndcrama ............................ Secretary I Iz ry Pastoor .............................. ;\.;st. Secretary , . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . DZYC Or~dcr\rna 1 rcasurcr

. . . . . . . . . . . . Edimrd Lancrrek .\\,I. Trea>urcr Sharon Prtncc . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. ..Librar!m

EDITORIAL STAFF: Daxid E n ~ c l - m a . . . . . . . Eclitor-i~~.Cl~iei It. \V. Kuiixr A+.oci;~tc 13:diti r John Kalsbeek ..................... JI:ir~;~r.i~ir: Edit@; Sancy Hcrmstrz ........................ L'ittiit~cv Alu~agcr

S T A F F : ................................. Helen Flikkcm:, Clerk

..... Carol Van I'uttc~t ..\.>t. Clerk Seuh''i 1 -q5>t5, to 11a11. Ed.

Loll Schinrsr Ro-zer ~ A b t n

Chairman . I lnrv P a i t ~ ~ ~ r ....... Public H r l . ~ t i ~ , ~ i z Staff Edward L n t ~ ~ c r x k ......... Sharon Pr i t~cc ............... Icldy R v l ~ ; t ~ . ~ Louise ~ ? e l l s : i )Sul~scr ip t ic ,~ i 31.11tager.;

CONTRIBUTING EDITORS: .......... I<rr . llolcrt Harbzch Trttth vs. Error

.............................. .,\g:itha Lt~bbcr. Critique

........................ l l r* . C. K r q e ! S e m Editor ............. I '11.1rlrs H. \\-citra (:urrent Comnlent5

l<c\. G. Lltbbera. Re\. (;. \-an Baren . . f:~oln thc I'astor's ~ t u ' d y

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MEMORIALS TO MAN 1 H W Kulpcr

CRITIQUE 3 Apoaha Lubbe-r

GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT AND MODERN THOUGHT 5 C chord L Gluem

CULTS AND SECTS I I Rev C Honko

TRUTH v: ERROR 13 R o . R C Harbach

800KS The Inevitable Encounter

Raber. D Decker Chats with Young Adults on Grow~ng Up

Agotha Lubblrr

NEWS FROM. FOR. AND ABOUi OUR CHURCHES 17 108s E Kregcl

MEMORIALS TO MAN

YON are still wondering, arrn't you, itbout :I situation that continues to exist in our churches? We rc.frr to the nlalter of con- do1~1g the cstablisl~mcnt, or c~ndravors to establish, hy whattbver grol~p or agency, nlemorials to man within the sphcrc of our churches. Your wonder, e~iclencly, docs not stem from a lack of cor~victio~~ con- cerning the matter; for poll, as yo~mg pcoplc of our cllurclles in Convmlion-1961, Ilavc c~nphaticnlly dmmonstriiterl, a? pre- viously recalh*d, tlli~t your con\rirlion is that such memorials arc: r~ot to be iuslitutecl nor condorled. \Ve begin to sl~arc. with you in xvonclering.

Rall~cr, our vvoilder about this situation s+ems from tile f;ict illat we \lave noticed specific objections roisecl, pointecl questions asked, (HPc~cnn Lights, \'ol. 22, No. 4, pp. 1-7). and a subsequenl total lack of an\\Lrcrs which \vould refute the objections, replies 11-hich woulrl ansmer the rluestions. Th.at k tllc source of our \vender!

Yet, I,eforc we make any further com- rrrcLnt5, po\itivc. csmrnellts, or1 tlle subject itself, perhaps wr o u ~ l ~ t to check with our- \elvc\ for .I moment as to that u.ontlerit~g. \\'e sl~oulcl be careful and sure that we have a right to so \+ponder. For instance pel hiips we feel tllal we have the right to hear the other side of our orgl~mellts (let them be \viral they may ), \vhich have been set forth in opposition to this n~atter, which mnttn- s ~ ~ t ~ s c q n c ~ ~ t l y continues nn,lltered. Do we have the right after l~avirlg voiced oppo\it~on to the lack of Refor111ed principles

inherent in this "project", to expect an ;tns\\-er, a word of enlightenment and in- struction, from those that promote it? It seems that that is the usual, courteous and brotherly course.

Further, it also seems that when there are cogent grounds and support for a matter under attack, there accomndes t l ~ e attack an immediate and open repll- to thnt iittack. But find no replies. Our wonder grows, then, fro111 the lack of reply and also leads us to speculate negatively upon the esistence of suitable grol~nds for the proper supl~ort of this ntatter.

1-ou, as a Federation of Protestant Reformed 1-oung Peoplr's Societies, were fclcc2d with this prol>lcm a few years Ijack, \reerr given strcngth nnd courage to wrestle uith it, and were re\\qardecl with a 5olutior1 which you feel to be in harmony wit11 the U'orcl of God. Wc share that conviction \vitl~ you. Now, \ve hear, thnt .$onle of our churcl~cs announce in their bulletins that collections \\-ill be taken to\vrud the support of :i causc, identical in nature. NOW. we see. from time to time. in sollie 01 the periodical litrraturr of our churches, an encouragement of t l ~ c very type of practice which we have tllollght un-Scriptural, with- out any evident rcgnrd for the poir~tcd questions directed against it (most recently: Standard Heclrer Vol. 39, Xo. 8, 11. 190). This is extremely difficult for you to com- prehend, understandably. It is our hope that all of our leaders, who arc interested and concernccl with this question, \viU pul)licly express themselves on this matter, \vl~ch..

BEACON LIGHTS

only a generation or so ago, was condemned for the vicious threat to onr tloctrines Chat it is. And thus we hope that there may be, as before, a oneness of mind in this ~natter.

Our positive remarks on this matter of n~emorii~ls to man, or named in honor of man, are extre~neiy simple. In addi t io~~ to considering the tests mer~tioncd in t l ~ e first article cited above, our attentior1 wvas forcil~ly directed, sometinle ago, to the bcal~tiful passage found in Josluin 4:s-7 anrl 19-24. \Ve heard certain aspects of h a t passage serve as the basis of a cleclic;~tion speech for one of our own Proteslant Refonncd Christian schools. We feel illat the instruction of that passage should be our guide in the establishnlent of ally lne~norial in our midst.

\Ve notice then, &st of all, that tliere we do have a memorial, a pitcliing at Gilgal of the stones taken from the bottom uf tlie Jordan River, set up by, or mtlier at t11c comlnand of, the servant of Gocl, Joshua. Thus \w7e submit that to iustih~te a lncr~~orial is in itself not wrong, since it was not subsequeutly forbidden or replaced l ~ y 'another practice.

Secondly, we notice that this meniorisl, set up by man, was uot some al~straciioil, si~nply some intangible retrospection, but. a very real, tangible thing. Thus also, we have no objection to the proposal that a menlorial library ~ J S such be set up, that is, a library that is intendccl to S C N C as a ~nemorial, whether it be instituted in a home, a school, or a church, all of which being in the sphere of f l ~ e Church.

Thirdly, we notice that there was no rtnnlc attached to this menlorial. \Ve silnply do not read of such a thing. IIow corres- pondingly appropriate it would 11;ivr Ilcr~i, humanly s p m h g , to have cdecl it "The Joshua Slemorial", or perhaps, in anotller sense, "The )loses ,\lemorial"! I repeiit that there is no mention made here of mi~n's name at 4 as being part of that memorial.

Fourthly, i t must be noticed thal ihe very nature of the s t n ~ c b r e and place~l~ent of that memorial causcd it to be a n~cmorinl. One tiit1 not have to S(MJ that it was a nie~norial. With t h s proposed mcmorill wve \vould h a w to do that. KO, its very preseuce there at Gilgal \voutlcl prompt tl;r followving generatio~u to ask, "Whnt mean these stones?", and then it. has alre~ldy

functionetl as a memorial, as they received ans\ver to their question. 'I'liere is that clilference. Finding this proposed menlorial 1ibr:iry in a school, do you suppose that \vlien tlie students go to it to rcad and study they \++I1 say, "\\%at mean these boob?" If this proposed memorial, even though not na~iied in the honor of man, would not in a certain n~anner s e n e to tlirccl our thought to some past event, it quite aulo~naticdy ceases to be a nicn~orial. We scx that, don't we?

Fifthly, we notice that the only name= that toas lnentioned in honor, in connection with that ulemorial hi Gilgal, was: "the Lord yoilr God"! Read the prescribctl answer in verses 22-24 dial God gavr unto the cl1ilclrc.n of Israel, wvhich tliey \\,ere to renchar in the hearing of their children wvllo \vould make inquiry concerning those stones:

22. Then ye shall let your children know, saying Israel carne over this Jordan on dry land.

23. For the Lord your God clrietf up the ulsters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the Lord your Cad tlid to the Red Sea. which Hc dried up from before us, until we \*'ere gone over:

24. That all the people of the earth might know the hand of tlie Lord, that it is mighty; that ye migl~t fear the Lord your God forever.

Finally, \vc note in this passage the l)ur.~)ose of that memorial, given by the rntire 21th verse. \Vould the proposed nicrilorial arl.;\wrer to tlvat purpose?

Iu conclusion, tce Leliece th,it memorials to rrrarl are wholly un-Scriph~ral. We belime tliai, altliough there m.ty be no specific d1rectiw.e against a menlorial as such, the time of the value of merr~ori~~ls has long sincr pased. \Vc have the Wlittcn Record of [lie wondrous works of "thc Lord our God" and have received the unction from the Holy One. Let us be diligcnt therewith in study and godly convc~rsation. \ire beliece thai ule should heware that we clo not be- colnr engrossed in erecting "devices" with u.hic11 to senre our God. 1Iay that which is right in His holy sight prevail.

H. If'. K.

BEACON LIGHTS

CRITIQUE AGATHA LUBBERS

- A NEW TEACHER CERTIFICATION CODE

"It's hard to he a Christian thcsr days." Doesn't this s~unn~arily descrilx- t l l t r lifc of a Cluistian :IS 1118 lives in a world 01' sill nnc1 depravity wllicl~ is so much likc t11c. world as it \rras in the clays before the tlcl~lge? Isn't this a fact \vllrtlier one is a child or an adult? Forcildy was 1 reminded of this fact as a collc;~gt~e and I attended ;In official hearing corltlucted by the Stntr 13o;lrd of Educatior~ in I,i~nsing, hlichig;~n, rc:spccting a Proposetl Ccb~.lifiri~tion Codc fo r 111~ ccr- tification of c.l~:~nc.~~t;~n. and sccontl:~ry cluss- room teachers :~ntl school adniinistr;~tclrs. Thc proposed Tc;~chcr Certification Cotlc for the State of Slicliigan is pul)lishctl I)y the Department of Public Instn~ction of which Dr. Lynn 51. I3artlett is snperintc*ntlcnt. This I>roposc.tl Certification Cotl~: is int'ntletl to replace ;I CertiIication Cotlv \ol~iclr was first ;~cIoptetl i l l 1935 wtl Ii;rs c~l'tcli l)een amendetl. Notlli~lg, however, in thc pro- posed Codc c:~n apply "rctroactivcdy to any holder of n vctlitl tcnching certific:~tc."

In general it should be stated that the Code prcscntly in force is less restrictive than the prol>osed Code. Xccoriling to the provisions ant1 regulations of the current Code n pcrsoll ~nust have attontl~:tl :In :ip- provctl collc~gc. ~ I I C ccluiviilent of t11r1.1: years in ortl~sr to IIII:IIICY for a minimal cc.rtiricate; i. c. 21 spccial cc?rtificate. If lic I~ss I~een graduated fro111 a college lvitli :III I\. B. General or it11 A. B. in Education and if he is recomnlentlctl by this college, Ire can be awarded a I'ro\,isional Certificiltc. 'I'his Ccr- tificatc is villitl for five or six years. I)~uing these years the holder of such ;I crrtificate is espectccl to c:irn an additional crcdit-

hours of c.itlrcr piiduate or nntlergr;ltluate credit so that IIC cnn receive a con t i r l~~i~~g or Lifetime* Crrtifirate to teach. (C:r;itlunte credit is l>ro:~dly defined as hor~rs of credit earned in caither a planned or ~~nplirnned sequence of :~dvanced university sttldy which could lead to a ~nasteis degree.)

The proposed Code for Teacher Certifica- tion rni~kcs the requirement.. for crrtific;ltion on tlrc rl~vncnti~ry or secondary 1evc.l Inore strirlp~nt. 'I'l~c purposc- for thr stringc*~rL rr- strictions in tllc proposcd Code is to "im- prove the- q~li~lity of education in thc Stnte of ~lichigan." lf'hile the truth of this state- ment might I,c debated, it is a fact that Michigan Teachers' Certificates will he lcss easily ol~tnined due to the re~~la t io r~ . ; of thc proposc,d Cotle. hlicl~gan Tc,lchcrs' Cer- tificatc-s will 1>r granted only to t11o\c> \vho have complrtc.d f o ~ ~ r years of stttrly ill ;I ap- proved collegc for tmcher education; i. e. they sh:~ll have been granted a baclrclor's degree. Therc \\ill be no differentiation between the ni~nlber of ho11lrs necessary for an elementary or a secondary certificate. Presently a person \vith less than four years of colleges ctl~~cation can be awnrcled .I Spc- cia1 Certific:~tc to teach thc c*lc~lrc~~rt:rry grades but i~ccording to the rc*strictions of the proposctl Code one who tearhe.; the I;indcrg;trten or the ninth grade slrall l1.1ve been the recipient of a bachelor's degrcc in d e r to be certified. The certified intlivid- u d will 11c co~i~pelled to em1 not tc11 cxtra hours but at least thirty hours of grndu~~te credit beyond his bachelor's degrcc so that he may rccrivc a continuing or life-time

BEACON LIGHTS Three

Certificate and continue to practice the pro- fcssion of teaching.

In spite of tlre present shortage of elcnrcn- tary teachers end in spite of the fact that 9,000 or nrore elementary teachers in tllc Puhlic Scl~ools are presently teaching \\.it11 minimnl req~~irements this proposetl Code was favored 11y the majority of those who attentled the hearing conducted for the dis- cussion and elucidation of the regulations laid down in the Code. Even thouglr nlaliy tmcl~crs c~~rrcnt ly enrployed in the Public Schools arc teaching tvitl~ Special or Limited Certific:~tcs, it seenls highly probable that the State Bourtl of Education t i l l act favor- ably toward this proposed Code ant1 enact it as a State Law.

Now regardless of whether one agrees or does not agrtu, that the state shall esercise control over the education of children wvhich the Lord 11;1s given to certain parents or s h n ~ ~ l d llsurp a parental responsibility and prerogative, it renlains a fact that unless contested and repealecl the Inw of the State of llichigi~n requires that each persot1 be- t \ \ , ec~~ tltc of five and sitteen shall be on the ~~~crnl lcrs l~ip rolls of a school :~nd s l~;~l l Ilc i l l rc~wlar atter~clance. It is also a fact thirt ;I gnrlc scllool is dcfinerl :IS such an institution which elnploys individuals \vl~o itre certified by tlre State Boartl of Eclr~cation to cclucnte those required Iiy law to attend school. If uncertifiecl teachers arc cnrployed the institution ceases to be a legal institution to instn~ct snch chiltlrell and atlrninistrative nreasrlres are employed to r ~ ~ t i f y the sitl~ation.

.A school which does not abitlc by these stipulatioln and is s u p p r t t ~ l by puhlic funds is usr~:~lly f o r d to obtain certified teachers 11y llaving their state support cur- tailed or suspended. .I school \vhich is not s~~pported I>y state funds ( a parentally con- trollccl Christian or private school) is es- pected to operate "within the h i t s of the la\vs affecting non-public schooh." "CertiG- cation rc~~uirements for teachers and adulin- istrators in such schools are considered to I)e the salnc as those for teachers and ntln~inislrntors in the public schools." The cnforci~rg of the la\v would necessarily take :~rlothcr course than tile one cited allova for 1'11l1lic Schools l)cu.;~~~sc the suspension of state s~lplx)rt is not possil~le for these schools. \\'l~ctllcr the transgression of tho

law can be consiclerecl a felo~ly :tnd is of such serious proportions that i l punishable is n cletennination which is I)lcsc~~tly being ~ilacle in the office of the Attorl~cby General of the State of llichigan.

hlorally, I~oarever, school 1)onrds in their eniployment of teachers ;Ire ol~lig'rted to observe the law ant1 s l~i~l l elnploy only those \rho are certified to te;ich ;~ccording to the Code in force. A tcacl~er sl)ot~ld he ahle to give positive evidence that he lras hccn or can be certified to teach ;~ccordi~~g to the regulations of the State Ccrtifcation Code. Hiring any other teacher is a violation of the State Law. Any violati011 of s11c11 law is not consistent with ethical principles which govern the life of the Christian. (Cf. Romi~nb 13:l ff.)

Our Protestant Refonned Chr i s t i ;~~~ Schools have hued teachers with n~inilnirl or It%$ than n1inim;ll requirements for certification. It is 111y conviction, howcvcar. that the Protestant Reformed Christiiul Scllool needs a higllly qualified individual. Ile I I I I I S ~ be intellectually and spiritually s1111c.rior. i'rotes- tank Refomled Chr i s t i ;~~ Sclrools 11ccd tenchcrs that a r c . superior to 1110s~~ c~111pIoycc1 ir~ Ix~l~ l ic schools and they slroultl be al)lc to l~old their head up high :IS I~cuing thor- oughly qualified and preparc-tl to practice tlrr pmfcssion of tcaclrilrg. Tl~c* educ;itio~r he is called to give is so i~nport;~~rt that it callnot be given hapl~arzardl~ Ix~t Ile must have a thorough education, a \vitlc? firasp of t l ~ c sn1)jrct whicl~ Ile is teaching and a knoxvledge of the art of t e : ~ c l ~ i ~ ~ g cffcctively and in conformity \vith Protest;rt~t Iiefornled Principles of Edr~catiorr. Let it Ile stated with emphasis that it is unclou1)tedly a fact that many incli\iduals who c;rn~rot nlcet the fonnal certification requirenlctnts in the states in rjucstion are :tch~;~lly or potcr~tiolly I~elter teachers than so~nc of those \\elto can. This is particularly true in the elellle~~tary grades. A teacher who teaches thcsc yo~~ngstcrs must be devoted to the work iind ~rrust love children and must be willing to patic.ntly work \vith them so th;~t tl1c.y will master t l ~ e necessary skills for further lc;~rning. Such an one can not be ;I mere nlercennry. I agree \\'it11 one \vho writes: "I 1)elieve it is the bane of many schools, t l l ; ~ t a large number of tc;~chers l~nvc 110 gcnuine pro- fessionit1 intorcst in th~sir tvork. \I:~ny, csprciiilly of tlre \volnctr te:~chc!~.s, look u p o ~ ~

BEACON I IGHTS

school as a means of I~cing c.~~~l)loycctl in a genteel fashion du~rir~g I I I C * yc.:~~s 1)clween gmduntion ancl ma~~inge . 'I'hry have no intention of making t e a c l ~ i ~ ~ g tlleir carcer if they can help it. Ilence thcy come to their task as skimpily prepared ,IS Ll~e law. \\,ill pennit. They do not delve for themselves any further than the class\\.ork i~nlndiateI>- requires, and they do not carry \vitll them ; I I I ~ p e a t enthusiasm for thrir \vork. They miiy get by but thcy will ccsrl;~inly ncvcr set the minds of their class on firc. The same may be said of many young I I I ( ' I I 11,110 use the school as a slrpping stone- for \o~~lctllir~g which h e y consider hatter. 7'hc interests of the school are rarely servctl 11y ~(-ilcllc.rs of t l ~ class."

, . Ihe crtiployrncnt of onc wlio is not certified shou~ld certainly l ~ c ;un cmergency nleasurc: it should not he 111c n ~ l e and should not be a Hagrant ant1 malicious violation of the scl~ool low which limits and prohibits such practices. In I'rotestant Reformed Christian Schools, I~o\vever, such pr;$ctices may continuc to 11c Ilecessap-

unless Inorc of ollr young people; paltic- ularly young wonlcw, \rrill dcvote tl~eir lives or at least ; I co~rsitlcral~le period of their lives to the tcacl~ing of covenant yo111h. This demands n devoted individual, one \rho feels called of God to enter into the high calling of tr;~ining children of the Covenant and one \\tho is qualified intellec- tually to perform this sc-nrict- of love.

Parents of Covenant youth havc a great responsihilih to encourage and to assist b n c i a l l y those yotrth who seriously con- sider the calling to enter the teaching profession. Thr c;~llsc: of distinctive Protes- tant Reformed Cl~rislian ed11cati011 a11d its derelopnient is the iss~lc.

l'rospectivc tcacllcr \rrho is preparing him- self for the profession, you arc encouraged hereby not to he tlisconraged but to dili- gently apply yoursclf so that you may takc your place in the ranks of those \vho teach in our Protcs1;lnt Reformed Christian Schools. The c;~nse of distinctive Protestant Reformed education rlcpenck by God's gmce on the devotion of those who have prepared themselves anrl fecl ci~lled to this profession.

RICHARD L. BLOEM

"It has become :tlrnost ;I co~lvc:ntion that thosc. who undertake to wrila i1ho111 the Holy Spirit slioi~lcl begin 11y tlrpl(~ring the ncglect of this tloctrinr in the tllol~glrt ancl Life of the Church today." This assertion from the opening page of onc of the most recent treatments on the si~bject can also be applied to us as Protcstnnt Reformed. Although we confession;~lly :~scril>c to the thud person of the Holy Trinity llis proper place, we so casily fail to bc ~nindful of Him as our God. In the words ol' llcv. I-I. Hoeksema, "Wc arc, perl~ags, citsily i~iclincd

to ascril~c Lo the FIoly Spirit a subordinate position. That t11c. Fi~tller is God is never a que-stion \\?it11 us. IIr is the almighty Craltor of all things in 1icnvc.n and earth. That the Son is co-equal \\,it11 the Father we also have little difficr~lty to believe and maintain. He is our mighty Redeemer that ovcrcarnc sin and death for 11s. But does not the Holy Spirit secm to occupy a position of inferiority, in subordination to the Father and the Son? Ilocs not the Bible speak of Him as a rne;ins, or an instrument by whom God works a11 things? And is not an instru- ment inferior to him that employs it? It is

BEACON LIGHTS Five.

not superfluous therefore, to rernind our- selves that the third Person of the Holy Trinity is very God, not subordinate to, I)ut co-equal with tlle Father and the Son."l

To the end, thcrefore, that the IIoly Spirit may be given the consideration Ilc is worthy of, and to help pron~ote espressivc thinking about Him, I hurnbly sul~rnit a few thoughts for your consideration.

First, then, it is \\.ell that me briefly set forth wvl~at \\.e confess to he the trath concerning the IIoly Ghost and thereby illso form a basis for dealing with modern development of ttre tloctrine of the I-Ioly Spirit. Oiu co~lfessions are clear and concise and although sometimes brief, they contc~in all the es..ential elenlents of the truth concerning the Holy Spirit. In Lord's Day 22 in answer to the question, "What dost thou believe concerning the Holy Ghost?" our Catechism states, "First, that He is true and co-etcrnal God with the Father and ihc Son; secondly, that He is also givc.11 nrc to rr~ake me by a true faith, partaker of Christ and all His benefits, that He may comIort me and abide with me forever." In our Confession of Faith the foregoing truth is set forth in Article 11, that Article espressing "that the Holy Ghost is true and eternal God." \fre thereby - '%believe ant1 confcss also, that the Holy Ghost, from eternity, proceeds from the Father and Sou; and therefore is neither made, created nor l>egotten, but only proceedeth frorn I1ot11; \Vho in order is the third persorr of th: I-Ioly Trinity; of one and the sarnc ess~:ncc, majesty and glory with the Father and the Son; and therefore is the true and etermal God, as the IIoly Scriptures teach us."

Our confessions are based on Scripture and thus, that the Holy Spirit is co-etcrnal God with tile Father and the Son also has Script~rr:rl proof. In Scripture He is callecl God, for the Apostle Peter says to Ananias, "-hanias, why hath Satan filled thine hcart to lie to the Holy Ghost?- thou hast not licd unto men, but unto God." This passage certainly implies that the Holy Ghost is God. lsaiah 40:13, 14 credits the IIoly S ~ i r i t will1 being the author of God's eternal courlcil: I Cor. 2:11 tells 11s that the Spirit se~~rchrs tlrc depths of God and I;nowvs the mind of God for there we read, "For what IIILIII

1. The Triple Kt~oxledge. 1'01. 4

Sir

Icr~a\vetli the things of a man, savc the .spirit of ularr which is in him? cvcrl so thc things of God knoweth no man, hut the Spirit of God."

Crnesis 1:2, Psalm 3:6 and Psalul 140:30 all credit the Holy Spirit with the work of creation, :IS well as ascribing it to the Fnther and the Son.

He, too, is the author of our salvation as the \Vord of God teaches us in nlarly places. See for example I Cor. 12:3-10.

The Spirit posesses virtues that are dis- tinctly divine. I le b o~nnipresent, omnis- cient (having -versa1 howlctlge), eternal, receiving clivine honor. He is the source and author of blessing. See I1 Cor. 13:13.

Certainly the Holy Spirit is God; is our God 16th the Father and the Sun.

Secondly, to develop a knowledge of the work of the Holy Spirit as pertaining to His people 1vc should consider lrow He was rcvcalcd in time. This revelation is given 11s in the Scriptures, the Olcl Testa~nent giving ew-idence of His manifcstation to the people of God in types and sh;ttlows in the Old Dispensation, wvlde the New Tcstan~ent sheds fort11 the light of the Holy Spirit as t l ~ e Spirit of Christ in the New Dispensation.

The old dispensation was fillctl with types and shndo\vs and the saints of thc old dispensation h e w of or about the Holy Spirit only to the extent that the LVord of God gave them word pictures of the Holy Spirit and the Hope that u.. to come at Pentecost; the gift of the Spirit to the church.

'Thc e*pressions that are usecl in the Old Testirment to describe the Spirit are indic- .~tive of the dim com~rel~ension of the rc;ility of things to come. The power of the Holy Spirit is signified by 'enlls such as 3reath' and 'wind'. The phrase 'the word of God', occurring no less than 394 times in the 01~1 'I'estament according to Brown, Driver and Briggs, is used to cspress three differc>nt forms of divine activity; namely, crec~tion, providence and reve1;ltion. As an irl.qtauce nre quote Psalnr 33:G. "Hy the word of thc Lord were the heavens made: and a l l the hosts of them by tllc Spirit of His lnouth." For the Old Testament saint this \\.as hardly ~ldeqnate for a clear colnprehen- sion of the doctrine of the Holy Spirit as we understand it this side of Pentecost.

The Olcl 'I'c-starnent made preparation for

BEACON LIGHTS

the Xew Tes!;~~nc:nt revcl;~tior~ of the Spirit 11s in thc \vc,ll Lno\vn prophesy of Joel 2:26, I ~ u t again, this forrshado\ving of the conling of the IIoly Spirit \\,as h o ~ ~ n d to be Iargcly only a glimpse of a future event; an expecta- tion.

This t1oc.s r~ot mean, as Ilcv. H. Hoelcsc~l~;~ states, "that snints of tllr old disprr~sation were not s:rvccl even as \vc. For, a l tho~~gh Christ was not yet, the Son of God I~acl been ordained tilt. X'leclintor of IIis pcwplr in God's eterrii~l corrucil. a ~ ~ t l even bcforc: Ilis incarniltion operatc.cl ;tnd I~oc:tme revcalcd ;IS

such in the promise ;~ncl through the shadows. .And although the Spirit of Christ \\.as not yet, the Holy Ghost hacl hcer~ c,trrnally ortl;~ined to be t h ~ . Spirit of re.- clemption, ant1 :Is s11cl1 IIc olleratctl in the

ant1 lecl the people tllrough the shadows to the hope of reality that svns to come. But thr saints of the Old Testa- ment, even with respect to the spiritual I~lessings of s;tlv:~tion which now are fully oars, were s;lvocl by Iio1,e. I+:ven :is wc in the new dispensation still look fonv;ird to the final re;~lization of the promise, and can hut dinlly apprehend t l ~ c glory of the hcavenly kingdo111 that is to come in the clay of Chrisl, so the s;li~~ts of t l~v old clispensation were, incleed snvtld. yct the reality of ntoncment ant1 rctlcmption, of justification itnd life, the fullness of the revelation of Jesus Christ i ~ ~ ~ c l of the I h s - sings of salv;~tion 11 Mil11 11;ttl not I>ccn realized. Tl~cy coulcl only cli~nly apprclle~~d them tluoug11 the shaclo\vs ; ~ n d by thc promise of Ilim that \\,as to come."

Such was the revelation of the IIoly Spirit in thc Old Disprns;rtion.

The New I)ispensation, n~ith the c c l ~ ~ ~ i n g of Christ ;~ntl the pouring o11t of the Iloly Spirit on Prntccost, brought i ~ l ~ o u t a decisive change in the comprehension of the Iloly Spirit l ~ y the proplc of Cod. Their co~~ccpt of Him ill Ilopc. chnngrtl lo an, expericntii~l kr~o~vlcdge of' I1i1n as Ilc wns given them tluough Christ to cl\vell in tllc~ll and 111nke them partakers of all the benefits of snlvu- tion. The vcry rspressions used to denote t l ~ c Spirit I>y Ncw Test;un~c.~~t writers from the first verse of SIattI~r\v I 11;1ve a ddinite :kccent that rc*vc:~ls a fan~ilii~rity with t11c Holy Spirit. In the Oltl 'I'cstament the phrase 'the Spirit of thr Lord' or 'the Spirit of God' is vcry common. The espressio~~

1101~ spirit' (holy rr~ach) occurs only three times nncl cvcn thrn ~vith 'Thy' (11. 'flis'. In the Nc\v Testanlent the espression 'IToly Spirit' (pneuma hagion), sonletirnrs with the definite article and son~etimes without it, occurs 88 timc:s. Agi~in, where;xs in t l ~ c . Old Test;trnent the phrase 'the spirit' (tlic rt~iich) is never r~sed escept to denote t l ~ r '\vintl' or the 'breath', in thc. New Testa~ncnt the esprc.ssion 'the Spirit' occurs in :ct Ic.;lst 46 pass;igec, without counting thc many in- stances in \rlhich 'spirit', \\rithout the, x~rticlc, stands for t l ~ e workirlg of thc Spirit of God upon the! spirit of n ~ a n - e.g. in n ~ c h pl~r:~srs as 'the spirit of adoption', or 'the spirit of meeLness' or 'the spirit of revelation.' 'I'hrse figures reve;ll a new cnnccpt in the! r~ncler- stancling of the I-loly Spirit. 'I'hc Nrw Testar~lcnt speaks rcg~~larly of 'the IIoly Spirit', which pt~rnse is to be cnref i~l l~ dbtinguished from the Old Tcstoment phrase. 'The IIoly Spirit'. In likr miinner the co1l:morl New Tcstainent use of the phrase 'thc Spirit' i~~tlicates that I-lc is so fanliliar itnd central in Christian experience that it is sufficient thu* to descril)e H~III. He is "711e Spirit" par excellence. Evcry Christian \\,ill Lnou. \vho is nlean!. .\nd that: of course, is l>rcir~ise the tloly (:l~ost has becnrne thr Spirit of Christ who tlwells in IL<, the Church.

A distinction must be made bet\vcen the Holy Ghost as thr tl~irtl person of tllc IIoly Tr i~~i ty :~ncl that same Spirit as IIc is I,e~co~nc the Spirit of Christ. Even as the only IIC- gotten Son and Jesus Christ arc the same person, so thc Holy Ghost and the Spirit of Christ are the sane person. iilso, as Christ \\,as orclained hefore the foundation of the vorld to 11c our Aletlintor and the govcnling heat1 of thc elect eltnrcl~ and the ncw crea- tion, so the Holy Ghost, in God's eternal good ple;lsnre is promisc~i to Christ, ordained to be the Spirit of Si~nctification, that IIe might d\vcll in thr church ancl 111i1kr. us partakers of all the benefits of salvi~tion. This is taught in Scripture passages sx~ch as John ?:39, John 14:15-17, John 16:'iff and oll1en:

That is the manifestation of thc Holy Spirit to 11s ul the Ncw Dispensation. On thc day of Pentecost, thc Holy Spirit, ;IS the Spirit of the exalted Christ, was pourctl out into thc church and through that Spirit Christ Ilinlself returnc~l to the Churcli imd

BEACON LIGHTS

triulsli~tetl it from the olti to tl~c, new. Gori the Iloly Spirit is now our S;~mtifier 11). Ilis dwelling in our hearts.

A tndy Scriptural co~lception of thc IIoly Spirit. the ;lw;lrcness of IIirn as Gocl by the Old Testanlent saints and the experience of Ifis presence as the Spirit of Christ in tlie New Testament chl~rcl~, is esserltial for the mainten;ance of every other truth of Holy \Vrit. To ascrilm to the Holy Spirit fi~nc- tions which rnininlize His powcr, which re- duce the cffcctiveness of His sanctifying Grace to His pcaple who alone are com- forted therrl,y, and which credits the Holy Spirit with an assist in all sort of hokus-pohs is to break down the unified concept of the Scriptures to mere philosophy. But s~ich is the attempt of modem theologians.

We confess that the \Vord of God wis not sent nor delivered by the will of man, 1)ut that holy nlcn of God spake as they were moved by the IIoly Ghost, as the Apostle I'eter s ~ i t h . We also believe that with Divine care they were prcaserved by tl c IIoly Spirit through the ages infilllil~le mcl prlrc., untainted 1,y I111nlan reasoning. This itlc;~ of the infallibility of tlrc Scriptures is denic~tl I,y nloderriists w l ~ o insist h a t the tos t i~no~~y of the Spirit in tllc lleart of a man 11;is precedence over the 'fallible' b~~ilidauce of tlie c h ~ ~ r c l ~ in dctcn~~ining the authority of Scripture. No one knows, they say, who is clivi~~ely inspircvl ;is none can disccr~l an- other's inner thoughts. The refusal of Re- for~ncd theologians to accept the historial testimony of the church's faith as the coun- terpart of the inner witness of t l ~ c IIoly Spirit proliipted an appeal rriade to t l ~ e qu;~lity of Scripture itself. This apped, prtp fessor Ilcntlry says, "reflects a conception of thc Spirit tllilt belongs to the nnantic cults of ancient Greece rather than to the faith of the Sew Testanlent." \Ve know, that with- out the Spirit the Scriptures ;me dead, but the Spirit who is God does not teach a dif- ferent doctrine to different men at different tinies with the same \Vord. Tile Bible as die revci~lerl Word of God was preserved piue in spite of sinful Illen, not made fallible be- cause of sinful men. Let us trust the Spirit to ~nair~tairl the infallibility of the LTi'orcl of Gal .

\\'c also find anlorig modernists ;I tcnd- ency to givr a t\vofold meaning to the ~1ir;tse 'f~IIo\vsliip of tlie Moly Spirit'. 'I'lrc.

distiuction is made between 11;1tum1 and supernat~~ral operi~tions of I11t: Spirit, the sl~pcrnatural being thitt \vhicl~ :I Christian e~~ericr ices in liis rnl1,raciug of t l ~ c C1iristi;in faith while the natural c~nbotlies the sub- conscious activities of all ~niunkind. Such spirit actixity also accour~ts for extra-sensory pcrception and/or nicnt;~l telrpntl~y. An es- ample in Scripture of this ~iatr~ral operation of the Holy Spirit in the e~nployment of extra sensory perception is the ability of Balsam as well as Samuel to prophesy, which nah~ral endo\wnent was pealliar to certain individual. The supernah~ral activ- ity of the Holy Spirit is iclentifiecl with love; the love of the Holy Spirit for ;ill men, the Spirit. having gained recognition of that love, causes the Christian to respond to the love of the Spirit a. tlie Spirit of Christ.

Such distortions of the work of the Holy Spirit are the vain i~naginatio~ls of a foolish heart. It is evident that those who advoc:itc such ideas make a colnmon tlcnornin;~tor of the I-Ioly Spirit and thereby lr~akc the saving Grace of God just ns c o n l ~ n o ~ ~ . Certainly untler such a system the intlivicl~~i~l talents an~tl a11 inherent love or 'good~~oss' of all men is mcnnt to rise al~ovc! deatll and tlecay. Shades of 'Common Gmcc' to si~y Ihc least.

Such a psychologie:~l intcrpt.c.tiltion also deals n-it11 mental heding. Anglicati Canon, Lindsay I>c\var, a Fellow of Kitigs College, 1,rlieves that it is the love of tho I-Ioly Spirit which heals the mental patient.

Our final reference to ~notlcrn thought concrrning the Holy Spirit dc:~ls with the idea that the Holy Spirit is the potential Icadrr of niankintl to unite them into one inind and still preserve their individuality without dictatorial pressure ovrr their will. The love of the Spirit of Christ \\ill effect this, it is believed, IS the ulti~ni~tc. victory of the supem;~tural over the natural operations of the Spirit. For, they say, the universal or catholic conmlunity provides the only com- pletely satisfactory cnviron~ne~lt for the gro\\th and devclop~nent of 11111nan nature. Tlle Chistian fellowship provitlrs the solu- tion to all pri~ctical prol,lc~ns. The self- asserting and self-denying tcntlc~lcics in men fiucl their Ilarn~ony in those \\~lro by a personal devotion to Christ ; ~ r c united to one another, for they live to a center outside theniselves which dr;~ws t l ~ c ~ n all together as if Ily a magnet. The rcs111I is freedom of

BEACON LIGHTS

expression, united in the two bali~nced ' This dele has had some circulation tendencies. This, Dewar s:lys, is what Saint already, fist, as a paper give11 to the IIope

Protestant Reformed Men's Society, then, Paul clai~ns for tllc mernbers of t l ~ c church as paper at a com~~illed meeting of llope when he says, - "FVe llavc Llle mind of and Soutlleast \len's Societies. Rev H. Christ" ( I Cor. 2:10), a mind made known Hanko, sonla t in~e ago, suggested that it be to us by the Holy Spirit.? published in Beacon Lights.

\Ve sharc in ~11e conviction that there is. That is the h(:art of the church world ,.itllirl our cllurclies, a lack of oppoh,nity

today. Let us beware that \VC fall not into for non-clerical rnenibers to express t11er11- such dishonor. Let us have the mind the selves in print. Such a consideri~tion Spirit, that is, the spirit of cllrist, for all prompted, in part, the cstablislmlent of the

annual Beacort Lights Literary Contest. other spirits are not of God. We thank the since it seelns tl,at older melllbers of our 1301~ Spirit for His revelation to us of I-Iis churches refuse to take he Contest work whicli glo&es Iliin as God, co-eqllal or else s~~s ta in a rliist&en sense of ]node& with the ~~~l~~~ and tile son, to l j ~ h ~ ~ ~ be regxclirlg their talents, Beacon LigJlts en-

courages rnini~ters or other society leaders praise and glory Forever. to r~mrnrnend for nublication whatever - :uticles or papers come to their attention as

2. Lindsay Dewar The IIolt/ Spirit and being ,\,o*liy. mod err^ Thouglrt - Ed

No do~lbt the clncstion that fills the minds of most of our young pcoplc. wlio have a prayerful concein with our mission, is: what happened in Tripp, South Dakota? Why did our AIissionary, Rev. G. Lubbers, leave there? Were there nny people at Tripp, who, when all wtis saicl and done, would have clesircd to brcome Protestant Refomled?

Such are the questions whicll we either asked or suggested while we recently spent the Chrish~ias ancl New Yenr in hlicliigan.

It slloultl be borne in mind that your rnisqionary \vent to Tripp, S.1). ant1 rented a hall and preachccl and lcctl~rcd \r*itll the rcbult, tllat, even though t l ~ c nun~ber of

tliosc wlio attended fluch~atcd and de- crcascd, ncvertliclcss tllere was n faithful group \vhich attended the Sunday School, the Senrice and rcceived catcchetical in- struction for thcniselves and for their cl~il- dren, and rcceived 11s into thrir own I~omcs as though we were their own regular pastor. T l ~ e numl~cr of those who attencleed f l~~ch~ated from 15 to cven 30 people per Sunday. During the €wen@ months wvllich we spenl at Tripp, S.D. the collections iunou~~ted to about $"000.00.

Yetet, with all this, our labors at Tripp were rather upon hope acainst hopel The cl~~estion was: id these brethrrn and sisters really have the spiritual power and

BEACON LIGHTS

strict" but such was the opinio~l of so and interest to ultimately ask to be organized as a Protestant Reformed Chlirch. Or \vo~~l:l. they when the time came, ancl tllc :tctu:iI confrontation with the questions and is- sues became imperative, him about aftpr taking a long hard look, and decitle against asking to he members of t l ~ e Protestant Refonned Church.

It was the conviction of your ~~lissionary that the Statrrs Quo of being a mission station could not continue indefinitely. In vie\\, of corl~ing to a proper termination, upon the suggestion of the unclersigncd, tile Clatjrch Order was studied for a fe\v 111onths each 1lond;cy evening. 'rhc attcndancr was not too promising, nor was the irltereit keen; a faithful fen. came, some of mho~n showed genuine interest. However, wl~cn it was suggested to study the Canons of Dort, it hecanc quite evident that some, a goodly percentage of the people, wt:re eiCllcr adverse or rather inditFerent to tl&i overh~rc. They virtually balked at the idea. In :I

subscqnent qllcstionaire which the people filled in, it \\;;IS evident that somc wcrc definitely opposed to studying the Cunons.

On the basis of this evidence and upon the suggestion of the undersig~led the h'lis- sion Comn~ittee \vent on record as recom- mending to the Consbtory of the First Protestant Refonned Churd~ , Crantl 13apicls, 3,lich. (the calling church) that Rcv. 1,ul~- bers be recalled from Tripp, and sent clsc- \\-here. Thc Co~lsistoq- decided accordingly.

Ilean\\.hile ~vord of this all cane to thc ears of the people at Tripp, S.11. A meeting \ v a ~ called in which the general opi11io11 was =pressed that h c y prcfcrretl to cori- tinuc. In line with this sentiment a tlecisior~ was taken on Octobcr 90 that a letter IIC: sent to the Ilission Committee reqiicsting them to rescind their decision to rcnlovt: Rev. Lubbers, and a committee of three w;~s appointed to cornpose the letter ;m:I then have it read for approval al the nest meeting. Strilnge as it may sound, two of this committee immediately took upon thcm- selves to visit the various F;liliilies uu:l decided that the group did not care Lo carry on, and h a t 110 letter need be writleu. There nvere overtones to the effect that the Protestant Reformed Churches were "too strict" in discipline. Those who felt tlmt way did not say that they tlro~lglrt d ~ e Protestant Reformed Churches were "too

so \\tho would for that reason not come to the senices.

Instead of a letter being sul~mitted as decided, a meeting \\.as held in the absence of Rev. Lubbers in which it was agreed that they \vould settle for an "Independant 'l'ripp Refonned Church", and thrn still rcLqrlest the preaching of Rev. Lubl~crs. This \ \ws strange maneuvering, to say the lcaqt.

The reason? IL \$:as really that those who insisted

most strongly for an indepenclent congrega- tion did not really want "Discipline" as an earlnark of the cmrch. They clid not dcsire to m,aintain Qllcstion 8'3 of the Heidelberg Calechisln. They spoke of hiiving "open corn~llnnion", etc. that it should 1x3 left up to tllc conscience of each intlividual. If a certain member desired to go lho\rling on Sunday no minister sho~ilcl lift ;In eye-brow nor ask a h o ~ ~ t the whereabouts of such an abse~~tec fro111 the service! What a f,umer does about a "critter" wllicll does not show I I ~ for water with the rest of the cattle, and n shepherd docs according to Jesus' \Vorcl, shoulcl not be clone by a nninister in Tripp! Such desired to leave h e United Church Of Christ for reasons of their o ~ n , l>ut they would not purgc out the old Irttven of indifference and lack of ecclesias- ticill discipline. -411d a group that wil l not exercise christian discipline is no true churcll! . . I l~cre \lr;ls a concrcte reas011 why some 1)ull;ed a1 the acceptance of christien disci- pline. In the group attending the services \Irere a ~ n a n ant1 his wife w\yl~o were Thirty Second Degrcc Scottish Rite hlasons and Eastern Star Ilasons, and nho dcsired to become members of the Independant Re- fonnetl Church. In fact, he offcrcd to serve as an elder!! After somc of the people read ~ n y d ~ c ~ ~ l n e n t , "The \Iaso~lic Sc!oLtisI~ Rite In The Light of Scripture and 'I'llc Heidel- berg Catechism". the>- most aciamantly would ha1.e nothing of such a church as was ;idvocated.

T l ~ e result was that on the issue of thc Lodge in particular and the matter of discipline in genenl the littlc group split into t\vo wmps and uas purged of the old Ieaver~. Tl~ose \vho desired not to allow hIasons ;it the table of the LORD, desired to bccome Protestant Reformed, and so

BEACON LIGHTS

rcqucstrd the hlission Committee to tlccide. he llission Col~llniitre espressctl their

sincerc appreciation for the courugcous recll~est of this little grollp, but felt that it was wiser to advise them to join the Doon Protestant Refor~~~c:d Cl~urch, about 100 milcs distant. ;rnd hold their services scpa- ratcly, either hy rc::~(ling, ttlpcd serlnolls, or visiting ministers fron~ Iowa and Xli~lncsota. Thus they could ;rlso have the s~~cra~nents atlnrinistered to tlrcnr. \%at the reaction was the undersigned docs not know.

:\ntl so this chapter is closed for the h'lissionary.

It was ;I very strangely wonderful service which \\re held two ycars to the day in Tripp after the first lech~rc in that city. Your missionary on the well know words of P:~ul in I1 Tun. 2:19, "Ncverthc- less the fountlation of God standeth sure, having this seal: the Lord know3 who are his own. tund let every onc who nameth tl~c, nrlne of Christ depart from iniquity.''

There arcs tunes when this "nevertheless" has special meaning and comfort for a faithfill servant in the vineyard of the Lord; it is a cry of victory in the midst of ovcr- \vhehing odds and seeming defeat.

Cults an d Sects REV. C. HANK0

Since Beucor~ Liglils intends to pul~lish a scrics of essays on Cults and Sects, the purpose of this ;~rticle is to introduce the stlhject, so that we may make our acquaint- ance with those groups that appear round al)c~ut us as cults or sects. IVc facc the cll~c.stion: What arc c~rlts? And what are sects?

T l ~ c term "sect" is probably nlorc con- f~uing thnn the term "cr~lt". There is by no means agreement 3s to what is meant by a scct. Sluch less is there ugreerncnt whether a certain group is riglrth~lly called n scct or not.

Turning first of all to the dictionary, we find that Webster defines a scct as: "A k q o ~ ~ p of people having a conlmon lender or ;I clistinctive doctri~lc or way of thinking." From what Wehstcr ~ i v e s as f~~rt l lcr es- plt~nntion of this tc1.111, we may conclr~cle t h ~ t according to the colnnlon opinion a sect is: 1. A group that has broken away from en estahlishccl clrurch. 2. l'llis gror~p hi~s its own inteq)rc!tatio~~ of the Scriptrires in tlistir~ction fron~ t l cstahlisl~c-tl c1111rch. 3. I.'inally. this grorll) 11ns its own practices, rcs~~l l i t~g fronl its ou.11 tlistinctive views of thc Scriptures.

\\'ith that definition hefore us we ask our- sttlves: How we can determine \vhetl~er a certain group is or is not a sect? The answer to thi~t question \vol~ltl depend upon another

question: \Vhat must be ~~nderstood by "the established church"? For example, the Roman Catholic Church maintains that she is the oldest, and therefore the only true and universirl church. Therefore all the Protes- tant C h u r c l ~ ~ s since the Reformation nus st be considered sects! The pope may refer to then1 as "separated brethren", but according to the position of the Catholic Church we are all nothing more thi~n a sect. .And Catholics will appeal to thc fact that ever since tlrc Ilcformation the Proteslar~t C11urchc.s hirve exprriencetl nothing I~u t splits ant1 division into hundreds of denomi- nations, \vhich arould seen1 to prove that thc protestants are certainly sectarian.

That raises another questior~: Is it a matter of opinion whether or not a certain group is a srct? Sincc each church maintains thgct it h:~s the pure intcrpretation of the Scriptures, and a l l others have dcparted from the truth of Scripture, can each church assume the right to call the other a sect? And must we conclude from that, that there is no reill "cstablished church" on earth, no trrre cl~urch in distinctio~r frorn the f,~lsc~, and thercfore no rcal stsct in the absol~~tr sense of the word? Are all denonlinations both true church and sect at the same time. .d a m r t l i r ~ g to the point of vie\\- that is taken?

Even morr: Should we t;rke the attiturlc

BEACON LIGHTS Eletio~~

that there is even soniething very dcsircablr allout Il;~ving rn;lny "churcl~es" or many "sccts"? I r111otc from what Geo. \\'. Cilr~rort. remarks in tllc Encyelopeclia of Hcligio~~s Knowr,lcdgc, 111, page 20.7, "Juclgi~lg from the ~~niversal tendency of rcligion to ;Ievt~IoI~ sects, if history forccnsts the future, oneness of belief will never be attained. . b d if the ;tpp;lrent tlc~n;~ncls of hunian nah~re be taken into reckoning. such a result is not dcsir;~hle. The C;~Iw,inistic mmci must be left to its adoration of the mathematical precision of definite and exact foreorclina- tion, wvl~ilc the Arminian mind rejoices in the ahsol~~tc respoilsibility of the hclividual for Iris o\vn salvation or destruction."

In that case a doctrinal position is nothing more than a ~nattcr of opinion. And each opinion has something in its favor. Let w e n man be happy with his owvn opinion

But w\'h;~t al)ont Scriphire? Is this in Irzlnnony with all that Scriphue teaches? Ant1 sr~rely Scriph~re has something very definite to s;ty about this.

Thc word "scet" appears also in Scripture. Thc Grcck word is hcrirrsis. Yo11 \\.ill i1-11- medi;ltrly reru)gnize the word 'heresy' in it. I4;lircsis nlc;ins "the act of choosing", "choice". Also: "Tllat whiclr is rlroscn", Ilrnce, "a chosen opinion or tenet". ,h~cl thus: "A I)ody of men separating tlrernsrlvr~s fro111 otllers a ~ l d following their own tenets, ;I .wct or party".

In that Iilst sense we read of the scct of the Sotltlucees in .Acts 5:17, the sect of the Plli~risccs in Acts 15:s. lirhich Paul calls "the stri~itcst .wct of our religion" in Acts 26:s. Thtuc Sadducees and Pharisees cleviatetl from the 'law of \loses", the Old Testi~ment Scripturrs, to follow views and tenets inventcd 1,y mere men. Therefore they wvcrc rightfr~lly brandecl as "sccts".

.As may wvell 1w expectecl, the Jews wvko rr.jcctcd the Christ wvere ready to heap reproach upon the disciples of Christ 1)y branding then1 ;IS a sect. 111 Acts 24:s t l e believers are reproached a "the scct of tk.e Naix~renes". And thrir way was condcmnecl as heresy in Acts 21:11. (See also Ac:s 28:22). This is a case where wicked nleu resort to evil reproach to defend their error and to condemn those who hold the tnlth of Scripture.

I';~ul points out to the church at Corinth tl~;lt there must he heresies (sects) in tile

church, in order that "they which are apl)rovetl may 11t: I I I ; I ~ ~ ~ ~~r;rr~ifrst among yo11." Notice that those wvl~o I~oltl tlre t n ~ t h arc approved of Gotl, nntl. I)y in~plication, tho st^ who depart from the t r ~ ~ t h sl~lfer IIis disapprov;tl. How thcn can we ever speak well of any sect?! Sects only scrvcs thrir cliw:ir~ely a p p o i ~ ~ t ~ ~ l pnrposc to I~ring out the contrast between t n ~ t h and crror, so that the truth may be manifest in contrast to the lie. Again in Galatiatis 5:20 the sin of heresy (sects) is mentioned i l l one breath \with such sins as idolatry, witchcraft, strife, sedition, murders ant1 tln~nkcnness. Not those ww-ho expose such evils arc= to be frow\l~ed upon as "heresy h~~nters", as is so often the case today, lwt those who introduce heresy are to he contlcmned in no unceriain terms. They arc gl~ilty of dis- rupting the peace of Jen~saletn! Also Peter speaks in that strain whcn lie points to "'damnal~le heresies" that crcLcp into the church in the last times tllro~~gll false teachers! I1 Pet. 2:l.

On the basis of Scripture, the Church is the gathering of the clcct 1)elievcrs ;~nrl their spiriti~al seed. This cl~urch is gatllcred by the Son of God from the dn\vn of history until the end of time or~t of rvcry nation, until the rntire asscmhly of tl lc . t~lcct is gathered into heavrnly pcrlcctior~ with Christ in glory. This church h;ls a real unity, for it is thc hotly of Christ. Christ is her Head, ant1 the elect :ire so many mem- hers of His h d y , each functioning according to his owvn place in the body. 'rhis unity is re,&ed through the operation of the Spirit in the hearts of the l)clievers. All tnic believers possess the snnir life of Christ through the bond of faith. They arc h i t together in the love of Cod, confessing one God and one Lord, one righten~~sncss and holiness in Christ, one holx of salvation. .And since the Spirit of Christ alwvays wvorks through the mean9 of the \\ford, this \trord of God, the Scriptures are the fonndation of the church. The Church is f o ~ ~ n d ~ r l upon the M'orcl of God, and givcs expression to that \Vord in her Confessions.

Tilerefore wve can ;~lso rcndily recognize the t n ~ e chnrch in distinction from any sect, Quoting from Article 29 of our Belgic Confession: "life believe, 111;lt we ought cliligc.ntly and circl~nispectly to tliscern from the '\\'ord of God which is th(: trur. Church,

BEACON LIGHTS

since a11 sects \vhich are in the world assllrnc to thernselvcs the nallle of tlle Clir~rcl~. . . . The m:~rks by which the t n ~ e Church

is known, arc tl~esc: if the pure doctrine of the gospel is preachrtl therein; if she maintains the pure administmtion of the s;icmments ;IS instit~~tc!d Ily Christ: if church discipli~~c is esercisetl in punishmcnt of sin; in short, if all thit~gs arc manilgctl ;~ccording to the pure \\'ord of God, all tl~irlgs contrary thereto rrjectcd, Jesus Christ acknowledged as thc only IIcacl of the Chi~rcli. Hc.rol)y tlre trc~c. Church Inay certainly 1)~ . known, fro111 \vhich no man 1 1 s a right to separate Ihnself."

From wllicli we may conclude that 21 sect is tiny group that scparatcs itsclf from the 'I'rue Churcl~ to maint:iirI cloctrir~cs and practices thi11 are contrary to the ?iTortl of God it becorncs a sect. And ;I sect may be recognized ;is a group that holds the

philosophies of men rather than thc truth of Scril)tnrc, ,and condones practices that are pli~inly ~qntrary to Scripture. Tht! llible is d\v;iys criterion.

Cults differ fro111 sects only in kind. The \vord comes from the Latin \vortl "c~~ltr~s", \\,lucl> mc;~ns "worship". A cult B tl~ttrrfore a system of religions belief and worship. The a ,od may even refcr to the rites ;md ceremonies employed in some \\*orship. And ;u the term is used in our discussion of C111ts anrl Sects it Inr,uns a body of ~)eol)le who hand together, r~su,dy even isolating themselvcs from others. to show e~crssive devotion to some man or tenet, contr:~ry to the Scriptr~res, ant1 give expression to that ckvotion wit11 man-made rites and ccrcs- monies. Again Scripture milst 1)c the criterion in determining "cults"! For Srrip- tu~re is always the only ;tnd sure criterion!

* I /

THE METHODS AND IDEAS OF

Originally, Unitarianism was not a move- rncnt independcr~t of thc Cllristian churches, nor, strictly, :I schismatic group in the church, 1 ~ 1 t an intra-church apostasy from Christ, His church ant1 thc confessions. Its purpose was not to fonn another church, hut to gain control of the c l~~uches in the dcnomin;~tio~lnl association. 11 \\?as rather the Calvinist members who llatl to relinquish their cl~~rrcli properties :md withdc~\v. Hilndreds of tllousancls of dollars in build- ings, furnishings and funtls fell to the Unitari;~ns as a result of litigation. The

vs. E R R O R

REV. R. C. HARBACH

UNITARIANISM

peculiar church-political situation contri- buted to the great loss the Calvinist party sufleretl. The cliurcllcs resided in pi~rishes. hccortling to Funk and 11Tagnalls dictionary a paris11 was "in New England, originally a district (usually a town) under the control of one chrlrch and t n ~ c d for its support; hence tlic pcople irl such a district, citl~er as controlling the tempor;~lities of the cl111rcI1 (society), or the district as the field for the Christian work of the church." It was the town which contributed to the support of the cllurch, and so had a hand in the

BEACON LIGHTS Tlrirteei~

clroicc of pastors. The church wiis answer- able to the parish (town), I~caing imclcr its control for material support, iintl so in most instance5 \\.as outnumberd 11y the parish. -1 parish could elect a minister without the cancent of the church. This \r.;~s upheld by the \\porldly court. The church w;ls adjudged as havir~g no legal rights npiirt fro111 the parish. Properties were a\\wrtlrtl to the minority in the church which \\rent :!long with tllc tlrcisions of thr parisll. Thus tl r olive tree of the t n ~ c cl~urch \\,as replaced \vith the cactus of heterodoxy.

In order to win Protestant young people to their anti-Christian Ll~libarians have ~natle n pn~ctice of scrurirlg property ne.u the universities, with chl~rches or offices close by so tliat propi~g;~nrl;~ for die cause of modem libemlism may most cffec- tivcly I)c done. TT7hat univ~ursity [lots not feel t l ~ c strong influence of Unitnri:mism? Appeal is niatle to students to cut thcr~iselves loose from the historic Protrst:~nt faith for t l ~ c rnorc intellectually satisfying hmi~anism. Sh~dents :,re offered the opporh~nity to eschangc their childhood so/a scriplrrra for a miltl~rtt /,omre liteme. Thr: tit-vil tempted our first 11i1rent.s to partake of the forl~idclen tree. No\\. he tempts young people with grafts into the deleterious czlct~~s. When young people are tunled awuy from orthotlos t h e o l o ~ , Unitarians rrgi~rd it as a "breaking ;I hole through tllc Chinese \.all." In Ixeaking doxm the liatetl Christian faith, it regards as helpful allics thc Xlasonic lodges, the granges, Odd-fcllows' h;ills, the Inl~or r~tiions, ,uld the sects, s ~ ~ c l i as spiritisls, Universalists, Refor~~lcxl Jews, Chr i s t i ;~~~ Scientists and Hicksitc Q~~akcrs.

The unitarian c11lt cannot I I ~ recognized as C11risti;ln any more than Isla~nism or Juclais~n. It is more akin to atheism than to rithrr of the above mentionctl relifions. For o ~ ~ c thing, it has no place for prayer, esptriitlly for petition in prayer, clai~ning tli;it ci~sting one's care on thr I.ortl is fi~ilure to 11i.;1r one's o\vn respot~sil~ility. \Vl~cl~ one intellcch~ally progresses in his religious itlciils he soon reaches the point u,l~ere prayer is left behind as childlislincss is out- grown for mahuity. Prayer is really un- civilized. One will then conclutle tl~iit God is not a personal being. Tlrc soonrr we rc;ilizc we Live in an inlpersonal universe, the soonrr wc may canre a civilizatio~l out

of t11v wildernrss. There is no sovereign Fr ic~~t l I)ehincI or above the \vorltl, directing lifi. to\~i~ri l a predestined goal. There then can I)c no redemption, for thc~t lias the goal of immortality and glorification of man, so111 and I~otly. There is no i~n~nortnlih. To bro;~ch \uch a subject is to commit the \vorltl's \\.orst social fatrx pas.

l!niti~ri;i~~isrn has been dul~l,c:tl an "honest nlotlt.1.11is111" because whilc ~notlt~rnism, dis- 11011c.sl in that it uses orthotlor terminology with crltirely different meanirlg, and dis- honest in that it is cq-pto-unitnriun, Unitari- iinism Ilas never pretended to :In orthodox or bil~lici~l faith. n'hen an infallible Bible is I I ; ISSL~ up, the bottom does not drop out of t l ~ c ~rniverse. For the \vorcl of this imperso~~i~l god niay IIC ~ O I I I I ~ in such v o l ~ ~ ~ n c s ;IS those of Ploto, flo1111c*s, Emerson or Sc*;~rs, Roebuck. Still, if i t wc.re really hon~st , it wo111d take a position as unhlpo- critical ;IS open atheism. For Unitari,mism denies cvcrything atheis~n does: t l ~ c doctrine of the trinity, the virgin birth, the deity of Christ, that He is the Alpha and thr Omega, that Ile is the Firstbon~ :Inlong many brethren, tllal Ilc ever knew :ul)thing of tlir c.tr1.11;11 counsel of Cod. I t especially tlc11ic.s 1I1r. t r i~th of man's tot:ll spil.ih~al and n~or ;~ l tlcpravity. It never sings, "I am evil, born in sin, Tho11 dcsirest truth within, Thou alone my S;iviour art, teach Thy xxrisdom to nly heart; make me pure, Thy gnce besto\v, \\';lsh me whiter than the snow." It rlevc.r si~ys, "Jesus paid it ;III, all to H h 1 o\\sc.," nor \\dl it pray, "Cover Iny rlefence- less I ~ c i ; ~ t l with the shadow of 'Thy wing." No I.C:I~ U~litilrian will ad~nit 111. has a "defe~~cclcss hcad." It may heconlc bloody, b ~ ~ t it is :~lwnys unbo\ved. Alan is inherently sl~blinic. He lias the capacity to do right in the sight of God. Hc nectl only let the goor1 \\.ill which flo\\-s from liis fello\\man flood liis o\vn soul. Jesm on the cross praying, "Father, forgive t l ~ c ~ n , for they know 1101 wl~at they do" is lcgc~ld ~vhich oirr lit.ro worship reveals: ( 1 ) \vl~:~t man is capal)lc of doins, and ((2 the. pent up goodness just b~~rst ing to blossom from his bosorn. 'fliis is old. old rnot11-ruten, fly- speckeil, skid-ro\v "thcolohy" in Fifth Avetir~r attire. In other words. it is Pchgi- anism gollr stark, raving mad.

That C T ~ l i t a r i ~ s n ~ is no nicrv stc-p-sister to :itl~isis~n is a fact. For t l~o dress of

Fourteen BEACON LIGHTS

'hu~nanism" cannot disgm~isc the twin-sister relatiortsl~ip. Thc: idea of rt-ligion is somc- how important to this movement, I ~ n t not the idea of Gocl. Tlieisln is bound to end in zero. Humanism alonc will fil~;~lly adel I I ~ . Etlrical 1iher;tIis111 will stand cbveri if it could be proved t11i1t no God csists. God is simply the good \vl~ich pr~scntly 111rks in humanity. Thc kitlgdom of Cocl is synony- Inous with the sea of I r t~n~~in ib~ . The coni- niunion, if ever observed, is a memorial for our tlcar dep:irLed d(.arl. The rejectiorr of Jcsus is taken up as worthy of c~t~ulation: the conin~u~~ion ele~iients may be placed on thc table while "IIe \vas rejected of men" from Hantlcl's "hlcssiah" is rendered, and then the ;ludieucc is dismissccl \vitllout any partaking. Jesus wi~s the paragon of ctl~icists of his day, who ci~nic Lo give us a rcligion, not his religion, 1)nt to teach every man to tlevelop his o\vn ideas and work out a rcligion for Iiin~sclf. Progression is attained when one's religion graduates Lo ;I point beyond tlie need for Christ, the cI111rch and God hirnsclf. For the underlying principle of unitari;~nism is tli;d a man must be free to stand for anything or for notlung. Heaven is for the birds, and the sparro\vs at that. !ill11 worship is far more respecLal)le than the worship of J e s ~ ~ s , or of a personal God, and fitmishes "God" enough for any man. lIell is the viciotls continuance of :I Protes- tout Inc~uisition. T l ~ c cloclrinc of a last judgment is a snperstition more hateful t11:m witch-lmrning, its nclh(.rcnts worsc than Ku Kluers.

.\lore than the tloctrinc of thc trinity, rnore than the few tloctrincs of Fundamen- telihm, U~~itariunis~l~ hatcs the Hcfornled F ;~ i t l~ ant1 the articles of Calvinisln, espe- cially total depravity, unconditional election and limited atotlcnlent. TIIC courhc liberal- ism of this type takcs its apost;lsy frotri this truth into natur;ilist~~ t h r o ~ ~ g h Pelngianism to modern hurnanis~~i to atheism.

' r l~e t~lc.tIrod nf Unitarianism is that of insinuatinr the lic! "into thc back door of the mind rln;t\vl-.ucs \\;hen the front entrance Il:is bee11 Irarricntlcd." It is, in tlistinctly Christian circles, nc.ver to l ~ c suspect o l Unita- ri.lnisn1, wluch \\-ould discredit the cause and bring opposition; but to inoc~~li~tr , to prrmenie with Llle 1eavc.n of lil~cralism. (Lil>eralisn~ is m\\r;~rdly at lieism). Conceal yollr mclic~~lisi~i. Give the i~uditors heresy

in such a way that e\-en the saints cannot detect it. This is adnmittcclly bad ethic.;. but in war all's fair. Ultimate aim is to nierge all denominations in one worltl church, and thrrl to enervate any vestige-s of Christianity of their power ancl content so that the axnalgamated church may be frce of all divisions and become^ thorouglily humanized. They call Ll~is process "spiritc~- alhtion". Nazis and Comnlunists employing the same tactics call it "liberation."

This nc\v found freed0111 rcpli~ces l iv i~~g and etcmal n~cmberslu~) in Christ's churclr \vith active service in the soci ;~kt state. The sin against the Holy Spirit is made "the. refusal to co-opcr:+te with the principle of self-improvement." The Apostles' Creed is jettisoned for the universal fatherhood of Cod. The Niccne Creed is left for 1111. universal brotherhood of man. The prcach- ing of tlie \\'ord is rephced with "quiet talks" on sociological topics. Adn~iriistratiot~ of the sacranlent is given up for whole- hearted service to the cause of "\vorld peace." Thc ncl~l~inistr;~tion of Christian discipline. 11nc1er the control of Cluist, ministers, elders and deacons, is dropped in favor of the principles of a one-world governn~mt and a one-world cl~nrch. Froni the point of view of its leaders, the church is a swret society to secularize the whole of htunanity. Fro111 the point of vicw of its constitttency, t11c (liberal) c h ~ ~ r c h is a "back-cloor night-club."

We hove prese~~tcd ;mother look at The Lie. \\!e must look at it. For we must know it, not to con~mend it, but to intelli- gently reject it. No longer is it that the \\vorld alone is full of the fanatic spirit of Soviet theism; - the church in many of its manifest:ttions is 1,cset by this evil spirit. "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but provc the spirits, whcthcr they arc of G>d; becar~sc many false propl~cts arc gone out into thc world" ( I John 4:l). \Ve have take11 another look at the enrlny, an in~placable foe, not for a niorncnt to be tnkcn for grnntetl nor undcrc~stirn;ltccl. The enemy wc: nlust know. Our position, is not safe without that kno\vledge. \\'e ulust know thc enemy's position, his strc!npth, his tilctics, llis latest manemlvcrs, les p;~st llistory ancl his fuh11.c plans. Then urc ~ilust know our onen amlor (Eph. 6) . Kno\\l your o\vn sword (6:1.7)

BEACON LIGHTS Fifteen

and how to handle it. Fight the good fight pulling down of strongholds, casting down of faith. Contend earnestly for the. f;titli imaginations and every high thirig that exalts once for all delivered to the saints. 'I'n~e, itself against the kno\vleclge of God, and "\\ee do not war after the flesh," hut fear bringing into captivity every thought to the not! For the \t7eapons of our wnrf.~re are obedience of Clirist. Indecrl, at tlic name not carnal. but rnighty through Gocl to the of Jesus wenJ knee shall bow!

The Inevitable Encounter EI)\VARD L. R. ELSON, (Prraching For Today Series) - \Vm. B. Eerdmiins 1'1111. Co. 68 pp. - $2.50.

Tlks little volume of GR pages is :I coll~c- tion of nine serlnons delivered by Dr. Ekon ill the Sational Pres11yteri;ln Church of \\'ashinpton D.C. Dr. Elson numhrrs i11110ng his parishioners such fatr~ous pc.rson;~litirs ;IS

Dlvight D. Eisenhower. Elson cliiitr~s to represent the IIistoric l'rcsbytcrian tr;~dition s,~ying that it i, his purpose to prci~ch the gospel of Christ to the modern world of tllc! t\ventieth cen t~~n- , because the gospc.1 is just as rc.levant as it was 1900 years itgo. This is a lofty itleal i111d one to be strive11 after, however, \\,hetller or not Elson sue- cccds is anotlicr qr~cstion. Elson ll~alzes many t n ~ e and pertinent statelnrnts from \vl~ich \vc may I~enefit, hut at rriany crucial points his vic\\.s arc 11nscriplur;~l. el so^^ makes the point for r~arnpic. that all men ever?-\vherc inevitably are cncouritc~rocl 11y Cod. God speaks in creation etc., this is t n ~ e enortgh, I I I I ~ he goes on to say; " . . . for even nian there is ; ~ r l inc~vite11lc- cncountcr with the living God. A nl:ln ruay reject thr offcr. A nl;in riiay accept Cod's oaer of Himsclf. Athwart all I~istory, nntl in dle midst of nxtn's lifc, stands tllc Cross of Christ, proc1;lirning tlie lengths to tvl~ich Cod 1i;is gone in p ~ ~ r s u i ~ ~ j i si.dul niilu. " p. 60. Furthermore he asserts h a t every one instinctively hungers for Cod. It certainly is t n ~ e that every man niust encmuntcr God (cf. Rom. 1:18ff.), but Scripturc does not teirch that evc:ry man 1111riger.\ for God, nor tlws Scripture present to us a Iwgging God \\'ho w;it~ts to save all turn hut is po\verless to tlo so. Rcl)lobatc man rel)els agi~inst the living Gocl bc*cause lie oper;itcs from t l ~ e principles of c-nmity

against God. The Cross of Christ, the suprelne rc.velution of tlie Love of God, procli~ims tlie tvonder of salvation, free .and ~~nmcrited, for God's elect Church, chosen i l l Christ before the fo~l~ldation of the \vorld.

l 'hr semions are not 1111ilt upon solid exegesis. The aud~nr takrs a shnrt phrase or test itnd uses it as a tdc-off point for his scrnion. The hook, howcver, is very well writttan and is ple;ising to read. 'I'lie author has ;I fine con~mantl of the English Language ant1 this is to his ant1 the I)ook's credit. The hook is \vorth\vhile and Inny be profitably rratl provided one read with discernment. It is po\vrrfully written I)y :I gifted writer.

Robert D. I l~r lrer

Chats with Young Adults o n Growing Up E. 1l;lrgarct Clarkson - Ecrbnans - 93 pp. - S2.50.

Xlisinfonn;~~ion and mystcl.y respecting the thil~os that are holy 11ut Ilave become the subject of much lusty convcmation is one of the problems which I~esets the Christian rm~nmunity. In this little volume, wliich ;ipl)tri~rs as ;I sequel to :III c*arlier book entitled S~~s+e's Rabies. Sliss Clarkson i~ttclnpts tn discuss the important concept ~nal~rrity ; i ~ ~ t l all its irnp1ic;ltions for tlie I~oy and girl \vho \\-ill soon enter the teens.

The frank disc~tssion of maturity seerns to cro\v out of a natural situiltion created by Sliver, a pet hamster, who prematurely gives IIirth to a litter of young nnd destroys somc of tlic young. XIiss Weston leads her class into a discussion of maturity and the results of ilnmah~rity as illustri~t~d by the actions of this immature hamster.

Agatha Lubbers

Sixteen BEACON LIGHTS

NEWS from, for, and about our churches

LOIS E. KREGEL

Our Servicemen I3r11ce \'ricsc~~g;t ( Southeast ) is training

for t\vo months for IBXI with an army school.

\\'c linvc tllc ~~dclress of n senliceman from our Soc~th 1Ioll;lnd Church:

Pvt. I-Irnry Tohn Lcnting U.S. .5.5746673 Co. G, 5th T.N.G. Reg't Class 26-03 Ft. Dis, Ne\v Jcrsey

\\re not(. :~lso thr ;~dclress of a senriceman from Rnndolpli:

Pvt. ITcnrv I l r Vries U.S. 5.5750799 Co. E. 4th Engr. Bn. Ft. I.e\vik, W:~sl~ington

o a o o o

Membership Changes: So~~thrast wc~lcomcd hplrs. D. Ivlc~~lcnberg

fron~ F ~ ~ l l c r Avr. Chr. I3c.f. Church, and hlrs. I~I. Tictsmil fro111 I.';~itli Chr. Ref. Cht~rch.

Mrs. Jane !vl;~rg;irc.t F Iovc~~ transferred to Snr~thc;~st from W~~dsonville.

0 0 0 0 0

Our churches grew thror~gh the arrival of these infant members: A da~rghter, horn to hlr. and Mrs. D.

\'anden Berg ( Southeast). .A\ tlauglitcr, born to hlr. ancl Mrs. Donald

Ezinga (First ). A son, )lorn to 1 .1~ . ;rnd SIrs. Rol3rrt Velting

(First). ..\ daughter, horn to \IT. and Slrs. Gordon

Ontlcrsmn (First ). r\ son, born to Slr. ilnd Xlrs. Henry Timmer-

nlan (Southwest). .\ d ; ~ ~ ~ g h t e r I~orn to Mr. ancl hlrs. Ray Van

Til (So~~tliwcst). A d i ~ ~ ~ g h t e r , I~nrn lo l l r . ancl llrs. Ralph

13nlrnnirl (111111). A tlauglitcr, Iwrn to Slr, ant1 Xlrs. John

Kamps ( I I~~tlsonville). A cl;u~ghtc-r. I~orn to hlr. and hlrs. Ted

Aliccli~~ni~. Jr. ( Il~~tlsonville).

-\ daughter, horn to Xlr. ;mcl Ilrs. I3rnja11iin Holstegc ( Hudsorlvillc ).

..\ daughter, born to Slr. ;tncI Slrs. Dick Eerchnans ( Hope).

:\ daughter, born to lie\,. ancl Slrs. J. Kortering (Hull).

h daughter, horn to SIT. ancl Xlrs. lm Veenstr:~ ( Hope ) .

-1 daughter, born to Slr. and SIrs. Gerald De Vries (Southeast).

A daughter, born to Slr. and Slrs. 1)on;rld Hauclc ( First ) .

0 0 0 0 0

School News From South IIolland's "Reflrctor" we

learned that tlie upper grades 11;1vc just come through hlid-se~nrster finals nrrtl arc now working tow;irds the pul,licntio~~ of the school annual, the "Facctte". \\'ill1 ;I

view to this, all of thc teachers ;ultl pl~pils in the school had their pictr~rcs tilkcn recently. Si~liilar i~ctivity has IICCII t i ~ k i ~ ~ g place in Hope and Adanls Szhools. r\ll tl~rcc schools enjoyed A littlc cstra vacation on account of all thc snow.

\ITS. L. Kau~ps showed pictures of Europc at the February meeting of tlie Adan~s St. School Slothers' Club. This :\usiliary as tvcll as the Athletic Club has been busy sponsor- ing projects to hclp pay for those "estr;is" the school so often needs. The Slothers' Club sponsored a soup suppcr at First Church on Feb. 1.5, \vhich netted the school approximately $350; on tlie siulie night and the nest day the .Athletic Club \isas busy \\-it11 a paper drive.

The Hope School Slothers' Club planned a supper for Feb. 21 in Hudsonvillc Churcl~ basenlent.

0 0 0 0 0

Congratulations to l l r . J. Bolt (First) \vl1o celehratc*tl his 82nd birthclay on Feb. 15.

0 0 0 0 0

Wedding bells rans for hlr. Gerald Kuiper (IIopc:) : ~ r i c l

BEACON LIGHTS Ssoenteeil

J,3HK ZANDSTRA J R . H . 9 . 1 BOX 227-A C H I C A G O H E I G H T S . I L ! .

lfiss Bonnie Byls~na (First) in First Church on January 24; and for Steve Holstcge alicl Janice Ann Cryzcn (Hudsonville) or^ Jan- uary 18.

O O Q O O

Calls Rev. R. Harb;tcl~ llas accepted t l ~ e call

extended to him l)y our Kalnmazoo C1111rch. Rev. J. Kortering has declined the c;tll to

our Sol~thwest Church. Rev. C. \'anden Berg has clcclilictl tllr*

call estendtd to him by IIope Church. O O ^ O O

Our Witness The Reformctl Action Society h;~s pub-

lished two more pamphlets, "The Sinner's Conversion", by Rev. G. Van Baren, and "Justified by Faith" by Rev. J. Kortering.

Recently the Church Extension Co~nrnittre of South Holland and Oaklawn condl~cted 3 survey among those receiving the Pani- phlet 'The IVord of Life." They rtbceived niniety-two responses, sisty-five of n~hich were frivorable.

We have received the following report f ron~ the Radio Committee:

For the benefit of our youug mrn \vho are i ~ t present servirla in the Armed Forces of our country. and for any other of cur young people, who night he interestccl, the Progmn~ Committee has some news rcga~d- ing the broadcasting of our radio program over Trans IVorld Radio, hlonte Carlo, Alonaco. Our progrnm is aircd each S u ~ ~ d a y moniing from this powerft~l station ;utcl can be Ileard in the British Isles at 1 l : U O A. \I. Becau\e of the t h e differential Iletween Englantl and \Vestern Europe (iltclucling The Setherlands, France, Cern~any) it is heard in that area at 1ZO0 noon. The program is beamed to all of these cotuntries

c ~ r i 41 mctrrs on the short wave band of tl~cir radios. The response of listeners from these areas has been relativcly large in volume, Inany espressing their agreen~cnt with tlic doctrine corrcerning God's Sove- reign Grace as presented eacl~ Lord's Ilny over our programs. The Ratlio Committet. requests i~rty of our Scn~iceme~t who 11;tvc- 11c.nrd our progranl ovcr this station to plcitsr irlform tl1c111 regarding radio rc,ccption, ctc. I,etJs hear from you, men! 'I'he mailing ;ttldrcss is The Reformed \Vitness Hour, Uos 12330, Grand Rapids 1, hlich.

o o o n o

Music IIope Choral Society rendcretl n progr;um

o f sacred music at Southcast church on Sunday, Fel,. 17.

The IIope Heralds gave a program on Feb. 1 in Oraldawn Church. At their request tlrc offering. \'hie11 was intentl(>cl to defray tl~cir espenses. was given to Loveland Prot. Ref. School.

o o a o o

Called Home Alrs. John Huizingn, Sr. (Ilopc) at tlte

age of six t>.-two years. 1Irs. I3ern Lubber> (Hutlsonvillc) on

January 7. O O O O O

IIope's congregation bade a farewell to its pastor, Rev. 11. tlunko, ;uld his funlily i ~ t a farewrll social in First Cl~rlrch on Feb. 7. On Fel,. 10 Rev. H d o preached his farewell serlnon at Hope and on Thursday, I'ch. 14, \\,as installctl as pitstor of our I)oon Church. Rev. Kortering conducted the service.

The churches of Classis \Crest cooperated with the deaconate of First Church 11y collecting money to be used for the espenscs of shipping clothing to Jamaic;~.

Althoi~gh the announcement is no longer recent, it contains such a witrnm note that we are constrained to make mention of it here: Randolph's young people were all invited to spend Christmas Eve at the parsonage.

Rev. C. \'an Baren lectured in South Holland on Feb. 6. t Ib topic \\.as "Creation Days, T\vcnty-Four Hours or I'eriods?"

Oaklawn's bullctin contiti~lccl a "thank you" from Rev. G. I7anden Berg to the Men's Society for the gift of a set of books, "The Anti-Niccnc Fathers".

Eighteen BEACON LIGHTS