                                    tandard

                                           earer

A   R E F O R M E D   S E M I - M O N T H L Y   M A G A Z I N E



In This Issue


     Meditation:
        The Approaching End

     Editorials:
        Decision of the Gereformeerde Kerken
        Parochiaid Is Dead! Long Live The Christian School!

     A l l   A r o u n d   U s :
        Calvin Seminary and the New Hermeneutic

     Feature:
        The Pilgrim's Invqdvement In Earthly Affairs
                                    .~

                                                 Volume XL VU/Number 6 /December  15,197O


122                                                         THE STANDARD BEARER



                             CONTENTS:                                                                THE STANDARD BEARER
                                                                                   Semi-monthly, except monthly during June, July and August.

Meditation  -                                                                      Published by the Reformed Free Publishing Association, Inc.
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   The Approaching End . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .122 Editor-in-Chief: Prof. H. C. Hoeksema
Editorials -                                                                 Department Editors::.  Mr. Donald Doezema, Rev. Cornelius Hanko, Prof.
                                                                             Herman  lianko,  Rev. Robert C. Harbach, Rev. John A.  Heys.  Rev. Jay
   Editor's Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .125     Kortering, Rev. George C. Lubbers, Rev. Marinus Schipper, Rev. Gise J.
   Decision of the Gereformeerde Kerken . . . . . . .125 Van  Baren. Rev. Herman Veldman, Rev. Bernard Woudenberg
   Parochiaid Is Dead! Long Live                                             Editorial Office:  Prof. H. C. Hoeksema
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Meditution
                                 The Approaching End
                                                                Rev. M. Schipper

                  "But the end of all things is at hand: be ye therefore sober and watch unto prayer. "
                                                                                                                 I Peter 4:7

  A word of comfort is this Scripture intended to be who suffers in the flesh hath ceased from sin. Because
to the addressees of this Epistle, that is, to the elect the Saviour was without sin, He became an object of
strangers who in the preceding context are exhorted to revilement and reproach by the wicked world. Because
be armed for suffering.                                                      the elect strangers through grace are in principle holy,
  Armed they must be with the same thought that they also must expect persecution from the world. The
controlled and motivated the Saviour as He stood in evidence of their holiness is seen in the fact that they
the midst of suffering; the thought, namely, that he no longer live as do the wicked, in all manner of sin


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                123



and corruption; but they live now according to the will the movements of the sea monster; the lightning and
of God. So radical was this change in their life and         thunder, rain and sunshine, tornado and storm. In-
walk that they were wondered at by the wicked world, cluded is the fall of the angels and of man, the long
and then hated, despised, and persecuted. Not only history of sin's development. Not missing among the
does the apostle assure them that God will take their        things are science and invention, atomic energy and
persecutors to task for their wickedness in His just moonships, books and learning, apostasies and church
judgment  - which in itself should afford comfort to         councils, the cross and antichrist, the apostles as well
His persecuted church; but in our text he also assures as the messengers of  satan, prosperity and adversity,
them that because of the nearness of the end of all sickness and health, suffering and persecution, life and
things, the end of their suffering is also very near.        death. All these things, and many more too numerous
   But the end of all things is at hand!                     to mention, have an end,  - a fixed end. And toward
   To be sure, there would be no comfort for the elect that end they all run, yea, fly, and work. And all shall
strangers in this truth if they were setting their affec- attain to that end at the same time, at the fixed and
tion on these things. Then, indeed, there must be a          final moment. And that is the end that is fast ap-
note of sadness in it that all things come to an end. proaching. It is very near.
For, mark you, the text declares that all things come          But was not the apostle mistaken when he wrote
to an end! No reason is there to limit the all things. It    some nineteen hundred years ago that the end of all
refers to the present, visible world, which includes the things is at hand?
heavens and the earth, and all that they contain. It           How could he have written this whereas we know
refers to all that takes place in time, and in the ulti- that all these centuries have elapsed, and the end is not
mate sense it includes time itself as we know it. Every- yet?
thing has an end!                                              Was it so perhaps that he thought the end would
   When the Lord said to Noah after the flood, "while come only in a few years because that end was the
the earth remaineth,  seedtime  and harvest, and cold object of his fondest hope?
and heat, and summer and winter, and day-and night             That the apostles had the thought in their mind and
shall not cease," He did not infer that all things would the hope in their hearts that the Lord would soon
never come to an end. He' only implied that all things return, and bring an end to the world with all its
would continue only as long as the earth remaineth. things, especially an end to their suffering for Christ's
But also the earth, the visible, created, and now renew-     sake, we can freely admit. It is also undoubtedly true
ed world through the waters of the flood, would be that they did not always understand completely the
destroyed after it had reached its end, and this time by things whereof they wrote. It is also true that the
fire.                                                        Lord, when asked about the end of the world `and all
   Not haphazardly do all things come to an end; but things, never told His servants the precise date of His
they all come to an end that has been stipulated by the return. All the precursory signs of the end He gave
Lord. We must remember that the term "end" in the them, even leaving with them ,the impression that He
text does not only refer to a termination in the tempo- would return quickly. But though they may have been
ral sense; but it also, and chiefly, refers to end purpose. mistaken in concluding that the end would come in a
When the text, therefore; declares that the end of all few years, we must never conclude that the Word of
things is at hand, it has in mind the end purpose that God which they by inspiration wrote could be mis-
God has determined in His counsel for all things. That taken. Our text is not the word of man, but the Word
end purpose is the complete glorification of His church of God which cannot be in error.
in the new heavens and new earth where righteousness           How then shall we understand the nearness of the
shall dwell. It is His own everlasting glory as it shall be end?
attained through Christ Jesus in His elect people whom         Should we perhaps join the camp of the mockers,
He forms for His praise that is the end purpose of all who, according to. Peter's second Epistle, ridiculed the
things.                                                      idea of an imminent return of the Lord and the end of
   With a view to the realization of that glorious pur- all things? Who asked:" Where is the promise of His
pose all things created and now under the service of sin coming? and who argued that all things continue as
must serve. The things do not happen by chance to be they were from the beginning of creation?
what they are or do what they accomplish. They are all         God forbid!
so governed by the determinate foreknowledge and               But we shall have to lay hold on the Scriptures
counsel of God that they serve as scaffolding to build which clearly inform us that the Lord does not reckon
His house. These things include, of course,  seedtime        time as we do; for with Him one day is as a thousand
and harvest, the changing of the seasons, time as we years, and a thousand years as one day. We shall have
know it. Included are all the things of creation, sun, to take note that His Word clearly indicates that the
moon, and stars; the ambling brook, the ocean tides, present dispensation, which is also the last, is called the
the morning mist; the singing bird, the roaring beast, last hour. On the clock of God, so to speak, there are


124                                                   THE STANDARD BEARER



registered several hours, all of which have ticked off                  Our attitude with respect to the end of all things
with the exception of the last. And in that last hour, will not be that of fear and fright. Nor will it be one of
we and the world with all its things presently exist. remorse and bitterness. But we will need to heed the
With respect to the end of that last hour the Scriptures exhortation of the text to assume the attitude of
also give us many signs. Precursory signs we call them prayer.
of the Lord's return, which must be revealed before                     This, of course, should not be difficult to under-
the end will come. And with respect to these signs we stand. Surely, if the hope of the pilgrim is tied in with
may say all of them have already been revealed. 0, it is the end purpose of God with respect to all things, if his
true that we have not yet seen the revelation of the heart is set on dwelling forever in the house of God's
antichrist in all of his magnitude; but already when the covenant, if he believes with all his heart that he shall
apostle John warned us of his coming, he, declared see his God face to face in the face of Christ Jesus his
there were many antichrists. We have seen and heard of Lord, and if it is his only desire to be praising God
wars and rumors of wars. We have heard of earth- unto all eternity with all the saints, then, 0, surely
quakes and great destructions. While we are writing then, his prayer will constantly be: Come, Lord Jesus,
these words, word has come to us of the awful devas- yea, come quickly! Then surely as a member of
tating effects of a great tidal wave that wiped out Christ's body, and one of that great host that in Scrip-
thousands in Pakistan. We have seen the highest possi- ture is described as the bride of Christ, he will manifest
ble development of science and the wisdom of man. the spirit of the bride which with great longing desires
The Gospel has gone into every nation under heaven. and prays for the coming of the great Groom.
In one word, we have seen the effects of the broken                     Then, surely, the bride of Christ will be constantly
seals, the blowing trumpets, and are now seeings as it thinking of her appearance at His coming, of her atti-
were of the poured out vials. We ask: is there anything tude of heart and mind that properly befits the mo-
more wonderful and more terrible that can happen ment of His appearance. And it follows that she will
that has not already occurred? It would seem that not be anxious about the things that have an end, but
there is not much more to be done.                                   she will be heeding the exhortation of her Lord to cast
  0, indeed, the end of all things is much closer to us all her care upon Him and believe that all other things
than it was when the apostle first told us about it!                 will be added unto her.
  As we stand at the end of another year, we can say                    And shall we be in the proper attitude of prayer, it
with the confidence of faith: but the end of all things is follows that we must be sober and watch. To be sober
at hand!                                                             means to be of a sound mind, to be in one's right
  As we suggested before, if all our hope is bound up mind, to be able to make a right assessment of things.
in the things which have an end, then, indeed, this The opposite of this is to be spiritually intoxicated.
announcement of the apostle must needs cause us only The drunken man is not able to see and act correctly,
sorrow and grief. For, make no mistake about it, all he cannot walk with balance, he is confused in all that
these things have their end. The scaffolding shall be he does. And to watch means to be calm and collected
pulled down and destroyed. Only the house of God's in spirit, to be temperate and circumspect, to be spirit-
covenant in which He will tabernacle with His people, ually alert. One who is watching is earnestly looking
as it shall be realized in the new creation, shall remain. for something.
  But how comforting is this Word of God to the                         How necessary both of these spiritual qualities are
weary pilgrim, who all the day long is troubled on with relation to prayer! Without them we cannot pray
every side, who must fight the battle of faith, who is as we ought, nor shall we be able to assume the proper
required to bear in his body the marks of the Lord attitude over against the things which come to an end.
Jesus, who must hear the blasphemy of the wicked,                       As  this year comes to its end, therefore, fellow pil-
who is not able to buy or sell because he belongs to grim, be reminded that the end of all things is at hand.
Jesus.                                                               All that is of this weary night shall soon pass away.
  And how urgent it is that he also heed the last part The dawn of eternity shall soon be ushered in with the
of the text: be ye therefore sober and watch unto appearance of the Bridegroom. Let us not like foolish
prayer!                                                              virgins be found wanting, but be sober and watch, with
  Be ye therefore sober and watch!                                   the fervent prayer in our hearts and on our lips: Come,
  Unto prayer!                                                       Lord Jesus, yea, come quickly!


                                                               '
       There are those who speak of a "less absolute antithesis." "Less absolute" is obviously not absolute at all, but relative.
       And "relative" and "antithesis" are contradictory terms. Those who use such terminology actually mean "synthesis."


                                                  THE STANDARD BEARER                                                   125



     Editoria Is
                                             Editor's Notes
I                                                    Pvof  H. C. Hoeksema

       By the time this appears in print the first volume of sequence was spoiled. Sorry!
     The Triple Knowledge reprint should be off the presses                                * * *
     and on its way to those who ordered copies in advance.        We call attention to the Feature article by Rev. D.
     We urge all those who do not have this thorough com- Engelsma. By special request we are publishing these
     mentary  on  the`  Heidelberg   Catechism   and  who  have thoughts  on  a  very relevant  issue  in two installments.
     not placed advance orders to purchase this worthwhile Be sure to read them in this issue and the next!
     volume - and also the two volumes yet to come.                                        * * *
I                              ***                                  In this issue Rev. R. Decker wields his pen for the
       OUr  ZlpOlOgkS   t0  Rev. H. Veldman, editor  Of  "COP  department  "The  Strength  of  youth,yy  wfich  he  iS
     tending for the Faith." The  artic1e  which appears  in sharing with Rev. Kortering during the current
     this issue should have preceded the article appearing in volume-year. Welcome1
     the Dec. 1 issue. Through an editorial oversight the


                                             Decision of the
                              Gereformeerde Kerken
       In the December 1 issue we wrote about the issues must be our guiding star. For our mutual relationships
     confronting the General Synod of the  Gevefonneerde         this means that as long as we know ourselves to be
     Kevken  in the Netherlands. The crucial session dealing united in the one faith and the one hope, we will also
     with many protests about the so-called "new theol- continue to embrace one another in love, and under no
     ogy" has been held. A decision has been reached. At condition may withdraw ourselves from our common
     this writing we are not acquainted with reactions to responsibility over against God and the world, but no
     this decision in the Netherlands. But, as we feared, the less over against one another. That therein sometimes
     Synod attempted to straddle the issues, rather than to mutual tensions and - sometimes serious - differences
     face them; and the result was that the Synod reached a of opinion come to light must in itself not surprise us
     decision which can only be bad, very bad, for the Gere- too much, when we take note of all the questions by
     formeevde  Kerken.  Whether the "concerned" which the churches in general and their members in
     (verontvusten)   in the Netherlands will be somewhat particular find themselves confronted in every respect,
     appeased by this decision, or whether they will detect and when we are mindful that all of us know only in
     that it actually represents a victory for the "new theol- part and prophesy in part. This obligates all of us to
     ogy" and its adherents - this remains to be seen.           propriety and moderation of judgment over against
       Because of its importance and interest, we will one another, also when we think we must differ in
     quote the decision as it was reported in Calvinist Con- view from one another.
     tact (Nov. 26, 1970). Our translation is as follows:           "From this point of view synod is of the opinion
       "The general synod of Sneek in its session of Nov. 4, that concerning various subjects which are under dis-
     1970 has expressed and decided the following with cussion among us a more balanced and differentiated,
     respect to the protests received which give evidence of and with a view to persons frequently also a more fair
     growing concern about the development of Reformed judgment is in place than that which is manifested in
     church life in general and (protest) against a number of many missives to synod and in various publications.
     more specific matters in particular:                        For her part, the synod will gladly help to further the
     "il. With regard to the so-called concern in general.       moulding of such a judgment (see sub B.).
       "Synod wishes to express, in the first place, that in        "While synod gives this priority, she does not wish,
     everything which brings about unrest, uncertainty, and on the other hand, to hide the fact that she notes with
     concern in the church in our days not fear, but faith anxiety the increasing influence of living and thinking


126                                              THE STANDARD BEARER


which is worldly and alienated from Scripture, and                              honored, and, on the other hand, the
which threatens the faith of the church, her conduct                            danger is guarded against that it either
toward those outside, theology, and the preaching.                              can or can not be believed as revelation
Especially is she apprehensive of this influende of the                         and either does or does not require our
efforts to relate the meaning of the person of Christ, of                       obedience.
the kingdom proclaimed by Him, and of his resurrec-                  "c. with respect to the so-called horizontalism,
tion from the dead to the modern consciousness in                        the content of the Christian expectation of
such a manner that that which the apostle Paul calls                     the future as well for this life as for the
the offense of the cross is removed therefrom.                           future life is maintained over against  one-
  "Synod is therefore of the conviction that the                         sided conceptions,
churches also in these times must seek their strength                           in this sense, that, on the one hand, the
and unity above all in the preaching of the unabridged                          full emphasis is laid upon our calling,
gospel of Jesus Christ and in being consciously bound                           (living) out of the promise that Jesus
to the confession of the Christ of the Scriptures, of                           Christ makes all things new, believingly,
justification by faith only, of election and the atone-                         to pursue in this world life- and world-
ment, of the infinite worth of the. Lord's sacrifice for                        renewal, and, on the other hand, the
the life of the world as this (confession) comes to ex-                         idea is repudiated as though the king-
pression so powerfully and unambiguously in the                                 dom of God is only to be expected as
Reformation creeds.                                                             the result of human activities during
  "While synod deeply realizes that neither she herself                         this present dispensation;
nor any ecclesiastical gathering, but only the Word and              "d. clear position is taken both against a forma-
the Spirit of Christ Himself can lay hold upon the                       listic handling of the confession and against
hearts of men, she wishes at the same time to exhort                     tendencies which relativize the confession
the churches to see to it that in dependence upon and                    in such a way that the door is opened for
in the Spirit of their Lord, both for their own unity                    doctrinal liberty (leervrijheid)."
and for their calling in the world, they build upon no         "The general synod of Sneek decided in its session
other foundation than upon that of the apostles and of November 5, 1970 with respect to the protests
prophets as it is delivered to us in the Scriptures.         against Dr. H. M. Kuitert regarding his views of
"B. With regard to the pro tests filed with synod            Genesis l-3 and Romans 5 to express:
with respect to the honoring of the authority of Holy          " 1. that the protests filed have a fragmentary
Scripture, the interpretation of the first chapters of the .character and as such have little evidential force (con-
book of Genesis, so-called horizontalism and the Chris- clusive force, cogency, bewijskracht);
tian expectation of the future, the being bound to the         "2. that the synod nevertheless must affirm that the
creeds, the nature of the preaching, and others,             denial by Dr. Kuitert of the historicity of the fall as
  "1. seeing that in the requests for the retraction of man's turning away from his God at the beginning of
the decision the synod of Amsterdam  1967/68 (Acts, human history is not in harmony with that which the
art. 209) by which the binding character of the dec-         synod of Amsterdam  1967/68 has indicated in its
laration of the synod of Assen 1926 concerning the declaration sub 3 (Acts, art. 209): `that meanwhile
paradise-account was removed, no arguments are that which is expressed in the confession of the church
adduced which were unknown or not fully weighed at (Lord's Day 3 and 4 of the Heidelberg Catechism; Art.
that time, not to accede to these requests;                  14 and 15 of the Netherland Confession of Faith)
  "2. in harmony with the content of the report filed about the origin of sin and the results of the fall clearly
by the committee to send to all the churches a pastoral sets forth the fundamental meaning which Scripture in
letter in which                                              the Old and New Testament (among other passages, in
        "a. the intention of the decisions of Romans 5) ascribes to this history, and therefore also
            Amsterdam 1967/68 concerning the setting as being of essential importance for the preaching of
            aside of the doctrinal decisions of Assen the gospel by the church must be maintained as
            1926 is more precisely set forth;                authoritative;'
        "b. the nature of the authority of Holy Scrip-         "3. that meanwhile it has appeared that Dr. Kuitert
            ture as standard for doctrine and life is also at synod does not stand alone-in his opinions;
            more precisely elucidated in connection            "4. that in this situation, however unsatisfying this
            with that which is under discussion in the may be with respect to the mutual unity, it may never-
            churches at present and which arouses theless also be asserted with joy that all the members
            unrest,                                          of the synod hold fast to the confession that God
                   in this sense, that, on the one hand, the created man good and for the fellowship of love with
                   task of the church to make the gospel Himself, but that man in  wilful disobedience refused
                   understandable for modern man is fully and refuses to live in this  felldwship, that all of


                                            THE STANDARD BEARER                                                      127



humanity is alienated from God, is fallen into the tants cannot be satisfied with this decision: for though
slavery of sin, and can only be saved by God's gracious they are justified to an extent, their protests are never-
intervention;                                              theless not maintained.
  "5. that she (synod) therefore judges that the unity            But the simple fact is that when all is said and done,
of the ecclesiastical confession must not be considered the synod has decided nothing which is ecclesiastically
to be at issue in such a manner that at present more conclusive. The decision is obviously an attempted
specific decisions ought to be taken concerning this;      compromise. As such, it is full of ecclesiastical contra-
  "6. that she appoints a committee to carry on the dictions, the chief of which is: we recognize that there
discussion (consultation) in this situation, in an earnest is heresy among us and that there are heretics present
seeking after mutual unity, also in those matters in at this synod (i.e., those who, according to our own
which clear difference of opinion has been decision of  1967/68 propagate teachings contrary to
manifested."                                               the confessions), but we refuse to do anything about
                                                           it.
  Commentary on the above decision is hardly                      The synod presents the sad picture of an ecclesias-
necessary.                                                 tical body which stands helpless to express anything at
  It is evident that this decision fulfills our worst all with finality, though confronted by a dreadfully
fears, as expressed in our earlier editorial on this sub- serious situation.
ject. The decision is one of those miserable, compro-             And yet by the very fact that it takes no clear-cut
mising, "although . , . nevertheless" decisions which decision and refuses to exercise or to advise doctrinal
aims at preserving the outward unity and peace of the discipline the synod has nevertheless left the door open
Gereformeerde Kerken by reproving everyone to some for the very doctrinal liberty against which it purports
degree, by leaving the impression of maintaining the to warn in this decision.
.confessions  and frowning upon views which depart                The decision is nauseating.
therefrom, which apparently attempts to satisfy every-            It is a decision worthy of Laodicea, the church
one somewhat, but which can actually satisfy no one, nauseating to the Lord Who is in the midst of the
whether liheral or conservative.                           candlesticks.
  It would seem to us that Dr. Kuitert can hardly be              My only hope is that there are still those in the
satisfied with a decision of this kind. For though he Gereformeerde Kerken who will pay attention to the
goes scat free as far as any discipline is concerned, he is knocking Lord, Who calls His church to repentance
nevertheless ticked on the fingers.                        and reformation!
  And it would certainly seem as though the protes-



                                       Parochiaid Is Dead!
                        long live The Christian School!
  In the November election in the State of Michigan               Perhaps it is not quite buried as yet.
Proposal C, the so-called antiparochiaid amendment to             Apparently the issue of private schools' exemption
the state constitution, was approved by an overwhelm- from property taxes is no more an issue. In fact, it now
ing margin.                                                appears that this never was a real issue, but was used as
  This means that in Michigan, as of December 18, a scare tactic to induct people to vote against the
state aid to non-public schools is constitutionally pro- proposal. At least, there is no longer any mention of
hibited.                                                   this matter by the media.
  In other words, parochiaid is dead! Though the legis-           But there is considerable discussion and question
lature had passed a bill granting such aid, and though among public and non-public school officials about
this had been hailed as a step in the right direction by some of the so-called fringe benefits which may also be
many public officials as well as by officials of various prohibited by the new amendment to the constitution.
non-public schools, including those of the National On the one hand, apparently some Christian school
Union of Christian Schools and its constituent schools, men and Roman. Catholic school men have still not
and by many churchmen, - nevertheless the electorate learned their lesson, but are desirous to salvage what
of the state clearly and decisively expressed disap- they can out of the lost cause. They want to retain
proval, with the result that when this amendment be- whatever "benefits" they had, in the past, such as re-
comes effective, all state financial aid must cease. medial education programs, driver education programs,
Parochiaid is dead!                                        shared time courses, etc. On the other hand,  so/me


128                                            THE STANDARD BEARER



public school officials are also striving to save some of      about principles. So I am happy that this temptation is
these programs for the non-public schools. It seems removed  - for myself and for others. We see it as a
that there are two reasons for this. For one thing, there benefit, in the fourth place, because it may serve to
seems to be a possibility that public schools might lose purge and to strengthen the Christian school move-
some federal aid on the ground of discrimination if ment. For if it be true that some Christian schools
private schools are denied the right to participate in were so little a matter of real principle that they could
some of these fringe programs. For another thing, not continue without state aid, this will now certainly
especially in a city like Grand Rapids, where there is a become evident: they will die. And the Christian
rather large private school constituency, public>hool          school movement is better off without that kind of
officials would like to curry favor with private school        schools and school supporters. The men of principle
supporters, so that the latter will help to pass future        will now have to stand up and be counted!
proposals for more public school tax millage.                    And so we say: long live the Christian school! That
  But while parochiaid may not be completely buried, is, long live those schools whose parents are thoroughly
it is indeed dead in Michigan. And it is very doubtful         devoted to the principle that it is a parental calling and
whether, for some time to come, in the light of the privilege to train their children in the way of God's
popular vote, a majority of legislators can be induced covenant, in the fear of the Lord, and to prepare their
to attempt a resurrection.                                     covenant children to live their entire life out of the
  Parochiaid is dead!                                          principle of regeneration, antithetically, to the glory of
  Long live the Christian school!                              our God!
  The reader will understand, I am sure, that we do              Are there any lessons to be learned from this his-
not share the attitude of the enemies of Christian edu- tory?
cation with respect to parochiaid. There is no doubt             We think there are.
about it that there were and are such enemies, who               In the first place, we ought to learn the lesson that
fondly hoped that the death of parochiaid would also           the real line between Christian and public education is
mean the death of all non-public schools, including our not a private/public line, but a light/darkness line. In
Christian schools. Some have openly expressed this all the propaganda in favor of parochiaid there have
hope. And they had reasons to think that this hope been those who were singing a siren-song of friendship
might be realized. For did not some Christian school and cooperation between Christian and public e&a-
men  - shame on them!  - base their case in favor of tion forces. Now it has become plain that there is no
parochiaid on the argument that their schools needed real friendship for our Christian schools on the part of
such aid, that they could not remain open without the world. This was more than a mere pocket-book
such government funds?                                         issue, remember. It is frequently true that it takes a
  But this animosity toward Christian schools, of pocket-book issue, a money issue, to bring principles
course, we do not share.                                       to light. But in the deepest sense, this was a principal
  Nevertheless, we can only see the death of parochi-, issue. And the electorate demonstrated that their
aid  - whatever may have been the motives and the              sympathies were by no means with the Christian
reasons of the world's proponents of "death to  paro- school. If we have not learned this heretofore, or if we
chiaid" - we can only see this death as a real benefit         have forgotten it, let us learn it now. And let us learn
to the genuinely Christian school. i.e., to the parental to expect that the time will come when the world will
school devoted to covenantal education, education in           not only refuse financial help to the Christian school,
the fear of Jehovah which is the beginning of knowl- but will flatly forbid us to have our schools. Be pre-
edge. We see this as a benefit, in the first place, because    pared! Be not deceived!
we can only see parochiaid as principally wrong, as we           In the second place, if we have any Christian school
have repeatedly argued in the past. We see it as a bene- principles in us, let us learn anew the lesson which
fit, in the second place, because we can only see paro- Israel of old so frequently was taught in the hard
chiaid as a grave threat to the whole idea and existence       school of experience and which is aptly expressed in
of Christian education: once parochiaid would become the prophecy of Isaiah: "Woe to the rebellious
a reality, it would eventually mean the death of Chris- children, saith the Lord, that take counsel, but not of
tian education in any real sense. We see it as a benefit, me; and that cover with a covering, but not of  tiy
in the thi,rd place, because it removes a grave tempta- spirit, that they may add sin to sin: That walk to go
tion from our path. There is no question about it, from        down into Egypt, and have not asked at my mouth; to
a financial point of view, that there is something strengthen themselves in the strength of Pharaoh, and
attractive to many parents about the idea of getting to trust in the shadow of Egypt! Therefore shall the
back a share of those painfully paid tax dollars and of        strength of Pharaoh be your shame, and the trust in
being relieved of some of the expenses of the educa- the shadow of Egypt your confusion." (Isa. 30: l-3) Or
tion of our children. And when we get dollar signs in          again: "Woe to .them that go down to Egypt for help;
our eyes, it can become a severe temptation to forget and stay on horses, and trust in chariots, because they


                                                           THE STANDARD BEARER                                                              129


          are many; and in horsemen, because they are very shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall
          strong; but they look not unto the Holy One of Israel,        be your strength." (Isa. 30: 15) May that dreadful word
          neither seek the Lord!" (Isa. 3 1: 1) "For thus saith the never have to be added of us: ". . .and ye would not!"
          Lord God, the Holy One of Israel; In returning and rest
     I

     ~
      All Around Us

                           Calvin Seminary and the. N.ew Hermeneutic

I                                                                Pro$ H. Hanko

             There are apparently rumors abroad that Calvin Col-                  But it ought to be evident . . . that these rumors, so
          lege and especially Calvin Theological Seminary has               damaging in their effect, if they are not malicious,
          adopted "The New Hermeneutic." That is, there are                 can only arise from confusion as to what "the New
          those in the Christian Reformed Church particularly               Hermeneutic" is, or from an irrational fear in the face
          who believe that Calvin Seminary has adopted princi-              of the many dangers, both real and imagined, which
          ples of Biblical interpretation which deny the truth of           besiege the Reformed faith in our day.
1 the infallible inspiration of Scripture. In a recent                            The times call for sobriety, not mindless anxiety;
          article in The Banner, John Stek, associate professor of          for brotherly confidence and concern, not harbored
          Old Testament in Calvin Seminary, takes note of this.             suspicion and distrust; for open and orderly inquiry,
                                                                            not irresponsible reception of rumors and wild accu-
          He writes:                                                        sations; for truth spoken in love, not falsehoods
                 It has come to my ears that there are rumors               accepted with credulity.
              abroad ihat "the New Hermeneutic" is accepted at
              Calvin Theological Seminary. That rumors should be          It would be for me personally a joy if we could
              around in these confusing and anxious times is, I         accept the word of Prof. Stek at face value and believe
              suppose, not surprising, however regrettable. And the     with all our heart that this assertion of his is true. How
              mere presence of rumors could hardly be enough to         wonderful it would be if there were no evidence of this
              evoke a public comment, much less a comment of            "New Hermeneutic" in Calvin Seminary; but that
              this length. But it appears that the rumors have been     rather the teaching there was based upon a  Hermen-
              given credence by persons in responsible positions in     eutics which had as its fundamental  princcple the
              the churches so that here and there consistories are      organic and infallible inspiration of the Holy
              beginning to wonder if they may continue to channel
              financial support to the seminary, or recommend the       Scriptures.
              Seminary to young men wishing to prepare for the            And, indeed, we would be ready to accept Prof.
              ministry.                                                 Stek's word for it if there was no evidence which
            These are serious suspicions, to be sure, which have        pointed to an opposite conclusion. And this is, as a
          risen in the minds of various parts of the constituency       matter of fact, the case. Prof. Stek, and other college
          of the Christian Reformed Church. And it is little            and Seminary professors, have written on this question
          wonder that Prof. Stek is interested in allaying these        in other places. And their other writings seem to con-
          suspicions and putting these rumors to rest once and tradict what Prof. Stek says here. It is true that the
          for all. The article from which the above quote is taken      most liberal views of the New Hermeneutic are prob-
          is intended to do that.                                       ably not adopted by those who teach in the Seminary
            In order to accomplish this, Prof. Stek reviews an          - liberal views of Hermeneutics which produce a social
          article which originally appeared  in The Expository          gospel and liberal theology. But the New Hermeneutic
          Times  and in which the author adopts this new                takes on. many different forms, not principally differ-
          hermeneutic. It is a relatively liberal presentation of ent from the kind of Hermeneutic so expressly repud-
          this new hermeneutic, and Prof. Stek finds much in it         iated by Prof. Stek in his article in The Banner. One of
          with which he disagrees. He concludes this review with these hermeneutical ideas is the so-called Sitz im Leben
          the categorical statement:                                    theory of Scripture. What this theory teaches, in brief,
                It.is transparently clear that no one committed to      is that the writers df Scripture were influenced by the
              the faith confessed in the historic Reformed creeds       "situation in life" in which they found themselves and
              can work theologically out of the "New                    that these influences are also to be found in God's
              Henneneutic".                                             Word. For example, it was commonly believed by
            In applying this to the situation in Calvin Seminary,       those who wrote the Scriptures that the earth was flat.
          he writes:                                                    This, we now know, was a misconception; but their


130                                                    THE STANDARD BEARER



incorrect understanding of the spherical shape of our               Now it is plain that, while Prof. Stek is not prepared
planet was a misunderstanding which found its way to say whether Genesis 1 is saga, myth, legend, poetry
also into their Scriptural writings. In other words, the or whatever, he refuses to adopt a literal interpretation
Holy Spirit, Who inspired Scripture, did not preserve of this passage and refuses to accept the fact that this
the men whom He used to record God's revelation in passage records actual historical material and gives to
written form from these errors. Hence the Scriptures the Church a description of how God, in six days of 24
are not, in this sense, infallible.                               hours, created by the Word of His power the heavens
   Now it is quite obvious that there is a good sense in and the earth. And he refuses to accept this because it
which this whole idea of Sitz im Zeben can be applied does. not take sufficiently into account the fact that
to Scripture. Surely the books of the Bible are written "the mode of speaking" in Genesis 1 is "historically
in such a way that they are addressed to particular conditioned." And it fails to reckon with the fact that
circumstances which existed in the Church in the days "many cultural revolutions of which the last is but the
in which Scripture was inspired. For example, Paul most radical" have intervened. This can only mean that
wrote his epistle to the Galatians to show the evil Moses, who was used by God to write this for the
teachings of those who wanted to cling to the works of Scriptures, permitted error of one sort or another to be
the law as a means of salvation. And the men who incorporated into his narrative  - error to which he
taught these views were hard at work in the Churches himself was prone because of the times in which he
to which Paul wrote, most probably the churches Paul lived. The Holy Spirit failed to keep error from his
established in Asia Minor on his first missionary writing.
journey, to undermine the work of the apostle and to                Prof. B. Van Elderen, who also is professor in Calvin
lead these churches away from the truth as it was in Seminary, does the same. In an essay in the book Jesus
Christ. Furthermore, to give one more example, the of Nazareth: Saviour and Lord, edited by Carl F. H.
parables which Jesus taught in the days of His earthly Henry, Van Elderen has an article on this whole matter
ministry were parables taken from the life of Israel as of Sitz' im Leben. `(cf. pp. 113ff.) He distinguishes be-
Israel lived that life while the Lord was on earth. No tween the Sitz im Leben of Jesus in the gospel narra-
one would deny that these things are true.                        tives and the  Sitz im  Lebevz  of the authors of the
  But this is quite different from saying that the gospel narratives. Concerning the  Sitz im Leben  of
erroneous views of people who lived during the years Jesus, he writes that this is almost impossible to re-
in which Scripture was written were incorporated into cover although a tentative formulation may be of aid
the Scriptures. This is a denial of the infallible inspira- in Scriptural interpretation.
tion of Scripture.                                                  Concerning the Sitz im Leben of the gospel authors,
  Yet it seems as if this is precisely what Prof. Stek Van Elderen explains the differences between the four
wants - in spite of what he writes in his Banner article. gospels as due to this. He writes:
In the Calvin Theological Journal, Vol. I, No. 2, Prof.                 Can the Gospels still be described as inspired writ-
Stek writes a review of two books which support the                   ings? Most assuredly so. These were written under
doctrine of creation in six days of twenty-four hours.                and through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. In
These two books are "Creation Revealed: A Study of                    other words, the Spirit of Jesus through the Evange-
Genesis Chapter 1 in the Light of Modern Science" by                  lists is interpreting the ministry and sayings of Jesus
F. A. Filby and "Studies in the Bible and Science or                  to meet the peculiar needs that had arisen in the
Christ and Creation." by H. M. Morris. Prof. Stek, in                 Church some thirty years after the resurrection.
this review, expressly rejects the position these men                 Hence, these are authoritative and trustworthy
                                                                      accounts and interpretations. In some cases it will be
take with respect to creation. And he does so by means                impossible to recover the ipsissima verba of Jesus,
of a certain Sitz im Leben hermeneutical principle. He                since at times -these have been adapted and inter-
writes:                                                               preted to meet the needs of the Sitz im Leben des
         Undoubtedly Genesis 1 was written, not for the               Ve$assers. However, it is more honest and respectful
       few, but for the many and, consequently for the                to Scripture to recognize this than to engage in
       "common man". But it was written for the "common               dubious harmonizations which the genre of New
       man" of Israel at a given time in Israel's history. Its        Testament literature scarcely allows.
       mode of speaking is, therefore, very much historically       Although the language is careful, here already Dr.
       conditioned, and fm more than the Hebrew language          Van Elderen seems to suggest that this Sitz im Lebp.
       stands between the modem reader and Genesis 1.
       Three thousand years of human history, including           allows for mistakes of one sort  ,or another. No real
       many cultural revolutions of which the last is but the     harmony of the gospels is possible. And this is due to
       most radical, intervene.                                   the Sitz im Leben of the authors. This can only mean
         Only by a painstaking recovery of the modes of           that somewhere, somehow there are errors.
       thought of ancient Israel to whbm these words were           This suspicion is strengthened by the fact that in a
       first addressed cti we finally resolve the question of     personal "confession" of his views concerning inspira-
       the precise mode of speaking present in Genesis 1.         tion, Van  Elderen omits any reference to infallible


                                                   THE STANDARD BEARER                                               131



inspiration. He writes:                                        because he is speaking of the authority of Scripture? It
       I consider the Bible to be the Word of God. It is in    is perfectly obvious that the Scriptures cannot be
    this book that I have been confronted with a call to       accepted as authoritative because of one's subjective
    repentence  in the person and work of Jesus Christ.        experience of redemption. This is subjectivism. But
    Through the Holy Spirit I have heard the voice of          when one rests the authority of Scripture upon Scrip-
    God speaking to me in the Bible. Since this book has
    the unique role of revealing the way of redemption in      ture itself, as all the Reformers did, then one must rest
    Jesus Christ, it,as the Word of God, is authoritative,     this authority upon an infallible book. This Van
    trustworthy, reliable - the product of the inspiring       Elderen refuses to do. And apparently he refuses to do
    guidance of the Holy Spirit. Because of this experi-       this because he accepts  Sitz im Leben  as a  hermen-
    ence of redemption revealed in this book, I accept it      eutical principle.
    in faith as the Word of God (Note here that Van              Is it any wonder then that there are suspicions in the
    Elderen makes no mention of the fact that our Belgic       Church? After all, the differences between these views
    Confession speaks of our receiving Scripture as            and the liberal, Scripture-destroying views of Bultman
    authoritative because they carry the evidence of this      are only differences of degree. Basically it seems as if
    in themselves and because the Spirit witnesseth of         St ek and Van  Elderen have accepted Bultman's
    this in our hearts. Cf. Art. V. H.H.) and recommend,       position.
    defend and proclaim it as such.                              We would be very interested in any article in which
   Why does Van  Elderen leave out of this "confes- Prof. Stek would demonstrate how he avoids the "New
sion" any mention of infallible inspiration - especially Hermeneutic" in his article quoted above.


In His Fear
                                  A White Christmas
                                                      Rev. John,A. Heys

  For many in these northern climes it just does not The use of red and green is everywhere to be seen for
seem like Christmas unless there is a cover of white decorative purposes. It is called the season to be gay.
snow upon the ground.                                          Colorful greetings cards are mailed in staggering
  Our flesh so quickly associates a snow cover with numbers and volume. Tinsel and the holly and the ivy
the celebration of Christmas, and then it gives the are used in abundance to give a little more color to the
pre-eminence to the incindental and loses the essential. holiday.
The white snow on the ground becomes in our think-               One almost feels ashamed to speak of that drab
ing essential as a part of Christmas. Its absence detracts picture there on the  Judean hillside with colorless
from the significance of the holiday for us, even sheep and even less colorful shepherds, to say nothing
though it has absolutely nothing to do with the true of that drab, dull, foul, ill-smelling, wholly undec-
meaning of Christmas.                                          orated grotto where among donkeys and camels the
  Those who live in warmer climes are not so distrac- Christ-Child made His appearance in our world. There
ted from the truth, not because they are more spiritual were no beautiful, colorful wrappings and ribbons con-
and understand the meaning of Christmas better than taining a gift for Him. All was commonplace and dull.
we, but because they have not experienced the presence All lacked the lustre that- we now try to bring into the
of snow on the ground at Christmas time. These quite picture, not in  Hi/s fear but in the satisfaction of the
quickly would think that snow on the ground in their flesh.
area would distract from Christmas and make it seem              God's color was there. There was the bright light of
as though it were not time for the holiday at all.             the angel of the Lord, and a few moments later that of
  Even then in these areas where snow is so common an host of these pure, white creatures from heaven.
in December, the holiday is by no means a white There was the colorful message, that at the same time
Christmas in many respects. In fact it is a most color- shown with white brilliancy, "Fear not: for, behold I
ful, if not indeed the most colorful of all the holidays. bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to
Christmas trees are strung with colored lights here and all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of
also in the South. Buildings have their outlines set off David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord." In the
with colored lights that shine brilliantly in the cold air, darkness of our night of sin the light shone so brightly
and blink on and off in patterns of color and design. in those words. For us, who are so black with sin, this


132                                         THE STANDARD BEARER



was a  truth of brilliant whiteness which gives such completely that it is lost sight of, and is covered up
wonderful significance to Christmas unto us. And the without even being missed! Shame on us! Imagine! We
shepherds, who were white with fright, were suddenly cast so much of our light - which is darkness - upon
engulfed with another heavenly message of glory to the scene and upon our Christmas celebration that our
God in the highest, and they saw a white flag of peace light actually hides, covers up, blots out the thought
on earth to the men of God's good pleasure waved and joy of that victory in Christ. Our flesh turns us
before their eyes.                                       from the Christ to that which the flesh can enjoy at
  We said a "message," for, although we read in the this season of the year. Our colors and our lights have
writings of men of the "song" which the angels sang, nothing for the soul that is troubled with sin. They
we are not told in Scripture that it was a song. They have nothing to say to the soul that is seeking for
were praising God and "saying" those words which we salvation. They have that which the world - that cares
designate as a song. What music did they sing? 0, it not one snap of its fingers for salvation or victory over
was indeed in a major key and not in a minor key, if sin, or to be as white as snow in God's sight  - can
they sang. It was a most joyous, if not the most joyous enjoy with us. They provide nothing that needs a re-
melody, with the richest harmony, ever heard on this birth to appreciate. Except a man be born again, he
earth, if their wbrds were set to music by the angels cannot see that white flag of victory` which Christmas
that night. It was not recorded. Men did not remember waves before us. He can, however, see our colorful
the melody, if indeed they heard a song. But then it decorations and that which takes on such significance
would have been music that cannot be duplicated here for our flesh at Christmas. And the reborn can and do
below, and music which we shall hear and make only see in all that filth and shame of Bethlehem's grotto
when we are in heaven with this exalted Christ and and manger beauty, victory and a colorful life of glory
with those angels.                                       before God's face.
  But the message was one of peace. The white flag         Of course, all this color, this earthly beauty of color,
which the angels waved before these shepherds, and is not sinful in itself. But when these are essential for
through them before our eyes, was not a flag of. sur- our Christmas celebration and this IS our Christmas
render. It was the white flag of victory. Do we not read celebration, we have lost that joy of that victory; and
in Revelation 6 of the white horse, and that He that sat our Christmas has become a bleak, drab, dark and
on it went forth conquering and to conquer? White forboding day! Its true joy and color, its real happiness
stands there for victory. And do we not again read in and blessedness are covered up and lost. God grant us a
Revelation 19 that He Who sat on this white horse is white Christmas that fills our hearts with the joy of
called "Faithful and true, and in righteousness He doth that new name and white stone of being more than
judge and make war?" A verse later we read that His conquerors in Him that loved us even unto death.
name is "The Word of God." In that light also we must      The same loss of that joy of the victory in Christ we
read Revelation 2: 17, where we are told that."to him experience with all of our gift giving. Let it be clearly
that overcometh" this Babe of Bethlehem, Who now is understood that our gift giving is not a reflection of
the Lord of Lords and King of kings, will give "to eat His gift giving to us. He gave us what we need and
of the hidden manna" and "a white stone, and in the could not possibly obtain by our own works. He gave
stone a new name written, which no man knoweth everlasting gifts whose value does not fade the day
saving he that receiveth it." This does not mean that after its reception. Nor do we ever outgrow or wear
we receive a name of those who surrender. It means out that which He gives. And He gave not to receive
that we receive the name of victor, through Him Who something else from us.
rides this white horse that symbolizes victory, and        If we want to simulate His works let us give to those
that we shall sit and reign with Him because He goes who cannot give back again to us. Let us prepare a
forth conquering and to conquer.                         feast for those who go hungry the other days of the.
  Christmas speaks of victory for the Church. It tells year, or have only a few crumbs and the bare neces-
us that though our sins be as scarlet we shall be made sities of life. Let us strive to make others happy with-
to be whiter than snow. Christmas declares that He out any thought of happiness coming to us except that
Who is pure and holy, Whose record before God is of knowing that we are pleasing in God's sight.
white and clean, has come to make ours white               This Babe of Bethlehem told us that the poor we
and clean as well. Ours is a white Christmas because it always have with us. And this will be the case unto the
speaks of this purity, this victory over all sin and evil very end. If we really want to simulate His deeds and
which is realized for us by the Son of God Who came walk after His pattern, we can find these poor, even
in our flesh to purge us with hyssop and to make us though we live in a land of such affluence and pros-
whiter than snow. Psalm 5 1: 7.                          perity. And you may be sure that in the future they
  And yet with all the color and brilliancy of our will be here, next to you and me, in abundance. There
decorations and ornaments, wherewith we "try" to are other horses that ride as well as that white horse.
celebrate Christmas, we cover up this Word of God so There is the black horse of famine, social inequality, of


                                               THE STANDARD BEARER                                                            133



hunger and want. The red horse of war also brings blackness of sin and death! How much it would spoil
sufferings and robs men of their homes, incomes, food our Christmas not to get a single present from anyone
and convenience. These are running today, running in our family or among our relatives and friends be-
throughout the world and are providing us with                  cause we all contributed the amount we otherwise
abundant opportunities to give without expectation of spend for these gifts for the spread of the gospel to the
a return gift  for our flesh. And we do not need to wait        four corners of the earth, and to feed those, and to
for a day in December in order to wrap up a gift and            clothe those who are in need. Would the suggestion
deliver it. So often we pass this Babe of Bethlehem by strike a joyous response that we either start a Christ-
in His prison, on His sick bed, in His nakedness and in         mas Club account in the bank of our choice to have a
His hunger. We may, then, be those who some day will            sum on hand when next Christmas has arrived to use
ask Him, "When saw we Thee a stranger, and took for such purposes, or to begin setting aside  - boys and
Thee  not in? or naked, and clothed Thee not? When girls as well - our nickles  and dimes, and dollars for
saw we Thee in prison, and did not minister unto                those that have need? Or  would Christmas take on a
Thee?  Or when saw we Thee sick, and came not unto              new and richer meaning for us than this commer-
Thee?" How terrible it will be, then, to hear Him say, cialized day of the flesh?
"Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these,          It IS more blessed to give than to receive. But then
ye did it not to Me."                                           it must be giving to those who have need, and must not
  What a tremendous amount of money is spent every              be adding riches and possessions to those who already
year on Christmas presents, and then spent upon our- are weary of their many gifts.
selves, our families, our friends! How quickly our flesh          May God grant you a white Christmas of victory in
would complain, if we were asked to give the same Christ. And may He take from you the scarlet color of
amount that others might hear that message of the your sins.
white Christmas of victory in Christ Jesus over the


Contending for the Faith

                     The Doctrine of  At.onement
                                          SECOND PERIOD - 254- 730 A. D.

                                                    Rev. H. Veldrnan

  Concluding our discussion of the history of the doc-                When our wickedness had reached its height, and it
trine of the atonement in the second period, 254-730                had been clearly shown that its reward - punishment
A.D., we wish to quote a certain letter which was writ-             and death - was impending over us . . . God Himself
ten to an unknown heathen, Diognetus. The late Dr.                  took on Him the burden of our iniquities. He gave His
Bavinck, in our quotation which we quoted from him                  own Son as a ransom for us, the holy One for trans-
in a previous article, also refers to this letter. This pas-        gressors, the blameless One for the wicked, the right-
                                                                    eous One for the unrighteous, the incorruptible One
sage which we promised to quote appears, according to               for the corruptible, the immortal One for them that
Philip Schaff, in an epistle by an anonymous author to              are mortal. For what other thing was capable of
this Diognetus. This epistle has sometimes been as-                 covering our sins than His righteousness? By what
cribed to Justin, but is probably of much earlier date.             other one was it possible that we, the wicked and
In this epistle is a beautiful and forcible passage on the          ungodly, could be justified, than by the only Son of
mystery of redemption, and it shows that the root of                God? 0 sweet exchange! 0 unsearchable operation! 0
the matter was apprehended by faith long before a                   benefits surpassing all expectation! That the wicked-
logical analysis was attempted. This need not surprise              ness of many should be hid in a single righteous One,
us. The church of the living God certainly apprehended              and that the righteousness of One should justify
the cross  of our Lord Jesus Christ by a true and living            many transgressors!
faith, although it was not able to give a full and com-           This is certainly a beautiful statement. In it we read
plete account of the atonement of Calvary in all its that the Lord took upon Himself the burden of our
rich and wonderful significance. This would come later iniquities,' that He gave His own Son as a ransom for
when the enemies of the truth would also attack this us, the holy One for transgressors, and that we, the
fundamental teaching and doctrine of the Word of wicked and ungodly, could never be justified except by
God. This particular passage, now, reads as follows:            the only Son of God.


134                                                   THE STANDARD BEARER



  In this period, according to the late Rev. H.  Hoek-                refer, for instance, to Anselm's "Cur Deus Homo."
sema in his notes on the History of Dogma, we are no                  On the other hand, it cannot be denied that there are
longer concerned with the Eastern Church as far as the                several elements in Scholasticism that are to be con-
history of dogma is concerned. In these notes Rev.                    demned. The Schoolmen were undoubtedly over-
Hoeksema mentions John Damascenus, a theologian in                    zealous to demonstrate philosophically and rationally
the East, who closes the second period. According to                  the rational nature of Christian truth, the harmony
                                                                      between faith and reason,  - a zeal that led them
Hagenbach, the mythical notion of the atonement,                      frequently to ignore the limitation of reason and to
developed in the preceding or second period, setting                  forget the absolute necessity of revelation. Besides,
forth a legal transaction with the devil, and the decep-              Scholasticism proceeded on the assumption and took
tion  practised upon him on the part of God and Christ,               implicity for granted that the faith of the church was
was also adopted by John Damascenus. This theologian                  the absolute truth, and set itself the task of demon-
in the east, to whom must be attributed the honor of                  strating the truth of ecclesiastical dogma and of the
having made an attempt to produce a completely                        sententiae  patrum  (the opinions of the fathers),
systematic work, defended the general will of God                     rather than testing those dogmas by the criterion of
unto salvation. However, after 730 A.D. the history of                Holy Writ (this is certainly true in the Roman
dogma finds little of importance and interest in the                  Catholic Church; in that church one must believe
                                                                      what the church believes and how the church inter-
Eastern Church. Hence, we must confine our attention                  prets the Word of God - H.V.). In close connection
from now on to the church of the West, the so-called                  with this last remark, we may add that exegesis did
Latin Church.                                                         not occupy an important place in the work of the
  This third period is known as the "Age of Scholas-                  Schoolmen. They worked with the materials at hand,
ticism." Basing our remarks upon the notes of Rev.                    offered them by the church and the fathers, and to it
Hoeksema, we note that it is characteristic of this third             they applied all the efforts of reason. Then, too, it
period that the church and the theologians of this time               may be said that the Scholastics' love of intellectual
labored with the materials they inherited from the                    exercise and discipline and their emphasis on logical
past. Up to this time the church had developed several                distinction often led the Schoolmen to busy them-
doctrines, such as: the doctrine of the Trinity, the rela-            selves with fruitless questions, rather than with the
tion of the Son to the Father, of the Holy Spirit, of                 riches of the truth in Christ. Such questions, for in-
                                                                      stance, as how many angels could dance on the point
the Godhead of Christ, etc. In this third period the                  of a needle, or whether God could create two moun-
church worked with these materials, and the leading                  .tains without a valley in between, probably had their
men of the church, `the scholars and dogmaticians,                    disciplinary values, but no more. Finally, it may be
aimed especially at two things: 1) They sought to                     said that to an extent Scholasticism construed a false
systematize these separate dogmas into one whole, to                  synthesis between Hellenistic philosophy and the
build one structure of the materials at hand. It was                  truth of Scripture. And it is by no means impossible
indeed the age of systematizing. 2) They aimed at                     to show that the synthetic theory of a  gratis   com-
demonstrating the truth of these doctrines by rational                muriis  has its origin in this period.
proof. Their work, therefore, was not pre-eminently                 Although in general it may be said of the Scholastic
exegetical, but rather dogmatical and philosophical.              Period, and, in fact, of the entire period from 750 to
  In his notes, Rev. Hoeksema gives the following                 the Reformation, that there was little or no progress in
general estimate of the work of the Schoolmen during              doctrine, we may note that the following doctrines
this third period:                                                were established: 1) The supremacy of the pope was
         Scholasticism undoubtedly has its points of com-         strongly emphasized in this period. 2) The number of
       mendation: It was no doubt a period of brilliant intel-    the sacraments was firially fixed at seven. These sacra-
       lectual activity, that produced a shining light, both      ments are the following: baptism, confirmation,
       from a philosophical and theological viewpoint. Be-        penance, extreme unction, holy orders, matrimony,
       sides, in distinction from a former period, the Age of     and the doctrine of transubstantiation in connection
       Scholasticism is characterized by a serious attempt at     with the sacrament of the Lord's Supper.
       systematic work. This really has been wanting hereto-        When the doctrine of atonement is discussed as
       fore. Formerly materials had been gathered, and
       separate truths and dogmas had been developed. But         developed during this third period, the name of
       hardly an attempt had been made to build them into         Anselm is prominent. Writing about Anselm, Philip
       a systematic structure. This was different with the        Schaff has the following in his History of the Christian
       schoolmen. They collected the material that had been       Church, Vol. V, 598 f.f.:
       found in a former period, and their logical mind as              Anselm of Canterbury, 1033-l 109, the first of the
       well as the fact that they followed Aristotle caused           great Schoolmen, was one of the ablest and purest
       them to seek a systematic whole in the scattered               men of the mediaeval Church. He touched the history
       parts. Then also it may be mentioned that they                 of his age .at many points. He was an enthusiastic
       developed several distinctions in dogmatic truths and          advocate of monasticism. He was archbishop of
       lines of reasonmg that are of an abiding value. We can         Canterbury and fought the battle of the Hildebran-


                                                      THE STANDARD BEARER                                                         135



      dian hierarchy against the State in England. His Chris-          Canterbury.
      tian meditations give him a high rank in its annals of             A quarrel with his father led to  Anselm's leaving
 .    piety. His profound speculation marks one of the                 his home. He set his face toward the West and finally
      leading epochs in the history of theology and won for            settled in the Norman abbey of  Le  Bet, then under
      him a place among the doctors of the Church. While               the care of his illustrious countryman Lanfranc. Here
      Bernard was greatest as a monk, Anselm was greatest              he studied, took orders, and, on Lanfranc's transfer
      as a theologian. He was the most original thinker the            to the convent of St. Stephen at Caen, 1063, became
      Church had seen since the days of Augustine.                     prior, and, in 1078, abbot. At  Bet he wrote most of
        Anselm was born at Aosta, in Piedmont, at the                  his works. His warm devotion to the monastic life
      foot of the great St. Bernard, which divided Italy               appears in his repeated references to it in his letters
      from western Switzerland. He had a pious mother,                 and in his longing to get back to the convent after he
      Ermenberga. His father, Gundulf, a worldly and rude              had been made archbishop.
      nobleman, set himself violently against his son's reli-            In 1093, he succeeded Lanfranc as archbishop of
      gious aspirations, but on his death-bed himself                  Canterbury. His struggle with the kings of England
      assumed the monastic garb to escape perdition.                   over investiture (the king of England claimed to have
        In his childish imagination, Anselm conceived God              the right of investiture with rod and staff, which
      Almighty as seated on a throne at the top of the Alps,           meant that bishops really received their authority and
      and in a dream, he climbed up the mountain to meet               power from the king) led to his exile on the Con-
      Him. Seeing, on his way, the king's maidens engaged              tinent of Europe.
      in the harvest field, for it was Autumn, neglecting                The archbishop's last years in England were years
      their work he determined to report their negligence              of quiet, and he had a peaceful end. There, "as morn-
      to the king. The lad was most graciously received and            ing was breaking, in the Wednesday before Easter,"
      asked whence he came and what he desired. The                    April 21, 1109, the sixteenth year of his pontificate
      king's kindness made him forget all about the charges            and the seventy-sixth of his life, he slept in peace.
      he was intending to make. Then, refreshed with the               Anselm was a man of spotless integrity, single devo-
      whitest of bread, he descended again to the valley.              tion to truth and righteousness, patient in suffering,
      The following day he firmly believed he had actually             and revered as a saint before his official canonization
      been in heaven and eaten at the Lord's table. This was           in 1491.
      the story he told after he had ascended the chair of


Feature

          The Pilgrim's Involvement In Earthly Affairs [l)
                                                        Rev. David Engelsma

      There is tension in the topic, "The Pilgrim's In- labor, of education and more. Not only does the ques-
volvement in Earthly Affairs.," There are two elements             tion of the harmony of these two truths become a
in the topic that appear to hang together and harmo-               problem in the heart and mind of the Reformed believ-
nize only with difficulty, if they harmonize at all. That          er, but it also becomes a problem in his life, his daily
a pilgrim should involve himself in the societal affairs           existence.
of the country in which he is a pilgrim and a stranger                In the history of the Church, men have resolved
seems incongruous at best and wrong at worst.                      this tension and removed the difficulty by denying one
      The tension, or difficulty, inherent in the topic            or the other of the two elements that make up the
finely expresses a real tension, or difficulty, in life,           tension, that is, men have denied either that the child
that is, the life of the Reformed believer. The Reform-            of God is a pilgrim or that the child of God ought to
ed. believer recognizes that, on the one hand, he is a             involve himself in earthly affairs. They regarded the
pilgrim on the earth. Without reservation,. he sings proposition as a contradiction and denied the element
Psalm 39:                                                          they considered false. The incredibly grim condition of
                   "I am a stranger here,                          the nominal Church of Christ at present is due, in no
                    Dependent on Thy grace,                        small measure, to the denial that the believer is a pil-
                    A pilgrim, as my fathers were,                 grim. And that denial of the pilgrim-character of the
                    With no abiding place."                        believer is made in the name of social concern, is made
On the other hand, he is equally well aware of a calling so that the believer may plunge himself into society's
to involve himself with "earthly affairs," the matters             maelstrom, from doing which he is prevented if he
of politics (the rule and order of the polis, or city), of regards himself as a pilgrim. The believer is no pilgrim


136                                                 THE STANDARD BEARER



here below but citizen, and a citizen with deep roots.         churches. The opposite is the case. The Church has no
Naturally, unsurprisingly, he involves himself in social such calling; she becomes disobedient when neverthe-
affairs. Several weeks ago, I heard Bishop James Pike less she meddles in such affairs and, in reality, hinde'rs
speak in Longmont, Colorado. Excoriating the Church the pilgrim's involvement in earthly affairs. It is neces-
of the past for preaching to its members contentment sary for us to take up this issue, in connection with our
on earth with a view to bliss in the world to come, and topic, because confusion reigns on this issue. The im-
asserting that the Church must teach men to get all pression is left that, because the  believer  has such a
they can out of this life, he cried out, "I like it here! I    calling, the Church must have such a calling also, or the
am at home here! Don't come, Lord Jesus; stay away!" believer and the Church are assumed to be the same as
He is no pilgrim here, but himself confesses that the far as involvement in earthly affairs is concerned.
alternative is being a stranger to the coming Kingdom             We are all aware, I suppose, that apostate  Protes-
and its King.                                                  tantism asserts with might and main, and to a great
       There have, however, also been those that denied extent successfully, that the central, if not exclusive,
the calling of involvement in earthly affairs, in the calling of the Church is involvement in society, the
name of their pilgrim status. The group known as the change and betterment of political structures, the alle-
Anabaptists, who sprang up soon after the Reforma- viation of poverty, the removal of social evils as segre-
tion, and those `known as Pietists carefully cultivated gation, and the like. The Church and her servants have
the piety of their souls but banned all activity in soci- one reason for existence and that is the study of, labor
ety. There is a reference to this "solution" to the prob- in, and improvement of society. The insistence of these
lem in Article 36 of the Belgic Confession, which sets churchmen that the Church has the calling to involve
forth the truth about civil government: "we detest the herself in society does not concern us, tonight.
Anabaptists . . . who reject the higher powers . . ." This        What does concern us is a similar contention now
charge has, in the past, been leveled against our Protes- being made by men within the Reformed community,
tant Reformed Churches. We have been accused of re- men who head a movement to propagate Christian and
solving the tension by denying that a believer may and Reformed principles in every sphere of society. Their
should be involved in earthly affairs of politics, "cul- contention that the Church has a calling in this regard
ture" and the like. Our accusers have alleged that we          comes out mostly through sharp, even bitter, criticism
make this denial, not only in actual, practical life but of the Church for failing to work at this calling. Per-
also in principle and theory. The ground of the accusa- haps, the sharpest of the critics of the Church is Dr. H.
tion is our denial of the theory of common grace. The Evan Runner. In his pamphlet, "Can Canada Tolerate
origin of the theory of common grace was, especially, the C. L. A.," the keynote address delivered at the
the philosophy of Dr. Abraham Kuyper, who set forth Christian Labor Association of Canada's 15th Anniver-
common grace as the basis on which the believer could sary Convention held in Toronto, Ontario on April 29,
stand, in co-operation with the unbeliever, to engage in       1967, he delivers a biting attack upon the Church. His
the affairs of earthly life and present society. Denying basic concern is with the failure of the "orthodox ec-
common grace, we were reproached for an anabaptistic clesiastical assemblies . . . to speak out about the hu-
denial of the calling.to involvement in human society. manistic, anti-Christian  spirit which is the driving cul-
This of course does not follow. To deny a certain              tural force in the modem labor movement," that is,
ground (common grace) for the activity (involvement the failure of the Church to condemn the AFL-CIO
in earthly affairs) is not to deny the activity.               and similar godless, but so-called "neutral," unions.
       Now, I take it that the topic was deliberately This concern and anger are legitimate. Not only is such
framed to express this tension and that it indicates the       failure "irresponsible", it is dereliction of the duty of
desire that I wrestle with that difficulty. The topic is the Church to warn the saints against sin and to disci-
not, "The Believer's Involvement," but "The Rlgrim's           pline those that walk in sin. Membership in such
Involvement." We address ourselves specifically to this unions makes one guilty of the anti-Christian  principles
tension, tonight.                                              of the organization, of the intrinsic rebellion of the
        I. THE CHURCH IS NOT TO INVOLVE HERSELF                union against the God-ordained authority of the em-
                     IN EARTHLY AFFAIRS                        ployer, and of all the deeds of violence and murder
       In order clearly and definitely to make our posi- that they commit. Indeed, the members in a church
tion known regarding the pilgrim's involvement in              that tolerates members of these unions must seriously
earthly affairs, we must deny that the Church has a face the question whether they do not also become
mandate to involve herself in earthly affairs, that is, in     responsible before God for the evils of the unions, .by
matters of politics, labor and education. To affirm that connivance with those who belong. But Dr. Runner
the pilgrim has such a calling does not imply that the means to say more. He means to criticize the Church
Church has this calling. I mean the visible, instituted        for not involving herself in the affairs of society, in
Church that functions through the offices of elder and trying to establish Christian organizations in politics
deacon and that also works in alliance with other and labor. In his speech, he declared, "It is not strange


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                    137



that men have been busy leaving the organized is least guilty of neglect with respect to the calling of
churches in droves for the last hundred years: it has the Church to engage in social affairs. Rome indeed
had literally nothing to say to them, nothing existen- openly works, as Church, in all spheres of societal life.
tial, that is, nothing having to do with man's flesh and      But to hear one commend them for this causes me to
blood existence on this planet . . . I tell you, it is high ask in amazement: Have we so soon forgotten Luther?
time that we speak, or our children will all be lost to a In his commentary on Galatians 2: 14, Luther indi-
church which has nothing significant to say to them." cated the Pope, "He hath also confounded and mixed
So wretched on this count does he find the church that        political and ecclesiastical matters together; which is a
he warns of being spewed out of God's mouth.                  devilish and hellish confusion."
    We have questions and a reason for questions. Is            This searing criticism of the Church by Reformed
this a criticism of a church that does preach the gospel,     men - it is no light matter to threaten the Church with
that does exercise discipline, and that does administer being spewed out of Christ's mouth!  - for failure to
the sacraments properly, because it does not become a plunge into the affairs of society curiously parallels the
holy "pressure-group", a "sanctified lobby", in the attack made on the Church by apostate Protestantism.
world of politics, labor and education? Does he mean          Oddly enough, it seems that both look away from the
to assign to the church, in addition to the spiritual task    Church to other, man-made organizations. As apostate
Christ gave her, the task of becoming really a political Protestantism delights in the "underground church,"
party? Does he mean to criticize the consistory that          these Reformed men pin their hopes on various chris-
says to the individual who complains of civil wrong,          tian organizations.
"Man, who made me a judge and divider over you?" or             Implied in this condemnation of the Church is the
that advises the defrauded laboring man, "Do violence         contention that the Church has a calling to involve
to no man and be content with your wages?"                    herself in social affairs, a calling she has failed to un-
    What Dr. Runner has in mind becomes clearer:              dertake. This contention is a crucial issue. Those that
"the organized church has consistently and steadily           make it cannot mean merely that the Church should
withdrawn into its bourgeois comfortability or intro-         faithfully express and apply to the members the princi-
verted prayer chamber, allowing the affairs of our ples of government, labor and education, as they are
public life to be progressively organized or ordered by       set forth in Scripture. If this is all they intend, their
the spirit. of modem humanism. . ." Again, "the most          criticism of the Church is much too severe, even from
fundamental battle of our time is not to be thought of their viewpoint. They mean that the Church, the insti-
in the first place as one for preservation of a familiar tuted Church, must become a force that deliberately
and so-called orthodox church organization, or of an          works in the sphere of government and the like to
abstract system of theological propositions." "A change and structure these ordinances of God.
church organization or a world of Christian theological         I am reminded of the famous passage in
activity, standing alone within a culture all the other       Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov in which Ivan
activities of which are directed in an  anti-Christian        Karamazov relates to his brother his "poem" of the
spirit must remain impotent and has become irrelevant,        Grand Inquisitor. The story is this. In the late 16th
and it will in the long run fade away." "Even to pre-         century, after the Reformation, Jesus returns to earth
serve the organized church therefore we must fight in Spain, while the Inquisition is going on. He is im-
for an integral Christian society."                           mediately met by an old Roman Catholic cardinal, a
   One's instinctive reaction to this is to ask incredu- haunting figure, who imprisons Jesus, although he
lously ) "Can he mean this? Can he mean that the knows Who Jesus is. In a direct confrontation with
Church of Christ depends for its existence upon a Jesus, he informs Jesus that he intends to bum Jesus at
Christian society? Can he mean that, without a Christ-        the stake the next day, because the Church had de-
ian state, a Christian labor union, and a Christian educa- cided to side with the Devil against Jesus. The issue
tional system, the Church cannot live? How, to speak over which the Church has broken with Jesus is that
only from history, has the Church survived throughout contained in the first temptation of Jesus in the wilder-
all the ages? Does not then the Church depend upon            ness. The Inquisitor analyzes the Devil's' first tempta-
Christ? Is it not the plain testimony of Scripture that tion this way: "seest thou these stones in this parched
the Church is and always will be in the world, as light and barren wilderness? Turn them into bread and man-.
in the midst of darkness, as a little flock among the kind will run after thee like a flock of sheep, grateful
wolves?"                                                      and obedient, though forever trembling lest Thou with-
  Dr. Runner is not alone. Others in the same move-           draw Thy hand and deny them Thy bread." But Jesus
ment make the same charges against the Church.                refused. This refusal the Inquisitor (and the Church)
Bernard Zylstra, in his pamphlet, "Challenge and Re- bitterly assail: "Thou didst promise them the bread of
sponse," another address to the C.L.A.C. (in  1960),          heaven, but, I repeat again, can it compare with earthly
criticizes the church in terms of pietism and tellingly bread in the eyes of the weak, even sinful and ignoble
commends the Roman Catholic Church which, he says, race of man?" He informs Jesus that the Church now is


138                                             THE STANDARD BEARER



"not working with Thee, but with  him  (the Devil)." root of the problem of capital and labor? The absence
Because, the Church has made it her mission to provide         of love. And whence love, if at all? Through faith in
earthly bread and because it has taken upon herself to Christ, which faith is worked by the Word preached.
establish an earthly government for men, she has "cor- The trouble in the realm of labor is the hatred of man
rected Thy work."                                              for his neighbor. The employer `hates and bleeds the
  This passage brings out the basic issues in the matter employee; the employee hates and smashes the em-
of the Church's calling, as given by Christ.                   ployer. Are we to plump down on one side or the
  The Church has one task, one mandate. Her task is other? We are neither for capital or labor, but for
the gathering and upbuilding of Jesus' Church (Matt.           Christ. And the "cure" is love, the love of God and the
28:  19,20;  Eph. 4: 12). Or, the Church labors at the love of the neighbor for God's sake, whether that
establishment of the Kingdom of Christ, which is not neighbor be Henry Ford II or Joe Smith, breadwinner.
of this world, which is not meat and drink but righte- A Christian labor organization has to have this at its
ousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost                    center, or it will not be Christian. We know enough of
(Rom. 14: 17); the Church has been given the Keys of old capitalism, the murderous capitalism of the finan-
the Kingdom ,of Heaven. The Church carries out this            cial barons, who did not atone for their sins by their
task by preaching, both publicly and from house to philanthropy, to know that it invited the insurgence of
house. To the preaching has been joined discipline and         the working man. But the answer to the violence of the
the sacraments.                                                employer is not the greater violence of the employee.
  It is Christ Who has authorized the Church to per- Again, a Christian labor organization must stand here
form this task. Those who would add another task or or fall. The "answer" is the love of God shed abroad in
replace this task or redefine the Church's task have no        man's heart. Apart from Christ and faith in Christ,
warrant for doing so. Here, obedience to Christ is of there is no answer.
the essence. The Church may not take one step out of             Ministering to the spiritual needs of men is certainly
the bounds Christ has set for her. His will for the worthy work, also in comparison with instituting a
Church is the Church's calling. For the Church on the Christian government and a Christian labor organiza-
crucial matter of her calling to follow her will is fatal.     tion.
It is for her to side with the Devil. It is a striking fact      And preaching is full-time work! The Church has no
that proponents of a social mission of the Church sel- time for involvement in social affairs. Experience
dom, if ever, appeal to Scripture to prove their conten-       teaches that when she engages in social affairs the true
tion in the will of Christ Jesus. It is easy enough to         calling of the Church suffers. And when the true call-
brush aside this demand for proof by claiming that the         ing suffers, the pilgrim-believer is hindered in the exer-
social mandate is the general tenor of the Bible, or by        cise of his calling to be busy glorifying God in every
characterizing the one who demands evidence as a fun- sphere of life.
damentalist proof-text seeker. Let it be an established          For the Church certainly sustains a relationship to
fact that on the basic issue of her calling, the Church        all earthly affairs. It is the believer, not the Church,
needs definite, clear proof from Scripture.                    that has the calling to labor in the spheres of earthly
  There is in our day, within and without the Re-              life. But it is the Church, that is, Christ through the
formed Churches, a minimizing, if not a despising, of Church's preaching, discipline and sacraments, that
the preaching. Preaching is regarded as just talk. What        calls, equips, strengthens and assists the believer to be
we must have, it is said, is action. That the preaching is busy in earthly affairs. The Church does this by faith-
a means of grace, the means of grace, that through the fulness to her spiritual task; the more she gives herself
preaching Christ Jesus Himself speaks to His people is to the preaching, the more the pilgrim can be expected
not understood. Thus, the Church's engagement in the to involve himself in earthly affairs rightly.
task of preaching, with its concomitant of theology,             At this point, however, the Church does well to
can be disparaged as a mere activity of formulating examine herself in the light of Scripture. Does she, as
abstract theological propositions and as the idle, mean- part of the gospel she preaches, confront her sons and
ingless activity of an ivory-tower Church in isolation         daughters with this calling; Does she take pains to ex-
from men's real needs.                                         plain the reason? Does she unfold the principles that
  What are men's needs? Their real needs? Does it govern the spheres of earthly life, such as government,
have to be established again, by struggle, that the need labor, marriage and home, education and the like? Does
of man is his sin, his misery over sin, and the deliver-       she comfort them also with regard to the struggle in
ance from sin by the gospel? Must we hear that in these spheres?
concerning ourselves with this, we ignore men's needs,
their flesh and blood needs? This was the charge of the
Grand Inquisitor against Jesus Himself. What we
should have is more preaching and believing, also as
regards the relationships of men in society. What is the


                                            THE STANDARD BEARER                                                   139



The Strength of Youth

                               Practical Preaching
                                             Rev. Robert D. Decker

   Probably the most difficult aspect of writing me that as a general practice we cannot do better than
articles of this nature for our  Standard Bearer  is commission someone with Christian wisdom to reflect,
choosing the various subjects. This particular rubric is throughout the week, on the needs of the congregation
directed to the youth of our churches and must deal and on the Word of God to be spoken to those needs.
with subjects of interest to them or it will fail in its This it seems to me is wise as a general practice. It
purpose. When casting about in my mind for subjects        seems to me extremely unwise, however, to make it
of interest and concern to covenant youth, it occurred the invariant practice. The sermon has its defects, and
to me that the best way to find these subjects would the other modes (drama, film, music, and poetry, and
be to ask the young people themselves. This is what I spontaneous dialogue and testimony R.D.) have their
did. I approached several of the youth of my merits, as means of prophetic proclamation and wit-
congregation and asked them: "What topics would you ness bearing. What is needed is diversity. Pluriformity."
like to see treated in the  Standard Bearer?".  The Now, it is not my purpose to devote this article to a
results were interesting indeed! Among the topics negative criticism of these contentions. I only cite
suggested are: "How far does obedience to parents them to illustrate the point that  preaching.is not ap-
go?", "what is breaking a commandment'?", "How preciated and not considered essential to worship in
must we as Christians relate to social, economic, and the minds of some in Reformed circles. The fallacy of
environmental problems of today?", and at the top of the above remarks will become evident when we exam-
the list is the subject of this article; "Why isn't the ine together what the Bible has to say about preaching
preaching in our churches more practical?". (meaning: and its place in worship.
"can sermons be made to apply more directly to our            While it is not surprising to find this a topic of
everyday lives?)".                                        interest to our youth, it is, indeed, gratifying. Especial-
   It is not surprising that one finds this topic of ly a pastor finds reason for joy in this. We may be
interest and concern among our covenant youth. They profoundly thankful that our young people are vitally
are very much a part of the time in which we find interested in and concerned with preaching. The ques-
ourselves, and at the moment preaching is up for a tion indicates that the youth sincerely desire to have
good deal of inspection and discussion in the church preaching speak to them and to their needs and to
world. It must also be admitted with all candor that their everyday living.
preaching in our day has fallen on rather bad times.          At the risk of "turning you (I mean you young
Preaching is not appreciated (we mean in Reformed people) off" I am compelled to make a critical observa-
circles) as it once was. Worse than that, preaching is tion of the question. The question is: "Why isn't the
not regarded as essential or necessary to the obedient preaching in our churches more practical?" That ques-
worship of God by the church. Prof. Nicholas P. tion assumes that there is preaching that is not practi-
Woltersdorff writes in the July-August 1970 issue of cal. This is not true. True, Biblical preaching is always
the Reformed Journal, p.7: "I fail to see that it would practical. To assume that the preaching in our churches
necessarily be a mark of disobedience on the part of is not practical as the question does, or at least is not
the Christian community if it decided, for a time or on practical as much as it should be, is to be of the convic-
occasion, to worship without having a sermon. It tion that our preaching is not t.rue preaching. That is a
would be a mark of disobedience if it ceased charge that I do not wish to make. But,, I do under-
evangelism . . . if it ceased baptizing. It would be a stand what the question. means. We speak in our
mark of disobedience if it ceased celebrating the Lord's churches of practical and doctrinal preaching. And we
Supper. It would be a mark of disobedience if it ceased assume that doctrinal preaching is rather objective and
offering prayers. It would be a mark of disobedience if has little bearing on our everyday living, while practical
it ceased taking alms or otherwise helping the preaching is of a "lighter character" and relates to our
impoverished. It would be a mark of disobedience if it lives: That is a very wrong distinction to make and we
ceased pursuing justice and peace. But it would not ought to be done with it. There is no practice of the
necessarily be a mark of disobedience if it did not have Christian life apart from the doctrinal principles reveal-
a monologue address delivered in its worship services ed in the Scriptures. Doctrine is the basis of practice.
by someone ordained to give such addresses." Hence the only practical preaching possible is doctrinal
Woltersdorff goes on to assert that: " . . . it seems to preaching.


140                                             THE STANDARD BEARER



       At the same time, it must be said, that the task of    they believe in him whom they have not heard." In the
the preacher is to make clear to the congregation the         preaching, therefore, we do not hear of Jesus but we
practical implications of the various doctrines of the        hear Jesus Himself! We hear His voice, and hearing His
Scriptures. He must show the congregation week by voice we follow Him and are saved. That means it is
week what the doctrines mean for their everyday liv-          not merely wise to have preaching as a general practice
ing. This, by the way, is the difficult part of sermon-       in our worship along with other modes of communica-
izing and preaching! If the preacher fails to do this he      tion, but it means we cannot do without the preaching.
is failing in his holy task of preaching the Word. And        Preaching is indispensable to our salvation!
not only the youth, but also all others in the congrega-          That same precious truth is obvious from other
tion who feel that their preacher is failing should dis-      texts. Take, for example, II Cor. 5: 18-20, where we
cuss this with him at once.                                   read: "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled
       With these introductory remarks let us turn to the     us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the
Bible and our confessions to see what the Lord says ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in
about preaching. Then we can draw some conclusions            Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imput-
concerning what true Biblical preaching ought to be.          ing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed
       Jesus said in answer to the Jews who wanted Him        unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are
to tell them whether or not He was the Christ: ". . . I       ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you
told you and ye believed not: the works that I do in          by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled
my Father's name, they bear witness of me. But ye             to God." Here we learn that God has reconciled us,
believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said        brought us into harmony to Himself by Jesus Christ.
unto you. My sheep hear my voice and I know them              That is an accomplished fact. The good news of that
and they follow me: And I give them eternal life . . . ."     reconciliation, "the ministry of reconciliation" God
(John 10: 25-28) Without going into a detailed exegesis       has given to the Apostles. He has committed to them
of this passage let us notice that only the sheep of the word of reconciliation. And, therefore, they are
Jesus who are given (election) of the Father believe on       ambassadors for Christ through whom God beseeches
Him. These sheep hear the voice of Jesus, are known           us. This means that the Apostles were the official rep-
by Jesus, and follow Jesus. Thus they are given eternal       resentatives of Christ. They brought His Word and
life, i.e. they are saved. Now the point we wish to           spoke in His behalf ("we pray you in Christ's stead").
make is that according to this passage the sheep hear And the official Word of Christ which they brought is:
Jesus' voice. And only because they hear the voice of         "Be ye reconciled to God!"
Jesus do they follow Him. To put it very simply, one              The same may be said for preachers today. The
must be given of God (elected), and thus HEAR the             apostles, together with the prophets, with Christ as the
voice of Jesus in order to be given eternal life.             cornerstone, formed the foundation of the Church.
       The question then becomes, how do we hear Jesus' That means that when the Word of reconciliation was
voice? That the disciples heard Him is easily under-          committed to them it was committed to the Church
stood. But how do we hear His voice today? Jesus has          which sends, calls, and ordains the preachers. True
ascended to glory and no longer walks and talks among         preaching then is the official Word of Jesus Christ
us. Do we still hear His voice? We must, else we cannot       which proclaims the glad news of reconciliation by
be saved.                                                     God in Him.
       We do hear His voice. Jesus speaks to us and we            Our Reformed Confessions recognize this crucial
hear Him through the means of the preaching. Thisis           significance of preaching and give it its proper place.
plainly taught in Romans 10: 13-l 5: "For whosoever           The Heidelberg Catechism in Lord's Day 25, q. 65 says
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.          that faith comes from the Holy Spirit who works it in
How then shall they call on Him in whom they have             our hearts "by the preaching of the gospel, and con-
not believed? and how shall they believe in him of            firms it by the use of the sacraments." That same con-
whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear             fession in its exposition of the third commandment
without a preacher? and how shall they preach except          says in Lord's Day 35, q. 98, that God: ". . . will have
they be sent? . . .". Briefly, this passage tells us: that his people taught, not by dumb images, but by the
whosoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be             lively preaching of the word." In Lord's Day  31. the
saved, that one cannot call upon the name of the Lord         fathers cite preaching as one of the keys of the King-
unless he believes in him, that one cannot believe in         dom by which the Kingdom of heaven is opened to
the Lord unless he hears him, and that he cannot hear         believers and shut to unbelievers. Article 29 of the
the Lord without a preacher who is sent. This is plain        Belgic or Netherlands Confession of faith teaches that
as soon as we understand that the translation of this         preaching is one of the marks of the true church. And
text is erroneous. The little word "of" in the phrase:        in the Canons of Dordrecht, Head I, art. 3 we read:
"of whom they have not heard" does not appear in the          "And that men may be brought to believe, God merci-
original text. *The text should be read: "and how shall       fully sends the messengers of these most joyful tidings,


                                             THE STANDARD BEARER                                                  141



to whom he will and at what time he pleaseth; by salvation. Preaching is absolutely necessary for our sal-
whose ministry men are called to repentance and faith vation. We cannot get along without it. It is the means
in Christ crucified."                                        through which Christ speaks to us His powerful and
   While many more references to both the Bible and effective Word of salvation.
the confessions could be cited, these are sufficient to           We shall have more to say about this in our next
indicate the indispensable place of preaching for our article.


Studies in Election
                                            It's Origin
                                                     Continued

                                              Rev. Robt. C. Harbach

  In the previous article we saw that election has its       through Him and unto Him are all things (Rom.
origin, according to Scripture and one of the Reformed        11:36).
confessions, in the decree of God. The purpose or aim             Election is the great fountain out of which flows
of God's decree is His own glory. Since this is God's        every saving good. The source of the fountain is the
own ultimate end and aim which He has in mind, it            sovereign will of the triune God. We say "triune God,"
must also be man's chief end. There is no higher pur-        because all three persons of the trinity are involved.
pose or goal than the glory of God, and He will have         They are of the same one divine essence, and have but
nothing less than the highest (than himself) for man's one will. "He (the triune God) is in one mind, and who
aim. God must always be man's aim. He must have his          can turn Him? and whatsoever His soul desireth (wills)
sights always, unwaveringly, on God. So that when we         even that He doeth!" (Job 23:13). What God wills to
say that the chief end of man is to glorify God and          do, He does do. The will of God is not a mere part of
fully to enjoy Him forever, we do not mean that there        His divine nature, nor a mere objective effect of His
are other, but subordinate ends which God may have           determination, but "the will of God is the living God
or allow, or for which man may strive. There is only         himself willing."
this one sole end. Some theologians do speak of certain           Then, what we may say of God's will, we may say
lesser ends, such as the earning of temporal support,        also of divine election. That is, God's will is immu-
the acquisition of knowledge, the gratification of law- table. So is election. God never changes His will, al-
ful tastes and the furtherance of the welfare of society.    though He does will change. His will is one, and none
But the aim of earning temporal support is a legitimate      can divert Him from it. With Him, in His being, there is
one only if taken as a steward under God, that there no variation, nor shadow cast by turning (Jas. 1: 17).
may be made to Him an honest account of all en- His will is eternal, for the Word speaks of "His eternal
trusted. Then, and only then, will that earning be to purpose which He purposed in Christ" (Eph. 3: 11).
the glory of God. The mere acquisition of knowledge,         That His will and purpose are practically synonymous
as with mere earning of temporal support, is actually is plain from Eph.  1:5, 9,  11, where to be predesti-
nothing good of itself. Neither of these do necessarily nated according to the good pleasure of His  will  is
glorify God. Both may be and often are used to the           again expressed in these words, "being predestinated
glorification of man and the contempt of God. Acqui-         according to the purpose of Him." Also when we read
sition of knowledge is only an increase in wickedness,       of the revealing of His  will  according to His good
unless that knowledge is in the service of faith. If it is pleasure which He has purposed in Himself, this is not
not, it cannot be to God's glory. Then, lawful tastes,       fundamentally different from preordaining according
what are they, but only those which the law of God to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the
and the glory of God allow! What really is beneficial to     counsel of His own will.
the welfare of society? that which society itself deter-          God's will is the only absolutely free will, sover-
mines? or that which the aristocrats of society would eignly free. That must be quite evident from the pas-
dictate? or is it not rather the directives of God's re- sage just referred to in Ephesians 1. God's will is absol-
vealed will; nothing less! Therefore, we understand the utely free in the sphere of nature. He was not bound to
expression "chief end" to mean "exclusive end", as the create. He could do so, or not, as He chose. Choosing
metrical psalter has it, our "chief and only good." to create, He was perfectly free to do so whenever He
"The Lord hath made all things for himself" pleased, earlier or later than He did. (Yet, strictly
(Pro.  16:4), for His own end. For from Him and              speaking, it is absurd to think of God, ihhabiting.eter-


142                                            THE STANDARD BEARER



nity, doing anything either earlier or later.) Conceiv- circle. Nor can he escape it. But our basic presupposi-
ably, He may have made the earth smaller or larger tions are not neutral, as to whether there is or is not a
than it is. That He made it the size it is, was only         God. We presuppose God and His will as ultimate. We,
because that happens to be the best of all possibilities.    then, begin with God, and so are sure to end on safe,
No other determination in this regard could have been rational ground, with God, and not somewhere with-
better. But in making and realizing His determinations out Him or against Him.) So, because His love is ever-
He was irifluenced  by no considerations outside Him- lasting, His election is eternal. "I have loved thee with
self. That God should have made the whole universal an everlasting love, therefore with lovingkindness have
order "very good," and then should have ordained sin I drawn thee" (Jer. 3 1:3). His love from all eternity is
to come into the world, was not only all settled by          in sovereign choice of the persons loved in Christ.
God's decree, but was also for the best of things. He          At this point it may be seen that the infralapsarian
could have made a world without sin. It is difficult, if view of predestination at least cvz this point, is not the
not impossible, for carnal eye to see that any other most in harmony with Scripture. The infralapsarian
kind of world could possibly be for the best. But the        says that an object must exist before it can be loved;
reason why God created and then ordered sin into the that "God cannot love a non-entity." But certainly all
world is only to be ascribed to His own indisputable         God's people do exist, in His decree, and are not
will. Then divine .election  is sovereign and free. None     nonentities to Him. Many of them have not yet been
was His counsellor (Rom. 11:34) to advise Him how to objectivized in history with their physical and spiritual
form His purpose according to election (9: 11). God's being, yet His sovereign choice and love of them from
determinate counsel and foreknowledge was decreed in eternity makes them real to Him. But if the above
absolute sovereignty. "I will have mercy on whom I infralapsarian principle were true, then not only could
have mercy! and I will have compassion on whom I there be no justification from eternity but there could
have compassion!" (9: 15). It all emerges from God's be no love of God to His people from eternity. They
eternal good pleasure (Eph. 1:4, 5, 9, 11).                  are all in the eternal decree of God. There and then
  No one or nothing can get beyond or behind the will God loves them. Otherwise He could not love them
of God. God's will. is the origin, the continuance and from before the foundation of the world. He decreed
end of all things. From Him and through Him and to their existence even before He decreed the means and
Him are all things. From eternity the will of God deter- place of their existence.
mines creation, time, and what shall be in the world.          The origin of election is the sovereign will of God.
That is God decreeing. Providence, whatsoever comes The sole cause of election is the good pleasure and love
to pass, is God executing His decree. And this perfect of God (Canons I, 7, 10). The character of election is
decree and will of God is realized in love. His will that of grace. Being a gracious election it is spoken of
moves in the sphere of His being (its only limitation), as "the free grace of election" (I, 13, 15, 18). Scripture
which is love. Then God's decree of election comes mentions "the election of grace" (Rom. 11:5). Grace is
forth from electing love. Our confessions say that "the not the origin of election. Grace better fits in with the
good pleasure of God is the sole cause of this gracious end of election than with its beginning. Yet God's
election." Then a gracious election and election love grace is not an abstract from His will. Certainly His will
are certainly one and the same thing. The love of God is a gracious will. Yet the end of election is expressed
is the motive for election, as the Canons of Dordt state in the words, "to the praise of the glory of His grace"
when they refer to "the purpose of God according to (Eph.  1:6). The end of God's decree of election was
election . . . as it is written, `Jacob have I loved, but the magnifying of His grace. The phrase "the election
Esau have I hated' " (Rom. 9: 13). Election is there of grace". is therefore not to be understood as con-
described as God's "so great love towards" the elect (I, taining a genitive of cause or origin, but of quality or
13). The Word of God bears this out. God chose Israel character, as "the Sun of Righteousness," "the. shield
to be a special people to himself above all people. The of faith," and "the children of light." Divine election is
Lord did not set His love upon them, nor choose them         directly traceable to the invincible and indisputable
because they were more in number than any people, will of God. We are predestined according to the good
for they were the fewest of all people. But rather be- pleasure of His will (Eph. 1:5). He made known to us
cause the Lord loved them He chose them. He did the mystery of His will (1: 9), and did so "according to
both, the one the moving cause, the other the effect. His good pleasure which He purposed in himself." He
He loved them, therefore He chose them. Why did He works "all things after the counsel of His own will"
choose them? Because He  .loved them! Why did He (1: 11). "He doeth according to His will in the army of
love them? Because He loved them, that is, because He heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth"
willed to love them. (Does this sound like reasoning in (Dan  4:35). God wills himself the ever blessed IGod,
a circle? Then let it be understood that every thinker perfect in all His attributes. His wisdom is infinite, yet
begins and takes each step in his reasoning process by a sovereign act of His will He determines the exer-
from basic presuppositions. He, therefore, has his own cise and the manifestation of it (I Cor. 1: 19-21). God


                                              THE STANDARD BEARER                                                   143



is merciful, but He has mercy on whom He will. God is mete justice directly upon the sinner or through a
uncompromisingly just, yet His will decides He shall Representative.                         (To be continued, D. V.)


                                   B O O K   R E V I E W S

WHOSE LAND IS  PALESTlNE?,  by Frank H. Epp,                  two-fold viewpoint: one is the viewpoint of ecumen-
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1970; 283 pp., $3.95          ism; and in this connection recent decisions by Vatican
(paw-).                                                       II, by COCU, and by the WCC's Faith and Order Com-
  This book is an attempt to solve the vexing prob-           mission on this problem are discussed. The second
lems of the Middle East in a Christian context. The           approach is the approach of the relevance of the
author claims to find the solutions to the perpetual          Church in today's world. On the jacket appears this
struggle between Jews and Arabs in the Christian re-          quote: "How can the church, as it lives and functions,
ligion. The trouble is that his conception of the truth       be more open to the work of God in its midst, in its
of Scripture is not very accurate. The value of the           worship, in its statement of the faith, and in its minis-
book is in the vast amount of historical material lead-       try in the world?"
ing up to the present crisis. Necessary reading for all         While the book has considerable historical material
who wish to understand the roots of the conflict.             in it and while it offers some worthwhile analyses of
                                                     H.H.     modern trends in the field of church polity, the author
                                                              is too ready to sacrifice the principles of presbyterian
THE DEAD SEA SCROLLS,  by Menahem Mansoor;                    church polity as founded on the Scriptures in the in-
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1967; 210 pp.,                terest of furthering ecumenicity and of making the
$4.00.                                                        Church a more effective influence in the world.
  Written in outline form to be used as a college text                                                            H.H.
and study guide, this book contains a wealth of ma-
terial on all aspects of the Dead Sea Scrolls. It is espe-    ONE MOMENT WITH GOD, by Edward L. R. Elson;
cially recommended for students of textual criticism          Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1970; 192 pp., $1.95
and for those who are interested in the more technical        (paper>
aspects of these important documents.                           The book contains an extremely short devotional
                                                     H.H.     paragraph for each day of the year with a suggested
                                                              Scripture reading and a short prayer. Here too the
THE HOLY SPIRIT, by Arthur W. Pink; Baker Book                emphasis is almost completely on a superficial morality
House, 1970; 193 pp., $3.95.                                  with little that is worthwhile or that leads to a fuller
  This is a reprint by a popular author who has gained        knowledge of God's revelation in Christ as recorded in
a reputation over the years for his strict Calvinism. The     Scripture.
book is primarily of devotional value, has strong mysti-                                                         H.H.
cal tendencies in some parts of it, and is not always as
Calvinistic as one would like. Nevertheless, Pink always
makes for excellent reading and the book is recom-                              ANNOUNCEMENT
mended to all our readers. For those who have read              Classis East of * the Protestant Reformed `Churches
other books by Pink, this book will not be a disappoint-      will meet, D.V., Wednesday, January 6, 1971, at 9:00
ment; for those who have not made the acquaintance            A.M. in the Hope Protestant Reformed Church.
of this author, this book is an excellent place to start.                                               -Stated Clerk
                                                     H.H.
                                                                                    NOTICE! ! !
REFORMED BISHOPS  & CATHOLIC ELDERS,  by                        All present and past Office Bearer's PLEASE attend
Eugene P. Heideman; Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.,           our next Conference! This meeting is to be held, the
1970; 267 pp., $6.95.                                         Lord willing, on Tuesday evening, January 5, 197 1, at
  Aware of the fact that traditional views of church          8 P.M., in the Hope Protestant.Reformed Church. Rev.
polity, especially views of the offices in the Church,        G. Van Baren will speak on the subject - "The Individ-
are undergoing re-examination, the author addresses           ual Consistory's Responsibility in Giving Information
his study in this book to the question of whether tradi-      to their Congregation in regard to their Disciplinary
tional ecclesiastical structures are to be preserved in       Cases."
our modern day. The question is approached from a                                            John N. Dykstra, Sec'y.


  THE STANDARD BEARER
         P.O. Box 6064
 Grand Rapids, Michigan 49506


 -144                                          THE STANDARD BEARER



                                 News From Our Churches

    At the annual Congregational meeting of Grand with the students of our school in Doon also attending,
 Rapids' Hope Church, held on November 27, Rev. C. and with Rev. Engelsma, pastor at Loveland, as guest
 Hanko was called to be minister, from a trio consisting speaker. One could probably be excused for calling
 of Rev. C. Hanko, Rev. J. Heys, and Rev. B. Wouden-          that togetherness.
 berg. By the time you read this, Southwest will also                                 *****
 have chosen a minister at their December 4 Congrega-           Then there's the speech by Rev. Heys, given at the
tional meeting.                                               fall meeting of the Mr. and Mrs. League. His topic was
                          * * `* * *                          "Training Our Youth in Covenant Distinctiveness." He
    Southwest Church, by the way, has recently organ- began by reminding those in his audience that they
 ized a Choral Society which will present its first pro- were in the most important period of their married life
 gram on Sunday evening, January 3, at 9: 00 in the - the time in which they must teach and train their
 church auditorium. Perhaps their former pastor will be children in covenant faithfulness. He mentioned that,
 in attendance, for we read that Rev. Lubbers expects because of the fact that we are living in days of rapid
 "to be home here for a brief visit beginning on Dec. development of sin, the task is harder for them than it
 21."                                                         was for their parents, and would, no doubt, be still
                          *****                               more difficult for their children. The task is difficult,
    From our school in Edgerton, Minnesota, we have he stated, because, by virtue of the fact that corrupt
 some news of interest, gleaned from the "Northern stock brings forth a corrupt offspring, the simple fact is
 Lights," seasonal news bulletin of the Free Christian that every child born into this world is born an urzbe-
 School. The school, incidentally, is currently under the Zievev.  They, therefore, lust for the things of the world.
 administration of Mr. Tom De Vries, formerly of Our children are, by nature, no different than children
 Grand Rapids. According to Mr. De Vries,  Edgerton of the world. But, thanks be to God, we can say more
 was the site, on Nov. 6 & 7, of what might be called a than that. Besides being children of  OUY sinful flesh,
 regional Protestant Reformed Teachers' Institute Con- they are also born of the Spirit of God. There is, there-
 vention. The Convention was attended by "the six fore, in them the desire to ask, "Lord, what wilt thou
 teachers from our three western schools, Misses have me to do?" and at the same time an attitude
 Beverly Hoekstra and Barbara Zandstra from Loveland, characterized by, "Who is the Lord, that I should obey
 Mr. John Kalsbeek and Mrs. Walter Fair from Doon, His voice?" But it is precisely because they have the
 and Mr. and Mrs. Tom De Vries." Several ministers new life, that they carz be trained.
 were also, at least part of the time, in attendance  -         Very important, in this training, Rev. Heys men-
 Rev. C. Hanko, Rev. Kortering, and Rev. Lanting spent tioned, is instruction by  example.  Children must not
 some time there.                                             only be  told  what to do, but shown how to do it.
    At the first session of the convention, the western Mothers, for example, who wear short minis, cannot
 teachers shared, by means of tape recordings, part of expect their children to get as far away as possible
 the program of the convention of the eastern teachers. from that sin. "Sin in which the parents walk, their
 The forum of The Christian and Ecology, presented at children run."
 Hope School by Mr. John Buiter, Mr. Tom Newhof,                We've probably already passed our space limit so
 and Prof. H. Hanko, was taped at the request of the we'll just add his concluding remarks. In spite of the
 western teachers. This tape, then, was the basis for disappointments and failures on our part, as parents,
 discussion in the first meeting at Edgerton. In another we count it a blessed privilege that God is using us as
 of the meetings, "Mr. Kalsbeek gave a talk on indi- his chisel, with which He forms this people to Himself.
 vidualized reading." Mr. De Vries writes that "the rest                              *****
 of the time was spent in discussing other areas of Chris-      Did you know that our church in  Redlands was
 tian instruction." And, further, "We are thankful to broken into on Thanksgiving Day and relieved of about
 God for the opportunity of meeting as Protestant Re- $600?                           *****
 formed teachers, and felt it was profitable to  all:We         Note to editor-in-chief  - Why don't you delete a
 hope that this may become an annual event."                  paragraph from somebody else's column this time, so
    Further along in the same newsletter, we find that that all of mine can fit in?
 plans are being made for a chapel exercise in Edgerton,                                                          D.D.


