Editorial Postscripts

Jealously!—Professional jeal­ousy is a ruinous, selfish, unchristian thing. It thwarts that divinely ordained unity which mutual confidence and support alone makes possible. And it hampers that rightfully ex­pected progress that is conditioned upon such a heart unity. Whether professional jealousy shows its ugly face among musicians or his­tory teachers, Bible teachers or editors, preachers or Bible workers, it is alike alien to Christian principle and profession, and is hostile to the welfare of the advent move­ment. We must counteract this corrosive in­fluence in our own personal lives and attitudes by letting divine love and self-effacement neutralize this unseemly spirit that springs from beneath.

Vital!—In sacred music, beau­tiful is not synonymous with spiritual. An anthem may be beautifully and harmonically written. It may conform to all the laws of the world's musical artistry, both as to score and words. It may satisfy all the demands of the esthetic music critic—and yet be as but "sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal," so far as spiritual life, love, and power in this mes­sage is concerned. If it lacks the spiritual fire that burns its way through sin, indiffer­ence, and unbelief, it is like a cold piece of sculpture without the vital spark of life. It may be beautiful esthetically, but dead and powerless spiritually. It can never move the soul. The true gospel hymn or message song is the testimony of grace finding effective ut­terance. It releases transforming power. Let us both use and demand vital sacred music in our churches and in our evangelistic efforts.

Democratic!—In democratic church government, as well as in civil state, a longer time is required to achieve legislative action and results than in centralized forms of administration, which are notoriously efficient. The majority of duly elected representatives must, in actual democracy, be persuaded that a given course is right. There must be pa­tience with those who are slow to see, and consideration for those who cannot see. The rights of minorities must be protected. Such a procedure necessitates willingness to take the slower way in order to gain general sup­port in making measures effective. And it also necessitates being satisfied, at times, with less than might be desired. It is necessary to find the middle of the road which the over­whelming majority will approve, rather than to press through an action with a bare ma­jority which leaves many dissatisfied and apathetic, or even opposed. To "jam through" a measure in such fashion is contrary to all democratic processes, and is dangerous to the democratic form of church government. This fundamental, which we recognize, should never be forgotten.

Repentance!—Genuine re­pentance for sin, offensive to God and man, never manifests itself in extenuating excuses and self-justification, in raillery against ap­pointed leaders of the church charged with the discipline of violators of the recognized stand­ards and codes of the church, or in unworthy countercharges against others, thus to divert attention from one's own delinquencies. True repentance, leading to repudiation and hatred of sin, never seeks personal reinstatement through threats of others' exposure, attempted intimidation, or kindred tricks. Such unchris­tian tactics are not the fruits of the Spirit, or the product of real repentance. They reveal a tragic failure to sense the exceeding sinfulness of sin, and evince a lack of godly fear of the all-consuming righteousness of God.

Charity!—No cleavage must be permitted to intrude between the field ministry and the Bible-teaching fraternity. The one group should never allow itself to charge the other with creating difficulties and causing unfortunate trends. Censure of the field workers by the teachers, for example, as to emotionalism, superficiality, or carelessness of evidential citation is unbecoming. And on the part of the field workers, suspicion of our teaching group as to uncertainty concerning our distinguishing beliefs is equally disastrous. Neither can successfully employ the methods of the other in his own distinctive field. It would be catastrophic to try it. That there are obvious weaknesses and shortcomings in our work, the candid observer must admit. Occasions for criticism are not all on one side. We all need to watch our steps, to guard our expressions, to check our citations, to ponder our emphasis, and to improve our ministerial technique. But confidence in one another and in our common objectives is imperative. The world is destined to become increasingly hos­tile to all of us. We must stand together and support one another as we never have in the past, helping to correct our mutual weaknesses, and particularly our own trends and short-comings.

L. E. F.