Christendom has come suddenly to realize that Christian religion is faced with the gravest peril in its history. The strongly humanistic and materialistic teachings of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, which had even begun to taint the tenets of Christianity, are now blossoming out into a pagan secularism, which is manifest in strong nationalistic programs. If this tendency were to continue, it would not be long before the Christian church would occupy a very minor position in the world.
Christian leaders in many lands are studying this question in an effort to find out what can be done about it. As we have noted, men everywhere are declaring that more emphasis must be placed upon religion than hitherto. We must not be too sure, they say, that man can work everything out for himself without the guidance of God. We must not exalt the human above the divine, or the material above the spiritual.
President Roosevelt, in his address to Congress on the state of the nation, in January, 1939, called attention to the need of religion and its defense in the following words:
"There comes a time in the affairs of men when they must prepare to defend not their homes alone, but the tenets of faith and humanity on which their churches, their governments, and their very civilization are founded. The defense of religion, of democracy, and of good faith among nations is all the same fight. To save one we must now make up our minds to save all."—Washingtom Star, Jan. 4, 1939.
It is no ordinary thing for the President of the United States to introduce the subject of religion in an address to Congress, in connection with a discussion of military defense. Many government leaders have recently called attention to the thought that religion (meaning, of course, the Christian religion) is democracy's greatest bulwark. Attorney General Frank Murphy, in an article, "The Return of Religion," states: "Our people want to keep democracy. . . . And because of the events of the past ten years, they are coming to a new realization that the only way to preserve democracy is through religion."— Religious Digest, August, 1939.
The term "moral rearmament" is now on many lips. Leaders in government, in business, and in the professions, are declaring that what is needed is "moral rearmament" instead of military rearmament, and that democracy may crumble if it depends on guns and battleships alone.
David Lawrence, editor of the United States News, writes an editorial appeal to the churches regarding "Moral Rearmament," in which he says :
"'Moral rearmament' is a challenging phrase which has caught the imagination of people in many lands. It is neither pacifism nor nonresistance. It is rather an affirmative approach to the solution of the bewildering problems of mankind."
"'Moral rearmament,' to be effective in America, must have more back of it than the Oxford Group. It must have the support of all churches and creeds, all races and groups. For we well may ask of what avail is any layman's movement if the churches of America pass it indifferently by ?
"Has not the time come for churches to give evidence of their own tolerance and capacity for love of neighbor'? Will it be said that churches care more for their jurisdictional theologies than they do for the great work of succoring mankind in this hour of travail? Is there any justification for locking ourselves up in denominations when there is an epidemic of paganism and disbelief, ravaging the world ?"—United States News, May 8, 1939.
It is very significant that a newspaperman feels that he must call upon the churches to exercise their function, as spiritual leaders. There are many men today, both inside and outside the churches, who believe that some new spiritual movement must take hold upon the masses, and especially be manifest among national and business leaders, if we are to be delivered from the grave dangers that face Christendom at this time.
In any discussion of the need of the hour, two words are outstanding—union and revival. In order to save the world from an inundation of paganism, the Christian churches must come together in closer cooperation. There must be greater unity. Then there must be a greater revival of faith and Christian living, which will make itself manifest in council chambers and in national life. Some are' declaring that the dangers that beset Christianity today may be the very means by which the churches are brought together in a common defense. There is a mass of material that reveals a growing pressure upon the churches to come to some terms by which they may be able to face the world with a "united front." Notice the following voices lifted for a united front:
"Philadelphia.—The 'united front' of Catholics, Protestants, and Jews against dangers which threaten all faiths has been made the outstanding news of 1938, in the opinion of two nationally known clergymen here. . . . Dr. Daniel A. Poling, president of the World Christian Endeavor Society and editor of the Christian Herald, believes that 'Catholics, Protestants, and Jews have found common ground. Religion remains today as the one and only organized force that declares a steadfast protest against the iniquities of totalitarianism.'—Religious News Service, Jan. 16, 1939.
"New York.—. . . Declaring that the dictatorships are 'putting more new life into religion than any event in a hundred years,' Doctor Clinchy [director of the National Conference of Christians and Jews] asserted that 'never before in the United States has religion been so earnestly discussed as the essential in people's lives as today.' "—Id., Jan. 23, 1939.
"Seattle.—A monthly, The United Moral Front, designed to foster Protestant, Roman Catholic, and Jewish cooperation 'against racial hatred, class consciousness, and sectarianism,' has made its first appearance here."—Id., March 25, 1939.
"Minneapolis, Minn.—In a display of unity pronounced unique in history, nearly 50,000 Catholic and Protestant men, led by an archbishop, a bishop, and a score of priests and ministers, presented a solid front of religious protest against world ills of the day, with a 'Demonstration of Christian Manpower' at the Municipal Auditorium here, March 19." —Ibid.
"New York.—A detailed program for the promotion of understanding and cooperation among Protestant, Catholic, and Jewish students in more than r,000 colleges and universities throughout the country has been developed by the recently organized College Work Department of the National Conference of Christians and Jews."—Id., March 27, 1939.
"Princeton, N.J.—A 'united front between Christians and Jews' for the purpose of combating . . . paganism which is trying to disrupt Christianity' was called for by Dr. John A. Mackay, president of the Princeton Theological Seminary, in a report of his recent study trip to Europe."—/d., April 29, 1939.
"Buffalo.—A plea for all religious groups who believe in God, whether Catholic, Protestant, or Jewish, to cooperate in preserving the moral standards of society, was voiced here by the Most Reverend John A. Duffy, Catholic bishop of Buffalo."—Id., July 22, 1939.
Dr. Emil Brunner, famous German theologian, is reported as saying in a lecture at Princeton Theological Seminary: "'The church of today faces a life-and-death struggle in which either a totalitarian Christianity or a totalitarian government is the issue.' . . . To achieve this 'Christian goal,' . . . 'all minor differences separating the sects must be forgotten.' "—Religious Digest, May, 1939.
In an editorial on 'Spiritual Progress," which appeared in the Washington Star, we read:
"The pressure of hostile forces upon both Catholic and Protestant churches is bringing them together in defense of a single concept of Christian fellowship, in protection of institutions sacred to all disciples of the Crucified Carpenter of Galilee, regardless of traditional sectarian differences."—November 27, 1938.
Thomas E. Dewey, district attorney of New York, states: "The need of the world today is for vigorous spiritual strength, flowing from divine guidance. The day is at hand when all men must unite and fight invasion by pagan ideals."—Religious Digest, July, 1939.
These quotations are sufficient to make us understand the widespread demand for a "united front" among the churches. Many uniting movements are now being promoted —both interdenominational union, such as the Methodists recently carried out; and interfaith union, such as the World Council of Churches suggests.
After surveying the results of the Oxford Conference held in 1937, Dr. Adolf Keller, in his book "Five Minutes to Twelve," states some strong conclusions. Says he: "It is five minutes to twelve even in the religious situation in the present world." "A sectarian attitude is a denial of the Holy Spirit." Concerning the fellowship to be found in the ecumenical movement, he declares:
"To refuse such fellowship is dangerous at a moment when the forces of evil unite the world over. In the battle between Christ and antichrist, there is no excuse for Christians to hold aloof. When a 'noble knight apologized before a British king for not having been with him in a certain battle, the king said, "Hang yourself ! We fought at Argues—and you were not there!" "Woe to those who prefer their own Private warfare to the decisive battle for and against the cause of Christ! Woe to them who are not there when they are needed.' "— Id., pp. 118, 120, 121. (Italics mine.)
The call is going out from many quarters for a great religious revival. The American Mercury, in an article, "Broadway Tries God," reviews recent tendencies in Broadway theater plays, and concludes:
"The world is sick. . . . The feeling that economic and political medicine is not enough, that the malady is not alone of the body, but the soul, asserts itself above the clamor.. The theater offers impressive proof of this fact."—,April, 1939.
Norman Vince Peale, radio preacher, states : "It appears that the time is ripe in America for a spiritual revival of historic proportions. This desire for religious reality is not cursory, but earnest and serious."—Religious Digest, January, 1939. The editor of the Christian Advocate, Harold Paul Sloan, feels assured that a great revival is in the making. He says:
"Once the authority of Christian truth has been restored, nothing will be able to stop the sweep of religious and moral quickening which must follow." —Christian Advocate, Feb. 2, 1939.
"I prophesy that the New Orthodoxy will sweep Humanism before it, and that we will be in the midst of a tide of revival power probably within the present decade."—Id., Nov. 10, 1938.
The "Lord's Day" Observance
It is significant that the editor of the Christian Advocate believes that the "Christian observance of the Lord's day" would aid in this revival, and speedily restore the world to stability. He declares :
"If we could stop the rush of life; if we could still its clamor of excitement; if we could get men to know that Christ is a fact, and that eternity is more sure than tomorrow morning; if we could get them to lay hold of these values, intellectually, morally, personally—if we could do these things, we would have saved civilization.
"The open doorway into all these things is the Christian observance of the Lord's day. If I were a Christian statesman, I would be more interested in a Christian observance of the Lord's day than in battleships. If I were an educator, f would be more interested in the Christian observance of the Lord's day than in a thousand college extension courses."—Id., Aug. 25, 1938. (Italics mine.)
Roger A.V. Babson, noted statistician and observer, stated in the Reltgious Digest of May, 1939:
"Sunday observance bears a most intimate relation to all the ideals for which our Christian civilization stands. . . Whatever may happen to our Sunday morning church services, or to our man-made creeds, or to our missionary movements, I am absolutely convinced that Sunday observance will again be returned to as a definite necessity."
The prophetic picture of religious trends in the last days is now being developed with clearer and clearer perspective. That which has been revealed through the Scriptures and the Spirit of prophecy is taking shape and form before our eyes. The next article will consider this prophetic picture.
Ecumenical Church Developing
"From the standpoint of the church as a whole, and especially of Protestantism, a star of hope is shining which was absent from the sky of 1914. Then there was nothing that we could call an ecumenical church. In 1939 the ecumenical spirit is here and an ecumenical structure is in the making. A wider and a deeper sense of fellowship has been born. In spite of national, racial, and denominational frontiers the churches know today something of the church, the una sancta, and experience some real measure of Christian communion which cannot be broken even by war.
"Although the war has arrived before the World Council of Churches has come fully into being, it has at least a preliminary organization in a provisional committee which includes representatives not only of the neutral peoples but also of the peoples whose governments are at war. It has headquarters in Geneva ; its secretariat includes churchmen of three neutral nations and also of Germany and of England. In 1914 all contacts between the churches of countries at war were broken, but now there is good reason to believe that channels of communication between the different branches of the church will not be altogether closed. That is something new in the history of Protestantism."
Baptist View of Church Union
"Spiritual unity is of Christ ; ecclesiastical union is of man. The former we will promote with all our might ; the latter we will approach with definite safeguards. In church history the former has been sacrificed to achieve the latter. Saints possessed of divine counsel have been martyred because they dissented from unchristian rulings of church overlords.
"Why was John Bunyan kept in prison so many years ? Was it not because the rulers of a preponderant but dead church could not stand his spiritual enlightenment and independence of man-made hierarchies? . . . It was a strong, 'united' church which drove dissenting Roger Williams into the wilderness; . . . that inspired the pillorying of dissenters, and even burned at the stake believers called Quakers. Only one hundred fifty years ago in Virginia those who put ecclesiastical union and supremacy above spiritual freedom were dragging Baptist preachers from their pulpits into jail, confiscating their properties, and covering the martyrs with contumely. Knowing ecclesiastical history to be what it is, what fools we would be to forget it all now.
"Whenever ecclesiastical organizations achieve bigness and power, there is always enough politics available to place ambitious leaders in authoritative positions. It is happening even now. In one great denomination, spiritual believers have been dispossessed of their church properties. Although they are the children of God by faith in Christ, and have kept up those properties by their own gifts to the Lord, yet they are disowned and dispossessed because of their,. dissent. Even in our day, spiritual unity is broken into fragments to preserve ecclesiastical union."