The events of 1953 show unmistakably the religious trends toward more cooperative efforts on the part of the various religious groups, particularly of Protestantism, Catholicism, and Spiritism. The increasing prestige and power of the Catholic Church in America is ominous. The antireligious liberty moves indicate the coming showdown. All of these events constitute a tremendous challenge to Seventh-day Adventists. Destiny is paging the remnant church, calling for the birth of the last reformation, for Christendom's revival hour has struck. These times and our message were made for each other, and ours is a threefold, God given message addressed to the whole human race, the object of which is to guide the faithful remnants of all faiths out of confusion into God's remnant church. As we review a few of the high lights in the religious world of 1953, let us remember that the message of Revelation 14 is the only message that clarifies the global issues confronting modern civilization, the only message that prepares people to survive the judgment of history.
This Godgiven, interdenominational, international, and personal message is free from the sincompromising philosophies of this sinsaturated age. In the final impact of religious tyranny two world views will con front each other in global conflict: beast worship and Creator worship. We are a people of destiny because of the message we have, and a review of some of the events of 1953 must force upon our consciousness the fact that this is the hour for Adventist living on a higher plane and Adventist action with a zeal balanced by religious conviction and knowledge of God's will for us in such a time as this.
Cooperation and Union
The religious atmosphere in which 1953 dawned was highlighted by the naming of twenty-four new cardinals by Pope Pius XII, which brought the sacred college of cardinals back to its full strength of seventy.
At the same time the Protestant world had recently heard the impassioned plea of Harry Emerson Fosdick, calling upon Protestant ism to "do everything possible to cooperate with the best in Roman Catholicism." Fos dick declared that such cooperation was necessary "for the sake of our nation and the world," and asserted that such cooperation would make Protestantism a more "dynamic, forward-looking movement." While some religious leaders were calling strongly for closer cooperation with Rome, other Protestant clergymen and Catholic clergymen were bemoaning the in crease in Protestant-Catholic tension. Most clergymen are of the opinion that if Catholics become a majority in the United States they will strongly influence the American society toward less-democratic procedures and principles. Obviously this conviction has been strengthened by the increasing power and prominence of Catholics in national politics.
The Catholic Church has strengthened its hold in the large cities of the United States, and the Vatican stated in 1953 that it has achieved a reconversion of 1,049,999 Protestants to Roman Catholicism in the United States within the past ten years. Since World War II it is claimed that Catholics have been opening 150 to 200 churches a year. Subscribers to Roman Catholic news papers and magazines in the United States and Canada, the church claims, have now reached a record of 19,798,262. The Roman Catholics in the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii, now number 30,425,- 015, or some 1,017,495 more than the total reported in 1952. These figures are based on the newly published official Catholic Directory and include baptized children. The strongest ecumenical Protestant group, the National Council of Churches, which is comprised of thirty denominations, totals 35,443,025. This is the largest functional religious body in America, and the Roman Catholic group of thirty million plus is the second largest. Thus we find a very strong voting majority of religious people within the Protestant ecumenical groups and the Roman Catholic Church.
Even the more fundamental groups of Protestantism are now calling for closer cooperation with Romanism. Disciples of Christ were told at their nineteenth annual convention for their churches of New York and New Jersey, "We must break down a great deal of stupid Protestant pride which is keeping us from approaching our friends in the Roman Catholic Church." The speaker was Dr. William Robinson, professor of theology in the School of Religion at Butler University, Indianapolis. At the Forty-second General Convention of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod in Houston, Texas, 792 out of the 800 delegates rejected a resolution that would have identified the Pope of the Roman Catholic Church as the Antichrist referred to in 2 Thessalonians 2. While Rome has taken many strides for ward toward the revival of its supremacy, there have been interesting factors in opposition. Recent statistics reported in 1953 show that about two thousand Roman Catholic priests have left the church in France since 1945 and have organized themselves into the Bereans and are carrying on energetic propaganda to encourage others to leave the Catholic communion; that is, particularly the clergy of that faith.
The World Council of Churches marked in 1953 the fifth anniversary of its founding. During 1953 the trend toward church union continued. Without a dissenting vote the general assemblies of three Presbyterian denominations agreed to study a plan of union, which, if adopted, would combine them into one church of 3,500,000 member's. Plans were laid for a conference of ten Lutheran bodies to consider unity, but the plans were postponed for at least a year.
Spiritualism
The ninth annual convention of the Federation of Spiritualist Churches and Associations was held in Washington, D.C., in 1953. The spiritualists adopted a social platform for the first time, demanding among other things freedom of religious thought and expression. Thirty States now recognize Spiritualism as a legitimate religion. The organization is out to win legal status in the remaining States. Spiritualists are endeavoring to disassociate their faith from fortunetelling, palm reading, and other practices that have not been endorsed by the Federation. Many churchmen, while still retaining their denominational affiliations in other denominations, have become members of various spiritualistic churches and associations.
Religious Liberty
The worldwide battle for religious freedom continues. During 1953 the National Council of Churches opposed American diplomatic relations with the Vatican and unanimously adopted a resolution to that effect that had been taken by the general board of the council. This resolution was voted on by the General Assembly in Denver, Colorado. Roman Catholic archbishops and bishops of the United States at their annual meeting in Washington, D.C., reported an "encouraging trend" toward cooperation be tween church and state in the United States "rather than absolute separation." It was asserted that the trend was evident in a number of United States Supreme Court decisions in cases involving religious questions. Charles H. Tuttle, head of a group of attorneys who had successfully defended the New York Released Time Religious Education program, asserted that the Supreme Court decision in its favor no longer interpreted the First Amendment of the Constitution as establishing a church-state separation wall, as previous decisions had maintained. Tuttle says that the First Amendment "does not say that in every and all respects there shall be a separation of Church and State."
While the Catholic Church was enjoying its freedom in this country, its clergymen elsewhere were calling for suppression of Protestantism in other lands. Pedro Cardinal Segura y Saenz, archbishop of Seville, Spain, issued a pastoral letter calling for suppression of the Protestant "propaganda" literature, which he described as a "horrible plague." The Rome attorney of the Assemblies of God stated at that denomination's twenty-fifth national convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that Assemblies of God churches in Italy are being taxed out of existence because the government fears the rapid growth of the Pentecostal sect. A committee of the Federal Council of Italian Evangelical Churches charged in Rome that the Italian Government was applying old Fascist laws regulating Protestants, rather than adhering to the guarantees of religious freedom that were made in the postwar constitution. Late in 1953, however, the
Supreme Court of Italy handed down a decision upholding the rights guaranteed in the postwar constitution and declaring "automatically abrogated" the former Fascist laws. It was hoped that this would lead to the improvement of the situation of Protestant groups in Italy. During 1953 a joint committee of the New York State Legislature rejected a proposal that persons who observe Saturday as the Sabbath be permitted to conduct their businesses on Sunday. Two of the commit tee's seven members filed a dissenting minority report. A remarkable victory for religious liberty was won in Canada's Supreme Court. The Court ruled that Jehovah's Witnesses can distribute their literature anywhere in that country without obtaining permission from local authorities. It is significant that a Roman Catholic justice, Patrick Kerwin, cast the vote that swung the decision in favor of the Jehovah's Witnesses. Increasing Interest in Religion President Eisenhower's pastor, Dr. Ed ward L. R. Elson, of the National Presbyterian church in Washington, declared in a speech in Columbus, Ohio, that the President's regular attendance at Sunday church services has made him a symbol of "a great religious reawakening." Dr. Elson asserted that "we are in the beginning of a moral resurrection and a spiritual awakening on a very large scale."
Again we would emphasize that Christendom's revival hour has struck, and it is time that Adventists awakened to the great opportunity and challenge that is theirs at this particular period of human history. This is the day for which we were born. Statistical trends in religion seem to bear out the assertion of the President's pastor. Church membership in the United States is now in the neighborhood of ninety-three million. Nearly 60 per cent of Americans, three out of every five, are now members of religious bodies. The statistics for the 1953 Yearbook of American Churches place the figure at 92,277,129 as the total at the close of the year 1952. 1952 also marked the largest total contributions made by Americans to religious organizations, a total of $1,401,114,217.
While tithing on the part of many people within the Protestant faiths seems to be rapidly coming back into practice as a means of supporting the church, Seventh-day Adventists have in some respects become less liberal than heretofore. They are no longer the leading denomination in per capita average giving. The Free Methodist Church set a new high in per capita giving during the year 1952, making an average annual contribution of f 194.79 per member. Seventh-day Adventists came second with a per capita of f 168.55. These facts were released in the figures of the various denominations during 1953. Evangelistic missions were sponsored by many of the great churches with encouraging results. Methodists claimed a new record for denominational nationwide evangelistic campaigns by winning 16,010 new members in a two-week mission in the State of Michigan. Major emphasis of the Methodist Church in 1954 and 1955 will be on recruiting youth. This two-year program was launched on December 31, 1953. The sixth World Congress on Evangelism sponsored by the Youth for Christ Inter national, which opened in Tokyo with more than one thousand delegates from all over Japan, broke up at its close into two hundred evangelistic teams with five or six men each, and these went forth throughout the country. This was hailed as one of the greatest Christian evangelism campaigns ever held. The Church of the Brethren spearheaded more than forty preaching missions during the year.
The Southern Baptist Convention churches in twenty-two States made preparations for an all-out effort to enroll one million new members in their Sunday schools during 1954. Their slogan is "A Million More in Fifty-four." What was probably one of the largest religious congregations in recent recorded history was that of 75,349 who attended Billy Graham's evangelistic meeting in the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas. A record crowd of 110,000 persons jammed the cricket grounds in Sydney, Australia, for a rally climaxing the Family Rosary Crusade conducted in New South Wales by Father Patrick Peyton, C.S.C., of Albany, New York. The eight-day convention of the New World Society Assembly of Jehovah's Witnesses at Yankee Stadium in New York found 116,800 Witnesses gathered on the final day the largest religious gathering in the United States, as claimed by the Jehovah's Witnesses, topping Billy Graham's record. In a public swimming pool 4,640 Jehovah's Witnesses were baptized, another record. Adventist High Lights for 1953 Modern trends in the religious world indicate the great necessity for Adventist action on a scale hitherto unknown. If ours is to be a dynamic faith, a rallying center for the faithful of all faiths, we cannot let others outlive us. We must live a positive faith and not merely a negation of certain harmful things. Ours must be a dynamic religion, a powerful influence in the lives of our neighbors and friends, a unified effort toward evangelism and conquest for the name of Christ. Merely reporting great advances statistically is not adequate.
The personal living of each member is vital in times like this. We will briefly review a few of the high lights given in correspondence from the various General Conference departments. The Home Missionary Department reports total Ingathering to the end of November, 1953, at $3,760,035.41. Adventist welfare groups in North America distributed 2,000,612 articles of clothing during the first three quarters of 1953, and literature evangelism showed an encouraging in crease. During one of the three division-wide home visitation days, on June 6, a reprint of Arthur Maxwell's article on "What Is a Seventh-day Adventist?" from the March 10, 1953, Look magazine, was circulated. The total reprint order came to 7,012,500, the largest reprint order in the history of the publishing business. Look magazine received the award for religious writing from the Laymen's Movement for a Christian World on the basis of its articles on the various religious faiths. J. R. Ferren reports that Seventh-day Adventists probably have more news and a larger variety of news than any other church organization, and that the efforts to publicize these news activities in the public press have met with encouraging results in 1953. During 1953 Time magazine carried a wonderful story about H.M.S. Richards and the Voice of Prophecy. Articles in Time, Life, and Fortune publicized the gift of the Harris Pine Mills, which brought before millions of people the teachings of the denomination concerning tithing, the Sabbath, and other points of faith held by Brother Harris. The youth congress in San Francisco was well publicized. The Press Bureau reports a very favorable press relationship also in other countries of the earth.
The Adventist people are becoming more publicity-minded in seeking to proclaim their message in every possible way to the peoples of the world. The Pan-American Youth Congress was, of course, a high light in the activities of the youth of our denomination. Its climax was the introduction of the new Outpost Evangelism emphasis, which was enthusiastically received by thousands of youth. Outpost Evangelism is the My guiding star for 1954. It means, "reaching those afar off, going to the highways and byways, new localities out-of-the-way districts, uncultivated centers, among the mountains and the valleys. It is doing what Jesus did when 'He went a little farther.' " The Missionary Volunteer organization now has 612 Pathfinder Clubs in North America. We believe there are great days ahead for our youth. Many things could be said about the progress of the work in radio and television, The Voice of Prophecy and Faith for Today; the rapid spread of the printed page, the encouraging reports from the Publishing Department. The Temperance Department noted considerable increase of interest in 1953. The International Temperance Association is becoming a strong factor in the worldwide temperance reform movement, and the American Temperance Society is accomplishing some remarkable things here in the United States.
Alert, the voice of the International Temperance Association, is now published in the English, Spanish, Portuguese, and French languages. The Japan Temperance Society is planning to begin the publication of a Japanese edition of Alert early in 1954. Listen magazine still remains the most attractive and popular temperance journal published in the United States. The Challenge All of these trends within the faith that show increased endeavor and consecration are encouraging. However, every worker will recognize, I am sure, that greater responsibility rests upon the Adventist Church than most of our congregations realize. Near the end of the year 1952 Judge Carlton A. Fisher, of the Erie County Court, told an Institute on Correctional Services in Buffalo, New York, that clergy men should step down from the "pedestal of theological theory" and devote more sermons to fundamentals of the Ten Commandments. The world today wants to know how to meet its problems.
Men and women are faced with perplexities in personal living, and we as Adventist clergy men and leaders of the church of God must not hide behind a few statistical achievements and think that we are gaining ground. Rather, we must give attention to the basic needs of human life and seek the mastery of life as we have never sought it before. The world is crying out with hungry hearts for what we alone can give in the complete balanced principles of living and hope supplied by the Adventist doctrine and the Adventist faith. Doctrine alone is useless unless living puts into practice the great cardinal tenets of dynamic Christian life. We quote here a statement by Dr. Ralph W. Sockman appearing in the December 23, 1953, issue of Quick magazine:
"My creed is: Give the best you have to the high est you know and do it now. If we do the duty next to us and then the duty next to that, light begins to break on life's ultimate issues. And when we per severe to the apparent limit of our own strength, a higher power comes to our help, provided our purpose is to serve with honor and not for honor." Truly the clergy of our faith and all our strong lay workers and professional groups within the church will accomplish great things for God if they seek to "serve with honor and not for honor." May we establish in our various communions a creed to "give the best we have to the highest we know," the great message of truth that God has given to this people. The war for man's soul is reaching the decisive battle of the ages. The two armies are as real as those fighting on the battlefields of the world. On the issue of spiritual conflict eternal destinies depend.
These issues are fought in every human soul. The decisive battle of modern Christendom will be faced by every person within the Adventist faith, as the two world views meet in global conflict and Satanocracy and Christocracy battle in the hearts of men. Satanocracy of the last days will be a federated world without a soul; its power illegally obtained will be unjustly used. It aims at total world rule, a pseudo theocracy, a global mobilization for assault upon man and God that leaves man a soul less zero, and the spirit of Satan is rampant. In the war for man's soul may God help the leaders and laity of the Adventist Church to rally as never before. A great question that will confront us in the near future is voiced in the book The War -for Man's Soul, by Ernest Jackh, and the questions he asked are those by which we will close this resume of religious news in 1953. Dr. Jackh says: "God or antigod: Which of these two powers is going to decide the direction in which we will turn toward Cosmos or toward Chaos? God or antigod: Shall we preserve our eternal faith, or be guided by a shallow myth of blood? Shall we believe in life and love or in an education for death? Will moral law and order prevail, or will the man o£ lawlessness reign supreme? Shall we uphold the dignity of the God-given soul, or will our life be at the mercy of the animal instincts of the scum of the earth? Will the freedom of the human spirit remain victorious over the despotism of despicable devils? Shall we be guided in the future by the Sermon on the Mount or by the Serpent of the Jungle? Will man be created in the image of God or bred in the image of the beast? Who will prevail God or ... [antigod]?" Page 45.
May God help us as workers to reconsecrate our lives entirely to His love and service. May we be so yielded and dedicated that through His Spirit we can measure up to the unprecedented challenge and opportunities that face us.
Shall We Revise Our Views on Zionism?—Part I
Medina! Israel Facing a Crisis
S. A. KAPLAN Editor, Jewish Magazine "The Sabbath Exponent"
On Tuesday, October 20, 1953, the 300th anniversary of the founding of Jerusalem was cele brated in New York City at Madison Square Garden. The enthusiastic audience of 20,- 000, which packed the mam moth hall, represented Jews of every shade of opinion and ideology, from pious Orthodoxy to godless Marxism. A well-known Zionist writer, Jacob Minkin, in the Jewish journal Congress Weekly of October 12, 1953, makes this illuminating comment on the occasion of this unique anniversary:
"What more dramatic episode in history is there than that of Jerusalem celebrating her three thousandth anniversary, and not as an archeological discovery dug out of the rubble and ruins of the ages, but as one of the world's great political and cultural centers and capital of the reborn Jewish State of Israel! While great cities and empires have passed away, their very sites long since obliterated, Jerusalem, the most recurrently and catastrophically smitten city in the world, has not only survived but, as in the past, bids fair to serve as a quickening influence in the life of the world. She survived so that from her travail a race of men might emerge who would teach the ways of God to men." Mr. Minkin voices the belief of many religious Jews who maintain that a glorious destiny awaits the Jewish nation; that the Jews were, are, and always will remain God's specially favored and chosen people. Strange as it may seem, the overwhelming majority of the Protestant world likewise hold dogmatically to the doctrine of a literal and glorious renaissance of the Jewish nation. They claim that old Jerusalem is destined to become the center of a revived Jewish theocracy, with all the privileges and honors for Abraham's literal seed that such a restoration implies. It is the prevailing Protestant belief that after a so-called period of tribulation for the Jewish nation, Christ will come in person to Jerusalem and restore the Davidic throne and kingdom.
The graves will be opened, and both ancient houses of Judah and Israel will be resurrected and reunited to form one imperishable kingdom. They, the Protestants, also assert that the entire Jewish nation will then accept Jesus as their Messiah and be saved. This teaching is strangely reminiscent of the Talmudic tradition that says: "All Israel (the literal Jews) have a part in the world to come, for it is written, 'and all thy people shall be called righteous.' " The Talmudic tract Pirke Avot. Following their national conversion, so the popular theory goes, the Jews will be come missionaries to the world, and will be instrumental in bringing all the nations of earth to the foot of the cross. It is alleged that this universal conversion will usher in the millennial reign of Christ on earth, and the kingdom of God will then be set up. In this new world order, so they say, the twelve tribes of literal Israel will be accorded the highest honors and distinctions, while their Gentile brethren, standing on the side lines, will rejoice in Israel's exaltation, the Gen tiles being content to serve in such menial occupations as porters, messengers, and doorkeepers in the house of the Lord! Such, in broad outline, is the modern Protestant concept of Zionism. Needless to say, this flattering prospect of a glorious future is pleasing to the unregenerate heart and cannot fail to appeal to a certain class of Jews and Christians.
There are a few, even among us, who, awed by majorities and believing that the state of Israel is here to stay, are wondering whether the time has not come for us to rethink this whole question of Zionism and, if need be, change our teachings accordingly. Were we to adopt the popular interpretation of Zionism, we would no longer be giving a distinctive message to the world; for instead of proclaiming the imminent coming of Christ and the destruction of the world by fire, we would be preaching the pleasing fable of universal conversion and of a temporal millennium. And, as a logical corrollary, we would be compelled to give up our teaching concerning the sanctuary, the judgment, the first and second resurrections, and other basic Bible doctrines.
In brief, we would cease to be Seventh-day Adventists! What Are Israel's Chances for Survival? Before looking at Zionism from the Scrip tural viewpoint, let us consider what elements of stability, if any, the Israeli State possesses intrinsically. The mere fact that Israel has entered upon its sixth year is by no means proof positive that it constitutes a stable government, or that it will continue indefinitely. It is admitted by many Jews themselves that the new state lacks the essential elements necessary for endurance, and that it is confronted by insurmountable difficulties. There is, for example, the explosive issue involving the possession of the old walled-in city of Jerusalem. We again quote Mr. Minkin: "Even in her triumph, Jerusalem is but half restored. Her other half, around which are clustered the sacred memories and associations of thousands of years, has by the most cruel surgery in history been detached from her and surrendered to the Jordan kingdom whose only religious and historic claim to the city is that the Mosque of Omar is located there." Congress Weekly, Oct. 12, 1953.
The Israelis feel that both their prestige and their security are dependent upon their possession of that ancient historic city. Will they eventually attempt to drive out the Arabs and thus gain possession of the old city? This question is fraught with appalling potentialities for the peace of the world, for old Jerusalem is the coveted prize of three great ethnic and religious systems: the Christian, the Jewish, and the Mohammedan. It is no wonder, therefore, that the whole world looks anxiously and apprehensively to the Middle East. It is, of course, no secret that with the exception of its western border on the Mediterranean shore Israel is surrounded by hostile Mohammedan nations. Her neighboring Arab states steadfastly refuse to recognize the new little commonwealth, or even to admit that it is a part of the same region with them. With Lebanon and Syria on the north, Transjordan on the east, Saudi Arabia and Egypt on the south, Israel is like a tiny island in the midst of a turbulent political sea that momentarily threatens to engulf her. For the present, these Arab states are rigidly boycotting the unwelcome new neighbor.
Only recently, Adlai Stevenson, a stanch friend of the Zionist cause, after visiting the Middle East and studying conditions there firsthand, wrote: "If not besieged, Israel is certainly blockaded by her Arab neighbors. For years no oil has flowed from Iraq through the pipe line to Israel's refinery at Haifa. With vast quantities of oil at her back door, Israel imports fuel from Venezuela. No food or raw materials move from the Middle East to nourish her people and her limping industries. There is no mail or telegraph service between Israel and her neighbors." "No Peace for Israel," Reader's Digest, November, 1953. Thus it must be admitted that with these tremendous odds against the little common wealth of Israel her future is extremely doubtful. Only a year ago Mr. Meir Grossman, a well-known Zionist of the so-called Revisionist party, summed up conditions in Israel in these disquieting words: "Israel is nearing the end of its fifth year in a troubled mood. Great tension is felt on all its vital fronts the political, the military, and the economic. . . .
The population is worried about the immediate future of Israel, which is beginning to feel the chill of isolation. Many are concerned about the ultimate destiny of the state, about which at the moment anyway they are uncertain." Congress Weekly, March 9, 1953. (Italics supplied.) Moreover, as we know, Israel is situated in the very center of the world's number one trouble spot. As students of prophecy, Adventists are aware that events of appalling magnitude are shaping up in the Near East. We know that in the near future, just prior to Christ's second coming, the great battle of Armageddon will be fought. Already the storm clouds are gathering that presage that decisive conflict of the ages. What the Jewish people and the world in general need most urgently, yes, desperately, is not the delusive doctrine of a temporal millennium but the heart-warming, soul-stirring message of a soon-coming Saviour and Redeemer, and of a new heaven and a new earth wherein shall dwell righteousness forevermore.
In the next article of this series the subject under discussion will be "Does Zionism Fulfill Prophecy?"
