CHARLOTTE, N. C„ THURSDAY* AUGUST 1, 1935.
VOL. LVL
AN APPEAL TO REINSTATE THE ENGUSH
BIBLE AS A CODE OF MORALS
FOR CHURCH, SCHOOL, STATE AND NATION
(Reprinted from a booklet by the Rev. Robert Elliott Flickin
ger, D. D., Rockwell City, Iowa.)
Article VIII
. Scriptural Foundation
The history of the United
States tells plainly how the
Scriptural foundation was
placed underneath all our Amer
ican institutions and civiliza
tion. 1 While sailing across the
Atlantic Ocean in the Mayflow
er, the Pilgrims united in a
compact of government, the pre
lude of which reads as follows:
“In the name of God, Amen!
Having undertaken for the
glory of God, and the advance
ment of our common Christian
faith, we adopt the following
rules for our government.’’
Their purpose was thus
plainly expressed The later
Declaration of Independence
“appeals to the judge of the
world,” and voices the reliance
of its authors upon a favoring
Divine Providence.
Ministers and Christian Teach
ers
Co-operating with these
Christian statesmen, who
framed opr national legislation,
was that great and unnamed
army of preachers and Christian
teachers, who, on every clear
ing in the forests, and in every
community or prairie or moun
tainside, built churches, schools
and colleges; and thus tacitly
placed under all1 our national
history, the open Bible wfcfcjts
doctrines of righteousness, jus
tice and an overruling Provi
deuce
Bible and New England Primer
tarafift ptoifcwy&hociythdbe
two books were used daily; the
Bible, the charter of their lib
erties, their divine standard of
good morals; and the New Eng
land Primer, with the Shorter
Catechism of the Westminster
Assembly, as a brief and ap
proved interpreter of the Bible
The Bible is the Word of God
to all mankind. It is God’s pro
vision for man’s intellectual,
moral and spiritual nature; as
the light, air, water, and Hood,
have been provided ior ms
physical nature.
The Authorized Version of
the Bible and the Shorter Cat
echism, an interpreter, are no
more sectarian books than are
the ordinary text books on as
tronomy, geology, botany, and
natural history.
Inherent Rights
No man has an inherent right
to exclude the Authorized Ver
sion of the Bible from the pub
lic schools of America. The Bi
ble is the one book of our great
Creator for all who bear his
image, whether they are Jew or
Gentile, Protestant or Roman
Catholic.
As the charter of American
liberty and the cornerstone of
our system of public education
and jurisprudence, it ought to
be in every school. No one has
any mor? right to exclude the
Bible from the public schools
of America than he has to ex
clude the light of the sun. The
sun in the sky and the Bible in
the hands of mankind on earth
are God’s provisions of light.
The Bible is intended of God to
be the one unchanging stand
ard of morality and purity, for
old and young, rich and poor,
white anil black.
God is three in one, a Trinity
without envy or prejudice. The
prayer of Christ was that all
his followers may be one. How
much happier all will be when
Jews and Catholics suppress
their base prejudices, and a£l
alike signify their approval of
the same Bible as their stand
ard of good mora s and religion!
The Dark Ages
The period from the 8th to
the 12th century of the Chris
tian era has been classed by
historians as the “Dark Ages”
of the World because of the
general presence in Europe of
ignorance, superstition anp oar
oarism. Wnen me Turns in 1471>
causea tne tan of tne noman
empire at Constantinople, me
event tended almost wnouy 10
enecic me spread of intemgence
and tne prosperity of me peo
ple, ramer tfjan to promote tneir
welfare. The Scriptures were
neglected and tne ciergy as wen
as me people became worldly,
seinsh, ignorant and supersti
tious.
in 1215, when King John, of
England, issued the “Magna
Charta” (Great Charta,) the
first grant of Constitutional lib
erty m England, it was imme
diately denounced by the Pope,
xnnocent II, at Rome, and tne
King was absolved from all ob
ligation to keep the pledges
therein expressed by the royal
oath.
A Bible, First Book Printed
In 1;450, when the art of
printing was invented, the first
book printed was a Latin Bible
on a hand press at Mantz in
Germany. It was known as the
Latin Vulgate.
First Rays of Light
The first rays of light to dis
pel the darkness of prevailing
night included the establish
ment of a Seminary at Oxford in
901, by Alfred, the Great, King
of England, to promote the stu
dy of the Scriptures. Later it
became a University, the first,
one in Europe fo* ..
I^i%d~Iitferature.' T#o ^Enti
later a second University
founded at Cambridge.
Peter Waldo (1170), of
ons, France, committing
memory portions of the Scrip
ture, sent his followers two and
two, like the seventy in the
New Testament, to preach the
Word of God. They were called
Waldenses. They Opposed cor
rupt doctrines and practices with
the plain truths of the Scrip
was
Ly
to
tures. They opposed the Cru
sades as fanatical expeditions
on the part of those who were
not Jews, and therefore were
unjust and unlawful. The Scrip
tures were their standard of
good morals and religion. They
insisted the church included
not merely the priests, but the
whole family of believers.
The advocacy of these prin
ciples by Laymen caused them
to be excommunicated, then ana
thematized by the pope. In 1179
they were condemned by a papal
council at Rome. Peter Waldo
then fled from land to land,
preaching as he went, and died
Jn Bohemia in 1197.
The Inquisition
In 1235, Pope Gregory IX es
tablished the Inquisition, a cruel
court of Inquiry, for the sup
pression of those who doubted
the authority of the papacy to
rule over them in the Church.
It became very active in Italy,
Switzerland, Germany, Austria,
France, Spain, Portugal and Ire
land.
Jesuits
In 1540, Ignatius Loyola, an
illiterate Spanish soldier a|nd
priest, with papal authority, or
ganized the secret society of
Jesuits, to require all profess
ing Christians to renounce
whatever opinions separated
them from the Church at Rome,
to accept the doctrines and wor
ship of that > church, and ac
knowledge the Pope as Christ’s
sole vicegerent while here on
earth.
Everyday is a testing time, no
matter what our work or condi
tion in life may be; Many peo
ple need encouragement We
Christians are to show that we
have a power the world does not
give.—Sel,
I have acquired the quadren
nial habit of querying Perry
Howard on the eve pf the ap
proaching election as to what
appeal he would makfe to the
colored voters to hold their tra
ditional allegiance to the “Grand
Old Party.” He has always as
sured me that ample, adequate
and convincing appeal would be
forthcoming in due time. 'Now
Perry Howard is the Prime
Minister of Negro Republican
ism He is true, devoted and
died-in-the-wool a partizan as
any Republican that lives, white
or black If the “Grand Old
Party” ever succeeds in regain
ing the ascendancy it should
and probably will reward his
unswerving devotion by making
him dictator of the political
fortunes of his group.
The prudent Mississippi Na-.
tional Committeeman has taken
time by the forelock and has is
sued the warning note to the
“Grand Old Party” bemoaning
the estrangement of their black
allies and advising how to bring
the aggrieved black brother back
to the fold'hi 1936. He advises
the “Grand Old Party” to elect
as a standard bearer, one who
>v »11 command the enthusiastic
support of the Negro vote upon
which the party must rely for
hope of victory. He does not
specify any particular candi
date. Ex-President Hoover is
still the titular head of the Re
publican Party, but his name
would make a very faint appeal
to the colored voter who, natu
rally enough, objects to being
stung by the ’ same bee twice.
Of all the names now prominent
ly; mentioned to lead the forlorn
i£ope& of the onee mighty but
now overwhelmed party only
one awakes any enthusiasm in
Afro-America — Hon. James
W. Wadsworth, who remains
true to the faith of his father
and to the faith of the fathers
of “The Grand Old Party.” But
to pick a candidate too far in
advance is to invite his defeat
by concerted assault of his riv
als. Mr. Howard is forced to ad
mit, though reluctantly, that
the colored voters “in a large
measure, left the Republican
Party” during the last decade.
There is probably not another
Negro of his prominence in the
nation who would agree with
him in the assertion: “Person
ally I am satisfied that there was
no justification for their deser
tion.” His loyalty to his party
can hardly be matched, no, not
in all Afro-America. It is crass
partizanship of this arch
partizan which leads him to say
that Mr. Roosevelt has not only
failed the country but has failed
the Negro in that he has done
nothing that he promised to do.
During the campaign Mr
Roosevelt was scrupulously
careful not to make any extrav
agant promise to the Negro. He
declared over and over again
that he would be made part and
parcel of the “New Deal” and
would receive consideration
along with other “forgotten
men.’, This promise has been
kept wth absolute fidelity. He
has not isolated the Negro race
nor given his special attention
to group grievances, but every
step in the “New Deal” has ap
plied to all who fell within the
given category without discrim
ination on account of race or
color. Under the N R A codes the
Negro did indeed suffer certain
incidental hardships but this
was due to the prejudice of em
ployers and white workfolk, and
not to administrative policy? or
purpose. Every instance of race
discrimination that has been
properly brought to the atten
tion of the administration has
been properly adjusted as far
as administrative authority
couid affect it. While the Negro
suffered it has been because.of
the misfortune of his lot and
not by studied purpose of the
administration. There has been
more kindly feeling and sub
stantial expression of good will
towards the Negro under Pres
ident Roosevelt’s administration
than under those of Harding,
Coolidge and Hoover. Colored
indigent? v$nd unemployed have
been gitfen public work and re
lief outyof all proportion to
their n&perical quota. They
receive gjiost where their need is
greatest; Secretary Ickes in his
statement before the Associa
tion for!: the Advancement of
Colored iPeople said that in the
administration of the Public
Work and Public Relief Funds
there "das absolutely no race
discrimination. Perry Howard is
honestly^ mistaken, that is, as
honestly mistaken as a politician
can be* ?when he states that col
ored leaders who supported
Roosevelt are disappointed be
cause they have been over
looked^,'There is less expression
of disappointment among Negro
politicians and less criticism by
the Nefcro press, pulpit and oth
er organs of public opinion than
of anjT administration during
the plat forty year^ Of course,
no adRnnistration can satisfy
the chums and demands of dis
appointed politicians, white or
black* I suggest to my friend,
the die-hard Republican expo
nent, that he should cast his
mind backward and review the
volume of condemnation and
abuse heaped upon the heads of
Harding. Coolidge and Hoov
er during the closing years of
their administrations. I assure
him that he will find that irf
comparison with the mild mur
muring against the present ad
ministration it would compare
dilee^^Bagiiig^torm.4n gentle
zephyr^
Even an ardent partizan must
not allow his 1 enthusiasm tc
sweep too far beyond the facts
When Mr. Howard says ihat
Mr Roosevelt has overlooked
the* Necro in appointments. 1
can only suggest that he follow
the advice of Governor Al.
Smith and consult the record.
Mr. Roosevelt has appointed to
office more colored men than
his three Republican predeces
sors combined. He not only se
lected colored men for the im
portant positions usually as
signed the race—Recorder of
Deeds, Minister to Liberia and
Judge of the Municipal Court of
Washington, Gm, and Special
Assistant to the Attorney Gen
eral, but has also selected spe
cially qualified Negroes as Spe
Ciax ASSisuiiiLS me oeuietaij'
of the Interior, Secretary of
of Labor and the Secretary of
Commerce. The number of col
ored men filling positions under
the “New Deal” requiring ex
perience and expertness is out
of all proportion to such assign
ments in the history of < tv
government. Mr. Howard’s slur
on the colored experts appoint
ed by President Roosevelt as
Psalm-singing Rosenwald work
ers is gratuitous, to say the
least. It has been the^ policy of
President Roosevelt to fill the
high places in the government
not with mere political incompe
tents who use the office merely
as a loafing place for political
henchmen and party boosters,
but he has insisted that every
official under the government,
white or black, shall efficiently
perform the function to which
he has been assigned. On calm
er reflection, I am sure Mr.
Howard will wish to withdraw
his insinuations against Mr.
Julius Rosenwald, the superla
tive philanthropist, whose bene
faction to the race has been so
bountiful. Complaints against
the present administration in
that it has not ended the de
pression are indeed loud and
strong, jbut l thfs \ complaint)
comes from the privileged and
powerful, entrenched; behind the
breastworks of vested interests
(Continued1 on page 4)
GOODWILL PRESBYTERIAN
CHURCH, Ft. t*U!iKll!i, FLA.
We have just closed a very
successful two weeks' Vacation
Bible School here. Our enroll
ment for this year was 160 -~
85 girls and 65 boys—all bub
bling over with life and eager tp
learn more about the Bible. The
faculty consisted of our local
talent, here, and we had the
hearty cooperation of not only
the members of our church, but
of representatives, from all de
nominations here, children and
teachers. Besides the Bible
which is the main object of our
school, handicraft, such as
knitting, crocheting, hat and
basket making, paper and wood
work were ail a /. pan o* our
daily activities, all in the hands
of competent leaders. We used ,
the material at hand, as the pal
metto for hats and baskets,
which is easily found here, and
the cocoanut tree leaf. The
boys drained the storekeepers
of all the cigar boxes and other
boxes of that type. The children
as well as the teachers worked
hard, as they knew on the clos
ing night their parents would be
out t0 see what they had been
doing. Prizes were given, offered
by several department and drug
stores of the city for the neatest
work, the on© who had learned
the most Bible verses within the
limited time. Forty Catechism
questions (Child's and Shorter)*
were recited by a number of the
children who named the books
of th© Bible and the number of
chapter in each and the Bible
Base Ball Team. All of these
were features of ( our closing
program with everybody rally-,
ing for the prizes.
Monday, July 22, a picnic was
given for the V. B. S. In spite
of the rain quite a number was
.gjesent, on Jhe school grounds
ready for indoor playr W6 "acre
thankful to the School Board
here who so generously opens
the doors of th© public school
for us each year, so that we
might have the use of individ
ual class rooms for our work.
The faculty was as follows:
Rev, S. D. Thom, D. D., Adult
Bible Class; Mrs. S D.. Thom,
Director, Intermediate Girls;
Miss I. L. Thom, Primary Boys ;•
Mrs. N. Wright, Treasurer;
Primary Girls, Mrs. E. W.
Sweet, Secretary; Junior Girls,
Mrs. C. Kirby, pianist; Miss
M. L. Turner, Junior and Inter
mediate Boys. Mrs. C. Knowles,
Mrs. Pratt and Mrs. Mackey,
who were skillful .1 the use of
pi-imetto for uais and baskets,
ana maxing useiui rugs rruxu
croaker sacks, came daily to
lend a helping hand.
On June 11 our pastor, Rev.
S. D. Thom, and four delegates,
Misses 'Evelyn Cooper:, Lucille
Johnson, Edith Muldrow, and
Mr. Hodge Wright, left for Fes
senden Academy, Fessenden,
Fla., to attend the Young Peo
ple’s Conference of the Florida
part of the Knox Presbytery.
Each brought back an interest
ing report of the activities
there.
Rev. R. A. Campbell, pastor
of the First Presbyterian church
here (white) called to say good
bye on July 11 to our pastor as
he (Rev. Campbell) was leafing
for his vacation and wished him
success in his Vacation Bible
School which had just opened.
Since our coming here Rev.
Campbell has shown much in
terest in our work and has on
several occasions helped us out.
He and his wife were the first
to welcome us upon our arrival
here two years ago. •
Sunday, July 14, our pastor
preached a very timely sermon
on “The Office of the Elder.”
You are perhaps wondering why
I am saying a timely sermon,
but you will no longer wonder
when you hear that five elders
were ordained and installed af
ter the sermon: Mr. S. Cooper,
Mr. Ed. Toney, Mr. S. Kirby,
Mr. Geo. Muldrow and Mr. I.
M. Muldrow. Three deaconesses
were also installed: Mrs. N.
Wright, Mrs. L. Ricks and Mrs,
West.
key. 0. M. McAdams and
wife; of jst. PetersDurg, Jj'ttu,'
were the very charming guesca
ox kfev. ana Mrs. b. D. Thom,
arriving July 22. They were
headed for JacKsonviile, hia.,
and points in {South Carolina^
Among the many pleasant
happenings while they were
herd was the very enjoy
able surprise coming from tne
missionary society of the churcn
of which Mrs. B. West is Presi
dent. Wednesday morning, July
24, Mrs. West came around and
aSKSd us not to go anywhere
chat} afternoon; if we did to be
oaclt about half past live and
not to eat much dinner. We
joeyed. About o:au one uj. wue
ooys knocked at the back door,
upon answering it we found
uhat we had a freezer of ice
cream. Not long after he had
gone, every one was at the ta
iie eating ice cream. Some had
almost devoured a second help
when in came two of the
missionary ladies with large,
cpvered baskets. We wondered
what they contained. It was not
long before we found qut. First,
we received a good scolding from
che members of the society for
going into the.ice cream; it was
nnaiiy "decided that it was very
dangerous to place eatables in
the eyes and reach of hungry
people. Soon other members of
ihe society arrived, removed
the ice cream dishes and a well
prepared dinner was spread be
I'or us. For fear your mouth
may water, I will not name the
menu. Sufficient to say, with all
the extra different things
brought, it was not necessary
to cook dinner any more that
week. We must not forget the
lovely bouquet of roses iha.
was brought by Mrs. x-auu.^
Williams. . r*
Another recent out-of-town
visitor-was-MrerMary M,
of Chadbourne, N. C. Rev. and
Mrs. Thom were indeed glad to
see her and did all in their pow
er to help make her short visit
a pleasant one.
Our mid-week prayer services
for the most part are being
well atended. The leaders are
appointed weeks ahead and
3eem eager to fill their places.
Rev. O. M. McAdams was our
iuest speaker Wednesday, July
24th.
Both the Junior and benior
Christian Endeavor Societies
are wide awake. During Mr. L.
Ricks’ absence, who is on the
sick list, Misses Thom and Turn
er have been filling in.
The Boy Scout Movement is
progressing nicely. They are
planning to go camping at an
early date at Key West, Fla.
We are hoping to organize a
Girl Scout Troop in the near
future.
Little Miss Paulerena Ra
chelle Anderson, of Atlanta,
Ga., is making herself quite at
home with her grandparents,
Rev. and Mrs. S. D. Thom. She
expects to spend the greater
part of the summer here.
“The Land of Flowers” is
wishing you all well until the
next time.
M. L. TURNER.
LE VERB PRESBYTERY
The Presbytery of Le Vere
will meet in its regular fall
session August 22, 1935, at the
Lawrence Chapel church, Mor
ristown, Tenn., at 7:30 P. M.
Those expecting to be in at
tendance at the meeting will
please notify the Rev. E. B.
Clarkson, D. D., P. 0. Box 27,
Morristown, Tennessee, inform
ing him as to the time of their
arrival.
W. C. HARGRAVE, S. C.
In general we may say there
are two classes of hypocrites:
those who pretend to be better
or more religious than they real
ly are; and those wo pretend to
be worse or less religious than
they really are. If the former
were more in prominence in the
days of Jesus, the latter ate
more in prominence in our day.
—Ilion T. Jones.