TRUTH SHALL MAKE YOU FREE.—John
VOL. LVL
AN APPEAL TO REINSTATE IN All THE
SION OF THE ENGLISH BIBLE •
I ■—
•,AS A UNIFORM CODE OF GOO® MORALS FOR THE
SCHOCiL, STATE AND NATION IN AMERICA
U . ---— .
r, (Reprinted from a booklet byjthe Rev. Robert Elliott Flickin*
ger, D. D.; Rockwell City, Iowa.)
r- Article XV
THE INTER-CHURCH WORLD MOVEMENT
PUBLIC SCHOOLS THE AUTHORIZED VER
“l!hy kingdom jcoma" —<•
(Matt. ,6:10.) ., J j
v “The .kingdom of heaven suf
fereth violence and me violent
take it by force/—(Matt, lx;
iz.) ‘
WJesus beholding him (the
young man; loved aim, anu
saia unto mm, one tning tnou
Darkest/'—(Mark iU:zi.;
‘‘The inter-onurch World
Movement was an enort maae
at the close pi tne worm War
m last) for the oectermenc oi
the world. It was based on the
eariy Jewish idea oi the Mes
siah s kingdom; $hat ne was
to establish it tnrough and ior
tnem. ihe spirit oi israei had
grown weary while waiting ior
the appearance of the Messi
ah. . jn
■r Jesus had taught his disci-i
pies tp pray,' “Thy kingdom
come." They longed to be re
leased from paying tax to Cae
sar, head of the itoman Em
pire. They longed to see the day
when the whole world should
acknowledge Jewish suprema
cy.
A False .Notion of Christ’s
Kingdom
n. When Jesus on one occasion
entered the city of Jerusalem,
(hey took branches 1 of palm
tsees^aold^eiit forth to -meet
him^ and cried, Hosanna!
Blessed is the King that com
eth in the name of the Lord.”
(John 12:13.) The Jews
thought the promised kingdom
of the Messiah was a political
and visible one—like that of
Da^id, king of Israel. They en
deavored to force the Messianic
kingdom and crown the uncru
cified Christ. Their ideas were
. ,^rrong. Jesus eluded and escaped
from them at Jerusalem on
tnat aay.
After his resurrection they
^inquired of the risen Christ,
'“Lord, wilt thou at this time
restore again the kingdom to
Israel?"— (Acts 1:6.)
This false conception of the
Church of God and the kingdom
of heaven explains some impor
tant events that have happened
in the history of the Church,
£nc]|uding ithe ilnter-Qhuhdh
World Movement.
This eager interest had been
created by John the Baptist.
“The kingdom of heaven is at
hand." That stirred the hopes
■' of the people into a flame of
expectation.
Betterment of the WoprM
The expressed object of the*
InterfChurch World Movement
was the • betterment of the
world. This aim of the Inter
Church World Movement was
explained by Andrews, a zeal
ous advocate of it, as follows:
“The Church has given little
attention to the practical side
of world interests. It has looked
too much to the future life and
too little to this life; it has
given too great a place to ab
stract doctrine, creeds and con
fessions of faith, and too little
to the application of Christian
ethics to the amelioration of
social and political evils around
us. We must change our mode
of action. All science, arts, in
ventions, everything that aids
in the culture of man, or the
improvement of society, comes:
properly within the Christian'
sphere." I
Its sponsors, according to
this aim, imagined it to bo the.
business v of the Church to
make the kingdom of God co
extensive with the kingdoms
of this world, Unity of endeav
br was regarded as essential
to make it world wide.
Christian Civilization
The Northern Baptist Con
vention, in which this Inter
Church Movement originated!
in endorsing it, declared:
i “We record our acceptance
Of the conception, that the mis
sion of the Christian Church
is to establish a civilization,
Christian in spirit and passion,
throughout the world.
1 “Our animating motive is
voiced by an official organ, ‘The
Baptist/ in these words: ‘The
Vorld, since the world-war, is
(it the cross-roads! The peril to
our Christian civilization is
greater now than at any hour
6f the world war,
The whole world seems stag
gering toward chaos. Forces
are in action and winning vic
tories, which, if not met and
overthrown, will turn our
world into hell. The world’s on
ly hope is Jesus Christ brought
mo human affair^ and it is
ours to say whether or not this
shall be done.”
Constantine — Nice, 325 A. D.
This denominational state
ment that civilization was the
$im of this Inter-Church World
movement Ja~a reminder of She
historic events that occurred in
the 4th century, when Con
stantine, the first Christian
emperor at Rome, adopted the
cross as an emblenvfor the ar
my, and convened in 325 A. D.
the first general council of the
Roman, Anglican and Greek
churches, at Nice, Italy. He
made use of the army to pro
mote the 1 cause of Christ's
kingdom. He thus vainly ful
filled the prophet’s vision, “The
kingdom of heaven suffereth
viuieuce ana rne violent take
it by force.”
Constantine, jike the Jews,
of Christ’s day, had an erro
neous view of the promised
Kingdom of the Messiah, the
Church in the world.
This was true of the Inter
Church World Movement which
was planned after it. Its lead
ers wanted to rebuild David’s
throne and set him on it. They
wanted every earthly ruler to
capitulate in his behalf. They
fell into the mistake of using
force to promote fthe visible
kingdom of Christ; not indeed,
the force of arms, but the force
of “educated intellect, sacrifi
cial energy and consecrated
gold.”
“We have an intrepid ' and
gifted leadership; we have an
advantageous position in the
Inter-Church World Movement ;
we have a literature of high
quality; we have.an organiza
tion which each day becomes
more extensive and more effec
tive; yet, with all these, we
may fail; indeed, we shall cer
tainly fail unless our 10,000
ministers enlist for the most
strenuous service of which they
are capable; unless our 11,000
churches embrace this new
world movement as Constan
tine embraced the cross in the
heavens, and devote their ma
terial resources to the cause of
our Lord Jesus Christ.” (The
Baptist, March 27, 1920.)
One thing this Inter-Church
Movement lacked, was emphasis
on the Bible as a divine stand
ard of good morals for all men
and nations.
The Churah Called of God
The kingdom foretold by the
Old Testament prophets is the
Church of God in the world.
Those who comprise it .are
"Called of God," as was Abra
ham, Moses, David, Daniel aa&
the twelve apostles. No forte la
arms, wealth or civilizctima
forced them to become willing
land devoted servants of God.
According: to Crum's
on the Mount the Chi
composed of the; “poor .ht
jit," “the meek" “th*
thr *Yrferr makerA” and
pure in hISti” Thee#
reached through the
of the Scriptures, and
jpreaching of the gospel. “Ti
shall know the truth *P<1 the
truth shall make you free."
No mention is made of
use of the Bible, the sword
the Spirit, as a code of
morale, in. Jfeaioregping notes
the Inter-Church World
bent. Yet all Christian m
ters and workers in Iowa
other States were requested t
meet jin co-operating convene
tions in the. capital cities of
their several States.
I The aim of this proposed
world wide movement soon
proved too great for the scat
tered and divided and rivalling
forces of the Church, “United
we stand, divided we faH" “He
that is not against us is for
ps.”
All Nations Netd tha BiMe
I “Go ye into all the world.”
The great conunisaion of Christ
carries with it the knowledge
that is now needed by all the
nations of the world.
“Go ye, therefore, and teach
all nations to observe all
things whatsoever I have com
manded you.” This gospel of the
kingdom is to be preached in
all the world for a witness
pf the divine goodness to all
nations, before the reign eft
Christ in the world shall be
fully accomplished, ariT • the
rule of the Gentiles be ended.)
; In view of the world's great
heed of deliverance from (the
power of Satan and sin; and in
view of Christ’s command to go
into all the world, and bat
which was undertaken by Con
stantine, the Roman Empire and
the Inter-Church World Move
ment, the appeal is now made
to every reader to co-operate in
affirming the authorized Eng
lish version of the Bible as the
standard of good morals and
religion for the individual, the
family, school, State and na
tion. Co-operate also with
those who are sending the au
thorized Bible in their own
language to the benighted na
tions of the world. “Buy the
truth and sell it not."
World-Wide Ethics
As Andrews expressed it,
one aim of the Inter-Church
World Movement was the ap
plication of Christian ethics to
the prevention and suppression
of social and (political evils.
The most sensible fulfill
ment of that good aim will be
found, in every State that re
sponds favorably to this appeal
to reinstate the daily use of the
Bible in every public sehool,
State, normal and agricultural
college and State University.
That will enable the State to
perform its full duty in taking
over from the Church the edu
cation of the young and risii g
generation of the youth in
America; to make of them
good citizens, voters, and in
their turn, prudent and effi
cient public officials like Sam
uel and Daniel, Hezekiah and,
Josiah.
Good citizens are sober-mind
ed, lovers of truth and good
ness, law and order. ThOy
gratefully remember their Cre
ator in the days of their youth
They remember the Sabbath as
a weekly sign of the 1 divine
goodness to all the children of
men; and the rainbow on the
cloud of the summer shower as
a sign of God's covenant on the
earth. They rejoice in the assur
ance that God Jwill not a&iln
curse the ground \ for mah's
(Continued on pag*4)
ODR DEBT TO THE CHURCH
; t: mm
By Mr. A. E. Spears
(Delivered at the 55th anni
versary of BidiUeviUe Presby
terian church, October 1&.)
The Charlotte Negro Insur
ance Association is greatly hon
ored by this church in the priv
ilege to conduct one of the
programs in connection with
your 5&th anniversary celebra
tion. While, because of our high
calling, we feel in a measure
worthy of this honor, we want,
first of all, to publicly acknowl
edge our debt to the churches
throughout bur territories for
the splendid help they have
been to us and to tail business
Institutions conducted by our
gcroup.
In the early days of our his
tory, we find that our churches
made a specialty of fostering
every worthy enterprise start
led by our people, and their
jdoors, and often their pulpits,
were open to all of us in spread
ing the message of racial co
operation; whether we desired
to foster the interest of some
N$gro man or woman qualified
for one of the professions, or to
promote some new Negro bus
ness venture; and in spite of
•me of the - criticism given
church, as well as those
sought these favors, there
as a kind of sympathetic un
•standing among us; a sort
mutual interest between the
►ups that helped wonSerful
in racial development/ While
is true that many business
nd professional men flocked to
[he churches for selfish reas
ons, there were many others
who came because of their de
'•fae eo worship -to help
bthbfi; d,
that the wholesome influence
Of the church has started many
of these brilliant men end wo
men on the road to right living
Who even sought its platform
for selfish gains?
It is eertain, however, that
tihe leadership of our most suc
cessful ' business enterprises
Has been entrusted to devout
Qhurchmen and churchwomen
who, from the beginning, have
been ardent supporters of the
church. If you visit Winston
Salem you will find Mr. John
A Blume, President of the Win
ston Mutual Life Insurance
Companyf to be the most out
standing A. M. E. Zion Meth
odist in the city. Go on to Dur
ham and Mr. C. C. Spauld
ing; President of the North
Carolina Mutual Life Insurance
Go., is the biggest and most
active Baptist to be found; and
Mr. W. G. Pearson, President
of the Bankers’ Fire and
Southern Fidelity Insurance
Companies, is in his pew at each
service at St. Joseph A. M. E.
church. Examine, if you will,
the record of the more than
2,000 employees of these four
companies, which make up the
membership of our Association,
and you will find most of them
following the ' leadership of
these Godly men, who make the
bpld claim that “most of what
they are and hope to be is due
to the influence of the church.”
Visit, if you will, any conven
tion, held by a group • of our
representatives, and listen to*
statements of those , who have
succeeded-, most, ana you will
find them to be leaders in their
churches. The man who has
built the largest individual bus
iness for any of our companies
is known as “Praying Deacon
Hammond, of Asheville.” I at
tended a public meeting there
wjiji a number of ministers
present, and the leader, to the
appureiit delight of the audi-i
ence, announced that “If Dea
con Hammond’ Is present, he
please come forward and
lead us in the invocation.” The
tafluenpe of Mt. Zion Baptist
church upon the life of this
man has been the means of
buildingc a character that is
honored by every citizen of his
town.
But the sad comment is that
too many of us in ail walks of
life are drifting from the
church. In so doing we are pass
ing up the greatest institution
w« have for the development of
all that is worthwhile. When we
look for a man to represent (me
of our companies, (me of the
first questions in our mind is
*‘Does he belong to the church?
lne heafi of one- of our compa
nies once said, 1 can not trust
a man to represent my compa
ny who denies himself the priv
ilege which the church offers." i
-.back to the church' could well
be the slogan of every business
man. Back to its wholesome m
fiuence, its fellowship; its gen
uine fellowship; ,|its .program
designed to make us all one in
everything that has to do with
the promotion of our interest,
both spiritual and temporal.
We need the church to teach
the youth of our day the prin
ciples of honesty and fair-piay;
to teach them the dignity of
Aonest toil and pious living; to
teach them to appreciate the
finer things of life. Go into a
Home, if yon please, where
young people are in large num
oers, and attempt to enjoy a
radio message dealing with some
of the serious problems Of the
day; or music that' is deeply,
spiritual, or even highly dassi
cal, and note the lack of ifi-t
terest. Yes, we need the cjuttcjti'
to teach the adults of our day
their obligations of leadership
by precept and example; to
teach them their duty to share,
with the other.” The church in
the past has done so much of
this type of work that we could
well join with the poet and
say: <
“I love thy Church, 0 God’
Her walls before Thee stand,
Dear as the apple of Thine eye,
And graven on Thy hand.
“For her my tears shall fall;
For her my prayers ascend;
To her my cares and toils be
given,
Till toils and care snail end.”
The Biddleville Presbyterian
church has played well its pait
in kingdom building. True,
there will be those to lament
the fact .that no great evi
dence is found of growth in the
physical plant and in the nu
merical strength during more
than half a century, and yet,
who can estimate the value of
this church in proclaiming the
gospel of Christ in all of its
relations to life during these
years? The thing most needed
in our time is a consciousness
on the part of us all of our in
dividual ; responsibilities and
obligations to the church, with
out which we would still be in
slavery, instead of enjoying the
blessings of this 20th century
civilization.
Aside from coming to*’
church on Sunday, how much
time and thought are we giv
ing to the church during the
week? Are we applying the
same rules to our church obli
gations as we do to our busi
ness and work? How much
prayerful planning and work
are we, as individuals, doing for
the church? Finally, are we
giving our. full share in money
for its support? Yes! to such
question^ as these will cure
all the ills of the church, and
it is . going to be a patient on
our hands as long as we give it
a negative answer
It is proper that this church
should stop at this point in its
history to ce&Oate its achieve
ments, and, as members of the
Insurance Profession, we are
happy to be accorded this spe
cial privilege of joining with
you. Many of us have been
(Continued on page 4)
Mitt. RUM SYNOD
MEETS
By Rev. J. B. Barber
On October 16, promptly at
7*30 p. M., tne fc>ynod at Blue
itidge convened in annual ses
sion at the Miller Memorial
Presbyterian cnurch of Bir
mingnajn, Alabama.
A new venture—a pre-Synod
icai conference of ministers and
elders—led up to the opening
session. Or. J. M. Gaston, Sec
retary of tne bnit of Colored
Wora, rsoard of National Mis
sions, was the moving figure
df the Conference, and his wise
counsel'and. considerate spirit
made it both richly informing
and deeply inspiring. The
orethren voted unanimously to
make the Conference an annual
feature.
The sermon of the retir
ing Moderator. Rev. Wi. C. Har
grave, D. O., of Swift Memorial
college, was from the text of
johp 20:21, the subject being,
‘Our Responsibility and Op
portunity as Ministers.” It was
ja, well prepared- and splendidly
delivered discourse, true to the
■pest Presbyterian traditions.
Choice for the Moderatorship
bf Synod fell upon the Rev.
C. A'r Edington, Ph. D., the
j*ble' Stated Clerk of the Pres
bytery of Rogers vine, it was a
happy selection, as Dr. Eding
ton directed the business of the
jiyhod with smooth, unhurried
balm and grace. Rev. J. B. Bar
ber, of Chattanooga, Tenn., was
chosen as Temporary Clerk,
j A part of the local program
j>f welcome, the address of Dr.
U A. Dudley, of Birmingham,
was of unuau^^weneJM^,-4J%^
cing words of response were
given by Rev. T. A. Jenkins, of
Knoxville.
The newly elected Moderator
and the Temporary Clerk offi
ciated at the communion ser
vice, tne emers 01 uie iucai
church assisting.
The lovable Dr. James M. Ew
ing. of Rogersville, Tenn., one
of the Nestors of Synod, still
youthful and vigorous despite
the toll of years, presided dur
ing the impressive Thursday
morning devotional service.
The reports of the Standing
Committees of the Synod were
excellent. Well prepared, they
were both stimulating and chal
lenging and evoked spirited
and fruitful consideration. The
report of National Missions was
given by Rev. J. B. Barber;
Foreign Missions, Rev. W. C.
Hargrave, J). D.; Pensions,
Rev. L. R. Taylor. Reverend
A. W. Rice, D. D., presented y
the work of Sunday School
Missions; .< the veteran Rev.
H. L. Peterson, D. D., made a
spirited address on Evangel
ism, while Miss Ethel E. Go
mes, Synod’s gifted missionary,
revealed the work of Christian
Education. The needs of Unit
ed Promotion were brought to
the attention of Synod by Rev.
8. A. Downer, D. D.
Heading a distinctive group
of representatives of the “
Boards of our Church, Dr.
J. M. Gaston lifted the Synod
to higher levels with his splen
did address on the work of
National Missions. Other speak
ers on National Missions were
Dr. L. B. West. Field Represen
tative of the Board and Dr.
A. B. McCoy, Director of Ne
gro Sunday School Missions.
A new representative of the
Board, Miss Virginia Ray, was
presented.. Synod rejoiced to
hear and welcome on the occa
sion of his *irst visit, Rev.
H. B. Master, D. D., General
fecretwy of the Board of Pen- •
su ns. He was affectionately in
troduqgd by Rev. W. P. Lock
wood, Jjneld Secretary of the
same Board. The presence of
other visitors was appropriately
acknowledged: Rev. C. W. Fran
(Continued pn page 3)