Vol 19 Issue 22

Rev. H. Hoeksema Dear Editor: In reading the Schedule for 1943 and 1944: I felt that there would be much valuable reading material for the Standard Bearer reader. This is especially true when we are to have debates on such vital subjects as mentioned. Others could be added such as: Have Elders the right to serve in office without a general knowledge of the Three Forms of Unity, in accordance with God’s Word; as also a fair to good knowledge of the church order. I am excluding the Ministers here. To me it is self-evident that they have this knowledge,...

Editor of the Standard Bearer: Dear Mr. Editor, May I reply to the article of Rev. C. Hanko, published in the September 1 issue of your paper? It is not a desire to have the last word that prompts me to ask for this, but concern about being misunderstood. I am wholeheartedly in agreement with the stand of the Protestant Reformed Churches that membership in the C.I.O. and A.F. of L. is, not compatible with membership in the Church of Christ. Therefore I am very anxious to gain the support of the members of those churches for the C.L.A. I...

Should there appear in one of the editions of the Standard Bearer an article or two concerning the happenings in the world of sport we would be shocked. Should there be a detailed report of the progress and outcome of the World’s Series in the baseball realm, we would shake our heads and say, “What is this world coming to?” Should one of our daily newspapers publish upon its sport page, items of news concerning one of our churches we would feel highly insulted. The reason for this is that we all feel keenly that the church has nothing to...

The term theocracy is not a biblical word, but it is the expression of a thoroughly biblical idea as found in the passages 1 Sam. 8:7, “They have rejected Me that I should not reign over them;” 1 Sam. 12:12, “Ye said Nay, but a king shall reign over us: when the Lord your God was your King;” Deut. 33:5, “He was King in Jeshurun when the heads of the people and the tribes of Israel were gathered together.” In general we may characterize this theocracy as the state where God was Father-King and as such the sole law-giver and also...

Having narrated the passage through the Jordan, the sacred writer brings before us in succession (a) the effect of the invasion upon the heathen, ver. 1 of ch. 5; (b) the circumcision of the people, ver. 2-9 (c) the enjoyment of the bread of the land and the Passover in connection with the cessation of the manna, ver. 10-19; the appearance of the angel of God to Joshua, ver. 13-15; and finally the capture of Jericho, ch. 6. We briefly comment on the first four of these events to concentrate in the writing upon the capture of Jericho. The terror...

First the question: What, in general, is culture. The term culture comes from a word that means to till, cultivate, promote the growth of an organism. In explaining the idea of culture, we may begin with plant culture. Here culture is the labor, the care, that the farmer bestows on the plants that he grows in his fields. He prepares the soil, sows the seed. He thereupon cultivates the plants. He keeps the soil loose, destroys the weeds that spring up around the plants. He feeds the plants through enriching the soil. This is done largely before the sowing of...

Very sober and brief is the Heidelberg Catechism on the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. Strictly speaking, it expresses all it has to say on this important subject in one question and answer, the twenty fifth: “Since there is but one only divine essence, why speakest thou of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost? Because God has so revealed himself in his word, that these three distinct persons are the one only true and eternal God.” But although very brief, the answer may be considered quite complete. It reminds us that we can speak of the trinity only “because God has...

Naturally, after reading Van Til’s criticism of my position over against Prof. Heyns, as set forth in my “The Gospel,” I once more turned to that booklet to discover whether I really wrote anything that might suggest such a fatalistic conception of man as a moral agent as Van Til attributes to me. And I must confess that I not only failed to find anything that might reasonably explain Van Til’s criticism, but that it seems to me that what I actually wrote should have been sufficient to convince him that my views are the very opposite from what he...

It may be interesting to compare the conclusions adopted by the Synod of the Christian Reformed Churches in regard to the union question this year, with those that were adopted a few years ago. The comparison may show in what direction the Synod is moving, or whether it is merely marking time. We quote these former conclusions, as they appeared in The Banner of April 7, 1938: “Now it is perfectly clear that the Church can accomplish whatever it may be able to do in this sphere, only with the means entrusted to her, that is the faithful preaching of...

And he came thither unto a cave, and he lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only am left; and they seek my life to take it away. And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by,...