Vol 20 Issue 21

On April 11 the ministers of Classis East held the first meeting of their newly organized Ministers Conference. Taking a lesson from the past the organization has adopted a setup different: from the previous conferences which were organized only to pass out of existence after a few meetings. We may remember that the previous meetings were held after a day of busy classical activities, when some of the delegates were eager to spend a few quiet hours with relatives and friends, others had to hurry off to their trains. Now, however, we have an all-day meeting the day before Classis,...

NEGATIVE-REBUTTAL: In refuting the affirmative stand as set forth by my opponent, the Reverend J. Heys, the undersigned must remark at the very outset that there is much in his article with which he is in agreement. We, too, believe that the Ministry of the Word is very really discipline and that this first Key of the Kingdom of Heaven is the chief means of Christian Discipline. The rebuttal of the undersigned must therefore be directed primarily against the conclusion of the article of the affirmative which sets forth suggested reasons for leaving the discipline of those that belong to...

There are matters which we classify as touchy topics. They are matters which are subjects of debate and argument. If we would be known as being tactful and polite, we make it a point not to discuss such matters before certain people or groups of people because they have a tendency to cause an explosion and hard and bitter feelings and even sever friendships. Think for instance of life insurance, union membership, theological points of dispute, etc. And so also the topic which we wish to discuss for a few moments could be classified as a touchy topic. It was...

On the map one can almost trace the course of the white horse of the Gospel, as it (traversed Asia and Europe and then came to this country of ours. If travelled ever westward. In due time the Lord also brought the Gospel to these shores. And, as a necessary counterpart, there came also Christian Instruction. History proves that with the one belongs the other. This article intends to review some of that history. There was a development of Christian instruction also in Romish and Lutheran circles, but this article will confine itself mostly to the development of it within...

The war of liberation against the Midianites had been brought to completion. Great has been the achievements, of Gideon’s faith. “Then the men of Israel said unto Gideon, Rule thou over us, both thou, and thy son, and thy son’s son also.” So do they offer him the supreme authority and even express a willingness to make it hereditary. This offer of the people can apparently be defended by saying that there was need of a settled government, a center of authority which would bind the tribes together and lead them in war. Actually there was this need. But it...

The, business agent of Local No. 12, the same local that proposed the anti-strike overture to the last annual convention of the C.L.A., having noticed that the Standard Bearer took interest in the matter, was kind enough to send me a complete copy of the above mentioned overture, and we here offer it to our readers: To the Annual Convention of the Christian Labor Association of the United States. An overture. The board of the Christian Building Trades Local No. 12, proposes to this convention that it shall rescind its stand in regard the strike issue. In its official documents...

In the “Vrije Nederlander,” a paper published in London, England, appeared an article containing the information that Dr. K. Schilder had been suspended from office by the Synod of the “Gereformeerde Kerken” in the Netherlands, and that he is “moment eel ondergetoken.” The last phrase means that he has for the present disappeared, joined the “underground.” This seems to imply that our esteemed brother was once again in trouble with the Nazis, and that they were looking for him. The article in the “Vrije Nederlander” was based upon a rather lengthy article in. another Dutch paper, “Het Handelsblad,” and which...

In a contribution in this number of our paper Mr. G. Ten Elshof criticizes, and rather severely and completely condemns, the decision of our last Synod to invest the ten thousand dollars that accumulated in our Mission Fund for the time being in government war bonds. Perhaps, others, such as the mission committee, are the proper party to reply to this article. It concerns a matter of finance. And if my memory is correct (I did not take the time to look it up), the proposal to invest this sum as was decided came from them. Nevertheless, I consider it...

In answer to the article by Mr. J. Gritter in the August number of our paper, the following may suffice. 1. I wish to point out that nowhere did I make the statement that “employees, if dissatisfied, may collectively cease working.” Nor would I subscribe to this statement without important qualifications. Even if a man quits his job he has certain obligations before God, both with regard to his employer and to those that are dependent on him. The fact that he is dissatisfied with his job does not justify his quitting, unless he is sure of another job. And...

There is one more point I meant to make in regard to the position of the C.L.A. with respect to the strike. Thus far I argued that the strike is principally wrong because it is revolutionary. It is a refusal to work for those whom we regard as our employers, and to whom, therefore, we owe obedience and subjection according to Scripture. And, secondly, I showed that the strike cannot possibly stand in the service of righteousness, because it is not duly instituted authority that settles the issue in a strike, but mere force. The strongest wins. The point I...