Review and Herald, Vol. 93, No. 56. (11/9/1916)

Review and Herald

Nov 9, 1916

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Nov 9, 1916

Joy for the Journey

By Henry van Dyke

Let me but live my life from year to year, With forward face and unreluctant soul, Not hastening to, nor turning from, the goal; Not mourning for the things that disappear In the dim past, nor holding back in fear From what the future veils, but with a whole And happy heart, that pays its toll To Youth and Age, and travels on with cheer.

So let the way wind up the hill, or down, Through rough or smooth, the journey will be joy; Still seeking what I sought when but a boy, New friendship, high adventure, and a crown. I shall grow old, but never lose life's zest, Because the road's last turn will be the best.

— Henry van Dyke In the Watchman-Examiner.

Current Mention

Here and There in the Daily Press

To the student of current history in the light of Biblical prophecy, there are many items of interest which appear from time to time in the daily press. We shall here call attention to only a few of these.

In the Physical World

Many are the calamities occurring in this old world of ours which newspapers bring to our attention. Recently there were recorded earthquake shocks, felt throughout Georgia, eastern Alabama, and eastern Tennessee. The report from Birmingham, Ala., was that the severest earthquake in the history of the city had taken place at two minutes past four on the afternoon of October 16. While the material damage done by these shocks was inconsiderable, great excitement was caused, and thousands of persons poured out from the office buildings and downtown structures. An afternoon performance in a theater was interrupted while the audience rushed for the exits.

Within a few days the news of a great storm on Lake Erie has been recorded. One ship foundered in the storm, and its entire crew of twenty-one persons perished. The captain was the sole survivor. When he was rescued, he was able only to tell where his ship had sunk, and that the crew had been lost. Then he became unconscious as a reaction from his long fight for life.

In the Political World

A striking statement has been made by President Wilson. He declared, “This is the last war of any kind that the United States can stay out of, and the business of neutrality is over.” This means much as a statement from one in President Wilson’s position. We can indeed look for the United States to be involved in the next great war, which, according to Scripture, will probably be the last great war, the war of Armageddon.

Many are beginning to worry as to the conditions of the world after the end of the present war. Baron Sakatani, of Japan, who had come from an economic conference in Paris, when asked as to the effect of the closing of the war upon industrial and financial conditions throughout the world, said:—

“The destruction of so much wealth is certain to make a profound impression upon every country. No one can escape it. A period of financial and industrial depression is ahead. Just at what time no one can be sure, perhaps, but it is inevitable. Whatever measure of prosperity some countries may enjoy at this time, is no reason why they should retain it in the years to come, when other territories will be groaning under terrific burdens. Such a condition is impossible under the modern international interlacing financial interests. It goes without saying that every country should take measures against the coming of just such a period of depression, according to their wisdom.”

The editorial comment of the Post of October 2, is that “experience abundantly justifies this forecast.”

The position is taken by J. D. Whelpley, author of “The Trade of the World,” in an article in the National Sunday Magazine Section of the Washington (D. C.) Sunday Post, October 22, that the end of the war will mark the beginning of a great trade war in which the American manufacturer will meet new conditions. He says:—

“When the American manufacturer ventures forth again to meet his former European rival on neutral ground, he will find an even more formidable antagonist than before, for the European trader will have behind him a government more willing to coöperate, a people keener for his success, and a competitive power largely increased by what was learned in time of war as to how things could be made quickly, cheaply, and out of home-found materials, or practical substitutes for what was formerly imported and considered as essential.”

In the Religious World

The Protestant Episcopal Church, in its recent general convention, adopted in the House of Deputies, for the first time in the history of the church, a prayer for the dead. Heretofore such prayers have been found only in the ritual of the Roman Catholic Church. This is surely a striking proof of a tendency Romeward among Protestants.

The entrance of religion into the curriculum of the public schools is still a mooted question. Before a meeting of the board of education in Washington, D. C., a hearing was given to two widely opposed factions. On the one hand, it was argued that the recent decision of the board sanctioning the custom of hanging the ten commandments on the walls of schoolrooms, and including the reading of the Bible as a part of the school work, was a direct violation of the Constitution of the United States, which provides for separation of church and state. On the other hand, the fact was pointed out that religion was closely connected with the original foundation of what most of our higher students are learning, and that a very serious condition is resulting among American young people because of lack of religious training. How glad we should be that we have denominational colleges where our young people may receive religious education under Christian teachers!

Many of the sermons preached in popular pulpits have little of the old-time gospel in them. They are more concerned with social-betterment problems, and sometimes even with problems of a purely intellectual or political nature. The subject of a sermon recently given in a church in Washington was, “The New Sovereign Race: Shall It be German, British, or American?” On the following Sunday night the pastor proposed to give the first of a series of sermons on home life, the subject for the first one in the series to be, “How Much Does It Cost to Furnish a Home for Two?” The newspaper announcement said, “The furniture and fittings will be in the church, and a practical demonstration given of the cost of furnishing a modest home for newly-weds.”

Due to legal restrictions placed upon those desiring to practice as physicians, a restriction which requires them to pass an examination in diagnosis.—Christian Science healers have found legal difficulty in pursuing their practice, and the New York County Medical Association was instrumental in convicting one of the healers of breaking the law. The case was appealed, and now the court of appeals has handed down a decision recognizing the right of Christian Science healers to practice, even though not qualified as physicians to do so. It seems that in the New York medical license law there is an exemption containing a clause saying that its provisions shall not prevent the practice of the religious tenets of any church. It is under this exemption that the higher court reversed the decision of the lower court.

In the Social World

Strike riots continue in New York City and other places. On one occasion it is reported that a crowd of women took part in what was one of the most serious riots since the beginning of the strike on the street-car systems of that city. Many of the rioters carried babies in their arms.

In Bayonne a pitched battle occurred October 12, between the employees of the Standard Oil Company and the police. One person, an innocent bystander, was killed. Another man will probably die, and several others were hurt. The militiamen were called out, and with the police endeavored to establish order, but the situation continued so serious that the Bayonne Business Men’s Association announced its purpose to close their stores during the continuation of the strike.

Even to the little island of Porto Rico the strike epidemic has spread. The employees of the largest railroad on the island went on a strike October 16, demanding a twenty-five-per-cent wage increase. The report on October 17 was that only mail trains were running.

In Calgary, Canada, as a result of a pitched battle between the soldiers and the police, the barracks of the mounted

(Concluded on page 21)*

Laboring for the Heathen at Home

The church of Christ cannot prove true to its profession and its divine calling unless it feels a genuine burden for the great multitude of unsaved in heathen lands. To but few, comparatively, is given the privilege of putting forth labor for these multitudes in darkness, but it is our privilege to send our representatives, and then to hold up their hands in prayer and by financial support. Thus we may have a part in their labor. If we are not privileged to labor for the heathen in other lands, we may labor for the heathen at home. In the sense in which we use the word “heathen” we find many representatives of the class in so-called Christian lands.

The one who, in America, has no saving knowledge of Jesus Christ is quite as much in need of help as is the one who, in the lands of heathen darkness, is ignorant of Christ. There may be some of our neighbors, perhaps members of our own households,—husband or wife, father, mother, or children,—who are thus in need. Do we carry for these unconverted ones the same burden of heart that we carry for those in the great regions beyond? Do we plead with God for their salvation? Do we seek, by representing Christ’s character in our lives, to coöperate with the blessed Spirit in bringing about that salvation? These are considerations well worthy of study, particularly at this time of special seeking of God.

Some who have companied with us in the past may have strayed away. Perhaps they have become discouraged or disaffected, and their minds are now filled with doubt and unbelief. Some of these persons feel that no one cares for their souls. These surely are worthy subjects of labor.

If we really desire to work for God, to minister to some one who needs help, his Spirit will anoint our eyes so that we may see more openings for labor than we can possibly fill. Often we fail to see avenues for doing good because we have no desire to walk in the leading of the Lord. Let us pray for the spirit of labor, for the anointing of the Holy Spirit for service, and for spiritual vision to recognize God-given opportunities. We shall not be disappointed in receiving answers, and our labor will not be without results.

Archeology and the Pentateuch

By L. L. C.

The Mosaic origin of the first five books of the Bible, commonly called the Pentateuch, was one of the favorite points of attack of the skeptical critics of a few years ago. The objection they commonly offered was that writing was not known in the time of Moses. The recent archeological discoveries have fully vindicated the accuracy of the Bible in its references to the use of writing at the time of the exodus. Not only has the official correspondence of the kings of Egypt of the eighteenth dynasty been discovered, but also a Babylonian code of laws inscribed under the first dynasty of Babylon, over two thousand years before Christ. This code is known as the code of Hammurapi (or Hammurabi). The discovery of this code shows that long before the time of Moses, codes of laws were engraved on monuments for public use.

Among a certain class of higher critics there is a tendency to explain the historical persons and events of the Old Testament as the outgrowth of primitive myths, and not as real persons who lived and did the things recorded of them by the Scriptures. Archeology is doing much to place a check on this too prevalent practice. There are so many points in the records of the Pentateuch to whose trustworthiness archeology has borne witness that it will be possible for us to consider only a few.

The tenth chapter of Genesis, verses 8-12, affirms the existence of Babel and other cities before the existence of Nineveh. It also states that Assyria was colonized from Babylonia, and that the founder of the Babylonian civilization was not a Semite, but Cush, a descendant of Ham. Each of these statements, though disputed till the time of the archeological discoveries in Assyria, has now been confirmed by the monuments.

In the twenty-second verse of this same chapter, Elam is spoken of as the oldest son of Shem. The fact that the inhabitants of historical Elam were Aryans, not Semites, offered a basis for the higher critics to question the historical accuracy of the Bible. On this point, Rev. James Orr, in “The Problem of the Old Testament,” quotes Dr. Driver as saying:—

“It is true inscriptions recently discovered seem to have shown that in very early times Elam was peopled by Semites, . . . but the fact is not one which the writer of this verse is likely to have known.”

Dr. Orr then adds the pertinent remark:—

“The curious fact is, however, that he did know it, while modern scholars did not. Is it not more likely that Dr. Driver’s theory of the writer’s age, and of the extent of his knowledge, is wrong?”

In the Biblical accounts of Abraham’s sojourn in Egypt, and later of Joseph’s life there, we find mention of customs, manners, and history which are now being proved remarkably accurate in all their details. The more archeological study has brought back to us the Egypt of that day, the more one is impressed with the wonderful fidelity of the Scriptural account which is so accurate as to make it necessary to grant that the writer of the account was fully acquainted with Egypt and her customs.

Even the points in the history of Joseph which were formerly challenged, have received clearest illustration or confirmation from the monuments. Critics have objected that the grape was not cultivated in Egypt, that flesh was not an article of diet, that the picture of the freedom of the women was in conflict with Oriental privacy, and that the story of Joseph’s elevation was unparalleled. Records have now been found of a story bearing a striking parallel to the story of Joseph in the house of Potiphar. Other records found at Tell el-Amarna in the winter of 1887-88, contain two letters written by a Semite named Dūdu, who held a position at the Egyptian courts similar to that which Joseph held. In 1891 an inscription was found cut into a rock between the island of Elephantine and the first cataract, which records a seven-year famine in the land of Egypt. Though it may be questionable whether this is a record of the famine which occurred in the days of Joseph, it at least shows the occurrence of such famines in Egypt.

Much careful study has been bestowed on the geographical data included in the story of the journey of the children of Israel as they left Egypt. The remarkable accuracy of the Biblical accounts of this journey has been commented upon by every investigator of importance. Many of the places mentioned have been identified, and the very objections offered by some that the route was so barren that such a large company as the Israelites of the exodus could not be supported, only confirms the Bible account of the feeding of the children of Israel by manna rained down from heaven. Had there been food for them from natural sources, it would not have been necessary for God to perform the daily miracle of giving the manna to his people.

Egyptian history as a whole has been greatly illuminated by the archeologist. Among these records of the Mosaic period let us consider three of the most striking:—

In 1881 a gallery was discovered a few miles from Thebes, in which were found thirty-nine mummies. These proved, on investigation, to include among them practically all of the great kings and queens of Egypt of the eighteenth and nineteenth dynasties, besides many of other dynasties as well. Without doubt we have among these the mummy of the Pharaoh of the oppression, and probably also that of the Pharaoh of the exodus. The presence of this latter king is explained by the supposition that if he were personally present in the Egyptian army which was drowned in the Red Sea, his body must have been recovered and mummified, as would be expected among a people who considered this last rite so absolutely essential.

In 1887 a discovery was made at Tell el-Amarna, located about one hundred and eighty miles south of Cairo on the eastern bank of the Nile. Here about three hundred inscribed tablets were found, forming a part of the official correspondence of two kings of the eighteenth dynasty—Amenophis III and Amenophis IV. The remarkable fact about this correspondence is that the tablets were written, not in Egyptian hieroglyphics, but in Babylonian cuneiform. Much light is thrown on the state of Palestine during the time of these kings.

In 1896 an Egyptian monument was found in which the name Israel occurred. Though the explanation of this inscription is not without difficulties, it is striking to find the people of God actually mentioned in the records of old Egypt.

There are many other statements in the Holy Scriptures to whose accuracy no archeological discovery has borne witness, yet as further investigations are made, doubtless many more Biblical statements will receive the illumination which the discovery of these inscriptions affords. The discoveries which have been made already, have afforded many minute confirmations of the historical, geographical, and ethnographical data in the Bible. To such a degree has this been true that the open-minded, unprejudiced student can but recognize that the theories of the higher critics who assign mythical or a late origin to so many of the writings of the Old Testament, must be discarded, and we must receive the Pentateuch for what it purports to be,—a genuine account of the events of the past. L. L. C.

General Conference Committee Council

By Walter A. Spicer

Second and Concluding Report

Usually the two most important items dealt with in the autumn council are the appropriations to the mission fields for the next year, and the answer to calls for laborers.

In last week’s Review, Elder W. T. Knox, the treasurer, reported the appropriations made. As stated in that report, the estimates submitted by the fields had to be cut down by over $90,000, in order to bring the estimated expenditure within reach of the estimated income. Most of the cuts were made in the calls for funds for opening new territory or stations, the deferring of school enterprises, and here and there reducing the number of additional workers.

While the council regretted the necessity of denying many of the requests, it was glad that the appropriations as voted made provision for a yet enlarging work the coming year.

Distribution of Labor

We do not report the names of individuals invited to the fields until time is taken for correspondence with all concerned. However, the council gave invitation to seven new workers for India, three for the West Indian Union, two for the North Latin Mission, two for South Africa, two for the Austral Union, the South America, three for the Brazilian Union, and two for the Inca Union Mission, besides listing calls with the Publishing Department for leaders of the book work in Korea, Malaysia, Salvador, Venezuela, Peru, Bolivia, and for the vernacular work in India. Provision was also made to add three workers not yet found to the Lake Titicaca Indian Mission, another worker for the South African missions, and two or three yet to be found for the Asiatic Division.

All this is planned for with the assurance that the churches will keep the mission funds flowing in during 1917 to the full average of sixteen cents a week per member, the North American Division having voted to lift the weekly average one cent for 1917. The mission fields understand that all this hope of advance depends upon the home churches’ seeing that the average of sixteen cents a week per member is maintained week by week and month by month.

West Indian and North Latin Publishing Work

For several years study has been given to the question of strengthening and extending the circulation of publications in the fields bordering on the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea. Further consideration was given to this question during the council, which was attended also by the representatives of the publishing houses in North America, and the following action was taken:—

“WHEREAS, There is an urgent need for the consolidation and building up of the book and periodical work in the West Indian Union and Northern Latin American Mission fields; therefore,—

“We recommend, 1. That the Pacific Press Publishing Association be invited to establish a branch publishing house in the West Indian Union or Northern Latin American Mission field territory, at such place as may be decided upon in counsel among the members of the West Indian Union Conference Committee, the Northern Latin American Mission Committee, the Pacific Press Board, and the General Conference Committee.

“2. That the Pacific Press Publishing Association take over such portion of the present Watchman Press and Mexican publishing house equipment as may be agreed upon by the General Conference and the Pacific Press Board, and at such valuation as may be decided upon by the General Conference auditor.

“3. This publishing branch shall supply literature in all languages to the entire field, and may print or import such English and foreign periodicals, tracts, and books as may be needed in the field.

“4. That the branch office shall absorb custom duties to each field up to, but not exceeding, ten per cent, also consular fees and freight charges to society offices, or to agents on railway or steamship lines, provided such shipments weigh five hundred pounds or more; freight, but not consular fees, to be paid on shipments of one hundred to five hundred pounds.

“5. That this branch office allow the same discounts to societies, missions, and laborers as are outlined in the recommendations of the General Conference Publishing Department; and shall also pay one half of the salary and expenses of the union field missionary secretary.

“6. That the West Indian Union missionary field secretary supervise the book work in the Northern Latin American Mission territory until such time as it shall seem best to appoint a union secretary for that field, the General Conference compensating the West Indian Union for the time he spends in their service.

“7. That the book work in each conference and mission field be managed and controlled by the local committee, with a field secretary in charge.

“8. That the following be the local advisory board: The branch office manager; president of the West Indian Union; superintendent of the Northern Latin American Mission; Union field missionary secretary; president or superintendent of the local conference or mission in which the office is located:

and two other resident members, to be selected by the foregoing and approved by the Pacific Press Board.

“9. That it is understood that the Pacific Press Publishing Association will turn over this branch office to the local field if requested to do so by the General Conference, on such terms as may be agreed upon by the General Conference, the Pacific Press Board, and the local fields.”

Thirteenth Sabbath Offerings

During the council Mrs. L. Flora Plummer, secretary of the Sabbath School Department, made a report of the results of the Thirteenth Sabbath Offerings, which have come to be so large a factor in the supplying of means for the mission fields. The report is as follows:—

1912 Cities of India ............... $ 7,674.33 Selukwe Reserve, Africa .... 12,680.64 Mission homes in China .... 12,379.82 Schools in South America ... 10,854.42

1913 Korea and Philippine Islands.. 10,924.01 Medical work in India ....... 12,807.78 Transportation of 150 missionaries ................ 17,615.29 Four enterprises ............ 13,503.86

1914 Training school for China .... 17,491.65 Year’s advance in Japan ..... 18,637.62 Inca Union Mission .......... 17,145.00 War-time call ............... 21,792.06

1915 Malay Missions .............. 21,258.23 Spanish - American Mission fields ................ 22,443.39 African missions ............ 20,155.03 Manchuria, East and West China .................. 25,097.40

1916 Philippine Islands .......... 23,305.10

“Thus,” as the secretary of the department said in presenting the report, “passing the hat seventeen times has brought $285,765.63 to missions.”

Training of Missionaries

With the demand for workers to carry this message quickly to all the world, it has ever been recognized that every one of our schools is to be a training center for recruits. Concerning this matter the following action was taken:—

“WHEREAS, We recognize the need of acquainting the young people in our schools more fully with our missionary work, and of encouraging a still larger number to enter the work at home and in foreign lands;—

“We recommend, 1. That, when possible, the Mission Board place in our various training schools a missionary on furlough, under furlough pay, to spend, if possible, one year in the school, promoting missionary work, and perhaps teaching or studying some.

“2. That the General Conference men closely connected with the Mission Board make more frequent visits to our colleges, spending a week or more in placing foreign mission interests and problems before the students, and giving opportunity for personal consultation with young men and women who are interested.

“3. That our young people be encouraged to complete their education in our own schools, and to keep their eyes continually on the field, planning to enter immediately some branch of the cause on leaving school.

“4. That presidents and other laborers in our various conferences in the training school territory keep in close touch with the development of their young men and women in school, with a view to having some definite place to offer them as soon as their course is finished, thus making the field a more active participant with the school in developing new workers.

“5. That we urge our school men and visiting brethren to keep before the young men in our colleges the sacred and high calling of the ministry, and before the young women that of the Bible work; and further, that definite instruction in both lines be provided in the school in addition to what visiting brethren may contribute.”

Thus again the autumn council bore witness to the unity of the work in all the world, the older fields planning to develop resources of men and means for the pushing of the work in mission lands. It is realized that the work in the homelands, as we call the older bases, can be finished only when the message has been carried to all peoples abroad. On the other hand, the interests of the work in the regions beyond demand that the work in the older fields be kept vigorous and strong.

W. A. SPICER, Secretary.

Continue reading: Autumn Council of the North American Division Conference