Calvin Synod Herald, 1972 (72. évfolyam, 8-12. szám)
1972-10-01 / 10. szám
REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA 3 0 Lord, I hold the bread in hand And touch the wine to lips that pray. 1 want to share your suffering for the world To make it whole. But I am scared. I NEED YOUR LOVE. I NEED YOUR HELP. AMEN. Dr. Gerald Jud OLIVER CROMWELL 1599-1658 A PRAYER FOR WORLD COMMUNION Lord, here I sit again As I’ve sat many times before Sang the songs and heard the word Passed bread and wine and prayed. Don’t let this day go by As many have before When I have held in hand and mouth The holy things and then forgot. Forgot to let the truth sink in To do its work and bring its change; To make my love grow hot for man And make the world a better place. I know there’s poverty and greed I’m not so blind as not to know. I know the world’s a shrunken place That global man’s been born. That man is split in many parts That there is war and hatred still That men still die like flies A baby whimpers and a mother cries beside him. World Communion Sunday! Let these three words sink in. Roll round my tongue and trouble me Until the meanings burn like fire. All men are one, the scriptures say. I’ve heard that many times. O Lord, let me believe and help me work for that great day When men shall beat their swords Into pruning hooks and learn the art of war no more O Lord, begin with me and take from me All hatred and divisiveness and greed. If man can walk the moon And hold his heart in his own hand Cannot you help him, help him, Lord, To love his brother, near and all the world around? Insofar as the development of the American Churches is concerned, a study of the life of Cromwell is relatively insignificant except to show the contrasting results brought about in the New and Old countries by the same, strong democratic forces which were shaping both destinies markedly during the seventeenth century. In the case of the American colonies the break with feudal autocracy was almost as automatic and as quick as crossing the Atlantic; whereas, for those left at home, the old institutions had to be fought not only ideologically but with the sword. Cromwell serves as a focal point for a study of this struggle. Unquestionably, the revolution in which he participated influenced English history; but in the case of America, it would be wiser to say that the ideological revolt which produced the democratic American church also produced Cromwell—rather than the reverse. While Elizabeth lived, England prospered and was at peace. The surge of the middle class was hardly felt during her reign—except in Scotland where the Kirk was taking over the control of the civil government. As the commercial revolution (and the middle class) gained momentum, the monarchy lost favor. Because of this new social movement and its political implications and several other reasons relating to the persons of the monarchs themselves, the reigns of James I and Charles I became increasingly turbulent. Aided by his Archbishop Laud, Charles set up Church courts, censored the press, persecuted all (except the Roman Catholics) who did not receive the Book of Common Prayer, surrounded himself with a quasi-feudal council of state in which he replaced commoners with bishops, etc. The struggle of the common man against the crown began in this period to be identified more and more with his struggle to gain control over his own church. If he, through Parliament, could be the final authority in the affairs of his church, he would likewise be able to have the final say in his legal and economic affairs. His enemy was obvious — the feudal King and the feudal Bishop, hardly to be distinguished from each other because they were part and parcel of the same system. This anti-clerical and anti-monarchal feeling culminated in the outbreak of the Civil Wars — first in Scotland where, in 1638, Charles was openly defied with arms. In order to raise funds, Charles summoned Parliament, hut so great was their discontent that he dismissed them after a service lasting from April 13 to May 5, 1640. But in November of that year he was forced to reconvene Parliament because the Scots were then in England and refused to return to their land until they were given a bounty. Before this last Parliament had done its work, the monarchy in the person of Charles I was destroyed.
