Calvin Synod Herald, 1997 (97. évfolyam, 1-6. szám)
1997-11-01 / 6. szám
CALVIN SYNOD HERALD- 6 -AMERIKAI MAGYAR REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA Illuminating Quotations from the Letter of Mrs. Conrad Baehr to Our Editor Mirhám Wester’s Encyclopedia of Literature, published in 1995 in Springfield, Massachusetts, is a world of literature. It contains an impressive array of Hungarian writers. We are reprinting a portion of its essay on Ferenc Kazinczy. Kazinczy \’ko-zen-tse\, Ferenc (b. October 27,1759, Ersemlyen, Hungary, Holy Roman Empire - d. August, 1831, Szephalom). Hungarian man of letters who reformed the Hungarian language and attempted to improve literary style. Born of a well-to-do family of the nobility, Kazinczy learned German and French as a child and acquired an extensive knowledge of foreign literature. He published his first book, a small geography of Hungary, in 1775. Later, he studied law and became a civil servant, all the while immersed in literary studies and writing. He helped to found one literary review, then founded another. He also translated a number of plays into Hungarian for a newlyfounded Hungarian theatrical company. Kazinczy was arrested for participating in a political conspiracy in December of 1794 and was condemned to death , even though his role had been minor. His sentence was later commuted to imprisonment, and in 1801, he was released. He had by that time determined to devote his life to the improvement of Hungarian literature. Kazinczy tried, through a voluminous correspondence with other European writers and his own writings, to banish from literature everything he considered vulgar and uncouth. His writings included biting epigrams pubPromise Keepers 1997: Stand in the Gap by Warren Tisdale and Rev. Bill Nyerges So often we find ourselves p r looking at the many issues of jA \ \ modern life and wondering, / i j \ »r “How does our faith, our walk \ with the Lord Jesus Christ, speak to that issue, that \ need?" Many of our problems and challenges center around family life, social relationships and our roles and responsibilities as men and women of Christ. The most recent decades have witnessed a desperate need for-men to assume their special responsiblity and calling as moral leaders, to be encouraged by each other in Biblical faith, to focus on Jesus Christ in a fresh renewal of commitment in all areas of their lives. When God speaks to the heart, the answers we need are experienced very personally and powerfully. Such is the Promise Keepers movement, started in prayer and a crying out to God, in 1991, by Coach Bill McCartney, a Christian layman who saw the need for men, beginning with himself, to renew their public allegiance to Jesus Christ and to live out their demonstration of this love in their families. The first gathering in Boulder, Colorado, drew 4,000 men. The next year the numbers grew to over 20,000, then 50,000, as each succeeding year, more stadiums in more cities held Promise Keeper events. Warren and I attended the 1995 Detroit PK event at the Silverdome, where 78,000 men gathered to sing, pray, be encouraged in the Word, and regain new strength in honoring the Lord, lished in Tövisek es virágok (1811; Thorns and Flowers) and many sonnets, a poetical form he introduced to Hungary. Kazinczy’s position as self-styled censor involved him in endless controversies. His most famous battle was fought to improve the language: he initiated reforms of grammar, spelling and style that made Hungarian a more flexible literary medium. He served on the committee that founded the Hungarian Academy in 1828 and elected a member in 1830. In our former issue, we had an article on Kazinczy by Dr. William Bonis. The Kazinczy-Volosin Fund, presented by Lili R Volosin, is in the care of our Magyar Calvin Synod. It deserves our special attention for evident reasons. and because of that honoring, their wives and children and fellow believers. The event that took place in Washington, D.C., on October 4,1997, was a culmination of these several years of the Holy Spirit’s work. It was not intended to be a “march on Washington” because its purpose was not political. The capital does serve, however, as the demonstratable and symbolic soul of the nation and a fitting focal point for what did bring thousands of men together: A Biblical “Sacred Assembly” of men. As recorded in Ezekiel 22:30, God tells the nation of Israel: “I looked for a man among them who would build up the wall and stand before me in the gap on behalf of the land so I would not have to destroy it, but I found none.” Today, as much as ever, our nation needs men who will “stand in the gap” against a culture that mocks com- Continued on page 7 “I am the widow of Conrad R. Baehr, one of the many avid readers of The March of Truth. My husband passed away last January. We were missionaries in China and Taiwan, plus 2 years in Japan with the Pocket Testament League for most of the last 50 years, though we have been retired now for about 12 years. I am almost 90 years old. Enough about ourselves. Nearly two years ago, our Chinese churches asked us to please write up a record of how we were led to China and Taiwan, which we started to do together. But a good share of those years, Conrad needed health and Bed care; as a result, I am trying to finish those memoirs now, and our friend, a Chinese translator, is standing by to translate our book into Chinese. The March of Truth was a great inspiration to us and still is that to me. We went to Europe in 1969 especially to visit the places mentioned in that book and to sense anew, the wonders, and the awful persecution the martyrs endured. We have a few notes, but I wish now to use a few of Rev. Szabó’s quotations, if I may be allowed; that is, quotations from the lips of the martyrs. The places we visited included Zurich, Constance, Paris, Leyden, Worms, England and Scotland. I’ve given several paragraphs to Zwingli, Faréi, Coligny and Huss, the rescue from the Spanish by God in the Church of Delft, Knox and Covenanters in Scotland. I am requesting your permission to use your name, the name of your book and a few quotations that occur in the book in quotation marks.”
