Magyar Egyház, 1957 (36. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1957-11-01 / 11. szám
lü MAGYAR EGYHÁZ Resolution^ adapted by approximately 1,000 American Hungarian Protestants of the Eastern United States, at the Fourth Annual “Reformation Day Service” at the Brick Presbyterian Church of New York City, on Sunday, October 27, 1957. “We, the sons and daughters of the Hungarian nation, citizens of the United States of America, Protestant Christians, have assembled today in New York from the States of Connecticut, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania to return thanks for the great gift of the Reformation. We give thanks unto God for once again bringing His Truth to light in the Reformation. We are thankful that the Truth of God has taught us love of freedom. This is the reason why, with prayer and anxiety, we turn our thoughts to our brethren in Hungary. When we, one short year ago, in this very place were assembled for the same solemn purpose, the Hungarian nation was engaged in a life and death struggle for freedom. We then stated that, if the Hungarian nation fails in this struggle, every free Christian will be held responsible before the Judge of History. Darkness has once again descended over Hungary. Once again abandoned it struggles alone for its survival. Our responsibility before God has constrained us. On the first anniversary of the brutally crushed Hungarian revolution we bare our souls in repentance. We call upon every Christian and every organization to unite with us in this act of penance. We humbly confess before God that we were not our brother’s keeper. Once again we resigned ourselves to the amoral fact of a divided world. We condoned the use of a double standard in international relations. We have allowed the interest of the great powers to take precedence over the rights of the small nations. As though we had forgotten the Scripture: “Righteousness exalteth a nation but sin is a reproach to any people.” We wish to believe that the Christian conscience will not be content with verbal condemnation of the destruction of justice and the victory of evil but by its deeds it will strive to exalt justice and to succeed in overcoming the forces of evil. “For the Kingdom of God does not consist in talk but in power”. Or, as our Master expressed it: “ Not every one who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father.” The Evangelical and Reformed Church, Magyar Synod The Free Magyar Reformed Church in America The Hungarian Presbyterian Conference The American Hungarian Reformed Ministerial Association The American Hungarian Reformed Presbyters Association The Hungarian Reformed Federation in America. THOUGHTS FOR THANKSGIVING DAY God has two dwellings: one in heaven, and the other in a meek and thankful heart. — Izaak Walton * * * Let never day nor night unhallowed pass but still remember what the Lord hath done. — Shakespeare k -k k The private and personal blessings we enjoy, the .blessings of immunity, safeguard, liberty, and integrity, deserve the thanksgiving of a whole life. — Jeremy Taylor "k k k O give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; for His steadfast love endures for ever! Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He has redeemed from trouble, and gathered in from the lands, from the east and from the west, from the north and from the south. Some wandered in desert wastes, finding no way to a city to dwell in; hungry and thirsty, their soul fainted within them. Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress; he led them by a straight way, till they reached a city to dwell in. Let them thank the Lord for His steadfast love, for his wonderful works to the sons of men! For He satisfies him who is thirsty, and the hungry He fills with good things... Whoever is wise, let him give heed to these things; let men consider the steadfast love of the Lord. — 107th Psalm k k k NEW APOCRYPHA TRANSLATION . . . Another milestone in American biblical scholarship has been reached with the publication of a new translation of the Apocrypha. It was published on September 30. The same day marked the fifth anniversary of publication of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible. Both projects were completed by National Council of Churches’ committees of scholars under the chairmanship of Dr. Luther A. Weigle, dean emeritus of Yale Divinity School. The Apocrypha are the 15 books and portions of books which appear in the Latin Vulgate, but which are not in the Hebrew Bible. Martin Luther, who translated them into German in 1534, described the Apocrypha as “books which are not held equal to the sacred Scriptures, and nevertheless are useful and good to read.” Commenting on the new translation, Dr. Weigle declared: “A generation that has witnessed the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls will probably agree that modern historical interest is putting the books of the Apocrypha in their true place as significant documents of a most important era in Christian history.” The Revised Standard Version of the Bible, published just five years ago, has had a recordbreaking five million-copy sale. A total of 32 Protestant denominations are using RSV texts in their Christian education programs, some exclusively and others in conjunction with the earlier King James version.
