Magyar Egyház, 1959 (38. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1959-05-01 / 5. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 11 effort will be more in line wih settlement house programs than the conventional church pattern. The Borough of the Bronx is an extreme example of what has happened and will undoubtedly occur in other cities. Here out of a population of 1,500,000 only 80,000 persons are affiliated with Protestant churches! Since most Protestant church leaderships are notable lax in recording their losses by removal to other areas, actual memberships will generally be far below those reported in denominational statistics. The traditional Protestant emphasis on work among people of the middle class must be radically altered in urban situations where the old middle class has been replaced by a huge lower income population. The success of this transformation will determine whether or not Protestantism can survive in the cities. II. Protestant growth in suburban areas will be hindered by the rapid development of other social agencies. Lodges and clubs which traditionally take longer to gain strength than the churches will have an unprecedented period of development in the next decade. City churches have long faced the power of entrenched civic organizations. The suburbs have had a head start in this matter, but their day of reckoning is soon approaching. The “class” appeal of many civic groups will tend to draw off large numbers of churchgoers. Old and established suburban areas have long shown this to be true. The general slowdown in emphasis on religious matters will be characteristic of the coming decade. Often the churches themselves are to blame. They promise more than they can deliver. Material success unfortunately seems to blunt their evangelistic zeal and their tendency is then to relax and take it easy. When this occurs, other organizations are more than ready to seek out the inactives of the Christian movement. III. The most basic reason for the questionable future of Protestantism is the lack of direction on the part of its leadership. In the search for economic stability many of the churches sacrificed theological certainty. A vagueness entered much of their preaching, the search for new members led to the abolition of standards of catechetical training and belief. The great popularity of religion in general has thus far saved the churches from paying the price for this indefiniteness. Jesus chided his followers for not being able to understand the signs of the times. How he would rebuke modern Protestant leadership for imagining that it could build on the foundation of popular acceptance alone. Without strong foundations of the type now found only in the Lutheran, Episcopal and Reformed ranks, the rest of American Protestantism is doomed to a gradual loss of numbers and prestige. While Protestantism continues to dwell in the mistaken belief that it will continue its role of leadership the well organized Roman Catholic Church silently builds churches and parochial schools. While Protestant colleges are suffering grave losses the Church of Rome continues to establish institutions of higher learning throughout the length and breadth of America. Its growing strength combined with Protestantism’s glaring weakenesses bode ill for the future of the faith that built but failed to hold the greatest land in all the world, our United States of America. The future of American Protestantism will be determined by its present leadership. Since this leadership is, in most cases, completely unaware of the great changes that are taking place in American life, it can hardly stem the tide. It will remain for the liturgical bodies which have retained a sense of discipline and calling to set the direction by their example and witness. Charles Darocy Italian Council Upholds Protestant Right to Build (Rome)—The council of State, Italy’s highest administrative authority, has ruled that a Protestant congregation in the village of San Angelo has a “fully recognized” right to build a church. The council said that attempts by village officials to stop construction of a Baptist church were “illegitimate”. The village officials had said that the Rev. Graziano Cannito, pastor of the 278-member church, did not show them his credentials as an evangelical minister, as required by law. After the building was started last year, the mayor of nearby Veroli, who administers San Angelo, ordered the pastor to tear down what had been built and threatened to send a policeman if his orders were not carried out. Mr. Cannito appealed against the action, saying that the order to raze the structure was based on religious discrimination. The council’s decision was called “fair” by Dr. Manfredi Ronchi, president of the Federal Council of Italian Evangelical Churches. *k k "k Protestant Preacher Wounded in Colombia A mob incited by the local priest inflicted head wounds on Mr. Hector Gonzalez, a lay preacher of the Inter-American Missionary Society in the town of Carolina, Antioquia, Colombia, on February 8. Local police and government authorities in the administrative department of Antioquia said they could not guarantee the safety of Protestants in the area in view of the attitude of the bishop, who supported the priest in Carolina. EPS * * * LOVE THE LORD We love the Lord wih the heart, but the Karrá people of French Equatorial Africa love Him with their ‘liver.’ The Conob Indians of Guatemala love Him with their ‘stomachs’, and the Marshall Islanders in the South Pacific love Him with their ‘throats.’ But do all these different words—‘heart’, ‘liver’, ‘stomach’ or ‘throat’— make any difference in the meaning of love? Not in the least. The words may change, but the message is the same. It is for this reason that the message of the Scriptures can be communicated into all the different languages of the earth. (Bible Society Record)
