Magyar Egyház, 1961 (40. évfolyam, 1-10. szám)
1961-02-01 / 2. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 13 ßethtesi y&utti tyosuMti IN SEARCH OF AN ANSWER With the seeking minds of children, we used to ask our parents whether or not the stories our Sunday School Teachers were telling were wholly true. We just needed their reassuring words, “Yes, God is taking care of you. Of course, God loves you.” It was enough; and after saying our prayers, we securely tumbled into sleep. The blind faith of a child suffices us no longer; for as we grow older, we need to strengthen our faith. Many of us are going through a period of our lives when we doubt the existence of God, when we feel that sophistication and faith contradict each other, when we want to prove that which for so many years we have accepted. As rue search for an answer, we look to our traditional religion for guidance. But questioning is not analogous to rejecting. We do not outgrow religion as we outgrow Sunday School. In rejecting religion, would not we also be rejecting part of ourselves? For, is not religion a way of life? We have now reached the age iahen we should question; question in order to understand. That faith which is based on mere acceptance is enough for a child, but cannot become an integral part of the life of an adult. We must search; and when we find the answer we will know that our faith has been transformed into a fundamental pattern of life. To say that we look to the Church for guidance is somewhat abstract. We can say, however, that there are many means available to us: the worship services, the youth fellowship meetings, if you are in college the Christian association on campus. We are not alone in asking questions: it is enlightening to discuss these problems with people our own age. (This year you have a special opportunity to go to the North American Ecumenical Youth Assembly. Take this opportunity and go.) If you are concerned about your church, your generation, if you are striving for a greater understanding: do not wait for all these to come to you; do not be concerned passively, search actively. Fruzsina Harsanyi A RETIRED TEACHER, Elvira Coccoli, 84, from Bari, Italy, returning home from a visit found two burglars in her apartment. She recognized them: they were former pupils of hers. So she gave them a strong lecture on honesty, made them sit down to the table and write down a 100 times “I shall not steal anymore”. Then she chased the baffled two men out of her apartment. Bishop Discusses Care of Very Old (London) — An Anglican bishop has questioned whether it is morally right to use “extraordinary means” to keep the old and infirm alive. The Bishop of Exeter, Dr. R. C. Mortimer, preaching at a serveice held in connection with meetings of the British Medical Association, said that it seems morally wrong to subject very old people to the acute discomfort of a serious operation or feeding by intravenous means. “While in the Christian view there is a moral obligation to maintain the life of the very old by all ordinary means, there is no obligation to use extraordinary means”, Bishop Mortimer declared. His comments have stimulated widespread discussion in the British press.-----------o----------Philippines Church Asks Full Communion With U. S. Church (Manila) — The two million-member Philippine Independent Church has formally requested the establishment of full communion with the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States. The Philippine Independent Church was formed at the turn of the century when almost three million Roman Catholics seceded from Rome after their failure to persuade the Holy See to introduce reforms. In 1948 the Independent Church re-established an episcopate in the historic succession through the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States. (SPS, Geneva.)-----------o----------BARTH ON REVOLUTIONS Dr. Karl Barth, world-famous theologian, was asked at the International Teaching Conference, sponsored by the World’s Student Christian Federation this summer in Strasbourg, as to whether Christians should become involved with revolutions. Dr. Barth said, “it depended on the kind of revolution ... Not every revolution is a good thing,” and said he doubted whether he personally could participate “as a Christian in the revolution of this man in Cuba, Castro.”--------o-------BIBLES FOR AUSTRIAN SOLDIERS A copy of the New Testament in the hands of every Protestant soldier in the Austrian Army is the goal of a project being carried out by the Austrian Bible Committee in cooperation with Dr. Helmut May, the Protestant army chaplain. During recent months more than 2,500 copies of the New Testament have been distributed without charge to service men in connection with the project. NEWS FROM THE CONGREGATIONS BETHLEHEM, PA. A cordial invitation is extended to our old and new friends who desire to worship God in our newly acquired church building. Much work is being done by our members, but we hope to redecorate the whole building for the dedication service which we tentatively set for October 15th. Sunday School will continue as usual under the able leadership of Mr. Alexander Csomos. Saturday Bible School, Confirmation Class will go on with new zeal. Send or bring your children to the House of the Lord. In case of need for special services get in touch with the Chief Elder, or the Vice President: Mr. John Voros or Mr. Ed Erdélyi. CARTERET, N. J. The annual meeting adopted the following local ordinance governing the use of the church for burials: “Burial from the church will be
