Fraternity-Testvériség, 1948 (26. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1948-06-01 / 6. szám
FEAR NOT... “Fear thou not, for I am with thee”, says the Lord to the faint-hearted in the Book of Isaiah. The message is timely. Nothing characterizes our age more than fear. We fear the physical and spiritual dangers surrounding us constantly. We are afraid of losing our health and wealth. We are afraid of meeting with accidents, losing our jobs, livelihood, suffering financial ruin. We are afraid of the morrow, old age and death. In these fateful days, moreover, we especially dread war. In case we are spiritually minded, we also fear sin and especially the consequences of sin. Fear is demoralizing. It enervates us and turns life into veritable hell. Could fear be banished by human means, millenium would descend on earth and happiness would reign supreme. But can it be banished by human means? Mankind’s life today roars the devastating answer: No! Some years ago a grandiloquent slogan was coined by one of our war-leaders. The victors will see to it that after the war the world would enjoy the “Freedom from Fear”! Do we? Like fun. Fear cannot be conquered by man alone. We must have some one with us to attain this goal. That Some One is God. When we known that He is with us, because we are with Him, then and then alone we may overcome fear, physical and spiritual fear. Let us have, then, His unchangeable promise for shield for us: “Fear thou not, for I am with thee, be not dismayed, for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee, yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.” (A. D.) FALSE PROPHETS* I have listened to men who have experienced present European conditions. I have seen their smiles fade and their expression turn to horror, as they described what they had witnessed. I have learned from them of the world’s desperate longing for a moral leader, in whom everyone could believe, as the only hope of rescue from impending doom. Mankind is desperately seeking a savior, and in this quest mankind must ultimately choose between Christ and the false prophets. If we contrast the methods of Christ with the methods of the false prophets we shall note that Christ always work from within. He touches the soul, and changes the basic motives of men. The false prophets, on the other hand, work from without; their concern is with the outward acts, and the external things of life. Again, and most important, Christ serves: the false prophets dictate, exploit and persecute. The great tragedy is that the false prophets, even when they profess to give men a better order of things, merely rearrange conditions without improving them. They bring a temporary anesthetic, a shot in the arm, and when they have quited the disease in one quarter it breaks out in another. Marx and Lenin, those would-be prophets of a perfect world, accomplished only immeasurable damage, especially to the human soul. False prophets always unfurl the flag of mob hatred. Their slogan is, Hate and Destroy. And when the false prophets have moved on to their reward we find that they have left nothing but rubble. They have left a world more hapless and tragic than the one they started to reform. The vision of the Kingdom of God and of a redeemed humanity is totally alien to these seekers of power. In contrast with the heritage of the false prophets, the heritage of those who have given themselves to the service of Christ and His Kingdom, has been one of blessing and goodness. They have made the desert to bloom. Wherever you see anything in our civilization of lasting beauty you may well attribute it to men and women whose lives have been transformed by Christ. * By the Rev. Stephen W. Csutoros, minister, Magyar Church, Cleveland, O. From an address before delegates from 33 Hungarian Presbyterian Churches throughout the country, Cleveland, Mar. 29. A német beszéd. A szabadságharc leveretése után tilos volt a németek ellen akármit is nyilvánosan szólni. Az iskolákban kötelező volt a német nyelv tanulása, de bizony nem szívesen foglalkozott vele se tanár, se diák. A német nyelvtant ilyen rigmusokban tanulták: Dessen, deren, dessen, Minden német vesszen! Történt, hogy a pesti színházban az elnyomatás alatt valami magyar színdarabot játszódtak. A közönség alig fért a színházban, olyan sokan voltak. Játék közben pont egy csendes jelenetnél, a karzaton éktelenül ugatni kezdett egy kutya. A színészek megálltak a játékban s mindenki várta, hogy mi történik. Egyszer csak feláll a középső sorokban egy magyarruhás jogász s dörgő hangon a karzat felé fordul: — Ki beszél ott németül??
