Calvin Synod Herald, 1975 (75. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1975-01-01 / 1-2. szám
REFORMÁTUSOK LAPJA 3 The Valley of Decision “Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.” Joel 3:14 In 1975 God has set before us the Valley of Decision. For almost 100 years the heirs of the Reformation in Hungary stood fast in faith and fellowship as they organized and built their churches and fraternal institutions in the New Land. Now five generations of pilgrim people praise God for His mercies. But the long journey had taken its toll. The common mission, identity and heritage diminished greatly in the consciousness of newer generations. Many lost their way; others strayed from the main body and still others were seduced by alien cultures and traditions. The faith of the fathers purchased with the blood of countless martyrs and faithful multitudes was oft times abandoned. Those who remained loyal and true found themselves weakend and divided by disunity, misunderstanding and world-shattering events. Consequently, many sought refuge and survival in national church bodies of differing religious and cultural ties. Although, the brethren in the household of faith were quick to lend their help and assistance the relationship for the most part was an unhappy one. The need for the people of the Reformation in Hungary to govern themselves; to fulfill their destiny and mission towards their scattered brethren was everpresent. God had given this people a mission and God would not be denied! Noiv the time has come to accept fully and wholeheartedly that mission. We have come to the Valley of Decision. Shall we go our own way alone? Shall we remain in fellowship with the United Church of Christ? Shall we seek the unity of our Reformed brethren in a newly formed ecumenical church? 1975 is the year of decision. It will be decisive for our common future and life together. May God bless ami keep us in His mercy and His love now and always. Árpád L. Beretz, bishop “OUR GREATEST GLORY IS NOT IN NEVER FALLING BUT IN RISING EVERYTIME WE FALL” Hungarian Reformed Piety in the Family Dear Friends, Brothers and Sisters! Before beginning to discuss my theme, I should like to tell you how glad I am to be with you. I feel that I am at home again. It is after forty-two years that I have come back to the United States. Last week I gave a series of lectures in Princeton Theological Seminary, in the great school of the Presbyterian Church where I had studied in 1931-32. I found the old buildings there with many new additions, I found the old campus, but I met only a single person with whom I had had contacts forty-two years ago, Prof. Gehman, who is now quite an old man and in retirement. I have moved about in the neighborhood, including a trip to New York City, and although I have rediscovered some of the old sights which had lived in my memory, I have found so many changes that I have the feeling now that I am in a strange, unfamiliar country. This I must say, although I have been given the best hospitality and kindness in all the places I have visited; now I am at home again. I am among my own people. I conducted the worship service this morning in my own language, sang the psalms which have been sung in the old country for centuries; I feel that even now we are surrounded and inspired by hallowed traditions of the Hungarian Reformed Church and stand in the sustaining fellowship of our common faith. The theme which I was asked to speak about is also in the context of our common faith and tradition: “Hungarian Reformed Piety in the Family.” I believe that you here are just as anxious as we are in Hungary to perpetuate what we call “Hungarian Reformed piety.” What is that? That is simply Christian life, Christian conduct, in the light of the Holy Scriptures as it is interpreted by our historic confessions of faith. That is the way in which our fathers in faith, the Hungarian Reformers, the great preachers and teachers of our church, the simple people in the villages with their Bible and psalter, and also the genuinely Christian princes of Transylvania, István Bocskay, Gábor Bethlen, György Rákóczy the First and the Second, tried to live. Reformed piety is not a monkish affair. It is not a matter of special religious accomplishments. It is not the way to earn our salvation by meritorious works. It is to practice our Christian faith in our everyday life. It is the hallowing of our common human relations. It is the acknowledgement of God’s sovereign rule over all the aspects of our life. It is the dedication of ourselves to God, to his glory, -— Soli Deo gloria — as our fathers said it in Latin. The great problem which we are facing today both in this country and in Hungary and practically everywhere in the world is this: how can we perpetuate the Christian way of living, how can we pass on the Christian pattern of life to the coming generations? Specifically; what should we do in order to realize our Hungarian Reformed piety in our families so that it would be continued in the lives of our children and grandchildren? These, as you know, are very serious questions. We live in the age of secularization. There are periods in history when people lose the certainties of religion, when they become unaware of God’s reality. A famous philosopher called this “the Eclipse of God.” At the time of a total eclipse you don’t see the sun. But that, of course, does not mean that the sun ceases to exist. It is there but we don’t see it. In the same way, many people today don’t see God. Well,
