Magyar Egyház, 1954 (33. évfolyam, 2-12. szám)
1954-12-01 / 12. szám
20 MAGYAR EGYHA7 PROVIDENCE OF GOD THE FATHER The Bible ascribes two main activities to God as Father: creation and providence. In our article of creation we stated on the base of the Bible that God the Father created everything, which exists, by His unspeakable divine power, out of nothing. Now, we shall make a few remarks of the other activity of the Father, His Providence. The Bible clearly teaches that God not only created the world, but constantly upholds, governs it and takes care even of its seemingly most unimportant parts, too. This amazing faithful fatherly care of God about this world is described by Apostle Paul as follows: “In God we live, and move and have our being ... of Him, and through Him, and to Him are all things.’’ We do not believe, therefore, that God, having created this world, let it run blindly without His interference. We do not believe that there is so called blind “chance” or “accident”. What the people call a chance or accident, is a happening which is not without the knowledge and permission or the will of God. For it would be incredible that anything could happen in this God-created world of which He would not have known and would not have let happen. It is impossible that this world can produce a “surprise” for the omniscient God. It is just natural that some people, hearing the above given explanation of the providence of God, will ask: does it mean that murders, great miseries of human beings, wars and other tragedies occur by the will and permission of God? To this very difficult question we can say only that certainly it is far from God to will and intend evil and wicked; however it is possible that God from His secret wisdom occasionaly lets the sinful man carry out his sinful deeds. Why does He let it? Perhaps through his way God humbles and humiliates the proud man that he should finally admit under his self-caused miseries and sufferings that God is the Lord . . . Also it is said in the Bible that God as a good Father sometimes increases and strengthens our faith through sufferings and trials. Meditating upon the providence of God, our duty is to humbly believe that there is no evil in God. Whatever happens with and around us, it is known to God. And He as a gracious Father will use everything for our ultimate good if our faith and love toward Him remain steadfast to the very end. Stephen Kovács. Doubts Romanists Have 30,425,015 U.S. Members In an editorial entitled “Where Are the 30 million Catholics in America?” which appeared in the September issue of The Converted Catholic Magazine, Editor Walter M. Montano challenged the Roman Catholic Church to back up their 1953 census figures. According to the Official Catholic Directory for 1953, there are now 30, 425,015 Catholics in the United States, Alaska and hte Hawaiian Islands. States Dr. Montano, “The statistics of the Official Directory are half facts and half wishful thinking, and no one knows it so well as the hierarchy.” As the basis for his assertion that Roman Catholic census figures are highly overestimated, Dr. Montano cites six of the techniques employed by the church in taking its census: 1. Every child baptized in the Roman Catholic Church is counted, no matter what his subsequent life or convictions may be. “Even the still-born infants, if baptized, figure on the rolls.” 2. All the heretics are counted. Every ex-priest or Catholic layman converted to the evangelical faith remains on the rolls unless they are formally ex-communicated. 3. Also included on the roster of Rome are the millions of “indifferent” Catholics who rarely, if ever, go to Mass, who send their children to public schools, and who disagree with or are ignorant of many church teachings. 4. A Catholic who moves from one parish to another is enrolled in the new parish without a letter of transfer; so that he is also counted on the parish roll back home. 5. Parties to mixed marriages are usually included in the statistical report. The Catholic party remains on the rolls regardless of his or her change of religious affiliation and sometimes the non-Catholic party who has signed the mixed marriage contract is added to the church roster. 6. Former Catholics who are not buried by a Catholic priest are not technically “dead” — they are still on the rolls of the church! Ministers and Social Security Since ministers will become eligible to participate in Social Security as of January 1955 on a voluntary basis, it is benefcial for them to participate. Members of the congregation will be interested, because the ministers’ decisions may affect them indirectly. It should be observed that although these Social Security benefits may appear high, they are exactly the same benefits to which most Church members are entiled as citizens. Ministers, who wish to do so, may participate for the first time on January 1st, 1955. It is important to realize that it will be 18 months before ministers’ families are fully protected under the plan, so that, even if participation begins on January 1st, it will still be July 1st 1956 before their families are really protected.. It is for these important reasons, that participation should not be delayed. PRESBYTERIAN LIFE. * In regard to the great Book, I have only to say that it is the best gift which God has given to man. —Abraham Lincoln.
