Magyar Egyház, 1959 (38. évfolyam, 1-12. szám)
1959-01-01 / 1. szám
MAGYAR EGYHÁZ 13 NCC in US Discusses Role of Missions (Pittsburgh)—“Mission boards must be closely related to the whole Church, be a channel between churches and have more technical competence if they are to meet the challenge of a ‘ferment’ world,” Dr. Luther A. Gotwald said at the ninth annual assembly of the Division of Foreign Missions of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. He is executive secretary of the division. The new type mission board today, he said, must enlarge its scope and possibly change its name. Mission leaders were also urged to recognize that each board is engaged in its share of the world-wide mission and not in establishing a monopoly of what it considers “the best church”. Dr. John Coventry Smith of the United Presbyterian Church, USA, said that the “work of the whole Church belongs to all of us. If Baptists and Methodists are strong in Burma, there is no reason why a Presbyterian should be unhappy until he has established Presbyterian work in that country.” At the same time, he said that mission agencies in the United States should not stand in the way of church unions when they are sincerely desired. “Let us give the churches which we have participated in establishing across the world the same freedom under God to express their Christian faith that we have enjoyed in our own history.” The 350 assembly delegates invited denominations not affiliated with the division to consult with it on common missionary problems. All Christian missionary bodies were assured “that we are prepared to discuss ways by which channels of communication, fellowship, common study and consultation can be opened”. Our Hungarian Reformed Church in America, affiliated with the division since becoming a member of the National Council of Churches, was represented by Dean Louis Nagy at the Pittsburgh assembly. His report will be printed in the Hungarian section of the February issue of “Magyar Church”.-----------o----------NEW TRENDS IN BUDDHISM A paper published by a Scandinavian Buddhist mission has stated that Buddhism is adapting itself more to Christianity. Because Buddhism recognises no absolute truth, the publication says, it is not difficult to assimilate elements of the Christian faith and points out that sometimes sermons by Buddhist priests can scarcely be distinguished from those given by Christians. Buddhists have taken over Christian hymns and now sing “Buddha Is Love” and “What a Friend Is Our Buddha”. In Japan a Buddhist priest is reported to have closed a service with the words, “Amen, in Jesus’ Name”, while other priests are said to speak of “Jesus Buddha”, according to the paper. (E.P.S., Geneva) BILLY GRAHAM, REINHOLD NIEBUHR IN A HUNGARIAN ARTICLE Under the title “My Meeting with a Famous Evangelist”, chief-editor Dr. L.M. Pákozdy wrote about Billy Graham and the problems of mass evangelization in the November 1958 issue of the “Theological Review.” The writer himself heard Billy Graham during his New York Crusade and met him at New Haven at a meeting of the W.C.C.’ Central Committee. Personally, Billy Graham made a good impression on him; he writes: “He is tall, very elegant, pleasant... There is nothing in him of the affected rusticity or slovenliness of certain evangelists... It is beyond doubt that no one in this century could gather such audience around himself in the name of the Gospel as he did.” At the same time Pákozdy severly criticizes Graham’s work. What is of special significance, that his criticism is primarily based on the criticism of Prof. Reinhold Niebuhr, who in 1956 wrote two articles for the “Christian Century”, examining the content of Billy Graham’s preaching. Following Niebuhr, Pákozdy also stresses that Billy Graham’s “pietistic moralism oversimplifies the great problems of the world”, i.e. the social problems. Although Graham speaks of sins, yet when naming them he does not mention “racial discrimination”. The writer fails to notice that Dr. Niebuhr’s criticism acted as a corrective, and on subsequent occasions, speaking in the South, Graham was unwilling to address segregated audiences. Prof. Pákozdy, while criticizing Graham, speaks with great respect of his American critic. “The greatest systematic theologian of the Western hemisphere, Reinhold Niebuhr is the Barth of America”,—he writes. This is especially significant, since the editor of this same monthly, Imre Kádár wrote earlier: Prof. Niebuhr “did not hesitate to resort to crude falsehoods; in fact the entire fabric of his outburst was built on them.” (“The Church in the Storm of Time”, p. 166) Kádár’s reference is to Niebuhr’s article which, written with great sympathy, contained the thoughts of the “American Barth” concerning the Hungarian revolution.------------o-----------We must be witnesses to defend the Christian way in a troubled world. Go to church every Sunday and join your fellow-believers as witnesses gladly proclaiming your faith in the Gospel! Look up these passages of the Bible on witnessing: God for Christ — John 5:36-37 Christ for himself — John 8:18 The Holy Spirit for Christ — John 15:26 Our witness for Christ — John 15:27------------0-----------An eighty-year-old Canadian woman, Mrs. J. Arthur Long, greets every passenger arriving at the port of St. John, New Brunswick, and offers a Bible in any one of 28 languages, as a welcome to new arrivals in Canada.
