Page:Southern Presbyterian Journal, Volume 13.djvu/844

 On the back of the book's jacket are endorsements by Methodist Bishop Gerald Kennedy, Baptist pastor Edwin M. Poteat, and others. How is it possible that leading churchmen can make and support such attacks upon the basic doctrines of the Christian faith? If this is what noted churchmen say, what can we expect of professing unbelievers?

Such books alert us to the fact of the continuing attack on our Christian Faith, even from within the churches. We realize anew the importance of knowing what the Gospel is, and why we believe it, lest we be moved about by every wind of doctrine. We are constrained the more to witness faithfully for our Lord, in the midst of the confusion of our day. And we understand again the importance of supporting only and wholeheartedly those institutions and agencies which are true to the Scriptures and do not compromise their evangelical witness. L. H. B.

From The Church Herald—February 4, 1955.

Chapter XXI, Religious Worship and the Sabbath Day, repeats what has been anticipated several times heretofore: that "the acceptable way of worshipping the true God is instituted by himself, and so limited by his revealed will that he may not be worshipped according to the imaginations and devices of men . . ." Therefore Bible believing Presbyterians will not make the sign of the cross, sprinkle themselves with holy water, bow to the altar, or invent any rite not prescribed in the Scriptures.

For the same reason "Religious worship is to be given to God . . . alone; not to angels, saints, or any other creature." It is evident therefore how far Roman Catholicism, with its images, its prayers to the saints, and its Mariolatry, has departed from the Christian faith. Roman Catholics try to defend themselves from the charge of idolatry by saying that they do not confuse the image with the person represented and do not worship the image; they merely use the image to help them concentrate on Mary, a saint, or Christ. But if this is what it takes to have idolatry, and if idolatry can exist only when the worshipper confuses the image and the god, then we wonder whether the Ephesians who worshipped Diana were idolators. Those pagans never thought that the silver images were Diana. Diana was in heaven; she had thrown down a wooden image of herself; and the silversmiths were making reasonable facsimiles. The Romanists therefore in defending themselves from the charge of idolatry have also defended the Ephesians. The worship of the two groups is essentially the same; they both do what the Scriptures prohibit. Similarly the Roman exaltation of Mary as immaculately conceived, as Queen of Heaven, and as coredemptrix is not less than blasphemy. Again they defend themselves by making a scholastic distinction: they worship (latreuein) God alone, they give doulia to the saints, and hyperdoulia to Mary. But the Scriptures make no such distinction. Doulos is the word Paul most frequently uses to express his relationship to God.

When the Confession continues by insisting that divine worship requires a mediator and that that Mediator is Christ alone, we think of many people who try to pray, to approach God, to perform religious exercises, without using the name and merit of Christ. Whether images, idols, and saints be added, or whether Christ be subtracted, it is all equally an abomination to God.

After four sections on prayer, the reading of the Scripture, preaching and the sacraments, PAGE 6