The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1920, Sheet 41

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The Lutheran Pioneer.

influence, and the other Christian nations of the
world are doing nothing to check the advance of the
false prophet’s disciples.

Asta. — A new railroad being built in Central
Asia is opening a large area to the forces of civiliza-
tion and of missionary effort. — Arabia is still al-
most wholly in the clutches of Islam. Its 4,000
miles of coast line have Christian missionaries at
only five points, and there are no stations in the
interior. —'The Zmir of Najd has asked that a
medical missionary be sent to his capital.—Afghan-
islan is closed to all Christian missionary efforts.
In Kabul, its capital, a single stream serves the
double purpose of a sewer and water-main.

Why?

It is a very grave showing which the Christian
churches of our country make for last year. Some
of the largest and hitherto most prosperous denom-
inations show very heavy decreases. Among the
causes for this the Christian Herald mentions in-
terruption or suspension of regular work due to
the war and its demands, the increase of deaths in
membership, and the concentration of effort in rais-
ing enormous funds for church-work. Referring to
the fact that the Roman Catholic Church did not
suffer a decrease in its rate of members in 1919,
the’ above-mentioned paper has the following to
say: “The answer to this is not difficult to find.
Although the Church has not had the benefit, as
it did in former years, of a large immigration be-
longing to its faith, its regular parish-work has
been carried on much the same as usual. ‘The only
thing likely to affect unfavorably the increase of
the Roman Catholic Church is the birthrate. The
children born into Catholic families are not only
immediately baptized, but they are gathered into
classes and taught in the parochial schools and in
Sunday-schools the tenets of the faith. The cate-
chism is a. power in the Roman Catholic Church,
as it used to be in most Protestant Churches. The
Catholic Church never loses sight of its children.”

The most successful and cheapest mission-work
a Church can possibly do is that of gaining the

children’ for the Church. A Church that does not
take care of its children adequately is committing
suicide. F. J. L.

Tie resources of God are promised to those
who undertake the work of God. £

Illustrated Lectures.

We have before this taken occasion to call the
attention of our readers to the three fine illustrated
lectures the Board for Colored Missions has put out
to present in graphic form the mission activity of
our Church among the Freedmen. These lectures
with their fine slides are bound to inspire, instruct,
and entertain. ‘There can be no doubt of the fact
that one can make a deeper and more lasting im-
pression by illustrating a talk on Colored Missions
with these clear and vivid pictures. Even if you
have no stereopticon, you need not forego the
pleasure of an illustrated lecture, since the Board
is in a position to furnish you the necessary machine.
For further particulars write to Rev. Theo. Walther,
6406 Easton Ave., St. Louis, Mo.

A Suggestion.

Has the Lord blessed you with this world’s
goods? If so, perhaps you would, in that case, be
pleased to have some of it.serve a blessed purpose
after your death. Why not remember our Colored
Missions in your will? Here is a form that we
should suggest you to use if you wish to follow our-
suggestion: “I give and bequeath to the Missionary
Board of the Evangelical Lutheran Synodical Con-
ference of North America for Missions among the
Heathen and Negroes the sum of.......... Dollars
(Edscooss ), to be used for the benefit of its work
among the Negroes.”

‘

BOOK TABLE.

Erkenntnis des Heils. A Collection of Sermons on Free
Texts, Arranged according to the Church-year. By °
Dr. CG. GC. Schmidt. Concordia Publishing House,
St. Louis, Mo. Substantial cloth-binding. 408 pages.
Price, $3.00, postpaid.

Only to few is it given to scan the wide fields of Chris-
tian truth with clear vision of near and far alike. In
what degree Dr. Schmidt possesses this power is shown
‘by this volume of sermons. The discourses carry us in
the most direct way to the very center of the Christian
religion. No aspect of spiritual truth and no opportunity
to make practical application of it to present-day condi-
tions has been permitted to pass by unused. In every
sermon one can recognize the gathered fruits of a rare
Biblical scholarship and the singular gift of communicat-
ing the loftiest thoughts on the highest subjects to humble
and unlearned hearers. Though the veteran preacher has
among his regular hearers all the members of-the Semi-
nary faculty and hundreds of theological students, this
circumstance does not tempt him to clothe his thoughts
in anything but the simplest language.

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