Drawing Together

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Washington, D.C. · Jun 3, 1915

The movement for the confederation of the religious forces of the world goes on steadily toward complete consummation. Each year there is some new development toward that end, some new yielding of bodies that had held aloof. The progress is not so rapid as some have wished, but it is always progress, not retrogression. The Greek Church has always held aloof from conferences or conventions of evangelical bodies; but there are indications of a breaking away, on the part of that body, from its historic attitude of exclusiveness. The American Bible Society is to hold a World's Bible Congress at the Panama Exposition, San Francisco, August 1-4. Says the United Presbyterian of April 15:—

A unique feature of the meeting will be the presence of representatives of the Greek Church. In no previous conferences have they ever taken part. It is expected that the congress will surpass any previously held in the number and varying character of the representatives who will be present. Incidentally it may be mentioned that the one hundredth anniversary of the founding of the American Bible Society will occur in May of next year.

While in and of itself this might not be considered a striking development, it is one of the many straws which indicate the direction of the wind. It is striking in this, that the Greek Church has never encouraged the circulation of the Bible among the common people. In fact, the Greek Church in Greece has caused the government to penalize the printing, the circulation, and the reading of the Bible in the modern tongue. If this congress should cause the Greek Church to alter its attitude toward the circulation of the Bible, all Christians would have occasion to rejoice over that feature of this development at least.