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Review and Herald, Vol. 93, No. 48.

It Shall Stand Forever

Review and Herald

Sep 28, 1916

Review and Herald Publishing Association · Takoma Park Station, Washington, D. C. · Sep 28, 1916

It Shall Stand Forever

By Dr. Cummings

The empire of Caesar is gone; the legions of Rome are moldering in the dust; the avalanches that Napoleon hurled upon Europe have melted away; the pride of the Pharaohs is fallen; the pyramids they raised to be their tombs are sinking every day in the desert sands; Tyre is a rock for bleaching fishermen’s nets; Sidon has scarcely left a wreck behind: but the Word of God still survives. All things that threatened to extinguish it have only aided it; and it proves every day how transient is the noblest monument that man can build, how enduring is the least word that God has spoken. Tradition has dug for it a grave; intolerance has lighted for it many a fagot; many a Judas has betrayed it with a kiss; many a Peter has denied it with an oath; many a Demas has forsaken it: but the Word of God still endures." — Dr. Cummings.

Special Mention

By William C. White

The Los Angeles Hospital

As the work of the College of Medical Evangelists progresses, and our people are preparing to build a dispensary and hospital in Los Angeles, I have heard a variety of arguments for and against the hospital enterprise.
One view of the movement is that because our missionary work in the Orient calls for many to combine medical work with their ministry, we should hasten to lay broad plans for the most thorough education and training of a multitude of workers to do skilfully that which they will be called upon to do when they reach the mission fields.
It is urged that because dispensary work is greatly needed in thousands of cities and villages, because it is heartily welcomed by the people, and because it is a most potent agency for the winning of confidence and the opening of hearts to the gospel, therefore it is wise for us to give special emphasis to the training of physicians and nurses for dispensary and hospital work.
With this in view, we ought to lay the foundation in Los Angeles for a broad work, which in time may include many dispensaries and several treatment-rooms.
One brother expressed fear that the establishment of a large clinical hospital in Los Angeles would take away from the Loma Linda Sanitarium its patronage, and ruin its work.
Another good brother said that he believed that if Sister White were living, she would oppose the movement now on foot to build a hospital in Los Angeles. This set me to thinking and to calling to mind what mother had written and said that would have a bearing upon this question.
Mother's views and plans regarding the work which was begun in 1905 by the purchase of the Loma Linda Sanitarium, have always impressed me as being very broad and inclusive.
Shortly after the opening of our work at Loma Linda, in her interviews with Professors Cady and Howell of the Healdsburg College, she presented outlines of work and attainments that gave us clearly to understand that a broad and advanced educational work would some day be done in Southern California, from Loma Linda as a center, if we moved forward in harmony with the advancing providences of God.
Often when expressing freely her views regarding the work in Southern California, of which the Loma Linda institution was a part, she presented to our minds a united medical and evangelistic work which included Los Angeles, Redlands, Riverside, San Bernardino, and other places.
When we understood this as applying to evangelistic work, it seemed clear and easy to be comprehended; but when her statements obviously applied to the medical side of our work, it was not so easy to understand.
One day in April, 1911, when a company were assembled to see what could be done to secure the control of the eighty-seven-acre tract of land lying in front of the institution, she spoke of the desirability of our owning this land, and at the same time presented forcefully the necessity of broadening our plans to include the cities in the San Bernardino Valley and Los Angeles.
In March, 1913, when the building of the Loma Linda Hospital was under consideration, and we were at the same time considering the apparent necessity of giving the last two years of the medical course in Los Angeles, mother was asked if it was right for us to give the last two years of instruction in Los Angeles, or if we should hold all the work in Loma Linda.
In reply to this, she advised that we do in Loma Linda just as much of the work as could be done acceptably there, and carry the remainder to Los Angeles.
In later conversations she spoke interestedly of the work being done in Los Angeles, and was especially solicitous that a good home be provided for the students who were completing their medical studies there, that they might have the most favorable conditions for the development of medical knowledge and Christian experience.
On the morning of May 9, 1915, about twelve weeks after the beginning of mother's last illness, I received letters from Elders E. E. Andross and G. B. Starr, telling of the plans under consideration for the establishment of a students' home and a hospital for the Los Angeles branch of the work of the Loma Linda Medical College. When I visited mother, about 11:30 A. M., I found her as usual those rainy days, in her reclining chair in the big bay window. She looked very frail and feeble, and said, “I have some strange feelings today.” After I had talked with her a little while about her condition, and had acknowledged the goodness of God in prolonging her life, I told her I had good news regarding the work at Loma Linda. I then related that a good sister in the East had offered to make a very liberal gift to the College of Medical Evangelists for the establishment of a students' home and a hospital in Los Angeles.
Mother's lips quivered, and for a moment she shook with emotion. Then she said: “I am glad you told me this. I have been in perplexity about Loma Linda, and this gives me courage and joy.” After a little further conversation, I knelt down by her side, and thanked the God of Israel for his manifold blessings, and prayed for a continuation of his mercies. Then mother offered a very sweet prayer of about a dozen sentences, in which she expressed gratitude, confidence, love, and entire resignation.
With such an experience as this, and knowing her anxiety in behalf of the Los Angeles department of the college work, I find no foundation for a doubt but that mother would have been heartily glad if she could have known of the efforts that we were to make for the strengthening of the work, of which the Los Angeles hospital will be an important factor.
W. C. WHITE.

What the Women are Doing

By Lida Ackley

When God made the first woman, he said she was to be a helpmeet. This is his plan for every woman on the earth since that time. Some one has said that a helpmeet is one who is fit, or suitable, to forward or promote. We like this definition for the women who are forwarding, or promoting, the work of The Ellen G. White Memorial Hospital. The women of Central California are trying to prove themselves worthy of this description of them.
Money being one of the chief essentials in almost every enterprise, and what we must have in order to build the hospital, one sister has proved her right to the title of helpmeet by donating $100. Others have given smaller amounts.
In every church a sister is leading out in planning ways and means whereby they may do their most and best for this enterprise. Some are sewing, and others are making rugs and other articles for sale.
August 8 was Hospital Day in this section. This is a peach country, and as the peaches were at their best at that time, each one tried to get some work in the fruit whereby she could earn money to give on that day to the hospital fund. One sister reports $3.50 as the result of her day's work. Even the children caught the spirit, and one little boy sends in $1.25, which he earned in the fruit. Those who could not work in the fruit found other work to do, and joined heart and hand in the good work. “Jerusalem was builded because the people had willing minds. The same willing spirit will accomplish as great a work today.”
When Ezra had prayed and wept before the Lord, there assembled unto him a great number of men, women, and children. These said, “Arise; . . . we also will be with thee: be of good courage, and do it.” The same earnest seeking of the Lord will bring the same willing response from the people in this work today, and we may say, with the same assurance, “The God of heaven, he will prosper us; therefore we his servantswill arise and build.” God’s people are ever willing to lift untiringly for any enterprise that will safeguard the spiritual interests of our young men and women.
(Concluded on page 21)

What the Women are Doing

(Concluded from page 2)
In almost every city today we see the sign announcing the location of a recruiting station, and giving the name of the recruiting officer. This is a call for young men to give their lives to kill their fellow men. Shall we not be recruiting officers, and make the memorial hospital a recruiting station where our young men will get the needed training to save not only the present life of their fellow men on this earth, but their eternal life in the world to come? As we stand at the depot and see the train of young men going to the front, do we not feel like asking, Lord, what are thy plans for me that I may be of the most service in assisting our own dear young people to prepare for work in the front ranks of thy army against evil?
May he reveal to each one just what he would have him sacrifice for the One who gave up all for us.
LIDA ACKLEY.

A World-Wide Industrial Conflict

By Francis M. Wilcox

WE wrote last week of the great industrial unrest which has been growing in the United States. This spirit is by no means confined to this country, nor is it confined to this age. We have only to go back to the days of Rome to find the agrarian troubles, and the deadly animosity between plebeian and patrician. We see in France before the days of the Revolution the same general conditions which are beginning to manifest themselves throughout the world today. For long years Russia, Germany, Italy, England, and France particularly, have been the centers of class struggles and industrial movements for the betterment of the laboring classes. The thinking men of these countries have looked with apprehension upon the outgrowth of these controversies. Many testimonials might be given. One to the point is a statement by Mr. H. G. Wells, a prominent English writer, published in the New York Times of Aug. 11, 1912. Mr. Wells says of the conditions in England:—
“Our country is in a dangerous state of social disturbance. The discontent of the laboring mass of the community is deep and increasing. It may be that we are in the opening phase of a real and irreparable class war. Whither are these forces taking us? What can still be done, and what has to be done, to avoid the phase of social destruction to which we seem to be drifting? . . . The thing our society has most to fear from labor is not organized resistance, not victorious strikes and raised conditions, but the black resentment that follows defeat. Meet labor halfway, and you will find a new coöperation in government; stick to your legal rights, draw the net of repressive legislation tighter; then you will presently have to deal with labor enraged. If the anger burns free, that means revolution; if you crush out the hope of that, then sabotage and a sullen general sympathy for anarchistic crime.”

An Organized Movement

This conflict between capital and labor is an organized conflict. It has been reduced to a system. On the one side, capital has labored for the promotion of its interest; and to meet this, trade unions have been formed for the purpose, through united action, of bettering the conditions of the laboring men. The outbreaks which occur from time to time are not the result of impulsive action, nor do they arise wholly from the stress of circumstances. They develop as the result of following a definite program.
Many of the labor unions are socialistic in impulse, even if they are not definitely allied with any political party standing for these principles. They believe that labor has been deprived of its just reward, and therefore there must be some readjustment which will bring about more equitable distribution of its products. Definite ways are suggested whereby this result may be achieved. Some advocate that it should be done by legislation; others, however, and these constitute the more advanced elements among the trade unions, believe that it should be done by what they term “direct action.” But whatever the means proposed, there is one definite aim before all classes.

The Aims of Socialism

Speaking of the manner in which the principles of socialism have unified the workingmen of the world and crystallized their hitherto independent actions into one great centralized force, Eugene V. Debs, Presidential nominee of the Socialist party of the United States, in the Times-Dispatch, of Richmond, Va., for Aug. 27, 1912, spoke as follows:—
“And now behold! The International Socialist movement spreads out over all the nations of the earth. The world's workers are aroused at last. They are no longer on their knees; their bowed bodies are now erect. Despair has given way to hope, weakness to strength, fear to courage. They no longer cringe and supplicate; they hold up their heads and command. They have ceased to fear their masters and learned to trust themselves. . . .
“Before the unified hosts of labor all the despotic governments on earth are powerless, and all resistance vain. Before their onward march all ruling classes disappear, and all slavery vanishes forever. . . .
“Capitalism is rushing blindly to its impending doom. All the signs portend the inevitable breakdown of the existing order. Deep-seated discontent has seized upon the masses. They must indeed be deaf who do not hear the mutterings of the approaching storm.”
“Poverty, high prices, unemployment, blind slavery, widespread misery, and haggard want in a land bursting with abundance; prostitution and insanity, suicide and crime,—these in solemn numbers tell the tragic story of capitalism's saturnalia of blood and tears and shame as its end draws near.”

The Doctrine of Syndicalism

The principles represented in what is known as the doctrine of syndicalism have permeated in a large measure the working classes, and have been adopted by some of the unions as their method of attaining the aims which they seek. Syndicalism originated with one George Sorel, a French labor agitator. This doctrine, in the words of J. Ramsay Macdonald, an English writer on this subject, “is not merely a wild revolt of anarchistically inclined workmen; it has a philosophy.” Mr. Macdonald says of one who believes in syndicalism:—
“He is frankly a revolutionist, even if he tells you that he does not believe in force. He believes in a quick and fundamental change by which the workers will come into possession of the tools and the organization of industry. He believes this is to be brought about by industrial organization, or—as he likes to call it—“direct action,” which ranges from the most innocent form of collective bargaining to the most unlawful outburst of class vindictiveness.”—‘Syndicalism,’ pp. 24, 25.
This doctrine of syndicalism is defined by Robert Hunter, in his book “Violence and the Labor Movement,” page 238, as follows:—
“The masses must arise, take possession of the mines, factories, railroads, fields, and all industrial processes and national resources, and then through trade unions or industrial unions administer the new economic system.”
Little by little the principles expressed by this term have made disciples among the advocates of labor. While no doubt many of the labor unions would disclaim such prompting motives, it is nevertheless true that by those who are considered the most advanced labor leaders these principles are strongly advocated, not alone in France and other countries of the Old World, but also in the United States.

Revolution the Watchword

In an article by Michael J. Westover, in the New York Herald of Sept. 15, 1912, Vincent St. John, then president of the Industrial Workers of the World, is quoted as expressing the following sentiments:—
“Revolution is our watchword, and all of our efforts are bent toward revolution. Wages, hours of work, interest us only incidentally as they may serve to incite individual strikes; but what we
are really carrying on is a campaign of education to teach the workingman his power, so that when the time comes to declare the great general strike, he will know his potency, and realize that he has power to coerce the whole world.”
This labor leader inquires:—
“Why should we receive a wage at all while some one else takes the profit? When the great revolution comes, we will own the industries of the world and operate them.”
This doctrine of syndicalism does not stop at moral scruples. It concerns itself only with one question, and that is the question of force. It proposes to take in the end what it wants, regardless of the question of right. This at least is the doctrine promulgated by William Thompson, general organizer of the Industrial Workers of the World, as reported by Mr. Westover. He says:—
“The question of right or wrong does not enter into it. We will take what we are strong enough to take. If the government interferes, we will defy the government. Our flag is the red flag of brotherhood; and when it triumphs, we will come into our own. . . . It is a question of what we are strong enough to do, and not what is right for us to take.”
As we have stated above, we do not charge labor unions generally with holding or advocating such sentiments. But these are the sentiments which appeal to the natural heart, and the spirit of reprisal and sabotage, which accompanies nearly every strike, shows that these principles, if not recognized as a system of doctrine, are cherished in the hearts of many engaged in the industrial conflict.

International Federation

These labor leaders speak of the great strike, of the coming revolution, of the time when they will be able to tie up the entire world industries. This we believe will be made possible in the days to come. Indeed, it was the boast of some of the great international unions, before the European war, that it was in their power to do this.
The Washington Post of Sept. 20, 1911, published an interview of its Berlin correspondent with Herr Jochade, president of the International Transport Workers’ Federation.
This federation controlled three hundred harbors, and with its affiliated unions from six hundred to seven hundred thousand workmen. In addition to these, intimate and friendly relations were maintained with unions representing over four hundred thousand additional workers; so that altogether “the federation,” Mr. Jochade declared, “represents fully one million men.” It was the proud boast of this federation leader that his union could tie up the shipping of the entire world within twenty-four hours. This organization has no doubt fallen into decay since the outbreak of
the European war, but we do not doubt that similar federations will be formed after the close of hostilities.

Working-Class Solidarity

The general cry of organized labor throughout the world at the present time is for solidarity. This was expressed some months ago in the great labor struggle at Lawrence, Mass. Joseph J. Ettor, in a speech reported in the Washington Post of Nov. 27, 1912, declared that he and his fellow agitators owed their lives to the “solidarity of the industrial classes of the world,” and he added: “From now on you know but one religion, one God, and one country—that is working-class solidarity.”
In other words, it is the purpose of labor leaders to bring their followers to the place where all the members of every union will act as one man, guided by one voice, moved by one impulse. And when this is effected, not alone in a national, but in an international sense, we can readily understand the great power which will be placed in the hands of the representatives of labor.

“The Outbreak of Peace”

The outbreaks between capital and labor which we have seen in the past will prove of little moment compared with the still greater conflict which awaits the future. And the close of the great war in Europe will only accentuate these class struggles. Indeed, one question of great concern at the present time to the nations of the Old World is the question of the employment, after the war, of the large number of men now under arms. Already some of the governments have appointed commissions to give earnest study to this question, and various proposals, such as colonization and the creation of great public works, have been brought forward.
And the industrial workers themselves are alive to the situation which confronts them. They feel that they have prepared in the past for the outbreak of the war, and now they must prepare for what they term the “outbreak of peace,” and the conditions which will inevitably follow the cessation of hostilities.
Says the Washington Post for Sept. 19, 1916:—
“Strip away the fripperies with which diplomats have striven to conceal the facts of the gigantic conflict, give weight only to the actual reasons and dismiss the wordy pretenses of the chief parties to this lamentable war, and there remain but national ambitions to maintain or obtain territorial, commercial, industrial, and financial advantages. . . .
“Once the struggle closes on the battle fields it will become the more intense in the fields of industry, finance, and commerce, and the manufacturers, merchants, financiers, and workingmen of the United States will quickly feel the adverse effect upon this country's business affairs.”

Love for All—Malice Toward None

It is not for us to judge unkindly the parties to this great industrial strife. While we must recognize, of course, that the cupidity of man, the selfishness of the natural heart, is responsible for much of the evil in the world, we must look back of the personal, human motive and recognize the general conditions which exist at the present time politically, socially, and industrially. This is an age of luxury; of increased cost of living; and consequently an age of sharp competition, a veritable struggle on the part of thousands for existence. Corruption exists on every side. Distrust, alienation, jealousy, and envy fill the minds of men in every position of life.
The nations of Europe are engaged today in a wild scramble for political and commercial prestige, for territorial gains, for national aggrandizement. These feelings and influences act and react upon the minds of men; and as God is forgotten, poor, weak humanity is left the prey of the influences and conditions which surround them. It is for us to recognize the conditions which exist, the elements which are at work, the principles which are advocated, and above all, their relationship to fulfilling prophecy as one of the signs of the coming of the Lord. Without class prejudice or partiality we should seek to bring before our fellow men, both high and low, rich and poor, the significance of the controversy in which they are engaged, and lead them to seek in the Lord Jesus Christ and in a knowledge of his truth that peace and joy which can come neither through the power of wealth nor through the realizations of the fondest hopes of the laboring classes. F. M. W.

The Truth Marches On

By William Ambrose Spicer

THE word that comes to us from Europe, in these days of war, has a cheering lesson not only for the present, but for all future time, as we look forward to the stormy days which prophecy forewarns us will be seen before the end.
Tumult and strife and war may rage, but God carries on his work, and souls are won to Christ amid it all. Above angry nations and overruling all is the living God, seeking to save. Even in the countries directly involved in the conflict, the cause of truth has not ceased to make remarkable headway. Amid seemingly impossible conditions, in some regions, the believers have seen the Lord’s arm made bare in wondrous ways, and the result as given in the report that Secretary Dail sends from Europe, is that 4,351 were baptized into the faith last year; and even these figures are incomplete. It means that well toward 5,000 persons have stepped into the pathway of the advent people in one year, the great majority living in countries immediately affected by the great conflict.
On a recent visit to our work in the British Union Conference, I was eyewitness to the good cheer and steadfastness of the believers in the Lord’s service, even in times of great stress and strain. The Spirit of God is speaking to hearts, and the workers are being guided to those who are waiting for the truth.
The lesson of the hour is that we are not to be dismayed, but are to trust God to care for his work, no matter what may lie before us as times of trouble break upon the earth. “Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. . . . The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.”
However, if our brethren and sisters whose service God is blessing in trying times could speak with one voice to us in countries outside the area of conflict, they would say, Push your work with all your consecrated powers and resources while you still have peace in which to work.
But it is reassuring to see how the message of God speeds on even amid tumult and distress. Nothing can stay the movement that John in vision saw spreading swiftly to every nation and tongue and people till the last repentant soul was gathered out. W. A. S.

The Bible

By L. L. C.

The Manuscripts

WHEN a writer mentions the original manuscripts of the Bible, a false impression may be conveyed to the uninformed reader. In the sense of manuscripts written by the authors of the various books of the Bible, there are no original manuscripts now in existence. As now employed, the term “original manuscripts” refers to the oldest extant manuscripts, rather than to the original autographs.
The oldest dated Hebrew manuscript, the Codex Babylonicus Petropolitanus, goes back only to the year 916 A. D., though it is probable that some of the undated manuscripts belong to the ninth century. A comparison of all extant Hebrew manuscripts shows that they all represent the same text, the Massoretic. The Massoretes were a special guild of trained scholars whose aim it was to preserve and transmit the Hebrew text exactly as it had come down to them. Not only have they done this with remarkable accuracy, but they have also added to the consonantal text a system of vowel markings to indicate the proper pronunciation.
The nonexistence of any Hebrew manuscript older than the ninth century has been accounted for by some with the plausible explanation that out of reverence any manuscript which showed any signs of wearing out was destroyed by the Massoretes.
In the providence of God the Hebrew Old Testament and the Greek New Testament were early translated into other languages, for it seems always to have been God’s purpose that his book should be available to all men in their own native tongue. These translations are called versions. In case of the New Testament the older manuscripts, such as the Sinaiticus and the Vaticanus, deserve precedence over all other old versions. The case of the Old Testament is somewhat different, for here some of the versions are older than the oldest extant Hebrew manuscript. Three of the most important versions are the Septuagint, the Syriac-Peshito, and the Vulgate.
The Septuagint translation was made for the benefit of the Greek-speaking Jews of Alexandria, Egypt, to whom the Hebrew was rapidly becoming an unknown tongue. This Greek Version was made about 250 B. C., and thus is fully twelve hundred years older than the oldest manuscript in Hebrew.
The Peshito is a Syriac version which may be assigned to the second century after Christ.
While portions of the Bible were early translated into the Latin language, it was not until the last quarter of the fourth century that Jerome made the Latin Version, the Vulgate, which has since become the standard Latin translation. This is the translation which the Catholic Church receives as final in the matter of Biblical authority.
The remarkable accuracy of most of the translations, as well as the pains taken in copying the Hebrew manuscripts, shows clearly God’s protecting care over his divine book.
Coming to the New Testament, we find that the manuscripts may be classified in two divisions, the uncials and the cursives, according to the kind of writing used in them. The uncials, however, are the older. It may be well to give some account of the five oldest uncial codices.
The Codex Sinaiticus, of the fourth century, was discovered by Tischendorf, part in 1844 and part in 1859, in the monastery of St. Catherine, on Mt. Sinai. It is now at Petrograd.
The Codex Alexandrinus, of the fifth century, was presented in 1628 to King Charles I of England by the patriarch of Constantinople, who had formerly been of Alexandria.
The Codex Vaticanus, of the fourth century, is preserved in the Vatican at Rome. It was long almost inaccessible to scholars, but was published in 1868.
The Codex of Ephraem, of the fifth century, is a palimpsest; that is, the original Bible text had the works of Ephraem the Syrian written over it. On this account it is in places scarcely legible. But its readings are considered very valuable, ranking next to those of the Codex Sinaiticus and the Codex Vaticanus. It was published by Tischendorf in 1843-45, and is now at the National Library of Paris.
The Codex Beza, of the sixth century, was presented by Theodore Beza to the University of Cambridge, England, in 1581. This was the only one available to scholars who prepared the so-called King James or Authorized English Version. It was due to the subsequent discovery of these other early manuscripts that the English and American Revised Versions became necessary.
As one considers, however, the practical uniformity of all these manuscripts, one is impressed anew with the wonderful care God has had over his Holy Book, which has been preserved to us through the untiring zeal of those who copied by hand the Sacred Scriptures before the art of printing was invented. It is wonderful, indeed, to think of the number of Bibles that were produced in this laborious manner. It was, however, impossible for the Bible really to become the book of the common people before the time of the invention of printing by Gutenberg. L. L. C.
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