One Person tunes in to us 24 hours a day.

Prayer. say the Word, write it, and you sense a stillness, a quieting.

It is necessary to make only a brief survey of the world’s religions to observe that prayer is a major, vital part of every faith. Indeed, it might be said that faith without communication is arid, sterile, empty.

Prayer is communication. It is communication that seems perforce to be one-sided, for though God speaks to many, they are rare and unusual souls who choose to quiet themselves enough to hear the “still, small voice” from within. It is uncomfortable to hear God speak, for frequently the things he asks us to do seem far from our own wishes and ambitions.

I enjoyed watching the film Oh, God! starring George Burns and John Denver. Each time I have seen it I have been struck by the casual yet profound theology inherent in the movie. In the story, God appears to a young man in the loveable, accessible, and truly human form of Mr. Burns. As the appearances and accompanying miracles increase, so do the man’s love for God and his alienation from and ostracism by his fellow humans. Finally, God indicates he will not put in any more command performances. The anguished young man asks, “But won’t I be able to talk to you anymore?” God twinkles. “You talk,” he responds; “I’ll listen.”

That is prayer. True, we do the talking; but there is always a listening Ear. The promise is there. What an incredible gift that is! How many times have we wished that our human companions might be “better listeners”? In prayer we have Someone powerful enough to create a universe yet gentle enough to care for a sparrow, who is eager to listen to us with full and undivided attention.

“You talk. I’ll listen.”

Moreover, if we listen very carefully, we might even hear his voice in answer. Two attitudes in contemporary prayer life seem at odds with each other. One view holds that spontaneous prayer alone speaks words that are relevant to and true for the petitioner/praiser and that written prayers foster dead formalism. The other view objects to such casual interaction with the Deity and considers the traditional prayers more dignified and complete.

Either polarity to the exclusion of the other is destructive, rigid, and limiting. Indeed, the “art of aspiration” is without doubt the prayer of love; what is spoken spontaneously from the heart is obviously most pleasing to God. And yet—

And yet. There are times when spontaneous prayer is somewhat less than totally spontaneous, when words that usually flow easily do not flow at all. Saint John of the Cross aptly calls it the “dark night of the soul.” During these times of aridity and spiritual emptiness, what comfort, what incredible assurance, comes in turning to words written by strong people.

That is one of the incredibly rich aspects of the Episcopal Book of Common Prayer. Why else are there so many Collects, so many Prayers of the People, so many Litanies, so many and varied Orders of Service? Why else but to provide us with something to come to (and go away from, into spontaneous prayer), and come back to, again and again!

Perhaps the words themselves do not matter so much after all. Perhaps, in the final analysis, formal and informal prayers are not so very different from one another.

In his Letters to Malcolm, C. S. Lewis confronts this divisive issue with characteristic directness: “The choice between ready-made prayers and one’s own words is rather less important for me than it apparently is for you. For me, words are in any case secondary. They are only an anchor. Or, shall I say, they are the movements of a conductor’s baton: not the music. They serve to canalize [to channel] the worship or penitence or petition which might without them—such are our minds—spread into wide and shallow puddles. It does not matter very much who first put them together. If they are our own words, they will soon, by unavoidable repetition, harden into a formula. If they are someone else’s, we shall continually pour into them our own meaning.”

Words: they are frequently inadequate. Yet words are all we have. And even when they are frightfully inadequate, we have the assurance that God does understand.

Through prayer, we unite ourselves to God in the same way that we unite ourselves to other people: by talking, by verbalizing our feelings, our doubts, our crises, our joys, and our thoughts. No burning bush is necessary, just a few words.

“You talk. I’ll listen.” The promise is clear: we have only to take it, to reach out, to trust, to believe. The promise of Genesis (9:13) was consummated in Revelation (21:3–5).

Our inadequate words are heard. “We do not even know how we ought to pray,” writes Paul, “but through our inarticulate groans the Spirit himself is pleading for us, and God who searches our inmost being knows what the Spirit means, because he pleads for God’s people in God’s own way” (Rom. 8:26–27, NEB).

Pray always; there will always be One who listens. The promise is alive on every page of the New Testament.

“You talk. I’ll listen.”

JEANNETTE L. ANGELL¹Miss Angell is currently completing her master’s degree at Yale Divinity School, New Haven, Connecticut.

Moving from a sanctity of life ethic to a quality of life ethic carries grave implications.

Abortion: The Silent Holocaust, by John Powell (Argus Communications, 1981, 183 pp., $3.50), and New Perspectives on Human Abortion, edited by Hilgers, Horan, and Mall (University Publications, 1981, 514 pp., $27.50), are reviewed by Carl Horn III, who serves with the U.S. Department of Justice.

Joseph Fletcher (of situation ethics fame) has called it ridiculous to give ethical approval to ending a “subhuman” life by abortion but refuse to give that same approval to ending a “subhuman” life by “positive euthanasia” (actively killing a terminally ill or mentally defective person). Francis Crick, a renowned scientist and Nobel Laureate, has argued that no newborn infant should be declared human until it has passed certain tests regarding its genetic endowment. If it fails the tests, Crick insists, it forfeits the right to live. Crick has also proposed compulsory death for everyone at age 80.

These are two of many such revelations in Abortion: The Silent Holocaust, an eminently readable book that is bound to challenge the thoughtful Christian reader. Like Malcolm Muggeridge, who has called the path from abortion to active euthanasia a “slippery slope,” Powell sees grave implications in replacing the “sanctity of life ethic” with a “quality of life ethic.” Powell, whose books have been outsold in America only by those of C. S. Lewis, approaches these difficult and emotionally engaging issues with uncommon warmth and equanimity. Balancing Christian conviction with a loving approach to women with crisis pregnancies, Powell’s anecdotal style makes this book an excellent introduction and overview. It is an important book that deserves wide circulation.

New Perspectives on Human Life, another recently published book on abortion and related bioethical issues, is filled with helpful information. Divided into three major sections (medical, legal, and social/philosophical), New Perspectives consists of 31 scholarly essays by experts in many different fields. Doctors, scientists, lawyers, theologians, and academicians are drawn together to focus on bioethics, a burgeoning field that will surely expand rapidly in the coming years. New Perspectives is being distributed by Americans United for Life (230 N. Michigan, Suite 915, Chicago 60601).

Evangelicals must decide where they stand on the abortion issue. Theologian Harold O. J. Brown has expressed the view that if permissive abortion is not sufficient to engage the consciences of evangelicals, it is hard to know what would raise their indignation. What about the woman’s freedom of choice? Is the fetus human life, and, if so, what legal value should we place on that life? What about the common objection to “legislating of morality”? How does quality of life (such as whether a child is loved or wanted by the parent) affect that child’s right to life? These are crucial questions that evangelicals must address if their public witness is to have credibility.

John R. W. Stott, in his book Christian Mission in the Modern World (IVP, 1976), advocates the formation of “study and action groups” to respond to public issues such as abortion. He wisely explains that he “deliberately used the expression ‘study and action groups’ because we Christians have a tendency to pontificate from a position of ignorance, and we need to grapple with the complexities of our subject before recommending some course of responsible action.…” Whether as participants in such a group, or for the reader’s personal information, Abortion: The Silent Holocaust and New Perspectives on Human Abortion are highly recommended for evangelical consumption.

Missions As God’S Mission

The Christian World Mission, by J. Herbert Kane (Baker, 1981, 294 pp., $13.95), is reviewed by John Gration, coordinator of cross-cultural ministries, Wheaton Graduate School, Wheaton, Illinois.

The claim of a well-known television manufacturer, “The quality goes in before the name goes on,” aptly characterizes the relationship between J. Herbert Kane and the content of his latest book. The Christian public has come to associate his name with both missiological and literary quality. The present volume maintains that fine reputation.

In this wide-ranging study, the professor emeritus of the School of World Missions at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School provides a succinct introduction to the world of modern missions. In doing so, Kane avoids the extremes of looking at the world through rose-colored glasses or hanging crepe on its door. He presents the problems along with the opportunities as he moves through such topics as contextualization, church growth, and nationalism with the same measured balance.

Although primarily a book dealing with the “crucial issues” and “continuing problems” that the missionary movement faces as it moves into this century’s closing decades, Kane begins by rooting the whole missionary cause in the nature of God. In a concise survey of the Bible as a missionary book, he highlights the unfolding missiodei in human history. Thus the contemporary world, successively presented in its demographic, social, economic, and political dimensions, is seen in the context of the eternal Word.

A reform movement more daring than anything since the Reformation.

When the Second Vatican Council opened its first session about 20 years ago (Oct. 11, 1962), most conservative Protestants paid scant attention. Four hundred and fifty years of venomous charge and countercharge had made it almost impossible to recognize Catholics even as fellow Christians, much less to comprehend that their church was about to embark upon a reform movement probably more daring than anything since the Reformation—certainly more daring than anything we might consider for our own churches or denominations. Ancient patterns of theological discourse, ecclesiastical organization, and devotional practice were to be overturned in less than a decade. The Catholic church and its witness to the gospel were to be “brought up to date” (aggiornamento in Italian).

Some of the subsequent changes are striking, even to a casual Protestant observer. Worship services are conducted in the language of the people. The priest faces the congregation as he leads them in the celebration of Communion, frequently offering them both bread and wine. The exposition of God’s Word in sermons and the sacrament of baptism are now a more prominent part of the service. An English-language version of Holy Scripture can be found in most Catholic homes, whether or not it is read daily, just as in Protestant homes. Congregational singing in some Catholic churches could easily rival that of some Protestant churches. At the main church on the campus of the University of Notre Dame, Luther’s “A Mighty Fortress” is the second hymn in the book.

All this may sound very “Protestant,” and indeed, some Catholic commentators have remarked that certain of these reforms came 500 years too late. But Vatican Council II also remained true to Catholic tradition as a whole, often recovering older themes and teachings that had been lost or minimized during the later Middle Ages and the Counter-Reformation.

Looking back over the last 20 years, evangelicals cannot help but notice the Catholic church’s more ecumenical stance. Vatican II threw the church’s doors wide open to discourse with other Christians, whom it now embraced as “separated brethren” rather than as unbelievers drowning outside the ark of salvation. Conservative Protestants soon discovered they had much in common with Catholics, beginning with a shared faith in the one Lord Jesus Christ. Both Protestants and Catholics have also experienced certain movements in common over the last two decades. The charismatics had a profound effect upon both, and despite continued differences, Catholic and Protestant charismatics have enjoyed close fellowship with one another. The cry for social justice has generated similar debates in both communities about the nature of social and political action required of those who fully embrace the gospel. Through it all, understanding has deepened: prominent evangelicals now journey to Rome, churchmen regularly talk with one another, and common moral and educational issues have brought Catholics and conservative Protestants increasingly together in the political arena.

Increased contact has also proven bewildering. Within the one Roman Catholic church may be found what is, in effect, the entire spectrum of Protestant Christianity, from fundamentalism to liberalism and liberation theology. Catholics themselves are deeply divided precisely over the interpretation and implementation of the council, some claiming too much of the old tradition has been lost, others saying reform has not gone far enough. But, since all Catholics are pledged to uphold the conciliar decrees as a work of God through the Holy Spirit, any evangelical who wants to understand contemporary Catholicism ought to begin with a thorough reading of the Documents of Vatican II (ed., A. P. Flannery). Some of it may seem difficult or strange to the uninitiated, but evangelicals should respond sympathetically to its emphasis upon the church as the “pilgrim people of God,” upon Scripture as containing everything necessary for faithful lives, and upon the pastorate as called to lead God’s people compassionately toward holiness and everlasting bliss.

The theological impact of the council has perhaps been the most surprising. Thomas Aquinas, the Tridentine decrees, and neoscholastic theology—all of which defined Catholicism theologically for centuries—have, intentionally or not, lost their place of honor almost overnight, and nothing else has as yet taken their place. The theologians who paved the way for the council are now themselves considered either too traditional or too radical. A new Catholic openness to contemporary philosophy has eaten away at the Aristotelian underpinnings of much neoscholastic theology. Still more significantly, the wholesale importation of modern higher criticism has had a deeply corrosive effect.

It has been, all in all, a time of considerable experiment, with extremes of all kinds. Perhaps during the next 20 years a new theological synthesis will emerge. Or perhaps, in the wake of ecclesiastical decentralization and linguistic pluralism, the Catholic world will become almost as varied as the Protestant world. At any rate, a door has been opened to the Protestant world that is not likely to shut again for a long time to come.

JOHN VAN ENGEN¹Dr. Van Engen teaches medieval history at the University of Notre Dame, and is currently vice-president of the Christian Reformed Church in South Bend, Indiana.

I have found theology and church history coming alive because of my new interest in the arts.

While Sorting Through Books at the inevitable book table at a recent conference, several pastors were heard to say that they were weary of looking at layers of books. They would select—if at all—only rare treasures that would speak directly to their own needs.

Now that I am in my forties, I find my obsession for reading is beginning to subside. I am picky. Colorful jackets do not bait me as they once did. As a result, however, an empty spot has appeared in my life. In an effort to fill this uncomfortable emptiness, I decided to investigate a new area of interest. I decided to try the arts.

I have always been interested in painting and music. However, because of the attention I concentrated on theology and church history, I didn’t have time to explore more in the arts. Now I began by purchasing The Story of Painting, by H. W. Janson. I decided I would study, not simply read, this work. I examined individual paintings so closely that I began to feel I had given myself an introductory course in each one. Then I tested myself, flipping through the book to see if I could name the painter of each work without sneaking a look at captions.

I went on to other works, such as The Story of Art, by Gombrich, A Treasury of Impressionism, by Harris, The Larousse Encyclopedia of Renaissance and Baroque Art, by Hamlyn, and Famous Artists of the Past, by Chase. Friends and relatives began to give me gifts, which included such works as Rembrandt’s Life of Christ, Western European Painting, The Life of Christ in Stained Glass, and Great Masterpieces of World Art.

As I read, I began to feel an old hankering to paint. Unfortunately, my box of oils had collected dust for years, and I had never found time to get into watercolors. I decided the time had come to produce some canvases of my own. I soon surprised myself with paintings that now grace the walls of my home.

But going beyond reading and painting, I decided to take some time to visit museums. The more I walked through museums, the more I realized how multidimensional are their offerings. Not only are paintings, drawings, and sculpture provided, but there are garden concerts, curator gallery talks, group tours, gift shops, films, and cafes.

Many of these offerings even have no price tag. Not long ago I visited an exhibit of the paintings of William Blake at Harvard’s Fogg Museum near Boston, which is open daily to the public without charge. Three blocks away, the Busch-Reisinger Museum of Central and Northern European Art is also open to all without charge. And the Gardner Museum on the Fenway provides free concerts three times a week.

As my interest in the arts grew, I began to sort through the fine-print listings in Boston newspapers. I found names, addresses, telephone numbers, opening hours, and selections of many places in the area that focus on the arts. I began marking in events in my desk calendar.

Before long, I realized my adventure into the arts needed to become a family opportunity, and so I began to include my wife and three children. Today, all of us visit museums, attend concerts, and listen to lectures.

The payoff for all this activity has not only been the activation of certain aesthetic brain cells, but also a very concrete refreshment of soul. Sometimes at the end of the day, when I am weary of pastoral pressures, I will pick up a book on impressionistic paintings and legitimately escape into a world of clear air.

When I need a break from biblical studies, I poke a brush at white canvas for a while. Sometimes I leave the books and study altogether to drive through tree-lined streets in another world of hanging masterpieces.

Ironically, now I find books on theology and church history coming alive to me once more because of my new interest in the arts. How interesting it is to speculate on how various parts of the brain feed on each other.

Might not different seasons of life ask for different fulfillment? Could not the empty spaces inside of us become creative urges for mind expansion? How about viewing boredom as a nudge to unlock doors of inspiration that might feed into the life of the Spirit of God within us?

J. GRANT SWANK, JR.¹Mr. Swank is pastor of the Walpole, Massachusetts, Church of the Nazarene.

Those who work in the aesthetic dimension will find Bezalel a worthy model.

In exodus 31, God gave detailed information concerning the empowering of artists, information Moses then passed on to the people. Recounting Bezalel’s call, he described him as being filled “with the Spirit of God, with ability, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship, to devise artistic designs, to work in gold and silver and bronze, in cutting stones for setting, and in carving wood, for work in every skilled craft. And he has inspired him to teach.… Every able man in whom the LORD has put ability and intelligence to know how to do any work in the construction of the sanctuary shall work in accordance with all that the LORD has commanded” (Exod. 35:30–36:1).

The tabernacle, designed to glorify God and instruct his people, was to be created with “artistic designs.” Its lavishness was to be designed, like the priests’ garments, “for glory and for beauty” (Exod. 28:2). Scripture suggests that the aesthetic dimension of life exists “for glory”—to glorify God and to give humans a faint glimpse of God’s splendor; and “for beauty”—so that mere creation of beauty is an appropriate end in itself.

To create the kind of art he had willed for his tabernacle, God gave Bezalel six specific gifts. Together, they offer an amazingly comprehensive analysis of what constitutes any artistic talent.

“He has filled him with the Spirit of God.” Bezalel’s gift is the most important for the Christian artist. The Holy Spirit “bears fruit” in many areas of life, and in this case, fruit is associated with art. Artists speak of “being inspired,” of writing or creating more than they know. To say an artist is “inspired” does not mean the same thing as saying the Bible is inspired, of course. Yet, Bezalel’s creativity is clearly associated with the Holy Spirit.

The text further makes clear that Bezalel maintained a deep, personal relationship with God. In the same way, a Christian artist must be a Christian above all, for if he is first “filled with the Spirit of God,” other gifts can follow.

“He has filled him … with ability.”The second gift is talent. Not everyone can paint or carve. Not everyone can write poetry or act or sing or play the violin. The potential to do so, the “ability,” is God-given.

“He has filled him … with intelligence.” Talent alone is not enough. God gave Bezalel a measure of understanding, of reason, of common sense. The modern image of the artist as irrational, passionate, completely intuitive, is countered by the idea that however “inspired” and talented, he must also manifest a clear mind and a rational temperament. Designing a sculpture that will not tip over, managing the laws of perspective in painting, choreographing movements in a play, writing the score for a piece of music all involve an almost mathematical way of thinking. Great art generally shows intelligence, the work of a mind that sees through partial perceptions and stereotypes. Dante, da Vinci, Shakespeare, and Bach all display the gift of intelligence.

“He has filled him … with knowledge.” But while intelligence involves the faculties of the mind, knowledge is concerned with what is in the mind. Bezalel needed to know certain things: his materials (how to cast bronze, how to beat gold to a microscopic thinness) and his subjects (the structure of almonds, flowers, and pomegranates, the cherubim and the function of the mercy seat). Some artists scorn education, thinking their work is a function of an inner creativity they need only to express without inhibition or tradition or knowledge of anything outside of themselves. Scripture, on the other hand, says knowledge is essential to art. In fact, real artists are interested in learning not only about their art, but also about physics, biology, geography, history, politics. Openness to the world outside the self is a hallmark of true artistic sensitivity.

“He has filled him with … all craftsmanship.” An artist also must master his technique, acquiring skill in working with his medium, whether it be words, paint, notes, or stone. It causes that medium to do the artist’s bidding. An artist’s dominion over matter is a heightened example of human dominion over nature (Ps. 8:6). It is not tyranny or exploitation but rather that through infinite care and effort the object conforms to the artist’s will. Scripture sees the recurring figure of the potter and the clay, an analogy of the relationship between God and human beings.

“And he has inspired him to teach.” Finally, the artist needs the “inspiration” to teach. But can artistry be taught? Scripture, agreeing that art involves God-given gifts, affirms that it can. Just as the Holy Spirit usually operates through “means” (reading the Scriptures, hearing a sermon, etc.) God normally communicates his gifts through human instruments. An aspiring artist’s innate talents can usually come to fruition only with the aid of a teacher.

Bezalel is the model of the Christian artist. To reject the aesthetic dimension or deny that art is an appropriate vocation for a Christian is to deny the clear statements of Scripture. Bezalel’s call provides an authoritative account of what is involved in being an artist and describes in comprehensive detail God’s gifts to artists.

GENE EDWARD VEITH¹Dr. Veith is instructor of English at Northeastern Oklahoma A & M College, Miami, Oklahoma.

The Supreme Court turns down the Lubbock case.

It had all the elements of a major test of freedom of religion, say the Christian Legal Society (CLS) lawyers who invested fatiguing hours to get their argument ready for the U.S. Supreme Court. The court thought otherwise and, without a comment, decided not to hear Lubbock Independent School District v. Lubbock Civil Liberties Union.

The issue was whether high school students could organize a Bible discussion group in the same way they might form a chess club or debating team. Public school officials in Lubbock, Texas, had said they certainly could, as long as the meetings were voluntary. Nobody’s particular set of beliefs was at stake. The issue was seen as freedom of speech, not religion. The ACLU challenged this as unconstitutional, and was upheld in the Fifth Circuit Federal Court. Similar free speech rights were upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court last year for college age students in Widmar v. Vincent, but that decision has not been interpreted to apply to younger students.

Controversy about prayer in schools has been marked by continual misunderstandings of the Supreme Court’s 1962 and 1963 decisions on the issue. Some have alleged that the Court removed God from the classroom, exaggerating the Court’s intent by trying to snuff out all religious expression in schools.

CLS Washington office director Samuel E. Ericsson disputes those who say the Court banished prayer from schoolrooms. What the Court said, Ericsson explains, is that “the state had no business writing official prayers. Second, public school teachers should not be placed in the role of a priest or minister in the classroom.” But the Court did not prohibit student-initiated voluntary groups from organizing prayer groups or Bible study.

The Lubbock decision is an example of how those decisions are being twisted into a virtual ban on any school religious activity, and it may embolden civil liberties groups to challenge such meetings elsewhere around the country. Forest Montgomery, the legal counsel at the National Association of Evangelicals’ Washington office, speculated that “the ACLU may try to intimidate every other school district in the U.S.” The government’s official position toward religion is neutrality, balanced between free exercise and state establishment. Lawyers seeking to appeal the Lubbock case viewed it as replacing state neutrality with court-ordered discrimination against religion.

The Supreme Court kept to itself its reasons for not hearing the case, but a number of factors help explain why. Since two of the nation’s eleven circuit courts of appeals have reached similar conclusions on the issue, Ericsson said the Supreme Court “may want to see it percolate longer in the lower courts.” Usually, the Supreme Court views itself as a court of last resort to settle differences that persist among lower courts. For example, the Court did agree to rule on five abortion cases arising from conflicting decisions by courts in Ohio, Missouri, and Virginia.

The percolating process is happening around the country, with similar controversies heating up in Anderson, South Carolina; Williamsport, Pennsylvania; northern and southern California; Pittsburgh; and Seattle. If one of these is decided in favor of the students, a clear conflict with the Lubbock and New York cases would be likely to compel Supreme Court consideration.

In Williamsport, 40 students who wanted to form a Bible club to meet during a regular activity period at the beginning of the school day were refused permission, and they filed suit last June. Ericsson is optimistic that in one of these cases, the students will win out. “By no stretch of the imagination are we being thrown into the lion’s den” because of the Lubbock outcome.

The Supreme Court also may be biding its time and waiting for a legislated answer to emerge from Congress. Two bills that address the issue are on the runway, including a measure introduced by Sen. Mark O. Hatfield (R-Oreg.) last year. Patterned after the 1964 Civil Rights Act, it would make it easier for students to bring suit. Right now, it is very difficult to argue a case for religious free speech in court because it must be derived from broader civil rights precedents. A lawyer in Hatfield’s office explained that a statute to protect religious free speech would give students a narrow “cause of action” to address their complaint. At the same time, the bill would preserve state neutrality by stating that no one in authority may try to influence the content of prayer or discussion.

Sen. Jeremiah Denton (R-Ala) is sponsoring a second “equal access” bill that goes a step further than Hatfield’s by protecting the rights of teachers and other nonstudents, such as off-campus parachurch group leaders. Denton’s bill “goes for the broad sweep,” according to an aide, by addressing the problem at all levels, not just at junior high and high school. Hatfield’s bill is designed to generate the broadest support possible, but Denton’s aide said a compromise will be attempted. “It takes more than a Hatfield and more than a Denton,” he said. “The synergism of the two together can create a stronger effect than either could alone.”

Denton and 22 other U.S. senators joined Hatfield in filing a friend-of-the-court brief in the Lubbock case—an unusual move that the Christian Legal Society thought would help persuade the court to consider the appeal.

Another reason for the Supreme Court’s reluctance to accept the Lubbock case to set precedent, according to Ericsson, could be a history of conflict over religion in Lubbock schools. During the 1970s, student volunteers read a prayer over the school’s public address system each morning. Evangelical speakers at all-school assemblies would sometimes give invitations to receive Christ. This led to charges by the ACLU that the activities amounted to state-sponsored revival meetings. Before the suit came to trial then, Lubbock schools substituted the current policy, confining religious activities on school grounds to voluntary student-led groups meeting before or after class. But civil liberties lawyers called this a facade behind which the previous activities might continue.

Even though their request for a Supreme Court hearing was denied, CLS lawyers succeeded in raising the conciousness of Christians about the need to protect religious free speech. They obtained friend-of-the-court briefs from the National Council of Churches, Pat Robertson’s Freedom Council, NAE, Christian Educators Association, and the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, as well as the 24 senators. They had retained the legal services of noted Watergate prosecutor Leon Jaworski, who died shortly after all the petitions in the case were filed.

For students who are still caught in the tangle of legal maneuvering, Ericsson’s advice is to keep meeting for informal, voluntary religious discussions. “I maintain that even the ACLU would come to the defense of students who sit together in a school cafeteria or on the lawn, study the gospel of Matthew, and are suspended for it,” he says.

Top High School Students Hold Religion Dear

Religion plays a prominent role in the lives of high school students who earn top grades and participate in extracurricular activities, a recent poll reports. The poll by Educational Communications, which compiles and publishes Who’s Who Among American High School Students, surveyed 55,000 juniors and seniors with better-than-average grades from 22,000 public, private, and parochial high schools across the nation. The survey provides an insight into factors that contribute to the development of high achievers.

Home environment emerges as possibly the most important factor. The survey shows that 85 percent of high achievers are reared in homes in which both natural parents live and formal religion is practiced. Nearly 45 percent live in rural communities. By an 84-percent margin, high achievers favor traditional marriages and reject the use of cigarettes and illegal drugs. Only 4 percent have used marijuana, and 89 percent have never smoked cigarettes. Another 7 percent have tried smoking and quit, leaving only 4 percent that smoke on a regular basis. Although they hold conservative political views, these students overwhelmingly reject racial segregation and discrimination of every kind and oppose the practice of banning “objectionable” books from school and public libraries.

The young people surveyed were among 363,000 listed in the latest edition of Who’s Who Among American High School Students, a directory of pupils with outstanding records in academics, community service, and extracurricular activities.

“This is not a poll of average high school students. These teenagers will be tomorrow’s leaders,” said Tari Marshall, project spokeswoman. She said the poll, which is the thirteenth conducted by Educational Communications, sought for the first time to elicit a profile of high achievers, their personal backgrounds, family lives, and attitudes on both moral and political issues. She said the results agree with the finding of a number of scientific studies conducted by sociologists and psychologists. Those studies also concluded that most Christian religions and Judaism foster positive attitudes towards life and responsibility and that a stable home provides children with the self-confidence needed for high achievement.

RELIGIOUS NEWS SERVICE

Christian Book Publisher Loses Tax Exemption

The Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Company (PRPC) has lost its tax-exempt status. In addition, it owes the Internal Revenue Service at least $75,000 in back taxes because of the federal tax court’s decision, according to Bryce Craig, general manager of the publishing company.

The battle took five-and-a-half years. Craig said no decision has been made on an appeal because that could take an additional two years, PRPC, which has headquarters in Phillipsburg, New Jersey, was founded in 1931 and sells 750,000 books per year. It sells mainly to seminary students and pastors in the Reformed tradition.

The IRS claimed that the publishing company “increasingly adopted a commercial method of operation” and was “engaged in business activity which is similar to a commercial enterprise.” The case started in 1977 when an IRS agent notified the PRPCthat it had too large a surplus.

Craig, who called the long legal fight “discouraging,” said the publishing company had argued that it used volunteer labor; that the nature of its books made it a distinct ministry, since it published books other publishing companies wouldn’t print; that many of its authors didn’t get a royalty; and that it sold books at discounts to students.

The bottom line is that “we feel we’re less commercial than most publishers.” Craig said. “My father worked for nothing from 1955 until his retirement in 1980. He donated his time and the use of his home, which was his office.” Craig said many religious publishers are tax exempt. “Most denominations have a publishing house; they’re a nonprofit ministry. We got singled out because we’re not under the umbrella of another ministry,” he said.

Should The Fcc Have Closed Its Books On The Ptl Case?

Christian television show host James Bakker and his associates at the PTL religious network were breathing easier in December when the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) dropped its three-year-old investigation of money-raising practices. The FCC also permitted Bakker to turn his indebted Canton, Ohio, television station over to a new owner.

Now, however, the FCC’S action is being challenged by a national office of the United Church of Christ (UCC) and a minority rights group. Part of what troubles the UCC’S Office of Communications is that the new owner of the Canton station WJAN-TV has no base in Canton. The David Livingstone Missionary Foundation, which now has the station, was established in 1970 as the missionary arm of the anti-Communist preacher Billy James Hargis and his Church of the Christian Crusade. The Livingstone Foundation is based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Hargis has not been connected with it since 1980.

The national United Church of Christ and a UCC congregation in Canton have filed a petition with the FCC to get the case reopened. The National Black Media Coalition of Washington, D.C., has also filed a petition.

The FCC commissioners were sharply divided four to three when they voted to end their investigation of PTL and approve the Canton station transfer. The commissioners did, however, send their file on PTL to the Justice Department without saying why. It is not known what the Justice Department plans to do.

The United Church of Christ is not as upset about who the new owner of the Canton station is as it is that the FCC allowed the transfer to be made.

The commission’s action was called “a knee-jerk, rubber-stamp decision” by Donna Demac, staff attorney of the UCC Office of Communication. The FCC action “is illegal, it is irrational, and it cannot withstand judicial review,” contended David Honig, research director of the National Black Media Coalition. He said the commission had never before approved a license transfer from an owner that was being investigated.

Under the so-called distress-sale policy, Honig said, a licensee under investigation may sell its license to minority groups for no more than 75 percent of the fair market value, “PTL had indicated that if there were a hearing, it would go the distress-sale route,” but the FCC approval of the license transfer closed the door to that possibility, he said. Honig, who is a professor of communications policy at Howard University, said that “the only effect that this can have is to keep WJAN-TV from winding up in minority-owned hands.”

He said the coalition had “no grudge against PTL,” and that it viewed the Livingstone Foundation as “an innocent third party” in the dispute over the FCC action. According to Honig, the filing of the motion for stay meant that PTL continues to hold the station’s license because the two parties “did not effectuate the transaction.”

A spokesman for the FCC in Washington said that the agency was taking the charges against PTL seriously. “We felt the allegations were fairly serious,” said FCC spokesman Bill Russell. “Through the testimony and investigation, we felt they were serious enough to refer to the Justice Department. This is not an exoneration of anybody.”

When the FCC order was announced in December, commissioners Joseph R. Fogarty and Henry M. Rivera issued a stinging dissent. They charged that the commission’s action “does heavy violence to applicable law and precedent and is a rude and cynical insult to this commission’s jurisdiction and processes.” They declared that “the majority has short-circuited proper process with no explanation, thereby clearly signifying it lacks the courage of whatever convictions have led it to this malodorous result.” In a separate dissent, Commissioner Anne P. Jones asserted that “permitting this transfer to Livingstone establishes an entirely new policy that a licensee under a cloud can derail commission enforcement processes merely by transferring his license to any qualified successor.”

During the 1970s, Livingstone was the target of charges similar to those made about PTL—that it solicited funds for missionary work but used them for operating expenses. In 1974, Reader’s Digest cited the Livingstone Foundation as one of several charities using questionable procedures in an article entitled, “Charities: Which Ones Are Worth Giving to?”

RELIGIOUS NEWS SERVICE

World Scene

Pope John Paul II signed a new Code of Canon Law for the Roman Catholic church last month. The first revision of the church’s basic rules in 66 years—which will become effective on November 27, the first Sunday in Advent—formalizes change instituted by the Second Vatican Council. Some of the changes: reduction of the annual holy days of obligation from 10 to 2; reduction of the grounds for automatic ex-communication from 37 to 7 (abortion is still included); permission for Catholics to marry non-Catholics if local bishops approve; prohibition of priests and nuns holding public office and engaging in union and political activities; and termination of an experiment in the U.S. and Australia that reduced the average time required to obtain annulment of a marriage.

The “inner exodus” in the (Lutheran) Church of Sweden appears to be spreading to the Church of Norway. Those making plans to affiliate with a new, separate and conservative synod in Norway are those disturbed by the abortion issue, and are said to have links to both “the low church Association for Bible and Confession … and the high church Church Renewal” groups. In Sweden, meanwhile, a fourth diaconate has been formed, made up of members who object to the ordination of women, the inclusion of nonbaptized persons on church membership roles, and to powers the government holds over the church in some matters.

East Germany is bracing itself for a massive influx of foreign tourists to celebrate the five-hundredth anniversary of Martin Luther’s birth. The (Lutheran) Evangelical Federation has extended official invitations to 600 Western church officials, and the total number of North American visitors should surpass 300,000. Church-sponsored celebrations will commence officially at the Wartburg in Eisenach on May 4, concluding on November 13 in Leipzig. During the summer, seven regional church conferences (Kirchentage) will be held. The largest one, in Dresden during July, should attract 80,000 participants. The Wittenberg church conference in September will be devoted entirely to the study of Luther. The Marxist German Democratic Republic has also fielded a Luther committee, chaired by none other than Erich Honecker, head of both party and state. The main government-sponsered Luther commemoration is scheduled for November 9 in East Berlin.

Soviet believers in registered churches have opened 205 new churches over the past five years. The general secretary of the All-Union Council of Evangelical Christians-Baptists, Alexei Bychkov, made this report during a visit to Britain last month as part of a 12-man Christian delegation. This contrasts with the Russian Orthodox church, which has managed to open only a handful during the same time span. Bychkov attributed the difference to the more direct appeal of simple worship and clear preaching.

Soviet authorities are raising the student quotas at the Roman Catholic seminaries in Lithuania and Latvia for the first time since World War II. The Council of Religious Affairs has agreed to the admission of 32 new theology students for the winter semester in Lithuania, and of 19 in Latvia. The seminary at Kaunas, Lithuania, had 150 students in 1946, had been reduced to 62 students by 1979, and now has 97. The former Baltic States are the only part of the USSR that traditionally were predominantly Roman Catholic.

South African government defense and security officials have met with the leadership of the Dutch Reformed church and urged it to steer away from growing isolation to help counter an “onslaught” against the dominant Afrikaner state-and-church combination in South Africa. According to a report by Hennie Serfontein in the Cape Times, their secret advice included proposals that the denomination retain its membership in the World Alliance of Reformed Churches and that it join the South African Council of Churches.

The church in northern Mozambique isvigorous and growing in spite of having been cut off from direct missionary contact for 20 years, reports the Africa Evangelical Fellowship. The 450 congregations are short of Portuguese-language Bibles and hymnbooks, but they have some 44,000 members.

Kenya’s president has warned that his government may be forced to cancel the licenses of religious sects involved in leadership squabbles. Daniel arap Moi’s remarks followed an incident at the Nairobi church of the Gospel Furthering Fellowship in which an American missionary locked the church gates in order to preclude the holding of a service led by a rival Kenyan pastor. Local government officials intervened to order the gates opened.

Ethiopia’s usual winter rains did not materialize this year, leading to drought and famine. Ethiopian officials have appealed to governments and voluntary agencies for massive supplies of grain to stave off starvation for as many as 5 million Ethiopians, whose livelihood is based on an agricultural economy. Protestant missions and relief agencies are among those targeting aid to the country, which suffered a major famine in 1974 and 1975.

A “sensational” archaeological find has been made in a buried hillside cave opposite Mount Zion. Tel Aviv University archaeologist Gabriel Barkay leads a team that discovered nearly 1,000 artifacts in a tomb dating from the seventh century B.C. A cave-in of the tomb roof apparently protected the treasure trove from grave robbers. One notable find: an almost pure silver scroll inscribed with the classical Hebrew spelling of God’s name Yahweh (or Jehovah). Barkay said, “It’s the first time in 150 years of archaeological excavations in Jerusalem that the name of the Lord has been found.”

What is the refugee situation in Southeast Asia now? Although eight camps have been closed in Thailand, 169,000 refugees were still there in six remaining camps at the beginning of the year. That is down from 193,000 a year earlier. A recent census revealed that 10,000 new refugees had illicitly entered the largest camp, Khao I Dang. But 9,000 voluntarily returned to Kampuchea (Cambodia), 1,000 to Laos, and 33,000 were resettled overseas—19,000 of them in the U.S. and 2,000 in Canada.

7,000 European Youth Convene For Missions Conference

Asked to describe the church in Switzerland, an elderly Swiss pastor tipped his head to one side, rested it on his folded hands, and whimsically replied, “Sie shlaft” (She’s sleeping). But the activity just a few blocks from where the pastor stood was proof enough that the church in Europe is not dead. In fact, Mission ’83, a missions conference for European youths, had some overtones of revival.

During the 1982 Christmas holiday season, more than 7,000 young people from about 30 European nations met at the site of the landmark 1974 Congress on World Evangelization in Lausanne, Switzerland. The conference was organized by TEMA (The European Missionary Association). The purpose was to think, learn, and pray about world missions.

Switzerland had the largest delegation, with 1,603 representatives. Germany was second with 1,069. Some were pleasantly surprised that Portugal (387), Italy (285), and Yugoslavia (131) had significant representation.

Mission ’83 has been described as “Europe’s Urbana” by those fond of likening it to Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship’s biggest missions conference. But conference organizers shun the comparison. “It is a youth conference rather than a student conference,” explains Luc Verlinden, assistant director of TEMA. “Also it must take into account the national preferences and differences of all the European nations represented.” Unlike Urbana, conference leaders did not ask for a public commitment and a head count of mission volunteers. Said Verlinden, “A difference between the U.S. and Europe is that we do not like numbers or statistics. Were we to announce those, many Europeans would be upset.”

Urbana director John Kyle, who attended Mission ’83 as an observer, agrees the conference was different. “It’s a more stupendous task than Urbana,” Kyle said. “I am impressed with the unity in bringing together so many nations and languages. It must surely impress not only the skeptical world looking on but the church in Western Europe.”

Efficient translators, polished organization, and thousands of headphone sets combined to unify what could have been another Tower of Babel at Mission ’83. As messages were delivered, they were translated into 12 languages—more than 3,000 headphones were distributed for each meeting.

Twenty-five national committees recruited young people in their own countries, and planned and promoted Mission ’83. More than 250 booths were manned by some 650 missionaries and representatives for European-based missions. All these groups faced the formidable task of translating their messages into at least seven languages. Those who gave slide/tape presentations provided individual earphones for each language group.

Although the European press tends to ignore evangelical functions, TEMA director Eric Gay, a Swiss pastor, was interviewed on a Lausanne news program. Local newspapers gave broad coverage, though sometimes with tongue in cheek. One headline read, “Mission ’83, Somewhere Between Show Business and Spirituality.”

The conference was the third of its kind. More than 2,500 attended Mission ’76, which spawned TEMA, and nearly 7,000 attended Mission ’80. Mainline reform churches declined active participation in Mission ’83, partly because, according to some, they fear TEMA will become another dead institution. To counteract this fear and to promote missions interest among local churches, Mission ’83 offered a concurrent pastors conference for the first time. More than 600 pastors and missionaries attended.

Asked if he thought Mission ’83 was a sign of awakening, Verlinden replied, “I can’t really say. But it is certainly evident that something is happening in some areas of Europe today. And it could be the beginning of a revival.” A TEMA spokesman commented, “There is no doubt that among European youths there is a new wave of interest in missionary work. They get up early and go to bed late. The days are spent in Bible study, prayer, singing, and getting to know what is going on in the world.”

Others have made similar observations, concerned that the church in Europe, as it is, could never support a massive missions movement among its youth.

LORRY LUTZ

Methodist Church Employees Vote To Unionize

In an unprecedented development, more than 200 general staff workers of the United Methodist Board of Global Ministries (BOGM) have voted to join the United Auto Workers. This marks the first time church workers have joined a major American labor union.

Union organizers and BOGM management agreed that the major issue was not money. La Verne Booker, a member of the union organizing committee, said the workers objected, among other things, to the merit system of promotion and salary increases, which, she said, is “based solely on evaluation by immediate supervisors.” A press representative said that workers believe the union “would give them a voice.”

District 65 organizer Karen Ackerman reasoned that since the BOGM has historically supported struggling workers, it should be more willing to hear the voices of its own people. Prior to the vote, the board’s general secretary, Randolph Nugent, sent a letter to staff members in which he stated that management “neither supports nor opposes a union.” He added, “We support your right to decide for yourselves.”

Nugent’s letter questioned required payment of union dues, the possibility that all employees must join the union, and its ability to pay strike benefits.

Ackerman said the letter was “skewed” and critical of unions. She claimed the letter “definitely discouraged workers and had all the elements of antiunion propaganda we see from hostile management, even though the language was more flowery.”

His son, who left Scientology and is now a Christian, wants to find out.

Where is Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard? Many would like an answer to that question, especially Ronald E. DeWolf, Hubbard’s son. DeWolf, who believes his father is either dead or totally disabled mentally, is seeking to have him declared legally missing so that his assets, estimated to be from $100 million to $1 billion, can be frozen. DeWolf, who says he has become a Christian, has petitioned a California court to appoint him receiver of those assets.

The March 1980 disappearance of the 71-year-old Hubbard came in the wake of the 1979 and 1981 convictions of 11 church officials for conspiracy, obstruction of justice, perjury, and theft of government property. This climaxed a prolonged cloak-and-dagger campaign of criminal activities by the church against a long hate-list of supposed enemies. Last month, Hubbard’s third wife was sentenced to four years in prison for her role in these operations.

DeWolf, who changed his name from L. Ron Hubbard, Jr., in 1972, maintains that a shakeup in Scientology’s leadership about a year ago—in which 150 staff members left the cult—brought to the front a cadre of “young Turks.” DeWolf contends the new leadership is pirating away millions of dollars in church funds and that if his father were alive and in his right mind, he would never permit such “wholesale thefts.” DeWolf has also speculated that his father might be held incommunicado by the new guard.

Not everyone agrees with DeWolfs speculation. Paulette Cooper, whose 1971 book, The Scandal of Scientology, led to vicious harassment and withdrawal of the volume from circulation, believes Hubbard is alive. She claims to have seen recent letters bearing the trademarks of his style and signature. But Boston attorney Michael Flynn, DeWolfs lawyer, disagrees. Although he possesses a recently autographed copy of one of Hubbard’s books, he says that one of his clients has revealed that she forged the signature while serving on Hubbard’s personal staff. Thus, he argues that this weakens the credibility of the church’s recent trump card—a dated (November 17, 1982), autographed copy of Hubbard’s latest book, Battlefield Earth. The church’s public affairs director, Kathy Heard, maintains that the book was written in the months immediately prior to its publication date, which was late last summer.

Heard was asked why the church doesn’t simply produce Hubbard, to prove he is alive and well and end the controversy. She replied, “Mr. Hubbard isn’t a commodity for us to produce at will. He’s a very private individual and prefers seclusion.” She added, laughing, “Besides, why should he show up and ruin all this good publicity?” (Despite negative reviews, the book, which sells for $24, is said to be doing well.)

A court will hear evidence in the case on April 18 in Riverside, California. Attorney Flynn is encouraged by the fact that on January 18 of this year, for the first time in the long history of the church of Scientology’s wrangling with the law, Hubbard defaulted by failing to appear in court.

DeWolf was born to Hubbard’s first wife and is the oldest of Hubbard’s seven children. He helped his father establish the Church of Scientology in 1952. The church began as a vehicle for applying principles contained in Hubbard’s 1950 book Dianetics. Scientology teaches that humans willed themselves into existence trillions of years ago and then proceeded to will the material universe into existence. Doing thus, they became trapped in physical bodies and must be “untrapped” in order to return to the original godlike state. This requires the services of Scientology “ministers,” (CT, Sept. 17, 1982, p. 32) who reportedly charge $300 an hour. The church’s religious services consist of lectures on Hubbard’s theories.

Although Hubbard has boasted that his teachings evolved through 30 years of research, his son avers that some were “written off the top of his head” while under the influence of drugs, while others were plagiarized from Aleister Crowley’s disputations on black magic and Satanism. According to DeWolf, not only was Hubbard addicted to cocaine, mescaline, and peyote, but he had a long history of venereal disease, sexual perversion, and mental illness. DeWolf also says his father was deeply involved in bizarre occult practices.

DeWolf left the cult in 1959. He says that in the decade prior to his defection, his father became “further and further removed from reality,” suffering from severe occurences of paranoia and delusion, continued physical deterioration from chronic diseases including arthritis, duodenal ulcers, chronic pneumonia, and skeletal weakness.” DeWolf says that in the 1950s, Hubbard plotted to take over the world and developed a strategy to penetrate every major governmental agency in the world to obtain sufficient intelligence data to accomplish that goal. His delusions further led him to believe that he was the Beast of Revelation and that he had the power to control all of mankind, according to DeWolf.

DeWolf defected in 1959 out of concern for his family. He claimed also that the cult “didn’t work.” It employed black magic, crime, and fraud. For several years, he experienced withdrawal trauma. Four years ago, he moved with his family to Carson City, Nevada, where he is employed as manager of an apartment complex. Today, DeWolf is eager to lecture before church, school, and civic groups concerning the evils of cults. But he opposes “deprogramming,” believing that religious reorientation should be personal and voluntary.

“In the process of trying to unravel Scientology out of my head,” DeWolf said, “I read the Bible, and in the course of time became a Christian.” Although he leans toward the Episcopal church, DeWolf shies away from church organizations and depends on Scripture reading, prayer, and the Holy Spirit for spiritual nourishment and growth. He says also that he benefits from small-group Bible studies.

North American Scene

At least 10 United Methodist congregations in Colorado and Wyoming are protesting the ordination of homosexuals by withholding some funds to their annual conferences. These churches are voicing their disapproval of United Methodist Bishop Melvin E. Wheatley, Jr.’s appointment of an avowed homosexual to a congregation. Last year, a church court unanimously decided not to bring heresy charges against the Denver bishop.

Zale Corporation of Dallas has been named Pornographer of the Month for January by the National Federation for Decency. The “honor” is given monthly by the NFD to a company that regularly advertises in pornographic magazines. According to the NFD, more than 25 major advertisers have said they no longer plan to advertise in such magazines.

A suit against the Unification church and its leader, Sun Myung Moon, was summarily dismissed January 10 by a Massachusetts federal court. The plaintiff in the suit claimed breach of contract and brainwashing. According to a press release from the Unification church, the decision “clearly establishes that such claims are entirely frivolous and that the freedom of religious belief and teaching of basic tenets of faith must be allowed to continue in America unhampered.”

Holy Communion made history on Sunday, January 16, during a joint Lutheran-Episcopal service at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. The service was led by the presiding bishop of the Episcopal church and by leaders of three Lutheran denominations, following plans approved by the churches last fall. The presence of four bishops at the altar symbolized the achievement of enough doctrinal agreement to allow such a ceremony.

Evangelist James Robison and Fort Worth, Texas, millionaire industrialist Cullen Davis smashed more than $1 million worth of art objects in October because, they say, the objects represented false gods. Davis had donated the rare jade, ivory, and gold pieces to Robison’s ministry. The plan was to sell the pieces at a Dallas auction, but while on his way to see them, Robison became convinced, he says, “the Lord didn’t want me to receive them.” Robison and Davis, who became a Christian through Robison’s ministry, proceeded to smash the objects in a parking lot outside Davis’s mansion.

Leaders of 23 major communions belonging to the National Council of Churches and theNCC’s secretary general have protested an article published in the January issue of Reader’s Digest. The church leaders have written to the monthly publication’s editor-in-chief, claiming that the article is filled with distortions and misrepresentations about the council. They say the contention of the article that the NCC supports Marxist-Leninist movements in the Third World is untrue and have requested a more objective story about the NCC.

Ministers who buy their own houses will no longer be permitted the double benefit of a tax-exempt housing allowance plus tax deductions for mortgage interest and property taxes. A new Internal Revenue Service ruling, set to take effect June 30, disallows ministers a federal income tax deduction for any portion of mortgage interest and real estate taxes for which they have received a tax-exempt housing allowance. When the housing expenses are greater than the housing allowance, a portion of the interest and taxes will remain deductible.

The American Psychiatric Association has urged that some form of insanity defense be retained in criminal trials. But in its first comprehensive statement on the issue, the association also called for a “tightening up” of standards and procedures to protect the public against premature release of potentially dangerous individuals. The 27,000-member association cautioned the public and the courts not to expect too much of psychiatrists, stating that judgments concerning such things as the defendant’s knowing the difference between right and wrong involve moral, philosophical, and social judgments that are best left to juries and judges. The insanity defense was used successfully by the lawyers for John Hinckley, Jr., who shot President Reagan.

Private and parochial school pupils can expect increased aid under a new federal block-grant program to the states for elementary and secondary schools. Meanwhile the inconclusive debate over tuition tax credits drags into another session of Congress. New rules for allocation of the money mean that federal funds to some public school districts will decline, heating the debate over proposals for tax credits to parents of children attending private schools.

Nearly 100 officials of the Seventh-day Adventist Church will be disciplined by the denomination. The officials are in trouble because of their involvement with church loans to Donald J. Davenport, a surgeon, investor, and post office builder who filed for bankruptcy in Los Angeles in July of 1981. Davenport owes the Adventist church $18 million in loans and $3 million in accrued interest.

The Constitution’s ban on the government establishing religion applies to the federal government, but not to the states, according to a U.S. district judge in Alabama. In the highly unusual ruling, Judge Brevard Hand issued the statement in upholding Alabama’s school-prayer law, which was passed last July. Hand asserted that the establishment of religion was a power reserved to the states. He also criticized judges who have ruled against public school prayers, stating that the office of judge “gives us no power to fix the moral direction that this nation will take.” His decision is certain to be contested.