This issue contains the prize-winning essays of the contest that closed October 1, 1972. The judges awarded the $1,000 prizes to W. Fred Graham and David F. Wells. The subject of the contest was “The Pastoral Ministry”: Graham dealt with “The People” and Wells with “The Preparation.” Judges were Frank E. Gaebelein, retired headmaster of the Stony Brook School; Calvin D. Linton, dean of the Columbian College of Arts and Sciences, George Washington University; Gladys Hunt, author, homemaker, and Inter-Varsity worker; and Jay Adams, professor at Westminster Seminary. Our thanks to the unnamed donor whose generosity made the contest possible.
Three important items are dealt with in our editorial pages: the end of a controversial war, the death of a controversial president, and the effects of a controversial decision (the Supreme Court on abortion). The latter is a landmark in American jurisprudence and marks the incursion of the Court into the legislative realm. It gives further evidence of our departure from the Hebrew-Christian tradition and the almost complete secularization of national life.
We report with regret the death at ninety-two of one of our longtime contributing editors, Old Testament scholar Oswald T. Allis, whose last book came off the press less than a year ago.
