BY ROGER B. EAMES

KARL BARTH. Last autumn Dr. Barnhouse, of Philadelphia, had an interview with Mr. Earth, the Swiss theologian, at his home in Zurich, asking him many questions as to his faith. Mr. Earth stated clearly his "belief in the eternal Sonship, the bodily resurrection, and the premillennial coming of Christ. He was also equally emphatic regarding the new birth of the sinner as the work in him of the Holy Spirit." "I do not wish to be classed," he said, "otherwise than as being a Bible Christian."

The interview made it clear that he is a genuine Christian and ones who is earnestly contending for the faith. Speaking of Hitler and the oppression of the Protestants, he said, "In this frightful catastrophe that has; occurred in Germany, the conservatives as well as the liberals have run with the Nazis.. .We are face to face with a vigorous paganism, strong and solid, and we are fighting for very life. What we 'are seeing today in Germany is the end of Christianity."

Until recently Dr. Barth held a professorship in the great German university of Bonn. In view of his attitude toward the Hitler regime it is not surprising to read in a recent number of Revelation the following:

"Karl Barth has been dismissed from his professorship, in the University of Bonn, by the Nazis, because of his antagonism to Hitler's attitude toward the church. It was Barth who gave vigor to the opposition from the very beginning. In his own pamphlet, a warning to the churches of Germany, Barth wrote last summer, 'My answer is simple:I say, No, to the spirit and the letter of this doctrine. It is a No that is absolute and without reservation. It is my opinion that this doctrine should have no place whatsoever within the evangelical church; that it would be the end of evangelical Christianity if this doctrine should triumph; that it would be better to see the church reduced to a mere fugitive group, retiring to the catacombs, than to abandon the struggle against such a doctrine; that all who accept such doctrine are either deceivers or deceived."

Here is evidently a man of God such as is rarely found among Theological Professors in these days; one who may be used of God in a preeminent way in his stand against the flood of evil. Let us remember him in our intercession.

The Catholics also oppose the "Nazi paganism," their representative being the Archbishop of Munich, upon whom Pope Pius has recently conferred the title of Papal Legate, which carries with it "diplomatic immunity from arrest."

THE BRAIN TRUST. "The Wirt charges of a 'brain trust' plot to overthrow the established order in America and eventually' replace President Roosevelt with a Stalin,'" by Dr. Wirt, Supt. of Schools in Gary, Indiana, aroused a demand for official investigation. Dr. Wirt has since appeared before a committee in Washington to verify his charges. It would appear that the present popularity of the Administration is such that it is impossible to halt the un-American course of political intrigue, and the doctor has become the butt of much ridicule and censure. He has faithfully discharged his responsibility in the matter and can now afford to hold his peace for the present. Time may reveal to an unsuspecting public that it would have been wiser to have listened to his warning voice. The devil is quite willing to have people believe that he does not exist. He can carry on his work more effectively. This appears to be the policy of those who are alleged to be secretly working to supplant the present! Government with Communism.

MUSSOLINI AND THE NEAR EAST. "When Premier Mussolini linked Italy, Hungary and Austria in a diplomatic and commercial pact at Rome, he… .fixed the political focus of all Europe on that ancient capital." The day following the signing of the tri-nation agreement the Premier outlined a sixty-year program of internal and external expansion, that in the twenty-first century should give Italy "the primacy of the world." He maintained that "her future lay in the east and the south, in Asia and Africa." Recently a Fascist newspaper carried a headline, "Is he after Palestine?" It would appear that Palestine is after him, if an open letter addressed to Mussolini by a Jewish Editor in Palestine is any indication. This Editor intimates that Britain has failed as a mandatory power and implores Mussolini to become the savior of the Jews in Palestine by obtaining the control and supervision for Italy.

It is not probable that Britain would willingly surrender the mandate to any. other power, as Palestine is the key to control of much of Asia and Africa. It would appear that she is in something of a dilemma in relation to it, owing to an earlier agreement with the Arabs which seems to conflict with pledges made to the Jews, and also the fear of offending the Arabs to the extent of stirring the Moslem world to revolt, which Britain cannot afford to risk because of her already precarious hold on India, so that it seems evident that Palestine has become to her a "burdensome stone."

GERMAN JEWS. It is reported that "Some 50,000 Jews have left Germany as refugees since the persecutions began there, and these are living wretched lives' as nomads on the borderlands in all directions out of Germany. Every effort is being made to secure from the British Government special permission for the greater part of these Jews to be allowed to enter Palestine shortly, but the outcome is doubtful, as there is fear that such an inflow of Jews ai. this time would cause trouble, possibly violence, on the part of the Arabs, and would also present the problem of providing livelihood for so many."

The above furnishes another reason why Italy might handle the situation more ably than Britain, as the former would be free to pursue a more vigorous policy with the Arabs-a policy which must eventually be adopted by the ruling power.

RUSSIA AND JAPAN continue to increase their armies in their respective areas to the east of Lake Baikal. This great body of fresh water, stretching from north-east to south-west, is 386 miles long, and from 9 to 50 miles wide. It is surrounded by mountains/ and forms a natural barrier between eastern and western Siberia. At the time of the Russo-Japanese conflict, thirty years ago, all supplies for the Russian forces had to cross the lake either by ferry or on the ice. Since then the Trans-Siberian Railway has been completed around the southern end of the lake.

The reported plan of the Japanese high command is to cut the Russian lines here, which would "shorten her military boundary on Russia from 2,000 to 300 miles, and gain the wheat valleys and fishing waters of Pacific Siberia. Her forces are in position to strike at the little area south of the lake through which Russia's only artery, the Trans-Siberian Railway, passes." In the event of war Japan expects aid from the "White Russians," and other elements in Russia who are groaning under the present regime. It is reported that a secret alliance has been formed between Japan and Germany.

"THE WHITE MAN’S EXIT" is the title of an article in "Scribner's" in which the writer depicts the rule of the white man in Asia as near its terminus. It relates the success of Japanese goods in capturing the markets of India and other Asiatic countries, and foresees the defeat of every effort of Britain and other European nations to retain their control in these countries. It is doubtless consistent with the teaching of the prophetic Word that the Asiatic nations should regain their freedom from white domination and fill their place in the end-time drama as the "Kings of the East."

ASSYRIANS. Of passing interest is the report that a committee of. the League of Nations has been searching for a suitable home for Iraq's discontented and unwanted minority of some 60,000 Assyrian Christians- the neighboring countries are all Moslem. It seems inevitable that the Assyrians should be removed to another part of the world altogether. Brazil offers to accept the whole community at a rate of 500 families a month if they show an aptitude for agriculture. The Parana Plantations Company, on whose land it is proposed to establish them, would provide tools, seeds, and other things necessary to make a start. The Iraq Government would welcome their departure. Their destitute condition has come to the notice of the League since the massacre of many last, summer.