Basic HTML Version
ACRUCIAL
HALFCENTURY
OF
RELIGION
by
Keith W. Stump
We highlight the most significant developments.
I
F
vou had been in your
20s at the time of
The
Plain Truth's
inception in
1934, you would have lived
you r adult l ife d u ring a
momentous time in the world
of rel igion.
In the past half century, sev–
era! great cvents and issues of
the day have centered, in whole
or part, around religion. Had
you been a
Plain Truth
reader
during these five decades, you
wou ld have been kept abreast of
t hose developments- and their
significance
in Bible prophecy.
As the first issue of
The
Plain
Truth
made its bow, a special Holy
Year was underway in Rome. l t
was proclaimed by Pope Pius X I to
commemorate the 19th centenary
of the Cruciñxion (A.D. 33 by offi–
cial Catholic reckoning). During
the 50 years that were to follow,
you would have wítnessed momen–
tous changes in the Roman Catho–
líc Church.
Revitalizad Vatican
By the end of thís eventful períod, a
revítalízed Vatícan would be flex–
íng íts muscles as a major power in
the international arena. The un–
precedented, globe-girdling jour–
neys of Pope John Paul 11 and the
pontitf's repeated calls for a united
Europe would spotlíght this trend
toward a greater Vatícan role in
world affaírs.
February 198 4
Also duríng thís half ccntury,
you would have seen a modern-day
ecumenícal movement under way.
T hís movement toward church uni–
ty would be gíven ímpetus by the
second Vatican Council ( 1962-65),
called by Pope John XX II I to "re–
new the Church" and províde an
have had the background to al! thís
in
The Plain Truth.
You would also have seen
Judaism come onto center stage in
a majar way during thís períod. In
1934 the ínfamous Holocaust, the
Nazi slaughter of European Jews,
was begínníng. Out of this horror
WORLD'S MAJOR REIJGIONS 193411984
CONFUCWISM
ATAOISII
~=ll!:888~
13%DECREASE
PROTESTANT
~= m:~:~
57% INCREASE
1934: 15,630,000
1984: 15,000,000
4 % DECREASE
1934: 144.000.000
1984: 92,000,000
36% DECREASE
IIJ
SHINTOISM
1934: 25,000,000
1984: 63,000,000
152%tNCREASE
*Source:
The Worfd Afmanac and Book of Facts,
1935.
#Source:
The Reader's Dlgest Afmanac and Yearbook, 1983.
occasion for Christian churches
separated from Rome to joín the
search for reunían. The qucst for
One Church- a united Chrístían–
ity-would become a majar theme
of the Catholic Church. You would
would spríng the modern state of
Israel in 1948, fulfilling majar bíb–
lica! prophecies.
The headlines of your daíly
newspapers would have told you of
(Continued on page 20)
11