Plain Talk Vol.1, No.1, Pg.8 - Cedar Park Church of Christ

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Vol. 1, No. 10
October, 1964

Stuff About Things

The scriptures say God sends His rain upon the just and the unjust; which prompted some wag in this dry country to say, "If He will just rain on the unjust, we could carry water for the just." In places the run-off would suffice.

The Lord Himself said few were on the right road (Matt. 7:14) but no amount of warning seems to dim the appeal of the majority. We simply refuse to believe that "the many with the most" could be wrong.

Noah and his family (8 souls) must have been the off-beats of his age. A little bunch of religious "crackpots" building a boat where there was no water, and before: the days of trailers. And Lot, vexed with the filthy lives of his neighbors, was a regular kill-joy in Sodom. Perhaps Caleb and Joshua were tempted to "join with the crowd" --- if not to please the ten other spies, to avoid "disturbing" the people with their minority report But these, and other hardy souls, had the courage to stand by their convictions. The majority was wrong-- then, as it usually is now.

But WHY is the majority wrong? Well, not because it is the majority. Right and wrong are not determined by numbers, great or small. The majority is usually wrong because of the way the majority usually responds to the truth, or to divine authority.
(1) People, as a whole, lack faith in God. They substitute human authority for Divine, and base decisions up on fallible standards. Thus begun, there is little chance for sound, right conclusions in religion.

(2) Lacking faith in God, and having not the strength to stand alone, the masses seek security in numbers. The weak flock together, and imagine themselves mighty because they travel with the crowd. But might does not make right. They travel the broad way.

The solution is not an easy one. It demands independent study and action. Each must recognize his individual responsibilities before God, and find strength to act in his faith in God. The appeal of popularity -- one of the strongest known to man -- must be resisted. Compromise- so necessary in purely human affairs- must be seen as inconsistent with divine authority. We must be both humble and resolute.

For man's eternal soul is at stake.

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The scriptures say God sends His rain upon the just and the unjust; which prompted some wag in this dry country to say, "If He will just rain on the unjust, we could carry water for the just." In places the run-off would suffice. The Lord Himself said few were on the right road (Matt. 7:14) but no amount of warning seems to dim the appeal of the majority. We simply refuse to believe that "the many with the most" could be wrong. Noah and his family (8 souls) must have been the off-beats of his age. A little bunch of religious "crackpots" building a boat where there was no water, and before: the days of trailers. And Lot, vexed with the filthy lives of his neighbors, was a regular kill-joy in Sodom. Perhaps Caleb and Joshua were tempted to "join with the crowd" --- if not to please the ten other spies, to avoid "disturbing" the people with their minority report But these, and other hardy souls, had the courage to stand by their convictions. The majority was wrong-- then, as it usually is now. But WHY is the majority wrong? Well, not because it is the majority. Right and wrong are not determined by numbers, great or small. The majority is usually wrong because of the way the majority usually responds to the truth, or to divine authority.		(1) People, as a whole, lack faith in God. They substitute human authority for Divine, and base decisions up on fallible standards. Thus begun, there is little chance for sound, right conclusions in religion. (2) Lacking faith in God, and having not the strength to stand alone, the masses seek security in numbers. The weak flock together, and imagine themselves mighty because they travel with the crowd. But might does not make right. They travel the broad way. The solution is not an easy one. It demands independent study and action. Each must recognize his individual responsibilities before God, and find strength to act in his faith in God. The appeal of popularity -- one of the strongest known to man -- must be resisted. Compromise- so necessary in purely human affairs- must be seen as inconsistent with divine authority. We must be both humble and resolute. For man's eternal soul is at stake. [Previous Article] [Volume 1, No. 11]