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 From
Spiritual Sword, Jan. ‘76, we quote: “From about the middle
of the 1950’s to the middle of the 1960’s the main issues
with which the Lord’s church was plagued were those of radical
(erroneous) conservatism. Among those issues were such questions
as: (1) simultaneous Bible classes, (2) women teachers of
classes of women and/or children, (3) individual drinking cups
for the fruit of the vine, (4) “located” preachers, (5)
orphan homes, (6) local churches giving benevolent assistance to
non-Christians (especially orphan children), (7) one church
assisting another church in preaching the gospel.”
Church
historians are in for a big surprise when they learn that one to
four (generally assigned to the later 19th. - early 20th.
century) are dated “mid-1950’s to the mid-1960’s”
issues. Of course to this day one can find “issues” of the
first century; but such statements as above are clearly for one
purpose only to prejudice the reader by classing the
institutional “issues” with older problems, likely now to
spark a negative reaction. It’s an old dishonorable trick.
We
can understand how institutional
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advocates (having a more liberal
conception of matters) might charge all they consider to be
ultra-conservative as ‘but from the same pattern.” Although
it is a cheap debate maneuver, we can even understand how in a
heated discussion they might throw in an “Anti” now and then
— we try to take these things philosophically. We just
expected a little better grasp of the facts by the associate
editor of the afore named journal.
Well,
we live and learn — that the institutional “issue” is not
nearly as “dead” as they would have the public believe —
that the associate editor has either (a) actually been made to
believe the propaganda of the “mid 50's to the mid 60’s”
and has never made an independent study of the matters, or (b)
is much less objective than better statements would lead us to
believe. What a pity!!
Such
tactics disgust those who know better, and serve only as
sectarian “bindery” for a party of the less informed —
whether dealing with yesterday’s or today’s issues.
[Previous:
Vol.12, no.12, p.8]
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