Devoted to the Propagation and Defense of New Testament Christianity
VOLUME 10
September 18, 1958
NUMBER 20, PAGE 1,12b-13a

Word-Witchery Vs. "Sound Words"

Robert Atkinson, Hattiesburg, Mississippi

History faithfully records that in every generation ambitious and unscrupulous men have employed the art of word-witchery to achieve their ends. A sentiment surrounded with deceptive logic. a false idea inflated with emotional appeal, have more than once changed the course of history. Revolutionary leaders have gained power by coining slogans which promised much to a poverty-stricken peasantry. Dictators have ever established propaganda machines which employ the use of terms such as "freedom," "progress," "liberty," and "welfare" with monotonous regularity. And all too often, masses of sincere but unthinking people have belatedly awakened to find that the promised "liberty" or "welfare" was far different from that which they had in mind. They were forced to accept "liberty" according to the dictator's definition and were granted that only in proportion to the support they gave him. Thus does history teach that error often marches forth and conquers through language. No swords are crossed or shots exchanged, but error has triumphed and enslaved nonetheless. In our generation, a battle of ideals, waged mainly with words, is in progress. Communism, though not adverse to the use of physical violence to achieve its ends, prefers to use words. Promising everything, defining nothing, delivering little, it has made great strides. Error, rooted in language, is difficult to perceive and remove. Democracies are discovering that if they are to survive, they must blast intellectual complacency, encourage intellectual independence, strip error of its emotional appeal, and capitalize upon the truth.

Christians have little concern, relatively speaking, for word-battles which pertain only to this physical life. But word-witchery is also used by those who are the enemies of Eternal Truth. God has ever warned His people against the witchery of words and the appeal of powerful speakers. The Book of Proverbs abounds in warnings against the deceitfulness of words. The Judaizing teachers caused trouble "with words." (Acts 15:24.) The Apostle Paul warned against those who served not the Lord Jesus Christ but "by good words and fair speeches deceive the hearts of the simple." (Rom. 16:18.) God commanded Christians to be a thinking and discerning people when He said, "Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience." (Eph. 5:6.) God will not hold those guiltless who fail to deflate a statement of its emotional appeal and examine the reasoning therein. The Lord insists that Ms people be "nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine . . ." (I Tim. 4:6), so that they may "speak . . . the things which become sound doctrine" and "Sound speech, that cannot be condemned ..." (Titus 2:1,8.) Those who follow the Lord will "Hold fast the form of sound words . . . in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus." (II Tim. 1:13.)

Sophistry

Error commonly employs sophistic logic to achieve its aims. Originally, in ancient Greece, a sophist was simply one who was skilled in any profession. After people began sending their children to these experts to be trained, the term applied to an expert teacher. When some found that through skillful verbal maneuvering, or word-witchery, they could teach without studying or knowing much, and did accordingly, the term acquired a well-deserved but unpleasant meaning.

The Sophists worked out some very tricky logic or reasoning, two examples of which follow. Nothing moves. An arrow doesn't move. At any definite time, in order to be something in existence, an arrow must be in a definite position in space, for everything which exists, exists in a definite place and time. Thus, no locomotion is possible, for it would require existing in no place at a definite time. Again, a sophist would ask if one hair was a beard. Receiving a negative answer, he would then ask if six hundred hairs were a beard. Receiving an affirmative reply, he would then work gradually up and down in number until he had committed his student to the position that three hundred hairs did not constitute a beard, but three hundred and one hairs did. Then the sophist concluded that one hair was a beard, because only one hair constituted the difference between the collection of hairs said not to be a beard and the number of hairs said to be a beard. It is readily seen that the trick in both instances is the insistence that A must be either B or non-B. Actually, an arrow can exist in many positions in space, first A, then Al, then A2, etc. A collection of hairs can be both beard and non-beard, for it is a beard in the making.

Sectarians use sophistry in many instances. Holiness sects say that either one believes that the Holy Spirit directly inspires, operates, and performs miracles today, or one does not believe in the Holy Spirit. But the Bible teaches the existence of the Holy Spirit and also teaches that the time of miracles is past. (I Cor. 13.) Many denominational preachers teach that one must either believe and obey (practice) some or all things in the Old Testament or not believe it at all! The truth is either B or non-B according to them. But the truth is that one may believe in the Old Testament, acknowledge its various uses for our time (I Cor. 10; Rom. 15:4), and consistently and truthfully teach that people today are not subject to its laws. (Rom. 7; II Cor. 3; Col. 2:14.)

The sophists in the church today are insisting that either one believes that churches may or must support the institutions of social welfare operated by brethren or one does not believe in taking care of, visiting, orphans or widows; one is anti-orphan. Actually, the truth is that the helpless are to be cared for by the church in some instances (Acts 6), but the church is not to commit its work to another institution; it is perfect, complete, fully able to do its own work. (Eph. 3.) Other sophists assert that either one believes that cooperation involves one church turning over its funds to another church in order that the receiving church might do a work to which all the churches are equally related, but has become only the receiving church's work because it "assumed" it, or one does not believe in cooperation. But clearly, one may believe in the type of cooperation taught in the New Testament (Acts 11; I Cor. 16 & II Cor. 8) without believing in the manmade schemes and organizations advocated as cooperation today. The New Testament knows of no "sponsoring" church.

Monopolistic, Authoritarian Use Of Certain Terms

Improper terms, or uses of terms, are frequently the fetters used to bind men to unreasonable beliefs or practices. For example, Communism employs the term "capitalist" in a derogatory sense. Enslaved minds accept the term in the sense used and are quick to denounce the dirty "capitalist." But the free and intellectually honest mind inquires, "What is bad about being a capitalist?" Such a mind seeks evidence upon which to condemn or commend. A local newspaper recently carried an article in which it was said, "We know the Russians are a stupid people who don't believe in God." There is no evidence for such generalizing. The person saying that was a victim of the "fear-hate-hysteria" against anything Russian.

A similar emotional hysteria is being carefully generated among the churches of Christ on spiritual issues. Innocent terms are being used in a derogatory sense. Such is completely unjustified. For example, the term "anti" simply means "against." Intellectually honest people will endeavor to find out what an "anti" is against before they condemn, because it is good to be "anti" some things and bad to be "anti" other things. But such honest endeavor is not encouraged or permitted by some preachers, elders, and papers. The people of God are being told to accept the fact that any "anti" is bad if he is called an "anti" by some self-styled authority in the pulpit or by long established and "accepted" authorities such as some papers and schools. A study of the Bible with reference to current "anti-ism" is definitely being discouraged. Many are being deceived by such tactics. The term "Hobbyist" is another example. It is enough for some that an influential brother brands another brother as a "Hobbyist." The facts, which may or may not support the charge, become immaterial. The gullible believe the charge because the term has been used "authoritatively" by an "authority."

Look To Jesus

National crises always cause citizens to look to their leaders. Immediate is the fame of any who prove themselves able to lead the nation out of chaos and into security. The present issues and controversies in the church have created in many Christians the longing for a leader who triumphantly declares he absolutely knows the truth and is able to crush all dissenters from it. Certain men and papers have "risen" to save the church in this dark hour. They will lead the way; There is no need for Christians to concern themselves with these things and study their Bibles. Take the word of an "Old Faithful" or accept what scholarly Brother Blank has to say. Or, see how many are for it and how few are against it. Look at "big" men and accept their thinking. Look at numbers and take note of which way "our" schools and papers are going, for the most part. Do everything but look into your own Bible or do your own thinking seems to be the order of the day. This is not surprising. So long as sectarians can keep their people looking at the "good" people in all denominations, they'll keep them from looking into their Bibles and finding out that there is "but one body."

Satan's practices are consistent, in or out of the church. So long as members of the church are kept looking at scholarship, statistics, prominent men, papers, and schools, the likelihood is small that they will look into their Bibles and discover that many are capitalizing on past reputations of faithfulness to the word to lend authority and respectability to present ambitious schemes, ideas, and organizations which are not found in the word.

Carlyle has observed:

Truly a Thinking Man is the worst enemy the Prince of Darkness can have; every time such a one announces himself, I doubt not there runs a shudder through the Nether Empire and new Emissaries are trained with new tactics to entrap him if possible, and hoodwink him, and handcuff him.

One great need of today is for Christians to be on guard against the word-witchery which is so conducive to spiritual suicide and misplaced faith, and to begin again "Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith . . ." (Heb. 12:2.) But so long as lazy or unthinking people are willing to look to and trust men, there will be men who covet such "prominence" and encourage such blind trust. And thus have apostasies ever begun and prospered.