Devoted to the Propagation and Defense of New Testament Christianity
VOLUME 2
May 4, 1950
NUMBER 1, PAGE 10,16c

The Overflow

F. Y. T. That Tail On The Kite

Quotation from T. R. Burnett, Gospel Advocate, 1895: "Little Johnnie thought it would be no sin to make a kite on Sunday if he made it out of the Gospel Advocate. And if he couldn't make a full kite out of the Advocate, he could at least make a tail out of it to hang onto somebody else's kite."

Who'll Be First To Accuse Us?

Last week we pointed out a few (a few out of many) gross errors and false statements in brother Jesse P. Sewell's new Gospel Treasure Graded Lessons. We're still waiting for somebody to write us a hot letter, accusing us of being "anti-literature." Where are our friends of former months who have been so glib and ready with their accusations that we are "anti-Christian education" and "anti-foreign evangelism"? Let's make the picture complete now by having an "anti-literature" charge hurled at us!

"The Preacher "Asked For A Meeting"

Two or three of the congregations in Louisville recently co-operated in the establishment of a new congregation in the suburb of St. Matthews. The Louisville congregation losing most heavily to the new work was Haldeman Avenue, where Hugo McCord preaches. As a result there was some decrease in weekly contribution at Haldeman. Then this interesting bit appeared in their church bulletin, "Because of this condition, your preacher asked for a meeting of the men of the church to consider revising the budget, cutting his salary, making our bulletin a monthly instead of a weekly, and lowering other items." How many preachers do you know who would take the initiative in "calling a meeting" to cut their own salary? Well, we know several (most of them under-paid to start with)—and we're proud of them.

A Voice From Yesterday

"No religious journal, college, or educational institution may justly lay claim to support from the church."
—H. Leo Boles, 1940

By Their Fruits

In twenty-eight states with an average Catholic population of 17.24 percent, the average Catholic prison population is 33.62 percent. Wyoming's population is 7.13 percent Catholic, while her prison population is 32.18 percent Catholic. Yet Catholicism cries about the influence of our "godless public schools," and says that the parochial schools are the only hope for overcoming crime and juvenile delinquency!

Delightful Dallas! (or is the right word "dizzy"?)

What next out of Dallas? Now we see a letter from one of the "mass-meeting" preachers there wanting to establish a "Church of Christ Blood Bank" in Dallas, and asking the cooperation of all the other churches and preachers to that end. But why stop with a "blood bank"? Undoubtedly there are many Dallas brethren who buy cars on time payment plans. Why not have a "Church of Christ Fancy Finance Company" to help out? And then how about a "Church of Christ Dainty Didee Laundry Company" to help mothers (Church of Christ mothers, that is, with Church of Christ babies) get their work made some easier? Really, the field is unlimited! Why not have a few mass meetings to promote these worthy ideas? Who promoted the original mass meeting in Dallas? Maybe he would help out in this.

Lincoln's Assassins

We received a letter the other day asking about an article in the Gospel Guardian last May in which we stated that John Wilkes Booth, John H. Surratt, Mrs. Surratt, Mr. Lloyd (who was one of the conspirators) Dr. Mudd, who set Booth's leg, and Mr. Garret, to whose farm Booth fled for concealment, were all faithful members of the Roman Catholic Church. All the information in that article came out of the book by Joseph L. Brandt, "America or Rome, Christ or the Pope." The last few copies of this book are now being closed out by the Cogdill Publishing Company.

Cautious Soul

In an old churchyard, an aged gravestone had this inscription:

"Remember, friend, when passing by,

As you are now so once was I.

As I am now, soon you will be,

Prepare for death and follow me."

Some cautious soul, on reading the above had chiseled just beneath:

"To follow you I'm not content

Until I know which way you went!" —Mt. Pleasant Messenger

We Are Out-Classed

We'll just have to confess it. We have no talent for the kind of a "discussion" some of our brethren seem to want. We recognize the weight of Tillotson's comment (quoted by Mac-knight) concerning the controversy between Michael and the devil over the body of Moses. He says, "Michael...durst not offend God in doing a thing so much beneath the dignity and perfection of his nature... he could not but think the devil would have been too hard for him a railing; a thing to which, as the angels have no disposition, so I believe they have no talent, no faculty at all." Well, we share the stated opinion of several of our correspondents that we aren't likely to be mistaken any time soon for angelic beings; but at the same time we confess to a total lack of both disposition and talent for the kind of arguments some delight in.

That "Body Of Moses"

Just a slight item of interest on that statement above: the "body of Moses" most surely refers not to his corpse but to the people of God whom Moses led—just as the "body of Christ" refers to the people of God for whom Christ is the leader, the church. The devil didn't dispute with Michael over Moses' corpse; he would have no use for that. What he wanted was the congregation which Moses had led, the people.

Another "Man Of Distinction"

According to press reports a young army deserter shot and seriously wounded three people in Dallas the other night. Apprehended and questioned the gunman said, "I hope I get eighty years. I shouldn't ever be allowed on the streets again. When I get to drinking, I want to kill. I was drunk another time in Japan, and tried to kill some guys. I got court-martialed for that, and did six months time for it." Maybe he ought to "switch" to a different brand of liquor. Some of the brethren might be able to advise him. We know several who seemed to have found a brand they can drink without becoming homicidal maniacs.

Wesley said it

"When I was young, I was sure of everything; in a few years, having been mistaken a thousand times, I was not half as sure of most things as I was before. At present I am hardly sure of anything but what God has revealed to man."

—John Wesley