Devoted to the Propagation and Defense of New Testament Christianity
VOLUME 9
October 24, 1957
NUMBER 25, PAGE 12-13a

The Overflow

F. Y. T.

Brewer's Comment

"When the Herald of Truth broadcast from Abilene, Texas, was proposed, I told the brethren who were soliciting help for the venture that it would put the Lord's people before the world as a denomination and this program would be The Church of Christ Hour just as distinctly as we have a Catholic Hour and a Lutheran Hour. The brethren said they would avoid this by calling it the Herald of Truth. This they have done, but they have not avoided the error I feared."

— G. C. Brewer, Autobiography

When the lid comes off

We consider it simply inevitable that fifteen or twenty years from now many of the institutional churches are going to be shocked and horrified when they see the logical and certain developments of some of the things they have now accepted and are promoting. They haven't realized the consequences yet — but they will! It'll be like the case of the man who was feeling poorly, and went to his doctor for some medicine. The doctor gave him a little box full of pink capsules. The man returned next day, saying he was feeling no better. "Did you take any of the capsules?" asked the doc. "Yeah, I swallowed it." "Swallowed IT?" said the medic. "Sure," was the reply, "I swallowed the box; and I don't feel a bit different." "Maybe you feel the same now," gasped the man in white, "but WOW! Wait till the lid comes off that box."

Funeral sermon

It happened in Abilene. An elder of Fifth and Highland Church had been -asked to make a few remarks at the funeral services of an aged friend. He spoke fifteen minutes, five minutes being devoted to the funeral address — and ten minutes being a pep talk for Herald of Truth.

See anything wrong with this?

"Whether this (worldwide preaching) shall be accomplished by the individual efforts of those to whom the Lord opens the way, or by the benevolence of a single church, or by a combination of the means of two, or fifty, or a thousand churches, must be decided on the ground of expediency, and not on the basis of a divine prescription. In a religion meant for all the world, there can be but few positive statutes. We are under a law of liberty. Much must be left to the judgment of the children of God, in every age and in every country, so far as matters of expediency are concerned. And if we are only studious not to trench on the few positive statutes that are given if we duly respect the general sentiment of the Church in all expedients, and are careful to violate the Christian liberty of none of our brethren, there can be no danger in voluntary associations of Christians in a neighborhood, country, state, province, or nation, to further the aims of the kingdom of God."

— Isaac Errett Fewer orphans today

According to official statistics each year sees a decreasing number of orphan children in our nation. In 1920, for example, 16 percent of the children in this country under 18 years of age had lost one or both parents by death. One generation later, 1955, less than five percent of the same age group had lost one or both parents. The "orphan home" is not only a vicious cruelty against helpless children, it is becoming an anachronism in our nation as out-dated as a mustache cup.

High recovery rate

Brother Forrest D. Moyer, who sent us a clipping from Redbook Magazine (June 1957) with the above figures, accompanied it with another clipping from the same issue showing that there is an increasingly high recovery rate for the mentally ill in the hospitals throughout the nation. Moyer thinks the two clippings taken together give a very optimistic outlook for the future. Why? Because, says he, "first, there are fewer and fewer orphans with each passing year; thus, the 'orphan home' will not be a problem much longer. Secondly, there is a high recovery rate for the mentally ill, which means that those who have nearly gone batty over the issues have a chance to regain their sanity!" Let us hope so — on both counts.

"One-cup-with-a-handle"

"In the 'Overflow' of September 12, you asked if anyone had ever heard of an authentic case of a faction in the church of the "one-cup-with-a-handle" variety. Yes-siree! I know of one such case. In Winston-Salem, North Carolina (where I lived and preached from 1951-1953) there is a congregation numbering, at my last acquaintance with it, about 35 members, and maintaining that since the Lord used a `cup' in instituting the Supper, we should use a CUP, and not just a glass or a goblet. "A cup, as anyone knows, is a drinking vessel having a handle on it," they argue . . . . I don't know of the case to which you referred in the Guardian, but if it was the one in Winston-'Salem, your informant was NOT `pulling your leg'." — Bob Crawley, Birmingham. The case we were told about was in the west, not in North Carolina.

Application questionnaire

Someone has sent us an "application questionnaire" which is being used in Dallas "to better acquaint the elders as to your qualifications?' Apparently every "candidate for the pulpit" of this congregation is asked to answer the thirty-five questions, some of them with nine or ten subdivisions. Among the questions: "Do you have a degree?" "Does your wife make friends easily?" "What is your position on the Herald of Truth?" "What church publications do you subscribe to?" "Which do you prefer?" "Do you consider yourself a 'good mixer'?" "Do you hold some beliefs that are not ordinarily taught by the brotherhood?" Conspicuous by its absence was any question pertaining to the "candidate's" knowledge of the Bible, concern for the souls of men, or ability as a teacher of the gospel of Christ.

Syllogisms

It is becoming almost impossible to pick up an orphan home paper any more without finding it filled with a bunch of Tom Warren's syllogisms — almost invariably containing egregious errors in both major and minor premises. Reminds us of the dog catcher out in Albuquerque who asked the little Mexican boy, "Do both of your dogs have licenses?" "Oh, si, senor," replied little Pedro. "They are joost covered with theem."