Reply To The Padens
I have your letter replying to Brother Wallace, and will be happy to publish it for you. I regret that there are one or two expressions in it that seem to impugn Brother Wallace's motives; but if you feel that he is insincere, I presume you have a right to say so.
When I took the editorship of the Gospel Guardian, I made it perfectly clear to all (and also stated it in an editorial in the very first issue) that in matters of judgment I would make no effort at all to bring every article into harmony with my own judgment. Only in matters of doctrinal teaching do I feel justified in commenting on, or correcting, what I may consider wrong.
Hence your statement that I necessarily endorse Brother Wallace's attitude is certainly in error. I no more necessarily endorse what he says in his article which I published than I necessarily endorse what you say in your letter which I also will publish.
There is a difference of judgment as to how the work in Italy should be conducted. Brother Wallace (and others) feel that some mistakes have been made. They certainly have a right to say so; just as you have a right to defend the course that has been followed. As an editor of a paper, I am fully justified (and even obligated in a sense) to let both sides be heard! That seems to me to be the only fair procedure. But certainly we can differ in judgment about these matters without becoming angry or impugning one another's motives.
Personally, I have a very high regard for Cline, whom I met when he came through Norman, Oklahoma, seeking to raise money for the Italian work. I encouraged the church there to contribute; I contributed myself. Whether Brother Wallace has contributed to that work or not, I do not know. But to accuse him of not wanting the gospel preached, and to compare him to the Pharisees and hypocrites who Christ condemned, seems to me to be language that will hinder rather than help the Cause which all of us love.
Your letter will appear in the Gospel Guardian of February 23.
With every good wish, and with deep sympathy for you in the natural anxiety which you feel over your two fine sons, I am
Yours in Christ,
Yater Tant