Devoted to the Propagation and Defense of New Testament Christianity
VOLUME 13
March 15, 1962
NUMBER 44, PAGE 6-7,14b

News And Views

Charles A. Holt, 4662 University, Wichita Falls, Texas

From Here And There

There is now a congregation meeting in Montgomery, Alabama, which stands opposed to the disgression, liberalism and modernism of the day. The following statement is taken from "Voice of Truth," a monthly publication of this church: "The Gay Meadows church of Christ is a relatively small group of Christians, banded tobether for the express purpose of reproducing the Lord's church as depicted in the N. T. We are for everything the Bible is far, and anti everything the Bible i's against. I'm sure that there are Christians in every congregation in Montgomery who are 'fed up' with the liberal attitude and modernistic trend so prevalent in this area. Some of you might not know that there is a congregation in Montgomery that teaches that the Lord's church is sufficient to carry out its God-given mission without the aid of any human institutions. THERE IS. If you are interested in worshipping and working with a group of Christians, interested in 'speaking as the oracles of God,' why not attend the services of the Gay Meadows church of Christ." Carroll Puckett is the preacher for this group. He has lived in Montgomery for several years, and has preached all over that section. He is a good, solid, able man. It is with joy that I announce about this sound church in Montgomery — the capital of Alabama! I urge all who are visiting in that city to meet with this group of Christians. Send Puckett the names and addresses of any relatives or friends there whom you would like for him to contact, or to whom he might send their paper. His address is: 1418 Ann St., Montgomery 7 Robert H. West, 2424 McCarran, North Las Vegas, Nevada, announces that the church there is publishing a monthly 8-page paper called "The LDS Discerner," devoted exclusively to Morman doctrine and its exposure, They would like to receive the names and addresses of as many Latter Day Saints in that area, in Nevada, and elsewhere, as possible, so they can put them on their mailing list. They will be glad to send the paper to anybody who wishes to receive it. The first issue is attractive and filled with good material. It should be sent to every LDS in the country. Send in the names and addresses of all you know. Send to West at the above address Richard Weaver is now working with the 4th Street church in Cullman, Alabama. He moved there after nearly three years with the Westvue church in Murfreesboro, Tennessee Dave Bradford is now laboring with the Westvue church in Murfreesboro... William H. Lewis has been with the Norwood church in Knoxville, Tenn., for two or three years. He is to move from there by July 15 of this year, and is interested in working with a congregation "that is not dominated by worldliness, and the institutional machine." He is 43 years old, has three children, and has been preaching 17 years. His address is 1106 Farris Drive, Knoxville "Juvenile delinquency is proving that many parents are not getting at the seat of the problem!" The following quote is attributed to Abraham Lincoln: "To sin by silence when they should protect makes cowards of men." This Arabian Proverb is worthy of thought: "Examine what is said, not him who speaks."

It Has Happened Again!

Yes, it has happened again. However, nobody will be surprised at that; in fact, we have all grown to expect it. And like the little boy who cried, "Wolf, Wolf," too many times, no one pays any attention to it any more. It really does not merit the attention I am giving it in this little church bulletin, but I ask your indulgence while I pay it a passing notice.

What I'm Talking About

I am talking about the effervescent fomentation of the schoolboy sounding editorial of the not so FIRM FOUNDATION of January 30, inst. in which the editor of that sheet "pops-off" concerning matters about which he knows nothing, or else cares nothing, when it comes to stating the truth of the situation. My judgment is, however, that we should be exceeding lenient and forbearing with him in these inconsistent adjurations and mental contortions which he performs on the weekly basis, since he has to fill his column with something, and he is so ill prepared to write anything worthwhile.

He may have been a reasonably good "goober farmer," or maybe it was alfalfa hay, in Southwestern Oklahoma, but whoever suggested him for the editor of a paper like the Firm Foundation used to be, must have been on a real binge that dayl He is, and has always been, unpredictable in conduct, irascible in disposition, and irresponsible in conversation and teaching. And anyone who has tried to follow with any seriousness, his serpentine track, his disjointed and volatile meanderings both in his writings and in his public utterances, deserves the sincere sympathy of everybody. By this time he is undoubtedly in traction in some psychiatric ward suffering from a mental slipped disc! And although he may have disliked what he saw very much, he has met himself coming back so frequently, he must have long ago decided that HE was the only TWO people in the world.

A Faction Indeed!

The editorial effort under consideration here, hurls with reckless and authoritative abandon the epithet "faction" at all those congregations and individuals who dare to cppose the schemes and institutions to which he is committed, and which with "bombast," not argument, he has tried to sustain; except of course, when he got in the "middle of the road" and in a conciliatory mood for sweet expediency's sake, and then with equal bombast he herded both sides.

But thanks be to God, his calling these churches and individuals a faction and factionists, doesn't make them so. It seems I remember Paul saying one time as he made his defence before the governor, "But this I confess unto thee, that after the Way which they call a sect, so serve I the God of our fathers." But Paul did not admit that the Way was a sect, and neither do I, though we be called that by all who oppose us.

The Usual Procedure

The procedure with brother Lemmons is the same as it is with all those in league with him. They jump to the conclusion that we are wrong doctrinally, (I sometimes think they take their exercises jumping to conclusions) and with that presumption postulated, they then start dealing out damnation with a free Land, anathematizing us with every evil name they can invent, and affirming that we do not act from sincere conviction of what the scriptures teach, Oh no, but that in hypocrisy, Pharisaism, we are trying to stare a sect, gain a personal following!

It is the most glaring as well as culpable example of the old subterfuge of begging the question I have ever seen, and moreover, it is downright calumny and slander.

The Answer

The only answer there can ever be to the situation that exists in the church today, is the one for which I have pleaded from the first of this disturbance; it is an honest, sincere, uncavilling study in all the churches of every passage in the New Testament bearing on the points of our differences. And had this been done from the first, we should long ago have enjoyed the "unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." But no, those in high places in the church; certain editors and school men, had to learn the hard way, that browbeating, stigmatizing and even ostracising, made no impression on men and women of conviction and integrity.

— A Hugh Clark, Caprock church bulletin, Lubbock, Texas.

Starting At The Bottom

(Editor's Note: The following article is taken from the bulletin of the church in Nacogdoches, Texas. Robert C. Welch is the editor, and he is the writer of the first part of this excellent article. Be sure to read it)

A respect for authority of every kind must start at the beginning of life to be successfully and generally developed. There is seemingly a general lack of respect for legal and civic authority. Traffic rules are considered as inconveniences and he who would enforce it as having some particular grudge against the offender. At times it is possible that some of this lack of respect for authority is brought on because of this same lack on the part of those in authority, and a lack of the sense of the great responsibility which they have to make the authority worthy of respect.

The great tragedy is the loss of respect for the authority of God and his Son, expressed in the Bible. To many it is a book to be revered only by the aged and dependent, the sentimental sissy. Its precepts are not considered obligatory by those who profess religion. Many of these people have not had the basic teaching and training in respect for authority which is to be done in the family.

As children they have not been taught to respect the authority of the parents, a thing which starts in infancy. And at the same time the parents are not teaching them the respect for the complete authority of God and his Son.

The following article was a recent editorial of our local newspaper. It contains a good lesson and an apt illustration of the point under consideration. It is here given in full:

"One of the most refreshing scenes in this land of majestic mountains is the sight of hundreds of unchained bicycles parked overnight and week-ends around train and bus stations. No one ever hears of any of these unguarded bikes being stolen, for Switzerland is a country of no juvenile delinquency and very little adult crime.

"The Swiss are probably the world's most honest people. They maintain a high morality at a time when every other nation faces the challenge of increasing crime.

"How do they do it? Swiss mothers and fathers retain a loving authority over their children. Youngsters learn to show respect to their parents. Each child is expected to extend courtesy to all grownups, no exception is granted.

"The schools put into practice the theory that the class room should impart more than academic knowledge. Teachers try to instill in their students the idea that society's interests are important and that respect for others and for the law is good.

"The Swiss family has a strong sense of solidarity. In the home or on the farms the Swiss youngster is expected to accept his share of toil. The children soon learn that life is no easy assignment and that everybody must do his bit. This pulling together makes the Swiss family almost impenetrable to outside lures like the movies, the saloon, the automobile.

"Out of this respect for parental authority have come the children's good manners, honesty and ari attitude of respect for other people's rights.

"'We don't have a problem of juvenile delinquency,' said a dairy farmer to me. He was watching his wife administer a spanking to their five-year-old son. 'You see,' he added, 'we teach our children by starting at the bottom'."

— Fall River (Mass.) Herald