When Teaching And Practice Do Not Harmonize
Article One of the ARTICLES OF FAITH of "The Standard Manual for Baptist Churches" by Edward T. Hiscox, D. D., says: "We believe that the Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired, and is a perfect treasure of heavenly instruction; that it has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth without any mixture of error for its matter; that it reveals the principles by which God will judge us; and therefore is, and shall remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union, and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and opinions should be tried." (Page 58)
The above statement concerning the Bible is certainly true. Does the author of the statement truly believe what he said? Evidently, he does not! The presence of the creed from which the statement is quoted proves the inconsistency of his claim. He is either deceived or dishonest. The man who believes what he said concerning the Bible will not spend one minute writing a human creed. And the church which believes what he said about the Bible will not subscribe to his human creed!
On page 56 of the same Manual we read: "All evangelical churches profess to take the Holy Scriptures as their only and sufficient guide in matters of religious faith and practice. Baptists, especially, claim to have no authoritative creed except the New Testament."
How can a man claim that they have no authoritative creed except the New Testament when the very statement is written in a creed which is not the New Testament? It seems that anyone should be able to think more clearly than that, and certainly a "D. D." They may "profess" to take the Holy Scriptures as their "only" and sufficient guide, but they do not. Their action denies their claim! The man who truly believes that the Bible is a "sufficient guide" in religion wouldn't give a dime a dozen for human creeds and manuals. The man who wrote the Manual and the churches which claim to follow it are inconsistent.
But inconsistency is not limited to the Baptists. Some among us can be just as inconsistent, and our inconsistency is even more inexcusable.
For example, in order for a man to serve as a member of the Board of Directors over Boles Home, he must believe that such a Board is sinful! That's right, and I shall now prove it.
Article VII of the CHARTER of Boles Homes says that every board member must believe "that the local congregation of the Church of Christ is all and the only organization authorized to carry on Christian work or worship, that such organization excludes each and every other organization, for the purpose of conducting or carrying on religious work or worship, whether the same be missionary or otherwise."
From this statement, let us ask and answer some questions, and draw some inevitable conclusions:
I. Is Boles Home a "religious work"? Yes. They claim to be practicing the "pure religion" of James 1:27.
2. Is Boles Home a "local congregation of the church of Christ"? Certainly not, Then, according to their statement, it is not authorized to carry on religious work.
3. Is Boles Home the "organization" mentioned in the quotation which is declared to be the only one authorized for religious work? No. That organization is described as "the local congregation of the church of Christ."
4. Then is Boles Home one of the "each and every other" organizations which the organization of the church "excludes"? Yes, certainly it is!
5. If the "local congregation" is the "only organization" authorized, and Boles Home is not the local congregation, is it not then UNAUTHORIZED? Yes.
6. Does the Superintendent of Boles Home believe that the Home is a local congregation? No. Hear him: "Boles Home is not the church nor is it an organization within the church. The church is not Boles Home, nor an organization within Boles Home, they are two separate, independent, distinct, organizations." (Gayle Oler, Boles Home News, Oct. 10, 1956.)
7. In admitting that the Boles Home arrangement is not a local congregation nor any part of the church, doesn't brother Oler admit that it is unauthorized and "excluded" by the statement in their Charter which says that all organizations other than the local church are excluded in religious work? Yes!
8. Must we conclude that, according to their statement, brother Oler and all qualified members of the Board of Directors of Boles Home believe that such an organization is sinful? Yes. I can reach no other conclusion. Either that, or they, like the Baptists, do not understand or believe what their creed says. They are very inconsistent!
And now to sum up what I have established: In order to believe the Baptist Manual, one must believe that it is sinful; and in order to be a member of the Board of Directors of Boles Homes, one must believe that such an organization is unauthorized, and, therefore, sinful. 0, consistency, where art thou?
— P. O. Box 3012, Little Rock, Arkansas