Before And After: The Houchen - Tatum Debate
More than three years have passed since this debate took place. It was an oral discussion between a young Fundamentalist Baptist preacher, Ray Tatum, and this writer, held in the Municipal Auditorium, Amarillo, Texas, December 26th, 27th, 28th, and 29th, 1950. Four propositions were discussed The establishment of the church, baptism, apostasy, and premillennialism. Reflecting upon this discussion, it is obvious that its developments before and after have followed the same pattern as most all of our debates with the errorists.
On Thursday, November 2, a Mr. Nimmo called me by phone and asked if I would be interested in debating a Baptist, preacher. He informed me that he himself was a disinterested party and that he would like to see such a debate held in Amarillo. I advised him that under proper conditions I would be happy to oblige him. He then promised that he would contact young Ray Tatum of the Glenwood Baptist Church in Amarillo and we could mutually work out the arrangements. We signed the propositions the next day in my study. It so happened that Nimmo was a Baptist also and was attending the Glenwood Baptist Church at the time.
Of course, before the debate there was the usual Baptist ballyhoo. Tatum advised me that he was planning a Baptist convention to be held in connection with the debate, that he would have the auditorium packed with his people, and that he would like to have a special seating arrangement on the platform for the "many" Baptist preachers who would be in attendance. The Baptist propaganda prior to the debate is illustrated by this front page announcement which appeared in the November 9, 1950 issue of "The Challenger," a weekly publication in Lubbock, Texas, by the West Texas Evangelistic Association:
"Rev. Ray Tatum, Pastor of Glenwood Baptist Church, Amarillo, is to debate a Church of Christ preacher in the City Auditorium in Amarillo.
"The debate will be carried on the 26th, 27th, 28th, and 29th of December. There will be thousands of people who will hear this debate. The man is a mature veteran and the most outstanding Church of Christ preacher in this section of the country. Tatum is only a 19-year-old boy. So will all the public be wondering what a 19-year-old boy will do with a mature man of years experience.
"They will also wonder what has happened when it is all over. I would hate to have to face and try to defeat young Tatum. It will not be so easy as a lot of people will be expecting it to be. When Tatum gets through with the affair, a lot of people will still be wondering what has happened. "All eyes will be turned to Amarillo and the road will be crowded each afternoon for the days of this debate.
"Watch all the announcements for the time of the great affair."
Ben D. Johnson
Before the debate was held, it was Tatum who suggested that the discussion be published in book form. It was upon his insistence that we agreed to make arrangements to have it published. His suggestion was to let him record it and then we could obtain the transcriptions for him. However, "using the past as a criterion of knowledge for the future," (The Wallace-Norris Debate), we refused to submit to his proposal but it was agreed that our brethren as well as his people could have the option to transcribe it.
After all the boisterous boastings of the Baptists before the debate, it turned out that Tatum's convention did not materialize, comparatively few of his own people were in attendance at the debate, and the only ones who occupied the platform with him were Ben D. Johnson, who served as his moderator, his wife, his father, and perhaps one or two others. About two weeks after the debate, Tatum moved to Fort Worth and became the assistant of the now late J. Frank Norris. My last report is that Tatum is now a traveling evangelist of the Fundamentalist Baptists. Furthermore, his previous enthusiasm to have the debate published suddenly ceased after the debate was held, but because the agreement to have it published had already been made, we went to the expense of having the debate transcribed from wire recording. Each and every speech of his, together with mine, were sent to him for his correction. Every speech made by him and me were mutually checked; however, correspondence in my file shows that I had to press him for the return of every manuscript. From March 13, 1951 when the exchange of manuscripts began until May 29, 1951, I had not received a single address from Tatum. It was only when I gave him until June 4th as a deadline that he returned the speeches to me. As of September 10, 1951, eight months after the debate, I still had not received his two remaining speeches. They were received later.
Before the debate, Tatum had agreed to share mutually in the expense of printing the book. After arrangements were completed to send the material to press, he suddenly decided that he could not bear his part of the expense. I took the entire obligation upon myself and then proposed to Tatum that if he could purchase one hundred copies of the book after it came from the press it would aid me somewhat in the cost of publication. In reply to this request he wrote the following letter dated October 3, 1951:
"I am sending you today air mail special delivery the cut for the book.
"The introduction you sent me meets my approval, and I shall be glad to take the 100 copies which you suggested in your letter."
Yours truly,
RAY TATUM
To this present day, Tatum has not purchased one single copy of the book. Knowing his doctrine that "a child of God cannot sin so as to finally be lost," we are not made to wonder so much about his promise. But so it goes. The "before and after" experiences with the Baptists in debate are usually the same — the big noise that precedes and the silence that follows.