The Overflow
"I Couldn't Lay It Down"
"I couldn't lay it down till I had read the last word," are the words more than one will be saying when they pick up Earl West's great biography of David Lipscomb. This writer got his copy of the book late one afternoon. The last page had been read before breakfast the next morning. It is truly a fascinating story of a remarkable man come to life again... Price of the book is $4.00; we have it in stock.
Send Him The Letters
Brother E. R. Harper has at long last committed himself to debate the Herald of Truth in public oral discussion. He is feverishly preparing for that event and has put an urgent appeal in the Gospel Advocate for all readers who have had any personal correspondence with this writer relative to Herald of Truth to send him the letters. Having recognized the utter impossibility of defending Herald of Truth and proving it by the scriptures, our brother is now apparently desirous of proving it by the writings of this editor! The initial debate is scheduled for Lufkin early next spring, and will be followed immediately by a debate in Abilene and possibly in a number of other cities.
A Man Of Honor
Late in September Brother E. R. Harper sent us two articles, "Brother Douthitt A Man of Honor" and "Beware Psycho-Somatics; Captions Not Yater's," appending a note to both articles solemnly assuring us he was NOT sending these articles to any other paper and that we could publish them on that assurance. On that promise we set the articles up for publication, and one of them has already appeared on these pages. The first week in October these same two articles, combined, condensed and re-written appeared in the Gospel Advocate under E. R. Harper's name. Apparently on the very day he sent them to us (with positive and solemn promises that he was NOT sending them to any other journal) he sent the re-written, combined and condensed material to the Gospel Advocate under a different title. No comment.
"Amusing," Is It?
Brother Goodpasture says he finds it 'amusing to see someone, who would not accept Lipscomb on 'civil government,' 'Christians and war,' 'insurance, "rebaptism,' and some other questions, piously quote him, when his words seem to serve his purpose." Well, there are many others of us who are not amused, but rather amazed and a trifle disgusted by the hypocrisy of men who piously quote Lipscomb on the above matters but REFUSE to quote him on "congregational cooperation!" Truly, "The legs of the lame are not equal." (Prov. 26:7.) "Strange as it may seem."
Book Title
We've just run across a book written in 1771 and bearing the following incredible title: "A Vindication of the Rev. Mr. Wesley's Minutes of A Public Conference, Held In London, August 7, 1770; Occasioned By A Circular Letter Inviting Principal Persons, Both Clergy and Laity, As Well of the Dissenters As of the Established Church, Who Disapproved of Those Minutes To Oppose Them In A Body As A Dreadful Heresy; And Designed To Remove Prejudice, Check Rashness, Promote Forbearance, Defend the Character of An Eminent Minister of Christ, And Prevent Some Important Scriptural Truths From Being Branded Hastily As Heretical." Whew! That sounds almost long enough and bombastic enough to fit some of the articles that are sent us on occasion — and some of which we have printed. Oh, yes, the book of 595 pages was written by one who signs himself simply as "A Lover of Quietness and Liberty of Conscience."
Baptist Preacher
Remember a little note we had on this page a few weeks ago about the arrogance of a church in Portales, New Mexico, which withdrew fellowship from another church there over the matter of a "restrictive clause" in the deed? Well, somebody sends us a clipping from the Portales Tribune showing the elders and preachers of the "withdrawing" church (Fourth Street) all happily sharing supper with Dr. Floyd D. Golden, Baptist preacher, who had been invited by them to be the chief speaker at a "fellowship meeting" of the Church of Christ Bible Chair at Eastern New Mexico University. The Bible Chair is a part of Fourth Street's work, and under her elders. There is some speculation among the faithful Christians in that area that this "fellowship" service may have been a sort of trial balloon to see how Fourth Street would react to the Matter. If the reaction is favorable, perhaps the Baptist preacher will later be invited to conduct a meeting for the Fourth Street brethren.
David Lipscomb - 1901
"When I was a young man I thought it was a point in a discussion to say severe things about my opponent; at threescore and ten I try to make the strong points against the error, not the holder of it; on the other hand, I have grown indifferent to hard terms applied to me and am anxious about the things said against the position I hold." — Lipscomb (G.A. 1901)
Dual Membership
Some of the preaching brethren in the "big" churches (at least one of them) have a new gimmick for increasing membership. This brother is now soliciting members from other congregations in the area and suggesting that they hold "dual membership" in the congregation where he preaches. He says this will make for very impressive records, and will undoubtedly increase the prestige of the Church of Christ, the big memberships making a notable impression on the government and on other religious bodies!
The Church In Business
A year or so ago the Sherman Street Church in Denver, Colorado was rather deeply involved in the work in Belgium, and was trying every way possible to raise money for that project. A brother came to Denver, delivered a series of lectures, and turned the manuscripts over to the Sherman Street brethren for publication. The manuscripts were published and Brother Cecil N. Wright wrote in the Introduction, "The book is published by the Sherman Street Church of Christ, and all profits from sales will be contributed to the Belgian mission work." Now if that is not a church "in the publication business for profit," just what is it? Will Brother Wright explain? We predict a deep and lasting silence — difficult as that is for him!