The Overflow
Do-It-Yourself
Did you hear about the young preacher who went crazy over the "Do-It-Yourself" fad? Becoming engaged to a girl, he decided to say his own marriage ceremony via tape recorder. Which he did. But as usually happens in the "do-it-yourself" projects he made a slight error; and married the girl to the tape recorder rather than to himself. Now their children are all reversible, and operate at two speeds.
Tant-Harper debate in San Antonio
All efforts having now failed to get anybody to meet Cecil B. Douthitt in San Antonio on the "sponsoring church" cooperatives, negotiations are under way to arrange for the Tant-Harper discussion there in the Highland Boulevard church building. Announcement will be made as soon as possible as to the time of that discussion."
Flatly refused
The Shiloh Church near Florence, Alabama, Howard A. Blazer, Sr., "local minister," has been anxious to get a write-up in the Gospel Advocate "Church on the March" hall of fame. But they ran into a snag. We have a copy of a recent bulletin in which the preacher petulantly complains that two families in the congregation "flatly refused" to let their names be included on the list of subscriptions sent to the G.A. Horrors! This grave and tragic situation precipitated a crisis for which apparently only one of two solutions appeared possible: Either the G.A. could relax its policy and publish a story of a "Church on the March" that did NOT have all its members receiving the GA.; or else these two families could be withdrawn from. The bulletin indicates that the Shiloh church is going to get the write-up, but we don't know how they have solved the problem.
Responses
We have a suggestion from a good preacher as to the card to be handed to people who "respond" to the invitation and come down the aisles to shake hands with the preacher. After giving space for "name" and "address," the card could list several items, with the instruction to "Check one." The items listed (as per the preacher's suggestion) are: (1) To be baptized into Christ; (2) To be restored; (3) To place membership; (4) To be prayed for; (5) To subscribe for the Gospel Advocate, and join the Herald of Truth.
Orphan home notes
According to recent figures put out by one of "our" orphan homes, that institution was receiving slightly over $300.00 per month per child for all the children under their care... An elder of an Alabama congregation took five of his grandchildren to Tennessee Orphan Home; some months later he got lonely for some children, so went to one of "our" orphan homes and took out three children (NOT his own grandchildren) to provide them with a foster home . . . . He receives $30.00 per month per child for caring for the three children he took . . . . Objective studies by Child Welfare agencies prove conclusively that the "institutionally reared" child is handicapped through life in most cases. He suffers irreparable psychological and emotional damage from such an environment, regardless of how much effort may be put forth to create a "family" atmosphere. There is simply no substitute for a Christian family.
Only yesterday
"Because we oppose and expose error, some of us are called "creed makers," "sects," and are branded as the "dividers of the church"; but it is my honest opinion that the 30 called radicals of the church are the ones who are going to keep pure the blood stream of the church and save it ..." — E. R. Harper (1938)
Volume Five
In re-arranging some stock on the shelves the other day we came across a box of books which was not labeled. Upon opening the big carton we found — twenty bound copies of Volume Five of the Gospel Guardian. We had long since been out of stock with this item, and had been unable to supply it to many who desired it. If you want it now, send in your order; first come, first served. The price is $5.00.
"God Has Spoken"
"The above is the title of a 52 page tract by W. O. Flatt, Box 4275, Fort Worth, Texas. It deals with the institutions now disturbing the peace of the church. My judgment is that for the mass of readers it is one of the most convincing productions that I have read in many days. It should be circulated by thousands. The price is twenty-five cents per copy; $2.50 per dozen. Order some from the author, and pass them around." -- (Signed) W. W. Otey
Gospel X-Ray
This book of sermons by J. D. Tant has been out of print, but is now available once again in a new red cloth binding. Demand for it has been constant through the fifteen years it has been circulated. We are happy to be able once more to supply all orders. Price of the cloth bound book is $2.50. The same in paper binding is $2.00.
More on Lubbock
We recently printed on these pages a quotation from a letter of Brother O. C. Horne's saying that brethren at the new Caprock congregation in Lubbock had NOT been withdrawn from. Now we have a copy of a bulletin put out by Brother Horne in which he says the Caprock brethren are "not in fellowship" with College Avenue. Somebody out on the plains needs to make up his mind!
Backing off
The "centralized cooperative" brethren are gradually backing off from principles which have been accepted by Bible students from time immemorial. For instance, one of their leaders publicly denied recently that there is any such thing as "necessary inference" in establishing Bible authority. And now there is considerable inclination among them to deny the authority of "approved example" as reflecting God's will. That leaves only the "direct command." And we wonder how long it will be till their hobby forces them even to abandon that!
Fed up
"Please put me on your mailing list for the Gospel Guardian. Check is enclosed. I like to hear both sides of an issue; and I'm really fed up reading about some man's good works, where he has done SO MUCH for the orphan homes, Christian education, and incidentally, the church. If you want to know what I'm talking about, see the last few issues of the Gospel Advocate." Note from a new subscriber.
Divine wisdom vs. human logic
"The whole of a thing is equal to the sum of its component parts." "All total situations the constituent elements of which are scriptural are total situations which are scriptural." Example: one man, one woman, married to each other, bring forth one child. It is scriptural. One man, one woman, not married to each other, bring forth one child. It is unscriptural. Component parts (man, woman, child) are the same in both instances. The difference? The relationship of man and woman to each other. This is the very thing ignored by Tom Warren in his "component parts" argument. — W. Wallace Layton
Headquarters
"The brother up in Washington and his Lutheran friend were a bit late in reporting the 'headquarters' of the Church of Christ as being Abilene, Texas. In the World Almanac, 1955, page 705, under the heading of "Headquarters of Religious Denominations" I find listed the "Churches of Christ," and then "Gospel Advocate, Mr. B. C. Goodpasture, Editor, 110 Seventh Ave., N., Nashville, Tennessee." — W. H. Mayfield Pomona, California