The Overflow
Church recreation
"Recreation — church sponsored recreation — is as sinful as instrumental music, burning incense, washing feet, counting beads or any other unscriptural practice, and for the same reason that these unscriptural practices are sinful — it is unscriptural."
— Wilburn Whittington Gospel Advertiser, 1960 Both sides
"Confidentially, there is not a religious journal among us that prints what it receives on both sides of all issues." Thus does one of our brother editors offer his weak apology for a refusal to print ANYTHING which is opposed to the pet hobbies he has espoused. Certainly, no paper prints, or ever could print, ALL it receives even on one side, much less on both sides, of an issue. But the Gospel Guardian does have an open forum policy; its pages are open, and will remain open, to BOTH SIDES of controversial issues. Obviously it cannot print ALL articles it receives either for or against any particular thing, but it does print representative material on both sides. This is a policy once maintained by all gospel papers, but which is no longer true of the "special interest" journals among us — i.e. those organs dedicated to the promotion and propagation of certain theories and hobbies regarding church government.
Why not?
Why do not Brethren Totty and Watson push and promote the sale of "The Indianapolis Debate"? They have boasted to high heaven what a great victory it was for them. Brother Totty got 100 books by terms of the original contract. He has not ordered one additional copy! ! Meanwhile, the Gospel Guardian has now completely sold out the first edition, and is bringing out a second edition, reducing the price from $3.50 per copy to $2.50 per copy. Let us see how many of the second edition our brethren buy for re-sale. Are they really as happy about this debate as their words indicate? Sometimes actions speak louder than words.
Ask for the chart!
Brother Harper is writing letters all over the country inviting brethren to come to his office, examine the correspondence between him and this writer prior to the Abilene debate, examine the speeches, the corrected manuscripts, and then compare the book with the manuscripts. To all who go to his office, we offer this suggestion: Ask Brother Harper first to turn to the Abilene debate book (printed by James Walter Nichols' Chronicle Publishing Company), and show you the chart "The Church — And The Individual" which was the major argument (and only chart) used by this writer in his affirmative proposition. THAT CHART WAS DELETED FROM THE PRINTED BOOK; IT IS NOT THERE! After that start, ask him to show you the outline on "Bible Authority" used by this writer (this was really the crucial issue of the whole debate). THAT OUTLINE (about ten pages in the debate brief) WAS DELETED; IT IS NOT IN THE BOOK. And so the story goes.
First place
A few years before his death, Brother G. C. Brewer reported, "I have been written about unfavorably more than any other 'sound' man now living." Well, the editor of the Gospel Guardian stands fair to take over this questionable distinction now that Brother Brewer is gone. And we feel sort of like the fellow who was tarred and feathered and ridden out of town on a rail. Said he, "If it weren't for the honor of the occasion, I'd just as soon walk."
His prayer
May the Lord hasten the time when we as children of God will have our own schools, hospitals, infirmaries, rest homes, orphan homes, radio stations, and whatever we need to minister to and teach children and aged of the care and love the Lord and His people have for them . . . ."
— C. W. Harrison, Phoenix, Arizona When promoters fall out
Middle Tennessee has lately been treated to a sordid spectacle of what happens "when promoters fall out." Brother Don Rudd of Rayon City, chief defender and ardent champion of the orphan homes, centralized control, Herald of Truth, Church of Christ Youth Revivals, and nearly everything else that comes along publicly refers to his fellow institutionalists, Goodpasture, Collins, Pullias, North, etc., as, "hypocritical devils." His affection is reciprocated by them in terms somewhat more elegant, but less public. What next among brethren?
Orphanages on the way out
Cincinnati, Ohio, April 10 — "Old fashioned orphanages are disappearing, and child welfare experts are glad to see them go, Helen Hazan, assistant director of the Child Welfare League of America, told a recent regional welfare conference here. She said the League recommends that no infant or preschool child be placed in an institution except in emergency cases. 'Every child is adoptable, even those with handicaps,' she said. Miss Hazan reported that fewer children are being placed in institutions each year. One reason for this cited was 'the desire of welfare groups to place as many children as possible in foster homes where they will grow up with a family, and not as part of a big institution."
— Christian Century May 2, 1956 Quaking in his boots
Brother W. O. Flatt writes us from Fort Worth that Brother Roy Deaver is anxious to get Foy E. Wallace into a debate with him on present "institutional" issues. Deaver is the proud father of the "total situation, constituent elements," syllogism so disastrously exploited at Abilene by Brother Harper and at Houston more recently by Tom Warren. If Brother Deaver can inveigle Wallace into a discussion, and can vanquish him (but naturally!), it will be not only a feather in his cap but a whole dust mop of feathers! No doubt Wallace is quaking in his boots and trembling with fear.
The nothing story
There is among newspaper men a phenomenon known as the "nothing story"; it is composed of strong verbs, weak adjectives, tricky alliterative combinations, and mellifluous phraseology. It diverts, soothes, and entertains; and there is not an irritation in a linear mile of such writing. It is "a tale told by an idiot, full of sweetness and light, signifying nothing." Brethren are getting so much of that sort of "nothing" preaching of recent years (what with a re-hash of Chappell, Mackay, Peale, McCartney, and other sectarian sermonizers), it is not surprising that trouble and tribulation is abundant in the land.
Mary's lamb
The more we read those grandiose editorials in one of our sister journals, the more we think of Mary's lamb. The truth, to the editor of those passages, is like Mary's lamb in reverse: everywhere that editor goes, the truth goes somewhere else!
Scripture not necessary
Quotation from the Moyer-Rudd debate on Herald of Truth, from speech by Rudd (taken from the tape recording): "But someone says, 'why don't you produce the scripture?' Why, we don't have to have any scripture for such a thing as the Herald of Truth! Anyone with one eye and half a sense could see anything as simple as that! Don't need any scripture!!"
Chuckle from Birmingham
Brother E. R. Harper recently held a meeting in Birmingham, Alabama, and was widely advertised in the Birmingham papers as "the speaker for Herald of Truth, national radio program of the churches of Christ." Both in the Lufkin debate and in the Abilene debate Brother Harper charged this writer with being a willful, deliberate, and malicious falsifier when we stated that "Herald of Truth" was a national program "of the Churches of Christ." He grew almost hysterical in shouting that it was NOT a program "of the Churches of Christ," but was solely, peculiarly, and exclusively Highland's program! Wonder how he and Brother Jack Meyer (who preaches for the church in Birmingham that ran the ad worked out their snafu? It looks like these promotional brethren are hopelessly divided among themselves. We suggest that they get together themselves before they try to divide he Lord's church further with their schemes.
Cause for rejoicing
Some weeks ago we carried word from Brother Richard A. Robinson to the effect that Brother L. C. Rogers of Holland, Michigan, had become unfaithful to the church. We now have letters from both Brother Robinson and Brother Rogers asking that our readers be informed that Brother Rogers is now in full fellowship and in faithful service with the Holland congregation. We rejoice with them all.