Resources of Power . . .
Restoration Review · 1966
(Volumes 8)
PREFACE
Bernard Shaw, who considered himself a teacher rather than an entertainer, always insisted that he wrote his plays so that people would read his prefaces. We will go Mr. Shaw one better and say that we hope you study the essays and editorials that makeup Resources of Power, whether you read this preface or not. Dr. Luke's preface to his account of the gospel, far greater than anything that even a Bernard Shaw ever wrote, sets the tone for all prefaces. The beloved physician states: "I thought it good to write an orderly account for you. I do this so that you will know the full truth of all those matters which you have been taught."
We dare not try to do better than that. We present this volume for reasons just as simple, even if not quite as noble. We think it good to write. And we write so that you might know. If we cannot do you any good, and if we cannot pass along some thoughts that might quicken your mind, then we have no business publishing this volume. But in these critical times when man's basic weakness is laid bare in the face of his technological genius, there is a need for voices that speak of resources of power. The apostle Paul could say: "I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me," and he exclaims: "How vast the resources of his power open to us who trust in him!"
This is an invitation to a new dimension of faith: a simple trust that our strength lies not in our own power or wisdom but in Christ. To realize this we must practice the fine art of self-criticism, which is as old as Socrates, who said so wisely: "The unexamined life is not worth living." The editorials in this volume, as well as a number of guest essays, are invitations to mature criticism of our brotherhood. They are written by responsible, intelligent and concerned men, by brethren who have not left us, but who labor with hope and love for a more spiritual and mature brotherhood. And they are nearly all young Ph.D.'s, if that means anything.
Perhaps Aristotle was right in claiming that man by his very nature desires knowledge (even though Aristotle never taught in an American university!), but Alexander Campbell was probably equally right in asserting that man is naturally indolent. The two
views harmonize in a curious way. Man wants to know, but he is too lazy to work at it very hard! It is to the point that the Bible has to urge man not to be like a horse.
The human mind hungers to be fed, to be sure, but it is in need of the incessant stimulus that comes through new ideas. Man is naturally a question-asker, and something dreadful has happened when he stops questioning things. The mind can grow and expand, or it can dry up and decay. It is proper for us, like the ancient Greeks, to speak of "the nourishment of the soul." We intend for this volume to be just that. If you are edified in reading it, we will be glad. If you are disturbed, we will take heart. If nothing happens, we will take stock.
While this represents our fourteenth year of publication, having begun our first monthly journal in 1952, this is our first effort to send forth a volume in the form of a book, with preface and index, 200 pages of reading, and even a dust jacket. If you like the idea, we may continue to issue matching volumes in the years to come, depending upon the resources of His power.
—The Editor