| OUR CHANGING WORLD |
Sometime
back I shared in a program with the Chapel Hill Church of Christ,
which meets near the campus of the University of North Carolina. A
congregation in Charlotte sent a letter of protest to Chapel Hill for
having me around since “It is evident from his actions that the
truths of God are being set aside and that he is attempting to lead
the church into fellowship of error and denominationalism.” The
Charlotte brethren insisted that they are committed to the defense of
the faith once for all delivered to the saints.
In
a business meeting the Chapel Hill folk responded with the following
letter, penned by Dr. Edward G. Holley, head librarian at the
university, which we think deserves a place in the record of these
exciting days. It expresses the sentiment of an increasing number of
our people and congregations.
Although we understand why you feel the way you do about our program with Dr. Leroy Garrett, we nonetheless were honored to have him speak to our congregation and suggest that in our strife-torn society a messenger of reconciliation should be received in the same spirit. We are sorry that you feel the truths of God are comprised by such meetings, for we believe that we are no less committed to the defense of the Christian faith than you are. Our basic posture is to accept baptized believers on the basis of their commitment to Christ and to allow them the freedom to interpret the scriptures for themselves. This seems to us in line with the basic Restoration plea: in faith unity, in opinion freedom, in all things love. We leave the final judgment to God and trust in His grace to redeem us from whatever errors of judgment we make.
But
to show that our work is still cut out for us, there is this letter,
written by our folk in St. Marys, Ga., to our Independent Christian
brothers who had by chance sent an advertisement to them about their
program and materials.
Dear Sirs: We received your ad today. We are not interested in any of your material for the following reasons:
We have no fellowship with denominational groups.
Your organization advocates:
Instrumental music in the worship of God.
Missionary societies.
Calling of preachers names such as “Reverend.”
Fellowshipping anybody and every body.
Unfortunately, rather than coming closer to the truth on the above mentioned unscriptural matters, you apparently are getting further away.
The only dialogue that we desire to have with your organization is public debate to expose the error which you espouse. If you are interested, please notify us.
Albert
J. Menendez, writing in
Church
and State,
raises
the question as to who is responsible for the tragic religious war
that has long cursed Northern Island. Part of the blame must be
shared by the churches, he insists, for its leaders have opposed all
efforts toward integrated education, wanting children separated along
sectarian lines so that they could better control them. For over a
century efforts have been made to put both Roman Catholic and
Protestant children in the same classroom, with no lines drawn as to
who teaches them. This has been opposed by both sides, choosing
sectarian education instead. A religious war has resulted. Even taxis
are unsafe. Playgrounds are locked on Sundays. A casual walk about
town is impossible. Cars are searched for bombs. People are
immigrating to Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. There were 121
assassinations last year alone. British troops struggle in vain to
maintain a peace that the churches have long rejected, continuing a
bitter hostility toward each other.
All
this not only points to the blessings of separation of church and
state, but it underscores the insanity of sectarianism. What is a
public embarrassment to Christianity around the world in Ulster, has
transpired countless times on a private level in homes and churches
everywhere, separating families and turning neighbors into enemies.
Oh, for the sweet, peaceful balm of the Spirit!
A
Jew, an atheist in fact, has written a book on
My
Brother Paul.
While
most Jews have seen the apostle as the chief apostate who really
authored Christianity, for Richard Rubenstein he is one who embarked
upon a spiritual pilgrimage similar to his own. Shattered by the
death of his young son, Rabbi Rubenstein, like Paul, found it futile
to turn to the law for an answer. Unlike Paul, the Rabbi, driven to
atheism, turned to psychoanalysis, and it is here that he found
self-acceptance. But Rubenstein sees something real in Paul’s
reliance upon Christ. By Jesus living within him Paul was able to
accept the authority of his own experience.
If a Jewish atheist can find this kind of kinship with Paul without really becoming a believer, it is understandable that so many Jews these days are looking to Jesus as their Messiah. Many Jews are a part of the charismatic movement and the Jesus kids, so many in fact that the American rabbinate has had meetings to determine what to do about the crisis in Judaism of so many of its youth turning to Jesus while continuing to be Jews.