OUR CHANGING WORLD

 

In its March issue Church and State carried an article by our own Norman Parks entitled “Heroin for Our Colleges,” which originally appeared in Mission. The article reveals how Church of Christ colleges, especially Lipscomb and Abilene, have been vigorous in obtaining federal grants, except for Florida College, which has rejected all tax dollars, and all this in contradiction to the avowed purposes of said institutions as religious. “It cannot be doubted that the First Amendment as defined by the court is being violated by these schools,” Parks says. Church and State is a publication dedicated to the principle of the separation of church and state.

Krister Stendahl of Harvard reports on a trip to Australia where he met with a student movement. The topic of study was “Never Finished with Jesus,” which Krister describes as “a disarmingly simple term for a serious study.” He says he looks to the day when the Spirit will enable Catholics to play a part in healing the break between evangelical and liberal protestants, presumably at home as well as in Australia.

A 21-year old California mother tells of how she was abducted, along with her small child, when she returned to her car at a shopping center. While her assailant disrobed her, she prayed to the Lord: “Dear God, have mercy on this poor man, for in the end he will truly be punished for what he is doing. I pray in Jesus’ name, Amen!” Rather than rape her, the man put her clothes back on her, returned her and the baby to the shopping center, and fled. She was left praising God for answering prayer.

The Holland Street Church of Christ in San Marcos, Texas, which could well be called one of our “free” churches, has issued a letter stating its position on the Bible, the gospel, the church, worship, doctrine, morality and customs, and opinions. As for the Bible they say: “We argue that the slogan “No Creed but Christ’s should be taken seriously, and that each individual has the freedom and responsibility of interpreting the Bible to the best of his ability. The Church existed and prospered for 200 years before the New Testament as presently known was accumulated; therefore, Christians may very well be pleasing to God without understanding of or complete agreement on the exact meaning of every verse.” You may solicit a copy from Prof. Elton Abernathy, Southwest Texas State U., San Marcos, Texas.

One of our Church of Christ girls in Bossier City, La. is an expert bassoon player at Louisiana Tech, but she caused her director and fellow band members no little consternation when she refused to participate in a rendition of “Jesus Christ Superstar” at a sporting event. She suffered intimidation for awhile, but it was finally decided not to play Superstar. In the end the band director had such high regard for the young lady that he wrote a letter to her parents commending them “for raising such a fine young lady,” which was apparently as much a victory for the director as for the girl.

In a recent edit oral in Firm Foundation, the editor had this to say about church renewal: “We who boast of a non-sectarian position ought to practice it. Let no word be said; let no article for any paper be written; let no sermon be preached that would wound or mutilate any portion of the body. Let us put from our minds and from our expressions any thought of splits and divisions and ‘sides’ and ‘points of view’ and act like the children of God ... It is a sick mentality that sees in every difference of opinion between brethren a quarrel or a split. Some are so sectarian in spirit that they gloat over spinning off another sect or splintering another splinter, or being able to split the already meager forces in some mission field, or being able to catch in their web another preacher.”

Ron Milton of the Lake Highlands Church of Christ in Dallas recently quoted in his bulletin a line from G. Dallas Smith in the 1933 ACC Lectures to the effect that “the most dangerous character in our midst is one whose heart and conscience have been left untouched.”

The elders of the Burke Road Church of Christ in Houston are presently using the study hour on Lord’s Day to meet privately with three families of the congregation each time, until they have shared in this way with all the flock.

The Sweet Co. in Austin recently announced its 1974 Vacation Bible School materials, entitled “We Praise the Lord.” Of the eight writers who produced the series six of them are women.