Editorial Postscripts

Substitutes!—The storyteller with his grip­ping tales, the humorist with his pungent wit­ticisms, the orator with his descriptive word pictures, the missionary recitalist with his mar­velous episodes, the propagandist with his ap­plied salesmanship,—these dramatized methods will often win the crowd away from him who relies upon the simple, direct exposition of the Word that feeds the soul. Yet these other expedients are but passing and ephemeral, while the presentation of the Word builds for both time and eternity. Rightly used, but not abused, these other ways may prove proper and valuable adjuncts; but as substitutes for the essential purpose of preaching, they constitute enticing perils. God holds every preacher ac­countable in these matters. We are to beware of strange fire.

Ignored!—Nothing so irks a critic as inat­tention. He thrives in his chosen field only as he secures the spotlight. To be ignored by those he is trying so desperately to reach is therefore the unkindest cut of all. Criticism, rebuke, reproach, attack, entreaty—anything is better than silence. To be let alone by those who are too busy with constructive achievement for God, to notice; to be passed by, by those who are burdened with anxiety for perishing souls about them; to be as though they had not been to those who scorn pettiness and meanness, and refuse to become entangled in its toils; to be eschewed by those who detest caviling, criticism, and disruptive propaganda, —this appears to be well-nigh unbearable. To be named and discussed, and to suffer as a public martyr for a cause, is so obviously de­sirable that silence becomes unbearably op­pressive.

Motive!—The motive that prompts to giving, activity, or even to evangelism, is of greatest moment. The noblest service or sacrifice is robbed of its fragrance, its wholesomeness and Christian efficacy, if it springs from fear, or is fostered by pressure, jealousy, or rivalry instead of love. If a man lives and works under the compulsion of fear because he be­lieves his success in the gospel ministry will be judged by certain arbitrary financial achieve­ments for which he is held accountable, it is an unwholesome, yea, a sinister incentive, and should be viewed with grave apprehension. And the occasional placing of men on the "spot" by an associate or superior to stimulate effort by invidious comparisons, so as to shame to greater effort, is a species of moral intimida­tion, and constitutes the very antithesis of the gospel urge. This whole question of motives is therefore basic.

Method!—The man who may not achieve quite so much, but who attains his objectives by methods that God can approve, and which harmonize with the spirit and motive of the gospel, is to be preferred to him who makes an imposing record by methods that are earthly and secular, and so are contrary to the very genius of Christianity. This may appear to be practical heresy to some, but it is nevertheless a heaven-attested truth. God never approves questionable methods, and He never condones compromises nor lowered standards to achieve certain goals. Nor is this necessary. Let us strive for the highest accomplishments, but let us frown upon every unworthy method.

Knowledge!—He who assumes to speak or write in the field of historical theology and related subjects, should know its definitions and terms, and the course and relationships of their march through the centuries, so as to speak with truth, fairness, and accuracy con­cerning all that is involved. If one cannot qualify in these matters, he should in honesty and candor be silent until he becomes in­formed. This limitation would include such points as whether there were but three Arian powers—or several others as well—among the ten divisions of Rome; and just what is meant by the supremacy of the Papacy,—whether tem­poral or spiritual, or primarily of the pope, or whether the Papacy is preeminently a union of the papal church and the state as a system, irrespective of whether pope or emperor is su­preme. Confusion and inaccuracy here have marked too heavy a percentage of our utter­ances.

Determinative!—It is both inconsistent and unfair to judge a man's orthodoxy or hetero­doxy on the basis of some detail of prophetic interpretation upon which there has been and is legitimate difference of view within the de­nomination. So long as there is sound personal Christian experience, blended with consistent allegiance to the great verities of the everlast­ing gospel, and so long as there is unreserved allegiance to the essentials in our distinctive message in the clear doctrinal and prophetic fields, liberty must be accorded on minor points of exegesis, unless we are to abandon our con­sistent historic practice, and embark upon a program of discrimination and pressure, which is unthinkable. It is not some minor turn of interpretation that saves, but the living Christ of the prophecies. It is not some little building block in the superstructure that matters, but the great foundation stones that support it all. Here let our interests be manifest and our unity be concentrated.                                 

L. E. F.