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And that same day a shocking thing occurred. Out of the
dull haze of my usual inattentive, sloppy attitude in Church
History class I heard something which really grabbed my attention.
We had gone all through the four Gospels -- using a "harmony" of
the Gospels -- in the history of Christ's ministry. I had paid
virtually NO attention -- doing only the bare minimum to "get by."
We had progressed into the book in the BIBLE which IS Church
History, the Book of Acts. What caused me to really perk up my
ears was a statement which DIRECTLY CONTRADICTED the learned
theologian who had written the article in the very respected
magazine.
We were discussing Acts, chapter 18, verse 25. It was
concerning an eloquent convert, Apollos, who was "instructed in THE
WAY of the Lord." Then, in verse 26 the Bible said, "...when
Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and
expounded unto him THE WAY OF GOD more perfectly." And still, in
chapter 19, the Bible insisted, some persecutors were speaking evil
of "THAT WAY" before the multitude (verse 9).
But whaaaaat? Here was the BIBLE -- NOT any literature
from my father -- this was the BIBLE, the same one, I supposed, out
of which ALL Churches got their beliefs, in direct contradiction to
the confident statement, read by millions, made by a very leading
theologian! I had seen, THREE TIMES, in one open, two-page spread
of the Bible, the assertion that Christianity IS A WAY OF LIFE!
I did something unusual -- something unheard of, for me.
I took out a red lead pencil from my shirt pocket, and made a
little mark in my Bible. Not knowing anything about how, I merely
made a little red check mark in the margin. I marked each of these
surprising passages so I could "find" them later.
From that time on, I began to experiment. I had always
supposed "all these Churches just CAN'T be wrong." But now I began
to READ, and to STUDY, some of their literature. I picked up
religious books in the library; obtained pamphlets and tracts from
stands in stores.
And I found, to my surprise, that NONE OF THEM REALLY
SQUARED WITH MY OWN BIBLE! I found where, on one occasion, a
minister had quoted only PART of one verse to "prove his point"
when, if he had included it ALL it really said JUST THE OPPOSITE.
I found where a woman "prophetess" had, in one of her books,
placed a period and ended a verse where MY BIBLE HAD A COMMA, and
FOUR ADDITIONAL WORDS which DIRECTLY CONTRADICTED the "doctrine"
she was teaching. THAT surprising scripture was in Isaiah 24:6!
She was attempting to "prove" the earth was to be DESOLATE for
1,000 years! So she stopped quoting with the word, "burned." But
MY BIBLE said (and so does yours -- and so did hers!) "AND FEW MEN
LEFT." Only a FEW, apparently -- but a few, nevertheless.
From then on I REALLY began to study. I found many points
I had "heard" for many, many years, came FLOODING into my mind.
While I had rebelled against God, and His word -- and against my
physical father -- apparently SOME of what I had been hearing much