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course church membership often
supplies a portian of one's social
life, and many men attend to make
valuable business contacts.
Religion? Well , 1 vaguely remem–
bered hearing that Adam was the
first man, and that he sinned, a nd
"fell"-whatever that meant. As a
result I hazily conceived that üfe
was like a one-way trip on a train.
Because of Adam, the switch in the
track at the end of the line was
thrown to shoot us all down to hell.
So 1 supposed we needed to "get
saved," although I had been taught
that 1 had a "birthright member–
ship" in the church, so I guessed 1
probably was already "saved"-at
least 1 don't remember that 1 ever
worried about it. When one was
"saved," the switch in the track at
the end of life's journey was then
thrown so that when one got to the
end of the line he would be shot
instantly
up
to heaven, "to be with
the Lord in mansions above," "over
the river," or "on the other shore,"
wherever all that was. Anyway, it
was "up yonder," and when they
called tbe roll , I took it for granted 1
was going to be there.
And wbat was my idea of God–
and of Christ- and of the devíl?
Well , God was One to fear and be
appeased, in a way- and yet, if we
pleased Him, He could make things
break our way for us. If we faced a
frigbtful tragedy and possible death,
crying out to Him migbt save us.
But generally,
J
think I rather took it
for granted that God didn't want us
to be happy or enjoy life-He cer–
tainly frowned on all worldly plea–
sures. Christ, however, was more
kind and loving-He was our Savior.
Above all, neíther God nor Chríst
were
REAL
to me-they were in real–
ity "far off."
Now these were not definite, con–
crete beliefs or deep- rooted con–
victions. They were just ethereal,
vague assumptions. 1 never gave
them deep or specific thought. I
just took them for granted, suppos–
ing everybody believed these
things. My mind was focused on
the material interests of the mo–
ment- things closer to hand. As I
said, reügion was for Sunday. lt
had no relation to or connection
with the rest of life as a whole-my
school, fun, play, hobbies, and, as
J
The
PLAIN TRUTH December 1977
grew older, business, philosophies
and beliefs.
What a "Bible Christian" ls Llke
But when 1 was 34 years of age, my
religious nonchalance was rudely
jolted. My wife and I were visiting
my parents in Salem, Oregon. Mrs.
Armstrong returned from a visi t
with one of my mother's friends- a
neighbor. This woman seemed to be
a sort of "Bible Chri st ian." She had
handed her Bible to my wife and
asked her to read a certain passage
aloud. Then, wi thout any comment
whatever, she asked my wife to turn
to another passage a nd read it
aloud-then another and another.
Al! these passages seemed to con–
nect in an orderly sequence.
"Why!" exclaimed my wife in as–
tonishment. "This is not what I've
always been taught! Have
J
always
been led to believe
just the opposite
of what the Bible teaches?"
"Well, don' t ask me," smiled my
mother's neighbor. "I didn' t teach
you a word. You just read it yourself
out of the Bible."
Mrs. Armstrong carne running to
tell me what she had discovered.
Suddenly her religious belief had
been changed. To me, she had be–
come a religious fanatic. What she
had read out of the Bible was dia–
metrically contrary to the general
teachings of the churches. 1 was
angered, furious. Argument did no
good. She had all the answers-and
right out of the Bible. This was the
incident that challenged and ang–
ered me into the first real study of
the Bible of all my Jife.
I said, "You can' t tell me that a ll
these churches are wrong.
J
know
they get what they believe out of the
Bible!" So 1 devoted six months to
intensive, almost night-and-day re–
search and study to try to find ,
in the
Bible,
what
J
had been taught in
church. 1, too, was astounded to find
just the opposite.
l
obtained the lit–
erature of churches supporting thei r
beliefs. 1 search e d the com–
mentaries, the lexicons, the Bible
encyclopedias. I searched out the ar–
guments of higher criticism on these
points. 1 tried my best to overthrow
my wife's new Bible beliefs-but
they definitely were in the Bible.
Now 1 was no longer carelessly
assuming or taking for granted
without question what I had heard
or what others accepted. 1 was
prov–
ing
what was true. And it was
not
what 1
wanted
to accept. Rather, it
wounded my pride. l t was humili–
ating.
lt
was traumatic. lt brought
me to the most difficult decision of
my life-to admit not only that I had
been wrong- but to see my own self,
for the first time, as 1 really
was- an
abhorrent, rebellious, vain human
who was gui lty of sin and unworthy
of God's grace and merey and !ove.
It
was a bitter decision- 1 now felt
my life was worthless-but 1 told
God that if He could use such a
worthless life, I would give it to Him
in uncondítional surrender.
At last, once I swallowed my
príde, admitted defeat, was hum–
bled, had repented, and accepted
the Christ of the Bible-a different
Christ than 1 had prevíously pic–
tured-1 had found the true SOURCE
for belíef.
What a difference
there is between
professed "Christians" who are
churchgoers, and true BIBLE Chris–
tians! 1
know
that dífference because
1 have been both!
An Honest Approach
Regardless of whether one has been
angered
into an honest study of the
Bible, as 1 was, or whether he has
never been to church or heard any–
thing else in the first place, regard–
less of
WHY
he looks ínto the Bible
for himself, he will find the same
thing there that l found-if he is
honest and willing.
If a person born and reared on a
faraway uninhabited ísland in míd–
ocean, who had never heard
any
re–
ügious belief, had a Bíble and was
able to read, he would be a total
stranger to many of the thíngs 1 was
taught in church. He would see, in
the Bíble, just what everybody else
does who looks into it
honestly.
Wbat's wrong, then? When today's
"enüghtened" clergy, and the theo–
logical semínaries where young min–
isters are educated, spend more time
trying to determine how mueh of the
Bible they wish to classify as myth,
and how little as truth; when only one
percent of theological students, by
actual survey, believe in any second
coming ofChrist which is stated and
affirmed repeatedly in the Bible;
(Continued on page 45)
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