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Mr. Armstrong's Articles
Boy, am1excited! l just received the Janu–
ary issue of
The Plain Truth
and read the
"Personal" and "This ls the Worldwide
Church of God-Part 11." My husband
and 1 have been in the Church since late
fall of 1972 and we are as excited about it
now (possibly even more so) as we were
then. God hasshowed me that it is indeed a
great opportunity and privilege to sit with
the olher brelhren al Sabbalh services,
hearing lheword expounded.
Mrs. Terry Brantzeg.
West Allis, Wisconsin
After reading through the current issue
[January¡. of
The Plain Truth,
1 am not
only struck by the meatiness ofthe articles,
but also by lhe very fact that Mr. Arm–
st rong is able to write sueh huge quantities
of material along with all his other many
responsibi lities.
lt
is absolulely incredible
that somehow he has the strength
10
do all
of this. Of course, age is irrelevant when
God multiplies a man's efforts.
Lon Lacey,
Fair Oaks, California
The quality of
The P/ain Truth
has
deteriorated during recent months.
1t
is
becoming the personal "house organ" of
Herbert W. Armstrong, whom 1 respect
but do not always agree with.
lcon Supreme?
Arlhur Flack,
Hilton. New York
You did an excellent job presenling an
objective view of lhe evidence concerning
the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin. 1
was surprised. however. lhat you did not
embrace il as proof of Jesus' resurrection.
You often have proved the unprovable wilh
less evidence than Mr.Wilcox presents.
At the presenl time there is no physical
evidence to prove the shroud as a hoax. To
say the shroud is not authentic because
Jesus didn 't have long ha ir or that He was
wrapped in the customary Jewish way is
mere opinion based on your own inlerpre–
lation of Scripture.
lt
sounds like
The
The
PLAIN TRUTH April 1979
T
T
S
Plain Truth
is only open lo evidence that
fits into itsown mold ofthe "real Jesus."
Scott P. Wycherley,
Greenbelt, Maryland
1would like to answer lhe question, as
put by your author, "How was Christ's
body really wrapped?" The reason for
burying Jesus wrapped differently from
the use of the Jcwish custom was merely
because Jesus Chrisl had been robbed of
his own clothes and this melhod could nol
be applied, for the Jews used to be
wrapped round in their clothes. Thus the
long linen cloth served as a dress lo cover
lhe sacred, bealen, bruised, lifeless body of
our Lord Jesus Christ. This was kept in a
tighl position with his body by the "rolls of
cloth." What about thenapkin which "had
been on his head"? Could it not represent
the long hair, as lhe wriler claimed the
image ofChrisl is seen with? Does the long
history this shroud went through (1945
years) not make it an exceptional relic? 1
am more than certain that if we close our
eyes and believe this mystic then God will
open them for us and enlighten our minds
to seesome ofhis power and glory.
E. Mamo,
Senglea, Malta
• The author replies:
Had the Shroud of
Turin been held tightly pressed to the
corpse of Jesus by the c/oth strips asan
outer wrapping and thus received an
image of His body and wounds, it would
also preserve c/ear evidence of its wrin–
kles and folds. So the shroud itse/f is
proof against such a theory . As men–
tioned in the article. it is the Bible itself
which says that Jesus was wrapped and
buried. "as is the burial custom of the
Jews" (John /9:40). His case was notan
exception; He was wrapped and buried
according to the usual custom.
lt would be hard to imagine a "nap–
kin'' or head wrapping allowing a de–
tailed image of the facial features whi/e
itself showing as fa/se "long hair." This
idea. too. must be rejected.
At this time it remains to be seen wheth–
er the shroud has a "long history." Per-
E
R
S
haps sorne information from carbon-14
testing wi/1 be available in the early J980s.
In the meantime, let us
not
"close our
eyes" in order to "believe." Please see
Mauhew /3:15, /saiah 6:10 and Ezekiel
12:2.
What's Wrong with Prosperity?
1would like to laud the authorof"What 's
Wrong with Prosperity?" The article was
written by Jeff Calkins, and it was mag–
nificent. lt struck at the roots of the ques–
tion. 1 thought it was perfectly thorough
and perfectly balanced. So hard as it may
sound to sorne, the socialist, egalitarian
doctrine is a product of Satan's wave–
length, and we need lo rid ourselves of
that inftuence.
George Slivinsky,
Winnipeg. Manitoba, Canada
The
De~il's
Religion
1was just reading along in Mr. David Jon
Hill's article ("What ls the Devil's Reli–
gion?" in the January
Plain Truth)
when
my breath was suddenly almost taken
awa:y by the truth triumphant and beauli–
ful in that section where hequotes, "Here–
byknow yethespirit ofGod ..." totheend
ofthat section. Surely, as you have written
us. God is blessing us most bountifully with
the marvelous spiritual food He
is
providing
us now in your writings and that of His
ministers and true servants.
Church in Her Area?
BettyM. Rakasi,
Springfield, Missouri
Thank you for your reminder that 1 may
receive a free subscription to
The Plain
Truth.
1t
is the most informative, interesting
and inspiring magazine 1 have read. But 1
realize you can't continue to send this free
subscription with no funds. l wish tocontrib–
ute for mysubscription. Keep up the fantas–
tic work. 1have been more or less Iooking for
a church that makes sense to me. Do you
havea church in thisarea at all?
Julie Whitehead,
Branscomb, California
•
Yes, there is a church in your area. We
are sending you the address.
45