"Dying On The Vine"
Recently, Brother E. R. Harper did the preaching in a series of meetings in Sacramento. This special campaign was planned and directed by several congregations of the area.
As the meeting progressed, Brother Harper's references to issues currently confronting the church became more frequent and pointed. Although he declared that opposition to the Herald of Truth and other similar projects is "dying on the vine," it was clear that he believed several applications of poison would yet be required to completely kill it.
During a conversation, which occurred in the presence of several preachers who apparently see "eye to eye" with him, Brother Harper declared that Roy Cogdill is one of the chief sources of opposition to their work. The nature of his remarks led us to suppose that he regards Brother Cogdill as being nothing less than the taproot of this dying vine. Knowing that the best way to kill a vine is to get at the root, and realizing that if all the things Brother Harper said are true, it ought to die, we offered to bring Cogdill to Sacramento, thus making it convenient for Brother Harper to get the poison directly on him.
We even let it be known that we had already contacted Brother Cogdill and secured his permission to proceed with the necessary arrangements for the experiment. However, Brother Harper seems to believe that it is more effective and much safer to stand back and spray the poison on from a distance. About two thousand miles is considered fairly safe.
For more than an hour we insisted that Brother Harper defend in public debate the practices he had been advocating in the meeting, but our plea fell upon deaf ears, for the warrior of Abilene and Lufkin had laid down his arms. Although he modestly admitted without pressure that his last debate with Yater Tant had "saved" the student body of A.C.C. from the grasp of hobbyism, it was obvious that he was not making himself available for further such assignments!
When Brother Harper bowed out of the picture, I became unusually bold, and startled myself by announcing that I would be willing to meet any of the Sacramento preachers in a discussion of institutionalism and sponsoring churches. I regret to report that they too begged to he excused, upon the ground that those opposing their teaching constitute a minority group in this area.
We dare say this bit of news will come as a welcome surprise to the Baptists, Catholics and others. for they can now follow the precedent set by these brethren, and refuse to debate with the Church of Christ upon the around that the Church of Christ is a minority group by comparison.
I suppose it is needless to point out that if they stick by their rule there will be no debates with the brethren who oppose the classes and individual containers, for those brethren are always in the minority.
Furthermore, the congregations which got together a few years ago and published a challenge to Oral Roberts to defend his teaching in public debate, should now contact him and offer their apologies for even harboring the evil thought that Roberts was afraid to meet them. He probably refused only because the Church of Christ was in the minority. It might be that he thought they were "dying on the vine."
Obviously, the only thing left for these brethren is to carefully fold their tents and silently steal away from the field of polemics, and apparently this is what some of them have already done, for they have recently refused to debate with the Christian Church. This causes us to wonder if some brethren are finding the arguments of the Christian Church preachers more difficult to refute than they once were. Are they beginning to suspect their inability to strike out against the Christian Church without revealing a fatal weakness in their own defenses?
If they are not aware of the arguments which they would have to face in debate with the Christian Church, we respectfully suggest that they study carefully the speeches Harper made in Abilene. If they can answer Brother Harper's arguments they can meet the Christian Church, but it will leave the Herald of Truth "dying on the vine."