Why Have A Quote Page?
As a rule this is our quote page where we present reflections of the history of Gods people. Each month, for over five years, we have searched bound volumes of old papers, history books, biographies, etc., for material that would supply hind-sights for our readers.
What readers?? Reader reaction to this page has been almost NIL. If anyone reads this section of Plain Talk they are seldom aroused to comment. So, why do we continue this page?? It may be pure stubborn nature, but we wish to offer our defense.
We do not cite pioneer preachers as authority for today or any day. We feel no obligation to walk in their tracks, to accept their interpretations of scripture as final. Our effort to restore the restoration is limited to the spirit of some early men who despised the shame of being ostracized, quarantined, cast out by their sectarian brethren, because they insisted upon an objective study of Gods word for its truth.
There is an oft-repeated adage that those who ignore history are doomed to repeat it. This does not mean that exact details will be duplicated — details of circumstances are ever charging — but like attitudes continue to produce like results. We firmly believe that, despite the dangers of generalization, the past has many lessons for the future. The man is a fool who thinks he can not learn from the experiences of others. It is our desire to call attention to the many parallels (in essence) that exist between the problems of the past, and current problems among brethren, and emphasize (with case histories) the result of erroneous attitudes toward the divine word.
An honest look at our history would explode the myth that the great mainstream of brotherhood thinking has always been true to God. This thinking persists, even among conservative brethren today. Actually, about 80 to 85% of the brotherhood accepted mechanical instrumental music and missionary societies in the 19th century split. Further, the more liberal segment of that digression went on to embrace classic liberalism, including denial of the verbal inspiration of the scriptures.
And — a look at our neglected history would show us that they moved along much the same lanes as todays more liberal thinkers — love, social work, direct Spirit influence, etc. (What is the point of a March 69 article in ACTION, that defends myth as a figure of speech, comparable to Jesus parables: that says mythological does not necessarily mean that it is untrue; defends the application of such terminology to Genesis 1— 2; but says, we can now say that in our opinion Genesis 1— 2 is NOT myth.? Now what is the point??)
Sometimes we will quote from our brethren to re-emphasize some point made — long ago, or more recently. We believe there can and should be a certain amount of interest in the affairs of brethren, without appealing to them as authorities. For these, and many other reasons, we will continue our quote page in Volume 6.