or lie-in, is a proclamation to the fact that, "W e are demanding our rights.” Is there no voice to be heard anywhere in the land that emphasizes the individual and collective responsibility under the law? The church o f Jesus Christ has been characterized through the centuries by its emphasis upon one’s responsibility, first o f all toward God and then toward his fellows. The mod ernists o f fifty years ago began to minimize the preaching o f the cross and the Gospel message as revealed in the Word o f God and, instead, began to preach a so-called social gospel. This social gospel began with the preaching o f the "Fatherhood o f God and the brotherhood o f man.” The idea back o f this high-sounding phrase was that all men are children o f God and therefore all men, in the final analysis, are brothers. According to this sort o f preach ment, all men are working their way toward heaven, whether they be members o f Protestant churches, o f the Catholic faith, o f the cults, Mohammedans, Buddhists or what have you. Each is on his own particular railroad track traveling to one and the same celes tial city whose builder and maker is God. So said the liberals! Through the years this basic anti-scriptural notion has led to all kinds o f denials o f the great truths o f the Word o f God. These denials are evidenced in a multitude o f ways and by hosts o f in dividuals to a greater or lesser extent. This false conception finds expression in the preaching o f those who deny the infallibility o f the Bible or those who, in so many o f the late translations o f the Word o f God, endeavor to tone down the person and work o f Jesus Christ. It leads also to denial o f the atoning work o f Christ on the cross, His bodily resurrection and, o f course, the glorious hope o f His personal and imminent return. In addition, it cuts the nerve o f missionary giving. Those who do go out as mission aries imbued with this view are little more than religious "peace corps” enthusiasts. Indeed, why should missionaries go to the Moslem world or the Buddhist world if these people are already on the road to heaven? All o f this deadly development began when ministers left off proclaiming the glorious gospel o f the Lord Jesus Christ and began to preach the social gospel. Through the years voices have been raised, warning against these trends, but often they have been stilled amidst the clamor o f the popular pleas. Now the disastrous results o f this type o f preaching are becoming more and more apparent and the end is not yet. It is significant that in this generation the ideas o f the theo logical systems known as neo-orthodoxy and neo-evangelicalism are being listened to with increasing interest. Many, who until just a few years ago were preaching a solid soul-searching Gospel message, are now being caught up in this maelstrom o f theologi cal vagaries. It might be interesting to experiment with these present-day trends, just to see how they would work, were it not for the fact that already we are seeing the outcome and it is not a pretty sight. We are unalterably opposed to the so-called "social gospel.” We realize, o f course, that there are certainly social aspects to the true Gospel, which have a broad and solid base in (continued on page 35)
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M A I L C O U P O N T O D A Y
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