banished and dissolved to nothingness (Rev. 20: 11), this man would have us believe that the unsaved are “resur rected to MORTAL life” in a kind of reincarnation that is meaningless when there is no heaven nor earth left for their habitation. However, this “ resurrection unto damnation” of which Jesus spoke is not a chance for salvation; neither is it a resurrection to “mortal life” nor life in the flesh, but to a life in bodies fitted for eternal torment in a literal hell. These will be brought before the judgment bar of God, standing on nothing, naked of all righteousness, with no place to hide, and there await the pronouncement, of their eternal doom. All the false promises of Mr. Armstrong and his associates will not reverse God’s Word that, “ it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27). Truth loving Christians will neither give ear nor money to this hybrid system or two-fold Judaism with its denials of the fundamentals of the faith once delivered to the saints. in the religious education classes has carried over into the young adult life of these students. Fifteen years ago, when the California state legislature amended the school code to permit public school pupils to be excused one hour a week in order to have moral and religious instruction, many citizens shook their heads. “ It will never work,” some said. “ It will be an additional expense,” murmured others. But the greatest apprehension was voiced by well- meaning laymen who feared that a “ brand” of religion other than their own would be thrust upon their children. “ I don’t want my child to become a Methodist” and “W ill our church coperate? If not, I won’t sign the release card” were some of the remarks that reflected the thinking of the doubting Thomases. As the program advanced, however, these fears vanished before the reassuring knowledge that “ isms” were not taught but only the Bible. This was good. The program has worked, and the expense is compara- tivey low, considering the benefits derived from it. Now the same men and women talk differently, and many give generously to the cause, for they believe that their dollars are invested wisely. Release time religious education pays rich dividends. Ventura, California release time training trailer by Mabelle B. McGuire
Seventh-day Adventism comes to light in the July, 1952, issue of THE GOOD NEWS through the pen of another of Mr. Armstrong’s associates, Dr. C. F. Meredith. Under the title, “ Is This the Only Day of Salvation?” this man writes about a time when the “Vast majority” of men will be saved. Quoting Revelation 20:11-12 he says, “ I . . And the dead were judged out of the things which were written in the books.’ They are to be judged by what they HAVE DONE in this life and by what they WILL DO after they are resurrected to mortal life! This is the Great White Throne judgment when the vast number of unsaved dead will be resurrected and given their first chance of salvation . . . ” (P. # 7 ). This man and Herbert Armstrong have both embraced a modified form of the conditional immortality and second chance theories of Seventh-day Adventism and others who are not willing to stand with God on His Word when He declared that the heathen and all men “ are without excuse” (Rom. 1:20). With heaven and earth Release Time Pays B ecause the teacher of release time religious education in Ventura, California uses the Bible as a textbook, there is a general interest in Bible reading among the town’s youngsters. The American Bible Society supplies the Bibles for distribution to the boys and girls who have none, and in this way the Holy Word goes into many homes where it has never been before. The children enjoy their Bible study in the mobile trailer that is their classroom for one hour of each week. When one little boy was asked what his favorite subject was, he answered that he liked the Bible lesson best. “Next to game time, of course,” he added honestly. Each day the classroom-chapel trailer goes to one of the public schools. In it the pupils whose parents have consented to their religious instruction meet with a trained Christian leader who loves to work with young sters. The hour is divided into instruction, devotion, audio-visual aids (recordings, slides, motion pictures, maps, photographs, etc.) and the recitation of Bible pas sages. The teacher awards religious cards and bookmarks to the boys and girls who have memorized their verses. One good result of the release time Bible study is ex pressed by the school teachers, many of whom were skeptical at the beginning of the program. They notice a marked improvement in the conduct of the pupils who attend. “ Billy is much more attentive in class now,” said one instructor. “ I notice that Linda is much more thoughtful of others since she has been attending the Bible class,” stated an other teacher, smiling her approval of the program. Quite a high percentage of the boys and girls who were the first to receive the release time training when it was introduced in Ventura are now in college. Many of them take their Bibles with them. One girl went off to the State University without hers, but she wrote to her mother requesting that it be sent. One student’s roommate is a Jewish girl whose Old Testament stands on the shared bookshelf next to the Protestant girl’s Bible. Another former release time pupil is taking a pre-medical course because he hopes to serve as a medical missionary in a foreign field. He, too, has his Bible with him. A young woman who plans to teach is studying at a small church college where she uses her Bible again as a textbook. Thus the Bible habit formed
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DECEMBER, 1959
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