Recently Brother William Wallace, Editor of the Gospel Guardian, began touring the country in an effort to "feel the pulse of the brethren" and reestablish support for the Guardian. During these efforts in Louisville and Indianapolis, he charged Truth Magazine with making Ed Fudge, Associate Editor of the Guardian, an issue. According to Editor Wallace, Brother Fudge did not have much influence and was not widely known until Truth Magazine brought him into prominence by starting a swirling controversy around him. Brother Fudge feels that Truth Magazine is out to get both him and the Guardian by associating them with manufactured psuedo-issues. These contentions are false.

Brother Fudge's teachings concerning unity and fellowship have had widespread influence among the younger generation of preachers. Many of my contemporaries have been greatly influenced by the writings of Brother Fudge. Many of my closest friends, several of whom were planning to preach, have been led into apostasy by the writings of Brother Fudge. Some of the most promising young men to come out of Florida College in recent years have been lost to the "Ketcherside Cult" through the influence of Brother Fudge.

Ronnie Compton, Mr. Florida College (1970), at least for the time being, is mired in the tar pit of the "Ketchersidian" theories. While he was going in apostasy, he flooded me and many others with material written by Ed Fudge. Since Brother Compton had wide influence among his contemporaries, the articles of Brother Fudge had wide circulation and influence. It was Brother Compton's contention that Brother Fudge taught that matters such as instrumental music, institutionalism, the observance of the Lord's Supper, and all other such matters of "inference" or "deduction" should not be made tests of fellowship.

Brother Compton wrote this in a widely distributed form letter: "The grace of God is also plainly taught. The N.T. teaching is summarized well in a little booklet, 'The Grace of God (Edward Fudge)' which I sent you. We are received by God at baptism in our ignorance of many things. And we are received by God moment by moment on the same principle of grace through faith in our ignorance of many things...... Notice that he said the Bible teaching on grace is summarized well by Brother Fudge.

Let us notice the application Brother Compton makes. "I have said all of this to say this: Since the main thrust of the N.T. is that we are not saved by law but by grace through faith in Christ, it would not seem inconsistent with this principle if God on the Judgment Day applied grace offered to those in Christ to those who tried the best they knew how to get into Christ, even though incorrectly, such as by sprinkling or 'faith only.' . . . The Bible does not specifically say what God will do with the sincere, unbaptized believer; there is no passage that says all such will be lost. But some draw an inference from Mk. 16:16 and believe that all such will be lost. I can understand their reasoning, because I used to think the same way. However, I no longer think such an inference is necessary, in light of the basic message of the N.T.: salvation by grace through faith.

"I know people who believe in faith only who have a fuller faith than I. Because of environment, opportunities, and such thing which contribute to prejudice, they honestly can't see the plain command of God to be immersed into Christ. Since they are trusting Christ for salvation, God may not make baptism for them an absolute law which they have to obey to be saved. After all, they are demonstrating their faith in Christ in many ways; and that is how man is justified - not by keeping the law perfectly."

Brother Fudge wrote an article entitled, "Faith or Merely Opinion." The article appeared in the Christian Standard, July 8, 1967. He states, "All things not expressly enjoined in the word of God" (are) "matters of inference.... We dare not therefore, patronize the rejection of God's dear children, because they may not be able to see alike in matters of human inference. . . . It is cruel to excommunicate a man because of the imbecillity of his intellect." Notice the parallel statement Brother Compton makes in the mimeographed form letter. "Anyone can practice keeping God's commandments. Commandments are clear and not hard to understand at all.... However, matters of inference and when an apostolic example binds are not so clear that all can understand the truth at once. We all have differing spiritual I.Q.s because our abilities and opportunities vary. But if we are doing our best with the I.Q. we have and the opportunities we have, we can be assured of our salvation." (inferences being matters such as instrumental music, etc. . . .)

Brother Compton further quotes Brother Fudge in a letter dating Wednesday, July 12, 1972, "And as brother Fudge noted, 'The person who expects to be saved because of his own full knowledge or his own perfect record misunderstands the very nature of the gospel of Christ.' "Compare that with Brother Compton's statement, "We will never be perfect, but because we trust in Christ who was perfect, we will be received by God in Christ."

The influence of Brother Fudge's teaching on Brother Compton was immense. Brother Compton also sent me other articles by Brother Fudge such as, "The church of God at Corinth," "Truth, Error, and the Grace of God," which, according to Brother Compton, explained clearly his own personal views on unity and fellowship. According to Brother Compton, Brother Fudge championed his views on fellowship. Strangely enough, along with Brother Fudge's material, Brother Compton enclosed several articles by Carl Ketcherside which taught basically the same thing as Brother Fudge's articles. In fact Brother Compton subscribed to the Mission Messenger for me. Brother Compton's conclusion was that the writings of Brother Ketcherside and Brother Fudge clearly explained his own views on fellowship and unity.

Many brethren around the country were clamoring for Brother fudge to be exposed long before Truth Magazine began applying the heat. In December 1972, I personally approached Brother Willis and mildly rebuked him for not exposing Brother Fudge. He replied that he hesitated to expose Brother Fudge or the Guardian because it would appear as if Truth Magazine were trying to steal Guardian subscribers and was trying to ruin the only other weekly paper among sound brethren. Truth Magazine did not create an issue out of Ed Fudge.

Brother Wallace=s contention that Brother Fudge=s influence was small is false. He exerts great influence. That is why he must be exposed. It this great host of Anew Unity Cultists@ have misunderstood Brother Fudge, then Brother Fudge has been guilty of being criminally ambiguous in his writings. If he cannot write clearly enough to be understood by intelligent people, he should not be an Associate Editor of a paper with the stature of the Guardian.

Truth Magazine, XVIII:8, p. 10-11
December 20, 1973