Truth Magazine

By Irven Lee

The pure in heart and life are at the opposite extreme from the unclean, fornicators, drunkards, thieves, and carnally minded people who are at war with God, home, and society in general. “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people” (Prov. 14:34). The crime wave is bringing a reproach upon America today as this comment from Proverbs suggests. The bank robberies, corruption . in government and business, along with shoplifting and stealing from individuals show that honesty and respect for property rights are gone from the hearts of the masses. We should be thankful for every faithful law abiding citizen that is still in our country. What country is left on earth which has a wonderful record for respect for law and for people?

The home is a very important unit of society in a nation. The Bible gives much instruction to every member of this social unit because God planned that the home produce children who have the righteousness that will bring glory to God and serve as the salt of the earth to leaven society with the righteousness which exalts and purifies. There are organizations such as the National Organization of Women (NOW) which is exerting powerful influences against the Bible teaching on home and marriage. We should be aware of the unholy poison associated with every program it offers the people. The leaders of this organization are atheistic and in sympathy with Communism. They have a very powerful lobbying influence in Washington. They seek to influence the National Educational Association, various women’s clubs, and the thinking of children in every way possible.

Unbelief has found its way into the hearts of many university professors, text book writers, and the writers of reference materials in our public school libraries. When precious faith is gone, man is left to think that he is only an animal, so to him there is no such thing as right and wrong except as it relates to his own selfish desires. The fight against God and His word is on in America, so there is a real need for many more soldiers in the Lord’s army who are not ashamed of the gospel or any part of it. Christians who preach, or are parents, or who face the barbed oppositions of Satan’s forces should fight a good fight. This is no time to retreat.

It is sad but true that evil and doubt from the world tend to come right on into the church. Ignorance of the Bible is alarming among church members. That means that weak faith and low moral standards are found among those who are nominal Christians. Let each church put away from among its members every wicked person lest his influence leaven the whole lump. (Read all of I Cor. 5.) The Bible classes and the pulpit preaching should be very effective in fighting for faith and purity. There is need for love of God and hope in His promises. The love of God and the love of the world cannot abide in the same heart (I John 2:15-17). It is high time to awake out of sleep and wrestle against wickedness in high places. “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8). God knows what is best, so those who follow the counsel of God are blessed abundantly. They receive one hundred fold for their sacrifices in this life, with persecutions, and in the world to come eternal life (1 Tim. 4:8; Mk. 10:28-30). Take hold of faith and of the hope set before you. Share it with others.

Truth Magazine XXIV: 6, p. 109
February 7, 1980

By Judy W. Copeland

Brother Romulo B. Agduma, Kidapawan, Philippines, passed this life November 25, 1979 in his home. From a letter I received from his son, Reuben, the only mention as to the cause of his death Was that “he rested from his lingering illness of Hypertension, but he had never been bedridden until the last moment of his breath.” He was 51 years of age at his death. Survivors include his wife, Romona, a son, Reuben and three daughters Rachel, Ruth and Rhoda. Reuben attended Florida College a year or more in the early 70’s, and is now preaching there in the same area where he has lived for many years. Funeral services were conducted by Virgilio Villanueva, of Lambayong, and Brother Ramon Carino read scriptures at the grave side service.

While with the Calmopt Avenue church in 1958, I began correspondence with Rpmulo Agduma since the church there was supporting him. At that time, the institutional issues were being discussed and I subscribed to the Gospel Guardian for Brother Agduma and asked him to study the issues. Soon he learned the truth and took a stand against the innovations of the time, which position was instrumental in getting his support cut off from the Harlengen, Texas church. Since that time I have corresponded with Brother Agduma and, on a preaching trip to the Philippines in 1973 and 1976, 1 became personally acquainted with him. In all the years (while far removed from him in person) of his work, I have always found him to be true to his family, his God and himself. He was instrumental in helping (through his paper among other ways) many to understand the true nature of the church and its work. Many faithful churches in the Philippines are there because of his teaching and work. It is impossible for one who has not been to the Philippines to know the hardships, work, and the sacrifices that some make to work and preach in that land. Brother Agduma lived in the midst of the Muslem territory where those rebels gave the government so much trouble through the years, and finally moved his family from M’lang to Kidapawan where he thought it would be safer. He bought a home there and lived there until his death.

Brother Agduma was not always in agreement even with brethren about many things. This is a tribute to his honesty and faithfulness to what he believed to be right. He was not willing to sacrifice principle for friendship. Even with some of the more influential men in the Philippines as well as America, he was not in agreement with matters pertaining to morals and issues, but always stood by his convictions. I had the utmost respect for his sincerity, integrity, knowledge of the word of God and his willingness and ability to proclaim it. You could not desire a more hospitable home than the Agdumas’. On the last trip (1976) to the Philippines I spent several days and nights there, and truly was treated like a king. Brother Agduma and I felt particularly close, since we had been corresponding so long, and since I discussed with him by letter the issues that were raging in the 1950’s. The Philippines truly have lost a great soldier and the Agduma family a wonderful father and husband. May they find comfort in his word and promises, and may those he taught take up the “sword of the spirit” and wield it as faithfully as he did. May God grant strength and hope to the family.

Truth Magazine XXIV: 6, p. 108
February 7, 1980

By William C. Sexton

Recently an article came across my path wherein the writer ridiculed the idea that repentance and confession are necessary conditions for forgiveness of sins. After his ridicule and rationalization, then he dogmatically declared, “The condition is continued striving after Christ and truth . . . .” Let us consider that declaration in light of God’s word and our soul’s eternal salvation.

1. The Bible says, “If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God; . .”; (1 Pet. 4:11). Also, Paul, the inspired apostle, said if we would be “justified” in our “sayings” and “overcome” when we are judged, we must “let God be true, but every man a liar” (Rom. 3:4).

2. It is strange how some will ridicule the idea that God covers all in the revelation, denouncing those who call for the acceptance of the Bible on all matters as being “Legalist.” The Bible claims that the forgiveness of sins for the non-Christian is conditioned on one coming to “Christ” wherein is salvation (2 Tim. 1:10; 2 Cor. 5:17); the Bible teaches clearly, also, that one is “baptized into Jesus Christ” (Rom. 6:3-4; Gal. 3:26-27). Now, all the ridicule and rationalization in the world will not change that: honesty, continued striving and searching, etc. will not, according to the scriptures, bring one “into” that relationship with Christ. In the same manner, the child of God who sins is told to, “Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thoughts of thine heart may be forgiven thee” (Acts 8:22). Furthermore, the beloved man of God, the apostle John, said, “if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:8). To offer salvation on conditions other than the ones set forth in God’s word, then is to offer something that is “strange” as the fire offered by the priests in Lev. 10:1-2.

3. One can ridicule the idea that such inspired teachings are complete and rationalize that there must be another category of sins which are not included in these passages otherwise “we’ll all be lost.” However, when one makes such a claim, he is turning from the “wisdom of God” (1 Cor. 2:9-16), which has been revealed to the apostles and which was spoken and written “in the words” which the; “Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” Such was written so that we may read and “understand” (Eph. 3:3-4). God has preserved such for us, and we can chose to accept and abide in His wisdom or we may turn to and glory in man’s wisdom – ours and/or that of others. When we respond to God’s clear teachings with ridicule and rationalization, we are replacing Divine wisdom with man’s, All who follow us in such directives are under the same captive and destructive forces.

Beloved, we must be willing to walk by faith and not by “sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). Therefore, we need to ask for book, chapter, and verse. If such is given, then we need to consider it honestly and carefully, to see if indeed such is the true intended meaning (cf. Mt. 4:1-11; 2 Cor. 2:17; 4:1-4). If we find that it is, then accept it, appreciate it and advocate it with fervor, zeal and love (cf. Acts 4:19-20; 5:29; 1 Thess. 2:13; Jas. 1:21-25).

4. If there is a verse of scripture which says “the condition (of forgiveness) is continued striving after Christ and truth,” then I do not know where it is and would like very much to have some one point it out to me. However, with my understanding of the scriptures, I believe that it is to be found right by that passage that say, “Once saved, always saved” or the passages that say, “Salvation is by faith only!” When we find one, we will find the other; if one is missing, so is the other!

It is sad when one gets himself so worked up that he will set forth dogmatically his plan while ridiculing the conditions set by God in His revelation, while they are also charging others with being “self-righteous.”

Satan, the opponent of man is working over-time deceptively to get you and me to accept such as the word of God. Some really run scared when some one calls them a “Legalist” (one who believes in a system of works). Beloved, I have heard that slander hurled at God’s people for 25 years. Denominational people always view the idea that one has to be baptized, to be saved as a system of work; so, people today who have taken up part of the same concept relative to a child of God being forgiven follow in their “father’s foot-steps.”

Our plea is: do not be deceived; God will not be mocked. Seed produces after its kind. I challenge each to ask the proclaimer of such statements as we have dealt with here to produce book, chapter and verse for such or to stop their mouths! As Jeremiah advised long ago, “ask for the old path, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls” (Jer. 6:16; cf. Mt. 7:13-14; Jn. 15:6, 7; 2 John 9). To abide within the “teachings of Christ” is to have the Father and Son’s protection and blessings; to move beyond them is to be on one’s own! Where are you, my beloved friend? Where are those who are influenced by you? Can you abide by 1 Pet. 3:15 and follow the route you have chosen? Death is coming to all, and eternity has two places, and it will be a long time! Think.

Truth Magazine XXIV: 6, p. 107
February 7, 1980

By Brooks Cochran

Due to recent events in the Middle East much interest is being directed toward that area of the world. “Across much of Asia and Africa, religious tensions are sweeping the world of Islam into deepening turbulence and political instability.”(1) Directly or indirectly some 900 million Moslems are involved.

However, the main attention of this country is directed toward Iran. “Americans have trouble comprehending an important fact about Iran’s revolution: The Ayatollah Khomeini and his followers believe absolutely that the Moslem faith is infallible and that their branch of Islam is superior to all others. Most Iranians belong to the Shiite sect of Islam, which split from the orthodox Sunni Moslems centuries ago in a dispute over who was to assume the power of the Prophet Mohammed. They are taught that the supreme Shiite religious leader – in this case Khomeini – has a God-given right to pass judgment on all political decisions.”(2)

Since the Islamic religion is receiving much attention in the world press it would be good for us to engage in a study of its origin and doctrines. Attention will also be given to compare certain teachings of Mohammed with that of the Bible.

General Background

“Islam” is the formal name of the religion that Mohammed established in 622 A.D. The basic meaning of the word is “submission to God.” A member of this faith is called a “Moslem.” The central belief of Islam is: “There is no God but God (Allah), and Mohammed is his prophet (apostle).”(3) The Koran is the “holy book of Islam.” The word “Koran” means “recital.” It is a collection of the teaching of Mohammed.(4)

There are four chief obligations which a Moslem must meet. He must: (a) pray at certain fixed times of the day facing Mecca, the Holy City of Islam; (b) if possible, make a pilgrimage to Mecca once in his lifetime; (c) give alms to the poor; and (d) fast from sunrise to sunset during the month of Ramadan the ninth month of the Moslem year. This month is considered sacred because Moslems believe that it was during this month that Mohammed had his vision of the archangel Gabriel.(5)

Islam has no religious images because Mohammed would not allow his followers to make representations of human and/or animal forms. The worship to Allah is without any elaborate ceremonies and there is no formal priesthood in the Islamic religion. There are, however, men called “mullahs” who are learned in the Islamic faith and law.

Religious Background

The tribes of Arabia, at the time of Mohammed’s birth (ca. 570 A.D.), were idol worshipers. They worshiped sacred stones and trees. The city of Mecca was their chief center of worship. At Mecca was located the sacred building called the “Kaaba.”

The Kaaba, according to tradition, was supposed to have been built by angels in the shape of a tent and let down to earth from heaven. It was here that Adam is said to have worshiped after his expulsion from paradise. Seth, it is said, substituted a structure of clay and stone in place of the tent. After the flood, Abraham and Ishamel reconstructed it. To this day Arabs believe that the footprints of Abraham and Ishamel can still be seen near the Kaaba. The present structure was entirely rebuilt in 1627. In November 1979 this structure was taken over by radical Moslems which in turn caused much unrest in many Moslem countries.

“Though Polytheism was the prevailing religion of Arabia, still there were in the land many followers of other beliefs.”(6) Many of the Jews, following the destruction of Jerusalem, were scattered throughout Arabia. Christians were also to be found. They, for the most part, “belonged to the various heretical sects which were expelled” from the Roman Church “during the violent doctrinal controversies of the fourth and fifth centuries.”(7) (Note: In the use of the term “Christians” I do not mean to imply that these were New Testament Christians. By this time, Roman Catholicism had just about reached its maturity. Thus, I use the term to refer to those that did believe in God and Christ as opposed to those that did not.) From the Jews, the Arabs were made acquainted with the “doctrine of the one sole God. From the numerous Christian converts dwelling among them they” learned some of the doctrines of Christianity.(8)

At the time of the birth of Mohammed “there was much religious unrest in Arabia. There were here many seekers after God, men who, dissatisfied with the old idolatry, were ready to embrace a higher faith.”(9) “Arabia had at” this time, “all the elements for a wild, warlike, eclectic religion like the one which” Mohammed established.(10)

The Life of Mohammed

Mohammed was born in Mecca about 570 A.D. He was born into the Hashim family which was a member of the Kuraish tribe. It was this tribe that was the hereditary guardians of the Kaaba. His father, Abdallah, died before he was born. His mother, Amina, died when he was six. Upon her death, an uncle by the name of Abu Talib took him in and raised him.

During the early part of his life, he traveled with his uncle and others that were associated with the caravan business. It was while on these journeys as a camel driver and trader that he came in contact with various Jews and Christians. These contacts were the primary source of Mohammed’s information concerning the beliefs of Judaism and Christianity.

When he was twenty-five years of age, he married a rich widow, Chadijah, who was fifteen years his senior. She had previously hired him to carry on the mercantile business of her dead husband. Her father was opposed to this marriage; but she made and kept him drunk until the marriage ceremony was complete. There were six children (two sons and four daughters) born to Mohammed and Chadijah. All died except one daughter named Fatima. After Chadijah’s death Mohammed married a number of women. Some say that he had as many as twelve wives at one time.

At the age of forty, Mohammed claimed to have received a revelation from the angel Gabriel. Gabriel, he states, ordered him to preach to the Arabs so that they might be brought to religious purity. These so-called “revelations” came to him gradually over the rest of his life. He became convinced that God was revealing the truth to him, having singled him out to be his messenger.

At first, he preached only to members of his family. Then he went to the people of Mecca. A few Meccans accepted his message; but the vast majority rejected him and his teaching. In fact, the opposition was so strong, that fearing for his life, he took his followers and went to the town of Medina. This flight to Medina became known as the “Hegira” (“flight”). Since, in the mind of Moslems, this was such an important event in the life of Mohammed, it was used as the starting point for the Moslem calendar; i.e. the year 622 A.D. became the year I.

The years spent in Medina were years of conquest and expansion for Mohammed. Medina was the location of a large Jewish colony. To those Jews who refused to accept him and his teaching it was either death, slavery or pay tribute to Allah. The choice was theirs. Philip Schaff states that “on one occasion he ordered and watched in person and massacre of 600 Jews in one day, while their wives and children were sold into slavery.”(11)

In about 630, Mohammed was able to return to Mecca and take the city with little or no force. Upon entering the city he went to the Kaaba and destroyed all the idols contained therein with the exception of a black stone which Moslems today still revere. He then dedicated the Kaaba to Allah.

Mohammed died in 632 A.D. At the time of his death almost all Arabia had accepted his teaching. In less than twenty years after his death, his religion had spread to Syria, Egypt, Lybia and most of the old Persian Empire. By the beginning of the 8th century it had spread along the shore of North Africa to the Atlantic. Between 711 and 1492 Islamic forces had control of Spain.

Mohammed “regarded his revelation as the confirmation of Hebrew and Christian scriptures, as a religion designed for all men, the perfection of both Judaism and Christianity, the final revelation and synthesis of God’s truth.”(12) “Initially,” he “assumed that Jews and Christians would recognize his preaching as the last and most perfect revelation of God’s will. For Allah, Mohammed believed was the same deity who had spoken to Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and all the other Hebrew prophets. Since Allah could not contradict himself, differences between Mohammed’s own revelation and the tenets of the older religions were explained simply as the result of human error or corruption of the authentic divine message.”(13) “By a combination of wise policies, toleration and force he converted many of the Bedouin tribes to his new religion.”(14)

The Islamic Standard of Authority

While Moslems believe that Allah revealed his will to Mohammed, and he in turn revealed it to man, they distinguish this revelation as being in two parts. One part consists of the sayings spoken by Gabriel directly to Mohammed. The other contains the sayings of Mohammed which give the sense of inspired instruction. These revelations are contained in two of the sources the Moslems go to for their authority; the Koran and the Sunna. In addition, to these two, Moslems also look to the Ulema.

The Koran is a collection of Mohammed’s teachings. These sayings and teachings were collected about a year after his death by his father-in-law, Abu-Bakr, and his immediate successor, Zoyd. The sayings had been written down on leather, parchment, bones, palm leaves, stones and boards. At the time of this collection the sayings and teachings were arranged without any chronological order or continuity of subject matter. Some years later the Koran went through a revision. Moslems believe the Koran to have been written from all eternity on tablets in heaven. From time to time, the contents of these tablets were revealed to Mohammed. He would then recite to his followers the revelation he received.

The Sunna consists of a great body of traditions of Mohammed’s sayings which are not part of the Koran; i.e. his actions, practices and decisions which have been handed down by his immediate companions. The first collection of these sayings was made some 100-200 years after the death of Mohammed. These traditions are regarded by the orthodox Moslems as being almost as sacred and authoritative as the Koran.

The Ulema was a body of pious men who met together to work out problems on which the Koran and Sunna could offer no direct guidance. In confronting a problem, they first went to the lore of Islam which contained reports about Mohammed’s uninspired words and deeds. This information was usually obtained from close companions of Mohammed. If this failed to provide a satisfactory solution to the problem, the Ulema considered the conduct of men closely associated with Mohammed; i. e., how would his close friends act in this situation. When these traditions failed to give a convincing answer, the Ulema turned to the use of analogy to decide upon a course of action; i.e. study a parallel or similar situation and see what was done in that case. If this failed, they fell back upon majority feeling, arguing that Allah would not allow the entire community to err, however faulty individual judgments might be. By using this system, these men of Islam rapidly built up an elaborate system of law, which they believed expressed the will of Allah.

The Sunni-Shiite Split

Moslems, following the death of Mohammed, disagreed over his successor. Eventually, Abu Bekr, his oldest companion and father-in-law, was chosen as “Caliph” (the representative of Mohammed). The next two Caliphs were also chosen from outside Mohammed’s family to the dismay of many Moslems. When the third Caliph was murdered (656 A.D.), those who favored choosing only a member of Mohammed’s family had formed themselves around Mohammed’s son-in-law, Ali. This group became known as the Shiites (sectarians). Those that opposed the Shiites and favored the election of any eligible person to the Caliphate were known as Sunnites. (traditionalists).

Ali was chosen Caliph, and as a result civil war broke out. Ali was murdered in 661. “His opponent Muawiya, of the Umayyad family, leader of Sunnites, had already proclaimed himself Caliph in Damascus. Thus began the Umayyad caliphate (660-750), which was on the whole a period of good government, brisk trade, and cultural advance under Byzantine influence. Shiite opposition to the Umayyads, however, remained strong. The Shiites felt it their duty to curse the first three caliphs, who ruled before their hero, Ali, and who were deeply revered by the Sunnites. The Shiites were far more intolerant of the unbeliever, conspired in secret against the government,and were given to self-pity and to wild outbursts of grief for Ali’s son Husein, who was killed in 680. Southern Iraq was then the center of Shiite strength.”(15)

“The Shiites believed in a continuing revelation expressed by new prophets who claimed to be descendants of Fatima, the daughter of Mohammed.”(16) The Ayatollah Khomeini is one of several Ayatollahs that belong to this sect. This is why “the Ayatollah views the world in black and white. One is either for him or against him. There is no middle ground. Believing that he is divinely inspired, Khomeini is certain he knows God’s will and sees no reason to negotiate or compromise. When things do not go as he expects, he blames a satanic plot.”(17)Most “of the Islamic world is Sunni Moslem and is embarrassed by Khomeini’s excesses in the name of Allah . . . Arab nations feel threatened by Iran’s Shiite fanaticism.”(18) 

Endnotes:

1. U.S. News and World Reports, 12/10/79, p. 27.

2. U.S. News and World Reports, 11/26/79, p. 33.

3. The Koran.

4. Mazour, Anatole and John M. Peoples, A World History: Men and Nations, p. 251.

5. Ibid., p. 253.

6. Myers, Philip Van Ness, Medieval and Modern History, p. 47.

7. Schaff, Philip, History of the Christian Church, Vol. IV, p. 159.

8. Myers, p. 47.

9. Ibid.

10. Schaff, p. 159.

11. Schaff, p. 165-166.

12. Brinton, Crane, John B. Christopher and Robert Lee Wolff, Civilization in the West, p. 202.

13. McNeill, William H., A World History, p. 205.

14. Mazour and Peoples, Men and Nations, p. 251.

15. Brinton, Christopher and Wolff, Civilization in the West, p. 204.

16. Cantor, Norman F., Medieval History: The Life and Death of a Civilization, p. 154.

17. U.S. News and World Report, 12/3/79, p. 26.

18. U.S. News and World Report, 11/26/79, p. 33.

Truth Magazine XXIV: 6, pp. 104-106
February 7, 1980