Truth Magazine

By Arthur W. Adams

A. few evenings ago I witnessed one of the most cunningly devised distortions of facts that I have ever seen. I saw “Beyond and Back,” a documentary movie which claimed to tell the stories of those who died and were restored to life. No doubt the gullible public will accept those flings’ presented as truth, further distorting their concepts of Bible truth. Lest any Christian be deceived by this farce, I would like to make a few observations about it.

The greatest fallacy of this production was the persistent redefining of “death.” It was difficult to determine whether clinical death or true death was being discussed at various points in the movie. Clinical death is the point at which man’s machines fail to register vital life signs. True death, as the Bible depicts it, is the separation of body and spirit (James 2:26). This event happens once, not twice. Hear the Hebrew writer, “It is appointed unto man once to die . . .” (Heb. 9:27). The only exception would be if a miracle was performed to raise the dead, but no miracle was claimed in this movie. Even if it had been, the claims would have been false, because the age of miracles has ended (consider 1 Cor. 13). I conclude, then, that these people were not truly dead.

The stories (presented as truth) told of those who were clinically dead seeing bright psychedelic lights and feeling they had left their bodies. Without exception these people were either in a state of shock or heavily drugged. Any person who has been high on drugs is able to tell the same story. Have we not all experienced similar feelings of seeing light flashes when we get up too fast or just before we faint? Lack of oxygen has a lot to do with this. When one is in a state of shock, either mild or severe, does he not experience a feeling like he is not sure he is himself? I have heard people in this condition say, “I don’t feel like this is me . . . I feel like someone else,” or “This isn’t happening to me.” These people were not anywhere near death, though. So, is it not reasonable to say that people who claim these “death” experiences were having their normal reflexes modified by drugs, shock, or even fear of death?

The really interesting thing about the movie was that people of all religions (Protestant, Catholic, Mohammedan, Buddhist and even Atheists) claimed to have had an experience with Deity. They were either sent back or allowed to come back to try again. Perhaps someone should tell the rich man of Luke 16:19-31 that God has now become a “respecter of persons” (see Rom. 2:11) and is giving some “dead” people a second chance. All of these in the movie claimed or implied approval by this Divine Presence. That denies everything God said about who is saved; baptism, the one true church, and even about having to believe on Jesus in order to have God’s approval (see in. 1:lfr; Matt, :16:18; Acts 2:38; Eph. 4:1-16, etc.). The people who claimed this have let their, imaginations and fantasies run away with them. God is no respecter of persons (Rom. 2:11) and He gives a second chance. Further, He gives no hope or comfort to those who pervert His teachings or follow false teachers (Matt. 15:13,14; Gal.1:6-10).

The movie further indicated, that disembodied spirits may go into a time warp or another dimension here on ‘earth with no reward or punishment except in cases of suicide. It would do anyone good to read Luke 16:19-31 if he really would like to know what happens to the dead. God says some are comforted, in Paradise (Abraham’s Epsom) and others are tormented in Hades. Every dead person is in one state or another and no one is in-between in a “time-warp.” Such ideas as a time warp or another dimension are as opposed to God’s word as darkness is to light.

The closest account of “Beyond and Back” which we have recorded in the Bible is found in 2 Cor. 12:1-5 where Paul seems to be speaking of himself. This is in connection with a special revelation to an inspired man in the days of special Divine intervention. (Those days are now past according to 1 Cor. 13:9-13.) The one told of in this passage did not know whether he was “in the body or out,” but he did know he was caught up into the third heaven. However, this man was forbidden to repeat his experience. The point is this: even if one does go beyond and back (which those in the movie did not) he cannot tell it, according to the Bible.

Shouldn’t the viewer, also, find it strange that those who claimed these experiences waited from a month to as late as 20 years to reveal them? How accurately can one relate an experience that occurred during sedation or shock? Is it not increasingly more difficult as months and years pass? Prejudices and superstitions are bound to color one’s thinking as he meditates on those things about which he is puzzled.

The producers left the impression that their evidence was absolutely irrefutable. As a Christian, I have no problem refuting such evidence. I am sure that many doctors, scientists arid psychologists will have no problem either. This movie was a thinly disguised attempt to approve any religion and any lifestyle. The message came across clearly. It was this: You will have nothing to fear about death and afterlife unless you commit suicide.

The Bible teaches no such thing as going beyond life and coming back. These producers have gone beyond the Bible and they had better get back to it before they face the Lord in judgment. We, as Christians, must remember this and not be taken in by cunningly devised fables which are designed to destroy our faith in the Bible!

Truth Magazine XXIII: 14, p. 226
April 5, 1979

By Don Martin

We shall be using the term “complex” rather loosely in this article. A simple definition of complex is, “The term for a psychological cause, hidden or repressed, having a strong influence on one’s character; an obsession (Webster’s National Dictionary). In our examination of some destructive complexes we shall not use the term altogether in keeping with psychiatry. As Christians, we should enjoy mental hygiene. Physically, people who experience complexes are mentally abnormal and, consequently, suffer mental imbalance. Many of these mental complexes virtually destroy people mentally and physically. This is also true spiritually. The complexes we shall consider can render the child of God fruitless, useless, and miserable.

Introvert Complex

Introversion is “a concentration on one’s inner life, to the exclusion of other interests.” Beloved, we cannot have a preoccupation with self and fulfill our obligations to God and our fellow-man. Christians are to “bear the infirmities of the weak,” “consider one another to provoke unto love and good works,” and “support the weak” (Rom. 15:1-3; Heb. 10:24; 1 Thess. 5:14). How can we perform the activities enjoined in these passages if we do not associate with others and allow them to associate with us?

Local churches on occasion experience problems because some are suffering from an “introvert complex.” For example, many who holler clique are blinded by this concentration on self-they do not allow or desire other members to associate with them and they resent other members associating one with another. God’s people are to be gregarious. We are to mix and mingle that we might influence one another for good (cf. Acts 2:47; Rom. 15:14; Acts 8:4; Heb. 10:24, 25).

Persecution Complex

Individuals who possess a “persecution complex” believe nobody likes or appreciates them. They think everybody is out to get them. Every word spoken, every plan contemplated is directed to their hurt, they believe. Because they think in this manner they frequently misjudge the deeds and motives of others (John 7:24). Many, when asked about their failing to attend the local church of which they are a member reply, “The members of that church could care less about me.” Or, “They had rather I didn’t attend; they resent my presence.”

Not infrequently, members who are characterized by this type of thinking are not only destroying themselves spiritually but are also a threat to the unity of God’s people. The paranoid member who does attend feeling everyone is out to get them, often seeks to destroy others. In many cases, you will find a “persecution complex” behind the gossip, lying, and malevolent deeds.

Inferiority Complex

I have personally known capable individuals who wasted their ability and potential because they felt they could not perform the task at hand. They were constantly belittling and castigating themselves. They actually believed that they had no worth and value. The person who suffers from what we call an inferiority complex believes he does not know enough to teach others, he is not good enough to associate with other Christians or he cannot encourage the weak because he feels he is weaker.

This type of thinking involves and results in fear which can cause one to lose one’s soul. The one talent man said, “I was afraid, and went and hid thy talent in the earth . . . .” (Matt. 25:25, all emphasis throughout mine, DM). John wrote, “but the fearful . . . shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone . . .” (Rev. 21:8). Beloved, you are not “inferior” to any; you too were created in the image of God (Gen. 1:26)!

Narcissus Complex

In Greek mythology, Narcissus was a youth who one day saw his reflection in a pool of water. Upon seeing his reflection he fell in love with it and suffered because it was unattainable. Hence, a Narcissus complex is excessive self love.

Paul in writing of the last days stated, “For men shall be lovers of their own selves . . .” (2 Tim. 3:2). Presently, many aliens are not leaving the world because of self-love; they will not deny self (Lk. 9:23). Confessedly, some members of Christ’s body are so in love with themselves that they are puffed up and living simply to satisfy their own desires (1 Cor. 10:31-33).

Anxiety Complex

Doctors are informing us that anxiety contributes to, everything from tooth decay to cardiovascular disorders. Worry drains us and can kill us physically and spiritually. Yet, we go on worrying over every little thing. Some worry so much that they have developed an “anxiety complex.” Notwithstanding, Jesus taught, “Take therefore no thought (do not worry) for the morrow . . .” (Matt. 6:34). Paul exhorted, “In nothing be anxious: but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God” (Phil. 4:6, ASV).

Conclusion

Concerned reader, we must watch and be aware of our thinking and mental status because, “For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he,” (Prov. 23:7). Many fail to become Christians and some who are Christians are fruitless and unproductive because of the distructive complexes herein set forth.

Truth Magazine XXIII: 13, pp. 219-220
March 29, 1979

By Ron Halbrook

The man of sin, the spirit of lawlessness, knows no bounds. The Lord Himself promised all spiritual blessings to those who receive them upon certain conditions given in the Bible, but lawless brethren sit in the seat of God extending God’s grace to those who set aside the revealed conditions for grace. Ron Durham, Mission Magazine editor, welcomed the newly elected Roman Catholic Pope as an inspiration to “other Christians”: “Perhaps the new Roman Catholic leader’s personal synthesis will inspire other Christians to search anew for this balance in their own lives and their own fellowship” (Mission, Sept., 1978, p. 2). Another writer in the same issue challenges us to take the Lord’s Supper, discerning “the body of Christ” which includes liberal and- conservative, literalist and non literalist, Catholic and Protestant, Baptist and “Church-a Christ” (p. 14). Editor Durham is also on record affirming that people in many other religious bodies “are on the Highway to Heaven” (Jan., 1977, p. 22).

One of the featured concepts in Integrity has been the Christians-in-all-denominations idea. The editor, Hoy Ledbetter, has allowed some debate but is clearly in favor of this doctrine. Thomas Lane of Cincinnati, Ohio, offered his “Conservative Basis for Open Membership,” arguing, “In the case of one immersed for the wrong reason, his spirit of obedience suffices to save him. This principle may be expanded” to include those who receive sprinkling or pouring (Sept., 1976, p. 40). In the January-February, 1977 issue Daniel Griggs asserted, “The question of immersion and fellowship is not answered by the Bible” and, therefore, offered “Another Appeal for an Ecumenical Membership Policy” (pp. 101-2). Editor Ledbetter recently complained of our “refusal to acknowledge that those in the sects are Christians” (January-February, 1978, p. 120). R.L. Kilpatrick’s Ensign Fair has been singing the same song, as in Douglas Plaster’s “Something to Think About,” advocating “fellowship with Christians from other groups” Methodist, Presbyterian, Baptist, and Christian Church. “Brothers in error,’ many will shout. Well yes, are we not all brothers in error?” (November 1978, pp. 16-18).

When Mission asked what should parents attending “legalistic” churches tell their children, Dave Reagan of Irving, Texas, answered that his responses to the problem have changed over the years:

To his kids’ statement, “Daddy, we really picked a bummer of a church” he would have replied, fifteen years ago: “Child, you are grounded for a month, and 1 expect you to go forward next Sunday and ask the church to pray for you.” Ten years ago:

“The Church of Christ is a human institution and therefore (t is flawed. But this is true .even more of the denominations . . . . Five years ago: “Yes, child, you are right. But God must have put us here for a reason, so let’s dedicate ourselves to serving him by reforming the church as much as possible.” And today: “Why don’t you visit other denominations and try to find one that speaks more directly and relevantly to your spiritual needs?” (August, 1978, p. 15)

Five years hence, perhaps his remaining children will ask, “What was it like, Daddy, when you used to take us to the Church of Christ?” At any rate, the Bible does still say, “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mk. 16:16). And, the denominations still teach, “He that is baptized in infancy is saved, and may believe at confirmation service when he is 12 years old,” or, “He that believeth is saved, and shall be baptized to join the church of his choice.” But, Ephraim is hopelessly joined to idols along with the Pope and “other Christians” who show the “spirit of obedience” through disobedience.

Which Disturbs You Most?

Someone compiled a list of comparisons which might reveal where our real interests lie. Jesus said, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matt. 6:21). Which disturbs you most?

A soul lost in hell, or a scratch on your new car?

Your missing worship services, or missing a day’s work?

A sermon 10 minutes too long, or your lunch a half-hour late?

The church work neglected, or your housework neglected?

Missing a good Bible study, or missing your favorite TV program?

Millions who do not know Christ, or your inability to keep up with your neighbors?

Your Bible unopened, or your newspaper unread?

Your contribution decreasing, or your income decreasing?

Which disturbs you most, and what are you going to do about it?

To which we might add this one: The continued march of bureaucracy and centralization in American government, or the continued march of institutionalism and centralization among churches of Christ? Which of these two disturbs you most, and what are you going to do about it? If we cannot convert our erring brethren to do right, we must separate from them lest we share in sin and its reward (2 Cor. 6:14-18; Eph. 5:11; 2 John 9-11). When Ephraim is joined to his idols and refuses to turn back to the Lord, we can only leave him alone.

Is A Denomination Evolving?

The Third Annual “Spiritual Sword” Lectureship held by the Getwell Church of Christ in Memphis, Tennessee centered around the need of “Doctrinal Preaching” (22-26 October, 1978). The “Spiritual Sword” is a publication put out by Getwell in an effort to hold back the tide of liberalism. The lectureship included a “Spiritual Sword” Dinner (“Cost of Meal Reasonable”), with Ralph Henley speaking on “Is a Denomination Evolving Out of the Lord’s Church?” No doubt, Henley said something like, “Yes!” When the Getwell church puts out a journal and charges a subscription price, sponsors a common meal, charges for the meal, uses Ray Hawk – defender of church sponsored social activities – as a speaker, invites Willard Collins -David Lipscomb College’s President who wants colleges in church budgets – to lecture, has V.E. Howard – speaker for the centralized sponsoring-church radio program World Radio – to, preach, and features Tom Warren – who participated in a debate with an atheist under a sponsoring church arrangement which paid the atheist to come – on its lectures, yes by all means a denomination is evolving. Right here at Getwell!” In the shadow of its idols, Ephraim held a lectureship to ask, “Is Idolatry Evolving In Ephraim?”

Truth Magazine XXIII: 13, pp. 218-219
March 29, 1979

By Earl Robertson

Often we are asked this question. Mere established practices often become the norm for many religious activities. But the fact of their existence is not sufficient authority to make them right before God. The history of sprinkling covers many centuries, but it does not go back to the apostles of Christ in the first century or to anything written in the Book of God. Mere assertion by some preacher does not make sprinkling for baptism scriptural baptism. Neither does sprinkling become baptism by just calling it that.

The Bible says baptism is a burial (Rom. 6:3-5; Col. 2:12). Is it correct to say what the Bible says? Is it right to call Bible Things by opposing words? The testimony of the so-called”Fathers,” the testimony of the historians, and the lexicographers, all attest to the fact that baptism is a burial and that this what the early church did. For convenience, sprinkling was substituted in the third century in the case of Novation, according to Eusebius’ Ecclesiastical History (p. 266). The Council of Revenna (1311) gave men the choice between sprinkling and immersion. No apostle of Christ ever gave such a choice, not did Christ Himself.

But someone says, “What about the `household baptisms’?” They mean by this that the jailer had little babies and they were sprinkled. There is no way to prove this man had even children must less infants. Even if we granted he did (which we do not), the proof for sprinkling is still lacking. What evidence can be offered to show this was a case of sprinkling?

Well, another says, “there wasn’t any water in the desert when the eunuch was baptized, so it had to be sprinkling with his own drinking water.” First, the word “desert” in Acts 8:26 does not mean dry or arid; it here means, “solitary, lonely, desolate, uninhabited” (Thayer, p. 249). The same word is, used (in dative case) in Isa. 43:19 of “rivers in the desert.” Because a place is deserted one cannot conclude it is also arid! But this nonsense is the length to which men will go to justify their religious practices.

Since neither Christ nor His apostles authorized sprinkling for baptism, and none practiced it for centuries, we conclude yet today that baptism is a burial (Rom. 6:3, 4).

Truth Magazine XXIII: 13, p. 217
March 29, 1979