Truth Magazine

By Dan King

Recently I was both amused and informed as I ran across a tidbit of wisdom from a sage of the past. It seems that Sir Winston Churchill is credited with having offered this definition of a fanatic: “A fanatic is one who cant change his mind and wont change the subject.”

The more I read this little quotation, the more I thought of certain individuals whom I have met through the years. They fit this definition to a “T”. So, I quickly copied the quote down on the back of a business card in my wallet for future reference. Just this week I ran upon it again (this time in my wallet). Once more, I thought that the statement was filled with the wisdom borne of observation and experience. So, I thought it good to share it with you in this article. Several things are clearly true about fanaticism and the fanatics it spawns:

1. Fanatics Never Consider Themselves as Fanatical. Most always they think of themselves as zealots for some unnoticed and unappreciated cause. By dictionary definition a fanatic is one who “is marked by excessive enthusiasm and intense uncritical devotion” to some cause, position or per- I son. Devotion to a good cause is, of course, to be commend-ed. But two aspects of the definition of a fanatic make him unworthy of commendation. First, his enthusiasm is excessive. He becomes over zealous and extreme. Second, his devotion is uncritical of the object of his zeal. He is obsessed to such an extent that he is unreasonable and irrational.

Both these circumstances make him difficult to reason with and impossible to deal with. That group in early Christianity known as “Judaizers” fit this description exactly. In Acts 15, Luke informs us that they came down from Judea to Antioch, where Paul and Barnabas had experienced great success in reaching Gentiles for Christ. They dared to challenge Paul and Barnabas with a gospel which demanded circumcisim of Gentiles: “Except ye be circumcised after the custom of Moses, ye cannot be saved.” “No small dissention” is what erupted at Antioch after their spreading of this doctrine among the saints there. Evidently they claimed to represent the position of Jerusalem and its apostles, so Paul and Barnabas traveled there to stop the error at its source.

When they reached Jerusalem and rehearsed the specifics of their work among the Gentiles, Paul and Barnabas were immediately confronted by the factions: “But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees who believed, saying, It is needful to circumcise them, and to charge them to keep the law of Moses” (v. 2). If this is not a case of brazen fanaticism, I would not know one if it bit me! Imagine the gall of these men, who confronted the apostles of Christ, and had the audacity to put them on notice as to the terms of the gospel! These people did not see themselves as fanatics!

2. Fanatics Cannot Change Their Minds. Line up all of your arguments. Carefully put together your presentation. Make sure your logic is flawless. No matter! If you are dealing with a fanatic, he still will not change his mind. Remember, a fanatic can never be critical of the object of his devotion.

Paul makes mention of another experience that he had with fanatics in the second epistle to Timothy. He says (2:16ff.): “But shun profane babblings: for they will proceed further in ungodliness, and their word will eat as doth a gangrene: of whom is Hymenaeus and Philetus; men who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resurrection is past already, and overthrow the faith of some.” Of Hymenaeus (with a certain Alexander), he formerly wrote, “whom I delivered unto Satan, that they might be taught not to blaspheme” (1 Tim. 1:20). Even in the face of an apostle of Jesus Christ, these men could not change their minds! Is there any wonder that fanatical false teachers to-day are beyond the reach of Scripture, or good sense, or logic?

3. Fanatics Wont Change the Subject. In the past we have often made use of the term “hobbyist” to describe someone who, like a scratched record, does not seem capable of talking about other things than his favorite subject. The Christian system involves balance. A person is “well-rounded” in the New Testament sense only when he is capable of declaring, as Paul said he did, “the whole counsel of God” (Acts 20:27).

I remember a young fellow in his mid-twenties, saying once that he had been studying “the covering question” for ten years. This statement painted a portrait in my mind of a fifteen-year-old beginning a ten-year intensive investigation of all the Bible says about the covering (which would quite easily fit into one chapter of the Bible, and could be rigorously studied in a week!). How absurd! Again, I recall a man standing outside the local grocery store handing out tract materials to everyone who walked in the door. I took the tract and looked at it when I got inside. It was a poorly-printed and shabby document that decried the “Sunday school” and “located preacher” system in the churches of Christ and in denominationalism. This poor fellow was such a fanatic that he could not change the subject long enough to talk to these folks about the salvation of their souls  which is the first order of business for unbelievers and sectarians. But, once more, that is not at all surprising because fanatics wont change the subject!

Good People Can Fall Prey to Fanaticism. The sad fact is that even those who have the truth on certain issues at times become fanatical. A fanatic can do more harm than good, even though his heart is in the right place. He clumsily parades his favorite issue before all who will hear, regardless of the occasion or the appropriateness of the subject for the victim of his tirade. He shows no love or kindness or tact in his presentation, and in the end he makes it impossible for someone with skill later to reach that soul for Christ. Do not fall prey to fanaticism! It can be a soul-damning evil, if it chases people from before the gate of the kingdom of God (Matt. 18:6; Lk. 11:52).

Guardian of Truth XXXVII: 14 p. 20-21
July 15, 1993

By James W. Adams

Many times the charismatic personality and oratorical and rhetorical abilities of a speaker conceal the pernicious error implicit in that which he says, and multitudes are deceived. Conversely speaking, these same qualities often lessen the transforming influence of the gospel of Jesus Christ as it is taught and preached. Under such preaching, multitudes may “join the church,” but few are converted to Christ.

It is said that a person heard a world-famous evangelist and came away saying, “What a marvelous speaker!” Sometime thereafter, he heard a consecrated preacher of little fame preach in simple idiom, but with great conviction and sincerity, the story of the cross and came away saying, “What a wonderful Christ!”

This calls to mind a verse of a poem written by W.G. Elmslie which addresses the point of this article.

He held the lamp of truth that day

So low that none could miss the way;

And yet so high to bring in sight

That picture fair the World’s Great Light

That gazing up  the lamp between 

The hand that held it scarce was seen.

We should so teach the Word of God as to emphasize the message which it conveys and Him who is its author that the hearts of the hearers may embrace “the World’s Great Light.” The less they see of “the hand that holds it up,” the more impressive it will be.

However, let us not use these facts as an excuse for poorly prepared and slovenly delivered lessons or sermons. The lamp stand and the hand that holds it should be of such character as to display the Light, whether held “low” or “high,” to the best advantage so that its rays of redeeming light may shine clearly and powerfully to all who need it.

Guardian of Truth XXXVII: 14, p. 4
July 15, 1993

By Connie W. Adams

Those of us who travel a great deal in the work we do sometimes awaken in the morning and wonder exactly where we are. As I have watched the unfolding news of the past weeks, I have wondered, “What country is this? What is happening here?” In just a few days our government has launched an all-out drive to admit homosexuals into the military, abolish the law banning abortion counseling at federally funded clinics, and moved to admit aliens infected with AIDS, and other venereal diseases.

For several years the effects of humanism, hedonism, and blatant immorality have been more and more evident. But now it seems that all the brakes have failed and that we are on a downhill rush to destruction. “Righteousness exalts a nation but sin is a reproach to any people” (Prov. 14:34).

In Moscow But Not Here

A recent article in this publication by John Smith about work which he and others have done in Moscow and other former Soviet Union cities was thrilling. He told of standing in classrooms of students from elementary through the University of Moscow itself and teaching the Bible to interested students. Not only is that permitted there now, but teachers may be paid to teach the Bible in public schools. I thought, “How wonderful this is.” Then I was overcome with sadness to realize that we cannot do that in the United States. We can teach evolution here, but not creation. We can teach sexuality but without biblical morality. We can teach family relations but must include communal living, homosexuality and lesbianism as “alternate lifestyles.” We can teach “death education” but without spiritual values by which life and death must be considered. Peer pressure on our children from the products of broken homes who drink, use drugs, carry weapons, employ foul speech become the daily moral climate in which our children spend six to eight hours. Television, movies and much of the music of the day are mocking religion and righteousness and preaching moral anarchy.

David Posey of Huntington Beach, California reported recently in Lighthouse published by the church there, the results of a survey con-ducted by the Barna Research Group which was published in the October-November issue of Ministry Currents. If what is reported here is correct, then we have further evidence as to the reason many of the things mentioned here are happening. Absorb this if you can. Of those surveyed, 90 percent say they are “Christian.” 40 percent claimed to be “born again.” 51 percent believe the Bible is God’s word. 66 percent say there is no absolute truth. 63 percent cannot name the four gospels and 58 percent cannot name half of the 10 commandments.

If that figure “66 percent say there is no absolute truth” is correct, or anywhere close to it, that would explain our difficulty in leading people in this nation to obey the Lord. Let’s face it, brethren, we are a decided minority in this country of ours! Even among brethren, 1 am fully convinced there are many who have bought into the humanistic philosophy that there is no absolute truth. The way too many of us live shows evidence of compromising with the world around us. It shows in our speech, dress, attitudes and priorities. We have temporized with God’s design for the family. The notion of one man for one woman for life is an object of scorn in the world at large and rejection to suit our convenience even among us, and there are preachers aiding and abetting this onslaught on the sanctity of marriage. Role reversals in families are often found among those claiming to be Christians. Career women have fallen into the mold of the Feminist agenda and woe be to that preacher who has so little judgment as to say something about it! Classes and sermons on the family, citing basic Bible texts on the subject, sometimes lead to heated opposition. There are some elders and preachers wives who have been bitten by this humanistic bug.

But Wait a Minute!

The times are indeed changing. Dedicated Christians are a decided minority. But so were the small band of disciples called by our Lord to become “fishers of men.” The Graeco-Roman world chased after all sorts of vain philosophies. Knowledge of the true God was scant. Even the Jews who had the law and did know, were divided into warring sects and did not faithfully keep it. Have you read Romans 1:18-32 lately? Why don’t you stop right here and read it?

Atheism, idolatry, homosexuality, lesbianism and every sort of reprobate behavior were common place. Have you read I Corinthians 6:9-11 lately? Would you stop right here and read that again? This passage was addressed to people who were converted to the Lord from the moral degeneracy of the times. It was into such a world as this that the gospel message came and the church was born. That little handful of disciples constituted a lonesome minority against such an avalanche of evil.

Make no mistake! These times will sift the Lord’s people in this land. Some will prove to be chaff. But moral bankruptcy breeds hopelessness and despair. But man’s extremity becomes God’s opportunity. Who knows, my brethren, but that we are come to the kingdom for such a time as this. We have the saving message of the gospel to deliver souls caught in the malaise of sin. The gospel is still God’s power to save (Rom. 1:16). God still uses his people to teach the lost (2 Tim. 2:2). The church is still “the pillar and ground of the truth” (1 Tim. 3:15). Sin is a terrible task master. The burden it imposes is heavy. Sooner or later many who are so heavy laden will cry out for relief and deliverance. So, what are we waiting for? We can find a cave in which to hide as did the discouraged Elijah, or else we can stand up for Jesus and be light and salt in this increasingly ungodly society. We can whine or get to work. Which will it be?

Guardian of Truth XXXVII: 14, p. 3-4
July 15, 1993

By Norman E. Sewell

It isn’t a bit unusual to hear someone say to a child, “You’re just like your father,” and frequently this is said more in criticism than in praise. Neither is it unusual to hear someone say that a certain child is “a chip off the old block.” With both of these statements it isn’t normally the looks of the child that is being considered, but the actions which show him or her to be like their father or mother. It was with this in mind that Jesus talked with the Jews as recorded in John 8. He ended the discussion with them by saying, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do” On. 8:44). If the Jews were like their father the devil, who am I like? What do my actions tell about who I really act like? That is what the rest of this study is about.

As Jesus talked with these Jews he showed them, “You are from beneath; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world” On. 8:23). We learn in verse 30 that some of them believed in him and he said to them, “If you abide in my word, you are my disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” On. 8:31-32). But something about that statement made them reply to him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can you say, you will be made free” (v. 33). Were they Abraham’s descendants? Yes indeed, they were. Had they been in bondage?

They were, in one sense, in bondage at that very time, being under the domination of the Roman Empire, and the Jewish nation had been under the domination of the Greeks, the Medo-Persians, and before that the Babylonians. But Jesus was more concerned with another kind of bondage for he said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin” (v. 34). These Jews, just like many today, were indeed in bondage to sin. Even if every man quit sinning today he would still be in bondage to sin until through the Son he was made free from sin (vv. 35-36). Only the blood of Jesus can make us free from bondage to sin. At this point Jesus acknowledged that these Jews were physically the descendants of Abraham for he said, “I know that you are Abraham’s descendants, but you seek to kill me, because my word has no place in you. I speak what I have seen with my father, and you do what you have seen with your father” (Jn. 8:37-38). Then comes the real key to understanding Jesus’ teaching here. They replied to him, “Abraham is our father. Jesus said to them, If you were Abraham’s children, you would to the works of Abraham. But now you seek to kill me, a man who had told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this” (vv. 39-40).

If they were Abraham’s children, why didn’t they act like the one they claimed as their father? Instead, as we noted earlier Jesus said to them, “You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it” On. 8:44). Though most would not admit it, when we practice sin we are the servants of sin (Rom. 6:16; 1 Jn. 3:8). No matter that we may have at one time been baptized for the forgiveness of our sin, when we continue to practice sin our actions show who our real father is, and it is not God.

In these same verses, after Jesus had challenged their claim that Abraham was their father the Jews said, “We were not born of fornication; we have one Father God” (v. 41). And to this Jesus replied, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I proceeded forth and came from God; nor have I come of myself, but he sent me” (Jn. 8:42). There are certain actions that show that we are of God. Jesus shows this in one way in the Sermon on the Mount when he told his disciples and the multitudes, “You have heard that it was said, You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust” (Matt. 5:43-45). Or as John records in 1 John 4, “If someone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from him: that he who loves God must love his brother also” (vv. 20-21).

Brethren, our actions tell on us. And while we, like the Jews there in John 8, may claim to have God as our Father, when we act like the devil it would indeed be appropriate for our Lord to say to us, “You are just like your father,” and in this case mean the devil. After whom do you pattern your life? Can friends and neighbors see your life (your good works) “and glorify your Father in heaven” (Matt. 5:16)? Are you just like your father?

Guardian of Truth XXXVII: 14, p. 7
July 15, 1993