Truth Magazine

By Ronny E. Hinds

One Old Testament story that has always interested me is found in 2 Chronicles 34. It involves the finding of “the Book of the Law of the Lord given by Moses.” Obviously, it must have been lost! Implied in this is the carelessness and indifference of the people. They had allowed it to become lost.

We are exceedingly careful with the things we treasure and usually they do not get lost. Antiques, family heirlooms, old faded cards with loving messages inscribed, locks of baby’s hair, photographs of past generations, these are the items we pass from generation to generation with love and sentimentality. That is the way we are and that is the way it should be.

If that is the way we are with “this world’s goods,” then what should be our attitude toward God’s inspired book the Bible. The answer is simple. It should be treasured beyond all treasures. Never should we become so careless as to “lose it.”

In a world filled with Bibles, that would seem to be impossible. And, I guess that is right, physically – that is; we can always find a copy somewhere. Yet, what good does it do to hold a copy in our hands and fail to allow its words (teachings) to direct our lives. It might as well be lost!

A significant part of the story of 2 Chronicles is when they found it they “read it. ” An even more significant act was when the king “heard it” he realized the conduct of Israel and Judah was not acceptable to God and he set about to correct it. That is exactly what God’s words are designed to do. They are to be read, listened to, obeyed! They are to correct our false ways. They are to bring redemption and salvation to us.

We must learn from this that it does no good to have Bibles if we do not read them. They might as well be lost. And, it does no good to read them if we are not willing to do what they say. They might as well be lost. Living in a house with Bibles stacked to the ceiling will not change this. Is your Bible lost?

Guardian of Truth XXXIII: 11, p. 335
June 1, 1989

By H.E. Phillips

As parents, do you believe you must give account to God for the training of your children? Do you believe it will have anything to do with your eternal destiny? Do you believe it is possible for you to rear your children in the chastening and admonition of the Lord? What is your present attitude toward rearing your children? These are very challenging questions for every father and mother and they must be addressed.

It is important to use time in the most profitable way. Parents have approximately twenty years to develop, teach, train, and prepare a child for adulthood and eternity. To fail at either is to make a grievous mistake that will have disastrous consequences in both time and eternity. It is therefore of the most serious importance that parents begin with the birth of the child to use these twenty years to complete the greatest task they can undertake.

When Should Parents Begin to Teach Their Children?

Many traits of character and habits begin with the first weeks after birth. Every child goes through these stages: infancy, babyhood, childhood, adolescence and adulthood. In every stage there are special things to teach and emphasize. Through these stages the child is continually changing, accordingly, the things taught and the method of teaching must change. Many important things should be said on this subject, but space prohibits further discussion at this time.

Parents must learn the needs of their children early and adapt the substance taught with the best method for the child’s disposition and age level. Successful teaching requires understanding, patience, vigilance, persistence, determination, and a lot of faith and prayer. Good parents will teach the important things over and over again through these years of development, and with greater intensity as the child matures. The early years are vital to proper development of character, disposition and obedience, and are the stepping stones to a strong faith in God and his word.

How Should Parents Teach Their Children? ‘

The place to begin is with a genuine love for the child and his welfare. The inspired apostle Paul said that even if he had the speech of angels, and the understanding, knowledge, and faith to move mountains, and sacrificed his body to be burned, and had not love, he was nothing (1 Cor. 13:1-3). This love does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; it suffers long. A child knows when he is loved and when he is not. This is true of all of us. I can tell when a brother or sister does not love me, even though he smiles and says nice things.

The love that parents should have for their children will be kind and longsuffering. That does not mean that parents should be compromising with truth or tolerate disobedience. Discipline is necessary in expressing true love. “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth” (Heb. 12:6). Firm, just, and fair discipline, administered with love for the child, is essential to the child’s good, and parents rob their children when it is not lovingly, justly and impartially given to every child. The real problem with discipline is that often parents lack the love, patience and understanding of the child’s need. The physical and emotional abuse of children results from the unjust, impatient and ignorant discipline by parents.

Unselfishly giving to the children the necessary things of life. The Father of lights gives us every good and perfect gift from above (Jas. 1:17). Parents owe their children so much in preparing them for life here and hereafter. Children know when parents give them the leftovers of their time and energy. Parents should give some prime time to their children. They should talk to them often about things that are important to them. Show a genuine interest in their problems as well as their goals and aspirations.

Parents must do their best to provide their children with food, clothing, shelter, education and other necessities of life. If one does not provide for his own, and that includes his children, he has denied the faith and is worse than an infidel (1 Tim. 5:8). If you stop to think about this statement, the one who does not provide for his own house, has denied the faith and is worse than an infidel. Such a person will certainly not go to heaven!

What Do Parents Teach Their Children?

The physical condition of your child depends upon what you feed him and how he exercises. The same is true of his mental, emotional and spiritual being.

The most important thing you can put into the mind of your child is the Word of God. Respect for it as the only standard of right and wrong must become as much a part of your child’s life as his awareness of his own personal needs. When children know and believe the Bible, they will understand the importance and place of true love (1 Cor. 13), the real meaning and purpose of life (1 Pet. 3:10-12), the place and importance of law (Jas. 1:22-27; Gal. 6:2), and the strength and anchor of the hope of eternal life (Rom. 8:24,25; Tit. 1:2; 1 Jn. 2:25).

Teach your children to pray every day, and to expect God to hear and answer their prayers for their good and God’s glory. Teach your children to seek truth and right, and to shun evil and evil companionship (1 Cor. 15:33). Do this on every level of their lives. Teach them that they will reap what they sow (Gal. 6:7,8). Teach them to have responsibility from early age. Teach.them good manners and respect for others and their property. Teach them to honor their parents (Eph. 6:2,3). Teach them to have respect for themselves, their minds and bodies, and to have good conscience in all things.

Teach your children about sex and its place in their lives. Instill in their hearts the evils and consequences of fornication, adultery and homosexuality. Teach them the dangers and consequenc s of premarital sex. Teach them about drugs, alcohol and tobacco and their destructive power. Teach them about the danger of yielding to peer pressure. Teach them the importance of selecting their companions.

Teach your children obedience from childhood; this is very important for them to go to heaven (Eph. 6:1; Col. 3:20; Rom. 1:30-32; 2 Tim. 3:45). Disobedience involves several things which are condemned in the word of God. It means to despise authority; to be stubborn. It means to be unthankful (Rom. 1:21), which is a dangerous attitude. It means to be unholy (1 Tim. 1:9). It is without natural affection (Rom. 1:31); implacable: unreconcilable. It is characteristic of children of hell (Jude 3; Rom. 1:26). Most people do not include all of this in disobedience, but it involves all because it is motivated by a mind that will not submit to authority, but walks by one’s own will and sensual appetites. Children must be taught obedience all their lives, and must learn that they are to teach this to their children.

There are three main areas your child needs to be developed:

1. Prepare them to serve God. No phase of your child’s life is more important than his spiritual life. Fail at this, and a soul is lost in eternity. Your child must be taught the word of God so that he becomes a Christian. A great ball player, lawyer, doctor, teacher, is a failure if he is not a Christian because life is short and eternity never ends (Jas. 4:13). It is not enough to be just a Christian, he must be a true wor shipper of God (Jn. 4:22-24). Children should be taught to have the love and desire to evangelize the world.

2. Prepare them for marriage and parenthood. The serious problem of divorce in this age attests to the failure of parents to prepare their children for this very important part of their lives. Most of your children will select a mate and marry at some time in the future. The teaching and training of your children will assure the care and teaching of your grandchildren (2 Tim. 1:5). Teach your son and daughter how to select a mate and how to be good husbands and wives. Teach your children how to be good parents to teach their children the right things and prepare them for life and eternity.

3. Prepare them for this life with success. Every child needs direction and encouragement in becoming a good citizen. Obedience to civil law is obedience to God’s law (Rom. 13:1-5; 1 Pet. 2:13,14). Not only must parents tell the child how to be an honest and submissive citizen, but they must show them by being good citizens themselves. Children and teenagers need strong teaching and supervision in this area of their lives.

Children must be provided with education and skills to prepare them for the business world. They must be taught to have good and honest attitudes toward work and money.

Children must be taught to honor their fathers and mothers (Eph. 6:2). Honor means to hold in high regard. It also means to provide for their needs when they are old. They should also learn to show piety at home and to requite their parents (1 Tim. 5:4). Parents should so conduct themselves during the lifetime of the children as to be honored and respected by them while they are young and when they are grown.

Guardian of Truth XXXIII: 12, pp. 354, 390
June 15, 1989

By Foy W. Vinson

After the death of my mother in October 1981, my father wrote a loving and moving tribute in memory of her which was read at her funeral and published in some of the papers thereafter. Now with the passing of my father I thought it appropriate to pen a tribute to him in view of the life he lived and the fact that he was known and respected by so many. It has been said with tongue in cheek that, in view of the tremendous impact that parents have on children, both physically and spiritually, one should select his father and mother very carefully. Of course, one is not afforded the luxury of such a choice; however, had I been so afforded, I could have not have made a better choice than those who gave me life and reared me to manhood.

Dad was born to a poor farmer and his wife, John H. and Dolly Vinson, in Sand Flat, a community a few miles south of Grand Saline in Van Zant county, Texas on July 5, 1906. Shortly thereafter the family moved to the Danville community, a few miles southwest of Longview. Following this there were brief moves to West Texas and to Oklahoma as my grandfather struggled to scratch out a living where the opportunities seemed best. Finally the family returned to the Longview area, this time settling in the Peatown community where my dad completed his youth. As a young man he also farmed and his sister said he was one of the best at successfully bringing in the crops.

Dad was baptized into Christ in the summer of 1922 by John W. Hedge. The baptism took place in a small creek in Danville that had to be dammed up to collect sufficient water for immersion. He first began to preach in 1929, speaking a few times at the church in Longview. Brother Hedge and brother John W. Akin were instrumental in getting him to begin preaching. Public speaking did not come easy for this young farm lad and I can remember my mother speaking of how nervous he was in his early attempts, even to the point of trembling. His first “meeting” was a weekend affair in Kosse, Texas beginning on a Friday evening in December of 1929 and running through Sunday night. It was on that Friday evening, December 6, that he saw for the first time the young lady that was to become my mom. As he said: “I was first attracted to her by her physical beauty, the most beautiful eyes I ever saw; but I loved her, and love her still, for her inner beauty, her spiritual character.”

That meeting led to an exchange of letters and four or five trips back to Kosse for purposes other than preaching. The following summer they were married on July 30, 1930. Shortly after the marriage Dad lost his government job of tick eradication (cattle dipping). In the meantime, due to the depression, hordes of people were out of work, but along about that time east Texas was blessed with the discovery of oil. This resulted in a considerable influx of people into the area and the Longview Post Office began giving tests for positions. Dad took the test and was the first local resident during that period who was employed out of some 200 who took the test. He went to work for 75 cents an hour and continued working for the post office the next twenty years. I was born in early 1932 and my brother Bryan made his arrival in July of 1934. During the years of my childhood and almost until my last -year of high school Dad continued to preach with considerable regularity and also served for a time as an elder in the Longview church.

I remember as a small boy and young man often going with him on Sundays to such places as Athens, Mineola, Big Sandy and Hallsville where he would preach, sometimes for rather extended periods. Those years were very formative for Dad as a Bible student and preacher. He would work long hard hours delivering mail for the Post Office and then spend hours each evening pouring over his Bible and various religious books. He was a voracious reader, and next to the Scriptures he delighted in reading and imbibing eagerly from restoration literature, especially the writings of Campbell and Lard.

In the spring of 1948 Dad left the Post Office and moved to Dallas to begin his first “full-time local work.” A year and a half later he moved back to Longview, not convinced that local work was what he wanted to do, and returned to his Post Office job. However, he was clearly not happy back there, so he returned to Dallas in 1950 and for a time spent his time conducting meetings. In 1951 he moved to Denton and preached for the Pearl Street church there. Then in the spring of 1953 he began work with the Norhill church in Houston and said later that this was the most enjoyable local work he ever had. In 1956 he moved to Tulsa to work with a new congregation and then returned to Longview in September 1957 to preach for the newly formed church meeting on Judson Road. He was with them for some three years, after which he retired from local preaching and remained in the Longview area until his death.

My dad was a unique man in many ways – anyone who ever heard him preach would grant me that. He was a stem, but loving, father whom I feared but dearly loved from my earliest recollections. He was a most devoted husband who never ceased to remind Bryan and me of what a loving and sacrificial mother we had. As a teacher and preacher of the Word he was indeed exceptional. He was no scholar in the formal sense of the term, his formal education being limited to about a year of college due to his circumstances, but he was a scholar in the true sense of the word. He knew the book! He said that when he first began to preach he would memorize fifty or sixty verses of Scripture for each sermon. He later said that this was not the way to preach, that there is a difference between “quoting” and preaching. He thought some preachers put so many Scriptures in their sermons they had little time to actually preach. His vocabulary was incredible, but it was not pretense or used simply to impress. He didn’t write one way and speak another. This was just Dad. His long sentences and big words were such as he had learned from pouring over the writings of Campbell and others, and though he challenged his hearers with what he had to say and the way he said it, he could be understood and doing so was always worth the effort!

I have heard it said that when an old person dies it is like a small library burning down. In my father’s case it was more like a large one burning down. I never ceased to marvel at the storehouse of information which he so readily drew from up to his last days. I often thanked my heavenly Father for my earthly one, and now I’m so grateful for his completed life, for the heritage he left me that is beyond my aptitude to describe. I’m thankful that he has now “crossed the bar,” that he has gone to be with his Lord, and that as good as his life was here, it is now “far better.”

Guardian of Truth XXXIII: 11, p. 343
June 1, 1989

By Mark Mayberry

Why do we believe? What is the basis of Christian faith? This is the most fundamental issue I can think of. The Bible says, “Without faith it, is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him ” (Heb. 11:6). Furthermore, 2 Corinthians 5:7 says “we walk by faith” and Hebrews 10:38 says “the just shall live by faith. ” Obviously, it is crucial that we have a proper concept of Christian faith.

Just what is meant, by “faith”? One of the definitions given for “faith” in the Random House Dictionary is “‘confidence or trust in a person or thing.”(1) The same basic definition also applies in the original language. The Greek word pistis, translated “faith,” occurs 244 times in the New Testament. Arndt and Gingrich say the word describes that “trust” and “confidence” we have that is directed toward God and Christ, their revelations, teachings, promises, their power and readiness to aid.(2) It is defined by W.E. Vine as “primarily, firm persuasion, a conviction based upon bearing, and is used in the N.T. always of faith in God or Christ, or things spiritual.”(3) Thayer defines “faith” as .”conviction of the truth of anything, belief . . . in the N.T. of a conviction or belief respecting man’s relationship to God and divine things, generally with the included idea of trust and holy fervor born of faith and conjoined with it . . . a. when it relates to God, pistis is the conviction that God exists and is the creator and ruler of all things, the provider and bestower of eternal salvation through Christ.”(4)

Consider the inspired description of faith that is found in Hebrews 11:1. The King James Version renders this passage, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. “There are a number of different translations of this passage, but perhaps the most accurate is from the American Standard Version: “Now faith is assurance of things hoped for, a conviction of things not seen.”

Faith is the confidence or assurance of things hoped for. The Greek word translated “substance” (KJV) or “assurance” (ASV, NASV) refers literally to “something that stands under,” such as the foundation, or substructure of a building.(5) What about the, original word rendered “evidence” (KJV) or “conviction” (ASV, NASVP This term would commonly be used in a court of law. “It refers to an argument of disproof or refutation; it is used of cross-examining someone with a view to establishing evidence. It refers also to the basis on which a person is convicted.”(6) In what sense is faith the conviction of unseen realities? “The thought would seem to be that as, for example, the eyes prove certain acts in the visible world, so faith enables one to Act with a view of facts in the higher, invisible realm. . . Faith is the full assurance and inner conviction that gives men the power to stake their lives on unseen realities.”(7)

Thus faith is the very foundation of Christianity. It is the bedrock of a life of obedience. If faith is absent, spirituality cannot exist, and hope is doomed to crumble. Faith is the fundamental principle of the religion of Christ. Yet, a great many people who consider themselves Christians don’t really understand what faith is, or at least how it comes. What is the source of faith? – There are three distinct approaches to this issue, and each affects our basic concept of religion. Two of these ideas are without any scriptural foundation, and yet their acceptance is widespread. Our faith must be firmly grounded. If our foundation is faulty, it’s unlikely that the structure we build on it will be strong.

A. Is Faith Based On An Emotional Experience?

Many teach that you must have some kind of experience in order to believe. Our Pentecostal friends affirm that faith is based on some kind of physical sensation or feeling, an emotional experience, something that you see or hear. They look for a vision; they listen for a still small voice’ some even claim to have seen Jesus. These experiences constitute the basis of their faith.

Yet when we examine the description of faith, we find that “faith is assurance of things hoped for, and a conviction of things not seen.” The concept that you must have an emotional experience in order to believe is a denial of the basic nature of Christian faith. That’s not faith at all: it is knowledge or experience. If you see Jesus, you have knowledge instead of faith. One day faith will become sight and hope will be realized (1 Cor. 13:13), but for now, “we walk by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7).

Consider the man who is a charismatic assembly where emotions run high and everybody is praying, singing, chanting and “speaking in tongues.” This man wants to be saved. He’s been told that if he doesn’t have an experience, he will be lost. Getting down on his knees in prayer, he works himself up to a fever pitch. What eventually happens? He sees. The man has an experience that is very real to him. Did God do it? I think not. The highly emotional’setting led to his experience. This demonstrates the extraordinary power of suggestion, not the power of God.

In such cases, the rational process that God has ordained for the production of faith is no longer effective. New Testament faith was based on a careful consideration of the evidence. For example, the disciples at Berea were praised because “they received the word with great eagerness examining the Scriptures to see whether these things were so” (Acts 17:11, NASV). However, you don’t reason with a person who has “seen.” You can talk to him all day long and not get anywhere. Quoting passages to refute his erroneous stance doesn’t faze him. His faith will not be affected by any sort of contrary evidence, no matter how strong. He believes that faith is based on some emotional experience. He’s had that, therefore the reasons don’t matter. He is intransigent and closed-minded. He is going to believe, regardless! This is not Bible faith: this is blind faith!

Ai the heart of the issue is a misconception concerning the nature of faith and how it is attained. The thing to do is to go back and study the New Testament and see how the early Christians came to believe.

B. Is Religion Based On A “Leap of Faith”?

Some of the more liberal denominations say that faith has no rational basis. They reject the inspiration of the Scriptures, the doctrine of miracles, the Genesis account of creation, the deity of Christ, the atoning death of Christ, etc. However, they still claim to believe in God. Some think that logic and reason can be found in one corner, and Christianity stands in another. If a person believes, he does so in spite of the evidence, with no rational basis for his conviction. Supposedly, the stronger your faith is in something that is irrational, the better Christian you are. Despite the fact that this is a commonly accepted view, it has nothing to do with biblical faith.

The facts do not mean much to this individual because he did not arrive at faith on the basis of the evidence. He was taught that in order to believe, he must ignore the evidence. He feels virtuous in believing the unbelievable. You come with facts to alter his position and he has no problem at all in disregarding them. He thinks that is what faith is all about.

H.L. Mencken (1880-1956), the famous American writer, editor and critic, said, “Faith may be defined briefly as an illogical belief in the occurrence of the improbable.”(8) This is not an adequate definition for New Testament faith, but it accurately describes the “faith” of those who have lost faith. This kind of faith could be defined as “willful belief.” It involves making a decision to believe without compelling reasons for doing so. The reasons for believing often have nothing to do with the logic of the matter; it may be comforting, socially advantageous, or simply easier to accept some position than to think and reason. The person who is a member of some political party simply because his family has always been a member of the party demonstrates this kind of faith. The person who is a member of the church simply because his family was “Church of Christ” demonstrates this kind of faith.

The dictionary definition of prejudice comes very close to this concept. To be prejudiced is to accept a conclusion without the evidence, or before you hear the evidence. Intellectual dishonesty is holding to a position in spite of contradictory evidence. I don’t believe that we walk by prejudice as children of God. Unfortunately it is a pretty good description of the conviction of some people.

C. Is Faith Based on Weighing the Evidence?

As we look to the NT, we clearly see the biblical concept of faith. John states, “Many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life through his name” (Jn. 20:30,31). Paul also wrote, “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God” (Rom. 10:17).

For faith to be of any value, it must be based on evidence. This, in fact, is the nature of biblical faith. It is rational and reasonable. In considering an issue, we should give a fair-minded and objective evaluation of all sides. After a forthright assessment, we should go with whichever side has the most evidence. This attitude reflects a love for truth. It demonstrates a respect for the facts above whatever prejudices we may hold.

This kind of faith could be described as “an hypothesis based upon evidence.” Here there is evidence. There may not be enough evidence to prove the matter beyond any shadow of a doubt. However, the evidence is still powerful and compelling. For the sake of illustration, this is how we believe that there was a man named Napoleon. Look at the testimony of historians. View the paintings by those who saw him. Consider his impact upon history. When the evidence is weighed, we conclude that it is more reasonable to believe than to disbelieve. It would be foolish not to believe in Napoleon because the evidence is overwhelming!

What about our view of man’s origin? First, we must recognize that neither evolution nor creation can be scientifically proven. The scientific method is based on observation, testing and repeatability, and neither of these philosophies can be so examined. Evolution and creationism are both theories, or more specifically hypotheses, since neither can be reproduced in a laboratory. An hypothesis is “a proposition, or set of propositions, set forth as an explanation for the occurrence of some specified group of phenomena, either asserted merely as a provisional conjecture to guide investigation (working hypothesis) or accepted as highly probably in the light of established facts.”(9) Since neither explanation can be proven, both are accepted by faith. However, the important question is this: which hypothesis fits the facts better with fewer secondary assumptions? A rational and unbiased examination of all the evidence (biblical, scientific and moral) points to Divine Creation as the best explanation of man’s origin.

God has not left himself without witness! New Testament faith has a rational foundation. It is based upon the testimony of the creation (Psa. 19:1; Rom. 1:20; Acts 14:17), upon the unity and consistency of the Bible, upon the purity of its ethics, upon its relevance to human needs, upon the historical trustworthiness of the Bible, upon the scientific accuracy of the Bible, upon the evidence of fulfilled prophecy (2 Pet. 1:19), upon the life, death and resurrection of Jesus, upon the signs and wonders that confirmed the word (Heb. 2:3-4), upon the eye-witness testimony of the apostles (Acts 2:32).(10)

Belief in the existence of God cannot be absolutely proved. No man has seen God. He cannot be put in the test-tube and examined. Yet, the evidence is compelling! An open minded consideration of the issue can lead to only one conclusion. Faith! It is demanded by the evidence. It is more reasonable to believe than to disbelieve.

Conclusion

What kind of problems do we see in the body of Christ today? Do you know Christians who sit around and do nothing? Who will not teach? Who are weak and feeble? Who are not right with God and you can’t do anything about it? Who don’t have the courage to stand for the Lord? A lack of faith, or at least a misconception of its basic nature, is at the root of those problems.

We need to apply what the inspired writer was talking about in Hebrews 5:12. He said, “For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God, and are become such as have need of milk, and not ofstrong meat. ” This normally brings to mind repentance and baptism, but the first “first principle” is faith. We need to go back and build our faith in the right way. We need to know what we believe and why. We need to be able to give a defense of our faith. If we would do this, we would be amazed at the changes in the church of Christ. We would see a situation much more like New Testament times where disciples went everywhere preaching the Word. Such persons will strive to be right with God. They will stand in time of trial, even in the face of death. However, the key is to have a love for the truth, to examine the evidence with honesty and integrity, to have a respect for the facts, and to be willing to follow the truth wherever it leads.

Endnotes

1. The Random House Dictionary of the English Language, 2nd Ed. Unabridged, s.v., “Faith.”

2. Arndt and Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, s.v. “pistis.”

3. W.E. Vine, An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, s.v. “Faith.”

4. Joseph Henry Thayer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, s.v. “Pistis, ” #4102.

5. Neil Lightfoot, Jesus Christ Today: A Commentary on the Book of Hebrews (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1976), p. 204.

6. Lightfoot, p. 206.

7. Lightfoot, p. 206.

8. James Randi, The Faith Healers (New York: Prometheus Books, 1987), p. 6.

9. Random House Dictionary of the English Language, 2nd Ed. Unabridged, s.v., “Hypothesis.”

10. For more information on this subject, see Homer Hailey’s Internal Evidences of Christianity.

Guardian of Truth XXXIII: 11, pp. 332-333, 339
June 1, 1989