Letters    

ON PACIFISM

Dear C. S.                                                                                                        March 19, 1994

      C., as a friend and brother in Christ, I want to warn you about your drift into the Amish-Mennonite-Dunkard camp. Baptists both in America, and in Europe, have mostly rejected their teachings as being unscriptural. Your statement in the last P. that "Christianity is separated from mere professing Christendom by the doctrine of non-resistance" is not true, nor has it been accepted by the "general assembly" of the saints.

     Certainly, I have no wish to lay down my life on a battlefield; nor, am I eager to find a fight, or to shoot another man. When I was summoned to take my physical during the Vietnam War, I prayed earnestly, and begged the Lord to allow me to die for Him, and that I would prefer not to die in a war. However, our preferences are not necessarily according to truth. In other words, we should not attempt to make our desires Bible truth. Consider Scripture, and then consider history.

     First, Moses testifies by the Holy Ghost, saying, "The LORD is a man of war ..." (Exodus 15:3). Did David lie when he wrote of the LORD saying, "He teacheth my hands to war" (Psalm 18:34); and again, "Blessed be the LORD my strength, which teacheth my hands to war, and my fingers to fight" (Psalm 144:1). Yet, it is the testimony of God that David was a man after his own heart (Acts 13:22).

      You only partially quoted John 18:36. Jesus did say, "My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight," but the verse continues, "that I should not be delivered to the Jews ..." It was not the will of the Father that Jesus should be delivered from the Jews, but that He should be crucified to give His life a ransom for many.

     Do we not have to take Luke 22:36 at face value? "Then said he unto them, `But now, he that hath a purse, let him take it, and likewise his scrip: and he that hath no sword, let him sell his garment, and buy one."

     Second, C., are you aware that EVERY Baptist minister in America sided with the colonies in their struggle for independence? Evidently, they did not hold to the teachings of Menno Simons, or with the Quakers. There was one exception: Morgan Edwards came to this country in 1761, and had a son in the Tory army, so he vascillated. After the War, he confessed his faults, and became a loyal American. Here in nearby South Carolina, Richard Furman, pastor of High Hills Baptist Church, was such an able recruiter for the colonial army that Cornwallis offered a large reward for his capture. Having to flee, he went to Virginia where Patrick Henry and his family sat under his ministry. Henry actually gave him some of his family heirlooms.

     With the statement you made in the P., you have in effect dismissed the followers of John Huss, the Lutherans, the Huguenots, the Presbyterians, the Anglicans, and the Baptists from being true Christians, and have relegated them to being merely professing Christians. The vast majority of Bible scholars recognized by true believers, have come from the Presbyterian camp. Your statement, if it is your own, is not fair, or just.

     C., do you remember the old painting of the Pilgrims on their way to church? They are carrying their guns—not for rabbits, but for any Indians that might seek their harm.

    Scripture says, "Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend" (Proverbs 27:17). If I did not love you, I would not care. "May God Smile On You."—Bach

TO AN ATTORNEY

Dear R. H.                                                                                                 September 27, 1993

       I received your letter regarding the Copyright License for churches, and I would offer two thoughts for your consideration.

    First, this is the legal morass that lawyers have brought into the church! It is utter nonsense! The purpose for copyright laws is to protect the work of one person or persons from being seized by another for profit, or credit, as if it was his own. For instance, if this writer were to write an article, a book, a song, or paint a picture that another sold as his own work, it is simple robbery. However, if another was inclined to use his work, so long as he acknowledged the source, it is an honor, and a blessing to the workman. It was on account of just such entanglements of law, General James Oglethorpe did not allow lawyers into colonial Georgia. He called them "the pest and scourge of mankind."

      Second, it is true that Christians ought to practice good ethics, but the Bible forbids Christians to take other Christians to court. All who do so are disobedient to the Word of God (I Corinthians 6:1-8). In this passage, the Apostle Paul wrote, "I speak this to your shame." I would urge you to awake to righteousness, lest the Lord be again heard to say, "Woe unto you, lawyers" (Luke 11:52)!

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