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About Herald and news. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1942-current | View Entire Issue (May 17, 1963)
Unorthodox Anglican Clergyman Refutes Supernatural God Belief By TOM A. CULLKN Newspaper Enterprise Assn. LONDON iNEAi What happens when a bishop publicly declares he no longer believes in God as a supernatural person? Should he be told to resign? If he fails to do so, should he be prosecuted as a heretic? Or should he and his beliefs be ignored? These are the questions that are splitting the Church of Eng land after the publication of a controversial paperback, "Honest to God." The author is Dr. John Robin son. Anglican Bishop of Woolwich, and a stormy petrel as far as the Established Church is con cerned. In this slim book Dr. Robinson explains his belief in what he calls "religionless Christianity." Secular man, (lie bishop argues, no longer believes in God as a supernatural person. "He finds no necessity to bring God into his science, his morals, his poli cal speeches." Therefore, the Church must change its mental image of God to conform to that of modern secular man. As re-defined by Dr. Robinson, God becomes ultimate reality, a principle of harmony at work in the universe, love, depth, "What we take seriously without reser vation. But as a p e r so n He is simply abolished. The bishop also expresses' doubts about the virgin birth, maintains that Holy1 Communion should not be deemed a withdraw al from the world, and that moral laws are not applicable in every circumstance. Finally, he declares, "I can un derstand those who urge that we should give up using the word 'God' for a generation, so im pregnated has the word become with a way of thinking we may have to discard if the Gospel is to signify anything." Discovery Throws Light On Early Church Beliefs VATICAN CITY (UPD A firstand with early Christian rituals' century silver tablet has revealed how the sacrament of extreme unction, or the last rites, was ad-j ministered in the early days of the Christian Church in Palestine. Details of the discovery, which throws much light of the rites and beliefs of the early church, were reported recently in the Vatican City newspaper Osserva tore Romano. The two and one-half by one inch tablet was bought in Janu ary by a museum director in Jer usalem from B e d o u i n s of the Ta'Amari tribe. The tribesmen said they found the tablet togeth er with a number of clay vessels of a type known to archaeologists as "Herndian lamps." and known to date back to the first century AD. The tiny tablet bore a 17-line inscription in Aramaic, the lan guage spoken in Palestine at the time of Jesus. The writing al lowed scientists to date it between 70 and 130 A.D., presum ably closer to the former. A translation. Osscrva'tore said, showed the text was the ritual for the anointing of the sick. extreme unction, as practiced in the original Christian - Jewish community, the first followers of Christ in Palestine. The most interesting point. Os scrvalore said, was the close cor. respondents of the text to a pas- sace of the Epistle of St. Jamesl Fete Honors Area Ladies The Women's Missionary Coun cil of the Malin Assembly of God Church was host for a mother and daughter banquet in the Ma lin Community Hall on May 2. More than 60 mothers and daugh ters from the Malin. Merrill, and Tulclake Assemblies of God were present for the affair. Serving the tables were Ihe ministers of Hie three churches. Rev. Joseph Bovle of Malm. Rev Howard Peterson of Merrill and Rev. Glen Wakefield of Tulc lake. The guest speaker for the eve ning was Mrs. Lloyd Fosner, whose husband is presbyter of the LAKEVIEW Rev. Hal H. Ilar Klamath Section and minister of greaves, minister of St. Luke's the Klamath Falls Assembly of God Church. Following her mcs- sage, the croup was entertained with special somes, a piano solo. and poelrv readings. TO VISIT r.s. LEOPOLDVILI.E. Tlie Congo iLPI' Maj Gen. Jowph Mobu tu, commander-in-chief of the Con golese army, will go to the United Mates net Thursday, iniurmed .sources said Monday The sources said Mnbulu had been invited by the L'.S. Army for discussions on reorganizing the Congolc- army. His fellow bishops have been careful to avoid calling Dr. Rob inson a heretic so far, but they have condemned his ideas -.. DR. JOHN ROBINSON "dangerous," "' 'rong headed" and "incoherent." The Bishop of Pontefract, tot example, calls Dr. Robinson's Confirmation Slated Sunday A class of 13 young people will be confirmed at the Klamath Lutheran Church on Sunday at the 11 a.m. service. Following the service, the board of deacons will sponsor a reception to honor the new members. The public is invited to attend. The confirmation class includes Patti Phipps. Leland Estenson. Greg Hucit, Terry Preston, Nick Carr, Terry Klawitter, John God dard, Gail DeVoss. Linda Vigcn. Barbara Pulliam, Becky Ganter, Cindy Lindmeicr and Danny Riggs. in the West. This confirmed the early use of extreme unction one of the seven sacraments of the C a t h o 1 i c Church and the common source of the rite. The passage )n St. James which had been the earliest testi mony about ex t r e m e unction reads (James 5, 14:13': ' Is there among you anyone who is sick? Let him send for the presbyters of the church that they pray over him, anoint ing him with oil in the name of the Lord: and the prayer of faith will save the sick, and the Lord will caisc him up: and if he is in sin, it will be forgiven him The first line of the inscription on the silver tablet identifies the author as one Datcnazan and de scribes him as a Kohen. the He brew word for "priest," thus con firming James' reference to the presbyters of the church. The fact that only his name is men tioncd seems to indicate extreme unction was administered by one priest, as is still done in the Latin rile, rather than by sever al, as among the Greek rite Christians. jllLiLa 4L,fcwo M CONFRATERNITY CLASSROOMS This scale model buildinq Is a replica of tht educational unit to be constructed by the St. Piui X Catholic Church on Bristol Ave nue. It will include eight classrooms, called confraternity classroomi, which will be used for the religious instruction of mora than 350 students. Studies Set For Minister Episcopal Church, has been ac cepted for special studies at the Graduate Institute of Ecumenical (studies at Cahgny, near Geneva .Switzerland. Serving tlie local church tor the past four years. Rev. Harcreaves has submitted his resignation to be effective July 1. and the family leave lor Switzerland on Aug 1 Tlie school course is sched- uled to run from Oct. 1 through Fob. 1 Students representing all Proles- lant faiths attend the institute. which is spnnwired by the World Council of Churches for the study jof inter-church unity. book a "dangerous book" likely to disturb the faith of more peo ple than it will stimulate. It would "cause a great deal of pain to faithful Christians who may not possess the bishop's intellectual approach to theological matters." "Honest to God" has become a bestseller. The first printing ot 6,000 copies was bought up with in a few hours of the book being put on sale, and demand now exceeds 100,000 copies. Anglican laymen. however. have been more outspoken in de manding that the bishop resign. Some have even accused him of attempting to wreck the move ment towards Christian unity. One irate churchgoer has compared his views with those of Lenin who predicted that communism would never succeed until t h e myth of- God had been wiped out. The Church of England has al ways, had a horror of heresy- hunting and has tolerated unortho doxy in its clergy. In this cen tury two eminent clergymen have defied the conventions and got ten away with it. Bishop Barnes denied the virgin birth as a literal historical fact, while Dr. Hewlett Johnson, the recently retired Dean of Canterbury, flirted with inter national communism. Both were allowed to end their church ca reers honorably. Observers here are wondering whether the Bishop of Woolwich may not have gone too far, even for the Church of England, in denying the supernatural aspect of his religion. Apart from being a theological radical, Dr. Robinson is a mem ber of the British Labor Party, a campaigner against capital pun ishment, and a nuclear disarmer. When he was recently intro duced to an elderly lady parish ioner, she exclaimed, "I know who you are. You're Lady Chatterley's Lover." This in fact reference was to the fact that the bishop appeared as a defense witness when "Lady Chatterley's Lover" was on trial for obscenity here, an appearance which earned him a public re buke from the then Archbish op of Canterbury. In defense of "Honest to God," Dr. Robinson denies that he is trying to shake anyone's belief and contends: I am trying to remove the obstacles which stop the unbe lievers believing. Methodist Church Hosts WSCS Annual Conclave The animal spring meeting of the Eastern sub-district of the Women's Society of Christian Ser vice was held May 16 at the First .Methodist Church, with "New World Horizons" as Ihe theme. Among those attending were members from Lakcview. Beatty, Bly. Chiloquin, and Klamath Falls. COUPLES TO MEET The Couple's Cluster, a newly organized club lor Methodist couples and their guests, will meet Sunday, May 19. at 7 p.m. in the First .Methodist Church. Members are to bring a potluck salad or dessert and hamburger. ' ""1 1 1 'r Church To Construct New Unit For Religion Classes Construction of a new education al building by St. Pius X Cath olic Church was recently an nounced by the pastor. Rev. George A. Murphy. Work is slated to begin within the next few weeks, and the building is ex pected to be completed in Sep tember, The plans for the it.ooo square feet unit, located on Bristol Ave nue, call for eight classrooms, two storage rooms, kitchen, and lavatories. Five classrooms on one sule of a long corridor will be equipped with folding partitions which can be arranged for any combination of rooms. When all the partitions are opened, the space may be utilized as one large HERALD AND NEWS, Klamath Li n M IMIiflili" I 111 ITT IT' I " ill! ' ' i Hi 1 1 iili 1MHIHIM1H11 II llllMIIMlWll H CHURCH COUNCIL ELECTS Highlight inq the Annual Meeting of the Klamath Council of Churches on May 6 was the election of officers for the 1963-64 term. The five who will head the organization are, from left, Glen Campbell, treasurer; Mrs. Fred S. Kelsay, secretary; Rev. Quinn L. Hawley, president; Mrs. Don P. Smith, second vice president; and Rev. Warren W. Peehman, first vice president. Council Elects, Draws Resolution W. M. "Jack" Douglass, ad ministrative dean at Oregon Tech nical Institute, was the guest speaker at the May 6 annual meeting of the hlamath Council of Churches in the First Pres byterian Church. Selecting as his topic, "Mis placed Generation," he presented the view that children in the ele mentary and pre-high school grades are not the misplaced ones, us they have parents and school from which to get their bearings. V hile recognizing the "teen-ager" has given evidence of certain hos tilities and conflicts, he feels the tccn-aged generation is giving a good account of itself and de serves every encouragement. Douglass concluded that the actual misplaced generation con sists of many parents who lack the stability young people have Ihe right to expect and who have The morning session included a message from the guest speak er, Rev. Ralph Richardson; a skit presented by the Chiloquin W.S.C.S. members; and a pro gram on leadership given by the district ofliccrs. The business meeting was conducted hy Mrs Dale Alter, sub-district president Irom Klamatlf Falls. Following a luncheon, the af ternoon session was opened with a solo by Mrs. Ralph Richard son. A special guest at the meet ing, Mrs. Alice Romane of Spring lield, district president, reported her impressions of the national W.S.C.S. assembly held last May. The meeting was concluded with the installation of new officers. hall tor various church functions Three of the classrooms on the other side ol the corridor are also designed to be arranged as needed with the folding partitions These rooms, called the con fraternity classrooms, will be used primarily for the religious instruction of parishioners. More than 350 students who are now taking home study courses religion will be able to receive personal instruction in a class room atmosphere. The cost of the building when completed is estimated to be ap proximately $73,727. The con tract for the construction, sub mitted lor bids, was awarded to the Brosterhcus Construction Com- 1 k jr. - i ' -J ,-j Falls, Ore. failed to find a sense of life's meaning and purpose. Ho added that these parents also have not seen it necessary to identify with the religious agen cies of their community, thus pre senting a challenge to the church es to provide a sure sense of di rection, purpose, and inner strength, which is born of Christ-! ian faith, to communities audi parishioners. Following a politick supper, the council held a short business meeting to elect officers and ap prove the annual report. Mrs. Frank Peyton presided. Elected to serve the 190.1-64 term were Rev. Quinn Hawley, First Congregational Church, pres ident: Rev. Warren W. Peehman Hope Lutheran Church, first vice president; Mrs. Donald Smith second vice president; Mrs. Fred Kelsay. secretary; and Glen Bible Scholar On Meaning The Drama of the Book of Revelation" will be the subject of five lectures by Dr. John Wick Bowman, prominent author and Bible scholar, at 7:30 p.m. each evening. May 19-23, in tne reace Memorial Presbyterian Church. Four morning lectures entitled Jesus' Teaching in Its Environ ment" will also be presented each cloy except Sunday at 10 a m. Sponsored jointly by the First Presbyterian and Peace Me morial Presbyterian churches, the scries is open to the public. Child care will ne prnvicien at cacn lecture, and a freewill offering will be received. Dr. Bowman is an eminently liialified interpreter of Ihe Bible. having a varied and distinguislied background in missionary, aca demic, evangelistic, theological, and literary work. He served in the Punjab, India. mission for 16 years in several successive capacities including .superintendent of a mission dis trict of 730.000 people; seminary professor in charge of student field work and evangelism; pro fessor in charge of New Testa- BAPTLST APPEAL A committee of the South Car olina Baptist Convention has ap pealed to all "sincere Christians" to help preserve public order and n.n:n..l rA.nnot A J-nnctitxtAfl tense situation resulting from the court-ordered admission of 1 Ne gro to a slate college. The pica was issued by the Christian Life and Public Affairs Committee of the Baptist Conven tion, Ihe state's largest religious body. It said "everv effort" must be made to forestall violence disorder, maintain open lines of communication between various' groups in the population, and pre vent any "interruption of normal educational processes." SALE CONTINUES Saturday is the final day of the rummatie sale slated by the Klamath Lutheran Church at H 30 am. The sale opened on Fndav. 10:10 A.M. SUNDAY KFLW 14J0 Kc Friday, May 17, 13 Campbell, treasurer. The new of. ficers were installed by Rev. Carl Simmons In other business, the members voted to draft a resolution to the Klamath Union High School Board of Directors, which was subse quently presented to the board. The resolution read as follows: "The Klamath County Council of Churches at its annual meet ing on May 6, 1963. submits the following resolution for your con sideration. Believing in forgiveness and recognizing the fact that Willard McKinny has proven himself to be an able leader during the past! years while he has been living in our community, Be it therefore resolved that the Klamath Council of Church asks that tile KUHS school1 board completely restore Wil lard McKinny to his full position as principal. To Lecture Of Revelation mcnt interpretation, and princi pal of the United Theological Col lege at Saharanur. Dr. Bowman's academic work was taken at Wooster College, A.B.; Princeton University, A.M.: Princeton. Seminary, B.D., and Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Ph. D.; with graduate studies at the University of lu rich. Switzerland. He also holds several honorary degrees in the United States and in Scotland. In addition to his work at Sa haranur. Dr. Bowman was pro fessor of New Testament at West ern Theological Seminary. Pitts- DR. JOHN WICK BOWMAN burgh. Pa., from 19:!i-44, and pro fessor of New Testament inter pretation and Biblican theology at the San Francisco Theological Irom 1944-61. He is tlie author of "Introduc ing the Bible." 1941; "Tlie In tention of .lesus." 1943: "The Re ligion of Maturity." 194H: "Pro phetic Realism and the Gospel 1953; "The Drama of Hie Rook of Revelation." 19V; "The (Jos- ,.1 tht, f,,nl " vy.7- "r:n. Kpi5, aod'-n ,',e Lay. men's Bible Commentary, iar.2; and "Jesus' Teaching in Its En vironment," 19M. A writer of numerous essays and articles, Dr. Bowman's tide on the Book of Revelation appears in the recently published four-volume "Interpreter's Dic tionary of the Bible." FOUND! "A Frttndlr Church," tar many of our vtiifort. Will YOU com ond try ut net Sunday? Tha time: 9:45 a m. IMMANUEL BAPTIST CHURCH 11th High Klomolh Falls 9 -N-.i- A. ' PAGE 5-B Conference Plans Made By Johnson Capt. Dale E. Johnson, com mander of the local Salvation Army installation, has been se lected as the organization's dele gate to the 90th Annual Forum of the National Conference on So cial Welfare from the Oregon- Southern Idaho Division. The conference will be held May 19-24 in Cleveland. Ohio, running concurrently with the Salvation Army's National Con ference on Social Welfare r"or um May 17-24. The 90th Annual Forum will draw representatives from more than SO state and national or ganizations concerned with so cial welfare including the Ameri can National Red Cross, Nation al Association of Social Workers, United Community Funds and Councils of America, National So ciety for Crippled Children and Adults, YWCA of the USA and the National Council YMCAs. Approximately 160 Salvation Army officers, one delegate from each division plus executive members, are expected to attend the forum, according to Captain Johnson. His selection as division al delegate was first made by the divisional commander and tent to the territorial headquar ters in han Francisco for final approval. The Salvation Army's social welfare conference, which he will also attend, will be concerned with reviewing and evaluating its program or services, examining us responsibility, and investigat ing the areas of need in this field. Captain Johnson said the Sal vation Army's approach to so cial welfare is through Christian ity, whereas the other or ganizations arc motivated more! by' social reform in their ap proach to the work. Workshops devoted to counsel. ing, alcoholism, group services. aging, unmarried parents, youth problems, and correctional scrv-! ices will be important aspects of the Salvation Army conference. Captain Johnson will attend the! counseling workshop, which will stress tlie role of tlie counselor as well as techniques in provid ing help to those in need. Ministers Say Personal Message From God Can Be Found In Bible By LOUIS CASSKLS United Press International A pastor once startled his con gregation by asking: How many of you would like (o receive a personal message Irom God to guide you in deal ing with your problems and help you make sense out of life?" After some hesitation, nearly every hand was raised. "Very well, said tlto pastor. 'I'll tell you where you can find such a message." He reached into the pulpit and held up a Bible. "You may have to read this book fairly extensively before you encounter the message that he said. But I can guarantee that if you read it faithfully, God will peak lo you through it, just as genuinely and personally as if He had sent you a telegram." Basie Fact Thai pastor was neither a fa natic nor a fundamentalist. He was trying to communicate a basic fact of Christian experi ence, on which there is a strik ing degree of agreement among liberals and conservatives, Prot estants and Catholics, ancient church fathers and modern the ologians. "The Bible not only tells us how God sought His people in the past; it is also a means by which He seeks us out today," says Prof, Robert McAfee Brown of Stanford University. "Not only are God's demands and prom ises brought home to us, but God Himself speaks lo us as we take the Bible seriously. It Is for this reason that we speak of the Hi ble as 'the word of God ." Have So Answer Why God the Holy Spirit should choose lo communicate with men through the pages of an ancient FRIENDLY HELPFULNESS To Every Creed ond Purse WARD'S Klamath Funeral Home Marguerite Ward and Sons IS Hifh Ph. TU 2-4404 ALONZO HEATH Gospel Mission Banquet To Mark Fifth A nationally known gospel sing ' and an executive in the field of rescue mission work will par ticipate in tlie fifth anniversary! elebration of the Klamath Falls Gospel Mission on FYiday, May 24. The guest speaker for the eve ning will be Alonzo Heath of Bakersficld, Calif., who is the president of the Central Pacific District of the International Un ion of Gospel Missions. A former evangelist, he is currently serv ing as superintendent of the Ba kersfield Rescue Mission which he founded. Musical highlights will be pro vided by Charles Turner, pro gram director of a Fresno, Calif., radio station. Recognized as an accomplished singer of gospel music. Turner has been featured Adventists Date Benefit A While Elephant Auction, planned (or 8 p.m. Sunday, May 19, at the (Merrill Community Recreation Center, is one of tlie benefit programs to be sponsored by Ihe Seventh-day Adventist Church for its local church school. The program, beginning In the afternoon, will include a motion picture and organized games at i p.m., followed by a iunch at 8 p.m. Tho evening auction will feature such items as produce, baked goods, books, antiques. flower bulbs and plants, household articles, clothing, appliances and furniture. All proceeds from the auction and the lunch will be turned over to the church school (and. The public is invited to attend all events. book which contains a little bit of everything, from authentic his tory to folk myths and from sub lime hymns of praise to passion- ately erotic love poems, is a question that Christians cannot answer. They can only affirm that it happens, and invito skep tics to try for themselves wheth er it be so. Some people unfortunately try to reduce tlie great mystery to an absurd kind of magic. They open tlie Bible at random, slab their fingers at a verse, and ex pect therein to find God's instant answer to whatever is trou bling them at that moment. The notion that divine guidance is dispensed in such a mechanical, penny-in-thc-slot manner is an in sult to God and puts Ihe Bible on a par with a ouija board. Less blasphemous, but equally ineffective, is the casual kind of "Scripture-nibbling" in which the reader jumps around from one part of the Bible to another, without plan or purpose, reading lierhaps a psalm tonight, a chap ter from one of the Gospels to morrow night, and one of SI Paul's letters next week or next month. Must Be Studied Dr. Frederick C. Grant, a lead ing Biblical scholar of the Fpis- copal Church, says that those who would hear "Ihe voice of Ihe Lord speaking through the Scriptures" must be willing not merely to read Die Bible, but to study it, seriously and systemat ically. "Wo are frequently advised to read the Bible with our own per sonal needs in mind, and to look (or answers to our private ques tions," says Dr. Grant. "This is good as far as it goes hut bet ter still Is the advice to study the Bible objectively, and write First Church of Christ Scientist A Irench ot The Moth.r Church, The Nrt Church el Chrirt, Stitniitt In toiton, Man. 10th end Washington Sarrlcti: Sunday Service 1 1 :00 .m. Sunday School 11:00 a.m. W.dn.idor toning Ttitimeny Meeting 1:00 O'Clock Lesion-Sermon Subject May 19, 1963 "MORTALS AND IMMORTALS" Golden TeiM I Corinthians 15:53 This corruptible mutt out on incormption, ond this mortal must out an Im mortality, NurMry facilities avollobla during church serviced CHARLES TURNER Birthday on the Mutual and CBS networks the program, "Melody House," and for 16 years was the soloist for the daily "Haven of Rest" radio program. In the field of Christian films, he ap peared in singing roles in "De cision" and "Great Discovery." Turner, who has made numer ous recordings of sacred music, speaks and sings at various churches all over Central Cali fornia in addition to his duties as announcer at KBIF, the "Bi ble Station in Fresno." The program will also include progress and activities by John Pedersen, superintendent, and personal testimonies by men who have received aid from the mis sion. A girls trio from the local Assembly of God Church will pre sent several numbers. The anniversary observance will open with a banquet at 6:30 p.m. at the Peach Memorial Pres byterian Church. The public is extended an invitation to attend, according to Pedersen. Tickets, costing $1.50 each, are now on sale. They may be ob tained by contacting the Gospel Mission at TU 2-4895 or any member of the board of direc tors. CONTRIBUTIONS LAG (CBNl The average American loses $75 a year through mis placement of wallets or purses, or out of his pockets, delegates to tlie Stewardship & Mission Oon- tcrence of the United Presbyteri an Church in the USA were told recently In Atlantic City. The American Baptist News Service, reporting the statistic, noted that "the lost money is more than the per member contributions of 15 out of 23 communions in the Unit ed States and Canada with mem bership of 100,000 or more." down what it teaches, summar izing the thought In our own lan guage but without regard first of all to our own subjective needs. Let tlie great passages fix themselves in our memory. Let them stay there permanently like bright beacons, launching their powerful shafts of light upon life's problems our own and everyone's as they Illumine now one, now another dark area of human life. This we should do first, making sure that the mean ing we derive from the text is tlie one that is really there and not our private wishful substi tute. "Following such a method, we discover that the Bible does speak to our condition' and meet our needs, not just occasionally, or when some emergency arises, but continually." The foregoing advice is from Dr. Grant's superb little book, "How lo Head tins Eibie," which is now available in a Collier pa perback lat 95 cents'. MKTIIODIST OBSERVER Methodist Bishop Fred P. Cor son of Philadelphia, who attended the first session of tho Vatican Council as a Protestant observer, found Pope John XXIII an Irre sistible personality. Reporting to a Methodist group on his experiences in nome, Bishop Corson said recently: "Tlie Pope is the kind of man vou love to be with. He's very ex pressive. Whenever he wanted to say something to me, he would pat me on the arm. And really, I had all I could do to keep from patting him back." !