REMEMBER

The memory course I am taking will soon make me the envy of Cloverleaf Vista. Already I have mastered my telephone number, my car license, and Lincoln’s Gettysburg address. No longer will I have to stage violent coughing fits on those dismal occasions when I stand between two life-long acquaintances who have not been introduced. Names will pop up like toast at fellowship breakfasts, alumni dinners, and business luncheons.

I know it will work this time, because the course was written by a psychologist who won fame on a quiz show through sheer concentration and association. After all, it doesn’t help to get the answers in advance if you can’t remember them in front of the camera.

There are still a few wrinkles to be ironed out. It was disconcerting to greet Dr. Pike so warmly as Bill Mackerel. Understandably, the proper fish slipped off my memory book, but the switch from Doctor to Bill was more disturbing. Unfortunately, I had visualized a pill to associate Pike with his profession. However, the course has three more days to go and by then I should be ready to develop applied mnemonics for pastors. If your minister can’t remember your name at the church door, and has forgotten the date of the Sunday School picnic, just send his name to me.

I have already approached Pastor Peterson on the subject. He has agreed to try it out if it works for me.

He says that memory is very important in the Bible, but the scriptural emphasis has more in common with Memorial Day than with memory systems. God remembers his people in his covenant faithfulness and calls on them to remember him. The aids to memory in the Bible are the memorials of God’s promises, among them the rainbow and God’s own memorial Name. Scripture itself is a memorial record of God’s purposes, a book of remembrance pointing to Christ. In the Lord’s Supper the death of the Saviour is commemorated in our memorial feast.

There was much more that the pastor said, but I don’t remember it all. It was so fascinating I almost forgot why I had come.

EUTYCHUS

WESLEY’S ANSWER

In “Jazz in the Churches” (March 28 issue), CHRISTIANITY TODAY reported that one jazz setting was to accompany John Wesley’s “Order for Morning Prayer.” It is then asked, “Would Wesley’s heart be warmed anew to hear the syncopated accompaniment to his service, or would it leave him cold?”

We need not wonder. John Wesley’s own observation was, “I have no objection to instruments being in our chapels, provided they are neither heard nor seen.”

T. R. HUTCHESON

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Superior, Neb.

If there is this sincere desire to witness and worship with such accompaniment, why not conduct these services where these combos usually perform—night spots, clubs, and bars? They may be serving the church more effectively in these neglected areas than in the quiet beauty and dignity of the sanctuary.

R. A. MACASKILL

The Presbyterian Church

Gettysburg, Pa.

I have been asked, “How come?” appertaining to [the] picture which … appeared.… The question arises because of the obviously incorrect position of the altar boy in relation to the missal; and the notable absence of the sacred vessels.… The fact is that I am not involved in a celebration of the Holy Eucharist. The picture was taken during a concert during which we sang the Beaumont “Twentieth Century Folk Mass” as one half, and our traditional musical setting of the Mass as the other half. I vested, used an acolyte, and sang the priest’s part in both versions in order to demonstrate how they work out in actual practice.

ALAN HUMRICKHOUSE

Trinity Episcopal Church

San Francisco, Calif.

NCC AND THE AIR FORCE

Congratulations for your editorial of March 14 regarding the National Council of Churches and the Air Force manual. I want to underline your statement that “What NCC needed was self-examination, not self-justification”.…

Much of the leadership of the National Council, time and again, has attacked the free enterprise system, directly or indirectly, through speeches, books, etc. Ironically, the money to finance this propaganda was provided through the American free enterprise system—the system under which ours has become the world’s most prosperous nation and the nation from which nearly all others are seeking help in one way or another.

… The NCC … makes little or no effort to keep the Church free of Communist pastors and appears to be vehemently opposed to anyone who even suggests that it should, or that smaller church organizations should. It has been my observation over a period of years that, more often than not, the positions of the NCC on matters of national and international policy coincide with those promoted in The Worker (a Communist weekly) and encouraged on Radio Moscow. Of course, this does not prove that the leadership contains Communists, but it does prove that a very influential organization, to an alarming degree, has aligned itself with the Communists to promote their line and to work for their objectives. For the time being, what more could they ask?

STUART W. EPPERSON

Ararat, Va.

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Let Rep. Walter be summoned before the National Council for investigation of demagoguery in Congress, and let it be ascertained whether the Air Force is soft toward communism since it has permitted communism to forge ahead in the missile race.

HENRY RATLIFF

Hartford, S. Dak.

Does as much as six weeks go by without Air Force scandal erupting in the News?… I have 22 years of service in the Federal Civil Service and the two years I was in the Air Force was like being in a foreign country, so greatly did they ignore all Civil Service and state regulations.

LEON H. KELSO

Washington, D. C.

In comparing the text of the Air Force Manual with the letter of Associate General Secretary Wine, I noticed that the Secretary completely avoids the issue. The manual does not say there is a relationship between the R.S.V. and Communism, but that there is or was a relationship between some of the translators and Communism. This is something he cannot deny for some of them were members of “front organizations.”

ROBERT B. DEMPSEY

Carlisle Congregational Church

Carlisle, Mass.

I would like to see the [author of] the manual promoted.

FRANK P. STELLING

Oakland, Calif.

Now the member churches of NCC as well as that organization are flooding us with materials through which we are to instruct our people and make them believe that it is the “hate-mongers” and Communists who are causing all this trouble, etc., etc.

S. MCMASTER KERR

First Presbyterian Church

Onarga, Ill.

An investigation into the NCC would reveal that what the manual gave was not too far off.

FRANCIS M. BRILL

Summit Mills Brethren Church

Meyersdale, Pa.

Obviously, not every minister who swallows the Communist line is a Communist—or even a fellow-traveler. Neither is the RSV Bible a Kremlin manual. But it is high time that the “inviolability of the church” was set aside. A thorough, careful, responsible investigation of Communist infiltration of the churches is long overdue.

NED E. RICHARDSON

Center United Presbyterian Church

Slippery Rock, Pa.

CHURCH TAX

CHRISTIANITY TODAY has performed a service by opening discussion on issues raised by the tax exempt status of the churches. Full treatment of the problem would demand that our whole tax structure be scrutinized for inequities, and perhaps overhauled. But as a first step one is led to ask just what it means for churches to claim tax exemptions.…

The churches in this country alone count their property in the billions of dollars. This includes land and buildings used primarily for worship and education, and also stocks, bonds and other property held mainly for income. By their specially privileged position, tax-wise, churches are beneficiaries of indirect financial assistance from local and state governments, as well as from the national government. Their properties escape local taxation, and contributions to the church are deductible for income tax purposes. Such privileges as these are undoubtedly reflected in the large budgets of today’s churches, and more visibly, in the impressive church architecture rising in all parts of the country. But some questions arise. Is this the high level of stewardship we are entitled to expect from an institution claiming divine sanction? Does the church impair its spiritual power by a too-calculating concern for its material advantage?

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The proper use of material possessions is an important part of Christian duty; men are stewards of their income and property. Legally, a man may claim exclusive possession of an economic good but, the Christian has an obligation to use it for the glory of God and the service of man. What the churches preach they must also practice. No one, I am sure, believes it ideal that churches are given preferential position in the government’s treatment of their income and property. Everyone would be happier if churches, and colleges as well, could remain financially solvent without the help of political grants of economic advantage—which is what their tax-exempt status amounts to. But we must, as we say, be realistic.

My mind goes back to an incident recounted by Edward Gibbon in his history. A certain Prelate of Cologne gloats over the results of two of his vows. “My vow of obedience has made me a Prince Bishop,” he says, as Gibbon translates him, “my vow of poverty has given me an income of thirty thousand crowns.” Gibbon’s savage comment had better be read in the original, but every earnest Christian must at times have wished that he didn’t have to defend his faith against institutional corruptions—secular power, wealth, a privileged position in the state, and the like.…

Churches are not producing-units as are factories and stores. Therefore, it is argued, tax exemption is justified. But if “no production-no taxation” as a principle is to be applied across the boards it will exempt many homes from the assessments now levied on them.…

When is a religious body not a church? Such a question rarely arises, of course, but, when it does, it is unfortunate that it is decided by the tax collector. Government, under the American scheme, is not supposed to be in the “religion defining” business. But if the state grants any kind of tax exemption it must set itself up as the final arbiter of who is to receive the privilege. This is just what it did, in a limited way, in the District of Columbia Tax Court in a suit filed October 22, 1956. The petitioner was the Washington Ethical Society, the respondent, the District of Columbia.… Leaders of the Society perform weddings and conduct funeral services. They hold Sunday morning services and otherwise conform to many of the practices of the more common religious bodies. The court, nevertheless, decided that the Washington Ethical Society did not qualify for tax exemption. This decision was hardly epoch making, but it does give one pause: The power we have allowed to the state to tax or exempt from taxation is the power to penalize, if not destroy, deviations from the orthodoxy it accepts.…

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In the matter of tax exemption, as elsewhere, the churches are certainly abiding by the law. But does this fully discharge their obligations? Is something more required?

EDMUND A. OPITZ

Irvington-on Hudson, N. Y.

THE LAST DAYS

One thing disturbed me both as I saw the movie and read the book [about Peter Marshall]. It seemed to me that, in the final analysis, Peter Marshall committed suicide. Not death by a gun, or poison, but death that came by deliberately disregarding his doctor’s advice and working himself into an early grave. Was Peter Marshall such a martyr?… Or was he just a totally selfish and thoughtless man, paying no regard to anything but his own personal interests, however noble these were, neglecting his family …?

The years have passed. Times have changed. I have grown older (“more mature” is the expression I prefer). Now it seems to me that Peter Marshall was right. Now I see what the alternatives were. Had he heeded the doctor’s advice and lived, he probably would have been a permanent burden to his family, only half a man in the pulpit, unable to work more than a few hours a day, terribly discontented at his inability to do everything he thought necessary, living constantly in the shadow of hundreds of bottles of vari-colored pills, and dreaming at night about doctors with stethoscopes shouting, “Watch your blood pressure! Watch your blood pressure!”

I have watched many people, particularly the aged, for whom just hanging onto life is a full-time job. It is sad to see human beings turn into vegetables. That way of living is not for me. I want to go down swinging, not just standing there when the third strike is called. To do this, I will some day have to make a hard and dangerous decision. The day will come when, as I observe doctor and medicine bills mounting like inflation and listen constantly to the advice which says, “Slow down! Cut this out! and that,” I will say:

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“To hell with the medicine! The doctors have done the best they can for me. I’m grateful to them. But now I’m going to forget all of this and walk out of life like a man!”

After all, as Paul writes, “We arc of good courage, and we would rather he away from the body and at home with the Lord …” and, “For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

LINDSAY RONALD

St. Louis, Mo.

THE MODERN TEN

Sentimentalism and a lack of appreciation for the authority of the Word of God have wrought some changes in modern attitudes toward principles for living covered by the Ten Commandments. The commandments come out something as follows in our day:

I. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. “Religion is all right, but you can’t be fanatical about it.” II. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image. “Every man has his own religion; it is all right just so long as he is sincere about it.” III. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain. “I’m sure the Lord knows how vexed I was, for it was enough to make anyone say something.” IV. Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. “You ought to go to Church when you can, but I need rest and relaxation and this is the only day I can get them.” V. Honor thy father and thy mother. “Parents shouldn’t force their children to do something; they may warp their children’s personalities for life.” VI. Thou shalt not kill. “It’s a big world that runs fast and hard; so, someone’s bound to get hurt.” VII. Thou shalt not commit adultery. “Love will triumph in the end.” VIII. Thou shalt not steal. “Everyone else is getting his. You have to make it for yourself any way you can; just be sure you don’t get caught.” IX. Thou shalt not bear false witness. “We were all just sitting around and talking. You know how one word brings on another. No one meant anything by what he said.” X. Thou shalt not covet. “As soon as we can trade for a new hardtop and move into that new ranch house, then people will have to look up to us too.”

RUSSELL L. JABERG

The Westminster Presbyterian Church

South Bend, Ind.

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