L

l n t e r n a t i o n a l M-agazine o f
T H E
C H U R C H
O F
G O D
VOL. X, NUMBER 8

AUGUST, 1961

Two New Churches!

Our greatest NEED is being fulfilled! More churches are starting.
And many more ministerial candidates are gaining EXPERIENCE.
by Roderick C. Meredith
news comes of the first Sabbath services in two new chwches?
On the Sabbath, July 8, the first services were held in Little Rock, Arkansas,
and Memphis, Tennessee, for Gods people. In both cases, attendance was even
beyond expectations! There were 180 in
attendance at Little Rock, and a surprising 182 people attended in Memphis.

OYOUS

T h e Details
Mr. Wayne Cole, assisted by Mr. Ronald Dart, has done the preparatory work
of writing and counseling with many
members in both areas before starting
these local churches. Mr. Cole has had
considerable experience in founding new
churches and is one of the ablest ministers in Gods Church today. Mr. Dart is
a dedicated and thoroughly trairied graduate of Ambassador College-a man we
should all be hearing a great deal from in
the future.
With these new churches, we are beginning to be able to reach members in
the southeastern part of the United States.
We hope to have local churchcs cstablishcd even further in this direction in
the near future.
Mr. Cole writes: We had a very fine
mzeting in Little Rock with the attendance given above. The people of course
drove from lengthy distances to be here

for the first meeting of this new church.

Wc anticipate having from 125 to 150 in
the church regularly from the start, however. As would be expected, we had many
different walks of life represented. Most
of these people in this church, however,
are rural people.
It is always a thrill to me to see the
expressions on the faces during the first
meeting of a church. This makes seven
churches I have started or have been present at the start of and it is just as much
a thrill today to see the enthusiasm and
zeal at the start as it was during the first
such new church.
As we get into the visiting we are no
doubt going to have problems arise which
must be handled, but for those people
who are striving to overcome themselves
handling their problems is a welcomed
experience.
We also had a very fine meeting here
in Memphis. There were considerably
more people here than we expected. There
were members here from Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Arkansas, Missouri
and Tcnncsscc. Many came from distances
exceeding 300 miles! This of course
means that our regular attendance is not
going to be anywhere near the figure
given above. I anticipate this church will
be some smaller than the one in Little
Rock for the first few months, however,

I believe it will outgrow the Little Rock

church.

At this first meeting the two churches

were surprisingly near the same number
in attendance. W e took a count by having
each family represented fill out a card
giving the number of adults and the number of children present. These cards also
helped us in verifying addrcsscs and gctting telephone numbers.
Everyone in this church was overjoyed at the beginning of the church,
and from the first observation we have
some fine stable members which should
provide foundation for a growing church
here.
Let us REJOICE and give God thanks,
brethren, that additional hundreds of our
brethren can have the blessing and privilege of attending a local church each
Sabbath. Think how many of our scattered members would welcome and cherish this same opportunity!
Another Church in Australia
As this article goes to press, we are
informed that Mr. Tony Hammrr-son of
Mr. and Mrs. Roy Hammer of Gladewater, Texas-is starting a new church at
Melbourne, Australia this Sabbath, July
15. This should be a source of much
encouragement for our Australian brethren. W e should pray that the Eternal God

will bless and guide these new churches

in Australia from their inception.
You may remember from this column
in the June issue that we have sent Mr.
and Mrs. Frank Simpkins-Ambassador
College graduate and Ambassador coedwife-down to Australia to help Mr. W a terhouse in the Sydney office and church.
This has released Mr. and Mrs. Tony
Hammer for the important task of raising
up the new church in Melbourne. At the
rate the work in Australia is growing,
you can see that Almighty God must have
a special interest in speeding up things
in the continent down under. Remember Mr. Ted Armstrongs article in The
some two years ago when
PLAINTRUTH
he warned that Australia may be the fir-rt
Israelitish country to go into Gentile
slavery! Now that the communists have
a real foothold in Laos, they are moving on to South Vietnam-then Malaya
-then Singapore- Indonesia-then AUSTRALIA!
So remember to PRAY for your brethten in this land. And ask God to call and
impire [hose who yield to grow in grace
and knowledge-and to watch and praythat they may be accounted worthy to
ESCAPE the tribulation which seems destined to come upon them even sooner
than upon those of us here in America
and Britain.
See then that you walk circumspectly,
not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the
time, because the days are evil (Eph.

5:15-16).
Baptizing T o u r s Cover t h e U. S.
and Canada
As we had reported to you, seven full
baptizing tours are planned for this summer-with other shorter tours here in
America and around the world. These
tnurs are visiting ONLY those people
who have heard the The WORLDToMOR R OW broadcast, read The PLAIN
TRUTH,
and have written requesting that
a tour meet with them to discuss baptism.
Over 2,000 requests have come in so far,
and the tours are just getting well started
in reaching these many people in scattered areas.
Mr. Frank McCrady and Mr. Sherwin
McMichael-covering the central part of
the United States-have so far baptized
about 61 out of 114 met. They write:
Our tour is progressing very well and
God certainly is blessing LIS in every way.
The people in this area are hearing the
program as many as three times a day
over W W V A , W C K Y and WLAC-getting pretty good reception. Some of these
towns look like ghost towns, with people
leaving because of unemployment. People
are living from hand to mouth in dirty,
dilapidated buildings because of wrong
living.
Mr. Hal Raird and Mr. Bill Winner-

The GOOD NEWS

touring through the southern srdtes-have

so far baptized about 46 out of 91 met.
They write: One thing we note here
in the South is the lack of education.
Out of four people we met today, two
had no formal education, one fifth grade
and one seventh. This lack of education
makes ir very hard in some cases to know
whether a person is ready for baptism
or not. W e are thankful for the prayers
of everyone in the Pasadena area.
Mi-. Call McNdir and Mr. Eugene
Walter - covering the northern states
and Canada-have baptized 69 out of
120 met. They write: Most of Saskatchewan is suffering from severe drought
and many of our people are suffering.
One man whom we baptized had 480
acres of hay burned off by an irresponsible
neighbor - around three or four thousand
dollars worth of hay at the current price.
That is probably their profit for the
entire year. One man told us, What the
drought dont get, them grasshoppers
do!
After relating these reports, it is good
to mention to you brethren - as you may
have noticed-that our men do N O T
baptize just anyone who asks for it. The
ratio of rhnse baptized to those met is
usually about 50%. This is because most
people either do not really understand
what real repentance and conversion is
all about, OK rlsr they are nor simply
ready or willing to REPENT totally and
completely of their sins and give themselves in UNCONDITIONAL SURKENDER to Jesus Christ as their
Saviour A N D as their Lord and Master.
So when we mention that altogether a
few hundred people have been baptized
this summer, you should realize that these
people have come to a place of total
SURRENDER to their God and Maker!
Thcse are not just people joining a
church or hitting the sawdust trail or
having some sort of temporary emotional
experience. These are people who have
gone through the most terrific CHANGE
in their lives which it is possible for a
human being to experience. They have
had to surrender the self i d - to Iiterally GIVE themselves to God-and to
begin literally LIVING by every Word of
God. They are y o w baptized, converted
BRETHREN!
Special Tour
Reporting on his special tour to visit
most of the Negro brethren writing in
for baptism. Mr. Harold Jackson, accompanied by his wife, reports that he has so
far haprim4 6 out of 16 met. He states:
Weather is cooling somewhat and so is
the racial situation. W e have experiences,
however. W e cannot talk to a group in a
public park or along side the roadside.
There must be a place of seclusion or you
are fomenting trouble that will not be

August, 1961

tolerated. Being a man of color also has

its advantages. You are not expected to
know anything, so when questions are
asked [in a polite manner of course]
people are glad to inform you suh. W e
are enjoying the fellowship with those
who hunger and thirst to see someone
of like mind. Tears of joy flow thcir faces
as they meet you with open arms- too
full of emotion to speak, and often times
walking away a few steps to regain their
composure. While this is a pioneering
trip, n3 vacation will ever be as rewarding or refreshing.
Brethren, after reading this report,
perhaps all of you will join with us here
in Pasadena in PRAYING for Mr. and
Mrs. Jackson on their tour. Ask God to
bless and protect them in the many trying
situations they find themselves because
of the current racial strife in the South.
And now to report on the short tour
your author took with Mr. Dibar AparTOMORROW
tian -voice of The WORLD
in the French language. W e baptized 13
out of 31 met. The report we turned in
is as follows: Taking the traditionally
weak areas in Northern California and
Southern Oregon, we encountered many
who were almost persuadcd but not
completely ready for baptism. Only 16
out of those we met have living mates,
and of these 11 had a divorce and remarriage problem! The tour was highlighted
by visits to the Eugene, Sacramento, and
Fresno churches. With 30 to 40 members of the Salem church coming down.
Eugene still had a record number in local
attendance with a crowd of about 250
altogether at t h e Eugene services!
Remembering the difficultics of the past,
it was certainly inspiring to be able to
meet and preach to such a large and
enthusiastic congregation at the mother
church in Eugene. Mr. Apartian gave an
ins2iring and helpful sermonette there
about the French work and our spiritual
growth-as he also did later a t the Sacramento and Fresno churches.
And I would like to add right here that
Mr. Raymond Cole and the men assisting
him in the arca have done a fine jobwith Gods help and blessing-in rebuilding the Eugene church back up bigger
than ever! Reading in Mr. Armstrongs
Autobiography about the trials and tests
he and Mrs. Armstrong went through in
the Eugene area we can more deeply
appreciate the fact that GOTX Church
in Eugene is now a growing, enthusiastic, zealous body of 200 or more people
obedient to their Maker.
Having not been in the Eugene now
for several years, I was very happy and
pleased to see this tremendous growth.
This local church -which was originally
the mother church of the Philadelphia
age of the Church of God-has been
(Please continue on page 1 5 )

What Will the TRIBULATION

Reallv Be Like?
4

From the man who is now Professor o f English at Ambassador College, here is the story of what he personally went
through as a prisoner-of-war in World War I I - a foretaste
of the personal suffering millions will experience in the
coming great tribulation.
by L. E. Torrance
T HAS taken me sixteen years to come

to the point where I am willing to

write of my experiences as a prisoner-of-war of the Japanese. But today,
as I sit at my desk on the beautiful Ambassador College campus, privileged to
be a member of the faculty of Gods own
collegz, the personal memories of what
I am about to recall to you come flooding
vividly into my mind as though from a
horrible, unforgettable nightmare. It is
very difficult to find words that can even
begin to describe what it was like.

How It Began
The story of my tribulation in the
Japanese concentration camps began on
May 10, 1942. That was the day General
Sharp surrendered the American forces
on Mindanao to the Japanese. They interned us in the prison compound at
Davao, Mindanao, Philippine Islands.
At Davao we were forced to work on
a starvation diet from early dawn until
dusk. W e soon began to suffer from
acute malnutrition, then from scurvy, malaria, dysentery, and beriberi.
I reiiieiiiber liuw every fiber of my
body cried out for food-as it wasted
away, day by day, pound by pound, until
I was reduced to an emaciated 100 pound
skeleton. My every thought was about
food.
Pangs of hunger were greatly intensified by the sight of food that was everywhere about us in abundance. W e could
look through the prison camp fence and
see the fruit and smell the bloom of the
thousands of orangc, banana, lemon and
breadfruit, the guava, coconut, mango and
avocado trees around our compound. The
fruit ripened and fell to the ground.
There it lay rotting. Our captors refused
to let us have it. They said that Americans
deserved only to suffer. And safier we
did!
The mental anguish of seeing such an
ab-indance of food going to waste before
our very eyes is indescribable.
There were times when our ration of
dry rice contained as many worms as kernels of rice. Gnawing hunger pangs

forced us to overlook them.

Our wretched diet of polished rice
took its toll. If our captors would have
allowed us to eat unpolished brown rice,
with its vitamin B1, we would not have
had so much beriberi. But our enemies
knew what they were doing. They insisted
upon feeding us polished rice which had
the vitamin layer removed. Our legs
swelled to twice their normal size. The
nerves in our feet and finger tips became
inflamed. They throbbed day and night.
OULgudLdb enjoyed hearing the groans
of those who suffered the excruciating
pains of beriberi.
Because of malarial fever, fever as high
as 107, accompanied by blinding headaches and violent chills, half of the entire
camp was always at the point of death.
Nevertheless, the Japanese forced us
to march to work even though we were
so sick we could scarcely stand. If any of
us were reluctant to march, guards jabbed
the tips of their bayonets into our hips
until the pain became more than we
could bear. W e marched to work-malarial fever or not. What would you have
done?
Can you imagine what mental and
spiritual torment would have been added
had we then also known the truth of
God, that we could not work on the
Sabbath, even though our pagan guards
commanded us to? What would you have
done w h m the searing pain of the bayonets being jabbed deeper and deeper
into your backs and hips became so
great you could no longer bear it?
Put yourselves in our place. Iiiiagine
how difficult it would be to refuse to
on the Sabbath when all you would have
to do to escape this brutal torture is to
begin walking - walking to work.
Others H a d Same Experiences
At Davao we met other prisoners who
had been transferred from the prison
camp at Cabanatuan, Luzon. They were
in worse condition than we - the most
wild-eyed, gaunt, wretched-looking men
I have ever seen!
After talking to them it was obvious

why they were in such a pitiful condition. For example:

Lieutenant Colonel Mellink told us
how the 7,000 Americans and the 5,000
Filipinos with him were treated after
their capture on the Island of Corregidor.
They were kept on a 100-yard square slab
of concrete for 15 days, from May 6-22.
After sevcn long days without food,
they were given their first dish of rice.
One faucet served the entire 12,000 men.
They waited in line 12 hours for each to
fill one canteen with water.
The heat on Corregidor was at its
worst in May. Men fainted by the score.
Hundreds died. The bloated and stinking
dead bodies lay out in the sun. Clouds
of black flies added to the misery.
On May 22, the Japanese loaded their
remaining captives into three small merchant ships and steamed to a suburb
south of Manila. When the heat of the
day had reached its peak, the Americans
were transferred a i d jammed into barges.
After waiting an hour in the hot sun,
they were towed to within a hundred
yards of the beach.
Although the barges could easily have
run up to the beach, the Americans were
forced to jump overboard and wade to
shore. Thus, when they were marched
through Manila in a Japanese victory parade, they presented the worst possible
appearance-wet, ragged, exhausted, staggering from illness and hunger.
This victory march through Manila
was a subtle method of convincing the
subject peoples of the Philippines that
only the Japanese were members of the
Master Race (Life, Feb. 7, 1944).
Just think! This same kind of punishment, and worse, will be soon inflicted
upon our entire nation by the worst of
the heathen-unless our people repent.
The men who had been transferred
from Cabanatuan to navao told us what
happened to two army officers and one
na7y officer who were caught attempting
to escape.
The Japanese beat the three Americans
about the feet and calves until they were
(Please continue on page 12)

August, 1961

The GOOD NEWS

Interiiational magazine of

T H E CHURCH OF GOD
L members
J
scattered abroad

m i n i ~ ~ w i rto
ig~

VOL. x
~~

-~

Herbert W Armstrong
Publisher and Editor
Garner Ted Armstrong
Executive Editor
Herman L. Hoeh
Managing Editor
Roderidc C. Meredith
Senior Editor
Albert J. Portune
David Jon Hill
Associate Editors
-~

NO. 8

quote: Brother, I know we are not ohserving the Lords Supper as it should be,
but my churchs doctrine compels me to
preach and teach it while I occupy the
pulpit, and your minister of yvui cliurch
would do the same. Here is prophecy
revealed right at my door, and what a
shocking revelation. Thanks to you and
your wonderful faculty for bringing it to
me.
Carmi, Illinois

(Editors C o m m e n t : W h a t a tragedy
that ministers like this man are leading
the people to compromise with pagan
tradition when rhey know better.)

___-

Address communications to the Editor,

Box 111, Pasadena, California

0 1961 by Radio Church of God

Be sure to notify us immediately of
change of address.

LETTERS TO
THE EDITOR
Getting Acquainted with
Ministers a n d Students
Dear Mr. Armstrong:
I received The BIBLE STORY book
and also the new ENVOY, and I thank
you so much for both of them. They are
wondcrful to read and look through to
get acquainted with all the ministers of
Gods Church and the students of Ambassador College. May God be with you
all.
Woman from Seattle, Washington
Bigger and Better Every Year
Dear Mr. Armstrong:
I received the 1961 ENVOY yesterday and must say they get bigger and
better every year. Last y a r I thought that
edition could not be surpassed, but the
1961 is better. The picture quality is
excellent and the information on the
progress of Godswork is just too wonderful. Keep up the good work.
Man from East Rutherford, N.J.

I Called On a Pastor
Dear Mr. Armstrong:
I called on a pastor of a growing
denominational church recently, and after
a two-hour conference he said-and I

T r u t h Hurts!
Dear Mr. Armstrong:
In the February 24 issue of The Sword
of the Lord there is an article on the front
page entitled Herbert W. Armstrong A
False Prophet. . . You seem to be reaching
more of their followers than is safe for
them. He said a number of their readers
had written in inquiring about the trustworthiness of Herbert W. Armstrongs
program. Of cotuse these people who
wrote to him are not those seeking truth,
because if they were, instead of asking
him about these facts that you give, they
would have searched to see if they were
so.

This kind of people are convinced

you are giving the true gospel, but not
wanting to follow it, need someone to
condone their acts. This evangelist seems
to be the right instrument for that. This
whole issue seemed to be frantically trying to counteract your influence. A kind
friend, saw to it that I read the paper. I
never heard of it before this. Yes, Mr.
Armstrong, your plain truth must be hitting where it hurts.
Woman from Portsmouth, N.H.

(Editors Comment: What these men are

afraid of is not nus influence but the
authority of the Message of Christ! )

Plain T r u t h No Longer
Brushed Aside
Dear Mr. Armstrong:
I am a traveling elder. I first saw the
PLAIN TRUTH magazine over a ycar
ago. I brushed it aside carelessly as I have
done with so many other so-called
prophetic magazines.
Recently during a spell of sickness a
neighbor left some of your literature for
me to read. I was rather irritated, but I
was at last compelled to read it. I cannot
pass it off as idle curiosity because I was
not curious. I read and the more I read
the more I became convinced of the
truih, the plain truth of what I had read.
I am now teaching my congregation
these truths as I now see them and I urge

them to write for THE PLAIN TRUTH.

Minister, Alabama
(Comment: Here is a man who is beginning to show the courage of his
convictions - who is willing to teach his
congregation the Truth. That is very rare
today! )
Modern T h i n k i n g
Dear Mr. Armstrong:
No word is ever spoken to warn our
large congregation, many of them collegc
and university students, that our world
is dying before our very eyes, our nation
teetering on the edge of chaos. Our
erudite and polished preachers give us
beautifully phrased and nicely restrained
sermons on moral behavior. Not one ever
dares to thunder the challenge of the
Ten Commandments at our well-dressed,
mink-wrapped, and modishly-attired congregation. W e swallow large doses of
Modern Thinking; evolution is an
accepted belief in this smug and selfcentered college and university town.
Most of our good members do not
more than raise a false eyebrow at a
single one of the ten major sins, though
the shocking fact that there are about 44
girls expecting now in our current crop
of High and Junior High schools has
caused a bit of a stir around the bridge
tables. I feel I would like to shout some
of the truth I have Itmiittcl, and am learning, from the very house-tops. But who
would listen? I mention these truths
often in conversation -but how many
people want truth - really? Ones family,
ones friends? Maybe one or two will
listen.
Wnman from Columbia, Missouri
Appendicitis Healed
Several weeks ago I sent for a prayer
cloth for my ruptured appendix. I am
healed, and I thank and praise God for
it. I also thank you for your fervent
prayers.
Woman, Port Lavaca, Texas

Not Swayed by Masses

A new young pastor advised me
against your teachings. Also, his mother
gave me a magazine which is in opposition to you; it only convinced me more of
your truths. I thank God I havent been
swayed by masses or any one particular
church.
Man, Pacoima, California

(Editors Comment: When you want to

know something about someone never
ask their enemies. Check up in your Bible
to see if it is so! )
Bible Finally Makes Sense
Dear Mr. Armstrong:
After years of trying I am at last
(Please continue on page 1 1 )

The TRUTH About

DRUGS and VACCINES
Can drugs and vaccines REALLY cure and prevent disease?
Here are FACTS that you need to know and a WARNING
you must heed!
by Robert C. Boraker

have become the nations

number one POISON KILLER! T h i s was t h e startling
statement made by Colliers magazine
of April 23, 1949 in reference to barbiturates, the drugs known as sleeping
pills.
Since that time, an increasing number
of facts have become known to the public
through newspapers and magazines
proving the truth of what Mr. Armstrong
said over fifteen years ago: Actually,
there isnt a cure in a carload - or a train
load - of medicine! (See the booklet,
Does God Heal Today? page 11.)
The use of drugs and medicines is on
rhe increase. Tranquillizers are used by
one out of seven people. Sixteen million
pounds of aspirin are consumed by the
public each year. And one hundred
million Americans are addicted to laxatives.
Yet, drugs and medicines have not
lowered the death rate caused by disease.
Instead, there have been alarming increases due to heart disease, cancer, diabetes and other killing diseases.

RUGS

Only Drug Industry Benefited

The statistics show that drugs and
medicines have not eliminated, or even
decreased, sickness and disease. Drugs
have benefited no one but the pharmaceutical companies and manufacturers.
The manufacturing of drugs has become big business! Some five hundred
new drugs are introduced every year and
millions of pounds are consumed by the
public. The success of drug sales is due
to the advertising methods used by drug
manufacturers.
What are some of these advertising
methods?
The former medical director of a major
drug firm told Senate investigators on
April 13, 1960 that the drug industry
has a simple maxim: If you cant convince them, confuse them. This was the
testimony of Dr. A. Dale Consul, who
further testified that the drug industry,
is unique in that it can make exploitalion appear a noble purpose. H e also
said in prepared testimony that doctors
and the public are subjected to a constant
barrage of new drugs even though
some are worthless and others have rra

greater potential for harm than for good

(emphasis ours throughout article).
Another revealing insight into the advertising methods used by the drug industry was given by Consumer Reports
in November, 1958: Newness has become the very touchstone of drug
production.. . . The more hectic pharmaceutical companies are remarkably like
the manufacturers of ladies dresses and
automobiles. To keep the sales curve in
attractive upthrust, they feel they need
to bring out new models every season.. . .
If a new model is actually a new drug, it
gets a tremendous promotional send-off,
often before anyone knows whether it
is good.. . . The theory - it apparently
works - is that if people hear about new
drugs they will rush into their doctors
offices to demand it. The tranquilliter
bonanza is an unhappy example of what
can happen in the wake of widespread
publicity.
D r u g s A r e Dangerous
Drugs are n o t only worthless, but
DANGEROUS! This fact is borne out by
numerous statements made by doctors
and medical authorities. Doctor Robert
H. Groh, associate professor of neurology
a t George Washington University, told
the Southern Medical Association that
s o m e tranquillizers have serious and
irreversible effects on the brain (Chicago
American, November 3, 1960).
A California newspaper printed this
report: Few realize that these potentially
dangerous drugs (penicillin, streptomycin, and other antibiotics) may not help,
but rather hinder recovery under certain
circumstances. . .The practice of asking
doctors for penicillin injections to help
clear u p minor colds and virus infections
is FRAUGHT W I T H DANGER! Some
of the newer drugs may have cumulative
side effects. There are no statistics available on these incidents. It is a wilderness
of uncertainties (Santa Rosa Press
Democrat, February 26, 1958).

The Effect of W o n d e r Drugs

Penicillin has been called a queen of
drugs despite the fact that there has
been an increasing number of severe and
fatal reactions which have been reported
in medical papers. In 1957, it was esti-

mated that some 1,000 deaths due to reactions to penicillin had occurred in the
United States alone.
Cortisone, the wonder drug used to
stop the symptoms of allergic disease in
children, may be a Dr. Jekyll and Mr.
Hyde, according to an expert in the pediatric field. Dr. Harry L. Mueller, allergistin-chief a t t h e childrens hospital in
Boston and a leader in the Harvard Medical School, summarized the case for and
against steroids, of which cortisone is
the original and bcst known: Surcly
these drugs are a wonderful thing to
adults who are willing t o trade a chance
of serious complications for the certainty
of allergy free lives, but while the over-all
death rate in America has been in a slow
decline for the past twenty years, the
death rate f r o m asthma has risen. I dont
say that steroids caused the rise, but I
find it dificult to blame anything else.
The facts about the results of Cortisone and ACTH were also reported by
Dr. Richard Freyberg of New York City,
professor of medicine at Cornell University Medical School. He said a series
of 168 rheumatoid arthritis patients
treated with steroids (hormones used in
the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis) in
large amounts over a five-year period
were studied at Cornell. T h e compounds
in no way inhibited the progress of the
disease. But in many patients, pain was
relieved and joint function maintained.
For this reason, the compounds once considered miracle drugs for rheumatoid
arthritis sufferers now can be considered
agents to relieve symptoms only, with no
curative effects.
On the other hand, the same studies
showed that side effects from the hormones are so severe as to demand that
doctors use them with the utmost caution,
and even avoid them wherever possible.
Between seven and eight percent of thc
patients died, he said, and there is a
strong suspicion that they died of the
treatment, not the disease. Fourteen percent of the patients developed bone weaknesses which caused them to suffer frequent fractures. Seventeen percent came
down with ulcers of the gastro-intestinal
tract. Other adverse side effects include
mental disorientation and high susceptibility to infections, he said. Steroids used

The GOOD NEWS

6
in rheumatoid arthritis are of the cortisone class ( D e n v e r P o s t , August 2 ,

1959).
Drugs Cause Disease
From the evidence of these reports,
there is no doubt that drugs CAUSE
DISEASE! Dr. Jesse D. Rising, of the
University of Kansas School of Medicine,
admitted that doctors have now begun
to recognize that these potent agents,
even when used properly and with the
greatest care, can cause disease similar
to or identicd with well-known diseases!
The wzdespread misuse of drugs is
another DANGER. The Canadian Medical Association Journal criticized this
situation and referred to the statement
made in the United States that only dbout
J(2of the 400 tons of antibiotics used
on the North American continent in 1959
was used correctly (Mail T r i b u n e of Medford. Oregon, March 10, 1960).
Because of the errors in administering
drugs to patients, financial losses to hospitals from malpractice suits have quadrupled over the past ten years, as reported
by N e w s w e e k (September 7, 1959).

Truth About Tranquillizers

Believe it or not, sugar pills were found
to be m o r e effecthie than drugs in a n experiment carried out by psychiatrists of
the University of North Carolina and reported by Dr. Harold Hymen in the
Oregon Journal: Using three different
tranquillizers, a pep-up pill and a placebo
(sugar pill), they treated a group of
eighty people suffering from various
mental disturbances such as depressions
(the blues), restlessness, confusion and
ideas of persecution (paranoia). After
two months of a blind study in which
neither patients nor doctors knew which
product was which, they made tests to
determine the effects of medication on the
anxiety content and moods of their subjects. The winner: t h e srqar pills, whose
subjects provcd lcss anxious and more
alert than the tranquillized and peppedup. Maybe some of us pill pushers ought
to take to the hills instead of the pills!
(March 7, 1961).
It is the tension o f modern, h i g h s f e e d
living that is causing anxiety. The useless
sugar pills added less physical shock to
the body than did the tranquillizers or the
pep-up pills!
Are drugs helpful in curing disease?
Or are they hariidul, dangerous to your
health and often t h e came of DEATH?
The foregoing facts and statements give
the obvious answer.

The T r u t h about Vaccinations

The truth about vaccines is even more
surprising! For the past sevcral years,
thousands of dollars have been spent in
research to find a vaccine which would

combat the dreaded childhood disease,

poliomyelitis. Each year since the time
of President Franklin D. Roosevelt,
March of Dimes campaigns were conductcd to bring in the money needed for
this research, And finally, the Salk vaccine was heralded before the public as
the saviour of our children.
The stage-dressing for the Salk vaccine was the greatest in the annals of the
history of medicine; the greatest mass
publicity by the greatest minds in the
profession was employed to put it over.
The public will long remember the drama
and the fanfare of optimistic cackle that
split the air when it was decided to make
the Salk vaccine the saviour of our children. This publicity had to achieve two
things: ( 1 ) it had to launch the vaccine,
and ( 2 ) it had to cause the public to
forget the failure of g a m m a globulin-the
Polio Foundation could point to only
seven children that it thought had been
saved from polio by the globulin, according to the Scientific American.
Now, at the end of December, 1956,
the cackle h d S become less optimistic.. . .
The Salt Lake City papers ceased to publish the polio figures after the number
went considerably beyond 100. They said
nothing about epidemics elsewhere, such
as the one in Chicago, which, according to
radio reports ran into the hundreds. The
newspapers remained silent about these
facts, just as, last year, when Massachusets, after inoculating fifty thousand children, had t e e times more polio cases
and BANNED FURTHER INOCULATIONS ( D r . Sheltons Hygienic Reuiew,
Fall, 1956).

Salk Vaccine Failed !

There were ouer 100 vaccine failures
reported in 1956 from various parts of
the United States. Some of these patients
had severe paralysis and at least two died.
In 1959, approximately 17% of the paralytic polio victims had been FULLY
VACCINATED with Salk shots and an
additional 18% of the victims had been
partially vaccinated with one or two Salk
shots, making a total of 35% who had
received the vaccine ( O m a h a Journal,
October 12, 1959).
In 1958, the Pioneer Press of St. Paul,
Minnesota carried an article on May 28th
headlined, Value of Salk Vaccine Challenged. T h i s article reported: The
possibility that Salk vaccine has no ualue
as a protection against polio was suggested here in a closing session of the
Minnesota State Medical Association
Convention. Dr. Harold R. Cox of Pear
River, New York, Director of virile and
rickettsia1 research for Lederle Laboratories, said the vaccine had little, if any,
effect on a polio epidemic in Israel last
year. . . . A report on the epidemic has
been kept confidential by the National

August, 1961

Fonndation for Infantile Paralysis which

chose n o t t o i n f o r m the public.
Ninety percent of Israels population
under six had been given Salk vaccine,
yet the outbreak of polio reached epidemic proportions, involving many paralytic cases. I t is evident that t h e Salk vaccine FAILED.
Throughout 1959, Salk vaccine failures
were reported from all over the country.
The first two paralytic polio cases of the
year in Alexandria, Virginia, hdd received
three Salk shots. The Honolulu Advertiser reported 32 paralytic polio cases and
16 of them-5OZ-had
Salk shots. The
American Capsule N e w s reported on
October 24th in the same year: Salk
inoculations have been discontinued in
England because of results contrary to
promises of vaccine salesmen.
In a letter circulated by the Colorado
Chiropractic Association, Dr. Lewis 0.
Gearhart said polio vaccinations are
abhorent to the Creator. Dr. Gearhart
termed polio shots as dangerous, frequently FATAL.
Vaccine May Kill Millions
The Director of the Institute of Molecular Biology at Oregon IJniversity declared that the Salk vaccine may kill
millions of Americans. This noted biologist said that the vaccine was rushed into
general use without proper testing Lrcause of great pressures -particularly
that exerted by the crippled child on the
poster. Anyone who suggested delay was
a monster. Yet the Salk vaccine may be
one of the things which will kill olze
third of the nations population!
As Dr. Novik explained the theory,
the vaccine may destroy the human
kidney. To make the vaccine, the virus
is grown in monkey kidney tissue. The
pcrson getting the shot builds up antibodies against the virus-the purpose of
the shot-but he also makes antibodies
against the monkey kidney. And since
there is a close similarity between the
kidneys of monkeys and humans, Dr.
Novik concluded that it is possible that
we will be provoked into making antibodies against our own kidneys. The Salk
vaccine was so widely given it is n o t inconceivable that w e will lose an entire
generabion-or perhaps humanity.. . . The
Salk vaccine is frankly a mess, Dr. Novik
charged. W e rushed into the program
without any real reason to believe it was
effective and without taking precautions
( R o c k y Mountain N e w s , March 31,
1960).

Good Diet Prevents Polio

One doctor states that polio is caused
by a weakened physical constitution and
that health-promoting foods can prevent
polio completely. Children who indulge
(Please continue on page 8 )

What Should I PRAY About?

I s it wrong to pray for oneself? about how to make ends
meet? about h o w t o overcome? Just what should one
pray about?
b y Lynn E. Torrance

do not know what to pray

about. We are often asked,
What can I pray about? Some
say, I ask God to forgive, to guide and
direct me. I ask God to bless the work,
the ministers, and the Church. What else
is there to pray about?
ANY

Acknowledge God
The Bible makes plain that the FIRST
STEP in learning what to pray about is
to realize WHOM we are praying to.
Did you take tiiile today to get down
on your knees and become acquainted,
in prayer, with God? Or are you waiting
for the right feeling? the right mood?
Are you, day after day, putting off
praying until tomorrow because you do
not think of anything to pray about?because you just dont feel comfortable
praying to God?
Notice what Jesus instructed His
disciples to pray about when they asked
him to teach them to pray. Jesus said-as
quoted in archaic English in the King
James Version, When ye pray, say, OUR
FATHER which art in heaven, hallowed
be thy name (Luke 1 1 : 1-2) .
We must first acknowledge the greatness of our Heavenly Father. Our faith
increases when we realize that what He
has promised He can and will perform!
He is the God of Heaven-the Ruler of
the whole universe.
Abraham strengthened his faith by
giving gloiy LO Gucl. He grew strong in
his faith as he gave glory to God, fully
convinced that God was able to do what
he had promised (Rom. 4 :20-21,
R.S.V.).
David was a praying man. David constantly gave glory and praise to God. His
last public prayer is given in the Bible
and is an excellent example of how to
give God Glory and Honor-of what to
pray about, Blessed are thou, LORD
God of Israel our fdther, for ever and
ever. Thine, 0 LORD is the greatness,
and the Power, and the glory, and the
victory, and the majesty; for all that is
in the heaven and in the earth is thine;
thine is the kingdom, 0 LORD, and thou
art exalted as head above all. Both riches
and honor come from thee, and thou
rulest over all.. . . In my hand it is to
make great and to give strength to all.
And now therefore, our God, we thank
thee, and pruise thy glorious name ( I
Chron. 29:lO-13).
Do you glorify the majesty, the power,

and the wisdom of God in prayer?

After you have praised and honored
God and hallowed His Holy name then
you pray-

He might use them as instruments

through whom He nourishes the flock He
has chosen. Ask God to use them to
preach from the scripture the words that
are profitable for doctrine, for reproof,
Thy Will Be Done
for correction, for instruction in rightNotice carefully that Christ next set
eousness (I1 Tim. 3: 16).
us the example to pray: Thy Kingdom
Dont pray these exact words. Jesus
come, T h y W i l l be done on earth as it is
didnt say: Pray this. He said Pray
in heaven (Mat. 6: 10).
thus! Build upon and expand these
What is Gods Will for this earth?
suggestions. You can think of many other
W e can know! God makes it cleat in His
things to pray about when interceding
Word what His Will is.
for Gods ministers.
In Mat. 24:14 we read: This gospel
These are but a few examples, a small
of the Kingdom SHALL be preached in
beginning of things to pray for. You can
all the world for a witness unto all
think of many others.
nations. This one verse teaches a great
Praying for each phase of the work is
deal about His Will.
important. In fact, the very existence of
How is this work of preaching and
the work of God depends upon your
publishing the Gospel to all the world
prayers.
being done? It is through the World
For example: When we prdy that God
Tomorrow broadcast,the PLAINTRUTH, lay it on the hearts of the people of this
the GOODNEWS,the CORRESPONDENCEcountry to send tithes and offerings to
COURSE,the booklets, the advertising in
support the cost of preaching and pubREADERS
DIGEST,
the Letter Answering
lishing this Gospel message to the entire
Department, the evangelistic campaigns,
world, it is His W i l l to honor that prayer.
the baptizing tours, the local visiting
He goes into action. He directly interteams, even through the Ambassador
venes in the very lives of the people of
College Envoy - and especially through
this country and makes them send in more
EACH and EVERY minister of God.
money than they would have otherwise.
Are you praying for the success and
Thus, through daily prayer you add to the
effectiveness of AJ,L these things? It is
list in heaven of those you arc hclping
Gods W i l l that you do!
to lead down the path that leads to
Pray for the World Tomorrow
eternal life. Your reward is certain.
broadcast. Pray that each time it goes out
PRAYERis your ministry. Lack of
over the air new people will be caused
prayer will keep you out of the Kingdom
to listen to it. Pray that doors to reach
of God! God expects you to do your part.
each section of the world, not now being
That is His will.
reached at this time, will be opened.
Give Us Our Daily Bread
Pray that God will train and send out
laborers to reap the harvest of interested
Did you know your daily bread is
listeners of the World Tomorrow
dual?
broadcast (Mat. 9:38). Pray that God
Jesus declared, I am the bread of life:
will send the right students to Ambassahe that cometh to me shall never hunger
dor College, men and women who have
(John 6 : 3 5 ) . Come to God through
the ability and talents and the submisdaily prayer and Bible study and He will
siveness that Hc can use in His Work.
supply your daily spiritual needs. You
Dont forget to pray that the students
have more daily need of spiritual food
who are already in Ambassador College
than even of physical food-but God
may bear more fruit.
here promises you both, if you will only
Pray for the co-worker letters, that
ask Him.
God will lay it on the hearts of the
Why is it that some who know God
readers to support this WORK with
wants to supply us daily with all our needs
their prayers, their tithes and their offerimmediately begin to ask God for things
ings.
that sarisfy the lust of the flesh. Their
prayers are usually very short and filled
And how long do you think it would
with Is, mes and mines. Its God
take you to pray for each and every
give me this and God give me that.
minister, carefully, diligently? Ask God
Ye ask, retorts James, and receive
to give them the power of His Holy
not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may
Spirit, His knowledge, His wisdom, that

August, 1961

The GOOD NEWS

5
consume it upon your lusts (James

4:2).
Forgive Us
Jesus also said to ask God to forgive
us our trespasses [or debts), as we forgive our trespassers [or debtors) (Mat.
6: 1 2 ) .
Have you asked God to forgive your
every sin, your every shortcoming, your
every weakness, your every stumbling and those of others? Do we also forgive
our debtors-those who offend us?
W e m u s t forgive everyone who has
stepped on our toes, everyone who has
ofleiided us, everyone who has wronged
us in any way whatsoever. God forgives
11s only as we forgive others! Remember
that forgiving means forgetting. Yet we
know that in some local churches there
are people w h o cannot b e forgiven by
God because they still refuse to forgive
their brethren. Brethren, this must not
continue!
And finally H e said, Lead us not into
temptation; but deliver us from evil.
God tcmpts no man. Let no niaii say
when he is tempted, I am tempted of
God: for God cannot be tempted with
evil, neither tempteth he any man: But
every man is tempted, when he is drawn
away of his own lust, and enticed (James
1 : 13-14). Watch and pray that you be
not drawn away by lusts and enter into
temptation (Mat. 2 6 : 4 1 ) . Watch, keep
awake. When wrong thoughts begin to
come into your mind, pee quickly to God
in prayer. Put your trust in Him. Or clse
God will allow you to stumble in temptation till you learn to put your whole
life in Gods hands.
W e are not to pray this sample prayer
that Jesus gave-word for word. W e are
tu use it as an outline for our daily
prayers. Few realize that Jesus also gave
innumerable other details to pray about
in His Word. These all magnify the
main principles mentioned in His outline
of prayer. They should all be fitted into
the pattern Jesus gave the disciples. We
are instructed to pray for those in
authority (I Tim. 2 : 1-3);for our enemies,
for those who persecute us (Mat. 5 :44)
;
for the brethren (Eph. 6: 1 8 ) ; that we
may escape the things to come (Luke
2 1 : 3 6 ) ; for the sick and afflicted (James
5 : 1 4 - 1 6 ) ; for your own requests (Phil.
4 : 6 ) ;for the ministry (I1 Thess. 3 : l ) ;
and for the churches (Eph. 1: 16; Col.
1.3; Philemon 4; I Thess. 1 : 2 ) .

Pray for Ourselves?

Of course! But not for ourselves only.
If your prayers include others and
theirs include you, think how many
prayers are said on your behalf! But if
you are selfish and pray only for yoursclf
- and everyone else did the same - then
only you would be praying for yourself.

A student at Aiiibassadoi Cullege discovered quite by accident the amazing

principle that the Law of Love is a Living
Law. H e had tried to overcome a certain
weakness but had failed again and again.
He felt miserable and dejected.
A friend revealed that he too was having trouble overcoming the very same
temptation. This student felt so miserable
himself that he hastened to go and pray
EARNESTLY for his friend. H e said,
Oh, God, dont let my friend be as wcak
and rotten as I am. Strengthen him, take
this temptation from him.
This student was amazed to discover
that after having prayed for his friend,
his own overpowering weakness left him!
It was suddenly as if this temptation no
longer existed.
This student learned that when one

has some sin he is unable to overcome,

if he will pray for all others who have,
or even might have the same weakness,
the God of Love rewards him for praying
for His OTHER children.
Try it. Pray for all the men and women
in the Church who have, or who even
might have - the same overpowcring
temptation you have and see for yourself
that God will reward you for showing
Love t o H i s O T H E R children by
strengthening you. H e can and will remove your temptation from you.
Remember, if you pray for others, and
all the others pray for you and others,
think how much more help you have
than if you alone prayed for just your
problem.

(Please continue on page 1 1 )

~~~~~~~

VACCINATIONS
(Continued f r o m page 6 )
in sofr drinks (especially colas), candy,
over-sweetened and refined, starchy foods,
are the greatest s d e r e r s of polio. Polio
i s u n k n o w n in countries where people
live on natural foods - raw milk, wholegrain cereals, fruits and vegetables-and
do not have our refined, devitalized, demineralized foods, candies and soft drinks.
The main diet of many people, especially children, in summer (the polio
season) consists of colas, soft drinks,
candy, h r dogs, hamburgers and ice
cream. If we would replace this junk
with substantial meals of fresh fruits,
melons, milk, vegetables a n d protein
foods (meat, fish, poultry and eggs), then
we would have greater resistance to polio
and other diseases. Also, there would be
almost no tooth decay.

Smallpox Vaccine
Smallpox is caused by unsanitary conditions and occurs in people whose vitality
is low, the composition of whose blood
is abnormal and in whom there is an
accumulation of morbid matter Smallpox
can be avoided by right living and right

thinking. Vaccination is NOT t h e solution! Statistics show that when England

was most vaccinated, she bud be rnwt
smallpox!
Proof that vaccination does not protect, not even for two months, can be
found in the Lancet (November 25,1944)
-a British medical magazine. This magazine gave the report of two army doctors
concerning o n e h u n d r e d consecutive
cases of smallpox among army personnel
in Egypt during 1943-1944. All but four
had been vaccinated, seventy of them
within two years of aitack by smallpox
and sixteen of them w i t h i n t w o months.
Of fourteen fatal cases, thirteen had been

vaccinated, one of them only two months

before he died of hemorrhagic smallpox.
Encephalitis (sleeping sickness) is due
to vaccination for smallpox. In England
(1940-1946), fourteen died of it, but
none died of smallpox. In Scotland (19421943 ) , there were twenty-five deaths
from smallpox and twenty-three frum
vaccination. In Edinburgh ( 1942 ) , ten
died from the effects of vaccination and
eight from smallpox (six of the eight had
been vaccinated ) .
Vaccination does not eliminate the
cause of disease-that of wrong living
habits! Disease is caused by wrong eating,
living and thinking! Our way of life must
be changed in order to eliminate sickness
and disease. This can only be done by
following the principlcs of life-the basic
laws of health-given by our Creator in
His Word, the Bible.
There are numerous scriptures in the
Bible which point out to us that we are
to rely, n o t on man, but on God for our
healing (see Psa. 103:3). When we put
our faith in men and their drugs and
vaccines, rather than in God who has ALL
POWER, we are actually putting man
and his ingenuity before the Creator God.
If we are to rely on Gods healing power,
it is impossible to rely also on medicines
and vaccines developed by men.
Those in the Church of God follow the
instruction given by the Apostle James
(James 5 : 14-16) and rely on Gods healing power through prayer for the healing
of sickness and disease. As believers in
Gods healing power and DIVINE PROTECTION, true Christians cannot put
their faith in the methods of men by
submitting thcmsclvcs to drugs and
vaccines.
Your faith is either in Almighty God,
the only true Healer and Protector, or in
the god of medicine (11 Kings 1 : l - 4 ) ,
drugs and vaccines. W h e r e is your faith
and w h o is your God?

Hot Weather Food Hints

At last! - here w e hegin a momthly series which will be combifled
finally to form the long-awaited COOK BOOK!
Working with our Home Economics Department at Ambassador,
under the direction of Mrs. V a n der Ve e r , are M r s , Mary E .
Heguold of Pasadena, previously Associate Professor of Foods and
Nutrition at the Uniu. of Tennessee and West Tennessee Nutrition
Consultant, and Mrs. Isabel1 F . Hoeh. We hope to have the Cook
Book ready in t w o to three years - but, in the meantime, Church
members will have it available month by month in the Good News!
o YOU long for tasty foods on hot summer days, yet are

discouraged by the thoughts of food preparation which

would add to your heat problems? Well, dont give up!
It is possible to have appealing, interesting meals during the
summer season without having to create a boiler-room atmosphere in your kitchen.
Too often the solution to this problem is sought in the form
of prepared foods from the store. Whether you realize it or
not, in doing this you pay far more than necessary for the foods.
No small part of the cost goes to finance someone elses labor for
preparing them. Besides being hard on our grocery allowance,
this method is generally less nutritious. And it is far below the
general quality of foods you could prepare by forethought and
planning.
Prepare i n Advance
In summer months it is often advisable to prepare portions
of our evening meal in advance in the cooler morning period of
the day. With only a minimum of effort and heating up of the
kitchen you can have your evening meal ready to be eaten.
There are several types of menu items which lend themselves
well to rhis method of planning. Some of these are (1) main
dishes which are prepared on top of the stove, such as meat,
fish, poultry and dried beans; ( 2 ) stews; ( 3 ) soups; ( 4 ) salads,
such as tuna, potato, kidney beans and poultry; ( 5 ) fresh vegetables; ( 6 ) fresh fruits and fruit drinks.
Many of these - such as the cooked main dishes, stews, soups
and fruit drinks-may be completely prepared in advance of
the meal for which they are to be used. The other foods suggested should be only partially prepared prior to the time of day
for which you intend to use them. This is in order to cut down
on the chances for food spoilage and also to insure getting the
most food value from the fresh fruits and vegetables.
Use Fresh Fruits and Vegetables
During their summer growing season fresh fruits and vegetables offer opportunities for a wide variation in our menus. In
their raw state these foods may be used alone or in combinations.
Colorful relish plates can be made from such raw vegetables as
radishes, celery, green peppers, cauliflower, green onions, broccoli, tomatoes, turnips and carrots.
Fresh ripe fruits are appetizing served whole or in combinations of two or more as a salad or as a fruit cup for dessert.
Fresh fruits and vegetables may be cleaned in advance and kept
in the refrigerator until time to serve them. If the vegctables
or fruits are to be used in a salad it is generally better to chop,
dice or grate them just prior to time to eat them. This procedure

of preparation helps you to get more food value from the fruits
and vegetables. These foods retain their full nutritive value
when left whole. When they are cut into small pieces a loss of
vitamins results -hence if they are to be cut into small pieces
do this just before you are ready to serve them.
Hot summer weather provides an ideal atmosphere for breeding bacteria which are a cause of food poisoning. As a safeguard
against food spoilage be especially careful in the handling of
certain types of foods during the hot weather season. Foods
needing this cautious attention include meats, particularly
ground meat; seafood; poultry; main dishes made with cream
sauces; egg-milk mixtures such as custards, puddings, and
sauces; egg and salad dressing mixtures such as potato salad,
macaroni salad and similar combinations; cream style foods and

soups.
Fast Cooling Important
These foods may be entirely or partially prepared in advance

of the time for them to be used only if certain precautions are

taken in so doing. If this is not possible then these types of food
should be used as soon as they are prepared. Any leftovers need
to be refrigerated immediately if you plan to use them again. If
you are preparing the foods in themorning for use at the evening
meal they should be cooled as quickly as possible after removing
rlie~nfrom the stove. This may be done by placing the cooking
utensil in a pan of ice water or ice cubes and letting it remain
just till the food is cool. During this time the food should be
covered to hold in the flavors and as a protection against anything that might fall into it. As soon as the prepared dish is
cool it should be immediately placed in the refrigerator and
kept there until time for serving.
If the dish being prepared in advance is a protein food - such
as meat, fish, poultry or eggs - which is to be used in combination with a cream sauce, prepare cdnd cool the protein portion
and the sauce separately. When the two parts of the dish ate
cool then blend them and refrigerate. This procedure makes
the cooling process more rapid and reduces the likelihood of
spoilage.
If refrigeration is not available these foods should be prepared
as close as possible to the time for them to be eaten. Under such
conditions only the amounts that can be eaten a t one meal should
be cooked at a time.

SUMMER MAIN DISHES

Groand beef ofTers a number of possibilities as a main dish
in a form other than plain hamburgers. The following ground
beef recipe is a basic one which could make its appearance on

The GOOD NEWS

10

your table in a variety of ways. The type of preparation used

involves only the top of the stove-no heating of the oven
which continues giving off heat after you have finished using
it. This recipe may be made in advance, cooled rapidly, and
stored in the refrigerator until mealtime.
Some serving suggestions are ( 1) on toasted buns or bread,
topped with grated natural cheddar cheese if desired; ( 2 ) on
inashcd potatoes; and ( 3 ) in a bowl as the mcat course of a
regular meal.
To balance the meal, add a cooked vegetable, a raw vegetable
salad, milk or fruit juice beverage and fresh fruit in seasonand you have a hearty meal, with a minimum of effort.
Barbecue-style Ground Beef
1 lb. ground lean beef
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cupchopped onion
1 cup chopped celery ( 2 large stalks)
'/z cup chopped green pepper
1 10$5 oz. can condensed tomato soup
1 or 2 tablespoons barbecue or chili sauce
1 teaspoon salt
y4 teaspoon pepper
Wash and chop celery, green pepper and onions.
Put the tablespoon of oil into a hot skillet, then spread the
ground meat over the bottom of the skillet.
When meat is browned on the under side, stir in the
chopped vegetables and cover the skillet. Turn heat fairly low,
let the mixture steam until vegetables are tender.
Add tomato soup, barbecue sauce and other seasonings, replace cuver and simmer for 2 0 or 30 minutes. (Good canned
barbecue and chili sauces may be purchased at most grocery
stores. Watch the labels for the kind of fat used in them, if
any Used sparingly, these sauces can add zest to many meat
and egg dishes.)
Remove from heat and serve immediately or cool rapidly
over ice water or ice cubes, refrigerate and serve later. For later
use take it from the refrigerator just prior to time to use it,
reheat and serve.
On steamy days when you want to keep cooking of meat
dishes to a bare minimum, tuna offers an ideal solution to your
problem. It can be used in a variety of ways-especially in
tuna vegetable salad. Such a dish requires no cooking. When
prepared in this manner the tuna and vegetables give you one
dish for the whole main course of your meal-meat, cooked
vegetable, and raw vegetables all combined.
To round out the meal you may add potatoes or corn on the
cob, bread, butter, milk or fruit juice and raw fresh fruit. This
will offer you a simple meal, yet one that is attractive, filling
and nutritious.

Tuna-Vegetable Slaw
1 695- or 7-ounce can solid-pack tuna
1 cup shredded cabbage
1 cup quick-cooked frozen or fresh green peas
1/2 cup diced celery
'/2 cup minced green pepper
1/4 cup diced carrot
1 tablespoon minced onion
$4 to $4 teaspoon salt
34 cup mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice

August, 1961

Prepare all of the vegetables, shredding the cabbage at thc

last as cabbage changes flavor quickly after being cut. Mix
them lightly with the salt.
Open the can of tuna and drain off excess liquid if there is any.
Break the tuna into chunks and turn out onto the vegetables.
Stir the mayonnaise to cream, then blend the lemon juice
into it. Pour it over the tuna and vegetables and toss lightly to
mix. Serve immediately. If allowed to stand this salad becomes
watery. Enough for 4, or 6 if some are small children.
If you do not happen to havc meat on hand to provide
protein for your meal, then have a dish that includes milk,
eggs, or cheese. For the summer months a cold plate with
slices of cheese such as Swiss, mild cheddar, and sharp cheese
bordered by stuffed eggs provides an attractive main dish for
your meal. With this you could serve a cooked vegetable, sliced
tomatoes, tossed green salad and top off the meal with fruit in
season.
W e often brand soup as a winter food, but it need not be.
If you happen to have a small amount of several raw vegetables that nccd to be used it is an ideal way to use them all at
once. Besides, soup is a food that may be prepared in the
morning, cooled rapidly, refrigerated, reheated and served at
the evening meal. Cheese sandwiches go well with vegetable
soup. The cheese contributes protein to the menu. They, too,
may be made in advance and kept in the refrigerator until
mealtime. Since the soup already furnishes a variety of vegetables it is not necessary to have a vegetable salad. With this
kind of meal a fresh fruit salad on crisp lettuce, or a fruit cup
dessert made of mixed fresh fruits is better.
Italian Vegetable Soup

3 tablespoons brown rice

'/2 cup boiling water
1 cup diced carrots

Y2 cup diced celery

'/z cup finely diced onion
9'4 cup diced green pepper
1% tablespoons olive oil
4 cups hot water
11/2 teaspoons salt
$4 teaspoon powdered dried thyme
Ys teaspoon black pepper (if desired)
1 cup shredded cabbage
2 cups canned tomatoes or tomato juice
or 3 cups diced fresh tomatoes
1 cup frozen or fresh shelled peas
1/4 cup minced parsley
1 tablespoon prepared mustard (if desired)
Put the rice into a teacup, pour the boiling water on it,
cover and set aside. (Rice as it is packaged today does not
need washing.)
Prepare the carrots, celery, onion and green pepper. Pour the
oil into a 2-quart or larger pot and place over low heat. Add
the vegetables that were prepared and stir to coat them with
the oil. Put a lid on the pot and leave to steam for 15 or 20
minutes. They should not become hot enough to brown.
Add the hot water, salt, thyme, pepper and the rice-plus the
water in which it was soaked- to steamed vegetables. Increase
the heat to bring the soup to a fast simmer. Let cook while
preparing the next ingredients to be added.

The GOOD NEWS

August, 1961

When you have shredded the cabbage, add it and let rook
about another 15 minutes. Then add the frozen or fresh shelled
peas and the parsley and cook 5 to 8 minutes more. If fresh
tomatoes are beins used, add them at the same time. If canned
tomatoes or tomato juice are used, add them after peas and
parsley have cooked and bring the soup to a simmer. Canned
tomatoes have already been cooked in the canning process.
If you desire it zesty soup, add the prepared mustard also.
Before adding it to the soup, mix a teaspoon of water with it
so that it blends in smoothly.
More water and salt may be added to this soup if a thinner
soup is better liked.
For a more economical soup, green split peas may be substituted for the fresh or frozen peas. Pour a cup of boiling
water onto y3 cup of split peas, cover and leave to soak just
as with the rice. Add them when the cabbage is added as they
cook more quickly than rice does.
If desired, Parmesan cheese may be sprinkled on top of the
bowls of soup as it is served. Serves 6.
A hearty soup - such as the next vegetable-bean soup - is
almost n complete meal by itself. Served with a dessert-type
salad made of shredded carrots, diced apples and raisins, it
makes a satisfying and filling meal.
Vegetable-Bean Soup
cups dried small white or lima beans
2 quarts cold water
2 teaspoons salt
1 /2 cups diced carrots
% cup shredded or finely sliced green pepper
1/i medium onions, chopped
I$ cups canned tomatoes
3 tablespoons whole wheat flour
!/3 cup cold water
3 cups milk

11

Wash the beans, place them in a large pot and add the cold
water. Let soak overnight.
In the morning add the salt and place the pot of beans with
the water in which they soaked over low heat. Simmer (do
not boil) until the beans are nearly tender.
Add the prepared raw vegetables and simmer about 30
minutes longer or until the vegetables are done.
Add the tomatoes and bring to the simmering point again.
Mix the flour and cold water to a smooth paste and stir it
quickly into the simmering soup.
Aftcr the soup has cooked a few minutes to thicken, add the
milk and heat to serving temperature.
If desired, 2 or 3 tablespoons of butter may be added. Serves
8 or 10 persons.
Hot weather and something cool to drink seem to go together. All too often beverages which provide little more in
value than something to satisfy the taste are used as summertime thirst quenchers. W e can please our thirst and at the same
time provide our bodies with more than empty calories. There
are unsweetened fruit juices on the market which may be
blended with fresh fruit juices and honey to make appealing
drinks. These juice drinks are tasty and contain food values
that the usual bottled drink or prepared punches rlu uot.
Honeyed Fruit Punch

2 cups un<weetened pineapple juice

/2 cup lemon juice

2 cups unsweetened grape juice
2 cups water
6 tablespoons honey
Mix thoroughly. Chill or serve over ice cubes.
Serve cold. Yield: 8 servings.

(To be continued next issue)

~~~~~~

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

(Continaed f r o m page 4)
interested in my Bible and getting some
sense out of it. It no longer just collects
dust. Ive been considerably shook up
at some of the things Ive heard on your
broadcast and amazed to find out how
much I havent understood at all or have
just taken for granted.

Woman, Bound Brook, New Jersey

(Editors note: It gives us a wonderful
feeling to hear from people who are
opening up their Bibles, really studying
and learning the way to happiness and
life, no longer just taking things for
granted.)

What Should I Pray About?

(Continued from $age 8 )
Therefore pray that God will imbue
us all with His Holy Spirit (Luke 11: 13).
Ask God for the gift of repentance so
all can overcome sin. Ask God for
wisdom (James 1: 5 ) , power, understanding, and knowledge.
Pray that God will implant in His
people the DESIRE to study and pray
until all are filled with the Spirit of God,
with understanding and a true sense of

values.
When you read the Bible and dont
understand a verse-that is something to
pray about. If you are falling short of
obeying His instruction - that is something to pray about. For some of you
there are almost as many things to pray
about as there are verses in the Bible!
Dont just limit the things you pray
about to the points mentioned in this

article. Ask God to show you what else

HE wants you to pray for. HE will show
you in His W o r d many other things to
pray about.
Whatever you do dont let your prayer
become a mere ritual, a vain repetition.
Be diligent. Be persistent. Prayer and
Biblc Study must be first in your life, or
you are putting something else before
God. W e receive what we ask of God because we keep his commandments, and do
those things that are pleasing in His
sight ( I John 3 :22 ) .
Prayer has to become heartfelt - full
of thanksgiving, praise and joy. It should
be a spontaneous and natural talking to
God. The more you pray, the more you
will understand how to pray.
God KNOWS that many of you faithful brethren are praying. He also
KNOWS that others have not prayed as
they should.
Gods ministers have said, YOU ARE
CONVERTED t o the degree that you
PRAY for Gods work!
If you have been PUTTING OFF
prayer until tomorrow D O something
now. Force yourself to begin to study and
pray. Dont put off your own salvation!

The GOOD NEWS

12

TRIBULATION
(Continaed f r o m page 3 )

unable to stand. Then they stomped up

and down on them with all their weight.
These brave men were stripped of all
their clothing, except shorts, and dragged
outside the camp to a point in full view
of the rest of the Americans. Their hands
were tied behind them, and they were
pulled up by ropes tied to their wrists,
so they had to remain standing on their
crippled legs and feet.
Then began 45 hours of inhuman torture. Ihe Japanese periodically beat the
men with a heavy two-by-four. Their
half-conscious screams were horrible to
hear. They were battered beyond recognition.
Strong men vomited. Others said, Oh,
just to be able to lie down and die!
This happened to hardened soldiers!
Now notice what God prophesies is to
happen to this entire nation little more
than 10 years from now! . . .because thou
wouldest not obey the voice of the LORD
thy G o d . . . the LORD shall scatter thee
among all people.. . The LORD shall give
thee there a trembling heart, and failing
of eyes, and sorrow of mind: And thy
life shall hang in doubt before thee; and
thou shalt fear day and night, and shalt
have none assurance of thy life: In the
morning thou shalt say, Would God it
were even! and at even thou shalt say,
Would God it were morning! for the
fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt
fear, and for the sight of thine eyes which
thou shalt see (Deut. 28: 62-67).
W e Americans were horrified to learn
of the intense resentment and hatred
that the Japanese felt for us. Because
they felt inferior to the Americans, they
tried to show us how great they were by
mistreating us in every way possible. Life
as a prisoner-of-war was a living hell of
fear, starvation, and forced labor.

A Sense of Humor
The evening of June 5, 1944, about

5 oclock, the Japanese told us that they

really liked LIS and wanted to feed us
more. After a diet of virtually nothing
but rice for many months, this was the
best news that we had heard in a long
time. They gave us soybeans and some
half-rotten sweet potatoes to eat. The
kitchen was kept open all night and we
were allowed to eat all that we could
hold.
However, so much rich food was a
violent shock to our stomachs. It caused
us to vomit. But it was so much fun to
eat that we kept coming back, again and
again, all night long. Our digestive systems were not able to tolerate such a
terrific shock. Severe cramps and diarrhea
set in.

The next morning we were marched

on board a ship in Davao harbor. Six
hundred of us were tightly jammed into
a small, dark hold. They put the cover
over the hatch, then closed the door that
led down the gangway into our hold.
There were no toilet facilities.
The heat was terrific, and there was no
ventilation except one small porthole.
Within a few minutes we were soaking
wet with sweat. Our bodies stung as all
the excess water was drained out of us
by the terrific heat. Our thirst became
maddening.
I remember that the physical and mental anguish caused by the constant, everpresent pangs of hunger was so unbearable that I even despaired of living.
Then when the unbearable physical
agony of intense thirst set in, 1 suddenly
knew that extreme THIRST was fa. worse
than the extreme hunger I had been suffering. I thought, Oh! just to get back to
the United States where I can get a drink
of water. Food is easy to get!
Men began to pass out all around due
to the heat and suffocation. A desperate
struggle for breath began. I then discovered how very much worse it was to be
without AIR, than it was to be thirsty or
hungry. A dying man clings desperately
to the last thread of life. When you are
without air, and life begins to ebb away,
panic sets in.
As far as I can remember, for the FIRST
time in my life I prayed-Oh God, just
let me get back to the United States alive,
where I can take a breath of free air.
I know that I can always find food and
water-Ill never, never again complainno, never!
Finally, after men began to die, the
Japanese opened the hatch door and gave
us a little air.
Yet, as bad as that experience was, it
is certain that there is coming upon this
nation CATASTROPHE that will be far
worse than anything that has ever been
experienced by humans in the whole history of man! The Almighty God says so!
It grieves me to realize that some of
my friends, yes, some of you, are deliberately choosing to go through an
experience that will be far worse than my
3 % years of tribulation.
Many of you are proving by your very
actions that you really believe it is too
much work to study and pray now, too
much work to struggle to overcome.
Sonie of you actually have said to me
that it will take the tribulation to make
you spiritual, that in the face of great
danger you will suddenly become willing
to give your life for the faith.
Listen!
Let me assure you that it is much,
much EASIER to give your life in service to God NOW-it is much easier to
study and pray now-it is much easier

August, 1961

to have a living, arrive parr in spreading

the work of God now than it will be to
die an agonizing death for refusing to
disobey God when brutal, vicious
guards try to see how much toituir tliry
can inflict upon you.
If you have to go through the tribulation, I am certain that the mental agony
you will have - when you realize that you
could have escaped all this torture-may
well be more than you can bear. It will
be worse than the agony of starvation,
thirst, and suffocation.
The tragedy of it all is that some of
yoil dont even know that you are lukewarm. Y o u have never studied the Bible
enough to let the Word of God correct,
reprove, and instruct you in righteousness. You dont know that you dont
know.
But-if you REPENT-you need not go
through the coming tribulation, for God
has promised that the faithful will
escape (Rev. 3: 10).

A Prisoner in Japan
The boat trip from the Philippines to
Japan took us 90 torturous days. I will
not recount what the succeeding, seemingly endless months were like.
W e prisoners-of-war were forced to
work seven days a week in a steel mill
in Toyama, Japan. In July, 1945 the
US. Air Force dropped tens of thousands
of propaganda leaflets in Japanese. These
leaflets had a devastating effect upon the
Japanese. They said, In accordance with
Americas well-known humanitarian
principles, the American Air Force,
which does not wish to injure innocent
people, now gives you warning to evacuate your city. They warned the Japanese
that the air raid would begin at 11:30
pm., August 9 and end at 2:30 in the
morning. It did.
About 400 B29s dropped incendiary
bombs. The fantastic figure of 99.5 per
cent of the city of Toyama was destroyed
in incendiary mission 307. (Craven and
Cate, The Army Air Forces in World
War 11, Vol. 5 , p. 657.) Our compound,
which was on the eastern edge of
Toyarna, contained the only buildings
left in sight. Not a one of us was injured.
Not a building of the compound harmed!
They also dropped leaflets saying that
our steel mill area was to be the next
atom bomb target. But the war ended the
very day the raid was scheduled! Did
God look down and protect me even
when I was a sinner!-knowing that He
was going to call me to become a member of His Church?
Out of Slavery
September 6, 1945, I was released from
the Japanese prison camp After arriving
back in the United States, I was able to
(Please continue on page 16)

IS JUDAISM the Law of Moses?

T h e Pharisees seize authority f r o m the priests, the traditions of
the elders replace the Bible, laymen claim t o be prophets -these
surprising facts are discussed in this ninth installment.
by Ernest Martin
last installment revealed how
laymen came to power through
Judaism-how they called pagan
customs the traditions of the elders.
Now see what occurred in the century
just bcforc Christs birth.

HE

Innovation of Precedents Which

Helped Form Judaism
The acceptance of the traditional
laws, supposedly handed down from
Moses, placed the lay leaders in a position of power and authority among the
people. It was the peaple themselves who
had inherited the many new customs,
and when the lay leaders condoned the
customs, claiming them to be Jewish in
origin, the people looked upon the lay
leaders with honor and respect.
The lay leaders were quite aware that
there was no truth in their assertions that
these new customs came from Moses.
But in order to please the people they
deliberately propagated this falsehood.
In consequence of their newly found
authority, the lay leaders set themselves
up as ultimate teachers in matters pertaining to every phase of religious activity. In the matter of accepting the customs inherited from Hellenism, they
maintained their prerogatives, as religious authorities, to decide which of rhe
customs to accept and which ones to
reject.
No one except the recognized teachers
could say what the tradition contained
(Heriord, Talmzrd and Apocrypha, p.
6 8 ) . Of course, the customs to which
the people were most wedded were necessarily accepted.
Many of the priests in the Sanhedrin
objected to the lay leaders assumption
of powcr and especially of their raising
to divine law the new customs from Hellenism. The priests were also obstinate
in their belief that the authority to rule
should be accorded to them alone, for
they properly maintained that they were
the descendants of Aaron and the only
ones recognized by Scripture to he in
authority to rule over the people. But
the lay leaders would not concede to the
priests demands, and they had the majority of thc pcoplc bchind them. Too iiiaiiy
of the priests had deserted to outright
Hellenism in the anarchial period and
the people were still wary of their tactics.

The Pharisees a n d Sadducees

The differences of opinion between

the lay leaders and the priests caused a

permanent breach between these two
groups. The lay leaders, with the religious Jews on their side and believing
in the traditional laws, gathered thembelves rugether into one major group.
The priests, on the other hand, who
tended to agree with one another, gravitated into another group.
This breach between the two leading
religious factions among the Jews was
the beginning of two prominent New
Testament Jewish sects: the Pharisees
and the Sadducees. The lay leaders comprised the Pharisaic group. Most of the
priests represented the Sadducees. Members from both groups remained in the
Sanhedrin, but they were almost always
divided on policy.
I t is not to be supposed that the
whole Jewish population was anxious
to get back to some form of religious
observances after the period of religious
anarchy. The great majority of people
were not overly interested in religion.
As stated before, 95% of the Jews in
Christs time were not members of the
Jewish sects. This lack of real interest
in religion among the Jews in New
Testament times had its origin within
the period of religious anarchy.
T h e Jewish people as a whole never
recovered from t h e condition that existed
within that anarchial period. There was,
of course, a limited amount of religious
compunction, but not enough for the
whole nation to become members in the
sects of Judaism.
The Pharisees, however, did have on
their side those Jews who were religiously inclined, but the majority showed
varying degrees of indifference to the
religious squabbles among the Pharisees
and Sadducees.
Josephus, the Jewish historian, has
this to say about these Pharisees and
Sadducees:
The Pharisees have delivered to the
people a great many observances by succession from their fathers, m d are not
written in t h e Laws of Moses; and for
that reason it is that the Sadducees reject
them, and say we are to esteem those
observances to be obligatory which are
in the written word, but are not to observe what are derived from the tradition
of our fathers. And concerning these
things it is that great disputes and differences have arisen among them, while the
Sadducees are able to persuade none but

the rich, and have not the populace obsequious to ilieiii, bur the Pharisees have
the multitude on their side (Antiquities
of t h e Jews, XIII, 10, 6 ) .
Pharisees Repudiate Sole Authority
of Priests to Teach Law
A major decision of the Pharisees was
that of rejecting the sole authority of
the priests to be the religious authorities.
The Pharisees admitted that the priests
were the only ones with the right to perform the ritualistic services in the Temple. But other than this minor role in
directing the religious life of the people,
the priests henceforth had little to do,
religiously speaking. The Pharisees came
to recognize themselves as the only real
religious leaders.
In assuming the religious leadership,
the Pharisees reasoned that they were
taking the place of the priests whom they
considered unfit to govern the people on
account of their rejection of the traditional laws.
Pharisees Reckoned Themselves
as Prophets
Upon appropriating to themselves the
religious authority among the Jews, the
Pharisees thought themselves also competent to be the ultimate judges concerning
all religious questions. This gave them,
so they reasoned, the right to speak in
the name of the Eternal even as the
prophets of old had done.
0is certain that they [the Pharisees)
regarded themselves as the successors of
t h e prophets, and that not merely in fact
but by right (Herford, Tdlmud and
Apocrypha, p. 7 1) .
The Pharisees contended, by their own
statements, that they had been given the
spirit of prophecy as had the prophets
of old.
They had already accepted the new
customs as divine law-and they reckoned that only individuals under the influence of the Spirit of God could do
such things! In the Jewish Talmud, a
compilation of Jewish writings from the
days after Alexander the Great to about
400 years after Christ, there are several
statements of these early Pharisees in
regard to their belief that they had the
same authority as the prophets. In the
talmudical tractate called Baba Bathra,
in section 12a, we read this: Prophecy
was taken f r o m t h e Prophets and was
given t o t h e W i s e [the Pharisees). To

14
this remark is added: and it hns n o t been
taken f r o m these.
Herford deduces from this particular
reference, among many others in the TalI I I U ~ ; Tilt. releva~iceof this passage.. .
is that the Rabbis [the Pharisees] felt
that they had, no less but even m o r e than
t h e prophets, divine authority for what
they taught, and that this was given to
them after the time when the prophets
ceased to function. It was the way of
expressing the belief that the revelation
did not cease with the extinction of
prophecy ( T a l m u d and Apocrypha, p.
72).
The audacious Pharisees considered
their laws and commandments as having
more weight than those of the Prophets!
That divine revelation did not cease with
the prophets, but was now in action in
the Pharisees as well! They were confident that what they were teaching -even
though in so many cases it did not agree
with the plain and simple commandments of God as revealed in Scripturewas divine teaching as prompted by the
Spirit of God.
The Pharisees felt that God was revealing Himself now as H e had revealed
Himself to the prophets, and sfieaking
not .alone in t h e words of a n ancient text,
but in words which came f r o m t h e heart
and conscience o f m e n who felt His hand
laid upon thein to guidc thcm into all
truth (ibid., p. 69).
Notice this! The Pharisees came to the
place of believing that God did not reveal
Himself in the Scriptures alone--speaking not alone in the words of an ancient
text- but that He was actively revealing
His present truth to the Pharisees through
influencing their hearts and consciences!
You can imagine what unlimited authority this gave the Pharisees among those
who accepted their beliefs.
By appropriating the role of modern
prophets, they maintained the right of
free prophetic utterance. That is, they
claimed the prerogative to speak the current will of God without the necessity
of appealing to the Scriptures. They did
not believe they had to be shackled to
the teaching of the Scriptures!
This opinion gave the Pharisees extreme latitude. They believed, as Herford
puts it, in the cowinuous progressive
revelation of God, and that H i s authority
was made k n o w n in the reason and conscience of those w h o sought t o k n o w H i s
will, and not only in t h e written t e x t of
t h e Torah [the law of God] ( T a l m u d
and Apocryfiha, p. 7 3 ) .
The ideas and beliefs of the Pharisees
originated in their own minds!
The Pharisees claimed that the Holy
Scriptures alone were not sufficient to
give the complete truth of God-especially since environmental conditions
change. To the Scriptures, they claimed,

The GOOD NEWS

had to be added the so-called traditional

law (which they determined to be the
Word of God).
There are Churches today who claim
the same prerogative. The Roman Catholic Church, for example, does not derive
its authority from the Bible. It rejects,
in many cases, the plain teaching of Scripture to proclaim its own church doctrines.
T h e y [ t h e Pharisees] apheld t h e
authority of tradition as superior t o indi&dual intelligence, and taught that no
Scripture should be of unauthorized, or
private, interpretation (Conder, Judas
Maccabaeus, p. 203 ) .
It is indeed amazing to what extent
the Catholic Church parallels the actions
of the Pharisees in this matter.

New Doctrines T a u g h t Independent

From Scripture
With the feeling that they had the
spirit of God guiding thcm, the Pharisees began to make more laws and commandments of their own, without
appealing to the Scriptures.
The first Pharisee we have record of
who began to teach new commandments
of his own, without any Scripture basis,
was Joseph ben Joezer. Thiq Pharisee
lived at the time the majority of the
Pharisees erroneously accepted the traditional laws as the Oral Law of Moses.
Joscph ben Jotzer ma& iliree new
laws completely independent of Scripture. In fact, what he commanded was
not only independent of Scripture but
was not even permitted by t h e Law of
God. His commandments in themselves
were not earth-shaking violations, but
they were only the beginning of a new
trend.
His first law permitted the Jews to eat
an insect related to the locust family
wliicli all Jews previously had considered
unclean! Also, he permitted the Jews to
eat of the liquids of the slaughrering
place (apparently blood, etc. ) . This, of
course, was contrary to many Scriptures
(Lev. 3: 17, etc.) . His last commandment
concerned the touching of a dead body.
He permitted persons to be ritualistically
clean even if they were in constant contact with individuals who had become
unclean by touching a dead body (Lev.
11:27, 31, etc.). For making all these
new laws, which permitted people to do
what had been previously forbidden in
the Law of God, he was named by his
contemporaries Joseph the Permitter.
Joseph is called the Permitter, evidently because in all three decisions he
permits things that were formerly considered forbidden (Lauterbach, Rabbinic
Essays, p. 2 19) .
These three new commandments were
not the only ones to be enacted by the
Pharisees. The action of Joseph the Permitter was the setting of a precedent!

August, 1961

His commandments weir a litilr reluctantly received at first, but the reluctance
did not last long. From that time forward
a flood of n e w commandments began to
come forth from the Pharisees.
These new laws, which Jesus called
the commandments of men (Mark 7 :7 ) ,
the Pharisees called hy the Hebrew name
Halachah. This Hebrew word in English
means rule or decision. It denoted a
new rule or decision of the Pharisees.
The tcrm fIulachah (01 soirietimes the
plural Halakot) will be used in succeeding parts of this thesis series to
denote the human commandments of the
Pharisees.)
Now notice whar Herford says concerning these three new commandments
(Halachub) of Joseph the Permitter.
The Mishnah [a part of the Talmud]
records three halachahs which were declared by him.. .but which evidently met
with some objection and gave occasion
to his colleagues to call him Joseph the
Permitter. This was because.. .he was
able to declare that to be allowable which
till t h e n had not been allowable, since no
interpretation of t h e written text [the
word of God] had been found which
.would justify his conclusion (Talmud
and Apocrypha, p. 67 ) .
These new Halachah of Joseph the
Permitter were not customs or habits that
hdd been inherited from the days of the
religious anarchy. Or, to put it another
way, these were not laws which the Pharisees claimed to be part of the traditional
laws from Moses. These n e w laws were
nothing more than commandments originating in the mind of Joseph himself.
Notice what Lauterbach says:
It is therefore evident that these Halakot ...were not older traditional laws
transmitted by Joseph as a mere witness,
but Josephs o w n teachings. H e was t h e
one w h o permitted and h e deserved t h e
name [the Permitter) (Rabbinic Essays,
p. 218).

Pharisees Adopt Precedent of

Joseph t h e Permitter
Because Joseph rhe Permitter was one
of the chief leaders among the Pharisees
immediately following the Maccabean
Revolt (168-165 B.C.), other Pharisees
immediately followed his authoritative
example and made new commandments
or Halachah on their own. This method
of teaching was not whole-heatedly accepted by all Pharisees immediately. It
took about a generation to establish the
new method of teaching firmly among
the Pharisees.
If the majority of Pharisees agreed
with the new commandments, they would
then be accepted as the Word of Godeven if the commandments taught just
the opposite from the teaching of the
Scriptures. I t all depended upon whether

August, 1961
the Phnrissgs, as a whola, thoadght tho

n e w commandments were necessary f o r

t h e people t o observe.
This practice gave rise to the theory
that new rules-though contrary to Scripture-had to be established to meet the
needs of the changing times! Notice Herfords summary of this whole situation:
The lead which Joseph ben Joezer
had given war followed, but only gradually; and though the theory of the Unwritten Torah [the traditional laws) was
finally accepted and worked out to its
furthest consequences, as seen in the
Talmud, yet those who most firmly maintained it were quite aware of t h e weakness of its foundation. They knew that
it cut the connection between the halachah [the rules of the Pharisees7 and the
written Torah [the Scriptures), and they
k n e w that in appearance, at all events,
it gaile t h e teachers free scope to teach
what they thought fit (Herford, T a l m u d
and Apocrypha, p. 6 8 ) .
Pharisees Viewed Scriptures as
Out of Date!
Because the Pharisees considered themselves Prophets and able to give the curv p n t will of God, they reasoned that in
many cases the current will of God may
be completely different from His will as
expressed in past times. They maintained
d l a L iirany of their new teachings, which
were clearly contrary to the written Word
of God, were actually the present will of
God. This is one of the reasons the Pharisees taught new commandments without
Scripture proof!
The Pharisees were confident that as
times changed and when the people
would be under new environmental conditions that certain of the Laws of God,
as revealed in the Scripture would, of
necessity, become obsolete and have to
be changed. And, feeling that they had
the power of prophets, they felt no compunction about teaching new commandments t o meet the needs of the time,
regardless of whether those teachings
contradicted the Word of God or not.
Herford shows us that this was the
very attitude of the Pharisees:
The written Torah was good for the
age in which it was given, or in which
it was first read; but t h e written Torah
alone could n o t suffice f o r later ages
( T a l m u d and Apocrypha, p. 113 ) .
With this attitude concerning the
Scripture the Pharisees could always
maintain that Gods will had changed
in the matter - that H e had revealed His
present will to the Pharisees.
This is the very same philosophy that
is pervading our modern Christianity!
How many times do we meet with statements from the learned theologians of
the various Christians sects saying the
same thing today? Almost everyone feels

15

The GOOD NEWS

that the Bible is out of date--is old fashioned. Millions assume it is impossible
to keep Gods laws and commandments
in this modern age. Let us clearly understand that the Bible is n o t out of date.
It can be obeyed, and in fact, it had better
be obeyed! Let us not be like the Pharisees who rejected the Scripture. They
received the stern rebuke of Christ. Let
us, on the other hand, obey-live byevery word of God (Matt. 4 : 4 ) .
From this timc forward, we see the
development of the Pharisaical Judaism
of New Testament times. All the many

arduuus arid burdensome laws concerning the Sabbath-the laws of washing

the hands, pots, pans, etc.-laws regarding fasting-and myriads of others had
their development in the minds of the
Pharisees between the year 165 B.C. and
the coming of Christ.
Once we understand the basis upon
which popular Judaism in the days of
Christ was founded, we will understand
why Christ so severely condemned the
praciices of the Pharisees and of the
other sects!
(To be continued n e x t issue.)
~

Qaestzon Box
I

Your questions answered in these columns! Your opportunity t o have

discussed those problems pertaining directly t o members o f Gods Church.

A few days ago m y children asked

m e a question about t h e birth of Jesus,
which they had been reading. I could
not answer it a n d would appreciate
your help. M y children want to know
why Jesus was laid in a manger-yet
the W i s e Men saw H i m i n a house.
How could this be?
When Jesus was born, the same night
shepherds were given the news by angels.
And there were in the same country
shepherds,. . And the angel said unto
them,. . . For unto you is born this day in
the city of David a Savior (Luke 2:811). That very day the shepherds saw
Christ in the MANGER (Luke 2:15-16).
The need for a manger was due to the
temporarily crowded conditions.
Several weeks after the visit of the
shepherds Jesus was taken to Jcrusalcm
by His parents. And when the days of
her [Marys) purification according to the
law of Moses were accomplished, they
brought him to Jerusalem to present him
to the Lord (Luke 2 :22 ) . According to
Leviticus 12:2-4, Jesus was taken to Jerusalem nearly six weeks after His birth.
If a woman have conceived seed, and
born a man child: then she shall be unclean seven days. And she then will continue i n . . . her purifying three and thirty
days.
When Joseph and Mary returned to
Bethlehem they then moved into a
HOUSE, where the Wise Men finally saw
Jesus for the first time. And when they
(the Wise Men) were come into the
HOUSE, they saw the y o m g child with
Mary his mother (Matt. 2 : 11) .
So now we can see that the Wise Men
and shepherds did not visit Jesus at the
same time. The Wise Men saw H i m
weeks after the shepherds did, and therefore visited Jesus in the house.

As further proof that the Wise Men

saw Jesus after His parents took Him to
Jerusalem, we find that Joseph in a vision
was ordered to go into Egypt as soon
as t h e W i s e M e n left (Matt. 2 : 1 2 - 1 4 ) .
Thercfore the Wise Men saw Jesus sumetime after He returned with His parents
from Jerusalem, and just before they fled
to Egypt. Upon their return to Palestine from Egypt, Jesus parents resided at
Nazareth, not Bethlehem. This, then, is
the answer and solution to your question,

Two New Churches

(Continued f r o m page 2 )
completely rcjuvenated in every way. It
has totally outgrown the little old church
building which Mr. Armstrong helped
build with his own hands so many years
ago. It has moved into a large, sun-lit and
inspiring hall in the Eugene Y.M.Y.W.C.A. Building. But now it will soon
outgrow even this fine hall! And plans
are being made to build a fine church
edifice for the original mother church
to meet in out at the edge of town on a
beautiful, wooded hillside which we already own!
Let us join Mr. and Mrs. Armstrong
in giving God THANKS-as I know they
are -for the blessings H e has bestowed
upon the Eugene church after so many
years of trial!
Ministerial Assistants i n
Local Churches
W e have sent out more advanced students than ever this year for ministerial
training in the field-not only on baptizing tours, but several to local church areas
to work under the local pastor.
W e have already mentioned that Mr.
Ronald Dart, graduate of Ambassador
College, has been sent with his wife to

IG
assist Mr. Wayne Cole in raising up
the new churches in Little Rock and
Memphis. Mr. Dart came to Ambassador
with previous college and military experience, and is a mature and dedicated
man. Htindreds of you brethren should
have the privilege of meeting Mr. Dart
and his wife in the future in Gods
service.
Another graduate, Mr. Richard Plache,
also with previous college training and
experience, has been sent to Eugene,
Oregon to work under Mr. Cole in that
area. Mr. Plache and his wife are both
blessed with extremely friendly and outgoing naturcs, and can bc cxpccted to
contribute much to Gods Church as time
goes on.
Mr. Dean Wilson, also an older family
man with previous military experience in
North Africa, has been sent f o r the
summer only (he is still in school) to
assist Mr. Jirnmy Friddlr in the Seattle
area. Mr. Wilson is already proving a
powerful speaker, and should develop
into a profitable servant of God in the

rLILLIIe.

Mr. Carl 0Beirn, another Ambassador

graduate and an older family man, has
been sent to the Portland area to work in
the church there under Mr. Dale Hampton, local pastor. Mr. OBeirn and his wife
have four lovely, very well trained children, and should prove an asset in any
church area to which they are sent.
Mr. Kelly Barfield, now a graduate of
Ambassador College, and his wife have
been sent to assist Mr. Roger Foster in
the San Antonio and Corpus Christi
church areas. Mr. Barfield has had previous summer training in local church
areas, and is a very dedicated servant of
Christ.
Mr. Ken Mowat, graduate of Ambassador Collcgc and tcchnician in our Radio
and Television Department, has been
sent for the summer to assist Mr. Bill
McDowell in the Pittsburgh area. Mr.
Mowat has had previous experience on
baptizing tours, and should be able to
develop increasingly as a help to the
brethren in local areas.
Mr. Richard Pinelli, graduate of Ambassador College, with his wife, Mary,
has been sent to Vancouver, B.C., to help
Mr. Drririis Prather in our new Canadian
office there. Mr. Pinelli will probably be
answering some of the letters coming to
that office, and may possibly assist Mr.
Friddle or Mr. Prather in visiting in that
area.
Younger single men being sent out for
summers training and experience in thc
field ministry include Mr. Leroy Cole,
brother of Mr. Raymond Cole and Mr.
Wayne Cole, who has been sent to
Wichita, Kansas, to assist Mr. Allen Manteuful there. Mr. Bob Steep, formerly of
Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has been sent to

Tbs GOOD NEWS

Springfield, Missouri, to assist Mr. Bryce
Clark in that area.
Mr. Rowlen Tucker has been sent to
the Gladewater area to assist Mr. Ken
Swisher there. Mr. Ron Goodwin has
been sent to Oklahoma City area to assist
Mr. David Antion, pastor of the Oklahoma churches.

PRAY for More Servants

Perhaps the greatest NEED of Gods
Church today in feeding the flock is

that of more trained, dedicated and qualified ministers.

This is not just a current problem. It
was so even in Jesus day. Remember His
words: The harvest truly is plenteous,
but the laborers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will
send forth laborers into his harvest
(Matt. 9: 37-38).
So in describing the wonderful harvesting that is being done this summer
by Gods servants, 1 want to stress the
TRAINING that the dedicated men involved are receiving. For this trainingcoupled with their yieldedness to the
POWER of Gods Spirit working within
them-can well become the foundation
for the ordination of many more fulltime ministers of Jesus Christ!
Brethren, PRAY toward that end! And
all of you men in the local Spokesman
Clubs-as well as all deacons and leaders
in local churches-begin to drive yourself
to develop spiritually so that you may
qualify-as God wills-as a powerful servant in the Church of God today. Whether
as a local deacon or elder, or as a fulltime elder or minister of Jesus ChristYOU may have opportunity to help
change the lives of others for all eternity.
The reward is worth it. For God inspired Daniel to write of this time of the
cnd: And they that be wise sliall shine
as the brightness of the firmament; and
they that turn many to righteousness as
the stars forever and ever (Dan. 12 :3 ) .

TRIBULATION
(Continued frompage 12)
obtain all the food, water, and air that
anyone could desire. Yet, somehow that
did not make me happy, as I thought it
would. There was something missing.
Life was empty; it was not satisfying. I
kept looking for something, just what,
I did not know. I went to college, but
the more of this worlds knowledge I
gained, the more miserable I became.
The latter part of October in 1953 I
heard the voice of the World Tomorrow
broadcast. For the first time in my life
I knew that I heard a man speak the
TRUTH straight from Gods Word. It
made sense. From that very first broad-

August, 1961

cast I realized that I N O W had foiind

what I had been looking for. Life suddenly became full and meaningful.

The TIME is NOW!

Maybe you have gone through this
same experience. YOU have come to
realize that sin is WRONG-that Gods
laws are RIGHT and for y o w GOOD.
You have repented of your disob2dience
to the Supreme CREATOR God - yo-.I
have been baptized and have b x n givcn
the Holy Spirit.
All you brethren have accepted Jesus
Christ as your personal SAVIOUR, bzlieving that He is able to deliver you
from your past sins by His shed blood,
which justifies, makes clean your guilty
past. You are now RECONCILED to
God the Creator.
Contact with God has been established
and God has made good His PROMISED
gift of thc Holy Spirit. He is reproducing
Himself in yo, creating in you a new
character.
But there is something that you must
bc doing. You still have the downward
pull of HUMAN NATURE striving
against this new divine character which
is being created in yoii. Yon must overcome this carnal nature (Rev. 2:26).

Is Eternal Life W o r t h the Effort?

God has chosen to create His character
in you, to make you His son, a member
of His very family. Once God has called
you He will not change His mind (Rom.
11:29) .and call you again some other
time.
This is it! If Eternal Life in the Kingdom of God is not worth the effort, if
you dont, cant, or just plain wont in
fdith let God develop character now, if
you wont force yourself to pray, force
yourself to study, if you wont ask God
for the Gift of continued repentance
now, if you wont back the WORK with
your prayers and with ynur tithes and
special offerings now, Christ will SPUE
you out-you will no longer have His
protection (Rev. 3: 16).
God willforce you to mdke a choice.
He said, I have set before you life and
death, blessing and cursing; therefore
choost. life.. . There is no way out. You
cannot escape it. Y o u must make the
choice. If you choose to let God develop
in you His character, He promises to
give you Eternal Life. But if you refuse
to seek Him earnestly, with all your
might, while He may be found, H e will
reject y o u (Rev. 3:16).
Watch ye therefore, and pray always,
that ye may be accounted worthy to
escape all these things that shall come
to pass, and to stand before the Son of
man (Luke 2 1: 36).
This is the lesson of life my experience
has taught me.