W WHY A CHURCH? HAT a paradox. What confusion! Almost no one seems to know WHAT is a church, WHY have a chur~h, and what the church is supposed to ac<strong>com</strong>plish, and yet chtl-rehgoing is steadily increasing, and churchbuilding is at an all time high! Right now there is a new Protestant cQurch finished somewhere in the United Stares every 18 minutes! Hundreds of "converts" make "decisions for Christ" in huge evangelistic campaigns. Thousands "join the church of their choice." each week. But something is wrong. Something is miuing! Churchmen say something really serious is lacking in all [his religious fervor of our modern age. They say the recurn to religion is only skin deep! What the Pastors Say Why have a Church ? What is q ~ hurch? What PURPOSE does it serve? Should YOU attend a Church? Read the plain TRUTH from your Bible! It will siJ rprise you! There are more Bibles in America than people. Three million <strong>com</strong>plete Bibles are sold in the United States each year, with 200 million already in circula· tion. Church membership now stands at a record-breaking 114,000,000 for all faiths. Church construction now approaches the BILLION OOLLAR mark for the year, with p10re [han 310,000 houses qf worship in the country. \let, poll·cakers and ministers are find· ing the ~verage church-goer is a Bibli· cal illiterate/ He noc only remains totally IGNORANT of [he Bible, but he doesn'[ even kno~ WHY HE'S IN CHURCH! Theologian Reinhold Neibuhr said, "Religious faith is always put to the test Py the crises of history." America's q~. ligious faith is now being put to the test -it's being weighed in the balances, and FOUND WANTING! A leading rectOr of a well-known church in New York delivered a sermon to his congregation, the condensation of which was published in Reader's pigest. He said, searching intO the real place of religion in people's DAILY lives, "Durby Garner Ted Armstrong ing the week the church is a series of promOtional, organizfl,tional and semi<strong>com</strong>mercial activities. .. "... it is <strong>com</strong>rnon for many to think that nUlner· ous activities are identical with religion. To pay mortgages, CO build new parish houses, to put on a drive for new mem· bers, co hold bazaars, lun~hes, dinners, and pake sales ..." This sermon was thought to be so applicable thac it received a prominent place in Reader's Digest. The rector showed how there is NO TRANSITION between the Gospel and the weekday lives of people! And NO WONDER! To MOST people, religion seems a confusing, conflicting hodgepodge of vague, "rheological" ideas, proclaimed in the dim interior of a huge building in a drab, uninspiring, dull monotone! Those making a real sincere ATTEMPT to find what is their purpose in life, WHERE chey are going, and the real MEANING of human life are soon disillusioned! Instead, they find more questions than answers, more doubt than faith, and find themselves confused, perplexed by ir all. Yes, NO WONDER! When the theologians THEMSELVES are confused! In an anicle entitled "The Agony of Religious Doubt," it was admitted by one rheologian that "PastOrs and laity are ... all playing a solemn game of 'Lets Pretend.' .. The article revealed that "'the min· ister tells his confidants (hac he does not believe the doctrines ... but would not dare CO say so from the pulpit.' '' A well-known theologian was quOted in this shocking article as saying, "There have been times, in the middle of a service, when I have been assailed by the maS[ appalling thoughrs. I find myself saying: ' lJ7hat am 1 doing here? Does this make any semel: 1/ Yes, UTILE WONDER many of the laity are mixed up about the purpose of the church today-when even the leaders seem to be mixed up, in dOlebt, COrlftlsed, perplexed! One member of a Religio-Psychiatric Clinic said, "Much of my work is coun· seling ministers who get discouraged and have doubts." <strong>No</strong>tice! DESPITE the boom 01t the sur/ace, j[ has been ab· soilltely PROVED and DOCUMENTED rhar even the officers in churches are Biblical illiterates! 1t was found many leaders were not sure whether the Sermon on the Mount was in the Old or New T estamenr! In a poll conducted by a leading coundl of churches, the most extensive survey EVER raken of U.S. Protestantism, an APPALLING degree of ignorance was re· vealed. Many of tbose questioned didn't know wherher the Psalms were in the New or Old Testament, didn't know which books <strong>com</strong>prised the Gospels, and only a startling 35 % could 1lame the first four books of the New Testament, and FIFTY·FIVE PER CENT COULDN'T NAME EVEN ONEl What SHOCKING facts! While we pro/eu religion, while we APPROPRIATE the name of Christ, calling ourselves 'ICbristian," we totally IGNORE WHAT HE SAID! Crime and Violence as Usual Meanwhile, with the burgeoning surge of religion, it's business as usual, cheating as usual, divorce as usual, and crime as usual! J. Edgar Hoover said we face the TWIN enemies of Communism and CRIME-placing Our national Crt me problem on a par with the terrible threat of world Communism wirh its sinister plan for world conquest. Sydney Harris, editOrializing concerning our terrifying criminaliry, said, "The most violent people on earrh are not the 'savage' tribes in the African Congo. for no Other nation on earth has a WOrs{ record than rhe United Scates for murder, manslaughter, rape, armed robbery, sluggings, muggings, carnage on the (Pleflse cOlltimte 011 ptlge 26)
<strong>Aug</strong> USl. <strong>1962</strong> Tbe PLAIN TRUTH Page 25 .' -: ~. ·1iI.· Wide World Photo Christianity, to most people, is symbolized by costly-and often drab - church buildings and cathedrals. Illustrated here is famous Bucharest cathedral, typical Eastern European edifice. What the Church really is-and why it exists-is made plain in ac<strong>com</strong>panying article.
- Page 1 and 2: a • magazlne of understanding VOL
- Page 3 and 4: August, 1962 Tbe PLAIN TRUTH Page 3
- Page 5 and 6: What's Behind NEW SHIFT • U.S. Fo
- Page 7 and 8: August, 1962 The PLAIN TRUTH Page 7
- Page 9 and 10: The CURSE of III Health! Our people
- Page 11 and 12: August, 1962 unde1'tyit~g cause of
- Page 13 and 14: The Autobiography of Herbert W. Arm
- Page 15 and 16: August, 1962 vises you to take up t
- Page 17 and 18: Listen to The WORLD TOMORROW SPECIA
- Page 19 and 20: August, 1962 KSAY-San Francisco-10l
- Page 21 and 22: AU~U5(. 1962 Tbe PLAIN TRUTH Page 2
- Page 23: August, 1962 Tbe PLAIN TRUTH Pag e
- Page 27 and 28: August, 1962 been pitt into His tru
- Page 29 and 30: August, 1962 now I wonder if you se
- Page 31 and 32: The Necessity for Christ's - Second
- Page 34 and 35: Page 34 The PLAIN TRUTH August, 196
- Page 36 and 37: Page 36 The PLAIN TRUTH Augusr. 196
- Page 38 and 39: Page 38 The PLAIN TRUTH August, 196
- Page 40 and 41: Page 40 Tbe PLAIN TRUTH to meet Bal
- Page 42 and 43: Page 42 at first, but would cominue
- Page 44 and 45: Is There a REAL HELL FIRE? There is
- Page 46 and 47: ----------~-----~ Page 46 menrs pur
- Page 48: Page 48 The PLAIN TRUTH August, 196
Change language