The Answerer Book No. 5
[PICTURE]
Answerer Book 5 1
Copyright 1944, by
V. T. Houteff
All Rights Reserved
That
everyone who thirsteth for the truth may obtain it, this booklet of questions
and answers is, as a Christian service, mailed without charge. Send for it. It levies but one exaction, the soul's obligation to itself to prove
all things and hold fast that which is good.
The only strings attached to this free proffer are the golden strands of
Eden and the crimson cords of Calvary--the ties that bind.
Names
and addresses of Seventh-day Adventists will be appreciated.
Answerer Book 5 2
THE ANSWERER
Questions and Answers on Present Truth
Topics in the Interest of the Seventh-day
Adventist Brethren and Readers
of
The Shepherd's Rod
By V.T. Houteff
This "scribe," instructed
unto the kingdom of
heaven, "bringeth forth
...things new and old."
Matt. 13:52.
Now "sanctify the Lord God in your hearts:
and
be ready always to give an answer to every man
that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in
you with meekness and fear."
Answerer Book 5 3
Is Education Harmful?........................................................................................................... 5
What Is Religion?............................................................................................................... 21
Is A Vision Needed?.......................................................................................................... 27
Can One Find The Truth
Without Having Trance - Visions?.................................................................................... 28
Why Need Of A Judgment?................................................................................................ 30
Is It "He," Or Are We To Look For Another?..................................................................... 31
Economy As We Shun Pride?............................................................................................. 33
A Model Out Of The World Or In The World Also?........................................................... 34
Shall Hair Be Curled?......................................................................................................... 35
Slacks Or Shirts?................................................................................................................ 35
Is Display A Sin?................................................................................................................ 37
Shall The Woman Leave Her Hat On
When The Man Takes His Off?...................................................................................... 38
What About Communion Service?...................................................................................... 39
What Is My Gift?................................................................................................................ 40
What About Receiving Gifts?.............................................................................................. 42
How Can One Stand If He Plans To Fall?........................................................................... 42
How Shall We Pray?.......................................................................................................... 43
Shall We Be Presumptuous And Inactive?........................................................................... 44
When To Write And When Not?........................................................................................ 45
Who Will Give Us Our Pay?............................................................................................... 47
Feed The Sheep Only Or The Lambs Also?........................................................................ 49
Why Not Work For The World On Spare Time?................................................................ 50
What Tracts Are For Outsiders?......................................................................................... 51
What To Study?................................................................................................................. 51
Is It Safe To Challenge?...................................................................................................... 52
What Is Meant By "That Which Is Published"?.................................................................... 55
How To Prove That The Slaughter Is Literal?...................................................................... 56
Are ALL The Gifts Among Us Now?.................................................................................. 58
What Will The Prudent Man Do?........................................................................................ 59
Is It Taxable?..................................................................................................................... 62
What About Government Benefits?..................................................................................... 63
Should A Christian Join Labor Unions?............................................................................... 64
Is It Wrong To Carry Insurance?........................................................................................ 65
What About Buying Defense Bonds?.................................................................................. 66
Salute Or Not?................................................................................................................... 67
Is Patriotism Christianity?.................................................................................................... 70
Vote For Or Against Pension?............................................................................................ 73
Is Voting Becoming To A Christian?................................................................................... 75
What About Using Milk And Eggs?.................................................................................... 76
Shall We Keep Cattle And Fowl?....................................................................................... 77
What Is Wrong With Eating CLEAN Meat?....................................................................... 78
Are All Spices Injurious To Health?.................................................................................... 81
What Identifies One As A Davidian Seventh-day Adventist?................................................ 82
Must I Reach Perfection First?............................................................................................ 83
Must Baptism Precede Fellowship?..................................................................................... 83
Is One A Member Without The Certificate Of Fellowship?.................................................. 84
Who May Hold Office?...................................................................................................... 84
Whose Scheme Is Money-Grabbing?.................................................................................. 84
What If I Have No Tithes To Pay?...................................................................................... 85
To Tithe Or Not To Tithe?.................................................................................................. 85
Is Small Income Tithe Exempt?........................................................................................... 86
Are Dolls Idols?................................................................................................................. 87
What About Playing Games?.............................................................................................. 88
Any Resurrected Among The 144,000?.............................................................................. 89
Are The 144,000 Jews By Adoption Only?......................................................................... 90
What Does The "Holy Mountain" Signify?........................................................................... 91
How To Matriculate In The Institute?.................................................................................. 92
To Wait Until After Registration, Or To Enroll Before?........................................................ 93
What Shall Your Next Step Be?......................................................................................... 94
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QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
IS EDUCATION HARMFUL?
Question No. 108:
What
is wrong with education? Why does it turn out so many misfits? Am I not taking
a dangerous chance in sending my
children to school?
Answer:
The
trouble is not with education itself, but rather with the kind of education one
receives. Yes, there are two kinds of education--the human and the Divine, the natural and the
spiritual, the wrong and the right. As man is born with desires to love the natural and to hate the
spiritual, naturally, then, the human method of education has been highly
cultivated, and the Divine greatly, if not altogether, neglected. Thus the
reason for "so many misfits."
It
is a recognized fact that the former is actually calculated to train the
student, not to produce, but to consume--to be grasping and selfish; whereas
the latter is designed to train the student to produce more than he
consumes--to be benevolent and unselfish, living for others, not for self.
Then,
too, it must be realized that even if the schools were giving the right kind of
training, it would be counteracted by parents who allow their children to
squander
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away time, rather than teach them how to
lighten someone's burdens and to make a living. So, if there is no mutual
co-operation between the school and the home, then despite even a right
educational system in the schools, the children would nevertheless be trained
to become a burden to themselves, a
liability to their parents, and a detriment to the world.
Rather
than making their schooling a preparation
for life, most students make it a vacation from life. Then when
graduation day arrives they consequently have no idea of what they should do
next! And even when they do "have a vocation in mind, it often takes them
years to acquire the basic work habits required in their fields."
It is
a tested fact that during their schooling, students enjoy sponging, a thing
that has become a vice. And the longer
they go to school the stronger this selfish habit seems to become. And that is
why "employers no longer," asserts Dr. Henry C. Link, the
psychologist, "fall over each other in their haste to employ college
graduates. Moreover, in making their selections, they are often more influenced
by a student's extra-curricular
activities and his achievements in dealing with his fellow students, than by his success with his
professors."
What
the present generation needs to learn most in school is to stop sponging
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and to start producing, the very thing it increasingly dreads. Children should be
taught that, after all, the only way
for one to be worthy of life is to be primarily a producer, producing more than
he consumes, and to be anxious, not to get, but to give, and to realize that
such an unselfish, beneficient habit is
the very gate to success and happiness.
It
was at the time Abraham demonstrated his truly generous and kind hospitality by
cordially inviting and then forcibly persuading the three strangers to stop for
a rest and a meal, that the promise of a son made years before, became a
reality. And Lot's faithfully
compelling two of these same strangers to stop overnight in his home, delivered
him from Sodom's fiery destruction.
Let
us not forget that the embodiment of these Divine principles is the first step
toward one's conversion to the religion of Christ. To overlook these necessary
requirements while attempting to become an altogether-Christian, is no less
absurd than to invite the minister to
perform a marriage ceremony without having a willing partner to marry.
On
the subject of personality, Dr. Link writes: "Minds are not born, they are
acquired by training. Personality is
not born, it is developed by practice. But we have no library of scientific
books on the
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latter. The greatest and most authentic
textbook on personality is still the Bible, and the discoveries which psychologists have made tend to
confirm rather than to contradict the codification of personality found there. Psychology
differs from all other sciences in this important respect. Whereas the other
sciences have taught us that our previous ideas and beliefs about nature were
wrong, psychology is proving that many of the ancient ideas and precepts about
the development of a good character and
personality were right.
"The
keynote which runs through the elements or habits of personality included in
this test is this: The child develops a good personality, or at least the
foundations of such a personality, by doing many things which he does not do
naturally, and many things which he actually dislikes. Eating with a knife and a fork may become
natural to him in time, and even enjoyable, but not until his parents have
spent four to eight years of laborious effort in getting him to use them
properly. Children vary, of course, by nature
and heredity; but no matter how good they are, the basic habits must be
inculcated by a process of discipline. In view of the inevitable resentment toward discipline which
children develop and their inertia in
acquiring many desirable habits, every
available influence, pressure, or device
which will hasten their acquisition of these habits
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must be utilized. Most parents need every
source of help or support available in this process."--The Return to
Religion.
Necessarily,
to make a real success in life, one must acquire a predominance of skills,
superiority in a few, and distinct
superiority in one; also a longing desire to please and bless others first, and
only secondarily to satisfy himself. God so loved the world that He gave His
only son. Men therefore ought also to be liberal to the extent that they, too,
freely use their time and energy in serving the interests of others. "Look
not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others."
Phil. 2:4. In such a happy course they will be benefiting themselves even more
than others. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His
righteousness," commands the Lord, "and all these things shall be
added unto you." The one who fully comprehends the operation of this
Divine law, and unhesitatingly obeys it, is the only one who makes a real
success of life. And the fact that those who make their employer's interest the
chief business of their lives are the only ones who receive promotions and who
achieve high and responsible positions, shows that this Divine law operates
even among non-Christians.
The
progressing student needs to test the theories as he goes along and before he
learns new theories. That is, instead of
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applying himself solely to the pursuit of
knowledge, he needs to apply the knowledge he has acquired to the pursuit of a
livelihood. Besides, the longer a person is shielded from the realities of a
working life, the less capable he is to meet them when the necessity confronts
him. Such an education can turn out only misfits--social parasites. But true education "prepares
the student for the joy of service in this world, and for the higher joy of
wider service in the world to come."--Education, p. 13.
Hence,
parents who would help their children make life successful and worth living,
should not neglect to thus train the youth. Then they will plainly see that the
right kind of education is not only a fine thing, but that it is everything in
the development of good character. None can afford to leave their children without this indispensable education. So if your children are not
receiving such a training in school, then inevitably they should receive it at
home.
And
in assuming this responsibility, parents should ever bear in mind that humans
are natural-born spongers. A baby does
nothing to help itself. Everything necessary to its existence is done by
others. And the only way completely to wean a child from these introvert habits,
is to begin as early as possible teaching him to help himself, until finally he
becomes
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master of all his wants. As soon as a bird is
out of its nest, the parent birds teach it to fly and to make its own living. Parents
who fail to thus train their children are less intelligent than the dumb
animals, and most certainly their children's worst enemies.
A
certain father failed, as did Eli the priest of ancient Israel, to assume this
responsibility and was consequently having great difficulty with his
seventeen-year old son. To Dr. Link he confides his own situation:
"My
son, I believe, has a good mind, but during the last few years his work in
school has become increasingly poor. This
term he failed in three of his subjects. However, what worries me more, even,
than his school work, is his attitude toward life generally. He seems to think that the world and especially his parents, owe him a living. It
happens that we live in a well-to-do community. Many of the families are more
wealthy than we, and while I have been quite liberal with my son, giving him
a generous allowance, good clothes
letting him drive the family car, etc., he is far from satisfied. Now he wants
his own automobile, and keeps talking about the many boys in town who have
their own car.
"When
I ask him to take care of the furnace or the lawn, or to do some other jobs, he
tells me that the other boys don't have to do this sort of thing. Although I sometimes get him to do a job, I
can never depend on his doing it properly. He has no sense of responsibility or
obligation, but he considers his family responsible for making possible
anything he wants to do. In fact his one idea in life is to have fun, and his
idea of a good time, so far as I can
Answerer Book 5 11
see, is to do what he wants to do, when he
wants to do it, regardless of anybody else. I am terribly afraid he is
developing a character which will make him unfit for the world; just as it has
already made him unfit for his studies."
There
are thousands of such unfortunates of various ages, whose failure in life is
traceable to their parents. By doing entirely too much for their children, they
robbed them of the opportunity to acquire
habits of self-reliance. Instead they have gotten the idea that either their
own or another's parents owe them a living, an education, and luxuries which
they seriously regard as necessities.
While
material advantages conspire to make one's life easier, they make his character
weaker. The parents' unrestrained desire to do well by their children, plus the
means to do it bring upon them irreparable harm. And thus the sins of the
father's foolishness and of his unwisely
directed prosperity are visited upon the children. In this connection is
seen more and more, the truth in the Divine reproof: "Behold this was the
iniquity of thy sister Sodom, pride, fullness of bread, and abundance of
idleness was in her and in her daughters, neither did she strengthen the hand
of the poor and needy." Ezek. 16:49.
It is
a well-known fact that as a rule the most learned men are the most hesitant to
accept the gospel of Christ, and among the last in keeping pace with the Truth.
In
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this respect more than in any other applies the
saying, "Blessed be ye poor: for yours is the kingdom of God." Luke 6:20.
Parents may rid their children of the desire to come into possession of
riches which have been earned by others, only if they very early in the child's
life start uprooting its introvert habits and inculcating extrovert ones in
their stead. In the struggle for character, personality, and usefulness, the children
of poor parents have the advantage over those of wealthy parents.
The
world's most honorable and its most indispensable men and women, who have left
the world something worthwhile, came from poor families. By way of example, we
shall remind the reader of but a few such characters:
Jack
London's childhood was seared with poverty
and hardships, yet obsessed with a driving ambition to become a great
writer, he became the famous author of fifty-one books, as well as countless
stories. His yearly income became twice as much as that of the President of the
United States.
And
Helen Jepson, once so poor she could not afford to take music lessons, became
one of our greatest singers.
Andrew
Carnegie started working for two cents an hour, and he made four hundred
million dollars.
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The
late John D. Rockefeller, who amassed probably the greatest fortune in all
history, started out in life hoeing potatoes under the boiling sun for four
cents an hour.
Thomas
A. Edison, who has been called the most useful citizen of the world, began his
career as a newsboy on the Grand Trunk Railway. His first laboratory was set up
in a compartment of a baggage car.
Benjamin
Franklin was a man distinguished in almost every field of endeavor. Inventor, scientist, author, statesman, philosopher,
printer, diplomat, humorist--surely few other men ever ventured on so many
careers and worked them out so successfully. Yet he was born into the poor
family of a tallow chandler, and had no special advantages as a child.
Luther
Burbank, called the "Plant Wizard," was unable to go farther in
school than the town academy, and while young began working in a factory.
The
life and history of Dr. G. W. Carver also
exemplifies the fact that to build character, to acquire an education,
and to make a real success of life, it is necessary that one start from
scratch, help himself, and pay his own way through school.
We
quote from a biographical sketch of this great scientist, as published in The
Reader's Digest, December, 1942, just prior to his death:
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Born
in Missouri around 1864 Dr. Carver never knew his father and mother--they were
carried off by slave raiders when he was a baby. A white planter, Moses Carver,
raised the child, gave him his name, and because of the boy's poor health let
him do women's work: cooking, sewing, laundering.
But a
strange fire burned in him. The only book he remembers in the Carver home was
Webster's Speller. He memorized it. Having fallen on hard times themselves, the
Carvers were unable to send him to school. He went on his own; slept in barns
and haylofts; worked for his food at whatever jobs turned up, took in all the
learning that the one-room schoolhouse had to offer. "White folks'
washing" paid his way through high
school.
He
was admitted by mail to the University of Iowa only to be rejected, when he
arrived, because he was a Negro. Whereupon he opened a small laundry and at the
end of a year had accumulated funds enough to obtain entrance to Simpson
College at Incrianola, Iowa. He washed,
scrubbed and house-cleaned his way through three years at that school and went
on to finish four years of agricultural studies at Iowa State College. There
his genius with soils and plants won him, on graduation, a place on the
faculty.
Down
in central Alabama, at about this time Booker T. Washington--founder and
president of Tuskegee Institute--was dreaming of economic emancipation for the
Negro farmer. The dreams needed a man. Washington chose young Carver.
When
Carver arrived in Tuskegee, in 1896, there seemed to be little for him to work
on and nothing to work with. Washington wanted an agricultural laboratory;
there was neither equipment nor money. He wanted a school farm; the soil was
defiant. He wanted grass on the
Tuskegee campus; there was only sand.
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Today, in a glass case in the museum are the materials with which Carver made his first laboratory.
For heat he rigged up a salvaged barn lantern. His mortar was a heavy kitchen
cup, he used a flat piece of iron for a pulverizer. Beakers were made by
cutting off the tops of old bottles rescued from the school dump. He turned an
ink bottle into an alcohol lamp and made his own wick.
The
soil on his 16-acre "experimental farm" was sandy, eroded and
impoverished. He sent his students into the swamps and woods armed with baskets
and pails. Day after day they brought back muck and leafmold and covered the
ground with it. On those acres he demonstrated that the South's worst soil can
be made to produce--not one sweet-potato crop per year but two. There also he
harvested one of Alabama's first
bale-to-the-acre crops of cotton.
"Everyone
told me," he says, "that the soil was unproductive. But it was the only soil I had. It was not unproductive. It was only unused."
He
found other uses for it. From Macon County's multicolored clays he made
pottery, wallpaper inks, coloring for ornamental cement blocks. An inveterate
enemy of waste, he turned corn, cotton and sorghum stalks into insulating
boards; produced paper from the branches of wistaria, sun-flowers and wild hibiscus;
wove decorative table mats from swamp cattails; made table runners, using bright clay dyes for color, from feed
and seed bags.
To
carry his Green Pastures gospel to the farmer he converted a secondhand buggy
into a mobile agricultural school,
loaded it with exhibits, borrowed a horse and made regular tours of the
countryside. This was the first of the "movable schools" which today,
housed in truck and trailer and sponsored by the U.S. Department of
Agriculture, cover all of Alabama.
Macon
County then, like most of the South, grew cotton and little else. To save the soil
Answerer Book 5 16
and add to farm income Carver advocated growing
sweet potatoes and peanuts. Today the sweet potato is a southern farm staple;
and our peanut farmers of the South will this year get close to $70,000,000 for
their crop. More than any other person, Dr. Carver has helped to break cotton's
throttle-hold on southern agriculture.
In
his Macon County pioneering, he found scarcely any vegetable gardens, few pigs,
chickens or cows. Pellegra--produced by an unbalance diet--was widespread. He therefore preached kitchen gardens and
worked out recipes showing how to prepare and preserve vegetables. Today,
according to the county agricultural agent, there is hardly a Negro farm in
Macon County without a vegetable garden, pigs, chickens and at least one cow. Pellagra
has virtually disappeared.
Dr.
Carver insists that the start-where-you-are
formula will work anywhere. Some years ago he spoke before a Negro
organization in Tulsa, Oklahoma. For illustrative materials he spent an early
morning on Sand Pipe Hill, near Tulsa. He came back with 27 plants, all
containing medicinal properties.
"Then,"
he said, "I went to Ferguson's Drugstore and bought seven patent medicines
containing certain elements found in those plants. The medicines had been
shipped in from New York. They should have come from Sand Pipe Hill. 'Where
there is no vision the people perish.'"
* * *
He
has been called--this man whose parents were Negro slaves--"the first and greatest chemurgist." Million-dollar
businesses have been built all or in part from his discoveries--largest among
them being a $200,000,000 a year peanut industry. His crop-pioneering puts many millions every year into the
pockets of southern farmers.
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He
has been showered with honors. Thomas Edison invited him to join his staff at
$50,000 a year. Henry Ford has given him a laboratory for wartime food
research. Last June "The Progressive Farmer" gave him its annual
award for "outstanding service to southern agriculture." The Theodore
Roosevelt Medal came to him in 1939 as "a liberator to men of the white
race as well as the black."
"What
other man of our times," asked the New York Times "has done so much
for agriculture in the South?"
The
world that thus seeks out Dr. George Washington Carver still finds him in the scientific parish where he has
worked for 46 years: Macon County, Alabama,
and the campus of Tuskegee Institute, famed Negro school.
It is
his own philosophy that keeps him there: his belief that there are no greener pastures than those nearby. Science-wise
he has reduced that belief to a formula: "Start where you are, with what
you have make something of it never be satisfied." Now, approaching 80, he is still making that formula work.
He
took me recently through the George Washington Carver Museum at Tuskegee--built
from his savings to house the results of his nearby explorations and
discoveries. He still wears the
familiar battered cap and the frayed gray sweater. His voice is frail and his shoulders
stooped. But there are no signs of frailty in his mind and spirit.
In a
small field behind the museum he pointed out half a hundred strips of pine
board exposed to the sun. They were freshly painted: bright blues, yellows,
reds, greens.
"The
reason farmers down here don't paint their homes," he said, "isn't
because they are lazy or don't care. It is because they don't have cash money
to buy paint. The paint that's weathering on these boards costs next to
nothing. The color comes from the clays right here in Macon County. The base is
used motor Oil."
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This
home-grown paint, made and proved by Dr. Carver at Tuskegee, is now being used
by the Tennessee Valley Authority in a
demonstration of rural home beautification in 14 TVA localities.
Dr.
Carver was the first and still is the greatest
exponent of the use of the South's idle lands and waste products to
balance the southern farm diet. This required more than agricultural knowledge,
so he learned to be an expert dietitian and cook. His "43 Ways to Save the
Wild Plum Crop" is a collection of Carver-proved recipes: marmalade,
syrup, vinegar, soup, croquettes.
His
famous experiments with the peanut led to the production of more than 300
useful articles. Among those now being commercially manufactured are his peanut
butter and peanut flour, besides various oils and fertilizer. Widely used is a
pamphlet for the farmer's wife: "105 Different Ways to Prepare the Peanut
for the Table," including recipes for peanut soup, bread, patties,
piecrust, doughnuts, cheese. With such wider use the peanut crop increased from
700 million pounds in 1921 to 1,400 million in 1941.
Last
March Dr. Carver published his own Victory Garden bulletin: "Nature's
Garden for Victory and Peace." Its frontispiece quotes from Genesis:
"Behold I have given you every
herb...to you it shall be for meat." Inside is a list of more than 100
grasses, weeds and wild flowers which can be used for food, and recipes showing how to use them. They include
chickory coffee--"some prefer it to real coffee"--pie "similar
to apple or rhubarb" from sour grass; "asparagus tips" from the
stalks of silkweed, wild clover "for
delicate and fancy salads"; grass-salad sandwiches which have a
considerable vogue on the Tuskegee campus.
* * *
The
Bible, Dr. Carver told me, is as important to his work as is his laboratory. He
has two
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favorite Scripture verses. One of them he calls
his "light" passage. It is Proverbs III, 6: "In all thy ways
acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths." The other is his
"power" passage. It is Philippians IV, 13: "I can do all things
through Christ which strengtheneth me."
"This
is the only question colored people have to answer," I heard him say to a group of Negro
preachers: "Have we got what the world wants?" He told about hearing
a group of white men in search of a man who could locate oil. "They forgot
to say whether they wanted a white man, a red man, a yellow or a black man;
they said only they wanted a man who could locate oil.
"Don't
go looking for Naboth's vineyard," he said. "Every one of you
probably has all the vineyard he needs."
Let
parents now answer this pertinent question:
What made Dr. Carver a great scientist, and his indispensable
accomplishments possible? Was it not what impoverished circumstances taught him
and what his all-consuming desire to bless humanity urged him to do?
It is
evident that from the very out-set of their training, children should be taught
the value of time and the value of a dollar, and even forced, if necessary, to
help themselves and to respect the rights and the property of others--to be
builders, not destroyers, not spongers, wasters, or squanderers. Slipshod
work-habits result in bad personality.
In
the light of the ten commandments, these principles, more than any others,
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should day by day be instilled in the minds of
the young.
"Therefore
shall ye lay up these My words in your heart and in your soul," bids the
Lord, "and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as
frontlets between your eyes. And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of
them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when
thou liest down, and when thou risest up. And thou shalt write them upon the
door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates: that your days may be
multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the Lord sware
unto your fathers to give them as the days of heaven upon the earth." Deut.
11:18-21.
WHAT IS RELIGION?
Question No. 109:
Does
religion consist only of studying and praying, fasting and weeping, preaching
and comforting, repenting and forgiving, begging and giving? How can one become
religious, and what difference will it make in one's life?
Answer:
Just
as the Great Exemplar of Bible religion was the Word (Son) of God in human form
(1 John 1:1), so Bible religion itself is
the commandments (righteousness) of God in human form (2 Cor. 3:3; Ex. 31:18). But the medium through which the
soul comes into vital contact with Bible religion, is the Holy Spirit. And this
living connection with the Word
Answerer Book 5 21
of God is the indispensable condition to the
practice of Bible religion--the only means of the race's redemption,--its
returning from its jungle wanderings to its Eden home. So he who would have
true religion, must pray for the Spirit of Truth. In no other way can he become
truly religious--become the
"fleshy tables," the commandments of God in human form. His living
(practicing) them is what keeps him not only from worshiping either false gods
or any likeness of God Himself but also from squandering time. Fidelity to the
commandments causes him to do all his work in the six laboring days each week,
leaving none of it to drag on and on from week to week. And through the
commandments, he is both reminded that the seventh day is a Holy Memorial of
creation (Ex. 20:3-17) and impressed that he should love his neighbour as
himself (Mark 12:31). Thus we see that
true religion does indeed consist of something more than merely praying,
fasting, giving, and preaching; and that it most certainly does not include
"begging."
The
members of the Kingdom-church, are, according to Isaiah, to be skilled in their
respective trades and professions. As builders, engineers, carpenters, masons,
mechanics, or whatever, they are to "build the old wastes,...raise up the
former desolations, and...repair the waste cities, the desolations of many
generations." Isa. 61:4. They are also to be animal husbandmen,
Answerer Book 5 22
vinegrowers, expert agriculturists. And as such,
they are to be skilled in the science of
management, employing thousands of aliens, not only to minister to their
needs and to build (Isa. 60:10), but also to "stand and feed" their
flocks and to be their plowmen and vinedressers (Isa. 61:5). Thus it is that the "study in
agricultural lines should be the A, B, and C of the education given in our
schools."--Testimonies, Vol. 6, p. 179.
"Pure, practical religion will be manifested in treating the earth
as God's treasure house. The more intelligent a man becomes, the more should
religious influence be radiating from him. And the Lord would have us treat the
earth as a precious treasure, lent us in trust."--Testimonies to
Ministers, p. 245.
Besides
being skilled agronomists, artisans, and tradesmen, these governors of the
Kingdom, as living embodiments of
genuine Christianity, are to be expert international bankers, economists,
personnel and traffic engineers, and provisioners, together handling "the
forces" and "the riches of the Gentiles." Isa. 6:5, 11; 61:6. And thus variously equipped with these
excellent proficiencies, they are, above all, to be "Priests of the
Lord...Ministers of our God"--"men wondered at." Isa. 61:6;
Zech. 3:8.
The
gospel minister is accordingly to be decently informed in the practical
pursuits
Answerer Book 5 23
of life and to be expert in at least one
thing. Certainly any preacher getting
ten per cent (the tithe) of a farmer's income, should study to become capable
of helping him to improve his farming methods in a practical way should ever
the occasion arise. In short, he should be competent to assist the members of
his church in organizing, correcting, or improving their work and business. Jesus
taught His disciples not only to pray, to preach and practice the Truth, to
give and forgive, but also to serve, to fish, to feed and clothe, and to pay
bills in a business-like way. (See Matthew 6:5-13; 10:5-7, 27; 5:19, 20; 23:3,4; John 3:20, 21; Acts 20:35; Matthew 6:14, 15;
18:21, 22; 20:25-28; Mark 6:35-41; Luke 22:7-13; John 21:3-6; Matthew 25:31-45; 17:24-27.)
But
to be such a Christian, a truly religious person, one must first of all
organize his entire being, rightly controlling, co-ordinating, and using his
strength, his energy, his means, and his time. Anyone who fails to effect this
integrated four-fold economy of being, can never achieve any true success. To
do so, he must get "sixty seconds worth of distance run out of each
unforgiving minute," sixty minutes of maximum application and
accomplishment out of every working or resting hour, and peak effectiveness out
of every move or stroke. He must, in short, eliminate every wasted motion, as
well as every thoughtless, circuitous duplication and
Answerer Book 5 24
overlapping of motions, which bring no results
but only deplete his stock of reserve energy. The work of such an
altogether-Christian will never be found done in a bunglesome or hit-and-miss
fashion.
Furthermore,
he is never found living in excess of his means, but so carefully budgeting
his income as to enable him to live
within his means and also regularly to lay aside a little in reserve for a
rainy day. He shuns contracting debts; he knows that the habit of ever
borrowing and never being able to pay back, is a species of robbery--lying.
Such
a one, whether poor or rich, never fears the future. He unpresumptuously trusts
in the Lord for his daily needs; he never has a worried thought "for the
morrow." Matt. 6:27-34.
All
in all, we see that Bible religion, Christianity, is nothing more or less than turning from obeying the Devil, to
obeying the Lord, turning from a life of doing wrong to a life of doing
right,--from consuming to producing; from borrowing to loaning; from begging to
giving; from cheating to restoring and
to dealing honestly; from exacting to forgiving; and from being served to
serving.
"True
religion is ever distinctly seen in our words and deportment, and in every act
of life. With the followers of Christ, religion should never be divorced from
business. They should go hand in hand,
Answerer Book 5 25
and God's commandments should be strictly regarded in all the details of worldly
matters. The knowledge that we are children of God should give a high tone of
character even to the everyday duties
of life, making us not slothful in business, but fervent in spirit. Such a
religion as this bears the scrutiny of a critical world with a grand
consciousness of integrity."--Testimonies, Vol. 4, pp. 190, 191.
"Christianity
has a much broader meaning than many have hitherto given it. It is not a creed.
It is the word of Him who liveth and abideth forever. It is a living, animating
principle, that takes possession of mind, heart, motives, and the entire man. Christianity--O that we might
experience its operations! It is a vital, personal experience, that elevates
and ennobles the whole man."--Testimonies to Ministers, pp. 421, 422.
All
this is what the religion of Christ is, and he who practices it, has true
charity (1 Cor. 13)--is truly "born again."
To
say it again, every true Christian first
organizes himself, then his family, and then his business. And what is more, he learns through it all
that some can be organized, while others cannot; that some labor to
achievement, while others labor to naught; that some produce, while others only
consume; that some are always giving like the maple tree, while others are
Answerer Book 5 26
always taking like the dry sponge; that some
bless the world with good, while others live and labor for self and think that
all others should live and labor for them; that some quietly practice their
religion, while others make a display of holiness by much religious talk and
prayer, but few corresponding works, and that some know both when to visit and
when not to visit, while others know neither the time to visit nor the time to
take leave, and have to be pried loose like barnacles once they are seated! What
a jungle is the preacher's problem!
IS A VISION NEEDED?
Question No. 110:
Is it
necessary to have a mental picture of the things for which we pray?
Answer:
If we
have no such vision, we shall have nothing concrete and tangible to pray and
work for. And naturally, then, neither our prayers nor our efforts will
accomplish anything. Everyone must have a clear vision of his needs and his
aims; lacking such, he goes about blindly, and gets nowhere. Remember that
"where there is no vision, the people perish." Prov. 29:18.
All
should know beforehand what they are to do, and what they are to become. They
should then make certain that their will is God's will, set their goal high,
and see that they reach it.
Answerer Book 5 27
CAN ONE FIND THE TRUTH WITHOUT HAVING
TRANCE-VISIONS?
Question No. 111:
Concerning what she writes, Sister White says, "I was shown"
or "taken in vision." May I ask how we can believe in "The
Shepherd's Rod" literature if its contents were not revealed in like manner--by a miracle?
Answer:
It is
never safe for one to base his decision regarding a message from the Lord on
the manner in which it is received. Supernatural experiences are not the
strongest evidence of one's connection with Divine power. In fact, they are not
necessarily proof at all, for there are many
doctrines and faiths built upon one miracle or another and yet wholly
devoid of truth. And no one should overlook the fact that the forthcoming
delusion which is to sweep the world is to be empowered by miracles, even to
bringing fire from heaven (Rev. 13:13, 14). Nevertheless, by the Word of God we
are warned not to be led away with it.
Neither
should one forget that not all the prophets of the Bible had trance-visions. David
and Solomon recorded, not what was given them in vision, but what they received
through other means. And John the Baptist was called even more than a prophet,
yet there is not a single prophetic
utterance recorded by him, nor is there any record that he was ever taken into
trance and given visions. He was
Answerer Book 5 28
merely an interpreter of the writings of the
prophets. Thus God spoke at sundry times in divers manners to His prophets
(Heb. 1:1).
It
should be noticed, though, that only a small portion of Sister White's writings
was received through trance-vision. And the things shown in such visions are,
as a rule, prophetic--looking forward to some future event--and, more or less,
an addition to the prophecies, not interpretative of them.
Evidently
God's people at this particular time are not in need of visions, but rather of
interpreters of the visions of the prophets of old which are not as yet
understood. And that is what He has seen fit to give us so that we may
understand the Bible. This is the greatest miracle connected with The
Shepherd's Rod, (See illustration in Tract No. 6, Why Perish, 1944 edition, p.
18.)
But
let your faith be not in miracles or in man's experiences, but in the
revelations of His prophetic Word.
And
now the only safe and sane procedure is to read closely every page of the
solemn message contained in The Shepherd's Rod publications. Let not a line
escape your attention. Study every word carefully and prayerfully. Be earnest
and diligent in your perusal of Truth, and "prove all things; hold fast
that which is good." 1 Thess. 5:21.
Answerer Book 5 29
WHY NEED OF A JUDGMENT?
Question No. 112:
I
cannot see the need of a judgment. Why should we be judged after we are saved?
Answer:
That
the Bible teaches of a coming judgment no one can deny. We therefore need only
to give the reason for it. The true people of God, we are told, are commingled
with the untrue, the "wheat" with the "tares." The
judgment, therefore, is to determine who are the "wheat" and who are
the "tares," and to designate the future of each.
According
to Jesus' parable, this work takes place in the time of harvest, the end of the
world (Matt. 13:30, 40). And as the congregation of the dead as well as the
congregation of the living are commingled with the good and the bad, the
judgment takes place among both, first
among the dead, then among the living. In the judgment the decision is made as to who are worthy of eternal
life, and who of eternal death (John 5:28, 29); who are to come up in the first
resurrection (Rev. 20:6), and who is the second; also who are to be translated
when Jesus comes (1 Thess. 4:16, 17), and who are to perish at the brightness
of His coming (2 Thess. 2:8). This is the first aspect of the judgment, and
being only a book work (Dan. 7:10), a work that does not disturb either the
dead in the graves or the living in the church, it takes place in heaven.
Answerer Book 5 30
The
second aspect is not a book work but an actual
separation of the dead on the resurrection day, and of the living on the
day of purification--the righteous dead are raised, and the unrighteous left in
their graves, the righteous living are sealed to live eternally, and the
unrighteous left to die (Ezek. 9:2-7).
Thus
the worthy dead are judged to rise in the first resurrection, and the unworthy
in the second resurrection, whereas the
worthy living are judged to live on, and the unworthy judged to die. And this
is the simple reason for the judgment.
IS IT "HE " OR ARE WE TO LOOK FOR
ANOTHER?
Question No. 113:
"He that dasheth in pieces," as I see it after reading Tract
No. 14, "War News Forecast," is Hitler. But how can this be, when he
is now getting the worst of it, and the allies are winning the war?
Answer:
The
tract does not by name identify the one who "dasheth in pieces. Any
conclusions, therefore, that may be deduced from one's analysis of its
contents, can be only inferential and therefore tentative.
From
current developments in the European theater of war, it does look as though
Hitler is doomed. Despite this appearance, however Nahum's prophecy
analytically fits him, although it is
possible that someone else may yet come forth to carry the
Answerer Book 5 31
prediction to fulfillment. And if during this
war the prophecy does not meet its entire fulfillment, then it must be that the sealing of the
saints is yet incomplete the work of the message unfinished, the first fruits
not ready to stand with the Lamb on Mt. Zion. This seems to be the only
hindrance.
So
while we do not as yet see the way in which the prophecy will fulfill itself,
we are, however plainly told that at the time "Assyria" falls, the
Lord will free His people not only from the sinners in their midst but also from the Gentile rule.
The
Assyrian, though, shall "fall with the sword, not of a mighty man; and the
sword, not of a mean man, shall devour him: but he shall flee from the sword,
and his young men shall be discomfited."
"For through the voice of the Lord shall the Assyrian be beaten
down, which smote with a rod." Isa. 31:8; 30:31.
Hence, while the Holy Voice of prophecy declares: "For now will I break his [the
Assyrian] yoke from off thee, and will burst thy bonds in sunder," It also
commands: "Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good
tidings, that publisheth peace!...for the wicked shall no more pass through
thee; he is utterly cut off." Nah. 1:13, 15.
Now
is the "convenient time," dear reader, to take a firm stand with him
that bringeth the good tidings! Do not put it off.
Answerer Book 5 32
SHALL WE SEEK ECONOMY AS WE SHUN PRIDE?
Question No. 114:
Should women wear silk or cotton hose?
Answer:
The
position and circumstances of some women make very impracticable the wearing of
silk hose, and of others, the wearing of cotton hose. But the wearing of sheer
silk hose, being neither modest nor practicable in any way, is of course
clearly out of the question for all
Christians. If, though, service-weight silk hose prove more serviceable
and economical as well as more comfortable than cotton hose, then the
service-weight are the best choice. But if lisle or cotton, are the more
serviceable and economical as well as the more comfortable, then obviously they are to be preferred. There is no hard
and fast rule for all. This is a matter for the exercise of individual judgment
and conscience.
"Economy
in the outlay of means is an excellent branch of Christian wisdom....Money is
an excellent gift of God. In the hands
of his children it is food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty, and raiment
for the naked; it is a defense for the oppressed, and a means of health to the
sick. Means should not be needlessly or lavishly expended for the gratification
of pride or ambition." --Testimonies, Vol. 4 p. 571.
"In
the establishment and carrying forward of the work, the strictest economy is
ever to be shown."--Counsels on Health, p. 319.
Answerer Book 5 33
A MODEL OUT OF THE WORLD, OR IN THE WORLD ALSO?
Question No. 115:
Some
think that the dresses adopted by those who reside at Mt. Carmel, are too long
for us who live in the cities. Are they?
Answer:
If a
short dress does not constitute "modest
apparel" for a Christian woman in an isolated place such as Mt.
Carmel, then it would be even more disgraceful in the city.
Any
woman anywhere will look far better in a neat dress of modest length and good
taste, than she will in a short, immodest dress. She will thus commend herself
to the intelligent, and above every other consideration, she will be a power
for good rather than for evil.
To
begin with, the fashion creators started foolish women wearing short dresses,
and the worldly majority willy-nilly patterned after them. And if the stylists
should now put the same models in longer, neat, and modest dresses, the
multitude of Christian women would unhesitatingly fall in step.
A
dress halfway between the bend of the knee and the ankle is a modest length,
certainly not too long for any Christian woman anywhere.
God
expects His people to be the head, to set the right standard. Therefore, to
give an unchristian witness in dress away
Answerer Book 5 34
from Mt. Carmel, where one meets the world's
multitude, is even worse than to do so where one's influence is confined
strictly to believers.
"You
are not accountable for any of the sins of your brethren unless your example
has caused them to stumble, caused their feet to be diverted from the narrow
path."--Testimonies, Vol. 2, p. 256.
SHALL HAIR BE CURLED?
Question No. 116:
My
hair is so plain that it makes me appear odd. Would it be wrong to curl it?
Answer:
Since
the world's licentious fashions are
condemned in the Word, we cannot encourage you to do as the world does. The
Christian is admonished to dress modestly, neatly, and becomingly. But while shunning the world's extremes and
licentiousness, the Christian should be careful not to go to the other extreme,
not to appear unkempt. Keep in the middle of the road; that is, arrange your
hair in such a way as to avoid attracting the attention of the public eye by
reason of either extreme. (Read Isaiah 3:16-26).
SLACKS OR SKIRTS?
Question No. 117:
Is it
all right for a woman to wear slacks while engaged in defense work? Are they
not men's garments?
Answerer Book 5 35
Answer:
If
the wearing of slacks should be restricted to men because men today universally
wear trousers, then anciently skirts
should have been denied women because that garment was then the common garb of
men.
But
as both men and women then wore skirts the question should not be as to whether
skirts or slacks should be always or occasionally worn by women, but as to
whether the dress of the women should be precisely like the dress of the men.
Let
us remember that there is no Bible command as to what form of dress the church
laity should wear, save the command that it should be modest, not costly (1
Tim. 2:9), and that of a man should be distinctive from that of a woman. "The
woman," says the Lord, "shall not wear that which pertaineth unto a
man, neither shall a man put on a woman's garment: for all that do so are
abomination unto the Lord thy God." Deut. 22:5.
Now
if slacks have the distinctive appearance of a garment pertaining to a woman,
then they cannot be classed as man's apparel.
There
is also another phase of the question to be considered: If the garment is
modest, not extravagant, made to meet
the need of the wearer, not the caprice of the world's everchanging styles,
then we see no evil in wearing it. We think that
Answerer Book 5 36
modest slacks are much better than the short,
immodest dresses. But even slacks publicly worn do not afford to a woman that
modest appearance of Christian apparel. Except it be on a certain occasion or at a certain work when or where
the dress is a hindrance, the slacks must not replace the neat and modest dress
that becomes a Christian woman.
If,
though, the wearing of slacks is required of one who works in a plant, then we
see nothing wrong in wearing them during working hours.
IS DISPLAY A SIN?
Question No. 118:
I
think it a sin for my daughter to wear wristwatch. Is it?
Answer:
There
is no objection to carrying a watch of any kind. But when one makes a display
of it, whether it be on the wrist or elsewhere, it then lends itself to
ornamentation, and only cheapens the character
of the wearer, makes him proud, and others envious and jealous. When,
moreover, a piece of jewelry, worn for display, is of cheap make and quality,
it not only cheapens the character and the taste of the wearer but also brands
him as a pretentious imitator. A Christian will abandon all vain appearances,
and be altogether blameless. If he
needs to carry a timepiece, he will do so inconspicuously, as a necessary
accessory, and not wear it prominently so as to appear for style or display.
Answerer Book 5 37
SHALL THE WOMAN LEAVE HER HAT ON WHEN THE MAN TAKES HIS OFF?
Question No. 119:
What
does Paul mean in 1 Corinthians 11 concerning the woman covering her head? Does
not verse 15 show that the hair is her covering?
Answer:
"But I would," says the Holy Spirit, "have you know, that
the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the
head of Christ is God." 1 Cor. 11:3.
Note
the order in which divinity and humanity are linked: God, Christ, the man, the
woman. Thus it is that "every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his
head [God]. But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered
dishonoureth her head [the man]: for
that is even all one as if she where shaven. For if the woman be not covered,
let her also be shorn [that is, if a woman will not wear a hat, then let her
cut off her hair]: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let
her be covered [let her wear a hat]. For a man indeed ought not to cover his
head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory
of the man." 1 Cor. 11:4-8.
This
scripture plainly teaches that a man ought to take his hat off when praying or
Answerer Book 5 38
prophesying (teaching the Scriptures), while
the woman should put hers on.
One
could not logically conclude from 1 Cor. 11:15
that the woman's hair is the covering referred to. If such were the case, then logically the
man should shave his head in order to make the distinction between the two.
Moreover,
if the woman's hair is the covering required, then why would the Scriptures say
she is to wear it when "praying or prophesying"? What else could she
do? And could she take off her hair (covering) when not praying, unless she
wore a wig?
The
Scriptures therefore make it clear that any religious occasion which requires
the man to take his hat off, requires the woman to put hers on.
WHAT ABOUT COMMUNION SERVICE?
Question No. 120:
Should believers who are well established in the message, celebrate the
communion service when they meet together?
Answer:
As to
authorizing the communion service in our own midst, we believe that since we
all, as Seventh-day Adventists, have defiled ourselves as did the Jews at
Christ's first appearing (The Desire of Ages, p. 104) and since this sacred
service works damnation to those who unworthily receive it (1 Cor. 11: 29),
therefore we dare
Answerer Book 5 39
not now, as Davidians, take unto ourselves its
hallowed privilege until as a people our lives bear convincing evidence of our
repentance from the Laodicean condition.
The
lesson in not authorizing this blessed service in our midst at this time, is
inversely parallel to that which John the Baptist taught in ordaining and
insisting upon the baptismal service then; that is, John's instituting the
baptismal service then, showed that the Jews were not ready to meet their King,
and the Rod's not instituting the communion service now, shows that neither are
we ready to meet our King, and that we must therefore quickly repent from our
lukewarmness, buy the "eyesalve," and anoint our eyes. Then we shall
gloriously celebrate the communion service, and the shame of our nakedness will
not appear (Rev. 3:18).
Those
who do not sense this great need are yet blind to the church's undone
condition, and to the Lord's holiness. Just a firm outward faith in the message
is not enough; its inward work in our lives is the all-essential and supreme
work that must take place in the lives of all of us before we can
conscientiously and profitably celebrate the Lord's supper. Let us hasten that
glad day.
WHAT IS MY GIFT?
Question No. 121:
What
is the meaning of 1 Timothy 4:14; "Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was
Answerer Book 5 40
given thee by prophecy, with the laying on of
the hands of the presbytery"?
Answer:
In
the scripture in question, the apostle Paul is urging the Christian to be
faithful and full of zeal in the duties which God has placed upon him, and not
to neglect his privileges and opportunities, nor to come short of his
endowments and capabilities to multiply his "talents."
The
first duty of each Davidian is to be faithful in obeying the principles of the
doctrine, in doing whatsoever work he is given to do, and by precept and
example leading others to do likewise.
Some
are thus doing by building Mt. Carmel Center, some by giving studies, others by
writing letters and sending tracts and
books to their relatives, friends, and acquaintances, and still many others by
sending in names and addresses of Seventh-day Adventists to whom Present-truth
literature may be sent.
Each
must be faithful in his duties, as was Daniel, so that he bring no reproach
against his religious profession, but rather, by his consistent behavior and
faithful service in the name of Christ, lead others to the message of the hour.
Today as Never before, the Christian is to be "not slothful in
business," but "fervent in spirit;
serving the Lord." Rom. 12:11.
Answerer Book 5 41
WHAT ABOUT RECEIVING GIFTS?
Question No. 122:
According to Tract No. 13, "Christ's Greetings," 1941 Edition,
pp. 5, 6, Christians should not give "time" gifts. But is it wrong to
receive them? Or should one return them and thus risk offending the giver?
Answer:
The
tract does not intend to convey the idea that it is wrong to accept
"time" gifts from those who are uninformed concerning the evil
results of the custom, but that it is not right for those who do know better,
to give them on traditional occasions. Were
one to refuse such a gift, he would doubtless offend the giver.
HOW CAN ONE STAND IF HE PLANS TO FALL?
Question No. 123:
Will
you please explain Hebrews 6:4-6?
Answer:
Of
those who do not live up to even the first principles of the doctrine of Christ
and who do not "go on unto perfection," but who lay "again the
foundation of repentance from dead works,... who were once enlightened, and
have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if
they shall fall away," warns Paul, "it is impossible... to renew them
again unto repentance; seeing they crucify
Answerer Book 5 42
to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put
Him to an open shame." Heb. 6:1, 4-6.
The
scripture itself makes plain that those who have been specially favored with
great light but who do not live the inspiring principles of the doctrines of
Truth are laying a foundation that will lead them back into the world, and that
should they thus retrograde, it would be impossible for the gospel of Christ to
renew their conversion at "some more convenient season." The classic
examples of King Agrippa and Felix (Acts 24, 25, 26) are arresting proof of
this.
HOW SHALL WE PRAY?
Question No. 124:
I
have been told that when praying to God, the
Father, we should always say: "In the name of Thy blessed Son
Jesus, Who died for me, I humbly ask, etc." Is this the correct way to
pray?
Answer:
Though the foregoing form of address in prayer may be unexceptionable,
yet petitions need not necessarily always assume this precise form.
In
the Lord's exemplary prayer is to be found the perfect way. There is the prayer
beautiful, the prayer perfect, its every word replete with purpose and
meaning--"our Father," not "my Father" (especially so in
public prayer); "forgive us...as," not merely "forgive us";
"Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth"--not in heaven, but
"as it is in heaven."
Answerer Book 5 43
Short, yet all-inclusive and without repetitions, it teaches us to
address our Creator by His paternal title our Father, which brings us into a
closer bond of union with Him than can any other of His titles. It makes us
realize our utter dependence on Him for all our needs. It covers our sins and
reconciles us to our Father, and makes us friends to our fellowmen, even to
those who sin against us. It creates in us love for His Kingdom, and inspires
us with zeal to labor for its coming. And finally, it leads us to do all we can
for the enthronement of His will here on earth.