The Ohio Independent Baptist, May 1962

Council of Christian Churches raps philosophy of Dr. Eugene C. Blake \ rt.:,0lt1t11..1n rcptttiiat1ng th "anti– (. hr1,t1a11 pl1i1 )\i\,)pl1\ u )I Dr. Eugene <. ' ~11, 111 Rl'"1k.c, a lcaLicr in the ,l– t i,.1n~1 l ( 1t1 r1 i 1 t f ht1r hes. "'a adop- t to: i tlt11 i11g a t,, -da c -- i n of the \n1t: r1 ~1n tin il of hri tian l1t1rchcs f hi . h Id arch 26. 27 al l in1a, Ohi . Dr. Blak \\ a., " h dul d to peak 111 pringfi Id. Ohi . pril 12. Re\' . . Donald [ ffat, Grace Bapti t hurch edarville wa re- le ted pre id nt f the council at the Lima me ting. Dr. Ralph Yarnell, ~l arietta. Ohio, wa elected vice– pre ident ; Re . Jack tange, IJaRue Bapti t Church. wa eleoted ecretary– trea urer. P in ting out that Dr. Blake "doe not peak for or repr ent the hi - toric hri tian faith,' the Amerioan ouncil of hri tian Churc 1 he of Ohio adopted a re olution which aid in part: ··we ... call upon Bible-believing and Bible-loving Ohri tian to epar– a te from the ational Council of hurch , which remain ilent in the face of uch un-Biblical pro– nouncemen .' ' Writes Article " In March 1957, fue magazine ational Council Outlook, a publica– tion of the ational Council of the Churches of Chri t in the U.S.A., carried an artiole entitled, 'An Ea ter Me age,' by Dr. Blake who then wa president of the ational Council of Churches. '"Dr. Blake wrote: ' o we half believe and half doubt the miracle,' referring to the resureotion of Chri t. Then he added: 'But we only half believe and we only half doubt be– cau e anything o long ago and o far away doe not eem to be of uch crucial importance th,at we must de– cide. ' "However the Bible ay in Rom– an , Chapter 10 and ver e 9: 'That if thou halt conies with thy mouth, the Lord J esu , and halt believe in thine heart that God h a th rai ed him from the dead, thou halt be aved. Therefore it i of crucial importance that we believe that God rai ed Chri t from the dead on the third day over 1900 year"' ago! It i of eternal im– portance! It make the difference be– tween Heaven and Hell for a human oul! "THEREFORE. BE IT RE OLV– ED that we the American Council of Chri tian Churche of Ohio, repudi- Page 4 , MAY, 1962 ate tl1e anti-( hr1 ti,1n ph1lo phy of Dr. Blake . a lead r in the ational tincil of ,ht1rc h . We further call up n Bible-be]ieving and Bible...Joviing hri tian to epara te from the a- tional ouncil of huroh which re– main , ilent in the face of uch un– Biblical pronouncements." Pastors reply to charge Dr. Eugene Carson Blake has anti-Ch ristian beliefs The following article appeared in the Sp, ingfield Daily News and Sun after the printing of a resolution by the American Council of Ch,•istian Churches of Ohio at the recent meeting in Lima, Ohio: (See editorial on page 14.) A obarge that a national church figure wiho i to peak in Spring– field po e e "anti-Chri tian philo o– pbry" wa denied Thur d·ay by pastor of the five churches pon oring hi appearance here. The oh•arge wa ha ed on brief e:x:cerpt from an Ea ter mes age written by Dr. Blake in 1957. The five pa tor aid the quotation were taken out of context. The pa tor and their ohurohe are the Rev. Mor e Betti on, Fir t Bapti t the Rev. George A. M·ar brall Chri t Bpi copal, the Rev. Robert A. Young Fourth Lutheran, the Rev. Waldemar A. Haupt, High Street Methodi t, and the Rev. Alexander _ C. Meakin, Covenant Pre byterian. The e five ohurche are sipon oring the Union Lenten ervice . A peci'al invitation wa i ued to intere ted per on to hear Dr. Blake' ermon. Pasto~s Statement The pa tor ' t:atement follow : "Public attention in Springfield ha been directed to an article by Dr. Eugene Car on Blake in the maga– zine ational Council Outlook for March, 1957. A brief quotation from thi article ha been oited as evidence of Dr. Blake' 'anti-Ohri tian philo - op 1 hy. ' "It i evident to anyone who read the entire Ea ter meditation that quo– tation have been lifted out of con– text. Sentences that peak of doubt and unbelief clearly refer to the general religiou ituation in our country, of which Dr. Blake peak , and not to hi own per onal faith or to an official po ition of the ational Council of Churches. H I l is 11 I c; o cv i( I cn t t 11 a t t h i s i nc clen t i~ a p,tr t of a rccu rri11g o t tac upon the Nat,onaJ ounci l f ( hurol ~ c~ and 1tc.; leatJer\ hy thoc;.e who a1 Ott tsic.Jc the ot1 nci I. a nc.J who seek t tli\crec.Jit tli c ounci1, it. lcac.lers. an the partic ipating chttrchc , in ever way po . ible. HWe regret thi s mi<;q uotation an accu ation , a nd do not w1~h to er gage in public controver y wi th ot. hri Lian brethren about it. Howeve Dr. Bla ke will be peaking in prin1 field in two week , a nd we feel th, the people of thi city de erve an a< curate reporting of the fact . D Blake i a fine Chri tian tate mar and need no defen e again t th1 kind of attack. The facts in th ~f matter peak for them elve .' ' The Easter Message The full text of Dr. Blake Ea te me age of 1957 follow : "On Easter it i very ea y for u to think of Re urrection a either wonder on a mi ty morning long age . and far away or el e a a miracl I that will happen generally when th la t trumpet of hi tory ound . "We tend to think of that Garde, . with it tomb a out ide J eru alen and very long ago. With more or le imagination we run with Peter an< Jo,hn and with them are awe- trucl at the tone which bas been rollec away. "With more or le imagination W< hear the angel peak 'Why look Yf for the living among the dead? Hf i ri en. He i not here. ' o we hali believe and half doubt the miracle But we only half believe and we on1) half doubt becau e anything o long ago and o far away doe not eem to be of uch crucial importance that we mu t decide. "But the Resurrection may not be dated in the long-gone pa t. We who are profe ed de oiple of the Lord J e u but who look about in fear at the day' event which ca t uch gloom upon men' oul need today ~ to enter the garden and behold once more the empty tomb. "He who was dead now lives! Every day before the eyes of faith the great tone i rolled away. Look in. See the empty tomb. There are the neatly folded cerement . Hear as the One whom we mi take for a gardener a k u why we weep. Look once more upon the living Lord even through gli ten ing tear . ., o it i , I think that Easter faith i neither e entially a belief in a wonder that happened long ago nor e entially a hope that God will do ome miracle yet that will ave u from de truction. The OHIO INDEPENDENT BAPTIST