 POOR BENJAMIN'S ALMANAC
The great statesman philosopher, Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790) gave us "Poor Richard's Almanac" filled with choice proverbs and accumulated bits of wisdom for Colonial Americans. The great gospel preacher, Benjamin Franklin (1812-1878), gave us the American Christian Review, the most widely read gospel paper of his day. Because of his lack of wealth and formal education, he was scorned by the sophisticated progressives of his day. As he watched the liberal wing of the brotherhood rapidly abandoning the original plea for New Testament Christianity, he expressed the elitist air of the progressives in his pungent way, saying,
"We are a long way ahead of these old books, read and admired by old fogies. These were good books in their time, and plain, old fashioned men did their work in their day; but we are philosophers, geologists, astronomers, historians and reasoners, not going by the Word, but general principles; not confined to the letter of Scripture, but the spirit" (As quoted in The Churches of Christ by Richard Hughes, p. 51).
If we did not know better we might conclude that Bro. Benjamin was a prophet led to describe an attitude that would surface among Churches of Christ a hundred years later (1960-2002). Such an attitude is now common stock in many of our Christian Schools where worldly "scholars" are training tomorrow's young preachers. It is vividly displayed by Bro. Hughes in his book, The Churches of Christ. It is an established part of the sales pitch of the agents of change. In Bro. Franklin's day, the progressives evolved into
the Disciples of Christ/Christian Church denomination. Ours are clamoring to be received into fellowship by those same people and no doubt will be. They long to be accepted by their peers in the evangelical world.
Although he was poor and humble, Benjamin Franklin taught more truth, saved more souls, planted more churches, strengthened and helped more people than any progressive of his day! We look back to him as a true hero of the faith, the others will forever bear the stigma of men who divided the body of Christ. The grandchildren of the progressives of Franklin's day are asserting themselves in our day. They are our agents of change. Their end will be that of their ancestors. May we be faithful and unmoveable as was Bro. Benjamin Franklin.
JHW
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