[Editor's note: the following are excerpts from this Bulletin, which announced expansion of The Plain Truth, and plans for opening Ambassador College.]
. . . I completed definite arrangements with the management of a large Los Angeles printing establishment -- the same printing plant which now prints the West coast editions of "Life" and "TIME" as well as "SUNSET" magazine -- to have The PLAIN TRUTH printed . . . in two colors and attractive new dress, 16 pages, twice as large as formerly . . . . starting with the January, 1947, number. . . .
In this first enlarged number, I plan to disclose what I believe to be the most sensational material ever published in The PLAIN TRUTH -- facts that are too "strong" to put out on the air. . . . [including these articles] the real scriptural explanation of the NEW Testament teaching on Tithing; the sequel to the March-April article on "The Coming World-Explosion in PALESTINE;" a really amazing article on present conditions in America in DIVORCE and RE-MARRIAGE, with a fearless revelation of the Bible TRUTH on this vital question, now actually hitting one home in every three in our land! . . . an article beginning the eye-opening explanation of the questions "WHO is the BEAST?" "WHAT is the IMAGE, and the MARK of the Beast?" . . .
The PLAIN TRUTH. after all these years of struggle to that end, is at last to blossom out into a full 16-page attractive magazine, with twelve issues every year instead of only two or three . . . . from a little mimeographed paper of 300 copies in February, 1934, up to this beautiful magazine of 110,000 copies . . . . YOU DEAR CO-WORKERS, after all, have made it all possible by your unselfish faithfulness! Yet let us give all thanks, praise and glory to GOD.
. . . I want first to explain what is leading us into a wonderful new phase of this work -- one that will lay the foundation for FOLLOWING UP this great and growing work by PERSONAL CONTACT -- one which will prepare the way for the work to enlarge to WORLD-WIDE scope! The commission of our Master was not for a little localized Gospel work. No, instead, He commanded, "Go ye, therefore, and teach ALL NATIONS;" "Go ye INTO ALL THE WORLD and preach the Gospel to every creature;" "And this Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached IN ALL THE WORLD for a witness UNTO ALL NATIONS; and then shall the end (of this age) come."
I think, from the leading article in the current PLAIN TRUTH, you can understand that God's great PURPOSE in placing human beings one earth is the supreme MASTERPIECE of all His works of Creation -- the creation, in us, of righteous, holy, perfect spiritual CHARACTERS. Redemption is, merely, the completion of Creation. God's purpose is to mold, fashion, CHANGE us from what we were made of ourselves, into what He desires to make of us. The word "conversion" means a CHANGE.
Now this change takes place in the MIND -- and in the "heart," by which word we mean a certain faculty of mind. The process of salvation begins in the MIND. The first step is REPENTANCE, and repentance is a change of mind. The second step is faith in, and acceptance of Jesus Christ as personal Saviour -- and that, too takes place in the MIND, and in the Heart. We are not in any sense CONVERTED until we have received God's Holy Spirit, and in Scripture it is revealed that the receiving of the Holy Spirit is the renewing of the mind -- an illuminating of the mind, bringing UNDERSTANDING; and God reveals that His Spirit is the Spirit of a SOUND MIND.
In other words, real conversion and salvation is EDUCATION -- not the kind of purely mental, purely materialistic, and mostly faulty and erroneous education of this world -- but REAL education, which is the enlightening of the mind, feeding of the mind and soul, thru that faculty of mind we call the HEART, the development of self-discipline and character in the true spiritual values.
God intended man to become EDUCATED. We never glorify God by ignorance, nor by neglecting to train and educate the mind! What is the principle thing that elevates a man above a dumb animal! It is the MIND! That mind, then, to glorify God and fulfil His purpose, ought to be developed, used, rightly cultivated and trained.
Yet today, what do we find? Most highly EDUCATED people reject God's Truth, spurn salvation, regard Christianity as an ignorant superstition. And most of those who will surrender to God, accept Christ and seek salvation today are comparatively UNEDUCATED, or have limited education! It's a FACT that most people today who claim a real born-again salvation have not been educated, or trained and developed their minds, as much as the average intellectual skeptic or scientist who through his "scientific knowledge" and mind training has come to believe there is no God!
WHY SHOULD THIS BE? It should be just the reverse!
The true ANSWER is that Satan set out, 6,000 years ago, to deceive the whole world. Satan has led men in a direction OPPOSITE from the true way of God. Satan has swayed mankind into setting up an organized, Babylonish civilization. In its every phase, this civilization runs OPPOSITE to the right and true laws of God. It is the spirit of COMPETITION, ORGANIZED.
Now, this whole worldly civilization is BASED on a SYSTEM OF FALSE EDUCATION! This paganized society that is THIS WORLD takes our children, from ages 5 to 7, and begins to educate and train their MINDS, in the direction of SATAN'S philosophy, which is the way of materialism, of selfishness, greed, vanity, trust in man, ignoring God. The system of education is COMPLETED in the institutions of higher learning -- the colleges and universities.
And there, surveys shows that 95% of freshmen entering college still believe there is a God -- but, four years later on graduation, 95% of these same students have become firmly convinced there is no God!
Now what is the BASIS, the FOUNDATION, of true education?
We read the answer in the 111th Psalm: "The fear of the ETERNAL is THE BEGINNING of wisdom; a GOOD UNDERSTANDING have all they that do His commandments." Jesus said, "Ye shall know the TRUTH, and the TRUTH shall make you FREE." "Ye shall KNOW," He said. Knowing is knowledge -- education. But error makes none free. This world's education teaches error. This error enslaves the human race, in poverty, inequality, fear, wretchedness, suffering, discontent, unhappiness. It is KNOWING -- that is, EDUCATION in, the TRUTH that makes us free -- leads to happiness, prosperity, the abundant and full life, JOY! And what is TRUTH? "THY WORD," answered Jesus, "is TRUTH." The Word is the BIBLE.
The very FOUNDATION of true education, then, is the BIBLE. And what IS the Bible? Not very many know what it is. LISTEN! The Bible is a special revelation from the Creator GOD, by which He reveals to man those basic necessary TRUTHS man does not know naturally, and could never otherwise find out. It is a revelation, then, of basic, essential KNOWLEDGE. It reveals what man is, how man came, WHY man is, the PURPOSE of things, where we are going, what lies on beyond. It reveals the basic spiritual LAWS OF LIFE. It teaches man how to be happy, successful, prosperous -- how to live.
Those things which man can discover, learn and know by his own efforts, God has left for man to learn. For example, man has been able to invent instruments, set up laboratories. Man has been able to discover that there are just so many elements of matter, and to classify them. He is able to take water apart and discover that it is composed of two atoms of hydrogen to each one atom of oxygen. Man has discovered the laws of chemistry, laws of physics. He has learned about astronomy thru telescopes, about small divisions of matter thru microscopes. He has learned about force and energy, about the law of inertia. Newton was able to discover the law of gravity, so God did not reveal that law in the Bible -- He left that for man to discover for himself.
Man can know, naturally, only what can be transmitted to his mind thru the five senses -- the eye, ear, nose, mouth, or sense of touch and feel. But he cannot see, feel, hear, SPIRITUAL things. So God has revealed the basic spiritual and material knowledge, and from this revealed knowledge man could be able, if he would, to explain and understand many things he sees but cannot otherwise understand.
Now in the beginning, our first parents were willing to be deceived into believing that GOD'S REVELATION was a lie. God had said if they stole the fruit of the one tree which did not belong to them, they would surely die. God revealed the way of LIFE -- made it available Man, under Satan's influence, reasoned that God had not told the Truth, rejected God's knowledge, refused God's way of life, set out to live a different way.
Ever since man has rejected God's KNOWLEDGE -- basic knowledge -- and consequently man's system of education today leads in the exact OPPOSITE direction from the Truth that the "fear of the Eternal" and the revelation of the BIBLE constitute the very BASIC FOUNDATION OF TRUE EDUCATION. Instead man has set up an organized system of education leading in the exact OPPOSITE DIRECTION.
And -- LISTEN CAREFULLY! -- the farther one goes in this materialistic, supposedly rational, but FALSE education of this paganized babylonish world, the farther he gets from the TRUTH! And finally he becomes so STEEPED in this false education, he is utterly unable to UNlearn it, so he could start all over and begin to receive the TRUTH. AND THAT IS WHY PEOPLE HIGHLY EDUCATED IN THIS WORLD'S EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS ARE LARGELY ATHEISTS AND ARE NOT ABLE TO ACCEPT TRUE CHRISTIANITY AND BE CONVERTED!
There are other faults with modern education. It teaches people to believe in and accept this paganized system of this babylonish world and become a PART of it. And it is not TRUE education at all for two other reasons -- 1) it does not teach students to examine, to question, to PROVE whether the thing taught in the text book is true, but rather it teaches him to ACCEPT it without question, and memorize it AS truth. Pupils start in the first grade doing this. Students are given textbooks, assigned a lesson. They never think to question; they merely memorize what the book says, and they are graded on how well they have accepted and memorized it so they know it -- or at least believe they know it! Now the Bible teaches us to PROVE all things, and accept and hold fast only to that which is PROVED to be true and good (I Thessalonians 5:21). And 2) the schools of our land fail in their mission because they do not teach the true METHOD of education, what it is, HOW to study, HOW to get it. The conception of most students is that education is something you get at school and college. When one graduates he HAS his education. As to METHOD the idea is to cram into the student's mind during college years enough educational food to last him the rest of his life. But in true fact EDUCATION IS A LIFE-LONG PROCESS. It only should begin in college. College should teach HOW to study, start him off, and teach him to keep on studying thru life.
Now God's Word commands: "STUDY to show thyself approved unto God . . . rightly dividing the Word of TRUTH," II Timothy 2:15. God commands us to STUDY -- to educate, train, develop our MINDS. How many Christians really do it? But notice the PURPOSE -- to show ourselves approved unto God -- RIGHTLY dividing the Word of TRUTH. The Bible is the foundation, the basis of that study. We are to study rightly to UNDERSTAND. We must PROVE all things. Be rational -- question what we study, until it is PROVED true!
Yes, Satan is the god of this world. This is Satan's world It is steeped in his teachings, methods, procedures. Today the TRUTH appears as mere FOOLISHNESS to the highly educated in this world! "Howbeit . . . we speak not the wisdom of this world . . . but we speak the wisdom of God . . . which none of the princes of this world knew . . . . For the wisdom of this world is FOOLISHNESS with God," I Corinthians 2:6-7, 3:19. None but the FOOL says "there is no GOD." Yet surveys show most college graduates say it -- EDUCATED FOOLS!
This is GOD'S WORK! And several months ago God showed me, as if by special revelation, that the time has come to found a COLLEGE in connection with His work. WHERE, today are young people who wish to dedicate their lives to God to go to find TRUE EDUCATION?
Mrs. Armstrong and I did not send our daughters to college. Do you know why? It was certainly not because we do not believe in education, for with all our hearts we believe in right education! It was because colleges today do not teach true knowledge or give true education, but instead lead minds in the opposite direction farther and farther away from true education. They are factories of atheism and infidelity! Better be without education than have a mind stuffed with that kind of false beliefs. The BASIS of this world's educational curriculum is EVOLUTION.
God showed me the time has come to establish an educational institution based on TRUTH, on God's REVELATION OF TRUTH, supplemented with those facts of natural and exact sciences which man has been able, himself, to discover -- and all BASED ON, and explained by, and in harmony with, THE BIBLE.
This is not to be a theological seminary. Not a Bible college. Not a college for future ministers alone, but a GENERAL college, giving a general and full education based on TRUTH, for any and all who want to know HOW TO LIVE, how to train and educate their minds, and to be started off on the life-long PROCESS of right education -- of developing the mind, without neglecting the HEART, and the SOUL! Now out of it we hope, and believe thru faith in God, will come a FEW whom we shall see GOD HAS CALLED to His ministry. And they will come out TRAINED, educated, fitted, for the great mission. But too often men think God has called them to the ministry when He has not! There will be no promise of "a job" in the ministry to graduates. If God has called one to the ministry, this call will be SHOWN "by the fruits."
However, EVERY student who comes will take the BIBLE course, which will be the basic course of the school. God willing, I plan myself to teach all Bible classes. There will be many other courses available, mostly selective -- such as English, foreign languages, history, mathematics, certain of the EXACT sciences, etc. All girl students will be required to take the domestic science course. And we shall not graduate girls, like some domestic science courses, who can cook dainty pastries and deserts but could cook a wholesome meal to save their lives and who do not know how to be a good wife and mother. We shall teach girls to cook wholesome meals that build health, how to be a true wife fulfilling GOD'S PURPOSE, how to be a good, intelligent, efficient mother an HOME-MAKER. Some of our graduates will be fitted to become school teachers in the public schools -- teaching rightly, and INSTILLING CHARACTER in those they teach. This school, God has shown me, must be a CHARACTER-TRAINING INSTITUTION. It must be utterly DIFFERENT from any school or college in the world today!
While we will not be designed along orthodox worldly lines, yet we expect to receive full "accreditization" as a recognized, accredited college, and our standards in every way will be as high, or higher, than those of the top ranking state universities. Only the ablest, best-qualified professors and instructors will compose the faculty -- and only those in sympathy with our ideals and basic purpose. Already I have selected the man to be principal, or head of this school -- a man eminently qualified, a life-long educator, who in his own educational work has for years successfully employed the "character training" principle in connection with academic teaching in the schools of which he has been head. He BELIEVES God has revealed to us the TRUTH and is in full harmony and sympathy with this undertaking. [Editor's note: this person was Walter Dillon, Mrs. Armstrong's brother.] I have the counsel and assistance of eminent educators who also Christians and believe in the kind of school we are planning.
For several months, I have been planning this school ON FAITH. The main unsolved problem was WHERE TO HOUSE IT. I have felt convinced the best location for it is Pasadena, California . . . . I learned we would be unable to build our own building for some time, because we would be unable to secure any financing. Banks and mortgage and loan companies will not loan money to a CHURCH, and are very reluctant to finance a "special purpose" type building. It looked hopeless.
Then, just last week, I happened in the office of a real-estate dealer I knew in Pasadena . . . [she showed me] one of the large estates of Pasadena -- former home of one of the nation's most wealthy and prominent families. It had almost 2 1/2 acres of the most beautifully-landscaped grounds. A fortune was spend on the landscaping alone. It has a championship tennis-court in perfect condition. It has an 18-room house, a fairly modern mansion build of re-enforced concrete, and a six-car garage with two five-room apartments in the same building. It was a marvelous, beautiful place, but I knew we could never buy such a place . . . it is now owned by a man who has been a life-long educator. Some years ago he was dean of the school of law at the University of Oregon, here in our home city of Eugene. He became so enthused over our plans for a different kind of school, and assured me this place was just PERFECT for such an institution -- the grounds just PERFECT for a small college-campus -- the buildings PERFECTLY adapted to the needs of the school -- that he offered me the place at a ridiculously low figure, only a fraction of what it really cost -- and at such terms as to actually place it within our reach . . . I called up my life-long friend, the dean, in San Francisco. When he heard of it, he instantly said it was PERFECT for the purpose, and in his judgment it was "Providential" -- God had opened it to us by a miracle . . . .
Never, Mr. Dillon said, if we lost this place, would we ever again find another so perfectly adapted to the need. We could never build anything like it without spending money we shall never be able to spend. And it so happened that this is the ONLY estate in
Pasadena or all Southern California that is zoned to permit the establishment of a SCHOOL. How this beautiful, great estate came to be so zoned, I cannot understand -- but it is . . . . The papers have been recorded. We are to get possession next Fall, IN TIME TO START THE NEW COLLEGE IN EARLY SEPTEMBER. . . .
Now, dear Co-Workers, once assured God was leading in this, I have gone right ahead without hesitation. But REMEMBER, we are launched, now, on a MUCH LARGER PROGRAM FOR GOD. Issuing The PLAIN TRUTH every month this year will add more than $30,000 to our expenses. And while God opened the way, and gave us this marvelous place on comparatively low payments, and with no down payment, except a regular double payment -- an unheard-of real-estate deal on a property of this value -- yet there will be payments to meet.
And in addition to this, the radio stations have all made large increases in their charges for time this year -- our largest most powerful station almost doubled the charge! . . .
THAT MEANS WE SHALL HAVE TO DEPEND ON OUR CO-WORKERS BEING STILL MORE LOYAL, REGULAR, LIBERAL, in their support of this great and rapidly-growing work. God's work can't stand still. It must advance. We are now getting the solid foundation under us for a great, vast, powerful WORLD-WIDE work of spreading the true Gospel of the Kingdom in these last days. A few more years, and no man will be ABLE to preach the true Gospel . . . . TIME IS SHORT . . . . Yes, God is able to do things for us that might seem fantastic. He can move mightily when His time has come! He HAS MOVED in our behalf. NOW IT IS OUR TIME TO MOVE, FOR HIM. We must sacrifice, be loyal, faithful, generous, as God has prospered us! We must be honest with HIS MONEY, putting it faithfully, with generous offerings added, INTO HIS WORK! . . . GOD BLESS YOU!
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