AN OPEN LETTER by Samuel D. Heady

Pacific Press Publishing Company · OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA · Jun 13, 1900

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 26, No. 24.

AN OPEN LETTER.

By Samuel D. Heady

TO CHRISTIANS OF ALL DENOMINATIONS, THE CHURCH OF ROME EXCEPTED: I, the undersigned non-professing Christian, would like some of your honorable members to answer a few questions that one of your fellow-men, and a sinner, would like to know, and also in order to enable you to see more clearly how the world at large regards you. I except the Church of Rome, for they do not believe that the Scriptures contain all things that a Christian is bound to believe. (See "Faith of Our Fathers," page 111, Cardinal Gibbons.) But all Protestant churches, so far as I know or ever heard, believe in the Bible and the Bible alone. And if you do believe in the Bible only, why do you not teach only the Bible. (See 2 Tim. 3:16, 17; also Gal. 1:8, 9.) With these scriptures before you, how can you teach those unscriptural doctrines that can be heard every Sunday from most of the popular pulpits all over our fair land? And how can you expect sinners like myself to believe that you are sincere, and believe what you teach, when any one who has made a study of the Scriptures can see you are weighed in the balances, and found most woefully wanting?

Please tell me, any of you, Where do the Scriptures tell you to keep Sunday for the Sabbath, or Lord's day? and where was Sunday ever made holy? When Paul did not teach such doctrine, and tells you, that any one who teaches anything different from what he taught shall be accursed, what will be the fate of those teachers who lay aside the plain testimony of the Bible, and substitute for the same the doctrine of men? Let Christ bear testimony in this case. Matt. 15:9, 13, 14.

Do you say you do not know these things are in the Bible? I know that you do know it. Many of you teach this error knowingly. A minister of my acquaintance told me that he knew there was no scripture for Sunday-keeping; and I have several books in my library, on first-day sacredness, that acknowledge that there is no divine command for first-day sacredness. And then those same ministers wonder why we sinners do not join their churches. It makes one believe one of two things, namely, that the popular ministers are themselves disbelievers in what they teach, or else they preach just as I run my train—for dollars and cents.

Now I know from personal study of the subject that Sunday is not the Sabbath; and I know that all the ministers I have talked with know it also. And what other conclusion can I, a worldling, come to? Now remember that I am not a professed Christian, and never have been; but if I ever should join any church, it would have to be one that keeps the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus. Rev. 14:12.

There is one other conclusion that I am sometimes compelled to contemplate when pondering over the fables taught from the popular pulpits,—perhaps those teachers are the ones of whom we are told in 2 Thess. 2:11, 12. They certainly are not the ones spoken of in Phil. 4:8, 9. Sunday sacredness is not true, is not honest toward God; for it robs Him of His own chosen, holy time. It is not pure worship; for many of the keepers of the day know better.

Now I would not have you think that I do not believe there is any good in the churches. I most certainly think there are many good people in all churches. But I can not think those teachers who weekly preach error, and know it, are any better than I am, and I know that I am not good; for I am a sinner, and not living up to the light that it has pleased an all-wise God to give me.

The true Christian will say to me, Why don't you live up to the light? I answer: The god of this world—riches—has me in the boat with our popular ministers; and I can not see how men who preach error, and know it, are any better than I am.

Again, they teach that heathen doctrine of the immortality of the soul; and the teacher of that doctrine in the Bible has not much of a reputation for truth. Gen. 3:4. He—Satan—is called a liar from the beginning. God told the man he should surely die. The serpent told the woman, "Ye shall not surely die." Now there is but one conclusion to come to,—one told the truth, and the other a falsehood. And most of the professed Christians of the world to-day give Satan the credit for telling the truth in this instance.

Is it reasonable to suppose that God has given man an entity that can not die, and has not told him about it? For certainly nowhere in the Bible is the immortal soul spoken of. If the soul is immortal, what use is there for a resurrection of the dead? And if the real man is in heaven or hell as soon as he appears to die, what need can there be of a resurrection? But the Scriptures tells us, if a man has not Christ he shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides upon him. A life in torment is life, and the person would as keenly realize that he was alive as tho he was living a life of pleasure. He might wish a thousand times he was dead and out of his misery, but he can not die, according to popular theology. Immortal-soulism makes God the most horrible tyrant that it is possible for the human mind to conjecture; and it does away with several great Bible truths, such as the resurrection, the judgment, etc. The mission of Christ is to restore man to life; but if all men have life independently of Christ, what does man need of Christ? Christ says He is the way and the life. The ministers of our day preach that all men have life independently of Christ. The Scripture says, "He that hath not the Son of God hath not life." 1 John 5:12.

Again, the Scripture tells us, in John 14:3, "I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." Why will Christ come again, if all His chosen ones are already in heaven? Such doctrine makes vain the second coming of Christ. And if there is no second coming of Christ, there will be no resurrection of the dead, and, consequently, no future life for believers, since the second coming of Christ is to accomplish the resurrection of His saints. 1 Thess. 4:16.

Again, there can be no judgment day if all are judged when they die, unless all are to be judged twice; and that is to charge God with folly. As I am writing to Bible students, I consider it unnecessary to give Bible references.

Again, let me ask, When is coming the time that is spoken of in Rev. 5:13, if millions of our fellow-creatures are to suffer throughout all eternity in a burning, seething hell?

And now to notice one other doctrine held by some of the popular churches, namely, baptism. The Scriptures tell us there is "one Lord, one faith, one baptism." Now if I read the Scriptures aright, repentance and belief come before baptism; and I would ask the advocates of infant baptism why they baptize any one who has neither repented nor believed, and simply can not either repent or believe.

There is another plainly-taught doctrine in the Bible that is ignored by all the churches, as far as I know, with but three exceptions, namely, the ordinance of the humility of Christ, or feet washing. "But," says one, "you make me blush by speaking of such things." Perhaps you may blush now; but what do you imagine you will tell Christ when He asks you if you knew these things? John 13:4-17. The question with me is, Did Christ know what He was talking about, or not? I think He knew what He wanted His followers to do; at least He says, "If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another's feet." Now, man, whoever you are that professes to be Christ's, do you do as Christ tells you that you "ought"? Do you wash your brother's feet? And now, woman, do you wash your sister's feet? If not, are you Christ's from a Bible standpoint?

Remember, God is not mocked; and if you will not do these things, and will disregard His Word, when plainly understood, then you are not, and of necessity can not be, any better than I am; and I know that I am a sinner. Now if Christ knew what He wanted to say, and did say it, then I should obey, were I a professor of Christianity.

I could write for a week on these and kindred subjects, and not exhaust them, and I like to talk on the same subjects when I meet a minister. And, as I do not wish in any way to hide my identity, and am responsible for these lines, I will tell you who I am. My name is Samuel D. Heady. For more than twenty years I have been a railroad conductor. At the present time, and for about fourteen years, I have been in the employ of the Santa Fe system. I was born in South New Berlin, New York.

If I am wrong in any of the foregoing matters, I would thank any one on earth to show me my error.

Albuquerque, N. M. S. D. HEADY.