| dc.description.abstract | It is an indication of willingness, yes, even determination, on the part of the Church to come to grips with stern reality when the subject of fraternalism, or lodgery, is scheduled for discussion at three of the 32 District conventions this year. This is a wholesome trend. For, if fraternalism is the threat to the vitality of the Church that many consider it to be, it will serve to alert the members of the Church to this menace if its delegates at the official meetings of our Church body will spend valuable time in the study of the nature and activities of the fraternal system. It should be a profitable experience for all concerned to shed Scriptural light on what some consider a sort of a “theological scarecrow”, and to investigate thoroughly the many practical implications of what has come to be either a dead or a moot issue for many Protestant denominations. If nothing more is accomplished, this study should help to clear up some of the misconceptions of fraternalism in our circles and to straighten out some of the fuzzy thinking that sometimes is ventilated by those who are ill informed, but like to pontificate on this subject. For that purpose it shall be the avowed purpose of this treatise to avoid all generalizations not grounded on documented facts and to refrain from innuendoes and veiled charges that can not be supported by quotations from unquestioned authoritative sources. It will not strengthen a position to overstate the case. For that reason fairness in consideration will mark the treatment of this subject. | en_US |
