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PAGE 10
■ The
BIBLE SPEAKS
Through Your
SUNDAY SCHOOL
LESSON
Rev. J. A. Middleton
DIMENSIONS OF FREEDOM
MEMORY VERSE:. The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-con
trol; against such there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23
Freedom is a large word that covers much territory. In its
basic meaning, however, it is the capacity to choose between
several possibilities. Freedom is absent if there is no genuine
room for choices. To be free means to have a "Choice.** To have
a "Choice** means genuine alternatives. To choose any given
alternatives over against another is to be able to alter the course
of events.
To be able to alter the course
of events is an awful respon
sibility. Oswald changed the
course of history when he fired
the bullet that killed President
Kennedy. It was one of those
shots that was heard and felt
around the world. It proves
beyond doubt that what a per
son thinks means a lot. Free
dom is an awful thing, a ter
rific responsibility.
This is .doubly true L our
sense of responsibility is not
also sharp and well developed.
We may contend for the freedom
to drive our car but we also
must accept our responsibility
to drive safely. We may con
tend for the freedom to bear
arms but we have a social re
sponsibility to help protect the
rights of others. In other words
we deserve our freedom only
to the degree that we accept
our corresponding responsibil
ity. These responsibilities are
spelled out in our social legal
and religious principles. The
essence of freedom is respon
sibility. Freedom and respon
sibility are twins that should
never be divorced.
Freedom and restraint are
also twins that should never be
divorced. No man deserves to
be free who can not impose up
on himself the necessary re
straints. Freedom to do any
thing involves us in the neces
sity for restraints. We may be
free to throw rocks so long as
we recognize our limits. If we
go beyond our limits in throw
ing rocks or swinging our
arms somebody takes ourtree
dom from us. Society there
fore lays out limits and we
are free within those limits.
If we can voluntarily restrain
ourselves to these limits, no
one will interfere with our free
dom.
This writer studied political
science under a professor who
would often remind his students
that the genius of our American
System is "Freedom through
law and liberty through restra
int.** The three branches of
government operate as a check
and balance against each other.
Law and restraints are enforc
ed so as to guarantee some
freedom to all. Without law
we would have no freedom and
without restraint we would have
no liberty.
In that class in political science
our professor would offer haz
zard predictions. The National
government is committed to
protect certain ideals and it will
in the future increasingly re-
strain those who abridged the
rights of others. This would
increasingly help theNegrowho
will in the future in the South
Vote and hold office simply be
cause his right to do so will
some day be protected. Many
times in that Class we would
sit in silent doubt. Other times
we would vocalize our doubts.
Still there were other times
when we would cynically wink
our eyes and point to our heads
to signify that there was aloose
screw in the old professor’s
head.
But all that is now water over
the dam. We have seen how
startlingly accurate some of
his predictions were. We now
tip our hats to a professor
who was much wiser than we -
his students.
The professor is a good ex
ample of one who enjoyed real
freedom. He was one of millions
Negroes in the South who could
not Vote or hold office in his
Native State. But he could
look through the surrounding
fog and see something shaping
up that would change things
for good. Like many men of
other ages he had transcended
the evil circumstances that
placed unfair limitations on
him and others like him. Some
men are freer in prison than
others are with no restraining
bars. True freedom trans
cends circumstances. Socrates
was a prisoner held by the
Greek authorities. At least the
outward circumstances show
Socrates the prisoner. But we
now know that Socrates was
freer than his captors.
Paul was a Captive to those
who were so determined to get
him. But a glance now shows
that his Captors were his pri
soners. Paul overrode the cir
cumstance and enjoyed free
dom as a prisoner that others
did not have outside. Richard
Allen was so free as a slave
that he turned his own Master
into a brother.
A little better than a year ago
this Writer saw that principle
dramatically illustrated in Al
bany, Ga. Dr. M. L. King, Jr.
and the Reverend Ralph Aber
nathy were there in Jail. Chief
Pritchett and his men had the
keys dangling on a ring. They
had guns and bars that glide
forth their various ranks. It
was all very impressive. But
a little talk with King and Aber
nathy and a little talk with these
policemen showed us unmistak
ably who the real prisoners
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Watchtower Grads Compare Bibles
Students of the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead in New York City compare a number of
Bible versions and manuscripts, part of the school’s collection. Harold and Coralee Thomas
(second and third from left), known to many in this vicinity, have just completed a ten-month
course at the school, graduating with over 100 students from 56 lands. With them are Herbert
Jennings, Ghana (left) and Aruliah Gnanasundaram, Ceylon (right).
Father Bowden
Celebrant At St.
Paul’s Episcopal
The Rev. H. J. C. Bowden,
Chaplain of the United States
Veterans Administration Hos
pital, Tuskegee, Alabama, will
be Celebrant at a Celebration
of Holy Comm union atSt. Paul’s
Episcopal Church, Sunday, De
cember 29, 1963 at 7:00 a.m.
and 11 a.m.
At 9:30 a.m. the church school
and Adult Bible Class will be
held. On Tuesday, January 14,
1963 at 8:00 p.m. the Annual
Parish meeting will be held.
All officers, circle presidents,
(CONTINUED ON PAGE 14)
sible Qu.otation.s
Must be born again St. John
3:7. Why? because flesh and
blood cannot enherity the King
dom of God 1 Com 15:50.
The first birth (fleshly birth)
enables one to come into the
natural world. St. John 3:6
The second birth (Spiritual
birth) enables one to enter
into the Kingdom of God.SL John
3:3.
Ye must be born again St.
John 3:7 Regeneration. Titus
3:5.
Become a new creative.
James 1:18 2 Corn. 5:17. After
truly being born again, one can
not sin. Being then made free
from sin, ye become the ser
vants of righteousness. Rom.
6:18.
Bit now being made free from
sin, and become servants of
God, ye have your fruit unto
holiness, and the end everlast
ing life Rom. 6:22 1 John 3:5
1 John 3:9.
were. The real prisoners were
the men with the guns and Keys.
These men readily admitted that
they did not want to arrest us.
But they had to obey orders,
A system had spoken. That
system made them slaves to it.
Martin Luther King and Ralph
Abernathy enjoyed a dimension
of freedom denied to those who
help us all as captives. The
Bible calls us to transcend cir
cumstances and enjoy true free
dom.
ATLANTANS COMPLETE
WATCHTOWER SCHOOL
Harold and Coralee Thomas, formerly of Atlanta, have re
cently completed a ten-month specialized course in Bible in
struction and organization management at the Watchtower Bible
School of Gilead in New York City.
The Thomases were part of
a class of 104 selected min
isters of Jehovah’s Witnesses
who were gathered from 56
lands around the world.
The course provided each day
for a half-day’s classroom ac
tivity and a half-day’s practi
cal training in some phase of
operation of the Watch Tower
Society’s two large printing
plants and the two buildings
which house the offices of the
Society and the School and pro
vide living quarters for the stu
dents as well as for the 680
G>
I
best M
WISHES^
FOR THE
1 j NEW
’ Y E ak
Giant FumHvrt Co.
421 Marietta St., N. W.
SATMMV, lECEMEI 21 JMJ
members of the headquarters
staff.
Academic studies included a
verse-by-verse study of the en
tire Bible, the history of re
ligion, the relation of world
history to the history of the
Bible, Bible teaching techniques
as well as advanced methods of
congregational administration,
business law, accounting and
mathematics.
Students were also given an
opportunity to study and par
ticipate in the United States
Branch’s supervision of its
4,777 congregations and 300
traveling ministerial super
visors. Operation of the So
ciety’s printing plants was also
studied and students shared in
the actual production of the
year’s output of 29.250, 620
Bibles and Bible sutdy aids as
well as 122, 826, 351 copies of
the Society’s two magazines,
The Watchtower and Awake I
"One of the most impres
sive features of the entire pro
gram,’’ Thomas said, "was the
close association we had with
so many different nationalities
and cultural backgrounds. It
emphasized all the more to us
that the Bible and its teach
ings is the only real force for
mutual understandings peace
full coexistence.’’ In all, the
104 students are being assigned
to 68 different lands. The Tho
mases are being sent to Ja
maica on special assignment.
Tin Bth Grade Classes
Of
t. J. Price High School
• Present •
Galaxy Of Talent
Gymnatorium — 7;30 P. M.
FRIDAY, January 3, 1964
ADMISSION: $.35
