"Going"

ONE CENTURY AGO

How many young people know what life was like over 100 years ago? 1913, for example, was the year after the Titanic disaster. The Wright brothers had just experimented with a flying machine a decade earlier at Kitty Hawk (1903), and automobiles were still relatively new. Henry Ford began the operation of his assembly line in 1913, which allowed an entire vehicle to be built in only twelve hours and thirty minutes. Other events include Woodrow Wilson replacing William Howard Taft as the 28th President and the 16th Amendment to the Constitution becoming the law of the land. That's the one that authorizes the collection of income taxes (aarrgghh!). New York's rebuilt Grand Central Terminal reopened as the world's largest train station. It was the 50th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg, and World War I would begin the following year.

Life was far different without the inventions of the radio, the television, and talking movies—let alone computers and all that accompany this technology. It would be more than half a century before man walked on the moon. Most people read books, magazines, and newspapers during this time period. The First Academy Awards were still 15 years away.

But what about the church in these days? Without PowerPoint or even overhead projectors, preachers sometimes made charts and sermons on a bedsheet and hung it up for those present to see. They were usually loaded with Biblical information. Preachers were not paid the equivalent of what they receive these days. And the emphasis was far different than what is often observed today. Our friend, the Preaching Brother from another state, recently found some copies of a 1913 publication. Today's publications are generally printed on slick paper, are well laid out, but often contain shallow articles. The Gospel Guide of 1913 was far different. Articles, ads, obituaries, and notes are scattered throughout its pages, which were edited by Joe S. Warlick.

One of those ads invites brethren to buy the chart of The Divine Library, which was designed by D.S. Ligon. It is described as "a fine work of Art" and a great lesson on the "Division of the Word." It was not printed on paper but on cloth 3 feet by 5 feet. It divides the Old Testament books into the Pentateuch, history, poetic and prophetic books and the New Testament into similar categories. Orders were to be sent to Brother Ligon in Denton, Texas. For $1.75 one could receive a year's subscription to the Gospel Guide as well as The Divine Library. The chart was copyrighted in 1906. All in all, it looks like the offer was a bargain.

This ad appeared in the December 20th issue, and so does the following article by J. W. Chism. Of interest is the particular "ism" that was being confronted in those days. It was a lot newer then, and brethren felt compelled to speak out against it.