it is true that the soul dies, the spirit does not. However, when he was confronted with the text in Ecclesiastes about all spirits returning to God, he saw that this thought put him in a dilemma, because it would mean that even the spirits of the most wicked would return to God, and so none would be left to go to purgatory or to hell, as he claimed.—Eccl. 12:7.

He tried to get out of this by explaining that the missionaries did not understand Greek, but that this word spirit was not spirit but another word, and he cited some strange-sounding word which he claimed was the Greek original. The missionary said it was a pity that he could not speak Greek himself, but that he had a copy of Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance with him and they could look up the original Greek word in that. The word in the text in Ecclesiastes was in Hebrew, of course, and so they looked in vain for the word the priest used, checking both the Hebrew and Greek sections, only to finally discover it was the French word for God he was using to try to confuse them. The missionary then gave the priest a lesson in Hebrew and Greek from his concordance, showing him the correct Hebrew and Greek words for both spirit and soul and what they meant. By this time the priest was very much embarrassed and doubtless wished he had never said anything about understanding Greek, because it was clear to all that he had no knowledge of it.

The lady of the house then very emphatically and plainly told the priest that she was now convinced that Jehovah’s witnesses know and teach more about the Bible than does the Catholic Church. And, speaking even more frankly, she declared that she had learned more in one hour of Bible study with Jehovah’s witnesses than she had learned in six years of study with him. Tonight, she said, he had displayed his lack of knowledge by not being able to answer even one of the questions put to him. When he protested that he was unprepared, she pointed out that his seventeen years of study in a seminary should have been more than enough to prepare him. And thus the discomfiture of a priestly advocate of error resulted in one of the Lord Jesus’ other sheep coming to a clearer knowledge and appreciation of the truth from God’s Word.

Sleeping Pills from the Pulpit

Here’s one for the record! We quote the entire report that appeared in the Fort Worth (Texas) Star Telegram: “Sydney, Australia, Aug. 27 (CDN)—If a sermon puts you to sleep it may be doing you more good than listening to it. That’s the view of Rev. Gordon Powell. The Presbyterian minister believes that, in a sense, ‘the more people sleep in church the better the sermon.’ The clergyman declared from the pulpit of Sydney’s St. Stephen’s Church recently: ‘People today are tired because the tension in their souls prevents them from getting proper benefit from ordinary sleep. In church they are reminded of the love and care of God and develop an inner sense of security that has a strong sleep-inducing effect.’”

Apparently he regards his sermons and his religion as merely a drug for the mentally distressed. Those of sound mind, however, recognize that only sluggards sleep at vital times, and that those who want life must sharpen their ears and gain solid facts so that their knowledge will not run out and the light of truth flicker away. But apparently this clergyman feels it matters little whether one listens to his sermon or not. Such sleep-inducers peddle false security, and themselves refuse to awaken to the lateness of the time. Insomnia sufferers, take note: One such pill is bad, an overdose is fatal!—Prov. 6:9-11; Mark 13:32-37.