The Battalion. (College Station, Tex.) 1893-current, February 12, 1951, Image 1
HH An Editorial RE Week and Freedom . . . W/E PAUSE to praise a freedom. ” On this, the first day of the 1951 Religi ous Emphasis Week, it is only appropriate that we look at the worth and status of an important aspect of our American heritage. Freedom to worship—what does it mean? This basic freedom of our country is most often defined as the freedom to worship whatever diety we choose in whatever way we choose at whatever time we choose. It applies to all Americans whether they profess a creed or not. It gives each of us the right to define as we will what might be called the “mysteries” of life. No one can demand that you worship God. No one can demand that you go to church. Outsiders might look on such a princi ple as a hindrance to religion, a form of dis couragement of maintenance of creeds of all sorts. They fail to take into account, though, the strength of religious ideals in the heri tage of this country. Search for religious freedom is a well-established motive for col onization of this country. And one must read only seventeen words of the Declaration of American Independence to find a reference to a supreme power. The Constitution contained no reference to religion or creed. But the first of its amendments, a prerequisite to its accept ance, guaranteed all citizens freedom of reli gion. Man’s desire to worship as he pleases has been one of the guiding forces in shaping the destiny of this nation and of the world. That is why, as we enter our own Reli gious Emphasis Week, we reaffirm the strength of this freedom.. Like all rights, however, this one carries its responsibilities. Two of these bear con sideration now. The right to choose your religion or lack of one runs hand in hand with the duty to do so wisely. Every assistance is put at your disposal to do so. These next few days, es pecially, offer you the chance either to re assure yourself of the wisdom of your choice or to find a basis on which to choose. Religious Emphasis Edition Battalion PUBLISHED IN THE INTEREST OF A GREATER A&M COLLEGE Another companionate duty to your bas ic right requires that you respect the reli gion of others. Here, again, the coming week allows you a basis for understanding the other man’s religious point of view. Such understanding is a prerequisite to tolerance toward that point of view. Cherish your rights and take advantage of them. But be sure to earn them, too. Truett Was First of Many Eight Year-Old RE Week ‘Smooth Going’ Says Gay By GEORGE CHARLTON Prominent national and state leaders had been assembled on the campus. Dr. George W. Truett, one of the most renowned religious leaders of the nation and former president of the Baptist World Al liance, was scheduled to make the principal addresses. And students had been dismissed from classes in order that they might attend the special sessions. In the Spring of ’42, the A&M Campus was in deed ready for its first Religious Emphasis Week. Rev. Grady Hardin ChapaJwood Methodist Church Houston “And since that time, everything in regard to the affair has worked out just fine,” says J. Gordon Gay, associate-secretary of the YMCA. If these annual occasions have been successes, and many times they were outstanding ones like last year’s program with Doctor Henry Crane as main speaker, one man is largely responsible for them being that way. He is Gor don Gay, the “pusher” of RE Week. Gay picks out speakers each year for the week, handles his own correspondence with them, and arranges with the College to get them here. He finds places for them to stay, speak, and eat. In his numerous endeavors, he is as sisted by the Inter-Church Council, made up of two representatives from each of the faiths around the campus, two representatives from the YMCA Cabinet, the corps chap lain, and the president of the YMCA Cabinet. Gay organized the council in 1942. And his wife cooks all meals for the group at its numerous meetings. According to Gay, the R. E. Week of ’42 was not like the same program as we know it because 9 years ago the get-togethers of students and religious leaders were “church centered,” and attendance at any talk or session depended directly upon the popularity of the main speaker. Not Always Rosy Everything in regard to RE Week hasn’t been quite so rosy, however. Gay tells of the time a scheduled speaker was involved in an auto accident on his way to College Station. There had been a cloudburst and ultimately a storm, the highway had been slick, and the car had slipped off the road. The somewhat bedraggled speaker finally arrived on the campus,, a little late—his clothes were sopping wet. But, he spoke that night in clothes bor rowed from three generous staff members. Plane Mix-Up Last year, M. L. Cashion, secre tary of the YMCA was on his way to Houston about this time of year to pick up Dr. Henry Crane, main speaker for the week. Crane had telegraphed he would fly in that night. After Cashion had been on the road for about half an hour, Crane phoned to Gay that his plane had been grounded in Mem phis and that he would have to catch the first plane for Dallas. In the meantime, Cashion was near Navasota. Gay phoned towns between Col lege and Houston and had the po lice force alerted to catch Cash ion when he passed their way. Cashion was stopped, notified of the change of plans, turned around and drove on up to Dallas that af ternoon. Last year was the first time RE Week was completely campus centered. In ’48, similar services and addresses were held in Septem ber. Between ’43 and ’46, the af fair was discontinued, as were (See RE WEEK, Page 2) COLLEGE STATION (Aggieland), TEXAS, MONDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 1951 Price Five Cents ‘Happiness Must Come From Within’—Elliott By CURTIS EDWARDS “Many people miss happiness because they are looking for it in the wrong places. They turn to harmful indulgences only to find in the end that they had missed the way to any true and abiding joy.” With this thought, Dr. William E. Elliott, pastor of the Highaldn Park Presbyterian Church of Dallas, opened A&M’s ninth an- Religion Necessary For Well-Rounded Individual nual Religious Emphasis Week with his talk on “Are You Wanting Happiness” given this morning in Guion Hall. Dr. Elliott will speak each morning this week in Guion according to the following schedule: Tuesday at 10 a.m., Wednesday and Thursday at 11 a.m. and Friday at 9 a.m. Classes will be dismissed for his talks. “Happiness is a by-product,” Dr. Elliott continued, “not so much a conquest as a consequence. It is the inevitable fruitage of a life rightly handled and rightly lived. One does not get happiness by straining at it, but by fulfilling the conditions of a happy life.” . . . began A&M’s' Religious Emphasis Week program this morning at 10 in Guion Hall with a talk entitled “Are You Wanting Happi ness?” The pastor of the Highland Park Presbyterian Church of Dallas is principal speaker for Religious Emphasis Week. He will speak again in Guion tomorrow at 10, Wednesday and Thurs day at 11, and Friday at 9. All classes will be dismissed during these hours. I HOPE every student, faculty and staff member of 1 A & M College will avail themselves of the opportunity to hear the outstanding minis ters and lay-leaders who will be on our campus during the annual Religious Emphasis Week. We need to develop and strengthen our religious thoughts as never before, and we cannot become well round ed individuals without sound religious training. Religion is an essential part of our daily life, and we hope this week of emphasis on re ligion will help us all grow spiritually in order to lead richer and fuller lives.” the ‘F’ Secretary Gets Aggie RE Ideas President W. D. Ma, •ring/a By CURTIS EDWARDS If you were asked what is the religious attitude of the average Aggie, or what spiritual and moral problems bother him—could you give an authentic answer? Perhaps many of us could guess, but there is one man on this cam pus who could tell us and provide the material to prove it. He is J. Gordon G'ay, associate secretary of the YMCA and the man behind Religious Emphasis Week. Gay has been studying and> try ing to solve “Aggie problems” since 1928 when he came to A&M. This, of course, is one of the pur poses of the YMCA, and it is in connection with this study that Gay composed what he calls his “Interest Locator” questionnaire. He has gathered a series of questions through the years that cover most of the problems con fronting 1 A&M students. Through selection by the students, Gay can determine the specific na ture of the average student’s problems. The interest locator originated long before Religious Emphasis Week, but this is the first year it has been used in deciding what subjects to stress during this week. Results from canvassing 2,115 students show that from Gay’s comprehensive list of twenty-four subjects, the four most popular are: Men and women relationships; Do Scientific facts and the Bible agree; What should a student get (See SECRETARY, Page. 2) Religious Philosophy Books Available at Y’ A generous assortment of theo logical and “thinking” books will be available for buying and brows ing beginning today in the YMCA Lobby, according to Gordon Gay, secretary of the YMCA. Two of the volumes, “Lift High The Banner” and “For the Living of These Days,” were written by Dr. William M. Elliott, main speak er for RE Week. Both books are written compara tively in the language of college students and both are moderately priced, says G'ay. Subjects covered in the books are: men and women relations, church worship vacations, different religions, and recreation and religion. These and the many other books on display in the lobby were brought to the campus by Ned Linegar, YMCA regional secretary. Orders for volumes not immediate ly available will be taken at the lobby desk. Other books available will be “Alternative To Futility,” “Signs of Hope,” “Foundations For Re construction” by Elton Trueblood; “Power and Poise” by E. Stanley Jones, Methodist missionary in In dia; “Faith for the Future” by Dr. Charles Noble, chaplain in Syra cuse, New York; “The Larger Evangelism” by John R. Mott, hon orary chairman of the World Coun cil of Churches; “Religious Beliefs of Youth” by Murray Ross, of the National YMCA staff. “Inner Life” Matter He emphasized that “Happiness is supremely a matter of a man’s inner life and is lai’gely indepen dent of outward circumstances. It is the fruit of self renunciation. The ego-centric person simply can not be happy.” He pointed out some things that militate against a happy life: sense of guilt, fear, and dodging the plain revealed will of God for one’s self and for the world. In his conclusion, Dr. Elliott asked the question “Can a person be happy and not be genuinely re ligious?, and then answered it by saying “One can be only as happy as he knows how to be. Unless a man’s life is an open door to God and fully yielded to him, he does not know what real happiness is.” Week’s Topics Topics of Di\ Elliott’s speeches for the coming week are as fol lows: Tuesday, “On Being Differ ent”; Wednesday “Why Not Try God”; Thursday, “This Business of Being a Christian”; and Friday, “God Is at the Door”. Twelve other leaders brought to the campus by the YMCA and the college administration were intro duced to the students by Dean ot Men W. L. Penberthy before this morning’s service. They will con duct forums each afternoon from 4 to 5:30 and nightly discussions at 9 p.m. in the dorm lounges. The R.E. Week leaders were for mally welcomed to the campus last night with a reception held in President M. T. Han-ington’s home. College dignitaries, local ministers and cadet officers and NCO’s at tended. Ph.D. from Scotland The author of three books of sermons, Dr. Elliott has a vast ed ucational and practical background. His education is highlighted by the following degrees: B.A. from Park College, Mo., in 1925; B. D. from Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Kentucky, in 1928; Ph. D. from University of Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1938; D.D. (honorary), Davidson College, North Carolina, in 1937; and his L.H.D. from Park College, in 1949. (See ELLIOTT, Page 2) Twelve Ministers to Hold RE Dorm Discussions Leo J. Stillpass Rabbi, Temple B’Nai Israel Galveston Ned Linegar Regional YMCA Secretary Dallas Twelve religious leaders of va ried backgrounds have been brought to the campus for the 1951 Religious Emphasis Week which begins today. They will conduct forums each afternoon this week from 4 to 5:30 in the dorm lounges. These for ums will be on specific subjects ac cording to the following schedule: Today-r-“Do Scientific Facts and the Bible Agree?,” Tuesday— “What Should a Student Get Out of Four Years of College?,” Wed nesday—“What Makes a Person a Success?” and Thursday—“Men and Women Relationships.” Nightly discussion groups will also be held by these leaders in the lounges at 9 p.m. Subjects for discussion will be left to the dis cretion of each individual group. The discussions will be operated on a come-and-go basis so that those students not having much time may come and leave as they please. The men will live in the dormi tories and will be available to the students at all times. Burton Coffman Burton Coffman, minister of the Central Church of Christ of Hous ton, will live in Dorm 14 this week and will be available to the stu dents of both Dorms 14 and 17. A former school teacher in Abi lene, Coffman entered ministerial work in 1931. After serving churches in Lawton, Okla., Wichita Falls, and Sherman, Texas, he came to the Central Church of Houston in 1938. Coffman assisted here at A&M’s first R.E. Week in 1942. He has also been the main speaker at R.E. Week in Commerce, Texas and held successful revivals in eleven other states. Rev. Joseph J. Copeland The pastor of the First Presby terian Church of Denton, Dr. J. J. Copeland, will live in dorm 2 this week and counsel with the students of Dorm 2 and 4. Having a B.A. and D.D. degree from Trinity University and a B.D. from McCormick Theological Semi nary in Chicago, Copeland is equal ly well qualified in experience, hav ing served pastorates in Chicago, Ill., Frederick, Okla., and Denton. He also has been R.E. Week speak er or Baccalaureate speaker at Texas Tech, Texas University, Okla. A&M, Texas A&M, WTST and Oklahoma College for Women., Rev. Larry Eisenberg A recreation specialist, Rev. Lar ry Eisenberg of the Methodist Stu dent Board of Education at Nash ville, Tenn., will live in Dorm 15 and counsel with dorm 15 and 17 students. He has taken his college work at a variety of schools including Ten nessee, Wesleyan, Chattanooga University, Garrett Biblical Insti tute, Boston University School of Theology and Yale’s Divinity School. Eisenberg has participated in many youth conferences and has made three collections of recrea tional material in book form. Chaplain William M. Frost Students of Dorm 10 will play host to Major William M. Frost, assistant Post Chaplain of Fort Bliss, Texas. He will be available to students of both Dorms 10 and 12. Having B.A., M.A. and B.D. de grees to his credit, Chaplain Frost also has an extensive service rec ord including the Aleutian Cam paign with 53fd Inf. Reg.; Deputy Chaplain of the Alaska Dept.; Of fice Chief of Chaplains of the A.G.F. Div.; Chaplain of AAA Command; and Deputy of Far East Command. Robert G. Gordon The assistant dean of student life at Texas University, Robert G. Gordon, will be living and counsel ing with the students of Dorms 5 and 7. Educated at Denison U. of Ohio and Colgate (B.D.) University, he was formerly the dean of men at the University of Redlands, Calif, and dean of freshmen at Bucknell University in Pennsylvania. A vet eran of four year’s service in the Navy, he is also a member of the National Association of Deans and Advisors of Men. Dr. W. F. Howard Dr. W. F. Howard, secretary of the Baptist State Student Work, will live in Dorm 6 and counsel with students of Dorms 6 and 8. A former English professor and superintendent of schools, Dr. (See MINISTER, Page 2) Dr. W. F. Howard Baptist Student Work Dallas Dr. J. J. Copeland First Presbyterian Church Denton Rev. Paul YVassenich Texas Bible Chair Director Austin Rev. Larry Eisenberg Methodist Education Board Nashville R. G. Gordon Assistant Dean of Students Austin Willis M. Tate Vice-President SMU Dallas Rev. S. J. Kusnian St. Mary’s University San Antonio Burton Coffman Central Church of Christ Houston