the following statements from leaders of major church groups.

Catholic clergyman John A. O’Brien, writing in the publication Extension of January, 1959, stated: “‘Other sheep I have,’ said Jesus, ‘that are not of this Fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice, and there shall be one Fold and one Shepherd.’ How are these to be brought into the true Fold? Not by sitting in our homes, but by going to them. This calls for the shoe leather apostolate, for doorbell ringing, for the courteous calling at homes.”

Is this being done by Catholics? Answers O’Brien: “The job can be done if our 37,000,000 laity take off their coats, roll up their sleeves, and get to work alongside of their spiritual shepherds.” The fact that they are urged to begin plainly indicates they are not doing it. After relating that it took 250 Catholics to make one convert, he added: “245 did not lift a finger or give the matter a single thought. In contrast, every Witness of Jehovah spends several hours each week, seeking to win adherents.” Whom does he use as an example of what should be done? Jehovah’s witnesses!

Another clergyman, speaking to a National Council of Churches group, said: “You must recognize witnessing as being fundamental. It is the basis of our faith.” From England, Canon Bryan Green writes in the May 14, 1960, Birmingham Post: “We channel money into expensive evangelistic mass campaigns, into central organizations, and into overadornment of buildings. Would money and energy not be better spent in . . . training of lay people to go back to the apostolic task of house-to-house campaigning? Why apostolic? Paul in the Acts of the Apostles tells us how he did not ‘shrink from teaching both in public and from house-to-house.’”

Does Canon Green expect this to be taken up by his people? He laments: “A good idea, perhaps; but have we the dedication and the perseverance within the Christian Church to carry through such a task to success on the nation-wide scale that is demanded? . . . We might well ask where are the young men of our Christian Churches—clergy apart—who are willing to make such sacrifices for the cause of Christ and his Gospel?” Obviously, this religious leader entertains little hope of arousing the laymen to action in house-to-house ministry. Does he single out any group as an example? He states: “The main point where the Jehovah’s witnesses have something to teach the Christian Church is in their belief in the power of literature, and in house-to-house distribution. This is how they work. The men are sincerely dedicated to their task. They mean business . . . because they believe they have a divine commission.”

The Paterson, New Jersey, Evening News of May 5, 1960, noted the agreement of the major religious denominations in connection with this type of ministry. It said: “What is this much-discussed ‘ministry of the laity’? Protestant and Catholic writers, who have turned out scores of books on the subject lately, agree that . . . every layman is called upon to help communicate the good news of Christ to those who have not heard or understood it. The commandment to preach the gospel to ‘every living creature’ was not directed solely at ordained clergymen: it was laid upon the whole church. And laymen constitute more than 99 percent of the manpower of the church.”

The magazine Lutheran Witness of October 20, 1959, spoke about the duty of all to witness: “Luther elevated the laity from its inferior position and made every Christian a ‘priest.’ First and foremost among these ‘priestly’ activities is witnessing for Christ by life, love, and lips. To be His is to be His witnesses! . . . Under God, every Christian should be on the witnessing team. Already in the fourth century the noted church father Jerome declared: ‘Baptism is the ordination of the laity.’”

In this same publication, a theological seminary professor shows the extreme unlikelihood of lay activity in this church. Dr. Herman Sasse referred “to Lutherans throughout the world, who because they have grown indifferent to sound Lutheran doctrine, could not give definite and satisfactory answers . . . Our churches are precisely in the same position in which Anglicanism finds itself. The Anglican Church is likewise unable to say, even as is the world of Reformed churches, just what she believes.”

Baptist minister L. Tarr of Canada showed the seriousness of not being a participant: “Every Christian should be actively engaged in the work of the Gospel. This age calls for disciples. Anything short of that is hypocrisy.” He then admitted that churchgoers “consider themselves to be spectators rather than participants.”

WHERE RESPONSIBILITY RESTS

How can an army advance without having learned to use its weapons? How can a runner compete if he has never learned to run? How can a Christian witness if he does not know what to witness about? The appalling ignorance existing in Christendom regarding Bible truths makes their witnessing an impossibility. The Lansing, Michigan, State Journal of May 11, 1960, expressed this view, saying: “This will not be a simple task. Religious illiteracy abounds in the pews of American churches, and no layman, however willing, can serve as an articulate apostle of a creed he does not fully comprehend.”

The burden of responsibility for this lack of accurate knowledge rests with the spiritual leaders. They have not faithfully taught Bible truths. They have not employed the Scriptural house-to-house method themselves to set the right example. It is as if the general refused to take part in the war, as if the captain refused to help his team. As a result, both clergy and laity, yes, both generals and troops, both captains and runners, have been disqualified by the great judge, Jehovah God. As was true of the nation of Israel, so it has proved to be true of Christendom: “The kingdom of God will be taken from you and be given to a nation producing its fruits.”—Matt. 21:43.

God will use those who are willing to participate and be his witnesses. Today, hundreds of thousands of Jehovah’s witnesses have responded to Jesus’ command to preach the Kingdom good news from house to house. They alone have been faithful to this commandment. How strange it is, then, that other religions acknowledge witnessing as essential, yet persecute and oppose the ones doing what they recommend!

Everlasting life is a wonderful prize. Spectators will not obtain it, but participants will. Do not become an inactive spectator, but participate to win God’s approval and life in his new world!

Greatest Issue of Life

“The one and only real and profound theme of the world and of human history . . . is the conflict between belief and unbelief,” said Johann von Goethe. The apostle Paul recognized this issue of faith by saying: “Without faith it is impossible to win his good pleasure, for he that approaches God must believe that he is and that he becomes the rewarder of those earnestly seeking him.”—Heb. 11:6.