Webster’s Dictionary defines a sound bite as “a brief recorded statement [as by a public figure] broadcast esp. on a television news program.” Those “sound bites” refer to audible statements. Webster also defines sound as “free from error, fallacy, or misrepresentation”, “logically valid and having true premises”, and “showing good judgment or sense”. In celebration of 50 years of publication, we look back to some sound bites of 1952.

February–March 1952

“True piety is concerned, therefore, in the first place with what a man is, not with what he does. It must come forth out of the heart that desires to express itself through the rest of the man as godly, pious, devoted, [and] consecrated.”

“Cigarettes, wine verses grape juice at communion services, movies, Rook verses Canasta, these are the issues that arouse many Christians today. Meanwhile, the church is languishing because of the ineffectiveness of a half-hearted discipline, our members are unconcerned for the truth of the Reformed faith, and a dying world without is unimpressed with the measure of our consecration and sincerity.”

Out of the Heart John H. Piersma

“[I]t must be asserted and insisted upon without apology that Christianity is first of all a body of doctrine. It is indeed more than that, but it is that first of all. The Bible is the special revelation of God to mankind, and the Bible is essentially a message of truth. It answers two basic questions, ‘What is true?’ and ‘What is right?’”

Christianity Without Creed Johannes G. Vos

April–May 1952

“Basically, tolerance as every other virtue has its origin in religion. This may sound paradoxical since much intolerance has flourished also in the religious soil. However, true tolerance is not indifference to the truth. Nor is it a willingness to water down one’s convictions in order to be acceptable to others. It is a false tolerance to suppose that we must depreciate or repress our own positive witness.” “Let it be said without hesitation, there is something more important than man’s salvation. It is God’s glorification.”

The Importance of the Organized Church R. B. Kuiper

“If we desire our children to be nurtured in the fear and admonition of the Lord, they must be able to see the power of the gospel in our lives.”

“Today our problem is not first of all with delinquent juveniles but rather with delinquent adults. They set the pattern which is aped by the youth of the land.”

Living the Covenant Life in Our Families Peter Y. De Jong

“Liberalism has suffered some tremendous shocks through the upheavals of the last decades. Its Social Gospel, proclaiming man’s inherent goodness and promising heaven on earth, staggered under the impact of two world wars. But not even such blows were fatal to liberalism. It reinterpreted and restated its position; at heart it remained the same. The clothes changed; the voice is still Esau’s.”

Review of Aspects of Liberalism by L. Berkhof Bernard Pekelder

June–July 1952

“By holding at least in practice that all churches are about equally good, we betray an even worse weakness. It is that of a lack of love for what is Reformed because of our ignorance.”

Where are the Ten Thousand? Peter Y. De Jong

“Reformed theology holds that Scripture speaks for itself. The sort of God of which the Bible speaks cannot speak otherwise than with absolute athority.”

“Unconditional surrender to the absolute authority of Scripture is your only hope for eternity. It is also the only hope for your scientific and philosophic endeavor in this life.”

Special and General Revelation Cornelius Van Til

“Our Lord confronts us in the natural as well as the spiritual with his call to consecration. It may be more comfortable for the moment to withdraw, but it certainly isn’t more godly. The genuine child of God swims in the currents of life.”

Running Away Isn’t Pious A.C. De Jong, Edward Heerema, John H. Piersma

“The great work of the church is preaching the Gospel, offering Christ and His salvation to lost sinners. All other church activities are either subordinate to this, or actually improper for the Church to engage in. The church is to concentrate on proclaiming Christ to sinners.”

The Parable of the Net Full of Fish Johannes G. Vos