APRIL, 1961 The Face of Christ PINIONS vary as to the Pilate looked at the men who had Jesus in O quality of pictorial art, charge, and then his gaze rested searchingly on and some of us will doubtless Jesus. He had had to deal with all kinds of crim inals; but never before had a man bearing marks never acquire whatever it of such goodness and nobility been brought before takes to appreciate some forms him. On His face he saw no sign of guilt, no ex of art. When it comes to rep pression of fear, no boldness or defiance. He saw resentations of the face of a man of calm and dignified bearing, whose coun Christ, human reactions are tenance bore not the marks of a criminal, but the legion. Perhaps some love them all. Some signature of heaven. Ibid., p. 724. like this one, some that. Others frown on As far as pictures of Christ are concerned, every representation of Christ, as though we know that Mrs. White©s opinion was they were all an infringement of a divine that there was nothing wrong in using them command. discreetly. There is in existence a picture of The fact is that no man can pictorialize Christ on the cross of which Mrs. White is the face of Christ and adequately convey reported (and any reported comment must the multitudinous qualities required in be used carefully) to have said that it the Redeemer of men. looked more like the Christ she had seen It is impossible to paint a satisfactory picture of Christ. The difficulty lies not so much in the artist©s in vision than did any picture she had ever inability to suggest ideal traits as in the many- seen. The picture in question is one of sidedness of the ideal. Christ was the sanest and those old composite scenes with the im most wholesome man that ever lived; he was at the molated Christ in the foreground. On one same time so completely filled with the spirit of side are our first parents leaving Eden, God that the keenest analysis fails to tell where Cain slaying Abel, the priests offering a the human leaves off and the divine begins. He sacrificial lamb, and on the other, the touched life throughout its vast orbit; he entered twelve at the Last Supper. In the distant into all the relationships that men sustain with background is a vision of the Holy City. one another, and that man and God may enter. He knew what work with his hands involved; he Mrs. White actually copyrighted this pic knew the duties of a son, a brother, a wage earner; ture in 1883. Its face of Christ betrays resig he was friend, teacher, physician, wedding guest, nation and agony. It would not satisfy every mourner, father-confessor, preacher, denouncer, taste today. temple-cleanser, pilgrim, fugitive, wonder-worker, An artist planned to paint a picture of prophet, law-giver, social lion, friend of the demi Christ as a masterpiece. He spent years monde, story-teller, reformer, visionary, mystic, collecting the advice of his friends as to Jewish Messiah, martyr, Son of Man, Son of GodI what they would expect in the counte What single portrait can compass this range? The problem reduces itself to the adequate embodi nance of the Lord. Then he decided that it ment of a single trait or two, the presentation of could not be done adequately! It certainly only an aspect of his personality; and we shall find is providential that photography was not ourselves attracted now to this picture and now to discovered in time to convey the exact face that, as our appreciation of life varies and our af of Christ to posterity. We can now envision fections shift with our growing insight and char Him only on the basis of the many and ex acter.* quisite character delineations in Scripture. Adventists will be interested in the only This leaves Him to be envisioned as supra- two direct statements we can find from racial and universally the Saviour of man Ellen G. White on the face of Christ during kind in that He is what every class and con His earthly life: dition of man needs supremely. At the marriage feast she meets Him, the same Our cover picture, recommended by our tender, dutiful son. Yet He is not the same. His worthy art editor, T. K. Martin, is a photo countenance is changed. It bears the traces of His of a sculpture. It may not please every conflict in the wilderness, and a new expression of body, but if it inspires us to think of the dignity and power gives evidence of His heavenly attractive and redemptive qualities of Him mission. The Z>eszre of ^ges, p. 145. who said: "I am the way, the truth, and the life" it will serve its purpose at this resurrec * From The Gos£e( in Art, by Albert E. Bailey, 1916, 1931, 1944. The Pilgrim Press. Used by permission. tion season. H. w. L. THE MINISTRY Official Journal of the Ministerial Association of Seventh-day Adventists VOLUME XXXIV APRIL, 1961 No. 4 Editor ROY ALLAN ANDERSON IN THIS ISSUE EDITORIAL Associate Editor ANDREW C. FEARING Do We Miss the Significance of Christ©s Sacrifice? R. A. Anderson 7 Managing Editor HARRY W. LOWE ARTICLES Assistant Editors The Face of Christ .__........._.._.._._.._.__._.... H. W. Lowe 2 E. EARL CLEVELAND Breaking the Seal of Death _.____._._______ J. Osborn 4 WALTER SCHUBERT Tame Talk ____._...._.._ ___________ E. E. Cleveland 9 Walter Martin and the Nature of Man ___. D. E. Mansell 11 Copy Editor Did Christ Stay in the Grave Exactly 72 Hours? R. L. Odom 19 ]. IN A WHITE From TV Screen to Harvest _..._....._....._...._....._............_.... 24 Some Books I Can Recommend ._. _.. _.._ V. H. Cooper 15 Consulting Editors REUBEN R. FIGUHR, WALTER R. BEACH, REGULAR FEATURES EDWARD HEPPENSTALL, LOUISE C. KLEUSER, W. B. OCHS, H. L. RUDY Research .....__..___.__.._________________ D. Ford 17 Evangelism __________- . ____________._____ M. Banque 28 Art Editor Evangelism ____________________________________ L. C. Kleuser 30 T. K. MARTIN Pastor _______________.__.____.__.__.. A. O. Dart 32 Shepherdess ...___..................._............. Mrs. L. Hardinge 34 Circulation Manager Books for Your Library _________________________________________ 42 WALTER SCHUBERT News _- _-_-_.--_-_ -_.--__--_ ..--_-_ _._-_-___.--_.__.._._....... 44 E. EARL CLEVELAND, Assistant Pulpit Pointers for Preachers ......__________________ 48 1960 Overseas Ordinations ____________________________________________ 38 Overseas Contributors GEORGE BURNSIDE Australia ERWIN BERNER Central Europe J. R. SPANGLER Far East H. J. WESTPHAL Inter-America Our Cover WAYNE E. OLSON Middle East ODD JORDAL Northern Europe Pictured on our cover in sculptured stone is the victorious ENOCH OLIVF.IRA South America Christ by the late American sculptor Charles Andrew Hafner S. G. MAXWELL Southern Africa of New York. A student under Daniel Chester French and J. F. ASHLOCK Southern Asia other famous sculptors both at home and abroad, Hafner G. CUJ©ERTINO Southern Europe was a frequent prize winner by his realistic art. This strikingly articulate head, from a beautiful full-figure statue of the Saviour, seems to be saying, with confidence, "I am the res urrection and the life." Editorial Office: 6840 Eastern Avenue, NW. This positive declaration by our Saviour is one of the most Washington, D.C. assuring in the entire Scriptures. Our only means of escape from the inevitable oblivion of eternal death is a firm, un Printed and published monthly for the Min isterial Association of Seventh-day Adventists swerving belief in the risen Saviour, triumphant over death, by the Review and Herald Publishing Associa and hope in His soon return to forever banish the grave and tion, Washington, B.C., U.S.A. $4.00 a its destructive power. T. K. MARTIN year; 40c a copy. Add 25c for yearly subscrip Art Editor tions to countries requiring extra postage. Second-class postage paid at Washington, D.C. Cover Picture: Gair Hafner APRIL, 1961 Breaking the Seal of Death JOHN OSBORN President, Southeastern California Conference | ROM Nazareth, the home Lord 1961 it could be proved that Christ town of our Lord, there was still sealed in His Palestinian tomb or came to light in the year that His disciples had stolen His body and 1878 a most interesting slab buried it elsewhere. The annual celebra of marble, which contained tion of the resurrection of Christ by the a decree of Caesar. It is now Christian world would be a purposeless in the Louvre, Paris, and it mockery. The faith and hope of millions reads like this: would be a cruel disillusionment. Ordinance of Caesar. It is my pleasure that The apostle Paul reasoned from this graves and tombs remain undisturbed in perpetu viewpoint in his letter to the Corinthians, ity for those who have made them for the cult of relating the far-reaching effects of a dis- their ancestors, or children, or members of their proval of the resurrection story. "If Christ house. If, however, any man lay information that be not risen, then is our preaching vain, another has either demolished them, or has in any other way extracted the buried, or maliciously and your faith is also vain. ... Ye are yet transferred them to other places in order to wrong in your sins. They also which are fallen them, or has displaced the sealing or other stones, asleep in Christ are perished.