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Evil Spirits: Intellectualism and Logic

2011-07-10T14:35:31Z

Bhathorn48:

'''''Evil Spirits Intellectualism and Logic''''' is a theological treatise by the 20th-century American Baptist Association clergyman [[L. L. Clover]]. The book seeks to refute [[secular humanist]] views regarding [[evolution]], personal sin, and the societal and moral breakdown of [[Western Civilization]].

The book was published through the [[Louisiana Missionary Baptist Institute and Seminary]], an institution which Clover founded in 1952, originally in his own home. At the time of his death in 1975, a year after the publication of this book, Clover had been preaching weeklong revival services in Camden in his native [[Arkansas]]. From 1948–1964, Clover was the pastor of the Calvary Missionary Baptist Church in Minden, [[Louisiana]]. Thereafter, he was president and president emeritus of LMBIS, a still functioning seminary in Minden. He was a native of [[Clark County, Arkansas|Clark County]] near Arkadelphia, Arkansas.<ref>Billy Hathorn, "[[A. T. Powers|Austin Toliver Powers]] and Leander Louis Clover: Planting the American Baptist Association in Northwest Louisiana during the Middle 20th Century," ''[[North Louisiana History]]'', Vol. XLI (Summer-Fall 2010, pp. 140–142</ref>

According to Clover's denominational colleague, [[I. K. Cross]], the founder of the defunct Eastern Baptist Seminary in Somerset, [[Kentucky]], the book ''Evil Spirits'' despite the passage of nearly four decades since its issue "makes a strong appeal to call man back to the authority of the Scriptures ... it bores to the heart of issues that confront all mankind ..."<ref>Preface, ''Evil Spirits Intellectualism and Logic'', (Minden, Louisiana: Louisiana Missionary Baptist Institute and Seminary, 1974), 108 pp.</ref>

==Clover challenges evolution==

Clover contends that human nature is inclined to adopt actions detrimental to the human race. Rejecting the tenets of the [[Charles Darwin|Darwinian]] concept of evolution, Clover said that human nature results from environmental influence but is not created by environmental conditions. "Like the soil that grows thorns and briars without cultivation, much bad seed has been sown in the minds of the people in the last few generations. This has been done through the media of teaching and example."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', pp. 12-13</ref>

Clover describes human nature as faulty even in the best of individuals. "The natural man cannot understand spiritual things [and] cannot understand, much less follow, the right way of life."<ref>''Evil Spirits,'' pp. 20–21</ref> Therefore, Scripture teaches the need of [[Jesus Christ]] as the Personal Savior to rescue man from his inclination to fall into sin.

Clover depicts evolution as "nothing more than a hypothesis" or "a guess." Though there Christian teachers who neither believe nor teach evolution as a fact, Clover said that pro-evolution textbooks work to the detriment of students.<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 26</ref>He continues: "... A careful study of evolution will reveal many unbridgeable gaps. Many assumptions and guesses with little concrete evidence ..." Clover maintains that life can be derived only from life: "The first life on earth came from a living Supernatural Being that we call God. Jesus was both God and man. ... we all know, beyond doubt, that had His teaching been followed, our world would be almost a heaven on earth. ... 'All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made.'"<ref>''Evil Spirits'', pp. 31–32</ref>

The British naturalist and evolutionist [[Julian Huxley]], who died the same year as Clover, summarized three choices regarding evolution: "Either it [life] was supernaturally created, or it was brought to the earth in the interior of a meteorite, or it was produced naturally out of less complicated substances." Huxley found the supernatural explanation of the origin of life "counter to the whole of our scientific knowledge." He hence determined that living substances come from the non-living."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 26</ref>

Clover said that Huxley's teachings contribute to the moral and intellectual confusion of young people attending institutions of higher education. Evolution, he reiterates, is a hypotheis because there are no witnesses or evidence from the distant past from which to conclude the veracity of the theory.<ref>''Evil Spirits'', pp. 26–27</ref>

Clover, who worked with young people through his church and seminary, lists the needs of the young as "understanding, love, sympathy, help, and less criticism."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', pp. 12–13</ref> He asserts that [[Hugh Hefner]]'s ''Playboy'' magazine and its libertine philosophy encourages young men, particularly at the college level, to view themselves as "pleasure-seeking individuals for whom sex is fun and women are play things."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 18</ref> He further decries the inclusion of sexual material in popular films of the 1960s and 1970s. He blames parents for having given "tacit approval of an illegitimate sexual atmosphere."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', pp. 18–19</ref>

==Clover defends trustworthiness of Scripture==

Clover repudiates those who claim that the Bible is not a trustworthy book but one of metaphors and a "modern version of old religious thought that has become outmoded as people become more intelligent." He adds, "Science has become the only Bible that many people are willing to believe, and for them humanism is the only acceptable religion."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 33</ref>

Though Clover admits his admiration for scientific research and discoveries, he challenges scientists who proclaim that life came from non-living substance or that the Bible story of [[Creation]] and the existence of a supernatural being is mythical. Such scientists, he claims, have departed from their field and "entered the realm of philosophy. ... When people knowingly or unwittingly ascribe all knowledge to scientists, they have become thoughtless and naive." Such a view, Clover asserts, is the problem of the intellect, rather than faith.<ref>''Evil Spritis'', pp. 34–35</ref>

Clover writes that the Bible "is far above the imagination of man. Its clairvoyance is astonishing. Its philosophy of life, geared to the best interest of all mankind, has never been equalled by the man-made philosophy."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', pp. 40–41</ref> and consistent with ''Matthew'' 24:35, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My word shall not pass away."<ref>''Matthew'' 24:35</ref>

The Bible is the collective work of some forty different writers over a period of 1,500 years who came from diverse ranks,<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 41</ref> some well-educated, others farmers or fishermen. Clover rejected the "skeptic [who] says the Bible contains many contradictions; this is said through ignorance ..." Clover asserts that Scripture reveals no contradictions, but "a harmonious completeness!"<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 41</ref>

Clover rejects the claim of scientists who determine than mankind is the product of chance. The existence of the galaxies, suns, moons, and stars, he finds, is proof of law, design, and intelligence: "To believe that all this came through the medium of chance is to believe there is effect without adequate cause...."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 44</ref>Clover challenged evolution with a line from ''I Corinthians'': "For the wisdom of the world is foolishness with God."<ref>''1 Corinthians'', 3:19</ref>

==Fate of modern man==

Clover describes modern man as "stubborn, with his seared conscience, blind eyes, worldly wisdom, and earthly interest" and unable to explain the evidence for the existence of God. Clover asserts that the "inexorable laws of nature" are reflected in "the sands of time", "the low rumble of thunder," and the "beauty in the golden sunset."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 65</ref> To buffet this argument, Clover cites Psalm 19: "The heavens declare the glory of God: and the firmament showeth His handiwork."<ref>''Psalm 19''</ref>

Clover writes that the skeptic cannot see the evidence of a "great, supernatural Being [with] eyes blinded to spiritual things by the god of this world. His thinking is confused by the wisdom of this world, and some have their conscience seared by a hot iron." Clover writes further that the skeptic is "obstinately fighting an inner conviction that would lead to God" and instead is driven by the "desire of the flesh."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 66</ref>

Clover argued that "feel-good" preaching is disastrous to the souls of mankind because it "will never name sin, will never hurt feelings, [and gives] the worldly church member the feeling that all is well and brings a smug smile of approbation to the face of [[Satan]]. [Meanwhile], sin is going on a rampage. It now enjoys a freedom and popularity in our nation far beyond the fondest dream of the lowest, incorrigible reprobate. ... <ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 71</ref>

Clover asserts that a nation cannot survive on materialistic prosperity alone. The greatest danger, he determines, lies from the lack of spiritual values. "Strange as it may seem, when there is an abundance of material blessings, men seem to feel no need for God."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 72</ref>

From the excesses of material wealth, Clover turns to the essentials of [[salvation]] of mankind. "Man appears to believe profits and pleasures should be the animating purpose of his existence. Jesus, being aware of man's nature and wishing to halt him in his mad rush for wrong things, asked the following pungent question:<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 85</ref> 'For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul.'"<ref>[[Book of Mark]], 8:36</ref>

Though human nature is depraved, writes Clover, not all are "incorrigibly wicked." Formerly, he notes, moral and social inhibitions worked to control the worst instincts of human nature. "The great leader and ally of depraved nature," he write, is the demon spirit of antichrist. Now ... the fences of inhibitions are being torn away; thus giving more and more power to this demon spirit..."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 80</ref>

Clover sees Western Civilization "drifting to the brink of dreadful castastrophe." Such is not "melancholy pessimism," he maintains, but an "alarming fact." Man does have a soul. The salvation of that soul is not a myth that originated in a cave of cliff dwellers. ... It is a living, pulsating reality. ... the crying need for our world."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', pp. 85–86</ref>

Clover maintains that the accumulation of luxuries and formal education has not cured the ills of society. Instead, such ills have multiplied and become "more audacious and malicious." He asserts that education and prosperity are desirable in themselves but cannot replace God. Professional educators who deny the existence of God are, in Clover's words, "unintentionally detrimental" to the best interests of society.<ref>''Evil Spirits.'' p. 86</ref>Clover questions the thrust of education, citing ''II Timothy'': "Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."<ref>''II Timothy'' 3:7</ref>

Clover discusses the meaning of success from the standpoint of eternity, citing the biblical story of the rich man and the beggar:. While the rich man was a great success for a time and the beggar a failure, the difference between the two is seen in the word "eternity." Clover writes. "Time is fleeting [as] in an old hymn, 'Moments are passing and deathbeds are gathering; gathering for you and for me. . .' The man in torment [had] blinded his eyes to the saving grace of Jesus Christ."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 103</ref> Clover describes millions of people as having in common: "an indifferent, critical, and rebellious attitude toward things spiritual and eternal." The world, he asserts cannot give inner peace; only the Almighty can heal the heart.<ref>''Evil Spirits'', pp. 105–106</ref>

Clover writes that Christianity made Western Civilization the greatest in the world. "Where is it that you find hospitals and rest homes even in small cities? Where is it that you find institutions of education which surpass anything the world has known? ... The spirit of Christianity is both progressive and benevolent, as well as religious and moral," he concludes.<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 94</ref>

==References==

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Christianity]]
[[Category:Evolution]]
[[Category:Logic]]

L. L. Clover

2011-07-10T14:35:04Z

Bhathorn48: /* Publications */

'''Leander Louis Clover''', known as '''L. L. Clover''' (April 4, 1902–May 3, 1975),[1] was an American Baptist Association minister who in 1952 established [[Louisiana Missionary Baptist Institute and Seminary]] in Minden, Louisiana. He founded and served as editor of the ''Missionary Baptist News'' for nearly twenty-three years.[2]

==Background==

Clover, who was of Choctaw descent, was born in rural Curtis in Clark County near Arkadelphia in southern Arkansas to Josiah Manley Clover (ca. 1859-1916) and the former Agnes Walton (born ca. 1882; date of death unavailable). Josiah Clover died when Leander was still thirteen. Leander also lost a younger brother, Joe Cole Clover, who died in 1906 at the age of two. Reared in Clark County, Clover attended public schools and subsequently received a Bachelor of Theology degree from Missionary Baptist Seminary in Little Rock, the successor to an earlier institution in Sheridan in Grant County, Arkansas. Clover was the pastor of five Missionary Baptist churches in Arkansas, including the New Prospect congregation in Colt in St. Francis County near the Mississippi River.[2]

In 1948, he moved to Minden, Louisiana, to succeed Julian Pope at Calvary Missionary Baptist Church. On September 26, 1957, he was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from the former Eastern Baptist Seminary in Somerset in Pulaski County in southeastern Kentucky, which had been established by the evangelist and author [[I. K. Cross]]. On May 19, 1958, Clover obtained a Doctor of Theology degree from Texas Baptist Institute at Henderson, Texas.[2]

==Seminary president==

In 1951, Clover instituted Bible classes for Christian workers.[3] In 1952, he officially launched LMBIS with two students, then instructed from his own home.[4] Among the first graduates was [[Jimmy G. Tharpe]], later the founder of [[Louisiana Baptist University|Louisiana Baptist University and Theological Seminary]], an Independent Baptist entity in Shreveport.[5]

Clover was LMBIS president for nineteen years and president-emeritus for the remainder of his life. As president, he established a print shop and the Missionary Baptist Bookstore. He launched and for more than a decade edited the ''Missionary Baptist News''. He was succeeded as the Calvary pastor by Irvin Russell Roshto (born 1934), later of Lufkin and Vidor, Texas, who also subsequently followed Clover as the LMBIS president. The current long-time LMBIS president is another former Calvary Baptist pastor, Donald McCormick.[6]

Clover's books included the scholarly study, ''The Church: Her Origin, Purpose, Doctrine, and History''.[7] He also wrote ''Evil Spirits'', ''Intellectualism and Logic'', and ''Our King Is Coming.'' In the latter, Clover warns that the world is slowly becoming unconscious of sin and its detrimental effects: "Sin is a scavenger that preys on the souls of men. . . the sorrow-poisoned arrow that is producing heartache and tears ... the author and finisher of sickness and death . . . the barricade between God and man . . . the architect and builder of hell. The world will not be rid of sin and its disastrous results before the Lord comes to rule and reign."[8]

From 1956-1961, Clover worked closely with LMBIS dean [[A. T. Powers]], a native Texan who like Clover had pastored several Arkansas congregations. In 1957, Powers became the second pastor of Eastside Missionary Baptist Church in Minden, originally a mission of Clover's Calvary congregation.[9]

In addition to his administrative and fund-raising roles, Clover taught courses in the philosophy of religion, ancient history, Bible analysis, and ethnology.[10] In 1966, the LMBIS yearbook The Key dedicated its first ever edition to Clover, citing the minister's "love for God, his sincere interest and concern for his fellow man, and his sacrificial giving of himself."[11] After leaving Calvary church, Clover was the interim pastor of Forbing Woods Missionary Baptist Church in south Shreveport. In 1972-1973, The Key reported thirty-three regular and twenty-one part-time students at LMBIS.[12]

Clover was an ectomorphic, bespectacled, red-haired, and ruddy-complexioned man.[13] After his initial retirement, the Clovers relocated to Arkadelphia, Arkansas, which is listed in the Social Security Death Index as his final residence, but they had returned to Minden, where he had resumed teaching at LMBIS for the last two years of his life. He died at the age of seventy-three in the home of Wilton Wager, then pastor of the Trinity Missionary Baptist Church in Camden, Arkansas, where Clover had been preaching weeklong revival services, a then customary practice in most Baptist churches.[14]

==Death and legacy==

For fifty-two years until his death, Clover was married to the former Tommie Brooks (1905–2002), a native of Ellis County, Texas, near Dallas. The couple had no children.[15] Other than his wife, Clover's only survivor was a half-sister by his father's previous marriage, Mattie Lee Coleman (born 1891; date of death unknown). Mrs. Clover remained in Minden for the remaining twenty-seven years of her life. A devotee of exotic birds, she died at the age of ninety-seven in a Minden nursing home. The couple is interred at Gardens of Memory Cemetery in Minden.[14]

LMBIS operated under Clover at 903 Shreveport Road in a separate facility across from the Calvary Church at 1000 Shreveport Road in Minden. In 1996, Calvary Church voted to relocate its facilities to 1400 Homer Road in the far eastern side of Minden. Construction began late in 2002, and the new facilities, including a modern LMBIS, building on Seminary Road were dedicated on November 2, 2003.[3] Numerous Missionary Baptist pastors in the Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas region are LMBIS graduates, including Richard Derek Methvin (born 1960), the pastor since 1998 of Eastside church in Minden. A degree from the institute is unaccredited but recognized by all Missionary Baptist congregations within the denomination. [16]

The LMBIS yearbook ''The Key'' in its "In Memoriam" section in 1975 lauded the departed Clover’s "conservatism, determination, ability, and longsuffering that inspired and inaugurated a fortress of biblical truth in Minden." Clover wrote in the yearbook: "We are living in a world that is turning from doctrinal truths, rejecting the Bible, and forgetting about God. Therefore, I wish for each of you the power to think deeply and to respond nobly to the responsibilities that rest upon you."[17]

==Publications==

*''The Church: Her Origin, Purpose, Doctrine and History'' (1973)
[18]

*''[[Evil Spirits Intellectualism and Logic]]'' (1974) [18]

*''Our King Is Coming''[18]

*Frederic P. Miller has authored the biography entitled ''L.L. Clover'', published in 2010.[19]

==References==

*1.^ "Leander Louis Clover". Social Security Death Index. http://ssdi.rootsweb.ancestry.com/cgi-bin/ssdi.cgi. Retrieved December 4, 2010.
*2.^ a b c "L.L. Clover". http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~clover/vr/la.html. Retrieved May 3, 2009. "Having “fought a good fight,” Dr. L.L. Clover “finished” his course and departed this life on May 3, 1975 at the age of seventy-three. Dr. Clover was born in Curtis, Arkansas on April 4, 1902. He was an active minister within the ranks of the American Baptist Association for 40 years. ..."
*3.^ a b ""History of Calvary" Missionary Baptist Church, Minden, Louisiana". Calvarybaptistminden.com. http://www.calvarybaptistminden.com/pages/aboutcalvary.html. Retrieved May 3, 2009. "In 1951, Calvary Church, under the leadership of Dr. L.L. Clover, began bible classes for Christian workers."
*4.^ Billy Hathorn, "Austin Toliver Powers and Leander Louis Clover: "Planting the American Baptist Association in Northwest Louisiana during the Middle 20th Century," ''North Louisiana History'', Vol. XLI (Summer-Fall 2010, p. 138
*5.^ Hathorn, Powers and Clover, p. 139
*6.^ Hathorn, Powers and Clover, p. 141
*7.^ Bibliography: Books and Pamphlets: ''The Church: Her Origin, Purpose, Doctrine, and History''. geocities.com. Archived from the original on 2009-10-27. http://web.archive.org/web/20091027145507/http://geocities.com/prbryan.geo/charleston/dis/dis-bib1.htm. Retrieved May 3, 2009.
*8.^ "In Memory of Dr. L. L. Clover," ''Missionary Baptist News'', June 1975
*9.^ Hathorn, "Powers and Clover", p. 144
*10.^ ''The Key'', LMBIS, 1969 yearbook
*11.^ Hathorn, "Powers and Clover," p. 141
*12.^ LMBIS, ''The Key'', 1972-1973 edition
*13.^ Hathorn, "Powers and Clover", p. 141
*14.^ a b Hathorn, "Powers and Clover," p. 142
*15.^ Tommie B. Clover obituary, ''Minden Press-Herald'', November 11, 2002
*16.^ Hathorn, "Powers and Clover," p. 143
*17.^ LMBIS, ''The Key'', 1975
*18.^ a b c Hathorn, "Powers and Clover," p. 141
*19.^ Frederic P. Miller, ''L.L. Clover'', Alphascript Publishing, 2010, 88 pages, paperback ISBN: 9786134096584

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L._L._Clover" on April 12, 2011, with permission of the author, Billy Hathorn

Categories: 1902 births | 1975 deaths | American clergy | American people of Native American descent | 20th-century Christian clergy | Baptist ministers from the United States | University and college founders | American university and college presidents | People from Clark County, Arkansas | People from St. Francis County, Arkansas | People from Minden, Louisiana | Deaths from cardiovascular disease | American non-fiction writers

A. T. Powers

2011-07-02T04:46:44Z

Bhathorn48:

'''''Evil Spirits Intellectualism and Logic''''' is a theological treatise by the 20th-century American Baptist Association clergyman [[L. L. Clover]]. The book seeks to refute [[secular humanist]] views regarding [[evolution]], personal sin, and the societal and moral breakdown of [[Western Civilization]].

The book was published through the [[Louisiana Missionary Baptist Institute and Seminary]], an institution which Clover founded in 1952, originally in his own home. At the time of his death in 1975, a year after the publication of this book, Clover had been preaching weeklong revival services in Camden in his native [[Arkansas]]. From 1948–1964, Clover was the pastor of the Calvary Missionary Baptist Church in Minden, [[Louisiana]]. Thereafter, he was president and president emeritus of LMBIS, a still functioning seminary in Minden. He was a native of [[Clark County, Arkansas|Clark County]] near Arkadelphia, Arkansas.<ref>Billy Hathorn, "[[A. T. Powers|Austin Toliver Powers]] and Leander Louis Clover: Planting the American Baptist Association in Northwest Louisiana during the Middle 20th Century," ''[[North Louisiana History]]'', Vol. XLI (Summer-Fall 2010, pp. 140–142</ref>

According to Clover's denominational colleague, I. K. Cross, the founder of the defunct Eastern Baptist Seminary in Somerset, [[Kentucky]], the book ''Evil Spirits'' despite the passage of nearly four decades since its issue "makes a strong appeal to call man back to the authority of the Scriptures ... it bores to the heart of issues that confront all mankind ..."<ref>Preface, ''Evil Spirits Intellectualism and Logic'', (Minden, Louisiana: Louisiana Missionary Baptist Institute and Seminary, 1974), 108 pp.</ref>

==Clover challenges evolution==

Clover contends that human nature is inclined to adopt actions detrimental to the human race. Rejecting the tenets of the [[Charles Darwin|Darwinian]] concept of evolution, Clover said that human nature results from environmental influence but is not created by environmental conditions. "Like the soil that grows thorns and briars without cultivation, much bad seed has been sown in the minds of the people in the last few generations. This has been done through the media of teaching and example."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', pp. 12-13</ref>

Clover describes human nature as faulty even in the best of individuals. "The natural man cannot understand spiritual things [and] cannot understand, much less follow, the right way of life."<ref>''Evil Spirits,'' pp. 20–21</ref> Therefore, Scripture teaches the need of [[Jesus Christ]] as the Personal Savior to rescue man from his inclination to fall into sin.

Clover depicts evolution as "nothing more than a hypothesis" or "a guess." Though there Christian teachers who neither believe nor teach evolution as a fact, Clover said that pro-evolution textbooks work to the detriment of students.<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 26</ref>He continues: "... A careful study of evolution will reveal many unbridgeable gaps. Many assumptions and guesses with little concrete evidence ..." Clover maintains that life can be derived only from life: "The first life on earth came from a living Supernatural Being that we call God. Jesus was both God and man. ... we all know, beyond doubt, that had His teaching been followed, our world would be almost a heaven on earth. ... 'All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made.'"<ref>''Evil Spirits'', pp. 31–32</ref>

The British naturalist and evolutionist [[Julian Huxley]], who died the same year as Clover, summarized three choices regarding evolution: "Either it [life] was supernaturally created, or it was brought to the earth in the interior of a meteorite, or it was produced naturally out of less complicated substances." Huxley found the supernatural explanation of the origin of life "counter to the whole of our scientific knowledge." He hence determined that living substances come from the non-living."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 26</ref>

Clover said that Huxley's teachings contribute to the moral and intellectual confusion of young people attending institutions of higher education. Evolution, he reiterates, is a hypotheis because there are no witnesses or evidence from the distant past from which to conclude the veracity of the theory.<ref>''Evil Spirits'', pp. 26–27</ref>

Clover, who worked with young people through his church and seminary, lists the needs of the young as "understanding, love, sympathy, help, and less criticism."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', pp. 12–13</ref> He asserts that [[Hugh Hefner]]'s ''[[Playboy magazine]]'' and its libertine philosophy encourages young men, particularly at the college level, to view themselves as "pleasure-seeking individuals for whom sex is fun and women are play things."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 18</ref> He further decries the inclusion of sexual material in popular films of the 1960s and 1970s. He blames parents for having given "tacit approval of an illegitimate sexual atmosphere."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', pp. 18–19</ref>

==Clover defends trustworthiness of Scripture==

Clover repudiates those who claim that the Bible is not a trustworthy book but one of metaphors and a "modern version of old religious thought that has become outmoded as people become more intelligent." He adds, "Science has become the only Bible that many people are willing to believe, and for them humanism is the only acceptable religion."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 33</ref>

Though Clover admits his admiration for scientific research and discoveries, he challenges scientists who proclaim that life came from non-living substance or that the Bible story of [[Creation]] and the existence of a supernatural being is mythical. Such scientists, he claims, have departed from their field and "entered the realm of philosophy. ... When people knowingly or unwittingly ascribe all knowledge to scientists, they have become thoughtless and naive." Such a view, Clover asserts, is the problem of the intellect, rather than faith.<ref>''Evil Spritis'', pp. 34–35</ref>

Clover writes that the Bible "is far above the imagination of man. Its clairvoyance is astonishing. Its philosophy of life, geared to the best interest of all mankind, has never been equalled by the man-made philosophy."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', pp. 40–41</ref> and consistent with [[Matthew 24:35]], "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My word shall not pass away."<ref>''Matthew'' 24:35</ref>

The Bible is the collective work of some forty different writers over a period of 1,500 years who came from diverse ranks,<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 41</ref> some well-educated, others farmers or fishermen. Clover rejected the "skeptic [who] says the Bible contains many contradictions; this is said through ignorance ..." Clover asserts that Scripture reveals no contradictions, but "a harmonious completeness!"<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 41</ref>

Clover rejects the claim of scientists who determine than mankind is the product of chance. The existence of the galaxies, suns, moons, and stars, he finds, is proof of law, design, and intelligence: "To believe that all this came through the medium of chance is to believe there is effect without adequate cause...."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 44</ref>Clover challenged evolution with a line from [[I Corinthians]]: "For the wisdom of the world is foolishness with God."<ref>''1st Corinthians'', 3:19</ref>

==Fate of modern man==

Clover describes modern man as "stubborn, with his seared conscience, blind eyes, worldly wisdom, and earthly interest" and unable to explain the evidence for the existence of God. Clover asserts that the "inexorable laws of nature" are reflected in "the sands of time", "the low rumble of thunder," and the "beauty in the golden sunset."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 65</ref> To buffet this argument, Clover cites Psalm 19: "The heavens declare the glory of God: and the firmament showeth His handiwork."<ref>[[Psalm 19]]</ref>

Clover writes that the skeptic cannot see the evidence of a "great, supernatural Being [with] eyes blinded to spiritual things by the god of this world. His thinking is confused by the wisdom of this world, and some have their conscience seared by a hot iron." Clover writes further that the skeptic is "obstinately fighting an inner conviction that would lead to God" and instead is driven by the "desire of the flesh."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 66</ref>

Clover argued that "feel-good" preaching is disastrous to the souls of mankind because it "will never name sin, will never hurt feelings, [and gives] the worldly church member the feeling that all is well and brings a smug smile of approbation to the face of [[Satan]]. [Meanwhile], sin is going on a rampage. It now enjoys a freedom and popularity in our nation far beyond the fondest dream of the lowest, incorrigible reprobate. ... <ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 71</ref>

Clover asserts that a nation cannot survive on materialistic prosperity alone. The greatest danger, he determines, lies from the lack of spiritual values. "Strange as it may seem, when there is an abundance of material blessings, men seem to feel no need for God."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 72</ref>

From the excesses of material wealth, Clover turns to the essentials of [[salvation]] of mankind. "Man appears to believe profits and pleasures should be the animating purpose of his existence. Jesus, being aware of man's nature and wishing to halt him in his mad rush for wrong things, asked the following pungent question:<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 85</ref> 'For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul.'"<ref>[[Book of Mark]], 8:36</ref>

Though human nature is depraved, writes Clover, not all are "incorrigibly wicked." Formerly, he notes, moral and social inhibitions worked to control the worst instincts of human nature. "The great leader and ally of depraved nature," he write, is the demon spirit of antichrist. Now ... the fences of inhibitions are being torn away; thus giving more and more power to this demon spirit..."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 80</ref>

Clover sees Western Civilization "drifting to the brink of dreadful castastrophe." Such is not "melancholy pessimism," he maintains, but an "alarming fact." Man does have a soul. The salvation of that soul is not a myth that originated in a cave of cliff dwellers. ... It is a living, pulsating reality. ... the crying need for our world."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', pp. 85–86</ref>

Clover maintains that the accumulation of luxuries and formal education has not cured the ills of society. Instead, such ills have multiplied and become "more audacious and malicious." He asserts that education and prosperity are desirable in themselves but cannot replace God. Professional educators who deny the existence of God are, in Clover's words, "unintentionally detrimental" to the best interests of society.<ref>''Evil Spirits.'' p. 86</ref>Clover questions the thrust of education, citing [[II Timothy]]: "Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."<ref>''II Timothy'' 3:7</ref>

Clover discusses the meaning of success from the standpoint of eternity, citing the biblical story of the rich man and the beggar:. While the rich man was a great success for a time and the beggar a failure, the difference between the two is seen in the word "eternity." Clover writes. "Time is fleeting [as] in an old hymn, 'Moments are passing and deathbeds are gathering; gathering for you and for me. . .' The man in torment [had] blinded his eyes to the saving grace of Jesus Christ."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 103</ref> Clover describes millions of people as having in common: "an indifferent, critical, and rebellious attitude toward things spiritual and eternal." The world, he asserts cannot give inner peace; only the Almighty can heal the heart.<ref>''Evil Spirits'', pp. 105–106</ref>

Clover writes that Christianity made Western Civilization the greatest in the world. "Where is it that you find hospitals and rest homes even in small cities? Where is it that you find institutions of education which surpass anything the world has known? ... The spirit of Christianity is both progressive and benevolent, as well as religious and moral," he concludes.<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 94</ref>

==References==

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Non-fiction books]]
[[Category:Christian studies books]]
[[Category:Books about evolution]]
[[Category:1974 books]]

Louisiana Missionary Baptist Institute and Seminary

2011-07-02T04:43:13Z

Bhathorn48: /* History */

'''Louisiana Missionary Baptist Institute and Seminary''' is an unaccredited[2] religious institution for the training of Missionary Baptist pastors and church workers located in Minden, the seat of Webster Parish in northwestern Louisiana.

==History==

The institution was launched in 1951-1952 by Arkansas native [[L. L. Clover|Leander Louis Clover]], then pastor of the Calvary Missionary Baptist Church of Minden, the sponsoring church of the seminary. Clover began with two students studying from his home.[3]The seminary was incorporated by the state in 1956.[4]The original seminary location was 903 Shreveport Road across the highway from Calvary Church.[5]

The seminary is now located at 102 Seminary Lane off the Homer Road adjacent to the Calvary church sanctuary.[6] It is affiliated with the theologically conservative American Baptist Association, with headquarters at 4605 North State Line Avenue in Texarkana, Texas.[7][8][9]

The seminary offers the bachelor's, master's, and doctor of theology degrees, with Hebrew and Greek. The credentials are fully recognized within the Missionary Baptist denomination.[10][11] LMBIS is unaccredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools and does not seek accreditation by a secular board.[12]

According to the website Cortera, LMBIS has fewer than twenty employees and sales of under $500,000 annually.[6][13] The seminary is headed by president Don McCormick of Minden, another former pastor of Calvary Church.[11] Manta.com estimates the number of LMBIS employees at eleven, but it is unclear if that also includes Calvary Church employees.[11]

The LMBIS faculty and administration are drawn from area churches, who over the years included Roy E. Chapman (1932-1994), a native of Hamburg, Arkansas, who in 1962 succeeded the LMBIS dean [[A. T. Powers]] (1896-1975) as the pastor of Eastside Missionary Baptist Church in Minden. Chapman taught Bible analysis and evangelism and served as the LMBIS registrar. Other administrators included the late Dwayne Furlow, pastor of the since disbanded Central Missionary Baptist Church in Shreveport; Irvin Russell Roshto (born 1934), Clover's immediate successor in 1964 as pastor at Calvary Church, and Olen Johnson, the seminary dean during the middle 1960s.[14]

In 1972-1973, LMBIS reported thirty-three regular and twenty-one parttime students.[15]

In 1996, more than two decades after pastor Clover's death, Calvary Church voted to relocate from 1000 Shreveport Road to 1400 Homer Road in east Minden. Construction began late in 2002, and the new facilities, including the adjacent LMBIS building, were dedicated on November 2, 2003.[16]The previous Calvary Church structure at 903 Shreveport Road was sold to an African American congregation, the Good Samaritan Missionary Baptist Church. Its pastor, Terrence A. McCray, Sr., is a graduate of Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, and a member of the Black Preaching Network.[17]

==See also==

''[[Evil Spirits Intellectualism and Logic]]''

==Notable alumni==

Numerous Missionary Baptist pastors from the Louisiana, Arkansas, and Texas region received degrees from LMBIS:

*Allen Blackford is a member of the faculty of Central Arkansas Baptist Bible Institute in Hensley, Arkansas.[18]
*Michael Anthony Bright (1947-2010), a Springhill native, was at the time of his death the administrator of the Texarkana Baptist Orphanage.[19]
*John Cooper is a former sports writer and the pastor of the Stamps-Landmark Missionary Baptist Church in Stamps, Arkansas.[20]
*Jerrell T. Head pastored churches in Texas and worked for a time as a missionary in Mexico before he established a mission in Stonewall in DeSoto Parish.[21]
*Richard D. Methvin (born 1960), previously from Farmerville in Union Parish, upon graduation from LMBIS in 1998, assumed the pastorate of Eastside Missionary Baptist Church in Minden. Originally a mission established in 1955 by Calvary Church, Eastside unveiled a $2.3 million sanctuary early in 2008 to replace a previous main building constructed in 1965.[1].
*Joe Morell, a missionary to Lithuania and the Baltic States, formerly was the pastor of Greenacres Missionary Baptist Church in Bossier City, Louisiana.[10]
*Bryan Sellers, a 2000 graduate of LMBIS originally from Ruston, Louisiana, is the pastor of the Valleylandmark Missionary Baptist Church in Spokane, Washington.[22]
*[[Jimmy G. Tharpe]] (1930-2008), the founder of Louisiana Baptist University in Shreveport[23], was among the first two LMBIS graduates, having been instructed in pastor Clover's home.[24]

==References==

*1.^ a b "Eastside dedication set for Saturday". http://www.nwlanews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=7741&Itemid=57. Retrieved April 10, 2011.
*2.^ Accreditation Search from the United States Department of Education
*3.^ "Calvary Missionary Baptist Church, Minden, Louisiana (sponsor of LMBIS)". calvarybaptistminden.com. http://www.calvarybaptistminden.com/. Retrieved April 10, 2011. "In 1951, Calvary Church, under the leadership of Dr. L.L. Clover, began Bible classes for Christian workers. In 1952, Calvary officially began the Louisiana Missionary Baptist Institute and Seminary. ..."
*4.^ State of Louisiana, Office of the Secretary of State, incorporation records
*5.^ Billy Hathorn, "Austin Toliver Powers and Leander Louis Clover: Planting the American Baptist Association in Northwest Louisiana during the Middle 20th Century," North Louisiana History XLI (Summer-Fall 2010), p. 141
*6.^ a b "Louisiana Missionary Baptist Institute and Seminary". start.cortera.com. http://start.cortera.com/company/research/k2k4rsr4s/louisiana-missionary-baptist-institute/. Retrieved April 10, 2011.
*7.^ "American Baptist Association". novelguide.com. http://www.novelguide.com/a/discover/ear_01/ear_01_00095.html. Retrieved April 10, 2011.
*8.^ "Liberty Missionary Baptist Church, Shreveport, Louisiana (supporting LMBIS church)". libertyaba.org. http://www.libertyaba.org/seminary.htm. Retrieved April 10, 2011.
*9.^ Hathorn, "Powers and Clover", p. 133
*10.^ a b "Joe Morell profile". missionarytrainingministry.com. http://www.missionarytrainingministry.com/profile_morell.html. Retrieved April 10, 2011. "He attended the Louisiana Missionary Baptist Seminary in Minden where he received his ThB, ThM, and ThD."
*11.^ a b c "Louisiana Missionary Baptist Institute and Seminary". manta.com. http://www.manta.com/c/mmfpsbn/louisiana-missionary-baptist. Retrieved April 10, 2011. "Louisiana Missionary Baptist in Minden, LA is a private company categorized under Theological Schools. Our records show it was established in 1900 [sic] and incorporated in Louisiana."
*12.^ Southern Association of Colleges and Schools website: http://www.sacscoc.org/searchResults.asp
*13.^ Cortera lists the year of establishment of LMBIS as 1900, instead of 1952. However, the ABA itself was not formed until 1924.
*14.^ The Key, LMBIS yearbook, 1966 and 1969
*15.^ The Key, LMBIS yearbook, 1972-1973 edition
*16.^ "History of Calvary". calvarybaptistminden.com. http://www.calvarybaptistminden.com/pages/aboutcalvary.html. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
*17.^ "Terrence A. McCray, Sr.". blackpreachingnetwork.com. http://www.blackpreachingnetwork.com/profile/TerrenceAMcCraySr.. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
*18.^ "Central Arkansas Baptist Bible Institute Faculty". cabbi.wordpress.com. http://www.cabbi.wordpress.com/faculty. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
*19.^ "Michael Anthony Bright". legacy.com. http://www.legacy.com/BATESVILLE/Obituaries.asp?Page=LifeStoryPrint&PersonID=147495374. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
*20.^ "Stamps-Landmark Baptist Church pastor bio". stampslandmark.com. http://www.stampslandmark.com/pastor.htm. Retrieved April 11, 2011.
*21.^ "Louisiana". abaptist.org. http://www.abaptist.org/Yearbook/louisiana.htm. Retrieved April 10, 2011.
*22.^ "Sermon Network". Valleylandmark Missionary Baptist Church, Spokane, Washington. http://www.sermon.net/valleylandmarkmissionarybaptistchurch. Retrieved April 10, 2011.
*23.^ Hathorn, "Powers and Clover", p. 139
*24.^ Hathorn, "Powers and Clover", p. 138

[[Category:Louisiana Universities]]
[[Category:Baptists]]

Evil Spirits: Intellectualism and Logic

2011-07-02T04:41:21Z

Bhathorn48: Created page with "'''''Evil Spirits Intellectualism and Logic''''' is a theological treatise by the 20th-century American Baptist Association clergyman L. L. Clover. The book seeks to refute [..."

'''''Evil Spirits Intellectualism and Logic''''' is a theological treatise by the 20th-century American Baptist Association clergyman [[L. L. Clover]]. The book seeks to refute [[secular humanist]] views regarding [[evolution]], personal sin, and the societal and moral breakdown of [[Western Civilization]].

The book was published through the [[Louisiana Missionary Baptist Institute and Seminary]], an institution which Clover founded in 1952, originally in his own home. At the time of his death in 1975, a year after the publication of this book, Clover had been preaching weeklong revival services in Camden in his native [[Arkansas]]. From 1948–1964, Clover was the pastor of the Calvary Missionary Baptist Church in Minden, [[Louisiana]]. Thereafter, he was president and [[Emeritus|president emeritus]] of LMBIS, a still functioning seminary in Minden. He was a native of [[Clark County, Arkansas|Clark County]] near Arkadelphia, Arkansas.<ref>Billy Hathorn, "[[A. T. Powers|Austin Toliver Powers]] and Leander Louis Clover: Planting the American Baptist Association in Northwest Louisiana during the Middle 20th Century," ''[[North Louisiana History]]'', Vol. XLI (Summer-Fall 2010, pp. 140–142</ref>

According to Clover's denominational colleague, I. K. Cross, the founder of the defunct Eastern Baptist Seminary in Somerset, [[Kentucky]], the book ''Evil Spirits'' despite the passage of nearly four decades since its issue "makes a strong appeal to call man back to the authority of the Scriptures ... it bores to the heart of issues that confront all mankind ..."<ref>Preface, ''Evil Spirits Intellectualism and Logic'', (Minden, Louisiana: Louisiana Missionary Baptist Institute and Seminary, 1974), 108 pp.</ref>

==Clover challenges evolution==

Clover contends that human nature is inclined to adopt actions detrimental to the human race. Rejecting the tenets of the [[Charles Darwin|Darwinian]] concept of evolution, Clover said that human nature results from environmental influence but is not created by environmental conditions. "Like the soil that grows thorns and briars without cultivation, much bad seed has been sown in the minds of the people in the last few generations. This has been done through the media of teaching and example."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', pp. 12-13</ref>

Clover describes human nature as faulty even in the best of individuals. "The natural man cannot understand spiritual things [and] cannot understand, much less follow, the right way of life."<ref>''Evil Spirits,'' pp. 20–21</ref> Therefore, Scripture teaches the need of [[Jesus Christ]] as the Personal Savior to rescue man from his inclination to fall into sin.

Clover depicts evolution as "nothing more than a hypothesis" or "a guess." Though there Christian teachers who neither believe nor teach evolution as a fact, Clover said that pro-evolution textbooks work to the detriment of students.<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 26</ref>He continues: "... A careful study of evolution will reveal many unbridgeable gaps. Many assumptions and guesses with little concrete evidence ..." Clover maintains that life can be derived only from life: "The first life on earth came from a living Supernatural Being that we call God. Jesus was both God and man. ... we all know, beyond doubt, that had His teaching been followed, our world would be almost a heaven on earth. ... 'All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made.'"<ref>''Evil Spirits'', pp. 31–32</ref>

The British naturalist and evolutionist [[Julian Huxley]], who died the same year as Clover, summarized three choices regarding evolution: "Either it [life] was supernaturally created, or it was brought to the earth in the interior of a meteorite, or it was produced naturally out of less complicated substances." Huxley found the supernatural explanation of the origin of life "counter to the whole of our scientific knowledge." He hence determined that living substances come from the non-living."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 26</ref>

Clover said that Huxley's teachings contribute to the moral and intellectual confusion of young people attending institutions of higher education. Evolution, he reiterates, is a hypotheis because there are no witnesses or evidence from the distant past from which to conclude the veracity of the theory.<ref>''Evil Spirits'', pp. 26–27</ref>

Clover, who worked with young people through his church and seminary, lists the needs of the young as "understanding, love, sympathy, help, and less criticism."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', pp. 12–13</ref> He asserts that [[Hugh Hefner]]'s ''[[Playboy magazine]]'' and its libertine philosophy encourages young men, particularly at the college level, to view themselves as "pleasure-seeking individuals for whom sex is fun and women are play things."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 18</ref> He further decries the inclusion of sexual material in popular films of the 1960s and 1970s. He blames parents for having given "tacit approval of an illegitimate sexual atmosphere."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', pp. 18–19</ref>

==Clover defends trustworthiness of Scripture==

Clover repudiates those who claim that the Bible is not a trustworthy book but one of metaphors and a "modern version of old religious thought that has become outmoded as people become more intelligent." He adds, "Science has become the only Bible that many people are willing to believe, and for them humanism is the only acceptable religion."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 33</ref>

Though Clover admits his admiration for scientific research and discoveries, he challenges scientists who proclaim that life came from non-living substance or that the Bible story of [[Creation]] and the existence of a supernatural being is mythical. Such scientists, he claims, have departed from their field and "entered the realm of philosophy. ... When people knowingly or unwittingly ascribe all knowledge to scientists, they have become thoughtless and naive." Such a view, Clover asserts, is the problem of the intellect, rather than faith.<ref>''Evil Spritis'', pp. 34–35</ref>

Clover writes that the Bible "is far above the imagination of man. Its clairvoyance is astonishing. Its philosophy of life, geared to the best interest of all mankind, has never been equalled by the man-made philosophy."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', pp. 40–41</ref> and consistent with [[Matthew 24:35]], "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but My word shall not pass away."<ref>[[Book of Matthew]] 24:35</ref>

The Bible is the collective work of some forty different writers over a period of 1,500 years who came from diverse ranks,<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 41</ref> some well-educated, others farmers or fishermen. Clover rejected the "skeptic [who] says the Bible contains many contradictions; this is said through ignorance ..." Clover asserts that Scripture reveals no contradictions, but "a harmonious completeness!"<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 41</ref>

Clover rejects the claim of scientists who determine than mankind is the product of chance. The existence of the galaxies, suns, moons, and stars, he finds, is proof of law, design, and intelligence: "To believe that all this came through the medium of chance is to believe there is effect without adequate cause...."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 44</ref>Clover challenged evolution with a line from [[I Corinthians]]: "For the wisdom of the world is foolishness with God."<ref>''[[1st Corinthians]], 3:19</ref>

==Fate of modern man==

Clover describes modern man as "stubborn, with his seared conscience, blind eyes, worldly wisdom, and earthly interest" and unable to explain the evidence for the existence of God. Clover asserts that the "inexorable laws of nature" are reflected in "the sands of time", "the low rumble of thunder," and the "beauty in the golden sunset."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 65</ref> To buffet this argument, Clover cites [[Psalm 19]], "The heavens declare the glory of God: and the firmament showeth His handiwork."<ref>[[Psalm 19]]</ref>

Clover writes that the skeptic cannot see the evidence of a "great, supernatural Being [with] eyes blinded to spiritual things by the god of this world. His thinking is confused by the wisdom of this world, and some have their conscience seared by a hot iron." Clover writes further that the skeptic is "obstinately fighting an inner conviction that would lead to God" and instead is driven by the "desire of the flesh."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 66</ref>

Clover argued that "feel-good" preaching is disastrous to the souls of mankind because it "will never name sin, will never hurt feelings, [and gives] the worldly church member the feeling that all is well and brings a smug smile of approbation to the face of [[Satan]]. [Meanwhile], sin is going on a rampage. It now enjoys a freedom and popularity in our nation far beyond the fondest dream of the lowest, incorrigible reprobate. ... <ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 71</ref>

Clover asserts that a nation cannot survive on materialistic prosperity alone. The greatest danger, he determines, lies from the lack of spiritual values. "Strange as it may seem, when there is an abundance of material blessings, men seem to feel no need for God."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 72</ref>

From the excesses of material wealth, Clover turns to the essentials of [[salvation]] of mankind. "Man appears to believe profits and pleasures should be the animating purpose of his existence. Jesus, being aware of man's nature and wishing to halt him in his mad rush for wrong things, asked the following pungent question:<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 85</ref> 'For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul.'"<ref>[[Book of Mark]], 8:36</ref>

Though human nature is depraved, writes Clover, not all are "incorrigibly wicked." Formerly, he notes, moral and social inhibitions worked to control the worst instincts of human nature. "The great leader and ally of depraved nature," he write, is the demon spirit of antichrist. Now ... the fences of inhibitions are being torn away; thus giving more and more power to this demon spirit..."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 80</ref>

Clover sees Western Civilization "drifting to the brink of dreadful castastrophe." Such is not "melancholy pessimism," he maintains, but an "alarming fact." Man does have a soul. The salvation of that soul is not a myth that originated in a cave of cliff dwellers. ... It is a living, pulsating reality. ... the crying need for our world."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', pp. 85–86</ref>

Clover maintains that the accumulation of luxuries and formal education has not cured the ills of society. Instead, such ills have multiplied and become "more audacious and malicious." He asserts that education and prosperity are desirable in themselves but cannot replace God. Professional educators who deny the existence of God are, in Clover's words, "unintentionally detrimental" to the best interests of society.<ref>''Evil Spirits.'' p. 86</ref>Clover questions the thrust of education, citing [[II Timothy]]: "Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth."<ref>[[II Timothy]], 3:7</ref>

Clover discusses the meaning of success from the standpoint of eternity, citing the biblical story of the rich man and the beggar:. While the rich man was a great success for a time and the beggar a failure, the difference between the two is seen in the word "eternity." Clover writes. "Time is fleeting [as] in an old hymn, 'Moments are passing and deathbeds are gathering; gathering for you and for me. . .' The man in torment [had] blinded his eyes to the saving grace of Jesus Christ."<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 103</ref> Clover describes millions of people as having in common: "an indifferent, critical, and rebellious attitude toward things spiritual and eternal." The world, he asserts cannot give inner peace; only the Almighty can heal the heart.<ref>''Evil Spirits'', pp. 105–106</ref>

Clover writes that Christianity made Western Civilization the greatest in the world. "Where is it that you find hospitals and rest homes even in small cities? Where is it that you find institutions of education which surpass anything the world has known? ... The spirit of Christianity is both progressive and benevolent, as well as religious and moral," he concludes.<ref>''Evil Spirits'', p. 94</ref>

==References==

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Non-fiction books]]
[[Category:Christian studies books]]
[[Category:Books about evolution]]
[[Category:1974 books]]