Drifting

[420 words] “…And remember, brethren, we are drifting.” With that ominous catchphrase, J.D. Tant closed the many articles he wrote in the early twentieth century for the Firm Foundation and for the Gospel Advocate. He also often used this warning to close sermons in gospel meetings. Tant was applying to his day the warning of Hebrews 2:1, “Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things that were heard, lest haply we drift away from them” (ASV) A study of Church History highlights the continual cycle of apostasy and restoration. Religion is always on the move – either aligned with the revealed will of God or adrift in the currents of human opinion. In his day, Tant saw many budding trends among churches of Christ that later would go to seed in the Progressive movement. As congregations focused more on social acceptance than on biblical fidelity, Tant…