By
David Bragg
In 1943 President Franklin D. Roosevelt set out across the Atlantic Ocean on the USS Iowa for his historic meeting with Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin at Tehran. One of the ships accompanying FDR was the USS William D. Porter. Named in honor of the famous Civil War Admiral who worked closely with Gen. U. S. Grant, this recently commissioned destroyer ran into problems on the high seas and the crew accidentally allowed a depth charge to fall overboard, forcing the Iowa to take evasive action thinking they were under attack by a Germans.
On the next day FDR requested that the fleet hold an anti-aircraft drill. During that exercise the crew of the Porter accidentally fired a live torpedo at the President's ship! Fortunately, the Iowa turned in time.
Apparently not willing to risk yet another mishap, the USS Porter was ordered to Bermuda where the entire crew was arrested. Or were they? Contrary to a multitude of seemingly legitimate websites relating this story, Wikipedia attributes the tale as "Internet legend," not fact.
So, I can't say everything above happened just as described, but if it did this story might reflect the long history of denominational Christianity. Jesus plainly stated that His church would be established in the lifetime of most of His Apostles (Matt. 16:18; Mark 9:1). And it was (Acts 2).
Jesus plainly called for the unity of all future believers (John 17:21). Yet, denominationalism, is by definition an attack on Jesus’ words. Paul would later upbraid the Corinthians, “Is Christ divided?” (1 Cor. 1:13). We MUST preserve unity with Christ and with each other if we truly want to be the Lord’s church.
In 1943 President Franklin D. Roosevelt set out across the Atlantic Ocean on the USS Iowa for his historic meeting with Winston Churchill and Josef Stalin at Tehran. One of the ships accompanying FDR was the USS William D. Porter. Named in honor of the famous Civil War Admiral who worked closely with Gen. U. S. Grant, this recently commissioned destroyer ran into problems on the high seas and the crew accidentally allowed a depth charge to fall overboard, forcing the Iowa to take evasive action thinking they were under attack by a Germans.
On the next day FDR requested that the fleet hold an anti-aircraft drill. During that exercise the crew of the Porter accidentally fired a live torpedo at the President's ship! Fortunately, the Iowa turned in time.
Apparently not willing to risk yet another mishap, the USS Porter was ordered to Bermuda where the entire crew was arrested. Or were they? Contrary to a multitude of seemingly legitimate websites relating this story, Wikipedia attributes the tale as "Internet legend," not fact.
So, I can't say everything above happened just as described, but if it did this story might reflect the long history of denominational Christianity. Jesus plainly stated that His church would be established in the lifetime of most of His Apostles (Matt. 16:18; Mark 9:1). And it was (Acts 2).
Jesus plainly called for the unity of all future believers (John 17:21). Yet, denominationalism, is by definition an attack on Jesus’ words. Paul would later upbraid the Corinthians, “Is Christ divided?” (1 Cor. 1:13). We MUST preserve unity with Christ and with each other if we truly want to be the Lord’s church.
- David Bragg serves as one of the ministers at the Northwest Church
of Christ in Greensboro, NC and is co-editor of BulletinGold. He may
be contacted through the congregation's website:
http://www.nwchurchofchrist.com/ or his blog: http://davidbragg.blogspot.com/
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