Religion: Waiting for a Sign

On April 20, the Rev. J. J. Ivie, 57, a traveling Ozark evangelist of the fundamentalist Assembly of God Church, went home to his cottage in Cherryville, Mo. and quietly told his wife that he was going on a religious fast. In 27 years as a preacher in the foothills, he had come to feel an increasing depression about human sinfulness, and a sense of personal failure in his efforts to lead his fellow men to repentance.

Lately, the "mad rush" of Communism worried him still more. (His youngest son is in the Army in Korea.) He believed that only "speedy evangelization...

Want the full story?

Subscribe Now

Subscribe
Subscribe

Learn more about the benefits of being a TIME subscriber

If you are already a subscriber sign up — registration is free!