Religion: In the Soup

William Ackerman of Chicago is no Arthur Godfrey fan. In fact, Ackerman, international director of the World Home Bible League, which gives away close to 400,000 Bibles a year, feels that Godfrey is occasionally "suggestive." But when, while he was switching channels one night, Godfrey's humble face swam onto the screen, Bibleman Ackerman stopped to stare. "The Redhead" was pouring the commercial.

"When it comes to the chicken in Lipton's soup, you've got to have faith,"Godfrey was saying. "Just like it says in the Bible. You know—the Book of Hebrews, Chapter 11, Verse one: 'Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen' [laughter]. Or as it says in the Book of John, Chapter 20, Verse 29: 'Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed.' But don't go lookin' in the soup. It's there, but you'll never see it [laughter]."

Televiewer Ackerman promptly blew his top at this novel use of Holy Writ. With William A. Chapman, founder of the World Home Bible League, he tore off telegrams to Godfrey and Lipton's: "Shameful, sacrilegious . . . intolerably obnoxious . . . loose disrespect . . . one of the lowest notes in television history."

Last week Ackerman received a reply from Lipton's: "Like you, we were completely surprised at his reference to Scriptures. An entirely different commercial message has been prepared for him in connection with our product. Therefore, Mr. Godfrey's action . . . was without any prior knowledge or approval on our part . . . and we have already taken this matter up with Mr. Godfrey." But by week's end any Godfrey reaction to the matter was as invisible as the chicken in the soup.