B. 1888 – D. 1978

“Beyond the Azure Blue …” (b. 1888 – d. 1977)

Aaron Wesley Dicus (a/k/a “A.W.”), our beloved “Dad,” was baptized into Christ in the summer of 1908. He was converted from a denominational faith with which he had become quite dissatisfied. Being a man of extremely high moral principles, he was delighted to find a religious body that subscribed to the Bible and the Bible alone. This was particularly appealing to his analytical, scientific mind.

A.W. also had an almost insatiable thirst for knowledge. Consequently, he once told of a secret vow he made to the Lord during the time frame surrounding his conversation. He said that if the Lord would allow him to get an education, he would spend his life in His service. His legacy leaves little doubt that he accomplished both goals. He became widely known in many sections of the country as an evangelist, and his achievements in scientific and educational circles speak for themselves.

As A.W. approached the twilight of his life, his health began to fail and his eyesight was complicated by glaucoma; but, he was not satisfied to give up his achievements. He continued to pursue his song writing in earnest. It was a familiar sight to see him seated at his electric organ laboriously picking out the melody and harmony to a new idea for a song.

Within this little booklet are the complete works of A Scientist With A Song. He was a man with a doctorate degree in physical science and over sixty years of experience in evangelism. He combined innate talents for music and poetry with his expertise in sound and harmonics. Coupled with his extensive knowledge of God’s word, the results could not help but be an inspiration to all God-fearing people.

David E. Dicus
for THE DICUS FAMILY

 

Testimony by Unknown in IN

The story of the life of A.W. Dicus (1888-1978) always intrigued me, but even more so since I moved to the area of his roots. For a time, I lived in his home town of Swayzee, IN. My wife works as a cook on the site where Dicus went to high school, now an elementary school for 5th and 6th grade. Just south of Swayzee, in a spot in the road called Normal, the Normal church of Christ (founded in 1857) still meets where Dicus was baptized while in high school. Upon his conversion, Dicus vowed to the Lord that he would develop his talents to use in the Lord’s service, as aided by formal education. In God’s Providence, he obtained that education and became a scientist, an educator, an inventor (of the turn signal, among other things) and builder, as he also engaged in the preaching of the gospel. In 1966, when Time Magazine declared that ‘God is dead’, Dicus, now aged and nearly blind, responded as a Christian and also a student and teacher of God’s Creation that ‘Our God Is Alive’. Though he is dead, his hymn of faith still stirs and feeds the conviction of generations after his passing.

Written by Unknown

The number of comments and shares on A.W. Dicus’ hymn, ‘Our God He is Alive’ calls for an encore- Dicus’ follow up song of profession of faith, ‘Lord, I Believe’ published in 1970. I have a copy of the Sacred Selections hymnal where both ‘Our God, He is Alive’ and ‘Lord I Believe’ are pasted inside the back cover. Anyone remember the job of putting the sticky pages into the hymnals? Then, later additions of Sacred Selections had them printed in red inside the back cover. I am looking at one that someone wrote the hymn numbers “666” and “667” in pen to add them to the 665 numbered songs. 

The two hymns spread and were embraced enthusiastically, even ahead of the next publication of the hymnals for a reason. They are about the fundamental driving force of our service to God. And both of them proclaim that there is a reasonable and a scientific basis for faith. Faith is not blind. Faith is based upon evidence – faith in God, faith in the Bible, and faith in Jesus. 

I once studied with a man in prison, who in his teenage years, had asked “why” questions which he needed answered in order to make the decision to become a Christian. He was told by family and other church members that he just had to accept that Christianity was true without question. He said that if he had been presented with the evidence that I showed him, he would never have ended up in prison because he would have become a Christian.

There is reason to believe!  Dicus expresses this so well:  in God- the wonders of creation leave no doubt; in the Bible- no finite mind could frame the truths revealed within His word; in Jesus- prophecy shows us heaven ordained our salvation and eyewitness testimony tells us our Lord redeemed and paid the bitter cost. This evidence was true yesterday, is true today, and will be true tomorrow. These truths are true in times of joy and times of tribulation. Be with us Lord, lest we forget them. 

May Dicus’ hymn of affirmation of faith continue to inspire service to God, from generation to generation:

LORD, I BELIEVE (©1970)

When we behold the wonders of creation, 
The flowers that bloom, the raindrops as they fall;
The spacious skies, and life’s perpetuation,
We cannot doubt that God controlled it all. (Chorus)

No finite mind by mortal calculation,
Could frame the truths revealed within His Word,
In every trace of nature’s operation,
Thy voice, O God, in mystery can be heard. (Chorus)

When we perceive the state of alienation,
In which the soul from Thee, O God, was lost,
We must believe, by heaven’s ordination,
Our Lord redeemed and paid the bitter cost. (Chorus)

Some days are filled with joy and expectation,
Some days are dark with cares we are beset,
In hours of joy, or hours of tribulation,
Be with us Lord, lest we, lest we, forget. (Chorus)

Chorus:
Lord I believe, yes I believe,
I cannot doubt, or be deceived
The eye that sees each sparrow fall,
His unseen hand is in it all.

Written by Linda Hanby Clark – Newman, GA

Myself, along with my husband Les Clark, Bother Dicus’ granddaughter Phyllis, her husband, and Dan and Sandra Clark called Brother Dicus and sang the beautiful hymn, Our God, He is Alive, to him before it was published. That was many decades ago. It has always been one of my favorite hymns.

ADDED BY PHYLLIS DICUS ROBERTS

As grandpa wrote the songs, he would send them to me by mail with a note that said “no charge” on them. Then my friends and I would learn the songs and then sing them back to him over the telephone. Later when singing with The Wonderful Word Chorus, he gave us permission to record the songs.

Written by Wilson Adams – TN

John and Connie Dicus met me at Cleveland-Hopkins Airport yesterday. -A special couple of dedicated kingdom workers. And what history…

John’s grandfather was Aaron Wesley (A.W.) Dicus (1888-1978). Dicus was a scientist who would go on to become head of the Physics Department at what is now Tennessee Tech in Cookeville (1930s). He also became a consultant for the government’s top secret nuclear program at Oak Ridge.  

Lured away in the early 50s by another Tennessean (James R. Cope) who had become president of a small college in Florida, Dicus would make his home in Tampa for the rest of his life. He built a house on the golf course across from the campus -instead of typical Florida concrete block, Dicus used red brick because he wanted it to look like Tennessee.

He built the building that would house the Temple Terrace church that sat adjacent to the campus. He also invented the automobile turn signal that we use every day. Well, that some use every day. 🙂 

Perhaps his most noteworthy contribution came in response to the “God Is Dead!” movement sweeping college campuses in the 60s. Aaron Wesley Dicus put pencil to paper and wrote, “Our God, He Is Alive” and “Lord, I Believe.” He sold inserts of both songs for 10 cents each. He told John, “If I gave them away, brethren wouldn’t use them.” Probably true. He led an amazing life and influenced many as both a professor and preacher. John has his grandfather’s hand written copy of “Our God, He Is Alive” with musical notes penciled next to the words.

Added Note by Granddaughter Phyllis Dicus Roberts

Here is a little more to the Temple Terrace Building story.  When he built the old Temple Terrace building and the Forest Hills building, he designed them to be nearly acoustically perfect which enabled one to hear the preacher without the need for an amplifier. These buildings were also built before air conditioning, so he designed them with high windows that would naturally pull cooler air in the bottom and exhaust warmer air out the top.  

I remember sitting at his feet learning not only scripture from him, but also engineering and physics.  Not formally but in his home.

My Friend, A. W. Dicus

by Rick Lanning

It was August, 1971. My parents were with me that Sunday morning as we entered the Temple Terrace church building across the street from Florida College. I was entering my freshman year the very next day. I saw my dad start talking to someone he obviously knew from his past. He soon introduced him to me as one of his old college professors at Tennessee Tech in Cookeville, Tennessee. “Rick, I want you to meet brother Dicus, my former physics teacher.” I politely said to this very old gray-haired man, “Hello sir, nice to meet you.” But I was far more interested in seeing if there were any pretty girls. Soon worship began. J. D. Evans was the song leader that day. He announced we would sing “Our God, He Is Alive.” I turned to the page. I happened to notice the writer of the song was some man named A. W. Dicus. We began singing this beautiful hymn. Suddenly I looked at my dad, who was singing while looking at brother Dicus. He looked at me and just smiled, then nodded as if to say, “Yes, he is the author.” Whoa. Now that’s pretty cool. I sat with him many times for the rest of that year. A grand man!

Aaron W. Dicus was born in 1888 near St. Louis, Missouri. His family soon moved to Indiana where he spent his growing up years. He was born with an incredible curiosity for the sciences and his education and career moved in that direction from an early age. In 1912 he received his Bachelor’s degree from Marion Normal College, then later was awarded the Master’s and Doctorate degrees from the University of Indiana. He taught science in both high school and college for several years before becoming a science professor at Indiana University until 1930. He then accepted a professorship and was made Head of the Physics Department at Tennessee Tech University until 1950. During that time he became President of the Tennessee Academy of Science and a member of the Southern Association of Physicists.

He was a preeminent scientist who actually trained a number of the physicists who worked at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, which helped develop the atomic bomb for the famous Manhattan Project. This helped end World War 2. His keen intellect, fueled by curiosity, led to his inventions of such things as the automobile turn signal, the electric pencil sharpener, the automobile speed governor (which limits how fast a car can drive), and the electric skill saw. So if you drive, write, or build things then your life has been impacted by this man more than you know.

I wanted to give you his technical background so that you would better appreciate some of the hymns he wrote late in his life. Brother Dicus was baptized at the age of 20 and remained a faithful Christian until his death in 1978. During his 70 years as a disciple of Christ, he made his life’s priority, not the fame of an inventor, nor the notoriety of a scientist, or the prestige of a university professor, but as a preacher of the gospel. Nearly every Lord’s day he would drive somewhere to preach. “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness” was his main vocation in life (Matthew 6:33). Having known him, I knew how well he loved God’s word and studied it daily.

At the encouragement of his wife Flora, he spent the last years of his life writing gospel hymns. He wrote about 38, among them “Lord, I Believe” and “Our God, He Is Alive.” He wrote them to counter our age of skepticism and secularism that shouts, “God is dead!” Dr. Dicus understood that just as an invention must have an inventor, so must creation have a Creator. He read Hebrews 3:3-4 and drew the natural conclusion that all rational people can clearly see. It says: “For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house. For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God.” Being a nationally recognized physicist he did not let his academic achievements override his common sense. A design must have a designer. Duh.

I saw old gospel meeting posters of him where he preached on the Evidence of God. He focused on scriptures like Romans 1:20-21, which reads, ”For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

This humble Christian, with a great scientific mind, saw no contradiction between the Bible and Science. Truth and Science are compatible. This led him to write two hymns which became popular in the Lord’s church and are now sung throughout the world.

Lord, I Believe (©1970)

When we behold the wonders of creation,
The flowers that bloom, the raindrops as they fall;
The spacious skies, and life’s perpetuation,
We cannot doubt that God controlled it all. (Chorus)

No finite mind by mortal calculation,
Could frame the truths revealed within His Word,
In every trace of nature’s operation,
Thy voice, O God, in mystery can be heard. (Chorus)

When we perceive the state of alienation,
In which the soul from Thee, O God, was lost,
We must believe, by heaven’s ordination,
Our Lord redeemed and paid the bitter cost. (Chorus)

Some days are filled with joy and expectation,
Some days are dark with cares we are beset,
In hours of joy, or hours of tribulation,
Be with us Lord, lest we, lest we, forget. (Chorus)

Chorus:
Lord I believe, yes I believe,
I cannot doubt, or be deceived
The eye that sees each sparrow fall,
His unseen hand is in it all.

Our God, He Is Alive (©1966)

There is, beyond the azure blue;
A God, concealed from human sight.
He tinted skies with heav’nly hue,
And framed the worlds with His great might. (Chorus)

There was a long, long time ago,
A God whose voice the prophets heard.
He is the God that we should know,
Who speaks from His inspired word. (Chorus)

Secure, is life from mortal mind,
God holds the germ within His hand,
Though men may search, they cannot find,
For God alone does understand. (Chorus)

Our God, whose Son upon a tree,
A life was willing there to give,
That He from sin might set man free,
And evermore with Him could live. (Chorus)

Chorus: 
There is a God, He is alive,
In Him we live and we survive;
From dust our God created man,
He is our God, the great I Am.

Go back and read the words again. Slowly. Carefully. Prayerfully. Let them sink in. Make them a personal creed (which simply means “I believe”). Say it, then sing it, “There IS a God! Lord, I BELIEVE!” I pray these two great hymns, from this one great man, will become trapped in your memory today and cause you to repeatedly sing your faith in a living God who is the great I AM. God will be listening, and smiling.

Tennessee Tech University Centennial

by Phyllis Dicus Roberts

A.W. Dicus with Granddaughter, Phyllis Dicus Roberts

Tennessee Tech recently had their centennial celebration, this is my post at that time:

My mother and father both graduated from Tennessee Tech. My grandfather was head of the physics department in the 1930’s-40’s during WWII. My memories include being on campus around 1945 watching the students in the physic department doing their experiments. I didn’t realize till much later in life what an impact my family had on history. It is said of my grandfather that he sent more scientists to oak ridge during WWII then any other scientist in the country. One of which was my father who had a direct impact on the Manhattan Project. The story goes that he had 6 armed guards come to his work in Knoxville and take him to oak ridge, telling him very little information. but enough information that he could develop part of the ignition for the atom bomb. My dad (David) had finally realized what they where wanting him to do, and when he asked they only smiled in recognition of what he had done. Dad has been gone for over 6 years now. When going through his things, I found a ring given to him by the navy in recognition of his accomplishments. He and his 2 brothers, Em and Jim, each had their own scientific genius and where great successes in their lives.

My grandfather who was head of the physics department retired from Tech and went to Florida Christian College and spent 5 years as dean of the college there. During which time he wrote 24 spiritual hymns and then sold the copyrights. Several songs have become quite popular, one in particular is “Our God, He Is Alive” Famous not only in the United States but in several countries and has been translated to several languages. Recently I’ve had requests from several Christian Colleges to write a History of our family. So I am including Pictures of my grandfather, my dad and access to available Dicus Information. It is with great pride that our family remembers tn tech, and it’s value to our country for the last 100 years. GOD BLESS AMERICA

~Phyllis Dicus Roberts