in morals and religion must begin in the pre-school ages. Those who rely upon schools, and even Sunday schools, to inculcate into their chil dren principles of right and wrong, are waiting too long. The greatest uni versity in the world is the home, and the greatest teachers, the parents. The amazing fact is that when a child has reached the age of seven, he has re ceived three-quarters of his education. This is a plea for the return of the old-fashioned home and a guarantee that if such a return were possible, the problem of juvenile delinquency would be thereby conquered. This is also a prediction that without the re turn of such homes, there will be no lessening of this deadly tendency to crime. The Christian must enlarge his influence to touch other lives and other homes for God. W E OFTEN wonder if radio entertain- ’ ’ ers remember that through the miracle of broadcasting, they are al lowed to enter the sanctity of private homes—homes where the parents are respectable, high-thinking people, and where the children are impression able. Does it seem right that such pro grams should include suggestive and questionable material? Is it right for a guest to enter a decent home with “off-color” jokes? Is it right to treat drunkenness, and brutality, and mur der in a casual way? Surely there is some reason why both broadcasters and sponsors countenance such a travesty on courtesy and right living. The other evening simultaneously on three or four major networks there was a murder story. Grotesque scenes were described, but the treatment of them was most matter-of-fact. If one from another world were suddenly plunged into our sphere, by listening to these air shows, he would imme diately conclude that murder was the most common everyday occurrence in the United States. It is. not necessary to resort to filth or horror for success on the air. The program which heads the.radio pa rade for popularity has one cardinal rule: that every show must be clean. It is regrettable that so tremendous a force as radio seems to have made a misstep here. There is one hopeful sign, however, and that is the attitude of the Federal Communications Com mission on this point We believe, too, that the broadcasting chains have taken cognizance of this abuse and are planning steps to eliminate it. As eternal vigilance is ever the price for anything worth-while, the right- thinking citizens in our land must stand together to protect the Amer ican home and to safeguard its sanc tity. ★ ★ Radio Trash
people the. emptiness of a denial of God more effectively than by at tempting an elucidation of the tenets of atheism. It has been argued that there has never been a genuine atheist. Individuals from time tp time have proclaimed their disbelief in anything supernatural, but their ac tions have been extremely inconsist ent with this assertion. Stories from the deathbeds of most blatant athe ists indicate that at the end of their lives they called upon a God whom they had always denied. Surely there would be the same re sult from an allocation of time to an atheistic program. It would soon be laughed off the air, and rightly so, whereas if denied this right, the atheist Scott and others like him will soon have hundreds flocking to their support as martyrs to the cause of freedom of religion and speech. ★ ★ Crime*» Answer R ECENTLY a full page in the Chi cago Sun was devoted to the des perate problem of juvenile delinquen cy. The writer pointed out the well- known fact that an astounding per centage of crime is committed by our teen-agers. He then stated that the situation seems to be growing worse each year, and that there appears to be no unified approach or concen trated attack on this problem. It is a bad situation, to be sure, and the un deniable fact that young people, hav ing once begun a life of crime often continue in it, makes the problem one of greatest magnitude. This newspaper columnist in the Chicago Bun outlined a remedy for this need, consisting mainly of more intelligent probation, continued re search, revision of the criminal code and extended psychiatric treatment. Now, all of these things may be good, and may have some benefit, but we are sure that they will prove to be but straws in the way of this over whelming tide of juvenile lawlessness. It would not be proper to speak slightingly of the best reasoning of our educators, if we could not offer something; but we are sure that the cause of juvenile delinquency is not different from that of other criminal tendencies. Wrongdoing springs from a nature that of itself delights in sin. The- heart of man is "deceitful above all things and desperately wicked," and there would be a far greater de gree of crime if all restraint and fear of punishment were removed. The reason for this present increase of crime is not hard to visualize. Good citizens are produced by good homes, and good homes are those in which there is a stabilizing influence of godly people who believe in the truths of the Word of God. Training NOVEMBER, 1946
Visit A RECENT visitor to the Soviet Re- public was Louie De Votie Newton, president of the Southern Baptist Con vention. His visit was made by gov ernment invitation to investigate the status of some 2,000,000 Baptists in Russia. For some inexplicable reason, Mr. Newton was practically given the keys to the country, allowed to say what he pleased, and taken to see whatever his f a n c y dictated. Mr. Newton’s conclusion m a y surprise most churchmen and meet with in credulity. He declares that the reli gious conditions are as bright in Russia as anywhere in the world and that "religiously, we should regard Russia as our great ally." It is not only present-day skepticism which leads us to cast some doubt upon the findings of Mr. Newton, but a certain knowledge of the part Russia is to play in end-time events. However, we must not go to the other extreme and fail to pray for Russia or to exert our best efforts towards its evangeliza tion. ★ ★ Growing "DEPORTS of the Youth for Christ movement show that there has been more growth in this organization in more places in the last three months than in the previous nine months of 1945-1946. The second annual inter national convention held July 22-29 elected Torrey M. Johnson as leader for another year, a p p o i n t e d five teams for foreign lands, and adopted a world-wide missionary policy. There seems to be no slackening of interest and result in this present-day spec tacular movement. There is a growing tendency within it to fortify the ap peal by a strong missionary back ground. Here is another way in which the alarming problem of juvenile delinquency can be adequately and permanently dealt with. ★ ★ LeTourneau Tech rpHE NEWEST venture of energetic “God Runs My Business" R. G. Le Tourneau, is the opening of a new plant in East Texas, and in connec tion with it the establishment of the LeTourneau Technical Institute of Texas. Students who attend the In stitute will support themselves by working eight hours daily in the plant. Of course, as we would ex pect, this school will not neglect the most important phase of education which is a study of the Word of God. There w ill also be chapel services in which evangelistic messages will be preached, and the students w ill be encouraged to receive the Lord Jesus Christ as Saviour. 3
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