ta ÇuaetUie 'DelCttquettcty By DR. T ED W . ENGSTROM , President Youth For Ch rist, International
TT t is t im e we faced facts: Juvenile -I*- delinquency is America’s number one domestic problem. Speaking before the National Con vention of the American Legion, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover said, “ Daily, news reports remind us of the ram paging reign of lawlessness and, par ticularly, of the shameful juvenile crime picture expanding throughout the nation. Not only has the number of juvenile offenders increased tre mendously, but so has the viciousness of their crimes. The harmless prank has given way to the premeditated act of violence.” The FBI “Uniform Crime Reports” dated April 23, 1958, more than sup port this statement with facts that should alarm every American citizen. Note just one item: Arrests of persons under 18 have increased 55% since 1952.
Doctors tell us that teen-agers are becoming infected with venereal dis eases at the rate of 500 a day, and that 40% of the unwed mothers are teen agers. Today’s teen-agers make up a generation in peril — and we must do something to save them. Some say that society is to blame for the delinquent behavior of teen agers. In his book Delinquency: Sick ness or Sin? Dr. Richard V. McCann points to “ our sick society” as a major factor in juvenile crime and asks, “ Is delinquent behavior also a product and a reflection of a society whose own self-image is distorted, whose self-picture is out of focus?” There is little doubt that society today, with its emphasis on sex and material values, offers little to satisfy the soul of to day’s youth. Smutty literature is ped dled at the rate of 15 million copies a month, and the movies and TV M M E
scream “ SEX!” to our young people who have adult potentials and yet adolescent controls. Dr. Pitirim Soro kin of Harvard warns us in his book The American Sex Revolution that this “ sex-saturated society” is going to destroy America the way it did Greece and Rome. There is little doubt that the home also contributes considerably to de linquent behaviour. In a recent tele vision interview J. Edgar Hoover stated: “ Too many of the mothers and fathers are parents in name only. They are too preoccupied with other matters to guide and discipline their children.” It is a fact that 1% of the homes in New York City are respon sible for 75% of the delinquency in the city. Many other factors might be men tioned as contributing to criminal be haviour among our teen-agers. While it is true that many factors are involved in the making of a juve nile delinquent, I cannot help but remind myself that teen-agers are human beings with the power to rea son and make their own decisions. The heart of the delinquency prob lem, it seems to me, is the heart o f the delinquent himself! Let’s not forget what Jesus said about the human heart, “ For from within, out of the heart of men, pro ceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornica tions, murders,' .thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolish ness: A ll these evil things come from within, and defile the man” (Mark 7:21-23). His diagnosis of the problem is correct — and His catalog of crimes is as up-to-date as. this morning’s newspaper! Yes, the teen-ager has a heart, and it is his heart that determines what he will do with his leisure time, how he will behave at home, and what kind of a student he will be in school. I do not think I am over-simplifying tile matter when I say that reaching the heart of the teen-ager with the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the real an swer to the delinquency problem. The teen-ager may need a new home, a new school, new recreational facili ties — and all of these things are im portant — but most of all he needs a new heart and a new power within to live a clean constructive life. This can come only when he opens his heart to Jesus Christ who said, . . I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10) END.
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PR O D U C ED BY TH E FILM D EP AR TM EN T, THE BIBLE INSTITUTE OF LOS ANGELES P. O. Bo* 9, Gardena, California
, 16 MM Color and sound Running time 23 minutes
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