2
Jânuary, 1942
T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
Now that the United States is at war with Japan and the A x i s powers, this article is more timely than ever.
What Has the Church to Offer Youth Today?*
By FRANK E. GAEBELEIN Stony Brook, Long Island, N. Y .
F OR TWENTY YEARS it has been my privilege to be Headmaster of a college preparatory school along with its academic aims to the great purpose of making the evangel ical Christian faith real to its stu dents. During those years I have lived and worked With hundreds and hun dreds of boys from almost every state of the Union and from at least twenty different countries. I have seen boys graduate from school and go on into college. I have seen them* graduate from mllege and enter into business and professional life. And in some cases it-has been my privilege to fol low their development and their ca reers in a fairly intimate way. You will understand, therefore, that this subject of youth and the church today, is one that is very close to my heart. Youth Under Totalitarian Leadership Let me begin by relating a portion Of a conversation which took place in my home several weeks ago. The speaker was a man of brilliant intel- M ja d io address delivered on November 4, IPIP over radio station WENY, Elmira, N. Y, Dr. Gaebelein is Headmaster o f Stony Brook School for Boys,
lectual attainments; a Doctor of Eco- nomics_ from Heidelberg University, he had been head of an important indus rial plant. Now in this country as a refugee, he is working as an automo bile mechanic. My guest was speaking of the fu ture of his native land. When the war is won, he was saying, in order to insure the future of Europe, one thing must be done. The totalitarian nations must be closely supervised for at least a generation. They must be supervised not because all the people are bad, for they are not, but because the youth have been ruined. They have been hopelessly led astray, and only when a new generation of youth arises, unspoiled by the dangerous doctrines that have been propagated, will Europe be safe. “Yes,” you say, “that is true of some European youth. But what has it to do with this topic as to the church and youth today? What has it to do with our own American youth?. Our Amer ican youth'are not following any evil dictator. Theirs is the privilege of liv ing in a democracy and fighting for liberty.” '
All very true! Nevertheless, there is a connection, a very vital connec tion, indeed. The world is now wit nessing what is perhaps the most gigantic conspiracy Of evil in history. That conspiracy is based on the prin ciple that the state as represented by the dictator is everything. It says that the individual belongs, body, mind, and soul, to the state. Men call it the totalitarian principle; and' more and more it is revealing itself not just as a political way of life but as a new religion. The Only Final Answer to the Totalitarian Challenge What, then, has the church to offer our youth? It is able to offer them, and should offer them, the answer to totalitarianism. Make no mistake about it. I believe in democracy with all my heart. But I am none the less convinced that d e m o c r a c y needs spiritual aid in fortifying our youth against the tremendous onslaughts of false politics and false philosophies and false religion. Where democracy, with all its noble idealism, ktops, the church must step in. And it must say [ Continued on Page 31]
for boys, a school seriously committed
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