June, 1942
THE K I N G ’ S BUS I NES S
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acterized as a significant step back toward “Orthodoxy.” He gave up his custom of thirty-two years—that of holding services on Sunday—and went back to an observance of the eve of the Jewish sabbath, Friday evening. The rabbi is quoted as saying: “This is a return to the older
tradition which has been main tained through the centuries. The Free Synagogue is aligning itself with that centuried t r a d i t i o n . Such a return is bound up with the understanding that assimila tion (or imitation) does not solve any problems.”
capacity for sacrifice than our gen eration has' shown? How can we re gain this lost capacity for sacrifice? Our fathers interpreted life in terms of giving, rather than of getting. It has been said that we live in the “gimme age.” They lived in the giv ing age. A capacity for sacrifice in their hearts and lives was the result of the influence of Christian truth upon their thinking and conduct. Our fathers looked upon the cross of Calvary as the central reality of life and of history. There, they saw the life of God interpreted to man in terms of sacrifice. The Lamb of God, who was without sin, gave His life for lost sinners. The just died for the unjust. He who was God Himself— God manifest in the flesh—poured out His blood for the salvation of the un godly. When our fathers surveyed the won drous cross, they Were uplifted and inspired to make sacrifice the central reality in their own hearts and lives. Hence, they went forth, laboring and striving, contending and dying, for the creation of the heritage of Con stitutional liberty which we now en joy. What can give us back the capacity for sacrifice, without which our na tion cannot endure? Nothing, but a mighty revival which will carry our people back to Calvary! Nothing but a return to the “Faith of the Fathers” ! THE "GIMME" GENERATION: • We are all aware that we have been living in the “gimme” age. Eco nomic. life has been made a mad scramble for success and survival. One witnesses in Washington, D. C„ the wild struggle of lobbyists to loot the .federal treasury. The pressure groups, representing labor, capital, and agriculture, all are out to get “theirs.” Many explanations have been made of this spirit of self-seeking which has taken hold of our people. But there is only one way to understand any de velopment: and this is to apply the Scriptural standard. We have a “ gimme” spirit in eco nomic life because we have a reli-/ gious philosophy based upon that pre mise,. In great ndmbers, our people have turned away from the teachings of the Bible. They depend upon works, rather than faith, for their salvation. They take the position that men can get to heaven by their own strivings, by their own accomplishments, by their own merits. In the religious realm, first of all, this spirit of self- seeking, of self-glorification, of self- aggrandizement, became dominant. It was later carried over into every as pect of American life. [ Continued on Page 238]
Significance of the News By DAN GILBERT Washington, D. C., and San Diego, California
CRIME WAVE RISES: • America’s crime wave reached an all-time high during the year 1941, according to figures recently released by the Department of Justice, Wash ington, D. C. A total of 1,531,272 major crimes were committed in the United States during'1941, an increase of 0.9 per cent over, the previous year. The statistics compiled by the FBI reveal that a major crime was com mitted every 20.6 seconds during the year. A murder occurred, every 43 min utes, while a burglary was committed every 1% minutes. An automobile was stolen every 2Yz minutes during 1941, a citizen was robbed every 10% min utes, and a larceny was committed every 34 seconds. Most startling of all is the fact that 46 per cent of all major crimes com mitted in America last year were per petrated by young people nineteen • Nearly all the experts are now agreed that the great need of America today is a spirit of sacrifice on the part of all elements of our population. Class, greed and class hatred have been among the most stubborn ob structions to national unity. Whenever the matter of,sacrifice is brought up, this writer’s m e m o r y turns to a spectacular debate which he heard in the United States Senate a little over five years ago. The sub ject of the controversy was the issue of a “balanced budget.” One Senator got to his feet and declared: “There is just one way to bal ance the budget: by calling upon the people to undergo sacrifices. We must reduce expenditures and we must raise taxes. That means that millions who have been re ceiving hand-outs from the gov ernment will have to get along on less. When we raise taxes, it means the same thing. Millions of families will have to give up a larger share of their income thsw» years of age or younger! HOW TO WIN THE WAR:
ever before, thus leaving them less to live upon.” Another Senator rose and said: “I am surprised that the "Sena tor from.......... .{name of the state] would advocate a policy so, revo lutionary. People today simply will not put up with sacrifices -and deprivations. To endeavor to carry out such a policy would produce revolution. The American people are used to luxuries. They are accustomed to a reasonable amount of self-indulgence. They can be depended upon to revolt against any such program for enforced sacrifices.” The first Senator made this re joinder: “It may be true that the Ameri can people have lost their ca pacity for self-sacrifice. But one thing is certain: We must regain that lost capacity, or our nation is/doomed. We must again have the spirit of sacrifice which caused our forefathers to g i v e - their all for liberty . . .” The other Senator interrupted: “Those days are gone forever. 'We live in a new age. People to day do not, and will not, think in terms of self-denial and self-pri vation. This is an age of self-ex pression, of self-seeking, of self- satisfaction. For good or for evil, we live in a new area: in which people are concerned with the here and now, not the hereafter; in which the average citizen is determined to get what he can for himself and his family.” Perhaps the Senator has changed his mind since Pearl Harbor. But, in any event, it must be conceded that he accurately described the American mood as it was in 1937. It is that mood which must be changed before victory will be ours. THE SOURCE OF THE SPIRIT OF SACRIFICE: • The question will inevitably arise: Why did our fathers have a greater
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