May, 1934
T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S
172
The ChristianHome O U R C O U N T R Y ’ S G R E A T E S T N E E D B y CARL G. WESTERDAHL* Los Angeles, California
Ç Q f fU k i fU - T & Q
P p 1 he f undamental ML need of human so ciety is a Christian home life. Out of the home proceed t h e forces that either ele vate or degrade a na- _tiofTJ)¡When Russia -yjbroSe up the home, W/making mother and ^;!t>n mere comrades in the social fabric, the very basic unit of so ciety, as planned^by to cast over our present-day world. He has many forces that have long worked faithfully toward the goal of break ing down everything that was born of Christian faith and experience. The moving picture theater is, after all, the educator of our American people in morals and ideals. No one can estimate how many million students attend its classes every week of the year without any vacation. From the silver screen, there flow into the plastic mind of youth, ideals of social life which are born of perdition. Infidelity to marriage vows, triangle situations, looseness of morals, drinking of intoxicants, murder, robbery, and intrigue are some of the evil suggestions that are poured, several hours a week, through eye gate and ear gate into young souls ■intohearts that in most cases are as ignorant of the God- God, was set aside]No| given fundamentals of life as are the Hottentots of darkest nation can long con-_*Afric _____ .„„ lon a. tinue without the fam- ^ ,7 i The “modern” attitude toward life has also been aided ily unit and its proper decidedly by the sweep of modernism over the pulpits of
our land. The Bible has been proclaimed to. be a human book, now to a large extent outgrown. Regeneration by the Holy Spirit assertedly has been explained away psy-
home spirit.
C arl G. W esterdahl
^Unchecked in its tendencies, the home life of today is sufficient to ruin the world. It has been surrendered to the blasting materialism of modern life and to a sickly psychology that runs counter to the wisdom of the Word of God and the best experience of the pasth The domination of parents by their children TsTHëT^sGÏt of the interpretation of life offered by modern education, in its overemphasis on the self-expression of young life. The average home circle is constantly broken. The gathering of the family for intellectual, social, and spiritual fellowship is a rare thing in our time. The family altar has in general become obsolete. The only time many families meet together is at the evening meal; and after that—some are off to the movies or the dance, others to some other social engagement. Is that picture overdrawn? We fear not! Thank God, there are many blessed excep tions here and there. But even professing Christian homes can be found where little time is taken for the deep realities, the matters truly worth while—time for welding the family together in the things of Christ and the lofty experiences of life. In the rush and turmoil of modern life, time speeds by so rapidly that God is forgotten. /-$-f / « » / T he B reakdown The fruits of this empty life are evident today. The time- honored moral standards, which came into existence through the experience of grace by God-fearing forbears, have been cast to the winds. Cigarette smoking and drink ing, so prevalent among the youth of today, are merely in dicative of the moral breakdown which has taken place in so-called Christian civilization. Crowded divorce courts, orgies of immorality, drunkenness, and infidelity are on the increase. Death looks on with sunken eyes, as the giddy, iazzy age glides on toward the brink of inevitable destruc tion) / - * * / W M 7* Satan, also, is back there in the shadows, well pleased, with a smirk of grim satisfaction on his face as he sees mankind swept by the subtle charm that he has been able
chologically. The deity of Christ, as mentioned in h i g h- sounding terms, has been robbed of its true meaning. The cross of Christ, in the minds of many, has lost its atoning sig nificance. y|As a-, re sult,* ¿fg»N88fbere h a v e turned away f r o m God, have ceased to pray, and have tu rn e d unre s tra in ed ly to the things of the world, t h e flesh, and the deviHModernism has no revivals, no prayer m eetings—y e t the need prayer and re vival more than they need anything now on the national pro- g r a m of rehabilita tion. T he D ivine R emedy What is the reme dy ? The antidote for this poisoning of so ciety is, in the first place, a home life in our nation that will make room for Jesus
; - ç î / / ! » / p.m
/>./** church of today and ffhis situation has been developing for a long period. our n a tio n today
Little hands are forever reaching up ward. Little minds are constantly occu pied with the problem of some'closed door. It is a mechanical matter today; it will be a spiritual matter tomorrow; Un observed, some hand will close over those tiny fingers, lending its strength to the small efforts of the child. For youth will be guided. Will it be your hand, Chris tian parent, that lifts for your child the latch of life's new experiences— a hand that is raised daily in prayer to God for needed wisdom for the task? Threshold scenes are costly; they demand time,: patience, perseverance. Some one will pay the price. Who shall it be?
*Pastor, Swedish Mission Tabernacle.
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