February, 1944
43
Then the demands of war snatched him away from familiar scenes. For a time, he floundered in his thinking. But then a letter was reqeived from a close boyhood friend, stationed many miles away. “ i*— * said he was starting a Bible class among the fellows there,” the Private explained, “ and I thought, ‘Boy, that’s just what the Lord wants me to do, too!’ ” The good church-going boy became a firebrand for Jesur Christ. He or ganized the weekly Bible class to which upwards of' thirty young people come regularly. Around that study
table are J-nvs, Catholics, and mem bers of many and no denominations. Back to the home church in Los An geles, the Church of the Open Door, go specific requests for prayer—and God is answering them. “I guess I was the most surprised person of all,” the soldier admitted. Then, gratefully, “When I had to put it to the test, I found that what I had gotten here, in church and in Sunday- school, was the kind of truth a fellow can live by and can give to others." Let preachers and teachers take no tice: “ Preach the word, be instant in season and out of season.” God giveth the increase.
“ Consider him that e n d u r e d s u c h contradiction of s i n n e r . s against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint, in your minds.” (H eb. 12:3) The way we fight and win the war will largely determine the nature of the peace. False religious groups have championed the slogan: “ The end jus tifies the means.” This is bad logic as well as bad morality. For, the means determine the end. If we seek to advance a good purpose by evil methods, the purpose itself w ill be made evil. If we wish a democratic peace, we must keep democracy in operation in the conduct of the war. MAN-ÏÜADE WEAKNESSES: w uui country naa a major part m me thrusting back, in 1943, of the Axis threat. God made America strong. Sin and selfishness make us weak. Our own weaknesses postpone the day of ultimate victory. Oyr Creator supplied America with a great abundance of coal, but strikes have created an arti ficial shortage which has hampered war operations. Our Creator endowed America with a more-than-adequate oil supply.. But pleasure driving, black- market operators, and bungling bu reaucratic interference with productive forces, have converted the surplus in to an impending shortage. Greed, pr of i t e e r i ng , selfishness; these are the« factors that still are impeding the full mobilization of our God-given resources for the final vic tory of liberty and democracy. CONSTITUTIONAL IGNORANCE: • Several months ago, I wrote a little book entitled, “Who W ill Be Elected President in 1944?” EveT since, I have been receiving letters from Christian readers informing me that, according . to the- Constitution, we cannot have an election in wartime. Of course, the Constitution has no such provision. Certain radio commen tators have suggested that we should not _have an election in wartime. Others have recommended a Constitu tional amendment to prohibit war time elections. But every one who bothers to read the Constitution of the United States knows that the Found ing Fathers provided that democracy should go right on functioning, in wartime as in peacetime. A good New Year’s program for every Christian American would be to read through the Constitution and the Bible. We ought to know what is the basis of Americanism. The writers of the Constitution, for the most part, were Bible readers and Bible believers. They made Constitu tional democracy to rest upon imper- [ Continued on Page 67] •
Behind the News By DAN GILBERT San Diego, California
SUPERSTITION FOR SALE: • Nothing that can be told about in side Washington amazes people more than the facts regarding the flourish ing of cults and sects of superstition “ under the Capitol Dome.” Ray Tucker, one of Washington’s best-known and most widely syndi cated columnists, recently dealt with this subject in these paragraphs: The most popular and profitable businesses in the capital today are those carried on by fortune-tell ers, palm’ sts, astrologists, tea- leaf diviners, and psychiatrists. Washington has g o n e “ nuts” about foreseeing its personal and collective future. Diplomats from foreign prin cipalities first introduced the idea. They never threw a party without hiring a voodoo artist and ensconcing her in an upstairs room where she psychoanalyzed the guests. Her fee was around $20, plus a bottle of good wine. The fad has spread since Wash ington became the center of do mestic and overseas leaders. They consult these star-gazers regu larly. Some of our topnotch offi cials frame their policies in ac cordance with the soothsaytngs of these oracles. Hitler, too, frames his policies in ac cordance with the “ brain trust” of as trologers and clairvoyants who have long had a dominant voice in Nazi A f fairs. The following of such counsel leads a nation into sin, degradation, destruction, and ultimate death. Amer ica grew great as her people and lead ership followed the course laid out in the Bible. Our greatest national need now is to return to that path.
THE LURE OF SATAN: • Adam and Eve fell into sin as they Satanically sought to attain the ambi tion to “be as gods.” The desire to probe the secrets of Infinite Wisdom is an attitude of the unregenerate, car nal mind. Man does not trust God; therefore, he seeks to take hjs future into his own hands. One of the telltale signs of a “wicked and rebellious generation” is the flour ishing of cults of superstition which seek to unveil the future, penetrating the mystery in which God keeps it en shrouded. Curiosity has carried many an indi vidual to hell. Our present age has exalted science at the expense of re ligion. ft has extended knowledge; while crippling faith. The unregen erate mind wants to "know." The spir itual mind aspires to "believe." We do not need to know what the future holds; we need to have faith in God and in the future which He provides for those who love Him. 1944: THE PIVOTAL YEAR: • Last year was the “crisis year.” Dur ing 1943, the tide of battle definitely turned. Both Japan and Germany were thrust back on the defensive. The year 1944 may well be the “ pivotal year.” This does not mean that the war w ill necessarily end this year. But it does mean that the whole out line of the postwar world will begin clearly to assume countenance and contour. The postwar world is now be ing formed: not so much by long-term commitments, but by day-to-day de velopments. In our cooperation with our smaller allies, in our treatment of the conquered peoples, in our home- front solutions to vexing problems, democracy is being put to the test
Made with FlippingBook flipbook maker