many bonfires as the nation rejoiced on the start of its third year. Youths with torches lighted fires on every hilltop from Galilee in the north to the Gulf o f Aquaba in the south. A bonfire lighted on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem by Joseph Sprinzak, speak er o f parliament, signaled the start o f the rejoicing. Hidden between the lines o f the press is a story o f an amazing growth on the part of this new nation, tell ing the world that it is here to stay and warning other nations to keep their hands off. Recently 25-year-old Charles Hink- ley was arrested as a fugitive from a Veterans Administration hospital where doctors had hoped he would re gain normalcy. This lad was the hand some former Marine who submitted to a risky brain operation which was hoped might cure him o f criminal tendencies. The operation had been widely debated in medical circles and was known as “ pre-frontal lobotomy.” In spite o f the medical attention, the criminal tendencies of the patient were in no wise altered, which is a commentary indeed that criminal tendencies are not rooted in man’s brain but in his heart. On the other hand, cases without number could be found which would prove beyond the shadow o f a doubt that when one receives the Lord Je sus Christ as Saviour, he becomes a new creature, old things pass away, all things become new. One Cure <** The press has been carrying many stories about a supposed cure for alcoholism, a new drug called anta- buse. Now in a report from the American Psychiatric Association a warning is issued that while anta- buse in itself is safe, taking a drink o f liquor with antabuse in the system will cause your face to turn red, breath to shorten, heart to pound and terrible worry to sweep over you. There is real danger that while this drug might do some good in certain cases, it might even kill those who take a bottle o f beer afterward. Peo ple with bad hearts, high blood pres sure, certain blood c i r c u l a t i o n troubles and bad livers are not al lowed to take it at all. So bursts another sure antidote for sinful liv ing. There is no present cure for alco holism, say the doctors, save will power, to which we would add that the surest cure o f all is to give one’s self unreservedly into the hands of the Saviour o f all men. T H E K I N G ' S B U S I N E S S Surgery Fails
“ relieves fatigue,” etc. Also, the com panies involved were ordered to stop using testimonials which were not factually true, for after checking some 43 Camel testimonials, the Fed eral Trade Commission learned that some of the people quoted did not smoke at all, while others could tell no difference between the one adver tised and other brands, and still others did not even know what state ments had been attributed to them. And yet, how much damage has al ready been done by the multi-millions o f dollars that have been poured into advertising this wasteful, filthy habit! More and more United States Protestants are in favor of merging Protestant denominations into a sin gle huge ehurch, according to a Gal lup poll recently taken. Of the Protestants who were asked, 50% favored merger as contrasted to 40% in 1937. A straw in the wind was a recent setting up o f a “ National Council o f Churches of Christ in the United States of America” which brings together eight o f the biggest service agencies of the Protestant and Eastern Orthodox churches. This council will be meeting in Cleveland next fall to begin the establishing of an organization which will represent more than 25,000,000 members of at least 25 church bodies. The council is to be concerned with good works rather than doctrine. For a long time earnest Bible stu dents have pointed to words of prophecy which foretell that in the end-days there will be one world-wide church instead o f many. Second Birthday <** With little world fanfare, the-new nation o f Israel passed its second birthday. In Israel itself there were One Church
Confused Youth ** A recent youth survey, sponsored by the Y.M.C.A. and reported by Murray G. Ross with 2,000 anony mous answers to an analyzing eight- page questionnaire on religion, indi cated that while 80% o f those ques tioned believed in God, their knowl edge was hazy indeed and their attendance upon the means of grace almost nil. Only half went to church once a week. Less than half prayed daily. Three-quarters had not read the Bible at all or had read it only once or twice, and to most of them reli gion had almost ceased to provide any significant or lofty idea to give life purpose and direction. What a tragedy ( if this thing were genuinely true) after the effort that has been ex pended on churches and church programs ! W ages Continue •s* The wages o f sin .seemingly con tinue to be paid, according to recent statistics by Dr. E. Gurney Clark of Columbia University. It seems that syphilis killed 13,000 people in the United States last year and sent 66,000 to mental institutions. Clark stated that the optimistic view that these diseases are under control is premature, adding that more than .3,000,000 Americans are affected by this disease and that it still con tinues to be a problem o f the first magnitude. Misleading Ads Quite recently, the Federal Trade Commission directed two o f the larg est cigarette companies to stop mak ing certain claims that one brand of cigarettes was superior to another. Under official censure were the mak ers o f Camel cigarettes who were promoting such slogans as “ less nico tine,” “ soothes the, nerves,” “ never irritates the throat,” “ aids digestion,” Page Eighteen
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