Dr. Clyde M. Norromore, graduate of Columbia University, New York City, is Consultant in Research and Guidance with one of the largest public school systems in America.
Clyde M. Narramore, Ed.D.
tant to get to the causes. Very fre quently this calls for considerable counseling. It has been found that this type of non-pill therapy can pro duce lasting results. Only recently I knew an outstand ing young man who experienced a severe breakdown, and was conse quen tly confined to bed. Carefu l medical exam inations revealed no special causes for the sickness. The attend ing physicians recommended that thp patient have counseling ther apy. After several sessions some im provement was noted, and within a few months he had resumed all of his usual duties. The patient attrib uted his recovery to the professional counseling therapy. In such cases, patients who discov er the causes of their illness and who construct new patterns of living are not so likely to have a recurrence of the ailment. It is an interesting fact that God’s creative product, the human being, has certain physical, mental, emo tional and spiritual needs. When these basic needs are met we enjoy good health. When they are contin ually unmet, the human organism may have to make certain adjust ments and compensations. Such pro longed conditions can result in ser ious illness. Other things being equal, when we accept Christ as our personal Saviour, and when we walk humbly with Him according to His Word, our ba sic needs (most of which we are probably unaware) are satisfied as God intended them to be. We can be sure that we are not complete outside of Christ. “And ye are com plete in him, which is the head of all principality and power” (Col. 2:10)..
that reindeer can fly through the sky, that Santa can get into locked houses, that Santa can go to millions of homes in one night, that one Santa can provide gifts for children all over the world, and that Santa, like God, can tell what you are thinking, what you want, and what your be havior has been! We do not gain our children’s con fidence by telling them extravagant falsehoods. We do gain their con fidence, in part, by being honest, pos itive and realistic with them. Christmas is the season when we celebrate the birthday of our Saviour, Jesus Christ. It is one of the happiest and most significant times of the year! It is evident that Satan would distract us from honoring Christ at Christmas. It seems to me that our Christian homes should increase their efforts to promote a sacred Christmas season. Like many other parents, I can see no great harm in presenting Santa Claus as a make-believe person who represents the spirit of happiness and kindliness. In this way parents can be honest with their children. In this way boys and girls will not be confused by placing their confidence in something which they suspicion as being illogical; and on the testi mony of thousands of youngsters who are now grown up, Christmas will be a much happier and more satisfy ing time for our little folk. P sych o som a tic Illn ess Would you please explain the term psychosomatic illness? A psychosom atic illness is one which is caused primarily by psycho logical factors. Prolonged emotional disturbances can produce many types of illnesses. In fact, next to the com mon cold, psychosomatic illnesses are the most frequent. These illnesses are not imaginary, but very real. Prob ably all of us suffer from them to some extent. Yet surgery and medi cine may not be the sole remedies. In more serious cases it is impor
Santa Claus: T o B e o r X o t To B e ?
Do you believe Christians should teach their children that there is a Santa Claus? This prob lem is not limited to Christians. It is a question in which many parents are interested. In recent years I have been im pressed with the large number of people who are concerned whether they should teach their children that Santa Claus is a real person. I sup pose that the more we know about boys and girls and how our teaching affects tnem, the more we can be expected to carefully examine our practices. Thousands of adults claim that their childhood was much happier because they did not believe in Santa Claus. They say that the Christmas season is a more joyous time for boys and girls who are not taught to be lieve in a fantastic lie. No doubt there are many things to be happy about other than an implicit faith in Santa. Parents often usé the Santa Claus story as a threat to misbehavior. They say: “ If you aren’t nice, then Santa won’t bring you anything.” In other words, adults are using it as a dis c ip lin a ry measure. I believe that nearly all thoughtful people will ad mit that such discipline is very poor at its best. It not only brings poor re sults at Christmas time, but it con stitutes a very flimsy foundation for discipline in the future. Children who aré very bright find it difficult to believe wholeheartedly in Santa Claus. For example, a child who is -four years and ten months old, and who has an intelligence quo tient of 129 (that’s bright, but surely not. extremely bright) has a mental age of six years and three months. In other words, such a child is able to comprehend and think; much like the child .•pdio is over six years of age. ..That -being true, a child has difficulty accepting the unlikely story
Readers are invited to submit questions which will be answered in future issues. Address questions to Dr. Clyde M. Narramore, King's Business, 558 South Hope Street, 1.os Angeles 17, California. — ED.
26
THE KING*^- BUSINESS
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs