lty, for the moment, we read an ac count of a neighboring Los Angeles community where sixteen people were recently arrested for exchanging mates — husbands and wives selected other partners with whom to spend the night. We need to keep in mind that th^con- ditions which prevail in our country today, as far as immorality is. con cerned, are paralleled in the reasons for the downfall of ancient Rome, as well as the culture of possibly twenty- one other great civilizations of the past. I doubt if anyone would argue the fact that the entertainment business has been one real cause for the col lapse of the standards of society, as we have known it. Not only have a num ber of thè actors and actresses lived in a debauching manner, but they have become a part of an industrial empire which has produced films which rath er highlight the illicit as sweeter than that which is pure and holy. Many excuses have been given when divorce suits have been filed: cruelty, incompatibility, mental stress and oth ers in their train, but some form of adultery is usually behind divorce. Je sus Christ has pointed out that adul tery can be committed by the mind as well as by an act. But nowadays it seems that the phrase, “Marry in haste and repent at leisure,” should be changed to “Marry in haste and repeat at leisure” to conform to the mood of the age. The divorce rate is staggering, and little is the wonder that we have a staggering juvenile delinquency prob lem! The laws concerning divorce in our country are nothing short of deplorable — they are cheap and easy. The Sat urday Evening Post commented on the seriousness of the hour in which we live by giving an illustration of a woman who had just received a quick divorce. As she left the courtroom she was heard to remark, “Now I just hope we can sell the house as easily.” The jungle heathen who rids him self of a spouse by merely saying, “I divorce you,” has it no easier than the average American. Dr. Robert Fitch of the University of California at Berkeley 32
I n r e c e n t y ears the Press has been replete with stories dealing with adultery and immorality in its various phases. Generally, however, there are stories concerning only well-known per sonalities — such incidents, involving the average man, are too numerous to record. As we look at this particular sin, our thinking strikes into a most im portant part of the Decalogue, the Sev enth Commandment, which is embod ied in these five words, “Thou shalt not commit adultery.” It is of singular interest to note where God has placed this Commandment with reference to the other nine edicts; it follows, immed iately, the one declaring the sacredness of human life. Next to life is that which would safeguard our highest earthly relationships, maintaining them in purity before God. Turning from God’s standard of pur-
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