The Big Hangup by John MacArthur Jr.
This Thing Called Carnality by Curtis Mitchell
Riots and the Scriptures by Richard Wolff
The Holy Spirit and Tongues by Robert L. Thomas
MARCH, 1969
You can Multiply your own ministry through more than 1,600 BIOLA stu dents who go out each week to win others for Jesus Christ. You extend your life and influence through these young people as they graduate and go out to serve the Lord wherever He may choose to lead them.. ___________________
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Dedicated to the spiritual development o f the Christian home r l-" ^
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j BUSINESS 13800 BIOLA AVENUE, LA M IRADA, CALIFORNIA 90638 L___________________________________________ ________________ J THE KING'S BUSINESS Magazine is a Publication ofBIOLA Schools andColleges, Inc. Louis T. Talbot, Chancellor, S. H. Sutherland, President. MARCH, 1969 / VOLUME 59 / NUMBER 3 / ESTABLISHED 1910 CONTENTS ARTICLES The Big Hangup 11 JOHN MacARTHUR, JR. Riots andtheScriptures 14 RICHARD WOLFF This Thing Called Carnality 18 CURTIS MITCHELL WhattheBibles Says About Heaven 21 LOUIS T. TALBOT The Holy Spirit andTongues 2 3 ROBERT L THOMAS How to Help a Man Making ‘a Touch’ 2 8 NELS STJERNSTROM The Feast of Tabernacles 3 0 LEHMAN STRAUSS Why the Early ChurchWasPersecuted 3 4 VANCE HAVNER Innovations in Learning 3 8 NORMAN WRIGHT The Christian's Credibility Gap 3 8 RAYMOND C. ORTLUND FEATURES Messagefrom the Editor 4 SAMUEL H. SUTHERLAND People in the News 6 KING'S BUSINESS STAFF Cults Critque 8 BETTY BRUECHERT Dr. Talbot’s QuestionBox 2 7 LOUIS T. TALBOT Talking it Over 2 9 CLYDE M. NARRAMORE Over a Cup of Coffee 32 JOYCE LANDORF Christian Worker’s Clinic 33 CHESTER LARSON Bo k Reviews 4 4 KING’S BUSINESS STAFF COVER: Provided through thecourtesy of Florida Cypres Water Gardens. Used with permission. S. H. Sutherland EDITOR ADV./PRODUCTION MGR. Bill Ehmann Al Sanders MANAGING EDITOR ART DIRECTOR John Ozmon Betty Bruechert COPY EDITOR CONTROLLER James Bramer Paul Schwepker TREASURER CIRCULATION MGR. Jane M. Clark H. Norman Wright CHRISTIAN EDUCATION EDITOR
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*a message from the editor* Last Days — WARS uiiuzhjlxuuL PRESIDENT, BIOLA SCHOOLS AND COLLEGES, INC.
1 0 000 coo rood thishok withoutDeing sflmukded to gooutodwin
I n t h e O l i v e t D is c o u r s e , our Lord was asked by His dis ciples a three-fold question, “Tell us, when shall these things be [destruction of the temple so that not one stone shall be left upon another] and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world [age] ?” (Matt. 24:3). Our Lord did not answer the first part of the question as to the date when the temple was going to be destroyed, but He went on to discuss the other two parts of the three-fold question, “ the signs o f thy coming, and the end o f the age.” Further on in the 24th chapter of Matthew’s Gospel account, in verse 15, He described the spe cific sign that would appear at the end of the age, namely the appearance of “ the abomination o f desolation,” or as this person is referred to in other portions of the Word, the initial appear ance of the Antichrist. The Lord explained that general signs which prior to the appearance of the Antichrist more or less characterize the entire age or dispensation in which we are liv ing. In other places we read that these will increase as the end o f the age approaches. Among these general signs He included “ Ye shall hear of wars and rumours [reports] of wars” (24:6). He continues, “Nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. All these are the beginning of sorrows” (24:7-8). A rather significant article appeared in the August 26, 1968 issue o f U.S. News & World Report entitled “ A World of Wars and Conflict.” The author tells, “ The story of a world continu ously at war in this century.” Research was done in London, England. Among other things in the article, the question is asked: “At the rate things are going, will the world blow itself up by the end o f the century?” He is cautiously hopeful that this will not prove to be the case, but his conclusions are most significant none-the-less. In the decade from 1898 to 1907, he says there were nine significant wars; in the decade 1926-1937 there were only 8, but in the following 10 years, ending 1947, there were 12, in the 10 years following 1947 there were 28, in the ten years 1958 to 1967 there have been 45. Of course, these include wars between and among the emerging nations, particu larly in Africa and also in Asia. Of the 128 wars since 1898, he has figured that 73 have taken place since the start o f World War II, and as noted above, the numbers have escalated in each of the past four 10-year periods. The author observed that “ Peacemaking forces such as the United Nations have proved to be largely ineffective.” One might conclude that such peace making forces have been practically totally ineffective.- The only significance of the United Nations, and this significance is certainly of doubtful value, has been to serve as a place where many, many of the other nations of the world, including those THE KING'S BUSINESS
outers to cimsL” BILLY GRAHAM
THE SOUL WINNER Charles Haddon Spurgeon
An inspiring spiritual experience by one of the most exciting and persuasive Chris tians who ever lived. An Eerdmans best seller. Paper, $1.95 TWO OTHER OUTSTANDING PAPERBACK GUIDES TO UNDERSTANDING AND SHARING CHRISTIANITY!
A LITTLE EXERCISE FOR YOUNG THEOLOGIANS Helmut Thielicke I To young and old, to begin- ner and veteran, this booklet provides an invig orating exercise for flabby theological muscles. “ Every seminary student, every graduate during the last ten years, get this book. It will guide you in sensible and fruitful communications of
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emerging nations, have been able to sound off in their denuncia tion of the United States. The popular thing to do in these United Nations meetings has been for individuals who have requested and received financial help from the United States to bite vicious ly the hand that is feeding them and to berate this country most vehemently for not doing even more. There has been no sense of appreciation whatever for what has been done, only loud complaints because more has not been done. This writer cites such statistics as that in the Viet Nam War to date 60,000 Americans have been killed. In the Korean War, 33,000 Americans were killed. In World War II, 292,000 Ameri cans were killed, and in World War I, 126,000 Americans were killed. Of course, World War II had far and away the largest number of military personnel killed among both the allies and the enemy, namely almost 17 million. This was in the military alone; there were over 34 million civilians killed in World War II. Beginning with the Civil War, the United States has been en gaged in a major conflict approximately every 25 years. Follow ing the Civil War came the Spanish-American War of 1898. World War I concluded in 1918. World War II ended in 1945. We are now approximately 23 years beyond World War II. The question remains: Will history repeat itself once again? There are those who would have us believe that under the influence of Christianity the world is becoming more and more civilized, more and more Christianized, until finally we will move away from the concept of war altogether and will settle disputes by peaceful means — if indeed there are any disputes to settle. Rather, people will be living at peace one with another. Incident ally, it is interesting to note that these same visionaries who conceive o f such a world of peace and good will are in large measure the same ones who are promoting the cause of Civil Rights and marching with the rioters. They themselves are fomenting all kinds o f disturbances, even to the point of openly and flagrantly violating the laws of the land. Thus they are becoming willful rebels against all law which does not happen to suit their fancy. They proceed to loot, prowl, rob, steal, destroy anything or anyone who gets in their way. At the same time they openly boast of their Civil Rights as though no one else had any Civil Rights at all. This is but another form o f war in which our beloved land is engaged in right now. It’s not military war, but it’s civilian war just as vicious, just as destructive, and just as stupid as many of the military wars which have been carried on in other countries during the past decades. The simple facts of the case are that all the education that has been developed during the centuries and particularly during recent years has not changed the inner man in the least. The heart o f man is still desperately wicked, totally selfish and completely ruthless. The natural man is well-nigh brainless. The Lord says, “ Come now, let us reason together . . . though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow.’’ A man with a normal intellect is one who will sit down and reason out things. The man with a minimum o f brains is the one who only knows of resorting to brute strength in order to gain his ends. The only way to deal with this type is to suppress him by meeting force with greater force. This is the way of the natural man. Our Lord says it will continue this way until the end o f the age. Only the Prince of Peace can bring peace to the world for He alone can put His peace into the hearts o f men. QH
REMEMBER NOW THY CREATOR IN THE DAYS OF
THY YOUTH — Ecclesiastes 12.1
There is no book of guidance, no textbook for the young, that can equal the Great Textbook of the Ages — the Book that gives us rules for living that will never be superseded, that will never pass away. There are no Bibles made with more care and skill than the Bibles made in Cambridge, where the printingof Bibles has been a responsibility of fine craftsmeij since the sixteenth century.
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MARCH, 1969
ary Alliance, Ev ange l i c a l Covenant Church, and Seventh-day A d v e n t i s t Church. Evangelist BILLY GRAHAM and DR. OSWALD C. J. HOFFMAN have issued a call for prayer on behalf of the United States Congress on Evangelism sched uled for September 8-13, 1969. The spe cial request was presented to the Na tional Committee meeting in Chicago during December where it was heartily approved and endorsed. Copies of the call for prayer are available from the organization in Minneapolis, Minn. Christian Broadcasting Network Inc. of Portsmouth, Va. has received approval from the Federal Communications Com mission in Washington to receive into its operation the Northeast Radio Network of upstate New York. The network, which includes five FM stations, was formerly a subsidiary of Continental Telephone. General Manager and co-ordinator for the New York operations is MR. ANDY ANDERSON. He announced that plans for the five stations include a new sacred music format and expanded news coverage with emphasis on regional ac tivities. DR. OSWALD HOFFMAN of St. Louis, Mo., speaker on “The Lutheran Hour,” was featured in a special Christmas inter view with His Imperial Majesty Haile Selassie I, Emperor of Ethiopia. The broadcast was aired by nearly 2000 sta tions around the world. The interview resulted from the two men becoming acquainted on an Ethiopian airlines flight to Addis Ababa during July, 1968. DR. WENDELL G. JOHNSTON was in augurated as second president of De troit Bible College in November. The ceremonies were held at the Highland Park Baptist Church of Southfield, Mich. Executive Vice President of DBC, DR. WILLIAM A. DeVIER, presided at the program. An academic procession, which included delegates from colleges and universities throughout t h e country, marked the inauguration ceremonies. Dr. Johnston is the fifth person pic tured in the procession. Missionary Aviation Fellowship report ed an airplane crash in December near the isolated mission outpost of Tabón, on the Island of Palawan. Killed in the accident were the pilot, GEORGE RANEY, and missionary passenger MERLE BUCK INGHAM of the Association of Baptists for World Evangelism of Philadelphia. Mr. Raney is survived by his wife, BETH, and three children; Buckingham is sur vived by his wife and three children. DR. RICHARD C. HALVERSON, presi dent of World Vision, has. announced the appointment of the REV. CARL LUCHT as director of the organization’s newest operation, World Vision of Laos. Currently directing World Vision of Hong Kong, Mr. Lucht is a veteran of service in Asia spanning more than 20 years. THE KING’S BUSINESS
COLLECTOR’S ITEM for YOU! lo£i&£P] JURNEV^ ESüséHRíST i " " ' I •,pA#0 _., I
Evangelist LUIS PALAU of Overseas Crusades completed the United Crusade in Medellin, Colombia, with exciting spir itual victories. The crusade climaxed a year-long evangelism in depth program sponsored by Latin America Mission. Originally planned for one week, the re sponse caused directors of the crusade to extend it to a two-week period. For the first time in the city’s history, three local radio stations sold time for the crusade to be aired from the coliseum. Nearly 700 decisions for Christ were re ported. North American Indian Mission re ceived a gift of 32 acres of land on the North coastal area of British Columbia in 1968. The mission is developing the grounds and buildings, and has launched Camp Kla-How-Ya North for Indian boys and girls. Some 92 children were in at tendance during this past summer. The Far East Broadcasting Company of Whittier, Calif., in conjunction with Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park is producing a special five-minute radio program five days a week entitled “What is Freedom?” Production of the program is under the direction of REV. CLAUDE BUNZEL, curator of Independence Hall and Colonial Research Library of Knott's Berry Farm. Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship con ducted a conference for college and university students during the Christ mas holidays. Theme was "A Christian in the Revolutionary Age: Preparing for the 21st Century.” Conducted on the U.C.L.A. Campus, the speakers included various missionary leaders as well as those from churches and industry. A recent survey released by CHRIS TIANITY TODAY indicates that 111 U.S. Congressmen are Roman Catholics. The next category finds 90 Methodists, fol lowed by 82 Presbyterians and 67 Epis copalians. Fifty-three of the Senators and Representatives are Baptist, with 29 from the United Church of Christ and Congregational Church. There are 19 Jewish Congressmen, 14 Lutheran, 13 from the Christian Church, 10 of the Latter Day Saints, 7 Unitarian, 6 from the Church of Christ, and 5 Christian Scientists. Three Senators and 9 Rep resentatives call themselves "Protestant" and 3 Representatives prefer not to be listed. Other groups included in Con gress are 3 Greek Orthodox, 3 Society of Friends, 2 Evangelical Free Church, 1 each for the Reformed Church of Ameri ca, Schwenkfelder Church, Apostolic Christian Church, Christian and Mission
Pilgrim’s Map-The HolyLand Timely, historic map, showing the journeys and deeds of our Lord. Identifying Scripture references; produced in the Carpenter’s Work shop, Nazareth. Sent to all who send $1.00 or more to this ministry to bring the Gospel to more than 2,000,000 Jews in metropolitan New York. A CHRISTIAN WITNESS FOR 70 YEARS NEW YORK M ISSION TO THE JEWS Rev. David J. Fant, Litt.D„ President Ruth Angel, General Secretary Emeritus Dept K, 149 Avenue B, New Yoifc, N.Y. 10009
MAY WE PRAY FOR YOUR REQUESTS? Send to Prayer Time, The King's Business maga zine, 13800 Blola Ave., La Mirada, Calif. 90638
WHERE CAN A JEW FIND CHRIST? On street corners, in homes, in shops, and in our witnessing cen ters, our workers faith fully proclaim the story of redemption accord ing to Moses and the prophets, and the gos pel message from the New Testament, and Jews are finding the Saviour. For help in witnessing, or for your own spiritual need, write to: Rev. A. A. MacKinney Général Director American Messianic Fellowship 7448 N. Damen Avenue, Chicago, III. 60645
A Jewish boy accepted a tract, "Isaiah's Por trait of Messiah" and immediately asked, "Can you tell me more about this?" There on a street corner in Chicago a 12 year old ■, boy listened intently to the skillful presentation of the Scriptures and ac cepted Jesus Christ as his Messiah and Sav iour. A middle-aged Jew ess, after hearing the gospel for several years at Miami Beach called and. said, "I am terribly distressed. Please come #over. I must find the Lord today."
generous to determine with certainty the disposal after their death of that which the Lord entrusted to their stewardship without delays, deductions, inheritance taxes, and probate court costs. income, and
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Africa Enterprise, the interdenomina tional team of young laymen from South Africa and North America, are continuing their first major project beyond the borders of South Africa. In response to an invitation from churches in Nairobi, Kenya, they are leading the Nairobi churches’ mission “Crossroads,” which finishes after Easter, 1969. Early in De cember the leader of the Africa Enter prise Team, MICHAEL CASSIDY, left to
assist with this program and to address a number of pastors' seminars. During the month of February a series of large meetings was arranged by the Nairobi churches. The speakers were Michael Cassidy (right) and FESTO KIVENGERE, of Uganda. Radio Station HCJB, in Quito, Ecua dor, recently celebrated its 37th anni versary. Highlighting the occasion was a three and one-half hour television pro gram on HCJB’s Channel 4 which fea tured high-ranking government and civic figures, musical groups and interviews with the station’s leaders. Other special observances included an extended radio presentation under the direction of HC JB ’s completely indigenous Spanish De partment. The ninth annual Graduate School lec tureship at Wheaton College in January had as its theme "Old Testament The ology and Eschatology.” DR. PIETER A. VERHOEF, professor of Old Testament at Stellenbosch Theological Seminary, Re public of South Africa, was the speaker. Mount Hermon Christian Conference Center has prepared brochures and ap plications for 1969 Student Summer Staff positions. According to REV. RICH ARD J. DOSKER, assistant director of the Mount Hermon Association, special ists are needed as senior counselors, as workers at waterfront, kitchen, fountain, day camp, youth direction, office, and recreation, as well as helpers in the food service, housekeeping, and grounds de partments. Counselors, who are confident Chris tians and have completed at least one year of college, will be needed for full- summer counseling ministries both at Redwood Camp and Ponderosa Lodge. Those interested should write to Rev. R. J. Dosker at Mount Hermon, Calif. 95041.
OK...here are some plain facts VThe Problem . . . dedicated young men are needed to present the claims of Jesus Christ . . . no question about this fact W he Need . . . there are thousands of empty pulpits, waiting for trained and concerned men . . . a staggering fact VThe Preparation . . . acknowledging the need and heeding the “ call” to serve, first means thorough preparation . . . a recognized fact VThe School . . . MBI offers a major* in pastoral studies that will lay the foundation and prepare a young man to face the problem . . . a satisfying fact ■^The Reward. . . a challenging Christian career, fulfilling Christ’s Great Command . . . that’s a fact M O R E F A C T S : *B y having 60 hours (two years) of acceptable credit in liberal arts, a young man can qualify for the B.A. degree. These 2 years, plus MBI’s 3 years of professional Bible study are the necessary founda tion for the future pastor. . . or for further training at seminary.
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MARCH, 1969
COOL of O U R TTR A b e
CULTS CRITIQUE by Betty Brueehert RU THER FORDS SIGNS
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Question: 1 have been told that in a book written by Rutherford o f the Jehovah’s Witnesses that he listed some inventions and achievements of man as signs that Christ had come to earth. Where can I find this and what does it include ? Answer: The list appears on page 235 of The Harp o f God, published in 1921 by the Watch Tower of Brooklyn and reads as follows: Adding machines, aeroplanes, aluminum, antiseptic surgery, ar tificial dyes, automatic couplers, automobiles, b a r b e d wire, bi cycles, carborundum, cash regis ters, ce llu lo id , correspondence schools, cream separators, Dark est Africa, disk ploughs, Divine Plan of the Ages (R u s s e ll’ s books), dynamite, electric rail ways, electric welding, escalators, fireless cookers, gas engines, har vesting machines, illum ina ting gas, induction motors, linotypes, match machines, monotypes, mo tion pictures, North Pole, Panama Canal, Pasteurization, ra ilway signals, Roentgen rays, shoe sew ing machines, smokeless powder, South Pole, submarines, radium, sky scrapers, subways, talking machines, telephones, typewriters, vacuum cleaners and wireless tele graphy. When Russell’s predictions that Christ would return in October 1914 did not come to pass, and Russell himself died in 1916, the new head of the cult, “ Judge” Joseph F. Ruth erford, was faced with a dilemma which he “ solved” with this explana tion: “ In 1914 Jehovah set His Anointed One upon his th rone; therefore at that time Christ Jesus took his authority as King. Three and one-half years thereafter, to wit in 1918, the Lord came to his tem ple, which is the temple of God” (Prophecy, pp. 73, 77, 82ff.). Absurd as is this theory, it is a fulfillment of Matthew 24:26: “Wherefore, if they shall say unto you, Behold, he is in the desert; go not forth: be hold, he is in secret chambers; be lieve it not.” Jehovah’s Witnesses is but one of the cults which teaches that Christ is already here.
A surgeon must be proficient with his scalpel. An engineer is lost without a slide rule. What can a lawyer research with out his library? What are your plans for the fu ture? Are you thinking of some Christian ministry? If so, your one prime tool is the Bible. For over a quarter-century ABC has prepared hundreds of young people in its ef fective use. As a Christian worker you’ll learn how to wield this instrument, sharper than any physician’s knife. You’ll discover internal and external evi dences of Scripture providing an in- errant “ rule” of life. You’ll become thoroughly acquainted with this "Library” of books and of its effec tive use. If you plan on the pastorate, mis sion field, evangelism, music, Chris tian education or some other minis try, the Word of God is your tool. The Bible is ABC’s main focal thrust. Our graduates fulfill the scriptural definition of workmen who need not to be ashamed. Master the tool of your trade . . . the Bible . . . at the Arizona Bible College. Learning isn’t an assembly line process at ABC. More classes allow for a better student-faculty relation ship. This means more involvement and personal attention for you. A Christ-centered education is your most important investment for the future. ABC has a distinguished history in providing the best! Write today for a free descriptive catalog. ARIZONA BIBLE COLLEGE
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richard W. dehaan T eacher radio B ible C lass
A LL SICKNESS is notchastening. Lazarus became ill through no fault ofhisown. Jesus just alowed himto suffer anddiethat He might have theopportunity to call him forth from the tomb. In this way Jesus' Divinity wasexhibited to all. Lazarus’ sick ness was“for the glory of God." F. B. Meyerhas discerningly writ en, “The child ofGod isoftencalled to suffer because there is nothing that wil convince onlokers of thereality andpower of true religionas sufferingwil do,when it isborne with Chris tian fortitude. . . Everyone cannot be trusted with trial. All could not standthe fiery ordeal.Some whoare Christians would speak rashly andcomplainingly. Sothe Master has to selectwith careful scrutiny the branches which can stand the knife, andthejewels which canstandthewheel. Itisgiventosome to preach, to others to work, but to others to suffer!”
Have you every heard the legend of the mignonete andthe gravelwalk?The migno nette isaplant that hasgreenishwhitespikes of perfumed flowers. “How fragrant you this morning,” said thegravelwalk. “Yes," saidthe mignonete, “I haverecently been troddenupon andbruised, and it has brought forth all my sweetnes ." "But,” said the gravel walk, “I am trodden on on lifeis obvious.The sanctified sendforth sweetnessthat blessesall who comein con tact with them, while others become hard and bit er under suffering. How do youreactunder adversecircum stances? and I only grow
by Gerald Gooden S o m e is s u e s a g o , an announce ment was made concerning the establishment of a Chris tian Stamp Club. To this date we have heard from approximately 30 of our subscribers and friends who are interested in participat ing in this project. Mr. Gerald Gooden, reference research libra rian for Biola College, has been kind enough to prepare a card file on those who are interested. Included on the reference is in formation as to their special col lections. Names and addresses of other Christian Stamp Club mem bers are available upon request. We would suggest that members write to one another to arrange for potential trading. Several of the potential C h r is t ian Stamp Club members are missionaries and would be willing to assist in securing new issues from the countries in which they are la boring. The largest number o f stamp club members are making a spe cialty of United States collections, while the next larger numbers are specializing in Israel stamps. Oth er fields of special interest include Canada, Great Britain including the British Colonies, as well as Africa, Central America, Colom bia, India, Japan, Mexico, Philip pines and the United Nations. Fields of special interest include the Bible, Christmas, Freedom from Hunger, hunting stamps, post cards, religion, special due stamps, and transportation. Any who have an interest in stamp collections but have not as yet notified THE KING’S BUSI NESS C h r is t ian Stamp Club should do so as soon as possible that you may receive information relative to other members.
are
everyday,
harder.” The commentary
THOT: Just as a certain degree of solar heat is necessaiy to bring the finest fruit to per fection, so is fiery trial indispensable for ripening the inner man.
The above is selected from Our Daily Bread, the devotional guide published monthly by Radio Bible Class. This booklet contains interesting meditations. Scripture portions, poems, and o thought for every day of the month—os written by Richard DeHoan, Henry Bosch, Herbert Vander Lugt, ond the late Dr. M. R. DeHaan. Your copy is waiting for you, free and postpaid. < l l I I I
RADIO BIBLE CLASS Dept. KB Grand Rapids, Michigan Please send free copy and information on how to receive the OUR DAILY BREAD booklet each month.
The Radio Bible Class and Our Daily Bread Broadcasts, w ith Richard D eHaan, are heard wo rldw ide on over 1200 re leases each week. Free Radio Logs for the Radio Bible Class and Our Daily Bread programs are yours for the asking.
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WE FIRE WRITERS? What on earth are you writing those days for Heaven's sake? If you want to write persuasively . . . for file sheer joy of it . . . and for money too, the CHRISTIAN WRITERS GUILD can fire you with enthusi asm for developing your talent. Our home- study course of instruction costs only about S3 per lesson. And you can start selling immediately as our news reporter in your area. Get firedl Write today for REE talent test: CHRISTIAN WRITERS GUILD, Dept. D, La Canada, California 91011.
GIVE YOUR CAR TO MISSIONARIES ON FURLOUGH When you. donate your car, we 8 end you a tax-deductible re ceipt for top retail value. Write: AIM, I k ., (Automobiles In Missions) lex 5151, 6lNdale Cellfomie 91201
Missionary family with A.I.M. car.
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MARCH, 1969
INTRODUCTION: T w o YOUNG STUDENTS, a boy and a girl, hanged I themselves from the ends o f a single rope ■ stretched over the bathroom door of their apartment. The Los Angeles Times reports, “ Stand ing on chairs on opposite sides o f the open door, the couple placed the rope, which was tied around their necks, over the top of the door and then kicked the chairs away.” An 18-year-old girl says, “ I tried to commit sui cide last October. I’ve tried to face reality, but I'm not facing it too well. I slashed my wrists, drank 2 bottles o f paregoric and a bottle of laundry bleach. I bled for ten hours before I told anybody I did it.” “ Bring a tube of glue to the funeral. O.K.?” This pathetic epitaph, five empty tubes o f glue, a rifle and three notes were left by two high school boys who agreed to a suicide pact and then carried it out in a motel room. When police arrived, there lay on the floor, in a pool o f blood, two bullet-rid den bodies, a pair o f glue-soaked rags and the dreams o f a lifetime. A police report described the scene: “ His head and face were covered with gauze, like a mummy. A plastic bag covered the gauze and was taped around his neck. A scuba diver’s mask covered the bag and a rubber hose ran from a gas jet beneath all of it. There were two stab wounds, one on the right side of his throat and another under his right arm. A surgical scalpel was found in another room. A roll of masking tape lay near the body. Written on the side o f the tape in blue ink were the words, T shall return.’ Official listing of the death: as phyxiation.” A mother called to say she had just come home to find her 15-year-old son stark naked hanging by a chain from a tree in the back yard. THE BIG HANGUP! Suicide is now the fourth leading cause o f death among high school students and the second leading killer on the college campus. It has become THE BIG HANGUP! The real issue lies at the point o f motivation. What causes young people to become so fed up, so despondent, so confused, so hopeless, or whatever it is in each case, that self-destruction is the only answert Why is the snicide rate for 15-19-year- olds up 48 percent? Perhaps the answers lie in the following four pressure points that are smacking youth right in the face. I . PURPOSELESSNESS ____________________ The Psalmist said that the ungodly are like the “ chaff which the wind drives away.”
People today are having an almost futile battle trying to discover what life is really all about. There is a pervading vagueness and vapidity about life. A constant search for the meaning of existence goes on. A sense o f purposelessness and meaning lessness grips at the throbbing heart of the will to live and enjoy it. It is a grave problem. Modem literature and film-making, certainly the chroniclers of the times, are plagued by futility and cynicism. Says Dr. P. A. Sorokin, former pro fessor o f Sociology at Harvard University: “There has been a growing preoccupation of our writers with the social sewers, the broken homes of dis loyal parents and unloved children, the bedroom of the prostitute, a cannery row brothel, a den of criminals, a ward of the insane, a club o f dishonest politicians, a street corner gang of teenage delin quents, a hate-laden prison, a crime-ridden water front, the courtroom of a dishonest judge, the sex adventures o f urbanized cavemen and rapists, the lures of adulterers and fornicators, o f masochists, sadists, prostitutes, mistresses, playboys . . .” With a list like that as a historical analysis of the existential 20th century, is there any wonder that man is pounded by the pressure o f the mean inglessness and futility of life? Everything, to be rational, must have a purpose. Nobody plays bas ketball on a court with no baskets just because they get a charge out of dribbling up and down. The basket is the thing! And the agonizing question looms, what is the “ thing” o f life? Young people today are faced with the purpose lessness of life as they view their elders, beginning in the microcosm o f the home and stretching to the macrocosm of the world. In America we have an overabundance o f everything—but mostly an over abundance of nothingness— and “ hell seems often more bearable than nothingness,” according to one writer. Behind the wild music, brilliant lights and blinding colors o f their mad, mod, mini world, there is an almost eerie isolation and loneliness. Jack Fox, UPI writer, commenting on current youth attitudes, has said, “A new disillusionment is spreading in the second half of the 1960s, grow ing out of the earlier one but far more serious, more cynical, more hopeless.” The adult world is just as nonplused about the meaning o f life and provides no real help—in many cases not even the faintest attempt at communication. An 18-year-old Atlanta boy said, “ I don’t think adults value and seek anything. They just live. They don’t have any real goals.” An 18-year-old Washington girl believes that adults “ seek the security o f believing there is a Good and a Bad, and that there is a set order to life.” 79% of the teenagers surveyed by Look Maga zine say their parents annoy them, and 57% would leave home if they could. Dave Hull, a Pasadena,
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Dr. Bob Jones, Sr., used to tell the story o f the young boy who was told that he was to hammer a nail into the bam door each time he did something wrong. He did, and after several years, the door was full of nails. Then he was instructed to pull one out every time he did something right and good. More years passed and finally the nails were all out. In dismay, the boy approached his father and made the most truthful observation, “Dad, it bothers me that the scars are still there.” Sin is like that. It produces scars. Many adults have had their consciences “ seared” and sin has become such a pattern that they are past the point of suffering much from guilt. But youths, in their tender years, times of sensitivity and responsive ness are scarred by sin and guilt is a serious emo tional pressure. Early adolescents and older teens are a large part o f the psychiatric clientele — and sin and guilt have brought them to this, and often to the BIG HANGUP! I I I . PASSION n, The Bible reveals that it is a characteristic of unregenerate man that he is a victim o f passion— evil desire (I Thess. 4:3) and is guided by the lust of his physical body (Eph. 2 :3 ). Man is literally “ guided by his glands.” Perhaps, in the midst of the 20th century sex ual revolution, we are able to see this as clearly as at any time in history. We live in the “ sexy six ties.” Passion is open and advocated. Like Israel of old, we have gone “ a-whoring!” We are ob sessed with sex. Hugh Hefner, vocal propagandist of a barnyard morality set for the gratification of passion at all costs, says, “ Sex is a function o f the body, a drive which man shares with animals like eating, drinking and sleeping; it is a physical de mand that must be satisfied. I f you don’t satisfy it, you will have all sorts of neuroses and repression psychoses. Sex is here to stay. Let’s forget the pru dery that makes us hide from it—throw away those inhibitions, find a girl who is like-minded and let yourself go.” Young people today are on the experimental jag. They are living in a liberated society trying to find answers and because o f the lack o f re straints, the confusion around morality and the search to belong and know fulfillment and meaning in life, have turned to sex. Movies, dirtier than ever, and magazines, as well as TV, are emerging as sexual propaganda media, and the youth of to day are buying what is being sold. But sex is a one-way street to nowhere. Illegiti mate births (101,800 known to unmarried girls 15-19 in 1964, the latest year for figures, and 5,400 known to girls 14 and under) have increased to a scale where teenagers account for 40% o f them. Venereal disease reaps its harvest. According to the American Social Health Association, 1 out of
California, disc jockey, gets as many as 10,000 calls an hour from teenagers. Some telephone just to talk because they say no one at home talks to them. The emptiness of the economic world, — dad either hates his job or spends all his time at it in a mad race to make more money, while isolating his children; the emptiness of the marital world — quarreling parents, lack of love in the home, divorce, insecurity; the emptiness o f the political world—the constant inability to find peace, quell discontents, meet the needs of people and tell the truth—all these characteristics of society bear hard on the aura of purposelessness that pervades our day. Everything seems pointless. Some learn to adjust and join the mass, the mainstream of society, which goes on searching for purpose and meaning. Others are secret “ cop- outs.” On the public side they conform, but there is an unknown dimension to their life. As far as most people know, they are standard stuff, but se cretly they may be involved in sexual activity, fre quent or infrequent use of drugs or some criminal adventures. The blatant “ cop-out” is the Bohe mian, the “ hippie,” the social rebel who breaks all social mores and blasts free of all institutions in a final escapist’s search for reality and purpose. Or maybe he just gives up searching and seeks the oblivion o f drugs and free love and perhaps, ulti mately, the BIG HANGUP! I I . PAST .. --------- The past poses a treacherous threat to the health o f the present. Paul says, in Romans 3, “There is none righteous, no not one . . . there is none that doeth good, no not one.” As a result, he says, in verse 19, every one bears the guilt of his sin before God. Sin produces guilt and guilt is an intolerable burden. Psychologists indicate that the most common denominator in all emotional and re lated problems is guilt, though some have a differ ent name for it. The Bible tells us that it is the common denominator in 100% o f all problems. Man cannot live with guilt. Today’s society is trying to shed guilt by elimi nating its cause—sin. Everything is relative; there is no right or wrong. Sin is, at best, a prenatal pre dilection, an idiosyncrasy of individuality or, per haps even poor secretion of the endocrine glands. But the attempt has failed. There is no escape and man still has to live with sin and guilt: everything from the rash to psychosis results. Young people don’t escape guilt. I cannot num ber the times young people have approached me in a school, camp or at my office and tearfully unbur dened a heart crying for relief from the guilt pro duced by the sin of some tragic moment. Sexual in volvement, cheating, lies to parents, narcotic habits, acts of crime and a multitude of other things have left unbearable imprints that make life miserable.
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every 250 teenagers was infected in 1966; 15-19 year-olds have more incidence of gonorrhea and syphilis than all other age groups combined and doubled. Heartache, depression, anxiety, guilt, so cial disease, condemnation by peers are high prices to pay for a moment of sexual liberty. The words o f the ruined Oscar Wilde are ap propriate—“ I forgot that what one does in secret, he has one day to cry aloud from the housetop.” Passion is a cruel master and often leads to the BIG HANGUP! IV . POTENTIAL___________________________ Solomon, the Preacher in Ecclesiastes, comes to the human conclusion that all man’s effort is van ity—empty, without value and leading to frustra tion. He takes great pains to point out that all the dreams and plans of men are folly. Young people today are faced with the pros pects of their dreams being shattered. The crum bling of the future strikes a bruising blow. A mother cries, “He killed himself because he was drafted and it ruined all his plans.” The threat o f war, war itself, the draft, com petition, vying for grades, girls and the first string can produce either victory or defeat. Setting goals and hopes and plans and finding out that they just won’t be fulfilled can arid does produce tragedy. Everyday teenage dreams come true, while, at the same time, other teenage worlds are shattered. Young people with potential in varying proportions to their dreams are building a glorious world for themselves and often watch it eaten away bit by bit. Even when potential is realized and dreams are fulfilled, the nothingness and vacuum o f success indicate that the reality never matches the dream. I recently stood by the hospital bed of a boy, permanently crippled, whose body was crushed be cause he liked a girl and she dropped him for an other guy. He jumped off the roof of the gym at lunch hour. Teenagers still dream, but the world is too real to make all those dreams come true, and the poten tial o f so many is never realized. They seldom be come what they could have been and, if some do, they find it isn’t what they thought it would be. It is frustration because o f what they are not, or cannot be. Purposelessness, the past, passion and poten tial . . . These general areas simply stated, yet in almost immeasurable complexity, are the factors within varying degrees of mixture that so often result in the BIG HANGUP! The facts indicated in connection with each one o f the cases o f suicide in the introduction o f this article reveal that each o f the four problems is represented by at least one o f the cases. But, climactically, it is at this precise point that
the message o f the person o f Jesus Christ comes with the solution for each area. Purposelessness becomes divine purpose when we see what Paul wrote to Timothy (II Tim. 1 : 9 ) ; “ God, who has saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.” Through the person, Jesus Christ, comes pur pose—divine purpose, as every redeemed child of God becomes an integral part o f God’s divine mas terplan. God made us for a distinct purpose in His eternal plan; without that there is no fulfillment. The person who knows Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour has no problem finding purpose. He is a part of God’s glorious eternal purpose. He has a sense of eternity and indispensability in the operation o f a holy blueprint. And beyond that he has an awareness of absolute success in that pur pose as he proclaims with Paul, “ And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose .” In Jesus Christ, the past bears no consequences. God has removed our sin “as far as the east is from the west,” buried it in the “ deepest sea,” and even God “ remembers it no more.” This coupled with the continual cleansing of I John 1 :9 and the promise of “no judgment” in Romans 8:1 makes guilt a foreign element. God is in the business of forgiving the past. It is Jesus Christ, “ in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness o f sins according to the riches of His grace” (Ephesians 1:7). Then comes the promise “ If any man be in Christ Jesus, he is a new creation; old things are passed away; behold all things are become new’ (II Cor. 5:17). Passion and evil desire are replaced in the new man by a desire for that which is spirit- itual and godly. I Corinthians 2:14-16 shows the contrast between the natural man who cannot un derstand the things of God and the spiritual man, the new creation who has, literally, the mind of Christ. It is through life in Christ that he is able to think on things “ true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report,” and continually “ set his affec tions on things above, not on things on the earth.” As far as potential is concerned, the promise of Ephesians 3:20 is enough to challenge the most creative imagination. Paul says “Now unto Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we can ask or think [did you get that?], according to the power that worketh in us.’ By Christ’s power working through us we can do not only what we dream, but beyond what we dream. Absolute fulfillment is in Christ. Thus, in every area, Jesus Christ becomes the answer to the BIG HANGUP! ¡ ¡ b \
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T h e r e l a t i o n between church and state was of immediate and practical concern to Chris tians from the very first. Jesus handed down the basic canon to render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s and to God the things that are God’s (Matthew 22:21). Peter admonished the be lievers to be subject for the Lord’s sake, to every human institution, whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right (I Peter 2:13, 14). Paul, writing to Rome, the political capital of the world, explained that every person should be subject to the governing authorities: “There is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore he who re sists the authorities resists what God has ap pointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct but to bad. Would you have no fear o f him who is in au thority? Then do what is good, and you will re ceive his approval, for he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain; he is the servant of God to execute His wrath on the wrongdoer. There fore one must be subject, not only to avoid God's wrath, but also for the sake o f conscience. For the same reason, you also pay taxes, for the authorities
are ministers of God, attending to this very thing” (Romans 13:1-6). According to Scripture, governmental authority is not based on a social contract but on the will of God. It is God who wills the existence o f govern ments for the happiness o f mankind. Therefore a government is agreeable to God’s will as long as it promotes that happiness. These biblical principles inform both governments and subjects o f their re spective duties. Starting from a philosophical vantage point, Karl Jaspers expressed his conviction that the basic ideals o f law can only be secured effectively in our lives if force is available for their realization. The idea of law as such can only prevail by allying itself with force. The law is morally based, but its effec tiveness is due to force. Although the rights o f men have been pro claimed ever since the eighteenth century, it has been impossible to give them historical reality. Rights can be made secure only when they command force. An individual can rely only on the rights he possesses by virtue o f his nationality; in other words, by virtue of a power that commands force. He who would rely on the rights of man and tries to do so as a stateless person — and this has been the experience o f the author — will find out that he has actually no rights at all.
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