March, 1941
TH E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
SS
Will America,
Like Germany,
Suffer Defeat?
r
By KENNETH M. MONROE* Los Angeles, California
Illustrations by Ransom D . Marvin
And History with all her volumes vast hath but one page.” Ideas and ideals, not mere events, determine history. How, then, is Amer ica’s future being influenced by the thought life of today? In what sort of ground have the gallows been erected? The Ground o f Evolution In the conflict between the early chapters of Genesis and the evolutionary hypothesis, modem American education has definitely east its lot with the lat ter view. If a man today states belief in the fact that God created the world and animal species and man by special acts of creation, that individual is auto matically, in the eyes of the so-called intelligentsia, relegated to the limbo of tfie uninformed. In the fields of the natural and social sciences and even in religious circles, “to have risen from a lower life, however low, seems prefer able to having fallen from a higher life, however high.” It is not our purpose to argue this proposition, but merely to suggest that America’s scaffold is protruding from the ground of evolution. Can it be pleasing to the Creator to have the crown of His creation regarded as “a highly temporary chemical epi sode, the product of resident forces” ?
lence with one word, “Ichabod,” and after some silence the ominous voice in measured cadence added, “And all the nations that forget God.” These words, as seeds, began to grow, take shape, and cast their shadows. Ichabod, literally “where is the glory?” was the name given to a child bom in the dark days of a nation’s life (1 Sam. 4) when the ark, symbol of God’s pres ence and blessing, fell into the hands of enemies. Scripture states of the mother, “ And she named the child Icha bod, saying, The glory is departed from Israel: because the ark of God was taken” (v. 21). It is within a Psalm of David the King that we read, “The wicked shall be. turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.” Momsen, the great historian, writes, “God makes a Bible out of history"; and, it may be added, within this record, for all ages to read, is inscribed, “The finger of time is writing ‘Ichabod’ on the portals of the nation that forgets God.” - Lord Byron read volumes of history and reduced them to a score of words: “First Freedom and then Glory— when that fails, Wealth, vice, corruption— barbarism at last.
[In his last month’s treatment of the theme which heads this page, Dr. Mon- roi showed that German higher criti cism poisoned the minds of Germany’s students, destroying their confidence in the W ord of God. H e further indicated how such philosophies as Schopenhauer s pessimism and Nietzsche’s exaltation of the " superman” carried forward the movement and had a direct bearing upon Germany’s present activities. Thus de nial of God's IVord was shown as caus ing the spiritual defeat apparent in a large sphere of German, life. This month’s article deals with those tenden cies in the basic thought life of America that menace our own nation. — E ditor .} PART it. A ND I SAW, as ta a dream, a / \ huge scaffold being raised over X X the land of America. The ground was firm, the uprights set in concrete. The crosspiece was in place, well braced on each side. * The noose dangled in space. And as I mused on the meaning of all I saw, a voice penetrated the si-
* Dtan, Bible Institute 0 / Los Angeles.
Made with FlippingBook Online newsletter