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ally, hesitatingly - but consistently
- they have been forced to endorse
changes. Neither approach - old–
style dogmatism or present-day con–
fusion - seems really to have
helped humanity.
•
Few Accept Divine Guidance
It appears strange, however, to
see the relics of religion still hanging
on in our ceremonies and in–
stitutions.
In Britain, the Archbishop of
Canterbury crowns the sovereign
Defensor Fidei
-
Defender of the
Faith. He or she is a monarch only
dei gratia,
by the grace of God. In
the United States, the President,
with bis hand on a Bible, is installed
with an oath administered by the
Chief Justice. But few citizens really
take their oaths seriously in the ulti–
mate theological significance. As
theologian Harvey Cox has written,
"No one rules by divine right in
secular society."
Churchgoing can also be seen as a
personal, not truly religious, desire.
American theologian Wili Herberg
has pointed out that going to church
(at least in the United States) is sim–
ply one of the values of American
life. Churchgoing is like apple pie
and hamburgers; it's American.
Sorne people say, "Go to the
church of your choice."
lt
really
doesn' t rnatter which church you go
to, just as long as you go. And if it
doesn' t matter which church you go
to, it obviously makes little differ–
ence what the moral or theological
tenets of that church are. This is in
contrast to the European approach
where church adherence still implies
a degree of belief and practice. And
perhaps that explains why church
attendance in Europe is so low.
But when we come down to the
nitty-gritty of human experience,
few people agree on what kind of
life a human should lead. For ex–
ample, in one German study re–
ported in the
Spiege~
both Catholic
and evangelical Christians were
mostly of the opinion that virginity
18
before marriage was not necessary
(70%).
~ut
who is right - the 70%
majority, or the 30% minority?
In another survey, females were
studied at four universities in four
nations. Approximately 68% of the
Canadians, 78% of the Norwegians,
83% of the Germans and 86% of the
English girls approved of premarital
sex if the individuals involved "had
a relationship of love, protective–
ness, loyalty, and trust" and were
"chronologically and emotionally
mature."
However, under other circum–
stances, such as a no-love relation–
ship, a greater number of girls
might frown on premarital sex.
Then boys might look at the situ–
ation differently; so might parents.
Who is to decide whether premarital
sex is right or wrong? Or does
it
really make any difference? Sex, af–
ter aU, is basic to human life. We
need to know what's right if there is
anything to be known.
If
how you live your life is the
only religion, is abstinence or parti–
cipation in premarital sex "reli–
gious"?
Opinions, Opinions, Opinions
Such disagreement on how to live
one's life permeates most important
areas.
In one Gallup lnternational poll,
40% of the Americans favored and
50% opposed a law which would
permit a woman to go to a doctor to
end a pregnancy at any time during
the first three months. Who is right?
Should abortion under these cir–
cumstances be allowed or not?
Another controversia! issue has
been marijuana. Canadians were
asked in one poli, "It has been sug–
gested that jail sentences for the
possession of marijuana should be
eliminated in favor of fines. Would
you approve of this or not?"
Approximately 41% of the Cana–
dians approved and 45% dis–
approved, with 14% undecided.
Who is right - those who approve
or disapprove? If we are seeking to
discover how to live our lives, where
is the standard by which to pattern
them?
What Standard?
If there is any sure guide for
human living, it must relate to sur–
viva} and happiness in this life; it
must not merely be a stick used to
punish posthumously, on the other
side of the grave. We need a more
sure mora lity than one which
merely says, "Do because 1 say so!"
or "Society says so!"
Are we, then, facing a blank
moral wall? Is humanity left
to
it–
self, with each person doing what–
ever seems right?
The long- time reader of
The
PLAIN TRUTH knows that this maga–
zine recognizes that there is a guide–
book which tells humans how to or–
der their lives. ThankfuUy, man still
has tbat one option open. We can
still ask ourselves if a supreme being
who has created human beings ex–
ists. Naturally, if such a being exists,
then logically, would he not have
given a sort of instruction manual -
a code of ethics - to bis creation?
Part of that manual certainly would
include laws and regulations to gov–
ern human conduct so that the
greatest good for the most people
would be the happy effect.
In the Christian world, that su–
preme being is called "God." And,
incredibly enough, most people still
clairn to believe in him - in spite of
a world which has become secular
and materialistic.
In the United States, 97 out of
100 persons claim
to
believe in God,
according to GaUup lnternational in
a poli published in 1969. Other sim–
ilar polls and studies show that in
sorne areas, professed belief in the
concept of God can range as high as
99.5% of those polled.
Paradoxically, Americans are
among the most "God-believing"
peoples, at least in their easy "yes"
answer to the question. When Gal–
lup lnternational compared Ameri–
cans with citizens of eleven other
PLAIN TRUTH November 1973
·.