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Gamer
Ted
Armstrong
. SPIAKS OUTI
Spiritual Poverty
'
he ac:count is empty. The hol–
low prayer is a rubber check.
Gestures al r&ligion are coun–
terfeit currency. Red ink is
everywhere; the checkbook is lake.
The church is in the hands of the
receivers . The professional auction–
eers might try to salvage the cande–
labra, the holy water, or the choir
robes. Religion is bankrupt.
The United States of Americe is
spiritually ·sick. You don't believe it?
Then take a look at the shocking
downward plunge of strong moral–
ity,
the alarming rise in crime; the
déstruction of 'noma and family, the
• shining trends of youth's values, the
almost unbelievable defeat in the
global geopolitical arena, the lack of
trua patriotism, the emptiness of
hollow religious ceremony.
lt 's
ebout time we took
e
close
look at our sporitual bank account;
about time we checked the personal
records with those kept above;
about time we surveyed in detail the
moral end social precepts upon
which our entire cultural system is
based.
Startling changas have beén
oc–
curring to us at en incredible pace.
Uving a clean " moral" lile is no
longar thought
10
be valid or mean–
ingful in today's chaotic world of
~e
featism and frenzied search for
fulfillment. While America 's youth,
broadly speaking, believed in living
a clean moral lile (77% did prior to
the agonies of the 60's), that per–
centage dropped from 77% to 57%
by 1973 among non<ollege youths.
In the colleges and universities,
where " education" is disseminated
(&long with powerful doses of evolu–
tion. cynicism, nihilism and hope–
lessness). the percentage dropped
from 45% down to 34%. That's
right, only 34% of tomorrow's lead–
ers believe in the values of " living a
clean moral lite."
Believe that hard work elways
pays off? Then you're becoming
more and more
a
rare specimen, for
non<ollege youths
~urveyed
proved
only 56% presently accept that prin–
cipie, and for their fellows in college
14
classes it was only 44%. What
about casual premaritat sexual rela–
tions? Are they mo1'1111y wrong? Until
the violent 60's vinually destroyed
America's youth with its runaway
beat, hippie, nowheresville scene
complete with wild rock festivals
and the growing drug culture, a
fairly strong 57% still believed such
relationships were definitely wrong .
Today. emong non-college youths it
is only 34%. Those in college, sup–
posedly
more
educated. dropped
from 34% to only 22% today. So
much for America 's future homes
and tamilies: .
"'
•
In this time of tremendous dis–
equilibrium abroad and search for
new assessments of America ' s
meaning in the whole world, what
about the basic feelings of
··pa–
triotism, " of deep love of country.
our Constitution and precious free–
doms, our American way of lile, and
our flag? lt has plunged from 60%
to 40% among non-coltege youths,
and ebbed away to a mere 19% of
today's college generation who
place any value whatsoaver on "pa–
triotism." Sick.
Religion? lt too is ebbing away -
though surprisingly not quite so fast
as patriotism (perhaps many parents
think of their hide-bound religious
traditions as more importan! than
patriotic notions). Religion as an im–
ponant moral force declinad from
64% to 42% among non-coltege
youths, and from 38% to 28%
among those in higher education .
Strangely, though , the same
group of youths surveyed iltustrated
a definite
desire
to find relief from
stress on ··material goats."
ls there any obvious picture here?
A
stark shift in altitudes toward
sex, morality, fami ly, the wor'k ethic,
and religion - yet at the same time
a definite desire to find meaning to
lite, to find goals
above
those of a
predominatety materialistic world .
Why?
Simple. The strongest possible
form of education is the totality of all
that is most widely " accepted" in
society itsel f. With the growing
trend of public nudity (topless and
bottomless bars, nudity on the
stage, increasing nudity and explicit
material even in " R" rated movies).
largor and larger parcentages of the
population gradualty find it accept–
able.
With the sensetionalized cases of
"transsexual " operations, bisexual–
ity, homosexuality (with the " gay
liberation movement" much in the
news, along with "gay churches"
no less), and transvestism, the pub–
líe gradualty loses i ts ability for out·
rage. No matter how much you
might protest, it seems the frenzied
mob mood prevails. Says Dr .
Charles Socarides, a New York psy-
With hollow sermons
echoing the
poetry
of
deceasedclerics, or the
carefully phrased,
sanctimoniously said,
metaphorically mouthed
nonsense of the "inner
you," the pulpit has
lost its
power.
chiatrist, " They're selling a phony
sexual utopía in which the kingdom
of the orgasm will supposedly re–
place the house of the ego.'· The
public laughs at the continua!
stream of blatantly homosexual
overtones in major network
TV
-en–
tertainment (including, Johnny Car–
son and his guJISIS, Dean Martin,
Flip Wilson. and others), and gradu–
ally finds what used to be callad
"queer' ' (everyone but me and thee, '
Martha. and sometimes
1
find myself
wondering even about thee) some–
thing others are " in" to.
With the U.S. Suprema Coun
afraid, unwilling, or unable to deter–
mine just what is and is not "dirty,"
an avalancha of prurient, explicit
material has flooded the newsstands
and the entirety of the entertainment
media. lt graduatly changos the
moral standards of a whole culture.
Watergate - the sensational di–
vu lgement almost daily of the
bribes. kickbacks, peyoffs, and the"'
larga sums made subsequently
. wflen those so convicted sell either
speeches or memoirs about how
they did it also iakes its totl . Dis–
illusionment, no. almost total dis–
trust toward govemment is rampant.
With America' s white collar embez–
zlers , thieves. con-artists. petty
cheats, and larcenists making the
professionals look like pikers by
comparison; with the movies show–
ing huge bank heists as a fantast i–
cally funny "heist" where everyone
gets away with it and laughs forever
alter, il's no wonder values on " hard
work" and " fair play" and " hon–
esty" are sliding into ignominy.
With hollow serrnons echoing the
poetry of deceased cterics, or the'
carefulty phrased, sanctimoniously
said, metaphorically mouthed non–
sense of the " inner you" the pulpit
has lost its power. Not many pastors
DARE. in today's context, to stant! up
and THUNDER at their congregations
about sin . Factually, thousands
don't even knowwHAT SIN ts!
Make no mistake about it. We are
SPIRITUALLY impoverished.
God's Word says, "Your whole
head is sick, your whole heart is dos–
eased; lrom the sole of the foot to
the head, no pan is sound; noth–
ing but bruises and gashes, and
raw, bleeding wounds . .• -–
(lsa. 1:5 , 6 , Moffatt) .
What will save Americe is NOT
more super carriers.
not
the "reas–
sessmenl'' of our foreign policy;
it is
the building of our /Hsic institutions
which neads immediate construc–
tion, and the reassessment of our
SPIRITUAL VALUES which needs our
most critica! attentionl A Congress
on its knees could do more in fifteen
minutes of heartfelt prayer for our
country than the next 20 sessions of
a Congress try¡ ng •IC>>4ight its way
through party and personal inter–
ests.
Our country is spiritually sick. lt
isn't too late to find a cure - but.
unless
we do. the disease could be
terminal.
O
The Multiple
Tragedies
of Ethiopia
by
Uam
Nolen
The aulh<>r. 11 noted lrish radio com–
mentator
•nd
news
11n11Jyst
just
,.,.
tumed from Ethiopi11. Hís current book
on Ethiopill ís entitled
The
Forgonen
Famine.
1t
came
u no
real
surprise tome wbeo
the fi.rst
craclcs
begao
to appear in the
structure of the
new
regime in Ethiopia.
Like
so
many otbers,
1
was appalled by
the executions of over
60
former
lligh
officials, but
1
also realized
that Etluopia
had uodergone
a
fearful famioe whicb
had killed thousaods of
times
tbat num–
ber.
About
100.000
of
Ethiopia's pc:ople
had d.ied m.iserably
fiom
famioe or fam–
ine-related
causes.
lo
the provioces of
Wollo aod Tigre,
nonb
of the capital
Add.is Ababa, feeder roads
are
none~
istcn•.
There
is
jus¡ one
mllin
trllllSport
artery that stretcbes from
Asma.ra
in
the
nonh to Addis.
Jt
twists, climbs aod dips
its tortuous way through the mountains
and
across the Oat, arid
plaios.
WEEK ENDINO MAY 24, 197S