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tory. In Churchill's words, Corporal
Hitler was "the repository of the
most vi rulent hatreds ever to cor–
rode the human breast."
Many of his subjects looked upon
him as no less than a god. A Reich
minister once sa id: "God has re–
vealed himself in Adolph Hitler."
Hermann Góring actually mouthed:
" l have no conscience. My con–
science is Adolph Hitler." Said a
Rhenish group of German Chris–
tians: "Hitler's word is God's law;
the decrees and the laws which rep–
resen! it possess divine authority."
Finally a churchwarden in Ger–
many said: "Christ has come to us
through Adolph Hitler."
God spare us from future would–
be saviors in the ftesh who would
lead the rest of us human beings
lemming-like over sorne senseless
cliff of military adventurism which
might result in the extermination of
mankind.
Dictatorships are on the ri se; free–
doro is oo the decline. We've gottoo
many would-be champions, too
many deliverers and saviors with
the power of smaU armies behind
them, too many false messiahs with
the awesome potential for nuclear
weaponry in their nations.
Meanwhile what has been good
abou t traditional Christianity has
been on the decline. The authority
of the Bible itself has been eroded
by the events of the last hundred
years.
Attacks Against Religlon in the
Western World
The first major attack on the Chris–
tian religion carne in the form of
evolution. Darwinism carne into its
own at about the turn of the cen–
tury. Bíblica! authority was threat–
ened! The growth of evolutionary
science began to a ttack the very un–
derpinnings of Christianity. The fa–
mous Scopes tria! featuring William
Jennings Bryan vs. Clarence Da rrow
focused national attention on the
controversy. Religion carne out sec–
ond best on that one.
Secondly carne the growth of in–
ternational communism. Millions
upon uncounted millions were swal–
lowed up by the communist orb.
They are hopelessly lost so far as
Christianity appears to view it.
Their minds have been given over
18
to a completely alíen, anti-Christian,
anti-God philosophy.
Th e third attack was the on–
sla ught of sciencc and technology –
the unparalleled g rowth of the
Western world into a virtual space–
age technocracy. Traditional forms
of religion have found themselves
running scared. They have been un–
able to cope with the challenges of a
computer-oriented world.
Twelve-minute sermons have not
met the needs of the average ci tizen
plagued by crime on the streets,
unemployment, runaway inftation.
unacceptable tax rates, and a rap–
idly dissolving family structure. No
wonder people are wondering why
they need religion!
The Failure of Religion in
Everyday Lite
What does the average person con–
verse about during the week? Chica–
nery and corruption in every leve! of
government. lmmorality. Drought.
The price ofbeans and beef. Sky-high
gasoline prices. Fear of crime. The
sa fety ofhis chi ldren on the way home
from school. Racial problems in the
community. Busing. Nuclear parity
with Russia. Who is number one in
conventional forccs? The latest hor–
rible school bus accident !
Then why should it be any differ–
ent on the day in which people wor–
ship God? Should not religion help
solve sorne of these daily difficultics,
help people understand the appar–
ent insolubility of others, inspire
good questions, lead people to com–
prehend impending future events,
and influence people to alter their
personal life-style?
Why should religion be in a com–
pletely ditferent world from the
pr actica!, workaday one in which
people live? Can anyone be com–
pletely satisfied with eloquent but
ambiguous, unclear, pabulum-like
sermons that bear Little relevance to
either a person's prívate problems
or those he may face as a citizen of
the world? Are soft words, soothing
tones, smooth gestures, platitudes,
and the like going to answer the big
questions of life?
Religion should have everything
to do with both understanding inter–
national problems and solving the
individual day-to-day problems of
home, family , job, health, personal
economy, etc. Religion should not
be confined to one little corner of
your life.
lt
ought to be at the very
center of your daily life! But rc li–
gion and particularly the "Chris–
tian" brand in the Western world
has failed
10
discharge its duty to its
adherents. Religion, to a large dc–
gree, is responsible for the moral
chaos in our Western world!
,
The Big Questlons
Religion is simply not practica! un–
less it answers the big questions of
life we all wonder about. questions
like: ls there a God? Does God have
a writteo message for mankind? ls
Lhe collection of books that make
U
p
the Bible his word to humankind?
Why did God pul us on this earth in
the first place? Wha t about the
future? What is death, and is
there any afterlife on out into
eternity?
lf your religion does not answer
these questions in a pragmatic, tech–
nical sense, what good is it? The
imponderables of religion ought
lO
be logically answered and not by
sorne will-o'-the-wisp. hazy notion
of heaven or the like.
Religion should give you the ulti–
mate securi ty of knowing what líes
beyond this life. And it ought to
help you solve your practica! prob–
lems in the here and now. l f it
doesn't, there's something wrong
somewhere.
lf you're interested in what reli–
gion really ought to be about. write
for your free subscription to
The
Good News
magazine, a sister publ i–
cation to
The Plain Truth
magazine.
The Good News
magazine por–
trays in easily uilderstood language
the history, scope, intent, and mean–
ing of ancient biblical writings and
their applications to today's world.
Topics range from the real purpose
of human life now toa future resur–
rection. lt includes informative arti–
cles on such subjects as prophecy,
marriage, and family life.
To obtain your free subscription,
just write us and request
it.
Refer to
the inside front cover fo r the ad–
dress oearest you, or better ye t, if
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fornia, Alaska, or Hawaii, please
dial 1-2 13-577-5225.) o
The
PLAIN TRUTH January 1977