0D DISPOSES
Wearner
curity Conference at Dumbarton Oaks, i in Washington,
ordell Hull presiding. At his right is Lord Halifax, the
Andrei A. Gromyko. We also have a view of the desola-
apanese in the Pacific war area. The reconstruc-
)k which the nations are now undertaking.
r a¥:
doms shall forever be vouchsafed to us
and to our children. It is not more
leisure and ease that we crave, but per-
fect health and endless life. These, and
no less than these, can suffice to satisfy
the longing soul of mankind.
The futility of man alone to meet the
deeper more fundamental requirements
of the better future should be clearly ap-
rent to all. Regardless of the increased
arvels of electricity, so long as there is
covetousness and laziness there will be
burglary and theft. Though there be
wealth and luxurious living, so long as
there be jealousy, lust, and selfishness
there will be divorce and broken homes.
Though there be the best of modern
school facilities, so long as parents evade
NOVEMBER — 1944
VAR PLAN
their responsibilities toward their chil-
dren, just so long will there be juvenile
delinquency. All good and necessary
laws notwithstanding, so long as there are
hatred and uncontrolled tempers, just
so long will there be murder. Though
the most powerful nations of earth should
join in a federation to enforce peace, so
long as the present greed, distrust, and"
intrigue continue, just so long will there
be insecurity and in time open conflict
again. These are salient facts which it is
useless to deny or ignore in any plans for
a better postwar world. It is human nature
itself which must undergo a radical change for
the better, otherwise we shall continue to
suffer the consequences.
Recognizing the facts as we have stated
them, the very real danger presenting
(itself is that lawmaking bodies represent-
ing the unconverted majorities will take
to coercion in order to force minorities to
think as they do. A man-made compro-
mise between the great world religions re-
sulting in weakened moral force can never
remedy depraved natures. The God-
forbidden, illicit intercourse of church
and state, which was common in the
Middle Ages, may again endanger free-
dom of religion for minorities. History
teaches in most certain terms that fines
and imprisonment do not create the
desire for a holy life. A term in the
dungeon or on the rack has never made a
man or woman love more the prayer
meeting than the demoralizing movie.
State laws on religion, when enforced,
produce at best a congregation of
hypocrites. The magistrate can never
take the place of the preacher of the
gospel. Enforced religious legislation has
never, and can never, change the native
fibre of human nature. The situation
of birth and the conditions of rearing
determine to a large degree what the
character becomes. Only the miracle of
conversion by the power of God can
bring exceptions to this law of nature.
That religion which is all of God’s giv-
ing finds its power (Romans 1:16) in
union with Him (John 14: 20, 21). The
love of Christ constrains (2 Corinthians
5: 14) to right doing. “The wisdom that
is from above is first pure, then peaceable,
gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of
mercy and good fruits.” James 3:17.
These qualities, which seem foolishness
to the natural man, are mightier than
armies and navies to bring and preserve
peace among men, good will upon the
earth. “One with God is a majority.”
God has plans for the postwar world;
and be assured He is fully able to, and
He will, perform all His desires in the
earth. In future articles we shall set
forth a brief of God’s postwar plans.
The News Interpreted
(Continued from page 2)
tional law against the nefarious booze
traffic, and thus opened the floodgates
so that our nation might be debauched
and degenerated by the ever swelling
tide of alcoholic drink, it is lamentable to
us that the men who would undertake
the problem of determining who shall be
the leaders of this great nation, the
United States of America, and what its
policies shall be for the next four years,
should set before the youth of the land
such a notorious example of indulgence
in intoxicating liquor. Faced with the
greatest plague of juvenile delinquency
the nation has ever known—with drunk-
enness and crime among minor boys and
girls increasing at an alarming rate—it
is a sad commentary on the situation
when the press reports that such a promi-
nent group of leaders in its civic life has
made the days of its national convention
a grand drinking spree. Read Matthew
24: 38, 39.
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