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LEHRE UNO WEHRE
MAGAZIN FUER Ev.-LUTH. HOMILETIK
THEOLOGICAL QUARTERLy-THEOLOGICAL MONTHLY
Vol. IV September, 1933 No.9
CONTENTS
Biblical Ethics Concerning Young People. P. E. Kretzmann
Wie muss Gottes Wort gepredigt werden, damit Glaube
entatehe in den Herzen der Zuhoerer? F. Pieper •.••••
Objective lustification. Th. Engelder ••..•.••.••..•..••••
Das Verhaeltnis der gratia universalis zur Gnadenwahl.
P. E. Kretzmann •..•••••••
Propositions Concerning the Election of Grace.
Page
841
653 v
684
676
P. E. Kret2mann •• . • • • • • •• 682
Die Hauptschriften Luthers in chronologischer Reihenfolge 685
Dispositionen ueber die altkirchliche Epistelreihe ........ 686
lliscellanea. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . .. 692
Theological Observer. - Kirchlich ·Zeitgeschichtliches . . .. 696
Book Review. - Literatnr. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 713
Ein Prediger mUBB niOOt alleln tDeidM,
alao u.. er die Bchate unterwellle, wie
oie rechte 0brI&ten lOlleD aeiD, lOodem
aum daoeben den Woelfen weArm, dua
lie die Bchate Dicht usreIfen lIOd mit
talscber Lehre nrtuehren IIOd Irrtum em·
fuehren. - Luther.
Es ilit kein D~. du die Leate mehr
bel der Kirche behaelt deDD die pte
Predigt. - Apolol1ie. Ar'. t~.
If the t rumpet gift In UDCertain IOUDd,
Ivho shall prepare himaelf to the battle,
1 Oor'~J8.
Published for the
Ev. Luth. Synod of Missouri, Ohio, and Other States
CONCOlmIA. :PUBLISHING HOUSE, St. Louis, lito.
Concordia
Theological Monthly
VOL. IV SEPTEMBER, 1933 No.9
Biblical Ethics Concerning Young People.
Every age has its iconoclasts, and youth is ever the age of
iconoclastic tendencies. But when factors of history and the economic
conditions of a country combine to make such tendencies unusually
prominent, the combination may prove extremely dangerous, if not
disastrous to traditional ethical concepts. If the opinions of prom-
inent educators, economists, and sociologists count for anything at all
in this postwar period and in these days of economic depression, we
are obliged to look upon our present age and generation as one which
has been caught in a double flood-wave of iconoclastic tendencies and
endeavors, on which account certain phenomena of individual and
social behavior have been accentuated. If we add to these considera-
tions the fact that the Lord Himself, in His eschatological sayings,
refers to the increase of unrighteousness and the decrease of genuine
love and piety in the age preceding the Last Day, we have some
serious reasons for grave apprehensions at this time. There is no
doubt that the barriers between the Ohurch and the world, also be-
tween our Lutheran Zion and the mass of unbelievers and enemies
of the Savior, have been weakened or, in many cases, entirely removed
and that worldliness, in an increasing number of instances, is entering
our congregations like a devastating flood. Whether the uncertainty
in matters of doctrine, the indifferentism, the unionistic tendencies
which are so evident in large parts of the Ohurch, are to be considered
as cause or as effect with regard to the general situation may be
a debatable question, but the facts are incontrovertible.
In view of these facts it behooves every faithful pastor to make
a most careful study of the situation as it confronts him in his own
parish, not only with reference to strengthening the cords of doctrinal
stability, but also with regard to giving the proper balance to the
precepts of 'ethical guidance. His concern must be not only for an
appreciation of general Biblical ethics, but for the understanding and
the application of that portion of Biblical ethics which applies to
41
642 Biblical Ethics Concerning Young People.
young people of the adolescent and postadolescent age in pa1'ticular.
For it certainly is true that the Bible places particular emphasis upon
many ethical points as they apply to young people, both in warning
them against specific sins and in admonishing them to give them-
selves to the Lord in genuine self-surrender and consecration. David
pleads with the Lord: "Remember not the sins of my youth nor my
transgressions," Ps. 25, 7. The prophet Jeremiah states: "It is good
for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth," Lam. 3,27. In Ps.
71,17 David declares: "0 God, Thou hast taught me from my youth."
In Ps.119, $) we are instructed: "\Vherewithal shall a young man
cleanse his way ~ By taking heed thereto according to Thy ".tV ord."
In Prov. 1, 4 Solomon speaks of the purpose of his book: "to give
subtilty to the simple, to the young man knowledge and discretion."
In 1 John 2, 13 f. both instruction and training in Biblical truth are
presupposed: "I write unto you, young men, because ye have over-
come the Wicked One. . .. I have written unto you, young men, be-
cause ye are strong and the Word of God abideth in you and ye have
overcome the Wicked One." With all these precepts in mind, we can
well understand the enthusiastic invitation of the inspired writer in
Eccl. 11, 9: "Rejoice, 0 young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart
cheer thee in the days of thy youth and walk in the ways of thine
heart and in the sight of thine eyes; but know thou that for all these
things God will bring thee into Judgment." For that reason the text
cont.inues: "Remember, now, thy Oreator in the days of thy youth,
while the evil days come not nor the years draw nigh when thou shalt
say, I have no pleasure in them."
It would manifestly exceed the limit of space allowed for a single
article if all the passages of Holy Scripture pertaining to the moral
conduct of young people were treated. The object of this presentation
therefore is to call attention only to such features of the situation
found in our circles as seem to call for discussion at this time. For
that reason it is presupposed that all the young people who hold
membership in our congregations have been carefully and thoroughly
indoctrinated, that they are familiar with the truths of their Oate-
chism and therefore with the chief doctrines of the Bible, and that
they have a fairly clear notion of Ohristian consecration and steward-
ship. By way of summary it will, then, be necessary, in opening this
discussion, merely to point to the chief duties which every Ohristian,
and therefore also every young member of our congregations, owes to
his God. These duties have been listed by various authors, and their
outlines usually include: the duty to recognize and to know God; to
exercise oneself in daily repentance before Him; to accept His for-
giveness and His gracious offer of salvation in connection with such
daily repentance; to love, trust, and obey Him; to walk before Him
in this world of sin with a consistent endeavor of genuine consecra-
Biblical Ethics Concerning Young People. 643
tion; to proclaim and defend the Gospel as taught in the Word; to
bear the chastisement of the Lord without murmuring; to look for-
ward to eternal fellowship with the Savior and the heavenly Father as
the fruition of the mystical union enjoyed here on earth. (Cp. Keyser,
A Manual of Ohristian Ethics, 110 fl.)
In this connection the duty of worship and prayer should receive
special consideration. The Lord says, Ps. 148, 12. 13: "Both young
men and maidens, old men and children, let them praise the name of
the Lord." But if young people are to take an intelligent part in
public worship, in the congregations, Ps. 26, 12, it is necessary for
pastors and other leaders of young people to provide such information.
It is true that every congregation has the right to choose and to use
its own order of services, but a decent respect for the liturgical prin-
ciples enunciated by Luther in his great classics in the field, namely,
in his Formula Missae of 1523 and in his Deutsche Messe und Ord-
nung des Gottesdienstes of 1526, as well as a proper regard for the
position taken by the German Lutherans in connection with the
Leipzig Interim ought to move us to adopt some form of truly Lu-
theran service and to observe a sensible uniformity in our orders of
worship. Our young people complain, and with some show of justice,
that they are becoming confused by the multiplicity of home-made
services. Our synodical book of worship may have some :flaws, but
this does not justify the existing confusion in the matter of public
services in our midst. If our young folks will be shown the marvelous
beauty of the services adopted by our Synod and drilled in their
use with proper understanding, we may expect an intelligent attention
at public worship. - Similarly the matter of private and public prayer
may well be made the subject of special study for young people. No
matter whether the foundation of such understanding and practise
has been laid in the parish-school and the Sunday-school or not,
further information and training should be given in the adolescent
and the postadolescent age. We must remain aware of the fact that
Scripture so frequently speaks of prayer, exhorting all Christians to
be active in this important form of communication with God.
Cpo Matt. 6, 5; 26, 41; Luke 18, 1; 22, 43; John 16, 23; 1 John 3,
19-22; Rom. 8,26. Christ Himself prayed in the forms of petition,
thanksgiving, and praise, Matt. 11, 25; 14, 23; Luke 6, 12; Matt.
26,36 fl.; John 17, 1 fl.; 11,41. Prayer is the specific means of growth
in the inner life; it represents one of our chief forms of approach to
God If young people are taught to connect prayer with the con-
templation of the Word of God, applying its truths to particular
circumstances, they are given one of the finest forms of ethical
training. They will then also be able to use spontaneous or ex-corde
prayers whenever this is necessary. As Dorner says (System of
Christian Ethics, 429): "It is not difficult if only we do not try, in
644 Biblical Ethics Concerning Young People.
the words we use in prayer, to appear better than we really are, but
bring before God in a childlike, natural, and in artificial way what
we feel and what we long for. Only we must not aim at speechifying,
Matt. 6,7; on the contrary, prayer had better be short than too long.
It helps us to pray from the heart if we divide our prayer into thanks-
giving, deprecation, petition, and intercession." If young people are
to lead a prayer-life, let us provide instruction and training for them .
.Another very important factor in Biblical ethics for young people
is the matter of regulwr activity, W'ork or employment, a fixed voca-
tion, especially after the middle adolescent and in the postadolescent
age. The Bible makes this a very serious matter. We are told:
"If any would not work, neither should he eat. For we hear that
there are some which walk among you disorderly, working not at all,
but are busybodies. Now, them that are such we command and
exhort by our Lord Jesus Ohrist that with quietness they work and
eat their own bread," 2 Thess. 3, 10-12. That this applies to men is
evident even from the declaration of God after the fall of man; "In
the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat breud till thou :tetunl unto the
ground," Gen. 3, 19. The number of times that we find the words
work and Zabor in the Bible is an indication of God's order with
regard to man after the Fall. .And this is true also of women; for
we :find abundant evidence that they also were included in God's order
that human beings should be active in working for their living. That
women were housekeepers, that they went to draw water, that they
ground the grain for the daily measure of meal- all this is told over
and over again in the Bible.
In our days we speak almost entirely of vocati.ons for women,'
but it is a question whether our drifting away from the ideals set
forth in Holy Scripture has not resulted in a condition that is far
from ideal. According to Holy Writ the highest and most honorable
calling and vocation of a Ohristian woman is to be a wife and mother,
the helpmeet of a faithful husband. Rudisill (The Intimate Problems
I of Youth, p.95) is right when he states; "Let no girl conceive that {j there is anything higher or nobler than wifehood and motherhood.
No girl ever tastes the highest joys that life affords who never has
a child of her own and presides over her own home." Yet we find
according to the United States Oensus Report that the proportion of
women per thousand in the eight grand divisions of employment is the
following: 2 are in "Public Service," 25 are in "Transportation,"
78 are in "Trade" or "Business," 119 are in "Professional Service,"
127 are in "Agriculture, Forestry, and .Animal Husbandry," 167 are
numbered with "Olerical Help," including stenographers, clerks, book-
keepers, etc., 226 are in "Manufacturing and Mechanical Industries,"
and 256 are in "Domestic and Personal Service." These figures ought
to be compared with the fact that the Bible speaks of women as
Biblical Ethics Concerning Young People. 645
home-makers or housekeepers, 1 Tim. 5,14; Titus 2, 4, as taking care
of the poor and the needy, 1 Tim. 5, 10, as sewing for the poor, Acts
9,39, as performing the work of a deaconess or being similarly em-
ployed, Rom. 16, 1 fl., and as teaching, said especially of that which
older women ought to do in instructing the younger women. It will
undoubtedly be best for us to return to the scope of feminine activities
referred to in the Bible, particularly in emphasizing the ideal of the
wife and mother in the home. Economists are certainly right when
they ascribe much of the present unbalanced condition of the world
not only to overproduction and high-pressure salesmanship, but also
to labor-saving devices which give women leisure of a kind that is not
always wholesome and to the fact that women in the industries, in
business, and in the professions have upset the equilibrium of society
and of public life. It is not a question of mental ability, but of
a fundamental principle of God's order. - As for the occupation, or
vocation, of young men, the chief point of Biblical ethics is contained
in such passages as enjoin industry and stability. The Book of
Pl'Ovel'bs is full of such injunctions, as in chap. 26, 14: "As the door
turneth upon his hinges, so doth the slothful upon his bed"; and
again, Provo 6, 6: "Go to the ant, thou sluggard." And as for
stability, dependability, and faithfulness, the words of Ps. 37,3 apply:
"Trust in the Lord and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and
verily thou shalt be fed."
The question of vocations Hnd emnloyment naturally leads to that
of association with others; for it is inevitable that contacts are made
which may become very important factors in the lives of young
people. If they work in the same shop, in the same office, in the same
institution, with a number of others, there is a bond of common in-
terests which is bound to draw them together at least in some measure.
We :find associations of workmen and of fellow-craftsmen in the land
of Israel as well as in Greece and Rome, in the first century of the
Ohristian era as well as in the Medieval Age. In our days the power
of gilds, or unions, is so great in many instances as to render it
almost, if not entirely, impossible for a person to obtain work unless
he is connected with such an organization. In most cases of this kind,
where it is a matter of mere business, professional, or industrial as-
sociation or relationship, the word of the apostle applies: "I wrote in
an epistle not to company with fornicators; yet not altogether with
the fornicators of this world or with the covetous, or extortioners, or
with idolaters; for then must ye needs go out of the world," 1001'.
5,9. 10. It is clear, then, that contacts established in business, pro-
fessional, and civic life, even if made with unbelievers or with such
as do not share our religious views, are not prohibited in the Word of
God. Membership in a civic organization, in a nature-study club,
in a literary society, in a workmen's organization, or in any other
646 Biblical Ethics Concerning Young People.
similar institution is not in itsclf wrong; it may even be advisable
for a Ohristian to hold such memberships for the sake of the injunc-
tion that we should seek the peace of the city, J er. 29,7. If a Ohris-
tian has certain abilities and talents which he can well place in the
service of his fellow-citizens, or if he has an opportunity to gain some
useful information for his position in life or by way of enlarging his
mental horizon, it would be a false attitude for him to take if he
should keep aloof from such contacts.
At the same time it should be noted that these relationships must
be kept strictly on the plane of professional, industrial, and educa-
tional contacts. Social contacts with unbelievers, with children of
this world, involving personal intimacy with such as are in the camp
of the enemy, is contrary to many clear words of Holy Scripture. The
Apostle John writes: "Love not the world, neither the things that
are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father
is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and
the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is
of the ~world. And the world passeth away and the lust thereof; but
he that doeth the will of God abideth forever," 1 John 2, 15-17. This
is so clear that comment is superfluous. Equally emphatic are two
statements from the epistle of James, 1,27: "To keep himself un-
spotted from the world," and 4, 4: "Know ye not that the friendship
of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend
of the world is the enemy of God." In a similar vein St. Paul writes,
Rom. 12,2: "Be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed
by the renewing of your mind." And again: "Be not ye therefore
partakers with them. . .. Have no fellowship with the unfruitful
works of darkness, but rather reprove them," Eph. 5,7. 11. And
St. Peter is just as clear in warning against social intimacy with un-
believers. Hc speaks in a general way of "having escaped the COrTUP-
tion that is in the world through lust," 2 Pet. 1,4, and he writes with
regard to the more pronounced forms of enmity against the truth:
"They think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess
of riot, speaking evil of you," 1 Pet. 4,4. And what was it that many
of these people indulged in ~ The apostle's list is: lasciviousness,
lusts, excess of wine, revelings, banquetings [drinking-bouts], and
abominable idolatries. Although, even according to Holy Writ, there
are degrees of worldliness, from the finer form, which is essentially
a spirit of tolerance, to the worst form, which is open enmity and
blasphemy against Ohrist and the Ohristian religion, yet the Lord's
command is: "Go out from among them, and be ye separate." Ohris-
tians are not to be partakers with them, they are not to join them or
place themselves on a level with them. When Dinah, the daughter
of Jacob, went out to see the daughters of the land, she lost her honor,
Gen. 34, 1. 2. When Demas, who had been in the immediate circle of
Biblical Ethics Concerning Young People. 647
the Apostle Paul's associates, 001. 4, 14, loved this present world, he
left the Ohurch and associated himself with the enemies, 2 Tim. 4,10.
It is therefore necessary to warn our young people against the dangers
of becoming too intimate with the children of this world even in the
matter of games and sports. Lotto parties, bridge parties, bunco
parties, and similar gatherings with children of the world may seem
innocuous enough, but Biblical ethics does not approve of such social
intimacies with "outsiders," since the situation is fraught with too
much danger. The same is true in the field of outside sports and
games, which presently are to be considered from another angle. The
course pursued in many of our congregations, according to which
enough social intercourse among young people is offered within our
own circles, in summer conferences (Walther League camps) and in
winter conferences, in educational and social meetings, in oratorical
and writing contests, in competitive sports between teams representing
various young people's societies and organizations, is undoubtedly the
correct one and should receive the heartiest endorsement of our
pastors. To warn against false social contacts without providing
wholesome relationships is to discourage the young people, CoL 3,21.
Before following this line of thought any further, let us consider
the question of the Fourth Oommandment, particularly as it applies
to the late adolescent and postadolescent age. That obedience is en-
joined upon children who have not reached the years of personal
responsibility is so clearly shown in Holy Scripturo that a mere
reference to a number of passages should suffioe. In the Book of
Proverbs alone the negative side is set forth in 13, 1 b; 15, 5 a. 20 b;
17,25; 19,13. 26; 20,20; 28,24, all the stages from the despising of
parents to the cursing of them being pictured. On the positive side
we have passages in Provo 4, 1 ff.; 6,20; 13,la; 15, 5b. 20a; 17,6b;
2:3,22 ff.; 30,7. In the same way the New Testament sets forth the
cardinal virtue of obedience, an obedience simple, direct, absolute;
an obedience that leaps to do the will of father or mother; an obe-
dience that is not accompanied by growling and complaining; an
obedience in the parent's absence as well as in his presence; an
obedience of which love is the basis and the inspiration. This obe-
dience is enjoined in Eph. 6, 1 f.; 001. 3, 20; 1 Tim. 3,4; Titus 1, 6.
As Dorner writes (l. c., 551): "Obedience must not only be rendered
when the child is convinced that the will of the parents is substantially
right. For if children were only to obey under these conditions, they
would then merely obey themselves. On the contrary, parents must
stand in God's stead to the child, and the formal obligation of obe-
dience must extend to matters which as yet he does not understand
and for which the parents alone can be responsible. Filial love is
maintained by reverence and gratitude towards parents, in accordance
with the example of Ohrist, Luke 2, 51 f." /
648 Biblical Ethics Concerning Young People.
But what about the relation .of young people to their parents
after the years of discretion have been reached, especially in the late
adolescent and postadolescent age, when the young people are possibly
earning a part or all of their own living? Here circumstances will, in
a measure, decide the relationship. The statement of Marsh (Youth
of America, 12) is worth considering: "As the years bring personal
accountability and responsibility to the son or the daughter, honor
changes color in a certain sense, and obedience gives place to respect."
And later he says (p.19) that children should remember "that adoles-
cence or postadolescence does not nullify or abrogate all of the
relationships and conditions of earlier life." It is true that relative
obedience alone may be exacted by parents during this age of the
young people, and if the latter are dismissed from their childhood
home, either by marrying and setting up their own household or by
moving into a bachelors' or a bachelor girls' home in order to have
more freedom than that which may be afforded in a crowded home,
the changed relationships will easily be adjusted. But if young people
dependent upon their parents, either totally· or in part, wish to enjoy
the privileges and benefits, the shelter and guidance, of their child-
hood home, a feeling of reciprocity alone would suggest the observance
of the rules .of the home. If nothing else, a due consideration for the
authority of the parents in the home would demand such respect as
well as a consultation requested by the children in case such rules
should bc suspended for any particular reason in any particular in-
stance. Dorner's words on this point are well worth considering:
"The greatest difficulty of all arises at the period of transition from
minority to full maturity. It is difficult for parents to hit the due
measure of independence to be accorded to their children. On the one
hand, parents should keep clearly in mind that their children must
be bound to them by ties of confidence and gratitude; at the same
time it is no less incumbent upon the children to remember that, even
should their emancipation be long in coming, they ought not to assert
their rights and claims or the duties of their parents toward them;
for mere duty and justice form an alien and a fatal point of view
for the warm affection which ought to characterize the whole sphere of
family and married life. It is far better that children should remain
in subjection to their parents longer than is necessary than that they
should assert their liberty in mistrust and thanklessness. It must
not be left to children to decide for themselves when they should be-
come independent; here, too, there must be an objective testimony
coinciding with subjective opinion." (P. 551 f.) The Bible tells chil-
dren that they are "to requite parents; for that is good and acceptable
before God," 1 Tim. 5, 4. We read of Jacob that he was a plain man,
dwelling in tents, and while he was at home, he placed himself under
the direction of his parents, although he was approximately seventy-
Biblical Ethics Concerning Young People. 649
eight years old when he was dismissed from home to seek a wife for
himself. The case of Jesus is also very instructive. It is clear that
the words of Luke 2, 51 apply to Him as long as He was living in the
home of His parents, specifically of His mother. ~When He had
entered upon His public ministry indeed, He properly rejected inter-
ference on the part of His mother, John 2, 4, and whon He had made
Oapernaum His headquarters, He did not permit His mother and His
brethren to take Him away from His duties, Mark 3, ill ft. And yet
one of the most pathetic and impressive incidents in the: gospels is
that which tells of the Lord's care for His mother while He was
suspended from the cross, John 19, 26. 27. Here is an example which
may well serve as an incentive to young people of all times.
In passing from the Fourth to the Sixth Oommandment, it may
be well to consider briefly also the Fifth Comn.andment, not only
with regard to the care of the body, but also with regard to recreation
uncontaminated by false ideals and contacts. Every degree of neglect
of the body, up to the sin of self-destruction, is strongly denounced
in Holy Scripture. Op. Job 13, 13 f,; 2, 9; 1 Sam. 31, 4; 2 Sam. 17, 23 ;
Matt. 27, 5. DmnC'r writes: ';N 0 express prohibitioJl is given agal11sc
it, except in so fili' as it is forbidden in the Fifth Commandment;
but its sinfulness follows from the universal proposition that as Ohris-
tians we and all our powers belong no longer to ourselves and our
own wills, but have been bought by Ohrist and are dependent upon the
divine Spirit, Hom. 14,7 fT.; 2001'.5,11); 1 001'.6,10; PhiL 1, "1 f."
(L. c., 452 f.) On the positive side young people mnst be Rhown that
the care of the body is a moral duty. Since the bodies of the Ohris-
tians are temples of the Holy Ghost and their members the members
of Ohrist, the body and all its members and organs should receive
the attention which their high estate merits. "Bodily exercise profiteth
little," 1 Tim. 4, 8, especially if it is actuated chiefly or entirely by the
sport spirit of our days; but it profits, as the words imply, if used in
the proper way, with the ideal of a mens sana in corpore sana always
kept in mind. The words of Marsh (Z. c., 61.67) present the Scrip-
tural ideal: "God is not glorified by injuring and starving the body.
Sickliness is not saintliness. Life for us is life in the body. Both
mental and spiritual efficiency are raised or lowered by our physical
condition. In the interest of our spiritual life our soul is clothed in
the body. . .. Fitness for life's tasks demands muscular strength,
endurance, energy, will-power, courage, and self-control. . .. The life
worth while is not only one that accomplishes a certain piece of work,
but also one that enjoys friends and that drinks the cup of life with
zest; that has not only strength enough for the daily task, but also
has an exultant and exuberant vitality."
It is at this point that the question of social contacts connected
with recreation again engages our attention. We quote from Eggle-
650 Biblical Ethics Concerning Young People.
ston, Womanhood in the Mal,;ing: "It is the working-girl who con-
stitutes our greatest problem in later adolescence. Her work during
the days saps her physical powers; yet when night comes, she has very
limited ways of recuperation. She is eager to do something, and that
something is most likely to be to dance, perhaps in a crowded, poorly
ventilated room with jazz music, to go to the movies, to go to the
beach, or to spend the evening with other girls who like herseH are
'free' when the office or store closes. Many of these girls have left
school at fifteen, and they al'e beginning to see that they are un-
trained, unskilled. Yet they feel bodily tired at night and do not
care to attend classes where they might get the training for more
efficient work. Because there is so much sameness in the work and so
little chance of advancement, they grow restless. They want some-
thing, but they do not know what. So they hunt for it in the social
life about them. . .. Temptations come thick and fast in the business
world. It is hard to have a beautiful body, a bright eye, or an attrac-
tive personality and still keep high ideals. All honor to our business
girls who do so. The wonder is that so many are able to keep the
body under, to keep the white light burning within. They need to be
taught to seek for the highest development of the body, to get a vision
of the great powers which are theirs if only they will train the body
to do great things. They must learn to guard well theiT womanhood .
. . . The standards for the moral conduct of a girl in the business
world are low. One soon meets the statement, 'You must do as all
the others do if you have any fun - if you have any gentlemen
friends.' She needs tactful friends who will hold a high ideal before
her and still not seem to be preaching or trying to force her to do that
which is contrary to what she thinks worth while. She needs some one
to show her what a good time really is, some one to make her feel
the thrill of real comradeship." (Pp.37-39.)
This consideration leads us to the last point of our discussion,
namely, that of Biblical ethics for young people as demanded by the
Sixth Oommandment. It is a significant feature of many recent books
in the field of young people's work, especially those intended for the
understanding of young women, that they point to the necessity of
chastity in dress and personal appearance. The Bible has much to
say on these questions. The positive admonitions are found in such
passages as 1 Pet. 3, 3. 4: "Whose adorning let it not be that outward
adorning of plaiting the hair and of wearing of gold or of putting on
of apparel; but let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which
is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit."
Also 1 Tim. 2,9.10: "In like manner also that women adorn them-
selves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with
broided [broidered] hair [a coiffure with waves and curls, woven with
gold and jeweled bands], or gold, or pearls, or costly array; but
Biblical Ethics Concerning Young People. 651
(which becometh women professing godliness) with good works." Not
that the Lord would absolutely prohibit all personal adornment, but
He would have it kept at the minimum and not with the idea of display
intended to enhance personal charms with evil intent. It is for this
reason that we are told in the a-b-c of the virtuous woman: "Favor is
deceitful, and beauty is vain; but a woman that feareth the Lord, she
shall be praised," Provo 31, 30. It is for this reason, to warn against
immodest display of any kind, that the Bible contains such passages
as Is. 3, 16-24, where the prophet gives a list of the toilet articles of
the daughters of Jerusalem, castigating the luxury and the finery
of their vain hearts. It is significant also that the use of paint and
make-up is invariably associated in Holy Writ with the life and the
objects of the woman of loose morals. It is said of J ezebel that she
"painted her face and tired her head," 2 Kings 9, 30, in order to make
an impression upon Jehu. In J er. 4, 30 the description is likewise of
a woman who intends to make an impression upon her lovers: "Though
thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou rentest thy
face with painting [making the eyes appear wide open by the ap-
plication of paint], in vain shalt thou make thyself faiL" Ezek
23,40b. In the New Testament the same attitude is taken; fm, while
the apostle docs not make an absolute issue of the decking with gold,
also of the bobbed-hair question, the women who affect mannish ways
will do well to read carefully his query: "Doth not even nature itself
teach you t.hllt, ... if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her?
For her hair is given her for a covering," 1001'.11,14. 15. ~What
Mrs. Eggleston once told a foolish girl who was cheapening herself by
following the style affected by so many girls who believe they must
attract men by allurements of this type, fits many another case:
"Girlie, you have a painted face, a tawdry dress, and hair that attracts
attention. Any of these things would tell a man of his stamp that
you were careless and might welcome the low. Think it over and see
if it pays to let people think thus of you." (L. C., p. 77.) And Rudisill
writes, with particular reference to the modern exposure of the body
in scanty and diaphanous dresses: "It has been said that partial ex-
posure of the female form is mOre enticing than complete exposure.
There is more than a grain of truth in this statement. But we are
also hearing it said to-day that attitudes toward exposure of the body
are readily adjustable to changing fashion. This, too, is largely true.
But such adjustment of attitudes to changing conventionalties is not
equally easy for all. And it must not be forgotten that the male :finds
something mOTe alluring and emotionally disturbing about female
exposure than women :find in the masculine form. ::'1:en have been the
great offenders. This mention is not made to palliate their sins, but
to serve as a warning to women and girls. They can help their
brothers and male friends to a sober and virtuous attitude and to
652 Biblical Ethics Concerning Young People.
praiseworthy action by exercising care as to exposure of the body."
(L. c., 128 f.)
But if this is true of the temptation which comes to men through
the eyes, so that they are constantly compelled to strengthen them-
selves against such allurements by remembering the Scriptural in-
junctions: "I made a covenant with mine eyes; why, then, should
I think upon a maid 1" Job 31, 1, and the words of Jesus: "Whoso-
ever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery
with her already in his heart," Matt. 5,28, how much more will it be
true when members of either sex seek, and when young women yield
themselves to, a physical contact, to a more or less intimate embrace,
whether this be in the so-called petting, or in sitting on a man's lap
in autos, canoes, or any other conveyance, or whether this close
proximity be practised in the dance (public or private) or elsewhere!
The Bible does not mince words in denouncing such intimacies. If
they take the form of kissing, we are told that the Lord associates
such behavior with shamelessness and impudence, Provo 7,13. If this
physical intimacy takes the form of unseemly touching of :flesh, the
Bible speaks of it with abhorrence, EzelL 23, 3. 8. 21. If it consists of
other liberties, the Bible speaks of it as embracing the bosom of
a stranger, Provo 5,20. Every attempt to defend this modern freedom
between the sexes must fail in view of these and other Scripture-
passages, especially those which enjoin chastity and decency in
thought, word, and deed. Op. 1 Tim. 5,22; 001.3,5; Gal. 5, 16. 19;
Titus 2,12; 1 Pet. 1,14; 2,11.23. Any physical contact, in fact, any
form of co=unication by word, or glance, or picture, or gesture, or
posture, which is apt to arouse or to strengthen carnal desires, whether
that be in the home, in an auto, in a boat, on the dance-:floor, or any-
where else, is sinful. Even if some individual person has little or no
sex feeling or desire, this is no guarantee that his or her contact with
a person of the opposite sex may not cause such desires to be aroused
in the other person. The Lord asks: "Oan a man take fire in his
bosom and his clothes be not burned? Oan one go upon hot coals and
his feet not be burned. So he that goeth in to his neighbor's wife;
whosoever toucheth her shall not be innocent," Provo 6, 27-29.
Rudisell writes: "Petting parties and indiscriminate 'loving' en~
courage the sexual emphasis. It is claimed by some medical author-
ities that there are dangerous physical consequences to such fre-
quently recurring excitation of the sexual system. That phase has
perhaps been exaggerated. But of the emotional and social results
there can be no doubt. For a boy or a girl to practise erotic expres-
sion on a loose or promiscuous basis is gravely detrimental to all the
better elements of one's nature. A cOIlHtant and increasing craving
for such excitement will ensue, and greater and greater tllrills will
be demanded. To allow such an emotional and sensual appetite to
flliie mUfl ®ottes mlort geprebigt tvetben, bamit ®laube etttfte~e? 653
develop, even with one person of the opposite sex implicated, espe-
cially if young, will interfere and damage one's best aspirations, in-
terests, steadiness, and eharaeter. But with more than one involved,
the eonsequences will be even more grave. While eherishing friend-
ships and extending every eourtesy, the future welfare of all con-
cerned requires that a healthy reserve be practised by both sexes."
(P. 127 f.) Dorner states, briefly and to the point: "Every extra-
matrimonial gratification of the sex impulse is sin, a desecration of
the temple of the Holy Spirit, a degradation. Vid. 1001'.6,13-20;
Gal. 5, 19; 001. 3, 5; Rom. 1, 24 ff." (P. 467.) Op. OONG. THEOL.
MONTHLY, IV, 297. In this connection it is self-evident that no
Ohristian young man or young woman will presume to indulge in the
special privileges granted by God in holy wedlock only. Op. Provo
2,16 ff.; 5,3 ff.; 7,5 ff.; 11,22; 13,18; 9,17.18; 23,20 ff.; 22,29 ff.
With reference to this entire question the Ohristian pastor, edu-
cator, and leader will do well to keep suggestions like that of Rudisill
in mind: "Sex will not be ignored, though we attempt to ignore it.
It is a mighty force and will assert itself. The reasonable thing to
do is to give it intelligent direction. It has been said that young
people need no further information, for they already know more than
their elders. This statement is misleading. Much of the information
which young people possess is misinformation, much of which leads
to license and disregard for their own and others' welfare." (P. 114.)
The claim which has often been advanced that a certain alllount of
indulgence in at least the finer, if not the gross, intimacies between
the sexes is necessary for proper development of the body and for
successful marriage is not only contrary to Holy Scripture, but has
also been shown to be false by the foremost medical authorities of the
United States. (Op. Marsh, l. c., 83 f.) It is our privilege, it is our
duty, to instruct our young people in the ethics of the Bible also in
this respect, so that they may eventually enter holy wedlock with
a full appreciation of its blessings, determined that marriage shall be
honorable and the bed undefiled, Heb. 13,4. P. E. KRETZMANN.
?!Bit mUH @JJtte~ [Burt gClJubigt wetbeu, bamit @Iaulie
cntftefje iu hen ~et5eU bet ,8ufjiirer?
(i;ine ffieiI)e bon ~ortriigen bon D. j)'. ~ i e \J e t.
'!Crittcr ~Drtrllg.
;;5dj ~abc in ber [etten 180rIefung bargelegt, bai3 ber @Iaube an
~~rif±um in fetnes 9)cenfdjen &;:lanb ftelje, weber in ber &;:lanb ber 2u",
ljiirer nodj in ber bes !l$rebigers. ;Der @Iaube an ~ljriftum fteljt ein3ig
unb allein in @lottes &;:lanb.' m5as bie