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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 11, 1960)
Wherever I CO, I hear unhappy people asking for help. With their families breaking up, their chil dren running wild, and their ouin lives plunging toward the depths, they cannot help themselves. For many years, I have searched th Scriptures for answers to questions that have come to me through my evangelistic crusades, broadcasts, and , syndicated newspaper column. I have read many books and consulted professors of psychology, so ciology, and philosophy, but always I have returned to the Bible for the basis of my answers. Here are some of them, which are eipunded upon in my new book, "My Answer" (published by Doubleday & Co., Garden City, N.Y.). My devout hope is that they might equally be called God's an swers, for I have a deep conviction that the Bible holds the answer to every moral problem known to man. There is no better time to turn to it than to day, which is Universal Bible Sunday. From a College Girl, Class of '61: "I am in love with a fine young man, liul if we go ahead wilh our marriage plans it will break my pnrenw1 hearts. To what extent is one obligated to parents? The Bible teaches us that we are to honor our parents, but it does not teach that they have the right to control their adult children. When you were directly responsible to them, you were obe dient in all things. Such a relationship does not continue when adulthood is reached. You should still honor them as parents, but you are not obli gated to forego the joys of married life and your own family for them. From a Youthful Scientist: "I am a student of the physical sciences. If people should inhabit other planets, what docs thiB do to our faith?" From my studies, I can find nothing that would change our essential faith in the Gospel if we did discover life on other planets. Our Bible is clearly designed for this planet with its problems of man's sin. It is not a part of the Bible's message to in form us of what God has done elsewhere. From a Desperate Cirl: "Can God forgive an unwed mother?" Of course He can and will, though He loathes the sin of immorality as He does all sin. All through the Bible we see examples of God forgiv ing this sin. Mary Magdalene, the adulteress, and the woman at Jacob's Well had crossed the line of propriety, but they found forgiveness in Christ. From a Business Woman: "I work in an office where racy stories and sexy conversations are all the vogue. How can I cope with this without being prudish or ap pearing better-than-thou?" A businessman in Florida who faced a similar problem wrote me that he found an effective way to lick it. He kept a New Testament on his desk in plain view of everyone. He said that he has yet to have anyone come into his office who did not respect this silent reminder and refrain from pro fanity and smutty stories. J o THE BIBLE CAN SOLVE YOUR PROBLEMS By BILLY GRAHAM In answering questions often asked of him, this noted evangelist proves that the Scriptures still hold the best hope for man's spiritual and moral dilemmas From A Lonely Heart: "I never seem to he able to make and hold friends. I need friends as much as anyone. Is there some hidden secret to the business of mak ing and keeping friends?" There is no hidden secret. To have friends, you must first be friendly. You must offer unselfish friendship to another and expect nothing in ex change. The Bible offers the world's best example when it says of God that "We love Him because He first loved us." You may think your problem has no religious implication, but it does. Man left with out God is basically selfish. Christians find their joy in giving themselves, even as Christ gave Him self, and they are never without friends. From a Discontented Matron: "I am married to a very wonderful person, but I have fallen in love with another man who shows me the attention I crave, while my hus band seems to take me for granted. I feel I can not give up the one I love but don't know how to break the news to my husband. What is the right thing to do?" If you still consider your husband a wonderful person and you respect him, you are playing the part of a foolish child. As foT his taking you for granted, you should consider that as flattery for it manifests the great confidence he has in you. Follow the Bible's admonition and be obedient and submissive to your husband, and you will find him much more affectionate than you think. This in fatuation is a sin in God's sight. Confess it and allow this experience to bring you to a true rela tionship with Christ and with your husband. ' From a Discouraced Invalid: "I am crippled with arthritis and feel that I'm useless. What is the use of my living any longer?" God does not think you are useless. He needs all kinds of people to do His work. I know a boy with out arms who paints with his toes. The lad's cour age has inspired many to forget their handicaps. God has something special for you to do, too. Ask God how you can serve Him, and He will tell you. We cannot understand why illness comes, but even when we suffer we must still trust our Heavenly Father. Pray for others as well as yourself. No prayer is ever wasted. From a Baffled Churchgoer: "What good is religion? My neighbor never goes to church, runs around, and is mean to his family. But he has a bigger house, more money, and more reasons to be happy than people who are trying to live right." I say your neighbor is a miserable failure and if you envy such success, your life is doomed to failure, too. What good is religion? True religion gives meaning and purpose to life. It crowns the home with love and affection. It brings a person into harmony with God's law, cures him of infi delity and of selfish greed. Learn again the wisdom in these words of Jesus: "The abundance of a man's life consisteth not in the things which he possesseth." The ultimate question I must answer whenever I speak or write is this: - "Is the Gospel of the first century relevant for our present time?" Look at it this way. Has human nature improved significantly over the centuries? Are men and women gradually overcoming immorality, dishon esty, greed, passion, love of pleasure, hatred, and all the other jevils named in the Bible? Certainly, the Gospel of the first century is rele vant today; in fact, it is the only answer to man's present moral and spiritual dilemma. COVER: Oszie Sweet photographs one of the many porpoises whose behavior is under obser vation at Marineland, Fla. Scientists want to learn how intelligent porpoises really are. For the story, see page 4. Family Weekly LEONARD $. 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