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Show jOIa Kathleen ( thleen N Norris orris Says : Does Your Fmnily Family Go to CInu Cliltl ch clt ? BeD Bell Syndicate SyndicateWNU -WNU WNU - Fenturu Featurce Featurcey ; : : z3) z3 ) \ y\ y y7 \ 7 - z3)7 & \-7/ 7 7I / I\ I Ia4 \ a4 f/ f fr'2 / r'2 r2 ' l lr ld loa / r d ' . . = - - oa qua sn.a sna "I I " don t ' know why God Godu u so Ilood good to ' 0 w to certam certain obscure molhers mothers say Ihelr their Ihelrfac theirIaces fac Iaces radltJn radiant ' U as < Ihey they conlemplale contemplate the safe arTival arrival arTivaloj arrivalof oj of Tom Toms . son the happy happymarTiage happymarriage marTiage marriage of lonely 30 30earold 30yearold ) ear-old ear old - SUer Skter Anme Annie By KATHLEEN NORRISTHE NORRIS NORRISHHE beauty of the old olddays olddays olddays HHE THE days when everyonewent everyonewent everyone everyonewent went to church was that thatrelIgiOn thatreligion thatreligion relIgiOn gives people a code codea -a a - a rule rille by which winch to live hve and andby andby andby by which to judge fudge their own ownactIons ownactions ownactions actIons and those of othersWIthout othersWithout others othersWithout Without religion it is 1s hard hardto hardto hardto to hold young persons to tomoral tomoral tomoral moral law Their natural naturalI naturalquestion naturalquestion I questIon ' ' Why Why"7 Why7 " ? has no an answer answer answer answerSome swer swerSome Some years ago the 17 year old olddaughter olddaughter olddaughter daughter of a friend of mine secret secretIy secretly secretly Iy ly rented a small Park avenue avenueapartment avenueapartment avenueapartment apartment and entertained entertamed her herfriends herfriends herfriends friends there wh while e her mother motherthought motherthought motherthought thought she was merely dining dming and andvisIting andvisiting andvisiting visIting with perfectly nice mce school schoolfellows schoolfellows schoolfellows fellows Her expenses and the theI theapartment theapartment theapartment apartment were shared by a boy of of18 I 18 To all of her heartbroken par par'ents parents parents 'ents ents ' ents subsequent reproaches she sheonly sheonly sheonly only pertly answered why why ? Why my shouldn t she spend Gran Granny Granny Granny ny s legacy that way ? Why Whyshouldn Whyshouldn Whyshouldn shouldn t girls and boys hve I1ve live togeth together together er if J ! they wanted to to9 ? ' Why should shouldshe shouldshe shouldshe she tell her father and mother motheranything motheranything motheranything anything ? What was there to be beashamed beashamed beashamed ashamed of of7 of ? She really did not notknow notknow notknow know the answersAt answersAt answers answersAt At first glance youngsters do not notsee notsee notsee see the connect on between decency decencyand decencyand decencyand and religion Religion itself - as asdemonstrsted asdemonstrated asdemonstrated demonstrsted demonstrated by many-ol many ol manyrof many'of manyof ' . ' - its ex exponents exponents exponents ponents - has done 1 I ttle to connect connectthe connectthe connectthe the two Rituals long sermons sermonsmcomprehenslble sermonsincomprehensible sermonsincomprehensible mcomprehenslble incomprehensible formulas greedy greedyconcern greedyconcern greedyconcern concern for interest mterest capital be bequests bequests bequests quests collections money makmg making makmgschemes makingschemes makingschemes schemes have clouded the 1 I ght ghtOur ghtOur ghtOur Our ch Idren see only these and andthey andthey andthey they decline to believe the great greatmystical greatmystical greatmystical mystical and unproven truths upon uponwhich uponwhich uponwhich which all real religion is based If Ifthe Ifthe Uthe the lives of the teachers were d differ different different Ier Ierent ent ent , , , then their effect upon our Chl1 chil Chl1dren children children dren s lives fives would be dillerent different dillerentGreed differentGreed differentGreed Greed Stupidity Hide lIlde GloryAs GloryAs Glory GloryAs As it is they are too often cheat cheat- cheated cheated cheated - - ed out of their birthright of belief beliefpartly beliefpartly beliefpartly partly because the blinding bllndmg glory of offaith offaith offaith faith is dimmed by so much human humanstupidity humanstupidity humanstupidity stupidity partly because their par parents parents parents ents have gone that same road be before belure before fore lure them and have decided that re religion religion reUglon ligion is merely a profitable busl busi buslness business buslness ness into which certain certam men enter entera , . a good thing thmg it If you happen to tobe tobe tobe be that unthinking unthmkmg hypocritical hYIX'critlcal hYIXcritlcal ' sort sortof sortof sortof of roan man will w1l1 ng to fool along mur murmurmg murmurrng murmuring murmg murrng things thmgs you don t believe or orpractice orpractice orpractice practice to womenho women \ who \\ho ho don t believe believeor believeor or practice them eitherBut eitherBut either eitherBut But thank God under this thisheavy thisheavy thisheavy heavy crust of age old accumulated accumulatedhuman accumulatedhuman accumulatedhuman human stup dity dlty there works can con canlnually continually continually lnually tinually ! the yeast of sainlliness sainthness sainllinessThe sainthnessThe sainthnessThe The world is full of unseen unrec unrecognlZed unrecognized unrecognized ognlZed ognized saints who have probed probedfurther probedfurther probedfurther further than this mere outer seem seemmg seemlag seeming mg lag who have discovered the magic magicof magicof magicof of the word and who are qwetly quietly qwetlyspreadmg quietlyspreading quietlyspreadmg spreadmg spreading it with everyord every \ word \\ord ord they theyspeak theyspeak theyspeak speak and every contact they theymake theymake theymake theymakeSuch make makeSuch Such persons may be the hum humblest humblest blest of mothers and fathers work worktog workIng Ing tog all their lives bves for food and shel shelter shelter shelter ter for those they love but their theirboys theirboys theirboys boys and girls will w1l1 grow up upstrong upstrong upstrong strong in true moral ty believmg believmgthat bel\evmg bel evmg belevmgthat believingthat \ that they must keep their tie hearts heartsand heartsand arts artsand and their lips clean that they must mustpay mustpay mustpay pay what they owe that they must mustkeep mustkeep mustkeep keep their word and give to those thoseIn thosein thosein In need comfort the sorrowing sorrowmg for forget forget torget get self in ill serviceThere serviceThere service serviceThere There is no more to it than that thatOnlysomehow thatOnlysomehow thatOnly Only-somehow Only somehow - somehow we don t find that thatunless thatunless thatunless unless we find God It is belief In InGod InGod InGod God in m our service to God in m the theIFhy - 4- 4 4t t 1 , 1 1Irhy J IFhy Irhy not ? ? " " tfie the girlskid sirl girl skid fierttv pertly shortness of o1 our term here and the thenecessity thenecessity thenecessity necessity of making makmg every moment momentof momentof momentof of it valuable that Inspires this thissort thissort thissort sort of teaching teachmg and th s sort of can con canduct conduct conduct duct . . American children have not notbeen notbeen notbeen been deprived of moral teaching teachmg It Itfloods itfloods Itfloods floods over them all during durmg their theirhome theirhome theirhome home and school years They have havebeen havebeen havebeen been deprived depnved of the one thing thmg that thatmakes thatmakes thatmakes makes that teaching teachmg valuable valuableWill valuableWill valuableWill Will be a Settlement SettlementThey . . They are like busy workers who whohave whohave whohave have no employer The humble true truebeliever truebeliever truebeliever believer learns of God through the theIe thelife thelife Ie life ! of his expiating explatmg son believes believesthat believesthat believesthat that it matters whether he is hon honest honest honest est or not truthful or lying Iymg cruel cruelor cruelor cruelor or kind There is a great em emplayer employer cmployer player ployer and eventually there will be bea bea bea a settlement settlementAnd And acting blindly on this belief belieffor belieffor belieftor for a few years he begins to see seethat seethat seethat that It works Problems in m his out outer outer outer er life smooth out the generous generousthmg generousthing generousthing thmg thing the forgiving forglvmg thing thmg the self selfImmolatlDg selfimmolating selfimmolating ImmolatlDg immolating thing thmg is suddenly and andsurpnsmgly andsurprisingly andsurprisingly surpnsmgly surprisingly the happiest possible possiblethmg possiblething possiblething possiblethingI thmg thing thmgI thingI I don t know why God is so good goodto goodto goodto to us usl > ' certain obscure mothers motherssay motherssay motherssay say their faces rad ant as they can con cantemplate contemplate contemplate template the safe sate arrival of Tom s a sson ason sson son the happy marriage of lone lonely lonely lonely ly 30 year old sister AnmeYou AnnieYou Annie Anme AnnieYou You never hear that phrase ex except except except cept from believers bellevers They see the thesurface thesurface thesurface surface s scum < : um of human frailty frallty In IntheIr intheir intheir theIr leaders they know of the thewars thewars thewars wars the slums the selfishness and anddIshonesty anddishonesty anddishonesty dIshonesty of o1 the so-called so called - - Chns Chris ChnsUan Christfan Christian Uan tfan clvlllza civilization lon Everyone sees seesthat seesthat seesthat seesthatBut that . . But they see further too They Theysee Theysee Theysee see that faith and the rule save saveyoung saveyoung saveyoung young lives The very leaders them themselves themselves themselves selves may be lost But the children childrento to whom they taught love of God Godand Godand Godand and love of neighbor are the only onlysafe onlysafe onlysafe safe children in the world Rob Robyour Robyour Robyour your children of everything else for forwhich forwhich forwhich which you are working workmg and stram strain stramIng straining straining Ing but give them faith |