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Show i DESERET NEWS SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH We Stand or The CcnMitution Of THe United States ; Having Been Divinely Inspired As 12 A EDITORIAL PAGE SATURDAY, MARCH 28, 1970 1 1 Should U.S. Ratify The Genocide T reaty? j By the leading part the U.S. has taken in the United Nations in producing an effective international legal instrument g crime of genocide, we have esoutlawing the tablished before the world our firm and clear policy toward By LOUIS CASSELS world-shockin- that crime." Those words, uttered more than 20 years ago by President Truman, have a hollow ling now since the U.S. has yet to ratify the treaty outlawing the intentional destruction of national, racial, religious or ethnic groups. After Congress returns from its Easter recess, however, a Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee is expected to get around to holding hearings on the controversial genocide treaty. Just how controversial the treaty is may be seen from how evenly divided is the American Bar Association, its House of Delegates having voted last month against recommending ratification bv a margin of 130 to 126. The opposition centers on fears that the treaty might provide the means for nations to intervene in each others domestic affairs, that it wouldnt be effectual, and that it would redistribute constitutional powers by making murder a federal crime when it presently is only a state crime. Moreover, the a"gument continues, since the U.S. doesnt commit genocide, why imply that it does by ratifying the M treaty? But since when does ratifying a treaty involve an admission of guilt ? It that were the case, few treaties, if any, would ever be approved. As for the other objections, no such calamities have befallen the other 74 nations that have approved the genocide 20 extremely turbulent treaty during the past 20 years U.S. should be the an years. Why, then, exception? Since the U.S. entered a valid treaty to prevent the annihilation of migratory birds, its hard to see why the U.S. shouldnt enter a treaty to prevent the annihilation of human beings. The mass destruction of human groups causes wholesale dislocations of peoples, creates the problem of caring for them by neighboring states, is a concomitant of aggression against other nations, and constitutes a threat to peace. By protecting the national, racial, religious and ethnic groups everywhere in the world, a nation protects itself. Phase Out DDT-Fa- st While DDT has been credited with saving 5 million lives during and immediately following World War II, its use has come under increasing attack in recent years because of its detrimental effects on wildlife and food contamination. Hence the news this week that the Utah Mosquito Abatement Association has decided to ban its use except in abnormal situations is most welcome. The association indicated a mosquito encephammyelitis epidemic is one of those situations which would call for a resumption of using DDT. The decision is sound. As researchers have found on the Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge near Brigham City, the DDT used in spraying the ponds is causing serious nesting ibis, or black snipe. problems for the white-face- d DDT evidently causes the female to lay either d eggs, which are crushed under the nesting bird, or tough, leathery eggs with shells so hard the young bird dies from exhaustion soon after it pecks its way out. This possibly would not be so bad if it were limited to the ibis alone. But ducks also use the same nesting ponds and feeding grounds, and beef cattle often drink from the same ponds. A decline in the bald eagle population and the brown pelicans in California has been blamed on DDT. The U.S. government is phasing out the use of DDT over the next two and the faster it is phased out the better. years Uniter Pipss International of looking at the which is being celehiated throughout the world this weekend. Eut. it can be regarded a a gigantic hoax. Followeis of Jesus may have proclaimed his resurrection alter secretly removing his corpse from its burial place. This has view to many, appealed from the 1st Century to the present. Mr. tassels to MatAccording thew's gospel, it was the official explana tion put out by the authorities in Jerusalem after Jesus tomb was found empty. Its enduring popularity is attested by its reappearance in a recent There are three ways Easter A-0- Faith In The Future In this world, each of us needs a firm base founded on faith in divine purpose and a sense of direction and continuity in our lives. With Easter should come renewed confidence in the future in a future, that is, which extends far beyond this troubled existence. As Louis Cassels indicates in his article on this page, there is ample historical evidence to justify believing in the resurrection. But there never can be enough evidence to convince anyone who has decided in advance that it could not possibly have happened. For Christians everywhere, Easte" is a time of rededication and renewal of their faith in the risen Christ as a guide to a better life and a peaceful world. fast-changi- On The Eagle Trail Anyone who has advanced through the Boy Scout program, from Cub to Eagle Scout, knows what a demanding trail it is. Yet 'lie (treat Salt Lake Council produces more than twice as many Eagle Scouts as the national average. In fact, 2.0 per cent of those now registered in Scouting achieve the Eagle rank in the Salt Lake area, compared to 1.4 per cent for the rest of the nation. To honor the Sll boys who achieved the Eagle award m llkltl. the Gnat Salt Lake Council is holding its 12th annual E igie Recognition dinner Monday evening at the Terrace. Each boy so honored will be accompanied by a sponsor from the community. business and professional men Actually, the sponsors and community leaders from throughout the council area probably gain as much as the boys from the acquaintanceship. That is because Eagle Scouts have already proved themselves as iipstanding young men, with the combination of leadership ability and dependability that appeals to employers. A'intilLdlv. many of those traits have been inculcated by a loi"u pu.tha ho wanted to see her son at luevc distinction boy-minde- in a d Ik it t It f;- d Id. A second possibility is that the resurrection was a purely subjective experience of the early Christian community. According to this view, Jesus remained physically dead but came to life again in the minds and hearts of h:s disciples. Thus Easter was not an event in the life of Jesus but an event in the lives of the disciples. Many theological liberals subscribe to this interpretation. The third possibility is that it really happened as the Bible says: three days after his death, the crucified Christ appeared, alive and tangible, to his disciples. It is not easy to believe in the resurrection as an objective historical event. The massive weight of ordinary human experience testifies that dead men stay dead. It should be remembered, however, that this in the 1st Century fact was as as it is today. well-know- n The disciples certainly did not expect to see Jesus again. Their dumbfounded surprise is clearly reflected in the gospel rec-o- i ds. Even after a group of women returned with breathless news of the empty tomb, Luke's gospel records that the male disciples thought that what the women said was nonsense, and did not believe them. What changed their minds? a'-- u i , . I their records, and has seen what plain, basically unimaginative, and fishermen they peasants skeptical were, this hypothesis is very hard to sus- down-to-eart- it purely a subjective spiritual experience of the disciples? If it was no more than that, one wonders why the disciples did not enemies, who were numeious, the from under cut the ground promptly of Jesus. remains the producing story by The rapid growth of the Christian Church in a hostile environment strongly indicates that its enemies did not have available the sure and easy refutation of its gospel which would have been provided by a body in the Was tomb. Did they make it up? That explanation A possible answered ultimately by each individual for himself. The only verification is that which comes through tke kind of personal experience which follows upon the adventure of faith answer is given by the Apostle Paul in one of the oldest Christian documents known, the first letter to the Corinthians : I passed on to you what I received, which is of the greatest importance: that Christ died for our sins, as written in the Scriptures; that He was buried and raised to life on the third day, as written in the Scripture ; that He appeared to Peter, and then to all twelve apostles. Then He appeared to more than five hundred of His followers at once, most of whom are still The disciples believed in the alive . . resurrection not because they found it plausible that a dead man should live again, but because they saw, heard, talked to and touched the risen Christ. Confronted with the overwhelming reality of his presence, they no longer asked whether such a thing was credible. Were they victims of mass hallucination? Possibly. But to anyone who has read 1 For He Is Risen tain. " Did Easter really happen? The question must be seems even more improbable than mass hallucination when you consider that the disciples suffered martyrdom in droves rather than change their story. Men do not Now the next day, that followed the day of the preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees came together unto Pilate. Saying, Sir, we remember that that deceiver said, while he was yet- alive, After three days I will rise again. Command therefore that the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night, and steal Him aw'ay, and say unto the people. He is risen from the dead; so last error shall be worse than the first. Pilate said unto them, Ye have a watch: go your way, make it as sure as fe ye can. and made the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone, and setting a So they went, watch. In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre. And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. cheerfully lay down their lives to perpetuate a hoax. Did it really happen? The question must be answered ultimately by each individual for himself. The only verification available at this time is that which comes through the kind of personal experience which follows upon, and is part of, the adventure of faith. The Christian Church is composed, at its core, of men and women who are convinced they have encountered Jesus Christ as a real and living presence. It is out of their own experience, as well as in reliance on the New' Testament record, that they join on Easter in proclaiming the Good News: He is risen! His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow: And for fear of Him the keepers did shake, and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, whicli was crucified. He is not here: for He is risen, as He said, Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead; and, behold, He goeth before you into Galilee; there shall ye see Him: lo, I have told you. And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring His disciples words And as they went to tell his disciples, behold, Jesus met them, saying, All hail. And they came and held Him by the feet, and worshipped Him. Then said Jesus unto them, be not go tell my brethren that they go into Galilee, and there shall they s"e me. afraid: Matthew :vii, 62-6- xxvii, 0 Easter Customs Known Before Christian Times Although Easter is the oldest of Christian holidays, neither is name nor the be t known popular customs associated with it are of Christian origin. These customs are Easter bunnies, Easter eggs, and wearing new' spring clothes. Each of these appears to have been developed by pagan ptoples before they knew of Christianity. The name Easter is derived from Eastre or Oester, the ancient Teutonic goddess of s observed a festival in spring. her honor before the advent of Christians, and the observance of the Resurrection apd on this pears to have been festival and its customs. Its date gradually was adjusted to coincide with the Easter date adopted by the Anglo-Saxon- super-impose- Council of Nicaea in 325. L.G. When Easter Happens A Deep Conviction Of Life tomb of Lazarus in Bethany, I realized that I was standing on perhaps the greatest spot in the world. For this little village was the home of Mary and Marika and Laz-- a At the NORMAN VINCENT PEALE suddenly i it t i rtt a t e i ti ti ipr.ils of Jeus to whom lip made the gre.tiest of all "I am the resurrection, and the lile: he that he- - boveth in me, though o v.oie dead, yet shall lie live. At that moment Easter really happened to me, a deg; conviction of eternal life. When Faster really happens to you, you enter into one of the most subtle of all n imply, that your lovpd ones who are physically gone from this eaith, and you, yourself, are citizens of a dynamic universe. a universe that is not material but spiritual. real-iaiion- Einstein said that matter and energy are interchangeable, one and the same. Sir James Jeans, one of the world's great scientists. declared that all the world is vibration. Materialistic scientists of the 19th cen- of th" v.nr'd as material. ivy conceived T e sc,enti-t- s o' the 21k u icnlmy rax cor. of it dyu.m.r spa ituuhty Did ri UYkai" Junes s,. "A '.oe Jy thrio is ire g..at unieiri mail ,i,d one iiie i vnd hr :s a e:ris into this 1: agment of it"? a- . cognition dinnei then, is rot only for Eagle a tribute in absentia to Boy Scout motiuis but th" council. throughout Mondivs j best-selle- r. thin-shelle- 0 event jv.kv That occasional flashes of the universal mind enter into an individuals mind indicates that the sloughing off of the body at death means absolutely nothing. That other self in us is the real and continuing self. Those forces in life which are beyond us, which we cannot understand, might be defined as the indestructible self which is at one with God. I have quoted Einstein, I have quoted Jeans, I have quoted James. Now I am going to quote a cowboy. The philosophers are not always the wisest men in the world. men who Fishermen, fanners, cowboys live with the universe they may be the ones who have the greatest wisdom. This cowboy never bad much schooling. He abuses the Englisn language quite a bit. but his letter is written with sincerity. It is dated from San Antonio, Texas. Dear Sir: What is the thing that is spoke of as subconscious? I have used that thing all my life and I Know there is something about it that I dont understand. I have reed all I have gotten a chance to on the subject. I strongly believe that it is use. I believe that it iias something we saved my life n any time. rn i w.i' niM'il i..iuii of my life know something ions will work 1 m West Tev.s and spent breaking wild imisc. Ard that is called the sebcon-s- ; on lioises. i know that r something travels from man to horse, and from horse to man. I have felt it on the bi reins. That sarr thing will tell me which trail to take when I am lost in the mountains or on the plains. It guides me through the darkness of the night. You may think I am crazy to make such statements, but I wont try to do anything without first asking that thing about it. And I then act quick when the answer comes. Now if you can see any sense to this question and these statements, will you please answer me in very simple language. Your friend. Did it ever occur to you that the Cross is a plus sign? It is not a minus sign. Does not the Bible say that Christianity itself is a process of addition? But seek ye first the that is, the Cross kingdom of God, and all these things shall be added unto you. Added, not subtracted. What does the resurrection really mean? It means there isn't anything in the world that can defeat spirit in human life. GUEST CARTOON I like that cowboy. He is living with the stars and with the plains and with the mountains and with God. And he is a poetic soul and he is a philosopher. There on the trail he felt this thing. What is this thing? Surely it is the power of the universal spirit having contact with the deathless something within himself. Easter gives us a tremendous sense of victory. The human being was put here tc overcome, to conquer himself, his environ-ni"!i- t. o make something of himself. I do not hold with those who want human beings to compioini'-- e and capitulate. How can a child of God not want to he victorious? Easter says that nothin" in tins world can stand against .spirituality. Jesus cnnqiieis we conquer death through Him. death; i r |
