Devoted to the Propagation and Defense of New Testament Christianity
VOLUME 21
March 26, 1970
NUMBER 46, PAGE 1-2a

The "New Morality" Is Not New

Hoyt H. Houchen

Christians are appalled by a twentieth century morally sick society that is manifested by drug addiction, hippy-ism, pornography, public nudity, fornication, rape, murder, theft, embezzlement, undaunted obscenity on movies and television, drinking, gambling, defiance of authority, and a disregard for all that is right and decent. Many of these evils have already reached epidemic proportions. There are six million alcoholics in this nation alone. A driveling drunk or a drug injected hippy are sad commentaries on man who was made in the image and likeness of God. It is reported that at a recent hippie-populated music festival near Dallas, hundreds of nude swimmers received favorable press comment.

Fornication is reported to be prominent among teenagers, winked at and even encouraged by some parents. Recently a fifteen year old girl wrote a newspaper columnist that she has her fun with anyone she wants to. She states: "Some girls feel that they should remain virgins until they marry. Why? Following our instincts is a part of life. Old fashioned beliefs have made some girls feel guilty about letting their natural desires take over. I don't. . . My parents agree with me. They realize that their love is more meaningful because they share expressions with other people." We are sure that this shocking admission from a teen-ager is only typical of many. The columnist correctly replied to the girl that controlling "natural instincts" is what distinguishes man from an animal.

The sexy look of women's dress has become a lucrative business for the dress designers. Feminine fashions have become so debased that modesty among women is confined only to the very few remaining decent and respectable ladies who still revere God and adhere to his laws of morality. (I Tim. 2:9, 10; I Pet. 3:3, 4). The mini-skirts (high hemlines above the thighs), the see-through tops or bottoms, and necklines that are beyond the navel exemplify the moral decadence and delinquency of our depraved community life. Myriads of mothers are sold on immodest dress for themselves and their growing daughters because, as one newspaper columnist expressed it, "they follow the dictum of fashion designers more avidly than they follow the principles of their respective religions." (Gretchen, Denver Pose, Oct. 9, 1969). Enforced laws would bring an exhibitionist under arrest, but women openly parade our streets with hardly more clothing on than it would take to wad a shotgun shell! Viennese born Olga of California, America's leading lingerie and foundation garment designer, is ashamed of the nude trend. She says, "The pursuit of the sensational, the provocative, is not new in the history of fashion, but today's attempt to capitalize on tasteless nudity is no more good design than pornography is art." Immodest dress on the part of both men and women reflects a woeful lack of spiritual training in the home, a training of children that should begin at a very early age. Only proper example and training can save our nation from total moral degradation.

The "new morality," a term coined in recent years, makes moral laws obsolete, and leaves each individual free to "do his thing." Emotions are not curbed; discipline is not exercised. If little Johnny wants to burn the house down, well bless his little sweet heart, let him. We must not curb his initiative! This is more typical of the "new" moralist and not so much the extreme, as some might suppose. Refreshing it is, however, that not all psychologists concur with such nonsense. The story is told about the little boy who persistently remained on a rocker horse in a large department store and refused to dismount, despite the pleas and offers of "goodies" by the desperate mother. The department head offered the services of the store psychologist, the mother quickly consenting. The psychologist looked the little defiant boy over, whispered in his ear, and the little boy immediately dismounted. The relieved mother thanked the professional for his aid and while leaving the store with her little boy, she inquired what the man had said to him. After much reluctance upon the part of the boy and much insistence upon the part of the mother, the little fellow finally sighed and said, "Oh he didn't say much. He just said, `You get down from here you little brat, or I'll break every bone in your body.' "We have heard it said that switches control about everything in the home but the children. Laws are too lax but morality cannot be achieved by legislation; it must be by education. This means that every parent, teacher, and preacher is responsible for seeing to it that children are taught respect, to "Fear God and keep his commandments." Teaching, example, and discipline properly applied (sometimes on the rear side of the anatomy) will result in happy, well adjusted adults, regard for that which is pure and holy instead of a frustrated society that seeks happiness by "trips" on LSD and other drugs, alcohol, hippy-ism, and the smoking of "weeds." Art Linkletter, in an article which appeared in the February issue of Reader's Digest, makes this challenging statement to parents: "Face up to the ugly truth. Sooner or later, in the current state of our society, your child is going to be offered marijuana, barbiturates, amphetamines, LSD or other illegal drugs, under enticing circumstances, most likely by a member of his own peer group. Your son will be urged to try glue-sniffing, teased as a coward if he doesn't. Your daughter will be urged to try diet pills or sleeping pills taken from some family medicine cabinet. Getting a little high, she'll be told, is harmless — and the 'in' thing to do." We ask you parents: what will your child do when he is faced with the real test? Will he have had the spiritual training (Eph. 6:4) that will prepare him to be able to withstand the temptation?

The "new morality" philosophy conceals itself under the guise of freedom for the individual. It is contended, for instance, that pornography is "an abstract" term and cannot be defined, therefore what is pornography to one person may not be to another. This foolishness would obliterate any standard of morality and there could be no stopping place. This type of attitude was manifested by God's own people in the time of Isaiah and it accounted for the ungodliness and corruption that prevailed. The prophet declared of Judah, "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil. ... (Isa. 5:20). The "new morality" is not new. Gen. 6:5 reads: "And Jehovah saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart were only evil continually." The pernicious sins of the Gentile world are described by Paul in Romans, chapter 1. How long the good Lord will allow such evil to continue we have no way of knowing, but God's people have the responsibility as "the salt of the earth," and "lights in the world" to be blameless (Matt. 5:13, 14; Phil. 2:15), instill God and his laws into the hearts of our children, and penetrate this old world of darkness with the glorious light of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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