South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1922-06-26
DIR. DAVIS CITES
STRONG INFLUENCE
OF ENVIRONMENT
Declares 1t is Greater Factor
in Character Building
Than Heredity.

no one denies the influence Of
environment" Or. L. $. Davis de-
clared in his Sunday evening SER
mon or the subject. The influence
Of Environment. before his con-
gregation at the First Baptist
church. In emphasizing the import
ance OF environment in the building
OF character, Dr. Davis said in his
opinion environment Is a stronger
factor than heredity.
His sermon in part:
The company a man keeps. his
occupation. the books he reads. his
home. all naturally influence him
and in a measure determines his
character
Some men are saying today If
you want TO improve a man, all you
need 10 do is to improve his sur
roundings. give him better dwell
Ings. surround him with pictures
teach him 10 play the piano, give
him a love for the beautiful and you
save the man.
But there is only a half truth in
this theory. Time and again has a
man been taken out Of the slums
and put into a clean room with pic
lures. good books and music and
within a month he pawned the pic
lures and books to get back into
the sluns. Environment does not
solve the problem of mans saliva
ton.
IF the theory that environment
can save a man then Adam should
never have fallen into sin. Surely
the environment was all that could
be desired But the Garden with
all its beauty. perfume and harmony
could not keep the sinless man and
the sinless woman, without sin. No,
this theory of environment as a suf-
fcient factor in the salvation of man
was smashed to pieces in the Garden
Of Eden.
1.-The fact is that it takes more
than flowers and birds and pictures
to give a man victory over self and
the bias of his nature TO sin, have
been debauehes
yet 1 believe in environment.
believe that it is a stronger factor
in the building Of character than
heredity. l believe that environ
ment is next to the grace of God.
We all know that the boy who goes
out of a home Of piety and truth
has an advantage over the boy who
comes from a home of vice and
strong drink. Every child born in
a cody home has a great advantage
over the boy born in an ungodly
home Every child born in a home
Of refinement, surrounded by books
and pictures, songs and prayers has
an immense advantage over the boy
born in an ungodly and vicious
home. Yet we have seen the child
rem of Christian homes turn out bad.
They had every advantage that low
ing parents could bestOw upon them.
They had every opportunity for pre-
paration for life that money could
procure, yet they were not only
failures in life but moral wrecks.
THAT is why we say that environ
ment is not enough to insure a
mans salvation or create in him a
moral power able 10 resist sin. Man
has a religious faculty but 1t
awaits the coming of Cod. What is
mans proper environment? The
words Of our text declares tive
J live, we move and have our being
/ in God. That is every mans proper
| environment.
parents may do what they please
! for their children, but unless they
anchor their hope in God. establish
their faith in Christ, and create in
/ them an unwavering confidence in
/ the Word OF God, they have failed
to put them in their proper environ
ment and insure their success in
/ life"