The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1922-11-17

that was al sinner" Only the preach
ers could mention her on Sunday, and
then in guarded terms To Well
reared folk she was supposed to be
-existent.a
Nowadays she gets first-page posi-
tiQn in all the newspapers; and she Is
tire heroine OF fiction's best sellers
and of the most popular motion PIC
ture Plays Advanced" persons OF
both sexes and all ages freely discuss
her. even at dinner tables, altho some
times she is camouflaged under F'reu-
dian terms. 1t is not the vogue 10
pity her, much less to blame.
So there is optical timeliness IN the
return of this vivid incident from the
life of Jesus for the study OF the
millions of Sunday school members
We get the mind of the Master upon
one of the Invest issues OF our day.
First, let US read the story itself,
masterpiece OF literature
"And one of the Pharisees desired
him that he would eat with MN.
And he entered into the Pharisee >
house, and sat down to meat. And
behold, a woTnal- who was in the city,
a sinner; and when she knew that ne
was sitting at meat in the Pharlsee
house, she brought an alabaster cruise
of ointment, and standing behind at
his feet, weeping, she began to wet
his feet with her tears, and wiped
them with the hair of her head, and
kissed his feet, and anointed them
with the ointment Now When the
Pharisee that had hidden him saw II,
he spake within himself, saying, This
man, if he were a prophet, would
have perceived who and what manner
of woman this is that toucheth him.
that she is a sinner. And Jesus an
swering said unto him, Simon have
somewhat to say unto thee And ne
saith, Teacher, say on. A certain
lender had two debtors: the one owed
five hundred shillings, and the other
fifty. When they had not whereWitn
to pay, he forgave them both. Which
of them therefore will love him most!
simon answered and said, He, 1 sup
pose, to whom he forgave the most.
AndA he said unto him, Thou hast
rightly Judged And turning to the
woman, he said unto Simon, Seest
thou this woman? I entered into thy
house. thou g~veSt me no water for
nv feet: but she hath wetted my feet
with her tears, and wiped them with
her hair. Thou gayest me no kiss:
But she, since the time came IN,
hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My
head with Ell thou didst not anoint:-
but she hath anointed my feet with
ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee,
Her sins, which are many, are for
given; for. she loved much: but to
whom little is forgiven, the same
loveth little. And he said unto her,
Thy sins are forgiven. And they that
sat at meat with him began to say
within themselves, Who is this that
even forgiveth sins? And he said unto
the woman, Thy faith hath saved
thee; go in peace"
MaudIin and Muddy Minds.
To contrast that exquisite gem of
literary portrayal with the pages-1t-
orally pages-of slush that dominate
-oday's papers, concerning the acqu1t-
al of a confessed murderess, and the
ovation given her by hysterical
crowds; and concerning two other
capital crimes in which the sex mo-
i've was dominant, is to perceive the
between the standards or
Jesus and those of today. Clearly our
minds are both muddy and maudlin
lpon this matter of the Seventh Com
nandment.
Nobody would dream of making
he door sinner who bathed the
,ious ointment, the heroine of DIR.
Luke's story. She exciteS compassion, |
not admiration or emulation. There
s no doubt about her status She is
l penitent sinner, who is so overcome
1y the burden of her sins that she
seeks comfort from the compassion
tie Christ
Slack-brained writer's commonly |
confuse two things: the fact that
Jesus forgave the sinner, and the fact |
If His attitude toward sin. Because
he Master pGrdoned the penitent, |
here has grown up the unwarranted |
dea. that she herself was blameless
md that it is wrong to condemn her |
Kind. Tons of rubbish have been |
written by SentimentalistS or erotic- |
minded sensualists, in sheer praise of |
he fallen woman; as if her sin were |
/ virtue
Into the discard has gone, of late, |
he Bibles clear teaching concerning |
his form of immortality which eats
ike a canker into the integrity of the |
home and of the entire social fabric. /
Frankly, among nnyriadS of persons in /
he English-speaking world today, /
'iolatiohs of the Seventh Command
nent are not considered a cardinal |
,ffense against the laws Of God and /
nan. The accrued and inherited
eachings of the ages on this subject
he forgotten. Few know or care
hat in the ancient East, with its
punished by death. Chastity lis not
low unanimously regarded as the
PRICELESS jewel of the character of
nan and woman.\ What Hthe Bible
allied self expression" OF expert
nee"
Woman's Supreme Tragedy.
Clear thinking and honest reading
4 the Bible leaves no doubt about
he one memorable standard by which
ne social sin is to be judged, in both
ian and woman. The man who
ransgresses the Seventh Command
nent is a fallen man; the woman
Who transgresses the Seventh Com
nandment is fallen woman An
nervated and debauched society may
wink at these offenses for a time, but
he judgment of history and human
experience stands clear and unmiS-
akable.
In the picture of this woman who
lad been driven TO invade the feast
n Simon's house, so great was her
urden of sorrow and sin, we get n
-limpse of the soul of one undergoing
he supreme tragedy. Men might
mile and lee as she passed. and she
ould exchange flippant remarks with
hem. but in her own soul-which
ras the only realm where happiness
T unhappiness really matterS-she
uttered such agonies as pen has
ever depicted Her daily draught
vas the gall of bitterness; her daily