Askov American. [volume] (Askov, Pine County, Minn.) 1914-current, 1934-12-20
The Ethics of Jesus

CnaS. l.. Grant In Faith Lutheran
Church. Charles and Mackubin Sts.. ST.
Paul.
Christ's ethical standards were per-
feet. He impressed everybody with
the purity of His life and the sim
certify of His purpose. He desired
all people to have lovely character.
High ideals are necessary to keep
society from disintegration. without
them civilization goes downward. 1t
is not wealth of natural resources or
the strength of armies that makes
nations safe. 1t is the character of
the people. Christ-Eke character has
Transforming power. Transformed
personalities serve as a heaven and
bring about a new moral and spirit
ual life.
Christianity is based upon the in
dissoluble unity of morals and re-
ligion. The former deals with mans
relation to man and the latter with
mans relation to God. Jesus never
separated them. His religious teach
ings involved plain ethical principles
and His life was the best expression
of His ethics. His religious and
ethical teachings were intrtcately in
carries with it the Christian ethics
and the one without the other is i'm
potent.
A Christian nation must have Chris
tian ethics in order to endure as
Christian nation. False standards Of
life must be abandoned. Progress has
been made in morals and religion.
The church has spread her gospel and
yet there has been a wOeful overturn-
ing of moral standards in the last
decade. The war has been blamed
for it. In wartime the baser side of
mans nature is played on and morals
decline. But the chief cause of the
low ideals Of the present, is not the
war hangover.
There is an influence in our midst
that has much to do with present cen
ditions and that is the demoralizing
motion picture. In the church you
hear that. stealing is sin, at the
movies you see that the thief is made
hero and very definite, detailed in
struction is given in the technique
of crime. In the church you hear
that marriage is holy estate, insti
tuted by God; at the movies you see
it Knocked, you see virtue ridiculed,
you are made to believe that every
woman is wicked and that there is
no such thing as living for life in
the bonds of love and faithfulness.
At church you hear that adultery is
a damnable sin; at the movies you
are made to believe that it is the
common thing and you are made to
feel "out -of-date' if you frown upon
the smut shown on the screen. At
church you are made to understand
that drunkenness is debasing and
leads to hell; at the movies you get
and a harmless diversion from the
every day routine and you see men
reeling over in drunken sprees. At
church you are taught that God gave
very explicit commandments against
covetousnesS; at the movies you are
shown that the covetous are the ones
who prosper and that by robbery and
murder.
: Is. it any wonder that the Roman
Catholic church started the legion Of
decency? We congratulate them and
we want to cooperate with them and
with the Jews who wish to get rid
of this evil influence in our midst
We do not wish to be understood as
saying that movies in themselves are
an evil. We are well aware that
good movies are as great a power
for good as bad movies are a power
for evil And there are good pictures.
If it were not for the abominable
block-booking and blind-selling, we
would not get so much of the Chicago
South State street stuff
We are pleased to join in the move
ment for good moral pictures and we
will gladly sign the pledge to stay
away from pictures that destroy
morals and to do all we can to per-
suade others to stay away. We be-
lieve in the ethics of Jesus and so
far as we are concerned depravity
shall not be allowed to bring on
social ruin. We are headed that way.
Our responsibility is to bring Sc
cfety I'D to the ideals of Christ