OUR CHANGING WORLD

 

An effective change in communication among our folk is now evident in the emergence of the cassette tape. The old tape recorder-player was very much with us, to be sure —and was the downfall of many a good man who said the “wrong” thing at the wrong place! But we have largely outgrown that destructive use of electronics, and with the cassette we move to a fast and easy mode of sharing at a positive level. These recorders are cheaper, more compact, and operate with little more than a flip of the switch. And they are easily mailed. The cassette is a marvelous blessing for which we should praise God.

In the old days Ouida and I would read together upon retiring, and those are cherished memories. Nowadays we press the button of our cassette player and hear from folk far and wide, and we are impressed with the intimacy of it all, for it is as if that person were right there with us, whether we are in bed or not. Some choose to record rather than to write, so we get tapes from all over the country, which of course we welcome. Getting them all answered, in like kind, is something else.

But this cassette business is even more than this. Entire libraries of excellent material are being recorded on cassettes, and there are subscriptions available for monthly tapes that inform one of the latest developments in the religious world as well as commentaries on latest theological thought. And of course the Bible is available in more than one version. Excuses for ignorance are vanishing even for those who do not read well.

An Omaha newspaper has disclosed that Boys Town is, by conservative estimates, worth $209 million, with a $25 million annual income. Due to the disclosure, Archbishop Sheehan, who controls the school’s board, cancelled the two annual appeals for funds, one at Easter and the other at Christmas, with the famous stamp, “He ain’t heavy, Father, he’s my brother.” As recently as 1970 the Boys Town post office was deluged with 34 million pieces of mail. That year alone $17 million came in. Fortune magazine has ranked the home 230th in the nation’s 500 top industrials. Since the disclosure the home has had to set up a special office to handle complaints. Already more than 1,000 complaints have come from donors. As a consequence of all this Boys Town’s trustees are reassessing the school’s role and are designing a program commensurate to its wealth. Few people are aware that there is a similar home in the same area with Boys Town, an institution worthy of support that has struggled through the years.

A new book entitled Healers of the Mind, which is a compilation of testimonials of ten psychiatrists, reveals that when people are in trouble 42% of them that ask for help go to a clergyman, while only 18% consult psychiatrists and psychologists. This is a sobering fact, for it raises the question as to how well qualified professional ministers are for such a responsibility. The psychiatrists conclude that “Learning to trust” is the secret to good mental health. And so one of them writes: “Those who heal the mind are like mothers who listen patiently and attentively to the troubles of others.”

The Pat Boone family has chartered a 747 jet for a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, where they will film a TV special. Dr. Roy Blizzard, one of our preachers and a Hebrew professor at Texas, will lecture along the way. There will be an airborne communion service on the way over, as well as special services at the Garden Tomb. April 4-13 is the date, and you can go along for $888. Write to Gaylord Briley, Inc., Box 1, Red Hill. Pa, 18076.

Interesting news items from the world of Roman Catholicism: More than a dozen dioceses have joined Key 73 … Some organizations are working for “planned parenthood” in Central America, but oppose both sterilization and abortion … In the United States 68% of Roman Catholic women are now using birth control methods forbidden by Pope Paul’s Humanae Vitae … These are mostly younger women, and it is believed that this rebellion will eventually lead to a change in the church’s doctrine … Jesuit Father Daniel Berrigan and 100 others picketed New York’s St. Patrick’s cathedral and passed out “blood-stained” leaflets in protest of Cardinal Cooke’s “sad and strange silence” on the resumed bombing of North Vietnam … The Catholic Relief Services have set up 33 centers in Nicaragua to help the earthquake victims.

Insearch is a research committee composed of more than 80 religious leaders, directed by Dr. John E. Beirsdorf of the National Council of Churches, that recently issued a report on its 18-month study of religion in America. It is funded by the Dayton Foundation. Some of their interesting conclusions: Small churches rated loving as their chief value, much higher than most Americans rate it. Larger groups valued honesty and ambition higher, and religious knowledge was esteemed by larger groups more than by smaller groups. Division in organized religion may come in form of a “religion of the state” with the likes of Billy Graham and President Nixon on one side, and the more traditional Judeo-Christian religion that “brings judgement to bear” on political institutions on the other side.