THE rUTURE
J. F. JOHNSON
MISS EMMA P. JOHNSON.
L. A. WISE
OUTLOOK
- ? Editor & Publisher
News Reporter
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MORTICIANS AND FUNERALS
On many occasions an individual while in good health,
discusses with his immediate family the type of funeral
and burial arrangements he would prefer at his death.
This is very necessary nowadays, since the funeral busi
ness is so profitable. When a bereaved family contacts a
mortician for burial rites, the mortician knows the sym
pathetic sales language. The mortician tells the fmaily the
type of burial services he is able to render. He shows the
different kinds of caskets, vehicles, attendants and service
to be furnished. If the deceasd is a mother or father,
some member of the bereaved family will remember how
the mother or father gave all they had to make every
sacrifice to bring the family up. The last respect they can
show they feel is to give a decent burial. Of course, the
mortician agrees. In some cases, he has a catalog to show
the kind and prices of different burials.
The family, in their grief, is so confused they ask the
mortician for his suggestions. His answer is, "if you will
bring me your insurance policies, we can easily Bettle the
price and type of funeral." The closest relative will tell
them they have a $2500 insurance policy. The mortician
then turns to the type of funeral in the catalog which will
consume the entire face value of the policy. He begins to
itemize the cost of the casket, burial plot, opening of the
grave, telegrams and service to his attendants.
The grief-stricken forget about the living's continuous
bills of property and the remainder of the investment that
the deceased left that will have to be taken care of. They
end up putting all of the insurance in the ground. In most
cases final rites are held on Sunday so that friends and
relatives can share their vehicles and serve as flower bear
ers to make the funeral look more attractive. Of course, no
friend will deny any service on Sunday because they have
nothing else to do.
It has been frequently mentioned that if a person, in
his health and strength without relatives would bequeath
the face value of an insurance policy to his church, or
ganizations, and personal friends as a standing memorial,
he would be remembered for his love, admiration and the
sacrifice he has made to them. It would also serve as a
standing remembrance to the coming generations of his
church.
A group of business men were discussing the number
of deceased buried in a church cemetery with $2,000 or
more spent for funeral and burial expenses. A hundred
dollars or more was spent for flowers. One of the persons
in the group once was an attendant at a funeral home and
he stated that the mortician profits about 80% at every
funeral. Once upon a time if an unknown person died with
nobody to assume responsibility of his burial, some good
Samaritan would solicit funds to give a burial according
to the life the deceased lived. Nowadays the welfare or if
the deceased was once employed the welfare and the social
security will assume the responsibility of his burial. These
business men are church-goers and suggested that church
members should invest in a church insurance plan. Many
wealthy families have been doing this for several years
for the benefit of the church. That is why we can see such
beautiful churches being completed in some communities
? churches with every modern facility.
Many of our readers will say that the face value of
the policy should go to the closest living relative instead
of the church. The family needs the money to pay bills, and
to carry on the family's needs while they live. They forget
about the money they will invest in the funeral, which is
usually forgotten about five days after the funeral. Fur
thermore, within a few months they are unable to find the
deceased's grave in some of the cemeteries for the rubbish
and weeds that have grown up around it. How wonderful
it would be if a portion of the money that is spent for a
funeral service were invested in the church to which the
deceased professes so much love and loyalty! For those
who want their coming generations to walk in their foot
step* aa lovers of -the church, there could be no more
standing memorial than if the deceased would have willed
part of the face value of his insurance policy to the church.
Many while alive and in good health and strength
This Weed's Sunday School Lesson
JUDGMENT AND PROMISE
Beginning Where You Are
"Whatever is this world com
ing to?" asked a shut-in of her
pastor when he visited her on
Good Friday, the anniversary
of the execution of Jesus and
the murder of Dr. Martin Luther
King. "The news I hear fright
ens me," she continued. "There
are so many riots, strikes, kill
ings, and robberies. Nobody is
safe anymore. I'm sure that the
world has never been so wick
ed. Surely, the last days are
here, and God will soon destroy
the earth."
In a number of biblical pas
sages one finds a viewpoint ex
pressed similar to this shut-in's.
The story of Noah and the
Flood, found in Genesis 6
through 9, contains such a rec
ord. There we read: "The wick
edness of man was great in the
earth, and . . . every imagina
tion of the thoughts of his heart
was only evil continually."
"And the Lord was sorry that
he had made man."
When something turns out
wrong, It seems reasonable
that the solution is to start all
over again. According to the
Genesis story, this is the course
the Lord decided to take. Crea
tion had proved to be disap
pointing. Man especially
turned out to be corrupt Then
fore, the Lord flooded the earth,
destroying man, beast, and bird.
There were exceptions: (1) the
creatures of the waters, since
presumably a flood would not
kill them, and (2) the righteous
man, Noah, .and his family
along with a male and female
creature of all the species of
animal and bird life.
Some modern notions about
the end of the world do not
seem much different from those
expressed in the Genesis story
of the Flood. Though some may
believe that because of gross
evil the end of the world must
be near, few imagine the abso
lute end of all life. Somehow,
some persons will be spared.
And if some are spared, it seems
reasonable they should be the
righteous. The righteous ought
to live, for the world depends
upon them.
This idea seems obvious in
the Genesis account. Thus, after
the Flood, there was a new
start. A baptized earth had been
washed clean. History would be
gin once more, this time in the
right way.
In theory this solution seems
fins; but iii actual results it
may turn out differently. In
Genesis we note that Noah, the
rigBTeous man chosen to begin
history again after the Flood,
gets drunk. Moreover, his de
scendants are not all righteous.
It seems to take more than
a calamity in world history to
change the character of man
Semrchln* The Scripture
The Scripture for *M? lwmn '
is Genesis 6 through 9; Matthew
24:37-39; 2 Peter 2:4-10a. Se
lected verses are printed below.
Genesis 6:5-8,13-14
5 The Lord saw that the
wickedness of man was great in
the earth and that every imagi
nation of the thoughts of his
heart was only evil continually.
6 And the Lord was sorry that
he had made man on the earth
and it grieved him to his heart!
7 So the Lord said, "I will blot
out man whom I have created
from the face of the ground,
man and beast and creeping
things and birds of the air, for
I am sorry that I have made
them." 8 But Noah found favor
in the eyes of the Lord.
'?????
13 And God said to Noah, "I
have determined to make an end
o t all flesh; for the earth is
filled with violence through
them; behold, I will destory
them with the earth. 14 Make
yourself an ark of gopher wood;
make rooms in the ark, and
civer it inside and out with
pitch."
Genesis 7:1,4-5
1 Then the Lord said to
Noah, "Go into the ark, you
and all your household, for I
have seen that you are righteous
before me in this generation.
? . . 4 For in seven days I will
send rain upon the earth forty
days and forty nights; and every
living thing that I have made
I will blot out from the face
of the ground." 5 And Noah did
all that the Lord had command
ed him.
Genesis 9:8-13
8 Then God said to Noah and
to his sons with him, 9 "Behold,
I establish my covenant with
you and your descendants after
you, 10 and with every living
creature that is with you, the
birds, the cattle, and every beast
of the earth with you, as many
as came out of the ark. 11 I
establish my covenant with you,
that never again shall all fi?ch
be cut off by the waters of a
flood, and never again shall
there be a flood to destroy the
earth." 12 And God said, "This
is the sign of the covenant which
I make between me and you
and every living creature that
is with you, for all future gene
rations: 13 I set my bow in the
cloud, and it shall be a sign of
the covenant between me and
the earth."
Memory Selection: By faith
Noah, being warned by God
concerning events as yet un
seen, took heed and constructed
an ark for the saving of his
household. ?Hebrews 11:7
Exploring The Questions
The story about Noah and the
Flood has played a prominent
part in our culture and theology.
Indeed, many cultures of the
world include a story similar to
that in Genesis.
The reason given in Genesis
for the universal destruction
think nothing about final rites. If an insurance agent talks
with us about a policy, we will say we are going to enjoy
our earnings while we are alive, and when we are dead, it
will be up to the living to dispose of our remains. Such
persons leave nothing for the grief-stricken family, church
or organizations. And such persons usually have no church
affiliation.
May we urge our readers to live and invest so that
when we pass away our loved ones can say that we left an
investment for the church so that the coming generation
can say "my deceased mother or father still lives by the
sacrifice they made toward their church and family."
wrought by the Flood was God's
judgment against the general
wickedness ?nd corruption of
man. The Flood came, then, as
punishment for man's sm. Since
beasts and tirds were also de
stroyed by the Flood, should we
assume that they piutiripnted
in the wickedness that caused
the Flood? Was all flesh cor
rupt?
Was Noah the only righteous
person living > t the time ul the
Flood? If so, hy were h's wife,
their three sons, and their wives
spared, plus a male and female
of every living species? II
through the righteousness of
Noah these could be saved, why
not others?
When the Flood was over apd
Noah was able to leave the ark,
he offered sacrifices of thanks
giving to the Lord. Thereupon
the Lord vowed never again to
curse the ground because of
man. He would never again de
stroy every living being, even
though man continued to com
mit evil deeds. What is
story trying to teach us about
God?
An interesting detail from the
life of Noah is that which tells
of nU planting a vineyard. From
the fruit of this vineyard Ncah
became drunk. This detail about
Noah strikes one as unfitting.
What is the significance of
episode, and why was it record
ed?
Finding Help
With Your Questions
Legends of a universal flood
have been found in the literature
of many ancient peoples. The
Babylonians had early develop
ed such a narrative., However,
the ethical quality of the biblical
narrative far exceeds that o 1
the Babylonians. Charles Kraft
comments upon the similarities
and differences in the two ac
counts:
"Both Babylonian and Bibli
cal stories give similar specifi
cations for making the ark. Both
stories agree as to the launching
of the vessel, the sending out of
the birds, the resting of the ship
on a mountain (Ararat in mod
ern Armenia), the disembarka
tion, the sacrifice, and the
promise that there shall not be
another such deluge in the fu
ture. But, striking as these sim
ilarities are, the contrasts are
far more important: The Baby
lonian conception of deity ia
utterly polytheistic (having
many gods); the gods disagree,
and they petulantly blame each
other; they crouch with fear
'like dogs' at the terrible storm;
and when it is all over, being
starved from lack of man-pro
vided food, they swarm like
flies' about the sacrifice. In
startling contrast the one majes
tic God of the Hebrews has
brought about the flood as his
own righteous judgment and he
remains at all times Master of
the universe!"
Apparent differences within
the biblical account Indicate that
the story is a blending of tra
ditions rather than a treatment
by a single author. Scholars
recognize the contribution at the
Yahwist (J) and priestly (P)
writers in Genesis 6 through 9.
The contrasts in the story M to
the blending process by which
the number of animals taken
into the ark and the duration