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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 20, 1961)
A Wednesday, " December 20, 1961 The Daily Nebraskjn Page 2 A Paths No Room There is a most discon certing statement in the' story of the Natvitiy. St. Luke sayi bluntly there was "no room" for God in the village Inn at Beth lehem! It does seem a papardox that when He who set the stars in their courses chose to make a visit to his planet, He should be gretted by a sign, "no vacancy." What is the situation in the twentieth century? Dietrich Bonhoeffer has said that the world has come of age; it has ar rived; it no longer needs God. He sights these his torical developments. In theology it has been as serted by some that "rea son is the sufficient instru ment of religious knowl edge." In ethics "moral principles" are substitutes for the "ten command ments." Politics has been liberated "from the tute lage of morality" and in philosophy "there is a growing tendency to as sert the autonomy of man and the world . . . There Is no longer any need of God as a working hypo thesis, whether in morals, politics, or science." And yet God's coming to man today is not un like the "event" which Christians commemorate at Christmas time. Into the world, which thought it could do business with out Him, God came in the Incarnation The Word became a human being, and did dwell among men. But how unlike a God, born of a human being and residing in a man ger! What ignominy, and . too profane for one so great! Except for a few He slipped into history unnoticed. But it didn't take long before His coming was felt, for His method of operation was an irritant. He began acting like GOD, (Included iii the attributes of God are goodness, truth, Justice, and love.) He began healing the sick, looking out for the poor, and defending the defense less. ; He shared in the stuff of which life is made experiencing pain, tak ing on suffering, forgiv ing, loving. And He an , nounced the "good news" of th.e Kingdom. And although the com mon folk responded and "heard Him gladly," He was finally "edged out of the world and on to a cross." There really wasn't room for God in the world! Today we have prog ressed (?) Man has fi nally gotten np the cour age to declare his autono my. As Bonhoeffer has aid, tiie world has come of age and does not need God. There seems to be no more room for Him to day than on the eve of the Nativity. True, the world, at least Western culture, Sves lip-service to the rdship of Jesus Christ ami a token recognition of His precepts. But by Letterip h nH KalmakM win Mb!) Ik fv nw a nMIM wit pea WIS kn (rtw rnrninr a nan um awiS'sns. Larara aanald nnt nMI IS. SOt inMkaa itaanai' tax Iloute Officer Objects to BAIN To the Editor: In regard to the letter submitted by BAINS-ites: I was quite surprised to read the opinion stated in the letter which was signed with the name of my house for two rea sons. First, the- opinion that was stated in the letter is not an official policy of Benton house as was im plied; and the person who submitted the letter had no power to state that it ' was. . Secondly, I was not aware that it is the prac tice of the Daily Nebras- Dailv Nebraskan Blember Associated Collegiate Press. International Press KegsreseniaMve: National Advertising Bervice. Incorporated rtilitihed at: Roam SI. Student Union. Lincoln. Nebraska. t SEVENTY-ONE YEARS OLD . 14th R Telephone BE -7631 ext. 4225, 4228, 4227 fkibwrlptlaa rat, an 3 per aemaatw M St for tka academic year. tmS as aaraaa claaa matter at the poat affle la U (, Naorunn, aaW IN al Aarti-st 4, 1U. 1 "if IMul HmhrD.nl-tta Is pnallahad Monday, Tnaadaa, Wcdamday and FrJ . S ti tna cbaol rear, except daring neatlona and axara aarlada, by t..-..v of the Ualveralty of Neonuka ander anthorltacloa of tha Committee n ...o-nt Affalra aa an axprmalon af atudont opinion Pnblltatlnn ander tna i, Hadii-tloa of the NaheiimmlttM an Student Publication, aba II aa fore from , ,,rial eenatmhlp on the part of the Subcommittee er on the part af any mrmm outside (ha t'nlveralty. The memben af tna Dally Nebraakaa ataff ara i v,rmiiy reaponribla (or what they aay, at da, a eauaa to aa printed. aMruanf S, l. of Life For God? and large mankind has declared its autonomy. This does not mean that God does not exist; nor does it mean that human ity does not need Him; nor does it mean that we must necessarily attack this autonomy. But it does mean that we must under stand that God can and docs accomplish His will by quite a different means and approach than we con sider workable and effec tive. "God is "weak and powerless in the world, and that is exactly the way, the only wty, in which He can be with us and help us. Matt. 8:17 makes it cyrstal clear clear that it is not by His omnipotence that Christ helps us but His weakness and suffering." Bon hoeffer.) This season of the year, known in the Christian world as Advent and Christmas, not only de clares that God did make His entrance once but that He does so again and again to as as many as do receive Him. Matt. 18:3 suggests that the way to receive Christ is to be come like little children; the way is that of re pentance," which is ulti mate honesty. In such hearts God is pleased to dwell. The content of Christ mas further suggests that there is actually an al ternative force. Wordly powers have over the cen turies resorted to arms to settle their differences. And today it is believed that we can achieve peace by flexing our nuclear muscles. The megaton is , made the symbol of peace. Christians assert that the "manger" is the symbol of peace. God comes to dwell with us in heart and society. "No one may hear His coming,, but in this world of sin, where meek souls will receive Him still, the dear Christ enters in." It is a unique way (and strange, to most), but it works; for peace is impossible with out reconciliation. Even as God identified Himself in Christ with hu manity, so we, as Chris tians, are invited to align ourselves with God in His sufferings. We are chal lenged "to participate in the sufferings of God at the hands of a Godless world." (Bonhoeffer) Christ says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in . . ." It is finally up to us whether or not we want God (Christ) to dwell among us. Is there room in your life for God? v (Dietrich 4 Bonhoeffer was a Lutheran pastor in Germany who because of his opposition to the Nazi regime was imprisoned, and hanged just five days before the allied forces liberated the area.) Alvln M. Petersen Campus Pastor, NLC Lutheran Student Foundation mi thoM kttm wklrk an tic. um ar Initial a. Rowarar, lettrra air Initial! onlr ai tt dttor'h rilM to eaadenaa tham, retaining tha zn wan. wnnn mm nnwea taia kan to publish letters which appeared to be statements of house policy but which were not signed by an officer of the house. Sincerely, Rod Marshall President of Benton House Thanks to Staff Dear Mr. Beatty: Many thanks to you and to your staff for letting the students and faculty know about the. "Latin American Prize" and the Spanish Fellowship p r o gram. We hope to continue in creasing our work and with your help, I am sure , it will be successful. Sincerely yours, Roberto Esquenazi-Mayo The BY Setting: Santaland North. Pole 1 Earth Time: 1961 years after Christ Compressed by the bristling commercial com plex to the south, the San taland & Far Northern Railroad and the sprawl ing Santaland Interstate, the Christmas IDEAS de partment was stuffed into a variety of sedate build ings which had been de signed by efficient Santa land architects of the San ticlus Victorious period. The purpose of the IDEAS department was to origi nate and develop new ideas designed to spread happiness and enlighten ment throughout the world of mortals. In order to fa cilitate these develop ments, the department had been divided into sub departments such as the Engineering S.D., the Business S.D., and Law S.D. However, all was not well in Santaland and as Santa (or Big Red as he was affectionately known in the IDEAS department) sat pondering, several problems entered his kindly reflections. The girl elves who volunteered to work in the IDEAS de partment often thought too much about the boy elves. The boy elves often thought too much about the girl elves and promo tions to higher pay. Un ion elves spent a great deal of time trying to re cruit new members and non-union elves spent a great deal of time trying to antagonize the unions. All of these problems were overshadowed by a pro duction problem: The IDEAS department was not producing ideas to solve the problems of men. True, the elves were sometimes lazy and the supervisors often did not stimulate their minds, but Santa knew that the pro duction problem stemmed University Flying Club Meeting Thursday, Dec. 21 at 7:30 at Union Airport EVERYBODY WEltOME For information call: NEAL THOMSSEN 466-5052 University Season's Greetings TOM EASON in part from the use of the idea-evaluation s y s i tem which had been de signed by an efficient San taland psychologist of the p o s t-Santiclus-Thorn-dikeus period. The psy chologist had proposed a system in w h i c h the su pervisor was to assign an evaluation number from one to nine to each idea submitted by the elves, with the highest numbers going to the best ideas. In this way, the elves could determine their relative OAYAFTftOAY Gofds OF NEBRASKA MAS MORI O IVUYTHIN4 -w W t . X ItonWIIlff Ot Karen Banting i Sherrill Geiitlinger . Sharon Anienon Janet Hoeppnmr Jeann progress in contributing to the efforts of the depart ment. On paper, it was an efficient system. The problem was, of course, that for many of the elves, the evaluation (Continued on Page 4) TODSIT Kidisixnr CASUAL DRESS TRIBUTES TO HIS FLAIR FOR FASHION . . . FAMOUS Wembley Accessories Take Barbara's advice, co-ordinate his accessories this Christmas, give him Wembley gift ensembles that express hi s good taste. The matching tie and stretch socks pee a favorite . . . and Wembley ties have a color guide to help you in your selection.' J ' lSLK'TS. Elegant and Morrison Mary Ralston Gold's 1961 College Advisory Board READ NEBRASKAN WANT ADS ALFA ROMEO MC-CARa ORSWARO OKW FORD CARS FIAT HILLMAN JAGUAR MIRCKDRS UNI OPIX PIUQIOT PORSCHE RENAULT SAAR SIMCA UNRIAM TRIUMPH VAUXHALL VOLKIWAOCN VOLVO TELEPHONE 423-4603 Christmas Check List j I For Men of All Ages i 8 ' " " I SHIRTS I I SWEATERS 1 SLACKS 1 1 BATH ROBES j K 1 1 S SPORT COATS 1 I SUITS TRENCH COATS 1 VESTS GIFT ITEMS 1 AFTER SHAVE SCARVES SOCKS I TIES 1 TIES' TIES I EAST HILLS RES. 488-0929 Christmas Shop Every Night, Monday Thru Saturday 9TU 9:00 p.m. ir r - - PWf ! M. Kit Thompson Jeanne DESION - ENGINEERING MAINTENANCE COACH REPAIR PAINTINO bnllioli-Ceifewlioit MOTOR WOAKJ. INC. 1641 SOUTH 17TH STREET LINCOLN. NEBRASKA t Captains UJalh uMivtisirr of NEIKASKA IIHCOINJ! 1127 "R" St. ATO COMBO Thursday, Dec. 22 7:00 to 10:30 $1.04 per pertoR Barbara Bell v k Set ... 2.95 Arnel, Scotchgard. Continental Adjustable Tlet . . . 1.50 to 2.50 GOLD'S Men's Store . . . street Floor ,i.'"0al m :J.l: Thorough Sally Wilson it i I