The Soviet Union is now fighting what it used to call the disease of capitalist countries-ever-increasing alcoholism. The Soviet “New Man” and new social and economic structures were supposed to eliminate this scourge, but the New Man looks remarkably like the old Adam after he was expelled from the garden. Although the bourgeoisie is gone, the proletariat has taken on the marks of bourgeois decadence. History will continue to illustrate inexorably that man is not intrinsically good and that environment is not the decisive element in character and lifestyle.
Somehow we must convince people of the need for a changed heart. A pig bathed in perfume and dressed in a ruffled bonnet is still a pig until his nature is changed. Well fed, well housed, and well clothed people will never make it to heaven without being born again through faith in Christ. In this new year let’s bait every hook with the good news of the Gospel.