Report of Third Sermon in Series by Rev. John Moore
Dublin Core
Title
Report of Third Sermon in Series by Rev. John Moore
Description
San Francisco Chronicle, January 25, 1965, page 4.
Source
Repository: San Francisco Public Library
Text Item Type Metadata
Text
"Guidelines For 'New Morality'
A prominent Methodist minister outlined three new "commandments" here yesterday as a basis for a "new order" for the "new morality."
The Rev. John V. Moore used T.S. Eliot's "The Cocktail Party" and Robert Gover's "One-Hundred-Dollar Misunderstanding" — as well as the Bible — to illustrate his sermon on "Chastity and The Pill" at the Glide Memorial Methodist Church.
"All talk of the 'new morality' leaves me cold," the Rev. Moore said.
Order
Any "new freedom" is useless, he contended, unless it operates under a "new order" to preserve the stability of relationships.
"Pleasure is no solution. It is a principle of disorder... For a new morality, we must have positive principles.
"Some believe The Pill (birth control pills_ will solve the problem, but it is no substitute for responsibility.
"Sex is a gift of God. It can beautify, but unless there is power, power to shape this gift, it can destroy.
Question
He posted this question:
"The college girl who goes all the way" thinks she is free, but is she really free?
"Our task is to create a new order to shape the new freedom—or else it is chaos.
"Yet what sex ethic can be devised to include the single woman, the homosexual, the divorced man?"
The Rev. Mr. Moore suggested these three imperatives:
"Thou shalt be growing in fidelity.
"Thou shalt be growing in responsibility.
"Thou shalt grow in loving.
These imperatives, he said, can shape the values of the "new freedom," and "for those unwilling to shape the values, the future is bleak."
A prominent Methodist minister outlined three new "commandments" here yesterday as a basis for a "new order" for the "new morality."
The Rev. John V. Moore used T.S. Eliot's "The Cocktail Party" and Robert Gover's "One-Hundred-Dollar Misunderstanding" — as well as the Bible — to illustrate his sermon on "Chastity and The Pill" at the Glide Memorial Methodist Church.
"All talk of the 'new morality' leaves me cold," the Rev. Moore said.
Order
Any "new freedom" is useless, he contended, unless it operates under a "new order" to preserve the stability of relationships.
"Pleasure is no solution. It is a principle of disorder... For a new morality, we must have positive principles.
"Some believe The Pill (birth control pills_ will solve the problem, but it is no substitute for responsibility.
"Sex is a gift of God. It can beautify, but unless there is power, power to shape this gift, it can destroy.
Question
He posted this question:
"The college girl who goes all the way" thinks she is free, but is she really free?
"Our task is to create a new order to shape the new freedom—or else it is chaos.
"Yet what sex ethic can be devised to include the single woman, the homosexual, the divorced man?"
The Rev. Mr. Moore suggested these three imperatives:
"Thou shalt be growing in fidelity.
"Thou shalt be growing in responsibility.
"Thou shalt grow in loving.
These imperatives, he said, can shape the values of the "new freedom," and "for those unwilling to shape the values, the future is bleak."
Citation
“Report of Third Sermon in Series by Rev. John Moore”, The Council on Religion and the Homosexual, LGBTQ Religious Archives Network, accessed May 18, 2024, https://exhibits.lgbtran.org/exhibits/show/crh/item/1752.