Questions & Answers

Dr. Norman Vincent (The Power of Positive Thinking) Peale, onetime newspaper reporter on the Findlay, Ohio Morning Republican, and for almost 23 years pastor of Manhattan's Reformed Marble Collegiate Church, has a voice that carries far. What he has to say is heard by millions of people each week--on the air, in a weekly newspaper column, a biweekly magazine article (in Look), his own monthly magazine, pamphlets, books, and about 15 speeches a month (TIME, Nov. 1). Last week Dr. Peale, on a new daily radio program over NBC (10:05-10:15 a.m., E.S.T.), became the first Protestant minister ever sponsored by a commercial company over a regular nationwide radio network. The sponsor: Doeskin, Inc. ("Makers of so-gentle Doeskin Facial Tissues"). On the program Dr. Peale answers correspondents' questions about religion as well as about their personal problems, an area in which he feels religion is deeply concerned.

Sample Question: "I am 17 and was married two months ago. During the six months my husband and I were engaged, my parents seemed to like him very much and agreed to our marriage. Now, my mother resents everything we do or say when we visit them, and told me not to come back and will not speak to us when we meet . . . What do you think I should do about my parents?"

Dr. Peale: "Your mother, of course, is acting in a very irrational manner. I am sure there is an explanation of it, however, which probably is an injured and aggrieved attitude based on the feeling that she is no longer wanted . . . You would be well advised to simply take the attitude that your mother is going through a sulky, pouty, emotional reaction . . . If you should give in to her now and go and make yourself subservient to her, you would create an unhappy situation that might exist for years . . . I would suggest that you . . . write her . . . pleasant little notes. Send her things. Do everything in your power to show her that you love her . . . Just remain steady and be as nice as possible, and at all times be kindly and forgiving."

Question: "In my past life I have done some very bad sins, and I have no peace of mind because of them. I am sorry for every misdeed, and have told God about it. Why is there no peace in my mind? . . ."

Dr. Peale: "There is a very peculiar characteristic in human nature, and that is our inability to forgive ourselves. We do wrong, we ask God to forgive us, and God does forgive us. But it is far more difficult to get ourself to forgive ourself . . . A normal, strong, well-adjusted mind will . . . say, 'God has forgiven me, I have done everything I can to make this matter right, it's in the past, it's washed out, it's all over and done . . .' I sometimes think it was a very wise procedure in the mind of the Creator when He invented nighttime. The darkness comes down and blots out everything that has happened during the day. Then, after the nighttime has passed, a new day dawns, and every day is a fresh beginning."

Preacher Peale hesitated before allowing the program to be sponsored commercially, finally decided that .with a sponsor he could reach a far wider audience. Commercials are carefully screened for dignity and taste, but Dr. Peale sees no point in trying to hide the fact that they are commercials (sample: ". . . And that's just what Doeskin Dinner Napkins are made of . . . 100% genuine facial tissue . . . two big. fluffy layers. Ordinary napkins are hard and crinkly").

Radio, says Norman Vincent Peale, is "a wonderful way to broaden one's ministry, to reach out to minds and hearts that might not otherwise be touched."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.