lves. The autonomy and initiative that once
belonged to the individual have been transferred to the social order,
with the result that instead of individuals receiving their direction
from within, they now receive it from without, with the inevitable
demand for conformity, in which the integrity of the individual is apt
to be sacrificed. Every time he turns on his radio or television set,
his autonomy is assaulted by all kinds of pressures.

This condition presents education and religion with peculiar
challenges. In order to minister to the world, it is necessary that one
participate in the life of the world and share its problems as did our
Lord. But if we are to be the instrument of God's purpose in the work of
the world, it will be necessary for us to have a sense of autonomy and a
power of independence. This is what it means to be in the world but not
of the world.

One of the objectives of love, therefore, is so to live with one
another, especially with our children, that out of that relationship we
may emerge with such a power of being as a person that we shall be able
to face the complexities, pressures, deprivations, and dangers of modern
life. Our aim is to help the child become a responsible participant in
the crucial issues of life, and to preserve his integrity as a deciding
person. The answer to his questions, Who am I? and Who are you?, will
then be: I am what I will, and you are what you will; and our
relationship is one of mutuality in which each will call forth the
other. If the awakening of a sense of autonomy is an objective of love,
it is also the objective of the church's life, its teaching, and its
evangelistic endeavor. Without power of autonomy and independence,
Christians will be mere conformists and maintainers of the _status quo_.

_Sense of Initiative_

The third objective of love is to help the individual achieve a sense of
initiative. At the age of four or five, a child is faced with his next
crisis and must take his next big step. He must find out what kind of
person he is going to be. His search will be strengthened by his
experience of trust, and by whatever power of autonomy he has. Dr.
Erikson points out that he wants to be like his parents who seem very
wonderful to him, but who, at the same time, present him with very real
threats. During this age he plays at being his parents. According to Dr.
Erikson, there are three strong developments which help him, but which
also contribu