Invitation to Ahmadiyyat — Page 106
106 and that it would increase their social prestige rather than bring them disrepute. In addition to such indecency, the carnal sin of idolatry is also rampant. It has spread on such a large scale, especially in Christian countries, that it is considered something natural and is seen as a human need rather than a sin. Prostitutes have always existed but who would have thought that a time would come when governments would pay women high salaries to serve the needs of soldiers so that they wouldn’t have to go out of the canton - ments? Who would have thought that relations between men and women would become such that it would not be strange for a woman to visit a man and that this would be seen as an essential part of human freedom, whereas marriage would be considered mental servitude, as is thought by millions of people in France and America. Who would have thought that people would seri - ously consider marriage to be an outdated institution and say that men and women can have relations with whomever they please, and that a woman is no more than a machine for bearing children and should be utilized fully to serve the nation, as is contended by some Socialist elements, particularly the Bolsheviks. This being the state of sexual promiscuity, it is easy to imagine the number of illegitimate births. Where sexual relations out - side marriage are thought to be sinful, people do not like to leave behind children who have the mark of illegitimacy on them. However, in a society that becomes insensitive to sin and where marriage is regarded as an unjustified interference on the part of religion, there can be no shame in producing and acknowledging illegitimate children. When things come to such a pass, legitimacy becomes the exception rather than the rule. People who hold such