Bad Thoughts

[New York]: The Missionary Society of St. Paul the Apostle in the State of New York, 1947. Very good to near-fine.. A late 1940's printed pocket guide to curbing "Bad Thoughts" and sinful thinking penned by a Reverend, fed up with the rise of Freud and "pop psychology" in popularity over religion as a means of understanding the self: "Psychology is in the air! Sensational best-sellers as well as highly popular radio programs unravel, in the name of science and popular education, the hidden conflicts underlying personality disturbances, while in movie houses as in dimly lighted temples, the modern unknown god 'Unconscious' is publicly worshiped in psychiatrically [sic] tinged pictures ... Doubt is raised constantly by many leaders-- our so-called intellectuals-- concerning immorality" (p. [1]). The booklet goes on to reinforce the author's religious biases by attempting to answer questions such as "When Are Bad Thoughts Sinful?" and "Why Does God Permit Temptations?". An interesting look into a Reverend's struggle to justify his role in an increasingly modernized and secularized world. Single vol. (6" by 3.5"), pp. 32, in original illus. wrps with image of a man pondering on the front. Early price in ink manuscript to upper wrapper.