May 8

The Gulf Between the People and the Churches

THAT there is such a gulf, an ever-enlarging gulf, is becoming more evident daily. It is underscored by dwindling attendance at church services, a decline in church membership and an alarming falling off of church revenue. A South African news item recently appeared under the heading “Church Looks for Her 250,000 Members.” It reported a minister of the Dutch Reformed Church as saying: “We are painfully aware of the serious proportions assumed by the drift away from the church.”

Such a drift can be observed with regard to many of Christendom’s churches. In the United States the Roman Catholic Church has reported its first decline in membership since 1900. Further, from 1968 to 1970, the United Presbyterian Church counted a net loss of 76,000 members. A big loss was also reported by the Episcopal Church. And in France thousands of churches and chapels have been abandoned or are at the point of being abandoned.

Why the ever-increasing gulf between the people and the churches? Many reasons appear in news reports. Recently the Akron, Ohio, Beacon Journal made a survey of the situation, and in its issue of November 15, 1970, said: “Why is area church membership declining? A lack of human warmth in the churches is the main cause for disaffection, say the dropouts. Meanwhile, a large percentage of church members seem to believe there would be no problem if only the pastors would ‘preach the truth.’” What, then, is being preached that is widening the gulf?

Political Involvement Alienates Many

Instead of preaching Bible truth, clergymen all too often are found preaching politics. In Australia, for example, a member of Parliament has said that “one reason why many churches were emptying rapidly was that their leaders used the pulpit as a platform for politics.” They were also guilty, he said, of ‘casting doubts on the authority of the Bible.’​—Melbourne Age of July 28, 1970.

The German magazine Der Spiegel reports that 65 percent of the German people, when asked for their opinion of church involvement in politics, said: “The churches mix into politics too much.”

That involvement in political issues has brought about a gulf between the people and the church was noted by the editor of the South African magazine Femina. After making a survey of the situation, he reported:

“‘The Church should keep out of politics.’ This runs like a constant refrain through any discussion on the subject​—with laymen. The Church sees things otherwise. That’s another reason for the gulf between the Church and the People. On my mentioning this to a clergyman recently, he said, as if surprised that this should be an issue at all, ‘But the Church has always been political.’ Perhaps that’s the trouble with the Church.”

In Britain the involvement of the clergy in opposing the tour of Britain by South African cricketers in 1970 roused one man to write to a leading antitour clergyman, the Bishop of Gloucester: “Stick to trying to fill your empty churches and don’t meddle in things which are not the church’s concern.”​—The Star, Johannesburg, June 8, 1970.

In Latin America an increasing number of priests are preaching social change, even by violent means. The U.S. News & World Report of December 14, 1970, commenting on the matter, spoke of “the widespread support of socialism and acceptance of violence on the part of men and women trained to work in peace.” The magazine added that “in more than a half dozen countries, Roman Catholic clergymen have been accused of involvement in guerrilla units.” Such conduct repels many honest church members.

Are these clergymen following the pattern of Jesus Christ, whom they claim to be their Leader? When Jesus was on earth, the Jews were in a state of political ferment, and feelings ran high. There were the Pharisees, who wanted a Jewish kingdom completely independent of the Roman Empire. Some of the people were in expectation of a Messiah that they pictured as leading them to independence and freedom. (Luke 3:15) The party followers of Herod advocated rulership by the line of the Herods. Some wanted complete absorption of the Jews by Rome. What was Jesus’ position?

On one occasion, the people recognized Jesus as the promised Prophet. With their political view of matters they were about to seize him to make him king. Did Jesus view this as an opportunity to do ‘great good’ and to right injustices and institute political reforms? No. The Bible says that he ‘withdrew into a mountain all alone.’​—John 6:14, 15.

As to violence, now advocated by some clergymen, Jesus, on the night of his arrest, reproved Peter when Peter attempted to defend him from being seized by a mob. He also undid the bad effects of Peter’s violence by healing the man Peter had injured. Then he stated the truth often quoted but seldom followed by clergymen: “All those who take the sword will perish by the sword.”​—Matt. 26:51, 52; Luke 22:49-51; John 18:10,11.

Jesus refused even to engage in any “reform” movement. In fact, he once declined even to take the position of a judge to settle a private dispute over an inheritance, replying to his petitioner: “Man, who appointed me judge or apportioner over you persons?”​—Luke 12:14.

This example of the Lord Jesus Christ was doubtless in the apostle Peter’s mind years later when he exhorted fellow Christians: “For the Lord’s sake subject yourselves to every human creation: whether to a king as being superior or to governors.” And the apostle Paul pointed out that rebellion against political governments is actually rebellion against the arrangement of God.​—1 Pet. 2:13, 14; Rom. 13:1, 2.

The Gulf Between Young People and the Churches

The gulf between the people and the churches is especially apparent among young persons, who in great numbers are turning away from the churches. The Scottish Daily Express of November 7 and 13, 1970, reported: “Nowhere is the generation gap more seen than in the Kirk [the Church of Scotland]​—Teenage members are pitifully few.” “Most teenagers are not even sufficiently interested in the Kirk to condemn it.” And Pope Paul VI recently expressed “an oppressive sense of sad wonder” at dissent by Catholic laymen, especially young adults.​—New York Times, December 23, 1970.

Young persons today are asking questions, and the churches are not giving them the answers​—realistic, satisfying answers. As a Catholic churchman in Johannesburg put it: “Whereas in the past the masses clung to religion with what we must admit was mostly ‘blind faith,’ the people, especially the young people, of this twentieth century, are more and more demanding a religious faith that gives them realistic answers to their questions.”

Young people find themselves in a technological world in which the individual is treated with less and less dignity. Many find that even their college educations do not give them assurance of employment. With the “establishment” as they know it, with its economic and political systems in a state of crisis, they ask, Where is there anything solid or reliable? What is the hope ahead, if any? What purpose is there in life? Since the churches do not answer these basic questions, how can they expect to hold the youths?

A news item in the Daytona Beach, Florida, Evening News of November 16, 1970, included this admission: “‘We’ve preached pie in the sky too long,’ said Larry Stanley, president of the Baptist Student Union at Florida State University. ‘If we are able to reach students​—or anyone—​we must make ourselves creditable and tell the truth.’”

Disastrous Efforts to Close the Gap

Many clergymen have endeavored to bridge the growing gap by trying to “talk the language” of modern youth. Thus they have introduced rock ’n’ roll sessions in church services, provided social activities slanted to the liking of teen-agers, and have gone into the pubs and coffeehouses to meet the youths on their own ground. But in doing so, they have often looked ridiculous and failed to gain the respect of the youths. Further, by such efforts the clergy alienate themselves from those who still regularly go to church.

Moreover, genuine lovers of the Bible are being more and more disillusioned and estranged from the churches as the clergy’s move to “update” their ideas takes them farther away from the Bible, even to rejecting it as the inspired Word of God. This was recently pointed out by the Scottish Daily Express, which claimed that the Church of Scotland had lost its way and the truth and so was in danger of losing its life. This stirred up a lively controversy, and the Express later commented:

“We claimed the Church was losing members because it had lost its faith and because too many ministers were heretics. We claimed that large sections of the Kirk has forgotten the Word of God. . . . It is encouraging that this produced a storm of reaction. But sad that it called forth no valid denial.” After pointing that out, the newspaper said the church had lowered its moral standards “to accommodate an increasingly lax and permissive culture.”

Has the church really done that? Yes, indeed. As an example, Anglican clergyman Morris Russell told a Homosexual Law Reform Society meeting in Auckland, New Zealand, that the churches should bless homosexual relationships. Yet God’s law clearly states that neither “men kept for unnatural purposes, nor men who lie with men . . . will inherit God’s kingdom.”​—1 Cor. 6:9, 10.

The condoning, by a growing number of clergymen, of homosexuality and premarital sex relations may narrow the gulf between them and the modern believers in a “new morality.” But what about the gulf between themselves and God’s standards of truth and righteousness? This gulf is widened, much to the sorrow of sincere churchgoers who, in turn, are quitting the churches in increasing numbers in the hope of finding something better.

An Unbridgeable Gulf

Can the gulf be bridged? No, for this situation, along with the reason for it, was foretold as one of the features of “the conclusion of the system of things.” Jesus himself said: “Because of the increasing of lawlessness the love of the greater number will cool off.” The leaders of the churches have themselves violated God’s law and have taught others to do so. Therefore the cooling off of love formerly held for God has taken place on the part of a large number of church members, and they have withdrawn their support from the churches. When something no longer performs the services for which it exists, it is ready to be discarded. This is the case with the churches.​—Matt. 24:3, 12.

In this connection we can observe what happened to Jerusalem after its religious leaders deviated from their duty by failing to teach the truth to the people. The gulf between Jerusalem and God was widened to an incurable extent. Eventually, the city was totally destroyed, her population going into slavery and death. Is it reasonable to think that God will deal more leniently with clergymen who have gone even farther in lawlessness than Jerusalem’s leaders? Will He be “permissive” as they are and spare the churches of Christendom? The Scriptures answer, No!​—Matt. 7:21-23; 2 Thess. 1:7-9.

If you are a churchgoer, do you feel concerned about what is happening in the churches? What are you doing about it? What should you do about it in order to be pleasing to God?

Your Bible, at 2 Corinthians 6:14-17 says: “Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers. For what fellowship do righteousness and lawlessness have? Or what sharing does light have with darkness? . . . ‘Therefore get out from among them, and separate yourselves,’ says Jehovah, ‘and quit touching the unclean thing’; ‘and I will take you in.’” If you really want to please God, it is plain what you must do so that the gulf that exists between the churches and God does not result in an unbridgeable gulf between you and God.​—2 Tim. 3:5.

In What Was He Interested?

● A woman in Fort Pierce, Florida, told one of Jehovah’s witnesses that her husband refused to go to church anymore. She explained why. Their preacher had called on them at their home one day. Upon learning that they were financially unable to contribute to the church because of recent medical expenses, the clergyman left, saying, “When you can afford it, we’ll see you in church!”

How unlike the apostle Paul, a faithful minister of Jehovah God, whose main interest in persons was their spiritual welfare.​—Eph. 1:15-19.

She Quickly Recognized God’s Truth

ONE of Jehovah’s witnesses in Tucson, Arizona, reports an experience that illustrates how many honest-hearted persons recognize God’s truth when they come in contact with it. A man living in a sheepherder’s wagon telephoned the Witnesses and asked them ‘to have his wife’s Bible study renewed,’ as he put it. The Witnesses visited the woman, and this is what happened:

“When we arrived at the campsite, a young woman came out of the wagon to greet us. After we introduced ourselves as Jehovah’s witnesses, she exclaimed, ‘Where have you been? I have been waiting and watching every car that passed by, hoping that it would turn in!’ We told her that if she had time we could start her study. She went to the wagon and returned with copies of The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life and the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. We noticed that they were used and well marked. I asked her how far she had progressed in her study. ‘Oh,’ she said, ‘I never had a Bible study, but I know that this is God’s truth. I want to be one of Jehovah’s witnesses. When can I get baptized?’ This amazed us. We asked her how she had reached such a conclusion.

“She then proceeded to tell us that she once studied the ‘black arts’ for two years. This allowed the demons to influence her mind to the point that she contemplated suicide. Finally, in a state of great mental depression, she cried out in desperation for God to help her and show her his truth. Moments later a Witness couple called on her. She took all the Bible literature they had and hid it before her husband drove them away.

“Her husband and she had been having marital problems. After reading the Truth book, she tried being a better wife by applying the Bible counsel on marriage. Her husband noticed the change and asked her what caused it. She replied, ‘The books that I got from Jehovah’s witnesses, whom you chased away!’

“‘They cannot be bad then,’ reasoned her husband. So he cooperated with her in trying to locate the Witnesses again. With this background we began studying with this sincere woman. And it was remarkable to see her perception of spiritual matters. For example, after considering Daniel 2:44 in the first chapter of the Truth book, she observed, ‘I have concluded from what I’ve read that Daniel and Revelation go together. One really cannot understand the one without the other.’ Then she wanted to know if she was correct in thinking that the ‘king of the north’ mentioned in Daniel chapter 11 represented the Communist powers and the ‘king of the south’ represented the Democratic powers. We were taken aback at the accuracy of her conclusions.

“Further, from her reading of the Truth book, she and her children decided to quit celebrating Christmas. She also realized the danger of keeping articles associated with demonism. But this posed a problem, for many things she owned were in some way involved. Yet she systematically began disposing of them completely. Since she has been studying the Bible regularly, she has been relatively free from demon harassment.

“She began attending our meetings at the Kingdom Hall and accompanied us in the door-to-door ministry. The first time she offered the Watchtower and Awake! magazines at a door, they were refused. She was disappointed. The next morning on our way to the meeting, she said: ‘I have thought about it all night. The reason why I did not place the magazines at that first house is because I was not discerning. The woman had a cross around her neck and I should have shown her a different article.’ In addition, this woman has zealously written about the Bible truths she is learning to almost everyone she knows. Anyone who visits her hears about God’s promises. This has moved a young girl to come out to the camp for Bible studies.

“Later she again mentioned her desire to be baptized. She said that she knew that she had to answer some questions to demonstrate her understanding the basic teachings of the Bible. When I commented that there were other things involved in this vital matter, she answered, ‘Oh, Nellie, I made my dedication to Jehovah God a long time ago. I know what I have to do!’ And she went about doing it, for she was baptized at our circuit assembly here in Tucson. What a refreshing experience this has been for me! I was privileged to help an honest-hearted person who quickly recognized God’s truth.”

Will Home Sewing Help to Solve Your Problem

By “Awake!” correspondent in the Dominican Republic

THE scene: A dress shop on a side street just off El Conde, the main shopping area in Santo Domingo. On display are two dresses against a black velvet backdrop. One has a splash of psychedelic colors, A-line, full length sleeves, and the other is a soft blue with a shirtmaker collar, high waist and slightly flaired skirt. Matching accessories, purse, shoes and jewelry, accompany each. Two women, Alicia and Yanet, stop and gaze, exchange knowing glances and, walk away.

Is this a familiar scene? Would you have done the same? They were attractive dresses, but, oh, the prices!

Economic Pressures an Incentive

Style-conscious women observing such a display are often willing to make sacrifices to appear in the latest creation, cost what it may. However, many others, like Alicia and Yanet, daily struggle to feed and clothe large families, pay school fees, rent and medical bills. For them, there is just not enough money to buy ready-made dresses of this style and quality.

Do you have such a problem? Would you like to know how they manage to dress as well as they do? What have they done to stay within their limited budgets? They have become their own dressmakers. Would this help to solve your problem?

In the small room where she does her sewing, Alicia explained: “Yanet and I became dressmakers out of necessity. Each day the situation seemed to grow more difficult. There was less and less money for clothes. We never had enough, and what we had wore out so fast. I realized that our economic situation was not going to improve and that prices would not go down, so I had to take matters into my own hands. So here we are, sewing for ourselves and for the children. And we are using fabrics and styles more suitable to our needs than those available in the stores. We have more than if we had to buy them ready-made, or if we had to pay someone to make them. Many women who have taken up sewing recently have put out a Modista (dressmaker) sign and are able to sew for themselves and are earning a little extra to help feed and educate the family.”

In less developed countries there is little industry to bolster the national economy. Textile factories may be few, and their production too limited to allow for moderately priced garments. The industry may be handicapped because prime materials have to be imported, and factory machinery may be limited and outdated. Imported garments are then highly taxed, and the average housewife is left to her own ingenuity to clothe herself and her family.

Modern Advances Simplify Home Sewing

If you are timid about the idea of making your own clothing, listen to Alicia’s experience: “It was when the shift first came in that I started sewing. I figured that I could at least make something that I could wear to do my housework. It was not very beautiful, but from it I learned how to make a better one, and I have kept on learning. Styles are so much simpler than they used to be, both for children and adults. Now I make all the clothes for the children and for myself.”

“That’s quite an undertaking, isn’t it?”

“Yes, but it’s not as difficult as it might once have been. Just think how women used to spin and weave their own cloth and then do all their sewing by hand. How happy they must have been when sewing machines became available! Probably they were as happy as I was when I changed my foot-pedal machine for this electric one and did away with all the drudgery of pedaling. Of course, many of these old machines are still being used here because the newer ones are so expensive.

“Remember how long it used to take to make a few buttonholes? And what an eyestrain! Now, in a matter of seconds this machine not only makes the holes but sews on the buttons too. It does embroidery, hemstitching and cording. It overcasts so that the material will not fray, and the length of the stitch can be adjusted according to the fabric, be it chiffon, leather or one of the new knits. Sewing with it becomes more of an adventure than work. The wonderful part of it is that, with these attachments, our clothes have a professional look.”

Having such a machine available would obviously be an advantage to anyone contemplating home sewing, but that is not all. There are other aids. While many dressmakers in South America and the Caribbean area cut out garments using pictures in fashion magazines as their guide, there are available today patterns in up-to-date styles. Step-by-step instructions make them easy to follow. Suggestions on how to place the pattern on the material, where to cut, how and where to mark darts or pleats and how to assemble will aid the beginner. Adjustments for proper fitting are not difficult, and, once adjusted, the pattern can be used many times. Suggestions are given to help the home sewer select the fabric appropriate to the style and her needs.

Improved Fabrics

Dacron, cotton, nylon, Orlon, linen, lace, jersey, bonded fabrics, and on and on goes the list of materials available for use in the home. The sewer soon learns that permanent-press or crease-resistant fabrics are easier to work with since they do not wrinkle nor get out of shape as she handles them. Of course, there is much less work in caring for the finished garment. Many of the newer materials are not yet available in quantity, variety and at suitable prices in the Dominican Republic, so as Alicia reminded me, “Vivimos planchando” (“We live ironing”).

Yanet joined us for coffee, bringing with her an article she had been reading about bonded fabrics. We learned that two fabrics are fastened or bonded together by an adhesive, thus eliminating the need for lining. Flimsy, lightweight fabrics are given body that makes them easier to handle. It is estimated that in the United States last year 20 percent of the fabrics bought for home sewing were bonded.

“Some of them may be of little use in the tropics,” commented Yanet. “For instance, some of them are fastened together with a layer of foam that provides insulation and warmth, a wonderful advantage in cold climates and for winter sportswear. Bonded fabrics are used in all types of clothing from sportswear to evening clothes. Acetate or nylon tricot backing on jersey knits, Orlon or lace gives them body and makes them easy to sew. People who are allergic to certain fibers are now protected by the second layer of material.”

“Not having to line dresses and blouses would certainly make sewing less complicated and would save time too,” acknowledged Alicia.

Other Time-savers

The busy housewife-dressmaker has little time to spend in shopping expeditions, but this presents no serious problem. Material, pattern, thread, zipper and buttons can all be bought in the same store. If she has a little time to look around, she will quite likely find what she is looking for in a shop that specializes in sewing needs and accessories.

A beginner may find it to her advantage to take sewing instructions from a dressmaker or a sewing center established for this purpose. In the long run, this may save valuable time and money that otherwise could be lost in experiments.

Worth Investigating

Many factors have contributed to the popularity and growth of home sewing, and undoubtedly the trend will continue as more women recognize that it is worth investigating.

Economic reasons are outstanding. Columnist Sylvia Porter claims that you save fifty cents on every clothing dollar by doing your own sewing. In many localities the saving is much greater, especially so if you watch for fabric sales and learn how, what and how much to buy.

For Christian women there is another factor, a very important one, to consider. Christian women are admonished not to seek expensive, showy dress but, rather, well-arranged, modest clothing. (1 Tim. 2:9) The Christian does not want her manner of dress to identify her with groups known to have rebellious tendencies. By being her own dressmaker, she can more readily avoid extremes and be well dressed without attracting attention to herself. She can live up to the proverbial description of the good wife who industriously makes garments for her family with her own hands. (Prov. 31:19, 21, 22) While doing this, she can also train her daughters to follow her example. In this way she will be helping them to become practical, useful women and will be keeping them occupied at tasks that will not only bring them satisfaction but be an outlet for their creative instincts.

Better fitting, better workmanship, personalized styling are bonus rewards that the skillful home sewer will enjoy. Home sewing is well worth investigating.

Waterproofing

● Waterproofing is not a recent invention of modern man. In fact, it may well be that man learned it from the birds, especially the water birds. These flying creatures are equipped by the Creator with a built-in waterproofing mechanism. They have glands that produce oil. And this oil is secreted over their feathers, thus waterproofing them. Because of his waterproof feathers a duck can sleep on a lake for a whole night without getting soaked. “Wild ducks,” said H. Mortimer Batten in the book Inland Birds, “swim and dive without so much as becoming moist below the surface feathers.”

Ingenuity​—Philippine Style

By “Awake!” correspondent in the Philippines

FILIPINOS have no monopoly on ingenuity, but it is interesting to observe how they have displayed this quality in making the most of what was at hand.

The second world war left millions of empty ammunition shells and bomb casings scattered across the Philippine countryside. They were used as scrap metal in industry. Individual Filipinos also put them to use. Graceful ferns, lilies and other flowering plants grow out of such shells throughout the islands. And in the southern Philippines gongs from bomb casings provide communication for rural folk separated from each other. During the war gasoline was limited. So Filipinos built vehicles with a furnace at the rear that burned coconut-shell charcoal for fuel. Sooty perhaps, and not as fast as a gasoline-powered bus, but it took people where they wanted to go.

When this coco-bus went out of use at the end of the war, a new vehicle was born: the jeepney. Thousands of American jeeps, classified as surplus, were converted by enterprising Philippine mechanics into excellent vehicles for passenger service. They still constitute one of the major means of transportation in towns, each capable of carrying ten or twelve persons.

Bamboo trees are common in the Philippines. They usually reach a height of ten feet or more. A Filipino may build his entire house from bamboo. He also makes tables, chairs, screens, benches, water pipes, rope and toys out of it. Even salt, pepper and sugar containers, as well as cooking utensils, are made from bamboo.

Some Philippine women make a good salad from bamboo shoots. And ingenious farmers bend the bamboo sapling until its tip almost touches the ground. Then they slice off the tip and keep the stem bent all night while the sap drips into a tumbler. By morning they have a tumblerful of tasty bamboo juice!

Of great importance, too, is the coconut tree, products from it accounting for a large part of the country’s exports. Filipinos utilize it in many ways. Coconut shells provide fuel for their stoves, besides providing scoops, piggy banks and toys of all sorts. The leaves of the tree are woven into hats. They are made into lampshades, fans, and roofs and walls for booths.

Coconut sap is a refreshing drink; fermented or distilled, it is a potent wine. The ubod, the heart of the tree, is delicious eaten raw or cooked. Philippine housewives allow coconut milk to ferment and gather mold. They then cook this mold into a mouth-watering jelly, the nata de coco.

Banana plants also are common and are utilized in ingenious ways. Of course, their ripened fruit is delicious. But green bananas are boiled, stewed, fried, roasted and candied for interesting variety.

A Philippine housewife may wrap her husband’s lunch in a banana leaf. This keeps it warm and fragrant until lunchtime. And banana leaves are used as a head covering when it rains, and to keep cool in the tropical heat.

The kapok tree is a source of filling used in pillows. Philippine women also weave kapok fluff into thread for blankets and mosquito nets. And the seeds, dried and ground to powder, are a fine substitute for cocoa.

The papaya is employed as more than a good-tasting, nutritious fruit. A Philippine constabulary officer once was bitten by a snake. His arm rapidly grew numb. Remembering what an old Igorot hunter had taught him, he made an incision with his knife into the wound and, instead of cauterizing the wound, he broke off a green papaya leaf and applied its sap to the incision. Soon the numbness drained from his arm and he was able to rejoin his comrades.

Many Filipinos learn well to use the abundant vegetation around them. Wild fern tips make fine salad. Vines and palms yield drinking water. Shrubs of wild tea often grow in backyards, and their leaves and flowers make a brew just as fine as that made from store-bought tea. Also, an exotic tea is made from avocado leaves. Grapefruit rinds are cooked into delicious candy. And garlic and onion leaves are pickled instead of being thrown away.

It is beneficial for a person to make wise use of resources that are readily available. Exercising their God-given ingenuity, many persons in the Philippines have learned to do just that.

When There Were Rival Popes

“THEOLOGIANS Urge Democracy in Choice of Popes and Pastors.” Thus the public press recently reported on an assembly of two hundred leading Roman Catholic theologians and scholars meeting in Brussels, Belgium. Also present were six hundred additional Roman Catholic ‘men of the cloth.’ The meeting was termed the “World Congress on the Future of the Church.”¹

Less than a year before the Synod of Bishops, an august assembly of over one hundred and forty bishops, archbishops and cardinals had met at the instance of Pope Paul VI himself. It had also stressed the pope’s sharing his rule with others. Reports on this gathering headlined it as a “House Divided,”² “Pope Under Fire,”³ and “Rebellions Weakening Church, Pope Warns.”⁴ No wonder that the pope pleads “Obey me,”⁵ and complains that there exists within his Church “a practically schismatic ferment.”⁶ A longtime priestly friend of his mused: “Right now he [Paul VI] may be the loneliest man in the world.”⁷

Speaking of “schismatic ferment” calls to mind the time when two and even three popes at the same time claimed the papacy. In particular was this true during the Great Western Schism.

It was in 1032 that Benedict IX was elected pope at the age of fourteen years.⁸ “He was a disgrace to the Chair of Peter,” The Catholic Encyclopedia tells us.⁹ Others report that he “was one of the most profligate ever to occupy the post.”¹⁰ Because of his “dissolute life,”a one of the factions in Rome drove him out of his office in 1044, and “amid the greatest disorder” elected Sylvester III as pope. But Benedict IX returned the same year and succeeded in expelling the newly elected Sylvester III.⁹ Then he wanted to marry, but the father of his intended bride refused to give his consent until Benedict resigned as pope, which he agreed to do.⁸ However, as this would have left him without an income, for a large sum of money he sold the papacy to his godfather, John Gratian, who was then duly elected, taking the title of Gregory VI. But then Benedict, apparently unable after all to gain his bride, reneged on his bargain and tried to depose Gregory VI, to whom he had sold the papacy.¹¹

Concerning this situation The Catholic Encyclopedia states: “The condition of Rome in particular was deplorable. In St. Peter’s, the Lateran, and in St. Mary Major’s, sat three rival claimants to the papacy. Two of them, Benedict IX and Sylvester III, represented rival factions of the Roman nobility. The position of the third, Gregory VI, was peculiar”​—he had received the papacy by paying a large price for it and had even been elected as pope, and now the one who sold it to him wanted it back.¹²

German King Henry III, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, was scandalized by this situation. He refused to acknowledge any of the three rival claimants as pope but marched to Rome with a large retinue of religious and political dignitaries and convened a synod at which two of the rival popes were deposed and the third, Gregory VI, who had bought his office, was prevailed upon to resign. A German bishop was then made pope, Clement II. But no sooner had the emperor left Rome than Benedict IX returned to claim the throne. Henry III hurried back, and so Benedict fled, never to return.⁹ In passing it should be noted that in those days civil rulers often played a leading role in the election of a pope. In fact, for a time it was traditional practice for German kings to control papal succession.¹⁰

Not many years after these events, in 1061, the Roman cardinals elected Alexander II as pope, without first consulting the German court and the Roman nobility. The latter, together with some Lombardy bishops, were able to persuade the German court to convene an assembly of a number of Roman Catholic prelates in Basel, Switzerland. It elected the prelate Cadalus as pope, he taking the title of Honorius II. In the spring of 1062 he marched on Rome with a military force and seized the precincts of St. Peter’s.¹⁰ Although excommunicated and driven out by an army favorable to Alexander II, Honorius again marched on Rome and took possession of the Castle of Sant’ Angelo, the pope’s fortress, and for more than a year defied the power of Alexander, who resided at the papal headquarters in the Lateran. Honorius II then fled to his bishopric at Parma and, although anathematized by a papal council, he insisted until the day of his death that he was the rightful pope.¹³

Regarding this incident in the succession of popes to the papacy the modern historian Latourette states: “For almost the entire reign of Alexander II Cadalus was an annoying rival. Part of the battle was fought in Rome itself with the use of arms on both sides. Tortuous and complicated diplomacy was involved, with the lavish use of money by both sides to purchase the favour of the Roman populace.”¹⁰

The Great Western Schism

This schism is so called to distinguish it from the Eastern Schism, which became permanent in 1054 when the emissaries of the Roman pope excommunicated the head of the Eastern Orthodox Church. By the Eastern Schism the Eastern Orthodox churches separated from Rome and refused any longer to recognize the pope of Rome as their head.¹⁴

The Great Western Schism began in 1378. Nearly seventy years before, in 1309, Pope Clement V moved the papacy to Avignon, in what is now southeastern France, at the time under the rule of the kings of Sicily. According to one leading historian, seven popes in all, and all of them Frenchmen, ruled from there.¹⁰ Roman Catholic historians refer to this period as the “Babylonian Captivity.”¹⁵ It appears that this move was made in the first place not without some good reason, as Rome in those days was the scene of great turmoil and strife, part of it occasioned by the papacy itself.¹⁰

The seventh and last of these popes, Gregory XI, left Avignon in 1377 and returned to Rome and reestablished the papacy there. When he died on March 27, 1378,¹¹ some cardinals, priests and nobles as well as the Roman populace in general were very much concerned that an Italian pope should be elected so that the papacy might remain in Rome. Sixteen cardinals met in Rome on April 7, and on the following day chose a leading Italian bishop who appeared highly regarded because of his qualifications. This was done while the people of Rome were loudly clamoring for an Italian pope and had even invaded the precincts where the cardinals were deliberating. On the evening of the same day a majority of the cardinals met again and reaffirmed their choice, who then took the title of Urban VI.¹⁶

But the cardinals were all too soon regretting their choice. For one thing, they were not at all reform-minded, and Urban was. Moreover, he showed himself obstinate, quick-tempered and arrogant. In his meetings with high church officials he exchanged insults with them. So the cardinals began a silent campaign against him and some months later they met to pick another pope, claiming that their previous election, of Urban VI, was invalid because of their having been intimidated by the Roman populace.¹⁰ That earlier conclave had been indeed one of the shortest ever held.¹⁶

On the pretext that Rome was too hot a city the offended cardinals met elsewhere.¹⁶ The overwhelming majority of them labeled Urban an antichrist and an apostate and demanded that he resign. Of course, he refused. Insisting that they had the power to depose as well as to elect a pope, they declared his post vacant and then on September 20 elected another pope,¹⁶ Clement VII.¹⁰ This then marked the beginning of the Great Western Schism.¹⁶

Clement VII saw fit to return the papacy to Avignon, he himself being French. Almost at once Roman Catholic Europe split into two factions; “the obedience of Urban was more numerous, that of Clement more imposing.”¹⁶ Leading “saints” and theologians took sides, even as did the nations of Europe, some siding with Urban, others with Clement. As one historian put it: “Two Popes, with their completely organized courts, demanded the allegiance of Christendom. . . . There were two well-supported Popes, both holding the whole weight of Papal tradition behind them, and, with their successors, dividing Christendom for a period long enough to raise pressing and urgent problems for the faithful.”¹⁷

The condition of the papal court in those days is described for us by a papal secretary: “There they talk every day of castles, lands, cities, of all kinds of war weapons, of money; but rarely or never do you hear them speak of purity, alms, justice, faith, or of holy life. So that what was once a spiritual Curia, has become a worldly, devilish, despotic Curia, and worse in character, even in its public life, than any other secular court.”¹⁷

Honest men within the Catholic church were outraged. Said one of them: “On account of filthy lucre you will not find a Pope willing to give up his post for the sake of the peace of the Church.”¹⁷ Said another: “One Pope excommunicates a man and the other declares him loosed from it. One condemns a man justly, another unjustly justifies him upon appeal; so justice is injured, the keys of the Church are debased, and the sword of St. Peter loses its terror.”¹⁷ And said one of the leading Roman Catholic scholars at a council convened to solve the problem: “There are two masters in the vessel who are fencing with and contradicting each other.”¹⁸ During this situation four different popes ruled in Rome, two different ones ruled in Avignon, in addition to which two reigned toward the end of this period as a result of the Pisan Council.¹⁸

The Council of Constance

Repeatedly councils met in France and elsewhere to heal the breach, but all in vain. “The evil continued without remedy or truce,” The Catholic Encyclopedia says.¹⁸ In 1409 a large council met in Pisa, Italy, ostensibly with the hope of ending the schism. But instead of remedying matters it only made them worse, for it resulted in a third pope set forth as the true one, since the two ruling popes refused to recognize this council’s deposition of them. Finally, “after many conferences, projects, discussions (oftentimes violent), interventions of the civil powers, catastrophes of all kinds, the Council of Constance”¹⁸ ended the schism. This council was called by the newly elected German King Sigismund, later an emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, and it was also called by Pope John XXIII.b Of the three ruling popes only John XXIII came, at the head of a large retinue and with 1,600 horses. King Sigismund came with only 1,000 horses. John hoped to overwhelm the council by his large body of adherents but was frustrated in that the council decided to vote along national lines, giving each country one vote.¹⁹ When he saw the trend of events he fled on the pretext of poor health. The council charged him with a long list of misdeeds and immoralities, of many of which he certainly was guilty, and on the basis of these deposed him.²⁰

The council pressured weak Gregory XII, the pope living at Rome, to abdicate, which he did. It also tried to pressure Benedict XIII, who was ruling at Avignon at the time, to abdicate. When he refused to do so, the council, after declaring him a perjurer, a heretic and an obstacle to the union of the Catholic church, deposed him.¹⁰ Two years later, on November 11, 1417, the council chose a prelate who took the title Martin V.¹⁸

Although the Great Western Schism technically ended with the election of Martin V, it actually continued for years thereafter, for Benedict XIII defied his being deposed as long as he lived. In 1424 his successor at Avignon, Clement VIII, elected by the few cardinals that stuck with Benedict XIII, likewise insisted that he was the rightful pope, doing so until 1429, when he finally capitulated. That is why Roman Catholic historians speak of the Great Western Schism as lasting forty years, whereas certain other historians speak of it as lasting fifty years, from 1378 to 1429, instead of until 1417.¹⁴

Effects of the Schism

What had largely split the Catholic church was the issue of reform together with the selfish ambitions of greedy men. At the Council of Constance the emphasis was therefore not on reform but on unity. Among the things that must be charged against it is the condemnation and burning of the Bohemian reformer John Huss.¹⁰ And while it superficially healed the breach within the Church of Rome, the harm had been done. Thus one historian describes the powerful effect that this great schism had on the distinguished English Roman Catholic scholar and prelate, Wycliffe, as crystallizing his opposition to his church: “The last six years of Wycliffe’s life stand alone as the result of the influence of the Great Schism.”¹⁷ And wrote another: “It was the Cardinals at Rome in 1378 who laid the foundation of the movement which culminated in the religious revolt of the sixteenth century.”¹⁷ In fact, even the Hussite movement was fruitage of the Great Western Schism, for Huss was influenced by Wycliffe.¹⁰

Today there is again much dissension within the Church of Rome. It is faced with a dilemma: not changing fast enough to please the liberal leaders, and going too fast for the conservative elements. No wonder Pope Paul VI complains of a “schismatic ferment” and makes a plea for obedience. While today there are no rival popes, some Catholics are so strongly opposed to the changes being made that they angrily demonstrated against them in the streets of Rome late in 1969. “Some of the more bitter opponents of the updated liturgy have even gone so far as to call Paul a heretical antipope.”⁷

How far removed is the past and present history of the papacy, with its rival popes and dissensions, from the example and teachings of Jesus! He was lowly in heart and counseled that “whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave.” (Matt. 20:27) Furthermore, he said that his followers would be recognized as constituting the true church by their love and unity, not by their divisiveness and resorting to arms.​—John 13:34, 35.

And how far removed were the actions of those rival popes from the apostle Paul’s counsel: “There must be no competition among you, no conceit; but everybody is to be self-effacing. Always consider the other person to be better than yourself, so that nobody thinks of his own interests first but everybody thinks of other people’s interests instead.”​—Phil. 2:3, 4, The Jerusalem Bible.

Would there have been rival popes in bygone days if these words of Jesus and Paul had been followed? Would there be the turmoil that there is within the Roman church today? Does the Roman Catholic Church really fit the description that the Bible gives of true Christians? The facts speak for themselves.

REFERENCES

1. The New York Times, Sept. 18, 1970, p. 1.

2. Newsweek magazine, Oct. 27, 1969, p. 73.

3. Time magazine, Oct. 17, 1969, p. 90.

4. The Houston Post, Sept. 18, 1969, p. 10.

5. The Springfield Union, Jan. 29, 1970, p. 6.

6. The Christian Century, April 16, 1969, p. 500.

7. Life magazine, March 20, 1970, p. 30.

8. Atlantic magazine, July 1969, p. 76.

9. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. II, p. 429.

10. A History of Christianity, Latourette, pp. 466, 464, 469, 489, 625, 627, 630, 631, 666, 667.

11. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. VI, pp. 791, 799.

12. Ibid., Vol. IV, p. 17.

13. Ibid., Vol. III, pp. 128, 129.

14. The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Vol. X, p. 238.

15. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. VII, p. 58.

16. Ibid., Vol. XV, pp. 216, 217.

17. The Great Schism, Jordan, pp. 26, 27, 32, 37, 11.

18. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. XIII, p. 540.

19. The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge, Vol. IV, p. 545.

20. The Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. VIII, p. 435.

[Footnotes]

Glad to Be of Help

THE editor of a newspaper in the British Isles wanted to carry a regular religious article in his paper. He contacted all the local clergymen, asking if they would be interested in submitting an article on a regular basis. There was no response. So he contacted a national syndicate that supplies articles to papers all over England. They said that they could not help​—‘there was no call for religious articles.’

One of Jehovah’s witnesses got to hear of the editor’s problem. A Witness minister who handles news releases in connection with the circuit assemblies of Jehovah’s witnesses contacted the editor. Several articles were prepared that showed that the Bible is scientifically accurate and is a practical, moral guide for today. The editor liked these 400-word articles. He asked, ‘How long can you keep them up?’ ‘As long as you keep your paper going,’ was the reply. Now every week the local paper has an uplifting article for the benefit of its 42,000 readers, under the heading “The Bible Says . . .”

A New Hydroelectric Scheme in Ireland

By a “Awake!” correspondent in Ireland

ONE day in 1968, we were motoring up the lovely Vale of Glendassan in County Wicklow. As we reached the 1,567-foot summit of Wicklow Gap, there was an amazing sight! Looking across the barren, boulder-strewn terrain toward Lough (an Irish lake) Nahanagan, instead of observing the familiar scene, we saw that the land was alive with men and machines! Yes, a vast area was being leveled, and a road was being cut. What could it mean?

Subsequent visits revealed that this was the start of a new hydroelectric scheme. But how could this be? The river Glendassan was only a stream. Our curiosity was not satisfied until the summer of 1970, when an engineer from this remarkable site conducted us on a tour and explained to us the basis of the scheme.

Basis of Scheme

Lough Nahanagan is to be used as a natural reservoir. Maps show its level to be 1,378 feet above the sea. But behind, Turlough Hill rises very steeply to more than 2,250 feet, and an artificial reservoir is being constructed at the summit. These two reservoirs will be connected by a tunnel blasted out of the solid rock in the heart of Turlough Hill.

The basic scheme is the modern one of pumped storage. Water is pumped from the lower to the upper reservoir, where it is stored. When generation of electric power is desired, the stored water is allowed to run down the tunnel, through the turbines to turn them, and out into the lower reservoir.

A Tour of the Site

But come and join us as we retrace our steps on the tour of the site, and you will see what is involved.

The level of Lough Nahanagan has been lowered many feet. We are driven in a motorcar through all the outworks that have been established on the lough shores, until we come to the black gaping mouth of a tunnel, bored into the solid rock of Turlough Hill, which towers above us. The car swings into the tunnel, our blazing headlights piercing the blackness. There is almost room for two cars side by side. This is the access tunnel, which is to be lined with concrete. We bump and splash our way gently downhill. At last the tunnel widens out somewhat. Here are lights; it is almost as far as has been excavated. We gaze at the virgin rock faces and ask how far the tunnel is driven at each blasting. It is usually between six and a half feet and ten feet. As we splash around in our gum boots, we notice that at the far end the tunnel narrows, turns, then rises steeply. What is this?

It is the pressure shaft or tunnel that will connect the two reservoirs. The angle of incline is 28 degrees to the horizontal, which means a gradient slightly steeper than one in two, a slope that motorists can appreciate! The length of this gradient will be nearly 540 yards. The diameter is nearly sixteen feet. This pressure tunnel will be steel lined, and concrete will be poured into the space between the steel and the rock wall.

We reenter the car, which turns easily in the wider part of the tunnel. Outside again, we drive to the entrance to the ventilation tunnel. This is of much smaller diameter, and we have to walk. It leads downhill very steeply to what is called The Cavern. This will house the underground generation equipment and will be reached by the access tunnel when all is finished. The excavated dimensions are nearly ninety yards long, about twenty-five yards wide and nearly thirty-three yards high. What a cavern! The main equipment will be four reversible pump turbines that generate power when the force of water turns them in one direction, and which, in reverse, act as pumps for the water. Also included will be two seventy-ton cranes and the control room.

We retrace our steps up the ventilation tunnel and are next driven up that road that we had first noticed being cut on that day in 1968. It winds its way for nearly two and a quarter miles to the top of Turlough Hill. What a spectacle is there! The top of the hill has been sliced off. There are many machines, mainly earth-moving ones, but one machine is enormous. It crushes the rocks and boulders to fragments as they are fed into it. The result: a huge area has been leveled and in the center a great “basin” is being excavated and surrounded by an embankment.

We scramble over the embankment and across the basin. Yes, it is the upper reservoir under construction! The finished height of the embankment will be about sixty-five feet above low-water level. The floor, inner slopes and crest will have an asphaltic concrete lining plus a final mastic sealing coat. What a sight it will be! Why, the distance round the top of the embankment will be more than seven eighths of a mile. And what a marvelous view there is, as we look down upon the Wicklow hills all around,

We start the journey down again. Our tour is at an end. Having seen these things, we now begin wondering about the cost. It will total 14 million pounds. What will be the benefits of spending such a large sum of money?

Benefits

Perhaps the greatest benefit of the pumped storage system is that it supplies the extra power just when demanded. At the touch of a button, water is released from the upper reservoir, and within minutes this causes the generators to operate. The total capacity available from Turlough Hill will be 280 million watts!

Consider the alternative: other types of power stations operate continuously, and peak demands must be anticipated well ahead of time. This is easily seen in the case of steam-operated power stations, such as those that use coal or oil. (These are known as thermal stations.) Think of a steam locomotive; it takes time to stoke up the fire, and then to have more steam available for planned higher speed or uphill gradient. This is a relatively slow operation when compared with the touch of a button to give extra power; and how much more positive and certain is the latter method! Hence we see that the Turlough Hill Station will be a safeguard against breakdown or shortage of supplies at peak periods.

Another benefit is in minimizing the cost of the supply. Just as there are periods of peak demand for power, so there are periods of minimum demand, the main one occurring during the night. But suppose most of the power stations were shut down each night. Think of the fuel that would be needed to restart them each morning, especially as bigger and bigger stations that require more and more fuel for restarting would have to be built to cope with the increasing peak demand.

Think also of the wear and tear. We might compare this situation with what happens when we run a motorcar: frequent stopping and starting uses more fuel and increases the rate of wear in the engine, whereas keeping the car running steadily is the more economical way and is kinder to the engine. Similarly it is most economical to operate thermal stations continuously at a fairly steady rate, and just add the supply from a pumped storage station at peak periods. But note also that in doing this, the power output from continued operation at night is available to supply the power at a pumped storage station required to pump the water from the lower reservoir to the upper one. In other words, the surplus power output at night resulting from economic round-the-clock operation is transferred to a giant store from where it can be released almost instantaneously just when required.

And costwise these are not the only benefits. The cost of coal and oil needed for thermal power stations is skyrocketing; it has increased by about 50 percent in one year in some cases. No such problem with a pumped storage station, for it runs on water! True, the cost of installation is high, but fixed. And when we compare the 14 million pounds’ cost of the Turlough Hill scheme with the 300 million pounds that Ireland plans to spend in the next ten years on power stations of other types and networks, this cost does not seem to be really significant.

In Ireland at the moment, about one half of the total power is supplied from hydroelectric stations. This supply is independent of imports such as coal and oil. In these days, reliance upon such imports is an increasing hazard. Hence the introduction of the Turlough Hill Station will bring increased security to the country’s power supply.

Thus many persons are going to have an electricity supply that is even more reliable, that remains as economical as possible and is more secure. No doubt great numbers of people have already benefited from the pumped storage scheme in Scotland, the one in Wales, about a dozen in Europe, and a number in the United States. It has also been proposed to build one near Newry in Northern Ireland.

People here look forward to the planned opening of the Turlough Hill scheme in 1973, the first of its kind in this country.

[Diagram on page 17]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

TURLOUGH HILL SCHEME

UPPER RESERVOIR

PRESSURE TUNNEL

CAVERN

LOUGH NAHANAGAN

Giants of the Northwest

LIKE pygmies in a land of giants is the way the loggers working among the towering trees of the forests appear, as the early light of dawn breaks over the Pacific Northwest. The sun’s rays slowly dissipate the mist that hangs over the massive crags and giant trees of the Cascade Mountains. In this timber country that stretches from southeast Alaska to northern California thousands of men are employed in logging.

The sound of motors similar to those of motorbikes breaks the silence of the great forest as motorized chain saws rip into the giant trees, sending them crashing to the forest floor, ending perhaps as much as a thousand years of tree life. The workmen look like ants beside these gigantic trees as they cut them into logs. Girdled by strands of wire rope, these logs sometimes measure nine to twelve feet in diameter as they are pulled to the loading site in a scene reminiscent of Gulliver’s Travels.

Trees are the biggest plants there are. But unlike most plants, they never stop growing as long as they live. There are over one thousand kinds of trees in the United States alone. Lumbermen usually classify trees as hardwoods or softwoods.

Hardwoods and Softwoods

Softwoods are generally conifers, which are evergreen and have the needlelike leaf of the pine. Their wood is light in weight when dry and is easily cut. Firs, pines and cedars are examples of the conifer or softwood group.

Hardwood trees, often with broad leaves, are recognized by the compact texture of their wood, which is usually tough and heavy in weight. Many of these trees are deciduous; they drop their leaves in the fall, and new leaves bud out in the spring. They include many varieties, such as maple, walnut, birch, apple and peach.

Giant Growth from a Tiny Seed

What is it that makes a tree grow and gives the wood its unique properties? Just under the bark of a tree is a layer called cambium; this fits the tree like a tight skin. It is made up of new, living cells. It is here that the tree grows, as a new ring of wood is added to the trunk each year.

The new growth becomes a part of the sapwood, which carries the sap from the roots up to the leaves. In time the sapwood comes to make up the central heartwood, which gives the tree its strength.

In the heartwood the chemical composition of the cell changes and becomes, for the most part, cellulose. Trees are made up mainly of cellulose and lignin, a natural plastic. The lignin holds the cells of cellulose together with such strength that it can support a Douglas fir or redwood that may reach 200 to 300 feet into the air, even in the face of fierce windstorms.

And to think that these giants started out as tiny seeds! In the case of the giant sequoia, the seed is about one quarter of an inch long. And in each tiny seed are the vital parts needed for a new tree. For instance, there is a tiny white thread that will someday turn into a tree trunk. In addition to two tiny leaves a seed also has a root tip at one end and a bud at the other. Amazingly, points out the World Book Encyclopedia, “even if you turn over an opening seed so that its root end points up, it will turn down in a few hours, as though pulled by gravity. At the same time, the tip with the bud and the leaves turns up, as though pulled by the light of the sun.”

And what an amazing variety of seeds there are! The conifers bear seeds in cones, the cones ranging in size from the pebble-sized hemlock to almost a foot long for some species of pine. When the seeds are ripe, the cones open and the seeds spill out, scattering in the wind.

Some seeds have wings attached so that they fly long distances before landing. Others bounce or roll like acorns, and some having bits of fluff are carried by the wind. And, of course, the seeds of many trees are encased in their fruit.

Douglas Fir

The large Douglas fir tree, which grows more than 200 feet tall, is the tree that gives a saw-toothed pattern to mountain slopes. Douglas fir may well be king of the giants for value, for this softwood tree produces more high-quality lumber than any other tree in North America. Its peculiar interwoven fiber composition makes it an unusually strong wood in relation to its weight. It has excellent nail-holding ability. It is readily painted, works easily and resists wet and dry rot well.

The captains of sailing ships prized the Douglas fir tree for masts due to its great height and strength. Today Douglas fir is in demand for home building and is used both for lumber and plywood. Smaller Douglas fir logs and waste are turned into pulp for paper, alcohol for industry, industrial chemicals, artificial vanilla and fuel.

Red Cedar and Spruce

The red cedar or canoe cedar is another giant of the Northwest, one that may grow from 150 to 200 feet high with a stump fifteen feet through. Being straight-grained and easy to split, this tree yielded even to primitive tools. The Indians used the giant red cedar to carve history poles called totems. They were also able to hollow out the huge logs of this tree for their canoes, carving artistic details with chisels and hatchets of stone, beaver teeth and mussel shells, smoothing the wood with sand and sharkskin.

Today red cedar is particularly favored as a lumber for closets and storage areas, as it discourages insects due to its pungent smell. Architects are also experimenting now with red cedar for use as a naturally finished siding on modern homes.

Spruce trees are a pulp manufacturer’s delight. A firm may own thousands of acres of them. The whole communications industry of the world would be in difficult circumstances without the inexpensive paper that the spruce provides for books, newspapers and everyday use. One edition of a newspaper may use up to six acres of spruce trees. The pulp is also used to make rayon for clothing.

The giant Sitka spruce, from 100 to 200 feet high, is one of the most beautiful of Western conifers. Some giant Sitkas are over 300 feet high. Since the wood of this tree has a very strong internal fiber composition in relation to its weight, the wood was used for airplanes during World War I. Now this lumber is used in making musical instruments of high quality with fine sound reproduction, such as the guitar and piano.

Redwoods and the Giant Sequoias

Traveling south along the ocean in southern Oregon, one begins to see redwoods. King among the giants for height, the redwoods are the tallest living trees, growing as high as a thirty-story building. In fact, the tallest known tree in the United States is a redwood that is 368.6 feet high. Many trunks of the redwoods are over ten feet in diameter. The wood of this tree is light clear red. Though soft and weak, it is exceptionally resistant to decay and insects. Thus it is often used for interior finish in buildings and for other purposes when durability is a main consideration.

The redwoods grow between sea level and an elevation of 2,500 feet, while giant sequoias are found in the more extreme areas of the range of the forest giants, being able to stand more cold and drought and survive at higher elevations. While not as tall as the redwoods, the giant sequoias grow larger in bulk. Since no other tree combines such massiveness of trunk with such height, many persons view the giant sequoia as the most majestic tree in the world. Some are believed to be over 3,000 years old, and none of them are known to have died of old age.

The General Sherman, a sequoia in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, is a fine example of the gigantic size of these trees. Here is a tree that is 272.4 feet tall. Its base circumference is 101.6 feet. One hundred feet above the ground this giant of the tree family is still 18.7 feat in diameter. The total weight of the tree is estimated at over 6,000 tons. Yet this tremendous tree originated with a seed so tiny it would take about 50,000 of them to weigh one pound.

As these trees are straight-grained and brittle, loggers often find that when they are cut their sheer bulk may cause them to shatter into many unusable fragments of wood. This causes the complete loss of a tree that may have taken a thousand or more years to grow.

Many Benefits for Man

Food, shelter, clothing, fuel​—all can be provided from trees. We can be thankful, too, that trees clean the air, picking up carbon dioxide through tiny holes in the leaves. With the aid of sunlight, water, minerals, by processes not yet fully known, the tree manufactures food in the leaves in a way called photosynthesis. Thus the cells of the tree are nourished.

If trees were suddenly to become extinct because of the polluted atmosphere, it is conceivable that man and other living creatures would eventually smother and die for lack of breathable air.

So trees play a big part in the lives, not only of the West Coast loggers, but of most people. We all have reason to appreciate the desks, cabinets, chairs, tables and many other beautiful objects of furniture made from wood. We are glad to have paper, so we can read the printed page bearing words of enlightenment, hope or comfort. Should we not be appreciative too of the other things a tree can do, purifying the air, providing shade and beauty for the landscape? We can be thankful that our loving Creator bedecked the earth with such a grand variety of the largest plants, including those amazing giants of the Northwest.

Do Not Despise the Lowly Prune!

ALL prunes are plums, but not all plums are prunes. There are varieties of plums. Certain varieties are tasty when they are dried. These dried plums are called prunes. Plums that are particularly well suited for this are called prune plums.

Although prune plums are grown in many countries, the state of California is the leading grower. In fact, most of the world’s prunes are produced there​—some 150,000 tons of the dried fruit annually! California’s warm, dry climate is ideal for growing them.

It appears that Alexander the Great found plums in Persia and sent them back to Greece in the fourth century B.C.E. From Greece they were taken to other European lands, especially France. In the middle of the last century, they were imported from France to California. Now they are also grown in other western states, including Oregon, Washington and Idaho.

It is usually about seven years after they are planted that prune-plum trees begin producing a large crop. During the summer the fruit develops, and in August or September the fully ripened plums fall to the ground. However, many growers now do not wait for them to fall, but gently shake them from the trees. After they are picked up, the plums are washed.

The most important process is the drying, which gives prunes their wrinkled appearance. The plums may be spread upon wire-netting trays, and taken out to the field and exposed to the sun. It takes some six to ten days in the sun to dry them thoroughly.

Today, however, the drying is frequently done by means of dehydrators. A forced draft of hot air dries the fruit in some fourteen to twenty-four hours. Thus, two to three pounds of fresh plums are reduced to about one pound of prunes.

The prunes are then taken to bins. Here they are allowed to sweat or cure from two to three weeks, permitting them to obtain a uniform moisture content. Before their final packing, they are given a hot-water or steam bath to pasteurize them. This also brings their moisture content up to the desired level.

Not only do many consider prunes good tasting, but they are good for you. Some find beneficial their mild laxative effect. For some time it was thought that this was due to their cellulose content, but this is not so.

Prunes have been found to be laxative even when mixed with other foods​—when their cellulose content would not matter much. Also, prune juice, which lacks cellulose, has the same laxative properties. So rather than cellulose content, it appears that there is a soluble substance in prunes that stimulates the peristaltic action of the intestines, giving prunes their laxative effect.

Constipation is a common malady of modern civilization, especially among sedentary workers. Thus prunes can be of real medicinal value. Some persons have found it is better to eat prunes to keep regular than to wait until they are seriously plagued with constipation and then take harsh laxatives. To get the full benefit of their laxative effect, some limit their breakfast to just a small dish of prunes.

But the lowly prune is also good for you in other ways. It has an abundance of sugar, and the kind of sugar that the body most readily assimilates. Also, the prune has more of certain essential vitamins and more of such indispensable minerals as iron and copper than any other fruit. Prunes are also said to help restore the hemoglobin count of the blood.

Cooks have discovered many tasty ways of serving this nutritious fruit to their families. Soaked overnight or stewed, they make a fine addition to breakfast. A cup of prune juice blended with two cups of chilled milk produces a delightful beverage. A compote of various fruits​—prunes, apricots, apples and others—​makes a tempting wintertime dessert. Some enjoy prune pastry with their morning cup of coffee.

However a person chooses to serve prunes, he can be sure that the family is receiving a beneficial fruit. Their valuable properties, exceptional food value and tastiness make prunes a part of the diet in many households.

What a Witness Gilead Has Heaped Up!

MARCH 7 of this year was Graduation Day for the fiftieth class of the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead. The exercises were held at Jehovah’s Witnesses Assembly Hall in New York city. It was a notable occasion because the 5,000 mark was passed in the number of the School’s graduates. All together, a total of 5,037 have now received Gilead’s special missionary training.

The all-day graduation program was charged with feeling. A number of speakers, including the president and vice-president of the Watch Tower Society, N. H. Knorr and F. W. Franz, gave fine counsel from the Scriptures. Each of the fifty graduates then received the School’s Certificate of Merit along with an assignment of service in the foreign field. They had come from eight countries and were being sent to nineteen.

During the afternoon the graduates themselves put on a fine musical program, as well as a moving Bible drama. The drama, built on the theme “Jehovah Blesses the Loyal Ones,” furnished a fitting climax to a day that will long be remembered by the 1,999 who were privileged to attend.

For many present, the graduation of this fiftieth class brought back memories of twenty-eight years ago when the School was first opened on February 1, 1943, in the midst of World War II. On that occasion N. H. Knorr, the School’s president, outlined the purpose the School hoped to accomplish. It was, to quote him, for “the preparing of ministers who, by the Lord’s grace, will, in all parts of the world, pile up a HEAP OF WITNESS for the Kingdom and for the vindication of Jehovah’s name. . . . We believe that, true to its name [Gilead], a ‘heap of witness’ will go forth from this place to all parts of the world and that such witness will stand as a monument to the glory of God.”

This announced purpose was indeed a high and noble one, but could it ever be accomplished? Some may have wondered when graduates of that first class were sent only to Costa Rica, Cuba, Mexico and Puerto Rico during 1943-1944. But in the 1945 service year other graduates of the School went to Alaska, Brazil, British Honduras, Canada, Chile, Dominican Republic, Guatemala, Haiti, Nicaragua, Panama and Uruguay.

As more completed their studies at Gilead they moved out to Africa, Europe, Asia and to many island territories around the world. So by the end of 1949 they were busy witnessing concerning God’s kingdom in more than eighty different countries. During the 1950’s more were sent to nearly fifty additional countries, and since 1960 another thirty countries have benefited from the presence of these specially trained ministers. All together, Gilead graduates had been sent to 159 countries by the end of the 1970 service year.

In some forty of these countries very little if any witnessing was done prior to the arrival of these missionaries. Here and there a few isolated proclaimers of God’s kingdom were sometimes found, but the giving of a thorough witness in a well-organized manner dates from the arrival of the Gilead graduates. These lands included Bolivia, Colombia, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Ivory Coast, Guatemala, Haiti, Iceland, Israel, Korea, Laos, Malagasy Republic, Netherlands Antilles, Nicaragua, Peru, Portugal, Senegal, Singapore, Venezuela and Vietnam.

The “heap of witness” in some of these countries has been nothing short of phenomenal. Take Nicaragua as an example of this growth. When two of the School’s graduates first arrived in 1945 there were none of Jehovah’s witnesses in the country. But in this past year there was a peak of 1,446 reporting as active ministers, together with 21 missionaries. Or consider what happened in Korea. In 1949, when two graduates of Gilead arrived, only 13 Kingdom publishers were there. But what a growth in the last twenty years​—12,267 Witnesses reporting along with 18 missionaries in 1970!

There are still a number of countries where Gilead-trained ministers have not been able to enter. Russia and her satellites behind the Iron Curtain are very much opposed to activity of even their own citizens in making announcement of Jehovah’s glorious Messianic kingdom as mankind’s only hope for peace and prosperity.

At present Gilead graduates are serving in only 124 countries. This is due in large measure to the hostile attitude of some governments toward the activity of Jehovah’s Christian witnesses, which attitude is demonstrated in their expelling the missionaries already there. One instance of this took place in Communist China when the two graduates of the School who went to Shanghai in 1947 were arrested in 1958 on trumped-up charges. After serving prison terms of five and seven years, they were expelled from continental China. Gilead missionaries have also been put out of Burma, Cameroon, Gabon, Malagasy Republic, Malawi, Zambia and other countries, to the shame of those governments.

When the first class of Gilead graduated on June 23, 1943, N. H. Knorr warned that such experiences could be expected by these envoys of Christ’s Kingdom rule. “The road ahead,” he declared, “may yet be long; it may be hard. We are sure it will be hard, but it may not be too long. It will not be as long as Abraham had to go, nor Moses, nor the other prophets . . . But whatever time that may be, let the trying of your faith work patience, endurance;. . . that you may be found blameless in integrity, doing the Lord’s will at all times, . . . never wanting in zeal, devotion and obedient effort.”

President Knorr then referred to what the Bible writer James (1:5) said about wisdom. “‘If any of you lack wisdom’ under the trying conditions that are bound to come upon you, have faith in the Source of wisdom and appeal to Him.” Interestingly, at the recent graduation President Knorr again chose wisdom as his theme, from the same book of James, “Who is wise and understanding among you?”​—Jas. 3:13.

What a joy it is for the more than half of the 5,000 graduates who are still in their assignments, when they see how Jehovah has richly blessed this preaching work! Especially is this so for the more than thirty-five of the ninety-four who were in the first class of Gilead, and who are still sticking to their assignments. They have seen the growth from fewer than 110,000 of Jehovah’s praisers world wide in 1943 to thirteen times that number in 1970​—1,483,430!

To be sure, this growth has not been solely through the efforts of the graduates. A more realistic measure of the School’s effect on the work would be the tremendous expansion in the number of countries that have been reached by the Witnesses. In 1943 there were only 55 countries reporting, compared with the 206 countries in 1970! What “a HEAP OF WITNESS for the Kingdom and for the vindication of Jehovah’s name” this has been! By the power and blessing of Jehovah, Gilead School is certainly fulfilling its purpose.

[Picture on page 24]

Fiftieth Graduating Class of the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead

In the list below, rows are numbered from front to back and names are listed from left to right in each row.

(1) Schmidt, H.; Theiser, R.; Jepsen, I.; Shiroma, J.; Shiroma, S.; Jakobsen, B.; Hake, U.; Claesson, B.; (2) Tsutsui, E.; Sjoberg, K.; Pauschack, M.; Kober, I.; Lathrop, T.; Bleckmann, G.; Schlosser, I.; Hansen, M. (3) Pauschack, K.; Hoder, A.; Wedig, M.; Crepaz, D.; Jeppesen, K.; Jespersen, A.; Luddecke, U.; Chewning, J.; (4) Fleck, G.; Buis, J.; Lathrop, G.; Wedig, N.; Weyand, J.; Brunn, F.; Crepaz, L.; Schlosser, W.; Claesson, E. (5) Buis, J.; Foerster, R.; Duncan, R.; Schachner, W.; Rasonsky, A.; Neilsen, N.; Chewning, M.; Gournon, W. (6) Carr, M.; Jespersen, H.; Seidl, H.; Hockett, J.; Selling, U.; Hilton, J.; Zillner, C.; McNeil, L.; Morris, D.

“Your Word Is Truth”

“Bad Associations Spoil Useful Habits”

“NOBODY ever proved God a liar and nobody ever will.” Are those words, uttered by a prominent presiding minister to a group of traveling ministerial supervisors, a statement of incontrovertible fact or just so much oratory?

For example, God’s Word, the Bible, says: “Do not be misled. Bad associations spoil useful habits.” (1 Cor. 15:33) Today ever so many people constantly are trying to prove that they can have bad associations without spoiling their good habits. Are they succeeding? Or is the Bible true?

When a Christian youth freely associates with a group of young men who make a practice of stealing, what are they apt to tell him? ‘Oh, this is just for fun, just for thrills. We’re playing practical jokes, don’t you know?’ Or they may say: ‘Really, what we are shoplifting is nothing of great value and so it doesn’t matter; after all, we are taking these things from a big corporation that will never miss them.’ Or they may perhaps try to influence the Christian youth by saying: ‘We’re poor, so it’s not wrong to take things from these people who are rich. After all, we’re being discriminated against, not given a fair deal, and so it is only right that we help ourselves to whatever we can get our hands on.’

Now, by associating with others who talk and act that way, what is likely to happen? Does he break them of their bad habits or do they break him of his good habits? Even though he had been taught it is wrong to steal and that he should do to others as he would have others do to him, he will find himself being influenced by such unprincipled associates. He will be adopting their mental attitudes and viewpoints and will then join them in their lawless actions. The results of this have at times been disastrous, as when one Christian youth was excommunicated from his congregation for having been associated with a group of boys whose stealing led to murder and to their being sent to a prison for juveniles.​—Eph. 4:28; Luke 6:31.

Or take another example​—association with drug addicts. Use of narcotics, such as marijuana, at first was limited to those attending the colleges. Then high-school students took up the habit, and now it is found to be widespread in grade schools. The youths of today by reason of their greedy quest for pleasures and thrills are turning more and more to the use of narcotics. Here, too, either consciously or unconsciously, there is rationalization and specious reasoning on the part of youths for their doing so. It may be due to their lack of experience, or due to their frustrations and disillusionments. While actually the pawns of ruthless and avaricious drug traffickers, they apparently ‘love to have it so.’​—Jer. 5:31.

So, then, if a Christian youth voluntarily chooses the company of those who crave drugs, will he remain uncontaminated or will he be influenced to experiment with drugs? His single-handed effort to resist them will be very weak as compared to their all-out effort to “hook” him on drugs. They will try to arouse his curiosity, or appeal to his vanity (his desire to be thought a “good fellow”), or they may seek to awaken in him the desire for illicit pleasures, saying ‘stolen waters are sweet.’​—Prov. 9:17.

Many other types of bad associates might be mentioned, but perhaps the most common kind today are those who are unprincipled in the matters of sex. Can Christian men have companionship with homosexual sodomites (or Christian women with lesbians) and not be influenced by them? Can Christians indulge in petting (which some think is perfectly normal Saturday-night entertainment) and not become involved? Petting often leads to a lack of respect for each other, guilty consciences, venereal disease and unwanted pregnancies.

The Creator placed in man and woman a very strong mating instinct. No doubt this was done to make certain that the human race would not die out. Now because of human imperfection, because of inherited sin, because of the influence of Satan and his demons, and because of world conditions​—as seen by the wave of pornographic literature and motion pictures that are flooding the world—​it is harder than ever before to control this mating or procreative force until marriage and then limit it to one’s own mate. Therefore one needs all the help one can get to lead a clean life. Good associations not bad associations will give one that help.

Yes, bad associates may pose as your friends but they are not interested in your welfare. They would like nothing better than to see you also enslaved in their bad habits, to ease their own consciences. But, whatever their motive, how foolish to choose such persons as companions! Surely to do so is to be misled, and to have your useful habits spoiled. By ignoring Bible principles you do not keep your integrity toward God.

You can also find bad associates that will spoil your useful habits within the pages of popular magazines or lewd novels. And when you watch immoral conduct portrayed on the stage, on the motion picture or TV screen, are you not also having association with those who are bad? And can these not also spoil your useful habits? They most assuredly can!

For our good the Bible counsels: “Let fornication and uncleanness of every sort or greediness not even be mentioned among you, just as it befits holy people; neither shameful conduct nor foolish talking nor obscene jesting, things which are not becoming, . . . Let no man deceive you with empty words, for because of the aforesaid things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience. . . . Keep on making sure of what is acceptable to the Lord; and quit sharing with them in the unfruitful works that belong to the darkness, but, rather, even be reproving them.”​—Eph. 5:3-11.

“Do not be misled.” There is no escaping it. You cannot walk on hot coals without scorching your feet, nor can you carry live coals in your bosom without being burned. (Prov. 6:27, 28) You cannot voluntarily associate with bad persons without being influenced to your harm. You cannot prove Bible principles untrue. Just as a rotten apple in a barrel in time causes the good apples close to it also to become rotten, so bad people influence for evil those who choose to associate with them. You cannot prove God a liar; his Word is truth.​—John 17:17.

Not only should wisdom cause you to avoid bad associations but so should loyalty, love for your righteous Creator, Jehovah God, and for his righteous principles.​—Jas. 4:4.

Watching the World

Heat-radiating Ears

◆ The more man studies animals the more evident it becomes that their bodies were designed by a wise Creator. After studying the long ears of rabbits an ecologist at the University of Wisconsin recently concluded that they serve as heat radiators so as to maintain body temperature under extreme weather conditions. When the temperature is very low, rabbits were observed to flatten their ears against their body; but when the temperature is very high, they extend their ears to increase the surface area for radiating more heat from the body.

Smoking Hurts Infants

◆ According to United States Surgeon General Jesse L. Steinfeld, there is strong evidence indicating that smoking mothers reduce the chances for their babies to live. This is in line with a British report that said that “the mortality in babies of smokers was significantly higher than in those of nonsmokers.” In regard to a study of 2,000 pregnant women, the surgeon general contended that 20 percent of the unsuccessful pregnancies “in women who smoke regularly would have been successful if the mother had not been a regular smoker.”

Poisonous Pitchers

◆ Handcrafted pitchers can be poisonous to your family if they are improperly glazed. The lead in the glazing may dissolve in such liquids as fruit juice, coffee, wine and even soda pop. In one case a boy of two died from lead poisoning after drinking apple juice from a-handcrafted jug. The juice contained twenty times the amount of lead-that is considered safe.

Disastrous Floods in Brazil

◆ After almost forty days without rain, the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was deluged with 360 millimeters (14.2 inches) in twenty-four hours. The area’s eighty-five rivers went wild. More than 3,000 families lost their homes, 700 people were injured, and forty died. In some areas the water rose two meters (over six and one-half feet). In the city of São Paulo 2,000 families were left homeless.

Nudity in Church Service

◆ Before the eyes of 800 delegates to the convention of the Southeastern Minnesota District of the American Lutheran Church, a man and woman in their early twenties disrobed and joined the Communion lines in the nude. There was no call from those present for the pair to be censured or removed from the ceremony. After receiving the bread and wine from a clergyman the couple returned to their seats, dressed and gave no explanation for their actions.

Ban on Birth-Control Data Ended

◆ The highest court in Italy struck down a legal ban on the dissemination of information on birth control in Italy. It was declared unconstitutional because the ban violated the right of free speech. Due to the opposition of the Roman Catholic Church to mechanical and chemical forms of birth control, the ban had been kept in force since the days of the Fascist government of Mussolini, with whom the Vatican made a concordat in 1929.

Mysterious Quasars

◆ Quasars have scientists baffled. They are not thought to be stars or galaxies. A quasar is about 100 times as bright as some galaxies and is a strong emitter of radio waves. There has been much debate as to their distance from the earth. These celestial objects appear to be very distant, but some scientists have argued that they are not. Recently an astronomer at the California Institute of Technology discovered evidence suggesting that quasars are as far away as they seem​—from one billion light-years to almost ten billion light-years.

Priests Plead for Reforms

◆ The House of Delegates of the National Federation of Priests Councils, representing groups of priests in 122 out of 148 dioceses in the United States, voted eight to one (182 to 23) to end mandatory celibacy. Clergyman William F. Graney, executive director of the organization, observed that many dioceses in the United States have lost from 10 to 15 percent of their priests in the past three years. He also expressed the opinion that the priestly exodus may increase if the Vatican fails to heed this latest call for reform.

Cosmic Rays in the Eyes

◆ On their trips to the moon astronauts have reported seeing strange flashes of light. It is now concluded that they were caused by cosmic rays passing through their eyes and making direct impacts on the retina or the optic nerve. This was confirmed by experiments conducted by the crew of Apollo 14. Scientists are worried that cosmic rays may cause serious eye and brain damage on long space flights of a year or more.

New York’s Drug Curse

◆ Like many other cities, New York is suffering from the curse of drug addiction. It is the largest cause of death for persons between the ages of fifteen and thirty-five. The approximately 100,000 hardcore heroin addicts in the city of New York are charged with being responsible for 50 percent of its serious crimes.

Infected Building

◆ An old, abandoned textile mill in the United States is to be torn down in what has been described as “the most dangerous and expensive demolition job in the nation’s history.” The building is infected with anthrax spores. Anthrax is an infectious disease that is fatal to cattle, sheep and sometimes man. The five-story building of 286,000 square feet is first to be soaked in formaldehyde. This treatment is not expected to render the building entirely safe, as spores may be hidden under paint, in woodwork, under floors, in partitions and in crevices. The building is to be carefully torn down by hand, raising as little dust as possible. The combustible materials are to be burned in special high-heat incinerators and the noncombustible materials are to be dumped in an isolated place, soaked with formaldehyde and inspected periodically for years thereafter.

Explosion in VD

◆ During 1970 the reported cases of syphilis in the United States rose at the alarming rate of 8.1 percent. In some of the large cities the rate was over 50 percent. Reported cases of gonorrhea rose 16 percent in the nation. Gonorrhea is now second only to the common cold in frequency. Its upsurge has been particularly steep among teen-agers. The estimation has been made that one out of every ten sexually promiscuous women has gonorrhea and is unaware of it until serious complications develop or she infects a male partner. A further cause of concern is the fact that gonorrhea is becoming resistant to penicillin. The World Health Organization has reported that it is out of control world wide.

Ouija Board Side Effects

◆ According to the Australian Sunday Telegraph of January 10, 1971, Ouija boards are corrupting and depraving teenage children in Britain. It said: “Teachers and clergymen declared the Ouija cult, which is sweeping the country’s schools to be a graver menace than sex, drink or drugs . . . . The story came into the open when thirty teen-age schoolgirls began to rant, rave and scream every time the religious mistress entered the classroom. They became uncontrollably violent and kept shouting ‘There is no God.’ The girls were, normally, well-behaved.” It was found that the girls were addicted to the Ouija board and that the spirits had told them that there is no God. The paper goes on to report: “A girl tried to commit suicide after the Ouija board gave her a message, supposedly from her dead father, saying: ‘It’s wonderful here. Why don’t you join me?’” The secretary of the Spiritualist Association of Great Britain said: “Public sale of these . . . boards should be banned . . . The forces they release are irresponsible and dangerous.” The Bible warns against such efforts to contact wicked spirit forces.

Modern Gladiators

◆ Ancient Romans were thrilled by bloody contests between well-trained gladiators. Today many people find an equal thrill watching well-trained boxers in a brutal contest of skill and strength as they rain punishing blows on each other. Few are aware that more than 400 persons have died as a result of such contests since the year 1900. Many have received permanent brain damage. Dr. Ward Halstead of the University of Chicago observed: “Even a light blow causes the brain to bounce​—it is appalling the ruin boxing causes the brain.”

Charcoal Briquettes Can Be Dangerous

◆ When charcoal briquettes are used indoors they become very dangerous because of the carbon monoxide gas they release. According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration thirty-one persons in recent years have lost their lives from this gas because of burning charcoal briquettes in tents, trailers, cars, boats and other enclosed areas. The danger is greatly reduced when they are used outdoors.

Homosexual Clergyman

◆ A Unitarian clergyman in good standing is a declared homosexual, according to the newspaper Daily Independent Journal from San Rafael, California. After announcing that he is a homosexual, the newspaper said, he “began speaking around the country on the homosexual and his oppression. For the last two years he has been busy with this sort of speaking at Unitarian fellowship meetings.” A truly Christian organization recognizes the moral standards God has set out in his Word, one of which clearly condemns homosexuality.

Radioactive Dating in Question

◆ As reported in the New York Times, a recent discovery threatens to upset present methods of dating archaeological discoveries by measuring the rate of radioactive decay in objects. It has been assumed that the decay of radioactive materials is constant according to precisely known rates. But now this has been thrown into question by the discoveries of Dr. John L. Anderson. He confirmed his findings through independent tests at Atomic Energy Commission laboratories. His observations indicated that the decay rates might not be as constant as has been assumed. He observed that other forces could alter the process.

Snake “Watchdogs”

◆ After having his place of business robbed repeatedly by burglars, a Texas businessman decided to use rattlesnakes as “watchdogs.” He went on a snake hunt and brought back seven diamondback rattlesnakes. During the day they are kept in cages located in the window of his business office. At night he releases them to roam about the office, and in the morning he rounds them up by means of a hooked stick.

Homicide Rate Up

◆ New York city is apparently on its way to establishing a new record. Its rate of homicides is running 30 percent ahead of the record years of 1969 and 1970 and twice that of 1965. Other cities are also hitting records. The homicide rate in Detroit is up 68 percent, and increases have been reported for Baltimore, Philadelphia, Houston and Los Angeles. One reason offered for the rise is that many people have bought illegal guns as a protection against crime, and when they lose their tempers they are using these guns on one another.

Baptist Church in Trouble

◆ At the Texas Baptist Convention, a former president of the Southern Baptist Convention told the 12,000 delegates: “At a time when the church faces its greatest challenge, the church is its most anemic and sickliest. . . . We’re living to see the (Baptist) church die before our very eyes.”

Did the Complex Spacecraft of the Astronauts Build Itself?

Scientists of great intellect were needed to design it, and craftsmen of great skill to make it.

Since the men who rode a craft like this to the moon have bodies that are more complex and more ingeniously designed than their spacecraft, is it not reasonable that they too were designed and made?

Read the facts showing why evolution could not be true! You will find them in the book “Did Man Get Here by Evolution or by Creation?” The book is only 25c.

I am enclosing 25 cents for the book Did Man Get Here by Evolution or by Creation?

The “Watchtower” And “Awake!” Magazines Are Distributed All Over the Earth!

Each issue exceeds 7 million copies, and the number is steadily growing. This surpasses most magazines seen on newsstands.

Do you have these popular magazines in your home? Benefit from their informative, encouraging and beneficial articles by having them come to you by mail. For $2 you can receive both for a year, along with six free booklets on timely Bible topics.

I would like to receive the Watchtower and Awake! magazines for one year by mall. Also, please send me the six free booklets that go to new subscribers. Enclosed find $2.