January 8

A Permissive Society​—Where Does It Lead?

TODAY’S modern society is becoming increasingly permissive. In more and more lands, many activities once considered criminal are now either legal or simply are not prosecuted.

Gambling (with or without a license), prostitution, homosexual acts, sale of pornographic literature, drinking to the point of intoxication, use of addictive drugs, nudity on the stage, on the screen and on public beaches, men dressing as women and vice versa​—all of these are being engaged in with decreasing likelihood of arrest or prosecution.

Some persons feel that this trend is actually for the good of human society. In fact, they believe that all the activities mentioned should be viewed as ‘none of the business’ of law-enforcement agencies. How so?

The Arguments for Permissiveness

They present a number of arguments. But the central theme is that these are “crimes without victims.” “Who,” they ask, “is the victim in prostitution? The man obtained the sexual relations he sought and the woman got the money she was after. So who is the victim?”

Similarly with gambling, which many would classify as mere “entertainment.” Even though unlicensed by law, if both sides play the game according to the rules, who is the victim? True, a person may lose money, but before he took part in the game he knew that could happen and yet he chose to gamble. So where is the crime?

In all those cases, therefore, the basic claim is made that as long as those involved share of their own free will, then law-enforcement agencies should not intervene.

Put more bluntly, they say that ‘a law-enforcement agency should not be a “moral busybody,” poking its nose into people’s private affairs.’ If the point is raised of the possible damage to the person’s own health or financial status that certain activities may bring, those favoring a more permissive society may respond by quoting John Stuart Mill, an English philosopher and economist, who wrote:

“The only purpose for which power can be rightfully exercised over any member of a civilized community against his will is to prevent harm to others. His own good, either physical or moral, is not a sufficient warrant.”

Not only this, but they also argue that laws that try to enforce good morals in such areas as sex, drinking, use of drugs, or gambling are basically unenforceable and should be repealed. In fact, the claim is made that such laws even contribute to the growth of “more serious” crimes. How so?

In that they occupy the police forces’ attention so extensively that these are hindered from concentrating on such crimes as violent assaults or theft. It is reported that almost half of the arrests made in the United States are in connection with so-called “victimless crimes.” From the police these pass on to the courts. At a national conference on the criminal courts, the president of the United States said:

“We have to find ways to clear the courts of the endless stream of ‘victimless crimes’ that get in the way of serious consideration of serious crimes.”

In brief, then, many today are saying that the fight against gambling, marijuana, sexual excesses and obscenities, and drunkenness is futile and counterproductive. ‘Free the police and the courts so they can stem the tide of attacks on people’s life, person and property,’ they urge.

What do religious leaders say about all of this? Many take a somewhat similar position, particularly as regards standards of sex. Increasing numbers of them have said that they see no serious danger or wrong in homosexuality, premarital or extramarital sex. The view of many religious leaders is much like that of an actress of earlier times who said: “It doesn’t matter what you do in the bedroom as long as you don’t do it in the street and frighten the horses.” In a time when even among married persons sex perversions (such as oral and anal intercourse) are becoming more and more common, the clergy have little or no word of counsel or caution to offer.

Where Does the Trend Lead?

Is this permissive trend for people’s good? Will it really help to make life, person and property more secure? Is it reasonable to think that, so long as your actions do not physically harm another or affect his property, what you do does not really matter?

No one can deny that governments and their law-enforcement agencies today are heavily pressured by a flood tide of violent crime and theft. And, in the end, they must themselves decide just what they can or cannot do as to enforcing certain standards of conduct and what things they feel need priority for the public interest. They admittedly face very thorny problems, and the past history of mankind gives them little encouragement as to success by political governments in promoting high morals.

But aside from what political governments feel forced to do by the circumstances, can permissiveness ever bring lastingly improved conditions? Or does it prove just a stopgap measure, one such as is resorted to in the face of impending defeat or even disaster?

Whatever apparent benefits permissiveness brings must be short-lived. Ignoring bad conditions will not make them go away. Nor does ‘turning a blind eye’ toward the many so-called “crimes without victims” give any real assurance that thereby crimes of violence or crimes against people’s property will be more easily contained.

When a man gambles and falls seriously into debt, where will he turn to make it up? It is a known fact that many gangster organizations operating “loan shark” businesses find a large portion of their customers among people who gamble themselves into debt. Many acts of embezzlement in banks and businesses result from the same source.

Making drugs available at a low price to addicts might free some of them from resorting to theft to pay for an expensive drug habit. But it gives no assurance that, while under the influence of such drugs, they would not commit irrational and harmful acts.

It is a proven fact that most violent assaults and murders take place​—not among complete strangers—​but among persons who know one another. Much violence stems from jealousies and disputes of passion. Would the lifting of more and more restraints on sexual immorality lessen or increase the atmosphere in which such violent ‘crimes of passion’ are spawned? Actually the one​—the so-called “victimless crime”—​is often parent to the other​—the ‘crime with a victim.’

Yes, to focus attention so strongly on crimes having obvious “victims” ignores the root causes of those crimes. Just as laziness, for example, breeds poverty, and pride produces friction and disunity, so too with gambling, drunkenness, sexual immorality, pornography and obscenity; these things are not “self-contained” or “static.” (Prov. 24:30-34) They are almost invariably the seed of other kinds of wrongdoing. The Bible principle holds true that “whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap; because he who is sowing with a view to his flesh will reap corruption from his flesh.” (Gal. 6:7, 8) To ignore this is to ignore the facts of life.

Some wrongs, such as murder, produce immediately visible results. Others are like a cancer that may have a slow, insidious, and, for a while, painless development. But the end results of such wrongs can be just as devastating as a homicidal attack. This can be true not only of individuals but of an entire society. As the apostle Paul succinctly stated: “A little leaven ferments the whole lump.” (1 Cor. 5:6) When moral fiber weakens, moral sickness is not far away.

What Personal Choice Can You Make?

Christians genuinely guided by the Bible will appreciate the extent to which human governments serve as “an avenger to express wrath upon the one practicing what is bad.” (Rom. 13:4, 5) But they will not expect the political governments of this world to bring a climate of spiritual health and morality. They are not equipped to do so, lacking knowledge and understanding of God’s Word and his purposes, as well as lacking the power to clean out corruption. Besides this, the interests of the political governments obviously lie in other directions. Only the replacement of political rule of earth by the rule of God’s Messianic kingdom will bring such a morally clean and healthful climate.​—Dan. 2:44.

“Where there is no vision the people go unrestrained, but happy are they that are keeping the law,” says Proverbs 29:18. The hope of life in God’s new order of righteousness alone can give a clear and sure vision of the future. If we have faith in God’s promises, this will protect us from slipping into the course of unrestraint now growing among people of the world who have no sure vision or hope regarding the future. We will appreciate and apply the counsel at Proverbs 4:25-27:

“As for your eyes, straight ahead they should look, yes, your own beaming eyes should gaze straight in front of you. Smooth out the course of your foot, and may all your own ways be firmly established. Do not incline to the right hand or to the left. Remove your foot from what is bad.”

We will not be ‘taken in’ by the subtle argument that “anything goes just so long as you don’t hurt anyone,” or that so long as both parties to an action engage in it willingly there is “no victim.” Direct bodily injury is not the greatest harm one can suffer, nor is being robbed of material things the greatest loss. Injury to heart and mind and loss of reputation, honor, integrity and a good standing with God are of the most serious consequence, and produce the greatest damage.

Christ Jesus showed how vital it is to protect our hearts when he said: “The things proceeding out of the mouth come out of the heart, and those things defile a man. For example, out of the heart come wicked reasonings, murders, adulteries, fornications, thieveries, false testimonies, blasphemies.” (Matt. 15:18, 19) If we defile ourselves or another by immoral practice, even though it be by mutual consent, we show either gross ignorance or a gross lack of neighbor love and concern, as well as a lack of love of God.​—Rom. 13:8-10.

We are all imperfect creatures, prone to wrongdoing. But we do not help ourselves by catering to our human weaknesses or enticing others to give in to theirs. Human governments can never legislate righteousness into people’s hearts, true, but to give in to permissiveness can lead to moral anarchy.

You cannot stop the trend toward permissiveness that is growing in the world. But there is something you can do. You can help yourself and others by guarding your heart against being “hardened by the deceptive power of sin.” (Heb. 3:13) The hardening that leads to corruption does not come overnight. It is a deceptively gradual process that often has small beginnings. The only way to avoid slipping into its powerful grip is to hold to the standards of conduct found in God’s Word, letting its wisdom discipline us in righteousness.

Rather than feel shackled and cramped as to what you can do, such holding to divine discipline will give you a grand sense of freedom, freedom to do those things that bring true happiness in life. Yes, it will “cause you to tread in the tracks of uprightness. When you walk, your pace will not be cramped; and if you run, you will not stumble. Take hold on discipline; do not let go. Safeguard it, for it itself is your life.”​—Prov. 4:11-13.

Jehovah’s witnesses have found this to be true. Visit one of their Kingdom Halls and experience the healthful moral climate that the strengthening and upbuilding principles of God’s Word can bring.

[Box on page 4]

A MAJOR CAUSE

“Senator John L. McClellan, who has spent many years investigating crime and corruption is quoted in the “U.S. News & World Report” as saying: “There seems to be a lack of proper respect and discipline in the home. And in the schools today there is certainly a great lack of discipline. And I think this is also true in the churches. In my judgment, some churches no longer demand a truly high standard of integrity and morality today. They don’t have the same ideals of Christian living that were observed and practiced in the past.”

[Box on page 5]

PERMISSIVENESS​—ONLY IN THE WEST?

In an article that is largely favorable to the Soviet Union’s trading abilities, “The Atlantic” of December 1974 also comments: “Soviet executives admit privately to problems with their younger generation. One Soviet executive said he had to take a fourteen-year-old daughter out of school to get her married because of pregnancy. Others privately voice exasperation with the craze of their youngsters for Western rock, jeans, and hair, though drugs are not generally a problem. . . . But many executives cater to these whims of their young.”

[Picture on page 3]

The modern generation asks: “Why should anyone try to impose a moral code on other people?”

How to Cut Down on Your Electric Bills

AMONG the many commodities on which prices are skyrocketing is electricity. This poses no small problem, since electricity is among the foremost sources of light, heat and energy.

Actually, wherever other forms of heat are available, electricity is generally uneconomical. If you use coal, gas or oil, it will usually cost you less to heat your home or water or to cook your food than it would with electricity. Of course, where motors or other electrical devices are concerned, electricity is indispensable. It must also be admitted that electricity is often more convenient, and then it will be a case of choosing between convenience and economy.

Cutting down on your electric light bills is wise for more than one reason. Not only does it mean saving money, but there will be less harm to the environment, as the manufacture of electricity usually poses environmental problems. Then, too, cutting down on your use of electricity lessens the risk of shortages, as when, in hot summer months, everybody uses air-conditioners.

Your Electric Hot-Water Heater

It is generally recognized that of all the electrical appliances used in a home, the one that consumes the most electricity is the hot-water heater. How can you use it more economically? In the first place, do not overheat your water. Generally it suffices to keep it at from 140 degrees to 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Secondly, do not use hot water when warm or even cold water will do​—as in washing certain types of clothing. And when choosing between a tub bath and use of the shower, keep in mind that a shower requires but half the amount of hot water that a tub bath does.

If you have an electric dishwasher, you can save on the hot water if you simply rinse the dishes, and do not use the washer after each meal but wait until it is full, or use it just once a day. Also, you can save if, instead of washing dishes under hot running water, you use a dishpan or the sink partially filled. The same goes for shaving.

And make sure that you have no dripping hot-water faucets. One dripping hot-water faucet can, in the course of a year, cost you as much as $40 extra. It will also pay you to have your hot-water heater checked from time to time to see that it is working properly.

Your Air-Conditioners

Air-conditioners may well be your next most costly appliance, unless you use them all year round, in which case they would come first. In buying an air-conditioner consult your dealer’s “cooling-load estimate” so you can buy the most economical unit, in view of such factors as room size, number of windows and exposure to the sun. There is also the matter of efficiency. Not all air-conditioners are alike in this respect. Divide the number of its “cooling power B.T.U.’s” by the number of watts. Ten is the ideal number; five is the least desirable, the least economical.

If you have an air-conditioner, how can you save electricity in its use? One way is to turn off the air-conditioner if you are not using the room, and especially when leaving the house for a number of hours. Also, by cooking, baking, washing and mopping the floors either early or late in the day, during the cooler hours, you can spare your air-conditioner the work that the humidity resulting from such activities causes.

It will also pay you to clean the filters on your unit once each month and change them when necessary.

Keeping shades or blinds drawn when light is not needed will save on electricity. And on very hot days it is wise to be content to let the air-conditioner make a 15-degree difference between the outside and the inside temperature. Air-conditioning experts suggest that you do not aim for anything lower than 76 degrees Fahrenheit.

Freezers and Refrigerators

The matter of choosing between convenience and economy especially applies when it comes to buying a freezer or a refrigerator. A frostless unit sounds like a good thing, but not only does it cost more in the first place; it will also require considerably more electricity to operate. Regardless of what type you buy, compare different makes as to energy consumption.

Among the ways you can cut down on your electric bills in the use of your refrigerator is to be content to have the temperature in its food compartment in the 35-degree to 40-degree Fahrenheit range and the freezer section not lower than zero. If you are going away on a vacation, you may want to use up the contents of the refrigerator beforehand so you can turn it off while you are gone.

Cleaning helps. Do not let the ice get more than a quarter of an inch thick before defrosting, and cleanse the coils in the back of the unit every month or two with a vacuum cleaner or rag soaked with ammonia.

Saving on Lights

It is a good thing for all in the family to make it a habit to turn off incandescent lights, radio or TV when leaving rooms for more than a few minutes. But there are other helpful suggestions too.

Lamps that have an extra long life will save you the trouble of replacing them often and so may be worth while in places where it is hard to get at the fixture to replace them, but standard bulbs will give you more light for your money. Why not use lower-wattage bulbs whenever they will serve just as well as higher-wattage bulbs?

If you have a center light in a room, have it hung away from the ceiling. Thus it will throw light upward as well as outward and downward. It is also practical to give thought to having the right bulb size for the current in your home. Failure to do so will result in your bulbs lasting longer but giving less light or will cause them to give more light but not to last nearly so long. Also, wherever practical, give thought to using fluorescent bulbs. They are from two to four times as efficient and last from seven to ten times as long as the incandescent bulbs.

Giving thought to some of the foregoing suggestions can save you quite a bit in the course of a year, by cutting down on your use of electricity and the resulting bills. True, at times it may be simply a matter of choosing between convenience and economy. But in these days of rising prices and fuel shortages, it is frequently the wiser course to decide in favor of economy.

The Art of Persuasion

A CHILD has a hungry mind. He wants to know the reason for things. “What makes the sky blue?” “How did I get here?” “Where do the stars go during the day?” “What are you doing?” “Why this?” “Why that?” When he gets his answers, he is satisfied. No persuasion needed.

Later on he asks, “Why can’t I have more candy?”

“Because you’ll spoil your supper. Candy isn’t a balanced food. It’s bad for your teeth. Too much isn’t good for you.”

He gets his answers, all solid reasons. But this time he is not satisfied. Why not? Because now it is not a curious mind that is involved; rather, an emotional desire. He does not want answers. He wants candy. You may give reasons, but you probably do not persuade him by explaining that it is not good for him. How many five-year-olds care about what is good for them?

For that matter, many adults do not care what is good for them either. They know the hazards of smoking, for example. The evidence mounts daily, and examples of those who defy it are buried in cemeteries daily. Nevertheless, millions of otherwise intelligent persons ignore reason and continue this practice that is hazardous to their health. Why? Simply because they want to.

Can they be persuaded to stop? Can the child that wants more candy be persuaded to limit himself? To persuade others to change an opinion or a practice is not just a simple matter of giving them reasons to change. The art of persuasion involves much more.

First, it is important to know the reasons people have for clinging to wrong ideas. See beneath the surface. Are they uninformed, only partially informed, or misinformed? Oftentimes their position is based solely on emotion. If emotion is involved, reasoning alone will not persuade. Early in the conversation try to discover the real basis of their belief, and tailor your words accordingly. This is the Bible’s advice: “Study how best to talk with each person you meet.”​—Col. 4:6, The New English Bible.

Logic a Basic Requirement

If your beliefs are based solely on emotion, you will have little to offer in their defense. Moreover, they will not be strongly anchored in your own mind. Your own thinking will be swayed willy-nilly by emotional appeals and rabble-rousing tactics. So know your subject well.

Many know just one side, their side. It is all they are interested in. They read the writers that agree with them. They listen to the speakers that confirm their convictions. They believe what they want to believe, and listen to nothing that might rock their mental boats. “In accord with their own desires,” the Christian apostle Paul said of such ones, “they will accumulate teachers for themselves to have their ears tickled; and they will turn their ears away from the truth.”​—2 Tim. 4:3, 4.

But if you are to be persuasive, an important requirement is for you to know the facts. All of them, pro and con. If you know only the arguments for your case, you are vulnerable, even though you are convinced it is right. The opposition comes along and punches it full of holes! Then it is with you as the wise writer of Bible proverbs said: “He who states his case first seems right, until the other comes and examines him.”​—Prov. 18:17, Revised Standard Version.

But now, we presume, you have not committed this folly. You are ready. You have researched the question. You know your side. You also know the other side, and how to refute the arguments for it. You come to grips with your adversary. You open up with two of your best points. He is hard-hit, flushes, but strikes back with an argument. The words are hardly out of his mouth before you have smashed them down and unloaded two more strong points. He is getting angry. He is on the run. He cannot answer. He gets mad and starts to yell. You won!

No, you lost. You lost him. You were trying to win him over to your side, but you have alienated him and hardened his heart against you. In a situation like that, think of the wisdom packed into the brevity of the Bible proverb that says: “A man may be pleased with his own retort; how much better is a word in season!”​—Prov. 15:23, NEB.

You had the right answers, but you served them to him in a way he could not stomach. They came as an attack, not graciously tasteful and seasoned with salt, not “with a mild temper and deep respect,” as the Christian apostle Peter counseled. As another Bible writer puts it: “He that is sweet in his lips adds persuasiveness.”​—1 Pet. 3:15; Prov. 16:21.

Apply the Golden Rule?

“Always treat others as you would like them to treat you” is the advice the persuasive teacher Jesus gave. (Matt. 7:12, NEB) Do you like to be criticized, shown up as wrong, forced to change? Even when deep inside we know we are wrong, it is difficult to admit it when the one opposing us is blunt and dogmatic. We react defensively, justify ourselves, try to save face. But it is not so difficult if our opponent listens to us, understands our side, agrees where he can, and shows some flexibility in his own thinking.

What if he says to us: “I may be wrong on that point. However, I think these others I mentioned are true, but I could be mistaken. Why don’t we go over the facts once more and try to get the right answer? I’m sure you’re reasonable, and I hope I am. Now, we both agreed on this fact. How do you think it fits in with this other point?”

He continues with questions that draw us out. Now we do not feel challenged or under attack. We open up our minds, begin to think objectively, and weigh points we had previously overlooked or rejected. In the end we may even think we have discovered the new answer ourselves, or at least feel we shared in its discovery. Actually, the other fellow led us into it, tactfully, painlessly, all because he proved to be like the “wise one” mentioned in Proverbs 16:23: “The heart of the wise one causes his mouth to show insight, and to his lips it adds persuasiveness.”

We must treat others this way if we hope to convince them that their views are wrong. Our presentation should be guided by genuine neighbor love for the one we are persuading. Follow the advice of the three-thousand-year-old proverb that says: “An answer, when mild, turns away rage, but a word causing pain makes anger to come up.” (Prov. 15:1) By making it as painless as possible for him, you will persuade your neighbor to accept your view of matters.

Entrenched Emotional Barriers

Some persons, when arguing, deliberately blind themselves to facts unacceptable to them. The religious leaders in Jesus’ day did this. They knew quite well what the Bible prophecies had said would constitute the signs by which to identify the Messiah, but they refused to see that Jesus fulfilled all these signs. Jesus was emotionally unacceptable to them, because he did not offer them the political independence, power and glory they craved. So they closed their eyes to the facts and rejected him. But in doing so, as Jesus observed, the prophecy of Isaiah was having fulfillment, which says: “For the heart of this people has grown unreceptive, and with their ears they have heard without response, and they have shut their eyes; that they might never see with their eyes and hear with their ears and get the sense of it with their hearts.”​—Matt. 13:14, 15.

When strong emotional barriers exist, you cannot persuade an individual to change his position until they are removed. What is the emotion in each instance that blocks persuasion? Is it pride, prejudice, self-interest, desire for group acceptance? Or does he reject truth because it is unpopular, or would curtail fleshly pleasures, or would bring obligations? To discern the cause, let him talk.

Illustrations are an important tool in persuasion. By dramatizing a point they make us see and feel. They stir us emotionally.

Some Noteworthy Examples

We emotionally resent someone who tells us we are wrong, and if we hold power over him he is treading on dangerous ground if he attempts to correct us. This was the position the prophet Nathan was in when he had to tell King David he had sinned in taking another man’s wife. So he used an illustration. A rich man had many sheep. A poor man had only one. But when the rich man needed a lamb to slaughter for a feast, he did not use one of his many, but took the poor man’s lamb.

King David’s emotions boiled! His “anger grew very hot against the man,” the account tells us, “so that he said to Nathan: ‘As Jehovah is living, the man doing this deserves to die!’” Nathan responded: “You yourself are the man!” Many women were available to the king, but he had taken Bath-sheba, the only one Uriah had. David, crushed, confessed: “I have sinned against Jehovah.” (2 Sam. 12:1-14) By an illustration Nathan roused David’s emotions and caused him to condemn himself!

In Santa Barbara, California, a woman, an environmentalist, raged against the Union Oil Company a few years back when an oil spill polluted the ocean, but when the city proposed an ordinance requiring pleasure boats to install chemical toilets, she and other boat owners protested vehemently: “What little we throw into the sea doesn’t matter!” Later she was walking on the sidewalk with a friend and saw a gum wrapper on the ground. She picked it up, bitterly denouncing litterbugs. “Oh, well,” her friend replied, “it’s so little it doesn’t matter.” After a stern rebuke for this lax attitude, the friend countered: “I was only quoting you on polluting the ocean with your sewage.” Her emotion against litterbugs was used against herself.

The two preceding examples involve outflanking a person’s subjective feelings to make him look at himself objectively, as he would look at another individual. But more often persuasion involves causing the interfering emotion to fade by creating another feeling to supplant the wrong emotions. An actual case involving a scientist illustrates this.

Scientists, often viewed as paragons of logic and objectivity, abandon reason like the rest of us when emotion intervenes. Most of them believe evolution, though it is devoid of any factual proof. The theory lacks the spontaneous generation of life it needs, the good mutations it needs, the fossil record it needs, and all the additional evidence it so desperately needs. So why do they believe it? To agree with fellow scientists? To appear wise? To downgrade the Bible? To avoid obligation to their Creator? To tickle their ego?

Whichever it is, can a different emotion be created to replace it? The scientist in this case was in the space program, versed in astronomy, and awed by the vastness of the universe and his insignificance in comparison. How could life have any meaning? It is a human need to feel that life has meaning, purpose. When this scientist had explained to him Jehovah’s purpose in creating man and putting him on earth as caretaker, his need for meaning was filled. This satisfying feeling replaced entirely his former emotional basis for believing evolution.

The Candy Eater and the Smokers

What about the question raised at the outset: Can the child that wants more candy be persuaded to limit himself? He goes to the circus, and is awestruck by the trapeze artist high above who hangs head down with a strap in his teeth. The other end is clenched in the teeth of a woman as she spins like a pinwheel, colored spotlights playing on them all the while. The boy can hardly contain himself! He’s going to be an aerialist!

“Takes very good teeth.” His father shakes his head, dubious.

“Mine are strong!” The boy’s eyes are shining.

The father thinks a while. “Milk builds teeth that can grip like a bulldog’s! I guess that man and woman drank lots of milk when they were kids.” He then looks at the boy: “I don’t know . . . you like candy . . . don’t drink too much milk.”

Nothing more was said, but from then on the boy drank lots of milk and seldom begged for candy.

And what about the smokers? Can they be persuaded to stop? Some can; some cannot. Some choose health and stop. Millions choose tobacco and continue on toward lung cancer or heart attack. But there are other incentives to quit. A teen-ager wants to be champion miler at school, more than he wants to smoke. A fifty-year-old is exhilarated by jogging, wants it more than smoking. Another wants to be considerate of his nonsmoking family and friends. Another responds to a challenge: Can he quit? He’ll prove he can!

But others, numbering in the tens of thousands, have had even a higher motivation to quit smoking. More than anything else they have desired to please their God, to be “slaves to God,” and not enslaved addicts to tobacco. (Rom. 6:16, 22) For them this indeed has been a more persuasive reason to quit tobacco than all the arguments about the health hazards of smoking.

[Picture on page 9]

PERSUASION

MIND

HEART

A Unique Family That Serves Others

PERHAPS you received this magazine from Jehovah’s witnesses in your community. Do you know where they got it, or by whom it was produced?

Both Awake! and its companion The Watchtower are printed at the world headquarters of Jehovah’s witnesses in New York, and at sixteen of their printing branches in other countries. Last year over 471 million copies were produced, as many as 10,000,000 of some issues. The Watchtower is printed in 79 languages; Awake!, in 31. Did you realize that, of all periodicals in the Western world, only one weekly and a single monthly magazine have a greater distribution? And those two print principally television program schedules or digest articles from other publications.

No doubt you noticed how inexpensive Awake! and The Watchtower are​—just five cents (U.S.) a copy​—whereas other magazines today often cost seventy-five cents per copy and more. Do you know why? It is because Awake! and The Watchtower are produced by a unique family that is interested, not in material gain, but in providing information that they believe is of vital importance to others. Thus all members of this family, in effect, volunteer their services without pay. Each receives board and room and $14 (U.S.) a month for incidental expenses, plus a small amount for clothing and transportation.

But more publications than Awake! and The Watchtower are produced by the “Bethel family,” as they are called. (Bethel means “House of God.”) Last year they made over 51 million hardbound Bibles and books in their various plants. At times they bind over 300,000 books a day!

You may be surprised to know that some books that make best-seller lists have a distribution of fewer than a day’s production by the Bethel family. In fact, the hardbound book The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life, released in 1968, has a printing of 74 million copies in 91 languages, about three times as many as the next all-time best-selling book in the Western world, aside from the Bible.

The Bethel family in New York has about 2,100 members, twice as many as just six years ago. About three quarters of the family live and work at the facilities in Brooklyn, and the rest operate the factory and farms outside the city, some ninety miles away. Bethel families also run printing plants in other countries.

To give you some idea of the expansion: In Brooklyn, 5,972,489 Bibles and books were bound in just the first five weeks of this production year (starting in September), more than were produced in the entire year 1965! From 1968 to 1973 the Brooklyn plant more than doubled its number of huge forty- and fifty-ton rotary printing presses. Now forty of these presses are in operation, and on order is an extra-large sixty-one-foot-long giant that is capable of printing 150,000 complete 192-page books each day. Also, ten rotary printing presses are in operation at the factory outside New York city, with four more on order.

What has necessitated this tremendous expansion in facilities and production are people like yourself who are interested in the type of wholesome information that is found in this magazine. Thus the number of bindery lines in the Brooklyn factory have also doubled in recent years. Now there are ten, and six more are on order. Members of the Bethel family have made special engineering changes on one bindery line so it binds two books at a time. As a result, this one line, working double shift, has produced a peak of over 50,000 books a day!

You perhaps are acquainted with Jehovah’s witnesses locally; certain ones may even visit you periodically. Who, though, make up the New York Bethel family? What are they like?

Family Members

It is, for the most part, a family of young men. By far the majority are from eighteen to twenty-four years of age, and physically strong so that they are able to care for the hard work. But there are women too, about 300 of them. They share principally in office work and housekeeping. A six-month evening school course is provided for all new family members, which includes review of Bible doctrines, training in public speaking, and a reading of the entire Bible.

While most of the family are young, some have served at Bethel for over fifty years, and scores of others for twenty, thirty or forty years. Yet all, from the youngest to the oldest, are dedicated to the service of God’s kingdom. In fact, most had served as full-time Kingdom preachers before coming to Bethel.

Since the majority become members of the Bethel family soon after completion of high school education, they have little experience in the secular world. But this is by no means true of all.

Varied Professional Backgrounds

One family member, for example, received his bachelor of science degree in aeronautical engineering at St. Louis University. Later, during the early and mid-1950’s, he was employed by Chance Vought Aircraft (later absorbed into Ling Temco Vought) as a field propulsion engineer. He worked for years on the development of a military jet-propelled pilotless vehicle, which later was superseded by the more advanced ballistic missiles of today. When coming to appreciate God’s certain purpose to do away with all causes of war, he gladly took up the full-time preaching work and in 1961 became a member of the Bethel family.​—Isa. 2:4.

An office worker at the Brooklyn factory had a different professional background. He received his master’s degree in business administration at Michigan State University, and in 1961 became a certified public accountant. After working for five years for a national accounting firm, a partner and he set up their own office. The business grew and, in time, they had four offices and fifty employees.

In the meantime, however, he and his wife began studying the Bible with Jehovah’s witnesses. Soon they grew to appreciate that in this very generation, according to the Bible, God will wipe out this corrupt system of things and set up his righteous new order. (Matt. 24:3-14; 2 Tim. 3:1-5; 2 Pet. 3:13) So he left his business, and he and his wife went into the full-time preaching work. In 1971 they joined the Bethel family.

A thirty-two-year-old man with still different training studied chemistry and mathematics for four years at the University of Texas. In 1968 Standard Oil of California employed him as a geophysical technician. For a year and a half he served with the company in Alaska. There he worked on projects to locate oil drilling sites on the North Slope. In 1969 he quit his job so he could share in the full-time preaching work, and later he came to Bethel.

Female family members also have had professional backgrounds. For example, one obtained her doctor’s degree in chemistry and physics at the University of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Moving to New York city, she was hired to head a biochemistry laboratory, a position she held for five years.

While employed in that laboratory, she was called on by one of Jehovah’s witnesses who spoke to her regarding God’s purposes for mankind. She was delighted to learn how God himself will soon, under his Kingdom rule, eliminate human suffering. (Rev. 21:3, 4) Later she married a member of the Bethel family, and they are now happy to be serving together at Bethel.

Another family member graduated from Harvard University in the late 1940’s. He rose in the business world to circulation-promotion manager for a New York newspaper, where he was in charge of a department of some thirty people. Desiring to be more useful in furthering the Kingdom-preaching, he gave up that position to come to Bethel.

Expressing a viewpoint voiced by other family members with college degrees, he said: “Those who apply themselves to the educational provisions here at Bethel are not a whit behind the person who spends four years in college insofar as general knowledge, and speaking and thinking ability are concerned.”

Medicine, Education and Art

Also among the members of the Bethel family are four registered nurses, a licensed practical nurse, a laboratory technologist, numerous nurse’s aides, and an experienced surgeon with fourteen years of study and training in premedical and medical schools.

One of the registered nurses also received midwifery training in Glasgow, Scotland, studied public health at London University and had training in tropical diseases. Later she worked at the leper colony in Surrey County, England. Another obtained her bachelor of science degree at Teachers College, Columbia University, and received letters inviting her to join the teaching staffs at Toronto University, Pittsburgh University and other colleges.

A number of members of the family, both men and women, held teaching positions. One received his master’s degree at the University of Tulsa, and taught five years in high schools prior to coming to Bethel in 1961. A female member of the family since 1966 studied to be a doctor, receiving her master’s degree in chemistry. She gave up the idea of pursuing a medical career, and taught for six years in New York city high schools.

Other members of the family pursued art careers. One graduated from the New England School of Art in Boston and received a bachelor of arts degree by attending night courses at St. Anselm’s College. After working as staff artist for the Manchester, New Hampshire, Union Leader, she set up her own successful advertising agency.

After getting out of the Coast Guard in 1959, an aspiring young artist went to the California College of Arts and Crafts in Oakland. Eventually he obtained a position as art director for an advertising firm in San Francisco, California. Now he is working as a plumber at Bethel.

Former Civil Service Workers

Other family members performed civil service work. One such young man served on the Alhambra, California, police force. Now he works in the factory bindery. Another spent over twenty years as a fireman in Los Angeles County, a number of those years as fire captain. But since 1969 he has been at Bethel.

With the intent of preparing himself to be of service to others, one who is now a family member obtained a degree in psychology at San Diego State University. He then served eight years with the California Youth Authority, the criminal correctional agency for California. While with the Authority he moved to the Paso Robles School for Boys, a correctional institution, where he ran a drug-treatment program. From 1970 to 1972 he assisted in supervising the staff at the main youth parole office in San Diego. With what effect?

He was heartsick with the total inability of the system to cope with the crime problem. How glad he was, therefore, to learn God’s remedy, and that soon now Jehovah God will eliminate this wicked system and bring in his long-promised government. (Dan. 2:44; Matt. 6:9, 10) Almost immediately he began the full-time preaching work, and in 1973 he came to Bethel.

Among the hundreds of clean-cut, hardworking youths in the Bethel family he found living proof of the marvelous effect of God’s Word on people’s lives. For he learned that quite a few, prior to coming to Bethel, had been drug abusers. But when learning the truth of God’s purposes these persons had received motivation to ‘kick the habit,’ a motivation he realized that worldly agencies had been incapable of providing.

Another family member had spent nearly nine years working at a large correctional institution, the Illinois State Training School for Boys. As chief clerk, he had oversight of all requisitioning, purchasing and accounting for the institution, and directed a staff of about a dozen people. He, too, is convinced that his services at Bethel are of infinitely greater and more lasting benefit to humankind.

Family members who, before becoming Jehovah’s witnesses, had served in the military feel even more strongly about this. Among them are World War II veterans, including one who flew thirty-five bombing missions over European axis-held territory, an Air Force flight instructor, a naval officer, another navy man whose squadron was the first to land on Iwo Jima and who was highly decorated during four years of war service, to name just a few. Also, one female member of the family served in the Air Force during the Korean war.

Countless Other Skills

If you like a little Worcestershire sauce with your meat, the bottle you use may have come in a paper jacket that was applied and sealed on a machine designed by one who is now a member of the Bethel family. If you buy phonograph records, perhaps they were packaged and addressed for the mail automatically on a machine he designed. Before coming to Bethel this man was a designer of special packaging machinery and automation equipment. Now he works in the Brooklyn factory helping to design machinery used in connection with binding books.

Before coming to Bethel other members of the family worked as electricians, mechanics, carpenters, painters, bricklayers, farmers, building contractors, machinists and architectural designers, and these persons, too, have used their skills in furthering the work at the headquarters of Jehovah’s witnesses. Even a former professional Shakespearean actor has used his talents to portray characters in Bible dramas. These dramas are taped by members of the Bethel family for use in presentations at large district assemblies of Jehovah’s witnesses.

All of these who are now members of the Bethel family were moved by the urgent need of people to hear the good news of God’s kingdom, and so came to Bethel to share in furthering the preaching work from there.

Yes, what especially makes the Bethel family unique is their individual desire to help others to learn the purposes of God. Actually, this course of serving others, in imitation of Jesus Christ’s example, is what true Christianity is all about. Above all else, the desire of dedicated Christians is to please Jehovah God by copying this example of his Son.​—1 Pet. 2:21.

Thus, with this Christian spirit, hundreds of young men and women who never before had their hands on a printing press, linotype machine, ink mill, bindery or composing equipment, diligently apply themselves to the Bethel assignments they are given. In an amazingly short time they become expert press operators, compositors, typesetters, ink makers and bookbinders, or they master whatever job is necessary to carry on the publishing of the Kingdom message.

The Bethel family cordially welcomes you to visit its home and printeries to see for yourself how it functions. Free tours of the New York factories and farms are conducted all day Monday through Friday, and during the forenoon on Saturday.

[Picture on page 15]

Bethel family members printing books on 40-ton printing presses. Last year they produced over 50 million Bibles and books

Wealth from the Solomon Islands

By “Awake!” correspondent in Papua New Guinea

HAVE you ever heard of “King Solomon’s mines,” the imaginary source of wealth for the Biblical King Solomon? Certain legends locate these “mines” in parts of Africa or in Asia. But in sixteenth-century Spain the prevailing theory was that this vast source of wealth was located on a mysterious continent in the south.

In the year 1568 the small fleet of Spanish seaman Álvaro de Mendaña de Neyra searched in the South Pacific for this “continent” with its rich treasure. As a result, Mendaña discovered a chain of islands, which came to be called “the Islands of Solomon.” But he found no hidden treasure to justify the name he had given to the islands. At most they yielded up small amounts of gold and other precious metals.

During World War II the Solomon Islands achieved notoriety of a different kind as bitter combat shattered their tranquillity. The scars of modern jungle fighting are still visible in the outlines of trenches and the litter of rusting ammunition clips that pepper the islands. After the war it seemed that there would be a return to the easy way of life of the tropics. Recently, though, an unexpected chain of events has brought back to mind Mendaña’s treasure hunt. How so?

It all began one day back in 1963 when the ship Craestar dropped anchor off the small town of Kieta, chief settlement of Bougainville, the largest of the Solomon Islands. A helicopter rose from its decks and flew sixteen miles inland to the valley of Panguna, where some gold had been found, though not in sufficient quantity to warrant development of large-scale mining. This time, however, the word that created excitement was “copper.”

A decision made on that day of 1963 has resulted in development of an extensive mining process that has also brought much industry to Papua New Guinea. This is because the northernmost of the Solomon Islands, Bougainville and Buka, are, together with Papua, part of the Trust Territory of New Guinea under Australian administration.

For some time an estimated 880 million tons of copper- and gold-bearing ore had aroused the interest of international companies. Now a start was made at mining the treasures of copper beneath the soil of the Solomon Islands. How different from Mendana’s dream of simply filling one’s pockets with gold nuggets and sparkling gems!

Extensive Preparations Necessary

Bougainville has virtually no industry. Most of the 78,000 inhabitants engage only in subsistence farming. Thus, setting up a copper-mining operation would entail extensive preparations. A road would have to be cut out to provide free access between Panguna and the coast. This was no easy task, considering the climate and rugged mountain terrain of Bougainville.

Imagine the difficulties involved. For one thing the driest month of the year in this area sees seven inches of rain. Besides that, the road would have to traverse a 3,400-foot-high pass and go around steep slopes. To accomplish this, it was necessary to chain two bulldozers together and, at times, to drive the front one over the side of the steep slope, trusting that the rear one would hold it back from plunging to the bottom.

Much water was required for the operation of hydraulic equipment. This need was filled by erecting a pumping station with a thirty-inch pipeline on the Jabba River. And to meet the around-the-clock demand for electric power, a 135-megawatt power station was set up sixteen miles away in Anewa Bay. The bay, too, was dredged to permit ships of up to 40,000 tons to approach a new 250-foot wharf.

All together, it took nine years of surveying and preparatory work along with $A 400,000,000a before the first shipment of this precious metal could be extracted from the soil of Bougainville and sent along to customers in Japan, Spain and West Germany.

Copper Mining in a Jungle Setting

Can you visualize mining copper in the midst of a jungle of greenery? Bougainville has one of the largest open-pit copper mines in the world. A person taking a vantage point on a nearby hill sees an excavation the size of the entire city of Sydney, Australia. Drills have sunk holes to a depth of sixty feet to receive explosives that will shatter and loosen the ground.

The mining process here is costly. It involves six huge electric shovels and fifty-two trucks that can carry a hundred tons of ore apiece. This equipment alone involves an expenditure of $A 13,000,000. Once the earth is loosened, the electric shovel goes into operation, taking huge bites of ore and dumping it into the waiting trucks. In spite of the capacity of these trucks, it takes only four scoops to fill one up.

Next, the ore is transported to the first of three crushers. Of the 160,000 tons of ore that go to the primary crusher each day, only 90,000 tons will end up as copper concentrate. The ore passes through a second crusher in which it is reduced to pieces about six inches across. Then it goes through another crusher, resulting in even smaller chunks. These are transported to a large building for the next part of the operation​—grinding.

The twelve grinding mills utilize steel balls of approximately three inches in diameter (about the size of a tennis ball). These pulverize the ore and, though the steel balls look quite durable, they cannot stand up very long to such a rigorous operation. Recently eleven thousand tons of these balls arrived for use in the mills here. In just six months they will all be worn out.

From the grinding mills the ore is moved on to the concentrator. Here the copper is placed in solution with certain chemicals known as “collectors.” When bubbles of air are forced into the solution the collectors, together with the copper, rise to the surface, where they can be skimmed off. This thickened copper solution now travels sixteen miles through a five-and-a-half-inch pipeline to storage tanks at Anewa Bay. There the concentrate awaits the arrival of a ship that will take it to overseas customers.

Benefits for Local Residents

Copper mining in the Solomon Islands has been most profitable. Growth has been rapid since the first shipment of concentrate went out in 1972. In 1973 a profit of $A 158,000,000 was realized. Who benefits from all of this?

At present the large mining company, Conzinc Rio Tinto of Australia Limited, owns over 52 percent of the shares and the Papua New Guinea government has an additional 20 percent. The rest of the shares are held by the public, including over 9,000 residents of Papua New Guinea who were given opportunity to profit from this bountiful source of wealth.

Other benefits have resulted from efforts to use local people in the work force wherever possible. Papua New Guineans are to be seen working in every section of the mine; they provide truck drivers, clerks, and even the company doctor. There are on-the-job training arrangements, apprenticeship opportunities and study courses.

Some Problems Crop Up

But the mining operation has created some problems too. A look at the grayish-black hue of the water makes one realize that Bougainville now has a pollution problem, though not as extensive as that of the more industrialized nations of the world. Efforts are under way to meet this problem head-on by experimenting to find out what can be grown in the waste material. Small plots of ground serve as sites of tests with local vegetables and tropical fruit to see how the waste material can be used or how it must be treated to make it fertile.

Another problem has been that some people were forced to abandon their hereditary land possessions. However, they have received compensation money for their land, and this has enabled them to purchase permanent houses instead of the usual village-type dwelling. Some have even had a surplus of money to buy new Japanese-made trucks.

In spite of this, a number of Bougainville people have been disappointed, especially certain ones of the older generation who view their hereditary possessions as of greater worth than money. As a result, emotions boiled over among the local people in early stages of the development. Riot police were flown in to quell disturbances and to allow the work to proceed. Ill feeling over this has not yet fully died down.

Another sore spot is the strong separatist feeling of some people of Bougainville. Certain ones feel that their ethnic ties are stronger with the people of the southern Solomon Islands, a British protectorate, than with the mainland New Guineans. The dark-skinned people of Bougainville often refer with contempt to the lighter-skinned inhabitants of the mainland. As was expected, certain persons contended that the riches of Bougainville should be applied toward the development of that island rather than sharing them with Papua and other areas of New Guinea.

How will these problems be worked out? That remains to be seen. Without doubt the mine, as a source of increased revenue, will bring many material benefits to local residents. Higher wages will mean a different standard of living for many. “Different,” however, does not necessarily mean “better.” Time and again, material prosperity has brought with it moral laxity. (1 Tim. 6:9, 10) Will people of the Solomon Islands and New Guinea resist such a corrupting influence? Time will tell.

[Footnotes]

An Interesting Tour of the Vatican

YOU are about to visit a hilltop once associated with soothsayers. Here Numa Pompilius​—Rome’s fabled second king—​is said to have declared to the people his vaticinia, supposed pronouncements of their deities. In later centuries, spectators witnessed the horrible deaths of Christians in Nero’s circus not far away.

Those soothsayers are gone. So are the throngs that reveled in savage circus pageants. Today Vatican Hill is occupied by the smallest state in the world. Completely surrounded by Rome and almost entirely walled, Vatican City covers just 108.7 acres, and its largely nonresident population numbers less than a thousand. Yet, the Vatican dominates the lives of over 577,600,000 Roman Catholics earth wide.

The Lateran Treaty of 1929 provided for establishment of Vatican City as a separate sovereign state having the pope as its ruler. Benito Mussolini signed for Italy’s King Victor Emmanuel III, and Cardinal Gasparri did so for the papacy.

It has been said that a visitor can walk Vatican City’s length in about eight minutes, but could not view all its treasures of art and learning in a lifetime. Since Pope Paul VI has declared 1975 a “Holy Year,” doubtless millions of persons hope to visit the Vatican. But suppose we do it now, and as we do so, pause long enough to reflect on some features that an overawed pilgrim might miss.

Saint Peter’s Square

We walk west of the River Tiber and enter the Vatican between the towering twin arms of Giovanni Bernini’s quadruple colonnade of 284 columns and 88 pilasters. The four rows of columns form an ellipse enclosing Saint Peter’s Square. Atop the colonnade are 140 statues of “saints” and martyrs.

The entire square encircles a red granite obelisk, over eighty feet high and weighing a million pounds! What is its origin? It was plundered from ancient Heliopolis by Caligula and erected in the circus that Nero completed. The obelisk bears dedicatory inscriptions to Roman emperors Augustus and Tiberius. In the shadow of this Egyptian pillar, Christians met untimely deaths nineteen centuries ago. Then how did it get here in Saint Peter’s Square?

It was moved at the behest of Pope Sixtus V and was erected in the Vatican on September 14, 1586, a Wednesday, always viewed by Sixtus as a “lucky day.” This also happened to be the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross. In view of its pagan connections, the pope attempted to have the heathen spirit of the monolith exorcised.

Saint Peter’s Basilica

According to Catholic tradition, the apostle Peter suffered martyrdom and was buried in Rome. On the other hand, the Holy Scriptures neither say nor imply that the apostle ever was in that city.a In about 325 C.E., however, Roman Emperor Constantine began building a great basilica over the supposed tomb of Peter.

In 1506 Pope Julius II decided to rebuild the basilica. Donato Bramante was the first of the church’s many architects, among whom was Michelangelo. When finally dedicated by Urban VIII in 1626, the basilica had the form of a Latin cross. Some 614 feet long, with an overall area of about 163,000 square feet, the building can accommodate an estimated 80,000 persons. Yes, it is mammoth​—the largest church in the world.

Rising 435 feet above the basilica floor (where the long and short arms of the crosslike structure transect) is the great dome of mosaic and gilt. It is about 138 feet in diameter. Sixteen separate panels in the dome depict Jesus Christ, his mother Mary, the apostles and “saints.”

Beneath the massive dome of the basilica is the High Altar. Here only the pope (or a cardinal whom he designates in his stead) can celebrate Mass. Over the altar is a canopy that Bernini fashioned, using bronze plates that Pope Urban VIII took from Rome’s well-preserved Pantheon, a pagan temple.

Why such a huge and opulent edifice as Saint Peter’s Basilica? Shedding some light on this, André Biéler wrote: “Maderno was to transform the [original] Greek cross plan into a Latin cross, and Bernini was to finish off by introducing ostentatious embellishments and by enlarging the plan with the two immense arms of the great colonnade. They were concerned to prove to the world, in face of the Reformation, that Rome, the powerful and magnificent head of Christianity, was once more brilliantly resplendent. St. Peter’s had to express ‘the grandeur, the strength, the power, in a word the majesty, of the Catholic Church’. We can find in the very material execution of this sanctuary the essential continuity between Roman ostentation and the showy protocol of paganism.”​—Architecture in Worship.

Noteworthy Artworks

Numerous works of art are found in the basilica. For instance, we pause to view Michelangelo’s renowned Pietà, a sculpture of the dead Jesus on the knees of his mother Mary. Originally it was to adorn the tomb of a French cardinal. Incidentally, after hearing certain pilgrims ascribe this work to Cristoforo Solari, by night Michelangelo added a ribbon on which he inscribed his own name. This band runs from Mary’s left shoulder to her right hip, drawing unmistakable attention to the sculptor.

Inside an ornate bronze case made by Bernini is a relic used by popes for centuries during special ceremonies, and which has long been venerated as the chair of “Saint” Peter. Its front has eighteen ivory panels, representing the twelve labors of the mythological Hercules, as well as six monsters that may be signs of the Zodiac. In actual fact, Peter never occupied this seat. Carbon 14 testing supports the ninth century C.E., some 700 years after Peter died, as being the date of it. On one ivory strip is a bust of Charles the Bald, Roman emperor and king of the West Franks. Probably this oaken throne was brought to Rome for Charles’ coronation by Pope John VIII, in December 875 C.E. Yet, several years after the Vatican acknowledged its origin (in November 1969), this medieval chair still occupied an honored place in Saint Peter’s Basilica.

Your interest now is drawn to a bronze statue of “Saint” Peter, seated on a throne, with a halo over his head and his right foot extended. In 1857 Pius IX granted a fifty-day indulgence to anyone who kissed the toe of that lifeless foot. Many pilgrims kiss it, then make the sign of the cross. The toes of the unkissed left foot are well defined. But those of the right are worn away, apparently by the kisses and caresses of reverent thousands. On Peter’s feast day this statue is adorned with gem-studded papal miter and garb. What we see makes us recall the inspired psalm that speaks of silent, sightless, deaf idols, with “hands unfeeling, feet unstirring.”​—Ps. 113:13-16, Knox.

According to tradition, this statue was cast in the fourth or the fifth century C.E., though it also has been ascribed to the thirteenth century. Yet, others view it differently. For instance, concerning it, R.C. Wyndham’s Practical Guide to the Principal Sights of Rome states: “The statue was originally that of Jupiter in the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, but has been converted to a holier purpose by the Pope.”

More important than this statue’s uncertain origin is the reverence given it. Would Peter approve of such veneration? When the Italian centurion Cornelius fell down at the feet of this humble apostle, Peter did not put either foot forward, to be kissed or caressed. No indeed! The Scriptures tell us: “Peter helped him up. ‘Stand up,’ he said ‘I am only a man after all!’”​—Acts 10:25, 26, The Jerusalem Bible.

The Sistine Chapel

Our tour takes us to the Sistine Chapel, named for Pope Sixtus IV. Built between 1475 and 1481 at his order, this structure is 132 feet long and 45 feet wide, with a height of 68 feet. Actually the private papal chapel, it has been the scene of various ceremonies and of assemblies for electing popes.

The Sistine Chapel already contained works of other artists by 1508, when Julius II commissioned Michelangelo to apply his skills to its ceiling. When completed, the resulting frescoes contained 343 figures. Principally depicted are scenes of creation, man’s fall and the Flood. But the paintings also include ancestors of Christ, as well as Biblical prophets and pagan prophetesses, or sibyls.

Sibyls? Yes, and among them the Delphic Sibyl. According to Origen, it was said that “the prophetic spirit of Apollo entered her private parts,” after which she gave oracles in a state of madness. She was under demon influence. (Compare Acts 16:16-18.) The Guide to the Vatican (1973) says: “Michelangelo meant to depict the old Hebrew and pagan world as it waited and hoped for the Messiah.” However, the fact is that God sent no messages to pagan prophetesses. Moreover, is it not strange that they should be represented along with Biblical prophets, since there were godly prophetesses awaiting the Messiah, women like Miriam, Deborah, Huldah and Anna?​—Ex. 15:20, 21; Judg. 4:4-7; 2 Ki. 22:14-20; Luke 2:36-38.

Years later (1534-1541), Michelangelo painted the “Last Judgment” on the wall behind the altar in the Sistine Chapel. In this fresco the dead are shown being summoned to judgment by an angry Jesus Christ, who condemns many to a hell of torment. The artwork, however, is in direct conflict with the Bible, which shows that hell is the common grave of mankind, where the dead are conscious of nothing and can suffer no pain! And it is not from the Bible’s pages that the idea comes that Jesus will be a cruel, wrathful judge! (Eccl. 9:5, 10; Isa. 11:1-5) Nevertheless, upon seeing the “Last Judgment,” Pope Paul III, who had two mistresses and fathered four illegitimate sons before entering the priesthood, reportedly dropped to his knees and begged: “Lord, charge me not with my sins when Thou shalt come on the Day of Judgment.”

In this day when pornography is so rampant, with all its unsavory effects upon the people, we cannot totally ignore the nudity of many characters depicted on the Sistine Chapel ceiling. At one time the nudes appearing originally in the “Last Judgment” aroused such complaint that, by papal order, the nudity of certain figures later was draped.

Gardens, Museums and a Noted Library

The Vatican also is a place of beautiful gardens, various museums and noteworthy galleries. In the Pio-Clementine Museum, an altar bearing bas-reliefs shows Victory carrying a shield with the inscription: “The Senate and People of Rome have dedicated this altar to the Emperor Augustus, son of the deified Caesar, in his capacity as Pontifex Maximus.” This title (literally meaning “Greatest Bridge Maker”), once borne by the head of Rome’s pagan priesthood and eventually by its emperors, was rejected by Emperor Gratian as unbefitting a Christian. Pope Damasus I of the fourth century gladly assumed it, however, and it remains a papal title to this day.

A treasure trove of manuscripts and books​—that is the Vatican library. Besides some 1,000,000 printed books, it is the repository of over 90,000 manuscripts. Among these is the Vatican Manuscript No. 1209, a valuable Greek Biblical codex of the fourth century C.E.

“Silver and Gold I Have None”?

As a visitor to the Vatican, you may well be impressed with its costly edifices, jewel-studded religious articles, renowned artworks and the like. The papacy has received many outright gifts, but that is not the whole story. Concerning extremely costly Saint Peter’s Basilica, it has been said: “Donato Bramante’s winning design aroused stormy opposition​—as did the taxes which Julius [II] and later popes levied in order to pay for the work.” (Great Ages of Man, Renaissance, by John R. Hale and The Editors of Time-Life Books) The fund drive for the construction of the basilica, carried on in Germany through the sale of indulgences by Dominican monk Johann Tetzel, was one cause of the Reformation led by Luther.

The Roman Catholic Church claims to be founded on Peter, a humble fisherman and apostle of Jesus Christ. But many persons are unable to reconcile such great wealth with Peter’s words to a lame man who sought some material gift: “Silver and gold I have none; but what I have, I give thee. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, arise and walk.” And the man walked. Yes, Peter placed emphasis on the human element, and on spiritual values, but a tour of the Vatican reveals an emphasis on material things.​—Acts 3:1-26, Douay Version.

[Footnotes]

Are You Plagued with Piles?

ACCORDING to historians, piles (or hemorrhoids, as the doctors call them) have changed the course of history. Thus Rudolph Marx tells that Napoleon failed to exploit a gap in the flank of Wellington’s army because of his being groggy owing to a lack of sleep as well as opiate medication taken to ease the pain caused by his hemorrhoids.

Piles are swellings or dilatations of the veins in the anus; actually varicose veins at the lower end of the large bowel or rectum. Basically, there are two kinds​—internal and external piles. When complications arise, they may be quite painful and perhaps may rupture, causing bleeding. According to some authorities, one third, if not more, of all adults have piles in one form or another. In many cases, however, the situation is not such that the person is aware of having them.

The affliction of piles goes back as far as written history. Ancient records of both Egypt and Babylon show that doctors were familiar with this malady, and in particular does the Bible tell about them.​—Deut. 28:15, 27; 1 Sam. 5:6-12.

Causes

As to the causes of piles​—it has long been stressed that among the main causes of piles are sedentary occupations and poor bowel habits. But today we are told that piles are found among heavy laborers, military personnel and many others whose work is not sedentary.

Among the factors charged by some with bringing on piles are excess use of spices, vinegar and coffee. A most likely basic cause is a hereditary weakness that makes one a good candidate for piles.

It is believed that constipation and straining when having bowel movements are to blame in a large measure for the prevalence of piles. But, conversely, an acute case of diarrhea can bring on an attack of complicated hemorrhoids. Inability to relax the muscles in the anus may also bring them on, and this, in turn, may well be caused by modern man’s improper eating habits. Additionally, piles are one of the common complications of pregnancy, due apparently to increased intra-abdominal pressure brought on by the enlarged uterus.

Thus an article in the American Heart Journal, April 1973, showed the relationship between deep vein thrombosis or clotting, varicose veins and hemorrhoids. It put forward this hypothesis: “A high residue diet promotes rapid transit of intestinal content with the passage of large unformed stools. In contrast, the low residue diet . . . of modern western civilization results in prolonged intestinal transit times with the passage of small, firm, formed stools. In the latter situation not only are [certain] pressures in the colon greatly raised, with resultant appendicitis and [bowel] disease, but the intra-abdominal pressures are also greatly raised during straining at constipated stools.” The article concludes by noting that “if this hypothesis proves correct even in part,” hemorrhoids and related ills “in the western world could be greatly reduced by a return to a higher residue diet.”

Making similar observations is an article that appeared in the New Zealand Medical Journal, November 1972. It called attention to a noted surgeon’s view that “the low residue diet of western society is the major factor in the high incidence of haemorrhoids . . . in our communities [as] compared with that obtaining in the native populations of Africa and India.” No wonder that hemorrhoids have been called “a disease of civilization.”

Preventing and Curing Piles

To avoid having piles, the recommendation is to exercise if yours is a sedentary occupation and to be sure to eat plenty of food that has high residues. Foods that do not have high residues are those largely made with white flour, also white or polished rice, spaghetti and chocolate. Eat sparingly of these foods but plenty of those having high residues, such as bran muffins, whole wheat bread and whole grain cereals. Also, eat plenty of leafy and other vegetables, especially celery and cabbage. Eat baked potatoes with the “jackets,” and fruits with their peelings​—apples, peaches and suchlike fruits.

Hypocrates, the noted Greek physician of the fifth century B.C.E., as well as the twelfth-century Jewish scholar and philosopher Maimonides, gave some practical advice regarding the treatment of piles, much in line with what is here noted.

If you already have piles, what can you do about them? Just returning to a natural diet as noted above may relieve you of the problem if it is not severe or complicated. But you may need more definitive treatment. What is known in the medical profession as “ligature and excision” is the most common surgical treatment, although only about 10 percent of those afflicted need such surgery. Some types of uncomplicated internal hemorrhoids are successfully treated by one of several injection techniques.

Still another procedure employs the use of elastic bands, which are placed so as simply to strangulate the mass of involved venous tissue. Such methods of treatment are done as office procedures under local anesthesia and without much postoperative disability for the patient.

A more recent innovation is the “freezing” method, also known as cryosurgery. Surgeons employing this method use “Kryostik” in destroying hemorrhoidal tissue by freezing. It is a relatively painless and nondisabling procedure.

Some authorities stress the importance of dilatation (stretching the opening of the anus) as a means of avoiding a narrowing of the anal opening. This may be part of the surgical procedure itself or it may be advised as postoperative management to be carried out by the patient at home.

So there are a number of ways in which piles can be dealt with. However, as is obvious, the type of treatment may be determined to a large extent by the type of the problem and the presence of complications such as blood clotting, fissures or fistula.

But let it be noted that in the case of piles as in the case of so many other afflictions that plague mankind the rule applies that “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” Learn to relax the muscles of the anus, get more exercise if you are a sedentary worker and, above all, watch your diet and eat the foods that will help you to keep “regular” and avoid constipation.

What Is the Bible’s View?

How Long Can Man Live?

“MAN, born of woman, is short-lived.” No one will deny the truth of these words of the Biblical patriarch Job. (Job 14:1) Have you ever wondered, though, why humans grow old and die? Is there a way that this process could be reversed? How long could man live under perfect conditions?

Experiments with human cells have shown that they do not now reproduce themselves indefinitely. It is as if a “biological clock” causes them to die out after a certain number of reproductions. But why?

Some suggest that aging occurs when something goes wrong with the chemical activity in the cell’s nucleus; another theory places the problem in the substance that surrounds the nucleus. Still others theorize that the difficulty may originate in a certain part of the brain or when a person’s immunological system breaks down.

But these are just theories. A panel of top authorities on aging recently pointed out: “Despite years of research, no one yet knows why people age. It is one of life’s biggest mysteries.”

The Bible, however, not only explains why humans grow old and die, but also gives a solid hope for a vastly extended human life-span in the near future. How so?

Let us consider first of all why man dies. The first mention of death in the Scriptures is in God’s command to Adam recorded at Genesis 2:16, 17: “From every tree of the garden you may eat to satisfaction. But as for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will positively die.” Thus God did not originally purpose that man should die. Obedience to God would have resulted in his living on earth forever.

But Adam and Eve did not remain obedient. They “sinned” against God, missing the mark of reflecting his perfect standards. This damaged their relationship with God, resulting in harm to their minds, hearts and bodies. How would this affect any offspring they might have?

Note what is recorded at Romans 5:12: “Through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because they had all sinned.” As the laws of heredity would lead us to expect, Adam and Eve, after becoming sinful, imperfect creatures, could produce only imperfect offspring. (Job 14:4) That is why all of us grow old and die. Is there a way to become free from this process?

Man could never free himself from sin and death. The reason why is explained at Psalm 49:7-9: “Alas! no man can ever ransom himself nor pay God the price of that release; his ransom would cost too much, for ever beyond his power to pay, the ransom that would let him live on always and never see the pit of death.” (The New English Bible) How high a price would be required to “ransom” man from sin and death so that he might “live on always,” eternally?

Adam as a perfect human brought death upon a perfect human race unborn in his loins. According to God’s just standard of “soul for soul,” the ransom price would call for another perfect human life. (Ex. 21:23) That was a price “beyond [man’s] power to pay.” But God could pay it; and he did. How?

By causing a virgin girl to conceive and bear a son without the aid of a human father. The child, named Jesus, was “God’s Son.” (Luke 1:34, 35) As a sinless, perfect man Jesus could “give his soul a ransom in exchange for many,” “a corresponding ransom for all.” (Matt. 20:28; 1 Tim. 2:5, 6) Thus Jesus could say: “God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16) Where will people be able to enjoy this “everlasting life”?

Keep in mind that the ransom allows for the restoration of what was lost, namely, perfect human life. Humans live on earth. (Ps. 115:16; 1 Cor. 15:50) Jesus, when saying that “the mild-tempered ones . . . will inherit the earth,” drew upon Psalm 37, which also says: “The righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it.” (Matt. 5:5; Ps. 37:10, 11, 29) The Scriptures also speak symbolically of a “new earth” where “death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore.”a​—Rev. 21:1-4; 2 Pet. 3:13.

The thought of living forever upon earth need not surprise you. That under perfect conditions human life could be extended indefinitely can be seen from the extremely long life-spans of certain individuals recorded in the Bible. Adam, for example, lived 930 years; Methuselah, 969; Noah, 950.​—Gen. 5:5, 27; 9:29.

Would you like to gain eternal life in an earth free from all the woes that presently cause ‘mourning and outcry and pain’? What must you do to attain to that goal?

Note Jesus’ words, as rendered in The Amplified New Testament: “And this is eternal life: [it means] to know (to perceive, recognize, become acquainted with and understand) You, the only true and real God, and [likewise] to know Him, Jesus [as the] Christ, the Anointed One, the Messiah, Whom You have sent.”​—John 17:3.

Getting to “know” God and Jesus Christ, becoming acquainted with God’s personality, his purpose and dealings with mankind, calls for a careful study of the Bible, which is “inspired of God.” (2 Tim. 3:16) But there is more involved than just Bible study.

The Bible writer James counsels: “Only be sure that you act on the message and do not merely listen; for that would be to mislead yourselves.” (Jas. 1:22, NEB) He adds: “A man is justified by deeds and not by faith in itself. . .. As the body is dead when there is no breath left in it, so faith divorced from deeds is lifeless as a corpse.” (Jas. 2:24, 26, NEB) The “deeds” that make one’s faith alive in God’s eyes are not mere religious ceremonies or “charitable works,” but deeds done in imitation of Jesus and his disciples.​—Matt. 28:19, 20; John 14:12; Acts 1:8.

God created man to live forever upon earth. It was through the sin of the first human pair that death invaded the human family. Jesus Christ, by giving up his perfect human life in sacrifice, paid the required ransom price to set mankind free from sin and death. Will you benefit from this loving provision of God? That depends on your willingness to make a careful study of the Word of God and prove by deeds that you really believe it.

[Footnotes]

Watching the World

Few Words

◆ A recent report shows that it does not take many words to do a lot of talking. The UIR/​Research Newsletter (cited in Machine Design) says that 54 adults were tested to find out how many different words they actually use in speaking. A total of only 359 words accounted for 81 percent of all the words they employed. There are about 600,000 words in the English language.

World War I and Literature

◆ World War I brought countless social changes to mankind. Sometimes overlooked was its effect on literature. Says MD magazine: “In Europe the war wiped out an entire generation of young men, including many gifted writers and artists. The survivors of the ‘war to end all war’ returned to a world in which there was little of the peace in which so many hopes had been placed . . . Much of literature thus found itself abruptly plunged . . . into a world of devastation and disillusion. Among intellectuals the new age induced disbelief in all standards and a cold cynicism often merging into despair . . . The panem et circenses [bread and circuses] that placated the ancient Roman populace had their counterparts in huge sports arenas, bathing beauty contests, the gaudy life of Hollywood’s film world, sex and sadism featured in the new type of newspapers called tabloids and in cheap magazines . . . The same decade saw a revolution in manners and morals . . . Youth rebelled against parental control. Courtesy and chivalry became outmoded. . . . [L]iterature . . . vented the disilusion . . . or it simply accepted the new era.”

Billion or Million?

◆ In America and some other parts of the English-speaking world “billion” has long meant a thousand million. But the British have said that it is a million million. Apparently the British are now adopting the American view. Chancellor of the Exchequer Denis Healey, in his recent budget speech to the Parliament, employed the word in that manner. A Treasury spokesman interviewed after the speech said: “There has been no ruling on the matter. We are just adopting common usage.” The Financial Times, a leading business publication, has already accepted American usage.

Discounters Disappearing

◆ Inflation has wrought some curious paradoxes. Among them: Discount variety stores, which pride themselves on cheap prices, are going out of business! In the last year and a half nearly a dozen major U.S. chains have disappeared. Why? Discounters use borrowed money. When inflation forced interest rates up, “discount” prices also rose and sales dropped. Too, discounters rely on people with low and middle incomes. But it is this part of the population that is paying out a larger percentage of its income for necessities like food, an item not ordinarily stocked by the discount houses.

Hunger “Unreal”

◆ Hunger remains “unreal” in the West, claims Krishan Bhatia in The Hindustan Times of New Delhi, India: “Food is a little more expensive but as plentiful as ever.” He says that the U.S., with one third as many people as India, uses thirteen times as much fertilizer. On the other hand, Bhatia admits that hunger seems unreal to the West for another reason: “When a speaker argued recently that by foregoing meat for one day a week, Americans could spare enough foodgrains to meet India’s needs, one of his listeners asked him tartly what [Indian government leaders] had given up. The rhetorical question, significantly, was greeted with applause from the audience.”

Crime and Crowded Cities

◆ Crowded living conditions are said to be behind many of the crime problems facing big cities. No doubt there is some truth in this view. But is it necessarily the primary cause of crime? No, as shown in a recent Science News article: “Hong Kong is the most densely populated area in the world (3,912 persons per square kilometer) yet its crime rate is only half that of the United States (22 persons per square kilometer). So crowding need not always be a great contributing factor to criminal activity. Cultural attitudes are involved.”

Religion Losing Grip

◆ A recent poll shows that a large section of the British population is dissatisfied with religion. Why? Is it simply that beliefs, like everything else, must change? Well, Yes and No, as shown in the answer given by The Times of India: “Change is of course inevitable. But some of the reasons for the change may be considered. As a major force religion has lost its old grip, mainly because politics, economics and science have come to the fore. Religious leadership throughout the world has shown itself as being incapable of changing with the times or satisfactorily answering new questions and solving new problems.”

Facts of Life

◆ How should children be taught about sex? Who should teach them? Those are questions that parents world wide face. A survey in Japan found that 68 percent of the parents interviewed had never even mentioned sex to their children. Many parents are said to prefer to leave a booklet for the children to read rather than openly discuss the subject. Meanwhile, in Israel, Holland and Sweden sex education is taught in schools. Swedish textbooks for 12-year-olds include pictures of contraceptives. Teachers there are permitted to expound on their own personal moral views. Christians know that this responsibility rests primarily with the parents.

Back Surgery​—Necessary?

◆ An American surgeon, Dr. W. R. Hudgins, told the American College of Surgeons convention that most people with backaches need bed rest more than they need surgery. Why? Because most back problems are due to degenerated disks, not slipped, ruptured (herniated) disks. Degenerated disks, the doctor says, are part of the normal aging process and are to be expected. The “failure rate” in herniated disk operations is about 5 percent. However, surgery does not improve about 40 percent of those patients who have degenerated disk problems.

European Crime Wave

◆ “Crime, and especially violent crime, is one of Europe’s growth industries,” says Vision magazine. In 1973 in Italy, robbery, kidnapping and blackmailing rose 58 percent over the previous year. Switzerland’s robbery sentences increased from a total of 71 in 1971 to 214 the following year. Holdups in Spain in 1972 were twice the number of five years previously. Some experts boast about new crime-fighting equipment. But, notes the article: “Unfortunately, criminal technology is not standing still, either. British burglars recently introduced a ‘thermic lance’ containing masses of iron rods powered by oxygen and capable of ‘punching’ through a vault door in seconds.”

Weapons Waste

◆ Military experts agree that, even by their own standards, much money spent on weapons research and construction is wasted. This is exemplified in the lack of standard equipment used by North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) members. Among them there are 12 different types of antitank missiles, 36 kinds of radar systems, 40 sorts of heavy navy guns, 23 types of aircraft and 3 totally different styles of tanks. All together, almost one billion dollars a year is estimated to be spent researching and developing weapons that already exist somewhere among NATO member nations.

Supertankers

◆ Supertankers, oil-carrying vessels whose deadweight is measured in hundreds of tons, have become popular since the 1967 closing of the Suez Canal. Oil can be shipped by way of these huge vessels around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope more economically than in smaller ones. But Noël Mostert, originally of South Africa, argues in his new book Supership that too many have been built beyond proven technological standards. Inexperienced officers have been put at the helm and navigational standards relaxed in recent months. For these reasons, he says, in the first three months of 1974, there were 112 tanker breakdowns at sea. Large quantities of oil discharged by supertankers are a major contributor to ocean pollution.

To Be Entertained

◆ A night out is costing London stage theatergoers more than ever. West End theaters say that stalls now priced at $7 may soon be $9.60 to $12. Why? Production costs are up. Wood for scenery, for instance, doubled in price in one year. Meanwhile, in New York people are paying $4 each and lining up around the block to see the latest “chic” movies. What do they get for their money? An X-rated film that The Wall Street Journal describes as “illness barely masquerading as art.” Two lovers beat each other and force each other to walk on broken glass. The Journal adds: “We can only wait in dread for its successor as the chic show.”

The Churches in China

◆ Why is it that missionaries are now not able to get into mainland China? Because of Christendom’s unchristian practices while still allowed in China, says a recent article in America. Catholic author Julia Ching admits that church missionaries were too closely allied “with the imperialist powers and their gunboat diplomacy, and unequal treaty rights.” She adds: “The growing consensus among many responsible and thoughtful church people . . . is that the failure of the China mission has been in large part the responsibility of the missionaries and/​or Western Christians themselves.”

Reno’s Churches

◆ Casino gambling is legal in the U.S. state of Nevada, including its second-largest city, Reno. What is the view of that city’s churches toward gambling? Says an article in Christian Century regarding its “enlightened” churches: “Few of them are willing to rock the economic boat. After all, they profit from tithes paid by casino employees, and their budgets and building programs are enhanced by the depression-proof stability of the gaming industry. One might say that many Reno churches suffer from a type of moral schizophrenia, a separation between belief and action.”

Methodists and the Prostitutes

◆ Last summer San Francisco’s Glide United Methodist Church hosted a convention of prostitutes. United Methodist Church leaders have been strangely silent on the matter. One bishop did circulate a pastoral letter admitting he personally did not approve of Glide’s actions, but adding that each church may do as it sees fit. This mousy approach backfired; responded one pastor: “The Bishop has given us a license to do whatever we want. Anything goes now.” A college professor who joined the church to learn about the Bible quit, saying: “When whores are entertained in the church, not seeking their conversion but to celebrate their whoring, then it is no longer the Church of Jesus Christ.”

Comeback of Crafts

◆ Two out of every five Americans are now involved in some form of craft, such as woodworking, weaving or ceramics, according to a recent survey. Books and magazines dealing with such subjects are increasing. Some people turn to crafts for sheer satisfaction; they enjoy knowing that they can do something with their own hands. Some observers see this trend as part of the general nostalgia sweeping the country, a yearning for simpler, better times. At the same time, handicrafts are selling for a higher price​—one more reason people are getting involved. Some pieces of Indian ceramics sell for over $4,000. A Navajo rug was $35 in 1940; now it is $1,000. A small Eskimo carving of a dogsled made from walrus-tusk ivory will bring $1,300.

The Place of Worship in Your Life

The 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses will help you to make spiritual matters an important part of your life. It provides a Scripture text with a brief comment for each day of the year.

Read also the faith-building history of Jehovah’s witnesses in the United States from the 1870’s to our day. Here you will find authoritative answers to questions frequently asked. Only 50 cents.

Please send, postpaid, the 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses; I enclose 50c.

Is This Life All There Is?

Or is it possible to live again?

Your life-span is like a road that stretches out before you. When you are young you give little thought to how precious life is. But as you grow older and the end of your life comes within sight, your attitude changes. Many want to extend that road, to be young again. Is this possible?

Read the heartwarming answer in the new 192-page book Is This Life All There Is? Only 25c, postpaid.

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