March 8

Freakish Weather​—Can Something Be Done About It?

TODAY the weather is actually a life-or-death matter for hundreds of millions of persons world wide. It can mean the difference between having at least some food and facing death by starvation or disease.

On the other hand, if you have plenty to eat you may feel that you are not seriously affected by the weather. But actually, freakish weather in recent years has seriously affected all of us. And many feel that we face even greater consequences in the years ahead. An international group studying weather problems says:

“The studies of many scholars of climatic change attest that a new climatic pattern is now emerging. . . .

“We believe that this climatic change poses a threat to the people of the world.”

Why do they say this? And what good does it do anyway to talk about the weather when no one can do anything about it?

Of course, there are those who feel that something can be done about it. Many people facing hunger offer prayers and sacrifices to their religious divinities in hope of rain. But is God responsible for the freakish weather conditions that certain areas today experience? If not, why does the situation exist? And what real security from bad weather is there?

Why You Are Affected

Weather changes have played a large part in the price you pay for food. How? Adverse weather means poorer crops. Whenever this happens, sooner or later food prices rise.

During 1972 there was bad weather for crops in many parts of the world. The Soviet Union was hit by severe drought. To make up for huge crop losses the Soviets purchased massive amounts of food from other countries. Because of this increased demand, food prices rose. As an example, in late 1971 the price of American wheat was $1.05 a bushel. But in September 1974 the price was $4.40.

Regarding 1974, government economist Don Paarlberg stated: “Nineteen-seventy-four was the year the weatherman pulled all the wrong levers.” The United States was hit with some of the worst weather in modern times. First there were disastrous floods in the spring. Then in summer came the worst drought in decades. Finally, in September, frosts came too early. One result was that the hoped-for corn crop of 6.7 billion bushels dwindled to some 2 billion bushels less!

The Soviet Union also experienced unfavorable weather in 1974 and once more turned to the world market to buy food. India had severe drought in its main food-producing provinces. Bangladesh was inundated by floods, more than half the nation being affected.

Thus, in 1974 unfavorable weather hit hard at world food supplies. As a result, the world’s grain crop fell below the previous year’s. In “normal” times this would not be such a calamity. But it is now, because world food reserves have dropped to less than a month’s supply, the lowest point since World War II. Yet, during the year, the world’s population increased by nearly 80,000,000 people! Such a tight food situation means higher prices for your groceries.

How Big Is the Problem?

Many weather scientists believe that the earth is undergoing one of its historic long-range weather changes. One change has to do with temperatures. Records show that the first half of the twentieth century was a period of relatively mild weather, resulting in better crops.

However, many weather scientists say that the trend has reversed. Hubert Lamb, head of a European climate research organization, says: “Global temperatures since 1945 constitute, we believe, the longest unbroken trend downward in hundreds of years.”

The cooling trend is thought by some to be related to the unprecedented African drought of the past six years. The affected area south of the Sahara was more than 3,000 miles long and about 1,000 miles wide, one fifth of the African continent. It was suggested that the cooling trend pushed the polar air cap farther south, forcing the monsoon rains farther south too. Thus the rains fell in places that already had enough rainfall, or fell into the ocean. Also, monsoon rains, much needed in northern India, were affected in the same way.

The key point being made by weather experts is that the weather has become more freakish, that is, more variable and extreme, with more frequent floods, droughts, cold and hot spells. All that is bad for growing crops.

Joseph Fletcher, of the National Science Foundation in Washington, D.C., states that there is “clear evidence that generally unfavorable changes are in progress.” Similarly, a group of weather experts concluded:

“The direction of climate change indicates major crop failures almost certainly within the decade. This, coinciding with a period of almost non-existent grain reserves, can be ignored only at the risk of great suffering and mass starvation.”

Can Human Systems Solve the Problem?

Can today’s political and economic systems cope with this growing problem? Or have they, instead, become part of the problem?

Some believe that things can be handled as before​—in time of trouble in one area, another part of the world can produce a surplus to assist the affected areas. For example, in the past, crop losses due to droughts in lands such as India were, to a degree, made up by purchases or gifts from food surpluses in the United States. One reason for such surpluses was that, until a few years ago, weather conditions were very favorable there. But now government weather scientist James McQuigg says: “The probability of getting another 15 consecutive years that good is about one in 10,000.”

Since the United States has been the world’s leading food exporter, any trouble with its crops would be disastrous to the nations that depend on its surplus. And in recent years it has had trouble. Also, with the world’s population increasing so fast, it is conceded that the arrangement of depending upon American surpluses could not work much longer.

Not only are today’s systems of human organization already having great difficulty with changing weather patterns, but many scientists feel that these human systems may be at least partly responsible for the unfavorable weather! For one thing, man is upsetting the natural balance in many areas by stripping forests and fields of their vegetation, exposing the soil to sun, wind and cold. And where that happens, rainfall often decreases.

The book The Challenge of Climate notes the views of French archaeologist Henri Lhote regarding the Sahara region: “Man himself has played a part in bringing about this unfavorable modification of climate. ‘We are well aware,’ he writes, ‘that any changes made by man in the balance of nature may have disastrous consequences. And, in the case of the Sahara, the ancient pastoralists themselves may have been, at least partly, responsible for the spread of desert conditions, just as in our own times the Tuareg, the Mauritanian, the Arab and Tippu pastoralists by cutting down the few remaining trees​—either for fuel or to feed the higher branches to their beasts—​unceasingly help the desert’s expansion.’”

But there is another part of human activity that is under suspicion now. The industrial countries especially have been spewing hundreds of millions of tons of dust and gases into the atmosphere every year. Some scientists feel that this mass polluting of the atmosphere has played a part in the turn that the weather has taken lately.

Nor is it likely that any of the many schemes proposed by scientists to alter the weather will prove practical. One such scheme is to eliminate the Arctic Ocean ice pack. How would that be done? Some suggest building a dam across the Bering Strait separating the Soviet Union and Alaska, then pumping the Arctic water into the Pacific Ocean, thereby raising the level of that ocean. In turn, this would push warmer water from the Atlantic Ocean up to the Arctic and melt the ice cap. Other ideas involve using nuclear bombs to break up the ice cap, or covering the ice with a layer of soot to absorb more of the sun’s rays to help melt the ice.

Such schemes are in the realm of science fiction, mostly fiction. They are neither practical nor within the scope of today’s technology. Even if they were, there is no assurance that such tampering would help matters. It could just as easily make the situation even more difficult.

What About the Future?

What will the weather be like in the future? Will there always be droughts, floods and other bad weather extremes to plague humankind?

True, some say there can never be security from adverse weather. But such gloomy forecasts leave out the most important consideration of all regarding the future. They leave out the purpose of the Creator, Jehovah God. His own Word tells us clearly that it is not his purpose to let the earth go on indefinitely from one bad situation to another. He will not let natural forces continue haphazardly to man’s detriment.

True, God’s Word shows that Jehovah God put into operation the forces of weather. (Matt. 5:45) But does this mean that God is now directly controlling the weather, making him responsible for the floods, droughts and similar calamities?

No, that is not the case. By man’s rebellion against God in Eden, the human family lost God’s favor and so does not experience his direct intervention to avert calamity from natural forces. The nations have rejected his guidance and are doing things in their own way. God has permitted this for a specific length of time. Even those humans who seek to do the will of God are not exempt from the effects of this, though God does bless their efforts to obtain at least the necessities of life and he certainly safeguards them spiritually.

But guidance from God, enabling man to work along with the natural creation in the proper way, is needed in order to avoid the calamities of adverse weather. Centuries ago, as a pattern of what he would do for all mankind in the future, God told the nation of Israel that obedience to his laws would bring blessings:

“It must occur that if you will without fail obey my commandments that I am commanding you today so as to love Jehovah your God and to serve him with all your heart and all your soul, I also shall certainly give rain for your land at its appointed time, autumn rain and spring rain, and you will indeed gather your grain and your sweet wine and your oil. And I shall certainly give vegetation in your field for your domestic animals, and you will indeed eat and be satisfied.”​—Deut. 11:13-15.

But what if the people did not respond? What if they took to breaking God’s laws? In that case God said:

“Watch out for yourselves for fear your heart may be enticed, and you do turn aside and worship other gods and bow down to them, and Jehovah’s anger does blaze against you, and he does shut up the heavens so that no rain will occur and the ground will not give its produce and you have to perish speedily from off the good land that Jehovah is giving you.”​—Deut. 11:16, 17.

The latter is what happened. That is why much of the land that used to be known as Palestine has been barren for centuries.

Today, none of the political nations are doing God’s will as recorded in his Word, the Bible. Hence, his blessing and guidance are not with them.

However, Bible prophecy reveals that very shortly God will intervene in man’s affairs and will rip power away from all of today’s human systems. (Dan. 2:44) Under God’s rule to follow, the Creator will teach his obedient people the proper way to use the natural creation so that they are blessed with weather that works to their good. In that new order, the Bible promises, even “the wilderness and the waterless region” will blossom.​—Isa. 35:1 6, 7.

So while weather experts today predict bad things for the future in regard to weather, God’s Word tells us that soon a change for the good will come. But in the meantime, shifting weather patterns will continue to play a part in exposing the inability of humans to govern their affairs successfully without God.

[Map on page 5]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

Normal limit of monsoon rains is indicated by broken line, and shaded arrows show normal wind patterns. But in recent years this limit has been pushed farther south (solid line and solid arrows). Much of area in between lines now not getting enough rain. Why? Normal cooler winds from north (dark wide band) have drifted farther south (lighter band), causing much of monsoon rains to fall into ocean areas instead of over land

NORTHERN LIMIT OF THE MONSOONS

EQUATOR

Vilcabamba​—Where Time Slows Down

By “Awake!” correspondent in Ecuador

THROUGHOUT history man has fought a losing battle against old age. In spite of this, people today are as eager as ever to hear about prolonging the life-span. Are you among this vast majority? Then you will be interested to hear about Vilcabamba, a mountain village of south Ecuador.

I live in Ecuador and for some time had heard reports of people of Vilcabamba who reached ages of 100, 120 and even 140 years. Could it be true? As news of this valley and its inhabitants spread to other countries, prominent people began visiting Vilcabamba. My curiosity being sufficiently aroused, I too decided to go there.

Vilcabamba and Its People

Getting to Vilcabamba from my locality requires a one-hour flight into the Andes Mountains and several hours of additional travel. As I neared my destination I noted a significant change in temperature. The cool mountain climate gave way to a mild temperate one at this lower altitude. The temperature at Vilcabamba hovers at 66 or 67 degrees Fahrenheit throughout the whole year. Naturally such a climate results in profuse vegetation. All types of greenery adorn this valley; trees cover the mountain slopes and there are crops of corn, sugarcane, bananas and legumes.

At first sight you would probably not be impressed with Vilcabamba, especially if you come from a large city. A straight, dirt road leads to the center of town. Few people move about, for most of them are out tending their farms. The houses are of a simple adobe type covered by the typical Spanish tile roof; most of them appear to have a plain dirt floor.

Let us get acquainted with the oldest inhabitant of this mountain village. His name is Arcangel Carpio, said to be 126 years old. Arcangel is a large man with European features. His face is surprisingly free of wrinkles for a man of his age. He recalls simple things, such as the days when he and his father would take long walks through the woods looking for berries and wild goats to milk.

Does a special diet account for Arcangel’s long life? Apparently not; he enjoys ordinary things like potatoes, hominy, beans, lentils and yucca. Residents of Vilcabamba also regularly eat eggs, cheese and milk, but not much meat. The life-style in Vilcabamba, as the food, is simple. The workday begins at sunup and lasts until nightfall, when each one returns home to rest.

Why Such Long Lives?

As I noted above, longevity is common at Vilcabamba. An amazing 16.4 percent of its inhabitants are over sixty years of age, while the figure is only 4.6 for the rest of rural Ecuador.

But how reliable are the ages of these people? An attendant at the museum dealing with Vilcabamba gladly showed me old church records that contained the birth dates of residents. The information, written in Spanish with an old style of handwriting, was still legible, though the records were yellowed with age. Information at the National Statistical Institute of Ecuador for the year 1971 revealed that there were then 93 persons in Vilcabamba who ranged in age from 60 to 140 years. The oldest recorded age was that of a man who reached 140 years and lived until the following year, August of 1972.

What accounts for the great ages reached by inhabitants of Vilcabamba? A number of factors are involved. One is evidently their peaceful way of life. World news headlines cause no stir here. According to one survey, only seventy-five people in the whole valley had radios. These people work hard at manual labor and their principal interest is in family life at home.

As for diet, the inhabitants of this valley have a low-calorie intake, averaging about 1,200 per day, with the highest being 1,360. They also eat fresh fruit daily. But, beyond this, their food is quite common. Smoking and drinking of alcoholic beverages are moderate among the older people.

The water supply may be another factor in long life at Vilcabamba. Here the waters descend from an elevation of 9,000 feet through the Vilcabamba and Chamba Rivers until they eventually empty into the Amazon River. According to the findings of a recent U.S. geological survey, the Amazon waters are “purer than most of the tap water in the United States.” The survey also noted that “in some places the chemical purity was nearly equal to that of distilled water.”

Clean air also plays its part in longevity. Vilcabamba lies at the entrance of the Amazon jungle. One scientist estimated that 50 percent of the earth’s pure oxygen is produced by this immense forest.

Without a doubt a most important factor in the long lives of these people is heredity. The Encyclopædia Britannica comments: “Aging and life spans are influenced by genetic characteristics. . . . offspring of long-lived parents generally live longer than those of short-lived parents.” The curator of the museum confirmed this for me, noting that the records indicate that parents of the older inhabitants also lived long lives.

Even Longer Life Possible

My visit to Vilcabamba provided much food for thought. While not all people have the advantages of clean air, pure water and a steady temperate climate today, can we learn something from these humble, hardworking people? Could it be that a more tranquil life-style along with hard physical work would solve many of the health problems of today’s urbanized society?

Soon all mankind will be able to enjoy life longer than any of the residents of Vilcabamba ever lived. But not by seeking refuge in places like Vilcabamba. How then?

You will find that your copy of the Holy Bible contains the comforting promise that soon humans will live forever on earth in perfect health. The apostle John, at Revelation 21:3, 4, wrote: “I heard a loud voice from the throne say: ‘Look! The tent of God is with mankind . . . And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.’”

Does that sound appealing to you? Then you might like to know that in less time than it took to read this article you can learn the first step toward eternal life. The person who brought you this magazine, or any one of Jehovah’s witnesses, will be happy to show it to you from your own Bible. Why not ask them?

Preparing Food the Greek Way

“GO, EAT your food with rejoicing,” wrote wise King Solomon. (Eccl. 9:7) And no doubt tasty food contributes to the enjoyment we get out of life. Housewives all over the world know this, and many make it a point to look for more interesting ways to prepare meals.

Some countries have specialized types of cooking, and people in other lands can learn from this, thus getting more variety into their meals. Sometimes new recipes can help the housewife, not only to attain more variety in the meals, but also to stretch the food budget, a necessity in these days of rising food prices.

A look at Greek cooking can provide some interesting recipes. Just what is it that distinguishes Greek cooking? What foods are preferred and how are they prepared?

Typical Greek Foods

Greeks have, as you may know, a favorite meat​—lamb. In some Greek homes virtually the only red meat eaten is lamb. Veal is sometimes used, but that is in second place; beef is third and pork is seldom used.

Chicken is another favorite of the Greeks, and it would be difficult to imagine their cooking without rice.

Fish dishes are popular, and they are usually made with olive oil, garlic, onions and tomatoes, served with lemon halves. Octopus and squid, besides the usual variety of fish, are much enjoyed by Greeks.

Among vegetables, beans (both dried and fresh) and eggplant are favored. Since meat supplies are limited, eggplant is used extensively​—braised, baked, fried, stuffed and mashed into a dip.

One of the characteristics of cooking vegetables, as well as meat, Greek style is the use of tomatoes and tomato paste, with onions and/​or garlic being used for flavoring.

Greek cooking is not hotly seasoned. Instead, the cook often seasons food with oregano, mint leaf, sweet basil, bay leaves, sesame and parsley. A dash of cinnamon imparts a subtle but distinctive flavor to Grecian meat dishes.

Lemons play a big role. In fact, few flavors are so typically Greek as the egg-and-lemon-juice sauce that imparts a tart creaminess to various dishes and to soups. The housewife uses lemon juice on almost everything that she serves. In salads, lemon juice is used instead of vinegar. Greeks nearly always cook their food in olive oil, and this oil is also frequently used to flavor prepared food.

Greek Salad

The typical Greek salad is made with raw vegetables and might include greens, celery stalks chopped fine, sliced cucumbers, an onion sliced thin, tomatoes sliced lengthwise, a sliced green pepper, radishes and parsley.

The salad is arranged on a large platter and built up into a peak at the center. First, large lettuce leaves are placed on the platter. The rest of the lettuce is shredded and made into a mound in the center. Other vegetables are added on the mound.

As for seasoning the salad, oregano, salt and pepper may be added along with a dressing of olive oil and lemon juice (or vinegar if you prefer). For a large platter, about one-third cup of olive oil may be used, along with the juice of one lemon. The salad is garnished with anchovies, black olives and small pieces of a white cheese called feta, a soft, salty cheese made from goat’s milk and which crumbles easily and gives the salad a unique flavor. (Small pieces of blue cheese can be substituted for the feta.)

Soups and Lemon Sauce

Soup is often a main course and is eaten with chunks of bread and the typical Greek salad. Bean, pea and lentil soups are popular. A favorite soup is soupa avgolemono​—a chicken soup flavored with lemon. It is now popular with persons in various parts of the world.

An easy recipe for this lemon chicken soup is: Wash a half cup of rice in warm water and soak for fifteen minutes, then drain. Bring six cups of chicken broth to a boil. Add the rice and cook it over low heat for fifteen minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Now prepare the lemon-and-egg sauce by taking two eggs and beating the whites well. Make sure they are stiff. Next, gently pour the egg yolks into the whites and beat further. Then add two tablespoons of lemon juice and gradually beat it in. About one cup of the hot broth is gradually added, stirring continually to avoid curdling. Add the rest of the broth, stirring constantly, not allowing it to boil.

This fine soup can be made in various ways. Some cooks like to make their own chicken broth from chicken backs and wings. Also, some prefer to make the soup with one chopped onion, one stalk of celery, cut up, and two carrots, cut up.

Meat Dishes with the Grecian Flavor

Lamb is cooked in a great variety of ways, either roasted, skewered or broiled. Many persons who are not Greeks find that when they try to prepare a meal with lamb the meat has too strong a flavor for them, yet when they eat lamb cooked by Greeks they find it quite pleasant and palatable. This is because of the way the Greeks cook lamb.

If you are going to roast a leg of lamb and want to avoid a strong lamb flavor, trim off all the fat. Make slits in the meat, perhaps sixteen or so, with the tip of a small knife. Sliver four cloves of garlic and then insert the slivers into the slits. Also use a little salt and pepper along with the garlic slivers. Rub the meat with lemon juice, thyme, butter and a little salt and pepper. Baste occasionally with lemon juice and butter. To keep the juices in, cover the leg of lamb with aluminum foil. Roast for about three hours, at about 400 degrees Fahrenheit.

Many persons enjoy arni souvlakia, the Greek shish kebab. To prepare this dish, marinate chunks of tender lamb in olive oil, lemon juice and wine. Season with salt and pepper and a dash of oregano and then grill on skewers over hot coals. During the cooking, you can smear the meat from time to time with some olive oil.

To give lamb chops or steak a Grecian flavor you can broil them to the desired doneness, and then sprinkle with crushed oregano and lemon juice. Broiled or fried liver can also be seasoned with oregano and lemon juice. When roasting chicken, baste it with butter and lemon juice, and some cooks also like a sprinkle of oregano.

If you would like a different kind of sauce with your meat, whether roasts or steak, try the following: To your heated butter or oil, add a clove or two of minced garlic. Then add some minced celery and some chopped onions and fry slowly. When it is cooked, mix in some canned tomatoes and a little tomato paste. As you heat the sauce and mix it, add a dash of oregano. You will have a truly delicious sauce for meats and vegetables.

One of the most popular dishes in Greece is moussaka. This baked dish contains layers of fried eggplant and ground lamb. It is seasoned with tomato, oregano and a dash of cinnamon. Then it is topped with a white sauce and grated cheese, baked to a golden puffiness and served warm, cut in squares.

One of the most famous of Greek foods is stuffed grapevine leaves (called dolmathes). The vine leaves are stuffed with ground meat (lamb or beef) and rice and then served with the egg-and-lemon sauce.

To prepare this dish to serve three or four persons, use about a pound of grapevine leaves (cabbage leaves can be substituted by boiling the cabbage head till tender, then removing each leaf and trimming the stem). If vine leaves are used, scald them first to soften them. Use about one pound of ground lamb or beef and half a cup of rice (long grain); half a cup of butter (measure, then melt); one cup of canned tomatoes, including juice; one and half cups of hot water; two medium onions chopped fine; two tablespoons of olive oil; two tablespoons of mint leaf or parsley chopped fine; salt and pepper. Mix the ingredients, except leaves and water.

Then stuff the vine leaves one by one with the mixture. Fold over the top and sides like an envelope, so that the stuffing remains within the leaves. Set all these stuffed leaves in rows in a skillet or cooking pot. Pour water in. Cover them with a heavy heatproof plate (to keep them in position) and the lid. Let them simmer in the cooking pot on a gentle fire for about an hour, or until the rice is done.

Prepare the egg-and-lemon sauce as already mentioned. But you may wish to use three eggs instead of two. Remember that this sauce is always made from the liquid in which meats or vegetables have been cooked. So use the hot broth in which you have cooked the stuffed vine leaves, but do not let the sauce boil. You can determine the degree of tartness of the sauce by regulating the amount of lemon juice. Then take the saucepan with the stuffed vine leaves and pour the egg-and-lemon-juice sauce on. And your vine leaves are ready to be served.

Keep in mind that recipes for Greek dishes differ from cook to cook, but the ingredients are basically the same. In fact, the Greek housewife seldom follows a recipe, but does her cooking by memory and invention. Given tomatoes, tomato paste, lemons, onions, garlic, thyme and olive oil, most Greek housewives can take off in any culinary direction, with delightful results.

Greek cooking, of course, is just one of a great variety of cooking styles. Those who would like to try recipes from other parts of the earth will usually find that public libraries have books with recipes from around the world. And if you choose to add variety to your meals, why not try to prepare some foods the Greek way?

Do You Have Trouble Sleeping?

WELL has it been said that “sleep is to a man what winding up is to a clock.” It restores energy to the body, to the brain and to the rest of the nervous system. After a good night’s sleep we awake in good spirits, eager to plunge into the work that lies before us; not only feeling much better but also looking better.

Moreover, sleep gives us a break from life’s cares and tensions. In sleep we not only rest our bodies, but we have rest from such burdens as poverty, loneliness, poor health and injustices. As the Spanish author Cervantes said centuries ago concerning sleep: “It is meat for the hungry, drink for the thirsty, heat for the cold, and cold for the hot.”

Surely, then, it is vital that we get proper sleep. But what if you do not? Before considering this problem, some basic facts about sleep will be helpful.

Kinds of Sleep

Sleep is a natural condition that occurs regularly and in which one loses awareness of one’s surroundings. Yet it is still largely a mystery as to what sleep actually is. It is known, however, that there are basically two kinds of sleep.

In one kind, which starts with drowsiness and gets deeper and deeper, profound restorative processes take place. In it your breathing and your heartbeat slow down, your blood pressure drops and your limbs fully relax. This deep sleep is believed to be an aid to memory. It lasts for about ninety minutes.

Afterward, you return to a sleep much lighter in some respects, and in other respects deeper. It is called the REM stage because it is marked by side-to-side Rapid Eye Movements, which indicate that you are dreaming. Your heartbeat greatly fluctuates and your limbs grow tense, indicating that not only your mind but also your body is involved in dreaming. After about ten minutes of this REM sleep you will again go into deep sleep for another ninety minutes and then back up, and so on throughout the night.

Most sleep researchers hold that both kinds of sleep are essential for mental and physical health; one cannot take the place of the other. As to how long you sleep, quality is more important than quantity.

Sleeplessness a Common Complaint

If you have trouble sleeping, you have plenty of company, especially in highly industrialized countries. Sleeplessness or insomnia is most common in the United States, where as many as 50 percent of adults are said to be more or less troubled by it, especially after reaching thirty years of age. By and large, women have more difficulty sleeping than do men.

It also appears that insomnia is increasing. Thus, from 1952 to 1963, sales of all drugs in the United States increased 6.5 percent; but retail sales of hypnotics, that is, sleeping pills, and tranquilizers increased 535 percent.

Sleeplessness usually takes one of three forms. Some have a lot of difficulty falling to sleep in the first place. Others fall asleep readily but wake up early in the morning and are not able to go back to sleep. With still others the problem is that they keep waking up intermittently.

The Cause of Insomnia

What is the cause of insomnia? It might be any one of a hundred different things. It could be inherited, a genetic defect in which the brain fails to produce serotonin, a hormonelike substance. This substance is said to act like a “sleep juice” that enters the blood and causes the body to become sleepy. Severe pains, such as the Biblical patriarch Job had, might neutralize this “sleep juice,” for he tells of being “glutted with restlessness until morning.” Job 7:4.

Now you may not have a genetic defect, but your problem may be caused by some low-grade pain that is ignored while you are busy during the day. However, it may be persistent enough at night to cause you to wake up from time to time. Or your trouble in sleeping may be due to a poorly ventilated room, or because your mattress is too hard or too soft.

On the other hand, your trouble in sleeping may be due to a stimulant such as coffee, tea or a cola drink. Then again, you may have the habit of eating a heavy meal or food hard to digest shortly before going to bed. Or, just the opposite, hunger may keep you awake, even as constipation at times interferes with sleep.

Negative emotions, such as feelings of guilt, inordinate ambition, emotional insecurity, and especially anxiety or worries may keep you from sleeping. As the Bible puts it: “The plenty belonging to the rich one is not permitting him to sleep.” Or, “because of abundance of occupation there are dreams.”​—Eccl. 5:7, 12.

Mental depression can also cause insomnia and in particular can nervous exhaustion. The same can be said for hostile or aggressive feelings, even though unconscious. On the other hand, too much pleasure and excitement, or chasing after thrills, can cheat you of sleep.

What About Pills?

Taking sleeping pills may seem to be the easiest way out, but beware! Use them only in emergencies. They may help for a week or two, but then most likely they will do more harm than good. Thus Dr. F. R. Freemon states in Sleep Research: “The promiscuous prescribing of sleep medications is the most common error in medicine.”

Then why do people keep taking sleeping pills? It could well be because they serve as a placebo; the victims imagine they are being helped by them. But more likely, the reason is that, once having made a habit of taking pills, the “withdrawal symptoms” can be quite severe. Doctors therefore advise gradually eliminating use of hypnotics.

Defeating Insomnia

It is possible to defeat insomnia without resorting to pills. To begin with the more elementary things, make sure that your bedroom is properly ventilated and that your mattress is neither too soft nor too hard for you. Could noises be keeping you awake, or do they awaken you after you have gone to sleep? Then earplugs might help you. Letting your electric fan run all night is what one sleep authority recommends, on the premise that its steady tone is soothing and cancels out irregular noises.

Control of your eating and drinking is often vital to good sleep. It may be necessary for you to avoid drinking coffee or cola drinks after midday, or altogether if need be. Also, cut down on your intake of sweets if you have a “sweet tooth.” Recommended, too, at least for most persons, is not eating heavy meals or strongly spiced foods late in the day. Eat things that are easily digested.

Many persons are helped to get a good night’s sleep by drinking something before bedtime​—warm milk, a malted drink, peppermint tea sweetened with molasses or honey, or other kinds of herbs known for their soporific effect. Some have found hot grape juice, and others a glass of beer or wine, conducive to sleeping. For others, chiropractic or osteopathic treatments have helped. Some married couples have solved their problem of falling asleep by giving each other a massage.

Proper exercise can also help to defeat insomnia. If you have a sedentary occupation, ‘gradually increase the level of daytime exercise,’ says Dr. A. Kales, in the Medical Tribune, September 4, 1974. In keeping with that advice, the Bible notes: “Sweet is the sleep of the labourer.” (Eccl. 5:12, New English Bible) However, avoid strenuous exercise just before going to bed, since besides tiring you, it will also stimulate you. The best exercise near bedtime may be a walk or some stretching exercises.

If you have difficulty in relaxing, it might even be worth your while to get a book telling you how to go about it, from relaxing your toes, legs and arms to relaxing the muscles of your throat and your eyes. Practicing various kinds of breathing, such as a few long breaths, holding your breath and then some short breaths, is recommended by one authority.

Also helpful is to have a regular bedtime, and as you approach that time, to relax by avoiding complex mental activity. A warm bath may help you to relax, and so may soothing music.

As important as any of the foregoing factors, if not more so, is having the right mental and emotional state. Thus the very worst thing you can do is to worry, fret or chafe when you find yourself not falling to sleep right away or waking up during the night. So do not take insomnia too seriously; do not be too determined to sleep; it will keep you awake!

In many respects sound sleep might be said to be the reward for right living. Be exercising godly wisdom; then, as Solomon says, “when you lie down, your sleep will be pleasant.” (Prov. 3:24, NE) Yes, producing the fruits of God’s spirit, such as “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, self-control,” is conducive to good sleep.​—Gal. 5:22, 23.

So if you are having trouble sleeping, do not become discouraged. There are a number of possible remedies, or adjustments in your life that you might make, to correct the problem. And do not overlook the part that faith in God can play in enjoying good sleep, as the Bible psalmist experienced: “In peace I will both lie down and sleep, for you yourself alone, O Jehovah, make me dwell in security.”​—Ps. 4:8.

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COFFEE, TEA, COLA

WORRIES AND ANXIETIES

GUILT FEELINGS

UNCOMFORTABLE MATTRESS

A Recognizable Difference

PEOPLE in general earth wide are becoming more and more interested in the “emerging nations” of Africa. It is not surprising, then, that a question arises as to the extent to which this progress is to be credited to church missionaries in the past who were intent on making “Christians” out of African natives. A sociologist, Stanislav Andreski, writes in The African Predicament:

“There are millions of devout Christians who find the religious tepidity of the European residents deeply upsetting and are shocked by the sight of the Europeans drinking and lounging scantily dressed around the swimming pools when they should be going to church. Nonetheless, it cannot be said that the Christian faith has made much impact on the tenor of human relations in Africa. As in other parts of the world, for the great majority the religion is a matter of the ritual and a few taboos​—mostly without any ethical significance. The missionaries have succeeded in making people ashamed of nakedness (which, incidentally, was one of the reasons why in the early days they got financial support from the cotton manufacturers) but not of polygamy. And as for honesty and veracity towards non-kinsmen or dedication to work, the missionaries might not have been there at all.”​—P. 83.

This is not to say, though, that real Christianity is not in evidence, the kind of Christianity that in the first century aided individuals to make over their moral habits, outlook on life and attitudes toward work. This same genuine Christianity based on God’s Word is still producing such good results and the difference is quite noticeable.

Dr. Norman Long discusses in his book Social Change and the Individual (1968) what he observed in a careful study of the social and religious situation in one African rural community, a community where there are many of Jehovah’s witnesses living and practicing Christianity. Note the difference in regard to honesty and trust. The Foreword of the book observes: “Put bluntly, while non-Witnesses can trust only their kin (and not always them), Witnesses can trust both kin and fellow Witnesses.” What about polygamous marriages? Dr. Long writes: “I cannot here discuss in detail the content of the social ethic preached by Jehovah’s Witnesses . . . But the ethic places important emphasis on the nuclear family as a Christian grouping, . . . and puts a ban on polygynous marriage.”​—P. 78.

Is the difference to be noted also in other aspects of life, such as willingness to work? Dr. Long points out: “It appears that Jehovah’s Witnesses commend a certain style of life. A Witness should be well dressed (which for men means wearing a jacket and tie, especially when out preaching or attending religious meetings) and clean in his habits. He should be attentive to the needs of his family, both spiritually and materially. . . . Jehovah’s Witnesses do not see their secular style of life as separate from their religious ways. To them it is rather an extension of their religious approach: to be a member of the New World Society means spiritual advancement and promise of a new life, but this also implies a certain practical orientation towards life in this world. . . . Time and money are valued and should not be wasted; they should be spent improving oneself spiritually, socially and economically. Throughout there is an emphasis on individualism and industriousness, and church organization and discipline work to uphold the values of the group.”​—Pp. 215, 216.

What about applying oneself to the task of learning to read and write? The author observes: “Every member must be well versed in the Bible and must acquire the ability to teach others, and to do this he has to be able to read the scriptures. Hence all congregations run literacy classes and special Bible study sessions.” What is the result? “If we compare Witnesses with non-Witnesses in the parish in terms of literacy and level of education, we find that 87.2 per cent of male Witnesses and 31.9 per cent of female Witnesses are literate as against 51 per cent male and 11.7 per cent female non-Witnesses.”​—Pp. 157, 216.

So the more that attention is focused on Africa, the more it becomes apparent: The vast difference resulting from the presence of true Christianity!

Happy Changes in Quebec

THE warm, sunny days were crackling with French-Canadian enthusiasm as crowds of Jehovah’s witnesses in the province of Quebec met in their Christian “Divine Purpose” assemblies during August 1974. The Montreal assembly had an attendance of 5,785, while 2,505 gathered in Quebec City. French enthusiasm and joie de vivre (joy of living) added a little extra to the interesting Bible dramas presented there.

The Quebec assemblies were also remarkable for the broad and sympathetic coverage provided by the French-language press and other news media. They seemed fascinated by the involvement and progress of Jehovah’s witnesses, a striking contrast with the decline of the Roman Catholic Church, which for so long dominated every facet of Quebec life.

Both in Montreal and Quebec City municipally owned arenas were used for the assemblies of Jehovah’s witnesses. Very fine cooperation was received from the police and public officials in both cities.

But is this remarkable? Is it not normal for these Christian assemblies to be held in peace and with cooperation from the authorities? Should it be any different in Montreal and Quebec City?

An Amazing Reversal

For those familiar with the background, these peaceful assemblies and the fine cooperation of the authorities represent a well-nigh incredible change. Events in Quebec have so turned around in the past thirty years that they have the earmarks of a revolution! A revolution without violence, with ideas and faith as weaponry instead of guns!

During the 1940’s and 1950’s Jehovah’s witnesses were virtually outlawed in Quebec. Arrests and prosecutions took place by the hundreds​—in fact, a total of 1,775 prosecutions were instituted—​the biggest volume of litigation on any one subject in the history of the British Empire! It was a reign of terror. Mobs, beatings, violence, discrimination, loss of jobs​—the whole gamut of official and private harassment of a minority was brought to play.

This was a deliberate attempt to destroy the peaceful Christian witnesses of Jehovah, who dared to preach the good news of God’s kingdom and open the Bible to the people of Catholic Quebec. This persecution was so extreme that a well-known Quebec writer, Leslie Roberts, said of this period: “To many outside Quebec, that province had become the home of religious persecution reminiscent of the days of the Inquisition.”

But how could such a thing happen? Is Canada not a free country with a democratic constitution? This is, after all, the 20th century.

A Pocket of 18th-Century Catholicism

In Quebec prior to 1960, it was only in a limited sense that the 20th century had arrived. The province had, for over three hundred years, been under the almost total domination of the Church of Rome.

Quebec was originally settled in 1608 as New France, part of the French colonial empire. The French rulers from Paris were not very interested in Canada, a land that Voltaire called “a few acres of snow.” The first governor, Samuel de Champlain, “wanted only Roman Catholics in his new world. Those who came with him . . . were determined to extend the Church . . . in the process the Church became the state. It remained so till relatively recently,” said a sociological study of Quebec problems called Canada 70.

Roman Catholic domination was prominent in the life of Quebec from the beginning of European settlement. The oppressions of the 18th-century French system, a union of Church and State, that drove the people to the French Revolution of 1789 were all introduced to Quebec. France got rid of these medieval anachronisms during the 1789 Revolution. Quebec did not, because it was no longer part of the French Empire; before the French Revolution the British conquest of Canada in 1759 had transferred the province to the British Crown.

Foreseeing the coming American Revolution, which actually arrived in 1776, the British government wanted a tranquil Quebec. Therefore Britain struck a bargain with the Catholic Church, which in effect was: ‘You support Britain; we will leave you in control of Quebec.’

The Canada 70 study explains: “In the view of many historians and writers the Conquest resulted in an unholy alliance between the Roman Catholic Church and the British Rulers. . . . Before he became Prime Minister, Pierre Elliott Trudeau wrote, ‘Loyalty was bartered for religious freedom.’”

The British government really handed over the rulership of Quebec to the Catholic Church and “the Church became the State.”

Church Use of Power

And what did the Catholic Church do with its immense power? The Canada 70 study explains: “There is little need to document the control​—political and spiritual—​of the Roman Catholic Church over the French-Canadian population of Quebec during the first half of this century. The Church’s control was virtually absolute. . . . It reached also with its determined clergy, into the offices of government, into institutions of learning, into the bank vaults of business and into the homes of the people. . . .

“Throughout the nineteenth century, the Church fought its determined battle on every front against any liberal or anticlerical ideas that might have found their way into Quebec.”

By reason of these peculiarities of history, Quebec missed the effects of the French Revolution, the American Revolution and the industrial revolution. The province came into the mid-20th century as a pocket of 18th-century agrarian society cut off by language from mainstream North America.

The church-controlled backwardness of Quebec made it a fertile field for exploitation by unscrupulous men.

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NEWFOUNDLAND

ONTARIO

QUEBEC

MONTREAL

NEW BRUNSWICK

UNITED STATES

Church and State Unite to Prevent Progress

MAURICE Duplessis became premier of Quebec in 1936. With the exception of one term (1939-1944), he continued in office till his death in 1959. Historian Leslie Roberts has described him as a “ruthless demagogue ruling his Union Nationale party and the entire province of Quebec with an iron will; rabble-rouser and dictator; grand seigneur and tyrant.”

The Duplessis rule has been described in the Toronto Star as “the most openly corrupt the province ever had.”

Support by Church

And where did one find support for this evil? In “rural Quebec . . . where the Church was all powerful. It was from there that the party’s first leader, Maurice Duplessis, drew his strength,” says Canada 70.

The Duplessis system depended on the Roman Catholic Church to keep it in power. Responsibility for the damage his administration brought to the province and its people has to come back on the clergy of Rome.

What advantage did the clergy derive from this alliance? The Canada 70 study explains: “The right of assembly and freedom of speech were denied Jehovah’s Witnesses because they questioned the gospel according to le Chef (Duplessis), and the Roman Catholic Church. He maintained his power through his alliance with the Church, the farmers, and the reactionary English-speaking business elite. Through it all, he was aided by a docile press.”

The freedom-hating Duplessis perfectly suited the purposes of the Catholic Church. The clergy wanted to dedicate the people of Quebec to the Church. Bishops proclaimed that the French-Canadian nation had a messianic mission​—“to make the province of Quebec the Christian nation replacing faltering France in the role of the eldest daughter of the Church.”

Duplessis and the Church worked together to stifle the education and progress that would free les Québecois from the medieval grip in which they were held. In large measure this combination succeeded in preventing advancement and in keeping the people of Quebec subject to their oppressive church-state rule.

But not everyone bowed to the system! There was one glimmer of freedom that this local dictatorship could not stamp out!

Jehovah’s Witnesses Fight for Religious Liberty

The Lord Jesus had said of this “time of the end” where we have been since 1914: “This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations.” (Matt. 24:14) The Christian witnesses of Jehovah accept this mandate. Part of the “inhabited earth” is the province of Quebec. There Jehovah’s witnesses began to enlarge their missionary evangelical activity in 1924.

The problems appeared mountainous. The people were friendly enough if left alone; but priestly influence led to violence and arrests as a standard part of missionary experience. Many Catholic judges, educated by priests, had a somewhat myopic view of the legal rights of any who dared to disagree with the Church. Legal battles in the courts of Quebec began in 1924 and continued until 1964.

Jehovah’s witnesses were seeking to exercise the legally guaranteed right of freedom of worship by peaceably preaching to the people the encouraging message of God’s kingdom under Christ Jesus. But in Quebec, the attempt to exercise these modern-day liberties encountered a Roman Catholic-controlled system that had never really come out of the Dark Ages. To them Jehovah’s witnesses (or any non-Catholics) were heretics who had no rights.

It was a classic confrontation similar to that encountered by the apostles when they sought to preach the message of God’s kingdom in the face of Roman power during the days of Nero. Jehovah’s witnesses faced a powerful, rich and politically entrenched Catholic Church. From a human standpoint it was no contest; the Catholic Church seemingly had all the advantages. The humble witnesses of Jehovah were without influence or support from earthly authorities, but they were extremely strong in faith and in the spirit of Jehovah.

The activity of Jehovah’s witnesses in Quebec prior to World War II was limited and under constant harassment from priests, mobs and government prosecutors. But in the mid-1940’s the struggle for liberty to preach there came to a head. By this time the Church had its tool, Duplessis, in the political saddle. Could he stop the preaching of the Christian witnesses of Jehovah? Could he keep the open Bible out of the hands of the Catholic population of Quebec?

“War Without Mercy”

In 1944 the evangelical activity of Jehovah’s witnesses began to be expanded in the province of Quebec. The same old pattern of petty prosecutions resumed, charges of distributing circulars, peddling or ringing doorbells were laid in Montreal, Verdun, Lachine and Quebec City.

Jehovah’s witnesses were not easily turned aside from their God-given duty to preach “this good news of the kingdom.” Cases were defended and their preaching continued. The battle was stepped up during 1945 by a series of riots inspired by the Catholic clergy. These riots arose primarily at Châteauguay and Lachine. Resultant countrywide publicity focused attention on the growing religious conflict in Quebec.

By the end of 1945 there were 400 cases pending in the courts. The authorities hoped by delays and harassment to stop the activity of Jehovah’s people and prevent a clear legal decision that would open the way to appeal.

In the autumn of 1946 there were 800 charges dragging through the courts. There were so many cases against Jehovah’s witnesses that the police, judges and courts could not handle them all. The situation was becoming critical.

The public had the right to know about the Duplessis reign of terror. In November 1946 Jehovah’s witnesses released a fiery tract denouncing their persecution by the church-state powers in Quebec.

The distribution of this indictment and a follow-up tract was a bitter blow to Duplessis. Threats, fulminations and pronouncement of “war without mercy on Jehovah’s witnesses” were his reaction. To the 800 pending cases, 843 more charges were added in four months. However, the prosecutors now switched from simple bylaw charges to serious criminal indictments for seditious libel and conspiracy. No effort was made by the authorities to deny the facts outlined in the leaflets. They said in effect: ‘It is seditious for you to tell even the truth about how bad this situation really is.’

Pressures Intensify

Continuing with their Christian commission, Jehovah’s witnesses found pressures intensified. Mobs formed in the streets against Witnesses calling at the doors.

Because of their faith, children were expelled from school or dragged into court as juvenile delinquents. Family men lost their jobs, business licenses were canceled. Police and mobs invaded places of worship and broke up meetings.

Respectable Christian girls were arrested, stripped and held in filthy jails with prostitutes, thieves and dope fiends. Some were arrested while merely walking along the street or going shopping. Many leaflets had to be distributed at night to avoid false arrests for exercising this constitutional right.

Janet MacDonald, a faithful missionary who shared in this work, says: “Daytime and nighttime the leaflets were distributed. We flew around the countryside over the cold winter snows, often with the police in hot pursuit. In the middle of the night a carload of Witnesses would dash into a village with a supply of leaflets. Each of us would run to the assigned houses, deliver the leaflets, dash back to the car and away we went! While the police were searching that village, we would be on to another.”

In his book The Chief, Leslie Roberts said of Duplessis’ war: “Provincial police squads brought in Witnesses literally by the hundreds as they stood quietly on street corners handing out their fiery tracts. In the city of Quebec, a man named Laurier Saumur became the star ‘repeater’ . . . arrested and charged on one hundred and three separate occasions during the ‘war.’”

Defeat of Oppression

THE extreme measures adopted by Duplessis, and the intemperate remarks of some lower-court judges, caused a backlash from liberty-loving elements among the Canadian people.

In a case at Quebec City, Judge Jean Mercier unleashed a bitter attack on one of Jehovah’s witnesses who was on trial for a simple bylaw charge. The Globe and Mail, an influential Toronto newspaper, commented about this editorially on December 19, 1946. Under the heading “Return of the Inquisition,” it said:

“The persecution of the religious sect known as Jehovah’s Witnesses, now going on in Quebec Province with enthusiastic official and judicial sanction, has taken a turn which suggests that the Inquisition has returned to French Canada. Judge Jean Mercier of the recorder’s court at Quebec City, is reported to have said that the Quebec police are now instructed to ‘arrest on sight every known or suspected Witness.’ If this is true, Quebec’s police power is being used to lock up men and women for holding a religious opinion.

“This is a monstrous outrage on civil liberties. It was the theory of the Inquisition that one function of the courts was to rid the community of heretics. The Inquisition put heretics to death, while Quebec only puts them in jail; but Judge Mercier would apparently not be averse to a revival of the severer penalty. He would award every Jehovah’s Witness ‘at least life imprisonment’ if that were possible, he is reported to have said.”

Many Canadians Shocked

The information respecting the persecution of Jehovah’s witnesses was a shock to many Canadians. The faith and tenacity of this minority in the face of overwhelming opposition earned them much respect.

One well-known newsman, Jack Karr, reported in the Toronto Star of December 26, 1946:

“It takes courage to be a Jehovah’s Witness in the province of Quebec today​—courage and a thing known earthily as guts. For the Witnesses are the object of hatred, suspicion and contempt of the rank and file of the population. Few Quebeckers, however, seem to be quite sure why they hate and despise the Witnesses, except that they have been told by their government to beware of them.

“But if it is difficult for non-Quebeckers to be Witnesses in the province, it must be many times harder for those Quebeckers who have renounced their faith and joined the movement. They have lost friends and are, in effect, socially ostracized in their neighborhoods. People who were once their friends now spy on them, they claim, and report on their activities, and when meetings are held, the immediate neighborhoods are tense with antagonism and undisguised spying.

“For this reason, it is sometimes a little difficult for an outsider to grasp the significance of the situation and to understand fully that these things are actually happening in Canada. An onlooker may not be in total accord with either the Witness’ doctrines nor with their methods of attaining their ends, but at least he will emerge from the experience of associating with them with a tremendous respect for their courage and their doggedness in asserting their rights. . ..

“In short, the Witnesses of Jehovah, a small group of 200, have created quite a flurry in old Quebec. And in a city composed of a population 90 per cent French-speaking and 95 per cent Roman Catholic, their meetings are beginning to resemble the meetings of the early Christians in Nero’s Rome.”

And what did all this suffering lead to?

Jehovah’s witnesses fought their way to five key victories in the Supreme Court of Canada between 1949 and 1959 and thus blunted the vicious church-state attack. These test cases in the Supreme Court laid down governing principles that successfully disposed of the many hundreds of other cases.

The last two major cases were won in 1959. One was a personal action brought against Maurice Duplessis by one of Jehovah’s witnesses who had operated a restaurant in Montreal. His liquor license was canceled because he provided bail for many accused witnesses of Jehovah. The Supreme Court of Canada made Duplessis personally liable for the damages. Three months after the judgment was paid, Duplessis was dead.

Value of Decisions Recognized

The value of these decisions and of the courageous stand of Jehovah’s witnesses has been warmly recognized by leading constitutional authorities in Canada. In his book on Federalism and the French Canadian, Pierre Elliott Trudeau, now Prime Minister of Canada, stated: “In the province of Quebec Jehovah’s witnesses . . . have been mocked, persecuted, and hated by our entire society; but they have managed by legal means to fight church, government, nation, police and public opinion.”

Professor Frank Scott of McGill University, in his book Civil Liberty and Canadian Federalism, discusses the case of Lamb v. Benoit: “The Lamb case is merely another example of police illegality, but it is part of the dismal picture that has too often been exposed in Quebec in recent years. Miss Lamb, another Jehovah’s witness, was illegally arrested, held over the weekend without any charge being laid against her, not allowed to telephone a lawyer, and then offered her freedom on condition she sign a document releasing the police from all responsibility for the way they had treated her. When reading such a story one wonders how many other innocent victims have been similarly treated by the police but have not had the courage and the backing to push the matter through to final victory​—in this instance 12 ¹⁄₂ years after the arrest had taken place. We should be grateful that we have in this country some victims of state oppression who stand up for their rights. Their victory is the victory of us all.”

Quebec Turns Forward: The Quiet Revolution

WITHIN six months of Duplessis’ death in 1959 his government went down in defeat. It was said by Ramsay Cook in his book Canada and the French Canadian Question: “The death of Duplessis removed a cap that had kept the seething discontents of French Canada sealed up for more than a decade. It is doubtful if even Duplessis could have kept the cap on much longer, for the social and economic forces at work were much too potent.”

Writing of these conditions, Pierre Elliott Trudeau (himself a Catholic) described the necessity of “freeing consciences bullied by a clericalized and obscurantist church . . . freeing men crushed by authoritarian and outdated tradition.” He pointed out that there had never been much freedom in Quebec and added: “Around 1960 it seemed that freedom was going to triumph in the end. . . . so much so that the generation entering its 20’s in 1960 was the first in our history to receive fairly complete freedom as its lot. The dogmatism of Church and State, of tradition, of the nation, had been defeated.”

A Turning Point

The “change from the old way” brought new developments on many sides. The year 1960 marked a turning point, a leap forward with such suddenness that it is commonly spoken of as the “Quiet Revolution.”

A new era of information and intellectual liberty opened up. The press and media began to deal with the reality of life and its problems instead of having everything slanted to the protection of Catholicism and the status quo. The Canada 70 sociologists commented: “The establishment of a Department of Education in 1964 spelled the end of the Church’s control of education, and the advent of the Quiet Revolution in 1960 terminated the incredible political powers of the clergy.”

Quebec of the 1960’s really began to shed the old image of clergy domination and isolationism. It started to reach out for the North American life-style as it is found in the rest of Canada and the United States.

A number of factors of 20th-century life have contributed toward the Quiet Revolution, Quebec’s “society in motion.” One of these was the Vatican council initiated by Pope John XXIII. The changes in the Church that followed this council had an unsettling influence on many of the Catholic people.

Instead of total Catholic domination the Montreal Star has pointed out that it is now “the common view among Quebec intellectuals that the Church is what has always been wrong with Quebec.”

The victories of Jehovah’s witnesses in the Supreme Court of Canada opened a new era for the exercise of civil liberties and freedom of the press in Quebec. Censorship had been declared unconstitutional. No longer were public speakers and writers fearful of the heavy hand of a government prosecutor being used to halt the legitimate flow of information.

Another feature of Canadian life that has had a profound impact on Quebec has been the advent of television. As long as the habitant in his village knew only what the local priest told him, he could be readily deceived into believing that he was well cared for by his clerical keeper. But when television arrived, he began to see what the rest of the world was like and how backward the Catholic-controlled communities really were.

Though the Quiet Revolution has not been fought with guns, it has wrought immense changes in Quebec. But what of the entrenched position of Roman Catholicism?

Decline in Catholic Power

Canada 70 sociologists point out: “It was inevitable that the Catholic Church would some day have to relinquish its complete control of the people, and in Quebec the Church’s loss of power was sudden and dramatic.”

The Montreal Star carried the following account by writer Ralph Surette: “The power of the Roman Catholic Church in Quebec has disintegrated; anguish and indifference on the part of both laity and clergy betray a state of crisis . . . The crisis is known. The commission takes as given (and confirms) what is common knowledge: that attendance at mass has dropped drastically, that priests are leaving, that many parishes are in financial trouble.”

The same article points to the impact on the clergy, saying: “Clericalism as an absolute power started to crumble at this time [1949], paving the way for the state to become the prime institution in Quebec life in the 1960’s. . . . Over relatively few years, the Quebec priest has lost ‘both his social status and his audience.’”

So serious had become the problems of the Catholic Church that at the request of the bishops a government commission, the Dumont Commission, was appointed to investigate the “Laity and the Church.” The Commission’s 315-page report was released in December 1971, and mostly confirmed what well-informed people already knew: that the Church had lost the confidence of the people; that the clergy and laity are both leaving the Church.

As far as the people of Quebec are concerned, the common view often expressed is: ‘The Church has disappeared.’

“Leaving the Church in Droves”

Ultimately a church depends on the support of the people. The Dumont Report tells what has happened from this aspect of Catholic life: “During the last ten years, religious practice has dropped rapidly. It is most evident among the young, but the decline reaches progressively and more quietly the older people.”

Just how rapidly is shown by Relations, the Montreal publication for priests, which stated in March 1974: In ten years Sunday church attendance has dropped from 65 percent to 30 percent; and, among the young, between 15 and 35 years of age, it has gone down to 12 percent.

Bishop Léo Blais of Westmount has stated publicly that “the faithful are leaving the church in droves.”

There is also a serious problem of replacements in the priesthood. Seminaries for training priests have been closed in Nicolet, Joliette, Rimouski and Sherbrooke. The buildings are being used by the government for community colleges and, at Nicolet, for a police school.

Figures respecting candidates for the priesthood are revealing. The Dumont Report shows: “The annual figure of candidates for holy orders (priests and others) in our Church in 1946 was over 2,000, but in 1970 a little over a hundred.”

Relations stated in March 1974: “In 1968 the recruiting of priests began to drop rapidly . . . Many pastors are leaving the ministry. At the same time the recruiting of ministers has reached a minimum:3 new seminary students this year.” This is for Montreal, a diocese claiming 1,700,000 Catholics, more than one third of the church membership in the province.

Membership in Catholic organizations is also declining fast. The Sacred Heart League, which had 28,000 members 10 years ago, now has only 3,000.

Apart from the spiritual problems and personnel problems, there is also the difficulty in Quebec of simply maintaining the churches. Many of them are on the verge of bankruptcy.

A number of well-known churches in the city of Montreal have been demolished and the property used for other purposes. One of these is the Church of Notre-Dame-d’Alexandrie on Amherst Street. In this case the priest, Benjamin Tremblay, was happy to see his church being destroyed by the demolition crew. But why was he happy?

He is reported publicly to have said that the Church must now occupy itself with social and economic life in the area and that the new center will help the economically depressed section in which it stands. He had said earlier that it would be better to sell these churches than to keep “white elephants.” Eleven large Catholic churches have closed in Montreal since 1967, while others are slated either to be sold or to be wrecked.

Causes of Catholic Decline

What has happened? What led to the dramatic decline of Catholic power?

Lack of confidence in Catholic leadership has led to much uncertainty and this is not confined to Quebec. Andrew M. Greeley, a Jesuit critic of the U.S. hierarchy, has commented: “Honesty compels me to say that I believe the present leadership of the church is morally, intellectually and religiously bankrupt. We do not have the leaders who can communicate a sense of direction to us.”

The Canada 70 sociologists found within the Church in Quebec “an enormous credibility gap. The gap had reached such proportions that the laity found reason to suspect virtually all the movements within the hierarchy of the church.”

Bishop Léo Blais, already quoted, has also pointed to the clergy. According to him, some priests are presently sources of confusion in the Church in Montreal. Bishop Blais suggested that it is “our lack of discipline and our disobedience which has caused confusion in their minds and led many Catholics astray.”

“Is the Church Dead?”

“Is the Church Dead?” is a question asked in a headline by the French-language journal La Patrie of Montreal.

In reply, priest Hubert Falardeau said that the popes and bishops “have forgotten that the church was not a temporal society but a spiritual one. They wanted to have quantity of members and not members of quality. To keep people in the church it was necessary to have precepts. The people were not very well educated so they stuffed them full of precepts. All these things​—the feast days, the big ceremonies, were used to draw big numbers of people.”

He further explains: “There is a de-Christianization because there was no real Christianization. When the church started, people were baptized when they were adults. Afterward it was presupposed that everybody was a Christian and they baptized them at birth.”

This Catholic priest now speaks about the need for real Christianization, adult baptism and missionary work among the people. These are the practices strictly adhered to by Jehovah’s witnesses and which have markedly contributed to the success of their activity. No one needs to ask if Jehovah’s witnesses are dead; their action and dedicated missionary work in all parts of the earth are an answer, not in words, but in action!

Jehovah’s witnesses’ engaged in a grass-roots missionary work from door to door among the people of Quebec. When Witness Everett Carlson of Joliette, Quebec, was asked what he observed among the Catholic people that would account for their changed attitude toward the Church, he said: “Since 1970 there has been a marked change in the attitude of the people. They are less afraid to speak to Jehovah’s witnesses, to ask questions and express themselves about the changes in the Church. They readily admit that altered teaching on hell fire, eating meat on Friday and many other things, have shaken their faith.”

It should be remembered that, while the Roman Church has lost much of its almost sovereign power in Quebec, it would be inaccurate to leave the impression that it has completely departed the scene. Younger people have in great measure withdrawn their support, but the older generation of both clergy and laity continue to give the Church a still not inconsiderable following. Ritual and habit die hard.

However, there have been rapid changes in Quebec between 1960 and 1974. The Quiet Revolution has led to many useful developments.

New Era of Freedom in Quebec

WHAT would you see if you were to visit Quebec today?

You would observe a society much like the rest of North America. Gone are the fear and oppression that hung like a pall over the people during the period of total Catholic domination. They can make their own decisions as to education, work, family planning, religion​—no longer concerned about the approval of the priest.

Government has taken over and improved education since 1964. The thrust of education now is to business and technical training instead of theology and philosophy. Opportunities are more and more opening up for the French-Canadian youth to enter the business and industrial world.

Press and other media are free to research the questions of the day and to publish their findings. The Quebecker of today is more knowledgeable and better informed than ever before. Educated public opinion demands better government.

Minorities such as Jehovah’s witnesses and others are just as free nowadays in Quebec as anywhere else. There is a whole new atmosphere of intellectual freedom never known prior to the “Quiet Revolution.”

Quebec has come out of the night of backwardness into the modern world with a great leap forward. While many conditions have improved by reason of these changes respecting the secular affairs of life, yet there is one other important human need that must be considered!

The Religious Vacuum: Who Can Fill It?

Any sudden removal of the core of a society leaves an empty space. So what has happened in Quebec following the sudden decline of the power of the Catholic Church?

Montreal Star writer Ralph Surette comments: “The Catholic Church has been at the core of French Canadian society for 300 years . . . What happens when that kind of power vanishes? . . . anguish and indifference on the part of both laity and clergy have sprung in the place where the Church once stood firm.”

So who or what can fill this religious vacuum? Who is ready to supply the need of the people for spiritual comfort and Bible instruction? Most religions in Canada have in times past been afraid to expand in Quebec for fear of the dominant Catholic hierarchy. As a result they are not equipped to fill the religious need that now exists.

However, there is one notable exception! For the past fifty years Jehovah’s witnesses have continued unfailingly in good times and bad to show their loving concern for the French-Canadian people. They have offered Bible instruction and spiritual comfort to all who desired it. Jehovah’s witnesses are solidly established in Quebec, having now 130 congregations and over 7,000 persons actively participating in giving Bible instruction. They are ready and able to fill the religious vacuum. But can they command the confidence of the people?

Respect and Confidence Have Been Earned

It has now become abundantly evident that the opposition to Jehovah’s witnesses formerly manifest among the Quebec populace was caused by misinformation sponsored by the clerical and political leaders of the time. In the meantime the people have become acquainted with Jehovah’s witnesses firsthand and now take a much different view.

A French-Canadian columnist, André Rufiange, writing in Le Journal de Montreal of July 30, 1973, said: “Duplessis must have turned over in his grave, he who treated Jehovah’s witnesses as scarecrows and who convinced us, in school at the time, that they were a sect of evildoers . . . I am not a Witness. But I am a witness to the fact that the Witnesses witness to efficiency and proper behaviour. . . . Really very nice people. If they were the only people in the world, we would not at night have to bolt our doors shut and put on the burglar alarm.”

Jehovah’s witnesses and their peaceful practice of Bible instruction in the homes of the people are now a well-recognized and accepted part of the Quebec scene. Often householders ask them: ‘The Church has disappeared. What happens next? Where do we go from here?’ Having lost confidence in the long-dominant Church, many Quebeckers are now turning to Jehovah’s witnesses as the only people seriously interested in their personal problems and religious needs.

Their organization is growing numerically as well as in quality and maturity. Over the last decade Jehovah’s witnesses have sponsored a French-language school in Montreal that has already given basic French-language training to more than 1,200 individuals, who have moved from other parts of Canada to serve where the need is greater in that part of the field.

Additionally, in the summer of 1974, Jehovah’s witnesses released a translation of the Bible in modern French, available at a figure within the reach of everyone. Everything possible is being done for the spiritual encouragement of the Quebec people. Jehovah’s witnesses often remark how much they enjoy working among these interesting and stimulating people.

Confirming the gaining of respect, Georges Bherer, writer for Le Soleil of Quebec City, published his observations after attending the “Divine Purpose” assembly there in August 1974: “Jehovah’s witnesses have experienced a staggering increase in the province of Quebec over the last few years. . . .

“For the witness of Jehovah, religion is a way of life and not a collection of ceremonies. Placing emphasis on honesty and moral purity, they preach that Christ is really the Son of God and that all hope of future life depends on the faith one exercises in him. They believe that in the very near future, in our own generation, God’s kingdom will destroy the present evil system.”

The success and effectiveness of the activity of Jehovah’s witnesses in Quebec has itself contributed to the respect and confidence of the people of Quebec. The Montreal newspaper Le Petit Journal, July 28, 1974, has publicly pointed to the religious decline on one side and progress on the other, stating: “While traditional religions are on the wane, with churches getting emptier all the time, Jehovah’s witnesses are experiencing increased membership and are even purchasing former church buildings and other facilities in which to gather their new members.

“Whereas they only had 356 members [in Quebec] in 1945, they numbered about 7,000 across the province in 1974, divided into 120 congregations who reach 125 towns.

“In 1973 the witnesses of Jehovah saw their numbers increase by 22 percent. Because of this big increase of witnesses in Quebec several halls and churches were purchased to provide meeting places. The most important building purchase in the Montreal district is the Dorémi dance hall at Saint Luc which can seat 1,800 people.” The property at Saint Luc, Quebec, has become an Assembly Hall of Jehovah’s witnesses.

The town of Joliette, Quebec, used to be a special center for Roman Catholicism. An immense seminary was one of the most dominant structures in the town. Missionaries of Jehovah’s witnesses were driven out by Catholic riots in 1949.​—See Awake!, April 8, 1950.

Now there is an active congregation of Jehovah’s witnesses in Joliette with a fine Kingdom Hall on one of the main thoroughfares. Meanwhile the seminary has been purchased by the government and turned into a community college. This former seminary has twice been used by Jehovah’s witnesses for their semiannual circuit assemblies.

Roland Gagnon was a Joliette businessman who, in 1949, formed part of the mob that drove Jehovah’s witnesses out of town. At present he is a member of the Joliette congregation of Jehovah’s witnesses.

Now that they know Jehovah’s witnesses better, many of the naturally friendly and vivacious French Canadians have changed and are showing their confidence and respect by responding to the encouraging Bible information offered to them.

But how is this teaching affecting the lives of the people who accept it?

People Being Helped

Many are the pressures of this unstable world. Problems are universal, but especially does youth need help. This is being provided by Jehovah’s witnesses. The following news heading from Montreal’s La Patrie of July 28, 1974, focuses on some of the good work being done: “YOUNG HIPPIE DOPE ADDICTS RESCUED BY JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES.”

The article explains how four young former drug addicts, three men and one woman, became Jehovah’s witnesses, cleaned up their persons as well as their moral practices. Pictures were published showing how each looked before and after becoming Jehovah’s witnesses. The “before” pictures showed long-haired, unkempt youths; the “after” showed four clean-cut young persons.

The article by reporter Andrée Le Bel comments: “Their life style has greatly changed because they say they have at last found a purpose in life to which they can devote all their energies . . . All of Jehovah’s witnesses are agreed that practicing Bible principles in daily life improves moral conduct and the quality of life.”

Another young man, a Catholic from Montreal, had allowed his life to be swallowed up in gambling. “One night while I was at the races, my brother-in-law and his wife visited my home and left two copies of the book The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life with my wife,” he writes. “When I got home she explained what she had learned about the end of this system being very close and that those who do not take sides with Jehovah will be destroyed. She suggested I read the little blue book, which was opened to page 94. She got through to me, because I was really upset about the way I was carrying on and I knew I had to change. My conscience bothered me so much that I couldn’t sleep at night.

“I read the little book the next day, and that evening asked my brother-in-law to study with me. Now I am happy to be among Jehovah’s witnesses with my wife.”

These are just some of the experiences of those who have been helped by the preaching and teaching work of Jehovah’s witnesses. Such happy examples could be multiplied many times.

What appeal of Jehovah’s witnesses reaches the hearts of so many? It is the simple and uncomplicated Bible message that the government of Jehovah God and his Son Christ Jesus is about to take over the rule of the earth from the present stumbling systems. This government will make changes that result in happiness and life to all those who qualify to live in such new order.

Happy changes have already been made in Quebec, but the greatest are yet to come through God’s kingdom. Jehovah’s witnesses extend the invitation to all to join with them and learn more about Jehovah, the God of love, and his grand purposes for mankind. As the Bible says: “Happy is the man that has not walked in the counsel of the wicked ones . . . But his delight is in the law of Jehovah . . . and everything he does will succeed.”​—Ps. 1:1-3.

Watching the World

‘Dust Bowl’ Returning?

◆ Many Texas farmers fear that the ‘Dust Bowl’ of the nineteen thirties is making a comeback. The Texas High Plains, covering about 35,000 square miles, is one of the richest areas in food and fiber in the U.S. But last year wheat in the region yielded only half of a good year’s produce. Adverse weather is one cause. In addition, some say that the Ogallala aquifer, a vast underground lake irrigating the plains, is drying up. H. Burleigh, director of the Texas Water Development Board, says: “The specter of global want is becoming a disturbing potential, not just a matter of cocktail hour speculation.”

Drip Irrigation

◆ “Drip irrigation” (used for some time in Israel) is now being successfully employed in the U.S. Results? Southern California avocados, lemons, grapefruit are, surprisingly, grown on 45-degree slopes; grapes are cultivated in an area where water is scarce. Water is brought to the fields via underground mains, pumped through filters and mixed with fertilizer. Then it flows through polyvinyl chloride pipes to be slowly released on crops. The method greatly reduces the amount of both water and fertilizer used.

Crime Expands

◆ Crime is expanding everywhere. Japan once boasted that its youth were crime free. Now The Daily Yomiuri says: “The nation’s police took into custody 104,307 youths aged 14-19 on criminal charges in the first 11 months of [1974], up 6,804 from one year earlier.” The Sunday Oklahoman quotes one sheriff in that part of the U.S. as saying: “Rural burglaries at homes in the daytime are tearing us up.” New York Business claims that “stealing time,” such as employees showing up late and socializing at work, costs the U.S. about $60 billion annually. Certain recent so-called “decreases” in crime were apparently artificial. The New York Post says that some city policemen have falsified reports to make it appear that crime is going down at night.

Supporting Business

◆ Efficiency and flexibility have put America’s big corporations at the center of the western way of life, says editor John Cobbs in Business Week. “In the last five years, however, something has gone badly wrong,” he writes. “Caught in an explosive inflation and wracked by two painful recessions, an increasing number of giant corporations can no longer claim either flexibility or efficiency. They have lost control of their costs, lost their access to capital, misjudged their markets, and diversified into lines of business they do not understand.” The magazine concludes: “The giant corporations have become so important to the U.S. economy that government does not dare let one go under.”

Catholics and Christ’s Coming

◆ Catholic scholar William Marrin writes in St. Anthony Messenger of a priest who asked his parish if they really believed that Christ would return. Only 36 percent answered Yes. Marrin acknowledges that there is much talk about the return of Jesus. Yet he says: “While the number of people who take this seriously is growing, there is a contrary opinion, still shared by most Catholics I think, that the whole thing has sort of a craziness about it. . . . In other words, we have a situation in which most Catholics may be willing to let the Second Coming go the way of Eve’s apple and Jonah’s whale.” Just what part of the Bible do they believe?

Who Indulged Them? Why?

◆ Midge Decter writes in the Atlantic magazine that if the younger generation is weak and self-indulging it is because it has merely been tolerated, not trained, by parents and other elders: “What the [teachers] did not tell you was that their passionate advocacy of your attitudes was the material with which they themselves were attempting to forge a powerful and well-paid position in the world. . . . No wonder they beatified you . . . Have you been, perhaps, the most indulged generation in history? Yes, but in many ways you have also been the most abandoned, by the very people who endlessly professed how much they cared.”

“Doomsday Decade”

◆ ‘Our time is no different from any other’​—at least that is what some people say. Max Lerner, the syndicated columnist, disagrees. “One thing we are certain of is that this decade is like no other the world has known, in its staggering revelations of corruption in high places, its conjunction of new and unexpected crises in energy, food and other resources, and its danger spots of possible ravaging wars,” he writes. “None of us can ignore the onrush of brutal events which makes this the Doomsday Decade and will at best send it down in history as the Survival Seventies.”

Earth Is Different

◆ What makes the earth different from other nearby planets? A recent Science report says: “Only the earth of the inner planets has a massive satellite, which may account for the planet’s relative climatic stability and, possibly, for its strong, magnetic field.” The article adds: “The Apollo astronauts reported that the earth’s blue skies and white clouds, as viewed from space, made it by far the most inviting object they could see. The growing information about other planetary bodies in the solar system tends to confirm that view.”

Will They Ever Learn?

◆ Science News recently published highlights of 1974 in the world of science. Included was this item: “What has been reported to be incontrovertible evidence for past glaciation in the mountains of North Carolina turned out to be a result of human activity.” (Italics ours)

Religious Magazines’ Woes

◆ An increasing number of religious periodicals are in serious trouble. The noted Catholic journal Commonweal switched from weekly to biweekly in December. Christianity and Crisis appealed for funds.” Southern Voices temporarily suspended publication. The Lutheran Church​—Missouri Synod’s Der Lutheraner ceased publication at the end of 1974. Christianity Applied published only three issues before folding. In pleasant contrast, Awake! opened 1974 with an average printing of 7,700,000; the figure for the February 8, 1975, issue was up one million, to 8,700,000, and it is still rising.

Churches and the Economy

◆ The economy is playing havoc with the churches. Christianity Today reports that during 1974 Denver’s Calvary Baptist Church filed for bankruptcy, Thomas Road Baptist Church in Lynchburg, Virginia, was placed in virtual receivership and that Rex Humbard’s Cathedral of Tomorrow in Akron, Ohio, barely escaped bankruptcy. The magazine adds in an editorial: “For the first time in ten years the American Bible Society sent out a strong financial appeal six weeks before year end . . . Religious Heritage of America reported changes to reduce spending so as to remain viable. Billy Graham announced plans for a cutback.”

An ‘Illicit Society’

◆ “Organized” crime gets blamed for much of the wrong done in the U.S. But The Mafia Mystique, a new book by Dwight C. Smith of New York State University, argues that big crime really flourishes because ordinary people want it: “The plain fact is that organized crime is the product of forces that threaten values, not the cause of them. As long as we countenance violence, consider personal gain to be more important than equity . . . and are willing to bend the law for ourselves in the pursuit of wealth, power and personal gratification . . . we will have a society receptive to illicit enterprise generally.”

Rats Abound

◆ Rats are a major problem in most major cities of the world. Today’s Health says there is probably a rat in the U.S. for every one or two humans; no city rat-control program has yet been successful. Why? For one thing rats multiply at a fantastic rate. Then, too, the major poisons used against them, red squill and warfarin, have lost much of their effectiveness. A rat eats only about an ounce of food each day; but it rips so many bags and boxes and leaves such a trail of droppings behind that several pounds of food may be rendered unfit for humans.

Is This Integration?

◆ Some have boasted about the success of U.S. efforts to end segregation in its schools. But has real integration been achieved? Says U.S. News & World Report: “Racial barriers, in many places almost nonexistent in the early grades, become clear and firm as youngsters reach adolescence​—and tend to stay that way through college. . . . This self-segregation is usually civil and comfortable. But for most schools it means a tendency toward separate tables in lunchrooms, separate cheering sections at athletic events, and practically no contact interracially after school hours.”

Attitude Toward the Mass

◆ About ten years ago the Catholic Church stopped conducting the Mass in Latin; now it is in the language of the people. In the same period Mass attendance has dropped. Some people see a connection. Says U.S. newspaper columnist W. F. Buckley: “As a Catholic, I have abandoned hope for the liturgy. . . The next liturgical ceremony conducted primarily for my benefit, since I have no plans to be beatified or remarried, will be my funeral; and it is a source of great consolation to me that, at my funeral, I shall be quite dead, and will not need to listen to the accepted replacement for the noble old Latin liturgy. Meanwhile, I am practicing Yoga so that, at church on Sundays I can develop the power to tune out everything I hear, while attempting . . . to commune with my Maker, and ask Him first to forgive me my own sins, and implore him, second, not to forgive the people who ruined the mass.”

Sludge as Fertilizer

◆ The price of petroleum-base fertilizer is increasing. As a result more farmers are looking for alternatives. Treated sludge is now in greater demand. Organic Gardening magazine reports that the city of Denver now uses such sludge in agriculture. “Presently,” the magazine says, “some 500 to 600 wet tons of sludge a day are applied to land. This equals approximately 90 to 100 dry tons of fertilizer a day.” Denver’s Director of Resource Recovery claims: “Someday this material will never be called waste again.”

Prison Lesbians

◆ Angela Davis was a hardened civil rights leader during the nineteen sixties. She says that one aspect of prison life jolted her. All in the prison were women; but there were ‘families’ of husbands, wives, children and relatives organized. She says: “What struck me most about this family system was the homosexuality at its core. . . . I was not prepared, however, for the shock of seeing it so thoroughly entrenched in jail life. . . . An important part of the family system was the marriages. Some of them were extremely elaborate​—with invitations, a formal ceremony, and some third person acting as the ‘minister.’”

Scientific Peer Pressure

◆ Some scientists say publicly that they believe evolution, but privately they admit that the facts do not support it. Why do they stick with such a teaching? One answer is supplied by Dr. Ed Blick of the University of Oklahoma, who is quoted in Orbit Magazine: “Many people fail to realize that there is a great deal of professional ‘pride’ among scientists and there are very few, especially in the life sciences, who are willing to risk their professional reputation by acknowledging creation . . . For example, there have been some graduate students here at OU who have told me . . . that to openly support the creationist position would jeopardize their careers.”

Ancient Vision with Modern Meaning

What possible meaning could this vision by the ancient prophet Ezekiel have for our day? The answer affects your life. God provided this vision of a celestial chariot for a reason.

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