November 22

Where the Danger Lies

MANY people today feel as though the community in which they live is like a battlefield. Because there is so much crime, they are very fearful when they leave their homes.

In a recent Gallup poll, 45 percent of Americans said that they are afraid to walk in their own neighborhood at night. And in larger cities, more than three out of four women said that they are afraid to go out after dark. Of all community problems, Americans put CRIME at the top of the list, even above unemployment or the high cost of living. Do they have good reason?

A study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology indicates that they do. The study found that the number of people being murdered in U.S cities is increasing so fast that “an urban American boy born in 1974 is more likely to die by murder than an American soldier in World War II was to die in combat.” You may find it almost impossible to believe, but the situation is just that serious!

Last year 20,500 Americans were murdered, which is well over twice the number murdered in 1965, just nine years before! At this rate of increase there will be over 40,000 killings a year by the early 1980’s. Thus, in the 1980’s it may take only six or seven years for U.S murder victims to outnumber the 292,131 American combat deaths in World War II!

No question about it, the threat of crime to our life is real and is growing.

All Crime Increasing World Wide

The danger, however, is, not only that of being murdered, but also that of being raped, assaulted, robbed or burglarized. All these crimes have increased at an even faster rate than murder!

In 1974 U.S crime rose a staggering 17 percent over 1973, the largest increase ever. But in the first quarter of 1975 it increased 18 percent over the same period of 1974! U.S. Attorney General Edward Levi called this increase “one of the terrifying facts of life, which we have come to accept as normal.”

Whereas big cities are the most dangerous places, the increase in crime has recently been even more rapid in suburban and rural areas. In 1974 it rose 20 percent in the suburbs, and 21 percent in the rurals. And for the first three months of 1975, robberies alone leaped an astonishing 53 percent in cities of between 10,000 and 25,000 people!

Over 10 million crimes were reported to the police in 1974, and the figure will probably approach 12 million this year. But this is only the tip of the iceberg, as the saying goes. A Census Bureau survey shows that more than two out of three serious crimes are never reported. Why? Largely because victims feel that nothing will be done about them.

The shocking conclusion of the Census Bureau survey is: 37 million serious crimes a year are being committed in the United States, more than three times the number reported. This amounts to seventy murders, rapes, assaults or various types of theft every minute, more than one a second!

Country after country is experiencing a similar crime wave. Of the situation in Italy, The Guardian reports: “It seems that there is no one in Rome who has not had a robbery in the family.”

The French newspaper L’Aurore says: “The climate here no longer is the same. In the subway at night honest people are no longer very relaxed. They hurry. . . . On the street they look over their shoulders frequently.”

Protection​—Quest of the Day

A principal concern of people has become their own safety, and that of their property. Typical is the comment of a New York City merchant: “I opened my business 30 years ago and worried only about profits; now my main worry is that I get through the day without being robbed or losing my life.”

In Louisville, Kentucky, a restaurant owner was robbed three times in six months, forcing him to hire armed security guards. “Paying for protection is what it boils down to,” he explains. Ordinary citizens, too, are taking similar measures, hiring private guards and buying all kinds of security devices.

One result has been a booming burglar-alarm business. There are reportedly nearly 6,000 manufacturers of protective devices in the United States, compared with only about 1,000 five years ago! Their yearly sales are estimated to exceed $1 billion.

Many homes have taken on the appearance of fortresses. Bars seal the windows, and spotlights illuminate the property. “I put the bars on my house,” a Detroit widow explained. “At first I felt a little closed in, but you get used to it.” It is a price more and more people are willing to pay.

Yet many people are also afraid to leave their homes, as one Californian noted: “You wouldn’t dare leave your home unprotected for very long in our city (pop. 25,000). A day doesn’t pass that someone isn’t cleaned out entirely.” So, in some cities, people pay a “house-sitter” to watch their home when they leave on vacation.

In most instances it may be obvious where the danger from crime lies, but this is not always so.

Unexpected Sources of Danger?

Most murders, for instance, are not committed by a “criminal element,” such as by robbers or burglars. Rather, almost a third of all victims are related to their killers. Another third are killed by friends or acquaintances.This means that only about a third of the victims are murdered by strangers.

It is noteworthy, too, that murders commonly occur during vacation periods, such as at Christmastime. Also, in a study of 588 murders in Philadelphia, sociologist Martin Wolfgang found that about two thirds of the victims had been killed on weekends. Regarding this, Psychology Today observed: “It’s not surprising that we are killed while we are at ease. After all, this is when we are with those who are most likely to kill us: our relatives, friends, and drinking companions.” Did you realize this?

You may also be surprised to learn who commit most crimes. It is young people. In the United States last year nearly half (45 percent) of the serious crimes​—murders, rapes, robberies, and so forth—​were committed by youths less than eighteen years old. Children under fifteen commit more crimes than do adults over twenty-five.

Even older criminals fear the youngsters. Says a Chicago holdup man: “These younger criminals, they’re sick. They have no motive for what they’re doing.” And a New Yorker who has been mugged six times in four years warned: “Watch out for the kids, they’re the dangerous ones.”

White-collar crime, such as employee theft, although not so visible, is hurting most of us even more in a financial way than is traditional crime. Norman Jaspan, a noted business-crime expert, says it “adds as much as 15 per cent to the cost of goods and services.” But there is also the cost to us of organized crime, New York special prosecutor Maurice Nadjari claiming: “23 cents of every dollar that we spend goes into the pockets of organized crime.”

Yes, crime not only threatens our safety, but is ‘robbing us blind.’ Yet, Boston Police Commissioner Robert J. DiGrazia recently confessed: “We cannot eliminate or reduce crime. That’s something that’s beyond our capabilities.”

Why are law-enforcement officers at such a loss in the battle against crime? The following story of a big-city police officer may give you insight into the matter.

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Over 37 million serious crimes a year are said to be committed in the United States, more than three times the number reported to the police.

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Those most likely to murder you are your relatives and friends.

Why the Losing Battle Against Crime?

Read What A Veteran Police Officer Says About It

NO CITY has as much total crime as New York city. More people​—1,669—​were murdered here in a recent year than have been killed in almost seven years of fighting in northern Ireland!

As a New York City police officer for over fourteen years, I have seen the failure of all sorts of efforts to stem this crime. New York State special prosecutor Maurice Nadjari was right when he said: “We are no longer capable of securing the people against crime.”

Hundreds of New Yorkers daily are either murdered, assaulted, raped or robbed​—a serious crime is reported almost every minute. A New York Times headline, reporting the crime increase of the early months of 1975 over the same months of 1974, reads: “SERIOUS CRIMES UP 21.3% IN THE CITY.” No wonder that in many sections of the city New Yorkers are afraid to venture outside​—they are, in effect, prisoners in their own homes.

Are Police to Blame?

Afraid and angry​—and understandably so—​people often blame the police. We are called too dumb to solve crimes, or too lazy. The common opinion is that we regularly accept illegal payoffs, as the movie Serpico gave the impression. Many say that we have a superior, above-the-law attitude, evidenced by our failure to obey laws that we are responsible to enforce. Others accuse us of being insensitive toward the public, and of treating criminal suspects brutally.

While there may be an element of truth to some of these accusations, I feel that generally they convey an unfair impression. Police work is of such a nature that it is easily subject to misunderstandings by the public. So it is unfair to pass judgment without hearing our side. Listening to it, I believe, may give you, not only an insight into the reason for the increase of crime, but also an appreciation of the frustrations and pressures that the police endure.

A Realistic View of Police

Some persons say that a major reason why crime flourishes is that police are corrupt. As evidence, they may cite the report that, of fifty-one New York police officers who were handed “lost” wallets and asked to turn them in, fifteen pocketed the money inside. (New York Times, November 17, 1973) However, look at this in perspective.

Did you know that when a similar test later was made on random New Yorkers, forty-two of the fifty persons dishonestly kept the money? So, to a considerable extent, the police simply reflect the standards of the society of which they are a part, don’t they? As for bribes, isn’t it the public that offers these to the police?

I’m not trying to justify police dishonesty. But it is good to get the whole picture. Some corruption admittedly exists. But, really, don’t we police officers do much to prevent crime? Aren’t people usually more inclined to be law abiding when they see us around?

Recall what happened in 1969 when 3,700 Montreal, Canada, police officers went on strike. Crime increased to such an extent that government leaders said that the city was “threatened by anarchy.” And believe me, it would be worse in New York. Without the police on duty, New Yorkers had better barricade themselves in their homes. The city would be unlivable!

What Police Experience

To illustrate the frustration that police officers often experience in fighting crime, let me relate the following: A fellow officer recently caught a twelve-year-old and a thirteen-year-old having intercourse on the roof landing of a project building. He took the girl to her parents. But the mother told him to mind his own business, saying: “She’s a lady now; she can do it any time she wants to.” An experience like that makes the police officer feel helpless. I think this modern permissive attitude, where anything goes, contributes to the increase in crime.

In ghetto areas the police officer represents the part of society that the people feel has been kicking them down and keeping them in the gutter. So we are often viewed more as a threat than a help in these areas. For instance, when we go into a neighborhood to take out a drug pusher, his neighbors fight for the pusher and against us. This antipolice attitude, too, I believe, is another contributing factor in the rise in crime.

I remember an incident in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn. A couple of guys had stolen a car, and tried to get away. We pursued, and they crashed, smashing the car. We cornered them and had them faced against the wall, with our guns drawn. But before we knew it a crowd formed and started menacing us. I tell you, the sweetest melody I’ve ever heard was the sirens of police cars coming to our assistance.

You have to face such situations to understand the sickening sensation of cold terror. I know that critics are inclined to censure police for using their guns too quickly and for unnecessary use of force. But criticism is easy to give from a place of safety. Critics would feel differently, I believe, if they had to face armed criminals.

The situation is appalling! Nearly one police officer a month is killed in the city! The amount of crime is almost unbelievable​—a fellow officer the other day said that one patrol car had five robberies to handle during one tour of duty, mostly drugstore holdups.

Even murder has become routine, and the police often become hardened to it. Officer John Flores, who worked the high-crime 73rd Precinct in Brownsville, illustrated the matter by describing one tour of duty in which he was so busy that, while eating a sandwich, he noticed that he hadn’t even washed the blood of a murder victim from his hands.

The people in these areas become hardened too. In another case, the husband had killed his wife. They had twelve children, and as the investigation was going on, a number of them were playing tag around the house, as though nothing had happened!

But why are we losing the battle against crime? Does the fault lie with the preparation of police officers for their job?

Prepared for Crime Fighting

It was in 1961, when I was twenty-four, that I received training at the New York Police Academy. Included was physical preparation​—calisthenics, judo and the use of weapons. In the classroom we examined the elements of each crime, and what is involved in making an arrest. There is more to the matter than simply saying, “You’re under arrest!” I learned what happens after a person is brought to a place of detention, how he is fingerprinted, photographed and in other ways prepared for appearance in court. I also learned the type of evidence that is needed in order to make an arrest stand up in court.

After about five months my class graduated, and I was assigned to the 66th Precinct, in Borough Park, Brooklyn. There I walked a beat and, on occasion, rode in a patrol car. It was satisfying to help people settle problems, and to give medical and other types of assistance.

However, I hated giving traffic summonses, since they make people feel so bad. So the end of the month would come and I wouldn’t have given my expected number of tickets. I’d then have to give summonses for so-called “borderline violations”​—such as for failing to make a complete, full stop, or for slipping through a light as it was changing. It made me feel terrible.

I’ll never forget the first arrest I made. I stopped a motorist who was driving without a license, and he offered me about $100 to let him go. I arrested him and took him to the station house.

I’ve made hundreds of arrests since, but what especially makes that first one memorable is that it marked my first appearance in court, where I saw the chaotic conditions that exist there. The reality wasn’t what academy training had led me to expect. But I soon learned other shocking realities, which were totally contrary to the fine police training we had received.

The Way It Was

I had been on the force a short time when it became apparent to me that many policemen were taking payoffs. It was common knowledge that some went around picking up protection money from gamblers and other underworld figures.

Then came the Knapp Commission’s investigation into police corruption. About four years ago it put the spotlight on the corruption, and since then cops have actually been convicted and jailed! Furthermore, the conspiracy of silence was broken​—police officers began reporting corruption. So fear spread, cops were afraid of being turned in by other officers, and this contributed to a cleanup.

A department-wide anticorruption program was launched. Posters, for example, have been put up in police stations explaining that the earning potential of a police officer during twenty years of service and twenty years of retirement is $500,000, and urges them not to gamble all of this by taking a bribe. We get a good salary now and I doubt that many risk losing it by accepting any kind of bribe or payoff.

That doesn’t mean that all police officers have turned fundamentally honest. A retired Assistant Chief Inspector is probably right when he said of some former corrupt officers: “They are looking at chances right now to make money and are weighing the money against the risk.” It seems that the risk factor must be maintained at a high level, even as a recent police report indicated when it identified fear of getting caught as the reason for the improved conditions.

However, I realize that the public still considers the majority of police to be corrupt; we have lost credibility by our past record. Also, the persistent above-the-law attitude of some police officers contributes to this.

This loss of public confidence, of credibility​—resulting in lack of cooperation and even hatred by many of the public—​is a major factor, I believe, in our losing the battle against crime.

Detective Work, and Other Factors

I desired to advance in the department, and on May 18, 1962, a terrible thing happened that opened the way​—two Brooklyn detectives, named Fallon and Finnegan, were slain in a tobacco store in my precinct, just a few blocks from where I was at the time. In those days murders of police officers were unusual, and detectives from all over the city were called in to work on the case.

The night of the murders I received information from a confidential source that staggered me​—I was told the identity of one of the murderers. I immediately went to the police station and reported the information. Right on the spot I was assigned to help on the case. That very night we were able to establish that one of the suspects was involved in the murders. Later he was apprehended and convicted.

As a result of my work, I was recommended for the detective bureau, and in the spring of 1963 I went through the detective training course at the Police Academy. Afterward, as was then the custom, I was assigned to the Youth Squad, a kind of junior detective squad that enforced laws pertaining to places where youths congregate, such as bowling alleys, pool halls and schools. But since 1966 I have done regular detective work.

The investigative work on most crimes is nothing compared with that done on the Fallon and Finnegan murder case, where dozens of detectives and special technicians concentrated their efforts. With well over 1,000 serious crimes being reported daily, there simply isn’t the time to investigate most crimes thoroughly.

But when more time is available, a complete investigation may be conducted. Witnesses to the crime may be sought out, and a thorough search for clues may be made. Fingerprints are extremely valuable as evidence in a crime; however, I feel that this is an area in which many detectives fall short. They fail to utilize the available scientific methods of crime detection either because of lack of interest or due to not being convinced of their value.

In the face of the tidal wave of crime, the investigative process has broken down​—only one in five serious crimes is solved, and the actual number is probably much less. As a result, public confidence in the police is low. Frustration and selfishness grow, causing more persons to turn to crime.

Still, many police officers believe that there is an even more important reason why we are losing the battle.

Why It Can Be Said, Crime Pays

Stated plainly, the reason is that CRIME PAYS. That is what the evidence shows. Thus James S. Campbell, former general counsel to a presidential crime commission, said: “Crime does pay.” He noted that “the odds were 99 to 1 that you could commit a serious crime and not go to jail for it.” But in New York city there is even less of a chance that a criminal will be punished.

For example, of 97,000 arrests for serious crimes in a recent year, only 900 defendants were tried to the point of reaching a verdict! The vast majority of arrests are handled by “plea bargaining.” The way this works, the criminal agrees to plead guilty to a reduced charge that usually carries with it a suspended sentence. In other words, he goes free. There is no punishment! Even eight out of ten murder cases are resolved by “plea bargaining.” In such instances, the murderer generally receives a light sentence, and is soon free to repeat his crimes again.

From my own experience I could give you many examples of this “revolving door” court system. But let me select just one. In 1970 a man with a long criminal record ruthlessly stabbed to death a defenseless old man, the owner of a liquor store. Yet this cold-blooded murderer was permitted to plead guilty to manslaughter, and was sentenced to five years, which means he probably served only two or three years. But it was one of the most heinous crimes I have ever investigated!

Why aren’t cases like this tried and appropriate punishment given? Justice David Ross explained: “We’re bursting at the seams and it would take millions [of dollars] to try all these cases.” Furthermore, prisons are already full, and construction costs for new ones may run as much as $40,000 per prisoner. Even now, it costs about $10,000 a year to keep a person in a traditional prison. So it is not only too expensive to try criminals, but also very expensive to keep them locked up.

As a result, persons feel encouraged to commit more crimes, since they can see that crime pays. Why, sometimes they even laugh at us when we arrest them, since they know that they have nothing to fear. So, can you see why police officers often are less than energetic in efforts to apprehend criminals? They usually won’t be punished anyway. A man in Washington, D.C., for example, was arrested fifty-seven times in five years before he was convicted.

It’s a sad situation, as former New York City Police Commissioner Patrick Murphy said: “Police are merely the most visible arm of a broken-down crime-control system, a nonsystem, in which prosecutors and courts also fail.”

A New York Times editorial was correct when it said of the judicial system: “In essence, the picture is one of a ‘system’ constantly threatening to collapse of its own weight, functioning in a manner more designed to avoid that collapse than to mete out justice or to protect the public.”​—February 7, 1975.

The public suffers most, especially the victims. There is practically no thought of helping or compensating them for their losses. Furthermore, if they are to testify in court they must do it on their own time, perhaps at the loss of job pay, and the most they can hope for is that the criminal will be punished. But now, with so few criminals receiving punishment, fewer and fewer victims are willing to bother to prosecute, and, frankly, I can’t blame them. One Philadelphia woman had to go to court forty-five times before the assailant who robbed her was convicted!

Any Solutions?

Some time ago, I was presented with the idea of making the criminal work to repay the victim for what he had stolen or damaged. The idea is from the Bible, where, according to God’s law, a thief who stole a bull and sold it had to compensate with five bulls! (Ex. 22:1-4) That is so logical! If criminals had to make such restitution to their victims, or, in the case of juveniles, their parents had to do so, crime would be greatly reduced.

Also needed is speedy punishment for wrongdoing. When there isn’t punishment, the criminal feels that crime pays and so continues in his bad course, just as the Bible says. (Eccl. 8:11) But if willful murderers were quickly executed, as the Bible recommends, I can assure you there would be much fewer murders. (Num 35:30, 31) And if other criminals were severely punished, I am confident that crime would suddenly decrease.

Yet this system of things moves farther and farther away from a course of reason and good sense. So, as long as this system continues, sad as it is to say, I can see no hope for real improvement in the police battle against crime.​—Contributed.

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‘Some persons say that the police are corrupt.’

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“Murder has become routine, and the police often become hardened to it.”

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“Many policemen were taking payoffs.”

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“There simply isn’t the time to investigate most crimes thoroughly.”

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‘Crime pays. For most criminals there is no punishment.’

How Can You Protect Yourself?

CITIZENS commonly look to the police for protection, but in some areas police are now saying that they cannot provide it. Writing in The Wall Street Journal, Lewis M. Phelps told about the burglarizing of his and his neighbors’ premises in Chicago. He described the police reaction:

“While he was filling out the forms, one officer remarked, almost casually, ‘You know, you don’t really have any police protection in this neighborhood. You don’t have any protection anywhere in this city, because we aren’t real police officers. We’re just going through the motions.’”

The officer explained: “Some night we probably will catch these guys. Then they probably will run. . . . I’m not even going to make much of an effort to chase them. Because if I do, and I catch them, they probably will resist. I’ll have to hit them with my gun or my club to subdue them, or else get hurt myself. Then I’ll have a brutality charge on my hands, even if he hits me first. So I’ll just go through the motions of chasing him, just enough to make it look right. And that’s just exactly the way most cops in this city feel.”

This is what the officer meant about people not having any real police protection. But he quickly defended his “just going through the motions,” saying: “I have a wife and family to think about. Why should I risk my life to nail these guys when the courts just put them back out on the street? I’ve arrested guys for armed robbery. Some have 200 arrests, and dozens of convictions for violent crimes. And they get probation. Why should I risk getting shot to take a guy into the courts for that?”

Where does this leave you, the average citizen? The fact is, whether you are a crime victim or not depends a great deal on your own efforts to protect yourself.

Type of Protection Recommended

Frank Angelo, a columnist for the Detroit Free Press, reported one recommendation. He explained that a friend had told him how several homes, in her immediate midtown vicinity had been burglarized. She said that the ‘police who responded were quick to suggest that the best answer to the problem was for her and others to arm themselves.’

But is this good advice, to arm yourself? Despite such suggestions of some police officers, nearly every law-enforcement agency agrees that it is not. There are sound reasons for not arming yourself.

In the first place, in many localities carrying a concealed weapon is a violation of the law. Then there is the danger that if you draw a weapon, the criminal may retaliate, using his own weapon or seizing yours. Many persons have been killed in such encounters. Further, simply having guns around results in many tragic accidents. According to the National Safety Council, about 1,300 Americans a year are accidentally killed in their homes by firearms.

If carrying arms is not the answer, what can you do to protect yourself?

Self-Control, Mildness

Pointing to the need of self-control, one crime investigator concluded: “What people have to fear most from crime is in themselves.” But how can controlling yourself be a protection?

It can, since victims themselves often provoke crimes. Especially do thousands of those killed each year by their friends and relatives contribute to their own deaths. True, others may start the argument that ends in a fatal attack. But what if victims had heeded the Bible counsel: “An answer, when mild, turns away rage,” or followed the Bible advice to “be gentle toward all”? (Prov. 15:1; 2 Tim. 2:24) Likely they would never have been murdered.

It is wise, too, to remember this Bible counsel when strangers may harshly rebuke you for something you do. The inclination is to be vindictive. But how much better humbly to express regret for whatever you did to cause the other person’s displeasure! The mild answer will turn away rage, but, as the Bible proverb goes on to say, “a word causing pain makes anger to come up.”​—Prov. 15:1.

How often the truthfulness of this proverb is proved! Thus when a young woman allegedly bumped an older woman on a New York sidewalk, an apology was demanded of her. When she refused to give it, an argument resulted, and the older woman pulled a pistol and killed her. If only the young woman had answered mildly and excused herself, the tragedy would not have occurred.

The self-control that can protect you from such violence is a product of God’s spirit, available to those who apply Bible counsel. (Gal. 5.22, 23) Even if you do not practice it at present, you can cultivate this godly quality along with mildness. They are both essential to avoiding trouble.

Keep Alert, Anticipate Trouble

In many other ways the Bible can provide protection. For example, consider the value of acting in accord with this Bible principle: “A sensible man foresees danger, and hides from it; but the simple pass on, and are punished.”​—Prov. 22:3, An American Translation.

It is sensible not to minimize the danger of crime. If circumstances compel you to be in an unsafe area, stay alert. Walk and act with purpose; do not loiter. Keep your eyes moving over the street ahead, and occasionally look behind. Walk near the curb, well away from the buildings where a criminal may be lurking in a dark entrance or alley.

It is also sensible to avoid dimly lit and infrequently traveled streets. Look ahead before entering a block​—anticipate danger. If you see a group of suspicious-looking persons, do not risk passing through their midst. Cross the street or change directions. If you are followed, step into the street. If danger seems imminent, run or call for help.

Try to avoid traveling alone after dark. If you are at a meeting place, wait to walk home with a friend. When entering a lobby or an elevator in a dangerous neighborhood​—be sensible, foresee danger. Do not get on an elevator with strangers if you have the least suspicion about them, nor should you hesitate to get off immediately should they get on. Whether they may be offended is not the issue; it is better to be safe than sorry.

Since purse-snatchings are especially common, anticipate an attempted theft. Carry your purse between your upper arm and your body, with your hand over the clasp. And don’t carry excess amounts of money in your purse. Also, do not invite a mugging by wearing costly clothing or jewelry if you are in a high-crime area, neither open your wallet in such a way that others can see your money when you are shopping.

When driving your automobile, also be alert to danger. Make sure that all doors are locked. If they are not, a criminal can easily enter when you stop at a signal. Keep the windows closed or rolled up far enough to prevent anyone from reaching through an opening. If someone approaches your car menacingly, put the car in motion as soon as possible. When parking, do not leave valuables visible, but put them in the glove compartment or the trunk.

What if, despite your alertness, a criminal holds you up? Calmly agree to his demands to hand over your valuables. Your life and health are more important than material possessions. According to New York police, in over 99 percent of the muggings the victim is not harmed when there is no resistance.

Circumstances differ when a woman is accosted by a man who intends to commit a sex crime. “Resist with everything that’s in you,” urges Paul Boesch, author of the book Lady Protect Yourself. Don’t hesitate. Resist at his first suggestion of wrong intent. If he persists, SCREAM. Try to break away and run. The Bible shows that this is the proper course for a woman attacked by a rapist.​—Deut. 22:23-27.

Anticipate possible sex crimes against your children, too, and provide them protection. Strongly impress upon them never to accept an automobile ride from strangers. Let them know that to allow others to fondle them is wrong and can lead to their hurt.

Protect Your Home

First, protect your home with reliable locks on all doors and windows​—don’t overlook any. These should not be simple locks that can be opened with a playing card or a screwdriver. Rather, a dead-bolt lock is recommended. This requires the use of your key to turn the bolt when you are leaving, and a turn of the bolt when you are inside. In addition, a pick-resistant cylinder will provide protection against a burglar’s use of a master key or a picklock.

Once they are installed, be sure to use these locks. Reports by U.S police officials show that nearly 50 percent of the entries by burglars into residences are through unlocked doors or windows!

When you go away, don’t advertise it. Don’t give your home an unoccupied appearance by closing blinds and shades. Use lights effectively. There is a wide variety of time clocks and timers that are very useful. These can be set to turn lights on and off at certain times, as well as turning radios and televisions on and off. A light burning day and night is usually a sure giveaway that no one is at home. If you plan to be away for some days, have a trusted friend inspect your premises, mow your lawn, pick up your newspaper and mail, and perhaps even stay in your home.

True, persons may take all these precautions, and even others, yet still be a victim of crime. The protection you can provide yourself is admittedly only limited. But the time is near at hand when true protection will be realized by all.

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If you are followed, step into the street. If danger seems imminent, run or call for help

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Will you struggle to keep your money and perhaps lose your life?

Real Protection Near at Hand!

WHAT do we mean by real protection now being at hand? Is it the type enjoyed by rich people who live in walled communities with security guards?

No, for they, too, are subject to burglaries and other forms of crime. We mean protection so complete and far-reaching that even the fear that people have of crime will vanish! No longer will anyone be afraid to walk on a street or to go into a park at any hour of the day or night. There will not be a need even to lock your doors!

How will such a change ever be achieved?

Sure Answer to the Crime Problem

The take-over by an oppressive police state is not the answer. Nor is it any other proposal for reforming the present system of things. Humans have had plenty of time to bring crime under control, but it has only grown worse. Is it not obvious that men cannot do it, that it is beyond their ability to solve the problem?

How do you think God views the situation? To whom would it be more reasonable to look for an answer to this problem than to him? Is anyone more interested in humans than their Creator?

But you may ask, ‘If He were going to solve the crime problem, as well as other problems, why has He not done so before now?’

That is a good question, deserving an answer. And in his Word the Bible our Creator answers it in a satisfying way. The Bible explains that God has permitted wicked conditions for these many years for the purpose of settling important issues that were raised at the time of the first man’s rebellion against God. One of these issues is whether humans, independently from God, can govern themselves successfully.

What has the passing of time revealed? Has it not clearly shown the truth of the Bible statement: “To earthling man his way does not belong. It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step”? (Jer. 10:23) Surely it is to God that humans need to look for the solution to crime, as well as all other problems!

God’s sure answer is his kingdom, which is a righteous heavenly government. Jesus Christ devoted his preaching work on earth to telling people about this Kingdom government, even teaching his disciples to pray for it. You pray for that government when you say: “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.”​—Matt. 6:9, 10, Authorized Version.

But how will God’s kingdom eliminate crime? Foretelling the very days in which we live, the Bible says: “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. And the kingdom itself will crush . . . and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite.” (Dan. 2:44) Yes, God’s Kingdom government will completely destroy earth’s present governments, with all their crime and corruption.

When will this occur? The fulfillment of Bible prophecy shows that it will be within our lifetime! Why do we say this? Because the “sign” that Jesus said would mark the “conclusion of the system of things” is now undergoing fulfillment. This “sign” includes “the increasing of lawlessness.” And Jesus said that the generation that saw the beginning of all of this​—outstandingly since 1914—​would also see God’s government completely wipe out this crime-ridden world. What a marvelous relief when this occurs!​—Matt. 24:3-14, 34.

Real Protective Care

Can you imagine what conditions will be like following that world destruction? A Christian Bible writer says: “There are new heavens and a new earth that we are awaiting according to his [God’s] promise, and in these righteousness is to dwell.”​—2 Pet. 3:13.

The Bible, of course, is not speaking of new literal heavens, or of a new literal planet earth. The “new heavens” are God’s Kingdom government, often called “the kingdom of the heavens.” (Matt. 4:17; 10:7; 11:11) And the “new earth” is a new human society, a new world of godly people.

When we look back in the Bible to where God gave his above-mentioned promise, we receive this beautiful picture of the real protective care that He can provide. Jehovah God paints the picture in these words:

“I am creating new heavens and a new earth; and the former things will not be called to mind . . . and they will certainly build houses and have occupancy; and they will certainly plant vineyards and eat their fruitage. . . . They will not toil for nothing, nor will they bring to birth for disturbance; because they are the offspring made up of the chosen ones of Jehovah, and their descendants with them. And it will actually occur that before they call out I myself shall answer; while they are yet speaking, I myself shall hear.”​—Isa. 65:17-25.

Yes, Jehovah God will bless his people with peace. He will not allow any form of unrighteousness to mar the security of his people. The battle will have been won against crime! In that new system of God’s making there will be no cause for fear, no reason to be afraid to walk on any street or to enter any park at night. There will be no need for any locks on your doors; no need to worry about protecting yourself, or wondering where the danger lies.

Would you like to live in such a marvelous crime-free world? This can be your happy prospect, because it is based on the sure Word of our Creator himself. Jehovah’s witnesses will be happy to help you to take in more knowledge regarding this Bible-based prospect. Simply ask them and they will discuss these vital matters in detail with you and your family in your own home, free of charge. Accept this invitation, and see for yourself that God’s promises of a crime-free world have a sound basis.

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God’s sure answer to the crime problem is his kingdom. It will eliminate crime soon!

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Complete protection is in store for citizens of God’s crime-free world. The Bible assurance is: “God . . . will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore.”​—Rev. 21:3, 4

The Trek to a Sherpa Village

AS TOLD TO “AWAKE!” CORRESPONDENT IN INDIA

MY NAME is Nawang Phintso, and I am a Sherpa guide. Have you heard of the Sherpas? You must have. Particularly if you are one with a brave heart and willing to dare the cold and foreboding Nepal Himalayas. My people, the Sherpas, are very intimate friends of the Himalayas. For thousands of years this mountain range has offered us a home here in its snowbound lap. The celebrated Mount Everest is our everyday sentinel. With his feet planted right before us and standing 29,028 feet high, he is indeed the supreme monarch of this whole mountain range.

If we Sherpas seem proud of our mountain home, we are even more so of our rosy-cheeked daughters and our strong and rustic sons. Our houses are large and accommodating, and so are our hearts. The Sherpa smile is one you’ll never forget​—so sunny and warm that you forget the stinging Himalayan cold. But, please, come trekking with me to my village of Junbesi and personally taste of our genuine Sherpa hospitality.

This is a nice time of year to trek here in Nepal, from October to December. January and February are also permissible months, provided you are willing to endure the extreme cold and to disregard the heavy snowfall.

But before leaving, we must apply for a trekking permit, issued by the Central Immigration Office. As for porters, I have already arranged for two, a couple of strong, hardy lads. And here is Sonam from my village, a much-sought-after Sherpa cook to tickle our palates when we stop to eat.

Everything ready? Then, we are off from Kathmandu by Land Rover, headed for Lamsangu, seventy-two kilometers (about 45 miles) away. The air this morning is apple fresh​—clean, clear and crisp—​just off those distant snowy peaks.

You’re on the Trek

At Lamsangu we take to walking and begin our ascent. The afternoon breeze is cool. You need it to help you to make this climb. The path is dry, dusty and narrow. You look up and see it winding in serpentine-style. On either side of you the millet and wheat fields fall away to meet the stream below. You crane your neck hopefully for a glimpse of some white peaks. But I say: “You have need of endurance. You have walked only three hours. Perhaps tomorrow evening the proud Himalayas will grant you an audience.”

But for this evening, although it is only 5 p.m., it is time to set up camp. Before the growing shadows of darkness overtake us we must pitch our tents and have something to eat.

We have come to a height of 6,000 feet, to a place called Thulo Pakha, and the cold is making itself felt. Soon Sonam has a Sherpa treat for our stomachs​—a hot, thick stew of fried wheat powder, vegetables and chilies that effectively warms our ears, and pieces of chicken to quench our fiery hunger. And now it is time to retire. I know it is only 7 p.m., but you need much rest if you want to make it to my home, the land of the Sherpas.

The next morning we have a good breakfast of coffee, eggs and toast, and then we are up and climbing again. After three hours we make it to a height of 8,200 feet, where we stop for lunch. The place is Muldi. And, look! Your patience has been partly rewarded. Do you see those white mountains in the distance? That one there is Annapurna, 7,937 meters high (26,040 feet). This is only the beginning, however. The farther we trek, the more generous becomes the view of these majestic Himalayas.

Experiences That You Will Never Forget

Four days of eventful trekking are now over. Four days with some of the most fascinating experiences on which to look back! Experiences that until now may have existed only in your dreams and in storybooks. While they are fresh in our memory, let’s review some of them.

The first morning started off with a spine-chilling experience! That was when we crossed the rocking suspension bridge, creaking dangerously over the rolling waters of a Himalayan stream. Later, we struggled uphill to meet the imposing mountain pass of Manga Deorali (7,800 feet), and that certainly made us feel like heroic adventurers. Unforgettable, too, was that romantic tea break on the grassy shelves of Chitre (7,500 feet), followed by the leisurely walk through the land of alpine scrub and twisted junipers, topped by a hearty lunch at beautiful Kirantechhap! After an unusual night at Namdu, we spent the next day once again going uphill to cross another mountain pass at 8,200 feet. In the evening we made it to Sikri Khola, where we camped for the night by those sparkling waters. There, in peaceful slumber, our dreams blended with the gentle ripple of the stream below.

Two more nights skipped by. The most memorable of these, you recall, was spent at the dream valley of Chhayangma, where we were welcomed by the solitary but ornate Buddhist Chorten. Chorten is the Sherpa name for imposing monuments of stone, usually many feet in height. These are built in layers. The topmost layer has a large squat dome sitting on it. Above this dome is a little headpiece, often topped by a jaunty cone. Sometimes the headpiece has four flat faces, each bearing a pair of painted, narrow Mongoloid eyes. They look so penetrating and real. Chortens are believed to hold the ashes of venerated ancestors. But the most attractive aspect of these Chortens is that they are built at the choicest places on the hillsides. By that I mean, on sites that command a beautiful panoramic and ever-changing view of the surrounding mountains above and the villages below. It is an unforgettable, peaceful experience to sit by a Chorten and feast one’s eyes on the surrounding scenery.

Welcome to My Sherpa Village of Smiles!

We have emerged from the majestic mountain pass of Lamjura at an elevation of 11,850 feet. And now, sprawling below us is the smiling valley of Junbesi. This is my home, my happy Sherpa village in the Himalayas! Good-bye to the terraced fields. Welcome to the land of stately pine trees, to my warm Sherpa home in the cool alpine surroundings.

Before entering the village, let us sit down for a moment here on this hill. You see, a Sherpa village is different from the villages of other Nepalese ethnic groups. For one thing, Sherpa settlements are always higher in altitude. My village of Junbesi is 8,800 feet above sea level, and you will find larger Sherpa villages located at ten to fourteen thousand feet above sea level, clinging dangerously to steep mountain slopes.

Evening is fast setting in, so we’d better hurry on down to my home. Do you hear the sound of our dzo? This is our cow, different, to be sure, from the cows you’ve known, since it is a cross between the Indian zebu and the Himalayan yak. The village mastiffs are barking furiously at the dark shadows of dusk. And the rising smoke from the homes sharpens our hunger. Someone said: “East or West​—home is the best,” and I must agree. It is so satisfying to be back home under the protective Himalayas.

Enter a Sherpa Home

This Sherpa house of mine is large, two-storied, with a low-pitched gable roof covered with shingles. Most Sherpa houses like mine are built to face south and have exquisitely carved windows.

We come up the clean, wooden staircase to the polished corridor, and enter the living room on the left. The wooden floor is meticulously clean and glossy. Right below those windows facing east is a long settee covered with an abundance of Tibetan carpets​—gorgeous woolen carpets depicting the Oriental dragon, the blazing sun and symbolic flowers, all woven in fiery red, deep blue, bright orange, gold and other matching tints. Corresponding with the length of the settee is a wooden table in front. Every morning you will see my sister Ang Kandi polishing it with some waste butter and bitter-tasting leaves from the forest. The shine comes from the butter, while the leaves keep the table completely free from flies.

A Sea of Strange and Friendly Faces!

Here you are, hardly in and you are surrounded by a host of strange and eager faces. Look at our women! Tall and well built. No wonder we are very proud of them. Let me tell you something about what they are wearing. The ankle-length, warm, black woolen robe is what we call the angi. You will notice that quite a few of the women are wearing colorful thick aprons, signifying that they are married. Those heavy, bright cloth boots keep them warm and oblivious to the cold. They have long glossy hair, which on workdays they tie up in a large floral scarf on their heads. Their faces are fair and rosy, with rounded, fleshy cheeks, and their dark eyes are set at a slant. Our strong and sturdy men have also taken their stand with them, freely laughing and joking. Here’s a striking difference in the Sherpa social life from all other ethnic groups of Nepal. Instead of hovering in the background, our women join freely with the crowd.

The Warm and Informal Sherpa Hospitality

Here come my parents. Their broad smiles request you to sit down on that settee piled with carpets. Ang Kandi sets before you ornamental, white porcelain little cups placed between exquisitely designed saucers and lids. Into them mother pours the thick and steaming Sherpa tea. You sip it! It goes right into your tired nerves. It’s different from all other cups of tea that you have ever had in your life! And it should be, for have you ever sipped tea thoroughly whipped with yak butter, salt, sugar and milk in a four-foot bamboo mixer, called a dongmo?

Let me teach you the seating arrangement in a Sherpa family. First, on the extreme end of the settee, closest to the fire, my father sits. Next, you, the honored guest, and after you the formality ends. There come my relatives. They say that they’ve come to see me. But, really, they are here to have a close look at you. Deep down in their hearts they wish that they could talk in your language and see the world you’ve known.

Before we start with dinner, here’s an appetizer! It’s what we call chang. It’s the typical and exotic Sherpa beer. Low in alcohol content, and homemade with maize, wheat and yeast, it is frothy and milky white in color. Once again, those jeweled cups are before you. My sister comes to my father with the chang in a special porcelain kettle gilded with silver. Turn by turn, a cup is poured out for everyone.

Chang is a quick mixer in any company. After dinner, spirits still continue running high. Now the whole group has moved around the leaping flames of the fireplace. The womenfolk squat, breast-feeding their red-faced and chubby babies. Loud laughter greets those inconceivably funny jokes of the Sherpas. Then someone wants a change, a spine-chilling story for a nightcap! And after that, it’s off to bed.

The Dance of the Mani Rimdu

This is your second morning with the Sherpas of Junbesi, and the day promises to be an eventful one. You see, we Sherpas start celebrating the dance festival of the Mani Rimdu. For three consecutive nights we shall have the full moon. The dance is held in the Chiwong monastery, spectacularly situated high up on a cliff, 9,700 feet above sea level. The Mani Rimdu festival is a Sherpa exclusive. But its origins can be traced back to yesterday’s world of Tibetan theater.

For this occasion most of our men and boys dress in clean laveda pants, leather belt, Western coat and Nepali cap. However, they cut a far too simple picture against the dazzling gaiety of our womenfolk, who are dressed in expensive silk angis worn over loose and flowing satin blouses. The angis are mostly black, purple, gold or copper, while the blouses are red, orange and cream. Large necklaces and gold costume jewelry hang heavily down their chest and ears. The glossy black hair is interplaited with threads of warm colors. To top it all, they have those high and elegant fur caps richly embroidered in gold around the crown. This matches their equally eye-catching boots, usually in black, red and turquoise blue.

By eight in the morning we are ready to leave. The men as well as the women carry large amounts of butter, cheese, eggs and money, which are offered to the priest of the monastery. After two hours of walking up and down, we reach the Chiwong monastery. You are met by a sea of people overflowing the balconies and rolling in and out of the main gate.

Around 11 a.m. the dance begins, indulged in exclusively by the underpriests of the monastery, while the chief priest looks on. Some of the most unthinkably fierce and inhuman expressions are portrayed on the masks worn by the dancers. Cymbals clash, trumpets blare, and the huge monastery drums thunder their rhythmic beat. All the while, those energetic lamas (priests) dance out a complete story. By the time they finish, it is 6 p.m.

The day dancing belongs to the lamas, while the night is left complete for the laity. Yes, for three nights in a row Sherpa men and women hardly sleep. The pale and peaceful moon above seems to chide the insanity of the merrymaking below. Country songs are sung loud and clear, the shrill feminine tones mingling with the deep, resounding male voices. As for the older folks and the children, they doze off as the night wears on.

Farewell!

You say that you must leave, and we cannot stop you. So, please allow my people to say good-bye the Sherpa way: They want to garland you with the traditional white scarf. It is a sign of deep respect. I am going down with you to Kathmandu. Sonata, our cook, as well as our two faithful porter friends, will accompany us. As for Sonam, our porters and me, we will soon return, and we hope that you will too. Please do. Come back again to this Himalayan valley of Junbesi​—the ever-smiling Sherpa village!

Can Unity Save the Churches?

TOGETHERNESS has been viewed as something highly desirable. Particularly has this condition of unity been considered beneficial on the family level. And the Bible says regarding harmony among those having a common spiritual background: “Look! How good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!”​—Ps. 133:1.

Well, then, would it not be good to promote unity of religions? Many people think so. For instance, on January 20, 1974, Pope Paul VI requested prayers for union of all “Christian” faiths in the Roman Catholic Church, and this reconciliation has become the theme of the current Catholic “Holy Year.” Also, the 1975 meeting of the World Council of Churches was to focus on bridge-building among countries and faiths. In fact, during February 1975 St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Temple Emanu-El of New York city announced plans for a year-long discussion of problems that are straining relations between members of their respective faiths. And then, for the first time, a Jewish rabbi spoke from that Catholic cathedral’s high pulpit.

Most people know that many religious organizations now are beset by difficulties such as membership loss and financial woes. Of course, these problems may not exist in your community, but they are rampant elsewhere. So, unity of religions is being promoted by many clergymen who undoubtedly feel that this would further the interests of their respective denominations. But is it Scripturally proper to unite various religions? And, if achieved, would such unity save the churches?

Does Doctrine Make Any Difference?

Working out doctrinal compromises would no doubt help to promote unity of religions. How do people feel about that? Well, summing up a survey in one metropolitan area of the United States, the Milwaukee Journal of October 28, 1974, bore the headline “‘One True Faith’ Idea Is Losing Its Hold.” Of the 1,323 persons questioned, nearly eight in ten were in favor of interfaith moves. One Catholic man held that “how you believe is not as important as believing in something.” And a Lutheran woman remarked: “We all believe in basically the same things. I don’t think the interpretation of doctrine is that important.”

Nevertheless, trying to attain religious unity through doctrinal compromises has no favorable precedent in the Bible. When the prophet Moses was atop Mount Sinai receiving instruction from God, the Israelites sought to fuse the worship of Jehovah God with Egyptian religious practice. Aaron made a golden calf, and it was said: “This is your God, O Israel, who led you up out of the land of Egypt.” Aaron went about building an altar before the calf and then called out: “There is a festival to Jehovah tomorrow.” On the next day, burnt offerings and communion sacrifices were made. Thereafter, the people ate and drank, then arose “to have a good time.” How did Jehovah God feel about this? He was greatly displeased. Trying to mix true worship with false religion surely did not have God’s approval.​—Ex. 31:18–32:10.

Far from encouraging religious unity with others, through Moses God told His people of old: “You are not to conclude a covenant with them or their gods.” “One who sacrifices to any gods but Jehovah alone is to be devoted to destruction.” (Ex. 23:32; 22:20) Also, God’s Son Jesus Christ never compromised with those holding improper religious views. For example, Christ declared: “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because you shut up the kingdom of the heavens before men; for you yourselves do not go in, neither do you permit those on their way in to go in.”​—Matt. 23:13.

What Does God Require?

Obviously, religious unity ‘at any price’ does not have divine favor. What, then, does Jehovah God require of persons desiring his approval? “Those worshiping him must worship with spirit and truth,” declared Jesus Christ. (John 4:24) Clearly, religious unity that ignores Scriptural truth is unacceptable to Jehovah God.

Another essential of true worship is acceptance of God’s Son Jesus Christ. “I am the way and the truth and the life,” said Jesus. “No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6) Yet, even if the divided sects of Christendom attained supposed unity in Christ’s name, it could not be assumed that this would ever please Jehovah God or Jesus. Why not? Christ declared: “Not everyone saying to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will. Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and expel demons in your name, and perform many powerful works in your name?’ And yet then I will confess to them: I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness.”​—Matt. 7:21-23.

Another point that merits thought is that the religions of Christendom, as well as other faiths, have made themselves a part of this world. For instance, one Catholic cleric advocates ecumenism that goes as far as “agreement and action on life issues like war and peace, ethnicity and nationalism, the rights of minorities, human development, and poverty.” But should Christianity get involved in worldly matters like war and nationalism? Not according to its founder, Jesus Christ. He said of his followers: “They are no part of the world, just as I am no part of the world.”​—John 17:16; compare James 1:27; 4:4.

Toward the end of his earthly life, Jesus Christ could say in prayer to God: “I have made your name known . . . and will make it known.” (John 17:26) Jesus freely used the Divine Name, Jehovah, but today’s nominal Christians in general refuse to do so in their Bible translations or otherwise. On the other hand, true Christians take to heart the words, “‘You are my witnesses,’ is the utterance of Jehovah, ‘and I am God.’” (Isa. 43:12) It is Jehovah God’s will that his name be declared throughout the earth, and Jehovah’s witnesses are the only ones doing this work, even as Jesus made his Father’s name known.​—Ex. 9:16.

Closely linked with the Divine Name is Jehovah’s purpose in connection with his kingdom. When on earth, Jesus Christ went from place to place preaching the Kingdom message and said on one occasion: “Also to other cities I must declare the good news of the kingdom of God, because for this I was sent forth.” (Luke 4:43; 8:1) Similarly, today only Jehovah’s witnesses are declaring the good news of God’s established kingdom with the King Jesus Christ ruling on a heavenly throne. They alone are fulfilling Jesus’ prophecy: “This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come.”​—Matt. 24:14.

No religious organization other than Jehovah’s witnesses is declaring God’s name and witnessing about his established heavenly kingdom. Hence, even on this basis Jehovah’s witnesses have nothing in common with other religious groups and can never seek any affiliation with them. These organizations simply do not stand for the same things for which Jehovah’s witnesses stand.

What to Expect in the Near Future

But there is another significant reason to shun unity with these other faiths. The Bible shows that something very dramatic and completely irreversible is going to happen to these religions during this very generation. Unity of religions cannot save the churches from destruction. Consider:

The Bible book of Revelation mentions the symbolic woman Babylon the Great, “with whom the kings of the earth [the political element of this world] committed fornication.” (Rev. 17:1, 2, 5) Revelation also refers to the political element when speaking of a figurative “wild beast” as well as of “ten horns.” We are told: “These will hate the harlot [Babylon the Great] and will make her devastated and naked, and will eat up her fleshy parts and will completely burn her with fire.” (Rev. 17:12, 16) The commercial element also features in the prophecy, for “the traveling merchants of the earth” are described as “weeping and mourning” due to the destruction of Babylon the Great. (Rev. 18:11) Since both the commercial and the political elements are easily identified in this prophecy, it becomes quite obvious that Babylon the Great represents the world empire of false religion.

What, then, does this mean? This: That the world empire of false religion is going to be destroyed. Bible prophecy indicates that this will happen in our day. (Matt. 24:34) Therefore, individuals who believe the Bible are not concerned about ecumenical movements, church mergers and the unity of various religions. Such concern would be futile indeed.

Rather, honest-hearted ones are responding with appropriate action to a commanding voice from heaven. It says regarding doomed Babylon the Great: “Get out of her, my people, if you do not want to share with her in her sins, and if you do not want to receive part of her plagues.”​—Rev. 18:4.

Growing apathy toward religion makes it easy to see that many people will not be particularly troubled when the world’s false religious empire is destroyed. Certainly, that destruction of Babylon the Great is inevitable, “because Jehovah God, who judged her, is strong.” (Rev. 18:8) So, religious unity cannot save the churches. But we encourage you to practice true worship and enjoy the approval of Jehovah, the “God of saving acts.”​—Ps. 68:20.

The Amazing Volcano

By “Awake!” correspondent in Guatemala

FOR centuries volcanoes have both fascinated and terrified people. In ancient times some persons went so far as to worship volcanoes. The word itself comes from Volcanus, the Latin name of the Roman god of fire.

Noting that a volcano is “an opening in the earth’s surface,” The World Book Encyclopedia explains: “Through this opening has come rock so hot that it is in a liquid or gaseous state. This melted rock deep in the earth is called magma.” It is thought that chambers of extremely hot magma are located twenty to forty miles below Earth’s surface. When magma presses against the roof of a chamber, gases are released. Upon reaching weak spots in the crust of the globe, these gases hollow out a passage, or “conduit,” that eventually reaches the surface.

When it gets to the surface of the earth, magma cools into “lava.” This escapes through an opening in the crust, spilling out over the edges of the volcano’s crater. “From time to time,” notes the reference work quoted above, “the opening becomes choked by cooling magma. This again causes gases to build up pressure to blast the plugging material into the air.”

Guatemala is known for its volcanoes; there are more than thirty-three of them in that country of Central America. A person traveling south from Mexico toward Guatemala City can see one volcanic peak after another, which appear as a formidable mountain range. However, most of Guatemala’s volcanoes now are inactive.

Among the active ones is Santiaguito. This volcano was born at the end of the 1800’s, pushing itself out of the side of a larger parent volcano. An elderly woman, who, as a little girl, witnessed the birth of Santiaguito, recalls that ‘it first spewed pumice and fine sand like ash that covered everything nearby to a depth of several feet.’ It is still necessary to dig holes several feet through pumice and sand to reach the former topsoil for planting coffee trees in the vicinity of Santiaguito.

Another of Guatemala’s active volcanoes is Pacaya, which has been erupting on and off for several years. An eyewitness of Pacaya “doing its thing,” as he put it, reports: ‘It looks as if fire is shooting out of the top. Several fiery streams that flow down the mountain look like fingers dipped in phosphorescent paint glowing in the dark.’

Guatemala’s most violent volcano is Fuego, which in Spanish means “fire.” On October 13, 1974, dwellers in Guatemala City stood in open areas and on rooftops to watch Fuego erupt, a truly fear-inspiring spectacle. They witnessed the appearance of flames shooting thousands of feet into the air. They also saw lightning strike at the volcano from cloudless skies, a phenomenon that for centuries has been known to accompany volcanic eruptions. The huge volume of sand belched out by Fuego covered and partially ruined cotton plantations and fields of sesame plants.

Did you know that, for the most part, the “flames” that leap heavenward when a volcano erupts are not ordinary fire? Flames usually result from burning of combustible materials, during which substances are released that react with oxygen in the air. However, most “flames” from volcanoes do not come from combustion. Instead, they are jets of glowing particles formed from the molten lava. When the lava escapes its high-pressure environment deep in the volcano and enters ordinary atmospheric pressure, exploding gases propel these particles sky-high, giving the appearance of shooting flames. The particles then cool off and solidify to form dense clouds of pumice, which settles over the countryside, ruining crops.

Volcanic gases consist mostly of steam. Carbon dioxide and nitrogen are sometimes major components. In smaller quantities these gases may include hydrochloric acid, hydrofluoric acid, sulfur, hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, hydrogen, and carbon monoxide. Interestingly, of these, only sulfur, hydrogen and carbon monoxide are combustible. These minor contributors, therefore, are responsible for the only true flames in volcanic eruptions.

Many may be inclined to regard volcanoes with fear, for on occasion they have caused large-scale loss of life and property. But volcanoes also have served for man’s benefit. Volcanic steam has been tapped to produce heat and electric power. Hot springs serve medicinal, laundry and bathing purposes. Lava can be used as a building material. Pumice is a popular grinding and polishing agent. And lava beds, since these are porous and allow fresh water to collect, are important sources of water. Many, indeed, are the benefits to man from the amazing volcano.

Seashells ex Pisce

● While walking along a beach, you may have noticed colorful seashells scattered in the sand. It is said that there are about 100,000 kinds of mollusk shells, including those from clams, conchs, cowries, oysters and snails. Many people collect seashells as a hobby, and they know that usually the shells of best quality are those taken with the animal still alive inside.

But some rare and valuable cone shells are difficult to obtain, as certain mollusks live in places that are just about impossible for men to reach. However, shells of this type sometimes are obtained from fish. The shells are discovered when the fish are caught and opened up. The Du Saval cone shell, reported to be one of the rarest in the world, came to light when the only known specimen was obtained from a fish caught off Mauritius. Thus it is a seashell ex pisce, literally meaning “out of fish.”

What Is the Bible’s View?

The Sacredness of Life

IN OUR modern times life is viewed as very cheap. Nuclear bombs and warheads and even crueler implements of destruction are designed to kill thousands en masse. Murderers often go free or receive only light sentences. Such men are thus loosed on the public again, only to repeat their crimes. How does God regard this lack of respect for life?

God’s own Son said to his disciples: “Do not two sparrows sell for a coin of small value? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground without your Father’s knowledge. But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Therefore have no fear: you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Matt. 10:29-31) So highly does God regard the lives of all persons that he gave his Son as a sacrifice, that everyone might have opportunity to get everlasting life.​—John 3:16; 1 Tim. 2:5, 6.

Sanctity of Life Emphasized in God’s Law

In his law governing the ancient nation of Israel, God showed the high valuation he places on life. This law instructed the judges to take great care to establish guilt or innocence and to render justice. (Deut. 19:15; 16:19, 20) But for one convicted of murder there was only one penalty: “You must take no ransom for the soul of a murderer who is deserving to die, for without fail he should be put to death. . . . For the land there may be no atonement respecting the blood that has been spilled upon it except by the blood of the one spilling it.”​—Num. 35:31-33.

Persons having knowledge that constituted evidence were required to come forth to testify, on pain of a curse being publicly uttered against them. (Lev. 5:1) Witnesses testifying against a man on a charge involving capital punishment had to be the first to hurl stones in executing him. (Deut. 17:6, 7) It would take a truly hardened person to testify falsely and then kill the person wrongly convicted. Extremely thought provoking was the law that one found testifying falsely would receive the punishment that he was trying to bring upon the accused man. These requirements certainly served as deterrents to false, hasty or careless testimony.​—Deut. 19:16-20.

Accidental Killing Brought Bloodguilt

Even in the case of accidental manslaying the sacredness of life was strongly impressed. For example, a man might be cutting wood when his axhead flew off and hit another person, killing him. The accidental manslayer then had to flee immediately to the nearest of the cities of refuge that God had mercifully designated. (Deut. 19:4-7; Num. 35:6, 11) He received sanctuary there until he could be returned to the jurisdiction where the accident occurred. A trial was held. If the incident was found to be truly an accident, the man would be conducted to the city of refuge, where he was to stay until the death of the high priest who was serving at the time. This, of course, might be years, or even a lifetime.​—Num. 35:12, 22-25.

Further stressing the need to have the greatest consideration for life was the law regarding the “avenger of blood.” This person was the nearest-of-kin to the slain person. He may have recognized the occurrence as a mere accident. However, the manslayer might dally, delaying his flight or, after reaching the city of refuge, might someday get outside its boundaries, perhaps returning to his home. Such actions would reveal that he was not really concerned over having caused a man’s death, or about the bloodguilt that he had incurred. In such a case, the “avenger of blood” was obligated to put the manslayer to death. So, on the part of both the accidental manslayer and the “avenger of blood” respect for the sanctity of life was to overshadow any personal desires or feelings. The arrangement of cities of refuge also precluded blood feuds or personal revenge killings. It brought peaceable relations between God and the nation.​—Num. 35:26-29; Josh. 20:2-6.

Unsolved Murders Not Ignored

Today an unsolved murder is considered to be the business only of the police and the courts. Not so under the Mosaic law. Responsibility fell upon the entire city. The law read:

In case someone is found slain on the ground . . . and it has not become known who struck him fatally, your older men and your judges must also go out and measure to the cities that are all around the slain one; and it must prove to be the city nearest to the slain one. . . . and the older men of that city must lead [a] young cow down to a torrent valley . . . and they must break the neck of the young cow there in the torrent valley.

“. . . Then all the older men of that city who are nearest to the slain one should wash their hands over the young cow, the neck of which was broken . . . and they must answer and say, ‘Our hands did not shed this blood, neither did our eyes see it shed. Do not set it to the account of your people Israel.’ . . . And the bloodguilt must not be set to their account.”​—Deut 21:1-9.

Thus, no murder went unaccounted for. The cow was not slaughtered as an atonement sacrifice, with some of its blood being put on the altar. The cow was killed by breaking its neck, in effect taking the murderer’s place, not to remove bloodguilt from the murderer, but from that city upon which bloodguilt would otherwise lie. Of course, if the murderer should later be found and his guilt proved, he would be executed.

Is Capital Punishment Just?

Some persons may consider society as having advanced by eliminating capital punishment. But, in considering the law that God gave to Israel, it becomes obvious that, rather than being too severe, capital punishment for murder really reflected God’s high regard for life, not just in general, but on a personal basis. We must keep in mind that the Mosaic law was from the Sovereign of the universe. Certainly God had man’s interests in mind when he incorporated that feature into Israel’s law.

But, actually, capital punishment originated more than 850 years prior to the Law covenant. After the flood, God spoke to Noah, saying: “Your blood of your souls shall I ask back. From the hand of every living creature shall I ask it back; and from the hand of man, from the hand of each one who is his brother, shall I ask back the soul of man. Anyone shedding man’s blood, by man will his own blood be shed.” (Gen. 9:5, 6) This law, then, is applicable to all mankind, for all people now on earth spring from Noah’s family.

Under this law the legally constituted authority could rightly execute the deliberate murderer. Is this the Christian view? Yes, for Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, wrote to Christians concerning world governments: “Do you, then, want to have no fear of the authority? . . . if you are doing what is bad, be in fear: for it is not without purpose that it [the authority] bears the sword [of execution]; for it is God’s minister, an avenger to express wrath upon the one practicing what is bad.”​—Rom. 13:3, 4; compare Acts 25:10, 11.

Is There Any Hope for Murderers?

A man who has committed murder is deserving of death. He must answer to God as well as to the State. Can he get forgiveness from God? Yes, by putting his reliance by faith in the atoning blood of Jesus Christ and becoming a wholehearted, dedicated servant of God. (Acts 10:43) If he does so, he may still die (and justly so) at the hands of the State, but he has a sure hope of resurrection. He will have a better start on the way to life in a paradise earth during Christ’s thousand-year reign.​—Acts 17:31.

As to those who have committed serious sins such as murder and who have not accepted Christ’s atoning sacrifice before their death, their judgment is in the hands of Jesus Christ. As God’s appointed Judge he knows who could benefit from a resurrection, with opportunity to get onto the way toward everlasting life. (John 2:24, 25; 5:30) When he was on earth, Jesus said: “Every sort of sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the spirit will not be forgiven. For example, whoever speaks a word against the Son of man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the holy spirit, it will not be forgiven him, no, not in this system of things nor in that to come.” (Matt. 12:31, 32) These words show that even the case of a murderer is not hopeless if he repents and takes advantage of God’s provision through Christ.​—Luke 24:47.

Christ gave the apostle John a vision of the resurrection, which John describes as follows: “I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne, and scrolls were opened. But another scroll was opened; it is the scroll of life. And the dead were judged out of those things written in the scrolls according to their deeds. And the sea gave up those dead in it, and death and Hades [gravedom] gave up those dead in them, and they were judged individually according to their deeds.”​—Rev. 20:11-13.

The deeds according to which these resurrected ones will be judged are not their past deeds done before their death. If so, murderers, for example, would immediately go back into death, nullifying the purpose of their resurrection. Rather, their judgment will be based on their deeds in a world of righteousness​—whether they are willing to be obedient and law-abiding and to make progress in establishing a good relationship with God. (Isa. 26:9) If they are incorrigible, their course of action will prove that they do not want to live by right standards, and so they will die the “second death.”​—Rev. 20:14, 15.

Consequently, God has made clear that he counts life as sacred and highly valuable. He desires that all men come to a knowledge of the truth that leads to eternal life. (1 Tim. 2:3, 4) Though men have committed all kinds of sins, some more serious than others, they can exercise faith in Christ’s atoning sacrifice. They can make over their personalities, to receive the gift of everlasting life under his Kingdom rule.​—John 5:28, 29; Acts 24:15; Eph. 4:20-24.

Watching the World

Open-Heart Surgery

◆ Do blood transfusions make major surgery safer and better? No, says a group of surgeons writing in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. They call attention to “the obvious advantages of bloodless open heart surgery,” which “may be performed almost routinely. In our series these measures reduced blood [cell damage], with a remarkable preservation of blood elements, especially platelets, and a corresponding elimination of postoperative bleeding.” The doctors said that “the absence of serious postoperative lung complications was a most notable finding.” Why? “It was perhaps entirely due to the avoidance of [transfused] blood, thus preventing the [collection] and stagnation of foreign cells.” According to the surgeons, “the absence of serious [kidney] complications further supports the view that the avoidance of transfused blood minimizes [red blood cell collection] and [clumping] in the kidney.”

Anchoring the Nomads

◆ Saudi Arabia is working to entice its Bedouins to give up their millenniums-old wandering ways for stable farm life. A $27-million experimental sheep farm in the desert is training them in skills necessary to run their own small farms. But it is hard for the Bedouins to change. “Many wander back into the desert after only a short time on the farm,” reports The Wall Street Journal. Some families living in houses for the first time “develop claustrophobia and move back into their tents. Others simply refuse the new housing and set up shanties of flattened gasoline cans and packing-case sections that can be quickly dismantled and carried off into the desert whenever wanderlust strikes.”

Bicentennial Caution

◆ “It’s idiotic for people to come to this criminals’ paradise” for the U.S. Bicentennial, warns the head of the compliance and complaints division of the Federal Communications Commission. People who visit Washington, D.C., he says, “are asking to be mugged, raped or robbed.” Last year serious crime leaped over 20 percent in the Capitol area most visited by tourists. And at a congressional hearing the U.S. Parks Police Chief warned that, despite extra police, tourists would be “fair game” for criminals. He noted that, since few visitors can stay to testify against their attackers, most of them go free, making tourists especially enticing as victims.

Ancient Flood

◆ “In almost every culture,” observes Science News, “emerge strikingly similar tales of a great flood that swept away emerging civilizations and changed the face of the earth.” The article says that “new evidence gathered from seafloor cores . . . confirms the existence of such a universal deluge and offers a tentative explanation.” The cores, drilled from the floor of the Gulf of Mexico, are said to indicate that “the surrounding seawater had suddenly become fresher” due to a huge surge of fresh water. Scientists ‘tentatively explain’ that this was caused by a rapidly melting glacier.

“Protection” by Guns

◆ Occasional lay preacher Ray Burgess, a member of the Alabama House of Representatives, told the lawmakers that his life was “a gift of God, and God gave me the ingenuity to protect that gift” (with a revolver). When the representatives almost passed a resolution banning guns on the House floor, Burgess agreed to stop carrying his at sessions. But he insisted that he would carry it elsewhere and boasted that every member of his family had one. Several months later, during a quarrel with his wife, the pistol that they were struggling over went off. He was shot in the head and recently died of the wound.

Venice No Longer Sinking

◆ The gradual sinking of Venice, Italy, into the Adriatic Sea has reportedly halted and may even be reversing. For a decade Venetians have been sealing thousands of artesian wells in the area. The resulting gradual buildup of underground water over which the city is built stopped the sinking. “The balance of supply and demand is being restored by natural processes,” exults Ottavio Vittori, head of the Venice National Research Center. He says that it may even be rising as much as four hundredths of an inch or so in five years. That is not much, but at least Venice is no longer sinking.

Baby Appetite Control?

◆ Breast-fed babies are known to have less tendency to obesity. Why? A London researcher notes that babies usually stop feeding well before the breast supply is exhausted and asks why. She theorizes that it may have something to do with the changes in the milk during feeding. Pale and watery at the start, it becomes thick and white toward the end, containing, she says, “four to five times as much [fat] and 1.5 times as much protein as at the beginning.” California medical school professor Derrick B. Jelliffe agrees that “it is possible that the baby gets biochemical clues from the feel of mother’s milk as well as the taste​—which could well be important in controlling appetite.”

Firewood Shortage

◆ More than a third of mankind uses about half of the world’s cut timber with which to cook and heat. Now firewood is rapidly disappearing in many African and Asian countries, where more than 90 percent of the inhabitants rely on it, according to Worldwatch Institute. These people use wood at the rate of one to two tons per person a year, and may spend more than a quarter of their family income on it. Stripping the forests for firewood is causing soil erosion that ruins many thousands of acres annually. Wood scarcity also has necessitated greater use of dried cattle dung for fuel​—diverting much-needed nutrients from the soil—​at a rate of 300 million tons per year in India. “Even if we somehow grow enough food for our people in the year 2000,” worries one Indian official, “how in the world will they cook it?”

Waning Work Ethic

◆ Generous unemployment benefits are testing West German workers’ traditional industriousness. The Bavarian builders’ federation complains that it can hardly find skilled workers, though many are now unemployed. “There’s no denying the fact,” the federation observed, “that for a limited period workers prefer the status of unemployment​—with high rates of [unemployment] benefit—​to a job on basic pay.” Following this trend are U.S. workers recently surveyed. Reportedly, almost 40 percent would prefer not to work if given a choice​—nearly double the figure for 1962. But more startling is the fact that over three quarters of youths from sixteen to twenty said they would rather not work.

Danish Dilemma

◆ What is to be done about two unmarried church pastors, one male and one female, who are both raising families? When the Danish ministry of ecclesiastical affairs told Lutheran priest Erik Bock legally to marry the mother of his children or resign, he refused. Then the Danish priests’ association came out in Bock’s defense, protesting that his private life is his own affair. Unmarried priest Gitte Berg, herself pregnant, also added her widely published support. The state Lutheran Church was perplexed, apparently hesitant to heed the Bible’s clear command to “quit mixing in company with anyone called a brother that is a fornicator . . . ‘Remove the wicked [person].’”​—1 Cor. 5:11, 13.

Pilot-Light Waste

◆ Reportedly, natural gas Is becoming scarce in the U.S. Yet the State Public Service Commission recently calculated that gas appliance pilot lights waste enough natural gas in New York State alone to supply the annual needs of 220,000 homes! However, engineers warn, turning pilot lights off would make appliances dangerous, and to replace the pilots with electric igniters would be very costly. They recommend selecting appliances with electric ignitions when purchasing new ones. Pilots on hot-water heaters waste little gas, though, because their heat helps to maintain water temperature, rather than being lost.

Marketing Death

◆ The recent Air Force Association Convention in Washington, D.C., allowed weapons manufacturers to exhibit their latest merchandise. Congressmen and military personnel saw what Time magazine calls “a blend of bombs and blinking lights, where some of the most deadly armaments were packaged and promoted, in the words of one host, as though they were ‘toothpaste and tie clips.’” Models, performers and eager salesmen were on hand. Guests could even drop “bombs” in one exhibit. “No one spoiled the festive mood by pointing out that the object of the products was to kill people,” notes Time.

Sleep Without Drugs

◆ An amino acid found naturally in milk, meat and cheese may someday replace the addictive sedatives that so many use to induce sleep. Called l-tryptophane, it was administered to test subjects, who, reportedly, got to sleep in about half their usual time and slept forty-five minutes longer than before. Though researchers are not yet sure how l-tryptophane works, they theorize that it may stimulate production of a brain chemical related to sleep. The abundance of l-tryptophane in dairy products “may explain why many people find they sleep better if they drink a glass of warm milk before bedtime,” reports Newsweek magazine.

Philosophy Backfires

◆ Has today’s growing freedom to speak and act as one pleases decreased the rates of mental illness and suicide, as many forecast it would? No, says Professor Daniel Freedman, head of the University of Chicago’s Department of Psychiatry. Instead, he contends that such freedoms ‘may have driven both rates upward.’ According to Professor Freedman, the burden on people who now “must make [their] own decisions as to what is right or wrong” has created mental pressures that did not exist when society had “widely accepted standards for morals and manners.”

Jails Feel Recession

◆ “The economic depression is now even affecting prison labor,” reports Japan’s Daily Yomiuri. “Throughout the nation, 65 prisons had 300 [work] orders canceled or curtailed” in the past year. At one prison, orders for auto parts reportedly dropped by two thirds since April. Now, instead of performing the work usually done there under contract to outside businesses, some prisoners often “engage in sports activities during regular work hours.”

Women Doctors

◆ “It is a curious fact,” notes Britain’s medical journal The Lancet, “that as one travels eastward from the United States there is a steady increase in the proportion of women in the medical profession.” The magazine indicates that 8 percent of the doctors in the U.S. are women. The proportion rises to 17 percent in England and Wales, 40 percent in Czechoslovakia, 48 percent in Poland and 72 percent in the Soviet Union.

Water Warning

◆ Water remaining in pipes overnight may pick up harmful elements, according to water experts. So they suggest running tap water for a minute before using it for human consumption. Hot water is said to pick up even more unwanted elements than cold. According to the technical director of the Water Quality Research Council, they advise the public “never to use hot water for drinking or cooking.” He adds: “When you want hot water for these purposes, run fresh cold water and then heat it.”

Tourists’ Spending

◆ Of the 8.6 million tourists who visited the U.S. last year, which nationality spent the most money during their stay? Japanese tourists were the most liberal, spending an average of $569 each. West Germans and Frenchmen spent about $100 less.

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