November 22

The Best Kind of Training​—Judo? Karate? or What?

IN THESE dangerous times people are concerned with self-protection. Schools teaching judo and karate are flourishing. Is this the training that will be most profitable, bringing the greatest peace of mind and happiness?

The experience of a young man in the African country of Senegal helped him to find the most satisfactory training.

This young man was a lover of sports and excelled in several. At the same time he was a member in good standing in the Roman Catholic Church. When his priest began to teach boxing and karate, the young man welcomed this training to improve in defensive skills. Here was an opportunity, the priest told him, to show his devotion to the Church and thus gain God’s favor. How? Well, this training would enable him to ‘defend the Church’ at certain religious events. At such events people sometimes become unruly, and a young devotee who was handy with his fists could help to keep things in order.

This young sportsman did not limit the exercise of his skill to keeping order at religious events, though he employed it frequently there also. He was tempted to use his training at other times, and so came to gain a reputation throughout the area as a brawler.

Then one day, while engaging in a high-jumping contest, he had a bad fall that left him permanently handicapped. His career in sports was finished, and his special training in boxing and karate was now of no value. Schooling by his priest in these violent arts had prepared him to beat up people at religious events and on other occasions, but it had left him totally unprepared for this crippling experience. What was he to do now? He became bitter and began to blame God as being responsible for his woes.

About this time he was contacted by one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The Witness showed him that there is a hope​—that his handicapped condition would not last forever. Then the Witness explained that God promises the healing of all mankind’s ills. He pointed out that when Jesus was on earth he healed people having all sorts of maladies​—persons disabled in foot and hand, paralyzed people, even a man who had been born blind. In several instances Jesus raised the dead. Those people later died, as did everyone else. But Jesus was performing these cures partly to demonstrate what he will do during his thousand-year Kingdom rule over the earth.

The young man agreed to look into the Bible to see whether these things are actually true. He found that it was not God who was responsible for his trouble. Rather, his condition was the result of imperfection and sin, and lack of knowledge of God. He discovered that this system of things operates on a wrong set of values, being materialistic and selfish, and that even the religions of the world have held the people back from understanding the Bible and coming to know of God’s purposes. While seeking to do the best for himself, this young man had taken the path of worldly thinking, and it had led him into difficulty.

Bible Training Changes Personality

As the young man continued to study he came to see that the Bible was truthful and reasonable, that it explained, not only the reason for the troubles he was having, but also the way for a good life in spite of his handicaps. He began seriously working on his personality, as the Bible recommends: “You should put away the old personality which conforms to your former course of conduct and which is being corrupted according to his [the old personality’s] deceptive desires; . . . you should be made new in the force actuating your mind, and should put on the new personality which was created according to God’s will in true righteousness and loyalty.” (Eph. 4:22-24) He recognized that his personality had gradually deteriorated because of his past violent course of life so that when he ran up against a real test, instead of facing up to it like a strong man, he became bitter against God and his fellowman. But now, having a goal in life, he began to change.

Before long, this former brawler became mild-tempered, controlling his violent ways. His former associates could not believe that the change in his personality was genuine. One of them slapped his face to test him. The peaceable reaction of this new student of the Bible so amazed and impressed the man that he and his family later began to study the Bible with the young man whose face he had slapped.

So, despite his permanent injury, this former sportsman says that he is much happier than when he was able to concentrate on physical training. He has a purpose in life, fine upbuilding friends and a joy in living.

The former fighter is now spending much time taking the good news of peace to others in his community and, through the knowledge he has gained about God, has changed his reputation as well as his personality. He is in hearty agreement with the apostle Paul’s words: “Bodily training is beneficial for a little; but godly devotion is beneficial for all things, as it holds promise of the life now and that which is to come.”​—1 Tim. 4:8.

“Be Training Yourself with Godly Devotion as Your Aim”

This man’s experience is convincing proof that the apostle Paul’s admonition, “Be training yourself with godly devotion as your aim,” is not merely a religious opinion, but a practical, sound, workable principle that, if applied, brings lasting beneficial results. (1 Tim. 4:7) The same is true of the other Bible principles and counsel on living. The reason is that they were given by the Creator, who knows what is in man. He knows how his creatures operate and what is needed for peace, cooperation and happiness.

Take, for example, God’s principles concerning marriage and the family unit. The world today has deviated from these. Their tendency is to discard marriage as ‘out of date,’ or else as something that can be taken lightly. Has this disregard of Bible principles resulted in better living, better morals, happiness? The divorce rate, the broken homes, the tremendous increase in juvenile delinquency, and even the rising incidence of robberies, muggings, gang wars and murders by young children, are evidences that the world’s viewpoint is wrong.

You no doubt want your life to turn out well, with enjoyment now and a good future. By looking into the Bible you can have a great measure of happiness now and a fine hope. It is easy to find out what its principles are. They are very simply and plainly stated. And they are really not hard to apply, because they actually set out the way that mankind was made to live from the beginning. The course the Bible advises is the reasonable, sensible way.

You, as an individual, are the one to decide for yourself whether you want to accept the Bible’s principles as your standard of living. However, you may not be familiar with the Bible. If you are not, you will do yourself and your family a great service by reading it so that all of you can see firsthand what it says. You will find therein wisdom that outlines training for life.

Millions Inoculated Against Swine Flu​—Why?

RESIDENTS of the United States are involved in what could be the largest public-health campaign ever carried out in that country. On August 12, 1976, U.S. President Gerald Ford signed a bill providing for a nationwide swine influenza vaccination program. Early in April the House Appropriations Committee had approved spending $135 million for the vaccine campaign. The government planned to buy the vaccine from the manufacturers and then make these shots available to all 215 million Americans.

This program has raised a number of questions. So some basic points can be considered with profit.

Why Vaccinate People Against Swine Flu?

In the FDA Consumer of May 1976, Timothy Larkin, who is a special assistant to the Commissioner of Food and Drugs, wrote: “When a new strain of flu virus is discovered, a serious outbreak often occurs in the following ‘flu season.’ And when the new strain appears to be a close relative of the virus that raged worldwide in 1918-19, killing some 20 million people, there is cause for concern​—and action. That’s why FDA [the Food and Drug Administration] is in the forefront of an unprecedented effort to draw on the resources and knowledge of government, industry, and the health professions to produce, distribute, and administer to the American people a vaccine that is capable of preventing an epidemic of potentially dangerous flu.”

Inoculation with this vaccine is for the purpose of preventing a person’s contracting swine flu, officially known as A/​New Jersey/​76 influenza virus. The shot will cause the recipient’s body to build up antibodies to fight the disease, and it is expected that this protection will begin about two weeks after inoculation. Some experts say that these vaccinations are 85 percent effective, but an estimate as low as 20 percent has been given. It might be added that since there are various types of flu, an individual inoculated for one strain is not thereby made immune to other strains.

Christians are Scripturally required to abstain from eating blood or using it to nourish the body or to sustain one’s life. (Acts 15:28, 29) However, vaccines are not made from blood. For detailed information on serums and vaccines, please consult Awake! of August 22, 1965, pages 18 and 19.

What Prompted This Program?

On February 4, 1976, Pvt. David Lewis, a nineteen-year-old recruit at the Fort Dix, New Jersey, army base, complained of feeling feverish and was experiencing nasal congestion, sore throat and headache. Though told to remain in the barracks for forty-eight hours and then report for a checkup, this infantryman participated in a march the next night. During the march he collapsed and was dead shortly after arrival at the base hospital. A throat swab revealed the presence of a virus resembling a kind usually noted only in swine. Also, blood samples of individuals who had survived the “Spanish flu” of 1918-19 indicated that the present virus resembled the one that was responsible for that devastating epidemic.

There are said to have been twelve confirmed cases of swine flu at Fort Dix. However, blood samples were taken from 10 percent of the military personnel there and tests were undertaken. Dr. Fred M. Davenport of the public-health school of the University of Michigan reported: “There was serologic evidence of more than 500 cases of swine flu occurring in recruits at Fort Dix within a six-week period.” So the virus had spread and over 500 gave evidence of exposure to it.

The Fort Dix outbreak led to discussions by federal, state and other experts. Following consideration of recommendations made in a meeting with medical and health experts, U.S. President Ford, on March 24, 1976, announced the vaccination program. While there were uncertainties about the virus, noted virologist Dr. Edwin D. Kilbourne said that experience had shown that the appearance of a major flu mutation “heralds a pandemic,” or earth-wide epidemic. He contended: “The identification of a new strain of influenza at Fort Dix has given us the opportunity, for the first time in history, to do something about a pandemic in advance.”

Will There Really Be a Swine Flu Pandemic?

Actually, no one can be certain that a swine flu pandemic will occur. Still, some reason as does Dr. Delano Meriwether, director of the National Influenza Immunization Program. He remarked: “It’s essentially a gamble, based on the likelihood of something happening, without a guarantee of it happening. I think the American people will feel more comfortable having the choice of being vaccinated.”

By early June, however, no European government had considered the threat of a serious swine flu outbreak sufficiently substantial “to undertake mass vaccination, although Britain, France, the Soviet Union and probably others are stockpiling the vaccine,” reported the New York Times. Dr. W. Charles Cockburn, director of the World Health Organization’s Communicable Disease Division, pointed out that by then the flu season already had started in the southern hemisphere, but that the swine flu had not been noted by influenza centers in New Zealand, Australia and Singapore. Also, critics mentioned that none of the ninety-six flu-monitoring centers had by then reported further instances of swine influenza.

Has the “Spanish Flu” Returned?

Certain early press reports associated the Fort Dix flu outbreak with “the specter of 1918,” the so-called “Spanish flu” that brought death to millions. “It has proven similarities,” writes Barbara Yuncker in the New York Post, “but nobody has samples of the 1918 bug, so nobody really knows.” Boyce Rensberger reported: “Even some of the officials and outside scientists involved in the decision to immunize now say that the early speculation that the Fort Dix virus was similar to the 1918 virus was unfounded and should have been rebutted more vigorously.”​—New York Times, July 23, 1976.

Is Swine Flu Really a Killer?

One death at Fort Dix has been associated with swine flu. Interestingly, however, Arnold Chanin, M.D., of Los Angeles, California, writes: “As we in medical practice know, the ‘flu’ is not a killer. The ‘500,000’ flu-related deaths in the United States during the 1918 epidemic were, as have been all flu-related deaths since, due to complications, mainly bronchopneumonia, viral pneumonia, and other forms of lower respiratory tract infection.”

Dr. Chanin refers to the death of the recruit at Fort Dix and says, “The youth died from viral pneumonia.” He adds: “The total picture here is not that influenza can kill, but that multiple factors, combined with flu, can cause morbidity and mortality. In this case the triad was: exhaustion from the march, influenzal infection, and viral pneumonia. There may have been other factors which, as yet, have not been revealed in the press.”​—Medical Tribune, September 1, 1976.

It cannot be said, of course, that an influenza epidemic would not result in deaths. There has been disagreement among certain scientists about whether a swine influenza pandemic would break out during this flu season. But John Irvin, who is directing the vaccination program in Ohio, seems to express a sentiment that has prevailed, in saying: “It’s a lot better to do something and be wrong than to do nothing and be faced with a terrible epidemic.” So, while there are proponents and opponents, the swine flu immunization program is under way.

Is It Now Dangerous to Eat Pork?

Authorities say that if the virus is present, it would be only in the hog’s lung tissue, not in the meat that humans eat. Also, the virus would be destroyed by cooking, even at temperatures considerably below 170 degrees Fahrenheit (77 degrees Celsius).

When and Where Will the Shots Be Given?

The U.S. swine flu immunization program was to begin in late September and continue into December 1976. Local and state health departments were allowed to determine locations and times for inoculation. Vaccinations could also be administered by private doctors. The vaccine is being furnished free of charge, though donations may be requested by certain projects. Private doctors may charge for the office visit or for administering the inoculation, but those doing so do not have the liability protection provided by legislation that was approved by the U.S. Congress early in August.

Who Will Be Vaccinated?

Michael White, who is with the swine flu office of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare, explained that inoculation is recommended especially for individuals over sixty-five years of age, as well as those with diabetes and chronic illnesses, persons suffering from heart, lung and kidney diseases. (Recommended for them is a vaccine prepared to protect against both the Victorian- and swine-flu strains, whereas other adults may receive a shot for only swine flu.) According to White, doctors consider the shot no peril to the fetus in the case of a pregnant woman. The swine flu vaccination was being recommended for everybody over the age of twenty-five, and only one shot is needed. For younger persons a vaccination and a booster shot may be necessary.

Are Adverse Reactions Possible?

Some people should not receive these shots. Persons with fevers should not get them. Nor should individuals allergic to eggs, for they may develop hives or asthma, or may experience severe shock. Anyone wondering whether a certain medical condition rules out the shot should consult his personal doctor.

According to Michael White, reactions to the vaccination may include a sore arm and redness around the area where the shot is given. For a few days a person may have a fever of 100 to 104 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 to 40 degrees Celsius). Adverse reactions may occur within 48 hours after the inoculation, but tests reportedly indicate that these side effects are not worse than the flu itself. White pointed out that in tests, only 1.9 percent of those receiving the inoculations developed a fever. Another source stated that there is no danger of contracting swine flu from the shot, or of becoming a carrier of the disease to others due to the vaccination.

Dr. Anthony Morris, former director of the Food and Drug Administration’s Slow, Latent and Temporate Virus Branch, reportedly undertook influenza hypersensitivity studies. In explanation, a press report published July 29, 1976, stated:

“Hypersensitivity means that if a person gets a flu shot and then is later exposed to the flu, he will come down with an even more severe case than he would have gotten had he not taken the flu shot at all. . . .

“In one 1968 study alone, 54 per cent of those getting a flu shot came down with severe cases of influenza during the next flu epidemic, while only 25 per cent of those not taking the flu shot got the flu.”

Medical viewpoints and opinions vary, of course. By mid-August the swine flu vaccine had been tested on over 5,000 individuals. Officers of the Center for Disease Control reported that the studies indicated that the vaccine was safe and would prove effective in the case of most adults.

Insurance companies have been unwilling to provide the swine flu vaccine manufacturers with liability coverage in this program. But the U.S. Congress has passed a law specifying that all injury claims in the program are to be filed against the federal government. It, in turn, can sue the vaccine maker or other participant charged with the negligence claimed in the original lawsuit.

How Is the Vaccine Made?

The virus in this vaccine is cultured in chicken eggs. That is why persons allergic to eggs should not take swine flu shots.

Procedures followed by manufacturers vary somewhat. First, however, each egg intended for vaccine purposes is candied, or examined with light, to make certain that it contains a live embryo. So, animal life is a factor. But man has a right to use such creature life for his benefit.​—Gen. 9:3, 4.

Next these eleven-day-old eggs are inoculated with the seed virus. Following a period of incubation, the eggs are opened mechanically, the virus-laden allantoic fluid is harvested, and formaldehyde is used to kill the virus. Vaccine production is complete only after further processing. Perhaps as many as 100 million fertile eggs will be needed for swine flu vaccine production.

Shall I Be Vaccinated Against Swine Flu?

Are you planning to ‘roll up your sleeve and get a swine flu shot’? Since inoculation with this vaccine is voluntary in the United States, individuals can consider the potential benefits and risks, making a personal decision. After weighing the various factors considered herein, what will you do?

A National “Day of Thanks”​—The Dream and the Reality

SARAH J. HALE had a dream. It launched her on a thirty-six-year “crusade” before she gained victory. The dream? As she wrote in September of 1863​—to see established a “yearly Thanksgiving as a permanent American National Festival which shall be celebrated on the last Thursday in November in every State of the Union.”

Being the editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book, “her editorials reached the largest number of people of any periodical in the [United States].” Sarah’s campaign was vigorous. She wrote hundreds of letters to government officials and prominent citizens.

Usually, Mrs. Hale receives the credit for influencing President Abraham Lincoln to issue his Thanksgiving Proclamation on October 3, 1863. Although acknowledging the raging civil war, Lincoln spoke of the “blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies.” He noted “the advancing armies and navies of the Union,” the growth in industry and population, and concluded that these “great things . . . are the gracious gifts of the most high God.” Lincoln, therefore, declared a nationwide “day of thanksgiving.”

But what type of festival had the president nationalized? Why did some resist the idea? And what has become the reality of this dream? The answers to these questions form a revealing story.

How Did It Begin?

Ask any North American schoolboy where Thanksgiving comes from and you will probably hear a story about Pilgrims, Indians and a turkey dinner that they shared. While basically legendary, a few elements of the tale seem to be historical.

In the year 1620, a small English colony was established on the edge of a vast and hostile wilderness. During the first winter they lost nearly half their number due to disease and severe weather. Autumn of 1621, however, saw a good corn crop. Therefore, a holiday​—a three-day festival—​was declared.

The colony was comprised of a religious group known as the Saints, and other residents whom the Saints called the Strangers. The latter were in the majority and were mostly people seeking economic opportunities in America. One could hardly find a more unlikely conglomerate for establishing a religious festival. Why? Because, unlike the Strangers, the Saints were basically anti-celebration! A little background will help us to understand.

The Saints, historically dubbed the Pilgrims (‘devout travelers’), had sprung doctrinally from the Puritans. The Puritans were Protestants who wanted to “purify” the Church of England of what they considered to be ‘popish tapestries.’ Some gave up and became Separatists. Many Separatists, including the Saints, fled England for religious freedom.

Thus the Saints were Puritans at heart. And Puritan teachings strongly opposed what were considered to be pagan traditions that had “crept” into Catholicism and the Church of England. They condemned most of the celebrations then popular in Europe. In fact, a historian of the early Thanksgiving holiday says: “One of the potent influences which aided its general acceptance in these colonies was the Puritanic hatred of Christmas as a relic of ‘Popish mummery.’”

So what kind of three-day festival did the Pilgrims allow? While myths abound, the few facts available from early records indicate that besides a formal march, the settlers “exercised” or displayed their ability with firearms. Then the ninety or so Indian “guests” (possibly uninvited) apparently exhibited their prowess with bow and arrow. There was, of course, much feasting.

The menu on the occasion is disputed. It is generally agreed that the Indians brought five deer, adding venison to the fare. However, the presence of the celebrated dish of modern Thanksgiving​—turkey—​is not clearly established. Do the brief references to “fowl” include not only duck and geese but also wild turkey? Legend has it so.

It is interesting to note that the following year no such holiday was held. The crops bad, the problems many, the Pilgrims felt that there was little to celebrate. In actuality, it is doubted that the Pilgrims would have instituted a yearly celebration, since they believed in a more spontaneous show of thanks, prompted by immediate signs of well-being.

An Earlier Origin?

Was this the beginning of a holiday now observed by millions? Many feel so, but others favor another view. How so?

While admitting that the present celebration has some connection with the Pilgrims, where did these get the idea of a thanksgiving festival? Historians note that ‘harvest festivals’ were among the oldest known holidays. And there were several different harvest celebrations in existence at the time of the Pilgrims.

Of special interest is the fact that the Pilgrims did not flee directly from England to North America. They first fled to Holland. Although religiously free there, they were disappointed with the industrial way of life, the “new” language and their economic circumstances. So from Holland they sailed on The Mayflower to the “New World.” But, argue some, the time in Holland would have brought them in touch with European harvest festivals.

We do know that special celebrations over good harvests had occurred in several of the early American colonies. Hence, the 1621 celebration was not unprecedented.

Eventually this holiday was observed annually in the New England area. However, it was not until 1789 that the first national Thanksgiving Day was proclaimed by George Washington. And, even after that precedent, this practice was not carried on by succeeding presidents. It is claimed that Thomas Jefferson condemned it during his two terms. Finally, as already noted, in 1863 Abraham Lincoln established a yearly national festival, which ensuing presidents have honored.

Opposition and Change

Why did some people oppose the idea? For one thing, many governors felt that it was an example of state interference with religion. Actually, in time the celebration itself became more political.

For example, Mrs. Hale and her supporters intended it to be both a day of patriotism and religion. She wrote in one article: “Then in every quarter of the globe our nationality would be recognized . . . every American . . . would thrill his soul with the purest feelings of patriotism and the deepest emotions of thankfulness for his religious enjoyments.” That this idea was held by others is noted in The American Book of Days: “It has frequently been the custom for clergymen to preach political sermons on Thanksgiving Day. In the early years of the nineteenth century their sermons were extremely partisan.”

Thus time and legend have added much to the celebration. Yet perhaps the most drastic changes are recent ones.

The Present Reality

Today a growing cry is heard against Thanksgiving Day practices. Many feel that current attitudes and customs make it a mockery to call it a “Day of Thanks.” Why so?

In much of the United States, Thanksgiving Day is the beginning of the Christmas season​—a ‘holiday period’ extending through New Year’s Day, January 1. So Thanksgiving (now the fourth Thursday in November) becomes the signal for the commercial world to press for what is called the ‘buying binge.’

Further, for many the day is becoming one for ‘saturating’ the public with sports events. The National Observer told of a man who insisted that his wife quickly feed him during the “half-time” break in the football game. “So after the poor woman had worked many hours preparing the turkey and trimmings, the husband said grace, ate his dinner, and was back in front of the television set​—in nine minutes.”

While this is an extreme case, the increasing emphasis on sports and commercialistic parades has led more and more people away from any attitude of thankfulness. But how has the “secularizing” of the day, as it is politely called, come about?

It ties in with the entire ‘religious picture’ in North America. The public’s view of most churches and their clergy frequently is one of apathy and disdain. Even as one editorial spoke out against “the void Christian churches failed to fill,” it also assailed church leaders who “seemed to prefer to fill their hungry sheep with the most convenient sort of instant political Pablum.”

Alongside disillusionment with most American churches stands the reality of a population no longer agricultural. Less than 6 percent are now involved in farming. Since food obviously does not grow in supermarkets and just pop out of plastic containers, North Americans in ever greater numbers find little reason to contemplate a harvest festival.

Of course, for many the holiday is still a time of family reunion. And there remain those who sincerely view this day as one of thanksgiving to God. But with the rising tide of sports, the frequent gluttony and drunkenness, the trend definitely is in another direction. For a growing majority, having a special meal is the extent of “celebrating” Thanksgiving.

In view of its past associations and present reality, those who seek God’s approval obviously have much to think about as this holiday draws near. The Bible’s position on drunkenness and gluttony is well known. (1 Pet. 4:3; Prov. 23:20, 21) But what is the Scriptural view of such a national thanksgiving day?

A Bible Holiday?

Sarah Hale, in campaigning for a national festival, wrote: “Can we not then, following the appointment of Jehovah in the ‘Feast of Weeks,’ or Harvest Festival, establish our yearly Thanksgiving?” To what was she referring? The belief, still held by some, is that observing a ‘thanksgiving day’ is a Bible command, since Jehovah God instituted a harvest festival with the Mosaic law given to the Jews. (Lev. 23:15-17) Actually, all three of Israel’s primary festivals were directly associated with harvests.​—Ex. 23:14-17.

However, with the teachings of Jesus Christ came a new view of the prescribed Jewish celebrations. Just before his death, Jesus commanded but one celebration. He required his followers to memorialize his death. This observance was made all the more outstanding by its being the only one.​—Luke 22:19, 20.

The apostle Paul, in fact, became concerned about Jewish Christians who still were “scrupulously observing days and months and seasons and years.” He remarked: “I fear for you, that somehow I have toiled to no purpose respecting you.” (Gal. 4:10, 11) Why was Paul so concerned? Because, despite his hard work, these former Jews were clinging to religious observances that God no longer desired. They were missing the “spirit” of Christianity.

The early Christians were admonished to apply the principle found at Ephesians 5:20. In the name of Jesus Christ, they were to ‘give thanks always for all things to their God and Father.’ Yes, an attitude of constant appreciation for God’s provisions and protection was emphasized repeatedly. The words “thanks” and “thanksgiving” are used over forty times in the Christian Greek Scriptures.

On the contrary, the idea of a single day of thanks undoubtedly would have reminded the early Christians of the pagan Romans, who held an annual thanksgiving celebration in December. A writer of the second century noted: “We [Christians] are accused of a lower sacrilege, because we do not celebrate along with you the holidays of the Cæsars in a manner forbidden alike by modesty, decency, and purity.”

What, then, is the modern-day Christian likely to conclude as he views this national holiday? Looking at many of the present practices, he may be reminded of Second Corinthians 6:14, where we read: “Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers. For what fellowship do righteousness and lawlessness have?”

Naturally, many dedicated Christians will not be working secularly on that day. Some may choose to take advantage of this opportunity to enjoy fellowship with family and friends. Yet, what “spirit” will a Christian manifest? It is true that God created turkeys and other foods, so these are not in themselves objectionable. But undoubtedly one who is a true Christian will want to be careful not to stumble others.

Consider what the apostle Paul says, as recorded in First Corinthians, chapter ten. He reasons that Christians should wisely avoid eating before others a perfectly acceptable food if doing so would stumble them. ‘Respect your brother’s conscience’ is the message.

So on November 25, the declared “day of thanks” in 1976, personal decisions need to be made. Dedicated Christians certainly will not want to convey to others the idea that they believe in one-day-a-year gratitude. Really, should not all who profess Christianity encourage a spontaneous spirit of thanksgiving​—from the heart—​the year around?

Habitat Conference​—A Hope for Mankind?

By “Awake!” correspondent in Canada

THE word “habitat” means a place of dwelling, where we live. Mankind’s dwelling place or “home” is the planet Earth generally, and a person’s city or village and house specifically.

Today, mankind’s home is in bad shape and getting worse. Some say the survival of the human family is at stake. That is why the United Nations convened the “Habitat Conference” in mid-1976 at Vancouver, Canada.

“The world is a ship and everyone’s in steerage,” said environmentalist Barbara Ward at the conference. She emphasized the gravity of the condition of the earth as mankind’s home by referring to inferior conditions for living as “steerage.” On oceangoing vessels steerage passengers pay the lowest fares for the poorest quarters.

Many spoke of the conference as the turning point for the United Nations. Why? Because it was felt that the success or failure of the conference would determine whether the U.N. had any relevance to solutions of global problems.

The Goals

The planners of the conference tried to focus attention on the growing problems of urban dwelling. About a hundred years ago there were just eleven cities in the world with a population of one million. But it is predicted that by 1985 there will be 273 cities of that size, 147 of them in less-developed countries.

By the year 2000, if present trends continue, there will actually be more city dwellers than rural in a world population of between six and seven billion. This startling change in human habitat gives rise to many gigantic problems.

Think, for example, of the swallowing up of good farmland by the insatiable demands of growing cities​—more and more people, but less and less land to grow food to feed them. Think, too, of the enormous inflation of land values as good land grows scarce. The sanitary disposal of human waste and the continuous supply of enough clean water are two more growing problems.

Think also of the developing nations. The vast majority of the world’s poor live in rural villages and urban squatter settlements of various non-industrial countries. Can the privileged people of earth be induced to help the deprived? The solutions to such problems were within the goals of Habitat.

It was in this latter respect that Habitat was meant to be different from the five other global conferences held under U.N. auspices in the last ten years. It was strongly oriented to solutions of problems, rather than merely defining them. Also, it was the largest and most representative conference ever held. Teams of delegates from some 140 nations gathered in Vancouver.

Weeks before the delegates arrived, Habitat talk filled the Vancouver newspapers. Street signs and billboards whetted the appetite for the ‘feast’ to come. Flags and pennants fluttered from poles and light standards. An optimistic spirit pervaded the air.

But there was also much skepticism about such a conference. One folk singer, as he plucked out a tune on his guitar, sang: “I’m wondering what they mean in all they say, talk-talk, talk-talk-talk.” His view expressed the sentiments of many.

Main Sessions

The main conference was held at Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Theatre. The meeting started on a note of idealism and hope. In the keynote address Prime Minister Trudeau of Canada said that mankind had entered into an “era of a community of interest vital to the survival of the species.” He urged the world to work toward a “conspiracy of love.”

Other hopeful steps were taken during the week. Resolutions were adopted calling for action against the following problems:

(1) The growth of slums and shantytowns.

(2) The unhealthy exodus of people from country to city.

(3) The excess profits of land speculators.

Other items adopted included a call for pure water for the entire world by 1990, the need to control the conversion of farmland to urban use, incentives to conserve energy and to develop new forms of energy, the encouragement of women to take a greater part in national activities, and the urging of more public involvement in decision-making.

Explosive Issue

However, there were storm warnings against expecting a continuation of goodwill and cooperation. These warnings had to do with the hoped-for consensus on the crucial Declaration of Principles prepared by a committee. Included in this declaration would be an indication of how the nations felt about such things as racial discrimination.

Earlier this year, the United Nations passed a resolution that condemned Zionism as a form of racism and racial discrimination. It was feared that this issue might disrupt the harmony of Habitat. Indeed, newspaper headlines warned against the gathering storm. One said: “Canada Hopeful Habitat Will Shelve Zionist Issue.” Another declared: “Israelis at Habitat Hope for Good Sense Politics.”

Yet the issue of Zionism generated a political storm that threatened to wreck the ship “Habitat.” As early as Day 4 of the conference, scores of “Third World” delegates walked out when the head of the Israeli delegation rose to speak. Moreover, there were demonstrations in the streets over other political issues. And in conference speeches still other political issues were injected into the proceedings. Obviously, the goal to exclude divisive political issues would not be achieved.

As the day approached for presenting the Declaration of Principles, some were still optimistic that a compromise would win general agreement. Feverish behind-the-scene negotiations on the wording of the declaration sought to avoid a split between the so-called “Group of 77” (an association of developing countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America) and the Western bloc over the Zionism issue.

Finally the storm broke. The “new majority” of “Third World” nations​—the “Group of 77”—​had now grown to a group of over a hundred nations. They voted to change the rules from a two thirds majority for passage of a motion to a simple majority. Moreover, they passed a hotly disputed amendment to the Declaration of Principles condemning settlements that consolidate occupations of “lands acquired through coercion and subjugation.” This reference obviously included the Israeli occupation of Arab lands.

On the final day of the conference, the amended Declaration of Principles was presented for approval. At that, ship “Habitat” split apart. Fifteen nations, including Canada, the United States and Israel, refused to vote for the declaration. The chief Canadian delegate called the final result “a matter of very deep regret and sadness.” The United States delegate said: “Continuation of this sort of tactic doesn’t bode well for my country’s support and participation in future U.N. conferences concerned with global problems.” Of course, other nations had differing opinions in this matter.

Once again a major U.N. conference had demonstrated that political fact is a Grand Canyon dividing ideals from reality. In the end, it was a badly split image that Habitat produced. True, many had expressed compassion for the world’s poor. But this ideal was badly obscured by the rivalry of nations. The Canadian prime minister’s hoped-for “conspiracy of love” had turned into a conspiracy of hate. A local columnist stated: “Did we hear​—will history hear—​the death-rattle of the United Nations as we know it?”

Metric​—The Better Way

LEGEND has it that English King Edgar of the tenth century decreed the length of a yard to be the distance from the tip of his royal nose to the end of the middle finger on his outstretched hand. You can imagine how the yardstick must have varied from king to king!

The English also made other attempts to arrive at some sort of standard amid the jumble of weights and measures that prevailed for centuries. As late as the fourteenth century, King Edward II decreed that an inch was the combined length of three barleycorns, round and dry, taken from the center of the ear, and laid end to end.

Confusion reigned world wide for years when it came to doing business using such imprecise and changeable standards. Measures varied from country to country and town to town or even from merchant to merchant! And though the English system today is far more precise than it was then, it still leaves much to be desired.

A Complex System

The United States is the last major country still using the English system as its primary means of measuring. This system complicates the measuring process in several ways:

1. There are more than twenty-five different unit names for the various weights and measures​—miles, pounds, acres, gallons, bushels, and so on and on.

2. Many of the unit names have more than one meaning. For example, there are three kinds of pounds (Avoirdupois, Troy, Apothecary), four kinds of ounces (Avoirdupois, Troy, Apothecary, Fluid), and two kinds of tons (long, short). A quart by liquid measure has almost 15 percent less volume than a quart by dry measure.

3. There is no consistent relationship between the units of any measure: Yards are divided into thirds (feet), feet into twelfths (inches), pounds into sixteenths (ounces), ounces into eighths, sixteenths or twentieths (depending on the measure used), gallons into fourths (quarts), quarts into halves (pints), and so on.

4. There is little or no relationship between measures for length, weight or volume.

Learning such a complex system takes a lot of remembering for youngsters in school. Almost each unit of measure must be learned “from scratch.” Consequently, most people who use the U.S. customary measures learn to use less than half of the different unit names. But there is a better way.

The Metric Way

Back in 1790, shortly after their famous political revolution, the French National Assembly decided that France also needed to revolutionize its confusing system of weights and measures. A new basic unit of measure was chosen, based on something far more stable than the size of men or plants​—the earth itself. It was set at 1/10,000,000 of the distance between earth’s equator and the North Pole, and was called the meter (39.37 inches). Units of area, weight and volume were derived directly from the meter. Unit values were multiplied or divided merely by adding certain prefixes to the basic unit names.

In 1799, when the system finally became a fact for France, it was given the motto: “For all people, for all time.” But even though most of the world adopted the metric system during the ensuing two centuries, major English-speaking countries have been slow to make the change. Britain’s ten-year voluntary changeover plan fell far behind its scheduled 1975 completion, and Canada’s ten-year program has been moving slowly since 1970.

In the United States, the metric system has hardly gotten started. Finally, it was in December of 1975 that Public Law 94168 made the “coordination and planning of increasing use of the metric system” official government policy, and created a Metric Board to oversee an orderly voluntary transition.

What makes the metric system so superior? Why does even a commercial giant like the U.S., whose changeover costs will be huge, make such a change? If you do not already know the answers, you will find the chart at the right helpful. It shows how much simpler the metric system is.

Instead of over twenty-five different unit names, there are just three basic units, with prefixes, in the metric system! The same set of prefixes is used with all three units. The Greek prefixes deca-, hecto- and kilo- increase the units in multiples of ten, and the Latin prefixes deci-, centi- and milli- reduce them by submultiples of ten, as in the decimal system. Note how this is done, as shown in the chart below.

The prefixes hecto-, deca- and deci- are seldom used, so you can get along quite well by learning just the three basic units and three of the prefixes. For scientific and technical work, eight additional prefixes carry the base unit values up and down much further.

Instead of using inches, feet and miles to measure short, medium and long distances, all metric lengths are expressed in meters with the appropriate prefix: centimeters instead of inches, meters instead of feet or yards, and kilometers instead of miles.

Once the length of the meter and its decimal method of scaling up and down were set, the units of weight and volume were derived from it. A cube one centimeter on each edge became the milliliter 1/1,000 of the basic volume unit, the liter. The gram became the weight of this same milliliter filled with water!

Using the System

Not only is the metric system easier to learn, but it is also easier for most to use than the customary system. Fractions are almost eliminated in the metric system. Since every metric unit is a decimal value of those above and below it, most changes between units require only the moving of a decimal point. For example, to convert kilometers to meters just move the decimal point three places to the right, which automatically multiplies it by 1,000: 3.74 kilometers = 3,740 meters.

By contrast, to find the number of yards in 3.74 miles requires first knowing that there are 1,760 yards in a mile, and then multiplying that figure to arrive at 6,582.4 yards​—no small job if you don’t have a calculator handy. A U.S. Department of Commerce publication notes that “one authority is convinced that the U.S. aerospace industry alone would save about $65 million a year in engineers’ time by converting entirely to metric.”

At the supermarket, thrifty shoppers who compare prices will find that they need not convert pounds to ounces (16) or quarts to ounces (32) before dividing into the price to determine price per ounce. The metric weight or volume can be divided directly into the price in each case.

Often unawares, many Americans are already using the metric system. They use 35-millimeter film in their cameras, take 100-milligram doses of vitamins and use shortwave radios whose reception bands are expressed in meters. The events in the last Olympic games were all reported in metric terms. Some U.S. road signs already show both miles and kilometers, as do speedometers on newer cars.

How will people be affected as the metric system puts the other aside? Experience of others indicates that at first they will be prone to make conversions to the old system​—to see a meter as a long yard, a liter as an overgenerous quart, and a gram as the weight of a paper clip. However, as many travelers to Europe will testify, they soon begin to “think metric.” American products using metric specifications will begin to have more appeal on the world market.

Of course, a cup of coffee will still be a cup of coffee, and an inchworm an inchworm. Sayings such as “A miss is as good as a mile” will not be replaced with “A miss is as good as 1.6 kilometers.” But other things will change. A man’s 32-inch waist size will grow to 81 centimeters, while a 140-pound woman would weigh a petite 63.5 kilograms on the metric scale.

So, just as the ancient ephah, cubit and hin became measures that have meaning only to students of the past, eventually the inch, mile and ounce will probably follow those antiquated measures into the pages of history.

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Prefix Means Examples

Kilo 1,000 times kilometer = 1,000 meters

Hecto 100 times hectometer = 100 meters

Deca 10 times decameter = 10 meters

Deci 1/10 of decimeter = .1 meter

Centi 1/100 of centimeter = .01 meter

Milli 1/1,000 of millimeter = .001 meter

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U.S. Customary System Metric System

Length

League Prefix

Mile Plus:

Furlong

Chain

Rod

Fathom Meter

Yard

Foot

Inch

Mil

Weight

Ton

Hundredweight

Pound

Ounce Grama

Dram

Grain

Pennyweight

Scruple

Capacity

Bushel

Peck

Gallon

Quart

Pint Liter

Gill

Fluid Ounce

Fluidram

Minim

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POUND AVDP.

(16 OZ. AVDP.)

KILOGRAM

(35.27 OZ. AVDP.)

Basic metric units compared with U.S. customary measures

YARD (36 IN.)

METER (39.37 IN.)

QUART U.S., LIQ.

(32 OZ. U.S., FLUID)

LITER

(33.81 OZ. U.S., FLUID)

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METER

LITER

GRAM

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MILE

FOOT

POUND

PINT

GALLON

OUNCE

YARD

QUART

BUSHEL

INCH

PECK

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81

63.5

Why Stated in Terms of “Darics”?

● The “daric” was a Persian gold coin. At 1 Chronicles 29:7 part of the contribution for the temple during the reign of King David is given in terms of darics. Since the daric was unknown in David’s time, Ezra, the writer of Chronicles, evidently converted the original figure into terms then current and familiar to his readers. This is somewhat similar to what English translations today have done in stating money values. For example, the Authorized Version speaks of the “denarius” as a “penny.”​—Rev. 6:6.

What Has Happened to the Rhine?

By “Awake!” correspondent in West Germany

MY LAST swim in the Rhine River was in 1949. It took quite an effort to wash off the filth that clung to my body after coming out of the waters. During the past twenty-seven years since then I have often stood on the banks of this great river and reminisced about my childhood days long ago, when the Rhine’s waters were clean and children frolicked on its beaches during summer vacation from school.

But this is no longer true. Today some persons refer to the Rhine as “Europe’s sewer.” As I recollect, the trend toward polluting this river got under way during the 1930’s. At that time industrialization in Germany began making rapid progress. While most Germans have benefited to some extent from industry, its effect upon the Rhine and other bodies of water has been tragic.

Ruining a Natural Cycle

What is responsible for this situation? The physical causes are basically simple. Under normal circumstances a marvelous natural cycle should make a river ‘self-cleaning.’ The cycle begins when aerobic bacteria in the water use oxygen to decompose organic wastes into chemicals that serve as nutrients for algae. Tiny animals called zooplankton eat the algae. Small fish consume the zooplankton. Then large fish eat the small fish. When the large fish die, aerobic bacteria start the cycle all over again. This process works both for natural wastes, such as dead fish, and for much of what is poured into the water by man.

But what happens when industrial plants dump excessive amounts of wastes into a river? This causes the aerobic bacteria to work extra hard in an effort to break them down into either nutrients or other substances harmless to life forms in the waters. Due to the extra burden, these bacteria use up more oxygen than goes back into the river by natural means. Moreover, tens of thousands of tons of wastes gobbled up by the Rhine each day are chemicals that bacteria cannot decompose. Because of these factors, breakdown of the self-cleaning cycle sets in. Water becomes progressively dirtier, and animals and plants die.

Sadly, this has been the fate of the Rhine for more than four decades. For example, in Ludwigshafen on the Rhine is found Europe’s largest chemical plant. According to its own statement, during 1973 this factory disposed of some 314 million cubic yards (240 million cubic meters) of sewage. Now this amount has increased to nearly 334 million cubic yards (255 million cubic meters). Additionally, each day the Rhine transports to the ocean three tons of arsenic, 992 pounds (450 kilograms) of mercury, 60,000 tons of salts from potash mines and huge amounts of other poisonous matter.

Some Cleanup Efforts

There is a serious need to counteract pollution of the Rhine. Nearly 20 million people get their drinking water from this river (after the water is filtered) and industry takes about another 20 billion cubic yards (15 billion cubic meters) of water directly from the Rhine each year. Is there a way to improve the purity of this water?

Some good results have come from sewage treatment plants. These treat wastes before releasing them into the river. In one procedure the wastes are directed through “grit channels” that permit heavy inorganic materials such as sand and gravel to settle out.

Then the sewage goes into a large tank to which air is added. This causes aerobic bacteria to flourish. The mixture then enters an aeration tank, where more compressed air is pumped in. Added at this point is “activated sludge,” which is a solids residue from previously treated wastes. This substance contains further large amounts of aerobic bacteria, which “digest” the solids suspended in the waste water.

In the next step, the mixture goes into a clarification tank where digested solids sink to the bottom. These solids, which are loaded with aerobic bacteria, constitute the activated sludge. This is removed from the bottom of the clarification tank. The liquid that flows out of this tank then receives a chemical treatment to rid it of any dangerous bacteria. After this it can be poured back into the river without causing pollution. As noted above, some of the activated sludge removed from the clarification tank is added in the aeration tank to speed up decomposition of further loads of sewage.

Another sewage treatment process involves what some call the ‘trickling filter.’ In this, liquid wastes coming from a tank trickle over a filter consisting of stone or slag. This filter does not act as a strainer. Instead it provides a surface where aerobic bacteria can flourish. As sewage moves over the filter, bacteria cause organic wastes to decompose.

Obstacles That Impede Progress

No one expects these methods of sewage treatment to restore the Rhine to its original cleanness. Purifying wastes 100 percent would be far too costly to merit consideration. Thus, a sewage treatment plant at the chemical works at Ludwigshafen only partially cleanses wastes. Yet construction of the facility cost 450 million marks?a It requires an additional 70 million marks a year for maintenance, with an energy consumption equivalent to a city with 50,000 inhabitants.

While excess activated sludge can serve a useful purpose as fertilizer, disposing of it incurs additional expenses. Few are likely to favor the expenditures necessary for extensive sewage treatment.

And what about the daily disposal of tens of thousands of tons of chemical wastes that cannot be biologically decomposed? Certain detergents are especially troublesome. They cause mountains of foam that sit atop the waters for long periods of time. And though the foam eventually disappears, the detergents remain as poisonous pollutants. Oil, too, is an offender. Once it gets into a body of water, oil is difficult to remove. Sometimes it seeps into drinking water, making it unusable.

Because of high costs and other problems, many feel that the best approach to reducing the Rhine’s pollution is to cut down on the amount of pollutants dumped into it. But there is little hope of significant progress from this direction. Why? Because it would require many to lower their standard of living. Unfortunately, most individuals would rather endure polluted water than give up the modern conveniences that industry provides. Moreover, merchants who view commercial profit as the all-important goal in life are sure to oppose efforts to cut back on industrial output.

Pollution of the Rhine is just another evidence of human selfishness and greed. The solution to this and other world woes can come only by the hand of Almighty God, when he ‘brings to ruin those ruining the earth.’​—Rev. 11:18.

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NETHERLANDS

BELGIUM

WEST GERMANY

Rhine River

LIECHTENSTEIN

SWITZERLAND

FRANCE

ITALY

Greece Safeguards the Right of Assembling

By “Awake!” correspondent in Greece

TRUE Christianity is not new to Crete, the fifth-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. The apostle Paul, over nineteen hundred years ago, left his fellow worker Titus there to handle problems and to make appointments of elders in the Christian congregations located in various cities on the island. This was no easy task, for the ancient Cretans had a very bad reputation. Even one of their own prophets, evidently Epimenides of the sixth century B.C.E. said: “Cretans are always liars, injurious wild beasts, unemployed gluttons.”​—Titus 1:10-12.

Nevertheless, true Christianity had a wholesome effect upon those Cretans who embraced it. The apostle Paul expected that Titus would be able to find among them men who were of blameless reputation. Instructing his fellow worker as to what to look for in one that could be entrusted with responsibility, Paul wrote: “An overseer [or elder] must be free from accusation as God’s steward, not self-willed, not prone to wrath, not a drunken brawler, not a smiter, not greedy of dishonest gain, but hospitable, a lover of goodness, sound in mind, righteous, loyal, self-controlled.”​—Titus 1:7, 8.

Clergy Attitude

Have the religious leaders in Crete complied with the lofty requirements that Titus looked for in men who could be entrusted with congregation responsibility? The conduct of these religious leaders in connection with a peaceful assembly of Jehovah’s Christian witnesses speaks for itself.

This convention, was scheduled for July 29 to August 1, 1976, in the Ergoteles Stadium at Heraklion, a seaport on the north shore of east central Crete. The assembly program was to be devoted to Bible-based discourses, dramas and skits that developed the theme “Sacred Service.” Strong encouragement would be given throughout the program for all to conform ever closer to Scriptural requirements as parents, marriage mates, children and neighbors. Truly, four days of wholesome Biblical discussion about serving the Most High should have been welcomed by God-fearing persons. The Orthodox clergy in Crete, however, did not feel that way about it.

When preparations for the assembly started at the rented stadium in the middle of July, pressure came from religious circles to get the administration board of the Ergoteles Stadium to break the contract. Such an act would hardly be expected from men who should be examples in righteousness, loyalty and blameless conduct. Commendably, the members of the stadium’s board did not yield to clergy influence but honored their word and their signature affixed to the lease.

The religious leaders next tried to get the local Cretan authorities and the government authorities of Athens to cancel the assembly of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Priests of Heraklion and its suburbs sent the following protest to the city’s prefect, to the public prosecutor and to the gendarmerie governor: “We have the honor to let you know that the priests of the city and suburbs of Heraklion, having convened today, July 16, at 9 a.m. in the Sacred Archbishopric of Crete because of the congress to be held in our city on July 29 to August 1 by the Millennialists or Jehovah’s Witnesses, enemies of our faith and native country, agents of international Zionism, have expressed their indignation at the unacceptable festive manifestations of this scandalous Hebrew-instigated congress, aimed at converting believers, and we also convey our parishioners’ strong protestation. . . . We ask you, therefore, to do whatever is necessary to have this provocative congress canceled; in case the congress takes place, we bear no responsibility for whatever may occur.”

As the time for the assembly to begin drew closer, the clergy and certain members of their flocks continued and intensified their protests. On July 26, for instance, some 5,000 people threatened to destroy the Ergoteles Stadium. But their efforts were thwarted by the police. An Athens newspaper carried the story under the headline “5000 Men Went to ‘Burn’ the Stadium in Heraklion.” Along with the article appeared a picture of clergymen standing outside the stadium.

Despite continued opposition to the assembly, it began on July 29 as scheduled. The police were present to deal with any disturbers who might seek to disrupt the peace of the assembly. All went well the first day until the convention delegates began to leave. Fanatical mobsters threw stones at the cars, causing serious damage to vehicles and injuring conventioners. Police efforts and the orders of the city’s public prosecutor for the rioters to move away did not stop the clergy-incited crowds from continuing to hurl stones.

This mob action was in violation of the decree issued by the chief of the Heraklion gendarmerie. That decree read in part: “We forbid any public gathering in the open or any march of protest by citizens opposing Millennialists [Jehovah’s Witnesses] and aiming at frustrating their congress or causing acts of impropriety against them.” Though violators could be subject to as much as five years’ imprisonment and, in some cases, up to twenty years, the clergy and many fanatical members of their flocks flagrantly disregarded the law. They acted contrary to the Biblical command: “Let every soul be in subjection to the superior authorities,” that is, the governments.​—Rom. 13:1.

On the morning of the second day of the assembly, the Watch Tower Society’s representative, accompanied by two lawyers from Athens, went to the city’s public prosecutor and reported what had taken place. He assured them that steps had been taken to prevent a recurrence of the previous day’s improprieties.

Effect of Clergy Opposition

With the exception of some sporadic shouts and fireworks launched from the streets surrounding the stadium, there were no further noteworthy incidents during the remainder of the assembly. On account of the campaign of intolerance promoted by the clergy, the convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses became known, not only in the whole of Crete, but also throughout Greece. This was because the actions of the clergy were given extensive publicity in the newspapers of Heraklion and Athens.

The publicity revealed that the religious leaders had resorted to lying misrepresentation. Instead of being like the Christians whom Titus appointed as elders, clergymen in Crete conducted themselves as did the ancient Cretans who were censured by one of their own prophets. A case in point was the clergy’s trying to link Jehovah’s Witnesses with Zionism. The newspaper Patris of Heraklion printed a cable message from the Central Israelite Council of Athens that showed up the falsity of the clergy’s claim. The message stated: “With reference to the convened congress of Millennialists, we strongly protest the intolerable attempt to mix up the Jewish religion and Zionism. Millennialism has no relation whatever to Judaism or Zionism, as is known and accepted world wide.”

To their credit, the majority of Heraklion’s polite and hospitable inhabitants were not in sympathy with the lawless conduct of the intolerant clergy and those whom they incited to mob action. Many expressions of disapproval were heard. One shopkeeper remarked to the Witnesses: “I congratulate you for your unblamable attitude.”

The lying propaganda and lawless actions of the clergy thus provided opportunity for people to see for themselves where real Christianity is practiced. The religious leaders certainly failed to measure up to the Biblical requirements for elders. Instead of maintaining irreprehensible conduct, they behaved in a most reproachful way and incited others to commit lawless deeds. But, happily, their intolerance was thwarted, as the governmental authorities had the courage to stand up for right principle and did not allow themselves to be intimidated by threats and mob action.

Regarding the intolerant clergy of Crete, it may well be asked, Could one expect to receive sound Christian teaching from such blameworthy men? Rather, would it not be among those who peacefully assembled to hear about sacred service to God that we should expect to learn the teachings of first-century Christianity?

A Fish That Can Live out of Water

“A FISH out of water.” That expression clearly conveys the idea of helplessness. Most people do not expect a fish to survive very long outside its watery home. But what would you think of one that can breathe for days out of water? And what if someone said that it could walk overland and even climb a tree? Would you believe all of that?

Well, back in the year 1797, a certain Lieutenant Daldorf, who was with the Danish East India Company, introduced such a fish to the world in general. While at Tranquebar, India, he wrote about a fish said to climb palm trees and dine on their succulent juices. In fact, he reported finding such a creature up in a palm’s bark.

Getting Acquainted

Scientifically, that fabled fish is called Anabas testudineus. But it is much better known as the climbing perch. For these fish, life begins when the female lays eggs on the water’s surface. There they float for about a day before hatching. Eventually, the young grow into adults somewhat over nine inches (22.8 centimeters) in length.

Basically gray-green in color and having brown fins, the climbing perch is a freshwater fish. Some species are found in Africa, others in southern Asia. Their food? Mainly insects, snails and shrimps. There is nothing spectacular about the external appearance of the climbing perch. But an internal checkup is quite revealing.

How Can It Breathe out of Water?

Most fish breathe by absorbing into their bloodstreams the gases present in the waters they inhabit. However, above the normal gill chambers, the climbing perch has a special compartment that enables it to breathe even out of water. This unusual upper portion of the gill cavity contains bony plates covered with a membrane having a network of blood vessels. Air gulped by the fish passes into this section through a valved opening. Once spent, it is expelled through the gills.

Though the climbing perch also has regular gills, these are small. So, to obtain sufficient oxygen and survive even in water, the fish must come to the surface to swallow air from time to time. In fact, if it were held under the water, this fish would drown.

For the fish seller, the climbing perch is a delight. People find it a desirable food, and he has no trouble keeping a fresh supply on hand. Why, the climbing perch easily lives a day or two in a moist container! But there had better be a lid on it. Otherwise, the merchandise is liable to climb right out and ‘walk’ off!

How Does It ‘Walk’?

The climbing perch may leave a pond that is drying up and travel overland, apparently in search of another watery home. En route, it may dine on earthworms. This fish is no speedster on land. But it is not a failure either. The climbing perch has journeyed a hundred yards (91 meters) in about a half hour. Yet, how does it ‘walk’?

This unusual fish has gill covers with spines that project backward. These gill covers​—one on each side of the head—​are extended and alternately dug into the earth. This enables the fish to remain upright while moving forward, flopping first to one side, then to the other. With its tail pushing forcefully, the climbing perch is sure to make headway. This mode of travel may be a little awkward, but it certainly is effective.

Do They Really Climb Trees?

There is little doubt that these extraordinary fish can make their way up a tree trunk that is leaning over somewhat. Reportedly, however, the climbing perch has ascended upright trees for some five to seven feet (1.5 to 2.1 meters). Can these fish really climb that high?

Back in 1927, India’s fish expert Dr. B. K. Das found that at least some climbing perches received a little help to get into trees. As the fish were traveling overland, kites and crows swooped down and caught some of them. These birds deposited the fish in various places, putting a number of them high up in the trees.

Nevertheless, this surprising fish is said to make its way up mangrove trees, searching for tasty insects. Moreover, the Malayans call it undi-colli, that is, “the fish that climbs palmyra trees.” Some say that it climbs coconut palms to sip the milk. “A climbing perch has been found 7 feet [2.1 meters] up a palm-tree,” reported Frank W. Lane, “and an official of the Madras Fisheries once trained some of these fish to ascend a nearly vertical sheet of cloth dipped into the water of the aquarium in which they lived.”

Today some prefer to call this fish the walking perch. But the name climbing perch remains popular. Though its tree-trunk wanderings may be somewhat rare, this aquatic creature still has some claim to fame as a fish that can live out of water.

‘Throwing Bread to Little Dogs’

■ A Syrophoenician woman once approached Jesus Christ with the request that he please free her daughter from demon possession. At first he declined, saying: “It is not right to take the bread of the children and throw it to little dogs.” (Matt. 15:26) Why did Jesus Christ say this?

As he explained to this non-Jewish woman, he had been sent exclusively “to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” (Matt. 15:24) The Jews generally viewed a non-Jew as being like a ceremonially unclean animal, a dog. However, in using the expression “little dogs,” Jesus Christ was not being unduly harsh. He was referring to dogs that might be kept in a home and not to wild dogs of the street. Still, Jesus’ words evidently served to test the faith of the Syrophoenician woman. And she revealed both a right spirit and a strong faith. Drawing on the words of Jesus, she replied: “Yes, Lord; but really the little dogs do eat of the crumbs falling from the table of their masters.” (Matt. 15:27) On hearing this, Jesus Christ commended her great faith and healed her daughter.​—Matt. 15:28.

What Is the Bible’s View?

Does Christianity Have a Visible Symbol?

THROUGHOUT human history the religions of the world have featured numerous visible symbols. Stars, moon crescents, fish, dragons, gargoyles​—these and many other symbols have appeared in the writings and art of the world’s religious systems.

Is there a visible symbol for Christianity? Do you think of the cross? What about the figure of a fish, which appears on some ancient artifacts associated with Christians? Or is there perhaps some other visible symbol representative of Christianity?

Let us consider first the cross. Many English translations of the Christian Scriptures employ the word “cross” for the instrument upon which Jesus was nailed to die. (Phil. 2:8, Authorized Version) But was it really cross-shaped?

The Imperial Bible-Dictionary points out: “The Greek word for cross, staurós, properly signified a stake, an upright pole, or piece of paling, on which anything might be hung, or which might be used in impaling [fencing in] a piece of ground. . . . Even amongst the Romans the crux (from which our [word] cross is derived) appears to have been originally an upright pole.” It is true that on occasion these terms were used to refer also to cross-shaped objects. In these cases, however, the contexts of accounts employing these words describe crosses. But that is not the basic meaning of either the Greek staurós or the Latin crux.

Furthermore, the Bible also designates the instrument upon which Jesus died by the Greek word xylon. According to a Greek-English lexicon by Liddell and Scott, this word means “wood . . . II. a stick or piece of wood . . . III. later, a tree.” In the Authorized Version this word is rendered as “tree,” as at Acts 5:30, where we read: “The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.”​—See also Acts 13:29; Galatians 3:13; 1 Peter 2:24, AV.

But do not writers early in the Common Era claim that Jesus died on a cross? For example, Justin Martyr (114-167 C.E.) described in this way what he believed to be the type of stake upon which Jesus died: “For the one beam is placed upright, from which the highest extremity is raised up into a horn, when the other beam is fitted on to it, and the ends appear on both sides as horns joined on to the one horn.” This indicates that Justin himself believed that Jesus died on a cross.

However, Justin was not inspired by God, as were the Bible writers. He was born more than eighty years after Jesus’ death, and was not an eyewitness of that event. It is believed that in describing the “cross” Justin followed an earlier writing known as the “Letter of Barnabas.” This non-Biblical letter claims that the Bible describes Abraham as having circumcised three hundred and eighteen men of his household. Then it derives special significance from a Greek-letter cipher for 318, namely, IHT. The writer of this apocryphal work claims that IH represents the first two letters of “Jesus” in Greek. The T is viewed as the shape of Jesus’ death stake.

Concerning this passage, M’Clintock and Strong’s Cyclopædia states: “The writer evidently was unacquainted with the Hebrew Scriptures, and has [also] committed the blunder of supposing that Abraham was familiar with the Greek alphabet some centuries before it existed.” A translator into English of this “Letter of Barnabas” points out that it contains “numerous inaccuracies,” “absurd and trifling interpretations of Scripture,” and “many silly vaunts of superior knowledge in which its writer indulges.” Would you depend on such a writer, or persons who followed him, to provide accurate information about the stake on which Jesus died?

The cross did not become popular as a symbol in Christendom until the fourth century C.E., when Roman emperor Constantine adopted the labarum, a flag bearing the symbol [Artwork​—Greek character]. However, this represented, not Jesus’ death stake, but the Greek letters khi (X) and hro (P) one atop the other. Many began to view this symbol as depicting the first two letters of the Greek word for Christ (XRistos).a

What about the symbol of a fish? Objects dated as far back as the second century C.E. have been found bearing this figure along with the Greek word for fish, ICHTHÝS. This is understood by many as a cipher for the Greek expression Iesous CHristos THeou Yios Soter, meaning “Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.” Is the fish a truly Christian symbol?

According to The Interpreter’s Dictionary of the Bible, fish frequently appear in ancient pagan symbolism, often apart from water scenes. “In such cases,” notes this reference work, “it would seem to have symbolic significance, possibly to represent deity, power, fecundity, etc.”

The same publication further notes that certain Jews adopted use of the fish symbol from pagan religious customs, adding: “It is probable that the considerations mentioned [in this regard] account in part for the appearance of the fish in the art of the oldest Christian catacombs. How early the Greek word for ‘fish’ (ichthýs) came to be interpreted as a cipher for ‘Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior’ . . . we do not know; but once this identification was made, the fish became a standard Christian symbol.”

The Bible, however, sets forth no visible symbol for Christianity. Christians today, therefore, must be on guard not to adopt such a symbol. For example, watchtower-like designs appear on some buildings and Kingdom Halls of Jehovah’s Witnesses. There is nothing wrong with these in themselves. Possibly they may help persons to identify property owned by Jehovah’s Witnesses. However, at no time should anyone look upon such things with reverence, as if they were a visible sign of Christianity. Jesus taught that, rather than through visible symbols, “by this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love among yourselves.”​—John 13: 35.

While visible symbols have always been a feature of non-Biblical religions, they were absent from Christianity at its beginning. As in the first century C.E., so today, true Christians must conform to the Scriptural standard: “We are walking by faith, not by sight.”​—2 Cor. 5:7.

[Footnotes]

“Crosses were used as symbols of the Babylonian sun-god, [Artwork​—Symbol], and are first seen on a coin of Julius Caesar. 100-44 B.C., and then on a coin struck by Caesar’s heir (Augustus), 20 B.C. On the coins of Constantine the most frequent symbol is [Artwork​—Greek character]; but the same symbol is used without the surrounding circle, and with the four equal arms vertical and horizontal; and this was the symbol specially venerated as the ‘Solar Wheel’. It should be stated that Constantine was a sun-god worshipper, and would not enter the ‘Church’ till some quarter of a century after his having seen such a cross in the heavens. . . . The Lord was put to death upon an upright stake, and not on two pieces of timber placed at any angle.”

Watching the World

$25,000 Honesty

◆ What would you do if you found $25,000 in cash on the street? A Brooklyn deliveryman spotted a canvas bag tagged with the notation of this amount. It had fallen unnoticed out of an armored truck during a minor accident. The 27-year-old deliveryman, reports the New York Post, “a Jehovah’s Witness with three children, detoured off his route and took the bag, with $25,000 in bills no larger than $20, to the Elmhurst [police] stationhouse in Queens.” Marveled the detective there: “In 18 years on the job I’ve never seen anything like this. If I’m here 18 more years I doubt I’ll see it again.” But the deliveryman’s wife told the Post: “It was an easy decision. According to the Bible, it was the right thing to do.”

Widest Wealth Gap

◆ Among Western nations the French have the widest after-tax income gap between the rich and the poor, according to a study released by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development in Paris. The report reveals that the richest 10 percent of households in France have almost 22 times the after-tax income of the poorest 10 percent, while in the Netherlands and Sweden the gap is less than one third as great. The richest 10 percent in Norway, Germany, Britain and Japan make around 10 times as much as the poorest 10 percent, and in Canada, Australia and the United States they make over 15 times as much. Spain is the only Western country that approaches the French wage gap, with after-tax income of the wealthy group 19 times that of the poor.

Sun over Japan

◆ A Tokyo District Court recently ruled that “sunshine is essential to a comfortable life, and therefore a citizen’s right to enjoy sunshine at his home should be duly protected by law.” The court awarded four neighbors of a nine-story city industrial exhibition hall nearly $7,000 for their loss of sunshine in its shadow. Much of earthquake-prone Tokyo is covered with thousands of one- or two-story homes and shops, but better construction methods and land scarcity are pushing buildings higher and bringing more “sunshine” lawsuits.

Why So Much Unemployment?

◆ During the past ten years the American labor force has grown more than one third faster (proportionally) than the population, according to figures cited in The Wall Street Journal. Behind this growth is the fact that female workers have increased two and a half times faster (proportionally) than males during the same period. The Journal suggests that the need for more than one breadwinner to ‘make ends meet,’ increasing freedom from housework because of modern conveniences, and the fact that today’s jobs can readily be handled by women are all factors in the female worker boom. If the work force had grown in parallel with the population, notes the Journal, there would be only two million people looking for work instead of about 7-1/2 million.

Language of the People

◆ This year, for the first time, Greece is using the common spoken language, demotiki, in school textbooks and legislation drafted in Parliament. Until now, these have been written in katharevusa, an artificial language based on ancient Greek. It was devised after the formation of modern Greece in the 1830’s because the spoken language was considered too degenerated to represent the ‘reincarnation of ancient Greece’ properly.

“It was a silly, romantic idea,” says Greek teacher and author Harry T. Hionides. “Europe told us we were the inheritors of ancient Greece, and we believed them.” Katharevusa “became the badge of the educated elite and an important source of power and profit because the common people could not read the newspapers, the laws or even the instructions on a medicine bottle,” notes the report in the New York Times.

Knitting for Rubles

◆ “Strong healthy people are quitting jobs, plunging into knitting with an overwhelming passion,” reports the Soviet newspaper Pravda about inhabitants of the Northern Caucasus mountain area. “They knit at home, in the street, during a movie, at the club, in a store and in any other situation with enviable speed.” Why the avid interest in knitting? A hobby catching on? No. Apparently demand in the far north for warm sweaters, shawls, stockings and caps is great enough to bring high profits to these enterprising Soviets. “There was a time when only grandmothers were engaged but their monopoly has been broken,” said Pravda.

Out in the Open

◆ The prominent Episcopal priest Malcolm Boyd proudly has announced his homosexuality. He became widely known for his unorthodox book of prayers titled “Are You Running With Me, Jesus?” Boyd says that he does not expect any reprisals from the church. His superior, New York Episcopal bishop Paul Moore, stated earlier this year that the ordination of avowed lesbian Ellen Barrett as a deaconess “is a healthy development in our culture and our church.” Priest Boyd says that “it’s usually assumed that 10 per cent of the population is homosexual. In large urban centers I think the figure probably is higher than that among Episcopal priests.”

Food for Work

◆ In 1975 the impoverished nation of Bangladesh began a “food-for-work” program, offering six pounds of wheat for each ton of earth a worker moved in flood-control projects. About two million of the nation’s seven million unemployed dredged canals and built levees to help to control yearly monsoon floods.

It is reported that already about 1,500 miles (2,414 kilometers) of canals and 1,850 miles (2,977 kilometers) of embankments have been completed. “More earth has been dug up for the canals and embankments than was dug for the building of the Panama Canal,” declared a U.N. adviser on the scene. The very fertile land could produce far more food if floodwaters can be controlled, but he estimates that it would still take five years to reach self-sufficiency in food at the present rate of improvement.

“Poor but Happy”?

◆ Dr. George Gallup presented results from the first worldwide public opinion poll to a U.S. Senate committee recently. “It was hoped that somewhere in the world a nation would be found whose people are poor but happy,” he said. “We didn’t find such a place.” Gallup told the senators that his poll takers were appalled with the “amount of poverty in the world today. It is difficult for people in the advanced industrial nations to realize how many persons in the world face a daily struggle to get enough to eat.”

Tilting Rival

◆ Italy’s leaning Tower of Pisa has a rival in India. The 71-meter (233-foot) Qutab Minar near New Delhi now leans over 94 centimeters (37 inches) from center. The 775-year-old column has moved 30 centimeters (12 inches) in the last 12 years. It still has a long way to go to equal the leaning of Italy’s 600-year-old tower, though. That 54-meter (177-foot) structure already tilts 5.2 meters (17 feet) from vertical.

Immorality Backfires

◆ Content in the belief that gonorrhea can be cured with a dose of penicillin, many millions world wide continue engaging in promiscuous sex. But now, it is reported, a new strain of gonorrhea actually destroys penicillin! Gonorrhea is already considered to be a pandemic earth wide and is classified as a national epidemic in the U.S., with a million reported cases in 1975 plus up to an estimated two million unreported. Says a New York health official: “It’s out of control now; then [if the new strain spreads] the disease will just basically [spread] out of sight.”

Ramadan Fervor

◆ When the wives of two Turkish Moslems failed to observe fasting correctly during the holy month of Ramadan, their more pious husbands killed them. The Daily Milliyet of Istanbul reported that one of the Orthodox Moslems reacted to his wife’s refusal​—and her lateness at setting table to break the fast after sunset—​with a shotgun blast. The other also ended a heated argument over fasting with a gun. They were arrested.

Calling It like It Is

◆ Church fund raising has an interesting twist in Hartford, Connecticut. TV Guide magazine lists a two-day television special that solicits loans from viewers to be used by the local Catholic Archdiocese. “People lend money to the Archdiocese, which then invests it, uses the interest it accrues and returns it,” says the listing. The fund raiser is appropriately called a ‘BEGathon.’

Putting on Airs

◆ How do air quality ratings offered by newscasters in one American city compare with ratings given in other cities? They often do not, according to the magazine Environmental Action. It notes that an index reading of 25 was found to mean “‘excellent’ air quality in Cincinnati, ‘normal’ in Miami, ‘severe’ pollution in San Francisco, and ‘unhealthy’ in New York.” A government task force recommends that a uniform air-pollution index be adopted nationwide.

Moscow Bans Café Smoking

◆ Rather than mandating nonsmoking areas in restaurants, as is often done in the U.S., Moscow’s Municipal Council reportedly has banned smoking altogether in the dining areas of the city’s restaurants. Smoking will be allowed only in rest rooms and special smoking foyers required by the law for that purpose.

Government Spending

◆ The United States Congress recently voted to spend over $400 billion during the fiscal year beginning October 1. U.S. News & World Report notes that it took 186 years to reach the first $100 billion budget in 1962, nine years to reach $200 billion, four years to reach $300 billion, and just two years to reach the present $413 billion. This amounts to an average of over $7,500 per family of four in just one year! About a fourth of this amount goes for military spending alone.

TV Phenomenon

◆ No major invention has so quickly caught the world’s fancy as television. Invented in 1926, it is a relative latecomer, compared to the telephone (1861) and the automobile (1885). Yet television sets world wide already number about 364 million, while there are only about 360 million telephones and 300 million automobiles after many more years of existence.

Twenty-Year Oversight

◆ Florida surgeons removed a six-inch surgical clamp from a woman’s stomach. It was accidentally left there during an operation 20 years ago. The clamp appeared on an X ray taken during a recent intestinal infection. “She was very fortunate” that it had not caused any damage, observed a spokesman for the surgeons.

Welcome to the City

◆ An 18-year-old Florida youth visiting relatives in Brooklyn, New York, was given a rude reception in the big city. The same group of young hoodlums accosted him on three separate occasions within seven hours, beating and robbing him. The last two beatings took place, in turn, as he was returning from hospital treatment for the previous beating.

Save the Tigers

◆ The Bengal tigers of the Sundarbans, mangrove swamps and forests near the Bay of Bengal, are said to devour about forty of the local humans every year. Indian officials theorize that it is the area’s briny water that stimulates the animals’ desire for human flesh. So, rather than kill the endangered species, they planned to have forestry workers construct giant troughs to hold fresh water for the thirsty tigers.

What About Dating?

When did this custom originate? Is it practiced world wide? Is dating good preparation for marriage?

The new 192-page book Your Youth​—Getting the Best out of It considers such matters. Get your copy. Read the chapters “Dating and Courtship” and “Can You Succeed in Marriage?” Send only 25 cents.

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What Force Is Behind All This?

Is it the same force as that behind the coming new order, which will bring peaceful conditions to earth?

Where does this force originate? How can it usher in a righteous and workable new order?

You can find the answers to these and many other questions in the new 192-page, hard-cover book Holy Spirit​—The Force Behind the Coming New Order! A copy will be sent, postpaid, for just 25 cents.

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