November 8

Life at Home Can Be Joyful

“SURVEY SAYS HOME MOST VIOLENT PLACE IN NATION.” “REPORT LINKS MURDERS WITH DOMESTIC QUARRELS.” Headlines such as these indicate that severe crises have developed in many households.

The article introduced by the first of those headlines noted that “about one out of every 100 husbands and wives had gone beyond slapping, kicking or throwing things at a spouse and said that they had been beaten up or had beaten up their spouse in the previous year.” Dr. Richard J. Gelles of the University of Rhode Island noted that “a million kids are growing up facing parents who are using guns and knives on them​—not just threatening but they have actually used a gun or knife on them.”

It is nothing new for people to have difficulties in getting along with members of their own households. There is a well-known saying: “Familiarity breeds contempt.”

What about your household? Do members of your family enjoy talking together and doing things with one another? Or do you find that they seek their closest friendships outside the family circle? Sadly, this is happening in an increasing number of families today. But why?

Some Reasons for Family Tension

Have you noticed that, at times, certain members of households display personal habits that are bothersome to the rest of the family? The bad habits may involve sloppy table manners, refusal to do one’s share of work around the house, or perhaps insistence on staying up late and making noise while others are trying to sleep.

There are some who make a practice of magnifying the shortcomings of others while overlooking their own. This can create tension in a household. Persons constantly criticized often retaliate by themselves becoming critical of the faultfinder. This sets in motion a cycle of seemingly endless bickering that robs homelife of joy. Likely you know families in just such a rut.

In other homes, individuals may tend to isolate themselves by pursuing private interests to the exclusion of the rest of the household. For example, parents and children alike may become virtually oblivious to one another due to excessive television viewing, listening to music or pursuing a favorite hobby.

What effect can such self-interest isolation have on family relationships? Well, how do you feel when someone ignores you? There is danger of developing the viewpoint, ‘If he doesn’t care about me, why should I care about him?’

Many homes are afflicted with problems such as these. They can erode family relationships to the point that the house serves as little more than a ‘filling station’ for eating, and a place for sleeping.

What causes so many families to deteriorate in ways such as these? The Bible blames a dangerous mental attitude, one that is characteristic of all humans to some extent. What attitude is that?

A Dangerous Mental Attitude

The apostle Paul struck at the root of most problems with human relationships when he wrote: “I tell everyone there among you not to think more of himself than it is necessary to think.” (Rom. 12:3) The attitude that Paul desired to combat was thinking too much of oneself. This often shows up when people live closely together. Many find it easy to be courteous and humble with strangers and casual acquaintances. However, a person’s conduct at home may reveal that his “real self” manifests a haughty spirit.

An individual who has an inflated view of himself will not be inclined to adjust his personal habits and idiosyncrasies. If they annoy others, he views it as just too bad. And what of those who isolate themselves from others, preferring things such as business, reading, entertainment or some hobby in place of close personal relationships with their marriage mate and family? Here too the problem is that of viewing one’s personal interests as more important than those of others.

An Important Change of Viewpoint

Making homelife joyful calls for a basic change of attitude on the part of everyone in the family. The Bible helps people to achieve this by stating: “For there is no man righteous in the earth that keeps doing good and does not sin.” (Eccl. 7:20) That is certainly true! So an individual aware of his inherited imperfections should not stubbornly insist on doing things his own way. Instead, there should be a desire to correct habits that are troublesome to others. And a person who acknowledges his own imperfections should not expect others to display perfection. Instead of being a chronic faultfinder, such a person should heed the admonition of Jesus:

“Stop judging that you may not be judged; . . . Why, then, do you look at the straw in your brother’s eye, but do not consider the rafter in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Allow me to extract the straw from your eye’; when, look! a rafter is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First extract the rafter from your own eye, and then you will see clearly how to extract the straw from your brother’s eye.”​—Matt. 7:1-5

The apostle Paul provided a further important principle that can make life at home joyful when he wrote: “Let each one keep seeking, not his own advantage, but that of the other person.” Do “nothing out of contentiousness or out of egotism, but with lowliness of mind considering that the others are superior to you, keeping an eye, not in personal interest upon just your own matters, but also in personal interest upon those of the others.”​—1 Cor. 10:24; Phil. 2:3, 4.

Do you feel that way about persons with whom you live? Indicative of your attitude is the way in which you respond when family members speak to you. An unselfish person is a good listener. Rather than ‘tuning out’ when spoken to or trying to placate the speaker with an occasional “uh-huh,” he will exercise self-discipline, to develop a genuine interest in what members of his household talk about. A person who truly ‘considers that others are superior’ will not habitually withdraw himself into television viewing, a hobby or other private interest. Instead, he will be thinking of what to say and do that can benefit those with whom he lives.

The Need to Show Honor

A related Bible principle states: “In brotherly love have tender affection for one another. In showing honor to one another take the lead.” (Rom. 12:10) One who wishes to heed that counsel will not be inclined to berate family members, calling them “stupid” or anything else of a derogatory nature.

When striving to show honor to one another, it is important to include children. Though youngsters can be trialsome at times, never should adults treat the little ones as “second-class” human beings. Beware of making a practice of insulting children with invectives such as: “You little imp! You’re bad, bad, BAD!” The sad consequence may be a child who becomes convinced that he can do nothing right. This can destroy the youngster’s desire even to try. A better approach to a misbehaving child could be something like this: “You’re a good boy. But you’re acting so badly today. It’s not like you to do that. And you must stop it right now!”

Persons who apply these Bible principles may find it discouraging if others in the household are slow to respond in kind. If they do not, one can have the satisfaction of knowing that he is pleasing God and trying to do what is right. The Scriptural advice is: “If someone, because of conscience toward God, bears up under grievous things and suffers unjustly, this is an agreeable thing.”​—1 Pet. 2:19.

Life at home truly can be joyful. To make it so, however, family members must develop the correct mental attitude toward themselves and others. They must be unselfish, not selfish. Why not set aside some time right now for meditating on the Scriptural principles discussed in this article. Then put them to work in your own life.

Malnutrition​—The Creeping Sickness

By “Awake!” correspondent in the Philippines

LITTLE Nonoy’s mother was worried about him. He was small for his age and did not run around like other boys. Instead, he was lethargic and listless. He was so skinny it seemed that you could count all his bones, and yet his mother always gave him all he wanted to eat. His hair was thin, and he had swellings on his limbs. Finally, she took him to a doctor and found that he was suffering from one of the most common diseases in the world​—the creeping sickness of malnutrition.

An estimate last year suggested that perhaps one eighth of mankind have this disease, while recently at the United Nations it was stated that reportedly ninety million children like Nonoy are suffering from it in moderate to severe forms. Certainly, malnutrition is a staggering problem in this twentieth century.

According to a recent publication of the Nutrition Center of the Philippines, “malnutrition is a state of ill-health resulting from the lack or excess [as in obesity] of essential nutrients that the body needs.” Most people know that food is made up of various elements such as proteins, calories and vitamins that are necessary for proper health and growth. If these are not available in correct amounts, the effects can be serious, especially among growing children.

The symptoms of malnutrition among children like Nonoy can be stunted growth, continuous decline in weight, poor mental performance and low resistance to infections, leading, perhaps, to diseases like pneumonia and tuberculosis. Among adults it can impair mental and physical development and productivity, shorten the span of working years and result in a lack of inventiveness and imagination. Goiter (lack of iodine), blindness (lack of vitamin A) and a lack of stamina (iron deficiency) are other manifestations.

A recent World Bank Country Economic Report estimated that this disease is costing the Philippines four billion pesos (about $540,000,000 [U.S.]) annually. Here, more than three million of the almost nine million children between six months and six years of age suffer from moderate or severe malnutrition. Three out of four are anemic and the same number suffer from vitamin A deficiency. Fifty percent of all deaths registered annually are of children under five years of age, and half of these deaths are due to diseases aggravated by malnutrition. Less than one third of all children in the country reach what is considered “optimum growth.”

Handling the Problem

Many individual countries, including the Philippines, are fighting back. Here a special organization is being set up to reach into the small towns and barrios (villages) in an effort to locate and solve the problem.

How do you go about finding out who is suffering from malnutrition in a country of forty-two million inhabitants? In the Philippines it is being done by concentrating on the children. Operation Timbang (“Weight”) has been launched to weigh as many preschool children as possible and in this way locate the undernourished. In one typical barrio, 5 percent of the infants up to seven months of age were suffering from third-degree malnutrition, 22 percent from second-degree and 50 percent from first-degree malnutrition. According to this scale, a well-nourished child should weigh between 91 and 110 percent of his ideal weight. A child between 76 and 90 percent is said to suffer from first-degree malnutrition; between 61 and 75 percent is second-degree malnutrition; while a youngster 60 percent of ideal weight or below is considered malnourished to the third degree.

For severely malnourished children, food intervention programs, as well as emergency treatment, are being tried. Also, there is a general program aimed at eliminating the causes of malnutrition. A severely malnourished child like Nonoy may be helped by temporary food assistance program, giving him either locally grown foods of those donated through foreign organizations. His mother may be taught how to feed her child to restore him and to prevent a relapse. She is advised to give him foods like rice, corn, root crops and sugar, boiled fish, ground dried fish, mungo (like lentils) or other dried beans, as well as cooking oil. Where possible, a badly malnourished child is taken into Malward, a hospital malnutrition ward set up especially to restore undernourished children to health. Sometimes, when the government helps to feed a child, the parents think that it is no longer their responsibility. So, developing the parents’ sense of responsibility is an important part of this program.

Dealing with the Causes

Probably more far-reaching is the effort to remove the causes of malnutrition. One of these is poverty. What can be done if there just is not enough money to pay all the food bills?

In the Bicol region of the Philippines, researchers brought in a computer to examine the program, using what is called “Linear Programming.” Feeding the computer data about all the foods in that area, they calculated the cheapest possible diet that would provide enough nutrition for a family of six. But even with very skillful shopping, the average man, with an average wage for that region, could not give his family all that they needed. According to the computer, the best he could do was to supply 82 percent of the family’s calorie needs, 89 percent of the protein needs and even less of their needs for other nutrients. Only in vitamin C and iron could he feed his family properly.

To help to solve this problem, families and communities in the countryside are being encouraged to become more self-sufficient by growing food on any small plot of land that they may have. Schools are urged to undertake gardening projects, both to educate the children and to increase the quantity of food available to the community. At the same time, the government wants to move poor families who live in the cities out of the slums and set up businesses and cooperatives through which they can earn more money.

Education’s Role

An educational campaign also is under way in the schools, through the news media, and so forth, to explain just what foods are necessary for a family. Foods are divided into three groups: body building, energy giving and regulating. The regulating foods are rich in vitamins and minerals, and are helpful in preventing sores, night blindness, anemia, goiter and beriberi. Typical body-building foods in the Philippines are meats, fish, milk, beans, nuts and eggs. Energy-giving foods include rice, corn, bread, noodles, coconut oil, sugar and root crops like camote (sweet potato). Among regulating foods are green leafy vegetables, yellow vegetables like calabasa (squash) and carrots, as well as such fruits as mango, guava, melon, papaya and banana.

Proper preparation of food is important. So housewives are being encouraged to wash vegetables thoroughly before peeling, and to cook them immediately thereafter, so that all the water-soluble minerals are not lost.

Young nutritionists trying to teach cooking to experienced older housewives are not always well received. At one cooking demonstration, a lola (grandmother) exclaimed: “Why should I start cooking differently at my age? I brought my children up cooking food my way, and now I cook the same way for their children, and they like it. If I change now, maybe they won’t eat what I cook. Then they’ll get thin and you’ll have a bigger problem!”

Sometimes parents will not believe that their children are malnourished. When, as in one region, 80 percent of the preschool children are found to be malnourished in one way or another, malnutrition seems to be accepted as normal.

Often, too, parents like Nonoy’s mother will underestimate the protein needs of a child. In fact, the extreme protein deficiency disease called “kwashiorkor” reportedly gets its name from an African word meaning “the sickness of the older child when the next baby is born.” When the child is weaned​—very often because there is now a newer baby needing the mother’s milk—​the only food that he gets may be watered-down milk or rice water. Sometimes he will not get solid food until after his first year. Of course, when the child’s stomach is filled, and he may not feel hungry, the mother, who certainly loves her child, does not realize that he is becoming malnourished.

In a certain case, a family might sit down to a meal of fish and rice (good body-building and energy-giving foods). The men of the family, however, get most of the fish, since they have to work in the fields, while the children merely get a little to help down the rice. Such parents do not understand that children need body-building foods for proper growth and mental development.

Even though hundreds of millions of pesos are scheduled to be spent by the central and local governments, in addition to money originating with contributions from private organizations and foreign aid, the problem of malnutrition may be getting bigger. The birthrate in the country is quite high. Hence, part of the drive against malnutrition has involved the encouraging of family planning.

What Can the Individual Do?

What can be done by a person living in an area where there is malnutrition? The general advice given is to be balanced. One should accept counsel and not let time-honored practices block new ideas. A person should eat a variety of the foods available, and should remember that growing children need body-building foods. Hence, they should have their proper share of the family food supply. This especially applies to pregnant and nursing women.

If there is garden space, use it to add to the family food supply. Perhaps you can grow some vegetables or fruit, or maybe raise chickens. A wage earner should also make the best use of his money, possibly buying a little less rice, but more body-building foods. And certainly he should avoid buying a radio and a television set on the installment plan, while the children are eating just plain rice!

Christians here in the Philippines are very encouraged by the promise of Jesus Christ: “Keep on, then, seeking first the kingdom [of God] and his righteousness, and all these other things will be added to you.” (Matt. 6:33) They know that by putting spiritual things first in life, it is possible for them to be content with sustenance and covering. (1 Tim. 6:6-8) The Bible also instructs them to avoid waste and to be industrious in providing life’s necessities. In addition, they face the future with optimism, looking ahead to the time when God will see to it that maladies, such as the creeping sickness of malnutrition, exist no longer.​—Isa. 25:6-8.

What Is Music to Your Ears?

By “Awake!” correspondent In Germany

DO YOU have a favorite melody? Perhaps you are a lover of classical music. Does light opera please you more? Or, popular music may be more to your liking. On the other hand, you may say that music makes you nervous. What, then, can be said about music?

Music is a wonderful gift from God, provided for our enjoyment and for which we should be appreciative. Music can affect us in a variety of ways. It can cheer us up, make us happy, incite us, calm us, and even help us to go to sleep. The servants of King Saul of ancient Israel arranged for David to play on his harp, and as a result “there was relief for Saul and it was well with him, and the bad spirit departed from upon him.”​—1 Sam. 16:14-23.

We often give expression to our moods through music. When a person is in a good mood he often whistles or sings a tune of some sort. It was an expression of joy when the Israelite armies, returning victorious, were greeted with music and song.​—1 Sam. 18:6, 7.

Music sometimes is used to honor someone, as when the heavenly hosts and others honor their God Jehovah with songs of praise. (Rev. 15:3, 4) The Psalms are such songs of praise that in ancient times were sung by God-fearing men.​—Matt. 26:30.

But we should not forget that music, just as with other gifts from God, has been misused by men. Many businessmen use music to put their customers in a buying mood. In bars and restaurants music that arouses sexual impulses often is played. If an innocent social gathering deteriorates into a sex orgy, it may well be that it was not just the alcohol but also the music played that contributed to it.

Politicians and military men likewise use music to serve their purposes. In time of war, brisk march music and patriotic war songs that heighten the war spirit of the populace are featured. Leaders of radical groups also use music for their own purposes, music that causes nervous tension and makes one irritated and aggressive. The latest trend along this line is what is known as “punk rock.” No question about its expressing and abetting harmful emotions and actions!

Do you like to listen to orchestral music? Is that a form of relaxation and recreation that you enjoy? If so, then you may want to purchase modern stereo equipment, if you have not already done so. To get the full effect of the orchestra, be sure to position the loudspeakers properly. This means that the speakers carrying the bass tones are best located a few meters to the right of the radio or record player and the speakers that carry the high notes, such as those of the flutes and violins, are preferably located a few meters to the left. If the speakers are located immediately to the right and the left of the radio or record player, the large orchestral effect is lost.

If you are a good husband and father, you will also want to be considerate of the needs and comfort of your family. Curb your enthusiasm for the full orchestral sound lest you unduly interfere with your wife’s concentration on her duties or the children’s efforts to get their homework done. In fact, more than one family quarrel was started because of the stereo set. Show consideration also for your neighbors. Your music, if played too loud, will be just so much distracting noise to them. Especially likely to cause such “noise pollution” are those who go in for rock music. Remember the Golden Rule about doing to others as you would have them do to you.​—Matt. 7:12.

Music That “Nature” Supplies

Do you always take along your portable radio everywhere you go because you never tire of hearing the latest popular “hits”? Take care that you do not inflict your style of music upon the ears of others who might have different tastes. At the same time you may be robbing yourself of music of quite another kind​—especially if you live in a small town or in rural areas—​the music that “nature” supplies.

Stand still for some time at the edge of a flowering field of grain and listen to the whispering of the wind that sends the grain into soft waves as it scurries across the field. As you deeply inhale the smell of the grain and the sweet scent of the meadow next to it, a few tuneful crickets join in the soft song of the wind, one of the cows in the meadow lows the bass and a meadowlark fills in the soprano, while a bumblebee plays cello and a few bees the violin. It is music that delights the minds and hearts of some people.

Have you ever paid attention to the robin? He’s a star performer who needs no accompaniment. Or have you watched dragonflies skimming over a pond on a hot summer afternoon? Listen to the metallic sound of their wings when they touch in wild fascinating flight. In the neighborhood a woodpecker bores into a tree, a cuckoo calls from the woods, and a few titmice and bullfinches​—yes, perhaps a warbler—​complete the musical score. It is refreshing music that has a charm of its own.

Have you ever had occasion to sit on the bank of a babbling brook on a lovely summer evening and listen to the croaking of the frogs and the chirping of the crickets? It is a lovely melody. While sitting there, you may even see fireflies lighting up here and there as the evening fragrance from the woods adds atmosphere. It is music that you not only hear but almost feel with all your senses. Truly beautiful, is it not?

Year after year this musical refrain is taken up. It is always different and never boring. This music does not make you nervous or sick. Rather, it is balm for the soul, for your heart and for your nerves.

One nice thing about this kind of music is that the musicians are not playing for fame or honor and also not for your money. They might be said to play to the honor of their Creator, Jehovah God, who made them for you to enjoy. God’s Word says that the Creator prepared the earth for man; the animal realm was a part of this preparatory creation. Therefore, open your heart to this music. If you are a city dweller, take time now and then to visit some large park or the surrounding rural areas so that you, too, may enjoy this kind of music.

No question about it! Music is a fine gift from our Creator. When indulging your fondness for it, be considerate of others​—members of your own family and your next-door neighbors. And do not overlook the music that the Creator made possible in the visible creation.

Plastering​—Why a Waning Craft?

IN THE City Hall of Portland, Oregon, it looks like marble. At Trader Vic’s Restaurant in New York city, it resembles bamboo. And in the palace at Versailles, France, it depicts human figures, cupids and flowers. What is it?

This remarkable material is plaster, initially a liquefied substance with no form of its own. And the ancient craft involved is plastering, the art of applying plaster to cover and decorate walls and ceilings.

Plaster, when mixed with water, can be poured and cast, colored and textured, troweled and polished. For that matter, when it sets and hardens, plaster can be carved like stone. No wonder William Millar wrote: “Plaster is the most vigorous as it is the oldest vehicle for carrying down generation after generation the masterpieces of art”!

Amazingly, though, the use of plaster has diminished. Whereas it once had a worldwide dominion, today artistic plastering no longer is called for to any great extent. Now plasterers in many lands work according to strict production timetables, applying their mortar with large pumping machines to make plain, flat wall surfaces for our modern buildings.

Yes, even as a simple wall covering, the popularity of plaster has waned. It is estimated that, back in the 1920’s, more than 95 percent of all newly constructed homes in the United States had interior coatings of plaster. Today, however, this has fallen to roughly 5 percent.

Why the decline? A close look at this ancient trade should give us the answer.

An Elaborate Trade

The word plaster, taken from the Greek, literally means “to daub on.” But that brief definition should not make you think that plastering is a slapdash, or haphazard, trade. A “menagerie” of trowels, straightedges, molds, floats and other tools must be “tamed” and mastered before one can be considered a journeyman plasterer. In times past, an apprentice would be indentured to a master plasterer for up to seven years, receiving room, board, clothing and other necessities as pay. Little wonder that some plasterers then knew sculpturing, casting, modeling, elaborate texturing and other phases of the trade not commonly used today.

Even making plaster from raw materials was within the plasterer’s scope. In the early days of America, for instance, it was common to see kilns cut into Pennsylvania’s hillsides, stoked and tended for the burning of limestone and gypsum, basic ingredients for lime and gypsum plasters. Today the process has been improved in large factories, but the production steps remain the same.

The heat of the kiln breaks down gypsum’s chemical composition. Then the calcined or burned gypsum is ground to a fine, white powder. Finally, depending on the fineness of the powder, the degree of calcination and other characteristics, this plaster can be used as a casting plaster for statuary and fine artwork, or it can be mixed with sand and other ingredients to make other types of plaster. One of the most widely known materials is plaster of Paris, a quick-setting gypsum plaster made for patching and repairing walls.

Limestone, however, requires an additional step after calcination and grinding before it is suitable for use. Water is carefully added in a process called hydration or slaking. Then the hydrated limestone, now called lime, is ready to be mixed with other ingredients at the job site. Lime plaster, with some gypsum mixed into it for setting purposes, is most commonly used today as a thin interior finish coat.

Only in the last century has there been a major addition to these two basic types of plaster, with the introduction of Portland cement plaster. Because it prevents almost all water penetration, it makes an excellent stucco, that is, exterior cement.

Many Uses in History

Perhaps you are not aware of the honorable mention that plaster has been given in the pages of history. Well, plaster was known to the early Hebrews and the Babylonians. (Lev. 14:42; Dan. 5:5) Some say the Greeks were the early perfecters of this ancient trade, diligently finishing their “stucco duro” so well that onlookers could see their own reflections in the walls. Slabs of Greek plasterwork were even used for tables and mirrors.

But as far as ornamentation is concerned, the Italians brought plastering to its noontide glory during the Renaissance. Imagine touring a palace built at that time.

As you walk in, feast your eyes on the grand display of plasterwork. Projecting ribs​—tastefully dressed with leaves, vines and other plant forms cast from plaster—​divide the lofty ceiling into rectangular and circular compartments. The building abounds with plaster formed into panels, shields, bands, ribbons, roses and wreaths of flowers. Walk through various rooms and courtyards and you see plastered motifs, exquisite friezes, cast statues, stucco fountains​—all of these making the palace a plasterer’s showplace.

Yes, the Italians loved to embellish their buildings. They were careful, however, to keep secret their wonderful recipes and techniques. But secrets do leak out! Probably no one came across a more fundamental and important one than an English architect traveling in Italy during 1851.

The Secret of Plastering

The Englishman was impressed with the fine lime that an elderly Italian was using in repairing some ornamental artwork in the Campo Santo at Pisa. But it was only after some persuasion over a bottle of wine that he finally convinced the old man to divulge the secret formula for his lime.

The Italian led him to the remnant of an old palace, down to a musty cellar, and to a row of wooden barrels. Taking a key from his pocket, the old man tapped the first barrel. It gave a hollow sound until the key nearly reached the bottom. “There, signore!” he said. “There is my grandfather! He is nearly done for.” At the next barrel he tapped in the same manner. “There, signore! There is my father! There is half of him left.” The third barrel was nearly full. “That’s me!” he said proudly as he wheeled around with a finger to his chest. And at the last barrel, the old Italian could not hold back his chuckles at finding it more than half full. “That’s for the little ones, signore!”

Puzzled by all of this, the architect pressed for an explanation. These barrels, explained the Italian, contained aged lime made from burning fragments of white marble statuary, the purest form of limestone. The lime was slaking slowly in the moist cellar air. This was the family treasure​—lime received from the man’s forebears and now passed on to his sons.

The Englishman was delighted to learn this because plasterers in the rest of Europe were not aging their lime in this manner. But something far more significant impressed the Englishman. Among the Italians, plastering was more than just employment. It was a family heirloom. The best recipes and techniques had been carefully passed down from father to son.

It was in this kind of climate that plastering flourished. But what brought about its decline?

The Economic Factor

Probably no one realized how far-reaching would be the effects of the Industrial Revolution, which began in England during the 1600’s and eventually swept across much of the world. Who would have thought that cherished family trades, such as plastering, would be forsaken for production-line factory jobs? But that is what happened, for the factories offered quick monetary returns, and little training was needed.

Then came World War I. Industry geared itself for producing weapons and machinery, dramatically exhibiting the economy of standardization and mass production. Due to a shortage of craftsmen, rising wages, inflation, improved factory production methods, and for other interrelated reasons, buildings began to be put together differently. Construction techniques became a process of timesaving assembly rather than artistic craftsmanship. All of this contributed to extreme simplicity of design. Gone were the ornamental ceilings, the cornices, the embellishments.

Gone, too, was general dependence on artists and skilled craftsmen. In time, substitute wall coverings, such as paneling and drywall (a paper-lined artificial board made from gypsum), largely replaced plaster because of their lower cost and easier installation. Referring to a ten-year period ending in 1969, Walls & Ceilings, a journal favoring the plastering industry at the time, said: “One particular field, Drywall, has increased in use 1500 times [meaning percent] over our product in spite of millions of dollars of promotion money spent by our industry.”

Why such a dramatic increase? Robert L. Whittle, as cochairman of the International Wall and Ceiling Contractor’s Technical Committee, answers: “High wages and limited use of conventional plastering has all but destroyed the industry. The cost of hand-applied mortar with wages in excess of $80 per day over most of the United States has transformed one of the less expensive construction finishes to a luxury few can afford.”

Nonetheless, efforts have been made to lower the cost. Instead of the traditional method of hand-applying mortar, large plaster “guns” now spray on the mortar while workmen follow behind, straightening and leveling it out. Additionally, lightweight plasters and special acoustic plasters have been developed. There have been other significant advances, too. High-density veneer plasters, spread over a drywall-type base in one thin coat, showed a 30-percent increase in 1975 over the year before, and their use grows each year. Many look to this as a lifesaver for the plastering trade.

Advantages and Disadvantages

Yet, there is a factor that is surprising to some persons. Studies of wall coverings have shown that when the initial cost, the maintenance expenses and the usable lifetime of plaster are compared with its substitutes, conventional plaster usually turns out to be more economical.

If so, why is it that plaster is not used more often? Simple. Substitutes cost less initially. They take less time to install. Builders of high-rise apartment houses also find that the newer, lighter materials save on structural steel. And these materials allow more flexibility in renting space, for the walls can be altered and rearranged with less trouble than if they were made of plaster. Without a doubt, modern methods offer significant advantages.

But there are disadvantages, too. Many have lamented the loss of quality and craftsmanship in modern buildings. Nowhere is this more evident than in public buildings. Older structures, complete with plaster ornamentation, are being replaced with larger buildings that often have less architectural appeal.

Note the 1910 Hudson County Courthouse in New Jersey (U.S.A.), replete with rotunda and artwork throughout. In 1966 it was replaced with a large office-type building, concerning which the New York Times Magazine says: “The new building cost $14-million and the old one was built for $3-million, which says a lot about soaring costs. The $3-million bought Italian green and pearl gray marbles [including ornamental plasterwork]; half a century later, $14-million bought paper-thin veneers, plastic, and aluminum that looks like tin.” Scores of examples like this could be cited.

This is not to say, of course, that modern buildings​—whether containing drywall, the latest plastering materials or other wall coverings—​are always of poorer quality than those of the past. Many look on the new architectural styles with favor, seeing them as improvements to the overwrought ornamentation, the “gingerbread,” of some of the older styles. And many persons benefit from the cheaper housing that present-day architecture can provide.

But whatever is our view of modern construction, we can look with appreciation at the quality plasterwork of the past, knowing it will never be duplicated to any great extent under the present economic system. Though a waning craft, plastering still remains one of the greatest building skills.

Through China to Europe​—By Train

As told to “Awake!” correspondent in the Philippines

IT WAS a hot, steamy morning as we stepped onto the platform of the Hong Kong railroad station. We were armed with cameras, dictionaries, road maps and Chinese visas. Bag and baggage were whisked away, and with all the other foreigners, we were ushered past the throngs of Chinese to a waiting train. The next three hours were filled with anticipation as we wound through the hills and farming villages of the frontier, slowly approaching the Chinese border.

What were we, an American missionary couple from the Philippines, doing on that train, heading deep into China? Well, we had always been interested in the Chinese people, and we wondered what life was like on the vast Asian continent. Since we were planning a vacation in America, to start our journey we decided to cross Asia by train.

Into China’s Interior

We arrived at the border town of Shumchun with only a hazy idea of what lay ahead. After claiming our luggage, we walked across a wooden bridge that represents the gate way. Around us were many Chinese and a few foreigners, all struggling with bags, boxes and bundles as they scurried across the bridge. The Chinese officials received us courteously, took us through all the entry regulations, gave us our first Chinese meal and put us on the train for Canton. The two-hour trip​—on cushioned seats in air-conditioned comfort, with hot tea served in hand-painted mugs—​made us feel like honored guests.

As we stepped off the train in Canton, we were politely welcomed by Chan, a young man who frequently reminded us that it was his “duty to serve the people.” He was our “responsible person,” assigned as private tour guide, interpreter and custodian. Chan quickly took charge of us and our luggage, escorting us to a waiting automobile for several hours of sightseeing. “This car is owned by the government,” Chan explained. “There are no privately owned cars in China because they are bad for the air.”

We honked our way through streets swarming with people, pressing through the crowds from one tourist attraction to the next. A look-out point over the city, an orchid garden, public parks​—all must be seen. Questions were answered patiently and politely. A scheduled meal in a restaurant could not be canceled despite our utter fatigue. Finally, Chan escorted us back to the station and put us on the train for Peking.

Through China by Train

The train pulled out of Canton Station at 8:40 p.m. with two exhausted American passengers aboard. At last the ever-present guards, guides and interpreters were gone. Our compartment really was designed for four, with comfortable berths and a little table by the window with a lace tablecloth and a potted plant. We were given two china mugs for tea, several small packets of tea leaves, and a large brightly painted thermos of steaming hot water. Heads swimming with the sights and experiences of the day, we climbed into our berths that first night in China and were lulled to sleep by the movement of the train as we plunged deeper into an unfamiliar land.

August 24, 1976: We awoke before dawn, eager to explore our new surroundings. To our surprise, we opened our door to find that we were the last two in a long line leading to the dining room. All our traveling companions were men, most of them wearing undershirts and those baggy pants that are almost a national uniform in China. Some smiled and murmured a friendly greeting, while others self-consciously looked elsewhere as we approached.

In the dining car, a plump, congenial fellow​—a combination steward, chef and busboy—​motioned us to our seats. Passengers were noisily slurping noodles and soup, with chopsticks clicking, when the steward appeared from the kitchen. Smiling broadly, and obviously proud of his accomplishment, he presented us with coffee, toast, jam and butter. We could not have been more pleased.

Outside, the verdant hills of Hunan Province were darting past us. The houses were made of mud bricks and had thatched or tiled roofs. Small villages dotted the countryside, and the land was well cultivated, lush and green with flourishing rice paddies. People were in the fields, on the roads, busily moving about. Every hour or two the train stopped for an exchange of passengers. These were small, remote places where farmers and village folk carried their meager possessions in bundles wrapped in cotton cloth. Babies were on mother’s back or toddling behind her, wearing unique little pants with the seam around the crotch left unsewn, apparently in case of emergencies!

Most stations were equipped with a large metal container of water and a ladle for thirsty travelers. Gradually, we noticed that families with women and children were joining our entourage. Festive sounds, laughter and loud conversation echoed throughout the train.

By afternoon we had crossed the wide Yangtze River. The temperature changed quickly as we left the tropics farther behind. People were dressed in warmer clothes, babies were bundled up, and we used thick woolen blankets at night. Hot tea was just the thing for an evening like this, but our supply was depleted. Consulting the dictionary, I learned that the Chinese word for tea is cha, the same as in Filipino. Confidently, I asked the steward for more cha. Radiant, he nodded that he understood and fairly ran to his storeroom, emerging a few moments later with a fresh supply of soap and toilet tissue for the community lavatory! We went to bed without our tea that night.

August 25: At 5 a.m. we crawled out of bed and dressed at a leisurely pace. We entered the outskirts of Peking just as the sun peeped over the horizon. A few early risers were beginning to move about on the streets, busy with the activities of a new day. Physical fitness is encouraged by government policy, and so young and old alike were in the streets and public parks doing calisthenics with Oriental movements resembling Kung Fu.

Tourists in Peking

At exactly 6:18 a.m., our train came to a stop at Peking Station. We left the now-familiar surroundings of the train and made our way uncertainly through the vast halls of the station. Outside was a large open area where crowds of people milled about or sat on the pavement holding their belongings, waiting patiently. Conspicuously absent was our “responsible person.” Later, we learned that he had been reassigned to assist in the campaign to repair earthquake damage. We would have been happy even with an “irresponsible person” if he could have directed us to our hotel.

After two hours of marching through busy Peking streets, luggage in tow, we located the American Liaison Office. From there we contacted the China Travel Service. Apologetically, they informed us that the train we had arranged to take to Moscow by way of Manchuria was not running, since the tracks had been destroyed by the devastating earthquake. The only other route was through Outer Mongolia, on a train the following week. Since we would be in Peking for seven days instead of the two that we originally planned, our hotel assignment was thoughtfully changed to a much less expensive one. The Hsin Chiao turned out to be a lovely old hotel, comfortable in spite of lobby and halls filled with cement bags and bamboo scaffolds, more earthquake reminders.

Every day we walked miles in Peking. At first, people were surprised to see us, then curious and sometimes a little frightened, but usually ready to return a smile. One sure way to overcome reticence was to admire a baby. The parents warmed up immediately, smiling broadly, often bringing the baby for us to hold. On the day we arrived, our first walk took us to Tien An Men Square, an immense place surrounded by four great halls. From every direction Mao Tse-tung gazed down on the masses from a larger-than-life portrait. We were the only foreigners in the crowd, but not the only tourists. Here were groups of schoolchildren, families walking hand in hand, green-uniformed soldiers, red star sewn on their collars​—all visitors in a place that they had heard so much about. Many were capturing the moment by paying a photographer to take black-and-white snapshots as they posed, unsmiling and dignified, by a famous landmark.

August 26-31: Our week in Peking was a whirlwind of activity. Aside from sight-seeing, we had the serious business of obtaining visas for Outer Mongolia, Russia, Poland and East Germany. And so began a long succession of treks from embassy to embassy​—from the burly Russian Intourist representative to the sleepy Mongolian official whom we aroused from a nap each time that we came. Eventually, patience paid off and we had all our visas. A ‘celebration meal’ was in order.

We chose a small restaurant specializing in Peking duck. Inside, business was booming. In good-natured disarray, families and comrades crowded around large round tables loaded with rice, beer, orange soda and an occasional dish of meat and vegetables. Amid curious stares and incredulous looks, we braved our way to the one empty table. The clamor became absolute silence. Waitresses raced around, gathering all the room dividers they could carry and surrounded our table with them. The room still hushed, we waited inside our enclosure until a nervous waitress entered, pencil and pad in hand. There was no menu and we had no idea what we were ordering, but she scribbled something on her pad and left, apparently satisfied. Time ticked by interminably and no food appeared. Waitresses studiously busied themselves elsewhere, not quite knowing what to do with their “unusual” customers. Defeated, we gestured to a nearby waitress that we were leaving. Her face beaming, she and the other restaurant employees escorted us to the door, smiling and waving as we departed. Oh, well, who wanted Peking duck?

Sight-seeing in Peking was a pleasure. Our usual mode of transportation was the public bus. After we showed the conductress a paper with our destination written in Chinese, she would take us ‘under her wing.’

Peking’s streets are wide, tree-lined avenues, offering a mélange of sights, sounds and experiences. For instance, a truck filled with shoe boxes pulled up on one sidewalk, and a long line of prospective buyers formed. Each was handed a box, which he accepted. Only later, after walking a few feet down the street, did the customers pause to try on their newly acquired plastic sandals.

Evidences of earthquake tragedies were abundant. Many homes were destroyed or severely damaged. In fear of further quakes, or perhaps because their homes were uninhabitable, many were occupying tents or living in little shelters built over a bed. Men and women were mobilized in an all-out effort to repair damage in the stricken areas. Government-owned wagons patrolled the streets daily, leaving piles of bricks and lime for use by the masses.

By bus and on foot we traveled unescorted to various places, including the palaces of the old emperors, and the zoo, where the keepers report any strange animal behavior as a means of earthquake prediction. Only for our trip to the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs did we have to hire a car. Many of these famous landmarks constructed by the old emperors now are suffering from disrepair and vandalism. The one church that we saw was empty and boarded up.

Then, too soon, our week in Peking was coming to a close.

On to Outer Mongolia

September 1: The train leaving Peking was similar to the one on which we arrived, except for the passengers. They were almost exclusively foreigners: Russians, Mongolians, Poles, Germans, Afghans and Vietnamese. Our compartment became a popular gathering spot, as all who spoke a little English were anxious to give it a try.

Our train climbed high into the mountains, past the Great Wall. Houses of sunbaked bricks were clustered near radiant fields of sunflowers in bloom. Then we turned north and the scene began to change. Small farms produced poor, stunted crops, and riverbeds were just damp. By evening we reached barren wasteland, the edge of the Gobi Desert.

At 8:50 p.m. loud music and staccato remarks over a loudspeaker informed us that we had reached the border at Erhlien. For two and a half hours we sipped tea in the station as our train was searched, and the engine and dining car were exchanged for their Mongolian counterparts. The entire train was jacked up, about eight feet (2.4 meters) in the air, while the wheels were changed to fit the widergauge Mongolian and Russian track system. After a short ride, we arrived at Dzamiin Uude, on the Mongolian border, for another check and another hour’s wait. At 12:15 a.m., just fifteen minutes after our Chinese visas expired, the train pulled out of the station and we settled down for the night.

September 2: We awoke to a ‘new world’​—an infinite wilderness under a blue dome of cloudless skies. From our vantage point, we spotted sporadic groups of Bactrian camels, humps swaying as they ambled along. We saw herds of wild horses, and an occasional huddle of white, circular tents, the portable lodgings of nomadic herdsmen.

Train stops on the Gobi Desert were infrequent and enthusiastically awaited by local townspeople. Swarming aboard, they sold snacks to passengers or congregated in the dining car to drink beer and stock up with canned goods. All were dressed for the big occasion. The native costume was a tall headdress and long pants, topped with a tunic tied with a bright sash.

Our longest stop was at the capital city, Ulan Bator, where a jubilant group of wedding celebrants was so delighted at our request to photograph the bride and groom that they insisted we try a little of their local liquor, generously offered from the one cup that they all shared. Later, after a bowl of cabbage soup and some black bread, we returned to our compartment to await another midnight border crossing, this time into Russia.

Siberia to Europe

September 3-8: By morning, the desert of the night before had turned into thickly forested mountains. It was drizzling, gray and cold. We wrapped up in our heavy woolen blankets, shivering in the unheated train. So this was Siberia!

For several hours we followed the coastline of an immense body of water, its breakers pounding against a rocky shore. Lake Baikal is an extremely deep, cold freshwater lake, containing nearly as much water as all five of America’s Great Lakes combined.

So began our long, arduous trek across Siberia. Hours and hours of mountains, which changed gradually to lowland plains densely overgrown with forests of white birch and fir, were only rarely interrupted by a settlement of log cabins or an industrial city of factories spouting black smoke. At each stop the train emptied as passengers spilled out into the town to check the numerous kiosks where babushkas (old women) sold bread, eggs, cheese and flowers.

At 4 p.m. on September 6 we arrived in Moscow. We had only a few hours to take a subway ride, do a little sight-seeing and find the Interpol Hotel where we bought the last two tickets on a train leaving that evening. The following morning we crossed the Polish border and a few hours later we were in Germany, speeding in comfort toward Luxembourg and our plane for New York city.

We had spent two and a half weeks in the vast realm that stretches from Hong Kong through eastern Europe. It was a never-to-be-forgotten trip that afforded us glimpses of a world differing from our own in so many ways. Yet, it was peopled with ordinary human beings who treated us hospitably. Now we are looking forward all the more eagerly to the day when national barriers no longer will exist.

[Map on page 16]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

Luxembourg

Germany

Poland

Moscow

SOVIET UNION

Lake Baikal

Irkutsk

Ulan Bator

MONGOLIA

Gobi Desert

Peking

CHINA

Canton

Hong Kong

[Picture on page 18]

Women labor to repair earthquake damage in Peking

[Picture on page 19]

Public transportation Peking-style: tricycle and bus

[Picture on page 20]

This portion of the Great Wall shows the collapse of unmaintained sections

Religious Liberty Congress “Leaves a Bad Taste”

By “Awake!” correspondent in the Netherlands

AMSTERDAM was the site of something unique this year. During March 21 to 23, the Hilton Hotel played host to the First World Congress on Religious Liberty.

Sponsors of this congress officially stated as its purpose: 1. To make the International Religious Liberty Association (IRLA) a truly viable instrument for promoting religious liberty on a world level. 2. To bring the International Religious Liberty Association to the attention of world leaders through the mass media. 3. To give an international award to statesmen who have advanced religious liberty within their particular countries. 4. To provide a noncombative forum for an exchange of views on religious liberty.

“A Congress of Non-Commitment”

Official backers of the meeting assured that its intention was one of “quiet diplomacy” and ‘not to expose and condemn abuses of religious freedom.’ In general, speakers praised their respective countries for great strides toward religious freedom, while glossing over instances where that freedom has been withheld.

Certain speeches contained some very good statements. For example, one delegate noted that, following the Protestant Reformation, rulers drew up agreements to defend large segments of religious thought. But what about smaller groups and individuals? The speaker mentioned that on the whole these were left without protection and liberty. He remarked that many freedoms extend only to the large religious organizations.

With regard to denial of religious freedom in some places, the same individual made an interesting point. He explained that the stated reason for bringing colonies into existence was to extend civilization to backward peoples. He noted, though, that it quickly became clear that the real motives for colonization were political and economic.

The overall effect of the gathering, however, was disappointing. There were even some arguments advanced in favor of denying freedom of worship under certain circumstances. The representative of Islam, for example, claimed that where people are hungry, thirsty and oppressed by unfavorable social conditions, they are not able to think clearly and make right decisions on matters concerning religion. In the opinion of this representative, only after rectification of these injustices should Moslems be exposed to foreign religious thinking. Until then, he declared, it may be wise to curb religious freedom.

Delegates at this gathering repeatedly urged reliance on the United Nations as an instrument for guaranteeing freedom of worship. Many expressed concern that the United Nations has not yet adopted a declaration against religious discrimination.a Concerning the general spirit of this special meeting, an observer writes:

“One did not taste the spirit of serious business dealing with the grim reality of trodden-down freedom of worship and expression presently blighting a large portion of mankind. Instead it looked more like a get-together of old pals, shoulderpatting, handshaking and benignly smiling. At any rate, this atmosphere reflected the stated purpose and goal of this congress very well.”

“It was a congress of non-commitment. One was very careful about stepping on anybody’s toes. As one staff official put it during a recess period: ‘Listening to all these good speeches, one gets the impression that there is nothing wrong anywhere in the world as to religious liberty. Of course there is a lot that is wrong. But I suppose that if the speakers did relate the facts they would really get into trouble after they came home.’”

Committee Hears Jehovah’s Witnesses

It was arranged for two observers representing Jehovah’s Witnesses to address a special committee regarding persecution of the Witnesses in Malawi and other countries. The committee listened very attentively and cordially and showed keen interest in the matter.

Later, in private discussions, committee members expressed appreciation for what had been said about the plight of Jehovah’s Witnesses. They admitted that, while aware of such persecutions, they had no idea how bad things really were. The individuals on this special committee gave the impression of sincerely wanting to do something for the victims.

“Quiet as a Mouse”

On its final day the congress issued a resolution. This was not planned originally. Only after hearing the previous evening about ‘various complaints’ of religious intolerance and persecution did the congress see fit to issue a statement. However, nothing was said publicly in the congress meeting hall about the inhuman treatment of Christians in Malawi or in other parts of the earth. In line with the gathering’s spirit of “quiet diplomacy” and intent ‘not to expose and condemn abuses of religious freedom,’ the resolution was inconcrete and noncommittal.

Among other things, the delegates resolved: To request the organizations sponsoring the congress to set up a committee to monitor the situation of religious freedom in the world; to draw attention of governments to the fundamental human right of religious liberty; to urge that governments press the United Nations for adoption of a declaration against religious discrimination.

In news media of the Netherlands the First World Congress on Religious Liberty received scant attention. There was a short report on the national radio newscast. On television, Dr. Philip Potter, general secretary of the World Council of Churches, made some comments about the gathering. Newspapers gave the congress very little coverage. One article, however, deserves mention. In an editorial entitled “Mice in the Hilton Hotel,” Amsterdam’s Nieuws van de dag summed up:

“This meeting in Amsterdam leaves a bad taste in one’s mouth, and that is that one is too afraid to scald oneself with cold water. Hear no evil, see no evil and speak no evil. Outwardly, quiet as a mouse in the Hilton. Maybe we can cherish the hope that the three hundred mice will swiftly multiply themselves as it befits mice. But because we cannot count on that, we surely could have done with some more powerful words out of there.”

[Footnotes]

Gilead Graduates Counseled on Success

THE Watchtower Bible School of Gilead has a record of success. Its first class was graduated in 1943. At that time the work of preaching the good news of God’s kingdom was being done by 106,000 of Jehovah’s Witnesses, in 54 lands, directed by 21 branch offices of the Watch Tower Society. Now, after 62 classes of graduates have been making disciples in foreign fields, there are 2,248,000 Witnesses active in 210 lands and working under the direction of 96 branch offices.

This record of success was pointed out by M. G. Henschel at the graduation exercises of the 63rd class of Gilead. For this occasion, 1,870 persons assembled, on September 11, 1977, at Jehovah’s Witnesses Assembly Hall in Long Island City, New York. Twenty-three graduates received their diplomas and foreign assignments, to be sent out as missionaries to add still more successes to the preaching work. The speaker implied, not that Gilead graduates alone were responsible for the increases, but that they had played a prominent role in the expansion of the work. Now this 63rd class was to join previous graduates in foreign fields and add their efforts to those of Jehovah’s Witnesses world wide.

The theme of success was further developed by L. A. Swingle in his talk to the graduates. He emphasized the source of success. When Abraham sent his servant on a mission and the servant expressed fear of failure, Abraham said: “Jehovah . . . will certainly give success to your way.” Everything that Joseph did down in Egypt “Jehovah was making turn out successful.” When Nehemiah and fellow workers started rebuilding the wall in Jerusalem and opposers rose up, Nehemiah said: “The God of the heavens is the One that will grant us success.”​—Gen. 24:40; 39:3; Neh. 2:20.

Joshua was successful in his assignment from God because he obeyed the injunction to study the divine law: “This book of the law should not depart from your mouth, and you must in an undertone read in it day and night, in order that you may take care to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way successful and then you will act wisely.”​—Josh. 1:8.

Other Factors in Success

Of course, a person cannot succeed if he quits his assignment. This was the point made by Karl Adams as he spoke to the class about the apostle Paul. Paul endured a great variety of hardships and persecutions, but he and his companions valued their privilege to “reflect like mirrors the glory of Jehovah.” He then expressed this determination: “That is why, since we have this ministry according to the mercy that was shown us, we do not give up.”​—2 Cor. 3:18; 4:1.

Compassion was the quality stressed by Ulysses Glass. He pointed out how Jehovah compassionately spoke concerning widows and fatherless boys, at Exodus 22:22-24. God said: “You people must not afflict any widow or fatherless boy.” If they did he said he would destroy them, and then “your wives must become widows and your sons fatherless boys.” Jehovah himself will become “a father of fatherless boys and a judge of widows.”​—Ps. 68:5.

Paul spoke of himself as a father in a spiritual sense of those once alienated from God but to whom he had brought the “good news.” In this sense millions throughout the world are fatherless, not knowing Jehovah and his purposes. Continuing Glass told the graduates that they could show mercy to such “fatherless boys,” spiritually, and acquaint them with Jehovah and cause him to become their father. Also, Glass made such an application of James 1:27: “The form of worship that is clean and undefiled from the standpoint of our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their tribulation.”

A. D. Schroeder showed that if the graduates were to be successful they must also be communicators. They would have to use their tongues, and might need to learn a foreign language. By a gift of the spirit, early Christians communicated in foreign languages at Pentecost, but the Gilead graduates would have to study and practice the language that they would use. Hundreds before them had done it.

Schroeder told this experience of a missionary in Brazil who conducted a Bible study with a family that had a pet monkey: “I’ve been bitten twice by the monkey, but the study is progressing well. The only one who hasn’t accepted the truth is the monkey. One day I went and the lady wasn’t home, but her daughter and friends were. While waiting for the mother I remarked that I did not understand a sentence in the study book, and asked the daughter to explain it for me. She did, got interested in it, and she and her friends discussed it with me at length. The next time I called 17 were there and the study lasted two and a half hours. The time after that 30 were present. Since then a large group has studied regularly and many are to be baptized at the next assembly.’’ After only two years in Brazil, this missionary is giving hour talks in Portuguese.

John Booth spoke and showed the need for successful communicating, quoting John 4:35, 36: “Lift up your eyes and view the fields, that they are white for harvesting. Already the reaper is receiving wages and gathering fruit for everlasting life, so that the sower and the reaper may rejoice together.”

The School’s president, F. W. Franz, discussed the rigors of being a soldier of Christ. Those chosen to be Roman soldiers went through strenuous training for the honor of being in Caesar’s armies. Soldiers of Christ must also train and endure hardships. “As a fine soldier of Christ Jesus take your part in suffering evil.” Their honor in being in Christ’s army is the highest possible one, and to ensure their success they “put on the complete suit of armor from God.”​—2 Tim. 2:3; Eph. 6:11.

After the presentation of diplomas by the chairman, Karl Klein, the students put on a diversified program of music and dialogue, accompanied by slides, some of them humorous, even showing the students when they were babies. Two Bible dramas were also presented by them, showing the early Christians preaching successfully despite persecution, and dramatizing the flight of Lot and his family from Sodom.

May Jehovah give success to the members of the 63rd class of Gilead, as they add their efforts to the “heap of witness” being given by Jehovah’s Witnesses world wide.

[Picture on page 24]

Sixty-third Graduating Class of the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead

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

(1) Uyehara, A.; Cruz, R.; Laaland, J.; Boies, E.; Charlton, E. (2) Williams, R.; Haprov I.; Mackie, N.; Maxwell, A.; Maxwell, J.; Knappik, H. (3) Rothwell, P.; Rothwell, A.; Heinrich, L.; Skulish, S.; Kanppik, G.; Laaland, J. (4) Hirsekorn, R.; Cruz, L.; Arnett, J.; Heinrich, P.; Boies, R.; Haprov, E.

Joseph Was Discharging His Duties

Joseph knew that Potiphar’s wife was infatuated with him. But there was little he could do to avoid contact with her. Archaeological evidence indicates that the arrangement of Egyptian houses was such that a person had to pass through the main part of the home to reach the storerooms. So it was that while Joseph was caring for his duties, the wife of Potiphar tried to allure him into committing immorality with her.​—Gen. 39:7-15.

What Is the Bible’s View?

Why Did God Author a Book?

WHY did God choose to author a book to communicate with the human family? That God did so, we read in these words: “All Scripture is inspired of God.” (2 Tim. 3:16) And the prophecies contained in those Scriptures were “at no time brought by man’s will, but men spoke from God as they were borne along by holy spirit.”​—2 Pet. 1:21.

But why did this communication need to be in written form? There are a number of reasons. Consider, for example, what the Bible is​—God’s revelation to the human family. Among other things, it gives us the only accurate account of the creation of the earth and mankind. It tells us why God put humans on earth, and what went wrong so that suffering, sickness and death now plague the human family. It also tells us what the solution will certainly be, so that God’s purpose for this earth and mankind will finally be realized in full.

Such information comes from the One who is in the best position to know​—the Creator himself. This kind of insight could not be obtained from human sources. It required a divine revelation.

The Bible also contains the complete record of God’s dealings with his people and with the nations down through the ages. And it includes God’s laws and principles for human behavior.

This large body of vital information accumulated over the centuries could not be left safely for oral tradition to hand down from one generation to another. For instance, would the word-of-mouth transmission by the scribes and Pharisees who opposed Jesus be a safe source of information about his life and works?

Or would any large nation permit its constitution or law codes to be preserved only by oral repetition? No, but such law codes are carefully committed to writing so that they can provide reliable guidance, allowing for study and application.

Since God knew that the human family would spread around the world, he knew that oral tradition would be an unsafe reservoir for his communications to mankind. By committing his thoughts to writing, his message would be best preserved. That is why the apostle Paul counseled: “Do not go beyond the things that are written.”​—1 Cor. 4:6.

Having God’s communication in a readable form enables sincere searchers for truth to examine its contents carefully. A person does not have to depend upon someone with special qualifications to tell him details of God’s purposes by word of mouth, which can be distorted or forgotten. Having His Word in a book gives us the opportunity of checking what others say about Him. That is what was done in the first century, for some “received the word with the greatest eagerness of mind, carefully examining the Scriptures daily as to whether these things were so.” (Acts 17:11) We can do the same today because we have God’s Word in written form.

God is economical, too, as well as considerate of human limitations. His written communication to us is not found in huge sets of encyclopedias that would be difficult for most people to obtain, and difficult to read as well. Instead, God has provided one simple volume that can be easily handled and is well within the financial reach of everybody. Yet it is comprehensive enough to give us what we need. It answers all our basic questions about who God is, what the purpose of life is, and what the future holds for us.

True, in times past God did communicate in other ways. With our first parents God dealt more directly. (Gen. 3:8-13) He did the same with Noah. (Gen. 6:13-22) At various times, he sent angels to deliver certain messages to a particular person or group.​—Gen. 22:11-18; Acts 12:6-11.

As long as the family of God’s servants was small, this was practical. But with increase of God’s servants through the line of Noah and Shem, more was needed. In time, the favored nation of Israel came to number several million people, when they left Egyptian captivity. No longer was God’s relationship with his servants like that of a father dealing with just a few children. With such a large family now, written instructions were required.

Bible writing began with God’s “finger” carving out the Ten Commandments for Moses on stone tablets. (Ex. 31:18) Then, over a period of some 1,600 years, about forty writers were directed by God’s active force to contribute to the sixty-six books now making up the Bible. These individuals who were “entrusted with the sacred pronouncements of God” were all faithful servants of Jehovah.​—Rom. 3:2.

The practicality of having God’s message in book form was made more evident when Jesus told his followers: “You will receive power when the holy spirit arrives upon you, and you will be witnesses of me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the most distant part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) He also said: “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.

Having God’s communication in written form meant that it could be translated into all languages. That this was proper can be seen by the fact that God himself directed a change in languages from Hebrew to Aramaic and Greek when he inspired the writing of the Bible. And with God overseeing the spread of his Word, he saw to it that regardless of how many languages it was translated into, his message would remain intact. So today, his written Word is available in a practical, usable, dependable form in hundreds of languages. It is available to people of all nations.

That God’s hand was in the origin, transmission, and preservation of his Word can be seen in the care and extent to which the Bible copying was done. Hebrew scholar W. H. Green stated of the Hebrew portion: “It may be safely said that no other work of antiquity has been so accurately transmitted.” And of the Greek portion, scholar Jack Finegan wrote: “The close relationship in time between the oldest New Testament manuscripts and the original texts is also nothing less than amazing . . . the certainty with which the text of the New Testament is established exceeds that of any other ancient book.”

But all of this was to be expected, since the Bible came to us “not as the word of men, but, just as it truthfully is, as the word of God.” (1 Thess. 2:13) So today, for the faith of those who sincerely desire to worship God correctly, we have God’s loving provision of the book that he authored, which is “a lamp to my foot, and a light to my roadway.”​—Ps. 119:105.

Watching the World

Heart Surgery Without Blood

◆ “Cardiovascular operations can be performed safely without blood transfusion,” said the September 19, 1977, issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association in a report on 542 heart operations on Jehovah’s Witnesses without blood transfusions. The report, by Doctors David A. Ott and Denton A. Cooley of Houston, Texas, stated that they operated without blood because “we believe that a patient should have a right to make his or her own decision, and that the physician has a moral responsibility to respect the wishes of the patient.” The doctors also noted: “The surgeon who agrees to treat Jehovah’s Witnesses should respect their religious beliefs or refer them elsewhere.”

“We have never violated the contract made before operation that blood will not be administered regardless of the circumstances or need,” said the doctors. They also learned of the benefits in substantially reducing the amount of blood given to other heart patients. “One thing this series led us to do,” explained Dr. Ott to the New York Times, “is use less blood in our non-Jehovah’s Witness patients.”

Drunk from Drugs?

◆ Is all drunkenness entirely due to alcohol? Apparently not, as there is growing concern that marijuana may be involved in many cases. Some law-enforcement officials suspect that many motorists stopped for drunkenness or erratic driving, and who easily passed sobriety tests, were under the influence of marijuana or a combination of marijuana and alcohol. Tests recently made in California revealed that of 291 drivers stopped for drunkenness, 22 percent, or more than one out of five, had marijuana in their blood.

Rock Band Wreckage

● Punk rock groups, whose “musicians” are noted for their crudeness and violence on and off stage, often find that they need considerable liability insurance to cover the damage that they do. Recently the Canadian punk rock band “Teenage Head” applied for a $25-million insurance policy. Though coverage will cost $62,000 a year, “we see it as a necessity,” says the band’s manager. “there’s so much violence in punk rock you never know what’s going to happen.”

● Even the more “orthodox” “Led Zeppelin” musical group had similar problems recently​—a bill for $8,000 in damages to New York’s Plaza Hotel. A hotel spokesman said: “There was considerable damage in the rooms rented by Led Zeppelin earlier in the summer. The rooms have only recently been returned to service.” Furniture was wrecked, carpets ruined and holes knocked in the walls to make an interconnecting suite.

Theologians Endorse Violence

◆ At a recent Atlanta, Georgia, conference sponsored by the Black Theology Project, about 175 black theologians and church leaders from various parts of the world adopted a statement regarding struggles for liberation. The document endorsed violent as well as nonviolent means to effect liberation, saying: “We affirm whatever method [oppressed people] decide is best in their particular situation and make no pious and hypocritical value judgments which condemn those efforts to bring an end to their oppression, recognizing that we in this country may ourselves be compelled to make a similar choice.”

Alcohol and Hearts

◆ Can limited use of alcoholic beverages help to stave off heart disease? Surprisingly, a team of researchers reporting in Britain’s medical journal Lancet did find that moderate use of alcoholic beverages may prevent heart disease by converting blood cholesterol to a less dangerous form. “It was awfully surprising to us to find this,” explained one of the main investigators. But, he added, “our study is only a start toward answering” questions regarding alcohol and the heart. The researchers believe that it is best to be cautious and to await more research before endorsing alcohol as a heart-attack preventive.

Most Powerful Quake Ever?

◆ European seismologists claim that the recent great earthquake on the Indian Ocean floor may be the most powerful ever recorded in history. A tidal wave nearly 100 feet (30 meters) high was said to have been generated by the quake. Its epicenter was in an undersea mountain range about 300 miles (480 kilometers) southeast of the Indonesian island of Bali. The quake was felt as far away as Perth, Australia, about 1,500 miles (2,400 kilometers) south of the epicenter. Seismologists around the world measured the quake at between 7.7 and 8.9 on the Richter scale.

Are the “Brainiest” the Best?

◆ Not necessarily, according to a 15-year study of 68 students at Haverford College, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Psychology professor Douglas Heath observed the students from their freshman year back in the early 1960’s. What are they like now? He found that the brainiest students in college are not as mature and “effective” today as are those who got poorer grades. Men receiving high honors in college were found generally “removed psychologically from the practical and realistic problems of the day.” They were more depressed and abstract than their fellow graduates. Hence, Heath recommends that colleges devote as much attention to students’ social and moral development as to their intellectual growth.

Babies’ Lives Saved

◆ Nearly half of Argentine babies with diarrhea were dying in 1971 and 1972, according to Dr. Marshall H. Klaus, professor of pediatrics at the University Hospitals of Cleveland, Ohio. How was the problem solved? Dr. Klaus told the recent annual La Leche League international convention that when the tots were given breast milk rather than being bottle-fed, they survived.

A North Pole First

◆ Back in 1893-1896 Norwegian explorer Fridtjof Nansen was the first to try to reach the North Pole by surface ship. Rather than breaking through ice, he drifted with the current and came within 280 miles (450 kilometers) of the Pole. More recently American nuclear submarines have either traversed under the polar ice or surfaced through it at the Pole. But when the Soviet nuclear icebreaker Arktika recently reached the North Pole, it was the first time for a surface ship. The Arktika’s 75,000-horsepower engines enabled the ship to break through ice up to 12 feet (3 ¹⁄₂ meters) thick on its northward journey.

Bottle Barrage

◆ “The problem of explosions of carbonated soft drink bottles is an environmental hazard that has not received adequate attention,” reports a Phoenix, Arizona, medical research team, writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association. They note that the United States Product Safety Commission estimated that, in 1974, 32,000 persons had to receive emergency room treatment because of injuries from exploding bottles. Larger bottles pose more danger because of the greater potential energy involved, which could propel fragments of glass with more force than could smaller bottles. In one instance, a large bottle exploded inside a refrigerator and fragments penetrated the walls of the refrigerator. Protective plastic sleeves placed on some large bottles were found to reduce by 50 percent the number of fragments that escape. The researchers recommend the precaution of storing bottles of carbonated beverages in a cool place, avoiding hitting bottles together or shaking them, and, when opening, pointing the top of the bottle away from your face and body.

“Nutrition Blindness”

◆ Of some nine million cases of blindness in India, at least one million are believed to be “nutrition blindness”​—caused by a deficiency of vitamin A. In the developing world as a whole, it is estimated that 11,000,000 children under the age of six are threatened by this kind of blindness. Experts say that the basic cause is not poverty but, rather, malnutrition due to ignorance. At little or no additional expense, say the experts, the blindness could be prevented by using simple local foods that are a source of vitamin A.

“Jehovah’s Witnesses Thrive”

◆ Under the page-wide title “Jehovah’s Witnesses Thrive in Brooklyn in Contrast to Losses by ‘Establishment’ Sects,” the New York Times of September 6, 1977, said, among other things: “A gentle army has taken over a corner of Brooklyn, preparing for the end of the world as we know it. After rapid expansion in the last decade, the Jehovah’s Witnesses now have 1,800 people living and working in 15 buildings at their international headquarters in Brooklyn Heights. . . . Their presence is seen in sparkling clean factories and renovated hotels near the Brooklyn Bridge. . . . ‘They’re safe, they’re neat, they’re hard-working,’ said Jerry Rizzuti, a real estate broker. . . . ‘They’ve fixed up old buildings that had pimps and addicts in them,’ Mr. Rizzuti said. ‘They keep their property in tip-top shape. Some idiots complain about them, but I wish more people would take their example.’ Since the Witnesses sell their durable, handsome books for dimes and quarters, they obviously are not in publishing for a profit.”

The article also observed: “According to recent figures from the National Council of Churches the Witnesses enjoyed a 4 percent growth in the last year​—at a time when ‘establishment’ denominations were dropping.”

Energy in These Waves!

◆ Off Japan’s coast of Yura in Yamagata Prefecture, the waves are more than 10 feet (3 meters) high for about 100 days a year. The Japanese have decided to use the waves to drive turbines for the generation of electricity. They are installing the world’s first floating electric power plant off the coast of Yura. Its three generators will have a maximum capacity of 200 kilowatts each. To drive the turbines, energy from the waves will compress air in a pressure chamber of the plant.

Dancing Cows

◆ The cow may have greater potential than most farmers imagine. In fact, the Moscow Circus has a new act​—dancing cows, according to the Soviet daily Komsomolskaya Pravda. The cows’ trainer related: “I started working with bears and once I had a look at cows and saw their clever eyes and enchanting faces I decided to work with them. They are clever, tender, understanding, beautiful and adaptable to training.” In the new act the cows not only dance but ride scooters and play soccer. As a goalkeeper for the cows’ soccer team, the trainer is thinking of using a goose.

“Oil” for Arthritic Joints?

◆ Someday people with stiff joints may be able to have them “oiled.” Doctors in the Soviet Union at the Institute of Experimental and Clinical Medicine, Vilnius, Lithuania, have been using artificial lubrication for aging joints. After injections of artificial synovial fluid, “functions of the affected joints improved,” said Dr. Viktoras Vasilionkaitis. “Pains on walking and crackling lessened or disappeared.” Japanese investigators have also found the use of artificial lubrication helpful. Not only did it improve the knees of arthritic patients but it was said to be more effective than drug treatment. “The technique shows some promise,” commented a Harvard orthopedic surgery professor, “but it’s still in the very experimental stage.”

Rejected Nun

◆ The Athens, Greece, Daily Post of August 7, 1977, reports that a 25-year-old prospective nun was raped while on her way to the convent. Later she suffered a mental breakdown and was committed to a mental hospital, having been rejected by the convent because she was no longer a virgin.

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