April 22

Page Two

All over the world, family life is breaking down. What is responsible for this decay? How serious are the consequences? Above all, what can be done to solve problems so as to enjoy happy family life? The following articles provide insight on these questions

3 WHEN FAMILIES DECAY

4 FAMILY DECAY TODAY​—HOW SERIOUS THE CONSEQUENCES?

8 WHY THE FAMILY DECAY

10 HOW TO MAKE YOUR FAMILY LIFE HAPPY

When Families Decay

THE family is the oldest and most basic unit of society. It provides a protective framework for rearing a nation’s youth. Yet you have probably seen serious problems in many families.

What happens when the family weakens and begins to break down? The magazine U.S. News & World Report of March 13, 1978, observed:

“The family is the core strength of our society. If it collapses our society collapses​—unless we provide a strong, reasonable alternative.”

But, really, have you noted any successful alternatives to the family? What do you think of the various experimental “familylike” relationships that are popular today?

For example, homosexual “families,” even some with adopted children, have sprung up. So has communal ‘group marriage,’ where sexual partners are shared along with the rearing of resulting children. ‘Open marriage,’ too, is being tried​—legally married persons agreeing to permit each other sexual relations with outside partners. And especially are there millions of ‘no-contract marriages,’ where couples simply live together without the formality of legal marriage.

Examine the Fruitage

Yet what has been the fruitage of these alternatives to the family? Generally, it has not been good. For example, youths practicing the so-called new morality have produced an epidemic of teen-age pregnancies, costing governments billions of dollars annually in medical and welfare bills​—for which you, as a taxpayer, must pay.

The fact is, these alternative living arrangements reflect a decay of proved values. This is a matter that affects all of us, sooner or later, as noted in the striking observation of the 1978 World Book Encyclopedia:

“Entire civilizations have survived or disappeared, depending on whether family life was strong or weak.”

Is this really true?

Well, historians indicate that in ancient Greece moral decay destroyed the family. After noting the variant life-styles of people then, historian Will Durant writes: “We have tried to show that the essential cause of the Roman conquest of Greece was the disintegration of Greek civilization from within. No great nation is ever conquered until it has destroyed itself.”

This also proved true with Rome. Durant tells of the strength of the family in earlier Roman times, how it hardened the people’s character and made the nation strong. Then, as the centuries rolled by, the family life of Romans weakened and that nation’s strength waned.

Now some look at our present society and wonder whether history may not be repeating itself on a global scale. Is the family really in decay today?

Family Decay Today​—How Serious the Consequences?

WORLD WIDE, families are coming apart at the seams. Perhaps never before has there been so much domestic trouble.

Divorce figures for the United States and Canada given below only illustrate the severity of the problem that exists elsewhere too. Other countries have as high or higher a rate of increase in divorce.

The breakup of the family, the basic unit of society, might be compared to the malfunction of the cell, the basic unit of the human body. When enough cells become sick​—go “haywire”—​the whole body is adversely affected. The breakup of enough families can similarly lead to the decay of an entire civilization.

Meyer Elkin, an expert on family problems, warns: “We are now raising a generation of children from broken homes​—and creating a social time bomb.”

Really, how serious are the consequences of family decay? The decay of the family is given as a major cause of the following:

SCHOOL VIOLENCE

“In view of the deterioration of the family, it is no wonder that in one year [in the U.S.A.] 70,000 assaults were made on teachers, 100 murders were committed in the schools, and a billion dollars’ worth of property damage was done to the schools,” declares Dr. Harold V. Roth, senior psychiatrist at the Menninger Foundation.

SUICIDE EPIDEMIC

On the average, every week more than 16 youngsters commit suicide in Japan. In West Germany, 1,468 young persons killed themselves in a recent year. Some 5,000 young Americans commit suicide each year​—13 a day!

“A lot of kids feel the traditional sources of support don’t exist any more,” explains Dr. Arthur Froese, head of an adolescent psychiatric unit. “The family’s more mobile, more mothers are working and granny isn’t down the block baking cookies after school.”

CHILD PROSTITUTION

According to a report by the U.N. Subcommission on Human Rights, in just one South American country about 50,000 children are prostitutes. Child prostitution has become epidemic world wide. Why? “Many who become prostitutes typically are the products of broken homes,” notes the Detroit News of May 16, 1978. In some studies 25 percent of prostitutes had incestuous backgrounds.

WORLDWIDE DRUG ABUSE

Drug abuse is growing in many nations throughout the world, particularly among youths. Italy reportedly has 200,000 addicts, England 2,000,000, and the United States 6,000,000. “A consistent finding in the drug user,” says one leading psychiatrist, “is the absent father during the formative childhood years.”

BRUTALITY IN THE HOME

“You are more likely to get killed, injured or physically attacked in your home by someone you are related to, than in any other social context,” states sociologist Richard Gelles.

In the U.S.A., some 2,000 children are killed each year by their parents; nearly 1,000,000 injured. There are also about 2,000 murders annually involving husbands and wives. This is a consequence of deteriorating conditions in the family.

OLDER ONES UNWANTED

No longer is it common for a family of children, parents and grandparents to live together. Over 6,500,000 Americans live alone. Often aging, older relatives are needlessly put away in old-folks homes or otherwise shunted aside. The result​—loneliness and an early death for many.

RAMPANT VD

In Italy, of 1,968,984 young men called up for national service, nearly 65,000 were found to have syphilis. Those between the ages of 15 and 19 account for 25 percent of the million cases of gonorrhea reported in the U.S.A. each year. Daily, some 5,750 girls are absent from school in the U.S.A. because of gonorrhea. The breakdown of the family is given as a major cause of the tremendous sexual promiscuity today.

MILLIONS OF ALCOHOLICS

Many countries have literally millions of alcoholics. Alcoholism is reportedly now killing 40,000 people a year in France. In the U.S.A. one out of five high school students gets drunk at least once a week. Family trouble and unhappiness have been identified as root causes of alcoholism.

CHILD PREGNANCY

Every year about 30,000 girls age 14 and younger get pregnant in the U.S.A.; the total teen-age pregnancies number about a million annually. Of these, some 600,000 have their babies​—two out of every three of them bear their babies out of wedlock. In Canada over 1,000 teen-agers a week get pregnant. And in New Zealand more than one baby in every five is illegitimate​—another sad consequence of the family decay.

Clearly, the decay of the family is having widespread and disastrous consequences. It is indeed frightening to consider hundreds of thousands of teen-age mothers trying to rear their children without a husband. But that is what is happening.

Furthermore, one out of every three British brides under 20 is pregnant on her wedding day. In the U.S. almost one quarter of all newlywed women under 25 either had a child before marriage or were pregnant when they got married. This situation is bound to place a financial and emotional strain on most of these new families.

In some countries now a large percentage of mothers with school-age children are employed​—in the U.S. more than 50 percent are. Since fathers also work, children usually fail to receive the parental guidance they need. As Professor Urie Bronfenbrenner noted: “If there’s any reliable predictor of trouble, it probably begins with children coming home to an empty house.”

Since divorce, separation, adultery and the number of parents simply walking away from family responsibilities have become ever more common, social scientists warn that the family may not survive this century. And some fear that the spreading cancer of family breakdown will lead to the decay of civilization itself.

What has led to the decay of family life? What can be done about it?

[Chart on page 4]

TOTAL DIVORCES

U.S.A. Canada

1960 393,000 6,980

1965 479,000 8,974

1970 708,000 29,775

1976 1,083,000 54,207

Why the Family Decay

ABOUT 80 or 90 years ago most persons lived on small farms or in rural communities. Today’s largely urban society, with its many technological marvels, represents a radical change in people’s life-style. Could it be that this change is related to the decay of the family?

Well, life has often become very impersonal in modern cities. There is less caring about the welfare of others than years ago. To illustrate: An old man lay dying on a sidewalk in Oklahoma City. He was bleeding profusely and his tongue was sticking out. A newspaper reported:

“Hundreds of pedestrians walked past him. Some stepped over his body. Scores of drivers drove past without stopping.

“One passing driver, lawyer Henry W. Nichols Jr., stopped to administer first aid to the victim, later identified as Clinton Collins, 77, of suburban Bethany. And while he did, the crowds passed by oblivious, ignoring appeals for help.”

Sad, isn’t it? Yet, unfortunately, happenings like this have become rather common. And the uncaring attitude of people is bound to have an effect on their families. Why is there such lack of concern for others?

Change in Attitudes

It’s due to a basic change in people’s attitudes. And modern technology has contributed to these attitude changes. How so? Well, to sell its many new products, the world makes people feel that happiness is dependent upon having these things. The message everywhere proclaimed is: ‘You only live once, so get all you can NOW.’

People are thus taught to think first of their own satisfaction and pleasure. The result is today’s “me” society. Eminent philosophers at a think-tank conference last summer were evidently worried by the consequences of such thinking. “Too many individuals consider the future to be only one or two years and do not think about what’s beyond,” explained conference moderator Alfred E. Koenig. “There is really very little concern or effort devoted to that which is well down the road.”

Yes, the future has become so uncertain that many ‘live for the moment,’ trying to get all they can out of life now. What effect has this pursuit of immediate pleasure had upon the family?

Effect on the Family

Well, due to worldly propaganda, many persons getting married today think principally of their own personal pleasure. Often enjoyment of sex becomes an overriding concern. Thus, expectations for marital bliss are raised to a level that realization does not fulfill. So couples quickly divorce and seek pleasure in another relationship.

Even persons married for a long time have been victimized by the “me” society’s emphasis on self-gratification. Many are led to think that they are missing out on something, that real pleasure can be found with another sexual partner. Dr. Robert Taylor, who has written extensively on the matter, said: “I believe the ‘me’ philosophy is contributing to the high divorce rate we have now.”

Perhaps the greatest sufferers have been the children. Concerned with their own gratification, many parents have been inclined to sacrifice little of themselves for their young ones. A few years ago the Detroit Free Press noted:

“A mother in the suburbs, her children nearly grown, says she notices a difference in young married couples, those near age 30. They seem so selfish, so self-involved, she says. Money, careers and self come first. The couples don’t care about children, she says, they care only about things.”

Setting the stage for this “me” philosophy was the so-called new morality, which asserts: “Nothing can of itself always be labeled as ‘wrong.’” According to this view, sex relations before marriage can be alright, as can sex with persons other than one’s marriage mate. It all depends on the situation, so it is claimed. But the effect of such views has been disastrous​—contributing to a real decay of the family.

Why the Family’s Origin Is a Factor

Modern technology’s marvelous inventions have made possible the enjoyment of many pleasures, and the new morality was supposed to “free” people so they could enjoy them to the full. Yet there are fewer families now that are happy and content than there were years ago before the advent of modern technology. What’s the problem?

Basically, it is this: Humans, flattered with their own wisdom and accomplishments, advanced the idea that marriage and the family are simply of human origin, that they sort of evolved over the ages to fill a human need. But this is a serious error that is at the very root of today’s disastrous family breakdown.

Why so? Because love and marriage, along with family and children, are of a higher origin. The One who created the first man and woman gave them powers of reproduction and joined them together to be a family. (Gen. 2:21-24; Matt. 19:4-6) It was Jehovah God’s stated purpose for this family to increase, producing many other families until the earth would be filled.​—Gen. 1:28.

Is it not reasonable that the Originator of the family knows better than anyone else how to make a success of family life? Actually, a basic cause of family unhappiness is the failure of humans to apply the practical direction that our Creator has had recorded for them in the Bible. Is it not wise at least to examine family problems in the light of what this Book says?

The Role of an Unseen Enemy

The Bible foretold that our generation would experience a shocking ‘increase of lawlessness,’ including ‘disobedience to parents’ and “no natural affection.” (Matt. 24:3-12; 2 Tim. 3:1-5) And it points to an unseen, powerful force as a major cause of such family-wrecking problems. Concerning our day, the Bible says: “Woe for the earth . . . because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.”​—Rev. 12:9, 12.

But who is this Devil? He is no mythical character. He is a real, invisible person, just as God is. And the Bible shows that he exercises influence on the minds of humans, egging them on to lawless deeds.​—1 John 5:19; 1 Pet. 5:8.

Some may balk at this idea. Yet what answers do they have to account for the inhuman, often fiendish and depraved behavior of people, many times directed against their own husbands, wives, children and parents? The only satisfying explanation of such horrible conduct, so contrary to what one would normally expect, is the invisible influence of the Devil and spirit forces allied with him.

In the past it appeared as though history were repeating itself, as one civilization after another rose and then disintegrated, with family breakdown being a feature of the fall. But today is different. The Bible identifies our time as the “last days,” not just of a Greek or a Roman civilization, but of the entire system of things. Also, the activity of the Devil and his demons is to be terminated. Jehovah God promises to bring an end to all wickedness and to usher in a completely new system of things.​—2 Pet. 3:13; 1 John 2:17; Rev. 20:1-3.

In the meantime, while we live in these difficult times, what can we do to make our family life happy?

How to Make Your Family Life Happy

A GOOD recipe, followed closely, will result in a good cake. Similarly, a good recipe, or guide, is important in creating a happy family.

Logically, we would expect the Originator of the family to provide such a recipe. And he has. God has provided guidance and instruction in the Bible on how to make a success of family life.

Yet many may object: “People in ‘Christian’ lands have had the Bible all their lives, and it has not solved their family problems. Their divorce rates are often among the highest.”

This is true. Millions of unhappy families do possess the Bible. But have they read it? More importantly, have they applied its principles in their lives? The fact is that most possessors of a Bible do not read and apply its laws and principles.

On the other hand, some persons argue: “There are happy families in which the Bible is not used as a guide, and none of the family members even believe in God.”

This, too, is true. How, then, does their happiness come about? It results because, although they do not do so intentionally, the members of the family actually follow a standard similar to that set out in the Bible. The fact is, humans were created by God with a conscience, and some persons, without even knowing it, adopt a way of life that is fairly close to harmonizing with God’s laws and principles for family life.​—Rom. 2:14, 15.

What are some of these laws and principles of God? Examine them on the following pages and see if you do not agree that the application of them will contribute to happiness in your family.

LOVE YOUR WIFE

The Bible, with divine wisdom, states: “Husbands ought to be loving their wives as their own bodies.” (Eph. 5:28-30) Time and again, experience has proven that for wives to be happy they need to feel they are loved. This means that a husband should give his wife special attention, including tenderness, understanding and reassurance. He needs to ‘assign her honor,’ as the Bible says, taking her into consideration in all that he does. In this way he will earn her respect.​—1 Pet. 3:7.

RESPECT YOUR HUSBAND

And what about wives? “The wife should have deep respect for her husband,” the Bible declares. (Eph. 5:33) Failure to heed this counsel is a chief cause for husbands resenting their wives. A wife shows respect by supporting her husband’s decisions, and cooperating whole-souled with him to achieve family goals. By fulfilling her Bible-assigned role as ‘helper and complement’ to her husband, she makes it easy for her husband to love her.​—Gen. 2:18.

BE FAITHFUL TO EACH OTHER

The Bible says: “Husbands and wives must be faithful to each other.” To the husband it says: “Be happy with your wife and find your joy with the girl you married . . . why should you give your love to another woman? Why should you prefer the charms of another man’s wife?”​—Heb. 13:4; Prov. 5:18-20, Good News Bible.

‘Group marriage,’ ‘open marriage’ and other such alternatives to marriage and family, which are really adultery, simply do not lead to true happiness. “Infidelity doesn’t work,” concluded one marriage researcher. “Lots of people think an adulterous affair might spice up a marriage, but an affair was always a sign of real problems.”

SEEK YOUR MATE’S PLEASURE

The Bible teaches: Happiness does not come when one seeks sexual pleasure primarily for oneself, but, rather, in seeking also to provide it for one’s mate. It says: “Let the husband render to his wife her due; but let the wife also do likewise to her husband.” The emphasis is on rendering, giving. And by giving, the giver also receives genuine pleasure, as Jesus Christ indicated by saying: “There is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving.”​—1 Cor. 7:3; Acts 20:35.

GIVE OF YOURSELF TO YOUR CHILDREN

A child in the third grade wrote: “My dad works all the time. He is never home. He gives me money and lots of toys, but I hardly ever see him. I love him and wish he would not work all the time so I could see him more.”

Sad to say, the situation is similar in many families, with disastrous consequences. What a difference it makes when parents follow the Bible’s admonition to teach their children ‘when they sit in their house and when they walk on the road and when they lie down and when they get up’! Giving of yourself to your children, spending quality time with them, is certain to contribute to family happiness.​—Deut. 11:19.

PROVIDE NEEDED DISCIPLINE

Perhaps most children wish their parents would let them do whatever they please. But a youth whose parents had failed to provide any discipline said: “Well, it’s not fun. It makes me feel guilty and rotten. One of these days I’m afraid I’ll do something awful.”

Recognizing what is needed, the Bible urges: “You, fathers, . . . go on bringing [your children] up in the discipline and mental-regulating of Jehovah.” The giving of discipline, even if it may include a spanking or a taking away of privileges, is an evidence of parental love. The Bible says: “The one loving [his son] is he that does look for him with discipline.”​—Eph. 6:4; Prov. 13:24; 22:15; 23:13, 14.

YOUTHS​—RESIST WORLDLY WAYS

The world applies pressure upon youths to ‘do their own thing,’ to rebel against authority. Also, as the Bible states, “foolishness is tied up with the heart of a boy.” (Prov. 22:15) So it is a fight to do what is right.

Yet the Bible says: “Children, it is your Christian duty to obey your parents, for this is the right thing to do.” It will bring rich rewards. So be wise. Heed the counsel: “Remember your Creator while you are still young.” Resist the temptations to take drugs, get drunk, commit fornication and do other things that violate God’s laws.​—Eph. 6:1-4; Eccl. 12:1, Good News Bible.

STUDY THE BIBLE TOGETHER

If one member of the family studies and applies Bible principles, it will contribute to family happiness. But if all do​—husband, wife and children—​what a blessed family that will be! There will be a warm, close relationship, with open communication, as each family member tries to help the others to serve Jehovah God. So make it a family habit to study the Bible together!

When a recipe has proved successful, does it not make sense to use it? When a road map has guided other travelers to a desired destination, can you not rely on it to get you safely to the same place? The Bible has proved to be such a successful recipe, or guide, to family happiness.

The early American president Thomas Jefferson said: “The studious perusal of the Sacred Volume will make better citizens, better fathers, better husbands . . . The Bible makes the best people in the world.” It makes the kind of people everyone enjoys being around, the kind that make warm, close families.

But is there proof that applying the Bible’s counsel today will contribute to family happiness? Indeed there is. Jehovah’s Witnesses believe the Bible to be inspired by God, and so they look to it as their guide. A reporter, covering a European convention of theirs, noted: “They know the Bible by heart to such an extent as to outdo the most scrupulous theologian. It’s their bed-side book, if not their only book.”​—Journal d’Europe, August 14, 1973.

What has been the effect of applying the Bible’s counsel to their family life? This is often strikingly evident at conventions of Jehovah’s Witnesses. The Green Bay, Wisconsin, Press-Gazette, reporting on one of their large conventions in 1976, said:

“Families are the rule rather than the exception. And the presence of all those children, ranging in age from babes in arms to teenagers, does nothing to disturb the tranquillity and quiet dedication of the remainder of the Witnesses.

“Rather it adds a feeling of togetherness, serious, yet lighthearted, that has pervaded the scene of swarming humanity at the Brown County Veterans’ Memorial arena.”

Application of Bible laws and principles really does contribute to family happiness! Husbands and wives stick together in love, children are provided wise discipline, and young ones respond by respecting their parents. In time the earth will be filled with happy families who all apply God’s laws. How can we be so sure?

Happy Families Earth Wide

It is because Jehovah God himself arranged for the family. He joined the first human pair in marriage, and instructed them: “Have many children, so that your descendants will live all over the earth and bring it under their control.”​—Gen. 1:28, Good News Bible.

God’s purpose was for these earthly families to be happy. Children were not to get sick and adults were not to grow old and eventually die. It was God’s original purpose for humans to live forever in perfection, and for the whole earth, in time, to be cultivated as a lovely paradise.

This original purpose of God will yet be fulfilled. In answer to the prayer for God’s kingdom to come to accomplish his will on earth as it is done in heaven, God’s heavenly government soon will take action to sweep away all present earthly governments and their corruption. (Matt. 6:9, 10; Dan. 2:44) As the Bible promises: “God himself will be with [humankind]. And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more . . . The former things have passed away.”​—Rev. 21:3, 4.

Do you really desire family happiness? Jehovah’s Witnesses are devoted to helping people to learn the teachings of the Bible. They will be happy to consider with you further details as to what the Bible says on the matter of building a happy family life. To arrange for this, simply write the publishers of this magazine or contact Jehovah’s Witnesses locally.

What You Should Know About Burns

IT’S hard to believe, but in some years nearly 12,000 Americans die of burns, and almost 100,000 are burned seriously enough to be hospitalized. “Although most people don’t realize it, this is actually an epidemic,” notes one burn expert. The June 1979 Reader’s Digest made the startling claim: “Burns now rank as the main cause of death for those under 40, and the third-leading cause of death for all age groups.”

You may think it will never happen to you, but statistics point to the real possibility of your being a burn victim. And if you are, it probably will happen suddenly, without warning. What should you do? Can you do something to minimize, or possibly even nullify, the damage?

Yes, you can.

Cold for Burns?

An editorial in the July 1976 Burns magazine observed: “Many burns cases arrive in hospital with little or no proper first aid. The evidence continues to mount that adequate and immediate cooling of burns is the single most beneficial procedure in or out of the hospital.”​—Italics added.

Until the 1960’s, first-aid literature generally ignored this simple treatment. In fact, many persons would tell you that you should not put cold on a burn, because it will drive the heat in farther. Even today many don’t realize the importance of immediately cooling a burn. Somehow it just isn’t emphasized. Explained one burn victim: “At the burn center the staff would talk to patients a lot about prevention of burns and about first aid, but not a word, that I remember, was said about using cold water or ice.”

Interestingly, in 1960 Dr. Alex G. Shulman wrote in The Journal of the American Medical Association that the use of cold for burns was “known to the ancients but seems to have been ignored by physician and layman alike. Although scattered references in the literature are unanimous in praise of this form of treatment, it is not generally used today. Indeed, most physicians say ‘it isn’t done,’ although no one quite knows why.”

At the time of their accident, many persons did not know of this first-aid measure. Some have since wondered whether their injuries would have been so severe if such first aid had begun immediately. A recent issue of Family Safety notes: “Cold water stops the destruction of tissue that can continue long after the burn is received.”

The Value of the Cold

Back in 1966 the Awake! magazine brought to public attention the value of cold for burns.a Quoting Drs. Omero S. Iung and Franklin V. Wade, it explained: “When a burn occurs, not all the damage is produced at once. The pathological process continues. . . . We believe that the cold application can slow down and even stop this sequence of events.”

Also in that Awake! magazine, Dr. Stephen R. Lewis’ successful method of treating burns was reported. He said: “Our general plan on the small burn where it involves just a hand or lower extremity is to simply put them in ice water for fifteen minutes. This should relieve the pain and generally does. . . . Take them out in fifteen minutes, and put them back in and out, until the pain completely disappears out of ice water. This usually occurs within a period of about three hours using ice.”b

In the months after this article was published, Awake! received letters from appreciative readers who had applied this treatment with beneficial results. A mother from California wrote:

“On a Sunday my son decided to weld the shock absorbers on his car. The hydraulic cylinders got too hot and exploded, covering the whole top of his body with boiling oil. My first thought was that article. I remembered that cold water was the best, so while my husband kept running cold water over him, I looked the article over quickly to verify it. Then I called the doctor. . . .

“He didn’t give me any other suggestions as to treatment. . . . So we kept putting the ice-cold towels on him, as he was still in shock and the heat was radiating from him so much that the towels would be hot in a minute. To make a long story short, the next day he looked horrible, with huge blisters all over his face and arms. But in one week he had all new pink skin; it was unbelievable. I know the cold water had a lot to do with it.”

Another letter received was from a couple in Michigan. The wife describes:

“As my husband was mixing the last batch of mashed potatoes on Sunday [during a convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses], he spilled scalding water on his chest, face and arm. His upper clothing was removed and the brothers, using the information in the ‘Awake!’ article on burns, packed ice on the burned area. They kept this up for quite a period of time. I drove him home and continued the ice and cold-water treatment until the pain left. All that was left for the doctor to do was check the area.”

The quick application of the cold evidently arrests the progress of burns and prevents them from developing into deeper, more serious wounds. As Dr. Shulman wrote: “My experience indicates that, whatever the subsequent management may be, those patients who receive initial ice water treatment fare better than those who do not.”

In severe burns, however, caution in using this treatment is required. Too much cold to large areas of the body can bring the body temperature down too much, causing shock.

Emergency Fluid Replacement

If medical help isn’t available within the half hour, to prevent shock from fluid loss a burn victim should be given a solution of salt and baking soda to drink. Mix one teaspoon of salt and a half teaspoon of baking soda in each quart of water. This solution will approximate the kind of fluid the victim’s body is losing.

In the past, blood transfusions have been recommended to counteract shock in burn cases. However, the medical textbook Current Therapy 1972 states: “Except in those patients who have associate injuries responsible for direct blood loss, whole blood is unnecessary.”

Fine Progress in Treatment

Back in 1963 the Industrial Medicine and Surgery magazine observed regarding extensive burns: “The accomplishments have been reflected chiefly in the prolongation of life, and not in the over-all survival. The mortality rate has not changed significantly in the past 50 years.”

For many years the problems encountered in treating burn victims seemed unfathomable. Patients usually died regardless of the efforts to help them. Thus few doctors were inclined to devote the time required in caring for burn patients, and, sadly, burn research was practically ignored. Until 1960 the only place in the United States equipped to handle the badly burned was the Brooke Army Medical Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Today up to 200 or so of the more than 7,000 hospitals in the U.S. have burn units. In addition, there are about 15 specially equipped burn centers where a large team of burn specialists are available. Burn victims today can be grateful that significant strides have been made in treating burns, and that there is a good chance that a well-equipped treatment facility is nearby.

In the mid-1960’s a major breakthrough was made in controlling infection in burn wounds. A dilute silver nitrate solution was introduced that inhibited bacterial growth, without damaging living tissue. About the same time new creams containing silver sulfadiazine and other sulfa compounds also began to be used successfully in combating infection. The December 1978 Burns magazine notes that, in China, vegetable extracts of a complex nature are applied to burns, and that these have a good antibacterial action.

Fine progress has also been made in recent years in managing burn patients’ unique nutritional needs and in replacing their fluid losses.

Improvements, too, have been realized in methods of skin grafting. Skin taken from uninjured parts of the victim’s body can now be greatly enlarged by perforating and stretching it, and then applying it as a mesh over the burn. To provide temporary covering of the burned area, pigskin or skin from human cadavers are commonly used. Also, amniotic tissue is being used as a dressing for serious burns, and progress is being made in constructing an artificial skin from animal tissue.

With the progress that has been made, even persons with deep burns over 50 percent of their body now have a good chance for survival if treated in a facility equipped to handle burns. But how much better it is to avoid being a burn victim! Burn experts say that 50 percent or more of all burn accidents could be prevented. There are some simple precautions that we can all take.

Prevention

First of all, if you are a smoker, it would be wise to stop smoking. The January 1976 Burns magazine observed: “Matches and tobacco have been pointed out as the commonest cause of fire.” And the acting director of a burn unit, Dr. Carlos Silva, said that the single most frequent cause of severe burns is smoking in bed. Explained one burn victim: “At the burn unit where I was treated at least three or four of the 18 patients had been burned while smoking.”

Yet statistics indicate that fire is not the cause of most burns. Hot liquids are. And scald victims are very often small children. Most of their burns, however, could be prevented if hot fluid had always been kept out of their reach, if they had not been left alone with hot bath water, if the handle of a pan containing hot liquid had not been left protruding over the edge of the stove, and so on.

One wise safety measure would be to adjust your water heater so the water from faucets will not scald anyone. The United States government last summer made it unlawful for water in commercial buildings to exceed 105 degrees Fahrenheit (41° C). Following that precedent would not only conserve precious energy but perhaps prevent a serious burn accident in your home.

Basically, it is a matter of forethought. When you enter a public building think of how you will get out in case of fire. People almost invariably try to leave the way they came in, resulting in a jam-up, and death. In Chicago’s Iroquois Theater disaster many years ago, of 10 available exits, only three were used​—575 died!

What about your own home? If there were a fire there tonight, how would you get out? A window is usually the best escape route, especially when you are awakened at night. A fire fighter advised: “When you get to your room tonight, close your eyes or put on a blindfold and try to find your way over to the window. Then see if you can open it.” In case of fire, your life may depend upon your being able to do it quickly.c

If all of us were more conscious of preventing burns, and knew how to treat them immediately if they occurred, fewer persons would become serious burn victims.

[Footnotes]

[Blurb on page 18]

Shock can result from too much cold to large areas of the body

[Blurb on page 18]

Give burn victim a drink of baking soda and salt in water if medical treatment is not available soon

[Box/​Pictures on page 19]

TO PREVENT BURNS

Do not smoke in bed

No handles over edge of stove

Do not turn hot-water heater too high

[Picture on page 17]

Apply ice water to burns quickly

Where Did It Come From?

The doctrine of the Trinity has long been taught in both Catholic and Protestant churches as the central doctrine of Christendom’s religions.

Is it from the Bible? The “Encyclopædia Britannica” explains that “neither the word ‘Trinity’ nor the explicit doctrine as such appears at any one place in the Bible.” (1971 ed., Vol. 22, p. 241) Concerning the dogma of “one God in three Persons,” the “Catholic Encyclopedia” acknowledges: “It is not . . . directly and immediately the word of God.” (1967 ed., Vol. 14, p. 304)

Then where did the idea originate? Trinities of gods were common in ancient Egyptian and Babylonian mythology, and in the Hindu and Buddhist religions. At the right you see an ancient Egyptian triad of gods: Isis, Osiris and Horus.

According to “The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge,” pagan Greek philosophers influenced Christendom’s teaching: “The doctrines of the Logos and the Trinity received their shape from Greek Fathers, who, if not trained in the schools, were much influenced, directly or indirectly, by the [pagan] Platonic philosophy.” (Vol. 9, p. 91)

The Roman emperor Constantine also played an important role. Viewing religious division as a threat to the unity of the empire, he summoned a council of bishops at Nicea in 325 C.E. After two months of debate, the unbaptized emperor decided in favor of the Trinitarian advocates. Reports the “Encyclopædia Britannica” (Vol. 6, p. 386): “Overawed by the emperor, the bishops, with two exceptions only, signed the [Nicean] creed, many of them much against their inclination.” Dissenters were banished.

Not long after this, however, the dissenters at Nicea were back in Constantine’s favor and a chief advocate of Trinitarianism was banned. Later, the Trinitarians were favored again, by Emperor Theodosius, who closed the places of worship of those who would not conform.

Thus, pagan philosophy and decrees of political rulers helped to shape the doctrine of the Trinity and give it the popularity it has today.

Trier​—Melting Pot of Religions

By “Awake!” correspondent in the Federal Republic of Germany

WOULD you like to join me on a tour of the city of Trier? I have been told that there are some interesting​—even revealing—​things to be learned here. Our group is ready to go.

“Hello, my name is Peter,” our tour guide begins. “I hope you will enjoy your tour of Germany’s oldest city.”

Before us is the Porta Nigra, meaning “black gate,” a huge, coal-black sandstone monument. It was constructed here in Trier, near the Luxembourg border, in the fourth century and well depicts the influence that the Roman Empire had upon Trier, its culture, its language, its architecture and its religion. Trier is named for the Treveri, a people of ancient Gaul, who were conquered by Julius Caesar.

How old is Trier? Legend has it that a stepson of Queen Semiramis named Trebeta founded the city. There is no definite proof of that. Nevertheless, on a house at the Grand Market, in golden letters, is an inscription that proclaims: “Ante Romam treviris stetit annis mille trecentis perstet et aeterna pace fruatur,” meaning, “Trier existed 1,300 years before Rome. May it continue to exist and to enjoy eternal peace.”

Not only is Trier Germany’s oldest city, but during the third century it served, along with Rome, Alexandria and Constantinople, as one of the capitals of the world. Constantine the Great began ruling there in 306 C.E., after which the city grew in importance. During his reign of 31 years​—he is said to have resided in Trier until 312—​it experienced a tremendous building program. Probably nowhere north of the Alps can so many Roman buildings be found as in Trier, nicknamed “Roma Secunda,” the second Rome; and the poet Ausonius called it “Rome beyond the Alps.”

Religious Background

When the Romans came, some of the names of the gods of the Gallo-Celtic people here were combined with the names of the gods of Rome, creating such joint designations as Mars-Jovantucarus and Apollo-Grannus. The Treveri tribal god Lenus was combined with Mars, the Roman god of nature and war, and an unusually large temple was erected in honor of this “double god.” An altar inscribed with this name still exists. Statues also indicate that Roman and Gallic depictions of their gods and of their characteristics were gradually merging during the first and second centuries C.E. Gallic paganism and Roman paganism were becoming fused into a new religion. My thoughts are interrupted when someone asks:

“But didn’t the Romans bring Christianity to these people?”

“Well, not actually,” our guide replies, “because, you see, the Romans were not really Christians themselves. In fact, in 303 C.E. Emperor Diocletian began a savage persecution of Christians. Earlier, however, he paved the way for a significant religious change that involved the Christian religion. He divided his empire into four parts. After 285 C.E. he made Trier the capital of the Western Empire, which included Gaul (France), Spain, Britain and the two Germanic provinces. Diocletian abdicated in 305 C.E., and the next year Constantine the Great took up residence in Trier.”

As Peter explains the part that Constantine the Great had played in merging the already pagan mixture of Gallo-Roman religion with apostate Christianity, I listen carefully:

“Constantine quickly came to realize that the various peoples and interest groups in his empire needed something to unite them. He decided the Christian religion might serve to do this. So he extended recognition to the Christian religion in an edict issued at Nicomedia in 313 C.E. This did not mean that he had been converted to Christianity. Many authorities argue that his motives were chiefly political, and that he simply used the Christian religion as a tool to achieve stability for his empire. As an individual he remained unchanged by the Bible’s teachings, resorting to treachery, trickery, even murder, to achieve his aims. He was superstitious and constantly on the lookout for portents and omens. So in the true sense of the word he never became a Christian.

“By the fourth century Christians were themselves at disagreement on various points, however; so Constantine first of all had to try to unite them. In an attempt to allay their differences, he convened the Council of Nicaea in 325 C.E., where the Nicene Creed spelling out the Trinity doctrine was adopted.”

I wonder how many Catholics and Protestants know that this doctrine can be traced back to a pagan emperor who, for political ends, had used it to merge a twofold Roman-Gallo pagan religion with apostate Christianity.

Ahead of us is an imposing brick building at least 30 m (98 feet) high, its walls full of large arched windows. Peter is already explaining: “ . . . the basilica, part of Constantine the Great’s imperial palace, where he, sitting under a canopy, received guests for his festive and political gatherings. This canopy was later used as the architectural pattern for the triumphal arch, the symbol of majesty, which was incorporated into many Christian churches. Since 1856 the basilica has been used as a Protestant church.”

When we stop to rest for a few minutes in the gardens, one member of our group debates whether to go on to the museum or to wait for us here, enjoying the sunshine and the fresh air. “I am not much for museums,” he explains. “Is that where they have the ‘holy tunic’?”

So-called Christian Relics

I had read that over 1,700,000 pilgrims had come to Trier during special festivities in 1959 to see this “holy tunic,” or robe. It is displayed only on special occasions so I was quite sure it would not be in the museum for us to see.

Peter overheard my neighbor’s question and verifies what I thought. “No, Christian artifacts or relics are kept elsewhere. But Trier does have them. Constantine’s mother, Empress Helene, took a special liking to relics. Tradition has it that she arranged for the first shipment of them to Trier during the fourth century; it included one of Peter’s teeth, apostle Andreas’ sandals, apostle Matthias’ remains, a nail used to fasten Jesus to the stake and Jesus’ seamless robe, called the ‘holy tunic.’”

A man in our group is not hesitant in expressing disbelief. “Why, churches around the world display more relics than ever existed.” He, of course, is not far wrong. I remember having read in the book Der Heilige Rock in Trier​—Geschichte und Religiöse Bedeutung des heiligen Gewandes Christi (The Holy Tunic in Trier—​History and Religious Significance of Christ’s Holy Tunic) that Jesus’ tunics, or parts of them, are to be found not only in Trier, but also in Aachen, Bamberg, Bremen, Lokkum, Abbeville, Constantinople, London, Moscow and in more than 30 other churches and monasteries around the world. Really, how likely is it that any of Jesus’ original robes have survived until our day? And it surely is not reasonable to believe that so many of them have. Early Christians were opposed to keeping relics, since the practice runs counter to the Christian injunction of walking, not by sight, but by faith. (2 Cor. 5:7) And if the Christians did not keep them, would we expect their opposers to have done so, holding on to them as though they were something to be viewed as “extremely holy”?

The museum turns out to be highly interesting and revealing, rich in ancient sculptures and early Roman artifacts. Among other things, we see the torso of a pagan goddess. Peter explains the reason for her disfigurement: “For centuries pilgrims have been throwing stones at her in a symbolic rejection of paganism.”

How strange, I think to myself, when in reality many of these pilgrims themselves were supporting the very doctrines and practices of paganism because of the fusion of Gallo-Celtic paganism with Roman paganism, followed later by a fusion of this resultant religion with the apostate Christianity of Constantine’s day! Truly, Trier had been a melting place of religions.

We retrace our steps through the gardens, past the basilica, and start down a busy city street named in honor of Constantine. On our way, Peter hesitates at a corner and points to the left: “By the way, several blocks right down that street is the house where Karl Marx was born in 1818. Since it was opened to the public in 1965, it has been visited by over 100,000 persons.”

It might seem paradoxical that Germany’s oldest city, “Roma Secunda,” with a population still over 85 percent Catholic, should be the birthplace of a forerunner of one of the Catholic Church’s greatest enemies, Communism. But then, on second thought, maybe not as paradoxical as one might think, for Communism is an outgrowth, not of true Christianity, but, rather, of the pagan-apostate Christianity mixture of fusion religion in which Trier played such an interesting part. What good could possibly come of such a mixture? Perhaps this fact of history nicely illustrates it.

We found the tour to be interesting and thought provoking. It is our hope that you did too.

[Picture on page 21]

PORTA NIGRA

They Listened to the Family’s Founder

ALTHOUGH happiness in the family is something that many persons desire, family problems are increasing everywhere. However, man’s Creator, the founder of the family, has provided the necessary direction for achieving happy family life. Following this direction, many persons have found satisfaction in life. A housewife in Japan relates her experience in regaining real unity with her husband:

“Even in the remote place where I live, Jehovah’s Witnesses called. They talked to me about child training and a study was arranged with my child. I thought that the child might behave better by studying the Bible. The conductor came regularly to our distant home. A close friendship developed, and my child looked forward to the studies each week.

“It was during one of these times that the Witness opened the book ‘Good News​—to Make You Happy,’ while explaining: ‘The secret of how to become a good wife is written here.’ Those words ‘good wife’ caught me. The next week I, too, sat in on the Bible study and started to participate. On the first study I heard the Bible’s words at Proverbs 27:15: ‘A leaking roof that drives one away in the day of a steady rain and a contentious wife are comparable.’ When I heard what the Bible says about headship, I realized that it was my own headship that I upheld more than my husband’s. I felt a pain in my heart.

“By this time my husband and I were drifting apart. The source of the problem was with me. A few years earlier I had gotten the idea to repair our store, but my husband was opposed to the idea. I went ahead and had the repairs made. From this time on I went ahead and did what I wanted without consulting him. My husband, seeing this, said: ‘You don’t need me, you can get along on your own. Let’s just go our separate ways. I can’t take any more of this.’ Our relationship suddenly turned cold. My husband turned to gambling and drinking. Because our child was young, we did not get a divorce but were a couple in name only.

“This was our situation when I learned from the Bible how foolish I had been. In my heart I apologized to my husband and during the study I began to cry. Then the scripture at 1 Peter 3:1, 2 gave me hope. ‘You wives, be in subjection to your own husbands, in order that, if any are not obedient to the word, they may be won without a word through the conduct of their wives, because of having been eyewitnesses of your chaste conduct together with deep respect.’ With this scripture supporting my heart, I felt it was not too late. Now I learned a different Bible promise, that is, the provision for everlasting life. Having become convinced of Jehovah’s existence, I could go to him in prayer. Every day I prayed that my husband might learn the truth with me, if it was God’s will.”

How did the husband respond to his wife’s efforts? He himself tells:

“At first when my wife started to study I felt it would be as usual, that she would quit after a short time. Before, when my wife started learning something, the longest she continued was three months, then she quit. But this time there was no indication of quitting; rather, she became more zealous as the days passed. After 10 months of study I noticed that her attitude toward me had changed. She became submissive and stopped talking back. I could see the effort she was putting forth and I was puzzled that the Bible could have such power, so I too started to study the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses. When I learned what God’s will and purpose for us was, I decided to live in accord with his will. The result was that our divided household became united. Even before the paradise has come, our family has truly tasted happiness.”

This couple studied the Bible, acted on the things learned and were able to improve their family life. Yes, following the lead of the founder of the family, Jehovah, who is the “happy God,” brings a happy life.​—1 Tim. 1:11.

Drawing Oil from Turbulent Waters

By “Awake!” correspondent in the British Isles

AT A point where some of the world’s wildest weather rages, oil has been found beneath the sea. On an average, winds here are calm only one percent of the time in winter and 5 percent in midsummer. Hurricane-force storms batter the oil rigs as 90-foot (27-m) waves crash over the drilling decks. Supply ships have foundered. Most serious of all, however, is the ever-increasing loss of human life. These factors, added to the normal overheads of such a project, make it incredibly expensive to draw oil from the troubled waters of the northern North Sea.

In 1964 the British government issued licenses authorizing oil companies to explore the North Sea for petroleum resources, and by 1969 the first small discovery of oil was made. Since then the oil rush has been on until today 14 fields are considered commercial.

Preparing for the Harvest

When the possibility of drawing oil in commercial quantities from under the sea became a reality, much installation had to be undertaken. First, 32-inch (81-cm)-diameter submarine pipelines with three-quarter-inch (19-mm) steel walls had to be laid from the mainland out into the middle of the sea. These were specially protected by bituminous felt to stop corrosion and then they were clad with cement two to five inches (5 to 13 cm) thick to give weight against currents while the line was being laid in a trench.

The seabed had to be surveyed mile by mile to make sure that the lines were adequately buried. In places this meant going down about 450 feet (137 m), a depth at which pipelines had never been laid before.

The oil production platforms brought their own problems. Because of size and weight each had to be assembled on land and then towed out to the site. The largest task was to move each steel platform support structure out in one piece, sometimes 155 miles (250 km) or more, and drop it into the sea at exactly the right spot, standing in an upright position. Finally, supporting piles were driven about 400 feet (120 m) into the seabed to secure each installation.

Not all production platforms, however, were made of steel, held by supporting piles. Concrete platforms relying on gravity alone were also used. In May 1978, one of these concrete platforms, weighing 600,000 tons, was towed out from Loch Kishorn on the west coast of Scotland to the Ninian oil field in the North Sea. It was claimed to be the largest object ever moved on earth, standing some 776 feet (237 m) high. Today the greater part of it is not even visible above sea level.

Questions as to the safety of these offshore gravity platforms were bound to be raised. Such hazards as ice adhesion, gale-force winds of 100 m.p.h. (160 km/​hr), gigantic waves and even sea-floor movement all attack the structures ceaselessly, often in dangerous combination. And as one top designer has admitted, the dynamic forces of the North Sea are not yet fully understood.

On an Oil Platform

Oil fields are reached mainly by helicopter, and on leaving Aberdeen, Scotland, in one of these you are likely to pass over one of the outlying portable drilling rigs first. The “Ocean Victory” is a typical example. She is self-propelled and semisubmersible, which means that she floats and can be moved. When operating she has her hull about 70 feet (20 m) below the surface, as this amount of structure being submerged contributes largely to the rig’s stability. To hold her in position she is encircled by eight 13-ton anchors, each one running out 3,300 feet (1,000 m). Her derrick houses a hydropneumatic system that maintains constant weight on the drill when it is in operation, regardless of how much she may roll. Practically all semisubmersibles are capable of drilling in 1,000 feet (300 m) of water, although they can usually be modified to drill in water as deep as 3,000 feet (900 m) if required.

A short distance farther east lies one of the standard-type production platforms surmounted by its tapering steel derrick and three decks. The top deck is little more than a helicopter landing pad, while the middle one is taken up by the main working area where the actual drilling is done. The lowest deck holds a storage area where lengths of steel used in the operation are stacked. Also on this deck are the crew’s living quarters, which can accommodate about 150 men, together with two dining rooms, a games room in which there is television, facilities for showing films and a library. Below all of this lies the platform’s main support structure.

Some production platforms can draw from up to 27 wells. On land, with few exceptions, wells are drilled vertically, but out in the North Sea the ratio of one well to one installation would be prohibitively expensive, so directional drilling has been employed. This requires that, while the wells are bored vertically for a short distance down from the sea floor, they are then diverted along planned courses to points located at specific distances, depths and directions from the platform.

Problems of Divers

The underwater world of offshore oil development in the North Sea always needs divers, who frequently earn more than £30,000 ($60,000, U.S.) a year. This is in spite of the fact that they can work only for 25 minutes at a time at a depth of 300 feet (90 m). The hazards are frightful and at the current accident rate a diver has only one chance in five of surviving for 20 years. In fact, the British Medical Association regards the occupation as “fifty times more dangerous than coal mining.”

Little wonder, for low temperatures coupled with the high thermal conductivity of the waters can chill an unprotected diver into insensitivity in minutes. At the same time, to avoid being squashed flat he must breathe at sea pressure where he is working, and below 160 feet (50 m) the gas mixture is so critical that it must be carefully and continually monitored. If he is compressed too quickly he may develop tremors; on the other hand, slow compression may take days. The only solution is saturation diving where a diver may have to spend three weeks under continual compression in a confined steel chamber with only other divers for company. Needless to say, such an environment is bound to create serious mental and physical tensions.

Another major hazard lies in getting treatment to an injured diver. Following a very deep dive of say 650 to 740 feet (200 to 225 m), he will have to face at least seven days in decompression. What is done now to solve this problem? The injured diver would first be transferred to the deck compression chamber on his platform. Then a special transfer-under-pressure chamber, built of titanium to keep the weight down to about 2,000 pounds (900 kg), would be brought up to the rig compression chamber and locked on. After the transfer is made, the titanium pressure chamber must then be flown by helicopter to a special pressurized medical unit at Dundee, Scotland.

All of this takes up vital time and if the man’s wounds are very serious he is likely to die before adequate medical aid arrives. Even when a successful transfer is made and an operation is performed in the unit the effects of decompression on sutured wounds is still uncertain. Additionally, normal gas anesthesia by inhalation is impractical in a compression chamber and no electrical apparatus can be used because of the high risk of fire and explosion.

The Norwegians have now developed an operating theatre, built into the aluminium-cased chamber system of their new Underwater Institute overlooking Bergen harbour in Norway. London’s The Observer, however, reported: “There is just one snag. The institute has not yet recruited any doctors willing to give up the time they would have to spend in the space-station-like decompression chamber before and after operations.”

Submersibles

The submersible is a type of submarine vessel that can go to far greater depths than any diver. This makes them indispensable in the quest for offshore oil reserves. These mini-submarines are less than 20 feet (6 m) long. Each vessel carries a two-man crew who, while they cannot leave the submarine underwater, can direct special cameras that record evidence on videotape for subsequent examination by experts on the surface or at the shore base. Although these submersibles are equipped with life support systems for 320 man-hours, they work from a base in pairs so that if one vessel gets into trouble the other can be used on a recovery mission, aided by lifting gear.

The development of the British-made “Seabug,” a remote-controlled sea-floor vehicle, and the Canadian Sub-Sea Chamber have made the task much easier. The latter provides a normal working atmosphere at the bottom of the sea for the crew, who even have supporting shuttle-service capsules to carry them to and from the surface. Even though great care is exercised, diving remains a hazardous occupation. In late 1978 two divers for Mobil Oil Company died in their diving bell after heavy seas caused the lines from their supply ship to part.

Exporting Technology

The efforts to draw oil from the North Sea have resulted in much technological progress. Some time ago The Guardian noted: “From the point of view of the nation [United Kingdom] we stand to earn far more from selling our excellent technology than we will ever make from North Sea oil.” This is proving to be true.

One of the most promising markets at present is South America, particularly Brazil. Brazil’s offshore reserves lie in water of depths similar to those in the North Sea. The location for exploration is the Campos Basin, less than 100 miles (160 km) off the coast of Rio de Janeiro, in water as much as 650 feet (200 m) deep. It is estimated that Brazil will need 30 to 40 production platforms in the next 10 years. This, in turn, will open up markets for inspection submarines, supply boats and other technical equipment. There are other export prospects in the offshore fields of Venezuela, Argentina and Mexico and in the U.S.S.R.’s Caspian Sea.

Future Prospects

What about future prospecting for oil? The United Kingdom Department of Energy, through its Offshore Technology Board, has stated: “To maintain self-sufficiency throughout the 1990’s successful discovery and operation will be needed in deeper U.K. waters in 1985-1990.” The deeper waters referred to would be 1,000 to 6,500 feet (300 to 2,000 m). However, oil explorers have warned that the biggest strikes may already have been made in the North Sea​—as much as three quarters of the total. In fact, attention is turning also to possible oil discoveries on British soil. An optimistic oilman said: “We are in the same position there [southern England] as we were with the North Sea 20 years ago. We know the oil is there. . . . It is only a matter of time.”

Meanwhile, as we leave the North Sea’s drilling rigs and production platforms, we do well to contemplate the real cost of petroleum​—the price paid in human lives, as well as the unique problems of this new technology. Is it really worth it? Most people seem to think so. Perhaps time will tell. In the meantime, the relentless struggle continues to draw ever more oil from the turbulent North Sea.

Watching the World

Finding Honesty

◆ After an investigation by America’s Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) revealed that more than half of politicians approached with a bribe offer accepted it, the New York Daily News set out to “test the honesty of ordinary citizens.” Newsmen planted 10 wallets, each containing $5 and a card with a telephone number, in downtown Brooklyn. The Daily News reported that the first person to call the number “was a Jehovah’s Witness.” Later, to the newspaper reporter he explained: “If I kept it, that would have been stealing.”

Moving Borders

◆ The regular Sinai desert border adjustments called for by the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty have proved to be a boon to smugglers. It seems that nomadic Bedouins have been burying stolen luxury automobiles in the desert sand of Israeli-held territory and waiting for border changes to shift the area into Egyptian hands. Then the smugglers dig out the cars and sell them to Egyptians at a high profit, due to there being no importation duties. Israeli officials reportedly have found almost 200 autos buried in this way and have no idea how many more the enterprising Bedouins have in the sand waiting for the next border shift.

Caste System Continues

◆ In some parts of India, Hinduism’s much criticized caste system is not a thing of the past. It still causes dangerous confrontations between upper-caste Hindus and so-called untouchables. The Hindu Daily recently reported that high-caste Hindus in southern India attacked untouchables trying to enter an upper-caste temple, sending 14 to the hospital for treatment, and later burned down 40 of their homes. In another village, on the same day, a woman visiting an area out of bounds to untouchables was attacked, provoking a riot that hospitalized 26 people.

Bankers’ Dilemma

◆ Brazil’s indebtedness to foreign banks is about $50 billion (U.S.), said to be the largest debt among developing nations. The nation also expects to come up another $15 billion short in foreign trade and loan payments during 1980. The country has little choice other than to borrow more money from world bankers. Brazilian economists feel confident that they will get the money because, as one said, “if I owe a million dollars, then I am lost, but if I owe $50 billion [and default], the bankers are lost.”

Keeping Cool in Black

◆ Most people believe that one wears light colors to keep cool. Then why are robes of Bedouins in the Sinai traditionally black? Some university researchers from Tel Aviv and Harvard decided to find out. As reported in the British scientific journal Nature, they learned that the surface of a black robe was indeed 6 degrees C (11 degrees F) hotter than a white one. Yet the airspace beneath the robes, as well as the person’s skin, was the same temperature in both robes. But the researchers concluded that the hotter robe may have more air flow due to convection currents and a chimney effect. As a result it may possibly feel cooler than a light-colored robe.

Dressing the Pope

◆ For men who claim to walk in the footsteps of a humble fisherman, Pope John Paul II and his predecessors have worn decidedly unfisherman-like apparel. New York’s Fashion Foundation of America recently judged John Paul to be the “best-dressed statesman of 1979.” The London Daily Mail published a breakdown of estimated prices for his various items of dress. The total for five changes of informal, three changes of formal and five changes of liturgical dress came to £6,245 ($14,350, U.S.). “The red shoes, reminiscent of the fisherman Apostle Peter, cost £115 [$260],” noted the newspaper.

India’s ‘Alarming Crime Wave’

◆ “The burgeoning crime wave that has ensnared [India] in recent months,” said India Today magazine, “is fast assuming alarming proportions.” The article points out that in 1977, “131 cases of crimes were recorded per hour in the entire country​—2 murders, 2 robberies, 2 [armed gang robberies], 7 riots, 23 thefts and 95 assorted petty crimes.” But by late last year, “the crime chart had registered a dramatic upswing, with an average of 212 crimes being committed every hour​—3 murders, 4 robberies, 3 [armed gang robberies], 9 riots, 30 thefts and 163 other criminal acts.”

Fear Strikes Back

◆ An editorial in the Brazil Herald commented on the recent killing of two suspected robbers by an enraged mob in a suburb of Rio de Janeiro. Such communities “are transformed into monsters when they are corroded by fear and insecurity,” the editorial said. “Brazil presently is in a state of nervousness because its citizens have no feeling of security on the streets and even inside their homes. Murder is a constant threat.”

What Is a “Catyak”?

◆ The Wall Street Journal reports that “Chinese veterinarians are crossbreeding cattle and yaks​—and getting catyaks.” Yaks are at home in cold, mountainous regions such as Tibet. But the Chinese would like to get more milk and meat from their animals​—so, the catyak.

“Tanning” Your Own “Leather”

◆ Commercial tanning parlors using high-intensity lamps to give a “suntan” are springing up all over the United States. However, the fad is “not a safe or innocuous procedure,” according to the American Academy of Dermatology. The academy’s Committee on Photobiology issued a statement warning of skin “damage which leads to a dry leathery appearance” and potential skin cancer. Dr. Frederick Urbach of the Committee pointed out that warnings about overexposure to natural sunlight have been given by skin specialists for many years, but tanning booths are an even greater risk because of additional exposure to damaging ultraviolet radiation.

Big Attendance Contrast

◆ To illustrate his contention that “the mainline Protestant denominations had a rough time during the decade [of the 70’s],” Leslie K. Tarr of The Canadian Press wrote: “Total Jehovah’s Witnesses’ attendance across Canada, for example, is 93 per cent of total Anglican attendance.” If true, this means that the Anglican Church, with almost 1,000,000 members, has very few more attending services than Jehovah’s Witnesses, with just some 60,000 associated.

Heart Therapy: A Pet

◆ The chance for survival of a person who has had a heart attack is tripled if he has a pet, according to Dr. Aaron Katcher of the University of Pennsylvania. “The dog owner has, of course, the advantage of exercise,” he said. “But we looked at people with other pets, from cats to lizards and they also enjoyed an increased survival.” He also noted that petting a dog or a cat lowers blood pressure.

Following Their Leaders

◆ Why are dishonesty and cheating so rampant among today’s youths? One answer was indicated when a New York City district attorney charged 11 public-school teachers with forging or falsifying their own educational records to get promotions and wage hikes. The district attorney said that they would not be prosecuted, though, because they should not be “singled out for committing acts which were rampant [among teachers] throughout the entire New York City school system.” Hence youths are merely following their leaders. It seems that there is safety in numbers.

Tornado? Stay Home

◆ Is it best to try to drive out of a tornado’s path? Scientists from the Federal Center for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia, say No. In fact, of 56 persons killed or injured in their cars during a powerful tornado in Texas last year, 43 had actually entered vehicles to drive away from the tornado. Yet the homes that 20 of the victims left behind sustained little or no damage. According to the researchers’ report in Science magazine, the chance of injury or death when trying to drive away from the storm was 23 per 1,000 people. Staying home lowered the chances to three in 1,000. However, mobile-home residents had a risk of 85 per 1,000.

Church Threatened

◆ Papua New Guinea’s Post Courier reports that local Lutherans received threats of violence from a group that charges the Church with exploiting the people. Claiming to represent four villages in Morobe Province, the group demanded from the Church a large ransom payment to make up for “77 years of inhuman practises, social negligence and exploitive economics.” According to the Post-Courier, the demands also included “immediate surrender of all church assets such as hostels, stores, wharves, airstrips and plantation equipment within their area.”

“Unknown Tribe” Discovered

◆ That there are still peoples on earth unknown to researchers was illustrated again recently when a British expedition in Papua New Guinea discovered an isolated nomadic tribe. Provisionally called the Pogaea, these people had never seen white men before and fled when the explorers’ helicopter first landed. The Pogaea use bows and arrows to hunt wild pigs, and they supplement their diet with wild fruits and nuts. The explorers also were said to have discovered lizards of unknown identity 20 feet (6 m) long.

“Part-Time” Workers

◆ Do people work as hard today as they used to? “American workers are actually working or producing for only about 55 per cent of the time they are on the job,” answers a report from Theodore Barry & Associates, a management consulting firm. “By contrast, their grandfathers produced for 80 to 85 per cent of their time at work.” Though productivity of workers in other industrial nations is also down significantly, American productivity is down more sharply. The wasted time is said to be costing U.S. business $350 billion a year.

Touring China

◆ The number of tourists visiting the People’s Republic of China grew by 30 percent in 1979​—to 800,000—​according to the New China News Agency. Many new hotels, as well as more air and shipping links, are reportedly being added to meet the growing demand.

Fighting Among Brothers

◆ In the Borough Park section of Brooklyn, New York, there is only one non-Orthodox synagogue in the largely Hasidic community. Recently, according to a report in the New York Times, this non-Orthodox temple was vandalized by Orthodox Jews, who charged that the Conservative temple was “destroying” Judaism by their “heretical” practices. The vandals broke two stained-glass windows and sprayed black paint in the form of swastikas on walls. They said they belonged to a group calling itself “TORAH,” apparently meaning “Tough Orthodox Rabbis and Hasidim.” The Orthodox vandals left posters listing various grievances, said the Times, such as “that the men and women were allowed to sit together without the traditional mechitza, or partition, separating them.”

No Longer Exclusive

◆ Being a millionaire is no longer as exclusive as it used to be. There are now about 520,000 millionaires in the United States, 15 percent more than a year ago. Hence, about one in 500 Americans has over $1,000,000 in assets.

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