October 22

Page Two

Television is, without a doubt, one of the most powerful tools that man has ever devised for disseminating both news and propaganda. It also affects your health, your family and the education of your children. Read this series of five articles and see whether TV is a blessing or a curse

TV​—Its Impact on the Modern World 3

TV​—News and Subtle Propaganda 4

TV​—And Your Health 5

TV​—Family Life and Education 6

TV​—Bane or Boon? 9

TV​—Its Impact on the Modern World

THE French call it “la télé,” the British, the “telly,” the Australians, the “box,” and many blasé Americans, the “tube,” or even the “boob tube.” “It” is television.

Whatever name is given to it, television is recognized worldwide as “one of the most influential instruments for shaping the values, opinions and beliefs of the postwar society.” A report published in the Scientific Australian states that “television watching takes up more time than any other activity our society engages in,” with the possible exception of sleep and, one might add, the working hours of wage earners.

The social impact of television over the past twenty or thirty years has been so great that the subject is still being heavily researched by sociologists and other experts. It has been said that television has had a greater impact on the lives and thoughts of people than has any other invention since the printing press. And this it has done within two or three decades. Moreover, a fifth of the world’s population is still unable to read, but many of these watch TV on private or collective sets.

What have been the effects of this​—favorable and unfavorable? In other words, to what degree has TV been either beneficial or harmful to the viewers?

Positive and Negative Aspects

In many lands television has transformed the lives of the peasantry and other people who live in the country. These days a French count in his château may spend the evening watching the same TV program as a poor farm laborer living in a nearby cottage. There has been an equalizing of opportunities for entertainment between rich and poor. Concerts, opera, ballet and theater have been opened up to social classes that until now were deprived of such artistic fields of entertainment and education.

Documentary programs have created desire for travel and have even fostered vocations. Geographical programs have done much to promote international understanding. They have opened up new vistas for many and encouraged greater tolerance among races and peoples. TV fills the hours of loneliness of the elderly and the sick. And think of the tremendous impact TV programs are having, for good or for bad, on the impressionable minds of school-age children.

But has TV’s impact on the modern world been exclusively positive? Do TV stations broadcast only programs that improve people’s culture, education and understanding of the world about them? Has not television also been used to bias people’s minds by means of subtle political propaganda or commercial high-pressuring? What has television done to people’s nerves, to their eating habits, to their health, both physical and spiritual? What impact has it had on family life and particularly on the children?

These are some of the questions that will be examined in the following articles on what television can do FOR you and TO you.

TV​—News and Subtle Propaganda

THE military was in full swing. Motorized troops rumbled past the president’s stand while warplanes thundered overhead. Suddenly a military truck pulled up in front of the official tribune. Several armed men jumped down, threw grenades onto the dais and opened fire with automatic weapons. Within seconds Egypt lost its president, Anwar el-Sadat. And within hours the whole world was able to witness the scene, as if present. TV-news technicians had once again done a remarkable job.

On-the-Spot News Coverage

The assassination attempts on President Reagan and Pope John Paul II, even the abortive coup d’etat in the Spanish Cortes, or Parliament, were all flashed onto television screens shortly after these unforeseen dramatic events took place. Better still, TV newscasts often provide simultaneous coverage of events for audiences halfway around the world from where they are happening.

Seeing the space shuttle actually land with uncanny precision on a dry lake bed in a California desert is surely more impressive than merely hearing a radio newscaster announce that the shuttle is back safely. Similarly, when people see the damage done by a flood in India or an earthquake in Italy and actually witness the human suffering, they can manifest fellow feeling and be moved to contribute to relieve it. All of this can be put on the credit side of TV news.

An Insidious Danger

There is, however, a debit side. A report on Japanese TV, published in Paris by the International Herald Tribune, quoted social psychologist Professor Ishikawa as saying that the major commercial TV stations “sugarcoat” news and “do not tell the truth.” The report also quoted Tadashi Okuyama, publisher of a Japanese TV guide, as stating that television “is the most influential medium in the nation.”

What is true of Japan is true, to a greater or lesser degree, of many other lands. Television has become an “influential medium” in practically every country of the world, but that influence is not always good. Even when TV stations are completely independent of any government control, powerful lobbies or rich advertisers can influence news coverage in fields of religion, industry and politics. Slanted news is a subtle form of censorship.

This danger is obviously compounded in countries where radio and TV broadcasting is a State monopoly. The temptation is great for governments to use this “most influential medium” for propaganda purposes. This can be done barefacedly, as in totalitarian lands, or in more subtle ways. Selfish interests can slant and distort the facts by showing only one side of a story.

So, even when watching a TV newscast, it is good to remember what television can do FOR you and TO you. In addition to shaping your thinking, TV can also affect your health. How so?

TV​—And Your Health

“THE muscular heroes of TV serials that drink hard liquor all day long and continually take snacks without putting on a gram may well cause TV addicts to adopt habits that are bad for their health.”

Such was the gist of a report published last fall by the New England Journal of Medicine and summed up in those words by the Swiss daily La Tribune de Lausanne. The report also accused TV of causing people to put unlimited confidence in medical doctors, who appear on the small screen as if endowed with miraculous powers for the physical and emotional well-being of those who follow their advice.

Physical Health

In all fairness, it cannot be said that TV is a direct cause of illness for most televiewers. It can, however, indirectly cause health problems. For one thing, many people are unaware of the extent to which TV has modified their eating habits.

Instead of sitting down at the table to a tasty, freshly cooked meal, many families get by with a TV snack on which they nibble while lolling in easy chairs watching the “box.” Even if the food eaten is sufficiently nourishing (and often this is not so), the emotions aroused by the program can be hard on the digestion.

Television can also affect eating habits in that some commercials encourage the eating of “junk foods,” and then the youngsters just peck at the nourishing meals prepared by mother. Not only have TV ads popularized junk food but they have often given both children and adults a twisted view of what they need to eat and drink in order to keep well.

Not to be forgotten either is the part TV viewing can play in nervous fatigue and stress. Then there is the matter of sleep. In France, for instance, some of the most interesting programs are scheduled late in the evening. Not only does late-night televiewing steal hours of precious premidnight sleep but even the few hours left for bed afterward are often spent in fitful sleep. Finally, as far as physical well-being is concerned, excessive TV viewing is not the best form of relaxation for people with sedentary jobs.

Spiritual Health

Television programs mirror the society for whom they are produced. It is increasingly a society that condones homosexuality and free sex, that resorts to violence and pursues materialistic goals. Such things are currently the ingredients of many TV shows. Indiscriminate televiewing can weaken people’s moral fiber and consume precious time needed for reading material that is spiritually upbuilding.

TV can also affect family life and children’s education, as the following article will show.

TV​—Family Life and Education

AMONG the nicknames given to the television set is “the childminder.” Apparently, many parents have found that the easiest and cheapest way to keep the children quiet is to set them down in front of what has also been called “the one-eyed hypnotist.”

A report published in the Australia Sun stated: “A major survey in Britain has just revealed that most parents find it [TV] indispensable as a baby-sitter. In fact, a staggering seven out of every 10 parents use television to get the children off their hands, despite the fact that they are vaguely concerned about the ‘bad language and violence’ on the box. What’s more, nine out of 10 parents allow their children to view indiscriminately.”

A Very Demanding Member of the Family

Yes, TV has gate-crashed into millions of homes throughout the world and has become a very obtrusive member of the family, often monopolizing the conversation. In many families it commands more respect than husband or wife, father or mother. A husband who does not hesitate to bury his head in a newspaper or magazine while his wife is speaking to him is all eyes and ears when the “childminder” talks. Children who talk back to their parents sit in silence, goggle-eyed, when Mr. TV talks to them.

Timewise, also, TV has become very demanding. Average televiewing time is increasing in most countries. In the United States the use of television rose from five hours and fifty minutes a day in 1969 to seven hours and twenty-five minutes per day in 1980. In Japan the total number of households is lower than the number of TV sets, and, in 1978, these were turned on for over five hours a day, as compared with three hours in Canada and two hours in France.

Does TV Make for Family Togetherness?

Whether it is for seven hours a day or for two, all this televiewing cannot fail to have a profound effect on the life of the average family. British child psychologist Penelope Leach “reckons that television is one of the biggest threats to family life, a gadget which stops parents and children from communicating. ‘People simply stop talking to each other,’ she says.”​—The Sun (Australia), March 18, 1980.

True, some people claim that television has drawn families together because the children go out less. But, while watching a TV show in silence, are family members really “together”? Does televiewing promote togetherness, defined as “the spending of much time together, as in social and leisure-time activities . . . esp[ecially] when regarded as resulting in a more unified, stable relationship”? Rather, does not excessive TV viewing prevent proper communication between husband and wife, parents and children, and even between the children themselves?

Not only has television greatly limited or even completely replaced family recreation​—games, hobbies, hikes, and so forth—​but it often prevents children from helping around the home. This is the stuff “togetherness” is made of, and insofar as TV has replaced these things it must share the responsibility for the breakdown of family life. History shows that when the family breaks down, soon society itself and whole governments crumble and disappear.

Effect on Children

The effect of television on children is incalculable. Most of them take to it like a duck to water. They will watch almost anything. The TV screen seems to hypnotize them. According to one survey, children in the United States spend, on an average, from four to five hours a day looking at TV. The average is lower in other countries, but two hours a day seems to be the minimum in most developed countries. While doing research on child development at the University of Michigan, Professor John Murray stated: “When children spend up to five or six hours a day watching television the first thing you wonder is what activities are they missing.”

Yes, what are they missing in the way of good reading, school homework being properly done, developing a hobby, healthy exercise, relaxing games and learning to share pleasure and playthings with others? And the question is not only, What are they missing? but, more importantly, What are they learning?

It would be unjust to say they learn nothing good. TV can be very educational; it can widen out children’s knowledge of the world around them and arouse their interest in geography, natural science and history. But it would be equally unjust to deny that TV also teaches them violence and gives them a warped view of sex and a twisted standard of conduct. So the question remains: Is TV a bane or a boon?

Video Recorders​—Use and Abuse

A newcomer to the world of TV is the videotape recorder. The electronics industry is moving into high gear to produce millions of such recorder units. Rival firms with differing recording systems are engaged in a fierce marketing battle in order to cash in on this new bonanza. What effect will this new gadget have on the good and bad aspects of television?

On the good side, a videotape recorder enables people to record a TV program (with the use of a timer) even when they are otherwise occupied, and thus they can see what they want when they want. They can also buy tape recordings of favorite movies and look at them over and over again, as many times as they wish. Or they can borrow films from videotape libraries.

On the negative side, if allowed to get out of hand, such recorders can bring out the worst in people, allowing them to see and resee films that would be better left unseen.

A recent headline in the French daily Le Figaro stated: “U.S.A.: TV AND PORNOVISION.” The article showed that the most sought-after videotapes in the United States are sex films. In France seven out of ten video cassettes sold in supermarkets are of pornographic films. Of course, such recorders can be used in a wholesome way. But they obviously compound what TV can do FOR you and TO you.

TV​—Bane or Boon?

A “BOON” has been defined as “a benefit enjoyed; a thing to be thankful for; a blessing.” A “bane” is “a thing that ruins or spoils; a deadly poison.” In the light of our brief review of just a few aspects of the question, can television be considered a bane or a boon, a curse or a blessing?

TV Can Be a Boon

There can be little doubt that many persons consider TV to be a boon. A great number of elderly, sick or handicapped people would not be without it. TV has become their main source of “company” and companionship.

Few people would deny that television has done much to arouse interest in the news, in what is going on locally and worldwide. It has broadened people’s minds and opened up new horizons for them. Televiewers are less inclined to have a “parochial outlook.” This is all to the good and something to be thankful for.

Television can also be very educational, bringing a wide range of knowledge to people who have never had the opportunity to study or travel. Finally TV has brought shows, operas, plays, ballets and symphony orchestras into the homes of the poor.

TV Can Also Be a Bane

Unfortunately, what could be a boon can turn out to be a bane, something harmful and even poisonous. TV may be “company” for the lonely, but what kind of company? It may have filled a gap in the empty lives of many people, but with what has it filled their lives? TV may bring us on-the-spot immediate news coverage, but it can also channel insidious propaganda and be used by selfish men to indoctrinate people. TV may amuse us with its cute ads, but it has done much to create a materialistic society. You may find that television provides you with cheap entertainment, but are you sure that it has not warped your views on sex, violence and honesty? You may rely heavily on TV to keep your children out of mischief, but what mischief is it doing to their minds and, far more importantly, to their hearts?

Vladimir K. Zworykin, often called “the father of modern television,” recently stated that ‘he never expected TV to become such a pervasive force worldwide.’ He added, however, that he was unhappy about how TV is being used, and that he would never let his children even come close to a TV set. Top-ranking TV playwright Paddy Chayefsky observed: “Television coarsens all the complexities of human relationships, brutalizes them, makes them insensitive. We’ve lost our sense of shock, our sense of humanity. That is the basic problem of television.”

These statements, by men who should know, provide food for thought for anyone who has his family’s and his own interests at heart. Yes, the “box” can be a bane or a boon. In the final analysis, what television can do FOR you and TO you . . . depends on you!

A World’s Fair Spotlights Energy

GEOTHERMAL energy, nuclear energy, hydro energy, solar energy, wind energy, tidal energy . . . anyone visiting the 1982 World’s Fair at Knoxville, Tennessee, was bombarded with these and other terms describing the wide variety of energy sources man has endeavored to tap to serve his needs.

The 184-day fair is drawing to a close this month, and during its six-month existence millions of people have had the opportunity to visit it. The theme of the fair, “Energy turns the world,” was highlighted throughout the pavilions and exhibits scattered over seventy-two acres (29 ha) of fairgrounds. Twenty-two nations shared in the exposition. With over half a million visitors the first week and over two million by the end of the first month, it was apparent that the publicity for the fair was successful, and that large numbers of visitors would be forthcoming.

Certainly the theme of “Energy” is a timely one. Since the oil crisis of the seventies, nations around the earth have become keenly aware of the need to conserve energy as well as to find new energy sources. Due to the unfounded belief that ‘our energy sources are unlimited,’ governments have permitted the wasting of incredible amounts of energy. Even now, as a large topographical map in the United States pavilion indicates, more than half the energy consumed in the United States is wasted due to inefficient practices. ‘We still have vast stores of energy,’ some will claim, adding: ‘Why the United States has over two trillion tons of coal yet to be extracted from the earth.’ ‘However,’ someone else will counter, ‘when you burn coal to release that energy, you get air pollution, a lot of cancer, a lot of lung trouble. A high price to pay for that energy!’

Certain areas of the fair stressed the benefits of nuclear energy. The new breeder reactor called the Super-Phenix, spotlighted in the France pavilion, is said to produce 100 times more energy from a supply of uranium than will a conventional breeder reactor. This, reportedly, would allow the uranium supply of the earth to last for centuries rather than decades. However, critics of nuclear energy are quick to point out that with the high chance of human error, mechanical failure and design mistakes an accident in a nuclear power plant could be devastating.

Throughout the grounds there were numerous displays showing the progress being made in harnessing the energy of the sun​—solar energy. Photovoltaic conversion was designed into several of the buildings so that solar energy could be used for heating and cooling them. Many countries are increasing their research and use of solar energy. The admitted problem with this method is that with present technology it is still too expensive to produce energy in sufficient quantities.

A number of countries showed extensive use of geothermal energy obtained from steam and hot water within the earth. Since the ground temperature increases three degrees Celsius (5.4° F) per 100 meters (328 ft) depth, by digging 2,000 meters (6,562 ft) down, hot water of about 60 degrees Celsius (108° F) hotter can be obtained. Some governments hope to use this hot water and steam to power binary-cycle power generators to produce electricity. Of course, the drawbacks are evident. Not all areas have subterranean basins of thermal water to draw upon for energy. Areas with volcanic activity would not be good. Also, large-scale geothermal development may have a detrimental effect on the environment, and this has slowed many developing firms from more active exploration.

Another source of energy that may be tapped is the wind. Several countries showed how they made use of wind generators to produce electricity and also to power water pumps. In some areas steady breezes can be put to good use. Harnessing the power of the oceans was also evident by the production of tidal power plants in several countries. The raw energy produced by the movement of the tides has been used to turn large turbines and produce electricity at a cost similar to that of a large conventional thermal station. Unfortunately, there are only about twenty known areas in the whole world that would lend themselves to the construction of a tidal power plant.

Yes, there was much to see and learn about energy at the fair. However, due to the arrangement of the grounds and pavilions, a number of problems arose for many visitors. With a population of under two hundred thousand, Knoxville was not really equipped to handle the many thousands swarming to it to attend the fair. Many entrepreneurs set up overnight trailer parks in an endeavor to house transient guests by the thousands. The fair administration had expected a maximum of only 60,000 visitors per day. However, when the number swelled to over 80,000 per day, it could be understood why it took several hours for the lines of visitors going into the pavilions to get through. Because of the extensive lines many people saw only a few areas after spending a whole day at the fair. One thing that compounded the problem was the limited number of shows each day in some of the pavilions. With a capacity for only a few hundred at a time, it could take weeks for only one day’s crowd to see all of it.

After visiting the fair the sobering thought realized is that mankind today is still very much in an energy crisis. Although efforts are being doubled and tripled to solve the problems, there are still many counteracting elements. Greed still plays a strong role in cornering areas of the world rich in energy-producing material. One pavilion at the fair alludes to the energy problems stemming from one country’s placing an embargo on oil. That very same country, in another pavilion, points out that it is actually taking steps to relieve the energy problem in the earth. As long as there are differing views and goals among these nations, it is not likely that united success will be attained in the field of energy.

In man’s efforts to make up for the energy shortage, many of the methods that he uses to increase the production of energy are having a ruinous effect on the earth’s ecological and environmental conditions. We can therefore certainly look forward to the Creator’s caring for whatever energy needs mankind may have. Certainly there is no limit to the energy he can provide for mankind’s beneficial use. (Isaiah 40:26) Indeed, before man ruins the earth in an effort to keep up his energy supplies, may Jehovah God step in with his proper administration and infinite scientific knowledge to provide all our energy needs indefinitely!​—Revelation 11:15, 18.

[Picture on page 11]

Thousands visited the fair daily

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Crowds hear about energy conservation from a lecturer assisted by a “talking” robot at his side

Young People Ask . . .

Why Am I So Shy?

“I’M 21, blond hair, blue eyes, 5-foot-9 and 135 pounds, and everyone tells me how great-looking I am,” wrote the young woman in a letter appearing in a newspaper column. Yet she went on to state: “I have a problem talking to people. If I look someone in the eyes while speaking, my face turns red and I get all choked up inside​—especially if I’m talking to a man. If I’m paid some sort of compliment, I can feel my face turn red and I have to look the other way. When I’m with a group of people talking, I never say anything because my voice is so soft, no one ever hears me anyway. At work I have heard several comments on how ‘stuck up’ I am because I don’t talk to anybody. . . . I’m not stuck up, I’m just shy.”

Do you feel this way? Does your pulse race when you are in the company of strangers or persons in authority? Can you feel your face flush when you are paid a compliment? Does your heart pound when you’re facing a group of people? Unable to speak, do you start perspiring noticeably?

If so, you’re not alone. One survey showed that 80 percent of those questioned had been shy some time in their life, and 40 percent currently considered themselves to be shy. That means that roughly half the people you meet feel the same way you do, at least to some degree.

The problem of shyness has been common with mankind from earliest times. The Bible records that Moses shyly declined to act as God’s spokesman before the nation of Israel, using every possible excuse he could think of to get out of the assignment. (Exodus 3:11, 13; 4:1, 10, 13) It appears, too, that the Christian disciple Timothy was shy and diffident about speaking up and asserting his authority.​—1 Timothy 4:12; 2 Timothy 1:6-8.

So take heart! You are not unusual and something can be done to help you. But what exactly is shyness?

What Shyness Is

Shyness is feeling uneasy around people​—especially those who are new to you or with whom you do not feel secure. These could be strangers, those in authority, persons of the opposite sex or even your peers. Shyness is extreme self-consciousness when one is around others. It is your reaction to the way you think about yourself.

Shyness affects people in different ways. Some react like the young woman mentioned above. They get embarrassed, their pulse quickens, they get butterflies in their stomach. With eyes downcast and heart pounding, they find themselves unable to speak. Or, they talk so softly that they can hardly be heard. They would like to run away. Others quickly get flustered. Losing their composure, they begin to chatter continuously, their pitch rising in nervousness. They may end up saying and doing things they wish they hadn’t. Yet others find it hard to assert themselves​—to speak up and voice their opinions or preferences.

For some, shyness is a constant thing. Others feel shy only in certain situations. But however they are affected, most shy persons would like to be able to do something about it. Would you?

Understanding Shyness

A good start is understanding the problem. “A man of understanding is the one who acquires skillful direction,” says the Bible. (Proverbs 1:5) Shyness describes behavior, reaction to a situation. It is what you do, not what you are. It has to do with how you think about yourself, your own self-esteem. It is a pattern of behavior that you have learned to accept and follow from your experience with people in the past. But what is learned can also be unlearned.

Shyness is not ingrained. You have accepted the label of being shy. It has been reinforced through your experiences with others. Thus you have learned to behave in harmony with the belief that you are shy. So shyness is merely acting out the thoughts or beliefs you have of being different, odd or inferior to other persons. You think others are making negative judgments of you, that they don’t like you. You think others are better or more normal than you. You think things will go all wrong if you try to relate to other people. Then you behave as if all these beliefs were actually true. You expect things to turn out badly, and they often do​—because you tense up and act in harmony with your beliefs.

To appreciate this, consider what usually goes on in the mind. In the presence of others, you start to think inwardly, wondering what they think of you, how to control their impressions. You think negatively about yourself​—how unpleasant it is, how you can get out of the situation. Unsure of yourself, you speak softly, if at all. You shun eye contact and avoid taking action​—all of this because you are very self-conscious. You lack confidence in yourself; you think yourself inferior.

But that does not mean you are inferior, or that others think you are. Perhaps when you were younger, your schoolmates picked on you and made fun of some point about your physical appearance or personality. Children do that. But now you are facing the adult world. Values change; you will be looked at differently. And if any adults still act childish, understand that they have the problem. The Bible puts it this way: “He who belittles his neighbor lacks sense, but a man of understanding remains silent.” (Proverbs 11:12, Revised Standard Version) True, people can make wrong estimates of you. But those who are worth having as friends will not judge by outward appearances. Rather, they will judge by what you stand for, what is in your heart and mind.

How Shyness Affects Your Life

A shy person usually defeats himself. By withdrawing, not speaking up, or being so preoccupied with self that you don’t pay strict attention to others, you may leave the impression that you are stuck-up, unfriendly or bored​—or even that you are uncaring or ignorant. Shyness can make it difficult for you to think clearly and communicate effectively. When your thoughts are on yourself, it is hard to concentrate on the discussion at hand. So you pay less attention to the information you are receiving. Then what you fear most happens​—you appear foolish. Your reaction is to keep silent and withdraw. In essence, you lock yourself behind the walls of the prison of shyness and throw away the key. The other person doesn’t get to see the real you. He gets the wrong opinion of you and your capabilities.

If you are very shy, you likely will lose out by not taking hold of the opportunities that come your way, not to mention the depression and anxiety it may cause you. You may accept items or situations you really don’t want​—all because you were afraid to speak up and express your opinion. You also lose out on the joys of meeting and making new friends or doing some things that will enhance your life. By failing to communicate and demonstrate your abilities, you may lose out on opportunities for advancement at your job. But others lose out also. They don’t get to know you and therefore miss out on the things they could enjoy by closer association with you.

However, a fine point to keep in mind is that there are positive aspects to having a measure of shyness. It is akin to modesty and humility, and one of the things God looks for and commends is ‘being modest in walking with him.’ (Micah 6:8) There is benefit in appearing discreet and unassuming, in not being overbearing and overly aggressive. A shy person is often valued as a good listener.

All of us are shy under certain circumstances. But when shyness restricts and inhibits us from realizing our full potential and harmfully affects our health, work and feelings, it is time to take action. So, what can be done to overcome shyness? This will be discussed in the next issue of Awake!

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You have learned to be shy because of:

● Childhood traumas; severe criticism

● Unrealistic expectations of parents

● Being put down and labeled by others (negative experiences)

● Unfamiliar or stressful surroundings

● Anxiety over appearance, speech or performance

● Feelings of inferiority; thinking negatively of self

● Not knowing the “right” social skills

● Easily triggered embarrassment; fear of people

● Fear of taking risks; excessive concern for security

● Overemphasis on competition; pressure to excel

● Feeling everything you say must be interesting, entertaining or profound

Because They Were Shipwrecked

By “Awake!” correspondent in Japan

THEY had delayed too long already. Impetuously, they left the shelter of Nagoya’s bay area and, heading for Tokyo, sailed into a bleak Pacific. The boisterous winds were running riot, slapping and beating the mighty ocean. The irritated seas angrily lashed back. Then, joining forces, the elements sucked the boat into their maelstrom and challenged the men to fight for control of their craft. Both sides fought until their power was spent. The winds and ocean at last subsided.

What was left of the little Japanese merchant boat was unnavigable. Lives had been lost. Later others were to grow sick and die on the drifting wreck. Of the original fourteen-member crew only three survived, and by an amazing coincidence they were brothers. After fourteen months of floating aimlessly in the Pacific, Iwakichi (aged 28), Kyūkichi (aged 15) and Otokichi (aged 14) were washed up like driftwood on Queen Charlotte Islands in British Columbia, Canada.

During the next five years they were to suffer man’s cruelty to man, alternated with unexpected kindness. Understandably, the experience left them bitterly disappointed and emotionally drained. Yet, during that difficult time, these three uneducated country boys accomplished a scholarly feat that most of us would never attempt. As their achievement has helped many of us, we can say that we have been affected indirectly by that shipwreck that took place long ago in 1832. But what happened in Canada?

The Indians promptly captured them and forced them into a life of hard labor with no apparent prospect of returning to Japan. But strange things happen!

In May 1834 an English ship belonging to the Hudson Bay Company called at Queen Charlotte Islands. Captain MacNeil, when trading with the Indians, saw the plight of the three brothers, and feeling sorry for them he took them away. In Vancouver he handed them over to Dr. MacFarling, of the same company, who promised to do all he could to help them return to Japan. At last a little respite!

Through MacFarling’s kindness the three left Vancouver on the British warship Eagle bound for London. The trip took them first to Hawaii. Then around Cape Horn, South America, and north to England.

The Eagle docked in the Thames for ten days. While in London the brothers were taken sight-seeing, thus becoming, so it is thought, the first Japanese to set foot on English soil. There were sights to be seen nowhere else in the world​—Buckingham Palace, the Tower of London, Westminster Abbey and Saint Paul’s Cathedral! There were no rickshas, but to their surprise horses were pulling carriages. What things the brothers would have to tell when they got back to Japan! But would they return?

The British government rightly decided they should be sent home. So they were put on the ship General Palmer, belonging to the Hudson Bay Company, which was leaving for Macao in China. (Hong Kong was not yet developed as a port.) Again a long, long voyage right down the coast of Africa and around the Cape of Good Hope.

In December 1835 the ship arrived at Macao and the three shipwreck survivors were handed over to the care of Gutzlaff​—a shrewd move by the British government. You see, at the time Japan was a “closed” country. The reigning family of shoguns, continuing a 200-year-old policy, refused to listen to the voice of the people or of the outside world and permit communication and trade with foreign countries. Gutzlaff was joint Chinese-secretary in Macao for the English commission. The British government hoped that, by using Gutzlaff in returning Japanese to Japan, trade relations could be opened. Would this work? How did Gutzlaff feel?

Gutzlaff’s lifelong ambition was not to promote trade for Britain, and yet he welcomed these Japanese young men with open arms, thanking God for them. To understand this we need to know more about Gutzlaff.

Gutzlaff was born in Pomerania, now Poland. When growing up he wrote, “I want to learn six languages and become a messenger of the gospel of the Kingdom of Christ in every place under heaven.” His goal narrowed down to the Orient.

At the age of twenty-three he went to Batavia (now Jakarta), Indonesia. Here he seized opportunities to learn Chinese, Malay and a sprinkling of Japanese. Unable to preach in Sumatra as assigned, he went to Thailand, studied Thai and translated the gospels of Luke and John. All together, he studied at least ten languages so that he could reach people of many nations.

Between 1831 and 1834, boarding Chinese junks and other craft, Gutzlaff made three “Bible Voyages” preaching right up the coast of China from the south to the north. He preached in Manchuria and western Korea, where it is said he was the first Christian missionary to visit, Cheju Island, Okinawa and Taiwan. He had his eye set on Japan also, but how could anyone get into a closed country?

Contact With Japan

It was in 1835 that Gutzlaff took up his post for the British government, and in December of that year the General Palmer delivered the three brothers to Gutzlaff’s care. Gutzlaff now had a precious contact with Japanese people. He could teach them Christianity and, at the same time, learn Japanese. So he was overjoyed to take them into his home in Macao.

Returning the Japanese brothers was no easy task. Rigid control allowed only one Dutch ship a year to visit Nagasaki in western Japan. Seclusion was enforced on the Japanese. There was a law forbidding anyone to leave the country and another banning the building of any ship over fifty tons. So no Japanese boat was likely to come to Hong Kong. The brothers had to wait patiently for a chance to return to their beloved homeland.

An Original Original

In the meantime the brothers helped in translating the gospel and three letters of John​—no small task considering the language barriers. There were other difficulties too. Of the three, only the eldest could read and write Japanese. Even he could write only one of the two sets of phonetic letters and no Chinese characters (kanji), which are generally used for the main words, such as nouns, adjectives, verbs, and so forth. These young men were of humble birth and had received no formal education. The Japanese they knew and spoke was the dialect of their locality of Owariryo, near Nagoya. Consequently, their translation is written phonetically in rich country dialect and idioms.

Furthermore, Shinto and Buddhist interpretations of the Bible were employed. An outstanding example is the translation of the Greek word “baptisma,” usually translated in English as “baptism” and “immersion.” It was translated as kori wo toraseru, which refers to an old Japanese religious practice of pouring cold water over themselves for the purpose of cleansing when making a request of the gods. A few other interesting words are:

God (theos) Paradise, heaven

Word (logos) Wise One

holy spirit (pneuma) god

angels heavenly gods

lord, master Emperor, Mikado

bread rice cake

These translations were completed in November 1836. Due to difficulties between the English and the Chinese, the manuscripts were sent to Singapore where they were printed the following May. Gutzlaff hoped that the printed translations of John’s writings would be ready before the brothers would leave for Japan. But while the mail boat that should have brought the Bibles to Macao was delayed, an opportunity to board a ship bound for Japan presented itself.

Home, Bittersweet Home!

America was taking positive steps to open up relations with Japan, and at the beginning of July 1837 an American ship called Morrison docked in Macao on its historic voyage to Japan. The three brothers boarded this 564-ton sailing ship. At last they could go to Japan! At last they would be with those who loved them! At last they would be home!

The Morrison entered Tokyo Bay on July 27. The three brothers almost went out of their minds with excitement. They could see Japan! Gutzlaff opened up negotiations for the return of the Japanese he had brought. The stinging reply from the Japanese government was to refer Gutzlaff to a decree of 1637 that ordered that any Japanese leaving the country could return only on pain of death. The brothers could not enter Japan! To give strength to their words and to make it quite clear a foreign vessel was not welcome, the Japanese opened cannon fire on the Morrison, driving the ship out of Tokyo Bay.

However, neither Gutzlaff nor the Americans would give up so easily. The Morrison next went in the direction of Nagoya, but the winds were so strong that the ship could not drop anchor. So the Morrison went down to Kagoshima on the southern tip of Japan to try again. Here, too, tragically, they were bombarded by cannon fire. The disappointment of the three brothers was acute. They had seen the mountains and trees and earth of the home they loved so dearly, but they could not make it their own again.

Back in Macao, Gutzlaff arranged a set time each day for the translating of the Bible to continue. But, in spite of their hard work, only the first manuscripts of John’s writings were ever printed. Gutzlaff was never able to take his Bible to Japan. In 1841, however, a well-known American missionary called Hepburn found the Japanese Bible in Singapore and was able to put it to use when, some years later, Japan was opened to foreigners.

What happened to Iwakichi, Kyūkichi and Otokichi? No one knows for sure. Some say that one of them possibly went to America on the Morrison while his brothers accepted Gutzlaff’s faith and aimed to preach in Japan. Others say they merged into the Chinese society and were forgotten. There is no record that any of them returned to their homeland.

It would be a rather pathetic story if it were to end here. Happily, Iwakichi, Kyūkichi and Otokichi will soon be back in the general resurrection as promised by Jesus Christ. (John 5:28, 29) And won’t they be surprised to learn that their poor translation of God’s Word, being the very first into Japanese, influenced all other Japanese translations in the years after! You see, Hepburn and his associates used it when making the 1880-1888 translation that has been widely used by Jehovah’s Witnesses in Japan.

If you meet Japanese Christians, ask them what they think of Hepburn’s Bible. The reply will usually be, “The language is hard to understand.” Then, because very few know why, you can explain the lingering influence of the first translators, Iwakichi, Kyūkichi and Otokichi​—those simple country boys who could hardly write, but who accomplished a remarkable “first,” all because they happened to be shipwrecked.

[Map on page 16]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

ENGLAND

London

AFRICA

Cape of Good Hope

CHINA

JAPAN

Queen Charlotte Is.

HAWAII

Vancouver

NORTH AMERICA

SOUTH AMERICA

Cape Horn

[Map on page 19]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

MANCHURIA

CHINA

KOREA

JAPAN

Tokyo

Nagoya

Nagasaki

Kagoshima

Cheju Island

Okinawa

HONG KONG

TAIWAN

MACAO

THAILAND

PACIFIC OCEAN

Singapore

Sumatra

Jakarta

INDONESIA

[Picture on page 17]

Karl Gutzlaff

[Pictures on page 20]

Gospel of John printed in Singapore, based on the translation and script of the three Japanese and Gutzlaff

New World Translation of John in modern Japanese

“Why Did the Clock Stop When Grandpa Died?”

By “Awake!” correspondent in Sweden

“I HAVE never believed in the supernatural. But three years ago in this very room something very mysterious happened. You see the old clock over there on the wall. It was grandpa’s. He bought it while he was overseas as a young sailor. He was always so proud of it and liked to tell everybody how reliable it was. As you can see it is stopped now. Grandpa died in the hospital a few miles from here, and at the same instant the clock stopped after having ticked for seventy years! Grandpa himself must have stopped it, mustn’t he?”

A farmer in Sweden told this experience to one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Many people have had similar mysterious experiences in connection with the death of a close relative or friend. They often ask: Why? What force is responsible? Isn’t this proof of human immortality?

When discussing such questions it is good to refer to God’s Word, the Bible. It is the only reliable source of information regarding what happens to man when he dies, what forces are active in the invisible world, and what natural circumstances may lie behind such experiences. Would you like to know what the Bible teaches about the question raised by the stopping of grandpa’s clock?

Did Grandpa Stop It?

According to the Bible it could not have been grandpa himself who stopped it. Do you recall what the Bible says happens when people die? God told Adam and Eve what death would mean for them: “You will eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are and to dust you will return.” God said nothing about their continuing to live in a spirit world.​—Genesis 3:19; 2:17.

Furthermore, God’s Word says about the dead: “As for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5) Can they plan and carry out mysterious things like the stopping of clocks? The Bible answers: “There is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol [Hebrew word for the grave, the place to which the dead go].” (Ecclesiastes 9:10) Confirming this, the Bible also says that man “goes back to his ground; in that day his thoughts do perish.”​—Psalm 146:4; 115:17.

Consequently the Bible often likens death to a state of sleep. Acts 13:36 says that when King David died he “fell asleep.” First Thessalonians 4:13, 14 refers to Christians who had died as “those who are sleeping.” Jesus spoke of his friend Lazarus as sleeping when He went to resurrect him from death, saying: “I am journeying there to awaken him from sleep.”​—John 11:11-14; see also Daniel 12:13.

Thus, God’s Word shows that the dead are incapable of communicating with the living. They are inactive until the great awakening of them when they are resurrected into God’s future new order. (John 5:28, 29) Therefore the Bible’s answer is clear: It was not grandpa who stopped the clock. Then what or who else could have done it?

Is There a Spirit World?

Yes, the Bible definitely shows that a spirit world exists. Who inhabit it? Besides the Almighty Spirit, Jehovah God, with his Son, Jesus Christ, and his faithful angels, there are God’s adversary, Satan, and his host of unfaithful angels, also called demons.

Did God, his Son, or any of his angels stop grandpa’s clock? If so, the question arises: Why? For what purpose? To give a sign that could help that farmer believe in God? Hardly, because if God wanted to promote belief in his existence by means of mysterious supernatural signs, why does he not give such signs to everyone? Why do signs of that kind occur so seldom? Why are they often subtle and frightening? No. The Creator has more exact and comprehensive means for helping people to believe in him.

Could anyone else from the spirit world have stopped grandpa’s clock? Could God’s adversary and his demons? What does the Bible say?

“Wicked Spirit Forces” Suspected

The Bible clearly shows that there are “wicked spirit forces” who deceive and frighten man. In Ephesians 6:12 the apostle Paul describes them as “wicked spirit forces in the heavenly places,” against whom man has to shield himself. Such powerful wicked angels can easily perform tricky things, or even masquerade as the dead. Satan tried to deceive the first human pair about death, saying that they would not die. This masquerade is a clever way for him to support his false teaching of man’s immortality.​—Genesis 3:4; John 8:44.

It is evident that these “wicked spirit forces” sometimes use the time of a person’s death to upset and frighten relatives with unpleasant experiences. A lady in Stockholm, Sweden, says: “After my husband’s death I was repeatedly awakened at night by sharp bangs on the floor of my bedroom. It was as if somebody were throwing steel balls. You can see the round splintered dents there on the parquet flooring. The TV-set was also bombarded in the same way. One night I was awakened by some loud cracks in the air above my bed. I was extremely frightened.”

Others have had pleasant experiences, however. For example, a woman described how her recently deceased husband appeared to her at night and talked to her. She said he looked very nice and wore beautiful clothes.

A similar experience was told by another woman: “Soon after my husband’s death he appeared in front of me in a room. One half of the room was dark and the other half was bright. Seeing him there in the bright half of the room playing the guitar convinced me that he was now living in a bright and pleasant place.”

A man told this experience: “I lived alone with my mother for many years. She used to take care of the home and the cooking. One day after her death when I was resting on a sofa, I heard her call from the kitchen: “Come and eat! The meal is ready!” First I thought I had dreamed, but there was a warm, well-prepared meal right on the table.”

The question arises: Can wicked agents of Satan engage in such pleasant activities? God inspired the apostle Paul to give a very simple answer, saying: “There is nothing surprising about that; Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is therefore a simple thing for his agents to masquerade as agents of good.” (2 Corinthians 11:14, 15, New English Bible) To deceive and mislead people, the demons often appear to be nice and helpful.​—1 Timothy 4:1.

Freedom From ‘Wicked Forces’

Anyone with similar experiences who wants to be free from the influence of ‘wicked forces’ should turn to Jehovah God for help. Jesus Christ taught his followers to pray to God: “Deliver us from the wicked one.” (Matthew 6:13) God hears prayers that come from a pure heart. “The eyes of Jehovah are upon the righteous ones, and his ears are toward their supplication.”​—1 Peter 3:12; Proverbs 15:29.

Knowledge from God’s Word, the Bible, also helps. A careful study of it reveals the true condition of the dead. It establishes firm hope in the future resurrection of the dead. It also reveals the identity of the ‘wicked forces’ in the spirit realm and shows how to avoid being deceived and harassed by them.

A lady who knew what the Bible teaches about these matters reported: “Shortly after my husband’s death I saw the back of a man who was sitting in front of the stove ready to light a fire. He acted exactly as my husband used to do in that situation. Immediately, out loud I asked Jehovah God for help. I then commanded the person: ‘I know who you are, get out of here!’ In that very moment he faded away. I have never seen him since.”

Natural Explanations

Not every experience of the kind discussed here has supernatural explanations. A balanced investigation of what actually has taken place can often lead to a simple, natural explanation.

Some mysterious experiences can be explained by what the Bible calls “time and unforeseen occurrence.” (Ecclesiastes 9:11) Timewise, things may coincide almost unbelievably. For instance, millions of clocks throughout the world do not stop when their owners die. However, the laws of probability testify that somewhere, some time, a clock will stop for mechanical reasons at the exact time of its owner’s death. Similarly, other unforeseen occurrences may coincide with someone’s death.

Also, strange visual or audible occurrences after someone’s death may have natural explanations. A long life together with a person may have left such a deep impression in the mind of the surviving partner that moments may suddenly occur when this one seemingly experiences the presence of the deceased one.

Interestingly, scientists have found that some persons possess what is called an eidetic imagery, that is, the ability to see mental images as if they are suspended outside the head. The Encyclopædia Britannica says under “eidetic image”: “An eidetic person not only can imagine an absent object but behaves as if he really can see it.”

So whatever or whoever is behind a mysterious occurrence in connection with someone’s death, it is not the dead person himself in any form or shape. It was not dead grandpa who stopped his clock.

A Shocking Injustice!

WHEN injustice touches you or your loved ones, do you not feel very strongly about it? But even when others are treated unjustly, we should be concerned. A pattern of injustice can undermine a whole country or civilization.

A shocking injustice has occurred on the Italian island of Sardinia. There a young couple, Giuseppe and Consiglia Oneda, have been charged with the death of their beloved daughter and are now imprisoned. They have been treated worse than terrorists, so that their case has received international attention. As you examine the facts, you will see that what occurred is an attack on minorities. It also undermines the right to choose medical treatment from a doctor or a hospital and the right of parents to care properly for their children.

The Oneda Family

The Onedas are residents of Sarroch, a small town on Sardinia. You can imagine their delight when, on December 23, 1977, their much-awaited first child, Isabella, was born. But they soon experienced great sadness. Why? Within six months they could see that Isabella was pale and not growing normally. When the Onedas sought medical attention, doctors told them that she suffered from Mediterranean anemia. The doctors began treating the baby with blood transfusions; still, the disease worsened.

During this period the Onedas began studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses and drew comfort from learning that some day God will bring an end to suffering and death. (Revelation 21:4) Having high regard for life, Jehovah’s Witnesses accept modern medical treatment; scores of them are physicians. However, they are convinced that transfusions are forbidden for them by Biblical passages such as: “Only flesh with its soul​—its blood—​you must not eat.” (Genesis 9:3, 4) Also, they know that the first apostolic council commanded Christians to ‘abstain from fornication and from blood.’​—Acts 15:19, 20.

From studying the Bible the Onedas sensed more deeply that parents should lovingly care for their children. They were so conscientious that at times they skipped meals to have more funds for the best food and medicine to give young Isabella.

What Was Isabella’s Disease?

Isabella was suffering from the serious blood disorder thalassemia major (also called Cooley’s disease). This is a condition that many in the Mediterranean area inherit. Blood transfusions are commonly given as a treatment, but this is only a temporary measure. Sadly, the disease is incurable. Most of those afflicted die in childhood. A publication on blood diseases shows that when this condition manifests itself in infants​—as was the case with Isabella—​it usually is fatal “within the first two years of life.”​—Trattato di Patologia Medica (Tract on Medical Pathology) of U. Teodori, Rome, 1976.

How the Parents Acted

During 1978 and early 1979 the Onedas repeatedly took Isabella to the Second Clinic at the University of Cagliari, though she could not be cured. Finally, in June 1979 they reached a decision based on the Bible. They told the doctors that they would no longer bring Isabella for transfusions. But they made it clear that they would accept any other therapy. The Onedas continued to provide exceptional care for Isabella, even seeking treatment from doctors in northern Italy, Switzerland, Germany and France.

The Social Service of the Clinic contacted the Minor’s Court, which directed the Clinic to contact the civil authorities to see that the child was brought in. A number of times the Clinic contacted the officials of Sarroch, and a local policeman came for the child. In this way, many blood transfusions were forced on young Isabella.

However, from the middle of March until July 2, 1980, the Clinic neglected to have Isabella brought for treatment. During this period, the Onedas were blessed with a second child, a healthy daughter whom they also loved and cared for. Then on July 2, 1980, the police again took Isabella to the Clinic, where she died while a transfusion was being given to her.

A Horrible Injustice

You might imagine this to be the sad finale. Yet now a horrible injustice began to develop. On July 5, 1980, the Onedas were arrested and charged with voluntary homicide​—murder! Unbelievably, this Christian couple, who were already deeply saddened over losing their first daughter, now had the added burden of being charged with desiring her death.

The parents were imprisoned for twenty months. Despite a doctor’s report that Giuseppe Oneda was sick, temporary freedom awaiting the trial was refused. This cruelty prevented them from caring for their second daughter. Finally, a court trial was held. On March 10, 1982, the Onedas were pronounced guilty and sentenced to fourteen years in prison, followed by three years’ probation. Think of that​—a sentence exceeding that given to many terrorists!

Facts Expose the Injustice

All of us who are interested in freedom and human rights should seriously consider what here occurred.

In a Memorandum to the Investigating Judge, the Director of the Clinic stated: “In the Clinic numerous cases of Thalassemia Major have been diagnosed (about 700). Many of these never came back or came back sporadically. The Clinic does not have sufficient personnel even to assist the sick.” If the Clinic let hundreds of little children with this disease go untreated and then did not comply fully with the court’s direction concerning Isabella, how could the Onedas be the ones guilty of her death? Let your humanity and sense of justice answer.

Many interesting details were presented at the trial. Court appointed medical experts showed: (1) that “the clinical stage” of Isabella’s disease “was at the terminal point,” meaning that she was near death; (2) that even transfusions during the weeks or months before her death “could not have had any clinical relevance and legal medical role in modifying the fateful evolution of the disease.”

You may know what doctors also admit​—that there is much proof that blood transfusions often have serious, even fatal, consequences. In many severely anemic patients, iron builds up in the body, which dangerous condition can be aggravated by transfusions.

Professor Edoardo Storti (Director of the Hematological Institute of Pavia University) concluded from Isabella’s autopsy report: “The death was caused by a uniting of various factors: (a) intense anemia; (b) a notable iron deposit in the vital tissues, especially in the myocardium . . . I also hold it is to be doubted that the therapy, even the most intense and modern, could have sensibly modified the evolution of the disease.”

Furthermore, with a patient having a hemoglobin of lower than five grams and having heart problems, as was the case with Isabella, blood transfusions usually are not indicated for they can produce acute pulmonary edema, which can be fatal. Isabella’s autopsy revealed pulmonary edema.

In view of these facts, why were the Onedas charged with manslaughter? Professor Angelo Fiori (Director of the Legal Medicine Institute of the Catholic University of the Sacred Heart in Rome) pointed out: “To assert that the unfavorable evolution is tied to the conduct of the parents . . . is without any doubt unfounded and risky.”

Another medical-legal expert stated that the claim that Isabella died because of a failure to have transfusions administered “is as absurd as affirming that one who has a tumor, on reaching the final stage of disease, died because he was not given vitamins.”

Public Reaction

Though an appeal has been filed, the parents remain behind bars. But many have expressed concern over the injustice.

Il Tempo of March 11, 1982, stated: “Having listened in the courtroom, the legal doctor, Doctor Alessandro Bucarelli, had declared it was not possible at the stage of the investigation to establish a causative link between the lack of transfusions and the thalassemic little one’s death.” Then the article observed: “Normally, when in doubt a person is acquitted or there is further investigation: this time despite doubt the accused was condemned.” Why?

Fair-minded persons aware of the facts wonder why the doubts expressed by the court’s own expert witnesses were not pursued. Why did the court refuse to consider another hypothesis as to the cause of death or to hear the expert witnesses of the defense? Why did the court focus on the parents who had sincerely sought treatment consistent with their religious beliefs? Yes​—WHY?

Il Tempo quoted a Canadian lawyer who attended the trial: “At one time it was the Inquisition that persecuted those not belonging to the Church. Now the persecution is a little hidden but in reality is the same. Hundreds of children die in Sardinia with or without blood transfusions: medical texts show there is no effective cure for this disease. Now the Public Prosecutor has pretended to indicate a remedy to us, but this pretense was just an excuse that could be found to condemn this respectful couple responsible only of having had a child affected with a disease that no one can cure. In fact, the child died while undergoing a blood transfusion without the parents’ consent to it.”

From Turin, Stampa Sera said: “The hope now is that in the appeal trial such sentence will be annulled. Fourteen years in prison in fact is not even contemplated in the law for terrorists . . . who bear on their shoulders the guilt of seven murders. The question is asked, Why was the Assizes Court of Cagliari so hard on the Onedas? For every year in Sardinia tens upon tens of children die from thalassemia, with or without transfusions. . . . And finally, it is grotesque that nothing was issued against the public officials whom the minor court’s judge had appointed to arrange for little Isabella to receive transfusions.”

The press in other lands also questioned whether justice was done. El País of Madrid, Spain, noted that the case involved the “incurable disease: thalassemia” and that the life of a child suffering with it “can be lengthened for only a short time by repeated blood transfusions.” It added: “What no one has forgiven is the fact that the judges have been merciless with these parents . . . as though they had killed Isabella with a gun in an act of fully premeditated murder. They have not been granted the least benefit of extenuating circumstances, something that in this country is extended even to the more ferocious criminals.”​—March 12, 1982.

A Threat to Your Rights

Likely the law in your country, as in Italy, says that you have a right to determine whether you will accept a treatment. That is understandable. Consider an example involving abortion. Whether you believe abortions are proper or not, how would you feel if doctors caused a policeman to come to your home and force you or a loved one to submit to an abortion regardless of your wishes?

Also, it is admitted worldwide that parents should have a voice in their children’s care. If parents know that a child has an incurable disease, and that a certain treatment could cause premature death, should the parents be forced by policemen to submit to it?

In Scotland, A. D. Farr, a lecturer on blood transfusion techniques, wrote with regard to forced blood transfusions:

“The State is gradually taking over the function of making decisions for the individual. It is in this way that free countries cease to be free and become totalitarian. . . . This is not mere fanciful speculation. Freedom is a precious and comparatively rare possession, to be jealously guarded in those countries where it exists.”

The Constitution in Italy guarantees freedom, as the Constitution in your land may. But when religious freedom and parental rights are trampled on, a danger arises that could threaten the freedom and rights of all citizens. This has already occurred in Sardinia. Two loving, Christian parents are in prison, receiving worse treatment than many who are deliberate murderers. All lovers of freedom should be appalled at this gross injustice and should be interested in the results of the appeal. Awake! will keep you informed on this important case.

From Our Readers

Reincarnation

With interest I read your article “Did You Ever Live Before?” (February 22, 1982) I was surprised that not a word was said about either Psalm 90:3 or Matthew 3:9. Both scriptures provide more information about eternity than your entire article does. In Psalm 90 we read: “Thou turnest man to destruction; and sayest, Return, ye children of men.” [Authorized Version] It is not said when, how, where or as what a person will come again, it is simply stated THAT he will return. According to John the Baptist, a person could even return in the form of a stone, because he once told the Jews: “God is able of these stones to raise up children unto Abraham.”

H. L., Germany

The article did not refer to these scriptures because neither of them deals with the subject that was under consideration. It is evident that Psalm 90:3 refers to man’s “returning” to the dust from which he was taken, not to his “returning” to life in the sense of reincarnation. The Catholic “Jerusalem Bible” (as well as other translations) gives the correct thought, saying: “You can turn man back into dust by saying, ‘Back to what you were, you sons of men!’” Matthew 3:9 makes the point that God’s ability to raise up offspring of Abraham was not dependent on the fleshly line of descent. Persons with no fleshly connections to Abraham, “stones” as it were, could, despite this fact, become spiritual sons of Abraham through faith in Jesus Christ. The Pharisees and the Sadducees failed to demonstrate this faith, relying instead on their natural line of descent from Abraham. Thus neither scripture can be used to support the unbiblical teaching of human reincarnation.​—ED.

Drug Abuse

Recently I started reading some older issues of Awake! The first copy I read was the October 22, 1977, issue with the articles “Drug Abuse Tightens Its Global Grip,” “. . . But Are All Drugs Dangerous?” and “Drug Abuse​—Our Journey There and Back.” Earlier I had arranged with a friend to go out that evening to have my first smoke in ‘Khaya’ [a drug]. If you will recall, the whole magazine preached against ‘wee’ smoking (as it is called in Ghana). Surely it was these articles that saved me. As a second-year student, age twenty-three, I would have entered into the ‘wee’ world. I can see a change in my life for the past seven months. Therefore, poor as I am, I have decided to become a regular subscriber to Awake!

P. B. T., University of Ghana

From Our Readers

This letter is to congratulate you for the section “From Our Readers.” This section has aroused my interest, since the opinion of other persons makes me look at the material from a different point of view. In your issue of December 22, 1981, a student in microbiology gave his opinion of the article on gene splicing in the August 22, 1981, issue. His opinion made me read the article again. Also, I took special note of your answer to him, which point of view I also take. This is not the first time I have reread an article due to the opinions of others published by the editors.

J. L. A. M., Brazil

Watching the World

UN Head Sees “Apocalypse”

● “Apocalypse is today not merely a biblical depiction but it has become a very real possibility,” warned UN Secretary-General Javier Pérez de Cuéllar in his inaugural speech. “Never before in human experience have we been placed on the narrow edge between catastrophe and survival.” Noting that the world’s military budgets have reached $600 thousand million annually, the secretary-general stated: “The arms race today extends into the oceans of the world and into outer space. In fact, it is ironic that the accumulation of arms is one of the few expanding industries in a period of economic depression and gloom.” Illustrating this expanding commitment to arms is the fact that “some 500,000 scientists all over the world are devoting their knowledge to the search for weaponry more sophisticated and more deadly.” Of course, the biblical war of the “Apocalypse” will not be initiated by men, but by God.​—Revelation (Apocalypse) Re 16:14-16.

World War Now

● Few people realize the total extent of wars being fought worldwide right now. “At a rough count about 701,600,000 of the world’s people are involved in wars of one kind or another,” reported the Toronto Star at midyear. “That’s about one person in six across the face of the globe and a figure that falls not far short of the numbers directly involved in World War II. About 250,000 combatants and up to 2,000,000 civilians are dying in these ‘little forgotten wars’ every year.”

Advertising Death

● Recent highly publicized wars have given the victors a big boost in selling ‘battle proved’ military wares. Some sixty international military magazines carry ads such as one placed by Israel Aircraft Industries: “We learned the hard way. Combat.” Or the one by Marconi of Britain for a night-vision weapon used in the war with Argentina: “Now the enemy can’t even rely on the cover of darkness.” The Wall Street Journal observed that even “leading neutral nations, often given to preaching against war, are well represented among military advertisers.” Among the examples the Journal cites is “Switzerland’s Mowag [who] offers a light tank called the Piranha that ‘deals with its enemies within a few seconds. Leaving them no chance.’” And a Swedish artillery maker boasts: “We put 100-mm. performance in a 57-mm. shell.” According to one military magazine official, by placing such ads the arms makers “hope maybe someday a defense minister will ask for [the weapons] by name.”

Biggest Count

● Almost six million men and women swarmed across mainland China for a planned ten days in July to count the largest population on earth​—over one billion. In the first census since 1964 the country’s enumerators asked nineteen questions that will give the government an improved profile of its people to help in planning for the future. Twenty-nine computers will replace the abaci for registering “people mouths,” which is what the Chinese word for population literally means.

India’s Dowry Dilemma

● In New Delhi alone, about 400 young Indian brides reportedly died in suspicious fires last year, and burnings continue to occur at a similar rate. “No amount of civilised debate can take away from the savagery of the traditional Indian marriage,” says India Today. Why such “savagery”? The girls are “victims of their in-laws’ lust for more and more dowry,” answers the periodical. The Hindu explains that the customary Hindu dowry “is a deeply entrenched evil in the feudal Bhumihar and Rajput castes and parents demand and receive fabulous dowries for their sons.” If the girl’s family cannot make good on the promised dowry, the in-laws often resort to legally outlawed “bride burning” or “dowry death” to free their son for a better-paying bride. Very few are prosecuted for the murders.

In some parts of India, extravagant dowry demands have produced a turnabout. Parents who cannot afford the dowry hire outlaw gangs called marriage mercenaries to kidnap a groom and bring him to the altar at gunpoint. “It is much cheaper to employ toughs to secure eligible bachelors than pay an exorbitant dowry,” one girl’s father told a reporter for The Hindu. The gang’s protection after the wedding is available at extra charge. Hundreds of such kidnappings are said to occur, with little interference from police.

Thought in the Womb?

● In a letter to the Journal of the American Medical Association, two doctors presented the results of their research on fetal mental activity. They explained that when fetal heart rate was monitored and compared with fetal movements, “it was noted that fetal heart rate usually began to increase before fetal movement.” The doctors observed that the heart rate began rising about six to ten seconds before movement. “This pattern parallels that of human adults, where heart rate accelerates during the contemplation of action, before the action itself is executed,” wrote the doctors. “Whether this indicates conscious thought and planning, on the part of either the fetus or the adult, . . . [is] an intriguing [question] that merits further exploration.”

Kenya Purges Witch Doctors

● Kinyugie Rayasi recently pleaded guilty before a southern Kenyan court to practicing outlawed witchcraft. However, reported the Daily Sketch of Ibadan, Nigeria, he asked for leniency, “saying that he had been a witchdoctor for 30 years and knew no other line of work.” The court still took a dim view of his activities and sentenced the fifty-year-old man to twelve months in jail and “ordered burned his tools of trade, including giraffe tails and dark-coloured powders,” said the report.

The High and Mighty

● Catholic newspaper columnist Bill Reel wrote in the New York Daily News about a recent visit of Mario Luigi Cardinal Ciappi, personal theologian to Pope John Paul II. Upon emerging from his limousine, wrote Reel, the cardinal “extended his hand, and important laymen stooped to kiss his ring. Then everybody went inside for cocktails and lunch.” The columnist went on to describe his reaction: “I love the Catholic Church​—I’m a happy member of it, in fact—​but I was intimidated and put off by all the pomp and self-importance surrounding this princely churchman or churchly prince. It was awkward and embarrassing . . . ordinary people can’t identify with anybody who rides around in a limousine and gets his ring kissed. No matter how holy he might be, such a man is too remote, too aloof, too ethereal. He has too many servants, maids, cooks, coat-holders, boot-lickers. He has nothing in common with the rest of us, so he can’t tell us anything.”​—Compare Matthew 23:5-12.

First Jet-powered Flight?

● Butterflies keep their wings folded for a third of their flight time, according to a Russian scientist writing in Soviet Weekly. No other insect or bird does this, she maintains. “I took high speed photography slowing down the butterfly’s wings a hundred times, to show scientists at the Soviet Severtsov Institute how the insect does it.” Her explanation is that when the insect’s four wings fold, the two rear ones form an oval tunnel that, as they continue to close, force air in the tunnel out the rear as a jet stream aimed slightly down. This was said to give butterflies a jet-propelled lift and forward drive​—until the next flap of the wings.

Ousting Surplus “Gods”

● Chinese gods and goddesses without proper credentials are reportedly on their way out in Taiwan. Taipei’s director of civil affairs has appointed experts to verify all temple deities, noting that some of the hundreds of Buddhist and Taoist temples “exist only because their workers must earn a living, and their gods are usually heroic characters from classical novels.” He said that “in this way men create gods only to fool ignorant people,” and he added, “Chinese people should know whom they worship and why. Here and in China today, many temple priests themselves do not know who the gods really are.”

Volcano Fells Jets

● A Singapore Airlines passenger jet flying at 30,000 feet (9,100 m) recently ran into a seven-mile-high (11-km-high) ash discharge from Java’s Galunggung volcano. Three of the aircraft’s four engines stalled, causing it to fall thousands of feet before sufficient control was regained to make an emergency landing in Jakarta, Indonesia. A few weeks previously dust from the same volcano fouled the engines of a British Airways jet, resulting in a drop of 19,000 feet (5,800 m) before recovery. Before a recent series of eruptions the volcano had not been active for a century.

Nations in Debt

● Third World nations are now about $700 billion in debt. Some are still paying on their debts, some are falling behind. In 1979 seventeen countries were in arrears on their loans from commercial banks. That number jumped to twenty-six in 1981 and continues to grow at about the same rate. Another rapidly growing group of nations is asking for rescheduling of their debt payments to governments and aid agencies. The Toronto, Canada, Sunday Star noted that such indebtedness is causing “fears of global economic chaos” among economists.

Strange Mixture

● Florida’s Miami Herald reports that politicians in the city must now reckon with the large group of “santeros, followers of an African religion practiced under a veneer of Catholicism and brought here from Cuba.” Some political office seekers drum up support by attending santería rituals. Roman Catholic priest and anthropologist Juan Sosa describes santería as “the worship of African gods as Catholic saints.” The Herald’s report adds: “In Cuba, two Catholic saints are particularly identified with santeria worship, according to Sosa. They are St. Lazarus, whose African counterpart is Babalu Aye, a god of sickness and health; and St. Barbara . . . who is identified with Chango, a god of thunder.”

Similarly, according to the Orlando Sentinel, “Voodoo and folk religion, strong forces in Haiti, have been transplanted [to Miami] to some extent.” For example, notes the newspaper, the priest at Our Lady of Haiti parish said “he still teaches parishioners to believe in one God, but has incorporated some of voodoo’s cultural aspects, like drums, into his services.”

US Prisons at Peak

● There are almost 385,000 prisoners in the United States’ state and federal prisons, an increase of nearly 14 percent in a year. The number of women imprisoned has lately been increasing at more than double the rate for men.

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