June 22

Page Two

When you read the newspapers and watch TV newscasts, it seems that people everywhere are filled with hate. They are ready to maim and kill or provoke others to do so. Why is there so much hatred? Will it ever end? What can be done about it? These and other questions are answered in the timely series of feature articles in this issue of Awake!

Why So Much Hatred? 3

Hope for Victims of Hate! 4

My Heart Was Filled With Hatred 8

Why So Much Hatred?

A WAVE of hatred is sweeping through the world. You may hear about the massacre of helpless women and children. Mindless carnage may be caused by an exploding bomb in a public place. Or you may read reports such as these:

“Everybody hates and is ready to kill everybody else. Sometimes I am afraid that Lebanon is an indication of what may happen to the whole of humanity.” So lamented Nobel prize winner Isaac Bashevis Singer, and he added: “I tremble at the low state we have fallen into.”​—U.S.News & World Report, December 19, 1983.

“After four years of festering protest and a month of mounting violence, India’s oil-rich state of Assam exploded in a paroxysm of communal and religious hatred.”​—Time, March 7, 1983.

“West Belfast is the battle zone, where a grotesque ‘peace line’ of steel and concrete slashes through an eerie wilderness of shattered buildings . . . Sheltering among them, the terrorists [of various political persuasions] refresh their hatreds at the same poisoned well of Irish history.”​—National Geographic, April 1981.

Hatred is like a cancer in human society. We are supposed to be living in an enlightened world, far removed from the savagery of the past. Yet at all levels of society we see evidence of the sad truth once expressed by a Bible writer: “Hatred stirs up strife.”​—Proverbs 10:12, Revised Standard Version, Catholic edition.

Contention and strife are generated by propagandists who pour out floods of misinformation. Goaded on by blind hatred, misguided individuals may then resort to outrageous acts of violence. Yes, legitimate grievances often add fuel to the flames. But when you see the despair, the hopelessness, the agony of numberless victims of hate-inspired prejudice and violence, you may well ask in distress: ‘Why? Why is there so much hatred? Can it possibly be made to disappear? Will the world ever be completely free of hatred?’

Hope for Victims of Hate!

HATRED will end worldwide. But before we can see how that is possible, we need to know (1) what causes hatred, and (2) what needs to be done to eliminate it.

Of course, the word “hate” is often used freely. A small child screws up his face and exclaims, “I hate cod-liver oil!” You may not blame him. But obviously we are not talking about that kind of hatred.

The hatred causing present-day strife and heartache is an intense, often malicious, hostility. It can be sustained enmity toward certain people. This kind of hatred is like a consuming fire. When uncontrolled it can be deadly, as we know all too well.

What Causes It?

For one thing, the way history is sometimes taught to the young can color their whole view of nations and peoples. Admittedly, home influences play their part. Children can hardly ignore jaundiced remarks about another race or people. Why, look at how some of the Irish view the English, and vice versa!

Propagandists play their part too. Whether you are young or old, your thinking can be affected by what you hear. For instance, by listening to political propaganda you can come to hate people because they are wrongly stereotyped by some clever mind manipulator. How often this happens in wartime! Regarding this, J. A. C. Brown wrote in Techniques of Persuasion: “Quite often, as in war propaganda, he is merely trying to arouse strong emotions of hatred . . . against another group.” The effects of such propaganda? Brown says that it “not only leads to exaggerated hatred of the enemy but alleviates our own sense of guilt when we too behave brutally.”

You may think of some other causes of hatred. But, like other reasonable people, you are far more interested in what can be done to end this cause of so much suffering. So, what about that?

What Can Be Done About It?

Naturally you alone cannot change the world. But you might think that religion would be a fine influence against hatred of different kinds. Well, think about that for a moment. Has not religious bigotry often promoted hatred? At least the world’s religions have not been a great success in overcoming this blight on human society. Just think of the warring factions of differing religious persuasions in Lebanon and Northern Ireland. Interestingly, the 18th-century writer Jonathan Swift remarked: “We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another.”

Now, this is not to say that religion should teach us not to hate anything at all. The Bible says: “For everything there is an appointed time, . . . a time to love and a time to hate.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, 8) But this is godly hatred. This properly controlled emotion can be a protection. Obviously God hates evil things, and his servants rightly hate them too. As the psalmist put it: “O you lovers of Jehovah, hate what is bad.”​—Psalm 97:10.

But malicious hatred​—that is something else. How can it be avoided or eliminated? Here are some points to ponder:

Consider the source. Basically, blind hatred is the product of our imperfections. The Christian apostle Paul wrote: “Now the works of the flesh are manifest, and they are fornication, uncleanness, loose conduct, idolatry, practice of spiritism, enmities [hatred, Authorized Version], strife, jealousy, fits of anger, contentions, divisions, sects, envies, drunken bouts, revelries, and things like these. As to these things I am forewarning you, the same way as I did forewarn you, that those who practice such things will not inherit God’s kingdom.” (Galatians 5:19-21) Yes, enmities, or hatred, as well as strife and contentions, are “works of the flesh” that would bar a person from God’s Kingdom.

So any who yearn for heaven’s blessing must banish improper hatred from their heart. But how is this possible?

Guard your mind. You must guard what you feed your mind if you are to protect yourself from this destructive emotion or make it disappear from your life. Naturally this is difficult when you have a legitimate grievance or when some terrible injustice has been done or when your rights have been trampled upon. But, remember, you only make matters worse if you brood over such things and allow cancerous hatred to gnaw away inside you. Of course, guarding what you feed your mind is more easily said than done. But you can take some positive steps. For one thing, you can stop listening to the biased talk of those who foment hatred. Yet, what else can you do?

Think positively. This involves replacing bitter feelings with upbuilding, constructive ones. The apostle Paul put it this way: “Finally, brothers, whatever things are true, whatever things are of serious concern, whatever things are righteous, whatever things are chaste, whatever things are lovable, whatever things are well spoken of, whatever virtue there is and whatever praiseworthy thing there is, continue considering these things.” (Philippians 4:8) Good advice! But more than positive thinking is needed. It is also a matter of placing trust where it will really do some good.

Trust in God’s goodness. Yes, have confidence in God’s ability and willingness to remedy matters. Then your emotions will not drive you into ill-conceived actions. Rather, you will be able to keep thinking clearly, rationally, reasonably. To that end, true Christians find prayer very helpful. As the apostle Paul said: “Do not be anxious over anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication along with thanksgiving let your petitions be made known to God; and the peace of God that excels all thought will guard your hearts and your mental powers by means of Christ Jesus.”​—Philippians 4:6, 7.

Hatred Already Disappearing

Admittedly such thinking and reliance on God do not develop overnight. But you can succeed. Hundreds of thousands have been able to follow Jesus Christ’s wise counsel: “You heard that it was said, ‘You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ However, I say to you: Continue to love your enemies and to pray for those persecuting you.”​—Matthew 5:43, 44.

In the first century, people from all around the then-known world became followers of Jesus Christ. And these individuals became known for such surpassing love. When hate-filled men stoned Jesus’ disciple Stephen to death, Stephen’s final words were: “Jehovah, do not charge this sin against them.” Stephen was ready to forgive them. He wanted the best for those that hated him.​—Acts 7:54-60.

Jehovah’s modern-day servants have also responded to the advice to love​—not just one another, their Christian brothers and sisters, but even those who hate them. They are working hard to eliminate malicious hatred from their lives. Recognizing the powerful forces that can engender hatred within them, they take positive action and replace hatred with love. Yes, “hatred is what stirs up contentions, but love covers over even all transgressions.”​—Proverbs 10:12.

The apostle John states: “Everyone who hates his brother is a manslayer, and you know that no manslayer has everlasting life remaining in him.” (1 John 3:15) Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that. As a result, they are now being integrated​—from all ethnic, cultural and former religious and political backgrounds—​into one united hate-free association of people, a genuine earth-wide brotherhood.

Hatred About to End!

‘But,’ you may say, ‘that’s all very well for the individuals concerned. However, this will not make hatred disappear from the earth altogether.’ True, even if you do not have hatred in your heart, you can still be its victim. So you have to look to God for the real solution to this problem.

Take heart, however, for all vestiges of misdirected, ungodly hatred will soon be removed from the earth. This will shortly take place under the rule of the heavenly government for which Jesus taught us to pray to God: “Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified. Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.” (Matthew 6:9, 10) When that prayer is fully answered, conditions that foster hatred will exist no more. Situations that exploit it will have been eliminated. Ignorance, lies and prejudice will have been replaced by enlightenment, truth and righteousness. Then, indeed, God ‘will have wiped out every tear, death will be no more, and neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore.’​—Revelation 21:1-4.

Now, the best news! The very generation that has seen hatred erupt into devastating world wars and has witnessed other evidence that we are living in “the last days” will see ungodly hatred vanish from this earth. (2 Timothy 3:1-5; Matthew 24:3-14, 34) In God’s promised New Order a genuine spirit of brotherhood will exist, for humankind will have been restored to perfection. Moreover, you can be here when our earthly home becomes a paradise and all its residents truly reflect God’s fine moral qualities. (Luke 23:43; 2 Peter 3:13) Yes, you can live when love prevails earth wide and ungodly hatred is a thing of the past.

But you do not have to wait until then to enjoy genuine brotherhood. In fact, as shown by the following account, Christian love already has found a place in hearts once filled with hatred.

[Blurb on page 5]

You can come to hate people because they are wrongly stereotyped by some clever mind manipulator

[Blurb on page 5]

“We have just enough religion to make us hate, but not enough to make us love one another”​—Jonathan Swift

[Blurb on page 6]

“Everyone who hates his brother is a manslayer”

[Picture on page 7]

Soon love and unity will fill the earth

My Heart Was Filled With Hatred

HOW vivid my recollection is! The young soldier had been left behind when his patrol moved out of the area. He was surrounded by a mob of jeering, threatening women. Then their ranks parted to allow a gunman through. He fired and left quickly. Yes, the young soldier had been killed.

Because of my bitter hatred for anything British, I felt little sorrow or compassion as the young man was carried away, his arm dangling from the stretcher. This was the enemy. His uniform was the symbol of those I considered the oppressors of my people. He was a soldier and we were at war.

That incident took place some years ago in strife-torn Belfast, Northern Ireland. Let me tell you how I became filled with hatred​—and more importantly, how I learned to eradicate it from my heart.

An Atmosphere of Hatred

When I was a very young girl, my family lived in an area of Belfast where Protestant and Catholic families were able to live and work together peacefully. But sectarian troubles began to get more bitter as civil rights protests gave way to violence and murder. Many times gangs of Protestant youths chased my brothers and beat them severely with metal-studded belts. These gangs rampaged through our part of the city, threatening residents and damaging property. After many threats that culminated in the placing of a bomb on the windowsill of our home, we were forced to leave the area and move to what became a Republican Catholic ghetto.

That was a time of brutal sectarian murders, tit-for-tat killings. For instance, the brother of a young school friend of mine was murdered while standing at the roadside. Such terrifying acts of violence, as well as the discrimination that I felt was being shown against Catholics in housing and employment, developed in me a desire to do anything I could to change things.

Into Paramilitary Activities

Having seen my friends in uniform, I wanted to be like them. So, as a young schoolgirl, I joined the junior branch of a Catholic paramilitary organization. As I listened to all the propaganda, my young heart was filled with hatred for those I viewed as enemies of my people. By attending meetings with others of similar ideals, I was imbued with fervour for ‘the cause’​—freedom for the Irish! My job? To watch for army patrols, distribute propaganda and keep on the lookout for any persons who might show friendliness toward the security forces.

Later I was accepted into the women’s branch of the organization. There my hatred for anything British gained fuller expression. Along with others, I harassed army and police patrols, shouting at and spitting on members of the security forces and sharing in demonstrations in favour of the Republican cause. At times I also carried weapons for male members of our group when they took part in a shooting or a robbery. If we were stopped by an army patrol, it was easier for a young woman to avoid being searched.

I never really reasoned things out, never thought beyond the goal of getting the British out of Ireland. As far as I was concerned, I was right and they were wrong. I suppressed any feeling of sympathy for the victims of violent acts of terrorism. We saw ourselves as freedom fighters warring against an enemy of our people, and the basic philosophy was that war justifies any act of violence. If there were innocent victims of any violent acts stemming from hatred, that was just too bad!

In time I was arrested and charged with carrying weapons for an attempted “knee-capping.” Two members of our group were to inflict the actual punishment, smashing the victim’s knees by shooting a bullet through them. Because of my youthfulness, eventually I was freed with only a recorded sentence. The short time spent in Armagh prison prior to my trial only intensified my hatred for the police force, prison system and judiciary, whom I viewed as oppressors.

Religious Upbringing

My religious upbringing did nothing to stem the growing hatred in my heart. Indeed, my religion was inextricably entwined with my nationalism. I grew up viewing Protestants as a threat and a danger to me and my family. My hatred matched that expressed toward those of our Catholic community by fanatics of the other side.

It never occurred to me that there was any contradiction between attending Mass and praying to God as a Catholic, while having intense hatred for a British soldier who might also be Catholic. If there ever was a conflict between my nationalism and my religion, nationalism would win. Thus I could accept the idea of one of my companions’ shooting a fellow Catholic if he wore a British uniform.

Of course, some sincere priests did make speeches condemning violence. But this had little effect, since it seldom was backed up by any action against those involved in terrorism. What was a young, impressionable person to think when she saw a terrorist buried with full church honours? On one such occasion, I was part of the funeral party for a dead associate. Shots were fired over his tricolour-draped coffin. I marched in uniform to the chapel and attended the Mass. In my eyes, this was a military funeral and the priest’s involvement implied God’s approval of our cause.

There was no sense of guilt for anything I was doing. In fact, never did any priest directly advise me to get out of paramilitary activities.

Learning the Truth

By then I was totally immersed in the cause, firmly believing it to be right. I saw the injustices of the other side, gullibly believing all the reports of atrocities and evils and ignoring the brutal excesses of my side in the fight. Yet, common sense and decency began to indicate that something was terribly wrong.

While struggling to make some sense of the dilemma produced by nationalistic differences and violent attempts to remedy wrongs, I came in contact with Jehovah’s Witnesses. Why, they were talking about the things I thought I was fighting for​—peace, justice and freedom! Were they just another form of Protestantism? No. Despite initial suspicions, I found them quite different. They really did keep themselves separate from politics, and their whole appeal was to the Bible.

To illustrate: Early in my discussions, I asked the Witness calling on my family what she thought of the Protestant religious leader who seemed to me to be the power behind anti-Catholic and anti-Republican actions. Instead of taking sides, she asked: “What would Jesus have done under these circumstances? Whose side would he have taken?”

That question, “What would Jesus have done?” helped me to see the correct answers to many questions that arose in my study of the Bible. For instance, I had to consider what Jesus would have done when I thought about my involvement in violent protests over what I saw as injustices. At first, I was a bit like the Jewish nationalists of Jesus’ day who wanted to get the Romans out of Judea. But I came to appreciate that Jesus would have been neutral, as he instructed his followers to be. His Kingdom was no part of this world.​—John 15:19; 17:16; 18:36.

In time it became clear to me that God’s Kingdom by Jesus Christ has a far grander purpose. It will remove all oppressive forms of government and all kinds of injustice. (Daniel 2:44) And just think! This will be accomplished without any innocent victims, and I could well live to see it!

Since I did not want to be indoctrinated again, I kept checking things in my Catholic Bible. I learned that God’s name is Jehovah, and I was thrilled about his purpose to make the whole earth a paradise in which the meek will find delight in the abundance of peace. (Psalm 37:10, 11; Luke 23:43) But could I really trust Jehovah’s Witnesses? Well, I began attending meetings at their Kingdom Hall, and my association with them built up my confidence. Here were people who really are neutral and who practise what they preach.

Among Jehovah’s Witnesses I met people from a Protestant paramilitary background. They had renounced violence as a way of getting peace with justice. Initially they had felt just as convinced of the rightness of their cause as I had been of mine, and they had once had a bitter hatred of anything Catholic or Republican. But they had broken free from nationalistic ideas and the hatred these had produced. This helped me to appreciate what Jesus said: “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”​—John 8:32.

Freedom From Hatred

In my heart I knew that Jesus Christ would not get involved in political strife and terrorism. But it seemed as though I was in a trap, and it was not easy to break free. In time other members of my family stopped associating with Jehovah’s Witnesses, and to continue our Bible study my sister and I had to cross the “peace line” that divides the Catholic and Protestant areas of Belfast. At first we feared for our safety each time we crossed it. But as we advanced in our understanding of the Bible, gradually this fear gave way to real confidence in Jehovah’s protection.

Once, when I was just learning Bible truth, I was sitting with others in a Republican club as we received news of a particularly deadly ambush of British soldiers in Northern Ireland. I found that I could no longer join in the cheering that greeted such reports. Surely, Jesus would not have cheered. His counsel was: “All things, therefore, that you want men to do to you, you also must likewise do to them.” (Matthew 7:12) I knew it was not right to rejoice over people being blown to bits.

That incident impressed upon me what blind hatred can do to people, and I no longer wanted any part of it. Looking back now, how glad I am to have learned about a loving Creator with a marvelous and loving purpose for this earth and mankind! Today it is a real joy to use my life full time in helping others to acquire this same Bible-based hope. And I am thankful, indeed, that my heart no longer is filled with hatred.​—Contributed.

[Blurb on page 9]

“Terrifying acts of violence . . . developed in me a desire to do anything I could to change things”

[Blurb on page 10]

“What was a young, impressionable person to think when she saw a terrorist buried with full church honours?”

[Blurb on page 10]

“What would Jesus have done under these circumstances? Whose side would he have taken?”

[Blurb on page 11]

“Among Jehovah’s Witnesses I met people from a Protestant paramilitary background. They had renounced violence as a way of getting peace with justice”

“I am giving you a new commandment, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love among yourselves.”​—John 13:34, 35.

“Continue to love your enemies, to do good to those hating you, to bless those cursing you, to pray for those who are insulting you.”​—Luke 6:27, 28.

Young People Ask . . .

Drinking​—Why Not?

To make a responsible decision about drinking, you really need to know the facts about alcohol and how it can affect you. But when it comes to alcohol, many people have more feelings than facts. What about you? How about taking a little test? Mark the following statements True or False. The answers appear on page 14.

True or False

1. Alcoholic beverages are predominantly a stimulant ‐‐‐

2. Alcohol in any quantity is damaging to the human body ‐‐‐

3. All alcoholic beverages​—liquor, wine, beer—​are absorbed into your bloodstream at the same rate ‐‐‐

4. A person can sober up more quickly if he drinks black coffee or takes a cold shower ‐‐‐

5. Alcohol in the same amount has the same effect on everybody who drinks ‐‐‐

6. Drunkenness is the same as alcoholism ‐‐‐

7. Alcohol and other sedative drugs (such as barbiturates), when taken together, multiply each other’s effects ‐‐‐

8. Switching drinks will keep a person from getting drunk ‐‐‐

9. The body digests alcohol just like food ‐‐‐

10. It’s risky to drive a car right after you’ve had a drink or two ‐‐‐

WELL, how did you do? Did you learn something? Really, though, this is far more than just an academic test. Knowing the facts about alcohol is a serious matter. If you know the pitfalls, you can avoid them. The Bible warns: “At its end it [wine or alcohol, when you overindulge] bites just like a serpent, and it secretes poison just like a viper.”​—Proverbs 23:32.

The case of a young man named John in the northeastern United States well illustrates how alcohol, when misused, can ‘bite like a snake.’ John had married as a teenager. One night he had a fight with his young wife and stormed out of the house. He set out to get drunk. After gulping down a whole pint (nearly half a liter) of vodka, he fell into a coma. Were it not for the efforts of doctors and nurses, John would have died. Evidently John didn’t realize that rapidly gulping down a large amount of alcohol can be fatal. Ignorance about alcohol’s effects almost cost him his life.

But that’s not all. Apparently John thought that he could drown his problems in alcohol, that somehow they would go away. And in this he’s not alone. When asked by Awake! why they had got involved in drinking, a number of young people responded: ‘To escape.’ Escape from what? From pressures at home. Others said that they drink because they can’t handle school or some other problem. So getting high is an escape.

But is it? Again, it’s helpful to know a little about how alcohol can affect you.

The Rebound Effect

When you drink, alcohol depresses your brain by diminishing, or putting down, your anxiety level. That means you feel relaxed, less anxious, less worried than before you drank. Suddenly your problems don’t seem so bad. Thus, the Bible says: “Give intoxicating liquor, you people, to the one about to perish.” Why? As the proverb says, that he may ‘forget his troubles.’a​—Proverbs 31:6, 7.

Paul experienced this. He’s a young man who as a teenager drank to escape from family problems. “I learned very early that drinking was a way to relieve the pressure I was under,” recalls Paul. “It relaxed my mind.” If that were all, you might think that drinking to get relief isn’t such a bad idea, that there’s no great harm done. After all, when the alcohol wears off, your level of anxiety goes back to normal, right?

Wrong! Alcohol has a rebound effect. Psychotherapist Dr. Stanley E. Gitlow explains: “As the short-term sedative effect wears off, the other effect of alcohol, increased psychomotor activity, becomes apparent. No one in this world can get a sedative effect from any known drug without it being followed by an agitating effect which wears off more slowly.”

What that means is this: After a couple of hours, when the sedative effect of the alcohol wears off, your anxiety level bounces back, but to a higher level than before you drank. So you feel more anxious or more tense than before you drank at all. What you’re experiencing is withdrawal from alcohol, and it may last for up to 12 hours after you’ve been drinking.

If you now have another drink, you’ll feel relief, that is, your anxiety level will again go down. But a couple of hours later, it will rise, this time higher than ever! And so it goes. You don’t have to be an alcoholic to have this rebound effect. Anyone can, if he drinks enough.

So, overall, alcohol doesn’t really reduce anxiety but may increase it. More than that, though, when the alcohol wears off, your problems are still there, as big or even bigger than ever! So using alcohol as an escape is really not a good idea.

Of course that’s not to say that it’s wrong occasionally for persons of legal age to drink moderately. No, the Bible gives a very balanced view of drinking. For example, it rightly acknowledges that wine puts the heart in “a merry mood.” (Esther 1:10) At the same time, it straightforwardly advises: “Drinking too much makes you loud and foolish. It’s stupid to get drunk.”​—Proverbs 20:1, Today’s English Version.

[Footnotes]

[Box on page 14]

Answers to True or False Test

 1. FALSE. Alcohol is predominantly a depressant. It can make you high in that it depresses, or reduces, your anxiety level, making you feel relaxed, less anxious than before you drank.

 2. FALSE. Drinking moderate or small amounts of alcohol does not appear to do any serious harm to the body. However, prolonged and heavy drinking can damage the heart, brain, liver and other organs.

 3. FALSE. Liquor or spirits generally are absorbed faster than wine or beer.

 4. FALSE. Coffee can wake you up, and a cold shower can make you wet, but alcohol continues in your bloodstream until it is metabolized by your liver at the rate of about one half ounce of alcohol per hour.

 5. FALSE. A number of factors such as your body weight and whether you’ve eaten or not can influence how alcohol affects you.

 6. FALSE. “Drunkenness” describes the result of overconsumption. “Alcoholism” is a disorder that is characterized by a loss of control over drinking. However, not everyone who gets drunk is an alcoholic, and not all alcoholics get drunk.

 7. TRUE. When mixed with alcohol, some drugs greatly exaggerate the usual reactions expected from alcohol or from the drug alone. For example, mixing alcohol and tranquilizers or sedatives could result in severe withdrawal symptoms, coma and even death. Thus, one drink plus one pill does not equal the effect of two drinks or two pills. Rather, the effect of the drug is multiplied three times, four times, ten times, or even more.

 8. FALSE. Drunkenness is determined by the total amount of alcohol consumed, whether it’s in gin, whiskey, vodka, or whatever.

 9. FALSE. Alcohol doesn’t have to be digested slowly the way most other foods must be. Rather, about 20 percent immediately passes through the walls of the stomach into the bloodstream. The rest goes from the stomach to the small intestine where it is then absorbed into the bloodstream.

10. TRUE. Under certain circumstances, even one drink can affect your judgment, interfere with your normal reactions and cause you to take needless chances. However, it usually takes just two ordinary-sized drinks within a few minutes to produce driving impairment in most persons.

[Picture on page 13]

Alcohol, when misused, can ‘bite like a snake’

Is the Cross Really Christian?

A ROMAN emperor was preparing for battle and felt the need of help from the gods. As the story goes, he saw a bright light in the sky in the form of a cross and with it the words: “By this conquer.” Adopting the sign as the standard for his army, he went on to win a series of crucial victories that led to his becoming sole ruler of the Roman Empire in 324 C.E.

The hero of this famous story was Constantine the Great. From that time on, the Roman Church became the official religion of the empire and grew rapidly in prestige, popularity and power. At the same time, the cross became the official symbol of the church​—it gradually adorned religious buildings, was erected on hilltops and mountains, at crossroads and in public squares. It was hung on the walls of homes and around the necks of millions of people.

Variety and Origin

Actually there are many different types of crosses, a few of which are shown here. The one most used by churches today is the Latin cross, since it is believed to be the shape of the executional instrument on which Jesus Christ died an agonizing death. Although a literal cross is often used in many religious rites and ceremonies, at other times what is done is simply to make the sign of the cross by moving one’s finger or hand so as to outline a cross.

However, the use of the cross as a religious symbol goes back much further than the time of Christ and is thus of non-Christian origin. An example is its use in India in ancient times. There, in the Cave of Elephanta, a cross can be seen over the head of a figure engaged in massacring infants. In another ancient Indian painting the god Krishna is represented with six arms, three of which are holding a cross.

When the Spanish conquistadores took over parts of the Americas, they were surprised to find religious crosses in many places. Writes author Baring-Gould in his book Curious Myths of the Middle Ages: “In the state of Oaxaca [Mexico], the Spaniards found that wooden crosses were erected as sacred symbols . . . In South America, the same sign was considered symbolical and sacred. It was revered in Paraguay. In Peru the Incas honoured a cross made out of a single piece of jasper . . . Among the Muyscas at Cumana the cross . . . was believed to be endued with power to drive away evil spirits; consequently new-born children were placed under the sign.”

Likewise, in other parts of the world, the cross has been revered from ancient times and credited with mystic powers. Observes the Cyclopædia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature: “The sign of the cross is found as a holy symbol among several ancient nations, who may accordingly be named . . . devotees of the cross. . . . The symbol of the cross appears to have been most various in its significations. Sometimes it is the Phallus [used in sex worship], sometimes the planet Venus.”

But what about the early Christian congregation? Did they use it also?

Did First-Century Christians Use the Cross?

Showing that the cross was not a symbol used in early Christianity, the book Records of Christianity states: “Even the Cross was not directly employed in church decoration . . . The earliest symbol of Christ was a fish (second century); on the earliest carved tombs he is represented as the Good Shepherd (third century).” Also, J. Hall in his Dictionary of Subjects & Symbols in Art writes: “After the recognition of Christianity by Constantine the Great, and more so from the 5th cent., the cross began to be represented on sarcophagi [stone coffins], lamps, caskets and other objects.” (Italics ours.) Adds Sir E. A. Wallis Budge in Amulets and Talismans: “The cross did not become the supreme emblem and symbol of Christianity until the IVth century.” No, there is no record of the use of the cross by first-century Christians.

Interestingly, the cross that Constantine is reputed to have seen in the sky and then used as his military banner was not the Latin cross but the sign [Artwork​—Greek characters] that some relate to sun worship (Constantine himself was a sun worshiper) and others to the Chi-Rho monogram—​the first two letters of “Christ” in Greek. Since then the cross has been frequently used to add an aura of righteousness to unchristian military activities such as the Crusades, when many vile atrocities were committed by “soldiers of the Cross.”

What Does the Bible Show?

‘But,’ you say, ‘my Bible actually states that Jesus died on a cross.’ And, in reality, many Bible translations do use the word “cross.” But what word did the original Bible writers use? There are two Greek words used for the executional instrument on which Christ died​—staurós and xýlon. The authoritative Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible gives as the primary meaning for staurós “a stake or post,” and for xýlon “timber,” “tree” or “wood.” The New Bible Dictionary says: “The Gk. word for ‘cross’ (staurós, verb stauróo) means primarily an upright stake or beam, and secondarily a stake used as an instrument for punishment and execution.”

The Latin word used for the instrument on which Christ died was crux which, according to Livy, a famous Roman historian of the first century C.E., means a mere stake. The Cyclopædia of Biblical, Theological, and Ecclesiastical Literature says that the crux simplex was a “mere stake ‘of one single piece without transom [crossbar].’” (See diagram.)

In confirmation of this, appendix No. 162 of The Companion Bible states concerning staurós that it “denotes an upright pale or stake, to which the criminals were nailed for execution. . . . It never means two pieces of timber placed across one another at any angle, but always of one piece alone.” (Italics theirs.) The appendix concludes: “The evidence is thus complete, that the Lord was put to death upon an upright stake, and not on two pieces of timber placed at any angle.”

With its roots in ancient pagandom, and the evidence that Christ was not impaled on the traditional cross, nor did the early Christians use such a symbol, one is led to this conclusion: The cross is not really Christian.

What Will You Do?

It takes courage to break away from an entrenched religious tradition originating in the mists of pagan antiquity. A good example of such a break is in the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, which renders staurós as “torture stake” and the verb stauróo as “impale,” not “crucify.” This frees from all taint of paganism the precious sacrifice that our Lord and Savior made.

How will this knowledge affect you in relation to venerating and displaying or wearing a cross, or making the sign of the cross? The apostle Paul urged Christians to “flee from idolatry.” (1 Corinthians 10:14) The apostle John added: “Guard yourselves from idols.” (1 John 5:21) So one seeking to worship God would want to be very careful to avoid putting worshipful or superstitious trust in idols of “silver and gold, the work of the hands of earthling man.”​—Psalm 115:4, 8, 11.

A fine example was set by those in ancient Ephesus who, heeding the preaching by the apostle Paul and finding that the items they used were not in harmony with true Christianity, brought them together “and burned them up before everybody.” (Acts 19:18, 19) After all, why cherish and adore the instrument that was supposedly used to murder the Lord Jesus Christ?

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(For fully formatted text, see publication.)

Papal cross

Latin cross

Crux simplex, or stake

Greek cross

Saint Andrew’s cross

Celtic cross

Ankh, or Egyptian cross

Maltese cross

Tau

[Picture on page 16]

The crux simplex as illustrated by the Roman Catholic scholar Justus Lipsius in his book De Cruce Libri Tres

Teaching Your Children Another Language

LIVING as we do in a world on the move, it may well turn out that tomorrow your next-door neighbors will be persons who speak what to you is a foreign tongue. For political, economic and social reasons, as well as to further their education, people are relocating themselves in all parts of the globe. Perhaps there is already a foreign-speaking population where you live. Truly, East, West, North and South are meeting as never before. So if your children come running home with the exciting announcement, “Dad! Mom! We have a new playmate who doesn’t even talk the way we do,” you might seriously begin to consider teaching your children to speak another language.

‘Who? Me?’ you object. ‘Why, I can hardly speak my own!’

Before closing your mind completely to the prospect, however, consider this fact: Talking to native speakers is one of the best “teachers” there is. As you get acquainted with them, extending hospitality, you will also be able to learn something about their language, and this will enable you to teach your children. How many isolated language buffs would jump at a chance to trade places with you! So often they find it difficult in their solitary studies to get the feel of the language the way that natives do.

Thus, Step One in teaching your children may well be . . .

Getting Acquainted

When the ship carrying the Christian apostle Paul and 275 other persons was shipwrecked on the island of Malta, the account says that “the foreign-speaking people showed us extraordinary human kindness.” (Acts 27:37; 28:1, 2) Although not speaking Greek, the lingua franca of the Roman Empire, these Maltese people knew what shipwrecked fellow humans would need. Likewise, a sincere desire to provide the necessities of life for strangers could bridge the language gap and even result in a language lesson for both parties. Have they recently come from abroad? Perhaps they need sheets, blankets, towels, pots and pans to use until theirs arrive. Here is your opportunity to learn the words for these items in their language and to teach them the corresponding words in your own language if they do not already know them.

At first you and your new neighbors, with the children participating, can find real pleasure in identifying common objects for one another in the other’s language. Door. Window. Hat. Shoe. Book. Afterward, when your family gets together you will probably review the words you have learned. Your vocabulary keeps on growing; you have become the learn-along teachers of your children. Equally important, your appreciation of the fact that God “made out of one man every nation of men” is also growing. (Acts 17:26) Just a few encounters are sufficient to convince you that all humans have similar physical needs and the same craving to have their dignity respected by their fellowman. This is an invaluable lesson to convey to your offspring as a by-product of learning another language.

Of course, if there already exists a foreign-speaking population in your community, others of their own nationality may have supplied their essential needs. Consequently, you may have to be resourceful to get acquainted. Perhaps, however, through the schools, your place of employment, various community organizations or in the stores, you can get to know someone whose native language is different from yours. Jehovah’s Witnesses and their children frequently make contact with people of other language groups as a result of calling at their homes to discuss the Bible.

Learning to Fit It All Together

To achieve functional mastery of another language you will require more than a list of nouns and a few verbs. You will need to understand (feel) how that language fits together in all its component parts. You will want to sense which word combinations sound natural and which comical, or even ridiculous, to the native speaker. It would be practical to flavor your conversation generously with idioms; these are both challenging and stimulating to the mind. An idiom is an expression that is peculiar to a language and that cannot be understood by literal, word-for-word translation. It has to be equated with an expression that carries the same meaning in the other language.

Also vital to remember is this: In many languages young people are expected to use noun, pronoun and verb forms that reflect respect for the other person according to his age and position in life. This is a necessary lesson for you lovingly to impart to your children, if such forms are nonexistent in your own language. The young person who failed to display such courtesy would be branded as disrespectful.

As your study becomes serious, you will doubtless begin shopping around for a basic grammar book and possibly a set of language records or tapes. Many of your foreign-speaking neighbors will appreciate your efforts to learn their language and will gladly encourage you by talking to you. Perhaps you can help them to master your language in exchange. In living speakers you have an important catalyst for language mastery​—the opportunity to practice. Linguist Mario Pei writes that “you learn to speak by opening your mouth and speaking, not by sitting, brooding, and thinking about it. You learn to understand by listening with all your ears, watching for every possible clue, trying again and again if at first you don’t succeed, until you are finally in a position to unscramble every message.”

You learn to speak by speaking. Although records can be very helpful, their one serious drawback is that they can’t talk back to you. To engage in living conversation you must talk to living people. So if you have neighbors who speak another language, don’t hold back.

Opportunities to Practice

Meanwhile, your children may be playing with children from different language groups. There seems to be a tendency on the part of the children of immigrants to learn the principal language of a country with as little of an accent as possible, while deliberately neglecting the language of their parents. Frequently, too, temporary residents in a land prefer to speak the language of the country in order to get all the practice they can before returning home. The speed with which they acquire fluency (with the aid of native speakers) gives you an idea of how fast your children might learn with similar assistance.

If you have taught your children to respect people of all nations and tongues, they will not feel that their language is superior if it is spoken by the majority in the community. They may, therefore, be successful in encouraging their schoolmates and playmates to help them learn their tongue. Some language students have made an agreement to speak the language of the one on one occasion and the language of the other on the next. In that way both parties are helped.

If this happens, the situation itself, in a sense, becomes the teacher. Your role as parent comes to the fore as you provide opportunities for wholesome association. Occasions when the family comes together can become times to compare what each one has been learning, to review, to practice.

There is something else that will help to keep the family’s interest at a high level.

Language-Oriented Projects

Having learned the foreign alphabet, the family is in a position to play spelling games. Mastering numbers allows the children to display their skills at arithmetic. If the family enjoys music, simple folk songs with catchy rhythms can add zest to language learning. Adding to your vocabulary by categories serves both as a memory aid and as a stimulus to conversation. You may want to include the following word groups: parts of the body, articles of clothing, emotions and abstract qualities, sizes, shapes, textures, colors, directions, familiar animals and birds, parts of a house and its furnishings, and conventional modes of travel. True, good grammar books introduce many of these words. However, your family will doubtless want to begin compiling its own vocabulary, one that is the outgrowth of your own interests and experiences in life.

As the children’s conversational skills increase, you will be able to lead them in discussions of both personal experiences and items from the news. Persons who enjoy the Bible will be able to spend many happy hours reading and discussing the Scriptures. In visiting restaurants where you can talk to the proprietor and waiters in your second language and while shopping in stores where that language is spoken and heard, the family is further stimulated to make progress. Of course, inviting your new-language friends to your home to share a meal will make you glad you decided to widen out linguistically.

Clearly, the benefits of teaching your children another language are several. The entire family is activated intellectually and helped to deepen their conviction that all people do indeed constitute but one human family. At the same time, you are drawn closer together by virtue of sharing an extended project. You open up an entirely new field of friends. You learn to appreciate a different culture and background. You enhance your sense of humor as you learn to laugh at yourself. These are just some of the joys that you will derive from teaching your children another language.

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Children usually learn another language easily

“A Thousand Words in Less Than One Minute”

“André Maurois [French novelist] has recounted an incident between soldiers who met in the trenches during World War I. A Portuguese soldier offered to teach a French soldier a thousand words of Portuguese in less than one minute for 100 francs. The French soldier accepted. ‘Look,’ said the Portuguese, ‘all the words you have in French that end in -tion are the same in Portuguese, except that they end in -ção . . . There are over a thousand of them and they are all feminine gender, just like French. That took less than a minute, didn’t it? One hundred francs, please.’”​—Native Tongues, by Charles Berlitz.

Often this same principle applies in converting English words into French, Spanish, Italian or Portuguese, and vice versa. Thus many words ending in -tion in English have the same spelling in French, but sometimes with accents added. In Spanish the -tion becomes -ción; in Italian -zione; in Portuguese -ção. Example: nation: nation (Fr.); nación (Sp.); nazione (It.); nação (Port.).

Insects​—Friends or Foes?

By “Awake!” correspondent in Peru

THE audience was paying rapt attention to the speaker, oblivious of the tropical heat and humidity that permeated the room. Suddenly an intruder with huge iridescent blue-green wings burst through a window! To the alarm of one woman, a North American unfamiliar with the local inhabitants, it headed her way!

Her first reaction was to throw her notebook at it. When this did not discourage its interest in her, she turned to her husband for help. The situation returned to normal when it was discovered that the intruder was a large but harmless grasshopper.

How would you have reacted? No doubt about it, insects can prompt a very dramatic reaction in some people. But is such a response always warranted? Or to put it another way: Are insects friends or foes? ‘Insects are such pests!’ you may say. ‘They bite. They sting. They ruin picnics. Who needs them?’

Yet, these little creatures play a vital role in the life systems here on earth. Perhaps getting better acquainted with the insect world would allay the fears of many.

Biggest Family on Earth

There are almost a million described species of insects already identified by man​—more species than of all other animals combined. That means that if you learned the names of a hundred species every day, it would take you more than 27 years to learn the names of all the known species! But some sources indicate that there are yet millions of unidentified insect species.

Strictly speaking, not every little creature that crawls is an insect. How can you tell an insect? It’s very simple. Its body is divided into three parts (head, thorax and abdomen). It has one pair of antennae. Now, count its legs. If there are six, it’s an insect. If there are more or less than six, it’s not. For example, spiders, with four pairs of walking legs, strictly speaking are not insects but belong to the class known as arachnids.

How do insects contribute to the web of life here on earth? Well, man already appreciates the role of insects such as bees and butterflies in plant pollination. And ants? Why, in just one acre (0.4 ha) these tiny insects move tons of soil in a year, loosening and aerating it! Roaches and beetles feed on decaying matter; their own excreta nourish the soil. A number of insects serve as food for man, such as locusts, crickets, termites, ants and large beetles. From insects man obtains honey, beeswax, silk, shellac, dye and substances with medicinal value.

Strange as it may sound, insects even contribute to man’s pleasure. Perhaps you have enjoyed the chirp of a cricket, the murmur of busy bees on a warm summer afternoon, or the night dance of fireflies. Why, in the Amazon jungle area children can be observed playing with large beetles tied to a string!

True, some insects are terrible pests or disease-carriers. However, most really are not foes. Rather, they destroy weeds or just provide food for fish, birds, reptiles, mammals, and other insects. Let’s take a closer look at a few of them.

The Army Ants

Have you ever observed the irresistible march of aggressive ants? The march of hundreds of thousands of army ants, or driver ants, is one of the most awesome spectacles in the insect world. Any object in their path is overwhelmed by these militant columns; a tethered horse or a lethargic python can be reduced to mere bones in a few hours! Unlike other species of ants, the tropical army ant does not make a nest but marches, or advances, almost constantly, in swarms that are sometimes 16 yards (14.6 m) wide.

Scouting parties of soldiers with large heads and awesome scythelike jaws lead the way, scenting their path chemically. The main body of ants follows their scented trail. Traveling over 220 yards (200 m) in a day, moving only in daylight, this expedition is in action for about two weeks in its voracious and frantic search for food, especially to feed the ant larvae that are carried along. Then comes a pause in the advance as the queen lays 100,000 to 300,000 eggs; after about 20 days when these eggs become hungry larvae, the migration begins again. And to think that this fearsome army of soldiers and workers in all their frenzied activity are blind!

The army ant is the ‘new broom that sweeps clean,’ clearing the path of all grubs, larvae or any other creature caught unawares. Why, some natives are glad to have them pass through their rustic homes just to get a thorough housecleaning!

Large and Lovely

Not all insects are ugly. Some are quite beautiful​—such as butterflies. Wouldn’t you agree? Breathtaking indeed is the sight of colorful and varied tropical butterflies, some as big as birds, who in their size and brilliance are visible hundreds of yards (meters) away. Especially admired are the morpho butterflies; their iridescent blue coloring has so fascinated men that these butterflies have been mounted in picture frames, providing a color background that defies the artist’s brush.

How big are cockroaches in your part of the world? Well, how do they compare in size to the South American Blaberus giganteus? With a length of about two inches (5 cm), it is one of the world’s largest! And what about moths in your part of the world? How would you feel if one with a wingspan of about one foot (30 cm) flew by you? That is the size of the owlet moth of South America. The world’s largest ant, Dinoponera gigantea, over one inch (2.5 cm) long, lives in the Brazilian jungle. Have you ever seen an ant that big?

Chigoe​—A Tube Without Wings

There are about 1,400 different kinds of fleas in the world. Have you ever suffered the discomfort of making their acquaintance? No one likes a flea bite, but since most fleas do not live on their host, but just feed on him, the presence of a flea can be a good reminder to do a little more thorough housecleaning or to give your pet more careful attention.

Along the coast of Peru, and in other tropical areas of Central and South America, lives the most irksome member of the flea family​—the chigoe. In Peru the chigoe, or chigger, is known as a pique. The impregnated females attach themselves to the feet of livestock, such as cattle or swine​—or people—​and penetrate the soft skin between the toes, under the toenails or any other spot where they can get a “toehold.”

The chigger buries herself under the skin with the tip of her abdomen remaining outside. Her breathing apparatus, anus and ovipositor (organ for depositing eggs) thus are outside her victim. Her abdomen then swells to the size of a small pea in a few days and will soon drop several thousand eggs on the ground. When the chigger finally dies she remains in the blister she has formed on her host; this can cause inflammation and, if neglected, a serious infection, tetanus or, worse yet, amputation of a toe! This, however, is a rare happening since the insect’s presence is soon felt and the distraught victim prefers to endure the pain of gouging out the entire blister, with its sliver-shaped culprit.

Of the almost one million species of insects already identified and named by man, how many do you know? Of the ones you know, can you explain their characteristics? The thought of thoroughly searching out this knowledge staggers the mind. But what a fascinating challenge!

So the next time you turn over a stone, slice a shovel through the soil or hear a hum in the breeze, don’t recoil at a potential foe​—take a closer look at a possible friend. In doing so, you will no doubt find beauty, purpose, perhaps some amusement and enough wisdom to justify some study and contemplation.

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Columns of army ants overwhelm anything in their path

[Picture on page 23]

Some butterflies are as big as birds

[Picture on page 23]

South American cockroach (actual size)

“Going Up!”

THE Germans call it a Fahrstuhl and the Spanish an ascensor. To the British it is a lift and to the Americans an elevator. But whatever name you use, it is the apparatus that usually gives you a sinking feeling in a tall building.

But where would we be without elevators? Have you ever thought how different the world would be if we did not have them? Without elevators, skyscrapers would not be practical. And what about all the millions of people around the world who occupy high-rise buildings? How would they manage?

This brings to mind an English adage: “You never miss the water till the well runs dry.” The same is true of elevators. They are not really missed or appreciated until they break down and cease to function. That soon strikes home to the housewife who lives on the tenth floor and finds that she has forgotten some important item on her shopping list. As she climbs up the stairwell she suddenly discovers long-forgotten leg muscles!

But have you ever wondered where and when the first elevator was invented and used? Where would you say?

“All Safe, Gentlemen, All Safe!”

A wide demand for a device to raise and lower goods and people developed especially in the 19th century. As buildings got higher, people were less inclined to climb up steep stairs. Department stores began to flourish and a need arose for an apparatus that would take customers from one floor to another with a minimum of effort. Who was the first inventor to demonstrate a satisfactory passenger elevator system? He turned out to be an American from Vermont, named Elisha Graves Otis.

Strange as it may seem, Elisha Otis’ talent as a designer was discovered when he was working as a master mechanic in a bedstead factory in Albany, New York, U.S.A.! He invented various laborsaving devices and so was sent to Yonkers, New York, where his ability could be put to better use. There he designed and built the first elevator that incorporated an automatic safety mechanism in case of cable failure. By 1853 he had established his own business of manufacturing elevators. The following year Otis demonstrated this invention at an exhibition in New York.

The booklet Tell Me About Elevators describes the scene: “With the complete safety elevator installed in the main area of the Exhibition Hall, Otis had the hoist platform, with boxes, barrels, other freight . . . and himself . . . on it, pulled up to a height for all to see. Then he ordered the [supporting] rope cut. As the tension on the wagon spring safety mechanism was released, it straightened out to engage the ratchet bars, securely holding the hoist platform motionless. Following the gasps from the audience, there was loud applause, and Otis, top hat in hand on the platform, bowed proudly and said, ‘All safe, gentlemen, all safe!’” And thus the modern elevator was born.

Elevators Go Up in the World

The potential for the newfangled contraption was soon realized, and in 1857 the first passenger elevator was installed in a department store on the corner of Broadway and Broome Street in the city of New York. Steam driven, it climbed five floors in less than a minute. Back then, that was fast. In contrast, today the elevators in the world’s highest building, the Sears Tower in Chicago, shoot you up 1,353 feet (412 m) in less than a minute!

In the meantime, were elevators going up in Europe? With perhaps less emphasis on tall buildings, the Europeans were slower off the mark. It seems that the first modern-type elevator was not built there until 1867. But after that they made up for lost time. How? By building the first elevator for a skyscraper-type structure. What was it? The Eiffel Tower, completed in 1889​—the most famous landmark in Paris, France.

How was that elevator system designed? Sigfried Giedion tells us in his book Space, Time and Architecture: “Four large, double-decked elevators ran from the ground to the first platform, a height equal to that of Notre Dame cathedral [223 ft; 68 m]; two more ran from the terrace to the second platform, a height equal to that of the dome of St. Peter’s basilica in Rome [435 ft; 133 m]; the rest of the ascent was made in two stages by means of a pair of hydraulic elevators operating on a sort of shuttle system. The total ascent to a height of a thousand feet took only seven minutes.” Elevators were beginning to go up in the world much faster.

A Long Drop but No Spillage

As the years rolled by, elevator design became more sophisticated and by 1913 air cushioning was in use. This was a safety device whereby the elevator, if it fell, would come to rest in a chamber of compressed air that acted as a cushion to the fall.

The inventor of the air-cushioning system, F. T. Ellithorpe, was so confident of his new system that he loaded an elevator car with 7,000 pounds (3,175 kg) of ballast and a glass of water. He sent the whole lot down out of control from the 45th floor, a drop of 600 feet (183 m). When the elevator came to rest, not a drop of liquid had been spilled!

Elevators Help Pay the Bill

In 1931 the Empire State Building became the world’s tallest skyscraper. It also temporarily became the world’s biggest white elephant since, due to the Depression, only 30 percent of the office space was occupied. What helped to keep the building viable? The elevators that took streams of sightseers to the observation deck. Five thousand tourists paid a dollar each the first day to take in the panoramic view from the top. And a dollar then was a tidy sum. Within the first month over 100,000 had taken the ride to the 86th-floor observation deck.

In recent decades elevators have been refined and speeded up. For example, in the RCA Building in New York City, the elevators zoom up the 70-story skyscraper at a velocity of 1,400 feet (427 m) per minute. In Chicago’s John Hancock Center, they even beat that​—1,800 feet (549 m) a minute, or 20 miles (32 km) per hour!

The importance of fast elevator service is evident when you realize that over a quarter of a million people visit the Rockefeller Center skyscraper complex in New York City each day to shop, to work or for sight-seeing. Little wonder then that the 110-story twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City are served by a total of 250 elevators. Imagine having to climb to the top of those buildings!

So the next time you hear a voice calling “Going up!” remember Elisha Otis’ famous words: “All safe, gentlemen, all safe!” And be thankful you can use the elevator.

[Picture on page 25]

Elisha Otis demonstrating the world’s first safety elevator

[Picture on page 26]

Would there be skyscrapers without elevators?

From Our Readers

Overcoming Ridicule

Thank you for your article “How Can I Make Kids Stop Picking on Me?” (February 22, 1984) I am only 12 years old and I seem to get picked on at school. At first, when I got called names, I got a bit upset, but now when they call me names I walk right past them without saying anything and they look at me amazed. It’s true what you say, the more you ignore it, the more they seem to stop calling you names.

J. A., England

I just had to write to tell you how overjoyed I’ve been with your article “Why Won’t the Kids Let Me Alone?” (February 8, 1984) Recently I had problems with the kids picking on me. I’d come home and cry and couldn’t sleep at night. It was just getting me down. Your article has helped me a lot.

T. A., Missouri

I just want to thank you for the article “How Can I Make Kids Stop Picking on Me?” I am 11 years old and I have this trouble at school. Usually I tried to talk back, but with the advice in your article I see I shouldn’t. Thank you.

M. J., Indiana

Meditation and Relaxation

I was pleased to see that you had addressed the very important issue of meditation and relaxation. (February 22, 1984) The overall message was presented correctly. However, there was a negative reference to Yoga​—a generalized statement regarding its purpose of “emptying the mind.” True, it helps to clear the mind of clutter. But I’ve found that I can practice Christian Yoga by carrying out the postures while praying to the Lord. I hope people will not be discouraged from participating in this invigorating form of body and mental relaxation.

P. U., Colorado

To empty the mind goes further than merely organizing the mind or freeing it of unnecessary “clutter.” As stated in our article, the mind swept completely clean is easy prey to outside influence, possibly by unprincipled humans or superhuman demonic forces. Though practicing only the Yoga physical exercises might appear harmless, yet pursuing the Yoga discipline, even when combined with Christian prayers, could be fraught with dangers, as stated in 2 Corinthians 6:14-17. One risks trying to unite something clean with something God considers unclean.​—ED.

Resisting Rapists

Last week my 19-year-old daughter was attacked by a man with a knife as she walked from school to her car. His intention was rape, but she was determined he was not going to rape her. She struggled with this man for 15 minutes, calling aloud to Jehovah for help constantly. She recalled these points from your article on this subject. (February 22, 1984) The man gave up and left. The police said her boldness and attitude saved her. I am so grateful to you for publishing information we can recall at such times of need.

E. G., California

Watching the World

World Illiteracy Grows

● One out of four people in the adult world is illiterate, more than an estimated 800 million, and if present trends continue, by the end of the century that figure will grow to 900 million. That is the sobering conclusion reached by UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization). Although in a ten-year span the world illiteracy rate dropped from 32.9 to 28.6 percent, the total number of adult illiterates grows, due to the population increase. The director-general of UNESCO, Amadou-Mahtar M’Bow, calls the eradication of illiteracy “a moral imperative for the international community.” In The Unesco Courier, he writes: “There are today some 120 million children of primary school age who do not have the opportunity to attend school . . . Sixty per cent of these children cut off from school are girls.”

“Religious” Tax Dodgers

● Japan’s National Tax Administration Agency has a perpetual headache​—catching tax evaders. After a national survey, 243 persons were selected for investigation. All were caught dodging taxes and had to pay, on the average, 5.34 million yen ($24,272, U.S.) in fines and back taxes. Surprisingly, among those sought as tax dodgers are religious organizations! The records of one tax bureau revealed that 90 percent of 642 religious organizations evaded taxes to some extent. The unreported income from these religious groups exceeded 3 billion yen ($13.6 million, U.S.), with Buddhist temples topping the list. No doubt religious properties were being used for nonreligious purposes.

Vatican Debt

● “The Vatican will pay $250 million [U.S.] to creditor banks as part of a settlement in the Banco Ambrosiano case,” notes the weekly National Catholic Reporter. “Ambrosiano collapsed in 1982 with bad debts totaling $1.2 billion [U.S.]. The Vatican was involved in those debts. The pact includes a clause that no further action would be taken against the Vatican bank,” concludes the report.

‘Popular’ Bloodless Surgery

● “Although some religious groups require [bloodless] surgery, the process is gaining popularity among the general public as people become warier of contracting diseases from transfusions,” says Dr. Gerald Lemole, director of the bloodless surgery program at Graduate Hospital in Philadelphia. By using saline solution and a scalpel that cauterizes blood vessels, bloodless operations are being performed on heart patients and others who request them, reports Modern Healthcare magazine. The article also points out that a doctor in Irving, Texas, has performed “more than 5,000 procedures without transfusions on both [Jehovah’s] Witness and non-Witness patients” using similar methods.Modern Healthcare, 12/83, p. 50

Chemicals and You

● Of the five million known chemicals, 53,500 have commercial importance. How many of those have been thoroughly tested for toxicity? Only a handful! After four years of investigation, the National Research Council of the United States found in a random sampling of more than 50,000 common chemicals, pesticides, drugs and cosmetics that “only a few have been subjected to extensive toxicity testing and most have scarcely been tested at all,” states their publication Toxicity Testing: Strategies to Determine Needs and Priorities. For example, 74 percent of 3,400 cosmetic ingredients and 80 percent of 8,600 food additives had toxicity data that was insufficient.

Divorces Up in China

● China experienced the highest divorce rate in three years​—370,000 couples—​says The Daily Yomiuri of Japan. A survey of 961 cases conducted by the Shanghai City’s Institute of Sociology, at the Shanghai Academy of Social Science, found that the major reasons for divorce are: infidelity, incompatibility, economics, bad sex life, neurosis, selfishness. Two trends stand out. One, divorce as a result of infidelity “has tripled in the past two years,” says the report. “The other is that divorce between people under thirty is on the rise.” The account observes: “Even old people bound to traditional morality are no longer repulsed by divorce.”

Worms at Work

● When the city of Cologne, Federal Republic of Germany, negotiated to borrow one million worms per year from a special farm in Germany’s Eifel region, it was with the best of ecological motives. The plan to transform the city’s rubbish into compost for the city’s parks attracted attention throughout Europe, reports London’s Sunday Telegraph. And it worked extremely well. But when the time came to return the worms, they had all literally gone underground. Now Cologne has received an ultimatum from the farm: Return our million worms and their offspring (probably another ten million) or pay up DM 40,000 ($15,600, U.S.), the market price for the special exotic Chilean variety used.

Food for Thought

● One of the most valuable resources a country can have​—the intelligence of its children—​may be lost through malnutrition, says Dr. John R. Silber, president of Boston University. He says that a malnourished mother damages the brain cells of the infant she carries, and the brain of a malnourished infant will not develop properly. “A child retarded from malnutrition,” says Silber, “will always live on the fringes of poverty. He will rarely be hired and often fired. With luck, he will often be on welfare. Without it, he will often be in jail.”

Teenage Mothers

● Every year no less than 10,000 young girls in Italy become mothers for the first time, states Corriere Medico. What problems do many of these teenage mothers face? “Mothers below sixteen years of age, who can neither marry nor acknowledge their babies, are often disowned by their own family, having to turn to some child welfare associations for help,” notes the medical journal. “Among pregnant girls under 18 years of age, fewer than half get married and almost always these ‘shotgun’ weddings are short-lived and difficult.”

The Queen’s Salary

● According to British officials, a 3.78-percent increase in the financial allowance for Queen Elizabeth II and her family was just enough to prevent a “significant reduction in the royal style.” The increase brings the Queen’s annual salary to 3.95 million pounds ($5.5, million U.S.), and is considered “modest,” falling below the 4.7-percent hike of last year. The average British worker’s wage increase is about 7.5 percent, and the inflation rate is 4.8 percent. Staff members “ranging from footmen to secretaries” reportedly will share 70 percent of the Queen’s increased allowance.

Holy Airspace

● Air flights over the city of Jerusalem may be curtailed, according to the French daily La Croix. “Religious Israelis have recently displayed concern that flying over the city may constitute a profanation,” states the article. Jews are commanded by their faith not to walk upon the soil of the Temple mount, and “according to Rabbi Goren, the airspace above the mountain also shares its sanctity.” The report lists one other reason for the flight prohibition​—cemeteries. “According to tradition, the ‘cohanim’​—Jews of the priestly line—​are not to approach corpses or tombs, for such would defile them. There too, Rabbi Goren has extended the prohibition to include the airspace above cemeteries.”

Life Returns

● Four years ago, Mount St. Helens literally blew its top off​—1,300 feet (396 m) of its peak. The volcano’s eruption on May 18, 1980, obliterated more than 150 square miles (389 sq km) of forest, leveling trees as far away as 17 miles (27 km) and spewing tons of gritty ash into the air. An estimated two million birds, fish and animals perished in the volcano’s 20-mile (32-km) ring of death. Today scientists are amazed at how quickly life has returned to the area. Plants have sprung up, along with animal life such as elk and deer. Streams and lakes are cleansing themselves. The eruption’s aftermath has even stimulated tree growth, says Jerry Franklin, an ecologist with the U.S. Forest Service. “We thought the trees would be stunted for four or five years,” he says in The New York Times. “They came back to a superior rate in one year.”

‘Hearing Dogs’ for Deaf

● During the last seven years, over 2,000 live hearing aids​—certified hearing dogs—​have aided the deaf in the United States. In order to help their hearing-impaired owners overcome everyday problems, the animals go through a special four-month training program. They are trained to respond to numerous household sounds, such as a baby’s cry, a doorbell, a telephone, an alarm clock, a smoke detector, as well as to any special need of their owner. How does the canine communicate with its deaf master? It is trained in eye contact, body language and touch.

Skin Graffiti

● Tattooing used to be the preserve of professionals. Nowadays, however, a growing number of youngsters in Britain’s schools, girls as well as boys, are crudely tattooing themselves, even their faces. They use India or ball-point pen ink and a pin. This can lead to permanent disfigurement. It is very difficult and painful to remove, and removal can leave behind a hideous scar. In addition, Scotland’s Lanarkshire Health Board warns: “Paying scant regard to hygiene, they run a real risk of contracting serum hepatitis, syphilis, leprosy, tuberculosis and several other disorders.”

Shoplifting in Italy

● Shoplifters rob Italian businesses of 160 billion lire ($100 million, U.S.) a year, according to Gazzetta del Sud. Of the estimated 500,000 shoplifters who prowl the shops and department stores in Italy, how many are caught? Only 46,000, states the report. The majority of these thieves, 58 percent, are women.

Child Resiliency

● Childhood suffering does not necessarily lead to a troubled adulthood, suggests new research data. “The emotionally traumatized child is not doomed, the parents’ early mistakes are not irrevocable,” state psychiatrists Drs. Alexander Thomas and Stella Chess in The American Journal of Psychiatry. New studies indicate that although some who were psychologically hurt as children​—abused, unloved, even abandoned—​may grow into emotionally crippled adults, this is not the case with all. One study discovered that when help could not be found in the family, resilient children would find it in their friends, teachers or ministers.

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