April 8

Page Two

For thousands of years politics and government have played a vital part in man’s history. Yet the Bible book of Revelation compares the political powers down through the centuries to “a wild beast.” Does modern political history justify that comparison? And is there any hope for one righteous government to unite and bless all mankind? Our opening series discusses these questions

Governments​—Why Necessary? 3

Politics​—Its World War I Fruitage 5

Have Political Messiahs Brought Peace? 8

The Best Government​—Soon! 11

Governments​—Why Necessary?

WHEREVER you may be on this globe you have something in common with all mankind​—you are subject to a government. You may or may not agree with your government’s policies, but you will probably admit that government is necessary.

But why? Why have governments been an essential part of man’s way of life for thousands of years? What different kinds of government are there? Of what benefit are they to you as an individual​—even when you might disagree with them?

Especially when man originally decided to live in cities, some form of political rule became necessary. City life had to be governed for the benefit of all. In fact, our word “politics” is derived from the Greek word for “city,” polis, and the adjective politikos, “of a citizen.” Of course, the need for some form of government was recognized by societies older than the ancient Greek city-states. Thousands of years ago, Sumer, Egypt, Israel, and Babylon were organized under various forms of rulership.​—Exodus 18:13-27.

However, it is perhaps in ancient Greece, often called the cradle of democracy, that political philosophy began to be more clearly expressed and new ideas presented. Philosophers, such as Plato and Aristotle, argued the virtues of different political systems. Aristotle’s viewpoint was that politics is the science of collective happiness. He believed that the function of the state is to organize a society for the greatest happiness of the greatest number. That basic idea is evident to some degree in most governments inasmuch as they provide essential facilities for the benefit of all citizens: roads, education, sewerage systems, police, and judiciary​—to name just a few.

For thousands of years man has experimented with just about every conceivable form of government and political philosophy​—from monarchies (now mainly replaced by republics) to different types of democracy, (ostensibly, rule by the people), and a variety of oligarchies and dictatorships. (For a definition of terms, see box on page 4.) Since 1917 we have seen the rise of communism, fascism, and national socialism (the Nazi party in Germany).

“The Age of Competing Ideologies”

Twentieth-century experience shows that the art of governing is being severely tested. As Professor Burns wrote in his book Ideas in Conflict: “In all probability, historians of the future will look back upon the twentieth century as one of the most crucial in the records of mankind. They will doubtless invent neat characterizations for it, calling it perhaps the Age of World Conflict, the Age of Revolution and Counter-revolution, the Age of Competing Ideologies, or, more simply, the Age of Agony.”

But it must be admitted that no one system has produced a government that satisfies every citizen. Is that alone sufficient to say that the political systems have failed? Not necessarily. Many people have such a selfish or narrow motivation that only their own particular philosophy would ever satisfy them. And that, then, might displease the majority. So how can we really test to see if any form of government or political philosophy is the real and complete answer to mankind’s needs?

Jesus Christ laid down a rule that we can also apply to politics: “Every good tree produces fine fruit, but every rotten tree produces worthless fruit . . . Really, then, by their fruits you will recognize those men.” (Matthew 7:17-20) Let us apply that rule to the political systems of our 20th century with a view to tracing the most beneficial form of rulership for all mankind.

[Box on page 4]

Politics​—Its Different Forms

The following definitions are taken from The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language and Webster’s New Collegiate Dictionary (1981 editions).

Anarchy: Absence of any form of political authority; a Utopian society made up of individuals who have no government and who enjoy complete freedom.

Aristocracy: Government by the nobility or by a privileged minority or upper class.

Autocracy: Government by one person having unlimited power; despotism.

Capitalism: (From “capital,” any form of material wealth) An economic system characterized by freedom of competition in the market, without state control, with increasing concentration of private and corporate ownership of production and distribution means.

Communism: A social system characterized by the absence of classes and by common ownership of the means of production and subsistence.

Democracy: Government by the people, exercised either directly or through elected representatives.

Fascism: A system of government that advocates or exercises a dictatorship, typically through the merging of state and business leadership, together with an ideology of belligerent nationalism.

Feudalism: A political and economic system based on land held by a vassal on condition of homage and service to a lord.

Monarchy: Government by a monarch or sovereign, such as a king or an emperor.

Nazism: National Socialism. The policy of state control of the economy, racist nationalism, and national expansion as personified in Hitler’s National Socialism in Germany (1933-45).

Oligarchy: Government by the few, especially by a small faction of persons or families.

Plutocracy: Government by the wealthy.

Republic: A government having a chief of state who is not a monarch and who in modern times is usually a president.

Socialism: A social system in which the producers possess both political power and the means of producing and distributing goods. In Marxist-Leninist theory, socialism is the material base for communism and the intermediate stage between capitalism and communism.

Theocracy: Government by a god regarded as the ruling power or by priests or officials claiming divine sanction.

Totalitarianism: (a) Centralized control by an autocratic authority; (b) the political concept that the citizen should be totally subject to an absolute state authority.

Politics​—Its World War I Fruitage

Almost 2,000 years ago Jesus Christ delivered his famous Sermon on the Mount in which he gave the basic principles for Christian conduct. Instead of hatred, he taught love; instead of vengeance, forgiveness and nonviolence. (Matthew, chapters 5 to 7) In the course of history Christendom has claimed to follow his example. But what does a closer look at 20th-century politics reveal? Have the governments of Christendom really applied Christianity? Or have they, consciously or unconsciously, followed the cynical principles that Niccolò Machiavelli observed in his study of human history? In his book The Prince, he expounded the methods that successful statesmen had used for centuries. His principal maxims are listed on page 7.

AS THE world moved into the 20th century the future seemed to be relatively stable. The major European powers had established counterbalancing alliances that theoretically should have guaranteed peace. But as historian R. R. Palmer wrote in A History of the Modern World, “Europeans believed themselves to be heading for a kind of high plateau, full of a benign progress and more abundant civilization, in which the benefits of modern science and invention would be more widely diffused. . . . Instead, Europe stumbled in 1914 into disaster.”

Professor A. J. P. Taylor even states: “It is difficult, in fact, to discover any cause of hostility between the European Great Powers in the early summer of 1914.” Yet the European politicians ‘stumbled into the disaster of the Great War’ of 1914-18. Why? According to the same professor, the cause was “the system of alliances [the Germany/​Austria-Hungary/​Italy Triple Alliance versus the France/​Russia/​Britain Triple Entente] . . . They were supposed to make for peace, they made for war.”

Jesus taught, “Whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other also to him” and, “Continue to love your enemies.” (Matthew 5:39, 44) Machiavelli indicated that the ‘beastly method of force was frequently necessary’ in order for a ruler to achieve his aims. He wrote: “It is necessary for a prince wishing to hold his own to know how to do wrong, and to make use of it or not according to necessity”! According to him, Christian principles would have to be sacrificed for the sake of expediency.

When Europe’s Catholic, Protestant, and Orthodox political rulers​—kings, emperors, presidents, and prime ministers—​declared war in 1914, whose teachings were they consciously or unconsciously following? Those of their professed Master Jesus Christ? Or the pragmatic counsel of Machiavelli?

“The war to end wars” and the war “to make the world safe for democracy” were some of the slogans used to justify the wholesale slaughter into which the political leaders herded the young manhood of 1914. And what kind of war was it? What was the price paid​—not by the politicians—​but by the people?

Results of World War I

Perhaps the Battle of the Somme in northern France epitomizes the senseless human sacrifice that took place in the Great War. Professor Palmer states: “The Battle of the Somme, lasting from July to October [1916], cost the Germans about 500,000 men, the British 400,000 and the French 200,000.” Total cost​—1,100,000 men! The result? “Nothing of any value had been gained,” states historian Palmer. But much had been lost​—1,100,000 fathers, husbands, and sons who left behind millions of grieving parents, wives, and orphans. This was the death-dealing crop of just one battle! The basic cause? Divisive politics that exploited nationalism and patriotism to supply the cannon fodder for a war that should never have been.

And what was the total price paid by the people (but seldom the rulers) of the combatant nations? One source states: “By November 11, 1918 . . . eight million soldiers lay dead, twenty million more were wounded, diseased, mutilated, or spitting blood from the gas attacks.” And what about the civilian casualties? “Twenty-two million civilians had been killed or wounded, and the survivors were living in villages blasted to splinters and rubble.”

In view of all this slaughter, how appropriate the Bible’s symbol is for Satan’s entire worldwide political organization down through history​—“a wild beast.”a (Revelation 13:1, 2) On occasion some wild beasts kill for the sake of killing. Others even kill their own offspring.

Yet hopes ran high when World War I ended in an armistice in November of 1918. As writer Charles L. Mee expressed it in his book The End of Order, Versailles 1919: “World War I had been a tragedy on a dreadful scale. Sixty-five million men were mobilized​—more by many millions than had ever been brought to war before—​to fight a war, they had been told, of justice and honor, of national pride and of great ideals, to wage a war that would end all war, to establish an entirely new order of peace and equity in the world.”

Did the political leaders of the world learn a lesson from this dreadful bloodbath? Did the so-called Christian nations come any nearer to practicing the love that Christ taught? No, for events since 1918 certainly have belied the platitudes and slogans that were cleverly used by politicians, clergy, and militarists.

Writer Mee’s comment is pertinent: “The diplomats gathered [at the Paris Peace Conference]​—and, far from restoring order to the world, they took the chaos of the Great War, and, through vengefulness and inadvertence, impotence and design, they sealed it as the permanent condition of our century.” The fact that chaos was sealed as a permanent condition of 20th-century living was confirmed by later events.

[Footnotes]

[Box on page 7]

In his book The Prince Niccolò Machiavelli (1469-1527), a skilled statesman and writer, expressed the following maxims on how to achieve success as a political ruler.

(1) “It is much safer to be feared than loved . . . Men have less scruple [objection] in offending one who is beloved than one who is feared.

(2) “Our experience has been that those princes who have done great things have held good faith of little account.

(3) “You must know there are two ways of contesting, the one by the law, the other by force; the first method is proper to men, the second to beasts; but because the first is frequently not sufficient, it is necessary to have recourse to the second.

(4) “Therefore it is unnecessary for a prince to have all the good qualities I have enumerated, but it is very necessary to appear to have them.”​—Italics ours.

(5) A prince should “appear to him who sees and hears him altogether merciful, faithful, humane, upright, and religious. There is nothing more necessary to appear to have than this last quality, inasmuch as men judge generally more by the eye than by the hand . . . Every one sees what you appear to be, few really know what you are.”

(6) “A prince ought to have no other aim or thought, nor select anything else for his study, than war and its rules and discipline, for this is the sole art that belongs to him who rules.

(7) “It is necessary for a prince wishing to hold his own to know how to do wrong, and to make use of it or not according to necessity.”

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The massive slaughter in World War I highlights the folly of the politicians

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National Archives

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Machiavelli based his political maxims on previous history

Have Political Messiahs Brought Peace?

FORMER U.S. President Woodrow Wilson was one of the leaders of the peace negotiations after World War I. He was seen by some as “the selfless champion of a new world order based on justice and a right regard for the aspirations of all people.” His answer to the problems of world peace was the League of Nations. He had high hopes for his pet project.

One account states: “At one point he amazed [British Prime Minister] Lloyd George and [French Premier] Clemenceau by explaining how the league would establish a brotherhood of man where Christianity had not been able to do so.” Why had Christ Jesus not “succeeded”? Wilson answered: “He taught the ideal without devising any practical means of attaining it. That is the reason why I am proposing a practical scheme to carry out His aims.”

Wilson was proclaimed by the French press as the “High Priest of the Ideal, Leaguer of the Nations, Benefactor of Humanity, Shepherd of Victory and Legislator of Peace.” Once again the people were being led to put all their hope and trust in politicians and their schemes for bringing about a “new world order.” Did the League of Nations bring lasting peace? Or did it contribute to an era of chaos?

Italy’s Messiah

Soon after the inauguration of the League more political messiahs rose up and caused suffering for millions. In 1922 Benito Mussolini, an avid reader of Machiavelli, came to power in Italy. His fascism was acclaimed as “the true religion.” Yet it brought in an era of “violence, and of fraud and chicanery in elections” states historian Palmer. Professor Gentile, a prominent Italian philosopher of fascism, “praised the use of violence, even the blackjack violence of the Fascists, when employed in the interest of the state.” He stated that such violence is “willed by God, and by all men who believe in God, . . . and in the law which God certainly wills for the world.”

Was this a manifestation of Christ’s code of conduct or of Machiavelli’s maxims? Which of them said, “It is much safer to be feared than loved”? Certainly not Jesus Christ! In contrast he taught: “By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love among yourselves.”​—John 13:35.

In 1935, with the blessing of the Catholic Church, Fascist Italy attacked and defeated Ethiopia. What did Wilson’s messianic League do about that? “The League of Nations again failed . . . to provide machinery for disciplinary action against a wayward Great Power.”​—A History of the Modern World, by R. R. Palmer.

An Era of Terror

By 1933 Adolf Hitler, a formerly obscure Austrian Catholic, had become the chancellor of Germany. He did not wait long to express his scorn for the League of Nations and the Treaty of Versailles, the terms of which he felt had so humiliated Germany in 1919. He withdrew Germany from the League, renounced the restrictions of the treaty, and began to rebuild the German armed forces.

In his political manifesto, Mein Kampf (My Struggle), Hitler explained why he later resorted to spiritual terror based on lies and slander: “This is a tactic based on precise calculation of all human weakness, and its result will lead to success with almost mathematical certainty . . . I achieved an equal understanding of the importance of physical terror toward the individual and the masses.”

Hitler established the Gestapo which, along with the SS, became an agency of terror. By ruthlessly persecuting minorities, he achieved the respectful fear of the majority without provoking their hatred. This not-so-silent majority hailed Hitler as their führer. Regardless of their religious background, most condoned or complied. Machiavelli’s maxims again became a political reality.

From 1936 onward Hitler followed a policy of annexation and invasion that led to the occupation of the Rhineland, Danzig, Austria, and Czechoslovakia. All of this was the prelude to a much greater chaos to come.

“They Must Be Killed Like Swine!”

In 1936 Fascist General Franco spearheaded a rebellion against the leftist republican government in Madrid. The uprising in Spain was blessed by the Catholic Church as if it were a holy crusade. In time, according to writer C. L. Sulzberger, Hitler and Mussolini sent 85,000 troops to support Franco’s army. German planes bombed Spanish cities.

Antonio Bahamonde, a top aide to one of Franco’s generals, commenting on the bloodshed and mass killing of prisoners, said that Franco’s generals “knew very well that only by the force of terror . . . would they be able to dominate the people . . . It is terror in the guise of order, and the order is the order of the cemetery.” Another general put it bluntly: “The common people are swine. They must be killed like swine!” (Miracle of November, Madrid’s Epic Stand 1936, by Dan Kurzman) These men were officers of a conquering army that was largely Catholic. In the name of political expediency, they approved murder.

As in all wars, atrocities were committed by both sides. Once again the fruitage of hate-inspiring politics, backed by religion, came to the surface. The people paid the price. The Spanish Civil War, which lasted for three years, resulted in the death of more than a half million people. Spain’s war became a curtain raiser for a much greater tragedy​—World War II.

World War II and More Cataclysms

Hitler’s invasion of Poland in September 1939 triggered the declarations of war by Britain and France against Germany. Humankind found itself in yet another convulsion of mass destruction and misery. Politics, backed by big business, had once again betrayed the common man.

Why was big business involved? In politics money means power and big business has the money. Without it Hitler might never have become chancellor of Germany. William Shirer wrote in The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich: “As the Twenties neared their end, money started to flow into the Nazi Party from a few of the big Bavarian and Rhineland industrialists who were attracted by Hitler’s opposition to the Marxists and the trade unions.”

The second world war produced yet another ghastly harvest of man’s inhumanity to man. How many died in the six years of politically motivated slaughter? Some estimates say 55 million people. More millions were “left crippled, blind, mutilated, homeless, orphaned, and impoverished.” (The People’s Chronology, by James Trager) The political “wild beast” had struck again!

To establish permanent peace on earth, the politicians of the leading world powers in 1945 came up with a revamped League, the United Nations organization. Yet, since that date, there have been at least 62 wars, civil wars, revolutions, and purges around the world that have resulted in millions of deaths and casualties​—all in the name of political ideological differences.

Professor Palmer aptly wrote: “The human world has been in the grip of . . . a cataclysm since 1914. The First World War, the post-war troubles, the Russian, Chinese, Turkish, and other revolutions, the great depression, the parade of the dictators, the Second World War, the second crop of revolutionary changes and post-war troubles, are all part of the same process of readjustment, . . . which is not yet over, and for which ‘cataclysm’ is not too strong a word.”

Now, in 1985, the world appears to be divided mainly into two great opposing political camps. Within those alignments, there is still a great variety of political and social systems, ranging from military dictatorships to democratic regimes. Clashing ideologies threaten to provoke a world nuclear holocaust, a cataclysm that the majority of mankind does not want.

Even though there may be sincere politicians who work for the good of mankind, yet it has to be admitted that divisive politics has brought us to this brink of extinction. Is there any way out? Is there any government or form of rulership that can really unite the human family in genuine peace and mutual respect?

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President Wilson proposed the League of Nations as “a practical scheme to carry out [Christ’s] aims”

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National Archives

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Benito Mussolini’s fascism employed violence in the interests of the State

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National Archives

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Adolf Hitler used terror to maintain his power

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National Archives

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Generalissimo Franco accepted support from Hitler and Mussolini

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National Archives

The Best Government​—Soon!

WHERE there is no government there is anarchy. This has been illustrated time and again when the forces of law and order have gone on strike or been unable to function. The result? A lawless minority has taken advantage of the situation to loot and pillage. This points up the fact that man cannot live in an orderly society unless there is government to regulate law and order for the benefit of all.

But others will answer that where there is government there is often a different kind of looting​—politicians and big business lining their pockets on the basis of their influence. Bribery, graft, and corruption are common practices in politics. Lucrative government contracts are farmed out to favored business “friends.” As a consequence, many people have become disillusioned by politics and politicians, and do not even bother to vote. Why? One reason is that often governments have not guaranteed justice and equity for all.

Why is it that often, in spite of high-sounding ideals and humanitarian manifestos, politics has been so divisive and destructive of human life?

Hidden Influence Behind Politics

To answer this question we must go back in history over 1,950 years to a mountain in Palestine. There an unusual conversation took place that is the key to understanding the question of human rulership. Jesus Christ was about to begin his public ministry. Satan, God’s archrival for universal rulership, took the opportunity to test Jesus in an effort to break his integrity. The account tells us that Satan “showed [Jesus] all the kingdoms of the world [in a vision] and their glory, and he said to him: ‘All these things I will give you if you fall down and do an act of worship to me.’”​—Matthew 4:8, 9.

To mankind’s everlasting blessing, Jesus rejected the offer. But what does this vital encounter tell us about Satan and the world system, “all the kingdoms of the world”? That Satan is the invisible “ruler of this world.” (John 12:31; 14:30; 16:11) Thus the apostle John could write: “We know that we are children of God and that all the rest of the world around us is under Satan’s power and control.”​—1 John 5:19, The Living Bible.

Therefore it is Satan’s perverse spirit that permeates the world’s political system. He is the true source of the principles that Machiavelli compiled. Satan is “the spirit now at work among God’s rebel subjects” for he is “the commander of the spiritual powers of the air.”​—Ephesians 2:2, The New English Bible.

Some may find it hard to accept that there is an evil, invisible spiritual power motivating the political rulers of the world. Yet this is a keystone to understanding the overall picture that the Bible presents of a clash over universal sovereignty. (Revelation 12:7-9) Satan has used politics to divide mankind and divert man’s attention away from the true hope for restored righteous rulership, namely, God’s Kingdom government by Christ.​—Matthew 4:23; 9:35.

How successful Satan has been! By his exploitation of divisive politics and nationalism he has used men who “exalted the state as divine . . . or identified it with the march of God in history.” For some, the “worship of the state as the personification of the spirit of the nation was essential for realization of the national destiny.” (Ideas in Conflict, Edward Burns) Nazi Germany was a classic example. “Nothing was sponsored so much as worship of Nazism and its Führer,” states Professor Palmer. Even now politicians are using this same tool to advance their ambitions, but to mankind’s detriment. Because of political self-interest, possible extinction stares us in the face.

What could pull man back from the brink of nuclear disaster? Is there any form of government that could unite mankind? What would be necessary to make all people loyal to one righteous government?

Peace and Unity​—How?

Historian Edward Burns wrote: “The control and abatement of nationalism, and the substitution for it of an effective world organization, is undoubtedly one of the most critical problems of modern times.” (Italics ours.) Other minds have groped to find an answer to man’s quest for unity. The Spanish-American philosopher George Santayana “saw no way of abolishing war except by the creation of a universal government capable of imposing its will upon all of the states of the earth. No League of Nations or United Nations would suffice.”​—Italics ours.

Why have the politicians not been able to achieve this ideal of one universal government? One reason is that parochial nationalism stands in the way. As one historian states: “To control or eliminate it by any means short of education in human brotherhood will be difficult so long as we have a world increasingly beset with hatreds and fears.” (Italics ours.) Author H. G. Wells reasoned: “It is necessary that the common mind of the race should be possessed of that idea of human unity, and that the idea of mankind as one family should be a matter of universal instruction and understanding.”​—Italics ours.

Is such an educational program feasible? Not only is it feasible; it is a reality! Where? Among several million Jehovah’s Witnesses in 203 nations and lands. These already have experienced a change in heart and mind. In turn, Jehovah’s Witnesses are also affecting over four million associates. What changes have they brought about? A supranational spirit has been engendered among them based on Christian love. They have abandoned the nationalism that is “associated with racism, parochialism, bigotry, intolerance, persecution, and fanaticism.”​—Ideas in Conflict, page 502.

The Bible gave foregleams of this great educational work for this generation. Jehovah gave assurance through his prophet Isaiah that “all your sons will be persons taught by Jehovah, and the peace of your sons will be abundant.” (Isaiah 54:13) This will be continued until the whole earth is “filled with the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters are covering the very sea.”​—Isaiah 11:9.

Jesus also stated as part of the sign of the last days for this political, commercial, religious system: “This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14) This explains the intensive house-to-house educational campaign that Jehovah’s Witnesses are carrying out in this 20th century. They are announcing the Kingdom government that will soon take action from the heavens to “crush and put an end to all these [present political] kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite.”​—Daniel 2:44.

What Does the Near Future Hold?

However, before that theocratic Kingdom government by Christ can take control of the whole earth, certain events must take place, in accordance with Bible prophecy. The book of Revelation sets the characters. These are:

“A woman . . . ‘Babylon the Great, the mother of the harlots.’” (Revelation 17:3-5) She represents the world empire of false religion that influences many “peoples and crowds and nations and tongues.”​—Revelation 17:15.

“A scarlet-colored wild beast” that carries the woman on its back. This beast, an image of the greater “wild beast” mentioned previously in the Revelation given to John, symbolizes the international organization that brings together into one arena representatives of nearly all the political systems of this world. Originally it was the League of Nations. Now it is the United Nations. In effect it is a conspiracy against God’s Kingdom. It aims to do what only God’s Kingdom can do​—establish permanent peace.​—Revelation 13:1, 2, 15; 17:3, 8; 20:4.

Now what events must take place shortly? Revelation assures us that the “scarlet-colored wild beast” and its wielders of political power “will hate the harlot and will make her devastated and . . . will completely burn her with fire.” (Revelation 17:16) What does this graphic language forebode? That political elements, represented in the United Nations, will turn against the world empire of false religion to destroy it. But this means they will also eventually turn against the true representatives of God’s Kingdom by Christ, namely, Jehovah’s Witnesses.a What will be the result?

That will provoke a reaction from the heavens, from ‘the one seated on a white horse who judges and carries on war in righteousness,’ that is, “The Word of God,” Christ Jesus. (Revelation 19:11-16) Thus the nations will find themselves facing God’s war of Armageddon. (Revelation 16:16) This righteous war against Satan and his “world” will mark the end of all political systems. It will be followed by the restoration of theocratic rule over all the earth. The earth will be transformed into a paradise state and populated by the meek who do God’s will. Destructive politics will have ceased from the earth.​—Psalm 2:2, 9; 37:29.

In view of the obvious failure of all political systems to satisfy mankind’s deepest needs, should you not look to the government that can satisfy all mankind? In view of the urgency of the times in which we live, we invite you to contact Jehovah’s Witnesses in your area in order to examine more carefully the evidence that indicates that God’s Kingdom government is near.​—Luke 21:25-33.

[Footnotes]

[Blurb on page 12]

Because of political self-interest, possible extinction stares us in the face

[Blurb on page 13]

“The idea of mankind as one family should be a matter of universal instruction and understanding.”​—H. G. Wells

As a Lawyer, I Wanted Logic

IN 1964 I graduated in law at the university of Madrid. I was convinced that there were opening up before me great possibilities of serving justice and my fellow citizens from the vantage point of a well-paid, influential, and respectable position. For that reason I had started examinations to obtain a post in Spain’s body of State Attorneys.

However, the years that followed caused me deep disappointment and disillusion and led me into a state of political and religious skepticism. I had periods of depression and began to toy with the idea of suicide. Everything seemed so futile. I was at the limits of a process that had started years before.

But what events in my life had driven me to this drastic alternative of possible suicide? What was the slow process that brought me to this low ebb?

In Darkness

I was born shortly after the Spanish Civil War (1936-39), in what was then the Spanish protectorate of Morocco. My father, an army officer, was stationed there. I was the second of three children and the only boy. I had the typical middle-class upbringing for that period of Spain’s history, in which military and Catholic values were exalted to incredible limits.

At that time almost every Spaniard was made to believe that he should be “half monk and half soldier”​—and was educated in that mold. This mentality was present in every phase of life, which was strictly controlled by the Catholic state. The fatherland, religion (Catholic, of course), tradition, nationalist spirit, and values of the Hispanic race were the basic concepts that were inculcated by government order in the mind of every child. Since there was no other option in those days, I was educated in Catholic Marist and Jesuit schools. It was assumed that in time I would also become an army officer.

Questions and Doubts

At 12 years of age something vital took place in my life. My father had attended some Catholic courses of religious instruction. He came back with a copy of the Bover-Cantera Bible. I still have it, heavily underlined and riddled with questions and notes that I wrote in the margin on matters I did not understand.

In about three months I had read the whole Bible. As I grew older I came to realize that I had done something very unusual for a Spanish Catholic child at that time. Nobody had encouraged me to read the Bible. To the contrary, my teachers tried to dissuade me, especially when I began to ask questions that they could not answer or when I contradicted Catholic teachings. “That is not for you. You are too young. You should wait until you are older before reading the Bible,” were the remarks I most often got. The same happened with my school companions. I could never make the Bible a theme of conversation. They looked at me with distrust, almost as if I were a heretic.

I was perturbed by questions that came to my mind in the course of my Bible reading. I, a disciplined Catholic, even reproved myself for having such doubts. I was terrified at finding myself believing things that were different from those taught by the “Holy Mother Church.”

I will never forget the deep anxiety that I felt when, during a lesson on Spanish history, I learned of the terrible wars that were fought between Catholics and anti-Trinitarian Arians to bring unity into the church. I suddenly realized that the dogma of the Trinity had not always been believed in Spain. It had been imposed officially in the sixth century because the king of the Goths, Reccared, renounced Arianism and accepted the Catholic religion with its Nicean symbol, the Trinity. And all of this was clearly for political reasons​—the need to fuse the Visigoths with the Hispanic Romans, the two principal population groups of Iberia at that time.

From my personal study of the Bible, I was inclined to believe the Arian point of view that Christ was not God but, rather, the Son of God and the first of his creative works. This is the logic I was discovering at 12 years of age in my own Bible. But I was worried. How was I able to discern something that the specialists of the church could have discerned earlier and with more certainty? So I let the matter rest there, hidden in my heart.

At 14 years of age my eyesight was so bad that I had to give up the idea of a military career. So I decided to study the arts, which led me to studying the classics of literature and ancient philosophy. I came to realize that other nations and cultures had lived and survived with beliefs very different from those with which I had been raised. It dawned on me that I could have been born into any one of those cultures and then, logically, have been raised with an entirely different set of ideas and beliefs. As a result, I would have had a different religion, personality, and outlook on life. That made me think how arbitrary life is. We are all victims of chance, which determines which religion we are born into or whether into none at all. It seemed unjust to me that God should abandon us to the vagaries of chance.

Reasons for Antagonism

At that time we were living in the ancient city of Toledo. Its old, winding, narrow streets, its long history, and its historic buildings associated with the Muslim, Jewish, and Catholic faiths invited me to meditate on the three cultures, their beliefs and way of life. From the beginning it puzzled me that the two religions most closely related to Christianity, the Jewish and the Muslim, should so firmly teach only one God and not the Trinity. This led me to understand the longstanding enmity between Catholics and Jews and between Christendom and Islam.

At 17 years of age I entered Madrid University. At first the great variety of people there was attractive. Later I became interested in politics and maintained contacts with leftist and Marxist groups as well as with others that were more moderate. However, I did not find in them the real sincerity and intellectual honesty that I had hoped for. Thus I came to the conclusion that the only way I could serve others was at a personal, rather than an organizational, level. I still thought that man alone was qualified to bring about a better and more just world.

As I mentioned earlier, I successfully completed my studies in law in 1964. But the more I read, the greater was my disorientation. I could not see a way open to a better world for mankind. That is when everything seemed so futile. Then a change came in my life.

A Visit That Changed My Life

I continued to read the Bible with increased interest. My lawyer’s mind made me appreciate the infinite wisdom reflected in the Mosaic Law​—the amazing equity with which the interests, the rights, and the obligations of the individual and the community were balanced. I was impressed by the deep love that motivated such laws and that was necessary for them to be fulfilled. I dreamed about the world as it would be if these laws were completely applied.

One day I had the Bible open on my desk when my father invited two of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Fernando and Guillermo, to enter the house. “My son will be very interested to talk to you people. Look what he is studying,” he said, as he pointed to the Bible. Then I started with my questions. “Why did God ask Abraham to do what He condemned in others in their false worship​—sacrifice his son?” “Why are we on earth if his purpose is to have us in heaven?” “Why has he made everything so beautiful on earth to the point that we do not really want to die?”

To each question Fernando and Guillermo gave me an explanation from the Bible. I was impressed. After about two hours of conversation, I asked, “Do you have any books that you publish?” “Oh, yes, we have many! But at this moment we only have this one with us,” said Fernando as he showed me the 256-page book From Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained.

That afternoon I read the book in its entirety. Alone in my room I cried with joy. Suddenly the Bible was understandable. Now it was more than just a mixed-up pile of unstrung pearls. The picture, complete in all its main points, was logical and full of meaning.

I compared myself to that overjoyed blind person, who under Jesus’ curing hand began to discern the shape of things around him. (Mark 8:22-25) I had sought and at last found the truth. Christ was truly alive. Jehovah, his Father, the one and only loving God of the universe, was using him to carry out his happy purpose for mankind​—the restoration of all things through His Kingdom in the hands of his beloved Son.​—Acts 3:21.

However, practicing what I had learned was not easy for me. (Matthew 7:24) The path from my mind to my heart was obstructed by obstacles that, with Jehovah’s help, I was able to set aside as “a lot of refuse.” More important was “the excelling value of the knowledge of Christ.”​—Philippians 3:8.

After a period of testing by ‘birds, heat, and strangling weeds,’ I symbolized my dedication to Jehovah by baptism in 1971. (Matthew 13:4-7, 19-22) My wife, Lucía, was baptized four months later. My mother followed in 1973, as well as two of my brothers-in-law who now serve as elders in congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Defending the Truth by Radio and TV

At the end of 1974 a Madrid radio station invited the Witnesses to participate in a program about their position on blood transfusions. Although we had been legalized since 1970, the press and the clergy still tended to treat us as if we were a sect under a shadow of proscription. So imagine our excitement on being invited by a well-known surgeon, General Franco’s son-in-law, to participate in his radio program.

When I, a Witness nurse, and others entered the studio, we felt somewhat like Daniel entering the lions’ den. Around a large table sat five doctors and a Catholic priest. A great witness was given since the program was heard all over the country. And it nailed the priestly lie that we were still under ban. Isolated Witness ministers in small towns especially appreciated that help.

In 1984 I had the opportunity to defend the truth in a regular program on Spanish television called La Clave (The Key). The discussion involved representatives of the Hare Krishna movement as well as the Director of Religious Affairs for the government, a professor of religious history, and a doctor of psychology. In spite of being under attack, I was able to give a strong witness in favor of the truth.

I have also had the privilege of representing the Witnesses before Spain’s Supreme Court. On another occasion I presented the Bible’s message to an audience at the Madrid Autonomous University. I will not forget the expression on the faces of those present when another Witness speaker asked the question, “Would you punish your child by keeping its hand over burning embers for even a minute? A horrifying prospect, isn’t that so? Well, Christendom would have you believe that God is capable of doing much more than that in a terrible hell of everlasting fire!”

“Papa, Will It Be Long Before the New Order Comes?”

It is already 15 years ago that Fernando and Guillermo knocked at my door. (Matthew 10:40) Since then I have acquired a happy family​—Lucía, my wife and inseparable support, and my four children, Rebecca, Jacobo, Abigaíl, and Abel. We are happy to belong to the marvelous brotherhood under Jehovah here on earth. As a family, we feel that we are under the protection of his eaglelike wings.​—Exodus 19:3, 4.

The two eldest children join us in preaching the good news. Sometimes they ask me, “Papa, will it be long before the New Order comes?” I answer, “Very soon. Just a little more time.” I know that Jehovah’s Word will not fail and that the indications that the end of this system is near are clearer than ever. These troubled times announce the glorious transition to the rule of God’s Kingdom over the earth, in answer to the earnest prayer, “Let your kingdom come.”​—Matthew 6:9, 10; Habakkuk 2:3.​—As told by Julio Ricote Garrido.

[Blurb on page 15]

“I suddenly realized that the dogma of the Trinity had not always been believed in Spain”

[Pictures on page 16, 17]

‘Catholic, Muslim, and Jewish buildings in Toledo caused me to meditate on the three cultures’

[Credit Line]

Photos: National Tourist Office of Spain

[Picture on page 18]

Julio Ricote Garrido with his wife and children

Crossword Puzzle

Clues Across

1. Pilate set him free in place of Jesus (Mark 15:6-15)

5. One cleansed away Isaiah’s sin by touching his lips with a glowing coal (Isaiah 6:6, 7)

8. He and Zechariah were instrumental in getting the rebuilt temple completed (Ezra 5:1, 2)

9. A live dog is better off than one of these that is dead (Ecclesiastes 9:4)

10. A Babylonian deity especially worshiped by the people of Cuth (2 Kings 17:29, 30)

12. Noted the absence of (1 Samuel 20:18, 19)

13. This Levite had “the office of trust over the things baked in pans” (1 Chronicles 9:31)

14. An ancestor of Samuel (1 Samuel 1:1)

15. It was introduced by Satan (1 John 3:8)

17. The number of ribs taken from Adam in order to form Eve (Genesis 2:21-22)

21. The Shulammite maiden describes her lover’s hair as resembling clusters of this fruit (Song of Solomon 5:11)

22. One occurred while Paul and Silas were imprisoned in Philippi (Acts 16:25, 26)

23. The chief priests and Pharisees claimed that these would come and take away their nation if the people all put faith in Jesus (John 11:47, 48)

24. Permeates (Jeremiah 31:14, 25)

26. Balak, who hired the prophet Balaam to curse Israel, was king of this land (Numbers 22:2-8)

27. In the Bible her name is found only in the book bearing her name

28. Rahab’s husband (Matthew 1:5)

29. Pressures (Psalm 25:17)

Clues Down

1. A huge creature, considered to be the hippopotamus (Job 40:15-24)

2. His registration decree resulted in Jesus’ being born in Bethlehem (Luke 2:1-7)

3. One cannot guide another [2 words] (Luke 6:39)

4. They were created before man [2 words] (Job 38:4-7)

5. One of the five sons of Cush (Genesis 10:7)

6. David’s wife and his sister shared this name (1 Samuel 25:42; 1 Chronicles 2:13-17)

7. First-named son of Reuben (Exodus 6:14)

11. The official language of Palestine when Jesus was on earth (John 19:20)

16. A son of King Saul (1 Samuel 14:49)

17. Superintendent (1 Peter 2:25)

18. The descendants of Esau (2 Samuel 8:13, 14)

19. Actions taken (2 Corinthians 10:2)

20. Triumph (Revelation 12:7-9)

22. The sorcerer Bar-Jesus who opposed Paul in Cyprus (Acts 13:6-8)

25. It “became as blood” at the opening of the sixth seal (Revelation 6:12)

CROSSWORD SOLUTIONS PAGE 25

Answers Across

1. BARABBAS

5. SERAPH

8. HAGGAI

9. LION

10. NERGAL

12. MISSED

13. MATTITHIAH

14. TOHU

15. SIN

17. ONE

21. DATE

22. EARTHQUAKE

23. ROMANS

24. IMBUES

26. MOAB

27. ESTHER

28. SALMON

29. STRESSES

Answers Down

1. BEHEMOTH

2. AUGUSTUS

3. BLIND MAN

4. SPIRIT CREATURES

5. SEBA

6. ABIGAIL

7. HANOCH

11. LATIN

16. ISHVI

17. OVERSEER

18. EDOMITES

19. MEASURES

20. PREVAIL

22. ELYMAS

25. MOON

Young People Ask . . .

How Can I Get Along With My Stepparent?

When 16-year-old Lynch was asked in school to write on the subject “Someone That I Admire,” he began: “I admire his ways of thinking and the way he treats my mother. He is someone I truly love.” He wrote this of his stepfather. With visions of the ‘wicked-stepparent myth’ in the minds of many, Lynch’s choice may seem odd. Since statistics document the instability of many stepfamilies, how can you achieve such closeness?

NORMALLY, family members have had years to adjust to one another. But in a stepfamily all are suddenly brought together. And if your stepparent is a stickler for neatness and you are more casual, you are sure to have some disagreements. While most issues are worked out in time, some are very difficult.

“He made me take out the garbage!” protested 11-year-old Lynch to his mother. “Though I was fond of my stepfather, I couldn’t understand that he could tell me what to do,” confessed Lynch, now 20. “I thought only my mother could do that. The idea of his correcting me seemed so foreign.” Yes, discipline is one of the touchiest issues in a stepfamily.

The inability to communicate feelings is another serious problem that must be solved. To bare your heart to a virtual stranger is not easy. At times you may not even understand your own emotions. And because of preconceived ideas or simple unfamiliarity, your stepparent may misunderstand you.

Yet these hurdles can be overcome. How?

“Grow Up in Your Thinking”

“Fellow Christians, don’t be childish in your understanding. In evil be babies, but grow up in your thinking.” (1 Corinthians 14:20, Becka) This advice was given to help correct the disorder and confusion that existed in the Christian congregation in ancient Corinth. It will also help create a warm, orderly stepfamily. But how can you apply it?

Accepting the authority of your stepparent to discipline you is one way to show that you have ‘grown up in your thinking.’ He or she performs the duties of a natural parent and therefore deserves your respect and obedience. (Proverbs 1:8; Ephesians 6:1-4) In Bible times Esther was reared by a foster father, or “caretaker,” when her parents died. Though he was not her natural parent, Mordecai ‘laid commandments on her,’ which she obeyed even as an adult. She became an excellent woman, in fact a queen!​—Esther 2:7, 15, 17, 20.

“As a youngster I wondered if my stepfather let me get away with so much because he didn’t care about me,” recalled Elizabeth. But when he finally disciplined her, she admitted: “I was furious and started to bolt out the door, but something stopped me. Despite the anger and embarrassment, I felt loved and cared about.” Yes, discipline shows that you are loved!​—Proverbs 13:24.

A mature person also knows how to communicate his feelings in a way that does not erupt in a childish explosion. When you are ‘gracious’ and try to be ‘sweet in your lips’ it adds “persuasiveness” to what you say, for you do not immediately ‘turn off’ others.​—Colossians 4:6; Proverbs 16:21.

Still, misunderstandings are bound to occur. When you live with someone you will likely have some legitimate complaints​—but so will your stepparent. Try to do as Colossians 3:13 urges: “Continue putting up with one another and forgiving one another freely if anyone has a cause for complaint against another. Even as Jehovah freely forgave you, so do you also.”

The above Bible counsel really works, but it requires the cooperation of all family members. You may feel that despite trying to apply these suggestions, you still can’t get along with your stepparent. Do not give up! Your efforts may still preserve a measure of peace at home. Interestingly, Awake! interviewed some Christian youths who, though it was not easy, did get close to their stepparent.

How Some Did It

Awake!: How did you avoid resenting your stepparent’s discipline?

Lynch: My mother and stepfather always stood together on discipline. When something happened they both came to a decision to do it, so when I got a spanking I knew it was from both.

Linda: It was very hard at first because I would say, “What right do you have to tell me this?” But then I thought of how the Bible says to ‘Honor your mother and father.’ Even though he was not my natural father, in God’s sight he was still my father. I tried to think of things from God’s standpoint. The issue went higher than the family; it involved pleasing Jehovah.

Robin: I knew that it would deeply hurt my mother for me to resent the person she loved. I didn’t run away for this very reason​—though I wanted to. But later when I realized some of the problems he had protected me from, I saw that he was right.

Awake!: What promoted good communication?

Lynch: You have to get interested in what your stepparent does. I helped him at his secular work. And as we worked we would talk and talk. This helped me to see how he thought. Other times I would just sit with him and we would talk about ‘nothing.’ It may seem like a waste of time, but when you at least talk you pick up unstated messages that help you feel out that person. You also learn what hurts him and this builds empathy.

Valerie: When people dislike someone, they tend not to spend time with that person. But you need to do just the opposite. My stepmother and I spent a lot of time together and I really got to understand her. We became the closest of friends.

Robin: My father died just a year before Mom’s remarriage. I refused to get close to my stepfather because I didn’t want him to replace my father. My stepfather understood how much I loved my father. This made it easier for me to talk to him and pour out my feelings. But the biggest help was that I prayed that God would help me get over my father’s death and get closer to my stepdad. I prayed and prayed and prayed. Jehovah really answered these prayers.

Awake!: What did you do to get closer?

Valerie: Sometimes I would ask my stepmom to go to a show with me​—just the two of us. Or when I was out I would buy her some flowers or a vase, something to show her that I was thinking about her. She really appreciated this.

Eric: You have to search for something you both enjoy. The only thing that I had in common with my stepfather was that he was married to my mother and we lived in the same house. My getting a job where he worked really gave us, for the first time, something to talk about. While this helped a little, the biggest help came when I began to take the same interest in the Bible that he had. As I drew closer to Jehovah God I got much closer to my stepfather. Now we really had something in common!

Awake!: How have you personally benefited?

Robin: When I lived just with my mother, I was rebellious and spoiled. I always wanted things my way. Now I’ve learned to consider others and be more unselfish. I thought when I was seven that I would never like my stepfather. But if you give your stepparent a chance, you’ll see that he or she can love you as if you were their own child. Now after 11 years he feels like my real father.

Lynch: My stepfather helped me think like a man. He’s helped me gain skills and know how to use my hands. When times were rough and I needed someone, he was there. When my mom remarried I was getting into a lot of trouble in school, fighting every day. My mother couldn’t handle me. But the extra influence of my dad helped straighten me out. Yes, he’s the best father that anyone could ever have had.

[Footnotes]

[Picture on page 21]

Disciplining is one of the touchiest problems in a stepfamily

The Pope’s Visit to Canada

By “Awake!” correspondent in Canada

IN SEPTEMBER of 1984 Canada was added to a growing list of lands visited by John Paul II as head of the Catholic Church.a A 12-day tour with some 33 scheduled speeches took him to 16 cities and towns and a few shrines​—a 13,500-kilometer (8,500-mi) journey. His visit was called “the longest one John Paul II has paid to any country in 24 foreign pilgrimages since he became Pope six years ago.”

Why Canada?

“He started his tour in a province where the power and spiritual influence of the Catholic Church has waned dramatically over the past two decades and where a majority of people are reported to challenge church teachings on a number of issues,” reported Michael McAteer, the religion editor for The Toronto Star. That statement about Quebec helps explain one of the reasons for the papal visit. The average age for priests there is near 60, with few replacements. Montreal has 15 parishes without priests of their own. “In the vast and eminently Catholic diocese of Trois-Rivières,” says The Gazette of Montreal, “there was a single ordination [in 1984]. Last year [1983] and the year before, there was none.” That parish has suffered a 90-percent drop in ordinations in the last 20 years.

Nor is that all. The Gazette reports: “Average attendance at mass is about 10 per cent to 16 per cent in urban areas and about 30 per cent in rural churches.” A representative of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops is reported to have said: “Let’s face it, a lot of Catholics in this country have not seen the inside of a church in many years.” Maclean’s, a Canadian newsmagazine, says that a poll conducted by two Montreal newspapers shows that “68 per cent of those polled reject the church’s stand against birth control, 72 per cent say priests should be allowed to marry, 66 per cent disagree with the official ban on divorce, and 42 per cent oppose the ban on abortion.” These sizable percentages reflect a weakening influence on family and community life by the church in Quebec.

That there are problems elsewhere is seen in the pope’s Halifax, Nova Scotia, address where he spoke of “respect for life” (referring to abortion), “conjugal fidelity and of the dissolubility of marriage.” He acknowledged the dire shortage of clergy, according to Toronto’s Globe and Mail, and it added that church officials freely admit that in large dioceses “such as St. John’s and Halifax” there has been “an exodus of priests and nuns in critical numbers.”

Thus, John Paul II’s Canadian tour was that of a shepherd caring for an ailing flock. But what was the effect of the visitation? How did Canadians react? Will the Catholic Church experience a reviving of members so that it will reclaim its former status in Canada? How did churchmen and others evaluate the pope’s pastoral work?

Effects and Criticisms

There can be no doubt but that the pope’s “pilgrimage” had a great impact on many people in Canada. The media spoke often of his “charismatic charm” and of his “incredible talent to move and inspire people.” Unfortunately, some people allowed their reactions to go too far, one woman at the Toronto gathering exclaiming that “it is as close as we’re going to get to God for a long time.” One 14-year-old said: “I’m still shaking, it was like I could touch God or something.”

More balanced individuals were impressed with his frank call for improved family life, respect for the unborn, and agreed when he urged the young to resist the deceptions of drugs, alcohol, and premarital sex.

His call at Edmonton for a more equal distribution of the world’s wealth, one newspaper writer said, “reminded one most clearly of the very Liberation Theologians of Latin America whose allegedly ‘Marxist’ leanings he has so vigorously rebuked.”

The same writer was not reluctant to make some unfavorable comments about the investments, speculations, and assets of the Vatican Bank and the pomp of the pope’s own life-style. Others wondered about the more than $50 million of the papal tour costs, much of which will be paid by the Canadian taxpayer. That money will now not be available to help the world’s poor. The archbishop of Ottawa commented: “For my part, I regret that the head of the Church does not travel more simply.”

Pope John Paul II, in his travels through Catholic countries, is noted for his veneration of the Virgin Mary and his frequent visits to shrines dedicated to her. How did he handle that in mainly Protestant Canada? Maclean’s reported that in places where the Virgin is venerated, he praised her. “But in cities where the worship of Mary is largely considered an outdated practice, or even an affront to some feminists and an impediment to Catholic-Protestant communion, he was silent on the issue.”

It was the same with other topics discussed on his tour, whether priestly celibacy, the unity of religions, the role of women in the church, or the situation with native peoples. There was disagreement. For example, on the matter of uniting churches, a Toronto Star writer said: “In his six years in office he has yet to take one solid step toward making unity more real.” Maclean’s observed that the pope’s talks were adjusted to fit his audiences, and then added: “John Paul’s deliberate ambiguity is precisely the posture that the Canadian bishops wanted him to take, at least on the touchy issues of women and sexual morality. Conscious of the fact that their congregations routinely ignore Rome’s ban on divorce and birth control, the bishops do not want to risk further alienation.”

Obviously, there are mixed emotions about the first papal visit to Canada. There are those who feel it will give a fresh start to the church here. The president of the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops felt the tour constituted a “new moment of evangelization in Canadian history.” But will the Catholic people respond? Not all are optimistic. One headline declared: “Pope left many troubling questions.” True, a Catholic editor claimed the church was only “in the midst of a moral crisis,” but that the church itself was not “undergoing a Catholic crisis.” Yet, Catholic author Anne Roche said: “Many churches have slipped outside the realm of what used to be called the Catholic church.” Then she commented: “In my opinion, in Canada we have an open but undeclared schism.” Time will tell which is the correct view.

[Footnotes]

[Map/​Picture of Canada on page 23]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

Quebec City

Montreal

St. John’s

Halifax

Toronto

Winnipeg

Edmonton

Vancouver

Ottawa

Robinson Crusoe​—Fact and Fiction

Robinson Crusoe is one of the most popular novels of all time. Written by the 17th-century Englishman Daniel Defoe, its story of a castaway surviving by his own ingenuity on a desert island has been widely read in many different languages. Of course, the story itself is just fiction. But did you know that an island called Robinson Crusoe exists today and that Daniel Defoe based his famous story on the adventures of a real man on that island? Let us find out something about it.

ABOUT 400 miles (640 km) from the Chilean seaport of Valparaíso, is an archipelago called Juan Fernández. The archipelago is composed of just three small specks in the vast Pacific Ocean: Isla Santa Clara; Isla Más Afuera, or Alejandro Selkirk, and Isla Más a Tierra, or Robinson Crusoe. Seals, sea lions, fish, and the Juan Fernández lobsters abound there.

An Unexpected Discovery

How did anyone ever stumble onto such tiny islands in all that ocean? They were found about 1563 by a Spanish ship’s pilot after whom they are named, Juan Fernández. He worked a shipping route between Callao, Peru, and Valparaíso, Chile. Usually the southward journey took from three to six months, partly because of adverse winds and partly because of the mighty Peruvian, or Humboldt, Current that moves northward along the coasts of Chile and Peru. Ships, fighting both the winds and the implacable current, used to edge their way southward, weighing anchor each night whenever possible.

Juan Fernández apparently guessed the existence of this current and went some distance from the coast to avoid it. Thus he reduced the travel time to just 30 days and, as a bonus, discovered the islands. However, he was accused of being a brujo (witch) and was threatened with an investigation by the Catholic Inquisition in Lima. To defend himself, he made available his navigational diary. The matter was cleared up and his secret revealed.

So the archipelago entered history. In the 17th century, it became a center of operations for pirates such as Henry Morgan and Barthome Sharp, who found it an ideal base for launching raids as far apart as La Serena in Chile and Guayaquil in Ecuador.

Robinson Crusoe Enters the Story

But what about Robinson Crusoe? Well, a Scotsman named Alexander Selkirk was aboard a ship that called on the Más a Tierra island in 1704. Reportedly, he had dreamed that he was going to be shipwrecked, and he had also quarreled with the captain. Hence, Selkirk asked to be left ashore. His adventures there provided the inspiration for Defoe’s novel, Robinson Crusoe.

At first Selkirk felt a deep loneliness and read the Bible for consolation. Soon the problem of survival demanded that he use all his resourcefulness. He invented a number of utensils to make life more tolerable, and some of these are still preserved in Edinburgh, Scotland. The umbrella is said to have been one of his inventions. Reportedly, he made the first one from the skin of a female sea lion.

After more than four lonely years, two English ships under the command of Captain Woodes Rogers arrived, and Selkirk was taken aboard and returned to England. Seemingly he missed the tranquillity of his Pacific island, however, and he is reported to have said: “Oh my beloved island! I wish I had never left thee!” It is doubtful that he would have said that if he could have foreseen future developments.

Times Have Changed

Because of the strategic importance of the islands, the Spanish, in 1750, attempted to establish a permanent colony there. In the course of time, a penal colony was established there. Prisoners who had committed atrocities such as murder were confined to a fort. Those found guilty of blasphemy or other “crimes of faith” by the Catholic Inquisition in Quito, Lima, or Santiago suffered inhumane treatment and were kept in caves infested with rats.

And what of the island today? The penal colony has gone. The archipelago is sparsely populated, peaceful, and advertised as a vacation spot. In 1979 one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, an elder from a congregation in Valparaíso, went to Robinson Crusoe Island in connection with his secular work. He asked the guide about the local religions and heard that the Catholic priest came only once in a great while and the Protestant minister had left for good. “That doesn’t affect me,” said the guide. “I’m one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.” What a surprise for the elder who thought he was going to virgin territory!

The elder learned that a small group was studying the Bible with a woman who had previously been contacted by Jehovah’s Witnesses in Santiago. On his second visit a few months later, three of the group were baptized. At present, several Witnesses preach fearlessly to the 450 inhabitants of the islands.

So peace has returned to the island where Alexander Selkirk found refuge so long ago. With its two sister islands, it has taken its place among the “many islands” that rejoice to hear that Jehovah has become King.​—Psalm 97:1.

[Maps/​Picture on page 27]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

Juan Fernández Islands

Alejandro Selkirk Island

Róbinson Crusoe Island

Isla Santa Clara

[Credit Line]

From: ROBINSON CRUSOE, illustrated by Milo Winter © by Rand McNally & Company

From Our Readers

Learning Improvement

I want to thank you for publishing articles that are not only interesting but also instructive and useful. I am thinking particularly of “Does Your Child Have Learning Problems?” (May 8, 1983), “Is My Child Hyperactive?” (June 8, 1984), “Young People Ask . . . How Can I Improve My Study Habits?” (August 8, 1984), and “You Can Be a Better Reader!” (August 22, 1984). I am studying at the state university in Mexico to become a teacher. I had to study for exams, and there was too much material. But by applying your suggestions on study habits, I was first among 6 students who passed the exam, taken by 25 students. I would like to recommend to all young people who get Awake! not to overlook a single article. It will all help to improve your life-style.

J. B. G., Mexico

Watching TV

I am writing with reference to your article “Young People Ask . . . Is There Anything I Can Watch on TV?” (November 8, 1984) You quoted writer Vance Packard as saying: “Parents who put their TV sets in the attic are probably overreacting.” I would like to relate my family’s experience. Approximately two years ago we had pay TV with features so that you could find something to watch any hour of the day or night. We found that we were doing just that. Then in order to cut down expenses, we decided to have the cable shut off and we also put the TV away in storage. Now we are all avid readers. In fact, my daughter is the best reader in her class at school. Also, we have taken up musical instruments. My husband plays the piano and I play the banjo. Our youngest, now two, has his own style at the piano also. So not only are we saving money but we have got closer as a family and found many, many other worthwhile things to do with our time, and we are never bored.

J. A. U., California

Fraud in Science

I found your articles regarding famous scientists, such as Newton, Galileo, and so forth, unkind and ridiculous. (May 22, 1984) A person cannot hope for a good and just world if he criticizes those who, scientifically speaking, have given so much to everyone. I’m surprised that you, who always believe you are right, could print these articles that are defamatory toward those who gave all that they had for the good of humanity.

G. G., Italy

I wonder if Mendel was indeed guilty of data selection when he would initially try to explain the simplest case and ignore the more complicated examples.

A. J. P., England

We were not criticizing those scientists named for their accomplishments for the good of science. While the matter is still being debated, reputable scientific publications such as “Scientific American,” “Science,” “Science Digest,” and “Science News,” as well as the book “Betrayers of the Truth,” by William Broad and Nicholas Wade, provide much evidence to the effect that in order to support and promote their theories some well-known and respected scientists of the past used methods that fell short of objectivity, dedication, and complete honesty.​—ED.

Watching the World

Softening Attitude

● “Openly and with approval of communist authorities,” states the Los Angeles Times, “increased supplies of Bibles are being shipped into countries of Eastern Europe and more are also being produced there.” Bible society officials credit this to their decision to “operate only through legal channels” and to “avoid clandestine activity, or forms of distribution that could be considered politically motivated.” In Eastern European nations, literature that is not officially authorized is subject to confiscation. Why the softened attitude toward Bible distribution? According to O. B. Telle, head of the European regional center of the United Bible Societies, it is because such countries “do not want their image in the world tarnished by openly refusing or obstructing legitimate activities of the churches.” A notable exception, reports the Times, is Albania, “where it is a capital offense either to profess being a Christian or to own a Bible.” However, the report notes, the increased supply of Bibles still does not satisfy the great hunger for God’s Word in those countries.

U.S. Bank Failures

● A total of 79 U.S. banks failed in 1984​—the highest number in any year since the Great Depression. However, since most were smaller institutions, their total deposits of $2.9 billion (U.S.) were considerably less than those of banks that had failed in the previous two years. “More importantly,” says The New York Times, “this year’s bank collapses had relatively little effect on the overall financial system, and few depositors lost any money.” The nation’s eighth-largest bank, Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company of Chicago, was saved from failure by government intervention, thus offsetting a possible “chain reaction of bank failures.” While not actually failing, other large banks did suffer serious difficulties due to heavy losses in 1984. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s list of “problem banks” grew to a record 817​—over twice the previous record reached in 1976.

Minister Insurance

● “These days parishioners across the land are taking their pastors to court, accusing them of everything from inept counseling to betraying confidences,” reports the Oakland Tribune. “As a result, ministers are doing something they wouldn’t have considered necessary a few years ago​—they are buying malpractice insurance.” Legal fees in themselves, from $3,000 to $5,000 (U.S.) a case, are usually too much for a minister with a small, fixed income. So now a number of insurance companies are offering malpractice insurance​—often for less than $35 (U.S.) a year​—to protect clergymen against the increasing number of lawsuits. Firm legal precedents have yet to be set. “It’s an issue that’s going to have to go before the U.S. Supreme Court in one fashion or another to determine exactly where the demarcation line is between church and state on religious practices,” said one attorney.

Terrorism’s Legacy

● “World political leaders are finding it more and more necessary to adopt rigorous measures to protect themselves against terrorists and assassins,” reports The New York Times. Officials who used to walk freely among their people now find it necessary to seek protection in armored cars, by armed guards, and behind vehicle-restraining barricades. Stringent measures are taken to protect dignitaries who travel abroad, and public appearances are often curtailed. Even Pope John Paul II, instead of reaching out for personal contact on his rides through crowded streets, is now mostly constrained to waving at the people from behind the protection of bulletproof plastic or glass. “Inevitably, tighter security precautions mean greater distances between those who govern and those who are governed,” says the Times.

Smoking Cure

● How does one convince a pregnant woman to stop smoking? “British doctors have found [that] one way to persuade pregnant women to stop smoking is to let them listen to their unborn babies’ heart rates and movements after the mothers take a few puffs,” states The Toronto Star. “Many of the women quit smoking when they listened to the changes their smoking had produced in their unborn babies.”

Japan’s Currency Changes

● Prince Shōtoku has been deposed. The seventh-century prince, whose portrait graced the face of 5,000-yen and 10,000-yen Japanese bank notes, has been replaced. Instead of statesmen, the new Japanese currency (including the 1,000-yen note) honors educators and writers​—men who present a softer image and have wider acclaim. The new, smaller bills will make counterfeiting even harder. The number of lines in the portraits has been increased, and special inks are used on the multicolored notes. Embossed markings appear in the corners for the benefit of blind persons. The cost? Almost $250 million (U.S.) for designing, printing, and storing alone​—not to mention the cost of changing some 300,000 vending machines in Japan to accept the new currency.

Saving Money

● Up to 25 percent of your car’s fuel bill could be saved, says the Car Care Council, by proper maintenance. As reported in U.S.News & World Report, 11 percent more gasoline may be used by a car needing a tune-up, 5 percent more if tires are underinflated by eight pounds, 2 percent more if tires are out of alignment by a quarter of an inch, and 7 percent additional if the engine is running too cool due to a cooling-system thermostat that is stuck open.

Peace and Goodwill?

● “A fight erupted Thursday between Greek Orthodox and Armenian priests who were cleaning Bethlehem’s Church of the Nativity, the traditional site of Christ’s birth,” says a dispatch printed in the Asahi Evening News of Japan shortly after Christmas. The reason given? “Because one group began wiping a wall in the Church which the other claimed to be under its own jurisdiction.” The church is owned by three groups: the Armenian church, the Greek Orthodox Church, and the Franciscan order, each of which “jealously guards its authority over the area of the church allotted to it.” Their major ceremonies of the year, at Christmastime, run for almost a month. One priest was reported injured.

Influenced

● “News reports of tough sentences imposed on convicted murderers lead to a short-term decrease in killings,” reports the Daily News of New York, “but media coverage of prizefights, where violence against an individual is rewarded, leads to an increase in murder rates in the following days.” The study, based on examination of the timing of over 140,000 murders over a seven-year period, was published in the University of Pennsylvania’s Journal of Communication. It found a 3.32-percent decrease in homicides four days after a criminal’s sentencing or execution, and an average increase of 3.54 percent the third day after a heavyweight prizefight.

‘Never a Bad Impression’

● After an article about the destructive activity of new religious movements, the Austrian Wien Süd Journal made brief mention of religious organizations that are often dismissed as being “sects.” Concerning Jehovah’s Witnesses, it said: “Jehovah’s Witnesses have never made a bad impression, they promote the family tradition, and they are of serious repute.”

Disasters Not “Natural”

● “The common view of ‘natural disasters’ is due for a radical change,” says the recent report Natural Disasters, Acts of God or Acts of Man? “Though triggered by natural events such as floods and earthquakes, disasters are increasingly man-made.” Floods, droughts, and famines, the report points out, are more often caused by “environmental and resource mismanagement” than by excessive or inadequate rainfall. Other disasters, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and hurricanes, are “magnified by unwise human actions.” Traditional relief measures are cited as often being useless or making matters worse. Says the study: “Today humans are playing too large a role in natural disasters for us to go on calling them ‘natural.’”

Street Crime

● Acting on an anonymous call, police arrested two men for stealing a hundred-year-old street. At first the police thought it was just a joke when the call came in to check out East Mifflin Street, a 250-foot-long (76 m) alleyway in a warehouse area of Philadelphia that has little traffic. But they found that about 8,000 of the cobblestones, of scarce Belgian granite and weighing about five pounds (2.3 kg) each, had been carted off, leaving just the dirt base below. The stones, 12 by 6 inches (30 by 15 cm) and 4 inches thick (10 cm), came from Europe as ballast in freighters during the 19th century. They are prized for special building projects and sell for $1 (U.S.) each on the black market. Most of the street was recovered.

Minors’ Mishaps

● At least one in five children is taken to a hospital for treatment for injuries from bicycle spills, kitchen burns, and accidental falls or mishaps. This is the conclusion of a new study that tallied the number of children treated at 23 hospitals in 14 communities in Massachusetts. Falls, often down stairs, were the most common accidents, followed by sports injuries. Burns, though relatively rare, were most frequent among preschoolers. The researchers estimated that the 1.7 million children in the state will suffer 377,000 injuries annually that will require hospital treatment.

Pet Abandonment

● Over 60 percent of the seven million dogs in animal shelters across the United States in 1983 have been returned by owners who had adopted them six to eight months before. New York City shelters are attempting to deal with the problem by screening applicants for adoption. High-risk owners, they noted, are those who want pets simply to catch mice, to guard the house, or to give away as gifts. “People have not yet learned that a pet requires a serious commitment,” says Phyllis Wright, the Humane Society’s vice president in charge of companion animals. “We want people to think before they get a pet.”

‘Fooling Their Consumers’

● The BMA (British Medical Association) has launched an attack on the tobacco industry for its misleading promotion of smoking, reports The Journal of Toronto, Canada. “Every day we delay in banning the promotional activities of this industry, another 274 premature deaths occur,” says BMA secretary John Havard. “Advertising, sports and arts sponsorship, competitions, clothes bearing brand names, and holidays are all part of the industry’s attempt to fool their consumers into believing smoking is glamorous, healthy, and desirable,” he says, adding that “these same consumers are our patients.” Each year, an estimated hundred thousand Britons die prematurely because of smoking.

Now You Can Hear the Psalms on Tape

Anytime​—Morning, Noon, or Night

What an inspiring way to start the day, or to take a break, or to calm yourself for sleep, or for whatever reason!

The majestic, moving thoughts expressed by the writers of the Bible psalms are now on cassettes. They are recited in a manner that gives the poetry clarity and even greater meaning.

They will be a fine addition to your family library. Five tapes, read from the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, almost six hours playing time, only $7.50, postpaid.

I enclose $7.50 (U.S.) for the five cassette tapes of all 150 psalms of the Bible. (Outside the U.S.A.: Write to local Watch Tower branch for prices.)

[Picture on page 31]

Morning

Noon

Night

“A Magnificent Piece of Craftsmanship”

That was a description given of the book You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth. “I just want to thank you for this latest ‘gem,’” a mother from South Wales, Britain, wrote. “It is a magnificent piece of craftsmanship that I feel is unequaled as a teaching aid . . . I have never seen illustrations so beautiful and moving. I am using these to teach my two-year-old daughter many fine Bible truths and principles.”

The book’s 256 pages, the same page size as those in this magazine, are filled with over 150 teaching illustrations, most in beautiful color. You may have this outstanding, richly bound publication by filling in and mailing the accompanying coupon.

Please send, postpaid, the book You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth. I enclose $2.50 (U.S.).