Page Two

Child molestation, a growing horror! Although the cases number into the scores of thousands yearly, one child welfare league calls the figures “only the tip of the iceberg.” Who would stoop to such depraved and cowardly immorality against helpless children? Strangers, yes, but much more often the abusers are relatives of the victims or friends of their family. What steps can parents take to protect their children? This opening series reviews the problem and offers suggestions

Child Molesting​—Every Mother’s Nightmare 3

Child Molesting​—‘Who Would Do A Thing Like That?’ 4

Child Molesting​—You Can Protect Your Child 6

[Picture Credit Line on page 2]

Photos of Angel Falls courtesy of Venezuela Government Tourist Office

How Much Is Too Much?

ALCOHOL can be good or very bad. It can make you glad or very sad. It depends on where it goes and how much gets there. A little wine can be good for your stomach and make your heart glad. (1 Timothy 5:23; Psalm 104:15) Too much can make you miserable all over​—and make those around you miserable too!

In moderation, a cocktail, wine, or beer can relax you and temporarily relieve anxiety, raise your spirits, and make you a more sociable companion. It may even offer some protection from heart attacks, since it relieves stress and raises your HDLs (high-density lipoproteins). But even small amounts of alcohol slow your reflexes, so it is unwise to drive a car after even moderate drinking. And it is loaded with calories, so it is not very compatible if you have a weight problem.

Let’s follow your cocktail as it travels through your body. It does not tarry long in an empty stomach, and in the intestines the alcohol quickly passes into the bloodstream. The blood carries it to the liver, where it is broken down and excreted, thus removing it from the bloodstream. In this way the liver can handle in an hour the alcohol in one cocktail, one glass of wine, or one can of beer.

Drink more than that in an hour, and the alcohol remains in the blood and is carried to the brain. There, a little can make you more sociable, too much may make you obnoxious. If five hundredths of one percent of your total blood volume is alcohol, you will be tipsy; ten to fifteen hundredths will make you officially intoxicated. Toxic is in that word “intoxicated” and means poisons are in your body.

Now, what does this excess of alcohol do as it travels through your system? First stop is your stomach. There it can erode the mucous coating that protects the lining of your stomach from stomach acid. It can also make your stomach produce more acid.

Alcohol takes water out of your body cells. Excessive amounts of alcohol dehydrate the liver cells and eventually destroy them, resulting in cirrhosis. The damaged liver can no longer supply sufficient sugar to the bloodstream, opening the way for hypoglycemia. It becomes less and less efficient in removing alcohol from the blood. Then the alcohol goes throughout the body, dehydrating and killing cells everywhere. The arteries are constricted, less blood flows to the heart, and its muscles are weakened.

When the alcohol reaches your brain, it dehydrates the brain cells and interferes with the generation of electric messages. When the alcohol leaves your system, the brain cells regain their water. Drinking excessive amounts over a long period of time, however, can impair intelligence and memory. Brain size diminishes as cells are destroyed, and IQ drops permanently.

Heavy drinking may cause men to develop female characteristics. Men produce both male and female hormones, but the liver eliminates the female ones. A damaged liver, however, lets them remain. Heavy drinking makes pregnant women more likely to miscarry or deliver a stillborn. If the baby is born alive, there is special risk of birth defects.

For pregnant women and alcoholics, any drinking is too much. For men and women generally, moderate drinking allows only small quantities of alcohol to reach the brain. Several drinks in a short period of time are too much for anyone. One drink for the alcoholic is one too many.

The conclusion of the matter: A little wine for the sake of your stomach, but not too much for the sake of your liver, your heart, and your brain​—and for the sake of those around you.

The River That Falls From the Sky

By Awake! correspondent in Venezuela

FAR to the south of the glittering capital of Venezuela, Caracas, lies a strange land, the Guiana Highlands. This is the mysterious area that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle used as the setting for his science-fiction novel The Lost World, in which he wrote of an isolated tableland where dinosaurs still roamed.

No, there are no dinosaurs there. But over the soft-green plateaus tower brooding, table-topped mountains that resemble massive fortresses. These sheer-sided, flat-topped mountains are called tepuís.

The largest and one of the highest of the tepuís, which rises about 8,000 feet (2,400 m), was discovered long ago by the local Indians. They named it Auyán Tepuí, meaning “Devil Mountain.” The Indians imagined that it was the Devil’s domain because of the severe weather conditions, the hurricane-force winds and storms, and the thick clouds that generally obscure the top of the tepuí.

Out of the rocky crags of Devil Mountain an underground river, the Churún, takes a leap into space that makes it the highest waterfall known and one of the loveliest. The majestic waterfall is known as Churún-Merú by the Kamaracotos Indians, Salto Angel by Venezuelans, and Angel Falls by the English-speaking world.

“I Found Myself a Waterfall!”

Early in this century, in 1910, Ernesto Sánchez La Cruz, a Venezuelan explorer hunting gold and rubber ranged up the twisting Churún River canyon and found the spectacular waterfall. He exclaimed that he saw a river that seemed to be ‘falling out of the sky!’

Later it was named Angel Falls after Jimmy Angel, an American adventurer pilot and gold hunter. Angel wrote in his log (the entry dated November 16, 1933) when he first flew over the falls, “I found myself a waterfall!” When he returned in 1937 and tried to land his monoplane on Auyán Tepuí, he crash-landed on top of the mesa instead. Eleven days later he and his passengers, including his wife, struggled down from the top of the mesa. The resultant publicity drew attention to the awesome sight that he had seen. Later, measurements proved the waterfall to be 3,212 feet (979 m) high​—over half a mile of sheer drop!

Now, it’s easy to say 3,212 feet high, but just imagine​—that is more than twice as high as the Empire State Building in New York City, twice as high as Ribbon Falls in Yosemite National Park, California, or well over three times as high as Skykje Falls in Norway, Staubbach Falls in Switzerland, or Candelas Falls in Colombia!

Curiously, there is no lake on the mesa. In the rainy season during the storms, torrents of water fall from the sky, collect in the deep crevices, gorges, and canyons, and run off into the mostly underground Churún River.

Is Angel Falls Still Hidden?

Can you visit this hidden marvel of creation? Yes, two ways, both difficult. Leaving from Puerto Ordaz, you can make a two-week trip by canoe.

Or you can fly past Angel Falls, leaving from Caracas or Puerto Ordaz. A small plane will take you through the twisting Churún River canyon with towering mountains on either side and fly you below the rims of the mountains. There are so many falls that it is bewildering. But when you finally see Angel Falls plunging down the escarpment, all doubt vanishes. As the glimpse is so fleeting, under good conditions the pilot makes two passes for the benefit of the traveler.

There is no guarantee of seeing or photographing Angel Falls, however, as the weather conditions are so unpredictable. Many times the falls cannot be seen because of being completely hidden by rain, mist, or heavy clouds. This is disappointing if you have spent time and money in anticipation of seeing the majestic sight. But the thrill of the flight down the ever-narrowing dead-end canyon is in itself worth the price and effort to many.

There is one last chance though. Continuing your flight, you arrive shortly at pink-sanded Canaima. Here you can arrange to go on a guided excursion to the foot of Angel Falls. This requires two or three days one way, in a canoe on the Carrao and Churún rivers and then a climb on foot through the jungle to a vantage point. There you may have to wait until the clouds cooperate, separate, and lift. Then Angel Falls is revealed in its sparkling, spectacular leap from below the rim of Auyán Tepuí.

‘What’s on top of the mesa?’ you wonder. The few who have explored the top have endured the damp cold up there; the temperature can go down to almost 32 degrees Fahrenheit (0° C.) at night. The surface is broken up into fissures and gorges with strange rocks the size of skyscrapers.

Taking a last look at the misty silver cascade, we appreciate that far from having any connection with the Devil’s domain, Angel Falls is a splendid expression of the handiwork of the One who created magnificent waterfalls, both for his pleasure and for the delight of humans.

[Picture on page 13]

Often the falls cannot be seen because of mist or clouds

Filters Tell a Deadly Tale!

OWNERS of New York City restaurants are increasingly being confronted with patrons who demand that they be seated away from tobacco smokers. While some are repulsed at the thought of breathing in the filthy exhalations of people who smoke, others complain that the offensive, malodorous fumes from cigars, cigarettes, or pipes destroy the appetite-arousing aromas that add so much to a finely prepared meal. Richard Lavin, one restaurateur, is convinced that smokers would quickly drop this unhealthy habit if they could just see the filters of the air-cleaning machines that operate in his eating establishment. He declared that “they are so blackened, we have to give them an acid bath twice a week.”

One can just imagine the unclean effects tobacco must have on the lungs and windpipes of nonsmokers, not to mention smokers!

Young People Ask . . .

How Can I Satisfy My Parents?

WALLY’S mother thinks he needs to spend more time on his homework. Wally, however, says, “I work hard in school and I come home and expect to relax a little bit. Go visit some friends, whatever. But she says, ‘You’re not going out of this house.’”1

‘Make me proud of you!’ ‘Do your best!’ ‘Succeed!’ Such are the familiar urgings of parents. And while some youths are encouraged and spurred on by these words, you perhaps resent them. Not that you want your folks to ignore you, but at times their constant attention feels like too much of a good thing. ‘Just how can I satisfy them?’ you wonder.

Why Parents Expect a Lot

First, let’s acknowledge an important fact: Good parents feel a responsibility toward their children. And as Proverbs 10:1 says, “A wise son is the one that makes a father rejoice, and a stupid son is the grief of his mother.” So it’s only natural for your parents to want you to do well. You reflect on them. More importantly, though, they deeply care about you. Says Dr. Joan Lipsitz, “Often, expectations of parents are based on a desire to spare the child from having to go through the same thing the parents did when they were the same age.”

So when Dad or Mom tells you to stay home and finish your homework, he or she is not necessarily being unreasonable. They know that to survive as an adult you will need to develop certain skills and abilities, skills only obtained through hard work. And if they are Christians, they also want you to reach your full spiritual potential. (Compare Ephesians 4:13.) Yes, behind your parents’ encouragement to get good grades or their requirement that you attend Christian meetings, and so forth, there is a lot of love. As a young man named Gary puts it: “Sure, my parents set high goals for me. After all, they lovingly sacrificed their time and money on me. I was their ‘prize’ possession.”

Granted, some parents go too far, setting their hearts on having their children achieve high-paying jobs, status, or even fame. Billy’s mom and dad, for example, dream of his becoming a star athlete. After school his father drills him in lay-ups on the basketball court. Billy, however, just isn’t much of an athlete.

Note what Jesus said, though, when the mother of two of his apostles tried to secure for her sons prestigious positions in Christ’s Kingdom​—‘one at his right hand and one at his left.’ Wanting her sons to serve others with Jesus was fine. But perhaps there was a taint of wrong motive in her request. At any rate, Jesus corrected any notion she and her sons may have had about their ‘wielding authority as great men.’ Striving to be number one was just not to be the way among Christians. (Matthew 20:21-26) Likewise today, it is your relationship with God that really counts. (1 Corinthians 1:31) Cutthroat competition and tirelessly striving to accumulate material goods are vain ‘strivings after the wind.’​—Ecclesiastes 4:4; see also Galatians 5:26 and; 1 John 2:16.

Nevertheless, some parents fail to appreciate this. They may push their children to excel​—even at times beyond their abilities. What can result? Claims one authority: “Impossible expectations on the part of parents, teachers and peers probably provoke more stress-related problems among the young than any other source.”

Fortunately, overly ambitious and overly demanding parents are a minority. So the requirements your folks set out are probably quite reasonable. But there is a lot you can do​—and learn—​to turn their expectations to your advantage!

Learning to Do Your Best!

“I felt angry, frustrated and frightened,” recalled a 16-year-old girl whose parents asked her to remain in a class for advanced students. “In my mind, I wasn’t bright enough.” But were her folks really asking too much of her in suggesting she apply herself a bit harder? Not at all. She finished with high marks and now views the whole experience as “a win for me.”​—Teen magazine.

Young people often underestimate their abilities. So if your parents encourage you to improve in some area​—grades, for example—​you stand to win by considering their point of view. “Listen to your father who caused your birth,” says Proverbs 23:22, “and do not despise your mother just because she has grown old.” Their experience in life may equip them to size up your capabilities more realistically. In her book Childstress! Mary Susan Miller writes: “I want to emphasize the fact that parents and teachers should have expectations for children. . . . Without them, children lack the self-confidence that comes when adults believe in them.”

Try, then, to meet your parents’ reasonable expectations.

Communicate! Communicate!

What, though, if you feel your parents’ requirements are placing you under too much pressure? Or what if their goals are contrary to your desires? The need to communicate​—constructively, sympathetically—​is a recurring theme heard from young people who have successfully dealt with this very situation. Veronica, for example, says: “Sit down with your parents when nobody is upset and let them see you as you see yourself.” David adds: “If I had started earlier in life talking about the pressure I felt, it would have been easier not only on me but also on my parents.”

Communication means listening as well as talking. What your parents request may be clear. But do you really know why they ask it? Remember, “To answer a question [or a demand] before you have heard it out is both stupid and insulting.” (Proverbs 18:13, The New English Bible) “Communication,” asserts Tom Kennon, a lecturer at the University of California’s psychiatry department, “is the key. . . . What emerges is a new awareness on the part of the teenager​—as well as on the part of the parents.” Two things might help such communication.

Cooperate: “I found it was important to go out of my way to be yielding,” says Gary. He admits that this “is not always easy.” Easy or not, the Bible shows that it is right: “Obey your parents, for it is right that you should.” (Ephesians 6:1, NE) Defying them simply alienates you from them. Veronica, mentioned previously, adds that such cooperation “makes you a better person in the long run.”

Show respect: Respect can only improve your family relationships. It even lets you express your feelings without causing offense. So if you feel that your parents are asking for more than you can deliver, present your views mildly and with deep respect.​—Compare 1 Peter 3:15.

For example, a Christian youth named Edward had a conflict with his parents over his career goals. How did he satisfy them in this delicate situation? Edward says, “I had good results when I explained respectfully why I wanted to pursue the Christian ministry rather than the career they had chosen for me. I expected a big fight, especially from Mother, but instead there was a calm response.”

Interestingly, years later Edward became a staff member of the world headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Recently his mother wrote: “It is true we were upset when you decided to go [there]. However, we accept this and feel it was probably the best decision for you. You seem to be happy there and that is what counts. We cannot accept your way of thinking religiously, but that does not make it right or wrong.”

So rather than chafing under your parents’ urgings, why not view your parents’ hopes for you as an expression of their confidence in you? And whether their or your expectations need adjustment, let your respect show through when you discuss it.

[Blurb on page 15]

“Sit down with your parents when nobody is upset and let them see you as you see yourself,” recommends one youth

[Pictures on page 16]

Do you feel that your parents cause you stress by planning your life?

“Jehovah Will Give Increase”

JEWISH writings tell us that postexile Jews sang or recited Psalms 113 to 118 on the occasion of some of their festivals. These psalms, known as the Hallel, include the promise: “Jehovah will give increase to you . . . You are the ones blessed by Jehovah.”​—Psalm 115:14, 15.

During 1984 these words were sung anew​—not literally but in a symbolic way—​at festivals of quite another kind. They were the 1984 “Kingdom Increase” District Conventions held by Jehovah’s Witnesses in many parts of the world. Did they have reason for choosing “Kingdom Increase” as their convention theme and for applying the psalmist’s words to themselves?

Outsiders Take Note of Increase

About the Witnesses in Belgium the newspaper Le Jour wrote: “The 1984 theme ‘Kingdom Increase’ very aptly describes this group . . . From only 600 strong in 1945, they number more than 22,000 today, which figure does not include proselytes and sympathizers.” And in France the newspaper Le Provençal reported: “One hundred and five years after the birth of their movement, the Witnesses are growing in numbers at an increased pace.”

What has been catching the world’s attention, however, is not just the Witnesses’ increase in numbers but also their matchless life-style. Outsiders are impressed by people obviously blessed with qualities all too seldom seen in a loveless, dirty, and disunited world. The stadium director in Florence, Italy, for example, commented: “Mine is a selfish viewpoint, I know, but I wish that Jehovah’s Witnesses would hold their assemblies here in the stadium every two months. That way it would always be clean. You are amazing.”

“They are an amazing people,” agreed a worker in a car showroom near the Southampton, England, convention grounds. The worker added: “When the world is fighting and quarreling, they are so peaceful and all of them are smiling. It is a shame that the whole world is not like them.”

Finnish journalist Heli Savin described them as “a crowd of seven thousand young girls and boys, fathers and mothers, grannies and grandpas, [who] . . . formed one large family among which good manners and respectfulness toward others prevailed.” The writer continued: “The best sight, in my opinion, was the boys at the age of our ‘troublesome teenagers.’ . . . I actually felt an urge to hug them and cry out: ‘Mankind does have some hope left!’”

Meeting the Requirements for Increase

In ancient times, divinely given increase was dependent upon God’s people rejecting idol worship, putting complete “trust in Jehovah,” and “fearing” him. (Psalm 115:4-13) Jehovah’s Witnesses today try hard to meet these requirements. That they truly do fear Jehovah was pointed out by a convention speaker who explained: “Jehovah’s Witnesses in all parts of the earth are earnest students of the Bible. Indeed they ‘tremble’ at God’s Word as they constantly take in accurate knowledge of the loving purposes of their Grand Instructor.”​—See Isaiah 66:2.

This desire to please Jehovah was mirrored in the choice of material dealt with on the convention program. Divine standards of conduct were stressed. A moving Bible drama demonstrated how ancient Israel lost God’s blessing when Achan repudiated godly fear and embarked upon a course of disloyalty. Jehovah’s Witnesses want to prevent anything similar from happening in the Christian congregation today.

The conventions offered Jehovah’s Witnesses ample opportunity to manifest their trust in their God. For example, a Witness in Switzerland was told in May that he was being laid off work at the end of June for reasons related to religion. Despite this financial setback, he refused to compromise his stand and continued making convention plans for his family of nine. Then, during his last week at work, he was told he could keep his job, would be given a better one, in fact, and that the days he needed for convention attendance would be charged to vacation time. “The only problem left,” he reports, “was getting the children out of bed early enough to get to the convention grounds on time.”

This and similar experiences show how highly Jehovah’s Witnesses treasure the spiritual instruction their conventions provide. In fact, a mailman in Finland whose application for vacation was rejected paid one of his workmates $35 a day to do his work for him. Afterward he remarked: “The assembly was worth that price. Just think what I would have missed had I stayed at home!”

At 127 conventions in 15 European countries, there were 11,918 newly baptized Witnesses, many of whom had only recently turned their backs on idol worship.

Included in those who made such a public declaration, acknowledging that they now considered Jehovah “their help and their shield,” were N. K. and her 19-year-old sister E. G. from Sweden. (Psalm 115:11) They are Gypsies. Changing their traditional way of life meant breaking very strong social ties and freeing themselves from many deep-rooted traditions, including certain forms of idol worship. Upon being baptized, E. B., a member of the prominent cathedral choir in Graz, Austria, commented: “It was only after I started studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses that I realized that choir activities were directly connected with idolatry.”

Of course, anything that crowds the Creator and his worship out of our lives and thoughts is a form of idolatry. This is what gambling was for one ardent poker player. But how insecure his life was! With thousands of dollars one day, he would be penniless the next. Coming to appreciate real riches​—spiritual ones—​he abandoned his idolatrous life of gambling and was baptized at Mo-i-Rana, Norway.

Others fall victim to the idolatry of trusting in human theories, philosophies, and governments rather than in God, whose very existence they either deny or ignore. Vito, a 37-year-old train engineer baptized at Avellino, Italy, illustrates this point. An atheist, a communist, and a firm believer in evolution, he considered religion “the opium of the people.” But his atheistic faith was shaken when Witnesses convinced him of the inconsistencies in the evolution theory. A Bible study resulted. No longer does he ask as the nations do: “Where, now, is their God?” but as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, he declares: “Our God is in the heavens.”​—Psalm 115:2, 3.

Increase From Among Small and Great

Jehovah is the “living God, who is a Savior of all sorts of men.” (1 Timothy 4:10) Or as Psalm 115:13 expresses it: “He will bless those fearing [him], the small ones as well as the great ones.” Thus among the newly baptized Witnesses were many ordinary citizens, small ones as it were, but also others who, from a worldly standpoint, might be considered great ones. “All sorts of men” were represented. Consider some examples.

One year ago a top-ranking athlete and highly respected sports coach was baptized in Helsinki, Finland.a He began witnessing to a 14-year-old girl whom he was training. In her three-hour athletic training period, he even included one hour of Bible study! Now, in 1984, despite family opposition, she was baptized at one of the Finnish conventions.

The superintendent of Sunday schools at a Baptist Church in the United States, upon learning the truth, began opening her class with prayer to Jehovah. She says: “The students responded quite well to that, but then to my surprise some of the teachers, as well as fellow members of the church, became disturbed. Many of them walked out of my classes, saying that what I was teaching was so different from what the ‘Reverend’ had taught. Indeed, it was different because I was using material from My Book of Bible Stories. I had purchased 30 copies of the Bible Stories book, doing this out of my tithes for the class. I gave a copy to the ‘Reverend,’ seeking his approval. Later he approached me, saying: ‘The book is very well written, I really like it, it is very beautiful. . . .’ His attitude suddenly changed when he read who published the book​—the Watchtower Society.” This hypocrisy helped her break free from bondage to Babylon the Great, and she was baptized at the Cicero, Illinois, convention.

In Sweden a 20-year-old girl picked up one of the Society’s books from her mother’s bookshelf and started to read it. Fascinated by what she learned, she began to answer the questions at the bottom of each page and wrote down the answers in a notebook. She read the book five times and filled two notebooks with her answers. After resigning from the Swedish state church, she called the local Kingdom Hall and made contact with the Witnesses.

Others baptized included a schoolteacher from Portugal who, in her own words, was formerly “fully dedicated to overthrowing the government.” Another kind of fighter, the former director of a karate school and himself a karate prizewinner, was baptized in Austria. In Spain a young woman, with a history of drug trafficking, robbery, and immorality behind her, was at age 22 an abandoned wife expecting a child. She was almost ready to give up fighting, for she was contemplating suicide before meeting Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Some accepted the truth within a few months. Others needed more time. A mother baptized in Germany had lived next door to Jehovah’s Witnesses for 11 years. But not until the Witness children began talking to her 8- and 11-year-old children did she begin to take an interest in their message. And in becoming one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, a 91-year-old German was following the example of his father, who had been baptized somewhat earlier​—88 years earlier to be exact—​in 1896!

Some experienced in a marvelous way that “Kingdom Increase” is proceeding under angelic guidance. (See Revelation 14:6, 7.) A 25-year-old man from the Netherlands believed in reincarnation and practiced spiritism. He worshiped the sun and even hoped one day to become part of it. To achieve this goal, he was determined to die, as he expressed it, ‘in one way or another in March 1983.’ The Witnesses met him in February!

In view of this great increase from among “all sorts of men,” both small and great, what can we expect for the future?

Still More to Come!

We can be sure that there is more to come. First of all, Jehovah has promised further increase. (See Isaiah 60:22.) Second, as the figures in the accompanying box show, there is still a tremendous potential for increase. Note the percentage of people in attendance at the conventions above the peak number of active Jehovah’s Witnesses in 1984. Notice, too, the number of Witnesses newly baptized during the last service year, all of whom will now be helping to preach the good news of God’s established Kingdom to others. Without doubt, the conventions have laid a proper basis for further increase. After the convention in Hannover, Germany, K. V. expressed it this way: “In a loving and pointed way, the convention program called attention to the basic conditions for contributing to Kingdom increase​—things dealing with our personal lives, relationships within the congregation, attitudes toward the organization, and life in the family.”

Jehovah’s Witnesses take no personal credit for this increase. “To us belongs nothing, O Jehovah, to us belongs nothing,” they readily admit. It is rather “according to [God’s] loving-kindness, according to [his] trueness,” and his blessing that this increase has taken place and will continue to do so in the future.​—Psalm 115:1; see also Zechariah 4:6.

Joyful in the service of their God, Jehovah’s Witnesses invite “all sorts of men” everywhere to become personally a part of Kingdom increase by joining them in saying the words of the Hallel: “But we ourselves will bless Jah from now on and to time indefinite.”​—Psalm 115:18.

[Footnotes]

[Box on page 20]

WHAT CONVENTIONERS SAID:

“I think 100,000 words would be insufficient to describe my feelings of appreciation to Jehovah for this spiritual feast.”​—R. S., Luxembourg

“In the release of the brochure The Divine Name That Will Endure Forever I saw a proof of Jehovah’s blessing. I had hoped to have something like this for a long time. Thanks a million!”​—A. L., Federal Republic of Germany

“The release of the reference Bible is a personal blessing to me from Jehovah . . . Fantastic! I have read the Bible three times. The new Bible is an incentive to read it again.”​—A. P. and J. J., United States

[Graph on page 22]

(For fully formatted text, see publication.)

1984 “KINGDOM INCREASE” DISTRICT CONVENTIONS IN THE UNITED STATES AND SOME EUROPEAN COUNTRIES

Austria 15,618 37% 790

Belgium 20,499 39% 1,009

Britain 97,495 40% 5,166

Denmark 14,337 62% 391

Finland 15,263 54% 629

France 82,458 34% 4,708

Italy 116,555 45% 9,060

Luxembourg 1,129 18% 54

Netherlands 27,812 51% 841

Norway 7,670 48% 328

Portugal 27,220 71% 1,859

Spain 56,717 49% 3,671

Sweden 19,526 29% 845

Switzerland 12,378 41% 713

United States 690,830 53% 35,618

Total of 69,970

[Pictures on page 19]

Top: Conventioners on their way to preach in Hannover, Germany

Bottom left: New reference Bible released in Edinburgh, Scotland

Bottom right: No racial barriers​—Japanese Witnesses attending in Dortmund, Germany

Door-to-Door Evangelism​—How Effective?

“Interest in evangelism is exploding in American churches,” says Christianity Today. But what kind of evangelism is being promoted?

Lately, many Protestant churches have been promoting “friendship evangelism,” that is, church members witnessing to their friends, neighbors, and family members. Claiming that this method is far more effective than home visitations on strangers, one church group points to a survey it made of 14,000 church members. “Between 75 percent and 90 percent say they owe their Christian faith to a friend or relative.” Door-to-door witnessing, says the report, is considered by most churches to be ineffective. Furthermore, “the vast majority of Christians will never feel comfortable doing this type of witness.”

But can it really be said that the door-to-door method of preaching is ineffective? The Scriptures point out that early Christians, rather than limiting their preaching to friends and relatives, had marvelous results preaching from village to village and from house to house.​—Luke 8:1; Acts 2:41; 4:4; 5:14, 42; 20:20, 21.

Jehovah’s Witnesses today use the same apostolic methods. British sociologist Bryan Wilson analyzed the growth of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Japan and concluded: “The majority [58.3 percent] of those who have become Witnesses declare that they first had their interest awakened by receiving a house-call from a publisher.” The door-to-door ministry is effective, though it may not be “comfortable” for “the vast majority of Christians.”

Seeking the Causes of Death, I Found Life

The story of a pathologist

“I HAVE the hope of never dying,” my friend said. I smiled ironically at this. Yet at the same time it provoked an intense curiosity in me. I knew my friend very well. We had studied together at school, and he had never given me any reasons to doubt his sanity. As a pathologist I was familiar with death and many of its causes, but the idea of unending life had never entered my mind.

After the conversation, he gave me two books: The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life and Is the Bible Really the Word of God? That was my first contact with the message Jehovah’s Witnesses preach from the Bible. Those two books were going to mean a great change in my life and even a change of direction in my medical research work.

I had spent many years in oncological research​—the study of tumors. As a pathologist I was interested in the origin and cause of diseases. I was faced daily with the two constants​—life and death. I was fascinated by the miracle of life and the mystery of death. And now, unexpectedly, I heard someone affirm that perhaps he would never die since he expected God’s Kingdom to come within his lifetime.​—Matthew 6:9, 10.

My Career in Medicine

I was not brought up in a very religious home. My father, an intelligent man and a great reader, had got to know enough about the Catholic religious leaders in Spain to have no desire to inculcate their ideas in us. In those days Catholic religious teaching was obligatory in school. When I reached the age of 15 and started to reason about Catholic doctrine, I decided to break away from the church.

At one time I was thinking of a military career, but by the end of my bachillerato (high school) studies the choice had come to be between engineering and medicine. I had read much about doctors and had often heard my father speak favorably of prominent Spanish doctors such as Santiago Ramón y Cajal, Nobel prize winner for medicine. So I finally chose the fascinating science of medicine.

Catholic Theologian Tries to Convert Me

As time passed I became more intransigent in my opposition to Catholicism, to the point of becoming an agnostic. I constantly argued against doctrines such as the Trinity, hell, and the infallibility of the pope.

One day, during an argument with some friends in the National Library of Madrid, one of them invited me to meet a well-known Catholic theologian who, I was told, would be able to clear up my doubts and refute my arguments. I accepted the challenge, and that same day we visited the clergyman’s house.

When we arrived he was very pleasant and said he had the afternoon free for us. He would be very pleased to help me return to the Catholic Church. After half an hour of argument and counterargument, he suddenly remembered that he had an appointment! My friend was disillusioned to see his theologian back down.

I could not accept half-truths adorned with false human philosophy that at times dared to depersonalize God in a Trinity and present him as a cruel, malevolent designer of the torments of hell where people were retained forever. I could not accept such a God.

My Fascination With Medical Research

The years passed swiftly, and I qualified as a doctor. I specialized in internal medicine, pursuing my career with enthusiasm. I wanted to help sick people. One day I was called to attend a young girl who was sick with leukemia. I was greatly affected by this case​—to think that soon she would have to die. I became obsessed with this terrible illness that puts a premature end to so many lives.

When I returned home that day, I went to my study, took out all the books and publications on the subject, and started to study it intensively. I wanted to find the root cause of the illness, and from there, the cure. I studied all through the night.

By dawn I was all excited because I had worked out a complete theory on the possible causes of leukemia. I was determined to publish my theory. But I remembered counsel by Santiago Ramón y Cajal: It is one thing to theorize; it is another to demonstrate the theory. Theory alone was not enough. I needed to carry out experimental research to really prove it. What was the final result? I decided I would dedicate my life to medical research. Thus I decided to specialize in oncology, pathological anatomy, and other branches of pathology.

I made progress in my research to the point that I was asked to apply the results of my animal experiments to cancer patients. I refused to do so since I had only experimented with one type of tumor. First I wanted to experiment with another type that I also knew well. I was convinced that each type of tumor requires a specific immunization.

I was involved in my experiments and enjoying the benefits of annual grants from a Spanish cancer association and from the World Health Organization. Then something totally unexpected occurred. I was told that to continue receiving such grants I would have to hand over the results of my research to another research unit not under my supervision. I was not willing to go along with this policy. Because of such medical politics, I had to discontinue my research work.

A New Field of Research

That was my situation when I first met my friend the Witness. My wife and I had recently obtained a Bible, and I had read some of the “New Testament.” My interest in spiritual themes was rekindled. That night I started by reading the book The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life.

Dawn was breaking when​—after a calm, profound, and at the same time exciting, reading—​I almost completed the book. I had to get some sleep. But first, with great joy, respect, and deep emotion, I prayed to God. I expressed gratitude for what I had learned that night about him not only as the Creator but also as a living God with the marvelous qualities of love, wisdom, justice, and power. This was a God I could respect and worship.

I read this and the book Is the Bible Really the Word of God? in two days. The next day I telephoned for the Witnesses to bring me more books that were advertised. They soon delivered them, along with a book on evolution. I devoured them and came to the conclusion that only Jehovah’s Witnesses had the truth regarding the worship and service of the true God, Jehovah. I had never read anything like this in religious material before​—this was the essence of simplicity and clarity.

Since I was used to reading scientific treatises with their extensive bibliographies, I was impressed by the standard the Witnesses set. In their publication Did Man Get Here by Evolution or by Creation? was a list of 248 bibliographic sources! It was obvious that much research had gone into that book.

I spoke to my wife about my conclusions regarding the Bible and the Witnesses. She then read the Truth book herself and agreed to join in a systematic Bible study with the Witnesses. We used two Bibles, the Catholic Nácar-Colunga and the Witnesses’ New World Translation. At one point we were having three studies a week. Soon we started to attend the meetings at a Kingdom Hall in Madrid.

The more I studied the Bible, the more I realized that medicine was never going to have the real answer to man’s problems. We might make some progress against certain diseases, but as a doctor I always came up against the unattainable: to make death bow the knee. No branch of medicine could utter the forceful words found in the Bible: “Death is swallowed up forever” and “death will be no more.” Only God, ‘for whom it is impossible to lie,’ can guarantee the fulfillment of this hope, yearned for by so many.​—1 Corinthians 15:54; Revelation 21:4; Hebrews 6:18.

With a changed outlook, I decided to leave cancer research and I accepted the position of Director of the Pathological Anatomy Service in the city of Orense in northwestern Spain. Compared to research work, this seemed like a loss of prestige in the medical world. But another factor that influenced my decision was that I knew that the Orense Congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses needed help. Later we were baptized as Christian witnesses of Jehovah on May 29, 1971, in Orense.

Witnessing to a Queen

Since then I have had many privileges in relation to the congregation. I have been an elder for several years and have also been responsible for directing the First Aid Department at many assemblies and conventions. As a doctor and pathologist I have​—by radio, television, and the press—​defended the stand of Jehovah’s Witnesses against the use of blood transfusions. Our Bible reasons are solid, and there is mounting evidence in the medical world for restraint in this field.​—Genesis 9:4; Leviticus 17:14; Acts 15:28, 29.

In 1978 I was invited to give a talk on “Blood, Medicine and the Law of God” at the Superior Council of Scientific Research in Madrid. Nine years before, I had presented a discourse about cancer research in this same place. What a contrast! Now I had an audience of doctors and clergy, along with Queen Sophia of Spain who attended as a student of humanities. The talk was supposed to be for an hour. Actually, the discussion went on for nearly three hours. I was able to answer many questions, and at the end Queen Sophia kindly congratulated me. I was happy that I could give a witness to Jehovah’s praise.

Now when I stare into my microscope to investigate the causes of sickness and death, I am also impelled to praise Jehovah God for the marvelous complexity of the microscopic world. The miracle of life continues to be a source of fascination and amazement, and the enigma of death now has its concrete answers​—death is the wages that sin pays.​—Romans 6:23.

I have found from my study of the Bible that the true hope for the dead is in the resurrection that Jesus taught. He himself said: “Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out.”​—John 5:28, 29.

I am deeply grateful to Jehovah for my knowledge of the truth, to know that soon health and life will be restored to obedient mankind. As a doctor and pathologist I will be out of a job, for then no one will say, “I am sick”; even “death will be no more.” (Isaiah 33:24; Revelation 21:3, 4) But I will be happy to lose that line of work. Thus, like my friend in the introduction to my story, I, too, now entertain the hope of never having to die!​—As told by Dr. Salvador González.

[Blurb on page 26]

I was fascinated by the miracle of life and the mystery of death

[Blurb on page 27]

A different goal in life

From Our Readers

Sexual Morals

I just read the article on the Sexual Revolution in the September 8, 1984, Awake! When I found out I had herpes, I wanted to run away and have somebody tell me I didn’t have it. It is very painful and will never go away. However, I have put fornication behind me. I enjoyed your article very much.

D. G., Missouri

I have never seen an article so slanted in my life. This promiscuity, as you call it, is the affection felt between two persons and shouldn’t be called wayward conduct. There is no mention at all in the Bible of a marriage ceremony between Adam and Eve, but Adam called Eve his wife and Eve called Adam her husband. As far as homosexuals go, Jehovah looks at the heart. (1 Samuel 16:7) Our Creator provided sex as a means of expressing deep love, and being heterosexual doesn’t appeal to everyone. As long as homosexuals have that mutual love and respect, can they not still follow Bible principles? Some people adhere to godly principles in the way that they feel God approves of, not in the way man approves of by one-sided articles such as this one.

D. J., New York

When Eve was presented to Adam, he acknowledged that they belonged to each other with his expression: “This is at last bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.” And there could be nothing more binding than God’s own official statement: “That is why a man will leave his father and his mother and he must stick to his wife and they must become one flesh.” (Genesis 2:23, 24; Matthew 19:5) What God approves of is not determined by the feelings of individuals but by what he has specifically stated in his Word. In Hebrews 13:4 it is stated: “Let marriage be honorable among all, and the marriage bed be without defilement, for God will judge fornicators and adulterers.” God’s condemnation of homosexual actions is clearly outlined in Leviticus 20:13; Romans 1:27, 32 and; 1 Corinthians 6:9, 10.​—ED.

Treating Burns

At a local restaurant, my youngest daughter was burned with scalding water. Because of the knowledge of how to deal with burns, which I gained from reading Awake! (July 22, 1966; March 22, 1980; April 22, 1980), I immediately poured cold water on the burns that were covered with clothes, put an ice compress on the exposed skin, and rushed her to the local hospital about a mile away. At the hospital the staff asked how we knew that this was the best on-the-spot treatment. I explained that I was able to respond decisively because of being an avid reader of Awake!

F. D., California

Sewing Machines

Recently my daughter came home from school and said that her sewing teacher wanted to meet me. The new Awake! (October 8, 1984) had arrived in the mail with the article on sewing machines. I arranged to meet my daughter’s teacher and I showed her that magazine. A couple of days later, the teacher called the attention of the entire class to the article, wanting them to read it so as to know how to maintain, oil, and thread the machine.

S. W., Oregon

Watching the World

Transfusions Kill 1,000 Annually

● A form of hepatitis known as non-A non-B hepatitis, says The New York Times, afflicts “120,000 Americans each year, about 90,000 of whom contract the disease through blood transfusions.” “More than 1,000 of the victims die each year,” adds the report. Recently U.S. scientists succeeded in identifying a virus that causes this form of the disease. Scientists will now be able to study the virus closely. They hope to develop a method of screening contaminated blood and possibly even develop a hepatitis vaccine. But, as yet, the disease is untreatable. Dr. Robert J. Gerety of the Food and Drug Administration told The Times that “about 10 percent of all individuals who received five or more units of transfused blood become infected with the non-A non-B virus.”

Worldwide Illiteracy

● “One billion of the world’s population is illiterate​—and the number is growing steadily,” says The Star of Johannesburg, South Africa, based on reports from GFID (the German Foundation for International Development). “In many countries​—particularly in Africa—​more than 90 percent of the people cannot read or write.” According to German agronomist Eva-Maria Bruchhaus, an international literacy campaign backed by UNESCO is floundering in developing countries. Why? Because of low school enrollment, a high dropout rate​—less than a third who enroll finish school—​and a lack of opportunity for schoolchildren to apply what they learn.

Plasma Transfusions

● As much as 90 percent of blood plasma use in the United States is unwarranted, reported a panel of experts assembled by the National Institutes of Health in Washington, D.C. “Of the 3.5 million patients who receive transfusions each year, up to 700,000 receive plasma​—perhaps 630,000 more than should be getting it,” says The New York Times in reporting the opinion of Dr. James L. Tullis, who headed the panel. The panelists estimated that each year up to 10,000 cases of viral hepatitis are caused by plasma alone.

Chinese ‘Capitalism’

● China’s communist party recently announced what The Wall Street Journal calls “a landmark economic plan” that will put “200 million city dwellers further down the capitalist road than almost anyone would have believed possible.” The plan is to abandon “most Soviet-style central planning.” “Over the next several years,” says the report, “more than a million state enterprises and factories are to be cut loose from government planning and protection and will rise or fall on their own economic merit and talent.” However, key industries, such as steelmaking, will remain under government control. Presently, government-granted subsidies keep the price of food, housing, clothing, transportation, and education artificially low. But experts outside of China speculate that prices will rise and that there will be years of confusion in implementing this new plan. Nevertheless, Robert Hormats, former assistant secretary of state for economic affairs, says, “If China continues in this direction, we will really be seeing one of the remarkable economic events of the 20th century.”

Spilled Oil

● The amount of oil lost at sea in 1983 by spillage, fire, or container sinking, rose dramatically​—930 percent over 1982. The Oil Spill Intelligence Report pinpoints the loss at 241.8 million gallons. The largest single loss​—80 million gallons—​occurred in the Persian Gulf, where attacks in the Iraqi-Iranian conflict caused oil-well blowouts and prevented repairs. However, most of the spillage came from oil tankers. What makes the lost oil so worrisome, says Richard Golob, editor of The Report, is the evidence that “we don’t have the technology in place to deal effectively with the spillage.” Very little oil can be recovered.

Animal Antibiotics​—A New Hazard

● After a painstaking study, CDC (Centers for Disease Control) scientist Scott Holmberg and colleagues have established a direct link between the illnesses of 18 people in four Midwestern states and the use of antibiotics in animal feed. This study, along with other studies in recent years, has bolstered the case for imposing a ban on animal antibiotics, say many scientists. Explaining the dangers, the magazine Science says, “Antibiotics in animal feed kill off vulnerable bacteria, leaving the more competitive, and often more virulent, microbes to flourish.” When the microbes are passed on to humans in contaminated food, “illness can be prolonged because conventional antibiotic therapy is ineffective against these drug-resistant organisms.” While many opponents of a ban on animal-feed antibiotics concede the strength of these studies, they argue that such a ban would raise meat prices.

Sun Rises, Weeds Fall

● Scientists at the University of Illinois have developed a herbicide that is activated by light, reports Science News. The herbicide’s main ingredient is a simple amino acid, commonly known as ALA, which is found in all plant and animal cells. Ordinarily, ALA is used by plants to make light-sensitive chemicals called tetrapyrroles, which, in turn, form chlorophyll in the presence of light. But when ALA and a chemical activator are sprayed on plants at night, excess tetrapyrroles are formed that react all at once when the sun rises. Most plants die within hours. “The plant literally shrinks under your eyes,” says Dr. Constantin A. Rebeiz, one of the herbicide’s developers. Wheat, oats, corn, and barley are not significantly affected. But ALA is death-dealing to many common types of weeds.

1,800-Year-Old Melody

● The oldest music score ever found in China, an inscribed wooden fragment with musical notations written for a five-stringed instrument, is about 1,800 years old, writes the Chinese weekly news magazine Beijing Review. It was found in 1920 but was neglected and shelved for over 60 years until Lanzhou University historian Niu Longfei recently examined and translated the score. He describes the melody as elegant and beautiful.

Arctic Pollution

● At a pollution forum at the annual Arctic Science Conference in Anchorage, Alaska, scientists expressed dismay at the amount of air pollution now found in The Arctic. The Soviet Union, which occupies 75 percent of the land north of the Arctic Circle, was said to be the largest contributor of pollution, followed by Europe and the United Kingdom. It was noted that the effects of pollutants are magnified in the harsh Arctic environment. Researcher William Zollar, with 20 years of Arctic experience, said, “Everything holds on by a very narrow thread in the Far North.” An international conference on Arctic pollution is planned for this year, reports The New York Times.

Computer Piracy

● Each year, American computer-software firms are losing between $1 billion and $3 billion because of computer pirates copying their programs, says The German Tribune. Computer piracy is rampant in the United States, France, Germany, Singapore, Taiwan, and South Korea. “The problem is getting worse,” adds a spokesman for the industry. So far, the pirates have found ways to get around devices meant to stop programs from being copied. What can be done? In a number of countries, laws have been enacted to make such piracy illegal. But one spokesman, admitting defeat, suggests that computer companies simply “keep on developing new software” and outdate the pirated copies.

“Deploy Ladybirds”

● Too many chemicals for pest control are being used in agriculture and forestry, said Professor Berndt Heydemann at the International Entomological Congress at Hamburg, Germany. As reported in The German Tribune, he said it “would do better to deploy ladybirds and other insects to beat the bugs biologically” and that pest damage could be “reduced substantially, by crop rotation and growing a wider range of grain.” High-yield crops and single-crop farms bereft of wild plants cut down the effectiveness of natural pest controls. The report concludes: “If European farmers were to produce only as much food as their fellow-countrymen needed, chemical pest control could be discontinued within 10 to 20 years.”

“Super-Gonorrhea”

● “Until recently penicillin was used to treat gonorrhea. It was said to cure the disease in a few hours and cure syphilis in a few days.” So says the Athens News of Athens, Greece. But now, says the report, a new strain of gonorrhea, labeled “super-gonorrhea,” “is able to produce a substance that inactivates penicillin.” To stop the disease, more expensive, alternative antibiotics, such as kanamycin and spectinomycin, must be used. Yet they do not cure syphilis​—the most dangerous sexually transmitted disease. While doctors in Asia point to the effectiveness of alternative antibiotics in treating “super-gonorrhea,” syphilis there is becoming more widespread.

Pigeon “Scarecrow”

● At Mitaka Railway Station near Tokyo, a string of twirling banners displaying large “eyeball” designs has frightened the pigeons away​—ending the daily complaints that officials used to get from victims of pigeon droppings. “The station suspended 40 of the banners in six places where the birds normally gathered,” reports the Mainichi Daily News of Tokyo, Japan. “Bright yellow, with three black concentric rings and two half moons in the center, made to resemble eyeballs, they spin around in the breeze.” These banners may offer hope for thousands of Japanese buildings and temples plagued with pigeon droppings, says the report.

Hot-Dog Hazard

● A study of 103 cases of food suffocation in children nine years old and under shows hot dogs to be the leading cause of choking death when eating, reports the Journal of the American Medical Association. Other foods, such as carrots, cookies, candy, and nuts are also causes, but hot dogs are blamed for 17 percent of all such choking deaths. “If you were trying to design something that would be perfect to block a child’s airway, it would be a bite-size piece of hot dog,” said Susan P. Baker of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, according to New York’s Daily News. “A child under the age of 4 should not be given a whole hot dog to eat,” she said.

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