July 22

Page Two

People are creatures of hope. After repeated disappointments, they still hope. Nowhere is this trait more apparent than in human governments. When one fails, they put hope in the next one. All forms of government have been tried, all have failed. None have had the answers to the problems afflicting mankind. Is there any hope of ever having a government that has the answers?

A World Without Answers 3

A World With All the Answers 6

A World Without Answers

PEOPLE are creatures of hope. After repeated disappointments, they still hope. When it is hopeless, they continue to hope. As a poet once said, “Hope springs eternal in the human breast.”

This persisting of hope is nowhere more apparent than in human governments. One after another fails, but people are ever ready to hope in the next one. It has been happening for thousands of years. Monarchies, empires, dictatorships, republics, democracies, communistic or capitalistic rules​—all have been tried, all have failed.

Even world governments have been tried. The League of Nations, tried and failed. The United Nations, tried and is failing. But people are still hoping, ready to hope in anything and everything​—everything, it seems, except the only one sure hope.

THIS world we live in is a world without answers. Six thousand years of human history have proved that. Nor has this present dazzling world of science come up with answers to the pressing questions hanging over the head of this generation. Consider a few of the many.

No answer to war

For centuries before our Common Era and up to the end of World War II, there were comparatively few years of peace, yet thousands of peace treaties were made and broken. World War I was to make the world safe for democracy. It cost 14 million lives, but it did not secure democracy. World War II was to rid the earth of dictators, but its loss of 55 million lives did not accomplish that. Since then 30 million have died in scores of wars, and thousands more are dying in current conflicts.

Far more terrifying, a nuclear arms race is now on. The nations involved are spending over a million dollars a minute. But a nuclear war could bring on a “nuclear winter.” And that, many scientists say, could end human life on earth.

No answer to famine

Millions starve to death every year. Figures range from 20 million to 50 million​—and the expression “starve to death” must take in also the millions that die from malnutrition and the diseases that come in its wake. In Africa rapid population growth means more land denuded for firewood, and stripped land means less rainfall and lost topsoil, which means meager harvests. Concerning Africa, the president of Worldwatch Institute recently said: “We may be on the edge of an unfolding human drama like nothing we’ve ever experienced before.” For suffering Africa, no answers are in sight. Even in affluent United States, hunger has been declared epidemic​—20 million are affected. Worldwide, 450 million are at the point of starvation.

Massive relief efforts get bogged down in red tape. Food is denied to the hungry, and instead it is used in political or military manipulations. Profiteering also diverts food from empty bellies to fatten rich purses. Two years ago the World Bank estimated that over the next decade it would take $600 billion just to hold hunger at present levels. But as populations increase and deserts spread, hunger will intensify. The outlook is bleak, with no answers on the horizon.

No answer to disease

Medical science has done much in fighting disease, but the picture is not the rosy one forecast in 1975 by one of the world’s leading scientists: “I know of no medical problems we will not be able to solve in the near future.” Ten years later, not only is the fight far from being won but it is losing ground on many fronts. Cancer, heart trouble, cirrhosis, diabetes, multiple sclerosis, malaria, sleeping sickness, snail fever, leprosy​—all rage on unabated.

Venereal diseases have not succumbed to antibiotics. Stronger antibiotics result in more resistant bacterial strains. AIDS is incurable and spreading​—primarily among homosexuals, intravenous drug users, and recipients of blood transfusions. There is no known cure for genital herpes. Chlamydia is an epidemic that annually “afflicts at least three million and perhaps as many as 10 million people.” Among other disabilities, it causes infertility.

Newsweek of February 4, 1985, reported: “The United States is currently in the grip of an STD [sexually transmitted disease] outbreak of unprecedented proportions. The statistics are awesome: 1 in 4 Americans between the ages of 15 and 55 will acquire STD at some point in his or her life.” The article concludes: “The best protection against STD, it seems, just might be a return to that old-fashioned safeguard: monogamy.” This is an answer unacceptable to this world.

No answer to infanticide

We feel horror that, long ago, people who had babies they didn’t want merely put them outside to die of exposure. Today they are killed while still in the mother’s womb. Those who do this claim the infants are not really human lives, or souls, and feel no pain. But the babe in the womb jumps when startled by a sudden noise, it sucks its thumb, it drinks fluid, it hears its mother’s heartbeat​—yet some say it is not living? Incredible! Its brain is functioning, its heart is beating, its senses are recording sensations​—yet it feels no pain? Again, incredible! Painless abortion​—is it just a claim made to ease guilt?

It would seem so, in view of the recent film The Silent Scream. It reveals what appears to be the agonies of a fetus being aborted, being dismembered in the womb and sucked out piecemeal. During the ordeal, it jumps, squirms, draws back, and opens its mouth in a way suggestive of a “silent scream.” It is in this and other ways that this world disposes of some 55 million babies every year!

The Bible views an unborn baby in the womb as a life, a soul, and under the Mosaic Law, anyone causing its death, even accidentally, painfully or painlessly, was guilty and had to give “life for life,” or “soul for soul.”​—Exodus 21:22, 23, Ref. Bi., footnote.

No answer to pollution

Acid rain that kills fish and forests. Toxic waste dumps that poison soil and groundwater. Automobile emissions that damage crops and human lungs. Oil spills, heavy metals, radioactive waste, plastics, asbestos, pesticides, herbicides, microwaves​—all of these and more are growing threats to life on planet Earth. Many species have already become extinct, and daily many more become endangered.

Speaking for UNEP (United Nations Environmental Program), executive director Mostafa Tolba reported to more than a hundred delegates in Kenya: “Take action now or face disaster.” Failure to do so, he said, would bring “by the turn of the century environmental catastrophe which will witness devastation as complete, as irreversible as any nuclear holocaust.” Early astronauts spoke glowingly of the earth: “Our blue planet is amazingly beautiful.” In 1983 astronaut Paul Weitz said: “It is appalling to me to see how dirty our atmosphere is getting. . . . Unfortunately, this world is rapidly becoming a gray planet. . . . We are fouling our own nest.” But greed has no ears for such talk. Short-term greed speaks louder than long-term need.

No answer to drugs

A worldwide crackdown by law-enforcement agencies has not stemmed the tidal wave of drugs. Recent headlines tell the story: “Vast, Undreamed-of Drug Use Feared.” “Women and Cocaine: A Growing Problem.” “World Heroin Trade Is Increasing.” In Mexico last November, a series of raids netted 10,000 tons of marijuana​—eight times more than officials thought Mexico produced in a whole year! Investigators believe that they have been greatly underestimating worldwide drug production. Not only does evidence show the Mafia to be heavily involved but individual smugglers from the Third World “just keep coming like ants.”

People may start drug use out of curiosity or peer pressure, but soon it becomes hedonism, the love of pleasure. The drugs can boost their pleasure-high far above that obtained by ordinary means, including sex. Next comes addiction, then stealing to support the habit, and finally health complications and death by overdose. Add to this the crimes, including murder, by the traffickers in drugs. But before loading all the blame on the criminals, remember: All these evils are supported and made possible by their customers. The answer is simple: Users, break the habit, dry up the market, and in one fell swoop kill the whole evil business. But this simple answer is also unacceptable.

More missing answers

Decay of honesty, lack of integrity, religious hypocrisy, collapse of the family, divorce on any whim, neglected children, no natural affection, selfishness, rudeness, me-ism, sick sexual perversions, revolting child molesting, spreading violence, increasing lawlessness, international terrorism​—on and on the listing could go of things for which this world has no answers. It has a bumper crop of questions but a crop failure of answers. How aptly Jesus foretold this very time in which we are living when he said: “On the earth anguish of nations, not knowing the way out”!​—Luke 21:25.

There is, however, a way out.

A World With All the Answers

“Hope deferred makes the heart sick, desire fulfilled is a tree of life.”​—Proverbs 13:12, The Jerusalem Bible.

HOPE for answers to man’s problems has been deferred for six thousand years, and millions are sick at heart because of it. But soon desire fulfilled will be a tree of life. Current happenings make timely Jesus’ words: “Lift your heads up, because your deliverance is getting near.” (Luke 21:28) A world with all the answers is at hand.

We do not mean, however, the world of mankind as presently ordered and arranged. (Matthew 12:32, King James Version) Rather, the world with the answers is a new system of things, called in the Bible “new heavens and a new earth.” The apostle Peter pointed forward to our day for its coming. He spoke of the watery destruction of the wicked world of Noah’s day and of the fiery judgments that will wipe out this present world of ungodly people, and then he told what would follow: “But there are new heavens and a new earth that we are awaiting according to his promise.” By this he meant God’s Messianic Kingdom in the heavens and its obedient subjects on earth. “And in these,” we are assured, “righteousness is to dwell.”​—Isaiah 65:17; 2 Peter 3:5-13.

Now, it must be admitted that many of the people’s woes today are self-inflicted. It is within their power to eliminate most of these troubles, but it is obviously not within their will to do so. What current problem, for example, would not yield to the practice of Jesus’ command to love your neighbor as yourself or to treat others as you want others to treat you? (Matthew 7:12; 22:39) Just think what men could do right now! No war, no famine, no violence, no crime, no pollution, no drugs, and many other woes ended as well.

Even so, other woes would remain. What about the inborn human tendency to sin? (Psalm 51:5) And old age? And death itself? What it comes down to is this: The job is beyond the power of men to accomplish. It will take “the power beyond what is normal” for people. It will take God’s power.​—2 Corinthians 4:7.

It will take the ending of this present old “heavens” and “earth” and in its stead the promised “new heavens and a new earth.” Note the words the apostle John was inspired to write about this changeover: “And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away . . . And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore.”​—Revelation 21:1, 4.

But many sincere people today find it hard to embrace this hope. It sounds too good to be true. Moreover, misled by unscientific theorizings and by faithless clergymen who set aside creation to embrace evolution, their belief in the Bible has been eroded. They should, however, remember two things: (1) Men cannot foretell the future, and (2) the Bible can and does. The Bible’s ability to do this is proof that it is from God, as Isaiah 46:9, 10 says: “There is no other God, nor anyone like me; the One telling from the beginning the finale, and from long ago the things that have not been done.”

Jesus gave a composite sign to identify the time of his presence and the end of this system of things: world wars, famines, pestilences, restless people, fear of what lies ahead, worldwide persecution of his witnesses, yet their preaching of the good news of God’s Kingdom in all the earth and their sounding of the warning of the coming end of this ungodly world. (Matthew, chapter 24; Mark, chapter 13; Luke, chapter 21) That sign, foretold over 19 centuries ago, is now visible.

The apostle Paul foretold that “in the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, self-assuming, haughty, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, disloyal, having no natural affection, not open to any agreement, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, without love of goodness, betrayers, headstrong, puffed up with pride, lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God, having a form of godly devotion but proving false to its power; and from these turn away.” (2 Timothy 3:1-5) Certainly a perfect description of our days!

Peter prophesied that “in the last days there will come ridiculers with their ridicule, proceeding according to their own desires and saying: ‘Where is this promised presence of his? Why, from the day our forefathers fell asleep in death, all things are continuing exactly as from creation’s beginning.’” (2 Peter 3:3, 4) The scoffers are now noisily sounding off, in fulfillment of this prophecy.

But contrary to their claim, things are not continuing as always. In the book of Revelation, John spoke of the time of the end when Christ would come and rule as associate King with the Sovereign Lord and King Jehovah God; when the nations would become wrathful; when the dead would be judged and the prophets and holy ones rewarded; and when God would “bring to ruin those ruining the earth.” (Revelation 11:15-18) Never before has the earth been polluted so ruinously, or have scoffers ridiculed so blatantly, or the moral breakdown spread so flagrantly, and the composite sign given by Jesus been fulfilled so completely.

The conditions for which the world has no answers were foretold to come on this generation. Also foretold was the nations’ failure to have any answers for them, “not knowing the way out.” But the ‘new heavens and the new earth’ do know the way out and will bring it to pass, ending even satanic influence and death itself.​—Luke 21:25; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Hebrews 2:14.

The Bible foretold the conditions that now afflict this generation, the conditions for which this world has no answers. It also foretold that these conditions would mark the last days of this present world. Even now, many prominent scholars and scientists are warning that this world could be approaching its end. The Bible also foretold the sign of an incoming righteous new system of things. These prophecies recorded thousands of years ago and now coming to pass confirm the divine inspiration of the Bible​—and there is much more proof of this book’s reliability for those who have eyes willing to see it and ears willing to hear it.

The Bible is trustworthy, it is inspired, it is the book that tells about a world with all the answers.

[Blurb on page 8]

The scoffers are now noisily sounding off

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Much proof here for eyes willing to see it and ears willing to hear it

[Box on page 7]

Inspired Answers to People’s Problems

No war. “He is making wars to cease.” “Neither will they learn war anymore.”​—Psalm 46:9; Isaiah 2:4.

No famine. “The earth itself will certainly give its produce.” “There will come to be plenty of grain on the earth.”​—Psalm 67:6; 72:16.

No sickness. “No resident will say: ‘I am sick.’”​—Isaiah 33:24.

No pollution. “Bring to ruin those ruining the earth.”​—Revelation 11:18.

No crime. “They will not do any harm or cause any ruin in all my holy mountain.”​—Isaiah 11:9.

No wicked. “As regards the wicked, they will be cut off from the very earth.”​—Proverbs 2:22.

No old age. “Let his flesh become fresher than in youth; let him return to the days of his youthful vigor.”​—Job 33:25.

No death. “The gift God gives is everlasting life.” “Death will be no more.”​—Romans 6:23; Revelation 21:4.

No Satan. “He seized . . . Satan, and bound him for a thousand years.”​—Revelation 20:2.

People changed. “Strip off the old personality . . . clothe yourselves with the new personality.”​—Colossians 3:9, 10.

One religion. “One Lord, one faith, one baptism.”​—Ephesians 4:5.

One government. “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. And the kingdom itself will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite.”​—Daniel 2:44.

Interest Rates​—The Runaway Roller Coaster

HIGHER, higher, higher the roller coaster climbs. Then, with a swoosh, it plummets​—only to rise again. Is it now out of control? Again a plunge, again a climb. Seemingly, each new rise is more severe than the previous one. Are you on this ride? If you are on the interest-rate roller coaster, you are.

The ride began thousands of years ago. Deuteronomy 23:19, 20 refers to an interest-rate ride 34 centuries ago. Nine centuries later, the Greeks rode at 10 percent to 12 percent. The Romans’ roller coaster of the first century roared along with rates of from 4 percent to 50 percent, depending on where in society men lived. And, yes, the ride continues today.

Interest and Debt​—Individual

Throughout the world, people are on the interest-rate ride. For example, the average rate for a new automobile loan in commercial banks of the United States in 1973 was 10.21 percent. By 1982, rates averaged 16.83 percent, only to roll down to the 12.96-percent level in 1985.

Buying a new home in the United States was just as unsettling. The average rate for a conventional home mortgage on a new home went from 7.66 percent in 1971 to 16.71 percent in 1981. By December 1984, our roller-coaster ride on home mortgage rates had fallen to 13.20 percent. But how does this rapid ride affect the borrower? For example, repaying a $50,000 home mortgage at 8 percent interest would cost $132,080 over 30 years. However, this same $50,000 at 15 percent would cost a staggering $227,602. Our ride is very costly, isn’t it?

Has the uncertainty of our ride caused borrowing to slow down? Apparently not. The Federal Reserve Bulletin reports that, in the United States, installment loan debt owed by individuals in 1970 amounted to $105.5 billion. By 1980, this had tripled to $313.5 billion. And according to The Wall Street Journal, installment debt had increased to some $418 billion by May 1984. With debt growing so fast, has our interest-rate ride been safe?

An alarming trend has developed. In 1973, bankruptcies filed in the United States totaled in excess of 173,000. By 1982, bankruptcies had escalated to 527,811. It is interesting to note that during this period of increased bankruptcies, there was a significant increase in interest rates.

Interest and Debt​—Governments

The Israelites were commanded not to charge their fellow Israelite interest if he was in need of help. (Exodus 22:25) The developing, or Third World, countries have certainly needed help to strengthen their economies. Wealthier countries throughout the world have extended aid by making loans available.

But has all this money been used to meet needs? Time magazine of July 2, 1984, quotes Argentine president, Raúl Alfonsín, as he discussed the billions of dollars lent to his country. He stated: “The foreign debt’s most irritating feature for the Argentines is that the money was not converted into the expansion of the economy and the creation of capital. Quite the contrary.”

It was further reported that the countries of Brazil and Paraguay cooperated in building the world’s largest dam, Itaipu.a The dam was to produce electricity for both of these developing countries. Nine years have gone into the construction; and after $18 billion has been spent on Itaipu, only Paraguay has received any electricity. Brazil has received none.

Brazil’s minister of industry and commerce, Mr. João Camilo Penna, recently stated: “We have $50 billion worth of incomplete projects with zero degree of usefulness.”

Latin America’s largest borrowers by mid-1984 were Brazil with $93.1 billion and Mexico with $89.8 billion. In addition, Argentina, with runaway inflation of 568 percent, was struggling to make its loan payments. Argentina’s 29 million people were faced with its government’s international debt of $45 billion. The interest-rate roller coaster was expected to cost the Argentines close to $5.5 billion in 1984.

The July 2, 1984, Time magazine makes this observation: “Latin leaders point out that largely because of interest payments, their financial resources are being drained away to countries like the U.S. at the rate of about $30 billion a year. This has become a kind of reverse foreign aid with the poor giving to the rich.”

The roller coaster also affects the wealthier countries of the world. According to the Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1984, the amount of money borrowed by the United States government continues to increase. Money borrowed, or public debt, increased from $43 billion in 1940 to a staggering $1.1 trillion dollars in 1982. Just the interest on this debt increased from $1 billion in 1940 to $117 billion in 1982.

Interest and Debt​—The Bible’s View

The nation of Israel of ancient times remained financially stable, provided they obeyed God’s laws. Where these laws were disobeyed, the Israelites truly suffered. The 5th chapter of Nehemiah refers to interest being charged. However, because of the situation, in this case it was completely improper. Homes, vineyards, and even children were being used as interest on money borrowed just to maintain sustenance during food shortages.

Does this mean that a person should not lend or borrow money? No! Psalm 37:21 tells us, “The wicked one is borrowing and does not pay back.” This does not condemn the lending of money but places the requirement on the borrower to repay his debt. An Israelite could even sell himself into service as payment for a debt. (Leviticus 25:39, 40) In one of his illustrations, Jesus himself implied that drawing interest on money deposited with the bankers would be proper.​—Matthew 25:26, 27.

God’s laws written to the nation of Israel did not always condemn the charging of interest. Often foreign merchants were in Israel. The merchant’s aim was personal profit. He could certainly be expected to pay interest. (Deuteronomy 23:20) However, interest was not to be charged to an Israelite brother where there was a need. Economic reverses could have caused temporary needs for clothing or food. Leviticus 25:37 states, “You must not give him your money on interest, and you must not give your food out on usury.”

Today’s roller-coaster ride is causing many hardships. As these hardships grow in intensity, are the moneylenders applying Bible principles regarding interest? Have interest rates affected you? Will the world’s financial markets collapse because of an out-of-control roller coaster interest-rate ride? The Bible’s reminder is, “Whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap.”​—Galatians 6:7.

[Footnotes]

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Home-Mortgage-Rate History

1958-83

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Home-Mortgage Cost $50,000 for 30 Years

$ In thousands

250

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0

Interest

Interest

Loan

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Young People Ask . . .

Unwed Motherhood​—Could It Happen to Me?

Robin figured it was her appendix. And when the nagging pain refused to go away, she decided it would be wise to see a doctor. She did not expect, though, a pregnancy test.

Nor did she expect to be told that the test was positive.

“My mind went completely blank at the news,” recalls Robin. “I lay on the table as if I had lost my mind. I couldn’t think about what was going to happen to me. I couldn’t think about how I was going to tell my mother and father. It wasn’t until I phoned my boyfriend and told him I was pregnant that it really hit me.”

EVERY year in the United States, well over a milliona unwed teenage girls receive the grim news that they are pregnant. Says Teenage Pregnancy: The Problem That Hasn’t Gone Away: “More than one in 10 teenagers gets pregnant each year, and the proportion is rising. If patterns do not change, four in 10 young women will get pregnant at least once while still in their teens.”

‘Could it happen to me?’ a young girl might therefore wonder.

Unwed Mothers on the Rise​—Why?

That so many young girls are becoming unwed mothers seems puzzling. Liberalized abortion laws and the easy availability of contraceptives have sparked the so-called sexual revolution. ‘At last,’ reason many, ‘young people can enjoy sexual intimacy without consequences.’ Yet teen pregnancies continue to occur at alarming rates. What accounts for this? Could it be that the unwed mother fits some sort of peculiar personality profile?

Some have theorized along these lines. For example, many unwed mothers come from poor families. Some therefore conclude that such girls simply have low moral standards. Others, though, attribute unwed motherhood to poor mother-daughter relations or even stress. Most shocking of all, though, is the contention that unwed mothers actually want to become pregnant, that having a baby fills some strong need for affection, or that they use pregnancy to trap a man into marriage.

Robin, however, laughs bitterly at such notions. For although at the time she wasn’t a member of the Christian congregation, she believed​—and continues to believe—​that premarital sex is wrong. (Research shows that unwed mothers from poor families indeed have moral standards​—though failing to live by them.) Further, she was experiencing no breakdown in family relations, nor was she trying to trap her boyfriend into marriage. “I wasn’t in love with him,” she admits. Yet Robin became pregnant.

Actually, it is the rare teenager who deliberately sets out to become pregnant. Why, then, unwed mothers? An article by Jerome D. Paulker draws this painfully obvious conclusion: “Out-of-wedlock babies are the result neither of the stork nor a desire for an out-of-wedlock child, but are rather the result of sexual intercourse.”​—Quoted in Unplanned Parenthood.

Sowing Without Reaping?

The rise in unwed motherhood therefore underscores the wisdom of the Bible’s counsel at Acts 15:29 to ‘abstain from fornication.’ Interestingly, that Bible verse further says: “If you carefully keep yourselves from these things, you will prosper. Good health to you!” True, few youths today heed this good advice. Reports the Alan Guttmacher Institute: “On average, teenagers begin sexual activity at about age 16. It is the exceptional young person who has not had premarital intercourse by age 19.” But what is wrong with being “exceptional” or different? Certainly, the girl who has the courage to say no to premarital sex will not experience the trauma of an unwanted pregnancy.

Some, though, feel it is possible to escape the consequences of violating God’s moral standards. The Alan Guttmacher Institute, for example, recommends a program of “realistic sex education, an expanded network of preventive family planning services . . . availability and accessibility of legal abortion services.” But is sanctioning permissiveness really practical? True, many youths are abysmally ignorant of the facts of life. Parents often fail to discuss such intimate matters with their children. Sex-education programs have likewise proved inadequate.

It is also true that ignorance of sexual matters is far from bliss. In his landmark study of over 400 pregnant teenagers, Frank Furstenberg, Jr., observed that “most remarked repeatedly in the interviews, ‘I never thought it would happen to me.’” Why? They were often filled with erroneous ideas. Because many of them knew friends who seemed to get away with having sexual relations, they figured they could too. Furstenberg also states: “A number mentioned that they did not think it was possible to become pregnant ‘right away.’ Others thought that if they had sexual relations only ‘every once in a while’ they would not become pregnant . . . The longer they went without conceiving, the more likely they were to assume greater risks.”b

Nevertheless, neither sex education nor birth control will prevent violators of God’s Word from ‘reaping what they sow.’

No Guarantee

Obviously, young people need accurate information about reproduction. And it is best that they obtain such from their parents. It may not be easy for them to talk about sex, but most parents will try.

Mere knowledge, however, will not prevent a girl from becoming an unwed mother​—if she engages in promiscuous sex. Robin, for example, knew about pregnancy and birth control. Yet she used nothing to prevent pregnancy. Why? For one thing, she feared​—as do many youths—​that using the pill would damage her health. However, she further admits: “For me to obtain birth control, I would have had to admit to myself that I was doing something wrong. I couldn’t do that. So I just blocked what I was doing out of my mind and hoped nothing would happen.”

Yes, girls who engage in premarital sex often find themselves tormented by their consciences! The Bible, at Romans 2:14, 15, shows that even non-Christians can be conscience-stricken if they violate moral standards. In Furstenberg’s aforementioned study, “nearly half of the teenagers stated that it was very important for a woman to wait until marriage to begin to have sex . . . Undeniably, there was an obvious discrepancy between the words and the deeds . . . They had acquired one set of standards and had learned to live by another.” This emotional conflict “made it especially difficult for these women to deal realistically with the consequences of their sexual behavior.”

True, many young people manage to silence the cries of their consciences and use birth control. But is this a guarantee that one will escape unwed motherhood? The book Kids Having Kids reminds us: “Every method has a failure rate. . . . Even if unmarried teens consistently use birth control methods . . . 500,000 would still become pregnant each year.” A 16-year-old unwed mother named Pat is then quoted as lamenting: “I took [birth-control pills] faithfully. I honestly never missed a day.”

‘You Reap What You Sow’

The words written in the Bible some two thousand years ago have thus proved true: “Do not be misled: God is not one to be mocked. For whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap.” (Galatians 6:7) Of course, it is fornication that God’s Word condemns​—not marital pregnancy. Pregnancy is just one of the ways one can reap an unpleasant harvest from fornication.

Practicing fornication can have an effect even more devastating than pregnancy. It prevents a person from having a clean, acceptable standing before God. “For this is what God wills,” says the Bible, “that you abstain from fornication.” (1 Thessalonians 4:3) But there can be hope for those who have become entrapped in immorality. They may turn around and come to God with the repentant attitude of King David, who wrote: “Show me favor, O God, according to your loving-kindness. According to the abundance of your mercies wipe out my transgressions. Thoroughly wash me from my error, and cleanse me even from my sin.”​—Psalm 51:1, 2.

The risks of premarital sex​—physically and spiritually—​are great. Do not be fooled by those who say you can ‘get away with it.’

[Footnotes]

[Blurb on page 14]

‘I took the pill faithfully. I honestly never missed a day.’​—A 16-year-old unwed mother.

[Picture on page 13]

Many young people refuse to face the possible consequences of their actions

A Verbal Crutch, You Know?

Often without realizing it, millions of people daily use verbal “crutches.” These might be words, phrases, or even sounds that add nothing to the meaning of what is being said. Then why are they used? To reassure the person speaking, to carry him over an awkward moment in the conversation, or they are simply an unconscious habit.

One crutch that has crept into English is the oft-used “You know,” sometimes corrupted to “Y’know.” Writer and broadcaster Edwin Newman asked the question in his book Strictly Speaking, “Can a phrase be repealed? I have in mind Y’know. The prevalence of Y’know is one of the most far-reaching and depressing developments of our time, disfiguring conversation wherever you go. . . . Once it takes its grip, Y’know is hard to throw off. . . . It is not uncommon to hear Y’know used a dozen times in a minute.”

Why is it worth while to pay attention to the quality of our speech? Newman comments: “Direct and precise language, if people could be persuaded to try it, would make conversations more interesting, which is no small thing; it would help to substitute facts for bluster, also no small thing; and it would promote the practice of organized thought and even of occasional silence, which would be an immeasurable blessing.”

Putting Work First​—Is It Satisfying?

In Japan, wage earners are often transferred to new locations with a promotion and increased pay. But more often than not, this means that the head of the house has to move to another city away from his family. Among reasons for the family’s not moving are: aged parents, disruption of children’s schooling, and the recent purchase of the house the family is living in. But the results are sometimes tragic: a broken home, divorce, and even suicide. The Mainichi Daily News calls it “‘Unhealthy’ Lifestyle for Company Profit.”

Current surveys indicate that more and more workers feel that the company should not be of first concern. Would they put their families first? Actually, it appears that there is a trend among the Japanese to spend more time on personal pursuits apart from the family.

That the present life-style is not fully satisfying may be reflected in the record number of suicides in Japan in 1983. In the worst outbreak of suicide since records started being kept in 1947, 25,202 killed themselves. Nearly half of the male suicides were in their 40’s and 50’s. Fittingly, an editorial in the Mainichi Daily News suggests that “men must free themselves from the way of life regulated by the spirit of ‘the organization.’”

In contrast, men who have studied the Bible with their families make better parents and have a more satisfying homelife. While they are good providers, they have learned what to put first and, as a result, enjoy meaningful lives with prospects of everlasting benefits.

Those Amazing Singing Whales!

Who else can make fishing nets out of bubbles, turn 40-ton backflips, and hold concerts under water?

“KEEP your eyes on that light-green slick to the right of the boat!” There was a rush to that side of the boat, and I was just in time to see the huge gaping mouth shoot up through the center of the slick. As it took in a couple of barrelfuls of water, the pleated throat ballooned out under the weight of its load. The upper jaw, its curtain of fringed baleen plates hanging down like an oversized broom, closed over the pool just engulfed.

I had just seen a humpback whale grab a bite to eat.

Two hours earlier, some 30 passengers and crew had sailed from Gloucester, Massachusetts, on the Daunty II for a day of whale watching. Mason Weinrich, director of the Cetacean Research Unit located there, and author of Observations: The Humpback Whales of Stellwagen Bank, had made some general comments about the humpbacks. We had seen some of their spouts in the distance, and a few closer to us had arched up for a breath of air. And those knobs so noticeable on the humpback’s head? Hair follicles, we were told. Each one contains one or two short hairs, believed to act as sensors, like a cat’s whiskers.

Then came Weinrich’s sudden cry that halted all inquiries and sent us scrambling to the right side of the boat and to our first close-range view of a humpback feeding. It was only the beginning of the excitement. After all, it takes several bites to fill a stomach that holds 1,300 pounds (590 kg)!

“Where we are, here on the Stellwagen Bank,” Weinrich said, “the humpbacks feed primarily on sand lance, a small fast-swimming baitfish. In order to capture them in sufficient numbers, the humpback uses a strategy known as bubble clouding. The whale releases a blast of bubbles underwater that surfaces as a large, light-green slick. Just what this does is not known. Maybe it confuses or concentrates the sand lance or disguises the whale. Whatever it does, it works. Some 10 or 20 seconds after the bubble cloud appears on the surface, the whale comes up in the center of the slick with mouth agape, as you’ve just seen.”

Weinrich then explained what happened next: “You saw the series of pleats on the throat expand as the water poured into his lower jaw. These pleats extend down to the middle of the belly and are separated from the body by a wall of muscle and connective tissue. When they balloon out with the inrushing flood, they form a very large storage basin for both water and prey. Next, as the mouth partially closes, the muscles in the pleats contract like an accordion. At the same time the tongue exerts pressure, and the water is pushed out of the whale’s mouth. But the small fish stay behind, strained out by the baleen plates. Incidentally,” Weinrich added, “those baleen plates were once used to make corset stays.”

Fishing Nets Made With Bubbles

“The bubble clouds used by the humpbacks on Stellwagen Bank,” he told us, “would not work in Alaskan waters where the krill are not densely concentrated. There the humpbacks use a bubble net to concentrate and trap their prey.”

Later I saw in National Geographic a picture of this bubble net and a description of how it works: The “ingenious hunter solves the problem of herding scattered morsels into a bite-size feast by blowing a bubble ‘net.’ Like a giant undersea spider spinning its web, the humpback begins perhaps fifty feet deep, forcing bursts of air through its blowhole while swimming in an upward spiral. Big bubbles, followed by a mist of tiny ones, rise to create a cylindrical screen that concentrates krill and small fish. Bubbles and food pop to the surface, followed by the gaping mouth of the whale as it emerges in the center of its net.”

Humpback “Fingerprints”

But right now on our whale watch I was seeing and learning more about the humpbacks on Stellwagen Bank. I was especially impressed with one thing. That day we saw some 20 different humpbacks, and Weinrich could call out the name of every one if he saw the underside of their flukes. No two humpbacks have the same fluke markings. For identification, they are as reliable as fingerprints! A very useful thing for researchers in this field. Once photographed, that same whale could be identified by this photograph wherever it might go, into whatever ocean it might roam.

During the past several years, thousands of humpback flukes have been photographed, filed, cataloged, and computerized at the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, Maine. By 1984, over 3,000 had been recorded. New photographs of whales sighted can be compared with this master file and either be identified by it or be added to it.

The humpbacks that day showed us many interesting maneuvers. They would be underwater with only their tails showing and then repeatedly slap the water with their flukes​—lobtailing. They would rest with their heads poked up out of the water and gaze all around​—spy-hopping. From the surface they would dive down with a graceful arc of their bodies, their large flukes swinging up into the air in a good-bye wave, the black-and-white undersides being the last things seen, as if flashing their nameplates before disappearing. The most dramatic maneuver they showed us, however, was breaching​—leaping explosively from the sea, then crashing down with a dreadful smack, splitting the water and momentarily opening up a canyon in the sea!

Breathing, Diving, Birthing

This whale watch whetted my interest to know more. Whales have many specialties. One enables them to breathe while sleeping. Whales breathe through blowholes in the top of their heads. The two tight-fitting lips are closed when relaxed, thus keeping water out of its two small nostrils. To breathe, the whale must voluntarily open its blowholes​—breathing is not automatic as in land mammals. This presents a problem during sleep. The whale must order the blowholes to open for each breath. How can it sleep yet breathe? Weinrich answers: “It is now thought that whales and dolphins may sleep with half of their brain at a time, allowing the other half to control voluntary breathing and maintain buoyancy.”

Another special design is for preventing the bends while diving deep. The air in the lungs is compressed under the pressure of the ocean depths, making it possible for nitrogen to leak into the blood. When the whale surfaces, that nitrogen would expand, forming bubbles that would block circulation and cause the bends. To minimize that danger, the whale’s lungs are relatively small, reducing the amount of nitrogen present. Yet, to gain more oxygen the whale exchanges most of the air in its lungs with each breath. People may exchange only 15 to 20 percent in one breath, but the whale exchanges 85 to 90 percent.

Also, the whale stores oxygen differently. People store 34 percent of their oxygen in their lungs, 41 percent in their blood, and only 13 percent in their muscles, plus 12 percent in other tissues. Whales, however, store only 9 percent in their lungs but 41 percent in their muscles, where it is quickly available for use. Of the remaining oxygen, 41 percent is in the blood and 9 percent in other tissues. On a long dive, oxygenated blood is restricted to vital organs. Other body functions are greatly slowed. Incidentally, the sperm whale seems to be the champion diver. It goes down 3,000 feet (910 m) and remains down 90 minutes. Humpbacks go down at most 1,200 feet (370 m).

Birthing in whales is unique. The young are generally born headfirst in mammals, but in whales it must be tailfirst. This is necessary so that a newborn doesn’t inhale underwater and drown. Getting up to the surface for that first breath is the most important minute of that whale’s life. At birth the baby is 10 feet (3 m) long and weighs a ton (900 kg).

“Gentlest of Giants”

“Humpbacks have a reputation for being gentle, but forty tons is forty tons!” With this thought in mind, marine biologist Sylvia Earle apprehensively slipped into the water to meet for the first time humpbacks in their own element. But when one of the graceful giants swept by and its “great eye tilted slightly” to take notice of her, she stopped worrying about encounters with these “gentlest of giants.”

Her sentiments seem to be shared by all. Deborah Glockner-Ferrari, researcher off Maui, in Hawaii, noted the gentleness of the humpbacks, especially expressed between mother and calf: “They are very sensitive to each other. Touching appears to be very important to them. The mother will caress the calf with its flipper. The calf may rest under the mother’s chin.” Jacques Cousteau adds his testimony: “Even among giants, the act of nursing one’s young has an air of tender familial intimacy about it. While the calf is nursing, the mother whale’s flippers play such a large role that they almost seem to be arms cradling the young one. The whale lies on her side and holds the baby with her flippers while he nurses.” And those embracing flippers are 15 feet (4.5 m) long, the biggest among whales.

These gentle giants do get around. They migrate 4,000 to 6,000 miles (6,400 to 9,700 km) annually. Some claim that routes do not always follow set patterns of north-south migrations, that humpbacks border on being nomads. They summer in the cold northern waters of the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, feeding voraciously and putting on layers of blubber. Then off to winter in shallow tropical seas in the Caribbean, Baja California, and Hawaii, busily giving birth, courting, mating, and singing. No eating for months, but

Oh, That Singing!

At night in a small sailboat with his wife, far from land and feeling the loneliness of the sea, Roger Payne lowered a pair of hydrophones into the water, switched on the amplifiers, and listened through the headphones. “We were no longer alone! Instead, we were surrounded by a vast and joyous chorus of sounds that poured up out of the sea and overflowed its rim. The spaces and vaults of the ocean, like a festive palace hall, reverberated and thundered with the cries of whales​—sounds that boomed, echoed, swelled, and vanished as they wove together like strands in some vast and tangled web of glorious sound. I felt instantly at ease, all sense of desolation brushed aside by the sheer ebullience of it all. All that night we were borne along by those lovely, dancing, yodeling cries, sailing on a sea of unearthly music.”

There may be singing by a whale soloist, a duet, or a chorus of many voices. Each whale sings the same song but not necessarily in unison with the others. They do not sing mechanically but compose as they go along. The song one year is different from that of other years. This year’s song starts out the same as last year’s, but the whales start improvising and soon the song is entirely new. They are not merely singers, they are composers. Every year a new song​—and every whale sings only the new song. They sing only when wintering in warm waters. During the six months of summer, no singing; still, when they resume singing the following season, they use last year’s song to start with​—a striking display of their powers of memory!

Although the songs change from year to year, the structure remains the same. All the songs have about six themes, each theme with several identical or slowly changing phrases and each phrase with two to five sounds. Songs by whales in different oceans are different, but all stick to the same structure.

A complete song may last six minutes or half an hour, may be repeated continuously for 24 hours, and may be heard by other whales 20 or 30 miles (30 or 50 km) away. Scientists have said of their songs: “Possibly the most complicated songs in the animal kingdom.” “The most elaborate display in the animal kingdom.”

Divers underwater with the singing whales give their impressions: “Underwater the song was so intense that we could feel the sound as the air spaces in our heads and bodies resonated.” “Heard at close range, the songs are unforgettable​—resonant and throbbing.” “The sound was incredible, like drums on my chest.” How the songs are generated is a mystery. Humpbacks have no vocal cords. No bubbles are expelled during the singing. Why they sing is not known, though it is thought it may be in connection with courting and aggressive male behavior. Research indicates that the males are the singers.

The prospect for whales is precarious. Are the humpbacks themselves endangered? Some 100,000 strong a century ago, their ranks have been decimated by whalers. Only 7,000 to 10,000 remain. These marvelous creations butchered for dog and cat food. How sad! Some hope came in 1966: The International Whaling Commission placed them under protection. Did it come too late?

If someday the humpbacks are gone, gone also will be their fishing nets made of bubbles, their 40-ton backflips, their gentle treatment of their own and of man, their journeys without road maps across vast oceans, and gone also will be their wild and eerie songs that once resounded throughout the seas of the earth.

In 1977, Voyagers 1 and 2, launched from Cape Canaveral, carried recordings of the songs of the humpback whales. Is this all that will remain of their songs, to sail silently in outer space for a billion years, heard by no one? Or will the amazing singing whales continue composing and singing their concerts in the seas of the world, to enthrall future generations who will appreciate the many marvelous creatures that grace land and sea? (Psalm 104:24, 25) Only time will tell.​—By an Awake! staff writer.

[Pictures on page 16]

Top: The throat pleats balloon out as the water and fish pour in

Bottom: The humpback’s tongue (not shown here) exerts pressure as the pleats contract and the water is expelled, but the small fish remain behind

[Picture Credit Line on page 16]

All photographs in this article by courtesy of Mason T. Weinrich, director of the Cetacean Research Unit, Gloucester, Massachusetts.

[Picture on page 17]

The sea gulls gather for the “crumbs” that fall from the humpback’s table

[Picture on page 18]

Coming up for a bite to eat

[Pictures on page 19]

Top: This is Beltane, recognized by the black-and-white pattern on the undersides of its flukes

Bottom: And this is Mosaic, identified by its flukes, scarred and mutilated by killer whales

[Picture on page 20]

A humpback launching itself upward for a breach

[Picture on page 21]

The mighty flukes of the humpback leave a waterfall as they flip up and disappear into the depths

Ancestor Worship​—Why It Persists

By “Awake!” correspondent in South Africa

“WESTERN civilisation,” wrote Protestant missionary Willoughby back in 1928, “is enough of itself to seal the doom of ancestor-worship as a living religion.” Contrary to prediction, though, ancestor worship continues to thrive in Africa. Many live in fear of dead ancestors. And when illness strikes, many still consult spirit mediums and witch doctors in hopes that the ancestral spirits of the patients can cure them.

Why, though, does ancestor worship persist in spite of Christendom’s strenuous efforts to eradicate it? Note what the Encyclopædia Britannica says: “Ancestor-worship has its parallels in Christian cults of the dead and of the saints.” Such “parallels” are due to Christendom’s belief in an immortal soul. Ironically, then, Christendom’s missionaries have done little more than reinforce the African belief that dead ancestors can help and harm. Says Dr. Ngubane in the book Body and Mind in Zulu Medicine: “Usually a Christian Zulu living in a chiefdom [tribal area] does not find Christian beliefs and ancestral beliefs incompatible.”

Even some spirit mediums and witch doctors have found a home in Christendom’s churches. A survey taken by Dr. Chavunduka of the University of Zimbabwe revealed that among 145 traditional healers were Methodists, Roman Catholics, Anglicans, Seventh-Day Adventists, and members of the Dutch Reformed Church. “Membership of a church does not prevent an individual from participating in traditional religion,” he concluded.

Another reason why ancestor worship flourishes is the shortage of modern medical personnel. With less than one doctor for every 5,000 Africans, some areas receive only periodic visits by mobile clinics. Traditional healers, diviners, and witch doctors, however, abound. It is therefore simply easier to find a witch doctor than a university-trained doctor.

Surprisingly, many patients are quite satisfied with the treatment they receive. “The ministrations of these healers,” wrote psychiatrists Griffiths and Cheetham in the South African Medical Journal, “appear to have proved significantly effective in alleviating both physical and emotional disturbances, and in the authors’ view they continue to represent a major therapeutic resource within African society . . . Even when Black patients recognize the value and efficiency of Western therapy this is often but a partial acceptance, and many . . . attend the iSangoma [spirit medium] subsequent to hospital treatment in order to ‘complete’ their cure.”

Some health authorities have therefore decided that rather than try to stamp out such “healers,” they should work with them. In 1979, for example, the Catholic Church lent its support to the “Primary Health Training for Indigenous Healers Project” in Ghana. By 1980, 41 traditional healers had been trained in Western medical techniques. “This project,” concluded anthropologist Dr. Warren, “reflects a changing attitude towards the indigenous healer, an invaluable ally in the quest for improved health conditions.”

In the past, the churches opposed spirit mediums and witch doctors. Now they have changed their tactics. While endorsing modern medical trends, they try to retain the support of church members who still cling to ancestral beliefs.

Who Is Responsible?

Why, though, are African traditional healers so often successful in effecting cures? No doubt some of the herbs prescribed have medicinal value. Too, some psychosomatic effect may be involved. Nevertheless, some diseases that have baffled Western medical science seem to respond to the treatment of diviners and witch doctors! Could herbs, alone, be responsible? Not likely. Is it possible, then, that dead ones are really helping the living?

Not so, according to Catholic medical missionary Dr. Kohler. He passed off the activities of African diviners as the work of “clever crooks or crazy cranks.” Indeed, many in Christendom blush at the thought of acknowledging the existence of invisible, superhuman forces.

Belief in such forces, however, cannot so easily be brushed aside. For example, at a seminar held some years ago at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, on the theme “Witchcraft and Healing,” a Professor Jahoda said: “Many of the students I taught there were highly intelligent people . . . I was then struck by the fact that many of them seemed strongly convinced of the existence of a great many phenomena which their peers in this country would reject out of hand.”

‘Might there be something to ancestor worship after all?’ wonder some. The Bible clearly answers: “For the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5) When a person dies, “his spirit goes out, he goes back to his ground; in that day his thoughts do perish.” (Psalm 146:4) There is no immortal soul to perform cures or to terrify living ones. For the Bible clearly shows that “the soul that is sinning​—it itself will die.” (Ezekiel 18:4; Romans 3:23) What, then, accounts for all the phenomena associated with ancestor worship? Wicked spirit creatures (demons) led by Satan the Devil! (Revelation 12:9, 12) Apparently, Satan’s demon followers delight in misleading humans by posing as deceased ancestors.​—Compare 1 Samuel 28:7-19.

True, Christendom’s clergy often vehemently deny the existence of demons. But Jesus Christ himself had a personal encounter with Satan the Devil. (Luke 4:1-13) The Bible even tells of his casting evil spirits out of demon-possessed victims. (Luke 4:33-37; 8:27-33; 9:37-42) Ancestor worshipers are thus unwittingly cooperating with man’s greatest enemy​—Satan!

Freed From Fear of the Dead

By introducing people to these Bible truths, Jehovah’s Witnesses have helped free many Africans from fearing and worshiping the dead. This has not always been easy. One 19-year-old boy named Thembukwazi began a study of the Bible. After learning that ancestor worship is wrong, he refused to thank his dead ancestors at a family ritual. This so offended his family that he eventually had to leave home. In fact, a family of Jehovah’s Witnesses that accommodated him was threatened with murder! Thembukwazi, though, continued studying the Bible and in 1979 was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

A woman named Alphina likewise had a struggle breaking free from superstitious worship. A minister of the Nazarene Church in Hammarsdale, South Africa, introduced her to spiritism. Inviting her to stay in one of his homes, he promised that she would be given a “special gift” from her ancestors if she did so. She accepted his invitation, but soon problems developed. “I began to face an intense attack of wicked spirits,” Alphina recalls. “My body would shake violently and then it would feel as if my muscles were torn by a sharp instrument.” Soon, though, she received the “gift”​—powers of “miraculous healing”! However, demon attacks continued, and after four years she left the church in despair.

Later she was contacted by one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, who began teaching her the Bible. “It became quite clear to me that those whom I thought were my ancestors were really wicked spirits. So after I destroyed things pertaining to demonism,” she says, “I was freed from wicked spirits.”​—Acts 19:18-20.

A Witch Doctor Abandons Ancestor Worship

Young Simon had advanced from spirit medium to witch doctor. “Does the Bible forbid a person to become a spirit medium or a witch doctor?” he asked his cousin Joyce, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. “Yes,” she replied, showing him the Bible passage at Deuteronomy 18:10-12, which says: “There should not be found in you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, anyone who employs divination, a practicer of magic or anyone who looks for omens or a sorcerer, or one who binds others with a spell or anyone who consults a spirit medium or a professional foreteller of events or anyone who inquires of the dead. For everybody doing these things is something detestable to Jehovah, and on account of these detestable things Jehovah your God is driving them away from before you.”

Often those who feel they have received a “calling” to be witch doctors fear that giving up their craft could be fatal. Yet Simon’s interest was aroused and he agreed to having a regular Bible study.

“During the initial studies,” explains Joyce, “he would sometimes experience a demon attack. I would see his whole body begin to shake. I began to pray every time the attack started and the demon would depart. Because of these attacks, I decided to study with Simon out of the booklet Unseen Spirits​—Do They Help Us? or Do They Harm Us?a I also began opening each study with prayer, asking Jehovah God to help us so that we would not be troubled by demons. A demon never interrupted our Bible studies again.”​—Matthew 6:9, 13.

In time, Simon was moved to give up his practice as witch doctor, throwing all the items connected with witchcraft into a river. “Such a thing is considered dangerous in African society,” Joyce explains, “and Simon’s father was worried. He reported the matter to the witch doctor who had trained Simon. This man said that Simon would be killed by his ancestors for disobeying them.”

But Simon is still alive! Indeed, in 1983 Simon was baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. “I am happy that Jehovah helped me to break away from the worship of demons,” says Simon.

So are the thousands more who have likewise been freed from the fear of dead ancestors!

[Footnotes]

[Blurb on page 24]

The teachings of Christendom worked to reinforce ancestor worship among Africans

[Blurb on page 25]

Jehovah’s Witnesses help people to understand that the dead are really unconscious

From Our Readers​—Response on Child Molesting

THE January 22, 1985, issue of Awake! carried a three-part series entitled “Child Molesting​—You Can Protect Your Child.” In today’s world, this unpleasant subject is one of which parents must become aware, and many of our readers wrote letters expressing gratitude for the information presented. We would like to share some of their expressions.

“Your Suggestions Were Very Helpful”

Here is part of a letter from the United States: “Thank you so much for the information on child molesting. As children, both my sister and I were molested by a cousin. Now we both have families and want to do all we can to protect our children. We will surely be applying the sound advice found in this article.”

From the United States: “I really appreciated your article ‘Child Molesting​—You Can Protect Your Child.’ Your suggestions were very helpful and simple. I have a couple I would like to share with you: It can be dangerous for children to have their names on their shirts. They are more likely to go with a stranger who knows their name. Also, when children are naughty, parents often threaten them, saying: ‘The police will get you!’ This makes children afraid and perhaps unwilling to approach the police if they ever need help.”

From the United States: “After having re-read the January 22 issue of Awake! on child molesting, I want you to know that it is one of the best I have read. Naturally I wish we had had this information several years ago, before my two beautiful granddaughters were so terribly and unmercifully abused. But if it prevents some other child from suffering as they have, I shall be glad.”

“I Was a Victim”

Many letters confirmed the terrible damage done by child molestation. For example, here is a letter from England: “Thank you for the recent articles on the subject of child molestation. I was a victim of child abuse and experienced feelings similar to those reported in your article. Even now, after so many years, I have to restrain myself because I get very emotional when I read or hear of these things happening to children.”

Another letter from England says: “I was a victim of incest over a period of years beginning when I was about five. The offender was my stepfather. What I experienced at his hands was so traumatic for my young mind that much of it was submerged in my subconsciousness until only a few months ago. The memories, once triggered, emerged like some sort of nightmare.

“Some people may regard your article as an overreaction and may feel shocked about telling their little ones about what to do if someone​—even a close relative—​should touch their private body parts or ask them to look at or touch theirs. I have a message for those people: ‘The advice in the article is excellent.’”

“Who Would Believe You?”

Some letters shed light on the tactics of molesters. A reader in England writes: “As a young child, I was abused by an older man whom I had a lot of respect for. As your article brought out, the indecent fondling (which is what it was restricted to) was disguised as playing and tickling. It left me with tremendous feelings of guilt and shame.”

A reader from the United States reminds us that it is not only adults who molest children. She writes: “I warned my children about adults, never imagining that it would be a nine-and-a-half-year-old girl who would improperly fondle my four-year-old daughter.”

Another reader from England tells us: “My foster father was a judge; therefore, when he started to molest me, I didn’t think there was anything wrong. When I got to the age of 12, I knew it was wrong but was unable to tell anyone, for he had drummed into me: ‘Who would believe you? And don’t be ungrateful. Look at all the things you’ve got.’ In my early teens my brothers and an uncle abused me. So by the age of 14, I was using drugs, thinking this was my only way to happiness. I grew up being very promiscuous, which was the only way I could afford the drugs. I’d like to thank you again for the article. I can now make sure my son will never have to go through the pain I had.”

A reader in the United States writes: “I just finished reading the article on ‘Child Molesting’ in the January 22, 1985, issue of Awake! I could not hold back the tears from my eyes because I, too, was molested. It happened when I was five. The molester was a man that my mother was dating. While my mother was away and my brothers were out playing, this man would take sexual liberties with me. I have been trying to forget, trying to blot it out of my mind, trying to pretend that it was a bad dream, but it was not a dream. It actually did happen, and for all these years (I am now 27) I have never told anyone. Thank you for the article on child molesting. It gave me the courage to write this letter.”

These are just a few of the many letters received that show the frightening scope of the problem. We are living in truly decadent times. (2 Timothy 3:1, 3) There have even been cases involving Christian families, which had to be handled by the congregation elders! Never forget that while child molesting is usually a sin committed by adults, it is children who carry the burden. It is tragic that so many children are being robbed of their childhood by adults who have no self-control. The emotional wounds inflicted on these young ones may last a whole lifetime!

[Box on page 27]

Alert Use of Awake! in Oregon

When the January 22, 1985, issue of Awake! arrived in Oregon, U.S.A., Joy, a minister of Jehovah’s Witnesses, went with a friend to show the articles on child molesting to the local police sergeant in charge of crime prevention. He revealed that he was just on his way to the local community college to set up a seminar on child molesting, so he took a copy of the magazine along. That afternoon, he contacted Joy and said he would like to use the magazine in the seminar. Joy alertly told him about the April 22, 1984, issue of Awake!, which featured a series of articles about missing children. The police sergeant ordered 200 copies of each magazine in order to give one to each person in attendance at the seminar.

Later, the police sergeant increased his order to 250 copies of each issue so that there would be some available to use in the local police Helpline Support programs. He also recommended that Joy contact the local Children’s Service Department. She followed his advice and was able to give her presentation before a group of 20 counselors during an orientation seminar. The group took her remaining copies of both issues of the magazine.

Childhood Lost

“Childhood has virtually been lost to children,” states London’s Daily Mail. “They know everything too quickly, are over-exposed to everything, and there are no social controls which guide their behaviour any more.” The reason for these conclusions lies in two reports: One is by AMMA (Britain’s Assistant Masters and Mistresses Association), and the other, an American study by Marie Winn, published in Britain, Children Without Childhood: Growing Up Too Fast in the World of Sex and Drugs.

Children as young as five years of age are increasingly belligerent, disrespectful of other children’s property; they lack respect for adults, and use obscene language, according to the many reports coming in. Most teachers surveyed by AMMA feel that parents are spoiling their children and that this is the root cause of the increase in children’s unsocial behavior. Of the teachers surveyed, 86 percent blame “lack of clear standards and expectations at home”; 82 percent point to a “lack of parental example” as the culprit.

In addition, the two reports cite broken homes, poor examples by teachers, and overindulgence in television watching as reasons for children’s appalling manners. “We are all guilty,” confesses the Daily Mail. “We have devised a society which is wholly unsuited to the raising of children. With easy acceptance of divorce and live-in relationships, we have destroyed the family. With a permissive attitude to discipline we have removed sanctions.”

Children are in constant need of kind but firm correction and discipline. As the wise man Solomon observed: “Foolishness is tied up with the heart of a boy; the rod of discipline is what will remove it far from him.” Children also need to see in their parents and teachers a good example of proper behavior because “everyone that is perfectly instructed will be like his teacher.”​—Proverbs 22:15; Luke 6:40.

Watching the World

Merchants of Death

“The buildup in conventional weapons has been so continuous, so worldwide and so massive that it may have passed the point when rational arguments and responsible conduct can stop it,” says the National Catholic Reporter in reviewing a new book entitled American Arms Supermarket, by Michael T. Klare. According to Klare, the United States sells 34 percent of the world total of arms and the Soviet Union 29 percent. Says the review: “The United States keeps advancing altruistic and strategic reasons for its role as the number one arms supplier in the world,” reasoning that arms sales win friends and that if it did not sell these arms “the Third World might well buy their weapons from the Soviet Union.” But “little attention has been paid to the dangers to world peace by the very presence of these vast arsenals in politically unstable nations.”

“Unfruitful Crime”

Approximately 70 to 80 percent of bank robberies are solved compared to 25 percent for other robberies, says The Wall Street Journal in a report on “Unfruitful Crime.” Nevertheless, bank robberies rose 71 percent between 1976 and 1980. This compares with a 45-percent rise for street robberies, 47 percent for robberies of convenience stores, 17 percent for homes, and 5 percent for gas stations. “In the mid-1970s, narcotics users began showing up in the statistics [for bank robberies],” says Nicholas V. O’Hara of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. “In the old days, they (criminals) worked up to banks. Now, they are looking for big scores.” But a bank heist averaged only $6,327 in 1983. A 44-year-old bank robber, now serving time, says: “Seven thousand dollars may be a lot of money to a 19-year-old, but for a man with responsibility $7,000 is no money. It’s kid stuff.”

Deep-Sea Plants

Since sunlight rarely penetrates deeper than 590 feet (180 m) underwater, it came as a big surprise when two botanists found plants living 879 feet (268 m) below the ocean surface off the coast of the Bahamas, reports Newscience of the Ontario Science Centre. One of the varieties, hard-shelled red algae, is a hundred times more efficient at capturing and using light than its shallow-water relatives are. One reason for this is the alga’s unique structure. Its cell walls are exceptionally thin and the cells are stacked in columns, one atop the other, so that any light hitting the top cells can penetrate to the lower cells.

Happy Marriages

“The ability to talk over problems is more important than how much a couple are in love or how happy the couple were before the marriage,” reports The New York Times in summarizing the results of recent studies on durable marriages. “All couples go through ups and downs in marriage,” says psychologist Howard Markman of the University of Denver. “But it’s those couples who don’t communicate well whose marriage is more likely to be the victim of such a difficult period.” George Levinger of the University of Massachusetts adds: “What counts in making a happy marriage is not so much how compatible you are, but how you deal with incompatibility.”

Best Child Care

“There is no such thing as a day-care centre that can do as good a job as a parent can,” says Burton L. White, author of The First Three Years of Life. White maintains that parents should postpone careers and even live poorly for the sake of being with their children during their first three years of life. While he admits that there are exceptions to his recommendation, he feels, in general, that the natural parents are best at responding to a child’s needs, praising his accomplishments, and shaping his development. He adds: “The chances of getting someone better than you to raise your child are not all that good.”

Family Housework

“In spite of the supposed liberation of women from domestic chores, 93 per cent of them still do most of the cleaning in the house,” reports The Times of London. “Only 2 per cent of husbands do most of the work, and only 27 per cent help at all.” Furthermore, only 8 percent of daughters and 3 percent of sons give their mothers a hand with the cleaning.

“Escaping Into Prison”

“Records show that prison populations rise significantly each year with the onset of winter,” writes Geoffrey Fellows, a member of the Ontario Board of Parole, in The Globe and Mail of Toronto, Canada. Why? Because, he surmises, “there are many willing to commit offences just to get in out of the cold.” Who are these would-be criminals? “Society’s derelicts, the unemployables and vagrants,” says Fellows. But it is more than the season that drives them toward prisons. Prisons offer them meals and lodging, freedom from responsibility, and a predictable life-style.

“Spare Tire” Risk

“A spare tire around the middle​—as in the male paunch or pot belly—​indicates a five-fold risk increase” of heart disease or stroke over those without such fat, reports The Medical Post of Toronto, Canada. “Fat thighs, fat legs and fat bottoms carry much less risk.” The findings are based on several long-term Swedish studies. For better health, Dr. Ulf Smith of the University of Göteborg, Sweden, recommends that a man’s waist measurement should not exceed his hip measurement, and a woman’s waist measurement should not exceed 0.8 of her hip measurement. Offering hope to those with large middles, Smith points out that midriff fat is the first to go when one exercises.

Military Archbishop

The first archbishop for the 2.1 million Roman Catholics and their families in the United States military, embassies, and Veterans Administration hospitals was appointed this past March by Pope John Paul II. “For the first time, there will be a Bishop whose sole responsibility will be to oversee the spiritual needs of Americans serving their country here and abroad,” a Catholic official told The New York Times. The U.S. Military Vicariate not only is the largest of 30 Catholic military vicariates around the world but is also among the largest dioceses in the world.

“Friends on Both Sides”

Well-known evangelist Billy Graham, who has often been a featured speaker at gatherings of the Southern Baptist Convention, explained that he was not attending the denomination’s meeting in Dallas this year so as not to get involved in its running controversy over Bible inerrancy, reports The Christian Century. “I am an evangelist and I must appeal to as wide a range of people as possible,” said Graham in an interview with the Dallas Morning News. “I believe in the holy, inspired Word of God, but I have friends on both sides.”

Catholic Immersion

“New Testament-style baptism by immersion is catching on among Roman Catholics,” reports the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. While baptism by sprinkling or by pouring water on the heads of infants and adult converts is still standard practice, immersion is now preferred, says James T. Telthorst, director of the Office of Worship for the St. Louis Archdiocese. Three churches in the area use immersion pools for baptisms. “Baptism by immersion was the standard practice in the early churches,” admits Telthorst. However, the report does not comment on the fact that not a single instance of infant baptism is recorded in the Bible.

Genetic Shock

“In a 1979 survey of 379 doctors who practice AID [artificial insemination from donors], nearly 90 percent had no policy on the maximum use of a specific donor,” reports Psychology Today. One of the many problems this can create was recently reported by the Sunday Express of London, England. The father of an engaged girl confided to his intended son-in-law, a businessman, that his daughter was not his natural offspring. His wife had been artificially inseminated at a certain sperm bank. The businessman was alarmed since he had donated to that same bank some years before. After obtaining permission to inspect the bank’s records, his worst fears were confirmed. “He was, indeed, the father of his intended bride​—and of 806 other children,” says the report. The wedding was called off and the disconsolate businessman decided to court in another area to reduce the risk of making the same mistake again.

Premarital-Sex Rise

“More than three-quarters of American women are beginning sexual activity before marriage,” reports The New York Times. The findings were based on a survey of women aged 15 to 44 that was performed by the National Center for Health Statistics. Specifically, 79 percent of women who married between 1975 and 1979 had sex before marriage compared to 52 percent of women who married between 1960 and 1964. Also reported was a higher percentage of births out of wedlock​—19 percent in 1982, up from 5 percent in 1960.

Health Advice

“In the past decade, annual sales of health publications have tripled to more than $300 million,” reports The Wall Street Journal. “But some doctors and nutritionists warn that the industry’s rapid growth is prompting publication of significant amounts of misleading and false information.” Last year, for example, the American Council on Science and Health surveyed 30 periodicals and reported that one third of their health articles were “inconsistent” (50 percent to 80 percent accurate) or “unreliable” (less than 50 percent accurate). Adds the Journal: “Whether a consumer is perusing a newsletter, magazine or book, health experts advise being open-minded but skeptical.”

Moving “Like Monkeys”

How do molecules and energy move within a cell? The Times of London reports that four American neurobiologists recently demonstrated “that packets of molecules, and the cell’s energy sources, the mitochondria, manœuvre rapidly along threads called ‘microtubules’, attaching and re-attaching, and shifting from thread to thread like monkeys in the forest.” The microtubules, which are made of small protein subunits, assemble and disassemble according to the needs of the cell. Enlightening as these discoveries are, the scientists cannot explain what makes it all work.

Was There an Earth-Wide Flood?

The quick-frozen carcasses of tens of thousands of animals, including huge mammoths, have been unearthed in the far north. What brought their sudden death? Was it the earth-wide Flood of which the Bible speaks?

Read the evidence in the 192-page book Is the Bible Really the Word of God? Only $1.

Please send, postpaid, the hardcover book Is the Bible Really the Word of God? I enclose $1 (U.S.).

Does It All End Here?

Some believe in life after death. Do you? Can those who have died ever live as humans again?

Read the heartwarming answers in the 192-page book Is This Life All There Is?

Please send, postpaid, the hardcover book Is This Life All There Is? I enclose $1 (U.S.).