November 22

Page Two

The technological developments of today were the stuff of science fiction 50 years ago. Many feel that anything is possible. But is technology the answer to the growing tidal wave of problems confronting society​—many of which technology itself has created? Or is technology fast becoming not our slave but our master?

Technology​—Slave or Master? 3

Technology​—How It Affects Us 4

Technology​—Slave or Master?

THE mother, with a broad smile on her face, is in a warm embrace with her little daughter. She could have been any mother coming home from work, but the caption of this front-page news photo says: “Dr. Anna L. Fisher hugging daughter, Kristin, after returning from space.” She had just returned from an eight-day space flight during which the astronauts rescued two strayed satellites and brought them back to earth in a space shuttle.

On the same page of the newspaper is a report on the latest development in a historic heart-transplant case involving a baby girl. Although the baby died after a 21-day struggle, “her doctor said today that the operation in which she received a baboon’s heart had advanced science and one day would save the lives of many children.”

Technological innovations such as these were the stuff of science fiction as little as 50 years ago. Today, however, to most people they have become no more extraordinary than, perhaps, a friend returning from a trip overseas or someone going to the hospital to have his tonsils removed.

Bewildered, many people have begun to feel that everything is possible with modern science and technology. “Their immense success in producing tangible benefits . . . has caused the whole output of scientists and technologists to be regarded as a sacred cow,” observed science educator John Gibbons. Reflecting such optimism is the statement by U.S. President Ronald Reagan in his 1983 State of the Union address: “As surely as America’s pioneer spirit made us the industrial giant of the 20th century, the same pioneer spirit today is opening up another vast front of opportunity​—the frontier of high technology.”

Others, however, take a less enthusiastic view. For example, science professor Mary Eleanor Clark exclaimed in an interview: “In America and other advanced cultures, belief in technology has become a religious faith. We have come to think of ourselves as so technologically clever that we will always be flexible enough to get through any crisis.” Some even hold an almost sinister view of the matter. One writer represented computer scientist Jacques Vallee as feeling that ‘high technology has acquired a momentum of its own, and it is now controlling society as much as society is controlling high technology.’

Is technology really a new frontier of opportunity, the means to solve our problems? Or has technology so affected our thinking and way of life that it is fast becoming not our servant but our master?

Technology​—How It Affects Us

IN Goethe’s fairy tale The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, made popular by Paul Dukas’ music and Walt Disney’s movie Fantasia, the apprentice hit upon the idea of putting to use his master’s uncanny power to lighten his own work. He set a broomstick to work to carry water for him. Not knowing how to control it, he soon found that the obedient but mindless slave carried so much water into the house that a flood resulted. The story, of course, had a happy ending​—the master came to the rescue.

Like the apprentice’s broomstick, technology is basically a powerful tool. It can be put to use to make our work easier, more efficient, and perhaps even more enjoyable. But when it is not properly controlled or when it is misused, it, too, can become a force with disastrous, even fatal, consequences.

A prime example of this is the automobile. There is no question that the automobile has brought many advantages and benefits to society in general. Yet, who can deny the harmful side effects, such as air and noise pollution, and deaths and injuries due to accidents and careless driving? This technological innovation is at best a mixed blessing.

But the effect of technology goes much further than that. So pervasive has technology become in our modern world that it is changing not only the way we work and live but also our values, our view of ourselves and of society as a whole. The question arises: Have we used technology wisely to our own blessing, or has technology dominated our way of life to our hurt?

Without doubt, in one way or another most people living today have benefited from the advancement of science and technology. In developed and developing nations alike, technology has brought numerous material advantages in nearly every aspect of life. First and foremost, the use of machines, fertilizers, pesticides, and improved seeds has increased the food supply and nutrition for much of the world’s population. Advancements in medical science have resulted in better health and a longer life span for many. The automobile and the airplane, along with developments in electronics, computers, and satellites, have made it possible for people to travel and to communicate with others around the world with relative ease. On a more personal level, technology has eliminated much of the drudgery and labor both at work and at home.

Although some people in the technologically advanced countries are fond of talking about the ‘good old days,’ few are ready to give up the vast number of time- and labor-saving devices that they have come to take for granted or have grown accustomed to in their daily lives. Technology has indeed become a useful slave, making it possible, as one observer put it, for ordinary people today to live “as kings of an earlier time never could.”

The picture, however, is not altogether a bright one. “Although the massive infusion of technology into society during the past few decades has brought immense benefits,” wrote Colin Norman, a researcher with the Worldwatch Institute, “there is mounting evidence that some technological developments may aggravate, rather than solve, many pressing social and environmental problems.”

Consider, first of all, technology’s impact on the environment. Calling it a “quiet crisis,” former Secretary of the Interior Stewart Udall described the situation in the United States:

“This nation leads the world in wealth and power, but also leads in the degradation of the human habitat. We have the most automobiles and the worst junkyards. We are the most mobile people on earth and we endure the worst congestion. We produce the most energy and have the foulest air. Our factories pour out more products and our rivers carry the heaviest loads of pollution. We have the most goods to sell and the most unsightly signs to advertise their worth.”

Thus officials and the public are beginning to take note of the heavy price we are paying for the rapid technological growth that we endorse so willingly. Governments, however, could prevent further damage to the environment simply by taking action against the polluters, if they would. But industries and businesses do provide employment for the people, prosperity for the communities, and revenues for the governments. Especially is this true in the developing nations. Thus, it is argued, the material benefits created by technology outweigh the price to be paid in clean air, water, and land.

Another defense for technology is that sooner or later it will come up with the solutions to take care of the problems. The truth of the matter is that the technological know-how already exists to stop or even reverse much of the damage done. But to do the job will cost money, and cost a great deal. For example, just to clean up the 786 toxic-waste dump sites designated by the U.S. government as hazardous would require setting up a fund of $7.5 billion to $10 billion​—a sum no one is quite prepared to pay.

Technology’s impact on work and employment has been a much debated topic right from the beginning. The fear has always been that new machines would put people out of work. Early in the Industrial Revolution, textile workers in Nottingham, England, felt so threatened that, led by a Ned Ludd, they destroyed hundreds of the newly introduced machines in the notorious Luddite riots of 1811-12.

The success of the Industrial Revolution makes all such actions seem ludicrous today. Yet, the introduction of computerized automation and robots in offices and factories is rekindling fears in certain quarters. Some, however, dismiss such fears by pointing out that computer technology generates its own jobs​—high-tech jobs such as computer operators, designers, programmers, and so on—​that will absorb the displaced workers after retraining. But others, brandishing high worldwide unemployment statistics, argue that high tech has not lived up to its promises in this respect.

Recent research at Stanford University finds that “not only will technical innovations displace workers, but the industry itself will employ comparatively few people.” The researchers point out that people are often impressed when they hear about the many new jobs opened up by the computer industry. But in reality, this is only a small fraction of the overall job market. For example, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that about 600,000 high-tech jobs were created in the United States from 1972 to 1982. Yet, these made up only about 5 percent of the total job growth in that period. In other words, on an average, only one person in 20 in the job market was absorbed by the high-tech industries.

If technology’s ability to provide new jobs is disappointing, some feel that its failure to elevate the nature of work as anticipated is still more so. Most people envision a degree of sophistication with high-tech jobs. But one labor expert observed that while some such jobs are “spirit-enlarging and mind-challenging,” most are “incredibly mind-stunting, mind-dulling.” Rather than doing away with drudgery, most jobs in the high-tech industry are repetitive, highly supervised, and require little technical skill. Unlike the traditional jobs they replaced, many of them also pay below-average wages.

Of all the things that technology is said to have done, it is perhaps what it has done to us as humans that is of most concern. One common complaint is that mass-production techniques and computerized automation tend to decrease the value of worker individuality, judgment, and experience. This view is expressed by Karen Nussbaum, director of a workers’ association, who argues that for the sake of efficiency “the jobs become monitored and increasingly specialized​—meaning that workers do smaller and smaller fractions of the larger task. People are used as extensions of machines. This is dehumanizing.”

What results is a feeling of alienation, or lack of a sense of purpose and accomplishment. Most people find it difficult to develop any real interest in their jobs when they work, day in and day out, in large institutions, doing repetitive piecework. Seldom do they see the end product of their labor, nor do they share in the profit, except in their paychecks. This, in the opinion of Murray Turoff, a professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology, will produce “a generation of employees who feel no loyalty to the company and who are, in general, apathetic.”

Even those who do not work in a technological environment are not freed from its influences. In many areas, technology has become so pervasive in people’s daily life​—appliances, transportation, entertainment, and so on—​that many probably would find it difficult to survive in a less technologically developed society. In fact, Jacques Ellul, in his book La Technique, observed that “modern man’s state of mind is completely dominated by technical values and his goals are represented only by such progress and happiness as is to be achieved through techniques.” In the view of Professor Clark, quoted earlier, as we “rush to embrace technology, we have adopted a very temporal system: A hedonistic society that ignores the future.”

Much has been said about the threat of total destruction facing mankind today. But there is no denying that much of this has been brought about by the technological development that has produced the fearsome weapons of war​—from the crossbow to the laser space-weapon. The height of such development, no doubt, was that in just three years, from June 1942 to July 1945, scientists and technicians were able to develop the first atom bomb.

But what has this unprecedented technological feat accomplished? It started and fueled the spiraling arms race, which has created the situation ironically labeled MAD​—Mutual Assured Destruction. Perhaps of even greater concern is the fact that more and more nations are gaining the technology to build nuclear devices.

“It is obvious that something has gone wrong during the past few decades,” observed renowned scientist and environmentalist René Dubos. “Increased control over nature is not providing safety and peace of mind; economic prosperity is not making people healthier or happier; technological innovations create problems of their own, which continually necessitate the development of new counter-technologies.” He added: “The feeling prevails that scientists have not yet learned how to direct their attention to the distressing aspects of the modern world that have their origin in scientific technology.”

Thus, unlike the story about the sorcerer’s apprentice, in real life we cannot count on the “master”​—scientists and technologists—​to come to our rescue. In this case, they also are floundering in the sea of problems created by the shortsighted misuse of technology. Clearly, what is most urgently needed is not more technology but an agency, a government, a superpower that can do away with all the divisive elements in order to come to man’s rescue.

The Bible speaks about such a government: “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 [in existence today], and it itself will stand to times indefinite.” (Daniel 2:44) That Kingdom is none other than God’s Messianic Kingdom in the hands of Jesus Christ.

Under the peaceful rule of God’s Kingdom, what modern technology can only hope to achieve will be realized. Deserts and parched ground will become productive. There will be worthwhile and interesting work for all to do. The blind, lame, deaf, and mute will be rid of their afflictions. And even death itself will be conquered.​—See Isaiah 35:1, 5-7; 65:21-23.

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“People are used as extensions of machines. This is dehumanizing”

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“It is obvious that something has gone wrong during the past few decades”

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Do material benefits outweigh the price paid in clean air, water, land​—and your health?

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WHO photos

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Most high-tech jobs are “incredibly mind-stunting, mind-dulling”

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Scientists have failed to solve the problems brought on by their technology. Who will?

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U.S. Air Force photo

Bomb Blast Levels Kingdom Hall in Australia

“It could never happen in a country like Australia!” But it did. At 9:35 Sunday morning, July 21, 1985, David Winder began his Bible discourse in the Casula Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, in Sydney. Twenty-five minutes later, a bomb blast blew him through the roof, demolished the hall, killed one man, and sent to the hospital 46 of the 109 present. It couldn’t happen in Australia, but it did. This firsthand report from the Watch Tower Society’s branch office in Australia reveals the horror and the tragedy of that morning, but it also underlines the thrilling determination and faith of the Witnesses there to press on in meeting together and in publishing the good news of Jehovah’s Kingdom.

A POWERFUL bomb, estimated by police to be one kilogram (2.2 lb) of gelignite, had been hidden under the speaker’s platform, timed to go off during the Bible lecture. Its explosion sent the speaker through the roof and landed him on a pile of debris outside the hall​—bleeding, critically injured, with two broken legs.

Graham Wykes, sitting in the front row, was killed instantly. His wife and two daughters suffered severe injuries. One member of the Society’s branch staff, Sue Schulz, had her nose broken and lost most of her front teeth. One interested attender had to have shrapnel removed from her eyes. A three-month-old baby was hospitalized with a concussion.

By Sunday evening 14 of the 46 hospitalized were held over; the others were allowed to go home. Most of them were suffering from shock and damaged eardrums. Observers were amazed that more were not killed, since the hall was reduced to a shambles.

Worldwide Publicity

Regular radio and TV programs were interrupted throughout the country to announce this outrage, and soon the news was being flashed throughout the world. Typical of newspaper headlines was the Brisbane Telegraph: “MIRACLE! 110 survive in church explosion.” The national paper The Australian declared: “Innocence is no protection against terrorism.” The front page of the Brisbane Daily Sun heralded: “BOMB TERROR​—church outrage shocks nation.” The Sydney Morning Herald feature story headlined: “Family life sermon, then one lay dead, 49 injured.” The article continued: “The dazed congregation was remarkably calm. Some stayed inside to tend the injured, the others moved quietly out of the hall as best they could. Police, ambulance and fire brigade officers were on the scene within minutes.”

Police soon ruled out international terrorists as the perpetrators of this crime. Reportedly, no fewer than 60 individuals and organizations claimed responsibility for the recent terrorist bombing of the airport in Frankfurt, in the Federal Republic of Germany​—a usual terrorist procedure. Yet no one has claimed responsibility for the attack on the Kingdom Hall.

Perhaps the editorial in the July 22 issue of The Australian best sums up the conclusion drawn by many thinking persons when it said, in part: “Whoever planted the bombs and however grotesque his or their motives, Australians have been reminded how small our world has become. We are not immune from the horrors which are part of the daily lives of inhabitants of a growing part of our planet.”

Indeed, no part of the world is now immune from such conditions nor are any individuals immune. The apostle Paul clearly warned of this very situation at 2 Timothy 3:1-4: “Remember that there will be difficult times in the last days. People will be . . . merciless, slanderers, violent, and fierce; they will hate the good; they will be treacherous, reckless, and swollen with pride.” (Today’s English Version) And did not Jesus himself warn that during this time ‘because of the increasing of lawlessness the love of the greater number would cool off’?​—Matthew 24:12.

From the moment the news broke, the branch office of the Watch Tower Society in Sydney was besieged with phone calls expressing shock and sympathy. From both local and overseas sources the calls flooded in.

Many telegrams and letters of sympathy were received from all over the world​—some from politicians, religious leaders, and others in positions of prominence. Very much appreciated was a letter from The Honourable Mr. Justice Watson of the Commonwealth Family Court. Justice Watson had himself been a victim of a bomb blast in his home. In his letter he said, in part: “In these dark and distressful days many of your people, particularly the Wykes family, will sense the gathering strength of family, friends and congregation. In this may they find not only strength but that peace which is beyond human understanding.”

A Sydney cabdriver expressed the feelings of many in a poignant letter to the editor of The Sydney Morning Herald. He wrote: “One of my jobs yesterday (July 21) was to pick up the ABC film crew from Hoxton Park airstrip and get them, as fast as possible, to Liverpool Hospital. What we saw there was sheer horror. I was asked to wait, which I did. During that 20 minutes life’s real horrors began to emerge. Pain and hurt are a part of life, but what I saw just is not necessary. . . . The inevitable ‘why, why, why’ happens in the guts. It hits even a humble cabbie​—so hard I threw up. . . . Just let us, who hate violence, pain and the bomb, not be involved in these senseless ideals and get on with this short life. . . . Please, no more.”

Incidentally, at no time did an issue arise over blood transfusions​—something Jehovah’s Witnesses are known to refuse on religious grounds. (Acts 15:20, 29) The Brisbane Daily Sun quoted a Liverpool hospital spokesman as saying that no one had refused transfusions of blood-volume expanders. It was explained that this “does the work of blood while giving the body a chance to replenish its own supply. It works perfectly, even for people with the rarest blood groups and doctors don’t have to waste time trying to match the rare groups. The synthetic blood also carries no disease​—it is certainly the answer to protests from religious groups who have accepted it quite readily.”

The scores of messages and expressions of sympathy for the victims of this tragedy from members of the public are deeply appreciated. Members of the police, ambulance crews, fire brigade, and hospital and medical staff have been untiring in their efforts to assist. One of the nursing staff at the Liverpool hospital was filled with emotion when dealing with the first casualties to come from the bomb site. She told one of the Witnesses in attendance: “I would be crying if I were not so rushed. I can’t tell you how sorry I feel for these unfortunate victims.” Total strangers have phoned and written to offer accommodations and assistance in any way they can.

Of particular value and comfort were the many telegrams with words of compassion and encouragement from Jehovah’s Witnesses from all over the world. The victims also take comfort from the words of the apostle Peter about satanic attacks made against Christians in his time. Those early Christians were advised to be ‘solid in the faith, knowing that the same things in the way of sufferings were being accomplished in the entire association of their brothers in the world.’​—1 Peter 5:9.

Tragedy Advances the Good News

Could there be any blessings from such trauma? Perhaps this could best be viewed in the light of the apostle Paul’s imprisonment in Rome. In writing to the Philippian Christians, he said: “Now I desire you to know, brothers, that my affairs have turned out for the advancement of the good news rather than otherwise, . . . and most of the brothers in the Lord, feeling confidence by reason of my prison bonds, are showing all the more courage to speak the word of God fearlessly.”​—Philippians 1:12-14.

The savage attack on innocent members of their Christian brotherhood in the Lurnea Congregation meeting that morning in the Casula Kingdom Hall caused a similar reaction. The congregations throughout the Sydney area experienced unusual attendance on the following meeting nights in their Kingdom Halls. As Paul further said to the Philippians, they are truly “standing firm in one spirit, with one soul striving side by side for the faith of the good news, and in no respect being frightened by [their] opponents.”​—Philippians 1:27, 28.

Yet another blessing was mentioned by Paul in his letter: “Some are preaching the Christ through envy and rivalry, but others also through goodwill. . . . The former do it out of contentiousness, not with a pure motive, for they are supposing to stir up tribulation for me in my prison bonds.” Paul said that his prison bonds had become “public knowledge” to everyone. The enormous publicity given to the “tribulation” brought upon Jehovah’s Witnesses in this instance has circled the globe.​—Philippians 1:13, 15, 17.

Some opposers took advantage of this publicity to vent their hatred of the Witnesses. Many false and deceptive statements were made, “supposing to stir up tribulation” for the Witnesses. Instead, it brought an even more sympathetic response from the public who were able to see through the false claims.

Did this experience slow up the Witnesses in their preaching? On the contrary, it has done exactly what Paul reported, namely, “most of the brothers in the Lord . . . are showing all the more courage to speak the word of God fearlessly.” (Philippians 1:14) It has been reassuring to hear so many sincere words of fellow feeling and interest from householders. The Witnesses are more eager than ever to be out in the public ministry and meet them.

While the events of July 21 were still fresh in mind, people were receptive to the solution and the reasons why such things happen. Those who do respond and probe deeper into God’s Word will get a real blessing. Over 21,000 individuals or family groups in Australia already enjoy a weekly private home Bible study conducted by a qualified minister of Jehovah’s Witnesses. In the last four years in Australia, over 10,000 people have taken up the public ministry.

It is a seeming paradox that peaceful, law-abiding people were warned by their Master that they should expect anything but a peaceful response to their presence in a hostile world. He explained that “they will do all these things against you on account of my name, because they do not know him that sent me.” (John 15:21) Jesus was sent by his Father, Jehovah, as his representative. He met a violent death at the hands of worldly men who did not know Jehovah. So it should not surprise us to find violence employed against his followers today.​—John 15:20.

How Comforting to Know That Deliverance Is Near!

How comforting it is to know that things will not continue this way much longer. Sweeping and dramatic changes are about to take place, resembling the events of Noah’s day. This world of violence and hatred is in its death throes, and it will be replaced by a new one where “righteousness is to dwell.” (2 Peter 3:13) The very things that cause such sorrow to millions can cause us to rejoice when we “read” the evidence correctly, as one would read a road sign on the highway to see where he is heading. Jesus said: “But as these things start to occur, raise yourselves erect and lift your heads up, because your deliverance is getting near.”​—Luke 21:28.

[Box on page 12]

Jehovah’s Witnesses have a loving worldwide brotherhood. As an example, upon learning through the press or TV of the bombing and those injured, many Witnesses in the United States immediately sent money for the bomb victims. Within a few days some one hundred letters containing more than $7,000 were received​—gifts ranging from a young boy’s 27¢ to a man’s $1,000. Following are a few excerpts from the letters.

“I am a brother of little means, but I would like you to please accept this small contribution [$7] to help.”

“Please forward this money to the sister who lost her husband in the bombing tragedy.”

“Please use our donation to pay medical expenses of brothers and sisters injured. (Acts 11:29) We heard that one was killed. John 5:28, 29 comes to mind.”

“I would like to contribute $50 toward rebuilding the hall and $50 toward hospital bills.”

“An approved associate wishes to help. So I am forwarding you his bank draft for $1,000.”

“My son and daughter would like to write to some young brothers and sisters in that congregation to encourage them.”

“Could I have the address of the family of the brother that was killed, as I’d like to send a note to them. [$50 enclosed.]”

“To demonstrate our brotherly love, we [a congregation] have collected $161.55 to be used as they see fit.”

“It isn’t much [$3], but it is all I have, and maybe it will help a little.”

“To help the brothers and sisters there, whether to aid the widowed sister or to build a new Kingdom Hall.”

“I’m not working presently but here’s $1. If I get more, I’ll send more.”

It’s not the amount given, it’s the readiness to give that counts. Jesus, after noting the rich dropping their gifts into the treasury chests at the temple, “saw a certain needy widow drop two small coins of very little value there, and he said: ‘I tell you truthfully, This widow, although poor, dropped in more than they all did.’”​—Luke 21:2, 3.

‘God loves a cheerful giver. If the readiness is there first, it is especially acceptable according to what a person has. The gift of each one’s hand should be in proportion to the blessing of Jehovah.’​—2 Corinthians 9:7; 8:12; Deuteronomy 16:17.

[Picture on page 10]

Side view of rear part of the Kingdom Hall

[Pictures on page 11]

The hole blown in concrete slab

Literature and magazine storeroom

Harar​—The City Where Hyenas Roam

By “Awake!” correspondent in Kenya

JUST over a hundred years ago, Harar was a ‘forbidden city.’ However, in 1854 a British scholar and explorer named Sir Richard Burton decided to venture inside it. As he contemplated its mighty walls, he doubtless wondered if he would come out alive. Burton, though, had cleverly disguised himself as an Arab merchant. And with the help of his prodigious language skills, he gambled that he could pass as one of the city’s Muslim inhabitants. The ruse succeeded, making Burton the first European explorer to visit this East African city.

Today Harar is located in Ethiopia. And while entry therein is not quite as adventurous as in Burton’s day, the city still fascinates and intrigues visitors, for Harar is known as the city where hyenas roam at night! Harar today, though, is a double city, with modern quarters and about 70,000 inhabitants. The older section, in existence for well over a thousand years, has changed little over the centuries.

Approaching the old city and viewing its gates and towers, we feel as if we are approaching another world. Long before the founding of Ethiopia’s present capital, Addis Ababa, Harar enjoyed prominence. It was from Harar that 16th-century Muslim leader Ahmad Grāñ, “the left-handed,” led daring raids. His attempts to conquer Ethiopia, however, ended in his death​—and Harar’s overthrow. The city’s massive walls were built thereafter and have remained intact for over four centuries.

As in the past, so today, Harar is a center of conflict. Today, though, we are able to enter the city peacefully through one of the smaller city gates. We now pass through a labyrinth of narrow streets and twisting pathways. Lining them are flat-roofed houses with sloping walls, along with some whitewashed buildings and minarets.

It is too early to see the hyenas. But in the meantime we can enjoy the donkeys. Although their numbers are not as great as in the past, donkeys still navigate Harar’s streets, often without human guides. They climb and descend on the uneven, rocky surfaces of the alleys, never stumbling over the many protruding stones. Incredibly, the animals know just where to deliver their heavy loads of drinking water. Once there, they patiently wait to be unloaded and receive empty containers for the next delivery. Yes, this is the way some inhabitants of old Harar still receive their vital water supply​—a supply that has recently been hurt by the African drought.

At the marketplace, it is the Harari women that first capture our attention. Their dialect, costumes, and traditions reflect their ancient links with the Muslim world. Harar’s women have noticeably attractive facial features, framed by brown or orange shawls and fine headdresses. Their hair is plaited in parallel braids.

And what are they selling? Souvenirs found in thousands of homes all over Ethiopia: containers and trays woven from dry grass. Oval or round, orange or red or purple, adorned with various colors and designs, the trays are used to decorate tables and walls. The woven containers, though, are used for marketing and for the ceremonious serving of Ethiopia’s special dishes. Harari basketry is praised the world over for its quality.

The products of Harar’s silversmiths are also something to feast one’s eyes upon. Necklaces, amulets, bracelets, headdresses, rings​—all are skillfully made to the finest detail.

Before we realize it, dusk surprises us. We head outside the city walls to view the old town in the light of the setting sun. In earlier days, the inhabitants of Harar would escort strangers to the gates at nightfall and lock them out. But we are glad to step into the old city once again, to witness Harar’s special nightly attraction​—the hyenas!

Reaching an opening at the end of a narrow street and straining our eyes on this dark moonless night, we try to see which way to go. Suddenly, two pairs of reflecting eyes stare at us. We freeze on the spot. Just 16 feet (5 m) away are two wild hyenas. These are not dogs of the house-pet variety. Here are powerful creatures that have been known to take on animals as large as buffalo!

They have also attacked humans.

But to our surprise​—and relief—​they do not attack but turn their attention to a man seated on the ground. A basket of meat leftovers at his side, the man proceeds to feed the hyenas with his bare hands. No wonder that he is called a hyena man! Just when this practice of feeding hyenas began is not exactly known, but it has been going on for quite a while. When at dusk the hyenas of Harar leave their caves, holes, and other hiding places and head for the city’s walls, the hyena men are at various gates, ready to feed them. There the hyena men will sit until they run out of meat or bones, often about nine o’clock.

As our eyes adjust to the darkness, yet another hyena approaches slowly. The animal pauses and makes weird calls, inviting other hyenas to come. The hyena man starts to yodel, beckoning to these wild creatures. Finally they draw closer and settle down near the man, waiting to be served.

With a piece of bone in his hand, the man stretches out his arm and continues to yodel, calling the hyenas by their names. “Hoy-hoy, Philips. Nay!” he cries. “Philips” responds by getting up and slowly approaching the man. Grabbing its share, the animal quickly returns to its place. Then there is “Baby,” a young one that is less hesitant to answer the man’s call. “Birtukan,” “Kanubish,” and others also approach, gently opening their powerful jaws to get their share of food.

Perhaps the man’s favorite hyena is “Buray,” for he calls the animal “my son.” When Buray arrives, the man shouts enthusiastically: “Buray! Hoy-hoy, Nay.” While the man puts his arm around the hyena’s neck, the animal seizes the piece of meat. At times, the man holds a piece of bone with his front teeth, inviting Buray to take it. Buray does not disappoint him. Taking the bone from the mouth of the hyena man, the animal returns to its place, settles down, and crushes the bone easily with its strong teeth.

Flashlights and car headlights now illuminate this scene. Some tourists take pictures of this striking exhibition and give the hyena man some money. Fortunately, the hyenas are not perturbed by the lights and the crowd. The hyena man even permits some of the onlookers to take a piece of meat and feed the hyenas. We muster up courage, gingerly holding out a dangling piece of meat. Before we realize it, a hyena swiftly grabs the meat.

When we retire for the night, the hyenas roam about the rubbish dumps to search for more food. At times horses and donkeys die and are dragged away to provide a feast for the hyenas. The air is filled with roars, eerie sounds, and shrill giggling as the number of hyenas swells. By morning, just a few pieces of bone remain as the muezzin’s nasal chant awakens us. The hyenas return to their dwelling places, not very far from Harar.

There they will stay until nightfall beckons them to return to a truly amazing place​—Harar, the city where the hyenas roam.

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Donkeys still navigate Harar’s streets, often without human guides

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Two pairs of reflecting eyes stare at us. We freeze on the spot

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We muster up courage, gingerly holding out a piece of meat . . . a hyena swiftly grabs it

How Valuable Is “Values Education”?

PLACE: School, Morals Education Class.

SETTING: Five students huddle in an imaginary life raft, as their schoolroom floor becomes the vast Atlantic Ocean. They are lost at sea after their cruise ship sank during a raging storm. Each student plays the role of one of five characters: a vivacious movie starlet; a middle-aged clergyman; a female Nobel-prize-winning nuclear scientist; a militant male medical student, the only black in the group; and a male Olympic athlete with strong racial prejudices. The five imaginary survivors face a moral dilemma: The life raft has food and room for only four. One person must be sacrificed, or all will lose their lives. They have 30 minutes to make a decision.

QUESTION: If your child was in this class, what choice would you want your child to make?

FOR more than a decade, a revolution in moral education has been sweeping through North American schools. In the past, family and religion took the lead in teaching children their values. But today many feel that the schools must do it. Why? Because, as the president of Harvard University, Derek Bok, pointed out in U.S.News & World Report, a public belief is that “families and churches are not as influential as they once were in transmitting values to individuals.”

“We have parents who teach few, if any, moral principles to their children,” laments one school supervisor of special education. “For some children, we are their only source of moral education. If they don’t learn it here, they’ll learn it in the ‘streets.’”

What Is Values Education?

Its goal is not to teach right or wrong. Rather, it is to open up discussions and “let children discover and create their own values.” Whether this is a good thing for children or not depends on whom you listen to. Some teachers of values education call traditional methods of moral education indoctrination, or giving children prepackaged adult values. Today magazine explains: “Teachers are instructed to teach there is no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer to any ethical issue the class may discuss.”

Other educators and parents, however, counter that these new methods teach that there are no absolute moral truths. This undermines respect for parents.

Suppose the session discussed cheating. The message many students would carry away, according to sociologist Dr. Kathleen Gow, would be: “Just do whatever you think at the time. There’s nothing right or wrong about cheating in itself. But be cool. Check out the scene. Know your audience.”

Interestingly, when cheating was being discussed in one classroom, the teacher was asked by a student if they had to be honest on tests in that class. The teacher responded: “All of you who choose dishonesty as a value may not practice it here.”

Role-playing is used to help students understand values and viewpoints​—their own and those of others. Students act out conflict situations similar to the one described at the beginning of this article. Each student pleads his case as to why his character should live, and then the class votes on who is the most worthy to live​—and who must be allowed to die. The exercises may cause guilt, confusion, and nightmares, and teach children that killing is acceptable.

Again, the teacher exposes the children to moral dilemmas, such as​—

◻ Choosing between two young children in a house fire when only one can be saved.

◻ Deciding whether cannibalizing a corpse is acceptable if you are starving.

◻ Discussing whether mate swapping would be all right if the couples agreed to it.

After presenting the dilemma, a question period examines the problems and the possibilities​—but, again, the dilemma is left without a solution and without guidelines.

Another approach teaches the student to think on the values he is adopting in light of his life goals. These ultimate personal goals​—survival, pleasure, freedom, or something else—​should be the student’s overriding consideration. This approach is simply another form of “do your own thing.” A student could end up valuing pleasure more than anything else and still be viewed as having sound moral values.

For the student to reach his life goal, happy compromise is encouraged. Compromise becomes justified by claiming that “we should strive to be reasonably moral but not extremely moral,” that “nothing is intrinsically good or bad.” But T. W. Harpur in The Toronto Star writes that this method “fail[s] to communicate any basis for deciding what is right and wrong to our young people.” He concludes that “it is impossible to teach true morality without some agreed, absolute standards.”

The Wall Street Journal published a comment on all of this as follows: “To tell a student stealing is wrong or that kindness and loyalty are good values, would be, according to Values Clarification, to manipulate and coerce a student. . . . Adolescents were in effect given the message that parents, the school or society had no right to tell them what standards should guide sexual behavior. Whether premarital sex was right or wrong, for instance, adolescents would discover for themselves as they were helped to clarify their personal values. . . . If parents object to their children using pot or engaging in premarital sex, the theory behind Values Clarification makes it appropriate for the child to respond, ‘But that’s just your value judgment. Don’t force it on me.’”

The Journal then adds: “These positions directly contradict the Biblical view that God is the ultimate lawgiver and that the good life is to be found only in losing oneself in the service of God and of one’s neighbor.” The objections to values clarification, however, are not limited to religious fundamentalists. “Nonfundamentalist scholars from major universities,” the Journal declares, “have faulted Values Clarification on at least a dozen counts.”

Parental Responsibility

Responsible parents want their children to think deeply and reason on questions of morality and not blindly accept such valueless “values education.” Little wonder delinquency is on a toboggan slide! Parents must protect their children against teaching methods that give license to immorality and that undermine wholesome respect for parental authority. In addition, Christian parents want their children to know that humans cannot successfully live independent of their Creator and that his moral principles and laws are the best to follow.​—Isaiah 33:22.

Sinister Music Erodes a Value System

“Punk rock and heavy metal are the ultimate philosophical end to a 30-year revolution in rock ’n’ roll’s rebelliousness,” said Darlyne Pettinicchio, deputy probation officer and gang investigator for the Orange County Probation Department, California. For most children punk and heavy-metal music is a passing fad, yet for other listeners, Pettinicchio warns in the Santa Barbara News-Press, “it’s a way of life​—a change in their value system.” She noted that “believers act out their faith in hate, violence, dope, booze, sex and death. They wind up in juvenile court, mental hospitals and cemeteries.”

Parents may refuse to let their children attend punk and heavy-metal rock concerts, but comparable music videos now appearing on television have become hard to ignore. “These music videos encourage kids to be violent and brutal toward themselves and others,” Pettinicchio said. “Especially disturbing is the portrayal of women” on such videos. “Women are dragged around, caged or walked on a leash like dogs.” Some are turning to Satanism. “We’re finding an increasing number involved in devil worship, priding themselves on communicating through occult symbols that most of us wouldn’t even notice.”

She believes that children want structure and rules on how to behave. If they don’t get them from their parents, they will seek them from their peers through gangs. She advised parents to give their children “mandatory​—that means no choice, no negotiation—​clearly stated rules with no loopholes.”

Amazing Creations That Praise Their Creator

WHAT IS IT?

WHATEVER IT IS, it seems as though it was drawn from a grab bag. A beak like a duck’s, a tail like a beaver’s, a rear vent like a reptile’s, webbed feet and fur like an otter’s. Lays eggs like a bird, suckles its young like a mammal. Leg spurs like a rooster’s, which inject poison like the fangs of a pit viper. The size of a rabbit, yet eats like a horse: 1,200 earthworms, 50 crayfish, plus tadpoles, grubs, and beetles​—all of this every 24 hours! So bizarre an animal that when its skin first appeared in London two centuries ago, some people dismissed it as a fake. But it’s no fake. It lives in Australia. It’s a platypus.

If you believe in a Creator-Designer, you have no problem. But if you believe in evolution, you have one. Evolutionists can’t help you. One source says: “We have no hard evidence to indicate which fossil reptiles were their ancestors. Our knowledge of many of the candidates is based to a considerable degree on teeth.” But teeth are no help​—the platypus has no teeth. “Nor is there any fossil evidence of any consequence about their ancestors. So we have virtually nothing to help us link these creatures to any group of fossil reptiles.”

With nothing to link the platypus with reptiles, how can it be said that it was once a reptile that is now becoming a mammal? Perhaps it’s a mammal becoming a bird? Or a bird becoming a reptile? Since no one knows where it’s from or where it’s going, perhaps it’s just as it has always been​—the platypus it was designed to be by its Creator, Jehovah.

Why Penguins’ Feet Don’t Freeze

THEY ARE CONSTANTLY on snow or ice or in ice water. Their feet get close to freezing without freezing. If warm blood was pumped into them, it would return to the body chilled. Soon the heat loss through the feet would be so great that not only the feet but the whole penguin would freeze. So an ingenious heat-exchange mechanism solves the problem. The arteries entering the feet are surrounded by veins leaving the feet. Thus the cold blood leaving the feet via these veins takes up heat from the warm blood descending in the arteries. The arterial blood thus cooled is adequate for feet that have lots of tendons but few muscles​—cold tendons can function adequately whereas chilled muscles cannot. By means of this ingenious heat exchange, the penguin’s body is kept warm and its feet do not freeze.

Two Kinds of Hibernation, Both Amazing

HIBERNATION IS AN amazing feat. The number of true hibernating mammals is relatively small​—notably dormice, ground squirrels, marmots (including woodchucks). The tiny, 13-lined ground squirrel’s temperature plummets until only a few degrees above the cold outside. Its breathing drops from several hundred times a minute to one in five minutes. Its heartbeat goes from several hundred a minute to one or two a minute. It moves only slightly every few hours, yet muscles retain their tone. Digestive and excretory systems continue to work.

Bears are not true hibernators (neither are chipmunks). The body temperature of bears remains near normal. They burn an estimated 4,000 food calories a day. They awaken and move about frequently. Yet they exist for three months or more without food or water. During all that time they neither defecate nor urinate. This means that the nitrogenous wastes, usually eliminated through the urine, accumulate and seemingly would cause uremic poisoning. But they don’t.

The bear solves its nitrogenous waste-disposal problem by a form of recycling. The New Scientist magazine of February 21, 1985, explains: “The scientists’ interpretation is that the hibernating bear diverts nitrogen from pathways that synthesise urea into pathways that generate amino acids and new proteins. And it does that by using glycerol [produced when fats are metabolized] and recycled nitrogen as the building blocks.”

They Communicate Before They Are Born

WHILE STILL IN THE SHELL, some baby birds announce their imminent arrival. They make small peeping sounds. Baby quail do this. Domestic chicks also. After a goose has heard peeping calls, she “begins to communicate with her offspring . . . She utters faint contact calls to the goslings in their eggs, and the latter are capable of producing a number of different calls, which indicate to the mother whether they are developing normally. When the offspring produce a plaintive call, known as ‘lost piping,’ the mother responds with contact calls as if to comfort them, to which the unborn goslings sometimes respond in their turn with greeting calls.” Just before the goslings hatch, the gander will take up a position by the nest, possibly alerted by these “conversations.”

[Picture on page 21]

Peep Peep

Young People Ask . . .

What Can I Do When My Parents Yell at Me?

“WHY can’t my parents talk to me without yelling?” asks Keith. Martha similarly laments: “No matter what we’re talking about, we end up screaming at each other.” Do Keith’s and Martha’s words sound familiar to you? If so, you probably wonder—

Why the Yelling?

Let’s be realistic. There are occasions when a louder-than-usual voice is required. Perhaps you need to be wakened for school or called for a meal. You don’t expect to be whispered to, do you? And at times parents may legitimately be upset.

For instance, the Bible records that when Jesus was 12 years old, he was taken by his parents, Joseph and Mary, to worship at Jerusalem. When the family left to return home, it took them a whole day to realize that Jesus wasn’t with them. But after a three-day search, Jesus was found in Jerusalem listening to and questioning the teachers at the temple. Imagine the concern in Mary’s voice as she speaks: “Son, why have you done this to us? Your father and I have been terribly worried trying to find you.”​—Luke 2:48, Today’s English Version.

As in Jesus’ case, misunderstandings do occur. The problem comes, though, when you expect a normal answer and instead receive a yell. However, by stopping and reflecting, you may be able to realize why this at times happens. For instance, note what some young people say:

Michelle: “My mom is very impatient and at times not very understanding, and I tend to overlook the fact that she has a job and children to care for.”

Harry: “It bothers me when my mother takes out her aggressions on me. It happens when she comes home from work all upset after a hard day. I wish she didn’t have to work.”

Denise: “My largest problem is at home with my daddy. I understand he has many responsibilities and worries, but he always takes them out on the rest of the family.”

Notice the problems revealed. Daily, one or both of your parents may face a demanding boss or co-workers difficult to get along with. Financial problems, illness, or even your parents’ own insecurities may affect the way they speak to you. These problems do not excuse their shouting, but they do help you understand why yelling sometimes occurs.​—Compare Ephesians 4:31, 32.

Isn’t it also true that you, too, may have been guilty of raising your voice, perhaps even to your friends? “For we all stumble many times,” states the Bible. (James 3:2) Consider Paul, Barnabas, and Mark, men mentioned prominently in the Bible. When Barnabas wanted to take Mark along on Paul’s second missionary journey and Paul did not, “there occurred a sharp burst of anger.” (Acts 15:39) So, at times, upset parents may likewise raise their voices. If this happens, here are some suggestions:

Try Not to

. . . YELL BACK! Perhaps the most common trap to fall into is a screaming match. “I start screaming back at her,” states Marion about her mother. Is this wise? “Getting angry and explosive creates an absolutely no-win situation,” says Bill Nolan, a social worker in Salem, Massachusetts. How much better it is to follow the counsel of Proverbs 15:1: “An answer, when mild, turns away rage, but a word causing pain makes anger to come up.”

. . . MOCK! Are you tempted to berate your parents? Would this be wise? “Honor your father and your mother,” commands Ephesians 6:2. Mocking your parents, or making fun of them, certainly would not be bestowing honor. The Bible warns: “Anyone who makes fun of his father or despises his mother in her old age ought to be eaten by vultures or have his eyes picked out by wild ravens.” (Proverbs 30:17, TEV) Would you like your parents to make fun of you? Certainly not! So why do it to your parents?

. . . MAKE A SCENE OR POUT! Pouting, sulking, or crying only dramatizes your own immaturity. Such actions will not help your parents understand your position and can produce dire results. King Ahab of ancient Israel once wanted a vineyard adjacent to his palace. But when he could not buy the vineyard, 1 Kings 21:4 says: “Consequently Ahab came into his house, sullen and dejected . . . Then he lay down upon his couch and kept his face turned, and he did not eat bread.” Ahab’s display of self-pity had tragic consequences. Thus, Proverbs 18:1 admonishes: “One isolating himself will seek his own selfish longing; against all practical wisdom he will break forth.”

. . . BE OVERLY SENSITIVE! Stop and think: Just how loud was your parent’s voice? It’s especially easy to feel sensitive to your parent’s reaction when you are presenting a problem or making a request for something you really want. If you find yourself feeling hurt, remember: “The insight of a man certainly slows down his anger, and it is beauty on his part to pass over transgression.”​—Proverbs 19:11.

. . . STOP TALKING! If you stop talking, how will you convey your thoughts to your parents? How will they understand what you feel? If you are tempted to do any of the ‘try not to’s,’ recognize that you are only getting back at your parents and are not really coming to grips with the problem. The Bible’s encouragement is, “Do not hurry yourself in your spirit to become offended.”​—Ecclesiastes 7:9.

Instead, Try to

. . . LISTEN! Even if your parents do yell, “Listen to your father . . . do not despise your mother.” (Proverbs 23:22) This will help you to understand your parents’ feelings and perhaps reveal why they have raised their voice.

. . . OBEY! Whether said softly or said loudly, directions should be followed. By obeying, you show practical wisdom and “the wisdom from above,” since it is “ready to obey.” (James 3:17) By promptly doing the things your parents ask, you can be sure they will be well pleased​—and any yelling will subside.

. . . ADMIT ERROR! Many times the yelling comes from breaking a house rule or not doing a requested task. Are you tempted to excuse yourself? Don’t. Admit the error. Ill feelings are more easily cleared away when error is admitted.

. . . PLAN WHAT TO SAY! Proverbs 15:28 states: “The heart of the righteous one meditates so as to answer, but the mouth of the wicked ones bubbles forth with bad things.” Consider the how, what, and why of your request or problem. “If it’s something you know will cause friction, first ask yourself what goals you have for passing on the information,” reasons Dr. Selma Miller. No doubt, a little forethought on what you will say may often prevent an outburst of anger. At the same time, it will be good to decide what the really important issues are and present only these.

. . . BE CONVERSANT! Don’t wait until you have a problem to talk to your parents. Talk with them regularly about everyday affairs. Tell them your feelings. Learn, too, about the attitudes, beliefs, and values of your parents. This will build the bond of family love and friendship that will make it easier to discuss more delicate matters calmly.

. . . USE GOOD TIMING! It is essential to present a request or consider a problem with your parents at the appropriate time. King Solomon put it nicely: “As apples of gold in silver carvings is a word spoken at the right time for it.” (Proverbs 25:11; compare Esther, chapters 4 and 5.) Be observant as to when your parents are most relaxed and easiest to talk with.

. . . BE REALISTIC! “In real life, it’s impossible to live with people we care about and avoid conflict together,” says Jenny Englemann, a psychotherapist. She adds: “One of the true tests of a relationship is that we can face up to conflicts and eventually resolve them.”

Never forget, your parents deeply love you and are intensely interested in doing what is best for you. So try to apply the suggestions above and see if your relations with them do not improve greatly.

[Pictures on page 23]

“Getting angry and explosive creates an absolutely no-win situation”

“An answer, when mild, turns away rage”

From Riches to Rags​—And Happiness

Money. Drugs. Sex. These things have enticed many young people into a let-me-live-for-today way of life. But do such pursuits really bring happiness? Read the true-life account of one woman who learned the hard way​—from personal experience. It shows how biblical principles can be a powerful force in changing one’s personality for the better.

IN 1948, when I was just three days old, I was adopted into an upper-middle-class family. We were a family of five​—my adoptive parents, their two natural daughters, and me. There I enjoyed a contented, secure life. By worldly standards we had it all. Most of my schooling was in the public school system, although for two years I did attend a Catholic boarding school.

Our parents provided us with everything we wanted​—ballet lessons, tennis, horseback riding. We had our own swimming pool, and I got involved in competitive swimming and water ballet. I really didn’t realize that the lives of others were much different from ours until I was in my teenage years and near graduation from high school. By then the civil-rights marches of the 1960’s made me conscious of prejudice and the fact that not everyone was poor because of laziness.

I began to question the things I had been taught in Catholic school. I had been very devout in my worship. In fact, for several years I had wanted to become a nun. But my questions went unanswered. I began to doubt my faith.

I saw that only a minority of people were able to live as I did, and I thought this was most unfair. My parents showed little sympathy for poorer people. They felt, ‘If poor people would just work hard and apply themselves, they could have what we have.’ I felt as if I didn’t belong; I became very lonely.

With such attitudes surrounding me, I turned to other things​—mainly drinking and boys. I fantasized about being married to a rock singer, and so I associated only with boys in rock groups. I retreated from family activities and became a problem child. By the time I was 16 years old, I was headstrong and uncontrollable, causing much misery at home. At night, I went out drinking and sleeping with boys and came to have a terrible reputation at school. My parents were fed up, and after I graduated in June of 1966, they rented a room for me in San Francisco and put me out of the house.

I met a boy named Patrick. I fell in love with him and we decided to go to New York, where he was from. I stayed with him and his family for several months. He soon tired of me and introduced me to Parrish, a girl he had met in Greenwich Village. I moved in with her.

She had a little money when I met her, but that soon ran out, and we were out on the street. Now we learned the ways of the street. If we couldn’t find someone with whom we could spend the night, we took drugs and stayed up all night, begging for money on street corners or at subway stations. At times I got a job as a bar girl soliciting drinks from men to boost sales, being paid by the bar to do this. I also worked as a pornographic model and as a prostitute. Sometimes we rummaged for food in the garbage cans outside restaurants. Or we went into restaurants and ate the leftovers on someone else’s plate. Then we stole the tip so we could buy some coffee.

At times all we had to wear were the clothes on our back. I had literally gone from riches to rags. New clothes sometimes came from sugar daddies, who would buy us clothes in exchange for certain favors. Once, I was so desperate for a coat that I walked into a large department store, put on a nice winter coat, and walked out​—without paying, of course!

One of the music groups there in the Village befriended us, and it was through them that I was introduced to marijuana. Over the next five years, I took other drugs​—LSD (literally hundreds of times), THC, amphetamines, heroin, cocaine, opium, hashish, and many others. Later I worked for a large dope ring, flying between San Francisco and New York with suitcases full of marijuana.

After several months in New York, Parrish and I found a ride to Hollywood. There I met up with Carol, a girl I had gone to boarding school with. She let Parrish and me move in with her.

At this time we were taking “reds,” which are barbiturates (downers). I was up to six or seven pills a day. Many nights we got high on drugs, then went up on Sunset Strip to listen to the music blasting out of the clubs. One night when Carol and I did this, two men came up and offered us some marijuana, which we took. They got us into their car, and I ended up being beaten and raped.

Carol managed to get away and called the police. The police arrived quickly enough to catch the man who assaulted me. They ran a check on me and found out that I was wanted for a hitchhiking ticket I hadn’t paid, so they arrested me. He was released. I went to jail.

A year later, in May of 1968, I took a trip to New York and got back together with Patrick. Soon I became pregnant with Patrick’s baby. He wanted nothing to do with me or the baby, so I returned to San Francisco. I was unmarried and alone, and was about to become a mother. I was so scared that I began contemplating suicide.

When I was about eight months along, Patrick called and said he wanted to come back. He needed $450.00, and I gave it to him. I was ready to do anything to get him back! He also needed several letters from me for his draft board. I wrote the letters, stating that Patrick was supporting me. I guess my letters did the trick, that is, they got Patrick out of the draft. But after that I never heard from him again. A couple of weeks later, on February 18, 1969, I gave birth to a baby girl.

At this point I realized there had to be more to life than the world I knew. I had had a taste of both worlds​—rags and riches—​but still I wasn’t happy. I began searching elsewhere for answers.

Still searching for answers, in December of 1970 I joined a Jesus movement called The Way. I was living out of wedlock with a young man named Steve, but no one in the movement seemed to think anything of it. It was about this time that I came in contact with one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. I was on Market Street in San Francisco when a Witness approached me. He asked if I was a Christian. “Yes!” I answered. I was so excited to be able to talk about the Bible with someone.

‘Why is there so much trouble in the world?’ I asked him. He showed me Matthew 24:3-13, and he explained that present world conditions are part of a “sign” indicating that we are living in the time of the end. Then he went on to tell me how God’s Kingdom would soon bring peace and security to mankind and eliminate death, old age, and sickness. (Revelation 21:3, 4) What a beautiful future he outlined! He made an appointment to start a Bible study with me that night at seven.

When I got home, I immediately told Steve all the exciting things I had just learned. But he didn’t share my excitement. In fact, he said that the Witnesses were Antichrist and they preyed on new Christians. He told me I shouldn’t talk to them. I trusted Steve, so I made sure I wasn’t there when the Witness called.

A few weeks later I became pregnant with Steve’s baby. He didn’t want the baby and moved out. So here I was again, unmarried, alone, and pregnant. I didn’t want to go through with another pregnancy, so when I was about four months along, I checked into a local hospital to have an abortion. It was painful both physically and emotionally. They induced labor, and after the baby came out, they left it in a jar in front of me the rest of the night. It was a boy. What had I done? I had no right to deny my son the right to live. That thought haunts me to this day.

A few months later, in August of 1971, I ran into a girl I had lived with in a commune in San Francisco. She had become a Witness. We talked and talked. She introduced me to a Witness woman, who offered to study the Bible with me. This time I wasted no time in starting to study the Bible with this dear woman, who became like a mother to me. She and her husband taught me not only the Bible but also personal hygiene, child care, housekeeping, shopping, and other practical things. They bought me some clothes and a warm winter coat.

I knew I had changes to make. Even before the first study, I stopped smoking (I had been up to three packs a day) and gave up all drugs. I had also resolved in my heart to follow Jehovah’s law regarding sexual morality. I progressed to the point where, on June 17, 1972, I symbolized my dedication to Jehovah God by getting baptized.​—1 Corinthians 6:9-11.

Now, some 13 years later, I am still faithfully serving my Creator. My daughter, who is 16 years old now, was baptized on March 12, 1983. In October of 1975 I married a man, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, who is a fine family head, and a loving husband and father to our three children. And since February 1, 1982, I have had the joy of serving in the ministry as a regular pioneer, devoting 90 hours each month to that work.

Finally I’ve found happiness!​—Contributed.

[Blurb on page 25]

By the time I was in high school, I was headstrong and uncontrollable, causing much misery at home

[Blurb on page 26]

I had no right to deny my son the right to live. That thought haunts me to this day

[Blurb on page 27]

Since 1982 I have had the joy of devoting at least 90 hours each month to teaching the Bible to others

From Our Readers

Overprotective Parents

Thanks for your series “Young People Ask . . . ?” I refer in particular to the article “Why Are My Parents Overprotective?” (November 22, 1984) When we are adolescents, we do not always understand the reason for this. Now that I am an adult I am thankful that my mother was protective because I was saved from many bitter experiences, and now I have a happy married life.

L. R., Italy

Honey for Healing

Referring to your item “Honey Heals” (November 8, 1984), I wish to add my sincere support for the efficacy of honey as a wonderful natural healer for many human ailments. Leg ulcers occur mainly on the shinbone in subtropical Queensland, Australia, and take a long while to cure because of the lack of flesh so close to the bone. I recently spent six weeks in hospital with medication prior to a skin graft. Several patients there told me they had cured this complaint with pure honey. It is necessary to apply honey directly in its natural state, not to use poultices or water, as humidity increases the germination of the virus.

M. C. M., Australia

My wife and I have raised five children while using honey for all sorts of cuts and abrasions and burns. There was one rather serious one when one of our girls fell and ripped her cheek on a sharp pencil. Another when the hood of my old car fell and made a gash from my cheekbone to my chin. In all cases, there was never a trace of a scar.

C. R., Washington

As a microbiologist, I must ask you to let your readers know that the use of honey on wounds presents the very real danger of wound botulism. Honey very often contains the spores of the organism Clostridium botulinum. If these spores germinate and the bacterium grows, the toxin that causes botulism will be produced. Although wound botulism is very rare, your readers should be aware of its possibility.

J. S., New York

The item about honey, published in our issue of November 8, 1984, was based on a letter to the editor of “JAMA” (“The Journal of the American Medical Association”) from a doctor in London, England.

“Awake!” does not advocate any particular treatment or healing methods but does publish items of interest from reliable sources for the benefit of our readers.​—ED.

Child Molesting

I want to express my sincere thanks for your article on “Child Molesting” (January 22, 1985). As a child, I was sexually abused constantly by my oldest brother. I did not tell my mother since we did not have good communication, especially on sex. She was never very understanding, and my brother would threaten me by saying: “If you ever tell Mother, she’ll give you a licking.” This was true. When my mother did find out, she not only gave me a licking but I was humiliated in different ways. I am now an adult, but I have a young sister who suffers due to Mother’s lack of understanding. I try to make up for it. But I would like to stress the need for communication and understanding on the part of parents toward their children. A lack of these can be absolutely damaging.

J. G., Brazil

Watching the World

“An Accounting Game”

Three years ago the Third World debt crisis erupted, prompting fears that the global financial system would collapse. Today, however, “there no longer seems to be any immediate danger of debt problems toppling big banks like dominoes,” writes Nicholas D. Kristof in a news analysis for The New York Times. Why? Because the debt-ridden countries of Latin America have been generating trade surpluses, opening the door for further loans from the International Money Fund and others. But critics say this is only postponing the day of reckoning. “In a way it’s an accounting game,” decries a senior vice-president of a large brokerage house. “You postpone principal payments and lend new money to pay interest.” Adds Kristof: “For all the emergency repair work, the total amount of Latin American debt has actually risen, not fallen, over the last three years.”

Women and Stress

Women are under more stress from their family roles than men are from problems at work, reports The New York Times. “If you compare housewives, especially those with young children, to working husbands and fathers,” says Dr. Peggy Thoits of Princeton University, “there is little question that housewives suffer more anxiety and depression.” The women who suffer the most are those who are termed “role captives”​—women who feel trapped at a dreary job or at home. Researchers have found that the happiest housewives have outside interests and fill multiple roles​—such as wife, mother, part-time worker, student, and active member of a religious or social organization.

Lightning Alert

“Lightning is more lethal than you probably realize,” states Parents magazine. Most injuries occur to people in buildings that are not protected against lightning. When an electrical storm strikes, persons at home are advised to stay away from open doors and windows, the fireplace, the phone, and metal objects. Those caught outside should avoid open fields, open boats, wire fences, lone trees, or the tallest trees in a grove. If swimming, get out of the water. Your best protection will be in a low spot. But if you are caught in the open, the magazine gives this advice: “Kneel down and bend over low, without resting your hands on your knees. Allow only your knees and feet to touch the ground, a position that reduces the risk of your conducting electricity.”

Bone-Marrow Clock

Researchers studying hemoglobin production by bone-marrow stem cells report the existence of a “developmental clock” within these cells. According to The Guardian of London, “foetal haemoglobin is chemically different to that found in the red blood cells after birth” and takes up oxygen more readily from the mother’s blood. After birth, however, with oxygen in plentiful supply from the newborn’s lungs, the stem cells begin producing a chemically different hemoglobin. How do the cells know when to switch production? The timing is fixed by some kind of genetic clock within the cells. Says The Guardian: “Just quite how cells are preprogrammed and time their own genetic events remains an intriguing question.”

Guns or Babies?

As military spending increases so does the infant mortality rate, according to Harvard and Boston University researchers after studying data from 141 countries. The researchers feel that their conclusion makes sense because military spending takes money away from social programs that would lower infant death rates. As an example, Japan spends less than 1 percent of its gross national product for military purposes and has a rate of 6 babies one year or younger dying per 1,000 live births. In contrast, the United States has a higher military spending rate​—6 percent—​as well as a higher infant death rate​—11 per 1,000. “A good deal of the difference may be due to military spending,” says one of the researchers.

Easy Come, Easy Go

When Jim Cohoon won half a million dollars in the Provincial lottery in Canada, he quit his job. Eleven weeks later he was broke. What did the 53-year-old seaman do with the money? He simply gave it away​—to friends or strangers, once even passing out $50,000 to winos, prostitutes, and others on the street. He also bought a house and a number of cars and gave them all away. No money went to his family, however, not even to pay for the collect call he made to tell them of his winnings, lamented his brother Bob. Now Jim lives on unemployment insurance and stays with friends.

Safest Seats?

Which seats in an airplane are the safest? Some passengers now opt for the rear seats, in view of two recent airplane disasters in which all the survivors were seated in the rear. But experts point out that there is no way to predict which part of the airplane will strike first in a crash or suffer the most damage. “Safety Board records on the 16 worst airline crashes since 1970 show survivors of most crashes were seated in the rear of the plane,” states a New York Daily News report. “In nine crashes, survivors were seated in the rear; in four, throughout the plane. In three crashes, most who died were seated in the rear.” As the primary danger for survivors is usually fire, the safest seats may be those nearest the emergency exits that are farthest from the fire. It has been found that most victims died because their escape was delayed or prevented by cabin debris, not because of crash impact.

Science Fraud Up

The pressures of competition in modern science are producing more and more cases of fraud, “white lies,” and deception, and are eroding its integrity. That was the conclusion reached by a panel discussion of journal editors and medical leaders at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. “Science in 1985 is too competitive, too big, too entrepreneurial and too bent on winning,” said Dr. Robert G. Petersdorf from the University of California. Competition to gain promotions or research grants has led many scientists to cheat or exaggerate in their research, he said.

Taking No Chances

When the body of a smallpox victim who died about 1845 was discovered by archaeologists in an East London church crypt, authorities took no chances. Even though it was believed that the smallpox virus would not be active after some 140 years, work was suspended while tissue samples were sent to the United States for analysis. Also, the archaeologists were vaccinated against the disease. “No trace of live viruses have been found,” reported The Sunday Telegraph. Two years ago the World Health Organization declared smallpox eradicated.

Avoid the Ice Too

Wise travelers know that, to avoid intestinal afflictions, they should not drink the local water in some areas. But that is not enough, warns a report in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Refrain from using ice as well. According to the study, the bacteria that cause the distress can survive in the ice​—some even after weeks of freezing. Depending on its point of origin, airplane ice may also be unsafe, even in alcoholic beverages. “You are running a risk when you put ice in a drink,” said Dr. Herbert L. DuPont, one of the medical researchers who worked on the report. “I don’t do it myself.”

Persistent Virus

People infected with the AIDS virus can carry it without symptoms for over four years, according to a recent report in The New England Journal of Medicine, and still transmit it to others through blood transfusions. Over 200 people are reported to have developed AIDS through blood transfusions or by use of blood substances. A separate study by the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta has confirmed that the virus may persist symptomless in some for over five years. As of mid-August, there were more than 12,000 confirmed cases of AIDS in the United States​—rising at the rate of 160 new cases each week—​and more than 5,000 of them have died. The first cases were reported in 1981.

Soviets Fight Alcoholism

Following an intensive publicity campaign, the Soviet government has launched a widespread drive against alcoholism, a major national problem. Among the new measures imposed were raising the drinking age to 21, increasing penalties for drunkenness in public or on the job, restricting the serving of liquor in restaurants to after 2 p.m., and allowing liquor stores to open only for five hours on workdays. Roadblocks have been set up across the land to catch drunken drivers, and drinking scenes have been deleted from films shown on television. But some Soviets doubt that drinking habits can be changed. “People will find a way to drink,” said one. “It’s in our Russian roots.”

Terrorist Preference

The largest number of acts of international terrorism last year occurred in Western Europe, according to a study by the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies in Israel. Of the 412 incidents of terrorism involving the interests of two or more nations, 40.5 percent took place in Western Europe and resulted in 349 fatalities. However, a considerable number of them involved non-Europeans. The Middle East followed with 20.6 percent, with Lebanon accounting for 9.7 percent of the total​—not counting the attacks on Israelis there. Spain was next with 8.3 percent and France with 8 percent. Only two tenths of 1 percent of the international terrorist acts occurred in Eastern Europe. “The report noted a growing number of incidents directly or indirectly supported by governments,” said The New York Times.

Is Television Your Baby-Sitter?

Trouble may lie ahead if it is. Give your children something better.

Fascinate and, at the same time, instruct them, with the help of the book Listening to the Great Teacher. It contains delightful stories about Jesus’ healing of the sick, raising of the dead, and performing other amazing deeds. Children love to hear these true Bible accounts.

This hardcovered, illustrated book of 192 pages is yours for only $1, postpaid.

Please send, postpaid, the hardcover 192-page book

Listening to the Great Teacher; I enclose $1 (U.S.).

‘I Never Get Tired of Them’

That is what one housewife wrote regarding the cassette recordings of the Christian Greek Scriptures. Yet she admitted: “When I first heard that the tapes were to be made, I didn’t think they would be worth buying. I thought that you wouldn’t get much out of them after hearing them once. But how wrong I was! I listen to them over and over. I never get tired of the tapes playing over and over because I truly get more and more out of them. . . .

“As I go about my housework, it is so enjoyable to listen to the tapes and imagine myself in the first century with our brothers and sisters. Sometimes it brings tears to my eyes to be feeling so close to our brothers and sisters who lived so long ago.”

Now all the books of the Christian Greek Scriptures are available. An attractive brown-vinyl album has been prepared to hold these recordings, which are of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. The album, complete with the Greek Scriptures (18 cassettes), is $30.

Please send, postpaid, the brown-vinyl album with the entire Christian Greek Scriptures (18 cassettes). I enclose $30 (U.S.). (Outside the U.S.A., write to local Watch Tower branch for information.)