June 8

Page Two

In recent years, the attitude of the Roman Catholic Church toward the Bible has undergone a number of changes. Just what are they, and how did they come about? What dilemma do Catholics now face regarding the current views of the church? The following articles will examine these questions

No Longer a Forbidden Book 3

The Bible or Traditon?​—A Dilemma for Sincere Catholics 4

“Would That All Were Prophets!” 7

No Longer a Forbidden Book

THE attitude of the Catholic Church toward the Bible has changed drastically in some Catholic countries over the past few decades. Older Catholics can still recall the days when Bible reading was frowned upon, if not condemned outright. In many predominantly Catholic countries, the common people viewed the Bible as a Protestant book to be avoided.

Concerning the situation in France during the 18th and 19th centuries, Georges Auzou, professor of Sacred Scripture at the Great Seminary in Rouen, France, wrote in his church-approved book La Parole de Dieu (The Word of God): “Bible reading was not encouraged. . . . In fact, apart from the clergy and some intellectual circles, the holy Book was no longer read by Catholics. It had disappeared from [Catholic] bookstores. The idea was continually fostered that the Bible was a dangerous and even an unhealthy book . . . It was positively proscribed in nuns’ convents and in Christian [Catholic] educational institutions.”

Then things began to change. Mignot, Catholic bishop of Fréjus and Toulon, France, wrote in his preface to Vigouroux’s Dictionnaire de la Bible (1891-1912): “We are truly witnessing an awakening of Bible study in France. Twenty years ago [Bible questions] . . . interested only a very limited circle of initiated ones. . . . Less and less importance was attached to Bible reading and study. Such things were never discussed, and if, perchance, some pious layman quoted Isaiah or Proverbs, people looked at him with surprise and suspected him of having secret leanings toward Protestantism!”

In the face of increasing activities by Protestant Bible societies, encyclicals on Bible study were published by Pope Leo XIII in 1893, Pope Benedict XV in 1920, and Pope Pius XII in 1943. But these papal letters had more effect on theologians and the clergy than on the Catholic public.

The real change came with the Second Vatican Council (1962-65). The council stated: “The sacred Synod also earnestly and especially urges all the Christian faithful, especially Religious, to learn by frequent reading of the divine Scriptures the ‘excellent knowledge of Jesus Christ’ (Phil 3,:8). ‘For ignorance of the Scriptures is ignorance of Christ’ [said Jerome].”

Thus, in 1966 the authors of the book A Guide to Catholic Reading were able to write: “For centuries now the average Catholic has believed the Bible to be a divinely inspired book and, with tradition, the source of all Catholic teaching. But he has also been admonished to exercise the utmost care in his approach to Bible reading and encouraged to read it preferably under close clerical or religious supervision. . . . Happily the situation has changed radically and today Catholics are urged, exhorted, and entreated on every side to read the Book of Books.”​—Italics ours.

These quotations, all taken from church-approved works, show that the Bible is no longer a forbidden book for Catholics. However, as the last quote mentions, Catholics must also take into account the tradition of their church. This has created a new problem for many sincere Catholics, and even for the church itself, as we shall see in the following article.

The Bible or Tradition?​—A Dilemma for Sincere Catholics

THE Bible has become increasingly available in Catholic countries in recent years. In Spain, for example, more translations of the Holy Scriptures in Castilian have been published over the past 50 years than during the previous 500 years. Similarly, French Catholics now have at their disposal several church-approved Bibles translated from the original languages. English-speaking Catholic scholars have also produced some new translations of the Bible.

So today any Catholic who wants to read the Bible can do so. But he must read a duly approved version, which must be provided with explanatory notes. Why does the Catholic Church make this proviso? Because it claims another source of divine revelation​—tradition—​and such notes are deemed necessary to reconcile the one with the other. Now which of the two sources​—the Bible or tradition—​is considered by the church to be the more important?

Allowed But Not Essential

The book A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture asks the question: “Is Bible Reading Necessary for Salvation?” In answer it states: “There is no universal precept, either divine or apostolic, that all the faithful​—every man, woman and child—​should personally read the Bible.”

Thus, while the Catholic Church now permits its members to read the Holy Scriptures, even granting a plenary indulgence “if the reading continues for at least one half hour,” it does not consider such Bible reading to be indispensable.a Explaining why, the French Catholic Dictionnaire de la Bible states: “Tradition is the most normal channel by which all teaching of the faith reaches mankind. Use of the New Testament Scriptures came later. They do not contain the entire deposit of faith, and their use is not essential.”

Tradition Put Above the Bible

The Bible is not, therefore, required reading for Catholics. And even if they do read it, it must take second place, behind tradition. The Catholic Church claims that the early Christians depended on oral tradition before receiving the written Word and that, accordingly, Scripture must be understood in the light of tradition as preserved by the church.

Confirming this viewpoint, a book designed to help French-speaking Catholics to read the Bible states: “The divine revelation, even that expressed predominantly in the Scriptures, has been committed to a faithful community, the living Church; this raises the vital question of the relationship between the Bible, Tradition and the Church. . . . This added light [in the Scriptures], once given, joins and completes the treasure of Tradition. . . . The Scriptures are, therefore, entirely dependent upon Tradition.”​—Initiation Biblique, pages 963, 971. Author’s italics.

How much confidence will a sincere Catholic have in the Bible when he reads in a book written by a Catholic professor of Sacred Scripture: “Tradition precedes, envelops, accompanies and goes beyond the Scriptures”?b Or what will he think if he picks up A Catholic Dictionary and reads: “The Church . . . affirms that all Scripture is the word of God, but at the same time it maintains that there is an unwritten word of God over and above Scripture”?

A Dilemma for Bible-Reading Catholics

For centuries the average Catholic accepted church dogma without questioning because laymen had no yardstick by which to measure the truthfulness of church doctrines. Most Catholics learned their faith by rote at catechism classes. If they asked the catechist or their priest to explain such hard-to-understand doctrines as the Trinity or the Immaculate Conception of Mary, they would more than likely hear by way of an answer: “It is a holy mystery.”

But the Second Vatican Council changed things. The Roman Catholic Church underwent an aggiornamento, or updating, that opened the way for unprecedented heart-searchings among Catholics. Vatican II gave the green light for the publishing of additional “suitable and correct translations” of the Bible, and it instructed Catholic bishops “to give the faithful entrusted to them suitable instruction in the right use of the divine books.” Thus, rank-and-file Catholics can at present obtain Bibles, read them, and compare what they read with what they have been taught.

However, this radical change has not taken place without creating problems. Many Catholics are discovering for the first time in their lives that much church dogma is nowhere to be found in the Bible. Among such teachings are devotion to Mary, prayers to the “saints,” veneration of relics, indulgences, purgatory, and limbo.

Concerning the latter, A Catholic Dictionary admits: “There was a natural repugnance to the belief that those who had committed no sin should be tortured in hell, and this difficulty led theologians to adopt various theories as by way of escape.” Limbo is one such theory.c

However, the Bible states that the dead are asleep in the grave, awaiting the resurrection. (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10; John 5:28, 29) Since there is no immortal soul, there can be no hell torture. So there was no need to invent the theory of limbo to get out of a theological predicament! This is just one example of the dilemma in which many Bible-reading Catholics now find themselves. Which are they to believe, man-invented traditions or the Bible?

A Dilemma for the Catholic Church

But the problem is deeper than that. A priest would likely elude the above-mentioned dilemma for individual Catholics by saying: ‘There is no problem. The revelation in the Bible has been completed by tradition. Accept the tradition of the Church.’ However, things are not that simple.

Jesuit professor Paul Henry, of the Catholic Institute in Paris, wrote: “Scripture is normative [establishes an authoritative standard] for the life, the worship, the morals, and the theological doctrine of the Church. Normative, not in the sense that everything revealed or desired by God is explicitly written in Scripture, but inasmuch as nothing done or taught infallibly by the Church can be contrary to Scripture.”

It is bad enough to claim that tradition completes the Holy Scriptures. This in itself is contrary to what Catholics can read in their Bibles at 1 Corinthians 4:6. But to teach dogmas​—such as hellfire, purgatory, and limbo—​that not only cannot be found in the Bible but also are clearly “contrary to the Scripture” places the Catholic Church on the horns of a dilemma.​—Ezekiel 18:4, 20; Romans 6:23.

Measure Tradition Against the Bible

At the Second Vatican Council, the Catholic Church publicly urged “all the Christian faithful” to engage in “frequent reading of the divine Scriptures.” Moreover, A Catholic Dictionary states: “The Catholic is fully justified in believing with perfect confidence that the Church cannot teach any doctrine contrary to the Scripture.” We invite sincere Catholics to heed the encouragement of their church to read the Bible and to see for themselves if any Catholic doctrine is “contrary to the Scripture.”

This is all the more important if they wish to heed the call that was made at the Third General Assembly of the Catholic World Federation for the Biblical Apostolate​—namely that Catholics should become Bible teachers. This call and its implications will be considered in the following article.

[Footnotes]

[Blurb on page 5]

Is there “an unwritten word of God over and above Scripture”?

[Blurb on page 6]

Is it true that “nothing done or taught infallibly by the Church can be contrary to Scripture”?

[Picture on page 6]

The Second Vatican Council changed things

[Credit Line]

UPI/​Bettmann Newsphotos

“Would That All Were Prophets!”

POPE John Paul II addressed the following message to a gathering of Bible-loving Catholics: “I send cordial greetings to those who are participating in the General Assembly of the World Catholic Federation for the Biblical Apostolate and I assure them of my spiritual closeness. I am happy to be informed that this assembly has found inspiration for its theme in the words of Moses, ‘Would that all were prophets’ (Num 11:29), and that it has applied this expression to the tasks that it will undertake.”​—L’Osservatore Romano, August 24, 1984.

A Catholic Bible Education Work

The Third General Assembly of the World Catholic Federation for the Biblical Apostolate was held in Bangalore, India, in August 1984. Delegates from 53 countries convened. The Federation was founded in Rome in 1969. That was three years after Pope Paul VI had commissioned a German cardinal in Rome to study the needs of the Catholic Church in matters pertaining to the Bible. Presently, Msgr. Ablondi, bishop of Leghorn, Italy, is president.

Exhorting the Federation to review its goals, Pope John Paul said in his message: “The commitment of the Federation is one of helping Catholics all over the world to have easy access to the Word of God. . . . Indeed all activity and all witness in the Church should flow from the living Word . . . The ‘prophetic office’ of the People of God must be consciously exercised as a true service of the Word. . . . By participation in the work of translation, publication and the diffusion of the Word, one is engaged in satisfying the needs of those who hunger and thirst for the Word of God (cf. Amos 8:11). This applies as well to the work of forming those who will one day dedicate themselves to teaching and preaching Holy Scripture.”

In line with its theme, in its final declaration this Catholic Biblical assembly stated: “The Federation is aware that if all the People of God are to play their prophetic part, they must have access to the Word of God (their personal copy of the Bible in their own language). They have the right to be trained in the knowledge of Scripture . . . This Assembly reaffirms that the Church’s work of evangelization is centered on the Bible.”

An Impossible Situation

Catholics, therefore, are now encouraged not only to read the Bible but to take an active part in an evangelization work centered on the Bible. This is commendable. But it places them in an impossible situation.

For one thing, the Catholic Church teaches that tradition takes precedence over the Bible. How can a Catholic be expected to become a zealous teacher of the Bible and at the same time remain faithful to his church? For instance, he will read in the Bible: “The soul that sins shall die.” (Ezekiel 18:4, 20, Revised Standard Version, Catholic edition; compare Douay Version.) But his church teaches that the soul is immortal and that all souls are in hell, limbo, purgatory, or heaven. What is he to teach​—Catholic dogma or the Bible?

Furthermore, the Catholic Church approves the publishing of Bible editions containing notes and comments that can only undermine the reader’s confidence in the Bible as being the inspired Word of God. For example, in its introduction, “How to Read Your Bible,” The New American Bible, containing a prefatory blessing by Pope Paul VI, states: “How does one know whether one deals with history or some form of figurative speech? . . . Most scientists hold that the human species has developed somehow from lower kinds of life. This knowledge helped Christians to rethink the ‘how’ of God’s creative activity and to understand that Genesis 2 and 3 is not a lesson in Anthropology, but an allegory, teaching us the lesson that sin is the root of all evil.”

Thus, before they even reach the first pages of Genesis, readers of this Catholic Bible are told that they will not be reading history but merely an allegory. This is tantamount to saying that Jesus used an allegory as the foundation for Christian monogamy when he used the example of Adam and Eve. (Matthew 19:3-9; Genesis 1:27; 2:24) Also, if mankind did not have one common ancestor, the fundamental Christian doctrine of Christ’s ransom sacrifice falls.​—Matthew 20:28; Romans 5:12, 17-19; 1 Corinthians 15:45.

This same Catholic Bible goes so far as to cast doubt on the authenticity of Jesus’ words as recorded in the Bible. Under “How to Read Your Bible,” it says: “We must keep in mind that the Gospel writers did not intend to write history in the scientific sense . . . Was Jesus involved in these conversations? Did He answer exactly as related in the Bible? It is not certain.”

How can sincere Catholics be expected to read the Bible with faith and “dedicate themselves to teaching and preaching Holy Scripture” to others when their church approves the publication of such faith-destroying statements? And similar undermining comments are to be found in The Jerusalem Bible, and in other Catholic Bibles and encyclopedias. In all fairness it must be added that many Protestant Bible commentaries are just as destructive of faith in the Bible.

All True Christians ARE Prophets

The New American Bible correctly states: “Prophet means ‘one who speaks for another,’ especially for God. It does not necessarily mean that he predicts the future!” Pope John Paul II said: “The ‘prophetic office’ of the People of God must be consciously exercised as a true service of the Word.” But as we have seen, it is impossible for a Catholic to be a true prophet, or witness, for God’s Word, the Bible, without betraying the doctrine of the Catholic Church, based mainly on tradition.

In its final declaration, the World Catholic Federation for the Biblical Apostolate expressed the need for Bible education, particularly among the young and the poor, for inexpensive Bibles and Bible education literature, for Bible translations and Bible translators, and for full-time workers. It further stated that all Christians should preach and teach, live by the Bible, and “discern the signs of the times.”

You will be interested to learn that God has on earth a people, all of whom are prophets, or witnesses for God. In fact, they are known throughout the world as Jehovah’s Witnesses. Out of love for God and his Word, they are carrying on a universal Bible educational work among old and young, rich and poor. They have hundreds of thousands of full-time voluntary workers, some of whom translate and print Bibles and Bible educational literature that is distributed inexpensively, or even free of charge. They are assisted by millions of part-time workers. Any of these will be happy to help you “discern the signs of the times” and embrace the wonderful hope contained in God’s Word, the Bible.

[Blurb on page 8]

“The Gospel writers did not intend to write history,” claims The New American Bible

[Picture on page 9]

True Christians are prophets in that they teach others God’s Word

[Picture Credit Line on page 7]

UPI/​Bettmann Newsphotos

Young People Ask . . .

Cheat​—Why Not?

“I’M PREPARING for the real world. Business is unethical. Cheating . . . is just good training. I’ll be better able to handle what’s put at me when I get out.” This was how a youth named Jeremy justified his submitting a term paper that someone else had written.

Fifteen-year-old Karen, too, had her reasons for cheating: “‘Oh, it’ll only be this once’ or ‘Everyone else does it, so why shouldn’t I?’” Karen had not properly prepared for her exam. Cheating did not help, though, since she was found out by her teacher.

Sly glances at a neighbor’s work, an open book on the lap, or even high-technology methods​—the resources of the cheat are many and varied. Whatever the methods, there are many like Karen and Jeremy. For example, in the United States, surveys show that more than half of all students cheat, or have cheated, during their school years. Cheating, though, is a problem almost everywhere and probably is of concern to you, too, if you are going to school. But why is cheating so widespread? Even if it is a way of getting higher grades at school, is it really worth it?

Why Do They Cheat?

To justify the practice, some students claim that school is boring and that they prefer to spend their time on things that really interest them instead of studying. Others say that they are virtually forced to cheat. One 15-year-old youth explains: “Each teacher thinks [he is] the only [one] giving homework and tests . . . But the way it is now, it’s not humanly possible to study for all the tests.”

However, not everyone feels the need to make excuses, as a poll in Senegal shows. Many of the young people questioned admitted that one of the main reasons for cheating was simply laziness. Some of them admitted that they did not cheat when they had studied their lesson. If this is really the case, anyone tempted to cheat should consider the following warning in the Bible book of Proverbs: “The one working with a slack hand will be of little means.”​—Proverbs 10:4.

“Success is one of the reasons people cheat.” With these words the Journal of Business Education touches on another factor that is often mentioned by students. For example, 17-year-old Alison describes what she and her friends face: “Years ago, good grades were desirable. Today, they are a necessity if students plan to apply to college.” She continues: “Cheating has gained greater acceptance as students try to cope with academic pressures.”

Young people have been affected by these pressures, as is shown by a survey organized among 160,000 young Americans. Sixty percent of them said that they studied in order to pass tests and only 40 percent in order really to learn. Randy Herbertson, president of the student body at Colorado University, thus claims that “cutthroat competition” pushes students into “desperate actions,” such as cheating.

The Best Way?

Granted, the pressures to make good grades may be intense. ‘So if cheating helps me to succeed,’ you might reason, ‘then why not do it?’ For several reasons. One is the risks involved. Indeed, the consequences can be far-reaching when the fact that a student has cheated becomes part of his permanent record. As a director of campus judicial programs explains: “Any student committing an act of academic dishonesty will run a serious risk of harming future educational and employment opportunities.” Linda had this experience. She explains: “I was caught plagiarizing in the spring of my junior year, and I just couldn’t get my English teacher to forget it.” As it turned out, she was not able to get into another school that she wanted to attend.

But even if you are not discovered or the danger of being punished is minimal, cheating has other, long-term consequences. Another young girl, for example, cheated in mathematics. Did it help her? She says: “I still failed the quiz. I didn’t learn anything from it.” Her failure may have opened her eyes. But would she have learned any more if the cheating had worked? No, the cheat is the loser at least in one area: the benefit of learning while in school. Anyone who acts this way runs a grave risk of having serious problems later in life. If he has gained a diploma by cheating, and then this diploma opens up a job for him, what will he do when his abilities are put to the test?

Moreover, the cheater forgets that the years passed at school can serve not only to build one’s intellectual abilities but also to form good qualities. The book Teenagers Themselves gives one reason why young people may sometimes forget this aspect of the question: “Teenagers . . . are basically short term thinkers. . . . The adolescent mind will readily exchange future character for immediate escape from punishment.”

This is perhaps not the case with you, but is it not true of the one who cheats? Would it not be better for him to learn to face up to problems while still at school? The book of Proverbs is very much to the point when it says: “The plans of the diligent one surely make for advantage, but everyone that is hasty surely heads for want.”​—Proverbs 21:5.

According to the Bible, being honest brings other advantages besides a good personality. These include a good conscience, peace of mind, and especially the opportunity to have a good relationship with the Creator of the universe. He is the God of truth, and he insists that those who worship him develop this same quality.​—Psalm 31:5; John 4:24.

Cheating​—Or Stealing?

Cheating is also unfair to those who do not cheat. As teenager Kelly explains: “Other people may have tried their best and remembered what they had to for the test instead of having it written on their desk.” How do those who do not cheat view those who do? Mrs. Lesser, an English teacher in a school in the New York City area, replies: “High achievers are resentful when they see others get ahead of them dishonestly.” Yes, what would you think if after all your hard work you saw a cheat get a better grade or gain entrance to a job ahead of you?

Then, too, isn’t it true that you want to be respected? But are your friends going to respect you if they find that you have been cheating and they might have suffered because of it? More than likely, you would find it difficult to regain their respect. Should not this potential loss be given some consideration before cheating?

Do not imagine, then, that cheating is harmless. For if you can cheat, others can cheat too. Suppose that one day you get married and have children. One of the children gets sick, and you take him to the doctor. Now, how would you feel if you learned that the doctor was not properly qualified​—that he had cheated to get his diploma? Could you criticize the doctor because of doing something that you yourself had done?

Stealing means taking something that does not belong to you. Cheating is thus a form of theft, since by means of it the cheater takes a grade or a diploma that he does not deserve, or even a position that should have gone to someone else. Hence, the Bible’s counsel to the thief applies equally well to the cheat: “Let the stealer [or, the cheater] steal no more, but rather let him do hard work, doing with his hands what is good work.”​—Ephesians 4:28.

The one that works hard at studying gains the satisfaction of truly earning his grades. Even if he does not in later life use every detail that he has learned while in school, he leaves school with knowledge or skills that he can use beneficially for the rest of his life. Moreover, his mind has been broadened, and he has received good training in developing strength of personality.

The cheater? He soon discovers that the one he has really cheated is himself.

[Picture on page 11]

The cheater harms himself as well as others

Crossword Puzzle

Clues Across

1. This unnamed Arabian monarch gave Solomon an unusual amount of balsam oil [3 words] (1 Kings 10:1-10)

8. Combination (Exodus 30:25)

9. Fermented wine (Numbers 6:3)

11. One of five Midianite kings slain when Jehovah’s vengeance was carried out against Midian (Numbers 31:3, 8)

13. A son of Jether of the tribe of Asher (1 Chronicles 7:30, 38)

15. Breastfeed (Exodus 2:7, 9)

16. Vocal (Galatians 6:6)

18. A son of Abraham’s brother Nahor (Genesis 22:23, 24)

20. Valiant son of Zophah of the tribe of Asher (1 Chronicles 7:36, 37, 40)

22. What had to be done to the subdued Promised Land before the tribes could take their inheritance (Joshua 18:1-10)

23. The father of Elmadam, an ancestor of Jesus Christ (Luke 3:23, 28)

24. Israel suffered defeat at this city due to Achan’s sin (Joshua 7:1, 4, 5)

25. Jesus said that only those in this condition need a physician (Mark 2:17)

26. The dead son of the widow of Nain did this at Jesus’ command (Luke 7:14, 15)

28. Used to shape metal (Isaiah 41:7)

29. It cannot consume heavenly treasure (Matthew 6:19, 20)

30. The surname of Symeon of Antioch, one of those who dispatched Paul and Barnabas as missionaries (Acts 13:1-3)

33. It never gets full (Ecclesiastes 1:7)

35. Called dill in the parallel account in Matthew (Luke 11:42)

37. Jesus, as well as the twelve, was one (Hebrews 3:1)

38. Jeroboam’s hometown (1 Kings 11:26)

39. Jesus suffered death on this [2 words] (Philippians 2:8)

Clues Down

2. Often mentioned together with Thummim (Ezra 2:63)

3. Penetrate (Acts 20:29)

4. Liberty (2 Peter 2:19)

5. Land of the first Biblical mention of gold (Genesis 2:11)

6. Paul preached here every day while in Athens (Acts 17:17)

7. Writer of the 30th chapter of Proverbs (Proverbs 30:1)

10. Joshua’s father (Joshua 1:1)

12. Cornelius served in this Roman army unit [2 words] (Acts 10:1)

13. Messenger (Luke 1:11)

14. Symbol of mourning (Esther 4:1-3)

17. Grant temporary use (Luke 11:5)

19. One of Shem’s five sons (Genesis 10:22)

21. Mistaken, popular name of the “rich man” in Luke 16:19

22. Maternal ancestor of Jesus Christ listed fourth after King David (Luke 3:31)

27. Raging stream (Job 6:15)

28. He presented the offering of the tribe of Dan on the tenth day of the inauguration of the tabernacle’s altar (Numbers 7:66-71)

31. One may plant and another water, but it is God who makes it do this (1 Corinthians 3:6, 7)

32. What will happen to the name of wicked ones (Proverbs 10:7)

34. Put up (Mark 9:5)

36. Paul gave one in the Corinthian synagogue every Sabbath (Acts 18:4)

CROSSWORD SOLUTIONS PAGE 17

Answers Across

1. QUEEN OF SHEBA

8. MIXTURE

9. VINEGAR

11. EVI

13. ARA

15. NURSE

16. ORAL

18. GAHAM

20. HOD

22. MAP

23. ER

24. AI

25. ILL

26. SAT

28. ANVIL

29. MOTH

30. NIGER

33. SEA

35. RUE

37. APOSTLE

38. ZEREDAH

39. TORTURE STAKE

Answers Down

2. URIM

3. ENTER

4. FREEDOM

5. HAVILAH

6. MARKETPLACE

7. AGUR

10. NUN

12. ITALIAN BAND

13. ANGEL

14. ASHES

17. LOAN

19. ARAM

21. DIVES

22. MELEA

27. TORRENT

28. AHIEZER

31. GROW

32. ROT

34. ERECT

36. TALK

Speedway Riding Was My Life

I WAS chosen to race against Ivan Mauger, the speedway motorbike world champion, in exhibition test matches at Ipswich, Queensland, in Australia. That night the stands were packed. Throughout the whole stadium you could feel the excitement in the air. This was a big night for a lot of people​—I, their hometown hero, was racing against the world’s top favourite!

As Ivan and I lined up at the tapes, our engines roaring, the fans were on the edge of their seats with expectation. Up went the tapes and we were off! Racing wheel to wheel, we showered the crowd with dirt as we took the bends. Only inches separated us as we pushed our machines to the limit.

After two races we were even, one each. Excitement reached a peak in our third and final race. As we entered the final back straight, engines screaming, dirt flying, the spectators rose to their feet, their cheers drowning out the roar of the engines. The crowd went wild as we came round the last bend . . .

But how had I reached that peak in speedway riding? From my childhood on, it was part of my life. That is understandable, for my father had been keenly interested in racing for most of his life. Among my earliest recollections are scenes of our whole family at speedway meetings each week at the Exhibition Grounds in Brisbane, Australia.

Thus, as a lad, I developed a love of motorbikes and was riding one as soon as I could. At 15 years of age, I was riding my father’s old bike around any open area that was not a public highway, since I was too young to hold a rider’s license. The more I rode, the more my love for motorbikes deepened.

Making It to the Mecca of Speedway Racing

As soon as I finished my formal education, I decided to follow my father in the field of mechanics. I had nearly finished my apprenticeship when a close friend joined me in trying speedway riding. From then on, my whole life began to center around bikes.

It was a proud day when I was able to buy my first speedway bike. Now, with the aid of my father, I set out to adapt my bike for racing. In 1965 I started my racing career at the Brisbane Exhibition Grounds. Of course, I had to start at the bottom, but I soon became recognized, and before long I was challenging the top riders and winning many events.

I did well in my first season, and the highlight was winning the Warana Festival Trophy. By the end of the season, I was invited to go overseas and ride for Halifax Speedway in Yorkshire, England. I accepted the offer with delight, for England was the mecca of speedway racing. All the world’s top riders competed in England and on the continent.

Success in the British League

Along with a few other Australian riders, I left for England at the end of 1966 for the English 1967 season. At this stage, I had achieved two of my most sought-after goals​—I was a professional rider, and I was racing against the top European and world champions.

Now I competed in British League matches and had the chance to ride in the Apollo Cup against a mixed field of world-class riders. In my first ride of this event, I was plagued with mechanical troubles, which caused my bike to blow up on me. So I borrowed a fellow Australian’s bike. In my haste, and in trying to get the feel of a strange machine, I rode right off the track and across the center field on one wheel, with the front wheel up in the air! This amused the crowd but earned me no points. However, even with that borrowed machine, I soon got back on track and made a good score.

Back in Australia, while making arrangements with other riders at the start of the 1968 season, I met Suzette, a young woman who was to affect my life greatly in many ways. She was different from the usual type of girl who hangs around bike shops​—different in her speech and in her dress. It was not long before I found out why​—her parents were Jehovah’s Witnesses, though she herself had not yet embraced their faith. This was my first contact with anyone who knew anything about the Witnesses.

Up until this time, I had no interest in any religion at all. I believed they were all interested only in making money, and I would quickly say “Rubbish!” to anyone who claimed to be religious. My parents, although good people, were not religious, so I never attended any church while growing up. When I was 21 my mother offered to buy me a Bible as a present, but I told her not to​—I was too busy with my speedway career to think about religion!

I continued my intensive training, and it soon paid off with many big wins. I was in an excellent position for future programs. Then I had the big race described in the introduction to this story. Who won? The hometown hero defeated the world champion! No wonder the crowd was ecstatic.

After that, I was chosen to represent Queensland in a test match against the British Lions. They had dominated other test matches throughout Australia. I won every race I started. The English were no longer on top. Here I felt the first pull of nationalism. Then I was selected to ride for Australia in a coming match between England and Australia.

Disaster Strikes

It was at this time that I married Suzette. She was there for the big test against England. When we arrived at the track, we could feel the tension. Nationalism ran high. It was the Aussies against the Pommies. We all meant business and were out to win. I was paired off with a very close friend against two English riders.

Kev, my partner, was first out of the gate, with me and an English rider hot on his tail. Then the English rider blocked my mate. I came up to pass him. He saw me, tried to stop me, chopped down too fast​—and we crashed. I had had spills before, but never as serious as this one. This accident almost cost me my life. I was rushed to the hospital with a fractured skull, ruptured kidneys, and a cracked spine.

Suzette was told to stay at the hospital, as I was not expected to last through the night. I did not regain consciousness until a few days later. To this day it is not clear what happened to me in that first week in the hospital, except one thing​—I prayed to God not to let me die! I had never given much thought to God before, but in extreme need I did then.

Was Speedway Riding All There Was to Life?

My mother-in-law felt that now my forced stay at home would be a good time for us to make a fresh contact with Jehovah’s Witnesses, so she wrote a letter to the presiding overseer of the congregation in our neighbourhood, asking for someone to visit us.

A Witness couple called on us, and I agreed to have a Bible study on one condition​—that I could stop the study any time I wanted. One reason I agreed to study was that I was bored. And I also wanted to prove that the Witnesses were like all the other religions​—after money. However, after a couple of studies, I began to see that there was something different here. The Bible began to make sense to me, and I could see that what they were saying had a ring of truth. And there was no mention of taking money from us.

As the months passed, I regained strength and was anxious to get back into racing. It was my life, and I wanted to start racing again as soon as possible. I had two main reasons for this: First, the news media and some friends had written me off as finished; second, I needed to prove to myself and to others that I was still as good a rider as I was before my near-fatal accident.

Actually, I recovered so quickly that I was able to get ready for the 1969-70 season. To everyone’s surprise, I made a successful comeback to speedway riding.

I Had to Choose

Later, we moved to a different area, and a young Witness couple continued our Bible study with us. Thus, racing and the Bible were my main interests, with racing still foremost. Then I gradually began to see the contrast between the Witnesses and my associates. Things were starting to stand out now. I always knew about the immorality and the permissiveness of husbands and wives at the race track, but it never worried me before. I believed it was their business, but I would not take my wife to any of their parties or functions.

After seeing Jehovah’s view on immorality and the hurt that it causes to others, I began to hate what I knew went on, even though I was not involved in it. The immorality, cursing, swearing, and blaspheming began to grate on my nerves. The lack of respect for authority and for others became more noticeable as I learned Bible principles.

At about this time, I had an excellent offer to race in America as well as return to England. I knew that I could reach my dream of being one of the top ten riders in the world. But things kept going wrong. And I couldn’t mix with the guys in the pits like before. A troubling phrase kept going round and round inside my head: ‘I will have to make a choice one day!’

I remember my last race meeting because circumstances made me make an important decision. Things went wrong from the moment I entered the racing pits that night. The swearing and cursing put me strangely on edge. The official starter for the night had his son-in-law racing and his obvious favouritism toward him was getting all the riders mad. The last straw was when he disqualified me at the start of a race even though it was obvious that another rider had broken the starting tapes.

I went home that night thoroughly disgusted and realized that I could no longer try to serve two masters​—speedway riding and Jehovah. “I will retire from the speedway,” I announced to an incredulous Suzette. And that I did, then and there! In spite of much opposition from my family, I sold my bikes and riding gear. Some of my friends thought I had become a religious fanatic.

The Joy of Serving One Master

Now, for the first time, we went to the Kingdom Hall. My racing commitments had hindered me before. The welcome and warmth we experienced at that first Sunday meeting we will never forget. It was a lovely feeling, and I realized that I was no longer a slave to the speedway. I was no longer trying to serve two masters. I could now accept the invitation to attend all the Christian meetings. And I was anxious to tell others what I had learned, especially the wonderful hope held out in such Bible verses as Revelation 21:4: “And [God] will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.”

My wife and I were baptized together in Brisbane in 1970. After that, we served in Papua New Guinea for a time, helping to spread the good news where the need is great. Now we are back in Australia, blessed with three fine sons. With the help of God’s Word, the Bible, we are bringing them up, not to be speedway fanatics as I was, but to be followers of Christ, lovers of truth, and worshipers of Jehovah.​—As told by Les Bentzen.

[Blurb on page 15]

In my haste, I rode right off the track and across the center field on one wheel!

[Blurb on page 16]

In the pits, nationalism was high

Creation’s Invisible “Clocks”

‘I HATE being tied to a clock!’ Is that the way you feel at times? If so, perhaps the thought has crossed your mind: ‘How nice it would be to leave clocks and watches behind, never again to be troubled by their incessant ticks and alarms!’

However, no matter where you go on this planet, there are certain clocks from which there is no escape. They started ticking when you were just a tiny fetus in the womb. They stop only when you draw your last breath.

Scientists call these our biological clocks, or circadian (meaning ‘about a day’), rhythms. Failure to abide by our clocks’ schedule often results in problems for us.

The Biological Clocks

The Creator wisely put within us clocks that regulate certain physical processes. Do you find yourself getting sleepy at night? One reason for this is that your body temperature rises and falls according to a definite pattern or rhythm. At night your temperature begins to drop. But as morning nears, it rises again, and soon you are awake, ready for activity. Do you get hungry near mealtime? Well, your pulse, blood pressure, and sugar levels are timed according to certain biological rhythms.a

Actually, medical scientists have discovered that invisible clocks govern over a hundred different cycles in our bodies. And interestingly, many of these clocks synchronize with yet another sophisticated timekeeping system: the rotation of planet Earth. As our planet whirls on its axis, it subjects every living thing on it to regular rhythms of temperature and light change. So as one writer put it: “It is not surprising . . . to discover that the behavior and metabolism of most organisms follow a 24-hour schedule.”

Researchers, though, have tried to fool these internal clocks by placing life forms in a laboratory setting, keeping the temperature, light, food, and sound constant. Invariably, though, the 24-hour rhythms persist! This shows us that the circadian clocks are internal, even though some external influences can affect or even upset them to a degree.

Upsetting the Clocks

Right now your body’s clocks are probably adjusted to the time zone in which you live. However, afternoon in California, U.S.A., is nighttime in Europe. Therefore, after flying on a jet aircraft between these two points, you might experience headaches, sluggishness, and sleep problems​—a condition commonly known as jet lag.

What has happened? Your biological clock has become confused. It is desperately trying to adhere to your home schedule. (Shift workers often experience similarly disagreeable symptoms.) Business plans, conferences, or even the pleasure of a vacation can be adversely affected by the headaches, insomnia, irritability, digestive problems, and fatigue that jet lag often brings.

Interestingly, such problems did not occur in the days of slower transportation. The body’s clocks had time to adjust to a new time zone before the traveler ever arrived at his destination. But with jet travel, one can cross four or five time zones in only a matter of hours. This can throw your eating and sleeping schedule completely out of order! As you can imagine, this is particularly troublesome for airline personnel. A former pilot for an international airline told Awake!:

“I experienced no problem crossing many time zones on what we called a 12-hour turnaround schedule because that would bring me home again within the same 24-hour period. However, when given a five-day stopover run from Vancouver [Canada] to Amsterdam or Rome, my problems began. My whole system seemed upset. Trying to overcome the problem, I would go walking until I got so physically tired I just had to sleep. After five days my system would just get adjusted to European time, and then it would be back to Vancouver to do the same thing all over again. Sedatives were not the answer. It was really hard.”

Experience shows that west-to-east travelers suffer the most severe adjustment problems. Those going east to west suffer less since the day simply becomes longer, making it easier for the body to adjust. One airline pilot assigned to the Vancouver-Tokyo run minimized his problem by always remaining on Tokyo time no matter which city he was in. Circadian rhythms, though, are usually not affected by north-south flights because they remain within one or two time zones at the most.

Clocks in Other Living Things

Of course, man is not the only living creature endowed with built-in clocks. Swallows return each spring to Capistrano, California, U.S.A., on time. There are oysters that open their shells at high tide and close them at low tide, regardless of the coastal areas. Various plants open by day and close at night.

Why, so well timed is the appearance of grunion (fish) on Southern California beaches for their ‘mating dance’ that newspapers publish the precise time of their arrival. Even certain microscopic algae have a 24-hour rhythm, giving off a phosphorescent glow for 12 hours of the night.

In trying to uncover the fascinating secrets of living things, men have greatly enhanced our appreciation of creation. Yet, it is good to remember that it was not until the 1940’s that men began to recognize the phenomena of biological clocks. In their excitement at their discoveries, some scientists often forget the obvious​—that there is a Designer of these wonders. He surely is the One who best understands the workings of living clocks. After all, he set them ticking!

[Footnotes]

[Box on page 19]

Overcoming Jet Lag

DOS

◻ Flying West: Try to fly late in the day so that you arrive at the time when you usually retire.

◻ Flying East: Retire earlier the night before you leave. Travel so as to arrive during evening hours. If it is a night flight, try to stay awake all next day, retiring early in the evening.

◻ If crossing more than six time zones, plan a stopover along the way when practical.

◻ On arrival do moderate exercises, walk, jog, or swim and follow with light evening meal.

◻ If on medication: Consult your physician before departure as to when to take it in the new time zone. Particularly diabetics on insulin should watch this.

◻ Eat lightly a few days before and during the flight, and for a few days after.

DON’TS

◻ Do not drink any hard alcoholic drinks or take any sleeping pills immediately previous to, during, or on conclusion of the flight.

◻ Do not smoke while in flight, or at any other time! It deprives the body of oxygen badly needed on high-altitude flights.

◻ Where possible, do not have business dealings or conferences on the day of arrival.

[Box/​Pictures on page 20]

Animal Clocks

◻ Bees: “Train their own internal clocks to be at the right place at the right time to reap their honey harvest.”

◻ Tinamou: “Three-hour bird” of Panama sings every three hours, day and night. You can set your watch by it.

◻ Flicker woodpecker of Canada and the United States: One was observed to quit its activities on schedule at 3:35 each afternoon without fail.

◻ Salmon: Internal clocks indicate time to return from the sea to the river where they were spawned.

◻ Palolo worms in the Fiji Islands: Surface and begin their reproductive activities as dawn breaks on nights of third quarter of moon during months of October and November.

◻ Fiddler crabs: Have a precise 24-hour schedule of turning dark during day and pale at night. Color changes are geared to the sun and feeding habits to the moon.

A Discriminating Burglar

Anyone can be a victim of burglars or thieves. They usually show no partiality, so that anyone can suddenly find himself minus his wallet, his car radio, his bicycle, or any other valuable possession. Obviously, this also applies to Jehovah’s Witnesses. But occasionally a thief with a conscience pops up, as is illustrated by the following experience from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.

“One autumn day, very early in the morning, my wife got up and, as was her custom, went to open the back door, only to find that someone had broken the lock of the back room. Although we had some valuable items there, nothing had disappeared. But to our surprise someone had left the following note on the door: ‘Householders of this beautiful home, forgive me for having broken the lock. I am a burglar and came to take away all that is here, but I realized that here are Christian Witnesses of Jehovah, and for that reason I did not do it. I rob the rest, but you I respect.’”

How did the burglar know these were Witnesses? Because in the back room they had their Bible literature and magazines (Watchtower and Awake!). Although the neighbors were burglarized that night, the Witnesses were not.

Jehovah’s Witnesses are subject to ‘time and unforeseen circumstance’ as is anyone else. Yet, on many occasions, it pays to be identified as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.​—Ecclesiastes 9:11.

The Bible’s Viewpoint

Have You Ever Lived Before?

“I REMEMBER many of my past lives​—sometimes I was a male, other times a female.” Actress Shirley MacLaine explains how she arrived at that conclusion in her best-seller Out on a Limb. At first she was “astonished to find, not only that reincarnation was an integrated part of most Eastern beliefs . . . but that hosts of notable thinkers from the West shared this view.”

Yes, more people than you might suppose​—including hundreds of millions of Buddhists and Hindus—​believe they have lived before. They believe that something within them​—many call it the soul—​survives death and is reborn in one or more successive existences. This “something” returns in human, or as some say animal or even vegetable, form. Most of them agree that the purpose of this is gradually to purify the soul or to lead the individual to ultimate perfection.

Admittedly, the idea of having lived before and of perhaps living again may be fascinating, even comforting. But is it true?

Have You Existed in the Spirit Realm?

“Yes,” says The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, whose members are commonly called Mormons. The late James E. Talmage, an apostle of the church, wrote about the “many scriptural proofs that the spirits of mankind existed prior to their earthly probation​—a condition in which these intelligences lived and exercised their free agency before they assumed bodily tabernacles.”

True, Jesus, the Son of God, existed in heaven before he lived on earth. (John 6:38, 62) In fact, this is what led Talmage to write that “it is consistent to infer that if His earthly birth was the union of a preexistent or antemortal spirit with a mortal body such also is the birth of every member of the human family.”

While in heaven, Jesus had always been obedient to his Father. Thus his earthly sojourn was not designed to place him on “earthly probation,” as though he were a sinner. On the contrary, he was a perfect, sinless human, able to redeem sinners, able to “give his soul a ransom in exchange for many.” (Matthew 20:28) So Jesus is one of a kind, the “one mediator between God and men.” (1 Timothy 2:5, 6) His assignment of service on earth was temporary. After completing it, he could return to his real home, to heaven.

But in view of these facts, can we speak of heaven as being our home in the same sense as he could?

In Human Form But Not Human

In times past, invisible spirit creatures, angels, have materialized visible human bodies at God’s direction. (Genesis 19:1; Luke 1:26-28) But in the days of Noah, some of them did so on their own initiative. Why? For the selfish purpose of enjoying sexual relations with women. (Genesis 6:2) Since this was not God’s arrangement for angels, their step was one of disobedience. The Bible calls them “angels that did not keep their original position but forsook their own proper dwelling place.” (Jude 6) Clearly, then, heaven is the “proper dwelling place” for angels, even as the earth is for humans.​—Compare Psalm 115:16; 1 Corinthians 15:39, 40.

Jesus actually “became flesh” when he came to earth. (John 1:14) Not so these angels. They simply materialized human bodies that they deserted at the time of the Flood in order to return to the spirit realm. Because of their revolt, however, God confined “them to pits of dense darkness to be reserved for judgment.” No longer could they materialize fleshly bodies to live on earth.​—2 Peter 2:4.

So the examples of Jesus and the materialized angels cannot properly be used to prove that humans existed in the spirit realm “prior to their earthly probation,” as the Mormons teach. But would this rule out having lived previous lives as humans here on earth?

God’s Purpose in Creating the Soul

Actually, the key to determining whether man has lived before or not​—either in the spirit realm or on earth—​is to determine whether he has an immortal soul or not. Genesis 2:7 describes the creation of the first human soul this way: “And Jehovah God proceeded to form the man out of dust from the ground and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man came to be a living soul.”

Notice that the soul is not described as something distinct and separate from the lifeless body. In fact, only after God energized the lifeless body with “the breath of life,” thus triggering it into breathing, did the soul Adam come to life. When breathing stops and the life-force ceases, the body once again becomes lifeless. Man “goes back to his ground; in that day his thoughts do perish.” (Psalm 146:4) He must await the day of resurrection to live again. (John 5:28, 29) Meanwhile, there can be “no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom” in the death state. (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10) Simply stated, the soul is dead.

Dozens of Bible texts show the soul to be destructible, thus plainly ruling out human immortality of the soul. (Ezekiel 18:4, 20; Psalm 22:29; Acts 3:23; Revelation 16:3) With the soul dead, what is left to pass on to live again in another body? Besides, why would there even be a need for anything to pass on? When God created human souls, he called them “very good.” This he could do because they were created perfect, designed to live upon the earth forever. (Genesis 1:31) They were souls that needed no purification; they were already morally pure. Neither were they souls that needed to die in order to live again. Eternal life within the framework of their original existence on earth was their prospect.

The Bible’s answer to whether you have ever lived before​—either in the spirit realm or on the earth—​is quite clear. Equally clear is the opportunity God offers you of one day living upon a paradise earth forever. Would you care to learn more?

[Blurb on page 23]

Some one hundred Bible texts show the human soul to be mortal, destructible; can you find one that says it is immortal?

[Pictures on page 22]

Were you all these people?

That Beautiful Tan May Mean Injured Skin!

TO GET their sun, they flock to beaches, parks, and roof patios. Their objective? That enviable, beautiful tan. Are you one of them? Then be careful! That tan may mean that your skin has been injured.

The Chemistry of a Tan

Your skin is your body’s largest and most exposed organ. When you sunbathe, or work or play outdoors for prolonged periods, you are exposing your skin to the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. Your body reacts to this dangerous radiation by increasing its output of a protective pigment called melanin. Your skin darkens​—and you get your much desired tan. But the beautiful tan is meant to be a danger sign.

Although people who have naturally dark or black skin have greater protection, they also suffer some skin damage under extended exposure to sunlight.

The Dangers

The immediate effects of brief exposure to the sun are imperceptible. But they accumulate slowly over many years. The skin’s connective tissues, blood vessels, and cells are progressively weakened. After about 15 years, premature wrinkling and sagging of the skin will begin.

The damage could be more serious. Medical research has linked the rise in cases of malignant melanoma (skin cancer) with people’s increased exposure to the sun’s ultraviolet radiation. This connection is not fully understood, but it is thought that prolonged exposure contributes to a depressing of the body’s immune system.

According to American Health magazine, John A. Parrish, professor of dermatology at Harvard Medical School, connects this with the fact that some 10 percent of your blood is always in your skin. He says that “within a few minutes the equivalent of your entire blood volume has passed through your skin, and it is at a level in the skin where it can be affected by UV radiation.” This radiation may inhibit the production of blood cells that fight infection, leaving the way open for skin cancer as well as the type 1 herpes virus that produces cold sores or fever blisters.

Protect Your Skin

Does this mean that you must say good-bye to sunbathing, to the beach, and even to working in the sun? No. You can protect your skin. The danger really comes from too much baring of your unprotected body. Even a suntan does not protect you. Your clothing does. So do cosmetic pigments like lipstick, powder, and other makeup.

There are sun blocks, such as zinc oxide and iron oxide (red ocher), that can be used. Preparations of these and certain other chemical compounds have been made into sunscreens that can be applied to the skin. With this protection, you can sunbathe or engage in other outdoor activities for two or three hours. Without the use of a sunscreen, it would not be wise to expose your bare body to the sun for more than 30 minutes each day. That is sufficient for absorbing the healthful benefits of sunlight.

Bear in mind, too, that water and snow reflect ultraviolet rays and that clouds do not block them. Yes, you can have the damaging effects of overexposure to the sun in the snows of winter or in the heat of the tropics! So avoid too much exposure under these conditions. Obviously, you would be most open to skin injury during summer or in the tropics during the hours when the sun is high in the sky.

Yes, the suntan is normally a symptom of injury to the skin. But by using protective applications and by wise timing of your sunbathing, you can prevent or greatly reduce serious consequences.

[Blurb on page 24]

‘Within a few minutes your entire blood volume can be affected by UV radiation’

Gilead Graduates Subject Themselves to God’s Direction

TODAY, many resent taking direction from others. For this reason, it is unusual to find people who are willing to subject themselves to others.

But on March 2, 1986, 24 graduates from the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead in Brooklyn, New York, offered themselves willingly to go where they could best be used as missionaries. (Matthew 28:19, 20) How do they feel about being sent out, rather than choosing for themselves where they will spend what some would consider to be the prime years of their lives?

Subjection in a Skeptical World?

Anne answers: “I wanted Jehovah to decide what is the place and way for me to do my full-time service.” She and her husband, Teuvo, had already left their home in Finland and are now ready for their new home in Papua New Guinea.

Wayne feels the same way. He and his wife, Barbara, from the United States, are excited about their new assignment in Guatemala, Central America. “When we filled out the application for Gilead training,” said Wayne, “we told ourselves that Jehovah’s organization knew better than we did where to send us, and we believed it. When we arrived at the world headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses and saw Jehovah’s organization at work firsthand, we really became convinced that the organization is in the best position to decide where we could accomplish the most good.”

In a world of skepticism, how could these young people place so much confidence in an organization that they would allow it to make such a weighty decision for them? Elizabeth, who came from Australia, explains: “In most other avenues of full-time service, we have a measure of choice. But in devoting ourselves to missionary life, it is as if Jehovah is taking us in hand and personally choosing what is best for us. This makes me feel very close to Jehovah.” Her husband, Daryl, adds: “For me personally, I need to reflect continually on the fact that Jehovah is behind these decisions. I am confident as to how my career is being directed.”

Setting Aside “Fear of the Unknown”

For all the graduates, becoming missionaries has meant leaving their relatives, friends, and accustomed way of life. Did they have any apprehensions about it? Rachel, also from Australia, answers: “Yes. Fear of the unknown, fear of leaving all that is secure and familiar, and fear of my own inadequacy. But if holy spirit chooses my assignment, then holy spirit will help me fulfill it.” Her husband, Edi, feels this way about sacrificing their previous way of life: “The less I have to do with deciding where I go and what I do, the more I feel that I am giving my life in Jehovah’s service and not catering to my own selfish desires.” They have been assigned to serve in the South Pacific.

These are ordinary people with normal desires who simply have set aside their personal preferences to keep themselves free to do more in Jehovah’s service. As Gun puts it: “I trust fully that Jehovah uses his organization to direct his matters. Should I put a limit on his directions in my life? When we dedicated our lives to his service, we handed over such decisions to be made by him and not by ourselves anymore. I just hope I can keep my attitude sound in this matter whatever happens.” She has left her home in Sweden to serve in Honduras, Central America.

And what about financial security or a career in this world? “A career in the world does not necessarily bring happiness or contentment or give purpose,” responded Chris, of the United States. “But a career of full-time service to Jehovah brings that and much more.” Chris and his wife, Mary, are anxiously looking forward to learning their new language, Chinese, in Taiwan.

“A Good Friend Whom You Love and Cherish”

When asked if she would recommend that others allow themselves to be placed by the organization anywhere on earth to accomplish the preaching work, Monét answered: “Only if they have a strong confidence that it is direction from Jehovah. Otherwise, when problems occur they won’t have the strength to overcome the problems or at least not have joy in enduring them.” Monét, from the United States, got married shortly after graduation, and she will be going to Taiwan with her husband who has been serving there in missionary work.

But could anyone making these sacrifices find joy? Elizabeth summed it up this way: “When you have a good friend whom you love and cherish, it’s easy to give up your own personal preferences for his sake. That is how I feel about cooperating with God’s organization. It’s just giving up what we want for Jehovah, our best Friend.”

[Box on page 25]

CLASS PROFILE:

Number of countries represented: 6

Number of countries assigned to: 10

Number of single men: 4

Number of single women: 2

Number of married couples: 9

Total number of students: 24

Average age: 31.1

Average years baptized: 13.7

Average years in full-time ministry: 8.8

[Map/​Pictures on page 26]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

[Pictures]

Deborah and Yale Kooperstein, United States

Evelyn and David Fritz, Barbara and Wayne Sullivan, Guatemala

Timo Kurkaa/​Tommy Petersson, Colombia

Cam and Donnie Doerschler, Dominican Republic

Peter Davies/​Barry Hill, Ecuador

Gun Stenz, Honduras

[Map/​Pictures on page 27]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

[Pictures]

Pauline and Geoffrey Hendry, Hong Kong

Anne and Teuvo Hyörtti, Papua New Guinea

Mary and Christopher LaPrath, Monét Carleton, Taiwan

Elizabeth and Daryl Bryon, Papua New Guinea

Rachel and Edi Possamai, South Pacific

From Our Readers

Help From “Awake!”

Recently I received the chance to teach religion to 13 groups in a public school, a total of 52 classes. Thanks to “Awake!” I have been able to teach them many things beneficial to their development. Some subjects I have used are: Solution for a Troubled World, Sexual Abuse of Children, Fornication, Homosexuality, Use of Drugs, and Jehovah God’s Name. I felt that the students really enjoyed the information. Thank you.

O. M., Brazil

How Important Are Looks?

Your article “Young People Ask . . . How Important Are Looks?” (January 8, 1986) is not just for the younger ones. I am 42 years of age and have always had trouble reconciling the way I look, being sickened when looking into a mirror. This has been greatly exaggerated in the last 14 years while I have been stricken with severe chronic depression. Your information made me realize that I am only ordinary, no better and no worse than others. I also have other talents that far outweigh any physical limitations.

N. H., Indiana

Guillain-Barré Syndrome

Personal experiences in your magazine are always so encouraging, but never has one affected us so much as Winston Peacock’s experience, “Will I Ever Walk Again?” (January 8, 1986) At the time of receiving this copy, our dear daughter, age 23, had been paralyzed five weeks with Guillain-Barré Syndrome. We had never heard of it before and wondered if she would ever walk again. After reading Winston Peacock’s experience and the explanation of what this syndrome is all about, we felt so uplifted and encouraged. We could relate almost every move of his to Sally, and now after nine weeks, she, too, is walking with the aid of a frame, and we hope that she will soon be home to care for her 17-month-old daughter. Thank you very much.

C. and P. U., England

Dogs​—Man’s Best Friend?

I am a postman, and I thank you for the article “Dogs​—Always Man’s Best Friend?” (February 8, 1985) Reading the article, I understood that a dog is guided by instinct to follow anything that moves. Many times it has happened that dogs have frightened me and made me run, and there were problems. One bit my bag. After reading your article, I want to tell of my experience with a Doberman. As usual when I have a registered letter, I use the intercom to call the owner of the house. That day I rang and the owner answered, but along came this big Doberman and jumped right over the wall. Barking like a wild beast, he would not let me move. I remembered the article and remained still, pretending that I was calm. Finally the owner got him back over the wall. Anyway, I was frightened, but thanks to your information I survived this incident without harm. Please continue to publish interesting information that can be useful to everyone.

G. T., Italy

Crossword Puzzles Helpful

I have just recently started studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses, and at first it was difficult to find my way through the different books of the Bible and getting familiar with the names. But I have been greatly helped in this by the crossword puzzles in “Awake!”

S. C., Scotland

Watching the World

Church Blessing for Cuba

In Havana’s Vatican Embassy last February, papal emissary cardinal Eduardo Pironio shook hands and embraced the vice president of Cuba, Carlos Rafael Rodriguez, as a token of reconciliation between the Roman Catholic Church and the Cuban government. The Church’s tacit blessing of the government was given in exchange for new freedom for Catholic activity in Cuba. “This opens a new phase in the Vatican’s foreign policy toward Communist countries,” said Enrique Lopez Oliva, church history professor at the University of Havana, according to The Miami Herald.

Halley’s Comet on Camera

Scientists gathered at the Soviet Institute of Space Research had to wait more than nine minutes for the first pictures of the icy core of Halley’s comet to travel the 109 million miles (175 million km) back to earth. But when the image appeared on the screen, spontaneous applause burst out in the institute’s main viewing room. As the unmanned Soviet spacecraft Vega 1 swept by the comet at 47 miles (76 km) a second, it took 500 television “pictures” in three hours. The craft was as close as 5,500 miles (8,900 km) to the comet’s nucleus. A Hungarian physicist, one of the more than a hundred scientists assembled representing 12 countries, likened the feat of photographing the core to “seeing the Eiffel Tower in a Sahara sandstorm.”

Chinese Problems

Although China has imported several hundred thousand personal computers recently, an estimated 70 percent of them still stand idle. Why? Simply because there is no commonly accepted system, among some 400 systems that exist, for entering Chinese characters. Efforts to romanize the Chinese language and discard the 6,000 commonly used ideograms, as Chinese characters are called, have now been abandoned. Meantime, authorities have set a goal to get the population of over a billion people to speak the same tongue. No easy task, considering the scores of dialects spoken. Although Mandarin is China’s official language, many in the south (as well as in Hong Kong) speak Cantonese. There are also Shanghaiese, Fukienese, and the dialects of the country’s 56 minority peoples.

Children for Sale

An estimated ten thousand young girls and boys, 8 to 14 years of age, are selling themselves as prostitutes in Manila, says the German newsmagazine Stern. As reported in World Press Review, unemployment and poverty have driven more and more people to the cities, where many of the children end up involved in crime and prostitution. But this is happening in other places too. The Belgrade newspaper Politika estimates that ten thousand Yugoslavian children between the ages of 7 and 13 have been sold since 1975 to professional thieves in Italy. There they are trained to snatch bags, pick pockets, or break into houses and cars. If they do not bring in enough stolen goods, they are mistreated. If caught, under Italian law a criminal below the age of 14 cannot be prosecuted.

Out of Business

After 40 years of publication, the Japanese-language edition of Reader’s Digest will no longer be printed. The magazine, started in 1946, once boasted a circulation of over 1.4 million. After World War II the publication filled a need in Japan for reading material and served as a window to the outside world. But sales leveled off and then declined to an average of only 450,000 copies a month. Loss of circulation, high postal rates, and the way the company was operated were among the reasons cited for the failure.

Smoker’s Face

A study by internist Dr. Douglas Model claims that if you are a smoker, that fact is written all over your face. He described a smoker’s face as wrinkled, weary, and haggard looking. As reported in an Associated Press dispatch, “crow’s-feet at the corners of the eyes, or wrinkles radiating at right angles from the lips, or deep lines on the cheeks and lower jaw” are characteristics of “smoker’s face,” along with a gaunt or leathery appearance and “a slightly gray, orange, purple or red complexion.” Model believes that it is caused by “a toxic process” due to a diminished circulation of blood to the skin. Of the volunteers in the study, “smoker’s face” was present in 19 of the 41 currently smoking. Yet none of 38 nonsmokers had it. His study was reported in the British Medical Journal.

Lessons in the Ruins

Mexican engineers contend that the disastrous earthquake that shook Mexico City last September “should have leveled practically every building” in the city’s downtown area, reports Science News. Although Mexico City maintained “one of the world’s most stringent building codes” at the time of the quake, one authority claims the intensity of the earthquake, in certain areas, was greater than what the buildings were designed to handle. The primary problem was the way the “soft clay soil behaved” during the quake. Greater ground movement was transmitted by the “weak” soil than what engineers and planners had previously expected. Additionally, the shaking extended for a longer period of time than what the buildings were designed to withstand. Highlighting the unpredictability of quakes and their effects in spite of the best available knowledge, one earthquake engineer stated: “It demonstrates that if one doesn’t take care, any material is vulnerable in an earthquake.”

Pharaoh’s Curse?

In the 1920’s some two dozen Egyptologists died shortly after they entered Pharaoh Tutankhamen’s tomb. Were they victims of a curse, as alleged? French medical doctor Caroline Stenger-Philipp found a possible explanation for the mysterious casualties, reports the International Herald Tribune. Clues pointed to organic substances left in the tomb, such as fruit and vegetables, as the culprits. During the centuries these items​—originally intended to feed the Pharaoh during his “trip to eternity”—​decayed, produced mold, and formed organic dust particles with high allergenic potency. The scientists fell victim to an allergic shock reaction after breathing the particles, the French doctor claimed.

Respect for Fathers

Japanese fathers have long been accused of being married to their jobs and having little time for their families. Has this caused children to lose all respect for their fathers? The Tokyo newspaper Asahi Shimbun ran the headline “Fathers Are Doing Much Better Than We Thought,” with the subheading “One Out of Two Children Say They ‘Can Respect’ [Their Fathers].” The survey of 7th- through 12th-grade students revealed that 46.8 percent of the students felt at ease when talking to their fathers. However, matters can still be improved, as 95.3 percent felt that way when talking to friends of the same sex. Only 17 percent said they would approach their fathers with their troubles.

Computer Game “Fever”

There are some 20 million electronic game players in Japan, and most of them are school-age children, teachers were told at a recent conference in Osaka. As reported in the Asahi Evening News, “the electronic game phenomenon has resulted in less active students who prefer to stay indoors and play with the television or computer.” One classroom survey of 38 fourth-grade students in a Wakayama elementary school revealed that 34 of them played such games every day. Of these, 8 played four hours a day, while 19 averaged an hour or less of computer play daily.

Earthworm Elixir

“Earthworm fluid” has long been considered useful by traditional Chinese doctors in the treatment of hemorrhoids, kidney failure, ulcers, fever, asthma, inflammation, fluid retention, and high blood pressure. Now, however, Ji Heli, a chemistry teacher at the Shanghai Light Industry College, has discovered a method of brewing the body fluids of earthworms “without the traditional stench and sediment,” reports New Scientist. Factory directors and businessmen are enthused over this new process. Why? Because of its prospects for expanding China’s earthworm-breeding industry. “Earthworm liquid is also a nutritious drink,” says Ji Heli, “which can be mixed in alcoholic drinks, soft drinks and even put in cakes.”

Valuable Proclamations

Two of Jehovah’s Witnesses stood at the door of Mr. Gunter R.’s apartment in Frankfurt wanting to talk to him about the Bible. “He felt irritated, dismissed them politely but firmly, and closed the door,” according to the German newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau. However, five minutes later they were once more standing at his door. This time they did not come to proclaim good news from the Bible but bad news of the nasty smell of gas from the apartment above. The two Witnesses and Gunter rushed upstairs. Just as Gunter was about to press the doorbell, the Witnesses “managed to stop him.” Later, firemen forced the apartment open and discovered a gas-main leak. “One thing is for sure; ringing the bell would have caused an explosion,” says the newspaper, adding: “Some ‘proclamations’ are clearly of value.”

Jumbo Printer

Cylinder printing has taken a “giant” step forward with the new Japanese Full-Colour Jumbo Facsimile press. Weighing 14 tons, it is designed to handle sheets of paper 52 by 23 feet (16 by 7 m). Billboards that formerly took up to two weeks to complete manually can now be turned out in an hour and a half. How does it do it? Pictures or drawings, the originals perhaps as small as a page from a magazine, are optically scanned and stored as a digital code in a computer memory. The operator can superimpose text, change the balance of color, and make other alterations. Then four spray jets take over as the 8-foot-diameter (2.5 m) drum starts to rotate. Asiaweek reports that wall coverings and hangings can also be printed by this new method.

No, Living Forever is Not Just a Dream

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Do Not Miss It!​—“Divine Peace” Convention

It begins this month. All sessions are free.

Attend a convention near you at any location below.

United States

June 12-15: AMARILLO, TX, Civic Center Coliseum. CICERO, IL, Sportsman’s Park Race Course. FT. WORTH, TX, Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum. GREENVILLE, SC, Greenville Memorial Auditorium. MIDLAND, TX, Chaparral Center, Midland College. PONTIAC, MI, Silverdome. WEST PALM BEACH, FL, West Palm Beach Auditorium.

June 19-22: BIRMINGHAM, AL, Civic Center Coliseum. CICERO, IL, Sportsman’s Park Race Course. COLUMBIA, SC, Carolina Coliseum. FT. WORTH, TX (Sign language also), Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum. GREENVILLE, SC, Greenville Memorial Auditorium. HOUSTON, TX, Astrodome. JACKSONVILLE, FL, Memorial Coliseum, Gator Bowl Sports Complex. MADISON, WI, Dane County Memorial Coliseum. MIDLAND, TX, Chaparral Center, Midland College. NEW HAVEN, CT, Veterans Memorial Coliseum. NEW YORK, NY, Yankee Stadium. OGDEN, UT, Dee Events Center. RENO, NV, Centennial Coliseum. RICHFIELD, OH, The Coliseum. WHEELING, WV, Civic Center. WICHITA, KS, Kansas Coliseum.

June 26-29: BATON ROUGE, LA, Assembly Center, Louisiana State University. BILLINGS, MT, Yellowstone Metra. CICERO, IL (Sign language also), Sportsman’s Park Race Course. CORVALLIS, OR, Gill Coliseum. FT. WORTH, TX, Will Rogers Memorial Coliseum. FRESNO, CA, Convention Center. GREENSBORO, NC, Greensboro Coliseum. GREENVILLE, SC, Greenville Memorial Auditorium. JACKSONVILLE, FL, Memorial Coliseum, Gator Bowl Sports Complex. KANSAS CITY, MO, Kemper Arena. LANDOVER, MD, Capital Centre. MADISON, WI, Dane County Memorial Coliseum. NEW HAVEN, CT, Veterans Memorial Coliseum. OGDEN, UT, Dee Events Center. PROVIDENCE, RI, Providence Civic Center. RENO, NV, Centennial Coliseum. RICHFIELD, OH (Sign language also), The Coliseum. SAN ANTONIO, TX (Spanish only), Convention Center Arena. SAN DIEGO, CA, Jack Murphy Stadium. SOUTH BEND, IN, N.D.U. Athletic Center. WEST PALM BEACH, FL, West Palm Beach Auditorium. WHEELING, WV, Civic Center.

July 3-6: BATON ROUGE, LA (Sign language also), Assembly Center, Louisiana State University. CICERO, IL, Sportsman’s Park Race Course. CORVALLIS, OR, Gill Coliseum. CROWNSVILLE, MD (Korean only), Jehovah’s Witnesses Assembly Hall. FRESNO, CA, Convention Center. GREENSBORO, NC, Greensboro Coliseum. LANDOVER, MD (Sign language also), Capital Centre. MACON, GA, Macon Coliseum. MADISON, WI, Dane County Memorial Coliseum. NASHVILLE, TN, Municipal Auditorium. NATICK, MA (Portuguese only), Jehovah’s Witnesses Assembly Hall. OKLAHOMA CITY, OK, Myriad. PROVIDENCE, RI, Providence Civic Center. RENO, NV, Centennial Coliseum. RICHFIELD, OH, The Coliseum. ROANOKE, VA, Civic Center. ROCHESTER, NY, Memorial Auditorium. ST. LOUIS, MO, The Arena. ST. PETERSBURG, FL, Bayfront Center. SAN ANTONIO, TX (Spanish only), Convention Center Arena. SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Cow Palace. SOUTH BEND, IN, N.D.U. Athletic Center. TACOMA, WA, Tacoma Dome. WEST PALM BEACH, FL, West Palm Beach Auditorium. WHEELING, WV, Civic Center.

July 10-13: ANCHORAGE, AK, Sullivan Arena. BISMARCK, ND, Bismarck Civic Center Arena. CICERO, IL (Spanish only), Sportsman’s Park Race Course. CORVALLIS, OR, Gill Coliseum. FRESNO, CA (Spanish only), Convention Center. HAMPTON, VA, Hampton Coliseum. LANDOVER, MD, Capital Centre. LINCOLN, NE (Sign language also), Devaney Sports Center. LITTLE ROCK, AR, Barton Coliseum. LOUISVILLE, KY, Coliseum, Kentucky Fair & Exposition Center. MACON, GA, Macon Coliseum. NASHVILLE, TN, Municipal Auditorium. PINE BLUFF, AR, Convention Center Arena. PROVIDENCE, RI, Providence Civic Center. ROCHESTER, NY, Memorial Auditorium. ST. LOUIS, MO, The Arena. ST. PETERSBURG, FL, Bayfront Center. SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Cow Palace. SAVANNAH, GA, Civic Center Arena. TACOMA, WA (Spanish and sign language also), Tacoma Dome. TUCSON, AZ, Community Center.

July 17-20: BROOKLYN, NY (Italian only), Jehovah’s Witnesses Assembly Hall. CHARLESTON, WV, Charleston Civic Center Coliseum. DENVER, CO, McNichols Sports Arena. EL PASO, TX (Spanish only), Special Events Center. FT. LAUDERDALE, FL (French only), Jehovah’s Witnesses Assembly Hall. FRESNO, CA (Spanish only), Convention Center. HAMPTON, VA, Hampton Coliseum. HIALEAH, FL (Spanish only), Hialeah Park Race Track. JERSEY CITY, NJ (French only), Jehovah’s Witnesses Assembly Hall. LITTLE ROCK, AR, Barton Coliseum. LONG ISLAND CITY, NY (Greek only), Jehovah’s Witnesses Assembly Hall. LOS ANGELES, CA (Japanese and sign language also), Dodger Stadium. LOUISVILLE, KY (Sign language also), Coliseum, Kentucky Fair & Exposition Center. MOBILE, AL, Municipal Auditorium. PHILADELPHIA, PA, Veterans Stadium. PINE BLUFF, AR, Convention Center Arena. ROCHESTER, NY, Memorial Auditorium. ST. PETERSBURG, FL (Sign language also), Bayfront Center. SAN FRANCISCO, CA (Sign language also), Cow Palace. SPRINGFIELD, IL, Convention Center Arena. SPRINGFIELD, MA, Civic Center. TUCSON, AZ (Sign language also), Community Center.

July 24-27: ALBANY, GA, Albany Civic Center. DENVER, CO (Sign language also), McNichols Sports Arena. HIALEAH, FL (Spanish only), Hialeah Park Race Track. LONG ISLAND CITY, NY (Chinese only), Jehovah’s Witnesses Assembly Hall. LOS ANGELES, CA (Korean only), Jehovah’s Witnesses Assembly Hall. LOS ANGELES, CA (Spanish only), Dodger Stadium. PINE BLUFF, AR, Convention Center Arena. ST. PETERSBURG, FL, Bayfront Center. SAN FRANCISCO, CA, Cow Palace. SPRINGFIELD, MA (Sign language also), Civic Center. TUCSON, AZ, Community Center.

July 31–August 3: ALBANY, GA (Sign language also), Albany Civic Center. DULUTH, MN, Duluth Arena-Auditorium. NEW YORK, NY (Sign language also), Yankee Stadium.

August 7-10: DULUTH, MN, Duluth Arena-Auditorium.

August 14-17: DULUTH, MN, Duluth Arena-Auditorium. NEW YORK, NY (Spanish only), Yankee Stadium.

Britain

June 26-29: NOTTINGHAM, Nottingham Forest Football Club. SOUTHAMPTON, Southampton Football Club.

July 3-6: EDINBURGH, Rugby Union Ground, Murrayfield. GUERNSEY, C.I., Beau Sejour Centre. MANCHESTER, Manchester City Football Club. PLYMOUTH, Plymouth Argyle Football Club.

July 10-13: LEEDS, Leeds United Football Club. NORWICH, Norwich City Football Club. WOLVERHAMPTON, Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club.

July 17-20: CARDIFF, Welsh National Rugby Ground.

July 24-27: LONDON (Greek and Spanish also), Rugby Union Ground.

August 21-24: LONDON (Italian only), North London Assembly Hall.

Ireland

July 3-6: BALLYMENA, Ballymena Showgrounds.

July 17-20: CORK, Neptune Stadium.

Canada

July 3-6: BRAMPTON, ONT. (Spanish only), Assembly Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Norval, Ont. EDMONTON, ALTA. (Ukrainian sessions also), Edmonton Northlands Coliseum. HAMILTON, ONT., Victor K. Copps Arena & Trade Centre. KAMLOOPS, B.C., Kamloops Exhibition Association. KITIMAT, B.C., Tamitik Arena. OTTAWA, ONT. (Arabic sessions also), Civic Centre Arena, Lansdowne Park. PENTICTON, B.C., Peach Bowl Convention Centre. SASKATOON, SASK. (Ukrainian sessions also), Saskatoon Arena. VANCOUVER, B.C. (Portuguese also), Pacific Coliseum, P.N.E. Grounds. WINNIPEG, MAN. (Ukrainian sessions also), Winnipeg Convention Centre.

July 10-13: BRAMPTON, ONT. (Portuguese only), Assembly Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Norval, Ont. CAMPBELLVILLE, ONT. (Ukrainian, Hungarian, and Korean sessions also), Mohawk Raceway, Guelph Line. PRINCE GEORGE, B.C., Kin Centre. REGINA, SASK., The Agridome. ST. JOHN’S, NFLD., Memorial Stadium. VICTORIA, B.C., Victoria Memorial Arena.

July 17-20: BRAMPTON, ONT. (Italian only), Assembly Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Norval, Ont. CASTLEGAR, B.C., Castlegar & District Community Complex. QUEBEC CITY, QUE. (French only), Colisée, Parc de l’Exposition. SAINT JOHN, N.B., Lord Beaverbrook Rink. SUDBURY, ONT., Garson Community Centre, Garson, Ont.

July 24-27: BRAMPTON, ONT. (Italian only), Assembly Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Norval, Ont. CALGARY, ALTA. (French and Spanish sessions also), Stampede Corral, Stampede Park. HALIFAX, N.S., Halifax Metro Centre. LONDON, ONT., Grandstand Western Fairgrounds, Queen’s Park. MONTREAL, QUE. (French only), Montreal Forum. MONTREAL, QUE. (Italian only), Assembly Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

July 31–August 3: BRAMPTON, ONT. (Greek only), Assembly Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Norval, Ont.