June 22

Page Two

South Africa is the focus of world attention because of its racial and political upheavals. However, few people are aware of the crucial role South African Protestantism has played. Awake! therefore now takes a hard look at the intriguing religious issues that lurk behind the headlines.

South Africa’s Religious Dilemma

By Awake! correspondent in South Africa

SOUTH AFRICA is an eminently religious country. Church attendances are high. The Bible is available in all of South Africa’s major languages and is read in many homes. Yet, the land has become the scene of racial conflict and violence. You may wonder: ‘Why have the churches been unable to foster Christian love and unity?’

The dilemma grows if you examine recent history. This is because it becomes distressingly clear that religion actually shares a great responsibility for this country’s conflicts. In order to understand why, consider how South Africa’s religious situation developed.

In 1652 Dutch Protestants first established a permanent settlement on the southern tip of Africa. Their descendants today speak Afrikaans, a language developed from Dutch. In time, the Dutch churches split into a number of reformed churches, the largest of which is the Dutch Reformed, or DR, Church (Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk). Over a third of the nation’s white population are members of the DR Church.

English settlers also streamed to South Africa. Many were Anglicans, who later split into the so-called High Church and Low Church. Others were Methodists, Presbyterians, and Congregationalists. Similarly, German settlers introduced the Lutheran Church. South Africa thus became a Protestant stronghold, resulting in the conversion of millions of blacks. Today, 77 percent of South Africans claim to be Christian​—less than 10 percent of whom are Catholics.

South African Protestantism, though, continues to splinter. Many whites have left mainstream churches and have joined born-again movements. Likewise, many blacks have established an African brand of professed Christianity. “There may be as many as 4000 such independent churches in South Africa alone,” reports the magazine Leadership.

The traditional Protestant churches face another dilemma. As their flocks dwindle, so does financial support. To make matters worse, those who remain are deeply divided over their church’s preoccupation with racial issues. While some members demand that their church support radical measures to end apartheid, others demand that their church sanction apartheid. Between these extremes, members are divided as to the extent to which their church should go in promoting integration and racial equality.

“I resent being told that I must go and hold hands with people I don’t know and pretend to feel brotherly love for people who are not my kind,” said one Anglican regarding arrangements for an interracial service. Many white Anglicans also resent the political meddling of their black archbishop, Desmond Tutu.

A report by South Africa’s Human Sciences Research Council thus warned that religion “often plays a divisive and destructive role” with “the unthinkable prospect of followers of the same religious tradition facing one another from opposing camps.” Indeed, as we will see, South African Protestantism has played a strong role in igniting racial animosities.

Protestantism and Apartheid

AN ARTICLE in the South African Digest reported that DR (Dutch Reformed) Church “buildings, church services, and membership have been declared open to all, regardless of race or colour.”

For decades the DR Church stood for total segregation of races. What brought about this historic change adopted at an October 1986 meeting of church leaders?

Perhaps it would surprise many people to know that in the last century whites, black slaves, and those of mixed European and African ancestry all belonged to one DR Church. In 1857, however, a church synod bowed to mounting racial animosities and stated that services for people of mixed race could be held in separate buildings. The Bible did not encourage such a decision, admitted the synod, but the decision was made “as a result of the weakness of some.” This led, in 1881, to the establishment of a separate denomination for people of mixed race, which was called the Nederduitse Gereformeerde Sendingkerk, or DR Mission Church.

Little did those church leaders realize what they had started. Soon separate denominations were also established for blacks and Indians. Attendance in many DR churches was reserved for whites only. What had once been viewed as a “weakness” became rigid church policy. Blacks were sometimes turned away from the funeral services of their own white employers. Such humiliation stirred resentment among black church members.

“Apartheid . . . a Church Policy”

In 1937 the FC (Federal Council of DR Churches) requested the government to pass a law forbidding whites to marry people of mixed race. The government refused. In 1939 the FC repeated this request, at the same time also asking that whites be given separate residential areas, schools, and universities. Several delegations of clergymen approached the government about this. In 1942 the Federal Mission Council of DR Churches wrote the government: “The Church wants to see that this principle of racial apartheid is strictly enforced in the future.”

Then, in 1948 the white National Party was elected to power, promising to work for the legislation of apartheid policies. New apartheid laws soon followed. After the election, Die Kerkbode, the official DR Church magazine, proudly stated: “As [a] Church we have . . . always deliberately aimed at the separation of these two population groups. In this regard apartheid can rightfully be called a church policy.”

A Bible Teaching?

Until then, church appeals for apartheid were based mainly on tradition. In 1948 the Transvaal Synod even admitted they had not made a “conscious claim to being bound by Bible principles.” A new approach, though, now gathered momentum​—the presentation of apartheid as a Bible teaching.

In 1974 the General Synod of the DR Church published a report entitled Ras, Volk en Nasie en Volkereverhoudinge in die lig van die Skrif (Human Relations and the South African Scene in the Light of Scripture). “In [it] the theology of apartheid found its classical expression,” states Dr. Johann Kinghorn, editor of the book Die NG Kerk en Apartheid (The DR Church and Apartheid). Dwelling at length upon the account of the division of mankind at Babel, the report stated: “A political system based on the . . . separate development of various population groups can be justified from the Bible.” The report also commented on Jesus’ request that his followers “be perfected into one.” (John 17:23) Such unity, the report claimed, “need not be revealed in one institution.”

A “Credibility Crisis”

South African Protestantism has become the target of much criticism. In 1982 the World Alliance of Reformed Churches met in Ottawa, Canada, and declared apartheid theology a “heresy.” South Africa’s DR Church was suspended from membership. In addition, the South African government itself placed pressure on the churches by scrapping some apartheid laws, including the one forbidding so-called mixed marriages.

How have the churches responded? Some DR Church ministers have also become openly critical of apartheid. In the book Apartheid Is a Heresy, DR Church theologian Professor David Bosch states: “The Afrikaans Reformed Churches have only to return to their roots to discover that what they now cherish is nothing but a heresy.”

But what effect has such backtracking had on church members? Observes DR Church theologian Professor Bernard Combrink: “Some members do not hesitate to speak about the credibility crisis in the church, in the light of the fact that a certain standpoint or policy has been advanced as Scriptural for many years, and now ‘suddenly’ other standpoints are being advanced as in agreement with Scripture.”

Indeed, the “credibility crisis” in the DR Church reached a climax in October 1986 when its general synod accepted a resolution about apartheid that stated in part: “The conviction has grown that enforced segregation and the separation of peoples cannot be deduced as a prescription of the Bible. The attempt to justify such a prescription from the Bible must be acknowledged as erroneous and repudiated.”

This rejection of apartheid theology has caused mixed reactions among whites. Many feel that the DR Church synod has not gone far enough, since it is unwilling to unite as one body with its black reformed churches. Yet, others feel that the church has gone too far and so are withholding financial support from it. On Saturday, June 27, 1987, 2,000 DR Church dissidents met in Pretoria. By a majority vote, they formed a new church for whites only called the Afrikaanse Protestantse Kerk (Afrikaans Protestant Church).

While Dutch Protestantism took the lead in establishing apartheid, the English-speaking South African churches have publicly condemned the controversial policy. Yet, two white ministers, Methodist and Congregationalist, admit that life in the English-speaking churches still “reflects racial division and discrimination which is sometimes as consistent and intense as that which is to be found in the Afrikaans Reformed Churches.”​—Apartheid Is a Heresy.

What has been the reaction of black church members? While white theologians have hotly debated apartheid, prominent black theologians have been forming some views of their own.

[Box on page 6]

Catholics Also Divided

In September 1986 a meeting of Catholic clergymen in South Africa passed a resolution concerning ending apartheid. Reports The Cape Times: “Roman Catholic priests countrywide formally gave their support to the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference for its stand supporting economic pressure on South Africa.”

When such views were aired earlier in the year at Masses held in Johannesburg, however, a number of Catholics walked out of church. As one man left with his family, he shouted objections to the priest and was applauded by most of the congregation. Significantly, a number of South African Catholics have formed an organization opposed to political involvement by the Catholic clergy.

[Picture on page 5]

Church leaders presented apartheid as a Bible teaching

The Rise of Black Theology

“Christianity has become identified by many blacks with apartheid.”​—From The Church Struggle in South Africa, by Congregationalist minister J. de Gruchy

DISILLUSIONED by the South African brand of Protestantism, many blacks have turned to something new​—black theology, which attempts to relate the Bible to their situation.

“The term ‘black,’” explains Louise Kretzschmar in The Voice of Black Theology in South Africa, “can be understood in two ways. Firstly, it refers to all those previously called ‘non-whites’ or ‘non-Europeans,’ i.e. Africans, Coloureds and Indians. . . . Secondly, ‘blackness’ is taken to be synonymous with ‘the oppressed people in South Africa.’”

Black theology thus stresses that blacks should be treated with the same dignity as whites because blacks too were created in God’s image. Among its prominent themes are the liberation of Israel from Egypt and the sufferings of Jesus. ‘God is on the side of the oppressed’ is its rallying cry.

A United Approach?

Exponents of black theology are scattered among South Africa’s many churches, and debates rage among them. Some, for example, admire communistic ideology and analyze it in their writings. Others reject Marxism. Nor do all agree as to the extent to which the white community should share in this new style of “Christianity.”

When critics of black theology argue that it promotes black nationalism in the same way that apartheid theology promotes white nationalism, Dr. Allan Boesak, a leading exponent of black theology, replies: “Christian faith transcends all ideologies and all nationalistic ideals.”

However, a minister of the Congregational Church, Bonganjalo Goba, retorts: “I disagree with Allan Boesak.” It is inescapable, Goba claims, that black theology “will reflect the ideological interests of the black community. If it doesn’t it ceases to be Black Theology.” Adds the Lutheran bishop Dr. Buthelezi: “It is the same message of the Bible which inspired the spirit of the Afrikaner . . . which is motivating us to sing the song of Black Theology.”

Used as a Weapon

“Black theology,” states Itumeleng Mosala, a Methodist minister and lecturer in black theology, “has served its purpose well as a weapon of criticism against white theology and the white society.” By voicing such criticism, black theologians hope that young blacks will stay in their churches. Many have left to protest the way they see “Christianity” being practiced in the churches.

Others go further and use black theology as a weapon for political change. Admits Takatso Mofokeng, a minister of the black DR Church in Africa and lecturer in black theology: “Black Theology continues to be a useful instrument for the continuously evolving struggle for liberation.”

An example of this is The Kairos Document, signed by 156 South African theologians. It calls upon church members “to eliminate the oppression, remove the tyrants from power and establish a just government.” The theologians declare: “We believe that God is at work in our world, turning hopeless and evil situations to good so that his ‘Kingdom may come’ and his ‘Will may be done on earth as it is in heaven.’ . . . The conflict and the struggle will have to intensify in the months and years ahead because there is no other way to remove the injustice and oppression.”

Is this, however, what the Bible teaches? Will God’s Kingdom come through political revolution? Does the fact that Protestantism has proved to be a source of dissension in South Africa mean that Christianity itself is a failure?

True Christianity Unites All Races!

IN 1982 a black South African prisoner named Mnguni was serving his fourth prison term for involvement in terrorist activities. The authorities had granted him permission to write home for some books. When these arrived, he found among them one that he had not requested. It was entitled The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life, published by Jehovah’s Witnesses.

What Mnguni read had a powerful effect upon him. “I had believed my terrorist activities were a divinely inspired cause. ‘God is on the side of the oppressed’ was one of our slogans. I was a Lutheran, and not once did my church condemn or discourage me from my acts. Instead, they would attack the government for its actions against me. An organization of churches even helped me and my ‘comrades’ obtain legal representation.

“The Truth book made me realize that my actions were contrary to God’s Word. It used the Bible to show that no government exists without God’s permission and that all true Christians should submit to the authorities.” (Matthew 5:44; 1 John 3:10-12; Romans 13:1-7) Mnguni quit his terrorist activities and after his release from prison began serving as a minister of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Tens of thousands of South Africans​—black and white—​have similarly accepted the genuine Christianity taught in the Bible. Unlike Protestantism, which has proved to be a divisive force, true Christianity unites people of all races. How?

The Kingdom Message

“My kingdom,” explained Jesus Christ, “is no part of this world.” (John 18:36) Genuine Christianity centers upon the Kingdom that Christ taught. It is not connected with any political forces of this world, for it is a superhuman government that rules from heaven. Soon, according to the Bible, “it will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms” of earthly political rule.​—Daniel 2:44; Luke 21:7-33.

No, this Kingdom is not, as one exponent of black theology recently alleged, an unrealistic pie-in-the-sky dream. The reality of this Kingdom can be seen in that over 3,400,000 of Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide​—over 40,000 in South Africa alone—​have declared themselves to be loyal subjects of it. They prove themselves loyal Kingdom subjects by carrying out Jesus’ command: “This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come.”​—Matthew 24:14.

The Bible-based Kingdom message proclaimed by Jehovah’s Witnesses has attracted thousands of South Africans. They have thus been able to rise above the racial and political turmoil and enjoy something unique in South Africa​—racial harmony. Gert, a former member of the DR Church, discovered this. He explains: “Among Jehovah’s Witnesses, there is no discrimination because of race or language​—hence, their worldwide unity. How wonderful to know that ‘God is not partial, but in every nation the man that fears him and works righteousness is acceptable to him.’”​—Acts 10:34, 35.

Recently, the South African government agreed to modify another apartheid law by opening some residential areas to people of all races. Meanwhile, existing regulations require that people of different races live apart, and Jehovah’s Witnesses comply with such laws. Nevertheless, the law does not prevent them from working together and doing good to one another. Thus, Witnesses of different races generously share their time and resources in the building of their places of worship, called Kingdom Halls.

During the past six years, thousands of Witnesses, blacks and whites, have also volunteered their labors in the construction of large new facilities on the outskirts of Krugersdorp, South Africa. After enjoying a lunch with this interracial work force, the manager of a firm that installed specialized equipment said: “They should bring the United Nations here to see how it is done.” Hundreds of Witnesses now use these facilities to translate and produce Bible literature.

Jehovah’s Witnesses in South Africa also worship together in large conventions. To see thousands of Zulu, Xhosa, Sotho, Afrikaans, English, and other South Africans streaming into one united organization is unique​—striking proof that Christianity is very much alive in South Africa today! (John 13:35; 17:23) It adds to the evidence that we are living in what the Bible terms “the final part of the days.”​—Isaiah 2:2-4.

Indeed, ours is a marked generation that will soon experience the end of all strife and conflict. And what will follow? An earthly paradise into which righteous ones of all nations will survive as citizens of one government​—the Kingdom of God.​—Psalm 37:10, 11; Revelation 7:9, 14.

[Pictures on page 9]

In South Africa, Jehovah’s Witnesses of all races often gather together in large conventions

[Pictures on page 10]

The racial harmony among Jehovah’s Witnesses in South Africa attracts many to the Kingdom message

Young People Ask . . .

How Can I Get More out of Christian Meetings?

“A SERIOUS decline in attendance shows the church is failing to capture and hold the attention of its young people.” So said Catholic archbishop Emmett Cardinal Carter. Similar reports are heard around the world.

However, the preceding issue of Awake! showed that thousands of youths are finding the meetings at the local Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses to be different from dull church services. These meetings provide one with a real opportunity to grow spiritually. Nevertheless, simply attending these meetings does not mean one is really benefiting from them.

For example, one young man attending his first meeting at the Kingdom Hall said that while he liked the people he met there, he “did not understand what was taking place on the platform.” And if meetings are new to you, expressions like “Armageddon,” “great crowd,” and “remnant” may indeed sound as puzzling as a foreign language. Why, the Bible itself acknowledges the difference, comparing God’s truths to “a pure language.”​—Zephaniah 3:9.

Puzzling though this “language” may seem at first, do not be discouraged. Says Janet, age 15, who recently began attending meetings at the Kingdom Hall: “First I thought, ‘What are they talking about?’ But gradually I’m getting familiar with the expressions.” Yes, learning any new language is not easy. One foreign-language course says that a person needs “patience, steadiness in study” to master a new tongue. It even recommends “daily practice.” Similarly, to master the pure language of Bible truth, one must naturally go where it is spoken, to Christian meetings!

Nevertheless, regular meeting attendance is just a beginning. For you to get the most out of meetings, we suggest that you follow three simple steps.

Step One: Prepare

Shortly before Jesus’ death, his disciples asked him: “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the passover?” Jesus told them. So, in obedience, “the disciples did as Jesus ordered them, and they got things ready.” (Matthew 26:17-19) While this was a very special meeting, the same pattern is true for weekly meetings at the Kingdom Hall. To get the most out of them, you also have to “prepare” and ‘get things ready.’ How can you do that?

“I’ve set aside fixed times to study the books we use at the meetings,” says 16-year-old Anita. Adds Malene, age 11: “Before meetings, I ask my mother the meaning of hard words that I read in The Watchtower.” This Bible-based journal is studied regularly in congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Anne, age 13, gets help too. “Each Friday, my father studies half of the Watchtower lesson with me,” she explains. “And then on Saturdays, we study the second half.” The result? They come to the meetings equipped with a mental outline. During the meeting, they are able to fill in the details. “That way,” says Anne, “you’re involved and learning comes easy.”​—Compare Proverbs 14:6.

Preparing can include still more. “I practice the songs that we sing at the meeting,” explains Simeon, age 14. “I play cassette recordings of the songs at home and sing along. Sometimes my younger brother joins me. Then, at the meeting,” he adds, “I can sing at the top of my voice.” (Psalm 105:2) Are there other things he ‘gets ready’? “Yes,” continues Simeon. “The day before the meeting, I put my Bible, songbook, and study book in my bag, so that on the next day all I have to do is pick it up.”

Step Two: Participate!

Twelve-year-old Jesus was not one to be passive when it came to God’s worship. The Bible says that at the temple in Jerusalem, Jesus was found ‘listening, asking questions, giving answers.’ (Luke 2:46, 47) Participation is another key to benefiting from meetings. Doing so requires effort, though.

Take listening, for example. “To listen to a talk is often harder than to give one,” observed one writer. For one thing, we are able to think about four times as fast as the average person can speak. The result? Confesses 11-year-old Joseph: “At times during meetings my mind is wandering​—worrying about my schoolwork.” This happens to all of us at times. So use an age-old method to check this mental wanderlust. First-century Christians often brought pieces of pottery along to their meetings. “As they heard the Scriptures read,” explains the publication Aid to Bible Understanding, “they could copy them in ink on the pottery fragments.”

Today, handy notebooks have replaced pottery fragments, but note-taking still works. Anita says: “I write down the scriptures mentioned during a talk; then I can review the talk at home.” Adds Michael, age 16: “I jot down main points. It keeps my mind on track.” Indeed, note-taking helps you to “pay more than the usual attention to the things heard.”​—Hebrews 2:1.

As mentioned earlier, the young Jesus asked and answered questions. Many youths likewise participate at meetings. In the country of Suriname, for example, a recent survey showed that seven out of every ten young people, ages 12 to 20, attending meetings at the Kingdom Hall share in the weekly question-and-answer sessions.

Like Jesus, they try to give answers that show understanding. They do not merely read answers from the textbooks used but put them in their own words. Some write their answers in a notebook and read the rephrased answer during the meeting. After some practice, they skip the notebook and, to the joy of all present, speak right from the heart. Explains Anil, age 13: “This way others get more out of it, and so do I.”​—Proverbs 15:28.

True, you may feel as did young Anita, who said: “I was afraid to speak up.” But soon you will agree with Michael, who now says: “I love giving answers!” Proverbs 15:23 notes: “A man has rejoicing in the answer of his mouth.”

Step Three: Use What You Learn

The final step is to make sure that what you learn is “at work in you.” (1 Thessalonians 2:13) This means using what you learn. Tammy, a young girl in the United States, explains: “Since I have been going to meetings, I have changed a lot.”

Your classmates may notice this change and begin to ask you about it. This gives you an opportunity to share with them the education you receive at the meetings. Now this takes courage, but it is rewarding. Says Susan, a girl from Canada: “I really enjoy witnessing to my friends at school.” (Proverbs 3:27) Yes, using what you learn at meetings will add to your joy of learning.

One final word of advice: Practice these three steps regularly. Prepare for meetings. Participate. And then use what you learn. If you do, you will enjoy the meetings at the Kingdom Hall to the full. By all means, make meeting attendance your “custom,” as it was Jesus’ custom.​—Luke 4:16.

[Box on page 11]

Schoolwork and Meetings?

“Often I come home loaded down with schoolwork. Then it is tempting to say, ‘I will skip my meeting to do my schoolwork,’” says Anita. At times you may face the same temptation. How, though, are other young Christians handling this?

“I do some of my schoolwork before the meetings and the rest after I come home,” says Wanita. “On those nights,” she adds, “I go to bed later than normal, but I’ve put the meeting first!” (Matthew 6:33) Adds Simeon: “I love to chat after meetings and stay till the last. But when I have schoolwork, I leave right away to do my work.”

‘But will not attending meetings affect my school record?’ you may ask. Yes, but not negatively. In fact, one teacher in Scotland noted that the children of Jehovah’s Witnesses “do well in school . . . because, from an early age, they are taught how to sit and listen and how to apply what they learn.”

[Pictures on page 12, 13]

The key to your enjoying meetings is to prepare and participate, as well as practice what you learn

Gerenuk​—The Gazelle That Looks Like a Giraffe

By Awake! correspondent in Kenya

WE HAVE just entered Samburu National Park in northern Kenya. Our eyes dart from side to side, taking in the array of wildlife, until they focus on the charming sight of what appears to be a baby giraffe hungrily nibbling on a tree. But on closer examination we observe that this is no giraffe.

“What is that?” we ask our smiling guide.

“A gerenuk,” he says. Gerenuk, we learn, comes from the Somali language and means “giraffe-necked.” The animal is called swala twiga in Swahili, meaning “giraffe gazelle.” It is a creature about the size of a deer with two graceful horns sweeping back.

We watch as the feeding gerenuk stands up on its hind legs, supporting itself on a tree branch with its forelegs. It certainly does seem giraffelike as its exceptionally long neck stretches, allowing it to feed from six to eight feet [1.8 to 2.4 m] off the ground. What a delight just to stare at this creature, with its heart-shaped head, expressive eyes, and huge ears! Only the males, however, have horns.

A Long-Necked Gourmet

This graceful gazelle often dwells in near-desert surroundings. Surely it must develop an insatiable thirst for water. Yet, the amazing fact is that the gerenuk rarely if ever drinks water. It is able to extract all the moisture it needs from the leaves, shoots, and twigs that it eats. And because the gerenuk is willing to eat from about 80 different types of shrubs and trees​—including evergreen plants that few other animals eat—​it is able to thrive in the most barren of regions.

In its own way, the gerenuk is somewhat of a fussy eater, since it selects only the best portions of plants, the parts high in nutritional value. Interestingly, though, the gerenuk feeds on the same types of shoots and twigs as do the giraffe and the dik-dik, which is a smaller member of the antelope family, about the size of a jackrabbit. Yet, there is no competition among them for food. Why? Because of the varying heights at which they feed: giraffes between 15 and 18 feet [4.6 and 5.5 m], gerenuks around 6 feet [1.8 m], and the little dik-dik around 2 feet [0.6 m].

“No Trespassing”

Unlike humans, who often wage war over territory, the gerenuks generally maintain peace among themselves by respecting one another’s property. Each defines its boundaries by using its anteorbital gland at the corner of each eye. It selects an area of about half a square mile and with this gland deposits a tarlike substance on branches and twigs. The substance gives off a scent, and in this way the territory of the gerenuk is defined to any neighbor gerenuk.

But what about unwanted intruders, such as the cheetah, the leopard, or the lion, who have little respect for “No Trespassing” signs? The gerenuk must resort to its secrets of survival. For example, it has an amazing ability to freeze and stare, dropping its big ears down close to its neck. With its beautiful brown tones, it blends in very nicely with its natural surroundings. It remains motionless in this way until the unwanted visitors take their leave.

Should it be detected, however, the gerenuk will use flight to avoid predators. Its knowledge of the home range, as well as its ability to dodge in and out among thorny bushes and shrubs, makes following it very difficult for most predators. After observing this swift and graceful animal, we easily see why the Bible exhorts a person to free himself from an unwise agreement with the speed of a gazelle.​—Proverbs 6:5.

Mother Care

At birth the gerenuk lacks survival skills. Its mother, therefore, gets the baby gerenuk through its first days of life. When the time arrives for a gerenuk to give birth, it finds a place of solitude. Most babies are born during the morning hours, allowing them to gain strength before the perilous night comes. Amazingly, after just ten minutes, a baby gerenuk is up on those wobbly, skinny legs! By evening time it is quite active, even entertaining Mother with its playful pranks.

At this early stage, the baby gerenuk is easy prey. Mother therefore cleans her baby thoroughly, so that it is devoid of any telltale scents. And its natural camouflage allows it to hide safely while Mother goes out for food. Occasionally, though, the young gazelle changes location. Since the mother cannot rely on odor as a tracking device, she resorts to gerenuk talk​—a low bleat, which can carry quite far though it is soft to human ears. The baby will respond to this bleat by standing up or by answering the call, identifying its whereabouts. After two weeks, the young gerenuk need no longer be hidden away but can join its family in browsing for twigs and leaves.

The gerenuk has been called “one of the strangest creatures in East Africa.” And admittedly, on the basis of looks alone, it is rather strange. But our giraffe-gazelle friend is also graceful, resourceful, and in its own way beautiful​—another testimony to the wisdom of our Grand Creator.

[Picture Credit Line on page 15]

Photo by Dino Sassi/​Copyright​—Kenya Stationers Limited

Little Things​—Do You Consider Them Important?

“LITTLE things mean a lot.” So say the words of a well-known song. Correspondingly, the world’s wisest Teacher once observed: “The person faithful in what is least is faithful also in much.”​—Luke 16:10.

Indeed, little things can be of great importance. In fact, the world is composed of many little things. Yet, so often we may be inclined to overlook or perhaps ignore them because of their diminutive size.

Little Things of Importance

One very little thing, without which none of us would be here, is the fertilized egg cell of human reproduction. Russell Colman, an Australian engineer, called its nucleus “possibly the most impressive logical device in the known universe, turning simple raw materials into complex and intelligent human beings.”

Our body consists of 100 trillion microscopic cells. The DNA in each one of these tiny cells contains built-in instructions that if decoded would fill thousands of printed pages!

And what about the tiny atom, once thought to be indivisible? This minute building block has been defined as the smallest unit of an element that retains its chemical identity. Its very tiny central core called the nucleus is surrounded by infinitesimally small electrons, so that the atom itself is at least 99.9999999999999 percent space!

In comparison with the known universe, we humans are very tiny. When we consider, for example, that our planet Earth is 333,000 times smaller in mass than our sun, which, in turn, is but an average star in one of untold billions of galaxies in a vast universe, are we not reminded of our relative littleness?

Even time itself, though never ending, can be divided into small units. Milliseconds make up seconds, seconds tick into minutes, minutes form hours, and so on into indefinite time periods, endlessly. In sporting events, even fractions of a second can make the difference between losing or winning.

Happiness From Little Things

Among friends, small things matter a great deal because they cement lasting relationships. In marriage, it is often the little things​—thoughtful words, glances, or deeds—​that mean so much in keeping the partnership warm and caring. And, conversely, the thoughtless omission of such “little things” can mount up, even to the extent of causing big, marriage-breaking problems.

Faith and loyalty, which in themselves are important qualities, are many times expressed in little ways. Yet, think of the large rewards, satisfaction, and happiness these small expressions of trust and dependability can bring.

Yes, great importance is so often associated with little things. Of course, whether something is big or little is relative and is gauged to a large degree by the one making the comparison. Nevertheless, whether it is expressions of endearment, qualities within our personality, or minute ingredients that sustain life, to appreciative persons, ‘little things do mean a lot.’

[Pictures on page 17]

Small courtesies that are important

Diagnosis in 80 Languages

A CANADIAN family physician has developed a system that makes it possible for a doctor to “diagnose and treat patients in 80 languages without the need for an interpreter,” says The Medical Post. The system is called MIGS (Medical Information Gathering System). It consists of a kit of 20-page manuals, a manual for each language. Each manual “describes over 200 medical symptoms,” using everyday words and expressions.

The initial step is to show the patient the same sentence in the various languages until he identifies his own. The sentence tells him to point to that language so the doctor will be able to select the appropriate language manual.

Next follows use of the manual in that language, utilizing a series of 15 questions to help determine what the patient feels is his problem. This helps identify the general nature of the illness. If the patient identifies, for example, a gastrointestinal problem, then he is directed to a section with “about 15 multiple choice questions specifically relating to the gastrointestinal system.”

The colloquial language of the system also takes into account the variations resulting from differences in education and culture. As an example, the article says that “a Canadian might describe nausea by saying ‘I’m sick to my stomach,’ while a Jamaican would likely say: ‘I got the bad feeling.’”

There are Braille versions of the system for blind persons. And Dr. Victor Kumar-Misir, the developer of the system, is now at work on a version that would address the needs of the illiterate patient requiring the services of a physician.

It would seem that MIGS would be a boon to physicians and patients in more and more large cities of the world as such cities become increasingly multicultural and multilingual. In some cases the situation with a seriously ill or injured person has been made more critical by the inability of the doctor and patient to communicate.

[Picture Credit Line on page 18]

The Clinical Center​—NIH

How Living as a Fugitive Affected My Life

IT WAS a moonlit night after particularly heavy rains in the autumn of 1941. As I picked my way cautiously along the cobbled path of a village on the island of Crete, a group of masked men rushed at me from the shadows. One of them put a knife to my throat and demanded to know who I was. “Phillippos Paschalakis!” I replied.

Imagine my relief as another removed his mask, noting: ‘He’s one of us. Let him go!’ He and his brother had murdered their uncle a few weeks earlier, so they were wanted by the Cretan police. But I was wanted by both the police and the Nazis. After warning me not to betray them, they let me go. This is but one of the paralyzing experiences I had as an escaped prisoner of war on the Mediterranean island of Crete during World War II.

How I Came to Be in Crete

I was born in 1919 in Corowa, a small farming town in southeastern Australia, and was married shortly before the Germans started World War II by invading Poland in September 1939. War propaganda immediately whipped up patriotic fervor, and thousands of young Australians responded by rushing into uniform. Dad’s patriotism, however, was somewhat tarnished by memories of World War I, so he was noncommittal. But Mother advised an older brother and me to do what we felt was right.

The following month, October 1939, I joined the Australian Imperial Forces and soon was on my way to England. I had been there almost a year when we sailed for the battle zone in Greece. Since the Germans controlled much of the Mediterranean, we went to the extreme south around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, up through the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, and then on to Greece.

A Fugitive in Crete

I was in Greece when the Germans invaded in April 1941 and was among the Allied troops who retreated to the island of Crete, some 65 miles [105 km] southeast of Greece. The following month, when the Germans landed and drove most of the Allied troops out of Crete, I was taken prisoner of war. A month later, however, three other prisoners and I succeeded in escaping.

We made for the hills and were hospitably received by the Cretans. Their sincere concern and friendliness were extraordinary. The four of us escapees decided to split up, since remaining together could quickly attract attention. I spent the next two years as a fugitive among the villages east of the river Typhlos in the department of Canea. It was there that I learned the cold, hard facts of outdoor living in winter and summer.

Hunger was ongoing. But obtaining footwear was an even greater problem than getting food. A pair of leather boots wore out in only a few months on the stony roads of Crete, and leather was extremely scarce. Blistered, bruised feet and sickness were frequent experiences. The language was another problem. To survive, I learned to speak Greek.

I was able to wheedle a forged identification card out of an inebriated mayor who felt sorry for me. A young Cretan doctor made it up. The Greek name I chose was Phillippos Paschalakis, which I signed on the card with my own hand. I took the surname Paschalakis because I scorned the church’s hypocritical practice of fasting at Easter (Pasch), since everybody was already starving.

The German occupation created tremendous hardships for the population. But the Greek Orthodox clergy did not help. They had houses and land themselves, yet they exacted food and money from a starving population. Moreover, they dominated the lives of people with a lot of ritual and formalism but gave no real spiritual enlightenment. The fine qualities of the Cretans that I got to know were quite different from the intolerance I often saw in their clergy.

What particularly surprised me was the active participation of the clergy in the war. I personally knew a priest who condoned the mutilation of Germans who had been killed by partisans. Our paths crossed many times, since he too was wanted by the Nazis. I personally saw Greek Orthodox priests leading guerrilla forces and sharing in brutality and sadism.

Mother and Father had not been religiously inclined​—although they had high moral principles—​so neither was I. In fact, by the time I joined the armed forces, I was a confirmed agnostic. The activities of the clergy now clinched my lack of real faith in God. There were other unexplained oddities about life that influenced my thinking but none equaled the influence of the clergy during wartime.

Hiding mostly in the mountains, I found myself with many hours for serious thinking. At times I thought about the man that murdered his uncle and who said of me, ‘He’s one of us.’ It was true in more ways than one. I too had taken human life. Was I really so different from them? These were things I would think about. I noted that people do terrible things because of the circumstances they are forced to endure.

In one of the villages where I was taking refuge, I stayed with a family who, like most others, were at the point of starvation. One of the children pitifully asked her father for some bread. This so enraged him that while I looked on, he thrashed her. Later, the man broke down and was deeply sorry for what he had done. I filed away experiences like this.

So, in between devising ways to escape from Crete, I had ample time to meditate on the perplexing problems of life. The stars under which I spent most nights were so permanent, and yet human life and values were so short and uncertain. Why? I found no answer and so concluded there was none.

In the spring of 1943, after two years of avoiding capture by the Germans or their supporters, I escaped along with a group of others from the remote southern coast to Tobruk in North Africa. Our escape by motor torpedo boat was arranged by a British agent sent to Crete to organize underground resistance. After some weeks in Egypt, I was returned to Australia where I received a medical discharge following a period of hospitalization.

Shortly after my return, The Australian Women’s Weekly of July 24, 1943, carried a story about my surviving for two years as a fugitive in Crete. A picture of me appeared with my wife, Gwen, and our two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, Anita, who was born while I was overseas. A picture of my forged identification card appeared too. You can see reproductions of these pictures with this article.

Achieving a Purpose in Life

Family responsibilities and the death of my mother made me seek relief in a live-for-today syndrome. As a result, my family began to suffer. I felt that there must be some purpose to life, but where could it be found?

At my place of work, there was a young man, Eric Gosden, who stood out in some way from the others. Unknown to me, Eric had recently become one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. He later admitted: “As soon as I realized I had found the truth, I made a beeline to you.” He skillfully refuted my disbelief and readjusted my wife’s religious views. Soon I found even my agnosticism disappearing.

The help of other Witnesses was summoned, and they answered all my questions and replaced my previous agnosticism with a sure hope in a paradise earth and a real brotherhood of man. The turning point for me came when I found out that the Bible condemned religious hypocrisy that had disgusted me so much in wartime. What a mistake I had made! When I threw out false religious teachings and behavior, I threw out the precious Word of God along with them.

In 1950 Gwen and I were baptized at the same district convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses. In time Anita, who was born in 1941, and Pauline, who arrived in 1947, followed our example. It has been a source of encouragement to have these three women develop into fine spiritual sisters, in addition to being wife and daughters to me.

Helping Those in Need

As the girls grew a little older, we began to plan for overseas missionary work. In 1956 the Watch Tower Society’s president, N. H. Knorr, visited Australia and invited families to move to one of the South Pacific islands where graduates from the Gilead missionary school had not been able to gain entry. We, along with a number of others, accepted the invitation. Selling our home, we used the proceeds to finance our move to New Caledonia.

There were only two Witnesses when we arrived. Adjusting to the different customs and learning another language was a challenge. But having survived on Crete under much more difficult circumstances provided useful experience. Helping fellow Australians also to adjust, as well as bringing the good news of God’s purposes to the local people, was a privilege. By the time the Australian families serving where the need was greater had to leave New Caledonia in 1963, the number of Witnesses had increased to 58.

Back in Australia, we found that quite a change had taken place. Hundreds of thousands of immigrants from Europe had arrived. Then, in more recent years, thousands more have come from Southeast Asia, bringing people of all sorts right to our doorstep. Because of having lived as a fugitive in Crete, I have strong fellow feeling for newcomers struggling with a new language and a different environment. So it was quite exciting for me to see 14 ethnic congregations and groups formed in Australia during 1974 and 1975. This number has now grown to 85.

My hope at the end of World War II to see a real brotherhood of man has been realized in a wonderful way. For years after leaving New Caledonia, I had the privilege of serving that brotherhood as a traveling overseer, visiting congregations in Sydney, Melbourne, and Adelaide until poor health called for a change of pace.

Among those we continue to try to help are people who are deaf, blind, lonely, or physically or mentally impaired, as well as those who are drug addicts or alcoholics, and even those who are agnostics or atheists. It remains a spiritual challenge to understand people​—their backgrounds, customs, foibles, hang-ups. My early experience taught me never to look at the outside appearance but to try to reach the heart. For what overriding purpose? That by Jehovah’s undeserved kindness, ‘some might be saved.’ (1 Corinthians 9:22, 23)​—As told by Farleigh James.

[Pictures on page 21]

GUNNER FARLEIGH JAMES, escapee from Crete, with his wife and 2 1/2-year-old daughter, Anita. Anita was born after Gunner James went overseas.

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From The Australian Women’s Weekly, Sydney

Staying Healthy​—The Natural Approach

By Awake! correspondent in the Federal Republic of Germany

AFTER she quit smoking, Shirley started putting on weight. Her husband, determined that she keep her girlish figure, decided that they should take up jogging to stay fit. Thus, along with millions of others in recent years, they began a program to improve their health.

Like people in other lands, Germans today are very health conscious. This is reflected in the approximately 4,200 bodybuilding and fitness clubs found here in Germany. Almost half of the members are women, so it is not surprising that for three years in a row the world’s top female bodybuilder, or “bodystyler,” has been a German.

For those who would stay fit by adhering to the dictum “you are what you eat,” Germany offers over 2,700 health-food shops and another 1,000 so-called bio-shops, stores that sell biologically grown food produced without the use of chemicals or chemical fertilizers. And, of course, the country also has its share of citizens who believe vitamin pills are important to their health.

These various means of maintaining health are based on the natural approach of preventing disease rather than curing it. But what if the natural approach to prevention fails? Then many Germans will resort to a similar natural approach to curing.

Body, Heal Yourself!

Alongside the orthodox or classical forms of medicine, Europe offers a variety of herbalists, naturopaths, and other practitioners who recommend alternative methods of treatment. The natural remedies they prescribe, instead of being directed at relieving symptoms, aim to strengthen and to support bodily functions and defense systems so that the body can heal itself.

A journalist recently wrote: “More and more patients are turning to the curative powers of plants.” However, in this connection it must be observed that many natural remedies, such as digitalis, which comes from foxglove leaves, can now be produced synthetically. In fact, the synthetically produced drug may have even greater value. Not all natural substances, of course, are harmless. For example, consider opium and hemlock as well as poisonous mushrooms.

Nevertheless, it is only fair to say that the dangers of many of the modern medical therapies are only now becoming more fully appreciated. Often their dangers are more pronounced than those of the naturally occurring remedies, a notorious example being the drug thalidomide. Medications usually have some side effects, so the harm of such side effects needs to be carefully weighed against the potential benefits.

It is said that today every third medicinal preparation sold in Germany is made of natural components rather than of chemicals. This trend has found support from a former first lady of Germany. Dr. Veronica Carstens, herself an internist, says: “I have nothing against classical medicine. But I find natural means of treatment an excellent supplement to classical medicine.”

Dr. Carstens strongly encourages doctors to become familiar with both kinds of treatment and to break down the barriers that have long existed between the two. Apparently this has had results. A University of Freiburg study made at the start of this decade revealed that 60 percent of all German general practitioners occasionally or even regularly prescribe natural remedies when they feel that classical medication is unnecessary. This figure might, in fact, even be increased to nearly 100 percent, in that most medical practitioners recognize the value of whirlpool therapy where soft tissue, muscle, and tendon injuries occur.

Thus, today the reported curative properties of goldenrod, nettles, garlic, balm, juniper berries, and suchlike are being promulgated. Used in teas or as compresses or utilized in extracts or tinctures, they admittedly will not bring the instant relief that so-called miracle drugs sometimes do, but at least one does not need to worry as much about untoward side effects. This is in harmony with the medical principle “primo non nocere” (“first do no harm”).

Water​—What Could Be More Natural?

The use of water in either recuperative or preventive therapy, as at health resorts or spas, is also a natural approach to staying healthy. In this, according to the German weekly newsmagazine Der Spiegel, the Germans “are far ahead of everyone else, for nowhere else can such a variety of spa cures be found, therapeutic, recuperative, and preventive.” Note that in Germany as regards spas, the emphasis is on health, not on recreation or vacationing. That is in keeping with their origin. Spas got their name from Spa, Belgium, a famous health resort noted for its natural mineral waters.

During 1985 almost one in every eight persons living in Germany spent some time at one of these health resorts. Some financed their stay themselves, but the comprehensive health insurance programs available in Germany enabled many more to enjoy their treatment at nominal cost. Of course, eligibility for therapy paid for by health insurance is limited, as is the frequency with which it may be taken.

One particularly popular treatment that stresses the use of water is the Kneipp therapy. It was developed by Sebastian Kneipp more than a hundred years ago in a small city southwest of Munich. The Kneipp therapy is now offered by dozens of spas throughout Europe, and even Japan will soon have its first Kneipp health resort. This is not surprising in view of the emphasis put on physical fitness in Japan, as noted in the February 22, 1987, issue of Awake!a

Hydrotherapy, on which the Kneipp therapy is based, is “the treatment of disease or disability by the external application of water,” and it can take various forms: whirlpools, showers, baths, underwater exercises, massages, hot and cold compresses, to name a few. The Kneipp therapy is based on the premise that water is effective in (1) dissolving or breaking up poisonous deposits that prevent proper blood circulation, (2) eliminating these poisons, and (3) strengthening the organism.

Thus, the Australian Family Physician in its December 1984 issue stated that ‘hydrotherapy, or exercise in heated water, is a technique used in the treatment and management of rheumatic, neurological and orthopedic conditions.’ And the Russian medical journal Akush Ginekol, 1982, reported on ‘the normalization of female reproductive function after treatment at a health resort.’

The Kneipp therapy is said to be particularly effective in treating heart and vascular diseases and malfunctions of the nervous system. It has also been very effective in treating back pains by means of whirlpool equipment or simply exercising in a tub of hot or cold water. In fact, it might be said that Kneipp was many decades ahead of his time, since modern medicine recognizes the value of hydrotherapy, as any issue of Indexus Medicus will show.

Die Kneipp Kur (The Kneipp Cure), by Lothar Burghardt, says that “after treatment at a health resort, the number of days of absence due to illness dropped by more than 60%. This means savings in sickness benefit payments . . . and rising productivity. Following treatment at a health resort, consumption of medicine dropped substantially (by about two thirds). . . . Economic and social scientists in various countries have, quite independently of one another, discovered that for each Mark invested meaningfully in health resort treatment, three Marks are saved in potential sickness.”

A former chief medical officer, Fritz Allies, observes: “The costs of the stay at a health resort are normally covered by the patient’s health insurance company or by the German pension fund, and may run into many thousands of DM [deutsche mark] for each patient. The outlay is expected to pay for itself in the course of time. It is hoped that the patient will be more capable of work as a result of the treatment and hence able to pay health insurance contributions, instead of receiving sickness benefits or an early pension.”

Insurance companies can hardly be viewed as gullible or prejudiced when it comes to therapies promising health benefits. Thus, the DAK Magazin, published by a prestigious German insurance company, stated in its March 1987 issue: “The DAK health resort treatment of four weeks of active health training brings almost unbelievable improvement in the sense of well-being.”

Giving similar testimony is the German medical journal Münchener Medizinische Wochenschrift, which reports: “Two years ago we examined at random 100 discharge reports completed following health resort treatment. In 88% of these cases, health resort doctors verified a positive outcome.”

A Word of Caution

Eating properly and in moderation, getting sufficient rest and exercise, plus breathing plenty of fresh air, are great helps in staying fit. Health resorts, which attempt to provide an environment free from stress and strain, generally offer such benefits and more. Sometimes a stay at such a health resort even helps in changing life patterns, as when the tobacco habit is overcome. “A cure,” says Rita Süssmuth, minister of health of the Federal Republic of Germany, “is for many people a turning point in dealing with themselves and may lead to a better, a more health-oriented life-style.”

Yet, it must be admitted, every method of trying to stay fit has its potential dangers. Some medicines, whether chemical or natural, may cause undesirable side effects, even when properly administered. Ill-advised diets can lead to unbalanced nourishment. And too much exercise, or the wrong kind, can cause tennis elbow, jogger’s ankles, or aerobic back​—not to mention the time wasted.

Visiting a health resort to undergo treatment also poses the danger of bad associations. Being away from home and family with more spare time to spend than usual, a person can easily be tempted to spend it unwisely. This is illustrated by what one woman said about her stay at a health resort: “If three weeks without work​—and your husband—​isn’t a vacation, then what is? A little romance is part of the treatment.”

Persons desirous of maintaining Christian standards of morality and conduct, however, have found that openly talking to others about God’s Kingdom tends to protect them from those with questionable views or motives. In fact, time and again Christian witnesses of Jehovah receiving treatment at a spa have had great success in witnessing and in placing Bibles and Bible literature. The wisdom from above would indicate that married persons not go to a spa unless accompanied by their mate.

However, whether at home on a sickbed or at a hospital or a spa, it certainly is much more pleasant to dwell upon the joys of future health than to brood over the discomforts of present ailments. “Pleasant sayings are a honeycomb,” says a Bible proverb, “sweet to the soul and a healing to the bones.”​—Proverbs 16:24.

Balance Is Needed!

“The trouble about always trying to preserve the health of the body is that it is so difficult to do without destroying the health of the mind.” So wrote the English author G. K. Chesterton a half century ago. Those words might be paraphrased to say that giving too much attention to one’s physical health is bound to have a deleterious effect upon one’s spirituality.

Yes, it is so easy to go to extremes. Most people do not pay enough attention to their health, and among those who do, there are always those who go overboard. The key is to keep balanced. That means being realistic. Remember, too, that what works for one may not work for another, for which reason it has been said that ‘one man’s meat is another man’s poison.’ One should also remember that, at present, perfect health is an impossibility. Do not become unbalanced, a sort of ‘health apostle,’ preaching your approach to staying healthy as the last word in staying fit or by making it the most important thing in life.

Mankind’s Creator, Jehovah God, assures us that in his incoming new world “no resident will say: ‘I am sick.’” (Isaiah 33:24) But to gain life in that new system, we must first exercise faith in God and make an approach to him through the ransom sacrifice of his Son, Jesus Christ. (Acts 4:12; Hebrews 7:25; 11:6) How happy will be those who live to see that time, when staying healthy will be the most natural thing in the world!

[Footnotes]

[Blurb on page 26]

“The costs of the stay at a health resort are normally covered by the patient’s health insurance company or by the German pension fund”

[Pictures on page 24, 25]

Therapy at German health spas

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Kurverwaltung Bad Salzschlirf

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Kurverwaltung Bad Camberg

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Kurverwaltung Bad Camberg

From Our Readers

Why Obey One’s Parents?

Thank you very much for your article “Young People Ask . . . Why Should I Obey Mom and Dad?” (January 8, 1988) Today, just as the Bible said, there is much disobedience to parents by young ones. (2 Timothy 3:2) In your article, you highlighted the need for young ones to obey their parents, and you even gave a fine example, that of John and the two girls. I wish that every young person would read and study that article and follow the course of the Bible.

S. O., Nigeria

Civil War Date

I recently read the article “We Were Lilliputians Among Dwarfs.” (February 8, 1988) Isn’t it true that the Spanish Civil War was fought from 1861 to 1865? If this is true, there seems to be quite a discrepancy in the age of the two sisters. The girl says she was still very young a few years after the Spanish Civil War, which would put them well into their 100’s. Yet toward the end of the article, they say they are 50 years old or so. Can you explain this?

L. M. K., United States

The explanation is that it was the American Civil War that took place from 1861 to 1865. The Spanish Civil War was from 1936 to 1939. When referring to the Spanish Civil War in the article, it would have been helpful if we had included the dates.​—ED.

Hope for the Homeless

While it is most commendable that you draw attention in your publications to the problems of “The Homeless” (March 8, 1988), wouldn’t it be much better to follow the example set by other religious organizations and lend a helping hand? Surely your resources could stretch to allow even a small financial contribution. But instead of doing something about it, you constantly point to a new system under God’s rule as the solution to this and other woes.

B. B., Federal Republic of Germany

Many religious, charitable, and governmental organizations are endeavoring to help meet the material needs of the homeless, and this is commendable. Few are helping with the very essential spiritual needs of mankind. We put our first emphasis on preaching the good news of God’s Kingdom, as commanded by Jesus at Matthew 24:14. We have found that when people learn to trust in what God’s Kingdom will bring about, it gives them a purpose in life and motivates them to try to take care of themselves and to cut out misuse of drugs and alcohol, which wastes their health and their resources. They not only improve their life now but also get a hope of everlasting life on a paradise earth. Jesus emphasized the importance of this when he quoted from God’s Word: “Man must live, not on bread alone, but on every utterance coming forth through Jehovah’s mouth.” (Matthew 4:4) Further, Jehovah’s Witnesses are well known for providing necessary material assistance to needy ones in times of privation and distress, thus exemplifying true neighbor love as outlined in Mark 12:29-31 and James 2:15-17. And the help we provide goes quickly and directly to the needy, without being reduced or delayed by cumbersome and costly administration.​—ED.

Watching the World

Dowry Deaths

India Today recently decried the practice by money-hungry grooms of demanding exorbitant dowries from prospective in-laws, describing it as “the most insidious evil of Indian society.” That comment regarding this practice came as a result of a triple tragedy that recently struck a middle-class family in Kanpur, India. Three sisters committed suicide by hanging themselves when their father was faced with exorbitant dowry demands. Prospective grooms rejected dowry offers of up to Rs80,000 ($7,000 U.S.) by the father. As India Today notes: “The ultimate tragedy is that those responsible feel no guilt​—it is shared by 800 million people.”

Plastic Currency

Australia has just produced a ten-dollar note printed on a secret mix of polymer fibers. According to The Times of London, the Australian Reserve Bank claims that the plastic note is more durable than a comparable paper one, especially for use in hot and humid countries. The note’s main appeal, however, lies in its security factors. In addition to a built-in watermark, the note has a unique OVD (optical variable device) that deflects light rays into colors of the rainbow with each shift in angle, revealing different patterns of color. To forge the note would mean printing and fixing an OVD, “and that,” says a bank official, “would be very expensive because the technology is highly sophisticated.”

A Bad Year for Banks

Bank failures in the United States reached “a post-Depression record in 1987,” and officials expect “at best only a small improvement this year,” says a report in the New York Daily News. According to the FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation), which insures the country’s commercial banks, 184 of them failed in 1987, and 19 other banks needed assistance in order to stay afloat. Chairman L. William Seidman called the year “one of the most difficult and unusual years in banking since this corporation has been in business.”

Flying Frogs

When hundreds of pink frogs were found hopping around the ancient town of Cirencester, England, shoppers and drivers could think of no explanation for the phenomenon. Now, however, scientists have concluded that the frogs originated in the Sahara Desert, where they are “dyed” pink by crystals in the sand in which they live. Sucked up by freak winds, they were carried the thousands of miles to the English countryside and deposited during a rainstorm, reports The Times. Cars covered with pink sand added credence to the theory.

More Dirt​—More Wool

Recently, researchers at the University of New England in Australia claim to have made a surprising discovery. While searching for a means to combat a serious stomach disorder common to Australian sheep, they found that “small quantities of a naturally occurring clay, called bentonite, mixed into a sheep’s drinking water” not only improved the animal’s digestion but increased wool growth, reports The Australian. One of the researchers, Professor Ron Leng, said that a daily dose of a half ounce [15 g] of bentonite mixed into their drinking water had resulted in increases of up to about one tenth of an ounce [2 g] a day in a sheep’s wool growth. It is hoped that use of this mixture on sheep nation wide will bring increases in wool production worth millions of dollars.

All-Purpose Tires

In France, 500,000 tons of old tires are scrapped yearly, creating a serious environmental problem. Until now, recycling techniques were of limited use, owing to high cost. However, an interesting solution has been offered by an engineer from the French Civil Engineering Laboratory. The suggestion is to use from 15 to 20 percent of these old tires in backfills in construction projects such as roads, structures, and retaining walls. As French daily Le Figaro declared: “Compared with traditional methods, such as metal or concrete frameworks, old tires are . . . surprisingly strong.” Moreover, when tires are used in backfill, vibrations from passing heavy traffic are said to be reduced four to five fold.

Vanity’s Price

“Liposuction has become the most common form of cosmetic surgery done in the United States,” reports The New York Times Magazine. What is liposuction? It is a surgical technique designed to suction fat from body areas such as the face, buttocks, thighs, knees, and abdomen. Patients are generally persons between the ages of 20 and 40 who are seeking a slimmer appearance although they medically are not obese. Nearly a hundred thousand liposuctions were performed in 1986. While labeled “safe and effective” by some authorities, persons submitting to liposuction run the risk of severe depletion of body fluids, blood clots, massive infection, internal structural injury, and death. Reports show that 11 deaths have been attributed to this procedure since it came to the United States from France six years ago.

High Flier

An eight-year-old girl was suddenly lifted into the air while flying a kite, reports The New York Times. Apparently, the 200-pound-test [90 kg] nylon line used as a kite string was caught by a twin-engined plane that had just taken off from the Palo Alto Airport about 30 miles [50 km] south of San Francisco. The pilot claimed that his plane had climbed to about 800 feet [240 m] when the glider-type kite with a wingspan of 12 feet [3.7 m] became tangled around one of the plane’s propellers. The girl was suddenly lifted 10 feet [3 m] into the air and carried for about 100 feet [30 m]. She finally let go when she was about to hit a tree. The girl escaped serious injury.

New Approach

Locust invasions have usually been met by the spraying of enormous quantities of pesticides. But as some have pointed out, this is detrimental to both man and beast as the insecticides work their way into the food chain. So why not harvest the locusts? some authorities ask. They are nutritious for both man and animal. Africans have been eating them for centuries, and some farmers have used them as feed for poultry and cattle. “Let’s recognise it as protein on six legs and use it rather than abuse it by chemical contamination,” says Dr. John Ledger, director of the Endangered Wildlife Trust in South Africa. Writing in the journal African Wildlife, he hopes there will be a “move forward to a new age of understanding about the miracle that is the planet Earth and all creatures, great and small, that live on its fragile surface.”

Knockout Call

An anesthetist in Roodepoort, South Africa, has a novel though controversial way of putting children at ease in the operating room. While still in the ward, the child listens to tape recordings of popular nursery rhymes through a little toy telephone. When the doctor explains to the little patient what will take place in the operating room, he also says that the telephone will be there so the child can listen to the tapes. He does not say, however, that anesthetic gas will be coming out of the phone’s mouthpiece!

The children are so delighted with this toy that it takes only about a minute for the gas to take effect. “It works particularly well with children between the ages of three and 10 years,” says the anesthetist, “and many children want to come back.”

Japan’s New Generation

The Japanese are known worldwide for staying with one company throughout their working lives and for preferring their job to leisure, community life, and independence. But things are gradually changing with the new generation. “With the prosperity their parents worked so hard to create, young people do not feel the same need to work incessantly or cling to one company for security,” notes the International Herald Tribune. A 23-year-old employee explained: “Our parents gave us money. Now we work for ourselves. We think of ourselves first, and that’s a big difference between us.” Two recent surveys carried out among Japanese youths confirmed this opinion. The Tribune reports that “only 38 percent gave priority to work over family” and “55 percent considered their own welfare before that of society.”

New AIDS Risks?

Perhaps 10 to 20 million persons worldwide now carry the AIDS virus. In the Canadian province of British Columbia, an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 are infected, and health authorities are worried about the infection’s spreading further. So the B.C. Ministry of Health recently prepared a brochure that offers, as it says, “the latest factual information about AIDS.”

The brochure repeats the oft-heard warnings against having sex with infected partners and sharing a needle or syringe that has been used by an infected person. However, it also explains that since the virus is in the blood, there is a special risk from other skin-puncturing devices. For example, the brochure mentions equipment used in piercing ears, in tattooing, and in acupuncture as possible means of infection. “It’s also dangerous to share a razor or toothbrush with an infected person,” the brochure adds.

Listening While They Work

THE owner of a clothing store told a customer of her intention to buy some Bible tapes. The customer recommended tapes of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. The store owner asked if one of the tapes could be loaned to her so she could hear how it sounded.

Later, after listening to the tape, the store owner requested: “Please order the set from Matthew to Revelation, and,” she added, “tell whoever is in charge of producing them that the diction is the best I’ve heard.” The woman explained that she and her daughters listened to the tape when doing work at the store and that they all were very pleased with it.

You too can benefit from these Bible tapes. The album, complete with the entire “New Testament” from Matthew to Revelation (18 cassettes), is $30. Two albums of the “Old Testament” are also available, the first has Genesis to Ruth on 18 cassettes and is $30; the second album has 21 cassettes containing First Samuel through Psalms and is $33.25.

Please indicate by marking the respective boxes what cassette albums you want and remit the designated amount.

Please indicate by marking the respective boxes what cassette albums you want and remit the designated amount.

[ ] I enclose $30 for the “New Testament” album.

[ ] I enclose $30 for the album of Genesis through Ruth.

[ ] I enclose $33.25 for the album of First Samuel through Psalms. (Outside the U.S.A., write to local Watch Tower branch for information.)