August 22

Page Two

How precious are all our many senses that permit us to enjoy life! Yet most of us take these for granted. What help is available for sense-impaired people? Although modern technology has provided assistance, learn about the only satisfying solution to this problem.

Our Senses​—Remarkable Gifts

AT THE sight of the ice cream, Luke’s eyes shine. As he reaches out to grasp the cone verbally offered to him, his mouth waters. He raises the delicacy to his mouth, smelling its sweetness as he does. Then, he tastes the delicious flavor with the first lick of the soft, cold ice cream.

In this delightful experience, Luke makes use of his body’s five remarkable senses​—sight, hearing, touch, smell, and taste. Yet we have many other senses; how many depends on how one wishes to classify them. For example, the skin has sensitivity not only to touch but also to temperature (warm and cold) as well as to pain. The inner ear, besides being sensitive to sound, regulates our sense of balance by means of fluid that flows within its semicircular canals. In addition, there are receptors in the body that are responsible for our sense of hunger and thirst, as well as other senses.

Thus, by means of an intricate communication system, our body responds to various stimuli to measure physical and chemical characteristics of our environment. Consider a few specifics.

The eye receives a continual flow of visual impressions. Light is focused on the millions of receptor cells of the retina, which responds to the light rays by producing electrical signals. The optic nerve carries the signals to the brain, where they are interpreted as visual images.

The ear has tiny hairs located in its inner part that oscillate in rhythm with the sound waves they pick up. They then feed electrical information that our brain interprets as sound.

Touch is a sense dependent on small receptors located in the skin. Apparently, different receptor cells are responsible for the various sensations of touch, pain, cold, and heat.

Taste is a sense made possible by microscopic nerve endings called taste buds. By means of these buds situated principally on the tongue, and to a lesser extent on other surfaces of the mouth, we can relish our food and drink.

Smell is closely linked to taste. The extraordinary sensitivity of the receptor cells housed in the roof of the nasal cavity enables them to detect just 1 molecule of some odorous substances in 1,000,000,000,000 parts of air! But just how these cells detect odors and give rise to nerve signals in the brain still baffles researchers.

Truly, our senses are remarkable gifts. What happens, though, when they are impaired? How do we cope? What can we do?

Help for Those With Special Needs

PEOPLE who have no sense impairments generally give little thought to those who do, unless they are members of their own family. Yet, the matter deserves attention. In Britain there is debate about how those who are sense impaired can be integrated into the community.

Jack Ashley, a British Member of Parliament who is deaf, points to the need of understanding. “Most people are ignorant of the problems of the deaf,” he explains. “Above all, [the deaf] need understanding from hearing people, appreciation of the gravity of their disability, and respect for their individual qualities which are unimpaired, except in the imagination of others.”​—Italics ours.

Just because people are deaf does not mean that their mental faculties are in any way impaired. Yet, one bright young woman who cannot hear says that some people seem to view her as mentally retarded. When she and her husband had an interview with an insurance salesman, he asked why they were staring at him. On learning that they were both deaf and trying to lip-read, he readily understood.

Similarly, it is not unusual for some to feel ill at ease when around the blind. So while most may want to help when a blind person is waiting to cross the street, not all stop and do so. Why? Often because of uncertainty about the blind person’s reaction to the offered assistance. The blind, however, generally welcome help when it is offered in a natural, polite way, even as help might be offered to someone elderly or someone who may seem to need help in carrying a heavy load. How fine, therefore, to conquer feelings of unease and kindly offer to help!

If you had to give up one of your five principal senses, you would probably choose to do without your sense of smell. It is considered less important than the other senses. But a woman who lost the ability to smell lamented: “I felt handicapped in all kinds of ways. I’d always loved cooking but it was impossible. I’d either over-season or under-season.”

So even the loss of this seemingly less important sense can be tragic. Ellis Douek of Guy’s Hospital, London, says: “You have to take [the loss of the sense of smell] very seriously. The majority of sufferers are very distressed and some actually become clinically depressed. They feel they are living in a colourless world. Smell can have a more profound emotional content than people realize.”

The degree of sense impairment may differ greatly from one person to another. One may be totally deaf, having no residual hearing, while another may find it difficult to hear under certain circumstances, perhaps when there is much background noise. Actually, most deaf people can hear some sound, even though they cannot hear speech. It is similar with vision. Some people are totally blind. But in the United States, a person is considered legally blind if he can only see from 20 feet [6.1 m] (with glasses or contact lenses) what someone with normal sight sees from 200 feet [61 m].

Help From Technology

To deal with the varying degrees of impairment, skilled professionals have a whole range of devices to measure the extent of disability. For example, technicians use equipment to establish the level of hearing. Then doctors try to determine the type of impairment. Is the problem due to faulty transmission of the electrical impulses to the brain? Is the impairment correctable with surgery?

Similarly, optometrists and ophthalmic consultants measure the eye’s capabilities. Their findings help doctors determine the cause of the sight defect and possible treatment. About 95 percent of all cases of blindness are said to be caused by disease, and the rest by injuries.

Once the cause and scope of the sense impairment has been identified, the question of help can be addressed. Technology offers some answers in the form of appliances that enhance the impaired senses. For the hearing impaired, there are hearing aids, which are battery-operated devices with an earpiece that is sometimes molded to fit inside the person’s ear. These take advantage of residual hearing in an effort to give a deaf person some ability to hear speech. For the visually impaired, spectacles or contact lenses are often prescribed. Even such simple items as magnifying glasses have proved a boon to many. Others have been helped by corneal transplants.

For those who have lost their sense of smell, the trouble can sometimes be traced to nasal polyps, sinus problems, chronic colds, allergies, and rhinitis. Many of these conditions can be treated and cured medically.

Although medicine and technology can often improve the situation of sense-impaired people, there are other important sources of help.

Self-Help

Since a medical procedure may not always be successful or desirable, many sense-impaired people have sought to circumvent the sad consequences of their disabilities by living up to their fullest potential. They have done so by developing to the full the abilities and talents that they possess. One person who did this was Helen Keller, a famous author and lecturer, who was both blind and deaf. But there are many other sense-impaired people who have excelled in various fields.

When a handicapped person feels challenged to develop his or her skills, the result is often greater independence and self-respect, not to mention the aid that such a motivated person can be to others. Janice, who is both deaf and blind, notes: “There is great strength in compensating. It is amazing to see how Jehovah God made us in such a wonderful way that we can compensate for some loss.”

Helpful Relationships

Many people who are blind or deaf become lonely. They lack companionship. How can this vital need be filled?

Sometimes pets can help. The useful cooperation between humans and animals finds perhaps its greatest expression in guide dogs for the blind. Guide-dog trainer Michael Tucker, author of The Eyes That Lead, believes that life with a guide dog opens up a whole new world for the blind, giving “freedom, independence, mobility and companionship.” A counterpart to dogs for the blind are ‘hearing-ear’ dogs for the deaf.

Yet, pets have helped many other impaired people. An organizer of a program to provide pets for the sick and the elderly comments: “You only have to see the joy they get. People who are so withdrawn they can hardly speak to anyone will respond to an animal.” Of course, the advantages of having the company of a pet have to be measured against the responsibility of caring for it.

Although a unique bond may grow between the sense-impaired person and an animal, it is by communication with other humans that greater help is available.

Good Communication

To promote better understanding between those whose senses are impaired and people who want to help, there needs to be good communication. But how is this possible when the very senses normally used in this process are impaired? That is where Braille, sign language, and lipreading prove helpful to many.

In 1824 Louis Braille, a 15-year-old blind student from France, developed a reading system based on a series of raised dots and dashes. Five years later he published the now famous dot system based on cells of six dots, with 63 possible arrangements representing the alphabet as well as punctuation and numbers. For the visually impaired, learning Braille represents a considerable commitment in terms of time and effort. Rather than viewing this as too great a challenge, the UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) volume Working With Braille offers this assurance: “It must be emphasized that the perception of Braille characters is well within the capabilities of our tactile [touch] senses.”

Studies of Braille reading techniques show that those who achieved the highest speed and best reading skill with Braille were those who used the index fingers of both hands. They move their digits smoothly over the raised dots, achieving the reading speed of up to half that of a person visually reading print.

The growing availability of publications in Braille, as well as on audiocassettes, provides the visually impaired person access to many literary treasures. Foremost among them is the Bible, which can be obtained both in Braille and on cassette tapes from the publishers of this magazine. We also provide the books Listening to the Great Teacher and My Book of Bible Stories, as well as our companion magazine, The Watchtower, on tape. And beginning next year, Awake! will also be available on tape.

In regard to sign language, researchers J. G. Kyle and B. Woll say that understanding it is “the first step to breaking down barriers for all those in the deaf world.” Through this very effective medium of communication, the deaf feel at home with one another. It is a fine thing when those who can both hear and speak make the effort to learn sign language. In this way deaf and hearing people become more integrated, to their mutual benefit. Hearing people learn a new language and enrich their cultural experience, and deaf people gain greater access to the world of hearing people.

Interestingly, many people who are deaf from birth or from early infancy do not view themselves as being handicapped. The difference between them and hearing people is viewed as merely a language difference and a cultural difference. On the other hand, those who become deaf later in life through accident or disease often experience a much different psychological impact​—a deep sense of loss. For many of these, sign language is a difficult remedy, since it requires learning an entirely new language. Many prefer training in lipreading and continued practice in maintaining their already developed speech.

Understanding how sense-impaired people feel as well as communicating with them does not remove the root of the problem. Their handicap remains. If it could be eradicated, then gone would be the inequalities, injustices, and problems that the sense-impaired suffer. Will that ever be?

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Help Yourself

1. Knowledge. Try to discover as much as you can about your disability and how to relieve it.

2. Honesty. Be open and admit to your disability.

3. Empathy. Take the initiative to put others at ease and explain how they can best help.

4. Activity. To counteract depression, become involved in some physical or mental activity.

5. Courage. Compensate for feelings of inferiority by channeling your energy into activities you can do well.

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Help Others Can Give

1. Try to look at situations from the viewpoint of people with sensory impairments.

2. Include them in your regular activities. Do not isolate them.

3. Give them things to do that help them feel their worth.

4. Listen when they seek to communicate how they feel.

5. When you see a special need, do all you can to work with the disabled one in filling it.

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Janice (left) is both blind and deaf, yet she shares fully in the Christian ministry

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Pets can offer some measure of companionship

When Needs Are Satisfied

MANY years ago the prediction was made: “The eyes of the blind ones will be opened, and the very ears of the deaf ones will be unstopped.”

‘But that is impossible,’ you may say. If you do, you will probably be surprised to learn that many 20th-century biotechnicians no longer view it as impossible. Why?

Sight for the Blind?

If asked with what organ you see objects, you would most likely answer: ‘With my eyes.’ The biotechnician, however, would more likely reply: ‘With my brain.’ And he would be more correct. For while the eye is the sense organ that captures the light and produces electrical impulses, it is the rear section of our brain that provides us with visual perception.

The French journal Science et Vie recently summarized research that has been done to help the blind see artificially. Implanted in the brain’s visual center, tiny electrodes that are connected to a video camera are able to send signals from the camera directly into the brain. A sensation of light is produced, much as we may “see stars” when hit on the head. By making the appropriate connections, the brain will read the light flashes just as we read signs made up of many individual light bulbs. While those whose eyes have been blinded may thus be helped to see, persons whose visual centers in the brain have been damaged will not be benefited by this method.

Hearing for the Deaf?

“For the ear, the problem is perhaps less than for the eye,” claims Dr. Jean-Michel Bader. Fine strides have been made in the production of cochlear implants to restore a degree of hearing to some people with hearing impairments. But what of those whose deafness is due to problems with the transformation of sound waves into electrical impulses for transmission to the brain?

For the benefit of such ones, work progresses on an electronic inner ear. By means of a device with a pocket microphone that converts sound into electrical impulses, signals are fed along a wire to a small transmitter attached to the skin near the ear. A miniature receiver implanted under the skin and connected directly to the auditory nerve passes the message along to the brain, bypassing the normal route.

Need for More Reliable Help

Despite the prospects such research seems to offer, scientists realistically recognize that attempts to correct body defects often fail because science lacks an understanding of the complexities of the way our physical organs and senses work. Consequently, the race is on to build up a more complete picture of the function of our body processes.

While many may rest their hope in science for the restoration of sight to the blind and hearing to the deaf, there is a much more reliable basis for hope. It is the promise of the Creator of man’s senses, Jehovah God. He is the one who long ago inspired the prediction: “At that time the eyes of the blind ones will be opened, and the very ears of the deaf ones will be unstopped.” (Isaiah 35:5) But how can we be sure those words will come true? What is “that time” during which it is promised to occur?

Foregleams of the Future

If a thing occurred in the past, would that not give you confidence that it could happen again, especially if the one who was responsible for it said it would? Well, in the first century of our Common Era, Jesus Christ restored senses to those who had lost them, even as he once reported: “The blind are receiving sight, the lame are walking, the lepers are being cleansed and the deaf are hearing.” (Luke 7:22) These healings did not depend on modern technology.

Once Jesus even healed a man who had been born blind. Many neighbors and acquaintances acknowledged the miracle. The man whose sight had been restored said: “From of old it has never been heard that anyone opened the eyes of one born blind. If this man were not from God, he could do nothing at all.” Yes, Jesus restored that man’s sight through the power of God!​—John 9:32, 33.

What did this prove? Why, that with God’s power, all who suffer impaired senses can be healed! Thus, Jesus Christ performed these miracles to demonstrate on a small scale what will take place earth wide under the rule of God’s Kingdom. It is “at that time,” during the rule of God’s Kingdom, that there will be a grand literal fulfillment of the Bible prophecy: “The eyes of the blind ones will be opened, and the very ears of the deaf ones will be unstopped.”​—Isaiah 35:5.

Knowing God’s promise for the future as well as coming into a personal relationship with him makes a handicapped person feel that a disability need not be overwhelming. It enables him to have a happier, fuller life now. Indeed, how wonderful it will be when those who once had impaired senses exult and rejoice and when all grief and sighing will have fled away!​—Isaiah 35:10.

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How wonderful it will be when those who once had impaired senses exult and rejoice!

A Choice I’ve Never Regretted

THE wind had ripped the sails from the mast, and the current was carrying us relentlessly toward dangerous rocks. It seemed only a matter of minutes until we would be wrecked.

It was December 1937, and we were sailing from Indonesia to Australia on the Lightbearer, a 54-foot [16 m], two-masted yacht. For three years the yacht had been used to carry the message of God’s Kingdom to the islands of Indonesia.

Just when all seemed lost, the mate remembered reading that auxiliary engines are usually more powerful in reverse gear. Quickly he put the engine into reverse, and to our surprise and great relief, it worked! We were pulled from the rocks in the nick of time!

That was over 50 years ago. How did I come to be the only woman aboard the Lightbearer?

Forced to Make a Choice

In 1926, when I was 16, I learned from my grandmother about the Bible’s marvelous promises of a new world. In time I began sharing these good things with others by preaching from house to house near our home in Perth, Australia. My father was incensed because he saw this as a social disgrace. In 1929, the year I was baptized, Dad forced me to make the choice either to cease my witness work or to leave home.

I loved my family very much, and though I knew I would miss my parents, two sisters, and six brothers, I left home and began to sample the joys of pioneering, as the full-time ministry is called.

Rugged Experiences of the 1930’s

For a while I served around Perth, the capital of Western Australia. But then the invitation came to join a group of pioneers covering outlying parts of the country.

At times our life was rough, for we often had no place to sleep except in our tents in the bush. The worldwide financial depression hit Australia in the early 1930’s, and many farmers were finding it difficult to survive. So we would place literature in exchange for eggs, meat, or vegetables.

In 1933 our pioneer group went north. As we moved closer to Australia’s central desert, trees grew smaller and more stunted, and undergrowth gave way to sand. But the compensation was that after even a little rain, there was mile upon mile of wildflowers. On occasion we just had to stop the car and gaze with deep appreciation at the God-given beauty all around us.

To reach some farms, we had to take off our shoes and stockings and wade across rivers and creeks. We would track down people who were shearing, plowing, milking, or cooking. Generally, those we met this way gave us opportunity to talk to them at some length. It was hard for them to resist listening to someone who had just waded across a rising creek to get to their farm!

Marriage and Foreign Fields

In 1935 Clem Deschamp, a young pioneer who had helped open up the preaching work in Java, the most populous island of Indonesia, arrived in Perth on his way to a convention in Sydney. He often shared in the witness work with our pioneer group. I was 25, and he was 29. I thought he was tall, dark, and handsome. After getting to know each other, we thought: ‘What better way to serve Jehovah than together?’ So we decided to marry and then attend the Sydney convention as a married couple. I had never been so happy.

After the convention, we were assigned to pioneer in Melbourne. Later that year, Clem was appointed as traveling overseer for the entire state of Victoria, and we were privileged to visit every congregation in the state. Then we were thrilled when Clem was invited to oversee the preaching work in Indonesia. We sailed up the west coast of Australia, finally arriving in June 1936 at Surabaja, one of Java’s large cities.

Indonesia​—Another World!

On one side of the road were Cadillac cars, men in white suits, and ladies in frills. On the other side were covered wagons pulled by water buffalo​—often with the driver asleep in the wagon. There were shapely women with colorful sarongs and men carrying baskets of food and brassware hung from a long stick across their shoulders. They hurried along with their peculiar bouncing yet shuffling steps.

We hailed a taxi and went to the home of a person who had showed interest in the Kingdom message when Clem was previously in Surabaja. A huge, white-robed man who fitted my mental image of Moses greeted us with arms outstretched, just like the patriarchs of old. Such warmth and enthusiasm made me feel truly welcome.

Our host had been a millionaire, but because of a slump in sugar prices, he was having financial difficulties. Despite this, his enthusiasm for life was undaunted, and he had warmly embraced Bible truth. We stayed only a short time with him before moving to the capital, Batavia, now called Djakarta. There Clem took over the office from Frank Rice, who then moved to French Indochina.

A Fascinating Assignment

We learned to witness in Dutch and Malay, preaching in well-to-do houses as well as in clusters of small huts called kampongs. As we witnessed in these villages, sometimes up to 50 children in scant, tattered clothing would follow us from door to door. Great numbers of books were distributed from one end of Java to the other.

The yacht Lightbearer was used in preaching on the many islands of Indonesia, including the Celebes and Borneo. As we entered each small port, the crew would turn on the transcription machine and play one of the lectures of J. F. Rutherford, then president of the Watch Tower Society. Imagine the surprise of isolated Malay villagers on seeing a large yacht arriving in their port and then hearing such a loud, powerful voice coming through the air. A flying saucer could hardly have aroused more interest.

In time, stirred up by the clergy, opposition of the authorities to our work resulted in the closing of all Indonesian ports to the visits of the Lightbearer. So it was decided that the boat should return to Australia. As we were anxious to return to Sydney for the visit of Brother Rutherford, we traveled back on the boat. That is when we were nearly shipwrecked.

Rutherford’s Stimulating Visit

Newspaper headlines flashed: “Jehovah’s Witnesses Refused Sydney Town Hall​—Judge Rutherford Not Permitted to Land.” Of course, he did land, but despite strenuous efforts, we were denied the use of Sydney’s Town Hall. Yet it was just as well that permission was denied, since the Town Hall’s 4,000-seating capacity would not have been big enough.

All the unjust opposition against us backfired! Tremendous interest was aroused, so that more than 12,000 people attended the meeting eventually held at the large Sydney Sports Ground. Elevated by the experience, we were anxious to return to our missionary assignment.

Exciting Witnessing in Sumatra

Soon after our return to Indonesia, Clem decided that the island of Sumatra should be witnessed to again. So Clem and I, along with Henry Cockman, another Australian, worked as a team, preaching throughout the mountains and rice fields of the island. We stayed in travelers’ hotels. While some of our lodgings were comfortable, others left much to be desired.

Witnessing in one village that consisted mainly of small Chinese shops, we placed a whole carton of Chinese books in about an hour. The shopkeepers had seen very few white women, and none had ever called at their humble businesses. Whether this was the reason I placed a book at every shop, I don’t know, but I placed so many books that Clem and Henry spent most of their time bringing fresh supplies for me from the car.

In another village I was returning to the car for more literature when I saw that it was surrounded by shouting, gesticulating people. This seemed like trouble. I hurried over, quite concerned, and was surprised to see Clem, standing half in and half out of the car, handing out magazines as fast as he could. Contributions would be handed over the head of one person to another, and then Clem would send back a magazine over heads to the one who had given the coin. It was an amazing scene, people practically scrambling to obtain literature.

One evening we arrived at the little town of Banko. Since the raft crossing the river had shut down for the day, we obtained accommodations at the local guesthouse. The proprietor advised us to shower immediately, which seemed a strange request from such usually polite people. Clem asked if we had time for something to drink first, but the proprietor urged us to shower as soon as we could, since the shower room was outside.

We were beginning to think he had some question about our personal freshness when he explained: “This is tiger country, and most evenings after dark, tigers prowl outside.” We were standing in the reception area where six large tiger skins were on display. The skins were intact, still sporting the huge toothed heads of these magnificent creatures. Needless to say, we showered immediately, and it was probably the shortest shower I have ever taken!

By the time we returned to Djakarta, Hitler had invaded Poland to start World War II. The political tension in Indonesia was great.

Opposition to Our Work Grows

Much of our literature was banned, and if the authorities could find any banned book, they confiscated it. Once a police officer insisted on checking through the cartons of books stacked in our car where the back seat usually was. Our hearts sank, for we had just received a new consignment of the banned book Enemies. He laboriously checked through all the cartons on the top layer but found none of the forbidden books.

Just as he was to begin on the bottom layer of cartons where the Enemies books were, there was a sudden torrential downpour. The officer and Clem raced for a nearby shelter, both getting drenched even in that short distance. But tropical downpours cease as abruptly as they start, so the officer soon hurried back and continued checking the cartons. Imagine his disappointment and Clem’s incredulity when again no banned literature was discovered!

I didn’t dare discuss this “miracle” until we were well away from there​—I had shifted the two layers of cartons, putting the cartons of Enemies books on the top row where the officer had already checked. So he unwittingly checked the same cartons twice!

At first the reason given for banning our publications was that they were anti-Hitler. After Germany invaded Holland, Hitler lost favor with the Dutch officials. So we asked whether our earlier publications could be released, and they were. But freedom to carry on our preaching work unobstructed didn’t last long.

I was sitting typing in the office one morning when the doors were flung open and in marched three Dutch officials dressed in full military regalia​—feathers in their hats, dress swords, and medals. Earlier the work had been banned in Australia, and now it was banned in Indonesia. In November 1941 the Society suggested that all missionaries return to Australia, and we did.

How strange it felt sitting at meetings listening to more English than I had heard in years! Another big change took place when we were blessed with a beautiful baby boy. Shortly afterward Clem was invited to Perth to care for the Society’s depot, from which literature was sent out all over the state of Western Australia, and we continued in the pioneer service.

A Return Visit to Indonesia

In 1971 Clem and I returned to Java for a convention. Oh, what a difference there was! For one thing, I was no longer 31; I was 61. We were thrilled to meet so many whom we had known. One person reminded us that Clem had baptized him in a paddy field when he was 16 years old. Now at 46 he was able to introduce us to his grandchildren. After the convention we stayed overnight with old friends. Everything was the same​—we stayed in the same house, in the same room, and in the same bed. Even the goldfish in the pond looked the same. It was as though we had gone to sleep and awakened 30 years later.

Bandung, 60 miles [96 km] into the mountains, was the home of other dear friends. The wife of the family told me how delighted she was to see that I had grown up to be healthy! She said she had been worried years ago about such a thin woman’s working in the tropics. I had to smile at the cultural differences underlying our opinion about how fat a person should be.

As we continued our nostalgic tour, one friend explained that many of the books distributed to Dutch people in the early days ended up in secondhand shops after the Dutch left and were purchased by people in search of reading material. Some who obtained literature in this way developed quite a deep understanding of the Bible and were delighted to enter the preaching work as soon as they were contacted.

In one place a Witness went to show his father the Bible truths he had learned. His father, however, maintained that he had already found the true religion. He had gathered about a hundred people to worship according to the way he had discovered. Imagine the surprise of the Witness to find that this group was studying the Watch Tower Society’s literature! They were quite unaware that there was a worldwide organization already worshiping Jehovah according to this pattern!

Happy With the Choice I Made

It is now 60 years since I was baptized, and I have had the joy of pioneering for 58 of those years. My life companion, Clem, tragically developed Parkinson’s disease and became progressively weaker and detached until he needed a lot of help even to exist in a wheelchair. He died peacefully in his sleep in 1987. I am glad for his release, but the gap is huge. I miss him dreadfully.

Pioneering is still a great joy and brings me deep happiness and satisfaction. Life is very busy, and if ever I have a spare moment, I can look back with love on the vitally rich life my dear husband, Clem, and I shared. I am so glad I made the choice that I did 60 years ago.​—As told by Jean Deschamp.

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The Lightbearer, January 1935

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With Clem when we were young

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Me today

Religion’s Future in View of Its Past

Part 16​—9th-16th century C.E.​—A Religion Badly in Need of Reform

“Every abuse ought to be reformed.”​—Voltaire, 18th-century French essayist and historian

EARLY Christians taught no purgatory, worshiped no images, honored no “saints,” and venerated no relics. They did not engage in politics and did not resort to carnal warfare. But by the 15th century, none of this was any longer true of many who professed to be their imitators.

“Heretics” Call for Reform

“The first seedbeds of heresy [against Roman Catholicism] appeared in France and northern Italy around the year 1000,” says The Collins Atlas of World History. Some of the early so-called heretics were heretics only in the eyes of the church. It is difficult today to judge accurately to what extent individual heretics adhered to early Christianity. Nevertheless, it is apparent that at least some of them were trying to do so.

At the start of the ninth century, Archbishop Agobard of Lyons condemned image worship and the invocation of “saints.”a An 11th-century archdeacon, Berengar of Tours, was excommunicated for questioning transubstantiation, the claim that the bread and the wine used at Catholic Mass are turned into Christ’s actual body and blood.b A century later Peter de Bruys and Henry of Lausanne rejected infant baptism and worship of the cross.c For doing so, Henry lost his freedom; Peter lost his life.

“By the middle of the twelfth century the towns of Western Europe were honeycombed with heretical sects,” reports historian Will Durant. The most significant of these groups were the Waldenses. They gained prominence at the end of the 12th century under French merchant Pierre Valdès (Peter Waldo). Among other things, they disagreed with the church on Mary worship, confession to priests, Masses for the dead, papal indulgences, priestly celibacy, and the use of carnal weapons.d The movement quickly spread throughout France and northern Italy, as well as into Flanders, Germany, Austria, and Bohemia (Czechoslovakia).

Meanwhile, in England, Oxford scholar John Wycliffe, later known as “the morning star of the English Reformation,” was condemning ‘the power-grasping hierarchy’ of the 14th century. By translating the entire Bible into English, he and his associates made it generally available to common citizens for the first time. Wycliffe’s followers were named Lollards. The Lollards preached publicly, distributing tracts and portions of the Bible. Such “heretical” behavior did not sit well with the church.

Wycliffe’s ideas spread abroad. In Bohemia they caught the attention of Jan Hus (John Huss), rector of the University of Prague. Hus questioned the legitimacy of the papacy and denied that the church had been founded on Peter.e Following a controversy over the selling of indulgences, Hus was tried for heresy and burned at the stake in 1415. According to Catholic teaching, indulgences are a provision whereby punishment for sins can be partially or fully remitted, thereby shortening or eliminating the period of time during which a person suffers temporary punishment and purification in purgatory before entering heaven.

Calls for reform continued. Girolamo Savonarola, 15th-century Italian Dominican preacher, deplored: ‘Popes and prelates speak against pride and ambition, and they are plunged in it up to their ears. They preach chastity and keep mistresses. They think only of the world and worldly things; they care nothing for souls.’ Even Catholic cardinals recognized the problem. In 1538, in a memorandum to Pope Paul III, they called his attention to parochial, financial, judicial, and moral abuses. But the papacy failed to make the obviously needed reforms, and this provoked the Protestant Reformation. The early leaders included Martin Luther, Huldrych Zwingli, and John Calvin.

Luther and ‘16th-Century Bingo’

On October 31, 1517, Luther set the religious world aflame when he attacked the sale of indulgences by nailing a list of 95 points of protest to the church door in Wittenberg.

The selling of indulgences originated during the Crusades, when they were granted to believers willing to risk their lives in a “holy” war. Later they were extended to people offering financial support to the church. Soon, indulgences became a convenient method of raising money for building churches, monasteries, or hospitals. “The noblest monuments of the Middle Ages were financed in this way,” says professor of religious history Roland Bainton, dubbing indulgences “the bingo of the sixteenth century.”

With the sharp tongue for which he became noted, Luther asked: “If the pope does have the power to release anyone from purgatory [on the basis of indulgences], why in the name of love does he not abolish purgatory by letting everyone out?” When asked to contribute money to a Roman building project, Luther retorted that the pope “would do better to sell St. Peter’s and give the money to the poor folk who are being fleeced by the hawkers of indulgences.”

Luther also attacked Catholic antisemitism, advising: “We should use toward the Jews not the pope’s but Christ’s law of love.” And regarding the worship of relics, he ridiculed: “One claims to have a feather from the wing of the angel Gabriel, and the Bishop of Mainz has a flame from Moses’ burning bush. And how does it happen that eighteen apostles are buried in Germany when Christ had only twelve?”

The church responded to Luther’s attacks with excommunication. Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, bowing to papal pressure, put Luther under ban. This created such controversy that in 1530 the Diet of Augsburg was called to discuss the matter. Efforts at compromise failed, so a basic statement of Lutheran doctrinal belief was issued. Called the Augsburg Confession, it amounted to a birth announcement of Protestantism’s first church.f

Zwingli and Luther Disagree

Zwingli stressed the Bible as being the ultimate and sole authority for the church. Although encouraged by Luther’s example, he objected to being called Lutheran, saying he had learned Christ’s teaching from God’s Word, not from Luther. In fact, he disagreed with Luther on certain elements of the Lord’s Evening Meal as well as on a Christian’s proper relationship to civil authorities.

The two reformers met only once, in 1529, at what the book The Reformation Crisis calls “a kind of religious summit conference.” The book says: “The two men did not part friends, but . . . a communiqué issued at the end of the conference, signed by all the participants, skillfully disguised the extent of the rift.”

Zwingli also had problems with his own followers. In 1525 a group broke away, disagreeing with him on the issue of State authority over the Church, which he affirmed and they denied. Called Anabaptists (“rebaptizers”), they viewed infant baptism as a useless formality, saying that baptism was only for adult believers. They also opposed the use of carnal weapons, even in so-called just wars. Thousands of them were put to death for their beliefs.

Calvin’s Role in the Reformation

Many scholars view Calvin as the greatest of the reformers. He insisted that the church return to the original principles of Christianity. Yet one of his main teachings, predestination, is reminiscent of teachings in ancient Greece, where Stoics said that Zeus determines all things and that men must resign themselves to the inevitable. The doctrine is clearly not Christian.

During Calvin’s day French Protestants became known as Huguenots, and they were severely persecuted. In France, beginning on August 24, 1572, in the Massacre of St. Bartholomew’s Day, Catholic forces struck down thousands of them, first in Paris and then throughout the country. But the Huguenots also took up the sword and were responsible for killing many during bloody religious wars during the latter part of the 16th century. They thus chose to ignore the instruction given by Jesus: “Continue to love your enemies and to pray for those persecuting you.”​—Matthew 5:44.

Calvin had set the example, using methods to promote his religious convictions that the late Protestant clergyman Harry Emerson Fosdick described as ruthless and shocking. Under the church law that Calvin introduced to Geneva, 58 people were executed and 76 were banished within four years; by the end of the 16th century, an estimated 150 had been burned at the stake. One of these was Michael Servetus, a Spanish physician and theologian, who rejected the Trinity doctrine, thereby becoming Everyman’s “heretic.” Catholic authorities burned him in effigy; the Protestants went a significant step further by burning him at the stake.

Finally, “A Fearful Reality”

While agreeing with Luther in principle, some would-be reformers held back. One was Dutch scholar Desiderius Erasmus. In 1516 he became the first to publish the “New Testament” in the original Greek. “He was a reformer,” says the publication Edinburgh Review, “until the Reformation became a fearful reality.”

Others, however, pushed ahead with the Reformation, and in Germany and Scandinavia, Lutheranism spread rapidly. In 1534 England broke away from papal control. Scotland, under Reformation leader John Knox, soon followed. In France and Poland, Protestantism found legal recognition before the end of the 16th century.

Yes, as Voltaire so aptly expressed it, “Every abuse ought to be reformed.” But Voltaire added the qualifying words, “Unless the reform is more dangerous than the abuse itself.” To appreciate better the truthfulness of those words, be sure to read “Protestantism​—Really a Reformation?” in our next issue.

[Footnotes]

[Pictures on page 18]

Martin Luther, born in Germany in 1483, ordained to the priesthood at 23, studied theology at the University of Wittenberg, became professor of Holy Scripture at Wittenberg in 1512, died at 62

Huldrych Zwingli, born in Switzerland some two months after Luther, ordained to the priesthood in 1506, died in battle at 47 as a Protestant chaplain

[Credit Line]

Kunstmuseum, Winterthur

John Calvin, born 25 years after Luther and Zwingli, moved to Switzerland from France as a young man, established a virtual church-state in Geneva, died at 54

Coping With Night-Shift Work

NIGHT-SHIFT workers have been found to experience more gastric problems, ulcers, alcoholism, and divorce than do their peers who work days. But research done by Fred Jung, a registered nurse and assistant instructor at the University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing, indicates that alteration of sleep patterns may alleviate some of those problems.

Mr. Jung did a sleep study on a group of night-shift employees at an assembly plant. In his sample group, which included both men and women with a mix of production skills, he concluded that shift work itself causes a type of stress.

People in the study suffered symptoms similar to jet lag that seemed to intensify when sleep habits switched back to night sleep during days off. Therefore, Jung concluded, sleep patterns assumed during the workweek are best continued throughout the week, since it takes several days for the body’s biologic rhythms to adjust to a new sleep pattern.

Mr. Jung’s research suggests that sleeping at least a four-hour period on days off during the time customarily used for sleep during the workweek seems to help sustain biologic rhythms. He calls that anchor sleep. Diet, social patterns, and exposure to light were also found to influence shift workers’ adjustment.

Using the information from his research, Mr. Jung has formulated several guidelines for night-shift workers:

✔ Try to sleep during the same time period each day, preferably during the late morning and early afternoon.

✔ Plan your activities around your sleep period.

✔ Do not worry if you cannot always sleep during the preferred time; even a little regular day sleep will be better than none at all.

✔ Eliminate disturbing noises (use earplugs or get a telephone answering device) and sleep in a dark room.

✔ Eat a large, high-protein meal at the beginning of your day. Protein provides a sustained release of energy-producing glucose and will stimulate your adrenal glands to keep you alert. Then eat a moderate-size meal containing protein in the middle of the day and avoid carbohydrate snacks. They may give you a temporary lift but will make you tired an hour or two later. Save the carbohydrates for your last meal of the day. These substances prepare you for restful sleep. However, do not eat immediately before bedtime; you need a couple of hours to digest your food.

✔ Do not drink alcohol as a way of getting sleep. Alcohol deprives you of the type of sleep you need for psychological health and well-being.

✔ When you wake up, put on the lights; or if it is light outside, go out into the daylight, exercise, move around, and talk to people. The activity and light will stimulate your brain and help resynchronize your body to your night-work schedule.

✔ Be good to yourself. Do not compound the stress by living in an unhealthy manner. Including regular exercise, proper diet, and sufficient restful sleep in your daily routine will help you perform, feel, and even look better.

These are the opinions of one researcher. Others may come up with different solutions to the problem.

Young People Ask . . .

What’s Wrong With Cursing Once in a While?

“Swearing. Everyone does it. . . . It may start out slowly, just a few words picked up from the ‘cool’ kids at school, but soon grows into an entire language, becoming increasingly difficult to control.”​—Laura, age 14.

SWEARING. Cursing. Profanity. Youths are exposed to a virtual flood of it. U.S.News & World Report observed: “The eye as well as the ear is assaulted with profanity spread across bumper stickers, buttons and T-shirts.” Obscene words also blare at us from radios and are routinely inserted into magazine articles, TV shows, and movies. Curses are shamelessly bandied about by politicians and celebrities​—even by some parents and peers.

Says writer Alfred Lubrano: “Swear words have become standard vocabulary for many people in the office, in restaurants, at the ball game.” In fact, profanity has become so commonplace that some feel it has lost its shock value. You may therefore wonder if there is any harm in occasionally unleashing a few “colorful” words, especially when a person is faced with a frustrating situation.

Why Youths Swear

Claims psychologist Chaytor Mason: “Profanity is the essence of the human being. Like scratching, it releases tension.” And interestingly, when reporters from the magazine Children’s Express asked a number of young people the question, “Why do kids swear?” they got such replies as: “I swear ’cause I’m mad.” “I only do it when I get in a huff.” “It makes me feel better, it’s a relief.”

Because we live in unusually tense times, that itch to release tension may come fairly often. Indeed, Harvard psychiatry lecturer Thomas Cottle sees the current “normalizing” of profanity as evidence of “a very major change in American culture.” Says Cottle: “People are finding their lives phony, unsatisfying, and they are angry. We are frightened about things that are real and are angry about things that are very, very real. Lurking behind this anger is aggressiveness.”

Really, though, the changes Mr. Cottle refers to have taken place the world over. The apostle Paul predicted that people in our day would be “not open to any agreement, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, without love of goodness.” (2 Timothy 3:1, 3) Little wonder, then, that in response to mounting pressures, many youths become aggressive verbally. They have “sharpened their tongue just like a sword” and have “aimed their arrow, bitter speech.”​—Psalm 64:3.

An Effective Relief?

How effectively, though, does spouting profanity really release tension? Language scholar Reinhold Ahman says that the use of curse words helps “drain off anger.” He even claims that without the emotional release of swearing, people are subject to “stomach ulcers, headaches, hemorrhaging intestines.” His conclusion? “A swear word a day keeps the doctor away.”

Granted, in moments of high stress, blurting out a swear word may seem to help you to ‘let off some steam.’ Nevertheless, the Bible specifically condemns doing so. Ephesians 4:29 says: “Let a rotten saying not proceed out of your mouth.” The New English Bible renders this verse: “No bad language must pass your lips, but only what is good and helpful to the occasion.” There are sound reasons for this admonition.

For one thing, far from being “good and helpful to the occasion,” angry speech usually just makes you angrier. And as a proverb puts it: “He that is quick to anger will commit foolishness.” (Proverbs 14:17; 15:18) This makes a bad situation worse, as people seldom respond favorably to angry, hurtful words. Says Proverbs 15:1: “An answer, when mild, turns away rage, but a word causing pain makes anger to come up.” And when one has made it a habit of muttering obscenities at the slightest provocation, bad words have a way of slipping out at the wrong moment​—or to the wrong person, such as a teacher or a parent.

So rather than effectively relieve tension, foul language merely creates tensions of its own. Rather than solve your problems, it simply postpones your squarely facing them.

Colorful or Degrading?

Not all swearing is done in anger. Explains the book Exploring Language: “Dirty words are often used by teenagers in telling off-color stories . . . As their bodies grow and change, both boys and girls wonder and worry. To keep from being overwhelmed by these fears, they turn them into jokes or dirty-word stories.” Some youths even feel that profane words add color to their speech or make them appear grown-up.

So-called dirty words, however, tend to describe normal bodily functions and sexual activities in a degrading, humiliating way. Referring to some of the terms commonly used to describe sexual intercourse, Barbara Lawrence, an associate professor of humanities, says that “in their origins and imagery these words carry undeniably painful, if not sadistic, implications.”

How contrary this is to the lofty, dignified way the Bible discusses sexual matters! (Proverbs 5:15-23) Obscene words teach a corrupt, depraved view of sex and marriage. Filthy words are to the mouth what pornography is to the eye. Like pornography, talking about sex in a degrading way can arouse improper thoughts in the heart. Once the seed of wrong desires has been planted, all that is needed is the opportunity to carry those desires out.​—James 1:14, 15.

Furthermore, far from making for colorful speech, profanities make speech shocking and offensive. One 13-year-old girl interviewed by the Children’s Express said: “I’ve built up an allergy to foul language. . . . There are some things that you don’t get used to.” The wise man Solomon ‘sought to find delightful words’ in expressing his thoughts. (Ecclesiastes 12:10) You too can get your points across simply by using good word choice. You don’t need to resort to shocking words.

Finally, some obscene terms even bring reproach upon God himself! Surely this could only bring his displeasure. (Exodus 20:7) In view of all of this, the Bible urges: “Let fornication and uncleanness of every sort or greediness not even be mentioned among you, just as it befits holy people; neither shameful conduct nor foolish talking nor obscene jesting, things which are not becoming.”​—Ephesians 5:3, 4.

Peer Pressure

Yet another reason why some youths indulge in filthy language is peer pressure. As one Christian youth puts it: “Most young people don’t want to be viewed as a wimp or a nerd. They want to be with the in crowd. So if cursing is one of the things you are supposed to do, you do it.”

Peer pressure can be particularly pronounced in activities such as school sports. There, profanity is sometimes deliberately promoted by team coaches. A youth named Kinney thus explains that profanity is prevalent in the locker room before a basketball game because “it pumps a person up, charges him up to explode.”

But what often results when emotions are raised to a fever pitch in this way? Then the sport is no longer a game but an exercise in hostility and fierce competition. Fights and injuries are common. And admits a youth named Tyrone: “When everyone is caught up in the game and someone who is fouled gets mad and curses out his opponent or the referee, that can rub off on you.”

Obviously, though, using profane speech is a bad habit to have “rub off on you.” Says the Bible: “All his spirit is what a stupid one lets out, but he that is wise keeps it calm to the last.” (Proverbs 29:11) How, though, can you ‘set a muzzle as a guard to your mouth’ when under pressure to curse? (Psalm 39:1) A future article will discuss this.

[Picture on page 23]

One in the habit of uttering obscenities may find himself using them in public

Rape​—Protected by What She Read

WHAT should you do if confronted by a rapist? There is conflicting advice. Some claim that resistance only goads on an attacker, yet the Bible indicates a woman should resist. (Deuteronomy 22:23-27) What is the best advice?

A new study published in the January issue of The American Journal of Public Health suggests resistance. The article says: “The empirical research converges to support one important conclusion: resistance reduces the probability of an assault being completed.” What happened last September to a woman in Japan illustrates this. She had just returned late at night to her home, where she lives alone. She explains:

“A rapist came into my house and locked the door. Because of being taken by surprise and being so terrified, I completely froze. The man tried to pull me into the bedroom, but I grabbed a pillar and resisted him.

“It was then that I remembered the scripture in Deuteronomy chapter 22. It says that if a woman does not cry out when attacked, it indicates she is submitting to the man and is committing a sin against Jehovah. Also, I remembered what I read in the Awake! article ‘Rape​—How Can You Protect Yourself?’​—October 8, 1980, Japanese edition; July 8, 1980, English edition.

“Anyway, I thought: ‘I have got to scream and resist him for all I’m worth.’ So I shouted: ‘Jehovah, help me!’ over and over again and kept it up. When the rapist pulled my hands to the right, I pulled to the left. When he pulled me forward, I pulled back, and when he covered my mouth to try to stop me from screaming, I bit him. At any rate, I kept on resisting him.

“Gradually I got tired. It was getting difficult for me to breathe, and I thought my heart was going to stop, but I continued to do all I could to resist him and kept on calling out to Jehovah to help me. As a result, the rapist gave up, walked hurriedly to the door, and went out.

“I believe that I was able to avoid being raped because of Jehovah’s help and because of applying what I had read in Awake! Had I not read the Awake! article, I think that out of fear I would have kept quiet and most likely done just as the criminal said. Thank you very, very much.”

What You Should Know About Head Lice

SHOCK, shame, and guilt are typical reactions of parents whose children contract head lice. “It’s embarrassing,” said one mother, “because you feel that people think you are not clean.”

But is there reason to be embarrassed if your household contracts lice?

Three Varieties

Head lice are tiny, wingless insects that are generally about a sixteenth of an inch [1-2 mm] long, about the size of a sesame seed. They are grayish-white to tan in color. The stigma associated with having them stems from the misconception that lice afflict only people who do not practice good personal hygiene. But, actually, head lice prefer a clean environment, so even those who bathe regularly may get them.

Besides head lice, two other lice varieties are common to man: body lice and pubic lice. The pubic louse, which is transmitted through intimate sexual contact, is found in coarse hair in the pubic area, under armpits, in beards and mustaches, and occasionally in eyelashes. It is shorter and shaped like a small crab, hence its nickname, the crab louse.

The body louse, unlike the head and pubic lice, does not live on people. It lives in garments close to the skin and crawls onto the body to feed. The body louse is widespread among people exposed to overcrowded and unclean conditions. In times past it has been a carrier of a number of diseases, including typhus, trench fever, and relapsing fever, but these pestilences are rarely spread by lice today.

How Widespread a Problem?

The medical journal Archives of Dermatology said: “Pediculosis capitis [head-lice infestation] has become a widespread problem in the United States, reaching epidemic proportions in some areas.” Health authorities estimate that six to ten million individuals in the United States are affected annually.

Based on studies conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, a significant number of students tested had head lice. In fact, Professor David Taplin, of the University of Miami School of Medicine says: “In some areas the incidence is as high as 40 percent.”

Yet, concern about the high incidence of infestation is not limited to the United States. The science magazine Discover reports: “From Canada and Chile, from England, France, Italy, East Germany, the Soviet Union, even Australia, come reports of head lice infesting as many as 50 per cent or more of the children in some schools.”

How Are They Transmitted?

Since lice cannot fly or jump, they are transmitted primarily by direct contact with an infested person, usually by head-to-head contact. Research conducted in Pennsylvania classrooms revealed that 73 percent of all infestations occurred in this manner. Some feel the figure is much higher. Dennis White, director of the Arthropod-Borne Disease Program, New York State Department of Health, says: “Direct contact accounts for about 90 percent of all infestations.”

Other ways you can pick up head lice from someone infested is by sharing comb, barrette, scarf, hat, headband, towel, stereo headphones, swimming cap, or other personal items. This is because lice are capable of surviving up to 20 hours (some claim 48) away from a host.

Another reason lice are so widespread today is that many parents do not work with the problem. Deborah Altschuler, executive director of the National Pediculosis Association, says that “people are often too busy to remember to take the time and make an effort to check their children’s hair for ‘nits’ [louse eggs].” The sad truth is that in the 1980’s infestation with lice is a result of ignorance and apathy.

Protecting Your Family

The primary symptom of lice infestation is itching. The bite of the head louse is irritating to the scalp, causing itching and occasionally redness. Be suspicious if you see your child scratching his head frequently. Careful inspection requires bright light and a magnifying glass. Since the louse is quite mobile and readily avoids detection, look for its eggs (nits), which are firmly attached to the hair close to the scalp. The nit ranges from light yellow to tan in color. Dermatologists have identified at least 12 conditions that are commonly mistaken for infestation with nits. Therefore, use the magnifying glass for a thorough inspection of the head. Concentrate around the ears and the nape of the neck.

If either lice or nits are found, treatment with a special shampoo, cream, or lotion (pediculicide) will kill the lice. To prevent their spread, everyone infested should receive treatment at the same time. So check the entire family before beginning treatment.

Pediculicides do not always kill nits attached to the hair. Any remaining eggs will hatch within seven to ten days, so a second treatment with the pediculicide may be necessary to kill any surviving lice. A note of caution, however: All pediculicides contain small amounts of insecticide that if improperly used, may produce serious side effects. Therefore, carefully follow the manufacturer’s instructions.

If pediculicides are not available in your area, alternate methods of treatment may be used. Many authorities recommend removing the nits with a special fine-tooth comb. In addition, the medical textbook Clinical Dermatology: A Color Guide to Diagnosis and Therapy suggests: “The cement holding nits to the hair shaft may be dissolved with vinegar compresses applied to the hair for 15 minutes.”

Even more effective is shaving the head. Some have also found that applying a small amount of kerosene to the scalp for 15 to 20 minutes will kill both lice and nits. Care, however, should be exercised, since kerosene may cause local irritation, and if it gets in the eyes, it can be painful. Kerosene can also be toxic if inhaled, and it will catch fire if near a flame.

Important too is the treatment of bedding, clothing, and other personal articles. Wash and then dry them in a hot dryer for at least 20 minutes to kill the lice along with the nits. Vacuum mattresses, upholstered furniture, and other items that are not washable in order to get rid of all living nits or lice. Treatment is an involved process, but it is necessary in order to prevent the perpetuation of lice in your family.

Although it is not possible to be immune to the infestation of lice, you can greatly reduce the likelihood of contracting them by following a few simple guidelines. Encourage your children to avoid sharing combs, brushes, and other personal items that can easily transmit lice. If possible, have your children sleep in separate beds. Keep long hair in braids or a ponytail to help reduce head-to-head contact. And finally, if your child does get lice, don’t panic. Pediculosis is rarely a serious affliction. It’s also very common and one of the best-kept secrets in town.

[Box on page 26]

An Age-Old Problem

Head lice have been plaguing humans for thousands of years. The Medical Post of November 15, 1988, reports: “Lice have been found attached to the hair of Egyptian mummies, pre-Columbian Indians from Peru and prehistoric Indians from the American southwest.

“Then as now, lice had little respect for royalty, rank or religious piety.

“They were found in substantial quantities on combs and hair samples from Herod’s palace, from the ancient settlements around Masada, and from caves at Qumran where the Dead Sea scrolls, the oldest known biblical manuscripts, were discovered.”

Nit combs used thousands of years ago are remarkably similar to the ones used today. The combs were usually made of wood, but ivory combs were found in the ancient palace at Megiddo. When nit combs in museum collections were examined closely, they were found to have many lice and nits on them.

Dr. Kosta Mumcuoglu, of the Hebrew University-Hadassah medical school, observed: “Considering the numbers of lice and eggs on the combs, these were apparently very effective delousing devices.”

[Picture on page 27]

Head louse (greatly enlarged)

[Credit Line]

Photo by courtesy of Beecham Products U.S.A.

Watching the World

AIDS IN THAILAND

The government of Thailand has designated 1989 as the “year to combat AIDS.” According to the World Health Organization, as many as 25,000 people in Thailand may be infected with HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus), which leads to AIDS. The Bangkok correspondent for Britain’s magazine The Economist writes that illicit drug use and the country’s booming prostitution business​—both homosexual and heterosexual—​are fanning the spread of the disease. The government has responded with a campaign of classroom advice and advertisements on posters and on the radio, promoting ways to live more safely. Governmental efforts reportedly will concentrate, though, on screening the nation’s blood supply.

LOST: ONE H-BOMB

Some 24 years after the fact, a U.S. official has admitted that a hydrogen bomb was lost in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Okinawa, Japan. A jet carrying the bomb accidentally rolled off the deck of a U.S. aircraft carrier. The pilot was killed, and the plane sank in waters some 16,000 feet [4,900 m] deep. The news has enraged many of the Japanese people. According to Newsweek magazine, the environmental group Greenpeace claims that “at least nine nuclear reactors and 48 nuclear warheads have sunk in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, where pressure and corrosion may eventually release their radioactivity.”

MORE WOMEN OWN GUNS

According to Dr. Garen Wintemute of the University of California, Davis Medical Center, handgun manufacturers have been focusing on women, portraying firearms as socially acceptable and fashionable. One supplier even plans to market handguns in “an array of designer colors.” At one fashion show, models kept concealed weapons in hair bows, brassieres, purses, and briefcases. Most women say that they keep a firearm at their residence for protection, Wintemute said, but one sad result of the availability of such a weapon is that it is the method preferred by women who want to commit suicide.

ANCIENT OIL

Archaeologists digging in caves near Israel’s Dead Sea have found a jug containing oil that is about 2,000 years old and still fluid. They believe that the oil was made from a type of persimmon plant that is now extinct. Persimmon oil was highly valued in Judea about the time of Christ. In fact, Roman historians wrote that the Jews tried to destroy their persimmon orchards to keep them from falling into the hands of the Roman armies that were advancing on Jerusalem in 70 C.E. Their efforts failed, however, and Roman soldiers reportedly waved persimmon plants in triumph on their return to Rome after destroying Jerusalem.

BANDIT OR “SAINT”?

A bandit hanged 80 years ago in Culiacán, Mexico, has virtually become a “saint” to people in northwestern Mexico. Bumper stickers on cars praise him, businesses are named after him, and one popular song places him second only to God. The bandit, Jesús Malverde, is revered as a benefactor of the poor and an outwitter of the authorities. Visitors flock to a shrine built to honor him in Culiacán, leaving presents to thank him for various “miracles”​—lost cattle found, good catches of fish, illnesses cured, and so on. The report in The New York Times notes that notorious drug traffickers are also said to thank Malverde when their shipments of drugs arrive safely in the United States.

SMOKERS UPSET

A stringent law against smoking has been put into effect in a section of the city of Manila in the Philippines. The new ordinance forbids smoking in enclosed public places, including movie theaters, office buildings, and hospitals, and in the public transportation system. On the day it went into effect, 109 people were arrested for violating the law. Offenders were subject to a fine of about $10 or ten days in jail. Asiaweek magazine quotes one policeman as complaining: “We can get into a fight just by explaining the law to violators.”

NEW ZEALAND CRIME

Even remote and beautiful New Zealand is not immune to the world’s swelling crime rate. The New Zealand Herald reported that 1988 saw a nearly 25-percent increase in serious violent crimes over the previous year. These crimes, ranging from murders to assaults, leaped from 6,801 in 1987 to 8,501 in 1988. Also on the rise were sexual offenses, drug abuse, dishonesty, and property damage.

SHADES OF RACISM

An employee of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service has sued her employer, claiming that her supervisor discriminated against her because of her skin color. Both employee and supervisor are black women, but the fired employee is of a much lighter shade than her former boss, and she claims that this difference was the basis for the alleged discrimination. The U.S. Attorney’s office tried to have the suit dismissed, contending that discrimination suits should be limited to those of differing races. A federal judge thought otherwise. He ruled that the case go to trial, noting, according to The New York Times, “that numerous court rulings had allowed discrimination suits by whites of different national origins or facial characteristics.”

ROMANCE VERSUS AIDS

The fear of AIDS is heralding the return to old-fashioned romantic courtship for some couples, says a professor at The University of Texas at Austin School of Nursing. “The AIDS epidemic has forced a turning point in American culture,” says Dr. Beverly Hall. “We really have to take a closer look at our values now. The U.S. has not confronted such a killer of a sexually transmitted disease since we found the cure for syphilis in 1943.” However, Hall adds: “Venereal disease rates among young people are on the rise, showing that sexual activity among the college crowd has not slacked off despite the threat of AIDS.”

TINY TOOLS

Scientists have found an amazing variety of uses for microscopic organisms. One firm has found a way to use bacteria to help liberate microscopic bits of gold locked up in ores with stubborn impurities. Other companies have devised methods for using microbes to clean up toxic chemical and industrial wastes. One such system was tested on the oil spill off the coast of Alaska. The Japanese have even used microbes to manufacture a component for a pair of luxury headphones. Fed with certain sugars, the bacteria produce tiny threads that mesh into a fine web. The web is then dried, compressed, and finally shaped into a tiny loudspeaker diaphragm, ten times more rigid than standard diaphragms!

MONUMENTAL COLLAPSE

A 900-year-old bell tower that unexpectedly collapsed in Pavia, Italy, in March, killing four people, has caused consternation among art historians. At least 115 Italian monuments, including the famed Colosseum in Rome, are listed as suffering from serious structural defects that if left unchecked could also lead to disaster. The basic problems are soil erosion and the drying up of foundations, coupled with powdering masonry and traffic vibrations. The Times of London notes that the famed leaning tower of Pisa is expected to fall over in about a century but that “the Pavia incident could mean a recalculation of the odds.”

From Our Readers

Holocaust My wife and I want to express our thanks and deep appreciation for the frank and clear language used in the Holocaust articles. (April 8, 1989) The photos and the map touched us deeply. They show the cruelty and brutality of a human system. We particularly enjoyed the resurrection article, so positive and comforting! Although we did not personally experience these things, it is important to speak about them and to remember them.

I. L., Federal Republic of Germany

I must congratulate your writers. They certainly did their homework. That issue will be in my library until I die! Though I will never be a ‘Jehovah’s Witness,’ I wish to let you know that there are people who thank you for such information.

A. S., United States

Education Your article maligns a four-year university degree. (“Young People Ask . . . What Career Should I Choose?” May 8, 1989) You say: “A university degree may or may not improve your employment prospects.” Your implication is that there is great likelihood that a degree will not help one to secure employment. This simply is not reality! Yet you give your blessing to two-year college programs.

A. N., United States

Our intent was not to malign university education but to encourage young people to pursue a career in God’s service. We acknowledged that, on the average, university graduates earn higher salaries and suffer less unemployment than high school graduates. Nevertheless, a university degree does not guarantee financial success​—a fact attested to by reliable authorities. Two-year programs were cited simply as an option some youths might consider if their parents insist on their attending a university. How much secular education one pursues is entirely a personal matter. But while not ignoring economic realities, Christian youths should weigh the possible unwholesome effect exposure to the university environment might have on their spirituality. (1 Corinthians 15:33) They must also remember something not shown in employment statistics​—God’s promise to provide for those who put his interests first. (Matthew 6:33)​—ED.

Ozone My teacher gave me the assignment to give a report on a current nature problem. I chose the subject “Ozone Hole,” for which the January 22, 1989, issue was a great help. Thanks to the informative material presented in the article, I got a very good grade.

C. B., Federal Republic of Germany

AIDS Victim I would like to express my love and support for the young man who wrote “Something Worse Than AIDS.” (April 22, 1989) His humility and appreciation shone through.

B. E., United States

I read the article with tears filling my eyes and a large lump in my throat. I too had a son who left Jehovah. For 13 years we watched him search for happiness. While we stood firm for Jehovah’s standards, we always assured Wayne of our love. But he became influenced by alcohol and cocaine. His death was totally unexpected, although I always lived in dread of what might happen. He was 28. I pray that other young ones can benefit from the young man’s experience, so that they don’t leave Jehovah and pay such a high price.

S. E., United States

Your Hair Can Tell

THE standard method of checking for drug use is by analyzing a urine sample. But recently the National Institute of Justice, a research arm of the U.S. Justice Department, financed a study of the potential use of hair analysis to determine whether a person is a drug user. Although scientists generally believe that more research needs to be done before they are willing to rely on the analysis of a sample of hair to determine drug use, the method clearly has advantages.

Drugs such as cocaine and heroin, for example, will not be found in the urine even a few days after use. Yet these drugs will show up in a hair analysis months later. This is because drug residues remain embedded in the hair as it grows. Bernard Gropper of the National Institute of Justice observes: “Hair has the advantage of long-term memory. It’s a permanent record, like tree rings.” A three-inch [8 cm] strand of hair will give a six-month history, since head hair grows at a rate of about a half inch [1 cm] a month.

Another advantage is that people cannot elude the detection of drugs in a hair analysis as easily as they can in a urinalysis. Drinking a lot of water before giving a sample of urine, for example, may distort the drug test. But a hair analysis is different. In fact, examination of a few strands of hair said to have come from the head of the 19th-century British poet John Keats revealed that he used increasing amounts of opium toward the end of his life. It is suggested that the drug was used for medicinal purposes, since Keats was dying of tuberculosis.

Does Your Child Have a Personal Subscription?

To cultivate in their youngsters a desire to learn, wise parents make fine literature readily available to them. Many, for example, make sure that their children have a personal subscription to the Bible journal The Watchtower, which is used as the basis for weekly Bible discussions at meetings of Jehovah’s Witnesses. But at what age should a child be provided a personal subscription?

The following letter was received from a mother: “This subscription is for our two-year-old son. During the Watchtower Study, he must have his own copy. I’ve tried to give him another one when we didn’t have an extra copy, but he would notice that the pictures didn’t match, and he wanted the issue we were using. I’m sure the beautiful color pictures impress even a young child and will help his early appreciation of the spiritual food he can’t understand as yet.”

Why not make sure that each of your children has a personal subscription to The Watchtower? Receive a subscription for a year by filling in and mailing the accompanying coupon, along with $5.

Please send The Watchtower for one year. I enclose $5 (U.S.).