January 22

Page Two

Having It All, Having It NOW! 3-8

We live in a world obsessed with instant gratification, a world bent on getting what it wants now, blind to future consequences. How can you avoid this trap?

“Our Mission Was Suicide” 9

Dying for our country, we thought, was a glorious privilege. When volunteers for suicide squads were asked for, all stepped forward as one man

Corinth​—City of the Two Seas 16

Roman poet Horace called it bimarisve Corinthi, or “two-sea’d Corinth.” How could one city be a port for two seas? Find the answer in this article

“I Want It Now!” The Age of Instant Gratification

Little Johnny’s posture is meant to convey intense suffering, but you find it hard not to laugh. His shoulders are drooping, his knees are rubbery, his steps flat and leaden. His face is a caricature of grief​—puckered-up forehead, pleading eyes, and mouth twisted in anguish. He has one thing on his mind: dessert.

“But Mom,” he whines. That is as far as he gets. His mother whirls upon him, bowl and spoon in hand. “For the last time, Johnny, NO!” she says firmly. “If you eat dessert now, you’ll ruin your supper. And we’re eating in 15 minutes anyway!”

“But I want some NOW!” he wails. His mother stops stirring and fixes a glare upon her son. He knows that look; wisely he retreats, to suffer in silence in the next room. Soon distracted, he has forgotten all about eating by the time dinner is ready.

Children at times seem almost enslaved to the moment. When they want something, they want it now. The concept of waiting for a better reward, or of denying themselves a pleasure because it may harm them later, is very hard for them to grasp. Yet, it is a concept they​—and all of us by and large—​need to learn.

A recent study by scientists at Columbia University in the United States examined the ability of small children to put off gratification for the sake of a desired reward. The children were offered a choice of two treats, the one a little more desirable than the other​—say, one cookie versus two. They could have the better treat only if they waited until the teacher returned. However, they could end the wait at any time by ringing a bell, whereupon they would get the lesser treat and lose out on the better one. Scientists recorded their behavior and checked the development of these same children ten years later.

Science magazine reports that the children who more readily delayed gratification fared better as adolescents. They were more competent socially and scholastically and were better able to cope with stress and frustration. Clearly, the ability to delay gratification​—to put off getting what we want—​is a vital life skill. And it benefits adults as well.

We are all pressed every day to choose between instant and delayed gratification. Some choices seem trivial: ‘Should I eat that piece of cake or count my calories?’ ‘Should I watch TV, or is there something more productive I should do now?’ ‘Should I let loose with that remark or hold my tongue?’ In each case, we have to weigh the lure of instant gratification against more long-range effects. Granted, these may not be earthshaking matters.

More far-reaching are the moral decisions people face: ‘Should I lie to get out of that situation, or should I find an honest and tactful way?’ ‘Should I respond to that flirtation and see what happens, or should I cherish my marriage?’ ‘Should I join the crowd and smoke marijuana, or should I obey the law and protect my body?’ As you have no doubt observed, the course of instant gratification can turn a person’s life into an instant shambles.

As Science magazine put it: “To function effectively, individuals must voluntarily postpone immediate gratification and persist in goal-directed behavior for the sake of later outcomes.” So we will probably not live a good life if we have to gratify our every urge right away.

Nonetheless, we live in a world obsessed with instant gratification, a world that seems run by countless thousands of adult versions of little Johnny, bent on getting what they want now, blind to consequences. Theirs is an attitude that has shaped our modern world, and not for the better.

A World out of Control

Man’s impatient pursuit of instant gratification has resulted in his loss of control. Consider just a few examples:

Ecological: Man is ravaging the environment. On the long term, the consequences promise disaster; on the short term, though, plundering the earth for its resources and doing little to limit pollution means money for both industry and government. So the pillage continues, despite protesting environmentalists.

Economic: Nations around the world borrow more and more money, piling up mountains of debt for the sake of the economic needs of the moment. They blithely disregard the grim warnings of economists​—that the interest on all those loans may grow into an unbearable burden later on or that a world economy based on a foundation of global debt is ominously shaky and may collapse if poor countries default on their loans.

Moral: Drug and alcohol abusers, gamblers, criminals of all sorts, adulterers, fornicators​—who would deny that all over the world their ranks are swelling today? They are a disparate group with a common denominator: They want it NOW! Whether “it” is sex, money, power, or just a high, many are willing to throw away marriage, family, conscience, financial security, health, reputation, even life, for such fleeting pleasures.

It is hardly exaggerating to say that today’s world is out of control, governed by an almost infantile greed. Some fight sincerely against the shortsightedness so prevalent in the world. But far more powerful, and far more pervasive, are the forces that undermine farsightedness and self-restraint in all of us.

Undermining Influences

Modern man, particularly in the more industrialized nations, is perpetually bathed in a flood of propaganda through the media. Whether by television, radio, movies, magazines, or newspapers, instant gratification is adeptly promoted.

Media advertisements clamor for you to buy, buy, buy​—and to apply for credit cards so you can buy now, now, now. Countless products are only a phone call away. ‘Worry later about paying!’ the ads seem to suggest soothingly. They are designed with almost uncanny skill to seduce the senses. Turn a page in a magazine, and a wave of perfume engulfs you. Turn on the radio, and a jingle rings insistently in your mind for days. Turn on the TV, and its flashy images hold you transfixed. In music-video style, the images flit by fast enough to hold even the shortest attention span.

Television does more than advertise instant gratification. It dispenses it. At the mere touch of a button, it gratifies the urge to be entertained. Often it entertains by showing people gratifying their own urges. The man of action resorts to violence when his antagonists ‘deserve it.’ The precocious child humiliates parents with impudent wisecracks. The sensuous romantic gives in readily to adultery or premarital sex. TV rarely vilifies these characters for their lack of self-control; it glamorizes them, bathing them in a halo of dramatic glory or an approving chorus of simulated laughter.

Similarly, a recent article in The Atlantic Monthly said that today’s Hollywood movie is “a spectacle that has been meticulously engineered to gratify at every single moment,” with “film after film repeatedly screaming, ‘You can have it all!’” Nothing, it seems, gratifies today’s audiences more than violence. The article charges that movies in the past “suppressed the viewer’s urge to join in kicking,” while “in contrast, screen violence now is used primarily to invite the viewer to enjoy the feel of killing, beating, mutilating.” In fact, action and violence have so crowded out story and dialogue from movies that the screenplays of today are 25 percent shorter in the writing than in the 1940’s, even though the movies themselves are just as long.

The world’s religions are in an ideal position to help lift humanity out of this misguided ‘mania for the moment.’ Yet, all too many religious leaders seem mired in their own quest for instant gratification. How often do we read of their seeking power and influence in the political arena, or ingratiating themselves with their wayward flocks by watering down moral standards, or even using the Bible as a righteous veneer behind which they hypocritically do as they please? Instead of unmasking instant gratification for what it often is​—part of the allure of sin—​they have joined with other ‘moral leaders’ in soft-pedaling the concept of sin, redefining it with such bland euphemisms as ‘hereditary problems’ and ‘alternative lifestyles.’​—See box on page 8.

A Tool to Counteract the Trend

With that kind of world climate, how can we fight back? How can we make decisions without being unduly swayed by the lure of instant gratification? The answer might surprise you: The Bible can help. Contrary to what many people may assume, the Bible is not against pleasure. It does not promote asceticism or rigid self-denial. Rather, the Bible teaches us how to live happy lives, with pleasure in its proper place.

The Bible describes the Creator as “the happy God,” who ‘rejoices in his works.’ (1 Timothy 1:11; Psalm 104:31) As for humans, Ecclesiastes 3:1 says: “For everything there is an appointed time, even a time for every affair under the heavens.” That includes, according to the subsequent verses Ec 3:4, 8, a time to laugh, a time to skip about, a time to embrace, and a time to love. Proverbs 5:18, 19 even extols the beauty of sexual pleasure between man and wife when it tells husbands: “Rejoice with the wife of your youth.” Clearly, then, not all gratification is wrong, nor must all forms of gratification be put off arbitrarily. Self-control, however, is often the missing ingredient.​—Galatians 5:22, 23.

We must put our own pleasures in the proper perspective. We need the right priorities. Pleasing God must come well before our own pleasures; it must come first in our lives. Next comes principled love for our fellowman. (Matthew 6:33; 22:36-40) If we truly love God and neighbor, then we will gladly put our own gratification in line behind these two priorities.

Bible-based priorities will also help us to say an outright no to gratification when we need to. We will rule out drunkenness, adultery, fornication, gambling, greed, drug abuse, and violence. These sins each offer instant gratification in their way, but they offend God and harm our fellowman. God’s laws against these sins are a sure sign of his love for us, for in the long run, sin costs the sinner most of all. The cost may be disease, a broken home, or poverty. It may be as final as death or as tragic as a shallow and unfulfilled life.

Following Good Examples

God wants us to lead happy, productive lives; his Word is full of examples of men and women who did. In many cases their faith and love of God moved them to delay their own gratification. (See Hebrews, chapter 11.) Moses is a famous case in point. Raised up as the son of the daughter of Pharaoh in ancient Egypt, he had a life of gratification open to him. Power, influence, wealth, and no doubt plenty of sexual opportunities could all be his if he stayed in Pharaoh’s household. Instead, he threw in his lot with the scorned, enslaved nation of Israel. Why?

Hebrews 11:25 answers that he chose “to be ill-treated with the people of God rather than to have the temporary enjoyment of sin.” Moses saw instant gratification for what it was. Instant. Temporary. Soon over. So instead of focusing on what would bring him pleasure at the moment, he concentrated on heading toward a happy future. As Hebrews 11:26 says: “He looked intently toward the payment of the reward.” That reward was real to him, so was the Rewarder. Heb 11 Verse 27 reads: “He continued steadfast as seeing the One who is invisible.”

Some may scoff at the choice Moses made. Some may say that they would have chosen the wealth, the power, the fame. But consider: If Moses had chosen the course of instant gratification, would we even know of him today? Would his Egyptian name survive as a hieroglyph on some cracked, pitted stone in a museum, an obscure bit of trivia known only to a handful of archaeologists? Or, more likely, would it lie buried and forgotten under the dust and sand of 34 centuries? And what of his reward? Could Moses have been sure of a place in Jehovah’s memory if he had chosen the easy course to please himself?

Moses’ name stands as an inspiration to millions of people today. His future is sure. Your future can be just as sure. You too can be a source of encouragement to others. When you make your decisions in life, from the great to the small, don’t be duped by the world’s propaganda that you must have what you want NOW! Ask yourself, ‘Is what I want in harmony with what my Creator wants for me? Would pursuing what I want now mean putting my spiritual pursuits on the back burner? Am I in any way jeopardizing my reward? What kind of example am I setting for friends and family?’

Don’t choose the shortsightedness of this world over the farsighted wisdom of God. Don’t trade long-range happiness for short-term pleasure, the eternal for the temporal. Our Creator, after all, offers us gratification in the most expansive terms imaginable. As Psalm 145:16 says of him: “You are opening your hand and satisfying the desire of every living thing.” Some of this gratification is immediate; some requires time and patience. A life in Jehovah’s service is full of pleasures​—the beauties of creation, the warmth of friendship, the joy of challenging and rewarding work, the delight of learning answers to life’s most puzzling questions. Beyond that, the Creator offers us a life that will be gratifying forever.​—John 17:3.

“It’s Not My Fault!”​—The Age of Excuses

CRASH! Little Johnny’s mother rushes into the kitchen to see what caused that horrendous noise. There, in pieces on the floor, lies the cookie jar. Johnny is standing there, awkwardly clutching a cookie in his hand and trying hard to look innocent at the same time. “It wasn’t my fault!” he blurts out.

PARENTS know all too well that children have a hard time taking responsibility for their own mistakes. But today’s adult society has the same problem. More and more people seem to believe that the lure of their own gratification is more than they can reasonably be expected to resist.

Consider, for example, the man who raped the same woman three times. He protested at his trial that he was the victim of his own male hormones; he had high levels of testosterone. He was acquitted. A politician who was caught lying blamed his perjury on an alcohol problem. A drug smuggler was acquitted after he claimed to be a victim of the “action-addict syndrome.”

According to U.S.News & World Report, more than 2,000 groups meet every week to counsel those who consider themselves to be sex or love addicts. Over 200 national organizations have patterned themselves on Alcoholics Anonymous to help the “victims” of other “addictions,” such as Batterers Anonymous, Gay Men’s Overeaters Anonymous, Gamblers Anonymous, Debtors Anonymous, Messies Anonymous, and Workaholics Anonymous.

Some experts endorse the idea that all these forms of destructive behavior may be addictive, but others are alarmed by this new addiction chic. As one psychologist put it: “Creating a world of addictive diseases may mean creating a world in which anything is excusable.” A psychotherapist cautions that once people label themselves as helpless victims of an addiction, they become much harder to treat; their excuse becomes part of their identity.

Dr. William Lee Wilbanks, a professor of criminal justice, asserts that the modern vogue with addiction therapy is all part of a four-word philosophy he calls the New Obscenity: “I cannot help myself.” He decries the “growing tendency in the scientific community to view human beings as objects who are acted upon by internal and external forces over which they have no control.” “This view,” he adds, “suggests that free-will plays little or no part in human behavior.”

Studies have suggested that the human will may have more influence over even the more traditional addictions than has been thought. For example, about 75 percent of heroin addicts fail in their attempts to quit the habit. But among the veterans of the Vietnam War, the success rate is much higher​—nearly 90 percent are able to quit. Why? The drug is the same, the addiction identical. Could it be, as Wilbanks suggests, that “their value system and self-discipline helped them to ‘Say No’”? It is not that such things as chemical dependency or even an inborn tendency toward certain problems are not real. As Wilbanks puts it, such factors “may make the battle of temptation more difficult. But the battle is still winnable.”

It is indeed. The lure of instant gratification may be powerful, but it is not all-powerful. As the work of Jehovah’s Witnesses has demonstrated worldwide, drug addicts, alcoholics, adulterers, gamblers, and homosexuals do not have to gratify their desires. With the use of their willpower and, more important, the help of God’s holy spirit, they can and do overcome their problems. Thus, regardless of what “experts” say, our Creator knows when we are responsible for our own actions. (Numbers 15:30, 31; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11) But he is also merciful. He never expects more of us than is reasonable, “remembering that we are dust.”​—Psalm 103:14.

“Our Mission Was Suicide”

THE day, August 15, 1945, dawned when we were far out in the southern Pacific Ocean. I was on a mission as a member of the Kaiten Special (Suicide) Attack Corps, on board the submarine A-367. When the Emperor’s announcement of surrender came over the radio, everyone just stood at his post in a daze. The Pacific war was over.

Within ten days we returned to Japan. Those of us who had made the Navy our career could not understand why other sailors looked so happy to be demobilized and with the war lost at that! How vexing it was to see people rejoicing over the termination of the war when so many young men had died for their country!

On the Suicide Mission

In retrospect I remembered the time some eight months earlier, after I had graduated from the Naval Antisubmarine and Submarine schools. It was December 25, 1944, and I had just received orders to serve on the submarine A-367. When we walked aboard in Yokosuka on New Year’s Day 1945, our orders were to take part in special attack maneuvers. The words “special attack” meant suicide attack, just like the kamikaze in the air. We were named the Shimbu Squad of the Kaiten Special Attack Corps.

To prepare for maneuvers, we cruised to Kure, a major naval port near Hiroshima, for remodeling work on the submarine in order to accommodate the kaiten. A kaiten was a converted torpedo with a cramped control room for one person amidships. After it was launched from the upper deck of a submarine, the operator piloted it to hit the target, thus the name human torpedo. Once launched, there was no return. Hitting the target meant a hero’s death, whereas missing it would be a dog’s death, as the Japanese call it when a person dies for no purpose.

Dying for our country, we thought, was a glorious privilege. When our commanding officer invited volunteers to step forward to be members of suicide squads, all stepped forward as one man. Although I was not a kaiten operator, all on the crew were considered members of the suicide attack corps. What an honor!

After training for the kaiten launching, we set out on a mission carrying five kaitens mounted on the upper deck. Heading out to the Pacific through the Inland Sea, I stood on deck and looked at the beauty of the early summer. I wondered what bounty awaited these five vessels of death and recalled sweet and bitter memories of my days as a naval trainee.

Naval Training

Wanting since childhood to make the Navy my career, I had entered the Naval Mine School when I turned 18 in 1944. For the first two months, training centered on basics for land combat and a crash course on Navy common sense. After that, the school was renamed and became the Naval Antisubmarine School. Education in the operation of hydrophones and sonar began so that we could be rushed to the war front fully trained.

The first two days in school, we were treated like guests. The instructors kindly explained to us whatever we did not understand. Then, on the third day, came the first “adjustment.” Right after the watch officer made the rounds upon our retiring to bed, we heard the command of an instructor, “Everyone up! Everyone line up on the deck!” Not knowing what to do, we ran about blindly. “Get a move on! Hurry up! Line up!” Rebukes were barked at us. After finally lining up, we were told: “All you guys are in need of morale.” And the “adjustments” began. In the Navy, “adjustment” meant beating. We were first told to stand with feet apart and clench our teeth so that we would not fall down or cut the inside of our mouth. Successive blows across the face followed.

Adjustments were given on a community responsibility basis. If one member of a division made a mistake, then the whole division received adjustments. Oftentimes a stick resembling a baseball bat was used to strike our buttocks. It was called “the stick to infuse the soldier’s spirit.” Supposedly, adjustments were to nurture a spirit of teamwork, which was much in demand at sea. Every time I experienced an adjustment, I wondered if it really would be of help in actual combat.

After graduating from the Antisubmarine School, I entered the Submarine School. Now we were learning to be on the other side of the fence, being given lectures and training on how to catch the sound of a surface ship from a submarine and attack it. Training was even harsher here, following what the Japanese Navy called a “Mon-Mon-Tue-Wed-Thu-Fri-Fri” routine. In other words​—no weekends off.

The Suicide Attack

“We have now cleared the Bungo Channel,” blared the loudspeaker, jerking me back from my reminiscence. “We will navigate on surface until tomorrow morning. We expect you to accomplish this mission as the Shimbu Squad of the Kaiten Special Attack Corps. Do your best in your assigned posts.” Our mission was to ambush and destroy ships plowing the supply routes between Okinawa and Guam. For four days we submerged at dawn and surfaced at dusk.

At 1400 hours, or 2:00 p.m., on the fifth day, we detected a sound source. We kept a depth of 45 feet [14 m] and closed steadily while observing the target through the periscope. Suddenly, commands poured out one after another.

“Each one to his post!”

“Kaitens stand by!”

“Operators to crafts!”

As the operators rushed through the narrow corridor tying on Rising-Sun headbands, crew members flattened themselves against the walls, saluting farewell.

The operators ran up the ladder leading to the communication duct (the passage leading to the torpedo cockpits from inside the submarine), turned around at the hatch, and saluted as they shouted: “Thank you, everyone, for taking good care of us. We’ll make a go of it!” Those standing below were silent, their faces stiff.

“Each craft set for launching!” The orderly’s voice shook as he relayed the captain’s command.

“Targets: a large supply ship and a destroyer,” the captain declared. “Craft No. 1 is out of order. So No. 2 and No. 3 will go for the targets. Others stand by.”

“Craft No. 2, take off!”

“Craft No. 3, take off!”

“Thud! Thud!” The wire bands fastening the kaitens had loosened and slammed the deck. Craft No. 2 jerked free, and while its thunderous boom was still resounding, craft No. 3 followed it. The operators’ boyish faces flashed through my mind. I concentrated on my work of tracking the kaitens with the hydrophones.

“It’s about time they hit the targets,” mumbled someone. The kaitens had been launched only 15 minutes earlier, but it felt like an hour or more. “Boo​—oom!” came the roar from the explosion, shortly followed by another.

“Petty Officer Chiba hits the target!”

“Petty Officer Ono hits the target!”

Silence prevailed. No one made a sound, did not even cough. Some pressed their hands together in prayer in the direction of the explosion. Tears left tracks on the faces of crew members standing mutely. An unbelievably calm scene for such a brilliant result.

Hidden in his personal effects, we found a farewell poem written by Petty Officer Ono, according to the Japanese custom of leaving behind an original poem when one expects to die. He wrote: “When the cherry trees of Old Japan blossom, and the petals are scattered, they are scattered deep down in the sea.” He was 19.

Air Raid!

We kept searching for enemies, submerging before sunrise and surfacing after sundown. After two weeks of fruitless search, the captain announced that we would immediately return to Kure. The whole crew was elated. While the submarine was anchored in Kure for repairs and to replenish provisions, the crew members lolled about in local spas.

It was June 15, 1945. We were moored at the wharf near the Naval Arsenal while preparing to leave on our next mission. The air-raid warning siren blew. There was no time to prepare. A huge B-29 bomber formation came down toward the arsenal. I leapt from the upper deck to the wharf to undo the front mooring. I shouted to Petty Officer Mohri, who had just returned, to undo the back mooring. The submarine slipped from the wharf, and we were left behind.

We sought refuge in a shelter near the wharf, but it was packed with arsenal workers. While we were standing at the entrance, a bomb fell, and we were blown outside. We felt it would be dangerous to stay there and decided to run into a cave dug in a hill behind the arsenal. We timed a three-minute interval between the attacks of bombers. As soon as one of the groups of bombers passed, we rushed out and ran toward the hill. A bomb exploded behind me as I reached the cave, and I was blown inside. Fortunately, I was not injured. Petty Officer Mohri, who had followed me, was nowhere to be seen. As soon as the air raid was over, I searched for him as I traced my way back to the wharf. The bombs had left many large holes in the path. I looked for my comrade everywhere but to no avail.

Never had I seen so many dead and injured. The wretchedness and futility of war hit me more acutely than ever before. Neither God nor Buddha could exist, I thought. If they did, they would never have permitted such atrocities.

Finding the Trustworthy God

It was only two months after the air raid that I had to accept the defeat of the Japanese Empire on that summer day in the South Pacific. After taking care of odd jobs, I returned to my home on November 20, 1945. Two days later I obtained a job with Japan National Railways. For the next 30 years, I worked as a conductor and station official in numerous cities on the island of Shikoku. Because of what I had experienced during the war, atheistic ideas took over my thinking.

In 1970, I was assigned to work at Sako Station, which was three hours away in the neighboring prefecture. Commuting on the train, I read newspapers and magazines. Every morning when I opened my case, I found The Watchtower and Awake! in the top corner. My wife had just become one of Jehovah’s Witnesses and had put them there. At first I was upset to see them and threw them up on the luggage rack. I harbored hostility toward religion and harshly opposed my wife’s Christian religion. “Don’t you ever put those magazines in my case again,” I would yell at her upon returning home. But the following day, the magazines were there once again.

One day I noticed a person take the magazines down from the rack and start reading them. ‘What’s so interesting about those magazines?’ I wondered. After seeing this happen a few times, one day I casually looked through The Watchtower after finishing my newspaper. I could not quite understand what was written in it, but I found Awake! to be interesting. Reading them just once, I felt they had something different, and I have read both of them ever since. Mind you, I did not read them at home because of my stand as an opposer, but I gradually came to appreciate why my wife went out preaching every day.

From the beginning of 1975, my physical condition deteriorated, and I retired in April of that year. Doctors found cancer in my pharynx. While I was in the hospital, a male Witness visited me and gave me as gifts The New World Translation of the Christian Greek Scriptures and the book Is This Life All There Is? I had been bored, and since the Bible was given to me as a present, I now had an excuse to read it openly.

After I left the hospital, the man immediately visited me. The first two visits were just friendly chats. We talked about war experiences. But on the third visit, he offered me a Bible study, which I accepted. After overcoming atheistic thinking that was an aftereffect of the war experience, I was finally baptized at a district convention in 1980. Since then, I have enjoyed the privilege of serving others, and recently I was appointed to serve as an elder in our local congregation.

Looking back, I realize why the political and military leaders were able to educate young men to offer up their lives unselfishly for their country. The powerful forces of Satan the Devil goaded them on, as my study of God’s Word, the Bible, revealed. Behind the mass hysteria of suicide missions, I can now see Satan’s sadistic intent. Revelation 12:7-9, 12 had foretold it: “And war broke out in heaven: Michael and his angels battled with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels battled but it did not prevail, neither was a place found for them any longer in heaven. So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him. On this account be glad, you heavens and you who reside in them! Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.”

My mind had long been blinded into believing that suicide missions were an honor, but I now can see the truth unveiled. I now see who was behind my blindness. The apostle Paul’s words at 2 Corinthians 4:3-6 make it clear: “If, now, the good news we declare is in fact veiled, it is veiled among those who are perishing, among whom the god of this system of things has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, that the illumination of the glorious good news about the Christ, who is the image of God, might not shine through. For we are preaching, not ourselves, but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your slaves for Jesus’ sake. For God is he who said: ‘Let the light shine out of darkness,’ and he has shone on our hearts to illuminate them with the glorious knowledge of God by the face of Christ.”

Coming to know the truth and the only living and true God may be compared to the sweetness, yes, the freshness, of the air when we surfaced and opened the submarine hatch. No one could have appreciated that sweetness and freshness more than we did. For this spiritual refreshment, I am deeply grateful to Jehovah. And my gratitude goes to my wife as well for her untiring efforts to share Bible truth with me, not giving up for ten years until I finally dedicated myself to God. As a result, I am now engaged in the Christian ministry, a lifesaving mission for the living God.​—As told by Yoshimi Aono.

[Picture on page 10]

Thanks to my wife’s untiring efforts, I am now taking up a lifesaving mission for the living God

Tobacco Morality?

“B.A.T. [British American Tobacco] Uganda 1984 Ltd. does not believe that cigarette smoking is harmful to health.” This statement, made in a letter to the Ministry of Health in Entebbe, Uganda, has raised a furor in Britain amid accusations of questionable business ethics and double standards. Why?

Government health warnings must appear on cigarette packs in Western countries where the smoking habit is now on the decline by 1 percent a year. In developing countries, however, such legal requirements do not usually exist, and where they do, they may go unnoticed if smokers buy their cigarettes singly, rather than in a pack. Sales in those countries are on the increase by 2 percent annually. But that is only part of the problem. High-tar tobacco “that is too dangerous for them [European countries] to smoke themselves” is being exported from Europe to Africa and other developing countries, claims Dr. Roberto Masironi, head of the Tobacco or Health program of WHO (World Health Organization).

Aggressive marketing is also promoting new, stronger, and cheaper brands. In Zimbabwe, where half the population is under 16 years of age and there is no age limit for tobacco purchase, it is feared that young children will become addicted to the smoking habit. Dr. Timothy Stamps, Zimbabwe’s health minister, has also expressed concern about the “subtle messages aimed at young women” to get them hooked on nicotine, which has been called the “fastest-acting drug in the Western world.” Addressing a WHO conference, Britain’s chief medical officer said: “I fail to understand how anyone can bring themselves to continue to promote this deadly habit.”

Against such pressures, why does the campaign to increase sales not falter? There are two basic reasons. First, if it did, thousands of jobs in Europe’s tobacco industry would be lost. Second, there are the economies of the countries where the tobacco is sold. Kenya, for example, gains 5 percent of its total government revenue from excise and profit taxes on tobacco sales. Also contributing to the growth in tobacco sales is the financial support given to sports activities by the tobacco firms.

Meantime, the health problems of the Western world are now stalking African countries. As they continue to battle against malaria and a host of endemic diseases, they find their limited resources stretched to embrace smoking-related illnesses.

Asia is the next market to which tobacco companies are now turning their eyes. There, cigarette sales are set to climb by at least 18 percent in the next ten years. China is expected to open up eventually to Western tobacco. Already it is known that 30 percent of the world’s cigarettes are smoked by the Chinese. British cancer expert Professor Richard Peto predicts that of all the Chinese children alive today, 50 million will eventually die from tobacco-related disease, reports The Sunday Times of London.

One of the characteristics identifying Jehovah’s Witnesses​—more than four million worldwide—​is that they do not use tobacco. Yet, many of them were formerly heavy smokers. They stopped when they realized that smoking is inconsistent with the Christian faith. (Matthew 22:39; 2 Corinthians 7:1) If you really want to be free of the addiction to tobacco, ask any one of them for help and advice. He or she will gladly give it.

Dwindling Forests, Rising Temperatures

TROPICAL deforestation. The greenhouse effect. These two crises are often mentioned in the same breath. And with good reason: The former helps to cause the latter. As mankind burns, bulldozes, and floods vast regions of forest to make way for ranches, roads, and hydroelectric dams, the forests release their vast stores of carbon to the atmosphere. The carbon dioxide that results is just one of many gases that make the atmosphere retain heat, slowly warming the globe.

Recent reports by the United Nations reveal that both crises may be worse than previously thought. For instance, over 300 climate experts from around the world issued a warning in May 1990 that the average worldwide temperature will rise by 4 degrees Fahrenheit [2° C.] in the next 35 years and 11 degrees Fahrenheit [6° C.] by the end of the next century if man does not reverse the trend.

This would represent the most dramatic change in average temperature the earth has seen in ten thousand years, the scientists claim. While the greenhouse effect has been a matter of controversy among scientists, The Washington Post notes: “Scientists who wrote the report . . . said that it represented a remarkable consensus among hundreds of usually contentious scientists.”

Meanwhile, a report entitled World Resources 1990-91, estimated that the world is losing its tropical forests up to 50 percent faster than previous estimates indicated. The combined rate of tropical deforestation for nine countries​—in Asia, Africa, and South America—​more than tripled during the 1980’s! The world total, according to the report, is between 40 and 50 million acres [16-20 million ha] of tropical forest destroyed each year.

Deforestation is already taking its toll. International Wildlife notes, for instance, that the world’s rain forests are home to at least 5 million and perhaps as many as 30 million species of plants and animals​—“more than live in all other terrestrial ecosystems put together.” These species are virtually stampeding into extinction. Already some bird-watchers in northern climes have begun to notice that the birds that migrate seasonally from the tropical forests are becoming scarcer.

In Madagascar some 80 percent of the flowering plant species are found nowhere else on the planet; one of them, the rosy periwinkle, is the basis for some of the world’s most crucial anticancer drugs. Yet, more than half of Madagascar’s forests have already been degraded or wiped out.

Man is indeed “ruining the earth” in these last days, as the Bible long ago indicated he would.​—Revelation 11:18.

[Picture Credit Line on page 15]

Abril Imagens/​João Ramid

Corinth​—City of the Two Seas

“THE ancient people believed the gods were real. Sometimes I think so myself.” Our guide so remarked as she led us among the ruins of temples once dedicated to Apollo, Aphrodite, Hermes, Hercules, and Poseidon. The smell of rain was in the air, and we heard the low rumble of a storm brewing. “Zeus,” she said with a smile.

Thunderheads had arisen over Mount Parnassus in the morning. They were spreading rapidly across the Gulf of Corinth to stretch ominously above us. But our guide remained unfailingly cheerful and continued to spin stories of olden times, the glories of Greece, and the coming of Christianity. She charmingly mixed fact, fancy, history, and mythology to erect buildings in our mind’s eye and to people them with the flesh and blood of another era.

We were not worried about rain. It seldom rains on the Peloponnisos. Why, this southern peninsula is one of the driest areas in Greece! Only Athens is drier. On the other hand, whenever the rains do come, they are not gentle showers. They are wild gully washers that erode the higher elevations and make the land below the Corinthian plateau rich with alluvial soil.

Surprise! Of all the things Corinth is famous for, we hardly expected one of them to be a farm product. Yes, whether grown in the Levant, in California, or in any other place, wherever the tiny raisins we call currants are happily munched, they carry the name of Corinth as corrupted to “currant.”

Its Resources

The soil may be one reason for Homer’s epithet “wealthy Corinth.” However, Corinth gained most of its affluence as a port city serving both the Ionian and Aegean seas. Horace called it “bimarisve Corinthi,” or “two-sea’d Corinth.” How could one city be a port for two seas? Easily, since it was situated at the southern end of the narrow neck of land (Greek, isth·mosʹ) connecting the Peloponnisos with mainland Greece.

Corinth benefited from east-west harbor traffic and the tolls exacted for transporting freight and small ships across the isthmus along the shipway the Greeks called the diʹol·kos. It also levied taxes on overland freight moving north and south. No wonder Philip II, the father of Alexander the Great, considered Corinth vital to his developing monarchy.

Reverses and Recovery

But that was centuries ago. Nowadays, a canal connects the Corinthian and Saronic gulfs, and on superhighways lorries hurtle past the sleepy village of Corinth. Sailors, truckers, and villagers do not care that Corinth used to be the magnet of the Mediterranean. Only archaeologists and tourists come with trowel, film, and curiosity.

In 146 B.C.E. the Roman consul Mummius destroyed and virtually depopulated Corinth. However, after a dormant century, it was revived by Julius Caesar as a cosmopolitan Roman colony partial to Greek ways and thinking.

When the Christian apostle Paul arrived about a hundred years later, Corinth was again a vibrant, flourishing city. Its people were successfully building, crafting, and trading by day. And at night? They were feasting and carousing at idol temples and taverns and roving dark streets in search of sensual pleasures. Interestingly, although Corinth was notorious in a licentious age and everyone knew what a “Corinthian girl” was, religious prostitution was not a Greek practice. The oft told story that Corinth housed a thousand girls dedicated to Aphrodite relies on the questionable opinion of the geographer Strabo of the first century B.C.E. Even at that, he assigned them to a remote pre-Roman period.

Our Reflections

As we walked along the Lechaeum Way, the ancient thoroughfare that connected the western harbor with the center of the city, our guide pointed to the remnants of state buildings, temples, shops, a meat market, and a public latrine, all disconcertingly jumbled together.a Nevertheless, because of, rather than in spite of, this seeming lack of town planning, we began to sense the lively street scene Paul must have encountered​—the busy throngs and idle talkers, the shopkeepers, slaves, and deal makers.

As we neared the end of the road, we heard the gurgle of the Fountain of Pirene, an underground spring that supplied cool water to shops selling perishables, wash-water to craftsmen, and finally flush-water to the latrine. Whether the Christian married couple Aquila and Priscilla had their tentmaking shop in this area, no one knows today. (Acts 18:1-3) But just a few feet away, on the steps leading to the Forum, archaeologists found a lintel from a synagogue. So this may have been a Jewish quarter, and we were happy to imagine that the home of Titius Justus could have been right here!​—Acts 18:7.

The Forum​—what a fascinating place! It consists of two rectangular terraces on an east-west axis. In the center of the upper terrace, flanked on either side by shops, there is an elevated platform called a bema, used by speakers on formal occasions. Our guide reminded us that when the physician Luke wrote of Paul’s day in court before Proconsul Gallio, the Greek word used for “judgment seat” was bema. (Acts 18:12) So the events of Acts 18:12-17 may have happened on this very spot! We were standing where Paul would have stood, ready to make his defense while surrounded by his Jewish accusers. But no! Gallio would not hear the case. He set Paul free and let the violent mob thrash Sosthenes instead.

Behind this open-air courtroom, on the north edge of the lower terrace, lies the ‘sacred spring’ and its oracular shrine. There is some difference of opinion about how the oracle was given. Apparently, however, if the supplicant paid enough money, the priests produced a “miracle” and turned the springwater into wine. Presumably that assured the petitioner that he was about to be supernaturally enlightened. Archaeologists say that this shrine was in use for a very long time, both in ancient pre-Christian Corinth and in the rebuilt city of Paul’s day. Peering into a secret passageway, we saw the mechanism for performing the wine trick and came away convinced that religious quacks are not new.

Although Poseidon is supposed to have been the patron god of Corinth, the most impressive edifice is the Doric-style temple of Apollo. Of its 38 columns, 7 remain standing. About 24 feet [7.2 m] high and 6 feet [1.7 m] in diameter at the base, each is made of a single piece of fluted limestone that was originally coated with hard, white stucco. Hovering over the city on its central elevation​—a dark and brooding ruin among ruins—​this archaic temple nonetheless continues to evoke profound emotions. It may call to a beholder’s mind what Goethe wrote​—that architecture is “frozen music.”

The Rains Came!

“Come. There’s a lot more to see!” Splash. “We haven’t yet looked at temples with kitchens and plush dining rooms.” Splat. “We have to see the stone pavement laid by Erastus.” Splatter. “And you don’t want to miss the tavern of Aphrodite or the Aesculapeum.” Yes, the splash and splatter of big drops of water were harbingers of a rainstorm.

Instantly, the people and structures of our imagination vanished. We hurried back the way we had come, our guide still reciting a string of things we had not yet seen. Raindrops now falling in profusion turned the pavement brilliant, wet colors and washed dust off the marble of once proud buildings. When the skies suddenly released a fierce downpour, we ran. We could still hear our guide somewhere up ahead calling out: “Come on, everybody!” In the blinding cloudburst, even the fragmentary buildings along Corinth’s Lechaeum Way disappeared. Nothing remained, neither landscape nor dreamscape. Drenched, we raced toward our bus and hoped the driver was not on a coffee break.​—Contributed.

[Footnotes]

[Map on page 16]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

Corinth

GREECE

IONIAN SEA

AEGEAN SEA

[Pictures on page 17]

Top: A reconstructed shop in the Forum

Center: The “bema”

Bottom: The archaic temple of Apollo

Twentieth-Century Fax

FROM New York to Toronto in less than a minute. That is the speed of fax. What is it? Simply described, it is remote photocopying​—communicating without speaking a word. In the United States alone, more than a hundred thousand facsimile machines are purchased each month.

Doctors send medical reports, lawyers transfer legal transcripts, grocers fill food orders, and radio stations receive song requests from listeners​—all by fax. Within an hour after the birth of her infant, a California mother even faxed the footprint of the baby to the grandparents living in another state.

How Does It Work?

It is very simple. All you need is a telephone, a wall plug, and a fax machine. A document is fed into the machine, where a scanning device reads all the dark shades on the page, translates them into electrical impulses, and transmits them through a telephone line. A receiving fax retranslates the impulses into dark shades and prints an exact copy.

Where Did This Technology Originate?

Back in 1843 a Scottish clockmaker and inventor named Alexander Bain developed and patented the first fax. It was a crude scanning device by today’s standards. An electrically wired stylus attached to the tip of a swinging pendulum swept back and forth over a block of metal type, sending electric pulses over telegraph wires. Another wired pendulum translated each pulse into a dark spot on electrosensitive paper.

By 1907 faxes were developed that used a spinning drum and a photoelectric cell that could read ordinary print right from a piece of paper wrapped around the drum. However, transmission by radio signals was slow and often subject to interference.

Technology of the 1980’s, using fiber optics, digital transmission, and signal compression, made possible faxes that could read and transmit as fast as three seconds per page under special conditions. Currently, the most widely used group of machines has a practical transmission speed on the order of 45 seconds per page.

How Is Fax Used?

Time-sensitive information that has customarily been delivered by overnight courier or the postal service can now be delivered in a matter of minutes. Important documents can be faxed and be in the hands of a second party in practically the same time it takes to address an envelope, stamp it, and mail it.

In Canada a child was recently diagnosed as having a serious, life-threatening medical complication requiring blood therapy. As Jehovah’s Witnesses, the parents were firm in their religious convictions that under no circumstances was blood to be used. Medical researchers were contacted, and within minutes articles were faxed to the doctor in charge to assist the medical team in evaluating alternative nonblood management techniques. The parents’ wishes were respected, and the baby was successfully treated. The family was impressed that hospital medical teams now use the fax as a vehicle for sharing medical protocol.

Even the news media have effectively utilized fax. In 1989, when the Chinese army suppressed a student revolt in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China, the government restricted television, radio, and print coverage. Telephone lines were left open to maintain international trade, so reporters faxed the news and pictures to people within China and to the rest of the world.

The advertising industry has also capitalized on this technology. One marketing manager stated that when fax ads are sent, “the messages have a sense of immediacy and urgency. They get read right away.” But as far as many fax owners are concerned, this junk fax only ties up their equipment, interfering with their receiving information vital to their business.

As indicated above, fax use is limited only by your imagination. However, as with most new technology, someone is there to abuse it.

What Does the Future Hold for Fax?

One computer engineer foresees that faxes will get faster and smarter. As desktop machines become commonplace in businesses, internal faxing will replace internal mail delivery. Full-color facsimiles, as well as portable fax machines, are undergoing product development. A combination copier/​printer/​fax machine directed by a personal computer is also a future prospect. One major manufacturer even predicts that $100 personal fax machines the size of a memo pad will become available.

While the telephone still provides instant verbal communication, such messages are at times misquoted or misinterpreted. Fax can deliver the actual message in print​—and fast. It is now an important communication device in our lives. Fax has come of age and is here to stay.

Young People Ask . . .

How Can I Live in a Religiously Divided Home?

“It was hard on us growing up. My dad despised our religion. There was constant tension in the house.”​—Terry.

DO YOU live in a religiously divided home? If so, you know how awkward and difficult things can be. Mom and Dad may very well tolerate each other’s beliefs, but as S. Sandmel observed in his book When a Jew and Christian Marry: “Does the toleration of a person for the spouse’s religion extend to having the children raised in that religion? The honest answer in many cases is no.”

Consider, for example, what might be happening if one of your parents is a witness of Jehovah. That parent feels a serious obligation to raise you “in the discipline and mental-regulating of Jehovah” and may have quite firm views on dating, morals, participation in school sports, use of leisure time, and career goals. (Ephesians 6:4) Your non-Witness parent, though, may have a more indulgent view of these matters.

On Sunday afternoon Mom may want you to go with her to a Christian meeting. Dad may want you to stay home with him and watch a ball game on TV. “There were times when I felt a little sorry for my dad,” recalls Doug. “He was in sales, so we didn’t see him during the week, and then on the weekend, the family left him behind when they went to their meetings. Once in a while, I would skip the meeting and stay behind with him.”

Jesus foresaw that such situations would exist. He said: “For I came to cause division, with a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a young wife against her mother-in-law. Indeed, a man’s enemies will be persons of his own household.” (Matthew 10:35, 36) Not that Jesus purposely divided families, but he knew that problems would develop when some family members accepted true worship and others did not. The question is: Just what should you do if you are in such a situation?

Pitfalls to Avoid

First of all, realize that the goal is to please, not just one of your parents, but God himself! He is the one who demands “worship with spirit and truth.” (John 4:24) But to do so in a religiously divided household, there are some pitfalls to avoid.

Compromising​—One teenage boy whose parents are divorced says about visits to his unbelieving father: “He tries to get me to go against the truth and God.” He does this by pressuring his son to participate in unchristian holiday celebrations. “This makes me feel very uncomfortable,” the boy admits. But Jesus reminds us: “He that has greater affection for father or mother than for me is not worthy of me.” (Matthew 10:37) So stand firm for what you believe! If tactfully excusing yourself from an objectionable activity does not suffice, kindly but firmly let your parent know that you refuse to compromise. As your parent sees your unshakable determination, the pressure may gradually ease.

There is a need for balance, however. Philippians 4:5 says: “Let your reasonableness become known to all men.” Reasonableness involves being yielding, flexible. Perhaps you can work things out to spend more time with your unbelieving parent if he or she feels neglected. Remember, too, that you have an obligation to both parents.​—Ephesians 6:1.

Playing ‘the equalizer’​—Out of a misguided sense of fairness, you may be tempted to take Mom’s side in religious matters simply because your brother has taken Dad’s side—​or vice versa. But is that a solid basis for choosing how to worship God? What if Mom’s religious views are false, unscriptural? “Buy truth itself and do not sell it,” advises Proverbs 23:23.

Follow the leader​—Perhaps you feel closer to an older brother or sister than to either parent. You may thus be inclined to follow whatever religious path that one chooses to tread. “That’s how I felt, coming from a large family,” says Roberto. He therefore suffered a spiritual setback when his older brother rejected true worship entirely and left home. “It was very discouraging,” he admits. No matter how close you may feel to a sibling, would it not be sheer folly to let that one lead you away from serving God?

‘Divide and conquer’​—“When I was about 19, my dad started encouraging me to date,” recalls Doug. “Mom, who was a baptized Christian, was dead set against it. Suddenly I found myself rooting for Dad, although deep down I knew that Mom was right.” Where parents have different moral standards, opportunities abound for playing one parent against the other. It can be tempting to toss in one’s lot with the more permissive parent.

Pitting parents against each other, however, does little more than increase family tensions. And obtaining permission to do something that you know is unwise or wrong hardly excuses you in God’s sight. “If one knows how to do what is right and yet does not do it, it is a sin for him.” (James 4:17) Instead of manipulating the parent that gives you the most freedom, why not try to heed the parent who is directing you in “the way of life”?​—Proverbs 6:23.

Making Your Own Religious Choice

Nevertheless, some youths may be genuinely confused as to which parent that might be. How can you decide? The Bible tells us of a young man named Timothy who grew up in a religiously divided home. He is described as “the son of a believing Jewish woman but of a Greek father.” (Acts 16:1) At times Timothy must have felt torn between his parents. Yet, he came to embrace the religious faith of his mother and became the traveling companion of the apostle Paul. (Acts 16:2, 3) Was this a case of loving his mother more than his father? Not at all.

The apostle Paul wrote Timothy: “You, however, continue in the things that you learned and were persuaded to believe, knowing from what persons you learned them and that from infancy you have known the holy writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through the faith in connection with Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 3:14, 15) From this we can conclude that Timothy made his choice based upon a serious study of God’s Word! He was “persuaded,” convinced, to believe it.

Instead of making a choice on the basis of sentiment or emotion, examine your parents’ beliefs in the light of “the holy writings.”a Ultimately you, not Mom or Dad, are responsible for the working out of your salvation!​—Philippians 2:12.

Winning Your Unbelieving Parent

Having determined in your heart to follow the true religion, how, then, should you view your unbelieving parent? The apostle Paul encouraged Christians to try to win over their unbelieving mates: “Think of it: as a wife you may be your husband’s salvation; as a husband you may be your wife’s salvation.” (1 Corinthians 7:12-16, The New English Bible) Could this not apply, in principle, to the children of unbelievers?

Your chaste conduct and deep respect for your parent can do much to help that one have a favorable impression of true Christianity. (Compare 1 Peter 3:1, 2.) Remember, too, that taking a stand for the truth does not mean that you are in any way against the unbelieving parent. Indeed, by continuing to be kind, obedient, and cooperative, you can assure that one of your continued love.

There is “a time to keep quiet and a time to speak.” (Ecclesiastes 3:7) If opportunity arises to talk about your beliefs with your parent, by all means do so! “Do not hold back good from those to whom it is owing,” Proverbs 3:27 reminds us. But be kind, tactful. Avoid talking down to a parent because you may know more about the Bible. Who knows, perhaps your efforts will bear fruit. “My Dad was bitterly opposed for years,” recalls Jay. “It seemed that he would never change, but we finally won him over.” When Jay’s father died a few years ago, he was serving as a Christian elder.

If no response is forthcoming, recall David’s words at Psalm 27:10: “In case my own father and my own mother did leave me, even Jehovah himself would take me up.” You also have the support of loyal friends within the Christian congregation, who can ‘stick closer than a brother.’ (Proverbs 18:24) With their help and the help of your believing parent, you can stand firm for the truth.

[Footnotes]

[Picture on page 23]

Playing parents against each other may get you your way, but in the long run, it increases family tensions

Iguaçú Falls​—Jewels on a Canopy of Green

By Awake! correspondent in Brazil

“ONE of the most notable natural marvels of South America” is how one encyclopedia begins its description of these outstanding falls located near where the borders of Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay meet. What makes them especially attractive is their natural setting​—a virgin tropical forest. Truly jewels set in a background of green. No wonder that a visit here is a must for tourists to South America!

“Iguaçú” means “Great Water” in the Guarani language. And great it is, for the thundering falls can be heard 20 miles [30 km] away. Depending on the season of the year, one can count nearly 300 different waterfalls plunging over an immense precipice. Some of the falls do this in one plunge, while others drop to a ledge halfway down and then take another leap to the bottom of the gorge. It is estimated that during the rainy season, nearly 13,000 cubic yards [10,000 cu m] of water crash over the falls in one second. As a result, the vast caldron below produces a mass of mist and spray, which on a sunny day presents a series of colorful rainbows all day long.

The main part of this wonderful display is the famous Garganta do Diabo (Devil’s Throat, or Gorge), described in a tourist brochure as “the most majestic panorama of the whole show, a circle of fourteen falls which hurtle down over cliffs almost 90 m [300 ft] high.”

Probably the best way to view the falls is by helicopter. After such a ride, one tourist said: ‘Our pilot seemed to sense our appreciation for the beautiful scene below. And instead of going far afield as he often does, he made several passes back and forth over the whole length of the canyon. Our cameras and video were in constant use as they registered for us this wonderful display of Jehovah’s creative works.’

Other visitors are content just to stroll along the many pathways and walks that have been prepared for them. From the Brazilian side, one has a full panoramic view of the falls, whereas on the Argentine side, it is possible to hike right alongside the individual falls and, in some places, cross over them from one island to another on concrete walkways. Most visitors do both, feasting their eyes and focusing their cameras on the spectacle of the falls framed by the luxuriant green of the immense rain forest stretching out toward the distant horizon.

Those who are on the alert will see the swallows as they dart in and out of the clouds of spray and then up to the tops of the trees before they take another plunge. Or they will see flocks of squawking green parrots that dive into the falls near the top where the water is not so deep, and then they just cling to the edge of the cliff, only to reappear suddenly and fly to the treetops, where they preen themselves. And if the visitors watch more closely, they will see the large hanging nests of the noisy red-rumped cacique, a type of weaver bird. The birds live in colonies, and their nests, made from long grass fibers, hang from the lower boughs of the trees. All of these, together with the many varieties of butterflies, lend a colorful touch to a visit to the falls.

Truly, Iguaçú Falls must be seen and heard to be fully appreciated. Formed in 1939, Brazil’s Iguaçú National Park, which is the setting for this stupendous display of natural beauty, is visited by thousands of tourists each year. They are not disappointed, nor will you be if you include it in your next trip to South America.

[Map/​Pictures on page 24, 25]

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Iguaçú Falls

BRAZIL

ARGENTINA

PARAGUAY

“This Is the Way We Wash Our Clothes . . .”

IN MANY lands those words are familiar to generations of children who have enthusiastically sung and danced to this famous nursery rhyme. But if the thought of doing laundry hardly makes you jump for joy, consider: After a shower or bath, is it not refreshing to dry off with a fluffy, freshly laundered towel? What man does not feel more neat and comfortable wearing clean clothes? Why, even children seem to enjoy wearing clothes that are clean and sweet smelling​—even if ever so briefly!

Washing our clothing is thus far more important to our life and well-being than we often realize. However, the way we wash our clothes may depend upon where we live in the world.

Washing Without Washing Machines

In many affluent lands, the word “washing” has become inseparably linked to the word “machine.” In poorer lands, though, washing is often still done by hand, and with surprisingly good results! Take, for example, those hard-to-clean white clothes. In countries with a hot, dry climate, women take advantage of the sun.

The procedure is simple. A basin is filled with water and a generous quantity of soap or detergent. The whites are submerged, and the hands of the industrious laundress vigorously agitate the water, squeezing the sudsy water through the fabric. If commercial bleaches are not available, some use other time-honored whiteners, such as coconut vinegar. Then, after a quick rinse, the wet clothes are draped over convenient shrubs or fences and sun-bleached to impeccable whiteness. Now, back to the tub for many rinsings and a second drying under the hot tropical sun. The result? Whites that fairly blaze with cheerful cleanness!

A housewife who lives near a river or stream may try a slightly different method. First she chooses a good spot, such as where the bank slopes gently toward the water. If the river is fast-moving, though, she is careful to choose a quiet inlet where there is little danger of her clothing being swept away by the current. Is there a large rock nearby? Good. The housewife now uses a wooden pallet to beat the wet clothing against the rock. The dirt is literally driven from the material.

Washing Machines​—Past and Present

In affluent lands machine washing has all but eliminated hand laundering. But washing machines go further back in time than you may realize. During the Middle Ages in Europe, the washtub was the popular means of laundering clothes until it was gradually replaced by the steam boiler. Later, in the 19th century, there appeared a washing machine that resembled its modern-day counterpart. In 1830 an English laundry used a rotating cylinder that tossed the clothes in hot soapy water. This basic method has remained unchanged to this day.

However, the washing machine was slow to catch on. Users found the hand-turned crank to be hard on both the clothing and the person turning the crank. So by the end of the 19th century, the corrugated washboard, tub, and hand-driven wringer were the equipment of choice for many housewives.

The washing machine, though, made a resurgence in 1910 with the appearance of the first electrically powered machine. Twelve years later, the first agitator-type machine came on the scene. Since then, countless improvements and adjustments have been made on washing machines. Some companies have even begun marketing computer-controlled machines that at the touch of a button will “determine how dirty your clothes are and then select the optimum detergent and washing method.”​—Popular Science, July 1990.

Tips on Using Automatic Washers

The standard automatic washer is common in many Western homes. “Automatic,” however, does not mean that it can be used without careful thought. For example, in top-loading washers, an unbalanced load of laundry can cause the machine to move along the floor during spin cycles, wreaking all manner of havoc upon your laundry room. Hazardous fumes can be formed if you use chlorine bleach with ammonia. So follow basic safety procedures. Do not put your hands into the machine until all motion stops. Unplug it before attempting to service it. And do not let your children operate or play with your washer.

But how can you be sure of getting satisfactory results when you do a load of laundry? Here are a few basic suggestions:

◻ Empty all pockets, turning them inside out.

◻ Turn down cuffs, and brush away loose dirt.

◻ Tie strings and sashes so they don’t tangle.

◻ Close zippers, snaps, and hooks so they do not snag other items.

◻ Treat spots and stains before laundering.

◻ Don’t overload. This can result in poor cleaning, increase wrinkling, cause more lint, and wear out your clothing.

Admittedly, many must still do their laundry the old-fashioned way​—by hand. But whether your washing machine is a metal tub, a rushing stream, or a computerized mechanical marvel, the results can make your labors worthwhile​—clean, sparkling clothing for yourself and your family, as well as the satisfaction of a job well done!

[Pictures on page 26]

Washing by the river

Bleaching in the sun

Watching the World

Claims to Be Messiah

“Moon’s Unification Church has long taught members that its Korean-born founder-prophet was a necessary second Messiah because Jesus failed to complete his mission on Earth,” notes the Los Angeles Times. But now, in his first public pronouncement of that doctrine, “Sun Myung Moon has told a religious conference that he is the Messiah.” Stating that the world needs the Messiah to free itself from Satan’s influence, Moon said: “To help fulfill this very purpose I have been called upon by God.” The statement, made before his church-sponsored Assembly of World Religions, upset a number of participants.

Smoking’s Deadly Toll

Some 10,000 delegates attended the International Cancer Conference in Hamburg, West Germany, in August 1990. As reported in the German newspaper Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, they heard the conference chairman declare: “Within several decades the number of smoking-related deaths earth wide will be higher than the total of those who have died in all wars put together.” Although delegates were in favor of steps to curtail tobacco use, a number of cancer specialists were seen sneaking outside to light up.

Ongoing Battle

An Australian farmer in the state of Victoria introduced rabbits to the continent in 1859 when he released 12 of them on his property for game shooting. By the 1950’s the rabbit population had reached 600 million! “They chew the seedlings of native plants and outgraze sheep and native animals in the competition for grasses, shrubs and weeds . . . and can cause massive soil erosion,” states The Sun-Herald of Sydney. So the myxomatosis virus​—deadly to rabbits—​was introduced, spread mainly by mosquitoes and the French flea. Although it had stunning success at first, resistance to the virus developed, and the rabbit population has again soared to more than 200 million. Now Australia plans to introduce the Spanish flea to spread the virus into areas too dry for the mosquitoes or the French flea and to develop stronger strains of deadly myxomatosis for it to carry. The paper notes that the rabbits “breed up to 10 times a year, with the average doe producing 25-30 young.”

Help for Working Mothers

An advertising agency near Regensburg, Germany, has arrived at a compassionate solution to the problem of working mothers who cannot find anyone to tend their children during the day. “Work part-time and bring the kids with you,” the manager of the firm told such employees, according to the newspaper Nürnberger Nachrichten. The manager reasons: “We work here mainly with women, and good staff are few and far between in advertising. So I am naturally keen to hold on to my staff.” Of course, an office with five or six children romping around may not always be conducive to work, but the working mothers find themselves more motivated, more eager to please a firm that has gone to such lengths to meet their needs, and no more distracted than if they were working at home. Comments a single working mother of three: “There is no other way in which I would have been able to work.”

Water Woes

“At the moment, countries are poised to go to war over oil, but in the near future, water could be the catalyst for armed conflict,” stated Time magazine. “Human populations are outstripping the limited stock of fresh water. Mankind is poisoning and exhausting the precious fluid that sustains all life.” While lack of water may seem incredible on a planet where 70 percent of the surface is covered by water, it must be remembered that 98 percent of that water is salty and unfit for drinking or agriculture. The lack of fresh, clean water not only threatens health, economic growth, and all wildlife but makes famines ever more likely each year. Arrangements to tap other sources often backfire. “The world is learning that there are limits to mankind’s ability to move water from one place to another without seriously upsetting the balance of nature,” says Time. However, supplies can be dramatically increased simply by cutting down losses. It is estimated that, worldwide, from 65 to 70 percent of the water used is lost due to leaks, evaporation, and other inefficiencies.

New Airline Rule

United States federal rules now require that all persons seated in the row adjacent to an airplane exit be in good physical condition, able to read and speak English, and capable of helping to evacuate the plane in case of an emergency. Such seats will be barred to persons who are frail, disabled (including the deaf and the blind), and under 16 years of age and those pregnant or with small children. Passengers for exit-row seats will be selected at the gate and told of their responsibilities but will have the option of refusing the assignment and moving to another seat. Special instructions will also be provided for persons in exit-row seats. Many airlines plan to fill these seats with their own employees who are traveling free of charge on personal or business trips, as they usually have special training in safety procedures. The new rule was proposed after studies of crashes showed that inability to evacuate the plane quickly was the cause of some deaths.

Children and Aids

In its first report on the impact of AIDS on children, the World Health Organization said that the virus is striking many more children than had been previously thought and that some ten million children would probably be infected with it by the year 2000. “The vast majority of these will have developed AIDS and died by the year 2000,” said Dr. Michael Merson, director of the agency’s global AIDS program. The findings also brought a revision of the projection of total HIV infection by that year, raising it to some 25 to 30 million cases. Children born to infected women lose in two ways: Chances are that 30 percent will have the virus themselves, while the remaining 70 percent face the prospect of becoming orphans due to their parents’ dying of AIDS.

Underwater Lumberjacks

The flooding of thousands of square miles of rain forest in Brazil has given rise to an unusual new industry: underwater logging. Millions of gray, leafless trunks, jutting up out of a lake that formed when a huge hydroelectric dam was built during the 1980’s, caught the entrepreneurial eye of Juárez Cristiano Gomes. He devised an underwater chainsaw and formed a company to harvest the wood. Divers descend with air hoses to depths of up to 150 feet [50 m] to fell the trees. Underwater lumberjacks are not in danger from falling trees, since most trees “fall” up to the surface, ready for floating to waterside sawmills. But there are other hazards to watch out for. Last year a diver was bitten by a piranha.

Profusion of Plastics

“Sixty years ago nothing in anybody’s house was made of plastic,” states Asiaweek. “Today plastics of many kinds are in every room.” Worldwide, it is a $200,000,000,000 industry. The largest use, some 30 percent, is for packaging, including bottles and bags. In second place, with about 20 percent, is its use in building materials. While extremely useful and cheap, plastics do have their drawbacks in disposal. Burned, they release toxic pollutants; dumped, they remain “an indestructible blight on the landscape.” While recycling could solve the problem, collecting and sorting have proved to be very expensive.

Safety Consciousness Pays

The death rate due to accidents has fallen by 21 percent in the United States during the last decade, according to figures released by the National Safety Council, making the decade more outstanding in accident prevention than any other of the century. For instance, there was a 20-percent drop in the rate of motor-vehicle deaths. Work-related accidents declined by 29 percent. Public accidents, such as plane crashes and drownings, dropped by 22 percent. And home accidents, including falls, fires, and poisonings, fell 16 percent; this would have been better had not accidental fatal drug overdoses showed a significant increase. Progress in reducing accidents, which rate fourth as a cause of death (after heart disease, cancer, and strokes), is attributed to improved regulations, changed attitudes, and safety campaigns.

From Our Readers

Rosary I am writing regarding your article on the rosary. (“The Bible’s Viewpoint,” June 8, 1990) Based on the one-sided views of two “ex-nuns,” you conclude that God does not want us to come to Him through his Mother, Mary. The Catholic doctrine that Mary is an intercessor of Christ is one of long standing and well established. Someone who tries to dispute this fact without researching all information available is making a grave error. Get the facts!

M. E. M., United States

We can well appreciate why some Catholic readers might feel this way. Nevertheless, our article was thoroughly researched, using respected sources, including the “New Catholic Encyclopedia.” And while the comments of the ex-nuns quoted were of interest, the article based its conclusions upon the testimony of the Bible itself. Centuries of church tradition do not change the fact that the Bible simply does not assign Mary the role of “intercessor.” On the contrary, Jesus himself said: “No one can come to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6, Catholic “Jerusalem Bible”)​—ED.

Telescope The March 8, 1990, issue featured an article entitled “Unusual Telescope Reveals Sun’s Mysteries.” I showed it to my science teacher, and he was delighted with it. Two days later the teacher gave photocopies of the article to everyone in the class, and we went over the entire article. He intends to use the article with all his science classes.

A. V. A., United States

Makeup Almost all the girls in my class at school wear makeup, although some of them are only 13 years old. I wanted to try wearing it, but my parents did not like the idea. Having read your article (May 22, 1990), I now understand that you can look nice even without makeup. I think it is really super that you publish articles especially designed for youths.

D. C., Germany

Thanks for your article on using makeup properly. (June 22, 1990) I’m not allowed to wear makeup because I’m only 11. But I learned from your article that when I am allowed to wear it, I will use only a little, and as I grow older and need more makeup, that’s when I’ll apply more.

S. D., United States

Human Rule Your series “Human Rule Weighed in the Balances” confuses me. What good is dissecting and judging various forms of human government when all forms of government have suffered from Satan’s nonstop interference? How can one tell where Satan’s puppet strings end and man’s incompetence begins?

A. P., United States

Satanic interference has no doubt contributed to man’s failure to govern himself. Nevertheless, human rule independent of God would fail even without Satan’s meddling. Says Jeremiah 10:23: “It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step.” Our series serves to dramatize the truth of these words.​—ED.

Crack Addiction Thanks for your true-to-life articles on crack. (July 22, 1990) I have dealt every drug known except heroin, and I was a drug user for 11 years. My wife was a user and drug dealer as well. While serving 27 months in prison, she began studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses and was baptized. By studying the Bible, and with Jehovah’s help, I too have quit drugs completely.

C. V., Colombia

Quitting addictive drugs is difficult, and some have needed professional help to do so. Learning the Bible’s truths, however, can be a powerful help in freeing oneself from addictions.​—ED.

When the Canaries Die

CANARIES are more sensitive to poisonous gases than are humans. For this reason, in times past coal miners would carry a caged canary into the mine as a means to detect the presence of dangerous gases. Alerted by the death of the canary, miners could escape the danger until the mine was properly ventilated. With this background in mind, one can better understand the comments made by Dr. David Suzuki, a renowned scientist in Canada.

Concerned with the seemingly imminent death of our planet Earth, he used the following illustration: “When a coal-miner took a canary in the coal-mine and the canary fell over, the coal-miner didn’t say, ‘Oh, that bird just died but I’m not a bird.’ The canary fell over because it was sharing the same air.”

He then added: “When you see 22 Beluga whales dying in the Gulf of St. Lawrence and they’re so full of toxic chemicals you have to wear gloves and a mask to touch them, when people tell us that the maple sugar forest in Quebec will be dead in ten years, when people tell us that two species an hour are going extinct and 10,000 seals died in the North Sea and they don’t know why, surely . . . those are canaries and if we think we’re not in the same environment as those organisms, we’re nuts.”

Dr. Suzuki bemoans the fact that politicians pay little or no attention to these “canaries” and will not see the seriousness of the situation until children begin to die in large numbers. He says: “So are we going to let our children be our canaries?”

True Christians, though concerned, do not despair. Jehovah, the Creator of the earth, “who did not create it simply for nothing, who formed it even to be inhabited,” will not allow shortsighted, greedy men to continue ravaging our environment indefinitely. In his Word, the Bible, he promises “to bring to ruin those ruining the earth.”​—Isaiah 45:18; Revelation 11:18.

Can You Pass This Survival Test?

1. What are you facing that is more awesome than a nuclear war?

2. Is there a way out of it?

3. When is it expected?

4. Are you marked for survival?

The book Survival Into a New Earth contains Bible prophecies that describe the events yet before us and the way to survive into a beautiful, cleansed earth. If you would like to receive this enlightening book, please fill in and mail the accompanying coupon.

I would like to receive the hardcover 192-page book Survival Into a New Earth. (Outside the U.S.A., write to local Watch Tower branch for information. See page 5.)

[Picture Credit Line on page 32]

USAF Official Photo