November 22

Page Two

Holidays Why Some Children Do Not Celebrate Them 3-14

Great fun for the children in school! But some children refuse to celebrate. Why is this? Are they being deprived? What do they say about this?

The Comical Warthog 18

What makes this creature of the African bush so amusing? Is there a serious side to this curious comic?

Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Medical Profession Cooperate 24

Hospital Liaison Committees assist doctors in finding alternatives to blood transfusion.

[Picture Credit Line on page 2]

Harper’s Weekly, Jan. 1, 1881

Christmas​—Does It Cost More Than You Think?

“MOMMY, Daddy​—is there really a Santa Claus?” It is the moment of truth that many parents dread. With a mixture of disappointment and hurt in his eyes, seven-year-old Jimmy begs for reassurance that the fantasy figure who brought all those wonderful presents really exists​—and that his parents have not lied to him.

As it turns out, the little boy next door was the culprit who revealed the awful truth and put these parents in this awkward position. Perhaps your childhood memories include a like episode.

Today’s holiday celebrations are much more than just religious observances. Christmas, it seems, has worked itself into some unlikely places. Japanese Buddhists, African animists, American Jews, and Singaporean Muslims alike have opened the door to the rotund, red-suited man bearing gifts. One religious leader asked, “Has not Christmas become a universal holiday observed by all?”

In the eyes of many, Christmas has shed its Western “Christian” costume and become an enchanting time of festive fun for all. Children are at the heart of the celebration. Some people would dare to say that no child’s life is complete without the magical fun of this holiday. Seemingly, it is here to stay. School curriculum revolves around it. TV glorifies it. Malls and department stores parade it. Parents pour much time and money into Christmas. But besides the usual aftermath of burdensome debt, is there a heavier price your family may pay?

The Santa Myth​—Breach of Trust?

“I don’t believe there is a God,” seven-year-old John told his mother. A World Herald article explains why: “John, it seemed, had learned earlier that day that Santa Claus wasn’t real. Maybe God wasn’t real either, he told his mother.” Recalling his early disillusionment, 25-year-old John said: “When parents tell children Santa is real, I think that probably is a breach of trust.”

What to do about this delicate situation? Child experts disagree. One encouraged parents to tell their children the truth by age six or seven, warning that “it may actually be harmful to their psyches if parents persist in perpetuating the myth.”

In the book Why Kids Lie​—How Parents Can Encourage Truthfulness, Dr. Paul Ekman states: “There is no doubt that you as parents have a major influence on your children when it comes to attitudes, beliefs, and social actions such as lying or cheating.” Ekman continues: “Relationships may not be the same once a lie has violated trust. The loss of trust is difficult to repair; sometimes it is never reparable.” So why carry on deception when it comes to holiday giving?

One child researcher asserted: “I think children are more traumatized by parents lying to them and deceiving them than they are about finding out that Santa Claus isn’t real.” Dr. Judith A. Boss, professor of philosophy, states: “The intention of adults . . . is to deliberately mislead children about the nature of Santa Claus. . . . In telling children Santa Claus is a real human, we are not engaging children’s imaginations. We are simply lying to them.”

If you are a parent, you have a gigantic challenge on your hands​—to raise loving, happy children in a world where they learn from an early age that people cannot be trusted. “Don’t talk to strangers.” “You can’t believe everything the TV ad says.” “Tell them Mommy isn’t home.” How does a child learn whom to trust? The book How to Help Your Child Grow Up says: “Little children must learn early the necessity and beauty of honesty, of courage, of honorable dealing with others; and home is where these have their beginning.”

Of course, there is no such thing as the perfect family. However, author Dolores Curran set out to identify the character of strong families. She asked 551 family specialists in various fields to choose the most important aspects. Her findings, in the book Traits of a Healthy Family, discuss the top 15 qualities selected by the experts. Trait number four was “a sense of trust.” “In the healthy family,” she says, “trust is recognized as a precious possession, carefully developed and nurtured as both children and parents progress through the various stages of family life together.”

Parents do well to ask, ‘Is the perpetuation of the Santa myth worth the price of my child’s confidence and trust in me?’ There may be no refund possible. Does Christmas have other hidden costs?

Too Much Giving?

“Begin with infancy to give the child everything he wants. In this way he will grow to believe the world owes him a living,” says the pamphlet 12 Rules for Raising Delinquent Children. Overemphasizing material things can indeed be harmful.

Writer and parent Maureen Orth asks, “How do we instill values and character in a material world such as ours, where consumption and greed seem so glorified, often unwittingly?” In the article “The Gift of Not Giving,” she laments: “Our toddler-emperor believes presents are an everyday occurrence​—like getting the mail.” Is this the real message of Christmas?

What of families who simply cannot afford the lavish gifts hawked as Christmas musts? How do those youths feel when they hear that Santa brings presents only to good children? And what about youngsters in broken homes who are made painfully aware of the gap in their families at holiday time?

“All too often the highlight of the holiday gathering is opening the presents,” says The New York Times. “That emphasis gives children the message that presents are what the family gathering is all about and sets them up for disappointment.”

Love is an even more fulfilling motivation to do good. Glenn Austin, author of Love and Power: Parent and Child, states: “In a harmonious family where the child both loves and respects the parent, the child may behave in an approved way to please the parent.” Jehovah’s Witnesses work hard to create such a warm cycle of love in their homes. Additionally, the children of Jehovah’s Witnesses are raised to know and love the God they serve, Jehovah. What a powerful force in their lives for the doing of good! They need no mythical figure to extort good works.

Jehovah’s Witnesses cherish their children as gifts from God. (Psalm 127:3) Hence, instead of waiting for the calendar to govern gift giving, these parents can give presents throughout the year. At such times it is difficult to tell who is more thrilled​—the surprised youngster or his delighted parent. The child knows where the gift came from. Further, Witness parents are encouraged to give frequently the gift of their time. For when a little girl is feeling sad or lonely, how can a roomful of dolls compare with a few moments spent wrapped in her mother’s arms listening to Mommy tell stories about when she was little? Will a young boy be taught how to be a man by a closetful of baseball equipment or by long, pleasant talks with his father as they go for walks together?

This nurtured closeness can be lifesaving. Child researchers have found that as the proverbial generation gap opens for a youth, he becomes more strongly influenced by peers. Youthful misbehavior and a deteriorating attitude toward adults go hand in hand. “But those who maintained favorable views of their fathers and adults in general didn’t join with other peers in misbehaviors.”

Jehovah’s Witnesses have at times been criticized for not sharing in holiday fun with their families. It may appear that the children of Jehovah’s Witnesses are deprived of this special fun. But these sincere parents and children have sound Biblical reasons for abstaining. (Please see pages 11-14.) And these youngsters are developing strong moral fiber that will withstand the weight of peer pressure that crushes the will of other youths. Morality is being washed away by the rising tide of wickedness. Immoral sex, drugs, violence, alcohol, cults, child molesters​—ever so many dangers threaten vulnerable young people.

How can a parent shield a youngster from these constant perils? From infancy Witness children receive consistent training to lean on the strong moral laws of the Bible. Loving parents help them to understand God’s view not only about holidays but about all aspects of life. Obedience to their God springs from love and respect for him, even if it means being different. Imagine how this must prepare them for successful young adulthood! If a young child can sit in a class full of peers who are doing what seems to be fun and take a stand for what he believes is right, how much better he is able to withstand the later temptation of further seemingly fun things​—drugs, premarital sex, and other harmful enticements! The children of Jehovah’s Witnesses may develop a moral fiber that many other children may be deprived of.

“Many of the kids I’ve looked at don’t have faith,” observes Dr. Robert Coles, Harvard researcher. “They have lost everything except preoccupation with themselves, and this is enhanced every day by the way they are brought up.”

A pediatrician describes a different family: “They want kids who care about others and who give a little of themselves. . . . They live a simpler life . . . , but they have something else. For want of a better phrase, I’d call it contentment.”

Dolores Curran cites valuing service to others as basic to happiness. “For some families in our nation [the United States]​—indeed most, I would say—​success and pursuit of the good life is the primary purpose.” But “families who presume that members can and will be caring toward others become those healthy families who value service to others. . . . As the children from these families grow up, they tend to be quite caring and responsible persons as a result of their family experiences.” Curran notes among successful parents “a return to the value of seeking joy in people and in giving rather than in buying, taking, and consuming.”

Put another way by an outstanding expert on giving, “there is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving.” (Acts 20:35) Witness families are living proof of this statement by Christ Jesus. Like him their lives are centered on the Christian ministry. Some may feel that Witness youths are being exploited and forced to accompany their parents from door to door. Much to the contrary, they are being taught by parental example how to show love toward their fellowman by freely giving to their neighbors good news about God’s Kingdom.​—Matthew 24:14.

‘Won’t It Stifle the Children?’

But isn’t a strict religious upbringing stifling to a young child? Isn’t it better to let religious decisions be made by each one upon reaching adulthood? That may be rule number 3 of 12 Rules for Raising Delinquent Children: “Never give him any spiritual training. Wait until he is 21 and then let him ‘decide for himself.’”

However, a child’s basic moral sense, according to Dr. Coles, begins to bud as early as three years of age. “Within the child there is a developing moral sense. I happen to think it is God-given, that there is a craving for a moral order.” This is the crucial time for the inculcation of the true moral values. It is the time, for instance, to teach by example the value of truthfulness as opposed to lying. The Bible stresses the importance of training during the youthful years: “Train up a boy according to the way for him; even when he grows old he will not turn aside from it.”​—Proverbs 22:6.

Curran observes: “Children today can’t be expected to be moral without help. . . . My survey respondents suggest that the healthier the family the more developed is their sense of right and wrong.”

A social worker responding to Curran’s survey observed: “There’s an inescapable core of strength that religious faith gives families.” For the family with a shared religious core, Curran says, “faith in God plays a foundational role in daily family life. A religious core strengthens the family support system. The parents feel a strong responsibility for passing on the faith, but they do so in positive and meaningful ways.”

Help Your Children Feel Love for God

Show children the gifts of God that bring them such joy. Lie on the grass and examine with them the tiny flower so intricately designed. Watch the ladybug that emerges from this grassy jungle to climb to the tip of a blade of grass, lift its bright red and black-dotted wing covers, and fly away. Let them feel the breathless wonder as a butterfly suddenly lands on a hand to raise and lower its bright yellow wings for a brief rest and to soak up the warm sunshine. Roll over on your back to see the fluffy white clouds sailing overhead, and watch as they change from ships to horses to palaces in the sky. All the while point out to your children that it is our Creator God who brings us such joyful gifts.

And many other gifts, such as the kitten whose playful antics with a leaf leave us convulsed with laughter or the fuzzy puppy that “attacks” us, head shaking from side to side, growling ferociously as it tugs on our sleeve, yet with friendly tail wagging nonstop all the while. Or a frolic in the ocean surf, a hike in the mountains, or a night gazing up in awe at a sky packed with lights that twinkle and shine high overhead. Knowing that these gifts and countless others are from the One who gave us our life, being able to thank him for these gifts, feeling gratitude for knowing him​—all this brings joy to us and reflects a deep and appreciative love for him.

And finally on the family front, plenty of hugs and kisses from Daddy and Mommy, which help children feel the warm glow of security and thankfulness every day. Help them keep faith in Jehovah, rejecting an even greater lie than the one about the red-suited Santa, namely, that all these lovely gifts from God just happened, just evolved​—a falsehood taught without scientific evidence, unsupported by the scientific method, and maintained only by a dogmatism repeated over and over again and again to flood the minds of the young.a

Share with your children in frequent prayers to the greatest of Givers​—at meals, when reading his Word, at day’s end. Raise a grateful child, and that sense of appreciation will sweeten every experience he has in life. He will grow to be a happy giver himself in imitation of the true God and of the parents he loves. Then happiness will come, not with the preset days of the calendar, but with the spontaneous moments of sheer joy in living. “Happy is the people whose God is Jehovah!”​—Psalm 144:15.

[Footnotes]

[Picture on page 7]

One of the best gifts you can give your children is time

“We Are Not Deprived!”

Comments have been made by schoolteachers and others that the children of Jehovah’s Witnesses are deprived by not being allowed to join in the fun of school celebrations of Christmas, Easter, and Halloween. Following is a small sampling of comments of children who are Jehovah’s Witnesses, expressing in letters why they themselves decline to have any part in celebrating these holidays.

“ALTHOUGH I explained to my schoolmates why I didn’t celebrate these things, they still felt I was being deprived. But I wasn’t! See, they always had to wait until their Christmas or some other holiday to get gifts, while I was given things and went to parties all year round. I know I’m loved not only by my family but by the congregation and Jehovah as well, and that is more special to me than any holiday.”​—Becky, age 13.

“I know that all of the holidays have bad backgrounds. Jesus wasn’t born on Christmas. My family doesn’t have to do anything to compensate for such holidays. My family is always there for me whenever I need them. That is worth more to me than any gift that they could ever give me.”​—Josh, age 15.

“Christmas. I’m not deprived because it’s not really Christian anyway. I’d rather know my parents gave me a present than some mysterious Santa figure. Easter. With Easter it’s really hard because people will say it’s for ‘Jesus and the resurrection’ or it’s just ‘going to hunt eggs.’ But what do eggs have in common with Jesus anyway? Even the name Easter comes from an old goddess. Halloween. The basic idea of Halloween doesn’t appeal at all to me. Ghosts and witches, YUCK!”​—Katie, age 10.

“As a youth I have never felt bitter about missing the celebrations of worldly holidays. I have not been told by my parents that ‘you can’t do this or that because you’re one of Jehovah’s Witnesses,’ but I have been familiarized with the Bible and Jehovah’s views on these holidays. As for gifts, in our house, gift-giving is all year long.”​—Ryan, age 17.

“Every holiday is celebrating something false and is focused on false things. Most of the kids I know celebrate holidays for the candy or presents. Something that I have that is better than holidays is the wonderful organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Instead of lasting one day, like a holiday, Jehovah God’s Word has a happy message that lasts forever.”​—Brooke, age 14.

“Reasons I don’t miss holidays: 1. The Bible says they’re bad. 2. I don’t care about them. 3. My mommy and daddy give me presents.”​—Brandi, age 6.

“I don’t feel deprived. I don’t care. I get presents, and we play games and have parties. I get lots of things without having to celebrate holidays. I want to stay a Witness whatever I do and nothing can turn me back.”​—Brianne, age 9.

“I’m going into fifth grade and I’m not sad to admit that I am one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. One time a boy said to me that I must feel bad because I didn’t get any gifts at Christmas, but I said I get gifts all year. Then he said I was lucky. I think there should not be a Jehovah’s Witness who feels sorry about being a Jehovah’s Witness.”​—Jeff, age 10.

“My sister and I made celebrating our parents’ anniversary our own family holiday. I got the greatest joy out of planning presents and cards and things and helping my parents plan things to surprise each other than I ever did getting gifts from anyone. Giving is better than receiving.”​—Rachel, age 16.

“When I was younger, some holidays were hard for me. But later I realized that the holidays can cause greed, arguments, and sadness. When there are set times for giving, you are never surprised with a gift. I would rather get special gifts at any time of the year. To celebrate or not to celebrate is just a small part of a much larger decision: whether or not to dedicate yourself to serve Jehovah. When I think of it like that, the right choice is clear.”​—Ben, age 13.

“There were times when I was small that I felt I was missing out, but I later laughed when I thought how eggs, Jesus, and the Easter bunny all got together. When I was older and my parents explained to me how all the symbols originated, I found it disgusting. It hurt me to think how Jehovah and Jesus must feel to be connected with such pagan ideas.”​—Alexa, age 18.

“Around Christmastime, being in school can be very depressing and can make you feel left out. Then I realized that celebrating Christmas can’t solve your problems, can’t draw your family together, and can’t make you happy. It’s only living by the Bible’s standards that can do this.”​—Joe, age 15.

“Instead of having Christmas or any other holiday, we have Big Toys Day. We get a gift of money to spend on anything we like. One year I gave a speech to my class about my religion. Instead of following the world’s path, I set my own path to make the meetings, go out in field service, and make prayer part of my life. I am getting baptized this coming assembly.”​—George, age 11.

“I love to get presents, and I do receive them all through the year. I’m not missing much when it comes to parties. I’m making Jehovah happy when I take a stand for the truth. It’s amusing to see some of my classmates who aren’t Christian, who are Hindu, Jewish, and so forth, celebrate Christmas and get gifts yet do not know what the holiday is all about.”​—Julia, age 12.

“When I missed holidays at school I wasn’t regretful. The kids do a lot of weird things, like dress up on Halloween. I don’t miss it at all. I tell them how my parents buy me things all through the year. They tell me about their church and how boring it is, and I tell them about the meetings we have in the park, and they get jealous sometimes. But I’m not jealous of them. Summing up, I say only make friends that respect your beliefs and never let a student or a teacher force you to do anything against Jehovah’s will.”​—Justin, age 12.

“Do I feel deprived? No, because we have other parties, and when people celebrate Christmas, the kids mainly think about Santa Claus, or at Easter they think about the Easter bunny, but I know they are from pagan religions. I like field service because it helps me focus on the truth.”​—Sharon, age 8.

“I can honestly say that I have never felt uncomfortable about being one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. My family and I have lots of fun. When there are parties at school my mom takes me out to lunch. My parents bring treats to school for no special reason and all the kids then know we have fun. I’m very close to my parents and when kids ask why I don’t celebrate holidays I tell them that I celebrate every day. How could any Witness feel left out?”​—Megan, age 13.

“Halloween. Children dressing up as devils, comic-book characters​—what for? The kids roam the streets going from one house to another getting bagfuls of candy. Or throwing eggs at houses, stringing toilet paper over trees, and the worst part is most parents go along with it.”​—Zachary, age 10.

“I don’t have to wait for a special day to get presents. My mom and dad get me plenty of toys all the time. Halloween is the worship of dead spirits. It’s not right. The only God we should worship is Jehovah.”​—Nicholas, age 6.

The Facts Behind Christmas, Easter, and Halloween

THE Bible shows that Jesus was 33 1/2 years old when he was impaled in the early spring of the year 33 C.E., at the time of the Jewish Passover. This means, counting backward, that he was born in the early fall of the year.

Pagan Rome’s celebration of Saturnalia, the birthday of the invincible sun, was some three months later. How did the celebration of Jesus’ birth get pushed forward to December 25, to make it coincide blasphemously with the pagan celebration of the birthday of the sun?

The ever-shorter days of December stirred up superstitious panic among the sun worshipers, who feared that their god was dying. They burned candles and lit bonfires to help revive the ailing deity. It seemed to work. Following the winter solstice of December 21, the sun-god appeared to regain his strength as the days grew longer.

“December was the major month of pagan celebration, and Dec. 25 was the high point of the winter revelries,” explains Church Christmas Tab. “Some believe the bishop of Rome chose Dec. 25 as the birth date of Christ in order to ‘sanctify’ the pagan celebrations. What resulted was a strange mixture of the pagan and the Christian festivals that the world now calls Christmas.” The article admits: “The word ‘Christmas’ does not appear in the Bible. And Scripture gives no mandate for celebrating Jesus’ birth.”

No wonder theologian Tertullian complained: “By us, who are strangers to Sabbaths, and new moons and festivals, once acceptable to God, the Saturnalia [and other pagan feasts] are now frequented, gifts are carried to and fro, . . . and sports and banquets are celebrated with uproar.”

Pope Gregory I continued this defiling trend. According to Natural History magazine, “instead of trying to obliterate peoples’ customs and beliefs, the pope’s instructions were, use them. If a group of people worship a tree, rather than cut it down, consecrate it to Christ and allow them to continue their worship.”

No Mixing of Truth With Falsehood

Did this policy of compromise have divine approval? Note God’s warning to his people poised to enter pagan Canaan: “Watch out for yourself . . . for fear you may inquire respecting their gods, saying, ‘How was it these nations used to serve their gods? And I, yes, I, will do the same way.’ You must not do that way to Jehovah your God, for everything detestable to Jehovah that he does hate they have done to their gods.” (Deuteronomy 12:30, 31) The same warning is repeated in the Christian Greek Scriptures: “Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers. For what fellowship do righteousness and lawlessness have? Or what sharing does light have with darkness? Further, what harmony is there between Christ and Belial [footnote, Satan]? Or what portion does a faithful person have with an unbeliever?”​—2 Corinthians 6:14, 15.

What does God find so offensive about these false gods and the worship of them? Saturn was the Roman sun-god honored by the Saturnalia. Was he worthy? Simon Schama, professor of history at Harvard University, calls him “the orgiast of eating, drinking and other kinds of naughtiness.” Lear’s magazine calls the holiday “the most famous wine orgy in the ancient world.”

Cult worship of the sun-god Mithra spanned Asia. According to anthropologist Gabriel Seabrook, he was “a warrior god, who hurled life-destroying arrows and incurable diseases at his enemies on the battlefield.”

Sun worship among the Aztecs was particularly bloody. Natural History magazine explains that “unless victims were sacrificed to the sun gods, all life​—including that of the gods—​would die.”

Upon reviewing the origins of this celebration (see box below), it may perhaps come as no surprise to you that witches and Satan worshipers still revere December 25. The San Francisco Chronicle of December 21, 1991, quotes a witch and popular pagan writer as saying: “It is one of our more strenuous holidays. We stay up all night.” A member of the group Covenant of the Goddess stated: “We do a ritual enactment. . . . Members of our clergy perform a mystery play about the birth of the solar child.”

Will God or his Son accept such honor, which mirrors the worship of false gods?

Is It Easter​—or Astarte?

This family’s holiday festivities begin early in the morning as they rise to greet the sunrise with reverent awe. The children are decked in the best new finery, complete with new bonnets. The celebration includes emblems of rabbits, baskets full of gaily colored eggs, and hot cross buns. It must be Easter. Or is it?

Springtime was sacred to the sex worshipers of Phoenicia. Their fertility goddess, Astarte, or Ishtar (Aphrodite to the Greeks), had as her symbols the egg and the hare. She had an insatiable thirst for blood and immoral sex. Her statues variously depicted her as having rudely exaggerated sex organs or with an egg in her hand and a rabbit at her side. Sacred prostitution was part of her cult. In Canaan, the sex goddess was styled the wife of Baal. She was honored by drunken sex orgies, the worshipers believing that their sexual intercourse helped to bring about the full awakening and mating of Baal with his wife. According to the book Recent Discoveries in Bible Lands, “in no country has so relatively great a number of figurines of the naked goddess of fertility, some distinctly obscene, been found.”

Beneath memorials to her in Carthage, brightly colored urns were discovered containing the charred bones of little children. Their parents, commonly people of rank and title, sought the blessing of the gods on their wealth and influence. Some of the urns were found to contain the remains of several children of different ages, perhaps of the same family.

A look at the box above will show how thinly disguised the modern versions of these ancient rites are. Even the name Easter is barely different from the ancient pagan name. Is this, then, the way to honor the holy Son of God?

Halloween​—Ancient Night of Terror

It is the last night of October. By the light of the moon, a small group of costumed figures move from house to house stating their demands with dire threats. Guarding some doorsteps are grimacing pumpkin heads glowing with burning candles​—made from human fat. Other doors drip with human blood. It is the night of Samhain, Celtic lord of the dead.

Perhaps in no other “Christianized” celebration does Satan so blatantly honor himself and memorialize his war dead. The writer J. Garnier suggests that celebrations of suffering and death can be traced back to the ancient destruction of all of his human followers, as well as the hybrid sons of fallen angels, at the time of the Flood. Cultures the world over have festivals for the dead, “held by all on or about the very day on which, according to the Mosaic account, the Deluge took place, viz., the seventeenth day of the second month​—the month nearly corresponding with our November.”​—The Worship of the Dead, by J. Garnier.

The Druids were no exception. On October 31, Samhain was said to release the spirits of the dead to mingle with the living. Druids roamed the streets with lanterns, and on coming to a house, they demanded money as an offering for Satan.

Halloween is a major satanic ritual day. “It’s a religious holiday for the underworld, with satanists performing sacrifices and witches quietly celebrating with prayer circles or meals for the dead,” according to a USA Today article. It quoted Washington witch Bryan Jordan as saying, “[Christians] don’t realize it, but they’re celebrating our holiday with us. . . . We like it.”

Parents, do you want your children imitating these sinister rituals?

[Box on page 12]

The Symbols of Christmas

The Christmas tree “has precious little to do with Christian celebration and a lot to do with the stubborn survival through the millennia of pagan rituals of winter light and rebirth.” (The Boston Herald) “Trees with trinkets hanging on them were part of the pagan festivals for centuries.”​—Church Christmas Tab.

Holly was popular with the Celts “to keep the house goblins in order at winter solstice time. . . . It could deflect evil, help in the divination of dreams, defend a house from lightning.”​—Beautiful British Columbia.

Mistletoe “came from the Druids in England who used it in strange worship relating to demonic and occult powers.”​—Church Christmas Tab.

On December 25 “the Mithraists celebrated the birth of Mithra . . . There is absolutely no biblical authority for December 25 as having been the day of the Nativity.”​—Isaac Asimov.

Gift giving was a feature of Saturnalia. “You were expected at this festival to make some present to all your friends.”​—Ancient Italy and Modern Religion.

The star “atop the tree was worshiped in the East as a symbol of purity, goodness and peace 5,000 years before the nativity of Christ.”​—United Church Herald.

The candle “does not come . . . from the Christian sanctuary. We took it from a much earlier altar, the Druid oak.”​—United Church Herald.

Santa was stolen “from ancient German mythology: ‘Thor was an elderly man, jovial and friendly, of heavy build with a long white beard. He drove a chariot and was said to live in the Northland . . . His element was fire, his color red. The fireplace in every home was sacred to him, and he was said to come down into it through the chimney.”​—United Church Herald.

[Box on page 13]

The Rites of Spring

Easter was “originally the spring festival in honor of the Teutonic goddess of light and spring known in Anglo-Saxon as Eastre.” (The Westminster Dictionary of the Bible) “There is no indication of the observance of the Easter festival in the New Testament.”​—Encyclopædia Britannica.

The rabbit “was the escort of the Germanic goddess Ostara.”​—Funk & Wagnalls Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Mythology and Legend.

Eggs “were said to be dyed and eaten at the spring festivals in ancient Egypt, Persia, Greece, and Rome.”​—Celebrations.

The Easter bonnet originally “was a wreath of flowers or leaves. The circle or crown expressed the round sun and its course in the heavens which brought the return of spring.” The new Easter outfit developed because “it was considered discourteous and therefore bad luck to greet the Scandinavian goddess of Spring, or Eastre, in anything but fresh garb, since the goddess was bestowing one on the earth.”​—The Giant Book of Superstitions.

Hot cross buns: “Like the Greeks, the Romans ate bread marked with a cross . . . at public sacrifices.” They were eaten by pagan Saxons in honor of Easter.​—Encyclopædia Britannica.

Sunrise services parallel rites “performed at the vernal equinox welcoming the sun and its great power to bring new life to all growing things.”​—Celebrations.

[Box on page 14]

Halloween’s Horrible Roots

Masks and costumes: “The Celts left out food, drink and other treats for the spirits and then tricked them into leaving by donning masks and costumes and parading to the edge of the village.”

Bonfires were “literally ‘bonefires’” wherein “the priests sought to appease the sun god by sacrificing animals and, often, people too.” (The Tampa Tribune) “By observing the way the sacrifices died, the Druids looked for omens of the future.”​—Beaumont Enterprise.

Trick or treat: “The cry of the Druids was comparable to the modern day ‘Trick or Treat.’”​—Central Coast Parent.

Scary stories: “The bloody Druid rites live on in the youthful emphasis on ghosts and spirits. . . . Halloween parties and the telling of scary tales also have their origin in the Druid times when spirits were believed to be abroad in the land.”​—The Tampa Tribune.

Despite the pagan origins of these holidays, some will recoil at the thought of denying children the fun of modern celebrations. After all, what do informed children know of ancient Saturn, Astarte, and Samhain? Some know quite a bit. They also know that they want no part of them.

[Pictures on page 12]

Mithra

Thor

[Credit Lines]

Mithra: Musée du Louvre, Paris

Thor: The Age of Fable by T. Bulfinch, 1898

[Picture on page 13]

Astarte

[Picture Credit Line on page 14]

Skull: U.S. Forest Service photo

Young People Ask . . .

How Can I Deal With Moody Parents?

“MY PROBLEM,” says Claudia, “is that my mom gets nervous and irritable.a One day she asked how my piano lesson had gone. I simply said that it had gone all right and went in to practice the piano. Mom came in, angrily said that I was being rude, then stormed off. I got upset and banged on the piano and ran to my room. Mom then came and scolded me for banging on the piano.”

Parents may be really touchy when they are in a bad mood. At times you may feel that you must walk on eggs around them, nervously awaiting the next time you will get criticized, yelled at, or even blamed. The article “Why Are My Parents So Moody?” in the preceding issue of Awake! showed, however, that it’s perfectly normal for parents to get moody from time to time. Stress, fatigue, poor health, and the pressures of life are often to blame.b Knowing this may help you to sympathize with your folks. (Compare Proverbs 19:11.) But it doesn’t change the fact that at times they may be tough to deal with. What can you do to improve things?

Warning Signals

Proverbs 24:3 says: “By wisdom a household will be built up, and by discernment it will prove firmly established.” In harmony with this principle, one thing you can do is try to discern when your parents are in a bad mood. The psalmist said of his own depressed state: “All day long I have walked about sad.” (Psalm 38:6) An observant person would surely have detected that something was wrong with him! In a similar way, a parent will usually give clear-cut signs that he or she is not in the best of moods.

The youthful authors of the book The Kids’ Book About Parents thus compiled a list of common warning signals for young people to watch out for. Among the things noted were parents’ ‘eating a lot, not talking, going to bed early, not saying hi when they come home from work, snapping at everyone, ignoring your questions,’ and ‘staring blankly at the TV.’ In other families, parents are predictably touchy at certain times​—such as when bills have to be paid. Whatever the case, by being observant you may be able to recognize your own parents’ warning signals.

‘Is Something Wrong?’

What, then, do you do when you sense that a parent is glum? Run for cover? Not necessarily. Proverbs 15:20 says: “A wise son is the one that makes a father rejoice.” This does not mean that you must burden yourself with your parents’ grown-up problems. After all, each parent must “carry his own load.” (Galatians 6:5) But you can at least show an interest in them. For example, you might tactfully ask: ‘Is something wrong?’ (Compare Nehemiah 2:1, 2.) There may be little or nothing you can do to change the situation, but they may appreciate your loving interest in their welfare.

Here’s how a youngster named Kama recommends handling matters when a moody parent arrives home: “After you say hi, go into your room for a while, until they get settled. Then come out and ask what is wrong and how was their day . . . See if they want you to do anything.” Sometimes, simply showing that parent the needed attention or affection may snap the sour mood.

In her book My Parents Are Driving Me Crazy, Dr. Joyce Vedral tells how a teenage girl named Deena responded to her mother’s angry mood. Says Deena: “When I came out [of my room] and saw the grouchy look on her face, I grabbed her and gave her a big hug before she could do anything to stop me. Then I gave her a big kiss and said, ‘I love you, Mom.’ You should see the way her mood changed​—like that.” Concludes Dr. Vedral: “A perfect remedy for a grouchy parent is affection. . . . Affection is a real mood lifter.” The Bible puts it this way: “Love builds up.”​—1 Corinthians 8:1.

Sometimes, though, your parents seem to be irritated with you personally. If you are not sure why, try drawing your parents out a bit so that they may air any grievances. (Compare Proverbs 20:5.) A young girl named Ruth, for example, noted that she and her father had been “growing further and further apart” and that he had become unreasonably critical of her grades. After a family discussion of a “Young People Ask . . .” article, Ruth asked what was bothering her father. “We discovered that Dad was trying to succeed through his children, since he had been forced to quit school. He wanted us to have excellent report cards.” When Ruth got grades lower than expected, he would get angry. The result of their discussion? “It helped me to view things from his point of view,” she says. Naturally, her father also had to make some adjustments in his thinking. Reports Ruth: “Things are starting to improve.”

By having a similar conversation, you may discover that your parents have valid reasons for being irritated with you. It might be as simple a thing as your forgetting to perform some assigned household chore. Reminds Proverbs 10:5: “The son acting with insight is gathering during the summertime; the son acting shamefully is fast asleep during the harvest.” Perhaps more diligence on your part would do much to improve your parents’ mood.

Act Prudently!

Sometimes, though, a parent simply isn’t disposed to talking things out, and all attempts to encourage him or her to do so are met with anger or resistance. What then? The Bible tells us of how David, as a youth, coped with a similarly touchy situation. As a youth David worked in the court of King Saul as a musician. Saul, however, was subject to unpredictable mood swings and fits of rage. Why, on one occasion Saul tried to pin David to the wall with a spear! Notice, though, what the Bible says at 1 Samuel 18:14 of David’s behavior: “And David was continually acting prudently in all his ways, and Jehovah was with him.”

Few parents are as volatile as King Saul. Still, you may need to be prudent when dealing with them. For instance, young Sam says: “My father’s not a Christian, and he has some temper! When he gets mad at you, he really starts yelling. You really have to watch what you say and do. You have to try not to upset him.” The Bible puts it this way: “Shrewd is the one that has seen the calamity and proceeds to conceal himself.”​—Proverbs 22:3.

This does not necessarily mean giving your parents a wide berth. Try to be as warm and sociable as you can. If you pester a grouchy parent with needless questions or with petty problems that could be discussed at another time, you may be asking for trouble. (Compare Proverbs 15:23; 25:11.) Indeed, when they are tense and tired, they may even feel like the righteous man Job when he asked: “How long will you men keep irritating my soul?” (Job 19:2) You are therefore wise to avoid any irritating habits that you know get on your parents’ nerves​—such as snapping chewing gum or cracking your knuckles. Along the same lines, it would be inconsiderate of you to blast your stereo or play the television at full volume.

Another way to act prudently is to take the initiative. Is Mom always in a bad mood when she comes home from work? If you come home first, why not set the table, take out the garbage, or do the dishes? Greet your mother affectionately. Such gestures might make her look forward to homecoming. One teenage girl named Julie takes such initiative. She says: “My mom drives a school bus, and she usually comes home upset. So I have to lie low. I just stay out of her way until she’s calmed down. Then I’ll watch the kids for her or clean or do something for her.”

Try as you may to avoid it, some conflict is almost sure to ensue when parents are touchy or irritable. When this occurs, application of Bible principles can help you avoid making a bad situation worse. Proverbs 15:1, for example, says: “An answer, when mild, turns away rage, but a word causing pain makes anger to come up.” Further guidance is given at Proverbs 17:27, which reads: “Anyone holding back his sayings is possessed of knowledge, and a man of discernment is cool of spirit.” Remember, too, that while parents do have their bad moods, likely there are also times when they are pleasant, good-humored, glad to have you around. Cherish those times, and use them as an opportunity to cultivate good relations with your parents. It will make the tough times a little less rocky.

[Footnotes]

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Working parents appreciate it when their children help out with household chores

The Comical Warthog

ONE of the most amusing sights in the African bush is a family of warthogs going for a jog. They can be seen trotting along at a brisk pace in a dignified warthog manner, each with its slender, tufted tail held stiffly erect like a little radio antenna. Of course, the warthog’s aim is not to amuse observers. According to the book Maberly’s Mammals of Southern Africa, “this habit probably helps the animals to see each other in long grass when fleeing, especially in the case of the young ones with their very limited vision.”

Even more comical is the way in which they enter their “home,” especially if they do so at great speed. “Home” for warthogs can be an enlarged ant-bear or porcupine hole in the ground, and warthogs have a unique mode of entrance. The juveniles, who have not yet learned proper warthog manners, will hurtle headfirst into the den like any other self-respecting animal. Not so the parents! At full speed, with military precision, they do a quick about-face at the entrance to their den​—and back hastily into the safe confines of their home! This little maneuver is not done merely to amuse bystanders. You see, the warthog now has the decided advantage of facing his predator and warding off any further attack with his deadly tusks.

Of course, this hurried retreat can sometimes have unexpected complications. The problem is that warthogs are not the only ones who may occupy these dusty dens under the ground. Hyenas, honey badgers, jackals, and porcupines may seek shelter in these burrows. “If the holes are already occupied, [warthogs] may be subject to occasional unpleasant encounters,” reports Custos magazine. “In a few instances warthogs have been seen with [porcupine] quills protruding from their posteriors.” Admittedly, this cannot be very amusing to the hapless warthog.

With his ominous tusks, the warthog looks like a vicious predator on the lookout for game. But not so. The warthog has been described as a “generally inoffensive animal.” It turns out that the warthog is a grass eater, and a mighty picky eater at that! He feeds almost exclusively on short grasses, dining only on the tender tips of grass shoots; he avoids weeds, long grasses, or other plants. “Hog” indeed! Furthermore, the warthog is willing to probe even the most uninviting of places to find his dinner. And when he pushes his face through thorny scrub areas in search of tasty new grasses that may be growing underneath, his tusks serve to protect his face.

During the hottest hours of the day, warthogs can often be found at “home” in an abandoned aardvark burrow that has been enlarged with their tusks. If they are not resting, you might see them wallowing and drinking at a nearby water source. When it is time to eat, they can be seen trotting over the grassy plains. (They refuse to break into a gallop unless forced to do so.) They move with dignity, all of them​—from adult to very young—​carrying their wiry tails stiffly upright.

Warthogs are not the most handsome members of the pig family. Yet, they do have a most appropriate name, which is derived from the conspicuous “warts” on their oblong faces. These are not actually true warts but outgrowths of thickened skin, and they can be very functional. They may help to protect the warthog’s eyes when it is digging and feeding. They can also be useful when males have a dispute, acting as shields against the opponent’s slashing tusks.

Concealed behind this comic face is a fierce fighter. Mother warthogs are very attentive to and protective of their young. Other adult members of the herd will likewise protect young ones, even if that means endangering themselves. For example, if a cheetah attempts to take a baby warthog, an adult will charge the attacker. Usually the mere sight of this charging bundle of fury and sharp tusks will put the cheetah to flight. In the meantime, the babies will scamper about, trying to remain safely under the belly of their mother. Of course, if the threat is more serious, such as a lion or a leopard, then the warthogs wisely retreat, their tails still raised high. The adults, however, will bring up the rear, allowing the young to reach safety first.

Nevertheless, Dr. Darryl Mason notes in Custos magazine, “Adult warthogs can be formidable opponents to cheetahs, leopards and hyaenas.” A warthog sow was observed defending one of her youngsters against a large male leopard. She bravely charged the leopard, chasing him a hundred feet [30 m] before he hastily retreated into a tree. On another occasion two warthogs were seen holding off a pack of 16 wild dogs.

How fascinating it is to observe the antics of this formidable comic of the African bush!

From Police Officer to Christian Minister

IN February 1942, I was in prison in Adelaide, South Australia, for refusing to bear arms during World War II. The barber, who was about to shave me, recognized me from when I had appeared in courtrooms as an officer of the South Australian police force. “What are you doing here?” he asked in surprise. He knew that previously I had frequently served in court as a witness against criminals. So I explained to him my Christian beliefs.

The magistrate, who had heard my case a few days before, also knew me well. He too listened carefully as I explained why my Christian conscience would not allow me to take up arms. After thanking me for what he considered a clear explanation, he sentenced me to a month in prison.

Now, my fellow inmates were people whom not long before I had photographed and fingerprinted. However, I was able to give a witness about my beliefs to many guards and prisoners who asked about Christian neutrality.

The following year I was brought before the court again, and this time I was sentenced to six months’ hard labor. I was sent to Yatala, where inmates were serving life sentences for murder. But again I had many opportunities to talk to others about the hope of God’s Kingdom and the permanent peace it will bring to this war-torn world.

Before appearing in court on each occasion, I was taken to an army barracks. The first time there, I was ridiculed and abused by a Lieutenant Laphorn because of my refusal to take the oath of military allegiance. But when I appeared before him the third time, he said: “You know, I thought you were a coward. But I have watched the way you take your medicine. You gave up a good career and have proved your faith by coming back for more.”

When I was to be sentenced to prison for the third time, petitions were filed for me to be tried as a conscientious objector. The magistrate was forced to grant my petition, since I had resigned from the police force in 1940 over a matter of conscience. However, showing his bias, he said: “I want it to go on record that I believe it is dangerous to have such a fanatic as you loose in the community.”

Early Background

I was born in 1908 in Gawler, not far from Adelaide, South Australia. When I was about six, Sarah Marchant, a dear friend of my mother, taught me that hell is man’s common grave and not a place of fiery torment. She was an International Bible Student, as Jehovah’s Witnesses were then known.

In time, as I grew up, I asked our Baptist minister how Jesus Christ differs from God, and he could not give me a satisfactory answer. So I lost interest in the churches, though I enjoyed listening to Sarah Marchant when we met occasionally.

In 1924, I began working in Adelaide as a clerk for the South Australian police commissioner, Brigadier General Sir Raymond Leane. Then, in 1927, Mr. Leane made application to parliament for me to be appointed as a junior fingerprint expert and crime photographer for the state police force.

Learning Bible Truths

Three years after getting married in 1928, while on vacation with my in-laws in Gawler, I picked up the book entitled Creation, published in 1927 by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. It had been left with my in-laws by Sarah Marchant. The book explained that man is a soul and does not possess a separate, invisible soul. This made sense. But I wanted to see it for myself in the Bible. So I searched out the family King James Version and read Genesis 2:7: “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”

This stirred me deeply, so I read on and on. I could not put the book Creation down. ‘This is surely the truth,’ I said to myself. Now I wanted more Watch Tower Society books to read. The only other one the family had was entitled Life. So I read that one right through too.

A few days later, we returned to Adelaide and moved into another house. That very day we received a surprise visit from Sarah Marchant. My mother-in-law had told her of my interest, and she called to see how we were settling into our new home and to assess what spiritual help I needed. The next morning our new next-door neighbor called to me over the fence: “I believe you are interested in the writings of Judge Rutherford [then president of the Watch Tower Society].”

“How do you know that?” I asked.

“Oh, a little bird told me,” he answered.

Obviously, Sarah had informed him. That man, James Irvine, was the only Witness at that time living in the northern suburbs of Adelaide. He was a pioneer, or full-time minister of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and he began a regular home Bible study with me.

Progress in Bible Truth

When I returned to work in the police department, I was fired up with the good things I had learned. So whenever I had opportunity, I began to tell my workmates about my newfound faith. However, I was disappointed when my enthusiasm met with ridicule.

Quite unexpectedly my own wife began to oppose my taking such an interest in the Bible. But with Jehovah’s help, I was able to weather her opposition. In 1935, I dedicated my life to Jehovah and was baptized. In those days there was only one congregation in Adelaide, and only about 60 attended the weekly Bible study using The Watchtower.

One day, Harold Jones, the presiding overseer of the congregation, told me: “We have a job for you. We need someone to look after our territory records.” The job was perfect for me, since in my police work, I would drive all over Adelaide. I knew the city thoroughly and was thus able to prepare well the territory maps we used in our preaching.

In April 1938, Joseph Rutherford, the Watch Tower Society’s president, visited Australia and gave a talk in Sydney that was attended by over 12,000, even though there were then only 1,300 Witnesses in all Australia. In Adelaide about 20 of us were unable to make the 1,100-mile [1,800 km] journey to Sydney. So we rented the old Tivoli Theater and had a landline hookup installed to carry Rutherford’s talk from Sydney. We arranged radio advertising, and, as a result, about 600 came to hear the talk in Adelaide!

How I Lost My Police Job

In 1939, World War II began, and the neutrality of Jehovah’s Witnesses came under close scrutiny by various authorities. On one occasion, two reporters from the newspaper Truth came to the Kingdom Hall and in a hostile manner tried to push their way in. I simply prevented them from doing so, since they seemed to be up to no good. The next morning a headline in the paper read: “S[outh] A[ustralian] Policeman Doorkeeper at J.W. Kingdom Hall.”

As a result of that incident, I was ostracized by my workmates. My immediate superior, a staunch Catholic activist, fed the police commissioner, Raymond Leane, false information about me. Then suddenly, in August 1940, I was brought before Mr. Leane, the same man for whom I had started working 16 years earlier. The charge? That I would not obey all his orders.

“Would you shoot someone if I ordered you to do so?” he asked.

“That is a hypothetical situation,” I replied. “But, no, I certainly would not shoot anybody.”

For two hours he tried to show me how foolish I was to belong to an organization that was on the official blacklist and that was about to be banned in Australia. He concluded: “And after all I’ve done for you, giving you such a good career.”

“That I appreciate,” I responded. “And I have tried to show my appreciation by hard work. But I cannot put you above my worship of Jehovah God.”

“You had better either leave Jehovah’s Witnesses or resign,” the commissioner responded.

So I resigned immediately. In August 1940 a headline in the newspaper Truth read: “Rutherford Policeman Resigns.” I now had to inform my wife and find other employment. Happily, I obtained work at a local printery where the Australian edition of Consolation (now Awake!) was produced.

Serving Under Ban

I enjoyed working at my new trade until January 1941, when a nationwide ban was placed on Jehovah’s Witnesses. All printing of our literature in the country ceased, at least as far as the authorities knew. Actually, underground printeries were set up​—all in the Sydney area—​and we never missed receiving an issue of The Watchtower during the ban!

Shortly after our work was banned, I served the two jail terms described at the outset. Finally, in June 1943, the High Court of Australia ruled that the ban was in violation of the Constitution, so the government returned all the property that had been seized from the Watch Tower Society.

In retrospect, it is hard to believe that during those years, homes (including mine) were raided by police officers. Yet, despite the opposition, we continued our house-to-house preaching with the use of our Bibles only. Many times the police followed us. Plainclothes policemen even attended our meetings held in private homes. Once, when introducing a representative from the Sydney branch office, I noted: “Among us are two members of the South Australian police force. Please welcome them!” They were surprised and embarrassed but stayed and enjoyed the meeting, saying afterward that they could only file a favorable report.

Religious Intolerance

In April 1945 we organized a convention at the town hall in a suburb of Adelaide. On Sunday, April 29, the widely advertised public talk “The Meek Shall Inherit the Earth” was scheduled. But trouble began to brew early in the morning. As convention overseer, I went to the local police station to warn of impending trouble. However, my visit and complaint were all but ignored.

As time came for the public talk to begin, a mob formed. Some moved inside as soon as the talk began. Several burly members of the mob surged forward, trying to wreck the sound equipment. Then stones began to come through the windows. Radio stations were informed of the trouble, and they quickly broadcast that a riot was in progress. Thousands of curiosity seekers gathered outside.

Sadly, we were forced to discontinue the meeting. But when it came time to leave the hall, the police opened up a path for us, and the whole crowd became silent. All could see the foolishness of those opposing us because out came ordinary people, including elderly men and women as well as young children. The religious bigotry was condemned in “Letters to the Editor” in the days that followed.

Yet, for years afterward, Jehovah’s Witnesses were not permitted to use town hall facilities in South Australia. Once, in the mid-1950’s, I talked to the caretaker of the Norwood town hall in a suburb of Adelaide about the use of their hall for our district convention.

“You are banned for life from using town halls,” he said.

“You are behind the times,” I replied.

Then I pulled from my bag the brochure about the 1953 New York Yankee Stadium international convention. “Look what is going on with Jehovah’s Witnesses in other places​—over 165,000 at one meeting!” I noted.

He took the brochure, carefully studied it, and after a while said: “Yes, it does look like things have changed.” From then on the use of such facilities opened up for us throughout South Australia.

In 1984, after a long illness, my wife died. Before her death, however, she began to reflect a love for Bible truth and for Jehovah God. This was due largely to the kindness shown her by loving Witnesses over the years. Then, in December 1985, I married Thea, who has served Jehovah for many years.

For about 60 years now, I have been serving Jehovah contentedly. Because of always trusting in Jehovah, sticking close to his organization, and never compromising under pressure, I can look back on a life of many privileges and blessings. And I continue to try hard to keep my eyes fixed firmly on the prize of the upward call. (Philippians 3:14)​—As told by Hubert E. Clift.

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Serving as a minister

Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Medical Profession Cooperate

IN 1945, Jehovah’s Witnesses discerned that blood transfusion was an unscriptural use of blood. Embodied in the Mosaic Law, the restriction was carried forward into the Christian Greek Scriptures. Acts 15:28, 29 states: “The holy spirit and we ourselves have favored adding no further burden to you, except these necessary things, to keep abstaining from things sacrificed to idols and from blood and from things strangled and from fornication. If you carefully keep yourselves from these things, you will prosper. Good health to you!” (See Leviticus 17:10-12.) The Witnesses’ refusal to accept blood transfusions led to many confrontations with some in the medical profession.

Hospital Liaison Committees

To support the Witnesses in their refusal to receive blood, to clear away misunderstandings on the part of doctors and hospitals, and to create a more cooperative spirit between medical institutions and Witness patients, Hospital Liaison Committees were established by the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Made up of mature Witnesses trained to deal understandingly with doctors and hospitals, these committees defused confrontations, and they established a more cooperative spirit. From a handful of such committees in 1979, their number has now grown to 850 in 65 lands. That means that their helpful services are now available to some 3.5 million of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

More than 4,500 elders in congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses have been trained to speak with doctors to help them see from medical literature itself all the things that can be done without resorting to blood transfusions. In cases where there is some special need, appropriate articles are faxed directly to the hospital to help physicians treat Witnesses without using blood. Or the committees arrange for consultation with other cooperative doctors to develop strategies for bloodless treatment or surgery.

For example, in multitudes of cases of blood loss resulting in severe anemia, in which doctors said there was need for a transfusion to elevate the red-cell count, Hospital Liaison Committee members have been able to share articles from medical literature showing the efficacy of recombinant erythropoietin (EPO) to do the same thing. This synthetic hormone acts like the natural erythropoietin found in our kidneys and stimulates the bone marrow to send new, fresh red cells into the bloodstream.

Some doctors have felt that EPO would not work fast enough to make up the need, but a number of cases involving Jehovah’s Witnesses have illustrated how quickly it gets results. In one instance, on the very day after EPO was administered, the count of new red cells was already four times normal! In another day the patient stabilized, and by the fourth day, the red-cell count was starting to rise. In a few more days, it was rising swiftly. The patient survived. In this way the doctors as well as the patient were benefited by the activities of these Hospital Liaison Committees.

When doctors in Australia said they were unable to save the life of a Witness patient without using blood for treating a rare tropical disease, they appealed to the local Hospital Liaison Committee for any help the committee could give them in locating information on nonblood medical management. The Australia branch office of Jehovah’s Witnesses was notified of the need. They got in touch with Hospital Information Services at the international headquarters offices of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Brooklyn, New York. It researched a medical data base. Helpful articles were faxed to Australia. Just 11 hours after leaving the doctor’s office, the Australian Hospital Liaison Committee member was back with the needed articles. These proved to be effective, and the patient recovered. Faxed medical material has been sent from New York to as far away as Nepal.

Quality Research and Assistance

The quality of the research done by Jehovah’s Witnesses in the medical literature is sound and up-to-date. A registered nurse who is the codirector of surgical services at a hospital in Oregon, U.S.A., said in an article in a medical publication for operating-room managers: “Jehovah’s Witness[es] . . . [are] way ahead of us. They are the most knowledgeable about alternatives to blood and blood products and often provide us with the literature before we even hear about it.”​—OR Manager, January 1993, page 12.

Some very prominent doctors and medical centers that can treat without using homologous blood have made themselves available for consultations as to their approaches and procedures. Their generous response to this need has aided in saving lives, as seen in cases of successful treatment for leukemia and in various kinds of surgery. These medical consultations were often conducted by international telephone calls.

Also indicating the extent to which Jehovah’s Witnesses have gone to assist those in need when they face a faith-challenging medical situation has been the arrangement for transferring a patient from one hospital to another, from one part of a country to another, and even from one country to another. Some examples: An adult patient was flown from Suriname to Puerto Rico; another was flown from Samoa to Hawaii; an infant, from Austria to Florida, U.S.A.

More Doctors Cooperating

Improvement in the situation for Jehovah’s Witnesses can also be seen in the growing number of physicians willing to cooperate with them in this matter, from about 5,000 five years ago to more than 30,000 now in 65 lands. That number of capable doctors has made possible another favorable development​—the forming of more than 30 bloodless medical and surgery centers in various lands.

Thus, nowadays, at least in North America, one hardly hears of efforts to force a blood transfusion on an adult, and many other lands are developing to that same point. Most problems now are with newborn babies and especially with premature births. These preemies start out with many problems associated with underdeveloped organs that do not function normally, such as the lungs and the kidneys. But doctors are finding ways to treat these conditions without blood transfusions. A synthetic surfactant, for example, is available to relieve respiratory distress syndrome. The use of EPO is becoming widely accepted for dealing with anemia of prematurity.

Help for Medical Personnel and Officials

To help pediatricians and neonatologists to treat children of Jehovah’s Witnesses without blood transfusions, Hospital Information Services has produced a triple-indexed volume of 55 articles from medical literature that demonstrates what can be done without blood for a host of problems of the newborn.

To reach judges, social workers, children’s hospitals, neonatologists, and pediatricians with information on the available nonblood medical alternatives, Jehovah’s Witnesses have produced specifically for these medical personnel and officials a 260-page volume called Family Care and Medical Management for Jehovah’s Witnesses.a It is a loose-leaf handbook so that it can be kept up-to-date. Since there has been some misunderstanding about family life among Jehovah’s Witnesses, it also makes clear the love parents have for their children in a decidedly beneficial, caring atmosphere produced by a life-style engendered by Bible teaching.

How is that publication being received? After examining its contents, the vice president of a children’s hospital in Pennsylvania, U.S.A., said he would be expecting his staff to digest and use it. He added: “If it doesn’t come back to me dog-eared and worn, I will want to know why!” Already some judges have amended their court orders to require that physicians exhaust all nonblood alternatives before using blood. Children have been treated without blood and have gone home well.

A typical reaction was that of a judge of juvenile affairs in Ohio, U.S.A. He was so impressed with the Family Care volume that he ordered seven additional copies for his colleagues. He now modifies his court orders to balance concerns of the physician with the rights of the parents, accomplishing this in two ways. He specifies in his order (1) that the doctors must first exhaust all alternative treatments before using blood; and (2) that the physicians must assure him that the blood they will use has been tested and is free from both AIDS and hepatitis. In three orders issued since he started modifying them, all three of the children were successfully treated without blood transfusions.

Dr. Charles H. Baron, professor of law at the Boston College Law School, presented a paper last year at a meeting of academics at the University of Paris. His subject was “Blood, Sin, and Death: Jehovah’s Witnesses and the American Patients’ Rights Movement.” In the paper itself, the following paragraph stated concerning the work of the Witnesses’ Hospital Liaison Committees:

“They have even managed to get American medicine to reconsider some of its beliefs in the light of further evidence. In the process, all of American society has benefited. Not only Jehovah’s Witnesses, but patients in general, are today less likely to be given unnecessary blood transfusions because of the work of the Witnesses’ Hospital Liaison Committees. Patients in general enjoy greater autonomy over a whole range of health care decisions because of the work done by the Witnesses as part of an overall patients’ rights movement. And the causes of freedom in general and religious freedom in particular have been advanced by the Witnesses’ dedicated resistance to efforts to force them to take action inconsistent with their religious beliefs.”

All this activity by Hospital Liaison Committees may not be directly preaching the good news of God’s Kingdom, but it is surely answering a direct challenge made to our worship in what the first century governing body called one of the “necessary things” of our sacred service. (Acts 15:28, 29) Interestingly, however, our bold yet dignified outreach to communicate has opened the way for some medical professionals to respond to the Kingdom message. Several members of Hospital Liaison Committees have started Bible studies with doctors they met through committee activity, two of such doctors recently being baptized.

So with the help of the Hospital Liaison Committee arrangement, Jehovah’s Witnesses are being assisted to obey Jehovah’s perfect law on abstaining from blood, not compromising their integrity and still getting needed medical care. (Psalm 19:7) There has indeed been continued good success in bridging the gap that once existed. Doctors and hospitals are now better informed on how they can provide available nonblood medical management. For patients, relatives, religious associates, and hospital personnel, that produces what everyone wants​—the healthy recovery of the patient.​—Contributed by Hospital Information Services at the Watch Tower Society’s world headquarters.

[Footnotes]

[Picture on page 25]

Liaison Committee confers with a doctor

[Picture on page 26]

“Family Care”

Watching the World

Better Leadership Wanted

People around the globe are becoming fed up with their leaders. “Some contend,” says The Wall Street Journal, “that the current crop of world leaders just may not be up to the job.” Says former French president Valéry Giscard d’Estaing: “We are witnessing a crisis of representative democracy.” Why the growing public dissatisfaction? Because people “are annoyed by leaders who appear small at a time when the problems facing them are so big,” answers the Journal. It further said: “They are disgusted with finding indecision and corruption when they look for direction. And it is not just individual politicians who are the targets of public frustration: In places like Japan and Italy, the whole political system is being called into question.” While governments do become unpopular in tough economic times, “this situation is exceptional because it is striking in so many places at once, and because it is touching not just incumbents but also opposition parties.” To restore a mood of optimism will take more than an economic upturn, says Mr. Giscard d’Estaing. “Our societies need to have a vision of the future.”

Jehovah’s Witnesses Given Legal Recognition in Mexico

On May 7, Jehovah’s Witnesses were granted legal status as a religion in Mexico. A document guaranteeing such recognition was given them by the Subsecretary of the Government Interior Department on May 31. Thus another step forward was taken toward religious freedom in Mexico. It was on April 1, 1989, that Jehovah’s Witnesses were first able to offer prayer freely at their congregation meetings and use the Bible in their door-to-door ministry. There are over 370,000 Witnesses in Mexico. The Mexican government reformed its laws last year and began to give legal recognition to religious organizations in the country.

Human Rights Meaningless

The UN Center for Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland, estimates that “half of mankind are victims of serious human rights violations,” reports the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung. These violations range from torture, rape, and execution to slavery, hunger, and child abuse. The center estimates that between 150 million and 200 million children are pressed into child labor in over 50 lands. In addition millions of persons are victims of racism and hostility toward foreigners. “In an environment of poverty and deprivation, human rights are meaningless,” said Mr. Ibrahime Fall, head of the center. “It is true that we have sent a man to the moon, but the world we live in remains difficult, dangerous, and often lethal.”

Child Prostitution Spreading

“Doctors, police officers and social workers . . . are reporting that children and adolescents are increasingly in demand as prostitutes because clients see them as ‘safer’ and likely to be free of AIDS,” says the International Herald Tribune of Paris. At a recent UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) conference on “the sex trade and human rights” held in Brussels, Belgium, experts confirmed that customers are willing to pay far higher prices for children who are considered to be virgins. While acknowledging that the global AIDS epidemic was a major factor, the experts also pointed out that the many facets of the highly lucrative sex industry “have normalized the open buying and selling of sex and have eroded taboos against sexual exploitation of children.” UNESCO studies show the problem to be particularly rampant in Benin, Brazil, Colombia, Thailand, and the Philippines. An estimated 800,000 of the 2 million Thai female prostitutes are children and adolescents, and over 10,000 boys from 6 to 14 years of age are said to work as prostitutes in Sri Lanka.

The Labors of a Housewife

“She labors like a marathon runner . . . but does not even have the satisfaction of a medal,” says the Italian daily newspaper Il Messaggero in speaking of the ordinary housewife. Research conducted by the Rome Institute for Sports Sciences shows that the energy expended by the average housewife in her domestic work (more than 200 calories per hour) is “comparable to that of a number of sports.” While some sports obviously consume a lot more calories, the statistic becomes more relevant “when you consider that a housewife’s activity is carried out for around eight hours every day.” Record-holding sprinter Marisa Masullo admits: “I get a lot more tired working at home than I do when I am training.”

A Water Planet

If it were spread evenly over the surface of the planet, the world’s water would form a global ocean 1.5 miles [2.5 km] deep, states the magazine People & the Planet. In fact, all the earth’s land surfaces could fit inside the Pacific Ocean basin with plenty of room to spare. Yet, of all the earth’s vast reserves of water, only 3 percent is fresh, not salty. And only 1 percent of the planet’s freshwater is readily accessible to humankind. The rest is locked up in glaciers and ice caps or lies underground. Even so, that 1 percent is enough to sustain two or three times the world’s present population. “Unfortunately,” laments the magazine, “freshwater is very unevenly distributed and is wasted everywhere.” Consequently, according to one estimate, two billion of the earth’s inhabitants live in regions where water is critically scarce.

The Long Life of Refuse

How long does it take for common refuse to decompose? According to figures published by the Italian periodical Focus, it takes from three to six months for paper handkerchiefs or vegetable wastes to be destroyed, from 1 to 2 years for cigarette filters, 5 years for chewing gum, and from 10 to 100 years for aluminum cans. But some plastic materials “remain unaltered for centuries . . . They are not dissolved by water . . . , and no microorganisms are prepared to feed on them.” Polystyrene, commonly used for packing material and for containers for food and drink, will perhaps only be broken down in the course of a millennium, and 4,000 years must pass before glass bottles return to their place in the natural cycle.

Cavities Are Contagious

“Tooth decay is contagious.” So says a report by the Agence France-Presse news service on a study conducted by a Swiss dental school and the World Health Organization. Their research reveals that Streptococcus mutans, bacteria that cause tooth decay, is often passed from the mouth of one family member to another, such as when parents share a spoon with their child or taste baby’s bottle before feeding time. The risk increases according to the quantity of bacteria present in a person’s saliva. The bacteria, which turn sugars into an acid that attacks teeth, seem to flourish particularly in the mouths of children between one and four years of age​—when children’s teeth are especially vulnerable to dental decay.

Helmets for Bicyclists

Wear protective headgear! This is the advice that WHO (World Health Organization) is giving to bicyclists. Though protective helmets reduce head injury by 75 percent, Australia is the only country that presently requires cyclists to wear them. In the United States, two thirds of all cycling deaths are caused by injuries to the head and brain, with youngsters between 6 and 14 years of age being at greatest risk. WHO laments: “The reluctance [to wear helmets] shown by some cyclists is difficult to understand, taking into account that no one denies anymore that motorcyclists are efficiently protected by helmets.”

Dust Mites

“No one really knows how they get there, but house dust mites live in almost every home,” notes the magazine Science News. Invisible to the human eye, these invertebrates feed on the skin scales that are constantly shed by humans. The creatures can be found in bedding, carpets, and upholstered furniture. How many? Researchers armed with vacuum and microscope studied the dust in two infected homes. A couch in one home yielded 7,454 mites per gram of dust, with an additional 2,361 mites per gram in the carpet under the couch.

Worse Than the Black Death

“In 14th century Europe, the Black Death killed about 25 million people, or one of every four,” states American Health magazine. “New data indicate that if people continue smoking at current rates, cigarettes will kill 10 times that many: at least 250 million, or one of every five people now alive in developed countries.” The findings, based on a massive study of over one million persons, showed that smoking was even more lethal than previously thought. “We had believed that about one in four smokers are killed by their habit,” said Dr. Richard Peto, a professor at England’s Oxford University. “But now we know that at least one-third​—and probably substantially more—​of all smokers die from it. Smoking’s effect on a nation’s mortality vastly exceeds the impact of any other factor.” Of the 250 million expected deaths, more than half will be of people from 35 to 69 years of age, who will have shortened their lives by an average of 23 years because of smoking.

From Our Readers

Science I am writing to congratulate you on your six-part series “Science​—Mankind’s Ongoing Search for Truth.” (April 8 through June 22, 1993) Your articles were unbiased and informative. As a scientist myself, I was amazed to learn how much the Greek philosophers, namely Aristotle, Plato, and others, have influenced scientific thought.

O. O., United States

In part six of your series (June 22, 1993), you said: “The environmental devastation for which science is responsible is tremendous.” Science is not responsible for the misuse of its creation. The blame rests on governments who apply obsolete legal techniques to govern the use of technology.

C. C. R., United States

The series did not attempt to pin the sole blame for earth’s environmental problems upon scientists. Indeed, the preceding sentence clearly stated that science merely “helped create” such problems. Previous articles in the series showed that scientists must share the blame with politicians, businessmen, and consumers.​—ED.

Isolated Thank you for the life story of Pepita Abernathy, “A Worthwhile Life Even Though Isolated.” (February 22, 1993) It brought tears to my eyes. I have always found it difficult to preach to friends or to work territory that gets little response. But Pepita Abernathy preached in different parts of the world even when she didn’t know the language! Now I have a different attitude toward the preaching work.

J. W., United States

Music I’ve just finished reading the series “Modern Music​—Harmless Fun?” (June 8, 1993) When I was in high school, I was enthralled with heavy-metal music. My bad habits and rebellious attitude were products of the ideas portrayed in this dark, evil-sounding music. But the closer I have become to Jehovah, the more I have come to hate even the sound of that music!

L. K., United States

You have given us young ones useful advice based on up-to-date and reliable sources. Some have thought that music is acceptable as long as it cannot be classified as heavy metal or rap, even if it encourages immorality, violence, and use of drugs. These articles have refuted this wrong idea. Now we all know how to be more selective when choosing our music.

F. M., Italy

My teenage son was recently disfellowshipped from the Christian congregation. I tried my best to stop him from listening to rap music​—reasoning with him, showing him Bible principles, sharing articles with him on the subject. But he continued to listen to rap in secrecy, feeling that it had no effect on him. However, he came to do many of the bad things glorified in this music. I am still reeling emotionally from my son’s fall. It is my hope that all Christian parents will show appreciation for this information by reading and studying it with their children.

G. C., United States

Not only do you show what types of music should be avoided but you back up your statements with irrefutable, yet mild and loving, reasoning. We get the feeling that your deepest desire is to help young people flee this totally corrupt world.

B. V., France

A Kudu Makes Lions Lose Face

LAST year in South Africa, a huge antelope​—a kudu bull—​assumed its stance in front of a luxury Lowveld game lodge. Its look was alert and very aggressive, so it is little wonder that the local kudu leader took umbrage at this brash invasion of his territory. An eyewitness reported on the kudu leader’s attack: “He snorted, stamped the ground and took the attack stance. With his horns down he charged. When he hit the kudu he got the fright of his life.” The intruder did not budge. The local kudu bull charged again. Still no results. In a frustrated rage and a cloud of dust, the local leader “broke down all the surrounding trees before moving off.” He hasn’t returned, apparently concluding that the newcomer is unbeatable.

The kings of the jungle fared no better. Ranger Carlson Mathebula reported that 12 lions surrounded the kudu. He said of their encounter with it: “Suddenly two lionesses began stalking it. With a mighty roar one jumped onto the back of the kudu while the other ran up to its side and lunged at its neck. . . . They both fell to the ground in fright and lay there frozen. Another lioness joined the fray. She ran up to the kudu and with a massive swipe at the legs she tried to bring it down, but it just stood there.” The 12 lions became so incensed at their failure to bring this big kudu down that “they savaged a rain gauge, a garden sprinkler and outdoor furniture before slinking off in disgrace.”

Without moving a muscle, the kudu had routed the local herd of kudu from their territory and put to flight a pride of lions. The report in the Sunday Times of Johannesburg, South Africa, spoke of this kudu as a superbuck weighing 660 pounds [300 kg] and made of bronze. Mr. Keith Calder, who cast the bronze kudu, said: “It’s a compliment to me that the lions and kudu found it so realistic.”

Help at the Right Time

A woman wrote the branch office of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Australia to thank them for the Awake! magazine on “Healing the Wounds of Child Abuse.” She explained:

“At age 12, I was being sexually molested by my mother’s boyfriend. I knew that what was happening was wrong. However, at the time I thought I had been bad and done something horrible and that this was God’s way of punishing me. My heart used to crumble at the thought of visiting this man, knowing too well what was going to happen. But I had to go, for my mother gave her consent for him to perform his perverted fantasies on me for money. How could my mother push me away like that? I learned to switch off my emotions and to become bitter toward life and God.

“It was only in 1992 that I spoke to one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. I learned many things. The most important was that Jehovah God loves all of us and that he wasn’t punishing me.

“So this letter is to thank you for your Awake! articles on the ‘Wounds of Child Abuse’ in the October 8, 1991, issue.

“I have dedicated my life to Jehovah and plan to be baptized next year.”

In two months Awake! received more than a thousand letters of thanks for the above issue of Awake! alone. However, far more important than showing readers how to cope with today’s problems, Awake! builds confidence in the Creator’s provision, based on Jesus’ ransom sacrifice, of a peaceful and secure new world that will cure all ills. If you would like to have further information about that new world, or a free home Bible study, write to Watchtower, 25 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, New York 11201, or to the appropriate address listed on page 5.

[Pictures on page 32]

Awake!

Awake!

Awake!

Children UNDER STRESS How Can They Be Helped?