January 8

Page Two

Our Cities Their Struggle to Survive 3-12

In the face of crime and overcrowding, why do millions of people choose to live in cities? What are some problems afflicting city dwellers today? These articles open a series to be spread over six issues of Awake!

A Double Life​—Who Has to Know? 18

It may be easy for some youngsters to deceive their parents ​—but what is the price for leading a double life?

Scientists Take Public for a Ride 24

In the interpretation of bone fragments, sometimes the wish is father to the thought, as scientists in Spain discovered with the “Man of Orce.”

“Let Us Build Ourselves a City”

By Awake! correspondent in Germany

THE odds are about even that you live in a city. According to some estimates, nearly half the world’s inhabitants do. One source says that “at the current rate, by the year 2000, cities will have to accommodate over 75 per cent of the population of South America.” It also tells us that during the same period of time, the number of people living in African cities will more than double.

Even if you do not live in a city, chances are you either work in one, travel to do your shopping there, or at least periodically take advantage of the conveniences and amenities that a city offers. Everyone is affected by cities. How different our life would be without them!

A City Called Enoch

The building of cities goes back a long, long way. Of Cain, the first child ever born, we read that “he engaged in building a city and called the city’s name by the name of his son Enoch.” (Genesis 4:17) By building a city, doubtless relatively small by modern standards, Cain set a precedent for future generations.

Gregarious human nature has made people want to be together. This has been not only for the sake of companionship but for a sense of security and protection, especially in past centuries when communities often came under attack. These, however, are not the only factors that have induced men to start building cities.

The World Book Encyclopedia states that there are four main features that have been conducive to the formation of cities. They are “(1) advances in technology [steam-​driven machines, electric power, communications], (2) a favorable physical environment [some factors are location, climate, rivers and thus water supply], (3) social organization [authority, government], and (4) population growth.”

Cities have facilitated trade and the concentration of a labor force in one area. Therefore, in many cities we see large low-​cost housing developments for the workers and their families. Today, with public and private transport readily available, distance does not impede successful commercial and political oversight. For this reason, cities can spread their tentacles into suburban districts.

Some ancient cities were also closely tied to religious functions. Genesis 11:4 says: “They [people living shortly after the Flood of Noah’s day] now said: ‘Come on! Let us build ourselves a city and also a tower with its top in the heavens [to serve for religious worship], and let us make a celebrated name for ourselves, for fear we may be scattered over all the surface of the earth.’”

Social, religious, commercial, and geographical as well as political aspects have been involved in the building of cities. At the same time, cities have been a major force over the centuries in shaping modern society as we know it and have affected all of us.

Different yet Alike

The New Encyclopædia Britannica notes that “the earliest of man’s fixed settlements are found in the rich subtropical valleys of the Nile, the Tigris, the Euphrates, the Indus, and the Yellow rivers.” Of course, the forerunners of 20th-​century cities were quite different from their modern riverside counterparts.

In past centuries the vast majority of people lived in rural areas. The only major city in England in the year 1300, for example, was London, and its population of less than 40 thousand was well below 1 percent of the country’s total population. By 1650 approximately 7 percent of all the English lived in London. By the beginning of the 19th century, the city was nearing the million mark. Today, less than 9 percent of Britain’s residents live in rural areas. All the rest are crowded into urban centers, some seven million in the metropolis of Greater London alone.

As an indication of the extent that cities have grown and proliferated, in 1900, London was the only city in all the world with a population of one million. Now there are over 200 cities with more than a million inhabitants. Geographers speak of a megalopolis, a chain of connected cities such as that found in the Ruhr region in Germany, where the area along the Ruhr River, from Duisburg to Dortmund, forms one virtually continuous community.

Despite differences, ancient and modern cities have something in common​—problems. And never have the problems been so many or so great as they are today. Cities are in serious trouble. If ‘building ourselves a city’ has taught mankind anything at all, it should have at least taught us that, under imperfect conditions and as performed by fallible humans, building cities is not necessarily the ideal way of satisfying our needs.

“The City Is Full of Oppression”

WHEN the Bible prophet Ezekiel referred to a city “full of oppression,” he knew nothing about the problems that plague today’s cities. (Ezekiel 9:9, An American Translation) Nor were his words a cryptic way of foretelling these problems. Nevertheless, what he wrote would be an accurate description of 20th-​century cities.

The book 5000 Days to Save the Planet noted: “Stark and sterile, our cities have become ugly to live in and ugly to look at. . . . The buildings that increasingly dominate our cities have been built with little or no consideration of those who must live and work in them.”

Unflattering Facts About Cities

Nine cities, located in various parts of the world, have been described by newspapers and magazines as follows. Can you identify each city by its correct name?

City A, located in Latin America, is noted for its young contract killers and high homicide rate. It is also known as the home of a drug cartel.

City B is “the worst city in the [United States] for street robberies.” During the first two months of 1990, killings were “up 20 percent from the same period” the year before.

“Several million people a year move to the urban centers of South America, Africa, and Asia . . . , migrating toward their vision of the promised land.” Not finding it, many are forced to live in poverty, reduced to begging or stealing in order to survive. Half the citizens of African City C and Asian City D​—as well as 70 percent of Asian City E—​reportedly have substandard living quarters.

“While [City F] is among the safest large urban centers in North America, growing unemployment, a rising crime rate and ethnic animosity have made its citizens wonder about the downside of success. Crime . . . has deflated the city’s spirits. Sexual assaults are up 19% . . . Murders are up almost 50%.”

“Every day 1,600 people move to [Latin American City G] . . . If [it] continues to grow at this pace 30 million people will live there by the end of the century. They will struggle through the city at a snail’s pace in 11 million cars, trapped in traffic jams for hours at a time . . . Air pollution . . . is a hundred times the acceptable level. . . . Forty per cent of all residents suffer chronic bronchitis. . . . During peak traffic hours the noise level in the city center climbs to between 90 and 120 decibels; 70 decibels is considered unbearable.”

“Each day 20 tons of dog droppings are picked up from the streets and sidewalks of [European City H]. . . . In addition to the cost and nuisance, a more serious factor has come to light. Dog waste is the source of a disease caused by the parasite Toxocara canis. Half the children’s play areas and sandboxes of [the city] were found to be contaminated with the highly resistant microscopic eggs of the parasite, which enter homes on the soles of shoes and on the paws of household pets. . . . Fatigue, abdominal pain, allergies, heart and arterial problems are early symptoms of the disease.”

“Although [Asian City I] is afflicted with all the problems of an overdeveloped metropolis in an underdeveloped country​—poverty, crime, pollution—​it has begun to establish itself as one of the capital cities of the 21st century.”

Exceptions or the Rule?

Were you able to identify these cities by their proper names? Possibly not, because none of the problems referred to are unique to any one city. Rather, they are symptomatic of what is wrong with almost every city of any size in the entire world.

City A, according to the German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung is Medellín, Colombia. The number of murders dropped from 7,081 in 1991 to “only” 6,622 in 1992. Still, reports the Colombian daily El Tiempo, during the past decade, almost 45,000 persons have died there by violent means. Various civic groups are therefore presently trying hard to clean up the city and improve its reputation.

The identification by The New York Times of City B as New York City probably comes as no surprise to people who have visited there in recent years and most certainly not for its citizens.

The figures given by the German magazine Der Spiegel regarding the number of people living in conditions of poverty in Nairobi, Kenya (C), Manila, Philippines (D), and Calcutta, India (E) indicate that more people are trapped in unsavory living quarters in these three cities alone than live in entire affluent European countries such as Denmark or Switzerland.

City F​—Toronto, Canada—​was described in 1991 by Time magazine in an article somewhat less flattering than the one it published three years earlier. The first report, entitled “Finally, a City That Works,” praised the city that “impresses almost everyone.” It quoted a visitor as having said: “This place could almost make me believe in cities again.” Sorry to say, the “city that works” is apparently now falling victim to the same problems that afflict other degenerating cities.

Although speaking of City G as “one of the most handsome and stylish cities in the Americas, and one of the most sophisticated,” Time magazine nevertheless admits that this “is the Mexico City of the rich, of course, and of the tourists.” Meanwhile, according to World Press Review, the poor huddle together “in one of the capital’s 500 slums” in barracks “hammered together of industrial rubbish, cardboard cartons, wrecked cars, and stolen building materials.”

City H is identified by the French weekly magazine L’Express as Paris, which, according to The New Encyclopædia Britannica, “for hundreds and hundreds of years, by a process never successfully explained, . . . has radiated an enchantment irresistible to millions around the world.” In the face of serious problems, however, some of the enchantment of “Gay Paree” has faded.

Of City I, Time says: “Once seen romantically by the West as the drowsy, dreamy capital of old Siam, a ‘Venice of the East,’ today’s quicksilver city of angels and golden temples is Asia’s latest boomtown.” Even its angels and its temples have failed to prevent Bangkok, Thailand, from becoming, at least for a time, “the world capital of the sex trade.”

Taking a Closer Look at Cities

A decade ago a journalist noted that although large cities seem to “share the same crises, each has a character of its own, and thus a special way of struggling for survival.” In 1994, cities are still struggling, each in its own way.

Not everyone thinks the struggle for survival has been lost. A former Toronto mayor, for example, expressed optimism, saying: “I don’t think the city is breaking down. It is challenged, but I think we can solve this problem.” True, some cities have successfully met, or at least alleviated, certain of their problems. But this required much more than just optimism.

Last January journalist Eugene Linden wrote: “The fate of the world is entwined with the fate of its cities.” For better or for worse, cities have shaped our world, and they continue to do so. Also, whether ancient or modern, they have affected us personally​—probably more than we might imagine. That is why their survival is intricately tied in with ours.

Taking a closer look at cities, then, is not simply for the purpose of enhancing general knowledge. More important, it will alert us to the precarious situation in which the world now finds itself. So let us begin “Taking a Closer Look at Cities.” We hope this six-​part Awake! series will interest, edify, and encourage our readers. Despite serious world problems​—on spectacular display in our cities’ struggle for survival—​all is not without hope!

[Blurb on page 6]

“The fate of the world is entwined with the fate of its cities.”​—Writer Eugene Linden

[Picture on page 7]

Traveling from city to city may be easy, but solving their problems is not

“On a Tour of All the Cities”

WHILE on earth Christ Jesus “set out on a tour of all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and preaching the good news of the kingdom.” (Matthew 9:35) Those desiring to follow in his footsteps were likewise called upon to preach in the cities of the world. There they would encounter the problems common to cities and be forced to cope with them.

A historical tour of cities presents a picture of the ups and downs of thousands of years of human existence, the joys and the heartaches of human endeavors to achieve happiness. A candid look at cities impresses upon us the fact that the entire human race is but a single family, faced with common problems. There should be no room today for nationalistic pride or racial prejudice.

Sad to say, many people do not know much about cities, not even their location. When U.S. university students were asked in the mid-1980’s to locate certain cities, some of them put Dublin (Ireland) in the United States and Lima (Peru) in Italy.

A test carried out a few years earlier at another university revealed that almost half of the students were unable to locate London on a world map. Some put it in Iceland, others in Continental Europe. The professor conducting the test lamented that 42 percent of the students “lost” London completely. Even more embarrassing, 8 percent “lost” the American city where the test was being conducted!

But Americans are evidently not the only ones who are weak in geographical knowledge. At the end of the 1980’s, a test of students in ten nations showed that the Swedes do best and the Americans score sixth. The Academy of Sciences of the former Soviet Union found that 13 percent of the Soviet students surveyed were unable to locate even their own country on a world map. Academy member Vladimir Andriyenkov said with embarrassment: “The results are unbelievable.”

What about you? How good is your knowledge of geography in general and of cities in particular? How about testing yourself by means of the quiz on page 10? You can learn some interesting facts by “Taking a Closer Look at Cities.”

In the next issue of Awake!, we will take a closer look at five cities. They are a special kind of city that for thousands of years was completely unknown. But by the turn of the century, it is estimated, there will be at least 20 of them. Over half of them will be in Asia. What type of city might it be?

[Box on page 10, 11]

Can You Identify the City?

Match the following descriptions with the proper city.

1. The highest capital city in the world.

2. The largest city in the world’s most populous country.

3. Its official though seldom used name consists of 27 words, the first part of which is similar in meaning to that of Los Angeles; it lies in the heart of a rice-​growing region. It has over 400 Buddhist temples.

4. It has a population density that​—with the exception of four other cities—​is twice as high as any other city in the world.

5. It lost almost a quarter million citizens in a 1976 disaster.

6. Center of its nation’s textile region, this city played a major role in the industrial revolution.

7. Once viewed as one of Europe’s filthiest cities, today it is world famous for the scented liquid bearing its name.

8. Nearly 60 languages are spoken in this Asian port city. It was the capital of its country from 1833 to 1912.

9. A made-​to-​order capital, long in planning, it became reality in 1960.

10. Situated at the end of a 60-​mile-​long [100 km] fjord, in area it is one of the largest cities in the world.

11. Almost completely destroyed by an earthquake in 1755, it has the lowest cost of living of any capital city within the European Community.

12. It was officially formed by 1873, when communities on opposite sides of the Danube River joined hands as well as names.

13. Portuguese explorers mistook the entrance of its bay for the mouth of a river, thus giving it the name it now bears.

14. Founded in 1788 as a prison colony, it is one of the southernmost cities of its size in the world.

15. With strong religious roots, this city became well-​known for an unusual political tea party.

16. In 1850, King Kamehameha III declared it capital of his kingdom; its name means “Protected Bay,” and its year-​round temperate climate makes it a tourist’s delight.

17. Sometimes called the windy city, it was once almost destroyed by fire; today it boasts the tallest building in the world.

18. Before 1966, it went by the name Léopoldville.

19. As old as one of Greece’s most illustrious rulers, this city is remembered by Bible students as the place where a famous Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures was made.

20. Its rapid growth resulted from the discovery of gold nearby, and it is unique in that it is the only city of its size in the world not located on a coast or a lakeshore or a river.

Alexandria, Egypt

Bangkok, Thailand

Boston, U.S.A.

Brasília, Brazil

Budapest, Hungary

Calcutta, India

Chicago, U.S.A.

Cologne, Germany

Hong Kong

Honolulu, Hawaii, U.S.A.

Johannesburg, South Africa

Kinshasa, Zaire

La Paz, Bolivia

Lisbon, Portugal

Manchester, England

Oslo, Norway

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Shanghai, China

Sydney, Australia

Tangshan, China

[Box on page 11, 12]

Answers:

1. La Paz, located between 10,650 [3,250 m] and 13,250 feet [4,100 m] above sea level, was founded by the Spanish in 1548.

2. “Shanghai” means “On the Sea,” and along with being one of the world’s largest seaports, it is China’s center of higher education and scientific research.

3. The first part of the official name of Bangkok is Krung Thep, which means “City of Angels”; in Spanish, “Los Angeles” means “the angels.” While Bangkok has developed its freeways, most of its famous canals have been filled in to make roads.

4. Hong Kong, with 248,000 people per square mile [96,000 per sq km], is followed by Lagos, Nigeria (143,000) [55,000]; Dacca, Bangladesh (138,000) [53,000]; Djakarta, Indonesia (130,000) [50,000]; and Bombay, India (127,000) [49,000].

5. In 1976, China was hit by one of the worst earthquakes in modern history, measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale. Tangshan was almost leveled; at least 240,000 people were killed.

6. Manchester, located some 150 miles [240 km] north of London, became an industrial center so rapidly that between 1821 and 1831, its population grew by 45 percent.

7. At the start of the 19th century, Cologne was reputedly one of the three dirtiest cities in the world​—Calcutta, Constantinople, and Cologne—​for which reason French soldiers stationed there “covered their faces in handkerchiefs soaked in Eau de Cologne to keep at bay the smell of urine that permeated the city.”​—Kölner Stadt-​Anzeiger.

8. Calcutta is India’s third largest city and was replaced as the capital by New Delhi.

9. Proposed in 1789 and embodied in the 1891 Constitution, the idea of having a capital in the interior of Brazil became reality in 1960 with Brasília. Its construction from scratch offered a rare opportunity to carry to completion “an orderly total-​city design in terms of physical layout, architecture, and human habitation.”​—Encyclopædia Britannica.

10. Oslo, capital of Norway, occupies an area of 175 square miles [453 sq km], much of which is wooded hills and lakes.

11. Churches were packed on the morning of November 1, 1755, in celebration of All Saints’ Day, when Lisbon was devastated by one of the strongest earthquakes on record, one that killed some 30,000 people.

12. In 1873 the town of Pest, on the eastern side of the Danube River, and Buda, along with Óbuda and Margaret Island, on the western side, officially united to become Budapest, one of Europe’s more attractive cities, once known as Queen of the Danube.

13. The Portuguese words for “river” and for “January”​—the explorers arrived on January 1, 1502—​were combined to create the name Rio de Janeiro.

14. In January 1788 about 750 convicts arrived from Britain as the basis for a prison colony; today Sydney is Australia’s oldest and largest city.

15. For nearly three centuries, few cities influenced life in the United States more than did Boston, founded by Puritans who fled Europe because of religious persecution. In 1773 its citizens helped provoke the American Revolution when, disguised as Indians, they dumped three shiploads of tea into Boston harbor to protest the paying of taxes to Britain without benefit of representation.

16. Originally a base for sandalwood traders and whalers, occupied in turn by Russians, British, and French, Honolulu was returned to King Kamehameha III. In 1850 he declared it the capital of his kingdom. Hawaii became a U.S. territory in 1900 and gained statehood in 1959.

17. Some call Chicago the typical U.S. city, presenting the country at its best and worst. The central part of the city was wiped out by fire in 1871 when Mrs. O’Leary’s cow supposedly kicked over a lighted lamp in a barn. Some 250 people died, and 90,000 were left homeless. Chicago’s Sears Tower, at 1,454 feet [443 m], is the tallest building in the world.

18. In 1960, Léopoldville, named after Belgian king Leopold II, became capital of the Republic of the Congo after the demise of the Belgian Congo. In 1971 the country’s name was changed to Zaire; in 1966 the capital city was renamed Kinshasa.

19. Alexandria derived its name from that of Alexander the Great, who ordered it built in 332 B.C.E. Less than a hundred years later, resident Jews​—probably during the reign of Ptolemy II Philadelphus (285-246 B.C.E.)​—began translating the Hebrew Scriptures into Greek to produce the Septuagint.

20. Johannesburg, not located on a coast, a lake, or a river, owes its big-​city status to the discovery of gold in 1886. It grew from a population of 2,000 in 1887 to 120,000 by 1899 and has over 1.7 million today.

[Map on page 8, 9]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

[Picture on page 8]

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

[Picture on page 9]

Bangkok, Thailand

[Credit Line]

Tourism Authority of Thailand

[Pictures on page 10]

Left: Sydney, Australia

Below: La Paz, Bolivia

[Picture on page 11]

Shanghai, China

[Pictures on page 12]

Left: Honolulu, Hawaii

Right: Hong Kong

Have You Ever Wondered?

Do you believe that man possesses an immortal soul that survives the death of the body? Millions, maybe billions, believe that man is endowed with a soul that moves on to another world or plane of existence at death or is reincarnated as another creature. What does the Bible say about the soul? You will find the following questions intriguing and illuminating. For the answers, we suggest that you check the scriptures that are cited or see page 21.

1. Was Adam created in heaven, or on earth?​—Genesis 1:26-28.

2. Was Adam created mortal, or immortal?​—Genesis 2:15-17.

3. If Adam had not been disobedient and sinned, would he have died?​—Romans 6:23.

4. Did Adam’s course of action prove he was mortal, or immortal?​—Genesis 3:19; 5:5.

5. By his sin, did Adam lose an earthly home, or a heavenly one?​—Genesis 1:26-28.

6. If Jesus came to restore that which was lost by Adam’s fall, what will be restored?​—Psalm 37:29; Romans 5:18, 19; Revelation 21:1-4.

7. Was Adam composed of two distinct parts, the soul and the body?​—Genesis 2:7; 1 Corinthians 15:45.

8. If you believe that Adam was a soul and a body, which part sinned, the soul or the body?​—Psalm 51:1-4.

9. If you answer, “The soul,” why must the body suffer?

10. If you answer, “The body,” why must the soul be saved?

11. If man gets to heaven by dying, does that not prove that sin and death are a blessing rather than, as the Bible says, a curse?​—Romans 5:12; 6:21-23.

12. What penalty was imposed on Adam for his sin​—death, or continued existence elsewhere?​—Genesis 2:16, 17; 3:19.

13. Was there one penalty for the body and another for the soul?​—Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10; Ezekiel 18:4.

14. Did God even conceive of everlasting torment in hellfire?​—Jeremiah 7:31.

15. According to Paul, what are the wages of sin?​—Romans 6:23.

16. Does Paul mention everlasting torment in hellfire?​—Romans 6:7.

17. If hellfire really does exist, why would a person suffer for all eternity to pay for only a short lifetime of sin? Is God’s justice less than man’s?​—Romans 9:14.

18. Did the faithful men of old believe that they had a soul that went either to heaven or to a fiery hell?​—Genesis 37:35; Psalm 89:48; Acts 2:34.

19. What is the true hope for the dead?​—John 5:28, 29; 11:23-26; Acts 24:15.

20. If there is no immortal soul, how do some (144,000) come to reign with Christ in the heavens?​—1 Corinthians 15:42-49, 53, 54; Revelation 14:1, 4; 20:4.a

Have You Ever Wondered? The Bible’s Answers

The following are some of the texts cited with the questions on page 13:

1. “God proceeded to create the man in his image, . . . male and female he created them. . . . God said to them: ‘Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth and subdue it.’”​—Genesis 1:27, 28.

2. “From every tree of the garden you may eat to satisfaction. But as for the tree of the knowledge of good and bad you must not eat from it, for in the day you eat from it you will positively die.”​—Genesis 2:16, 17.

3. “The wages sin pays is death, but the gift God gives is everlasting life by Christ Jesus our Lord.”​—Romans 6:23.

4. “In the sweat of your face you will eat bread until you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken. For dust you are and to dust you will return.”​—Genesis 3:19.

5. See No. 1.

6. “Look! The tent of God is with mankind . . . And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore. The former things have passed away.”​—Revelation 21:3, 4.

7. “Jehovah God proceeded to form the man out of dust from the ground and to blow into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man came to be a living soul.” (Genesis 2:7) The word “soul” translates the Hebrew neʹphesh, “that which breathes.” “The first man, Adam, as scripture says, became a living soul.” Note, “became,” not “was given.”​—1 Corinthians 15:45, The Jerusalem Bible.

8. “My sin is in front of me constantly. Against you, you alone, I have sinned, and what is bad in your eyes I have done.”​—Psalm 51:3, 4.

9, 10. No texts needed.

11. “Through one man sin entered into the world and death through sin, and thus death spread to all men because they had all sinned.”​—Romans 5:12.

12. See No. 4.

13. “The living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all . . . There is no work nor devising nor knowledge nor wisdom in Sheol, the place to which you are going.” (Ecclesiastes 9:5, 10) “As the soul of the father so likewise the soul of the son​—to me they belong. The soul that is sinning​—it itself will die.”​—Ezekiel 18:4.

14. “They have built the high places of Topheth . . . in order to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire, a thing that I had not commanded and that had not come up into my heart.”​—Jeremiah 7:31.

15. See No. 3.

16. “He who has died has been acquitted from his sin.”​—Romans 6:7.

17. “What shall we say, then? Is there injustice with God? Never may that become so!”​—Romans 9:14.

18. “Actually David did not ascend to the heavens.”​—Acts 2:34.

19. “I have hope toward God, which hope these men themselves also entertain, that there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous.”​—Acts 24:15.

20. “This which is corruptible must put on incorruption, and this which is mortal must put on immortality.” If immortality is “put on,” then it is not inherent. (1 Corinthians 15:53) “I saw, and, look! the Lamb standing upon the Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-​four thousand . . . These were bought from among mankind as firstfruits to God and to the Lamb.”​—Revelation 14:1, 4.

[Footnotes]

The Land That Never Melts

THE far North has always fascinated me. Even as a young boy growing up in Gold Beach, Oregon, U.S.A., I used to pore over maps of Canada and dream of one day exploring places with exotic-​sounding names, such as Great Slave Lake and Great Bear Lake. So one day in 1987, my friend Wayne and I began plans to visit Auyuittuq National Park, Canada’s first national park north of the Arctic Circle.

Auyuittuq, in the Inuit language, means “The Land That Never Melts,” and the park was set aside to preserve an Arctic wilderness of jagged mountain peaks, deep valleys, spectacular fjords, and marine coastal wildlife. The park includes the Penny Ice Cap, a vast 2,200-​square-​mile [5,700 sq km] mantle of ice and snow drained on all sides by glaciers. No wonder Auyuittuq is affectionately referred to as the “Switzerland of the Arctic.”

Baffin Island, about a thousand miles [1,600 km] long, is the fifth largest island in the world. Yet, none of our friends had ever heard of it! In fact, they kept asking, “When are you going to Alaska?” (Baffin Island is some 2,000 miles [3,200 km] east of Alaska but at about the same latitude.) Although Jehovah’s Witnesses from Canada have spearheaded the evangelizing work on Baffin Island, no Witnesses live on the island. In fact, the nearest congregation is 600 miles [1,000 km] away, in Labrador City, Newfoundland.

Auyuittuq has three months of summer and nine months of winter, so we decided to go in August 1988, after the breakup of the ocean ice and after most of the biting black flies are gone. This is also before the September snows begin.

Our Journey to Baffin Island

Finally the time arrived. We traveled by automobile from our home in North Carolina to Montreal, Quebec, where we boarded a Boeing 737 airliner. After an hour in the air, the clouds dissipated, giving us a clear view of the Canadian Shield, a barren-​looking rocky area with hundreds of lakes of all shapes and sizes and no trees of any size. Following a quick stop at Kuujjuaq (formerly Fort-​Chimo), we began to see snow right down to sea level. Soon we passed over Ungava Bay, which, to our surprise, was choked with innumerable icebergs as far as the eye could see.

After a flight of nearly three hours, we landed at Iqaluit, which means “Place of Fish.” Formerly called Frobisher Bay, Iqaluit is the nerve center of Baffin Island and the largest town, with a population of about 3,000.

With a couple of hours between flights, we decided to explore the town. The first thing we noticed was the abundance of cotton grass, with its puffy white flowers, which the Inuit (formerly called Eskimo) pick and dry and use like cotton balls. As we strolled down to the harbor and right up to the edge of the water, we noticed that the tide was going out rapidly. Within the first two minutes, 20 feet [6 m] of beach was exposed, drained dry!

A short time later, we boarded a small prop-​driven plane to fly to Pangnirtung, just below the Arctic Circle. The one-​hour flight gave us previews of coming attractions. Through the patchy, dark clouds, we kept getting glimpses of a raw wilderness with great expanses of snow, rocks, and water. Everything looked cold and murky. And the final approach to “Pang” just added to that image. Below the ceiling of dark clouds, the plane circled over a deep fjord surrounded by snow-​covered mountain cliffs before touching down on a gravel runway.

Mistaken Ideas

It was raining in “Pang,” so we took shelter under the wing of the plane, waiting for our backpacks with all our food and gear and a suitcase full of Bible literature. When the cargo hold was emptied, there was no sign of our things. Inside the tiny terminal building, we were told that it would probably come on the next plane, due to arrive in two hours. At least we had our tent with us, so we set out on foot to find the campground to pitch our tent. We took refuge from the rain in a small store near the campground and talked to the girl operating the store about the town and its people.

She cleared up some of our mistaken impressions. First, since the town had a population of a thousand, we figured that there ought to be more than 300 homes. In fact, there are only about 180 homes. Most supplies come in by air, right? No. You’ve heard the expression “When my ship comes in”? Well, their ship comes in once a year​—four ships, actually. One for the Hudson Bay Company, the general store of the North; one with construction materials; one with oil and gasoline; and one with merchandise for all the other stores, including all the canned food for the year. Of course, perishables come by air.

Night Never Came

After our baggage finally arrived, we made camp and cooked dinner, all in the rain. One backpacking-​trip guide told us he had been there for three months and had seen nine sunny days! It turned out to be warmer than expected​—about 50 degrees Fahrenheit [10° C.], day and night.

However, night never arrived; daylight reigned the whole time we were there. We found we could take photographs by natural light at one in the morning. But how could we sleep if it was always light? Well, it was cool enough to don wool hats, even to sleep in; so on turning out the lights, we just pulled our hats over our eyes.

One night at three o’clock, I was aroused by a bright light coming from the north. I was puzzled. In the Northern Hemisphere, the sun rises in the east, is south at noon, and sets in the west, but it never appears in the north. Then I realized that we were at the top of the world, and in the summer in the middle of the night, the sun does indeed shine from the north. It took a while to get used to that.

Would the Inuit Welcome Us?

Nearly all the homes in Pangnirtung are tied to the ground with heavy cables for security in the fierce winds. Most families have snowmobiles for transportation in the winter and small three- or four-​wheel all-​terrain vehicles for the summer. And there are a few automobiles, even though the town has only about two miles [3 km] of roads! Since the town is situated on a little flat area next to the fjord and is surrounded by high mountain cliffs, there is nowhere else to drive.

A major portion of each family’s food is supplied by hunting barren-​ground caribou and ring seal, as well as fishing for arctic char. In Iqaluit we got to try caribouburger, musk-​oxburger, and even a little muktuk, or whale skin with blubber attached. Unlike beef fat, whale fat does not have a greasy taste, even when cold, and we were told that it contains some protein.

In the entire town, we found only a handful of people who had ever heard of Jehovah’s Witnesses, and they were not natives. They had moved in from other areas. Thus, the big question in our minds was, How would these northern people respond to the Kingdom message? It didn’t take long to find out. Almost everyone we met accepted Bible literature. In fact, each day I called on 45 homes, and each day only three persons said, “I’m not interested.”

As we began knocking on doors the first day, a young man dashed past us into the house we were visiting and said: “Don’t knock. Just walk in. That’s what everyone does here.” So we followed the young man’s advice, sheepishly opening the outside door, stepping inside to the second door, which was usually open, and calling out to the people inside. The inhabitants, nearly all Inuit, would at first be suspicious. But by smiling in a friendly way, immediately identifying ourselves, and showing the beautiful illustrations in My Book of Bible Stories, we quickly allayed their fears and aroused their interest. Showing them a picture of a child playing with a lion and speaking of the day when even the polar bears would be tame and peaceable and food would not be so expensive appealed to them.

After calling at all the homes in the village, we spent six days backpacking in Auyuittuq National Park, a wonderland of snow, ice, glaciers, rocky peaks, and waterfalls.

As our plane lifted off from Pangnirtung and circled south out over the fjord, we thanked Jehovah God for the opportunity to visit this isolated territory. Even to this day, our minds race back to those friendly Inuit who were so receptive to Bible truth, in the land that never melts.​—Contributed.

[Pictures on page 16, 17]

Cotton grass. Thor Peak, Baffin Island, in the background soars 5,000 feet [1,500 m] above the valley floor

Far right: Firm footing is needed to cross an ice-​cold river

Far bottom right: Boats stranded at low tide at Pangnirtung

Right: Inuit girl clutches her precious “Bible Stories” book

Young People Ask . . .

A Double Life Who Has to Know?

“Mom and Dad had been taking me to Christian meetings, and I knew right from wrong,” admits Robert. “But I wanted to be liked and accepted by the other kids at school. So to be cool and popular, I started smoking in the sixth grade. In the seventh grade, I started using LSD and smoking pot. In the eighth grade, I started shooting a drug called speed. I fooled everyone​—but I was miserable.”

MANY youths today​—including some reared by Christian parents—​lead double lives. Not that all become drug users, as did Robert. But behind the backs of their parents, some youths do secretly date, drink, wear outlandish clothing, listen to wild music, attend rowdy parties, and engage in a host of other activities that are frowned upon or forbidden by their parents. Are you following such a life-​style yourself?

If so, you probably know that what you are doing is wrong. Like Robert, you may even suffer the pangs of a guilty conscience. (Romans 2:15) Still, the thought of revealing your misdeeds to your parents is not a pleasant one. And when you consider the likely consequences, the argument ‘What my parents don’t know won’t hurt them’ may seem to make sense. But it could hurt you.

Faulty Reasoning

You might feel, for example, that you have some legitimate gripes about the way your parents do things. Perhaps you do. But even if they are at times unreasonably strict, uncommunicative, or arbitrary, does that justify continued disobedience? Not according to God’s Word, which counsels: “Be obedient to your parents in everything, for this is well-​pleasing in the Lord.” (Colossians 3:20) And what if you feel you are legitimately angry with your parents? Does it make sense to vent that anger by secretly violating God-​given standards? In effect, you would then be acting as if you were “enraged against Jehovah himself.” (Proverbs 19:3) The right thing to do would be to approach your parents and calmly discuss with them any grievances you have.​—Proverbs 15:22.

Equally faulty is the belief that by maintaining silence you protect your parents from emotional upset. One 16-​year-​old boy said: “I wouldn’t talk about something that disappoints [my parents].” Again, such slick reasoning is nothing more than self-​deception. As the Bible puts it, it is a case of someone acting “too smoothly to himself in his own eyes to find out his error so as to hate it.” (Psalm 36:2) When you really care about your parents’ feelings, you avoid disobedience in the first place. Besides, any attempts to keep them in the dark will probably prove vain, for doubtless others already know about your secret life.

Nothing Is Hidden

The ancient Israelites found this out when they tried to get away with secret wrongdoing. Warned the prophet Isaiah: “Woe to those who are going very deep in concealing counsel from Jehovah himself, and whose deeds have occurred in a dark place, while they say: ‘Who is seeing us, and who is knowing of us?’” (Isaiah 29:15) The Israelites forgot that God saw their deeds of misconduct. In due time, he called them to account for their errors.

The same proved true for some Christians in the first-​century congregation. Read for yourself at Acts 5:1-11 the account about Ananias and his wife, Sapphira. When a special fund was set up to care for needy Christians, Ananias sold a field and boldly claimed he was contributing the entire proceeds of its sale. In reality, though, Ananias had “secretly held back some of the price” for his personal gain. Was God fooled by this pretense of generosity? Not at all. “You have played false, not to men, but to God,” said the apostle Peter. “On hearing these words Ananias fell down and expired.” Sapphira, who was an accomplice, was struck down shortly thereafter. Both apparently forgot that God “is aware of the secrets of the heart.”​—Psalm 44:21.

Likewise today, even if you are successfully hiding misconduct from your parents, you cannot hide such misconduct from the watchful eyes of Jehovah God. “There is not a creation that is not manifest to his sight,” says Hebrews 4:13, “but all things are naked and openly exposed to the eyes of him with whom we have an accounting.” Could you possibly feel more exposed than that? And in time your hidden sins will be revealed to others as well. Says Proverbs 20:11: “Even by his practices a boy makes himself recognized as to whether his activity is pure and upright.” Another proverb says: “He that is covering over his transgressions will not succeed.”​—Proverbs 28:13.

A young woman named Tammy learned this as a youth. Although raised by Christian parents, she fell into smoking, drinking, and dating unbelievers. Tammy tried hard to keep her vices secret, but she recalls: “My parents noticed changes in me. I became rebellious and developed an independent attitude. When a person is leading a double life, it’s bound to show up sooner or later. For me, it was sooner. My father caught me meeting a boyfriend at a nearby school.”

How Jehovah Feels

Therefore, what your parents don’t know can​—and probably will—​hurt them in due time. Even more important, have you asked yourself, ‘How does Jehovah feel about those who live a lie?’ Answers Psalm 5:5, 6: ‘Jehovah hates all those practicing what is hurtful; he will destroy those speaking a lie. A man of deception Jehovah detests.’ Do not delude yourself into thinking you can appease God simply by putting on a show of devotion when you attend religious meetings. He knows when people ‘honor him with their lips, but their hearts are far removed from him.’​—Mark 7:6.

A youth named Ricardo, who got involved in sexually unclean conduct, thus confessed: “A person has a terrible feeling when he knows that he has grieved Jehovah.” But is it really possible to grieve Jehovah​—that is, make him feel bad? Indeed it is! When the ancient nation of Israel abandoned God’s Law, they “pained even the Holy One of Israel.” (Psalm 78:41) How pained he must be today when youths reared “in the discipline and mental-​regulating of Jehovah” secretly do wrong things!​—Ephesians 6:4.

Hurt Parents

Realize, then, that you cannot stay in hiding forever. You owe it to God, to your parents, and to yourself to come clean and confess to what has been going on in secret. Admittedly, this may result in embarrassment and perhaps some grievous consequences. (Hebrews 12:10, 11) If you have carried on a pattern of lying and deception, you have undermined your parents’ trust in you. So don’t be surprised if they restrict you more than before. Tammy recalls: “After I was caught with my boyfriend, my father was scared. Now he realized I could not be trusted. It meant keeping a constant eye on me.” But Tammy recognized that she was simply reaping what she had sown.​—Galatians 6:7.

You can also expect your folks to be hurt and angry. Their name and reputation have been blemished. (Compare Genesis 34:30.) If your father is one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, he may possibly have to relinquish some of his congregation privileges. (Titus 1:5-7) Yes, as Proverbs 17:25 says, a rebellious youth can be “a vexation to his father and a bitterness to her that gave him birth.”

Author Joy P. Gage poignantly describes how some parents feel when a child rebels. She says: “Some cry quietly. Some cry hysterically. Some cry behind closed doors. They cry for all their yesterdays. They cry because suddenly there are no more tomorrows. They cry for what might have been. They cry for what surely is to be. They cry out of anger. They cry out of frustration.” Understandably, it will not be easy to face having caused such grief for the two people who love you more than anyone else in the world does. Says Tammy: “I look back and wish I had not caused so much sadness to my father and mother.”

However, you cannot go back and undo the past. And as painful and difficult as it will no doubt be, you have an obligation to try to set matters straight. (Compare Isaiah 1:18.) That means telling your parents the truth, acknowledging their hurt and anger, accepting whatever discipline they mete out. Your telling the truth can be the first step in bringing joy to the hearts of your parents, and to the heart of Jehovah God, as well as gaining the joyful satisfaction of a clear conscience for you.​—Proverbs 27:11; 2 Corinthians 4:2.

But just how should you go about telling your folks? How can you escape living a double life? These questions will be discussed in our next issue.

[Picture on page 19]

Telling the truth can bring relief to you and your parents

Philippine Supreme Court Upholds Freedom of Worship

By Awake! correspondent in the Philippines

ON JUNE 7, 1993, as millions of Filipino schoolchildren trooped back to their classrooms, Jehovah’s Witnesses among them were most happy. Why? Because on March 1, 1993, just before the closing of the preceding school year, the Supreme Court of the Philippines reversed a Supreme Court decision of 1959 and upheld the right of children of Jehovah’s Witnesses to refrain from saluting the flag, reciting the pledge of allegiance, and singing the national anthem.

What led to this turn of events? And what consequences are there for all lovers of freedom in the Philippines as a result of this decision?

Why Jehovah’s Witnesses Do Not Salute the Flag

Jehovah’s Witnesses believe that saluting a flag, singing a national anthem, and reciting a pledge of allegiance are religious acts. Their Bible-​trained conscience does not permit them to participate in such acts of worship. (Matthew 4:10; Acts 5:29) No matter what country they live in, this is their stand in imitation of Jesus Christ, who said that his followers would be “no part of the world, just as [he was] no part of the world.”​—John 17:16.

At the same time, Jehovah’s Witnesses show respect for the governments they live under, and they believe that these are an arrangement that God permits. Thus, they are under obligation to obey the laws of the land, pay taxes, and give due honor to the governing officials. At no time would they ever participate in any rebellion against any government.a

Reasons for Supreme Court Decision

What reasons were given by the present Supreme Court for reversing the decision of the 1959 Gerona v. Secretary of Education decision? The 1993 decision written by Justice Griño-Aquino stated: “The idea that one may be compelled to salute the flag, sing the national anthem, and recite the patriotic pledge, during a flag ceremony on pain of being dismissed from one’s job or of being expelled from school, is alien to the conscience of the present generation of Filipinos who cut their teeth on the Bill of Rights which guarantees their rights to free speech and the free exercise of religious profession and worship.”

It was observed by the Court that while Jehovah’s Witnesses “do not take part in the compulsory flag ceremony, they do not engage in ‘external acts’ or behavior that would offend their countrymen who believe in expressing their love of country through the observance of the flag ceremony.” The Court further observed: “They quietly stand at attention during the flag ceremony to show their respect for the right of those who choose to participate in the solemn proceedings. . . . Since they do not engage in disruptive behavior, there is no warrant for their expulsion.”

The present Court also came to grips with the prediction made in the Gerona decision that if Jehovah’s Witnesses are allowed to be exempt from the flag salute requirement, “the flag ceremony will become a thing of the past or perhaps conducted with very few participants, and the time will come when we would have citizens untaught and uninculcated in and not imbued with reverence for the flag and love of country, admiration for national heroes, and patriotism​—a pathetic, even tragic situation, and all because a small portion of the school population imposed its will, demanded and was granted an exemption.”

The 1993 Court decision answered this by stating: “The situation that the Court direly predicted in Gerona . . . has not come to pass. We are not persuaded that by exempting the Jehovah’s Witnesses from saluting the flag, singing the national anthem and reciting the patriotic pledge, this religious group which admittedly comprises a ‘small portion of the school population’ will shake up our part of the globe and suddenly produce a nation ‘untaught and uninculcated in and unimbued with reverence for the flag, patriotism, love of country and admiration for national heroes.’”

Finally the present Court referred to the comments of Mr. Justice Robert Jackson of the U.S. Supreme Court in the 1943 Barnette case in which he stated: “To believe that patriotism will not flourish if patriotic ceremonies are voluntary and spontaneous instead of a compulsory routine is to make an unflattering estimate of the appeal of our institutions to free minds. . . . Freedom to differ is not limited to things that do not matter much. That would be a mere shadow of freedom. The test of its substance is the right to differ as to things that touch the heart of the existing order.”

After these fine points of law were made, the unanimous decision of the Philippine Court was: “The expulsion orders issued by the public respondents against the petitioners are hereby ANNULLED AND SET ASIDE. The temporary restraining order [against the school authorities] which was issued by this Court is hereby made permanent.”

Associate Justice Isagani Cruz in a concurring opinion added this observation: “In my humble view, Gerona was based on an erroneous assumption. The Court that promulgated it was apparently laboring under the conviction that the State had the right to determine what was religious and what was not and to dictate to the individual what he could and could not worship. . . . In requiring the herein petitioners to participate in the flag ceremony, the State has declared ex cathedra that they are not violating the Bible by saluting the flag. This is to me an unwarranted intrusion into their religious beliefs, which tell them the opposite. The State cannot interpret the Bible for them. It has no competence in this matter.”

The Meaning for Lovers of Freedom

All lovers of freedom certainly rejoice in this decision to uphold the right of free choice in the matter of religion and in the dictates of one’s conscience, while at the same time being subject to the relative authority of the state. (Romans 13:1, 2) In protecting the rights of individuals, the State does not open the way for anarchy but, rather, serves in the role mentioned by the apostle Paul at Romans 13:5, 6, where he states: “There is . . . compelling reason for you people to be in subjection, . . . on account of your conscience. For that is why you are also paying taxes; for they are God’s public servants constantly serving this very purpose.”

Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Philippines respect the jurisprudence of the justices of the Supreme Court and realize that final credit must be given to our Creator, Jehovah God.

[Footnotes]

Scientists Take Public for a Ride

By Awake! correspondent in Spain

TOMÁS SERRANO, an elderly, weather-​beaten Spanish farmer, had believed for many years that his Andalusian smallholding concealed something unique. His plow often unearthed exotic bones and teeth that certainly did not belong to any local cattle. But when he spoke of his finds in the village, nobody took much notice​—at least not until 1980.

In that year a team of paleontologists arrived to investigate the region. Before long they uncovered a veritable treasure trove of fossils: bones of bears, elephants, hippopotamuses, and other animals​—all deposited in a small area that was apparently a dried-​up swamp. It was in 1983, however, when the prolific site jumped into the international headlines.

A small yet singular fragment of skull had recently been discovered. It was heralded as “the oldest human remains discovered in Europe and Asia.” Calculating it to be between 900,000 and 1,600,000 years old, some scientists expected it to usher in “a revolution in the study of the human species.”

The fossil that generated all this enthusiasm was christened the “Man of Orce”​—after the village in the province of Granada, Spain, where it was discovered.

The “Man of Orce” Meets the Press

June 11, 1983, saw the fossil’s public presentation in Spain. Prominent Spanish, French, and British scientists had already vouched for its authenticity, and political support was quickly forthcoming. A Spanish monthly enthused: “Spain, and especially Granada, is now at the forefront of [human] antiquity in the macrocontinent of Eurasia.”

What was the “Man of Orce” really like? Scientists described him as a recent emigrant from Africa. This particular fossil, it was said, belonged to a young man who was about 17 years old and five feet [1.5 m] tall. Probably he was a hunter and collector who may not have yet learned to use fire. Likely he had already developed a rudimentary language and religion. He ate fruit, cereals, berries, and insects, along with the occasional remains of animals that hyenas had killed.

Misgivings About the Identification

On May 12, 1984, only two weeks before an international scientific seminar on the subject, serious doubts arose as to the fragment’s origin. After the meticulous removal of calcareous deposits from the interior part of the skull, the paleontologists found a disconcerting “crest.” Human skulls do not have such a crest. The seminar was postponed.

The Madrid daily El País carried the headline, “Serious Indications That the Cranium of the ‘Man of Orce’ Belongs to an Ass.” Finally, in 1987, a scientific paper written by Jordi Agustí and Salvador Moyà, two of the paleontologists involved in the original discovery, declared that X-ray analysis had indeed confirmed that the fossil belonged to a kind of horse.

Why Taken for a Ride?

This debacle arose for several reasons, none of which have much to do with the scientific method. The dramatic discovery of human ancestors rarely remains for long in the exclusive domain of the scientists. Politicians were quick to jump on the bandwagon, and scientific rigor was eclipsed by nationalistic fervor.

A regional minister of culture declared that it was a proud moment for Andalusia “to be the setting of such a great discovery.” When doubts about the find were expressed in some circles, the regional government of Andalusia stoutly maintained that “the remains were authentic.”

Such an insignificant fossil (about 3 inches [8 cm] in diameter) acquires enormous importance in part because of the lack of evidence to support the supposed evolution of man. Despite the fossil’s meager proportions, the “Man of Orce” was hailed as “the greatest paleontological find of recent years, as well as the missing link between the typical African man (Homo habilis) and the oldest man of the Eurasian continent (Homo erectus).” Fertile imagination and not-​so-​scientific guesswork sufficed to fill in the details about the appearance and way of life of the “Man of Orce.”

A year or so before the discovery of the “Man of Orce,” the leader of the scientific team, Dr. Josep Gibert, had speculated about the surprises that the area undoubtedly held in store. “It is one of the most important concentrations of the inferior Quaternary in Europe,” he asserted. And even after the true identity of the fossil was revealed, Dr. Gibert insisted: “The international scientific community firmly believes that in the Guadix-​Baza area [where the fragment was found], sooner or later, a human fossil more than a million years old will be found, and that will certainly be a great discovery.” Indeed, wishful thinking!

“Science Is Concerned With Discovering the Truth”

A codiscoverer of the “Man of Orce,” Dr. Salvador Moyà, honestly admitted to Awake!: “Dr. Jordi Agustí and I found it very difficult to accept that the fossil was not humanoid. However, science is concerned with discovering the truth, even though it may not be to our liking.”

The controversy that has surrounded the “Man of Orce” illustrates how vexing a task it is for paleontology to unearth the truth concerning the so-​called evolution of man. Despite decades of digging, genuine remains of man’s supposed simian ancestors have not come to light. Although it may not be to the liking of some scientists, could it be that the dearth of solid evidence points to the fact that man is not a product of evolution after all?

An impartial observer might well ask himself if other renowned “ape-​men” are any more substantial than the “Man of Orce” has proved to be.a As history has amply demonstrated, science can lead men to the truth, but scientists are by no means immune to error. This is especially so when political, philosophical, and personal bias clouds the issue​—and when so little is used to try to explain so much.

[Footnotes]

[Pictures on page 24, 25]

Above: A replica of the three-​inch diameter [7.5 cm] fragment of the supposed “Man of Orce”

Right: A painting of hypothetical “primitive man” as imagined by evolutionists

The Bible’s Viewpoint

Should You Be Baptized Again?

LUCILA was troubled. Although raised a Catholic, she had recently begun a serious study of the Bible with the help of a non-​Catholic friend. She could see that the Bible described baptism as something different from the rite she had received in infancy. “Does this mean I will have to get baptized again?” she asked sincerely. “I’m afraid that doing so would offend God.”

Hundreds of millions of persons, both Catholics and Protestants, have had water sprinkled or poured on them as infants in a baptism ceremony. Millions of other persons were baptized by some form of complete immersion in water when they were older. This raises the question, Just what is Christian baptism? Are there any circumstances that would warrant a second baptism?

The Pocket Catholic Dictionary defines baptism as “the sacrament in which, by water and the word of God, a person is cleansed of all sin and reborn and sanctified in Christ to everlasting life.” Regarding rebaptism, this same source says that “baptism imprints an indelible mark on the soul, which means that it cannot, because it need not, be repeated.” Is this what the Bible says?

Make Disciples, Baptizing Them

At Matthew 28:19, 20, we read the command regarding baptism that the risen Christ gave to his disciples before he ascended to heaven. “Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you.” (The Jerusalem Bible) Clearly, baptism is required of Christian disciples​—those who have been taught to observe Christ’s commands—​not infants.a This harmonizes with the fact that all the baptisms described in the Scriptures involved disciples who evidently were completely immersed in water. This was obviously the case when Christ Jesus himself was baptized by John the Baptizer. The Bible account says that upon being baptized, Jesus “came up from the water” of the Jordan River. (Matthew 3:16, JB) Indeed, the Scriptures indicate that John chose his baptismal sites carefully in order to have plenty of water available.​—John 3:23.

Later, in describing the baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch, the Bible tells us that “Philip went down into the water with the eunuch and baptized him,” after which “they came out of the water.” (Acts 8:38, 39, The New American Bible) These baptisms by immersion are in keeping with the general meaning of the Greek word ba·ptiʹzo, “to baptize,” from baʹpto, meaning “to dip in or under,” which is the root of the English word “baptism.”

A Scriptural Account of Rebaptism

But what of the many millions of persons who were baptized as infants or who were not completely immersed? Would it ever be appropriate to baptize them again? An incident related in Acts 19:1-7 helps us to answer these questions. It was likely during the winter of 52/53 C.E. that the apostle Paul visited the wealthy city of Ephesus in Asia Minor. There he found some disciples who needed to be rebaptized. After learning that these men had been baptized with John’s baptism, Paul rebaptized them “in the name of the Lord Jesus.” He did not feel that doing so would offend God. Clearly, God agreed with Paul’s reasoning, and far from taking offense at this rebaptism, God validated it with the gift of holy spirit.

Had the 12 men rejected Paul’s teaching regarding the nature of baptism and the importance of the Messiah, Christ Jesus, no doubt Paul would have withheld baptism. First, the men had to qualify for baptism. Only then could they be rebaptized with God’s approval.

How to Qualify for Baptism

How do we qualify for baptism? Consider the multitude of people who were baptized on the day of Pentecost 33 C.E. How did they qualify? First, as Jews and Jewish proselytes, they began with a good background knowledge of Jehovah God, his dealings with his people, and Bible prophecies about his promised Messiah. Second, they took in further accurate knowledge during an inspired witness given by the apostle Peter that day. With what result?

“Hearing this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the apostles, ‘What must we do, brothers?’ ‘You must repent,’ Peter answered, ‘and every one of you must be baptised in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.’” (Acts 2:37, 38, JB) Note that Peter’s witness was not superficial. “He spoke to them for a long time using many arguments.” They were convinced by his reasoning, and they accepted what he said and were baptized. “That very day about three thousand were added to their number.”​—Acts 2:40, 41, JB.

The same elements are required for Scripturally valid baptisms today: (1) accurate knowledge, (2) sincere repentance, and (3) conversion, or turning to God and away from “this perverse generation.” Moreover, Scripturally valid baptisms must be “in the name of Jesus Christ,” that is, based on an acceptance of his ransom sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins and submitting to him as God’s enthroned king.​—Acts 2:40, JB; Romans 5:12-19; 7:14-25.

Sincere people who are Scripturally qualified for baptism need not fear that by getting rebaptized they will displease God. To the contrary, the Scripturally proper baptism of qualified people brings joy to God.

[Footnotes]

Watching the World

Museums in Peril

Are museums in danger of extinction? In Italy, a nation endowed with one of the greatest cultural heritages in the world, the equivalent of an entire museum full of art treasures disappears every year. “The richest of Italian museums is the one that you cannot see,” reports the newspaper Il Messaggero. In 1992 alone, almost 35,000 works of art, worth more than 200 billion lire ($123 million), were stolen from museums, churches, public and private institutions, and homes. Only 1,971 were recovered. According to estimates, between 1970 and 1992, an average of 30,000 works of art have disappeared every year​—a real national emergency, say the authorities. What happens to all these stolen treasures? Reportedly, many end up in the secret hideouts of drug dealers and organized-​crime leaders.

Trance or Death?

The followers of Balak Brahmachari, devoted though they are to their guru, suffered little apparent disappointment when doctors declared him dead, India Today reports. The devotees, called Santans, insisted that the doctors were mistaken and that their 73-​year-​old leader had simply gone into a “meditative trance.” They requested that he be kept in the hospital’s intensive care unit. When the doctors refused, the Santans brought the body back to their ashram, or cult residence, near Calcutta, and put it on display on a bed of ice in a cooled room. The municipal authorities insisted that the body be cremated to prevent any health hazards, but the Santans dismissed such requests as propaganda, arguing that the body showed “no sign of decay at all.” Weeks passed. Finally, the authorities were forced to take action and dispose of the corpse.

Music and Murder

Music may have played an important role in two recent murders in Texas, U.S.A. In one case, a 19-​year-​old driver shot and killed a state trooper who had pulled him over to issue him a ticket. The youth’s lawyer not only claimed that the youth was listening to violent rap music when he fired on the officer but also claimed that his long-​standing immersion in such music had ‘hyped him up’ to commit murder. The jurors reportedly agreed that the music had played an important role in the youth’s actions. But according to the prosecuting attorney in the case, “they just did not feel that the music reduced [his] blameworthiness for the crime.” The youth was sentenced to death. In a similar story, a 15-​year-​old youth who confessed to shooting and killing his mother claimed that a song by the heavy-​metal group Megadeth had given him instructions from demons to do the killing.

Alternative Treatment

As they seek to reduce the risk of their patients’ catching AIDS or hepatitis, doctors in Brazil are seeking alternatives to blood transfusions, reports the newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo. The paper further explained: “Brazilian doctors already use alternative methods of surgery for Jehovah’s Witnesses. By means of erythropoietin​—a [hormone] produced by the kidneys—​they have been able to raise the number of red blood cells to a level high enough, in some cases, to eliminate transfusions after surgery.” Hence, after operating on 91 Witnesses, Dr. Sergio A. de Oliveira of the Portuguese Welfare Hospital, São Paulo, states: “We find that Jehovah’s Witnesses patients can undergo cardiac surgery without blood or blood products, with a good margin of safety.”

Church Insurance Against Abuse Claims

“The Australian Catholic Church has taken out a multimillion dollar insurance policy to protect itself against claims of sexual abuse by priests,” reports The Sunday Telegraph of Sydney, New South Wales. “We admit it goes on,” said a Catholic bishop in Melbourne, Australia. He asserts that such extensive insurance coverage is normal “for that kind of offence.” According to a support group for the victims, sexual abuse by the clergy is more widespread than the church admits. A spokesman for the group said he believes the church’s focus is more on protecting the clergy than helping the victims. He added that the message “at the very core of the church’s documents is, don’t tell the truth.”

How to Be a Priest

“Japanese youth nowadays are called the ‘manual generation’​—they read ‘how-​to-​books’ before they do anything. Now priests are no exception.” So reports Tokyo newspaper The Daily Yomiuri. In order to teach priestly etiquette and traditions to today’s young priests, Kyoto’s Institute for Zen Studies directed that a how-​to-​be-a-priest manual be prepared. Whereas Zen priests of old had to remain unmarried and were famed for their strict training, many today simply inherit the work from their fathers or grandfathers. But fathers, the newspaper says, often fail to teach their sons manners befitting priests, and the youths themselves are too busy studying for college exams to learn Zen customs. Some reportedly have difficulty reading the sutras, or discourses of the Buddha.

Heart Problems Among Argentine Women

Recent statistics show that the number of heart attacks is rising rapidly among women of all ages in Argentina. The newspaper Clarín published the results of a survey on the subject made by the Sociedad Argentina de Cardiología (Argentine Society of Cardiology). It surveyed 82 intensive care units and 521 heart patients throughout the country. The report states that the number of women admitted to Argentina’s hospitals because of heart attacks increased by over 56 percent in less than a year. And whereas in 1991 only 25 percent of heart attack patients were women, at present they represent nearly 40 percent. Risk factors for heart attacks include high blood pressure, obesity, excessive fat in the blood, alcoholism, and tobacco use. However, this study found no direct correlation between age and the mortality of heart patients.

Neurosis in the Convent?

Convents and monasteries are often thought of as idyllic havens for meditation. However, Bruno Giordani, a clergyman who teaches psychology at the Pontifical Lateran University in Rome, has produced “a disquieting analysis” of convents and monasteries, reports the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. According to his report, “many nuns appear to be victims” of “a large number of serious psychological disorders.” He enumerates the traits of the “neurotic nun,” who “often suffers from pathological guilt feelings or else the absence of all moral sensibility.” Some are troubled by “solitude, not being understood, and narcissistic behavior,” affirms Giordani. Little wonder, then, that the next world synod of Catholic bishops, which will be held in 1994, will deal with the specific problems faced by the clergy.

Wars Still Continue

Although military expenditures worldwide are being cut back, the number of wars being fought is not declining. “The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in Sweden recorded 30 serious armed conflicts in the past year [1992],” reports the German newspaper Nassauische Neue Presse. According to the institute, that was the same number as in 1991. Even though fighting ceased in some trouble spots, “Bosnia witnessed the start of the bloodiest conflict, in which over 100,000 persons lost their lives by the year’s end.” SIPRI predicts that “the number of conflicts that escalate into violence will fall only very gradually.”

Street Named After Witness Martyr

When a new street was to be named in the small German town of Baltmannsweiler, the Community Council settled on the name Bernhard Grimm. Why? Reports the newspaper Esslinger Zeitung: “Grimm, born in 1923, lived at 30 Reichenbacher Street. As a believing Jehovah’s Witness, he refused to take up military service when registered. He was immediately imprisoned and taken to Berlin. The military court sentenced him to death for ‘corrupting the military.’ On August 21, 1942, the death sentence was executed on the 19-​year-​old in Berlin-​Plötzensee.” Because it was just over 50 years since this young man’s martyrdom, the community councillor thought it a fitting time to name a street after him.

Reading Crisis?

“Magazines and newspapers have fewer readers,” states Gazeta Mercantil. The Brazilian newspaper reports that delegates in Berlin, Germany, attending the 46th convention of the International Federation of Newspaper Editors were concerned over the growing “lack of interest in reading the printed page and the preference for audiovisual” media. In the opinion of the president of the Inter-​American Society of the Press, Alejandro Junco de la Vega, many have “no awareness of the importance of the printed word . . . Many still believe that television is more relevant.” Horácio Aguirre, director of the newspaper Las Americas in Miami, voices an opinion doubtless shared by many a newspaperman, that a newspaper “presents a much more ample panorama of what is happening in the world.”

From Our Readers

Divorce Right after our second anniversary, my husband had an affair with a close friend of mine. Two years later he left me. So when I saw the cover of the July 8, 1993, Awake! with the title “Divorce​—The Door to a Happier Life?,” I was less than enthused. At times it’s difficult for me to study material emphasizing family life. However, I found it encouraging to read that eventually “an innocent mate may emerge from the ordeal a stronger, more vital, whole person.” I wouldn’t say I’m at that point yet, but I’m making progress. I have been in a very deep depression. But the abundance of information you have provided in other issues on depression has helped my congregation elders support me through some very terrible times. Thank you for all the help you are providing through the magazines.

D. P., United States

Stepparents When I read your article “Tips for Stepparents” (July 8, 1993), I just had to write. I am ten years old, and I live with my mother. My dad remarried, so now I have a stepmother. When I read how other kids felt about stepparents, I thought, ‘My feelings exactly!’ I am glad that one of your tips was to beware of jealousy. A lot of times, I view my stepmother as a competitor. My dad sometimes makes me feel like he loves my stepmother much more than he’s ever loved me. I hope my dad and stepmother will read this wonderful article and be more understanding toward me.

V. N., United States

Copper Mining I read your magazines from time to time with interest. However, I wondered about the article “The Biggest Man-​Made Hole in the World.” (March 8, 1993) How could you put this copper mine in such a positive light? Does not the Bible say God will destroy those who ruin the earth?

H. Y., England

We are well aware of the environmental impact made by open-​pit mining. Nevertheless, our article merely reported on this copper mine as an item of interest, not as a promotion of the mining industry. In all fairness, though, it must be acknowledged that the electrical industry​—indeed, the public in general—​has become dependent upon copper. And the vast majority of copper used in the United States is unearthed in open-​pit mines. It would be unjust, then, to blame solely the copper industry for the environmental damage that results. This complex situation serves as another illustration of the need for God’s Kingdom to take over the management of earth’s affairs.​—ED.

Daydreaming I am 11 years old, and I want to thank you for the “Young People Ask . . .” articles on daydreaming. (July 8 and July 22, 1993) I always dreamed about being someone else, and you’ve helped me appreciate that instead of daydreaming about being liked, I should work at being likable.

J. K., United States

Upon reading the articles, I broke down in tears. Most of my time was spent daydreaming​—usually about being famous or about boys or sex. This would happen even at Christian meetings. Daydreams were taking over my life. I would stay away from my family and friends and be off to myself up in my room. I was miserable and ashamed of myself. Now I have taken your advice to heart and put it to use. Sometimes these thoughts return, but now I fill my mind with other thoughts or work at one of my hobbies, and the thoughts go away. Thank you so much.

T. P., United States

Why Don’t Woodpeckers Break Their Necks?

HAVE you ever heard a woodpecker drilling into a tree? Since there are about 200 species of woodpeckers worldwide, you may have noticed its persistent pecking that sounds like a machine gun. When I saw one, its beak pecking away at a tree trunk, it made me wonder, ‘Why doesn’t it break its neck or damage its brain?’ If we as humans engaged in similar violent action, we would need the attention of a chiropractor or a brain surgeon! So, what is the secret?

Take as an example the red-​bellied woodpecker, found in the eastern half of the United States. The Book of North American Birds states: “With its heavy, chisel-​shaped bill, it chips insects from beneath tree bark, pecks holes to get at wood-​boring beetles, slashes out chunks of wood while digging a nest hole.” How does it protect itself against wood dust? “Its nostrils are conveniently covered by a small mask of fine bristly feathers.”

And what about the head being pounded? “To prevent brain damage . . . , a strong neck, a thick skull, and a cushioning space between the heavy outer membrane and the brain itself act as special protectors.”

Another woodpecker, the yellow-​bellied sapsucker, drills neat rows of holes into the bark, from which it sucks the sap. Unlike the red-​bellied woodpecker, which has an incredibly long, cylindrical tongue with a tip for spearing insects, the sapsucker has a shorter tongue with fine hairs to aid in lapping up the sap.

Surely such elegant variety of design bespeaks a Designer, Jehovah God. In humility we should echo the words of Job: “I have come to know that you are able to do all things, and there is no idea that is unattainable for you.” And David wrote: “Your works are wonderful, as my soul is very well aware.”​—Job 42:2; Psalm 139:14.

[Picture Credit Lines on page 31]

Leonard Lee Rue, 111/ H. Armstrong Roberts

Left: H. Armstrong Roberts

Conscience, Why Do You Torment Me?

“O COWARD conscience, how dost thou afflict me!” Those famous words, uttered by King Richard III in Shakespeare’s play of the same name, describe the remorse that the human conscience can provoke. In real life the conscience has unsettled and altered the lives of many.

The power of the conscience was illustrated by the recent case of a young Italian. His work as a security guard involved transporting large sums of money. All went well until, one day, he gave in to temptation and stole a sack containing 300,000,000 lire [$185,000]. Since he was working with two colleagues and it was impossible to determine which one of them had taken it, all three were fired.

He hid the stolen money, intending to use it after the storm had calmed. Instead, an unexpected torment began: He couldn’t stop thinking about the firing of his innocent workmates. His conscience would not give him a moment’s peace. He couldn’t sleep. He couldn’t eat. He became impossible to deal with.

Finally, overcome by guilt and exhausted by his internal struggle, he went to the police and handed over the stolen money. He told them: “The remorse was too much. I can’t put up with it any longer!” He added: “Better in jail and honest than free with a conscience that condemns you as a thief.”

The conscience is God’s gift to all men. It may accuse or excuse us. When we listen to it, it may save us from making mistakes, rationalizing away serious wrongdoing. So instead of ignoring its proddings or resentfully railing against it as Shakespeare’s King Richard III did, we should cherish and safeguard our conscience.​—Romans 2:14, 15.

If you would like more information about the Bible and its practical counsel, please contact Jehovah’s Witnesses at your local Kingdom Hall, or write to the nearest address listed on page 5.