September 22

Page Two

The Lure of SATANISM 3-12

Beware! Its god is a roaring lion always looking for more victims to devour.

Why Talk About God? 13

Most youths believe in God but hesitate to talk about him. Why?

Australia’s Wildflower Spectacular 16

One of the world’s richest displays of natural flora.

[Picture Credit Line on page 2]

By Courtesy of West Australian Tourist Commission

The Rise and Fall of Satanism

Satanic rituals performed by black-​robed priests in dark cellars, chanting prayers over bound victims on an altar, with flickering candles casting eerie shadows on the walls as the worship of their god, Satan, proceeds. Drawn close by the secret knowledge of some shared mystery with a touch of the supernatural, the young participants on this journey into the occult relish the tingle of excitement that fills the air. They draw close with an uncanny feeling of an exclusiveness that they alone possess.

A harmless, passing fad? Or a demonic evil pervading today’s society?

REAMS have been written in newspapers, magazines, and books about the lurid deeds of satanic cults. Details of the widespread activity of violent satanic groups have been aired on national television and radio. It has become a major problem for police in both the small and the big cities in America, Canada, and Europe.

Satanism has a special lure for today’s youths. The founder of the Church of Satan explains why, as reported in ’Teen magazine of June 1993: “Instead of commanding members to repress their natural urges, we teach that they should follow them. This includes physical lust, the desire for revenge, the drive for material possessions.”

How Satan must be pleased with this diabolically inspired ideology, since it goes counter to God-​inspired Christian principles!

Satanism is on the rise. It is a growing menace, but its demise is imminent. Its god is under sentence of death. So is Satan’s world and its supporters, for “the whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one.” (1 John 5:19; Romans 6:16) To Satan’s worshipers and to all others who are knowingly or unknowingly serving Satan’s purposes, Jehovah’s message is: “The God who gives peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly.”​—Romans 16:20.

What future will then come to suffering humanity from “the God who gives peace”? The three articles that follow will show the rise and fall of Satanism and the conditions on earth that will replace it.

Today’s Youths​—Easy Prey to Satanism?

“SATAN worship is spreading out among the youths,” reported a Finnish newspaper of February 27, 1993. According to information obtained by the police of Tampere, Finland, criminals involved with the drug trade are bringing young ones, and especially girls, into satanic worship. In many cases these victims and new recruits are children from 10 to 15 years of age. “Satan worship has found a fertile soil among today’s young teenagers,” the paper reported.

“The new coming of Satan worship is not just a domestic (Finnish) trend,” the paper warned. “For example, the South African magazine the Johannesburg Star recently warned that Satan worship is inciting the white well-​fortuned youths of the country.” Truly, satanic worship is an international nightmare for parents as well as children.

Essentially, Satanism deceptively promises that you will get a lot for a very little. “Worship the devil; do his dirty work, and in return, he’ll give you what you want. And that’s why some kids find Satanism so appealing,” explained ’Teen magazine.

“I believe in living life to its fullest,” said a young teenager who admits to being a member of a satanic group. “I see two forces in nature: good and evil. All the things that people say are evil are the things that make you happy. Sins lead to emotional, physical and mental gratification,” he said.

When a Denver, Colorado, U.S.A., detective, an expert on satanic cults, was asked why he thought teenagers seem so susceptible to Satanism, he answered: “I will never forget what one teenage Satanist told me. He said, ‘What is there to live for? We’re going to live for today and do what we want. There’s no future.’”

Dr. Khalil Ahmad, director of adolescent services at the Nova Scotia Hospital in Dartmouth, Canada, voiced his opinion as to the lure of Satanism. “Teenagers are looking for excitement. The weak-​willed, often the losers, are attracted to [satanism]. It gives them a false impression of power.”

Another noted police authority on Satanism, a San Francisco detective, pinpoints the problem: “Our world is an apathetic place. We are more concerned with ourselves than each other. We live in a violent, negative society. Kids see that as a normal way of life and consequently are drawn into Satanism.”

How deeply are today’s youths involved in Satanism? “Kids are killing themselves and their friends. We’ve got a problem,” warned Larry Jones, president of Cult Crime Impact Network and a lieutenant in the Boise, Idaho, U.S.A., police force. Another police officer, from the state of Illinois, who tracks Satanism in his role as a high school police counselor, said 90 percent of the youths who dabble in devil worship get involved because it is a fad, but 10 percent “get caught up and go deeper and deeper.”

A Brooklyn, New York, school newspaper, School News Nationwide, January-​February-​March 1994, in its “Religion” section, ran an article entitled “Why Satanism Attracts Teens.” It reported: “After two boys fought in the high school cafeteria, the winner jumped up and flashed a strange hand salute, a clenched fist with his index and little fingers sticking up. The art teacher couldn’t figure out why so many kids drew pictures of demonic-​like men with goats’ heads. And books on the occult kept disappearing from the school library.

“The kids were, in fact, flirting with the power, the magic, the mystery of Satanism. For most, it was fun and exciting. For some, it was serious​—deadly serious to 17-​year-​old Lloyd Gamble—​who lost his life in a satanic sacrifice.

“After Lloyd’s death and his 15-​year-​old brother’s arrest for the murder, the Monroe county adults learned to understand the signs that had been so mysterious before: the ‘devil’s sign’ hand signal, the goat’s head pictures and the books that fed the teenagers’ imaginations, rituals and spells.”

The reports seem endless of preteens and teenagers killing their parents and other members of their families because of Satan worship. Children have been killed by other children in such acts. Like satanic adults, children have mutilated and killed animals. Family pets have been sacrificed on an altar of satanic rituals. Space does not allow for even a partial coverage of the butchery carried out by children who have embraced the religion of Devil worship.

Are these examples of children just dabbling in Satanism? Are those deep into Devil worship few and far between, a rarity? Not so, is the answer of those who have investigated these occult practitioners. David Toma, a former vice detective turned motivational speaker, said that in every school where he speaks, he asks the same question, “How many of you kids know someone or have heard of someone involved in Satanic practices?” He estimates that a “full one-​third of the students raise their hands.”

According to Shane Westhoelter, president of the National Information Network, from 30 to 40 percent of high school students are involved in some form of the occult. In addition, Westhoelter contends that up to 70 percent of all crimes committed by teens under the age of 17 are motivated by involvement in the occult.

[Blurb on page 5]

Satan worship has found a fertile soil among today’s young people

Satanism’s Handmaidens​—Drugs and Heavy-​Metal Music

CARL A. RASCHKE, director of the University of Denver Institute of Humanities, wrote: “It is no accident that drugs, heavy metal [music], brutality, and wanton violence have all become the grisly ensigns that wave above the human desolation as we move toward the third decade of the Age of Satan.” He also said: “You might say heavy metal rock is to self-​styled Satanism what gospel music is to Christianity. Very few people get converted to Christianity just by listening to gospel music on the radio. But heavy metal is a very powerful reinforcement. It legitimizes the nasty stuff the kids are already into.”

This is a strong indictment against what so many of today’s youths consider normal diversions from the anxieties of life​—heavy-​metal music and drugs. Are these charges justified? Can it be that drugs and heavy-​metal music are possible symptoms of Satanism? Consider the comments of those who have come face-​to-​face with the violence of satanic worshipers and those who have investigated them.

“The inflammatory message of heavy metal music is, as might not be surprising, ‘religious’​—in the sense that it proclaims a higher power overseeing the universe. The power, however, is not God,” wrote Raschke, in his book Painted Black. “It is . . . engineered by the Archfiend himself.” Additionally, he said: “The power and violence of the satanic is something toward which youngsters bereft of hope, and with a stunted conscience, can easily gravitate. . . . Troubled and abused youngsters, through a sort of insidious imprinting of experience, believe the Higher Power must be evil. Heavy metal affirms this ‘theology’ and institutionalizes it in the music.”

According to Dr. Paul King of the University of Tennessee, who testified before the United States Senate about heavy-​metal music, the music preference of a large number of disturbed youngsters is that of “unconventional themes of violence, hate, rebellion, primitive sex, abuse of women, and glorification of Satan. When an adolescent’s life-​style includes drugs, this preference is even more likely.” Heavy-​metal music glorifies and extols the power of evil, King said. In heavy-​metal music, “evil acts are glorified to new heights in concerts,” he said.

Consider the fruits of heavy metal’s subliminal message in the items that follow.

Last year in New Jersey, U.S.A., two 15-​year-​old boys brutally killed a family’s pet Labrador dog named Princess. “It was a sacrifice for Satan,” they claimed. They held the dog up by her chain, kicked her to death, ripped her tongue out and used it in a satanic ritual. They impaled the mutilated body of the dog on a large metal hook and hung it in a neighbor’s yard. Satanic markings were found on the dog’s head, and a pentagram (a five-​pointed star in a circle​—a Satanic symbol) was etched on the ground beneath the dog’s body. On the night of the killing, they were listening to Deicide (which means murder of God), a death-​metal band, whose lead singer boasts of torturing and killing animals.

In California, two teenage lovers, who, according to friends, were obsessed with Satan worship, savagely killed the girl’s mother by stabbing her and by beating her with a wrench. In the same area, another youth offered a prayer to Satan and then shot his father to death. Police investigating the crime were convinced that heavy-​metal music was to blame. “Basically, the music teaches that you don’t have to listen to your parents, and that you should live life the way you want,” said one police authority.

In England victims of serial gang rapes reported to police that one of the rapists bore tattoos of the insignia of a heavy-​metal band whose lyrics contain messages of rape and violence.

In Arkansas, U.S.A., a rural teenager attempted to kill his parents by beating them with a club and then slicing them with a butcher knife. Police found in his audiocassette player a tape cued to a heavy-​metal band’s song, “Altar of Sacrifice,” in which the lyrics scream out: “High priest awaiting, dagger in hand, spilling the pure virgin blood. Satan’s slaughter, ceremonial death, answer his every command. Enter to the realm of Satan . . . Learn the sacred words of praise, ‘Hail Satan.’”

As for the lyrics of other songs sung by screaming members of heavy-​metal bands​—often lip-​synched by their fans at concerts in wild frenzy, or listened to on audiocassette tapes for hours on end—​what influence do such messages have on impressionable youths? Consider, for example, these lyrics: “Satan our master in evil mayhem guides us with every first step,” and “Spill your blood, let it run on to me. Take my hand and let go of your life . . . You’ve spilt the blood. I have your soul.”

“If we already grant the premise that pornography might motivate a child molester,” wrote Carl Raschke, “why not entertain the thought that lyrics that scream kill, mutilate, maim, torture, obliterate might actually spur someone with a deranged brain to perform precisely those acts?”

It is the opinion of researchers everywhere that drug abuse and Satanism go hand in hand. Former vice detective David Toma laments that he has “never met a Satan worshiper who didn’t do drugs.” Drug use, reported ’Teen magazine, complicates matters for teenagers “who turn to devil worship, making it harder and harder to distinguish what’s actually real and what only appears to be real when viewed through the fog of drugs and alcohol.”

“Heavy metal is to heavy drug use as lotteries are to compulsive gamblers,” said Raschke. “The chemically dependent adolescent adopts a life-​style of swagger, brutality, theft and sexual excess​—all of which is reinforced by the yowling and bellowing of the metal groups.”

Without doubt, a youngster becomes easy prey to Satan’s influence when sanity is flushed from his brain and thoughts of perversion and violence take its place.

[Blurb on page 8]

One is easy prey to Satan’s influence when sanity is flushed from the brain and perversion and violence flood in

[Picture on page 7]

What are you filling your mind with?

The Days of Satanism Are Numbered

JEHOVAH GOD created Adam and Eve, put them in a paradise garden, and told them to multiply and fill the earth with righteous offspring. They were to take care of the garden, dress it and keep it, and live forever, all on just the one easy condition: ‘You are not to eat of a certain tree in the middle of the garden. If you eat of it, you will die.’​—Genesis 1:27, 28; 2:8, 9, 15-17; Isaiah 45:18.

A mighty angel rebelled against God and became Satan, meaning “Resister,” because he wanted to seize control. He wanted to have the worship of the human race for himself. He influenced Eve to eat the forbidden fruit, claiming that it was good for food and that she would not die but become like God, able to decide for herself what is good and what is bad. Her first decision was bad; she decided that to eat the forbidden fruit would be good. Eve ate, gave some of the fruit to Adam and he ate, and both ultimately died. Thus Adam brought sin and death upon their offspring, who have been dying ever since. (Genesis 3:1-6; Romans 5:12) The first human pair chose to follow Satan and became the first converts to the worship of Satan. Down to this day, millions have decided that the religion of those original parents was and is good enough for them. “If you keep presenting yourselves to anyone as slaves to obey him, you are slaves of him because you obey him.”​—Romans 6:16; John 17:15, 16; 1 John 5:19.

Jehovah pronounced Satan’s ultimate doom, but allowed him to continue for a time. This would give Satan the opportunity to prove a challenge he made, that God could not put men on earth who would prove true to Him under test​—a challenge so dramatically portrayed and answered for Jehovah’s side of the issue in the first two chapters of the Bible book of Job. Under cruel and vicious attacks from Satan, Job himself chose to keep integrity to God, thereby proving Satan to be a liar. (Genesis 3:15; Exodus 9:16; Job 42:7) Hebrews chapter 11 also records a long list of Witnesses who took Jehovah’s side of the issue of universal sovereignty.

Christ Jesus is the outstanding one who for all time provided the complete answer for Jehovah’s side of the great issue of universal sovereignty and human integrity to God. This was a crushing defeat for Satan. Jesus flatly turned down Satan’s offer to give him rulership over the whole world in return for just one act of worship to Satan. Jesus also endured unflinchingly a horrendous ordeal as he died on a torture stake. He overcame both Satan and Satan’s world, providing us with a perfect model to follow.​—Matthew 4:8-10; 27:50; John 16:33; Hebrews 5:7-10; 1 Peter 2:21.

In view of the calamitous times in which we are living, it may seem that Satan is getting stronger than ever and that Satanism itself is on the increase. The Bible book of Revelation, however, paints an entirely different picture at Re chapter 12, verses 7-9, 12:

“War broke out in heaven: Michael [Christ Jesus] and his angels battled with the dragon, and the dragon and its angels battled but it did not prevail, neither was a place found for them any longer in heaven. So down the great dragon was hurled, the original serpent, the one called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth; he was hurled down to the earth, and his angels were hurled down with him. On this account be glad, you heavens and you who reside in them! Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time.”

The Days of the Paradise Earth Will Be Without Number!

“Knowing he has a short period of time,” Satan steps up his demonic activity in these “last days.” (James 5:1-3) Yet there is a silver lining to the clouds of our days. Revelation 21:1, 3-5 reveals what it is: “I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the former heaven and the former earth had passed away, and the sea is no more. With that I heard a loud voice from the throne say: ‘Look! The tent of God is with mankind, and he will reside with them, and they will be his peoples. And God himself will be with them. 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.’ And the One seated on the throne said: ‘Look! I am making all things new.’ Also, he says: ‘Write, because these words are faithful and true.’”

Thus, Christ Jesus will reign for a thousand years, during which time Jehovah will carry out his original purpose in creating the earth and putting mankind on it. (Revelation 20:1, 2, 6) You will recall that mankind was originally to fill the earth with righteous offspring, care for the earth, look after its plants and animals, live in peace, and love one another. Fulfillment of that purpose has been held in abeyance to let Satan attempt to prove his challenge that he could turn all people away from Jehovah God. He has enslaved billions of people, but he has failed in the case of some millions of integrity keepers.​—Romans 6:16.

During a time of restoration, Jehovah’s mercy through Christ Jesus will reach even into the grave to give opportunity for everlasting life in a paradise earth to billions who have died during the past thousands of years: “Do not marvel at this, because the hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out, those who did good things to a resurrection of life, those who practiced vile things to a resurrection of judgment.”​—John 5:28, 29.

Any who then refuse to fit into the righteous environment of that new earth will not remain to pollute or destroy it, its plants and animals, the peace of mankind, or the true worship of Jehovah God. Psalm 37:10, 11, 29 confirms this: “Just a little while longer, and the wicked one will be no more; and you will certainly give attention to his place, and he will not be. But the meek ones themselves will possess the earth, and they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace. The righteous themselves will possess the earth, and they will reside forever upon it.”

Micah 4:2-4 promises true peace and security: “Many nations will certainly go and say: ‘Come, you people, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah and to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will instruct us about his ways, and we will walk in his paths.’ For out of Zion law will go forth, and the word of Jehovah out of Jerusalem. And he will certainly render judgment among many peoples, and set matters straight respecting mighty nations far away. And they will have to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears. They will not lift up sword, nation against nation, neither will they learn war anymore. And they will actually sit, each one under his vine and under his fig tree, and there will be no one making them tremble; for the very mouth of Jehovah of armies has spoken it.”

This peacefulness will also spread to include animals, as Hosea 2:18 says: “I [Jehovah] shall certainly conclude a covenant in that day in connection with the wild beast of the field and with the flying creature of the heavens and the creeping thing of the ground, and the bow and the sword and war I shall break out of the land, and I will make them lie down in security.” Ezekiel 34:25 speaks also of a covenant that excludes the presence of any “injurious wild beast.”

Further, Isaiah 11:6-9 promises peace between the animals in Paradise: “The wolf will actually reside for a while with the male lamb, and with the kid the leopard itself will lie down, and the calf and the maned young lion and the well-​fed animal all together; and a mere little boy will be leader over them. And the cow and the bear themselves will feed; together their young ones will lie down. And even the lion will eat straw just like the bull. And the sucking child will certainly play upon the hole of the cobra; and upon the light aperture of a poisonous snake will a weaned child actually put his own hand. They will not do any harm or cause any ruin in all my holy mountain; because the earth will certainly be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters are covering the very sea.”

The meek will inherit the earth. They will care for the air, the water, and the soil. Springs and streams of water will soak the parched lands. Forests will clothe the mountains that have been denuded for selfish gain. Woodlands will flourish and former deserts will blossom as the rose. The blind will see, the deaf will hear, the lame will walk, and the speechless will talk. (Isaiah 35:1-7) Appreciation for Jehovah’s glorious mountains and valleys and his coastlands bordering surging seas and oceans will never allow human greed to rise up again to ruin the earth. It will be easy, natural, for perfect mankind, filled with the fruits of Jehovah’s spirit, to delight, each one, in loving his neighbor as himself, and above all to love Jehovah with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength. Yes, all mankind will bear the spiritual fruitage of “love, joy, peace, long-​suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, self-​control.”​—Galatians 5:22, 23.

Too Good to Be True?

By now some readers may be saying, ‘All of that sounds too good to be true.’ But, no, the conditions existing now are too bad to continue. We are in what the Bible calls “the last days.” Look around, and you can see that this is so. “In the last days,” says God’s Word, “critical times hard to deal with will be here. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, self-​assuming, haughty, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, disloyal, having no natural affection, not open to any agreement, slanderers, without self-​control, fierce, without love of goodness, betrayers, headstrong, puffed up with pride, lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God, having a form of godly devotion but proving false to its power; and from these turn away. But wicked men and impostors will advance from bad to worse, misleading and being misled.”​—2 Timothy 3:1-5, 13.

Even with this graphic picture of our times, many will still ridicule. That also is to be expected. Their ridicule is itself a piece that fits into the pattern of proof that we are in the last days: “In the last days there will come ridiculers with their ridicule, proceeding according to their own desires and saying: ‘Where is this promised presence of his? Why, from the day our forefathers fell asleep in death, all things are continuing exactly as from creation’s beginning.’ . . . The heavens and the earth that are now are stored up for fire and are being reserved to the day of judgment and of destruction of the ungodly men. . . . There are new heavens and a new earth that we are awaiting according to his promise, and in these righteousness is to dwell.”​—2 Peter 3:3, 4, 7, 13.

Jehovah promises that, in his new world of righteousness, this wicked old system of Satan’s world will not even come to mind: “Here I am creating new heavens and a new earth; and the former things will not be called to mind, neither will they come up into the heart. But exult, you people, and be joyful forever in what I am creating.” (Isaiah 65:17, 18) The days of Satanism are numbered, and in God’s due time, Satan himself will be destroyed forever.​—Revelation 20:1-3, 7-10.

Indeed, the blessed conditions to come in the Paradise earth are not too good to be true; Jehovah considers the present conditions of this old system under Satan too bad to remain.

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The blessed conditions to come in the Paradise earth are not too good to be true

Young People Ask . . .

Why Talk About God?

“Everybody has his own religion. You shouldn’t try to force your God on other people.”​—14-​year-​old Racish, Guyana.

“I hesitate to talk about God because I’m ashamed of the ridicule that will follow.”​—17-​year-​old Rohan, Guyana.

“We should talk about God because he is our Creator and we owe our life to him.”​—13-​year-​old Marco, Germany.

LISTEN in on a group of young people talking and you will probably draw this sad conclusion: God is definitely not the most popular topic for conversation among youths, for the most part. Mention sports, clothes, the latest movies, or the opposite sex and you will usually trigger a lively discussion. Dare to mention God, though, and an awkward silence as thick as fog can quickly descend.

Some youths simply do not believe in God. They may reason that since they cannot see him, he must not exist​—talking about him seems a waste of time. Nevertheless, atheists are definitely in the minority among young people. According to a Gallup survey, about 95 percent of U.S. youths do believe in God. In fact, Gallup concluded: “For many young people the God of their belief is not some vague abstract principle, but a personal God who observes their actions and rewards or punishes them accordingly.” Why, then, are so many youths hesitant to talk about what they believe?

Why Some Hold Back

Many simply seem to think it’s bad manners to talk about matters of faith and that religious thoughts are best kept to oneself. Some youths seem to be embarrassed by the mere idea of discussing God. ‘It’s just not cool to do so,’ they reason.

Whatever the view of your peers, where do you stand on this issue? This question is particularly pertinent if you were raised as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Why? Because witnessing, telling others about God, is at the very core of that faith!​—Isaiah 43:9, 10; Matthew 24:14.

Even so, discouraged by the hostility they occasionally encounter, some Witness youths hold back from engaging in the public preaching work​—or do participate only because of persuasion by their parents. Others share in that work but secretly hope that none of their school friends see them doing so. At school, some try to keep their religious convictions a secret. Often this is because they fear ridicule from classmates. “I was scared to talk about God,” admits young Ryan, “because my associates would call me names and I did not have the courage to continue the conversation.”

Then there are those who hold back because they fear they cannot fully live up to the Bible’s standards. Feeling the lure of “the desires incidental to youth,” they reason it would be best not to identify themselves as Christians in case they do something wrong.​—2 Timothy 2:22.

Some do not talk about God because they simply feel inadequate. Nineteen-​year-​old Wilton put it this way: “I found it difficult to talk about God to my workmates because I felt that I was not qualified to defend the things I said about him. I felt that if challenged about my beliefs, I would not have a satisfactory answer.”

A Christian Obligation

Could it be that you have held back from talking about God for similar reasons? If so, you are not alone. Other youths have struggled with the same feelings. However, many have come to appreciate that, in spite of all the things that might discourage one from doing so, there are compelling reasons to talk to others about God. What are some of these?

Young Marco, mentioned at the outset, put it well when he said that God “is our Creator and we owe our life to him.” (Revelation 4:11) Yes, life is a precious gift. The psalmist said of God: “With you is the source of life.” (Psalm 36:9) Having received this gift, should you not show gratitude for it?

One way to show gratitude is to praise Jehovah God in the presence of others. He is the Originator of the sun, the moon, the rain, the air that we breathe, and the food that we eat. (Acts 14:15-17) “Every good gift and every perfect present is from above,” said the disciple James. (James 1:17) Do you thank God for these gifts? (Colossians 3:15) What finer way to express your thanks than to talk about God?​—Luke 6:45.

Actually, though, God commands us to speak about him. His Son, Jesus Christ, commanded Christians: “Go therefore and make disciples of people of all the nations.” (Matthew 28:19, 20) Youths are not excluded from the responsibility of participating in this work. Commands the psalmist: “Praise Jehovah . . . you young men and also you virgins, you old men together with boys. Let them praise the name of Jehovah, for his name alone is unreachably high. His dignity is above earth and heaven.” (Psalm 148:7, 12, 13) But you need not view this assignment as a burden. Really, it is a privilege​—you can actually be one of “God’s fellow workers.”​—1 Corinthians 3:9.

What if you simply do not feel qualified? The prophet Jeremiah had such feelings in Bible times. “Alas, O Sovereign Lord Jehovah!” he said. “Here I actually do not know how to speak, for I am but a boy.” Jehovah’s response? “Do not say, ‘I am but a boy.’ But to all those to whom I shall send you, you should go; and everything that I shall command you, you should speak.” (Jeremiah 1:6, 7) With Jehovah’s help Jeremiah did just that for 40 years!

Likewise with Christians today, “our being adequately qualified issues from God.” (2 Corinthians 3:5) Even if you are by nature the shy, retiring type, God can help you to have the courage to speak. Within the Christian congregation are provisions that can help you become more “adequately qualified” as a teacher of God’s Word. If you feel you need some personal assistance, why not talk to one of the congregation overseers? It may just be a matter of developing a program of personal Bible study or working along with someone more experienced.

What You Can Accomplish

Talking about God can give you a real sense of accomplishment. For one thing, many of your peers are searching for answers, almost crying out for help. They lack direction and have no clear vision of the future. They wonder, ‘Why are we here? Where are we going? Why is the world so full of trouble?’ As a Christian, you have the answers, and you are likely in the best position to convey such knowledge to your peers. They can relate to you and would probably rather talk to someone their own age than to an adult.

True, at times you will face rejection. But you may also find individuals receptive to the Bible’s message. One young Witness sat on a bus reading her personal copy of the book Questions Young People Ask​—Answers That Work.a A boy seated next to her began to read along. “This is a neat book!” the boy exclaimed. “This book talks a lot about God. Most people aren’t interested in religion.” The young Witness used this as an opportunity to have an in-​depth discussion on the subject of God’s name.

Granted, when you identify yourself as a Christian, you are obliged to behave like one. (1 Peter 2:12) But fine Christian conduct will only add to the credibility of your message. Consider the experience of a youth named Eric. He was impressed by the fine conduct of Witness youths in his school. This sparked his interest in learning more about God. A Bible study was started with him, and today he is a baptized Christian serving at the world headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses in New York.

Talking about God can also help you! It can serve as a protection. When your companions know you are one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, many will respect you. They may be less prone to pressure you into engaging in wrongdoing when they recognize that you have high standards and know that you are likely to give them a witness in response.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that every time you open your mouth you must quote scriptures. You will still have your interest in sports, clothes, or music and will want to talk about such things from time to time. But remember: “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.” (Matthew 12:34) If love for God is truly in your heart, you’ll naturally want to talk about him. In a future issue, we will discuss some ways in which you can do so effectively.

[Footnotes]

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Are you ashamed to be seen by your schoolmates when you are in the public preaching work?

Australia’s Wildflower Spectacular

BY “AWAKE!” CORRESPONDENT IN AUSTRALIA

Every year from August through November​—springtime in the Southern Hemisphere—​thousands of visitors, including botanists and other scientists, flock to the state of Western Australia. Coach tours operate into the heart of the southwest and north. Special trains loaded with sightseers journey slowly into the outback. Many local residents also head for the open country. What brings such a sudden influx of tourists? Why, it is wildflower time in Western Australia​—truly a wildflower spectacular!

HERE in its natural setting can be seen one of the world’s richest displays of natural flora, and for three months large areas of the state are ablaze with native wildflowers. In fact, it has been billed in the media as “one of the greatest wildflower spectaculars in the world.” Why is the setting for this spectacular different from any other country?

Flora, Unique and Diverse

One reason is that oceans and seas have long isolated the Australian continent from contact with other continents. Maybe it is because of its unique setting that many botanists are convinced that this large island continent has the most diverse flora in the world. Nowhere is this unique diversity more evident than in Western Australia, where in spring the country comes alive in an ecstatic display of blooms.

Western Australia is the continent’s largest state. It covers 975,000 square miles [2.5 million sq km]​—as large as Western Europe and more than three times the size of Texas, U.S.A. As a result, it has a great diversity of scenery and climate. After good winter rains, there bursts forth a variety show ranging from the velvety and refined Sturt’s desert pea to the papery and ubiquitous everlasting.

Most of the wildflowers bloom in August and September. Some species, however, require more warmth for growth and do not bloom until October or November. An impressive 8,000 species are known to occur in the state. Species range from one of the largest hardwood trees, the karri, to the smallest parasitic plant, Pilostyles. The diversity also includes the world’s only fully underground orchid, Rhizanthella gardneri. Then there are some of the purest blue flowers​—one named Lechenaultia biloba, and another called Dampiera, named after the pirate William Dampier. There are also several black flowering plants such as the black kangaroo paw. New species are continually being found​—so much so that one excited botanist made the extravagant suggestion that it may be possible to find a new species every day!

Business Also Blooms

Not surprisingly a wildflower industry has grown and blossomed around this annual spectacle. At least 14 wildflower festivals are held each year. Tourists are taken on walking safaris, pastoralists open their remote properties to visitors, jewelry manufacturers produce wildflower designs, and artists give attention to botanical detail as they prepare illustrations for books soon to be published. The industry also has plans to sell picked wildflowers on the international market. But how can they be kept fresh?

A special technique has been developed to maintain the wildflowers’ original texture and perfume. It involves a secret solution that slows the development and decay of the flowers. This allows workers to pick the wildflowers just before the flowers bud and then to ship them overseas where the preharvesting solution is diluted by soaking the cuttings in water, thus allowing the flowers to resume their progress toward blooming.

While it is true that business may be blossoming, not everyone is happy at wildflower time. For example, hay-​fever sufferers may see these months through watery eyes as they uncomfortably sneeze their way into summer. At times, too, the pollen produces strange phenomena. Consider what happened in 1992. After heavy rains and mild temperatures, residents in some towns were startled to be inundated with a bright yellow downpour. It covered cars, carpeted roadsides, and lined gutters. This yellow rain was identified by environmental authorities as wildflower pollen. Apparently the pollen rain had blown in from the wildflowers blooming in the midwest. Notwithstanding these difficulties, however, most will agree that the beauty and benefits of the yearly spectacular outweigh the inconveniences.

Follow the Wildflower Trails

Come with us now on a wildflower-​discovery tour. The first wildflower trail takes us south of the state capital, Perth, to Serpentine National Park. The park is situated on an escarpment plateau and is extremely hilly. Its river, which flows through steep gullies and sheer granite outcrops, finally spills over a 50-​foot [15 m] waterfall. Among the jarrah and wandoo trees, kangaroos and wallabies feed while golden whistlers, splendid wrens, and thornbills square dance in the undergrowth. Rock pools play host to sundews and blue fairy orchids, and nearby lies an eiderdown of pale-​mauve granite honeymyrtle, patched with masses of tiny cream trymalium and the startling combinations of mauve calytrix and blue andersonia.

We now head farther south to perhaps the most fruitful and popular wildflower spot​—Stirling Range National Park. This 445-​square-​mile [1,150 sq km] range rises abruptly to Bluff Knoll, the highest peak, which reaches 3,534 feet [1,077 m] above sea level. The climate here differs from the surrounding district. As a result, more than 1,500 species of flowering plants occur naturally here, and 60 of these are peculiar to this area. Next, climbing Toolbrunup Peak we are provided with magnificent views and varied plant life. Among the most beautiful are Darwinias, or mountain bells. Ten species have so far been identified in the park, and only one of these is known to grow outside the Stirling Range. In September and October the beautiful shady bell is easy to find in dense woodlands, while higher up the slopes grows the pink mountain bell. We also spot a rare green spider orchid and note that there are 23 species in Western Australia.

Since we are nearby, we decide to take the short trip to Torndirrup National Park. Here the heathland puts on a grand display. We spy Banksia praemorsa with its unusually deep brown flowers​—and look! A mouse-​size honey possum feeding on some of the wildflowers. Here, too, are the hammer orchid blossoms producing a strong scent to pose as female wasps. They attract the male thynnid wasp who in his search for a mate, carries the seed to a succession of spurious females. The poor wasp’s unrequited love assists in pollination.

Let’s Now Head North

Having seen some of the principal wildflower areas south of Perth, we now head north to follow the Everlasting Trail​—a route that takes us through a number of national parks. Of course the starchy everlastings, the tour’s namesake, are out by their thousands, nodding agreeably as their heads are patted by the passing wind. We stop at a country cemetery where green and red kangaroo paws adorn the old gravestones. Next, the woodlands are dominated by firewood banksia, slender, and Christmas morrison​—a shrub flower with brilliant golden blooms. Have you seen the cowslip orchids blooming? Beautiful! We stroll through the shrublands, and the blue smokebush takes our breath away.

On this trail, there are 800 flowering species at hand. Many of the most stunning species are right on the roadside, visible from our four-​wheel-​drive vehicle. Visitors have often remarked that some of the roadside displays are so colorfully coordinated that it is hard to believe that human intervention was not involved. Yes, clumps of mauve tinsel flowers with bushes of yellow look so well planned, and there is no shortage of trendy blues.

But now it is time to head for home. We are pleased with the memories we have tucked away in our camera; therefore, we resist the temptation to break off one or two blossoms as a souvenir. We remember that it is forbidden by law for the public to pick wildflowers, even those growing by the road. So we leave their upturned faces to be washed by the next spring rain and to be enjoyed by the next admirer. Yes, we have been treated to one of the greatest floral shows on earth. And as the scenery changes to burnished summer, we look forward with pleasure to the same performance next year, and indeed, for many years to come.

[Picture Credit Line on page 17]

All photos: By Courtesy of West Australian Tourist Commission

A Big Dream Fulfilled!

BY AWAKE! CORRESPONDENT IN NIGERIA

OVER 500 Witnesses were at the noon meal at the Bethel Home in Nigeria on February 9, 1994, when the waiters wheeled in the ice cream for dessert. “What is the occasion?” some wondered aloud. “Not only ice cream, but such a variety​—vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and pistachio!”

“Four-​color ice cream! It has a special significance,” announced the one presiding at the meal. “It is to celebrate our change to four-​color [full-​color] printing!”

The thunderous applause that followed was not simply for the ice cream in the dining room. It was in appreciation of the new printing presses in the factory that had already begun to produce the Watchtower and Awake! magazines in full color. Full-​color printing was now a reality worldwide. Nigeria was the last of the large printing branches to be converted to full-​color printing​—a move that had got under way in the mid-1980’s. With the March 15, 1994, issue of The Watchtower, two-​color printing had become a thing of the past in Nigeria.

The two new Koenig and Bauer Rapida 104 printing presses had come from the Netherlands branch. Along with the presses came other printing equipment: plate scanner, folder, stitcher, trimmer, and sheeter. In all, it amounted to 130 metric tons of equipment.

Printing Presses That Float on Air!

With the decision to send the presses came the problem of how to ship them. Thirty-​five-​ton presses do not fit in a suitcase! Bernd Sauerbier, who organized the shipping from the Netherlands, said: “We had to think about how to transport the machines in the best way to protect them from damage.”

Normally such presses are shipped in huge wooden crates. However, the brothers feared that wood might not be strong enough to withstand the rigors of sea travel along with dockside loading and unloading. A cheaper and more secure alternative would be to send them in 40-​foot-​long steel shipping containers. But how do you move such huge machines in and out of containers? Brother Sauerbier said: “This was a challenge because we had no experience in loading printing presses into containers. Even the company that manufactured the presses had no idea how to ship them in this way.”

The solution involved the use of air cushions, also known as air-​filled modules. These air cushions are unimpressive to look at, but they do a mighty work. They are flat units made of aluminum and rubber, somewhat larger and heavier than a briefcase. Compressed air is pumped through them and is propelled downward. This lifts the air cushions slightly above the ground along with whatever rests on them.

In this way, even the units of a printing press weighing many tons can be supported on a thin cushion of air. They hover, floating on air! Once a unit is lifted off the ground, it is easy to push it by hand to wherever you want it.

The Witnesses laid hardboard on the floor of the containers so that it would be smooth enough to use air cushions inside them. They also had to make sure that the floor of each container was absolutely flat. Once the machines were inside the containers, the brothers fixed steel rods to the sides and the top of each container to make the cargo more secure. It took two weeks in August 1993 to load all the units into the containers.

On December 29, 1993, at 6:00 p.m., the first five containers arrived at the Nigeria Bethel complex. The brothers were waiting, eager and ready to begin the exacting work of off-​loading. They worked through the night until daybreak. Since the machinery had been packed on air cushions, workers pumped in pressurized air, and piece by piece, the units glided out of the containers. Cranes then lifted each unit onto a specially built platform at the factory entrance. Again the air cushions were put to work, and as a crowd of enthusiastic onlookers watched, the machines were pushed by hand to where they would operate.

Delighted Reaction to Full-​Color Magazines

At 7:45 p.m., on February 3, 1994, the presses turned out the first English language full-​color Watchtower printed in Nigeria. Soon the presses were also printing magazines in Yoruba, Igbo, Efik, and French.

As the first copies became available to those living at Bethel, what was the reaction? “I was elated!” exclaimed one. “Its attractiveness surpasses by far any other publication produced in this country.”

Another said: “Just as soon as they were available, I obtained 20 copies, which I mailed to my family and friends. I can’t wait to use them in the field.”

Still another, when asked how she felt about the new full-​color magazines, replied: “Just splendid! This is another evidence that Jehovah cares for everybody worldwide!”

So as the workers at Bethel savored their four-​color ice cream, they thought about full-​color magazines. It was, as one expressed it, “a big dream fulfilled.”

[Pictures on page 21]

Units of the printing press weighing many tons were supported on a thin cushion of air

Radial Keratotomy​—What Is It?

Awake! here presents information about the surgical procedure known as radial keratotomy, what it may do for a person, and the risks that may be involved. Awake! makes no recommendations for its use. It is the responsibility of each one, after his personal investigation, to decide whether it is for him or not.

RADIAL KERATOTOMY (RK) has recently been publicized in some countries on an expanded scale through television, magazines, newspaper articles, and radio. It has been a principal topic of discussion at international ophthalmology conferences over the past two years. Although this procedure has been performed for over 20 years and has been described by medical researchers for some years before that, it is just now becoming popular. Increasing numbers of eye surgeons are attending seminars and learning to perform the procedure.

Millions of people are either born nearsighted or become so. What does “nearsighted” mean? It means unable to see distant objects clearly without the aid of spectacles or contact lenses. Usually, nearsighted people can read without glasses but often hold the material close to find the proper focus.

Radial keratotomy is a surgical procedure that attempts to reduce or eliminate the need for glasses for distant vision when performed on nearsighted people. The surgery reshapes the cornea so that the focused image falls on the retina instead of in front of it, as in nearsightedness. The incisions are performed by making radial cuts on the outer layers of the cornea toward the edge of the visual area to make the center of the vision clear. The incisions vary in depth, length, and number.

Not a New Surgery

The ancient Chinese tried to solve the problem of nearsightedness by sleeping with sandbags on their eyes. Results were only temporary. As early as 1894, medical journals reported surgical approaches to correct or modify the cornea. Since that time, surgeons in South America, and later in Japan, described techniques to surgically change the shape of the cornea to produce clear vision. The Japanese experience stimulated a Russian surgeon to modify the approach and make it more successful.

As the results proved reliable, several surgeons from other countries observed the surgery. They returned on several occasions to observe the results and then introduced the surgery into their countries. By 1979, papers were being written to describe the technique, the results, and the modifications needed for increased successful results. So even though this procedure may be new to you, it is not new to the surgical profession.

To protect the public, a study was done in the United States at several research centers to prove or disprove the effectiveness of this method of surgery, and the results were published in the 1980’s in what was called the PERK study. The American Academy of Ophthalmology then acknowledged this technique as an effective approach to reducing myopia (nearsightedness).

Is RK for You?

Now that we know something of its development, how can you know whether RK is a technique you might consider? A complete eye examination is the first step. After a determination by a physician that your eyes are suitable for the procedure, the likelihood of success can be indicated for your level of myopia. There is a decreasing success rate for more severe myopia.

If you have been cleared for RK by the eye examination, you will want to find a refractive surgeon or RK surgeon with considerable experience. In most large cities, there is at least one expert who has some years of experience. By attending seminars, reviewing experience records, talking to previous patients and to other ophthalmologists, you can probably find an ophthalmologist who has a consistent record of good results.

Between 1991 and 1992, in the United States, the number of ophthalmologists performing the surgery increased from 13 percent to 25 percent. This means that some are new to the field, but it also shows the increasing acceptance of the procedure. Pleas are now going out from experts in the field for new surgeons to get training so that they can avoid the frequent complications that the early surgeons experienced.

Before you decide to have the surgery, it is a good idea to have educated yourself about the procedure so that you can ask the questions you need to know. Successful surgeons can analyze each patient and adjust the surgery to control the outcome. They approach each case on an individual basis, adapting the surgery to the individual. Research has verified that the number of incisions, their depth, and their length determine the result. The patient’s age, sex, eye pressure, and eye shape are other considerations. Your surgeon may consider other variables to effectively fine-​tune and adjust the result.

Knowing how many years the surgeon has been performing this surgery and how many cases he or she has performed gives you an indication of his or her experience. Recent articles in medical journals have suggested that the standard for care is for a refractive surgeon to have available a computerized video imager called a Topographer. The better the equipment, the more likely it is that your surgery will have good results.

The Procedure

If you decide that you wish to have this procedure performed on you, what can you expect? There is a preoperative workup that includes an eye examination, ultrasound measurements of the eye and its thickness, curvature measurements, eye-​pressure measurements, and possibly video computer-​generated topography. With all this data, your surgery is planned. After understanding and signing a consent form, you are usually given a sedative.

Speaking of the consent form, let’s consider some of the risks mentioned on the form. This surgery is done on the outer layers of the eye. The usual side effects are problems with glare, star bursts from lights, fluctuating vision, a foreign body sensation, dry eyes, and general awareness of the eye, which can last for hours, days, weeks, or months. The eye is weakened by the incisions. The length of time that the eye is weakened varies with each person. Many complications can be eliminated by the use of postoperative eye drops and by following instructions as to restrictions on activities. A compliant patient increases the percentage of success.

Now that you are ready for the surgery, what is next? Within 30 minutes of taking a slight sedative, you walk to the RK surgery suite. Your eyelids are cleaned, and a drape is placed over your face. Final measurements might be taken at this time, and the surgical instruments are inspected under a microscope for accuracy. Your eye receives topical drops of anesthetic. Once the eye is anesthetized, a lid speculum is positioned to prevent blinking. You focus on a light, and the center of your vision is marked for the surgeon as a point to work from. A template is then placed on the eye to mark out the surgery pattern, and then the surgery begins.

In less than 20 minutes, surgery is completed. The eye is usually covered for a period of time, but within 24 hours you can begin to see improvement in your nearsightedness. The major changes in vision take place in the next 7 to 30 days. Only minor changes take place after three months, and by one year there is relative stability. For the next 20 years, about 1 in 4 patients will notice further changes to the vision.

It’s Not for Everyone

We have talked a little about complications. Now let’s talk some more about side effects​—expected and unexpected. RK doesn’t correct all levels of myopia. In almost every case, it helps, but it is not for some myopes. Some experience fluctuating vision. This means that in the morning the vision is different than in the evening. This is especially noted in people who sit in front of a computer screen all day. The great majority of RK patients do not experience this permanently, but a small percentage do. Night glare is a complaint of many after RK surgery, but again, the majority do not complain of this as a permanent condition. Those who were dry-​eyed and maybe gave up contact lenses because of it will experience further drying for up to six months. Some have an overcorrection, which robs the near vision and can also make the distance vision poor without contacts or glasses. This is not very common but does happen to some RK patients.

In the first three months after surgery, the vision can be affected by general health problems, emotional distress, pregnancy, medications, job changes, exercise patterns, dietary changes, and especially lack of rest. One RK surgeon has noted that people who lift weights on a regular basis usually require repeat surgeries to attain their expected vision goal. There are many things that affect the day-​to-​day vision, especially in the first three months. The patient must be ready for changes in vision while healing.

RK is not so precise that it can always replace glasses or contact lenses, since these can be adjusted to your specific needs. RK surgery is a general approach, and rarely do RK patients choose glasses after surgery. It is also possible to have only one eye corrected so that you have one eye for distant vision and one for near. Enhancements can be done after RK surgery if the vision goal is not obtained and if there is more that can be accomplished. This requires a surgeon with much experience to know just how much more surgery to do.

Investigate, Then Decide

The best advice if you are contemplating this operation is to get as much information as you can on the subject, since you need to ask the right questions to get straight answers. Then go to several RK surgeons before deciding on the approach you wish to take. (Proverbs 15:22) You might find out that you are a good candidate for the procedure and may substantially improve your vision.

Recently at a meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah, U.S.A., a report was presented on a study of RK patients who were also ophthalmologists. These patients almost unanimously responded that they were happy with the surgical results​—only 2 percent were indifferent, but 98 percent of them were happy.

To awaken to clear vision every morning and not to have to reach for glasses is quite an experience! In the near future, this will happen, not by surgery, but by divine power. God’s new system will bring clear vision to all there who once wore glasses, but new vision will be especially exciting to those who have never experienced sight before! “At that time the eyes of the blind ones will be opened.”​—Isaiah 35:5.

[Diagrams/​Pictures on page 25]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

The Typical Effects of RK Surgery

A normal eye focuses images clearly on the retina

Retina

Clear vision

The nearsighted eye is too long for images to reach the retina

Retina

Blurred vision

A pattern of eight radial cuts slightly flattens the cornea

The eye, after RK, allows the focus to reach the retina, giving clear vision

Retina

Clear vision

[Picture Credit Line on page 22]

The Complete Encyclopedia of Illustration/​J. G. Heck

The Handy Furoshiki

BY AWAKE! CORRESPONDENT IN JAPAN

A furoshiki is a Japanese wrapping cloth​—a wrapping cloth with a difference. It looks beautiful. It feels beautiful. And it is tied beautifully. Selecting and tying a furoshiki has become an art, passed down from generation to generation for well over a thousand years.

NOT just any cloth will do. Color, design, and the material must all be considered. The occasion also dictates which furoshiki will be used. For instance, a gift may be delivered wrapped in a furoshiki of silk on which traditional motifs, such as cherry or plum blossoms, are printed. Sometimes the giver may even insist that the recipient accept the wrapping as part of the gift.

Of course, wrapping cloths come in various sizes and suit various purposes. Round watermelons can be wrapped in them, or even tall rice-​wine bottles. Some furoshiki are so big that three or four bedrolls can be wrapped in them. These dustcovers are usually of cotton and hold a special fascination for little children who love using them to play dress-​up. At the other end of the scale, some young ones use very small cloths. In fact, a glance at children’s lunch boxes reveals that washcloths and handkerchiefs double up as mini furoshiki. When the children undo these mini furoshiki to eat their lunches, the clean cloths serve as table napkins. Most furoshiki, though, are about the size of a square head-​scarf.

The normal way to use a furoshiki in Japan is to place the object to be wrapped diagonally on the cloth, in the middle. If the package is oblong, the excess material at the sides is folded neatly around the package, first one side then the other so that each side is folded in a different direction. This leaves two corners of the material protruding at the ends. Now comes the difficult part. These two corners are brought up neatly over the package and tied in a double knot. Ideally, this will be a small knot that will end up looking like a dainty butterfly. However, according to the size of the package, the butterfly’s “wings” may look more like a pair of floppy rabbit’s ears. But all is not lost! A few seconds and these can be converted into a pretty bow.

For a square package, the opposite corners of the furoshiki are tied on top of the package, with one knot above the other so that only one knot is seen. The Japanese manage to pull all the material taut and arrange it in attractive gathers on the top. The clear-​cut shape is neat. Although the bundle can be carried by the knot, in the case of a gift, it is usually supported from underneath to preserve the shape.

The word furoshiki literally means “bath spread,” a name that became popular in the 17th century. At that time, gripped by a fear of fire, people tried to avoid lighting fires in their homes for bathwater. This left them little choice but to visit the public baths. There they spread out their square of material, undressed, and used it to wrap their clothes in while they bathed. Public baths have almost died out, but the name furoshiki, “bath spread,” has stuck.

In an age when traditions are fast disappearing, the furoshiki is surviving. Most families report having about eight furoshiki, and the luggage racks of Japan’s high-​speed bullet trains seem to support their claims. Passengers in Western dress conveniently mix the old with the new, the traditional with the modern.

Sales faltered for a while when shops began giving their customers plastic bags and large paper bags. However, the tide has turned. Designer labels and modern designs have made the furoshiki irresistible to Japan’s fashionable young women. A furoshiki matches a kimono in a way a leather bag never can. So when the kimono comes out for special occasions, so does the furoshiki for the big parcels.

Indeed, there is much to be said for wrapping cloths. Furoshiki made of natural fibers do not harm the environment. They can be used over and over again. They are small. They are light. They are easy to carry. They become bags of any shape or size at a moment’s notice. In the hands of admiring foreign tourists who do not know what furoshiki are, they become pretty scarves and table centers. And recently the Japanese have begun to copy the foreigners and have started using furoshiki in the same way, as well as for place mats, patchwork quilts, aprons, wall hangings, and anything else they think of. In fact, people are discovering just how handy a furoshiki is.

Watching the World

Blood Scandal Deepens in France

Investigations into the blood scandal in France have produced documents showing that government officials clearly placed economic considerations above the health and safety of French patients. According to the International Herald Tribune of Paris, the documents reveal that when an American laboratory discovered a blood-​screening method for detecting the AIDS virus in blood supplies, French officials, fearful that the U.S. product would flood the French market, blocked sales “to give a French manufacturer time to catch up on development of a similar product.” As a result, hundreds of persons developed AIDS after receiving contaminated blood transfusions during the nearly seven months it took the French company to develop its product.

One “Devil” Less

A Tokyo couple named their newborn baby Akuma, meaning “Devil.” “It has such an impact that once you hear it, you never forget it,” the father said. “It is a name that will enable my son to meet many people when he grows up.” Local authorities at first agreed to register the name, but later deleted it as unacceptable and an abuse of parental rights, saying it would invite mockery and discrimination. After months of fighting in courts, the parents gave in and said they would register their son under another name, so as to get on with their lives and not leave the boy officially nameless. However that did not change things at home. “We will continue to call him Akuma as his everyday name,” the father said, and it is the name to which the baby responds.

Anger and Heart Attacks

“People with heart disease more than double their risk of heart attacks when they become angry, and the danger lasts for two hours,” reports The New York Times. While previous studies have shown a relationship between anger and an increased heart rate, increased high blood pressure, and clogging of arteries, this new study is the first to present scientific evidence that anger can immediately lead to a heart attack. The risk may be reduced by trying to remain calm while facing emotional conflicts, said Dr. Murray Mittleman, the principal author of the study. “The researchers also noted that people who take aspirin, which lowers the risks of heart attacks, were partly protected from the effects of angry outbursts,” the article said, possibly because aspirin reduces the ability of platelets to form clots and clog arteries. So it may be that anger affects the platelets, Dr. Mittleman said.

Sleep and Contact Lenses Do Not Mix

People who regularly wear their contact lenses while sleeping are eight times more likely to develop an eye infection than those who do not, according to a recent study. The researchers found that even careful lens-​care hygiene does not protect against the excessive risk of wearing the lenses overnight, reports the International Herald Tribune. Overnight wear can cause the cornea, the eye’s clear outer covering, to become infected by germs and bacteria, regardless of lens type. By removing contact lenses before sleeping, wearers can reduce the likelihood of inflammation of the cornea by up to 74 percent.

Language Decline

Within 100 years, half of the 6,000 languages that exist today will face extinction, predicts Atlas of the World’s Languages. Some 1,000 tongues have already been lost in the past 500 years, mostly in the Americas and Australia. Many languages are no longer actively taught. In Alaska, where there are 20 native tongues, only 2 are still learned by children. Papua New Guinea has 155 languages that each have fewer than 300 speakers, while in Australia 135 of the 200 surviving Aboriginal languages are each spoken by fewer than 10 people. “It is not just the languages themselves that are disappearing,” reports London’s Independent newspaper. “Entire literary traditions, both oral and written; unique systems of grammar and vocabulary reflecting equally unique systems of thought and lifestyle; language as the cornerstone of thousands of human cultures: all will vanish, leaving the world immeasurably poorer in cultural terms.”

Deadly Lesson

Russian aviation officials have acknowledged that an Aeroflot crew member was teaching his children how to fly when the jetliner crashed into a Siberian mountain in March, killing all 75 persons on board. “The crash happened because the pilot wanted to show his children how to fly a plane,” the Russian news agency Itar-​Tass said. Western aviation officials, examining the plane’s flight recorders in France, said that “children’s voices could be heard and that no pilots were at the controls when the plane went down,” reports The New York Times. “The cockpit recordings prove that one or more children in the pilot’s seats accidentally disengaged the automatic controls and sent the jet into a fatal dive,” noted the Times.

Keeping Mites Down

Asthma and allergies have been increasing in Britain, reports The Times of London. The cause? Dust mites. “Never have human dwellings been so poorly ventilated​—full of dirty, humid, allergen-​laden air,” says Dr. John Maunder of the Cambridge Medical Entomology Centre. Dust mites live on skin fragments and are particularly at home in the humid environment of beds that have not been properly aired. Living and dead mites and their dung, along with skin scales and mold, can make up a tenth of the weight of a neglected pillow. The feces of the mites contain a protein that is believed to induce asthma attacks and also to be a predominant cause of allergic rhinitis​—a blocked nose. Modern sealed homes just do not let in enough fresh air to suppress the mites. For healthier living, Dr. Maunder recommends sleeping with windows open when possible, airing beds daily, and regularly cleaning pillows, mattresses, and blankets.

Performance or Health?

“Generally, high level sports are committed only to improving their athletes’ performance, rarely to improving their health,” says orthopedist Victor Matsudo, as quoted in Veja. “No one needs to become an athlete to improve his health.” In fact, says Dr. Matsudo, “one who exercises immoderately tends to die earlier than the sedentary.” He adds: “Many people still have the idea in their head that proper exercise should be something hard, causing sweating and suffering. This is not true. Proper exercise is one of moderate intensity, which neither causes pain, discomfort nor cramps. . . . Walking is the first thing recommended for one who is sedentary and wants to begin working toward getting in good physical condition.” A person who walks for half an hour, two or three times a week, has a 15 percent less chance of dying than a sedentary person. Dr. Matsudo suggests that the walking be done on level ground and at a pace that permits one to breathe easily and talk with someone else.

Crime Pays?

A serial killer in the United States admitted to killing and dismembering 17 boys and men. For those crimes he is serving a life sentence in prison. But prison records show that he has received, as of March this year, over $12,000 from letter writers around the world from as far away as France and South Africa, including a donation of $5,920 from a London woman. “One woman said she wanted to teach [him] about Jesus, so she sent him $350, along with some Bible literature,” says The New York Times. “Another woman sent $50 so that [he] could buy ‘cigarettes, stamps and envelopes’ in prison.” He spent most of the money, even though the relatives of his victims have not received a penny of the more than $80 million in judgments obtained against him. According to the prison warden, no law forbids prisoners from soliciting financial assistance, as long as no fraud is committed.

Why Peace Attempts Fail

“The 35 wars that the world took with it into 1994 confirm Scripture’s dour prediction that there will always be wars and rumors of wars,” says a Toronto Star article. (This statement is inaccurate. In fact the Bible predicts that wars will soon cease. See Isaiah 2:2-4.) “All three dozen wars raging in the world today are fights within single states​—none is a fight between states.” The intensifying of these civil wars points to the inability of world agencies to peacefully resolve disputes. “As long as aggrieved groups know that the UN cannot hold its member states to minimum standards of behavior and human rights, they will continue to resort to violence to press their claims,” the article notes. “There are virtually no post-​World War II examples of the great military strength of Northern states being used successfully to end interstate or civil conflicts in the Third World or elsewhere.” In fact, the money still being spent preparing for interstate war actually helps contribute to the civil conflicts by using up funds that could have been used to improve the conditions that lead to civil wars.

From Our Readers

Divorce As I read “The Bible’s Viewpoint . . . What Kind of Divorcing Does God Hate?” (February 8, 1994), I was deeply touched. Having just recently gone through a divorce after 20 years of marriage to an unfaithful mate, I realized that Jehovah doesn’t hate my decision to divorce and I don’t have to feel guilty. True, feelings of depression, loneliness, and guilt can “surface out of nowhere.” But time and reliance on Jehovah are healing factors.

B. M., United States

During my marriage my husband was very opposed to my being one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Eventually he moved in with his girlfriend and filed for divorce. I truly felt that God had ‘called me to peace.’ (1 Corinthians 7:15) The breakup was devastating to my children, and many times over the years, I have read Malachi 2:16 and wondered if I did the right thing. Your article has helped me gain a balanced view of this scripture.

J. C., United States

Moving I can’t tell you how grateful I was to receive your “Young People Ask . . .” articles on moving. (February 22, 1994, and March 8, 1994) I’m 16 years old and about to move far away from all my closest friends. I was crying every night, wishing there was some way I could stay. Then I read your articles. I decided to start looking more on the positive side of moving. Although I’m still sad to have to move, my attitude has improved a lot.

A. D., United States

The articles were just what I needed. The best advice given was to walk orderly in the same routine when it comes to spiritual things. I had to realize that no matter where I move, Jehovah will always be there. So why not get to know him intimately by in-​depth personal study? Doing so was a big part of settling into my new home.

T. T., United States

Illiteracy I have often wanted to write and thank you after reading some interesting article. But the series “Breaking the Chains of Illiteracy” (February 22, 1994) has finally convinced me to do so. Next week I will begin a study of the Bible with a lady who does not know how to read or write. I did not know how I was going to do it, but now I do, thanks to these articles. They arrived at the right moment!

M. A. C., Italy

Cities I am 17 years old and spent the first 14 years of my life in New York City. So I really enjoyed your articles about big cities. (January 8, 1994) I liked the challenging quizzes it contained.

S. H., United States

Cassava The article “Let’s Eat Cassava!” (November 8, 1993) was very interesting. As a Nigerian, I am among the millions of Africans who highly enjoy cassava, particularly foofoo and gari. In fact, I can express thanks to our Creator for making cassava available to us. Without it, millions of Africans would perish.

O. N. Y. I., Nigeria

Courageous Missionary I was very touched by the experience of Annama Abraham in her story “Overcoming Life’s Challenges in South Asia.” (January 22, 1994) She lost her beloved husband but continues serving Jehovah with integrity. I want to tell her how much her life story encouraged me.

I. I. C. S., Brazil

“In One Place After Another Pestilences”

IN THOSE words above, found at Luke 21:11, an increase of pestilences is given as one of the features of the sign of the last days. At Revelation 6:8, those pestilences are prefigured by the ride of a pale horse, the fourth horse of Revelation chapter 6. Columnist Lawrence Hall presented highlights from a new book by Andrew Nikiforuk entitled The Fourth Horseman: A Short History of Epidemics, Plagues, Famine and Other Scourges. They appeared in Hall’s column in the Newark, New Jersey, Star-​Ledger, February 25, 1994. Excerpts from the column follow.

“The Fourth horseman of the Apocalypse is riding hard in these desperate times. Humankind is at risk in more ways than one​—even with all the spanking, brand new technologies and advances in the medical sciences. Many antibiotics, once hailed as miracle drugs, are no match for today’s superorganisms. . . .

“‘Although . . . drugs and vaccines may create an illusion of competence, pestilence will continue to remind the masses that the youngest science is still wearing a diaper, and probably a dirty one at that’ . . . It’s not my intention to scare you, but the Fourth Horseman metaphor is quite real. Tuberculosis is on the rise once again. The AIDS virus continues to decimate thousands upon thousands annually across the globe . . . Other diseases such as typhoid, diphtheria, cholera, anthrax and malaria loom menacingly​—much to the dismay of health professionals and the public at large. . . .

“Each historical period in humankind has spawned new diseases. . . . The Renaissance had syphilis, smallpox was carried to the Americas with Columbus, and AIDS now threatens us once again. . . . Still, there are new scourges and epidemics breaking out as humankind appears to be losing its battle over microbes. . . . The number of people with suppressed immune systems is increasing.” Nikiforuk also says that “‘one of the great lies of the 20th century [is] that antibiotics, vaccines and doctors have saved us from pestilence. . . .

“‘However hard we try, we can’t beat the superorganism, bribe the Horseman or ignore the immutable presence of pestilence in history.’”

The Remedy for Racial Problems

Recently a man from Oklahoma, U.S.A., received a copy of Awake! magazine that featured the subject “Will All Races Ever Be United?” Addressing his letter “Dear Watchtower Publishers,” the person wrote:

“Just now I had the good fortune to read your August 22, 1993, issue of Awake! dealing with the problem of race relations. I was astonished, and impressed, at your fair-​minded, insightful understanding of this complex problem.

“I recently concluded a college course on U.S. history. But in just 9 pages of your magazine you gave a concise history, explanation, AND REMEDY of this insidious problem that surpasses a full semester of college text and lectures. The articles were so balanced it’s impossible to tell the racial background of the writers.

“As the world becomes more polarized along ethnic lines, everyone needs to be exposed to this kind of information, as much as you can get out. Thank you for having the courage to publish truth and common sense.”

If you would like a copy of Awake! mailed to your home, please write to Watchtower, 25 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, New York 11201-2483, or to the appropriate address listed on page 5.