September 8

Page Two

American Indians—What Does Their Future Hold? 3-16

For decades Hollywood’s films have depicted a stereotype of the struggle between cowboys and Indians. What is the real story of the Native Americans? What does their future hold?

Are the Orthodox Clergy Staying Awake? 19

The Greek Orthodox clergy celebrated the “Year of the Apocalypse” in 1995. The festivities showed up division in their ranks.

Pompeii—Where Time Stood Still 22

The discovery of Pompeii under mounds of ash gives us a fascinating look at ancient Roman life.

[Picture Credit Lines on page 2]

Photo: Garo Nalbandian

Cover: Artwork based on photograph by Edward S. Curtis

Logo for pages 2, 4, 7, and 12: Indian face: D. F. Barry Photograph, Thomas M. Heski Collection; dancing Indian: Men: A Pictorial Archive from Nineteenth-Century Sources/Dover Publications, Inc.; tepees: Leslie’s; rectangular design: Decorative Art; circular designs: Authentic Indian Designs

Native Americans—The End of an Era

WHO has not watched a typical cowboys-and-Indians film? People the world over have heard of Wyatt Earp, Buffalo Bill, and the Lone Ranger and of the Indians Geronimo, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, and Chief Joseph, as well as many others. But just how authentic have Hollywood’s renderings been? And how evenhanded have their portrayals of the Indians been?

The story of the conquest of the Native North Americans (Indians) by Europeans raises questions.a Have the history books dealt the Indians a fair hand? Are there any lessons to be learned about greed, oppression, racism, and atrocities? What is the true story of the so-called cowboys and Indians?

Custer’s Last Stand and the Massacre at Wounded Knee

In the year 1876, medicine man Sitting Bull of the Lakota (one of the three main divisions of the Sioux) was a leader at the famous battle of the Little Bighorn River, in Montana. With 650 soldiers, Lieutenant Colonel “Long Hair” Custer thought he could easily defeat 1,000 Sioux and Cheyenne warriors. This was a gross miscalculation. He was facing probably the largest group of Native American warriors ever assembled—about 3,000.

Custer split his 7th Cavalry Regiment into three groups. Without waiting for support from the other two, his group attacked what he thought would be a vulnerable part of the Indian camp. Led by headmen Crazy Horse, Gall, and Sitting Bull, the Indians wiped out Custer and his unit of some 225 soldiers. It was a temporary victory for the Indian nations but a bitter defeat for the U.S. Army. However, terrible revenge was only 14 years away.

Eventually, Sitting Bull surrendered, having been promised a pardon. Instead, he was confined for a time at Fort Randall, Dakota Territory. In his later years, he appeared in public in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West traveling show. The once illustrious leader had become a mere shadow of the influential medicine man he used to be.

In 1890, Sitting Bull (Lakota name, Tatanka Iyotake) was shot to death by Indian police officers who had been sent to arrest him. His killers were Sioux “Metal Breasts” (police-badge holders), Lieutenant Bull Head and Sergeant Red Tomahawk.

In that same year, Indian resistance to the white man’s dominance was finally broken at the massacre of Wounded Knee Creek on the American Great Plains. There, about 320 fleeing Sioux men, women, and children were killed by federal troops and their Hotchkiss rapid-fire cannons. The soldiers boasted that this was their vengeance for the slaughter of their comrades, Custer and his men, on the ridges overlooking the Little Bighorn River. Thus ended over 200 years of sporadic wars and skirmishes between the invading American settlers and the besieged resident tribes.

But how did Native Americans get established in North America in the first place? What kind of life-style did they have before the white man first set foot in North America?b What led to their final defeat and subjection? And what is the present situation of the Indians in a country now dominated by the descendants of the early European immigrants? These and other questions will be discussed in the articles that follow.

[Footnotes]

[Picture on page 3]

Burying the dead at Wounded Knee

[Credit Line]

Montana Historical Society

Where Did They Come From?

“WHAT did we call ourselves before Columbus came? . . . In every single tribe, even today, when you translate the word that we each had for ourselves, without knowledge of each other, it was always something that translated to basically the same thing. In our language [Narragansett] it’s Ninuog, or the people [in Navajo, Diné], the human beings. That’s what we called ourselves. So when the [European] pilgrims arrived here, we knew who we were, but we didn’t know who they were. So we called them Awaunageesuck, or the strangers, because they were the ones who were alien, they were the ones that we didn’t know, but we knew each other. And we were the human beings.”—Tall Oak, Narragansett tribe.

Theories abound as to the origin of the Native Americans.a Joseph Smith, founder of the Mormons, was one of several, including Quaker William Penn, who believed that the Indians were Hebrews, descendants of the so-called ten lost tribes of Israel. The explanation accepted by most anthropologists today is that whether by land bridge or by boat, Asian tribes moved into what is now Alaska, Canada, and the United States. Even DNA tests seem to support this idea.

Native Americans—Their Origins and Beliefs

Native American editors Tom Hill (Seneca) and Richard Hill, Sr., (Tuscarora) write in their book Creation’s Journey—Native American Identity and Belief: “Most native peoples traditionally believe that they were created from the earth itself, from the waters, or from the stars. Archaeologists, on the other hand, have a theory of a great land bridge across the Bering Strait, over which Asians migrated to the Americas; these Asians, the theory maintains, were the ancestors of the native peoples of the Western Hemisphere.” Some Native Americans tend to be skeptical about the white man’s Bering Strait theory. They prefer to believe their legends and narratives. They view themselves as the original inhabitants rather than as exploring migrants from Asia.

In his book An Indian Winter, Russell Freedman explains: “According to Mandan [a tribe that was near the upper Missouri River] belief, the First Man was a powerful spirit, a divine being. He had been created in the distant past by the Lord of Life, the creator of all things, to act as a mediator between ordinary humans and the countless gods, or spirits, that inhabited the universe.” Mandan belief even included a flood legend. “Once, when a great flood swept over the world, the First Man saved the people by teaching them to build a protective tower, or ‘ark,’ that would rise high above the floodwaters. In his honor, every Mandan village had a miniature replica of that mythical tower—a cedar post about five feet high, surrounded by a plank fence.”

The Mandans also had as a religious symbol “a tall pole wrapped with feathers and fur and topped with a hideous wooden head, painted black.” Who could this represent? “This effigy represented Ochkih-Haddä, an evil spirit who had great influence over humans but was not as powerful as the Lord of Life or the First Man.” For the Plains Indians, “belief in the spirit world was an unquestioned part of everyday life. . . . No major decision could be reached, no project undertaken, without first seeking the aid and approval of the sacred beings who governed human affairs.”

In his book The Mythology of North America, John Bierhorst explains: “Before there were clans, the Osage, it was said, wandered from place to place in a condition known as ganítha (without law or order). A traditional view held that in those early days certain thinkers called Little Old Men . . . formulated the theory that a silent, creative power fills the sky and the earth and keeps the stars, the moon, and the sun moving in perfect order. They called it Wakónda (mysterious power) or Eáwawonaka (causer of our being).” A similar idea is shared by the Zuni, the Sioux, and the Lakota in the West. The Winnebago also have a creation myth that involves “Earthmaker.” The account says: “He wished for light and it became light. . . . Then he again thought and wished for the earth, and this earth came into existence.”

For the Bible student, it is most interesting to see some parallels between Native American beliefs and teachings expressed in the Bible, especially with regard to the Great Spirit, the “causer of our being,” which is reminiscent of the meaning of the divine name, Jehovah, “He Causes to Become.” Other parallels include the Flood and the evil spirit known in the Bible as Satan.—Genesis 1:1-5; 6:17; Revelation 12:9.

Understanding Native American Philosophies

The Native American writers Tom Hill and Richard Hill explain five gifts that they say Native Americans have received from their ancestors. “The first gift . . . is our deep connection to the land.” And in view of their history before and since the arrival of the European, who can deny that? Their land, often considered sacred by Native Americans, was systematically taken by force, by trickery, or by unfulfilled treaties.

“The second gift is the power and spirit that animals share with our people.” Native American respect for animals has been demonstrated in many ways. They hunted just for food, clothing, and shelter. It was not the native peoples who virtually wiped out the buffalo (bison) but the white man, with his bloodlust and shortsighted greed.

“The third is the spirit forces, who are our living relatives and who communicate with us through the images we make of them.” Here is the common theme of so many religions worldwide—the survival of some spirit or soul after death.b

“The fourth is the sense of who we are, which is expressed and sustained through our tribal traditions.” Today this can certainly be detected at tribal ceremonies, where the people gather to discuss tribal affairs, or at social powwows, where tribal dancing and music take place. The Indian dress, the rhythmic beating of the drums, the dances, the family and clan reunions—all bespeak tribal tradition.

“The last gift is the creative process—our beliefs made real through the transformation of natural materials into objects of faith and pride.” Whether it is basketmaking, weaving, shaping and painting pottery, fashioning jewelry and adornments, or any other creative activity, it is linked to their tradition and culture of the ages.

There are so many tribes that it would require many books to explain all the traditional beliefs and practices. What interests us now is, What effect did the influx of millions of Europeans, many supposedly Christian, have on the Native Americans?

[Footnotes]

How Their World Was Lost

FOR many years the story of the United States was summed up with the expression, “How the West was won.” Hollywood’s films showed white settlers moving across the American plains and mountains, with John Wayne-type soldiers, cowboys, and settlers battling the fierce, savage, tomahawk-wielding Indians. While the white man was looking for land and gold, some of Christendom’s priests and preachers were supposedly saving souls.

How does that history look from the standpoint of the original inhabitants, the native people of America? With the arrival of Europeans, Indians “were forced to cope with the introduction into their environment of the most rapacious predator they had ever faced: white European invaders,” states the book The Native Americans—An Illustrated History.

Harmony That Led to Strife

Initially, many of the Europeans who first arrived in the American Northeast were met with kindness and cooperation from the natives. One account says: “Without the aid of the Powhatans, the British settlement at Jamestown, Virginia, the first permanent English colony in the New World, would not have lasted through its first terrible winter of 1607-08. Similarly, the Pilgrim colony at Plymouth, Massachusetts, might have failed except for help from the Wampanoags.” Some natives showed the immigrants how to fertilize the soil and grow crops. And how successful would the Lewis and Clark expedition of 1804-06—to find a practical transportation link between the Louisiana Territory and what was called the Oregon Country—have been without the help and intervention of the Shoshone woman Sacagawea? She was their “token of peace” when they came face-to-face with Indians.

However, because of the European way of using land and the limited food resources, the massive immigration into North America caused tension between the invaders and the natives. Canadian historian Ian K. Steele explains that in the 17th century, there were 30,000 Narragansett in Massachusetts. Their chief Miantonomo, “sensing danger, . . . sought to build on his Mohawk alliance to create a general Amerindian resistance movement.” He is reported to have said to the Montauk in 1642: “We [must] be one as they [the English] are, otherwise we shall all be gone shortly, for you know our fathers had plenty of deer and skins, our plains were full of deer, as also our woods, and of [turkeys], and our coves full of fish and fowl. But these English having gotten our land, they with scythes cut down the grass, and with axes fell the trees; their cows and horses eat the grass, and their hogs spoil our clam banks, and we shall all be starved.”—Warpaths—Invasions of North America.

Miantonomo’s efforts to form a united Native American front came to naught. In 1643, in a tribal war, he was captured by Chief Uncas of the Mohegan tribe, who turned him over to the English as a rebel. The English could not legally convict Miantonomo and execute him. They figured out a convenient solution. Steele continues: “Unable to execute [Miantonomo], who was outside the jurisdiction of any of the colonies, the commissioners had Uncas execute him, with English witnesses to prove it had been done.”

This illustrates not only the constant conflicts between the invading colonists and the native population but also the internecine rivalry and treachery among the tribes, which had existed even before the white man ever reached North America. The British, in their wars against the French for colonial domination of North America, had some tribes on their side, while others supported the French. No matter which side lost, all the tribes involved paid a loser’s price.

“A Chasm of Misunderstandings”

This is one view of the European invasion: “What leaders of Indian nations did not understand, often until it was too late, was the way the Europeans viewed Indians. They were not white or Christian. They were savages—wild and brutish—in the minds of many, a dangerous and unfeeling commodity for the slave markets.” This attitude of superiority resulted in devastating effects on the tribes.

The European viewpoint was incomprehensible to Native Americans. There was, as Navajo counselor Philmer Bluehouse called it in a recent interview with Awake!, “a chasm of misunderstandings.” The natives did not view their civilization as inferior but, rather, as different, with entirely different values. As an example, selling land was totally foreign to the Indians. Could you own and sell the air, the wind, the water? Then why the land? It was there for all to use. Thus, Indians were not known to fence off land.

With the arrival of the British, the Spanish, and the French, there came about what has been described as a “cataclysmic meeting of two alien cultures.” The indigenous population were people who for hundreds of years had come to terms with the land and with nature and who knew how to survive without upsetting the environmental balance. Yet, the white man soon came to view the native inhabitants as lower, ferocious creatures—conveniently forgetting his own savagery in subduing them! In 1831, French historian Alexis de Tocqueville summed up the prevailing white opinion of Indians: “Heaven has not made them to become civilized; it is necessary that they die.”

The Most Deadly Killer

As the new settlers poured west across North America, violence begot violence. So whether the Indians or the European invaders attacked first, atrocities were committed by both sides. The Indians were feared because of their reputation for scalping, a practice that some believe they learned from Europeans who offered bounties for scalps. However, the Indians were fighting a losing battle against superior odds—in numbers and in arms. In most cases the tribes ended up having to leave their ancestral lands or die. Often it was both—they left their lands and then were killed or died of disease and starvation.

Yet, death in battle was not the most decimating factor for the native tribes. Writes Ian K. Steele: “The most potent weapon in the invasion of North America was not the gun, the horse, the Bible, or European ‘civilization.’ It was pestilence.” Concerning the effect of Old World diseases on the Americas, Patrica Nelson Limerick, a professor of history, wrote: “When carried to the New World, these same diseases [to which Europeans had had centuries to develop immunity]—chicken pox, measles, influenza, malaria, yellow fever, typhus, tuberculosis, and, above all, smallpox—met little resistance. Mortality rates in village after village ran as high as 80 or 90 percent.”

Russell Freedman describes an epidemic of smallpox that struck in 1837. “The Mandans were the first to be stricken, followed in swift succession by the Hidatsas, the Assiniboins, the Arikaras, the Sioux, and the Blackfeet.” The Mandans were almost completely liquidated. From a population of some 1,600 in 1834, they dwindled to 130 in 1837.

What Happened to the Treaties?

To this day tribal elders can reel off the dates of the treaties that the U.S. government signed with their forefathers in the 19th century. But what did those treaties actually provide? Usually an unfavorable exchange of good land for a barren reservation and government subsistence.

An example of the disdain with which the native tribes were treated is the case of the Iroquois nations (from east to west, Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca) after the British were defeated by the American colonists in the war of independence, which ended in 1783. The Iroquois had sided with the British, and all they got in repayment, according to Alvin Josephy, Jr., was abandonment and insults. The British, “ignoring [the Iroquois], had ceded sovereignty over their lands to the United States.” He adds that even the Iroquois who had favored the colonists against the British “were set upon by rapacious land companies and speculators and by the American government itself.”

When a treaty meeting was called in 1784, James Duane, a former representative of the Continental Congress’ Committee on Indian Affairs, exhorted the government agents “to undermine whatever self-confidence remained among the Iroquois by deliberately treating them as inferiors.”

His arrogant suggestions were carried out. Some Iroquois were seized as hostages, and “negotiations” were conducted at gunpoint. Although considering themselves unconquered in war, the Iroquois had to give up all their land west of New York and Pennsylvania and accept a reservation of reduced dimensions in New York State.

Similar tactics were used against most of the native tribes. Josephy also states that American agents used “bribery, threats, alcohol, and manipulations of unauthorized representatives to attempt to wrench land away from Delawares, Wyandots, Ottawas, Chippewas [or Ojibwa], Shawnees, and other Ohio nations.” Little wonder that the Indians soon came to mistrust the white man and his empty promises!

The “Long Walk” and the Trail of Tears

When the American Civil War (1861-65) broke out, it drew soldiers away from Navajo country in the Southwest. The Navajo took advantage of this respite to attack American and Mexican settlements in the Rio Grande Valley in New Mexico territory. The government sent in Colonel Kit Carson and his New Mexico Volunteers to suppress the Navajo and to move them to a reservation on a barren strip of land called Bosque Redondo. Carson pursued a scorched-earth policy to starve and drive the Navajo out of the awesome Canyon de Chelly, in northeastern Arizona. He even destroyed more than 5,000 peach trees.

Carson gathered together some 8,000 people and forced them to take the “Long Walk” of about 300 miles to the Bosque Redondo detention camp at Fort Sumner, New Mexico. A report says: “The weather was bitterly cold, and many of the ill-clad, underfed exiles died along the way.” The conditions at the reservation were terrible. The Navajo had to gouge out holes in the ground in an effort to find refuge. In 1868, after realizing its crass blunder, the government granted the Navajo 3.5 million acres of their ancestral homeland in Arizona and New Mexico. They went back, but what a price they had been forced to pay!

Between 1820 and 1845, tens of thousands of Choctaw, Cherokee, Chickasaw, Creeks, and Seminoles were driven from their lands in the Southeast and forced to march westward, beyond the Mississippi River, to what is now Oklahoma, hundreds of miles away. In cruel winter conditions, many died. The forced march westward became infamous as the Trail of Tears.

The injustices committed against Native Americans are further confirmed by the words of the American general George Crook, who had hunted down the Sioux and the Cheyenne in the north. He said: “The Indians’ side of the case is rarely ever heard. . . . Then when the [Indian] outbreak does come public attention is turned to the Indians, their crimes and atrocities are alone condemned, while the persons whose injustice has driven them to this course escape scot-free . . . No one knows this fact better than the Indian, therefore he is excusable in seeing no justice in a government which only punishes him, while it allows the white man to plunder him as he pleases.”—Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.

How are Native Americans faring today after more than a hundred years of domination by Europeans? Are they in danger of disappearing as a result of assimilation? What hope do they have for the future? The next article will consider these and other questions.

[Box on page 9]

A Tough Life for the Women

While the menfolk were the hunters and the warriors in most tribes, the women had endless tasks, including raising the children, planting and harvesting the grain, and pounding it into flour. Colin Taylor explains: “The major role of Plains women . . . was one of maintaining the established household, bearing children and preparing the food. In the horticultural societies they also tended the fields, . . . while, in the case of the nomadic buffalo-hunting western tribes, they helped butcher the animal, brought the meat into camp and subsequently prepared the meat and hides for future use.”—The Plains Indians.

Another source says regarding the Apache people: “Farm work was women’s work and there was nothing degrading or menial about it. Men helped out, but women took a more serious view of farming than men. . . . Women always knew how to keep up with the agricultural rituals. . . . Most women prayed while irrigating the land.”—The Native Americans—An Illustrated History.

Women also made the temporary dwellings called tepees, which usually lasted about two years. They raised them and dismantled them when the tribe had to move. Without a doubt, the women led hard lives. But so did their menfolk as guardians of the tribe. The women were respected and had many rights. In some tribes, such as the Hopi, even today property is held by the women.

[Box/Picture on page 10]

An Animal That Changed Their World

The Europeans introduced one animal into North America that changed the life-style of many tribes—the horse. In the 17th century, the Spanish became the first to bring horses to the continent. Native Americans became brilliant bareback riders, as the invading Europeans soon discovered. With horses, the natives were able to hunt the bison much more easily. And the nomadic tribes were better able to raid their neighbor tribes living in fixed villages and thus pick up plunder, women, and slaves.

[Map/Picture on page 7]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

The 17th-century locations of some of the tribes in North America

Kutenai

Spokan

Nez Perce

Shoshone

Klamath

Northern Paiute

Miwok

Yokuts

Serrano

Mohave

Papago

Blackfoot

Flathead

Crow

Ute

Hopi

Navajo

Jicarilla

Apache

Mescalero

Lipan

Plains Cree

Assiniboin

Hidatsa

Mandan

Arikara

Teton

Cheyenne

Sioux

Yankton

Pawnee

Arapaho

Oto

Kansa

Kiowa

Comanche

Wichita

Tonkawa

Atakapa

Yanktonai

Santee

Iowa

Missouri

Osage

Quapaw

Caddo

Choctaw

Ojibwa

Sauk

Fox

Kickapoo

Miami

Illinois

Chickasaw

Alabama

Ottawa

Potawatomi

Erie

Shawnee

Cherokee

Catawba

Creek

Timucua

Algonquian

Huron

Iroquois

Susquehanna

Delaware

Powhatan

Tuscarora

Micmac

Malecite

Abnaki

Sokoki

Massachuset

Wampanoag

Narragansett

Mohegan

Montauk

[Credit Lines]

Indian: Artwork based on photograph by Edward S. Curtis; North America: Mountain High Maps® Copyright © 1995 Digital Wisdom, Inc.

[Pictures on page 8]

Artistic Navajo weaving and jewelry

[Picture on page 11]

Canyon de Chelly, where the “Long Walk” began

What Does Their Future Hold?

IN AN interview with Awake!, Cheyenne peace chief Lawrence Hart said that one of the problems affecting Indians “is that we’re faced with the forces of acculturation and assimilation. For example, we are losing our language. At one time this was a deliberate government policy. Great efforts were made to ‘civilize’ us through education. We were sent to boarding schools and prohibited from speaking our native tongues.” Sandra Kinlacheeny recalls: “If I spoke Navajo at my boarding school, the teacher washed my mouth out with soap!”

Chief Hart continues: “One encouraging factor lately is that there has been an awakening by different tribes. They realize that their languages will become extinct unless an effort is made to preserve them.”

Only ten people remain who speak Karuk, a language of one of the California tribes. In January 1996, Red Thunder Cloud (Carlos Westez), the last Indian who spoke the Catawba language, died at the age of 76. He had had no one to speak to in that language for many years.

At the Kingdom Halls of Jehovah’s Witnesses on the Navajo and Hopi reservations in Arizona, nearly everybody speaks Navajo or Hopi and English. Even non-Indian Witnesses are learning the Navajo language. The Witnesses need to know Navajo in order to do their Bible educational work, as many Navajo are proficient only in their own tongue. The Hopi and Navajo languages are still very much alive, and the young people are being encouraged to use them at school.

Native American Education

There are 29 Indian colleges in the United States, with 16,000 students. The first opened in Arizona in 1968. “This is one of the most wonderful revolutions in Indian Country, the right to educate on our own terms,” said Dr. David Gipp, of the American Indian Higher Education Committee. At the Sinte Gleska University, the Lakota language is a required subject.

According to Ron McNeil (Hunkpapa Lakota), president of the American Indian College Fund, unemployment figures for Native Americans range from 50 percent to 85 percent, and Indians have the lowest life expectancy and the highest rates of diabetes, tuberculosis, and alcoholism of any group in the United States. Better education is just one of the measures that may help.

Sacred Lands

To many Native Americans, their ancestral lands are sacred. As White Thunder said to a senator: “Our land here is the dearest thing on earth to us.” When making treaties and agreements, Indians often assumed that these were for the white man’s use of their land but not for outright possession and ownership of it. The Sioux Indian tribes lost valuable land in the Black Hills of Dakota in the 1870’s, when miners flooded in, looking for gold. In 1980 the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the U.S. government to pay about $105 million in compensation to eight Sioux tribes. To date the tribes have refused to accept the payment—they want their sacred land, the Black Hills of South Dakota, to be returned.

Many Sioux Indians are not pleased to see the faces of white presidents carved on Mount Rushmore, in the Black Hills. On a nearby mountain, sculptors are creating an even bigger carving. It is of Crazy Horse, the Oglala Sioux war leader. The face will be completed by June 1998.

Today’s Challenges

To survive in the modern world, Native Americans have had to adapt in various ways. Many now have a good education and are college trained, with abilities that they can put to good use in the tribal context. One example is soft-spoken Burton McKerchie, a Chippewa from Michigan. He has filmed documentaries for the Public Broadcasting Service and now works at a high school on the Hopi Reservation in Arizona, coordinating college video classroom sessions across the state. Another example is Ray Halbritter, a Harvard-educated tribal leader of the Oneida nation.

Arlene Young Hatfield, writing in the Navajo Times, commented that the young Navajo do not have the experiences or make the sacrifices that their parents and grandparents did as they were growing up. She wrote: “Because of [modern] conveniences they have not ever gathered or chopped wood, hauled water, or tended sheep like their ancestors. They do not contribute to our family’s livelihood as children did long ago.” She concludes: “It is impossible to escape the many social problems that will inevitably influence our children. We cannot isolate our families, or the reservation from the rest of the world, nor can we return to the life that our forefathers had.”

Therein lies the challenge for Native Americans—how to hold on to their unique tribal traditions and values while adapting to the rapidly changing world outside.

Fighting Drugs and Alcohol

To this day, alcoholism ravages Native American society. Dr. Lorraine Lorch, who has served the Hopi and Navajo population as a pediatrician and general practitioner for 12 years, said in an interview with Awake!: “Alcoholism is a severe problem for men and women alike. Strong bodies fall victim to cirrhosis, accidental death, suicide, and homicide. It is sad to see alcoholism take priority over children, spouse, and even God. Laughter is changed to tears, gentleness to violence.” She added: “Even some of the ceremonies, once held sacred by the Navajo and the Hopi, are now at times profaned by drunkenness and lewdness. Alcohol robs these beautiful people of their health, their intelligence, their creativity, and their true personality.”

Philmer Bluehouse, a peacemaker in the Justice Department of the Navajo nation, at Window Rock, Arizona, euphemistically described the abuse of drugs and alcohol as “self-medication.” This abuse serves to drown the sorrows and to help one to escape the harsh reality of a life without work and often without purpose.

However, many Native Americans have successfully fought the “demon” drink that was introduced by the white man and have struggled to gain victory over drug addiction. Two examples are Clyde and Henrietta Abrahamson, from the Spokane Indian Reservation in Washington State. Clyde is of stocky build, with dark hair and eyes. He explained to Awake!:

“We had grown up on the reservation most of our lives, and then we moved to the city of Spokane to attend college. We did not care for our life-style, which involved alcohol and drugs. This kind of life was all we knew. We grew up hating these two influences because of the problems we had seen them cause in the family.

“Then we came into contact with Jehovah’s Witnesses. We had never heard of them before we went to the city. Our progress was slow. Perhaps it was because we did not really trust people whom we did not know, especially white people. We had about three years of hit-and-miss Bible studies. The hardest habit for me to quit was marijuana smoking. I had smoked since I was 14 years old, and I was 25 before I tried to quit. I was high most of my young adult life. In 1986, I read the article in the January 22 issue of Awake! entitled “Everyone Else Smokes Pot—Why Shouldn’t I?” It made me think how stupid smoking pot is—especially after I read Proverbs 1:22, which says: ‘How long will you inexperienced ones keep loving inexperience, and how long must you ridiculers desire for yourselves outright ridicule, and how long will you stupid ones keep hating knowledge?’

“I broke the habit, and in the spring of 1986, Henrietta and I were married. We were baptized in November 1986. In 1993, I became an elder in the congregation. Both of our daughters were baptized as Witnesses in 1994.”

Are Casinos and Gambling an Answer?

In 1984 there was no Indian-run gambling in the United States. According to The Washington Post, this year 200 tribes have 220 gambling operations in 24 states. Outstanding exceptions are the Navajo and the Hopi, who have resisted the temptation so far. But are casinos and bingo halls the pathway to prosperity and more employment for the reservations? Philmer Bluehouse told Awake!: “Gambling is a two-edged sword. The question is, Will it benefit more people than it harms?” One report states that Indian casinos have created 140,000 jobs nationwide but points out that only 15 percent of these are held by Indians.

Cheyenne chief Hart gave Awake! his opinion on how casinos and gambling affect the reservations. He said: “My feelings are ambivalent. The only good thing is that it brings jobs and income to the tribes. On the other hand, I’ve observed that a lot of the customers are our own people. Some I know have got hooked on bingo, and they leave home early to go there, even before the children come home from school. Then these become latchkey children until their parents return from playing bingo.

“The major problem is that the families think that they are going to win and increase their income. Generally they don’t; they lose. I’ve seen them spend money that had been set aside for groceries or for clothing for the children.”

What Does the Future Hold?

Tom Bahti explains that there are two popular approaches when discussing the future of the Southwestern tribes. “The first flatly predicts the imminent disappearance of native cultures into the mainstream of American life. The second is more vague . . . It speaks gently of the acculturative process, suggesting a thoughtful blending of ‘the best of the old with the best of the new,’ a sort of golden cultural sunset in which the Indian may remain quaint in his crafts, colorful in his religion and wise in his philosophy—but still reasonable enough in his relations with us (the superior [white man’s] culture) to see things our way.”

Bahti then asks a question. “Change is inevitable, but who will change and for what purpose? . . . We [the white men] have a disturbing habit of regarding all other peoples as merely undeveloped Americans. We assume they must be dissatisfied with their way of life and anxious to live and think as we do.”

He continues: “One thing is certain—the story of the American Indian is not yet finished, but how it will end or if it will end remains to be seen. There is still time, perhaps, to begin to think of our remaining Indian communities as valuable cultural resources rather than simply as perplexing social problems.”

Life in a New World of Harmony and Justice

From the Bible’s viewpoint, Jehovah’s Witnesses know what the future can be for Native Americans and for people of all nations, tribes, and languages. Jehovah God has promised to create “new heavens and a new earth.”—Isaiah 65:17; 2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1, 3, 4.

This promise does not mean a new planet. As Native Americans know only too well, this earth is a jewel when respected and treated properly. Rather, Bible prophecy indicates a new heavenly rulership to replace mankind’s exploitative governments. The earth will be transformed into a paradise with restored forests, plains, rivers, and wildlife. All people will share unselfishly in the stewardship of the land. Exploitation and greed will prevail no more. There will be an abundance of good food and upbuilding activities.

And with the resurrection of the dead, all the injustices of the past will be annulled. Yes, even the Anasazi (Navajo for “ancient ones”), the ancestors of many of the Pueblo Indians, who reside in Arizona and New Mexico, will return to have the opportunity of life everlasting here on a restored earth. Also, those leaders famous in Indian history—Geronimo, Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse, Tecumseh, Manuelito, Chiefs Joseph and Seattle—and many others may return in that promised resurrection. (John 5:28, 29; Acts 24:15) What a wonderful prospect God’s promises offer for them and for all who serve him now!

[Picture on page 15]

Typical Navajo hogan, made of timber covered with earth

[Picture on page 15]

Model of Crazy Horse, basis for sculpture on the mountain in the background

[Credit Line]

Photo by Robb DeWall, courtesy Crazy Horse Memorial Foundation (nonprofit)

[Picture on page 15]

Hopi and Navajo Witnesses in Keams Canyon, Arizona, meet at their Kingdom Hall, a former trading post

[Picture on page 16]

Anasazi dwellings from over 1,000 years ago (Mesa Verde, Colorado)

[Picture on page 16]

Geronimo (1829-1909), famous Apache chief

[Credit Line]

Courtesy Mercaldo Archives/Dictionary of American Portraits/Dover

Exploring a World of Beautiful Trees

BY AWAKE! CORRESPONDENT IN BRITAIN

WESTONBIRT, a village in the English Cotswolds, is famous for its arboretum.a It is one of the oldest, largest, and finest collections of trees and shrubs in the world. Let us take a closer look at it.

Beauty and Grandeur

“No one remains untouched by the beauty, the grandeur, and the magnificence of this collection,” says Hugh Angus, the curator. And judging by the number of visitors who return again and again, he seems to be right.

The arboretum contains 18,000 trees and shrubs, which represent nearly half the 9,000 species and varieties that grow in the world’s Temperate Zones. Visitors may wander freely through the park’s 600 acres [240 ha], but to help them get the most enjoyment, “we have divided the Arboretum into four sections and suggested good times to visit each,” the official guidebook explains. In addition, there are special features, such as the Autumn Colour Trail, the Hillier Cherry Collection, and the Native Species Collection, all signposted and mapped.

Seasonal Delights

The seasonal cycle of the Northern Hemisphere is a natural delight. In the arboretum, each season has its own attractions. Winter is the best time to appreciate the wide variety of conifers and to see the graceful shapes, interesting textures, and surprising colors of the deciduous trees while bare of leaves. Later, the shrubs and trees that flower in the spring—azaleas, camellias, cherries, magnolias, and rhododendrons—give their glorious display, and carpets of wildflowers add to the beauty of the setting.

A peaceful leafiness descends upon the arboretum in summer, before the botanical fireworks display of autumn, or fall. Some 90,000 visitors flock to Westonbirt in October to see this spectacle, for which it is most renowned. Here the varieties of Japanese maples, with their intense red color, steal the show.

Many of the older specimens of Japanese maples at Westonbirt may be originals imported during the Edo period, 1603-1867. Sadly, there are no records of the Japanese names of these old varieties. Maples became less popular in Japan soon after their introduction into Europe, so these surviving early imports cannot be checked against Japanese collections or nursery stock. As the older Japanese maples decline, glades of young trees are being planted. Nearly every tree has a different leaf shape and color. The trees were grown from seeds collected from the old maple trees, and they were selected for their autumn hues. To give them protection and shade, the maples are planted among mature oaks and conifers. These also provide a backdrop of golds and greens through which shafts of autumn sunlight illuminate the maples.

Scientific Management

The Westonbirt Arboretum was started as a private hobby in 1829 and was acquired by the British Forestry Commission in 1956. Providing recreation for the public is not its only objective. Indeed, the principal aim is to develop a scientific collection best suited to local conditions. To this end, research is carried out into propagation methods, and the results—successes and failures—are shared with other botanical gardens.

Westonbirt has pioneered a computerized inventory system that records details about each specimen—its origin, progress from seed to maturity, health and any treatment for disease, and even cause of death. Another vital function is the propagation of rare or unusual species, including those that the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources lists as endangered in their natural environments. Seeds are obtained from authenticated sources to avoid hybridization, and specimens are made available to other arboretums.

Westonbirt is also an educational center. There are programs on tree identification, talks on deforestation, lecture tours, and slide shows. At certain times of the year, illustrated discussions are provided daily for visiting schoolchildren.

As we reluctantly leave the arboretum, enriched by an unforgettable experience, we feel an urge to return to share in the glories of the other seasons. Exploring this beautiful world of trees has given us a greater awareness of their grandeur as well as their importance in earth’s pattern of life.

[Footnote]

[Pictures on page 17]

Top: Lawson’s cypresses

Middle: Japanese maple

Bottom: Cedar of Lebanon

Are the Orthodox Clergy Staying Awake?

BY AWAKE! CORRESPONDENT IN GREECE

“WHEN Jesus entered the temple . . . and saw the ‘trade fair,’ he was infuriated and he shouted: ‘Stop making the house of my Father a house of merchandise!’ If he were to sail these days to the island of Patmos, . . . he would speak even more scathingly. But I am not sure if anyone would listen to him.” Thus lamented a journalist covering what was called a “Pan-Christian gathering of paramount importance” and “one of the high moments in modern Christianity.”

The ecumenical patriarch of Constantinople, Bartholomew I, considered to be the symbolic head of the Orthodox Church worldwide, proclaimed the year 1995 the “Year of the Apocalypse.”a From September 23 to 27, 1995, the festivities reached a climax as high-ranking clergymen of most of the Orthodox patriarchates gathered on the island of Patmos. Representatives of the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Church, and various Protestant denominations were also present. The highest political and military authorities of Greece attended the events, along with foreign officials, politicians, prominent businessmen, and other invited guests from around the globe.

Students of the book of Revelation will remember the urgent reminders presented therein by Jesus Christ: “Look! I am coming as a thief. Happy is the one that stays awake.” (Revelation 16:15) In view of this and the much publicized religious celebration revolving around Revelation, we cannot help but ask: Is Christendom staying awake? Do they keep on the watch, eagerly awaiting the coming of Jesus Christ as the enthroned King? Were these festivities focusing on the theme of the Bible, which reaches its climax in Revelation—the sanctification of Jehovah’s name and the vindication of his sovereignty by means of the Kingdom under Christ? Let us consider some of the facts.

A Part of This World?

To many observers the uneasy alliance among religious leaders, politicians, and businessmen during the festivities was quite objectionable. Some felt that all parties involved tried to exploit the situation for their own particular advantage. Clergymen enhanced their clout by appearing next to eminent politicians, whereas the politicians tried to shape up their own image by playing on the religious sentiment of the public. The spokesman for the Holy Synod of the Church of Greece even stated: “Revelation also had a political implication . . . It is a drama that unfolds on the earthly scene.”—Italics ours.

How well this fits in with the description found at Revelation 17:1, 2, where the symbolic “great harlot,” the world empire of false religion of which Christendom is a prominent part, is depicted as committing spiritual “fornication” with “the kings of the earth”! Instead of remaining spiritually clean and watchful, the Orthodox Church, like the rest of Christendom, has enticed political rulers into an unholy friendship with her, fomenting religious persecution, particularly against Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Not United

It is noteworthy that two Orthodox patriarchs were absent from the celebrations. Why? In an act of protest, the patriarch Alexios II of Moscow refused to attend because the patriarchate of Constantinople had responded favorably to a petition made by the archdioceses of both Estonia and Ukraine to place themselves under the jurisdiction of Constantinople instead of Moscow. According to reports, “this is the gravest crisis that has ever arisen in the relations between the [patriarchate of Constantinople] and the much stronger Russian Orthodox Church,” threatening “unpredictable consequences for the unity and the authority of Orthodoxy.”

Additionally, the patriarch of Jerusalem boycotted the synod. Why? Reportedly because he was enraged over the penance he had been required to do three years earlier by the patriarchate of Constantinople for attempting to gain control of the Orthodox Church of Australia.

Initially, Pope John Paul II was to be invited, but this changed at the last moment because of strong opposition raised by conservative elements within the Orthodox Church. In May 1995 a leading Orthodox clergyman in Athens labeled the pope “a war criminal.” Then it was announced that under such circumstances “the pope . . . cannot share in the celebration in Patmos.”

Adding to this deplorable situation was the irony that during these celebrations, just 950 miles [1,500 km] northwest of Patmos, Orthodox and Roman Catholic “Christians” were killing one another in Bosnia and Herzegovina!

Clearly, spiritually lethargic professed Christians allow sectarianism to divide them! Decrying this disunity, Iakovos, Orthodox archbishop of North and South America, stated in an interview: “We have failed in our effort to see the churches united in order to render services to man and not to the powerful of this world. . . . People are fed up with . . . patriarchal benedictions.”

“A ‘Revelation’ of Luxury”

What was termed “an extravaganza of opulence” came under heavy scrutiny. A newspaper report stated: “The four days of festivities in Patmos eventually proved to be a ‘revelation’ of luxury. . . . The Byzantine glamour transcended the limits of ecclesiastical ceremony, threatening to convert an ecumenical event into an expensive fiesta.” Many were concerned about the amount of money that went into these festivities, especially at a time when the survival of people in the neighboring Balkans and Eastern Europe was being threatened. Some estimates put the price tag for this “unprecedented merrymaking” at almost $17 million (U.S.). Luxury cruise ships arrived at the port of Patmos to accommodate some of the wealthy guests who were invited to attend the convocation. To the disgust of many permanent residents, the island underwent a last-minute face-lift to create a better impression on the high-ranking visitors—although it lacks a hospital and a proper school building.

How aptly the words of Revelation 18:2, 3, 7 apply in this situation: “The traveling merchants of the earth became rich due to the power of [Babylon the Great’s] shameless luxury. To the extent that she glorified herself and lived in shameless luxury, to that extent give her torment and mourning”! At a time when the common people suffer, the Orthodox Church, instead of being wakeful to provide comfort and spiritual assistance, was preoccupied with the extravagance of spiritually empty feasts.

Nurturing False Hopes

In the context of this celebration, several symposiums and conferences took place. Solutions were proposed to deal with the serious problems humanity is facing. A resolution was issued calling for scientists to act urgently to solve mankind’s problems. The Kingdom of God was not mentioned even once. In contrast, the book of Revelation, in harmony with the rest of the Bible, stresses that God’s Kingdom in the hands of Jesus Christ is the only solution for all of mankind’s problems.—Revelation 11:15-18; 12:10; 21:1-5.

It is no wonder that Christendom does not take the Bible-based hope of the Kingdom seriously. Echoing the prevailing attitude, one of the monks of the Patmos monastery freely admitted: “We do not treat Revelation as being an authoritative text. It is the kind of scripture that is not being read in the churches.” In a similar vein, a theologian stated: “It is dangerous to link Revelation with the history of this world in the sense that it is a text that describes in detail what is going to happen. . . . This is naïveté and a rather dangerous interpretation.” What deep spiritual slumber!

They Are Not Staying Awake

Clearly, then, Christendom is not staying awake. This celebration, instead of focusing attention on the Word of God and his promises, was an empty and useless religious “fair.” The condition of the so-called Christian churches is very much like that of the congregation in Laodicea, to which Jesus said: “You say: ‘I am rich and have acquired riches and do not need anything at all,’ but you do not know you are miserable and pitiable and poor and blind and naked.”—Revelation 3:17.

Interestingly, a die-hard supporter of the Orthodox Church wrote to a newspaper to complain that “the only ones who got the best out of this” celebration were Jehovah’s Witnesses. Why did he think so? He explained that the revelation to John “has a common eschatological basis with that of the doctrinal position of Jehovah’s Witnesses.” Yes, it is true that the Witnesses are diligently endeavoring to “keep on the watch” by keeping alert to the outworking of God’s purpose. They are also eager to assist all honesthearted people to ‘keep awake in order to succeed in standing before the Son of man,’ Jesus Christ.—Matthew 24:42; Luke 21:36.

[Footnote]

[Blurb on page 20]

“An extravaganza of opulence” and “unprecedented merrymaking”

[Blurb on page 21]

“People are fed up with . . . patriarchal benedictions”

[Picture Credit Line on page 19]

Photo: Garo Nalbandian

Pompeii—Where Time Stood Still

BY AWAKE! CORRESPONDENT IN ITALY

KITCHENS with pans on the hearth, well-stocked shops, waterless fountains, streets intact—all the way they used to be, in a city without inhabitants, empty and deserted. This is Pompeii, where it seems that time stood still.

Everything remains just as it was that catastrophic day more than 1,900 years ago when Mount Vesuvius, the volcano overlooking the bay of Naples, erupted. It buried Pompeii, Herculaneum, Stabiae, and the surrounding countryside in ash and lava.

“The ancients,” says the book Pompei, “had only a vague idea of the volcanic nature of Vesuvius and were accustomed to considering it a verdant mountain where thick woods were interspersed with delightful vineyards.” But on August 24, 79 C.E., after a silence of many years, that mountain awoke with a tremendous explosion.

The Eruption of 79 C.E.

The volcano belched a column of gas, magma, and debris that darkened the sky and caused a terrible rain of ash and lapilli (small pieces of lava). Within two days Pompeii and a vast area of countryside were covered with a thick layer, to an average depth of eight feet [2.5 m]. While violent tremors continued to shake the earth, a giant cloud of poisonous gases, invisible but lethal, enveloped the city, gripping it in a deathly embrace. While Pompeii was slowly being buried, Herculaneum disappeared in an instant. According to the book Riscoprire Pompei (Rediscovering Pompeii), Herculaneum was submerged in a flow of “mud and volcanic debris to a depth that reached twenty-two meters [72 feet] near the shore.”

The reactions of Pompeii’s some 15,000 inhabitants were diverse. Only those who fled immediately managed to save themselves. Some, however, not wanting to abandon their homes and all that they contained, remained behind, hoping to avoid the danger. Others, anxious to save their objects of value, hesitated before deciding to flee, only to be crushed by the roofs of their homes, which collapsed under the weight of the ashes.

One example is the owner of “the house of the Faun,” who apparently could not bring herself to abandon her riches. “In all haste,” says Robert Étienne in his book La vie quotidienne à Pompéi (Daily Life at Pompeii), “the lady of the house gathered her most precious jewels—gold bracelets in the form of serpents, rings, hairpins, earrings, a silver mirror, a bag full of gold coins—and prepared to flee.” Terrified, perhaps by the falling ash, she remained indoors. “Shortly after,” continues Étienne, “the roof collapsed, burying the unfortunate woman and her treasures.” Others were asphyxiated by the poisonous gases that spread everywhere.

Those who hesitated had to run for their lives, over the layer of lava ash that had formed in the meantime. They lay where they fell, suffocated by the lethal inhalations and covered as a result of the insistent rain of fine ash. Their pitiful remains were found centuries later, with their valuables still beside them. The city and its inhabitants had been buried under a layer of ash over 20 feet [6 m] deep.

Yet, thanks to that fatal rain, even the city’s inhabitants have reappeared. Do you know how? Observe the casts of their bodies in the photograph on this page. How were they made? By pouring plaster of Paris into the voids left in the ash by decomposed flesh, archaeologists have enabled us to see the last agonized gestures of the hapless victims—“the young woman lying with her head on her arm; a man, his mouth covered by a handkerchief that could not impede the inhalation of dust and poison gases; the attendants of the Forum Baths, fallen in unseemly poses of the jerks and spasms of asphyxia; . . . a mother hugging her small daughter in a last pitiful and useless embrace.”—Archeo.

No Safety in Herculaneum

In Herculaneum, a few miles from Pompeii, those who did not immediately flee found themselves trapped. Many hastened toward the beach, perhaps hoping to escape by sea, but a violent seaquake prevented boats from putting out. Recent excavations on the ancient beach at Herculaneum have brought to light more than 300 skeletons. As they sought refuge under a terrace overlooking the sea, these people were buried alive by a terrible flow of mud and volcanic debris. Here, too, many had tried to save their most precious possessions: gold ornaments, silver vessels, a complete set of surgical instruments—all still there, useless, near the remains of their owners.

Time Stood Still

Pompeii bears eloquent testimony to the fragility of life in the face of the forces of nature. Like no other archaeological site in the world, the ruins of Pompeii and the surrounding areas provide a snapshot that enables modern scholars and the curious to scrutinize everyday life in the first century C.E.

The prosperity of the region was essentially based on agriculture, industry, and commerce. With intensive employment of manpower—slaves and freemen being hired daily—the fertile countryside produced abundantly. Many of the city’s activities were tied to the trading of foodstuffs. Any who visit Pompeii can still observe the mills for grinding corn, the vegetable market, and the shops of fruit sellers and wine merchants. You can see the buildings once used for commerce—for processing wool and linen and for spinning and weaving cloth on an industrial scale. With dozens of other small-scale industries, from the jeweler’s workshop to the hardware shop, these buildings, along with the houses, made up a city.

The narrow, once crowded streets are paved with blocks of stone. They are flanked by raised sidewalks and public fountains served by an ingenious system of aqueducts. A curious detail can be seen at the corners of the main streets. Like ancient predecessors of modern crosswalks, large raised blocks of stone set in the middle of the streets facilitated the flow of pedestrians and enabled them to avoid getting their feet wet when it rained. Any who drove carts in the city had to have a certain dexterity to avoid these raised stones. They are still there! Nothing has changed.

Private Life

Not even the reserve that surrounded the private lives of the Pompeians resists the indiscreet gaze of moderns. A woman covered in magnificent jewelry lies dead in the arms of a gladiator in his barracks. Doors of houses and shops are flung wide open. Kitchens are on view, as if abandoned just minutes ago, with pans on the hearth, uncooked bread still in the oven, and large jars leaning against the wall. There are rooms decorated with splendid plasterwork, wall paintings, and mosaics, where the rich banqueted at ease, using silver cups and vessels of surprising refinement. Tranquil internal gardens are surrounded by colonnades and adorned with merry fountains now silent. Seen, too, are marble and bronze statues of exquisite workmanship and altars of household gods.

The life-style of the majority, however, was much more modest. Many who did not have cooking facilities at home frequented the numerous taverns. There, without paying much, they could gossip, gamble, or buy food and drink. Some of these must have been places of ill repute where, after serving drinks to the customers, the waitresses, often slave girls, worked as prostitutes. Besides the innumerable taverns of this kind, excavations have brought to light more than a score of other places of ill repute, often characterized by paintings and writings that are grossly obscene.

It Is Time to Act

The sudden destruction of Pompeii makes one reflect. Evidently, the thousands who perished there did not react with sufficient alacrity to the warning signs of imminent disaster—the repeated earthquakes, the explosions of the volcano, and the terrible rain of lapilli. They hesitated, perhaps because they did not want to give up their comfortable life and their possessions. Maybe they hoped that the danger would pass or that there would still be time to flee if things got worse. Sadly, they were mistaken.

The Scriptures inform us that today the whole world is in a similar situation. The corrupt society in which we live is alienated from God. It is about to be swept away suddenly. (2 Peter 3:10-12; Ephesians 4:17-19) All the evidence indicates that that time is near. (Matthew 24:3-42; Mark 13:3-37; Luke 21:7-36) And the tragic remains of Pompeii stand as a silent witness to the folly of indecision.

[Box on page 24]

Christian Crosses?

The recovery of various crosses in Pompeii, including one in plasterwork on the wall of a bakery, has been interpreted by some as evidence of the presence of Christians in the city before its destruction in 79 C.E. Is this a valid assumption?

Evidently not. To find “a full-blown cult of the cross as an object,” says Antonio Varone in his book Presenze giudaiche e cristiane a Pompei (Jewish and Christian Presences in Pompeii), “we need to wait until the fourth century, when the conversion of the emperor and the masses of pagans was to make such a form of veneration more consonant with their spirituality.” “Even in the second and third centuries and until the time of Constantine,” adds Varone, “it is very rare to find such a symbol in manifest relation to Christianity.”

If they are not Christian, what origin do such symbols have? Aside from doubts about the identification of this symbol thought to be a cross and the discovery in the same bakery of a painting of a divinity in the form of a serpent, there are “some extremely obscene finds that are also difficult to reconcile with the presumed Christian spirituality of the bakery’s tenant,” Varone says. He adds: “It is known that from the dawning of civilization, before ever becoming the symbol of redemption, the cross-shaped emblem was used with clear magical and ritual significance.” In ancient times, explains this scholar, the cross was considered capable of warding off or destroying evil influences and was used, more than anything else, as an amulet.

[Picture on page 23]

The Arch of Caligula with Mount Vesuvius in the background

[Pictures on page 23]

Above: Plaster casts of Pompeii’s inhabitants

Left: View of Arch of Nero and part of the temple of Jupiter

[Picture Credit Lines on page 22]

Vertical borders: Glazier

Photos on pages 2 (bottom), 22, and 23: Soprintendenza Archeologica di Pompei

The Bible’s Viewpoint

Why Disfellowshipping Is a Loving Arrangement

EXCOMMUNICATION—the very idea stirs up mixed feelings among many religious people.a Most people agree that religions need some sort of discipline. But many view excommunication as a relic from the past—a harsh style of discipline that reminds them of witch-hunts and inquisitions.

Adding to the problem is the pervasive influence of the secular world. Thus, most of Christendom’s religions have adopted a more tolerant view of sin. Little wonder, then, that one Episcopalian minister said: “Excommunication is part of our tradition, but I don’t think it’s been invoked in this century.”

However, many people may be surprised to learn that among Jehovah’s Witnesses, disfellowshipping (the equivalent of excommunication) is taken seriously. Granted, it is not an easy action to take, but it is a loving arrangement. How so?

It Upholds God’s Name

Jehovah is a holy God. He does not tolerate deliberate sin on the part of those claiming to worship him. The apostle Peter wrote to Christians: “Become holy yourselves in all your conduct, because it is written: ‘You must be holy, because I am holy.’” (1 Peter 1:15, 16) So disfellowshipping unrepentant sinners upholds God’s holy name; it shows love for that name.—Compare Hebrews 6:10.

Does this mean that if a Christian succumbs to weakness or stumbles into grave sin, he is automatically expelled from the congregation? By no means! Jehovah is not a coldhearted dictator. He is merciful and understanding. He remembers that we are imperfect. (Psalm 103:14) Jehovah recognizes that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” (Romans 3:23) God has arranged for spiritual help within the congregation so that if a Christian takes a “false step” or even commits a serious sin, he may be lovingly ‘readjusted’ in a spirit of mildness. (Galatians 6:1) By accepting counsel from God’s Word and demonstrating heartfelt sorrow and genuine repentance, one who has strayed from the path of righteousness can “get healed” spiritually.—James 5:13-16.

What, though, if a baptized Christian seriously errs and all efforts to restore him are unsuccessful? In other words, what if he stubbornly refuses to correct his sinful course?

It Keeps the Congregation Safe

The Bible commands Christians: “Quit mixing in company with anyone called a brother that is a fornicator or a greedy person or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or an extortioner, not even eating with such a man.”—1 Corinthians 5:11.

Is this Bible law harsh and demeaning? Just consider this: When a hardened criminal is sent to prison for breaking the law, is that viewed as harsh or coldhearted? No, because the public has the right to safeguard the peace and security of the community. In effect, the criminal is disfellowshipped from law-abiding society during his prison term.

Similarly, the Christian congregation is justified in expelling unrepentant wrongdoers from their midst. Why? Because the congregation must be a haven from immoral predators and other willful practicers of sin.

Realizing that “one sinner can destroy much good,” the apostle Paul commanded fellow believers: “Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.” (Ecclesiastes 9:18; 1 Corinthians 5:13) This action prevents the sinner from spreading corruption in the congregation, and it protects the congregation’s good name.—Compare 1 Timothy 3:15.

Protection for Individuals

Disfellowshipping also protects individual members of the congregation. Let us illustrate: Imagine being roused from sleep by the noisy blast of a car horn or alarm. The piercing sound is difficult to ignore; indeed, it startles you! Likewise, when someone is expelled from the congregation, the action hopefully grabs the attention of every member of the flock. It disturbs their senses. It cannot be ignored. How may this be a protection?

“When I first heard at the Kingdom Hall that someone had been disfellowshipped, my initial reaction was shock,” says one Witness. “Then it humbled me. It made me realize that I too could fall.” As her words indicate, disfellowshipping can move others to take stock of their conduct.—1 Corinthians 10:12.

By asking ourselves questions such as ‘Are there any areas of my life in which I am spiritually vulnerable?’ we can be helped to examine our own standing with God. In this way we can continue to ‘work out our own salvation with fear and trembling.’—Philippians 2:12.

Return to God

“As hard as it was,” said one Christian who was expelled for a time, “the discipline was necessary and much needed, and it proved to be lifesaving.” This highlights another important aspect of disfellowshipping. It can move previously unrepentant sinners to take their first steps back to God.

The apostle Paul said: “Whom Jehovah loves he disciplines.” (Hebrews 12:6) And while it is true that “no discipline seems for the present to be joyous, but grievous; yet afterward to those who have been trained by it it yields peaceable fruit, namely, righteousness.”—Hebrews 12:11.

That is what happened to Richard. After being disfellowshipped for almost two years, he repented, corrected his God-dishonoring conduct, and was accepted back into the Christian congregation. Looking back, he says regarding the experience: “I realize that I had to be disfellowshipped and that I fully deserved what I got. It really was necessary and helped me to see just how serious my course was and the need to seek Jehovah’s forgiveness.”

Discipline may not be easy to endure. Accepting it requires humility, but those who learn from it reap bountiful fruitage.

Therefore, disfellowshipping is a loving arrangement because it upholds God’s holy name and it protects the congregation from the corrupting influence of sin. Also, it demonstrates love for the wrongdoer by encouraging him to repent and “turn around so as to get [his] sins blotted out, that seasons of refreshing may come from the person of Jehovah.”—Acts 3:19.

[Footnote]

[Picture Credit Line on page 26]

The New Testament: A Pictorial Archive from Nineteenth-Century Sources, by Don Rice/Dover Publications, Inc.

Watching the World

Freedom of Religion Upheld

On March 8, 1996, the Supreme Court of Japan ruled that the Kobe Municipal Industrial Technical College violated the law by expelling Kunihito Kobayashi, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, for his refusal to participate in martial arts training, reports The Daily Yomiuri of Tokyo. In so doing, Japan’s highest court rejected an appeal made by the college and established a precedent for future cases. (Please see the October 8, 1995, issue of Awake! for further details.) The court recognized that the student’s reason for declining to participate in the kendo martial arts drills “was earnest and closely related to the very core” of his faith. The court called Kobayashi “an outstanding student” and stated that the school could have offered him an alternative physical education program in place of kendo.

Atheism On The Move

Cardinal Joachim Meisner sees in Germany a “powerful push toward atheism.” Communism may have lost out economically, but it appears to have gained ideologically, observed Meisner. He comments: “This trend seems to have spread from the new [formerly Communist] federal states to the old [west] federal states.” According to the newspaper Weser Kurier, about 70 percent of the 16 million inhabitants of the former East Germany belong to no church. The report continues: “If the church does not have the courage to go on the offensive in announcing the truth revealed to her, then she has given herself up for lost.”

Pass the Bugs, Please!

Many people, though apparently not all, would find the prospect of curing ailments by eating insects to be less than appetizing. Nevertheless, according to Asiaweek magazine, the idea is nothing new. In Singapore the Imperial Herbal Restaurant serves up dishes with ingredients such as ants and scorpions, both reputed to be not only nutritious but also healing. The restaurant’s proprietress, Mrs. Tee Eng Wang-Lee, says that ants are good for rheumatism, while scorpion’s poison is said to ease the nerves and relieve migraine headaches. Other bug drugs include dried grubs to relieve pain; cicada larvae to fight gas, cold sores, and measles; and dried hornets’ nest to kill parasites. How do these creatures taste? Ants have a tangy, vinegarlike taste, and scorpions are chewy. Mrs. Wang-Lee points out: “It’s an acquired taste.”

Put the Brakes on Burnout!

Stress of all types is on the rise, and Ellen McGrath, a psychologist writing in the U.S. magazine Health, offers a few strategies to keep stress from leading to burnout in your life.

◼ Take a break, any break: Take a ten-minute walk or five minutes of calm, deep breathing. Set aside 15 minutes to read or reflect at the beginning and at the end of each day.

◼ Take control: Surround yourself with things that make you smile—photos, flowers, or mementos. Take responsibility for your schedule and arrange less-stressful times to do necessary things.

◼ Eat well: Don’t work until you are ravenous or settle for a junk-food snack to get you by—no matter how busy you are. Frequent meals centered on fruits and vegetables will help you to avoid fatigue.

◼ Keep moving: Vigorous exercise reduces stress and increases feelings of contentment and a sense of control. Make it fun!

Avoid Childhood Poisoning

Young children are in danger of being poisoned in their own homes by ingesting as little as one tablet of a medicine not intended for them, says FDA Consumer magazine. Swallowing medicines, household chemicals, and alcoholic beverages may cause illness and even death in a small child. Therefore, these products should be kept out of their reach and sight. Overdoses of iron supplements, including children’s vitamins, are of special concern. “Because [pediatric vitamins are] marketed to look like candy or cartoon characters, it looks like candy and doesn’t seem like medicine,” explains Dr. George Rodgers of the Kentucky Regional Poisoning Center, U.S.A. If a child develops unusual symptoms, such as abnormal eye movement or excessive sleepiness, or if an open bottle of pills is found, call a doctor or a poison control center immediately and follow their instructions precisely, experts advise.

Reading—“A Slow Death”?

According to a survey conducted in Italy for the Association of Small Publishing Houses, last year 80 percent of Italians “never opened a book, or if they did, they do not remember even the title of the book or the name of the writer.” Traditionally, the behavior, actions, and life of Italians is affected more by visual images, including television, than by reading matter, observed Rome’s La Repubblica newspaper. “The Italians do not read, and they have no idea that they are missing anything important,” the newspaper stated. The survey also showed that many Italians associate reading books with an “incapacity to establish ‘warm’ human relationships” and with a “lack of passion.” Nonreaders “are convinced that reading is only a waste of time,” that it is ‘stuff for old folks,’ or even that it “constitutes ‘a slow death.’”

Calls for Help

A nationwide toll-free hot line for distressed youths in Canada receives 4,000 calls a day, revealing “a deeper level of despair than ever before,” reported The Globe and Mail newspaper. Christine Simmons-Physick, director of counseling services for the program, stated: “The [economic] transition going on in the world is creating uncertainty in adults and this is filtering down to the kids.” Almost half the calls are about relationships, and 78 percent are from girls, who find it easier to ask for help than do boys. Youngsters call because it gives them an opportunity to have their problems taken seriously by an adult, observed Simmons-Physick. Parents and other adults often “tend to dismiss kids’ problems as transitional—they say they’ll grow out of it,” she said, adding: “If you convey that attitude, you can guarantee they won’t come to you for help again.”

Butterfly Navigators

Every March clouds of monarch butterflies navigate across 500 miles [800 km] of open sea, migrating from Mexico to one small part of the coast of Louisiana, U.S.A. The monarchs then continue north, some as far as Canada. The following October their great-great-grandchildren return to Mexico over the same route. But with a tiny brain, only the size of a pinhead, how do they know where to fly? That is still a mystery. The Enterprise-Record of Chico, California, reports that butterfly researcher Dr. Gary Noel Ross believes that the insects may be guided by magnetism. The baffling question is, How does the flight plan for the trip back to Mexico get passed down through five generations? “The fine-tuning of all this is beyond comprehension,” Dr. Ross said.

New Clothes Warning

Warnings regarding the dangers of chemicals used in the manufacture of clothing are being sounded in France, England, and Thailand, reports Asiaweek magazine. Formaldehyde, a potent preservative used in dyes, is found in many fabrics, and it is said to cause skin, eye, and respiratory problems. Workers in the textile industry may be at risk unless their factories are well ventilated and dry, according to the report, and consumers should wash any piece of new clothing before wearing it, to avoid possible adverse reactions.

Crime and Russia’s Teens

In St. Petersburg, Russia, “juvenile crime is becoming more brutal and deliberate,” reports The St. Petersburg Press. For example, at a city school in 1995, a 13-year-old boy was tied up and beaten to death just after finishing his year-end exams. Concern on the part of parents and teachers about violent school crime prompted a special course for schoolchildren on “Basics of Surviving,” including “Medical Basics” for girls. At a seminar for teachers of the course, it was revealed that 25 percent of secondary-school girls in the city think that prostitution is an integral part of Russian life. Moreover, the number of abortions among girls 17 and younger is believed to have doubled over the past five years, according to Populi, the United Nations Population Fund magazine.

From Our Readers

Mormons I could not believe my eyes when I read the article “The Mormon Church—A Restoration of All Things?” (November 8, 1995) You call yourselves true Christians because you refuse to engage in wars. But I am proud of the Mormons who fought in World War II and helped the Jews, who were being persecuted by Hitler. What were Jehovah’s Witnesses doing at this time besides sitting back and watching six million Jews die?

G. D., Germany

It is true that Mormons in the United States and Britain fought against Nazism. But not so in Germany itself. The book “The Nazi State and the New Religions,” by historian Christine King, vice-chancellor of Staffordshire University in England, reports: “Mormons joined the armed services and there were six hundred Mormons in the German army by 1940. . . . Mormons continued to stress the ‘parallel goals’ of Mormonism and National Socialism. . . . Some Mormon leaders began to instruct their congregations in elements of National Socialism, conducting prayers for the Führer, speaking of him as ‘divinely called.’ . . . There are only two reported cases of Mormons offering resistance to the Nazis.” However, as a group Jehovah’s Witnesses refused to support the Nazi regime. Thus, they became the targets of vicious persecution by Hitler’s government. Thousands suffered imprisonment in concentration camps, and many died there. See our August 22, 1995, issue.—ED.

Photo Mix-Up The series “Science Fiction—A Glimpse Into Our Future?” (December 8, 1995) was thoroughly enjoyable. However, the picture of Jules Verne on page 3 would seem to be that of William Morris, a 19th-century artist and writer.

R. G., United States

A number of readers caught this mistake. A clerical error was made, and our file photo of William Morris was mislabeled. We apologize for the mix-up.—ED.

Awesome Universe After reading your series “The Awesome Universe—Where Did It Come From?” (January 22, 1996), I came away with a much clearer understanding of current scientific thought on the universe. Your presentation was highlighted by the skillful use of a plethora of data, sources, and references. As a teacher, I will make good use of the material you presented.

M. P., United States

I have often read similar articles in magazines, but they always failed to give credit to a Designer for such wonders. Your articles provided what was needed to fill that void.

P. B., Italy

Not only was the material factual but it was faith strengthening. It built up our appreciation for our God—the Originator of our wonderful, awesome universe!

C. S., Greece

It was really exciting to read the articles. I am 14 years old, and I have always had an enormous admiration for the universe. These articles made me aware of the insignificance of humans in comparison with the complexity of this creation.

M. D., Portugal

I read the articles with extraordinary interest. I am glad that Awake! deals with such issues. It gave me further insight into the mysteries of the universe, particularly the information regarding the evidence of “bubbles” that are 100 million light-years in size, with numerous galaxies outside and voids inside. This poses a problem for the modern big bang theory! I am impressed by how little we really know about the universe.

D. K., Czech Republic

Why the Chapels Are Closing

CHURCHES, chapels, choirs, and coal—as recently as 50 years ago, they were sure signs that you were in the mining valleys of South Wales. It seemed that every hundred yards, you came across either a Welsh or an English Baptist chapel or the equivalent for the Methodists, Calvinistic Methodists, Congregationalists, Presbyterians, and so on. Since many Welsh people spoke their national language, nearly every religion had separate chapels for each tongue. Five decades of television and changing values have radically altered all of that.

Welshman Islwyn Jones, who lives in Blaenclydach in the Rhondda Valley, has spent years chronicling the fate of the dozens of chapels of the Rhondda. The local paper, the Rhondda Leader, published a list of nearly one hundred chapels, most dating from the 19th century, indicating their present status. The report stated: “These great buildings were the heart of Rhondda as it passed through the boom years of coal to the ultimate decline of these two pillars [religion and coal] of valley life.”

The list serves as an epitome of the collapse of religion’s influence, not only in Wales but in many parts of Europe. Sixty-eight chapels were listed as “now demolished.” Nineteen had been adapted to other uses. Some examples: “converted into an Aikido martial arts club,” “changed to flats [apartments],” “altered to warehouse,” “converted to a shopping area,” “converted into a drug store.” One that was not listed, in Penygraig, was converted many years ago into a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witnesses for the flourishing Rhondda Congregation.

As the Bible foretold regarding “Babylon the Great,” the world empire of false religion, its symbolic waters, the support of the peoples, are drying up in many parts of the world. Soon the political elements of the world will turn against religion as they “carry out [God’s] thought” to devastate false religion, which has universally blasphemed Jehovah God’s name and purpose.—Revelation 17:5, 15-17.a

[Footnote]

A Wonderful Future for Planet Earth

“RESEARCH shows Earth is now the warmest it has been in 600 years,” reports the Toronto Globe and Mail. In 1995 a heat wave in the central United States claimed the lives of more than 500 people in Chicago. Similar extreme conditions befell India and Australia, while England experienced “the third driest summer in 200 years.”

What is the cause of this? Henry Hengeveld, a climate expert with the federal Environment Department in Canada, says: “The balance of evidence suggests there is a discernible human influence on the global climate.” According to the Globe and Mail report, “the strange weather is consistent with computer models simulating the effects of global warming, thought to be caused mainly by the burning of fossil fuels.”

The existence of global warming is still debated in scientific circles. Nevertheless, The New Encyclopædia Britannica observes: “Humankind is abusing the atmospheric environment faster than it is understanding it.”

Happily, the Bible tells us that the earth is “standing even to time indefinite.” (Ecclesiastes 1:4) This is because the Creator, Jehovah God, will not allow man or any natural forces to destroy it. On the contrary, he will “bring to ruin those ruining the earth.”—Revelation 11:17, 18.

Additionally, the Bible assures us that Jehovah God has a wonderful future in store for our planet, Earth, and for all obedient mankind. “The meek ones themselves will possess the earth, and they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.” How happy we can be that earth’s future is in God’s hands, not man’s!—Psalm 37:11; 72:16; Isaiah 65:17-25; 2 Peter 3:13.

If you would like to receive future issues of Awake!, please contact Jehovah’s Witnesses in your area or write to the nearest address listed on page 5.

[Picture Credit Line on page 32]

NASA photo