July 8

Table of Contents

July 8, 2003

Violent Crime​—Is There a Solution?

A survivor cries after the funeral of eight schoolchildren slaughtered in Ikeda, Japan. Violent crimes are being committed worldwide. What drives people to such vile actions? Will there ever be a solution?

3 Violent Crime​—What Is Happening?

5 Why So Many Violent Crimes Now?

10 A Realistic Solution​—Is It Possible?

12 Travel Tips From an Experienced Flier

18 I Tried to Serve Two Masters

28 Watching the World

30 From Our Readers

31 Tambili​—The “King” of Coconuts

32 “I Confidently Recommend the Book to Anyone”

Barcelona​—An Outdoor Museum of Color and Style 14

Barcelona, a Mediterranean city of diverse culture and art, displays its works in museums and its architecture.

The Tour de France​—100 Years of Cycling’s Supreme Test 22

What makes this French cycle race unique? What draws millions of fans to watch it each year?

[Picture Credit Lines on page 2]

AFP PHOTO/Toshifumi Kitamura

100 ans de Tour de France, L’Équipe, 2002 © L’Équipe/Presse Sports

Violent Crime​—What Is Happening?

FRANK and Gabriella strolled along the Oregon, U.S.A., seashore in the early morning hours, watching the sunrise. They had no inkling of what was about to happen. Minutes later, they were both dead, shot in the head at close range. Was it vengeance? Or jealousy? Neither. The gunman, a stranger, fulfilled a fantasy​—he wanted to know what it felt like to kill someone.

“On Sunday 28th April 1996 Martin Bryant won the attention of the Western world by having the time of his life. Shooting everyone he met as he wandered through Port Arthur, Tasmania, he achieved a wonderful thrill of exultation and power.” (A Study of Our Decline, by Philip Atkinson) He also caused the deaths of 35 people!

A 65-year-old retiree in Canada was out for his early-morning bike ride. As he pedaled along, he was hit from behind by a driver who left him for dead. His bike was dragged more than 700 yards [about 700 m] down the road. At first, it was thought to be a hit-and-run accident, but a further investigation indicated that he had been hit by the driver of a stolen car, out for a joyride. Apparently, hitting the cyclist was part of the “thrill.”

A Different Type of Crime?

Crime has been with us for centuries, but the types cited above cause people to exclaim: “Why? How could anyone even think of doing such a thing?” Although common crimes, like thievery or fraud, may not turn many heads, there is an increasing category of deeds that grabs media attention and causes people to say to themselves, ‘This is senseless! What is happening to this world?’

These crimes are different. They are often shocking and vicious in nature. As in the examples above, they are usually committed against innocent people who do not know the perpetrators. In addition, there often seems to be no obvious motive to these violent crimes. The list of mindless acts goes on and on.

In April 1999 in Colorado, U.S.A., 2 students killed 12 students and a teacher before killing themselves in a school shooting. A man died in California in 1982 after taking an over-the-counter medicine that someone had laced with strychnine. In 1993, two ten-year-old boys induced two-year-old James Bulger to leave the shopping mall in Bootle, Merseyside, England, where his mother was in a butcher shop. They took him down to a railway line and bludgeoned him to death.

Some acts can be classified as terrorism, such as the Tokyo subway poisoning in 1995. Japan was shocked when poison gas was released by cult members in a Tokyo subway, killing 12 and injuring thousands. Few can forget the destruction of New York’s World Trade Center and the attack on the Pentagon, in Washington, D.C., which claimed some 3,000 lives, and the bombing last year in Bali, Indonesia, that took nearly 200 lives.

It is obvious that such violent crimes have become quite pervasive. The problem is worldwide, affecting many nations and classes of people.

In some cases it is almost as if the perpetrators were in competition, trying to see who could commit the most shocking crime. Furthermore, hate crimes are increasingly more common. These are carried out with extreme cruelty against people whose only “fault” is that they are of a different race, religion, or ethnic group​—as was the case in 1994 when some 800,000 Tutsi were murdered in Rwanda.

All of this causes many to think: ‘What is happening? Was it like this before? What could be behind such awful crimes? What hope is there for reducing or eliminating such vicious crimes?’ The following articles will deal with these and other questions.

[Blurb on page 4]

Violent crimes are often committed against random victims and without obvious motive

Why So Many Violent Crimes Now?

ALL crimes are evil. But mindless or purposeless crimes are harder to understand. The fact that they are often without an obvious motive baffles investigators. With mass communication becoming much more effective in recent years, such appalling crimes are known to millions, or even billions, within hours. A report published by the World Health Organization states that “violence leaves no continent, no country and few communities untouched.”

Even places that were considered relatively safe in past years have recently seen more instances of senseless acts of violence. For example, Japan has long had a low rate of violent crime. However, in Ikeda, in June 2001, a man carrying a butcher knife walked into a school and began stabbing and slashing. Within 15 minutes he killed 8 children and wounded 15 others. When this is added to other reports from Japan, such as those of young people killing total strangers just for the thrill of it, one gets the clear sense that things have changed.

Even in countries where crime rates have been high, certain senseless acts have caused public revulsion. This was true after the September 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center in New York. Psychologist Gerard Bailes made this comment: “It turns the world into a totally alien, dangerous place in which we cannot predict what is going to happen.”

Why Do They Do It?

There is no one factor that explains all the varied acts of senseless violence. What makes some crimes more difficult to understand is their irrational nature. For example, it is hard to comprehend why a person would walk up to total strangers and stab them to death or why someone would drive by a house and shoot at random.

Some claim that violence is inherent in people. Others argue that senseless crimes cannot be explained as an unavoidable part of human nature.​—See the box “Doomed to Violence?”

Many experts believe that there are a host of factors and circumstances that are catalysts inclining people to commit irrational, violent acts. A report published by the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) Academy in the United States goes so far as to say: “Homicide is not the act of a sober, sane, individual.” Some authorities would take issue with the wording of that statement. Nevertheless, many agree with what it implies. For some reason the thinking of those committing senseless crimes is not normal. Something has affected their reasoning to the point that they will do the unthinkable. What contributing factors move people to do such things? Let us look at several possibilities that experts have mentioned.

Breakdown of Family Life

Marianito Panganiban, a spokesman for the National Bureau of Investigation in the Philippines, was asked by an Awake! writer about the background of those who commit extreme crimes. He commented: “They come from broken families. They lack care and love. There is a breakdown of people’s moral fiber in the sense that they have no guidance and then they go astray.” Many researchers suggest that poor family relationships and violent family backgrounds are common among aggressive criminals.

The U.S. National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime issued a report listing factors that could identify youths who might commit lethal violence in school. The following family factors were included: a turbulent parent-child relationship, parents who are unable to recognize problems in their children, a lack of closeness, parents who set few or no limits on a child’s conduct, and children who are extremely private, leading a double life and thus hiding a part of their life from their parents.

Today many children are victims of family breakup. Others have parents who have little time for them. Thousands of young ones have grown up with inadequate moral and family guidance. Some experts feel that such an environment may result in children’s not developing the ability to bond well with others, thus making it easier for them to commit crimes against fellow humans, often without remorse.

Hate Groups and Cults

Evidence suggests that some hate groups or cults have been a strong influence in the commission of certain crimes. In Indiana, U.S.A., a 19-year-old black man was walking home from a shopping mall. Moments later, he was lying on the side of the street with a bullet in his brain. He had been shot by a young man who picked him at random. Why? The assassin allegedly wanted to gain membership in a white-supremacist organization and to earn a spiderweb tattoo for having killed a black person.

The 1995 nerve-gas attack in a Tokyo subway; the Jonestown, Guyana, mass suicide; and the deaths in Switzerland, Canada, and France of 69 members of the Order of the Solar Temple were all cult inspired. These examples illustrate the powerful influence that certain groups have had on the thinking of some people. Charismatic leaders have got people to do the “unthinkable” by tempting them with some supposed benefit.

The Mass Media and Violence

Some point to evidence that various forms of modern communication may encourage aggressive conduct. Regular exposure to violence depicted on television, in movies, in video games, and on the Internet is said to desensitize the conscience and inspire violent crimes. Dr. Daniel Borenstein, president of the American Psychiatric Association, stated: “At this time there are more than 1,000 studies based on more than 30 years of research demonstrating a causal connection between media violence and aggressive behavior in some children.” Before a U.S. Senate committee, Dr. Borenstein testified: “We are convinced that repeated exposure to entertainment violence in all its forms has significant public health implications.”​—See the box “Computer-Game Violence—​A Doctor’s Viewpoint.”

Specific cases are often cited to show that this is true. In the case of the triggerman involved in the cold-blooded murder of a couple watching the sunrise on a beach, mentioned in the preceding article, prosecutors presented evidence that the thrill killing was inspired by repeated viewing of a violent movie. In a school shooting where 15 people were killed, the two student perpetrators were said to have spent hours each day playing violent video games. Additionally, they repeatedly watched movies glorifying violence and killing.

Drugs

In the United States, the rate of murder committed by teenagers tripled during an eight-year period. What do authorities point to as one factor? Gangs, particularly gangs involved with crack cocaine. Of over 500 recent homicides in Los Angeles, California, “the police said 75 percent were gang related.”

A report published by the FBI Academy makes this statement: “Drugs are present in an inordinately high number of homicide cases.” Some people whose thinking is warped by drug use kill while under the influence. Others defend their drug trafficking by using violence. Obviously, drugs are a powerful factor influencing people to commit horrendous acts.

Easy Access to Destructive Weapons

As mentioned in the preceding article, a lone gunman in Tasmania, Australia, killed 35 people. He wounded 19 others. The man was armed with military-style semiautomatic weapons. This led many to conclude that easy access to such weapons is another factor in the rise of violent crimes.

One report shows that there were only 32 gun murders in Japan in 1995, most involving gangsters killed by other gangsters. In contrast, the United States had more than 15,000 gun murders. Why the difference? Japan’s stringent gun ownership laws have been cited by some as a reason.

People’s Inability to Cope

When hearing of certain heinous acts, some may react by saying, ‘That person must be crazy!’ However, not all individuals committing such crimes are mentally deranged. Many, though, do have difficulties in coping with life. Experts point to personality defects that may lead to extreme acts. Among them are the following: learning and social deficiencies; negative effects of physical or sexual abuse; antisocial characteristics; hatred of a certain group, such as women; lack of remorse when doing wrong; and a desire to manipulate others.

Whatever their problem is, some become so consumed by their difficulty that their thinking is altered, and this can lead them to commit strange acts. An example is a nurse who abnormally craved attention. She injected little children with a muscle relaxant that caused their breathing to stop. Then she basked in the attention she was given as she “saved” each child. Unfortunately, she was not able to get them all to resume breathing. She was convicted of murder.

It is obvious from the foregoing that a combination of factors makes people inclined to commit violent crimes. However, our list would be incomplete if we did not consider one more very important factor.

The Bible’s Answer

The Bible helps us to understand what is happening now and why people act in such extreme ways. It accurately describes attitudes we commonly see. For example, the list found at 2 Timothy 3:3, 4 states that people would have “no natural affection” and that they would be “without self-control, fierce, without love of goodness,” and “headstrong.” In another Bible book, Jesus was quoted as saying: “The love of the greater number will cool off.”​—Matthew 24:12.

The Bible says: “In the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here.” (2 Timothy 3:1) Yes, what we see is evidence that we are living at the end of the present system of things. Conditions, along with people’s attitudes, are on a downhill slide. Can we expect an immediate solution? The Bible answers: “Wicked men and impostors will advance from bad to worse.”​—2 Timothy 3:13.

Does this mean that mankind is doomed to an endless cycle of vicious violence and escalating crime? Let us examine that question in our next article.

[Box on page 6]

DOOMED TO VIOLENCE?

Some argue that the propensity for violence or killing has always been inborn in humans. Supporters of evolution maintain that we come from wild animals and have simply inherited their violent characteristics. Such theories would leave us doomed to an endless cycle of violence from which there is no hope of escape.

However, there is much evidence to the contrary. The theories mentioned above do not explain why in different cultures there are wide variations in frequency and types of violence. They do not indicate why in some cultures responding with violence seems to be the norm, whereas other societies report very little violence, with murder almost nil. Psychoanalyst Erich Fromm exposed cracks in the theory that we inherit aggression from primates by pointing out that although some of them are violent as a result of physical needs or for self-protection, humans are the only ones who have been known to kill for the sheer thrill of killing.

In their book The Will to Kill​—Making Sense of Senseless Murder, Professors James Alan Fox and Jack Levin state: “Some individuals are more prone to violence than others, yet free will still exists. The will to kill, though governed by numerous internal and external forces, still includes choice and human decision making, and thus accountability and culpability.”

[Box/Picture on page 7]

COMPUTER-GAME VIOLENCE​—A DOCTOR’S VIEWPOINT

Dr. Richard F. Corlin, past president of the American Medical Association, delivered a speech to a group of graduating doctors in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. In it he spoke about computer games that encourage violence. Some of these games award points for flesh wounds, more for a body shot, and even more for a head shot. Blood spurts out, and brain tissue spatters all over.

Dr. Corlin commented that children are not allowed to drive, not allowed to drink alcoholic beverages, and not allowed to smoke when they are too young. Then he said: “But we do let them be trained to be shooters at an age when they have not yet developed their impulse control and have none of the maturity and discipline to safely use the weapons they are playing with. . . . We need to teach our children from the beginning that violence [has] consequences​—serious consequences—​all the time.”

Sadly, instead of being taught that crime has consequences, children are often the innocent victims of violent crimes. Statistics show that gunfire kills ten children a day in the United States. Dr. Corlin says: “The United States leads the world​—in the rate at which its children die from firearms.” His conclusion? “Gun violence is a threat to the public health of our country. This is a fact.”

[Box on page 9]

FACTORS CONTRIBUTING TO VIOLENT CRIMES

Many experts feel that the following can contribute to senseless crimes:

Family breakdown

Hate groups, extremists

Dangerous cults

Violence in entertainment

Exposure to actual violence

Abuse of drugs

Inability to cope with problems

Easy access to destructive weapons

Certain conditions of mental illness

[Picture on page 8]

One of five bombings that killed at least 12 and injured more than 80 others, Quezon City, Philippines

[Credit Line]

AP Photo/Aaron Favila December 30, 2000

[Picture on page 8]

Two students kill a teacher, 12 students, and themselves at Columbine High School, Colorado, U.S.A.

[Credit Line]

AP Photo/Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department April 20, 1999

[Picture on page 8, 9]

A car bomb kills at least 182 and wounds 132 at a nightclub in Bali, Indonesia

[Credit Line]

Maldonado Roberto/GAMMA October 12, 2002

A Realistic Solution​—Is It Possible?

CRIME appears to be a permanent fixture of modern society. Despite well-meaning efforts of social workers, law-enforcement personnel, and criminal rehabilitation professionals, the world is becoming a more dangerous place. Is there a solution?

The Bible shows that a big change is coming. This will not come through the efforts of human governments. All human rulers are limited, no matter how noble their goals. They just do not have the power and resources to root out the cause of crime or to establish a permanently secure system.

The change the Bible speaks of will be implemented by our Creator. As the Maker of the universe, he has the power and the legal right to do what humans cannot. The Bible describes him as “the One who is reducing high officials to nothing, who has made the very judges of the earth as a mere unreality . . . , he also being vigorous in power.” (Isaiah 40:23-26) What changes does God promise, and how do these give us real hope for a better world?

Psalm 37:10 informs us of God’s promise: “Just a little while longer, and the wicked one will be no more; and you will certainly give attention to his place, and [the wicked] will not be.” God intends to get rid of those who are incorrigibly wicked and have no intention of changing. However, he will not destroy all people. To those who are willing to become meek, humble, and peaceable, the psalmist promises: “Hope in Jehovah and keep his way, and he will exalt you to take possession of the earth. When the wicked ones are cut off, you will see it.” With the wicked ones gone, those remaining will enjoy an “abundance of peace”​—a world free from crime of any sort.​—Psalm 37:11, 34.

Change of Mind and Heart Needed

Simply destroying the wicked and saving good people is not enough to resolve the problem of crime once and for all. Crime is often the result of improper training of people’s hearts and minds. However, that is where God’s government will excel. Practical instruction and education will be provided in order to train people so that they will love righteousness. Isaiah 54:13 says: “All your sons will be persons taught by Jehovah, and the peace of your sons will be abundant.”

The results will be truly satisfying! The Bible speaks pictorially of the changes in people who may once have had animallike characteristics. It says: “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.” Why? “Because the earth will certainly be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters are covering the very sea.” (Isaiah 11:6, 9) However, you and your family do not need to wait for the future for such changes. How so?

You Can Benefit Now

There are people who are now making the changes necessary to prepare for a crime-free world. They are already putting on a new personality, the type of personality that God wants in people who will live in his new world. (2 Peter 3:13) They do this by applying Bible principles in their lives. Notice the interesting description the Bible gives: “You should be made new in the force actuating your mind, and should put on the new personality which was created according to God’s will in true righteousness and loyalty.”​—Ephesians 4:23, 24.

Colossians 3:12-14 further describes the positive qualities that many honesthearted individuals are cultivating now. It says: “As God’s chosen ones, holy and loved, clothe yourselves with the tender affections of compassion, kindness, lowliness of mind, mildness, and long-suffering. Continue putting up with one another and forgiving one another freely if anyone has a cause for complaint against another. Even as Jehovah freely forgave you, so do you also. But, besides all these things, clothe yourselves with love, for it is a perfect bond of union.”

Would you like to receive help to put on the new Christian personality? Millions of people around the world are already doing so with the help of Jehovah’s Witnesses. At meetings held regularly in Kingdom Halls, and at large conventions, even people who were violent criminals have learned how to put on a peaceful personality.a If you would like to benefit from such an excellent Bible educational program, do not hesitate to contact the publishers of this magazine. They will be happy to help you to be among the people who are preparing now to live in God’s crime-free new world.

[Footnote]

[Pictures on page 10]

Millions are receiving education for life in a crime-free world

Travel Tips From an Experienced Flier

I ABSOLUTELY love flying​—I always have. Not only does it provide the freedom to travel quickly from one place to another but it also allows one to cut through the clouds on a gloomy day and soar in the sunlight shining high above. I have enjoyed the thrill of flying since my first flight as a young boy in 1956. This love led me to a career as a professional pilot, but I also spent time as an aircraft accident investigator.

How safe is it to travel by air? And what precautions should you take when you have the opportunity to travel by plane?

Making a Safe Form of Travel Safer

Worldwide each year, almost 18,000 airliners regularly land and take off at thousands of airports, while transporting more than 1.6 billion passengers to their destinations​—all this with very few accidents. In fact, Lloyd’s of London, the well-known insurance provider, estimates that it is 25 times safer to travel by air than by car. Statistically then, the most dangerous part of your trip will be the drive to and from the airport. Nevertheless, a few sensible precautions taken when flying can help make this relatively safe form of travel even safer.

● Choose your airline carefully: Not all airlines have the same safety record. Established airlines generally are safe carriers. They operate modern aircraft and have a good reputation because of their safety and maintenance record.

● Choose your clothing thoughtfully: Survivors of a plane crash face the danger of fire and smoke. Therefore, wearing long sleeves and long trousers or a long skirt will best shield your skin from flames and heat. Clothing made of natural fibers offers good protection, but synthetic materials often melt or shrink onto the skin when exposed to heat, potentially causing more severe burns. Leather clothing may also shrink with heat and is not recommended. Wearing layers of clothing offers better protection than wearing just one layer, and light colors reflect heat better than dark colors. Flat shoes, preferably ones with laces, are more likely to stay on your feet and protect you from cuts and burns, and wool socks are better than synthetic ones.

● Listen to the safety briefing: Your crew will provide you with a comprehensive safety briefing before takeoff. In the unlikely event of an accident, you may have to extricate yourself from the aircraft using what you remember from that briefing. So listen carefully to the information. One survey of Canadian air travelers revealed that only 29 percent of passengers on a flight read or looked at the safety card. Take some time to study the safety instructions, particularly those showing how to open the exits, since you may be the first one there. Consider how you will find the exit if it is dark or smoke obscures your vision. One simple technique is to count the rows of seats between you and the exits. Then, even in the dark, you will be able to find and open the escape hatch.

● Limit your hand luggage: “A recurrent hazard [for passengers] is items which fall in normal flight from bins which have either not been properly closed or have been opened by passengers in flight, causing serious head-injury and even death,” states the journal Flight International. So remember, heavy hand luggage can be a safety hazard. Therefore, in a survival situation, leave ALL your luggage behind. Concentrate on surviving! Your luggage can be replaced later.

In Case of an Emergency

The most hazardous evacuation will be one where fire, smoke, and fumes are present. One accident report stated: “When the airplane landed the visibility in the cabin was virtually non-existent at heights higher than one foot above the cabin floor [because of smoke]. The survivors stated that they barely possessed the strength and mental capacity to negotiate the exits.” Survival depended on exiting the plane quickly.

The crew has been trained to help evacuate the aircraft quickly and safely. Therefore, obey their instructions immediately. However, things do not always go according to plan. Problems with public address systems, injuries to crew members, confusion, and the effects of noise, heat, and smoke may make the crew’s best efforts ineffective. The airline you are on may not use your native language, and this too can prevent good communication between the crew and you.

Accident analysis shows that your own determination to survive is a key element in your chances of living through an emergency. You need to have a clear plan of action and be willing to take responsibility for your own survival. Your plan should include anyone you are traveling with, especially children or older people, and steps to stay together to help each other during the evacuation. The magazine Flying Safety recommends: “If you must evacuate through smoke, have them hold onto each other. Their hand on your belt can provide a secure lifeline.” Tell your traveling companion or companions what your plan of action will be in the case of an emergency.

All forms of travel carry some risk, but modern passenger planes help us to avoid many dangers and allow us to arrive at our destination refreshed and ready for work or play. Be prepared but not anxious. Relax and enjoy your flight​—I always do.​—Contributed.

[Picture on page 13]

Training for an emergency evacuation

[Picture on page 13]

Listen to the safety briefing

Barcelona​—An Outdoor Museum of Color and Style

BY AWAKE! WRITER IN SPAIN

IMAGINE for a moment that you are taking a walk through a spacious art gallery. On display are numerous works that immediately capture your attention and imagination. Everywhere you look, your eyes are drawn to an infinite variety of breathtaking, bizarre shapes, forms, and colors. This surprising art collection, however, is not housed in any building or palace. The city of Barcelona is this immense open-air art museum​—and of special note is the Quadrat d’Ora (Golden Quarter). The artworks on display are not paintings or sculptures but the buildings themselves. And they offer the visitor an extraordinary diversity of style and decoration.

Located on Spain’s northeast Mediterranean Coast, just a hundred miles [160 km] south of the French border, Barcelona is probably the most European of all Spanish cities. Over the past hundred years, it has become synonymous with architectural innovation and artistic style.

Despite periodic conquests by the Romans, the Visigoths, the Moors, and the Franks, Barcelona grew as a trading center. By the 14th century, the city had become Spain’s most important manufacturing city and Mediterranean port. The Gothic buildings and the cathedral, which today occupy a prominent position in the heart of the city, date back to that century. The grandeur of Gothic architecture (1), which used elaborate and sophisticated building techniques, attests to the wealth and prosperity that Barcelona enjoyed during that period.

In the 16th century, Spain’s attention turned to the West, since her trade with the colonies offered greater rewards. But with the arrival of the industrial revolution in the 19th century, Barcelona became the capital of Spain’s textile industry, and the city began to prosper once more.

A New City Comes to Life

The rapid expansion of the 19th century brought wealth as well as some problems to the city. Barcelona’s population exploded during the second half of that century, yet the urban layout had not expanded. Something had to be done to solve the problem of overcrowding. The civil engineer Ildefons Cerdà was assigned the task of designing a plan to urbanize the surrounding area and expand the city.

Cerdà’s scheme, developed in 1859, was called L’Eixample, or the expansion, and this is now the name of this central city district. According to his plan, tree-lined streets and square-shaped blocks of buildings​—arranged in almost perfect symmetry—​would form a crisscross grid. A new monumental, healthier Barcelona would arise.

Very quickly the city started to grow in accord with Cerdà’s plan. Each block of buildings was uniquely designed, offering visitors today a chance to view architectural structures of great charm, variety, and beauty. Stylish avenues and boulevards were also incorporated. Robert Hughes, in his book Barcelona, considers L’Eixample ‘to be one of the most interesting urban areas in Europe because of the architecture it contains.’

Barcelona’s growing prosperity led to its being the host city for the Universal Exposition in 1888. The Arc de Triomf (2) (Triumphal Arch), situated near the center of the city, was built to commemorate that important event. However, this unusual monument also testifies to the arrival of an artistic movement that has made Barcelona unique among the cities of the world.

New Art to Brighten Up the City

At the turn of the 20th century, Art Nouveau​—an ornamental art style inspired by natural forms—​began to flourish throughout Europe and the United States.b Barcelona had the money to invest, an urban plan waiting for buildings to enhance the city, and innovative architects anxious to experiment. Thus, Art Nouveau gave the city its unique look. Antoni Gaudí (1852-1926) was the foremost exponent of the new art form, and he left an indelible mark on Barcelona’s urban landscape.

Most of the best examples of Gaudí’s work, several of which are listed as World Heritage buildings, can be found in Barcelona. Casa Milà (3), or La Pedrera, located on the Passeig de Gràcia near the city center, is a notable example. No straight walls can be found anywhere within the structure. The undulating facade looks as if it were chiseled from sandstone. Wrought-iron parapets resembling clustered leaves and brambles decorate the exterior. Inside, curved ceilings and columns take on every shape imaginable.

Another brilliant example of Gaudí’s genius is the Casa Batlló (4), also on the Passeig de Gràcia. From 1904 to 1906, Gaudí remodeled a building owned by Josep Batlló i Casanovas, a wealthy industrialist. The architect created a house that seems to be based on a fantasy world. The undulated roof resembles a dinosaur’s spine, and the tiles are like the scales of a fish. The building has to be seen to be believed.

Gaudí’s unfinished masterpiece, the Sagrada Familia church (5), is perhaps the most noteworthy example of his originality. The four steeples on the north facade look like ripples of solidified wax that has dripped down the sides of four towering candlesticks. Dwarfing the surrounding buildings, these soaring towers have become the international symbol of Barcelona.

Equally surprising is Parc Güell (6), a park designed by Gaudí that is situated on a hill on the western side of the city. Twisted sculptures and columns, multicolored mosaics, and extraordinary buildings and chimneys contrast with the attractive gardens that surround them. Another feast of form and color is the Palau de la Música Catalana (7) (Music Palace) designed by Gaudí’s contemporary, Domènech i Montaner.

Between the Mountains and the Sea

Barcelona’s location, as well as its architectural legacy, gives the city a distinct flavor. The Collserola mountains surround the city on the west and the Mediterranean Sea forms its boundary to the east. It is the sea that has done much to contribute to Barcelona’s prosperity as Spain’s principal trading port. Not surprisingly, near the port a statue of Christopher Columbus (8) points out toward the sea.

The protection of the mountains and the sea also provides the city with a temperate climate that favors outdoor life. All year round, the streets are full of people from early in the morning until late in the evening. Street cafés and restaurants are on virtually every corner, tempting passersby with the smell of freshly ground coffee or the chance to sample the local cuisine. Food markets, such as the famous Boquería situated on the tree-lined avenue called La Rambla, sell practically any fruit, vegetable, or fish imaginable.

No visit to Barcelona would be complete, however, without a visit to Montjuïc, a steep hill rising near the sea. It offers visitors museums, art galleries, and spectacular views of the city and the Mediterranean Sea. The main facilities used for the 1992 Olympic Games are also located on Montjuïc. Jehovah’s Witnesses plan to visit Barcelona for an international convention from July 31 to August 3. This event will require the huge Camp Nou soccer stadium in order to accommodate all the delegates.

Although Barcelona, like most large cities, has its problems, visitors invariably enjoy its Mediterranean flavor. Whether it be the flower stalls and cafés of La Rambla, the narrow streets and ancient splendor of the Gothic Quarter, or the city’s fascinating architecture, Barcelona offers an outdoor museum of color and style that few can forget.

[Footnotes]

[Map on page 14]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

Barcelona

Madrid

Seville

[Picture on page 16]

Ventilators and chimneys of Casa Milà

[Credit Line]

Godo-Foto

[Picture Credit Line on page 15]

Top photos: Godo-Foto

[Picture Credit Lines on page 17]

Sandra Baker/Index Stock Photography

Godo-Foto

I Tried to Serve Two Masters

AS TOLD BY KEN PAYNE

I was born in 1938 and was raised on my grandfather’s ranch in New Mexico, U.S.A. It was 24,000 acres [9,700 ha] of streams and prairies with a backdrop of mountains. The sounds I recall were those of sheep, cattle, and horses as well as the jingle of cowboys’ spurs. Sometimes I would listen to the wind in the grass and note the contrasting loud, piercing cry of the killdeers around the water tank.

EARLY influences in one’s life can make a deep and lasting impression. I spent many hours with my grandfather, who could spin many a tale of the West. He even knew people who had ridden with Billy the Kid, a young outlaw who became famous when he went on a killing spree, which ended in his death in 1881 at the age of 21.

My parents were Jehovah’s Witnesses, and they took me out with them in the Christian ministry to lonely ranches and humble adobe homes up and down the Hondo valley. They often used a phonograph with Bible recordings of J. F. Rutherford’s voice, which became etched in my mind.a We played his talks for all kinds of people​—ranchers, Mexican farmers, and Native Americans, such as Apache and Pueblos. I loved the street-witnessing work with magazines​—very few people turned down a little boy, even during the war years.

Yes, I had a good foundation. However, I failed to pay attention to Jesus’ warning: “No one can slave for two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stick to the one and despise the other. You cannot slave for God and for Riches.” (Matthew 6:24) I wish I could say that I have had a wonderful life in the full-time ministry. But an early influence, another “master,” diverted me from that path, beginning when I was three years old. What happened?

Flying Became My Passion

Back in 1941 a Piper Cub plane landed by the barn. It was being used to hunt coyotes that were plundering our sheep. Right then, at the age of three, I made up my mind that I wanted to be a pilot. The formative years passed by, and at age 17, I left home and went to work at an airport in Hobbs, New Mexico, sweeping hangars and working on airplanes in exchange for flying lessons. The Christian ministry was taking a back seat in my life.

I got married at 18, and eventually my wife and I had three children. How did I make a living? By flying crop dusters, charter flights, and predator-control planes as well as giving flying instruction. After six years of that, I started flying for Texas International Airlines, out of Dallas, Texas. This gave me more stability in life, and I even served as an elder in the Denton Congregation. I also conducted several Bible studies, including one with an airline captain, his wife, and their family, who all embraced Bible truth.

By 1973, I had been flying propjets for about three years, but I began to lose interest when the DC-3 was withdrawn from service. Actually, my heart was still in New Mexico. But if I quit flying, how would I make a living?

Art Became My Passion

Since 1961, as a hobby, I had been painting pictures of the American West, and they had been selling well. So I resigned from the airline and moved back to New Mexico, the land of enchantment, as it is called. However, I did not stay balanced. I allowed the love of art to consume me. Painting and later sculpture, along with part-time flying, took all my time. I was working between 12 and 18 hours a day. That led to severe neglect of my family and my God. What next?

My marriage collapsed, ending in divorce. I moved north to Montana and took refuge in drink. An unchristian life-style took me down the same foolish trail that the prodigal son of Jesus’ illustration took. (Luke 15:11-32) Then one day I came to realize that I didn’t have a single real friend. When I met people in trouble, I would say to them: “Find Jehovah’s Witnesses. They can really help you.” The answer would be: “Then why aren’t you a Witness?” I had to admit that one can’t be a Witness and live the way I was.

Finally, in 1978, I returned to New Mexico to the congregation where the Witnesses knew me. It was my first time in a Kingdom Hall in several years, and all I could do was weep. How merciful Jehovah was to me. The friends in the congregation were very kind and helped me on the trail back to Jehovah’s ways.

A New Partner and a New Beginning

In 1980, I married Karen, a beautiful Witness whom I had known for several years. She had two sons, Jason and Jonathan, by her previous marriage. With her deep love for Jehovah, she brought stability into my life and two more wonderful sons, Ben and Phillip. But life was not going to be a bed of roses. Tragedy lay in our future.

I made a study of art and spent many hours learning human and animal anatomy​—especially that of horses—​as well as composition, proportion, and perspective. I moved into sculpting in clay, especially images of the Old West​—horses, Indians on horseback, cowboys, and even an old-time doctor traveling in a horse and buggy. I began to have success. So we decided to open a gallery. Karen came up with the name Mountain Trails Gallery.

In 1987 we bought a gallery in Sedona, Arizona, and gave it that name. While Karen ran the gallery, I stayed at home working in the studio and looking after the boys. However, the boys took sick, and sales were poor. We decided to switch so that Karen could take care of the children at home. I took my clay to the store and started to sculpt right there in front of the clients. What a change that brought about!

People began to ask me about the bronzes I was making. As I explained my work to them and told them of the artifacts I use as a basis for my designs, I gave them a history lesson of the Old West with names, places, and events that I had learned from my extensive reading. People showed genuine interest in the models I was working on, and some wanted to make a deposit on the item they saw being formed, with a view to paying the balance when it was cast in bronze. Thus the expression “precast sale” was born. The success was immediate. My business grew to the point that we had three galleries and a large foundry with 32 employees. But it was taking so much of my energy! Karen and I wondered how we could get off that treadmill. We prayed about it. I was now an elder in the congregation and knew I could be doing more for Jehovah.

Back to Serving One Master

In 1996 our visiting circuit overseer came to the congregation and asked us to have lunch with him. Before we even started the meal, he dropped the bombshell​—would we consider moving to the Navajo Indian reservation to help start a new congregation at Chinle? What a challenge! We had visited the reservation on several occasions and had helped to do the preaching work in some of that remote territory, and now this gave us a new focus. Here was our chance to get off the relentless treadmill of materialism and devote more time to Jehovah and his people. We were getting back to serving one master!

Another elder and his family, the Carusettas, good friends of ours, were invited to join us in this venture. We both sold our comfortable homes and ordered mobile homes that we could set up on the reservation. I sold the galleries and finally the foundry. We had simplified our lives, and we were free to expand our Christian ministry.

In October 1996, our new Chinle Congregation had its first meeting. Since then, the preaching work has expanded among the Navajo people, and our congregation has excellent Navajo pioneers who speak the language. We have started slowly to learn this difficult tongue so that we might be accepted even though we are not Navajo. We acquired land with the permission of the Indian authorities and built a Kingdom Hall in Chinle, which was dedicated in June of this year.

Tragedy Strikes!

In December 1996, Karen took the boys to Ruidoso, New Mexico, for a short visit. I had to stay behind in Chinle. Imagine our shock and grief when our 14-year-old son, Ben, crashed into a boulder while skiing and died! This was a horrible test for all of us. The Bible’s hope of the resurrection has sustained us through this tragedy. The support of our Christian brothers was also a tremendous help. When we held the memorial service at the Kingdom Hall in Sedona, where we had lived for several years, the neighbors saw more Navajo than they had ever seen. The brothers and sisters from the reservation had come all the way down to support us, a distance of well over 200 miles [300 km].

It is a blessing to see the spiritual progress Ben’s younger brother, Phillip, has made. He has good spiritual goals and brings us much joy. He has conducted several Bible studies, including one with a teacher. But we all yearn to see Ben again in the new world that Jehovah has promised.​—Job 14:14, 15; John 5:28, 29; Revelation 21:1-4.

We have been blessed with a loving, supportive family. My adopted son Jonathan serves Jehovah with his wife, Kenna, as does my youngest son by my first marriage, Chris, with his wife, Lorie. Our grandchildren Woodrow and Jonah are giving student talks in the Theocratic Ministry School. My father died in 1987, but at age 84 my mother is still active in Jehovah’s service, as are my brother, John, and his wife, Cherry.

I have learned from experience that Jesus’ words are true: “No one can slave for two masters . . . You cannot slave for God and for Riches.” Even now art can be a very jealous master. That is why I have learned the importance of balance and caution, so that my art will not take me over again. Far better to do as the apostle Paul counsels: “My beloved brothers, become steadfast, unmovable, always having plenty to do in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in connection with the Lord.”​—1 Corinthians 15:58.

[Footnote]

[Picture on page 18, 19]

My plane in 1996 in Chinle

[Picture on page 19]

A bronze sculpture called “No Time to Dally”

[Picture on page 21]

Meeting for Bible study where our Kingdom Hall has since been built

[Picture on page 21]

With my wife, Karen

[Picture on page 21]

Preaching at a typical Navajo hogan

The Tour de France​—100 Years of Cycling’s Supreme Test

BY AWAKE! WRITER IN FRANCE

BACK in November 1902, Henri Desgrange, director of the sports daily L’Auto, was hunting for an idea to crush the rival paper Le Vélo. “What if we organized a bicycle race around France?” suggested Géo Lefèvre, a young journalist on the staff of L’Auto. The idea seemed unrealistic at first, but it soon took shape. On July 1, 1903, at precisely 3:16 p.m., 60 professional and amateur cyclists set off from Paris on a three-week, 1,509-mile [2,428-km] trip down the roads of the first Tour de France.a

“Slaves of the Road”

The race was an immediate hit with the public. All over France huge crowds came out to see “the slaves of the road,” as French reporter Albert Londres called them, and to cheer them on. Racing conditions during the first few years of the Tour were, to say the least, primitive​—simple equipment, potholed roads, never-ending stages, and nighttime departures.

Barred from receiving any technical help, except at control points, riders who broke down had to repair their 45-pound [20-kilo] bicycle on their own. For example, in 1913 and 1919, the unfortunate Eugène Christophe twice had to mend his broken front forks at a village forge!

Innovation and Media Coverage

In order to keep up interest in the race, the organizers had to be innovative from year to year. Changes included more numerous and shorter stages, short detours into neighboring countries, national or brand teams, individual and team time trials, and finishing on the Champs-Élysées, in Paris. A milestone was reached in 1919, when the cumulative overall leader for each day was awarded a special jersey in the same color as the yellow pages of L’Auto​—the coveted maillot jaune, or yellow jersey. In 1931, to finance the event, Desgrange created the publicity caravan that precedes the pack by an hour and livens up the route.

Sales of L’Auto​—now called L’Équipe—​took off. In 1903 the 130,000 copies of the special edition​—published seven minutes after the arrival of Maurice Garin, the winner of the first Tour de France—​were snatched off the stands immediately. Nowadays, with images televised in more than 150 countries, the Tour de France is the world’s third most media-covered sports event, behind the Olympic Games and the Soccer World Cup. Illustrating the appeal of the race, in 1987, Spanish parliamentarians interrupted their debate to follow the victory of their compatriot Pedro Delgado in the 21 hairpin bends of the grueling Alpe d’Huez mountain stage!

Attacking the Mountains

In the beginning the Tour took place mainly on flat terrain. Then, in June 1910, Alphonse Steinès, a journalist for L’Auto, sent a telegram from the Pyrenees to Desgrange saying that the mountain-pass roads were entirely practicable. Steinès’ report was not exactly truthful. He had spent the whole night lost in the snow at an altitude of 7,200 feet [2,200 meters]! Nevertheless, the next month the toughest riders took up the gauntlet. Frenchman Gustave Garrigou, although not arriving first, rode up Tourmalet Pass in the Pyrenees without setting a foot down. Other mountain passes in the Alps and Pyrenees have since been added to the Tour’s route.

In the descents, riders reach dizzying speeds of up to 60 miles per hour [100 k.p.h.], and falls are frequent. In 1951 the Dutchman Wim Van Est, wearing the yellow jersey, fell into a 160-foot [50-m]-deep gorge and was hauled out with a makeshift rope of cycle inner tubes. Others have had a more tragic outcome. In 1935 the Spaniard Francisco Cepeda was killed after falling in the Galibier Pass, in the Alps. In 1995 the Italian Fabio Casartelli had a fatal crash on a 17-percent gradient on the Portet d’Aspet, in the Pyrenees.

Duels at the Top

In 1964 two Frenchmen, Jacques Anquetil and Raymond Poulidor, engaged in a spectacular neck and neck race up the slopes of the Puy-de-Dôme, in the Auvergne mountains. Poulidor, a frequent runner-up, won the duel but missed out on the yellow jersey by just a few seconds.

In 1971 the Belgian Eddy Merckx and the Spaniard Luis Ocaña were jostling for the lead. In the descent of the Mente Pass in the Pyrenees on July 12, Ocaña fell. Wounded, the Spaniard was unable to continue the race. In honor of his opponent, Merckx asked not to wear the yellow jersey for the departure the following day.

Mountain stages have been the scene of other gentlemanly sportsmanship. For example, during the climb of the Izoard in the Alps in 1949, the Italian archrivals Gino Bartali and Fausto Coppi temporarily set aside their animosity to support each other.

A Team Sport

Long solo breakaways are spectacular. One such was the irresistible 85-mile [140-km] break in 1951 by the Swiss Hugo Koblet, in the Brive-Agen stage. But most of the time, victory is the result of teamwork. There are usually 20 professional teams of nine riders each. Team members put themselves entirely at the disposal of their group leader, always ready to support him if he weakens, breaks down, or falls.

The example of 20-year-old French cyclist René Vietto in 1934 well illustrates this team spirit. Even though he had a strong chance of winning the stage, he did not think twice about riding back up the pass he had just come down to give his cycle to Antonin Magne, his team leader, who had broken down.

Hall of Fame

To win the Tour more than once is a remarkable feat. To date, four riders have won five times: Jacques Anquetil (France, 1957, 1961-64), Eddy Merckx (Belgium, 1969-72, 1974), Bernard Hinault (France, 1978-79, 1981-82, 1985), and Miguel Indurain (Spain, 1991-95). But who knows how many times the Belgian Philippe Thys (winner in 1913, 1914, 1920) would have won if the first world war, from which several former champions did not return, had not interrupted the competition?

For many the greatest cyclist ever was Eddy Merckx, nicknamed The Cannibal. With a record 34 stage wins, he excelled in all fields​—time trials, sprints, descents, and flat and mountain stages. “He only leaves us the crumbs,” complained his outclassed opponents. Two-time champion Fausto Coppi is held by others to be the most professional and elegant racer of all time.

Win at All Costs

Cheating on the Tour has always been a temptation. The first four riders in the 1904 edition were disqualified for, among other things, taking unauthorized shortcuts or traveling by car.

Of all cheating, doping (misuse of drugs) remains the scourge of cycling. In the early years, strange potions were handed out to some in the pack, and in 1920, L’Auto published an article denouncing doping under medical supervision. In 1924 the Pélissier brothers admitted “running on dynamite,” in other words, dangerous substances. Over the decades several suspicious accidents have been attributed to drugs, such as the tragic death of the British cyclist Tom Simpson while climbing Mont Ventoux in 1967.

In 1998 a massive case of doping under medical supervision hit the headlines. Some 400 doses of performance-enhancing drugs, including erythropoietin, were discovered in a team masseur’s car. One team was disqualified, and a second withdrew. Last year scandal tarnished the reputation of the third-place overall finisher. According to the director of the Tour de France, Jean-Marie Leblanc, writing in the preface to the commemorative work 100 ans de Tour de France (100 Years of the Tour de France), published by L’Équipe, “doping, excessive expansion of the race, and money” threaten the continued survival of the Tour.

Despite the problems, the athletes have lost none of their passion and ardor for the race. The Texan Lance Armstrong, four-time winner and uncontested favorite to win the centennial race in 2003, which will basically follow the 1903 circuit, declared: The Tour “has a name, a history, and a style that no other race can match. It will never be, come what may, just another race.” Every professional cyclist’s dream is to win the Tour de France.

[Footnote]

[Diagram/Map on page 23]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

The route of the centennial race July 5-27, 2003

–– Time Trials

​——​ Transport between stages

• Start location

○ Stop location

• PARIS

-- ​——​

○ Sedan

-- ​——​

○ Saint-Dizier

-- ​——​

○• Nevers

--

○• Lyons

--

○ L’Alpe d’Huez

--

○ Marseilles

​——​

• Narbonne

--

○• Toulouse

-- ​——​

○ Cap’ Découverte

-- ​——​

○ Bayonne

-- ​——​

○• Bordeaux

-- ​——​

○ Nantes

​——​

• Ville d’Avray

--

○ PARIS

[Credit Line]

Mountain High Maps® Copyright © 1997 Digital Wisdom, Inc.

[Pictures on page 22]

1903 Maurice Garin, first winner of the Tour de France

1927 Factory workers interrupt their work to watch

[Credit Line]

100 ans de Tour de France, L’Équipe, 2002 © L’Équipe/Presse Sports

[Picture on page 23]

1910 Octave Lapize, with spare inner tubes around his neck, pushing his bicycle in the Pyrenees

[Credit Line]

100 ans de Tour de France, L’Équipe, 2002 © L’Équipe/Presse Sports

[Pictures on page 24]

1951 Italian Fausto Coppi, two-time champion

1964 Anquetil and Poulidor in a gripping duel

[Credit Line]

100 ans de Tour de France, L’Équipe, 2002 © L’Équipe/Presse Sports

[Pictures on page 24, 25]

1991-95 Yellow jersey Miguel Indurain (Spain) won the Tour de France five times

1999 Lance Armstrong in a time trial

[Credit Line]

100 ans de Tour de France, L’Équipe, 2002 © L’Équipe/Presse Sports

The Bible’s Viewpoint

Is Hypnotism for Christians?

“There should not be found in you anyone who . . . binds others with a spell.”​—DEUTERONOMY 18:10, 11.

HYPNOTISM has been the subject of much debate and controversy.a Even experts in the field find it difficult to explain. It is generally understood that hypnosis is an altered state of consciousness, or trance. Most people, however, are more interested in what hypnotism can do than in what it is.

In recent years it has become common for health practitioners in some lands to recommend hypnotism as a treatment. For instance, the magazine Psychology Today states: “Hypnotherapy can treat headaches, ease labor pains, help you quit smoking, replace anesthesia, and improve study habits​—all without side effects.” On the other hand, many associate hypnotism with spiritism and the occult.

What is the Bible’s viewpoint? Of course, the Bible is not a health textbook, and it does not comment directly on the subject of hypnotism. But the principles found in God’s Word can help us determine God’s view.

Hypnotism and Occultism​—Is There a Link?

Is the claim that hypnotism is linked to the occult just a figment of someone’s imagination? Fantasy tales in movies and novels may have nurtured the idea, but the connection between hypnotism and spiritism has a real basis. Regarding hypnotism, the Encyclopedia of Occultism and Parapsychology explains: “Its history is inextricably interwoven with occultism.” Religious trances, which have been a part of sorcery and magic throughout history, are commonly viewed as a form of hypnosis. Also, the priests in ancient Egypt and Greece induced a type of hypnotic state when trying to cure illnesses in the name of their false gods.

The above-quoted encyclopedia notes: “Even today much hypnotic phenomena is classed as ‘Spiritualist.’” While it is difficult to determine to what extent various forms of hypnotism may have to do with the occult, the fact is that God clearly condemns all forms of spiritism. (Deuteronomy 18:9-12; Revelation 21:8) Thus, Christians cannot ignore the clearly unscriptural aspects of hypnotism.

Effect on Behavior

What about the effect of hypnosis on a person’s mind and behavior? Are there any risks involved? One valid concern is that while hypnotized a person may have little control of his behavior. Stage hypnotists utilize this feature, impelling volunteers to do things they would not normally do, even to seem to be drunk.

The Encyclopedia Americana says of these public displays of hypnosis: “The hypnotized subject may be openly susceptible to even veiled suggestion, he may have ready access to his more usually heavily veiled unconscious drives, and he may while hypnotized feel that all social and personal curbs on his behavior have been removed.” Collier’s Encyclopedia states: “The hypnotized subject enjoys an undiverted concentration of his faculties, which makes him intensely attentive to the hypnotist’s suggestions and cooperative in carrying out suggestions.”

Does this sound harmless? Would it be advisable for a true Christian to let others influence his mind by means of hypnotic suggestions? This would be contrary to the apostle Paul’s admonition: “Present your bodies a sacrifice living, holy, acceptable to God, a sacred service with your power of reason. And quit being fashioned after this system of things, but be transformed by making your mind over, that you may prove to yourselves the good and acceptable and perfect will of God.”​—Romans 12:1, 2.

Could a Christian “hold a good conscience,” if he allowed himself to be put into a state where he could not fully control his thoughts or desires or even his actions? (1 Peter 3:16) The Bible admonishes: “Each one of you should know how to get possession of his own vessel in sanctification and honor.” (1 Thessalonians 4:4) Clearly, hypnosis would hamper one’s ability to follow such counsel.

A Hope for Perfect Health

In view of the above-mentioned Bible principles, Jehovah’s Witnesses avoid techniques that involve hypnosis or self-hypnosis. They heed the command at Deuteronomy 18:10, 11: “There should not be found in you anyone who . . . binds others with a spell.” For those confronted with health problems, there are many other treatments that do not involve exposure to the dangers of occultism or allow for one’s mind to be manipulated by others.

By keeping clear of practices that are contrary to Bible principles, Christians can have the hope of living forever in God’s righteous new world. Then mankind will enjoy perfect health in body and mind without the use of hypnotism.​—Revelation 21:3, 4.

[Footnote]

Watching the World

Global Epidemic of Obese Children

“Obesity among children is becoming a global epidemic and the problem must be tackled at its junk-food roots,” reports The New York Times. “According to the International Obesity Task Force, more than 25 percent of 10-year-olds in a number of countries across the world are overweight or obese.” Malta (33 percent), Italy (29 percent), and the United States (27 percent) lead the list. One quarter of children between four and ten years of age in Chile, Mexico, and Peru are overweight or obese. In some places in Africa, more children are found to be overweight than underweight. Why are so many obese? “The average [U.S.] child sees 10,000 food advertisements per year, 95 percent of them for fast food, soft drinks, candy and sugared cereals​—all high-profit and nutrition-poor products,” answers The Washington Post. “Marketing campaigns link fast food and soft drinks to toys, games, collectibles, movies and popular personalities. . . . Is it any wonder that children now consume about 15 percent of their total calories from fast food, 10 percent from sugar-sweetened soft drinks and only half the recommended amount of fruits and vegetables?”

Bees Deter Elephants

The elephant population in Kenya is rising, but this has brought problems. Marauding elephants destroy trees and crops, and elephants trample to death an average of one person every two weeks. However, Oxford University biologist Fritz Vollrath has discovered a possible deterrent. When elephants disturb a beehive, he notes, “they are not cavalier about it. They run and the bees will follow them for miles.” The bees sting the elephants in vulnerable areas around the eyes, behind the ears, under the trunk, and on the belly. Vollrath put occupied and unoccupied African honeybee hives in some of the trees growing in an area of bush frequented by elephants. New Scientist reports that the animals avoided all the trees with the occupied hives and one third of those with empty hives. But they attacked 9 out of 10 of the trees that had no hives. Vollrath also found that elephants avoid the sound of angry bees even when it is played over loudspeakers.

Late News, Prompt Reaction

“Skyscrapers are a foreign concept to the Masai who live in this corner [Enoosaen] of Kenya, where the tallest things on the vast horizon are the acacia trees and giraffes that feed on them,” notes The New York Times. “So when Kimeli Naiyomah returned recently to this tiny village from his studies in the United States, he found only the vaguest understanding among his fellow Masai of what had happened in that far-away place called New York on Sept. 11. Some in this nomadic community of cattle raisers had missed the story entirely.” When Naiyomah, who was visiting Manhattan on September 11, told villagers what he had witnessed firsthand some eight months earlier, sadness enveloped them, and they wanted to do something to help. The result was that 14 cows, one of the most cherished things a Masai could offer, were donated to aid the victims of the disaster. But with transportation a problem, the U.S. embassy official who accepted them said that he would “probably sell the cows and buy Masai jewelry to give to America,” the Times reported.

Girl Bullies

“Bullying among boys tends to take the form of physical aggression,” reports the Toronto Star newspaper, while “among girls, the tactics are much more psychological and emotional.” It is said that as girls enter their teenage years, they experience an increasing measure of fear and anxiety, including anxiety about how they are viewed by the opposite sex. Behavioral experts believe that “girls may compete over their ‘pretty-power quotient,’ spurred by sexy media images.” Denise Andrea Campbell, former president of the National Action Committee on the Status of Women, says: “Many girls don’t know how to deal with their feelings of anger and jealousy directly.” Therefore, those feelings “come out in indirect, punishing ways.” Girls may target other girls, using tactics such as the silent treatment, dirty looks, gossip, and rumors.

Workplace Stress

“Almost one in five Canadians say they are so stressed that they have considered committing suicide to relieve the pressure,” reports The Globe and Mail. What is the source of this stress? In a survey of 1,002 individuals, 43 percent cited their work. “In the modern workplace, we are pushing people to their physical and psychological limits,” says Shimon Dolan, an organizational psychologist and professor at the University of Montreal. “The pressure to perform is tremendous but, at the same time, there is great uncertainty​—you don’t know if you will have a job tomorrow.” How do Canadians deal with stress? Exercise is the most popular way, says the Globe, “followed by reading a book, hobbies and playing sports, socializing and spending time with family.”

Reading With Parents Calms Children

“Regular reading with a parent can significantly reduce antisocial behaviour among disruptive children who fight, steal and lie,” reports London’s newspaper The Times. In a ten-week study conducted by the Institute of Psychiatry that involved more than 100 Inner London five- and six-year-olds, parents were instructed to “turn off their mobile phones before sitting down to read with their children, outline the story before starting and take time turning pages and looking at pictures.” The results “provided clear evidence that simple, focused parenting programmes could be highly effective in improving behaviour from a very young age,” the paper states. “What children really want is attention,” said research leader Dr. Stephen Scott. “They can get this through reading with their parents.”

Happy Volunteers

“People who devote their time to unpaid work say they are significantly happier with their job, working hours, community connections and spirituality than any other group,” reports The Sydney Morning Herald. A survey conducted by a team of researchers in Australia found that volunteer workers were “very satisfied with their health, amount of leisure time and how they spend it,” says the report. Deakin University Professor Bob Cummins noted that Australia’s volunteer work force is huge​—32 percent of Australians do some unpaid work. The Herald also reported that those who worked over 60 hours a week​—mostly women who were caregivers—​“were more satisfied with their health and their work than people who worked fewer hours.”

Sailing the Northeast Passage

On its fourth attempt, a team of German explorers succeeded in navigating a 60-foot [18 m] sailboat through the Northeast Passage, reports The Independent of London. This sea route hugs the usually icebound northern coastline of Russia. It was first traversed in 1879 by Swedish explorer Adolf Nordenskjöld, with a steam- and sail-powered ship. “I have never seen the passage so free of ice as it was this summer,” said team leader Arved Fuchs. “We think this was due to a combination of global warming and freak wind conditions, which kept the pack ice clear of the coast and allowed us to get through.” With the help of a microlight seaplane and satellite pictures of ice pack movement, but without icebreaker assistance, they completed the 8,000-nautical-mile [15,000 km] journey from Hamburg, Germany, to Provideniya, Russia, on the Bering Sea, in 127 days. On board, the men lived on astronaut rations. Still, one said: “The only hardship came from living in a small space with 11 other people for four months.”

From Our Readers

Relief Efforts This is a note to let you know how much I appreciated the article “Love in Action​—A Marathon Relief Effort.” (November 22, 2002) When the flooding began in Houston, Texas, in June 2002, my brother was in the hospital in a coma from congestive heart failure. His house was all but destroyed by the floodwaters. But our Christian brothers began repairs on his home even while he was still in the coma​—tearing out wet carpet and drywall and disinfecting his house. Their assistance allowed me to stay with my brother at the hospital. He eventually came out of the coma. The love and gratitude I feel for Jehovah and his wonderful organization could never be expressed in a short note.

P. H., United States

I am moved to express my gratitude for the wonderful privilege of being associated with such a caring, loving brotherhood. It was exciting to learn of how the volunteers gave of their time and resources to assist flood victims. It was truly a reflection of Christian love.

A. M., New Zealand

Religious Freedom Someone gave me a copy of the June 22, 2002, issue of Awake! with the article “A Tolerant Kingdom in an Intolerant Age.” Since he knew that I am a Unitarian, he felt I would be interested in it. He was right. I went to college in the United States and got to know Dr. Earl Morse Wilbur (quoted in the article) personally. I have also attended many lectures on the history of the Unitarians. But I would not dare to try to produce as comprehensive an article as yours!

M. M., Czech Republic

Choking Hazard In the “From Our Readers” section of the November 22, 2002, issue, I was shocked to read the response to the reader who wrote about hot dogs being a choking hazard for young children. Carrots are also a choking hazard for children!

A. R., United States

“Awake!” responds: We are grateful to this reader for these comments. A newsletter on the subject of child care says: “Although children have been known to choke on apple pieces, raw carrot sticks, cookies and popcorn, the four foods that have caused the most deaths are hot dogs, nuts, hard candies and grapes.” Even so, health care workers caution that carrot sticks may present a real danger for infants under one year of age.

Bible Printing Thank you for the article “A Refuge for Bible Printing.” (September 8, 2002) Today it is so easy for us to obtain a Bible in our own language that we can forget the sacrifices people once made for this to be possible. Reading this article heightened my appreciation for our loving heavenly Father and his care in making the Bible available to all honesthearted people.

E. S., Brazil

Postpartum Depression I could not help but write in response to the article “I Won My Battle With Postpartum Depression.” (July 22, 2002) I too felt strange after the birth of my child and had all the feelings described in your article. I felt ashamed to talk about it with others. I even feared my husband wouldn’t understand. So I suffered alone, not ever knowing what was wrong with me. How grateful I am to Jehovah and to you for this help! Although I may continue to experience depression from time to time, it will be easier for me to bear it.

F. L., Belarus

[Picture Credit Line on page 30]

Photo: Houston Chronicle

Tambili​—The “King” of Coconuts

BY AWAKE! WRITER IN SRI LANKA

TAMBILI, often referred to in English as king coconut, is the Sinhala name for the fruit of the aurantiaca coconut palm. The aurantiaca is a very attractive palm, which after six to eight years produces large bright-orange nuts in clusters year-round. The tambili nut is about a foot [30cm] long and weighs about three pounds [1.5 kg]. It can be found in abundance all across the tropical island of Sri Lanka. In fact, in the Sinhala language, the word tambili refers not only to the nut but also to its distinctive bright-orange color.

But how is a drink obtained from a tambili? The tambili is plucked as a young fruit. Then the top of the husk covering the nut is sliced away and the nut is pierced. Up to a quart of almost clear tambili water can then be drawn from inside the nut. It is delicious, sweet, and nutritious. Sri Lankan hospitality will often include serving tambili water to a tired and thirsty visitor.

When you are traveling on the island of Sri Lanka, you will find roadside stalls selling tambili everywhere, and the price is quite low. The vendor will expertly cut the top from the nut, insert a straw and, voilà, you will have a hygienic, refreshing, healthful drink. If you are an adventurous visitor, you may wish to try drinking from a tambili local style, by throwing back your head and pouring the water straight from the nut, but if you are not an expert, you may spill more than you drink!

The health benefits of tambili are well-known to any Sri Lankan. It is said that tambili water will expel heat from the body and soothe the digestive system. The water contains quite a few minerals, some carbohydrates, fats, calcium, vitamin C, phosphorus, iron, and a little protein. The electrolytic balance of the mixture makes it an ideal hydration drink for those suffering from heat exhaustion, gastric upset, or cholera. While water sources cannot always be guaranteed to be clean, tambili is a natural, hermetically sealed source of a pure beverage that is also good for you.

If you come to visit the lush shores of tropical Sri Lanka, we are sure that you will appreciate the vivid hues of the tambili palm adorning many a tropical garden or golden beach and also enjoy its refreshing drink.

“I Confidently Recommend the Book to Anyone”

Which book was indicated by the well-known Danish author Erik Haaest, quoted above?

Mankind’s Search for God

He wrote: “Denmark has many taboos. I am going to violate one of them today. It is not comme-il-faut [proper] to say nice things about Jehovah’s Witnesses. That is just what I am going to do now.

“For the last many, many years, a neatly dressed married couple have been making monthly visits at my door to give me the Watchtower and Awake! magazines. I have long ago explained that I am not going to be converted to anything but that I find their magazines extremely informative and interesting​—if you disregard the preaching bits. I have read a number of fascinating articles in those magazines, and a circulation of [21 million] does command a certain respect.

“The other day the handsome couple gave me this book [Mankind’s Search for God], without any charge. . . . I read the book from the front to the back cover. I also checked most of the references, and there are many!

“It is the best, most factual and neutral history of religion I have ever read.

“I confidently recommend the book to anyone. Of course, there is also something about the faith of Jehovah’s Witnesses, but that is only a minute part of this brilliant history of religion.”

If you would like to receive a copy of this book, please fill out the coupon below.

□ I would like to receive a copy of the book Mankind’s Search for God.

□ Please contact me concerning a free home Bible study.

[Picture Credit Lines on page 32]

Top left, Jewish man: Garo Nalbandian; top middle, Buddhist monk: G. Deichmann, Transglobe Agency, Hamburg