February 22

Table of Contents

February 22, 2004

Pets​—How Do You View Them?

Love and compassion for pets can serve to draw one to worship the Creator. Yet, how have some shown an unbalanced view of pets? What place do animals have in God’s purpose?

3 Animals​—A Gift From God

6 Pets​—Keep a Balanced View of Them

10 Animals​—A Pleasure Forever

12 A Test of Faith

14 An Outdoor Showcase of Timbered Homes

23 Discover the Wine Mine of Moldova

26 Why Take a Walk?

28 Watching the World

30 From Our Readers

31 “Mankind’s Search for God”

32 Can the True God Be Found?

Exploring Magnificent Waterfalls 16

Victoria Falls is considered to be the largest sheet of falling water on earth. Learn about this and other waterfalls during a memorable visit to Zambia.

What’s So Wrong With Telephone Sex? 20

In the United States alone, phone sex is a billion-dollar industry. Just what is it? And how does it harm people?

Animals​—A Gift From God

HAVE you ever visited a zoo or a circus? Did you yearn to hold or pet one of the beautiful animals​—perhaps a majestic lion or a huge Siberian tiger? You may have been thrilled to see an animal trainer or a caretaker do so. Indeed, a Bible writer nearly 2,000 years ago said: “Every species of wild beast as well as bird and creeping thing and sea creature is to be tamed and has been tamed by humankind.”​—James 3:7.

Animals of all kinds respond to loving care and attention. It can indeed be a joy to see them interact with caring humans who have tamed them. Roman writer Pliny, who wrote about the same time as the Bible writer James did, spoke of the taming of elephants, lions, tigers, eagles, crocodiles, snakes, and even fish.

Actually, the taming of animals to become pets goes back to much earlier times. Long before James and Pliny wrote, the Egyptians tamed wild animals and kept them as pets. Today many animals you find in a zoo can also be found in homes in some places.

Early Relationship With Humans

The Bible, the earliest record of human history, reports that the first man, Adam, gave names to the animals. “Whatever the man would call it,” the Bible says, “each living soul, that was its name. So the man was calling the names of all the domestic animals and of the flying creatures of the heavens and of every wild beast of the field.” (Genesis 2:19, 20) Evidently, Adam became thoroughly acquainted with the animals in order to name them appropriately. But he needed no protection​—even from the wild ones. They were at peace with him, and how he must have enjoyed their companionship!

God charged both Adam and his wife, Eve, with care of the animals. According to God’s purpose as declared in the Bible, humans were to “have in subjection the fish of the sea and the flying creatures of the heavens and the domestic animals and all the earth and every moving animal that is moving upon the earth.”​—Genesis 1:26.

A Continuing Close Relationship

When people exercise proper dominion over animals, the result can be heartwarming. A beloved animal may be viewed as a treasured companion, even as part of the family. That this was true thousands of years ago is seen in the account in the Bible about a poor man’s “one female lamb, a small one.” The prophet Nathan told King David about the lamb, saying regarding the poor man: “From his morsel [the lamb] would eat, and from his cup it would drink, and in his bosom it would lie, and it came to be as a daughter to him.”​—2 Samuel 12:1-3.

Many today can understand how an animal can become a beloved companion, like a family member. Consider a family living near Harare, the capital city of Zimbabwe. The parents bought each of their children a dog to serve as a companion. When one of the boys, about eight at the time, was walking with his dog, suddenly a large poisonous snake called a mamba dropped from a tree in front of him. The mamba attacked, but with lightning speed the dog intervened, saving the child’s life. Can you imagine how precious that dog was to the family?

Particularly treasured by the deaf are dogs that have been trained to assist them. One woman relates: “Twinkie hears the bell, and she comes and taps on my leg and leads me to the front door. Similarly, when Twinkie hears the buzzer on my oven timer, she runs up to me, and I follow her. In the event of a smoke or fire alarm, Twinkie is trained to attract my attention and then lie down to indicate potential danger.”

Especially noteworthy is the useful relationship between the blind and their guide dogs. Guide-dog trainer Michael Tucker, author of The Eyes That Lead, believes that a guide dog can open up a whole new world for the blind, giving “freedom, independence, mobility and companionship.” Truly, the rapport between such dogs and their masters is often a pleasure to behold!

The situation is similar with those who are disabled in other ways and who have a companion dog. A dog owned by a woman confined to a wheelchair has been taught to pick up her telephone and to lick stamps for the mail! Another dog responds to 120 commands, even gathering cans and packets from supermarket shelves. The disabled owner uses a laser dot to identify items that he has chosen, and his dog then takes them to him.

Pets benefit the elderly as well. A doctor of veterinary medicine said that animal pets, including dogs, “give purpose and meaning at a time when the elderly often are alienated from society.” The Toronto Star reported: “Companion animals are associated with lower stress, fewer doctors’ visits and even better survival rates after heart attacks.”

The New Encyclopædia Britannica makes this interesting observation: “Keeping pets offers the opportunity to teach children the close dependence of privilege on responsibility and also something about sex. The process of mating is soon noticed, followed by such matters as gestation periods and the varied problems involved in the birth and care of young.”

Devotion to Pets

The remarkable loyalty of animals actually causes some people to have stronger love for their pets than for family members. In divorce cases, custody of a pet is at times awarded as part of the settlement in property disputes. And people have named pets in their last will and testament as beneficiaries of fabulous wealth.

No wonder pets are big business today! There are books and magazines that provide advice on every matter relating to pets. Realizing that some pet owners are willing to provide extravagant luxuries for their pets, businesses offer whatever pet owners want.

For example, one may consult highly specialized doctors who treat all manner of ailments affecting pets. There are pet psychiatrists who will prescribe an antidepressant for a pet. In addition, there are pet lawyers and insurance agents as well as pet grooming services and training institutions. Funerals are held for pets. And offers are made to clone pets​—all at a price, of course!

Clearly, love of pets is widespread. In her book The Animal Attraction, Dr. Jonica Newby concludes: “When a dog comes running up to us, wagging its tail and licking us as though our coming home was the best thing that had happened to it all day, it seems fair to call it ‘love.’” Surely it is understandable why many pet owners are moved to reciprocate that “love.”

Yet, efforts to humanize a pet can have a detrimental side. After all, a pet cannot fulfill one’s needs the way fellow humans can. Moreover, the urbanization of pets​—that is, their adapting to city environments—​poses problems for some pets and their owners. We will examine such matters in the following article.

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The taming of wild animals has a long history

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A detail from The Great King of the Parthians Hunts With His Tame Panthers by Giovanni Stradanno: © Stapleton Collection/CORBIS

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Israelite shepherds treated lambs with tender compassion

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Pets can help the disabled and the elderly

Pets​—Keep a Balanced View of Them

AS NOTED before, man was charged with caring for the earth and all its animals. The Bible says: “Everything [God has] put under his feet: small cattle and oxen, all of them, and also the beasts of the open field, the birds of heaven and the fish of the sea.”​—Psalm 8:6-8; 115:16.

How humans carry out their responsibility toward animals is important. God’s Word says: “The righteous one is caring for the soul of his domestic animal.” (Proverbs 12:10) Indeed, God’s laws for Israel repeatedly emphasized the need to be considerate of animals. (Deuteronomy 22:4, 10; 25:4) In the course of carrying out their responsibility, humans have often made pets of domestic animals, and they have even tamed wild ones and made pets of them too.​—Genesis 1:24.

It is good to remember, though, that the Bible emphasizes the distinction between humans and animals. Humans, not animals, were made ‘in the image and likeness of God.’ (Genesis 1:26) And whereas animals were created with a limited life span, humans had the prospect of living on earth forever. (Genesis 3:22, 23; Psalm 37:29) Jesus Christ said that to enjoy “everlasting life,” we must exercise faith and take in knowledge of God​—things that animals are incapable of doing. (John 3:36; 17:3) Moreover, the Bible compares those unworthy of a resurrection to the “unreasoning animals [that are] born naturally to be caught and destroyed.”​—2 Peter 2:9-12.

Provided for Man’s Good

God created animals for the sake of humans. Animals can help them do their work and can serve as their companions or pets. They also serve to magnify God’s love and wisdom. Surely it is a pleasure to observe the beauty of animals and to learn more about the Creator from a study of their marvelous instinctive wisdom. (Psalm 104:24; Proverbs 30:24-28; Romans 1:20) Just one of the many examples of such wisdom is seen in the world of insects. Remarkable indeed is the way bees communicate with one another and follow directions to food sources​—not to mention how they build their complex honeycombs.

Animals may benefit man by serving as food. Originally, God provided only vegetation as food for man. But more than 1,600 years later​—after the Flood of Noah’s day—​God said: “Every moving animal that is alive may serve as food for you. As in the case of green vegetation, I do give it all to you.” (Genesis 1:29; 9:3) Thus, God made the concession for humans to eat animals. Evidently, this concession was for man’s good, although originally God did not include meat as part of the human diet.

Problems With Pets Today

It seems that throughout history, pets were rarely kept in the home, and this continues to be the case in most parts of the world. In recent times, though, as people have moved to cities and become affluent, house pets have become common. This has created some problems in developed countries.

Of the world’s estimated 500 million pets, a staggering 40 percent or so are found in the United States. There are some 59 million pet dogs and 75 million pet cats there. Yet, London and Paris each have more pets per household than does New York City!

In Paris a few years ago, some 70 motor scooters called caninettes were leased to vacuum dog waste from sidewalks. It was estimated that the some 250,000 dogs in Paris were producing 25 tons of waste daily, less than half of which was picked up by the caninettes. Hundreds of people a year were reportedly being injured and hospitalized after slipping on dog waste.

Then there is the problem of noise. Some dog owners tolerate behavior in their pets that they would never tolerate in people. According to The Pet Care Forum, “the owners of problem barkers seem to develop an ability to ignore the noise.” Some, for instance, do nothing to discourage their dogs from barking, even when the noise is drowning out important conversation.

On the other hand, a dog may be placid and contented while with its owner but may be a neighborhood nightmare when the owner is not there. True, pet owners may love their animals despite such faults, but a shift-working neighbor or the mother next door trying to get her baby to sleep may not be so forgiving. Moreover, bored animals may develop destructive behaviors, becoming distressed and even aggressive.

The rate at which pets reproduce is a problem especially evident in cities. It has been estimated that 17 million dogs and 30 million cats are born in the United States annually. Millions of these end up in animal shelters, where each year in that country alone an estimated four million to six million are euthanatized​—put to death.

Why are so many animals sent to shelters? Often it is because love for a pet can be short-lived. The lovable puppy or cute little kitten grows into a larger animal that needs care. But no one in the household may have the time or patience to play with or train the pet. Author and animal expert Dr. Jonica Newby says: “Contrary to popular belief, studies from around the world show consistently that half the dogs given to animal welfare shelters are not abandoned, but are taken there by their owners who cannot cope with the barking, destructiveness, or sheer energy of their pets.”

A fact sheet about pet overpopulation sums up the situation this way: “Living creatures have become throwaway items to be cuddled when cute and abandoned when they become inconvenient. Such disregard for animal life pervades and erodes our culture.”

Important Factors to Consider

Ownership of a pet, particularly in the city, requires serious consideration. Active pets need a daily physical workout for their well-being. The “National People and Pets Survey” in Australia stated: “Walking and exercise is both a physical requirement and mental stimulation for the dog. Dogs that get insufficient exercise can become difficult to manage.” Yet, many owners are too tired after a hard day’s work to take their dog for a walk to release all that pent-up energy.

So prospective pet owners do well to ask themselves these questions: ‘Will I be able to give my animal companion proper attention? Will my life-style result in my pet being left unattended for most of the day? Will I have the time to take my pet for walks or play with it? If my dog needs training, am I prepared to provide that training or take it to an obedience school? Will owning a pet take time away from more important activities?’

Another factor to consider is that owning a pet can be costly. A survey of pet owners found that the average annual veterinary cost of keeping a dog in the United States was $196, and of keeping a cat, $104. That, of course, did not include necessary food and other everyday needs. Additionally, in some communities there are registration fees.

Balanced View a Challenge

Our Creator must be pleased when we take delight in his animal creations and show them loving consideration. Would you agree, then, that it wouldn’t be appropriate to subject animals to cruel treatment? Yet, as a source of entertainment, humans commonly allow animals, such as bulls, dogs, and chickens, to be cruelly abused and killed in fights. Unfortunately, the way people treat animals has not always been with the compassion that God intended.

On the other hand, some people’s concern for pets takes precedence over even more important considerations. In fact, when affection for animals is not controlled by reasonableness, the life of pets can seem even more important than that of humans. As an example, during a fire in one animal hospital, when pet owners gathered outside, some reportedly “tried to break through the cordon, crying that they wanted to die with their darlings.”

Of course, it can be very sad, even tragic, to see a beloved pet die. But even in such a case, there is room for some balance. As noted earlier, animals were not created in God’s image, nor were they meant to live forever, as were humans. Regarding the way God made humans, the Bible says: “He has even put eternity into their minds.” Yet, nothing like this is said of animals.​—Ecclesiastes 3:11, Byington.

Thus, the Bible does not say that it is wrong to kill animals​—indeed, they are now a common source of food for millions. But what about putting a pet to death​—for example, one that is sick and suffering? What a difficult, painful decision that can be! Yet, a pet lover may conclude that doing so in a quick and painless manner is better than providing his loyal animal companion with expensive treatment that merely prolongs its suffering​—and may even put a strain on a family’s finances.

God dearly loves his human creation; should we not, in turn, show consideration and affection for the animals that he has entrusted to our care and oversight? Those who possess such love have often been drawn to the wonderful prospects of enjoying animals as our Creator originally intended. The concluding article in this series will develop this aspect of the subject of pets.

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Why are millions of pets in shelters put to death each year?

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© Hulton-Deutsch Collection/CORBIS

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Particularly for city dwellers, owning a pet may require much more than many realize

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Our Creator is pleased when we treat animals with kindness

Animals​—A Pleasure Forever

WHAT a vast variety of animals there are, each apparently with different personalities and attributes! Love and compassion for them can be a factor that draws one to their Creator. This was illustrated in the case of Maria.

About three years ago, when Maria was living in Lisbon, Portugal, her beloved dog strayed, and she had this announced over the radio. One of Jehovah’s Witnesses, who was sure that she had seen a dog fitting the description given, contacted Maria. When the two met, they found the dog, and the Witness commented that since Maria was such a lover of animals, she would certainly enjoy living in the new world that God has promised. The Witness explained that humans would then be at peace with all the animals.

Maria accepted an invitation to attend a meeting of the Witnesses. What she heard and saw there stimulated her interest to the extent that she wanted a personal Bible study. As the study continued, Maria was deeply moved by what she learned about Jehovah God and his promise of everlasting life on earth in a new world of righteousness. (Psalm 37:29; John 17:3) Eventually, on February 16, 2002, she symbolized her dedication to Jehovah by water baptism.

God’s Original Purpose

Like Maria, many have been thrilled by the evidence that God’s original purpose for humans to live forever on a paradise earth and to take care of all its animals will eventually be fulfilled. (Genesis 1:28) The Bible says that God “did not create [the earth] simply for nothing” but “formed it even to be inhabited.” Apparently, humans were to enjoy the earth and its animals forever.​—Isaiah 45:18.

The Bible further emphasizes God’s resolve to carry out his original purpose to have a paradise earth. “I have even spoken it,” he declares, adding: “I shall also do it.” Again Jehovah decrees: “So my word that goes forth from my mouth will prove to be. It will not return to me without results, but it will certainly do that in which I have delighted, and it will have certain success in that for which I have sent it.”​—Isaiah 46:11; 55:11.

Clearly, God’s original purpose was for humans to enjoy an earthly paradise forever. We can be absolutely sure that in time that purpose will be realized. Let’s examine glimpses provided in the Bible of what life will be like in God’s new world. We will see that, indeed, all animals, both domestic and wild, will be at peace with one another and with mankind.​—Isaiah 65:17, 21-25; 2 Peter 3:13.

Pets in God’s New World

In Jehovah’s new world, people will be able to touch the furry mane of a lion, to stroke the striped coat of a tiger and, yes, to sleep in the woods without fear of any animal doing them harm. Notice this promise of God: “I shall certainly cause the injurious wild beast to cease out of the land, and they [humans] will actually dwell in the wilderness in security and sleep in the forests.”​—Ezekiel 34:25; Hosea 2:18.

Indeed, wild animals will then be in submission, even to little children! The Bible 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; and a mere little boy will be leader over them.”

But that is not all! The scripture continues: “The cow and the bear themselves will feed; together their young ones will lie down. And even the lion will eat straw just like the bull. And the sucking child will certainly play upon the hole of the cobra; and upon the light aperture of a poisonous snake will a weaned child actually put his own hand. They will not do any harm or cause any ruin in all my holy mountain; because the earth will certainly be filled with the knowledge of Jehovah as the waters are covering the very sea.”​—Isaiah 11:6-9.

In Jehovah’s new world, there will not be the problem of people being crowded together in large cities that are inhospitable to both them and their pets. True, even today many enjoy their animals, and many exercise balance in their attitude and care of them. But just think of the marvelous prospect of enjoying animal pets forever in a righteous new world! The loving care given them will truly honor the Grand Creator of all living things.

If you have not learned about God’s wonderful purposes​—even as animal-lover Maria had not until recently—​we warmly invite you to contact the publishers of this magazine or one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, who will be glad to help you to learn about them.

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In God’s new world, animals will be enjoyed forever

A Test of Faith

BY AWAKE! WRITER IN GREAT BRITAIN

RICHMOND is a picturesque town in North Yorkshire, England. Its castle, built just after the 1066 Norman conquest, affords a commanding view across the valley of the river Swale, leading to the Yorkshire Dales National Park.

The television documentary The Richmond Sixteen has revealed an important aspect of the castle’s modern history​—the fate of 16 conscientious objectors imprisoned there during World War I. What happened to them?

Conscription

Following Britain’s declaration of war in 1914, patriotism swept some 2.5 million men into its armed forces. In the face of increasing army casualties, however, and the realization that the war was not going to end as quickly as the politicians had promised, “recruiting became less a matter of entreaty, more a matter of pressure,” comments war historian Alan Lloyd. So for the first time in British history, in March 1916, single men were conscripted into the armed forces.

Two thousand tribunals were set up to hear appeals, but few, if any, of those who objected on the grounds of conscience were granted total exemption. Most conscientious objectors were ordered to join the noncombatant corps, set up to support the war machine. Those who refused to join were still viewed as conscripts and were court-martialed. They were dealt with harshly and imprisoned, often in terrible, cramped conditions.

The Richmond Sixteen

Among the Richmond Sixteen were five International Bible Students, as Jehovah’s Witnesses were then known. Herbert Senior, who became a Bible Student in 1905 at the age of 15, wrote some 50 years later: “We were put into cells that were more like dungeons. They had probably not been used for years, as there was two to three inches of debris on the floors.” Graffiti and writing, now faded and in places illegible, that prisoners drew and wrote on their whitewashed cell walls have recently been made public. They consist of names, messages, and drawings of loved ones, along with statements of faith.

One prisoner simply wrote: “I might as well die for a principle as for a lack of one.” Many messages include references to Jesus Christ and his teachings, and there are also carefully drawn replicas of the cross-and-crown emblem, used at that time by the International Bible Students Association (IBSA). Herbert Senior records that he drew on his cell wall the “Chart of the Ages” from the Bible study aid The Divine Plan of the Ages, but it has not been found. It may be lost along with other writings on walls in the main cell block or elsewhere. Another inscription reads: ‘Clarence Hall, Leeds, I.B.S.A. May 29th, 1916. Sent to France.’

To France​—And Back!

War casualties in France and Belgium were increasing at an alarming rate. War minister Horatio Herbert Kitchener and British General Douglas Haig desperately needed more troops, including married men, who by May 1916 were also being conscripted. To strengthen their hand, officials decided to make an example of conscientious objectors. So at gunpoint the Richmond Sixteen were illegally loaded onto a train, their hands in irons, and secretly taken to France by a roundabout route. There on the beach of Boulogne, says Heritage magazine, “the men were tied with barbed wire to posts, almost as if they were being crucified,” and made to watch the execution of a British deserter by firing squad. They were told that if they did not obey orders, the same fate awaited them.

In mid-June 1916, the prisoners were marched before 3,000 troops to hear their sentence of death, but by this time Kitchener had died, and the British prime minister had intervened. A postcard with a coded message had got through to authorities in London, and the military order had been countermanded. General Haig was ordered to commute all death sentences to ten years’ penal servitude.

Upon their return to Britain, some of the 16 were taken to a Scottish granite quarry to do “work of national importance” under appalling conditions, says an official report. Others, Herbert Senior among them, were sent back to civil, not military, prisons.

The Legacy

In view of the fragile state of the cell walls, a comprehensive exhibition at Richmond Castle, now under the care of English Heritage, includes a virtual-reality touch screen that enables visitors to scrutinize closely both the cells and their graffiti without damaging them. Student groups are encouraged to understand why conscientious objectors were prepared to suffer punishment, imprisonment, and possible execution for their sincerely held beliefs.

The Richmond Sixteen successfully “brought the issue of conscientious objection to public attention and began to win acceptance and respect for it.” This led to a more understanding approach by the authorities when dealing with those who registered as conscientious objectors during World War II.

In the year 2002, a pleasant garden in the castle grounds was dedicated in part to the memory of the Richmond Sixteen as a tribute to their moral convictions.

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From left to right: The 12th-century tower of Richmond Castle, with the detention block containing the prison cells

Herbert Senior, one of the Richmond Sixteen

One of the cells where the Richmond Sixteen were kept

Border background: Portions of inscriptions made on the prison wall over the years

An Outdoor Showcase of Timbered Homes

By Awake! writer in Slovakia

IN SOME lands the history and beauty of the homes of past times have been lovingly preserved in open-air museums. Such museums are outdoor collections of traditional buildings brought together in one place to acquaint the modern generation with the way of life and artistic tastes of their forebears.

Let’s visit an excellent example of an open-air museum, located in the heart of Europe in the Orava region of northern Slovakia.

The Museum of the Orava Village

The Orava open-air museum in Zuberec provides a life-size, three-dimensional snapshot of this region’s history. Founded in 1967, the museum includes houses from 74 nearby villages and farmsteads as well as from remote, lonely settlements. All of these buildings were brought to the site in pieces and carefully reassembled.

Here we can tour 11 complete estates, representing the homes of both the prominent and the common folk of Orava​—mayors, noblemen, farmers, farmhands, and craftsmen. Since for centuries agriculture, along with the breeding of cattle and sheep, was the principal occupation of Orava residents, farm structures are well represented. These include haylofts, a threshing floor, dairy barns, and a shepherd’s hut and sheepfold as well as granaries and storage buildings made of logs. We also find a beehive, traditional handmade tools, a bell tower, and a wooden church, complete with an imitation cemetery!

As we look inside the homes, we note that a typical Orava house consisted of four rooms​—a front room, an entrance hall, a kitchen, and a closet or back room. It may also have had a low basement paved with flat stones. The houses were constructed with carved timbers, often highlighted in white around the windows and doors. Roofs and their richly crafted gables were covered with shingles or planks. At times the living room had an earthen floor, but even then the walls may have been whitewashed or perhaps covered with smoothly finished natural wood paneling. Cooking was done over an open fire in the kitchen, the smoke escaping through a chimney. The warmth of the kitchen radiated into the living room.

Working and Playing Together

The design of these wooden structures provides physical evidence of strong intergenerational and community ties. Homes and villages were organized for cooperative effort. Indeed, survival under the harsh conditions of this mountainous region would have been practically impossible had people not cooperated closely. Families and neighbors worked together to drive cows, sheep, and geese to pasture, and the whole village united to scythe the fields and to take their farm products to market. The community also maintained pastures and dirt roads.

Despite the hard work, village life was generally happy, especially at harvesttime. Good milk production and the birth of calves and lambs brought rejoicing. On such occasions the hills rang with song and folk melodies​—sung in harmony and accompanied by pipe, harmonica, or accordion. In winter, girls and married women got together to pluck goose feathers for pillows and comforters. Men passed the time relating stories while they worked, and at the end of the day, everyone came together to dance. In some places in this region, such traditions continue down to this day.

A Glance Into the Past

The skilled artisans who built these fine old wooden structures based their designs on construction principles and floor plans passed from generation to generation. The designs made effective use of local materials. Additionally, practical wisdom and aesthetic sense are evident in the pleasing way the buildings fit into their surroundings. The builders obviously put their hearts as well as their minds into their work.

The world-renowned architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe noted: “To every ax cut belongs meaning and to every chisel stroke an expression. . . . The expertise of whole generations is stored up here. What a sense of material and what intensity of expression are in these buildings! How gratifying and charming they are! They seem to be an echo of ancient songs!”

As we pause to admire the architecture in the open-air museum, we also try to imagine the people who lived in these buildings as they carried out their daily activities. Hopefully, we can bring some of the tranquillity of this slower-paced life with us into our hectic modern world.

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Zuberec

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(1) Timbered homes; (2) inside view; (3) residents playing music and dancing in their traditional costumes

Exploring Magnificent Waterfalls

BY AWAKE! WRITER IN ZAMBIA

BY 1855, Scottish missionary and explorer David Livingstone had already spent years trekking across Africa​—a continent then largely unknown to the rest of the world. As he traveled eastward along the mighty Zambezi River, local tribesmen spoke with awe regarding the immense waterfall ahead. Because of the tremendous noise and vapor it caused, the tribesmen called it Mosi-oa-Tunya, meaning “The Smoke That Thunders.”

Livingstone resolved to see the falls, now called Victoria Falls, at close range. Describing his first view, he wrote: “Creeping with awe to the verge, I peered down into a large rent which had been made from bank to bank of the broad Zambezi, and saw that a stream of a thousand yards broad leaped down a hundred feet [30 m] and then became suddenly compressed into a space of fifteen to twenty yards.”

At flood stage Victoria Falls, shared by Zambia and Zimbabwe, is today considered to be the largest sheet of falling water on the planet! At such times the torrent of 144,000,000 gallons [545,000,000 L] per minute plunges 355 feet [108 m] into a huge chasm. The entire volume of the Zambezi then rushes through a deep zigzag gorge less than 210 feet [65 m] wide. These unique geological features make Victoria Falls a truly staggering spectacle.

The area surrounding the falls is also stunningly beautiful. Designated as a national park, it is home to a wonderful variety of trees and plants, besides fascinating animals​—including hippos, elephants, giraffes, wildebeests, zebras, and even lions. Beautiful birds such as eagles and rare taita falcons make their homes on the rocky cliffs.

In Livingstone’s words, “no one can imagine the beauty of the view from anything witnessed in England. It had never been seen before by European eyes; but scenes so lovely must have been gazed upon by angels in their flight.” Today, nearly 150 years after Livingstone first saw the site and named it Victoria Falls after Queen Victoria of England, hundreds of thousands of people annually come from around the world to experience its magnificence for themselves.

Victoria Falls justly deserves its reputation as one of the wonders of the natural world. But many lesser-known falls on Zambia’s numerous large rivers are also breathtakingly beautiful. Please join us for a look at some of them.

Ngonye Falls

On a hot, dry November day, about two years before seeing Victoria Falls for the first time, Livingstone arrived at Ngonye Falls, also known as Sioma Falls. He wrote: “The islands above the falls are covered with foliage as beautiful as can be seen anywhere. Viewed from the mass of rock which overhangs the fall, the scenery was the loveliest I had seen.” Visitors to Ngonye Falls today heartily concur with Livingstone’s assessment.

Livingstone related: “For many miles below, the river is confined in a narrow space of not more than one hundred yards wide. The water goes boiling along, and gives the idea of great masses of it rolling over and over, so that even the most expert swimmer would find it difficult to keep on the surface.”

Lumangwe Falls

Many of Zambia’s other waterfalls are isolated and unspoiled. They vary greatly in size. Lumangwe Falls looks like a miniature Victoria Falls. But the falls are not at all tiny. One waterfall there drops approximately 100 feet [30 m] and spans over 300 feet [100 m]. Mist from the falls even sustains a small rain forest.

Kalambo Falls

Kalambo Falls, the highest in Zambia, flows off the high plateau and down into Africa’s Great Rift Valley. It drops more than 700 feet [200 m] straight down sheer rock cliffs, where rare giant marabou storks breed in the dry season.

“Kalambo is thus the second highest uninterrupted waterfall in Africa [after Tugela Falls in South Africa] and the twelfth highest in the world​—more than twice as high as the Victoria Falls,” says the publication National Monuments of Zambia.

Even though this waterfall is difficult to reach, local writer C. A. Quarmby describes Kalambo as “one of the unforgettable sights of Africa.” He predicts: “It will be a long time before it is on everyone’s circuit. . . . Only the chosen few ever get to Kalambo.”

Indeed, many of Zambia’s waterfalls and other natural attractions are well off the beaten path. National Monuments of Zambia notes that some “are only to be reached by Land-rover on difficult country, others only on foot.” Of course, that is part of what makes these places special. Nevertheless, visitors are welcome. Mr. Kagosi Mwamulowe, a conservation geologist at Zambia’s National Heritage Conservation Commission, explains that their goal is to enable people to enjoy these wonderful places while also protecting their pristine beauty.

Zambia’s Greatest Treasure

In his book Zambia, writer Richard Vaughan notes: “Zambia remains a land of great natural beauty, much of it unknown to visitors and Zambians alike. . . . The country is blessed with lakes, rivers, forests and mountains of fantastic variety.” But the country’s greatest wealth lies elsewhere.

“Its people are renowned for their warmth and cheerfulness and their resilience,” says Vaughan. As another writer, David Bristow, put it, “the heart of Zambia is its people, as warm as the African sun.” If ever you come to this beautiful corner of the world, we are sure you will agree.

[Map/Pictures on page 18]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

TANZANIA

DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO

ANGOLA

ZAMBIA

KALAMBO FALLS

LUMANGWE FALLS

Lusaka

NGONYE FALLS

VICTORIA FALLS

ZIMBABWE

MOZAMBIQUE

INDIAN OCEAN

[Pictures]

Lumangwe Falls​—like a miniature Victoria Falls

Kalambo Falls​—twice as high as Victoria Falls

Ngonye Falls​—“on most days you’ll have the whole place to yourself”

[Credit Lines]

Lumangwe and Ngonye Falls: Marek Patzer/www.zambiatourism.com; map: Mountain High Maps® Copyright © 1997 Digital Wisdom, Inc.

[Picture on page 16, 17]

Victoria Falls​—“The Smoke That Thunders”

[Credit Line]

Marek Patzer/www.zambiatourism.com

Young People Ask . . .

What’s So Wrong With Telephone Sex?

“PHONE SEX,” according to one well-known American magazine, “has replaced the love letter as the preferred means of romantic communication for couples who find themselves apart.”

What is phone sex? It involves talking about or listening to explicit erotic matters on the phone.a Those engaging in the practice often masturbate to relieve their arousal. Whether the obscene talk takes place between courting couples or between strangers, phone sex is alarmingly popular. In fact, some are openly advocating it.

“It’s the safest sex you can have,” claims one woman. Apparently, quite a few agree with her. For instance, in October 2000, in response to an increase in HIV infections, a group of Russian health experts took out newspaper advertisements to promote telephone sex.

Other people, however, are promoting telephone sex strictly for profit. Phone sex services​—where people pay to hear obscenities—​have become a billion-dollar industry in the United States alone.

Just why has this practice become so popular? The book The Fantasy Factory puts it this way: “Intimate physical and emotional contact is dangerous. There are physical risks of sexually transmitted disease, personal/professional risk of exposure, fear of judgment and the repercussions of ‘abnormal’ desire. Phone sex subverts the risk.”

Granted, phone sex doesn’t involve physical contact with another person. But does this mean that there is nothing wrong with it or that there are no dangers or risks at all?

Is Telephone Sex Harmless?

Sexual desire is especially strong during youth. The Bible calls this period when sexual desires are at their peak “the bloom of youth.” (1 Corinthians 7:36) During this crucial time in life, a Christian youth should learn to “get possession of his own vessel in sanctification and honor.” (1 Thessalonians 4:4) That is, you must learn how to cope with and control your sexual feelings. This is crucial to having a healthy, balanced view of sex.

Telephone sex, however, teaches one to indulge, rather than control, one’s sexual impulses. More than that, it promotes a degrading, distorted view of the opposite sex. The Bible teaches that sexual intimacies should be enjoyed only within the framework of marriage. (Hebrews 13:4) But phone sex encourages young ones to experience sexual pleasures outside marriage. The Bible teaches that real happiness comes from giving​—not getting. (Acts 20:35) But phone sex teaches one to use others as a means for selfish gratification. The Bible teaches married couples to develop true intimacy by cultivating mutual love and trust. (Ephesians 5:22, 33) Telephone sex, however, promotes coldness and anonymity.

A Harmful Addiction

Ancient Corinth was renowned as a city of immoral vices. With good reason, then, the apostle Paul wrote to Christians there: “I am afraid that somehow, as the serpent seduced Eve by its cunning, your minds might be corrupted away from the sincerity and the chastity that are due the Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:3) Telephone sex is one of the means that Satan the Devil is using to corrupt young ones today.

For some youths, calling telephone sex lines has become an uncontrollable addiction. One young man we’ll call Jim demonstrates just how “hooked” some can become. Jim saw the number for a telephone sex line on a billboard advertisement. He memorized the number and later called it out of curiosity. The calls to the line became more and more frequent. Before long, he had racked up a $600 phone bill!

Stimulating sexual desires while you are still unmarried runs counter to the counsel of God’s Word. It urges: “Deaden, therefore, your body members that are upon the earth as respects fornication, uncleanness, sexual appetite.”​—Colossians 3:5.

The Dangers in Courtship

What about young adults who are engaged in a serious courtship? Of course, it is only natural for people who are in love to want to express their feelings toward each other. Back in Bible times, one God-fearing young woman said regarding her fiancé: “I am my dear one’s, and toward me is his craving.” (Song of Solomon 7:10) As the wedding day approaches, it is right and proper that an engaged couple discuss certain intimate matters. However, is phone sex a safe way to express romantic feelings?

No. Even engaged couples are obliged to follow the counsel of the apostle Paul: “Let fornication and uncleanness of every sort or greediness not even be mentioned among you, just as it befits holy people; neither shameful conduct nor foolish talking nor obscene jesting, things which are not becoming, but rather the giving of thanks. For you know this, recognizing it for yourselves, that no fornicator or unclean person or greedy person​—which means being an idolater—​has any inheritance in the kingdom of the Christ and of God.”​—Ephesians 5:3-5; Colossians 3:8.

Intimate talk that deliberately arouses immoral thoughts or that triggers masturbation is obviously unclean in Jehovah’s eyes. And it could lead to even more serious violations of godly principles. One couple, for example, were enjoying a long-distance courtship. At first, they used their frequent telephone conversations as a means of getting to know each other. Before long, however, they began discussing immoral topics. Their conversations became increasingly explicit. It is not surprising, then, that when their circumstances finally allowed them to be together, they quickly fell into unclean behavior.

Surely, we who want to please God will do our utmost to avoid falling into the trap of telephone sex. How can we be successful in doing so?

‘Pummel Your Body’

Telephone sex can become addictive. We need to ‘pummel our body and lead it as a slave’ in order to meet Jehovah’s approval. (1 Corinthians 9:27) If you are currently engaging in telephone sex, why not get some help? Telling your Christian parents would be a good start. Yes, they may well be upset with you. But they may also be in the best position to help monitor your behavior so that you don’t have a relapse. The elders in your local congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses will also be willing and able to help out.

If you are courting, be determined to remain chaste, even when talking on the phone. An engaged Christian woman named Leticia says: “My fiancé and I have read together Bible-based articles on staying chaste. We appreciate the way they have helped us maintain a clean conscience.” Have the courage to change the topic if your talk becomes suggestive. Consult together about the need to keep your conversations clean.

In some lands, advertisements for telephone sex are featured on television late at night. Perhaps it would be best for you simply to avoid watching late-night TV. Since masturbation will similarly arouse, rather than deaden, immoral thoughts, it is vital that you avoid this unclean practice.b You can successfully expel unclean thoughts from your mind by dwelling on upright things. (Philippians 4:8) Surround yourself with friends who use wholesome speech, and read God’s Word and Christian publications daily to fortify your resolve. In this way you will not allow room for immoral fantasies to creep in and corrupt your thinking. Most important, pray to God for help. The apostle Peter wrote: “Throw all your anxiety upon him, because he cares for you.”​—1 Peter 5:6, 7.

“The pressure on young ones to get involved in illicit sex is very great,” says a young Christian girl from Brazil. However, Jehovah knows the challenges you face. Be assured that he will give you all the help you need to stay clean in his eyes.​—Ephesians 6:14-18.

[Footnotes]

[Pictures on page 20, 21]

Both telephone sex and cybersex are gaining popularity

[Pictures on page 20, 21]

Courting couples must beware that their talk does not become unclean

[Picture on page 22]

Reading God’s Word and Christian publications can strengthen your resolve to remain chaste

Discover the Wine Mine of Moldova

BY AWAKE! WRITER IN MOLDOVA

BURIED some 250 feet [80 m] below Cricova, a suburb of Chişinău, the capital of Moldova, is a 75-mile-long [120 km] labyrinth of man-made tunnels. Limestone was once mined from these dark caverns.

However, for the past 50 years, the cool subterranean vaults have provided the perfect place for storing some of the finest wines in Europe. Row upon row of barrels and bottles fill more than 35 miles [60 km] of tunnels in the old mine. With the capacity for storing 93 million gallons [350,000,000 L] of wine, this is said to be the largest wine cellar in southeastern Europe.

Continuing an Ancient Tradition

Moldova is ideal grape-growing country. It is located on the same parallel as the famous wine-producing province of Burgundy in France and enjoys a temperate climate that warms its fertile soil. Wine production in Moldova dates from 300 B.C.E., when Greek traders first brought grapevines to this land. Over the following centuries, the tradition of wine production continued, even though the country was conquered by the Goths, the Huns, and various feudal lords.

The Ottoman Empire dominated the land between the 16th and the 18th centuries and for religious reasons discouraged the production of wine. In the 19th century, however, Russian czars claimed the land as their own and actively encouraged the wine industry. They imported grape varieties from France, and the vines flourished. After the second world war, Moldova’s new overlord, the Soviet Union, systematically modernized the wine industry. In fact, it made Moldova the wine-and-fruit-producing capital of the entire Soviet Union. It was the Soviets who first recognized these tunnels as the perfect place to store wine. Come on a tour of this unique cellar and learn some of its secrets.

Driving Into an Underground Town

As we drive into the winery, we notice an entrance tower, which is part of a building cut into the limestone. The building resembles a French country chalet. This structure, however, gives no hint of the vast construction buried beneath the ground. A short distance from the main gate, we face the gaping mouth of the tunnel and are surprised at its size. Two trucks can pass each other in it comfortably.

By car we descend into this underground labyrinth, and after only a few minutes of driving, we pick up our tour guide. The many curves in this maze make us realize that we could easily get lost without her.

One of us asks, “What happened to the limestone that was once mined here?”

“It was used in construction projects in Chişinău,” she replies. “Limestone makes fine building material, since it has good insulating and sound-reducing properties.”

As we descend to about 240 feet [70 m] below the ground, the light in the tunnel decreases, leaving an eerie atmosphere of semidarkness. We stop at an intersection where several roads, flanked on both sides by long rows of huge wine barrels, lead in different directions. We note that the streets are named after kinds of wine. Pinot, Feteasca, and Cabernet are only a few of the names that stir our imagination.

Our guide tells us that oak barrels are used mainly in the production of still wines, whereas smaller metal barrels are used in the preparation of sparkling wines. We see very few workers, which prompts us to ask about the size of the work force. She answers: “We have about 300 people employed here. All year long they wear warm clothing because of the cool temperature. Our workers believe that this not only is good for wine but also keeps humans young, so they don’t really mind the cold.”

Sparkling wine production is our next tour highlight. We see hundreds of bottles tilted upside down at a 30-degree angle. We are told: “When the bottles are tilted at this angle, the residue gathers above the cork. After this has occurred, the cork is deep-frozen. Now the cork can be extracted easily together with the dregs, and the final corking can take place.”

Soon we arrive at the storage area for vintage bottles. Our guide introduces this by saying: “Over one million bottles of vintage wine are stored here. Almost all European wine-producing countries have deposited some of their best products in our underground vaults. The oldest wine is of 1902 vintage, a bottle of Jewish Passover wine from Jerusalem. Some years ago one bidder offered $100,000 for this bottle. However, the offer was refused. The bottle was evidently considered priceless.”

We are also told that wine bottles in this area are normally stored in complete darkness, except for the few minutes a tour group visits. As we quickly study the labels of the dust-covered bottles, we realize that most of the wines are older than we are!

The tour finishes at the wine-tasting rooms. The largest is called the Presidential Banquet Hall. It features a long solid-oak table with matching chairs, capable of seating 65 people. During the Soviet era, this room was used for official State banquets. Today this well-lit and brightly colored hall still provides a fitting venue for official State functions.

Sala Casa Mare (the Guest Room) seats 15 people and is furnished in a traditionally Moldovan style, whereas the Bottom of the Sarmatic Sea Banquet Hall allows 10 people to taste and eat at a circular table. The most interesting feature of this room is its ceiling. Originally this chamber was an underwater cave, and petrified shellfish and other remnants of aquatic life are clearly visible. The tour guide reminds us that at one time all of modern-day Moldova was, in fact, at “the bottom of the Sarmatic Sea.”

Locally grown oak trees were the source of the wood for the furniture in all these rooms, including the Yury Gagarin Banquet Hall. This famous cosmonaut visited Cricova on October 8-9, 1966. He wrote a letter of appreciation, stating that here ‘even the most critical connoisseur will find a wine to his liking.’

Our guide observes: “We have had visitors from over a hundred different countries during the 50 years that the cellars have existed. During Soviet days our sparkling wines were known as Soviet champagne. Few people knew that they came from Moldova. Today we market our sparkling wines under the trade name Cricova, and we have red and white varieties.” We appreciate the many details she shared with us and thank her for the fine tour.

As we leave this underground labyrinth, we feel we have come from another world. Outside it is hot and sunny. Not a single cloud can be seen in the sky. On the way back to Chişinău, we drive past seemingly endless rows of well-cared-for vineyards laden with grapes almost ready for harvesting.

[Maps on page 25]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

UKRAINE

ROMANIA

MOLDOVA

Chişinău

[Picture on page 24]

Cricova Winery, with its entrance tower

[Picture on page 24]

One of the street signs in the 75-mile labyrinth of underground tunnels

[Picture on page 24]

Car entry tunnel to wine cellars

[Picture on page 24]

Over a million bottles of vintage wine are stored here

Why Take a Walk?

MILLIONS of people seem to think that if they can’t join a spa and spend a lot of time working out, they might as well forget about health benefits from exercise. Yet, that isn’t true. Dr. Russell Pate of the University of South Carolina says: “I think we have to officially sanction the idea that a nice, comfortable walk around the block after dinner is a very desirable thing to do.”

But will a walk really do you that much good? Does walking have health benefits that are truly significant?

Walking Is Good Medicine

Greek physician Hippocrates viewed walking as “man’s best medicine.” In fact, there is an adage that says, “I have two doctors, my left leg and my right.” Is walking really that healthful?

Well, some studies suggest that people who walk consistently may develop fewer illnesses than people who are sedentary. The studies show that walking reduces the risk of heart disease and of having a stroke. It can fend off diabetes by improving the body’s ability to use insulin. It keeps bones strong, preventing osteoporosis. Walking builds strength, flexibility, and stamina. It supports weight loss and weight maintenance. Additionally, walking improves sleep, enhances mental function, and can even help to counteract depression.

Some years ago researchers at the University of Southern California reportedly found that a 15-minute walk brings more relief from anxiety and tension than a mild tranquilizer! Like other physical activities, walking triggers the release of endorphins, brain chemicals that relieve pain and stimulate relaxation, producing a sense of calm and well-being.

According to The Medical Post of Canada, even a leisurely stroll can produce health benefits. A study published in The New England Journal of Medicine reveals that walking as little as half a mile [800 m] a day reduces mortality. Recent studies suggest that exercising three times in a day, for 10 minutes each time, will do you almost as much good as exercising continuously for 30 minutes. So you might think about parking farther away from your destination and walking the rest of the way. Or you could go for a miniwalk sometime during the day.

Even greater benefits can come from brisk walking. Dr. Carl Caspersen of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia, said: “Going from being sedentary to walking briskly for a half hour several days a week can drop your risk [of disease] dramatically.” And what is so good about walking is that people of all ages and practically all health levels can do it. Moreover, it doesn’t require special training or athletic skill​—only a good pair of shoes.

Enjoy a Good Walk

Wear comfortable, loose-fitting clothing. For warmth, add layers that are easily shed. Use flexible, lightweight shoes with a cushioned low heel and roomy toe box. They should be somewhat larger than your usual dress shoe. If you plan to walk for more than half an hour and there will be no drinking water on your route, you may want to take a light container of water with you. Warm up by walking at an easy pace for the first five minutes. Maintain an upright posture, keeping the elbows and knees slightly bent and hands cupped, not clenched.

After warming up, fall into a natural, brisk stride in which the heel of the foot strikes the ground first, rolling through the step to the toes. Flexible shoes are thus needed. Does all this sound like a lot to remember? Relax​—most people walk this way naturally. Your pace should allow you to carry on a full conversation without getting breathless. If you are new at walking, build up your time, distance, and speed gradually. Cool down by slowing your pace near the end of your walk.a

Increased heart and breathing rates are normal signs of exertion, as is mild-to-moderate sweating. You may feel some muscle aches and tenderness the first few days. Pay attention to your body’s response. If you feel as though you are pushing too hard, slow down or take a short break. However, if you experience such symptoms as tightness or pain in your chest, palpitations, severe shortness of breath, dizziness, or nausea, stop walking and seek immediate care.b

Because it is low impact, walking can have a definite advantage over such activities as running and aerobics. As a result, there is less chance of injury to joints and muscles. Indeed, walking is the number one activity recommended by fitness experts. So, for your well-being, take a walk!

[Footnotes]

[Box on page 27]

SOME DOS AND DON’TS OF WALKING

● Walk tall, with your chin up (parallel to the ground), focusing 20 feet [6 m] ahead

● Maintain a moderate pace. Don’t feel that you must walk so fast that you become too breathless to converse normally

● Don’t overstride or elongate your steps. For extra speed, take quicker, shorter steps

● Swing arms front to back, with elbows close to the body. Avoid swinging your arms from side to side

● Don’t land flat-footed. Roll through each step, and push off with your toes

● Don’t feel obliged to carry weights. These throw off natural walking movements and can strain ligaments and tendons

Watching the World

Product Downsizing

“In an era of Super Sizes and SUVs, some goods are actually getting smaller,” reports Time magazine. “Manufacturers are quietly trimming the content of their packaged products​—from yogurt and ice cream to laundry detergent and diapers—​and often they aren’t dropping prices to match.” The tactic is not new, but because of the sagging economy and more careful and cost-conscious consumers, many manufacturers are now downsizing their products more aggressively to maintain their profit margin. Most shoppers do not notice that the weights or measures have changed by a few ounces or feet, but the result is that customers end up spending more for less. “Consumers really don’t have in their minds that they have to check the net weight or net count every time they buy something,” says Edgar Dworsky, founder of a consumer-advocacy Web site. “It’s the perfect consumer scam​—when consumers don’t know they’ve been taken.”

Soap Saves Lives

Simply washing hands with soap could save a million lives a year because it would help people avoid diarrheic diseases, according to Val Curtis, a lecturer at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. At the Third World Water Forum, held in Kyoto, Japan, Curtis characterized the pathogens in human waste as “public enemy number one,” reports The Daily Yomiuri. “In some communities,” notes the newspaper, “it is common for women to wash infants after they have been to the toilet and then prepare food without washing their own hands.” Washing one’s hands with soap and water can prevent the spread of deadly viruses and bacteria. And in developing countries, according to Curtis, hand washing with soap would be three times more cost-efficient for lowering the risk of diarrheal diseases than improving water quality.

The Alpine Way

Via Alpina, which is a series of walking trails, was recently inaugurated in Europe in 2002. “The Alpine Way offers walkers 5,000 kilometres (3,100 miles) of the most ravishing countryside in Europe along traditional paths,” says The Independent of London. Linking eight Alpine countries, the walk starts at sea level in Trieste, on Italy’s northeast coast, and finishes, again at sea level, in Monte Carlo, Monaco. It climbs gently through the mountains to a maximum altitude of 9,800 feet [3,000 m], skirting the highest peaks. The carefully chosen paths are “close to the most renowned sites of natural and cultural interest,” claims the French tourist organization La Grande Traversée des Alpes. Few walkers are expected to cover the trail’s entire length. Instead, says the newspaper, “you can take the family; you can try a few kilometres then go home. But the Via Alpina opens new horizons for those seeking healthy, peaceful, escapist holidays [vacations] not far from home.” Walkers can stay overnight at any of the 300 hotels, pensions, or mountain retreats along the way.

Ocean Species Disappearing

The global ocean is no longer a blue frontier with vast populations of uncaught fish, according to marine biologists Dr. Ransom Myers of Dalhousie University in Halifax and Dr. Boris Worm of the Institute for Marine Science in Kiel, Germany. They say that ocean species, one by one, are being pushed to extinction, a phenomenon driven by the advances in satellite and sonar technology, which ocean-going fishing fleets use to locate fish. As reported in The Globe and Mail of Toronto, “every single species of large wild fish has been caught so systematically over the past 50 years that 90 per cent of each type have disappeared.” Dr. Myers believes that the loss of these fish, as well as those prized most for eating, such as tuna, cod, halibut, marlin, and swordfish, will profoundly affect the ecosystem of the global ocean. Dr. Worm adds: “We are tampering with the life-support system of the planet and that’s not a good thing to do.”

Malaria Tightens Its Grip on Africa

Malaria kills “3,000 children on the African continent every day,” states the French newspaper Le Figaro. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than 300 million acute malarial infections occur in Africa yearly, leading to death in at least one million people. In the year 2000, Burundi suffered one of the worst malaria attacks ever. In seven months, half of its population​—some 3.5 million people—​were infected. The problem is that drug-resistant parasites have rendered quinine treatments ineffective. Fearing the high costs, many African countries refuse to replace quinine with newer antimalarial drugs derived from Artemisia annua, a Chinese plant. As a result, “malaria continues to tighten its grip on Africa,” said one WHO official.

Keeping Latin Alive

Although Latin is considered by many to be a dead language, the Vatican is endeavoring to keep it alive and up-to-date. Why? Because although Italian is the working language of the Vatican, Latin is its official language and is still used in encyclicals and other documents. The use of Latin seriously declined back in the 1970’s after it was decreed that the Mass could be celebrated in local languages. It was then that Pope Paul VI set up the Latin Foundation to keep the language alive. One step taken was the publishing of a Latin-Italian dictionary in two separate volumes, which sold out. Now a new combined edition has been published, to sell for $115. It contains about 15,000 modernized Latin terms, such as “escariorum lavator” (dishwasher). A new volume “is expected in two or three years,” says The New York Times. For the most part, words added will be “from the computer and information fields.”

Explanations Not Absorbed

“Patients forget up to 80 percent of what the doctor tells them while they are in the hospital, and almost half of what they remember is wrong,” reports the science newsletter wissenschaft.de, reporting on a study conducted in several countries. According to Roy Kessels, a researcher at Utrecht University in the Netherlands, the main reasons for the forgetfulness are advanced age, preconceived opinions, stress, and a lack of visual explanations. To help patients remember vital information, medical doctors are advised to speak clearly and unambiguously, to mention the most important information first, and to use pictorial aids, such as X rays.

From Our Readers

Rain Forests I read with great interest your series “Who Will Save the Rain Forests?” (June 22, 2003) I am not surprised that you highlighted the South American rain forest. Since those in Africa and Asia are in far worse condition, man could at least change his attitude toward those in South America. I am looking forward with pleasure to the time when God will intervene and put an end to the destruction of forests on our earth so that his creative works will be restored to their original glory.

G. R., Switzerland

Thank you so much for this series. For some time I have been researching environmental subjects, and as a result, my purchasing and recycling habits have changed. My heart aches to think of the vegetation that has been lost and the animals that have been displaced or killed because of man’s greed. Knowing that the Creator is aware of what is happening and will soon make changes gives me comfort and hope. Thank you for providing such beautiful articles.

V. T., Canada

I am a nature lover, and I have been concerned about the fate of the rain forest for years. I am happy to know that Jehovah’s Witnesses care about God’s creation. I am relieved to know that one day the rain forests will be safe.

T. H., United States

Tragedy Thank you for the article “Young People Ask . . . How Can I Cope When Tragedy Strikes?” (June 22, 2003) When I finished reading this article, I felt that Jehovah had given me guidance on a problem that I have had for many years. As a Christian, I understand that these “last days” are “hard to deal with.” (2 Timothy 3:1) Nevertheless, whenever I saw a fearful news item on television, my heart would be disturbed. I really got discouraged​—to the point that I would lose all my energy and, at times, stay home instead of going out in the ministry. I worried about things that may or may not happen in the future. But this article made me remember the importance of keeping up our spiritual routine and of pouring out our hearts to Jehovah and putting full trust in him. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your publications.

E. K., Japan

In January 2003, my grandfather died while hospitalized. This was the first time a close relative has passed away right before my eyes. This article contained the answers to my questions. My heart was especially touched by the subheading “Why Bad Things Happen.” It helped me to understand that what happened to my family was due to unforeseen occurrence. It did not mean that Jehovah had forsaken us. After I read the article, the fear that had weighed heavily on my heart disappeared.

M. O., Japan

Spiritual Thirst The article “How My Spiritual Thirst Was Satisfied” moved me to tears. (June 22, 2003) I was raised in a Catholic home and attended Catholic school for eight years. Although we never read from the Bible at school or at Mass, I always had an appreciation for the Bible and read my copy every night. Like Lucia Moussanett, I had a desire to do the things I learned about in the Bible, but I didn’t know how. When I started studying the Bible with Jehovah’s Witnesses, I became spiritually satisfied. Thank you so much for touching stories like this one!

K. F., United States

“Mankind’s Search for God”

Mexico City’s Excelsior newspaper of September 25, 2002, ran an editorial with the above title. It was written by Carlo Coccioli, a well-known scholar and writer in Mexico. His article opened with the following words.

“I just finished reading​—or should I say rereading or, even better put, re-rereading—​an extraordinary small red book​—not the one that was so famous in Mao Tse-tung’s days. This one [Mankind’s Search for Goda] is not only a much more extraordinary book but, unlike Mao Tse-tung’s ‘Little Red Book’ that has become obsolete with the passage of time, it might very well never become extinct. This book is, simply stated, a gift from Jehovah’s Witnesses to the world. As books go, it is tiny, but it is immeasurably great in its essence. It can be carried in one’s pocket, but if it were found in a library of 90,000 different books, it would probably turn out to be the most important one of them all.”

Mr. Coccioli went on to tell about the time in his youth when he decided upon the career he would pursue. “The specialized field that I chose for my university studies,” he explained, “had to do with what most appealed to my intellect and interested my soul: religions, especially Oriental ones.” He noted that the study of religions fascinated him and that during World War II, he obtained a doctorate in related subjects.

“So,” he explains, “I feel perfectly qualified to say that the small red book that has come into my hands is a prodigious work of depth and magnitude on the topic of religious phenomenon. . . . [The book] should be kept in every home to be opened, read, and reread from time to time. It contains no religious advertising whatsoever but, rather, is a profound cultural work of man, whose soul is inclined to investigate the complex mystery of God.”

Closing his article, Mr. Coccioli provided the telephone number of the Witness who gave him the book. She has since received many calls asking for it, so the branch office of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Mexico has seen to it that all who have shown interest in Mankind’s Search for God have received a copy. One person who requested 20 books for his family and friends is now making good progress in his study of the Bible.

[Footnote]

Can the True God Be Found?

Throughout history many have searched for the true God. Their search has led them down thousands of pathways, as evidenced by the diversity of religions, sects, and cults in the world today. But how can you find the true God?

Mankind’s Search for God can help you. On page 31 of this magazine, please read what one scholar wrote in an editorial about this book. We believe that regardless of your religious background, Mankind’s Search for God will help you to find the true God.

You may request a copy of this 384-page paperback book by filling in the accompanying coupon and mailing it to the address provided or to an appropriate address listed on page 5 of this magazine.

□ Without obligation, I request a copy of the book Mankind’s Search for God.

□ Please contact me concerning a free home Bible study.