How Real Is God to You?

I~V\GE 5

Christendom’s Responsibility for Communism

PAGE 9

A Mother Talks to Her Daughters

Drilling for Earth’s Mineral Resources

PAGE 21

THE REASON FOR THIS MAGAZINE

News sources that are able to keep you awake to the vital issues of our times be unfettered by censorship and selfish interests, "Awake!" has no fetters. If reco( facts, faces facts, is free to publish facts. It is not bound by political ties; it is un pered by traditional creeds. This magazine keeps itself free, that it may speak freeiy to you. But it does not abuse its freedom, it maintains integrity to truth.

The viewpoint of "Awake!'' is not narrow, but is international. “Awake!" has its own correspondents in scores of nations, its articles are read in many lands, in many languages, by millions of persons.

In every issue "Awake!" presents vital topics on which you should be informed. It features penetrating articles on social conditions and offers sound counsel for meeting the problems of everyday life. Current news from every continent passes in quick review. Attention is focused on activities in the fields of government and commerce about which you should know. Straightforward discussions of religious issues alert you to matters of vital concern. Customs and people in many lands, the marvels of creation, practical sciences and points of human interest are all embraced in its coverage. "Awake!" provides wholesome, instructive reading for every member of the family.

“Awake!" pledges itself to righteous principles, to exposing hidden foes and subtle dangers, to championing freedom for all, to comforting mourners and strengthening those disheartened by the failures of a delinquent world, reflecting sure hope for the establishment of God's righteous new order in this generation.

Get acquainted with "Awake!" Keep awake by reading "Awake!"

mi — M I I I UM

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and in England by

WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY Watch Tower House, The Ridgeway London N.W. 7, England N. H. Knorr, President                     Grant Suiter, Secretary

The Bible translation routinely used in “Awake!" Is the New World Translation ef the Holy Scrlptirw, 1961 edition. When other translations are uwd, this ft dearly mrW,

CONTENTS

They Kept a Gun in the House

How Real Is God to You?

Symbolism of the Great Seal

Christendom's Responsibility for

Communism

They Were Following Too Close

Socrates’ Spiritistic Guidance

Billions of Birds

A Mother Talks to Her Daughters

The Family Group—a Divine

Arrangement

Incense—a Sweet Odor of Antiquity

Drilling for Earth’s Mineral Resources 21

The Marvel of Ice

Dedication Day in Amsterdam

“Your Word Is Truth"

The Bible and Ancient Writing Watching the World

THEY KEPT A GUN IN THE HOUSE?

just a few persons have reasoned that they might be safer with a weapon around. So in the glove compartment of their car, in a desk drawer or at their bedside they keep a gun handy. Gun dealers have reportedly been doing a thriving business.

Hundreds of thousands of cast-off weapons of foreign armies have been dumped on the United States market, and through magazine advertisements and other channels there has been a great deal of encouragement to purchase these firearms. It Is argued that citizens should have a weapon for protection. In fact, one publication urged: "If you are EVER going to buy a gun BUY IT NOW.”

Is this good encouragement? Should one obtain a gun for protection? Many persons are undecided. Others, who have kept a gun in the house, wish with all their heart that they had not.

For instance, a family in New York City. They kept a .22-caliber rifle in the bedroom closet One day their four-year-old a gun in the house?

Another family, in Culver, Indiana, kept a 16-gauge shotgun behind the television set. One day their four-year-old son picked it up and shot his six-month-old sister to death, almost decapitating her. A few weeks later a six-year-old girl in Little Silver, New Jersey, found an automatic pistol In her parents* bedroom. Her nine-year-old sister came In and took the gun away from her, but, while doing so, somehow the trigger was pulled and the six-year-old girl fell back on the bed, shot in the forehead.

In another instance, the children of a family living in a South American country were at home playing with toy guns. The ten-year-old daughter decided that it would be more fun to play with a real gun, so she climbed up and got her father's pistol. Playfully she aimed it and pulled the trigger, but nothing happened until she pointed it at a friend of the family who was baby-sitting. The bullet ripped through the woman’s skull, killing her almost instantly. What a tragedy! If only the parents had not kept the gun in the house!

In New York'City two youngsters would probably still be alive today if guns had not been kept around. An eighteen-year-old Brooklyn youth was shot dead when the pistol his friend was holding discharged accidentally. And just two months later, an eleven-year-old boy on the lower East Side of New York was fatally wounded in the head when a .22-caliber pistol he was examining went off. In both instances the youths were visiting the homes of friends who illegally kept guns in the house. Although the deaths were accidental, both of these persons were booked by the police.

On May 23, 1965, a sixty-four-year-old man traveled from Baltimore to Brooklyn to visit his daughter and six grandchildren. He loved them all, but his favorite was alert, five-year-old George. While unpacking, grandpa teased George about the gift m his bag. But since the valise contained a loaded .38-caliber pistol kept for protection, grandpa first placed it in a dresser. Unknown to the laughing pair, George’s eight-year-old sister picked up the weapon. Somehow it fired. The bullet hit George in the back of the head, killing him instantly —before he had even received grandpa’s gift.

It must certainly be a horrible memory to live with—to know that one has killed a sister, a brother or some close friend. Even for one who did not finger the trigger, but only kept the gun available for use, the responsibility for the death of another must weigh heavily upon one’s mind.

Not just a few persons find themselves with such feelings of remorse, for the above are not isolated cases. In the United States alone about 2,000 persons are killed in gun accidents annually, some 500 of the victims being less than fourteen years of age. In addition, more than 4,000 persons are murdered with firearms and 11,000 commit suicide with them. Unquestionably the increasing availability of guns is a factor in their taking 17,000 lives a year.

Surely not all weapons are kept for use against fellow humans; many are used to hunt or to slaughter animals. While it is not wrong to keep a gun for these purposes, one should never forget that guns are dangerous.

But what about keeping a gun in the house for protection? Last fall a Life magazine writer considered the matter and wrote: “I am a lightweight 5-foot-3 and no good at self-defense, but then and now I would not have a gun in ₁ the house. My reason is simple: guns kill people, and none of us is quite so civilized as he or she might wish. . . . Human emotions are murky and indefinite. And a gun is a very definite instrument.”

Should an armed thief break into your, house, what would you do with a gun? Would you endeavor to shoot it out with someone who is probably more trained in the use of firearms than you? Are posses-sions-more valuable than life? Is one really safer with a deadly weapon on such occasions? What is meant for protection can easily become an instrument of destruction. It has often happened. This should cause any person who is considering the purchase of a gun to think soberly.

In the case of a Christian, he will also want to ask himself, Is reliance upon a gun for protection in harmony with the Bible principle at Isaiah 2:4, which says: "They will have to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war any more”? One who is really pursuing peace does not equip himself for war.

For example, for not a few persons God does not seem real because the Bible teaches that he is “the King of Eternity,” that is, without beginning and without end. They simply cannot grasp how this could be. But it should not be difficult to accept this fact. Why not? Because there are other things we must accept without being able to comprehend them. Such as?

i —1 Tim. 1:17.

Such as the fact that time is infinite. Time never had a beginning and will never have an end. Can we comprehend how this can be? Experience would tell us that everything must have a beginning. But not time. Likewise with space. It has no end; yet we cannot fathom how this can be. So we must admit that our minds are finite, limited, and that there are things that are not so limited, that are infinite. If we can accept the fact -that time and space are limitless, it should not be difficult to accept the fact that the great First Cause, the Supreme Being, the Original Source of life, Jehovah God, is limitless, infinite as to time. Well did the prophet Moses, in his old age, say: “O Jehovah, . . . before the mountains themselves were born, . . . even from time indefinite to time indefinite you are God.”—Ps. 90:1, 2.

Doubts of Scientists

Another reason why God is not very real to many persons is that the doubts that many scientists have as to God and as to the Bible’s being a divine revelation have been widely publicized. Those scientists who doubt God and the Bible are frequently more vocal and get much more publicity than do those who do believe. Their statements are viewed as more sensational, and so are more readily picked up as news. But a poll of British scientists taken in the 1930’s revealed that the percentage of scientists that believed in God was about the same as for the population of Britain in general. A poll about the same time regarding American scientists revealed a similar picture.

Interestingly a University of Pennsylvania professor once stated: “Most scientists do not accept miracles because they are not Christians. But the thoughtful scientist would not say that miracles are impossible, but only that they are improbable. Most scientists are not Christians, but not because they are scientists. Most businessmen or reporters are not Christians; in fact, most people are not Christians.”¹ All of which might be said simply to underscore the Bible’s statement that “faith is not a possession of all people.”—2 Thess. 3:2.

Reason it out for yourself. Is it not far more logical to believe that there is a Creator that always existed and that brought everything into existence than to believe that the universe brought itself into existence from nothing and that, without any guiding intelligence, it produced the marvelous results visible all about us, not only to the naked eye but also by means of the great telescopes and the high-powered microscopes? Must not every effect have a competent cause? The material universe is an “effect,” and therefore it must have a cause able to produce it. It therefore mutely testifies to God and his attributes, even as his Word reminds us: “His invisible qualities are clearly seen from the world’s creation onward, because they are perceived by the things made, even his eternal power and Godship, so that they are inexcusable” who would deny that God exists. If we reflect on these reasons, facts and scriptures, it will help to make God real to us.—Rom. 1:20.

That is why today in the United States there is a society of scientists whose very objective is to accord the facts of modern science with the literal contents of the Bible. Its members subscribe to the statement: "I believe the whole Bible as originally given to be the inspired work of God, the unerring guide of faith and conduct. Since God is the Author of this Book, as well as the Creator and Sustainer of the physical world about us, 1 cannot conceive of discrepancies between statements In the Bible and the real facts of science. Accordingly, trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, my Savior, for strength, I pledge myself as a member of this organization to the furtherance of its task.” This society is known as “The American Scientific Affiliation.” And even critics of this organization grant that its membership includes "highly competent and sophisticated scientists.”—Religious Beliefs of American Scientists, by Long (1951).

The Existence of Evil

Then again, God is not real to many persons because they cannot harmonize what the Bible tells about God’s being almighty and love with the misery, the evil, the injustices they see in the world. This apparent contradiction is capitalized on by all who do not want to believe in God and the Bible. In fact, for millenniums it has been the favorite argument of the agnostic and other unbelievers: ‘Either God is not interested in man and so does not care that man suffers or he cares but is unable to do anything about it In either case he thereby deprives himself of his right to my worship.’ The trouble with all such persons is that in their reasoning and in their search in the Bible they stop short of what is needed to arrive at the truth. For reason would indicate that there could be such a thing as this evil’s being temporary, that God the Creator might have some compelling reasons for permitting this sorry state of affairs and that after his purpose had been served by permitting it he would put an end to it. And had these max Investigated further in God’s Word, they would have learned not only that this is Indeed the case but also that very soon now God will bring an end to evil upon earth.

Why has God permitted evil? Because of the challenge to his universal sovereignty issued by one of his creatures,, which challenge involved man’s integrity, namely, Could God have men on earth that would remain loyal to him regardless of all the pressure that could be brought upon them by way of suffering or temptation? Was Jehovah God the Universal Sovereign only because he bribed men to serve him, or did his creatures recognize that right In itself regardless of how they themselves might fare? This issue is made clear in the Bible book of Job, which also shows that God was able to have a man of faith upon the earth in spite of all that the Devil could do to turn him away from God, thereby proving the Devil’s boast or challenge a lie.—See Job, chapters 1, 2 and 42.

The fulfillment of Bible prophecy further shows that soon God’s time for permitting evil will be up and that he will bring an end to it. Thereafter the prophecy will be fulfilled: "He will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be any more. The former things have passed away.” Then there will not be any agnostics questioning God’s existence because, of evil, for there will be no eviL But even now God is very real to all who see these things by reason of faith.—Rev. 21:4; Heb. 11:27.

God versus Materialism

Perhaps as strong a reason as any other why God is not real to many is that they crowd spirituality out of their lives by their pursuit of materialism. Since your time, your strength and your means are limited, it must follow that if you set your heart on materialistic values your belief in God will suffer. It is indeed of interest that this widespread tendency was recognized by the noted plane designer Igor Sikorsky. In fact, so much so tha!t he wrote a book on the subject, The Invisible Encounter, which he subtitled “A Plea for Spiritual Rather than Material Power as the Great Need of Our Day.” Yes, how can God be real to you if you crowd Him out of your thinking and your affections by the pursuit of material possessions, worldly honor and pleasures of the senses?

Well did Jesus, the Great Teacher, state, in quoting from the prophet Moses: “Man must live, not on bread alone, but on every utterance coming forth through Jehovah’s mouth.” And as Jesus further noted: “What benefit will it be to a man if he gains the whole world but forfeits his soul? or what will a man give in exchange for his soul” or life? Human experience bears out the accuracy of the observation of the apostle Paul that "those who are determined to be rich fall into temptation and a snare and many senseless and hurtful desires, which plunge men into destruction and ruin. For the love of money is a root of all sorts of injurious things.” Not that there is anything wrong with money or even with having much of it. What is wrong is the love of money, the greedy pursuit of money or the things money can buy. Just as two coins placed right in front of the eyes can hide the sun as well as all light from view, so keeping one’s eyes greedily fixed on material things blinds one to the reality of God.—Matt. 4:4; 16:26; 1 Tim. 6:9, 10.

If you would have God be real to you, you must be willing to buy out time and energy ordinarily spent in materialistic pursuits to ascertain the reasons, facts and scriptures that tell about God, his purposes and his will for you, even as you have done in reading this article to its conclusion. By pursuing such a course you will be showing yourself to be truly wise. How so? Because it is written: “This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ.”—John 17:3.

Symbolism

On the back side of the United States one-dollar bill there are shown both sides of the country's Great Seal. On the seal's front side is an American eagle holding in one talon an olive branch and in the other talon a bundle of thirteen arrows, This denotes the power of peace and war* vested in Congress. In the eagle’s beak is a scroll inscribed with a motto that also appears on United States’ coins, E Pluribus        meaning “Out of Many,

One.” The seal’s reverse side shows a pyramid with an eye at its zenith surrounded with a burst of light. The pyramid is intended to signify strength and duration, whereas the eye is intended to refer to the eternal eye of God. Above the eye is a Latin motto “Annuit

the Great Seal

Coeptis," which means “He [God] Has prospered (or Smiled On) Our Undertakings." On the base of the pyramid is the date, in Roman numerals, 1776, and below the pyramid appears a scroll with the motto Novus Ordo Seclorum, meaning “A New Order of the Ages.” Since that “New Order” was established in 1776, there have been many other political new orders set up by political leaders in other parts of the earth. But it is to God himself that men must look for a new system of things that will unite all mankind under the righteous rulership of Jesus Christ, the Son of God himself. That righteous government will not be one set up by men, because it is the “kingdom of God."

SPRINGING into world prominence in just a few decades, communism has become a world force that Western nations view with grave concern, fearing it as a threat to their freedom. Exceptional skill in the international game of power politics has been shown by Communist countries despite their comparatively short existence. How atheistic communism could spring to such prominence in this twentieth century, especially in nations that have professed Christianity, has been a cause for puzzlement by many Western observers. But" this is not difficult to understand when the religious history of these nations is examined.

It was in the nineteenth century that Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels collaborated to produce the theoretical foundations for communism. Marx denounced religion as “the opium of the people" and singled jt out as one of the major obstacles to the attainment of the revolutionary goal. Others built upon the foundations laid by these men, producing the forms of Communist ideology that exist today. But the- seeds of tommunistic thought could never have grown to produce what we see today jf the soil had not been made fertile for them well in advance.

Preparing for

ComnutniMt

The preparation of Russia for communism began back in the tenth century when Vladimir I embraced the Eastern Catholic faith, whieh at that time had its headquarters in Constantinople. In the eleventh century the church was split into Eastern and Western churches, Russia staying with the

Eastern or Orthodox Church. At the command of Vladimir, the Russian people were compelled to be baptized as. Catholics. For centuries thereafter the Russian Orthodox Church served the Interests of the ruling class In Russia and oppressed the common people. The book The World's Great Religions, published by Life magazine, observed: “The Orthodox Church historicailyTias been a tool of government. . . . Peter the Great even abolished the Moscow patriarchate to make the czar head of the church."

Without hesitation the Orthodox Church used the armed might of the State to further its ends. Commenting on this, the late N. Berdyaev, an exiled Russian philosopher, wrote in the book The Origin of Russian Communism: “Can the hierarchs justify such anti-Christian ‘politics’? Why do they resort to force rather than deeds of love? Why do they disbelieve the strength of God’s truth, but believe in the governmental, outward strength? We observe with amazement the union of Church and State in this hateful work. It is this very subservience of the Church to the State that has resulted in the loss of faith, on the part of so many people. Our hierarchy habitually trusts in outward force and compulsion, which are the very antithesis of Christianity.”

Instead of building up the people's faith in Christianity, the Russian Orthodox Church contributed measurably to its destruction. Its love for the oppressive rich and ruling classes in Russia and its disregard for the needs of the commpn people made Russia fertile for the growth of atheistic communism.

The now Communist country of Poland was, in the tenth century, a subject of the Holy Roman Empire. Its ruler in 965 C. E., Duke Mieszko, forced upon his pagan subjects the Roman Catholic religion. Anyone refusing to conform to it was punished severely. For example, those partaking of food during a religious fast were to have their teeth broken. One Roman bishop, in justifying such cruelties, argued “that none but the roughest modes of treatment were suitable to people who were only comparable to cattle. What they were too stubborn to accept graciously, and too dull to perceive spontaneously, must, it was clear, be beaten into them.”—Conversion of the Slavs, by (A F. Maclear.

With regard to Hungary, the Magyar historian Verboczy observed: “Hungary became Catholic, not through apostolic teaching, nor through the invitation of the Holy See, but through the laws of King Stephen.” That political head of the State followed the practice of the Russian czars by using the power of the State to force the Catholic religion upon the people. After quoting Verboczy, the book History of the Nations, Volume 17, goes on to say: “He was not always content to use persuasion . alone to lead his subjects to the new faith; he hesitated not to use threats also."

In the thirteenth century the Roman Catholic religion was extended to the region south and east of the Baltic Sea by an order of knights known as Brothers of the Sword. The members of this order were religious zealots who recognized the Catholic "Virgin” as their special protectress.

They swore to break the will of heathens with the sword. The people in this area, consequently, could not regard Christianity as a religion of love, kindness and mercy, because the Church, which claimed to represent it, came to them with the drawn sword, forcing conversion upon them by means of violence.

In Bulgaria, now part of the Communist bloc of nations, the Orthodox Church was close to the political rulers but oppressive of the people. Conditions became so intolerable that a movement of revolt against the clergy was formed in 1860. Regarding this The Encyclopaedia Britannica, 9th edition, Volume IV, states: “The clergy, appointed by the heads of the church at Constantinople, are deplorably ignorant, and frequently know as little as their flocks of the meaning of the prayers which they read in Greek. Their arbitrary and oppressive dealings excited a strong movement of revolt about 1860, and the bishops were expelled from many towns.”

The long and vicious rivalry between the Roman Catholic and Serbian Orthodox Churches in Yugoslavia was especially evident after the armies of Hitler took over that country. With the support of the Nazis, Ante Pavelic was installed as the puppet ruler of Croatia. The Ustasi parliament, which he headed, publicly announced as its official policy the extermination of the [Orthodox] Serbs that remained in Croatia. "Those who'escaped murder,” says The Encyclopedia Americana, 1956 edition, Volume 29, “were either forcibly evicted from Croatia or forced to embrace the Roman Catholic faith. The unofficial estimate by the government in exile of Serbs killed by the Ustasi reached the appalling figure of 600,000 men, women and children.”

The common experience of these many peoples now under Communist rule has been one of suffering and oppression at the hands of the church and her political fa-

vorites. Most of these people had been converted by force of arms or political decree, not by intellectual persuasion. This was not the example set by the apostles of Christ, who used the persuasive power of the truth to convert pagans to Christianity. The suffering and injustices endured by these peoples because of religious and political despotism over a period of several centuries made them fertile ground for communism.

Not only did the church fail to improve the lot of the common peoples, but it failed to extend to the masses the education that might have helped them to improve their lot in life. The British historian H. G. Wells points out this failure in his Outline of History, He states: “Though it is certain that the Catholic Church, through its propagandas, its popular appeals, its schools and universities, opened up the prospect of the modern educational state in Europe, it is equally certain that the Catholic Church never intended to do anything of the sort. It did not send out knowledge with its blessing; it let it loose inadvertently. It was not the Roman Republic whose heir the Church esteemed itself, but the Roman Emperor. Its conception of education was not release, not an invitation to participate, but the subjection of minds.’’

Compromise with Communism

As in the past, so today, the church seeks the favor of the political rulers despite the fact that these rulers in Communist lands are atheists representing an ideology that is antagonistic to it. In April 1950 the Roman Catholic Church in Poland signed an agreement with the Communist government of Poland whereby she would be granted certain concessions in return for her support of Communist national policies, and Cardinal Wysznski encouraged Polish Catholics in 1956 to vote, as reported in Time magazine of May 20, 1957, “a straight Communist ticket.”

In Russia the church has given full support to the Communist rulers. With regard to this the book Russia Is No Riddle by Edmund Stevens points out: “The Church took care not to bite the hand that was now feeding it. It fully realized that In return for favors bestowed the State expected the Church to give its firm support to the system and to operate within certain limits. The tradition of centuries as official state religion was deeply rooted in the Orthodox Church, and it therefore slipped very naturally into its new role of close collaboration with the Soviet Government.” Life magazine of September 14, 1959, pointed out: “Stalin gave some concessions to religion, and the church treated him like a czar. Orthodoxy’s collaboration is ensured by a special government ministry and the Communists have utilized the church ever since as an arm of the Soviet State.” In Hungary, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia the church permits the Communist State to control it. Unlike the early Christians who refused to compromise with the unbelieving political State of Rome, the Roman Catholic and Orthodox Churches have shown a willingness to compromise. This weakness is no example for the people to hold fast to Christian faith and integrity.                           ,

The history of the church in Eastern Europe shows her to be greatly responsible for the conditions that caused the people there to become fertile ground for the growth of communism. At the expense of the people she sought the favor of oppressive rulers in order to gain riches and power for herself. She did not hesitate to use violence and the power of the State to force people under her skirts. Her harsh and oppressive relationship with the people was a far cry from the loving example set by Christ.

Admissions of Guilt

Take note of some of the admissions made by clergymen of the church’s responsibility for the growth of communism. Roman Catholic philosopher Jacques Maritain pointed out: "What is the cause of this [atheism of communism] ? It is, I hold, because it originates chiefly through the fault of the Christian world unfaithful to its own principles, in a profound sense of resentment, not only against the Christian world, but—and here lies the tragedy— against Christianity itself.”—Christiani ty and Communism, by J. C. Bennett

Philosopher Berdyaev remarked: “Christians who condemn the Communists for their godlessness and antireligious persecutions, cannot lay the whole blame solely upon these godless Communists; they must assign part of the blame to themselves, and that a considerable part. They must be not only accusers and judges; they must also be penitents. Have [professed] Christians done very much for the realization of Christian justice in social life? Have they striven to realize the brotherhood of man without that hatred and violence of which they accuse the Communists? The sins of Christians, the sins of historical churches, have been very great, and these sins bring with them their own punishments.”—The Origin of Russian Communism.

The Toronto Daily Star of October 24, 1964, reports Jesuit Louis J. Twomey of New Orleans’ Loyola University as saying: “Roman Catholics must face the fact that communism has been more successful in so-called ‘Catholic countries’ than in Protestant nations because Roman Catholics in those countries do not practice the principles of their faith. . . . Cuba, which is 95 per cent Catholic, was the first western nation to go Communist. Where were the bishops, where were the priests and nuns, and the well-heeled and well-scrubbed laity?” The paper went on to report: “The priest said that the Catholic Church’s failure to raise a voice of protest against Batista—the Cuban dictator who preceded Castro—contributed to the rise of Communism in that country.”

As communism continues in its determined drive against religion the church increases its complaints about it But her own record is stained with intolerance, injustice,/oppression and human

blood shed by her political swords. At her order multitudes were massacred or thrown into dank dungeons to be tortured by sadistic inquisitors. Even in our twentieth century she has been unrelenting in her persecution of persons who point out the unscripturalness of her traditional teachings and conduct. In view of her terrible record, it should be evident that she is the agency that prepared the soil that has proved fertile for communism to flourish in Christendom. In. a sense, communism is her child, the fruit of her past unchristian actions.

The church has brought Christianity int to disrepute by her past actions. As the religious part of Christendom, she puts on an appearance of being Christian and claims to represent Christ, but her actions contradict her claim. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, well describes her religious leaders: “Such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself keeps transforming himself into an angel of light. It is therefore nothing great if his ministers also keep transforming themselves into ministers of righteousness.”—2 Cor. 11:13-15,

They Were Following

OAST fall headlines in the New York Times read: "Fog Crashes Kill 4 on Jersey Pike— 2 Cars, 9 Tractor-Trailers, and Van Pile Up, Halting Early Morning

Traffic.” According to the account: "First an auto, two trailer trucks and a van collided. Moments later, five tractor-trailers telescoped when the driver of the first rig saw the wreckage ahead and applied his brakes too quickly for those following him to stop. ^y

"Then, another private car that had been a short distance behind the tractors was stopped abruptly by Its driver when he saw what lay ahead and two tractor-trailers smashed Into the car and demolished it.”

Such tragedies are becoming commonplace. The New York Times at last November 9 reported' that accidents in New York state resulting "from drivers following too closely [were] up 13 per cent in the first six months of this year and the injury rate was running 10 per cent ahead of a year ago. In 1963, there were 91,054 accidents - from tailgating^ with 10 deaths. Injuries resulted in 56,234 of the crashes.”

The paper went on to say that "tailgating accounts for about 25 per cent of all accidents," making it the largest single cause of accidents. The New York Thruway Authority considers it such a serious problem that a special section Is devoted to tailgating in its "$afe Driving Tips” on the official map folder.

In other states the problem is as great, If not greater. The Pennsylvania Turnpike police label 'following too close’ as- by far the leading cause for trouble. And the New Jersey Turnpike has blamed it for 45 percent of the accidents on that highway. Also, it Is relevant that one year the Ohio Turnpike authorities reported that 75 percent of all accidents involving two or more vehicles were rear-end collisions.

Highway officials blame drivers' overconfidence in quickness to react and their misjudgment of stopping ability as important factors in these rear-end collisions. It takes, on the average—including time tor reacting and braking—88 feet to stop when traveling 30 m.p.h., 149 feet when moving 40 m.p.h., and 366 feet when going 60 m.p.h. Therefore, unless you are at least those distances behind when the car in front stops suddenly—say, in a head-on collision—you, too, may well be involved In the accident.

Thus it is apparent that the popular rule of one car length of space between vehicles for every ten miles an hour is not sufficient in an emergency. Safe drivers will allow more space, especially during bad weather and when traveling at high speeds. The New York Thru-way, for instance, recommends staying thirteen car lengths behind at 60 m.p.h. under ideal conditions, and double that; when the weather is bad.

Many drivers fail to keep sufficient distances between themselves and other cars during rain, fog, snow or sleet; apparently thinking that they can see as well and stop as quickly as when the roads are dry and the weather clear. But, obviously, this is not true. So when driving conditions - are poor, reduce your speed and allow more space between cars, Do not worry if others pass you.

Another factor responsible for tailgating accidents is the failure to anticipate what other drivers might do. It Is important to drive defensively, constantly studying the traffic picture and planning for anything that may happen. Watch not only the car just ahead of you, but also the cars in front of it. Adjust your driving to allow a space cushion arqund your car, always making certain that you have an "out” if the unexpected occurs. Rehearse in your imagination what you will do in an emergency, especially if the driver ahead stops suddenly.

But you not only want to avoid smashing into the car in front, you also want to keep the car behind from hitting your rear. So try to discourage “bumper chasers,” If a driver hugs your tail, encourage him to pass, even pulling off the roadway if necessary. And whenever Leaving a fast-moving stream of traffic, get off the roadway as quickly as possible.

Signaling your intentions will also help to keep drivers off your tail. Merely using the lowered-hand signal when stopping suddenly has prevented many rear-end collisions. If you signal properly and drive at safe distances, it is unlikely that you will be involved in any accidents due to following too close.

SOCRATES' SPIRITISTIC GUIDANCE

ONE of the charges made against the ‘ ancient Greek philosopher Socrates in 399 B.C.E. was that he was introducing new divinities. This was a reference to the daemonion, or mysterious voice that guided Socrates, to which he often referred. He called it his “divine voice.”

According to Socrates’ foremost disciple, Plato, Socrates had said: “You have often heard me speak of an oracle or sign which comes to me, and is the divinity which Meletus ridicules in the indictment. This sign I have had ever since I was a child. The sign is a voice which comes to me and always forbids me to do something which I am going to do, but never commands me to do anything,... I am assured by oracles, visions, and in every sort of way in which the will of divine power was ever signified to anyone.” (Apology as translated in The Harvard Classics [New York; 1909] edited by Charles W. Eliot, Vol. 2, pp. 18, 20) Plato’s testimony is that Socrates heard the "voice” frequently and on the most trifling occasions.

In regard to this “voice," the book Noted Witnesses for Psychic Occurrences, by Walter F. Prince, says of Socrates: “When at last he was on trial for his life . . . , it surprised him that when he was about to prepare a speech in his defense he heard it [the voice] directing him not to do so. Throughout the trial, when he spoke out boldly and unconciliatingly, exasperating his judges, it was silent in approval.” (P. 124, 1963 printing) Thus, because of this “voice,” Socrates made no real effort to conciliate his judges.

In Socrates’ last speech, after sentence had been passed, he said: “O my judges ... I should like to tell you of a wonderful circumstance. Hitherto the familiar oracle within me has constantly been in the habit of opposing me even about trifles, if I was going to make a slip or error about anything; and now as you see there has come upon me that which may be thought, and is generally believed to be, the hist and worst evil. But the oracle made no sign of opposition, either as I was leaving my house and going out in the morning, or when I was going up into this court, or while I was speaking, at anything which I was going to say; and yet I have often been stopped in the middle of a speech; but now in nothing I either said or did touching this matter has the oracle opposed me. What do I take to be ,the explanation of this? I will tell you. I regard this as a proof that what has happened to me is a good, and that those of us who think that death is an evil are in error.” —The Harvard Classics, Vol. 2, p. 27.

Upon the basis of this clairaudient voice Socrates believed that death was no evil and that the human soul was immortal. In his last speech, before drinking the poison cup in his prison cell, Socrates said:

“If death had only been the end of all, the wicked would have had a good bargain in dying, for they would have been happily quit not only of their body, but of their own evil together with their souls. But now, as the soul plainly appears to be immortal, there is no release or salvation from evil except the attainment of the highest virtue and wisdom.” Socrates also said: “Are we to suppose that the soul ... is blown away and perishes immediately on quitting the body as the many say? That can never be. . . . The truth rather is that the soul which is pure . . . departs to the invisible world—to the divine and immortal and rational: thither arriving, she lives in bliss and is released from the error and folly of men . .. and forever dwells ... in company with the gods.” That is fiovt Plato quotes Socrates in his work Phaedo. —Ibid., Vol. 2, pp. 73, 103.

Socrates’ view on Immortality of the soul and his view of death’s being no evil are not supported by the Holy Scriptures, which plainly show that death is man’s enemy and that the human soul does indeed die. (1 Cor. 15:26; Ezek. 18:4, 20) Actually Socrates* “voice” that misled him came from wicked spirits or demons, and the doctrine of the immortality of the human soul is one of the many “teachings of demons” of which the Bible warns true Christians.—1 Tim. 4:1; Isa. 8:19, 20.

Where, then, did Christendom get its doctrine of the immortality of the soul? Not from the Holy Bible but, as the book The Evolution of Immortality (1901) by S. D. McConnell, then rector of All Souls Church, New York City, shows:

“Those who were Greeks brought to the new religion the Platonic idea that the individual soul is indestructible.... The masterful Augustine . . . took Plato’s doctrine of the inherent immortality of the soul, disengaged it from metempsychosis and transmigration [of soul], and gained for it a general credence which it has held to this day."

In another work, the book The Winning of Immortality (1910), Professor Frederick Palmer, A.B., D.D., then a member of the Harvard Divinity Faculty, says: “By the end of the second century Greek thought began to penetrate Christianity, and to bring with it that view of the soul which for five centuries had been current in ft . . . (In the Phaedo by Plato the phrase, The soul is immortal,’ occurs twenty times). , . . From this time onward Christian opinion comes to be more and more influenced by Greek thought in this direction. Tertullian, In the early part of the third century, expressly declares that his view is that of Plato. ‘I will use therefore the opinion of a Plato, when asserts ing that every soul is immortal.’ (De Resur. Cam., iii) ... In the beginning of the fifth century Augustine, who was an admirer of Plato, built his doctrine of the future, punishment of sin on the premises that the soul is in itself immortal; and the moulding power which Augustinianism exercised over Christian theology for more than a thousand years carried deep into it a belief in the natural Immortality of the soul and embedded it there.”

Little wonder that a former British prime minister, William Ewart Gladstone, once said: “The natural immortality of the soul is a doctrine wholly unknown to the Holy Scriptures and standing on no higher plane than that of an ingeniously sustained, but gravely and formidably contested, philosophical opinion. It crept into the Church by a back door—the back door of Greek philosophy”!—Heaven, Paradise, Spiritualism and Hell (1931), by W. Barrie Abbott, pp. 15, 16.

Yes, the truth of the matter Is that Socrates’ and Plato’s philosophy is being taught by Christendom's churches. Since Socrates was spiritistically guided and since he became an exponent of the doctrine of the immortality of the soul largely because of the demon “voice" that misguided him, the fact is: Those religions that teach this doctrine today are misleading others by the foretold “teachings of demons." Does your religion teach such a philosophy?

BILLIONS OF BIRDS

• Birddom teems with inhabitants. It has been estimated that there are some 100,000,000,000 birds. That Is over 30 birds for each human.

TALKS TO HER DAUGHTERS

Hi, Mom,” says — eleven-year-old Jane, on arriving home from school.

“How did things go today?” asks

mother.

"All right in the classrooms, but, my,

Carol—the way she acted today. She’s so irritable! I can’t get along with her anymore. She never understands anything.”

“Well, Jane, Carol isn’t feeling so well today."

"She doesn’t have the flu, does she?”

“No, but this is the time for Carol to have her menstrual period. You see, Carol is a young woman now, sixteen years old, and every month there are a few days when she may not be so easy to get along with. Also, remember that you are getting to be a big girl, and this will happen to you too.”

“What do you mean?”

"Well, you’re being prepared for motherhood, just as any other young girl; that’s the way Jehovah God made it. Let’s sit over here and be comfortable and I’ll tell you about the changes that take place in a girl’s body when she gets about twelve to fifteen years old. We’ve discussed from time to time how Jehovah God made it possible for women to be mothers and have babies.

Menstruation is a sign that a woman can have a child. It is a normal, natural thing, nothing to be ashamed of; it’s the Creator’s way of preparing you for your future role of being a mother. When a woman stops menstruating, she can no longer have a baby. You remember that the Bible tells us about

Abraham’s wife Sarah and why she could not naturally have a baby in her old age.

Why not read it, Jane? You will find it at Genesis 18:11.”

“It says: ‘And Abraham and Sarah were old, being advanced in years. Sarah had stopped having menstruation.’ I don’t understand that word ‘menstruation.’ ”

"It comes from a word meaning ‘month,’ because menstruation comes about once a month. It is a gentle flow of blood that comes from the womb, the place where a baby grows inside its mother.”

“But does that mean something is wrong inside?”

“No, not at all. You’ll recall we’ve already talked about a baby and the way it grows in a mother’s womb. The womb is like an upturned little leather bag, pear-shaped, with an opening that is normally quite tightly closed, as if by a drawstring. The womb is hollow and moist inside. It is located in the lowest part of a woman’s abdomen. Every month the womb receives, through its upper end, what we might call

a mother cell or a tiny egg—an egg as tiny as the point of a sharp pin. The egg is made in one of two small organs called ovaries, and it’s trip from the ovary to the womb may take about a week. Now, to prepare for the egg that could grow into a baby, God arranged so that the womb would get ready a soft nesting place for the egg.”

"How does it do that, Mom?”

"Well, the lining of the womb, which is much like the inside of your cheeks, gets thick and spongy. The womb’s supply of blood increases because it is needed to help build this soft nest for the egg. But the egg cannot grow into a baby by itself. While it is still on its way to the womb, the egg has to be joined with what we might call a father cell or male sperm cell. This joining can come about as a result of sex relations between a husband and his wife. But when there is no joining of the egg with a father cell, as is the case with unmarried girls, the mother cell or egg cell soon dries up and the thickened lining of the womb that was intended as a nest for the fertilized egg is no longer needed. So the unneeded lining of the womb begins to fall off, somewhat the way your skin comes off after a sunburn. This cast-off lining, along with some blood, leaves the womb and passes out of the body through the vaginal canal, the channel that leads from the womb to the outside of the body. After a few days’ bleeding the lining of the womb begins to repair Itself. This is repeated each month. That is menstruation—as simple as that. So you don’t need to be surprised, then, when this menstrual blood appears. You’ll know that everything Is happening just right"

"Do all girls have menstruation?”

"Yes, it is something that happens to every girl. The beginning of it is really a milestone in every girl’s life—proof that she is leaving childhood and is becoming a woman.”

“But when does it start? How will I know?”

"Each girl is different Jane. Some girls start to menstruate as early as ten or eleven years of age, but many start in their thirteenth year, and others may net start until they are fifteen. No two girls are alike. But there are certain signs that indicate when a girl is about to begin her menstrual periods.”

“What are they?”

“Well, your breasts begin to develop and hair begins to grow on various parts of your body. For sprue months before the first period, young girls may have a whitish-colored discharge of mucus from the vaginal canal. It is a sign that the glands of the sex organs are becoming active. This is not menstruation, but anytime after this sign a real menstrual flow can begin.”

“I hope I know when it is going to come. What if I were playing at school?”

“It doesn’t happen all at once. At the beginning a little blood may stain your clothing. For about three days a little blood keeps seeping; then gradually it decreases and stops completely. After a few times a girl knows when it will start by watching the calendar. She protects her clothing by wearing a sanitary napkin that absorbs the menstrual flow.”

“Is that what sanitary napkins are? I wondered. I’ve seen them advertised in magazines.”

“I'll show you when you go upstairs. In fact, I’ll give you some, so you will have them when you need them."

“How long do I wear it?”

“You change it frequently, especially during the first two days, when the flow is heavier. This prevents any unpleasant odor and protects your clothes.”

“Will it come every month?”

“When you first begin to menstruate, you may not have the second period until two or three months later. In fact, the first one or two might be separated by aS long as six months. It takes the body some time to become regular. After the first year or so most girls menstruate on schedule. Usually it comes every 28 days. But don’t expect it to be exactly 28 days. The normal cycle can be anywhere from 21 to 35 days. Even when you get a regular cycle, it may be thrown off schedule by a number of things.”

"How is that, Mom?”

"Well, a sudden change of climate, a serious illness, fatigue, a long train or plane trip or emotional excitement might throw off your schedule a number of days. But it’s only temporary and nothing to worry about. Generally it’s pretty much of a 28-day cycle.”

“Does menstruation hurt?”

“For the first couple of days most women don’t feel quite as well as they usually do. You may get what girls call cramps, but most women try to live as normal a life as they possibly can. After all, menstruation is not an illness but a normal, natural function. Keep fresh and dean; take your daily bath or shower warm— not too hot or too cold. At the beginning of a period you may feel a little more sensitive or irritable or you will get tired easier. So get enough sleep, especially the. first two days of a period. In fact, you’ll welcome one or two nights of getting to bed earlier. And don't forget, Jane, to balance off any unpleasant aspects, there are the real satisfactions of maturity and womanhood.”

“I think you have answered all my questions now, except one. Will I be able to have normal elimination during that time?”

“Yes, you will, dear, everything continues in the usual way during a menstrual period, including the passing of water and bowel movements. But sometimes before the period, when the womb swells and presses against the colon, this becomes sluggish and there may be constipation and cramplike pain. But some of this discomfort may be avoided by keeping elimination normal the week before the period. So you’ll feel better if you take more water and eat fruits and vegetables at this time rather than cake, candies and sweets. You will probably have other questions when your period comes, but you know I will always be glad to help you with any worry or question,”

"Thanks, Mom, I’m so glad you told me all about this. May I go to the store now and get the things you wanted?”

“Yes, dear, please do. You’ll find the list and the money on the kitchen table.”

As Jane leaves the house, her sister Carol says, “Mother, I heard you talking to Jane about menstruation; isn’t it a little early to be telling her all about that?”

"No, Carol, not at all. You see, one of the kindest things a mother can do for her daughter is to prepare her for this milestone in growing up. Imagine how you would have felt if I had not prepared you.”

“That’s true. I’m glad you told me so I knew what to expect I don’t know what I would have thought was happening to me! Even now I sometimes wonder about myself a little. I get so edgy at times before my periods. I know you said not to worry about it, but today Jane and I quarreled; I don’t know why I was mean to her. I just felt like taking it out on someone.”

“Your feelings are nothing unusual, Carol. Many women feel a little irritable a few days before their period begins. We call it premenstrual tension. You see, in addition to the physical changes some

women have at this time, such as tenderness of the breasts, temporary weight gain and the increased possibility of headaches, there are mental and emotional changes. Some women feel quite depressed; others get irritable and short-tempered. Some find it hard to study or take on an extra work load. But don’t let these things worry you. Just recognize that the body is undergoing some changes for the onset of menstruation,”

“It’s true, schoolwork was not as easy today as it usually is. But I’m glad there’s nothing really wrong with me; I just don’t like to be so irritable.”

"That’s where we as Christians have an extra responsibility. Worldly women often give in to their feelings and make it very difficult for their children and husbands to live with them. But at these times we should try harder than usual to apply Bible principles about being kind and patient It's not easy. I myself have to be very careful to be loving and kind, and perhaps I don’t always succeed, but we should try. So during those days of tension try to be careful to be kind to others. If you give in to feelings of irritability and say unkind things, you’ll regret it afterward, just as you already have. Besides, as you know, the tension quickly vanishes with the onset of the menstrual flow and you have a feeling of emotional relief and calmness. Soon you feel like a new person, with renewed energy. So try your best to show Christian qualities at this time.”

'Til do that, Mother.”

“And there is still another aspect to this, Carol, a very important one. That’s our attitude toward other girls who have premenstrual tension. Recognize it in them. If they get Irritable and say something they usually wouldn't say, put up with it in love, as Christians should. Don’t hold it against them or allow a grudge to develop. Then you won’t ruin friendships. You know that they are going through an experience that you understand. Now, Carol, you have some homework to do; you had better get to it before supper.”

“Thanks, Mother. I feel so much better now that we’ve talked together. It makes it easier to meet these problems when someone has told you what it’s all about.”

The Family Group—a Divine Arrangement

4 The family group is God's arrangement of things and as such there Is no substitute for parents. In his book Marriage Kenneth Walker writes: "It is argued that it would surely be far better for children to be brought up under the supervision of doctors and psychological experts than to be left In the hands of parents who may be ignorant and improvident. These enthusiasts for the State handling of children overlook the fact that no child can become a good citizen who in his earlier yeans has been emotionally starved, and that there Is no reason to suppose that a State will ever be able to provide a child with the emotional substitute for parents. We have only to remember Nazi Germany and to look at Communist Russia to realise how great are the dangers to which children are exposed when the State undertakes their upbringing.... State officials can never act as satisfactory substitutes for parents.

"Nor is it the children alone that have to be considered when appraising the merits of the family group. It must be remembered that the family forms not only a natural biological but also a psychological unit, a small, closely knit group in which the children are as essential to the psychological welfare of the parents as the parents are necessary to the psychological welfare of the children. Why therefore should the parents be penalised by the removal of their children soon after they are born? They would suffer spiritually almost as much as the children from this forcible disruption of [this] masterpiece, the family group.”

jiuenu-

odor

of antiquity

HAT sweet odor of antiq

uity is still around. Yes, even outside the Orient there are persons who believe that Incense contributes to the pleasing atmosphere of a tastefully furnished home when it, like any perfume, is judiciously used. Although it is seldom used in some countries, there are others where the perfuming of rooms with incense is a common practice. Its use for this pleasurable purpose as well as for religious purposes can be traced to ancient times. In fact, one of the inspired proverbs of King Solomon says: “Oil and incense are what make the heart rejoice.”—Prov. 27:9.

Since incense was used so extensively in the ancient world, it was an important item of trade. Caravans regularly crossed the deserts loaded with aromatic substances used for incense, such as frankincense and balsam.

Revealing that incense was a popular commodity of international trade as far back as the days of Joseph, son of the Hebrew pa? triarch Jacob, more than 1,700 years before the Common Era, the Bible book of Genesis tells about a camel caravan of Ishmaelites carrying a load of aromatic substances to Egypt. These were the people to whom Joseph’s half brothers sold him as a slave. “When they raised their eyes and took a look, why, here was a caravan of Ishmaelites that was coming from Gilead, and their camels were carrying labdanum and balsam and resinous bark, on their way to take it down to Egypt.” (Gen. 37:25) Throughout the centuries incense has been an important item of trade.

What is incense? It is the simplest of all perfumes. By burning certain resins and gum resins as well as barks, woods, dried flowers, fruits and seeds, aromatic odors result that we call incense. The term is also applied to the substances that give off the perfumed odors. These substances might be burned either by themselves or mixed together, depending upon the aroma that is desired-

A resin from certain trees in Somalia, Arabia, Abyssinia and India, known as olibanum, was very popular among the ancients as an incense as well as a medicine. A more popular name for it is frankincense. It is mentioned many times in-the Bible and was regarded as la very valuable commodity in ancient times.

Among the gifts that the astrologers brought to Jesus when he was still a young child at Bethlehem was frankincense.—Matt. 2:11.

Frankincense appears to have been the chief of the aromatic gum resins. The tree from which the resin is obtained is related to those that yield balsam and myrrh, which also are aromatic substances. After a deep incision is made in the tree, the gum exudes as drops, which vary in color. Some of them are clear, others are yellow and still others have a green tinge. About three months after the incision is made, the gum has the right consistency to be gathered. This is done by scraping the globules of gum from the tree into baskets. The popularity of frankincense as an incense has not passed away, for it is still a prominent incense resin.

Oriental lands, of course, have gone in for the use of incense more than others. In Japan the burning of incense has long been fashionable. In the fifteenth century C.E., in aristocratic circles, a game began to be played that centered around incense. The game was designed to test the delicacy of men's sense of smell by requiring them to distinguish between the aromas of various kinds of Incense. The players in the game had to identify incense by the aroma only, writing down the identification. In addition, to each incense a literary name such as a phrase from a poem had to be given. By accuracy in identifying aromas and by the erudition displayed in choosing names, the contest was decided.

It was also from the fifteenth century that the secular use of incense in Japan began; this use of incense served to impart an agreeable odor to clothing and toilet accessories or to scent the air of a room. A few persons in Western lands use incense in a similar way. They find no shortage of aromas, for many scents are obtainable at Oriental shops. Even those Westerners who might think of incense as being too exotic may still be using fragrances in a similar way. For many are the stores that sell bottles or spray-type cans of a variety of fragrances for imparting agreeable scents to the air. Even apart from such “sprayed incense,” that sweet odor of Oriental antiquity, the smoke of burning incense, still wafts its way through many a home.

AN ANCIENT wise man w of the Middle East tputh- 1 fully said: “Indeed, for silver there exists a place to find it and a place for gold that they refine; iron itself is taken from the very dust and from store copper is being poured out.” A little later he described how some of earth's riches are made available far man's use: has

shaft far from where people reside . . . places forgotten far from the foot;

some of mortal men have swung down, they have dangled." (Job 28:1, 2, 4, The Holy Bible) In sinking shafts and holes into the earth’s crust man has penetrated it for a distance of only about three miles. But by such activity, over a period of nearly 6,000 years, he has brought to light vast quantities of gold, silver, iron, copper and precious stones, to say nothing of the enormous volume of oil and gas that has been produced. The search has been a rewarding one at times, not so rewarding at others, but nevertheless fascinating.

Earth has seldom given up her treasures easily. It has called for hard work, with every bit of skill and ingenuity man could muster. This is because most of the mineral resources are locked in the rock formations. Water and weathering of the rocks have released such minerals as gold and tin so that sometimes searchers by accident “strike it rich,” like the tired prospector sitting down to rest near Ballarat, W Australia, whose pick by * chance hit a nugget of pure gold that tipped the scales at 2,280 ounces! , However, if all mining wete as easy as that, men would not spend vast amounts of

money on expensive equipment and thousands of man-hours of arduous labor to recover valuable min' eval's.

Long centu-

lies ago and even down to fairly recent times minerals in hard rock were extracted by a very slow and tedious method called “fire setting.’’ Miners would set a hot fire against the rock face to be mined. When the rock was hot, the fire would be quickly cleared away and cold water was thrown on the heated face. This caused cracks to appear, and they were worked by the miner as he drove in iron wedges with a hammer or used a pinch bar to pry out broken pieces of ore. Compare the six-inch 'advance made by fire setting to modern methods of drilling and blasting out as much as eight to ten feet in a shiftl However, even though the work of the underground miner has been made easier by up-to-date tools and equipment, other problems have to be faced that call for much engineering skill and know-how. An example of this was demonstrated recently in Saskatchewan.

Potash Mining

The rich potash deposits underlying the prairies cf this Canadian province were

much too plentiful to be ignored in view of the crying need for mineral fertilizer around the world. It is estimated now that these deposits alone are sufficient to supply world requirements for the next 8,000 years!

The International Minerals and Chemical Corporation mine at Esterhazy was the first to go into production after months of heartbreaking struggle to sink a shaft to the level of the potash beds. The first year saw the shaft concrete-lined to a depth of 1,200 feet, having been pushed through 289 feet of stiff boulder clay and 911 feet of water-bearing shale and limestone. Now the real fun began! The Blair-more formation was reached—a 200-foot mass of fluid quicksand under pressures up to 475 pounds per square inch. All previous attempts to sink through it had failed! Could it be done?

Two possible methods of attacking the problem were open to the engineers. The first was to grout. In other words, holes were drilled in the shaft bottom till water was hit, then a mixture of water and cement was pumped down under heavy pressure. This forced the grout into the porous surrounding rock and, when it hardened, was supposed to seal off the water. But the Blairmore did not respond to the treatment and struck back with such fury that at one time the shaft was flooded to within 120 feet of the surface. What next?

Now a European technique was applied. Freeze, dig and tub the shaft! A special refrigerant, lithium chloride brine at 60° Fahrenheit below zero, was used for a whole year. Finally the treacherous quicksands were stilled into a three-million-cubic-foot ice cube! Now the miners went to work with ordinary pavement breakers and chipped out the frozen ground slowly and carefully in air chilled to 34° below zero. Even the most minute quantity of explosives was taboo. Every five feet, eleven rour-ton segments ot cast-iron casing, called "tubbing,” were lowered into the shaft and bolted into place, with thick lead gaskets between the segments. This formed a watertight barrier of almost 7 million pounds of iron, held together by 17,000 giant steel bolts. It extended 150 feet above and below the Blairmore formation and was finally sealed by miners’ pounding in 45,000 wooden wedges around the tubbing in a mass so dense that not even a steel spike could be driven into it. It had taken from June 1958 to April 1961 to conquer the Blairmore, but it was worth it. Thirteen months later the first potash ore was reached at the 3,132-foot level and then within sixty days the world’s largest potash mine went into production.

Recently,' another potash mine began producing at Belle Plains -Saskatchewan, using a new method of recovery. Water is forced down to the potash through multiple drill holes and the solution is then pumped to the surface, where th? potash is put through an evaporation and crystallization process. This mine should be producing over one million tons a year in the near future.

Salt Mining

Many salt mines operate in a way similar to that used at Belle Plaine. However, others operate by regular mining methods, as do two of the world’s greatest salt mines located under the cities of Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, Michigan. Hundreds of miles of tunneling, some with four-lane roadways, make it possible for giant drilling machines to be used. After blasting out the salt, bulldozers and scoops move the broken rock salt to the crushers, and from there giant conveyor belts transport it to the shaft for hoisting to the surface refineries, at the rate of 500 tons per hour. Eighty-three percent of Canada’s salt is produced from the mines of this area.

In the 1930’s the world’s largest and most famous salt mine was located at Wieliczka, Poland. At a depth of 982 feet they had a subterranean town. There were T7 miles or more of passages on seven levels in the mine. Glistening white roads of pure salt led one to monuments, churches and even a beautiful crystal ballroom—all of it carved from the solid rock salt!

Opencut Mining

This type of operation, used by some of the world’s largest mines, is most interesting because you can observe all that goes on at one time. It is simply a huge open pit, its sides sculptured into great steplike “benches” with only the sky for a roof. For an example, Let’s travel to Steep Rock Lake in northwestern Ontario. What you are now looking at used to be a lake with a depth of 70 to 300 feet of water. For years prospectors were picking up pieces of iron ore along its banks. Diamond-drill tests finally confirmed that under its waters existed an ore body that tested 61 percent pure iron. This was 5 percent higher in Iron content than the rich Mesa-bi Range In Minnesota with its vast open-cut operations. By 1947 proved ore reserves at Steep Rock amounted to 72.5 million tons! But how to get it out?

The opencut method was decided upon. This would mean all the rock would be removed, ore as well as waste. First, though, the streams that fed the lake had to be dammed and diverted. Following this, 168 billion gallons of water were pumped out. Now rock and lake-bottom muck were removed to a depth of 80 to 180 feet. This made it possible to do the work of drilling and blasting out the ore. Afterward the huge diesel-powered shovels load it onto the big ore trucks you see traveling up the spiral roads along the benches to the concentrator on top. From there the ore Is loaded into 1,500 ore cars which daily move the 10,000-ton production to the ore docks at Port Arthur.

At Thetford Mines, Quebec, 70 percent of the world’s supply of mineral silk (asbestos) is mined in a similar way. Some pits are 3,000 feet long, 1,500 feet across and from 300 to 900 feet deep. Here, the steplike benches from which the ore is blasted vary from 50 to 75 feet in height But, due to the nature of the ore bodies, some of the mines use'underground operations as well. Shafts are sunk off to one side of the opencut to a depth below the bottom of the pit. From there tunnels are driven underneath the pit bottom and, near the center, vertical shafts are raised to make an opening in the pit floor. By this means broken ore from the benches is dropped into waiting ore cars tn the tunnels. These travel to the shafts and are hoisted to the surface, where the ore is treated in the concentrators.

On the Mesabi Range in Minnesota, one of the most spectacular opencut mines is located at Hibbing. The ore body is more thanXhree miles long, nearly half a mile wide and has a depth of 450 feet From 1895 to 1945 more than 653 million tons of rock were removed to recover 383 million tons of ore. Ore is hauled from the main pit by rail, and in 1944, during peak operations, forty locomotives were in use. Twenty-six power shovels, each capable of biting out from 1.5 to 8 cubic yards of material at a time, were busy filling the waiting ore trains.

Shaft, Tunnel and Stope Mining

Most of the hard-rock mines of the world operate according to this procedure. First, a shaft Is sunk, usually to one side of the vein to be mined. Crosscuts at 125-foot intervals of depth are made to the vein itself. Now tunnels or "drifts*' are driven in each direction along the vein. Vein material is removed by means of

stoping, which means the ore is drilled and blasted out between levels, working from a lower level to the next one above. Ore passes are made to openings in the ceiling of the drift below so broken ore from the stopes can be dropped into ore cars, which are trammed to the shaft for hoisting to the concentrator.                  ^v

Following this pattern of mining, ore can be taken from great depths, as in the gold mines of “The Rand,” near Johannesburg, South Africa. The production of their almost 7,000 miles of tunnels is equal to that of all other gold-producing areas of the world. Some of these mines are down past the 9,500-foot level and have to be air-cooled to keep down the excessive temperatures, which reach 100° to 105° F. at this depth. The Kolar goldfield of India produces gold from a vein 40 feet thick at depths in excess of 9,200 feet and with temperatures often reaching 140° F. Of course, the necessary air cooling adds to the problems of this type of mining.

Room and Pillar Mining

This is an age-old manner of mining particularly employed in coalfields. Coal to a great extent lies in flat seams, ranging in thickness from a few inches to many feet. Opencut mining is sometimes used where beds do not lie at great depth, by using giant dragline buckets or power shovels that simply dig and lift the coal out in one operation. The daddy of all such machines is the giant 5,600-ton bucket-wheel excavator at the Fortuna open-pit mine near Kbln, West Germany. The wheel itself is 52 feet in diameter and has twelve, four-and-three-quarter-cubic-yard buckets arranged around its perimeter. The wheel revolves two and a half times per minute and during that time scoops out and loads 127 cubic yards of coal. At this rate it is able to mine and load almost a quarter of a million tons of coal every nineteen and a half hours.

But back to the “room and pillar’' method of mining. About 10 percent of all British coal production is done by this method. Usually two shafts are sunk to the coal level. By means of coal-cutting machines broad roadways called “bords” are opened into the coal seam in opposite directions. From these, narrow passages are driven at right angles at about 25-foot intervals. They finally connect with other bords driven parallel to the first and on each side of it. Thus, huge square or rectangular pillars_kof coal are left standing to buttress the roof.

At Bell Island, off the coast of Newfoundland, this type of mining is carried on to recover an immense deposit of iron ore in sedimentary beds. At present, 40 to 50 percent of the ore is left in pillars, and mining has progressed two to three miles beyond the shoreline at a depth of 1,600 feet below sea level.

The world’s thickest seam of bituminous coal—417 feet—is being mined at Fushun, near Mukden in China, For over six centuries it has been producing from its openpits and rooms and pillars. Incidentally the coal reserves of China are enormous— at Fushun nearly one billion tons, while in Shansi province the known reserves are estimated at forty billion tons.

Drilling for Oil

Oil is perhaps the mineral that is brought up from the greatest depths in the earth’s crust. Some oil wells exceed 18,000 feet, but in the search for “black gold" some drills, have penetrated to even greater depths. As with gold, so with petroleum, it is largely “where you find it.” Often geologists and scientists have stated that certain parts of the earth would never produce oil, but they have been proved wrong time and again. A geologist of a large oil

company once said he would be willing to drink all the oil found underneath the Long Beach area of California. His drink would have been slightly more than that for which he had bargained. In its first thirty years of production over 700 million barrels of oil had flowed from its wells, and it is still producing.

The first oil wells of history were drilled by means of the cable tool. This is a large chisel-ended bit suspended from a cable, which, in turn, is attached to a large “walking beam” in the heavy wooden derrick above. The up-and-down motion of the “walking beam” causes the bit to pound its way into the rock formations far below. Today most oil rigs are operated by diesel power that drives a turntable at the wellhead on the floor of the steel derrick. This causes the rotary bit attached to many lengths of steel drill pipe to chew its way into the rock until the oil-bearing shales are reached. As the Well deepens, steel casing is lowered into the hoie so that when the oil zone is penetrated it will either flow up or be pumped up this steel tube. Some wells have become "gushers.” These usually come in with a roar of gas that can be heard for miles. They shower the surrounding countryside with oil. A man who brought in such a "gusher” in California likened its 80,000-barrel-a-day flow to the , earth suffering a cut artery.

When we consider all the various ways that have been devised for extracting earth’s treasures from the ground beneath our feet, man has indeed accomplished much. But, through all his daring and ingenuity, we can say that he has just scratched the surface. How small his largest opencuts or his deepest mines must look in the eyes of the One who created all these mineral resources for man’s benefit and blessing!

tTta MaweQ. of £ce

Ice is one of the strangest of all solids; in fict, it does not behave like a solid. A glacier flows like a river. If ice Is strange, it is because water is extraordinary^—it disobeys the laws that apparently should govern its behavior. Other substances, with the exception of bismuth, contract upon freezing, but water expands and the resultant ice floats, the ice being lighter by about a tenth than the water from which it was formed. It is fortunate for man that water and ice behave in this unusual fashion.

Suppose that water contracted upon freezing and became denser and heavier, as one would naturally expect. What would happen? The ice would plunge to the bottom and stay there. With the arrival of spring, the ice would not melt, because the sun's heat would not reach it at the bottom. This bottom ice would build up from season to season as more ice sank. Ultimately the oceans, lakes and rivers and other bodies of water in the temperate regions would become solid ice. The summer sun could melt only a little of the surface lee. Gone would be the wonderful warming ocean currents that take heat from hot parts of the earth to cooler parts! Gone would be innumerable fish and amazing sea creatures! The earth’s temperate regions would be a desert of ice; the tropics would become unbearably hot. Earth's climate would not be favorable for human life.

Who changed the customary law of physics that cold contracts and heat expands, so that it is different with water? Jehovah God, the Creator, made this vital change, “Out of whose belly does the ice actually come forth?" asks ice’s Originator to Job. “The very waters keep themselves hidden as by stone, and the surface of the watery deep makes itself compact” Fortunately it is only the "surface” of the watery deep that becomes like stone!—Job 38:29, 30.

Dedication Day in Amsterdam

By “Awake!” correspondent in the Netherlands tUESDAY, March 16, was a day long looked forward to by the branch office staff of __the Watch Tower Society, the Bethel family, in Amsterdam, a day that crowned a period of about one and a half years of Joyous building activities. Yes, It was dedication day! Of what? Of the new Bethel home and branch office of the Watch Tower Society in the Netherlands. On that day 733 happy people packed the spacious Kingdom Hall and five overflow localities that were connected with the wain audience by closed-circuit television to follow the dedication program.

The theme of the evening was the going up of the nations to the mountain of the house of Jehovah, (Isa. 2:2, 3} The first part of the program was spent discussing activities from the start of Kingdom preaching ¹ in this country till very recent times. How thrilled the audience was to hear speakers who were among the first “pioneers or fulltime preachers, and who had been in the audience of the first national assembly here with sixty people present at the climax! After World War II the work grew from about 3,000 publishers of God’s kingdom to 14,171 in April of last year.

After an intermission with refreshments the next speakers showed the building’s connection with the future. In fact, the Kingdom publishers in the field ministry had built the house, In that it was because of their work that the need had arisen for it. Jehovah had prospered the gathering of people of the nations to his worship to such, a degree that something had to be done to care for them! That is why Jehovah’s organization had made provision for a new Bethel home. About two hundred and fifty volunteer workers gave their free time and efforts to help finish the home.

The evening was concluded with the dedication talk by the branch servant, stressing , that the members of the Bethel family would do what they could to help 'more people of the nations to come to the mountain of the . house of Jehovah by their faithful work in the different departments In the home. To ajccnm-plish. this the Bethel home was dedicated ¹ to Jehovah God. Thus an upbuilding program ended, sounding the note of future expansion. In the closing prayer Jehovah as the Giver of all good things was thanked and lauded. All felt spiritually refreshed.

But how about a tour through the home? Already more than 5,000 of the Dutch Witnesses have taken the tour, so come and Join us, please. Through this glass front door you enter into the lobby. The floor is made of square tiles of pieces of white, marble, set in a bed of cement. Sturdy round pillars support the ceiling. From here we enter into the kitchen, dining room and laundry area, where loving hands take good care of the physical needs of the family. From another side of the lobby you come into a room where printing is planned for the future. Here also magazines and other literature are being shipped all over the country.

In the center of the building a beautiful staircase, made of concrete covered with black limestone, brings you to the second floor. The rest of the stairway to the other two stories is made of beautiful Texas marble 'Ttft Kingdom Hall is located on the second story with a seating capacity of 220 people. The wooden paneling is really attractive. Fluorescent lighting makes for good reading. On this floor you will also find the spacious service department and five bedrooms.

Shall we go to the third floor now? Here is what the Bethel family calls the cozy corner, and they really love it. This is because the library is situated here. The floor Is covered with a thick green carpet, and some beige upholstered chairs invite you to come, sit and read. Do you feel at home? adjoining this is the administrative offices. Because only a glass wall forms the partition, it seems like they are sitting right in the library. On this and on the fourth story the other bedrooms are located, making a total of twentyseven.

From the top floor you have a splendid view of the Schiphol Airport and, looking down, you see alongside the length of the building what will be in a few years an express highway. People traveling there will see this center for preaching the good news of God’s kingdom in this land.

We as a family are very happy in our new home—we sincerely hope and pray that Jehovah will continue to add more people so that nations will keep on going up to the mountain of His house.

T1ERE was a time when critics of the Bible insisted that Moses could not have written the first five books of the Bible. They held the view that writing had not yet been invented when Moses lived. However, today well-informed persons know that writing was done about 3500 B.C.E., which, according to the Bible, would be 2,000 years before Moses* time or in the very lifetime of Adam!

Among the ancient forms of writing was the cuneiform system, whichis said to go back to the middle of the fourth millennium before our Common Era. It is called cuneiform because of its being “wedge-shaped.” Men wrote it with a wedge-shaped pen or stylus, which they pressed on small tablets of soft clay that they later baked. Cuneiform writing lasted until the beginning of our Common Era and was adopted by many different peoples of various races. It is quite likely that Moses was familiar with it, as it was used in Egypt in his day; even as Abraham must have been familiar with It, since it was used by Mesopotamians in his day.

Vying with cuneiform writing in antiquity is hieroglyphic writing. Peculiar to Egypt, it was originally used by the priests and for formal inscriptions, as upon monuments. In time it appeared on all manner of surfaces and in particular on papyrus scrolls. Because of the cumbersomeness of the hieroglyphic system Egyptian priests developed hieratic, “sacred” writing, which resembled hieroglyphic much as modern handwriting resembles print. Later “demotic” or “people's” writing for ordinary purposes came into use.

Modem authorities on writing, many of whom, it should be remembered, are influenced by the evolution theory, say that man first employed picture writing, using crude illustrations to tell a story. This, they say, was followed by a superior form of pictographic writing, known as ideographic writing. In this form of writing illustrations are used to represent ideas other than the picture itself. Thus in picto-graphic writing a round circle may stand for the sun. But in Ideographic writing it may stand also for heat, or light, or the day, or the god of the sun.

After pictographic and ideographic writing are said to have come transitional forms in which the foregoing classes of writing were combined with symbols standing for sounds. Then came syllabic writing, of which the later cuneiform was a good example. And finally, according to their theories, the alphabetic writing was developed.

It does not necessarily follow, however, that writing developed from cruder forms to more complex and expressive forms. The Bible gives strong evidence that the first man Adam wrote, for at Genesis 5:1 it refers to “the book of Adam's history.” And since the once-perfect Adam apparently was the writer of this “book,” it is reasonable that its writings were well expressed and clearly understood; not at all crude and unintelligible. It is even possible that Adam used a form of alphabetic writing. However, it is probable that the (various classes of ancient writing were largely contemporaneous, even as today Chinese writing exists alongside alphabetic writing. One did not necessarily evolve from the other.

In this connection, it is interesting that an authority on ancient writing, David Diringer, wrote in his book The Alphabet —A Key to the History of Mankind: "Non-alphabetic systems of writing are not always earlier in time than the forms of alphabetic scripts. It would appear that various kinds of writing sometimes develop contemporaneously in different or even in the same parts of the world. Some of the crudest forms of writing are in use to this day and indeed have come into use long after alphabets were firmly established and widely used.’’ Thus, some hold that ‘it would be misleading and inaccurate to represent these various stages as epochs of progress in writing.’

It is interesting that many authorities credit the alphabet to the Semites of Palestine, who were descendants of Noah through this son Shem. Regarding these Semites professor of languages Charlton Laird says: “Our alphabet is Semitic; where the Semites got their notion of a letter and the letters themselves we do not know.” Apparently this God-fearing family did not have their language confused at the tower of Babel as did the other peoples. (Gen. 11:6-9) They would, therefore, have continued to use the language of Adam and, perhaps, a form of writing similar to his.

Also of interest is the observation of the late Stephen H. Langdon, American Assyriologist and for nine years director of the Oxford and Field Museum Expedition in Mesopotamia and therefore well qualified to speak on the subject. According to him, alphabetic writing in which long vowels were accurately pointed goes back to the time of Moses, and he argues that "the pre-Mosaic literature also existed in alphabetic script.”

That writing was common in the time of Moses the Bible itself shows. Thus at Exodus 17:14 we have Jehovah’s command to Moses to write: “Write this as a memorial in the book and propound it in Joshua’s ears.” Biblical chronology dates this writing at 1513 B.C.E.

Slightly earlier must be dated the references to writing found in the Bible boot of Job and which show that writing was taken for granted at that time: “O that now my words were written down! O that in a book they were even inscribed! With an iron stylus and with lead, forever in the rock O that they were hewn!” “O that I had someone listening to me, that according to my signature the Almighty himself would answer me! Or that the individual in the case at law with'me had written a document itself! Surely upon my shoulder I would carry it; I would bind it around me like a grand crown.”—Job 19:23, 24; 31: 35, 36.

That writing was a common art in ancient times is also evidenced from an early Israelite document that has come down to us. It is the Gezer calendar of the time of King Solomon. “It is a small limestone tablet inscribed with the irregular hand of a schoolboy and contains a list of the successive phases of the agricultural year from season to season. The discovery of this schoolboy’s exercise witnesses the extent of literacy in the reign of Solomon.” —Sondervan Pictorial Bible Dictionary, p. 904.

There can be no question about it, writing is an ancient art. The increase of knowledge concerning early peoples has confounded Bible critics who at one time questioned their ability to write.

Thant Sounds Warning

<& Has the United Nations a future? In May United Nations Secretary-GeneralU Thant appeared deeply worried about the future of the organization. He voiced concern, because the great powers in the earth were behaving as though the United Nations no longer existed. Thant said the UN is in danger of becoming nothing but a debating society and he hoped that the member nations would take it. more seriously. He stated that the events of the first five months of 1965 have "tended to undermine the position of the U.N, as the primary agency for maintaining international peace.” If the drift to Ignore the UN in the settlement of disputes should continue, he said, the UN "will provide merely a debating forum, and nothing else.” Bible prophecies too hold no bright future for It.

Adult Example Needed

* Editorially, the newspaper Daily Item, Wakefield, Massachusetts, on April 26, stated that adults worry a lot about., the morals of teen-agers, although, perhaps, it would be well for them to turn their concern to themselves. The report says that a recent statistic revealed that the rate of increase in Illegitimate births by women over 40 is higher than that of teen-age girlp. "While illegitimacy was Increasing 108 percent in teenagers, it was rising 200 percent in women over 40.” This is pretty grim information. Until the morality of the older people improves there is little likelihood that that of the youngsters will take a turn for the better.

A Fish Story

Dr. Richard A. Boolootian of the University of California was left "flabbergasted” when he opened up a common type starfish and discovered another fish inside, alive, swimming around and perfectly comfortable. This was incredible. So he opened other starfishes and they all had a living fish in them. Each starfish had a little pearl fish about five inches long, in the abdominal cavity, only one fish to an abdominal cavity. The scientist was at the Eine-wetok atoll in the Pacific when he made his discovery. Sea life in these parts is phenomenal, he said. Are not all God's works?

Suicide Wave

& A hard rural life, plus despair over poor crop forecasts and cold weather, has led to a wave of suicides in northern Japan. Some twenty-five Japanese have died in this way. In one case a mother was said to have Killed- her infant son to reduce the demand on the family's meager food supply. The tragedies are said to reflect also the hardships of Japan’s abrupt change from a predominantly rural pattern of life to an urban one.

No More Passports

<$> The five member states of the Arab Common Market, namely, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Syria and the United Arab Republic, made a preliminary step to the elimination of the need for passports and other restrictions _pn travel among themselves within a maximum period of five years. According to Arab News and Views for March 15, these nations resolved to abolish entry visas among themselves and to grant a one-month residence permit renewable to any national of the five states. They will also be given priority, for employment. However, the agreement provides that the states have the right to refuse entry to any person on political, security or health grounds.

Bird Talk

4>. Dr. T. Farkas, professional officer of the Transvaal Provincial Division of Nature Conservation, reared a "kal-koentjie” -(Cape Longclaw). He said that an extraordinary friendship developed between him and the_z bird. When building a nest, the bird would fly toward him with the material and then head for the nest, suggesting that he should help in the building. One morning the bird flew so near that her wings nearly touched his hair. So he followed her. She led him to where a group of workers had broken open a termite mound. "When I reached the spot,” he says, "my longclaw was already greedily devouring the termites. It was perfectly clear to me that her behaviour, coupled with her call, was a direct invitation to me to participate in this pal-

stable meal.” He declined the Invitation.

Latin Foment

< The population of La Paz, Bolivia, numbering some 400,000, braced itself against un-aettled labor conditions in the nation Metal shutters clattered down on store fronts, businesses dismissed employeesees, Most Industries in the capital city remained paralysed, Some 2,000 Bolivian strikers were routed by police, who used tear gas and rifle butts. A provlstohal cease-fire agreement was arranged between the military junta and striking tin miners and factory Workers, On May 26 a two-man presidency was set up to the nation. The workers in La Paz ended their strike. It is hoped that things will return to normal.

in Colombia a state of siege was declared by the government on May 21, following widespread student disorders. Public demonstrations were banned. Blots broke out in at least four cities in eleven days. The students were demonstrating against the landing of United States troops in Santo Domingo.

Illegitimacy High

A report from Caracas, Venezuela, published In the Sunday News, May 23, says that Venezuela Is plagued with illegitimacy. Some 49 percent of 'its children are illegitimate. The press report further says: "Most of Venezuela's poverty-stricken mothers are unwed. They have an average of eight children, sometimes fathered by eight different men." Parents of Venezuela’s famous Prieto Cuervo quintuplets did not get married until the quintuplets' birth drew international attention. The majority of Venezuelans profess the Roman Catholic religion.

A Spanish Black Pope

The powerful Roman Catholic 36,000-member Jesuit order appointed a new superior general on May 22, the 57-year-old Spanish priest Pedro Arrupe. He has led the^jJesuits in Japan since 1938. He is called the "black pope” because of his unadorned black robes.

Unholy Business

Not far frqm the summer residence of Pope Paul VI, 15 miles south of Rome, stands the Capuchin Monastery of San Francesco. Once St. Francis of Assisi *ived there. Roman Catholic people considered this to be quite a holy spot until recently. A dead man by the name of Pierino Scali and $64,000 worth of contraband cigarettes on the property led Vatican sources to express the belief, on May 12, that some Capuchin monks might be involved l.i a vast tobacco-smuggling racket. On May 19, a bearded monk. Fra Antonio Corsi, 41, was charged with complicity in manslaughter and hiding a body. Previously he was accused of smuggling $64,000 worth of contraband cigarettes. The cigarettes were smuggled into Italy from Singen, Germany, and falsely directed to Rome. Some 34 freight carloads of cigarettes have been smuggled in from Switzerland. The cigarettes were trucked to the monastery to hide them until they could be moved to the market. The Vatican daily L’Osservatore Romano felt the Italian newspapers were giving the affair too much attention. The pope also was reported "very irritated" by It all. Tobacco is a government monopoly in Italy and cigarette smuggling is a big business. It appears that the monks wanted some of the profits.

Ships Disappear

It is hard to believe that something as large as a ship can disappear tn this day of electronic communication. But every year fifteen large cargo vessels disappear at sea, it was announced on May 12 by Capt. John M. Waters, Jr., attached to the UJS. Coast Guard headquarters in Washington. These fifteen mysterious losses Involve the loss of some 600 crew members also. Two factors seem to contribute to the sudden disappearance of large freighters. These factors are inability to determine the approximate position of the lost vessel and the abruptness with which some vessels go under for a variety of reasons.

Diplomatic Relations

<$> No two nations ecuW have been farther apart in 1945, at the close of World War H, than Israel and Germany. In the passing twenty years a healing has taken place. The two nations have restored full diplomatic relations between them. The announcement was contained in a joint one-sentence communique, dated May 12. This was only four days after the 20th anniversary of the German surrender in World War II, during which the Nazis killed about six million European Jews.

A Spiritually Sick World

<$> While names of some 65 percent of the American population appear on the rolls of churches and synagogues, yet the nation’s clergymen admit that the nation is living in a morally and spiritually "sick” society. The clergy say that the illness goes much deeper than rising crime rates, sexual Immorality, juvenile delinquency, racial inequality or breakdown of family life. These are merely "symptoms" of the disease. The "real illness lies in the individual.” It lies in his failure to do right. The Jersey Journal, for April 21, which published the remarks of various clergymen, quoted one Protestant minister as saying that a fastgrowing number of so-called “solid citizens” are afflicted with "an absolute self-concern and an utter disregard for their fellow man.” A United Church clergyman, on May 3, laced into morals in Canada. He suggested that Canadians are in danger of becoming a nation of prostitutes. He noted that more than half the girls who came to him to arrange marriage were pregnant teenagers. What force has religion been in their lives? In Glasgow, Scotland, April 29, preachers spoke of “a spirit of weariness throughout the Church of Scotland which was evident in most of the congregations/’

Terrorism in Thailand

4> The peace-loving people of Thailand were shocked by reports of an outburst of assassinations of rural officials and banditry within their borders. Security officials vpice concern, because the rash of assassinations resembled those in South Vietnam in 1958, which preceded the wide Viet-#>ng rebellion. Thai peasants, however, are more prosperous than those in Vietnam. More than 80 percent pf theip own their own land. According to official Thal figures, there was an 80-percent increase in armed robbery in the first quarter of 1965 over the corresponding period in 1964. These are serious times for all people^

Penguin Clocks

Penguins were taken hundreds of miles from where they had been captured and released. Somehow the birds set out directly to the sea and from the sea found their way back to their own nest site. How do these birds manage to keep from getting lost? The sun appeared to be the means by which the birds directed themselves, because without sunlight they wandered aimlessly. But as soon as the sun would show itself, the birds took off in the right direction, A built-in time sense and a

biological clock would adjust to all the sun's moves. Scientists are anxious to find out just how these biological clocks work, to aid men who live in the frozen wastes of Antarctica. But the birds are not talking.                   ,

Automobile Highlights

<$> There were 7,745,492 passenger cars produced in the United States during 1964, falling just short of the record 1955 figure of 7,942,132. Factory sales set a record: 9,292,275. Total motor vehicle registrations reached a new high of 86,193,000 during the past year. Families owning more than one car rose. Multicar homes totaled 10,100,000, or 22.9 percent of all carowning households. Nearly $13,000,000,000 in motor vehicle taxes was collected from motorists during 1964. Americans drove a total of 838,000,000,000 miles and used 67,000,000,000 gallons of motor fuel.

The Bible is an inexhaustible source of information vital to Christian living. Are you receiving its full benefits? Religious instruction in general may be on the decline, but not so with The Watchtower. Each issue is rich in knowledge of God and his purposes for mankind. Read it for one year for 7/6 (for Australia, 8/-; for South Africa, 70c).

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YOUNG PEOPLE TODAY

Is This the World’s Fate?

To the "church of their choice”? What should their "choice” be? That of their parents?

In spite of all the adverse publicity given to the modern teen-ager, many are sincerely interested in developing a spiritual life. But some of them are not willing to accept religion at face value. They are keenly interested in the record of violence that Christendom has made for herself. They find it difficult to overlook the materialistic philosophy that has become so accepted among religious leaders. Some keep on searching; others become disillusioned and fall under the influence of evolution or godless communism. Now you can learn why the religions of this world have failed to bring peace and moral integrity to the nations. Now you can identify the vast system of false worship that has grown up over the centuries and left its mark upon the peoples of every nation. Now you can learn how Jehovah God will restore true worship to honest-hearted persons of all walks of life. Now you can learn how to share in the program of spiritual education that is opening the way of life to thousands of persons every year.

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32

AW^AEiEJ

¹

Time. July 4, 1955.