Awake!, July 8, 1956
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A "DEPTH” RELIGION
How deep does yours go?
Lotteries Do More than Take Your Money Their abolition not just Puritanism
Quebec—Land of Interest and Charm
Where eiph enth-century life still prevails
What Is Zionism?
A sober analysis
BOSS
THE MISSION OF THIS JOURNAL
New* sources that are able to keep you awake to the vital issues of our times must be unfettered by censorship and selfish interests. “Awake I” has no fetters. It recognizes facts, faces facts, is free to publish facts. It is not bound by political ambitions or obligations; it Is unhampered by advertisers whose toes must not be trodden on; it is unprejudiced by traditional creeds. This journal keeps itself free that it may speak freely to you. But it does not abuse its freedom. It maintains integrity to truth. .
“Awake I” uses the regular news channels, but is not dependent on them. Its own correspondents are on all continents, in scores of nations. From the four comers of the earth their uncensored, on-the-scenes reports come to you through these columns. This journal’s viewpoint is not narrow, but is international. It is read in many nations, in many languages, by persons of all ages. Through its pages many fields of knowledge pass in review—government, commerce, religion, history, geography, science, social conditions, natural wonders—why, its coverage is as broad as the earth and as high as the heavens.
"Awake I” 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 a righteous New "World.
Get acquainted with “Awake!” Keep awake by reading “Awake!”
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CONTENTS
Another Idol Crashes
A “Depth" Religion
Lotteries Do More than Take Your Money
Ever Been Called “Half Baked”?
A Most Fascinating Planet
Making the H-Bomb
Death Dust '
A Scientist ‘Lets God Be Found True’
More Paper than Power?
Quebec—Land of Interest and Charm
Carpenter That Never Wastes a Stroke 19
This Modern World
What Is Zionism?
Refreshing Advice
“Your Word Is Truth”
Is There Anything Wrong with Cremation?
Jehovah’s Witnesses Preach in All
the Earth—The United States
Do You Know?
Watching the World
Russian Orthodox leaders echo the Communist party line.”—New York Times, March 21, 1956.
But overnight all this has been changed. Stalin, the Communist sun and idol, has crashed to the ground, his light extinguished. His’ pictures have been removed from the art galleries. His name is
Mussolini, Hitler, Perdn and his Eva.
One by one the idols set up by men have been overthrown—by men. And in recent months the Communist idol Stalin has toppled to the ground, and with what a crash!
Only a few short years ago the Communists seemed .unable to heap sufficient praise upon their idol. To them Stalin was the fountainhead of wisdom, “the greatest human on this planet," “the greatest leader of entire mankind," “the greatest master of the sciences,” “the greatest of all living men,” “mankind's greatest genius,” “the wisest prophet,” yes, and even “the sun of the universe”!
Over a Moscow radio station a Communist boy had said to another lad: “Whenever the sun rises on Moscow, I always , think it’s Stalin who switches on the light." Nor was all this creature worship limited to the materialistic, atheistic, political Communists. Clergymen recently returning to the United States from Russia “conceded privately that they had been disappointed by the extent to which the being removed from institutions and organizations. History again is being rewritten, but this time not at his command. In the Ukraine alone 70,000 propagandists have been assigned the job of destroying the Stalin myth. Now ever so many of those whom Stalin had purged or deposed, in Russia and in satellite countries, are being rehabilitated and hailed as heroes and martyrs. Their pictures are returning to the museums!
In its official statement on the matter the newspaper Pravda, among other things, said of Stalin: “He, lacking personal modesty, did not cut short the glorifications and praises addressed to him, but supported and encouraged them in every way. As time went on, this cult of the individual assumed ever more monstrous forms and did serious harm to the cause." Overnight Stalin has become a monster.—New York Times, March 28, 1956.
No censure of Stalin seems strong enough now, and no doubt it is all deserved. Instead of being the military genius who
won World War n, he is now charged with having caused the needless death of hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers by his failure to detect the Nazi invasion of Russia in time; with having failed to take the necessary precautionary measures and with ordering military operations that proved disastrous and were against the opinion of army experts. He is also charged with having framed and murdered the leaders of Russia’s army in 1937, together with thousands of innocent officers; with almost paralyzing the Russian economy by his liquidation of thousands of industrial managers; with being a coward who fled when Moscow was threatened by the Germans; with being a sadist who delighted in torturing men until they confessed what he wanted them to. And worst of all—in the eyes of the Communists—he was not a true Communist.
Speculation is rife as to the motive prompting this demolition of the idol Stalin. It goes without saying that it was not done because of love of truth, justice and humanity. Was it done because of Stalin’s lack of modesty? Or to vindicate the Russian military clique? Or to confuse the Russian people?
Or could it be that all this has been done because it has become general knowledge among Russia’s leaders that Stalin had been a czarist spy for years? That is the charge made by one of the highest-ranking officers of Russia’s dreaded secret police, the NKVD, who is now living outside Russia. According to him the discovery of this fact had caused Russia’s leading generals to plot the deposition of Stalin in 1937, but Stalin, hearing of it, had them purged on the charge of collaboration with Germany. At the same time he wiped out all who knew or possibly could have been in position to know about it, some 5,000 other officers.—Life, April 23, 1956.
But regardless of the motives, the fact remains that this most highly exalted idol is now being dragged in the mud, trampled underfoot, spat upon, shown for what he truly was. And the fact also remains that, although having discarded one idol, the Russians and all other Communists are still worshiping an idol, the totalitarian state. In such lands the state still is supreme, man counts for very little, and God counts not at all. Any suggestion that Jehovah God has something better in store for mankind than Communist rule is considered lese majesty, and accounts for the fact that in Russia, as also in most satellite countries, Jehovah’s witnesses preach underground and many thousands of them are in labor camps.
But the Communists are not the only idolaters of modem times. Everyone who fails to give Jehovah God exclusive devotion is an idolater. Even in Western lands, how many idolize human leaders, religious, political or industrial? Have not many made an idol of science and others done the same with the United Nations? In that they look to such men and things to bring about that which the Bible shows can and will be brought about only by Jehovah God and his King and kingdom, they are also guilty of idolatry.
God’s Word gives sound advice: “Put not your trust in princes, nor in the son of man, in whom there is no help. His breath goeth forth, he returneth to his earth; in that very day his thoughts perish.” (Psalm 146:3, 4) At the very latest, at Armageddon all such idols will crash, for then “the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; and Jehovah alone shall be exalted.” Avoid present disillusionment and destruction at Armageddon by exalting Jehovah now and giving him exclusive devotion.—Isaiah 2:17, Am. Stan. Ver.
deep down does your religion
go? Is It merely a thin veneer? Or doer
if go down » deep that it changer
with needed strength in
times of stress?
your entire life and furnishes you
OMMENUNG upon the evergreat mphasis placed upon prayer in the United States, one of America’s foremost clergymen, Dr. N. V. Peale, once stated: “Whoever has the notion that this generation is moving away from religion doesn’t understand the day in which he lives." He might also have commented on the fact that distribution of Bibles in the United States jumped 140 percent from 1949 to 1953. True, there is increased interest in religion in the United States. But it is not just a matter of being more religious.
A recent survey revealed that 57 percent of the population did not apply the Bible’s command to love one’s neighbor to those holding political beliefs they considered dangerous to the country; that 53 percent of Americans could not name even one of the four gospels of the Christian Greek Scriptures; and that a panel of twentyeight prominent Americans, in listing what they considered the hundred
RELIGION
most important events in history, placed the crucifixion of Jesus Christ as fourth. In the same category they placed the first flight of an airplane and the discovery of X rays. What kind of religion is it that cannot name one of the four Gospels, that does not believe in applying Christian principles to political enemies and that considers the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on a par with the inventions of man?
But this is not at all surprising. Modern religion is based on the traditions of men; it depends upon ceremonies and rituals, such as that of the mass in a foreign tongue, a dead language; it makes much of such externals as beautiful buildings, stained-glass windows, statues, costumes, music and poetry. It appeals to the senses rather than to reason and to sentimentality rather than to love of righteousness. It is careful not to offend people. As a result the people have only a thin veneer of religion.
This accounts for the fact that time and again Roman Catholics in Central and South America will express their emotions in primitive ways,
such as murdering Christian ministers and burning houses of worship. This also accounts for the fact that race riots break out in very religious communities in the United States. And this accounts also for the fact that little if any difference is noted between the average churchgoer and the nonchurchgoer. Obviously all such religion has not gone down deep into the hearts and minds of the people or there would be a change jn their lives. It is a matter of depth.
A “Depth" Religion
Among the various schools of psychology, the science that concerns itself with the? study of man’s mind, there are those known as “depth" psychologies. These are so termed because of the emphasis these particular schools place on the role that the unconscious mind plays in human lives, with its driving forces and its record of unhappy events. While many of the theories associated with “depth" psychology have been proved untenable by recent research, yet basically it is a sound concept and is recognized by more psychologists than any other.
There may be said to be a “depth” religion just as there is a “depth" psychology. And that religion is? The religion based wholly on the Bible. Had this religion alone been known it is doubtful that religion would have ever been called an opiate for the people, an illusion, a form of escape or the projection of the father image by an ill-directed superego or conscience. It is not a “secondhand religion,” handed down from one’s parents and merely accepted because they had professed it.
The religion of the Bible does not follow the line of least resistance, it does not follow the crowd, it is not popular and it is not the handmaid of big business and big politics. It is not merely a veneer, it is not like a best suit of clothes or a pretty dress, something merely to be put on on Sunday when going to church. It goes down deep, it takes hold of the whole of man, dominating his unconscious mind as well as his conscious and bringing into play man’s reasoning faculties, his will, his memory, his imagination and his emotions, affecting his everyday actions and even his dreams.
That is why the Bible says, ‘Come and let us reason together.’ That is why it states that God requires exclusive devotion, that we must love him with aU our heart, mind, soul and strength. It is a religion of both the mind and the heart. “God is a Spirit, and those worshiping him must worship with spirit and truth.” That is, they must worship him with understanding, with knowledge, with reason, with truth and with sincerity, from the heart, with spirit. The religion of the Bible is bound to go deep, for “the word of God is alive and exerts power and is sharper than any, two-edged sword and pierces even to the dividing of the soul and spirit, and of the joints and their marrow, and is able to discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” —John 4:24; Hebrews 4:12, New World Trans.
Yes, by means of a study of that Word, made understandable by the channel Jehovah is pleased to use at the present time, and by means of God’s holy spirit, which God gives to his dedicated servants, upon their request, though not apart from his Word and only to the extent that they bring their lives in harmony with their prayers, the religion of the Bible is able to go down deep—so deep that it provides God’s servants with an effective means for controlling and harnessing the powerful resources residing in the unconscious mind. This is not now done perfectly, but certainly to the point that they need not become the victims of neuroses, need not be plagued by anxieties, but, most important
of all, have the strength so that in time of stress they will not follow the line of least resistance but will keep their integrity.
Incidentally, in that Satan boasted that he could "condition” Job in order to cause him to act in the way that Satan desired, he became the first mechanistic psychologist; mechanistic psychologists holding that there is no such thing as integrity but that, just as by experiments a dog can be conditioned so that he always makes a certain response to a given stimuli, so can man. It is the theory upon which totalitarian persecution is based. But that theory has proved false when applied to those possessing the "depth" religion of the Bible, for they have demonstrated that God created man so that he could resist conditioning. For specific proof note the following typical experiences had by them in recent years, as presented in five scenes.
In Nazi and Communist East Germany
Scene I. It is early in January, 1940. World War II is only a few months old as a train, whose coaches have small iron-barred windows, speeds on Its way to the German concentration camp at Sachsenhausen with its cargo of 900 handcuffed prisoners, consisting mostly of Communists, dangerous criminals and Jews. Among the prisoners is a sensitive, blackhaired Jewish youth. He notices a prisoner who seems to be in good spirits.
The Jewish youth goes to this stranger and asks him how it is possible for him to be so cheerful in spite of the fate awaiting him at Sachsenhausen. The stranger explains. He tells about Jehovah, the one true God, the God of Abraham and Moses, about his purposes as revealed in his Word, the Bible, and especially of his kingdom now at hand. It is because of having this knowledge that he is able to be cheerful in spite of his circumstances. Besides, had not Jesus said that his followers should rejoice
When they are persecuted for righteousness’ sake? It really is not anything unusual; there are more than ten thousand other witnesses of Jehovah already in concentration camps. They are bearing up, and so can he.
The witnesses at Sachsenhausen were kept isolated from the other prisoners, so the Jewish youth saw no more of the stranger there. But, as he was transferred from one camp to another, he kept meeting Jehovah’s witnesses, with the result that when the Americans opened the Nazi concentration camps he emerged, no longer just as a Jew, but also as one of Jehovah's witnesses, one of eight thousand so released, two thousand having died in the camps. Yes, while Hitler’s home front and battlefront were chiefly manned by Protestants and Catholics, by men whose religion was but a veneer, the record of the concentration camps shows that there were at least ten thousand whose religion had gone down deep, like the seed sown in good soil that did not wither in the heat of persecution but brought forth fruit.
Scene n. It is late in 1953. In a Communist concentration camp in East Germany an officer is haranguing a prisoner. The wretched-looking prisoner betrays by his features and his posture the daily beatings and other mistreatment he has received at the hands of the Communists during the past four months in their efforts to break him. "We’ll make you soft and weak! Remember, every general surrenders when he realizes his situation is hopeless. Why do you refuse to surrender ?” Though unable to stand erect because of the treatment he has received, the prisoner replies with determination in his voice: "I have vowed faithfulness to Jehovah. You can carry me out of this place ’ as a carcass, but not as a traitor!”
Psychiatrists may insist that it is impossible for a man to resist the Communists’
brainwashing techniques, but Jehovah’s witnesses by the thousands, behind the iron curtain, have resisted and at the present moment are demonstrating that brainwashing can be resisted—if one is worshiping the Mie true God Jehovah. Their “depth” religion causes them to say, ‘We will not fear what man can do to us!' The Russian scientist Pavlov may have been right about dogs, but his theories about conditioning reflexes most certainly do not apply to dedicated Christians!
In Africa and America
Scene III. In a certain village in Nigeria a number of Africans are clearing away the branches of a large tree that had been felled by a storm, which were blocking a street. An incredulous crowd looks on in amazement. What is so unusual? The onlookers believe that spirits inhabit this tree and that for one to touch its branches means certain death. Although many of the villagers belonged to the various sects of Christendom, yet Jehovah’s witnesses were the only ones not afraid to remove it.
No question about it, the religion of Jehovah’s witnesses had gone down deep; it was no mere veneer. And it freed them not only from the deep-seated fears of evil spirits, but also of deeply ingrained fanatical tribal loyalties and prejudices, as well as from such customs as polygamy. Their moral standards, their courage, their understanding of God’s Word and their brotherly kindness equal that of their brothers in so-called highly civilized countries. Yes, Africans by the tens of thousands have found in Jehovah’s pure worship a “depth” religion, a religion that in a few short months or years has made such radical changes that outsiders are amazed.
Scene IV. It is about July 1, 1955, and thousands of witnesses of Jehovah are gathered at a convention in Vancouver, British Columbia. A reporter from one of the daily papers is on the scene and he registers surprise. Why? Because this religious gathering is so different from any other he has ever attended. Instead of being stodgy and sanctimonious, these conven-tioners are relaxed and really happy. And so many smart-looking young folks!
The reason? When religion is only a veneer, then men must put on a pose. But when it goes down deep, then one can be himself, and worship becomes a pleasure. And so these young folk considered that the best way they could spend their vacations was to listen to Bible lectures by the hour, day after day. No juvenile delinquency problem here.
Scene V. In California a popular master of ceremonies is interviewing a number of tiny tots on the air. “What do you want to do when you grow up?” he asks a tot of four and a half years. “I want to serve Jehovah,” is his reply. “And who ‘is Jehovah?” he next asks. Quick as a flash comes back the answer: “He’s the Almighty and he is going to destroy all the wicked!” Note particularly that last clause thrown in for good measure, indicating that his boast was in Jehovah and that he had a concern to witness for Him. Clearly, even in a child, the religion of the Bible can go so deep that, when given the opportunity, he will use the occasion to witness intelligently to his God Jehovah.
The president of the United States advocates religion, any religion. But religion that is only a veneer is useless, and worse than useless, as it deceives its possessors, like the man whose money is counterfeit and he does not know it. But the true religion of the Bible, the pure worship of Jehovah, goes down deep and it helps men to resist both pressures and temptations. It does not fail them in time of need but enables them to keep integrity, leading to their ultimate salvation to eternal life in God’s new world of righteousness.
sideration.’ there is no
T
MORE THAN TAKE YOUR MONEY
IF LOTTERIES are undesirable as a means of raising revenue for the state, do they become desirable when the proceeds are devoted to charity? If lotteries are found undesirable because of the ^nd results, are those results less undesirable simply because the proceeds are devoted to religious purposes? Many people who buy tickets in a lottery promoted for the sake of a charity
find little difficulty in persuading themselves that their motive is unselfish. Is it?
What is a lottery? And why do people keep buying lottery tickets despite frustrating odds?
A lottery is a game of chance. A simple form of lottery is a raffle at a bazaar or a prize drawing for some charitable purpose. A sweepstake is a more complicated form of lottery. In some countries a lottery constitutes a monopoly and an income for the state.
Before a public game or scheme can become a lottery there must be an element of chance and an element of wager or bet Traditionally, the United States' law has held that three elements must be present to constitute a lottery: “There must be (1) a prize, chosen (2) by chance, for which the winner has paid (3) some 'con-Without au tnree elements lottery.” British hftw held that if a scheme imtahras any element of real sklll .it is not a lottery, because skill involves calculations based upon some facts, which would form a starting point for one to arrive at a correct answer. In the United States lotteries are seldom called by that name. They are generally called “give-aways.” But the Federal Communications Commission on various occasions has banned radio and television “give-away” programs on the grounds that they were lotteries. Bingo is nothing but a lottery and is illegal in practically every state. But the law is seldom enforced when the money is used for charitable or educational purposes. In Russia lotteries are termed "painless tax.” The game is disguised to appear more as a patriotic gesture than as a gamble.
Of course, fake lotteries are many. A lottery where a $500 prize turns out to be good only if applied to a certain product is most likely a fake. The dealer behind the lottery may have raised the price of the article to offset his $500 loss on it. Car dealers often drum up trade by offering contests in which they give away new cars. They get around the law by a clever use of words and tricky phraseology.
Often extra-fine print separates the legal from the illegal. Newspapers, for example, that offered the “lucky buck” squeezed past the law by saying that players did not have to buy a paper to win a prize. Anyone could come to the main office and read the lucky numbers on the board free.
That eliminated the element of considera-
tian. Companies behind puzzle lotteries contend that the element of skill is involved. They argue that if you are skillful and intelligent enough you can win a prize. That eliminates the element of chance. But these lottery puzzles keep getting harder as they come and there are at most only a handful of geniuses in the world, are there not?
History Contradicts Modern Promoters
Moves*to outlaw lotteries are met with strong protests. Promoters say that such laws and attitudes are based on Puritan tradition and that they do not properly represent the social conditions and attitudes of our times. These men usually point to examples of lotteries in South America and Europe in defense of various proposals to license gambling. However, history completely contradicts the truthfulness of such reasoning.
Laws prohibiting lotteries were not invented by the Puritans. Such laws date back to ancient times. Centuries before Christ kings who legalized gambling to enrich their treasuries also found it necessary to restrict it. Virgil W. Peterson in . his book Gambling: Should It Be Legalized? states: “Mass gambling has always resulted in great social and economic ills. And almost every civilized nation in the world has from time to time found it necessary to resort to anti-gambling legislation to protect its citizens. The Egyptians, Greeks, Romans and Hindus of ancient times invoked laws with severe penalties against gaming. The Rabbis of the Second Temple classed gambling as a form of robbery and barred gamblers from the witness stand.”
True, many lotteries were started on a modest scale and with good intentions. The feasts of August were followed by a drawing by means of which objects of real value were distributed, a custom continued by Nero and Domitian, but which later disappeared. The Venetian merchants used the lottery to get rid of their out-of-fashion commodities and clear their shelves. In 1658 the general hospital in Paris was built and in 1701 the city established a fire department from the proceeds of lotteries.
Lotteries aided the English plantations in Virginia, helped repair the damage done to the fishing fleet by the Spaniards and ransomed English slaves held in Tunis. Lotteries helped supply funds to build Westminster Bridge and to buy and house collections that later formed the nucleus of the British Museum.
In the United States lotteries were authorized to raise funds to fortify New York city. A lottery was used to raise money in founding a college that later became Columbia University. Other well-known educational institutions, such as Dartmouth, Harvard and Yale, were also financed in part by lotteries. Lotteries were a means of furthering public improvements, such as paving streets, erecting wharves, buildings, asylums, hospitals, libraries, bridges and highways. Even the cost of wars was paid by such means scarcely a century ago. In 1753 Christ Church in Philadelphia resorted to a lottery to obtain funds needed to build a steeple. But the vast majority of these lotteries took place in the first half of the eighteenth century.
Outlawing Lotteries
Lotteries that began on a modest scale flourished until they reached enormous proportions. In Germany palatial estates and big farms were offered as prizes. Prizes included 1,000 acres of land under cultivation, 10,000 acres of forest land, factories, an entire city and even twenty-nine villages. Unscrupulous promoters moved in and fanned the “get rich quick mania.” They made fortunes at the ex-
pense of the poor and needy through every type of deception that their fertile brains could hatch. The Louisiana Lottery Company was “one of the most insidious institutions in the history” of the United States. It corrupted everything it touched and the economic and social evils it caused became intolerable. Public servants were bribed by crafty promoters. Frauds reached scandalous proportions. Political corruption was commonplace. Lottery tickets thqt could not possibly win were sold. Agents peddled tickets and then vanished with the money. Lotteries bled the poor whom they were supposed to help.
The Provincial Assembly of Pennsylvania as early as 1762 denounced lotteries as a public nuisance and declared that they were responsible for “vice, idleness and immorality, injurious to trade, commerce, and industry; and against the common good, welfare and peace of the province.” By 1829 lotteries were thoroughly discredited in New York because of fraud and chicanery on the part of lottery operators. A grand jury in New York city described lotteries as a system of “cold, calculated, rascally swindling.” In a report dated December 12, 1831, a citizens’ committee headed by B. W. Richard stated: “Lotteries were responsible for ... an appalling picture of vice and crime, and misery, in every varied form.” Everywhere lotteries were being condemned because of their stimulation of mass gambling with its evil economic’ and social consequences.
The Royal Commission on Lotteries and Betting 1932-3 in its final report showed that the wicked ends of the lottery had not changed down through the years. The report stated: “The confusion of motive which is inseparable from such a lottery is a most insidious method of encouraging and extending the gambling habit.” So attractive is the lure that most of those who take chances in a large lottery do not take the trouble to ascertain how small is the value of the chance purchased by them, or how infinitesimal is the possibility of their winning a prize. “Lotteries appeal with especial force to those in straitened circumstances, and to those in economic insecurity," said the commission, “since they hope to gain financial stability by winning a prize. The number of people in such circumstances is unfortunately high, and lottery tickets are purchased with money that for the sake of well-being should have been spent otherwise.”
.So the action of the people in abolishing lotteries was not due to some Puritanical tradition; rather it was the result of careful deliberation.
End Does Not Justify Means
Whether the proceeds from a lottery are used for charitable, educational or religious purposes, the end results are still the same—evil. And in this case the end does not justify the means. Religious institutions that resort to the lottery to supplement their needs should take to heart the wise counsel of God: “Keep yourselves free from every form of wickedness.” “A fountain does not cause the sweet and the bitter to bubble out of the same opening, does it? My brothers, a fig tree cannot produce olives or a vine figs, can it? Neither can salt water produce sweet water. Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show out of his right conduct his works with a meekness that belongs to wisdom.” And as Jesus so aptly stated: “Be on the watch for the false prophets that come to you in sheep’s covering, but inside they are ravenous wolves. By their fruits you will recognize them. Never do people gather grapes from thorns or figs from thistles, do they? Likewise every good tree produces fine fruit, but every rotten tree produces bad fruit; a good tree cannot bear bad fruit, neither can a rotten tree produce
fine fruit. Every tree not producing fine fruit gets cut down and thrown into the fire. Really, then, by their fruits you will recognize those men. Not everyone saying to me, 'Master, Master/ will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will."—1 Thessalonians 5:22; James 3:11-13; Matthew 7:15-21, New World Trans.
Lotteries do not prevent the evils resulting from the passion to gamble, but excite the passion into greater evils. Lotteries do not eliminate other games of chance, but increase them. Lotteries do not control the gambling fever, nor are their proceeds always directed toward good ends. Lotteries do not deprive gambling dens of customers, since most customers are not satisfied with merely purchasing lottery tickets, which does not carry with it the thrill and fever characteristic of the gambling dens. Lotteries can impoverish the needy and ruin the poor. Lotteries feed the hope and inclination to become rich without effort, and thus promote the habit of relying on uncertain riches. Instead of putting intellect and muscles to work, lotteries encourage laziness and breed unprincipled, dishonest characters, parasites who rob, defraud and prey upon the vitals of the poor and ignorant. Lotteries foment superstition, which can only lead to ruin. The belief that luck must strike sometime is what keeps the credulous buying lottery tickets. If they lose on one they try another, and yet another. The few who win provide the tantalizing spectacle.
When Joseph Hearl became a $140,000 sweepstakes-winner, he remarked to reporters that he and his wife were “the luckiest people in the world.” After the tax people collected $85,000 and creditors another chunk, $35,000 was left. After his friends and neighbors became jealous and refused to speak to or associate with them, Mrs. Hearl said: “You would think we were typhoid carriers. The money brought us security. And now we’re paying for it with loneliness. Sometimes I wonder if it was worth it.” Rotten trees simply do not bear good fruit. Whether the tree be big or little the end results are still the same— rotten fruit.
Ever BeenCalled: " Half-Baked"?
‘1? Someone ever call you half baked? Or have you ever psed the expression yourself? Did you think the term disrespectful? rude? slangish? Whether you have used the expression or not, actually It is an epithet of contempt as old as the hills, or at least as old as the ancient prophets. “In olden times, before ovens were ever thought of, all baking was done on heated stones, fl Kings 19:6, New World Trans,! A mixture of meal and water dropped on a hot flat rock resulted in an eatable much like a modem pancake, and like a pancake it had to be 'done' on both sides. It might contain the best of Ingredients and be dropped on the hottest of stones, but unless turned at the crucial moment, it was worthless, bread on one side, dough on the other. When Hosea the Prophet, some thousands of years ago, spoke of Ephraim as a cake not turned, he was describing a type of tribesman who had made a mess of his life. [Hosea 7:81 Though well born, gifted, wealthy and attractive, he was unbalanced, and could not see straight, so he became spiritually inflrm, mentally visionary and politically gullible. His good side was continually defeated by his soft, unfinished side. He was unstable, unpredictable, Incorisistent, worthless for the real subsistence of the world. As the modem psychologist aayp, such as he is immature; in the vivid slang of the early ages, he Is half baked, a cake unturned.”—Ladies* Home Journal, March, 1956.
AWAKE!
shines in the heavens like a bright star, yet it is the most distant planet in the solar sys
a most
tem that can be clearly seen with the naked eye.
In many ways it is an unusual body and it certainly is. the most sensational in appearance, adorned as it is with its beautiful ring system. For these reasons Saturn has long been a favorite object of observation by owners of small telescopes and an object of wonder to all who have seen it.
While Jupiter is termed the giant of the planets, Saturn Is not at all small. Second-largest of the planets in our solar system, it is nine times the diameter of the earth; and, in proportion to its size, it has nine times as many satellites as does the earth with its one moon. The largest of these, Titan, has a diameter that is actually 18 percent greater than that of the planet Mercury. As with the majority of other bodies, these satellites move about in counterclockwise fashion, with the exception of the most distant one, which, imitating three of the satellites of Jupiter, goes in reverse. All of them are outside the rings. The planet itself is about 75,100 miles in diameter at the equator, but the amazing system of rings that girdle it extends the total diameter to nearly 171,000 miles. Truly, it stands with Jupiter as a giant!
One of the most remarkable features of Saturn itself is that its density is only seven-tenths that of water, which is the lowest known among the planets. While the center may be rocky, it is thought that
« it is covered by much ice
Bild tremendous quanti-!*■**“'*v ties of liquid or solid hydrogen and helium and some ammonia and methane, which could not remain in a gaseous state at the low temperature of —40 degrees Centigrade, With an average density that is so low, theoretically, if there were an ocean big enough to hold it, Saturn would float!
This planet travels in its orbit around
the sun ata distance nine anda half times as far out as the earth. And, as seems to be the general rule in the movement of heavenly bodies, the slower traffic keeps in the outer lanes. Not only does Saturn take nearly thirty years to make one circuit in its orbit, but it actually does move much slower than the planets nearer the sun. Mercury, for example, courses along at about thirty miles a second; the earth at 18.5 miles a second; while distant Saturn keeps to the comparative snail’s pace of six and a half miles a second. It might be noted here that Saturn varies considerably from its average 887 million miles’ distance from the sun, varying from 837 million to over 935 million miles.
There has always been considerable speculation on the origin and composition of the rings that rotate above Saturn. First we might note that the rings do not spread out so as to block our view of the planet beneath. Although they extend about 41,500 miles across, they are only ten miles thick. When the rings are turned edge-on toward the earth, it is virtually impossible to see them. A study of the ring system reveals a possible
tnree rings. The outer ring is separated from the next one by a space of about 3,500 miles. This clearance apparently results from the conflicting gravitational forces exerted by the planet and its satellites. Next is a bright center ring, and the inner or crepe ring is a thin extension of it. Below is a clearance of approximately 7,000 miles to the planet itself.
In 1796 Laplace set forth the nebular theory to explain the origin of the planets and appealed to the ring system of Saturn as an illustration of its possibility. It was thought that just as mud is thrown off the rim of a rotating wheel when the rotation is sufficiently rapid, so matter was thrown off from the sun and, while the sun continued to contract, the thrown-off matter collected and cooled to form the planets. However, W. M. Smart, in his book The Origin of the Earth, published in 1951, says: “Despite its apparent success in accounting for several of the chief features of the planetary system, the nebular theory is to-day completely discredited, so far at least as the formation of the planets and satellites is concerned.”
In 1902 in his book The Earth’s Annular System Isaac N. Vail pointed to the rings of Saturn as evidence of how the creative process proceeded in relation to the earth. He contended that, as with Saturn, the earth while still a fiery ball drove off in vapor form moisture and other substances / that were suspended in space and rotated with the earth, later to be deposited as the speed of rotation became less. That such vaporous canopy was suspended above the earth, sustained there by God’s power, is shown in the Scriptures; however, there is no evidence that the canopy was ever in
the form of a ring, and science maintains that the planet Saturn does not provide an illustration of the process.—Genesis 1:7.
Then what is the origin of Saturn’s amazing system of rings? Giving the currently accepted opinion of scientists, the book The Origin of the Earth says: “It was proved by Clerk-Maxwell in 1856 . , » that the rings must consist of vast swarms of small satellites, each revolving in an approximately circular orbit according to the law of gravitation.” “If we suppose that some time in the past a large satellite moved in an orbit very close to the globe of the planet then, as a result of the gravitational attraction of the globe, the parts of the satellite nearer the globe would be subjected to much greater strains than parts farther away; the satellite must then be fractured and in the course of time broken up into thousands of small portions which eventually spread out into the ringsystem as we see it to-day.” As is quite well illustrated in the case of the inner ring, these rings are not solid, for the outline of the planet’s satellites or of the edge of Saturn itself can be seen through the ring. Of course, Saturn is distant, our knowledge of it is limited, and, no doubt, more will be learned in the future.
It is surely true that Jehovah our God as a loving Father has provided far more than the mere necessities of life, giving us these in superabundance. He also gives us the pleasure of enjoying the beauty and variety of his marvelous creation. To those who see in his creation a reflection of his Godship it is true that “the heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork.”—Psalm 19:1, Am. Stan. Ver.
Occupational Hazard
The Pasteur Institute of Paris, France, is reported to be worried about the health of sword swallowers. It is not that they fear the sword swallower will cut himself, but if he falls to sterilize the blade—he might get germs.
Makins the H-Bomb
C In a .Reader's Digest article on the workings of America’s vast super-secret H-bomb plant Henry J. Taylor, widely known journalist and radio commentator, told something of the strange processes involved in producing one of the world's most terrifying weapons,
C. How did it all start? Taylor pointed out that the A-bomb had been a success. Nuclear fission had been achieved. One atomic bomb at Bikini had lifted ten mil* Mon tons of water to a height of two miles —a weight equal to the tonnage of the U.S. wartime fleet. But the arms race prompted an even more fervent activity. It lead to the development of the H-bomb. C. The hydrogen-bomb plant, with 280 permanent buildings, covers a huge site larger than the city of Chicago. It uses an Incredible quantity of water to cool its reactors, and enough electricity for the entire state of Delaware. Taylor says it is the largest, construction achievement in the history of the world.
< Slugs of uranium are used in the' bomb’s manufacture. A pound of this material, only as large as a golf ball because of its great weight, has the potential energy of enough TNT tp fill Yankee Stadium.
C The plant’s first output was tested near Enlwetok atoll in the Pacific on November 1, 1952. That one blast had more force than the combined weight of all the bombs dropped on Germany and Japan during World War II. A newer bomb, tested In 1954, proved several times more powerful even than that
C, The bombs, once made, do not compose a permanent “stockpile,” but deteriorate in storage. Thus, they must be freshened, replenished, or "recharged.” This is why the plant’s output is on a permanent basis.
<L Great quantities of dangerous radioactive material for which no use is known are, in the words of the author: "Stored underground in batteries of giant sunken tanks, each the size of a ten-story building, awaiting the day when science will discover some utilization.”
DEATH DUST
<1 A noiseless weapon, a death dust, the inevitable and deadly radioactive ash that is. produced by the atomic reactors in nuclear power stations may become a most powerful weapon of the future. It is estimated by Hans Thirrjng, head of the Institute of Theoretical Physics of the University of Vienna, that by 1985 any industrialized nation, no matter how small, and whether it has armed forces or not, would be able to Inflict deadly damage upon an enemy. Writing in Harper's last October he said: “Of aj] the means of mass annihilation, the death dust would still be the lightest and-—since atom-ash will be produced in enormous quantities, whether we want it or not—the cheapest.” The problem will not be how to produce this radioactive ash, which is the inevitable refuse of atomic reactors, but rather what to do with all of it that the atomic power stations will automatically produce. Its effect was described in this manner: “A sufficiently dense layer of death dust covering wide areas will kill all living things, whether civilian, or military, whether brave or cowardly. The number of divisions or the resources of heavy industry, formerly the yardsticks of power, will become meaningless^ and attempts at civil defense will be like fighting an avalanche with a toy shovel.”
A Scientist ‘Lets God Be Found True *
HERE is a proverb to the effect that if one scratches a scientist he Is likely to find an [atheist underneath. And if not an atheist, at least an agnostic, or at best a deist. However, merely because the majority of scientists may fall into such categories does not prove them to be right. The majority have been proved wrong altogether too often to be trusted as safe guides. Logic and facts are more compelling even though only a minority may have the discernment to appreciate them. <X A case in point is that furnished by Dr. John R. Bfobeck, professor of physiology at the University of Pennsylvania. At a joint annual meeting of the British and Canadian Medical Associations at Toronto, in the summer of 1955, he made a number of remarks that proved to be the sensation of the convention. Among them were the following: <L “A scientist is no longer able to say honestly something is impossible. He can only say it 18 improbable. But he may be able to say something is impossible to explain in terms of our present knowledge. Science cannot say that all properties of matter and all forms of energy are now known. What do we need to add to miracles to translate them jnto something possible to account for? Nothing we can do can make a miracle a probable event, but it may be possible to add some information to it to make it possible. One thing that needs to be added is a source of energy unknown to us in our biological and physiological sciences. In our Scriptures this source of energy is identified as the power of God.
<L "The Christian thinks of miracles as some-g thing improbable, and so does the scientist. § Both Christian and scientist also agree that g it is impossible to explain miracles in terms j of our present understanding. This doesn't § mean miracles are impossible, and the Chris-= tian accepts them by faith. The attitude to g science of the scientist who is not a Christian fg is rapidly approaching that of the scientist g who is a Christian. Most scientists do not ac-= cept miracles because they are not Christians. § But the thoughtful scientist would not say § that miracles are impossible, only improbable. § Most scientists are not Christians, but not be-ff cause they are scientists. Most businessmen or g reporters are not Christians either; in fact, s most people are not Christians.
g C "One of the essences of science is repro-E ductibility. If I can't observe the miracles of g 2,000 years ago and reproduce them, as a = scientist, I can't believe them possible. But as g a Christian, a miracle has happened to me E which makes me accept these miracles [and] § which every one of us who is a Christian has J experienced. It is the application of God’s J power which brings about this change which i is a miracle. It cannot be accomplished by H any biological or psychological force. It cre-g ates within us the will to believe. Our expe-= rience is like that of the early Christians, as J recorded in the Book of Acts. . . . The change E is psychological, but it involves a force which g most scientists do not recognize.”—Time, = July 4, 1955.
More Paper Than -Power?
Of how much value are security pacts ? Hiere is a growing belief in Washington that the various pacts that the United States has either joined or fostered round the world contain more paper than power. On paper the American alliances and associations look formidable: forty-five nations joined in ten overlapping defense treaties. On this matter the Christian Science Monitor of November 9, 1955, commented: "The fact is the United States has written an Impressive lot of security treaties since the end of the war. The fact also is, but not so widely recognized, that few of these treaties have teeth. In most, any Teeth’ they have is what the United States and the other participants may decide to put in them in the manner and at the time of their own choosing. Hiey are generally strong moral deterrents to war: but they are equally weak military deterrents to aggression. These treaties contain the U.S.S.R. in a geographic sense: but they do not contain the Soviet Union in a military sense, or diplomatic sense, or ideological sense. On a National Geographic map they look terrific—and that is the only place most Americans see them."
By 'Jhaaktl' comspmJatl in Canada
EADERS much of
of Awake.' have heard
Quebec and of the unhappy conditions that prevail in this land by reason of tight clerical control. The treatment of Jehovah's witnesses there has been properly condemned, as well as the continuing attempts at thought control over the entire population. But Quebec possesses also some features of exceptional interest and charm.
Quebec is an immense territory: its 594,860 square miles are equal to one fifth the area of the United States and twice that of France. It stretches 1,600 miles from east to west and 1,200 miles from north to south. The topography ranges from the beautiful plains of the St. Lawrence lowland, north through thousands of square miles of rugged hills, forests and sparkling lakes of the Laurentian Shield, to the treeless muskegs of the Arctic that
reach to Hudson’s Bay and frozen Un
__ gava region. Only
LAND OF INTEREST AND CHARM five percent of this
vast area is occupied effectively by the population of 4,520,000.
Quebec is an enclave, isolated by language and thinking, an island of peaceful, slow-moving feudalism, striving to maintain its individuality amidst the bustling world of North America. Over four and a half million tourists came to Quebec in 1954. In what they saw they were by no means disappointed. The natural beauty of the province is unsurpassed. Settlements dating to 1608 are rich in history and tradition. The storied battlements and walls of Quebec City, the capital, are unique in North America In short, Quebec has personality.
Probably the most charming and interesting feature of the province is the people, the French Canadian habitant, les Canadiens. Jean Pierre, a typical habitant, is a son of the soil. His small farm stretches ribbonlike back from river or main route. The family unit, with its numerous members, is the backbone of his type of agriculture. Very little machinery and plenty of hand labor make for a poor standard of living. Jean Pierre still uses a horse and buggy to get to church Sunday mornings.
Despite his problems Jean Pierre manages to exhibit the most lovable features of his Gallic forebears: he is enthusiastic, entertaining, happy-go-lucky and excitable (especially about politics and religion). He loves his children, enjoys the village social life, gossips with his neighbors, laughs a lot, and goes fishing when he should be working. He has been taught to hate Zes Anglais (the English) as a group. They are the source of all his troubles, according to those who have been responsible for his
education in religion and politics. Nevertheless, an English visitor will nowhere find a kinder or more charming host. The basic good manners and good sense of the people win out against the hatreds taught by their leaders. Jean Pierre is poor, but he belongs. The security of the close-knit family unit has its compensation in human values.
There is another side too. Poverty can lead to avarice, prejudice and much unhappiness. In 1947 a Red Cross survey showed 50,000 inhabitants of Quebec’s North Shore suffering from malnutrition. The incidence of tuberculosis is almost three times that of the adjacent Province of Ontario. The village idyll is now being rudely shaken by a swift-moving industrial revolution that is taking the youth from farm to city. The clergy inveigh against modernism, materialism and the evils of urban life. Jean Pierre is told that he really does not want things like cars and radios. Jean Pierre listens carefully, but the minute he has the money he proceeds to buy a car and a radio.
History
A knowledge of his history is essentia] to an understanding of the French Canadian. Quebec was first known as New France, a part of the French Empire, settled by Champlain in 1608. The city of Quebec had previously been the site of an Indian village, Stadacona (the place where the waters narrow). The French governors were controlled from Paris, where the fate of their new-world colony was a matter of no great interest to the frivolous Bourbon monarchs. In Quebec was established the same feudal system of phurch-state rule that prevailed in France and that brought about the French Revolution of 1789.
Quebec never felt the cleansing effect of that revolution, for in 1759 the British under General Wolfe besieged Quebec. In the dead of night Wolfe managed to get his army up the apparently unscalable cliffs onto the Plains of Abraham west of Quebec city. In the ensuing battle both Wolfe and the French commander, Montcalm, perished. The French power was broken, and Quebec passed under the British flag.
The British government was soon in dispute with the American colonies to the south, and could not afford to have trouble with the conquered French in Quebec. To gain the loyalty of the latter, the entrenched position of the Catholic Church and of the French leaders was maintained. The Quebec Act of 1774 guaranteed the liberty of the Catholic Church and allowed the French to keep their old law relating to property and civil rights, while the law of England was adopted Eis the public law. The old feudal system remained, and inspires much of the thinking there today. Untouched by either the French or the American revolution, Quebec remains as a pocket of eighteenth-century life, set apart, as it were, from the main stream of events.
Now a growing industrialization is changing the face of Quebec and the restful pastoral scene. More people are now employed in manufacturing than in agriculture. Agriculture, however, is still the primary industry. Beef, pork, mutton, dairy products, coarse grains, small fruits, etc., are typical of the crops grown. Sap from the maple tree is made into delicious sugar and syrup. Ninety percent of Canada’s production of maple products comes from Quebec.
The next major industry is lumbering, with its companion production of pulp and paper. There are 365,000 square miles of forests in Quebec, about half of which now contain merchantable stands of timber. Sixty paper mills in the province use 14,470 tons of logs a day, and combine to supply 25 percent of the Western world’s
newsprint. Manufacturing is diversified, but the emphasis is on textiles.
Mining is also an important item in the economy of the province. Eighty percent of the world’s asbestos comes from Quebec. Gold and copper are mined extensively in the hard-rock area of the northwestern district An immense new iron development on the Quebec-Labrador boundary shipped out close to seven million tons of high-grade iron ore in 1955.
The hydroelectric potential of Quebec is tremendous. In 1954 its generators were producing 7,773,822 horsepower. This is more than any other province and constitutes 46 percent of Canada’s total production of power.
Sport and Travel
North of the verdant St Lawrence valley lie the low mountains, virgin forests and beautiful blue lakes of the Laurentians. On a warm summer evening one can paddle a canoe along the shore of one of these lovely lakes, and sniff the heady tang qf the pines and cedars. Perhaps a dainty deer will stand drinking in the shallows, or a giant moose splash through the lily pads of some quiet bay.
In the wintertime ski resorts near Montreal and Quebec are attracting an everincreasing number of visitors. Crisp, sunny weather, fast, powdery snow and beautiful runs on the mountain slopes make the blood tingle with this exhilarating sport.
To visit the Quebec woods in autumn is a pure delight. The great Artist, Jehovah, suddenly has turned the cool, green leaves of maple, beech and ash into a riot of warmth and beauty. Brilliant scarlet, the richest gold and rose, the cleanest yellows, make an extravagant and incomparable autumn wardrobe. In the shimmering sunlight, the eye and the soul feast on this wealth and loveliness. In any lovely woodland one can drink in this expression of the Creator’s love, and contemplate the fact that through the rolling hills and mountains of Quebec such richness and color just go on and on.
The Great Creator and Giver of good things has dealt lavishly with this beautiful land named Quebec. How good it is to know that in the wonderful New World now fast approaching this beauty will be preserved and cultivated and extended, and the ugly scars of man’s misdeeds will be erased. What happiness to think that more and more of the good people of Quebec are now turning to a knowledge of God’s kingdom, and that, by continuing faithful, they can enjoy forever the bounty of Jehovah’s love.
Carpenter Jhat CNever “Wastes a Stroke
Insects working under the hark of a tree seldom advertise their presence. There seem to be no signs on a tree, not even for the woodpecker, that proclaim: “Bugs at work!" So we cannot help but wonder how a woodpecker knows where to drill for a juicy meal, there being so many trees and so much bark, hard to drill through at that There have been suggestions that woodpeckers may be able to hear bugs art work. In any event, whatever woodpeckers drill into they get results. According to P. W. Smith, entomologist of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, some woodpeckers are now making their living the easy way: they drill into cornstalks instead of trees, as opportunity permits. For a woodpecker, drilling into cornstalks is as easy as for a dog to lick a dish. Still nature’s carpenters never drill aimlessly.
Reports entomologist Smith: “Don’t ask me how they do it, but these woodpeckers pass up stalks with no borers and pick those with worms. They know exactly where the worms are in the stalk, too—they never waste a stroke’’’
This Modern World
To Capture the Mind* of Children
Not limited to men is the battle to capture minds. Children more and more are becoming the targets of propaganda. It can be pumped into the minds of children through many mediums, such as movies, television, books and even by games. A new board game in Red Hungary not only is a propaganda medium but has become quite a craze. The game is called The Road to Peace. It is played by moving markers around a board according to the number that comes up from a throw of the dice. The objective is to reach the end of the game, marked “peace.” To arrive at this peaceful destination one must travel through cities of different colors. If a throw of the dice lands one in a Red City (city of the Soviet bloc) the player progresses toward “peace” by winning another turn. Unfortunate he is, though, if he lands on a Green City (such as London and Paris); for he loses one turn. Of all the colored cities there is only one Black City. Woe to him who lands on it! For his traveling days are over and he must promptly leave the game. The Black City’s name: Washington, D.C
…