Awake!, June 22, 1962
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Two Kinds of Religion
PAGE 5
What About Aluminum Cooking Utensils?
PAGE S
Uplifting Mankind
Dances of India
PAGE 20
JUNE 22, 1962
THE MISSION OF THIS JOURNAL
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CONTENTS
Do You Triumph over Trifles?
Two Kinds of Religion
Bible Burning Still an “Act of Faith”
What About Aluminum Cooking Utensils? 8
Shirt-Pocket Radios
Uplifting Mankind
Fishing with a Gander
Australian Railways. Get Together
‘A Mild Tongue Can Break a Bone’ 19
Dances of India
Not Too Young, Not Too Old
Jehovah Makes It Grow
—in Northern Rhodesia
“Your Word Is Truth"
Preaching to Those Who Need It
Watching the World
WHEN an elderly woman admitted to her grandchildren that she had never ridden on a train, they bought her a ticket to a nearby town where a friend
a late train may find it no trifle. But considering those things that are really trifles, do you triumph over them?
Some persons cannot triumph over a little irri
lived. Elated, she got on the train and, after arranging her packages, settled down. Soon she noticed the upholstery was somewhat tom. Grumbling, she picked up her belongings and looked for another seat. Soon she was annoyed by the whimpering of an infant across the aisle. She moved again. But here the sun seemed too bright, so she moved to another part of the car. Hardly had she begun looking out the window to enjoy the scenery when the conductor called out the name of the town. Stunned that her trip was at an end, she remarked to her friend that she wished she had not spent so much time in being annoyed.
By failing to triumph over petty annoyances many persons of all ages miss out on much enjoyment and make themselves unnecessarily miserable. Missing a bus, streetcar or subway train by a few seconds may upset some persons so much that their blood pressure jumps up. And some become upset if the train in which they are traveling is a few minutes late. Circumstances vary, of course, and the businessman with a precise appointment who is delayed by tation such as an unexpected interruption or ’ a momentary flickering on the television screen. Some motorists give way to heavy honking at the slightest slowdown in traffic. An untactful remark or some slight lack of consideration by a friend or neighbor can disquiet many persons for days. So one could spend a great deal of time being agitated, especially since there will be petty annoyances in every walk of life.
Service in a restaurant may be delayed and some persons, not really pressed for time, may become quite irritated, so much so that they can hardly enjoy their meal when it arrives. One person’s failure to conquer a trifle may be contagious, so we should guard that the discomposure of someone else does not upset us. If one in a group turns irritable over a trifle, what could be done? Everyone’s freezing up and engendering a chilly silence is not the solution. Ridiculing the irritated person is not the Christian way either. Some persons solve such matters by finding the bright side of the subject and kindly commenting on it or by tactfully changing the conversation to some interesting topic. Talk on upbuilding and cheerful things and thus help the disturbed person conquer the trifle.
Will we let trifles conquer us or will we conquer them? One way to look at the matter is to suppose it is not a trifle. Suppose something of no little concern affects us. Even when the Christian becomes subject to some evil that is no trifle, he must learn to conquer it: “Do not let yourself be conquered by the evil, but keep conquering the evil with the good.” (Rom. 12:21) How much more so, then, should the Christian strive to conquer petty annoyances with the good!
The good qualities by which one can overcome petty disappointments and nuisances are those of self-control, patience and love. “Love is long-suffering and kind,” says God’s Word. Long-suffering and kindness are the fruitage of God’s holy spirit. When faced with irksome situations this good fruitage should manifest itself in the lives of Christians, conquering the impulses to anger and agitation.—1 Cor. 13:4.
Generally the Christian conquers trifles by letting them pass by without harping on them. “The one covering over transgression Is seeking love, and he that keeps talking about a matter is separating those familiar with one another.” (Prov. 17:9) If we are seeking love, if we want to earn the love of another, we will overlook his transgression and not make it a subject of common gossip. We cannot expect the habits of others always to please us; but if we have Christian love we put into practice the fact that love “does not look for its own interests.” Conquer trifles by doing as the apostle Paul counsels, by “putting up with one another in love.”—1 Cor. 13:5; Eph. 4:2.
Sometimes, for the sake of many persons, small faults may need to be brought to someone’s attention, but the manner in which we do this shows whether we have conquered trifles. To reprove small faults with vehemence and agitation is as absurd as if a person should take a hammer to swat a fly on his friend’s forehead.
Since minor irritations will enter one’s life, we can learn a lesson from the oyster. When an irritation enters the life of an oyster, the creature does not like it, and he tries to get rid of it. But when he cannot get rid of the irritation he settles down to make one of the most beautiful things in nature. He uses the irritation to make a pearl. So when an irritation comes into your life, make a pearl out of it, though it may have to be a pearl of patience. This quality is to be highly valued because long-suffering is a fruitage of the holy spirit and it glorifies God.
People may disagree as to what is a trifle, and husbands and wives may view trifles differently. But by putting into effect “the fruitage of the spirit,” not only trifles, but bigger things can be overcome. Really, “love never fails.”—Gal. 5:22; ICor. 13:8.
If a Christian cannot conquer trifles, how will he conquer the world as Jesus did? “In the world you will have tribulation, but take courage! I have conquered the world.” A worldly world conqueror is not likely to triumph over trifles, but the Christian world conqueror must triumph over trifles. By doing so, he brings forth that fruitage of the holy spirit by which, as Jesus said, “my Father is glorified.” —John 16:33; 15:8.
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Why are some persons repelled by religion? What kind of
worship does
God approve?
MANY persons who have found religion disappointing put all religion into the same category. To them religion itself is responsible for the rivers of blood that have been shed in fanatical religious wars. They see it as responsible for inquisitional torture chambers, for the suppression of individual liberties, for the binding of the common people to foolish superstitions and for the oppressions by political rulers who have had the blessing of the religious clergy. Such persons view religion, all religion, as a curse rather than a blessing, and understandably so. Yet there are two kinds of religion: one producing bad fruits and the other, good fruits.
According to Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, one of the definitions of the word “religion” is: “The personal commitment to and serving of God or a god with worshipful devotion.” This is in harmony with the thought that the Hebrews attached to it. Their word for religion meant service, regardless of the god served. Thus, any form of worship, whether directed to man’s Creator or to an imaginary god, can be called religion. The vital question is, What kind of religion does God approve?
True and False Religion
From the standpoint of the Creator true and the false. The fact Is that Jehovah God is the Creator and all living things are dependent upon him for existence; therefore they owe him their worship. (Ps. 95:1-7) Any religion that takes another view of matters is out of harmony with the actual state of things, and for that reason must of necessity be false.
The worship that was practiced by the Israelites in the days of faithful men such as Moses, Joshua and David was true religion; it had God’s approval. It was a revealed religion; that is, their form of worship was not the fruitage of their imagination, but they worshiped in the way that God had instructed them. It was God-oriented and not man-oriented, because it centered on the doing of God’s will rather than on seeking benefits for man. It was an uplifting form of worship, elevating the morals of the Israelites to a level that was far above that of the surrounding nations. As long as they paid attention to God and did his will they were richly blessed.
The nations neighboring the Israelites practiced worship that God condemned, hence, false religion. It involved frightful practices such as sacrificing children to an idol of Molech. It was the service of false gods, imaginary gods. Instead of worshiping the Supreme Being, they worshiped the things he created as well as things that they made with their own hands.
Those who responded to the teachings of Jesus Christ and were directed back into the ways of true worship did not abandon this view of matters, namely, that there are two kinds of religion. The Christian disciple James wrote of “the form of wor-
there are just two kinds of religion: the ship that is clean and undefiled from the
standpoint of our God and Father,” implying that other worship did not enjoy such a standing before God. (Jas. 1:27) And the apostle Paul spoke about those who, in their religious practices, "turned the glory of the incorruptible God into something like the image of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed creatures and creeping things.” Pointing out that this was false religion, he went on to say that they “exchanged the truth of God for the lie and venerated and rendered sacred service to the creation rather than the One who created.” (Rom. 1:23, 25) Not only was it true that such idol-worshiping religions of the pagans were rejected by God, but even many of those professing to be Christians fall into the same category. As Jesus himself said: “Many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy In your name, and expel demons in your name, and perform many powerful works in your name?’ And yet then I will confess to them: I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness.” (Matt. 7:22, 23) Why? Because they were not doing the will of God. They were practicing false religion.
Basis for Determination
The basis for determining what is true religion and what is false religion is the written Word of the Creator. As it served as a guide for the Israelites and for the early Christians to lead them in the way of true worship, so it can serve as a guide for people living today. In it the true God, Jehovah, tells man about himself and how he wants to be served. His Word is the standard of truth. When a religion is out of harmony with this Word, failing to measure up to it, that religion is false. This can be verified by the fruits it brings forth.
On one occasion Jesus said: "There is not a fine tree producing rotten fruit; again there is not a rotten tree producing fine fruit. For each tree is known by its own fruit.” (Luke 6:43, 44) Like a rotten tree, false religion produces bad fruit Because of this, the record it has left on the pages of history is revolting to people who love righteousness. Multitudes have been turned away from the true God because of what false religion has done in his name.
True religion produces good fruits that turn people to God, increasing their respect for him. Its chief fruit is that of love, love for God and love for neighbor. By exercising such love the followers of true religion are able to live in peace with their fellowmen throughout the earth. They show kindness even to those who oppose and persecute them. Because they live by the high moral standards of the Scriptures, they are honest, trustworthy and morally clean. They produce the good fruitage of God’s spirit mentioned by the apostle Paul: "love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, mildness, self-control.” —Gal. 5:22, 23.
True religion does not leave one confused or uncertain, but fosters firm faith in God and his Word. It reaches into one’s life and changes his thinking and personality for good. It educates him in God’s Word so that he can speak to others about his religion and give Scriptural proof for his beliefs, and results in a worldwide unity of believers based on love.
There is not this unity among the hundreds of religious groups in Christendom today. Their lack of unity, their lack of love, not only for others but even toward the members of their own religion, becomes evident when there are political differences and wars. Members of the same religion kill and maim one another, and this has happened more than once right in this generation. This is not the fruitage of love. It is not the fruitage of God’s spirit
Although Christendom claims to be Christian, she has produced the rotten fruits of false religion. Some of her own spokesmen have admitted that she produces bad fruitage. In a report made to the United Presbyterian general assembly by a flve-man committee, one being the president of the Union Theological Seminary In New York, the failure of Christendom’s religion was pointed out. Among other things it said: "The return to religion in our day has produced no corresponding moral fruitage. On the contrary, while the curve of religious interest has been rising, that of moral health has been falling. . . . Not ‘too little religion' but double-minded religion, its divorce from practice, is our sickness. This fact is a judgment upon the churches and the religion they have been content to foster.”
Which Is Toura?
What kind of religion do you practice? Is it the true religion? If so, you should not be hesitant about comparing it with the touchstone of true worship, God’s written Word. In fact, you should regularly "keep testing whether you are in the faith.” —2 Cor. 13:5.
Jesus said: "Love one another just as I have loved you.” (John 15:12) Do the members of your religion love one another, or do they steal from one another, gossip about one another, lie to one another and, in times of war, kill one another? Have they followed Peter’s counsel to “put away all moral badness and all deceitfulness and hypocrisy”?—1 Pet. 2:1.
The apostle Paul said that true Christians should “all speak in agreement,” that there should not be divisions among them, but that they should be "fitly united in the same mind and in the same line of thought.” (1 Cor, 1:10) Are the members of your religion united in the same line of thought, without divisions?
Jesus said of his followers: "They are no part of the world, just as I am no part of the world.” (John 17:16) Do the members of your religion keep separate from the political affairs of this world as Jesus did?
Peter said you should be able to make a defense “for the hope in you.” (1 Pet. 3:15) And Jesus sent his followers out to "make disciples of people of all the nations, foretelling that in these last days they would publicize "this good news of the kingdom.” Has your religion equipped you to have a share in that work?—Matt. 28:19; 24:14.
Whether your religion is true or false depends upon how it lines up with the Bible. If, from the Scriptural facts set out here, you have come to realize that your worship falls short of what God approves, now is the time to study the Bible to get an accurate knowledge of the will of God and to do it. Jehovah’s witnesses will count it a privilege to give you personal help to gain that needed Bible knowledge, and that at no cost to you. Simply ask them.
BIBLE BURNING STILL AN "ACT OF FAITH"
• In Ejutla, Oaxaca, Mexico, in the past year a priest-inspired mob ransacked the house of the overseer of a Witness congregation, which house also was being used as their meeting place. The mob then took the Bibles and burned them in the public square. The local paper said that they did it “as if they were committing an ‘act of faith.1 ”—1962 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses.
What about
ALUMINUM
WHAT about aluminum cooking utensils? Can their use harm the body? That is as controversial a subject as the fluoridation of water and as was the relationship between cigarette smoking and lung cancer until recent years. Whether the future will see aluminum cooking utensils condemned by the medical profession in general as are cigarettes today remains to be seen.
At present the great majority of authorities in medical and scientific fields give aluminum a rather clean bill of health. Perhaps the most learned and extensive defense of it in recent years is that made by the Kettering Laboratories, as published in the Archives of Industrial Health, May 1957, under the title “Aluminum in the Environment of Man.” This report, financed by the aluminum industry, consists of ninety pages and was made by a group of scientists who consulted 1,500 books, articles and reports on the subject. It concludes with this statement:
“There is no reasqn for concern . . . about the hazards to human health derived from well-established and extensive current uses of such products. Nor need there be concern over the more extended uses which would seem to be in the offing.”
Cooking
Utensils
Background
Aluminum compounds are among the most common of earth’s ele-ments; only oxygen (50.02 percent) and silicon (28.50 percent) exceed aluminum compounds with their 7.3 percent. However, three one-hundredths of one percent in the soil is enough to kill all plants, even those preferring acid soil. Thus far scientists have not found any food value in aluminum and so there appears to be no such thing as an aluminum-deficiency disease.
Pure aluminum was first discovered in 1828 but continued as a costly novelty of kings until some sixty years later, when an economical process for producing it from its natural compounds was perfected. It soon began to be used for cooking utensils but not on an extensive scale until after World War I.
Today in Western lands most household cooking is done in aluminum and more than half of processed foods appear to come in touch with aluminum. At present the aluminum and tin-can industries are vying with each other for the beer-, fish-and meat-container business. Already aluminum has largely replaced tin in the frozen-fruit-juice field, even, as it is replacing tin foil as a wrapper for food.
Arguments Against
No sooner did aluminum begin to serve food purposes than the voices of certain German, Swiss, British and American physicians, health department officials and food chemists were heard expressing misgivings or outright condemnation. They noted the softness of the metal, how easily it is corroded by both acids and aikalies and the irritating and astringent qualities of aluminum salts that especially affect the digestive system. Mouth sores, stomach disturbances and colitis were the more common ills blamed on use of aluminum.
In 1934 Prof. Dr. A. L. Tchijevsky, director of the Central Laboratory for the Study of the Biological Action of Ionization at Moscow, Russia, reported in the learned European medical journal Acta Medica Scandinavica, Vol. 83, 1934, his findings on the relationship between aluminum and disease. He used as subjects patients suffering from stomach, intestinal, kidney or liver ills. In his experiments these did not know what their food had been cooked in. He found that cooking in aluminum changes the acid-alkaline ratio of food. Eating such food increased the albumin content of the feces and the severity of the ills of many of his patients. Complete cures repeatedly resulted from changing from aluminum to glass or enamel cooking utensils, but to stay cured such persons had to keep away from all food cooked in aluminum. His conclusions are that cooking in aluminum slowly and subtly harms all persons because “the aluminum salts have the property of rapidly taking away (destroying) the membrane potential of live cells,” and it especially harms certain people “who are highly susceptible to the action of aluminum.”
The Lee Foundation for Nutritional Research in 1946 published findings showing that aluminum salts from aluminum cooking utensil^, alum baking powders or aluminum acetate in perspiration deodorants rob the body of its phosphorus and calcium. Supporting this conclusion is the observation that appeared in the Journal of the American Medical Association, November 5, 1961, on the practice of giving aluminum hydroxide in certain cases: “Physicians should be alerted to the fact that aluminum hydroxide ingestion, unless carefully supervised with some knowledge of the phosphate changes in the patient, may not be as innocuous [harmless] as suggested in the brochures advocating the use of the medicament.”
Writing as a homeopathic physician, Dr. H. Tomlinson, M.B., Ch.B., M.R.C.S., L.R.C.S., in his booklet Aluminum Utensils and Disease, published in 1958, says, as a result of his forty years of practice, that one out of three persons is sensitive to aluminum and that “the use of aluminum in the preparation of food and food products is one of the most harmful factors in modern civilization.” Others have also had much to say on the subject.
OK-, but—
There has been thirty times as much material published approving aluminum cooking utensils as there has been disapproving them. However, time and again the nature of the testimony approving of aluminum is, O.K., but—. Thus The Lancet, leading British medical weekly, back in 1913 noted that there was no harm in using the new aluminum water bottles for drinking water provided one did not drink water that was left standing in them for a period of time. Similarly, the British government in 1935 approved of aluminum cooking utensils, yet made a number of references to possible harm.
Thus also in Bulletin No. 3 (1933) of the Mellon Institute appeared the statement: “The metals occur in minute quantities—a large amount would constitute a menace when taken into the body. One should not lose sight of the fact that most foods contain aluminum. It is obvious, then, that one’s choice of baking powder may be a factor pushing him over a safe limit.”
And just what difference in the aluminum content of food does cooking it in aluminum make? This same publication shows that, when cooking was done in glass, the average aluminum content of some thirty foods was one half of one part per million, but when the cooking was done in aluminum it was 8.8 parts per million or 17.6 times as much. Creamed cabbage cooked with soda had only one-third of one part per million if cooked in glass but had 90 parts per million if cooked in aluminum or nearly 300 times as much! Dark pans were shown to give off far more aluminum than light pans. Potatoes cooked in their skins showed no difference.
Food Technology, December 1951, showed how variable the aluminum content of food cooked in aluminum is. Different brands varied 300 percent, the purer the aluminum the less corrosion, and food cooked in wrought aluminum utensils had some three times as much aluminum in it as that cooked in “spun” aluminum. “The most acid juice, cherry, dissolved the greatest amount of aluminum from the utensils, and the least acid juice, pear, the least amount.”
The Mellon Bulletin further quotes a U.S. Public Health Service opinion; “In the use of aluminum cooking utensils it may, perhaps, be advisable to avoid strongly acid foods. It may also be desirable not to let food stand for many hours in the aluminum cooking utensils,”
O.K., but— is also found in the Kettering report above mentioned: “The action of waters on aluminum generally Is small. . , , In general cold fruit juices have but little effect on aluminum, although hot and boiling citrus juices attack it severely . . . Foods that are alkaline or made alkaline by the use of soda also attack aluminum . . . Aluminum is not recommended for storing wines , . . Generally fruit juices are not boiled alone; when sugar or starch is added, as will usually be the case, the protective effect will be exerted.’’
Aluminum with Food Chemicals (1955), published by one of England’s leading aluminum corporations, while recommending its product to food processors also says, O.K., but—, “The acidity of fresh and canned fruits,. . . varying from pH 2.7 to 5.0 makes unprotected aluminum unsuitable as a canning material . . . Aluminum is usually unsuitable for use with pickles owing to the aggressive nature of acetic acid when salt is present, particularly at elevated temperatures . . . Sauer kraut [same as pickles] . . . The question of the behavior of aluminum in contact with tap water is rather involved, the severity of attack depending upon various factors.”
So what about aluminum cooking utensils? In view of their widespread use they must have some general effects that deserve each one’s consideration. Apparently there are some persons who are very allergic to aluminum salts, and too much is not good for anyone. So you may do well to keep in mind that hard water, baking soda and salt increase the corrosion of aluminum (and certain water softeners most of all), as also do strongly acid or alkaline foods. It would seem that, except for frying pans, which do not give off aluminum when there is grease to act as a protective, glass, stainless steel or heavily enameled cooking utensils are to be preferred, since none of these are affected by such factors. But unless one is especially allergic to aluminum he does not need to be concerned about an occasional meal prepared in aluminum, as when he is eating out. In fact, making an issue over aluminum at the time of eating out may hurt the digestive system more than any aluminum in the food!
For Christian ministers, especially, it is well to note that, apart from eating what they have found to be good for them, there are other things of far greater importance than material food.—Rom. 14:17.
StilPT-PCCrET RADIOS
INIATURIZATION in the radio industry « can be easily damaged by external or Internal has worked wonders In reducing the size ff heat. As might be expected, however, small of portable radios. Models that vary from K transistor radios have some weaknesses.
the size of a woman’s handbag down to that B The tiny speakers of these radios are in-of a package of cigarettes are being turned S capable of producing the tonal quality that out In mass quantities. How a radio that is ■ can be expected in radios of conventional size, small enough to slip easily into an average 1 Music is poorly reproduced by them, though shirt pocket can function may be a bit of a B as the size of the radio increases, the tone mystery to the person who is accustomed to S improves. Generally they sound squawky and think of a radio as a rather bulky instru- * tinny. What an announcer or newscaster says ment filled with many glowing radio tubes. > can be understood when these radios are up The secret is tn a remarkable crystal that > close, but at a distance of over four feet they was introduced into the radio industry as a usually become unintelligible.
component for radios back in 1948. M There are some portable transistor radios
Carefully prepared crystals of the metal B on the market that receive FM broadcasting.
germanium, it was discovered, can be used in | As might be expected, the prices of models the place of radio tubes. As radio tubes can 1 that receive both FM and AM are about double control the flow of electrons in a vacuum, S that of those that receive AM only. For port* so these crystals can control the flow of elec- 9 able radios FM is not very practical. Because trons in a solid. After much research it was S the signals from an FM station travel in a learned how to alter the crystals in various > straight line like television signals, a receiver ways so that the manner in which electrons ® must have a good antenna, and it must be flowed through them would correspond with ffi properly positioned to prevent the sound from the work done by the many different types « being distorted. Obstructions such as hills and of tubes. The finished crystals, properly wired > buildings tend to block or weaken FM signals, inside tiny metal containers, came to be known * This is a serious drawback to portable FM as transistors. K radios and to FM car radios. As they move
Years of research were required to develop B about the quality of their reception constantly a method for mass-producing transistors with | changes. Portables work best with AM broadconsistent characteristics. When it was dis- < casting.
covered, the market price for them finally * There are a few things a person can look came down to where it could compete with ® tor when selecting a transistor portable radio, the price of the familiar radio tube. Despite K See if an announcer or newscaster on a strong improved production methods, better-quality £ station can be understood when the radio is transistors made from silicon are still quite B played in a noisy part of the store. If it Is expensive. With an ever-increasing number of ff not understandable, try another model. The transistor radios appearing on the market, * volume should not change when the radio a person shopping for a radio should know * js turned in different directions. Stations what to expect from them and how to buy one. B should tune in easily. Compare several models
Because transistors draw very little power, 1 for their tonal quality when playing music, a transistor radio can operate on small, in- B The one with the best tone would be the one expensive flashlight batteries. This contrib- 1 best to listen to.
utes to their amazing compactness and light £ Producing shirt-pocket radios is just the be-weight. If played only about two hours a day * ginning of what the radio Industry can do the batteries will usually last for several B with transistors. Further research and im-months. Unlike radio tubes that heat up and & provements in production methods will unbum out periodically, most transistors stay * doubtedly result in many new and improved cool and rarely need to be replaced, but they > radios for your listening enjoyment.
heredity
MAN is laboring under an increased burden of his failure to solve the multitude of problems facing him. He cannot shake off the deadly grip of disease. Crime and delinquency are rife everywhere. Social and economic problems are worsening steadily. The sanctity of marriage is trampled underfoot.
While national and international tensions mount, he is threatened by a new self-made monster. The fear of atomic warfare is developing a “groundhog” psychology in him. Slowly but relentlessly nuclear explosions could produce their crop of “genetic deaths” through induction of harmful mutants. For this reason scientists fear that this monster can cause serious deterioration of public health for generations to come.
How can man be freed of his burdens? Who can uplift him out of the morass in which he finds himself?
Galton and Eugenics
Some look to eugenics, a science for which Sir Francis Galton of England laid the foundation in the last century. That term “eugenics” is one he coined from the Greek eugenia (“well-bom”).
Eugenics is the biological science of race improvement, “the study of the agencies under social control which may improve or impair racial qualities of future genera-
By "Awakal” correspondent in South Africa
tions physically mentally,*’ stated Gal-it includes the study of extent to which good and
bad qualities are passed on from one generation to another. It aims at improving health of body and mind.
Galton advocated the furthering of the productivity of the fit and the restricting of the birthrate of the unfit. However, this would require public sentiment for improvement of the race and a feeling of greater responsibility for offspring. Being a matter for human society or mankind as a whole, changes in laws and customs involved would also be required. But would men endorse this as the means to uplift mankind? ,
Heredity, Environment, Genetics
One’s genetic potential is inherited from one’s parents. It is now known that, not only superficial characteristics, but also such human traits as feeblemindedness, night blindness, color blindness and deaf-mutism follow Mendel’s law of heredity. In humans, as in animals and plants, the right kind of parentage plays an important role.
In animals the inherited instinct controls. Thus the late Eugene Marais, well-known South African jurist, poet and naturalist, carried out an experiment of classic simplicity with weaverbirds. These African finches plait a beautiful, tight, flask-shaped nest of grass or other flexible fiber and fasten it to a branch with animal hair, tied in a distinctive knot.
Marais hatched weaverbird eggs under canaries. The new weavers were induced to breed and their eggs likewise hatched under canaries. For four generations Marais* weavers were denied the care of their kind, as well as possible contact with normal weaverbird environment, and were even fed on synthetic diet. Then those of the fourth generation were given access to natural materials. Vigorously they set about plaiting nests indistinguishable from those of the Bushveld, their original home. And each was tied to its branch with a horsehair, in the distinctive knot.
Man, however, has the power of speech and logical reasoning. With him environment plays a vital role. In him two sets of factors interact: (1) the hereditary factors supplied by his parents; (2) the environmental factors in which and by which the individual develops. Each individual receives an array of genes known as his “genotype.” But in different environments the same genotype can produce different personalities in individuals carrying it.
Animal and plant breeders utilize genetic principles in their efforts to improve livestock and useful plants. Medical genetics is especially concerned with the influence of heredity on conditions of medical importance, while eugenics seeks to eradicate deleterious genes for the improvement of the human race.
Now, in animals, inbreeding can bring to light recessive defects in large numbers. Such animals can then be culled, and a herd thus freed rapidly from certain undesirable characteristics. In man, however, inbreeding is rejected as incest. Nor can inbred individuals be eliminated, and they may become a serious social burden. For that reason, in his book The Training of the Human Plant, Luther Burbank writes: “It would, if possible, be best absolutely to prohibit... the marriage of the physically, mentally and morally unfit.” The essence of the problem, as he viewed it, was expressed in the words “if possible.”
Marriage Customs
A wide variety of conflicting marriage customs exists throughout the world. In the majority of savage tribes unmarried boys and girls are considered free to mate in temporary unions, subject to the barriers of incest and such social regulations as prevail in their community. In other tribes chastity, especially in girls, is regarded as a virtue, and any lapse from it is severely censured or even punished. From Oceania through Asia and Africa to the Americas, examples can be found of peoples who demand continence stringently and of their neighbors who allow full freedom.
Preparatory arrangements and customs range from infant betrothal to initiation, special training for marriage, and moral, economic and health tests. The custom of gifts from the husband to his wife’s family is common. This “marriage by purchase” is often a blatant commercial transaction. In some cases the bridegroom gets presents, sometimes to the extent of making the transaction a “husband purchase.” Exchange of sisters is common. Lobola, or “bride-price,” so common among the Bantu of Africa, is usually paid in cattle, the number varying according to tribe, rank and other considerations, from a couple of head to a few score.
If the bridegroom is poor, he may undertake a service contract with his father-inlaw, a common custom among the Hottentots. In India the low castes usually pay for the bride, the high castes for the bridegroom. Where hypergamy prevails, that is, where girls must marry into a caste equal or superior to their own, buying a bridegroom is often an expensive business.
Endogamy is a form of marriage that forbids members of the caste or group to marry anyone who is not a member of the group. The opposite custom is exogamy, which forbids marriage between members of the caste or group. Thus there are clans in China in which every member bears the same name; no man of such clan is allowed to marry a woman of the same name. Conceivably, communism has had a considerable impact on this custom.
One might even ask whether truly “romantic” marriages are not comparatively rare, for even in the Western world financial, political, social and religious considerations play a significant role. Differing religious conviction is frequently a bar to marriage.
With such divergent marriage customs as even this brief survey reveals rooted in the customs of the peoples of earth, how can it be hoped that regulation of marriage with a view to producing only the “best” offspring will be adopted by all mankind and will result in man’s uplift?
Marriage Choice
In other respects marriage is not a matter of free choice. Affinity and consanguinity debar from marriage. Incestuous unions between near relatives are almost universally abhorred and prohibited. Throughout the civilized world marriage between immediate ascendants and descendants, as well as close cousins, is forbidden by law. Marriage of stepparents and stepchildren, as well as marriage between adopting parents and adopted children, is also quite widely prohibited. In the various provinces of South Africa small variations in these laws have existed, but presently they are being consolidated to have a uniform law throughout the Republic.
Age restrictions vary considerably and can generally be waived by a court of law in favor of couples below the normal age of consent
In the United States some thirty states prohibit marriage between whites and Negroes, eighteen of these also between whites and Orientals. Some forbid marriage between whites and Red Indians. South Africa has its miscegenation law, which forbids sexual relationship between whites and nonwhites. In 1949 South Africa passed the Prohibition of Mixed Marriages Act, which forbids marriage between whites and nonwhites. The onus not to marry such couples is on the marriage officer, who has a difficult and unpleasant task when a near-white is involved.
In the January, 1962, Issue of Family arid Child, official journal of the South African National Council of Child Welfare, a contributor discusses scientifically planned reproduction. He elaborates on the suggestion of Nobel Prize winner Dr. H. J. Muller, expert on genetics, that sperm from geniuses should be administered to carefully selected females to produce a race of supermen. Only a few selected males would be required to keep up supplies in sperm banks. In the resultant Amazon-dominated society only the fittest females would reproduce. Males, he sadly concludes, may become redundant. If such a scheme of “scientific” adultery were taken seriously, what a travesty of human marriage it would be!
Health Necessary
More and more health is stressed. Practically throughout Europe contagious sexual disease is a disqualification for marriage, or, if concealed at marriage, a legal ground for divorce. In 1913, in the United States, Wisconsin pioneered the requirement of a medical certificate showing the male free from venereal disease. Now forty-five states require a health certificate, based on a serological test, before a marriage license can be issued.
From California came the news recently that a test has been found for sickle-cell anemia, so named because the deoxygenated red blood corpuscles lose their globular shape in the veins (but not in the arteries) and take a crescent or sickle form. This hereditary disease is debilitating, sometimes fatal, and afflicts many U.S. Negroes and vast numbers in Africa. It has been suggested that the simple blood test that detects carriers should be required by law before issuing of a marriage license.
Uplift Will Be Realized
But goodness cannot be legislated into man. His divergent social customs and ethical concepts militate against successful uplift. And even if he should succeed in establishing unity in the marriage customs of all peoples, who among imperfect men qualify as judges of those who are physically, mentally and morally fit for marriage? Who should be given the authoritarian power to impose his imperfect judgment in these matters on his fellowman? Should such a situation ever come to exist, it still could not eradicate sin, the underlying cause of imperfection, and so result in the real uplifting of mankind. Seeking to improve the human family by eugenics is simply scratching the surface of the situation while Ignoring the basic difficulty.
For the uplifting of mankind men must look to God. They must avail themselves of the ransom sacrifice of his Son, by which they can be relieved of sin. They must look to the kingdom of God, which, guided by divine wisdom, will cut off the wicked and bring believing mankind to glorious perfection.-—Matt. 20:28; Acts 4: 12; Rev. 21:1-4.
Science, properly directed, can benefit mankind. The knowledge he acquires by means of his research can protect him from needless harm, but it can never grant him deliverance from imperfection, disease and death. This only God can do.
6lung with a fancier
• “A Scottish, farmer kept a gander which had an unfortunate habit of leading his cackling harem across the waters of a nearby lake to forbidden fields on the opposite shore," says Frank Lane in Nature Parade, ‘‘The farmer decided that the gander must be taught a lesson. One day the bird was seized just as he was taking to the water, and a large fish-hook baited with a frog was attached to his leg. As he swam across the lake a large and voracious pike caught a glimpse of the succulent frog. A rush and a swirl, and the frog was down the pike’s gullet. The hook struck home and the fight was on. The first few rounds went to the pike.
The astonished gander could do little more than 'turn somersaults’ on the surface of the lake. Then the contestants settled down to as strange a tug-o’-war as ever took place. The gander made headway for the nearest shore as long as he could maintain his center of gravity, but this he kept losing owing to the violent surges of the invisible enemy. At last, amid the excited cacklings of the geese and goslings, the victorious gander beached upon the shore one of the finest pike the lake had ever known.”
AUSTRALIAN RAILWAYS
By "Awake!" correspondent in Australia
J. HE tirpp for unity had come. The occasion was the arrival of railways in Australia, and the year, 1850. It was such a simple decision for the three independent young colonies of Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia to make—merely the width of the railway lines they were about to build. Of course, they all agreed on the wisdom of building to the same width. Ah, but how wide, just what width would be suitable? As a wise man once said, “Many are the plans in the heart of a man”; and herein lies our story, one that illustrates man’s need for unity and the far-reaching consequences of disunity and wrong decisions.—Prov. 19:21,
Yes, today, many are the railway gauges in Australia. But it makes little difference to the average traveler what the gauge of the railroad is. He simply wants to get to his destination as quickly and comfortably as possible without having to change trains, especially halfway there. Obviously, in a country the size of Australia uniformity of rail gauge would be a most important factor in making the young colonies still more united. It would make them feel that they really constituted part and parcel of one and the same nation.
Of course, differing rail gauges were not invented by Australians. Traveling the world today, you can take your choice of gauges, varying from 2 feet to 5 feet 6 inches. As early as 1860 there were in Britain and America up to a dozen different rail gauges. Gauge, which is the inside distance between the two steel rails of the railway track, varies with different railway systems. Some engineers claimed that broader gauges gave smoother running, whereas exponents of the narrower gauge systems had the slogan “More miles for less money.”
Before the close of the nineteenth century, unification of gauges had been effected in both Britain and America. A clear lead was given in 1845 when a British royal commission described break of gauge as “an evil which alone would neutralize half the benefits of the railway system.” The Civil War acted as a force making Americans conscious of the vital importance of a uniform rail system and leading to the acceptance of the now international standard 4 feet 8J inches by the United States. Why a fractional measure of gauge should be selected at all has puzzled many people. Apparently this measurement of 4 feet 8$ inches is related to the distance between the wheels of the Roman chariots used during the invasion of Britain. Ruts of this width were worn into the roads, to be followed by later highway vehicles and then by the British railways.
Australians have been frequently warned of the folly and weaknesses of a multigauge railway system. For one, British field marshal Lord Kitchener, in 1910, stated that their railway communications appeared to be “more favorable to an invading enemy than to the defence of the country.” This point was really driven home during the Pacific-Japanese war. For instance, it took thirty-six days to move one division of troops some 2,500 miles, from Sydney to Perth, and then without their field guns. “It is fortunate,” wrote Brigadier L. G. Binns, “that we were trying to support an offensive, and not fighting desperately to throw back a Japanese onslaught on our own shores,” Finally, in 1943, Japanese submarines off the Australian coast disrupted maritime transport. The extra burden this placed on the overloaded rail system caused chaotic traffic jams atbreak-of-gauge stations. Hence the comment of one authority: “This was a degree of mobility that almost achieved, for the purpose of war, immobility.” “You are not a country,” taunted the Japanese, “but only five separate islands.”
How the Muddle Began
About six years before the first railway line was laid Earl Grey, Secretary of State for the Colonies, wrote to Sir Charles Fitzroy, Governor General of New South Wales: “It has appeared to be highly desirable, in the event of railways being established in the colony of New South Wales, that one uniform gauge should be established with a view to the possibility of the meeting at some future, though probably distant period, of the lines, not only in the same settlement but by a junction of those constructed in the adjacent colonies.” Here was wise counsel. Had it been followed, other problems would never have arisen.
During 1850 the Sydney Railway Company planned to build a railway, line between Sydney and Parramatta, The company’s engineer, the Irishman F. H. Shields, favored the 5-foot-3-inch gauge; and this was accepted and approved by the government in 1852. The governments of Victoria and South Australia were notified and decided to follow suit; in fact, they placed orders for rolling stock to this dimension, In the meantime James Wallace, a Scotsman and an ardent supporter of the 4-foot-8i-inch gauge, replaced F. H. Shields as engineer. He convinced the legislators that the standard gauge of England and his native Scotland was preferable to that recommended by the Irishman. In 1853 the New South Wales government permitted the company to change to the narrower gauge. Efforts by Victoria to prevent New South Wales from adopting the narrower gauge were unsuccessful; in fact, before the matter could be resolved, the Victorians had opened Australia’s first railway line, and built it to the 5-foot-3-inch gauge. So a trifling difference of opinion between an Irishman and a Scotsman contributed to the disaster of Australia’s rail-gauge muddle. Then to add to the confusion, Queensland and Western Australia adopted a narrow gauge, 3 feet 6 inches. South Australia, after building 250 miles of 5-foot-3-inch track also decided on the narrow 3-foot-6-inch gauge for reasons of economy.
In 1883, when the two lines between Melbourne and Sydney met but did not mesh at the border, there was hot rivalry. Both the Victorian and New South Wales border towns, Wodonga and Albury, claimed the position of interchange station, since tracks of both gauges were provided between them. Finally it was decided. Passengers and goods would be transferred at Albury, while coal, steel and livestock would change gauge at Wodonga. How an-noylng to sleepy passengers was the cry, “Albury; all change here,” and particularly for those having a lot of luggage! Imagine the cost in time and money of unloading and reloading the thousands of tons of freight carried by these trains! The Albury bottleneck alone has cost the New South Wales and Victorian Railways millions of pounds in terms of freight lost to road hauliers. With the diesel locomotive, the modem railway offers the lowest ton-mile rates for freight over long distances. Motor transport has no chance of competing even if allowed to use the roads free of tax. All these advantages have been lost to Australian railways because of lack of unity. What a price to pay for wrong decisions!
Attempts at a Solution
Various devices such as a third rail, sliding wheels, telescopic axles, double flanged wheels and wheels with wide tires have been suggested to solve the problem, but none have been accepted by the railway experts. In 1921 a royal commission recommended an entire conversion throughout Australia to a uniform gauge of 4 feet 8| inches. Total cost then? £57,000,000! This and later schemes all broke down on the score of finance.
Today a compromise scheme has been accepted under which only trunk railways joining capital cities will be unified. The first step of this so-called Wentworth scheme, the £12,000,000 Melbourne-Wodonga-Albury standard-gauge line, has become a reality. Good news indeed for almost four million inhabitants of Melbourne and Sydney and especially for passengers traveling 590 miles by rail between these capital cities. No more changing trains at Albury, 191 miles from Melbourne. Yes, it is “Straight Through in 62.” Opened on January 3, 1962, only freight traffic ran over this single-line track at first. Passenger services could not begin until the track had been firmly ironed out and consolidated by goods traffic. Now the passenger service is the fastest and most luxurious In Australia; in fact, equal to the world's best. Speeds of 80 m>p.h. are standard in superb air-conditioned carriages drawn by powerful new diesel locomotives. Three passenger trains run daily in each direction, two super luxury night sleepers and one day train. Overall time one way? Thirteen hours!
The second step of the Wentworth scheme is the extension of the standardgauge Port Pirie-Kalgoorlie line by a further 380 miles to Perth in Western Australia at an estimated cost of £18,000,000. Survey work on this link Is already being carried out, and it is expected that construction will begin in July, 1962.
The first part of the Australian continent to be discovered, Western Australia, was the last to be opened for settlement. Prior to the construction of the Trans Australian Railway In 1914-18, the sea was the only mode of travel between east and west. Between lay 1,000 miles of arid country, 800 miles of which were uninhabited except for a few wandering tribes of aborigines. In 1911 the Commonwealth Government undertook the construction of the 1,050-mile railway line from the West Australian railhead of Kalgoorlie to Port Augusta in South Australia. Constructed, owned and operated by the Commonwealth Railways, the greater portion of the work was undertaken during World War I. In the whole 1,050 miles there is not one single running stream nor any mountain or valley to be spanned.
Across the Fascinating Nullarbor
Extending for 420 miles, the Nullarbor plain is part of the Trans Australian journey. Picture an enormous limestone expanse, devoid of trees but covered as far as the eye can see by low spreading bushes with bluish-white and grayish-green leaves. These are the blue bush and salt bush among which abound kangaroos, wallabies, lizards, bush turkeys and emus. As evening falls, the richly colored sunsets seem partly to dispel the alt of loneliness permeating this vast primitive land. The stars form grand company at night as they shine with an intense brightness not seen in moister climates. Along with the natural wonders in this area is a man-made wonder, the longest straight stretch of railway track in the world. Three hundred miles without a single curve, hill, valley or tree! A dark line of timber some 200 miles from Kalgoorlie marks the western fringe of Nullarbor, one of the largest plains in the world. The goldfield city of Kalgoorlie is the terminus of the 4-foot-8A-inch-gauge Trans Australian Railway and the connecting station for passengers traveling to Perth, 380 miles away, by the 3-foot-6-Inch-gauge Western Australian Government Railways.
Future Possibilities
The final phase of this plan of partial unification is a standard-gauge line from Broken Hill to Adelaide via Port Pirie. While work on the Albury-Melbourne link was in progress, the governments of South and Western Australia both presented powerful arguments as to why the next project should be carried out in their states. The Federal Government is anxious to establish long-needed heavy industry in Western Australia. Because of the building of a £44,000,000 iron and steel industry at Kwinana, just south of Perth, the Kalgoor-lie-Perth extension is to have first preference. However, when the Broken Hill-Adelaide line is standardized sometime in the future, a uniform track over 3,000 miles in length will join Perth to Brisbane. Surely a link vital to the Australian economy. This leaves thousands of miles of different-gauge branch lines still' unchanged and isolated in the various states, maybe long to remain, because of the frightening financial problems involved in standardization.
Unity once lost is difficult to attain. Small differences snowball. Far better to make a report, consult together in unity and work in harmony from the very beginning, and then, how good and pleasant are the final results!
cA efltild tongue Qan ‘Break. a Bone’
♦ Stressing the value of mildness is the proverb: “A mild tongue itself can break
a bone.” (Prov, 25:15) Demonstrating the power of mildness is the following experience of a Philippine mother:
“After I learned the truth [about Jehovah] nty husband became furious. He told me to be anything but a Witness. One night he entered our room with his revolver to destroy me and the children. I prayed to Jehovah and he answered my supplication. My husband did no harm. I now made it a habit to pray morning, noon and night When possible and without antagonizing him, I would speak of
the peaceful new world and Its promised blessings. Slowly my prayerful course softened his heart. After a time of bitter persecution his hatred vanished. He became reasonable, started to study and Anally symbolized his dedication by water baptism. Today our home bubbles with joy, and we both rejoice to be united clofler
than ever by Jehovah.”
IF
By “Awake!” correspondent in the Far East
| Siva anil Parvatt |
During the last few years many large cities have been visited by a troupe of Indian dancers who, with missionary zeal, have been bringing to Western audiences the culture of India by means of the dance. To people in the West their visit is like a breath of the Orient and an enjoyable entertainment But how many of those who have seen this spectacle realize that they have witnessed a sacred religious ceremony? To the devout Hindu, dancing is a form of worship, a paying of homage to the gods by means of action and drama. A look at the program will confirm this for us, as the first dance in every performance is a Dance Invocation.” One could well ask, Who is being invoked? The answer to this lies in mythology. So through the dance let us learn something of Hindu mythology, and through mythology we shall learn something about the dances of India.
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