Awake!, June 8, 1963

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Religion in the Modern World

The Population Explosion

Uncle Sain’s Skyrocketing Budget

Marvel of the Living Cell

JUNE 8. 1963

THE MISSION OF THIS JOURNAL

News sources that are able to keep you awake to the vital issues orwr times must be unfettered by censorship and selfish interests. "Awake!" has no fetters. It recognizes facts, faces facts, is free to publish facts. If is not bound by political ambitions or obligations; it is unhampered by advertisers whose toes must not be trodden on; it is unpreiudiced 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!" uses the regular news channels, but is not dependent on them, its own correspondents are on all continents, in scores of notions. From the four corners 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 notions, in many languages, by persons of all oges. 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 brood os the earth and as high as the heavens.

"Awake!" pledges itself to righteous principles, to exposing hidden foes and subtle dangers, to championing freedom for all, to comforting mourners and strengthening those disheartened by the failures of a delinquent world, reflecting sure hope for the establishment of o righteous New World.

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

Published Simultaneously in the United States by the WATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF NEW YORK, INC, 117 Adams Street Brooklyn 1, N, Y., U. S. A.

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The Bible translation ised In “Awake!" Is the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptires, 1961 edition When other translations are seed the following symbols will appear behind the citations:

AS — American Standard Version AT - An American Translation AV - Authorized Version (1611) Da - J. N’. Darby’s version

Dy — Catholic Douay version ED - The Emphatic Diaglott JP - Jewish Publication Soc, Le - Isaac Lesser's version

Mo • James Moffatt’s version Ro - J. R, Rotherham's version RS - Revised Standard Version Yff - Kobori. Yu Ung’s version

CONTENTS

Plow Before You Sow

Religion in the Modern World

Starting in Milwaukee—Then New York 8

The Population Explosion

A Tea-drinking World

Uncle Sam’s Skyrocketing Budget

Marvel of the Living Cell

Save That Soil

A Storm of Earth Tremors

Steel in Ancient Greece

Culture Bridge Under Construction

“Your Word Is Truth"

Harmonizing the Resurrection Accounts

Watching the World

Plow

EVERY farmer and gardener knows that for his seed to sprout and thrive he must first prepare the soil. But this truth is not always appreciated in a figurative sense.

For example, have you ever been disappointed as to realizing a certain objective or goal because the one to whom you presented the matter did not respond? Perhaps it was because you did not “plow” before you “sowed.” That is, you may have failed to "soften up,” as it were, neglected to prepare adequately those whom you had hoped to influence.

Yes, plow before you sow. The great Creator, Jehovah God, does, both literally and figuratively. He “plowed” this earth for six long days before he “sowed” man upon it. He also did this in a figurative sense some nineteen centuries ago. He first sent John the Baptist preaching repentance and forgiveness of sins so as to make ready a people for Jehovah, even as had been foretold. Only then did He send his Son, the Messiah, to his chosen people. —Gen. 1:1-28; Luke 1:17.

To plow before you sow is the wise thing to do. In fact, in this respect it might be said that the children of this world are wiser than the children of light. They scheme and plot and plan to prepare the soil so that they might realize their objec-

BEFOREYOU

Sow"

fives. The Communists are especially adept at this. So are the corrupt capitalists who first give gifts to government officials before asking a favor of them, or who provide all manner of lavish entertainment for customers, even to the extent of night cruises with high-priced prostitutes, before broaching the subject of a sale or a contract. They understand the principle but pervert its use.—Luke 16:8.

A Scriptural example of one who employed this principle for ulterior ends is Absalom the son of King David who was famed throughout all Israel for his beauty, and who was ambitious to replace his father as king of Israel. Because of his beauty he was popular, but he did not content himself with this asset. No, he did some “plowing” to prepare the way. By a long-range scheme he built himself up in the minds of the people as a glamorous ruler and champion of the oppressed, thus “stealing the hearts of the men of Israel.” No wonder his insurrection came so close to being a success’-—2 Sam. 15:1-6.

But the Scriptures also contain examples of faithful servants of God following this principle of plowing before sowing. Owe such was Jacob, when faced with the prospect of meeting his brother Esau, who at one time had schemed to kill him. By means of a most generous gift sent in advance, consisting of camels, asses, cattle, goats and sheep, Jacob softened the heart of his brother for the encounter.—Gen. 32: 13-15.

Another Scriptural example is that of Queen Esther. When Mordecai advised her of the plot to kill all the Jews, she carefully planned her strategy. She went in to the king only after she had fasted for days, and doubtless also prayed, and she was attired in her loveliest. When asked what her request was, she did not at once make it known. No, she proceeded to "plow” further, preparing her emperor husband by two banquets for the shock of the news she had for him. She was rewarded for her practical wisdom. Ahasuerus responded exactly as she hoped, if not exceeding her expectations.—Esther 5:1-8; 7:1-6.

When the prophet Nathan was commissioned by Jehovah God to rebuke King David for his great sin, did Nathan upon entering the king’s presence at once proceed to rebuke David? No, Nathan first “plowed.” He prepared the heart of David, softened it by means of an illustration that awakened in him a sense of justice and of righteous indignation. Only then did Nathan “sow,” saying: “You yourself are the man!”—2 Sam. 12:1-15.

Yes, it is not enough that we mean well, that we have a pure motive or that our cause is a good one; we must also use practical wisdom. We must have empathy, ability to sense how the other person would feel if we presented our matter without proper preparation. This is especially imperative when we wish to obtain a favor or have an unpleasant mission to perform. Jacob’s course was in keeping with the advice or observation of King Solomon: “A man’s gift will make a large opening for him, and it will lead him even before great people.”—Prov. 18:16.

Womenfolk in general are more likely to appreciate this fact than are men. They will prepare a fine meal and make themselves look their loveliest, all to put their husbands in a favorable frame of mind before asking them for a new hat, new dress or some new home furnishings. It should not be beneath the dignity of husbands to use like wisdom when wishing favors from their wives.—1 Pet. 3:7.

A romantic young man may propose marriage in vain, even though he may be deserving and have the best of intentions, if he does not first "plow.” A little empathy, however, will help him to appreciate that he needs to prepare the object of his affections by demonstrating his desirability, his good intentions, his constancy and his ability to make her happy before asking her to share her life with him.

This principle of plowing before sowing also applies to the Christian ministry, whether one is delivering a sermon from the public platform or on the doorstep of a householder. A presentable appearance, a friendly smile, a kind voice, remarks that will elicit agreement, are all judicious "plowing” before the “sowing” of what may seem new or strange. The apostle Paul gave a good example of this when addressing the Athenian philosophers on Mars Hill. He began with statements with which they were in agreement, even quoting one of their poets before mentioning Jesus and the resurrection, which were two very controversial subjects. As a result “some men joined themselves to him and became believers.”—Acts 17:22-34.

Yes, in dealing with others, when endeavoring to influence them to youi’ way of thinking, regardless of the nature of your project, take a lesson from the farmer, the gardener, yes, from the Great Creator himself; plow before you sow. Wisely employ the principle, but do not pervert it. Be sure your motive is right.

RELIGION

IN THE MODERN WORLD

How does God view the world's many religions? What is the religion of the Bible?

THERE are many different viewpoints on religion in this modern world. Some think religion is just for the zealot. Others regard religion as something to be called into play only when performing the rites connected with births, weddings, funerals and the veneration of ancestors. Still others believe that favor is imparted through repetitious religious ceremonies. Many look upon religion as something nationalistic, and think it should be left that way, with Hinduism for the Indians, Confucianism for the Chinese, Shinto for the Japanese, Christianity for Europe and the Americas, and so forth. When we consider these many viewpoints, we must acknowledge that religion in this modern world is in a very confused state indeed.

However, true religion is for ail mankind. It exalts the one true God and Creator of all living things. Moreover, it can be a blessing to all men on earth in improving their daily life and uniting them in the worship of the Great Creator of this wonderful earth and its rich provisions for man’s enjoyment. The true religion, rather than mystify mankind and tie him down to superstition, provides him instead with a clear explanation of the world about him, shows him that there is real purpose in living, and fills him with zest to live a life of usefulness and thankfulness to the Creator who gave him life.

A Remarkable Book

There is one remarkable book that tells us of this true religion. It is the oldest book on earth, the first part having been written about 3,500 years ago. It has been translated in whole or in part into 1,181 different languages to date. It has made a tremendous impact wherever it has been read, and it has influenced the lives of humankind more than the sum total of all the other books ever written. More than two and a half billion copies have been distributed throughout the earth. You knew that book well and more than likely you have one in your own home. It is the book of the Christian religion, the Bible.

This does not mean that all so-called Christians are necessarily Bible Christians. Many people and nations today call themselves "Christian,” but they have used the Bible as a screen behind which to carry out campaigns of war and oppression. The Bible clearly shows that true Christians must not get involved in the wars of clans or of nations. Yet it is a remarkable fact that both World War I and World War II started as conflicts between, rival “Christian” nations.

Further, any nation that busies itself in building nuclear armaments cannot rightly call itself a Christian nation. Why is this so? It is because the will of mankind’s Creator for his people for this present time is expressed in the words of the prophet Isaiah, chapter two, verse four, as follows: “And they will have to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war any more.” What nation on earth today is fulfilling the words of this prophecy? Certainly not the leading nations of Christendom, nor the nations of the Communist bloc. It is only true Christians, nonsectarian Christians who believe and practice the Bible, who are fulfilling these words. The remarkable thing is that these true Christians are now identifying themselves in great numbers, and separating themselves from the false Christians of warlike Christendom. Moreover, multitudes of people in the non-Christian countries are also studying the Bible today, and are identifying themselves with the true Christians worldwide.

An International Religion

These Bible Christians are known as Jehovah’s witnesses, because they testify concerning the supremacy and purposes of Jehovah, the Creator-God of the Bible. One can meet them all over the world, wherever he travels, in Europe, the Americas, Africa, and throughout the Orient.

The international scope of this Bible religion was demonstrated at an assembly of Jehovah’s witnesses in Hamburg, Germany, during 1961. This was attended by 88,338 persons from 53 different nations! In the Philippines, 36,829 of Jehovah’s witnesses called at the homes during 1962 as teachers of the Bible. In the United States of America during that year there were 286,908 doing the same work. The record of their activity throughout the earth for the year 1962 showed 989,192 preachers bringing comfort to people in their homes in 189 different lands! In twelve of these countries (nine of which are Communist) 102,490 of these Christian ministers carried on underground preaching activity in constant danger of their freedom and lives.

Nonsectarian Religion of the Bible

What is this religion that makes these Bible Christians preach so zealously throughout the earth? What is its appeal that has caused it to be spoken of as the fastest-growing international religion on earth today?

It is the nonsectarian religion that the Bible alone teaches. It incorporates the sound counsel of the Bible that reaches right, down to the everyday problems of single and married persons, the problems of the family, the problems of young and old. It is the religion that shows how to live a moral life in a world that is fast losing moral values. It is the religion that shows how to educate young ones, and how to guard them from delinquency. It is the religion that has united Eskimo, African, white man and Oriental in one grand worldwide brotherhood, in which each one of Jehovah’s witnesses lives at peace with each other one, refuses to bear arms against his fellows, thinks the same, believes the same, and has the same purpose in life. Ask Jehovah’s witnesses in any nation of earth today how the prophecies concerning God’s kingdom are being fulfilled, and in the language of any of those nations you will receive exactly the same reply.

Bible Prophecy

This touches, too, on another remarkable feature of the religion of the Bible— its prophecy. In fact, the unerring fulfillment of Bible prophecy provides one of the strongest proofs that the Creator, Jehovah, is the author of the Bible.

For example, the remarkable prophecy of Revelation, chapter seventeen, foretold the rise and fall of the League of Nations, to be followed by the rise and (now impending) fall of the United Nations. The prophecy in the book of Daniel, chapter eleven, foretold the current power struggle between the king of the north (the Communist powers) and the king of the south (the democratic powers) and its outcome. In the third chapter of his second letter to Timothy, the apostle Paul described in advance the moral breakdown that is plaguing the present world society. In the books of Matthew (chapters 24 and 25), Mark (chapter 13) and Luke (chapter 21), Jesus Christ himself prophesied with great accuracy the catastrophes that have hit this earth since 1914 (A.D.). These prophecies show the terrible destruction shortly to come upon this wicked world, and particularly upon hypocritical Christendom, for its disobedience to Jehovah, the God of the Bible.

Peace and Life

However, Bible prophecy does not end. with foretelling destruction for the wicked. It goes on to describe the most glorious era of peace and happy living for the meek, obedient peoples of earth under God’s kingdom. As Psalm 37:11 states: “The meek ones themselves will possess the earth, and they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.” In fact, the very theme of the Bible is this kingdom of the Creator-God, Jehovah. That is why Jesus urged all who want life to “keep on, then, seeking first the kingdom.” (Matt. 6:33) God’s appointed king, Christ Jesus, will lift mankind up to mental, moral and bodily perfection, and will impart everlasting life so that all may live to enjoy the beautiful, delightful things of earth for all eternity. This king will even bring dead ones forth from their graves, just as he demonstrated he could do while on earth. As Jesus said: “I am the resurrection and the life. He that exercises faith in me, even though he dies, will come to life;

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and everyone that is living and exercises faith in me will never die at all.”—John 11:25, 26.

The prophecies of the Bible foretell all these things. Moreover, they tell us what the force is that will unite all mankind in peaceful harmony. That force is the spirit, or invisible active force, that emanates from God, by which he created all the vast universe in its harmony. It is this same spirit that now unites those who diligently study His Word of instruction, the Bible, and brings them into a global New World society and into a oneness of worship in the Bible religion. In God’s new world of peace none of the hundreds of divisive sectarian religions of mankind will exist. They will not survive the end of this world. Their superstitions and ceremonies will die with them. Instead, there will be one religion that unites all mankind in the practical worship of the supreme God, Jehovah. “In unity I shall set them, like a flock in the pen.” (Mic. 2:12) This worship will fill the lives of men on earth with joyful purpose for eternity to come.

True, there are many conflicting religions in the modern world. But only the Bible religion holds the truthful promise for peace, unity and enduring love among all mankind.

Starting in Milwaukee - Then New York

HE Around-the-World Assembly of Jehovah’s Witnesses is very important to everyone alive today,” recently declared

N. H. Knorr, president of the Watch Tower

Society. The occasion was a special meeting at Yankee Stadium on April 20, at which there were 8,972 witnesses of Jehovah from the New York city area. They had come to learn what work must he done in preparation for the great "Everlasting Good News” Assembly of Jehovah's Witnesses, which assembly will move from city to city, traveling around the world.

The Society's president delivered a thrilling talk to those privileged to attend on that bright Saturday afternoon. As he enlarged on the scope and significance of this assembly, those present could see that, as he put it, "this assembly is the most important thing in our lives this year.”

Originally this Around-the-World Assembly was to have begun in New York city, he showed; but when the facilities at the Polo Grounds could not be obtained, it was obvious that Yankee Stadium could not accommodate the tens of thousands of persons planning to attend this assembly. As a result the Around-the-World Assembly will start in the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and then move to New York. Already in Milwaukee, on April 13, he disclosed, the Witnesses in that area had gathered together for an enthusiastic meeting to prepare for the assembly, which starts there June 30 at the Milwaukee County Stadium.

The assembly in Milwaukee will run for eight days, finishing on July 7, Then on July 7, while the assembly in Milwaukee is still on, the eight-day assembly in New York begins. While the assembly in New York is concluding on July 14, the assembly in London will begin, at the Rugby Union Ground, Twickenham; it will run for eight days, concluding July 21.

The Around-the-World Assembly will then move to many other cities, the length of the assembly varying from four to eight days. As the assembly moves around the world it will stop at twenty-four different cities! Talks will be given in scores of languages. English will be the main language at the assemblies in the United States, at Melbourne, Australia (August 16-20), at Auckland, New Zealand (August 21-25) and at Honolulu, Hawaii (August 28-September 1). After circling the globe in

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ten weeks, the assembly concludes September 1-8, at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.

President Knorr stressed that the Society is putting forth every effort to make this assembly the greatest witness given God’s kingdom thus far. What benefits it will bring to people conscious of their spiritual needs! He explained that it would be a grand source of spiritual food, education and help for Christians to progress to maturity.

While the Around-the-World Assembly is of vital importance to all witnesses of Jehovah, the Society’s president stressed how important it is also for persons of goodwill to attend one of these assemblies as it moves around the world. All persons conscious of their spiritual need are invited, he said, and Jehovah’s witnesses will want to encourage them to attend even if they arc able to attend only one day. But, if possible, he urged that they spend at least the concluding weekend at the assembly, so as not to miss the heart-cheering public lecture “When God Is King over All the Earth.”

The Society’s president then discussed the work that must be done to prepare for the assembly. Foremost among the needs are rooms, and the Witnesses in the New York city area were encouraged to put forth diligent efforts to obtain rooms in private homes, so that all persons attending will have suitable accommodations.

The time now being spent in many cities throughout the world to obtain rooming accommodations, he showed, is time well spent. For one thing, the assembly will be a real blessing to the city where it is held. Taking New York as an example, he showed that when there was an eight-day assembly there in 1953, there were 39 congregations and 5,475 Witnesses. In 1958, when another eight-day assembly was held, there were 73 congregations and 9,230 Witnesses. Now in 1963, he pointed out, the March report showed 134 congregations with 14,022 Witnesses. The assemblies in New York have been a fine aid to increase, helping many persons learn about God’s kingdom.

With many good reasons, then, the Society's president declared: "Let us be ready for the grandest international assembly ever held by Jehovah’s witnesses.” As it moves around the world, be ready to attend.

JVIoRE than a century and a half ago Thomas Malthus, the English political economist, stated that unless famine or war intervened to diminish the population, the means of sustaining life would eventually prove inadequate.

About a half century later Charles Darwin said of man's reproduction: “At this rate in less than a thousand years, there would literally not be standing-room for his progeny.”

Have these fears been realized by the passage of time? What is the situation today? Is there reason to call the increase of the human race in our time an “explosion”? Should there be cause for concern about the future?

The Facts

The situation today is accurately described by Dr. H. F. Dom, a biometric research specialist. Commenting on statistics released by the United Nations, he stated: “The rate of growth of the world’s population is now estimated to be about 2 percent per year, sufficient to double the world’s population every 35 years. It requires only very simple arithmetic to show that a continuation of this rate of growth for even ten or fifteen decades would result in an increase in population that would make the globe resemble an anthill.” This increase, he adds, “would result in a population of 50 billion [50,000,000,000] persons in another 150 years.”—The New York Times, June 3, 1962.

Within the past two centuries mankind has entered a period of unprecedented population growth. The last few decades have seen the most spectacular increase. It took the world thousands of years to reach a population of one thousand million in 1830. The next thousand million took only one hundred years. The third thousand million took only thirty years! The population of the world as of 1962 was over 3,100,000,000, and its growth was the fastest in history. Many had previously estimated that the three-thousand-million mark (3,000,000,000) would not be reached until the year 2000. It reached that number almost forty years ahead of schedule! At present, more than 50,000,000 people are added to the world’s population each year, about 150,000 persons a day!

Of these, almost two-thirds are undernourished or near starvation, lack proper clothing and are inadequately housed. The current growth rate of about 2 percent, doubling the population in the next thirty-five years, means that food, shelter and clothing would have to be provided for more than 6,000,000,000 people by the year 2000.

The long-range prospects are viewed even more pessimistically by some. An article in the July 23, 1962, issue of Newsweek stated that at the present rate of increase, in six hundred years only one square yard of land area would remain for each person! Little wonder that Julian Huxley, former UNESCO director, said: “The gravest problem of our time, certainly more serious in the long perspective than war or peace, is the population situation.”

This rapid expansion has even placed many species of animal life in jeopardy. As population pressures cause the cultivation of new territories, wildlife is gradually being exterminated. Even in Africa animals such as the rhinoceros and lion are in danger of being wiped out.

Distribution Problems

One of the principal problems of the earth’s population situation today is that people are not evenly distributed over the surface of the globe. When we consider the ten largest countries of the earth this point becomes clear.

Country

Population (Approx.)

Persons Per Sq. Mile

1.

Communist China

717,000,000

2.

India

448,000,000

3.

U.S.S.R.

221,000,000

4.

United States

187,000,000

5.

Indonesia

97,000,000

1G8

6.

Pakistan

97,000,000

7.

Japan

95,000,000

8.

Brazil

75,000,000

9.

West Germany

55,000,000

10.

United Kingdom

53,000,000

Contrast the population of 22 persons per square mile in Brazil with the 673 persons in Japan for the same land area. If the world's three billion or more people were equally distributed over the 50-60 million square miles of earth’s land surface, each person would be provided with about 12.5 acres of land. However, because of climate and terrain only 3.7 acres per person are cultivable. By the year 2000, with the world’s population doubled, the cultivable area would decrease to 1.8 acres per person. On this land, the world’s food production would have to be trebled by the turn of the century if there is to be any improvement at all in the diet of mankind.

Many efforts are being exerted to accomplish at least a measure of relief for distressed areas. Several United Nations agencies are directing their efforts toward alleviating the situation. Underdeveloped nations are struggling to industrialize so their food production can be expanded quickly through mechanization. Modem methods of refrigeration and transportation are being adopted to distribute what food supplies are available to the more densely populated areas.

Desert Areas Utilized

. Among man’s efforts to acquire more productivity from the earth are his attempts to utilize some of the arid and semi-arid regions that make up approximately one-seventh of the earth’s land surface. Even though these areas were at one time considered useless and an enemy of man, it is now recognized that much of this land contains a wealth of fertile soil, which, if properly irrigated, can produce abundant vegetation.

One huge reclamation project is the building of the Aswan High Dam on the Nile River in Egypt. When completed, this will make available for cultivation over two million additional acres of soil. Other large projects are under way in the Soviet Union, where plans are being worked out to dam the Don, the Volga and the Amu Darya Rivers as well as others, with the goal of watering millions of hitherto dry acres. Also, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization plans to reclaim more millions of acres in its Mediterranean Development Project.

A striking example of what can be done is seen in Israel. Since 1948 over 300,000 acres have been reclaimed through irrigation by developing wells and by better utilizing limited surface waters. Already this area is exporting some farm produce, and this in the face of a population “explosion.”

This illustrates what can be accomplished when the forces of necessity, technology and the possibility of economic advantage combine to stimulate governments and agencies to action. However, many of these formerly unproductive areas are not opened up until all other possible solutions have been exhausted. But in spite of the negative viewpoint in years gone by, today these vast areas are gradually being utilized to provide food for more of earth’s inhabitants.

Harvesting the Seas

The seas and oceans are additional valuable sources of food and water for earth’s increasing population. These vast water areas cover about three-fourths of the earth’s surface and can provide much more food and water than they have in the past. Some have estimated that, acre for acre, the seas are potentially as productive, if not more so, than the land. Man’s scientific and technical advances are at last putting him in position to farm the vast wealth of food supplies in the seas.

Aware of the possibility of farming the seas, United States president Kennedy, in 1961, asked Congress for twice the amount of money previously allotted to spend on ocean research. He said: “Knowledge of the oceans is more than a matter of curiosity. Our very survival may hinge on it.”

The International Geophysical Year in 1958 had much to do with man’s increased interest and knowledge of the sea areas. This united effort of scientists from sixty-six nations served as a springboard to develop new ways to harvest the enormous wealth of the seas. Ideas from oceanographers are being considered that, if successful, would greatly increase 0ie yield of the fishing industry in many parts of the world.

At present man acquires only 1 to 2 percent of his food from the seas. Imagine the large numbers of men, women and children that could be fed if time, effort and money would be spent to develop but a small part of this potential! Regarding this feeding of the earth’s future population from the seas, Life’s Nature Library—The Seaj stated: “Man will have to start farming the sea as he has for so long farmed the land.”

Economic Barriers

The responsibility for the world’s malnutrition cannot always be charged to the eaiTh’s inability to produce, because very often it is due to the world’s economic structure. In many parts of the earth the food is available, but due to unemployment, insufficient income, high prices and other hardship factors people are unable to purchase the necessary food.

In some instances food is destroyed or held in storage warehouses in order to keep prices high. Well known is the fact that in some places, such us in the United States, there is a surplus of food, but because of international politics this food is not always used to feed undernourished people. Not to be overlooked is the barrier of religion in some countries. In India cattle are considered sacred, and therefore this meat is not utilized to feed the hungry.

Consider, too, the fantastic sums spent on armaments. The world total spent annually is about $120,000,000,000, more than the total income of all the underdeveloped nations! Fifty million people are in uniform or are producing for those in uniform! What an increase in the food supply there would be if this money and manpower were diverted into productive channels! Dams could be built to conserve existing water supplies and research could be expanded to desalt ocean water so that fresh water could be made available cheaply for drinking and irrigation.

Finally, a very serious drawback to current plans for increasing food production is that population growth tends to cancel out economic growth, especially in those countries where the problem is already critical. A case in point is Egypt. The Aswan High Dam is expected to raise agricultural production about 45 percent. It will take ten years to complete the irrigation canals. At that point, the Egyptian population will have increased enough to absorb almost all the additional food production made possible by the dam. The net effect will be that it will have added little visible improvement to the lot of the average Egyptian.

In these underdeveloped countries the situation is made more serious as facilities for propei1 sanitation and medical care improve. As a result, infant and adult mortality rates are cut down, adding further to the already high rate of increase in population.

A Permanent Remedy

At present man’s efforts at increasing food production seem to be bearing some fruit. However, the hard fact remains that within a few generations problems with the “exploding” population would be staggering, Hie outlook for future centuries is grim indeed from a human standpoint.

Men’s minds are consulted to help solve this problem, but too often God’s mind on this matter is ignored. Surely the Creator of man must have an answer to this population problem. God’s guidebook for humankind provides this answer. At Genesis 1:28 we read that God blessed the first human pair and said to them: “Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth and subdue it.” The word “fill” is significant. It helps us to understand that it has never been God’s purpose to overflow the earth with people, but to fill it. In God’s new world, those who survive the end of this old world will multiply until the earth is comfortably populated. With earth filled to suit God’s purpose, he will then cause the multiplying of the human race to cease. God gave man fertility, the power of reproduction. He can just as easily control it or eliminate it altogether in his own due time.

Thus, while it is proper for man to use his God-given abilities to utilize earth’s food resources to the full, he should not let this obscure his vision of the future. He should look forward to God’s new world for the permanent solution to this problem. At that glorious time the Creator and Provider will pour down showers of blessings on the earth, and no more will men have to concern themselves with a population “explosion.”

~Taa.-dunking Wodd

• Every day throughout the world more than SOO million cups of tea are drunk. The people of Great Britain are credited with drinking nearly half of all the tea brewed, each person averaging about 1,800 cups a year. It seems that the tea-drinking habit began in Britain sometime in the eighteenth century, and as far back as 1767 “tea breaks” were caus/ng loss of time among employees who would: “come and go to the

1pa table," Some drink it hot, others like it cold, but. Tibetans have it dr own way. They add a piece of rancid ox b‘at er to each cup.

SAYINGS of American statesman Benjamin Franklin, as published in Poor Richard’s Almanack about 1750, had a great deal to do with forming in the minds of early 11 fl ft I C Americans ideas on borrow- 111 11 I T" ing money and having V I I U LL debts. Franklin taught: » » “He that goes a borrowing I* II 111 I* goes a sorrowing.’’ “Rather A T|111 A go to bed supperless than V ■ I 111 V run in debt for a breakfast.” “It is hard for an empty sack to stand upright.”

In those early days teach- >

ers never quite tired of preaching the doctrine that thrift is always a good thing. But today a new generation of alleged financial experts have appeared who seem to be telling the American people that thriftiness may not be a good thing for America anymore; that, in fact, it might be downright dangerous for the country; that it may even lead to a recession or a depression.

Therefore, it is not surprising that the president of the United States, John F. Kennedy, should, on the birthday of this “apostle of thrift,” Benjamin Franklin, send to the American Congress the biggest budget any American has seen in war or peace.

The outlay for the next fiscal year, beginning July 1, is more than the United States government spent in the first 140 years of its existence. It equals the total production of Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand combined. It amounts to about half the total production of goods and services turned out by the six countries in Europe’s Common Market. It is more than twice as much as the people in

the United States spend in / "i* W single year on new cars, J/W&7 furniture, washing maW? / chines and other household

goods. It is about thirty ** [Mtr times the sum that was jr spent in the fiscal year

1930, ten times the total spent in 1940, and it even tops the total of $98,300,-/ 000,000 that was spent in

I the 1945 fiscal year, the

■ peak of World War II. The

1964 budget is up $4,500,000,000 from the current fiscal year, to the grand gargantuan sum of $98,800,000,000, and this is just an estimate. Add to this figure what will be spent for Social Security programs and other federal projects not included in the budget, and the incredible sum of $122,500,000,000 looms before your eyes.

Not only did Kennedy announce the budget on January 17, but he also made known a thumping fiscal 1964 deficit of $11,900,000,000 based on the budget. He let it be understood that the government plans deliberately to run in debt until 1967, during the very period in which he proposes cuts in the income-tax rate. Even without a penny’s cut in taxes, his proposed deficit would be some $9,200,000,000. Old Ben Franklin would shake his head in disbelief if he could see these figures.

When the budget was announced, Democrats and Republicans alike in Washington sent up a howl. It was called everything from “wasteful” to "ridiculous.” Missouri’s Democratic Representative Clarence Cannon, chairman of the House Appropriations Committee, termed the budget “monstrous,” and said that ‘over the past nine years the government’s budget makers have underestimated the red ink by a net total of $37,500,000,000.’ Virginia Democrat Harry F. Byrd, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, predicted that the actual deficit would run to $14,000,000,000, instead of the $11,900,000,000 deficit predicted by the president. Republican Senator Everett Dirksen called the budget “incredible.” And his fellow Republicans denounced it as “radical,” “morally wrong,” “a mockery” and “straight from a dreamland of fiscal fantasy.” Still “New Frontiersman” President Kennedy labeled the budget “frugal.” He said that it represented the “minimum necessary to meet the essential needs.”

“The Essential Needs*’

The budget calls for more than 70 percent of the $98,800,000,000 total outlay to be spent on defense, space and interest payments on the national debt. These three categories alone total $69,700,000,000, which is up $4,500,000,000 from expenditures in fiscal 1963. Set aside for national defense is $55,400,000,000. This too represents a rise from the current year of $2,-400,000,000. The space program, which only six years ago was allotted less than $100,000,000, will now cost some $6,100,-000,000. If 6,000,000,000 dollar bills were laid end to end, they would reach to the moon and back, and then some. Agricultural spending will amount to $5,800,000,000. Foreign-aid proposed expenditures will come to a total of $3,750,000,000. Some $3,400,000,000 will be spent on commerce and transportation. The speed-up payment of life-insurance dividends to veterans and other services will total $5,500,000,000 in the new budget. For health, welfare and labor the president means to spend $27,-400,000,000 in all, up $1,600,000,000 from this year. But 80 percent of the sum comes from trust funds, such as the social security fund, that are not included in the administrative budget. In addition to all this, state and local governments are clamoring for thousands of millions of dollars.

What are the revenue estimates for fiscal 1964? From where will the money come? The backbone of the government’s financial resources in recent years has been individual income taxes, corporation income taxes and excise taxes. The government hopes to reap $45,800,000,000 from individual income taxes; $23,800,000,000 from corporation income taxes, and $10,400,-000,000 from excise taxes. From other sources it hopes to collect an additional $6,900,000,000. This all adds up to $86,-900,000,000, or some $11,900,000,000 short of the administrative budget. In other words, next year’s bill for the "New Frontier” amounts to $528 for each American, or $2,640 per family of five. In 1907 the cost of operating the federal government amounted to $8.91 per citizen, and that seemed extravagant to some. Now it is well over $500. Yet President Kennedy insists that the bigger load is easier to carry than the lighter one was in those bygone days. Even though the average American family of five may not have to pay the more than $2,600 in direct federal taxes, still it is well to keep in mind that state, city and local costs are all additional. These rough approximations show us what a tremendous growing burden government costs are today.

Further, American taxpayers are not fully satisfied that the $98,800,000,000 budget will be enough—and for good reason. Red-ink (deficit) figures on the government’s books have had a habit in the past of totaling more than originally forecast. The original budget estimate for Kennedy’s first full fiscal year called for a surplus of $1,500,000,000. When the books were closed, instead of a surplus, there was a deficit of $6,400,000,000. For the second full year, Kennedy in January, 1962, estimated a budget surplus of $500,000,-

OOQ. Now he looks, not for a surplus, but for a deficit of §8,800,000,000. Missouri Democrat Clarence Cannon pointed out in January that in the last nine years spending estimates have proved to be §21,000,000,000 too low and revenue estimates $16,000,000,000 too high. In the last nine years spending has been underestimated eight times. Five times deficits have occurred when surpluses have been predicted. In private business an administrator would have been fired a thousand times over if he judged his affairs no better than that. But in big government much is tolerated, often to the detriment of the nation and its people.

As Kennedy Sees It

The president of the United States sees no great harm in the bloating national debt. The government wound up World War II with a debt of $269,400,000,000 in the 1946 fiscal year. That amounted to 132.8 percent of the total production in that year. By June 30, 1963, the debt is expected to reach $303,500,000,000. With the national debt rising, the government’s interest payments will leap to $10,100,000,-000 in fiscal 1964, up from the current $9,800,000,000. When the approaching fiscal year’s books close on lune 30,1964, the budget estimates set the national debt at a record of nearly $316,000,000,000. The national debt is predicted to climb $27,000,-000,000 in just three years, a figure that should give pause even to the most enthusiastic proponent of the present Administration’s programs.

But the president places the budget in a different light. He compares federal spending with the total amount spent each year on goods and services.. Viewed this way, the federal budget does not appear to be a burden on the national economy. For example, this year budget outlays are expected to come to 16.7 percent of the total gross product. In the 1949 fiscal year, with a budget of $39,500,000,000, federal spending amounted to 15.1 percent of the total output. The implication is that today’s load is only a fraction heavier than it was in 1949,

Besides, says the president, a giant budget is necessary to get the nation’s economy rolling. It has been lagging, with an economic growth rate of only 2.7 percent since 1955, whereas West European nations are experiencing growth rates of 4, 5 and 6 percent. The president’s aim Is for a 4-percent growth, a figure well below the 5-percent rate of his 1960 campaign.

But the question is, Will the budget get the nation moving? Several predictions were made by the Administration that defense costs would reach a “plateau.*' The record new expenditures show these assurances were illusions. In the two years that Kennedy has been in office federal spending has gone up almost $12,000,000,-000 a year on a budget basis. Yet has there been any perceptible forward movement?

The fact is that the nation’s projected growth rate for 1963 will drop from 3.6 to 3 percent. Some 6.1 percent of the nation’s labor force is now unemployed, the highest number in fifteen months. The problem is not a small one, and, regardless of campaign promises made by political parties, none have a really satisfying solution.

How much this emphasizes the need for God's Kingdom rule where godly principles w'ill hold sway and where the wealth of the earth will be used to the betterment of mankind and to the glory of God! Costly armaments expenditures will be a thing of the past. Extravagant space programs will be gone. Dishonest use of public funds will have vanished -with the old world. It will be a world in which no one will owe his fellow anything but love, and on that debt he will gladly make payments each day. -Isa. 9:6, 7; 11:1-5; Rom. 13:8.

# OF#THE

Living

Cell

ALL forms of life, whether human, animal, plant, insect or microorganism, have a common basic functional unit called the cell. If we looked at a leaf or a piece of wood or the wing of a housefly under a powerful m icroscope we would see an intricate network of minute structures. This would also be true of the skin that covers our bodies, of our internal organs, bones, blood and muscle tissues. The difference between all living things is the difference between the characteristics of these subunits called cells.

Regardless of these differences, however, all cells have basic similarities. Although of varying shapes and sizes, each has an outer membrane enclosing an organization of smaller bodies making up the interior, which is called the cytoplasm. All cells have a nucleus at the center, which is responsible for cell division and directs the continuing manufacture of cell parts to maintain function and structure. (Red blood cells are the exception, having no nucleus because new cells are formed in bone marrow.) To carry on these activities, cells employ complicated and efficient assembly-line techniques recently brought to light by scientific re

__________ ... search. : - -proteins Important

CONNECTIVE TISSUE

HEART MUSCLE

■NERVE

EPITHELIAL

Constituents

An insight into the marvelous cell organization requires an understanding of the size, variety and complexity of protein molecules, which are constantly being formed within most ceils. Protein is one of the most important constituents of living things. Approximately 70 percent of the human body is water. About half of the remaining 30 percent, which is dry matter, is made up of proteins. It is a primary building block of muscle tissue, bone, cartilage and skin. Enzymes, which are necessary in initiating and perpetuating bodily function through chemical change, are among the most important protein or pro-teinlikc substances.

Protein molecules are formed when simpler substances called amino acids are connected together in long chains having a three-dimensional arrangement. There are some twenty different amino acids, the basic components of which are principally carbon, oxygen, hydrogen and nitrogen atoms. These twenty different building blocks are like an alphabet with twenty letters from which innumerable words can be written. With twenty different subunits that can be drawn from and arranged in any order and oc-

....... cur with varying . _____________ -.

frequency, it is difficult to imagine how many different proteins are possible. It is mathematically estimated that there are 2,500,000,000,000,000,000 possible arrangements! If we also consider the many ways in which the amino acid sequences can be coiled and twisted to form a threedimensional molecule roughly spherical in shape, the possible arrangements become infinite! No wonder protein, the important constituent of cells, plays its part in contributing to the endless variety of the living world.

If cells are so small that powerful microscopes must be used to see them, how small are protein molecules, which make up much of cellular structure? The best way to get an idea of the size of proteins is to compare them with other molecules. One molecule of table sugar has 342 atoms of organic matter making up its structure. The milk protein lactoglobulin has about 42,000 atoms making up the structure of one of its molecules! It is therefore said to have a molecular weight of 42,000. The average protein molecule has a molecular weight of 60,000. This is considered a large molecule, as molecules go.

But this is true only in a relative sense. Actually these protein molecules are fantastically small. The liver cell, for example, can contain more than two million million molecules. Although 98 percent of them are water, this still allows room for 50,000,000,000 protein molecules in just one liver cell. And how big is a liver cell? If liver cells were placed end to end, it would take more than 1,200 of them to extend an inch! Just think of this! Fifty thousand million protein molecules, with an average oh 60,000 atoms each, can all fit in a liver cell less than one thousandth of an inch in diameter—and only 2 percent of the total volume of the cell has been used!

Horn Calls Make Proteins

Proteins in the liver cell, or in any cell for that matter, are formed by the activity of the cell itself. This is called protein synthesis.

To understand this process we must start at the cell nucleus. Here the chromosomes, the agents of heredity, are located. The structure of these chromosomes, recently clarified, has revealed the presence of a chemical compound named deoxyribonucleic acid (abbreviated DNA). This is responsible for directing the synthesis of proteins. DNA’s marvelous capacity is based on its chemical composition and structure. It might be compared to a very long chain ladder formed by two side chains and crosspieces similar to a wooden ladder. The two side chains are composed of atomic links making up alternating molecules of a sugar compound and a phosphorous compound. Connected to the sugars and forming the linking crosspieces as rungs on the ladder are four distinct nitrogen compounds called bases. Two are long and two are short. Each crosspiece in the DNA structure is formed by the joining of one lofig base with one short one. The long bases have been named 1 ‘adenine*’ and “guanine,” while the short ones are “thymine” and “cytosine.” These are abbreviated A, G, T, C. In the DNA molecule A (long base) links only with T (short base) and G (long base) links only with C (short base). The particular sequence of these four base pairs constitutes the code that directs the manufacture of specific proteins making up the hereditary constitution of each ceil.

Every one of the estimated sixty million million cells in the human body has the same amount of DNA present in the nucleus (excluding red blood cells, which have no nucleus). Every animal, plant and bacterial cell has its characteristic amount of DNA, and it is always constant

in every cell Of a particular organism. The only exceptions are the reproductive cells, which have only half the amount of DNA so that each parent cell can contribute its share of the hereditary characteristics to the offspring.

DNA cts as a blueprint for all the multitudinous forms of life on the earth and in the sea. The ditferent arrangements of base pairs is what dictates that one fertilized reproductive ceil becomes a fish, another an onion plant and another a human, each one reproducing after its kind. Once the cells of a particular organism are formed, the DNA pattern inherited by each cell directs the processes to maintain the life of that cell and to produce new cells by division, thereby replacing worn-out cells and contributing substances to the life of the organism of which it is a part.

While it is not possible to observe the appearance of a DNA molecule with a light microscope, advanced techniques using X rays and photographic plates have yielded diffraction patterns that indicate a helical or coiled structure. It is as if we took our chain ladder with its cross-links of base pairs and twisted it, the way we would wring out a wet dishcloth. Appearing only as dark globs under a microscope, these molecules have a molecular weight of one million. If the DNA in just one human cell were unwound and laid end to end, it would extend five feet! And that DNA contains a fantastic number of coded instructions.

But how can the four bases, A, T, C and G spell out all this information? There is strong experimental evidence that now in-dfcates thatT three consecutive/bases make up or e signal of the~genetic' code. This would account for twenty different possible combinations. From a four-letter alphabet we have a twenty-letter alphabet that can spell out an infinite variety of tiring structures. Amazingly, this coincides with the twenty amino acids that are biflMfaa blocks for the complicated protein molecules. It is now theorized that a particular combination of three bases stands for a certain amino acid. The sequence of this coded triplet-signal maps out the order of amino acids making up the long protein chains.

But exactly how is this done? In the first place DNA is always in the nucleus and never in the cytoplasm of the cell, where, protein synthesis takes place. It is believed that the coils of DNA unwind and file unattached bases attract complementary parts. In this way they are somehow able to construct a very similar molecule called ribonucleic acid or RNA.

RNA, formed in the nucleus, is found throughout the cell’s cytoplasm. It is particularly associated with small particles in the cytoplasm that are identified as ribosomes. Attached to the ribosomes, the molecules of RNA serve as templates or jigs, duplicating the master pattern of DNA in the nucleus.

Certain amino acids are lined up at these templates in the order indicated by the RNA bases. But the amino acids must be transported to these sites of protein synthesis. Research evidence indicates that there is another form of RNA that can carry the amino acids to the RNA templates. It is spoken of as “transfer RNA.” It is believed there are about twenty different transfer RNA’s, one for each amino acid. Once a transfer RNA has picked up its amino acid it takes it to the site of protein synthesis and finds its proper position on the template RNA, where it is linked in a chain with other amino acids similarly transported. In this way a particular protein is built up according to the pattern on the template, which wds duplicated by the DNA. -in the nucleus. Each one of these sl£>ps is mediated by a particular enzyme in extremely complicated and rapidly occurring chemical reactions. In a molecule of hemoglobin 150 amino acids are positioned in ninety seconds. An article in Scientific American of September, 1961, spoke of this "impressive feat" as “testimony to the efficiency of the proteinsynthetic mechanism of the cell.” If one is Inclined to think that protein synthesis is a simple matter within the cell, it should be noted that it took ten years of work by Several researchers to write the first structural formula of a protein—the hormone insulin, a water-soluble protein.

To summarize the activity of the cell in making molecules, we might compare DNA in the nucleus to an architect with master plans. RNA acts as the engineer having a copy of the plans (RNA template) at the building sites (ribosomes in the cytoplasm) and being responsible for carrying the building materials (amino acids) to the right location and positioning them properly to form a completed structure (protein molecule).

How Cells Obtain Energy

It can be appreciated that microscopic cells are factories in themselves, seething with activity and production. All of this requires energy. Where does the cell get the energy to do this, and how does it transform it for its needs?

This energy can be traced back to the sun. Through photosynthesis plant cells can transform energy directly from the sun to a form of chemical energy. Light energy itself cannot be stored as such, so the photosynthetic processes of plant cells bring about the chemical union of a phosphate compound referred to as ATP. The result of this union creates a source of potential energy that might be likened to compressing a coil spring. To tap the energy bound up in the compound, one phosphate group is broken off by the cell’s marvelous mechanism. Energy is thereby released to an acceptor molecule, which, in turn, uses it to do its work. It is like releasing the compressed spring. With ATP as its source of usable energy the plant cell proceeds to use carbon dioxide and water plus electrons from chlorophyll to construct the carbohydrate molecule of glucose.

Animal and human cells, instead of getting their energy directly from sunlight, take it from glucose stored in the cells of plants. Each molecule of glucose is taken apart in a complicated step-by-step process that breaks it down to two molecules of lactic acid. Then another involved series of chemical reactions takes place, virtually reversing the procedure used by plant cells in making glucose. In the process thirtyeight molecules of ATP are formed from an original molecule of glucose, representing at least a 55-percent efficiency! This compares favorably with a 30-percent efficiency, considered good by engineering standards in converting the heat of combustion into useful energy.

These power-packed molecules of ATP are formed in special cell bodies. In plant cells they are called chloroplasts, in animal and human cells, mitochondria. Remarking on the amazing efficiency of these cellular powerhouses, a writer in Scientific American of September, 1961, said that modem advances in the technology of miniaturization are “still far short of accomplishing the unbelievable miniaturization of complex energy-transducing components that have been perfected ... in each living cell.”

…