Awake!, July 22, 1964
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THE REASON FOR THIS MAGAZINE
News sources that are able to keep you awake to the vital issues of our times must be unfettered by censorship and selfish interest. "Awake!" has no fetters. It recognizes facts, faces facts, is free to publish facts. It is not bound by political ties; it is unhampered by traditional creeds. This magazine keeps itself free, that it may speak freely to you. But it does not abuse its freedom. It maintains integrity to truth.
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In every issue "Awakel" presents vital topics on which you should be informed. It features penetrating articles on social conditions and offers sound counsel for meeting the problems of everyday life. Current news from every continent passes in quick review. Attention is focused on activities in the fields of government and commerce about which you should know. Straightforward discussions of religious issues alert you to matters of vital concern. Customs and people in many lands, the marvels of creation, practical sciences and points of human interest are all embraced in its coverage. "Awakel" provides wholesome, instructive reading for every member of the family.
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CONTENTS
Giving Comfort to Those Who Mourn 3
Can You Accept the Whole Bible? 5
The Imprint of Phallicism upon
Christendom 8
What's Back of the Racial Strife? 12
Bible Truth Prevails over Opposition 15
Finding the Facts 16
Refrigeration in the Tropics 20
Vigilance Required to Maintain Respect
for the Sanctity of Blood 24
The Feminine Vessel 26
—in What Sense? 27
Watching the World 29
Awake!
"It is already the hour for you to awake."
—Romans 13:11
Volume XLV
London, England, July 22, 1984
Number 14
WHEN you are face to face with a friend,
someone now very much distressed by the death of a member of his family, what can you say
or do? You want to say something, do something, in some way lessen his sorrow and express your sympathy, but words fail you. To make things worse, you are sure that you are expected to make some acknowledgment.
How can you effectively comfort such a person? To begin with, giving comfort to others requires much tact, deep discernment and sincere empathy or fellow feeling. Upon meeting your sorrowful friend, do not act as if absolutely nothing has happened. He will feel as if you are unconcerned about him. Going to the other extreme of strong emotionalism will not help matters either. To the contrary, it will multiply the feelings of grief in your friend. So it is not an extreme show of emotions and profuse sympathizing but a sober attitude, coupled with genuine love and kindness, that will do most to soothe the heart of the grief-stricken one. But what can one say at a time like this?
You might say: "I heard about your (wife, son, or whoever it was) and I want you to know that I share your sorrow." Then, rather than dwelling on the sorrow,
why not talk about some happy experiences that you enjoyed with the now-deceased person while he was still living? That will get your friend's mind off the sorrow of death and fill it with happy recollections.
A person in mourning usually feels helpless and alone, so you will want to give him the reassurance that others are interested in him. The bright rays of consideration and kindness can do much to dispel the storm clouds of sudden disappointment and sorrow in his heart. For example, why not offer him some practical assistance? You can express your willingness to take care of any errand that might be necessary, to do some work for him, or to care for his children while he tends to some urgent business. He will really appreciate your kindness.
We are all encouraged by companionship with real friends, are we not? Such association will be greatly appreciated by a person in mourning. Offer it to him. He will have much additional work with respect to funeral arrangements, legal matters, and so forth. So would it not be a fine gesture on your part to ask him over to your home for a meal? It will be one less meal for him to take care of himself, thus lightening his increased work burden. Furthermore, getting him into other surroundings and conversing with him encouragingly will give him real comfort.
Or why not take your sorrowing friend for a drive in the country, for a walk through some pleasant natural surroundings, or on some other outing? That will give him an opportunity to share your companionship and to avoid dwelling on his loss too much. Of course, one of Jehovah's witnesses has the added possibility of inviting a fellow minister who has recently had a saddening experience to accompany him in the preaching work. Sharing in the joyful activity of talking to others about God's kingdom is a source of great strength and comfort, and diminishes sadness.
Indeed, God's Word provides the best comfort of all. Things that humans might do to show their affection and sympathy alleviate pain for the moment, but they do not give a person hope of regaining the companionship of his deceased loved ones, as do the Holy Scriptures. (John 5:28, 29) So those well versed in the Bible are in the best position to comfort those who mourn, just as the apostle Paul wrote: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of tender mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those in any sort of tribulation through the comfort with which we ourselves are being comforted by God."—2 Cor. 1:3, 4.
In view of this, what should one who is acquainted with God's Book of Comfort do when someone informs him that he has lost a loved one in death? For example, should a Christian minister of Jehovah's witnesses making calls on the people in their homes take this statement as his cue to be on his way, feeling that a time of mourning is inappropriate for speaking about God's Word? Well, there is a "time to keep quiet," it is true, but, generally speaking, there is no reason for considering a time of sorrow to be such a time. (Eccl. 3:7) Rather, is it not exactly the right time for bringing comfort from God's Word, if one goes about it in the proper manner? Do not most people look for comfort when they are distressed, rather than when they have already recovered from their grief?
On the other hand, if a death has occurred on that very same day, it may be wise to wait until the initial wave of sorrow has subsided before giving upbuilding comfort to the survivors. When the time seems appropriate, however, one can immediately express understanding of the situation and then tactfully make a comparison to Jesus' call on the mourning family of his deceased friend Lazarus. It can be pointed out that our Lord and Master truly had what it took to comfort that family—the power of God's spirit to resurrect Lazarus. On that occasion he said: "I am the resurrection and the life. He that exercises faith in me, even though he dies, will come to life." (John 11:21-45) If we exercise faith, we too can cherish such a hope. Just think how wonderful it will be to live at the time when people are being raised to life instead of dying! Such a prospect is faith inspiring. The secret behind successfully giving effective Scriptural encouragement to mourning ones lies in getting their minds off their grief and onto the message of God's Word.
So do not be held back from such work of Christian love by personal hesitancy! Tell the mourning ones what you feel in your heart. Tell them about the comfort that is offered by our Creator himself. It is enduring comfort, yes, everlasting comfort, for it points to the time when believing mankind will be united with their dead ones who are given the opportunity of life in God's new order by means of the resurrection. In that new order of things all mourning will cease.—Rev. 21:1-4.
Is the Bible entirely true, or part myth? What is the authoritative answer?
IT HAS become the popular thing today for persons claiming to be Christians to
dismiss parts of the Bible as myth. "In a large section of modern Protestantism, the authority of the Bible has been radically and fatally questioned," observed the Protestant journal Theology Today in its January 1964 issue. "The Bible," it said, "is treated as a document of past religious history from which everybody may pick up for himself whatever appeals to him."
But are parts of the Bible dispensable? Are they composed of myths, rather than true historical accounts? Were the Bible writers limited to the knowledge of their times and thereby influenced by current mythologies? Or were they divinely inspired by Almighty God to set down an accurate record of events?
These questions are often raised today, and, surprisingly, many of Christendom's religious leaders, whom people generally think of as champions of the Bible, have been the very ones who have taken the initiative in undermining its authority. Yes, distinguished professors of theological schools and eminent clergymen have dismissed one Bible account after another as myth.
So-called Bible Myths
JULY 22, 1964
For instance, consider what they say about the origin of man. Clergyman Dean Hurst writes in the Dunedin, New Zealand, newspaper, The Evening Star, of October 30, 1962: "Modern Christians accept the scientific estimate that man developed
from some previous creature, that life began upon this planet in the warm salt water where the bulk of it is still existing. Fish developed, fish grew lungs, they crawled up and out of the water
and . . . eventually the final crown and glory of creation appeared perhaps 15 million years ago—man."
That this represents the current view of many modern-day religions and their adherents is evidenced by The Interpreter's Bible, a comparatively recent Bible commentary edited by some of the foremost theologians in Christendom. In its comments on Genesis, in Volume 1, page 755, they say: "The reptile was content to stay in the swamp; man wanted to climb out of it. He had and still has primitive instincts against which he must struggle, for he began on the plane of the animal; but he has not been content to dwell there."
In keeping with this view, W. Norman Pittenger, a leading Episcopal theologian, explained: "The Episcopal Church has accepted the theory of evolution as an account of man's origin." Therefore, it is not surprising that the well-known Episcopal bishop, James A. Pike, should speak of "the myth of the Garden of Eden," and contend: "I do not know a single member of the Anglican Communion—Bishop, presbyter, deacon or laymen—who believes this story literally."
Jewish authorities are included among those who reject the Bible account of the garden of Eden as myth. Although the Bible makes clear that lower forms of animals did not develop into higher forms, but that "God proceeded to create the man in his image" as a direct creation, many Jewish authorities favor the popular evolution theory.
(Gen. 1:25, 27) The Jewish Encyclopedia, Volume 5, page 281, explains: "The relation of the teachings of Judaism to this [evolution] theory is not necessarily one of hostility and dissent."
Catholics take a similar view. In a letter of the Pontifical Biblical Commission to the late Archbishop of Paris, it was explained that the first chapters of Genesis "relate in a language which is simple and figurative, and adapted to the minds of a less developed humanity . . . a popular description of the origins of the human race." In other words, so that the less developed mind can understand, the Bible says that God created man, but, in reality, many Catholics argue, God used evolution to develop man from lower forms of life.
That this is an accepted Catholic view is evidenced by The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 5, page 655, which says: "That God should have made use of natural, evolutionary, original causes in the production of man's body, is per se not improbable, and was propounded by St. Augustine." In this connection, Roman Catholic priest J. Franklin Ewing explained that "currently more and more theologians are showing themselves favorable to [evolution]." He said that he "takes for granted . . . the scientific validity of the theory of evolution."
Not only is the creation account rejected by many as a myth, but many other parts of the Bible are considered folk tales as well. "We must accept the facts of mythology in the Bible," asserted United Church minister W. G. Berry. "The ascension of Christ is in truth a myth."* So are Jesus' virgin birth and his second coming, many other ministers and theologians say. In
fact, clergyman Lindsay King said unequivocally: "The church should come out flatly and say that the Virgin Birth of Christ is not an historical fact."* And John Pearce-IHiggins of Southwark Cathedral in England said that "St. Paul was completely wrong in his idea of a Second Coming."†
There seem to be few parts of the Bible that are not questioned by religious leaders. Even the historical events of Jesus' life are now considered to be myths. For instance, theologians say that "the story of the Magi, and Matthew's account (27: 51-53) of the disturbances that took place in Jerusalem after Jesus' death, appear to be folk tales that were devised to impress the faithful with the magnitude of underlying events."‡
Are Bible Accounts Myths?
Is it not evident that "the authority of the Bible has been radically . . . questioned," as the Protestant journal Theology Today acknowledged? Yes, the religions of Christendom pick and choose whatever appeals to them. If a teaching does not coincide with what is currently popular, as is presently the case with the creation account, which does not agree with the popular evolution theory, then what the Bible says is dismissed as myth.
But are worldly religious authorities justified in dismissing Bible accounts as myth? Is the Bible record concerning creation merely folklore? Did man actually evolve from lower forms of animal life? Certainly anyone claiming to be Christian should accept the word of Jesus Christ on the matter. What did he teach?
Not once did Jesus intimate that even one part of the inspired Hebrew Scriptures is myth. Rather, when the religious Pharisees tried to trip him up on the matter of divorce, Jesus appealed to the Genesis account, saying: "Did you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female and said, 'For this reason a man will leave his father and his mother and will stick to his wife, and the two will be one flesh'?"
Here Jesus quoted directly from the account in Genesis 1:27 and 2:24 regarding the creation of Adam and Eve. He thereby stamped this Bible account as literally true.—Matt. 19:4, 5.
Jesus was in far better position to know the facts on man's origin than are religious theologians today, for, in his prehuman spirit form, he had been in heaven, able to witness personally man's beginning on earth. Certainly, then, Jesus' testimony in verification of the creation account recorded in the Bible book of Genesis can be relied upon! He is "the Faithful Witness," who not once gave false or misleading information.—Rev. 1:5; 3:14.
Jesus' disciples and apostles recorded factual information in accord with what they learned from Jesus. And so Jude, Jesus' half brother, when speaking about Enoch, identified him as "the seventh man in line from Adam." How absurd to identify Enoch's ancestor so specifically if Adam were a mythical character! But that Enoch was the seventh man from Adam, Jesus' disciple Luke proves when he traces Jesus' genealogy directly back to Enoch, and then to Adam.—Jude 14; Luke 3:37, 38.
The apostle Paul, who wrote more than half of the books of the Christian Greek Scriptures, also spoke of Adam and Eve as actual persons. Like Jesus, Paul too quoted from the creation account, and said: "The first man Adam became a living soul."
(1 Cor. 15:45; Gen. 2:7) On another occasion, he wrote: "Adam was formed first, then Eve." (1 Tim. 2:13) And in writing the Christian congregation at Corinth he acknowledged that "the serpent seduced Eve by its cunning." (2 Cor. 11:3; Gen. 3:1-5) How evident it is that Jesus' first-century followers believed the creation account recorded in Genesis! They certainly did not view it as a myth.
Sound Basis for Acceptance
Jesus Christ and his first-century followers accepted the whole Word of God as true, not just part of it. They did not pick up just what appealed to them, and reject the rest. That would have resulted in the early Christian organization's being just as divided as the religious sects of Christendom are today.
This acceptance of the whole Word of God meant that first-century Christians respected its high moral standards and lived by them. They avoided fornication, adultery, lying and cheating and other works of the flesh. However, today people no longer have respect for these laws of God, for they have been taught to dismiss the parts of the Bible that do not appeal to them. What awful moral fruitage this has resulted in throughout Christendom! Lawlessness is rampant.
But today we have every reason to accept the whole Bible and to live by it. It is the truth! The best evidence to that fact is the word of Jesus Christ himself. Without any qualifications he said of God's Word: "Your word is truth." His apostle Paul did not make any exceptions either, but said: "All Scripture [not just part of it] is inspired of God." Yes, there is no good reason why you should not accept the whole Bible.—John 17:17; 2 Tim. 3:16.
SURPRISING as it may seem, there are many symbols in the religions of Christendom that reveal a pagan heritage.
These were adopted from non-Christian religions by professing Christians after the death of the apostles. With the passing of time the things they adopted became accepted as being traditionally Christian and are considered as such by most persons today; yet their origin was not in the teachings and way of worship of Christ and his apostles. They originated in the pagan religions to which
pure Christianity was opposed. This shocking fact is acknowledged by historians.
In the book The Outline of History by H. G. Wells, the observation is made on page 513: "Natural, too, was it for Christianity to adopt, almost insensibly, the practical methods of the popular religions of the time. . . One accretion followed another. Almost insensibly the originally revolutionary teaching was buried under these customary acquisitions." Another historical work, A Short History of Civilization by Lynn Thorndike, makes a similar observation on page 209: Nominal adherents naturally kept much more of their worldly and even pagan ways than had the earlier converts. Greek Gods were metamorphosed into medieval saints, and many rites of the pagan period continued under a Christian veneer."
Phallic Worship
In the Roman Empire, as well as other parts of the ancient world, phallic worship was popular. The male sex organ was realistically reproduced by phallic worshipers on statues in public places and on the walls and floors of Roman homes. It was also represented by upright pillars, stones and poles, such as those that were worshiped by peoples of the East. The good kings of Judah destroyed such phallic poles. Regarding Jehoshaphat the Bible says: "His heart became bold in the ways of Jehovah, and he even removed the high places and the sacred poles from Judah."—2 Chron. 17:6.
Among the Romans a small representation of the phallus or male generative organ was hung around the necks of children to protect them from evil influences. To many persons who profess to be Christian today this would be a shocking practice. They would never contemplate doing that to their children. But without realizing it, that is precisely what they are doing.
What is generally regarded as a symbol of Christianity by the people of Christendom was not regarded as such by Christ's apostles and other Christians of the first century. In their day the cross was not a symbol of Christianity but was a popular religious symbol among the pagans. To the pagans the cross symbolized the phallus and its generative glands. That is why the Egyptians regarded it as a sign of life. On the walls of their many tombs can be seen this phallic cross with a circle or handle on top.
This type of cross is designated in our dictionaries as an "ankh" or "crux unsata."
The combining of a cross with a circle depicts the male and female generative organs that are the source of life for new generations of humans. The book Short History of Sex Worship by H. Cutner makes this observation, on page 16: "Various figures of crosses are found everywhere on Egyptian monuments and tombs and are considered by many authorities as symbolical either of the phallus or of coltion. . . In Egyptian tombs the crux ansata is found side by side with the phallus." A similar association of the cross with the phallus was noted in the ruins of Herculaneum and Pompeii. The book also says, on page 193: "The straight line, represented by the letter I, or the figure 1, is sometimes considered to be the male symbol. . . In any case, with a bar across, it becomes the cross, one of the most famous of all symbols; and when attached to the circle depicts the 'Bar of Isis' or the union of the sexes."
Being a symbol of the male and female generative organs, the crux ansata or handled cross was a logical symbol for representing fertility or life. Acknowledging this, the Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, Volume 4, page 326, states: "Whatever
may be the material object of which the handled cross is the representation, its abstract sense is not doubtful: it is a symbol of life, of the vital germ, and it is not without reason that it has been called the key of life... Its presence has been noted on bas-reliefs, tombs, pottery, jewels, coins, from Sardinia to Susiana, along the shore of Africa, in Phrygia, Palestine and Mesopotamia."
pagans on necklaces and other jewelry just as is done by professed Christians today. The book The Two Babylons by Alexander Hislop points out, on page 198, that the pagans used it "as an amulet over the heart; it was marked on the official garments of the priests, as on the official garments of the priests of Rome; it was borne by kings in their hand, as a token of their dignity or divinely-conferred authority. The Vestal virgins of Pagan Rome wore it suspended from their necklaces. . . . Men as well as women wore earrings; and they frequently had a small cross suspended to a necklace, or to the collar of their dress."
Pagans that worshiped nature gods usually worshiped the powers of fertility. For this reason representations of the phallus and the cross were in common use among them. M'Clintock and Strong's Cyclopedia, Volume 8, page 57, states that the cross "was an object of common worship throughout the nature-religion of the East." It also was common among the Egyptians, Greeks and Romans who worshiped nature. The Roman nature god, Bacchus, was represented at times with a headband containing a number of crosses.
According to the Standard Dictionary of Folklore, Volume 1, page 264, the Greeks associated the cross with Aphrodite, who
Egyptian drawing of Hather,
Nefertort and Isis, each
holding the "crux onata,"
"the sign of life"
was the goddess of sensual love. This fertility goddess was called Venus by the Romans. Standing before her temple in Hierapolis in Asia Minor were two huge phalli, each 180 feet high. Another linking of the cross with fertility by the Greeks was revealed during the excavation of Troy in Asia Minor. A female figure was found there that had a cross on its pubic region. The "phallic symbols in Greece, Rome and Japan," the Standard Dictionary of Folklore states, "are sometimes in the form of inverted tau crosses," shaped like a "T."
In view of the fact that there is no Scriptural precedent for using a cross as a symbol for Christianity, its usage in Christendom is an imprint of paganism. It is a carry-over from ancient phallic worship. Is there any real difference in the practice of parents today who place a necklace with a cross on it around the necks of their children and the practice of ancient Roman parents who put a necklace with a phallus on it around the necks of their children, since the cross was a symbol of the phallus?
Cross and Easter
The festival of Easter that is observed by Christendom is another imprint on her of paganism. With reference to this festival The Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th edition, Volume 8, page 828, states: "The name Easter, like the names of the days of the week, is a survival from the old Teutonic mythology. According to Bede it is derived from Eostre, or Ostura, the Anglo-Saxon goddess of spring." This was a fertility festival among the pagans, as indicated by their associating with it eggs and the prolific rabbit. Commenting on the Easter rabbit, The Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 5, page 227, states: "The rabbit is a pagan symbol and has always been an emblem of fertility." About the egg, this same encyclopedia says: "The custom may have its origin in paganism, for a great many pagan customs, celebrating the return of spring, gravitated to Easter. The egg is the emblem of the germinating life of early spring." Regarding the egg, The Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1959 edition, Volume 7, page 859, observes: "But the conception of the egg as a symbol of fertility and of renewed life goes back to the ancient Egyptians and Persians, who had
also the custom of colouring and eating eggs during the spring festival."
The hot cross buns used in the Easter festival are still another imprint of pagan phallic worship. The Greeks and Romans used the same type of buns or cakes. Pointing this out, The Encyclopedia Britannica, 1859 edition, Volume 4, page 381, states: "Like the Greeks, the Romans ate bread marked with a cross . . . at public sacrifices, such bread being usually purchased at the doors of the temple. . . . The cross bread was eaten by pagan Saxons in honour of Eostre, their goddess of light." Among some who professed to be Christians these buns or cakes were shaped as the pagan Romans shaped them—in the form of the phallus. "There is some reason," says the book A Discourse on the Worship of Priquas by Richard Knight, "for believing that, at least in some parts, the Easter cakes had originally a different form—that of the phallus. . . . The custom of making cakes in the form of the sexual members, male and female, dates from a remote antiquity and was common among the Romans." Since Easter was a fertility celebration, it is not surprising that some professed Christians made the buns in the form of a phallus and others, as is done today, put a cross, the symbol for the phallus, on them.
The Christian writer Minucius Felix of the third century denies, in his argument against accusations made by pagans, that Christians used the cross in their worship. He told the pagans that they were the ones who adored the cross, not Christians. He said: "Crosses, moreover, we neither worship nor wish for. You, indeed, who consecrate gods of wood, adore wooden crosses perhaps as parts of your gods." (Ante-Nicene Christian Fathers, Vol. 4, p. 191) In his days the cross was not venerated by Christians and was not used as the symbol of Christianity. It was strictly a pagan fertility symbol that represented the procreative parts of pagan gods.
Pillars, Towers and Steeples
As the ancient pagan phallic worshipers used pillars and columns to symbolize the phallus, so worshipers of the Hindu god Siva do today in India. The male generative organ is the symbol of Siva and is called by Hindus the lingam. It is an object of deep veneration throughout India. A phallic column or pillar is in the innermost section of Siva shrines. The columns on the grounds of Hindu temples and the towers on the temples are all phallic symbols. The book Sex Worship and Symbolism of Primitive Races by Sanger Brown makes this observation, on page 41; "There is scarcely a temple in India which has not its lingam, and in numerous instances this symbol is the only form under which the god Siva is worshipped."
Frequently a phallic column is combined with the blossom of the lotus flower. It might rise out of a representation of the flower or it might have a representation of its leaves at the top of the column. This blossom is the symbol of the female generative organ. Commenting on these symbols, the book Man's Religions by John Noss observes, on page 251: "The sexenergy which was identified with him [Siva] was represented to the eyes of his worshipers by symbols. Chief among these representations have been the linga and yoni, conventional emblems of the male and female organs of generation. . . Shiva's worshipers, in their homes as well as in their temples, approach these symbols in devout worship."
Upright objects such as columns, pillars, towers, stones, mounds, poles, and so forth, represent the lingam to phallic worshipers. On this point George Scott states in his book Phallic Worship, page 201: "A mountain, obelisk or anything conical excites the idea of the Lingam to the Hindu." These symbols of the phallus in pagan sex worship have left their imprint upon the church buildings of Christendom.
The steeples and towers on church buildings find no basis for their existence in the Biblical record about Christianity. They have their origin in the phallic towers, columns and spires of pagan temples that were devoted to sex worship. The book Sex Worship and Symbolism of Primitive Races by Sanger Brown states, on page 38: "There is evidence to show that the spires of our churches owe their existence to the uprights or obelisks outside the temples of former ages." Confirming this, the book Sex Symbolism in Religion by J. B. Hannay remarks, on page 347: "The lingam is represented by all upright things, such as pillars, gate-posts, upright stones, tree stems, serpents, cross, trident, the spive . . . the bell tower." Quoting writers on phallic worship, M'Clintock and Strong's Cyclopædia, Volume 8, page 57, says: "The nimbus, the aureole, the cross, the fish and even the spires of churches, are symbols retained from the old phallic worship."
These facts may be shocking to persons who have not been aware that Christendom has a pagan heritage, but they are facts that should not be lightly dismissed. They have a major bearing on whether a person has a favorable relationship with God. The religious symbols and customs of paganism are defiling. They can cause a person to be cut off from God's approval. Therefore the Scriptures command: "Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers. For what sharing do righteousness and lawlessness have? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? 'Therefore get out from among them, and separate yourselves,' says Jehovah, 'and quit touching the unclean thing'; 'and I will take you in.'"—2 Cor. 6:14, 17.
What's Back of the
the RACIAL STRIFE
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PRACTICALLY wherever there are differences in skin color, race is a problem. From time to time race violence explodes in South Africa, and people die. Even in Britain not long ago racial tensions erupted, causing Parliament to restrict entry of certain racial groups from other Commonwealth countries. In Russia and Czechoslovakia last year African students were beaten up and mistreated. And in Bulgaria fellow students hurled verbal insults at them and refused to sit next to them.
On the other hand, when the blacks obtain control, the whites are often discriminated against and mistreated, as has been demonstrated in certain newly independent African countries. But the trouble is not only between the blacks and the whites. The New York Times of recent date, for example, has reported frequently on the racial strife between the Negroes and East Indians in British Guiana. In other countries, such as Peru, Indians are often mistreated and referred to in degrading terms by whites.
But it is especially in the United States that racial strife now erupts like an angry volcano. In Nashville, Tennessee, on April 29, the police had to restrain a crowd of angry whites from attacking a group of Negro demonstrators. "Put a knot on their head. Let us at 'em," they shouted. The week before, racial strife in Guthrie, Oklahoma, overwhelmed the local police force, and Oklahoma City police had to race to the town's aid.
An outstanding demonstration of hostility toward the Negro in the northern United States came in the Wisconsin presidential primary. There the segregationalist governor of Alabama, George C. Wallace, campaigned on the platform that a vote for him was a vote against the civil rights bill to grant Negroes certain freedoms. He received an astounding number of votes.
Both whites and blacks have resorted to violence. Following a series of demonstrations in Birmingham, Alabama, a Negro church was bombed, killing four children. As was feared, the arrival of spring this year brought a renewal of this race violence. On March 23, a Negro woman, the mother of nine children, was shot down in Jacksonville, Florida. On the other hand, in Brooklyn, New York, on April 21, some fifty Negroes mobbed a group of Jews, shouting: "You don't belong in this country." And in Harlem, the major Negro community in New York City, anti-white gangs are reported to be roaming the streets. Already several whites have been slain. "It's never been as bad as it is today for white men," a clothing salesman in Harlem claims. "For 24 years I've worked here, but only now do I feel uncomfortable."
So serious has the situation become that an official of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People warned: "If there's any sense of responsibility left on the part of either the white or the black racists, they are under the sternest obligation to stop now before they carry the nation further toward disaster."
But what are the underlying reasons for all this racial strife?
Economic and Political Fears
There is actually much more to it than the often-pointed-to fact that the blacks have not been granted all the freedoms that the whites have. Of course, that is a basic issue, many blacks feeling that the whites want to keep the Negro subservient. They believe that one of the reasons for this is economic; that is, that whites fear loss of cheap labor. On the other hand, viewing things politically, whites fear that if the Negro is given more freedom and power, the property and lives of whites will be endangered. Those who would refuse to grant more freedom to the Negro point to what has happened in certain places where the Negro has gained freedom. They remember how whites were slaughtered indiscriminately by radical elements when certain African countries obtained independence.
In the United States it was just one hundred years ago that the Negroes were freed from slavery to the whites; however, they were not given the same rights and opportunities as white Americans. For example, it was not until ten years ago that the Supreme Court finally ruled against the segregation of races in public schools. A not insignificant factor in the strife is the attitude some political leaders have taken toward court decisions granting more rights to the Negro.
Wrong Examples, Wrong Teaching
The example of some political leaders who defied court decisions further stirred up the racial strife. Following the momentous Supreme Court decision, the Jackson, Mississippi, Daily News said: "Human blood may stain southern soil in many places because of this decision . . . It means racial strife of the bitterest sort.
Mississippi cannot and will not try to abide by such a decision."
When political and educational leaders in a community resist a country's laws, they set an example that will be copied by others, especially by youths; trouble and strife ensue.
But wrong examples get started long before political leaders enter the arena. By example, the parents often teach their children racial prejudice. If not openly, they may slyly and subtly teach their children prejudice, saying, "Don't play with those children." Many parents obviously have not taught their children what the Bible says about the different races; namely, that God "made out of one man every nation of men, to dwell upon the entire surface of the earth."—Acts 17:26.
Humans thus are not born with race prejudice. The modern historian Arnold J. Toynbee wrote: "Every human child knows that the physical differences between one human breed and another are of no consequence. Children start life unrace-conscious, and they remain unrace-conscious unless or until they are indoctrinated with race prejudice." This explains it. One has to be taught to believe that skin color makes a difference, and that individuals should be viewed on this basis. Children who have shared daily life with those of another skin color and have not been turned against them by adults grow up appreciating and enjoying them as people.
There certainly is no basis for believing that a person of one race is better than one of another. Wrote Professor R. Benedict and Dr. G. Weltfish, Department of Anthropology, Columbia University, in the pamphlet The Races of Mankind: "The Bible story of Adam and Eve, father and mother of the whole human race, told centuries ago the same truth that science has shown today: that all the peoples of the earth are a single family and have a common origin.
. . All the racial differences among them are non-essentials."
But instead of being taught the truth scientifically and Biblically, people are taught the wrong way from youth up. Not having right teaching when they were young, crowds respond violently to wrong teaching. "If I wanted to," claimed a racist earlier this year, "I could work you up enough to go out and shoot a Negro in an hour."
Wrong education, teaching hate for those of another race, particularly affects young persons, who are easily stirred up to violence. It was largely youths who attacked Negro demonstrators at Nashville, Tennessee, and who are involved in much of the strife in the United States. It was youths who were reported to make up an anti-white gang in Harlem. It was twenty youths who attacked a Columbia University professor on May 22 in New York City, shouting, "White man, we're going to get you." Six of those youths were apprehended by police; their ages: from 13 to 16. It was youths involved in this news report: "In Salisbury a band of Africans set upon white women shoppers in a downtown store, punching, slapping and beating them in a fury. About 20 African youths entered the store, the OK Bazaar, and mingled with shoppers. At a prearranged signal—a whistle—each youth attacked the white nearest him."
The sole reason for such assaults was difference of race. But those youths of both races had been wrongly educated and were stirred up by the examples and words of older persons. They had been educated to hate those of another race to the point of violence.
Not Practicing True Christianity
Obviously too many youths and adults of all races have not been well taught and
especially so when it comes to the will of God. When Jesus Christ was upon the earth he drew no distinction between people because of skin color. When he said that "you must love your neighbor as yourself," he made no exceptions on the basis of race. He had in mind people of all different skin colors when he said to 'do unto others as you would have them do unto you.' The failure of many professed Christians to follow Jesus' teachings is a root cause of present-day racial strife—Matt. 22:39; 7:12.
How, then, can they really be Christians? Some even claim to abide by the words of the Lord Jesus Christ and yet they may consciously or unconsciously be prejudiced against others because of skin color. They may really view those of different color as inferior. If hidden prejudices exist, each Christian has the responsibility before God to root them out.
Certainly true Christians cannot succumb to race prejudice, if they are to please God. Hence they will not fall into the common error—a factor behind the racial strife—of condemning an entire race for the unlawful acts of certain individuals. People may do this even unconsciously. They say that "a Negro raped a woman" or that "a white man beat his boy to death." Thus the tendency is to blame the whole race, to imply that he did the wrong because he is of a certain race. Newspapers sometimes highlight the race of wrongdoers. People are made to think of others in terms of color of their skin. But the fact is that the wrongdoer is simply an individual. The only circumstance when it is justifiable to condemn a group for the crime of an individual is when that person belongs to an organization or society that advocates such conduct or that undermines the moral fiber of its members.
Not to be overlooked as a significant factor in the racial strife is the illuminating fact that Satan the Devil would be "hurled down to the earth," and because of "having great anger" would stir up unprecedented strife on the earth.
This has happened. Bible chronology and fulfilled prophecy identify this as the generation that has experienced the ousting of Satan from heaven and resultant woes of strife.
The Devil has filled men with his spirit of hate and violence, so that they are determined to fight to the death any racial measures to which they are opposed. How evident it is that the only real solution to the racial problem is God's kingdom, which will soon sweep away this wicked system of things and usher in a new order of righteousness!—Rev. 12:7-12.
Bible Truth Prevails over Opposition
TACTFULNESS BEARS FRUIT
A witness of Jehovah in Canada, in her house-to-house ministry, met a very opposed woman who kept shouting in a rage. The Witness was unable to go on with her sermon because the woman kept up her opposition. Through all this, though, the Witness managed to remain calm, keeping a very peaceable attitude. After a while, the Witness left, wishing this person good day. The woman retreated into her house, sat down, and began to think. She thought of the mild manner of the Christian woman at her door and of the terrible things she had told this Witness. She thought about this for two days. Finally, she got in touch with the Watch Tower Society and apologized for the way she behaved with the Witness who came to her door. A back-call slip was made out and sent to the congregation in whose territory this woman lived. As it happened, the very same Witness got this slip, went on the call, took one look at the house and thought, "Oh, no, there must be some mistake!" But she knocked on the door anyway, and to her surprise the woman invited her in and apologized for her previous behavior. The Witness was allowed to go on to explain her purpose in calling, and a home Bible study was started.
PERSISTENCE WINS OUT
In a day of preaching in a very large fasenda, a witness of Jehovah from Cambara, Paraná, Brazil, was able to place the book "Let God Be True" with a man who showed interest in the Bible. Realizing that the man would not learn automatically, the Witness felt it his duty to help him, and returned to visit him and began a weekly Bible study. This man's father, mother and wife were so violently opposed that sometimes
he hid out on the day marked for the study, but the Witness did not become discouraged but would appear unexpected on another day. The family moved to the city of São Paulo, where the Witnesses would visit him and encourage him. But soon, as his employment did not turn out well, they returned to the farm, and the study was started again. Soon the opposition was so strong that it was necessary to stop the study for a while, but when the study was resumed once again, the Witness noticed with great satisfaction that this time his student was willing to face all the difficulties and opposition. Finally he became a faithful Witness, together with his wife and children. Persistence won out.
CHANGED ATTITUDE
A Witness in Canada reports: "Ten years ago I worked with a young girl in a hotel. She was very opposed to Jehovah's witnesses and even persecuted me. Recently, I arrived in Quebec again and met this person on the street. She was very glad to see me and invited me to her house. She greeted me with joy. I talked to her about the Bible and placed the book From Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained with her. We started a study right away. She invited me for supper, so I stayed. One of her brothers became interested so he also took the Paradise book, and after supper I started a study with him. The next day, to my surprise, she asked to go with me in the house-to-house ministry. She was in the service for an hour with me. Now she attends the Watchtower study with her three daughters, seven, eight and nine years of age. I hardly have words to express the feelings that I had when meeting this person who had changed her attitude so much toward God's truth."
MOST of us, from time to time, need to find certain facts. And those who do writing, prepare public talks or work on themes for school need to find a good deal of factual information. This is not easy. Even high school and college students are depressed at times by an inability to find the desired information. So when we need to know certain facts, it pays to know how to find those facts.
The art of finding facts, commonly called research, needs to be approached systematically. For example, what is it you want? What is your purpose in obtaining the information? You do not want all the information on a subject, so what aspect of it are you going to concentrate on? Answers to those questions will help you to make a systematic approach to research, saving you much time and effort.
For most persons who desire facts on a subject, one of the best places to go is the public library. Get to know your library. Where are its reference books,
the encyclopedias, dictionaries, annuals, atlases and other books filled with facts? Your library may publish a leaflet explaining the many features it has, and this will help you in learning what library facilities are open to you.
If you have difficulty in finding what you need, you can tell the librarian exactly what you want; you will often be surprised at the helpful results. Perhaps your library has a telephone service, and a quick call will give you the fact you need. But when your need for finding facts is great, you should know how to use the library and its reference books.
Using Encyclopedias
On the reference shelves of libraries are usually a number of sets of encyclopedias. Here is a good place to find basic information on a wide range of subjects, and it is often a good start for any kind of research project. To find the facts you want, however, it is worthwhile to keep in mind that encyclopedias differ somewhat in the information they contain, in their system of arrangement and in their purpose. For instance, The Encyclopedia Britannica and The Encyclopedia Americana are keyed to the interests and learning of adults and young adults, especially those who require a scholarly approach and technical accuracy. If you are searching for general facts and do not require very technical information, you will often find it quicker and easier to consult such sets as the Britannica Junior Encyclopedia, the American People's Encyclopedia, the World Book Encyclopedia and Collier's Encyclopedia. In isolated fact-finding, a one-volume encyclopedia such as the Columbia Encyclopedia will often give you the bit of information quicker than larger works.
But if you are doing research so you will be qualified to discuss or write about a subject thoroughly, you will require considerable information; and one encyclopedia is not likely to be enough.
Consult several, for some will have excellent facts that are not in others. And by consulting several, you will be better able to check your facts for accuracy and reliability.
Then there is the system of arrangement. Some encyclopedias are arranged alphabetically by large subjects; others by minutely alphabetized small subjects. When encyclopedias treat subjects as subtopics under a main heading, it is vital to consult the index, and it is often a good idea to use the index with any encyclopedia.
When using encyclopedias, it pays to know the date when a particular edition was issued. This will save you time. You may be looking for information about an event that took place after the publishing of the encyclopedia. For instance, if you were looking up information on a recent archaeological discovery and the encyclopedias in your library were several years old, you would need to go to one of the encyclopedia supplemental books, such as the Americana Annual, the Britannica Book of the Year or Collier's Encyclopedia Year Book. These books are issued every year and contain information on events that took place the year previous to publication. Use of these volumes will help you to keep your facts up to date.
If you happen to be doing religious research, it is vital to know that the latest editions of encyclopedias tend to whitewash or leave out the failures of Christendom's major religious organizations, thus obscuring the truth.* So with such historical subjects, it pays to consult older editions of encyclopedias, such as the Britannica's excellent eleventh edition. Thus older editions never go wholly out of date, and they often include articles on subjects
no longer treated in current reference books.
Further, if you are seeking information on a particular religion, it pays to get the official viewpoint of the religion involved. If one wants to know the Catholic viewpoint of certain religious doctrines, he could consult The Catholic Encyclopedia; or if he is interested in information on Jewish history and customs, he would do well to consult The Jewish Encyclopedia. Then in large libraries there will likely be the Encyclopedia of Religion and Ethics, with its twelve volumes and an index; it has many articles on religious beliefs, customs, and so on.
Besides encyclopedias, there are books often known as "almanacs," such as The World Almanac and Book of Facts, which are crammed with facts and figures on just about everything.
Newspapers, Magazines, Books
Often the facts you seek are not in almanacs and encyclopedias but may be in newspapers or magazines; this is especially true with the latest statistics, such as those on the rising rate of crime in a certain area. Newspaper and magazine articles, however, tend to drop out of sight more easily than books; yet their information continues to be available through the agency of newspaper indexes and periodical indexes. Many libraries have newspapers on microfilm and they may have indexes such as The New York Times Index and The Official Index to the Times (London). Your library may also have a periodical index, such as the most-used one in the United States, the Readers' Guide to Periodical Literature, and Britain's Library Association's Subject Index to Periodicals. Canada, Australia, South Africa, Sweden, West Germany, Spain and other countries have indexes to their more important periodicals. The index will direct you to the particular magazine issue you seek.
A certain number of magazine issues make up a volume, and when it is complete, many libraries have them bound like a book.
Public speakers and those seeking answers to questions on many subjects will find a wealth of information by using the Watch Tower Publications Index and its supplements. By using this index students preparing compositions will often find valuable information that is not in their school reference books.
Frequently you will find just the facts you want in what some libraries call the vertical file. This is a collection of pamphlets or booklets on a variety of subjects, usually arranged in alphabetical order. It consists of a row of steel or wooden drawers holding manilla folders with pamphlets in them. In the vertical file, you will often find official publications, those issued by local or national governments and which are usually unbound. When using leaflets or pamphlets, find out who publishes them. If it is a tourist folder put out by a city to attract people, you would want to be carefully selective in using the material, knowing it will be slanted and perhaps exaggerated. A researcher intending to talk or write about a city would be most unwise to base his material on tourist folders and the like; his material would be one-sided and would probably sound much as if it were prepared by the city's chamber of commerce.
Pamphlets, magazine and newspaper articles, valuable though they may be, are sometimes inadequate because they popularize or overly simplify subjects; important details may be left out; or there may be small inaccuracies because of the desire to simplify the information. Hence the thorough researcher knows the need for consulting textbooks. This requires knowledge of how to use the card catalog of your library.
If you are going to obtain some textbook on a subject, select a few of the most promising authoritative texts. Find out what a book covers from its table of contents. Then consult the book's index. A good one will give you all the minor topics, some of which may be scattered throughout the book. Use of the index prevents fruitless searching and waste of time.
There is something else you should know when selecting a book: What is the purpose of the writer? Who is the writer? If a book says a certain industry is being discriminated against by the government, who is the writer? Is he a spokesman for that industry? Or is he someone more objective in his approach? You can usually find out the motive of the author by consulting the book's preface or foreword. This will not only tell you what the author is trying to prove or put across but will often indicate what is omitted from the author's treatment of the subject. It may also tell you whether he is giving just his personal view of the matter or is covering the viewpoints of the main authorities.
When selecting a textbook, it is a good idea to know the date when it was published. If your research involves science and technology, you will need the latest information. A book just a few years old may be out of date. So if you are doing research on such matters as geography and astronomy, always check the latest sources of information. And in regard to science, be alert to, distinguish fact from theory. A researcher wants fact, not a scientist's speculation or philosophy.
In historical matters, a book written by a contemporary will be very helpful in getting accurate details. One who writes about the subject a century later has had to depend on the writings of others. But the writer who is a contemporary may have a narrow view of the matter, whereas the one who writes about it a century later may give a better overall view of the subject.
Then there is the matter of where a book is written. If you are doing research, for example, on the American Revolutionary War, books published in America are going to have a different viewpoint from those published in Britain. By consulting both British and American books, you would get both of those viewpoints. So be alert to the place of publishing, when the writer lived and who he is.
Accurate, Balanced Coverage
If you are going to have a "depth" discussion of a subject, not a superficial one, reference to one encyclopedia is not enough, as we have seen. So with textbooks. Go to several. Read groups of sources or authorities. Only by doing this can you become an expert able to check one authority against another. One book may present legend as fact; another may show why that same legend could not be true. It is not wise to stop research when you are coming up with different answers. Continue finding facts till you can harmonize discrepancies or till you keep coming up with the same answers.
Failure to do enough research and in enough authoritative sources is undoubtedly the most common failure of researchers. College students make the same mistake. "Most of the problems in research themes," says Professor William H. Armstrong in Study Is Hard Work, "arise from lack of material." It takes time to delve deeply into an aspect of a subject, but the one presenting the information owes it to his listeners or readers to present it in depth, giving a balanced and thorough coverage.
amount of awesome respect for the printed word. The fact is that a terrible amount of nonsense and error gets into print. Hence the need to be selective, to check one authority with another and to evaluate ideas carefully.
When consulting textbooks, the researcher needs to overcome a certain
Always be certain you present accurate information. It is wise to verify facts. For instance, if you are doing research on a certain religious organization and you go to books or works that are critical of that organization, you will often find helpful facts. But are they reliable? If you use any of the facts given by critics, verify them by going to the official publications of the organization in which you are interested. Get their explanation or viewpoint. Many researchers make glaring mistakes and distort the truth by depending on secondhand information, especially that of critics. The viewpoint of a critic may prove enlightening, but be certain you have the facts right by going to the official publications of the group about which you are speaking or writing. Knowing that you are not speaking or writing from "hearsay," your listeners or readers will have confidence in what you say.
Finally, in doing research, if you are a Christian, check your information by Bible principles. A psychologist, for instance, may write impressively on rearing children; yet his conclusions may be contrary to the Bible and hence grossly inaccurate. Verifying ideas by Bible principles will help you to avoid misleading others by what the Bible calls "the philosophy and empty deception" of men.—Col. 2:8.
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