Awake!, May 8, 1965
Download: PDF — Awake!, May 8, 1965
Do All Good People Go to Heaven?
PAGE 5
Your Time with the Family
PAGE 8
What Has Happened to the United Nations?
PAGE12
Danger from the Sea
PAGE17
MAY 8, 1965
THE REASON FOR THIS MAGAZINE
News sources that are able to keep you awake to the vital issues of our times be unfettered by censorship and selfish interests. "Awoke!" has no fetters. It recognizes facts, faces facts, is free to publish facts. It is not bound by political ties; it is untainted 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.
The viewpoint of "Awakel" is not narrow, but is international. "Awakel" has its own correspondents in scores of nations. Its articles are read in many lands, in many languages, by millions of persons.
In every issue "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 whalesome, instructive reading for every member of the family.
"Awakel" pledges itself to righteous principles, to exposing hidden foes and subtle dangers, to championing freedom for all, to comforting mourners and strengthening those disheartened by the failures of a delinquent world, reflecting sure hope for the establishment of God's righteous new order in this generation.
Get acquainted with "Awake! " Keep awake by reading "Awake! "
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CONTENTS
Are Practical Jokes Worth It? 3
Do All Good People Go to Heaven? 5
What Has Happened to the United Nations? 12
Danger from the Sea 17
Pain-killing Drugs
—Mankind's Strange Friends 20
Disastrous Deception 24
From Ruins to Remarkable Rebuilding 25
"Your Word Is Truth"
Why Pray in Jesus' Name?
Watching the World
Voluma XLVI
London, England, May 8, 1965
Number 9
ACERTAIN millionaire enjoyed "practical jokes," especially tricks to frighten others. For a hearty laugh he installed an electric shocking device in a seat of his home movie room. When his guests were absorbed in the film, he would delight in pressing the button, sending an electric jolt to the person sitting in the victim's seat. The shocked person would jump up, yelling. But one day the guest who sat in the trick seat was a pregnant woman. The electric shock frightened her so severely that it resulted in a miscarriage. The millionaire, sued for a large sum of money, settled out of court for his "practical" joke. The "joke" was not worth the intended fun.
Such misguided humor can indeed be most dangerous. As a joke, pulling a chair away from a person about to sit down may provide a big laugh, but it also may lead to a big doctor bill. Putting a match or wadded paper into a shoe of a sleeping or unsuspecting person and then setting it aflame may be viewed by some
as extremely funny. But is it really funny when a person is burned? In one case a man given a so-called "hotfoot" suffered third-degree burns on his leg and foot. Jokes are not worth it when they can injure others.
Some jokesters deceive or alarm others with their tongue, yet they can be just as cruel as those who
use fire to trick others. Telephone jokesters, feeling safe in their anonymity, often use their tongue like fiery missiles. For example, a woman in Seattle, Washington, picked up her ringing telephone one day and was told by a solemn voice: "This is the city morgue. Would you please come down and identify your husband's body?" The woman had hardly turned and relayed the message to her daughter when she dropped dead of a heart attack. She did not live long enough to learn it was all a "joke!" How cruel are such deceptive "jokes"!
It is because tricks and jokes, though usually only intended for a laugh, can be so dangerous that the Word of God likens the trick player to a mad man armed with deadly weapons: "Just like someone mad that is shooting fiery missiles, arrows and death, so is the man that has tricked his fellow man and has said: 'Was I not having fun?'" (Prov. 26:18) Here the Bible warns Christians that a trick or joke may have fatal consequences, even when one's intentions are only fun.
After injury is done, no healing or rectification results from saying: "It was only a joke. Was I not having fun?"
Thus God's Word warns Christians not to act "like someone mad that is shooting fiery missiles." Underscoring the danger involved when people act that way are the statistics of the United States National Safety Council and those of many insurance companies. Their reports indicate that
der, stink bombs and real-looking toy snakes and spiders, and so forth.
It is to be noted that many tricks are designed to frighten a person. Women are often the target of such jokes, the jokester placing a toy mouse, snake or spider in a place where one will unexpectedly come upon the frightening object. Even when this fright does not cause hysteria or fainting, the Christian must view the matter in the light of the Bible, which commands:
practical jokes cost hundreds of lives, thousands of injuries and a vast amount of money in needless medical expense. The Metropolitan Life Insurance Company reports that many accidents from gunshot wounds started as a joke—a youth with a rifle or pistol jokingly pointing a deadly weapon at his companion.
In view of such reports and especially the Bible's warning, one might well think twice about playing even seemingly "safe" jokes. Take, for instance, such an apparently innocuous a joke as a "trick Swiss
"Become kind to one another." (Eph. 4:32) Is a joke kind when it frightens others?
Some jokes, of course, merely cause nuisance and in doing so often make one a laughingstock. In fact, one definition of the term "practical joke" is: "A trick, sometimes carefully prepared, in which some particular person is made the laughingstock." Such tricks may deeply humiliate a person. Is this worth it? Is it Christian? At the heart of the matter are the words of the Lord Jesus Christ: "All things therein are."
cheese" toy. The jokester places a piece of plastic that looks like a piece of Swiss cheese between two slices of real bread and makes a delightful-looking sandwich; this is offered to the unsuspecting victim. No doubt this trick has provoked many laughs, but in one case in West Germany recently the laughter soon turned to grief. Some of the trick cheese was swallowed by the victim, causing death. West German health authorities demonstrated that when the toy swiss cheese comes in contact with
to you, you also must likewise do to them." (Matt. 7:12) This principle would rule out such "practical" jokes.
Certainly there is a place for humor, but too often it is misguided. Christian parents can help guide their children in this regard, warning them of the pitfalls of pranks and tricks. At school, youths may be tempted or put under pressure to join others in pranks; but Christian youths can profit from the example of God's prophet, Jeremiah, who pointed out his in-
gastric juices, the pliable plastic becomes hard and the sharp edges cut into the intestines of the victim.
Even though the majority of jokes do not cause injury, we do well to consider the reactions they provoke. Some stores abound with joke devices, such as electric shockers, cigars that explode, devices that squirt water into one's eye, itching pow-
nocency in regard to association: "I have not sat down in the intimate group of those playing jokes and begun exulting."—Jer. 15:17.
In view of the cost in injuries and life, in view of the emotional impact many tricks produce and in view of what the Word of God says about the matter, practical jokes are not worth it.
"HEAVEN is man's eternal home, not the earth," the man asserted. "Yes, I believe that all good people will go to heaven." This, in substance, is the usual response to the above questions. But is there any Scriptural basis for such a belief?
as a spirit creature. "He being put to death in the flesh, but being made alive in the spirit," his faithful apostle Peter declared. —1 Pet. 3:18; Ps. 104:4; Matt. 27:45-28:20.
Contrary to the claims of some, this resurrection of Jesus actually occurred. The resurrected Jesus showed himself alive to many persons by materializing human bodies.* An inspired record concerning Jesus'
OR DOES THE BIBLE TEACH
THAT SOME PERSONS WILL
ALSO LIVE FOREVER IN
HAPPINESS ON EARTH?
The teachings of the Founder of Christianity, Jesus Christ, have largely been responsible for the fact that people of Christendom harbor within their hearts the expectations of heavenly life. Especially are the words of Jesus on his last night of earthly life cherished: "In the house of my Father there are many abodes. Otherwise, I would have told you, because I am going my way to prepare a place for you. Also, if I go my way [to heaven] and prepare a place for you, I am coming again and will receive you home to myself, that where I am you also may be." What comforting assurance that Jesus would remember his faithful followers, and would receive them into everlasting heavenly abiding places with himself!—John 14:2, 3.
Three days later, on the morning of Nisan 16, 33 C.E., real basis was supplied to Jesus' promise on the night before his execution. He was miraculously delivered from the grip of death, and raised to life
postresurrection appearances says: "He appeared to Cephas [Peter], then to the twelve. After that he appeared to upward of five hundred brothers
at one time . . . After that he appeared to James, then to all the apostles." These persons to whom Jesus showed himself were moral, upright men of integrity who formed the nucleus of true Christianity. It is absurd to believe that they were spreading falsehoods when, at the risk of their own lives, they proclaimed the message of Christ's death and resurrection throughout the Roman world!—1 Cor. 15: 3-8.
Jesus' resurrection, therefore, provides a firm basis for believing his promise that he would also receive into the heavens faithful followers of his. In evidence that early Christians had a strong conviction that they would be rewarded with heavenly life, one apostle of Jesus wrote: "As for us, our citizenship exists in the heavens, from which place also we are eagerly waiting for a savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will refashion our humiliated body to be conformed to his glorious body."—Phil. 3:20, 21; 2 Cor. 5:1, 2; Rom. 6:5.
But is it correct to assume that because early Christians entertained the hope of heavenly life all good persons will go to heaven?
Is heavenly life the only reward set before humans? What about life on a paradise earth? Was it God's original purpose in creating man that earth was only to be a testing ground to prepare him for heaven? These are questions that deserve a Bible answer.
Original Purpose for Man
The Scriptures make clear that it was
ings down to the last Hebrew prophet Malachi before Jesus Christ, no promises of heaven were held out to mankind; nor did any man go to heaven. We have the word of Jesus Christ for this.
When Jesus was on earth, which was over 4,000 years after the disobedience of Adam and Eve, he said to a Jewish ruler: "How will you believe if I tell you heavenly things? Moreover, no man has ascended into heaven but he that descended from
a happy earthly home that God gave mankind to start with. He put the first man Adam in a prepared pleasant section of earth called Eden and gave him a perfect companion as a helper. Jesus Christ himself testified to this fact when he said: "Did you not read that he who created them from the beginning made them male and female . . . Therefore, what God has yoked together let no man put apart." —Matt. 19:4-6.
After bringing the perfect pair together God showed his purpose In creating them
heaven, the Son of man." (John 3:12, 13) Yes, according to Jesus' own word, no man had ascended to heaven for all those 4,000 years down until his day. But what about after his death and resurrection?
On the day of Pentecost, fifty days after Jesus had been raised from the dead, Peter addressed an international audience of Jews and said: "Brothers, it is allowable to speak with freeness of speech to you concerning the family head David, that he both deceased and was buried and his tomb is among us to this day. Actually David
by instructing them: "Be fruitful and become many and fill the earth and subdue it." (Gen. 1:28) As this procreation instruction was carried out, the garden of Eden or paradise of pleasure would need to be enlarged. This would be done by the peaceful activities of all living humankind until the entire earth was brought to the same perfect state of cultivation enjoyed by the original garden of Eden. If Adam and Eve had kept on obeying the divine law, they and their offspring would never have died, but would have continued to
did not ascend to the heavens."—Acts 2: 29, 34.
Surprising as it may seem to you, David, the man after God's own heart, did not go to heaven; neither did all the good men who lived from faithful Abel's time to John the Baptist go to heaven. A heavenly hope was not held out to those persons who lived before the death of Jesus Christ. Rather, they looked forward to when God's original purpose concerning the earth would be fulfilled. Theirs was an earthly hope.
live and enjoy the paradise of pleasure on earth forever. That was God's original purpose.
There is no indication in the Scriptures that God ever promised Adam and Eve that they would be transported to heaven to become angels if they continued faithful to God for a time on earth. In fact, in all the inspired Scriptures from Moses' writ-
For this reason Jesus spoke about John the Baptist and said: "Among those born of women there has not been raised up a greater than John the Baptist; but a person that is a lesser one in the kingdom of the heavens is greater than he is. But from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of the heavens is the goal toward which men press, and those pressing forward are seizing it."
Jesus said that a lesser one "in the kingdom of the heavens" is greater than John because of the fact that John will not be in heaven, but will be rewarded with earthly life under the righteous rule of God's kingdom. John the Baptist was the last of the faithful pre-Christian servants of God, and that is why Jesus said that from his days onward a heavenly goal or hope was set before Christians.—Matt. 11:11, 12.
Righteous Rule over a Paradise Earth
Almighty God did not change the destiny of the earth and mankind on it after Adam started the human race down the path of sin and death. It would have been admitting defeat as to accomplishing his original purpose had he done so. That original purpose to have an earth-wide paradise populated with happy, healthy people still stands. The only new thing that God introduced was his decision to vindicate his unchanged purpose by means of a new government over the earth. It was this government, called in the Bible the "kingdom of God" or "the kingdom of the heavens," that Jesus Christ spent his three-and-a-half-year ministry proclaiming. —Luke 8:1; Matt. 4:17.
Jesus himself was the one designated by his Father to be the king of that kingdom, but he was also to have corulers. Jesus showed this when he said to his faithful apostles: "You are the ones that have stuck with me in my trials; and I make a covenant with you, just as my Father has made a covenant with me, for a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom." (Luke 22:28-30) This promise, that if they remained faithful they would reign with him in his kingdom, opened a heavenly hope to Jesus' followers.
ittle flock, because your Father has approved of giving you the kingdom." (Luke 12:32) How select was this kingdom class to be? Were only the apostles to reign with Christ? No, the Bible record shows that this "little flock" would include more, for at Revelation 14:1, 3 it says: "And I saw, and look! the Lamb [Jesus Christ] standing upon the [heavenly] Mount Zion, and with him a hundred and forty-four thousand . . . who have been bought from the earth."—Heb. 12:22.
But that only a limited number would be selected to that heavenly rule Jesus indicated when he said: "Have no fear,
So rather than all good people going to heaven, the Bible shows that only 144,000 persons will be taken there, and that for the specific purpose of being corulers with Jesus Christ in his heavenly kingdom. Describing how Jesus made this possible, the scripture says: "You were slaughtered and with your blood you bought persons for God out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and you made them to be a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will rule as kings over the earth."—Rev. 5:9, 10.
Obviously if Christ and his 144,000 kingdom associates are to rule over the earth, they must have earthly subjects. These will include those ancient witnesses of God such as Abel, David and John the Baptist, as well as millions of other humans who are dead but still in God's memory. In keeping with Christ's promise, these will hear his voice and come out of their memorial tombs to enjoy the earthly blessings God has in store for them. How fine it will be to be among those who live under the righteous rule of Jesus Christ and his corulers! The sure promise is that "God himself will be with them. And he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be any more. The former things have passed away."—Rev. 21:3, 4; see also John 5:28, 29; Ps. 46:9; Isa. 11:6-9; Mic. 4:3, 4.
PARENTS, what are you doing to improve your family life? Do you set aside time to be with your children? Do you have an organized plan on which the children can depend, a program that calls for regularly spending time with them? If you do not have such an arrangement, then you are missing a rare blessing in life.
The tendency of many parents today is to care for the children's material needs, send them to school and then let them fend for themselves. "God knows," said a mother of five, "we have enough to do the way it is without any program or schedule. Let the schools and the community do something. You can see for yourself, we don't have the time. We're just simply too busy." But, busy as parents may be, the fact remains they cannot afford to neglect the training of their children. Outside organizations and schools simply do not adequately do the job.
There is much that can be done as a family, if parents just give the matter a little forethought and do some planning. Here are a few suggestions that may help you outline such a program and put it into operation.
Setting Aside Time
To begin with, it is good to set aside some time each day for the entire family to be together; make it at least an hour, if possible. However, the success of the occasion does not depend so much on its length as it does on its regularity. Being consistent is what makes family time catch on. And when it does, it becomes a happy habit. Some families have called this regular time together the "happy hour," others have named it "the family hour." Calling it by some name seems to set this time aside, and it does add sparkle to the occasion.
convenient as possible to everyone. Some families enjoy their family hour as soon as father comes home from work. Others get together right after the evening meal. There are families whose schedules are so busy that they combine their "happy hour" with their mealtime. But, regardless of the circumstances, practically every family can arrange some time each day, particularly on the weekends, when all its members can be together.
Value of a Program
However, simply being with one another is not sufficient. For real blessings and benefits to be realized from family association there must be communication and a doing of things together. Experiences, ideas, activities, hopes and plans need to be shared. This is where advance planning is helpful. A program will keep you from straying off course and from becoming involved with the nonessentials of life. It will keep the family hour from deteriorating into a silent evening in front of a television screen, or a weekend on which each family member goes his separate way.
For best results it is important that the program be flexible. Let each member of the family have a voice in what they would enjoy doing, but then the father should maintain order and provide direction by making final decisions. Use imagination. Do different things. Do not allow the family hour to become a monotonous routine. On some evenings or weekends you may have more time available than on others, so plan activities accordingly. Keep interest alive. Perhaps one occasion may be devoted to sharing in just one activity or project, while another may be spent doing a variety of things together. The father can be the timekeeper and change activities when he sees fit.
At times a theme might be arranged for the family hour, such as, for example, "family understanding" or "growing up together in love." The activities planned for that occasion should then be tied in with the selected theme. This will give purpose to your time together, so that in addition to its being a period of fun, it will have a maturing effect.
What Can Be Done
There is an almost endless number of things that a family can do. But remember: It is not what is done that is so important, but rather the doing of worthwhile things together. For example, in the springtime the family can put the yard in order, plant some flowers or some vegetables. In the summertime they may go for walks, motoring, swimming, or on picnics. In the autumn, as a family, they might can food for the winter, rake leaves, build bonfires, enjoy the harvest. In the winter they may go ice-skating, sleigh-riding or make ice cream with the freshly fallen snow.
By giving it a little thought, you will discover a great variety of things that the family can enjoy doing together. To create interest and anticipation, some families have a bulletin board on which their activities are posted. Others mark on their calendars the special family events planned. These calendars are then saved to keep track of what the family did during the year. In this way they can review the happy times they enjoyed together.
To gain the greatest benefit from family association, become doers of things and not simply observers. For example, when showing home movies, have one member of the family put up the screen, another arrange the chairs, someone else prepare the refreshments, another handle the operating of the machine, and so on. This teaches cooperation. Make the family hour one that is instructive, one that builds good traits, provides practical training and increases knowledge.
Developing Skills
Use the occasion to train children to develop skills and to find satisfaction in work, in a job well done. Teach them to view a task as a challenge instead of something to be endured. Impress upon their young minds the words of wise King Solomon: "Have you beheld a man skillful in his work? Before kings is where he will station himself; he will not station himself before commonplace men." (Prov. 22:29) Being skillful joy to the workman. And having skills is like having friends. They help fill many hours with joy. But how may such "friends" be cultivated during the family hour?
Well, for instance, a particular evening could be set aside each week to develop a skill. There are many possibilities. Can you carve with a knife, paint with a brush, sketch with a pencil, weave a basket, mold objects from clay, make a pair of moccasins, a belt or other things from leather?
Every experience with tools and raw materials is a venture into the unknown. Each item that we make ourselves develops inner confidence and an appreciation for things. True, it will take organizing and initiative to incorporate a project like this into your family program, but it can prove well worth the effort.
On the other hand, your family may like music. If so, they might enjoy working together to develop skill in playing musical instruments. Or your "happy hour" may simply be when all gather around the piano and join voices in song. Whatever the song, if it is sung with the whole heart, troubles melt and spirits soar. For this reason some families make it a point regularly to sing some songs together. They find it uplifting every time.
Learning Practical Things
The family can have a lot of fun learning practical things together. For example, learning how to sew. In some European countries children learn to sew and knit before they go to school, with even the boys becoming experts. This does not mean that they are sissies; to the contrary, it enables them to do things for themselves and not have to depend on others. A young man may have to sew a sail or a tent or his own trousers someday. And the daughter who learns to make many of her own clothes becomes the efficient housewife who can keep her children and herself attractively outfitted on a limited clothing budget.
So consider this for a practical family hour: Everyone goes through his belongings and gathers all the things that need mending. Then they sit down and, all together, sew on missing buttons, mend socks and repair torn clothing. Could that not be an enjoyable hour together? Not only would the family have the satisfaction of
helping mother do a necessary job, but the children would receive practical training as well.
The family hour could also be used to teach family members to cook and bake. It can be great fun working together to bake a cake, or to make some cookies or pies. The product will be appreciated much more by the family if they have a share in its production. The children can be instructed in, different steps of the procedure until they are adept in cooking and baking various things themselves. What a sense of accomplishment they will have in making something that the rest of the family enjoys!
Another idea is to have a take-it-apart- and see-how-it-works night. The family could examine the workings of an old clock, strip a radio or take apart a pair of scales. Such an evening might also be used to fix the bicycle, the venetian blinds, leaky faucets, broken picture frames or what have you. There are so many gadgets and appliances today, and your family may obtain a great deal of pleasure from examining how they work.
Parents can also teach children how to use books, interview people, plan trips, evaluate their work, and so forth. In training them to cope with problems a five-year-old might be asked. What would you do if you got lost? What should you do? To an older child the question might be, What would you do if you were in a foreign land and lost your passport? Teach them what they should do in emergencies; then without warning spring an emergency problem and see how they react. Discuss what is good taste in dress and language. Impress on their minds what are proper manners and the value of exercising them.
Educational Tours
On the weekends families may be able to arrange to take educational tours together.
Wherever you live, there are many interesting things to see. Have you visited a chicken farm, a dairy, an auction or a printing plant? Have you seen an apple orchard in bloom or at picking time? Stop at a cider mill someday and taste the sweet elder as it comes out of the presses. Plan your tours with the family. Cultivate interest in them. The Chamber of Commerce will give you facts about your city. They will tell you about the industries in your vicinity that welcome visitors.
While it may be impossible to travel to other countries, there are ways that your family can become acquainted with peoples of other lands. For instance, you may be able to invite someone from another country to dinner, and then probe him with questions concerning the customs, work, religion and attitudes of people there. Then too, by means of information in books and magazines a family can tour through the lands and among the peoples of other places. A wealth of such information has been printed in the Awake! magazine, and it can be located by consulting the Watch Tower Publications Index.
Cultivate Appreciation for Spiritual Values
A chief objective of the family hour should be to unite the family in worship of God and to cultivate appreciation for spiritual values. Even at a very early age children can understand and benefit from Bible accounts concerning David and Goliath, Ruth and Naomi, Jonah and the big fish, Daniel in the lions' den, the three Hebrews in the fiery furnace and young Jesus astounding the teachers in the temple with his knowledge. Make your descriptions live and the children will enjoy hearing them. Work in a moral with each story and be sure that the children get the point.
For example, when telling about Achan and his theft of the beautiful Babylonian
garment, emphasize the importance of honesty. As a family discuss what it means to be honest. Make a list of the different types of honesty. Achan took what did not belong to him. (Josh. 7:1-28) Ananias and his wife Sapphira lied and paid with their lives. (Acts 5:1-11) So honesty is keeping one's word, one's promises, doing one's share, not taking credit for someone else's work, not cheating, not deceiving, taking blame for your mistakes, returning what you borrow, not taking things that belong to others, speaking and living the truth. Teach children that God loves honesty.
As you discuss Bible characters, highlight the qualities that made them pleasing to God. Endeavor to develop within your children the faith of Abraham, the loyalty of Ruth, the courage of David, the patience of Job, the integrity of the three Hebrews and the unquenchable love of our Master, Jesus Christ. At the same time warn them against the bad course of those persons who displeased God. It is this type of instruction that will have the most beneficial and lasting effect on your children.
Truly, the hours you spend with your family will be among the happiest and most worthwhile of your life. They will bring your family closer together in a warm relationship. They will strengthen the ties between parents and children by offering an opportunity to talk with one another about hopes, problems and plans in a friendly, family atmosphere. Children will become more respectful to parents and to other people. They will learn the value of money, good books, good music, good work and good play. They will learn obedience, loyalty, confidence, cooperation and the wisdom of applying Scriptural principles in daily living, thus strengthening faith and belief in God. Certainly there are good reasons to set aside time and to plan a program of worthwhile activities with your family!
What Has Happened to the
LOCKED in a bitter quarrel over finances, the United Nations has come closer to the brink of collapse than at any other time in its twenty-year history. So serious is the dispute that the nineteenth session of the General Assembly was compelled to adjourn on February 18 until September, without having voted on a single piece of business from the time it opened on December 1, 1964. This dangerous impasse as well as the position in world affairs that the UN has come to hold was not what its founders hoped for it.
UNITED NATIONS?
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In 1945, at San Francisco, California, U.S.A., fifty nations signed the United Nations Charter with high hopes. In the first chapter of the Charter, they set out the purpose of the UN, which, among other things, was: "To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to peace." To make this possible, all members, as stated in chapter seven, were to make available to the Security Council "armed forces, assistance and facilities."
Repeatedly since 1945, political and religious leaders have hailed the United Nations as the world's only hope for peace.
When former U.S. President Kennedy addressed the General Assembly in 1961, he expressed this hope, saying that if the nations were "to enfeeble its vigor, to cripple its powers, we would condemn our future. For in the development of this organization rests the only true alternative to war." The very crisis that confronts the United Nations has resulted from its members' "enfeebling its vigor."
Assessments
Assessments for peace-keeping missions to the Congo and the Middle East are at the crux of the dispute. The Soviet Union, France and eleven other nations have failed to pay all these assessments. This has been a major reason why the UN has accumulated on its books about 136 million in assessments that have not been paid, bringing it close to bankruptcy. Of this amount,60 million is owed by the Soviet Union and $16 million by France.
It is the claim of the Soviet Union that the peace-keeping assessments are illegal because the missions for which the money was used were not approved by the Security Council but were ordered by the General Assembly. France also balked at paying for the Congo mission and UN expenses in the Middle East during the 1956 Suez crisis. She regards both operations as illegal, as both were ordered by the General Assembly rather than by the Security Council.
That the General Assembly can order peace-keeping missions, although the United Nations Charter vests that power solely in the Security Council, vexes the nonpaying countries. France and Russia, for example, cannot use their veto in the General Assembly to stop missions they dislike, and they refuse to pay for missions they disapprove or that might be against their national interests.
It was the Uniting for Peace Resolution in 1950 that gave to the General Assembly the power to override the Security Council when a veto there rendered it powerless to act. The Suez crisis in 1956 was the first time it was used. On that occasion the Security Council could do nothing because of the vetoes of France and Great Britain.
Despite objections to the assessments for peace-keeping operations that the nonpaying nations did not approve, the United States is taking the lead in demanding that they pay. The International Court of Justice at The Hague ruled in July 1962 that the charges were legal and part of the obligations of the members of the United Nations. Since Article 19 of the United Nations Charter states that a member nation will lose its vote in the General Assembly when it becomes two years in arrears with its payments, the claim is made that these nations have no right to vote until they make the payments they owe. The United States has stated publicly that she will challenge any effort on the part of these nations to vote. This threat has paralyzed the General Assembly since December 1964, causing it to use all manner of chicanery to avoid a vote.
This could mean the death of that world body. Already one nation has withdrawn—Indonesia. The withdrawal of Indonesia in January was not because of assessments but because Malaysia, which she regards as an enemy, was given a seat in the Security Council. Other nations have threatened withdrawal from time to time.
In no uncertain terms the Soviet Union made it known that, if it is denied its vote, it will withdraw from the United Nations.
Portugal spoke about withdrawing when her troubles in Angola were under discussion in the UN. The threat was also made by South Africa at the time her race policies were condemned in the United Nations. Britain hinted at withdrawing support from the Congo operation in 1961 because of the UN's emphasis on eliminating colonialism instead of attending to peace-keeping problems. Foreign Secretary Lord Home said: "If the emphasis is taken off the first duty of the UN, peacemaking and security, and laid on the acceleration of independence and the eradication of colonialism, which is a subsidiary issue, then the UN . . . would sow the seeds of its own destruction. . . Matters could come to such a pass that we should have to withdraw our support."
If a big power such as the Soviet Union carries out its threat to quit the UN, a trend would undoubtedly be started in which other nations would follow. The fall of the League of Nations began in that manner. When Japan withdrew from it, Germany, Austria, Czechoslovakia, Albania, Italy and a number of Latin-American countries gradually pulled out. By 1939 a third of the League's members had withdrawn. So if the assessment issue causes the Soviet Union, and other nonpaying nations, to withdraw, the UN could no longer function as a world organization. The assessment issue, therefore, has brought the United Nations to the brink of the same abyss into which the League of Nations toppled.
Greatly Weakened
Many persons at the founding of the United Nations envisioned it as a supranational organization with the military might to enforce its decisions. It would then be able to do as its Charter states: "To maintain international peace and security" and to "take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to peace." In Korea, the Congo, Middle East and Cyprus it has done just that, but now it may not be expected to do so again.
Faced with the threatened withdrawal of a number of nations that refuse to pay for peace-keeping missions they dislike, efforts are being made to work out a compromise that will circumvent Article 19 and save the UN from collapse. If this is done, it will probably mean that future military operations by the UN will have to be entirely on a voluntary basis, which, necessarily, would confine the missions to small operations, as the one in Cyprus. Without the collective membership sharing the heavy financial burden of military operations, an undertaking like the one in the Congo, which lasted four years and cost over 433 million dollars, would be out of the question. That one mission cost more than five times the annual UN budget. Loss of this peace-keeping power means a decided weakening of the UN.
Failure of the United Nations on a number of occasions to fulfill its role as a maintainer of international peace and security has shown up its weakness as a peace agency. It could do nothing when the Hungarian people were in need of help in 1956. It sat on the sidelines when India invaded the Portuguese territories of Goa, Damão and Diu on December 18, 1961. It sent none of its troops to Laos when that country faced a crisis in 1961, and it has been able to do nothing more than to urge negotiation.
tions in Vietnam. When Tibet appealed for help at the time of the Chinese military action in that country, the UN could do no more than pass a resolution deploring the events in Tibet. The selfish nationalistic interests of UN members have shackled it as a world peace-keeping agency time and time again.
When the veto of the Soviet Union immobilized the UN at the time India invaded Goa, Damão and Diu, and India, a member of the UN, stated that she would continue the invasion regardless of "whatever anyone else may think, Charter or no Charter, Council or no Council," the United States representative to the UN observed: "Tonight we are witnessing the first act in a drama which could end with the death of the United Nations. The veto of the Soviet Union is consistent with its long role of obstruction. But I find the attitude of some other members of the Council profoundly disturbing and ominous because we have witnessed tonight an effort to sanction the use of force when it suits one's own purpose. This approach can only lead to chaos and to the disintegration of the United Nations."
The destruction of the United Nations as a peace agency is within the power of its members. Whenever they violate its Charter to further their own national interests and frustrate its efforts to maintain peace, they pull bricks out of its supporting pillars. In time they can bring the entire organization tumbling down in a heap of rubble and shattered dreams.
Commenting on the destructive effect of the conflicting political interests of its powerful members in particular, the Brazilian newspaper O Globo said in its issue of October 22, 1956: "World peace is . . . threatened by the conflicting political interests of the great powers. But these are exactly the ones that give existence, strength and significance to the international associations.
Being that these are the circumstances, it is very difficult for these interests to be sacrificed for peace, and so the associations transform themselves, little by little, into an instrument of the national politics of the great powers. It was that that corrupted irremediably the League of Nations and ended up destroying it."
Voting
A cause for growing uneasiness among the big powers is the fact that each member nation in the General Assembly is entitled to one vote. This arrangement seemed satisfactory to the big powers in 1945 when there were only fifty nations and the balance of voting power was among the Western nations. With the breaking up of colonialism in Asia and Africa, which has resulted in the birth of a great number of small new nations, the membership of the United Nations has leaped to 114. This has resulted in a shifting of the balance of voting power, causing some of the Western powers to lose influence in the UN. Small nations, on the basis of one vote per nation, can now muster a two-thirds majority in the General Assembly for passing resolutions, and yet they represent only 10 percent of the world's population and pay only a small fraction of the UN's expenses.
President de Gaulle expressed the French view of the present trend of the UN under the influence of the smaller nations. He said that many of the new UN members are "improvised states and believe it their duty to stress grievances or demands with regard to older nations, rather than elements of reason and progress. . . So that now the meetings are no more than riotous and scandalous sessions where there is no way to organize an objective debate,
and which are filled with invective and insults. And then, as the United Nations becomes a scene of disturbance, confusion and division, it acquires the ambition to intervene in all kinds of matters. . . . It is anxious to assert itself—even by force of arms—as it did in the Congo. The result is that it carries to the local scene its global incoherence, the personal conceptions of its various agents and the individual partiality of each of the states, which send their contingents with their own orders—send them, then withdraw them. Under these conditions, France does not see how she can adopt any other attitude toward the United—or Disunited—Nations than that of the greatest reserve. . . . She does not wish to contribute her men or her money to any present or eventual [military] undertaking of this organization—or disorganization."
The United States is well aware of the gradual shift in voting power, and some observers conclude that she would not be unhappy to see the General Assembly lose the power to order military undertakings. With the balance of voting power shifting to the smaller nations, the circumstances could come about where she could find herself in a position where she would be required to pay assessments for a mission that is against her interests.
Suspecting that this may be the underlying motive behind the determination of the United States to press the issue of assessments, some Afro-Asian nations have accused the United States and the Soviet Union of being in collusion, rather than on a collision course. They claim that the present crisis in the UN was planned so as to trim the power of the General Assembly where the small, new nations are growing in number and voting power. Although it seems unlikely that the United States and the Soviet Union would be in collusion to bring the United Nations to the brink of collapse, there can be little doubt that both would like to see the power to order peacekeeping missions taken from the General Assembly and invested solely in the Security Council, where a veto can be used to stop military missions that might not be to their liking.
Power politics among the member nations of the UN that form the East, West and neutral blocs as well as the consuming self-interest of its members are steadily destroying that world organization as a peace-keeping body. Its members can give it life by cooperating toward attaining the objectives of its Charter or they can kill it by their nationalistic selfishness that puts their own interests ahead of UN interests.
Bypassing the United Nations
Contributing measurably to the growing weakness of the United Nations is the practice of the big powers to decide important issues among themselves rather than taking them to the UN. The historic test-ban treaty that was signed in 1963 by Great Britain, the United States and the Soviet Union was negotiated outside the United Nations. The big powers bargained among themselves for the settlement of the dispute in Laos in 1962 without turning to the UN. Eight years before this, in 1954, the UN was not called upon to settle the military conflict in Indochina, but the big powers negotiated a settlement at Geneva. Even when this conference discussed the uniting of Korea, the UN did not participate. In fact, the armistice that brought the Korean War to an end in 1953 was not negotiated through the machinery of the United Nations, but was chiefly a United States' affair.
Berlin is a crisis spot that has brought the East and the West dangerously close
to the brink of war on more than one occasion, but the UN has had no hand in settling any of the touchy situations that have arisen there. The Cuban crisis in 1962 was not settled by the United Nations but by negotiations between the United States and the Soviet Union after an extremely dangerous confrontation by the two. Thus with the big powers of the world ignoring the UN as the place to take their explosive differences, preferring instead private negotiations, the UN is weakened. Carlos Rómulo, a former president of the United Nations General Assembly, commented on this practice back in 1954: "Members of the United Nations," he said, "are more and more taking the great political issues outside the framework of the organization, rendering the UN little more than a debating society."
Although the United Nations has been hailed as "the only true alternative to war," it has not been able to stop the world's march toward the abyss of nuclear conflict. The danger of such a war is far greater now than when the UN began twenty years ago. Instead of its being a force for uniting the nations, it is fractured by their differences and weakened by their selfish, nationalistic interests. What has thus happened to the United Nations has more than passing interest to Bible students because the Bible foretold that this man-made peace agency would fall. Man's hope for lasting world peace is certain of realization only by the kingdom of God.
The assessment crisis that now tears at the vitals of the United Nations may not immediately destroy it, but it will most certainly leave it greatly weakened in prestige and power. What has happened to the United Nations since its founding is a strong argument against the worshipful claim that it is mankind's only hope for world peace.
WHEN we think of danger from the sea, our mind is likely to see a shark with its formidable teeth and its imposing size. There are, however, some types of innocent-looking marine life that can be even more deadly to the unwary person than the shark.
Among the most interesting of these harmless-looking creatures is a jellyfish called the Portuguese man-of-war. Travelers visiting the warmer seas for the first time are often amazed to see a flotilla of purple balloons or floats; it is as if they were mysteriously dropped into the sea. Then as the ship approaches, the whole fleet of bluish balloons may disappear below the waves. Startling indeed!
But why call this creature the Portuguese man-of-war, and how can it be dangerous? It is thought that the name for this jellyfish originated from a comparison with the ancient galleons of Portugal. Like those ancient war vessels, this legless, finless marvel not only bristles with weapons but it can sail or travel before the wind.
The float or "sail" is quite a marvel in itself. Strikingly pretty, it may be colored a brilliant azure blue, perhaps with some orange, scarlet or orchid. The float of a mature animal may be as large as a foot
in length and about half as wide and high. It is crested on the top by a narrow ridge of air sacs. These form a "sail" that can be raised or lowered at will, enabling this finless marvel to travel. If things get too rough on the surface, the man-of-war deflates its float and sinks beneath the waves. But its "sail" can soon be inflated again by means of a built-in gas-generating mechanism.
Poison like the Cobra's
But the float is not the whole animal; in fact, the Portuguese man-of-war is thought to be in itself a colony of specialized individuals. By the masses of sting-studded tentacles streaming beneath it, some of which are perhaps forty or fifty feet long, it catches its food. Woe to the persons who think this creature is but a weak and "spineless jellyfish" and try to catch it. Potent is the venom in those thousands of stinging cells. In its crude form the poison is about 75 percent as poisonous as the venom of the deadly cobra, and, like cobra poison, it works on the nervous system.
With its maze of tentacles, the Portuguese man-of-war might be said to have built-in fishing tackle. If a fish brushes against one of the tentacles, a thousand harpoonlike hypodermics instantly inject a tiny drop of poison. The victim is paralyzed and the tentacles wrap themselves tightly around the prey, which may be as large as a mackerel. Up go the tentacles, like elevators, to deliver the catch to an array of sticky mouths. Immediately the mouths begin wiggling and squirming to attach themselves to the fish. Once attached,
they begin to expand and spread out around the fish, enwrapping it in a bag, as it were, and then it is digested.
However, at least two animals do not seem to mind close contact with the man-of-war. One is a small bluish fish known as Nomeus, which swims among the potent tentacles with apparent indifference to them and without being harmed. The other is the loggerhead turtle, which has been known to swim right into an armada of men-of-war and to begin champing away on them, making them a tasty meal. One observer says that the turtle closes its eyes and gulps the man-of-war whole, perhaps swimming off with tentacles streaming out of its mouth.
Portuguese men-of-war are a familiar sight on Caribbean shores. Sometimes they are carried by the Gulf Stream and winds along the Atlantic coast of the United States, with some being deposited on the beaches. There the gas-filled balloons dry up, and when they are stepped on they explode with a loud pop, much to the delight of small boys. But beware! Children who jump on these floats barefooted or take hold of the purplish tentacles are asking for trouble. The tentacles retain their stinging power for a considerable period after the animal has died.
Swimmers must be especially cautious. They can easily be stung if they get too close to men-of-war. Getting stung by one is like getting stung by a swarm of bees. It might be fatal, especially since the swimmer may-not be able to make it to shore without help.
relief as well as put out of commission any undischarged stingers are organic solvents such as alcohol or dilute ammonia and alcohol. Treat the Portuguese man-of-war with utmost caution. Give it a wide berth whether you are swimming or walking on the shore.
Cone Shells
When a man-of-war's tentacles touch human flesh, a red welt is raised like the lash mark of a whip. The agony from many stings can be excruciating. Severe stings can cause cramps, nausea and difficulty in breathing. What will bring some
A stinging animal that may be far more dangerous than the man-of-war is the cone shell. This cone-shaped marine snail is confined mainly to tropical seas. In its snout is a barbed daggerlike tooth connected to a poison sac. The cone dines on fish, crabs and possibly on other cones.
Though the cone shell's poisonous dagger is used primarily for food-getting, it is also used in self-defense. "Recently in Queensland, Australia," says R. Tucker Abbott, "the effectiveness of the cone shell's defense was demonstrated during the course of a shell-collecting trip on the reef. An 18-inch octopus had been captured and put alive in an enamel pail of sea water. Later a venomous cone shell was found and dropped in with the octopus. In a few minutes the latter began to attack the cone shell with its customary procedure by placing one of its tentacles across the mouth of the shell. Under normal circumstances it takes an octopus a few minutes to dig and suck the snail animal from its shell, but in this case it suddenly withdrew its hold, waving its tentacles about in violent agitation. Immediately after the retreat of the octopus, the tiny, needle-like radula of the cone shell could be seen slowly withdrawing into the snail's proboscis. A few minutes later the octopus shed one of its tentacles. Although the creature was soon transferred to a well-aerated tank of fresh sea water, it was found dead the following morning."* Unless one is an expert and knows what he is doing, it would be better to leave tropical cone shells alone.
In the book Sea Treasure, Kathleen Yerger Johnstone tells how natives of the island of Okinawa would bring cones to scientists who were making a study of them. Then she tells of "a woman
placed in. the cooking water, etc. ad infinitum."
who had skillfully picked up a poisonous cone and put it with other shells in the
Although there are several species of fish that are poisonous to eat, they number only a few of the hundreds of varieties of seafood that are very delicious and tasty. However, even some of the deadly varieties of fish, when specially prepared, are eaten by some people. For example the
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bag she carried over her shoulder. The cone crept out of its shell, thrust its pro
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Are You Coming to Basel?
boscis through the loosely woven bag, and stabbed her in the back."
Seafood Poisoning
There is danger, not only from eating seafood that has been improperly cleaned or that has spoiled, but also from eating sea life that in itself is poisonous. For ex-
part of change, the poisonous puffer is considered a delicacy by some persons in Japan. Specially
trained cooks prepare puffer, called fugu, to render it fit for human consumption. Nevertheless, in spite of the precautions taken, it is reported that fugu consumption is still the number one cause of fatal food poisoning in Japan, and 60 percent of the victims of puffer poisoning die from it.
When contemplating the dangers involved in eating the scaleless puffer and
ample, it is known that at certain seasons shellfish such as clams and oysters feed on poisonous planktonic food, which becomes so plentiful at times that it is called the "red tide." The two-valved shellfish that feed on the "red tide" during the warm months become poisonous to man, although they do not seem to be affected themselves. They can assimilate enough poison from the plankton to kill a man. So there is some scientific basis for the old saying, "Only eat oysters during the
volved in eating the scalless poulter and similar poisonous fishes, one is reminded of the advice recorded by Moses in the Bible at Deuteronomy 14:9, 10: "This sort out of everything that is in the waters you may eat: Everything that has fins and scales you may eat. And everything that has no fins and scales you must not eat. It is unclean for you." Says Dr. Hallstead: "This advice is still recommended in modern American military survival manuals."
Truly, as for the sea, "there there are moving things without number, living
months with an 'r' in them." Dr. Hallstead, in the book Dangerous Marine Animals, writes: "The extremely toxic nature of this poison cannot be over-emphasized. One should adhere strictly to local quarantine regulations—they are for your protection. Poisonous shellfish cannot be detected by their appearance, smell, or by discoloration of a silver object or garlic MAY 8, 1965
creatures, small as well as great." (Ps. 104: 25) Not all of these amazing creatures are suitable or even desirable as food for humans or safe to be handled. It is the course of wisdom to endeavor to understand the sea and the life it contains before venturing among its creatures about which one may know very little. Realize that dangerous things can come from the sea.
PAIN-KILLING DRUGS
By "Awake!" correspondent in Australia
"I SHALL greatly increase the pain of your pregnancy; in birth pangs you will bring forth children." "Cursed is the ground on your account. In pain you will eat its produce." This is the judgment that our first parents, in Eden, brought upon themselves and upon us their offspring when they turned their backs on God.
Since then men of all kinds, wicked and righteous, have felt the effects and have in many ways sought relief. In the process they have made some strange f
often called analgesics, are treated as friends in a multitude of homes. The opium family of potent pain-killing drugs has been described as "a great boon to suffering humanity." They can also be treacherous "friends."
The Mild Pain-killing Drugs
Aches and pains are not in themselves a disease—they are merely outward signs of some less obvious and perhaps hidden derangement of health. Tension,
eyestrain, fatigue, rheumatism, constipation and dietary indiscrections are but a few of the possible causes. To remove the warning by means of pain-killing drugs, without giving attention to the cause, is certainly shortsighted. Yet relief
Friends willing and able to relieve your headaches and pains would be welcome in your home, would they not? However, if you thought your household's health was being insidiously undermined you would be cautious. Suppose you discovered that one of these friends had already made slaves of many, driven some to loose living and crime, tormented others and sent multitudes to an early grave; you would be alarmed. If, in unbearable pain, you felt compelled to call him, you would be well advised to have police supervision.
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