Awake!, September 22, 1967
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Mankind has long
of the situation?
Many men feel that justice for all is an idealistic and wishful dream, one that will never come true. Why? Because they have experienced bitter disappointments; they have witnessed injustice and been the victims of it themselves.
Yet justice for all mankind will be realized very soon How? Not by man's efforts. Both man's imperfection and superhuman wicked forces make it impossible for humans to attain justice for all by their own efforts. But God can and will do it. There is overwhelming evidence on hand to show that God is moving to bring this about in the near future.
Convince yourself about the truthfulness of this wonderful prospect. Learn how you can be among those who will benefit from the momentous changes soon to take place. Read the valuable Bible-study aid:
Life Everlasting—in Freedom of the Sons of God
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AWAKE!
Court Asked to Safeguard Patients
PAGE 3
Strengthening Your Marriage Ties
PAGE 12
Beware of Deception and Fraud
PAGE 16
A Visit to Expo 67
PAGE 24
SEPTEMBER 22,1967
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 interests. "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.
The viewpoint of "Awake!" is not narrow, but is international. "Awake!" 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 "Awake!" 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. "Awake!" provides wholesome, 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.
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CONTENTS
Court Asked to Safeguard Patients 3
Letting Them Hear the Other Side 10
Birds Navigate by the Stars 11
Strengthening Your Marriage Ties 12
Beware of Deception and Fraud 16
Excessive Speed 19
The Sea People of Polynesia 20
In the Footsteps of the Maya 23
A Visit to Expo 67 24
"Your Word Is Truth"
The Creator—One Name, Many Titles 27
Watching the World 29
Awake
Volume XLVIII
Number 18
DO HOSPITAL patients have the right to choose the form of medical treatment they prefer? Or should they be forced to accept treatment that the doctors consider best? Should hospitals and doctors be able to invade the privacy of the family and obtain custody of a child by court order, so as to give it a blood transfusion over its parents' objection? These questions that affect every one of us were argued before a three-judge United States District Court in Seattle, Washington, June 19-21, 1967.
What, in particular, led to this court case is the practice in Washington state of having children removed from the custody of parents who are Jehovah's witnesses if the doctors feel that they might want to give the children blood transfusions. This invasion of the privacy of the family has become almost standard procedure. It is done under color of a Washington state law. Blood transfusions have also been forced on full-grown adults against their will under color of this law!
One case involved Shirley Chabot, who entered Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini Hospital in December 1964 for surgery to be performed by physician John Caputo. Mrs. Chabot had formerly been a nurse, and so objected to blood transfusions due to medical experience, as well as on religious grounds. She had a friend who contracted syphilis from blood transfusions, which
COURT ASKED TO
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disease resulted in breaking up her friend's home and ruining her life. Shirley Chabot signed a document releasing Dr. Caputo and the hospital from any liability resulting from a failure to administer a blood transfusion, and the doctor agreed to perform a hysterectomy without the use of blood.
However, when Mrs. Chabot awoke from the anesthetic during the course of the operation she found that, contrary to their agreement, a blood transfusion was being administered! Dr. Caputo explained to her that this is often done to Jehovah's witnesses without their knowledge. It makes one wonder just how safe it is to go to a hospital for treatment.
Complaint Filed
In order to obtain relief from such highhanded, dictatorial methods, and to stop the invasion of the privacy of their families, Jehovah's witnesses, through their attorneys, filed a forty-seven-page complaint on November 12, 1965. The plaintiffs named therein include many individuals, such as Mrs. Chabot, whose freedom to choose medical treatment had been denied, also the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, the legal governing agency for Jehovah's witnesses. But the action, too, is in behalf of the more than 8,900 witnesses of Jehovah in the state of Washington.
The action is against twenty-two individual physicians, ten hospitals, sixteen hospital executives, six judges, the attorney general, a probation officer and two lawyers, who have been directly involved in recent cases. In addition, the complaint seeks a permanent injunction against the entire medical profession and judicial system in Washington state, to restrain them from forcing blood transfusions upon Jehovah's witnesses, in violation of their Constitutional rights.
Since the issues in this case are being faced in many other places, widespread interest and anticipation were raised in connection with the case. Finally, on Monday morning, June 19, the case opened in Seattle before Presiding Judge Lindberg and Judges Hambly and Beeks.
Vice-President Testifies
At 10:25 a.m., after nearly an hour of preliminary proceedings, the first witness, Fred W. Franz, was called to testify. He is the vice-president of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. Under questioning by Witness lawyer Glen How, Mr. Franz explained the Scriptural views of Jehovah's witnesses respecting the use of blood and the sacredness of the family circle.
In answer to the first question, Mr. Franz referred to Jesus Christ's quotation from Deuteronomy chapter six regarding the responsibility for one to love God with his whole heart, mind and soul. It is concerning these things, Mr. Franz explained, that fathers are commanded to teach their sons.—Matt. 22:37; Deut. 6:4-6.
This use of the Bible was noted to irk the battery of nine defense lawyers. They did not want God's Word brought into the testimony!
Mr. Franz further explained that Jehovah's witnesses love their children and are commonly recognized as law-abiding citizens having well-trained and orderly children. They are also anxious to obtain good medical care for their children and themselves. They will not, however, go to the extent of disobeying God's laws or principles to obtain relief from physical disabilities.
Under questioning by Glen How, Mr. Franz proceeded to draw attention to God's law on blood, which was first given to Noah, and later to the Israelites. (Gen. 9:5; Lev. 17:14) It was pointed out that the blood law to which Jehovah's Christian witnesses adhere was decreed by the council that the Roman Catholic Church looks upon as the first ecumenical council of the Christian church, namely, that held in Jerusalem around 49 of our Common Era. The decree issued there urged Christians "to abstain . . . from blood."—Acts 15:19, 20, 29.
It is the duty of the Witness parent to obey this Christian decree, Mr. Franz emphasized, even if it means disobeying the laws of the State.
At this point one of the judges asked the witness: "How far would one of Jehovah's witnesses go to avoid a transfusion if the court ordered one for a minor child?"
Mr. Franz replied: 'The father would resist the court order that places man's law above God's law, and would try to prevent the administration of such transfusion.
I have in mind one case where the parents went so far as to whisk the child out of the country in order to avoid a governmental law involving their son. This is the case of Joseph and Mary, where they risked their lives to take their child to Egypt in order to elude the law of the king that had ordered the seizure of their child. That child was Jesus.'
At the citing of this Scriptural instance of parents defying the order of the government, Judge Lindberg was observed breaking out into a smile. But then he realized that this was not the occasion to indulge in such a thing, and he put his hand over his mouth and wiped the smile off his face.
Following a brief cross-examination by the defense, Mr. Franz stepped down after a full hour on the witness stand.
Testimony Regarding Transfusion Risks
Next, four medical authorities were, in turn, called to the witness stand. These doctors provided testimony revealing the risk involved in taking blood transfusions, something generally not appreciated. It was also explained that alternative methods of treatment are safer, and may be equally as effective. The purpose of this testimony was to show that in no way could Jehovah's witnesses' choice of alternative forms of treatment be construed as parental neglect, hence justifying interference with their families by outside parties.
Called to the stand first was Dr. Gale Wilson. He was shown to be a doctor of local repute, having been in practice in the vicinity since 1928. He is not one of Jehovah's witnesses.
For the past seventeen years Dr. Wilson has served as the chief pathologist and autopsy surgeon for the King County coroner's office, the county in which the city of Seattle is situated. In this capacity he sees a large number of corpses annually, and he explained to the judges that he sees, on the average, two or three deaths from blood transfusions every week, and "sometimes as many as two or three in a day!"
Dr. Wilson testified that the human body has its own means of compensating for blood loss, so that if the body is busy providing blood by natural means and you then proceed to put blood into the vascular system by artificial means through blood transfusions, the system begins working against itself. He compared it to reviving the motor of a car and, at the same time, putting on the brakes.
If the body is putting blood into the system by natural means and the physician gives a blood transfusion, he said, the result is that the body cannot handle all the blood that is produced. The fluid is thus squeezed out into the lungs, and the person may die from pulmonary edema. Dr. Wilson noted that there is no certain way for a physician to know how much blood is needed. Therefore, physicians proceed with uncertainty, he said, and with much danger to the patient.
The doctor pointed out, however, that plasma volume expanders such as dextran will replace immediate blood loss more advantageously than the transfusion of whole blood. If the volume expander that is transfused turns out to be more than the body requires, it can be quickly excreted through the kidneys, he noted. However, whole blood cannot escape in this way.
Dr. Wilson also emphasized that one can never say whether a patient will live or die if he is not given a blood transfusion. Some patients, he said, who might have been expected to die were not given a transfusion and lived.
On the other hand, patients that one would have expected to live were given blood transfusions and died. So, he concluded, there is simply no way of stating with certainty that blood transfusions are saving lives.
On the other hand, the judges were shown that it is definitely known that blood transfusions do kill thousands of persons annually. Dr. Wilson accepted as a reasonable statement that appearing in the widely accepted medical book Complications in Surgery and Their Management, edited by Doctors Curtis P. Artz and James D. Hardy (1960). In its chapter on blood transfusion it states: "The annual mortality from only three complications of blood transfusion, hemolytic reactions, overload and serum hepatitis, is computed to be 16,500 people."
In cross-examination, Dr. Wilson was confronted with the statement in this book that said that in certain situations blood transfusions may be "mandatory." However, Dr. Wilson said that he did not know of any such situations, and would disagree with the book to that extent.
The second doctor to testify, Lowell Dixon, is a practicing surgeon and resident physician at a hospital in Stockton, California. He related that over his past seventeen years of medical practice he has become convinced that blood transfusions are not only hazardous but of highly questionable benefit. Dr. Dixon told the court that he is of the opinion that from a medical standpoint there are no situations where blood transfusions are absolutely necessary. He explained that he has developed certain practices in surgical operations that make the use of blood unnecessary. Certainly the testimony of these medical authorities provided strong justification for choosing a form of treatment other than blood transfusion.
Use of Blood un Inexact Science
It was 4:11 p.m. when Dr. Dixon stepped down from the witness stand, and the next witness was called. This was Dr. Frederic Exner, a practicing physician in Seattle, who was formerly president of the King County Medical Association. He also has been an official member of blood bank committees in various hospitals, as well as having served for six years as professor of medical ethics at the University of Washington.
This doctor, with more than forty years of medical experience, proceeded to trace the history of blood transfusions. He explained that about three hundred years ago they tried to use animal blood in transfusions, but about a hundred years ago decided it advisable to use human blood. In the early use of blood transfusion, he observed, only about 55 percent of those given transfusions survived.
In time, blood typing was found to be necessary. However, even in recent years, Dr. Exner observed, it has been discovered that there are many more blood types than previously realized. The new discoveries, he said, demonstrate how wrong and incompetent the previous practice of blood transfusion was. Yet, he said, "they continue using blood on the theory that what you don't know can't hurt you."
Dr. Exner explained that he had been seeing people killed by blood transfusions ever since his student days. He emphasized: "Nobody can say at any place or at any time that a patient who lived with a blood transfusion would not have lived without it." Yet, he said, one can point to thousands of cases where blood transfusions have undoubtedly killed people. He concluded that, in weighing the use of blood, you have to weigh on one side the possible but unproved benefit to the patient, while on the other side there is the definite knowledge that blood transfusions can kill.
By now the afternoon was wearing on. However, before adjourning, the judges requested from Witness lawyer Glen How the assurance that he would complete the testimony of the side of Jehovah's witnesses by noon of the next day. Then court adjourned.
The Second Day
Some minutes before 10 a.m. the next morning court reopened, and Dr. Exner returned to the stand. He discussed the term "circulatory overload," explaining that in some cases a very small amount of blood may cause overload and seepage of blood into the lung. He also mentioned that, although figures indicate approximately 16,000 deaths annually from blood transfusion, there are undoubtedly many more that are never so reported.
In cross-examination by the defense attorney, Dr. Exner was confronted with a statement regarding medical ethics to the effect that a doctor should not consult with a dogmatist or a cultist practitioner. Dr. Exner said he did not object to the proposition. The defense counsel then asked him if, by accepting the views of Jehovah's witnesses against blood transfusion based on their religious views, he would not be violating his duty not to be influenced by any dogma.
The doctor turned the matter around. He pointed out that no one could prove that blood transfusions were lifesaving, therefore if a physician insisted that blood transfusions must be administered, then that physician was acting like a dogmatist. Thus, he is the one violating the fundamental principle of medical ethics.
The last medical authority to testify in behalf of Jehovah's witnesses was Dr. Kenneth Riggle, a practicing surgeon from Houston, Texas. His testimony was similar
to that of Dr. Dixon. He related to the court his successful practice of surgery of a wide variety without the use of blood transfusion. In particular he was questioned regarding the Rh incompatability problem in infants. He told of treating four cases of this condition, two of which were extremely ill. Each of them recovered by employing treatment other than blood transfusions.
It became clear by the testimony of these medical witnesses that the use of blood transfusions is still far from an exact science and that there are definite risks. Furthermore, it was made evident that there are alternative methods of treatment that avoid the risks of blood transfusion and that these alternative methods are now being successfully employed by some doctors. Is it really parental neglect, or evidence of gross incompetence, to choose such alternative methods of treatment? Is it basis for interfering in the family and forcing upon both children and adults unwanted medical treatment just because it is currently popular? These are questions the judges were to decide upon.
Witnesses Involved in Cases Testify
Next, Glen How proceeded to call to the stand a number of Jehovah's witnesses who had been involved in blood transfusion cases in the state of Washington. The defense counsel objected to this; nevertheless, the testimony of the witnesses was permitted by the judges.
Four cases were presented as examples. Two of them involved the seizing of children from the custody of their parents, and the other two concerned adults. The testimony of the witnesses revealed that officials had been arbitrary, getting court orders by telephone and acting without due process of law.
In the case of Geri Lynn Nichol the blood transfusion was given her even before the court order was sought!
Mr. Nichol testified that he always feels some uneasiness about this child because he does not know what damage has been done to her by having the blood of a stranger flowing in her veins.
The next witness to testify was Evonne Sayers. She explained that she had recovered from the vaginal bleeding from which she had suffered, and her condition had stabilized. Then, after her husband left the hospital with the understanding that she was all right, she was rendered unconscious by drugs and given a blood transfusion!
The final witness was Martha Ridge. She testified that she was in the hospital at Enumclaw, Washington, suffering from uterine bleeding. She was not in serious condition at all, and had a good night's sleep. Then, she said, she awoke the next morning to hear on the radio, to her complete surprise and embarrassment, that she had been taken into the custody of the court for the purpose of forcing upon her a blood transfusion!
The Defense
After reconvening in the afternoon, the defense counsel endeavored to cite examples to show that the Washington statute had been applied to others besides Jehovah's witnesses. However, these instances were shown, on cross-examination, to be clearly those involving cruelty and actual neglect by parents, completely irrelevant to the cases involving Jehovah's witnesses.
Then the defense placed their medical witness on the stand, and the remainder of the afternoon was taken in direct examination of him. He was Dr. Warren Guntheroth, associate professor of pediatrics at the University of Washington. This was one of the doctors who had been named as a defendant for his part in forcing
blood transfusions upon Michael Penn, the child of one of Jehovah's witnesses.
On the witness stand Dr. Guntheroth sought to vindicate his ignoring of the conscience and wishes of the boy's parents, saying that he felt the boy would have died if he had not been given blood. Dr. Guntheroth testified that his conscience would not allow him to adhere to the wishes of the parents, but he felt justified under the law to force upon the children of Jehovah's witnesses treatment that he felt best. He sought to minimize the risk of blood transfusion.
This witness then referred to Dr. Ben Wilson, who had written the chapter in the book edited by Artz and Hardy, which discussed the dangers and number of deaths attributed to blood transfusions. Jehovah's witnesses had cited this information earlier in the trial. Dr. Guntheroth had written Dr. Wilson to have him enlarge on his opinions, and he sought to produce as evidence a letter from him. However, the court refused to admit the letter into evidence. It was held that what Dr. Wilson had written in the book was evidently his professional opinion, whereas what he wrote in the letter was designed to help out his friends, and was not so likely to be an honest statement of his medical opinion.
Court was adjourned at 4:35 p.m., with Dr. Guntheroth still on the witness stand.
The Final Day
On the final day of the trial Glen How took up the cross-examination of Dr. Guntheroth. Mr. How confronted the witness with the writings of doctors at Baylor University, Houston, Texas, who have been successfully handling cases of Jehovah's witnesses in open-heart surgery without the use of blood. Nevertheless, Dr. Guntheroth again held that his conscience would not allow him to proceed without using blood or having it at hand.
Since he had introduced the matter of conscience in such decisions, Mr. How now asked the doctor whether he would be guided by his conscience in a case where an abortion was necessary to save the life of an underage Catholic girl, whose religion forbids abortion. This question, however, was objected to by the defendants.
After about thirty minutes of cross-examination, the witness was dismissed and preparations were made for the final arguments by the attorneys. The defense had supplied only one real witness and very little substantial evidence. Apparently they were counting upon popular opinion to exonerate their actions as 'lifesaving measures,' thus making unnecessary any real effort to defend themselves against the charges of interfering with the Constitutional rights of citizens.
Concluding Arguments
At about 10:30 a.m. the final arguments began. The attorneys for the plaintiffs explained that Jehovah's witnesses were not seeking any financial damages. Rather, they were seeking an injunction on the ground that the State statute is unconstitutional, or was being applied unconstitutionally. They were seeking relief, not merely from isolated acts, but against a practice, Glen How, who took the lead in the case for the plaintiffs, made clear that Jehovah's witnesses desire total relief against all judges, doctors, hospitals and anyone else who would interfere with their God-given, Constitutionally protected right to manage the affairs of their personal and family lives.
It is the duty of the father to decide what is for the benefit of his family, Mr. How explained, and this is a discretion that the law places upon him. He further pointed out that the judges in these cases have been proceeding on the wrong basis. It is not their place to sit as the father of
the family, How noted, and decide what they would do in the same situation. The family circle is protected by the law, and before the judge can even enter or inquire what is going on in the family circle there must be evidence of neglect of the family by abandonment of parental discretion.
Lawyer How went on to show that Jehovah's witnesses are not neglecting their children by forbidding blood transfusions to be given them. Rather, they are merely exercising their right of parental discretion regarding medical treatment of their children and themselves as adults. They are doing this in an area of medical practice where there are real and well-known dangers and where there is also in common use successful alternative treatment.
Mr. How further explained that this position of Jehovah's witnesses is, therefore, not only a religious one based on very clear statements in the Bible, but also a medically sound position based on an increasing volume of statements by recognized authorities in the medical literature of the last twenty years or so.
It was submitted by Mr. How that the free exercise of religion guaranteed under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution includes the right of training and upbringing of children in the religious views, opinions and practices of the parents. It was also pointed out that the refusal to submit to blood transfusions poses no potential danger to the public, and therefore it is not a matter of public law that would justify any invasion of the individual citizen's rights.
In conclusion, he pointed out that the defense's admission that the judges were merely following the opinions and views of the doctors put the doctors in a position of privilege above every other person in the United States. They are, in effect, judges in their own case. The Constitution of the United States, however, provides that there shall be no such thing as a "Title of Nobility."
He also noted that the exalting of a medical doctor's conscience over the conscience of a patient was an establishment of religion, a thing that is against the First Amendment of the Constitution.
The matter is now before the court to decide. Will the judges, in accord with Constitutional guarantees, safeguard the rights of hospital patients? Awake! will report on the outcome when the decision is handed down.
Letting Them Hear the Other Side
URING the month of April this year thousands of educators throughout the United States were furnished with a copy of Awake! of April 22, highlighting the theme "Evolution or Creation by God—Which?" Many teachers and professors hailed this compact discussion of evolution in relation to a Bible-based faith as filling a long-felt need in classrooms. Here are some of the responses.
Said a science teacher in Montana: "What is a teacher to do when evolution theory is taught right in the textbook? What you people are doing is exactly what is needed to give the students the other side of the question."
"I see a real need for my students to understand what evolution is all about, and so I teach about the theory. At the same time I want them to realize that it is only a theory—and perhaps a very poor one at that," wrote a Texas teacher, with his request for thirty-five extra copies of Awaken!
And an Illinois teacher wrote: "I read the magazine, which I enjoyed, and found it very informative. It was strange that I had just previously mentioned in class how wonderful that a spider knew how to spin an intricate web, and that God had to have something to do with it. Next day your daughter handed me Awake!, and there was the article mentioning the spider and its web."
A Catholic teacher in Detroit exclaimed: "You know, I never thought of evolution as having destroyed people's belief in God. Something is the cause; the young people are leaving the Church in droves."
as saying: "Most intellectuals ignore the Bible and in effect merely say that I accept all evidences except those which do not appeal to me, mainly that described in the Bible." He also pointed out that many findings by scientists are based on assumptions, not facts.
At Fresno State College, California, it is reported that a professor of physics, who is also a graduate of the California Institute of Technology, is "in essence" sympathetic with what appeared in Awoke! He is quoted
A department head in a Virginia high school reacted this way: "Although I am certain you will meet with opposition. I for one am glad to see a stand taken, of importance, on an important issue. So much is related to science today, in so many fields of study, that to forget the Creator for the sake of scientific 'fact' is not difficult to drift into."
After reading what Awakel had to say about evolution, one Vermont teacher of science typed and mimeographed copies so he could pass them out to his various classes. He expressed appreciation for information supporting belief in creation, because all he could find heretofore was information supporting evolution. He wants his students to bear both sides of the question and make up their own minds.
This excerpt from a letter of a science teacher in Michigan speaks for itself: "We desire to present our biology students with different opinions on evolution. Your publication [Awakel] presents a discussion of some of the aspects. We are interested in knowing the cost of 250 copies. We would also like to know if your organization has any person available to talk to our biology classes about evolution."
And from a college in Iowa comes this expression from a senior student: "Since I do plan to go into the field of biology and secondary education, I know that the articles in your April 22 issue of Awake! will help me explain to my future students in a clear and informed way the Christian view of evolution."
With an order for extra copies of Awake! came this interesting expression from southeastern New York State: "I have been working hard on the problem of evolution for several years and have reached pretty much the same conclusion as you have. I have written an article or two on the subject, and am therefore familiar with the problem of presenting the arguments simply and convincingly. You have done this very well. You quote reputable authors and you have selected the passages very intelligently. In short, you have done a highly professional job."
A correspondent in Oregon wrote the publishers of Awake!: "While I am not a member of Jehovah's witnesses... I wish to take this opportunity to express how very much I have enjoyed your Awake! magazine... It came at an opportune time, just when I had completed a number of articles on evolution, and had been half-swayed on this subject toward evolution. I am now thoroughly convinced how utterly impossible for life, in its multiple and varied forms, minute and large, ugly and beautiful, to just have happened billions of years ago, by itself. I wish to express my admiration for the wonderful work you are doing in different lands, to inspire true belief in our Creator, and I no longer want any part of evolution."
Another teacher in northeastern Montana wrote to say that Anachel arrived "just at the right time to be studied with our other material in the biology course... and I intend to study it at least as carefully as our text.
To those of us who believe in God's creation it is heartening to have at hand some facts as well as faith. Not that there is anything wrong with holding true on just faith; evolutionists go that far and farther themselves in asking one to blindly accept a theory as fact, in spite of all its holes.
Having read this outstanding issue of Awake!, an English teacher in a Florida high school found the arguments to be so logical that he plans to use Awake! in the classroom to demonstrate good argumentation.
In a Catholic high school in Ohio a priest, who conducts a class in Bible study, stated that they were presently studying Genesis and felt that the presentation of Awake! would be helpful. He requested thirty copies, one for each student in his class.
A teacher in a Harlem (New York city) school invited the young student who brought him the Awake! magazine to give a brief résumé of its contents before the whole class. At the conclusion she said to the girl: "I was always undecided about evolution, but what you have said about it here in class today will help me to make my decision."
How strange that a mere theory should be taught in school as though it were as demonstrably true as arithmetic! Nor have the voices of Christendom's clergy been raised in strong protest against a course of study that undermines youthful faith in God. Surely it is time to let the students hear the other side of the evolution question!
BIRDS NAVIGATE BY THE STARS
Animals cannot learn or figure out complex problems of navigation, since they do not have the power to reason as man does. Yet they can navigate by the stars! The book The Mysterious Senses of Animals notes the results of experiments in this regard. "These experiments made it clear that blackcaps instinctively recognised individual constellations, 'knew' that they travelled across the sky during the night and also 'knew' the changes of the constellations with the changing seasons. . . . These small feathered astronomers can still navigate if only one or two stars are visible through the cloud cover. But if the sky is totally overcast, . . . they simply interrupt their migration . . . How do they acquire their extraordinary astronomical capacity? . . . the blackcap has inherited its knowledge of celestial geography and the course of the stars. Science still has no explanation to offer of how this instinctive knowledge of a subject as complicated as that of the constellations came to be embedded in an animal's germ plasm."
While scientists may not have an explanation, the Bible does. The wisdom everywhere manifested in living things, such as the amazing navigation instinct of birds, testifies to the fact that they were designed by an intelligent Creator, Jehovah God.
STRENGTHENING YOUR Marriage Ties
Failure in marriage is a growing phenomenon. How can you be sure that your marriage will be successful and happy?
GENERALLY on their wedding day couples are optimistic. The ties that hold them together seem strong. They look forward to a successful, happy relationship. But then, so often, they drift apart. Why? Why is unhappiness so prevalent? Where does the trouble begin?
This is usually difficult to pinpoint. A combination of factors almost invariably is involved. A typical example that will help to illustrate is that of a young married couple in New York city.
She was a strikingly attractive woman in her late twenties. He was three years older, and was intelligent and alert. He owned a small business and earned a comfortable living. They had two young children, a boy and a girl. Although each admittedly loved the other and their children, the ties holding them together were becoming dangerously strained.
He observes: "It is a little difficult to describe the cause of our troubles. I guess the underlying reason, though, was selfishness and resentment. I was so wrapped up in my business and personal pleasures
(I liked to bowl and gamble) that I was not giving my wife the attention I should have. She responded by adopting the attitude that, if that was the way I was going to be, she wouldn't give me any attention either. As a result, the pattern developed of my wife's going her way and doing what she liked, and my going my way and doing what I liked.
"I suppose that inwardly we both resented that our mate found happiness (or, at least, we thought found happiness) in pursuits and pleasures without the other's company. Eventually we were purposely making an effort to ignore each other, and to plan activities in which the other could not share. Although this course brought neither of us genuine happiness, we wanted to prove to the other we could be happy without our mate. I guess it was a way of getting even. But you can imagine the strained relations this caused in the home."
Soon the situation deteriorated so much that each would deliberately say and do things to hurt the other. Name-calling and shouting became frequent occurrences. The atmosphere around the home was tense and unhappy. They were on the very verge of separation and divorce. They were sailing the same course to marital shipwreck that millions of families in recent years have sailed.
A Growing Problem
One does not need to be a sociologist to know that the weakening and severing of marriage ties is a growing phenomenon. Every year, in the United States, while about 1,700,000 couples are married, more than 400,000 marriages are dissolved. Thus, for about every four marriages, one is broken. In many countries divorce rates are rising even faster than in the United States.
Yet the number of divorces only partially reveals the true marital picture.
For each marriage that ends in divorce, explains a doctor who specializes in marriage counseling, there are many in which "the family unit remains together physically, but there is, in effect, an emotional divorce." Some refer to these unhappy unions as "empty shell" marriages.
In one study of 4,000 marriages, conducted by a Dr. Paolo Bellinato, only 30 percent of the couples said they were reasonably happy. Another 40 percent were trying to keep up appearances, but actually their marriage ties were weakened seriously, and prospects for the future were very bad. The remaining 30 percent no longer even attempted to keep up appearances and flouted all ethical and moral standards. The situation perhaps is even worse than indicated by the statistics, since people, when being polled, tend to be optimistic. There is no question that most marriage ties need strengthening. But how can this be accomplished?
True Guidance and Counsel
Happily, the New York City couple discovered how to mend the emotional rift that threatened their marriage. One day the husband was at his place of business when he was visited by a minister, one of Jehovah's witnesses. The visitor pointed him to the Bible, and invited him to a regular study of it. The husband accepted, and each morning set aside an hour from his work for this consideration of God's Word.
Soon the man began to have a clearer appreciation of the marriage relationship. Never before had he read right out of the Bible what God expected of Christian husbands. He could see where he had fallen short of his family responsibilities, and determined to follow the Bible's guidance and counsel.
After a couple of months he invited the
minister to his home so that his wife might join in the study. At first, however, she was not so inclined. But noting what a fine change had come over her husband since he began studying the Bible, she eventually consented. Gradually she, too, began to appreciate the Bible's counsel on proper conduct and a Christian wife's responsibilities. As a result, the marriage ties progressively became stronger. Now, years later, acquaintances have told them: "We have never seen two people so genuinely happy together."
The vital factor was that each of them developed a genuine love for the Creator and his laws. Their efforts to cultivate the fruits of his holy spirit—including love, peace, mildness, kindness, self-control—drew them close together. (Gal. 5:22, 23) They realized that real happiness could be enjoyed only by considering the other's interests and working out their problems together in a spirit of love. Thus, they began to realize the wonderful joys of God's divine arrangement of marriage.
The wife observes that she sometimes thinks back to how close she and her husband were to divorce. "I must sit down and sob," she says, "when I consider the possibility that I might have lived separate from my husband all these years. Then I pray to Jehovah God and thank him for His counsel and guidance that brought us together in such a happy relationship." The Bible truly has power to strengthen marriage ties!
Problems the Bible Solves
Holding a grudge and withholding forgiveness are also major factors in many marital troubles. An outstanding example is that of an African man who, for twenty-two years, refused to eat food prepared by his wife because she once committed an act of immorality. Children were born and raised in this troubled atmosphere.
Friends, relatives and clergymen had tried to change the man's attitude, but without success. Could God's Word solve this marriage problem?
One day one of Jehovah's witnesses, in his regular preaching work, called upon the man. When the problem became known, the Witness on several successive visits explained to the man that Christians should forgive one another as Jesus instructed. The Bible's counsel on the proper relationship between husbands and wives was discussed, and it was pointed out that a change of personality was necessary to conform to the Bible's high standards.
The man was favorably disposed toward the Bible message, and began to reason to himself: "Well, I have wanted to preach love to others while I myself have not shown this quality." Convinced, he decided to put an end to his unforgiving attitude and began to eat food prepared by his wife. He invited the Witness and a neighbor for dinner and proudly announced that his wife had prepared the meal. The wife, for her part, greatly rejoiced at this change of heart, and has since decided to follow her husband's example of Bible study. It is God's Word that has brought the happiness that this household now realizes!
Angry tempers and lack of self-control are other factors that cause serious strains on marriage ties. However, that a change can quickly be realized when Bible counsel is applied is observed from the expressions of one wife last year. After only a few Bible studies, she told the Witness studying with the family:
"I thank Jehovah God for his goodness, because Bible truth has made a big change in this house. My husband shows me much consideration now; he no longer beats me but spends time associating with me. Even the children have changed; they have become honest and obedient, I, too, have understood my place in the home as a wife and homemaker."
It is of particular interest that one of the children should also tell the Witness: "Sir, since you helped us consider the scripture at Colossians 3:18-21, our parents do not fight anymore. They are showing us affection and are teaching us good things. We are now obeying them and we are all very happy." Yes, when God's Word is taken seriously and followed, the whole family benefits!
Power to Reunite Separated Families
Even when marriage ties have been strained to the breaking point and husband and wife have separated, the Bible has the power to reunite them in a happy union. For example, not long ago a woman in Indonesia who had left her husband took the initiative and returned to her village to arrange a reconciliation after studying the Bible with Jehovah's witnesses. The husband was happy to receive back his estranged wife, and the villagers were simply amazed that God's Word could have such a beneficial effect!
In another instance, a young man traveled from Spain to Venezuela for the purpose of trying to reunite his parents, who had been separated for four years due to marriage disagreements. After a while he abandoned all efforts to effect such a reconciliation as hopeless. However, later, this young man was contacted by Jehovah's witnesses and became a serious Bible student. The suggestion was made by a Witness that he visit his parents and see if the information from God's Word would not effect a change of heart in them. He decided to try.
Happily, the Bible had positive results from the beginning. The mother noted the change in her boy and very much liked the way he acted now.
Due to this she was ready to listen to his counsel based on what he had learned from the Scriptures. So, by witnessing to his mother and to his father, the boy was able to unite them again. They all started to live together, and the parents progressed in appreciation of God's Word to the point that they dedicated their lives to Jehovah God and symbolized this by water baptism. They regularly give thanks to God for uniting their family in true love.
A Wise Course to Take
Is it not the wise thing to inquire of the maker or designer of an instrument as to how it should be operated? Yes, for he would logically be the one to give you the best and wisest instructions. He is familiar with the product, and knows its limitations.
Similarly, is it not only reasonable that married people should seek guidance and counsel from the originator of marriage, Jehovah God? Really, it is! The avalanche of broken homes and marital unhappiness in recent years is due to the failure of persons to do this very thing. The belief has become common that the Bible is old-fashioned, out-of-date and impractical for our day. But this is not true. It is the only sure guide to successful marriage. Following its instructions is certain to strengthen your marriage ties.
In April of 1965 a young Pennsylvania couple took a very wise course. They were having serious marriage problems, and intended to seek a divorce. However, before going through with it, they wanted to know what the Bible had to say on the subject. But how could they find out? They had heard that no people were more
familiar with the Bible and its teachings than Jehovah's witnesses. So one Saturday afternoon they called the telephone number listed for Jehovah's witnesses in the phone directory.
A local minister answered and, after listening to their problems, he told them that he would gladly consider with them what the Bible had to say on the subject. Of course, then they themselves would have to decide whether they would allow God's counsel to govern their lives. The next day the minister of Jehovah's witnesses called, and some two and a half hours were spent examining the Bible texts. The information from God's Word greatly impressed the couple. So they agreed to a regular study of the Bible in order to become more familiar with Scriptural principles and God's purposes.
Miraculous changes were not realized overnight. The problems were serious. Yet, because of respect for God, the two continued to study. In time, they made adjustments in their lives in accordance with Bible principles, and progress toward better marriage relations was realized. Now, after more than two years, the marriage ties that were all but broken are greatly strengthened. The couple are indeed happy that they are still together and have come to such a wonderful appreciation of their loving Creator.
You, too, can greatly benefit by applying the divine counsel and guidance of God's Word in your life. Do not ignore it; it can truly strengthen marriage ties! Jehovah's witnesses in your community will be happy to help you locate within its pages the grand counsel that will lead to a successful and happy marriage.
AT PERHAPS no other period in history has the ancient maxim been more apropos: Let the buyer beware! And perhaps, too, never has the advice been more vital: Investigate before you invest.
Sociologists estimate that probably one out of every ten American adults in the nineteenth century was a victim of a swindle or fraud sometime during his lifetime. Yet, in the twentieth century, just last year, a writer observed: "Today, ten out of ten adult Americans are the victims of swindles and frauds . . . Never before in the history of the United States have so many been swindled so often in so many different ways out of so much."
At practically every turn there are deceptive and dishonest attempts made to separate you from your money. According to reports of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation, losses due to fraud are estimated to be at least three times greater than the losses from all robberies, burglaries, car thefts and bank holdups combined.
Misleading Advertising
One of the first steps toward protecting yourself from fraud is to maintain a healthy skepticism of modern-day advertising. For while advertising can serve beneficially to educate you about products
that are available, it can also be misleading and, at times, outright fraudulent.
A prominent example, that caused overweight Americans to spend some $16,000,
000 between 1956 and 1963, was the massive advertising campaign for Regimen tablets. Television viewers were shown two overweight women. Then, after having taken Regimen tablets for several days, the women were seen again, now much slimmer, even though it was claimed they had not died. Investigations revealed, however, that they had crash-dieted away the pounds, and that the tablets were not responsible for their weight loss. On May 6, 1965, a federal grand jury found the advertising agency and drug firm guilty of conspiring to defraud the public, and fines amounting to over $100,000 were levied against them.
While perhaps few advertisements are so boldly dishonest, nevertheless, there are others designed to mislead. Advertising men themselves have been polled on the subject, and in a survey of admen published in Advertising Age only 8 percent of those responding considered their fellow admen to be "honest." Misleading advertising can, indeed, be instrumental in defrauding you.
How Advertisements Can Mislead
Consumer Bulletin of April 1964 warned about being misled by deceptive advertising, saying: "Several big-city newspapers run pages of such advertising, particularly during certain months of the year, and these ads all too commonly offer misrepresented articles or articles of little or no value which are portrayed as great bargains."
So while there are, on occasions, legitimate bargains to be had, there is a vital need to be alert so as to avoid being cheated.
One deceptive practice is to put in bold lettering the name of a prominent musician on a record album jacket, but elsewhere in small type reveal that someone else does the recording. Somewhat similar is the practice of advertising an item as free, or at an unbelievably low price, but, then, in very small type, explaining that the item is available only with the purchase of something else. This fact, however, may not come to one's attention until, in response to the ad, one seeks to obtain the item.
A prominent example that resembles this deception occurred about three years ago. A popular magazine carried an inserted tire company advertising card called a "lucky claim check." The ad suggested that, as far as the number was concerned, each card was unique. And if you were "lucky" and received one of the "winning numbers," published on another page of the magazine, you were instructed to proceed to the nearest of their auto accessory dealers and collect your prize, which included various items of merchandise such as sets of tires, bicycles and power lawn mowers, as well as discount booklets.
When many of the some four million readers of the magazine began showing up with their number cards, it was obvious that each "lucky claim check" was not unique. As it turned out, there were only 1,165 merchandise prizes; the other nearly four million "lucky" winners received discount booklets that entitled them to a saving of from 1 to2.50 on each purchase
of certain of the store's goods and services. As Consumer Reports observed: "Naturally, rather a lot of 'winners' felt they had been duped into becoming traffic."
A similar deceptive practice used by some firms is to advertise an appealing "bargain," and then when a person responds, switch his interest to another item. In one way or another the salesman downgrades the advertised "bargain," perhaps by pointing out its obviously poor quality. Then he interests the customer in merchandise of better quality, and may recommend that the money intended for buying the "bargain" be placed as a down payment on it. However, the better merchandise is also generally greatly overpriced. The advertisement was all part of a scheme to get the customer into the store, and to set him up for a sale.
Closely related to this kind of advertising is that sometimes employed by department stores. They may offer suits or dresses at bargain prices—not mentioning that they are only in off sizes. Many businesses do not hesitate to stoop to such devious methods to get people to their stores. Less reputable firms have been known to advertise a "bargain," but when customers arrive, they are invariably sold out of it. Actually, they never had such a bargain, for persons that arrived even before the store opened found it to be "all out" of the advertised item! To avoid being cheated, you must beware of such deceptive practices.
Work-at-Home Schemes
Often persons confined for the most part to the home—such as housewives, the aged and cripples—are enticed by advertisements that offer them the opportunity to earn money by doing "part time" work at home. The one thing these "earn-money-at-home" promotions have in common is that they require the prospect to buy something from the advertiser.
For example, one advertisement invites: "WOMEN: — $100 monthly for doing assembly work at home." The ad indicates that the purchaser will be paid for doing the work. But this is really not the case, for it is up to the women to sell the items after they buy instructions and materials from the promoter.
Another advertisement similar to the above offers: "MAKE MONEY in the quiet of your home. Large profits assured, market for all your produce." Unwary women purchase materials and patterns with the understanding that the company is going to buy the finished product. However, the company only agrees to buy work that is "up to their standards." But none ever is, no matter how well done.
There is an endless number of variations to this scheme. The work offered may be writing songs, raising mushrooms, breeding chinchillas, stringing beads; promoters have tried practically everything. But, remember, it is the victim that invariably pays for something; not the promoter. He is the one who actually rakes in the profits.
Mail Fraud Is Widespread
Use of the mail for the purpose of defrauding people, such as in the above schemes, is a serious problem. Observed Chief U.S. Postal Inspector Henry B. Montague: "Over $100,000,000 is being stolen from the public each year in mail frauds alone—and that's a conservative estimate. We're hearing more complaints and making more arrests now than at any other time in history."
but in Panama, Costa Rica and Brazil. Usually the resulting heartache is due to failure to heed the important advice: Investigate before you invest.
One form of this fraud is the mailorder sale of worthless land. Swindlers have, in recent years, peddled misrepresented homesites to thousands of unwary victims—not only in the United States,
Sometimes illegitimate operators will send a congratulatory letter or postcard telling you that you have won a free piece of land as part of the company's advertising campaign. However, it turns out that there is a small charge, described, perhaps, as "closing costs." These may run up to $250 or more. Thus, the land is not really free, and an inspection of it reveals the land to be practically worthless—being located on an inaccessible hill or in a swamp.
Almost invariably swindlers entice victims by offering an item or service "free," or at an unbelievably low price. For another example, a spurious company may send a letter telling new parents: "Your baby is about to receive a $500 gift, absolutely free." The letter explains that an unidentified philanthropist, childless and wealthy, is making the gift. "You know the type we mean," the letter continues convincingly. "This is his way of showing his love for all children . . . by selecting a few . . . luckily, your infant . . ."
However, then follows the bid for your money: Five dollars is required to cover "transfer fees," since the five hundred dollars is part of a trust fund that must be legally separated. Of course, the whole scheme is to swindle five dollars from an unwary prospect. And so often schemes such as this succeed! Swindlers tell people what they want to believe—that they can receive something for nothing, or practically nothing—and many persons are taken in by it. But do not let this happen to you. Remember the sound counsel, never to invest until you have investigated.
What About Charities?
The above advice should also be applied when considering a contribution to some form of charity. Requests for money are becoming ever more urgent, and from an increasing number of sources. In the United States a fantastic army of 32,000,000 volunteer workers did the collecting for some thirty-five national philanthropic agencies in a recent year. And in 1964 Americans contributed some eleven thousand million dollars to charity, compared to about half that amount ten years before.
However, the important question is: How much of the eleven thousand million dollars was used for the purpose for which the contributors intended it? According to a New York Times estimate, some $300 million is believed to have gone to charities that were partly if not wholly fraudulent. But even of contributions made to what are considered legitimate charities, a large percent regularly goes to cover costs such as advertising, salaries, rent, special promotions, and so forth. Sometimes little is left over for the purpose for which contributors gave their money.
For example, during a two-year period one veteran organization collected 2,100,-000, but1,900,000 of it went for fundraising costs. Minnesota Attorney-General Walter Mondale charged that of 30,576,-000 contributed to the Sister Elizabeth Kenny Polio Foundation from 1952 to 1959, over16,000,000, or some 53 percent, went for other than the understood purpose of combating disease. Seven men were eventually indicted by a federal grand jury for diverting funds for their own use.
One writer estimated that probably one-fourth to one-half of the eleven thousand million dollars contributed to charities in 1964 was used for purposes other than for which it was given. Obviously, then, if you do not want your hard-earned money pocketed by poorly managed, unworthy, or fraudulent charities, investigate before you contribute.
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