Awake!, February 8, 1968
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-A Shame on Africa
SEE REPORT ON PAGE 16
FEBRUARY 8, 1968
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. "Awakel" 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 scares 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 whalesome, instructive reading for every member of the family.
"Awakel!" pledges itself to righteous principles, to exposing hidden faes 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
"Faithful Are the Wounds of a Friend?" 3
Did Early Christians Believe in a Trinity? 5
Wisdom of the Body's Creator 8
The Poor Pay More for Less 9
Increasing the Comforts of Home
During Winter 13
Malawi's Anti-Christian Atrocities 16
—A Shame on Africa
Superstition Degrades—Truth Builds Up 22
Religious Center Struck by Tragedy 26
"Your Word Is Truth"
Finding Happiness in Family Life 28
Watching the World 30
THERE are many ways in which we can prove ourselves to be friends of those we love. The popular saying, "A friend in need is a friend in deed," surely indicates one of such ways. No doubt about it, a true friend will prove himself such when there is material or financial need.
"FAITHFUL are the WOUNDS of a FRIEND"
But there are also other needs to which a true friend will respond. One may need to be admonished, to have the truth told to him. Doing so would also be proof of friendship, even as indicated by the inspired proverb: "Faithful are the wounds of a friend."—Prov. 27:6, RS.
Of course, all such is the opposite of the ways of the world. It has just the opposite slogan, "Your best friends won't tell you." By this is meant that one's closest friends shrink from telling an unflattering or embarrassing truth when one really needs to have such a truth told him. For example, a popular magazine once told of a matron's wearing a really ridiculous-looking hat that embarrassed her club members, that none had the courage to tell her so. One of her friends thought she would solve the problem by buying it, and so she went to this matron and highly praised the hat and begged her to sell it to her, which the matron finally did. But
that did not solve the problem, for the matron simply went out and bought another hat like it, only one looking still more ridiculous! Telling her a badly needed unpleasant truth was a test of friendship that this clubwoman's friends apparently could not meet.
Yes, sincere friendship
recognizes the obligation to help in such circumstances, even as the Word of God, the Bible, repeatedly shows. For example, by means of Moses, Jehovah God counseled the ancient Israelites: "You must not hate your brother in your heart. You should by all means reprove your associate, that you may not bear sin along with him. . . you must love your fellow as yourself. I am Jehovah."—Lev. 19:17, 18.
The Bible gives us an example of this in the case of the apostles Peter and Paul. Peter, because of fear of what some Jewish Christians from Jerusalem might think, quit associating with Gentiles who had become Christians and even caused others to be influenced by his fear of man. Although Peter had been used very prominently by God, this did not keep the apostle Paul from reproving Peter in this matter, even doing so publicly because of the harm Peter was doing. How did Peter react to this reproof? The Bible does not directly state, but we can be certain that he appreciated being set straight, for years afterward he referred to Paul as "our beloved brother Paul."—Gal. 2:11-14; 2 Pet. 3:15.
The more serious the matter, of course, the more difficult it will be to speak the truth, and yet the more imperative that we do. Thus a mature Christian minister once saw a young Christian woman keeping company with a man of questionable morals. He could have ignored what he saw, but no, he felt an obligation toward her. So at an opportune time he sounded a note of warning, pointing out what the Bible has to say about associations and marriage for Christians. She failed to heed the warning, and got into trouble. But his conscience was clear; he did not bear sin along with her. In the end she recovered and was grateful for his having displayed true friendship by warning her.—1 Cor. 7:39; 15:33.
Truly, speaking out in such instances is proof of love and is what we actually owe others. Certainly if we were headed in a wrong direction we would appreciate being warned, would we not? (Luke 6:31) But let us not overlook that all such should be done with kindness, modesty, showing true love and empathy, in the way that we would like others to bring something like that to our attention. Yes, in mildness. (Gal. 6:1) While God's Word states, "Better is a revealed reproof than a concealed love," such does not at all imply harsh, blunt or tactless reproof.—Prov. 27:5.
Offering correction or reproof can be in matters little as well as big. For example, a public speaker once likened certain persons who refused to face the facts to the ostrich which, he said, hides its head in the sand when frightened. However, a close friend of his, when alone with him, kindly called his attention to a statement appearing in The World Book Encyclopedia
(1966 ed.). Vol. 14, page 660: "The ancient belief that an ostrich hides its head when frightened is only a fable." The speaker was very appreciative of having this called to his attention and, in fact, wondered why no one had previously done so.
But there is also another side to this matter of the wounds of a friend being faithful. Even as true friendship should cause us not to shrink from mentioning things that should be mentioned out of fear of offending, so, on the other hand, wisdom and love should make us ready to accept, yes, to welcome, such reproof. As faithful King David expressed it: "Should the righteous one strike me, it would be a loving-kindness; and should he reprove me, it would be oil upon the head, which my head would not want to refuse."—Ps. 141:5.
All such might be said to be wisely putting first the higher interests of others as well as of ourselves. And when we calmly think it out we must agree with King David that it is as a soothing oil for which we should be thankful, as it means improvement and might even mean the difference between happiness and misery, if not also between life and death. In taking this attitude we are proving another proverb true: "He that is reproving a man will afterward find more favor than he will that is flattering with his tongue."—Prov. 28:23.
Truly, here we have another example of how the Bible is "beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness." So let us not resent it when others seek to help us by means of a reproof and neither let us shrink back from sounding a warning or offering a correction when there is need, but being careful to do so in kindness and mildness, in love and with empathy, even as the Scriptures counsel.—2 Tim. 3:16, 17.
DID EARLY CHRISTIANS BELIEVE
Who formulated the Trinity doctrine? Is it found in the Bible?
THE Trinity has been called "the central doctrine of the Christian religion." It affirms, according to the Athanasian Creed: "The Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. And yet there are not three Gods, but one God." Modern Catholics generally accept this as an expression of their faith.
The Augsburg Confession of 1530, which is said to formularize the teaching of Protestantism, describes the Trinity in these words: "There is one divine essence which is called and is God, eternal . . . yet there are three persons of the same essence and power, who also are co-eternal, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost."
Is this what the early Christians believed? Did they conceive God as being 'three persons in one'? Is this teaching expressed in the Bible? "Why, of course!" the majority of churchgoers in Christendom would answer. But is this what the evidence actually indicates? Leading Catholic and Protestant authorities recently have made some revealing comments on the matter.
Time of Origination
For example, the New Catholic Encyclopedia (1967), bearing the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur indicating approval, points to the lack of evidence that the Trinity doctrine is taught in the Bible or was believed by early Christians. Under the heading "Trinity, Holy," on page 295 of Volume 14,
it begins with the straightforward admission:
"It is difficult, in the second half of the 20th century to offer a clear, objective,
and straightforward account of the revelation, doctrinal evolution, and theological elaboration of the mystery of the Trinity. Trinitarian discussion, Roman Catholic as well as other, presents a somewhat unsteady silhouette.
"Two things have happened. There is the recognition on the part of exegetes [ones who explain the Scriptures] and Biblical theologians, including a constantly growing number of Roman Catholics, that one should not speak of Trinitarianism in the New Testament without serious qualification. There is also the closely parallel recognition on the part of historians of dogma and systematic theologians that when one does speak of an unqualified Trinitarianism, one has moved from the period of Christian origins to, say, the last quadrant of the 4th century. It was only then that what might be called the definitive Trinitarian dogma 'one God in three persons' became thoroughly assimilated into Christian life and thought."
Does this mean that it was not until the fourth century, some three hundred years after the death of Christ, that the Trinity doctrine became accepted? It has often been asserted that first-century Christians believed in the 'one God in three persons' concept. But after discussing the origins and gradual development of the Trinity doctrine, note what the New Catholic Encyclopedia says on page 299:
"From what has been seen thus far, the impression could arise that the Trinitarian dogma is in the last analysis a late 4th century invention. In a sense, this is true . . . The formulation 'one God in three persons' was not solidly established, certainly not fully assimilated into Christian life and its profession of faith, prior to the end of the 4th century. But it is precisely this formulation that has first claim to the title the Trinitarian dogma. Among the Apostolic Fathers, there had been nothing even remotely approaching such a mentality or perspective."
How interesting! The idea of the Trinity, as it was expressed in the fourth century and is taught today, was completely foreign to the mentality or perspective of early Christians! Why is this? Is it because the concept of 'three persons in one God' is not taught in the Bible?
Bible Support for Doctrine?
Trinitarians have often tried to show that the Trinity doctrine is taught in the so-called Old Testament, or Hebrew Scriptures. They have pointed to the use of Elohim (Hebrew for God), which is often the plural of excellence. They have drawn attention to places where God used the expression, "Let us." (Gen. 1:26) And they have picked out phrases in the Bible, such as, "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD." (Isa. 6:3, AV) These, they have argued, are evidences of the Trinity doctrine.
However, The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge (1957), Volume 12, page 18, notes: "Only an inaccurate exegesis [explanation] which overlooks the more immediate grounds of interpretation can see references to the Trinity in the plural form of the divine name Elohim, the use of the plural in
Gen. i. 26, or such liturgical phrases of three members as the Aaronic blessing of Num. vi. 24-26 and the Trisagion [meaning "Three Times Holy"] of Isa. vi. 3." The New Catholic Encyclopedia is even more pointed, saying without qualification: "The doctrine of the Holy Trinity is not taught in the OT [Old Testament]."
Is the Trinity doctrine, then, taught or explained anywhere in the Bible? No, neither the word "Trinity" nor the Trinity doctrine is mentioned therein. The New Catholic Encyclopedia says of the Trinity, on page 304: "It is not, as already seen, directly and immediately the word of God." "The object," this source noted earlier, "is to uncover the roots of Trinitarian dogma in the Biblical source. . . . The object is not, certainly should not be, to demonstrate that Matthew or Paul or John is 'saying' the 4th century Trinitarian dogma." But even the presupposed roots of the Trinity teaching are not mentioned in the Bible.
Theologian Johan B. Hygen, professor at the University of Oslo, writes in Norsk Teologisk Tidsskrift (Norwegian Theological Magazine), in the first issue of 1967: "Most theologians today recognize that this doctrine is not found in the Bible. The most conservative Regin Prenter even says that it is altogether useless to look for it there."
With what Bible passages, then, do Trinitarians endeavor to support their doctrine? After admitting that the Trinity is not taught in the Old Testament, the New Catholic Encyclopedia, on page 306, offers the following as the strongest Scriptural evidence for the 'three persons in one God' concept: "In the NT the oldest evidence is in the Pauline epistles, especially 2 Cor. 13:13 [13:14 in many Bible translations] and 1 Cor. 12:4-6. In the Gospels evidence of the Trinity is found explicitly only in the baptismal formula of Mat.
28:19."*
Is there even the remotest evidence in these texts that God is "three persons in one?" Note how they read in the Catholic Douay Version Bible: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the charity of God, and the communication of the Holy Ghost be with you all." (2 Cor. 13:13) "Now there are diversities of graces, but the same Spirit; and there are diversities of ministries, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but the same God, who worketh all in all." (1 Cor. 12:4-6) "Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."—Matt. 28:19.
True, each of these texts mentions God, his Son Jesus, and the holy spirit or "Holy Ghost." However, do they say that these are 'three persons in one God?' Do they in any way indicate that God, Jesus and the holy spirit are equal in power, are of the same essence and are coeternal? Not at all! There is much more frequent mention in the Bible of 'Abraham, Isaac and Jacob' together, and 'Peter, James and John' together. (Ex. 3:15, 16; 4:5; 6:3; Mark 5:37; 9:2; 14:33) Yet, it would be absurd to conclude that simply their being mentioned together is a basis for believing that they are 'three persons in one!' The fact is, as many present theologians admit: The Trinity "doctrine is not found in the Bible." Yes, "it is altogether useless to look for it there."
Early Christian Belief
What, then, did early Christians believe regarding God and the Messiah, Jesus? They believed the plain, uncomplicated Bible teaching that Jehovah God is Jesus' Father, and hence that Jesus is subordinate and lesser than God. (John 8:42; 13:16; 14:28) They believed, too, that before coming to earth Jesus existed as a mighty, invisible angel. They believed that this mighty creature had been created by God, being "the first-born of all creation," and God's "only-begotten son." (Col. 1:15; John 1:14; 8:23; Rev. 3:14) They also believed that God sent this Son to earth to provide a ransom for sinful mankind, and after Jesus' death in faithfulness God resurrected him back to heavenly life as a mighty spirit creature again.—John 3:16; Matt. 20:28; Acts 2:32.
Because of these Biblical beliefs early Christians did not consider God to be 'three persons in one.' Regarding this, Martin Werner, as professor in the University of Bern, in his book The Formation of Christian Dogma (1957), observes: "The Primitive Christian conception of the Messiah as a high angelic being also explains for us the fact, which is of great doctrinal importance, that in the Primitive Christian era there was no sign of any kind of Trinitarian problem or controversy, such as later produced violent conflicts in the Church. The reason for this undoubtedly lay in the fact that, for Primitive Christianity, Christ was . . . a being of the high celestial angel-world, who was created and chosen by God."
Yes, early Christians believed that Christ in his prehuman existence had been created by God, and that in heaven he was an angel subordinate to God. In commenting on this matter, Trinitarian Aloys Grillmeier admits in his book Christ in Christian Tradition (1965): "It is quite true that the Christos Angelos theme is a very real one and that it had an important position in the early Christian period . . . We may point out the over-estimating of the Christos Angelos idea, but within limits it is not to be denied as a historical fact.
The sources testify that Christ was given the name 'angel' right up until the fourth century."
Trinity Introduced
It was only when men abandoned these Scriptural views that they adopted the Trinity, Professor Werner explains: "The Trinitarian problem first emerged when the Church in its theology was constrained . . . to abandon the concept of subordination [of Christ to God] for that of co-ordination. Almost insoluble difficulties then inevitably produced themselves." Even the ardent Trinitarian Grillmeier admitted that, because of the beliefs of early Christians, "no approach to the question of the Trinity could be made in primitive Christian times."
It was by a slow, gradual process that the Trinity doctrine was formulated by men who had deviated from the faith of the first-century Christians. Eventually, at the church council in Nicaea in 325 C.E., it was proclaimed that God and Christ were one substance (homeousios). This unscriptural proclamation met with much opposition from Arius and others who held to the Bible teaching that Christ was subordinate to God. Professor Werner notes the inability of the supporters of this new doctrine to defend it against the plain statements of the Scriptures. He cites the example:
"The Homoousians were completely helpless when confronted with the passage of [Mark 13:32] which was a favourite weapon of the Arians, for therein the 'Son' is equated with the angels in knowing no more than they the day and the hour of the End, which the Father alone determined. It is not a 'human nature' of Jesus, but just the 'Son' who is expressly described here as being ignorant—an absurdity, if the 'Son' is interpreted in terms of the homoousia theory, as being in a relationship of substantial identity to the 'Father.' Consequently, there was only left to Nicene neo-orthodoxy a resort to literary violence, namely, to deny flatly the ascription of ignorance to the Son in Mk. xlii, 32."
To this day Trinitarians remain incapable of supporting this self-contradictory doctrine with the Scriptures. They, too, are forced to deny flatly what the Bible says about God and Christ. To believe the Trinity doctrine makes it necessary to set aside and ignore the plain statements of God's Word. For the Scriptures clearly show that Jesus Christ is a creation of God, and has at all times been subordinate to Him. This is what the early Christians believed. The evidence is conclusive that they did not believe in a Trinity. And the reason why is clear: The Bible does not teach the Trinity. Will you remain a member of a religious organization that teaches this unscriptural dogma? Not if you want to please God!
Wisdom of the Body's Creator
Despite human imperfection, the more man learns, the greater becomes his reason for awe and admiration at how the human body is designed. The San Francisco Examiner & Chronicle of September 11, 1866, quoted Dr. W. W. Akers, a Rice University engineer working with surgeons to build an artificial heart, as saying: "The body is the ultimate in technological perfection. Almost any machine you can dream up—no matter how sophisticated—you can look into the body and find one better."
The Poor Pay
FOR LESS
WHEN you buy a pound of butter, you ought to have the assurance that you will get a pound of butter, not three-quarters of a pound or some substitute. You should not be tricked or forced into paying high butter prices for low-grade substitutes either. You should get what you pay for. However, this often is not the case, especially so where the poor shop. Despite much strict supervision, there is still a lot of manipulating of prices and scheming that goes on to outwit the buyer. And the poor are the ones most often cheated.
For example, last April, on crowded East 117th Street in New York city, the poor people of the neighborhood took measures to deal with high food costs. "People got tired of finding that, right before welfare-check days, everything was stamped a few pennies higher in the stores," said a housewife. These people organized their own bargain grocery outlet, where they sold soap, soup and milk, and so forth, at reduced prices to clientele made up exclusively of families on welfare. Some neighborhood merchants objected, but it was their own "unfair price-fixing," as housewives termed it, that led to the opening of the community bargain store. Some merchants, not all by any
means, were trying to take unfair advantage of the poor.
But were some of the neighborhood merchants overcharging the poor? Judge for yourself. At the newly formed bargain store in Manhattan a quart of orange juice priced at 25 cents was selling for 45 cents in a grocery store nearby—almost twice the price—and for 29 cents in the supermarkets. Large eggs, priced 45 cents a dozen at the bargain store, were 22 cents cheaper than at the small grocery a few blocks away. Coffee priced 79 cents at the bargain store was selling for 88 cents a pound at stores operated by neighborhood merchants. The Manhattan store organized by the community poor was able to sell lard for 20 cents, instead of 25 cents; milk for 23 cents, instead of 27 cents; a bottle of catup for 20 cents, instead of 28 cents; onions for 6 cents a pound, instead of 15 cents. The differences in prices are great in some cases, and in other cases they amount only to pennies, but they do add up. A mother of three young children said that she usually spent 32 a week for food. She had28 worth of foods stacked in two carts from the newly formed bargain store. She estimated that the supply would last "almost two weeks." In other words, by going to the new store she cut her food bill almost in half—a worthwhile saving.
To many persons these differences in prices may not seem much, but to the poor people, many of whom are unemployed or part-time workers existing primarily on welfare or pension checks, any increase in food prices can be the difference between eating and not eating for a day or so before their monthly check arrives. For them, food is the major item in their budget.
The fact that the poor pay more was emphasized in a presentation of National Educational Television in New York city. A portion of the transcript of National Educational Television's N.E.T. Journal- The Poor Pay More, states:
"All too frequently, when the [poor] sign an installment contract, or make a purchase, they pay higher prices, get exploited more often and receive worse quality merchandise than anyone else. . . Government sponsored studies have alleged that the poor pay more. A study made by an anti-poverty agency contended that the poor pay more for food than do middle and upper income families."
Investigations disclosed that a certain jar of mayonnaise was 31 cents where the upper- and middle-income families shopped, 41 cents where the poor bought their food. A brand of peaches was priced at 39 cents where middle-income families bought; the poor paid 45 cents. Vinegar sold for 18 cents in the better neighborhoods; the same bottle cost the poor 25 cents. A bottle of corn oil sold for 59 cents on 72nd Street in New York city and 65 cents on 120th Street, where these price comparisons were made. Such prices tend to indicate that the poor pay more.
The Kiplinger Washington Letter, circulated privately to businessmen, dated October 6, 1967, said: "Supermarkets in poor areas will be hit by more consumer
protests following claims of price gouging against the poor in Washington, D. C." On October 12 three houswives told a Congressional hearing that a large supermarket chain charged poor persons higher prices than they did persons in middle and upper incomes. They said prices in three stores in the poverty areas of the District of Columbia were an average of 9.1 percent higher on September 1, when welfare checks were received, than in the six other stores. Under questioning, the women also said that the stores in the poverty area were dirtier and had poorer service.
Arthur Ross, commissioner of the Labor Statistics Bureau, said a survey showed food prices tended to rise in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles when relief checks were distributed. He said that the spot check of eighteen food products in chain and independent stores showed that "among items where prices changed, there had been more increases in the Watts area than in higher-income areas of Los Angeles."
Why the Poor Pay More
The poor pay more perhaps because they are often less observant, less informed on price changes and moneymaking schemes. They also appear to be more easygoing and do not complain as much as some when irregularities are uncovered. Sometimes, too, it may be because insurance rates are higher for store owners in areas that have been marked by violence.
A number of large American chain stores claim that they pursue a one-price equal-quality policy throughout their stores. But some large chain stores are known to have advertised products at certain prices, while at certain stores the products were marked with higher prices. The prices on the products had not been changed, and a poor housewife who would purchase these products would often pay the prices that were marked on the product itself, not the price that was advertised in the newspaper.
In two stores a total of twenty items were found either priced higher than advertised or not available. Sometimes a sign was placed in front of the product with the sale price on it, and yet the product was marked with the higher price. Unless the shopper is alert he may pay more than the advertised price. And it is usually the unobservant poor who pay the higher prices.
Paying for Poor Quality Too
One reporter stated that in East Harlem, New York, bread and cake, supposedly unsold that day, and offered at bargain prices, "were actually left on the shelves for periods up to two weeks, often becoming molded." His study also showed that meat in the poorer neighborhood stores was of very poor quality, that the low-rent-area store was, in effect, "a dumping ground." The poor not only paid more, but received inferior quality for their money.
Often the poor are deceived into buying poor merchandise by fast-talking salesmen. The glib salesman promises a new refrigerator freezer, which turns out to be secondhand. The poor man may find himself paying new-product prices for secondhand merchandise. Other salesmen may promise they will send special quality foods at lower prices but the customer finds himself receiving poor substitutes for which he had paid peak prices. There are salesmen who make promises galore, but the guarantees, for the most part, are all verbal, and these are almost always not accepted in a court of law. Others say, "If anything is unsatisfactory, a refund will be promptly given." A refund in money is something seldom, if ever, given. The
poor, however, are often too ready to believe what salesmen tell them, frequently to their sorrow.
Unfortunately there are some merchants eager to provide the poor with so-called "good buys" at exorbitant prices, and the merchandise all too frequently turns out to be very shabby. In one of the poorer sections of New York a sales pitch was made to a prospective furniture customer: "If you buy three rooms of furniture from me, I will give you a kitchen set free." What the salesman did not tell the customer, however, is that the markup on the other two sets of furniture was exorbitant, that the kitchen set was extremely flimsy, and was more than made up in the markup on the other merchandise included in the sale. Writer-producer Morton Silverstein of National Educational Television, interviewing a furniture salesman, asked about the average markup in furniture. The salesman said: "It's about 80 percent."
"Eighty to a 100 percent?" asked Silverstein.
Poor Pay High Interest Rates
The salesman's reply was: "Approximately."
The National Educational Television's journal says: "The poor man's troubles begin precisely because he is poor. In a society where the pressure to buy is almost irresistible, the poor have to turn to long term high interest credit buying, the most expensive kind, as their only means of moving toward what has been called the better life. . . . In every major city some merchants have discovered they can profit by selling a time plan with all its hidden costs, as well as the merchandise itself. . . . But all too often when the poor do buy, the payments last longer than the life of the furniture and appliances."
Dr. David Caplovitz, who did research for National Educational Television's program, pointed out that a salesman may tell one that he is paying 10 percent a year.
But 10 percent is not the true credit charge, Caplovitz says. "It is actually double that." The real tragedy, he says, "is that the customer hardly ever knows what he is paying in the way of a true annual interest rate. Clearly the low income customer cannot pay cash for such expensive merchandise, and so he must bear the cost of these finance charges which bring the final price of the merchandise to a great deal more than he himself had ever anticipated." Those who can pay outright eliminate finance charges. The poor man, when forced to finance, must pay more.
If at all possible, it would be wise for the poor not to buy on installment, especially if it is not a vital necessity. Many persons with modest incomes learn how to control their spending and do without until they have saved up enough for a wanted item, thereby paying cash and saving the interest costs; and at the same time the money they saved was earning interest in the bank. So thriftiness has advantages.
Poor Move to Protect Themselves
What can be done to protect the poor from exploitation? In a number of places the poor are moving to protect themselves. The community bargain store has come to the fore. More people are speaking about organizing cooperatives, credit unions, buying clubs as a protection against unscrupulous merchants.
The courts are also being petitioned to refuse to honor contracts that are deceptively worded and obviously written to confuse the customer. Stronger legal protection against fraud and deception than now exists is being urged.
More people are being educated as to the deception of greedy merchants. People are being trained to beware of advertisements that offer a great deal for a low price. Poor people are being educated to double-check closely the weights of purchase items and to study carefully the purchase receipt for errors. People are asked to be more observant. When bargain hunting, many find it advisable to take the advertisements with them and to make sure that they compare prices, as well as quality.
People are also encouraged always to try to buy on a cash basis for tangible savings. If they must borrow money, they are being advised to take out a bank loan at 6 percent interest, rather than the merchant's loan of 10 percent, to cover the total sales price.
All these safeguards have become necessary because personal standards of morality have slipped badly. Whenever merchants profit from the open ignorance of customers, whenever salesmen misrepresent the quality of their goods, then not only do the poor have to pay more, but all men suffer because God-given principles of decency and honesty are violated.
Until concern for the poor becomes a reality; until men come to appreciate that love, not selfishness, is the right way; until men come to understand that generosity, not greed, results in happiness; until then will the poor suffer and have to pay more.
Even though that happy day for the poor will not come until God removes the wicked at his war of Armageddon, still there is much that the poor can do to help themselves now by following the suggestions herein stated. And all merchants would do well to take to heart the inspired counsel recorded at Proverbs 22: 22, 23: "Do not rob the lowly one because he is lowly . . . For Jehovah himself will plead their cause, and he will certainly rob of soul those robbing them."
THOUGH man's cultural and living habits have changed as generations have passed, one thing that man has not changed is the desire for personal comfort. As long as the extremities of the seasons have existed there has been a need for humans to intervene and work to lessen the severity of either heat or cold. The common source of lessening this severity has been provided by the comforts of home.
There are many homes or dwellings today that, with a little knowledge and effort on the part of the inhabitants, could be made even more comfortable.
As time passes, architectural concepts change. With the advent of modern architecture and new trends in construction, particularly with emphasis on heavily glassed walls, and so forth, heating problems can be worsened. In earlier years when homes were quite simple and heavily built, they were more thermally sound. Fireplaces and wood stoves served as heat sources. As time went on, radiators afforded the luxury of having heat in more
than one room of a building. Since the structures built at that time would be able to hold heat reasonably well, radiators would, and in many cases still do, provide comfortable room conditions.
With emphasis more on architectural appearance in modern structures, quite often good heating systems are neglected for the sake of the aesthetics of a home.
In many of the medium- and higherpriced homes, good central heating systems may be installed, but these may have considerable limitations. Whatever may be the case in your home, chances are that you could still increase the comforts of your home with little or no expense involved in doing it.
Drafts a Major Enemy to Comfort
One of the biggest menaces to comfort and health during the winter heating season is drafts. A little basic knowledge of what causes drafts and how to combat them, can be instrumental in virtually eliminating them.
In colder climates, if you have fairly large glass or window areas, you can expect a downdraft of cold air from the colder window surface. The inside surface temperature of a single-pane glass panel in a 70\circ F room when it is 20\circ outside, under average conditions, is about 32\circ . If the outdoor temperature dropped to 0\circ the inside surface temperature would soon drop to about 16\circ . As the warmer room air comes in contact with the cold glass surface, the air is chilled, making the colder air heavier than the warmer room air, thus causing it to fall down the window.
This situation, known as a winter convection current, will cause the cold air to fall to the floor and then spill out onto the floor area. This is a common cause of cold feet. To a certain degree, drapes will help, but most of the cold air will merely spill out the bottom of the drapes to the floor area. That is why radiators or other types of heat sources are placed under windows to combat this.
Another draft source comes from infiltration of outside air due to wind. A room with one outside wall could possibly experience one air change per hour. If two walls were exposed to the exterior, this would increase to as much as one and a half air changes per hour. However, if doors and windows are weather-stripped, or storm sash is used, the air would reduce to about two-thirds of the above-mentioned rates.
Even light switches and electrical convenience outlets have been known to be sources of cold-air inlets under certain conditions. When a fireplace is not in use and the damper is open, heavier cold air will spill down the chimney into a room virtually as water would. The obvious thing to do in this case is for one to be sure the damper is closed when the fireplace is not in use.
Although some ventilation is essential, the control of air infiltration is helpful, and reducing it will substantially lower heating fuel cost. Electric baseboard heaters often are placed under extensive window areas to combat drafts. If this is contemplated, however, be sure that the wiring will accommodate the additional electrical load. Further, if drapes are used, these must also be considered for length, and so forth.
Radiation Independent of
Air Temperature
Have you ever gone into a room where the thermometer registered a temperature generally considered comfortable and yet you felt chilled and just could not seem to get warm? In the majority of cases this circumstance stems from cold surfaces in the room. This is prevalent in rooms with cold walls, ceilings or floors.
The chilling sensation occurs due to heat from our skin radiating to a colder surface. A warm surface radiates to a colder surface regardless of the surrounding air temperature. Radiation can be illustrated with the skier who can comfortably stand on the ski slopes in the sunshine though stripped to the waist. The sun's direct radiation plus reflection of the sun from the snow warms him, provided there is not a wind present. However, when heat is transferred from our skin surface, we feel a chill.
For every degree the room surface temperature is lower than the desired effective room temperature, the air temperature must be raised about 1.4\circ above the desired comfort level. For example, if you wish a comfort level of 72\circ and the average surface temperature of the walls, floor and ceiling is 69\circ (called "mean radiant temperature"), the air temperature must be raised 4.2\circ above the 72\circ effective temperature or to 76.2\circ to compensate for radiation. This emphasizes the value of insulation by lowering inside surface temperature in addition to reducing heat loss.
The use of insulation in homes is generally accepted as good building practice for more reasons than one. In addition to reducing heat losses through ceilings or walls to as low as 20 percent or less of those of uninsulated structures, the inside surface temperature of the insulated wall or ceiling is considerably higher. Since "effective" room temperature is related to room surface temperatures, the same degree of comfort can be obtained with lower air temperatures.
The savings in fuel costs afforded by insulation will usually pay off the initial cost of insulation in a short period of time. In addition, one's home will be much cooler in the summer heat. Needless to say, insulation will be of little value in walls with a high percentage of glass.
Rugs and carpets also play an effective
cold air. Conversely, if you set a lamp or other heat source near it, your house will always be cold since the thermostat will be prematurely satisfied. Caring to see that the thermostat is in a place unaffected by erratic heat or cold sources can help in its effectiveness in regulating the temperature of your home.
There is a common misconception of a thermostat. A person may be cold or in a room that is cold. Under these conditions
part in reducing cold floor surface temperatures, which cause cold feet; as well as reducing heat loss through floors over unheated spaces.
Thermostat Considerations
Homes that have become quite cold due to the heating system's being shut down the previous night
the previous night certainly do not make getting up during those cold winter mornings any
one is prone to turn up the thermostat to a high setting, say 8 0\circ or 8 5\circ , thinking that this will accelerate the heating of the room. This apparently stems from former experience in old-fashioned hand-controlled burners, where the amount of heating desired would control the intensity of the flame or heat. The higher one
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would be produced.
However, unless you
have an operative
winter mornings any easier. If you are one of the many that wish lower temperatures during sleeping hours, this can be remedied by the installation of a night setback thermostat. These thermostats have a timing device so that, during the sleeping hours, the nighttime temperature in the house is reduced to your desired set point and then is raised to the desired daytime temperature by the time you are ready to arise from bed in the morning. If
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have an expensive electronic or multistage modulating type of thermostat
generally used in more expensive commercial heating systems, this is not the case with the average residential thermostat.
If you wish to raise the room temperature to 72\circ, for example, then turn the thermostat to 72\circ and the heating system will raise the room temperature to 72\circ at full output of the heating apparatus and shut off the system. If you were to turn
ready to take from bed in the morning, thermostat wires are accessible, a time switch could also do the same thing, with the exception that the heating system will completely shut off during sleeping hours.
If your heating system is controlled by a thermostat, the location of this sensing device is extremely important. If it is subject to cold-air drafts, it will overheat your house due to the influence of the FEBRUARY 8, 1968
the thermostat up to 8 5\circ under the same conditions, the room temperature would not be raised to 7 2\circ any sooner and the heating system would continue running until the temperature reached 8 5\circ , so overheating the house.
Whatever the thermal environment of your home, the application of some basic principles will undoubtedly aid in increasing the comforts of your home.
-A Shame on Africa
SOME of the women quietly cried. All looked stricken. Men sat somber, uncomfortable, even ashamed at what they were hearing. The occasion was the noon mealtime at the Bethel home adjoining the branch office of the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society in Kitwe, Zambia. One man was speaking and all gave him close attention as he related his shocking and even horrifying report.
This man, a Central African correspondent for the Awake magazine, had just returned from interviewing some of the survivors of the most brutal, inhuman persecution of Christians in this twentieth century. This persecution had taken place and is taking place in Malawi, a new democracy, an emerging nation in Central Africa, ruled by President Banda.
To match the harrowing accounts of suffering, cruelty and obscenity that the reporter related, one would have to go back to the extermination of the early Protestant Waldenses in southeast France and Italy in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The persecution of the Waldenses has been described as one of the most horrifying periods of history. History records how these devout people were imprisoned in dungeons, burned at the stake, beheaded before their children, hurled over precipices; their homes and villages were burned; their womenfolk were stripped naked and outrageously violated; their innocent children were massacred.
Could such things he happening today, to Christians, in this twentieth century? Listen to the reporter as he recounts what he has learned from interviewing some of the eyewitnesses and the actual victims of Malawi's shame.
He first explains that Jehovah's witnesses have been established in Malawi for thirty-four years. Until recently there were over 18,000 Witnesses scattered in the villages and towns throughout Malawi. These, he explained, were ordinary people who cultivated their land, looked after their families and used some of their time every month to teach others the Bible. They did not join political parties, nor engage in political activities. They endeavored to live quiet and peaceful lives, 'paying back to Caesar what belonged to Caesar, and to God what belonged to God.' This was the position until October. Then Dr. Banda declared Jehovah's witnesses a prohibited society in Malawi. Anyone who befriended or assisted them could be sent to prison for seven years. This was the cue for an all-out attack, unprecedented in its sadistic cruelty, bestiality and obscenity, upon Christian men, women and children throughout the rural areas of Malawi. The apparent goal was to terrorize all of Jehovah's witnesses into denying their faith or to exterminate them.
"Now," explained the reporter, "there is not one Witness living in any village or who has a home in any village in many areas of Malawi. Throughout the country their homes have been torn down, set on fire and destroyed. Their furniture has been smashed and confiscated, their grain stores burned down, their chickens and pigs slaughtered. Many of the Witnesses still living in the rural areas of Malawi have had to flee into the bush, only to be hunted and killed like wild animals by bands of uncontrolled youths. Others have fled to towns and asked to be arrested; thousands of others have sought refuge in Portuguese East Africa, and others have tried to flee to Zambia, only to be turned back to face further brutality. Over one thousand devout Christian women have been raped, some of these undergoing this obscene treatment from many different youths throughout a long night."
The reporter pauses and thumbs through his notes. "A few days ago I interviewed some of the survivors. Relive with me for a little while some of these interviews and listen to the personal reports of your Christian brothers and sisters." He warns that it will not be pleasant.
"Let me introduce you to Samson Khumbanyiwa. As you see he is an older brother. He served as a congregation overseer for the Nkhonya Congregation of Jehovah's witnesses. What have you to tell us, Brother Khumbanyiwa?"
"In my old age my sons were good to me. They supported me and enabled me to own a costly beautiful house, furnished with the best furniture that I could get. Now everything has been demolished and all my furniture destroyed. My kitchen
was first set on fire, and then they burned down the Kingdom Hall, then the house itself. Not only all my furniture but all my suits and personal clothes were deliberately torn to bits and pieces. I have no hope of going back home at all. Two persons, J. Razaro and Y. Chukambiri, have conspired to kill me and have arranged for the youths to do so. They feel ashamed and have a guilty conscience, and they wish to silence me so that I cannot make known to others what they have done. These men are amazed that I am still continuing strong in the faith, but I know that I am never alone and Jehovah has protected me. It is even surprising to myself that I am still living since October 24. I can only attribute this to the fact that Jehovah is walking with me, and he has arranged for my preservation thus far. Most of the brothers in my congregation have had to flee to Portuguese East Africa. However, I will wait on here till all are able to go, and then I will follow, still to care spiritually for my brothers. Happy are you brothers who yet have freedom of
worship and assembly.
We beg you, please, to pray for us so that we can spiritually stand firm at the cost of even life itself."
"Here is Brother Evans Noah. What have you to tell us, Brother Noah?"
"Mr. Pangani, M.P. for Manjee East Region, addressed a meeting in our area. Following this meeting, between the end of October and the beginning of November seven of my spiritual brothers were killed in the Manjee district. Five of these were in Chief Chikumbu's area and two in Chief Mkanda's."
"Let us move on. Here is Brother James Chibana. What have you to report?"
"During the last week of October, an unknown number of my Christian sisters in the Mlanje area were raped. Forty of these women were pregnant. Due to the way they were abused, each one suffered a miscarriage. It was reported to the police but nothing was done about it. Among those raped were ten married daughters of Brother Mwinjilla and four fleshly sisters of Brother Chimwenya."
"Now, here is Brother Justin Zacuruka. He is overseer of the M'cemeni Congregation in the Mchinji district. What have you to tell us, Brother Zacuruka?"
"On October 24 Brother Foster Paul, his wife and their twelve-year-old daughter, along with ten other Christian brothers and sisters, were found in the bush by a gang of youths and beaten up. Then they ordered the men and women to take off their clothes and asked Brother Paul to have sexual relations with his wife in the presence of all the youths and the twelve-year-old daughter, Brother Paul refused. Then they pushed his wife to the ground and then forced the husband on top of her. The youths then tried to force the husband's private part into the wife's part. He still did not have relations with'
his wife. Then they ordered him to get up and tried to force another Witness to have relations with her and then, in turn, tried to force all the men to have relations with one another's wives."
"Why were they treated like this, Brother Zacuruka?"
"Because we refused to buy a political card."
"Next we have Brother Sandless Gwezani. He tells us that he has heard that in the Kasungu area, at a place called Changhanga, forty-four Witnesses were attacked and all of them killed. Some of these were from the Matako Congregation."
"Here are two of our Christian sisters, the older one, who has with her a thirteen-year-old daughter, is Meya Helebati from Kambuwe Village, Chief Mkebati. What have you to tell us, Sister Helebati?"
"Late in the evening of November 1, 1967, I and my daughter, along with twenty-eight of my spiritual sisters, were seized by the youths. We were brought before officials of the Malawi Congress Party and two young members. The youths and the village people came to watch what was happening. All together they numbered about 300. A large fire was lit and everyone gathered around while we were questioned. They demanded that we buy a political card. When we refused, they stripped all of us naked and stood us around the fire, exposing us to all the onlookers. Then, using fists and sticks, they began beating me. After the beating, two youths grabbed my hands and two others my legs and they held me over the burning fire. They then dragged me behind a house and sexually assaulted me. All of my Christian sisters were treated the same way. I was raped by six men that night and my thirteen-year-old daughter by three men. This torture went on the whole night, from evening to morning of the next day.
Still we refused to buy a political party card, and, finally, in the morning, they let us go. I recognized two of the men who sexually assaulted me. They were Chewazi Wizimani and Thamison of Kapanda Village, Chief Mkanda, Mchinji."
"Sister Linile Pinifolo Chimgwede stands quietly by while Meya recounts her terrible ordeal. Sister Linile is young and not long married. I ask her if what Sister Helebati has said is really true. She confirms it in every detail. This young sister was a regular pioneer minister. She says that one of the men who attacked her was Muyande Chekanji, Faniwell Village, Chief Mkanda, Mchinji. She says that this whole incident took place in Faniwell Village."
"Now we have two brothers, one is a congregation overseer, Brother Benjamin Zokoto, and the other is his assistant, Wiskoti Chipe. What have you brothers to tell us?"
Brother Zokoto speaks. "I and Brother Chipe and another brother were beaten until we were unconscious. Fifty of the brothers and sisters from my congregation have fled into the bush. We cannot say exactly where they are."
Brother Chipe then interrupts to describe how a brother and his wife were stripped naked and marched through neighboring villages for a distance of about two miles. In each village the youths gathered all the people and young children to come and see the nakedness of this man and his wife. The wife was undergoing her menstrual period and the cloth was pulled from her and her condition exposed and ridiculed before the onlookers.
pewa of Kachele Village, Chief Zulu; Lazalo Dunda of Chipewa Village, Chief Zulu; Yamikani Dunda of Chipewa Village, Chief Zulu; and Binali Saulo of Kachele Village, Chief Zulu."
"The ones directing this obscenity," explained Brother Chipe, "were Billiad Chi-
"This is Sister Zeleniya Mazowe. She is the wife of the congregation overseer at Kadewele, Mbanda Village, Chief Mkanda, Mchinji. What have you to tell us, Sister Mazowe?"
"On November 2 at about 3 a.m., I and another sister were seized by about a hundred youths and dragged outside the village. They raped us and, when we still refused to buy a political card, they beat us severely. I was sexually assaulted my fifteen different men. I do not know how many similarly attacked my companion. Two of the men who attacked me were Madziakayenda and Zindikilani of Saidi Village, Chief Mkanda, Mchinji."
"Here are three Witnesses standing together. Each has a harrowing account of torture to relate. One describes how Brother Lezala Kalindang'oma of Ntifinyire Village, Chief Mkanda, was beaten and asked to purchase a political card. When he refused, the youths took a knife and made cuts encircling his arms and then his legs and inflicted many cuts in his head. Another relates that Brother Mkundika and Brother Chisauka of Mthuzi Village, Chief Santhe, Kasungu, were severely beaten and then ordered to buy Malawi Congress Party cards. When they still refused, six-inch nails were driven into their feet, bicycle spokes were forced through their legs and then they were ordered to run. The third tells how Brother Sajeni Kapala of Kapala Village was seized by youths, beaten and threatened with torture if he did not buy a card. When he still refused, they took a burning stick and placed this against his arms, his legs, his head and his entire body. But he refused to compromise his religious beliefs or deny his God even under this burning torture."
The correspondent looks around his audience who have been listening aghast. Their changing expressions reflect their compassion for their Christian brothers and sisters, their admiration for their faith and integrity under such treatment, deep-felt indignation against the perpetrators of these vicious and obscene indignities, and a silent prayer that, if so tested, they could also remain faithful.
The reporter asks: "Can you bear more? Here, then, is the final report. It is from Brother Mazowe, a congregation OVERSEER What have you to tell us, Brother Mazowe?"
"Seventy-eight Witnesses fled to Chief Chanje's area in Zambia in the Lundazi district. There they were arrested and sent back to Malawi. The Witnesses sought protection from the police, but they ordered them to return to the same villages where they had already suffered beatings and other indignities. The Witnesses split into two groups and, as a group of about forty of them were traveling back to their villages, they were surrounded by a large number of youths from the Kafiti branch of the Malawi Congress Party. They demanded that the Witnesses show them their party cards and, when they explained that they did not have cards, they began beating up both the men and the women. All the youths joined in raping the women until the males were sexually exhausted. Many of the women by this time were unconscious. Finally they tried to force the men to have intercourse with the women so that then they could watch."
There is silence when the correspondent concludes his appalling and grievous account. It is hard for his audience to realize that this is happening just some hundreds of miles from where they are sitting, in the neighboring country. This is happening to their Christian brothers and sisters. What can they do to help? Why have Dr. Banda and his followers acted in this way? These are the questions that fill their minds.
Why? Why? Why?
After reading these revolting and heartrending reports, you may have wondered, why was this treatment meted out to Jehovah's witnesses? Why have they been the object of such bestial hatred by the members of the Malawi Youth League? Have the Witnesses done anything that might excuse such treatment?
The only complaint that Dr. Banda's Malawi Congress Party and his Youth League have against Jehovah's witnesses is that they have not bought a party card, signifying their membership in the Malawi Congress Party. This is the charge made against Jehovah's witnesses when they are assaulted. It is well known world wide that as Christian ministers, dedicated to preaching God's kingdom as the only hope for mankind, Jehovah's witnesses do not engage in party politics. At the same time they respect the constitutional governments in power as the superior authorities allowed by God and to whom they must render relative subjection. Thus, in Malawi, as elsewhere, Jehovah's witnesses have always been exemplary in paying their taxes, in working hard, in promoting literacy and in setting an example in clean living. They feel that in all these ways they do much to contribute to the welfare of their fellow citizens. Is the refusal to join a particular political party and the failure to carry a party card identifying one with that party a reason for any kind of persecution, not to mention the pitiless and barbaric torture being afflicted on Jehovah's witnesses in Malawi?
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