Awake!, September 8, 1968
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What You Can Do When Tragedy Strikes
PAGE 5
Work for a Balanced Education
PAGE 8
What Can Be Done About "Hay Fever"?
PAGE 13
What Is Happening in Czechoslovakia?
PAGE 23
SEPTEMBER 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. "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 "Awakel" is not narrow, but is international. "Awakel" has its own correspondents in scores of nations. Its articles are read in many lands, in many languages, by millions of persons.
In every issue "Awakel" presents vital topics on which you should be informed. It features penetrating articles on social conditions and offers sound counsel for meeting the problems of everyday life. Current news from every continent passes in quick review. Attention is focused on activities in the fields of government and commerce about which you should know. Straightforward discussions of religious issues alert you to matters of vital concern. Customs and people in many lands, the marvels of creation, practical sciences and points of human interest are all embraced in its coverage. "Awakel" provides 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.
Get acquainted with "Awake!" Keep awake by reading "Awake!"
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CONTENTS
What You Can Do
When Tragedy Strikes 5
Work for a Balanced Education 8
Using "Awakel" in School 12
Evolutionary Reasoning on
About "Hay Fever"? 13
Selecting Bread for Your Family 17
King-sized Clams 20
Belgium's New Bethel 21
What Is Happening
in Czechoslovakia? 23
"Your Word Is Truth"
Did Jesus Have
Brothers and Sisters? 27
Watching the World 29
London, England, September 8, 1968
Number 17
The STANDARD for RELIGIOUS TRUTH
HOW can you know which of the many conflicting religious teachings are true? You can by using the standard for religious truth, the Bible.
Standards are necessary in almost every form of human activity. A housewife, for example, by putting things in measuring cups or measuring spoons, uses measuring standards when she bakes. In industry there are standards of size and shape, standards for accounting, standards for testing, standards for safety and sanitation, and so on.
"One of the chief functions of standards," states The Encyclopaedia Britannica, "is to remove conditions which lead to controversies." As this is true in industry and the home so it is true with regard to religious teachings. A standard of religious truth is necessary to determine what is true and what is false.
For religious matters the Bible is such
a standard. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, recognized this, and his companion Luke commended the people of the Macedonian town of Beroea for using it to determine the truth of what Paul said—Acts 17:11.
To illustrate how you can use this standard of truth today to determine what religious teachings are true, let us take the popular teachings about
the human soul. These teachings claim that the soul is inherently immortal and that it leaves the body at death, continuing the person's conscious existence in hellfire if he has been wicked or in heaven if he has been good. It may be that you have always accepted these teachings without question, but how do they measure up to the Bible?
If these teachings are assumed to be true, consider the difficulties that are raised when they are compared with the Bible, as indicated by the following questions: If the first man, Adam, was given an immortal soul when he was created, which part of him was responsible for his conduct—his soul or his body? If it was his soul, why did the innocent body have to suffer for his sin? If it was the body that sinned and was condemned, why do some religious teachings claim that it is the soul that needs to be saved? The Bible says, not that man has an immortal soul, but that man himself is a soul. So it was not merely a part of Adam that sinned but the man himself.—Gen. 2:7; 1 Cor. 15:45.
Then does the Bible say that God has decreed that the punishment for sin is eternal torment in a fiery hell, as some religious teachings claim? Biblical passages that are often pointed to as giving seeming support to this teaching use the word "torment" in symbolic settings. That literal torment of immortal souls in a fiery hell could not possibly be meant in these passages is evident from the fact that at Romans 6:23 the punishment for sin is plainly stated as being death, and this is in harmony with what God told Adam. Since the soul is the man, when the man is dead, there is nothing left to torment, is there?—Gen. 2:17.
Inasmuch as death was the punishment for sin, according to the Bible, where would Adam have spent an endless life if he had not sinned and brought death upon himself? Would he have spent it on earth or in heaven? If he could not go to heaven without dying and could not die without sinning, would not that indicate that sin and death were blessings to the human race? Yet God warned men against sin, saying that it would result in death, and the Bible states that death is an enemy. (Rom. 5:12; 1 Cor. 15:26) How, then, could the claim be true that God, from the beginning, purposed that all good people have the destiny of life in heaven?
Jesus Christ raised to life a man by the name of Lazarus who had been dead four days. (John 11:43, 44) Where was Lazarus during the time he was dead? A person familiar with the popular teaching about the immortal soul might say that he had gone to heaven. Well, if he had done that and then come back when he was resurrected, was it really a kindness on Jesus' part to resurrect him? Also, if Lazarus was in heaven, why did he not tell others about what he saw there?
The truth of the matter, according to the divine standard of truth, is that Lazarus did not leave his tomb. He knew nothing during the four days he was dead. Turn to Ecclesiastes 9:5, and see how plainly the Bible shows this to be so. There it states: "For the living are conscious that they will die; but as for the dead, they are conscious of nothing at all."
Their condition might be illustrated by a person who slips in the bathtub and strikes his head and becomes unconscious for a while. He is aware of nothing while he is in that condition. So it is with the person who dies. He too is unaware of anything.
Consistent with the fact that the soul is the living man, the Bible also speaks of a soul as breathing, eating, having blood and dying.—Josh. 11:11; Lev. 7:18; Jer. 2:34; Ezek. 18:4; Job 7:15.
Since the teaching of soul immortality, with its companion doctrines of hellfire for the wicked and heaven for all who do good, does not measure up to the Bible, the standard for religious truth, what other conclusion can a person draw except that it is not true? Should it not, then, be classed with other false religious doctrines that persons who seek religious truth ought to discard? It is from such religious falsehoods that the truth, God's written Word, can make people free. —John 8:32.
So if you are puzzled about the many conflicting religious teachings and want to know if a particular teaching is true, you do not have to rely on guesswork. You can turn to God's written Word and see if the teaching measures up to that inspired standard of truth.
What You Can Do
TRAGEDY STRIKES
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WHAT do you say to a mother whose only child has become the victim of an automobile crash? What can you personally do that will help this mother to cope with so great a tragedy?
A young woman's world may cave in
when her husband's heart stops beating. "Why?" she asks. "Why did it have to end this way?" What can you say to her that will be of help? What explanation can you give that will comfort her? How can you aid her in a truly meaningful way?
These persons and thousands like them need to learn that healing of the mind and heart is possible and that it comes through an active faith in God. They need to know that the life of every human creature has its lights and shadows, its heights of joy and its depths of sorrow. These "highs and lows" make up a large part of the experience in life. The Word of God aptly describes the human family in its present condition as "groaning together and being in pain together until now." (Rom. 8:22) The children of God are no exception to this rule; they, too, groan within themselves. They, too, suffer tragedies and need to know how to cope with them.
It is an extremely difficult thing to lose a loving husband, wife or child. God's Word offers great comfort at such a time, but that does not mean that one does not experience grief. Yet it is at times of overwhelming sorrow and grief when many are drawn nearer to God, experiencing his
support in a way that they never have before. In his deep affliction the psalmist cried to God, saying: "Out of the depths I have called upon you, O Jehovah. O Jehovah, do hear my voice.
May your ears prove to be attentive to the voice of my entreaties." —Ps. 130:1, 2.
Those of pure heart who turn to God in their deep need find that he responds, for all mercy and true comfort come from God's fatherly love. This comfort the apostle Paul speaks about in 2 Corinthians 1: 3-11. He says: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of tender mercies and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those in any sort of tribulation through the comfort with which we ourselves are being comforted by God." This comfort came to Paul when suffering tribulation and it continued to support him when the tribulation had passed, though the memory of it was still very much alive. The comfort of God continued to glow in his mind as a rainbow shines in the rain-drenched sky.
Comfort is a word that, in modern speech, has lost much of its Biblical meaning. Today the word suggests a kind of sedative, a palliative for pain of body or mind. But the comfort of God is no narcotic. The Greek word translated "Comforter," applied to the holy spirit at John 14:16 according to the Authorized Version of the Bible, really means "helper" or "strengthener."
Comforter has the same root as the word "fortify." We comfort someone when we give him courage or fortify him to bear his pain or face his misfortune. Comfort helps to set him back on his feet.
What Mourners Can Do
Since sorrow comes to most people, there appears to be no reason why one cannot benefit from the experience of others who have recovered successfully to continue living a normal life. Some persons, however, do try but they meet with little or no success because of not knowing what to do at such a time. Not all are comforted in the same way.
Physical activity has a way of healing deep wounds. It is wise that one occupy oneself physically during moments of deep sorrow. The mother who lost her only child in an auto crash was visited by an old man who brought her some flower seedlings wrapped in a newspaper. "These little things need the feel of the earth around them," he said as he handed her the seedlings. "They'll need you to care for them as soon as possible." Planting those frail seedlings and coaxing them into bloom brought a special quality of comfort and healing to her broken spirit. It gave her something to do. Years later she spoke about this gift of seedlings as being one of the things that helped her to overcome her tragedy.
Grieving persons must avoid the temptation to sit and brood. Brooding makes matters worse. Feeling sorry for oneself heals nothing, aids nothing and accomplishes nothing good. If anything, it feeds those emotions that keep one feeling miserable. So a sensible program that substitutes fruitful physical activity for fruitless brooding is needed. Physical activity reduces the strain on the mind, which
seems bent toward reflecting on the immediate tragedy. Activity demands the attention of the mind; this shifts the strain and brings a measure of relief.
When an old country lawyer visited a young mother engulfed in sorrow, he found she had allowed herself to become so overwhelmed with grief that she lost control of herself. She needed help, but what was he to do? He reached over and got a bucket, filled it with water, rolled up his sleeves and began to scrub her floor with a floor brush. The sight of the old man scrubbing her floor shocked her. She protested, but he went right on scrubbing. Soon she got down on her knees with him and the two of them scrubbed together. By the time they finished cleaning her house that day most of her sorrows were gone. Later she wrote the old man that he had brought her "the best medicine in the world—work." Physical activity may not help all who sorrow; it has harmed none who tried.
Get Involved
When tragedy strikes, the tendency may be to withdraw from the mainstream of life. The remedy, in many cases, is to do just the opposite. It usually is not going to help the individual to isolate himself for weeks or months; that only prolongs the agony. He needs something wholesome and upbuilding to fill the void caused in his life by the loss of a loved one. The thing to do is to plunge oneself into life's activities. Get involved. Take up old wholesome associations. Form new ones. Get busy walking, studying, traveling. Absorb yourself in some worthwhile project. Yes, fill your days with creative activity.
While it is good medicine to emphasize the physical aspect of activity at such a time, better still is it to combine spiritual activity with the physical. For the Christian witnesses of Jehovah there is the vacation pioneer ministry and the pioneer ministry, which can involve their every thought spiritually and provide the physical activity.
In one case a wife found herself so busy in the pioneer ministry, taking care of her home Bible studies with interested persons, that she felt guilty that she did not miss her deceased husband more than she did. What makes this experience perhaps more impressive is the fact that they were almost inseparable in life. But total involvement in the Christian ministry made the difference with her. It gave her true comfort.
The bereaved need sound, constructive, healthy involvement. Superficial involvement through feverish nonproductive activity may deaden the pain temporarily, but it does not really heal the wound. Such distractions as card games and drinking tend to leave one feeling dejected. They do not fortify or comfort one.
Proper to Mourn
Do not think it is abnormal or evidence of weak faith to give way to tears. There is an emotional release in letting the tears flow. Abraham did, and he was truly a man of faith. When Sarah, his wife, died, the Bible says: "Abraham came in to bewail Sarah and to weep over her." (Gen. 23:2) Jacob mourned for his son Joseph. Samuel the prophet mourned for King Saul. Even Jesus Christ wept. (Gen. 37:35; 1 Sam. 15:35; John 11:35) Letting one's tears flow is an excellent and normal release for heartache. But, of course, it should not become habitual.
Some persons whose loved ones have died find it very difficult to go back to the places they used to frequent together. Their tendency is to avoid the old-time places and friends. But going to such places and visiting these friends does not imply disloyalty or indifference to the deceased. Continuing with life as normally as possible is a way of avoiding a state of abnormal grief. The natural process of healing is aided when the individual returns to his usual pursuits and responsibilities and continues therein as formerly.
Explanation of Death Helps
Another bulwark against heartache is to gain a sound and satisfying explanation of death. The Bible gives us a very satisfying answer to the question, "Why do men die, and what hope is there for the dead?" Bible truth will not ward off the sorrow that comes when a loved one dies. What it does is this: It lifts the mourner up to a position of understanding what has taken place. It dissipates grief and morbidity. It prevents the mourner from losing control of himself. It aids him to keep from becoming overwhelmed with grief. His sorrowing is not as great or as deep as those who do not have the hope the Bible gives. The apostle Paul told the Thessalonian Christians: "Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant concerning those who are sleeping in death; that you may not sorrow just as the rest also do who have no hope. For if our faith is that Jesus died and rose again, so, too, those who have fallen asleep in death through Jesus God will bring with him. For this is what we tell you by Jehovah's word."—1 Thess. 4:13-15.
The Bible assures us that God holds in memory all his loyal ones who have died and will bring them back in the resurrection of the dead. "Precious in the eyes of Jehovah is the death of his loyal ones." (Ps. 116:15) Jesus Christ said: "The hour is coming in which all those in the memorial tombs will hear his voice and come out." (John 5:28, 29; 11:21-24) The apostle Paul also firmly held to this hope, saying: "I have hope toward God, which hope these men themselves also entertain, that there is going to be a resurrection of both the righteous and the unrighteous."
(Acts 24:15) In this hope you, too, can find strength and comfort to cope with even the most serious tragedy.
Trust in Jehovah
The deeper remedy for heartache is, therefore, the curative comfort supplied by trust in Jehovah God. (Prov. 3:5, 6) The basic prescription for sorrow is to turn to God in an attitude of faith and prayer. Going to God, along with seeking to learn and to do his will, will finally bring healing to the broken heart.—Ps. 86:6, 7.
It is not wise to try to carry the heavy burdens of sorrow alone. The most effective of all remedies is to practice putting your burdens on Jehovah. "Throw your burden upon Jehovah himself," said the
psalmist, "and he himself will sustain you. Never will he allow the righteous one to totter." (Ps. 55:22) This practice will help you to react wisely in moments of emergency.—1 Pet. 5:6, 7; Phil. 4:6, 7.
Pain and sorrow are absorbing facts. For some persons they may shut out everything else. Yet, when understood in the light of God's purposes, they can be the means of bringing one closer to God. Need and despair can make us more sensitive to the love of God. Those who turn to God in harmony with his Word have been filled with renewed hope and have felt relief from the grip of sorrow and loneliness. Appreciation of Jehovah's love has brought inner strength to them. Truly, it is the comfort with which we are comforted by God that is most effective.
Work for a
BALANCED EDUCATION
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"I AM sorry. I'm just too busy to listen," declared the young man as he momentarily raised his eyes from his study books.
By "Awake!" correspondent in Hong Kong
He had been approached by a young Christian minister with the Bible's message of hope for everlasting life in a righteous new order.
"I ask only two or three minutes," began the young minister in a friendly manner.
"Not even two or three minutes," came the immediate reply. This time the student did not bother even to raise his eyes from his textbook.
If the visitor had claimed to have some
sure-fire method of passing school examinations and graduating with honors, the student would have been all ears. He is typical
of thousands here in Hong Kong, where each year 50,000 youths graduate from secondary schools and invade the employment market. Jobs are few in comparison to the number seeking them, and so only those with the highest qualifications are selected.
Parents count heavily on their child getting a good-paying job so as to supplement the meager family income. They urge their young people to aim for high scholastic records and diplomas, for these are viewed as the "open sesame" to wellpaid employment.
College education, a degree and the "big money" are set forth as the most desirable objectives. No wonder students become engrossed with schoolwork and reject any other educational feature, no matter how valuable it is!
Nor can it be claimed that this attitude is confined to young people in the Orient. In Western lands, too, "higher education" is held forth as a necessity, if one is to achieve material success in life. And to a large extent that "higher education" is based on memory training and a molding of the minds of students to a pattern that is already outdated. There is a woeful lack of moral instruction, and little time, if any, devoted to improvement of one's relations with fellow creatures.
Need for Bible Education
Far from realizing the priceless value of Bible education, the majority today have been led to look upon Bible study as a waste of time. Yet, from the standpoint of literature alone the Bible is to be commended as an excellent textbook. Its narratives and argumentation are presented with the utmost clarity. It stimulates thought and encourages the reader to reason and to arrive at logical conclusions.
Said Goethe, the well-known German poet: "The greater the intellectual progress of the ages, the more fully will it be possible to employ the Bible not only as the Foundation, but as the instrument of education." And British novelist Dickens declared of the Bible: "It is the best book that ever was or will be in the world, because it teaches you the best lessons by which any human creature who tries to be truthful and faithful can possibly be guided."
Great Author himself, Jehovah God, identifying him as the Source of life and wisdom allike. And just as a machine manufacturer issues a handbook of instruction on how to operate the machine so as to obtain the best results, so man's Creator has provided in the Bible practical instructions for man to follow if he would enjoy maximum happiness in life.
Most important of all is the Bible's unswerving theme that directs men to the
Just think of it! Here is a book that specializes in the inculcation of good principles, good morals, kindness, thoughtfulness and consideration of others—all of them essential requirements if the student is to maintain good relations with others in his everyday life. Is it not a fact that good manners, loyalty, honesty and industriousness are qualities highly valued by employers? In the long run these count far more than any degree or diploma, for they reveal that the student has much more than an excellent memory to recommend him.
The Need for Some Secular Education
It is true that some secular education is valuable. Think for a moment how essential it is to be able to read well, with fluency and with an intelligent understanding of the material read. How satisfying, too, to be able to write neatly, transferring thoughts clearly and accurately onto paper! How helpful, also, to be able to calculate and use figures for measuring values in a material sense!
So education in the "three R's"—reading, writing and 'rithmatic—can be of inestimable value in adult life. In Hong Kong one often hears the expression "M-sik-jee," which means that the person cannot read or write. When one observes the plight of the millions of such unprivileged ones in China, in India and in other parts of the Far East, there is forcible reminder of the advantages of a basic education.
But is it wise for young people to reach out for "higher education"? Is it necessary for a happy and satisfying life? It is good to ponder these questions, at the same time observing the effect of such advanced education on others.
Fruits of "Higher Education"
Those who belong to the professional classes may be said to be fair samples of the fruittage of "higher education." They form a sort of aristocracy of learning. Often they are proud, untouched by the needs of less fortunate people, opinionated, competitive, independent and inconsiderate of others. They have deeply imbibed the godless theory of evolution. In their view educated men, college and university trained, are the sole hope for progress.
Who, for example, have substituted for the fine moral teaching of the Bible their human philosophies? Is it not the professional clergymen? And who are the ones today that are insistent upon having their own way and openly flouting the authority of God's Word in the matter of sacredness of blood? Is it not the professional doctors? Politicians, lawyers, educators, most of them without any real faith in the existence of God, are they not the end products of "higher education"?
Despite the vaunted strides in scientific knowledge in almost every field, what progress have all these self-styled leaders among men made in the field of bringing men together in peace? In the face of the material prosperity they have made available to a larger segment of the population, what real contentment have they produced? Are we not living in an era that has been appropriately dubbed "the age of contention"? And who is it that figures largely in violent demonstrations, protests and other activities without legal restraint? Is it not clergymen, teachers, university students—those who have been exposed to "higher education"?
Surely no one will claim that there is today, as a result of the widening opportunities for "higher education," more honesty among people in general! Is it not a fact that when laws are made, the immediate reaction is how to get around them? And who are the greatest offenders? Surely it is those men with all of the advantages of "higher education" who unscrupulously use their talents to put over their get-rich-quick schemes at the expense of the man in the street! So, is it not evident that something is sadly lacking in their education?
Then, too, there is the worldwide moral breakdown, the lack of good manners and of self-discipline. The idea that filthy and immoral sexual practices are largely confined to the poverty-stricken and the ignorant can no longer be seriously entertained. Indeed, it is young men and women in colleges and universities, whose parents have insisted on giving them "higher education," who today are notoriously taking to narcotics, loose living and uncontrolled demonstrations against law and order.
In the higher areas of schooling young women are taught to compete with men, to be their equal, to strive to get to the top of the social ladder. Little wonder that in later life they find it difficult to fill the role of being a good wife and mother. Their once-possessed feminine quality of submissiveness has all but disappeared. Retorted one Chinese schoolgirl to the factual criticism of a schoolteacher: "Is it our fault that we are rude? The world teaches us to be aggressive and it forces us to struggle for everything. There are no prizes for coming last in life's great race."
Wherever we look around the world the same situation is evident. The past decade has witnessed more than just a downward trend in morals.
The deterioration has been swift. In Hong Kong, Japan, Indonesia, the United States, France, Germany and other countries, dissatisfied and frustrated youths have taken to the streets, looting, rioting, burning and in some instances causing governments to topple. All of this is the fruitage of modern "higher education," education without proper balance.
The Essential of a Balanced Education
It is easy to determine what is missing. The conclusion can be reached through observing the contrast between those who rely on "higher education" and those who have a balanced education. There are today thousands of young men and women of different national backgrounds who deeply appreciate the essential element of a well-balanced training. Not only have they become proficient in reading and writing and arithmetic, but with the Bible as textbook they have learned the importance of being considerate of others, honest, interdependent with those of the same faith, industrious, clean in habits and morals, and respectful of law and order.
Perhaps you have talked to some of these well-adjusted young people who have called at your home, and have noted their evident sincerity and earnest desire to share with you their bright hope for mankind's future. Never do you find them running with the mob in angry protests and demonstrations. Always they are law-abiding, even in matters where the majority flout the law and get away with it. Far above all the changeable laws among men they know there are solid, lasting principles of righteousness, and they are determined to abide by them. They are convinced of the truth of the declaration of John, an apostle of Jesus Christ: "The world is passing away and so is its desire,
but he that does the will of God remains forever."—1 John 2:17.
Urgency of the Times
Admittedly, we are living in urgent times. Norms or rules of conduct among men that were once accepted and honored are now thrown to the winds. It seems as though everyone wants to be a law to himself. Unity and peace seem impossible of achievement. Anarchy threatens. Modern "higher education" has failed to produce stability, contentment, enduring happiness. It has even failed to teach students how to improve relationships among themselves. It is all head knowledge, without adequate appeal to the heart, so it fails to motivate people to do to others what they would like others to do to them.
Thus those who are seeking an education today are faced with a vital decision. Will they choose "higher education" with the aim of securing a prominent place in a world that is soon to pass away or a balanced education in which the Bible takes its rightful place alongside required secular education? Those who go in for "higher education" will find their time commandeered by all kinds of extra-curricular activities of a social nature, so that little or no time will be available for earnest Bible study. They will be rubbing shoulders with multitudes who have no love or respect for the God who authored the Bible. As Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ, warned: "Bad associations spoil useful habits."—1 Cor. 15:33.
Thousands of young witnesses of Jehovah have already proved the value of a balanced education. Many of them have become, while still in youth, skillful preachers and teachers of God's Word. Their knowledge of Bible principles amazes those who enter into a discussion with them. They have a sense of responsibility and eagerly undertake obligations in the Christian organization and ministry.
They are not motivated by ambition to become personally rich, powerful or famous. They exercise faith in the firm promise made by Christ Jesus: "Keep on, then, seeking first the kingdom and his righteousness, and all these other things [the necessities of life] will be added to you." (Matt. 6:33) A balanced education has brought them a stable mind, not easily upset by the convulsions of a society that is passing away.
As to the future, those with a balanced education can look to it with hope. They
are not depending upon the empty and broken promises of imperfect men. They are confidently looking to the God of the Bible to bring in the new system of things that he has promised for the blessing of all obedient ones of humankind. (2 Pet. 3:13) They have done exactly what the Bible counsels, namely: "Trust in Jehovah with all your heart and do not lean upon your own understanding. In all your ways take notice of him, and he himself will make your paths straight." (Prov. 3: 5, 6) Will you do so?
Using Awake!" in School
The varied subjects covered in Awake! make it useful in many ways. Quite often we hear that youngsters in school use it as a reference work when preparing essays and reports for class. By using the Index for the Watch Tower publications they are able to locate articles dealing with the subject they are assigned. Then statistics and ideas can be obtained, just as they might locate information in an encyclopedia. Illustrating this use of Awake! is the following letter we received: "Dear Brothers,
"I am eleven years old and will be in the sixth grade next year. Our school entered an essay contest being held in Butler County. The theme of the essay was 'How Are Animals Like People?' I won second prize of $5.00.
"I am sending this money to you to show my appreciation in helping me win it. In my essay I used the Awake! magazine. I know the money will be used in the best possible way, to further the preaching work.
"Agape love,
"P.C."
Evolutionary Reasoning on Origin of Life
In his book We Are Not Alone science editor for the New York Times, Walter Sullivan, noted the complexity of living organisms, and on page 85 admitted regarding the possibility that life evolved by chance: "That all of this took place as a consequence of random interactions between atoms and molecules seems, at first glance, incredible. It is like the oft-cited illustration of the monkey pecking randomly at the typewriter. Since he must eventually type all possible arrangements of letters and spaces, given enough time he will ultimately 'write' Hamlet. The only problem is to give him enough time (in billions of years)."
However, it is contended by evolutionists that this is in effect what took place. Two pages later this science editor observes: "It is this almost incomprehensible span of time that makes the emergence of life seem plausible. As one scientist has put it, 'In two billion years the impossible becomes the inevitable.'" How is that for "scientific" reasoning?
WHEN is a fever not a fever? When it is "hay fever." That is right; although called "hay fever," it is not a fever,
What Can Be Done About Fever?
and more often than not it has nothing to do with hay. Ill-fitting though the name may be, it has persisted throughout the years in spite of the efforts of some in the medical profession to make such names as pollinosis or allergic rhinitis, supposed to be more scientifically correct, win popular acceptance.
Those specializing in such ills as hay fever refer to it as "a difficult chronic illness," and warn that it may result in asthma, a far more serious affliction. In fact, in some sufferers hay fever becomes at times so severe that they have to stay home from work. Its symptoms include stuffy nose, violent sneezes, inflammation of the eyes, the roof of the mouth and the throat, as well as insomnia, headaches, irritability, stomach disturbances, loss of appetite and loss of the senses of taste and smell. Hay fever greatly resembles a cold, but differs from it in that it does not cause a rise, in the body's temperature as does a cold.
When considering the population as a whole, comparatively few suffer from hay
fever, yet it is estimated that from 3 to 5 percent, or from 7 to 9 million persons suffer from it in the United States alone. It has been termed the disease of civilization or culture, and in the last four decades is said to have increased fivefold in that land. First identified some 150 years ago, it became associated with pollen only after many decades.
Hay fever is described as "a common seasonal allergy." An allergen is a substance that is not harmful in itself but does harm certain constitutions that are sensitive to it and so are said to be allergic to it. Thus there are certain persons who cannot tolerate eggs, strawberries, milk or wheat. These foods, wholesome in themselves, cause certain persons much distress if they eat them.
According to prevailing medical opinion, the offending factor in hay fever is pollen, "the fertilizing element of flowering plants, consisting of fine, powdery,
yellowish grains or spores." Strictly speaking, there are two kinds of hay fever, seasonal and perennial. Usually, when hay fever is mentioned, seasonal hay fever is meant and the blame is placed on pollens. These may be the tree pollens in the spring, the pollens from grasses in the summer, or the pollens from weeds, particularly the ragweed, in autumn. Perennial hay fever, on the other hand, is not limited to the seasons and is blamed by many
SEPTEMBER 8,1968 on such things as house dust or the fine dust from furs, house pets and the like.
Wide Differences of Opinion
As with so many other fills, there are wide differences of opinion as to what causes hay fever and how best to treat it. The simplest, cheapest, but perhaps the least satisfactory is the one mentioned in a report not long ago: "One school of doubting M.D.'s has maintained that the best hay fever treatment is to buy the sufferer a box of handkerchiefs and leave him alone." An earlier one stated it similarly: "The only sure help remains a ready handkerchief."
Then, again, a change of environment is advised. Thus we are told that "the best prescription is still an ocean cruise." In a large country such as the United States there are certain areas where hay-fever sufferers are relatively free from discomfort. In this connection some recommend that hay-fever victims do not travel through the countryside during hay-fever season, or at least do not have the windows open in the car or train in which they are travelling, and that they avoid drafts and windy places. Also, it is recommended that at night these hay-fever sufferers cover open windows with a thin gauze to keep out the pollen or have the ventilation for their room come from another room rather than directly from the outside. According to this approach, "avoiding the offending antigen is still the best treatment."
There is also the drug approach, which might be said to be largely palliative, that is, removing the disturbing symptoms but not getting at the cause. Among the various drugs recommended for hay fever, some of which can be obtained only by a doctor's prescription, are the antihistamines (rhymes with "means"), on the premise that hay fever is caused by too
much histamine in the body. Other remedies prescribed are ephedrine, cortisone, ACTH and a host of trade-name products, all of which, however, are generally prescribed only as supplemental to other treatment. The objection to most of such drugs is that they are likely to have side effects such as drowsiness, headaches, dizziness, stomach distress, and so forth.
Hyposensitization
Among the most highly regarded medical approaches to treating hay fever is what is known as desensitization or, more correctly, hyposensitization. Concerning it one authority on allergy wrote: "It is important to bear in mind that we are treating a difficult illness. Despite the chronic nature of allergy, despite its complexities, despite the fact that we cannot guarantee results, despite the fact that there is still no objective means of measuring the results of the treatment," he, nevertheless, recommended the hyposensitization treatment as being "the only specific treatment for the illness and still the most promising means of controlling it."
In this treatment skin tests are made to discover which pollen or pollens cause the hay-fever symptoms. The doctor then proceeds to inject a preparation of this type of pollen in ever-increasing amounts over a period of time to build up immunity to it by means of antibodies in the bloodstream. Such treatment begins months before the hay-fever season comes around and continues throughout the season. Some also recommend that this treatment be continued throughout the year, an injection to be given every four weeks. With some this appears to effect a cure after a year or two, while with others the treatment is required year after year. It is reported that in the United States a million hay-fever sufferers take this type of treatment annually and that it costs as much as $225, and so has been described as "a long and costly process."
It is claimed to be quite effective in three cases out of four.
In spite of these claims there is a wide difference of opinion within the medical profession as to the efficacy of hyposensitization. Thus three doctors, after making a five-year test with a large number of children suffering from hay fever, giving one-half of them placebos and the other half the regular injections, summarized their conclusions by saying: "Even though the allergen injections may have had some beneficial effect on some children, the amount of benefit was indistinguishable from differences likely to appear in randomization experiments. There was found no justification for promising any greater benefit to children treated with allergens than they would manifest if they received placebo injections."Journal of the American Medical Association, March 21, 1966.
The Psychosomatic Approach
A fifth approach to hay fever is the psychosomatic one. Yes, there are those who insist that hay fever is largely if not all "in the mind," and so recommend psychotherapy. These point to the fact that such emotions as anxiety, fear and anger often bring on an attack. However, skin tests would seem to indicate that at least in some cases the hay-fever symptoms are not due solely to mental or emotional factors. The fact that in some persons these tests result in a swelling, a "wheal," and not in others and are caused by one type of pollen and not another would seem to prove a physical basis.
But it cannot be denied that it is possible for the mind to have an effect on hay-fever symptoms in certain cases, either in relieving them or in making them worse, for which reason some authorities recognize psychotherapy as a valid means
of treating hay fever. Apparently an optimistic, positive outlook is a help, and a pessimistic, self-pitying negative mental attitude is a hindrance in treating at least some cases of hay fever. It has been found that a bona fide hay-fever victim began to sneeze when seeing some ragweed even though it was made of plastic and so could not possibly have borne any offending pollens! The power of suggestion is great!
Physical Medicine and Manipulative Therapy
Physical medicine also has something to offer for hay-fever victims. It is defined as "the treatment of disease by physical and mechanical means (as massage, regulated exercise, water, light, heat, electricity)." Thus Dr. W. J. Q. Van Ufford, in Physiotherapy of Allergic Diseases, tells of the benefits hay-fever victims get from vigorous exercise such as running up and down stairs. And, according to him, having the body and mind in the best possible condition can go far to minimize allergic reactions.
A somewhat similar approach, it might be said, is that of manipulative therapy as practiced by chiropractors and osteopaths. According to one veteran chiropractor, his therapy is of great help to hay-fever sufferers in that manipulation of the sensory nerves that control the sinuses brings relief. He himself has also found that massaging the areas around the sinuses can be helpful. For best results such treatments should be started well before the hay-fever season begins.
Food and Vitamins
Next, there are the dietary approaches to hay fever. Among these is the use of honey and beeswax. Thus in an article in The Military Surgeon, May 1937, folk medicine, which recommended eating local honey and in particular chewing the wax comb of such honey, was credited with bringing relief to hay-fever sufferers.
"It is reasonable that the benefit received was probably from the oral extraction of the pollen in the honey and the wax." The author also told of getting results by administering pollen extracts by mouth rather than by injections. He recommended these as being more effective, simpler and more economical than skin injections.
Vermont folk medicine likewise recommends honey, a tablespoon after each meal and in a half glass of water before retiring, starting three months before the season begins. Then, two weeks before the season begins, two tablespoons of honey and two of apple cider vinegar in a half glass of water before breakfast and before going to bed, and a tablespoon of honey after the noon and evening meals till the end of the hay-fever season.
Putting great stress on diet as a cure for hay fever is B. W. Newman in his book Hay Fever and Common Sense. He tells of getting rid of his stubborn and chronic hay fever, after the efforts of physicians failed, by taking enemas and by a diet that cut out all meats, including fish, dairy products and eggs, cereals (grains), as well as sugar, soda pop, and so forth. What is there left to eat? All fruits and vegetables, honey and vegetable oils. But perhaps not a few would consider such a restricted diet worse than hay fever itself!
Also advocating the diet approach, but not so greatly restricted, is Dr. W. H. Hay. In his book, How to Be Always Well, he makes a strong case for eating more fruits and vegetables and less starch and protein. According to him, hay fever is due to an "acid-alkali imbalance." To correct this, one's meals should consist of
80 percent fruits and vegetables and only 20 percent starches and proteins. Instead of having salads merely to garnish the meal, he would give them a leading place. "Eat freely and largely of vegetables, salads and fruits, and sparingly of meats," he recommends.
Somewhat similar is the approach of nutritionist Dr. H. G. Bieler in his book Food Is Your Best Medicine. He takes the position that "the inflammation comes first and the irritation follows" and that hay fever is "vicarious elimination due to toxemia." He holds that "when there is no catarrhal state there is no hay fever no matter what irritants are inhaled." He blames, among other things, table salt and counsels abstaining from "toxemia producing proteins and starches," that is, very rich and highly refined foods.
The foregoing dietary approaches receive some support from a report appearing in Science News Letter, August 13, 1966. It says that two of the six chief causes of hay fever are "overeating of heavy foods" and "fatigue and long hours."
Still another approach to the hay-fever problem is the taking of vitamins. Since vitamin C has been found to be good for colds, it is held that this vitamin will help cure or prevent hay fever. Those who recommend it, however, point out that it is necessary to keep taking the extra vitamin C throughout the year.
So there is indeed a wide difference of opinion as to how to treat hay fever. In view of this, it would seem wise not to be dogmatic. Depending upon one's hereditary pattern, environment and habits of life, one approach or the other may prove to be of help so that freedom from the discomfort of hay fever may be enjoyed.
Selecting Bread FOR YOUR FAMILY
By "Awake" correspondent in Sweden
WHAT kind of bread shall I take home today?" mused Mrs. Anderson, a Swedish housewife. In front of her was the largest bakery display in the country, with an assortment of some 620 different kinds of baked goods
breads, cakes and cookies from several different lands. As the manager of the grocery section in the department store watched her wander slowly along the huge display, he recalled to mind the proverb: "He who has a choice has trouble."
"This big assortment confuses me. Would you please help me?" begged Mrs. Anderson, as she turned to the manager.
There were few shoppers around at the moment, so the manager, who had many years of bakery experience and a personal interest in bread, prepared himself for a more detailed conversation. He asked: "Do you choose bread according to your family's taste or according to their need of nourishment?"
She turned from the display and looked a little surprised. "Why, of course, one would like to choose something that tastes good, but, even so, one wants it to be nourishing also. Can't both of these desires be combined?"
"Naturally," answered the manager, "but that requires knowledge about bread, especially as to how bread should be baked."
"I really don't know much about that," answered Mrs. Anderson thoughtfully.
"May I share with you some things I have learned about bread baking?" the manager asked pleasantly.
"Yes, please!" answered Mrs. Anderson as she put down her basket.
Not All Breeds Are Equally Valuable
"In this field we notice that many shoppers choose bread according to taste and custom, but seldom according to its dietary value," the manager began.
"But aren't all kinds of bread equally nourishing?" wondered the housewife.
"Sorry to say, but the truth is that a lot of bread isn't as nourishing as one could wish."
"What kind of bread for example?"
"No doubt you have often bought white sweetened bread, haven't you?"
"Yes, I have, especially coffee rolls, but sometimes also plain bread."
"So there you are. That is the kind of bread we sell a lot of, even though it usually isn't as valuable as many believe. But people have become accustomed to it and think that it tastes good."
"Why isn't it so valuable?" Mrs. Anderson asked.
"Well, the culprit is the sugar. When sugar is mixed into bread the amino acid lysine, which is necessary for the body, is destroyed and so one loses one of the many valuable proteins in the grain. Besides that, sugar in itself lacks vitamins and minerals. And each addition of sugar to the diet causes a loss of the relative nourishment in relation to the calorie
tent and minerals that are lost in the refining process, the flour may be enriched with additions of iron, calcium and certain vitamins. By the time such flour is made into bread for eating some fifteen or sixteen chemicals may have been added. However, the wisdom of removing so much of the natural food value from the flour, and replacing it with artificial vitamins and chemicals, is certainly questionable."
value.
"Furthermore, the consistency of the saliva is regulated automatically with respect to the diet, so that the salivary glands produce different kinds of saliva depending on what we eat. Sugar stimulates development of one sort of saliva, and bread, which contains starch, another kind of saliva. Now, the saliva that sugar stimulates is so composed that it can help the body break down sugar, but it doesn't have the ability to break down starch,
Mrs. Anderson appeared thoughtful when she remembered all the white bread she had bought and baked during the years.
"But why is so much bread of poor food value baked?" she countered.
"Taste often goes before nutrition," replied the manager. "The 'fun of eating' has such a strong grip on many people that information about what is healthful and not healthful in the food line often doesn't leave any impression upon them.
which is one of the most important food substances and is found so richly in grain. Therefore, food researchers think that sugar in bread hinders the body's ability to make use of the nourishment available in bread.
"In addition," the manager continued, "white bread is usually baked from refined flour, that is, flour that has been deprived of much of its nourishment. The outer parts of the grain are removed, including the protein-rich aleuronic layer. Even the protein-rich and oil-rich germ is
People eat and drink injurious foodstuffs just for the 'fun of eating.'"
Healthful Bread
Now Mrs. Anderson remembered her errand again and asked: "Tell me, what bread do you recommend for me to buy?"
"Lending dietitians say that bread that is baked from whole grain, without addition of sweeteners and preservatives, is the best bread. It should be eaten together with other suitable foods, such as cer-
removed in the refining process. Since the aleuronic layer and the germ are not found in the refined flour, it has less protein, oil and vitamins than unrefined flour. In this way such flour loses nutritive value, but gains whiteness.
'In some countries a bleaching agent is added, such as chlorine, nitrosyl chloride or benzoyl peroxide, to whiten it further. To replace some of the vitamin contain vegetables that help the body make use of all the nutrients of the full-grain bread. Interestingly, bread that was baked in many lands during the second world war, when a shortage of raw materials forced many to grind the whole grain, was more healthful than much of the bread that is baked now. The reason is that whole-grain bread contains two to seven times more of the necessary vital substances and minerals than ordinary white bread."
Superiority of Sourdough Bread
"Tell me, then," Mrs. Anderson asked as she made a wide sweep with her hand before the large bread display, "which bread of all these kinds do you believe is the most desirable nutritionally speaking?"
The manager let his eyes wander over the display, picked up a flat cake and said: "Look at this! It is newly baked but has an ancient ancestry. It is a sort of leavened or sourdough bread baked according to a recipe that is so old that no one knows exactly when it began. Historians know that it was used by the ancient Egyptians, Jews and Romans. The Bible also speaks a lot about leaven and leavened bread. Leaven was the fermenting agent used by ancient peoples, and nutritional researchers can guarantee that for thousands of years such bread had good reason to be called the 'staff of life.' This is because of its very high nutritional value. By the way, smell the delicious aroma of the rich flavored grain in this cake."
Mrs. Anderson drew in her breath close to the cake and felt how the salivary glands in her cheeks immediately reacted to the acidic, fresh aroma of the bread.
"How interesting! But how is it baked?" she asked as she eyed the bread.
"Because I am especially interested in ancient bread making I have read a lot about such bread," explained the manager. "It is supposed that sourdough once came into existence simply because someone in ancient times let a mixture of flour and water stand for a while. Later it was found that the bread baked from the dough became porous and had a delicious tartness. Besides possessing yeast spores, sourdough contains bacteria that produce
lactic and acetic acid, which give the bread its agreeable tangy taste."
"Could I make that kind of bread myself?" Mrs. Anderson interrupted with interest.
"Yes, that is possible, but it isn't always easy to get a bread with that fine aroma. This is because there is an endless variety of sourdough bacteria and, depending on the stiffness of the dough, its temperature and the time that the dough is allowed to stand, the aroma develops in many different ways. Therefore, making a really good sourdough bread is recognized as one of the most difficult achievements of a baker.
"When a wife in ancient times succeeded in making a good sourdough bread, a bread the family members relished, she was wise enough to save a bit of the dough. This was then mixed with enough flour to form a hard ball, and was used the next time she would bake. The ball was then dissolved in warm water. Of course, she was unaware of what happened to the doughball. But now we know that the bacteria are awakened to life by the heat, and that they quickly multiply in the new dough and secrete lactic and acetic acid until the whole dough is permeated."
Its Advantages
"But what advantages does sourdough bread have?" Mrs. Anderson wondered.
"Well, the housewife of ancient times noticed that her family members thrived extremely well on sourdough bread. She couldn't explain why, but a modern nutritionist can. He says that sourdough bacteria build up protein of the same nutritional value as beef protein, and that the yeast spores and bacteria work together to widen the protein value of the bread. But sourdough bacteria accomplish a very good work in another way.
When the dough becomes more acid, the heat-sensitive vitamin B, is preserved much better, and that means that the bread will be richer in vitamins.
"Our ancient housewife had still another advantage with her flour. She ground only the day's supply of flour, so that she always had newly ground flour when she baked. That was important for both taste and nourishment, since the quality of flour deteriorates through storage. The outer shell of the kernel, the bran, was included in the flour. This is important, for the bran contains valuable mineral salts, iron for the blood, phosphorous for the nerves and skeleton, and many, many other vital substances."
"You said," reminded Mrs. Anderson, "that it would be possible for me to make such bread for my family. Just how can I make it?"
"Of course, there are many fine recipes for sourdough bread. Very important in its preparation is the making of the sour. This may, for example, be made of 21 percent rye flour, 21 percent clear wheat flour, 23 percent cultured or plain buttermilk (milks with the highest possible acidity are best), 23 percent water, and about 1 or 1⁄2 percent each of milk powder and salt.
"The milk powder and salt first are dissolved in the water, and then mixed with the buttermilk. Afterward the flour is mixed in by hand. This sour should be allowed to set for a day or two at room temperature. Then use about one pound
of this sour for every ten pounds of flour in the making of your bread, varying the proportion slightly depending on the degree of sourness desired.
"There are, of course, many ways of preparing the sour. Unpasteurized milk soured at different temperatures and over varying lengths of time will produce different flavors in the finished bread. Also elder vinegar, sauerkraut juice and souring liquid from pickle manufacture can be used in making the sour."
"But, tell me, why don't more commercial bakeries make such a sourdough bread today?" inquired Mrs. Anderson.
"For several reasons," answered the manager. "Sourdough baking is a process that takes much time and requires knowhow in order to be good tasting. The baking must always be adjusted to the grain and to the daily weather. In eastern Europe, Germany, Denmark and some other countries, a lot of sourdough bread is still baked, especially of rye. But one must become accustomed to the new taste, and the stomach must become accustomed to the acids."
"All this is certainly interesting and useful. Now I must buy some of this bread and see how the family like it," Mrs. Anderson exclaimed.
As she thanked the store manager and bade him good-bye, she thought: "How little one actually knows about things that are important for a family's nourishment! If only I could remember all this."
EVIDENTLY it was the "time to build" in the Belgian sector of the worldwide 'field' for preaching the "good news." (Eccl. 3:3; Matt. 13:38) Commencing with excavation in November 1966, there began to arise a handsome, four-story brick building at Kraainem, in the outskirts of Greater Brussels. On a plot measuring about 1,200 square yards the structure gradually took shape. By February 1968, the building program had progressed to the point where inside finishing work could be undertaken.
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