Awake!, May 22, 1969
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Awake!
WHY
the WORLDWIDE
STUDENT
REVOLT?
PAGES 3-15
Ferment in Northern Ireland
PAGE 16
Christian Obedience to Law
PAGE 26
MAY 22, 1969
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.
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CONTENTS
Students in Revolt World Wide 3
What Do the Students Want? 4
"Backlash" Developing
Against Student Rebels 7
Will Student Violence Right the Wrongs? 9
Really Mean? 11
What Future for the Young? 14
"Fine Works Are Publicly Manifest" 15
Ferment in Northern Ireland 16
Strengthened by God to Speak Boldly 19
Talk About Changes 20
Being Honest in All Things 23
Coral—the Skeletons
of Master Architects 24
Hot or Cold? 25
Christian Obedience to Law 28
Watching the World 29
"LIKE a recurrent nightmare, the bloody, clamorous, now familiar scenes were enacted again last week," declared Newsweek.
"Helicopters clattered overhead broadcasting calls for surrender; tear gas billowed and missiles flew," Time reported. It noted that "a deluge of rocks, Molotov cocktails, bottles of sulphuric acid and lengths of pipe" met the attackers.
Were these descriptions of the latest action in the Vietnam War? No, these were two reports, the first from the United States and the second from Japan, of another kind of war. This war is the one that has erupted on school campuses, especially colleges, all over the world.
From nation after nation come reports of students on the rampage. They are demonstrating, smashing and rioting in revolt against the established order. This student revolt gathers momentum in all parts of the world. Even students in the Communist countries of Eastern Europe are involved.
In Japan, about 90 percent of the universities have been affected. Earlier this year, 8,000 Japanese police stormed Tokyo University to try to bring an end to a yearlong, violent student strike in that school. At one point, the dean of the faculty of letters was held prisoner in his office for eight days by the revolting students! Using tear gas, helicopters, water cannons, blowtorches, and other weapons, the police finally battered and burned down the student barricades. They arrested 631. The aftermath was described by Time in this way:
"The damage was so extensive that Prime Minister Eisaku Sato, a 1924 graduate himself, wept when he visited the scene. Dazed professors walked through ravaged offices and laboratories, ankle-deep in rubble and water. Even the marble wall of the main entrance had been broken up."
Last year a protest begun by French students engulfed the entire nation in disorder. Near panic took hold in much of the nation. Only very narrowly did France avert total collapse. Before last year's Olympic Games, thousands of Mexican students rioted against their government. In the ensuing clashes, dozens were killed and hundreds injured. In Czechoslovakia, student revolts after the Russian occupation last August caused even the Czech leaders to plead with students for restraint.
They feared massive Russian retaliation.
In the United States, news sources almost daily report disturbances on campuses all over the country. One week's report by Newsweek this year included the following:
"California state police cracked student heads at Berkeley (and activists swung back with their own billy clubs); 900 Wisconsin National Guard troops, bayonets fixed, prodded students on the streets and hilly campus of the University of Wisconsin at
Madison, and panicky authorities at Southern, affluent, predominantly white Duke University— confronted with a minor rebellion by some 60 black students—fired tear-gas canisters on the center of campus—and succeeded in outraging hundreds of white students who had been previously uninvolved bystanders."
In another typical week, student rebellion and violence were reported on at least fifteen college campuses and several high schools.
Why this rising tide of student revolt?
What are their goals? What do they seek to accomplish? What is behind it all?
Where will it all end?
SOME authorities hint that student upheavals are due to a worldwide Communist conspiracy. But Communist countries themselves have their own student disorders. So it does not appear that any one ideology can be blamed for all this trouble.
True, radical forces are likely to try to take advantage of these rebellions when they occur. But instead of any ideological unity, there appears to be a great diversity of issues, even within any one country. There does not appear to be any one key issue or demand that unites all students everywhere. More often the revolts are due to local issues.
WHAT do the students want?
Issues
One specific issue that comes closest to being universal in many countries has to do with the war in Vietnam. Students the world over are generally united in their demand that this war cease. In the United States in particular, students strongly express disapproval, often violently. It is rare to find a student who approves of escalating the Vietnam War.
Aside from the Vietnam War, another recurring theme among many students in different countries is the desire to get a larger voice in college affairs. Students are directly affected by what a college does and teaches, so they feel they should
AWAKE!
have a strong voice in determining school policies.
For instance, in Japan, Tokyo University students protested the old order, that is, what they claimed were outdated lectures, a too-rigid administration and professors who were too distant from their students. The Tokyo University students also demanded a larger share of authority in school planning.
In France, students protested that their country's educational system is archaic. In Mexico it was a protest against what was regarded as government repression of students and the heavy-handed methods of riot police. In the famed London School of Economics, closed by student turmoil for twenty-six days this year, students demanded reform of the school's constitution, which they considered ancient and outmoded. They also protested crowded conditions, old buildings and the lack of student involvement in policy-making.
In the United States, many of these same factors were involved. In addition, students have protested against research projects in their schools when these projects were sponsored by the government and related to the war-making potential of the country. They have also voiced disapproval in the appointment or dismissal of various teachers. They have even demonstrated against the recruiting practices of industrial firms on their campuses. And one demonstration was conducted at Wichita State University in Kansas to protest protests!
However, in the United States there was another burning issue on college campuses, and even in high schools—the demands of Negro students. It is felt by many that the civil rights struggles of Negroes in the 1950's and early 1960's have moved onto the school campuses. Newsweek of February 10, 1969, expressed it this way:
"Today, the revolt has redefined itself, its goals—and its battleground. The aim of the student vanguard is black independence and the dominant cry is for black pride. The battlegrounds have changed too. 'The universities,' says Dr. Price M. Cobbs, a black psychiatrist and co-author of 'Black Rage,' 'have become the dusty Southern towns of today.' . . .
"Black college students—like many white students on campus today—want to claim their own identity. They want a curriculum that will help them better serve their communities. They want institutions that let them control their own lives."
Hence, Negro students have demanded more courses on black history and culture, courses dealing with the Negro struggles in the city ghettos and for civil rights.
Other Side of the Coin
There is also the other side to the coin of student demands. We are not to think that all the students' demands are based on the highest idealism.
When students at the University of South Carolina protested taking only required courses, they were allowed to have their pick of short courses on lovemaking, witchcraft, premarital sex, bartending, and others. One student said: "Lovemaking is the most popular course so far. There won't be any labs though, just theory, but I imagine they'll have to hold the class in Carolina Coliseum to accommodate everybody who wants to get in."
Recently there was a demand for coeducational dormitories. To dramatize this demand, about 100 Barnard College girls moved into two men's dormitories at Columbia University, to the delight of the men students and the dismay of many parents and teachers.
Then there is the desire of students to have freedom to experiment with various types of drugs.
Some take LSD "trips." While there are often restrictions and disciplinary measures against the use of drugs on college campuses, an increasing number of students feel they should have the freedom to experiment with drugs, and are taking them. They also regard sexual freedom as their right, as evidenced by mounting immorality, venereal diseases and pregnancies in colleges.
Common Denominator
Whatever the issues or demands; whether the students are white, black, yellow or brown; whether their schools are in Europe, Asia, Africa or the Americas, there is one pattern emerging that is common to all: The day of the quiet, legal, orderly protest alone is gone. In its place has come the use of brute force, often including an ugly, terroristic type of violence that employs the use of deadly weapons such as "Molotov cocktails," that is, gasoline bombs.
At the University of California in Berkeley, a fire bomb was thrown on the campus, and student strikers threatened to burn the place down. At two colleges in Claremont, California, two bombs exploded and one employee was severely injured. On March 12, 1969, the New York Times noted the "adoption of terroristic methods as a substitute for rationality in the pursuit of greater student power," and added:
"At Rutgers University vandal sprayed academic buildings with noxious liquids, forcing the abandonment of most instruction. At Pomona College in California a staff member was severely injured by a bomb placed in a mail depository. . . .
"At San Francisco State College, a student who apparently was in the process
of placing a home-made explosive device was blinded and otherwise horribly maimed. On scores of other campuses the avoidance of serious injury has been a matter of luck rather than restraint by the dissidents."
Just in recent months, 200 rampaging students at the University of Wisconsin damaged at least nine buildings. They burst into classrooms, smashed the furniture, lights and clocks. They ripped pictures off walls, broke windows and glass doors, set off fire alarms. They even toppled vending machines in the hallways. This was all in conjunction with demands of students to establish a degree-granting black studies department. They also demanded admission of Negro students who had been expelled from another university, as well as the admission of 500 new Negro students next term.
Mounting student violence has also been directed against teachers, especially in high schools. Some teachers have threatened not to teach unless they were guaranteed protection from student assaults. The president of Cornell University, James Perkins, was physically pulled off a platform during a campus discussion, and other instructors have had their classes disrupted by dissident students.
Revolting students, particularly those who actually take part in serious disorders and violence, make up only a minority of the population in any given country. While there are many teachers and parents who back the student rebels, what about others? How do the majority feel about students who resort to violence to achieve their ends? Is there a "backlash" developing?
"BACKLASH"
THE most impressive counterresponse to the student revolt on the part of many citizens, moderate students, school and government officials
is a definite hardening of attitude. Formerly many of these people were sympathetic or patient toward student rebels. But now more and more of them are angered, turn away in disgust, or demand strong action.
In this regard, U.S. News & World Report of March 10, 1969, stated: "A 'get tough' attitude toward students who disrupt colleges and universities is spreading from coast to coast. Opposition to campus rioting is hardening at all levels of government. College administrators are starting to crack down. Some students are showing signs of being disgusted."
Officials React
Typical of the hardening attitude by many officials against revolting students was the remark of State Senator Grady Hazlewood of Texas. He declared that Texas lawmakers "don't believe a bunch of 18- to 20-year-old kids should run the University of Texas. If the people who run that school can't throw this bunch of troublemakers off the campus, then the regents will have to do it."
An important official weapon that may be called into use by the United States Justice Department is an anti-riot provision found in the 1968 Civil Rights Act. This provision makes it a Federal crime for anyone to travel across state lines with the intention of rioting, or organizing and
inciting a riot. The Federal Bureau of Investigation for some time has been watching student rebels, accumulating evidence for possible future use against
ringleaders of such riots.
Increasingly, police or government troops are being called onto the campuses to quell student disorders. Force is being met with superior force. When 5,000 Egyptian students took to the streets in resentment against educational policy, officials quickly closed all five of Egypt's universities and about twenty other institutions. Police were called in to crush the rebels, with an estimated loss of sixteen lives.
This pattern of calling for crushing force is emerging as one answer to student revolts in many countries. And in Spain the government took a further step to crack down on students and other opposers in the wake of serious disturbances there. Spanish authorities imposed what amounts to virtual martial law in the entire country to bring the situation under control.
Public Reacts
A Gallup poll in the United States asked the public the following question: "Do you think college students who break laws while participating in college demonstrations should be expelled, or not?" Of those answering, 82 percent said Yes. Only 11 percent said No.
A second question asked was this: "Would you favor or oppose having Federal loans taken away from students who break laws while participating in campus demonstrations?"
To this, 84 percent answered that they favored the withdrawal of funds; 11 percent answered No.
A final question was asked: "Do you think college students should or should not have a greater say in the running of colleges?" This brought a 70-percent No. Only 25 percent said Yes!
This trend is noted in many other countries, too. It is becoming clear that growing numbers of the public are becoming hostile and impatient with those who promote trouble in the schools. And there are those who now feel that any action,
Dame, outlined a procedure that would be taken against anyone trying to disrupt operations at that university. He included these steps: (1) Anyone or any group that uses force would be given just 15 minutes of meditation to stop. (2) If they do not stop in that time, they will be asked for their identity cards. (3) Those who produce these cards will be temporarily suspended. (4) Those who do not produce identity cards will be assumed not to be members of the community and will be
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however severe, however restrictive, should be taken to bring order out of the mounting chaos in the schools.
Students and Teachers React
Among students themselves, many are disturbed. These "moderate," uninvolved students feel that the revolting minority is disrupting their opportunities for education. They resent it.
When student rebels at the University of Wisconsin gathered at one of the school's central halls to plan their actions, a nonparticipating student exclaimed; "It was amazing to me to see 500 students in the Great Hall of Memorial Union openly plotting aggression on the campus . . . I can't understand why this is permitted. It could be compared to the U.S. allowing Nazi storm troops to have bases in this country during World War II. Or like a city permitting the Mafia to use the city council chamber."
School authorities themselves are now far more inclined to crack down hard on rebels. T. M. Hesburgh, president of Notre
charged with trespassing and disturbing the peace. (5) After notification of suspension of those with cards, and notification of trespassing of those
without cards, if the disorder does not stop in just five minutes, participating students will be notified of their expulsion from school. Then the law, with all the force needed, will be called in to deal with them as nonstudents.
This tough stand was hailed by many throughout the country. Even President Nixon, in a personal letter to Notre Dame's head, commended the action. And at other universities a similar tough stand was being taken and dissenters were being expelled.
So, as the student revolts mount, so do opposing reactions. Force is being met with more force. Yet, as is often the case when force is resorted to, hatreds and hostilities escalate instead of subside.
The question that sincere persons ask, as do many students who are caught up in this surging tide, is whether the use of force by students is the solution. Are their grievances such that rioting and rampaging is the answer? Is that the way for students to solve problems and injustices? Will that remedy the ills against which they are revolting? If not, what will?
WIII STUDENT VIOLENCE Right the Wrongs?
INCREASING numbers of young people everywhere, especially college and high school students, no longer accept the world that their elders have made. They are rejecting the explanations, methods and organizations that were able to keep young generations of former times in line.
One reason this is taking place is that in the past few decades more young people than ever before in history, millions more, have entered colleges and high schools. They have also been exposed to means of communication not available before, such as television. Hence, they see what the world is really like far more quickly than did former generations of young people.
With what result? Richard Boeth, in the Detroit News of October 20, 1968, summed it up by stating bluntly that there was never another time in history "in which the brightest kids in every nation on earth looked around them at the same time and said the hell with all of it."
From Youth's Viewpoint
It is easy for older persons totally to reject youth's anger. But consider the situation from youth's viewpoint. Into what kind of world were they born? They were born and have been raised in a world filled with violence, war, hatred and prejudice. And who has caused it? The young?
It is the older people who have led mankind into the two most horrible wars in history, as well as numerous smaller ones, and all this in just one generation! And
who, particularly, had to pay the price? Primarily the young, who had no voice in the decisions. Millions of them were slaughtered and maimed on battlefields made for them by the older generation in authority.
Therefore, the young feel that they have a right to be disgusted with the world that their elders have made. And they now demand to change things by any means available, including violence.
Yet, is the road to violence the correct one? Has it righted the many wrongs of the past?
Has Violence Improved Matters?
If you are a young person pondering the tragic events of today, you should consider that the older generation who since 1914 have controlled earth's affairs were young just like you. Many of them were once idealistic students.
They, too, thought that once they grew older and gained control of earth's affairs they could correct the injustices. Yes, they would solve the problems, right the wrongs and lead people down the road to peace and prosperity.
They did grow older. They took control. Now, as the older generation in power, their goals could be noted in the many noble slogans they formed. The air rang with their cries of 'the war to end war,' of 'preserving the world for democracy,' of 'prosperity being just around the corner,' of 'guaranteeing the four freedoms' for all mankind. They thought these slogans would become realities by their efforts, since they were in authority and could do something about it.
And they, too, resorted to violence to achieve their ends.
Yet, look at the world since 1914! What has happened to those dreams? Have the slogans been realized by all this violence? No, they have been dashed to pieces instead. Responsible authorities everywhere now agree that never in history did a generation see such slaughter of innocent men, women and children. Never has starvation threatened so many of earth's population. Never was there such a worldwide explosion of lawlessness. Never did pollution threaten so seriously the very air we breathe, the water we drink and the land that grows our food.
In this connection, Mr. Justice Jackson, giving his final testimony at the trial of Nazi war criminals in Nuremberg, Germany, said the following, as recorded in Tyranny on Trial:
"It is common to think of our own time as standing at the apex of civilization. . . the reality is that in the long perspective of history the present century will not hold an admirable position . . . These two-score years in the twentieth century will be recorded in the book of years as one of the most bloody in all annals. Two World Wars have left a legacy of dead which number more than all the armies engaged in any war that made ancient or medieval history. No half-century ever witnessed slaughter on such a scale, such cruelties and inhumanities, such wholesale deportations of peoples into slavery, such annihilations of minorities."
Mr. Jackson made these comments in 1946, right after World War II. He also said:
"If we cannot eliminate the causes to prevent the repetition of these barbaric events, it is not an irresponsible prophecy to say that this twentieth century may yet succeed in bringing the doom of civilization."
War II there have been other brutal wars, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the conflict between Nigeria and Biafra, the Middle East confrontation of Jews and Arabs, just to mention a few. In fact, in the twenty years since Mr. Jackson spoke those words, there have been seventy-three different wars and rebellions fought, according to the Institute for Strategic Studies in London. That is eighteen more than the total number fought in the preceding fifty years put together!
Have barbaric events continued since then? Most assuredly, because since World
Has all this resulted in people becoming more kind, loving, considerate, honest and dependable? Has it resulted in more happiness to mankind? The opposite is the case, for the facts show that violence and crime of all sorts are increasing like an explosion. No, the idealistic young who grew older and eventually took control before 1914 certainly did not make the world better, nor did any of those who came after them. And for a certainty the violence in which they engaged made the world much worse.
So if you are a young person, you would do well to face up to the fact that more violence will not change the direction the world is taking. The growing rebellion and skyrocketing lawlessness will not produce law and order. You reap what you sow. The crop being harvested from war, hatred and lawlessness is more of the same. Nor is this just theory. It is what has actually happened in our generation.
What students often overlook is that those in revolt are not proposing any workable substitute. There is much talk, but enormous disagreement. As the Detroit News observed on October 21, 1968: "Any political or philosophical discussion among 25 kids in the Movement is sure to turn into an immediate, 25-way shambles." This is a guaranteed formula for even greater chaos, even greater problems, not solutions.
More Just?
If you are a student, there is something else to consider. If you resort to violence and this results in the death or injury of other persons, is this really better than what you protest against?
If you riot against school injustices and destroy property, is that really more just than the administration's policies you consider unjust?
Is the retreating into barbarism better than the existing injustices? Do not the smashing, burning, injuring and killing become even greater injustices?
What would be the result if each individual took the law into his own hands when he did not like something? You do not have to wonder what the result would be. This is precisely what has been happening in our time. Look at the results! The world has seen more damage to life and property in our time than ever before in history! It is now close to anarchy in many places.
Is this to say that if you stay within legal bounds you will change the course that the world and its rebellious young are taking? No, you will not. Why not? Because nothing is going to change this world's course. It is going to continue downward.
Why? Is there a deeper meaning behind all this trouble? Is there greater significance to the revolt of young people taking place now? How does it affect you? What should you do about it for your own welfare?
WHAT DOES THE STUDENT REVOLT
THERE is a far deeper meaning to the worldwide student revolt than what may appear on the surface.
What is the true meaning? No, you will not find the answer in this world's news sources, for they do not know. Nor can historians, philosophers, psychiatrists or other such individuals give you the answer, however well meaning they may be.
Who, then, can tell us the real meaning behind the student revolt? Only this One: "The One telling from the beginning the finale, and from long ago the things that have not been done." That description is of Almighty God, Jehovah. It is found in the Bible book of Isaiah, chapter 46, verse 10.
As the Creator of man, God knows far better than any human analyst why the student revolt is taking place and what it really means. He also knows what the final result will be. And he has not left sincere, searching persons without this information. He has revealed it in his inspired Word, the Holy Bible.—2 Tim. 3:16, 17; Amos 3:7.
Significance of Our Times
What does God, who knows 'the end from the beginning,' tell us about these chaotic times? In his Word he tells us that our time is the very one foretold in the Bible that would witness the complete end of this entire system of things!
Yes, we live in the time that God's Word calls "the last days." And just as a road map gives you all the signs and directions needed for you to know exactly where you are, so God's Word does concerning these "last days." Notice just a few of the foretold events and attitudes to which we have been eyewitnesses in our day, as recorded at 2 Timothy 3:1-5, 13:
eration, since it has contributed much rebellion and lawlessness. But are humans the chief instigators? No, they are not.
The disorder of our time comes from a more central source. The Bible clearly shows this source to be an unseen mastermind. He is behind the rebellion and violence. He is identified as that corrupted invisible spirit creature "called Devil and Satan, who is misleading the entire inhabited earth." (Rev. 12:9) True, many do not even believe in his existence.
"But know this, that in the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here. For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, self-assuming, haughty, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, disloyal, having no natural affection, not open to any agreement, slanderers, without self-control, fierce, without love of goodness, betrayers, headstrong, puffed up with pride, lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God . . . wicked men and impostors will advance from bad to worse."
But that suits his plans exactly. In this way he is better able to deceive people and manipulate them to do his will.
Where is his center of operations now? The Bible answers: "Woe for the earth and for the sea, because the Devil has come down to you, having great anger, knowing he has a short period of time." (Rev. 12:12) Along with other wicked spirit creatures called demons, he operates directly among mankind. We see the horrible results of his activity in worsening world conditions.
Also, in his great prophecy about the end of this system of things Jesus Christ foretold that our time would be one that would see the "increasing of lawlessness." (Matt. 24:12) We have seen all these things, and many more!
Note that the Bible foretold 'disobedience to parents' and the "increasing of lawlessness." This includes the general rebellion of the young against their elders, which has resulted in such a tremendous increase of youthful crime. Statistics show
Satan, as the Bible says, knows God's time is near for crushing him and all other rebels out of existence. Hence, since Satan knows he cannot rule much longer, he tries to bring all people to ruin. Like a maddened dictator, a Hitler, he wants to take all humankind with him into destruction.
So the prime instigator of all rebellion is not just some political party, ideology or student group. No, but like a sinister Mafia chief, the central mastermind op-
that by far the highest increase in the crime rate comes from young people. This is just as God's Word indicated.
Who Is Responsible?
Who is responsible for the awful condition mankind finds itself in today? The older generation bears its share of responsibility, true. So does the younger generating behind the scenes is Satan the Devil. The Bible tells us that he is "the god of this system of things." (2 Cor. 4:4) He has been its ruler for thousands of years now. But soon, this rulership will be ripped away from him. The entire wicked system that he has built up on earth will be annihilated, and he will be silenced in the abyss.
Whom Will You Serve?
Satan is the chief rebel against what is right. To serve his foul purposes he uses those on earth who are easiest to incite to rebellion. And who are more susceptible than young persons who have both the energy and the desire to protest against this world's injustices? This is why the young have been saturated with the spirit of rebellion.—Eph. 2:1, 2.
If you are a young person, ask yourself this question: Do I want to be manipulated by the greatest producer of injustice the world has ever known? If you take part in the lawless revolt of today's students, then you will allow yourself to come under the influence of the unseen rebel, Satan the Devil. You will become like a puppet in his hands.
That Satan uses revolting students to achieve his end of causing as much ruin as possible can be seen in a quotation from one of the unofficial publications of revolting students. Published in Harvard Business Review, it urged students to do the following:
"Laugh at professors; disobey your parents; burn your money; you know life is a dream and all of your institutions are man-made illusions effective because you take the dream for reality. The rich are rich because they are thieves and the poor are poor because they are victims . . .
"What's needed is a generation of people who are freaky, crazy, irrational, sexy, angry, irreligious, childish and mad; people who burn high-school and college degrees; people who say 'To hell with your goals'; people who lure youth with music, pot and acid; people who break with the status-role-title-consumer game; people who have nothing material to lose but their flesh."
This is precisely the anarchy that Satan sponsors. So how appropriate the warning of God's Word: "Your adversary,
the Devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking to devour someone. But take your stand against him, solid in the faith." —1 Pet. 5:8, 9.
How can a person take this stand? Surely not by falling victim to his subtle snares and participating in the lawlessness he sponsors. Instead, the way is to turn to the instructions that God provides for our safety. "A wise person will listen and take in more instruction." (Prov. 1:5) Such instruction is in God's Word: "Your word is a lamp to my foot, and a light to my roadway."—Ps. 119:105.
This course will bring real, lasting freedom. As Jesus said: "You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:32) It will unshackle you from Satan's sinking system.
Injustices Soon to End
Are you incensed at the injustices in the world? Do you want to have something done to end all the oppression, hatred and violence? You are not the only one who longs to see an end to wickedness. Many other persons, old as well as young, also are disgusted with this horrible system of things and want a change.
But keep in mind that nothing that you, or any other human, can do will change this world. Bible prophecy shows it will continue to slide toward ever greater anarchy. If you become involved in trying to right wrongs by riots and revolts, you will only bring heartache to yourself. Why? Because no possible lasting good will come of it.
Remember, God also sees the injustices in the world: "The eyes of Jehovah are in every place, keeping watch upon the bad ones and the good ones." (Prov. 15:3) And he most certainly will not let injustice continue indefinitely. He will take decisive action.
What will he do? God will rid the world of all wickedness by smashing lawlessness, hatred, oppression and injustice. No, he will not use some political party or ideology to accomplish this. He will not allow the substituting of just another failing human system for those systems in power now. Instead, God's Word guarantees: "[God's] kingdom itself will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms [the nations], and it itself will stand to times indefinite."—Dan. 2:44.
When will this action be taken? All the evidence in fulfillment of Bible prophecy shows that God will bring this system to an end within our generation, indeed before many more years have passed. (Matt. 24:34) That is why the Bible counsel is so appropriate when it says: "Do not show yourself heated up because of the evildoers. . . . Let anger alone and leave rage; do not show yourself heated up only to do evil. For evildoers themselves will be cut off, . . . just a little while longer, and the wicked one will be no more."—Ps. 37:1, 8-10.
After that, what? "The upright are the ones that will reside in the earth, and the
blameless are the ones that will be left over in it." (Prov. 2:21) Then, under God's direction, the survivors of this system's end will begin reconstruction that will bring lasting benefits to humans. God himself will bless obedient humankind, for "he will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be any more." (Rev. 21:4) And the psalmist said of God: "You are opening your hand and satisfying the desire of every living thing." —Ps. 145:16.
Do you think you could improve on that? Could any action you take, or any system you devise, do a more thorough job of ridding the world of what is wrong? That is why God-fearing persons wait upon Jehovah to remedy this world's ills and to provide man with everlasting benefits. They do not become part of the useless revolts now taking place.—John 17: 16; Jas. 4:4.
So the student revolt does have far deeper meaning. It is part of the dying gasps of this wicked system. And nothing can save it, for God has determined its end. In view of this, how should honest-hearted young persons consider their future?
WHAT FUTURE
YOUNG or old, you need to face up to the fact that this system is not going to change its direction. Under Satan's influence, it will continue to deteriorate rapidly in its remaining years.
The truth of this can be seen in crime statistics
everywhere. In the United States the Federal Bureau of Investigation reported that in 1968 there
AWAKE!
was a fantastic 17-percent increase in crime over 1967. This came on top of many years of other large increases. The population, however, grew only one percent last year. So crime exploded seventeen times as fast as the population!
If you are a young person, you also need to face the fact that you will never grow old in this present system of things. Why not? Because all the evidence in fulfillment of Bible prophecy indicates that this corrupt system is due to end in a few years. Of the generation that observed the beginning of the "last days" in 1914, Jesus foretold: "This generation will by no means pass away until all these things occur."—Matt. 24:34.
Therefore, as a young person, you will never fulfill any career that this system offers. If you are in high school and thinking about a college education, it means at least four, perhaps even six or eight more years to graduate into a specialized career. But where will this system of things be by that time? It will be well on the way toward its finish, if not actually gone!
This is why parents who base their lives on God's prophetic Word find it much more practical to direct their young ones into trades that do not require such long
periods of additional schooling. And trades such as carpentry, plumbing, and others, will be useful not only now, but perhaps even more so in the reconstruction work that will take place in God's new order.
With such practical trades, many young persons have been able to sustain themselves with part-time work. This allows them to spend much more of their time helping interested persons to learn God's requirements for life by studying the Bible with them.
True, those who do not understand where we are in the stream of time from God's viewpoint will call this impractical. But which is really practical: preparing yourself for a position in this world that soon will pass away? or working toward surviving this system's end and enjoying eternal life in God's righteous new order?—1 John 2:17.
In these urgent times, as this wicked system writhes in its death pangs, this counsel from God's Word is most practical for all who want to keep living: "My son, my law do not forget, and my commandments may your heart observe, because length of days and years of life and peace will be added to you."—Prov. 3:1, 2.
"Fine Works Are Publicly Manifest"
♦ The apostle Paul wrote that "fine works are publicly manifest." (1 Tim. 5:25) A witness of Jehovah in California experienced the truthfulness of these words when she began studying the Bible with a woman. At first the woman kept her agreed-upon appointments regularly. Later, the woman began missing some of her studies and at times would not be home when the Witness called. However, the Witness patiently and faithfully persevered, finding her home one time and not home many other times. This went on for months. One month the Witness did not find her home once! On her last call the Witness began to write the woman a little note to leave in her door. A neighbor called to the Witness and the Witness went to see her. The neighbor said to the Witness: "I have watched you call week after week at that house and I have noticed that she is rarely there when you come. I want you to start calling on me. I would like to study the Bible!"
NORTHERN IRELAND is in the news. Recent months have seen civil rights marches, police baton charges, student unrest and violence. What is the reason for all this trouble? Due to the historical and religious background in Ireland there is a deep-rooted suspicion of any movement, as, for instance, the civil rights movement, which might encroach upon the
rights and privileges of the established Protestant order. Referring to this background, one Protestant cleric was quoted as saying:
"I am bound to express the conviction that the Churches did not make the breakthrough in Christian reconciliation the grim aftermath of those days demanded. That is why the darkness has again descended . . . amid the agony of these days they (the Churches) have been unable to lead disunited people along a new road of unity and peace . . . the social gospel in such a situation could not operate."
An examination of the historical background of the present unrest will prove illuminating.
The Historical Background
Ireland has alternated between Catholicism and Protestantism since the Middle Ages, depending on the religious inclinations of the reigning monarch in England, under whose control Ireland came. For example, when Henry VIII broke with the papacy he established Protestantism, "Holy" wars followed, wars that were neither
holy nor Christian. In the perpetration of these both Catholics and Protestants alike committed acts of hypocrisy, treachery and horror. At the time of James I, starting in 1609, what was called the Plantation of Ulster took place. This consisted of settling in Ireland's northern province Protestant families from England and Scotland and thus creating a Protestant stronghold in the north of Ireland.
In 1641 there was an attempted rebellion by the Catholics, who almost became masters of the whole country. It was only after much bloodshed and brutality on both sides that Protestant England gained control under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell. His campaign in Ireland has seared the minds and hearts of Irish Catholics—and many Protestants—with bitterness.
Under the reign of James II of England, Ireland was once more in ferment. Protestants were weeded out of the army and other government posts. And all but a few judges were removed from the bench to be replaced by Catholics, often regardless of character. Ireland had entered the period of history that is uppermost in the minds of the present generation. In March 1689 the deposed King James II of England, then a fugitive in France, mustered an army of French troops and landed in Ireland. The Protestants fled to Ulster, where, under the banner of William Prince of Orange and backed by England, they defeated the Catholic armies at the battles of the Boyne (1690) and Aughrim (1691).
The victorious colonists were determined to keep Ireland Protestant and penal laws were introduced discriminating against Catholics.
After much disorder Ireland lost her parliament by joining it constitutionally to Britain in 1800. At that time a young Catholic lawyer twenty-six years of age, Daniel O'Connell, determined to rouse his countrymen. One might describe his strategy as the forerunner of the civil rights movement, because it was not so much the Catholic cause that turned O'Connell into the agitator as the act of the union of Great Britain and Ireland. His was a crusade of preaching up and down the country, urging his Catholic countrymen to stand up for their human rights. The Protestants looked to the union with Britain as the greatest protection for their rights and prosperity. Nevertheless, Daniel O'Connell succeeded to some extent, and in 1829 the Emancipation Act was passed, under which civil and religious liberty for Catholics was granted.
At the turn of the present century great pressures were again building up. The Catholic population in the south was calling for separation from Britain and arming themselves to show their determination to get it. In the north of the country a massive movement was formed to keep the links with Britain by any means. The war slogan was raised "Ulster will fight." As an indication of how high feelings ran, some half a million Protestants signed a solemn covenant, some signing with their own blood, declaring their determination to remain with Britain. Thus came into being the slogans, "No Surrender" and "Not an Inch," and a volunteer force of 100,000 men was raised. As Ireland stood on the brink of awful bloodshed World War I broke out in 1914.
From 1914 On
While the war went on, southern Ireland armed. The Easter Rebellion of 1916 took place but was crushed by Britain. The struggle continued, however, and by 1921 the list of killed and wounded had risen to 3,000.
A compromise was finally offered by Britain, namely, (1) a separate parliament for the south, and (2) a separate parliament for the north. Ultimately this arrangement was accepted by both north and south of Ireland. The dividing of Ireland into two parts has left many problems unsolved, as is obvious from the present bitterness and tension that exists.
With this background we can better appreciate the present troubles in Northern Ireland, and it is interesting to note what the Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland is quoted as saying: "We acknowledge the existence of such a distressing situation must mark a grievous failure on our part as a Christian Church and people." What, then, of the present?
The Present Situation
Perhaps one can appreciate why many Ulster Protestants look upon the civil rights movement as just another front to end partition and to unite Ireland as a Catholic country, especially since the majority of its members are Catholic. The grievances of the civil rights members are basically the following: The Catholic population claims that it is being discriminated against in the matter of housing and employment, and is demanding electoral reforms so that there will be "one man, one vote" in local elections.
Commenting on the situation, the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano said that the clashes between Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland were reminiscent of a full-blooded war of religion. It also said that Northern Ireland Catholics lived in conditions of inferiority that rendered them second- or third-class citizens.
One Catholic is quoted as saying: "Young lads are simply driven out for lack of jobs and homes. They're second-class citizens in their own land."
The extreme elements on the other side of the fence are the militant Protestants, who are against any form of compromise with Rome. They are against any reform measures as recently introduced by the prime minister of Northern Ireland in an attempt to stabilize the situation. The leader of the militant Protestants, cleric Ian Paisley, declared: "I want to tell you I hate the system of priestcraft and Popery and am prepared to fight for my Protestant faith and heritage."
Even within the ruling government party itself there are certain members opposed to the prime minister in his attempts at reform. He has already embarked on a policy to end discrimination between religious sections of the community, to improve the housing situation and to alter the electoral system. The problem is that, while many feel that the prime minister is not moving fast enough, others feel that he is already moving far too fast.
With one-third of the population in Northern Ireland being Catholic and two-thirds being Protestant, why is there this fear on the part of the Protestants that their position may be in jeopardy? This would seem to be because at primary school age the Catholic proportion of Northern Ireland's population is nearly half. This is due to the large families among the Catholics. Looking ahead, many believe that the Protestants will eventually be outvoted. For this reason the prime minister and his supporters want to improve community relations now so that the Catholic part of the community will have no reason to want to split with Britain and end the partition of Ireland, with all the bloodshed that this would result in.
The General Election
As a result of the tremendous trouble that Northern Ireland has experienced in the past few months as religious prejudices erupted into violence, and to try to get a clear mandate for his reforms, the prime minister called a general election. One of his most bitter opponents was the leader of the militant Free Presbyterian church. In many newspapers he has been described as "the rebel-rousing cleric." Showing the religious aspect to his opposition, he preached: "I call down the curse of God on the traitor, 'Captain Terence O'Neil,'" because he feels that Mr. O'Neil, the prime minister, has been surrendering Protestant rights and privileges. Both the leader of the militant Protestants and one of his chief supporters received jail sentences for their activities in opposing civil rights marchers.
Any who viewed the treatment meted out to the civil rights marchers as television cameras recorded the scenes of violence must have wondered where the fine principles of Christianity were. The cameras caught the spirit of hate when five thousand militant Protestants marched to a rally in Belfast, capital of Northern Ireland. Ugly incidents took place as Catholic faced Protestant across the police barriers. Under a headline "Role of Clergy in North Criticised" one newspaper commented: "There is another border in Ireland: the border between Northern Protestant and Northern Catholic." Obviously, the religious education of neither Protestants nor Catholics in Northern Ireland has cultivated a love of neighbor such as was taught by Jesus Christ.
Northern Ireland will never be the same again. The sensation of the election was the near defeat of the prime minister by the leader of the militant Protestants, showing how deep the religious feelings go.
In actual fact the general election did nothing to lessen the huge difficulties that face Northern Ireland. The prime minister failed to obtain an overwhelming mandate to pursue his reforms, and many people see a hardening on both sides. It seems that the civil rights marchers will go back onto the streets with all the dire consequences that that promises. One thing that the election did prove was that strong divisive forces are at work, not the least of which is the hatred and prejudice based on religious fears and bigotry that have plagued Ireland for so long.
All over the world law-defying people
are on the march, and they are bypassing the normal channels of negotiation in their demands for rights. This development points to the complete collapse of law and order as more and more people, frustrated by the futility at the present system of things, rebel against it. In all of this can be seen the outworking of the Bible principle that "whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap." (Gal. 6:7) The only remedy for the ferment in Northern Ireland, and the ferment throughout the earth, is the remedy the Bible points to: the impending intervention in human affairs by God's kingdom that will serve to "gather all things together again in the Christ." —Eph. 1:10.
STRENGTHENED BY GOD TO SPEAK BOLDLY
JESUS CHRIST promised his followers that when they were faced with the need to speak before men of prominence they could be assured of Jehovah's help through Jesus. Yes, he said, "I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your opposers together will not be able to resist or dispute." (Luke 21:15) Recently an individual who was studying with Jehovah's witnesses enjoyed the fulfillment of this promise. How? Let her tell how it happened:
"After studying the Bible with Jehovah's witnesses for a short while I began to attend their meetings. Impressed by the educational feature of them and the friendliness of the Witnesses, I decided to stop going to my church. I next stopped my father from paying my church dues. Since I wanted to make a clean break from this institution of Babylonish false worship, I wanted to get my name removed from the church membership roll.
"One evening my family was having the pastor come for dinner and I explained my new stand. I told him that I wanted my name removed from the church membership roll. He asked why, and when I began to explain the Bible's truths he cut me off by telling me that I would have to appear before the entire church so that they could vote on it. I thought
this was rather strange, for they had not required this in other cases. At first I was fearful, but then I thought, why not? This would be a fine opportunity to praise Jehovah. I prayed to Jehovah for help. The day came and two others accompanied me to the church.
"First the pastor started making sarcastic remarks, but we stood our ground. After I mentioned that as followers of Christ we are to do as he did, I asked the minister if I could use his Bible to read a scripture. He told me that he did not have one. So I read it from the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures. The scripture was Luke 8:1, which tells of Jesus' going from city to city and village to village preaching the Kingdom good news. We shared other scriptures with the audience and the reasons for our convictions. It turned out to be a fine witness.
"After I was through, the head deacon stood up and praised us for having so much courage. He said that he wished more young people would have such courage to stand up for what they believe. Then he offered a motion that our names be removed from the membership roll and they voted on it. The vote was. Yes. We were overjoyed and could hardly wait to reach the exit to thank Jehovah."
TALK ABOUT CHANGES
"BUT, Luisa, You always have accompanied me to the procession of the Lord of Miracles. Every October we've followed behind the image together for as many blocks as the crush of people would allow us. And especially since you have dedicated Linda to this saint you should feel obligated at least to take her to his procession. I don't understand why you simply won't attend with me this year. It is as the priest says—this studying the Bible—it is dangerous for us. You are losing your faith, Luisa."
By "Awakel" correspondent in Peru
"To the contrary, Maria. I find that for the first time in my life I'm beginning to have real faith. All our lives we have expressed faith in God while at the same time believing him responsible for our sorrows. Do you remember that we believed my long illness was his will for me—perhaps for some sin I had committed? And later about little Juanito's accident. We said that God took him away from you because he must have wanted him in heaven. No, Maria, God could not be the cause of our unhappiness. True faith has taught me that indeed it is God who will eliminate such things as sickness and death from our midst and bring us a Paradise again."
"But, Luisa, we all believe in Paradise. What's so different about that?"
Household Changes
"Maria, I have learned that Paradise for us is not when you and I get to heaven, because the Bible shows we'll not be going there, but we can enjoy a righteous new system of things on earth. And it will be brought about, not by a god of three persons in one, but by the one true God whose name is Jehovah."—2 Pet. 3: 13; Luke 23:43.
"Ay, Luisa, you have truly strayed a long way! You no longer even believe in our sacred Trinity. You must come with me to the procession of his image that they are carrying through the streets today in his honor."
"You might well wonder, Maria, why this image of him, then, does not have three heads! I not only believe that you cannot make an image to the Creator of the universe but also have removed all of such things from my house."
"As if I hadn't noticed! First you removed our Lord crucified on the cross from over your doorway. And now how it pains me to see that you have also removed your Sacred Heart of Jesus—that beautiful gilt-framed picture of him that your mother gave you for over your mantelpiece. I might have guessed what was happening to you when I noticed that you were no longer even wearing your pendant of Mother and Child. After all these years. I shall have to bring the priest here, Luisa, so that he may sprinkle holy water throughout the whole house so that it may again be blessed by the Virgin."
"It's true that it cost me many sleepless nights arriving at the decision to give up these things that I thought were so dear to me and to make all these changes in my life, María. But as I read more and more in the Bible what God's very own will is, I realized that I had been keeping all these things because I was afraid—afraid of bad luck, or a curse, if I didn't keep them.
Instead of love of God, it was fear of not doing these things that made me do them. For what can a gilt-framed picture of a man hanging over my mantelpiece do to help me even if I have a red light burning under his heart day and night?"
"You will need to confess to the priest to cover all this sin, Luisa. I'm afraid even to hope that you still have your rosary on which to do the penance he prescribes. You must ask the Virgin's forgiveness for turning her and her son out of your life. Here, let me pin this medal of her on you for a start."
"No, Maria. Some time ago I learned how to approach God in prayer in the proper way through his Son. I have constantly been asking his forgiveness for having adulterated his true worship with such things as medals and stamps, pictures and crosses. Since the church itself admits to having borrowed the use of most of these things from the pagans, I wish to make it quite clear to God that I am not any longer leaning toward paganism. Jesus Christ says we should worship the Father in spirit and in truth, and I am learning now to do that through my Bible studies."—John 4:24.
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