Awake!, November 22, 1970

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Awake! — November 22, 1970

Source: jw.org

Contents

Do You Believe Everything You Read?

Fish as Food

The Tongue—Amazing in Design

The Battle of the Brick Barrel

Ever Tasted Bird’s-Nest Soup?

Parental Decision Vindicated

The Fifth Lutheran General Assembly

Why the Moon Shines

Living with Typhoons

If Only Lighthouses Could Talk

Witnesses’ Bible Literature Impressed Him

“You Must Not Steal”

Watching the World

Is the Bible a Great Mystery to You?

To the Rescue!

Do You Believe Everything You Read?

“ALL I know is what I read in the papers.” That was the byword of the American cowboy philosopher and humorist Will Rogers.

How do you feel about it? Do you think it is wise to believe everything you read?

No doubt much of the public press tries to stay as close to the facts as possible. And one can learn a great deal of factual and valuable information from what is printed.

But it must be kept in mind that nearly all of this world’s publications are business enterprises. Thus some writers, editors and publishers may cater to certain interests, fearing to offend readers or advertisers. Or they may tend toward the sensational and bizarre to attract readers, even if it means distorting the truth.

Also, an item may be written in good faith; but where did the reporter get the information? What was his original source? Was it reliable, or was the information based on hearsay? And did either the source or the report reflect personal prejudices rather than unbiased facts?

Then there is the tendency on the part of many readers to believe what they want to believe instead of weighing the evidence. Thus, if facts are slanted, prejudiced, even wrong, those who prefer to believe that viewpoint may eagerly accept it. But do you think that is the wise and safe course, working for the person’s good?

On the other hand, a person may believe that a certain thing is right, and it may indeed be right. But if, to support that belief, he grasps hold of evidence that has a weak foundation and that later is discredited, the result could be a weakening of his confidence in something that may be actually true.

“Credibility Gap”

When something is credible, it is believable. In recent years, more and more people are aware of what is often called a “credibility gap” as to the information they are getting. They may read one thing, but later find out that this was not true at all. Thus, a “gap” exists between what was reported and what eventually turned out to be the truth.

A famous instance of this took place in 1960. The government of American president Dwight Eisenhower was caught in a flagrant falsehood about an American U-2 aircraft lost over the Soviet Union. Spokesmen for the administration claimed that the plane was a weather craft that had accidentally strayed over the Soviet Union.

However, it turned out that the plane was shot down deep inside Russia and the pilot captured. Administration officials then acknowledged that it was indeed a “spy plane,” and that such flights had been going on with their full knowledge for about four years. The claim that this was a strayed plane was exposed as a deliberate falsehood.

In the book Anything but the Truth, by William McGaffin and Erwin Knoll, it is stated: “J. R. Wiggins, the editor of the Washington Post, has observed that ‘a government that too readily rationalizes its right to lie in a crisis will never lack for either lies or crises.’”

Thus it is the course of wisdom to exercise care when reading about the political affairs of this world. But this care is also needed when reading about other things. This even includes claims that certain discoveries verify the Bible’s authenticity.

“Missing Day” Verified?

An example of this is the case of the “Missing Day.” Some months ago a Mr. Harold Hill of Baltimore, Maryland, circulated copies of a story that was then widely reprinted in newspapers throughout the United States.

Mr. Hill stated that at the Greenbelt, Maryland, space center scientists were checking by computer the position of the sun, moon and planets to determine where these bodies would be in the future. Scanning centuries back and forth, computer calculations reportedly revealed that in the past there was a 24-hour day missing. One of the scientists was said to have remembered the Bible account of Joshua, chapter 10, which says that the ‘sun stood still’ for about a whole day. The computer was allegedly put back to work and found the missing time of Joshua’s account to be 23 hours and 20 minutes.

However, the story continued, what of the other 40 minutes? The same scientist reportedly then remembered the Bible account of Second Kings, chapter 20, which tells that King Hezekiah was given a sign as proof that he would recover from illness. The sign was that the shadow of a sundial would go backward “ten degrees” (Authorized Version), which is 40 minutes of time. Hence, put together, the two Bible accounts make up the 24 hours, the “Missing Day” that the computer is said to have found.

Was this published report true? A letter of inquiry was sent to Mr. Hill asking for further details concerning his account. In his reply he stated: “I am sorry I have misplaced the documentation relative to the names and places connected with the ‘Missing Day’ account, but will be glad to forward it to you when I come across it.” That was many months ago. To this date no documentation has been forthcoming.

In addition, Awake! magazine sent a letter of inquiry to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s Goddard Space Flight Center at Greenbelt, Maryland. It asked officials there for verification of the story. Chief of the center’s Office of Public Affairs, Edward Mason, replied by letter: “We know nothing of Mr. Harold Hill and in no way can corroborate the ‘lost day’ reference in the article.” Mr. Mason added: “Although we make use of planetary positions as necessary in the determination of spacecraft orbits on our computers, I have not found that any ‘astronauts and space scientists at Greenbelt’ were involved in the ‘lost day’ story attributed to Mr. Hill.”

Does verification of this report of computer findings exist? It would be good not to say it does unless solid documentation comes along, particularly in view of the fact that Mr. Hill claims to have ‘personally seen the Lord Jesus Christ.’

Also, it must be regarded as very strange, to say the least, that an almost identical story is related in the book The Harmony of Science and Scripture by Harry Rimmer. But that book was first published in 1936! In a chapter entitled “Modern Science and the Long Day of Joshua” Rimmer refers to a book written in 1890 by a Professor C. A. Totten of Yale and claims that it “establishes the case beyond the shadow of a doubt.”

In Rimmer’s version of Totten’s account, it is an “accomplished astronomer” who is said to have discovered that the earth was 24 hours out of schedule. In trying to prove it, the astronomer reportedly found by his astronomical calculations that the time of the “Missing Day” was only 23 hours and 20 minutes long. But then Professor Totten reportedly called the astronomer’s attention to the fact that Joshua did not say it was an entire day, but “about” the space of a day. He then is said to have found that the account of King Hezekiah filled in the other 40 minutes.

These two accounts are almost identical. However, the modern one, of 1970, attributes the discovery to space scientists and computers at Greenbelt (who in turn deny it); the older account of 1936 attributes it to an “accomplished astronomer” mentioned in a book written by someone else in 1890!

However, the lack of verification for such claims does not alter the truthfulness of the Bible. The Bible is God’s Word. It speaks the truth, for God cannot lie. (2 Tim. 3:16, 17; John 17:17; Titus 1:2) Christians have an abundance of evidence showing that the Bible is what it claims to be, the Word of God. They do not need, nor would it be wise to try to build faith on anything that cannot be proved to have a solid foundation.

Noah’s Ark Found?

In the past year there has also been much publicity regarding an expedition sent to find Noah’s ark on Mt. Ararat. Much of this publicity centers around the claims of Fernand Navarra.

Science News of June 13, 1970, stated: “In 1955, Fernand Navarra, a French industrialist and amateur explorer, found on Mt. Ararat in eastern Turkey an estimated 50 tons of wood buried in the finger of a glacial ice pack. The site of the find is 14,000 feet high, several thousand feet above the tree line and over 300 miles from the nearest trees of any size. . . . Navarra has claimed that the artifact is a piece of the Biblical Ark of Noah.”

Some estimated that the wood was about 4,000 to 5,000 years old. However, other findings using radiocarbon measurement yielded more recent figures, although these could have been influenced by contamination of the wood with carbon-14 more recently formed in the upper atmosphere and brought down in rain and snow.

Then, in 1969, more wood was found near the 1955 site. Further excavation was to have taken place in the summer of 1970 under the direction of Search Foundation, Inc. However, Turkey barred the expedition from access to Mt. Ararat, citing “security reasons.” Attempts were made to reverse this decision.

This is not the first claim of a possible finding of the Ark. There have been many sensational reports in past centuries. Some claim to have seen a ship. Others, the prow of a ship. Another report says that an investigating team found and examined several rooms in a boatlike structure. But it was not possible to follow up on those claims and establish them beyond doubt.

About ten years ago, a shape was seen on Mt. Ararat that did look boatlike. Pictures of it were published in magazines. But investigators went to the spot and found that it was only an unusual earth formation. True, the current interest does not center on that place, but elsewhere on the mountain.

Yet, it would be wise to exercise caution. Even if the wood were pre-Flood, was the Ark the only hand-hewn structure of that time? Is it not possible that structures destroyed by the Flood could have had their remains carried by the floodwaters to different places, including Mt. Ararat? Is it not possible, too, that a wooden structure could have been built on Mt. Ararat long after the flood of Noah’s day?

Some may want to believe that what is up there is Noah’s ark and so may dogmatically claim that it is, before conclusive evidence is obtained. But what if later evidence proves that this was not the Ark? Will that weaken their belief in the Flood and in the Bible account of Noah’s ark? It would not be the first time that the faith of people had been damaged by believing evidence that was unfounded while the event itself was the truth.

Hence, until there is far more evidence than at present, it would not be the course of wisdom to pin one’s hopes on such a find to verify a Bible account. Really, Christians do not need it. They have the record of God’s own Word on the matter. He was an eyewitness to the entire event. So, too, we have the record of Noah, who was an eyewitness to it on earth. And we have the record that Jesus Christ himself accepted the global flood as historical fact.—Gen. 6:1-8:22; Luke 17:26, 27.

Also, there are the flood accounts common to almost every race or culture. So widespread an account is not likely to have been coincidental. Too, it is a well-established fact that a sudden watery death, and in many cases a quick freezing, overtook millions of living things in the past. Remains of these have been found in enormous quantities in places such as Alaska and Siberia. Some animals were so quickly frozen that vegetation was still in their mouths and stomachs.

Yet, even if the remains of Noah’s ark were found and definitely identified, would critics be any more convinced about the Bible’s accuracy? Would they then put their trust in it and its Author? Well, have the Dead Sea Scrolls of Isaiah convinced critics to put any more faith in the Bible and its Author than they had before? No, instead they have spent years bickering about details of spelling, letter shapes, Essene doctrine, and so on. They have missed the real point regarding the preservation of God’s Word, and the putting of one’s trust in it and its Author.

Would critics of the global flood even “be persuaded if someone [say Noah himself] rises from the dead” and leads them to the Ark? (Luke 16:31) It is not likely. Jesus raised persons from the dead and that did not convince his critics. Why, when Jesus resurrected a man named Lazarus, the religious critics wanted to put Jesus to death! And not only that, but they “took counsel to kill Lazarus also”!—John 11:45-53; 12:9-11.

No, it is not the facts about the Bible’s truthfulness that are missing. These are in abundance and solidly testify to the Bible’s being the Word of God. What is missing where critics are concerned is the right heart condition. They do not want to believe. Nor do they want to subject themselves to Jehovah God’s arrangements or moral laws.

Closing Eyes at Baptism?

Another example of how misleading and downright false an item can be was an article reported by the Associated Press from Mufulira, Zambia.

The Associated Press dispatch said: “Members of the Watchtower sect are supposed to keep their eyes tightly closed when co-religionists undergo their baptismal rites. Fortunately, someone had his eyes open when Davison Kapysa was dipped in the Kafue River in the presence of 200 Watchtower members. A crocodile grabbed Kapysa’s leg but the solitary peeper gave the alarm before the reptile could drag its victim off.”

From this report, an uninformed reader could conclude that when Jehovah’s witnesses are present at a baptism, they must close their eyes when someone is being baptized. Yet, if the Associated Press had checked with any representative of Jehovah’s witnesses it would have found the information in error, for the truth is exactly to the contrary. Jehovah’s witnesses who are present at baptisms are there to be observers and eyewitnesses. They could hardly be that if they kept their eyes closed when others were being baptized!

Weigh What You Read

With so much propaganda in the world today, it is good to exercise caution. When reading about important matters, analyze the available facts. Ask yourself, Is there a solid foundation for what is being said, or is it merely hearsay? Is the source reliable? If the evidence is flimsy, wait for further verification.

Another consideration: who is more likely to print the truth—those devoted to the God of truth, Jehovah, and not doing their work for commercial profit? or those who seek to make a profit, who have advertisers and other vested interests with which they must be concerned? The answer is obvious.

[Picture on page 4]

Have scientists really confirmed a Bible account by means of a computer?

[Picture on page 5]

Has a part of Noah’s ark been found?

Fish as Food

● Fish flesh is rich in the proteins, fats, minerals and vitamins that man needs. The annual catch of the world fisheries is about 100,000,000,000 pounds. Oils from fish livers supply a large part of the vitamins man uses, especially of vitamin A and vitamin D.

The Tongue—Amazing in Design

A LITTLE piece of muscle is all it is. But what an amazing design! For the tongue can form all the sounds spoken in the hundreds of languages known to man. It is also a taster supreme, being able to differentiate between sweet and sour, hot and cold, salty and bitter in a way that brings delight to men everywhere. In fact, without it you would find it very difficult even to eat.

Yes, this amazingly versatile organ is also designed to move food around effortlessly, placing and holding it between the teeth for proper chewing and then moving it to the back of the throat to be swallowed.

If you enjoyed your food today, if the flavor made your mouth water, the tongue played a big part in your enjoyment. The tongue helps to mix saliva with the food we are enjoying, thus sparing us the possibility of stomach trouble later. It can even tell us if the food is good or bad by our sense of taste, which is located chiefly in the tongue. That is why you will see a cook tasting what is being cooked, to see if it is just right or if a little more seasoning needs to be added. Just a sip will tell the story.

Complicated Design

Though the human tongue seems to be a rather simple piece of muscle, a closer study of it shows that it is really a rather complicated organ designed with great intelligence. It has muscles that run in different directions, and this accounts for its being exceptionally movable and pliant. Some run lengthwise, others crosswise, some vertically. This makes it possible to shorten or lengthen the tongue, make it rise or descend, turn its tip in different directions or narrow it and turn the edges upward. It is this versatility that makes it possible to move food around in the mouth, pushing it between the teeth or even finding and holding a bit of grit that might not have been noticed in the salad.

In addition to the tongue’s being covered with mucous membrane, on its surface can be found four kinds of little protrusions called papillae. For example, one kind are made up of little cone-shaped projections that cover the whole surface as well as the borders and tip of the tongue. It is these that make the tongue in the cat family so rasplike that they can easily scrape bones clean of all flesh.

Next, there is another kind that are about the size of the head of a pin. They resemble a miniature toadstool, from which they got their name (fungiform). Located mostly at the tip and sides of the tongue, they are pink in color and usually contain special taste buds.

Another kind number just seven to ten in all and are arranged across the back of the tongue, being surrounded by taste buds. They can be seen with the naked eye.

Finally, scientists speak of a fourth kind that can be found on the sides of the tongue and in the folds of the mucous membrane at the back of the tongue.

A simple piece of muscle? Far from it. The tongue is of intricate design and of great value to its owner. Besides being so sensitive to taste and heat, the tongue is more sensitive to touch than any other part of the body.

Variety of Amazing Designs

In the animal realm a wide variety of amazing designs can be found. For example, consider the forked tongue of the snake. Some persons believe that a poisonous snake bites with its flicking tongue, thereby pouring poison into its victim, but such is not the case. It uses its teeth for that purpose. Besides being forked, the tongue of a snake is narrow and very sensitive. The snake will put it out of its mouth from time to time to feel the air. Then when it touches the sense cavities or so-called Jacobson’s organ in the roof of its mouth with the tip of its tongue, the scent molecules from the air, which have stuck to the tongue, give it a sense of smell. A tongue for smelling? Yes, the snakes have it. They even have a sheath into which the tongue may be withdrawn so that it will not become damaged when not in use.

The chameleon has a specialized, telescopic tongue that is exceptionally long for its size. Patiently and slowly this little creature will approach its potential meal until it has come close enough. Then, fast as lightning, it shoots its tongue out and the insect taste-treat is stuck to it. Rather similarly, most frogs have a long, protruding tongue that they use like a flyswatter to catch insects.

Ant bears or anteaters are champions when it comes to a fast draw with the tongue. When they tear open a termite nest with their powerful claws, then, so quickly that it can hardly be seen, their tongue starts to work. Their nose is long, and the tongue comes out of the mouth like a shot from a blowgun. It is long, fast-moving, and covered with a sticky substance. So, all the anteater has to do is draw its tongue back into its mouth and the termites that have stuck to it are drawn in for a tasty meal. Similarly the Asiatic pangolin, a type of scaly anteater, has a long, wormlike tongue used to capture ants for dinner.

Birds also have remarkably designed tongues. For example, the woodpecker has a tongue with a barbed and slimy tip ideally suited for snaring and withdrawing grubs from decaying trees. Then there is the beautiful little hummingbird that uses its amazing tongue like a drinking straw! For its drinks of nectar it flies from flower to flower. Though a very small bird, some species measuring only two and a half to three inches from the tip of the bill to the tip of the tail, it is heavy enough so that frail flowers cannot hold its weight. So it hovers close by the flower, using its long, slender tongue to draw out the sweet liquid by the suction method.

The bloodsucking lamprey, an eellike fish that lives on the Mediterranean and North Atlantic coasts, has a remarkable tongue. It is a strong muscle covered with horny membrane. This the lamprey uses like a suction pump to anchor itself to rocks or attach itself to other fish to suck nourishment from them.

Vegetation eaters like the giraffe also have marvelously designed tongues. The tongue of the giraffe may be as long as twenty inches and can quickly curl around and tear off leafy material for consumption.

The prize for the biggest tongue of all must go to the whale. It has been reported that the tongue of a one-hundred-foot blue whale can weigh 6,600 pounds. In fact, the tongue of one eighty-nine-foot-long blue whale, when weighed with its roots, was about as heavy as an average-size elephant. Imagine the strength it takes to move a tongue like that!

But besides tongues for hunting, sucking, scraping and tearing, what about their use for cleaning and first aid? Do not forget the domestic cat and how enjoyably it washes itself every day with its tongue, just as most animals do. And do not cats, dogs and other animals carefully bathe and cleanse a wound with their tongues? Or if you lose a tooth, do you not find your tongue taking much interest in the matter, carefully and tenderly probing the area?

Tongue Care and Usage

Such a remarkable and necessary organ certainly deserves our attentive care, because even this resilient member of our body can be abused. Interestingly, the Encyclopædia Britannica says that chronic inflammation of the tongue may be caused by the irritation of decayed teeth or an ill-fitted plate of artificial teeth, or by excessive smoking. Since such chronic inflammation may lead to cancer, it states: “The treatment demands the removal of every source of irritation . . . Smoking must be absolutely and entirely given up . . . and everything else which is likely to be a cause of irritation must be avoided.”

Good it is, too, to avoid irritation caused by the improper use of the tongue in speech. Screaming, angry and abusive speech irritate others and bring no benefit to anyone. “Death and life are in the power of the tongue,” the inspired proverb tells us. (Prov. 18:21) A person can train his tongue to speak what is good and to help others, but first he must train his mind in harmony with the wisdom from the great Designer of the tongue, Jehovah God. Then our tongues can be used for promoting peace and happiness among our families and friends, all to the praise of the Creator, whose wisdom can be seen in the tongue’s amazing design.

The Battle of the Brick Barrel

● Do you have days when everything seems to go wrong? Well, when you read what happened some years ago to a man in Barbados perhaps your problems will not seem so bad after all. His letter to his employers explained what happened when he went to repair a building damaged by a hurricane:

“I rigged up a beam with a pulley at the top of the building and hoisted up a couple of barrels full of bricks. When I had fixed the building, there was a lot of bricks left over. I hoisted the barrel back up again and secured the line at the bottom, and then went up and filled the barrel with extra bricks. Then I went to the bottom and cast off the line. Unfortunately, the barrel of bricks was heavier than I was and before I knew what was happening the barrel started down, jerking me off the ground. I decided to hang on and halfway up I met the barrel coming down and received a severe blow on the shoulder. I then continued to the top, banging my head against the beam and getting my finger jammed in the pulley. When the barrel hit the ground it bursted its bottom, allowing all the bricks to spill out. I was now heavier than the barrel and so started down again at high speed. Halfway down, I met the barrel coming up and received severe injuries to my shins. When I hit the ground I landed on the bricks, getting several painful cuts from the sharp edges. At this point I must have lost my presence of mind, because I let go the line. The barrel then came down giving me another heavy blow on the head and putting me in the hospital. I respectfully request sick leave.”

Ever Tasted Bird’s-Nest Soup?

By “Awake!” correspondent in Singapore

WHAT? Real bird’s-nest soup? Yes, made from a bird’s nest, just as anyone familiar with Chinese cuisine will tell you. This light, clear soup with delicate flavor is made from the edible nest of a swiftlet.

This bird measures some four and a half to five and a half inches from beak to tail. It is fast-flying, for the most part collecting its food while on the wing. It is sooty brown in color, frequents tropical coastlands and may be found as far north as South Vietnam and as far south as the Queensland coast of Australia.

The swiftlet actually weaves its nest with strands of its own coagulated saliva. The nest is glued to the roof or wall of some almost inaccessible cave. Harvesting of the nests is done early in the breeding season. First, all the old nests are swept off the cave walls or roof. Borneo natives will climb vertical bamboo poles to heights of a hundred feet or more, and with other balancing poles knock down the nests. As soon as new nests are constructed they are harvested, and this will be repeated several times. But finally the nests are left alone so that the birds may breed in peace.

The next step is to break the nests in pieces, dry them in the sun and ship them to towns and cities where native Chinese enjoy them in their homes or proudly introduce them to foreign guests in their restaurants.

Chinese appreciation of the bird’s nest goes deeper than mere taste buds. One well schooled in the traditions will tell you that there is medicinal value in this dish. True, medical science has given no official confirmation of the claim, but chemical analysis reveals that the gelatinous nest consists mainly of protein, with some carbohydrates and usable amounts of calcium, iron and thiamine.

Upper- and middle-class people can usually afford this soup whenever they are in the mood for it. In Western cities, of course, the cost will be quite high, but in Asian cities it is less expensive, even being sold at roadside stalls.

Perhaps the most adventurous way to experience it is to prepare it in one’s own kitchen. Here in Kuala Lumpur, as in most Southeast Asian cities, the bird’s nest is sold mainly in Chinese herbal medicine shops. As we enter one of these, the salesman politely inquires what we want.

“Yin woh,” we answer in Cantonese.

“Ah,” the salesman exclaims, assuming the air of an expert. “Let me recommend the best.” He takes out his goods and continues: “This is Pah Sai yin, the most popular variety among connoisseurs.”

“What makes it the best?”

“Because you can cook it for a whole day and the little strands will hold their shape. This type is from Borneo, and I can guarantee you will not be disappointed in it.”

It appears that the nests are available in various qualities, priced all the way from 24 Malay dollars per tahil (1-1/3 oz.) down to 7.50 Malay dollars for the local nests from Pulau Tioman. We do notice that the local variety is in loose strands, not at all like the tight spoon shape of the imported variety.

After some bargaining and consequent reduction in price, we speed home with our purchase. Overnight the nest is soaked in water. Then the first job in the morning is to settle down to picking away patiently in order to clean the bird’s down, feathers and other impurities from the softened, expanded nest.

An obliging Chinese neighbor informs us: “Just add enough water to the cleaned nest to attain the desired consistency, enough rock sugar for the right degree of sweetness. Then cook for two hours in a double boiler.”

Pressed for another savory recipe, she goes on: “A simple way is to cook the nest with some chicken and ham, both shredded, and the appropriate amount of water. Double boil for three hours. And to dress up the dish one can do a fu-yong, that is, stir a beaten egg into the soup just before lifting it from the stove.”

“When I got married over forty years ago,” she reminisced, “I had to serve tea to all the elder in-laws. And, since our families were well-to-do, the ‘tea’ we used was sweet bird’s-nest soup.”

Parental Decision Vindicated

By “Awake!” correspondent in Canada

THE above headlines flashed to the world the dramatic story of a mother’s courageous battle to protect her baby from a risky and unnecessary operation.

The scene: a hospital in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. The time: 1:30 a.m., April 2, 1970. A doctor was getting ready to force a blood transfusion on a newborn baby girl. The mother, Mrs. Lynn DeWaal, one of Jehovah’s witnesses, pleaded with the physician to use the alternate, safe, light treatment, phototherapy. He angrily refused. Courageously the mother with the help of her family took the baby out of the hospital, though two doctors tried by force to detain them.

Many people have had occasion to change doctors or hospitals. Usually no one is much concerned. This time a real furore broke loose. The story blazed across Canada, the United States, to Central America, Britain and Europe. Newspapers, radio and television played up the drama. Headlines screamed about the baby being “snatched,” about “abduction.” Doctors made dire predictions. A minister of the provincial government announced that charges had been laid against the mother; later he said no charges had been laid. The police got out a search warrant. The Children’s Aid Society asked for a custody order; the judge refused to proceed without proper notice, and the Crown Attorney admitted that the mother had a right to remove the child.

And what was behind all the excitement? A baby girl, Eunice Devina DeWaal, who came into the world in the early morning of April 1, at St. Francis General Hospital, Smiths Falls, Ontario. She weighed 8 pounds 5 ounces. Later in the day she developed signs of blood incompatibility, which one of the doctors described as a “mild case.”

Mrs. DeWaal was obliged to leave the hospital at 6 p.m. the same day the baby was born in order to attend court to get a divorce from her husband who had left her. The hospital staff assured her that the child would be there when she returned. When she got back two hours later, the baby was gone. Upon inquiry she found out that the infant had been taken by the Children’s Aid Society to the Kingston General Hospital some sixty miles away. The young mother drove to Kingston accompanied by her parents and brothers. There she found that the baby had been placed without her consent in the hands of Dr. D. G. Delahaye, who had been prominent in several cases of trying to force blood transfusions on children of Jehovah’s witnesses.

Mrs. DeWaal discussed with Dr. Delahaye the condition of her baby, Eunice Devina. He reported that her bilirubin count had gone up to 18 milligrams per 100 milliliters. Since the baby was strong and active, this count alone was hardly an indication for exchange transfusion. Delahaye’s attitude left no room for discussion: “I am going to give that child a blood transfusion if I have to go to jail for it,” he declared. He was asked to consider the less-risky treatment of phototherapy, but this he flatly refused.

In face of such a difference of opinion, who should decide: the mother? or the doctor? Doctors can be right, also they can be wrong! Whose baby is it? Who will lose most by a wrong decision—the mother or the doctor? Who will be most deeply concerned to choose that which will be for the child’s welfare?

There are times, too, when medical decisions are made without the coolness and caution one expects from professional men. The Journal of the Canadian Medical Association carried an article admitting: “So often in the case of the Jehovah’s Witness the surgical team becomes emotional, confused and irrational . . . a great deal of intolerance exists toward members of the Jehovah’s Witness order.” Is a doctor who is ‘emotional and irrational’ likely to make the best decision for a child?

Medical Considerations

What are the determinative medical considerations that should have weighed in deciding on treatment for the DeWaal baby? Did her condition call for exchange transfusion or the alternative of phototherapy?

Professor Hans Keitel, a senior pediatrician at Jefferson Medical Centre and editor of the respected journal Pediatric Clinics of North America, analyzed the factors a physician should consider when faced with a baby who has a high bilirubin count. Under the heading “Failing to appreciate fully the risks of exchange transfusion” he admonished:

“The routine performance of an exchange if the bilirubin level rises to or approaches 20 mg. per 100 ml. in the first week of life is most unfortunate. [The bilirubin count of the DeWaal baby was at 18.] We must have the fortitude to tell parents the whole truth and to inform them of the uncertainties and the risks. Many believe it is far better to have a live child who has only a small chance of brain damage (if the bilirubin level does not rise over 25 mg. per 100 ml. for less than a day in the first week of life) than to risk the chances of a fatality.” (1965, Vol. 12, p. 210)

Mrs. DeWaal was one of those who wanted a “live child” and saw no need to risk an exchange transfusion (which could be fatal) when the bilirubin count was well below the recommended level of 25 milligrams per 100 milliliters.

While the risks of exchange transfusion are high, the phototherapy treatment (exposure to bright light or sunlight) requested by the mother comes well recommended in medical literature. It was described by Dr. J. A. Lucey in the medical journal Pediatrics, Volume 41, 1968, as “simple, inexpensive and safe.”

In insisting on the more dangerous procedure, was Dr. Delahaye being reasonable, or was this a sample of the ‘emotional and irrational’ behavior described in the Canadian Medical Association Journal?

Departure

Since the doctor declined to consider the wishes of the mother, it was decided to go elsewhere for treatment. Mrs. DeWaal was holding her baby. One of her companions said, “Come on, we’re getting out of here.” Dr. Delahaye grabbed the man’s jacket and replied, “Oh, no, you’re not!” A scuffle ensued. Two female members of the staff tried to wrestle the baby away from her mother, foolishly endangering the child and badly bruising the mother’s arm.

Still holding the baby, Mrs. DeWaal with the assistance of her brother got to the elevator (it was the seventh floor). As the descent was made, the alarm bells began ringing. How would she get past the guard on the main floor? As she stepped out of the elevator, the guard, excited by the bells, jumped into the same elevator to rush up to the seventh floor. Mother and baby slipped unhindered into a waiting car. Meanwhile Dr. Delahaye was striving to detain the men who were with Mrs. DeWaal, even struggling with them down the stairs and out onto the sidewalk to prevent them from getting into a second car that was waiting.

One might expect the warden of a penitentiary physically to restrain inmates from leaving, but this place was a hospital! The doctor was adding a new chapter to the record of medical decorum.

Official Reaction

Now what would the authorities do?

Newspapers spoke of the baby as being abducted; the police were instructed to hunt for her. Questions were raised in the provincial legislature. John Yaremko, Minister of Social and Family Services, announced that a charge had been laid against the mother. An official in Mr. Yaremko’s department immediately denied that a charge had been laid. A warrant was issued to search the mother’s home; then the Crown Attorney ordered it canceled.

The Children’s Aid Society applied for wardship and complained when the judge would not make the order. Judge Garvin, being a man who believes in law, wanted to give the parents a fair hearing and refused to be stampeded. He recalled that the Supreme Court of Ontario had said in an earlier case of Jehovah’s witnesses that they were entitled to notice and a trial. Showing his due respect for the Supreme Court, he refused to act till proper procedures were put before him.

The Crown Attorney, C. J. Newton, commended the actions of Dr. Ashwell at Smiths Falls but also admitted: “The mother had an equal right to remove the child from the hospital.”

Faced with these crosscurrents of opinion, the Globe and Mail (Toronto) remarked: “Confusion clouded legal issues yesterday in the disappearance of a three-day-old baby.”

There was no need for confusion. The mother was within her rights. It was her child. People have a right to hire and fire doctors. This is basic in the doctor-patient relationship, and reasonable doctors are glad to respect it. Mutual trust is the basis of the relationship; official coercion has no place in it.

Similarly with hospitals. A hospital is not a prison. A patient, or parent of an infant patient, does not need the permission of the “warden” (doctor) in order to leave the hospital. In fact, some hospitals have been obliged to pay damages for interfering with patients who desired to leave.

Medical Exaggeration

It is customary in these cases for doctors to issue ominous threats that the child will either die or suffer brain damage without a transfusion.

What they fail to reveal to the public is that there is a standard pattern of retardation after transfusion, quite apart from the large number of fatalities (some estimate as high as 10 percent) from the exchange.

Medical World News, January 16, 1970, stated under the heading “Hazards of Exchange Transfusions”: “Infants who start life with erythroblastosis severe enough to require exchange transfusion never quite catch up with their unaffected peers.” Dr. Edward Schlesinger reported on tests given to children who had received exchange transfusion: “The greatest number of poor scores on both tests was concentrated in the group of children who had erythroblastosis fetalis treated by exchange transfusion.”

In the light of these adverse results the article said further: “Exchange transfusions seem to be on their way out as far as pediatricians are concerned.”

Dr. Ashwell, who had delivered the baby, issued the standard exaggerated threats. “The chances of this little girl living or not suffering irreparable brain damage are about the same as me winning the Irish Sweepstakes today,” he told The Telegram. This sweeping statement, however, developed something of a credibility gap when Ashwell was quoted further: “Quite honestly, I can’t simply describe the disease to you because I have only a slight grasp of it myself.”

Meanwhile, what did happen to Eunice Devina? The innocent focal point of so much controversy was taken by her mother to the home of some friends in another municipality. There she was given phototherapy treatment by a nurse of wide experience in the field. After five days under blue light, she made a complete recovery.

A doctor who examined her found that she was “active, developing well, and there is no evidence of abnormality.” At time of writing she is at home with her mother, happy, intelligent and normal in every way.

Dr. Delahaye seemed most unhappy about the case. In addition to the usual threats about the health of the child he accused the Children’s Aid Society of “laxity” in not trying to locate the baby; he accused the Supreme Court of Ontario of “ducking the issue.”

In an interview with The Telegram on April 3, he recounted another case involving a child of Jehovah’s witnesses, “suffering from leukemia. Before the doctor gave a transfusion its parents came to Kingston Hospital and took the child. Toronto doctors decided to abide by the wishes of the parents against a transfusion and ironically,” said Dr. Delahaye, “the child survived.”

Ironically, so did the DeWaal baby. Ironically, so has every other infant of Jehovah’s witnesses that has been removed from a hospital to avoid exchange transfusion. Not so ironically, six children of Jehovah’s witnesses in Canada have been taken from their parents, given forced blood transfusions and brought back dead.

On June 3, the mother, child and her legal counsel, appeared on television in Ottawa to explain what had happened and why. Though Dr. Delahaye had earlier announced concerning the baby that there is “a good chance it is dead,” Eunice Devina made it loud and clear that she was very much alive. Later the program was shown across Canada.

In view of the events of this case, one is reminded of law professor Howard Oleck’s commentary in Medical World News (Dec. 5, 1969) advising that medical relationships would improve “if physicians generally would stop acting as though they are somehow the anointed ones of God.”

Many good doctors do act with respect for parents, and this is to be commended. Such doctors are glad to have the balancing influence of parental decisions; it makes for good teamwork and a mutually beneficial relationship.

That parental decisions are not to be lightly cast aside becomes clear from the events herein related. Eunice Devina has been protected by a parent who felt obliged to disagree with a doctor. By her normal development, vigorous growth and contentment her mother’s decision has been vindicated.

The Fifth Lutheran General Assembly

By “Awake!” correspondent in France

THE Lutheran World Federation held its Fifth General Assembly from July 14 to 24 in Évian, a French spa on the shores of Lake Geneva. The meeting was attended by 210 delegates representing many of the various Lutheran churches throughout the world. One hundred and twelve came from European countries, 33 from North America, 27 from Africa, 27 from Asia and 11 from Latin America. These official delegates were accompanied by 131 advisers and observers.

Lutheranism is said to be the “oldest and the largest of non-Roman Catholic, non-Orthodox” religions of Christendom, its world membership being estimated at between seventy and eighty million, most of whom live in Germany, Scandinavia and the United States of America. The Lutheran World Federation represents about two thirds of the Lutheran churches, in about forty countries.

The Federation’s assembly in Évian got off to a bad start. First East Germany refused permission for the meetings to be held in Weimar. Then Pôrto Alegre, Brazil, was chosen, but for political reasons it was finally decided that it would be inopportune to convene in that country, so at the last minute arrangements were made for the assembly to be held in France. This, however, displeased the Brazilian Church, which refused to send a delegation, sending merely two observers.

Thus, from the very outset, the assembly was troubled with signs of discontent and disunity. While Frederick A. Schiotz, American president of the Lutheran World Federation, was making his opening speech, some forty young delegates wearing black armbands stood up and silently protested. After the meeting they explained their demonstration, stating: “The decision to hold the assembly in Evian rather than in Brazil was made by the leaders of the European and American [Lutheran] churches, without consulting the representatives of the underdeveloped countries.” Showing the extent to which the Lutheran churches were divided over this issue, the Paris daily Le Monde commented in a front-page article: “If the assembly had been held in Brazil, there would have been a large number of absentees. For example, the German and Scandinavian delegations would most likely have abstained from attending.”—July 16, 1970.

The assembly’s theme was “Sent into the world.” The principal subjects on the agenda were the following: obstacles to spreading the gospel; ecumenism and the problem of unity; participation and joint responsibility in modern society; peace and hunger in the world.

“Dissatisfaction and a Bad Conscience”

As the eleven days of the assembly passed by, the feeling of frustration and discontent grew among the delegates, particularly the younger ones. This feeling was reflected by the headlines of the news reports on the conference. Here are a few taken from two reliable French newspapers: “After Various Tribulations the Fifth Assembly of the Lutheran World Federation Opened Yesterday in Evian” (Le Figaro, July 15); “Young Delegates Challenge the Policy of the Lutheran World Federation” (Le Monde, July 16); “Delegates at the Lutheran Federation Assembly Worried by Ecumenical Problems” (Le Figaro, July 17); “Young Lutheran Delegates Demonstrate Passively in Front of Convention Palace in Evian” (Le Figaro, July 18/19); “Church Delegates Considered Unrepresentative at Lutheran World Assembly” (Le Monde, July 22); “Lutherans Try to Overcome Their Reserve on Political and Social Problems.”—Le Monde, July 26/27.

Toward the end of the assembly André Appel, French general-secretary of the Lutheran World Federation, listed the following unsolved problems: (1) the question of what has been called “the vertical dimension” of the gospel (relations between man and God); (2) the part the church should play in politics, particularly the universal church reduced to silence by conflicting national interests and differences of opinion; (3) the extent to which the church can and should manifest solidarity with those who are suffering (fighting for liberation, revolutions); (4) the definition of the Lutheran World Federation as a church community.

Pastor Marc Lienhard, of the Lutheran Institute for Ecumenical Research in Strasbourg, France, stated bluntly that the assembly risked looking like “a theater of ecclesiastical puppets whose strings are pulled simply by their will to survive.”

Le Monde made this comment: “Dissatisfaction and a bad conscience—such are the dominant feelings of the some two hundred and fifty delegates taking part in the Lutheran World Federation Assembly being held in Evian.” During a press conference, a spokesman for the young delegates states: “We expect nothing whatsoever to come out of this assembly.”

Nonetheless, the assembly’s secretariat turned out reams of memorandums and reports. One delegate remarked: “The four evangelists required just a few pages to write down the message preached by Jesus during the three years of his public life, whereas the deliberations in Evian have filled tens of thousands of mimeographed pages.”

At one point, a group of young delegates demonstrated in front of the assembly hall, tearing up assembly reports and throwing them into wastepaper baskets, stating: “We would do better to confess our inability to express ourselves clearly, rather than saying so many empty words.” Reporting on the same incidents, Le Monde added: “Make no mistake! These demonstrators in Evian are not revolutionaries. Several of them are clergymen’s sons and theology students.”—July 22.

Summing up the results of the Fifth Lutheran General Assembly, Le Figaro wrote: “The long report resulting from the deliberations of the assembly and of the subcommittees emphasizes above all the differences that exist between the various Lutheran Churches . . . and expresses the hope that a better dialogue between them will result in a common union based on one baptism, one Communion and one set of Holy Scriptures.”—July 24.

The report also recommended that the dialogue should be extended to include the Reformed (Calvinistic) churches, the Roman Catholic Church, the Anglican Communion and the Orthodox churches. More active exchanges with the World Council of Churches were proposed. Finally, the report insisted on the need to increase contacts with the Methodists, the Baptists, the Pentecostals and even atheists, with a view to better mutual understanding!

“Will History Give Us Enough Time?”

Speaking in Évian of the need for seeking reconciliation within Christendom, and particularly between the Roman Catholic and the Lutheran churches, Doctor Kent S. Knutson, president of the Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa, asked: “Will History give us enough time?”

Evidently Knutson senses that time is running out for Christendom. He is right. Contemporary history confronted with Bible prophecy shows this to be so. The churches of Christendom will have to move fast if they hope to unite before history—God-directed history—catches up with them. But there are few signs of any real will to overcome the barriers dividing the churches one from another and within themselves.

Speaking at the Fifth Lutheran General Assembly, Cardinal Willebrands listed the obstacles to unity between the Lutheran and Roman Catholic churches, mentioning the priesthood, papal authority, the infallibility of the pope, the position of the Virgin Mary, etc. He admitted that on some of these issues “the opposing views have become even more marked.”

As to the hope of unity among the Protestant churches, Doctor Tödt, professor of theology at Heidelberg University, Germany, stated in Évian: “Among the members of the World Council of Churches a backward movement can also be felt. Disappointed at the results obtained during the first ten years, many of these churches are returning to their local or regional isolation.”

The Lutheran Church is itself deeply divided. As shown by this Fifth General Assembly, the churches grouped within the Lutheran World Federation are far from united. Moreover, some twenty million Lutherans belong to Lutheran churches that refuse to join the World Federation. It is reported that “in Sweden there is even a Lutheran Church that practices intercommunion with the Church of England but refuses to do so with the other Lutheran Churches.”—Le Monde, July 26/27.

“Is Christ divided?” (1 Cor. 1:13, Authorized Version) Certainly not! Then if you belong to a divided church that is a part of divided Christendom, is it not high time you sought Christ’s true congregation elsewhere? ‘Will History give you enough time’ to do so?

An Appeal to Sincere Lutherans

Yes! But there is no time to lose! So what should you do? Seek true Christianity “based on . . . one set of Holy Scriptures.” Paradoxically enough, Cardinal Willebrands paid the following tribute to Luther in Évian: “Luther did something remarkable for his day in making the Bible the departure point for Christian theology and life.” And in its article on Lutheranism, the Encyclopædia Britannica (1965, Vol. 14, p. 447) states: “The formal principle of Lutheran theology is its insistence that the canonical Scriptures are the only source and norm of Christian faith and practice.”

Yet in July 1965, when Roman Catholic and Lutheran scholars met in Baltimore, they said in a joint statement: “We confess in common the Nicene Faith.” But the Nicene Creed expounds the enigmatic dogma of the trinity, which is nowhere to be found in the Bible. Even a Lutheran theologian, Professor N. Leroy Norquist, admitted: “The doctrine of the Trinity cannot be ‘puzzled out.’ . . . The men who framed it designed it as a tool to be used against heretics . . . in such a way that they could finally say, ‘Unless you believe this you’re not a true believer.’” (The Lutheran, June 15, 1960, pages 11, 12) So which do you believe, the Nicene Creed or the Bible? The choice is inevitable.

Another basic creed of the Lutheran churches is the Augsburg Confession. This profession of faith asserts that “ungodly men and the devils He [Christ] shall condemn to be tormented without end.” Yet the canonical Scriptures state: “The wages of sin is death.” (Rom. 6:23, Authorized Version) Do you believe in the Augsburg Confession or in the Bible? You must choose, and time is running out!

The year 1970 happens to be the 450th anniversary of the publication of Luther’s early reform treatise entitled “Address to the German Nobility, The Babylonic Captivity of the Church”—meaning the Roman Catholic Church. Unfortunately, having abandoned “its insistence that the canonical Scriptures are the only source and norm of Christian faith and practice,” the Lutheran churches show that they are a part of the world empire of Babylonish religions, prophetically called “Babylon the Great.” Current events and Bible prophecy show that this world empire of false religion is fast nearing its end. History will not give it time to unite for survival. Babylon must go! But you need not be destroyed with her. The Bible says: “Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues.”—Rev. 17:1-5; 18:1-5, AV.

Accept help! Write the publishers of this magazine for a free six-month course of home Bible study. Jehovah’s witnesses are already helping hundreds of thousands of people to build their faith on the Holy Scriptures as “the only source and norm of Christian faith and practice.”

Why the Moon Shines

● No doubt at night you have seen signs that reflect light. This is possible because the letters on these signs are coated with a layer of tiny glass beads a fraction of a millimeter in diameter. Then they are covered with plastic. When an automobile’s headlights shine on them they reflect the light.

Recent scientific research has revealed that man was not the first to use this type of light reflector. Evidence on the surface of the moon shows that the one who first utilized this reflective principle was the Creator of the universe.

Scientists, examining moon material brought back to earth by the astronauts, have found that as much as 50 percent of the moon’s “soil” is made up of glass. This glass is in different shapes. Some of it is perfectly round, elliptical, teardrop-shaped, or dumbbell-shaped. Also the glass ranges in size from tiny specks up to beads a millimeter (about 1/25 inch) in size.

The surfaces of these glass beads are very smooth. When a light is shined on them they are extremely lustrous. Dr. Wernher von Braun, prominent in United States spaceflight programs, wrote of them as “glistening in sunlight like light-reflecting glass beads in a highway sign.” While most of this glass is colorless, some of it is brown, yellow, red or green.

Even the moon’s rocks show that they were made to reflect light, for they are pitted with small glass-lined hollows. Some of them are covered with spattered drops of glass and appear as if they were glazed.

Further, in their moon walk, at the bottom of small craters the astronauts found glinting spangles in the form of glazed spots resembling splashes of molten solder. These were on rocks and on the soil.

How marvelously accurate is the statement at Genesis 1:16 in the Holy Bible where the moon is described as being a “luminary for dominating the night”!

Living with Typhoons

By “Awake!” correspondent in the Philippines

CONVENED in Quezon City, Philippine Republic, during December 1969, a group of international experts had some vital business to which to attend. Peoples of the whole Pacific area were keenly interested. The subject of discussion was not political. No, for this was the second annual meeting of the Typhoon Committee of the World Meteorological Organization and United Nations Economic Commission for Asia and the Far East.

As a subject of discussion, typhoons are of more than just curious interest to the populations of the Western Pacific. In fact, many of those people have experienced the fury of a typhoon. They have seen roofs of homes carried away. They have seen entire homes smashed as though made of paper and matchsticks. They have known the terror of muddy water swirling around their homes—water that fell in sheets during the course of the storm. They have cowered and waited helplessly as one-hundred-mile-per-hour winds lashed at the whole countryside.

So it is not surprising that the week-long deliberations of this commission were attended by delegates from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand and the Philippines. Also represented by observers were such other interested countries as Australia, France, the Netherlands, Russia, Britain and the United States. All were anxious to see what might be done to restrain this capricious giant, the typhoon, when it goes on the rampage.

Some Typhoon Facts

What is a typhoon? The word describes a weather phenomenon in which the wind blows around a low pressure area. In the same family with typhoons are whirlwinds, tornadoes and waterspouts. But the typhoon is the largest of them all in breadth, in height and in wind velocity. Indeed, when the wind speed is in excess of seventy-five miles per hour, that is a typhoon. Similar storms are called “hurricanes” in the Caribbean area and the eastern part of the United States.

When one considers the tremendous energy that is released by a typhoon, one cannot help wondering where it all comes from. The answer is that it comes from water vapor. But how? Just think of it in this way: Much heat is required completely to evaporate a kettle of water on a stove. All that heat is then locked, so to speak, in the water vapor. The energy absorbed during the process of evaporation could now be released if we caused the same amount of water vapor to condense back into the liquid state.

By this same process, in an average-size typhoon, there is the equivalent of 40,000 hydrogen bombs in energy. This helps us to see that for a typhoon to maintain its intensity there must be a continuous water supply. And it explains why, when passing over land, the typhoon tends to speed up and lose strength, but when it is over water it will slow down and increase in intensity.

What are the conditions that spawn typhoons? Up to this time scientists have been unable to come up with the complete answer. Some of the contributing factors, however, are known. Here are three of them: (1) A warm ocean surface with a sea temperature of at least 26° Celsius (79° F.); (2) a thick layer of moist air that extends to a height of two miles or more; and (3) sufficient latitude, since tropical storms cannot form at the equator, and seldom form within five degrees of the equator. The main area for formation of typhoons that affect Southeast Asia is the region south of Guam but north of the equator in the Pacific Ocean. A second area is the China Sea.

Need for Improved Warning Systems

One of the main considerations at this meeting of the Typhoon Committee was how to improve warning systems so that people would have ample time to protect themselves and their property. When you consider the vast expanse of ocean that constitutes the main spawning region of typhoons, it is easy to understand how great is the difficulty of establishing weather stations. As of now, forecasters are relying on radar reports, satellite pictures, and charts of previous weather patterns in order to locate the buildup of storms.

As these buildups are located, aircraft are sent out to check on their progress and to plot their positions. Barometric pressures are recorded, as well as wind speed and other factors that may help in determining the life, speed, course and distance of the storm. On the basis of these reports maps are made and warnings prepared for distribution to the public through the news media.

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Awake!, November 22, 1970