Awake!, February 8, 1971

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Awake! — February 8, 1971

Source: jw.org

Contents

Does Your Job Own You?

Death Valley—Does It Live Up to Its Name?

What the “New Math” Teaches Your Child

Getting God’s Viewpoint on Marriage

Pope’s Visit Spotlights Church in Philippines

Insect Burglar Alarms

“Those Who Delayed Their Flight Too Long”

Effect of Marijuana Use

Britain’s Mantle of Garbage—‘Dirty Jobs’ Strike Bring Havoc

Worship of the Deadly Asp

The Word of God Keeps On Growing in Chile

Who Wrote Second Peter?

Watching the World

The Watchtower and Awake! Are Printed Here!

Do You Know What This Is?

Does Your Job Own You?

Does Your Job Own You?

“WE DON’T really live. We merely exist. Our only excuse for existing is to serve our jobs,” Earl complained bitterly.

Mr. Kinley,a his superior and luncheon companion, nodded. “We are slaves. Our jobs own us.”

“Look at the sales record I turned in last year. And how do you appreciate it? You tell me to do 10 percent better this year.”

“That,” reminded Mr. Kinley, “is the coldhearted corporation speaking through me to you. My job is to s-t-r-e-t-c-h men.”

The older man reflected ruefully that things had not been so impersonal, so dehumanizing before the company merged with the giant “growth” corporation. Before the merger the company president was also the owner. Relationships were more on a personal basis. There was room for understanding and fellow feeling. But little was left of those days except tattered confidences between himself and a few people like Earl. Even these confidences were superficial. Down deep Mr. Kinley was not about to reveal his real convictions.

“Now we’re part of a big growth corporation,” said Earl, his voice loaded with sarcasm. “Our stock is on the public market. Anybody with money can buy a claim on us. They invest their dollar. Without turning a hand they want two dollars back. That means we sweat out more profits. Never mind how, just make profits. The only way we can get even is to make a shoddy product.”

Trapped by Giantism

This real-life luncheon conversation between Earl and Mr. Kinley is common whenever men feel trapped in the modern business world, often to corporation giants. It is a trap that few seem able to spring. They were, Mr. Kinley reflected, shaking two helpless fists in the face of Commercialism, That face is set in lines of greed etched in steel, transfixed by a spirit defined by an executive of a giant American steel corporation as quoted by Fortune: “We’re not in business to make steel, we’re not in business to build ships, we’re not in business to erect buildings. We’re in business to make money.”

Growth, by expansion, by merger, by any means, is the hallowed highway to profits and more profits.

A society in which the central drive is profit by growth generates a competitive race between businesses, accelerating them toward the status of giantism. Vanishing is the influence of the small tradesman whose store was his empire, the artisan whose skill was his wealth, the farmer who owned his acres and was greatly self-sufficient. “This is the age of the vast multibillion-dollar corporation,” writes Fred J. Cook in his book The Corrupted Land. “It is, increasingly, the age of the computer and automation. . . . The result has been not just that the individual has been driven into a corporate existence, but that the small corporation has been driven into the larger. This irreversible thrust toward the creation of ever more awesome structures of power has featured the entire post-World War II era.”

From 1950 to 1960 more than a thousand major American businesses merged. The pace accelerated during the 1960’s. Well over two thirds of United States industry (transportation, manufacturing, mining and utilities) today is controlled by just a few hundred corporations. A mere 316 manufacturing corporations employ 40 percent of all working Americans. In such a world, observes Cook, the individual’s will weakens and his conscience atrophies.

To author Erich Fromm it is a frightening reversal of order: “What is alive are the organizations, the machines; . . . man has become their slave rather than being their master.” Men become no more than well-oiled cogs in the machines: “The oiling is done with higher wages, fringe benefits, well-ventilated factories and piped music, and by psychologists and human-relations experts; . . . none of his feelings or his thoughts originate with himself; none is authentic. He has no convictions, either in politics, religion, philosophy. . . . He identifies himself with the giants and idolizes them as the true representatives of his own human powers, those of which he has dispossessed himself.”

Unethical Practices

Another reason why many businessmen feel trapped is the strong trend toward unethical practices. In fact, the historian who wrote of ancient Carthage, “Nothing which results in profit is regarded as disgraceful,” could let the words stand for the business world today. The Harvard Business Review, interviewing 1,700 business executives, found that four out of seven believed that every other executive in their company would violate a code of ethics anytime he felt that he could get away with it. Four out of five admitted that their own firm was unethical, guilty of some such practices as bribery, hiring of prostitutes for customers, price rigging, untruthful advertising, antitrust violations, falsifying financial statements to get loans or credit and handing out or accepting kickbacks.

Then there is the race to climb the corporate ladder of positions. As one oil company executive admitted: “Some people in this company will do just anything to get ahead.” Doing “just anything to get ahead” leads to many unethical practices, what has been described as “trickery, a venomous subtlety and a complete lack of ethics.” The book The Corrupted Land tells of executive backstabbing and throat cutting being done in hundreds of businesses with “gangland professionalism.”

“Is it possible for a man to move up through the ranks of management solely by honest, decent methods?” Modern Office Procedures magazine asked its executive readers. Nearly all responded, “No.”

Any unscrupulous methods employed tend to become contagious. Warns New York management consultant Norman Jaspen: “When you have dishonesty at the top, it spreads downward like a catching disease.” Those who want to avoid catching a diseased morality may well feel trapped.

“Planned Obsolescence”

Another reason some businessmen feel trapped in their job is that they cannot manufacture products of the high quality that they would like to. The trend is toward “planned obsolescence.” This means that the producer makes his product somewhat shoddy on purpose, but not obviously so. Thus, the product wears out sooner and the customer will have to buy another. This practice is called by a writer on economics “an integral part of the American economy.”

General Motors turned other corporations green with envy when it led the auto industry into adopting the “planned obsolescence‘’ policy of changing models of cars every year. One critic commented that pioneer auto builder Henry Ford, with his idea of building a car that would last for years, would be “a positive national menace today.”

Outstripping all of “free enterprise” combined is governmental spending on arms, called “a delightful stimulant to the economy in a society of waste because military weapons become so quickly obsolescent and must be perpetually renewed.”

“Planned obsolescence” results in a cycle. Businesses encourage debt, make consumer credit easier and set off the endless cycle that Business Week called “Borrow. Spend. Buy. Waste. Want.”

No Positions of Quiet Retreat

Mr. Kinley faced a personal dilemma. He was sick and tired of his job. Top management completely ignored his pleas against flooding the market with shoddy merchandise. Since the company merged into the corporate conglomerate the pressure to stretch men and bloat production had only intensified. Most men around him were the conformist type, taking to corporate ethics like ducks to water, hungry for advancement. How does one man stand up against an overwhelming, ruthless, impersonal corporate power that uses and drains and discards men?

What alternatives were there? As long as the company had been small and independent it was possible in a few instances that, as a man grew older, he could withdraw into the security of a quiet, fixed position to which younger men hardly aspired. But now there was a corporation chart hanging in the general manager’s office, a chart shaped like a pyramid. Every position was a block in that pyramid, a step of ascension upon which younger, stronger, abler men were ever eager to climb.

Stress Illness

Mr. Kinley knew deep down that the danger signals in his nervous system were crying “crisis.” Businessmen who sport their ulcers like badges of honor have a euphemism for it​—the word “stress.”

What help could he get from the company psychologist? Mr. Kinley knew what he would advise: “Scrub your scruples and play the business game by its own rules.” In his book Business as a Game Albert Z. Carr says: “Men whose economic decisions and actions are overcharged with personal feelings find it difficult to endure the stress of business.” He advises businessmen to reserve their scruples for everyday life, because “the strategy of business is sharply differentiated from the ideals of private life.” Andrew M. Hacker in an article entitled “The Making of a [Corporation] President” concurs: “How he reacts to this challenge [of condoning a shoddy product] will be noted by his superiors.’’ Not only will the man who is too squeamish to “play the game” hardly become president, but, as Carr adds: “He will be lucky if he holds on to any executive job and manages to avoid stress illness.”

Troubled executives, all through their thirties and forties, if they have survived, have competed in a world that demands achievement. Constant assertive drive sets them going at a pace that eventually overtakes their entire personalities. Then, as they enter their fifties they find themselves unable to decelerate, to relax, to adjust to the aging process. Those who cannot face reality, says Professor William E. Henry of the University of Chicago, “literally race themselves to death.”

Modern business often drives men unceasingly, relentlessly to a churning of destructive attitudes within them​—fear, hate, anger, jealousy, suspicion, frustration, envy, guilt, insecurity, self-doubt.

Mr. Kinley was finding himself not only tense, nervous and short-tempered, but, worst of all, exhausted. It was a kind of dark, dismal exhaustion. He could not close the door on his business vexations at the end of the day and shut them out of his mind at home. A hangover of exhaustion built up from Monday until, by the weekend, he needed Saturday and Sunday just to rest and recover.

Springing the Jaws of the Corporate Trap

But at fifty-four years of age what chance did he have of finding employment elsewhere? Where could he find a position that paid as well in money, prestige and benefits? True, there were competitors that would gladly hire a man of his maturity and qualifications if he would help them overtake his present company. But that meant climbing as hard or harder up their corporate pyramid.

First he must resolve​—and reconcile his family to it also—​that relief from job pressure might be a commodity that one buys and pays for. The cost? Possibly a lowered living standard. Money must no longer be the sole measuring rod of values.

To get a sensible view of money is important, Mr. Kinley knew. The Bible had put it clearly: “The love of money is a root of all sorts of injurious things, and by reaching out for this love some have been led astray from the faith and have stabbed themselves all over with many pains.”​—1 Tim. 6:10.

Mr. Kinley sensed that if he wanted to live much longer he must make a change. Something in his own body and mind was telling him the same thing that a fifteen-year study by Duke University’s Medical Center had concluded: work satisfaction is one of the most vital factors for a long life.

A week after that luncheon hour with Earl, Mr. Kinley quietly handed in his resignation.

Within two months he was working three to four days a week as an independent consultant serving smaller companies in his field. He was not earning as much money as before. He had lost some valuable fringe benefits, such as group insurance. It was the price he was paying for relief from job pressure. Was it worth it?

In his own mind, Yes. “I feel an infinitely superior inner happiness. I sprang the corporation trap. Now I have time for hobbies, for study and reflection, time to flex my own thinking abilities. Now I work to live. I hope I never again have to live just to work.”

This true-life account of one American businessman raises the question for you: Does your job own you?

[Footnotes]

The names in this true-life account of an American businessman have been changed.

Death Valley—Does It Live Up to Its Name?

Death Valley​—Does It Live Up to Its Name?

THE name Death Valley is known the world over. But many persons know little about the place itself. Is it really a valley of death? Where is it located? Why is it so famous?

Death Valley is in the United States, in eastern California near the Nevada border, approximately 250 miles northeast of Los Angeles. It is a valley from about six to fourteen miles wide and 130 miles long. In 1933 the valley and surrounding mountains, an area of nearly 3,000 square miles, was established as a national monument, being called Death Valley National Monument.

The valley itself is a vast sunken area, 550 square miles of which is below the surface level of the ocean. Here, near Badwater, is found the lowest point in the western hemisphere, 282 feet below sea level. But, ironically, it is only eighty miles from Mount Whitney, which, at 14,496 feet, is the highest point in the United States outside of Alaska.

On the western edge of the valley is Telescope Peak, rising to 11,045 feet. From Badwater it is one continuous climb to the summit. This peak is indeed remarkable in the way that it towers above its immediate surroundings. What a marvelous view is obtained from it!

In the distant past a large lake occupied Death Valley. Then, as the aridity increased, the lake decreased in size and finally evaporated, with heavy concentrations of salts in the water being deposited. This left some two hundred square miles of a salty sink, which is the lowest, hottest and driest area of the valley.

The Climate and Its Effect on Life

The blazing sun raises temperatures in the valley to record-breaking heights, making it dangerous to humans. On July 10, 1913, a shade temperature of 134.6° F. was recorded, which was then the highest recorded in the world. But nine years later a Libyan village reported 136.4° F., to take the world heat record, which it still holds.

Death Valley ground temperatures frequently reach 185° F. One mother, as the wife of Death Valley’s chief park naturalist, reported that she hard-boiled eggs by burying them in her youngster’s sandbox. And she made tea by placing tea bags in a jar of water set out in the sun.

Death Valley also is one of the driest places on earth. Humidity drops to less than one fourth of one percent! But the weather does moderate in the winter, and from November to May the climate can be nearly ideal.

Rainfall averages only about two inches a year. Brief sprinkles usually occur during spring and fall. Steady downpours are infrequent. But when they do occur, the moisture brings to life seeds that may have lain dormant for many years. Areas of the desert then become blanketed with a wide range of pretty flowers​—primroses, poppies, sunflowers, and so forth. Twenty-two plants in the valley region are said to be found nowhere else on earth.

Despite the extreme heat and aridity, a remarkable number of animals also live here. Some twenty-six species of mammals have been recorded on the valley floor, including coyote, kit fox and kangaroo rat. There are also many varieties of lizards, snakes, spiders and insects. But perhaps most remarkable is the fact that the land reportedly supports 230 species of birds.

Would you believe that fish live in Death Valley too? They do! The tiny desert pupfish, rarely exceeding two inches in length, lives in shallow Salt Creek, the only year-round stream in the valley. Observed James E. Deacon, Professor of Biology at the University of Nevada:

“We’ve recorded water temperatures from 111°F. down to 39°, and the pupfish show no ill effects. From our laboratory work we know they can survive readings as low as 33°, and we suspect that this fish may be able to tolerate water as much as five times saltier than the sea.”

With its plant and fish rarities, its high mountains, its barren hills, its vast salt deposits, golden sand dunes, warm winter temperatures and other features, Death Valley National Monument has become a real tourist attraction. In 1969 half a million people visited it. But what is the significance of its name​—Death Valley?

Origin of the Name

This takes us back over 120 years. In 1848 gold was discovered at Sutter’s Mill near Sacramento in northern California. Soon caravans of wagons, people and supplies were heading there to ‘strike it rich.’

A location near Salt Lake City, Utah, became the point from which the long, hazardous trip began. A wide, dry desert, which is now the state of Nevada, had to be traversed, and then there were the high Sierra Nevada Mountains to be crossed. Deep snows made these impassable much of the year.

Therefore, late in 1849, a caravan of nearly one hundred wagons embarked from Salt Lake, seeking a route around the Sierra Nevadas to the south. Due to miscalculations and a faulty map, the wagons wandered into Death Valley. It was obvious that the gold seekers were lost. There was dissension among them, and they separated into fear-haunted little bands, each searching for ways out through the mountain walls.

One good-sized group, tired and discouraged after eighty days on the trail, camped near a spring under Telescope Peak. From there two young men, Lewis Manly and John Rogers, left to obtain help and supplies. They had no idea of the torturous test of endurance ahead of them. After getting out of the valley, they trudged on, crossing the great Mojave Desert to the coastal country, a 250-mile journey!

Obtaining supplies, they started on the return trip. How happily they were received, after being gone twenty-six days! Abandoning the wagons, the entire party of gaunt men, women and children began the long journey to safety. Reportedly, as they crossed over the Panamint mountain range, they looked back at the great white valley for the last time, and someone said, “Good-bye, Death Valley.” The name stuck.

Although, thanks to Manly and Rogers, this party survived, others were not so fortunate. From three to eight persons of the caravan are reported to have perished in the valley. And if a person does not treat the extreme heat and aridity of Death Valley with respect, it can live up to its name today.

What the “New Math” Teaches Your Child

What the “New Math” Teaches Your Child

PARENTS frequently find the “new math” perplexing, especially when their child gets 100 percent for writing 1 + 1 = 10 or 8 + 6 = 2. It is no wonder that a mother was heard to exclaim, “It’s beyond me!” when she saw her fifth grader’s homework.

Not just a few parents in the United States have been deeply disturbed to find their children using mathematical systems completely foreign to their experience. “In the old days,” wrote one concerned father, “a kid could bring home his homework and his parents would go over it with him, making corrections or giving encouragement. But today the homework is so complicated that neither the kid nor his parents know what is going on.”

Even teachers have had to be reeducated. And in some places night courses in the “new math” have been established for parents. But not all like the idea of going to them. One mother, who had received university training for two years, refused to go. “Do you know what it’s like at my age to feel inadequate with second-grade subjects?” she asked. Another parent complained: “This stuff is ruining my relationship with my kids. They think I’m stupid!”

What is the “new math”? Why is it being taught? Is it really better than the old way of teaching mathematics?

Why the “New Math”

The average person no doubt thinks of mathematics as a static subject, but it is far from that. It is estimated that more new mathematics has been created in the past sixty years or so than in all previous centuries combined. Yet the content of math courses changed little in three hundred years. One authority observed that a seventeenth-century teacher could walk into a math class a few years ago and start teaching without difficulty. But a teacher of history, science or language could not do this, since the content of these courses had changed radically. So educators had long felt the need to update mathematics courses.

In the United States public support for such changes was provided when Russia successfully launched its Sputnik in 1957. After that startling space achievement an urgent need was felt for more and better scientists, and, since science rests on mathematics, better math courses. The reformation in math teaching had already begun to a limited extent in higher schools of learning. Now it gained momentum, moving down through elementary schools too.

The purpose of the “new math” courses is to give children a confident understanding of the structure and relation of numbers to one another. They aim to help students to understand the way numeral systems are built up and the laws that govern their behavior. So, instead of simply prescribing rules and emphasizing drill in applying them, “new math” endeavors to go back to the sources of the rules to show that they are valid.

“New math” also introduces children early to advanced mathematical concepts. It shows the interrelation of the various branches of mathematics, such as algebra and geometry, rather than considering them as separate topics.

The “new math” might be compared to a cooking course in which effort is made, not only to provide practice in following the prescribed steps of a recipe, but also to help the student to understand the properties of the various ingredients and their effect when in combination with other ingredients. So the student not only learns how to prepare a particular dish, but also learns why the end product comes out the way it does. Thus the student is helped to obtain a better overall picture of cooking, and so, hopefully, will be a better cook.

Similarly, by helping young math students see the reason for rules and introducing them early to advanced concepts, it is hoped that they will be better equipped to work out solutions to problems and to pursue courses in higher mathematics.

Putting Numerals Together

Not all “new math” courses are alike. There may be considerable variety in them from one school to the next. But as a rule the courses try to teach children why numerals are put together in the way they are. This may seem simple enough, but really it is an artful development of centuries.

For instance, if you could ask someone unacquainted with our present-day numeral system what would be left if 5 was taken from 155, he would probably say 15. Do not be surprised, or think him ignorant. For consider: Does it not really seem that if you take 5 away from 155 it leaves only 15?

Do you say the answer should be 150? But where did you get the 0? Why did you turn one of the 5’s into 0? Could 15 really be the right answer? The “new math” endeavors to answer such basic questions so that children really understand, and do not simply give answers according to the dictates of rules.

If an ancient Egyptian were here he would probably give the answer 15 to the above problem. And he no doubt would assert strongly that he was correct. Do you know why? It is because Egyptians and other ancient peoples used a different numeral system. If they took one numeral (that is, a symbol representing a number) away from a series of numerals, the new sum would simply be the total of the remaining numerals. The sum did not depend upon the order in which the numerals were placed; the numerals kept their respective value whatever their position.

But this is not true today, is it? For 155 is not the same as 551. Why do the 5’s have a different value depending upon their position? It is because we today have a numeral system different from those of the ancient Egyptians, Greeks and other peoples. It is a system created long ago in which the numerals have different values, depending upon their position. The “new math” impresses upon children how this place-value system works.

Decimal Numeral System

Today the decimal numeral system is used in most parts of the world. It is a system that employs ten numerals, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. In this system each position has a value ten times greater than the position to its right. The numeral in the first position represents a number equal to itself. So the numeral 5 represents the number 5. But if the 5 is one place to the left of the first position, it represents 5 tens, if two positions to the left, 5 hundreds, three positions to the left, 5 thousands, and so on.

The “new math” courses endeavor to demonstrate to children the value of numerals according to their position. Thus students may be taught to add like this:

5,555 = 5,000 + 500 + 50 + 5

2,222 = 2,000 + 200 + 20 + 2

7,000 + 700 + 70 + 7 = 7,777

And they may learn to subtract something like this:

346 = 300 + 40 + 6 = 300 + 30 + 16

239 = 200 + 30 + 9 = 200 + 30 + 9

100 + 00 + 7 = 107

Different Numeral Systems

The decimal system is called a base-ten numeral system. But any other numeral base can be used. Babylonians used a complex base-sixty system and the Mayas of Yucatán calculated in base twenty. Today computers use the base-two system. “New math” courses familiarize young children with different numeral systems. The purpose of this is to help them gain a better understanding of the familiar decimal system, and of arithmetic in general.

The base-five system is perhaps the easiest one to learn, and it may be taught to your fourth or fifth grader. In this system, which uses only the numerals 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, each position has a value five times greater than the position to the right. Thus in the number 324, the first numeral represents itself, or 4. The second numeral, instead of representing 2 tens as in the decimal system, represents 2 fives. And the third numeral, instead of representing 3 hundreds, represents 3 twenty-fives. So 324 in the base-five numeral system is really 89 in the base-ten system!

This same pattern is followed in every numeral system. Thus in the base-six system each position has a value six times greater than the position to the right. And in the base-eight system each position has a value eight times greater than the position to the right. Note the value of the number 324 in the numeral systems below as compared with its value in the decimal system.

324 in base five = 75 + 10 + 4 or 89

324 in base six = 108 + 12 + 4 or 124

324 in base eight = 192 + 16 + 4 or 212

Now do you see why your child may get 100 percent for writing 1 + 1 = 10? In the base-two system the result of 1 + 1 can be written as 10, because the 0 equals nothing and the 1 that is one position to the left of the 0 represents, not ten as it would in the decimal system, but only two! The base-two system uses only the two numerals, 0 and 1. And each position has a value two times greater than the position to the right. So do you see why 111 in the base-two numeral system is equal to 7 in the decimal system? And why 1111 is equal to 15? Can you figure out what 1010 in the base-two system is equal to in the decimal system?

“But how does 8 + 6 = 2?” you may ask. “How can a child be correct in giving this answer?” It is the right answer in the modulo-twelve system.

Modular arithmetic is used to describe events that occur in regular cycles. A common cycle that occurs twice a day, in millions of homes is the passage of the hands of a clock past the numerals standing for the hours of the day. A typical “new math” problem for perhaps fifth or sixth graders is: “If it’s eight o’clock now, what time will it be in six hours?” The answer, disregarding a.m. and p.m., is two o’clock. So 8 + 6 does equal 2!

“New math” students are thus introduced to concepts that may be met in their greater complexities later on. Modular arithmetic, for instance, is used to describe the functioning of electrical generators and gasoline engines in mathematical terms. Its mastery is essential to the work of some persons.

Set Concept

At the core of many “new math” courses is the set concept, which is taught at every grade level. It is a concept so all-prevailing that it permeates the advanced writings of mathematicians, and yet it can be used to teach arithmetic principles to the youngest children.

For instance, a kindergarten child may be shown a picture that has sets of 3 birds, 2 balloons, 3 apples, 2 boys, 3 bicycles and 4 lollipops, and be asked to circle each set that has 3 objects in it. In this way the child learns the idea of a number as the common property of these sets. Then the child can move on to grasp the idea of numbers expressed as numerals.

By gaining familiarity with the way sets operate, children learn elements common to arithmetic, algebra and geometry. It is hoped that this will prepare them to handle more advanced mathematics later on.

Appraisal of “New Math”

Many educators are enthusiastic about the “new math” programs. They feel that students learn much faster. Professor David A. Page, who edited a new elementary math program, asserted: “I can now teach third- or fourth-graders more about mathematical functions in one hour than I used to be able to teach college freshmen in two weeks.”

But this enthusiasm for “new math” is by no means shared by all. In addition to the resounding complaints heard from confused parents, many teachers are also perplexed. Reported Professor Robert Wirtz after visiting more than a hundred elementary schools in the United States: “The teachers I found are frightened. They don’t understand the new math or why they are supposed to teach it.”

Many mathematicians, too, are far from satisfied, including persons who worked on new programs. They feel that some of the programs are too sophisticated, too abstract, and that they fail to place enough emphasis on application to everyday life. One of the leading pioneers of the reform, Max Beberman, expressed fears that modern math may be “raising a generation of kids who can’t do computational arithmetic.”

So “new math” programs do have their shortcomings. Perhaps it was the feeling of urgency to keep abreast with Soviet space achievements that resulted in pitching many programs to the level of students with mathematical adeptness, neglecting the educational needs of others. Also, the lack of teachers who grasp the new concepts sufficiently well to teach them has been another shortcoming. And not to be minimized is the way “new math” has contributed to the generation gap in many homes, serving to alienate parents and children. So, whereas improvements were obviously needed in former math programs, it is questionable whether all the changes made have been the best ones.

Getting God’s Viewpoint on Marriage

Getting God’s Viewpoint on Marriage

AS TOLD TO “AWAKE!” CORRESPONDENT IN SURINAM

AS I look back, I can see that it all started so innocently. I was only nineteen years old and I met this young man who appealed to me very much. We went on dates together. We had lots of innocent fun. But soon the innocence of the situation had gone. I was pregnant.

I should mention that in my country it is not at all unusual for a man and woman to live together consensually, that is, without benefit of marriage ties. Many such couples even have the idea that just as soon as they legalize their consensual relationship trouble will start, since both partners then know that they are bound together by law. So they prefer to go on living without benefit of marriage.

What is more, the various church denominations, though not approving it outright, really condone it. So, many Catholic and Protestant church members are living together as though husband and wife in this consensual relationship. Although not considered eligible to partake of church Communion, they are otherwise reckoned to be in good standing with the church.

While carrying my child, I stayed at the home of my parents as is the custom, and my man friend continued to come there to see me. However, while carrying his second child, some shocking news came. Mother showed me a newspaper announcement telling of his promise of marriage to another woman! To my astonishment I read that the marriage would take place the following week. I felt that there must be some mistake, so when he next appeared I told him what I had read, hoping inwardly that he would deny it. But he calmly admitted that he had inserted the announcement, though maintaining that he would not actually marry the other woman. Gullibly I accepted his protestations that he cared only for me. Within the week’s time, to my bitter disappointment, he had married the other woman!

My parents undertook to provide for me and my children, if I would leave this man and have nothing more to do with him. This I agreed to, but two days after his marriage he was again at my door begging me to return to him. He claimed that he had married the other woman simply because of pressure from her parents when she became pregnant. Though I knew it was no way to live, his pleadings and promises broke me down and I left my parents for the home he rented for me.

I had now become what is known in Surinam as a buitenvrouw or “outside woman.” It is a situation that is quite common here. Men even argue that it is Scriptural, since Abraham and other patriarchs had concubines. They will declare that monogamy is the natural course for a woman, but not for a man. At this time in my life I was completely in the dark as to God’s viewpoint on marriage.

For five years he continued showing affection for me as we lived under these conditions. But suddenly his attitude changed. He became unbearable in his ways. Often, for no reason at all, he would beat me; and once, while I was pregnant with his fourth child, he pushed me down a flight of stairs. I can recall often praying to God to help me out of this frightening and deplorable condition.

Repeatedly I threatened to leave him, and three times I mustered sufficient strength and courage to do so. But each time I weakened and returned, for it seems I was terribly afraid that something horrible would happen to me and my children if I did not return. We constantly quarreled over the same problem​—our course in life. I kept insisting that this was no way to live and bring up children. This would lead to more beatings and temporary separations.

Help at the Right Time

Then one day a lady came to my home. She turned out to be one of Jehovah’s witnesses. I consented to her coming and conducting a weekly Bible study with me. However, at the same time my acquaintances prevailed on me to apply to a spiritist for help with my problems. The spiritist gave me a powderlike substance to be secretly added to my “husband’s” food and drink. That was supposed to clear up all the difficulties and restore my partner’s affection for me. But it brought no improvement. In fact, the situation steadily worsened.

After one of the weekly Bible studies I began to confide in my Witness friend about my circumstances, without mentioning my resort to spiritism. She kindly but firmly encouraged me to continue studying the Bible, and she held forth the hope that the seemingly insurmountable problems would vanish in due time. I ended by frankly confessing the truth about my marital situation. It was after this discussion that we came to a passage in the little Bible study aid, Living in Hope of a Righteous New World, that changed my whole pattern of thinking.

Here is the quotation from that booklet that arrested my attention: “The Christian would never, therefore, resort to demonism or witchcraft for protection or for healing purposes. The dedicated Christian is commanded by God to put faith in Him.” At the same time the Bible text at Ephesians 6:14-18 was referred to. There was also an accompanying illustration showing a Christian woman with a child strapped to her back, putting out her hand in rejection of the help of a witch doctor with his paraphernalia.

Later we also discussed an important section of the same publication dealing with “Honorable Conduct in Marriage.” During the discussion I learned that men today could not draw upon Abraham and other patriarchs as examples in the matter of having relations with more than one woman. With the coming of Christ the polygamy practiced by the Hebrews was to be tolerated no longer. Christian men were to be ‘husbands of one wife’ and ‘each woman was to have her own husband.’ (1 Tim. 3:2, 12; 1 Cor. 7:2) What a revelation this was!

And here is the paragraph in the booklet that really challenged me: “If your family life, because of custom or for some other reason, falls short of these Bible requirements, then certainly your hearing this fine counsel from the Bible presents you with a challenge. Will you make the needed change? If you do, you can be assured of a rich blessing from Jehovah, the Originator of marriage, and the One who will grant eternal life in a new world to all obedient families of mankind.”

Making the Right Decision

So I had to make up my mind. I must bring my life into harmony with God’s view on marriage. (Heb. 13:4) I must leave this man who is legally married to someone else. But how could I find the courage? I was terrified of him. He had threatened to kill me if I ever left him again. He even threatened harm to the Witness lady who studied the Bible with me.

The kind Witness lady kept strengthening me with the assurance that Jehovah promises help to those who seek to apply his righteous principles in their lives. (Ps. 34:7) She urged me to pray to Jehovah for his help. I appreciated her counsel and did as she said, but still the situation looked dark. Then one day I suddenly remembered that I still had some of that powder that had been given me by the spiritist. Right away I got rid of it.

Now things began to change. I had made up my mind. At our very next study I told the Witness lady: “I know I must leave this man in order to bring my life into harmony with what God expects. I am determined to do this. Would you help me find a small house for myself and six children?” She assured me she would do all she could to help.

Soon a house became available. While I was in the midst of packing our clothing my consensual partner came home. He could not believe that I was actually leaving him. When he saw how strong I was in my decision he started making many promises about a better life together. I remained firm in my resolve. It could only have been because Jehovah was helping me. He insisted that he be allowed to see the house I had rented, for he did not believe I really had one.

That very evening he came to my newly acquired home and pleaded with me to come back. Upon my refusal, he started beating me. I refused to be intimidated this time. Jehovah surely infused strength into me. And because of the disturbance caused by the beating the landlord forcibly put my ex-partner off the property and forbade him to come on the land again. Meantime I kept praying to Jehovah so that I might be helped to hold fast to my decision. He has never failed me.

Happy Results

What a relief it was to be at last living in harmony with Jehovah’s requirements! How happy and grateful my children were that I had made this decision! Their lives had been badly affected by the constant quarrels and beatings. Now they were filled with an inner contentment and happiness that was easily discernible to me as a mother.

There were problems, of course. Now I had to earn the living for my family. Happily, I was able to arrange for work between the hours of eight in the morning and two in the afternoon. This meant that I could be with my children when they came home from school. We attended Bible meetings of Jehovah’s witnesses as a group and so were really united as a family in our worship of Jehovah.

From time to time I would meet my former “husband” as I traveled to work or went shopping. When he began to talk to me I would silently pray to Jehovah for strength, and I always tried to give him a witness concerning God’s views on marriage or other Bible principles for living.

As I now look back on that day when I first began to learn about God’s view on marriage, I realize that it brought me face to face with the greatest challenge in my life so far. I still recall what a hard decision that was​—one involving such drastic changes. But today I must confess that the present happiness enjoyed by myself and my children far outweighs the difficulties through which we have come.

Jehovah has been a source of strength, and through him only could I have gained the fortitude needed to make the right decision and firmly remain with it. I am so grateful that Jehovah has provided his servants in these “last days” to help people like myself to change their life pattern and conform to his right view on marriage!

Pope’s Visit Spotlights Church in Philippines

Pope’s Visit Spotlights Church in Philippines

By “Awake!” correspondent in the Philippines

WHEN Pope Paul VI emerged from his jet plane in Manila to a red-carpet reception led by the president of the Philippines on November 27, 1970, history was being made. It was the first visit of a pope to the Far East and to the Philippines, which has been a predominantly Catholic country for over four hundred years.

The Pope’s visit threw the spotlight of publicity on the Philippine Catholic Church as never before. It was, in the words of a pastoral letter released by the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines, “an occasion to question the Catholic life,” and “an hour of self-examination.” One writer said that the Pope came to a “church in ferment,” while the Manila Times of June 13, 1970, commented that the church “faces perhaps the gravest challenge to confront it in 400 years in the Philippines.”

Why the ferment, the challenge and the need for self-examination? A look at what has been said publicly, mostly by Filipino Catholics themselves, is very revealing.

Many Religiously Ignorant

As early as June 9, 1970, the news bulletin of the Vatican Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples, Fides, while praising the Roman Catholic spirit of the Filipinos, admitted that “there is still a great deal of ignorance on the part of many Filipino Catholics.” It said that “religion at times tends to become superstition.” This was confirmed by Rufino J. Cardinal Santos, Archbishop of Manila, who was quoted as saying: “The greatest problem facing the church, however, is the ignorance of the faithful, insofar as the fundamentals of our religion are concerned.”

But why is this? Why are even those viewed as “the faithful” by the church religiously ignorant? One factor, pointed out by Pacifico Ortiz, rector of Ateneo University in Quezon City, is that the church does not have enough priests to care for a population that is now almost 38 million.

The Vatican bulletin Fides concurs, saying that in the Philippines there is an average of one priest for 5,865 Catholics, “but only about half the clergy is directly involved in parish work and the increase in priests is tending to fall behind the increase in population.” Because of this, according to the Manila Times of June 13, 1970, a large number of Catholics living in villages see a priest only once a year or not at all. But is the shortage of priests all there is to this matter of widespread religious ignorance?

Identified with the Rich

Linking the shortage of spiritual shepherds with the Pope’s visit, priest Ben A. Carreon had this to say: “The Pope might shed tears over the numerous priestless communities in the hinterland where flocks without shepherds cry out in vain for priestly ministry even as hundreds of priests cluster in religious communities to teach children of the elite how to diagram sentences, speak flawless English and be successful executives.”

Other writers similarly refer to the church in the Philippines as being popularly identified with the elite few who control much of the country’s wealth.

To show why people generally identify the church with the rich, the Sunday Times Magazine of November 15, 1970, published an article entitled “The Church and Its Properties.” The writer claims that if one were to liken the Catholic Church in the Philippines to a commercial business it could easily be listed as among “the top ten corporations in the country.”

To back up his statement he pointed to the archdiocese of Manila, the wealthiest in the nation. The article says that Mariano Gaviola, secretary-general of the Bishops Conference of the Philippines, confirmed that the church had assets at the Philippine Trust Bank worth between 25 and 30 million pesos (about $6,375,000 to $7,650,000), plus substantial shares in the Bank of the Philippine Islands, the San Miguel Corporation and the Monte de Piedad & Savings Bank. In addition the church has large interests in a radio station, a newspaper, a travel agency and a hospital. And through a subsidiary it owns and operates schools.

So the religious ignorance of Filipino Catholics is not simply due to a shortage of priests. Rather, the available priests are often concerned with other matters.

Not Practicing What They Preach

Catholics in the Philippines acknowledge that another serious problem faces the church. Rodolfo G. Tupas, Sunday Times Magazine writer, feels that “the greatest task facing the Church is the challenge of practising what it preaches.”

Twice this past year the Filipino bishops have spoken out against corrupt government officials, but other observing Catholics feel that the biggest share of responsibility for this problem should be placed at the feet of the church. Bishop Gaviola, for example, admits that “when the bishops condemn graft and corruption in the government or speak against the misuse of wealth, some people wonder whether it is not a case of the pan calling the pot black.”

Also pointing to the church, columnist Carmen Guerrero-Nakpil noted in her column on November 15, 1970, that Filipinos are the kind of people the church made. Two weeks later the same writer wrote that since the church in the Philippines has long been part of the nation’s political power it must now assume responsibility for ancient wrongs and injustices in the community.

Further, Alfredo Roces in his column in the Manila Times of June 3, 1970, said that the Pope’s visit would spotlight the Philippines as a Catholic nation for hundreds of years, and so the question is: What can the people show for it? Rufino J. Cardinal Santos himself admitted: “Whatever is the condition of the country, politically or otherwise, it reflects on the church.”

Is it just “sheer coincidence,” as one writer put it, that “there just happens to be more poverty, more social inequality, a smaller and later drive towards modernism in traditionally Catholic countries”?

These are not the accusations of atheists but are the sincere questions of Philippine Catholics. These are conditions that make Catholics everywhere ask whether their religion really is producing good fruits.

Appeal to the Youth and to the Poor

The foregoing are some of the problems that confronted the Pope during his three-day visit to Manila, November 27-29, 1970. It is not surprising therefore that, in addition to celebrating three masses during his visit, the Pope went out of his way to meet those who have been neglected or alienated by the church, namely, the youth and the poor.

Throughout Christendom it is widely known that young persons are turning away from the churches, and this is true in the Philippines too. Thus while he was here the Pope made an appeal to youth at the University of Santo Tomas, where he addressed a student rally and commended the dynamism of youth today.

The poor are another group that need attention, and so the Pope also appealed to them. In the slum section of Tondo, he visited the home of a poor family of ten, on which occasion he said: “I feel it is my duty to proclaim here before you that the Church loves you, loves you who are poor.” He continued, in a tacit admission of the church’s past neglect: “And so I must also say that the Church must show you love, give you assistance, and aid you also in a practical way and with her generous service.”

The Pope was thus facing up to the reality of what Bishop Gaviola had referred to several months previous: “If we lose the labor class and the youth, the church is bound to crumble.” But could it be that these groups are already lost? that the barn door, as it were, has been closed after the horses are gone?

As the Pope arrived, the Asian Bishops Conference, which was attended by bishops from fifteen Asian countries, was in session and gave much consideration to the same matters, as evidenced by its themes, “development of peoples of Asia” and “pastoral care of university students.”

The bishops’ committee in charge of pastoral care of university students noted that “60 percent of the Asian population is under 25 years of age.” This fact, it said, “adds a note of urgency to the growing Asian student activism.” The bishops also resolved that the Catholic church shall be the “Church of the Poor.” But will such a resolve convince the poor and win them over to a church that has long been identified with the rich?

Is It the Christlike Way?

Observers could not help noticing the emphasis placed on material social work rather than spiritual needs of the people. Thus a writer in the Daily Mirror of November 30, 1970, said: “Paul is modern. Attuned to a growingly agnostic, if not atheistic, world that considers the mention of God’s name a folly, Paul VI in his speeches made few references to the old-fashioned Catholic bywords of redemption, sanctification, salvation. In their place he uttered words with a sociological ring to them: brotherhood, harmony, cooperation, dynamism, social justice, peace.”

The question remains, however: Is this the Christlike way? Well, Jesus pointed to God’s heavenly kingdom as the means to bring about the reforms needed by mankind. But Dr. Benito F. Reyes, President of the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (City University of Manila), himself a Catholic, recently said of the Catholic church: “Its purpose seems no longer heaven; its goal now seems to be largely earth. It has big temples and magnificent altars; but it has small faith and very little love.”

But does not the Bible show the need for Christians to care for those physically in need? Yes, but note what the Bible also says in this regard: “The form of worship that is clean and undefiled from the standpoint of our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their tribulation, and to keep oneself without spot from the world.” (Jas. 1:27) So keeping “without spot from the world” is also a vital Christian requirement. It is evident, however, that the Catholic church is very much a part of this world.

Further, when the early Christians cared for the needs of widows, did they make this the main thing? Well, you can read in the Bible that, while Jesus Christ and his apostles did not ignore the physical needs of their fellowmen, at the same time they did not shift the primary emphasis from the teaching of the Word of God to the serving of tables. The apostles said that they should rather devote themselves “to the ministry of the word.” The result? “Consequently the word of God went on growing.”​—Acts 6:4, 7.

Well, is the kind of religion the Pope is advocating Christlike? Not in the opinion of Filipino Catholics, such as Dr. Benito Reyes, quoted earlier, who sadly observed: “The Christianity we profess is a degenerate form of religiosity completely different from the simple, kindly, and loving Christianity taught by its divine founder.” “It is a false and sophisticated Christianity without Christ. It cannot save us, for it has lost its power to save. It cannot give us Christ, for it has lost him.” Is that the kind of religion you want?

Indeed, the Pope’s visit threw the spotlight on the Catholic church in the Philippines. But as a result of this self-examination by Filipino Catholics, serious questions have been raised that Catholics world wide need to ask themselves. For if the way and the fruitage are not Christlike, is it really drawing its people to God?​—Matt. 7:18-20.

Insect Burglar Alarms

Insect Burglar Alarms

● In the Orient crickets sometimes serve as burglar alarms. Numbers of them are kept in little cages about the house. The owner of the house, accustomed to their sound, is not disturbed by their chirping throughout the night. But if a burglar enters the house, all the crickets become quiet. And it seems that this sudden silence acts as a kind of burglar alarm, for this quick change from noise to stillness is enough to awaken the owner from sleep.

“Those Who Delayed Their Flight Too Long”

“Those Who Delayed Their Flight Too Long”

WHEN Mt. Vesuvius erupted in August, 79 C.E., many people in Pompeii lost their lives because they delayed their flight to safety too long. Archaeologists, digging in the ruins of this city, found that many tried to prolong the enjoyment of what they were doing when the volcanic disaster occurred. Others were too engrossed in their daily routine of life. And there were those whose selfishness prevented their escape because of trying to take their valuables with them.

The archaeological proof of this is described by C. W. Ceram in his book Gods, Graves, and Scholars. He writes: “The excavators’ shovels revealed all manner of family tragedies, scenes of mothers, fathers, and children caught in absolute extremity. Mothers were found still holding their children in their arms, protecting them with the last bit of veil as they both suffocated. Men and women were dug up who had gathered their valuables together, got as far as the city gate, and there collapsed under the stony hail, still clinging to their gold and precious things. At the threshold of one house two young women were found who had hesitated until it was too late, intending to go back into the house and salvage some of their treasures.

“Body after body was found at the Gate of Hercules, bodies all heaped together, and still encumbered with the household gear that had grown too heavy to drag any farther.” Ceram notes that the first body that was uncovered was “stretched out full-length on the floor . . . with gold and silver coins that had rolled out of bony hands still seeking, it seemed, to clutch them fast.”

In one house “funeral rites had been in progress when cataclysm fell. There they were, the funeral guests, after seventeen hundred years still sprawled on their benches about the table bearing the funeral feast, mourners at their own obsequies.

“In an adjacent building seven children had been surprised by death while innocently playing in a room. In still another structure thirty-four bodies were found, with them the remains of a goat that, in his fright, had rushed indoors to find safety among humankind. Neither courage nor a cool head nor brute strength helped those who delayed their flight too long.”

So, too, in these “last days” of the present system of things. Many people, too busy with materialistic pursuits and “anxieties of life,” put off studying God’s Word. Unwisely they delay flight from this doomed system of things. Do not be one of them.​—Luke 21:34-36.

Effect of Marijuana Use

Effect of Marijuana Use

✔ Writing to the editor of the New York Times Magazine of September 20, 1970, Dr. Franz E. Winkler states the following of marijuana users: “An early effect of marijuana and hashish use is a progressive loss of will power, already noticeable to the trained observer after about six weeks of moderate use. This loss of will power weakens the ability to resist coercion, so that marijuana users too often fall victim to hard-drug pushers, extortionists and deviates. Soon all ability for real joy disappears, to be replaced by the noisy pretense of fun. While healthy teen-agers will eagerly participate in all kinds of activities, such as sports, hiking, artistic endeavors, etc., a marijuana user will show an increasing tendency to talk endlessly of great goals, while doing nothing about them. Athletic abilities invariably fall off with the use of marijuana. Artistic achievements become meaningless and lose all originality. Instead of developing strong feelings toward others, the marijuana user is apt to wallow in sentimental emotions. Since the drug removes inhibitions, sex life may be stimulated for a brief period but invariably declines within a few years, leaving men all but impotent and women frigid.” Dr. Winkler concluded by noting the subtle, but “deeply tragic deterioration of the personality of the marijuana user.”

Britain’s Mantle of Garbage—‘Dirty Jobs’ Strike Bring Havoc

Britain’s Mantle of Garbage​—‘Dirty Jobs’ Strike Bring Havoc

By “Awake!” correspondent in the British Isles

‘WHY shouldn’t workers doing dirty jobs get well paid for it?’ demanded unions representing 770,000 men and women in the British Isles. They hurled the challenge, demanding more pay.

Some 1,600 local authorities involved in the dispute took up the challenge by refusing their demands. These officials worried about the spiraling rates (city taxes) that would be required to pay for any wage increase.

The workers’ basic wage, according to grade, was a little over £13 to £16 (about $31 to $38). They demanded a weekly increase of £2.15.0 ($6.60), about 20 percent, plus improvements in working conditions.

The body representing the local authorities agreed to an increase of 14 percent. The workers refused, so the strike was on. Britain was entangled in the ‘dirty jobs’ issue.

With neither side willing to give in to the other without a show of strength, the land began to assume its mantle of garbage. By the end of September it was reeking with a cloak of filth.

Never before had the vital character of garbage collection been brought home so forcefully to people here. Britain’s dustmen (garbage collectors) were surely needed.

Planned Campaign

The unions involved represented workers of widely differing kinds. Ambulance drivers, municipal harbor workers, caretakers (janitors), and dustmen or garbage collectors are examples. The National Union of Public Employees, the majority union, had its plan of campaign well formulated.

If the strike impact of a given occupation group lacked effect, the leaders would order them to return to work. Then they would call out on strike another group whose inactivity might prove more devastating. Easily at the top of the impact poll came the garbage collectors and sewage men.

Quickly the waste output of around 55 million people crammed into a tiny island began to show​—and to stink, also bringing hazards of fire and disease.

Pollution and Health Problems

Piles of refuse began to line streets. A plague of flies swarming a North London area was attributed to the stimulated breeding induced by overflowing sewage at Enfield. The worst-hit places in Britain were those of dense population.

By October 5, thousands of dead fish floated on rivers as a hundred million gallons of untreated sewage slopped into Britain’s waterways. A Thames Conservancy Board spokesman with thirty years of service described the situation as “the worst I have known during my service.”

The Roman-founded town of Bath, famous for its mineral springs, lay under a threat of water rationing. Partially treated sewage, disgorged into the river Avon, promised water of a less healthy kind.

…