Awake!, December 22, 1972

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Awake! — December 22, 1972

Source: jw.org

Contents

The Joy of Being Unselfish

How Much Do You Love the Truth?

Protein Shortage—What Can Be Done About It?

The Tongues of Man

I Was a Servant of a God Made with Hands

Cooperating with Your Body’s Defenses

Fur Trapping—Past and Present

Updated View on Bleeding

Jewels in the Southern Skies—Viewed from Chile

Rating an Earthquake

What About the So-called “Fragment of Mark”?

Watching the World

The Bible Can Help You

What Do You Know About Jehovah’s Witnesses?

The Joy of Being Unselfish

The Joy of Being Unselfish

“SELF FIRST!” Just two words, but they were in letters so large that they filled the whole front page. They proclaimed the philosophy that the Muslims were offering in their publication to passersby on the streets of Brooklyn, New York, in September 1972.

How different this message of a modern Muhammad from the message that Jesus Christ brought! He preached putting others ahead of self. He taught and practiced sacrificing oneself for others. He enunciated a principle that must have sounded strange to his listeners: “There is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving.”​—Acts 20:35.

There are some persons who are exemplary in unselfishness. Among such are parents who are so unselfishly devoted to their families that at times they need to be urged to do something for themselves, such as buy some new clothing or enjoy some recreation. Thus there was the mother of five children who had to manage her household with extreme economy because of the selfishness of her husband. Caring for her family so consumed her time and energies that she had none left for popular pleasures. Her reward? She had peace of mind and the love and gratitude of her children. Having set her heart on serving her family, she had a sense of satisfaction, and, far from being bored, she had the happiness that comes from giving.

Why is there joy and happiness in being unselfish? Because the Creator, Jehovah God, made us in his image and likeness, and he, above all others, is the Unselfish One. He not only endowed us with a moral sense, which gives us the ability to choose between what is right and what is wrong, but also made us so that we get the rewards of contentment and happiness from exercising justice, from doing what is right. Thus the famed English jurist Blackstone once stated that God “has so intimately connected, so inseparably interwoven the laws of eternal justice with the happiness of each individual, that the latter [happiness] cannot be attained but by observing the former [justice]; and, if the former be punctually obeyed, it cannot but induce the latter.” And if this is true of exercising justice, and it surely is, it is also true about exercising unselfishness.

If we would experience the joy of being unselfish we must work at being unselfish, for it is not a matter of doing what comes naturally, or following the lines of least resistance. Due to inherited sin and our surroundings we are prone to do what is bad and selfish. (Gen. 8:21; Ps. 51:5) Especially within the family circle, where members are in such close contact with one another, must thought be given to this. Selfishness on the part of one results in pain or a selfish reaction on the part of the others; but unselfishness results in mutual joy and satisfaction. No wonder the nineteenth-century British prime minister Gladstone concluded that “selfishness is the greatest curse of the human race.” And that it is, for it got our first parents​—and all the rest of us through them—​into trouble. It is at the bottom of all conflicts between nations, between capital and labor, between parents and children.

Even little unselfish acts of helpfulness bring joy. Aiding us to be alert to such opportunities is, of course, empathy, the ability to put ourselves in the place of others. But more often it may simply be a matter of not being always in a hurry. Thus victims of automobile mishaps at times beg loud and long before someone takes cognizance of their plight and slows down to inquire what help is needed. In striking contrast was the Brooklyn car driver on his way home who, not being in such a hurry, noted at an intersection that the driver of the car ahead of him was in a quandary. So the man in the rear car got out and asked the other driver what the problem was. Learning what street the driver was looking for, the other man led the way in his own car; that being simpler than trying to explain. The glowing smiles and appreciation on the part of the one helped and his companions more than compensated the helpful one for his time and trouble, giving him joy and satisfaction in being able to help out someone else.

The Jewish author and Zionist leader, Israel Zangwill, once made a rather perceptive observation that is quite pertinent here. He said: “Selfishness is the only real atheism; aspiration, unselfishness the only real religion.” And this is true if we recognize that real religion is to ‘love God with our whole heart, soul, mind and strength and to love our neighbors as ourselves,’ and this includes ministering to ‘the fatherless and the widows.’ Thus the apostle Paul counseled: “Let each one keep seeking, not his own advantage, but that of the other person.”​—1 Cor. 10:24; Mark 12:29-31; Jas. 1:27.

Because the Christian witnesses of Jehovah are truly unselfishly concerned about sharing with others the good things they have learned they are a happy people, even as others have recognized. Thus at an assembly of Jehovah’s witnesses in Vienna, Austria, in 1972, a woman who had come out of curiosity became interested in Jehovah’s witnesses, for, to use her own words, she saw “happy faces of people who seem to know where they are going.” Nor is hers an isolated case. Others also have been so impressed with the joy manifested by the Witnesses that they began to take an interest in the message the Witnesses are bringing.

Certainly the world has it all wrong. It wants to have joy and happiness, yet it pursues that goal by selfish means. But the two can no more mix than can the proverbial oil and water. Joy and happiness come from being unselfish, from doing good, as one has opportunity, to members of one’s own family, to fellow workmen or employees, to strangers on the highways. And, of course, the greatest joy comes from sharing the most valuable thing one could possess, namely, an understanding of God’s Word and purposes. If you have such understanding, then follow through on Jesus’ commandment: “You received free, give free.” This is the way to have joy.​—Matt. 10:8.

How Much Do You Love the Truth?

How Much Do You Love the Truth?

LOVE of truth is something most of us readily profess. But how deep does our love of truth really go? Is it deep enough to defend it when one is under pressure? Will we stand by what we know to be true when it will cost us something to do so. How much do you love the truth?

If you firmly stand for the truth of God’s Word the Bible, your friends or work associates may try to dissuade you. This happened to Abdullah, a young man in his twenties, living in a Near Eastern country. Abdullah began to study the Bible with one of the Christian witnesses of Jehovah. He was delighted at the wonderful truths he was learning. At the hotel where he worked he would tell his fellow employees the things he was learning from the Bible. He had hoped, even expected, that they would rejoice over them as he was doing. But to his amazement they began to abuse him orally.

His employer even threatened to dismiss him if he did not stop studying the Bible and talking to others about it. This put him under heavy pressure because he needed his job. What would you have done? Well, Abdullah had real love for the truth, so he did not let this intimidation hinder him in his study of the Bible.

When he later discussed the truth with some close friends, they too ridiculed him for studying the Bible. These “friends” did not turn out to be lovers of truth as he was, and, as a result, he did not see much of them after that.

Abdullah’s secular work interfered with his regular attendance at Christian meetings to study the Bible. Because he loved the truth so much, he accepted another job even though it paid less. Would you do that for the truth’s sake? Now he was able to attend all meetings for Bible study. He is happy that he continued to study God’s Word and to learn the truth despite threats and pressure.

Truth Worthy of Your Love

But what is there about this truth that caused Abdullah to love it with such loyalty? It is God’s truth, not man’s. Regarding this truth from God, Jesus Christ said to his disciples: “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” (John 8:32) Such truth can set you free even from sin and death. Truth that can do that is very valuable indeed and worthy of your love.

God’s truth is found in the Holy Bible, which is now circulated, the whole or in part, in more than 1,400 languages. Learning this truth brings many benefits and great happiness. It gives a hope for the future because it tells of God’s purpose to remove all mankind’s woes and to turn this earth into a paradise where lovers of truth can live forever in perfect health. (Rev. 21:1-4) Are these not reasons enough to have strong love for such truth?

Loving God’s truth will never lead you to disappointment, because “it is impossible for God to lie.” (Heb. 6:18) Such love for the truth also brings great peace of mind and contentment, which are things of no little value. (Phil. 4:7) God’s Word becomes a sure guide during these difficult times when so many have lost their love for what is right. (Ps. 119:105; Matt. 24:12) These and other blessings make it well worth while to spend the necessary time in Bible study to learn the truth that is worthy of your strong love.​—Eph. 5:16.

Proving Love for the Truth

But obtaining this truth can bring effects that may not at first be expected. Usually those beginning to learn God’s truth come under some form of attack from God’s enemy, Satan the Devil, who tries to discourage them. Often it comes in the form of opposition from family or friends, or simply what people in general may think. Jesus Christ told his followers to expect this: “Do not think I came to put peace upon the earth; I came to put, not peace, but a sword. For I came to cause division, with a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a young wife against her mother-in-law. Indeed, a man’s enemies will be persons of his own household.”​—Matt. 10:34-36.

But there is no reason for this to cause undue apprehension. Actually it is an opportunity to prove love for God’s truth. And it is also a cause for rejoicing, as Jesus said: “Happy are you when people reproach you and persecute you and lyingly say every sort of wicked thing against you for my sake. Rejoice and leap for joy, since your reward is great in the heavens; for in that way they persecuted the prophets prior to you.”​—Matt. 5:11, 12.

Now, God does not take our love for the truth for granted; he lets us be tested to prove our love. So those today who learn God’s truth can expect that the time will come when they will need to prove their love for the truth.

When Relatives Oppose

Has your experience borne out the truth of what Jesus said? Have you accepted Bible truth and found that some of your relatives do not approve? Many of Christ’s followers today are having such experiences. For example, in Italy a woman began to study the Bible with Jehovah’s Christian witnesses. Her husband put pressure on her to stop her Bible study. He began to persecute her, even tearing up her Bible literature. But she loved the truth and would not give in to his wishes. Seeing that she would not give up Bible truth, her husband took away the clothes she needed to leave the house and threatened to have her committed to a clinic for mental patients. Would her love for the truth prove strong enough to endure this persecution? Yes, it did, and by her proving her love she has found great joy. For now her husband pays attention to the Bible and accompanies his wife to Bible meetings.

Thus proving loyal to the truth often helps opposing relatives to see that you have something of great importance and value. Perhaps you can help relatives that may try to discourage you. They may be opposing because they do not know the marvelous truths found in the Bible, or they may oppose because they have no love for God. In either case, remember that having God’s approval is far more important than having the approval of men. It is God, not man, who has promised to give you eternal life if you love him above everyone and everything else.​—Matt. 22:37-39.

Should any relatives oppose you for loving the truth, think of the example of Miss B​———, who lives in the Middle East, and it will strengthen you. She learned God’s truth from her neighbor, who was one of Jehovah’s Christian witnesses. When Miss B​——— began to pass along the Bible’s truth to her family her younger sister responded. But it was a different matter with her father and mother. They demanded that she stop her study of the Bible. They kept her under close observation so that she could not go to the neighbor’s house to study the Bible. But Miss B​——— kept up her Bible study by means of the telephone.

Next her parents, seeing the daughter’s determination, resorted to violence, even threatening her life. When all this failed to change her mind, she was told either to give up her Bible study or to leave home. According to Middle Eastern custom it is a disgrace for a girl to leave the family home before she is married. But rather than abandon God’s truth, she left home and was taken in by a family of fellow Christians. Today Miss B​——— enjoys the happy privilege of teaching others the Bible’s message of God’s kingdom in the vicinity of where Jesus Christ himself once preached the same message of truth. Do you have such love for the truth?

Will Your Love for the Truth Overcome Opposition?

Though some persons feel that the truth is not worth the trouble it may cause them with their family or friends, real lovers of truth do not feel that way. They realize that knowing the truth and serving God in accordance with it mean everlasting life. (John 17:3) Their abandoning the truth would benefit no one, not even the opposers. So, though it may cost them something to do so, they follow God’s advice: “Buy truth itself and do not sell it.”​—Prov. 23:23.

Remember, you can serve God acceptably only if you have and retain the truth. (John 4:23) If you serve him in truth God will not forsake you. But if you forsake the truth, then you cannot expect God’s blessing and guidance. How clearly the prophet Samuel pointed this out to the nation of Israel: “Fear Jehovah, and you must serve him in truth with all your heart . . . But if you flagrantly do what is bad, you will be swept away.” (1 Sam. 12:24, 25) Do you want to serve Jehovah in truth because it is right to do so and because it will mean life for you? Then stick to the truth; you cannot afford to exchange it for anything.​—Rom. 1:25.

Jesus Christ said that he came into the world to bear witness to the truth. (John 18:37) Today there are many thousands of persons around the world who are bearing witness to the truth, who love it and will not give it up. They are Jehovah’s Christian witnesses. If you love the truth sincerely, you will want to associate with them. By doing so you will find much encouragement and assistance in living according to the truth.

How much do you love the truth? Enough to follow it and live by it even in the face of opposition? We sincerely hope so, because this can open the way for you to live forever.

Protein Shortage—What Can Be Done About It?

Protein Shortage​—What Can Be Done About It?

IT IS estimated that one third of the earth’s population, more than one thousand million people, do not have enough protein in their diets. As a result, untold millions of young children in developing countries die before reaching school age. Survivors are often left permanently impaired​—mentally and physically.

Experts studying the world food problem have agreed: “Unless the situation changes markedly, food shortages and actual famine will occur and with these, civil strife and political upheaval of unprecedented proportions will sweep through the developing nations.”

Importance of Protein

Protein is essential for all humans. It is a primary building block of our body’s muscle tissue, bone, cartilage and skin. The body’s chemical processes of life depend upon enzymes, some of the most important proteinlike substances. Growth and replacement of body tissues therefore require proteins.

The body manufactures its own proteins by combining amino acids​—small units containing carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen—​into long, three-dimensional chains. Most of the more than twenty amino acids are themselves made by the body, but eight of them must be supplied by protein found in the foods we eat. The body breaks down food protein into amino-acid units; these are then recombined into new protein, tailor-made for specific needs.

When food protein content is low, or any of the eight essential amino acids are in short supply, the body suffers protein deficiency. This malady induces apathy in adults and hinders recovery from injury and disease. In children, the results are similar but more severe. Mild or moderate deficiency renders them particularly susceptible to respiratory infections and gastrointestinal troubles. More advanced protein malnutrition can produce irreversible mental and physical retardation or even death.

Protein malnutrition is said to be jeopardizing the future for many millions of the world’s people. This is bad enough, but, since the protein gap is widening between supply and demand, an even worse impending protein crisis is feared.

The Earth Can Provide

Is the earth unable to produce enough nutritious food for its present inhabitants? Authorities such as the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization maintain that the world’s agricultural potential is great enough to feed thousands of millions more people. So, the earth can surely provide enough food for all the people who are living today. Then what is wrong?

A report to the United Nations Economic and Social Council noted that the problem of protein supply is complicated by social and economic patterns. It is acknowledged that present protein production is enough to satisfy the needs of earth’s population. But the supply is not getting to the people who need it. As well-known anthropologist Dr. Margaret Mead stated: “The basic problem is an ethical one.”

The results of bad ethics include surpluses in one part of the world when people are hungry in another part; too much food in one part of the world when children are starving elsewhere. Agriculture has become big business. A distinction has been made between food that nourishes people and food out of which some people, some countries, derive their income. Food is no longer just to feed people. It is a commercial commodity.

Clearly, the main problem is the present unjust worldwide system of things. The earth can produce wholesome food in great abundance, but under a selfish system of things, torn by political divisions, food is not getting to the people who need it.

Trying to Cope with a Bad Situation

Unable to resolve the basic problem, that is, the replacement of the selfish system, man has tried to do the “second best”​—that is, he has tried to compensate for this bad situation in a variety of ways. For example, fishing fleets have been expanded. The average world fish catch has been increasing by about 6 percent each year. However, it is feared that a modest increase of only 4.7 percent a year from 1967 on would exhaust the oceanic and inland fisheries’ protein supply by 1985.

Another effort to cope with the bad situation is with regard to improving fish processing methods. The goal is more complete utilization of this valuable protein source. Portions of fish not usually consumed can be made into a stable flour that is protein rich, with or without a fish taste or odor.

Various commercial products are being advocated to try to help alleviate the protein-shortage problem. Processors are seeking to improve methods to obtain meal and protein concentrates from peanuts, soybeans, cottonseed and other oil-seed crops after the oil has been extracted. The success already achieved with soybeans is an example of low-cost vegetable protein.

Soybean protein concentrate is a bland, white powder that can be used to enrich baked products, soups, beverages and puddings. A blend of cornmeal, dry milk, vitamins, minerals and soybean meal gives a nutritious protein-rich mixture that can be used for such purposes.

Vegetable protein concentrates are being used in wholesome beverages, hot or cold. In Hong Kong such a beverage is sold in competition with soft drinks. Since soybean protein can be combined with about a hundred different flavors to make this drink, it can be modified to suit local tastes around the world.

Also, vegetable protein is spun into fibers to make it similar to meat. The protein fibers are blended with fat, vegetable flavors and stabilizers. These meatlike products can be sliced, ground or diced. They can be used to extend real meats.

In addition to developing new products from existing protein, unusual new sources of protein are also being explored. Protein is being obtained from petroleum, natural gas, crude oil, sawdust, sugarcane, grass and coconut flesh. No, these products are not suggested for human consumption directly. Rather, microorganisms such as yeasts, bacteria and fungi utilize these products to make the protein. This is called Single Cell Protein, or SCP for short. It is expected that such microorganism-produced protein would be fed to animals first, with eventual human consumption of the animals in view. Understandably, there could be a problem of acceptability in introducing dried microorganism cells directly into human diets.

The “Green Revolution”

Another effort to cope with the situation has resulted in the grain or “green revolution.” Cereal crops account for the bulk of the world’s protein and calorie supply, about 70 percent of the total. The quantity of cereal grains has increased impressively through combinations of plant breeding, fertilizers, pesticides and better storage facilities.

The “green revolution” has been considered so important that a leading plant breeder who contributed to the high-yielding crops was awarded the Nobel peace prize in 1970.

The new varieties of wheat and rice have greatly increased the supply of cereal protein in many lands. In just two years Ceylon’s rice crop rose by 34 percent and in six years India’s wheat yields more than doubled. Japan, with one of the most densely populated areas in the world, achieved a surplus of rice. Six years ago the Philippines imported one million tons of rice annually; in 1970 that country was self-sufficient and hoped to begin exporting rice, yet that proved to be premature optimism.

Alarm, however, is being expressed that the widespread dependence upon a few basic high-yield varieties may actually be laying the foundation for a mammoth disaster. If such narrow-based crops were to succumb to disease, the results could be catastrophic, with nothing to replace them quickly.

Illustrating that the deep concern is not unfounded is news from the Philippines. “Filipinos Expect New Rice Scarcity” was a heading in the New York Times of February 14, 1972. The subheading declared: “Deadly Virus Among Causes of Continuing Shortage.” The article explained:

“The Philippines, the land where the Green Revolution began, appears to be going from one rice crisis to another. After the development of high-yield varieties in 1966, the Philippines experienced self-sufficiency in rice and a small surplus only up to 1970. Last year huge imports were necessary, and now, a Government statistical agency predicts, the country faces vast shortages again this year and next.

“The causes of the shortage, according to Domingo Panganiban, an expert of the National Food and Agricultural Council, are typhoons, a lack of funding, problems of peace and order and a deadly plant virus called tungro.”

So the “green revolution” cannot be relied upon to solve the bad situation. Rather, it may only lead to a more devastating famine. Even the present increased production has not meant that the supply of protein and food energy is reaching starving people. Why, in some countries, as much as 20 percent of the cereal crop is lost because of poor storage facilities!

The real need, then, is for something beyond a “green revolution,”​—for a new system of things that is not controlled by nationalism and by selfish commercial interests. The Bible explains God’s arrangements for the bringing in of such a system in this very generation.

Better Use of Available Supplies

In the meantime what can the average person do for himself and his family to relieve the protein shortage in their diet? There is much that people can do in a practical way in this regard. Meat or steak may taste good, but steak is not required in order to have the needed protein. Is fish available? Many persons get much of their protein from this source.

Eggs, milk and cheese supply high-quality proteins. Can you avail yourself of these food products? If not, abundant quantities of protein are available, from vegetable sources. The Bible reports that about 3,800 years ago a nutritious stew of protein-rich lentils was bought in exchange for a birthright! (Gen. 25:29-34) Legumes such as lentils, beans and peas are still good sources of protein that could be used more effectively by many people. Most plant products, however, lack one or more of the essential amino acids. This deficiency can often be corrected by combining them with other vegetables or protein foods that supply the lack. For example, adding just a small amount of high-quality protein food, such as eggs or cheese, to a diet of beans or cassava or plantain will create an amino-acid balance, enabling all the protein in the food to be used effectively. To obtain this advantage, however, protein foods must be eaten together.

Greater use of soybeans as a food is a practical way to add more protein to the diet. Soybean flour can be added to many foods, or you can cook the soybeans yourself. For best results the soybeans should be reasonably fresh, and they need to be soaked in water prior to cooking. The cooked soybeans are somewhat nutlike and chewy; thus some persons at first may think they are only half cooked, but this chewiness is to be expected. Soybeans can be used in salads or served as a vegetable.

Much can be done by parents in making better use of available supplies to improve the diet of their children in countries where protein intake may be low. (Awake!, June 22, 1966) It is usually after weaning that small children develop serious protein deficiency in these lands. Mother’s milk usually contains adequate protein, but the subsequent diet does not. Cassava root is a major constituent of weaned diets in many countries, but it is high in carbohydrates and low in protein. If, however, a stew of the young tender leaves were served along with the cassava roots, the protein problem would be alleviated​—the usually unused leaves contain enough protein to balance the diet!

So give some thought to these matters, should the protein in your diet be deficient. Find out what foods can supply more protein to your diet. Your having good health, along with your family, depends in no small way on your knowing what the available sources of protein are.

Although our beautiful earth has the capacity to produce amply for the needs of all those now living and many more besides, we cannot expect an equal distribution of food in this system of things. Why not? Because of its selfish commercial nature. The Bible shows that this system will continue in its unjust ways till it comes to an end. And, as noted before, God’s new order will provide an abundance of food for all mankind. God’s prophet told about it beforehand, saying: “Jehovah of armies will certainly make for all the peoples . . . a banquet of well-oiled dishes, a banquet of wine kept on the dregs, of well-oiled dishes filled with marrow . . . Jehovah himself has spoken it.”​—Isa. 25:6-8.

The Tongues of Man

The Tongues of Man

BY “AWAKE!” CORRESPONDENT IN LAOS

HOW much mankind is divided by speaking different tongues! About 3,000 spoken languages have been counted by scholars.a If all the dialects (local forms of a language) were added to the above figure, it would probably be much higher. But, then, even experts disagree in some cases about what is a separate language and what is simply a dialect. Why? Because, even when people speak what are called dialects of the same language, they may be unable to understand one another.

Yet at one time all humans spoke the same language. Jehovah God, the Creator of man, himself originated different languages for the purpose of restricting human cooperation for a wrong purpose. His action brought to an end the building of the God-dishonoring Tower of Babel and obliged its builders to disperse throughout the earth.​—Gen. 11:1-9.

Most languages can be grouped together into a mere ten or so language families (here, again, different authorities give different numbers). All the languages in the same family are offshoots of one ancient parent language, and, in many cases, that parent language has died out.

Many persons know that French, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and several other languages are all modern varieties of Latin greatly changed. Not so many are aware that even Latin is classified as being only a member of a language family. Along with many other languages of Europe and India, it is said to have sprung from a lost ancestor called Indo-European.

We do not know just how many parent languages Jehovah brought into existence at Babel because it does not seem that some tongues, like Japanese and Basque, can be fitted into any known family, and many other languages have vanished. Possibly there were relatively few parent tongues. In time, people speaking the same language separated and had no contact with one another for centuries, so their speech habits diverged and two or more languages came to be used where there had been only one.

Any living language constantly changes; you have only to read the Authorized Version of the Bible to see how much English has changed in some 360 years despite the stabilizing influence of printing and good communications. So, gradually, the separated groups would cease to understand one another. Even so, the resulting languages retain enough features in common to make it obvious that they are related.

The Indo-European Family

Let us look in more detail at one language family. About half the world’s population speak a language classified as belonging to the Indo-European family. It is no accident that the word for three, for example, is so similar in Russian (tri), German (drei), French (trois), Danish (tre), Dutch (drie), Irish (trí), Greek (treĩs), Lithuanian (trys), Sanskrit (trí), Albanian (tre), and so forth. All these languages are said to derive from the lost Indo-European.

Many of these are less like children of that ancient speech than grandchildren because many are said to derive from lost languages that were themselves offshoots of Indo-European. For example, Welsh, Breton, Gaelic, and so forth, are listed as descendants of an old Celtic speech that sprang from Indo-European. Russian, Polish, Serbian, Czech, and so forth, trace their ancestry through an ancient Slavonic parent. English, Dutch, German, and so forth, had a common Germanic parent.

Classifying Languages

Only comparatively recently, since about the end of the eighteenth century, have linguists begun to analyze the history and relationship of living languages. Before that they tended to compare merely the written forms of words in different languages, but there is much more to the family relationships than that. Even when two languages have few similar words, they may put sentences together in a way that shows an affinity between them.

Take the example of Lao and Chinese. It would be difficult to find many words similar in these two languages, yet they have three other important features in common. First, one word in both languages may have several different meanings according to the tone of voice used when saying it. For example, the Lao word mu spoken with a low tone of voice, means friend, while with a rising tone it means pig.

Second, most words have only one syllable or are made up of several one-syllable words strung together.

Third, when speaking of a number of objects one must use a word called a classifier every time to identify the class of objects to which they belong. Thus a Laotian cannot just say ‘Three girls,’ but must say, ‘Girl three persons,’ showing that girls belong to the class of ‘people.’ These three features suggest that Chinese and Lao are relatives within the same language family.

On the other hand, no great importance is attached to the script in which a language is written. English and Vietnamese both use the Roman alphabet, which the Vietnamese deliberately adopted in the seventeenth century, but the languages are very different. Japanese and Chinese use similar writing, which causes some persons to associate them together. Yet they are classified in altogether different language families. Conversely, English and Russian, listed as distant relatives within the same family, use different scripts.

Learning Difficulties

Perhaps you can now see why some languages are much easier for us to learn than others. A foreign language belonging to the same family as our own will usually have many sounds, words or sentence patterns that we find familiar. The less related another language is to ours the stranger it will seem. At first we may even be unable to say the sounds, and the order in which words follow one another may strike us as bizarre.

Compare the German numbers one to ten with the English: eins, zwei, drei, vier, fünf, sechs, sieben, acht, neun, zehn. Especially if you remember that German “z” is pronounced “ts” and German “v” is pronounced “f,” you can see at once how alike they are. Now look at the Lao numbers: neung, sohng, sahm, si, ha, hok, chet, bpaat, gow, sip. There is not one sound in common with the English. How much less alike they would seem if it could be shown in writing that each Lao number has to be spoken in a certain tone of voice that you memorize along with the word!

Take a look at word order. In English you might ask, “How many daughters have you?” In German that would be “Wieviele Töchter haben Sie?” Here, word for word, the structure is the same as English. But Lao says, “Chow mi luk sow chag kon?” Literally that means, “You have child female how many persons?” Structurally quite different from English.

Often words found in one language simply have no equivalent in languages of other families. Consequently it is much harder to translate into a language belonging to a different family. For instance, the Watchtower magazine in the Thai language uses the same word to convey what is meant by the English words sympathy, empathy and consideration. Separate words do not exist in Thai (or Lao, its close relative) to convey these subtle distinctions. On the other hand, English makes do with the one word carry where Lao and Thai have separate words meaning “to carry in the hand,” “to carry on the shoulder,” “to carry on a balance pole,” “to carry in the arms” or “to carry on the back.”

To help pupils to cope with this unfamiliarity of some languages, new teaching methods have been devised. One is sometimes called the direct method. The learner masters basic sentences and sentence patterns right from the start. He learns grammar as it relates to the sentences he already knows instead of plowing through it at the outset and learning long lists of vocabulary without being able to speak or understand the simplest sentence.

In the first century of our common era God gave some men the miraculous ability to speak languages they had never learned. No one possesses such a gift from God today. But, then, it is not needed. People who want to help to carry the good news of God’s kingdom to a new place must painstakingly learn the languages spoken there. However, as right-hearted people respond, the bulk of the preaching work is rapidly assumed by local men and women, speakers of every language family on earth. Thus the uniting word of truth triumphs over the disuniting confusion of tongues among those who wish to cooperate in praising Jehovah, the One who gave man the gift of language.

[Footnotes]

World Book Encyclopedia, 1970 ed., Vol. 12, p. 62.

[Chart on page 13]

(For fully formatted text, see publication)

INDO-EUROPEAN

HINDU SANSKRIT

PERSIAN

OLD PERSIAN

ARYAN

ARMENIAN

ALBANIAN

BALTO-SLAVIC

BALTIC LITHUANIAN

SLOVAK

SLAVIC

POLISH

BULGARIAN

RUSSIAN

GERMANIC

GREEK

MODERN GREEK

OSCAN

LATIN ITALIC

ROMANIAN

ITALIAN

PORTUGUESE

SPANISH

FRENCH

CELTIC

BRITANNIC

BRETON

WELSH

SCOTTISH

IRISH

GOTHIC

OLD GERMAN

OLD NORSE

ICELANDIC

DANISH

NORWEGIAN

SWEDISH

ANGLO-SAXON

ENGLISH

GERMAN

DUTCH

I Was a Servant of a God Made with Hands

I Was a Servant of a God Made with Hands

AS TOLD TO “AWAKE!” CORRESPONDENT IN INDIA

NEAR my uncle’s home was a small temple to the god Birappa. It was neglected, no one caring for the god. And so I thought: “If I take up service in the temple and care for the god perhaps I can find that happiness and peace for which I have searched so long.”

So began a new part of my life. Daily after my personal bath I would draw water from the well and bathe the god. At least once a week I would walk nearly five miles to the river to find fresh running water to bathe myself, and then I would carry water in a bucket for the god Birappa. It was a long way, but I had the satisfaction of knowing that I was serving my god.

Each day the villagers would come with their Prasad (gift) for Birappa; sometimes it was a coconut and sometimes flowers. I would apply Bandkar (dipping my fingers in ashes, applying them to the villagers’ foreheads in three horizontal lines) and then return Prasad to them. Thus out of the gifts given to Birappa, gifts were returned to the worshipers, whether from their own or someone else’s.

My god Birappa did not have a special form as represented by a figure of a man or woman or even of some animal, as with most Hindu gods and goddesses. Birappa was represented in a mound like a large rounded stone. Sometimes as I went about my service to Birappa I secretly wondered: “There are so many gods who are worshiped. Could it perhaps be that there might be only one true God? Did anyone really know?” I still had not found the happiness and peace that I wished, and so I wondered: “Is there anyone in this world that is finding happiness and peace?”

My Background

From childhood on, life had been hard for me. My father had two wives. I was born from the second, and after only six months my father died. My mother died when I was only one year old. My stepmother seemed to find joy in beating me, and for any small thing I would get a beating or have my head pushed into a bucket of water. After some time I went to live with my old grandmother. She could not afford to give me an education, so my days were spent wandering in the fields and over the hills with the sheep.

There, as the days passed, I would sing the songs of our many gods, about their mightiness, acts of prowess and love. I sang of Hanuman, swift as the wind and who could uproot trees and hills; of the goddess Chandra (the moon) or the goddess Ushas (the dawn). There are many thousands of gods and goddesses in the Hindu pantheon. As I grew up I would sometimes wonder, “Is there one God that is greater? Can we ever in this life find happiness?”

At fifteen I was married and then lived with my mother-in-law, who was given our land to work. Life went on much the same from day to day. Each day before going out to care for the sheep I would do puja (an act of worship) before the picture of our god Birappa. Then with the sheep I would wander through the lanes of the village and out to the open spaces.

It was after several years that I discovered the temple near my uncle’s home and took up service there. I did not receive any money for this service, but hoped it would bring oneness with god at my death. Still I would wonder: “Why am I not happy and satisfied now that I am worshiping and serving my god?”

The Way to Happiness Opens Up

Each evening as I went through the village to my home I would stop and talk with some of the villagers who sat outside the village dispensary. One evening as I stopped to chat with some of the men I asked them what new thing they might tell me. They said: “We have nothing new to tell, but there is a new sahib in town who is telling some new things.” So when I found the man who was declaring new things, I asked him to tell me the story he had told the people. He asked what story I might like to hear, and so I asked him if he could tell me who the true God is.

And indeed he told me a story I had never heard before. This was the story about the God of the Bible: an invisible God who created all things and whose works and creations are all around us, a God whom we can learn to love and appreciate and whose wonderful qualities we can in some measure understand. I began to study the Bible. This man invited me to his home, and his family also welcomed me daily to hear more from the Bible.

Then I realized I must learn to read so that I could learn even more. I was thrilled to learn of Jehovah God, whose kingdom will soon take possession of the earth and give to all obedient inhabitants of the earth real peace and happiness along with everlasting life.

Now I realized that I could no longer go on serving a god made with man’s hands. So I left my service at the temple. At this my wife and mother-in-law made life difficult for me. Finally my wife left me to live with another man. When my mother-in-law saw that she could not stop me from studying the Bible, she told the villagers so that they would beat me.

One day when returning an insecticide sprayer, I met a Brahmin (high caste Hindu) who asked me to go and spray his house also. When I got to his house, five people came out and took hold of me and beat me. Soon after this, I felt that it would be better to leave my home and small property, that I might be able to practice my new faith more freely. Despite the opposition, I did not lose my happiness, for now I knew that I was serving the true God.

I wanted to tell others about this wonderful hope that I had found. For now I could explain to others that God is not a man, nor did he come down to the earth to take on the form of man at different times when the world became evil. Jehovah God will put an end to misery and bring in a new system that will bring real happiness and peace for all obedient mankind and they will live on this earth forever.

Life is different for me now. I sell nuts to provide for my needs. It leaves me free so that I can always gather together with follow worshipers of Jehovah. Though I had to leave my home and little property, I have not lost out. I have learned to read, so that now I can read the Bible and The Watchtower. I have new songs to sing about the one true God and his mighty acts of the past and wonderful promises for the future. At last I have found happiness and peace of mind.

Cooperating with Your Body’s Defenses

Cooperating with Your Body’s Defenses

THE auto was going 115 miles an hour when it crashed into the rear of another car going 55 miles an hour. One of the victims of the accident, not content with the compensation he received, sued the manufacturer of the auto that had been driven so fast. He charged that the manufacturer was responsible because he made the car capable of going at such a speed. However, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that heard the case ruled otherwise. It held that a manufacturer’s “duty is to avoid hidden defects and latent or concealed dangers. He is not bound to anticipate and guard against grossly careless misuse of his product.”

There are some authorities in the field of medicine that might be said to view the human body as that accident victim viewed the car by which he was injured. But not all do so. Some appreciate the wisdom reflected in its design. Thus scientist W. B. Cannon wrote a book entitled “The Wisdom of the Body.” Wisdom in design, however, does not mean that abuse will not result in harm, and this is where many persons manifest a lack of good judgment. As Dr. Linus Pauling expressed it: “We constantly insult ourselves by doing things for which our bodies were never intended.” And what is the result? An acceleration of the process of aging, disease and death.

No question about it, as we examine the body we find that the Creator made wonderful provisions for its well-being. Man is not a robot but, rather, has the ability and freedom to choose between a wise and a foolish course and to take the consequences. In a large measure the health of our bodies is subject to the divine law: “Whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap.” If we cooperate with our body’s defenses we can minimize the likelihood of poor health and disease.​—Gal. 6:7.

Among the defenses by which the body preserves its soundness are its immunological defense systems (including the white blood cells and the antibodies), interferon, the hormones and even the skin. All these might be likened to soldiers, policemen and fire fighters that serve to protect a family, a city or a nation from threatened dangers. Reason and good sense, of course, would indicate that citizens cooperate with these defenses if they would enjoy protection and security. And so, too, an individual must do his part, must cooperate with his body’s defenses if he would stay well.

The Immunological Defenses

“Immunity” has been described as “an everyday word, ordinarily applied to the elaborate set of responses by which the body defends itself against invading microorganisms.” Involved in these responses are a number of different kinds of white blood cells or corpuscles that serve as defenders of the purity of the bloodstream. These greatly multiply when foreign, noxious or virulent agents invade or attack the body. Thus the diagnosis of appendicitis can at times be confirmed by what is known as the “blood picture.”

What triggers these white cells to act, what enables them to recognize these various invading foreign foes, also known as antigens? Well, the gamma globulins, one of the blood proteins, produce antibodies, which fasten themselves to the antigens, thus labeling them as intruders and causing the white corpuscles to attack and destroy them by means of enzyme action. It was once thought that an antigen caused the plasma cells to produce an antibody especially made to fit it. But now it is understood that the plasma cells have potentially thousands of different kinds of antibodies, and so when bacteria attack the body they unite with any of a certain number of antibodies that happen to fit them rather closely.

The process has been illustrated in this way: Instead of the antigen’s being like a man that went to a tailor to have a suit made to order (as was once thought), it is like the man that goes to a large clothing store that has thousands of suits of various shapes and sizes and picks one from several that fit him rather well, but not necessarily perfectly.

Then what happens? A signal is sent out by the body and the plasma cells start producing that particular antibody by the thousands. That antibodies need not fit perfectly can be seen in the fact that inoculation by cowpox (which is quite similar but not identical with smallpox virus) can produce immunity against smallpox.

It takes time for the body to produce all these antibodies and so sometimes the body succumbs to the invaders and becomes sick. However, given the needed time, the body generally wins out, and as a result of the increase of antibodies, the body likely will be rather immune to future attacks. So there is a saying, “There is no immunity like convalescent immunity.” For example, a person having chicken pox as a child is then immune to that disease. By means of inoculations, however, men have often been able to provide the body with artificial immunity, as for such well-known diseases as diphtheria, whooping cough, measles and others.

The bloodstream of some persons seems to be without gamma globulin and, as a result, does not produce antibodies, thus making such persons susceptible to all manner of bacterial infections. These are rare exceptions, however. By and large, human bodies do have this very effective defense mechanism. Why, then, do some people get sick when exposed to harmful bacteria while others do not? Because more than one factor is involved. To begin with, there is the matter of genes. It is known that predisposition to certain ailments is inherited and so it may largely depend upon the inherited susceptibility or resistance as to whether one does or does not get sick. Obviously, if both of one’s parents were diabetics, one would be more likely to succumb to infectious diseases that plague diabetics. Such a one would therefore need to exercise far more care than another whose parents enjoyed abundant health.

A related factor that helps to account for the fact that some do and others do not succumb to infections is the fact that infections and diseases are not solely a matter of virulence, that is, the strength of the bacteria, as was once thought. Infection is also a matter of ecology, that is, the condition of the host, your body. Thus experiments with mice have shown that when they are starved or overfed with certain foods they very quickly succumb to certain infections. But when the mice are again fed properly, in just a few days their resistance becomes normal. So also with humans: much depends upon the body’s general powers of resistance.

Cooperating with the Immunological Defenses

How can you cooperate, how can you strengthen your body’s immunological defense system? By just using good sense. Do not content yourself merely with not being sick. Give thought to maintaining good health by proper diet, which means not only seeing to it that you get sufficient proteins, fats and carbohydrates (sugars and starches), but also that you get the needed vitamins and minerals. A hamburger and a bottle of soda pop are not a balanced meal. Unrefined foods, such as whole wheat, unpolished rice, molasses and fruits and vegetables in abundance will help you greatly in this regard. Then there is the matter of getting needed rest and sleep, regular exercise if you are a sedentary worker, and avoidance of overindulgence of all kinds​—these are the things that will help you to strengthen your body’s immunological defense system.

Being abstemious at the table will in particular help your immunological defenses. Thus experiments with mice have shown that if they were provided with only one third the normal amount of food, but it was nutritious and well-balanced, they lived much longer. This is said to be due to the changes such a diet makes in the immunological system of the mice. While these results were had with mice, immunologist Dr. R. L. Walford of the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine, said that this indicated that humans would be wise to eat less, and that for such a diet to be truly effective it should be instituted early, soon after a child is weaned.​—New York Times, August 4, 1971.

Interferon

Another of the body’s defense mechanisms is interferon, a substance discovered rather recently, and at present under intensive investigation. It is produced by the body’s cells as a defense against viral infections and differs from antibodies in a number of respects. It becomes effective at once, whereas antibodies take time to multiply. Thus it is said that “interferon is present at the right place, at the right time and in high enough concentration to play an important role in recovery from viral infections.”

Secondly, interferon is not specific, whereas an antibody is, working only against a certain antigen or one very nearly like it. An invading virus causes cells to produce interferon that acts not just against the one particular virus but against a wide range of viruses. Thirdly, the interferon does not act upon the invading virus in the way an antibody acts upon an antigen, but upon the body’s cells themselves, enabling them to neutralize the effect of the virus.

Further, though interferon is a protein particle, it is not treated as a foreign substance by the body’s immunological system. Because of this, interferon can be implanted from another body or even another species without causing any antibodies to be formed. However, to produce interferon from blood for medical use is so costly a process as to be prohibitive. For this reason medical researchers have been experimenting with substances that would stimulate the production of interferon in the body’s cells. They have come up with such a substance which they have designated “poly I:C.”

In experimenting with this substance on mice they have found it to be extremely effective. Thus three hours after seventeen mice were given poly I:C and thirty-two others were given a placebo,a all of them were inoculated with a lethal dose of mouse pneumonia virus. At the end of fourteen days all seventeen mice that had received poly I:C were still alive, but only one of the thirty-two that had received the placebo lived. As for the use of poly I:C on humans, this is still in the experimental stage.

How can you cooperate with the interferon ‘system’? Since interferon is aimed at viral infections and the more common of these are those that plague our noses and throats in the wintertime, anything that would work against the common cold may be considered as cooperating with one’s interferon defense system. There are a number of ways in which this can be done. The generous use of citrus fruits, especially grapefruit, lemons and limes, before one gets a cold, may protect one against it. Also avoiding rich and over-refined foods, especially pastries, rich puddings, and so forth, has helped many others to be free from the common cold. And quite recently the use of vitamin C in fighting the common cold has been given wide publicity.

The Hormonal Defenses

Rightly the hormones have been described as “another aspect of the natural defenses of the body.” They come to our aid when we are threatened with violence, helping us either to fight or to take to flight. For anger or fight the body produces noradrenaline, and for fear or flight or depression (this latter termed, “anger directed toward oneself”) the body produces adrenaline.

When faced with the choice of fight or flight, various hormones cause the lungs to breathe more deeply, and the heart beats more rapidly, the blood pressure rises, the blood is shifted away from the internal organs to where it is most needed, to the muscles, heart and brain.

How, then, can you cooperate with your body’s hormonal defense system? Primarily in two ways. All you do to keep good health (eat nutritious food, getting sufficient rest and sleep, and so forth) will give you a better reserve that the hormones can call upon in the case of danger. And, specifically, the better you learn to control your emotions the less you will be taxing or straining your vital organs. The Bible proverb is true: “A calm heart is the life of the fleshly organism.”​—Prov. 14:30.

The Skin as a Defense

Not to be overlooked is the skin as one of the body’s defenses. It does indeed protect the body against invasion by harmful substances or organisms. It is well adapted for this purpose, having a dead yet antiseptic outer layer that is kept moist and pliable by perspiration and oily secretions. What can you do to cooperate with this defender of your body?

In the case of a cut or other wound, a good cleansing is of prime importance. For good skin there is also the need for proper nutrition. Thus we are told that severe skin disorders “appear early and conspicuously” in many cases of “nutritional deficiency.” And while daily showers or baths may have their aesthetic merits, they can harm when harsh soap is overused. According to one of America’s leading allergists, “a patient can take his daily baths without soaps and cleanse his body sufficiently by gently rubbing the skin with a dry towel after the bath.”

Good sense and modesty dictate that we credit the all-wise Creator and thank him for the defense systems in our bodies. Since good health is a most desirable state, wisdom on our part indicates that we cooperate with these defense mechanisms.

[Footnotes]

‘An inert preparation given to satisfy a patient or used in making experiments.’

Fur Trapping—Past and Present

Fur Trapping​—Past and Present

By “Awake!” correspondent in Canada

ANIMAL furs have played a significant part in most cultures down through history, supplying one or more of mankind’s basic needs. The first book of the Bible tells about God making “garments of skin” for Adam and Eve after their disobedience and at the time of their expulsion from their paradise home. (Gen. 3:21) Also, furs of animals have long served for covering or shelter. For example, the cover of the portable sacred tabernacle constructed by the Israelites after their departure from Egypt in 1513 B.C.E. was made of sealskins.​—Ex. 26:14.

Here in Canada, as in some other countries, the trapper and fur trader were the men that explored, mapped and opened up the country. Later they were followed by the rancher and farmer.

When Europeans first visited North America this continent was more profusely populated with wild game and fur-bearing animals than any other part of the earth. The open plains were teeming with herds of buffalo, the forests were alive with moose, deer, elk and bear. And the northern tundra area had vast herds of caribou and musk-ox.

The wealth in furs, in fact, was the main attraction to the white man in this newfound land. The demand for furs was tremendous because of the hungry European market. Thus, because of greed, there was wanton slaughter of the mighty herds of buffalo and caribou for just the fur and tongues. A number of kinds of animals were pushed to the brink of extinction.

Original Trappers

But this was not the case before the arrival of the white man. The Indians and Eskimos trapped animals because they needed them. Animals often supplied their three basic needs​—food, clothing and shelter. So these original North American trappers became extremely adept at their art.

The Indian trapper was successful because of his intimate knowledge of the game he sought. From early childhood he would study the ways of the wildlife around him. He learned their every habit and peculiarity. Some may think of these early trappers as primitive, but the facts are, the first white trappers learned the many tricks of the trade from the Indians.

The Indian was very adept at using the materials available to him. The rawhide snare served him well on land, in water and in the air. The snare, either a spring pole, weighted lever, tension or a deadfall type, was set so as to release when disturbed. At times even signaling devices were used, such as a bunch of dried deer hooves that rattled when the game had been caught. The largest bear could be taken with a snare.

Trapping​—a Business

When the white man arrived, he soon realized the fortune to be made in the fur trade. In 1670 the Hudson’s Bay Company was granted a charter, its name at first being “Adventurers of England Trading into Hudson’s Bay.” The company built forts and bartered with the Indians, trading colorful beads and woolen cloth for beautiful, soft animal pelts. Thus, at first the white man was principally the trader, while the Indians were the trappers.

…