Awake!, December 22, 1978

Download: PDF — Awake!, December 22, 1978

Awake! — December 22, 1978

Source: jw.org

Contents

Page Two

What the World Wars Did to My Family

Desire for Peace, But Will the Nations Disarm?

True Peace—Will It Ever Come?

The Greatest Privilege I’ve Had in Giving

They Won’t Forget Their Oriental Tour!

True Monarch of the Air

“Anthills” That Are Not

Did God Mean “Thou Shalt Not Kill”?

Watching the World

Index to Volume 59 of “Awake!”

Do You Have Problems?

Page Two

3 WHAT THE WORLD WARS DID TO MY FAMILY

Told by a young man who had relatives in both Germany and America during those days

4 DESIRE FOR PEACE, BUT WILL THE NATIONS DISARM?

Facts that are not widely appreciated as to what nations are doing about armaments, and the implications of it all

9 TRUE PEACE—WILL IT EVER COME?

The answer is reassuring, but the agency by which peace will come may not be what you think

What the World Wars Did to My Family

Some of the heartaches and sufferings experienced by his relatives are here related by a young student.

STRANGE THINGS happen during international conflicts, as shown by how the first and second world wars affected my family. Let me tell you first about my great-grandfathers Emil and Max.

Emil was my great-grandfather on my mother’s side. He was the son of German immigrants who lived in a small town in Minnesota in the United States of America. Emil was about 19 years old when he was drafted into the infantry during World War I and sent to fight in France.

My other great-grandfather on my mother’s side was named Max. He lived in Germany in the small village of Einberg. His wife, Mary, had recently died of tuberculosis, and this left Max to care for four little boys, ages ten, eight, six and four. Despite the fact that there was no mother to look after the children, Max was drafted and sent to fight for Germany in France—the same place that my other great-grandfather, Emil, was fighting for America.

One of Max’s four sons was Rudy, who is my grandfather. When Max left to fight in France, Rudy and his three younger brothers were left pretty much on their own, although some of the neighbors would look after them from time to time. The boys got very hungry, because their father was not there to buy them food, and food was very scarce because of the war. So they learned how to steal food in order to stay alive.

In the meantime, over in France, my great-grandfathers Max and Emil were fighting in the trenches. One of the war weapons at that time was the gas bomb. The men in Emil’s trench were bombed and many died. Emil was taken to a hospital. He recovered, but he suffered aftereffects from that gas all his life and died very young. We still wonder if Emil and Max ever met face to face on that battlefield. Both survived this war that was supposed to end all wars.

Later, Hitler came on the scene in Germany. By this time Max’s four boys had grown up and were of draft age. Three of them were taken into Hitler’s army. But the other one, my grandfather Rudy, had immigrated to America and become a baker. He had settled in the same little town in Minnesota that Emil was from, and he married Emil’s daughter, my granny.

Further Hard Times

It wasn’t long before America and Germany went to war against each other again. This was a hard time for my grandparents. How they hoped and prayed that my grandfather Rudy wouldn’t be drafted and have to go to fight against his own brothers on the other side of the world! As it turned out, the government didn’t draft him, because he was considered necessary as a baker to supply food for the community. But all this time Rudy worried about his brothers in Germany and wondered if they were alive.

When America entered the war, my granny’s brother was 17 and about to be graduated from high school. The day after his graduation he was drafted into the army and sent for military training. Would he also have to fight relatives whom he knew about but had never seen?

What had happened to my grandfather Rudy’s brothers in Germany by this time? One was a prisoner of war in Russia. Another one was in an American prisoner-of-war camp in France. In one camp the prisoners were so underfed that one day when a cat walked past the barbed-wire fence, my great-uncle caught and killed it, skinned it and ate it raw! Toward the end of the war, the third brother was being transported on a military train. It was the very day the armistice was declared. His train was bombed, and he was killed.

Back in the little village of Einberg, where the four brothers had grown up, other serious things were happening. My great-grandfather Max, who had remarried some years earlier, had two more children. Germany was losing the war and the occupation forces were everywhere in the countryside. Since most of the fathers had gone off to fight, there was no one at home to protect the families.

Homes would be broken into. There was stealing, and sometimes the women were raped. If the villagers were warned that the soldiers were coming, they would take their daughters out and hide them in the haystacks in the fields so that they would be safe.

The war ended, but the effects didn’t end with the signing of the peace treaty. My grandfather’s brothers went back home to Einberg, Germany, except for the one that died on the train. Their lives have never been the same. One was in and out of the hospital all his life and died very young. The other brother, Bernhard, recently came from Germany to visit us in California. His son has already been through military training. So have my uncles here in America. Does all of this make sense? Where will it all end?

Desire for Peace, But Will the Nations Disarm?

NOTHING makes peace more desirable than to reflect on the horrors of war. Millions were killed and horribly wounded in the Vietnam War, but that is only part of the story. Six months after their return, 38 percent of the married United States veterans were either separated or getting a divorce. Some 175,000 were using heroin. And it is also reported that about half a million have attempted suicide since their discharge!—New York Times, May 27, 1975.

The case of Claude Eatherly, a pilot of the B-29 bomber that dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan, vividly illustrates the horrible aftereffects of war. Claude was discharged from the military in 1947 after psychiatric tests indicated a “severe neurosis and guilt complex.” He was later in and out of mental institutions. “I can remember him waking up night after night,” his brother noted at Claude’s funeral this past summer. “He said his brain was on fire. He said he could feel those people burning.”

To comprehend more fully the horrors of war, reflect on that scene of 33 years ago. It was the morning of August 6, 1945. High above was the B-29 Enola Gay; below was the busy Japanese industrial city of some 400,000 inhabitants. At 8:15 the 13-kiloton atomic bomb, slowed in its fall by three parachutes, exploded at 1,900 feet (580 meters) over the center of Hiroshima. Some 140,000 persons were blasted to death; many of them were roasted alive by the heat and radiation. Victims are still slowly dying due to radiation effects.

The horrors wrought by that atomic blast, and the one three days later over Nagasaki, are beyond human comprehension.

Need for Peace

Less than a month later, on September 2, 1945, Japan formally surrendered. “A new era is upon us,” General Douglas MacArthur observed on that memorable occasion. He continued: “Even the lesson of victory itself brings with it profound concern, both for our future security and the survival of civilization. . . . The utter destructiveness of war now blots out this alternative. We have had our last chance. If we do not devise some greater and more equitable system Armageddon will be at our door.”

These sentiments have often been repeated by world leaders. In the fall of 1961, United States President John F. Kennedy proposed a “program for general and complete disarmament.” He explained that “mankind must put an end to war—or war will put an end to mankind. . . . The risks inherent in disarmament pale in comparison to the risks inherent in an unlimited arms race.”

Have the nations since then made positive steps toward disarmament?

Progress Toward Peace?

Soon after stressing the need for disarmament, President Kennedy asked the U.S. Congress to add $6 billion to the military budget. And that has been the pattern. At one moment there is talk of peace and the extolling of disarmament, but the next moment there are orders for the building of bigger and deadlier weapons. So despite the many fine-sounding proposals—there are more than 9,000 entries in a current bibliography on arms control and disarmament—no progress has been realized. The Nation of May 27, 1978, observes:

“Since 1945, American, Soviet and other diplomats have met at least 6,000 times to discuss ‘disarmament’ and its illegitimate offspring, ‘arms control,’ but in thirty-two years not a single weapon has been eliminated by mutual agreement. On the contrary, the arms race—conventional and nuclear, but especially nuclear—has escalated relentlessly.”

Illustrating the failure, “disarmament” generally is not even the subject of discussion anymore; it is ‘arms control.’ But control of weapons is out of hand. The public in general have lost all confidence that anything in a meaningful way will ever be done to improve the situation.

This was shown earlier this year when the United Nations Special Session on Disarmament was held. In announcing the coming session, a Buffalo News heading read, “U.N. MOVING TO HEAD OFF ARMAGEDDON.” The five-week session was historic in that it was the first global disarmament meeting since the League of Nations Disarmament Conference of 1932-34, some 45 years ago. Yet the meetings received very little prominence in the press or other news channels.

As the sessions moved toward their halfway point, Dr. Frank Barnaby, the director of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, lamented that even less than what he had hoped was being accomplished. “There is an air of pessimism; the general atmosphere is pretty awful,” he said.

Yet, as informed persons realize, there is a crying need for relieving the critical situation. The danger of nuclear war is very real and is increasing, Mr. Barnaby pointed out. And the elderly British delegate Lord Noel-Baker, who was also a delegate to the League of Nations Disarmament Conference, observed: “The great danger is that the facts of nuclear war have just not penetrated.”

What are these facts?

Destructive Power

Particularly, they have to do with the great power of nuclear weapons, the tremendous numbers that are on hand, and the sophisticated means that the nations have developed to deliver them to any target on earth. Consider the facts.

The words kiloton (1,000 tons) and megaton (1,000,000 tons) refer to the TNT equivalent of nuclear weapons. Thus the 13-kiloton Hiroshima bomb was only a small “firecracker” compared to modern multimegaton weapons. For example, bombs up to 60 megatons—over 4,600 times as powerful as the one dropped on Hiroshima—have been tested. Yet, in 1945, it took only that comparatively tiny bomb to incinerate 140,000 people, thousands horribly, and to devastate Hiroshima.

A modern weapon may typically be about a megaton—some 75 times as powerful as the Hiroshima bomb. Since each bomb can wipe out a large city, try to imagine what a multimegaton bomb would do to a populated area such as greater New York, London or Tokyo. The nations have tens of thousands of powerful nuclear weapons, the Soviet Union and the United States possessing the vast majority. These weapons have the power to kill every human on earth so many times over that the figures become meaningless.

The frightening fact is that this destructive power can be used to destroy practically any target on earth, within minutes of its release. An American president was not joking when he said: “I could push this button right here and in 20 minutes 70 million Russians would be dead.”

Today’s missile launchers can deliver warheads accurately, within a few yards of a target thousands of miles away. Furthermore, a modern-type missile will carry a number of bombs. Once the missile reaches the general area to be destroyed, each bomb can be directed to a different target. Nor are missile launchers confined to stationary land positions; missiles can be launched from planes in the air or from vessels in the sea.

A single submarine, equipped with nuclear missile launchers, has a capability for destroying 224 separate targets, each as large as a big city! Both the Soviet Union and the United States have dozens of submarines equipped to deliver such destruction, and they are building larger improved ones. Soon the new U.S. submarine, the Trident, will be in service. Saturday Review explains:

“A Trident has built into it an undersea launching platform for thermonuclear bombs, some of which contain more explosive force than a thousand atomic bombs of the kind that destroyed Hiroshima in 1945. . . . Trident officers have in their hands more power than had been accumulated by human beings in recorded history up through 1945.”

What It All Costs

All this military preparedness costs money, and lots of it. Since 1945 the nations have spent well over $6,000,000,000,000 ($6 trillion) on military activities! The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists of May 1978 observed: “Global military spending currently runs at about $400 billion a year.” And it is increasing rapidly, climbing toward $1 million a minute!

The magnitude of the military buildup is staggering. In 1977 James Reston of the New York Times stated: “Last year, the nations of the world spent 60 times as much equipping each soldier as we spent on educating each child.” Around the world some 60 million people serve in the armed forces or are engaged in military-related occupations. About half the world’s scientists are employed in weapons development.

Think of what could be accomplished if all that money and effort were channeled to constructive purposes rather than the building of armaments. There could be fine housing for all, better health care and education, and many other benefits. As it is, armament programs are contributing to the bankruptcy of nations, both physically and morally.

The claim is made, however, that military preparedness will prevent war. But has it? To the contrary. Since 1945 more than 25 million persons have been killed in some 150 wars fought around the globe. On any given day, there have been, on the average, 12 wars going on somewhere in the world. True, since 1945 nuclear bombs have not been used in these wars. But does building up vast stockpiles of such weapons, as well as developing sophisticated methods of delivering them, make their use less likely?

Many do not think so. As a former U.S. congressman from Oregon said: “The cards are stacked now for vast destruction and death. . . . The facts can be stated in a few words. First, thousands of nuclear weapons, many of unthinkable power, exist today. Second, almost all of them are ready for instant detonation. Third, their custodians are human beings.”

Yes, humans are imperfect; they are subject to error and prone to selfishness and greed, setting the stage for war. The Bible shows where selfish desire may lead: “Where do these wars and battles between yourselves first start? Isn’t it precisely in the desires fighting inside your own selves? You want something and you haven’t got it; so you are prepared to kill. You have an ambition that you cannot satisfy; so you fight to get your way by force.”—Jas. 4:1, 2, The Jerusalem Bible.

Nations will fight with what is at hand. By 1985, says the Stockholm International Peace Institute, some 35 nations will achieve nuclear capability. With what result? “Stable nuclear deterrence as we have known it will become impossible,” warns the institute, “and war will become inevitable.”

Any Hope for Peace?

Mankind’s desire for peace is strong. At the recent United Nations Special Session on Disarmament, 500 Japanese observers presented U.N. officials with 20 million signatures on petitions calling for immediate world disarmament. These petitions filled 450 cartons weighing more than 12 tons!

Will disarmament and peace ever be realized? If we are to judge by the actions of world leaders, the answer is a definite, No. They are doing virtually nothing to put the armaments race into reverse. This was again illustrated by their attitude toward the Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which it was hoped would make outer space a zone of peace. The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists observes: “The treaty has done little to check the number of military satellites. About 75 percent of all satellites launched have military uses. During 1977, 133 satellites were launched, and of these 95 were military satellites.”

Yet there is basis for confidence that disarmament and peace will be realized. The Bible promise inscribed on a stone wall just across from the United Nations’ main building proclaims: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruninghooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more.”—Isa. 2:4, Authorized Version.

But how will this promise be fulfilled? The United Nations obviously has not been able to fulfill it. What basis, then, is there for confidence that true peace will be realized? Is religion the answer?

[Blurb on page 5]

[Blurb on page 6]

[Blurb on page 7]

“In the past thirty-three years, there has been continuous fighting around the globe—or, as one Hungarian professor computed it, ‘there were no more than twenty-six days . . . in which there was no war somewhere in the world.’ That same professor calculated that in the past three decades, some twenty-five million souls have perished in battle, a figure representing more military fatalities than were incurred in both world wars combined.”—Esquire, March 1, 1978.

[Blurb on page 8]

“About 75 percent of all satellites launched have military uses. During 1977, 133 satellites were launched, and of these 95 were military satellites.”—The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, May 1978.

[Picture on page 8]

THEY SHALL BEAT THEIR SWORDS INTO PLOWSHARES AND THEIR SPEARS INTO PRUNING HOOKS NATION SHALL NOT LIFT UP SWORD AGAINST NATION NEITHER SHALL THEY LEARN WAR ANY MORE

ISAIAH

True Peace—Will It Ever Come?

RELIGION is often viewed as the chief advocate of peace. Especially during the Christmas season do the churches pay homage to the babe Jesus, the promised “Prince of Peace.” In religious circles throughout the world the Bible account is retold of the angels appearing to shepherds, and saying: “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”—Luke 2:14, Authorized Version.

How good those words sound in this war-threatened, yes, and in many places, war-torn, world! Humanity indeed yearns for a genuine peace. Thus the Bible promise regarding mankind ‘not learning war any more’ strikes a responsive chord in the hearts of many. (Isa. 2:4) But can the world’s religions be depended on to promote such a longed-for peace?

What History Shows

Well, what has been the record of the world’s religions? Have they been a force for peace, or have they in fact been supporters of war? What was the case in ancient times?

The Encyclopædia of Religion and Ethics, edited by James Hastings, notes: “Egyptian religion never condemned war. . . . In short, all war was moral, ideal, supernatural, and sanctioned by divine precedent.” Of Assyria, W. B. Wright says in his book Ancient Cities: “Fighting was the business of the nation, and the priests were incessant fomenters of war . . . this race of plunderers was excessively religious.”

‘But that was long before Jesus introduced Christianity,’ someone may protest. And that is true. Christ’s early followers did not support the nations’ wars. The book Paganism to Christianity in the Roman Empire by W. W. Hyde observes: “During the first three centuries . . . Christians were opposed to serving as professional killers in the Roman armies. This early spirit, however, gradually changed.” Yes, in time, Christendom’s churches failed to hold to Christ’s teachings. The Catholic historian E. E. Watkin acknowledges:

“Painful as the admission must be, we cannot in the interest of a false edification or dishonest loyalty deny or ignore the historical fact that Bishops have consistently supported all wars waged by the government of their country. I do not know in fact of a single instance in which a national hierarchy has condemned as unjust any war . . . Whatever the official theory, in practice ‘my country always right’ has been the maxim followed in wartime by Catholic Bishops.”—“Morals and Missiles,” edited by Charles S. Thompson, pp. 57, 58.

Similarly, the late Harry Emerson Fosdick, a prominent Protestant clergyman, admitted: “Even in our churches we have put the battle flags . . . With one corner of our mouth we have praised the Prince of Peace and with the other we have glorified war.” This has been particularly true within recent memory, when “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition” became a popular American song during World War II. But what was the situation in Germany?

Friedrich Heer, a Roman Catholic professor of history at Vienna University, explained:

“In the cold facts of German history, the Cross and the swastika came ever closer together, until the swastika proclaimed the message of victory from the towers of German cathedrals, swastika flags appeared round altars and Catholic and Protestant theologians, pastors, churchmen and statesmen welcomed the alliance with Hitler.”—“God’s First Love,” Friedrich Heer, p. 247.

A few years before, during World War I, the same situation existed: the churches on both sides promoted the war efforts of their respective countries in the most vigorous way. The respected church historian Roland H. Bainton observes in his book Christian Attitudes Toward War and Peace:

“American churchmen of all faiths were never so united with each other and with the mind of the country. This was a holy war. Jesus was dressed in khaki and portrayed sighting down a gun barrel. The Germans were Huns. To kill them was to purge the earth of monsters.”

The facts are all too evident to be denied. Religion has not been a force for peace. Rather, it has been a supporter, and, at times, even a promoter, of war. This is still true. The article RELIGIOUS WARS—A BLOODY ZEAL, in a recent Time magazine, noted:

“The scenes are macabre. Religious images adorn vehicles and guns as Christian soldiers, some of them wearing crosses around their necks, storm Moslem strongholds. Moslem soldiers, in their turn, strip or mutilate the bodies of dead Christian soldiers, tie them to cars and drag them through the streets. In the vicious war in Lebanon, religion is a palpable presence. . . .

“Fighting and dying under religious flags go on with a violent persistence elsewhere around the world. Protestants and Roman Catholics in Ulster trade killings in a kind of perpetual motion of futility. Arabs and Israelis stand tensely at borders of territorial, cultural and religious dispute. In the Philippines, Moslem separatists are in rebellion against a Christian majority. Greek-Cypriot Orthodox Christians confront Turkish-Cypriot Moslems across a sullen truce line. Pakistan separated from India because Moslems feared the rule of a Hindu Majority.”—July 12, 1976.

What Christ Must Think

What do you suppose the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, thinks of these religions, especially those that claim to represent him? Surely he is not pleased with them! No doubt he had such religious hypocrisy in mind when he said: “Not everyone saying to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter into the kingdom of the heavens, but the one doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens will.”—Matt. 7:21.

During the Christmas season, for example, the churches pay a lot of lip service to Jesus, the Prince of Peace. They say that they are celebrating his birthday. Beautiful songs are sung, and artfully contrived nativity scenes are displayed to memorialize the event. But then celebrants commonly go out and engage in wild revelry, drunkenness and immoral living. What are they really celebrating?

“The Christmas festival is the Christian revision of the Roman day of the winter solstice,” explains the Encyclopædia Britannica. The Roman December festivities were terribly licentious, and putting Christ’s name to them did not change the situation. Says the book Curiosities of Popular Customs by W. S. Walsh: “The wild revels, indeed, of the Christmas period in olden times almost stagger belief. Obscenity, drunkenness, blasphemy,—nothing came amiss. License was carried to the fullest extent of licentiousness.”

When the churches attach Christ’s name to such riotous festivities, imagine how displeased Christ must be! But consider how the Christmas celebration, in a more subtle way, undermines Christ’s position as the Prince of Peace.

A Baby or a Reigning King?

At the Christmas season, how do the churches depict Jesus? Is it not as a babe in a manger? As a result, many people seem to think of Jesus only in such terms, as a baby dependent on the care of others. But is this a true picture of Christ’s position?

Not at all! Christ is a prince, being the Son of the Almighty King, Jehovah God. Yet he is more than a baby prince. He has been given rulership and authority. The ancient Bible prophecy foretold: “The princely rule will come to be upon his shoulder. And his name will be called . . . Prince of Peace.” (Isa. 9:6) To fulfill this prophecy, after his death on earth Jesus was raised to heavenly life, and he was eventually enthroned as God’s king there in the heavens.

So Christ in no way resembles any longer a babe in a manger. He is God’s reigning king! How inappropriate, then, to focus primary attention on him as a baby! We thereby miss the whole point of his role in connection with the present world situation, and with the crying need for peace. And what is Christ’s role?

He is the appointed Ruler that God will use to bring peace to earth. But this will not occur in the way that many may expect. Please open your Bible to Revelation chapter 19 and read verses 11 to 16. It is vital that we get the picture of Christ’s position here described—as a mighty ruler at the head of God’s angelic forces. Notice the scripture says that Christ, who is “The Word of God,” will ‘strike the nations with a rod of iron,’ removing them to make way for God’s government of peace.

This, then, is how true peace will be realized. It will not come by any efforts of men—they have totally failed. But it will be realized by means of God’s Kingdom government. We are now living at the time when this Bible prophecy will be fulfilled: “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. And the kingdom itself . . . will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite.”—Dan. 2:44.

A Time of Decision

In view of the foretold destruction of all these present governments, including the religions that support them, it is vital that we examine our own situation. Jesus said: “My kingdom is no part of this world,” and he also said of his true followers, “They are no part of the world.” (John 18:36; 17:16) Does your religion adhere to these statements of Jesus? There is one religion that does. Pointing to it, the Roman Catholic St. Anthony Messenger of May 1973 observed:

“Jehovah’s Witnesses stand outside the ‘establishment’ and accept no responsibility to bless whatever the secular government decides to do. Thousands of good people find such aloofness from political and economic interests closer to the spirit of the New Testament than the present sometimes cozy arrangements between Church and state. Too close an identification of one with the other stifles the prophetic voice of the Church and turns priests and ministers into spiritual cheerleaders. The Christian churches often convey the impression that they will bless any war or adventure the leaders of the state decide to launch.”

Clearly, Jehovah’s Witnesses are different from the churches and religions of the world. For true peace, they have put their hope and trust, not in the governments of men, but in the rule of the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. If you agree that violence does not make sense, and you would like to live on earth when peace is universal, contact Jehovah’s Witnesses. They will be pleased to help you to learn more about how true peace will soon be realized under the rule of God’s kingdom.

“O God, give your own judicial decisions to the king, and your righteousness to the son of the king. In his days the righteous one will sprout, and the abundance of peace until the moon is no more. And he will have subjects from sea to sea and from the River to the ends of the earth.”

[Picture on page 11]

How do you view Jesus—as a reigning king or as a little baby?

The Greatest Privilege I’ve Had in Giving

As told by Vicki Johnson to a staff writer

It is often difficult to get persons with healthy ears and eyes to listen to and see the truths concerning God’s kingdom. Now I was faced with the challenge of teaching them to a young woman deaf and blind from birth!

MY HUSBAND and I live on the property adjacent to the Helen Keller National Center for the Deaf-Blind, located in Sands Point, Long Island, New York. As we watched the building nearing completion we wondered about people blind and deaf, some even from birth. Never to have seen the beauties of the earth, or to have heard its joyful sounds! The mere thought overwhelmed us; the imagining of life in such total darkness and silence was impossible for us! We know of Jehovah’s promise that the paradise earth under his Kingdom rule would restore sight and hearing to those blind and deaf, but how could we convey this hope to those who would soon be our neighbors? We prayed that a way to do this would open up for us.

In September 1977, the way was opened. Our congregation of Jehovah’s Witnesses received a letter from Georgine Dilts of Seattle, Washington. She had been conducting a Bible study in Braille with 25-year-old Debbie Curry, a young woman blind and deaf from birth. Debbie was first approached by Dallas Talley, a blind Witness. He studied with her and took her to meetings, but eventually referred her to Georgine Dilts, who knew the sign language for the deaf. And now, Georgine informed us that Debbie was being sent to the Helen Keller Center next to our home. Our congregation was asked to assign someone to continue the Bible study with her. I was the one asked to do this! How could I? My world was filled with sights and sounds. I took seeing and hearing for granted. How could I relate to Debbie in her dark and silent world? How could I communicate with her? I didn’t know finger spelling—and even if I had known it she couldn’t see it!

When I met Debbie at the institute my fears were lessened, if not totally put to rest. I didn’t need to know finger spelling to speak to her. I talked normally, and she used her hand as her ears. As I spoke she rested her thumb on my lips and her fingers on my jaw and throat. By feeling the movements of my lips and jaw and the vibrations of my throat, she knew what I was saying! This is called the Tadoma method. The word is not yet in the dictionaries. It is formed by combining the first names of the deaf-blind brother and sister first trained in its use—Tad and Oma. Debbie spoke to me with her voice, though I had some difficulty at first in understanding everything she said. Her ability to speak vocally is amazing inasmuch as she has never heard any words spoken!

Her first question was, “When can I go to the Kingdom Hall?” That very week she accompanied me to one of the congregation’s book studies, and I arranged to conduct a home Bible study with her. She also started attending certain weekly meetings at the Kingdom Hall. The first is a school that trains us to preach, and the second helps us to organize the preaching work.

Steps Taken to Help Debbie

At first I took along publications in Braille for her to read during the meetings, but that was only temporary. I and another woman in the congregation took courses in both finger spelling and signing words, and in a few weeks we took turns interpreting the meetings for Debbie. She would hold our hand lightly in hers as we finger spelled or signed what was being said. She was happy to feel a part of all that was going on. Later on I had a student talk in the training school. Debbie wanted to take part in it. I planned my presentation so that she could say a few words in it, and this thrilled her immensely. She also comments at the congregation book study.

The Watchtower Society is aware of the needs of the handicapped. It has books about the Bible in Braille, many of which have been loaned to Debbie. In its Braille department, the Society embosses many of its publications for blind readers. In Debbie’s personal Bible study we use the book The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life. She has the book in Braille, reads each paragraph with its question aloud, and then gives the answer. The study articles in every other issue of the Watchtower magazine are published in Braille. This made Debbie eager to attend the Sunday meeting at the Kingdom Hall when this magazine is studied.

The Helen Keller Center where Debbie lives must give permission to do this. The Center is not opposed to Jehovah’s Witnesses, but it is very protective toward its clients. Jack, one of the volunteer workers, had been taking Debbie to the Catholic church on Sunday mornings. He was very kind to her, took her swimming, to restaurants, and to other places. Those at the Center felt that this was a good arrangement and were reluctant to change it. So the Center favored Debbie’s time being divided between us—the Kingdom Hall with me during the week, the Catholic church with Jack on Sunday.

However, Debbie’s continual request was to go to the Kingdom Hall on Sunday. Her social worker finally agreed that she could make this change if she would tell Jack of her wish to do so. This was difficult for her. She was fond of him. He had been very good to her. She also wanted him to learn about life in Jehovah’s earthly paradise.

She invited Jack to her personal Bible study. He is a staunch Catholic, but he could not say No to Debbie. So he found himself sitting in on what he thought would be something like a Ku Klux Klan meeting. At the Center they had discussed ‘these people who whisk Debbie off to several religious meetings a week,’ saying that ‘one meeting a week was extremely religious,’ so ‘these people must be strange indeed.’ Jack told us this, but added, “You’re very normal, hospitable people and you really care about Debbie.” He returned to the Center with the recommendation that Debbie be allowed to spend time with us whenever we wanted to have her. Her attendance at Sunday Watchtower studies began immediately.

“I Have No Problems”

One of the Watchtower lessons was about ‘throwing your burdens on Jehovah.’ Afterward I reviewed some of the points with Debbie.

“When we have problems,” I said, “we can always go to Jehovah God in prayer and talk to him about them. We should never be hesitant to go to him with any problems that come up in our lives.”

This young woman who has spent the 26 years of her life in total darkness and total silence responded, “I have no problems.” Compared to her, I am the one who has no problems!

On one occasion a slight problem did arise. I conduct a Bible study with Denise, a teen-age girl who also attends meetings at the Kingdom Hall. She was scheduled to give a student talk, and I was going over her notes with her. Debbie put her hand over the notes. I removed it, but she covered them again. The third time this happened I moved her hand away and held it briefly. Debbie turned her back on me. After finishing with Denise I turned to Debbie. She pulled an old letter from her grandmother out of her purse and handed it to me to read—I’d already read it for her several times. When I got to the part where her grandmother told her that she did not need to be baptized again because she had been baptized in the Bethany Pentecostal church when she was a little girl, Debbie took the letter from me. She was telling me something.

“Then you don’t want to be baptized as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses?” I asked.

“No.”

“You said before that you did. Now you don’t?”

“No.”

“When did you change your mind?” She didn’t answer.

“Do you want to be a Pentecostal or one of Jehovah’s Witnesses?”

“Pentecostal.”

“Do you still want to study the Bible with me?”

“No.”

“Do you want me to pick you up Thursday to go to the Kingdom Hall?”

She hesitated, but finally said, “Yes.”

I realized what was the matter. She was jealous because I had spent time with Denise. She wanted to hurt me by rejecting the Witnesses. I let the matter drop, but brought it up at our next meeting. She didn’t want to talk about it.

“The last time we talked,” I said, “you didn’t want to be one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Did you mean that?”

“No.”

“You were angry.”

“No!” She was adamant. She didn’t want me to think that she was angry.

“Yes,” I said, “you were angry. That’s understandable. You wanted my attention. But it was Denise’s turn. My giving attention to Denise doesn’t mean that I don’t love you. Do you understand that?”

She didn’t answer, and I continued:

“It’s like a mother who has more than one child. She loves all her children, but she gives attention to different ones at different times. The other day it was Denise’s time. This is your time. If you are going to be angry, be angry with me, but never be angry with Jehovah or his truth. I get angry sometimes. It’s a human weakness, and we try to overcome it.”

Debbie got the point. She has never shown jealousy since. I have learned firsthand what her grandmother in Washington State told me in a letter: “She is a very happy young lady as I’m sure you’ve discovered, and very rarely displays temper.” Debbie’s grandmother also provided some interesting information, as follows:

“The film ‘A Day with Debbie’ is in the library of Congress. This was taken as an educational film to help others who were handicapped. She was between 8 and 9 years old at the time. She has appeared on TV programs, at college classes and many other group programs. This was to instill in parents the fact that a handicapped child can and should have opportunities for an education and also have a part in community activities.”

The grandmother’s letter to me closes very graciously: “Again I want to thank you, your husband and your friends who have been so kind and loving to our Debbie.” I greatly appreciated her letter. She is concerned about Debbie’s welfare. When I started studying with Debbie her grandmother checked with the Center about this. The social worker assured her that it was good for Debbie, that Jehovah’s Witnesses are “a tightly knit group who really care for those they study with.”

Joys Shared with Debbie

Early in my relationship with Debbie I wanted to make her feel at ease with me. I said to her: “I want you to feel free with me. Don’t hesitate to ask any questions that you want to.” To my amusement and delight she responded immediately, “Can we go out for pizza?” She enjoys eating at restaurants, and if it isn’t pizza it’s hamburgers and French fries. She has asked me to take her swimming. She is cute in the way she makes her requests. Instead of coming right out and asking, she usually says, “What are you doing Saturday morning? In the afternoon? Saturday evening? Sunday afternoon?” She goes to some dances, has a vibrator on her arm that picks up the vibrations, and in this way she enjoys music.

Another joy we share is telling others about Jehovah’s kingdom. After studying the Bible a few months she wanted to join me in witnessing from door to door. I prepared a brief written message for her to present to the householder. It tells them that she doesn’t see or hear, but would like for them to consider this scripture—I then read the text and a discussion follows. Debbie knows the importance of sharing this knowledge with others and wants to do her part. After her first time going from door to door with me she said: “When can I have a Bible study with someone? I want to teach people the Bible.” Through Debbie and her social worker all those at the Helen Keller National Center know about the work of Jehovah’s Witnesses.

When my husband and I took her to the Watchtower Society’s world headquarters in Brooklyn she was interested in touching things. Generally we had tried to get her to touch objects, thinking this would help her to learn about them. But, strangely, she is reluctant to do this. However, when touring the printing plant she wanted to touch everything—paper, cloth, flexible glue, machinery. Under careful supervision she even felt the vibrations of the big rotary printing presses as they turned out thousands of books or magazines.

Our greatest joy shared with Debbie came at the “Victorious Faith” International Convention held in July at Shea Stadium in New York. There, before 55,000 conventioners, Debbie, along with 486 others, symbolized her dedication to Jehovah God by water immersion! The event was televised on that evening’s newscast.

The Supreme Joy That Lies Ahead

Debbie eagerly looks forward to the time in Jehovah’s paradise earth when she will see and hear as other people do. Imagine her thrill when she first opens her eyes and sees mountains, forests, rushing rivers and surging oceans, flowers and birds and graceful animals, men and women—and herself! I hope that I am privileged to be there to see this, and to see her wonder and amazement as she hears the song of a mockingbird, the sound of the wind, the hum of insects, the roar of a waterfall, and human voices—including her own! We tend to take all of this for granted. Debbie Curry won’t. Do we fully appreciate our eyes and ears? Debbie Curry will.

At times it is taxing to work for hours with Debbie, but it’s worth all the effort when she says, “I prayed to Jehovah for strength last night,” or when she smiles and literally shivers with happiness over some little thing, or when she stops in the middle of her Bible study to hug me and say, “I love my Bible study.” Truly, in my 40 years as a Witness, this has been the greatest privilege I’ve had in giving!

They Won’t Forget Their Oriental Tour!

“UNFORGETTABLE days!” That was the way one couple expressed themselves about their tour of the Orient. Those sentiments were echoed by the many different tour groups that traveled there from various parts of the globe.

What was the object of these tours that resulted in such expressions of appreciation? It was the series of “Victorious Faith” International Conventions of Jehovah’s Witnesses held in Oriental lands during the late summer.

Taste of Things to Come

Before the tours made their long journey to the Orient, a taste of good things to come was experienced in the Hawaiian Islands. The visitors were welcomed with the traditional Hawaiian warmth and hospitality.

Two international conventions were held there during July, with more than 17,500 attending. In addition to the upbuilding program centering on God’s purposes, the visitors were treated to a display of local flavor. On three of the days, before the program began, a one-hour presentation featured colorful songs and dances of Hawaii and other islands of the Pacific. Firsthand reports told of developments in places that many visitors had barely heard of, such as Truk, Ponape, Palau, Kosrae, and Yap.

One of the experiences related was from Yap, in the Western Pacific. An 18-year-old Witness greatly desired to attend the assembly in Hawaii, but had no way of making the money to pay the fare. Her father had died and her mother had abandoned her. To help her to attend the assembly, her fellow Witnesses gave her $500 (U.S.). Some of them started fishing, sometimes six to eight hours a night, selling the fish in the morning. Other Witnesses picked coconuts after work and sold them to stores. Also, they made copra to sell. From these activities an additional $900 (U.S.) was obtained, enabling the young Witness to attend assemblies, not only in Hawaii, but also in the continental United States and Canada—her first trip off the tiny island of Yap!

On to Japan

A little over a week later, international conventions began in Japan. Of the many tours headed that way, one left from Anchorage, Alaska, aboard a Japan Airlines flight. One of the tour group related the following:

“It was after 5 p.m. when the giant DC-10 became airborne. We marveled at the sight of Alaska’s rugged mountain ranges below and at Mount McKinley in the distance, bathed in the light of the setting sun.

“About then a voice greeted me with the remark: ‘Is this your first trip to Japan?’ The young woman was Oriental, but from San Francisco, and was not part of our tour. ‘You’ll love Japan,’ she said, but then added, ‘Americans are always so open and so ready to smile even at strangers. Japanese by nature are not like that.’ But she was in line for a pleasant, unexpected surprise.

“Hours later, when we arrived in Tokyo, we were greeted by a whole congregation of Japanese Witnesses who had come to meet us. We were engulfed in a burst of excitement and friendliness. There were shouts of joy, applause, hugs and kisses. This demonstration of extraordinary warmth was very touching. I then turned to the woman who spoke to me on the plane about the Japanese being reserved and asked jokingly: ‘Did you say Japanese don’t smile, that they’re reserved?’ She laughed and shrugged her shoulders.”

Assembly Experiences

Nagoya, Osaka, Sapporo and Tokyo were the convention cities. Together they had an attendance of over 78,000, about 47,000 more than in 1973, the last time international assemblies were held in Japan.

When the assembly at Osaka was about to start, two vicious typhoons headed toward that coastal city. More than 800 Witnesses coming by chartered ship from Okinawa had to brave one of these typhoons. What was normally a 35-hour journey took 64 hours amid mountainous seas. The ship arrived at Osaka at 7 a.m. on the second day of the assembly. And where did the delegates go? To their accommodations to rest? No, they went straight to the convention! And after the day’s sessions, a group of these Okinawans volunteered their services to work at the assembly!

Many were impressed by a heart-touching procedure experienced by each speaker just before giving his talk. Because of the typhoons, there was much rain. So an elderly Witness, one who has been preaching full time for more than 20 years, waited with shoe-cleaning equipment. She took the dirt and mud off each speaker’s shoes and polished them, a modern-day version of Jesus’ instructions to “wash the feet of one another.”—John 13:14.

Religious Superstition

Not far from Osaka is the city of Kyoto, where there are many Shinto and Buddhist temples and shrines. A tour was arranged to visit some of these places.

But what are those papers tied to trees in the gardens of the temples? A guide explains that those who have certain wishes buy a printed prayer or oracle that is prepared for that particular wish. Then the purchaser goes to a tree in the temple area and ties it to a branch. The individual is not thinking of a personal God, but of the “spirits” of people, now dead, who made the temple or shrine famous. It is felt that they were persons of power and can grant favors from ‘the other world.’ Yet, God’s Word clearly shows that the dead are unable to help the living.—Eccl. 9:5, 10.

The travelers also saw people coming to large altars housed in the temples or shrines. These people would throw an offering of money into a large box, then pull a cord so that a wooden block would strike a bell. Others would clap their hands. It was explained that these actions attracted the attention of the “god” to whom they wanted to make an entreaty. The impression left is that the “god” was sleeping or else preoccupied. It reminded visitors of Elijah and his experience with the Baal worshipers.—1 Ki. 18:27.

Great Contrast

What a contrast such sights were to the tours of the three branch facilities of the Watch Tower Society at Tokyo, Numazu and Ebina! These were throbbing with upbuilding activity, designed to help persons to free themselves from false worship.

Originally the facilities in Tokyo handled the work in Japan. But the growth of the work meant putting up another plant at Numazu, completed in 1972. By 1978 the staff had printed and shipped out over 100 million Watchtower and Awake! magazines from this factory!

As the work continued to expand rapidly another property was obtained at Ebina. Now a factory is going up there with a floor space of over 10,000 square meters (107,000 square feet), more than three times the space at Numazu. All the work is being done by Jehovah’s Witnesses, and completion is expected in a year. The facility will house 350 workers, a new four-color offset rotary press and automatic bookbinding lines capable of producing over 40,000 books a day.

Next: Korea

About a week after the Japanese assemblies began, others started in Korea. There were four—one in Taegu, two in Seoul, and another in Taejon, with a total attendance of 33,181.

One of the overseas visitors later said: “Quite different in appearance and custom from our Japanese friends, our Korean brothers and sisters truly matched their hospitality. Almost every evening Korean brothers called at the hotel to pick up some of our tour group to take them to their home, or to some other location, to dine on their distinctive cooking and enjoy warm family gatherings.” Often the visitors were treated to Korean music, song and dance. All were deeply impressed with this warmhearted hospitality.

The Korean Witnesses face many problems. Family opposition due to tradition is prevalent. One experience related was that of a police officer whose wife became one of Jehovah’s Witnesses. In his rage he told her: “You quit this religion, or I’ll shoot you!” In anger he took out his gun, and then to ‘save face’ shot, but with the gun pointed at the ceiling. Yet he later became interested in the Bible, and now is one of Jehovah’s Witnesses himself, along with all six of his children! Recently, he has been appointed a Christian elder.

After the Japanese and Korean tours, one visitor exclaimed: “So far our trip was like climbing a mountain—the higher one climbs the greater the thrill. The farther we went on this tour the greater was our joy of being with our fellow servants of God in these different countries. So we asked ourselves: Can anything equal what we have experienced so far?”

Hong Kong was ready to meet the challenge.

Enthusiastic Chinese

It was interesting to learn that more than 500 of the 750 Jehovah’s Witnesses in Hong Kong had never attended an international convention. They were thrilled to have so many visitors from different countries. Said one: “This convention helps us to realize that people of one faith can live together in peace and harmony.” Another commented: “Truly we are all being taught by Jehovah no matter what our race or color, or what language we speak.”

The Hong Kong brothers and sisters warmly welcomed the visitors. One visitor related: “Their open friendliness pleased us instantly. They would come up in groups of threes and fours and say: ‘My name is Loo Mei Ling. But Rose is my American name. Loo is my family name. What’s your name? Tell me an experience.’”

The convention program conducted by the Chinese was outstanding, as was their melodic singing. All were delighted by the attendance of over 1,300.

Another unforgettable highlight was when the visitors joined the Chinese Witnesses in calling on the people of Hong Kong in their homes. An overseas delegate said: “So many of us took part that Hong Kong looked as though it was under invasion by Westerners. Some of us memorized brief introductory comments, such as ‘Jo San,’ which is supposed to mean ‘good morning,’ depending on how you say it! We would say the phrase at the door and then our Chinese partner would quickly step in and rescue us by talking to the householder in the native tongue. These moments together, whether calling at the homes, visiting the branch, or attending the assembly, has an emotional, rewarding spiritual effect on all of us.”

Philippine Hospitality

As August drew to a close, the next stop for many tours was Manila, in the Philippines. There two adjacent stadiums in the Rizal Memorial complex were used, with a combined attendance of over 35,000.

A pleasurable visit was made to the branch office of the Watch Tower Society in suburban Quezon City. Busloads of foreign delegates would pull into the driveway, and right there on the spacious lawn the members of the branch and other helpers were ready to serve food and cool drinks before the visitors made a tour of the premises.

Sharing meals together with the Philippine Witnesses and hearing their experiences added more unforgettable memories. In the evenings various ones of the tour would come together to compare notes and exchange thoughts.

But time was moving fast. Tomorrow? Off to Taipei, the capital city of Taiwan, for the next international assembly.

Not Easily Forgotten

Many of the travelers will long have vivid memories of their visit to Taiwan, with its bustling capital city and many scenic attractions. But most unforgettable was the thrill of being with their fellow Witnesses in Taiwan for the very first time and seeing their strong faith in God.

That faith is being tested in Taiwan. One reason why is that when a person becomes one of Jehovah’s Witnesses, often the rest of the family bitterly opposes. However, at the convention, where over 1,600 attended, four Chinese from different families saw other members of their families get baptized as Jehovah’s Witnesses! This showed that trying to help other family members to learn the truths in God’s Word at times gets a favorable response.

Here, too, a special program was put on for the visitors, and it was immensely enjoyed. Instruments such as the flute, drums, stringed instruments and gongs were all woven together into a fascinating fabric of sound. Witnesses from the Amis tribe, dressed magnificently in their costumes, sang and danced for the tours.

At the conclusion of the visit, this comment expressed the feeling of all the visitors: “The love and hospitality shown by the Taiwan brothers will always be in our memories.”

Truly International

The next part of our tour, at the end of August, was to Port Moresby, in Papua New Guinea. There 80 different language groups were represented! About 1,000 visitors (mostly white) from other lands met with about 2,000 native Witnesses.

The impact that these various groups had on one another was unforgettable. The average white does not treat these native people kindly. Yet here was genuine fraternization by people of many races, with real love shown.

The assembly of almost 3,000 was the largest meeting of Jehovah’s Witnesses ever seen on this island. It was a real “eye-opener” for the 110,000 residents of Port Moresby.

The transforming power of God’s Word was evident from the experience of a Witness from the highlands. In earlier days he had been a leader in fierce intertribal fighting, had killed several people and wounded many others. But now, as a Witness, he travels in the same area where he had led tribal feuding, preaching the good news about God’s marvelous healing of spiritual wounds, and the physical healing to come in God’s new order.

Peace Instead of Battle

From Port Moresby a flight of just over two hours took visitors to Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. About 35 years ago this island made world headlines as a theater of the Pacific war. The vicious fighting resulted in many casualties. At the bottom of one bay alone there are said to be at least 48 warships, as well as many other ships, sunk in the fighting.

But early in September, Guadalcanal was the scene for a gathering of the most peaceful people on earth. They were attending the “Victorious Faith” International Convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses at the city of Honiara. The Witnesses working on convention preparation got a jarring reminder of the war days when a long-buried 500-pound bomb exploded just outside of town.

Part of this preparation was the building of special accommodations for the native Witnesses from the various islands. These were long houses with walls and roofs of thatched palm leaves. Some of the Witnesses had worked full time for several months, first cutting the leaves on their home island of Malaita, then traveling with them to Honiara where they were sewed into panels. Then came the erection of timber frames and the closing in of the houses with the leaf panels.

Of great interest was the number of former heathen among the native Witnesses. Some had been heathen priests, active worshipers of the Devil, living according to rules that labeled living in the same house with a woman, or even eating food cooked or handled by a woman, as tambu (forbidden). But now at the convention these same ones sat down with their brothers and sisters, ate food prepared by sisters, and were happy that the clean worship of Jehovah had freed them from their former enslaving tambu.

The assembly made a deep impression on the community. On the Sunday of the convention the town clerk spoke on the radio to express his pleasure with the care that the Witnesses had taken of the Community Center, where the assembly was held. He said it was far cleaner than the regular employees had ever left it. Over and over, local Witnesses were approached by people who knew them and who told them how impressed they were by the organization and the program. Also gratifying was the attendance of nearly 1,500, the highest ever for the Solomon Islands.

Following the convention, the many visitors departed for their widely scattered homes all over the globe. They would take with them the good things that they had heard and experienced at all the Oriental assemblies.

The tours were arranged primarily for spiritual purposes, to be with the Oriental brothers and sisters, and to experience an interchange of encouragement. Those purposes were fulfilled beyond expectations, causing one visitor to say: “Those were truly unforgettable days, days in which extraordinary hospitality and love were shown.” Thus it can be understood why many said that they regarded this series of international assemblies as “the best yet.”

[Picture on page 17]

At Honolulu, conventioners came from many lands, including these from Ponape in the Pacific

[Picture on page 19]

At Osaka, a ‘contest’ between an abacus and an electronic calculator resulted in a ‘draw’; visitors were also treated to a performance on the “koto,” a stringed instrument

[Picture on page 20]

A delegate from the United States enjoys the association of new friends at the Seoul, Korea, assembly

[Pictures on page 21]

A cafeteria with plenty of rice for conventioners at Taipei; and a mother from the Amis tribe with her baby

[Picture on page 22]

Welcome sign at the Papua New Guinea assembly in Port Moresby includes directions in Pidgin English

…

Refine Search

Index Downloading...

Awake!, December 22, 1978