Awake!, April 22, 1993

Awake! — April 22, 1993

Source: jw.org

Contents

Page Two

Religion’s Role in Man’s Wars

What Hope for an End to War?

My Reflections as a Military Historian

Would You Like to Entertain Your Friends?

Should I Move to a More Prosperous Country?

Science—Mankind’s Ongoing Search for Truth

Where Have All the Quaggas Gone?

House of Worship Torched

Watching the World

From Our Readers

Therapy for Mind and Body

Appreciation for Awake!

Page Two

Does God Take Sides in War? 3-13

Does God favor one nation over another during war? How does God view churches that pray for the destruction of others? Will there ever be a world without war? The following articles will answer.

Would You Like to Entertain Your Friends? 14

Why do some efforts by even talented performers fail? Learn how you can succeed.

The Search Begins 20

Learn when the search for scientific truth began and about the efforts in early times to arrive at such truth.

[Picture Credit Line on page 2]

Photos on cover and page 2: Bill Gentile/Sipa Press

Religion’s Role in Man’s Wars

“THERE has never been a people that did not have some form of religion,” says The World Book Encyclopedia (1970 edition). Yet, historians Will and Ariel Durant wrote: “War is one of the constants of history.” Are these two constants, war and religion, somehow connected?

Indeed, throughout history, war and religion have been inseparable. Of Egypt, one of history’s first world powers, Lionel Casson explained in the book Ancient Egypt: “The gods were given tribute for every military victory; and hungry for even greater wealth, the priests grew as eager as the pharaohs for further foreign conquest.”

Similarly, clergyman W. B. Wright said of Assyria, another early world power: “Fighting was the business of the nation, and the priests were incessant fomenters of war. They were supported largely from the spoils of conquest.”

Regarding what he termed “barbarian Europe,” Gerald Simons wrote: “Their society was a simple one, explicitly organized for one activity, the waging of war.” And religion was involved. “Many legends tell of swords inhabited by demons, or acting as the agents of gods,” noted Simons.

Yet, the situation in the Roman Empire, which was considered highly civilized, was similar. “Romans were bred to warfare,” explained Moses Hadas in the book Imperial Rome. Roman soldiers carried into battle standards that bore emblems of their gods. One encyclopedia observed: “It was not unusual for a general to order a standard to be cast into the ranks of the enemy, to add zeal to the onset of his soldiers by exciting them to recover what to them was perhaps the most sacred thing the earth possessed.”

War and Professed Christians

The emergence of Christendom on the world stage did not change matters. In fact, Anne Fremantle wrote in the book Age of Faith: “Of all the wars men have waged, none have been more zealously undertaken than those on behalf of a faith. And of these ‘holy wars,’ none have been bloodier and more protracted than the Christian Crusades of the Middle Ages.”

Amazingly, even today little has changed. “Fighting and dying under religious flags go on with a violent persistence,” Time magazine reported. “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.” Furthermore, ethnic and religious differences have been responsible for horrible massacres in the former republics of Yugoslavia, as well as in Asian lands.

Incredibly, professed Christians often go to war against members of their own faith. Thus, Catholics kill Catholics on battlefields. Catholic historian E. I. Watkin acknowledged: “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.”

Yet, that is not the maxim of Catholics only. An editorial in the Sun of Vancouver, Canada, noted: “Protestantism in no way can claim to escape these forces of nationalistic divisiveness. It is a weakness of perhaps all organized religion that the church follows the flag . . . What war was ever fought in which God wasn’t claimed to be on each side?”

Apparently not one! Protestant clergyman Harry Emerson Fosdick 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.” And columnist Mike Royko said that Christians have never “been squeamish about waging wars on other Christians.” He explained: “If they had been, most of the liveliest wars in Europe would never have occurred.” Notable among these was the Thirty Years’ War in Germany between Protestants and Catholics.

Surely, the facts are all too evident. Religion has been a supporter and, at times, even a promoter of wars. Thus, many have pondered the questions: Does God actually favor one nation over another in time of war? Does he take sides when nations fight? Will there ever be a time when war will be no more?

[Blurb on page 3]

Into enemy ranks, Roman soldiers cast standards that bore emblems of their gods

What Hope for an End to War?

WORLD WAR I, fought from 1914 to 1918, was called the war to end all wars. But since then there have been over 200 wars, including the greatest to date—World War II.

Clearly, human efforts to abolish war have been a complete failure. Is it any wonder, then, that many say, “There will always be wars”? Is that what you believe?

The setting up of the United Nations in 1945 after World War II was intended to give war-weary humans a hope for a world without war. That hope is expressed in an inscription on the wall of the UN plaza in New York City, which reads: 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.

Sadly, the nations by their warmongering have made a mockery of this beautifully expressed hope for peace. Nevertheless, these words will be fulfilled! This is because they originated over 2,500 years ago with a Source higher than imperfect humans. They represent a promise made by Almighty God.—Isaiah 2:4.

A False Hope

Many have looked to the churches to help create a war-free world. But the churches, in fact, have proved to be one of history’s most divisive, militant forces. For example, Frank P. Crozier, British brigadier general during World War I, said: “The Christian Churches are the finest blood-lust creators which we have and of them we made free use.”

Thus, it is vital that we distinguish between true Christianity and false. To help us do this, Jesus provided a simple rule: “By their fruits you will recognize them.” (Matthew 7:16) Words, or professions, are not enough. To illustrate this Steve Whysall, a staff writer for the Vancouver Sun, noted: “Not all people wearing blue oil-stained overalls are mechanics, even if they look like mechanics, . . . even if they say ‘We are mechanics.’”

Applying his illustration to Christianity, Whysall said: “Often you will hear people talk about how this or that was done in the name of Christianity and what an awful thing it was to do. Well, yes, it was awful. . . . But who ever said they were Christians who did those awful things?

“Oh, you say, the established churches say so. Well, who ever said the established churches are Christian?

“So the pope blessed Mussolini, and there is evidence of other popes who have done dastardly deeds in the past. So who said they were Christians?

“You think because a man is the pope he must be a Christian? Just because a person says ‘I am a Christian’ does not mean he is one—just as a man who claims to be a mechanic may not be a mechanic.

“The Bible even warns Christians against people who pose as Christians . . . No Christian can war against another Christian—it would be like a man fighting himself.

“True Christians are brothers and sisters in Jesus Christ. . . . They would never, never intentionally hurt one another.”

So we need to apply Jesus’ rule and look at the fruits produced by the churches. But what fruits? The Bible points to one in particular, saying: “The children of God and the children of the Devil are evident by this fact: Everyone who does not carry on righteousness does not originate with God, neither does he who does not love his brother. For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should have love for one another; not like Cain, who originated with the wicked one and slaughtered his brother.”—1 John 3:10-12.

Rather than encourage love for one’s brother, the churches have supported and even promoted the killing of one’s brother in war. Thus, they have become pawns of Satan the Devil just as surely as were the religions of the ancient Egyptians, Assyrians, Babylonians, and Romans. Jesus Christ called Satan “the ruler of this world” and said regarding His true followers: “They are no part of the world, just as I am no part of the world.” (John 12:31; 17:16; 2 Corinthians 4:4) Yet, the churches have made themselves an integral part of this world.

Clearly, then, God is not using the churches to fulfill his purpose to create a war-free world. Despite what chaplains and other church representatives say, God does not take sides in the wars of nations.

How will God’s promise to eliminate war be fulfilled? Have any people truly beaten their swords into plowshares? Indeed some have.

Those Fulfilling God’s Promise

The prominent church historian C. J. Cadoux noted: “The early Christians took Jesus at his word . . . They closely identified their religion with peace; they strongly condemned war for the bloodshed which it involved; they appropriated to themselves the Old Testament prophecy which foretold the transformation of the weapons of war into the implements of agriculture.”—Isaiah 2:4.

But what about today? Is there a people who take Jesus at his word and truly love one another? Have these, in effect, beaten their swords into plowshares? Well, the Encyclopedia Canadiana observes: “The work of Jehovah’s Witnesses is the revival and re-establishment of the primitive Christianity practised by Jesus and his disciples during the first and second centuries of our era. . . . All are brothers.”

Thus, in keeping with Christ’s command to love one another, Jehovah’s Witnesses refuse to hate or kill their brothers, even though these may be members of another race or nationality. (John 13:34, 35) Martin Niemöller, a Protestant leader in Germany, noted that “throughout the ages, [the churches] have always consented to bless war, troops and arms and that they prayed in a very un-Christian way for the annihilation of their enemy.” Yet, in contrast, he said, the Witnesses “by the hundreds and thousands have gone into concentration camps and died because they refused to serve in war and declined to fire on human beings.”

Yes, unlike people of other religions, Jehovah’s Witnesses have truly beaten their swords into plowshares. By remaining “no part of the world,” as Christ directed, they are indeed different from other religions. (John 15:19) The Roman Catholic St. Anthony’s Messenger observed: “Jehovah’s Witnesses stand outside the ‘establishment’ and accept no responsibility to bless whatever the secular government decides to do.”

Is God’s promise regarding disarmament to be realized only as a result of a few million individuals from all nations beating their swords into plowshares? By no means! God’s promise will be fulfilled on a much grander scale and in a dramatic way.

How an End to War Will Come

The Creator, Jehovah God, will end war by eliminating all war machinery and those responsible for it. A Bible psalmist invited readers to consider this exciting prospect. “Come, you people,” he wrote, “behold the activities of Jehovah, how he has set astonishing events on the earth. He is making wars to cease to the extremity of the earth.” (Psalm 46:8, 9) What a remarkable, stirring announcement!

Is the prospect of a world without war too good to be true? Skeptics may think so. Even the military historian whose story appears on pages 9 to 13 of this magazine thought so. But he took the time to examine the evidence carefully. As a result, he proved to himself that the Bible truly is reliable. He discovered that Bible prophecies regarding earlier events in history were, without fail, fulfilled right on time. This gave him reason to believe that those events that are prophesied yet to take place will occur right on schedule.

For instance, consider how the earthshaking events now happening match perfectly the events that the Bible foretold would mark the last days of this system of things. (Matthew 24:3-14; 2 Timothy 3:1-5) This means that we are now living at the time for God’s Kingdom to come, in fulfillment of the prayer that Jesus taught his followers, namely: “Our Father in the heavens, let your name be sanctified. Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.”—Matthew 6:9, 10.

In what manner are we to expect God’s Kingdom to come? A Bible prophecy says regarding this: “In the days of those kings [meaning, those governments now in power] the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. And the kingdom itself will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms [or, governments], and it [God’s Kingdom government] itself will stand to times indefinite.”—Daniel 2:44.

Yes, God’s Kingdom will come in a dramatic way to remove all present governments, even as the foretold global Flood came in Noah’s day. (Matthew 24:36-39; 1 John 2:17) In view of imminent destruction of all present governments, as well as of the religions that support them, it is vital that we individually examine our own situation. Will we make the effort to learn about Jehovah God and his Son, Jesus Christ, and then do what they require of us? (John 17:3) Will we love one another, refusing to do harm to our fellowman, and thus show that we have beaten our swords into plowshares?

If you agree that war does not make sense and that you would like to live on earth when peace is universal, contact Jehovah’s Witnesses. They will be pleased to help you learn more about how war will soon be no more, under the rule of God’s Kingdom.

[Box on page 7]

Himmler’s Plans for Jehovah’s Witnesses

HEINRICH HIMMLER was head of the Nazi SS, or Elite Guard, and during World War II was the second most powerful man in Germany, next to Adolf Hitler. Although Himmler hated Jehovah’s Witnesses for their refusal to participate in Nazi plans for world conquest, he came to respect them. In one of his letters to Gestapo chief Ernst Kaltenbrunner, Himmler wrote:

“Some information and observations of recent date have led me to draw up plans that I would like to bring to your attention. This concerns Jehovah’s Witnesses. . . . How are we going to govern and pacify Russia when . . . we will have conquered vast areas of its territory? . . . All forms of religion and the pacifist sects must be supported . . . , among all the others the beliefs of Jehovah’s Witnesses. It is well-known that the latter have characteristics incredibly positive for us: Apart from the fact that they refuse military service and anything to do with war . . . , they are incredibly reliable, do not drink, do not smoke; they are relentless workers and of rare honesty. For them the spoken word stands. These are ideal characteristics . . . , enviable qualities.”

No, Himmler would never have persuaded the Witnesses to work for the Nazis. He did not want the peace-loving qualities of the Witnesses for himself or his people, but he wanted these ideal qualities to rub off on the Russians. This would make them peaceful people, causing them to beat their swords into plowshares.

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God’s Kingdom will eliminate all war machines and deliver people into a peaceful new world

My Reflections as a Military Historian

The date was August 25, 1944. The place: Paris, France. As our jeep moved down the broad Champs Élysées, several times we had to bail out and take cover in doorways as bullets from Nazi snipers zipped across the street.

THAT day began the liberation of Paris from Hitler’s troops during World War II, and I was among the first Americans to enter the city. Throngs of exuberant French men and women streamed down the streets to welcome us as liberators. We spent the night at a luxurious hotel that just that morning had hastily been evacuated by high-ranking German officers.

I was in Europe as a member of the combat historical team that was covering the operations of the U.S. Third Army, commanded by General George S. Patton, Jr.

Questions the War Raised

A few days before entering Paris, we drove over narrow roads that had recently been cleared of burned hulks of German armored vehicles. We paused at a fortified place in the woods recently overrun by U.S. forces. The bodies of German soldiers lay about, twisted and torn. Their belt buckles bore the standard inscription, “God is with us.” Yet, on a nearby stone wall, a German soldier had scrawled the appeal, “Leader [Hitler], stand by us!”

Those two statements made an indelible impression on my mind. On the one hand, the Nazi regime asserted that God was with them, but on the other, a soldier appealed for salvation to the führer, Hitler. I realized that this paradox was not peculiar to Germans. It was typical of both sides in this terrible conflict. So I wondered, ‘Does God take sides in wars? Whose side is God on?’

Wars and Forebodings of War

I was born in Butte, Montana, in 1917, the year America entered the first world war. After graduating from a private academy in 1936, I entered Stanford University in California. However, I found the required freshman courses boring compared with the stirring events going on around the globe. Japan had invaded China, Mussolini had conquered Ethiopia, and the Spanish Civil War was raging. In that war the Nazis, Fascists, and Communists were testing their weapons and strategies in rehearsal for World War II, while the League of Nations sat impotently by.

After two semesters, I dropped out of college, choosing instead, with my father’s consent, to use the rest of the money set aside for my education to travel to Europe and Africa. I crossed the Atlantic in the fall of 1938 on a German ship, the Deutschland, and had long debates with the young German officers on board about the relative strengths of Hitler’s Germany versus the British and French empires. In Paris people talked about Hitler’s latest threats, boasts, and promises, yet life went on as usual. While visiting Tangier, in Africa, I could occasionally hear the sounds of battle in civil-war-torn Spain, just across the Strait of Gibraltar.

When I returned to the United States in 1939, I had forebodings about our times. After the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in December 1941, bringing the United States into World War II, I joined the Army Transport Service as a civilian. In 1942, while I was in Alaska, I received a summons from the draft board.

To the British Isles

After a visit home, I was inducted into the army and stationed in the States for a year. I was then shipped to England, our convoy leaving the East Coast of the United States in the spring of 1944. My first taste of war occurred in the North Atlantic when a German submarine sank the ship next to ours. Our convoy broke up, and it was every ship for itself from there to Liverpool.

While awaiting assignment at a depot in England, the troops were assembled for an address by an army chaplain. It bothered me that chaplains urged men into battle against members of their own religious organizations on the opposing side, yet always claimed that God was backing their side of the conflict. Obviously, both sides could not have God’s support.

By the spring of 1944, the British Isles were crammed with American and British soldiers and equipment. General Patton (below), renowned for his daring tactics in the Sicilian and North African campaigns, gave fire-eating pep talks that left the troops with no doubt as to why they were there—to kill as many of the enemy as possible with every weapon at hand until victory was achieved. Patton was the image of a modern gladiator: towering, armed and helmeted, and immaculately uniformed—his battle jacket gleamed with stars and decorations. He was also hard-driving, savagely profane, and religious—he would pray before battle.

In his “Soldiers Prayer” of January 1, 1944, Patton had petitioned: “God of our Fathers, who by land and sea has ever led us to victory, please continue your inspiring guidance in this the greatest of our conflicts. . . . Grant us the victory, Lord.”

Invasion of Europe

On June 6, 1944, the Allied invasion forces crossed the English Channel in the greatest armada the world had ever seen, landing on the beaches of Normandy under heavy German fire. The beachhead was still narrow when our Third Army landed 30 days later. We spent the night in foxholes while German planes heavily bombed the area.

On July 25 the Allied forces broke out of the beachhead, and a week later our Third Army was unleashed to burst through onto the Brittany Peninsula. Then we spearheaded east through retreating German forces to the Seine River near Paris. By September, Patton’s tanks and troops were deep in eastern France, after one of the most remarkable military campaigns in modern history. Jubilantly, we felt the end of the war was near.

Yet, any such possibility vanished when most supplies and troops suddenly were diverted to British Field Marshal Montgomery’s forces on the northern front. There a massive assault was mounted on German units in Holland. But disaster ensued when an airborne division unwittingly landed in the midst of a powerful German armored corps and was decimated. The remainder of the Allied units bogged down, and the offensive failed.

Battle of the Bulge

Hitler and his generals seized the opportunity to regroup, calling up new reserves and secretly assembling a huge panzer striking force near where U.S. forces were thinnest. The Nazi offensive, called the Battle of the Bulge, began on the night of December 16 under heavy cloud cover. It was intended to drive a wedge of German armor clear to the North Sea, splitting the Allied armies in half and capturing their main supply port.

The German armor poured through the breach and before long had laid siege to American forces at Bastogne. Rapidly the Third Army under General Patton reversed its direction, and after a long march, we eventually arrived to mount strong attacks against the panzer columns. However, because of heavy clouds and rain that lasted nearly a week, air power could not be brought to bear.

Patton’s Prayer

On December 22 something happened that touched the core of my spiritual dilemma. Weeks before, General Patton had his chief of chaplains prepare a prayer in leaflet form to be used later at the German Siegfried line fortifications that stretched west of the Rhine River. But now Patton had some 350,000 copies distributed within hours, one to every soldier in the Third Army. It entreated the Father to “restrain these immoderate rains” and “grant us fair weather for battle” that the U.S. Army might “crush the oppression and wickedness of our enemies, and establish Thy justice among men and nations.”

Remarkably, that night the skies suddenly cleared and remained clear for the next five days. This allowed Allied fighters and bombers to range the length of the Nazi columns, wreaking havoc and destruction on them. This spelled the end for Hitler’s final blitzkrieg, and his shattered forces began to withdraw.

Patton was ecstatic. “I guess I’ll have another 100,000 of those prayers printed,” he said. “The Lord is on our side, and we’ve got to keep Him informed of what we need.” But I wondered, ‘Would not the skies have cleared on December 23 whether the prayer was distributed or not?’ The weather detachment explained that a cold front from the Russian steppes had moved in and dissipated the overcast.

German Surrender and Postwar Germany

The Allied spring offensives brought Hitler’s empire to its finish, surrender taking place on May 7, 1945. That day found me in a German village in the Rhineland where I met my lovely future wife, Lilly, a displaced person from Belgium. In November 1945, I received my army discharge and joined the historical section, U.S. army of occupation in Germany. In December, Lilly and I were married by the mayor of Frankfurt.

The historical section had the mission of covering the history of the occupation. It utilized hundreds of captured German generals in writing the history of the war from the German side. I remained five years in Germany as chief archivist. Then, with our two children, Gary and Lizette, we moved to the United States.

After a visit with my parents, I enrolled at the University of Montana. I had assumed that my association with the military had ended. However, in the spring of 1954, as I was about to receive a master’s degree in anthropology, two of my former colleagues notified me of a director/curator position open at the U.S. Army Artillery and Missile Center Museum in Oklahoma. I applied and was accepted, and we moved.

Military Museum Activities

Once again I was dealing with military history. I plunged into research, acquisitions of artifacts, exhibits, tours, lectures, archaeological excavations, and military and historical ceremonies. I organized a vintage ceremonial equestrian unit that participated in the presidential inaugural parade in Washington, D.C., in 1973. I also established an exhibit hall of flags, depicting the history and traditions of the national flag and military-unit flags. Over the years the artillery museum expanded from a single building to become the largest military museum in the country.

Meanwhile, our children were growing. Our son, Gary, after graduating from high school, felt adrift and rudderless. He joined the Marine Corps and served in the Vietnam War. After he had spent two years overseas, we were grateful to have him safely home again. Clearly, wars fail to preserve peace. Instead, we have had the continuing spectacle of member nations of the United Nations warring against one another while starvation and disease ravage their peoples.

Retirement and Frustration

Finally, after 33 years of association with the military, I decided it was time to retire. The commanding general and staff held a special retirement ceremony for me, and the governor of the state of Oklahoma proclaimed a day in my name, July 20, 1979. Letters of commendation for my contributions in the fields of military history and museums were received.

My cup should have been overflowing. And yet, when I reflected on my past, I was not pleased. Rather than exposing the horrible realities of war, my career had been devoted to its glorification, emphasizing the traditions, the uniforms and medals, the weapons and tactics, the rituals and ceremonies, and the pomp and pageantry. Even General Dwight D. Eisenhower, later the 34th U.S. president, said: “The essence of war is fire, famine and pestilence . . . I have come to hate war. War settles nothing.”

In time I learned that Eisenhower’s mother had been one of Jehovah’s Witnesses—a faith that was already affecting me through my wife’s study of the Bible with the Witnesses. She became a baptized Witness in 1979, six months before my retirement. She seemed to be transformed. Such was her elation and desire to share what she had learned that our son and his wife, Karin, began to study the Bible, and within a year they also became baptized Witnesses.

However, I was skeptical. That God would actually intervene in human affairs and bring an end to this world and usher in a new, war-free world seemed farfetched. Yet, I too started to study with the Witnesses, primarily to find out whether their religious convictions had any sound basis. With my background and trained research capabilities, I presumed that it would not be long before I would be detecting errors and contradictions in their beliefs.

A New Way of Life

As my Bible study progressed, however, I soon found out how wrong I was. My skepticism faded as the scales of religious ignorance began to drop from my eyes. I could see that, indeed, there is a sound basis for confidence in God’s promise of a new world of righteousness. (2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:3, 4) And what a relief it was to learn that the evils and injustices now rampant among mankind exist because Satan, not Almighty God, is the ruler of this system of things! (John 14:30; 2 Corinthians 4:4) Thus, Jehovah God is not on either side in the wars of the nations, yet he does care about humans.—John 3:16.

In 1983, I was baptized at a convention of Jehovah’s Witnesses in Billings, Montana, thus symbolizing my dedication to Jehovah. My son, Gary, and I serve as elders in our respective congregations. Lilly and I are deeply grateful that Jehovah, by means of his Word and his Witnesses, has opened our hearts to Bible truths so that we understand the meaning of the cataclysmic events that mark this generation. (Matthew 24:3-14; 1 John 2:17)—As told by Gillett Griswold.

[Picture Credit Line on page 9]

Parisians scatter as German snipers open fire, August 1944 (U.S. National Archives photo)

[Picture Credit Line on page 10]

U.S. National Archives photo

[Picture on page 11]

Battered and burned hulks of German armor, France, 1944

[Credit Line]

U.S. Department of Defense

[Picture on page 12]

With my wife and daughter in 1947

Would You Like to Entertain Your Friends?

IT WAS early evening, and a social gathering was under way. All in attendance were enjoying themselves when it was announced that two young men were going to provide some entertainment, consisting of music and a short skit.

The two had performed many times with success and so anticipated an enthusiastic response. But to their embarrassment, the presentation met with awkward stares, silence, and finally, reserved applause. Their show failed! What went wrong?

If you have a talent and wish to share it with your friends, do you hesitate for fear of having a similar experience? What is the secret to making people feel genuinely entertained? Or perhaps you yourself have never considered performing but have asked others to do so at gatherings in your home. If this is the case, how can you be sure that your guests will enjoy the presentation?

The suggestions that follow are developed from the standpoint of home musical entertainment. However, you will find most of the principles applicable to other modes of entertainment, such as the presenting of skits, slide showings, stories, and experiences.

Creating the Environment

Supposing you plan a gathering, intending to include a musical presentation. You (or those performing) need not abound with musical technique to be a source of entertainment. In fact, some skillful musicians make poor entertainers. This is because entertaining involves knowing how to help people enjoy themselves. It starts with creating an environment that is conducive to enjoyment. For example, how many guests will you invite?

You will likely have more success with a small group of people than with a large crowd. A smaller group gives each person the opportunity to talk and enjoy the company of the others. Likewise, to help create an atmosphere of enjoyment, consider having refreshments, either a meal or just snacks. If you are serving only snacks, make your guests aware of this so that they will not come expecting more.

It is important to discern when to make your musical presentation. Many enjoy spontaneity and will with little or no direction absorb themselves in eating and conversation. If this is true of your guests, give them time before springing a planned program on them. This was what the two young men mentioned at the outset neglected to do. Had they waited until other activities had started to die down, they might have found their audience more receptive.

If you plan a sing-along, you may find it advantageous to get everyone close together, such as around a fire or sitting on the floor. People sing better when the mood and circumstances are right. Creating the right atmosphere can do much to ensure that the guests will enjoy your presentation. It will also put them in the best frame of mind to receive your musical entertainment.

The moment to play for your guests has now arrived. How can you successfully entertain your audience?

Captivating an Audience

Most people enjoy watching a good performance. Why, in one recent year alone, 8,142,000 tickets to Broadway shows were sold, taking in 253.4 million dollars! But if your performing is a hobby for which you receive no pay, you face the challenge of holding the interest of an audience that did not necessarily seek the entertainment that you provide. The solution? Combine adequate talent with a rapport with your audience. Here are some suggestions:

Use well-learned material. Cautions guitar instructor Frederick Noad: “It is necessary to have the piece so well memorized that you could almost play it while thinking of something else.” So it is wise to save newly learned pieces for the future. Mr. Noad observes: “It is far better to play a simple piece well than to mess up a more impressive one.”

Involve your audience. One musician with years of professional experience stressed the value of audience participation, stating that he would hand out lyric sheets to his audience and invite them to sing along. Making the audience a part of your presentation can help to maintain their enthusiastic support.

Aim for variety. It is a common tendency of some to play everything timidly and softly. However, Frederick Noad recommends: “Always try to produce some variety of loud and soft in each piece; for example, when a passage is repeated it is very often effective to play the first statement strongly and the repeat softly, giving the impression almost of an echo. . . . Half the satisfaction in playing is to be found in this sort of shading which distinguishes music from mere notes.”

Enjoy yourself. Your guests will not relax if you appear stiff, nervous, or self-conscious; nor will they be entertained if you consciously imitate some well-known performer. It is hard to relax when all eyes are on you, but you must learn to let go and be yourself, be enthusiastic, and enjoy what you are doing. Only then will your audience relax and enjoy your entertainment.

Keep it short! The real entertainer sings one song too few, not one song too many. In an informal living-room setting, people might start feeling restless after 20 or 30 minutes. When your presentation ends, let your guests resume spontaneous activities. The show is over, but they will continue to remember it with fondness because you left them wanting more.

Dealing With Nervousness

Even professionals battle with stage fright. However, they learn to control it and at least give the appearance of being at ease. How can you do the same?

For one thing, prepare! Dale Carnegie, who evaluated thousands of speeches every year, asserted: “Only the prepared speaker deserves to be confident.” The same is certainly true of entertainers. Advance practice, plus warm-ups before show time, can make the difference. While performing, be absorbed in your material. Think and feel everything you play. Frank Battisti of the New England Conservatory of Music suggests: “The one thing the person has got to do is focus his concentration on what he’s doing, and not worry about what someone else thinks about it. If you can bring yourself to that kind of concentration you can’t really be frightened.”

If you make a mistake, don’t tip off your listeners by showing aggravation. Few may have noticed the error, and the rest probably will not mind. They will look to you for the cue—if you keep right on performing as if the mistake were insignificant, they will treat it similarly.

Talent That Honors the Creator

If friends occasionally ask you to play for them, do not be quick to turn them down, perhaps feeling that you are inadequate. If they wanted perfection, would they not have chosen recorded music instead? One woman, known among her friends for her enjoyable small home gatherings, said: “How wonderful it is when a guest is musical and even comes prepared to entertain and includes all in the performance!”

Yes, many appreciate the excitement and fun that are unique to live home entertainment. Remember, too, that your friends may be seeking wholesome entertainment, which is becoming increasingly difficult to find in the professional world. So if you are gifted with the ability to entertain others, may you use it to the honor of our Grand Creator, the Giver of “every good gift and every perfect present.”—James 1:17.

[Box on page 16]

Additional Tips

BE VERSATILE. If you can play a variety of styles, even if only a few pieces in each category, you have the advantage of being able to satisfy the preferences and requests of the audience.

Arrange your material in an appealing order. It is usually most effective to start and finish with pieces that are short and recognizable. Longer or more demanding pieces, if any are played, are best placed in the middle.

Acknowledge your audience. While staring could make them feel uneasy, you can certainly look at and speak to your audience between pieces.

Keep the show moving. While occasional introductory remarks can help all (including yourself) to relax, these should not be overdone. Also, avoid long lulls that are caused by excessive retuning. Your listeners are not as likely to notice a slight intonation problem as they are to be annoyed at constant delays.

Should I Move to a More Prosperous Country?

Young People Ask . . .

Should I Move to a More Prosperous Country?

TARA left her native Trinidad, Sheila left Jamaica, and Erick left Suriname. All three youths moved to a more prosperous nation. Why?

“We young people in Trinidad,” Tara explains, “are greatly influenced by what we see in magazines and on TV. Unfortunately, this gives us a romanticized view of the United States and other prosperous countries.”

Sheila’s story is similar: “I remember being told of great opportunities for jobs and free education.” She added, though: “I don’t know why, but those who had been to these countries never mentioned the rest of the story. Maybe they were ashamed to admit that things there are not so great.”

Still, people are on the move. A report in the Los Angeles Times showed that from 1980 to 1990, the number of people moving to other countries doubled and is expected to double again by the year 2000. Every year over 700,000 people move to the United States. Australia, Canada, Côte d’Ivoire, and Saudi Arabia each receive well over 50,000 immigrants each year, many of them in search of a more prosperous life.

If you live in a poor or developing nation, you too may wonder if your future would be brighter in a wealthier land. This is a weighty decision. How can you choose wisely?

Do Not Rush Your Decision

Erick, from Suriname, believes that you should never act in haste but should first gather as much information as you can. “Even in Suriname,” he says, “most families have relatives in the big countries, and you should be able to get up-to-date information and learn the truth about world economic conditions.”

Before you decide, remember: “There is a frustrating of plans where there is no confidential talk, but in the multitude of counselors there is accomplishment.” (Proverbs 15:22) So discuss your options frankly with your parents, Christian elders, and others who are experienced and care about you.

Do Not Believe Everything You Hear

When you hear glowing reports about prosperous distant lands, a little healthy skepticism may be in order. “Anyone inexperienced puts faith in every word,” says a wise proverb, “but the shrewd one considers his steps.”—Proverbs 14:15.

Sheila, who lived in Jamaica, said: “My English teacher insisted that moving to the United States would be the best thing I could ever do. Some adults told me that if I went to Canada, the United States, or England, I would better myself no matter what field I chose. In short, I would be stupid to turn down such an opportunity.”

Did her move to the United States really help her? “In most ways my life did improve, but my friends who stayed in Jamaica improved their lives too. Usually you trade one problem for another. Where you live will not automatically make much difference.”

Tara, who moved to the United States from Trinidad, agrees: “People held up the prosperous countries as lands of opportunity—to study, work, make more money, and live under better conditions. But now many who moved away are realizing that conditions are getting worse everywhere. Some have returned home.”

Weigh the Pros and Cons

To make a balanced decision, consider more than the rosy reports of abundant wealth in other lands. Weigh the pros and cons that a move may involve—economic, social, moral, and spiritual.

For example, the economy may be in bad shape where you live. But are there no job opportunities close to home? “Back home,” says Tara, “unemployment was high, especially for those without higher education.” So she moved; her brothers stayed behind. “My two younger brothers took a course in furniture making and upholstering. Now they work in factories and get lots of private jobs from people who like their work. They are probably doing better back home than I am here in the ‘land of opportunity.’”

If you do move, you will likely face some culture shock, perhaps even an all-out assault on the moral principles you hold dear. Is the move worth such a risk? Then, too, materialism runs rampant in prosperous nations. How might that affect you spiritually?

Learning from Esau’s Mistakes

When it came to weighing the pros and cons of decisions, Esau of Bible times had a serious problem. He repeatedly failed to take crucial factors into account—his spirituality and his family. As a result, some of his biggest decisions turned out to be disasters.

The Bible warns against “anyone not appreciating sacred things, like Esau, who in exchange for one meal gave away his rights as firstborn.” (Hebrews 12:16) This birthright was sacred. God had created an opportunity for Esau’s family to be in the line of descent of the Messiah, the key to the salvation of all mankind. (Genesis 22:18) Yet “Esau despised the birthright.” He readily sold it for a meal of lentil stew! (Genesis 25:30-34) Your most sacred possession is your relationship with your Creator. Don’t trade it in, slight it, or put it at risk for any material advantage.—Mark 12:30.

Later, when Esau moved from his boyhood home to another land, he married two Hittite women. These marriages may for some reason have seemed practical, but spiritually they brought only problems because the women did not worship the God of Esau’s parents, Isaac and Rebekah. Those wives were “a source of bitterness of spirit” to his parents.—Genesis 26:34, 35.

It is not uncommon for young people to marry just to gain entry into a more prosperous nation. India reportedly has had 4,000 spouses a year move to the United States, with an estimated 10,000 still waiting to do so. Marriage, however, is a precious gift from God. It is not to be cheapened, used as a mere ticket to cross a border. Think, too, of how it would hurt Jehovah and your faithful family members if you were to become ‘unevenly yoked with an unbeliever.’—2 Corinthians 6:14.

Make the Best of Your Decision

How well you follow up on your decision may be more important than the decision itself. Whether you remain where you are or decide to move, the main thing is to make the best of your decision.

If you remain: Do not criticize those who move. Their decision is their own responsibility. (Romans 14:4; Galatians 6:4, 5) Learn to appreciate the beauties and advantages that are unique to your home country. Develop more love for the people and empathy for their struggles and challenges.

If you move: Set your priorities wisely as you learn new customs and perhaps a new language. Don’t get caught up in working long hours just to acquire material goods you never needed before. Otherwise you may soon be too busy for spiritual things.

“It is very important in today’s world to have a job,” Sheila acknowledges. “However, family, friends, and spiritual matters are more important. When all else fails, they are what keep us going.” The Bible wisely advises us against “using [the world] to the full; for the scene of this world is changing.” (1 Corinthians 7:31) Those who truly succeed keep their concerns about job and money in the proper place—well behind family needs and spiritual pursuits.

Choose new friends carefully. Erick says: “Maintain contact with friends who promote an upbuilding life-style.”

Remember Your Real Needs

The things we really need for happiness do not change. “No matter where we live,” observes Sheila, “Jehovah’s requirements for us remain the same.” What are they? Jesus put it succinctly: “Happy are those conscious of their spiritual need.” “Never be anxious” about having enough food or clothing. Give first priority to “the kingdom and [God’s] righteousness, and all these other things will be added to you.”—Matthew 5:3; 6:31, 33.

Living by these principles can help you to find a better life in any land.

[Pictures on page 18]

Affluent lands can seem more appealing than they really are

Science—Mankind’s Ongoing Search for Truth

Part 2

Science—Mankind’s Ongoing Search for Truth

The Search Begins

“NO ONE knows who first discovered fire, invented the wheel, developed the bow and arrow, or tried to explain the rising and the setting of the sun,” notes The World Book Encyclopedia. But discovered, invented, developed, and explained they were, and the world has never been the same since.

These accomplishments were early steps on a journey in search of truth that by now has lasted some six thousand years. Humans have always been curious, wanting to understand the living and nonliving things in the world around them. They have also been interested in applying what they learn, using it in a practical way to benefit themselves. This inborn thirst for knowledge and the desire to apply it have been driving forces in mankind’s ongoing search for scientific truth.

Of course, those first attempts to put scientific knowledge to practical use were not called technology, as it is known today. For that matter neither were the individuals who made such attempts called scientists. In fact, science in its modern sense did not even exist during the greater part of mankind’s existence. As late as the 14th century, when the English poet Chaucer used the word “science,” he simply meant all the different kinds of knowledge. This was in harmony with the word’s etymology, which goes back to a Latin term meaning “to know.”

The First Zoologist Leads the Way

Regardless of what it was originally called, science got its start in the garden of Eden as soon as humans began investigating the world around them. Even before Eve’s creation, Adam was commissioned to give the animals names. To assign them appropriate names required that he carefully study their characteristics and their habits. Today, we call this the science of zoology.—Genesis 2:19.

Adam and Eve’s first child, Cain, “engaged in building a city,” so he must have had sufficient scientific knowledge to develop necessary tools. Later, one of his descendants, Tubal-cain, was called “the forger of every sort of tool of copper and iron.” By then scientific knowledge and technology had obviously increased.—Genesis 4:17-22.

By the time Egypt became a world power—the first mentioned in the Bible—scientific knowledge had progressed to the point that the Egyptians were able to construct giant pyramids. The design of these pyramids, says The New Encyclopædia Britannica, “was successfully achieved only after much experimentation, in which great engineering problems were solved.” Solving these problems required a substantial knowledge of mathematics and indicated the existence of certain related scientific skills.

Of course, scientific curiosity was not limited to just the Egyptians. The Babylonians, besides developing a calendar, set up numbering and measuring systems. In the Far East, the Chinese civilization made valuable scientific contributions. And the early forefathers of the Incas and the Mayas in the Americas developed an advanced civilization that later surprised European explorers, who hardly expected such achievements by “backward natives.”

Not everything these ancient peoples originally viewed as scientific truth, however, turned out to be scientifically correct. The World Book Encyclopedia tells us that alongside the useful tools the Babylonians produced for scientific research, “they also developed the pseudoscience of astrology.”a

Babylon Is Everywhere

To Bible students ancient Babylon is synonymous with false worship. In the astrology that was practiced there, a different god was believed to rule over each section of the heavens. The Bible, which teaches that there is but one true God, is scientifically correct when it rejects the pseudoscience known as astrology.—Deuteronomy 18:10-12; 1 Corinthians 8:6; 12:6; Ephesians 4:6.

Religion was an integral part of the life of early man. So it is understandable that scientific knowledge did not develop apart from religious beliefs and ideas. This can particularly be seen in the realm of medical science.

“Ancient documents illustrating Egyptian society and medicine during the Old Kingdom,” says The New Encyclopædia Britannica, “show that magic and religion were integrally associated with empiricorational medical practice and that the chief magician of the pharaoh’s court also frequently served as the nation’s chief physician.”

During the third Egyptian dynasty, a noted architect named Imhotep gained prominence as a physician of no small skill. Less than a century after his death, he was worshiped as Egypt’s god of medicine. By the end of the sixth century B.C.E., he had been elevated to the position of a major deity. The Britannica says that temples dedicated to him were “often crowded with sufferers who prayed and slept there with the conviction that the god would reveal remedies to them in their dreams.”

Egyptian and Babylonian healers were greatly influenced by religious ideas. “The prevailing theory of disease at that time, and for generations to come,” says The Book of Popular Science, “was that fevers, infections, aches and pains were caused by evil spirits, or demons, invading the body.” For that reason medical treatment generally involved religious offerings, spells, or incantations.

In time, during the fourth and fifth centuries B.C.E., a Greek physician named Hippocrates challenged this view. He is particularly well-known because of the Hippocratic oath, still generally viewed as embodying the medical code of conduct. The book Moments of Discovery—The Origins of Science notes that Hippocrates was also “among the first to compete with the priests in finding explanation of man’s sicknesses.” Practicing medicine in the spirit of science, he sought natural causes for diseases. Reason and experience began to take the place of religious superstition and guesswork.

In separating medicine from religious dogma, Hippocrates took a step in the right direction. Nevertheless, even today we are reminded of medicine’s religious background. Its very symbol, the snake-entwined staff of Asclepius, the Greek god of medicine, can be traced back to the ancient temples of healing where sacred snakes were kept. According to The Encyclopedia of Religion, these snakes embodied “the capacity for renewal of life and rebirth in health.”

Hippocrates later became known as the father of medicine. But this did not prevent him from at times being scientifically incorrect. The Book of Popular Science tells us that some of his unsound notions “seem quite fantastic to us today” but cautions against medical arrogance, saying: “Some of the medical theories that are now most firmly established will probably seem just as fantastic to men of a future generation.”

Advancing Step-by-Step

Thus, the discovery of scientific truth has been a gradual process, entailing the culling of facts from mistaken theories over centuries of time. But for this to be possible, the findings of one generation had to be accurately passed on to the next. One way of doing this, obviously, was by word of mouth, since humans were created with the power of speech.—Compare Genesis 2:23.

This method of passing on observations, however, would never have been reliable enough to provide the accuracy that scientific and technological advancement demand. There was clearly a need for preserving information in written form.

Just when humans began to write is unknown. But once they did, they had at their disposal a marvelous process by which to pass on information upon which others could build. Before paper was invented—probably in China about 105 C.E.—writing was done on such things as clay tablets, papyrus, and parchment.

Substantial scientific advancement would have been impossible without numbering and measuring systems. The importance of their development can hardly be exaggerated. Calling the applications of mathematics “universal in scope,” The Book of Popular Science reminds us that “its analyses have led to many all-important scientific advances.” Mathematics also serves “as an invaluable tool for the chemist, the physicist, the astronomer, the engineer and others.”

Over the centuries other factors have added momentum to the search for scientific truth. Travel, for example. The Book of Popular Science explains: “The man who makes his way to foreign lands is likely to find his curiosity sharpened by new sights, sounds, smells and tastes. He will be tempted to ask why things are so different in a strange land; and in his attempt to gratify his curiosity, he will acquire wisdom. So it was with the ancient Greeks.”

Yes, Those Ever-Present Greeks

Read about the history of religion, politics, or commerce and you will find more than passing mention of the Greeks. And who has not heard of their famous philosophers, a term drawn from the Greek word phi·lo·so·phiʹa, meaning “love of wisdom”? The Greeks’ love of wisdom and thirst for knowledge was well-known in the first century when the Christian apostle Paul visited their country. He referred to Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, who like “all Athenians and the foreigners sojourning there would spend their leisure time at nothing but telling something or listening to something new.”—Acts 17:18-21.

So it is hardly surprising that of all ancient peoples, the Greeks left science the largest heritage. The New Encyclopædia Britannica elaborates: “The attempt of Greek philosophy to provide a theory of the universe to replace the cosmologies of myth eventually led to practical scientific discoveries.”

In fact, some of the Greek philosophers made significant contributions to the search for scientific truth. They strove to weed out the erroneous ideas and theories of their predecessors, while at the same time building upon the basis of what they found to be correct. (See box for examples.) Thus, the Greek philosophers of yesterday came the closest of any ancient people to thinking like the scientists of today. Incidentally, until relatively recent times, the term “natural philosophy” was used to describe the different branches of science.

In time philosophy-loving Greece was overshadowed politically by the newly founded Roman Empire. Did this have any effect upon scientific progress? Or would the coming of Christianity make a difference? Part 3 in our next issue will answer.

[Footnotes]

Astrology, a study of the movements of heavenly bodies in the belief that they influence people’s lives or foretell the future, is not to be confused with astronomy, which is the scientific study of stars, planets, and other natural objects in space without any spiritistic connotations.

[Box on page 22]

Pre-Christian Greek “Scientists”

THALES of Miletus (sixth century), particularly known for his work in mathematics and for his belief that water forms the essence of all matter, had a critical approach to the cosmic framework, which The New Encyclopædia Britannica says was “crucial in the development of scientific thought.”

Socrates (fifth century) is called by The Book of Popular Science “the creator of a method of inquiry—dialectic—that comes close to the very heart of true scientific method.”

Democritus of Abdera (fifth to fourth century) helped lay the foundation for the atomic theory of the universe as well as the theories of the indestructibility of matter and the conservation of energy.

Plato (fifth to fourth century) founded the Academy in Athens as an institute for the systematic pursuit of philosophical and scientific research.

Aristotle (fourth century), a knowledgeable biologist, formed the Lyceum, a scientific institution that researched many fields. For over 1,500 years, his ideas dominated scientific thought, and he was considered the supreme scientific authority.

Euclid (fourth century), the most prominent mathematician of antiquity, is best known for a compilation of knowledge about “geometry,” which comes from a Greek word meaning “measurement of the land.”

Hipparchus of Nicaea (second century), outstanding astronomer and founder of trigonometry, classified stars into magnitudes according to brightness, a system basically still in use. He was a forerunner of Ptolemy, an eminent geographer and astronomer of the second century C.E., who expanded Hipparchus’ findings and taught that the earth is the center of the universe.

[Picture on page 23]

The snake-entwined staff of Asclepius, a reminder that science has not developed apart from religious influence

Where Have All the Quaggas Gone?

TAKE a careful look at the quagga (Equus quagga)—lest you be deceived. Viewed from the front, it could be mistaken for a zebra. From behind, quaggas looked like horses. From the side, you may be forgiven for seeing both—because that is exactly how the quagga looked.

Unfortunately, your chances of ever seeing a quagga ended in an Amsterdam zoo on August 12, 1883, because that is when the last of these exotic creatures died. All that remain today are 23 stuffed specimens, seven skeletons, and some artistic impressions like the one you see here.

What a tragedy! At one time great herds of quaggas cavorted across southern Africa. When the first Bushmen and Hottentot tribes of southern Africa heard the quaggas’ coughlike bark, they were so amused that it was only natural to name them after the sound they made—“quagga quagga.” Then, sadly, during the 19th century, the reverberating crack of the hunter’s gun ensured that the quagga would join the silent ranks of the extinct.

However, according to Mr. Reinhold Rau, head of the taxidermy section of the South African Museum in Cape Town, all is not lost. How so? When experts examined the DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid) of quagga dry muscle tissue and blood taken from mounted specimens, it was found that the quagga was simply a subspecies of the common plains, or Burchell’s, zebra. This means that among the plains zebras, of which there are still large numbers, there is a strong possibility that latent quagga genes could be encouraged to surface by selective breeding.

And that is exactly what Mr. Rau, along with the Quagga Experimental Breeding Committee, is investigating. From Natal province of South Africa and the Etosha game reserve in Namibia, zebras with weak markings on their hind legs and rumps were selected and bred with each other. So far the first foals born are showing promising results.

…

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Awake!, April 22, 1993