Whom can you trust?

7/29/2019 Whom can you trust?

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!"#2O C T O B E R 2 0 1 0

WHOM CAN YOU

TRUST?ALSO: IS GOD A REAL PERSON? PAGE 29


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!"#2AVERAGE PRINTING 38,451,000PUBLISHED IN 84 LANGUAGES

3 A Widespread Crisis ofConfidence

4 Is Trust Possible?

6 People You Can Trust

10 Meet the AlpineMarmot

13 Watching the World

14 Navigating Across theTop of the World

17 See and Hear theKing of Clocks

23 Was It Designed?The Hummingbirds

Tongue

27 Mayday! Mayday!Mayday!The Call

That Saves Lives

29 The Bibles ViewpointIs God a Real Person?

31 For Family Review

32 A Treasure for BibleStudents

Whom Can You Trust? 3-9Is anyone truly trustworthy today?The answer may surprise you.

20The Most FearedDisease of the19th CenturyRead how cholera

terrorized Britainduring the 1800s.

24How Can I ReachMy Goals?Learn how achievinggoals can give youmore confidence,more friends, andmore happiness.

5 Mary Evans Picture Library


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Awake! October 2010 3

IN TODAYS world, virtually everyones trust has been be-trayed at one time or another. Even the global econom-ic plight is largely the result of what the French newspaperLe Monde calls a widespread crisis of confidence.

What factors have contributed to the present-day crisis ofconfidence? Is there anyone you can trust?

A WidespreadCrisis of Confidence

In Asia, the parents of a new

born boyare shocked

to learn thatthe so-called enriched m

ilkthey have

been feedinghim is

contaminated witha hazard-

ous ingredient. Sadly, the little boy dies.

A trusted American businessman has swindledhis clients outofbillions ofdollars! Thousandsdiscover thattheirpension funds have van-ished in whathas been termed the fraud ofthe century.

In WestAfrica, a 12-year-oldboylies in a hospital bedthevictim ofa fake antimalarialdrugthathis motherboughtata legitimate drugstore.

For15 years we have beenfindingfalse medicines onthe market, says a hospitalphysician.1

1 Reported in the newspaperLe Figaro,published in Paris, France.


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4 Awake! October 2010

THIS JOURNAL IS PUBLISHED for the enlightenment of theentire family. It shows how to cope with todays problems. It reportsthe news, tells about people in many lands, examines religionand science. But it does more. It probes beneath the surface andpoints to the real meaning behind current events, yet it alwaysstays politically neutral and does not exalt one race above another.Most important, this magazine builds confidence in the Creatorspromise of a peaceful and secure new world that is about toreplace the present wicked, lawless system of things.

!"#$ This publication is not for sale. It is provided as part of a world-wide Bible educational work supported by voluntary donations.Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from themodern-language New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures

With References.

Awake! (ISSN 0005-237X) is published monthly by WatchtowerBible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.; M. H. Larson, President;G. F. Simonis, Secretary-Treasurer; 25 Columbia Heights, Brook-lyn, NY 11201-2483. Periodicals Postage Paid at Brooklyn, N.Y.,and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send ad-dress changes to Awake!, 1000 Red Mills Road, Wallkill, NY12589-3299.5 2010 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Societyof Pennsylvania. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.

Vol. 91, No. 10 Monthly ENGLISH

ICANNOT begin to comprehend why a per-

son would take this course, says Dr. Ste-ven L. Shafer, quoted in Anesthesiology News.

What would motivate a respected profes-sional to deceive his fellow man? Considerfour possible causes.

Greed. In a New York Times report,Dr. Jerome Kassirer, a former editor of TheNew England Journal of Medicine, explains:When researchers are beholden to [phar-maceutical] companies for much of theirincome, there is an incredible tendencyto get results that are favorable to the compa-ny.

Success at all costs. Science students in

Germany are believed to have paid out thou-sands of euros in bribes to teachers to earnthe title ofDoktor, a symbol of success in thatcountry. A study described in The New YorkTimes found that many students who cut eth-ical corners said that they intended to followa strict code of values afterthey attained suc-cess.

The absence of role models. Regardinghigh school students, one professor is quotedin The New York Times as saying: We mightbe tempted to say theyve lost their moralcompass . . . Its probably better to say that

Is Trust Possible?He was considered a pioneer in the treatment of pain.

Yet, for more than ten years, beginning in 1996, this

distinguished anesthetist had fabricated the results of

studies published in prestigious medical reviews.

According to the newspaperLe Figaro, more and more French people think that the leadingfigures in societyin political, economic, social, and cultural circlesare not virtuous, and theydo not see why they should be so themselves.


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Languages: Afrikaans, Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Armenian,Bislama, Bulgarian, Cebuano, Chichewa, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese(Traditional)7 (audio Mandarin only), Chitonga, Cibemba, Croatian,Czech,7 Danish,7 Dutch,67 English,67 Estonian, Ewe, Fijian, Finnish,7French,687 Georgian, German,67 Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hiligaynon,Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Igbo, Iloko, Indonesian, Italian,67 Japa-nese,67 Kannada, Kinyarwanda, Kirghiz, Kirundi, Korean,67 Latvian, Lin-gala, Lithuanian, Luvale, Macedonian, Malagasy, Malayalam, Maltese,Myanmar, Norwegian,67 Polish,67 Portuguese,687 Punjabi, Rarotongan,Romanian, Russian,67 Samoan, Sepedi, Serbian, Sesotho, Shona, Silo-zi, Sinhala, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish,67 Swahili, Swedish,7 Tagalog,Tamil, Thai, Tok Pisin, Tongan, Tsonga, Tswana, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu,Vietnamese, Xhosa, Yoruba, Zulu

6 CD also available.

8 MP3 CD-ROM also available.

7 Audio recordings also available at www.jw.org.

Would you welcome more information or a free home

Bible study? Please send your request to Jehovahs Witnesses, us-ing one of the addresses below. For a complete list of addresses, seewww.watchtower.org/address. America, United States of: 25 Columbia Heights,

Brooklyn, NY 11201-2483. Australia: PO Box 280, Ingleburn, NSW 1890. Bahamas: PO

Box N-1247, Nassau, NP. Britain: The Ridgeway, London NW7 1RN. Canada: PO Box 4100,

Georgetown, ON L7G 4Y4. Germany: Am Steinfels, 65618 Selters. Guam: 143 Jehovah St,

Barrigada, GU 96913. Guyana: 352-360 Tyrell St, Republic Park Phase 2 EBD. Hawaii:

2055 Kamehameha IV Road, Honolulu, HI 96819-2619. Jamaica: PO Box 103, Old Harbour,

St. Catherine. Japan: 4-7-1 Nakashinden, Ebina City, Kanagawa-Pref, 243-0496. Puerto

Rico: PO Box 3980, Guaynabo, PR 00970. South Africa: Private Bag X2067, Krugersdorp,

1740. Trinidad and Tobago: Lower Rapsey Street & Laxmi Lane, Curepe.


their teachers and mentors and the rest of so-ciety never helped them construct and inter-nalize a moral compass in the first place.

Practices that are inconsistent with

values. In a study of nearly 30,000 students,98 percent said they believed that honesty isessential in personal relationships. However,8 of every 10 students admitted that they hadlied to their parents, and 64 percent admittedto cheating on an exam during the previous

year.

Superior Moral Principles

As noted in the box on this page, humansseem designed to trust. Nevertheless, the Bi-ble realistically states that the inclination ofthe heart of man is bad from his youth up.

(Genesis 8:21) How can you battle that incli-nation and resist the tide of dishonesty that isso prevalent today? The following Bible prin-ciples can help:

Do not fabricate against your fellowmananything bad, when he is dwelling in a sense ofsecurity with you.Proverbs 3:29.

Love for our neighbor moves us to seek hiswelfare, not to abuse his trust. This princi-ple could put an end to numerous forms of

human exploitation motivated by greed, suchas the trafficking of counterfeit medicine, dis-cussed at the outset of this series.

Truth will last forever; lies are soon foundout.Proverbs 12:19, Contemporary EnglishVersion.

Many today believe that honest people areat a disadvantage. But ask yourself, What is

more valuablegaining immediate rewards orlong-lasting benefits, including self-respect?

A student may deceive others concerning hisknowledge or skills by cheating on exams, buthow will he fare in the workplace?

The righteous is walking in his integrity.Happy are his sons after him.Proverbs 20:7.

If you are a parent, set a good example for

your children by walking in integrity. Ex-plain to them how you have benefited by fol-lowing an upright course. When children seea parent walking the path of integrity, theyare more likely to adopt a trustworthy coursethemselves.Proverbs 22:6.

Do the above Bible principles really work?Can trustworthy people be found today?

Experiments conducted by Michael Kos-feld, a professor of business administra-tion at Frankfurt University in Germany,led him to the conclusion that trust is

a biologically-based part of human na-ture. Kosfeld discovered that when thereis interaction between two people, the hu-man brain releases oxytocin, a hormonethat stimulates trust. It is, in fact, one ofthe distinguishing features of the humanspecies, Kosfeld states. When trust isabsent, we are, in a sense, dehumanized.

DESIGNED TO TRUST?


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CAN you imagine a world filled with trust-worthy people? How different life wouldbe! You could leave your child in the handsof a babysitter without fear. You would needneither keys to your home nor locks on your

doors. Is that merely a dream?The Effect of Moral Values

The Christian apostle Paul said of himselfand his fellow Christians: We wish to con-duct ourselves honestly in all things. (He-brews 13:18) That is what Jehovahs Witness-es strive to do. Their aim is to live up to thequalities described in the Bible at Isaiah 33:15: There is one who is walking in continualrighteousness and speaking what is upright,

who is rejecting the unjust gain from frauds,who is shaking his hands clear from takinghold on a bribe. How have some followedsuch a trustworthy course?

Speak what is upright. Domingo, oneof Jehovahs Witnesses, works in the Philip-pines on a copra plantation. Many peopleare not honest with their employers, he says.

For example, if they have gathered copra,they do not tell the employer how many sacksthey really have. By doing that, they can co-

vertly sell some sacks on the side.

Domingo and his family were nearly evict-

ed from a plantation because they did notwant to lie about production figures. Never-theless, Domingo says: We told our employ-er that even if it meant being evicted, wewould not lie. Eventually, our employer saidthat Jehovahs Witnesses are good peoplewho can be trusted, and he gave us addition-al land to farm.

Reject unjust gain. Pierre, the chief taxofficer in a region of Cameroon, has hadmany opportunities to make easy money.

When he was first assigned to pay the sala-ries of temporary workers, he noted an abnor-mality. Salaries were being paid to personnelwhose contracts had expired or who were de-ceased, Pierre explains. Instead of thinkingthat I could use this money, I kept a carefulfinancial record and the corresponding fundsin a safe.

People You

Can Trust

Santiago, a taxi driver in Argentina, did not

have to debate what he would do. When a bag

was left in his taxi, he simply returned it to its

owner. Santiagos gesture may seem ordinary,

except for the fact that the bag contained

more than $32,000!


7/32

What was the result? After two years,Pierre says, there was an audit to check on

this situation. I was really very proud to beable to present an exact record and hand overthe appropriate funds, which by then weresubstantial. The auditors warmly commend-ed me for my honesty.

Avoid taking a bribe. Throughout hiscareer as a notary in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,Ricardo has been offered many bribes. Onone occasion, he recalls, a lawyer tried tobribe me. Without my knowledge, he took theinitiative to send a CD player to my house. In

those days, a CD player was both a noveltyand a luxury.

What did Ricardo do? My wife and I de-cided that we would not even unwrap the par-cel, he says. I went to the lawyers office,taking him completely by surprise, and putthe parcel on his desk. It was a good opportu-nity to explain why I was returning it. His sec-retary was especially impressed with my ac-tion.

Although Jehovahs Witnesses are not theonly ones trying to be upright, as a peo-ple they have earned a reputation for being

We told our employerthat even if it meant beingevicted, we would not lie.Domingo, Philippines.

The auditors warmlycommended me for myhonesty.Pierre, Cameroon.

A lawyer tried to bribe me.. . . My wife and I decided thatwe would not even unwrapthe parcel.Ricardo, Brazil.

Berthe often spends the whole day without selling anything. But thenthe other food vendors will serve her because they know that she will

pay them as soon as she has the money.


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trustworthy. That is what recently led a Polishclothing chain to offer jobs only to JehovahsWitnesses. The sales manager stated: Thereare honest people everywhere, but JehovahsWitnesses have principles, and they stick tothem.

Trustworthy Despite Poverty

In the minds of many people, povertymakes a person exempt from the need to be

honest. For example, a CNN report tells of a14-year-old Nigerian boy who spends his daysswindling people over the Internet. What do

you want me to do? he says to justify himself.I feed my familymy sister, my mother, my[father]. Man must survive.

Of course, the Bible does not promise rich-es to those who remain upright, but it does

give assurance that they will receive lifes ne-cessities. Isaiah 33:16 states: His own breadwill certainly be given him; his water supplywill be unfailing.

However, some might ask: How can beingtrustworthy help those in extreme situations?What of those who struggle each day just tofeed themselves?

Consider Berthe, a widow in Cameroon

who sells manioc-based savory sticks in herlittle miando stall. Traditionally, there are 20miando sticks in each packet, she says. It iscommon for storekeepers to put just 17 or 18in most packets, but I prefer not to make myearnings by deceiving others.

Is Berthes business thriving? Not always.I often spend the whole day without selling

HONESTY REWARDED

Lucio, one of Jehovahs Witnesses in thePhilippines, could have become dishonest.He found $27,500 in an old filing cabinetin an office that he was asked to clean.The officeand the moneybelonged to hisboss, who was away on a business trip. Itwas the first time I had ever seen a dollar!Lucio says.

When his boss returned, Lucio handedhim the money. What was the result?I was given more responsibility, Lucio says.In fact, my boss gave me a room wheremy whole family could stay. Even thoughlife throughout the Philippines is hard, I real-ly feel that because we have adhered to hislaws, Jehovah God has cared for us.


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anything, she says. But when I ask the foodvendors for a dish of food and tell them that Istill have not sold anything, they serve me be-cause they know that I will pay them as soonas I have the money. It is a question of trust,which is earned over time.

A God Who Deserves Our Trust

Our trust grows as we observe that a per-son acts in harmony with his words. Joshua,a leader in ancient Israel, said of God: Nota promise failed out of all the good promisethat Jehovah had made . . . It all came true.(Joshua 21:45) Do we too have good reasonsto trust in God?

Gods promises are so trustworthy that hecompares his word to the rain. (Isaiah 55:10,11) Indeed, what could prevent rain from fall-ing, soaking the soil, and causing vegetationto grow? Nothing! In the same way, nothingcan prevent the fulfillment of Gods promises.

One of those promises is recorded at 2 Pe-ter 3:13, which states: There are new heavensand a new earth that we are awaiting accord-ing to his promise, and in these righteousnessis to dwell. God purposes to rid the earth ofall who would exploit their fellow man. Would

you like to learn more about how God willaccomplish his purpose? Contact JehovahsWitnesses locally, or write to the appropriateaddress on page 5 of this magazine.

HONEST SCALESMo

ses stall is well-known in

a market in Douala, Cameroon,where he sells fish. I called mylittle shop The Scales, he says,

because my scales are amongthe few in the whole market thathave not been tampered with.I know that people test me outregularly. If they ask me for a kiloof fish, I give it to them. Theyalways find a way to have the bagweighed elsewhere. When they do,they find that they have what ap-pears to be more than a kilo! Thenthey know that I have not tried todeceive them! Many people sayto me, We come to you becauseyou are honest.


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Meet the

AlpineMarmotA loud whistle pierced the air. It soundedlike a boy whistling to a friendbut wasmuch louder. The whistle echoed across themountainside, giving little indication of itssource. Then I noticed a small furry rodent

dart into a nearby burrow. A quick look atmy guidebook confirmed that I had justseen and heard an alpine marmot.


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DURING the next few days, I became fa-miliar with these furry rodents. I learnedwhich rocks they preferred for sunning them-selves, where their principal burrows were lo-cated, and how they survive in the harsh envi-ronment above the tree line.

Family Cooperation and Vigilance

Life on the alpine pastures is not easy forthe marmot. Winters are cold, and its habitatmay be snowbound for months. Also, preda-tors on land and in the sky pose a threat. Sothe marmots survival depends on coopera-tion, planning, and vigilance.

Marmots are family-oriented, usually liv-ing in groups that consist of a breeding pairand their offspring. Each family has severalburrowsone serves as the family home andthe others provide shelter in times of danger.Sometimes marmots excavate their burrowsin crevices underneath large boulders. Thesecastlelike dwellings offer the marmots van-tage points that serve both as turrets for ob-servation and as sun terraces for relaxing.

The marmot takes hygiene seriously. A sep-arate burrow is used as a toilet so that thehome burrow is kept clean. At the end oftheir main burrow, marmots prepare an en-larged den, which they line with grass. Thisden provides a safe haven where the female

gives birth. It also offers a warm sanctuarywhere the whole family can huddle during thelong winter hibernation.

Perhaps the most important family respon-sibility is that of guard duty. An adult marmotacts as a sentinel while other family mem-bers forage nearby. To check for danger, themarmot sometimes stands on its hind feet tosurvey its surroundings better. Eagles, fox-es, and humans are the main threats to thealpine marmot. Their presence or the sightof any large bird of prey will elicit an alarmcall. Interestingly, the alarm call for eagles

the marmots principal winged predatorisnoticeably distinct. At the sound of a warningcall, the marmots scamper for safety. In an in-stant, it seems, no marmot can be seen aboveground!

The marmot adds charmto the alpine meadows,and its family cooperationtestifies to the wisdomof the Creator.Psalm 50:10


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Obedience may well be a matter of life anddeath, especially in the case of young mar-mots, which are a favorite food of golden ea-gles. If the threat seems immediate, the guardretreats into a nearby burrow along with the

others. Then, after a few minutes, he cau-tiously pokes his head out to see if the dangerhas passed.

Keeping Cool and Sleeping Well

In the high meadows where alpine mar-mots live, there is abundant grass to eat,and the summer climate is temperate. If theweather is cool, marmots will sunbathe on asuitable rock. High temperatures create moreproblems for them, since they cannot remove

their furry coat. For this reason marmots areusually more active in the early morning andlate afternoon.

Insomnia is certainly not a problem for al-pine marmots; they hibernate for about sixmonths. A related species, the hoary marmot,may hibernate for as long as nine months.During hibernation, the alpine marmotsheart slows down to one or two beats per min-ute, and its body temperature drops to about

41 degrees Fahrenheit. Understandably, fast-ing for such a long period requires prepara-tion. During summer and early autumn, themarmots eat voraciously to acquire fat re-serves that will last them through the longwinter hibernation.

Young marmots are pl ayful an d of te nrun around in circles chasing each other.I watched one group of three youngsters tum-ble down a grassy slope as all three of them

engaged in a mock fight. Marmots of all agesgreet each other by touching noses; familymembers also groom each other and snuggleduring cold spells to keep warm.

Marmots prepare for the future and arealert to danger. (Job 12:7) Perhaps humanfamilies can learn from these rodents.

An adult marmot will actas a sentinel while otherfamily members foragenearby


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Children Who Cannot CommunicateTodays parents are spending less time talk-

ing to their children at mealtimes or read-ing to them at bedtime than parents of pre-

vious generations did. Children are startingprimary school with a speaking age of just18 months and the number unable to formsimple sentences is rising, reports The Timesof London. In Britain, 18 per cent of chil-dren aged 5 (more than 100,000) fail tomeet the expected level of speech for theirage. Hence, many children who cannot un-derstand basic instructions or express theirneeds are like foreigners in the classroom,not able to understand what is going on.

Irish Churches Without Priests?What we are witnessing is the death of a

clerically-dominated Catholic Church, saysThe Irish Times. Fifty years ago, Ireland wassecond to no other country in the number ofpriests it produced. Now the increasing age ofthe Irish clergy means that soon, when thesepriests reach the retirement age of 75, someparishes will be without priests. The roots of

the crisis are said by some to rest with thepivotal decision banning artificial contracep-tion, which was published in the 1968 papal

encyclical Humanae Vitae. That document,continues the Times, led first to the begin-

ning of people questioning the teachings ofthe Church and then to a decline of confi-dence in church leadership.

Magnetic North on the MoveWhen the magnetic North Pole was

located in 1831, it was in northern Canada,about 1,700 miles from the geographic NorthPole, says the French newspaper Le Figaro. Up until

1989, magnetic north was moving closer to the geographicpole at three to nine miles a year. According to the ParisInstitute of Global Physics, the magnetic pole is presentlymoving at about 34 miles a year and in 2007 was locat-ed only 342 miles from the geographic pole. At the currentspeed and direction, by 2020, the aurora borealis, or north-ern lights, which accompanies magnetic north, will be more

visible above Siberia than Canada, says the newspaper.

WATCH IN G THE WOR LD

Canadian researchers wanted toexamine the effects of pornogra-phy on men. We started our research

seeking men in their twenties who hadnever consumed pornography, explainsa team member, but we couldnt find any.UNIVERSITY OF MONTREAL, CANADA.

The worlds tallest building, theBurj Khalifa, was inaugurated in Dubailast January. The tower is 2,717 feet tall,has more than 160 floors, and can be seenfrom a distance of 59 miles.GULF NEWS,UNITED ARAB EMIRATES.

Reform Judaism is nothing ifnot responsive to changing times.Recently its liturgy incorporated a specialprayer for people undergoing sex-change op-erations.THE NEW YORK TIMES MAGAZINE, U.S.A.


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NAVIGATORS of the past dreamed of dis-covering a northern corridor linking theAtlantic and Pacific oceans, but they faced adaunting challenge: the Arctic sea route wasblocked by ice.

Still, there was incentive to find a shortcutacross the top of the world. By the 16th cen-tury, trade routes to the Orientaround thesouthern extremities of Africa and South

Americawere monopolized by Portugal andSpain. Foreign merchants would have to seeknorthern routes if they wanted to share inEastern trade. Many tried, including the fol-lowing.

The English: In 1553, Sir Hugh Willough-by and Richard Chancellor led the first En-glish expedition. After their ships were sepa-rated in a storm, Willoughby was forced towinter on the barren coast of the Kola Penin-sula in the far north of Russia. Ill-preparedfor the harsh conditions, he and all those withhim perished. Chancellor, on the other hand,

made port in Arkhangelsk. From there hetraveled to Moscow at the invitation of CzarIvan IV Vasilyevich, the Terrible. Chancellorfailed to find a passage to Asia, but he openedthe way for Anglo-Russian trade.

The Dutch: In 1594, Willem Barents firstsailed to Novaya Zemlya. In 1596, however,on his third trip, on rounding the northerntip of this Russian archipelago, the ship be-came trapped in ice and was damaged be-

yond repair. After enduring a severe winterin a shelter built of driftwood and survivingon polar-bear meat, Barents crew returned intwo small boats. Barents did not survive the

journey.The Russians: Russian explorers under-

took an intense exploration ofSiberia and theRussian Far East. In just 60 years, from 1581to 1641, they pushed from the Ural Moun-tains to the Pacific. About that time, the Cos-sacks sailed to the Arctic Ocean on Siberi-an rivers. They claimed Siberia for Russia

Navigating Across

the Top of the World

LibraryandArchivesCanada/SamuelGurneyCresswellcollection/C-016105


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ROUTES TAKEN BY

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and pioneered shipping along the north-east coast of Siberia. In 1648, Russian shipssailed through what came to be called the Be-ring Strait, named after Danish navigator Vi-tus Bering.

Further ExpeditionsFrom 1733 to 1743, nearly a thousand men

under Berings command set out in sevendetachments to survey the Arctic and Pa-cific coasts of Russia. Ice repeatedly trappedtheir ships, and many mariners died. Never-theless, the expedition mapped almost allthe Arctic coast. The data compiledinclud-ing charts, soundings, and information on iceconditionsproved invaluable to future Arc-tic mariners.

All along, Arctic voyages had been madein wooden vessels. But Berings expeditionmade clear that these were woefully inade-quate for crossing the Northern Sea Route.1In 1778, the British explorer James Cookreached the same conclusion when he sailedwest through the Bering Strait, only to findice blocking his path. Another century wentby before Nils Adolf Erik Nordenski

old, of

Finnish origin, succeeded in navigating thispassage by steamer.

Russian Expertise

After the Russian Revolution in 1917, ship-ping in the Russian Arctic was barred to allbut Russian vessels. From the 1930s onward,

1 The Northern Sea Route is the Russian name for whatis elsewhere called the Northeast Passage.

the Soviet Union developed the Northern SeaRoute and built ports to serve new industrialsettlements. Russia thus gained expertise inall aspects of Arctic navigation.

During the Cold War, the Northern SeaRoute stayed closed to foreign ships. How-ever, because of political reforms and a tran-sition to a market economy, Russian author-ities now encourage international shippingalong this route. The following example illus-trates the benefits.

During the summer of 2009, two Germancargo vessels passed through the Bering Straitand then sailed west along the nearly ice-freenorthern shore of Asia and Europe to the

Netherlands. It was the first time that a non-

Russian shipping company had traversed theentire Northeast Passage. The voyage savedsome 3,000 nautical miles and ten days ofsailing time. The company that made the voy-age estimates that it saved some 300,000 eu-ros (then $450,000, U.S.) per ship by takingthe Arctic shortcut.

Today, Arctic sea ice is rapidly decreas-ing. As a result, large areas of ocean are nowopen each summer.1 While this developmentmay be of environmental concern if the melt-

ing continues, ships could avoid the shallowsalong the Russian coast and sail a direct routebetween the Atlantic and the Pacificrightacross the top of the world.

1 Because of this and other factors, the length of the naviga-tion season has nearly tripled in the eastern Arctic and morethan doubled in the western Arctic.

Arctic sea ice israpidly melting


17/32

WHEN fire destroyed the Palace of Westmin-ster in 1834, Britains politicians held a com-petition. Who would submit the best design for anew Parliament building? The winning entry, bySir Charles Barry, was an ornate, Gothic-style pal-ace that included an imposing four-sided clock tow-er. The Office of Works commissioned a King of

Clocks, the biggest the world has ever seen.This clock is one of Londons famous landmarks,

and its distinctive chimes are recognized worldwide.Big Ben is its namealthough that name originallyreferred only to its largest bell. This world-famousclock is a marvel of engineering.

A Daunting Task

Work on the 316-foot clock tower began in 1843.Three years later the search was on for a craftsmanwho could build a clock so accurate that it would

not vary by more than a second each hour. The taskwas daunting. In a high open tower, the clocks handswould be exposed to wind, snow, and iceas well asalighting pigeons! Such disturbances would affect theclocks pendulum, whose regular beat was vital toprecise timekeeping. While experts debated how tosolve the problems, horologist Edmund Beckett Den-ison presented an acceptable design, and a leadingclockmaker was given the task of building the clock.

See and Hear the

King of Clocks

17


18/32

After two years the clock was ready, but itlanguished in the clockmakers workshop forfive more years while work on the tower wasbeing completed. During that time, Denisoninvented a device that protected the pendu-lum from outside interference, ensuring the

clocks accuracy.

Big Ben Is Born

With the clock mechanism ready, the nextstep was to make the bells. A foundry innortheast England cast the hour bell. It wasmuch larger than anticipated and weighed

more than 16 tons! The bell was so heavy thatit damaged the deck of the ship that was tocarry it to London. In time, the ship made the

journey. Once on land, the bell was eventuallytransported in a specially made carriage thatwas pulled by 16 white horses. Then it washung on a frame in front of Parliament, whereit could be tested.

Many large bells have names, and thisenormous bell was dubbed Big Ben. Why? Noone is sure. Some say that the bell may havebeen named after Sir Benjamin Hall, a large

STAYING ON TIMEThree times each week, a technician climbs 300 steps

up the stone spiral staircase to rewind, by hand, the cableholding the heavy weight that powers the time mechanism.The technician also checks the clock for accuracy. The13-foot-long pendulum swings every two seconds. A smallledge near its top holds some old predecimal pennies andhalfpence. If the clock is losing time, the technician adds acoin. If it is gaining, he removes one.

Predecimal pennies helpregulate the clock

Winding clock: AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis; coinson ledge: Parliamentary copyright images arereproduced with the permission of Parliament


19/32


man who worked for Parliament. Oth-ers suggest that the bell took its namefrom Benjamin Caunt, a well-knownheavyweight boxer of the time. What-ever its origin, Big Benno longer thename of just the hour bellnow com-

monly refers to the entire clock andtower.

Disaster Strikes Twice

Big Bens first hammer seemed tobe too light, so a huge 1,500-poundhammer replaced it. After monthsof testing, however, disaster struck.The bell cracked and could not be re-paired. Big Ben had to be dismantled.The metal in the bell was melted and

then recast into a bell that weighed13.7 tons. Once again, crowds linedthe streets as a carriage bore the newbell to the Houses of Parliament.

A few months later, the tower wasready. Several teams of men workedtirelessly to winch Big Ben up and into thebelfry. Finally, the huge bell joined the foursmaller bells that were to sound the quarterhours. The heavy clock mechanism followed.

At long last, the King of Clocks was readyfor actionor so it seemed.

In July 1859, Big Ben began striking thehour. But the triumph was short-lived. At thebeginning of October, the great bell crackedagain! Removing the bell from the tower wasout of the question. Instead, workers rotatedthe bell by a quarter turn so that the hammerwould not hit the crack. Then, to prevent fu-ture disasters, a lighter hammer was installed.Within three years Big Ben was back in busi-

ness! The crack remains, and it is what givesthe bell its distinct bong.

Historic Milestones

In 1924 the BBC, the British BroadcastingCorporation, installed a permanent micro-phone in the clock tower and began regularbroadcasts of Big Bens chimes as the na-

tions time signal. Eight years later, listenersthroughout the British Commonwealth werelinked in too, and today Big Bens melodioustones ring out round the world via the BBCWorld Service.

Although the clock and the bells survivedthe bombing of the second world war, in1976 metal fatigue in the chiming mecha-nism led to mechanical failure that destroyedmuch of the clock room. The great bell, how-ever, escaped undamaged, and within a fewweeks, it resumed striking the hour. It tooknine months to restore the clock to workingorder.

For a time, Big Ben was the largest clock

the world had ever seen, and it still is themost accurate public mechanical timepiece.Copied frequently, its characteristic melodycan be heard ringing out from both small andgreat clocks in many lands. Little wonder,then, that Big Ben has become a symbol ofEngland and its capital city. It truly is a Kingof Clocks!

The 13.7-ton great bell(Big Ben)strikes on the hour

Popperfoto/GettyImag

es


20/32


IT WAS the most feared disease of the cen-tury, and the cause remained a mystery.Some thought cholera was contracted by in-

haling offensive odors from decaying or-ganic matter. Their suspicions were under-standable. The River Thames, which coursedthrough London, emitted a horrible stench.Did the foul-smelling air carry the disease?

Five years earlier, a physician named JohnSnow had suggested that cholera was caused,not by contaminated air, but by contaminat-ed water. Another physician, William Budd,believed that a funguslike living organism car-ried the disease.

During the 1854 epidemic, Snow tested histheory by studying the lives of those who hadcontracted cholera in the London district ofSoho. What do they have in common? hewondered. Snows investigation led to a star-tling discovery. All who contracted cholerain that district had obtained drinking water

from the same street pump, and that waterwas contaminated by cholera-infected sew-age!1

That same year saw another medical mile-stone when Italian scientist Filippo Pacinipublished a paper describing the living organ-ism that caused cholera. For the most part,however, his research was ignored, along withthe findings of Snow and Budd. The cholerascourge raged onthat is, until 1858.

The Great Stink

Parliament had been sluggish about build-ing a new sewage system to clean up theThames, but the heat wave that arrived dur-

ing the summer of 1858 forced the issue. Thestench from the river that flowed pastthe House of Commons was so overwhelm-ing that the politicians were forced to hang

1 Although by 1854 flush toilets had been installed, an anti-quated sewage system allowed human waste to flow down gut-ters and sewers straight into the Thamesa major source ofdrinking water.

The Most Feared

Diseaseof the 19th Century

The year was 1854, and London was in thegrip of yet another outbreak of choleraanintestinal ailment characterized by severediarrhea and dehydration. The disease struckwith alarming speed. Many who awoke in

good health were dead by nightfall. There

was no known cure.

DeathonThames:5

MaryEvansPictureLibrary;map:UniversityofTex

asLibraries


21/32


drapes soaked in disinfectant over their win-dows in an attempt to disguise the smell.What came to be called the Great Stink

pushed Parliament into action. Within 18days, it ordered the building of a new sewagesystem.

Huge drains were constructed to interceptsewage before it reached the river and then totransport it to the east of London, where iteventually flowed into the sea on the ebb tide.The results were dramatic. Once all Londonwas connected to the new system, the choleraepidemics ended.

By now, there was no doubt: Cholera wasnot caused by foul air but by contaminated

water or food. Also clear was the key to pre-ventionsanitation.

A Law Ahead of Its Time

Thousands of years before cholera epidem-ics raged through London, Moses led the na-tion of Israel out of Egypt. Although theytrekked through the Sinai wilderness forsome 40 years, the Israelites remained freefrom epidemics such as cholera. How wasthat possible?

The nation was directed to bury humanwaste in a private place away from the campso that the living area and water sources

would not become contaminated. That regu-lation is recorded in the Bible at Deuterono-my 23:12, 13, which states:

Set up a place outside the camp to be usedas a toilet area. And make sure that you have asmall shovel in your equipment. When you goout to the toilet area, use the shovel to dig ahole. Then, after you relieve yourself, bury the

The River Thames coursed throughLondon and was contaminated by

cholera-infected sewage, whichis reflected in many illustrations fromthat era

1.Onlytwosonsofferedsacrifices.2.Cainoffered

fruitsoftheground.3.Abelofferedasheep,nota

cow.4.Bartholomew.5.Hewasnotdeceitful.

ANSWERSTOPAGE31


22/32


waste in the hole.Contemporary English Ver-sion.

That simple direction protected the Israel-ites from diseases that plagued surroundingnations. Similar sanitary practices have savedlives in recent times too.1 Consider an exam-ple.

We Never Had an Outbreak

In the 1970s, a wave of persecution drovemany of Jehovahs Witnesses out of Mala-

wi. They found safety in neighboring Mozam-bique, where more than 30,000 men, wom-en, and children settled in ten refugee camps.

As is well-known, refugee camps are often abreeding ground for waterborne diseases. Sohow did the Witnesses fare in those condi-tions?

Lemon Kabwazi, along with 17,000 others,lived in the largest camp at Mlangeni. He re-calls: The camp was kept clean all the time.Pit latrines were dug outside the camp, and

nobody was allowed to dig his own latrine in-side. Rubbish pits were dug away from thecamp too. Volunteers took care of all aspectsof sanitation, including ensuring the cleanli-

1 Since cholera is caused by contaminated food or water,the key to prevention lies in taking adequate precautions re-garding anything that enters the mouth. Purifying water andthoroughly cooking food are essential safety measures.

ness of the water that came from the wellsdug in a different area outside the camp. Al-though we were cramped, we adhered to Bi-ble standards regarding hygiene, so we neverhad an outbreak of serious disease, and noone ever suffered from cholera.

Sadly, in some parts of the world, homesstill do not have an adequate sewage system.Excreta-related diseases cause the death ofsome 5,000 children each day.

Although cholera and similar ailments arepreventable and mans efforts at sanitationhave yielded considerable results, the Bibleholds forth the hope that soon all sicknesswill be eliminated. Revelation 21:4 says thatunder the rule of Gods Kingdom, death willbe no more, neither will mourning nor outcrynor pain be anymore. At that time, the Biblepromises: No resident will say: I am sick.

Isaiah 33:24.

To learn more about what GodsKingdom will do for mankind,see chapters 3 and 8 of thebook What Does the BibleReally Teach?published byJehovahs Witnesses.

More than 30,000 men, women, and children settled in ten refugeecamps in Mozambique, which were kept clean all the time


23/32

Researchers analyze minute quantitiesof blood, DNA, and other substances on aglass surface about the size of your hand.In this realm of microfluidics, suction orpumps are used to move the tiny droplets,but these methods tend to be inefficient. Isthere a better way to transport liquids on aminiature scale? According to Dr. JohnBush of the Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology, nature has already solvedthese problems.

Consider: The hummingbird does notwaste energy by suckinga flowers nectarinto its mouth. Rather, it takes advantageof the cohesive forces that cause wateron a flat surface to bead up and defy grav-ity. When a hummingbirds tongue makescontact with nectar, the surface of the liq-uid forces the birds tongue to curl intothe shape of a tiny straw, and the nectar isdrawn upward. In essence, the humming-bird avoids unnecessary effort by lettingthe nectar force itselfup the straw andtoward the mouth. During feeding, hum-

mingbirds can refill their tongue with nec-tar up to 20 times a second!

This self-assembling siphon has alsobeen observed in some shorebirds, whichdrink water in a similar way. Commentingon this ability, Professor Mark Denny ofStanford University, in California, U.S.A.,observes: The combination of engineering,physics, and applied math is just wonder-ful . . . If you took any engineer or appliedmathematician and told them to design a

way for a bird to get water from its beakto its mouth, they wouldnt have thought ofthis one.

What do you think? Did the humming-birds tiny tonguewith its ability to collectnectar rapidly and efficientlycome aboutby chance? Or was it designed?

WAS IT DES IGNED ?

THE

HUMMINGBIRDS

Tongue

5 Richard Mittleman/Gon2Foto/Alamy


24/32


WHICH of the following would you like tohave? More confidence

More friends

More happiness

Actually, you can have all three! How? By

setting and reaching goals. Consider the fol-lowing.

More confidence When you set small goalsand reach them, youll have the confidenceto take on bigger ones. Youll also feel moreconfident when facing day-to-day challenges

such as standing up to peer pressure. Inturn, others will likely notice your confidence

and respect you for it. Some might pressureyou less. In fact, they may even start to ad-mire you.Compare Matthew 5:14-16.

More friends People enjoy being aroundthose who are goal-orientedthose who knowwhat they want and who are willing to workfor it. And when people are drawn to you be-cause of your goals, they often become mem-bers of the support team you need to reachthose goals.Ecclesiastes 4:9, 10.

More happiness Lets face it: Theres lit-

tle fun in being bored or waiting for yourlife to happen. On the other hand, when youset and reach goals, you feel a sense of ac-complishment. No wonder the apostle Paul, afirst-century Christian, once said: I dont runwithout a goal. (1 Corinthians 9:26, Contem-porary English Version) And remember, thebigger the goal, the greater your feeling of ac-complishment upon reaching it!

Are you ready to get started? Just cut and

fold the page to the right, and then follow thesteps listed.1

1 These suggestions are geared toward goals you can accom-plish within a few weeks or months, but the principles apply tolarger goals as well.

YOU NGPEOPLE

ASK

How can I reachmy goals?

More articles from the Young People Askseries can be found at the Web sitewww.watchtower.org/ype

4 11

Cut Fold


25/32

WHATYOURPEE

RSSAY

Itseasy

togetdiscouragedifyoudo

nt

haveanythin

gtofocusonorlookforward

to.

Butwhen

yousetandreachgoals,yo

u

feelgoodab

outyourself.

Reed.

Dontbeatyourself

upifyoure

notaccomplishingyour

goalperfectly

orinthetimeframeyou

hadinmind.

Feelingthatwaywonth

elp.

Justkeep

trying!

Cori.

Talktopeoplewhohavealready

reachedthe

goalsyouveset.Theycanin-

spireyouan

dgiveyoupracticalsuggestions.

Also,

shareyourgoalswithyourfamilyso

theycanbe

partofyoursupportteam.

Julia.

TO

THINK

ABOUT

Isitpossibletohavetoomanygoalsatonce?

Philippians1:10.

Doessettinggoalsme

anplanningouteveryminute

ofyourlife?Philippian

s4:5.

CUTALONGDOTTEDLINE

FOLD

4

1.Brainst

orm

potentialgoals.Havefunwiththis

step!Dontanalyze;justwritedownasmanyideasas

youcan.Seeifyoucancomeupwitha

tleast10or

20possibilities.

2.Evaluat

eyourideas.Whichonesse

emthemost

exciting?T

hemostchallenging?Which

wouldyoube

especiallyproudofachieving?Remember,thebest

goalsareth

eonesthatmeanthemostto

you.

3.Prioritize.Firstchoosesomeshort-ra

ngegoalsthat

youcould

reachinafewdays.Nextch

oosesome

long-range

goals(reachablewithinseveralweeksor

months).N

umberyourgoalsaccording

totheorder

inwhichyouwouldliketoachievethem

.

How

toreach

yourgoals

IDEN

TIFY

Dontbeafraidtosetlargegoals.Ifothershave

reachedth

em

before,

youcantoo.

Roben.

Sam

pleGoals

Friend

ship

Makeonefriendoutsidemyagegroup.

Reesta

blishanoldfriendship.

Healt

h

Exerciseatotalof90minuteseachweek.

Geteighthoursofsleepeachnight.

SchoolImprovemygradesinmath.

Stan

dupforwhat

isrightwhenpressuredtocheatonatest.

Spirituality

ReadtheBiblefor15minu

teseach

day.

Share

mybeliefswithaclassmatethisweek.

Proverbs4:25,

26

1


26/32

Foreachofth

egoalsyouvechosen,dothe

following:

PLAN

Goalsare

great,butyoualsoneedap

lanto

reachthem.O

therwise,theyllalwaysbegoalsand

neverachievements.Derrick.1

.Listyourgoal.

2.Seta

deadline.

After

all

,agoal

with

out

adeadlin

e

isjusta

dream!

3.Planthesteps

involved

.

4.Antic

ipate

obstacles.Th

en

think

ofh

owyoull

ov

erc

om

ethem.

5.Make

acommit-

ment.Pr

omis

eyour-

self

that

youll

do

your

bes

ttore

ach

this

goal.N

o

wsign

an

d

dateit.

Lea

rn

Spa

nis

h

for

my

tripto

Me

xico

Ju

ly1

Step

s

1.G

et

aphra

sebo

ok.

2.Learn

ten

new

word

seach

week.

3.L

isten

too

ther

peop

lesp

eakin

g

Sp

anish

.

4.A

skso

meone

tove

rifym

ygra

mm

ar

an

dpro

nu

ncia

tion

.

Po

ten

tial

ob

sta

cles

No

one

nearb

y

speaks

Sp

anish

HowIc

an

ov

ercomethem

Dow

nlo

ad

au

dio

reco

rdin

gs

in

Sp

anish

from

ww

w.jw

.org

.

Sig

na

ture

Da

te

Proverbs21:5

2

S

tartimmediately.Askyourself,WhatcanIdoto-

daytostarttowardmygoal?

Granted,youmaynot

haveeverydetailworkedout,

butdontletthatkeep

youfromgettingstarted.AstheBibleputsit,ifyou

waituntilthewindandtheweatherarejustright,you

willneverplantanythingand

neverharvestanything.

(Ecclesiastes11:4,TodaysEng

lishVersion)Findsome-

thingyoucandotodayevenifitssmallanddoit.

R

eviewyourgoalsdaily.Remindyourselfwhyeach

oneisimportanttoyou.Trac

kyourprogressbyput-

tingaI

(oracompleted-ond

ate)nexttoeachstepas

youcompleteit.

B

eflexible.Nomatterhowgoodyourplansare,

theymayneedtobeadjusted

asyougoalong.

ThatsOK.Dontworryabou

trigidlystickingtoa

plan.Justkeepmakingprogresstowardthefinalgoal.

U

seyourimagination.Fast-

forwardandimagineyour-

selfachievingyourgoal.Feel

thesenseofaccomplishment.

Next,rewindthroughthe

individualsteps,andvisualize

eachofthem.Finally,press

play.Seeyourselfcomplet-

ingeachstep,andimagine

howgreatyoullfeelwhen

youreachyourgoal.Nowgo

forit!

ACT!

Goalscaneasily

getputonthebackburner,so

youhavetostayfocusedand

keepworkin

gtoward

them.Erika.

Goalsarelike

blueprintsit

takesworkto

turnthem

into

reality!

John

13:17

3


27/32

MAYDAY! Mayday! Mayday! Thos ewords heard over the radio announce alife-threatening emergency and are a call forimmediate assistance. Is the Mayday call ef-

fective? In 2008, the U.S. Coast Guard wenton more than 24,000 rescue missions. Theysaved 4,910 livesan average of 13 lives perdayand assisted more than 31,000 people indistress.

Why, though, do we use the expressionMayday? And before radio transmission,how did ships in distress signal for aid?

Early Methods of Calling for Help

In 1588, the Santa Maria de la Rosa of the

Spanish Armada fired her guns as a distresscall when drifting in a violent storm. The shipsank with no reported survivors. In other in-stances, early sailors hoisted flags designed toconvey a distress call. Even now, a ship dis-

playing a white flag with a red diagonal crossis known internationally as calling for help.

Sailors in the 1760s began learning a visu-al code called the semaphore system. To use

this code, a signaler with two hand-held flagswould imitate the hands on a clockface. Eachposition of time the signaler used reflecteda different letter or number.

However, flags, cannon fire, and visual sig-nals worked only if others were close enoughto see or hear the distress call. Often, the crew

MAYDAY!

MAYDAY!MAYDAY!THE CALL THAT SAVES LIVES

Fire and smoke engulfed the fishing vessel! Every person on board was in

serious danger. Without the captain making the Mayday call, the NauticalLegacy would never have been found, said a Coast Guard official. The Canadian

Coast Guard responded quickly and was able to save the entire crew.1

1 Reported in the book True Stories of Rescue and SurvivalCanadas Unknown Heroes

Courtesy Fisheries and Oceans Canada,reproduced with the permission of

5 Her Majesty the Queenin Right of Canada, 2010 )

The Nautical Legacy engulfed in fire and smoke

27


28/32


in peril had little hope that help would arrive.How would the situation improve?

More-Effective Calls for Help

A gigantic leap forward in communicationtechnology came in the 1840s. Samuel Morseinvented a code that allowed telegraph oper-ators to send messages along a length of wireby means of a hand-operated transmitter key.

As long as the operator held the key down, theperson at the other end of the wire could de-

tect an electrical impulse. Morse assigned aunique combination of short and long soundsor dots and dashes to each letter and number.

To employ Morse code at sea, sailors usedbright beams of light instead of the soundssent by telegraph operators. The signal-er would expose a beam of light for a shortlength of time to symbolize the dot andlengthen the time the beam was exposed tosymbolize the dash. Signalers soon began us-ing a simple and unique call for help con-

sisting of three dots, three dashes, and threemore dots, representing the letters SOS.1

Fortunately, the scope and distance of dis-tress signals did not stop there. GuglielmoMarconi sent the first radio signal across the

1 The letters SOS were chosen because they could be sentand perceived easily. They had no particular meaning.

Atlantic Ocean in 1901. SOS messages couldnow be sent using radio waves instead ofbeams of light. Still, radio operators couldnot yet vocalize a distress call. The expres-sion Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! was yet tocome.

Spoken words were finally heard across theairwaves in 1906 when Reginald Fessendentransmitted a program of speech and music.Sailors with radio equipment heard Fessen-dens broadcast from 50 miles away. In 1915,many more people were thrilled to hear livespeech transmitted from Arlington, Virginia,U.S.A., to the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France

a distance of 8,800 miles! And imagine theexcitement of sailors on the S.S. America in

1922 when the first ship-to-shore radio con-versation was held between Deal Beach, NewJersey, U.S.A., and their ship, which was 400miles out to sea.

Unifying the Call for Help

Radio operators in the 1920s and 1930squickly began talking to each other. Sincecrews at sea may speak different languages,how could a captain send a priority distresscall that would be universally understood?The International Radiotelegraph Conven-tion answered this concern in 1927 by adopt-ing Mayday as the international distresscall.1

We can be thankful that communicationshave continued to improve. For example, ra-dar and global positioning systems have re-placed cannons and flag signals. Also, radioshave become standard equipment, and res-cue agencies monitor the airwaves and are onconstant alert. As in the case of the Nautical

Legacy, no matter where or when an emer-gency arises, the call Mayday! Mayday! May-day! can likely be heard. Unlike past genera-tions, if you are in distress at sea, rather thanhaving only faint hope of rescue, you can con-fidently expect to get help.

1 Mayday is to be repeated three times to show clear in-tent and avoid confusion of the word with any other.

To employ Morse code at sea, sailorsused bright beams of light instead of thesounds sent by telegraph operators5 Science and Society/SuperStock


29/32

AWED by nature, many people are com-pelled to believe in a supernatural force,a deity. Are you impressed by the complexityof the universe? Do you marvel at our plan-ets natural wonders and the intricate designof the human body?

If so, perhaps you too have been persuaded

to believe in a divine power. Some religionsteach that such an entity resides in the moun-tains, the trees, the sky, and other featuresof the physical universe. Others believe thatthe spirits of ancestors, some benevolent andsome evil, join in an amalgamation of mys-terious forces, collectively forming one Su-preme BeingGod!

In either case, a common belief is that thissupernatural force is devoid of personality.Some people find it hard to believe that God

has thoughts, emotions, purpose, and desires.

Is God a real person? The Bible, one of theoldest sacred books in wide circulation today,provides a clear answer.

Human Nature Points to Gods Nature

The Bible teaches that man was created tomirror Gods attributes. Genesis 1:27 saysthat God created human beings, making

them to be like himself.Todays English Ver-sion.

Clearly, those words do not mean that thefirst humans were exact replicas of God. TheBible says that God is an invisible spirit,while humans are made from tangible earth-ly elements. (Genesis 2:7; John 4:24) Asidefrom that basic difference between God andhumans, a good look into human qualitiesshould shed some light on the true nature of

God.

THEBIBLESVIEWP OINT

Is God a Real

Person?

Would God create us as complex persons if hehimself were an impersonal force?


30/32


Humans have the ability to exercise pow-er and to perform well-calculated and deliber-ate actions. These actions can be motivatedby such attributes as kindness, thinking abili-ty, practical wisdom, and a sense of justice.Humans have emotions ranging from tenderlove to hatred and anger. Various combina-tions of these attributes make us slightly dif-ferent from one another. Yes, each of us hasa unique personality. Humans are persons.

Would it make sense for God to create usas complex persons if he himself were an im-personal force gliding aimlessly in a spiritualdimension? If humans are made in Gods im-age, then Gods nature would in many waysbe similar to human nature. Consider the fol-

lowing.God has a personal name. The Bible says

at Isaiah 42:8: I am Jehovah. That is myname. God wants his name to be known.The Bible also says: May Jehovahs name be-come blessed from now on and to time indef-inite. From the rising of the sun until its set-ting Jehovahs name is to be praised. (Psalm113:2, 3) Accordingly, by using Gods nameoften, his worshippers treat him as a person.

God is unique. The Bible teaches that Godis indeed unique. (1 Corinthians 8:5, 6) Youare indeed great, O Sovereign Lord Jehovah;for there is no other like you, and there is noGod except you, says the Bible. (2 Samuel 7:22) The Scriptures also describe Jehovah asthe true God in the heavens above and onthe earth beneath. There is no other.Deu-teronomy 4:39.

Jehovah God hates badness. Only a per-son can feel hate. The Bible tells us that

the Creator hates such things as lofty eyes,a false tongue, and hands that are sheddinginnocent blood, a heart fabricating hurtfulschemes, feet that are in a hurry to run to bad-ness, a false witness that launches forth lies,and anyone sending forth contentions amongbrothers. (Proverbs 6:16-19) Notice that Goddetests human behavior that results in hurt to

other humans. From this, we learn that Godcares about our welfare and that he hates thethings that cause us harm.

Jehovah is a loving God. The Bible ex-plains that God loves the people of this

world very much. (John 3:16, ContemporaryEnglish Version) It portrays him as having thepersonality of a tender father who wants thebest for his human children. (Isaiah 64:8) Hu-mans can reap many blessings by recognizingGods position as their loving Father.

You Can Be Gods Friend

Clearly, the Bible teaches that the Creatoris an individual, who has a name and a per-sonality. He has the ability to exercise pow-

er and perform calculated and deliberate ac-tions motivated by such lofty attributes askindness, wisdom, and a sense of justice. Heis not remote or inaccessible. On the con-trary, he says: I, Jehovah your God, amgrasping your right hand, the One sayingto you, Do not be afraid. I myself will help

you.Isaiah 41:13.

God has a purpose for mankind. The Biblesays: The righteous themselves will possessthe earth, and they will reside forever upon

it. (Psalm 37:29) Knowing that Jehovah isunique and has a distinct identity makes iteasier for us to pursue a personal relation-ship with him and enjoy the blessings he of-fers to those who become his friends.Deu-teronomy 6:4, 5; 1 Peter 5:6, 7.

HAVE YOU WONDERED?

Does God have a personal name?

Isaiah 42:8. Are there many gods?1 Corinthians 8:

5, 6.

Can humans have a personalrelationship with the true God?1 Peter 5:6, 7.


31/32

FOR FAMILY REVIEW

What Is Wrong With ThisPicture?Read Genesis 4:1-8. Now look at the picture. What features areincorrect? Write your answers on the lines below.

1

2

3

FOR DISCUSSION:How did Cain react when Jehovah God showed favor to hisbrother Abel? If your parents seem to show favor to one ofyour siblings, what should you avoid, and why?

WHAT DO YOU

KNOW ABOUTTHE APOSTLENATHANAEL?

4. Nathanael was likely alsoknown by what other name?CLUE: Read Luke 6:14; John 1:

44-46.

5. Jesus admired what aboutNathanael?CLUE: Read John 1:47.

FOR DISCUSSION:How can you imitateNathanael? How do you

benefit when you do so?CLUE: Read Psalm 24:3-5;

34:13-16.

FROM THIS ISSUEAnswer these questions, and provide the missing Bibleverse(s).

PAGE 5 The heart of man is inclined toward what?

Genesis 8:

PAGE 6 How should we wish to conduct ourselves?Hebrews 13:

PAGE 24 What should we have ahead of us?1 Corinthians 9:

PAGE 26 What will happen if you wait until the windand the weather are just right? Ecclesiastes 11:

CHILDRENSPICTURESEARCH

Can you find thesepictures in this issue?In your own words,describe what is hap-pening in each picture.

Answers on page 21



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This is what the brochure See theGood Landhas proved to be. It is filledwith colorful maps and photographs ofsites where major events of Bible history

occurred over a period of more than2,000 years. Included is a panoramicview of the ruins of ancient Beer-sheba,where Abraham lived, and a photographof a Roman road that disciples of Christlikely traveled toward the end of the firstcentury C.E.

Many of our readers have expressedappreciation for the brochure. I amoverwhelmed with gratitude, one wrote.I have always yearned to visualize the

land of the patriarchs and the landJesus walked. Another said: It issomething I have wanted for a longtime. It really makes the Bible comealive.

You may request a copy ofthis 36-page brochure by filling inthe accompanying coupon andmailing it to the address provid-ed or to an appropriate ad-dress listed on page 5 of this

magazine. The brochure isavailable in 79 languages.Nearly ten million copieshave already beenprinted.

A Treasure for Bible Students

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SEE THE

GOOD LAND

Ancient Beer-sheba

A Roman road

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