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!"#2 OCTOBER 2010 WHOM CAN YOU TRUST? ALSO: IS GOD A REAL PERSON? PAGE 29
!"#2O C T O B E R 2 0 1 0
WHOM CAN YOU
TRUST?ALSO: IS GOD A REAL PERSON? PAGE 29
!"#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 the“King of Clocks”
23 Was It Designed?The Hummingbird’sTongue
27 “Mayday! Mayday!Mayday!”—The CallThat Saves Lives
29 The Bible’s ViewpointIs God a Real Person?
31 For Family Review
32 A Treasure for BibleStudents
Whom Can You Trust? 3-9
Is anyone truly trustworthy today?The answer may surprise you.
20The Most FearedDisease of the19th CenturyRead how choleraterrorized Britainduring the 1800’s.
24How Can I ReachMy Goals?Learn how achievinggoals can give youmore confidence,more friends, andmore happiness.
� Mary Evans Picture Library
Awake! October 2010 3
IN TODAY’S world, virtually everyone’s 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 newborn boy are shocked
to learn that the so-called enriched milk they have
been feeding him is contaminated with a hazard-
ous ingredient. Sadly, the little boy dies.
A trusted American businessman has swindledhis clients out of billions of dollars! Thousandsdiscover that their pension funds have van-ished in what has been termed “the fraud ofthe century.”
In West Africa, a 12-year-oldboy lies in a hospital bed—thevictim of a fake antimalarialdrug that his mother boughtat a legitimate drugstore.“For 15 years we have beenfinding false medicines onthe market,” says a hospitalphysician.�
� Reported in the newspaper Le Figaro,published in Paris, France.
4 Awake! October 2010
THIS JOURNAL IS PUBLISHED for the enlightenment of theentire family. It shows how to cope with today’s 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 Creator’spromise 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. � 2010 Watch Tower Bible and Tract Societyof Pennsylvania. All rights reserved. Printed in U.S.A.
Vol. 91, No. 10 Monthly ENGLISH
“I CANNOT 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 inGermany are believed to have paid out thou-sands of euros in bribes to teachers to “earn”the title of Doktor, 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” after they 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 they’ve lost their moralcompass . . . It’s 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 newspaper Le Figaro, more and more French people “think that the leadingfigures in society—in political, economic, social, and cultural circles—are not virtuous, and theydo not see why they should be so themselves.”
Languages: Afrikaans, Albanian, Amharic, Arabic, Armenian,Bislama, Bulgarian, Cebuano, Chichewa, Chinese (Simplified), Chinese(Traditional)� (audio Mandarin only), Chitonga, Cibemba, Croatian,Czech,� Danish,� Dutch,�� English,�� Estonian, Ewe, Fijian, Finnish,�French,��� Georgian, German,�� Greek, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hiligaynon,Hindi, Hungarian, Icelandic, Igbo, Iloko, Indonesian, Italian,�� Japa-nese,�� Kannada, Kinyarwanda, Kirghiz, Kirundi, Korean,�� Latvian, Lin-gala, Lithuanian, Luvale, Macedonian, Malagasy, Malayalam, Maltese,Myanmar, Norwegian,�� Polish,�� Portuguese,��� Punjabi, Rarotongan,Romanian, Russian,�� Samoan, Sepedi, Serbian, Sesotho, Shona, Silo-zi, Sinhala, Slovak, Slovenian, Spanish,�� Swahili, Swedish,� Tagalog,Tamil, Thai, Tok Pisin, Tongan, Tsonga, Tswana, Turkish, Ukrainian, Urdu,Vietnamese, Xhosa, Yoruba, Zulu
� CD also available.� MP3 CD-ROM also available.� Audio recordings also available at www.jw.org.
Would you welcome more information or a free homeBible study? Please send your request to Jehovah’s 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: POBox 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. PuertoRico: PO Box 3980, Guaynabo, PR 00970. South Africa: Private Bag X2067, Krugersdorp,
1740. Trinidad and Tobago: Lower Rapsey Street & Laxmi Lane, Curepe.
Awake! October 2010 5
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 previousyear.
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 ofhuman 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 valuable—gaining 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 foryour 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?
6 Awake! October 2010
CAN you imagine a world filled with trust-worthy people? How different life would
be! You could leave your child in the handsof a babysitter without fear. You would needneither keys to your home nor locks on yourdoors. 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 Jehovah’s 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 Jehovah’s 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 Jehovah’s 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 YouCan 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. Santiago’s gesture may seem ordinary,
except for the fact that the bag contained
more than $32,000!
What was the result? “After two years,”Pierre says, “there was an audit to check onthis 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 lawyer’s 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 Jehovah’s 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 willpay them as soon as she has the money.
8 Awake! October 2010
trustworthy. That is what recently led a Polishclothing chain to offer jobs only to Jehovah’sWitnesses. The sales manager stated: “Thereare honest people everywhere, but Jehovah’sWitnesses have principles, and they stick tothem.”
Trustworthy Despite Poverty
In the minds of many people, povertymakes a person exempt from the need to behonest. For example, a CNN report tells of a14-year-old Nigerian boy who spends his daysswindling people over the Internet. “What doyou want me to do?” he says to justify himself.“I feed my family—my 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 life’s 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 Cameroonwho 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 Berthe’s business thriving? Not always.“I often spend the whole day without selling
HONESTY REWARDEDLucio, one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the
Philippines, could have become dishonest.He found $27,500 in an old filing cabinetin an office that he was asked to clean.The office—and the money—belonged 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.”
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?
God’s 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 God’s 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 whowould exploit their fellow man. Wouldyou like to learn more about how God willaccomplish his purpose? Contact Jehovah’sWitnesses locally, or write to the appropriateaddress on page 5 of this magazine.
HONEST SCALESMo
¨ıse’s 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.’ ”
Meet the
AlpineMarmotA loud whistle pierced the air. It soundedlike a boy whistling to a friend—but wasmuch louder. The whistle echoed across themountainside, giving little indication of itssource. Then I noticed a small furry rodentdart into a nearby burrow. A quick look atmy guidebook confirmed that I had justseen and heard an alpine marmot.
Awake! October 2010 11
DURING the next few days, I became fa-miliar with these furry rodents. I learned
which 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 marmot’s 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 severalburrows—one 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 femalegives 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 marmot’s principal winged predator—isnoticeably 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
12 Awake! October 2010
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 theothers. 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 removetheir 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 marmot’sheart slows down to one or two beats per min-ute, and its body temperature drops to about41 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 playful and oftenrun around in circles chasing each other.I watched one group of three youngsters tum-ble down a grassy slope as all three of themengaged 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
Awake! October 2010 13
Children Who Cannot CommunicateToday’s 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 ofthe 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 until1989, 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 morevisible above Siberia than Canada,” says the newspaper.
WATCHING THE WORLD
Canadian researchers wanted toexamine the effects of pornogra-phy on men. “We started our researchseeking men in their twenties who hadnever consumed pornography,” explainsa team member, but “we couldn’t find any.”—UNIVERSITY OF MONTREAL, CANADA.
The world’s 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.
14 Awake! October 2010
NAVIGATORS of the past dreamed of dis-covering a northern corridor linking the
Atlantic 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 Orient—around thesouthern extremities of Africa and SouthAmerica—were 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 Arkhangel’sk. 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 thejourney.
The Russians: Russian explorers under-took an intense exploration of Siberia 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
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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 Expeditions
From 1733 to 1743, nearly a thousand menunder Bering’s 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 compiled—includ-ing charts, soundings, and information on iceconditions—proved invaluable to future Arc-tic mariners.
All along, Arctic voyages had been madein wooden vessels. But Bering’s expeditionmade clear that these were woefully inade-quate for crossing the Northern Sea Route.�In 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 Nordenskiold, ofFinnish 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 1930’s onward,� The “Northern Sea Route” is the Russian name for what
is 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 theNetherlands. 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.�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 Pacific—rightacross the top of the world.� 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
WHEN fire destroyed the Palace of Westmin-ster in 1834, Britain’s 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 ofClocks, the biggest the world has ever seen.”
This clock is one of London’s famous landmarks,and its distinctive chimes are recognized worldwide.Big Ben is its name—although 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 wouldnot vary by more than a second each hour. The taskwas daunting. In a high open tower, the clock’s handswould be exposed to wind, snow, and ice—as well asalighting pigeons! Such disturbances would affect theclock’s 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
“KingofClocks”
17
After two years the clock was ready, but itlanguished in the clockmaker’s 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 theclock’s 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 thejourney. 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
Awake! October 2010 19
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 Ben—no longer thename of just the hour bell—now com-monly refers to the entire clock andtower.
Disaster Strikes Twice
Big Ben’s 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 andthen 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 action—or 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 Ben’s chimes as the na-
tion’s time signal. Eight years later, listenersthroughout the British Commonwealth werelinked in too, and today Big Ben’s 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 clockthe 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
Pop
perfo
to/G
etty
Images
20 Awake! October 2010
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. Snow’s 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!�
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 on—that 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� 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 Thames—a major source ofdrinking water.
The Most Feared
Diseaseof the 19th Century
The year was 1854, and London was in the
grip of yet another outbreak of cholera—an
intestinal ailment characterized by severe
diarrhea and dehydration. The disease struck
with alarming speed. Many who awoke in
good health were dead by nightfall. There
was no known cure.
Death
on
Th
am
es:
�M
ary
Eva
ns
Pic
ture
Lib
rary;
map:U
nive
rsity
of
Texa
sLib
rarie
s
Awake! October 2010 21
drapes soaked in disinfectant over their win-dows in an attempt to disguise the smell.What came to be called the Great Stinkpushed 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-vention—sanitation.
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 sourceswould 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 bycholera-infected sewage, whichis reflected in many illustrations fromthat era
1.Onlytwosonsofferedsacrifices.2.Cainofferedfruitsoftheground.3.Abelofferedasheep,notacow.4.Bartholomew.5.Hewasnotdeceitful.
ANSWERSTOPAGE31
22 Awake! October 2010
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.� Consider an exam-ple.
“We Never Had an Outbreak”
In the 1970’s, a wave of persecution drovemany of Jehovah’s 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, andnobody 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-� 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 man’s 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 God’s 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 God’sKingdom will do for mankind,see chapters 3 and 8 of thebook What Does the BibleReally Teach? published byJehovah’s Witnesses.
More than 30,000 men, women, and children settled in ten refugeecamps in Mozambique, which were kept clean all the time
˘ 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 sucking a flower’s 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 hummingbird’s tongue makescontact with nectar, the surface of the liq-uid forces the bird’s 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 itself up 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 away for a bird to get water from its beakto its mouth, they wouldn’t have thought ofthis one.”
What do you think? Did the humming-bird’s tiny tongue—with its ability to collectnectar rapidly and efficiently—come aboutby chance? Or was it designed?
WAS IT DESIGNED?
THEHUMMINGBIRD’S
Tongue
� Richard Mittleman/Gon2Foto/Alamy
24 Awake! October 2010
WHICH of the following would you like tohave?
˘ More confidence˘ More friends˘ More happinessActually, you can have all three! How? By
setting and reaching goals. Consider the fol-lowing.
More confidence When you set small goalsand reach them, you’ll have the confidenceto take on bigger ones. You’ll 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-oriented—those 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 Let’s face it: There’s 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 don’t 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 andfold the page to the right, and then follow thesteps listed.�� These suggestions are geared toward goals you can accom-
plish within a few weeks or months, but the principles apply tolarger goals as well.
YOUNGPEOPLEASK
How can I reachmy goals?
More articles from the “Young People Ask”series can be found at the Web sitewww.watchtower.org/ype
4 1 1
Cut Fold
WHAT
YOUR
PEERS
SAY
“It’s
easy
toget
dis
coura
ged
ifyo
udon’t
have
anyt
hin
gto
focus
on
or
look
forw
ard
to.B
ut
when
you
set
and
reach
goals
,yo
u
feelgood
about
yours
elf. ”—
Reed.
“Don’t
beat
yours
elf
up
ifyo
u’re
not
accom
plis
hin
gyo
ur
goalperf
ectly
or
inth
etim
efr
am
eyo
uhad
inm
ind.
Feelin
gth
at
way
won’t
help
.Ju
stkeep
tryi
ng! ”—
Cori.
“Talk
topeople
who
have
already
reach
ed
the
goals
you’v
ese
t.They
can
in-
spire
you
and
giv
eyo
upra
cticalsu
ggest
ions.
Als
o,sh
are
your
goals
with
your
fam
ilyso
they
can
be
part
of
your
support
team
. ”—
Julia
.
TO
TH
INK
AB
OU
T
˘Is
itposs
ible
tohave
too
many
goals
atonce
?—
Philip
pia
ns
1:1
0.
˘D
oes
settin
ggoals
mean
pla
nnin
gouteve
rym
inute
ofyo
urlif
e?—
Philip
pia
ns
4:5
.
CUT
ALO
NG
DO
TTED
LIN
EFO
LD
4
1.Bra
insto
rmpote
ntialgoals
.H
ave
fun
with
this
step!
Don
’tan
alyz
e;ju
stwr
itedo
wnas
man
yid
easa
syo
uca
n.Se
eif
you
can
com
eup
with
atle
ast1
0or
20po
ssib
ilitie
s.2.Evalu
ate
yourid
eas.W
hich
ones
seem
the
mos
tex
citin
g?Th
em
ostc
halle
ngin
g?W
hich
woul
dyo
ube
espe
cial
lypr
oud
ofac
hiev
ing?
Rem
embe
r,th
ebe
stgo
alsa
reth
eon
esth
atm
ean
the
mos
tto
you.
3.Prioritize
.Fi
rstc
hoos
eso
me
shor
t-ran
gego
alst
hat
you
coul
dre
ach
ina
few
days
.Nex
tcho
ose
som
elo
ng-ra
nge
goal
s(re
acha
ble
with
inse
vera
lwee
ksor
mon
ths)
.Num
bery
ourg
oals
acco
rdin
gto
the
orde
rin
whic
hyo
uwo
uld
liket
oac
hiev
ethe
m.
How
tore
ach
yourgoals
IDEN
TIFY
“Don’t
be
afr
aid
tose
tla
rge
goals
.If
oth
ers
have
reach
ed
them
befo
re,yo
ucan
too. ”—
Roben.
Sa
mp
leG
oa
ls
Fri
en
dsh
ipM
ake
one
frie
nd
outs
ide
my
age
grou
p.
Ree
stabl
ish
an
old
frie
nds
hip
.
Hea
lth
Exer
cise
ato
talo
f9
0m
inute
sea
chw
eek.
Get
eigh
tho
urs
ofsl
eep
each
nig
ht.
Sch
oo
lIm
pro
vem
ygr
ade
sin
math
.Sta
nd
up
for
what
isri
ght
when
pre
ssure
dto
chea
ton
ate
st.
Sp
irit
ua
lity
Rea
dth
eB
ible
for
15
min
ute
sea
chda
y.
Share
my
belie
fsw
ith
acl
ass
mate
this
wee
k.Prov
erbs
4:25
,26
1
Foreachofthe
goalsyou’vechosen,do
thefollowing:
PLA
N
“G
oals
are
gre
at,
but
you
also
need
apla
nto
reach
them
.O
therw
ise,th
ey’ll
alw
ays
be
goals
and
neve
rach
ieve
ments.”
—D
errick
.1.Lis
tyourgoal.
2.Seta
deadlin
e.
Afte
rall,
agoal
with
outa
deadlin
eis
just
adre
am
!
3.Pla
nth
este
ps
involved.
4.Antic
ipate
obsta
cle
s.Th
en
thin
kofhow
you’ll
ove
rcom
eth
em
.
5.M
ake
acom
mit-
ment.
Pro
mise
your-
self
that
you’ll
do
yourbest
tore
ach
this
goal.
Now
sign
and
date
it.
Lea
rnS
pa
nish
form
ytrip
toM
exico
July
1
Ste
ps
1.G
eta
phrase
book.
2.L
earnten
new
words
eachw
eek.
3.L
istento
otherpeop
lesp
eaking
Spanish
.
4.A
sksom
eone
toverify
my
gram
mar
and
pron
uncia
tion.
Po
ten
tial
ob
stacle
s
No
one
nea
rby
speaks
Span
ish
Ho
wI
ca
n
ove
rco
me
them
Dow
nloa
daudio
recordings
in
Spanish
from
ww
w.jw
.org.
˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝
Sign
ature
˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝ ˝
Date
Proverbs21:5
2
Sta
rtim
media
tely.A
skyourself,‘W
hatcanIdo
to-day
tostarttoward
my
goal?’Granted,you
may
nothave
everydetailworked
out,butdon’tletthatkeepyou
fromgetting
started.Asthe
Bibleputsit,“ifyou
waituntilthewind
andthe
weatherarejustright,you
willneverplantanythingand
neverharvestanything.”(Ecclesiastes11:4,Today’sEnglish
Version)Findsom
e-thing
youcan
dotoday—even
ifit’ssmall—and
doit.
Revie
wyourgoals
daily
.Remind
yourselfwhyeach
oneis
importantto
you.Trackyourprogressby
put-ting
aI
(oracom
pleted-ondate)nextto
eachstep
asyou
complete
it.Be
flexib
le.N
om
atterhowgood
yourplansare,they
may
needto
beadjusted
asyou
goalong.
That’sO
K.D
on’tworryaboutrigidly
stickingto
aplan.Justkeep
making
progresstowardthe
finalgoal.Use
yourim
agin
atio
n.“Fast-
forward”and
imagine
your-selfachieving
yourgoal.Feelthe
senseofaccom
plishment.
Next,“rewind”
throughthe
individualsteps,andvisualize
eachofthem
.Finally,press“play.”Seeyourselfcom
plet-ing
eachstep,and
imagine
howgreatyou’llfeelwhen
youreach
yourgoal.Now
goforit!
AC
T!
“G
oals
can
easily
get
puton
the
back
burn
er,
soyo
uhave
tosta
yfo
cuse
dand
keep
work
ing
tow
ard
them
.”—
Erik
a.
Goals
are
like
blu
eprin
ts—it
takes
work
totu
rnth
em
into
reality!
John13:17
3
“MAYDAY! Mayday! Mayday!” Thosewords heard over the radio announce a
life-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 lives—an average of 13 lives perday—and assisted more than 31,000 people indistress.
Why, though, do we use the expression“Mayday”? 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 theSpanish 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 1760’s began learning a visu-al code called the semaphore system. To usethis 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 CALLTHAT 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 ‘Nautical
Legacy’ would never have been found,” said a Coast Guard official. The Canadian
Coast Guard responded quickly and was able to save the entire crew.�
� Reported in the book True Stories of Rescue and Survival—Canada’s Unknown Heroes
Courtesy Fisheries and Oceans Canada,reproduced with the permission of
� Her Majesty the Queenin Right of Canada, 2010 )
The “Nautical Legacy” engulfed in fire and smoke
27
28 Awake! October 2010
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 1840’s. 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.�
Fortunately, the scope and distance of dis-tress signals did not stop there. GuglielmoMarconi sent the first radio signal across the� The letters SOS were chosen because they could be sent
and 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-den’s 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 in1922 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 1920’s and 1930’squickly 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.�
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 NauticalLegacy, 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.� “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 operators� Science and Society/SuperStock
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-et’s natural wonders and the intricate designof the human body?
If so, perhaps you too have been persuadedto 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 Being—God!
In either case, a common belief is that thissupernatural force is devoid of personality.Some people find it hard to believe that Godhas 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 God’s Nature
The Bible teaches that man was created tomirror God’s attributes. Genesis 1:27 saysthat “God created human beings, makingthem to be like himself.”—Today’s 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 ofGod.
THEBIBLE’SVIEWPOINT
Is God a RealPerson?
Would God create us as complex persons if hehimself were an impersonal force?
30 Awake! October 2010
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 God’s im-age, then God’s nature would in many waysbe similar to human nature. Consider the fol-lowing.
God has a personal name. The Bible saysat Isaiah 42:8: “I am Jehovah. That is myname.” God wants his name to be known.The Bible also says: “May Jehovah’s name be-come blessed from now on and to time indef-inite. From the rising of the sun until its set-ting Jehovah’s name is to be praised.” (Psalm113:2, 3) Accordingly, by using God’s 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 as“the 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 thatthe 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 thisworld” 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 recognizingGod’s position as their loving Father.
You Can Be God’s 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 helpyou.’ ”—Isaiah 41:13.
God has a purpose for mankind. The Biblesays: “The righteous themselves will possessthe earth, and they will reside forever uponit.” (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.
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.
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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 YOUKNOW ABOUTTHE APOSTLENATHANAEL?
4. Nathanael was likely alsoknown by what other name?CLUE: Read Luke 6:14; John 1:
44-46.
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5. Jesus admired what aboutNathanael?CLUE: Read John 1:47.
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FOR DISCUSSION:How can you imitateNathanael? How do youbenefit 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:��������
CHILDREN’SPICTURESEARCH
Can you find thesepictures in this issue?In your own words,describe what is hap-pening in each picture.
˘ Answers on page 21
Awake! October 2010 31
˘ This is what the brochure “See theGood Land” has proved to be. It is filledwith colorful maps and photographs ofsites where major events of Bible historyoccurred 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 theland 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 thismagazine. The brochure isavailable in 79 languages.Nearly ten million copieshave already beenprinted.
A Treasure for Bible Students
Q Without obligation,I request a copy of thebrochure shown here.
Indicate which language.
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Q Please contact meconcerning a free homeBible study.
Name ����������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
Address �������������������������������������������������������������������������������������
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City ���������������������������������� State ����������� ZIP Code ����������������������
Jehovah’s Witnesses, 25 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, NY 11201-2483
www.watchtower.org
“SEE THE
GOOD LAND”
Ancient Beer-sheba
A Roman road
g10 10-E
