Insight on the News

“Hijacking Fossils”

Under that title, the French daily Le Monde reported the case of a paleontologist in India who “for 20 years . . . apparently deceived his colleagues concerning the origin of fossils that he submitted to them for their appraisal.” It is claimed that the “hijacking” consisted of sending them fossils obtained in the United States, Africa, Czechoslovakia, and the British Isles, saying they had been discovered in the Himalaya Mountains. This scientist published his findings in over 300 articles. The fraud was brought to light by an Australian scientist via the British scientific journal Nature. He wondered ‘how it could be that such a large quantity of doubtful findings remained unchallenged for such a long time.’

One possible reason, according to Le Monde, was the law of silence heeded by many members of the scientific community. The article noted that this fossil “hijacking” has “made useless practically all the facts accumulated [over the past 20 years] on the geology of the Himalayas.”

Obviously, this new case of fraud in science does not cast doubt on the entire scientific world. It does, however, provide further evidence that arguments of paleontology when pitted against the unfailing accuracy of the Bible record are often nothing more than what the apostle Paul called “the contradictions of the ‘knowledge’ which is not knowledge at all.”​—1 Timothy 6:20, The New Jerusalem Bible.

“Full of Blood”

In Colombia, South America, ruthless drug barons contract with young men to eliminate rivals or to sow panic among politicians and the population in general. One such sicario, or paid assassin, told reporters of Tiempo, a Spanish news magazine, that ‘killing in cold blood is tough.’ How does he soothe his conscience? He explained: “I know that one of the laws of God is that you should not kill, but in my case it’s a question of someone who has to kill in order to live. I kill conscientiously because I need the money. Can’t you see that I’m working because I have to live somehow? . . . Before going out to kill someone, I pray to God and to the Virgin that they may protect me.”

Although this sort of rationalization would doubtless be rejected outright by Catholic theologians, church leaders have legitimatized armed struggle “as a last resort to put an end to an obvious and prolonged tyranny.” If theologians condone violence for political injustice, should it come as a surprise that some Catholics, like this sicario, justify killing because of economic injustice? How dangerous it is to water down God’s Word!

On the night when the greatest injustice of all time was about to be perpetrated​—involving the arrest, trial, and execution of Jesus Christ—​Jesus himself refused to contemplate violence of any sort. He told Peter: “All who take the sword will perish by the sword.” (Matthew 26:52, Revised Standard Version, Catholic edition) Logically, how could those who resort to violence expect Almighty God to listen to them under any circumstances, since the prophecy of Isaiah plainly states: “Even though you make many prayers, I will not listen; your hands are full of blood”?​—Isaiah 1:15, RS, Catholic edition.

“Caesar’s Things to Caesar”

Tax evasion is an increasing problem in many countries. In Spain, for example, the newspaper El Diario Vasco reports that both buyers and sellers have the custom of deliberately concealing the actual purchase price of property. While the buyer and the seller may agree upon one price for the actual purchase, a much lower amount is recorded on the deed. Once a transaction is completed, tax is paid according to the recorded value of the property. El Diario Vasco reports the claim of notary public José María Segura Zurbano that while notaries do not actually participate in the fraud, they know that the value of the property they record is not the true one. Noting one exception to this dishonest practice, Zurbano observed: “In this country everybody and his neighbor lies, the only exception being Jehovah’s Witnesses. When they buy or sell, the [property] value they declare is the absolute truth.”

Jehovah’s Witnesses are well-known for their truthfulness and honesty. They are aware that Jehovah God expects his servants to display such qualities in all their dealings. God hates “a false tongue” and “a false witness that launches forth lies.” On the matter of paying taxes, Jesus Christ set the standard for his true followers when he said: “Pay back Caesar’s things to Caesar, but God’s things to God.”​—Proverbs 6:6-19; Mark 12:17.