Watching the World

Buried Under Snow

◆ During the closing days of December a vast storm dumped a record fall of snow over the northeastern part of the United States. The state of Vermont was so paralyzed by a snowfall of up to four feet that a state of emergency was declared. The state capital of New York was also paralyzed by a snowfall of 26 inches. Rescue workers by the hundreds combed the rural areas in search of stranded motorists and marooned families in farmhouses. In dozens of communities shortages of food, fuel and medical supplies were reported.

Prostitutes in Vietnam

◆ Brigadier General David E. Thomas, the top Army medical officer in Vietnam, has suggested that post exchanges throughout the country of South Vietnam offer U.S. troops the service of prostitutes. He said: “If the military were permitted to run houses of prostitution as part of the post exchange system, we could cut venereal disease down to a very, very low figure merely by being able to supervise the operation.” Because of ignoring Scriptural standards of morality approximately 40,000 to 45,000 American soldiers get venereal diseases each year in Vietnam.

Crime Rise

◆ J. Edgar Hoover reported that crime during the 1960’s “outstripped our population growth by over 11 to one.” He believes that this trend will “show no sign of abating in the foreseeable future,” and that “violent crimes, in particular, will continue to show alarming increases.” He found particularly disturbing the gradual “erosion of legitimate authority based on mutual respect, tolerance and understanding.” This very situation is what the Bible foretold, at 2 Timothy 3:1-5, for the “last days.”

Red Faces in the Vatican

◆ One year ago Luigi Carnevali, an eighty-six-year-old Italian painter, saw a photograph of Mao Tse-tung and decided to paint it. It was a picture of Mao as a youth. When finished, the painting was loaned to a friend. Much to his surprise, he recently learned that the painting turned up in the Vatican. Vatican officials thought the young man in the painting looked like a priest because of the long Chinese-style tunic, and so hung it in the Vatican’s pressroom a few yards from a portrait of Pope Paul VI. Although the picture of the Communist leader of China embarrassed church officials, they said that the painting would not be taken down.

Child Poisoning

◆ According to the Toronto Star there has been a 66-percent increase in child poisoning in Canada. This was attributed to the way manufacturers package household cleaning products and medicines. Three hospitals in the Toronto area have treated 1,300 children this year for headache-tablet poisoning. Drain cleaners, detergents and other household chemicals are in liquid form that can be easily ingested by children. Parents, take great care to store dangerous chemicals and medicines in places that are out of reach of small children.

The Religion of Science

◆ During his visit to Canada, England’s Prince Philip warned that there could be an “erosion of the natural world” if the “new religion of science” continued to be in conflict with the religion of God. He observed that science has in many ways taken over from religion in the sense that it claims to have the answers to all the questions mankind has been asking. The prince thus expressed a view that few people have appreciated​—that science has become a god to a growing number of people in this modern generation.

Deluge of Abandoned Cars

◆ In 1961 New York city had to contend with 5,100 cars that were abandoned on its streets. In 1968 this figure jumped to 31,578. It was estimated to be about 50,000 in 1969. Many of the cars were stolen and then abandoned after a wild ride by the thieves. In a few days they are stripped of usable parts and left as derelicts. Other cars are purposely abandoned by owners who report them stolen in order to collect the insurance on them. Still others break down, and if the owners are slow in having them repaired or towed to a garage, they are stripped of parts. So the city has an evergrowing task of removing these automotive derelicts.

‘Imitation Blood’

◆ At a medical conference in Atlantic City, New Jersey, it was reported that successful tests have been made of a man-made synthetic blood. Dr. Leland C. Clark, Jr., said: “You can store it in cans and there could be an unlimited supply. There is no need for cross typing and no danger of it carrying infection like hepatitis.” The doctor’s artificial blood consists of 60 percent saline solution and 40 percent of a fluorochemical called FC-43. It is claimed that FC-43 carries oxygen and carbon dioxide as natural blood does. It is now in the experimental stage, and the doctor does not expect it to be ready for use in man until three to five years from now.

Drop in Smoking

◆ In England there has been a substantial drop in smoking by the general public. As for British doctors, it is reported that just about all of them have stopped cigarette smoking. At the Second International Symposium on Atherosclerosis it was pointed out that cigarette smoking was involved in the 51,000 deaths from throat, lung and mouth cancer last year. It was also involved in atherosclerosis and heart disease. Dr. Knud Kjeldsen of Copenhagen said: “More than 50 percent of all deaths of males during their working years is due to atherosclerosis, and of these the mortality from heart failure is two times higher in cigaret-smokers than in non-smokers.” This doctor said that in Copenhagen the risk of heart failure and death increased in direct proportion to the number of cigarettes smoked and to the amount of smoke inhaled.

Homosexual Clergyman Founds Church

◆ A homosexual clergyman has founded a church in Hollywood, California, that has a predominately homosexual congregation. Seventy percent of the congregation are male homosexuals and 15 percent are female homosexuals. The remaining 15 percent are heterosexuals. How is such a church viewed by God? Regarding persons who practice homosexuality, the Bible states at Romans 1:32: “These know full well the righteous decree of God, that those practicing such things are deserving of death.”

Deadly Decorations

◆ A number of poisonous plants are used as Christmas decorations, and these can endanger the life of a child. Dr. Mary C. McLaughlin states that the milk sap from one leaf of a poinsettia plant could kill a child. The berries of English holly and mountain laurel are also dangerous. The doctor said that the eating of 20 or 30 holly berries could prove fatal. The colorful jequirity beans that are often used in jewelry are so poisonous that one bean could kill a grown man. The leaves of mountain laurel that are used to make wreaths are also dangerous. Thus these decorations that so many people believe are necessary to make their holidays merry can make them a tragedy.

The Fruits of Promiscuity

◆ It was estimated by the Australian Pharmaceutical Manufacturers Association that venereal disease is rising in Australia at a rate that would, with other diseases, be regarded as epidemic. It is estimated that one thousand new victims of gonorrhea and syphilis appear every week of the year in Australia. This is actually a worldwide problem resulting from sexual promiscuity. As might be expected, another fruit of such immorality is a great number of abortions. It was estimated by Mr. Andras Klinger, an expert on population planning, that there are 30 million abortions taking place every year throughout the world. He thinks that even in countries where abortion is banned, 30 to 60 percent of pregnancies are terminated in this manner.

Dangerous Shelf Paper

◆ Since the mid-1950’s there has been marketed a particular type of shelf paper that is impregnated with long-lasting pesticides. Insects crawling over this paper are killed by the pesticides. However, in recent tests the United States Department of Agriculture has found that the pesticides soak through the cardboard and paper wrappings of food set on the shelf paper. In a matter of five days the food can be contaminated.

Spiritual Stones

◆ Clergyman John W. Meister, executive secretary of the Council on Theological Education of the United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A., acknowledged that churchgoers are leaving the churches because they are not receiving spiritual bread. Reporting on his observations, the Daily News of Springfield, Massachusetts, said: “The thing that’s bugging the man in the pew these days, he writes in Presbyterian Life magazine, is the thin diet being dished out from the pulpit. In Jesus’ vivid metaphor, men are asking for bread​—and getting stones.”

Death Penalty Abolished

◆ It was good news for criminals in Great Britain on December 18 when the House of Lords approved a motion by the government to abolish the death penalty permanently. Two days previously Parliament voted 343 to 185 in favor of the resolution. Since 1957 the death penalty was possible for crimes that involved murder in furtherance of theft, murder of a policeman or prison officer, and murder by shooting while resisting arrest.

New Meat Substitute

◆ A product that tastes like ham and another one like chicken is now being served in selected restaurants and institutions in the United States. The product is made from protein that comes from the soybean. It promises to be a major new source of protein food. Approximately five companies are doing research on the product to make the protein tasty and marketable. The substance is disguised by making it into a batter that is forced through tiny holes of a spinnerette, and the result is fine, colorless, odorless and tasteless fibers. These can be given a meat flavor that makes them acceptable to human taste. The texture can be altered so that the food chews like sliced ham or fish fillet. This meat substitute can be stored easily and is said to require no cooking, only heating.

“Flying” with LSD

◆ After taking LSD, a twenty-year-old college student imagined that he could fly. When he tried doing so from the roof of a four-story building, he crashed to the ground and died. According to the records of the New York City Medical Examiner, there have been about a dozen such plunges to death made by persons under the influence of LSD in just the past three years.

Santa Claus Out as a Saint

◆ The new Catholic calendar, in force as of January 1, relegates St. Nicholas of Bari to voluntary veneration instead of obligatory veneration. He was among the 200 saints that Pope Paul VI either dropped or demoted. This Catholic saint has been regarded by Catholic children in the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland as the bringer of gifts on December 6. Elsewhere he has become identified with the Santa Claus of the Christmas celebration.

‘Absolute Popes Finished’

◆ Dr. Hans Kueng, a well-known Catholic theologian, in his book, The Church, says: “I know every theologian of importance and I never met any who does not want a Pope . . . But we want a pastoral primacy . . . because we are convinced that absolute primacies are finished, even for the Church.”