Watching the World
Faith Without Basis
● “Americans revere the Bible but they do not read it,” said George Gallup, Jr., executive director of Princeton Religion Research Center. Results of a 1981 survey by the Center indicate that only 12 percent of the people read something from the Bible daily, one out of four teenagers has never read it, and less than half the adults know four or more of the Ten Commandments. Although 86 percent of those surveyed said religion is important in their lives, only 40 percent of them attend any religious service in a given week. Most people still pray, the survey found, but their prayers are usually only petitions. “God for some is viewed as a ‘divine Santa Claus.’” Thus, while religious belief is still widespread among Americans, they show “little evidence of having pondered a basis for this faith,” said Gallup.
‘Land of Widows and Orphans’
● The devastation resulting from man’s cruelty to man is vividly illustrated in Uganda. Such was the extent of killing during the eight-year regime ending in 1979 that now, in a population of 12.5 million, one person in eight is an orphan and one female in nineteen is a widow. Many feel, however, that these Ministry of Rehabilitation figures do not reflect the full picture. Why not? Because, according to Ugandan tradition, orphans are cared for by relatives, and widows remarry into the husband’s household. Still, due to the shortage of menfolk, many young widows cannot find husbands. Uganda, once called an African “jewel,” is now described as a ‘land of widows and orphans.’
Writing on the Wall
● Frustrated by the deliberations at the United Nations, Mayor Koch of New York city wanted to add to the so-called Isaiah Wall inscription something about “hypocrisy, immorality and cowardice.” The wall is located across the street from the General Assembly Building and carries the famous quote from Isaiah about “swords into plowshares.” Among possible texts considered were Isaiah 5:20, which says, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness,” and Isaiah 10:1: “Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees, and the writers who keep writing oppression.” (Revised Standard Version) The mayor, however, changed his mind later. “Silence sometimes is more effective than a shout,” he said.
A Colossal Debt
● “Total outstanding debt in the U.S. nearly tripled in the past decade. This year it will exceed 5 trillion dollars,” says U.S. News & World Report. This colossal figure is the number five followed by twelve zeros. If this debt were divided among all adult Americans, it would amount to $30,000 per person. About 39 percent of the current debt, or $1,930,000 million, is owed by individuals through mortgages and credit buying. Debts of businesses amount to $1,850,000 million, or 37 percent of the total. The rest, or $1,170,000 million, is owed by federal, state and local governments. The total debt amounts to almost half the nation’s net worth, and nearly 10 percent of the nation’s total income is spent just to pay for the interest on this debt.
Computerized Doctor’s Aide
● The South-West Thames Regional Health Authority in England is developing a computer that will flash a warning when the test a doctor orders will interact with the medication that the patient is taking. Such interaction may cause the test to give erroneous results, leading to faulty diagnosis. Doctors simply do not have the time to check all the possibilities because the needed data for all the drugs being used in hospitals nowadays are scattered among thousands of medical journals and scientific papers. “We still have to check at least 24,000 more medical references to the way certain drugs interfere with the interpretation of laboratory investigations,” says Dr. Jack Salway, director of the government-financed program. At least four more years’ work has to be done before the program will be completed.
Religious Mail Threatened
● Due to budget cuts, the U.S. Congress has decided to eliminate postal subsidy for nonprofit publications. Originally, the subsidy was to have been gradually phased out over a 16-year period ending in 1987. But Congress’ decision now puts an immediate raise of up to 200 percent on the cost of mailing some types of religious material. “Many, many religious publications will simply go down the drain, knocked out of existence,” said a United Church of Christ representative. The director of the Catholic Press Association felt the measure will certainly weaken and “in some cases silence the voice of the religious press.” There are now more than 1,000 religious publications in the U.S.
Parents Forgotten
● In Japan, where it has long been a tradition to honor one’s parents, a recent poll showed that 38 percent of the respondents felt it is not the duty of children to look after their aged parents. Twenty years ago only 20 percent felt that way. The majority of such answers came from people in their thirties. One explanation given was that these people belong to the TV generation—they grew up with the television and their values have been molded by it. “This generation seems to mark a turning point; there have been subtle changes in people’s consciousness in many areas of life,” says the Asahi Shimbun, which took the poll.
Gum for Smokers
● A type of chewing gum is being used in England to help smokers quit the habit. Use of the gum, which is available only by prescription, is said to eliminate the tar and carbon monoxide, which can cause lung cancer, bronchitis and heart diseases. However, it maintains the nicotine level, from which patients must be weaned later. A trial at Maudsley Hospital in London reported a 45-percent success rate, compared with only 20-percent success in all other methods combined. A four-month course using the gum costs up to £50 ($92 U.S.); about 100,000 persons used it last year. Currently in Britain, one in ten men die from coronary heart diseases and 70 percent of the victims are smokers.
Church on Wheels
● With many of the ancient churches in remote parishes of the Church of England falling into heavy debt and disrepair, an innovative clergyman has come up with the idea of putting his church on a bus. With the front seats removed to make room for an altar, the bus can be converted into a 32-seat chapel, quite adequate for the usual Sunday crowd. A new double-decker would cost about £50,000 ($92,000 U.S.), a fraction of what it takes to restore an old church, and a good secondhand one would cost considerably less.
Beggars’ Federation
● “All the beggars of the world should unite!” That is the slogan of a newly formed beggars’ federation in Jaipur, India. “Ours is the organisation of those who support their families by begging,” explains the president, Kenna of Kerala. “This is a profession like any other profession and also as old.” The federation’s aim is to reform the system of begging by establishing exclusive territorial rights of individual beggars or groups of beggars. “Overcrowding of the locations is forcing us to introduce this system so that every member of the federation may ‘earn’ enough to support his family,” says Kenna. The federation, however, is having a problem setting up its head office because no one is ready to give it a house or a room on rent.
Risk for Drinking Women
● Doctors are learning that women have twice the risk of developing cirrhosis of the liver from alcoholic drinks as do men. Writing in the journal of the London Council on Alcoholism, Dr. John Saunders of King’s Cross Hospital said: “We know that women may develop cirrhosis if their daily alcohol intake exceeds 40 grams, while men are not at significant risk until their daily intake exceeds 80 grams.” Women also develop the disease much faster than men—in an average of 13 years of excessive drinking against 22 years for men. The reason, the doctor explained, is that women’s lower average body weight and higher level of body fat lead to a greater concentration of alcohol in the blood stream after drinking the same amount as men.
Religion in School
● While the battle between evolutionists and creationists is still raging in the U.S., the government of Singapore is launching a program of compulsory religious classes in the schools to prevent the island state from becoming “a nation of thieves.” Students will have a choice of studying Christianity, Islam, Buddhism or Hinduism in a variety of languages. Those with no preference will have to take a general study of world religions. Parents may appeal to the Education Ministry if they do not want any religious education for their children.
Petrol-sniffing Aborigines
● Petrol, or gasoline, sniffing is becoming such a serious problem among the aborigines of Australia’s Northern Territory that local authorities have resorted to using a skunk-smell additive in an attempt to curb it. A government survey found that half the boys and a quarter of the girls between the ages of nine and fourteen are regular sniffers, and the habit is spreading among the adults. Harmful results include impaired speech, concentration and coordination. A government spokesman cited “lack of work on aboriginal settlements” as the cause. It is hoped that the skunk smell will be more effective than fines or prohibition by law in deterring the habit.
Desperate Inmates
● A study by the National Center on Institutions and Alternatives found that the suicide rate of inmates in American prisons is at least 16 times as high as that of the general population. On an average day at least one inmate takes his own life. The study also found that those who were incarcerated for alcohol or drug abuse made up the largest portion of the suicide cases.
Auto Safety
● “American-made small cars are safer than Japanese small cars—but not safe enough,” says a United Press International dispatch from Washington. The dispatch cites an insurance industry report that shows that out of 17 models rated worse than average in safety, 13 were made in Japan. Still, according to the report, crash victims are twice as likely to die in small cars as in full-size ones regardless of the make.
What Future for Polluted Rivers?
● England has waged a 20-year campaign to clean up its polluted rivers. But now “the present financial climate” is bringing the campaign to a halt, says the National Water Council. Their report explained that the outlook for future improvement for polluted rivers and estuaries remains “bleak”—at least until an economic recovery.