Professional Documents
Culture Documents
TIrnrnTIrn
omo g o zi n e o f unaerstondin g
Vol. XLI . No. 10
ARTICLES
Soviets Planning to Win the " Unt hi nkable" War
Is Our Envir onment Dr iving Us " Bananas" ?
Th e Origin of Astrology
25 Years to Dou ble Food Produ ct ion
Sou th West Afr ica - Rac ing Against
Time for Peace
Let ' s Remember the Meaning of
Thanksgiving Day
Two Teen-agers View . . " My Responsi bility
as an American"
Why Does God Hi de Himself?
Bad Deci sions Can Wre ck You r Life
FEATURES
Per sonal from Herbert W. Armstr ong
Wo r fdwatch
TV-Radio Log
In Brief
Garne r Ted Ar mstr ong Speaks Out!
November 1976
2
B
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ABOUT OUR COVER
The environment in which we live our
daily lives aff ect s us not only physically,
but mentally as well. The psychologi cal
effect s may be subtle. but they are often
nearly inescapable. Read the art icle in
this issue: " Is Our Environment Driving
Us 'Bananas'?"
Marvm E Newman - Wooofm Camp
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spons'b,li ty lor return of uesoncsec art work. photo-
graphS, or manusc ripts
Here I give you a glimpse i nto
a private " Bibl e study" I had
one day with our little travel -
ing group. It happened to get
i nto a very profound question
tha t has puzzled scholars and
theologians, as well as mil-
lions of people, for many cen-
turies . Yet the answer i s plain
and simple, but of staggering
import ance to humanity.
Personal from...
THE TRUE MEANINGOF
PREDESTINATION
T
oday. I find myse lf back in the
sa me hotel room i n Rome
where I had an inviuor atin a
" Bible studv" with mv Iittl ;
ing group ago. \Ve
reme mber thi ngs by association.
Th is room brought tha t part icular
st udy lesson back to mind .
l ha d selected by chance two sc p
ura te chapte rs in the Bible of whi ch
I was very fond. And it so happen ed
th at they were the vc ry two cha pters
th a t mentioned thi s ve ry di sput ed
a nd almost l':E VER u;-.; n ERS'1DO D
subj ect of " pr edeslinat ion ." But now
I want to devote this " Per sona l" to
makin g clear the true mea ning of
that per plexing question.
DOES this di sputed bibl ica l teach-
ing say that we arc P REJli DGED be-
fore we a re even born? Arc human s
j udged guilty or innoce nt BEFORE
they act?
Most novels . movies. or TV se ries
a re built a rou nd the " 200 d 2UVS"
a nd the " ha d auvs." T hoe a nd
he roine alway; appea r wholesome.
honest . sincere. and upri ght. But the
villai n or th e si nister sed uci ng fe-
ma le ca n be q uickly identified by
the ir ev il expressio n. manner. a nd
att itu de. But a rc a ll hum an s PRE-
J UDG ED by an ang ry God. even
be fore bi rth. to become one of these
"good guys" or "bad guys:'
I ha d chosen on tha t day in this
sa me hotel room to go throu gh a nd
ex pound two favorite ch apters -
Roman s 8 and Ephes ians I. I chose
Roma ns 8 becau se it is the " holy
spirit" cha pter. the cha pte r on the
incredible dest iny o f man . That is
the subject a bo ut which I have wri t-
ten a series of a rti cles a ppea ring for
ov er a yea r in The Plain Truth. I
chose Ephesians I becau se. in the
Moffatt translation. I have felt for
The PLAIN TRUTH November 1976
many ye a rs th at it is one of the most
beauti ful. upl ifting. a nd inspi ring
pieces of lit erat ure I ha ve ever read .
When I sa t down 10 my typewriter
to beg in writing th is " Pe rsona l:' I
di d not have in my bri efcase with
me a copy of the Moffat t trans-
lation. But I did have a copy of this
tra nslation in the bookcase above
my de sk in my G- II j et ai rcra ft . So I
tel eph on ed our plane's stewa rd in
his hotel room a nd aske d him to
ma ke a qu ick. specia l trip to the
a ir po rt a nd bring me th e book. li e
a r rived with it be for e I had wri tten
this far. a lt ho ugh I took out tim e for
lunch.
Listen to this beaut iful bit of lit er-
ature: " Pa ul. by the will of God an
apost le of Jesus Chr ist. to t he sa ints
who are fai thful in Jesus Christ :
grace a nd peace to you from God
o u r Fa th er a nd th e Lord J esu s
Ch rist. Blessed be th e God and
Fat he r of our Lord J esus Christ wh o
in Christ has blessed us with every
sp iri tua l blessin g wit hin the hea v-
en ly sphere! " (Eph. 1: 1-3. Moffat t.)
It is importa nt to not e ca refully to
whom the apostle is speaking. He
includ es himse lf wi t h th ose ad-
d ressed - th e sa ints who a re fa ithful
in J esus Christ. He is not speaki ng of
EVERYBOD Y.
Continue : " He chose us in him
ere the world was founded . ...
(verse 4 ). God did th e choosing.
Jesus sai d to His disciple s that th ey
ha d not chosen Him but that li e
ha d chosen them ! But whom di d
God choose'? Not th e wor ld, not
every body - OSLY those addressed
with'" Paul an d the "sain ts who are
fai thful."
H'hen were the " chose n? " Ere th e
wo rld was - be fore they
were born. But WHY'? To be PRE-
judged and sentenced to a n ete rn ity
of being burned alive - ye t never
burni ng up - in the " he ll tir e" th a t
so me peopl e teach'? NEVER! Then
WHY were they chosen?
Contin ue .' . .. to be con-
secra ted and unbl emi shed in his
sig ht. de st ining us in love to be hi s
sons thro ugh J esus Christ" (vs, 45).
The King James Version has:
" having predestinated us.' In the
KJV th e wo rd "adopt ion " is wronglv
translated a nd should be ren dered
"sons hip" in the Engli sh. for it is
speaking of becoming begotten and
born so ns of God . not adopted so ns.
Real sons ! Noth ing is sa id a bout
predesti na t ing sons to "be lost: '
co nd em ne d or punished. But "des-
tining us in love: ' not in a nge r or
ha te.
Read on . and I shall emphasize
th e words I wa nt you to especia lly
notice: " Such was the purpose of his
(Co ntinued 0 11 page 41)
The Soviet admiralty openly proclaims that its
goal is dominance of the world's oceans. The
U.S.S.R. is also wresting nuclear weapons
superiority from the U.S. despite treaties designed
to halt the arms race. What will the West 's
response be to the growi ng Soviet challenge?
SOVIETS
PLANNING TO
WIN THE
"UNTHINKABLE"
K!t1R
by Gene H. Hog berg
T
he maiden voyage this past
J uly of th e Sovi et Union' s
first airc ra ft ca rr ier. the
40,OOO-to n Kiev, is hut a ha r-
binge r of grea ter th ings to come for
the Soviet na vy. accord ing to lead-
ing Western mili tary expe rts. With
i t s a dve n t. a ne w c ha p te r i n
Moscow' s growing challenge to t he
West has o pe ne d up.
Jane's Fighting Ships. the author-
ita tive refe rence for the wo rld' s
na vies. d ecl ares that th e Sovi et
n a v y' s growi ng " bl u e- wat er "
st re ng th a nd wo rldw ide deployment
a ppear designed for a war ofaggrcs-
sion against the West.
Jane's. in its 1976- [ 977 edit ion.
report s th at the Sovi et Union now
h a s th r e e t i m es a s ma ny s u h-
marines. for exa mple. as the Un ited
St a tes.
The American underwa ter fleet.
on th e other hand. incl ud es 73 a t-
tack subma rines. designed spec ifi-
ca lly to seek ou t a nd destroy enemy
submari nes. The Sov iet s have few. i f
a ny. subma rines designed for this
purpose. But Jane's added tha t th e
2
Soviets arc pushing ah ead wi th a
form idable subma rine building pro-
gra m. including more nucl ear-pow-
ere d U- boats armed with low-l evel
cr uise mi ssiles. sho rt -ra ng e balli sti c
mi ssi les. and interconti nent al mi s-
siles wit h a range of 4.20 0 mi les.
a ble to st r ike targets th rou ghou t
North America . China . a nd West ern
Europe from pa tro l a rea s close to
thei r Ar ctic Ocean bases.
T he Uni ted Stat es continues to
ha ve an ov erwhe lming lead in ca r-
r ie rs. a cc o rd ing to Ja ne 's. The
present force consists of 13 Ha t tops.
two of them nuclear power ed . But
wit h the introd uction of the heav ily
armed Kiev. the U. S.S. R. has sta rted
to challeng e Amer ica's years-long
su pre macy in the ca rrier field as
wel L Jane's predi cts a total of si x
Kiev-class ca rr iers will be bui ll.
"The arma ment of the new [So-
viet] ships a nd the introduct ion of
ca rr ier-borne aircr a ft ha s suggested
a n ex te nde d outlook beyond th at 01'
pure defense." June's sa id in a fore-
word to the annual volu me by its
ed ito r. Capta in Joh n E. Moore.
Ca ptain Moor e. who is also a
former deputy ch ief of Br itish Nava l
Int ell igence. added: "When in the
past a co untry wit h few ove rseas fi-
na ncia l or coloni a l inte res ts ha s em-
b a r ke d o n t h e bu i ldi n g of a
co ns ide ra ble fl eet. the tr ue aims of
the ships conce rned ha ve proved to
be not only pro tection of the home-
land a nd the sea lines of comm uni -
ca tions whi ch r un to it. but a lso
aggressi ve act ivi ties design ed to sup-
port na tiona l policy."
Go rshkov' s Bold Outline
The Jane's ass ess ment is wo rriso me
enoug h. Bu t now from high up
wi th i n t he Sovi et mil it ary itse l f
comes a brut a lly fran k ana lysis o r
wha t Mosco w intends to do with its
gro wing naval might.
In a new. 463-pagc boo k. The
Marit ime Power ofthe Stale. Admi -
ra l Se rgei Georgevich Gorsh kov .
co mma nde r-i n-chief of the Soviet
na vy fo r the past 21 years a nd a rc hi-
teet of its remarka ble asce nda ncy.
o utlines not hing ot he r tha n to ta l
gl obal supremacy at sea for th e So-
The PLAIN TRUTH November 1976
Novosn - Camera Press London
viet Un ion. And eve n this soa l is
bu t a means to an end. "Supre macv
at sea:' writes Gorshkov, is a " pr e-
requisite ... for establishing the or-
der we need." if necessary. " b\'
dom ina ting thc wor ld: ' P -
In hi s hook. wh ich now 10ll1S
nin etee nth-centu ry American - Ad-
mind Alfred T. Ma han's The 111 -
[iuence 0/ Sea Power Upon History
as a classic treati se on sca rower.
Gorshkov lea ves no one doubti ns
who the "enemy" is a nd who
" imperialists" are that must be con-
test ed on the high seas. The Un ited
St at es is target number one - de-
rente or no
Th e major points of Gorshkov' s
200.000-word tome as summa rized
by two military analysts a rc:
- It is the task of the Soviet na vy
to achi eve suc h st reng th as to de-
prive the ocea ns of thei r prot ecti ve
ro le which they have. up unt il now.
afforde d the Uni ted Sta tes. The
cmerge nce of a powerful blue-wate r
fleet. says Gorshkov. is the "out-
sta ndi ng eve nt which has sha ttered
th e illusion s of the imperi ali st ag-
The PLAIN TRUTH November 1976
gressors tha t they had no stro ng op -
pone nt in the sp he re of nava l
warfare."
- The Soviet nm')' must have the
capaci ty for "c utting off the enemy's
sea tr an sport. enforcing a blockad e
of the ene my's port s. bases. and
so me coas ta l a reas. la nd even } se iz-
ing SOIllC territ ories:' Th e Uni ted
States. of co urse. is heavil y dep cn-
dent up on imports for oil a nd cr iti-
ca l minerals for industrv.
- The Soviet navv must be in a
position to play "a very big role in
loca l wars: ' accordi ng to Gorshkov.
"The mobi lity and flexibility" of the
na vv sho uld be uti lized "to exen
impact on coast al countries.' For
s uc h po t e n t i al a c t io n. ai rcr aft
la un ched from carr ier s ar c obv i-
ously indi spensabl e.
- Finall y. Ru ssian scapowcr has
a "cr itical role" in eli mina ti ng impe-
rialists' a ttem pts to control the
world's oceans a nd their natural re-
sources.
U. S. Navv Secreta ry J. \Villia m
Ntiddendor{ in a brief refer ence to
the Gorshkov hook. sa id recent ly:
SOVIET WARSHIP laun ches an SA-3
Goa anti- ai rc raft missile. The sophisti-
ca ted Goa missile is now standard
equipment on many Soviet ships.
" Like Mein Kamp]. which spelled
out Hit ler' s in ten tions. when t he his-
tory of [his age is written. Gorsh-
ko v's The Muritnne Power of the
Stall' may have been the most pro-
phetic statement over the last pa rt
of the twent ieth cent ury..'
Add Nuclear Superiority,
Civil Defense Buildup
Th e Gorshkov book a nd the visible
prcsence of more ships on the high
seas flyin g the hum mer and sickle is.
in turn. onlv on e third of a far more
assertive globa l mi litary pos-
turc. Th e ot he r two pieces of the
pic ture are the clear Soviet bid for
nuclea r supremacy and a n extensive
Russian civi l defense program.
On these two fro nts. the Soviet s
are ma kins great headway. accord-
ing to a issue of A l'i'atiol1 and
Space Technology ma ga zine.
3
SOVIET MIG-25 fighter plane, one of the most advan ced warplanes in the
world, was flown to Japan by a defecting Soviet pilot. The opportunit y for
Western specialists to examine the aircraft is considered a major inteJfigence coup.
Great Stresses on Civi l Defense
On the qu estion al so or civil de-
fense. Barnell could nowhere lind
the commo nly held American view
tha t civil defense is an essentially
fruitless endeavor. Inst ead he found
that " Soviet writinss are rich in civil
defense inst ruc tio;s" - showing in
the event of a nucl ear war. the
U.S.S.R. clearly aims to emerge as
un scathed as possible . while being
The PLAIN TRUTH November 1976
of devoting suffi cient resour ces and
armame nts to it to ensure a Soviet
victory:'
In nearl y every ave nue of ap -
pr oach to mil itary doctrine and
str ategic concepts. Barnett found
th at the views of Soviet authors
were tota lly op posed to commonly
hel d viewpoint s in the West.
He found that Soviet mil itarv
wr iters even from before the days O'f
the first SALT agreeme nt with the
U. S. have rejected Western conc ep ts
such as "deterrence" and " mutually
assured destruct ion" (the bel ief t hat
either side would fear to initi ate at -
tack because retaliation and mutual
de struct ion wou ld be so great).
Soviet ana lyst s. accord ing to
Barnett. find no virtue in the con-
cept of "strate gic sta bility" in the
relati on ship of Soviet nucl ear forces
to those of the U.S. The concept of
"nuclear parity" with the U.S. was
not eve n alluded to in the nearlv
three vears' wort h of literature hWc
perused. In its place he found inn u-
merable references to either the
actua lity of. or the need for. "superi-
ority," Note s Barnett: "Soviet rnili-
turv writers declare that advantages
t o be fo u nd i n s u pe r i o r-
ity. , . . Predom inance on the pa rt of
the impe ri a list s. in t hei r vie w.
mea ns war. But Soviet superiority
sta nds as a bu lwark of peace."
Barnett al so discover ed that the
SALT I agreeme nts - widelv hailed
in the world as the first step
toward halting the arms race - had
little impact on Sovi et milit ar y writ -
ings, "They preci pitated no debat es
in mi lit ary j ournals. nor did they
insp ire widespread comme nt ary."
he found . "The few allusions a p-
pea ring in the source materials . ..
invaria blv inclu ded the reminder
tha t the nature of aggressive impe-
riali sm had not cha nge d. the agree-
ments not withst anding: '
-.
.
Russians Don't " Think American"
All th ree pu rsuits of Soviet strategic
pl an ning - naval do mi na nce. nu-
clear superiority, and effective civil
defense measures - add up to one
conclusion : The Soviets are clearly
opting for world dom inance. A lid if
there mu st be a Wor ld War 1Il - a
Ill/clear Wor ld War III - to achieve
such an aim the Soviet Union in-
tends not only to fight and to sur-
vive. but to win.
To nearly all Americans. a nu-
clea r wa r has long bee n held to be
" unthinkable." or. as it has often
been expressed : " In a nucl ear war
th ere wi ll be no winn ers - onl y los-
ers." But it is a da ngerous mistake to
think that the Soviet s view a nucl ear
war in the same light.
In a thorough analysis of Soviet
strategic thinking. publi shed in the
Summer 1975 edit ion of Orb is. ar-
ticle enti tled, "Tran s-Sal t: Soviet
Strat egic Doctrine:' a ut hor Roger
\V. Barnett points out : "There ca n
be no gainsaying that Soviet authors
exh ibit concern about pre vent ing an
all-out nuclear war. Un like some of
the ir West ern counterparts. hO\I/-
e ve r. th eir co nce r n co nt inu es
beyond the point of det er ring a rna -
jo; war. So vie t mil it ary l eade rs
mak e it amp ly clear that should war
break out. they have eve ry intention
" -
--
4
"The Soviet Union is wres ting nu-
clear weapons supe riority fro m the
United States and enda ngering the
effectiveness of th e U.S. ba llistic
mis sile deterrent." the respected
weekly magazine said.
It quoted an unidentified U.S. of-
ficial as complaining: "The treati es
we have signed with the U.S.S.R. for
nuclear detonations. strat egi c arms
limitation . and antiba llistic missile
lim itat ions should be ca lled the
world' s first series of uni later al
agreements. .. ."
A viation Week sai d the Soviet s
are ope rat ing a tr an sportable missile
defense radar known as the X3 sys
tern . If deployed around major pop-
ulation cen ters. the X3 is capabl e.
when used in conjunct ion with
A BM m i ssile s . " o f re n d e r-
ing . . . ineffect ive" U.S. land-based
Minut emen intercontinent al mis-
si les and Pola ris Pose idon sub-
marine-l aunched balli st ic missiles. it
sai d.
At the sa me time. the Soviets arc
beefin g up their civil de fense pro-
gram - spending about 12 times
more per year on it than the U.S. -
and dispersing industrial complexes
and popul ati on s. " Soviet a uthori ties
beli eve that by prope r civil de fense
preparati on s. losses will be as little
as 10% of t he popu lation. " th e
magazine reported.
-- -
:;a .. - .....;.... "' - f ' "
_ ..- I.
:.-,- ---f w _ "' ,
-'-
SOUTH WESTAFRICA-RACINGAG
The Constitutional Confer-
ence i n Windhoek has an-
nounced that an independent
multiracial government is at-
tainabl e for South West Africa
by the end of 1978. The big
question: Will the United Na-
tions and the major powers
let South West African efforts
succeed?
by Herman L. Hoeh
The author recent l v visited South
West Africa fo r afirsthand look
at conditions there. This is the
concl usion ofhis report. begun in
the September issue ofTh e Plain
Truth.
I
t is the most signifi cant news to
have come oot of Windhoek. the
capital of South West Africa, in
30 years. The II population groups
asse mbled at the Co ns ti tu tional
Co nfere nce have a chi eved 'wh at
may be a first in mod ern history. By
consen sus - unanimous ag reement.
not mere majority ap proval - the
20
delegat es have agreed that an inde-
pendent. multiracial government
should be estab lished not lat er than
December 31. 1978. An int er im gov-
er nment is planned for some time in
1977 to facilitate transfer of power
from South Africa 10 an indepen -
dent Sooth West Africa . The maj or
concern now is whe ther terrori sm.
United Nations pressure. and bi g
power poli tics will prevent cmer-
ge nce of a free governme nt.
Further. the South West Africa
People's Or gani zation (SWAPO).
de spit e its terrori st activities and op-
posi tion to the conference. has been
invi ted to be the proposed new gov -
ern ment's political opposition. This
ad roit move is a final effort to en-
co ura ge internat ional recognition
and guarantees for the terr itory of
South West Africa. or Namibia.
The Bitler Altitude 01SWAPO
In contrast to the cons truct ive en-
deavors of the assembled represen-
t at ive s a t the Con stit uti on al
Co nference in Windhoek. the presi-
dent of SWAPO. Mr. Sam Nujoma.
issued a bitt er decl arat ion in Lu-
sa ka. Zambia. in J uly. He an -
nounced that his orga nization has
decl ared " tota l war" aga inst the
"puppet govern ment" of Africa n tri-
ba l chiefs a nd other representa tives
at the Windhoek confe rence. "These
tr ea cherous elements a re busy lob-
by ing a nd putt ing pr essure on
SWAPO to talk: ' Nuj oma decl ar ed.
following an invitation from confer-
ence represent atives. " SWAPO is
the on ly legitimate representati ve of
Namibian peopl e. and the armed
struggle will continue to be waged
seriously until full inde pende nce is
ac hieved:' he warned.
uj orna's SWAPO has never won
a free election. It is. in fact. only one
of 20 polit ically active part ies in eth-
nically divided South West Africa.
The success of the Constitutiona l
Co nference thus far is d ue in no
small degree to subordinating politi-
ca l party d ifferences and focusing
squa rely on the needs and aspir a-
tions of the II population groups
co mprising Sout h West Africa.
The contrast between t\1r. Nu-
jorna 's ac rimo nious denunciat ion s
and the appeal to praye r and reason
by Dr. B. J. Afr ica. for example.
ou ght to corne to the a tt ention of the
The PLAIN TRUTH November 1976
AINST TIME FOR PEACE
21
Did They Learn From
History?
The peoples of South West Afri ca
a re a complex mo sai c of an cient
tr ibes a nd more recent immigrants.
Their intertribal and internecin e
wars. climaxing at th e be ginning of
(Texl continued an page 26)
it to the crit ical position of the Sinai Pa stor Co r n e l ius
and Israel in the Middle Eas t. Njoba ba s the diffi-
Who are these men guiding the cull task of rep resent-
constitut ional meetings whose faces ing the Ovambos,
ha ve almost never appeared in print whose popu lation is
or o n television? Th ey a re men often almost equa l to
of to La lly divergent views. They de- that of all other
scend from black. brown . white. and groups in Soutb
mixed stoc ks. We st Afri ca .
Ther e is Mr. Dirk Mudge. the Tbere is Mr. Christy of th e Dam-
dipl omat and pe acemaker, unques- aras, a once en slaved pe ople who
tioned guid ing hand in tbc confer- lost their language to th eir former
c n c e . repre sentin g th e white Nama overlords. There is Chief
d elegation. Tbere is warm and Moralaswan i of the Eas t Caprivi del-
charming Mr. Luipcrt , de scen dant egation and Mr. Ma ya vero of th e
of a chiefly line of Namas (Houen- Kavangos. Both their people. to-
tot s). wh o often must explain to gether with the Ovambos, have suf-
ot hers of his de legation the niceties fered len gthy terrorist incursions
of parliament ary procedures. by SWAPO. Not to be for-
who could forget the oratory or Mr. gott en is th e Tswa na del egation.
Kloppers of the Coloured delega- representin g the sma llest population
tion, or the inci sive th ou ght of th e gro up at the Turnhalle confer ence.
Ba ste rs' Dr. Africa? Mr. Geelbo oi of
th e Bushmen delega tion mu st live in
two wo rlds if he is to expo und to his
people the events transp iring in th e
Turnholle. The bu sy Mr. Clemens
Kapuuo is leader of the Herrero. a
vigorous, pa storal peopl e who tradi-
tionall y recognized only two peoples
on ea rth: Herrcros and stra ngers.
The Men and the Peopl es and
Land s They Represent
Seldom ha s so much responsibility
fall en on tbe shoulders of so few
men as now rests on those directing
th e co ns titutiona l meet ings in Wind-
hoek ' s Turnhalle. On th eir co n-
se ns us rest s not only th e fut ure of
South West Africa 's 950.000 people
(a miniscul e fra ction of the world's
population, to be sure ), but also to
la rge measure the future security of
a ll sout hern Africa. South West Af-
rica is stra teg ica lly loca ted . Soviet
newspaper commen taries compare
The PLAIN TRUTH November 1976
U.N. and the Security Counci l. Dr.
Africa is a leader of the Basler dele-
gation at the Turnhalle meetings. He
courteously sent us a copy of a letter
he had written to promote under-
sta nding of the problems of South
West Afri ca and o f th e Constitu-
tional Confe rence. It is so importa nt
a sta te ment that it deserves world-
wide recogniti on . We therefor e pub-
lish a maj or pan o f it in the
accompanying box. (Sec pa ge 26.)
Most other s in the Turn/wile Consti -
tutional Co nference would ech o Dr.
Afri ca 's se nt ime nts .
Background photo by Elienne Duplessis
22
i
SOUTH WESTAFRICA
THE PEOPLE &THEIR LAND
JL\SPHOTOGRAPrlEDBYALON REININGER
Fort unate lands often lie between two bountiful rivers. South
West Africa , by cont rast, is a land between two frightful
deserts. The shifting dunes of the background scene are in the
western desert, the Namib. It is from the Namib that the
currently fashionable - and possibly future - name of South
West Africa is derived: Namibia. In the sparsely settled central
lateau region the camera of renowned French photogr apher Alon
Reininger captures the colo r and
diversity of the peoples of South
West Africa and their buoyant
cultures. A Herero woman is
representative of one of the
,,- most colorfully dressed of
Ballle<5 26"-
any people anywhere. The
" 'fsl_ 30,,"..
Infusion of European stock
<.. '" among Namas (Hottentots) of
';, southern Africa may be clearly
seen when visiting school chil-
dren in the Baster community
(Continued on next page)
sou th of the capi tal. The Darnara,
third largest popu lation group In
Sout h West Africa (note pie chart
on page 23 showing population
percentages of South West Africa's
various peoples) were once slaves
at Namas and Hereros . The
marvelous pensive faces (nght ) of
an elderly Darnara, a Baster farmer ,
and a young Herero testify to the
concerns of the people of the land
To the left, top, IS a striking view of
the center of government and
culture of South West Africa: ItS
charming capital , Windhoek, built
by the Germans, The first major
community to the south of
Windhoek IS Rehoboth (center left) ,
settled by Basters, a mixed Nama-
white stock. The Basters (their
name means " bastard" In
Afri kaans, but they wear the label
proudly) found marvelous hot
springs in the region , Today,
throughout all the townships in
Sout h West Af rica:Western
met hods of buildinq are graduall y
being utili zed (bottom left), not
without aesthetic loss on occ asion.
Despite inadequate housing, a
neatly groomed mother and
children (cen ter) look with hope to
a future safeguarded from
revol utionary violence - a future in
whi ch multi racial cooperation and
mut ual trust can turn an
inhospitable and and land into an
adeq uate and Inspiring count ry.
SOUTHWEST
AFRICA _ " " " ~ ~
ANAPPEAL
TO PRAYER
ANDREASON
The attitude oj those seriously striv -
ing for II just, peacef ul plan f or or-
ganiz ing an independent SOUfh-
West Africa is exemplified by the
following open leiter appealing for
assistance - and prayer - b.y
Dr. B. J. Africa, head oft he Boster
delegat ion. one of South West Af-
rica \ eleven population groups.
As he writes. there is a "great
need to public ize" the effons ( ~ f
those trying 10 achieve a construc-
tiv e solution.
fYhat () contrast in spiri t 10 those
who would impose their ':')Olu(IO/1"
for South West Africa by [orce. if
necesslJI) '. and who. by clever ma -
nip ula tion, have gained supparl
from those in the outside world who
do not know the real facts.
" The Bib le slates t ha t unl ess th e
Lord bui ld the hou se. they la bour
in vain that build it. The eleven
(Continued [ rom pag e 21)
the twen tieth century. have few par-
allels. Hopefu lly th e te rri ble pena lty
of war and its co nseguences, which
the elders still per son all y remem ber ,
has impressed itsel f sufficiently that
old hatreds can be put into the
background and be forgi ven and
for gotten. This hope expressed itsel f
in th e deci sion. at the very begin-
ning of the Constitutio nal Confer-
26
p o pu la t ion g ro u ps o r S. W. A.
[Sout h West Afr ica) th rough t hei r
156 delegates have been a/lorded
the wonde rful opportunity of co m-
ing toget her. discussing thei r prob-
lems. and wo rking ou t a solution
toge ther. This is a task de manding
a great measure of responsibility
and insigh t. In the ' De cla ra tion or
Intent' adopted by th e c.c. [Con -
stitutional Conference ] in Se ptem-
ber 1975 it was stated t ha t th e
re present atives of the d iffer en t
pop ulation groups arc det ermined
to find a peaceful settlement for
the probl ems or S. W. A. . ..
" A nother sig nificant fact of the
'De claration of Intent' is the ac-
cepta nce of th e principle or fun da-
men ta l fre e do ms a nd hu ma n
rights without discrimination on
the gro unds of race. colour. or
creed . . . .
....There are still occasions. how-
ever. when one beco mes aware of
a lack of trust a nd some degree of
prejudice among t he di ffer e nt
groups. But it is equa lly true that a
wonderful spirit of cooperation has
been cultivated among the various
represent ati ves .
"The re is a slight problem with
languages. but it is paradox ical
that Afr ikaans is understood,
spo ke n. a nd pr efer red by most
delegates - unli ke in Soweto [the
b lack Sout h Afr ica n to wns h ip
where riots broke out in June. ini-
tiall y in protest to the mandatory
usc in school s of the Du tch-de-
rived language]. Facilities for si-
mult aneou s translat io n into 7
languages are avai lable.
" G roups opposed to the c.c.
[a n a llusion to the SWAPO orga ni-
zation "recognized" by the Unite d
Nat ions] are tryi ng their best to
encl.'. to ac hieve ag ree ment by
consensus - unan imity, rather than
by majority vote. Without unanim-
ity, old wound s a nd_fears co uld
never be fully healed . And without
the persuasiveness and pat ience of
M r. Dirk Mudge these deep historic
di visions would most certainly have
spelled defea t lor a develo ping free
society wit ho ut traditional parlia-
men tary skills.
create an atmosphere of uncer-
tainty and panic. This is further
encourage d by a world practising
double sta nda rds. Pray that the
leaders at the confe rence might
have the co urage to act in the in-
ter est or thei r people a nd not take
the pa th or least resistan ce by
making popular decis ions.
"There is a great need to pub li-
cize the de liberations at the C.C.
So me thing we can learn from the
co mmunists is that they are master
propaga nd ists. We should make
our stand known - and do it
bo ld ly... .
.... One often hears the stateme nt
that people in S.W.A. do not have
time to solve their probl ems. or
that we should have started years
ago. Whether this is so is an open
qucsti on, but the best timc to act is
NOW. We are sti ll very optimi stic
about reaching a solution. and we
know that if we acknowledgc Him.
He wi ll d irect our pa ths. You' ll no
doubt be interested to learn that
the meetings of the ge nera l assem-
bl y a rc opene d by prayer. This is
also the case with the committee
meet ings....
"At presen t we are discussing
the princi ples to be embodied in a
co nsti tution for S.W.A. Please pray
tha t just ice migh t be done. To do
j ustice and j udgment is more ac-
ce pta ble to th e Lord tha n sacrifice
(Prov. 2 1:3) ....
"There is no doubt that we are
in the process of working out the.
best rules and principles fo r peace
ful coexistence on the co nti nent of
Africa. but these rules and prin-
ciples can best be implemen ted if
there is a change of heart. i.e.. if
th e hea rts of people a re filled by
the spirit a nd love or God. .. ."
Though so much rests upon the
sho ulde rs of the men in attendance
at the Constitutional Conference in
Wind hoek, a n eq ua l respo nsibil ity
rests on the shoulde rs or the United
Nations. the big powers, and ot her
African states. That responsibilit y is
the willi ngness to cooperate with,
rather than undermi ne, the efforts
by Sou th West Africa ns to gi ve birth
to a free and developing nation. 0
The PLAIN TRUTH November 1976
T
ruly no other nati on in the history of the world
has been so grea tly blessed as the Unit ed States
of America. Consider these fact s:
In 1776 there were on e and a half million people
living in the Thirteen Colonies. Today ther e ar e
215 million. The annua l gross nati on al product
(G NP) of those colon ies was less than $3 bill ion.
whereas the tot al GNP of the U.S. now exceeds
$1,500 bi llion - $1.5 trilli on. And rernember, the
total annual GNP of the entire world is only about
$4 trillion. This means that the U.S. produces a
thi rd of all the world's gross nat ion al product.
LET'S REMEMBER THE MEANING OF
THANKSGIVING DAY
As we prepare to celebrate our Bicentennial Thanksgiving day, do we
Americans realize the real source and the true extent of our many blessings? Have
we Americans carelessly forgotten the real meaning of Thanksgiving day?
by Raymond F. McNai r
T he average America n industrial
worker earns be twee n $4 a nd $5 pcr
hour, and th e med ian family income
is now running a bo ut $ 14.000. Even
though infl ation is picking our pock-
et s a nd high taxes a rc robhing us of
m uch of our income, the typi ca l
America n still ha s a higher sta ndard
of living th a n the ci tize ns of a ny
ot her nation.
The U. S. infl ation rat e (a bout 7'ii )
is consi derably lower than th a t of
most othe r industrial nati on s. whe n:
it is ga lloping a long a t a n a nnua l
rat e of 10% to 25%. Overall . th e av-
erage U. S. citizen is a bout 25% to
35% better oil' tha n hi s counterpart
living in many other ad va nced in-
d ustr ial nat ions. Furt hermore. the
per capita income worldwide is now
approximately SI.OOO - j us t one
sixth of Amer ica' s pe r capita in-
co mc.
America (the "bread ba sket of the
\v'o r l d.. ) has the la rgest tract of fcr-
tile land with the most favo ra ble cli -
mate of a ny nat ion in the enti re
world. Even thoug h Ameri ca pos-
sess es onl y about 6% of the world 's
lan d and 6(Yo of its popula tion. she
possesses 18% of its tota l cropla nd .
America's vas t nat ional resources -
minera ls, wa ter. tim ber. oil. coal -
give her the means to ma intain the
wo rld's hi ghest sta ndard of livi ng
for th e foreseea ble futu re,
America's "Special Circumstances"
Ot her na tion s look at the fant a st ic
bl essings of America wi t h a maze-
me nt. T he Sh ah of Ira n recently
wrote: " In no mor e th an two ce n-
turies. th e U.S. has been a ble to lay
the foundations of ast onish ing tech-
nica l achievement and immense
mat eri al progress. the like of which
no society or nation ha s been a ble to
eq ua l or sur pass. In th is rela tive ly
shor t period. America has succeeded
in tra nsforming a huge co ntinent.
blessed with a lmost unlimite d natu-
ra l resources. fro m th e simplest be -
ginni ngs into the wea lt hiest a nd
most powerful co untry th e world
has seen."
What. ac co rd ing to the Shah. is
the rea l source of Ameri ca' s uni q ue
position in the world today'!
""After 200 years the U. S. ba s ac-
q uired . to the dyn amism of
her peopl e a nd the specia l circum-
sta nces tha t God ha s provided for
28
them. a position uniq ue 10 the a n-
nal s of ma nkind....""
The Sha h' s stat e me nt s hou ld
ma ke e ve ry Ameri can sto p a nd
think. At thi s time of yea r. as we
approach our a nnual Than ksgivi ng
day. America ns should trul y giv e
tha nks to God for a ll the ir bound-
less blessings. But tra gicall y. too
many Ameri ca ns today a rc o b-
livi ous to th e rich history and th e
vi tal meaning behind th eir most im-
port ant national holiday.
Brief History of Thanksgiving
In December 1620. tbe Mayfl ower
a nchored a t Plymouth Rock. Massa -
chusetts. A sma ll band of 103 Pil-
gr ims landed on the bleak. wint rv
of present-day
int ending to set up a new colony - a
Ch ristia n commonwealth - wh ere
they co uld worship God accord ing
to the d ictates of th eir conscien ces.
Before lan d ing a t Plymouth. the Pil-
grims drew up th e "Mayflower
Compact" by whi ch they intended
to go ver n themsel ves :
'''':\Ve whose names arc under-
wri tt en . th e loyal subj ects of o ur
drea d So v er e ig n Lor d Kin g
Ja mes . . .. Having undert a ken. fo r
the Gl ory of God a nd advanceme nt
of the Christia n Fa ith a nd Honour
of our King a nd Country. a Voyage
to plant the Fi rst Colony in the
Nort hern Part s of Virgini a. do by
th ese presents solemnly and mu-
tually in the presence of God and
one a not her. Covena nt a nd Com-
bine ourse lves togeth er into a Civil
Body Politic. for our better orderi ng
a nd preserva tion a nd furthe rance of
the ends a foresa id ... : .
That te rr ible wi nte r of 1620-21
took a frightful toll in SIckness a nd
death among the br av e Pilgrims.
Only 56 o ut of the 103 wh o landed
there survived. But with spring. new
ho pe budded. Each Pilgrim family
now had a home. And thev were
blesse d wi th the friendship of a
fri endl y and helpful Indi an na med
Squant o.
During th e spring of 1621. the Pil-
grim sett lers pl anted 20 ac res of
corn. 6 of ba rley. plus some pe as.
All summer lon g th ey anxiously
tended their first cro p in . the New
World - for they knew that their
ve ry lives de pe nd ed upon the suc-
ce ssful maturin g of th at crop. The
cor n a nd ba rley d id we ll. hut th e hot
sun parch ed the peas.
The First Thanksgiving Day
T his ha rdy band of Pilgr ims we re
accus tome d to the English tha nks-
givi ng celebra tions. observed a ftcr
the British had defeated the French
in 1386 and the Spanish in 1588
when their " Invincibl e Armada"
ha d sai led against England.
Furthermore. d uring thei r brief
stay in Holland. the devout Pilgrims
had see n the Dut ch cel ebra te a day
of tha nksgi ving tor their victory
over th e Spaniards in October 1575.
It was quit e na tu ra l. therefor e. for
the Pilgrims to observe a day of
tha nksg ivi ng a fte r a nxious ly wa tch-
ing thei r crops ri pe n durin g the long
summer of 1621. Aft er th e ha rvest-
ing of a bumper crop. their gover-
nor. \Villia m Bradfo rd. set aside a
day fo r specia l feas ti ng a nd thanks-
givi ng.
.... three davs the womenfolk
se rved the mcn Ions tables That
. 0 . .
first thanksgiving fea st incl uded
wil d turkeys. wood pigeons. pa r-
tri dges. d ucks. geese. Indi an pud-
dina, hoeca ke . an d fish .
After d inner. th e Pilgrims enter-
tai ned their Ind ian guests by dem-
ons tra ting thei r firea r ms. whi le the
Ind ia ns di d the sa me wi th the i r
bows. Also th ey parti cipat ed in va ri-
ous at h letic eve n ts. ga mes. a nd
races.
Other Days of Thanksgiving
Ma ny diff erent days of th anksgiving
we re observed by the peopl e of the
Thirt een Colonies for various rea-
sons during th e decades wh ich fol-
lowe d . Various th an ksgivi ng days
we re obse rve d in gr a teful a pprecia-
tion for bo untiful crops. victories.
and del iverance from pest ilence .
In 1742. the 2.ovcrnor of Geo rgia.
J a mes Oglethorpe, issued the fol -
lowing thanksgiving proclamation
as a resu lt of the dramatic victory
which th e Eng lish wo n ove r th e
Spaniards in the southeas tern part
or Am eri ca : "" ... So wonderfully
were we protect ed a nd preserved.
th at in th is great a nd formi da ble
co nflict but few of our men were
taken. and but three killed . Truly
the Lor d ha s done great th ings fo r
us. by rescuing us fro m the power of
a numerous foe. who boa sted that
The PLAIN TRUTH November 1976
t hey would con qu er a nd di spossess
us. Not our strength or might have
saved us: our salvation is of the
Lord.
"Therefo re it is highly hecomi ng
us to render thank s to God our de-
liverer. .. ."
The Continental Congress also
procl aimed several days ~ f than ks-
gi ving during the American Revol u-
tion - days during which the
coloni st s could rejoice in their
homes and churches for victories
won . In 1778. General George
Washington proclaimed a dav on
which t ~ give thanks for the irnpor-
tanl treaties which the Thirteen Col -
onies had just concluded with
France.
Wash ington's Thanksgiving Day
Proclamation
In 1789. during the li rst yea r of his
preside ncy. George \Vashington is-
sued America's first Thanksgiving
day proclamation. thereby setting a
preceden t for succeedi ng president s
to follow.
In Washin gton's nat ional Thanks-
givin g pr oclam ati on. he said: ... . . . it
is the dut y of all na t ions to acknowl-
edge the Providence of Almi ght y
God, to ob ey His will. to be grateful
for His benefits. and humbly to irn-
plore His protect ion and favor: '
Presiden t Washington . therefore.
set aside Nove mber 26. 1789. " \0 be
devot ed by the people of these
Stat es to the service of that grea t
and s lorious Heino who is the '-ben-
e e
eficent au tho r of all the good that
was. that is. or that wi ll be : that we
may then all unite in rendering unto
Hi m o ur si nce re and humble
tha nks... : '
Washin gt o n asked his fe llow
Am ericans to gi ve thanks for thei r
God-given vic tories during the Rev-
olutionary War. for " tra nqui llity.
union. and plenty ... Ifor) cons ti tu-
tions of governme nt fo r our safe ty
an d ha ppiness, an d part icularl y the
nat ional one . .. for the civil and re-
ligious libert y with which we are
blessed . . . for all the grea t and va ri-
o us favo rs which He has be e n
pleased to confer upon us. . . ."
Lincol n's Thanksgiving
Proclamation
The next Thanksgiving day procla-
ma tion was made by Preside nt
The PLAIN TRUTH November 1976
A braha m Lin co ln . Dur in g t he
bloody Civil \Var. many Americans
came to look upon that co nfl ict as a
punishme nt from the hand of God.
Abraham Lincoln also believed that
to be so. He iss ued the nation's sec-
on d Thanksg ivi ng day proclamation
on October 3, 1863:
"The year tha t is drawing toward
its close has been filled with the
blessing s of fruitful fields and
healt hful skies. To these bounti es,
which are so constantl y enjoyed that
we are prone to forget the source
from which they com e. others have
been added which are of so extruor-
dinarv a nature that thev cannot fail
to penetrate and soften even the
heart which is habituallv insensib le
to the ever-watchful providence o f
Almighty God....
"No human counsel hath devised
nor hat h an y mo rta l hand worked
out these grea t things. Th ey are the
gracious gifts of the Most High
God. who. while dealing wit h us in
anger for ou r sins. hath nevertheless
remembered mercy. . . : .
Earlier that same year. on March
30. 1863. President Lincoln had des-
ignated a day of tasting and prayer
that God might restore peace and
un ion to the nat ion . In that procl a-
mati on he said:
"We have been the reci pient s of
the choicest bount ies of Heaven: we
have been preserved these many
years in peace and pros peri ty: we
have grown in numbers. wea lth. and
power as no othe r nation has ever
g ro wn. Bu t we have forgo tte n
God. . . ."
President Lincol n, therefor e, pro
cla imed " the 30th day of Apri l,
1863, as a dav of nat ional hu mili-
atio n. fasting.... and prayer" in the
hope th at t he Ame ri ca n peopl e
might be reconciled to God, forgiv-
en, an d healed.
Needed: A Modern-day Lincoln
America today faces far greate r
threats than during our terrible
Civil War. Each year millions die
prematurel y - because we have for-
go tten the laws of God. Ou r fair
land is polluted. The food we ea t,
the wate r we drink. and the very air
mill ion s of li S brea t he is pollut ed.
Viol ence and sex fill our TV scree ns.
and pornography see ms to be every-
where.
Cri me. j uve nile delinquency. and
lawlessness elimb relentl essly. Cor-
ruption a nd bribery are rampant.
Immorality and licentiousnes s fill
o ur lan d. Di vorce and broke n
ho mes arc common.
Truly. America needs anot her
Abraham Lincoln to call the nation
to fasting and prayer - with thanks-
giving to God for our many bless-
inzs - so that we can be delivered
from these things that se riously
threaten to destroy this great nat ion
of o urs.
America need s 10 heed the words
of her first president, given in hi s
farewell address: "Of all the dis-
positions and habits which lead to
political prosperity, rcligion and rno-
ra lity arc indispensable supports. In
vai n wou ld that man claim the tribute
of pat riotism who should la bor to
subvert these great pi llars of human
ha ppiness, these firmest props of the
duti es of men and citi zens." \
Also. we nee d to remember the
ad vice of America's dynamic Presi-
dent Tedd y Roosevel t who encour -
aged "the virtues of co urage. honor.
j ust ice. truth. since rity. and hardi-
hood - the virtues that made Am er-
ica . Th e things that will destroy
America arc prosp erit y-at-any-
pnce. peace- at- any-price. safety-
first instead of duty-first , the love of
soft livin g. and the get- r ich-q uick
theor y of life: '
Gene ral Dougl as MacArthur also
gave America these sobering words
on Decem ber 12, 195I: " . .. It is es-
se ntial that every spiritual force be
mob ilized to defend and preserve
the relig ious base upon which this
nation was founded. For it is that
base which has been the motivating
impulse to our moral and nation al
growth. History fai ls to record a
single precedent in which nations
su bject to mo ral decay have not
passed into political and economic
decline. Th ere has bee n either a
spi ritual reawakenin g to overcome
the moral la pse. or a progressive de-
teri orati on leading to ult imate na-
tio nal di saster. "
As Americans observe the ir up-
comi ng Thanksgiving day, t hey
must remember that it is mea nt to
be a da y of thanksgiving to the ere-
ato r-ruler of the wor ld for the many
blessings he has bestowed upon thi s
great nation. 0
29
As we Americans prepare to
celebrate our Bicentennial
Thanksgiving holiday, the
abundant blessings and price-
less privileges we all enjoy
should be especially appreci-
ated. Yet with privileges come
responsibilities.
Last summer, The Plain
Truth sponsored a Bicenten-
nial essay contest f or the
teen-age members of Youth
Opportunities United, a na-
tionwide youth group. The
teen-agers were asked to
write 500 words or less on the
subject " My Responsibility as
an American. " Many well-writ-
ten essays were submitted,
but the judges eventually se-
lected winners from each of
two age brackets: 12-15 and
16-19.
With our Bicentennial
Th anksgiving holiday ap-
proachi ng, The Pl ain Truth
staff has deci ded to reprin t
the winning essays, which we
hope will be a source of i n-
spiration to every American.
My Responsi bility as an American
by Margi John, Age 17
Petaluma, California
I
think I am pretLy lucky to he an
American. This is one of the best
places on earth. Maybe I am a bit
bia sed. but I woul d not trade the
freedoms an d the way of life I ha ve
here for wha t may or may not exist
in another nat ion .
T he topic of my rcsponsi hility as
an American is therefo re an impor-
tant one, For the rights I hold so
highly arc not given without strings
attached . Rights and responsibilities
go hand in han d. lor if rights arc
abused they either are taken away
or cease to exi st. Ta ke a basic right
like freedom of speech as an ex-
ample. If I never used thi s right.
never spo ke out when some thing
needed to be said. an d no one else
did ei ther. the right to speak one's
mind would easily be taken away.
There arc ma ny other examples. In
most cases. the way to preser ve a
The PLAIN TRUTH November 1976
right is to use it. In the case of my
right to parti cipat e in the governing
of my country. if I do not take an
act ive interest in it. do I have cause
to complain ?
With my right to " life. libert y.
and the pursuit of happiness" comes
the obliga tion not to harm a nyone
else in the process. That may not
see m like much at first. but when I
look closely at that responsibility it
becomes like Esher's "Metarnor-
pose." The initial. obvious respon si-
bi lity is relat ed to the next. This ties
into the next , which blends int o an-
other and another un til the full
circle is compl eted.
To keep my right s is to use them.
and use them well. It is not sittin g in
a dark corner of a pa thy. Nor is it
saying. " I don't care what ha pp ens.
I don ', feel like getting invo lved : ' It
is ca ri ng abou t people. because
peopl e are the reason that the rights
exist in the first place.
Perhaps this docs not sound very
red . white. and blue. striped and
sta rred patrioti c. but this is my
co untry. and I love it. and I wou ld
ne ver t rad e it for any other. I do not
think tha t 1 will ever run for pr es i-
dent. I douht very much if I will
ever make a discovery t ha t will add
to the knowledge of mankind: but I
do inte nd to work for a better futu re
by trying to live up to my responsi-
bility as an American , and as a
human being.
My Respons ibility as an American
by Bekah Seward, Age 15
Temple, Okla homa
M
y Responsihi lity as an Ameri -
ca n" is a large topic. but my
responsibi lity is even lar ger.
Respon sibil ity is often ignored be-
ca use peopl e don't know what thei r
responsibi lity is.
Part of my respon sibility is as a
lead er to my community. to my
country. and to my world. I am to
be concerned wit h the ha ppenings
in my local wor ld and in the outside
wor ld. To be a lead er . I need educa-
tion . expe rience, common sense.
and cou rage. Courage to do some-
t hi ng for ot he rs whe n t hey a re
against me or when the cha nces for
winni ng are very slim. I also need
diplomacy for talking to people.
My responsibility is in the home. I
am to help kee p my fam ily toge rher. t
am to list en to my pa ren ts' point of
view and then tell them mine. I shall
co mp ly with their wishes unl ess the y
arc a bsolutely wrong. I will hel p with
the housework to prevent one per son
being overwor ked. My responsib ility
is to .respect my parents and help
preserve my famil y' s home life.
Anot her part ofmy responsibi lity is
in the comm unity. I am to be someone
people ca n look to for guidance. A
pe rson that is abl e to head com-
mittees or a person that is able to
foll ow others. I need to be a person
that will help when help is needed. I
will get fact s before I act. My respon-
sibili ty in school is to be respectful of
my teachers. I am not to complain and
ca use trouble for others. I need to help
bring standards. especially moral
sta ndards . up.
Part of my responsibili ty is as a
visitor to nations. \Vhen abroad I
should always put the " right foot"
forwa rd. Th e " right \ 1(' 0 1"" is being
mindful of the beliefs and customs
of ot hers. I am not to insult their
int clligence. I say thi s becau se many
Ameri cans seem to think they are
more inte llige nt th an pe opl e of
ot her count ries. Th is isn't t ru c.
These people know ma ny things you
and I don' t know,
My responsibi lity to America is to
hui ld he r. I am to help education by
working as hard as I can at school.
1"01 to hel p stop robbery by putting
things under lock a nd key a nd out
of sight to stop tempt ing criminals
to take it. I am to SlOp drug use and
yo uth crimes by showi ng them that
life ha s better things to offer, My
res ponsibi lity is to be pro ud of
America and show that I am proud.
To sum it up is to say that my
responsibil ity as an American is to
he an example in all as pects of life.
whet her as a leader o r as a follower.
I a m to help keep my family to-
ge ther. to help in the communi ty. to
he mindfu l of othe rs. wheth er
abroad or not. and I am to help
bui ld America by keeping laws and
helping stop crimes.
Thi s isn't half of my responsib ility
I have as an American. Thinking
about this has shown me how much
I have neglected my responsibi lity.
Have you neglect ed yours? 0
31
Over 95% of the American
people cla im to believe i n
God. But what kind of a God?
What color i s he? How big i s
he? Is he still alive? Is he
manlike or beastlike? Skepti -
cal philosophers have l ong
wondered about the where-
abouts of this "unknown
God. " Bewildered theologians
ha ve long contrived to excuse
his absence. Why do es God
hide himself from human -
kind?
by Garner Ted Armstr ong
D
o you believe in anything a t
all that you ca n' t sec? I sure ly
hope so because a ir. wind.
and electricity simply ca nno t be
seen. Yet no one who eve r stopped
to th ink a bo ut it would deny t heir
existence.
You explicitly believe in the pre-
cious air you inhal e wit hout eve n
th ink ing about it. Your lungs sort
ou t the gas es and exhal e the ine rt,
unusa bl e types - ret aining the oxy-
gen to fee d the lillie blood cor-
puscles tha t keep all tha t is yo u
alive.
The Marvelous Creation
We firmly beli eve in myri ads of
myst erious marvels exta nt on th e
ea rth. But we ha rd ly ever eq ua te
th ese wonders of ou r environment
wi th the mind of a grea t being wh o
exists in another dimension just
beyond ours.
Yert he unseen God - the God
tha t hides himself - reveals him sel f
through the marvels of the physical
cr eati on . Th e vcry existence of the
whole crea tion is proof positiv e t hat
the re has to be a Creator.
Not so long ago a cou ple of di s-
tingui shed Briti sh ast ronomers were
interviewed on BBC. Unde r di s-
cuss ion were current theories of the
origin of the univer se. Th ey sa id:
" At the moment. we ha ve to confess
that ou r ignorance of the actua l cre -
ation is more or less complet e:'
Wh y s ho u l d sc ie nce b e so
unknowled geable about the origi ns
of this ea rth and the uni verse? Per -
ha ps Dr. Samuel H. Miller. dean o f
Ha rvard's Di vinit y Scho ol unwit-
tingly gave the true a nswer nearly
two decades ago. He stated: "The
modern era [has] abandoned rel i-
gion as a basis of real life. and put s
its confidence in science instead,
even though the word "God' is more
pop ularl y entrenched in Ameri ca
th an eve r" ( Denver Post. June 4.
1960).
T he bibli cal revel a tion has lar gely
bee n ignored by much of t he world's
int elligentsia . Thus the widespread
ign or an ce of where the crea tion
ca me from. Accordin g to the Gallup
Pol l. ther e is wides pread belief in
some kind of a God. but few think
of him as the Creator of a ll they ca n
sec and kn ow.
The Bible itself rather simply de -
scr ibes th e process of this ph en ome-
non . The apos tle Paul wrote: "For
the wrath of God is revealed fro m
hea ven aga inst a ll un god liness and
wickedness of men who by their
wickedness suppress the truth. For
what can be known about God is
plain to them . . . . Eifer since the
cr eati on of the world his invisible
nature, namely, his eterna l power
and deity. has been clearl y perceived
in the th ings tha t hav e been made"
(Rom. I : 18-20. RSV) .
The ancient phi losopher s kn ew
God ' They exa mined the worl d in
wh ich they found themselves and
di sco vered order. ha rmony, syste m.
a nd de sign . God wa s in this sense
revea led t o them! Why? Because the
existence of order. ha rmony. system.
and design a hsolutely demand a
Creator.
Start Wi th t he Creation!
When we sta rt wit h what we can
know through our five senses - the
ph ysical uni ver se - we soon tind
bl unt proof tha t only a supreme
Creator could have fashi on ed it to-
gether int o such a wondrously uni-
fied whol e. From the forces which
bind atomic nuclei to the principl es
tha t run giant galax ies. from the
fu llness of the earth to the rel ati ve
emptiness of space. from the beauty
of cr eation to the human mind that
can comprehe nd it - all a re mute
testimon y to the powe r of God - all
bl a zon forth the concl usi ve evidence
of his exist ence.
Look a t the intri ca cy of nature
a round yo u. Eve ryt hing yo u see is
complex and harmonious - excep t
The PLAIN TRUTH November 1976
for man's depr eda tions and mis-
takes which occas iona lly throw even
nature ou t of balance. The di st an ce
of our eart h from the sun just " ha p-
pens to be" the right di st ance to give
us hea l a nd light in the proper
amounts.
Think a bo ut it for a momen t. If
the moon were a little closer. our
tid es would da ily sweep the conti-
nent s. making t he world unin-
ha bit uble for a ny la nd- d well ing
crea tures. I f the earth we re furt he r
fr om t he s u n. ou r te mpe rat ure
would be bel ow freezing. a nd the
ea rt h would freeze solid. If the ea rt h
were a litt le closer. everything on
this good gree n earth wou ld burn to
a crisp. (Isn' t it int er esting that the
other planets in o ur sola r sys tem all
te nd to ha ve incr ed ible ext remes of
temper at ur es completely un known
to the ea rt h?)
Th e ea rt h's manlie of a ir. like a
ca nopy. shields us fro m the rays of
the sun. pr otects us from the daily
bomba rdment of millions of as tral
bod ies from space. and gives us oxy-
ge n to br ea the. Did that j ust happen
accidenta lly?
The Creatures of the Earth
Why do sa lmo n have the incre d ible
a bi lity to return to the vcry river.
find the sa me tributa ry. swim uner-
rin gly to the sa me br an ch. an d find
th e exact gra vel bed whe re the y
we re spawned' ) Why do mi gratory
wa terfowl Ily thousa nds of mil es
thr ou gh the thickest stor ms and find
a tiny nest with une rring acc uracy
th at defies the finest of man's radar
and navigati on al instrume nts? Isn't
the exi st ence of a grea t. all-knowin g
Crea tor God the only credible an-
swer'?
God is kn own by his hand iwork!
His nature. cha rac ter. a nd person -
a lity a re ind eli bly etched int o thi s
ea rt h a nd di scernibl y inscr ibed
across the length and bread th of his
creation . Everything you see a bout
you rellect s tr emend ou s complexity.
ca reful planning. me ticul ou s detail.
gr ea t beauty and harmon y a nd fol-
lows definit e. unchan geabl e. unshak-
a ble, immuta ble la ws!
Perhaps no living crea tu re is a
better illustra tion of th is grea t pr in-
ciple tha n a bird. These littl e crea-
tures ha ve dozens of different types
of specia lized air frames. wingfoils.
The PLAIN TRUTH Novembe r 1976
a nd navigational equipment tha t is
mo re accurate than that on mod ern
jet planes .
A bird had to he created to con-
form to certain aerodyna mic pr in-
ci ples. or it neve r would have go tten
off the ground . We don' t thi nk of
the fact that a bird simply must
ha ve the proper lift-to-dra g ra tio. a n
extreme ly light weight structure, and
a powerful syste m of propulsion .
But there's no need to worry. Th e
anatom y of a bird is superbly de-
signed (by a great design er ) wi th a
streamlined body sha pe, wings pro-
pelled by powerful ches t mu scles,
and a rapid he a rt b e a t and
metabol ic rat e - all essentials for
flight. Bird bon es themsel ves a re not
un like something that came otT an
ai rcr aft designer' s d rawing boa rd.
They a re not only holl ow. hut a lso
interl aced with a sys tem of interna l
st ruts and girders - all very simila r
to some of the designs common in
a ircra ft construction.
Ever wonder why a bi rd doesn' t
"stall auI" in mid-a'ir tligh t? Incr ed-
ibl y its wings come eq uipped with a
litt le device ca lled an "a lula" whi ch
works pr etty much like an anti stall
device in a mod ern a ircra ft. Like
aircra ft. birds have va rying ae rody-
na mic designs in order to meet spe-
cific Ilight req uiremen ts. Th e
a lba tross a nd the vult ure have lon g.
narrow win gs wh ich enable them to
stay a loft for hou rs with a mini mum
of effort. On the other hand. hu m-
mingbirds come equi pped with
swivel win gs tha t a llow them to
hov er like helicopter s.
I co uld go on and on with the
wo nders of de sign in nature. but the
poi nt is that God has indeed re-
vea led himself throug h the int rica te
tapest ry of his physical creat ion .
Grea t scientists a nd sta tesmen
have recogni zed this fac t to one de-
gree or the ot he r. Dr. \Vernhcr vo n
Braun. world renowned German
scient ist. once sa id : "Anything as
we ll ordered a nd perfect ly cr eated
as is our ea rth a nd universe must
ha ve a Maker , a Mast er Designer.
Anything so orderly, so pe rfect, so
pr ecisel y ba lan ced. so maj estic as
th is cr ea tion can only be the product
of a Di vine idea... _Ther e must be
a Ma ker: ther e can be no other
wav.'
Dr. Wa rren Weaver ad ds: " Every
ne w di scovery of science is a further
' revelation' of the order which God
has built into thi s universe."
But even with these grea t men
a nd 01 he rs like the m. th e te rm
" God" is often used 10 symbo lize
something other tha n the Crea tor
revea led in the pages of yo ur Bibl e.
True, "The heavens decl are the
glo ry of God: and the firmament
s he we th hi s handiwork " ( Psa lm
19: I). However . the re arc certain
limits to wha t man ca n find ou t
abou t his God stri ctly through the
kn owled ge of the crea tion. For in-
sta nce. the crea tion itse lf would
ne ver tell you exact ly why the Cre-
ator God hid es himself from his
human crea tures. Only the accep-
ta nce of the bibl ica l accou nt ca n a n-
swer crit ical quest ions about God.
hi s nature, a nd how and why he
dea ls with man.
The Biblical Perspective
Visualizin g the full scope of 6.000
years of human history with mul -
tiple dozens of gene ra tions stru ng
end to end. let 's un derstand. fro m
th e biblical revelat ion, the true pe r-
spective of the relations hip between
man a nd God fro m the very begin -
ning of his crea tion.
The a pos tle Pau l. thou san ds of
yea rs a ft er the fact, affi rme d that
Adam was ind eed the very first
human being - the first man. (See
I Co r. 15:45: Gen. 2:7.) God deal t
ve ry inti ma tely with his prototype
for all ma nk ind. He iiterall v wa lked
and ta lked with Adam a nd Eve in
the Garden of Ede n.
But very shortly. our first parents,
through the influence of Sa ta n the
devil. upsel a nd trampled upon
their privileged relati on ship with
the Creator. You know the sto ry.
Sa tan persuaded Adam a nd Eve 10
tak e wha t was not theirs - thus di-
rectl y di sobeying the spec ific order s
of their Creato r. Immedia tel y a fte r-
wa r d s. th ey r ea ct ed in t yp ica l
huma n fas hion: ". . . Adam and his
wife hid themselves f rom the preselll'e
of the Lord God am ongst the trees of
the garden" (G en . 3: 8).
Origina lly God did reveal himself
to the first man a nd his wife. It was
the y wh o first began to play the
ga me of " hide-a nd-go-seek: ' They
began a patt ern that was to last
throu gh out history. Their firstbo rn
33
I
r Gar ner Ted Armstrong
. SPIAKS DUTI
fJt.
ter nearly six years of dictato-
rial rule characterized by mur-
der, torture, and oppression,
Uganda's erratic President Idi " Big
Daddy" Amin at last appears to be
slipping from power. Observers be-
lieve a coup against him is not only
possible, but probable.
That can come only as good
news to the 10 million Ugandans
who have been the victi ms of his
sadistic misrule. Armed with the ab-
/ solute power of life and death, Amin
has put to death a minimum of
50,000 suspected political or tribal
enemies since his violent accession
to power in January 1971. Some
estimates run as high as 250,000.
The stories of brutality and mur-
der filtering out of Uganda are sim-
ply unbelievable. Just a few weeks
ago, for example, an entire univer-
sity was savagely overrun and ter-
rorized - and over 100 students
slaughtered - by Amin' s " goon
squad" because Amin's swagger-
ing, semi-illiterate son had been
shunned by fellow students.
Winston Churchill once called
Uganda the " Jewel of Atrica" - a
beaut iful country, verdant, idyllic,
pro sperou s. Kampa la, Uganda's
capital sitting astride picturesque
Lake Victoria, was once a thriving
city, popular with foreign tour ists.
Today Kampala is rapidly becom-
ing a ghost town. Of its original
100,000 inhabitants, onl y some
40,000 remain, as ci tizens flee to
rural villages where there is less
chance at being killed or brutalized.
The nation itself is in a state of
The PLAIN TRUTH November 1976 45
What you don't knowcan hurt youl
T
he practice of t he occult is as old as
mankind. In every age there have been
some who attempted to communicate
with the spirit world, to divine the fut ure, or
to influence events through mysterious
means. Even now, in the space age, mod-
ern-day " druids" perform strange rites in
the eery shadows of Stonehenge. But we
are seeing in the late 20th Century an in-
explicable upsurge of occultism - not just
continuing interest in ancient superstiti ons,
but actual belief in the powers and prac-
tices of the occult. Such belief , unfort u-
nately , is not entirely unfounded. For those
who are wi ll ing to look, there is evidence of
a strange and sinister
spirit world. For a fuller ex-
planation of the occult
reviva l , and why you
should avoid its practices,
write for the free booklet,
The Occult Explosion -
What Does It Mean? Just
writ e to The Plain Truth at
our office nearest you (see
inside front cover).
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