Document 6514879

Si5nz
OF 7HE 77MES
How to Be a Christian
Message Between the Lines
Liue Thirty Years Longer!
Shock Waues in Anthropology
I P
"As the flower turns to the sun that the bright beams may aid
in perfecting its beauty and symmetry,
so should we turn to the Sun of Righteousness that
heaven's light may shine upon us,
that our character mug be developed into the likeness of Christ."
Ellen G. White
How to Be a Christian
GROW UP INTO CHRIST
The change of heart by which we
become children of God is in the Bible
spoken of as birth. Again, it is compared to the germination of the good
seed sown by the husbandman. In like
manner those who are just converted
to Christ are, "as newborn babes," to
"grow up" to the stature of men and
women in Christ Jesus. 1 Peter 2:2;
Ephesians 4:15. Or like the good seed
sown in the field, they are to grow up
and bring forth fruit. Isaiah says that
they shall "be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord,
that He might be glorified." Isaiah
61:3. So from natural life illustrations
are drawn to help us better to understand the mysterious truths of
spiritual life.
Not all the wisdom and skill of man
can produce life in the smallest object
in nature. It is only through the life
which God Himself has imparted that
either plant or animal can live.So it is
only through the life from God that
spiritual life is begotten in the hearts of
men. Unless a man is "born from
above," he cannot become a partaker of
the life which Christ came to give. John
3:3, margin.
As with life, so it is with growth. It is
God who brings the bud to bloom and
the flower to fruit. It is by His power
that the seed develops, "first the blade,
then the ear, after that the full corn in
the ear." Mark 4:28. And the prophet
Hosea says of Israel, that "he shall
grow as the lily." "They shall revive as
the corn, and grow as the vine." Hosea
14:5, 7. And Jesus bids us "consider
the lilies how they grow." Luke 12:27.
The plants and flowers grow not by
their own care or anxiety or effort but
by receiving that which God has
furnished to minister to their life. The
child cannot, by any anxiety or power
of its own, add to its stature. No more
can you, by anxiety or effort of yourself, secure spiritual growth. The
plant, the child, grows by receiving
from its surroundings that which
ministers to its life—air, sunshine, and
food. What these gifts of nature are to
animal and plant, such is Christ to
those who trust in Him. He is their
"everlasting light," "a sun and
shield." Isaiah 60:19; Psalm 84:11. He
shall be as "the dew unto Israel." "He
shall come down like rain upon the
mown grass." Hosea 14:5; Psalm 72:6.
He is the living water, "the Bread of
God . . . which cometh down from
heaven, and giveth life unto the
world." John 6:33.
In the matchless gift of His Son, God
has encircled the whole world with an
Signs of the Times / January 1976 / 3
Grow Up Into Christ
atmosphere of grace as real as the air
which circulates around the globe. All
who choose to breathe this life-giving
atmosphere will live and grow up to
the stature of men and women in
Christ Jesus.
As the flower turns to the sun that
the bright beams may aid in perfecting
its beauty and symmetry, so should we
turn to the Sun of Righteousness that
heaven's light may shine upon us, that
our character may be developed into
the likeness of Christ.
Jesus teaches the same thing when
He says, "Abide in Me, and I in you. As
the branch cannot bear fruit of itself,
except it abide in the vine; no more can
ye, except ye abide in Me. . . . Without
Me ye can do nothing." John 15:4, 5.
You are just as dependent upon Christ
in order to live a holy life as is the
branch upon the parent stock for
growth and fruitfulness. Apart from
Him you have no life. You have no
power to resist temptation or to grow
in grace and holiness. Abiding in Him
you may flourish. Drawing your life
from Him you will not wither nor be
fruitless. You will be like a tree planted
by the rivers of water.
Many have an idea that they must do
some part of the work alone. They have
trusted in Christ for the forgiveness of
sin, but now they seek by their own
efforts to live aright. But every such
effort must fail. Jesus says, "Without
Me ye can do nothing." Our growth in
grace, our joy, our usefulness—all
depend upon our union with Christ. It
is by communion with Him, daily,
hourly—by abiding in Him—that we
are to grow in grace. He is not only the
Author, but the Finisher of our faith. It
is Christ first and last and always. He is
to be with us, not only at the beginning
and the end of our course, but at every
step of the way. David says, "I have set
the Lord always before me: because He
is at my right hand, I shall not be
moved." Psalm 16:8.
Do you ask, "How am I to abide in
Christ?" In the same way as you received Him at first. "As ye have
therefore received Christ Jesus the
Lord, so walk ye in Him." "The just
shall live by faith." Colossians 2:6;
Hebrews 10:38. You gave yourself to
ERIC KREYE
God, to be His wholly, to serve and
obey Him, and you took Christ as your
Saviour. You could not yourself atone
for your sins or change your heart; but
having given yourself to God, you
believe that He for Christ's sake did all
this for you. By faith you became
Christ's, and by faith you are to grow
up in Him—by giving and taking. You
are to give all—your heart, your will,
your service—give yourself to Him to
obey all His requirements; and you
must take all—Christ, the fullness of
all blessing, to abide in your heart, to
be your strength, your righteousness,
your everlasting helper—to give you
power to obey.
Consecrate yourself to God in the
morning; make this your very first
work. Let your prayer be, "Take me, 0
Lord, as wholly Thine. I lay all my
plans at Thy feet. Use me today in Thy
service. Abide with me, and let all my
work be wrought in Thee." This is a
daily matter. Each morning consecrate
yourself to God for that day. Surrender
all your plans to Him to be carried out
or given up as His providence shall
indicate. Thus day by day you may be
giving your life into the hands of God,
and thus your life will be molded more
and more after the life of Christ.
A life in Christ is a life of restfulness.
There may be no ecstasy of feeling, but
there should be an abiding, peaceful
trust. Your hope is not in yourself; it is
in Christ. Your weakness is united to
His strength, your ignorance to His
wisdom, your frailty to His enduring
might. So you are not to look to
yourself, not to let the mind dwell
upon self, but look to Christ. Let the
mind dwell upon His love, upon the
beauty, the perfection, of His character. Christ in His self-denial, Christ in
His humiliation, Christ in His purity
and holiness, Christ in His matchless
love—this is the subject for the soul's
contemplation. It is by loving Him,
copying Him, depending wholly upon
Him, that you are to be transformed
into His likeness.
Jesus says, "Abide in Me." These
words convey the idea of rest, stability,
confidence. Again He invites, "Come
unto Me, . . . and I will give you
rest." Matthew 11:28. The words of the
psalmist express the same thought:
"Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently
for Him." And Isaiah gives the assurance, "In quietness and in confidence shall be your strength." Psalm
37:7; Isaiah 30:15. This rest is not
found in inactivity; for in the Saviour's
invitation the promise of rest is united
with the call to labor: "Take My yoke
upon you: . . . and ye shall find
rest." Matthew 11:29. The heart that
rests most fully upon Christ will be
most earnest and active in labor for
Him.
When the mind dwells upon self, it
is turned away from Christ, the source
of strength and life. Hence it is Satan's
constant effort to keep the attention
diverted from the Saviour and thus
prevent the union and communion of
the soul with Christ. The pleasures of
the world, life's cares and perplexities
and sorrows, the faults of others, or
your own faults and imperfections—to
any or all of these he will seek to divert
the mind. Do not be misled by his
devices. Many who are really conscientious, and who desire to live for
God, he too often leads to dwell upon
their own faults and weaknesses, and
thus by separating them from Christ he
hopes to gain the victory. We should
not make self the center and indulge
anxiety and fear as to whether we shall
be saved. All this turns the soul away
from the source of our strength.
Commit the keeping of your soul to
God, and trust in Him. Talk and think
of Jesus. Let self be lost in Him. Put
away all doubt; dismiss your fears. Say
SIGNS OF THE TIMES is published monthly by Pacific Press Publishing Association, 1350 Villa Street, Mountain View, California 94042.
Second-class postage paid at Mountain View, California. Subscription price $9.00 a year. January 1976.
"Commit the keeping of your soul to God,
and trust in Him. Talk and think of Jesus.
Let self be lost in Him. Put away all
doubts; dismiss your fears."
with the apostle Paul, "I live; yet not I,
but Christ liveth in me: and the life
which I now live in the flesh I live by
the faith of the Son of God, who loved
me, and gave Himself for me." Galatians 2:20. Rest in God. He is able to
keep that which you have committed
to Him. If you will leave yourself in His
hands, He will bring you off more than
conqueror through Him that has loved
you.
When Christ took human nature
upon Him, He bound humanity to
Himself by a tie of love that can never
be broken by any power save the
choice of man himself. Satan will
constantly present allurements to
induce us to break this tie—to choose
to separate ourselves from Christ. Here
is where we need to watch, to strive, to
pray, that nothing may entice us to
choose another master; for we are
always free to do this. But let us keep
our eyes fixed upon Christ, and He will
preserve us. Looking unto Jesus, we
are safe. Nothing can pluck us out of
His hand. In constantly beholding
Him, we "are changed into the same
image from glory to glory, even as by
the Spirit of the Lord." 2 Corinthians
3:18.
It was thus that the early disciples
gained their likeness to the dear
Saviour. When those disciples heard
the words of Jesus, they felt their need
of Him. They sought, they found, they
followed Him. They were with Him in
the house, at the table, in the closet, in
the field. They were with Him as
pupils with a teacher, daily receiving
from His lips lessons of holy truth.
They looked to Him, as servants to
their master, to learn their duty. Those
disciples were men "subject to like
passions as we are." James 5:17. They
had the same battle with sin to fight.
They needed the same grace in order to
live a holy life.
Even John, the beloved disciple, the
one who most fully reflected the
likeness of the Saviour, did not
naturally possess that loveliness of
character. He was not only selfassertive and ambitious for honor, but
impetuous, and resentful under injuries. But as the character of the Divine One was manifested to him, he
saw his own deficiency and was
humbled by the knowledge. The
strength and patience, the power and
tenderness, the majesty and meekness,
that he beheld in the daily life of the
Son of God filled his soul with admiration and love. Day by day his heart
was drawn out toward Christ until he
lost sight of self in love for his Master.
His resentful, ambitious temper was
yielded to the molding power of
Christ. The regenerating influence of
the Holy Spirit renewed his heart. The
power of the love of Christ wrought a
transformation of character. This is the
sure result of union with Jesus. When
Christ abides in the heart, the whole
nature is transformed. Christ's Spirit,
His love, softens the heart, subdues the
soul, and raises the thoughts and
desires toward God and heaven.
When Christ ascended to heaven,
the sense of His presence was still with
His followers. It was a personal
presence, full of love and light. Jesus,
the Saviour, who had walked and
talked and prayed with them, who had
spoken hope and comfort to their
hearts, had, while the message of
peace was still upon His lips, been
taken up from them into heaven, and
the tones of His voice had come back to
them as the cloud of angels received
Him—"Lo, I am with you alway, even
unto the end of the world." Matthew
28:20. He had ascended to heaven in
the form of humanity. They knew that
He was before the throne of God, their
Friend and Saviour still; that His
sympathies were unchanged; that He
was still identified with suffering
humanity. He was presenting before
God the merits of His own precious
blood, showing His wounded hands
and feet, in remembrance of the price
He had paid for His redeemed. They
knew that He had ascended to heaven
to prepare places for them and that He
would come again and take them to
Himself.
As they met together after the ascension, they were eager to present
their requests to the Father in the name
of Jesus. In solemn awe they bowed in
prayer, repeating the assurance,
"Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in
My name, He will give it you. Hitherto
have ye asked nothing in My name:
ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy
may be full." John 16:23, 24. They
extended the hand of faith higher and
higher with the mighty argument, "It
is Christ that died, yea rather, that is
risen again, who is even at the right
hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." Romans 8:34. And
Pentecost brought them the presence
of the Comforter, of whom Christ had
said, He "shall be in you." And He had
further said, "It is expedient for you
that I go away: for if I go not away, the
Comforter will not come unto you; but
if I depart, I will send Him unto you."
John 14:17; 16:7. Henceforth, through
the Spirit, Christ was to abide continually in the hearts of His children.
Their union with Him was closer than
when He was personally with them.
The light, and love, and power of the
indwelling Christ shone out through
them, so that men, beholding,
"marveled; and they took knowledge
of them, that they had been with
Jesus." Acts 4:13.
All that Christ was to the disciples
He desires to be to His children today;
for in that last prayer, with the little
band of disciples gathered about Him,
He said, "Neither pray I for these
alone, but for them also which shall
believe on Me through their word."
John 17:20.
Jesus prayed for us, and He asked
that we might be one with Him even as
He is one with the Father. What a
union is this! The Saviour has said of
Himself, "The Son can do nothing of
Himself"; "the Father that dwelleth in
Me, He doeth the works." John 5:19;
14:10. Then if Christ is dwelling in our
hearts, He will work in us "both to will
and to do of His good pleasure."
Philippians 2:13. We shall work as He
worked; we shall manifest the same
spirit. And thus, loving Him and
abiding in Him, we shall "grow up into
Him in all things, which is the head,
even Christ." Ephesians 4:15.
•
This article is a chapter from Steps to
Christ, of which several million copies
are in circulation.
Signs of the Times / January 1976 / 5
Mud
Balls
or 7111113
Bulbs'!"
Mabel Latsha
"You'd never believe it now," my
sister told me, "but when early spring
comes, this two-foot
border—beginning right here and
continuing on around the
semicircle—becomes a solid bed of
tulips. When they bloom, it is a riot of
colors such as you've never seen."
"Mmmm," I mused. "I'd love to be
here to see the ravishing sight!"
Unfortunately, my sister lived in
eastern Washington, and my home
was nearly 1500 miles away in
southern California. The trip was too
far just to see tulips, however
beautiful.
"Well," my sister said, "why don't
we dig up a few bulbs for you to take
home with you?"
Minutes later, digging tools in hand,
we crouched beside the sleeping tulip
bed to locate those "few bulbs."
Neither of us knew what a tulip bulb
looked like, but we dug confidently
believing that whatever we located of a
proper shape and size would be a tulip
bulb.
It was not that simple. "Are you sure
you really have tulips here?" I asked
dubiously after a bit of digging
brought no results.
"I'm beginning to wonder myself,
Mabel Latsha is a free-lance writer
who enjoys her garden in
Miranda, California.
6 / Signs of the Times I January 1976
How to Be a Christian / Dig Deeply in the Bible
but— Ah, here's something."
The something was rough and
round and definitely compared in size
to many other bulbs I had worked with.
When several more were unearthed, I .
was jubilant. "There, now, those will
be all I can find space for among my
flowers at home," I said, "and enough
to let me sample the beauty you will
enjoy next spring."
We carried them into the house.
Placing them in a white paper sack, I
tucked them into a corner of my
suitcase. "I'm not going to take a
chance on misplacing them," I said. "I
can almost see them already blooming
in my garden."
At home, when the calendar
indicated bulb-planting time, I sallied
forth in pure delight to prepare the
soil. Thoroughly pulverizing it, I
added the right amount of plant food,
and dug exactly the right number of
holes. Then I hurried in quest of the
white sack containing my treasure.
Bubbling with enthusiasm I told
myself, "I hope at least one is velvety
red, another bright pink, and all the
rest a rich orange-yellow."
Back again in the garden I knelt
beside the neatly dug holes and
reached into the sack for bulb Number
One.
"Why, what—?" I stopped short in
astonishment. Bulb Number One was
falling apart—disintegrating before
my eyes.
"No, this can't be!" I sputtered.
But I found, after all, it could
be—and was. Each "bulb" behaved in
the same disconcerting manner. The
explanation was simple. What I had
thought were tulip bulbs were merely
mud balls. Now, after having
thoroughly dried out, they crumbled
into plain earth.
Disillusioned and disappointed I
stared down at the pitiful little heap of
Washington garden soil in which
rested my sadly dashed hopes of gay
spring blossoms.
I was completely crestfallen, yet the
feeling stirred within me that this
might not be a total loss. Romans 8:28
says, "All things work together for
good to them that love God." So
something good had to come out of
this experience. But what?
I thought back to the day my sister
and I dug those "bulbs." We knew
beyond doubt that there were tulip
bulbs in the ground where we were
digging, but it was now evident that
we had fallen far short when we
accepted the first things that
resembled bulbs instead of digging
deeper to make sure we had the
genuine, in which the Creator had
placed that life-force capable of
developing something of true beauty.
Thinking now in terms of a spiritual
application, my mind went on to John
5:39: "Search the scriptures; for in
them ye think ye have eternal life: and
they are they which testify of me."
Search! Dig deeply into the Word of
God, praying earnestly that the Holy
Spirit will "guide you into all truth."
John 16:13. A mere scratching of the
surface, a superficial digging, may
produce something that satisfies at the
moment. But, as happened with the
mud balls, will we find in time that we
have been treasuring something less
than the genuine—something not
capable of producing the true beauty of
holiness within us? The words of Jesus
in Matthew 7:22 indicate that "many"
will find themselves in just such a
position; and the warning comes from
Proverbs 16:25: "There is a way that
seemeth right unto a man, but the end
thereof are the ways of death."
In this line of thought the Bereans of
old provide an excellent example
worthy of adoption. Acts 17:11 states:
"They received the word with all
readiness of mind, and searched the
scriptures daily, whether those things
were so." Second Timothy 2:15
admonishes: "Study to shew thyself
approved unto God, a workman that
needeth not to be ashamed, rightly
dividing the word of truth."
I readily admit that I was definitely a
"workman" who was "ashamed"
—ashamed of having so glibly
accepted mud balls as bulbs instead of
investigating more thoroughly. I thank
God for His goodness and mercy in
causing all things to work together for
good to them that love Him. I was
permitted to learn from those
disintegrating mud balls a lesson of
eternal worth far surpassing even the
captivating beauty of bright tulip
blooms in the spring.
•
Signs of the Times / January 1976 / 7
10702-
Messengers of Love
Ernie Holyer
On a cold and blustery day in 1945
somebody knocked at the door of my
parents' home in Germany and I
answered. A man stood there with his
bicycle. He was frail and middle-aged
with a self-conscious smile.
"I am Mr. K.," he said. "I bring you
happy news of the kingdom of Jesus
Christ. We're living in precarious
times, and I want to show you how you
can be saved." Mr. K. spoke rapidly,
like someone who is used to being cut
off in mid-sentence. He extracted a
black book from the mellowed leather
case dangling from the handlebar. He
exchanged his regular spectacles for
reading glasses as he explained, "This
is the Bible."
"I am afraid we wouldn't be interested. We're not members of your
faith." I stepped back, ready to close
the door, but he stopped me.
"The Bible has been likened to a
two-edged sword. It will divide the
sincere from the insincere. You're
sincere, aren't you? You believe in God
and Jesus, don't you?"
"Y-yes and no." I had always known
that God existed. Nature, the
universe—everything designed to
move in perfect harmony! Only a fool
would think there is no God. I had
always loved and admired the Creator.
In troubled childhood days I had
locked myself into my room and asked
my heavenly Father for help. In happy
days I had praised Him. I had kept up
this unsatisfactory relationship.
About Jesus I felt uneasy. Who was
this Jesus of Nazareth? Historians said
He lived and died. All right, so He
existed. But was He a god? A
superhuman? Did He rise from the
dead as some claimed? Did His self-
8 I Signs of the Times / January 1976
sacrifice have any meaning for me?
I stayed at the door that cold afternoon and on many Sundays to come,
listening, looking at texts of Scripture,
trying to comprehend. And I studied
Mr. K.
Weekdays, he told us, he worked in a
coal mine. On Sundays he pedaled
over alpine hills carrying a message of
love. Rain, ice, or sleet never stopped
him. He carried his message to all who
would listen. He saw doors slammed
in his face and smiled. He was a
mild-mannered man, simple, not
hooked on money. His kind of faith
threatened the mighty dictator, Adolf
Hitler. I often wondered how frail Mr.
K. had survived the Nazi onslaught.
At times, Mr. K. sent a replacement.
Mr. S. was the outdoors type and came
by motorcycle. He was a salesman who
carried his merchandise to isolated
villages. But Mr. S. carried more than
merchandise. In his knapsack, within
easy reach of the pullstring, lay a Bible,
and everybody who wanted to hear
learned about God's plan for man.
The first time I saw Mr. S. he appeared soiled and shaken. "The
motorcycle hurled me headfirst onto
the pavement," he explained.
"Fortunately, the knapsack came
down over my head and acted as a
buffer." When Mr. S. opened the
knapsack, we stared at a squashed
black book. The Bible had saved his
skull.
The Third Reich had put Mr. S. in
prison. Every so often, he told us, a
guard had brought a paper stating that
if the prisoner promised to suppress
the Bible, he could go free.
"The walls drove me crazy," Mr. S.
confessed. "The authorities put me
into the same cell with a man who had
murdered his wife. Can you imagine
what it's like to live with a murderer?
Can you imagine what it's like not to
smell the outdoors? Do you know what
it's like never to see God's beautiful
nature? The walls drove me crazy.
After two hellish years, I signed." Poor
Mr. S., I can still see the pain in his
eyes.
One Sunday in 1946, I was startled
to see a large, coarse-boned man at our
door. This powerful man with a voice
to match his body carried the message
of love with the fiercest determination
I had ever seen. Even if I had never
learned Mr. R.'s story, I would still
remember him with awe.
At the start of World War II, Mr. R.
had been called to the military. He had
objected. "At that time conscientious
objectors were sent to Berlin and
beheaded," Mr. R. recalled for us. "A
strange thing happened with me. They
loaded me on a train, but instead of
getting off in Berlin I landed in a
concentration camp. While I worked
in a quarry, the guard came at regular
intervals and shoved a paper under my
nose. 'Sign and you'll get out,' he'd tell
me. Me, sign and keep silent about the
Bible and God? Never!
"The last time I saw such a paper the
guard hissed, 'Sign if you want to live.'
I refused. Next day, I was led with a
group of men into a garden surrounded by stone walls. I'd heard of
the "hanging garden," and I'd also
heard that the guards cut down the
strangled after an hour. I was not ready
to die. I determined to survive the
hour. 'You cannot make me die!' I
screamed. 'My God will not let you.'
"My neck muscles swelled. All my
life force resisted the tightening noose.
I thought only one thing: I WILL NOT
Ernie Holyer is a free-lance writer living in
San Jose, California. She grew up in
Germany during World War II.
DIE. I hung there, suspended between
life and death. After the guards cut me
down, I regained full consciousness.
Corpses sprawled around me, the
ropes still attached to their necks. I was
the only survivor. God had saved me as
I knew He would."
The three messengers at my parents'
door (Papa did not allow them in)
excelled in faith. They asked for
nothing but a chance to be heard. My
trouble was, how could I test their
words when I had no Bible? Hitler had
burned the old Bibles, and our postwar
money lacked buying power for new
ones.
I asked my mother to help me obtain
a Bible. She sympathized with my
desperate desire for truth and persuaded her sister to search the attic of
her house for "that old book
Grandmother used to read to us." My
aunt, prodded by my mother's offer to
trade a large meat platter for the book,
found a Bible. Mamma made the greatest trade of her life.
"It isn't Grandmother's book, but I
hope it is what you want," she told me.
It was exactly what I wanted! I eagerly
studied the moldy pages until I had
read them cover to cover.
Everything the three messengers at
my door had told me checked out. Bits
and pieces started to make a wonderful
whole. Jesus of Nazareth was God's
Son, the chosen Messiah. He had indeed risen from the dead, for I felt His
Spirit moving me. Fulfilling God's
plan for us humans, He had carried out
God's will. A young man in perfect
health with abilities to match, He had
humbly suffered the chill of pain, the
anguish of blood, the humiliation of
the misunderstood. All this in order to
bring us a marvelous hope! Like the
messengers at my door, He had excelled in faith and had acted out of
love. He had come—to save me. •
VANCE LOCKE
How to Be a Christian / Listen to God's Messengers
"A rainbow arched the
desert at the moment I was
born. I firmly believe," says
Lorraine, "that it was God's
promise to lead my life."
Rainbow Over My Shoulder
Lorraine Haycock as told to Elisabeth S. McFadden
How to Be a Christian / Let God Lead You
It was in an Indian hogan on the
wind-swept plains of Monument
Valley, Utah, where I first opened my
eyes on July 15, 1949.
An old Indian saying, "May your
moccasins make happy tracks in many
snows, and the rainbow always touch
your shoulder," expresses the belief of
Indian tribes down through the years
that good luck attends the presence of
a rainbow. A child born on a "rainbow
day" is considered fortunate. The day I
was born, they tell me, a flash summer
storm had left a glorious rainbow
stretching from one side of the valley
to the other.
I was the firstborn child of Bud and
Marjorie Haycock, full-blooded
American Indians. But I did not see my
father until I was nearly four years old.
When I was born, he was in Korea
serving with the United States Army.
My mother was a sickly girl of seventeen. She had tuberculosis, a disease
still common among "The People," as
we Navajos call ourselves.
Mother and I lived with my
grandmother in her snug hogan. Built
of cedar logs, plastered with mud, with
a floor of loose sand, a hogan is very
comfortable—cool in summer and
warm in winter. Most have no
windows, only a hole at the top where
smoke from an open fire or stove can
escape. We slept on sheepskins
clustered around the fire. Most of our
cooking was done outside except in
bad weather. In summer the kitchen
was moved outside and temporary
shelters of logs and branches protected
the cooks from the hot sun.
In winter, Navajoland can be bitterly
cold. One of my first recollections is of
walking barefoot over frozen sod in
early winter to the schoolhouse about a
mile from our hogan. I climbed on a
rock to peer through the window at the
brightly lighted room and was fascinated by the pictures on the walls.
The teacher noticed me there and
invited me in. I must have been about
five years old.
I stayed in the warm schoolroom all
day. When I was leaving after school,
the teacher stopped me.
"Why don't you come to Sunday
School next week?" he asked.
"I can't," I told him, pointing to my
feet. "No shoes."
For the first time, it seemed, he
noticed my bare feet. "Well," he said,
"we'll have to see what we can do
about that!"
Several days later an Indian boy
came to our hogan carrying a brown
paper bag. We all gathered around to
open it. Inside was a pair of small
brown shoes with rubber soles and
some warm socks.
"For me! For me!" I declared, for
obviously they would fit no one else.
In sheer joy I put the socks and shoes
on, and I wouldn't take them off, even
to sleep that night.
The next Sunday I tripped gaily off
to Sunday School. I carefully skirted
all mud puddles, and I sat through all
the services proudly eyeing my new
brown socks and shiny shoes. After
that, I attended Sunday School each
week, and eventually some of the
stories began to sink into my mind. I
would come home and repeat them to
my grandmother and to my parents
when they would listen. Usually, they
were too busy minding the sheep to
heed what a small girl had to say.
At Sunday School the missionary
Elisabeth McFadden spent many years as a
missionary in India. More recently she
and his wife were kind to me.
served at Monument Valley Mission among
Sometimes they invited me home for
the Navajo.
dinner, and then the missionary's wife
would read stories from books with
beautiful pictures. It was thus that I
first heard about Jesus, but He didn't
mean much to me. I decided He must
have been somebody like the missionary and his wife, or the teacher,
who were all so good to me. No one at
home would go to Sunday School with
me. In fact, my grandfather teased me
about it.
"Ach, Lorraine," he would say to
me, "you not be Navajo girl long.
White man's church make you Bellagonna!" (Indian term for "white
man.")
I thought about what he said, but I
loved to go to Sunday School and to
visit school, where the teacher let me
look at all the pictures in the books. So
I kept going. Still more, I enjoyed my
visits with the missionary's wife. She
would give me milk and graham
crackers when I stopped in on my way
from school, and once she gave me a
pretty dress and a small doll. I think it
was at Christmas.
After I had attended school regularly
for two years, the teacher told my
mother that I should be sent away to
boarding school.
"Lorraine learns fast," he said, "and
she should be given a chance to get a
good education."
I think Mother was proud of me, for
she arranged for me to attend Kayenta
Boarding School the next fall. I was
eight years old, and from then until I
was fifteen I stayed in a boarding
school of some kind every winter.
I grew strong and healthy on the
better food served in the boarding
schools, and with the other Indian
boys and girls I soon learned to enjoy
the winters away from home better
than my summers. My younger
brothers and sister kept Mother busy,
so she didn't miss me too much.
I was in the ninth grade of a boarding
Signs of the Times / January 1976 / 11
"At fifteen I was told that arrangements had been made for me to get married."
school in Andarko, Oklahoma, when
my parents decided to move to Colorado. I loved my school and was
reluctant to go home that summer; I
was fifteen and thought I could stay at
school and work, but my folks insisted
that I come home. So to the new little
government-built home in Colorado I
went.
Dad had acquired a new pickup
truck. One day he announced that we
were going to take a vacation and visit
our family back in Utah. All we children were excited about the trip, but I
was the most eager to go. Many of my
friends were back there, and I hadn't
seen my grandparents in over a year.
Little did I dream of the traumatic
experience that awaited me!
On the way we stopped overnight
with relatives in the town of Blanding,
Utah. Around the campfire in the
evening the grown-ups talked while
the children ran around playing
games. I played with them, although I
was much older than any of them.
Eventually all the young ones were
sent to bed, and my parents asked me
to sit with them by the campfire.
"Lorraine, we have decided to stay
here an extra day," they told me.
"Tomorrow we will have visitors. The
parents of a young Indian man are
coming to arrange with us for your
marriage to him! We want you to put
your hair back neatly and bind it with
white yarn, as Indian women do.
You're no longer a child. You're old
enough to be married!"
I sat stunned, staring into the dying
embers of the campfire. It was a long
while before I found my voice, but
when I did I protested strongly, "I
don't want to be married! I want to
finish school. I want to be a teacher. I
don't want to get married!"
My mother was silent. Somehow, I
felt she sympathized with me; but my
father said, "It is best, my daughter.
School will only take you away from
The People; it will make you civilized,
like the Bellagonnas. We want you to
remain in the tribe and grow up to follow the traditions of The People. You
are too young to decide for yourself."
12 / Signs of the Times / January 1976
FREDERICK LEWIS
Too young to decide, I thought
bitterly. But not too young to get
married! I shuddered. But the matter
was apparently settled; my uncle and
aunt began to bank the fire. Dad helped
them and then went to bed. I managed
a frantic appeal to my mother, who
patted my arm.
"Sleep on it, Lorraine," she told me.
"Things will look better in the
morning."
But sleep would not come. I tossed
and twisted on my sheepskin most of
the night, looking up at the stars above
me and whispering a prayer to the God
I had come to know in emergencies. I
thought of my parents' homelife and
how my mother had married at fifteen.
I had been born when she was a mere
child! I remembered the times Father
had come home drunk, and now, I
knew, Mother sometimes drank with
him, and the children were left to care
for themselves. No! I wanted no part of
it! So I prayed for deliverance and
finally fell into a troubled sleep.
In the morning I awoke early. Looking toward the mountains to the north,
I could make out the faint trace of a
rainbow through the rising mist!
Good, I thought; a rainbow is God's
promise! I went about my duties with a
cheerful face and even did my hair as
my parents had requested.
About the middle of the morning an
Indian man and woman came on
horseback. They spoke with my father
at the edge of our campsite. My father's
face beamed as he called me to meet
my future in-laws. I smiled, and
looked down at the ground shyly, as is
the custom for Indian virgins. But in
my heart I knew I would never marry
their son, or anyone, at my age! I had
made up my mind to run away if they
tried to force me into marriage.
After the visit my father told us
everything was arranged. The future
bridegroom would be coming to meet
me that afternoon. I agreed to talk with
him, but I told Dad I still did not want
to get married.
The young man, who was nineteen,
was shy, and so was I. I talked with him
a little and learned that both he and his
father drank. That was enough for me!
If I had any romantic leanings at all
toward this rather handsome young
man, they vanished when he told me
that. I determined I would never marry
anyone who drank!
Our visit to Grandmother's place
was more pleasant. I spent hours in the
field with the sheep. One day I visited
the first little school I had attended and
found the missionary and his wife still
living nearby. More and more, as the
summer wore on, I stiffened my resolution; I would not marry anyone at
my young age, especially not that
young man who by his own admission
was already drinking. At times I
reminded Father of my decision, and
sometimes Mother backed me up, but
more often she kept quiet. I threatened
to run away if they forced me to marry.
As the date drew near, I urged Father to
call it off. Eventually, through Mother's
help, I won my point. Father called off
the wedding, but he refused to let me
go back to school.
"You just stay here with your
grandmother," he told me, "and herd
sheep until you see where your
stubbornness has got you!"
I was glad to be left with Grandmother when the family returned to
Monument Valley Hospital, where Lorraine now serves as a nurse, snuggles up
to the ancient rock pillars of southeastern Utah.
Colorado, even though it meant I could
not go to school. At least I had escaped
what I knew would have been real
hell—marriage to a drunkard!
I'm sure God had a hand in the turn
of circumstances. My grandmother
had been attending a little church at
Monument Valley Mission, and I
began to go with her. I made new
friends there, both Indian and Bellagonna. When the doctor in charge of
the small hospital there asked me if I
would like to work as a nurse's aide, I
decided to accept. A few months later
this young doctor and his wife told me
they were going to give Bible studies
in a Navajo home, and asked if I would
come along to translate. Inadvertently,
then, I received a whole course of Bible
studies myself! The truths I discovered
thrilled me, and when I was finally
able to return to school, I never forgot
what I learned on those evenings in
that humble hogan by the light of a
kerosene lantern!
After I graduated from high school,
my ambition to become a nurse—
which had flowered during my work at
the hospital—became a burning desire. By this time I had come to know
Jesus Christ as my personal Saviour. I
studied my Bible daily and looked
forward to my prayer time with eager
anticipation; Jesus was my Friend.
During vacations, which I spent
with Grandmother, I went with her to
the little mission church again. I met
many old friends, including the young
doctor and his wife and children. The
family to whom we had given Bible
studies was attending church now,
and the mother had been baptized,
which made me very happy. Finally,
Grandmother and I decided to be
baptized and join the mission church. I
was working as a nurse's aide again at
the hospital.
All the doctors and nurses encouraged me to strive to reach my goal
of becoming a registered nurse. Young
Dr. Ekkens told me, "Lorraine, you
have just the right personality for
helping people. You must go on with
your education!" Since we had given
the Bible studies together, I had come
MYRON WIOMER
to know Dr. and Mrs. Ekkens so well
that they almost seemed like my second parents, though they were too
young to be. Dr. Mason, the older
doctor, told me also that he would try
to get financial help for me. But in that
he was unsuccessful.
I agreed with them all that I should
go on to school. But there was no
money. Even if I saved all that I made at
the hospital, it would not be enough.
Grandmother and I kept praying, and
I'm sure others joined us. God began to
work.
A young student missionary came to
Monument Valley from California. Her
name was Rae Lynn, and we became
close friends. In time I shared some of
my innermost thoughts and hopes
with her. Her eyes shone when I told
her how I would like to become a
nurse.
"Oh, Lorraine, you must do it!" she
cried. "You would be a really good
nurse."
"I hope so," I answered. "I'm praying about it. If God wants me to be a
nurse, He will answer my prayer."
Rae Lynn smiled. After a thoughtful
silence. she said. "Let's pray about it
together."
After we prayed, she excused her-
self, saying she had to write a letter. A
little over a week later, she came into
the dining room wearing a smile a yard
wide.
"Lorraine! Listen to this!" She
waved a letter in her hand. It was from
her parents, and she read part of it to
me. Then she tossed the letter on the
table and hugged me right there! "Oh,
Lorraine," her voice was breaking with
joy, "God has answered our prayers.
You can live with my parents and me
and go to Pacific Union College! You
can get your RN after all!"
Three years later, after many a
struggle and disappointment, I
graduated from Pacific Union College's two-year nursing course. Many
people had helped me, both financially and with encouraging words,
but most of all I know that my Jesus
saw me through to the completion of
my dreams. Long ago, on that day
when I was born, God stretched a
beautiful rainbow across the sky as His
promise that someday I would become
His child and be able to serve Him as
the first Navajo Seventh-day Adventist
registered nurse.
All I can say is, "Thank You, Lord. I
love my work, and You have made me
so happy!"
•
Signs of the Times / January 1976 / 13
If You
"When I use a word," HumptyDumpty said in a rather scornful tone,
"it means just what I choose it to mean,
neither more nor less."
That was Alice in Wonderland. But
we still live in an unpredictable
wonderland where words mean different things to different people.
The word "love" has really had a
workout. It is a word so versatile that
you can make it mean almost anything.
It can be very secular—or very sacred.
It can be philosophical or theological.
It can be sincere—or hypocritical.
But a certain farmer, in a story told
by Steve Dickerson, seemed to have
the right idea. It goes like this:
Bill grew up on a farm. And there
was never any question about his
future. He would be a farmer like his
dad.
He went to college and studied
agriculture. That gave him the scientific know-how. But where would he
get the money to buy a farm?
One day his father said, "Bill, I'm
getting old. I'm almost ready to retire.
I'd like to give the farm to you."
Bill was speechless. His problem
was solved. But the older man went on.
"There's just one stipulation. I want
you to run the farm strictly according
to my directions for the first year. After
that, it's yours."
That was fair enough. Dad was a
good farmer. He knew what he was
doing. And just think—after a year the
farm would be his!
Bill and his father spent the next few
days going from field to field. Bill
carried a notebook and wrote down
just what his father wanted him to
plant in each field. Then his father and
mother left for a vacation.
Bill was curious. It would be interesting to see how his father's directions checked out with what he had
learned at college. He got out his
soil-testing kit and started around the
farm again. As he went from one field
to another, he was impressed with his
father's wisdom. In each field his dad
Marjorie Lewis Lloyd
How to Be a Christian / Obey God's Will
Marjorie Lloyd is script writer for "It Is
Written" television program.
D. TANK
14 / Signs of the Times / January 1976
had scooped up a handful of soil and
examined it carefully before deciding
what to plant. And he had been right
every time. Every time he had chosen
the very crop that, according to what
Bill had learned in college, would
grow best in that particular soil!
Every time—until Bill came to the
last field. His father had said to plant
corn, but he must have made a mistake.
The soil was sandy and poor. Plant
corn? The shallow roots would be torn
right out of the soil by the slightest
wind. Even if the stalks weren't blown
over, the corn would be sickly. Dad
must have made a mistake.
Bill's analysis showed that the soil
would be perfect for peanuts. Dad
would want every crop to be a success.
He would be pleased to see that all the
money spent on Bill's education had
paid off. So Bill planted peanuts.
Dad came back at harvesttime. He
said the farm had never looked so
good. Bill took him around and
showed him the wheat and the
potatoes and the alfalfa.
"But where's the corn?" Dad said. "I
thought I told you to plant corn."
Bill said, "Well, yes, Dad. That was
in this field over here. I went back and
tested the soil in all the fields. You
were exactly right in all except this
one, so I thought you must have made a
mistake. I was sure you would rather
see a good crop of peanuts than a sickly
crop of corn."
Dad shook his head sadly. "Bill," he
said, "you haven't followed my directions in any of these fields. You've
followed your own judgment in every
case. It just happened that you agreed
with me in all points except one. But as
soon as there was any question, you
did what you thought best in spite of
what I had said. I'm sorry, Bill, but
you'll have to look elsewhere for a farm
of your own."
How about it? Was the farmer too
harsh? Or was he absolutely right?
Does it mean anything at all to follow
directions—it may be God's directions—only when we happen to agree
with them?
Millions today are improvising their
own off-the-cuff morality to meet their
moods. Millions believe that God
sometimes throws His Ten Corn-
mandments into reverse. They think it
is all right to steal if you have an
emergency. Or lie if it will keep you
out of jail. Or commit adultery if, as
Joseph Fletcher suggests, having a
child is the only way you can get out of
a concentration camp. Millions today
follow God's directions when they
agree with them—and ignore them
when they don't seem to make sense.
But if we obey only when we agree,
have we obeyed at all? If we have
followed our own judgment while we
pretended to follow Christ, isn't that
what we call hypocrisy?
My Lord has given to me, just as He
has given to you, ten rules for living.
We call them Ten Commandments. So
I say, "Sure, Lord. I'll do whatever You
tell me."
But then suppose I get out my
analyzing kit. I get out my college
textbooks, and I sit down in my library.
It will be interesting to see if those Ten
Commandments agree with what is
taught at the university.
The comparison goes along pretty
fast at first. I agree with the first
commandment—I shouldn't worship
any other god. And the second—I
shouldn't worship images. And the
third—I don't think people should
swear. I agree that I should respect my
parents. And of course it's wrong to
kill—or steal—or lie—or have an affair
with somebody else's mate. I'm really
impressed with God's wisdom. He
really knew what He was doing when
He wrote down those ten rules. I
couldn't have done better—probably
not as well.
All except one. That fourth
commandment. It doesn't seem to
make sense to me. Of course I think we
should have one day in seven to rest.
But it doesn't matter which day, does
it? Yet this command says, "The
seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord
thy God." Exodus 20:10.
The seventh day. It sounds terribly
specific. I go back to the book of
Genesis, to when the Sabbath was
made. There it says, "God blessed the
seventh day." Genesis 2:3.
It's a specific day all right. If He put
His blessing into one particular day,
then the day before or the day after
aren't just as good.
But suppose I say, "The Sabbath was
just for the Jews. It's not for me." That
doesn't help me much, because the
Sabbath was made in the Garden of
Eden, some two thousand years before
Abraham, the Jews' ancestor, lived.
Then I think of another argument.
After all these centuries I wouldn't be
able to tell which day is the seventh
anyway. Probably time has been lost
somewhere. There have been some
calendar changes too.
That takes a little time. I have to get
out my astronomy books and my history books. But I discover that no time
has been lost. And I find that no
calendar change has ever disturbed the
weekly cycle.
Then one day I'm reading in the
Gospel of Luke about the events of the
crucifixion day. I come to this: "This
man [Joseph of Arimathaea] went unto
Pilate, and begged the body of Jesus.
And he took it down, and wrapped it in
linen, and laid it in a sepulchre. . . . And that day was the
preparation, and the sabbath drew on.
And the women also . . . beheld the
sepulchre. . . . And they returned,
and prepared spices and ointments;
and rested the sabbath day according
to the commandment. Now upon the
first day of the week, very early in the
morning, they came unto the
sepulchre." Luke 23:52-56; 24:1.
I can't help but notice that three
successive days are mentioned here—
the preparation day, the Sabbath, and
the first day of the week. The preparation day—the day of the
crucifixion—I know is Friday. And the
first day of the week—the resurrection
day—I know is Sunday. The Sabbath—the day on which Jesus rested
and taught His followers to rest—is the
day between Friday and Sunday. So
evidently it is possible to know which
day is the seventh!
But I've heard that the Ten
Commandments were nailed to the
cross. So I study into that. I discover
that on Mount Sinai, when God wrote
the Ten Commandments on two tables
of stone, He also gave to Moses a law
concerning sacrifices. Moses wrote
that law in a book. The sacrifices,
which pointed forward to Christ,
naturally would come to an end when
Signs of the Times / January 1976 / 15
D. TANK
the true Lamb of God gave His life. So
that law could be said to be nailed to
the cross. But not the Ten Commandments. God says, "My covenant
will I not break, nor alter the thing that
is gone out of my lips." Psalm 89:34. I
remember that God spoke the Ten
Commandments.
And Jesus said, "Think not that I am
come to destroy the law . . . : I am
not come to destroy, but to fulfil."
Matthew 5:17.
The more I read my Bible the more I
realize that it was a broken law that
made the death of Christ necessary. So
the cross, rather than doing away with
the law, is a mighty argument for it.
The law was so important that it
couldn't be set aside even to save the
life of God's own Son!
But that troublesome fourth
commandment! It doesn't seem to
make sense like the others. Someone
tells me that the Sabbath was changed,
and that I'll find the change somewhere in the Bible. But search as I may,
I can't find it.
Someone tells me we aren't under
the law but under grace. I find that's
true, all right. Paul said, "Sin shall not
have dominion over you: for ye are not
under the law, but under grace."
Romans 6:14.
But it's evident that Paul isn't saying
we are at liberty to break the law,
because he says in the very next verse,
"What then? shall we sin, because we
are not under the law, but under grace?
God forbid." Romans 6:15.
Besides, wouldn't it be strange if
God should say that all the nonChristians who are not under grace
have to keep the law but Christians—
who are—don't have to keep it? What
kind of government would He have?
Evidently being under grace and not
under law just means that we have
been pardoned, forgiven, and are no
longer under the penalty of the law,
under the death sentence. But if we
have been pardoned by the grace of
Christ, if we have been forgiven, then
we're under a double obligation to
keep the law that we once broke.
Aren't we?
Well, suppose I say, "Millions
couldn't be confused about the right
day of rest. It just couldn't happen!"
16 / Signs of the Times / January 1976
So I go to the public library. And I
discover that it did happen. I discover The farmer's son was sure Dad
that the early church, after the death of
had made a dreadful mistake in
the apostles, lost its purity and began
to compromise with paganism—for the one field. If we obey God only
the sake of popularity. Gradually, over when we agree with His rules,
a period of centuries, the true Sabbath
are we obeying Him or ourselves?
was replaced by the pagan Sunday.
And millions today have never
thought to question!
But suppose I still try to find a way
out of my obligation to that fourth
"You haven't followed my directions
commandment. I say it's legalism to
at all. You just followed when it
keep the seventh-day Sabbath. Didn't
seemed right to you. You placed your
Paul say that "love is the fulfilling of
wisdom and your judgment above
Mine!"
the law"? Romans 13:10.
That's right. All I have to do is love.
If we break one commandment, we
break them all. How can that be? If we
But Paul didn't say, "Love is the
lie, are we guilty of murder too?
breaking of the law." And Jesus said,
"If ye love me, keep my commandWe have already seen that if we obey
only those commands we agree with,
ments." John 14:15.
we are guilty of disobeying them
Yes, now I'm floundering. With all
my books and all my computers and all
all—because we wouldn't have kept
the nine either if we hadn't agreed
my education I can't reason that fourth
with them. That isn't true obedience.
commandment away. There is no
Look at it this way. God is trying to
question but that God is asking me to
keep the infection of sin out of our
observe it.
lives. It really doesn't matter which
Yet suppose I say, "It still doesn't
commandment is broken to let that
make sense to me. I still don't see the
infection in. If the infection of sin gets
reason for it. God gave me a mind to
think with, to reason with. He expects
in, it will spread. The person who
me to use good judgment. So I'll keep
yields to sin on one point makes
the nine commandments that I agree
himself more susceptible on others.
with and use my own judgment about
It's like a hole in the dike. It doesn't
matter where the hole is.
the other one."
The apostle James says, "Whosoever
God's Ten Commandments are an
shall keep the whole law, and yet
expression of His character. They are
offend in one point, he is guilty of all." what He is. That's why He couldn't
James 2:10.
abolish them or change them—even to
And I say, "I've had it! James, you're
save His Son. To abolish the Ten
Commandments would be to abolish
just a legalist!"
Himself!
So I go to the Lord and I say, "Lord, I
followed nine of Your commandBut not only are the Ten Comments. They made sense to me. I could
mandments an expression of what God
see how wise they were. But on one I is, they are what His loyal subjects are.
thought You made a mistake. And I
They are what we will be if we reflect
His character!
was sure You would rather have a big,
healthy crop of worshipers on Sunday
God wants us to reflect His character. But if He simply said, "Be honest,
than a small, sickly crop of worshipers
be pure, be loyal," we'd have a chorus
on Saturday."
You say to me, "Wait a minute. of voices saying, "I'm honest. I'm pure.
I'm loyal." It wouldn't be hard to
You're reasoning just like that farmer's
recognize some of them as questionson. If you see it, if you like it, if you
understand it, if you think it's the
able characters. We'd have as many
right thing to do, you'll do it. If you
interpretations of honesty and purity
don't you won't.
and loyalty as we have definitions of
love!
You're right. The Lord would say to
So God in the Ten Commandments
me just as the farmer said to his son,
spelled out how love will act. He made
the attributes of His character more
specific. Instead of saying, "Be honest," He said, "Thou shalt not bear
false witness." Instead of saying, "Be
pure," He said, "Thou shalt not commit adultery." And instead of saying,
"Be loyal," He put in a command that
wouldn't make much sense to us—so
that we could show our loyalty by
obeying Him anyway! (Later, of
course, when we kept the Sabbath we
would find it a very sensible command
after all.)
Do we begin to get the point? Why
did that farmer tell his son to plant
corn in a field where he knew it would
be easier—and seemingly more
successful—to plant peanuts? Do you
see? Of course. He told him to plant
corn just to see if he would follow
directions!
Then why did God place one
command among the ten that doesn't
seem to make sense like the rest? For
the very same reason. To see if we
would follow His directions. To see if
we would obey Him even when we
don't understand. To see if we will be
loyal!
All we have to do is love? Yes. But
love needs an inspired definition. God
needs to spell it out. Love is more than
a feeling, more than an emotion. Love
is more than "good vibes." Love is a
principle. Love is a character that
reflects the character of God. For God
is love!
God's law is a blueprint for reproducing the character of Jesus in us.
When God said He would write the law
in our hearts, He was talking about
writing the character of Jesus there.
What an incredible privilege is ours—
if only we let Him write!
A teacher, as the last question in the
last examination of the year, asked,
"What have you learned in this class
that you will remember five years from
now?"
A teen-age student responded with
one word: "You."
When we finish this class in which
we're enrolled, when we come to the
last exam, when Jesus asks us what one
thing we've learned that will be ours
forever—I pray that every one of us
may answer, "You, Lord!"
•
Signs of the Times / January 1976 / 17
.1. SCHLAIKJER, ARTIST, © 1957 R&H
has wronged or cheated you put it
down to my account. I've written this
with my own hand: I, Paul, hereby
promise to repay you. (Of course I'm
not stressing the fact that you might be
said to owe me your very soul!)"
So now Paul has intimated that
Heaven itself had a hand in Onesimus's
escapade. Providence led the slave to
him so that he might become a
Christian, and thus also a brother to his
former master as to all Christians
everywhere. As for the stolen goods, so
delicately mentioned, Paul is prepared
to compensate, though it is not likely
he will need to. He knows the bluff and
hearty Philemon too well for that!
Just before the farewell a suggestion
came that must have made the skin of
the reader tingle. There was a hint that
the apostle might be freed. Much more
than that, Paul suggested he would
come to Philemon's home. Philemon
read the words again: "Will you do
something else? Get the guest-room
ready for me, for I have great hopes that
through your prayers I myself will be
returned to you as well!"
Of course, when he came, the
doughty missionary would be asking
after Onesimus. Yes, and expect to see
him fit and well, accepted as a Christian brother.
We are not told that Philemon did
what Paul requested, but the preservation of the letter and the favorable
mention of Onesimus in a later letter
(Colossians 4:9) indicate that the aged
apostle won yet another victory.
Said Martin Luther: "Methinks we
are all God's Onesimi." God's renegade servants, all of us. We have
robbed Him of years of service. But
when we come to Christ, He puts all
our sins to His own account. Calvary
erased our debts and showered
Heaven's grace upon all. "One man's
act of righteousness leads to acquittal
and life for all men." Romans 5:18,
RSV. This restored relationship with
God is ours for the taking! And as
Onesimus became useful, so will we,
useful in God's service. Paul's intercession for Onesimus reflects
Christ's intercession for us.
Yes, it can be fun receiving letters.
But it is life itself to receive the meaning of this ancient letter which in the
providence of God was penned for us
all. Consider again therefore that
synopsis of the gospel found in Paul's
appeal to Philemon, and see therein
the appeal of One greater than Paul—
an appeal reaching to Him who sits
upon the throne of the universe: "Welcome him as you would welcome Me.
If he has wronged or cheated You put
it down to My account."
Note: Selections quoted from the book of Philemon are
from J. B. Phillips, The New Testament in Modern English,
Revised Edition.
SignsoftheTimes/January1976 / 19
doing that. No, I am appealing in love,
a simple personal appeal from Paul the
old man, in prison for Christ Jesus'
sake. I am appealing for my child. Yes I
have become a father though I have
been under lock and key, and the
child's name is—Onesimus! Oh, I
know you have found him pretty
useless in the past but he is going to be
useful now, to both of us."
It hinted at an astonishing story.
Apparently the runaway had come
into a circle that knew Paul, and the
resulting meetings had led the slave to
the experience of conversion which
Philemon had failed to offer or encourage in his household. Now Paul
described Onesimus as being truly
useful—living up to his name for the
first time. And because the apostle was
Philemon's spiritual father, he had
written this letter of intercession. With
good reason, for in those days runaway
slaves were often crucified.
Not long before the arrival of
Onesimus in Rome, there had occurred
a slave tragedy on a large scale. It had
been an indescribable horror such as
only a decadent civilization is capable
of allowing. A senator, Pedanius
Secundus, had been murdered by one
of his slaves, one who had been his
master's rival for the love of a fellow
slave. The imperial absolutism of the
day ruled that the whole household,
four hundred in number, consisting of
men, women, and children, should be
executed. It was Nero who so decreed.
In the sight of the whole city, 399
innocents were massacred. No wonder
Paul interceded for Onesimus.
Philemon read on: "I am sending
him back to you—part of my very
heart. I should have dearly loved to
have kept him with me: he could have
done what you would have done—
looked after me here in prison for the
gospel's sake. But I would do nothing
without consulting you first, for if you
have a favour to give me, let it be
spontaneous and not forced from you
by circumstances!"
The tact and courtesy evidenced in
this brief note has never been paralleled in literature. We do not find here
any authoritarian dictate as from the
first bishop of the church. Instead, we
have the reasoned appeal of one who
loved all men, and spoke as a peer.
Now Philemon reached the climax.
"It occurs to me that there has been a
purpose in your losing him. You lost
him, a slave for a time; now you are
having him back for good, not merely
as a slave, but as a beloved brother. He
is already especially dear to me—how
much more will you be able to love
him, both as a man and as a fellowChristian! You and I have been true
friends, haven't we? Then do welcome
him as you would welcome me. If he
Dr. Fordisamemberof thetheologyf aculty atA vondal eColl egeinA ustralia.
It's a chore writing letters, but fun
receiving them—mostly, that is, for
some contain bad news. Others leave
you feeling uncertain. They seem to
whisper something between the lines,
ominous and threatening. People who
work in the public eye count on these
"specials" as a dispensation of Providence to keep them humble. But the
rest of us finish our reading wondering—
For a long time there have been
letters like these. Consider, for
example, the only really private letter
in the Bible—Philemon. The Scriptures contain many letters, usually
dignified by the name epistles, which
are official letters to churches or to
ministers. But not so this letter to
Philemon. It is an off-the-cuff private
note jotted by one who has become one
of the most famous authors of all time
despite an absolute lack of intention to
become any such thing. At the time he
wrote this note he was a chained
criminal awaiting the disposition of
mighty Rome. Though unique, the tiny
letter is rarely read today, and even
more rarely understood. It says much
between the lines as well as in the
lines. One cannot help wondering
about the condition of Philemon's
appetite after he had read it for the
third time.
The letter began quite heartily. We
all like to be told that we are regularly
remembered in a friend's prayers. We
like it even better when some of our
endeavors to be helpful are gratefully
alluded to. Paul tactfully included
some of Philemon's.
Paul held the punch line until about
the middle. There, to Philemon's
astonishment, he named the main
character in an episode which some
weeks before had challenged all of
Philemon's natural feelings of charity.
To read here in Paul's letter the name
of his runaway slave and thief must
have made Philemon's ulcer burn.
What was Paul up to? To add insult to
injury, apparently the carrier of the
letter (still at the gate, for another slave
had taken delivery) was Onesimus
himself. Onesimus—whose name,
ironically, meant "useful"—had stolen a sizable sum from Philemon's
cashbox as he departed without leave
for the grand capital of the empire, and
now here he was back with a letter
from the apostle.
It is not difficult to picture Philemon
muttering to himself. "Hold on! After
all, it is from Paul, and I owe him
everything. And the poor old man is
still in his Roman dungeon. How did
the thieving Onesimus come into
contact with him? Let's read it again."
"Although I could rely on my authority in Christ and dare to order you
to do what I consider right, I am not
How to Be a Christian / Pray and Trust
The Horse Came Running
V. F. Smith
A remarkable story of answered prayer.
It was a bright, beautiful Sunday in June,
and we had company.
The children, my three little daughters
and the three daughters of our guests, left
the table before dessert. Curious, I left
shortly after them, certain they had some
project afoot.
Sure enough, they had decided—all
talking at once—that they would get my
Shetland pony and take turns riding.
No one likes disappointing a child, and
these six were so eager and happy that it
was doubly hard for me to refuse them.
If you have never owned a Shetland or a
Shetland crossbred, you may find it hard to
understand their peculiar traits and the
intelligence they are capable of to avoid
something they do not wish to do. There
are exceptions of course. Some are tractable and trustworthy, as was this little mare.
There was no reason why the girls
shouldn't ride her, none at all, except that I
had turned her out. She was running in the
south pasture with some yearling steers,
and, above all else, she loved her freedom.
The corral opened into this pasture, and
each night the cattle came in for their
grain. Several times in the early morning,
looking out the window, I saw the pony in
the corral licking out the grain the cattle
had missed in the feed bunks. However, the
moment I would open the door, she would
turn and flee through the gate and across
the creek, the water flying, heading for the
hills. She could run faster than most
Shetlands, and it took two well-mounted
men to bring her in, for she knew every
dodge and trick of escape in the book.
Now I saw her off in the pasture
silhouetted against the sky atop a flatcrowned butte nearly a mile away. I
explained to the girls that I couldn't bring
her in alone and tried to suggest something
else they might do. To my surprise, after a
whispered conference, they all dropped to
their knees and started praying.
Now, my wife and I had spent a deal of
time and effort on the religious training of
our three girls—as most parents do—and
in the simple, uninhibited thinking of a
child it seemed, I suppose, natural and
reasonable that God should help them. I
was, though, taken completely by surprise
and wondered whether perhaps it might
not be a sacrilege to pray for a ridgerunning horse to come home.
Grouped in a small circle, their little
heads close together, the girls prayed so
earnestly and so devoutly that I was almost
moved to join them had their request not
been so picayune and their cause so futile. I
was about to tell them that one doesn't ask
God for such things when, looking up, I
saw the little mare coming down ofl• the
butte on the run. She continued across the
flat at top speed, through the creek, and
into the corral where she stopped and
stood, blowing hard. The girls had ended
their prayers and were now up from their
knees and waiting for her.
To say that I was astonished would
simply be an understatement. My jaw was,
I am sure, hanging a bit as they ran
laughing and chattering across the yard to
the corral. Surely one of them would think
My guest, the father of three of the girls,
had joined us just before the praying
started and had witnessed this impossible
incident exactly as I have told it. He was a
good man, intelligent and successful, but
he had left the religious responsibilities of
the family entirely to his wife. The family
belonged to our church, and all attended
but him. He had no argument or bitterness;
but, up to this point, religion had had no
meaning for him. A practical man, a
JOAN WALTER
to circle the outside of the fence and shut
the pasture gate. But I shouldn't have
expected guile and innocence at the same
time. Did they approach the mare with
quieting words, perhaps holding the bridle
out of sight? They did not. They all ran
straight for her, arms extended, the bridle
dangling; and with loud cries of joy and
welcome they swarmed over her like bees.
She made no move to leave. After several
attempts she was bridled and, the gate to
freedom still open, was led forth to a
grueling afternoon.
As I watched, badly shaken, the full
impact of what I had seen hit me hard.
When the horse came, their prayer
answered, the girls made no comment,
were in no way surprised; theirs was
complete and total faith. Their only surprise would have been had the horse not
come. I decided right then and there that,
with the right brand of faith, we may have
anything we ask God for—unless of course
there are reasons God knows we shouldn't
have it.
realist, and a horseman of no mean ability,
he understood the stark unreality of what
he had seen.
I think I have never seen a man so
thoroughly awed and shaken. He turned to
me, his face white, and said, "It seems it's
not what you pray for but who does the
praying."
I'm sure he would have discounted the
story had it been told to him; but having
seen it, he could not forget it. He started
reading the Bible and soon after attended
services with his family. He has since held
several offices in the church. We have a
friendship of long standing, Jim and I; and
I believe there are few people possessed of
a more unshakable faith than his.
I have heard that God gets things done,
now and then, in strange ways. I can't help
believing that this is true, remembering the
day when six little girls on their bended
knees blasted every rule and every concept
of horsemanship learned or written by
those who live with and know the way of a
horse.
•
Turn Over a New Leaf and - -
LIVE
YEARS LONGER!
Harold Shryock, MD
January. Time for new resolutions!
How many times last year did you admit to yourself
that you ought to take better care of your health? Now
is the time to do something about it!
The Choice Is Yours
It is possible for a person to increase or decrease his
life expectancy by as much as 30 years. What makes
the difference is the pattern of life he chooses. We are
not talking about carelessly walking in front of a
truck. Careless living can shorten a person's life, and
careful planning can lengthen it.
How? Avoid customs and circumstances that reduce life expectancy and adopt a pattern of life that
promotes health.
The hard-driving, two-pack-a-day smoker who
lives constantly under stress, dwells in a city
apartment, and lets himself become overweight is a
sure candidate for early demise. A person who was a
frail child but who develops habits that promote
personal vigor, may well outlive his healthier relatives.
Convinced? What Next?
Many people are convinced that their health habits
are not good, but they keep on doing the same things.
What should you do?
Think, for a moment, about a successful politician.
Having won an election, he does
whatever seems necessary to keep
himself in office. And you should do
whatever is necessary to keep yourself
alive.
Don't wait to change your pattern of
living. Act now! If you are still young,
you may save all those 30 years. If you
are no longer young, you can still
retrieve some of them. The human
body has marvelous powers to rebound from abuse. An older person
cannot recover all the advantages he
may have squandered by careless
living, but every day he can salvage
some of his normal life expectancy and
have that much more time to live and
accomplish what he wants to do.
Turning Over a New Leaf
Every day, a diary-keeper turns the
page and finds a white sheet of paper
without any entries or blemishes or
mention of regrets. The year 1976 is a
new page. What will you write on your
new page, healthwise? What new
habits should appear? Which old ones
should not?
To change the figure slightly, I
propose three new "leaves" for your
consideration.
Leaf One
Lethargy Turned Over to Physical
Fitness. The human body was designed for activity. The power for
movement is provided by muscles.
Energy for the muscles is derived from
the food one eats, and this fuel material
is brought to the muscles by the blood.
As a person exercises, the demand for
energy increases, and the heart beats
more forcefully to propel greater
volumes of blood. Active muscles
require more oxygen to combine with
the food materials to make the energy
available. This oxygen is obtained
from the air taken into the lungs. So the
blood brings both food materials and
oxygen to the muscles.
The action of the muscles actually
helps to propel the blood through the
body. The arteries carry the blood
away from the heart. Once the blood
has served its purpose in the various
tissues, it is returned to the heart
through veins. Here the blood is under
very little pressure. But the veins
Harold Shryock proves his own point. He is
still vigorously active after retiring from the
faculty of Loma Linda University.
22 / Signs of the Times / January 1976
contain tiny valves to keep the blood
from flowing backward. When the
large muscles, like those in the legs
and arms, contract, they squeeze the
veins and move the blood on its way
toward the heart. Thus physical
exercise aids in the circulation of
blood.
All tissues and organs have reserve
capacities for work above and beyond
what they ordinarily accomplish.
Muscles increase in size and strength
when they are used actively for several
weeks. In response to exercise other
organs of the body are also forced to
increase their capacities. The heart
becomes able to pump more blood.
The lungs can now handle greater
volumes of air and thus deliver more
oxygen. Even the digestive organs are
stimulated by physical exercise so that
they become able to satisfy the increased demands for energy. Thus
exercise is a wholesome stimulant to
all tissues and organs.
As you turn over this first new leaf,
make sure that you no longer allow
yourself to be physically passive. Take
the stairs instead of an elevator. When
you need to go only two or three
blocks, walk, don't ride. Go to bed a
little earlier in the evening instead of
sitting up longer to watch TV. This
will give you time next morning for
some active physical exercise before
breakfast.
Leaf Two
Permissiveness Turned Over to
Wholesome Self-discipline. Certain
customs are taken for granted. Children do what they see their parents do;
neighbors follow the Joneses in their
community; and friends, when they
get together, do what their friends do.
But many popular customs need to
be reevaluated. Some are distinctly
detrimental to health. Eating excess
sugar is not good for the body. Unfortunately Americans crave
sweetened soft drinks, prefer breakfast
cereals coated with sugar, munch
candy bars between meals, and indulge generously in pastries and
desserts. Why? Because so many have
formed the habit; they prefer
sweetened foods and drinks.
However, it is almost as easy to train
the taste buds to enjoy the natural
flavor of foods not artificially
sweetened as it is to coach them to a
compelling demand for sweetness.
Sugar is only one of many American
indulgences. Alcohol causes at least
25,000 traffic deaths each year in the
United States plus damage to the liver
and other vital organs in countless
thousands of people. And the personality changes that occur in our ten
million confirmed alcoholics add up
to a terrifying total of human tragedy.
Cigarettes are responsible for the
death of more than 60,000 persons a
year in the United States by way of
lung cancer. They also hasten the time
of death of three or four times this
many people by increasing their
susceptibility to coronary heart disease and emphysema.
Year by year physicians are becoming more and more aware of the hidden
hazards of ordinary medicines. Even
the lowly aspirin tablet is coming in
for criticism. It is better to discover and
remove the cause of a headache than to
stifle the discomfort with a tablet.
Leaf Three
Discontent Turned Over to Optimism and Appreciation. One day
recently I was waiting my turn to be
checked out at a supermarket. The
market was busy and people were in a
hurry. Some checklines were moving
slowly. The atmosphere was tense.
Suddenly an elderly customer, a
man of foreign background, burst forth
with a solo performance of what may
well have been his national anthem.
He smiled as he sang and, presto, the
whole atmosphere changed. Everyone
was smiling.
The human body consists of a group
of various organs which relate to
themselves very much as people in a
group. The brain exerts the greatest
influence over the other organs. It not
only provides for a person's conscious
experiences but it dominates the socalled "autonomic nervous system" by
which the functions of all the body's
tissues and organs are controlled.
When a person is discontented or
downcast, his vital processes slow
down; they may even become disorganized. But when one's attitude is
cheerful, when he feels courageous
and optimistic, and when he manifests
appreciation for other people, a vitalizing influence emanates from his
brain to make all his organs function
effectively.
The Transformation
Now is the time to decide what you
will do to make your life more
healthful. Here are some suggestions:
1. Rise a few minutes earlier each
morning so as to have time for a short,
brisk walk, a short jog, or some
setting-up exercises. Follow this with
a hot shower topped off with cold
Studies show that the way
you live can lengthen -or shorten -- your life by as
much as 30 years!
D. TANK
water. The effect will be as stimulating
as a cup of strong coffee, and it will be
beneficial to your general health, not
detrimental.
2. Eat a good breakfast each morning
and abstain from the ten o'clock sweet
snack.
3. Eat simple, wholesome food at
every meal in preference to gourmet
fare.
4. Promote your physical fitness
rather than taking pain-relieving
drugs.
5. Develop attitudes of optimism
and appreciation so that you will not
need chemical tranquilizers.
6. If necessary, take a neutral shower
(at body temperature) before retiring.
Don't rely on sleeping pills.
How Is It Possible?
You are convinced—we hope—that
you ought to turn over a new leaf. But
you are the same person today as you
were yesterday. Inertia in your life
makes it difficult for you to change.
The tendencies which you inherited,
the customs you learned while a child,
the influences of your education, the
desire to be a compatible member of
your social group—all tend to hold
you where you are and to make it
extremely difficult for you to turn over
any new leaves.
But there is a source of help outside
yourself. The emphasis in this article
has been on your physical well-being.
It was noted, however, that your brain,
which is the seat of your intellect, has a
profound influence on other parts of
your body.
God is the Creator of your body and
of your brain. He wants you to be
healthy. The apostle John expressed
the divine sentiment when he wrote, "I
pray that you may enjoy good health,
and that all may go well with you, as I
know it goes well with your soul."
3 John 2, NEB.
Paul clarified the relationship
between one's religious attitudes and
his physical well-being: "Do you not
know that your body is a temple of the
Holy Spirit within you, which you
have from God? You are not your own;
you were bought with a price. So
glorify God in your body." "Whether
you eat or drink, or whatever you do,
do all to the glory of God."
1 Corinthians 6:19, 20; 10:31, RSV.
In the experience of religious
conversion a sinner accepts the divine
offer of salvation and trusts God for
help to put aside his former sinful
desires. Thereafter, love for God is the
motivating factor in his life. By relying on the same divine source, you may
turn those new leaves which will give
you better health and longer life. •
Signs of the Times / January 1976 / 23
SHOCK WAVES N
POLOGY
Harold W. Clark
During the seventeenth and
eighteenth centuries studies were
carried on regarding variations in
mankind—the science of anthropology. Georges Comte de Buffon
spoke of the likeness of man to the
apes. In 1809 Jean Baptiste Lamarck
declared that man had descended from
the apes. The nineteenth century saw a
remarkable development in anthropology. In 1830 the Danish
government created a commission to
study the refuse heaps and shell
mounds common in Denmark. In 1836
Christian Thomsen, Director of the
Danish National Museum, published a
proposed chronology of human
culture. He divided it into three
parts—stone age, bronze age, and iron
age.
The first discovery of ancient cave
life in France and Belgium in 1833
aroused great interest. At that time
much road building was taking place
in France, and workmen were finding
many flint artifacts in the gravels along
the rivers. Boucher de Perthes, a
customs official at Abbeville, near the
mouth of the Somme River, presented
to the scientific society at that city a
theory that these artifacts represented
ancient human occupancy of the
region. When Charles Lyell, of England, visited him and confirmed his
views, the science of prehistoric
anthropology was off to a flying start.
In 1856 workmen digging in a cave
beside the Diissel River, near Dusseldorf, Germany, found portions of a
Comfortably into his eighties, Dr. Clark
writes from his home in Calistoga,
California.
24 / Signs of the Times / January 1976
human skeleton. The face was long,
and above the eyes were strong brow
ridges from which the forehead sloped
backward. The top of the skull was
flattened. Since this specimen was
found in the Neanderthal Valley, it
was called Neanderthal Man.
From that time onward other
fragments of the same type were
discovered, until at present portions of
at least 100 individuals are known.
Anthropologists at first were hopeful
that Neanderthal would prove to be the
"missing link" between apes and men.
But recent studies have demonstrated
that some of the bones first described
were diseased and distorted. Eventually it became clear that Neanderthal
was not in the line of man's evolution,
and anthropologists continued their
search elsewhere.
About 1890 Eugen Dubois resigned
his position as lecturer in anatomy at
the Amsterdam University and enlisted in the Royal Dutch East Indian
Army in order to search for ancient
man in Southeast Asia. In 1894 he
reported the discovery in Java of what
he called Pithecanthropus erectus, the
erect ape-man. His reconstruction,
commonly called Java Man, was made
up from a skullcap, two teeth, and a left
thigh bone. The skullcap was small
and had a somewhat simian appearance. Much discussion over this
speciman was carried on for many
years, with no definite conclusions.
Meantime other finds accentuated the
problem of interpretation of
Pithecanthropus, as the new finds
showed considerable variation.
Specimens found near Peking resembled those found in Java, but were
more modern in appearance.
After 30 years of debate regarding
prehistoric man in Southeast Asia and
China, attention was directed to
another region. In 1924 Raymond Dart,
from the University of the Witwatersrand in Johannesburg, reported
the finding of a skull in a cave at
Taungs in Bechuanaland. He believed
it to be the skull of a young ape, whom
he named A ustralopithecus africanus,
the southern Africa ape. Much dispute
arose as to whether it was an ape or a
human being.
Later workmen found other fragments in several localities in South
Africa. Some were identified as A ustralopithecines. Others were heavier
and well within the range of modern
humans. Eventually these larger
specimens were called Homo erectus,
as they were believed to come from the
earliest humans to have learned the art
of standing erect. But a question much
debated was and still is, Was Australopithecus nearer to the apes or to
modern man?
By the middle of the present century
anthropologists had the situation well
in hand—or thought they had. Australopithecus was the oldest
"hominid," or ancient manlike creature. The more "advanced" remains
were Homo erectus, a name given not
only to the African specimens but also
to Pithecanthropus of Southeast Asia
and China. So the ancestry of man was
lined up as follows: (1) Some unknown
apelike ancestor, perhaps Proconsul or
Kenyapithecus, each represented by
only one fragmented skull; (2) Australopithecus; (3) Homo erectus; (4)
modern man. But the atmosphere of
complacency was not to last very long.
A great surprise lay in store.
Louis S. B. Leakey was a student at
Cambridge when interest in the South
African discoveries was at its height.
He became much interested in the
Evolutionists thought they had man's descent from
the apes neatly worked out. Then recent discoveries
sent shock waves through their theories.
Dr. and Mrs. Richard Leakey examine the femur and skull that sent shock
waves through the study of human ancestry. The bones were found in Kenya.
problem of ancient man. When he
returned to his home in East Africa, he
began a search for man-ape remains.
Eventually he became curator of the
National Museums of Kenya.
He selected Olduvai Gorge in
Tanzania as the most likely place to
find ancient remains. For 30 years he
and his wife Mary dug in the gravels
and volcanic deposits of this area. She
became an expert in excavation and
worked side by side with her husband
under the blazing African sun. They
spent weeks on some digs and found
bones of 150 species of animals. Some
crude tools were unearthed, but the
human remains they were hunting
eluded them.
Then in July 1959 Mary saw what
looked like human teeth projecting
from the earth. She summoned her
husband, and they exposed a jaw with
teeth. The work crew was set to
digging, and in 19 days they accumulated over 400 fragments of bone.
When assembled, they made a very
peculiar skull. In many ways it looked
like that of a man, but it had some
features shown by neither man nor
ape. Leakey named it Zinjanthropus
boisei. He was confident that he had
discovered the earliest man ever
found.
Specimens from the soil in which
the bones were taken were sent to
laboratories in New York for testing by
the potassium-argon method. The
results gave an age of 1.75 million
years. Anthropologists were startled
by the figures. The "oldest" bones in
the supposed line of human ancestry
had been dated at only about 500,000
years. But here was a primitive man, as
Leakey thought, over a million years
older than that. What would this do to
the question of man's origin?
UPI
(At this point let us pause to say that
most creationists do not acknowledge
the validity of these dates. Creationist
scientists have found so many discrepancies in the various methods of
age dating that they consider them to
be quite unreliable.)
The next year after finding Zinjanthrop us, Leakey uncovered portions of another skull in the same layer
but a few feet below it. It seemed to be
more modern in appearance. Here was
another problem. How could a more
modern type be below Zinjanthropus?
This new find was labeled Homo
habilis. So now there were three types
of fossil hominids—Australopithecus,
Zinjanthropus, and Homo habilis.
What should be done with them?
Leakey was unable to come to any firm
decision. However, recent reports on
fossil man state that Zinjanthropus is
now considered merely a variation on
Australopithecus, and Homo habilis is
reduced to the same status. That problem being out of the way, what next?
Signs of the Times / January 1976 / 25
Dr. L. S. B. Leakey, Richard's father,
measures a skull found in 1960. Said
to be 600,000 years old, it housed a
brain larger than a modern man's.
The next shock came soon. In August 1972 Richard Leakey, son of
Louis, gave news to the anthropological world that should have
shattered their confidence in all
theories of human origins. His workmen excavating near Lake Rudolf in
northern Kenya found bones that,
when fitted together, made a skull of
strikingly modern appearance. This
was described in the National
Geographic of June 1973. What set
anthropologists back on their heels
was the fact that dating material from
the site gave an age of nearly 3 million
years. In lectures in New York and
London the younger Leakey told of his
explorations. Many specimens of
Australopithecus were found in the
same strata with the new discovery.
Australopithecus and this modernappearing "man" were contemporaneous, he declared. The idea that
the Australopithecines were ancestral
to man must be carefully reviewed, he
said. "Either we toss out this skull," he
asserted, "or we toss out our theories of
early man." [Note: Richard Leakey
said that:"Toss out our theories of
early man." Harold Clark has been
saying it for fifty years. Ed.]
What have anthropologists done
about the problem? A review of the
latest publications on the subject show
something like this: Australopithecus
must be considered a dead-end race,
not an ancestor of modern man. And
Homo erectus, now including several
specimens from Africa, Europe, and all
the Pithecanthropoid types from
Southeast Asia and China are also
classed a terminal group. Add them, as
mentioned earlier, to Neanderthal.
Where, then, did modern man, Homo
sapiens, come from?
The best that Richard Leakey can
26 / Signs of the Times / January 1976
UPI
suggest is that the ape Kenyapithecus
(reconstructed from only a small
fraction of upper jawbone) lived on
earth 14 million years ago and is the
most likely ancestor of man. From 14
million to 3 million—with nothing
between—seems like a pretty wide
gap!
How can one who holds to the
validity of the Genesis record of the
Flood relate to these questions? In the
March 1970 issue of Creation Research
Society Quarterly Daniel Shaw, an
anthropologist, discusses the possibility that fossil man arose by degeneracy from the original creation.
People migrating out from a population center in small groups would
become geographically and genetically isolated, allowing for much
variation and genetic degradation.
Later migrants would then push the
earlier migrants farther into the
periphery.
It is a well-known fact that poor
nutrition may create deterioration in
human characteristics. Particularly
would this manifest itself in the development of embryos. Offspring
would be produced that showed
distinct inferiority. Disease would also
produce variations.
Much might be said about the different Stone Age peoples, which have
generally been assigned to periods of
several thousands of years ago. This
new dating poses a problem: Did the
Australopithecines actually make
tools or not? Or were they only a line of
apelike animals somewhat resembling
the human line? There is a great deal of
speculation on the part of anthropologists and students in related
fields, but little that can be concluded
definitely.
However, if we were to envision
man coming out of Noah's ark into a
world devastated by the Flood and
lacking almost everything that would
make civilization possible, we might
well expect him to seize upon the first
material available and shape crude
tools until he could find sources of
metal for making them. The long
periods of time assumed by the
evolutionary interpretation would be
unnecessary. Man could go through
the Stone Age into the Metal Age very
quickly.
It is a striking fact that in the excavation of ancient cities in the Middle
East there is evidence that as soon as
man settled down to a life of agriculture rather than hunting, the degenerate types quickly dropped out of the
picture.
If anthropology would follow the
Bible record of early man, there would
be a new understanding of the rise of
civilization. Is it not time for a new
look at the whole question of man's
origin and early history?
•
The Shepherd's Call
Jenny was tired of her home.
She lived in Scotland, and her father
was a shepherd. She used to enjoy
going out into the hills with him all
day and playing close beside him
while he cared for the sheep.
She used to be thrilled when Father
would call them to go home. All day
the sheep of many flocks would graze
together. Then in the evening each
shepherd would call, and his own
sheep would leave the flock and come
to him, and he would lead them to
their fold.
But calling the sheep wasn't exciting anymore. Sheep were a bore. Farm
life was wearisome. Father and Mother
were hopelessly out of date.
So one day Jenny left and went to
live in Glasgow. Young people could
have fun in the city.
Mother and Dad were crushed.
Jenny had been the light of their lives,
and now the light had gone out.
Mother sat about, inconsolable. Father
trudged to the hills every day with the
sheep as usual, but his feet were heavy
and the joy was gone.
Months passed. One day Father said,
"Mother, I'm going to find Jenny."
"But you cannot find her in that big
city!" Mother exclaimed. "And they
will make fun of you in your country
clothes. But I'll be praying all the time.
Tell her how much we want her back."
When Father reached the city, it was
far larger than he had ever imagined.
Mother was right. How could he
possibly find Jenny in so huge a place?
He went to all the inns, he visited the
police station, he stopped people on
the street. He asked them all the same
question, "Have you seen my Jenny?"
They shrugged their shoulders. No one
knew Jenny.
For days on end he searched. The
bustle and the noise confused him.
How much more pleasant it was in the
hills. But he wouldn't go home without Jenny. Mother would be disappointed.
ROBERTS
Your friend,
Evening drew on. It was time to call
the sheep. Acting on an impulse,
Father stepped into the street and put
his hand to his mouth. A long, haunting cry echoed off the grimy walls and
floated above the awful din. Curious
passersby turned and stared. Some
laughed. Some touched their heads
and winked.
Father paid no attention. He waited,
listening. Would Jenny hear? Would
she come? There was no answer.
He walked to another corner and
called, and walked on, and called
again, down into the most terrible part
of the city. Still there was no response.
In a dingy, dirty little room thick
with tobacco smoke and the smell of
old beer and unwashed bodies, a
teen-aged girl was playing cards. She
shuddered as a half-drunk man retold
a smutty joke. She didn't belong here.
She ought to be home. She wanted to
be home. But Dad wouldn't let her
come home. Neither would Mother.
She was sure of that. She had sinned
too much.
Suddenly, above the raucous
laughter came a strangely familiar cry.
She was about to deal a card when she
heard it, but her arm stopped motionless in midair. Then, dropping the
cards, she sprang to her feet and
dashed through the door. The players
tried to stop her, but she shook them
off. It was the shepherd's call! Father,
her own dear father, had come, and he
was calling her.
She could go home again. She could
see Mother again. She could sit with
Dad in the peaceful hills and watch the
sheep as she used to. She could pray
again and worship.
And there, look! There was Father
on the corner now. He had caught sight
of her already. His face was wreathed
in smiles. His arms were wide open to
receive her. She flung herself into
them. She was home. It was the best
place to be, after all.
Signs of the Times / January 1976 / 27
Your Bible Questions Answered / Ivan Crawford
FORBIDDEN FRUIT EXPLAINED
I am a student living in Uganda.
Was the statement of Satan in Genesis
3:5 true when he said that Adam and
Eve would, if they ate of the tree of
knowledge of good and evil, "be as
gods"? And what is the difference
between the tree of life and the tree of
knowledge?
J. N.
The Scripture account of the Eden
events is very brief, yet we can learn
much from it. We can see that God does
not want forced obedience. Above all
else He wants the heart, the willing
allegiance of every person. In order to
prove this willingness, man had to be
perfectly free, he had to have opportunity to choose, and he had to
have alternatives. This is where the
two trees came into the picture.
The tree of life perpetuated life, and
brought knowledge of good and
happiness. It kept man in open
communion with his Maker. While
eating of this tree Adam knew no evil.
He could not by personal experience
tell the results of an evil course, because he had never walked in an evil
course. He knew only the good; and, of
course, he knew the warning against
eating of the forbidden tree. Perhaps
he was like a child who is told not to
touch the stove or a bare electrical
wire.
Upon eating of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, Adam
and Eve knew in a very disastrous way
what they had only heard before—that
evil is the opposite of good, that evil
brings separation from God, and that
in disobedience to God's way they had
chosen themselves to be "gods" instead of their Creator. Thus, in a sense,
Satan's words were true—they became
"as gods, knowing good and evil."
And lest they remain eternally in this
hopeless state, God shut them away
from the tree of life. See verse 22. This
led to degeneration and death and to
the blight now seen upon all creation.
WHEN IS A PERSON?
At what stage is a fetus considered
to be a "whole" person? I know of a
28 /
Signs of the Times / January 1976
stillborn child that arrived seven
months after conception and was
given a Christian funeral. Will that
child be a "person" when Christ
comes? If your answer is Yes, what
would you say if the child had been
born at two months? Would your
answer be the same?
Name withheld
You have posed a question on which
the Bible is not explicit. However,
some observations may be noted from
which you may wish to derive an
answer. "My substance was not hid
from thee, when I was made in secret,
and curiously wrought in the lowest
parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see
my substance, yet being unperfect; and
in thy book all my members were
written, which in continuance were
fashioned, when as yet there was none
of them." Psalm 139:15, 16.
A fetus is defined as a young vertebrate after it has passed through the
embryonic stages—in humans after
three months. God knows all about our
"substance" even at the time of
conception, but does God recognize
this substance as a person while it is in
the embryonic or fetal stages? Church
dogma and medical ethics differ in
their pronouncements on this point.
Great emphasis is laid in Scripture
ro.
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94042.
on "the breath of life," and it is doubtful that Adam, before God "breathed
into his nostrils the breath of life"
(Genesis 2:7), could be called a person.
Some may argue that since the fetus is
oxygenated through the blood of its
mother, it has "the breath of life." Yes,
but this is primarily the mother's
"breath of life." For this reason many
would pronounce the child a person
only when it draws its own first breath.
The mother, however, who has for
some weeks or months felt life within
her may have already ascribed individuality to her unborn child.
It is hard for one expositor to be
conscience for his readers in matters
where the Bible is not explicit, and you
have not asked that I do this. Eternity
alone may provide the ideal answer.
WHICH BIBLE VERSION TO USE?
I am surprised to know that you are
advertising the new revised Bibles,
and that you do not give credit to the
King James Version when you use it.
Why? In Revelation 22:14, the RSV
says,"Blessed are those who wash
their robes." But the KJV says
"Blessed are they that do his
commandments." Also the RSV does
not call Mary a virgin. Don't you think
it should? And don't you think we
should use the right Bible?
A friend
It is true that publishers and authors
hold copyrights to most of the modern
versions and that we are required to
give proper credit to them when we
use their texts. These credits should
not be regarded as advertisements. The
King James Version, however, is in the
public domain and requires no such
credit lines. Moreover, most readers
recognize the wording of the old
familiar text, and they need not be told
which version is quoted.
In Revelation 22:14 the RSV uses
what the translators regarded as the
source that had the greatest weight of
authority. In it the Greek for "those
who wash their robes" is hoi
plunontes tas stolas auton. Compare
this with hoi poiountas tas entolas
autou, the Greek for "they that do his
BIBLE ANSWERS
If you have a Bible question you'd like help
with, send your question to
Ivan Crawford
Signs of the Times
1350 Villa Street
Mountain View, CA 94042
Please be sure to include your name and
address, as not all questions can be
answered in the limited space of these
columns. We regret we are unable to respond to requests for pen pals, sponsorships, or other forms of financial assistance.
commandments." One can easily
detect that some scribe not alert to the
slight difference made an error in
copying. As to which text is the more
authentic, one may form his own
opinion. Both passages can be supported by other scriptures.
The RSV does render the Greek word
parthenos "virgin" in Matthew 1:23,
but it uses the term "young woman" in
Isaiah 7:14 and it is justified in so
doing, for the Hebrew word almah has
reference to a young woman.
Your counsel concerning the use of
"the right Bible" is very timely, and we
do appreciate your concern. I believe
that great care should be used by those
who act as expositors of the message of
salvation. This fidelity cannot,
however, be achieved by blindly
embracing one particular version of
Scripture and making all others
anathema. Rather, whatever is
trustworthy and communicative
should be employed judiciously and
credit given for it.
IDENTITY OF JESUS' BROTHERS
My question is on a statement in the
August 1973 SIGNS, page 34. In
speaking of families, it states, "He
loves widowers so much that He chose
one who had been left with six children and gave him the blessed Mary
for his second wife; then He placed His
own little Boy in his care." Would you
please give me the Scripture reference
for this thought-provoking idea. I
seem to have missed it somewhere in
my reading.
R. R.
The idea that Joseph was a widower
and at the time of his betrothal to Mary
already had six children is not stated
in Scripture in so many words.
Nevertheless, the inference is there.
Jesus' brothers were'.
james, Joses,
Simon, and Judas. See Matthew 13:55.
There were also at least two sisters. See
Mark 6:3.
I am sure that you would agree that
Jesus was born of a virgin. Luke 1:27.
Therefore we are left with the choice of
one of two inferences: (1) that Joseph
had children by a former marriage; or
(2) that Mary had seven children, six of
them younger than Jesus.
John 19:26 lends support to the
former, where we find Jesus committing His mother to the care of John. If
the children mentioned by Matthew
and Mark had been sons and daughters
of Mary, custom would not have
permitted Jesus to choose someone
outside the family to care for His
mother.
Furthermore, Jesus' brothers acted
as older brothers. They showed a lack
of respect for Him that could not have
been possible in Eastern lands were
Jesus the oldest son. In Mark 3:21 His
friends (literally, those beside Him,
His brothers) interfered with Him. At
another time (John 7:3- 5) they spoke
taunting words that no younger
brother would ever have dared to use
toward an oldest brother, one who was
customarily his father's chief executive and who on his father's death
would become head of the family.
At this point you might wonder how
these children of Joseph could in any
sense be called "brothers" of Jesus.
The answer is that sonship in Bible
times, and even today in the East, is a
matter of status and not necessarily of
blood kinship. Thus an adopted child
could in some cases be counted as of
first importance. In some Eastern lands
cousins are called brothers, and halfbrothers and step-brothers are also
called brothers.
We all tend to see things in the light
of our own culture, but to me it is
evident that Jesus' brothers and sisters
were older, not younger, than He. •
Signs of the Times / January 1976 / 29
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I Have a Problem / DickWinn
SHOULD POOR PEOPLE TITHE?
What would you advise people on a
small fixed income to do about
tithing? I am on welfare, and I have a
child to raise. My house burned down
last week, and we lost everything we
had. It will be very hard for me to give
any large part of my income to the
church.
Too many persons miss an exciting
adventure with God because they
assume they must meet their needs
entirely from their own resources.
Jesus offers a bold alternative, almost
too good toibelieve.
He invites us to get to know Him and
His righteousness, and to build up His
kingdom. Then He promises to make
Himself accountable to meet our
needs! Now, that's a bargain! Our
needs will be met, not from our
poverty, but from God's infinite resources. You can read about this astonishing offer in Matthew 6:25-34.
We demonstrate that we are willing
to step out into this adventure of faith
when we return to the Lord a tenth of
His gifts to us. It is our part of the
partnership. It is our way of
acknowledging that all our income
came from Him in the first place, and
that we trust Him to make the remaining nine tenths meet our needs.
Our heavenly Friend understands
poverty. During His journey here on
earth He had no place to lay His head.
Matthew 8:20.
When we look at our pocketbooks,
we might all say, "How can I afford to
give?" When we look at the privilege
of partnership with God, we can all
say, "How can I afford not to give!"
The difference is the direction we are
looking.
makes it possible for me to go to
college. I'm sure the Lord wants me to
finish my training.
How many parallels can you find
between your situation and
Abraham's? You have the high goal of
finishing your professional training,
Abraham had the high goal of becoming the father of the child God had
promised him, and thus of a great
nation.
Abraham could choose between two
different ways to accomplish his goal.
He could choose God's way and remain faithful to his wife—a choice that
seemed to become increasingly futile.
Or he could depart from God's plan
and "help God out" with a few clever
ideas of his own that seemed to make
sense.
Just as you have done, Abraham
teamed up in a forbidden relationship
in order to accomplish a good goal. See
Genesis 16. The results? The children
of Ishmael and the children of Isaac
have been fighting each other ever
since. Our do-it-yourself methods
always come to grief in the end.
There are additional parallels
between you and Abraham. The same
Lord who commanded Abraham to put
away his forbidden companion now
commands you to put away your
forbidden relationships.
This last parallel can be the most
exciting. When Abraham saw the folly
of depending upon human methods
and came in helpless submission before the Lord, the Lord acted mightily.
The impossible happened, the great
goal was accomplished.
Your experience can end as victoriously as Abraham's.
30 / Signs of the Times / January 1976
Please give me Bible passages that
will help me decide for or against
cremation after my death. I do not
believe in elaborate, expensive
funerals. After all, when my breath
returns to God, my body is but an
empty shell, and I don't see the need
for costly preservations of the body.
Yet I don't want to be insulting to God
or appear unappreciative of this body
that He gave me. I know this is a
loaded question, but I need answers.
The Bible gives no clear-cut directives for or against cremation.
Burning the bodies of the dead is
sometimes reported in a negative light
in the Bible. For example, in Joshua
7:25 we find that after Achan and his
family committed a serious sin, they
were stoned to death and their bodies
were burned. In this setting, cremation
may be seen as an act of punishment.
By contrast, however, notice the
events in 1 Samuel 31:11 -13. King Saul
and his three sons had been killed in
battle. The Philistines made sport by
hanging the bodies on a city wall. The
men of Jabesh-gilead mounted an allnight rescue mission, retrieved the
bodies, burned them, buried the
remaining bones, and fasted seven
days. Their action was highly approved by the new king. David said,
"May you be blessed by the Lord,
because you showed this loyalty to
Saul your lord, and buried him!" 2
Samuel 2:5, RSV.
These two incidents can be interpreted as one vote "for" cremation and
one vote "against" it. Apparently there
is no essential principle at stake.
WHY ASK GOD?
A MATTER OF NECESSITY?
My father left my mother fourteen
years ago, and ever since then my
mother has been trying to support us
children. As you can guess we are
extremely poor. I will soon be starting
my second year of nurses' training,
and due to my great financial needs I
have become a high class call girl.
Now I want to stop this, because I
know it is sinful. But how can I? It
IS CREMATION CHRISTIAN?
Do you have a question? Let Dick Winn
help you. Write:
Dick Winn
Signs of the Times
1350 Villa Street
Mountain View, CA 94042
Please include your name, age, and address. We regret we are unable to respond to
requests for pen pals, sponsorships, or
other forms of financial assistance.
What is the use of asking God for
anything when He already knows
what we want? He knows what my
needs are better than I do, and He
blesses me a whole lot even when I
don't pray. I guess that's the main
reason why I don't pray anymore.
Somebody goofed when they told
you that praying means asking. Praying means talking—holding personal
conversation—with your best Friend.
It means sharing with Him everything
that is important to you. It means
consciously living your life alongside
His, with open communication.
Certainly, some prayers may include
asking. Ask for an appreciative and
thankful heart. See how many prayers
you can fill with praise and rejoicing to
your Friend for all the blessings He has
given you. Do some catching up and
thank Him for the blessings that came
that you didn't ask for.
Next, you can ask the Lord to give
you a deep love for the hurting, lost
people all around you. Then let your
prayers be filled with expressions of
commitment and surrender so that
Christ's love can flow through you to
these needy people.
Continue by asking for spiritual
eyesight (see Revelation 3:18) so that
you can see your true condition. Then
your prayers will flow with genuine
expressions of confession and repentance. You will praise God for His
willingness to forgive, and you will
cry out for His power to become more
like Christ.
Prayer is the language of heaven.
This means that it is a chance to learn
while still on this earth to speak the
very kinds of things that we will speak
when we get to heaven. When you sit
down next to Jesus on the big green
lawns of heaven and enter into a long
conversation, what do you think you
will talk about? Jesus would love to
hear you practicing that conversation
with Him right now.
basis of feelings. The Christian plan is
that certain emotions may come as a
result of our choices, but that these
choices must be made on the basis of
principle.
Paul describes mature people as
"those who have their faculties trained
by practice to distinguish between
good and evil." Hebrews 5:14, RSV.
This passage suggests that maturity is
characterized by making careful decisions based on a clear understanding
of right and wrong. This is the best
antidote for emotionalism.
Jesus says that the Holy Spirit leads
His people into truth. John 16:13. We
can feel very good about the truth; but
good feelings can also confuse the
truth. So can bad feelings. So we had
best try to set confusing emotions
aside to begin with and look at truth on
its own merits. Then when we have
grasped the truth, joyous emotions
will follow. 1 John 1:5.
•
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"How can I find meaning and purpose for
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WHAT ABOUT EMOTIONALISM?
What is emotionalism? How is it
different from the leading of the Holy
Spirit? Is it good or bad; and if it's bad,
is there an antidote?
Address
State or Province
City
Zip Code
Mail your application to:
Emotionalism is a word used to
describe an unnatural emphasis upon
the emotions. It suggests that a person's decisions are often shaped by his
feelings, or that emotions are the most
important factor in guiding one's life.
As such, emotionalism cannot be
healthy.
While the Bible is not against
emotions, it is certainly against our
making important decisions on the
SIGNS OF THE TIMES
VOP
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Mountain View, CA 94042
❑ Today I have followed the Scripture injunction and given my life to Jesus
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Consult your local listings and listen to "The Voice of Prophecy" radio program each
week.
Signs of the Times / January 1976 / 31
Your Health Questions Answered
Harold Shryock, MI)
SLEEPLESSNESS
I am 73 years of age and troubled
with sleeplessness. I have an aversion
for sleeping pills. Can you suggest
some way, other than taking
medicine, that will help me to sleep at
night?
You must recognize that there is a
great variation, from person to person,
in the amount of sleep required during
each twenty-four hours. If sleep does
not come, even when you allow
adequate opportunity for sleep, do not
worry over it. It may be that you are one
who does not require as much sleep as
many people do.
Two forms of "physical therapy"
help in promoting sleep. First, a
reasonable amount of physical
exercise. At age 73 you should not
expect to become an athlete. You will
doubtless benefit, however, by taking
daily walks of such duration and
intensity as come within your personal
limit of tolerance. If you are not accustomed to daily exercise, begin your
program of exercise gradually. Exercise has the effect of activating the
muscles, improving the vitality of the
heart and lungs, and making a person
mildly fatigued.
Second, most persons benefit by a
neutral bath or shower (equivalent to
body temperature) taken just before
retiring for sleep. The water should
feel neither hot nor cold, and the bath
or shower should last about twenty
minutes. The skin should then be
dried gently so as not to be too
stimulating.
Another important consideration is
one's mental attitude during the one or
two hours before he retires. One
should allow his thoughts to slow
down gradually by avoiding conversations, reading, or entertainment
that are exciting.
Even when following such a program as just outlined, there will be
times when a person who tends to
sleeplessness will find that sleep does
not come. Then he should direct his
thoughts along peaceful lines, avoid32 / Signs of the Times / January 1976
ing concern because he is still awake.
By a little self-discipline the sleepless
person may become so carefree that he
is sometimes in doubt as to whether he
is dreaming or meditating. This is a
favorable state of mind and partially
satisfies one's need for sleep. A
sleepless person should avoid consulting the clock during the night. Let
him remain in doubt as to how many
hours he sleeps or lies awake.
DIET PILLS
Is it dangerous to take "diet pills"
for the purpose of reducing weight?
There is a certain risk associated
with taking diet pills. There may be
unfavorable side effects. And the pills
may upset a person's endocrine system. You see, most diet pills act by
increasing the rate of a person's
metabolism. If diet pills are used, the
program should be under the direct
and frequent supervision of a
physician.
The safer method of reducing
weight is for the person to follow these
three simple rules: (1) Abstain from
taking any food or sweetened drinks
between meals. (2) Discontinue the use
of all candy and pastries. (3) Follow a
program of systematic physical exercise (within the tolerance of the individual's physical endurance) each
day for at least six days out of the week.
HIRSUTISM
I am 25 years old and the mother of
two children. Recently there has been
a growth of hair on my face, especially
on the lip and in front of the ears. One
of my friends says this may be caused
by something wrong with my glands.
But I seem to be in perfect health.
Please tell me what causes the excess
hair and advise me on what to do
about it.
A woman's tendency to excessive
hair occurs more frequently in some
families than in others. It is more
common in brunettes than in blonds.
The excessive hair often appears during pregnancy and increases with each
successive pregnancy.
In about 1 percent of cases the excessive growth of facial hair is caused
by some disturbance of the endocrine
glands. But in these cases there are
usually other telltale evidences such
as the development of certain male
characteristics.
There is no easy "cure" for excessive
facial hair. The usual procedure is to
remove the hair as it appears. The
simplest methods are shaving and the
use of depilatory wax. In either case
the hair continues to grow and the
removal must be repeated. Contrary to
popular opinion, these methods do not
cause the hair to become coarser.
More or less permanent removal of
superfluous hair can be accomplished
by the use of a galvanic electric current. This is a tedious process and
requires the services of a skilled
operator.
Depilatory creams that can be
purchased at a drug store are effective,
but they often irritate the skin.
HERPES ZOSTER (shingles)
I am suffering from shingles involving my right arm and hand.
Please give me information on the
cause and remedy.
The disease shingles (herpes zoster)
is caused by the same virus that causes
chicken pox (varicella). The virus
apparently lies dormant within a
person's body for several years after he
has had chicken pox and then, for
unknown reasons, becomes reactivated and causes the uncomfortable
illness we call shingles. In shingles a
certain skin area on one side of the
body, or head, becomes very painful,
and small vesicles (skin lesions)
develop in the painful area. There is no
completely satisfactory treatment.
Usually the illness runs its natural
course in a few days or a few weeks. In
occasional cases the involved area
remains painful for many months after
the skin lesions have disappeared.
Because the physician is unable to
shorten the course of the illness, he
directs his attention to relieving the patient's discomforts as far as possible. •
In the News /Jan Bristol
SCIENTISTS DEBUNK ASTROLOGY
Vol. 103, No. 1
January 1976
LAWRENCE MAXWELL EDITOR
T. R. Torkelson Associate Editor
Editorial Secretary
Arbie Kreye
Howard C. Larkin
Art Director
Design
Eric Kreye
A. R. Mazat Circulation Manager
EDITORIAL
Courage for the Bicentennial
ARTICLES
Grow Up Into Christ - 3
Ellen G. White
Mud Balls or Tulip Bulbs? - 6
Mabel Latsha
Messengers of Love - 8
Ernie Holyer
Rainbow Over My Shoulder - 11
Elisabeth S. McFadden
If You Agree - 14
Marjorie Lewis Lloyd
Message Between the Lines - 18
Desmond Ford
The Horse Came Running - 20
W. E. Bond
Live Thirty Years Longer! - 21
Harold Shryock, MD
Shock Waves in Anthropology - 24
Harold W. Clark
The Shepherd's Call - 27
Uncle Lawrence
REGULAR FEATURES
Your Bible Questions
Answered - 28
Ivan Crawford
I Have a Problem - 30
Dick Winn
Your Health Questions
Answered - 32
Harold Shryock, MD
In the News - 33
Jan Bristol
Astrology has been debunked in a
statement signed by 186 prominent
scientists, including 18 Nobel Prize
winners and many prominent astronomers or astrophysicists.
The statement reads in part: "We
wish to caution the public against the
unquestioning acceptance of the
predictions and advice given privately
and publicly by astrologers. Those
who wish to believe in astrology
should realize that there is no scientific foundation for its tenets." The
statement adds that the dissemination
of horoscopes and charts "can only
contribute to the growth of irrationalism and obscurantism. The
time has come to challenge directly,
and forcefully, the pretentious claims
of astrological charlatans."
FCC ASKED TO BAN TV DRUG ADS
Thirteen state attorneys general
have asked the Federal Communications Commission for limitations on
drug advertising.
Evelle J. Younger, California's attorney general, has petitioned the FCC
to abolish over-the-counter drug
advertising on television before 9 pm.
"Drugs are presented on television
as a cure-all for a myriad of problems,"
according to Younger. "Children are
unsophisticated television viewers
UPI
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SIGNS OF THE TIMES is printed and published
monthly (twelve issues a year) by the Pacific Press
Publishing Association at 1350 Villa Street, Mountain View, California 94042, U.S.A. Second-class
postage paid at Mountain View, California. Form
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Press and Religious News Service. Copyright, 1975,
by the Pacific Press Publishing Association.
Cover and Page 2, Eric Kreye
Recent attacks on President Ford have
resulted in unprecedented security
measures. Here a suspicious person is
arrested minutes before a Ford speech.
Increasing violence in today's world fulfills
Christ's prediction that before His coming,
conditions would be as they were in Noah's
day (Matthew 24:37), when "the earth" was
"filled with violence." Genesis 6:13.
and tend to be highly influenced by
advertisements. Acceptability of drugs
among young people is a contributing
factor in the level of drug abuse."
COFFEE CONSUMPTION TUMBLES
Coffee consumption dropped to a
24-year low in 1974—lowest since
reports have been kept. Americans
drank 2.25 cups per person per day,
down from the highwater mark of 3.13
cups in 1962.
Among all age groups coffee drinking declined after 1962. This was most
dramatic among the 15-39 age group.
Industry spokesmen concede that
scientific studies of coffee's harmful
effects and the recent emphasis on
natural foods may have motivated
people to drop the coffee habit.
CRIME EPIDEMIC SOARS UPWARD
FBI statistics for mid-1975 indicate
that the spiral of serious crime—
murder, rape, robbery, assault, and
theft—is still upward.
The rate of increase shows a slight
improvement. The mid-1975 report
has a 13 percent increase over mid1974 figures. Mid-1974 figures
showed a 16 percent rise over mid1973 statistics.
BOOM IN KIDNAP INSURANCE
Lloyds of London reports a
phenomenal worldwide increase in
the number of people and firms
securing kidnap insurance.
Kidnap insurance premiums currently are worth about 13 million to the
company. The recent demand for this
type of coverage has occurred despite
the fact that premiums have rocketed
upward by some 300 percent within
recent months.
SOUTHERN BAPTISTS UNRECEPTIVE TO "TONGUES"
The charismatic movement, which
has achieved either tolerance or acceptance in most major denominations
in recent years, is still at the "underground" stage among Southern
Baptists.
Southern Baptists, the nation's
largest Protestant denomination, have
traditionally opposed the movement
and its display of speaking in tongues
as well as its claims of healing and
other gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Editorial
COURAGE FOR THE BICENTENNIAL
1976.
America's Bicentennial year.
A flood of Bicentennial books, Bicentennial TV
programs, Bicentennial special editions, Bicentennial speeches, Bicentennial flags, Bicentennial
buttons, Bicentennial sweaters, even Bicentennial
bumper stickers proclaim the pageant of a nation that
grew to greatness on the philosophical proposition
that all men are created equal.
These two hundred years present a glorious record.
America has demonstrated freedom—to act, to think,
to speak, to believe, to carry out ideas—on a scale
unprecedented in human history. She has been the
hope of the oppressed and the envy of the affluent.
Dozens of developing nations look to her beginnings
for guidance and encouragement in their own
emerging struggles.
Unfortunately, while the drums beat and the
trumpets blaze away and the "historic minutes"
rekindle ancient fires, there is an uncomfortable
feeling that all is not well.
Crime is rampant. Inflation, unemployment, and
lengthening welfare rolls sap the economy. The great
grandchildren of the founding fathers are confused,
groping for .leadership, lashing out at the nation
begun in so much hope. Doomsayers draw strength
from evidences of mounting pollution, projected
energy shortages, and unseemly quarreling between
Congress and President.
There is growing apprehension that the nation so
nobly conceived and dedicated may not long endure.
For all the glories of the past, the present gloom was
predictable. The Bible contains a statement curiously
applicable to the present disillusionment: "Cursed is
the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his arm,
whose heart turns away from the Lord." Jeremiah
17:5, RSV.
No matter how good the Constitution or the Bill of
Rights, no matter how precisely balanced the three
branches of government, all who trust these to provide lasting peace and security are doomed to
disappointment. They may provide satisfactory
government for a while, when conditions are
favorable, but in time they will fail.
On the contrary, those who trust in the Lord have
peace and security no matter what the circumstances.
34 / Signs of the Times / January 1976
Approximately 1400 years before Christ the Israelites stood at the banks of the Jordan. Only the
water of the flooded river separated them from the
Promised Land. At that moment, Moses, who had led
them through the trials of the desert, died. The weeks
that followed were weeks of gloom, especially for
young Joshua. He had been called to leadership, but
who could fill Moses' shoes?
God let Joshua mourn forty days, then came to him
and said, "Moses my servant is dead; now therefore
arise, go over this Jordan." Joshua 1:2. God did not
overlook the nation's loss. In spite of that problem
Joshua would succeed, because God would be with
him. God made this beautifully clear. "Have I not
commanded you?" He asked His fainthearted leader.
"Be strong and of good courage; be not frightened,
neither be dismayed; for the Lord your God is with
you wherever you go." Verse 9, RSV.
Joshua took heart, rallied the people, and crossed
over into Canaan.
Some four hundred years later David faced Goliath.
Circumstances dictated defeat for the younger man.
Goliath stood nine feet tall, with a sword, a spear, and
a coat of armor ordinary men could not cope with.
David was totally untrained in warfare and clad in the
clothing of a shepherd. But God was with him. He
called to Goliath, "You come to me with a sword and
with a spear and with a javelin; but I come to you in
the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of
Israel, whom you have defied." 1 Samuel 17:45, RSV.
He ran forward, firing one smooth stone from his
sling, and the giant fell.
If ever there was a time for discouragement it was
the day Jesus bade His disciples farewell. Jesus
dispelled the gloom with the same comforting words
He had spoken to Joshua. He told the little band of
disheartened men they could evangelize the whole
world—because "I am with you always." Matthew
28:20, RSV.
"I am with you." No matter what good reasons there
may be for gloom this Bicentennial year, all will be
well for you, if your heart is right with God.
"Be not frightened, neither be dismayed; for the
Lord your God is with you." God's unshakable
promise. Trust Him, this year and always.
L. M.
A personal energy crisis? If you are, do
yourself a favor and pause a few moments to ask, "Why?" Has your supply been
overdrawn—through fatigue, dissipation,
dashed hopes, fears, whatever?
Here's good news! There is plenty of
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time. SIGNS OF THE TIMES is a carrier
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home each month during the next. twelve
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