Hippies Who Have Found the Answers
WHATEVER happens to the hippie movement, several things are clear. The troubles that gave birth to it have not disappeared. They have grown worse. And the hippie movement has not brought true hope and happiness within its own ranks.
Yet, no one can deny that there is a great need for genuine peace, happiness and love for one’s fellowman. Honesthearted persons rightly want, and need, a much better world.
What are the answers? Should we try to reform this present wicked system of things? Should we work through political, economic and orthodox religions to try to ‘create a better world’?
These may seem like noble goals to you. But you can be assured that efforts along these lines will not succeed. Remember, such things have been tried for centuries by the “wisest” men this world has produced. Nearly every conceivable idea originated by men has been tried. The tragic conditions throughout the world cry out that they have not worked. All such ideas are now part of the huge wreckage pile of human failures.
The System with the Answers
However, there is a system of government that right now is bringing genuine peace to people from all races and nationalities! It is replacing prejudice and hate with equality and love. It is influencing persons from all walks of life to live together as brothers.
This new system is no part of the hypocrisy and lies of this world. It guides its subjects so that they are not trapped by materialism, while still providing decently for themselves and their families. And instead of family ties breaking down, it teaches them how to strengthen family ties with bonds of love and mutual respect.
In addition, this extraordinary government has the power, the right, and the determination to wipe out all that is wrong. It is certain to bring about a completely new order where peace, justice and brotherly love will be the rule. In that new order extremes of rich and poor will disappear. Sickness and death will be wiped out, never again to plague mankind. And the literal earth will even be made a paradise for all to enjoy.
“Is such a system of government possible?” you may ask. Not only is it possible, but whether you realize it or not it is already in operation! Those who come under its rule are learning the right answers to the many problems plaguing mankind today. Millions of persons, including many hippies, are now learning these answers.
HIPPIE GIRL FINDS ANSWERS
A girl deeply immersed in the hippie movement tells how she found the answers to the troublesome questions of our day. She writes:
“One day one of Jehovah’s witnesses called and left some literature explaining the Bible. She arranged to call again. But I was not at all interested in the Bible. As far as I was concerned, her religion was like all the others that I had investigated in college and found to be simply traditions that men had made up.
“Well, I could hardly believe it, but this Witness had the answers right from the Bible for every question of mine. However, I told her that I didn’t believe the Bible, so she showed me why the Bible is true. She showed me such things as recent archaeological discoveries, confirmation that the account of Noah and the Flood were true, also prophecies about our day and others such as those about the life and birth of Jesus, and how all these were fulfilled.
“I tested her by having my ‘guru’ sit in on the discussions one night, and also a Black Muslim friend of mine. Throughout it all, her sincerity was pure and her faith unshakable. She was no phony, as were so many other persons I had known. This was what I saw in her and the other Witnesses I met later. You could see she really felt love for us. Believe me, that is rare in the environment such as I was in, which was without natural affection. And the complete impartiality she showed to all my friends without judging them or being scornful made it obvious that Jehovah’s witnesses were not prejudiced.
“All these things whetted my curiosity and helped me to continue studying the Bible, even when ridiculed by my friends and scorned by my relatives. But, as the Bible says, ‘by their fruits you will know them.’ It was certainly true that Jehovah’s witnesses lived what they preached. No one else did that! Certainly not the ‘flower children’ with whom I had associated.
“After several months of study, I left the hippie environment. I could see that they did not have the answers, although many sincerely were searching for them. I am now making a new life. There is a change in me that I never dreamed possible.
“I have constantly in my heart the message that has stuck with me from the beginning of my studying. What is that? It is the scripture recorded in the Bible at John 8:32, which says: ‘You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’”
HIPPIE COUPLE FINDS ANSWERS
A couple in California had been hippies for years, the man being “hooked” on methedrine. He explains:
“We’ve found something better. One night a couple came to the door. They were Jehovah’s witnesses. What they said began to make sense. I had tried all the [orthodox] religions to some extent. I found what they taught was shallow.
“The Bible answers all questions. The Scriptures now make sense to me and I’m learning more every day. . . . The Bible makes clear what man’s purpose on this earth is.
“As I began to learn more about the Bible and more about the Witnesses, I began to realize that they have a genuine love for people. Honestly, my hippie life—a real experience—made me appreciate Jehovah’s witnesses all the more.”
This couple continued to make fine progress in their search for the truth. Like the girl noted previously, they became convinced of the answers, and are now helping others to learn them.
SUICIDE NO ANSWER
A hippie couple living in a resort area in the western part of the United States was called on by Jehovah’s witnesses. One of the Witnesses writes:
“This being a tourist area we have many hippies around, especially in the winter. We have found many that have become interested in the real peace taught in the Bible. One was a married couple.
“This couple was very despondent. After talking to them for a while we found that they, and others like them, were searching very hard to find out why world conditions were the way they were.
“Not knowing the Bible answers, the couple had turned to LSD, marijuana and other drugs. They also turned to the ‘Ouija’ board for answers. The board told them that they should kill themselves!
“Not wanting to live in this perplexed world any longer, they decided to take their lives. They were afraid to die but thought it was the only way out. They decided to take a large bottle of aspirin. They each took half the bottle and laid down on the floor to die.
“But they did not take quite enough. The next day they woke up very sick and not being able to hear. This was all such a horrible experience that they did not want to try it again. At this time the woman decided to pray to God ‘if there was one.’ She prayed for Him to show them the answers to the many questions that troubled them.
“They were called on the next day by Jehovah’s witnesses. They immediately took to the Bible truth, studying almost every night. They changed their lives completely and were baptized at an assembly later.”
“CHAIN REACTION”
Another hippie, a young man living in Ohio, attended an assembly of Jehovah’s witnesses. The person familiar with the experience tells about it:
“He was obviously identified with the ‘hippie’ movement, fully in harmony with the philosophy of rebellion against society. Immediately after his attendance at the assembly, a Bible study was begun with him and he began attending the meetings of Jehovah’s witnesses at the local Kingdom Hall.
“Soon, he had shaved, cut his hair, and gotten his suits out of mothballs. By that time he was convinced thoroughly of the Bible’s authenticity, and that if anyone taught the truth of the Bible it was Jehovah’s witnesses.
“The results during this period of time have been a chain reaction that has resulted in eight new Bible studies, all with young people. Another young man attended an assembly to see what could possibly have caused such a radical change in the first man. He too had hair down to his shoulders, a full beard, and a typical hippie style of dress.
“He was favorably impressed at the assembly with the way he was treated and by the information he heard. He immediately began studying with the Witnesses and attending every meeting of the local congregation. He also recognized that much in Christendom was not Christian.
“In two months, the clarity of Bible teachings caused him to shave his beard, cut his hair, and clothe himself in an appropriate manner. And through his activity, four Bible studies have been started with young people.”
These experiences are not unusual. Others like them come to our attention regularly. Of course, since we have highlighted the hippie movement in this issue of Awake! we have confined the experiences to some who had been hippies.
However, persons from all walks of life, from all races and nationalities, are learning of the Bible’s promises. They are finding the answers. They are learning of that new government that is having such a profound influence for good in the lives of people today, and that will usher in a completely new order for all the earth soon.
God’s Word the Bible tells us about this government. It is the government that Jesus Christ told his followers to pray for when he said: “Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.” (Matt. 6:10) God’s kingdom is a real government established in heaven. And all the evidence in fulfillment of Bible prophecy shows that it is already operating, directing its attention to earth.
Kingdom to Crush Wickedness
It is not God’s purpose to have his heavenly government convert this wicked system of things. Instead, the Bible foretold: “In the days of those kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. And the kingdom itself will not be passed on to any other people. It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms, and it itself will stand to times indefinite.”—Dan. 2:44.
This crushing blow will accomplish two major things: it will rid the entire earth of every person and every thing that is bad; but it will preserve those honesthearted persons who do what is right in God’s sight. The Bible shows: “The upright are the ones that will reside in the earth, and the blameless are the ones that will be left over in it. As regards the wicked, they will be cut off from the very earth; and as for the treacherous, they will be torn away from it.”—Prov. 2:21, 22; see also Zephaniah 2:3.
Then, God’s kingdom will be the only government. It will be in complete control of the entire earth. It will usher in a new order that will see the fulfillment of this grand promise: “[God] will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be any more. The former things have passed away.”—Rev. 21:4.
Gigantic Teaching Program Under Way
When on earth, Jesus Christ spoke a prophecy about a worldwide preaching work: “This good news of the kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations; and then the end will come.”—Matt. 24:14.
In harmony with this, hundreds of thousands of people throughout the earth are learning about God’s kingdom. They are lining up their lives with its requirements, becoming its loyal subjects. In more than a million homes in 203 lands and islands Jehovah’s witnesses are having weekly Bible studies with interested persons.—Isa. 2:2-4; Matt. 6:33.
This Bible-study program is of gigantic magnitude and growing rapidly each year. It is by far the largest such program in the history of the world. But then, this was to be expected. Did not Jesus say that the good news about God’s kingdom would have to be preached earth wide before the end came?
One of the aids that Jehovah’s witnesses have found so valuable in assisting others to understand the Bible is the 192-page book The Truth That Leads to Eternal Life. Published in dozens of languages, it has already had the widest distribution of any Bible-study aid in history. In fact, according to a published report about “best sellers” in the Western world, it has become the “best seller” of any book in all history for the length of time that it has been distributed! Over 23,000,000 copies have been published in about a year and a half!
In addition, among other literature, Jehovah’s witnesses printed more than 325 million copies of their magazines in just the past year. These call attention to God’s kingdom, The Watchtower being published in seventy-two languages, and Awake! in twenty-six. The printing of these magazines increased more than 50 million over the previous year!
What effect is this gigantic Bible educational work having? In just the past year over 120,000 persons took up the work of teaching others God’s purposes! These new ones joined the one and a quarter million of Jehovah’s witnesses already teaching the Bible. This amazing increase of Bible teachers comes at the very time that the ranks of Christendom’s clergy are decreasing due to clergymen quitting and a constant drop in seminary enrollment.
Are you acquainted with God’s marvelous remedy for the many problems facing mankind today? Do you sincerely yearn for true peace and happiness, perfect health and eternal life on a paradise earth? If so, then you will want to learn about the Bible’s promises.
Jehovah’s witnesses will be happy to use their time free of charge to show you how to get the right answers from your own Bible. For about one hour a week, over a six-month period, they will call on you to share with you the knowledge of what God is doing now and will do in the future for mankind. Write the publishers of this magazine, or contact Jehovah’s witnesses at a Kingdom Hall near you and a qualified Bible teacher will be sent.
In this way you can join the swiftly growing number of people all over the world who have come to appreciate the urgency of the times. You will then fully understand what the Bible means when it says: “The world is passing away and so is its desire, but he that does the will of God remains forever.”—1 John 2:17.