-
Taking Liberties with the TruthThe Watchtower—1963 | May 15
-
-
against him.—Mark 12:17; Acts 5:29; Luke 23:2.
IN THE NAME OF SCIENCE
There is also much taking of liberties with the truth in the name of science, especially by evolutionists. Sweeping, groundless assertions are stated as facts regarding man’s origin and ascent or descent from the lower animals. A scientist who with righteous indignation comes to grips with this matter of taking liberties with the truth is Ivar Lissner, Ph.D., whose books have been published in fourteen languages. In his latest book, published in 1961, and entitled “But God Was There,”a he speaks of “the ineffable stupidity of all attempts to reconstruct Neanderthal or even Peking man. Exaggeratedly hirsute [hairy] plaster figures of bestial mien glower savagely at us in museums all over the world, their features usually chocolate-brown in color, their hair wild and unkempt, their jaws prognathous [sticking forward] and their foreheads receding—and this despite the fact that we have absolutely no idea what color Paleolithic man’s skin was or how his hair grew and virtually no idea of his physiognomy” or facial features. “The American authority T. D. Stewart rightly pointed out in 1948 the impossibility of reconstructing hair, eyes, nose, lips or facial expression. ‘The probabilities are that the expression of early man was not less benign than our own,’ he wrote.
“When a museum displays models of Peking man, Neanderthal man and modern Homo sapiens [man] side by side, it encourages a conception of physical and intellectual development which is not in accord with the views of contemporary science. Those who make such models tend to give their imagination free rein. . . . The exhibition of these half-human, half animal figures is symptomatic of the moral arrogance of our era and latently inspired by a smug feeling of ‘look how far we’ve come!’” In his book scientist Lissner shows that man at all times was far removed from the lower creation and at all times had some form of religion. In one of his closing chapters he therefore asks, “Why do we cling so stubbornly to outmoded theories? Why do we prefer to look for our origins in the animal rather than in God?” Obviously because they do not want to recognize the debt of gratitude they owe the Creator nor their need to be in subjection to him. They refuse to admit the truth that “Jehovah is God. It is he that made us, and not we ourselves.”—Ps. 100:3.
The foregoing illustrations, which could be multiplied many times over, certainly do incriminate certain ones of being guilty of stretching the truth, and that from motives that are suspect. Since this is so, the principle of caveat emptor, “Let the buyer beware,” is one that all should keep in mind when hearing or reading anything that claims to be the truth and upon which belief or actions are to be based. As the Bible, the Word of God, says: “Make sure of all things; hold fast to what is fine.”—1 Thess. 5:21.
-
-
Religious IdentificationThe Watchtower—1963 | May 15
-
-
Religious Identification
● The U.S. Census Bureau, in 1957, made some ambitious studies, finding that 96 percent of the people identified themselves as Protestants, Catholics, or Jews in response to the question: “What is your religion?” Yet the combined totals of all church membership figures indicate that some 68,000,000 Americans do not belong to any church or synagogue.—A Tale of Ten Cities, E. J. Lipman and Albert Vorspan, p. 316.
-