word with all eagerness, and examined the scriptures, day after day, to find out whether all this was true.”—Acts 17:11, Knox.

52. As Jehovah’s witnesses, what fundamental things do we believe?

⁵² By those Holy Scriptures we, as Jehovah’s witnesses, believe that the first man sinned and brought death on the whole human family. But Jehovah God loved mankind and arranged for their redemption that they might gain life in the new world. He gave his Son Jesus Christ that the sin of the world might be taken away.

53. What witness do we give about resurrection and gaining or failing to gain life in the new world?

⁵³ From the Holy Scriptures we have learned and bear witness that the resurrection is one of the greatest doctrines taught in God’s Word, and that mankind now in the graves will be raised and given the opportunity for everlasting life, the little flock of Jesus’ faithful followers gaining life in heaven as Christ’s bride, and the rest of believing mankind gaining an inheritance in paradise restored to earth. Those who show love for God and seek to do God’s will faithfully will live for eternity. Those who refuse to follow God’s law will go into everlasting death.

54. What things should we seek before Armageddon, and why?

⁵⁴ The new world is just ahead of us. Before Armageddon we should seek righteousness and meekness that we may be hid in the day of the Lord’s indignation. Jehovah God is not angry with those who love him. He will express his anger against the Devil and his wicked demons and people on earth who serve the Devil. These the Seed of God’s woman will crush out of existence.

55. What book should we get, read and study, and why?

⁵⁵ Everything God has done he did out of love. He has expressed his purpose in the Holy Scriptures, and we can depend on his Word. The Holy Bible has been proved to be true thus far, and we can have faith in God’s promises for the future. To gain eternal life in happiness we must come to know the great Creator Jehovah God and his Son. That is why Jesus said to God: “Now this is eternal life: That they may know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3, Dy) Get a Douay Version Bible or a Knox Version Bible. Read it. Prove to yourself that what you have read here is Scripture truth. In love God preserved his Word, the Bible, for you. So read it. Learn of life and your opportunity for it, in proof that God’s way is love.

“He Done It”

● The following appeared in the New York Post, January 24, 1952: “Once again God must take the rap. In the aftermath of the West Frankfort mine disaster a jury has solemnly assembled, meditated, contemplated and brought in its unanimous verdict. God has been convicted. According to the jury the murder of 119 coal miners in West Frankfort must go down in the history books as ‘an act of God’. As Murray Kempton reported in this newspaper the other day, no one—government, coal operators, mine workers, or union officials—seemed prepared to look for any other culprit. It was so easy to blame God. After all, He couldn’t talk back. More reverent men might have hesitated to reach this verdict. They might have considered the guilt of congressmen who have stubbornly refused to pass a mine safety law. They might have weighed the responsibility of the coal operators who have tenaciously resisted mine safety legislation. They might even have studied the role of UMW officials who have always seemed more concerned with union politics than human safety. But all that would have involved many complicated problems. It was so much easier to blame God.”