Watching the World
Quest for Spiritual Enlightenment
“As the end of the century approaches, the British are searching for something spiritual in their lives, to judge by their appetite for books about faith, the occult and the supernatural,” says The Times newspaper. According to a study appearing in Cultural Trends, the number of books with religious titles has risen by 83 percent in the past five years and those on New Age and the occult by as much as 75 percent. Contrastingly, the number of science books published has fallen, with those on chemistry and physics decreasing by 27 percent. Reflecting on these statistics, Sara Selwood, editor of the report, suggested that “towards the end of a century, people become more introspective and wonder what it’s all about.” Then why have atlases and books on geography increased by 185 percent? It may suggest “a need for escapism,” she said.
Religious Freedom Violated in Europe
The International Helsinki Federation “has charged 19 European countries with violating religious freedoms,” reports the magazine Catholic International. The federation noted that pressure against religious minorities has been especially strong in Orthodox countries. In addition, several European Union member states are “drafting laws to strengthen the status of traditional faiths while restricting smaller groups like [Jehovah’s Witnesses],” the magazine stated. The federation’s director, Aaron Rhodes, added: “Western societies show signs of being stampeded by fears of a ‘sect invasion’ into clamping down on religious minorities. The situation will deteriorate until people come to see freedom of belief as part of a set of values and rules which must be upheld equally for everyone.”
“Theology of Prosperity”
Quoting Lutheran theologian Wanda Deifelt, the ENI Bulletin states that “traditional Protestant churches in Latin America are being ‘eclipsed’ by new, fast-growing religious movements preaching a ‘theology of prosperity.’” According to Deifelt, Brazil’s Pentecostal and charismatic churches now have “two or three times more members than the traditional mainstream churches.” The “theology of prosperity” promises believers “immediate rewards for financial contributions to the church,” she said. “A prayer to God is almost like a business transaction . . . If I give something to God, God has to give something to me.” The movements recruit members from among Brazil’s poor. Why do followers remain when the promised prosperity does not occur and it is the church leaders who are benefiting the most? Says Deifelt: “The most common approach is to have two [religions] to make sure that if one doesn’t work, the other will.” Besides, “they talk the language people understand, and say what people want to hear.”
Check Video Games
“Parents are being taken for idiots,” declares the French newspaper Le Figaro. Why? Because most are apparently unaware of the contents of video games for youngsters. For example, the aim of one game is to torture the enemy, the aim of another, to run over pedestrians. One of the most successful games in recent times features ten hideous ways to torture women. Le Figaro encourages parents to undertake “a detailed inspection” of their children’s games to uncover the “hidden barbarity,” which so often exists. Agreeing “to buy what youngsters ask for with eyes closed is becoming increasingly dangerous,” says the paper. It also raised this question, “How much nerve does it take to go on about human rights when we let the shelves fill up with things that so openly flaunt those rights?”
“The Overlooked Helper”
An important factor in the healing process of hospital patients has long been neglected, says the German journal Psychologie Heute. It is the patient in the neighboring bed. A study showed that having a fellow sufferer nearby helps therapeutically and that, contrary to popular belief, only a minority of all patients, about 7 percent, want to be alone. Most like to share their hospital room with one or two patients. However, the type of individuals they are makes a difference. The ideal roommate “should first and foremost be sociable and tolerant,” the article said. The following desirable qualities were listed in order of importance: “understanding, humorous, clean, open-minded, helpful, considerate, orderly, friendly, honest, neat, balanced, patient, discreet, kind, quiet, intelligent, flexible, and alert.”
Dangers of Too Much Exercise
While exercise is good for the heart and lungs, too much exercise can weaken bones, leading to problems in later life. That is what was reported at a conference dealing with the impact of exercise on the human skeleton, according to The Guardian of London. Runners and those “in the pursuit of supreme fitness” were at greatest risk. Young women who participate too often in aerobic or dance classes experience more stress fractures and are said to risk suffering from osteoporosis when they are older. “Athletes were warned that they only had until the age of 18 or 19 to strengthen their bones before they started becoming weaker with time,” the article said. “Squash and tennis were identified as the best sports to play to increase bone strength.” Michael Horton, head of the University College of London’s bone center, advised striking a proper balance between exercise and health. He warned: “The Government keeps saying that young people should do lots of exercise. It may have a benefit for a while, but no one has thought what the end result is going to be when these young people reach the age of 50.”
A Weight Problem
Since the late 1800’s, Le Grand K, a platinum-iridium cylinder about the size of a film canister, has been the world’s standard measure of a kilogram. Even the U.S. pound is based on it. However, scientists are concerned that the mass of this cylinder seems to be changing. Housed under three bell jars and locked in a safe in a suburb of Paris, France, the cylinder has been taken out only three times in a century. The journal Science reports that after the most recent occasion, scientists “concluded that its mass was drifting by less than 5 millionths of a gram per year.” This tiny difference—probably a gain—may be attributable to contaminants that build up on the object’s surface despite cleaning procedures. Today’s technology demands increasingly precise measurements. Space travel, for example, depends on atomic clocks that lose only one second in 1.4 million years. Thus, scientists are debating ways to base the kilogram on an even more reliable standard. However, notes Science, this may require “a level of precision that will force scientists to worry about effects as small as missing atoms.”
No Cold Cure?
After ten years of research costing £5 million ($8 million), Britain’s Common Cold Centre has finally admitted defeat. With more than 200 different viruses that cause the common cold, trying to find one cure for the cold is “like trying to cure measles, chickenpox, mumps and rubella all at once,” comments Professor Ronald Eccles, director of the center at the University of Wales, Cardiff. “I don’t foresee a cure in which we eradicate all the viruses. I think the best we can hope for is to live at peace with it.”
What Mitch Accomplished
Although Mitch, last year’s devastating hurricane, left thousands dead in its wake and affected approximately one million people, it did have one positive aftereffect. It helped archaeologists who were excavating the ruins of León Viejo, Nicaragua—some 50 miles [90 km] northeast of the capital—by “exposing new walls, bones, and archaeological pieces,” reports the newspaper Excelsior, of Mexico City. Rigoberto Navarro, director of the León Viejo Ruins Historical Site, explained that Mitch washed away the earth and uncovered a site for which the archaeologists had unsuccessfully been searching for a long time. A wall 8 feet [2.5 m] high, 30 inches [70 cm] wide, and 300 feet [100 m] long was left exposed. According to Navarro, “the hurricane did in three days what archaeologists would have taken years to do,” the paper stated.