Pastoral Bible Institute News

PBI Annual Report

The past year has been another blessed one in the Lord’s service for the Pastoral Bible Institute. Over the 79 years of its existence, the PBI has sought to meet its primary purpose of strengthening the hands of the brotherhood. The chief tool to this end has been The Herald magazine. The journal has now entered its eightieth year of continuous publication.

Judging from the responses we receive from readers, there continues to be high appreciation for the thematic approach of The Herald. This approach will continue at least for the remainder of this year.

Each issue also continues to carry a wide assortment of current events in our News and Views section, as well as news from the Institute, letters to the journal, and frequent book reviews. Reader response has been positive for the continuation of this feature.

While our subscription list remains modest, somewhat less than a thousand subscribers, we hope to increase that number in the coming year. To that end we are planning a full page ad in Christian History magazine. We also want to encourage our subscribers to either recommend or enter subscriptions for acquaintances who may benefit from the message of the journal. The magazine continues to also be available on audio cassette tape and over the internet on our web page at www.heraldmag.org.

We plan to offer a computer CD-ROM with a large selection of past articles from the pages of The Herald as well as all the writings of Pastor Russell and several dozen other books and papers by Bible Students. It will be titled, "The Bible Students Library" and will be available by the first of the year.

Another aspect of the Institute’s work has been in the publication of books and booklets. The book "The Revelation of Jesus Christ" by former editor R. E. Streeter has been joined this year with the republishing of another book by the same author, "Daniel, the Beloved of Jehovah."

In the area of booklets, the directors of the Institute have decided to distribute what they judge to be the best booklets on various subjects regardless of publisher. This has seen the offering of several new booklets during the past year and we anticipate there will be others in the future.

We continue to look forward to being of service for the encouragement and upbuilding of the household of faith. We welcome constructive criticism and input from all our readers that the work of the Lord may be carried out in a manner that brings honor and glory to the name of our Father in heaven.

The Directors of The Pastoral Bible Institute

Letters

Perhaps this has been sent to the wrong address. If so, I truly apologize for any inconvenience it causes you. The brain is certainly an awesome mechanism, but forgetfulness seems to have overtaken me to some degree. Since we are so far from the perfection our first parents enjoyed, I do believe this condition is normal since we are told that even the dear apostles forgot! (Matt. 16:5; Mark 8:14) Notice how our Lord comforts and encourages us in ALL things! And we know that His grace is proportionate to our short-comings! Blessed Savior!

Things are moving so rapidly among the nations now—all according to His perfect will and way. It is thrilling to witness God’s glorious plan and to think on the marvelous future prospects which lie ahead for the unending ages.

Leonora H. DeShane, Tennessee

Around the World

The risks of kidnapping of executives working abroad is increasing, according to recent security publications. In Central and South America, in South Africa, Yemen, Nigeria and Somalia, kidnapping has increased substantially in the last year. Serious problems are emerging in Russia and the commonwealth of Independent States. The worst affected region is the northern Caucasus, where there were 800 kidnappings last year. The style of kidnapping varies between regions. In some countries, people are released quickly; in others, such as Colombia, the average length of incarceration is 11 to 14 months, and can last three years. Ransoms are paid in a very high number of incidents.

—Financial Times, 6/30/98

About a dozen graves have been vandalized at a Jewish cemetery just outside Moscow. Reporters saw tombstones defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti. A white-spray inscription on one of them said: "Death to Jews!" The cemetery is run by a Moscow synagogue which suffered serious damage in a bomb attack last month. President Boris Yeltsin warned in a radio address that a worrisome neo-Nazi trend was emerging in Russia and urged Russians to prevent its spread. "We are very grateful to the president for a call to act against the spread of neo-Nazism. But so far there is no action," Rabbi Berel Lazar of the Marina Roshcha synagogue told Reuters Television. The hardships of economic reforms launched after the communist super-power collapsed in 1991 and a lack of liberal traditions have created conditions for ultra-nationalism to prosper and radical groups, including neo-Nazis, to flourish. The foreign community in Moscow has been alarmed by a series of recent attacks on people of African and Asian origin, and over the years since communism collapsed, the rise of some far-right politicians has raised fears of an ultra-nationalist regime.

—Reuters, 6/29/98

Israel

The US will not be able to continue its support of Israel in the United Nations, and Washington has Middle East interests other than Israel, Ma’Ariv reports US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright as telling PM Benjamin Netanyahu during a telephone conversation. Albright reportedly said the US would probably not be able to veto UN Security Council decisions regarding Israeli plans to expand the boundaries of Jerusalem. "Israel is not the exclusive American interest in the Middle East," she is quoted as telling Netanyahu. Ma’Ariv notes that, according to political observers, Albright’s statements were unprecedented, and were partly due to Washington’s declining status in the Arab world. At the same time, Albright has apparently asked PLO Chairman Arafat to stop recent PLO activities at the United Nations. The PLO is attempting to have its observer status upgraded to that of a near-state, a move Israel calls a clear violation of the Oslo accords.

— IC Eastern Journal, 6/29/98

A delegation of the Vatican visited the PLO Authority (PA) autonomous areas and met with Yasser Arafat. The delegation, led by Vatican Undersecretary of State Monsignor Celestino Mighore, participated in the second of the Holy See-PA joint committee which is working to negotiate an agreement between the two sides. The first meeting took place in the Vatican in April. Mr. Arafat has held six meetings with Pope John Paul II, who has spoken out often on the need for Israel and the PA to push ahead with peace.

— Israel Wie, 6/29/98

Discovery of 2,000-year-old cave burials in Israel is lending credence to the legend of the Maccabees, a tribe of Jewish warriors whose revolt against Syrian kings is celebrated in Hanukka festivals. Road work northwest of Jerusalem uncovered the cave containing 24 ossuaries, or stone boxes containing the bones of the dead. Inscriptions on the ossuaries indicate the name of one of the clans of the Maccabees. This find is the first physical evidence of the Maccabees, known previously only through ancient Jewish writings.

—The Missing Link, The Journal of Topical Anthropology [date unknown]

In a gesture of support for the Palestinians, Egyptian Foreign Minister Amr Mussa said that Egypt headed the list of countries that support the declaration of an independent Palestinian state. Mussa told the pro-government Egyptian weekly magazine Al-Messawer that he expects Palestinian President Yassir Arafat to declare a state according to the timetable agreed upon with the Israelis in the Oslo accords five years ago, which is the end of talks on final agreement in May 1999. "There is no way that the Palestinians will be deprived of this legitimate right," he said.

—Associated Press, 6/24/98

Israeli security sources are reportedly concerned by Russia’s recent sale of Cornet AT-X-14 anti-tank missiles to Syria. The missiles are a significant improvement to the capabilities of the Syrian army. The Syrians reportedly purchased 1,000 Cornets, which have a range of 3.5 miles. The sale ends a nine-year hiatus in weapons transfers between the two countries, and is an example of what appears to be new Russian assertiveness in exporting arms to the Middle East. Both Iran and Iraq are potential recipients of Russian weaponry

—Jane’s Defense Weekly, Ha’aretz

The Arab League strongly condemned Israel’s plan to extend Jerusalem municipal boundaries. Representatives of 22 Arab countries agreed to undertake international moves to put pressure on Israel to reverse the plan. Palestinians demand that East Jerusalem, occupied by Israel in 1967, become the capital of their future state. But Israel, saying that Jerusalem has a special status in Jewish religion, must remain as its "united and eternal capital." Arab League Secretary-General Esmat Abdel-meguid said he expected nations to pressure Israel not only through statements, but also by taking concrete measures "to deliver a message to Israel that its policies are rejected and it will face a lot of problems on the international level. If [Netanyahu] is asking for violence, he will face it." He added that Arab countries are now seriously considering renewing tight economic boycott measures against Israel.

— Deutsche Press Agentur (DPA), 6/25/98

Islam

Editor’s note: In view of the peace discussions going on between the PA and Israel, we thought it might be helpful to publish excerpts from the PLO Charter which is so controversial. Yasser Arafat has refused to delete these passages from the charter saying that it really doesn’t apply. Words in bold are the sensitive parts Israel wants deleted.

Article 19: The partition of Palestine in 1947 and the establishment of the state of Israel are entirely illegal, regardless of the passage of time, because they were contrary to the will of the Palestinian people and to their natural right in their homeland, and inconsistent with the principles embodied in the Charter of the United Nations, particularly the right to self-determination.

Article 20: The Balfour declaration, the mandate for Palestine, and everything that has been based upon them, are deemed null and void. Claims of historical or religious ties of Jews with Palestine are incompatible with the facts of history and the true conception of what constitutes statehood. Judaism, being a religion, is not an independent nationality. Nor do Jews constitute a single nation with an identity of its own; they are citizens of the states to which they belong.

Article 21: The Arab Palestinian people, expressing themselves by the armed Palestinian revolution, reject all solutions which are substitutes for the total liberation of Palestine and reject all proposals aiming at the liquidation of the Palestinian problem, or its internationalization.

Article 22: Zionism is a political movement organically associated with international imperialism and antagonistic to all action for liberation and to progressive movements in the world. It is racist and fanatic in its nature, aggressive, expansionist, and colonial in its aims, and fascist in its methods. Israel is the instrument of the Zionist movement, and geographical base for world imperialism placed strategically in the midst of the Arab homeland to combat the hopes of the Arab nation for liberation, unity, and progress. Israel is a constant source of threat vis-à-vis peace in the Middle East and the whole world. Since the liberation of Palestine will destroy the Zionist and imperialist presence and will contribute to the establishment of peace in the middle east, the Palestinian people look for the support of all the progressive and peaceful forces and urge them all, irrespective of their affiliations and beliefs, to offer the Palestinian people all aid and support in their just struggle for the liberation of their homeland.

Christendom

The Vatican said that it would sign a declaration with most of the world’s Lutherans affirming that Roman Catholics and Lutherans share a basic understanding of how human beings receive God’s forgiveness and salvation. The decision is intended to resolve an issue that split the Western Christian world 500 years ago. The document, approved last week by the Lutheran World Federation, declares that Catholics and Lutherans have found an essential common ground on the issue of justification, the action by which a human being is made worthy of salvation. The Reformation leader Martin Luther held that justification comes solely through faith in God, while the Catholic church taught that a person’s good works play a role. Now, through the declaration, Catholics and Lutherans agree that divine forgiveness and salvation come only through God’s grace and that good works flow from that.

—St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 6/26/98

Pope John Paul II has spoken of his "lifelong dream" of being able to hold a Christmas mass in the Holy Lands in 1999 and to hold a pilgrimage to Mount Sinai with Jews and Moslems as a sign of their reconciliation. The pope recently called for a swift end to disagreement on the status of Jerusalem. The Vatican favors international status for the city, and entertained Yassir Arafat for a private audience to discuss the peace process.

—DPA, 6/10/98

Economics

The split between the world’s successful and troubled economies is wider than it has ever been. The contrast is startling, even unprecedented. The divergence between the west and much of the rest is becoming a chasm. At the end of the 20th century, the western countries that were dominant 100 years ago appear once more triumphant. Meanwhile, the plight of Asia, which until last year was the world’s most dynamic region, worsens almost by the day. Since the beginning of June 1997, stock markets have fallen, in dollar terms, by 89 percent in Indonesia, 75 percent in South Korea, 73 percent in Malaysia, 71 percent in Thailand, 57 percent in the Philippines, and 47 percent in Hong Kong. This is no orderly reversal; it is a panic-led rout. The world economic state offers market collapses and disarray at the eastern end, market buoyancy and prosperity at the western one. At present the west, in general, and the US, in particular, seem blessed even by the dire misfortunes of others. But the stability of this world of divided fates is doubtful—economically and ultimately politically. Either sustained prosperity in the west will bring stability and renewed growth to Asia and elsewhere, or the spreading crisis is all too likely to export instability to the west.

—Financial Times, 6/14/98

The leaders of united Europe held a summit meeting that forced them to focus on a fundamental question: Is there really a united Europe? Presidents and prime ministers of the 15 nations that constitute the European Union (EU) spent two days discussing the economic and political unity of the new EU. The EU apparatus will dictate everything from the minimum price of zucchini to the proper design of zoos. German Chancellor Helmut Kohl, the leader of the EU’s largest financial contributor faces a tough election in September and has been criticized for Germany’s multi-billion-dollar annual contribution to the unified government in Brussels. The leaders of the EU agreed to hold a special summit meeting in Vienna later in the year to consider the pace and direction of unification. All of this reflects a sharp change of direction for European leaders who have been charging toward integration. A month ago, 11 EU countries formally agreed to give up their own money and switch to a common currency. Now the momentum is going the other way.

—Washington Post, 6/17/98

Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest petroleum producer signaled the creation of a new alliance of oil exporters that will be prepared to undertake "benign intervention" in global energy markets. Ali al-Naimi, the Saudi oil minister, said the emergence of a new ad hoc grouping to oversee the global oil trade would be composed of "free-thinking people looking after their national interests."

—Financial Times, 6/26/98

Science

The "Doomsday Clock" was reset five minutes closer to midnight by the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists. The clock’s hands were moved to 11:51 to symbolize that directors of the journal see a failure of world diplomacy on the nuclear-arms issue and an increase in peril after nuclear testing by southern Asian neighbors Pakistan and India. The Bulletin is a bimonthly journal published at the University of Chicago and was created in 1947 with midnight signifying nuclear holocaust.

—Associated Press, 6/11/98

US climatologists reported that the Earth has broken global temperature records for each month of 1998 to extend an increasingly apparent warming pattern. The global temperature average between January and May jumped 0.3 degrees Celsius (1.76 degrees Fahrenheit). Last year saw the Earth’s highest recorded temperature since thermometers were first used for measurement nearly 150 years ago. Climatologists said the increase could be due to the El Niño weather phenomenon, which was especially strong this year, but they are undecided on to what degree El Niño was influenced by global warming as a whole. Researchers said the data is alarming but they were confident in its accuracy.

—Associated Press, 6/8/98

Dr. Ian Wilmut, the British embryologist from the Roslin Institute in Scotland, whose scientific achievement of the cloning of the now famous sheep, "Dolly," delivered a speech on the commercial opportunities for mammalian cloning at the second annual congress in Washington, DC. Among the topics discussed were: Human Cloning for Enhancement Purposes; The First Human Cloning Company; Transgenics and Cloning; New Commercial Opportunities for Biotech and Large Pharmaceutical Companies. Lee Silver, Department of Molecular Biology at Princeton University, said, "Genetic engineering will shake the foundations of society."

—PR Newswire, 6/23/98