SPACE WILL NOT ARE WE BEING TREATED OR TRICKED?
save us
DOES RELIGION CAUSE WAR?
A CHRISTIAN PERSPECTIVE ON THE WORLD TODAY
IN THIS ISSUE
OCTOBER 2021
SPACE WILL NOT SAVE US
What, or who will? PAGE 32
12 CURRENT
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WHAT IN THE WORLD ARE WE BEING TREATED OR TRICKED? The truth about Halloween
WELLBEING
10 UNDER PRESSURE One woman's
experience with perinatal depression 16 SHINING A LIGHT FOR PARKINSON'S SUFFERERS Infrared light therapy is providing hope 22 BETTER HEALTH FOR EVERY BODY Health news that makes a difference FIND US ON SOCIAL MEDIA 2
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FAITH
38 SPECIAL DAY OF SELF
CARE Rediscovering Sabbath 44 THE FINAL SHOW Are current events leading to the end of the world? 52 DOCTOR, YOU SAW MY ANGEL! A miracle in 1960s Yugoslavia
BIG QUESTIONS
24 DOES RELIGION CAUSE
WAR? Aren't religions meant to be about love?
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SCIENCE & TECH
50 THE CUTTING EDGE Engineering, science
and technology news
CULTURE
56 THE BIG PICTURE Film preview: Dune
FUN
62 CROSSWORD AND
SUDOKU Have you been paying attention?
REACH FOR THE STARS In the Bible there is a story about a tower called Babel. The people of the land, led by a powerful man by the name of Nimrod, known as “a mighty hunter”, were ruthless and destructive. They wanted to replace God so, in human pride, they came together to build a tower to the stars! Nimrod was driving the building project, exploiting the people, making himself king and using the tower to set himself up as a god. According to Josephus, a Roman-era Jewish historian, “[Nimrod] also gradually changed the government into tyranny, seeing no other way of turning men from the fear of God, but to bring them into a constant dependence on his power.” God steps into the story and disrupts the empire by confusing their language and the people scatter. Justice is done and Nimrod’s corrupt empire is broken up. This story came to mind when reading “Space will not save us” (p32). Rich powerful men building greedy empires and reaching for the stars on the backs of their workers. The Babel story could well hold lessons for modern men and women. Don’t get me wrong, I’m intrigued by the space race. Good things come from innovation and science. Yet we also see a world around us that is suffering. Most days the news is bad. But there is hope. Hope that God cares about what happens on this blue globe. God cares about you and me. God stepped into human history in the person of Jesus and changed our outcome, guaranteeing life and ultimately justice. So if you’re not sure space can save you, try Jesus. You won’t regret it.
Jarrod
JARROD STACKELROTH Editor
VOL 136 NO 10 ISSN 1038-9733 EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER Brad Kemp EDITOR Jarrod Stackelroth ASSISTANT EDITOR Daniel Kuberek COPYEDITOR Tracey Bridcutt GRAPHIC DESIGN Theodora Pau'u Talia Valderrama PHONE +61 2 9847 2222 EMAIL info@signsofthetimes.org.au WEBSITE signsofthetimes.org.au ADDRESS Adventist Media PO Box 1115, Wahroonga New South Wales 2076 SUBSCRIPTIONS Kelli Geelan PHONE +61 3 5965 6300 Australia/New Zealand, $A26; South Pacific countries, $A41; Other countries $A51 Published since 1886, Signs of the Times is printed 11 times a year by the Seventh-day Adventist Church and is registered as a periodical. Seventh-day Adventist Church (SPD) Limited ABN 59 093 117 689 NOTE The inclusion of a person or their image within does not imply their endorsement of the Seventh-day Adventist Church or its beliefs. Unless otherwise stated, Bible verses are from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, Anglicised. Copyright © 1979, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc®. Used by permission of Hodder & Stoughton. All rights reserved worldwide. COVER PHOTO:
Hutangac—Getty Images
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Religious extremists have been blamed for recent global conflicts. We examine the historical evidence for these claims that religion ruins everything.
PEXELS—PIXABAY
BY VANIA CHEW
DOES RELIGION CAUSE WAR? 24
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tion and want an Puzzled by a "big picture" ques Times magazine the of s Sign , 2021 answer? In on life’s most ives pect pers h will be sharing fres authors each contentious mysteries, with new to present a ence evid ctive obje ining exam month case for Christianity.
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oes religion cause war? It’s a firm yes from British zoologist and vocal atheist Richard Dawkins, who sees a direct correlation between the two. According to Dawkins, “religion causes wars by generating certainty”. American neuroscientist and philosopher Sam Harris agrees with Dawkins, stating that faith and religion are “the most prolific source of violence in our history”. Are these claims true? Let’s reflect on some of the major modern wars this world has seen and see what role, if any, religion played in them. WORLD WAR I (1914–1918)
Also known as The Great War, it was one of the deadliest events in history. It was a global conflict that essentially pitted the Central Powers (Germany, Turkey and Austria-Hungary) against the Allies (France, Great Britain, Russia, Italy, Japan, and from 1917, the United States). The main cause of World War I is often considered to be the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, who was shot by the Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip on June 28, 1914. But the assassination merely acted as a catalyst for war— nationalism, militarism, imperialism and political alliances were the fuel behind World War I. The Treaty of Versailles, signed in June 1919, was intended to ensure a post-war world that would never allow itself to go through such a devastating global conflict again. Unfortunately, a resentful 26
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Germany felt that they had been duped into signing this treaty. The Treaty of Versailles placed the entire responsibility for the war on Germany’s shoulders, forcing them to make several billions of dollars in reparation payments, give up much of their territory and overseas colonies, and accept Allied occupation in the region around the Rhine River. WORLD WAR II (1939–1945)
While post-World War I conditions did not make another war inevitable, they certainly paved the way for the Nazi Party to gain support among Germans, as they promised to overturn the country’s humiliation and make them a superpower to be reckoned with. In his 1925 autobiographical manifesto Mein Kampf, Hitler describes himself as becoming an anti-Semite before his move to Vienna at the age of 18. This was confirmed by Elisabeth Grünbauer, who shared her memories of Hitler as a young man in a 1994 interview. Hitler had boarded in her family home in Munich for more than a year before leaving to fight in World War I. Regardless of
when Hitler began expressing an anti-Semitic position, there can be no doubt that it heavily influenced his actions when he came to power. But his obsession with creating “a pure race” indicates that his anti-Semitism was related to race, rather than religion.
STEVECOLEIMAGES—GETTY IMAGES
THE RUSSIAN CIVIL WAR (1917-1923)
The conflict is remembered in the Guinness World Records as “the world’s costliest civil war”, in terms of the number of lives lost during combat and in events relating to the war. It was fought between opposing political factions (Bolshevik versus anti-Bolshevik) and claimed the lives of more than 9 million people, 8 million of whom were civilians. However, religion did not play any part in causing this war. It was a struggle between various political and military groups for control of Russia.
THE SECOND SINO-CHINESE WAR (1937-1945)
The war broke out when China began resisting Japanese expansion in its territory. This war resulted in the death of 25 million civilians as well as more than 4 million Japanese and Chinese military deaths. Although tension had been brewing for a long time, the war is said to have been prompted by an incident near the Marco Polo Bridge near Beijing, when Japanese troops opened fire on local soldiers. OTHER WARS
• Also described as “The Great War of Africa”, the Second Congo War (1998–2003) directly involved nine African nations and killed an estimated 3.8 million people. • Let’s not forget the millions who lost their lives in the revolutionary wars and purges of Pol Pot’s
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SPECIAL DAY e r a c f l e s of
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In a world of self-care, people are rediscovering an ancient practice that is good for the individual and their community. BY LYNDELLE PETERSON
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MONKEY PLAY Elon Musk's company Neuralink has trialled a monkey playing a video game through a brain-computer interface implant. They upload a video online depicting the monkey playing "Mind Pong", with his neural activity controlling his moves. —News Nation
PROJECTING HEADLIGHTS Audi's new A6 E-tron luxury vehicle will allegedly have the ability to project video games onto a wall from its headlights. The seemingly unusual feature is made possibly through digital matrix LED lights, which Audi says can pass the time while the car recharges. —Tom's Guide
LESS ALCOHOL, MORE GOOD TIMES 50
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NETFLIX GAMING PLATFORM The popular streaming service has published both movies and television programs about games, but may soon be publishing games themselves. While it has not yet been officially announced, industry analysts expect the service to be launched as early as 2022.—Ars Technica
LUIS VILLASMIL, MARCEL STRAUSS, REDDGIO, DREW HAYS, HAMISH WEIR, JON BUTTERWORTH —UNSPLASH
GAMING . . . DIFFERENTLY
LIMITED ADS Google is rolling out a new setting that limits exposure to gambling and alcohol ads. First introduced in late 2020, each ad will have "about this ad" and "ad settings feature" on advertisements that may be sensitive. Countries with existing alcohol ad bans are not affected.—Gizmodo
EIGHT-LEGGED WONDER DEADLY FUNNEL WEB MAY PREVENT DEATH Scientists have been studying a molecule in the venom of a Fraser Island (K'Gari) funnel web spider, which may stop a "death signal" being sent from a human heart after cardiac arrest. Scientists say a lack of oxygen after such an event sends a message for other heart cells to also die, and the spider venom protein—Hi1a—may be the solution because of its ability to block acid-sensing ion channels in the heart. —University of Queensland THE CURE FOR IRRITABLE BOWEL SYNDROME? Researchers from the University of Queensland have been studying venom from the Venezuelan Pinkfoot Goliath Tarantula as a method of easing irritable bowel syndrome pain. Mini-proteins from the spider's venom have been linked to preventing voltage-gate ion channels from opening and closing—the source of chronic visceral pain. Studying pain medication stemming from venoms has been the subject of 15 years' worth of research.—University of Queensland ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANT BACTERIA Bites from the venomous false widow spider often lead to infections, which researchers suspect is due to bacteria present on the surface of the spider or its "mouthparts". The infections are often resistant to drugs and antibiotics, which itself is labelled as a growing global health risk according to WHO. Scientists are continuing to search for a cure for untreatable spider bite infections, given mass migration of spiders like the false widow into new territories.—News24
APPLE WATCHES BLOOD ALCOHOL LEVEL? Rumours in May speculated Apple watches may soon measure blood alcohol levels. While it might still be a possibility, Apple supplier Rockley Photonics has developed a "digital health sensor" that is able to do so on one's wrist.—Tech Radar
ANTI-DRUNK DRIVING New technology to detect and prevent drunk drivers as they enter their vehicle may soon be mandatory in the United States, according to a new bill. Driver monitoring systems are already being developed and are touted for release as early as 2024.—Tech Times
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How a miracle in 1960s Yugoslavia led to generations of faith-keeping. BY DANIJELA SCHUBERT
DOCTOR,
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W
hile I’m the president of the committee you will never get the invalid pension!” Dr Bilanovich was emphatic. His patient Štefica Bratulic (Stefania Bratulich) was devastated to hear those words. Her health was seriously deteriorating. Her spine was caving in. She couldn’t work anymore and had to find other means to support her family. Stefania’s only ray of hope was to receive an invalid pension from the government. Not only was this a terrible personal blow, but it also tested her newly found faith. Before he had died, Stefania’s father had urged all his children to search for the true church that worships on the right day. Out of nine children, she was the only one who took her dad’s bidding to heart. She found the Seventh-day Adventist Church by following a woman who ironically told her not to come to church and she was now fully committed. This was no small feat. The best option under the communist regime was to be someone who didn’t believe in a Protestant understanding of God. To become a Seventh-day Adventist was not only unwise but dangerous in traditional Catholic/Communist Yugoslavia at the time. Life only got worse after Stefania’s conversion. Her family was against her decision. Her mother and siblings ridiculed her. Her husband protested. He was an alcoholic and instead of supporting the family, he would take
stuff away. Her two children had problems at primary school because they were not attending on Saturday. She now had a third child—another mouth to feed when there was not enough food for the two she already had. Under communism she should have been provided for, but since becoming a believer in God, it had been a big problem. Each time her pension was rejected because her doctor would issue a certificate indicating that she was fit to work— all because of her faith. But she kept trying. One day Stefania found out that Dr Bilanovich needed a lady to do domestic duties. She went to see him about it. “I heard you need a house help. I have someone to recommend to you,” she began. Dr Bilanovich was excited. “Yes, I do need house help. Who is it that you can recommend to me?” “I have an excellent recommendation. It’s me! I would like to work as your house help. If I get sick at your place, I will have the best person to help me,” she replied. “You are not fit to work as a house help,” he said disappointed. “If I am not fit to work at your place, I am not fit to work at any place. Please issue a health certificate, so I can get a government invalid pension,” she implored. “I will not do that.” This was his final answer. Meanwhile, Stefania learned a OCTOBER 2021 • SIGNS OF THE TIMES
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