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face. But think how life could be in
a world without
any
kind o f c rime.
What about a world with no hat e
and no violence? How wonderful it
would be to be able to walk down
any city s treet or country road ,
anywhere in the world , at anytime,
day or night, without fear of being
mugged- beaten and robbed or
raped.
And if there were no war? lt's
stagger ing to conside r . What a
beautiful , peaceful earth this
could be. Untold sufferings and
bitterness would be eliminated .
Such peace cou ld mean con–
centrating e ffo rts t o build
and improve our wo rld .
What productivity and
abundance this earth could
enjoy. Our earth could be
a veritable utopía.
But tha t's not the way it
is- is it? The oppos ite exists
today. Why ? Why do we suf-
fer such unhappy conditions?
Why has ma nkind s uffered
from crime and war throughout
history?
There is a reason!
Destroyed for Lack of Knowledge
l t's indeed a paradox. Wc livc in a
world f ill e d with astou nding
knowledge. We can produce elec–
tronic gadgetry and create fantas–
ti c m echanical wonders that
a ncient peoplcs never dreamed
could exist. Yet, we can't solve
bas ic human problems. W e' re no
closer to endi ng crime and war
th an pcoplc thousands of years
ago. In a modern world filled with
knowl edge we' re being destroyed
because we lack the righ t kind of
knowlcdge!
What is this missing knowl–
edge? lt is the knowledge of God
and his law.
lt
was available at the
beginning of history, but it was
rejectcd by th e first humans.
That's why mankind has su f–
fered - and is s uffering now!
That's why cri me is rampant, why
mankind is on the verge of nuclear
annihilation!
We lack needed, vital , spiritual
knowledge about God- knowledge
that God reveals in his law.
lt
is
knowledge that leads to the way of
peace and happiness we all want!
Read what God says: " ... for the
Lord hath a controversy with the
8
inhabitants of the land , because
there is no truth , nor merey, nor
knowledge of God in the land"
(Hosea 4: l ).
There should be knowledge of
God! Creation itself is a witness!
" For the invisible things of him
from t he creation of the world are
clearly seen, being und ers tood by
the things that are made, even his
e terna) power
and
God-
head; so that they are without
excuse" ( Rom. 1:20).
But God has been rejected! And
the knowledge of how to live and
get along with others and specifi–
cally spelled out in his law- the
Ten Commandments- has been
rejected. That's why the world
~u f
fers from crime, violence, hate and
war!
Note what God says in the Bible:
" By swearing, and lying, and kill–
ing, and stealing, and committing
adul tery, they break out , and blood
toucheth blood" (Hosea 4:2). What
an apt description of our world
today.
" My people are destroyed for
lack of knowledge," says God, and
why? " .. . because thou has t
rejected knowledge" ( Hosea 4 :6).
We have rejected God 's com–
mandments, which define the way
to peace, the way to crime-free
societies! That is the reason why
this world is in the sad condition
we find it today!
The problems in our world began
in the beginning with the first
human beings. They were given
fre.edom to choose between God 's
way of tife- represented by the
" tree of life"-or a way of life of
their own making-represented by
" the tree of knowledge of good and
evil " (Gen. 2:9).
God instruc ted them to choose
life. "And the Lord God com–
manded the man, saying, Of every
tree of the garden thou mayest
freely eat: but of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil, thou
shalt not eat of it: for in the day
t hat thou eatest thereof thou shalt
surely die" (Gen . 2: 16- 17).
The firs t humans rejected God
and his way of life. They took to
themselves a way of life of doing
what they thought best. Humans
have been guilty of rejecting God
by taking to themselves the author–
ity to invent knowledge apart from
God . So we've had crime and war,
unhappiness a nd miseries ever
since.
Time to Learn the Lesson
God established at the beginning a
way of life that would produce the
results humans desire. Man , hav–
ing rejected that way, lost the
knowledge of how to bring peace
a nd happiness. But God did not
leave man without witness. H e
called an entire people out of
abject s lavery to teach them his
way of life and give them oppor–
tunity to live it and be an example
to other nations.
That nation was ancient Israel,
composed of 12 separate t ribes–
Judah, or the J ews. being only one
of the tribes . God instructed the
nation to keep his law, not only for
their good but to show all the other
nations who had forgotten God how
to live in a crime-free, happy, abun–
dant society.
" Keep therefore and do them,"
God admonished ancient Is rael ,
"for this is your wisdom and your
understanding in the sight of the
nations, which shall hear all these
s tatutes, and say, Surely t his great
nation is a wise and understanding
people" (Deut. 4 :6).
But ancient Israel rejected God
and God 's law. They, too, turned
t heir back on true wisdom and
k~owledge .
They went the way of
human reason that led to crime,
war and national destruction .
The Way of Peace
God' s T en Commandme nt s are
The PLAIN TRUTH