Why Accidents?
Tomorrow's World Magazine
January 1972
Volume: Vol IV, No. 1
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Why Accidents?

   You're living in an "accidental" age! It's a time of BELIEF in accidents — accidental lives, and accidental deaths! Here's all about accidents — and how to avoid them!

   You PROBABLY work where you do by accident. Probably, you "just happened" to be living where you are. And did you marry by accident? Was your birth itself an accident? Surprising as it seems, accidents seem to characterize not only our lives — but the very age in which we live.

Why World Believes in Accidents

   For instance, did you know the most "intellectual" belief today concerning the existence of our world, and the universe itself is the firm faith (based on empty guesses) in an accident?
   The universe came to be BY ACCIDENT, say the evolutionists. The world "just happened" to be here, all by a rather fortuitous accident. Life, they say with faith in the careless, the chaotic, the happenstance, began upon our earth by accident.
   And even those who profess belief in the religion of Christianity base their belief on an accident. They talk of the "fall" of man. Isn't a fall an accident?
   But DID you come to be — accidentally? Is life only a serious collision? A bad fall? A helpless sinking into a morass?
   The way many millions are living it, it would seem so.

Why Isn't Nature Accidental?

   If everything that is — everything that exists — is only accidental, then, of course, there is no God. And if our lives are only a chance occurrence, after millions of aeons of almost unbelievable mishaps, accidents, violent explosions, and chance meetings between lovesick amoebae of the opposite sex (!), then, of course, mankind is left free to live his life experimentally, accidentally.
   Yes, there is GREAT FAITH in accidents today.
   The really "educated" man of this modern society clings tenaciously to his accidental philosophy of accidents and happenstance.
   He believes in accidental art — an insane, bearded creature flinging horrendous globs of paint in a frenzy of rage at a helpless canvas — and letting the goo dry. This terrible waste of energy and paint and canvas is then viewed with awe by the "critics" who apparently have discovered some amazing new way to evaluate accidents.
   Today, paint easels, pallets, bits of mangled steel and boards find their way into the art galleries.
   The "educated" man of today believes in accidental music. A group of rock musicians get together, and, after jolts or doses of whatever stimulant, repressive, or noxious mixture of barbiturates and smoke that are required to send them reeling drunkenly into the accidental off-beats called acid rock - new "songs" are born. Or miscarried.
   Millions believe those who "have it made" in life probably got their wealth by accident. Perhaps the proverbial rich uncle died, leaving them a fortune. Or they somehow won it all in the Irish Sweepstakes, on a TV quiz show, or just found it in the street.
   So keen is the lust for accidental money tumbling into people's laps that a Negro janitor in Los Angeles, who, when he found a huge sum of money which had tumbled from a Brink's truck, and turned the money back to its rightful owners, was literally driven from his community by his neighbors.
   They were FURIOUS because the accident had occurred to HIM, instead of them. They would have reasoned, "finders keepers, losers weepers."
   Today, games of chance are being seriously considered as methods to enrich state treasuries.
   The desire for the sudden wealth of an accidental turn of the dice, a chance spin of the wheel, a fortuitous flip of the cards has become a great swelling lust, eating the vitals of multiple millions.
   "Maybe," "if only," "what if?" and "perhaps" — these are the slogans of the believer in accidents.
   Is it then surprising *they are the words used most frequently by anti-God evolutionists in fake support of their guesswork called theories?
   If the great faith in accidents is true, why is it there is no proof? Why is it nature itself disproves it?
   Look at the intricacy of nature around you. Everything you see is complex, harmonious, perfectly balanced — except for man's depredations and mistakes which throw nature out of proper balance from time to time.
   Is the exact distance of our earth from the sun — just the EXACT distance necessary to give heat and light, and in just the proper amounts — an accident? Or was it planned? If the moon were a little closer, our tides would daily sweep the continents, making the world uninhabitable for any land-dwelling creatures. If the earth were further from the sun, our temperature would be below freezing, and the earth a solid ice cap. A little closer, and everything upon it would burn to a crisp.
   Is it just an accident that our mantle of air shields us from the rays of the sun, protects us from the daily bombardment of millions of astral bodies from space, gives us air to breathe, weather for crops, our transportation, our very lives? Is it only an accident?
   Was it only a fortunate mistake that the sea is of the exact depth, size, and chemical makeup to become the giant cleanser for the refuse of the world, the determining factor of the weather of the world, the major means of shipping, transportation and commerce of the world?
   Is it only ACCIDENTAL that life produces life, and preexisting life of the same kind?
   What about the briefest glimpse into the creatures of this earth? Is it only an accident that the salmon has the almost incredible ability to return to the very river, find the same tributary, swim unerringly to the same branch, and find the exact gravel bed where it was spawned, and from which it departed to the sea years before as a tiny fingerling?
   Do migratory waterfowl fly thousands of miles through the thickest storms and find a tiny nest with unerring accuracy that defies the finest of man's radar, navigational instruments and weather forecasts — all by accident?
   No, nature is NOT "accidental." Everything you see about you reflects tremendous complexity, careful planning, meticulous detail, great beauty and harmony, and follows definite, unchangeable, unshakeable, immutable LAWS. And still, the great "philosophers" and educators of the world believe, somehow, it all happened by accident.

An Accident-prone World

   Today's news is mostly concerned with accidents -terrible train wrecks, plane crashes, automobile and bus collisions. Buildings collapse, stands fold at a sports scene, cars leap the racetrack roadway, and gas explosions hurl torn bodies through the air at an ice show.
   Each newspaper is filled with the grisly details of the latest in a chain of terrible loss of life and property, or the permanent injury and maiming of human beings in some totally unexpected, unprepared-for event — an accident.
   The tearful spouse tells police about the knifing of his mate — sobbing, "I didn't MEAN it — I didn't WANT to HURT her — IT WAS AN ACCIDENT, a horrible mistake!"
   And you're living in the frightening time when HUMAN ANNIHILATION is possible — as a result of an accident. A faulty transistor, a bad tube, a wayward airplane, a falling star, a tiny insect in a computer — these could set in motion a massive hydrogen bomb attack that could result in the obliteration of humanity. Accidentally.
   You were BORN into a hostile world — a world of laws, forces, energies; a world of implements, machines, and other people.
   As a baby, you were accident prone. Your mother had to protect you from falling off the bed, from picking up knives, from crawling over window sills, from running into the street.
   As a child you lived through a series of accidents. You couldn't control your bodily processes — but each occasion was an accident — you didn't mean it.
   An accident is a MISTAKE. It's not planned, or it couldn't BE an accident. It just seems to HAPPEN somehow. And, as a child, you made many mistakes.
   But accidents don't only occur with sharp knives, furnace gratings, or baby's toys.
   Millions of people are living LIFE accidentally!
   Does Life Just "Happen" to You?
   What's your average day like? How do you live? Is it just one event, one happening, one moment after the other?
   Take an average teen-ager. He says, "Let's go down to the malt shop and see who's around.'' Later, after the gang fight, youths have said, "I don't know bow it happened — a bunch of the fellows were just sorta 'hanging around' and then this guy yelled something — "
   That's just it.
   Nobody planned it, especially. It just "happened."
   Do most of YOUR days just "happen"?
   Probably they do unless you are totally different from the majority of people on this broad earth.
   You have certain opinions, religious beliefs, political views, perhaps racial prejudices. How come? Where did you get them? Did you search out a PARTICULAR source, labeled with the particular approach you NOW have, and diligently seek to inculcate such views into your mind?
   Probably not — but somehow, probably ACCIDENTALLY, they got into your mind.
   Do you know WHY you're alive? Do you know your real GOAL in life? Do you know, and can you PROVE, your very purpose in drawing breath? Do you know how to fulfill that purpose, and have a sense of definite direction? Do you have a plan for the practical step-by-step accomplishment of that purpose? Probably, you don't KNOW many people who live for any such purpose. Rather, they drift aimlessly through life, carelessly living each moment as it comes to them — following the line of least resistance.
   They live accidentally.

How MUCH of Life Do You PLAN?

   Did you "fall" in love? You may, from having heard the expression, seeing a number of Hollywood motion pictures, and reading a number of novels, THINK you did. But "falling" in love is IMPOSSIBLE!
   Because LOVE is NOT THE RESULT OF AN ACCIDENT!
   Genuine love, if the world only knew, is a deep, serious, OUTGOING CONCERN. It is pointed AWAY from self a desire to help, to serve, to GIVE to the one who is the object of that love.
   And NO one EVER just "happened" to want to GIVE his life, his energies, his time, labor, thoughts, cares, hopes and dreams to another human being BY
   What many people call love today is NOT love, but LUST!
   And LUST DOES occur by accident It is the most frequent accident involving human beings of the opposite sex. It is the common accident in the hearts of humans who want to GET — whether money, or the things money can buy - instead of GIVE.
   When you first meet someone, you say, "How do you do?" Or, "My name is..." accompanied with a friendly smile and, perhaps, a handshake.
   Then comes a period of acquaintance. First, of course, is the appearance of the other person. Then the voice, the eyes, mouth, features, stature.
   Gradually, in prolonged acquaintance, and long conversations, you learn about the background of the other person. Perhaps you ask, "What do you DO?" meaning, of course, "What is your occupation?" Then you begin to learn the opinions, personal feelings, likes and dislikes, philosophies, and perhaps even religion of the other person.
   Gradually, you can come to KNOW
   And that's no accident.
   Love for another person, TRUE love, does not just "happen" accidentally. Rather, it is the end result of coming to truly KNOW another, and then admiring, deeply respecting, agreeing with the other — and a desire to GIVE of yourself — a desire to SHARE the experiences of life with the one who is loved.
   The love of God is clearly defined in the WORD of God, and is the complete epitomization of OUTGOING actions toward God, and toward man. Read I John 5:3 and see. God's laws define how to love God, and HOW to love your neighbor! another person.
   Did you PLAN your marriage?
   Did you come to KNOW yourself, know your background, your desires, hopes and dreams — and evaluate them honestly and candidly in the light of the Word of God — and THEN seek to find a mate with whom you could really SHARE these right and true goals in life?
   Probably not. And you probably don't KNOW many who did.
   Did you plan the exact type vocation you now pursue? Did you PLAN your education carefully?
   Did you plan your social life, your business contacts, your personal habits?
   Or did most of these things just HAPPEN to you?
   And today — DO YOU PLAN YOUR LIFE?
   How many people do you know who live a carefully thought out and planned day? How many housewives prepare, plan, think out, and then execute the purchasing of groceries and planning of meals for as much as a WEEK IN ADVANCE?
   How many husbands carefully plan a balance in home study, recreation, family activities, periods of instruction for his children-and then follow that plan?
   How many families live within a PLANNED budget? Not very many. Most people are impulse buyers. That's what ushered in the supermarket, and the "drug" store carrying everything from neckties to nostrums.
   They see, they WANT, they buy! But the checkbook? The bank account? The budget? Well — they just never thought of that.
   So, purchasing on time; repossession of automobiles, homes, furniture; payments on interest — these are the financial order of the day.
   So look at your life. Look closely, and find out how much of your life is really just ACCIDENTAL — and not the result of careful planning, the following of rules and regulations, the obedience to laws and safety procedures.

MAN Is a PLANNED Creature!

   God created man, and molded him carefully! David stood in AWE of the wonderful marvels of the physical creation. He said the human body and mind are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139).
   One of the arguments of evolution - that of comparative embryology, anatomy, or the skeletal structures of various creatures — is actually one of the STRONGEST proofs of the existence of God! All of these studies prove a basic PLAN was formed — that a definite PATTERN was followed in the creation.
   From the leaf of a tree to the wing of a fly, to the hand of man, to the web of a spider, one sees symmetry, uniformity, harmony, complexity, intricacy, exactness, precision, careful and meticulous thought and planning.
   God is NOT THE AUTHOR of confusion [and is confusion ever PLANNED, except by the devil?], but of peace, as in all churches of the saints (I Cor. 14:33).
   Originally, this earth was in perfect HARMONY and beautiful order. God created it NOT chaotic and in confusion, but to be inhabited (Isa. 45:18).
   But the earth BECAME chaotic, disordered — a lifeless waste (Gen. 1:2).
   How did it get that way?
   By the planner of accidents, the enemy of order, the author of confusion, the inventor of lies, and the first rebel of all time, Satan the devil.
   Read the accounts in Ezekiel 28 and Isaiah 14 of how Lucifer, the original "light bringer" of order and Beauty became instead the CORRUPTER, and became UGLY!
   And how UGLY are accidents, and the results of them. How chaotic the charred embers of a burnt home, the twisted steel of a wrecked automobile, the scattered bodies after a battle. How depressing, how UGLY is the "accidental" art, music, literature — and the very lives people live today!
   You didn't HAPPEN. You were PUT here for a great purpose. And a great PART of that purpose was to learn how to avoid accidents.
   Since you are a PLANNED creature - it's time you learned how to PLAN YOUR LIFE.

SAFETY Regulations!

   Rules and regulations of safety are designed to PROTECT.
   Always, safety regulations are designed by one who KNOWS THE DANGERS inherent in the area, the product, and the situation better than the novices who will be concerned with them. Parents know the terrible harm that can come to their children in certain circumstances and seek to PROTECT their children from such harm.
   But, many children just "can't see it that way." They don't KNOW there is any real DANGER involved — they think Dad and Mom are just trying to hold them back — or just don't want them to have any fan! And, not KNOWING the dangers, they don't KNOW that they don't know them.
   And most adult human beings are EXACTLY of that same attitude toward GOD and HIS safety regulations for life — the Bible.
   Because the Bible is a book of SAFETY. It is a book on HOW TO AVOID ACCIDENTS!
   It is an analysis of the most devastating, the most pathetic accidents in all history. The first lie, the first murder, the first adultery, robbery, the first war — they're all there. And Paul said under inspiration of the Holy Spirit — they are WRITTEN FOR OUR rebuke and correction — because WE are the ones living in the last times! (I Cor. 10:11.)
   The Bible was designed to PROTECT you against the accidents of life — to point the way to avoid them.
   It tells youngsters WHY it is a TERRIBLE MISTAKE TO NECK before marriage. It explains carefully why PERVERSION and SELF-INDULGENCE are terrible mistakes.
   It illustrates every gamut of human emotion, every intrigue, every plot, jealousy, insidious plan, every attempt at subversion — and warns against each.
   It shows you how to skirt around financial danger, how to budget your time, how to plan your vacations, how to enjoy your visit with others, how to spend your every day.
   Yes, it really does.
   The Bible is God's book of SAFETY. It is His handbook to man on RULES and REGULATIONS to PROTECT, to PRESERVE, to WARN you away from dangers that can hurt you, either physically or mentally.
   Sin is the breaking of God's Ten Commandments — the transgression of His LAW (I John 3:4). Read our FREE booklet on The Ten Commandments, and read how each one is so tremendously applicable today.
   To sin means, literally, to "miss the mark." In other words, to SLIP, to make a mistake, to HAVE AN ACCIDENT!
   And MOST sin, especially sin which is the result of HUMAN LUST, JEALOUSY AND GREED — HUMAN VANITY — is an ACCIDENTAL type of sin.
   God wants you to AVOID accidents. He wants you to FLEE SIN. And why? Because to sin is to have an accident - and accidents HURT. It's about time you began PLANNING your life. It's high time you tried to avoid the terrible ACCIDENTS of life and began living safely, happily, ABUNDANTLY.
   The best possible way to begin is to find out MORE about that wonderful Book of Safety, that Guide to every day - the Bible. Study our Ambassador College Bible Correspondence Course. It is fully illustrated. Each 16-page monthly lesson has been designed to guide you through a systematic, in-depth study of your own Bible — the Bible is your only textbook. There is no tuition cost whatsoever.
   Then, once you've really PROVED everything to yourself, ACT oil it — begin to PLAN your actions, your beliefs, your opinions, your job, your marriage.
   It's the only way to avoid living accidentally.

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Tomorrow's World MagazineJanuary 1972Vol IV, No. 1