Jehovah's Witnesses, Hitler, and "Spiritual Fornication"
A Rebuttal of the Watchtower's 'Neutrality' Propaganda
Ken Raines
"Propagandists think the people have short memories. It is their intention to erase past history, presenting themselves in the modern disguise of benefactors, their incriminating record being covered up." (Consolation, September 26, 1945, p. 4)
Introduction
Jehovah's Witnesses believe that all professing Christians in the twentieth century except themselves have been guilty of what they call "spiritual fornication" and "spiritual adultery" with the rulers of the world. Examples of such "fornication" to the Watchtower Society include the clergy's financial and moral support of the two World Wars and their support of the United Nations. The problem with the Society's claims is they have been guilty of the same thing. The most striking example being their apparent attempted "fornication" with the Nazi government of Germany and attempted "adultery" between J. F. Rutherford and Adolf Hitler. Some of their "fornication" was attempted, apparently, in part to protect Watchtower Society real estate holdings. Jehovah's Witnesses believe that true Christians are to be completely neutral in national and political matters. No Jehovah's Witness is to vote, hold a political office, join the military of his country or participate in any war regardless of the cause or issues involved. Those that do will be disfellowshipped (excommunicated). The remaining Jehovah's Witnesses will then be required to never speak to the "apostate" again if possible.
The reasons for this position of neutrality given by the Watchtower Society include the following main arguments:
1. Christians are to be "no part of the world" nor to be "friends with the world"' (James 4:4):
The Christian congregation is viewed in Scripture as a bride and must, therefore, preserve virgin purity or chastity. (2 Cor. 11:2) Any unfaithfulness to the Christ also constitutes disloyalty to his father. Even in pre-Christian times, Jehovah God regarded the unfaithfulness of the Israelites as adultery. Israel, for example, was guilty of prostitution when the people became involved in idolatry or when, instead of looking to Jehovah, they began looking to foreign nations for protection.... Hence, in addressing certain Christians as adulteresses, the disciple James was showing that they were no longer pure from the standpoint of Jehovah God and Jesus Christ....
By friendship with the world, James refers to the community or people called "the world," as distinguished from God's people, Christians. Such friendship constitutes spiritual adultery.... This friendship manifests itself in a person's being like the world in attitude, goals, methods and actions....1
2. "No one can serve two masters." Being a "friend of the world" means you are an enemy of God. If you serve God and Christ, the "world" will hate you. In order to become friends with the world, a Christian must therefore compromise his devotion to Christ, thus committing spiritual fornication or adultery:
Therefore, the Christian who desires and seeks the world's friendship must change in such a way that he will no longer be an object of its hatred. He must make himself acceptable to worldlings who have no regard for spiritual things. This requires a compromise on his part, a lack of firm, unwavering loyalty to Christ. He must adopt many of the very viewpoints, words and often actions and methods that are contrary to what God expects of his servants.2
The Whore of Babylon
The Watchtower Society teaches that Jehovah's Witnesses are the only true Christians today. The issue of neutrality vs. spiritual fornication is one they point to with apparent pride at times. They believe they are the only professing Christians in the 20th century who have been faithful in this whereas "Christendom" and its clergy have been guilty of spiritual fornication. Because of this, "Christendom" is viewed by Jehovah's Witnesses as a spiritual whore, specifically, the "abominable" "whore of Babylon" mentioned in Revelation:
Revelation chapter 17 and 18 reveal that hypocritical religion, symbolized by the harlot Babylon the Great, prostitutes herself to the "kings of the earth."3
... the Roman Catholic Hierarchy, the religious system, is designated by the Lord God in these words: "The harlot," and old "whore," and "Babylon", "Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth."4
Catholicism is an abomination in the sight of Almighty God.... Protestants are even more abominable in the sight of Almighty God than Catholics...5
For their spiritual whoredom, Christendom is marked for annihilation by God at Armageddon:
Bodily immorality is unclean. Spiritual immorality, or spiritual fornication, is still worse.... If a spiritual fornicator escaped one form of execution, another form was certain to strike.... He is marked for annihilation.6
Examples of Fornication
Examples frequently cited in Watchtower Society publications as indicating spiritual fornication on the part of Christendom are:
1. The clergy's support of the two World Wars.
2. Christendom's involvement in politics.
3. The clergy's endorsement of the United Nations.
Again, this is of such severity and seriousness, and their own faithfulness such a striking contrast, that they feel justified in condemning all other professed Christians in the 20th century as a collective whore while proclaiming themselves eminently more virtuous.
The problem with these claims, as with most the Society makes, is they have been guilty of what they condemn others for.
The League of Nations. The United Nations "Beast"
The Watchtower Society today views the League of Nations and its successor, the United Nations as the "beast" of Revelation and the "disgusting thing" or "abomination" of Daniel:
Do you recognize the beast now? Yes, it is the same as "the disgusting thing that causes desolation" that began as the League of Nations and that now exists as the United Nations. (Matthew 24:15; Daniel 12:11)7
The Watchtower Society points to the fact that some religious leaders have supported the goals of the League and United Nations "beast." They say that this amounts to idolatry and spiritual fornication:
When religious leaders of Christendom identified that organization with God's Kingdom and the Gospel, proclaiming it to be "the only available instrument" for bringing peace, that was idolatry. They were putting it in the position of God's Kingdom, "in a holy place." Certainly, it was "standing where it ought not." (Matthew 24:15; Mark 13:14) And religious leaders continue to support the League's successor, the United Nations...8
PLAYING THE HARLOT
"Babylon the Great," while professing to belong to God, has always had political connections, and in this sense 'the kings of the earth have committed fornication' with her.... Despite God's declared disapproval of the blasphemous U.N. beast, "Babylon the Great" seeks to have amorous relations with it.9THE "HARLOT" AND THE "BEAST"
What has been the relationship of the world empire of false religion with the 'peace and security beast'?.... Let the facts answer:After the League of Nations was proposed in 1918, the "Bulletin" of the Federal Council of Churches in Christ in America went so far as to state: "As Christians we urge the establishment of a league of Free Nations at the coming Peace Conference. Such a League is not a mere political expedient; it is rather the political expression of the Kingdom of God on earth...."10
The last quote by the Society has been reprinted time and again by Society writers as proof of Christendom's fornication. Jehovah's Witnesses' leaders on the other hand, they say, have been more virtuous to their Lord and King and have never done such an "abominable" thing as support the League of Nations:
Some of them were martyred in various ways, but not a single one of them had worshipped the symbolic "wild beast," the world system of politics; and since the formation of the League of Nations and the United Nations, none of them have worshipped the political "image" of the symbolic "wild beast." They have not been marked in the head as supporters of it in thought or word... As members of the Bride they have had to keep themselves clean and without blemish or spot from the world. They have taken the course exactly opposite to Babylon the Great and her harlot daughters, the religious institutions of this world. Those "harlots" have committed spiritual fornication by meddling in politics...11
As the war ended, a badly jolted world brought forth its League of Nations, and the executive committee of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America, in its Declaration of December 12, 1918, endorsed the proposed League as "the political expression of the Kingdom of God on earth,"....To the contrary, Jehovah's witnesses consistently exposed the League for what it was -- "the disgusting thing that causes desolation,"...12
Since such supporters of the League had thus "fornicated" with the world's political leaders, they are marked for annihilation by God at Armageddon:
The promoters, admirers and supporters of that wild beast [the United Nations] will also suffer destruction. Their names are not found written upon "the scroll of life."13
If this is true it would include the Jehovah's Witnesses and their leaders who supported the League of Nations when it was forming with similar words as the Council of Churches:
With the great peace conference actually in progress and with the League of Nations a virtual reality, Bible Students are in a position to see more in these two world-events than mere evolution of human thought and action. They are but the strides of divine Providence in this "great day of Jehovah.".... the Lord's people are tremendously interested in the outcome of the present Peace Congress and in the League of Nations....
We cannot but admire the high principles embodied in the proposed League of Nations, formulated undoubtedly by those who have no knowledge of the great plan of God. This fact makes all the more wonderful the ideals which they express. For example, it has been made plain by President Wilson... that the proposed League of Nations is more than merely a league to enforce peace.... its purpose, when put into operation, will be to make of all nations of earth one great family.... Truly this is idealistic, and approximates in a small way that which God has foretold that he will bring about after this time of trouble.14
They thus supported the League of Nations as the current human "political expression of God's [forthcoming] Kingdom on earth," and "admired" its ideals. Such "admirers" of the League, they now say, are marked for annihilation.
World War I
Financial and Prayer Support for World War I
The Watchtower Society has lambasted the clergy for their support, large or small of the two World Wars. One example cited is the clergy advising Christians to pray for one side or the other to be victorious or for peace to come (i.e., that the war would end). When President Wilson in the United States called on churches to pray for peace during World War I, the Watchtower's president refused:
The religious leaders and systems of Christendom were all set to laugh at Brother Russell... over failure of his announced predictions concerning A.D. 1914. But it was no laughing matter when, at the end of July, World War I broke out and by October it became global in scope. Christendom's religious mouths were silenced.... Knowing that the world had now reached the time for its dissolution he [Russell] refused to heed the plea of U.S. President Wilson for all clergymen and preachers to join in nation-wide prayer for peace.15
Their view of Christian neutrality thus extends to not even praying that a war would end! One individual left his Church and became a Jehovah's Witness after his minister prayed for an Allied victory in World War I.16
However, during 1918, the Society officially in print honored a further plea of President Wilson for prayer that the war would end. Not only that, but they took sides and prayed for the "democracies" to be victorious!17 In the article, "May 30 For Prayer and supplication" they wrote:
In accordance with the resolution of Congress of April 2nd, and with the proclamation of the President of the United States of May 11, it is suggested that the Lord's people everywhere make the 30th a day of prayer and supplication. God was graciously pleased to cause this nation to be formed.... Countless blessings have flowed to devout people through the wise provisions of the laws of the United States.... This class ["sons and servants of the Most High"]... will be of all people most ready to embrace an opportunity of gathering in an additional service of prayer and supplication.... Let there be praise and thanksgiving to God for the promised glorious outcome of the war... and the making of the world safe for the common people -- blessings assured by the Word of God...18
The Society even promoted the buying of War bonds, called Liberty Loans by the government of the United States. These loans were to "help finance World War I."19 These were loans by citizens that the government promised to pay back. The U.S. government's Treasury Report said the proceeds "were to be used for the purpose of waging war against autocracy."20
The May 15, 1918 Watch Tower quoted Rutherford as saying to the press:
The people of our Association are not against the government, nor against the Liberty Loan... each person should be left to the free exercise of his individual conscience as to whether he will or will not purchase Liberty Bonds... Every Christian appreciates the privilege of living in such a country and gladly meets his obligations in the payment of taxes. When the Government asks to borrow his money and gives its promise to pay in the nature of a bond, if he can do so he should buy the bond.... Some members of the Brooklyn Tabernacle congregation had previously purchased Liberty Bonds.21
In the next issue of The Watch Tower they said:
A Christian, unwilling to kill, may have been conscientiously unable to buy government bonds, later he considers what great blessings he has received under his government, and realizes that the nation is in trouble and facing dangers to its liberty, and he feels himself conscientiously able to lend some money to the country, just as he would lend to a friend in need.22
Thus in the Society's and Rutherford's saying if one could, one should buy these Liberty Loan bonds, they encouraged Bible Students (Jehovah's Witnesses) to financially support "the waging of war" by the U.S. government during the first World War.
In the October 1, 1984 Watchtower, Karl Klein, a member of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses, gave his life story as a Jehovah's Witness. He recalled this period of compromise or "fornication" with the world and made some astounding comments about this "test of loyalty" to God vs. loyalty to the Society. He said:
Shortly after my baptism in 1918, my loyalty to fellow Bible Students was put to the test. World War I was raging,... the need for Christian neutrality was not fully appreciated by those taking the lead. A few who saw the issue clearly took offense and separated themselves from the Bible Students.... I could not see myself leaving those from whom I had learned so much, and I therefore decided to take my chances with my Bible Student brothers. It really was a test of loyalty. Since then, I have observed many similar tests of loyalty. When mistakes are made, those not wholly loyal at heart seem to pounce upon them as an excuse for quitting.23
How this leader of Jehovah's Witnesses can write the above without great shame is beyond me. Regardless of whether it was right or not for a Christian to pray for peace or to buy war bonds to finance World War I, etc., Klein, as a member of the Governing Body had numerous articles published for decades condemning all other Christians as whores for doing what he admits he did himself. Not only that, but he seems to claim it was a test of loyalty that he apparently passed while others, who he admits saw the matter "clearly," left the Bible Students ("quit") and thus failed the test of loyalty! Nothing is said here about loyalty to God, just loyalty to the organization -- right or wrong.
The Whore of Babylon and World War I
In the latest Watchtower as of this issue's printing, the Society again condemned Christendom's support of war. They stated:
The "great tribulation" will come.... Its outbreak will be marked by God's execution of judgment on all false religion, which God's Word calls "Babylon the Great.... Modern Babylon.... has played the harlot by compromising with the political elements. She has supported their wars...24
One of these wars was World War I. This issue described the methods and instruments used during the war to kill millions:
Automatic weapons were designed to kill more and more people and from greater distances. Machine guns spat bullets with grim efficiency; mustard gas burned, tanks rumbled mercilessly through enemy lines, their great guns blazing. The airplane and the submarine also came into play...25
Apparently, all this was brought to you in part by the financial backing of your friendly neighborhood Bible Students, some of whom, such as Karl Klein, are currently printing material condemning as spiritual whores others who did the same. Somehow, though, he and other Bible Students weren't "whores," but passed the test of loyalty by staying faithful, not to God, but to Bible Student man.
World War I a "Just" War?
A year or two after supporting the buying of war bonds to help finance the war and praying for an allied victory, The Golden Age magazine promoted the "just war" theory:
We as Christians are opposed to war among truly Christian people; and yet we must acknowledge that some causes of war are more just than others, and of this more just class the wars of the United States seem to have been.26
Perhaps World War I was a "just" war to some Bible Students that they felt they could help finance as it wasn't a war between "truly Christian people," but "Whore of Babylon" types! Today, however, they condemn everyone else who has ever supported the "just war" theory:
The truth is, Christendom's leaders have always been ready to call a war "just" if it was waged by the country they happened to live in.... In this they have shown not the spirit of Christ but one like that of the American patriot Stephen Decatur, who is famous for his declaration: "Our country right or wrong!"27
This apparently included some of the Bible Student's clergy during World War I.
World War II
Jehovah's Witnesses, Christendom, and Hitler
The Watchtower Society seems spiritually and morally proud of their historical record relating to Nazi Germany during World War II. They claim that they were the only ones who consistently and courageously spoke out against Nazi persecution and remained true to their faith in God and didn't compromise (fornicate) with the German government, unlike some others they mention.
One of the latest and most self-serving of the Society's numerous writings on this is the August 22, 1995 Awake! magazine. In it they said the following in the lead article, "One Voice in the Midst of Silence":
The Holocaust, during which several millions were systematically murdered, reveals what monstrous evil Nazism was. But what about then? Who spoke out? Who did not? For many, their first knowledge of the mass slayings came only at the close of World War II.... Yet, even before the death camps were set up, a voice was proclaiming the dangers of Nazism, through Awake!, the magazine you hold in your hands. It was first known as The Golden Age and was renamed Consolation in 1937.... While the world in general was unaware or skeptical of the horrific reports trickling out of Germany and occupied lands, Jehovah's Witnesses could not keep quiet. They knew firsthand the cruelties of the Nazi regime, and they were not afraid to speak out.28
This introduces the next short article titled, "Why Unafraid to Speak Out" (pp. 4-6) which presents their "speaking out" against Nazism with comments such as:
In retrospect, it could be said that the clash between Jehovah's Witnesses and Nazism, or National Socialism, was all but inevitable. Why? Because of the Nazi's unyielding demands that conflicted with three of the Witnesses' fundamental Bible-based beliefs. These are: (1) Jehovah God is the Supreme Sovereign. (2) True Christians are politically neutral. (3) God will resurrect those who have proved faithful to him until death. These Bible-based beliefs determined the steadfast stand of Jehovah's Witnesses against the Nazi's ungodly demands. Thus they courageously spoke out.... Jehovah's Witnesses advocate only one government, God's Kingdom.... They are politically neutral... they obey the laws of their respective human governments. Indeed, they are exemplary in their "subjection to the superior authorities." (Romans 13:1) Never have they advocated rebellion against any human government!... Witnesses have the same attitude as did three young Hebrews in ancient Babylon. When threatened with death in a fiery furnace...
They seem to want it both ways. On one hand they were "exemplary" in their "subjection" to all government "authorities" and their laws including the Nazi government and never even advocated a "rebellion" against it. On the other, unlike most everyone else who "fornicated" by being subject, they claim they "spoke out" courageously against the government and its laws, refusing to be subject to them. This they say was in keeping with "rendering unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar, and rendering to God what belongs to God." They confidently remarked, "If anyone tries to exact from them what belongs to God, that attempt will fail."
The next article, "The Evils of Nazism Exposed" details their publications that "exposed" the evils of the Nazi government such as the concentration camps. They noted that in 1929, three years before Hitler came to power the German edition of The Golden Age said Nazism was ruled by the Devil.
They state that this led to persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses in Nazi Germany. They noted that Hitler had their branch office in Magdeburg seized a few months after he came to power in January of 1933 but the property was returned to the Society the same month. They then recount their convention held in Berlin in June of 1933. This was to be the turning point in their relations with the Nazi government and Hitler. The official Watchtower history of this convention and its aftermath is therefore given in this article:
In spite of the evident hostility of the Hitler regime, Jehovah's Witnesses organized a convention in Berlin, Germany, on June 25, 1933. Some 7,000 persons assembled. The Witnesses publicly made their intentions clear: "Our organization is not political in any sense. We only insist on teaching the Word of Jehovah God to the people, and that without hindrance.".... What were the consequences?
The Attacks Begin
The immovable neutral position of the Witnesses, along with their loyalty to God's Kingdom, was unacceptable to the Hitler government. The Nazi government did not intend to tolerate any refusal to support their ideology. Immediately after the Berlin convention concluded, the Nazis again seized the branch office at Magdeburg, on June 28, 1933. They broke up Witness meetings and made arrests. Soon Witnesses began to be dismissed from their jobs. They suffered raids on their homes, beatings, and arrests.Witnesses' Resolute Stand
Despite these attacks, Jehovah's Witnesses stood their ground and publicly denounced the oppression and injustice.... On February 9, 1934, J. F. Rutherford, the president of Watch Tower Society, sent a letter of protest to Hitler.... Rutherford set March 24, 1934, as [a] deadline. He said that if by that time relief did not come to the German Witnesses, the facts of the persecution would be published in Germany and the rest of the world. The Nazis answered with stepped-up abuse, sending many of Jehovah's Witnesses to the concentration camps that had recently been set up. Thus, they were among the first inmates of these camps.Witnesses Expose Nazi Atrocities
As Jehovah's Witnesses had promised, they began exposing the atrocities occurring in Germany....29
The rest of the article gives examples of their published exposure of the concentration camps torture by the Nazis. The next article, "Why the Churches Kept Silent" (pp. 12-15) deals with various churches, especially the Roman Catholic, that supported the Third Reich. They quote the Catholic professor of history at Vienna University who said "the Cross and the swastika came ever closer together... swastika flags appeared round altars..." (page 13). They also noted that:
Susannah Heschel, a professor of Judaic studies, uncovered church documents proving that the Lutheran clergy were willing, yes anxious, to support Hitler. She said they begged for the privilege of displaying the swastika in their churches.30
All this of course is contrasted to the "steadfast" loyalty of Jehovah's Witnesses and their leaders in refusing to compromise, support, or "fornicate" with such a political leader as Hitler. They say (pp. 14, 15):
The reason the churches were silent becomes clear. It is because Christendom's clergy and their flocks had abandoned the teachings of the Bible in favor of supporting the political state.... Indeed, the Catholic Church and other churches as well became handmaidens of the evil Hitler government..... True, a few courageous individuals from the Catholic, Protestant, and various other religions stood up against the Nazi State. But even as some of them paid with their lives, their spiritual leaders, who claimed to serve God, were serving as puppets of the Third Reich. There was, however, one voice that consistently spoke out... Jehovah's Witnesses felt compelled to expose treachery and hypocrisy of the clergy.... In the pages of the forunner of this magazine as well as other publications throughout the 1930's and 1940's, they printed strong indictments of religious organizations that became Nazism's handmaidens.
Identifying Christ's True Followers
Jehovah's Witnesses are totally different from the religions of the world. Being no part of the world, they take no part in the wars of the nations.
However, ex-Jehovah's Witnesses, especially professor M. James Penton have uncovered Watchtower "church documents" and eyewitness testimony that Jehovah's Witnesses' leaders were guilty of doing and attempting the same sorts of things. They even displayed the swastika at their 1933 Berlin convention and tried at first to fornicate with the Nazi government and Hitler. It was after the amorous advances were rejected that the Jehovah's Witnesses' leaders spoke out against the Third Reich like a lover scorned.
The 1933 Berlin Convention
The Watchtower's branch in Magdeburg was apparently seized shortly after Hitler came to power due to their linking him with Satan in the German Golden Age and their pro-Zionist writings from the 1800s to 1920s. The Watchtower's account of their 1933 Berlin convention after their property was returned and the subsequent seizure of the property again appears to be a whitewash of the facts.
The Society's writers apparently believe, or want their readers to believe, that the Society's "speaking out" courageously against the Nazi government before and during the 1933 convention and their "immovable neutral position" led to their property being taken and for the subsequent persecution they suffered. They portray their leaders as courageously standing up to Hitler and the Nazi government with letters and publications, such as the convention's resolution, "Declaration of Facts", which were full of severe criticisms. Actually, their convention was a shocking display of compromise and "fornication" attempts. The letter Rutherford sent to Hitler with an ultimatum the writer of the August 22, 1995 Awake! noted was sent a half year after the convention. They fail to mention his letter attempting further compromise and reconciliation with Hitler shortly after the seizure of Watchtower property. Briefly, here are the facts and the evidence for this as presented by M. James Penton and is currently posted on the World Wide Web.
Konrad Franke's Testimony
Penton wrote:
But was the seizure of Watch Tower property by the German government on June 23, 1933 really because the Declaration of Facts was a bold protest against Nazi actions? No, quite the contrary. In a tape-recorded account of the history of Jehovah's Witnesses in Germany, former Watch Tower Society "branch servant" or "overseer" Konrad Franke tells that when he and another Jehovah's Witness arrived at the Berlin Spothalle Wilmersdorf where the 1933 Witness convention was being held, they were shocked.31
Penton reprinted part of Konrad's actual comments given in his talk as transcribed from German about what he witnessed at the convention that shocked him:
... we were invited to a special assembly in Prussia, thus Berlin, where the "Declaration" was to be presented. Many were now unable to come, but I had the privilege of traveling with Brother Albert Wandres.... we were shocked when we arrived at the Tennis Hall the next morning and did not find that atmosphere which we ordinarily found at conventions. When we entered, we found the hall bedecked with Swastika flags! But not only that: when the meeting started, it was preluded by a song which we had not sung in years, especially not in Germany, because of the melody. Though the lyrics were fine, the melody -- well, the musicians who are here will recognize that the notes were the melody of "Deutschland, Deutschland, uber alles"!
Can you imagine how we felt? Many could not join in the singing; it was just as though their throats were throttled. What kind of leaders did we have who brought us such dangers -- and the danger of faltering under these circumstances -- instead of helping and supporting us, so that we could take a fearless stand. May the elders who are among us learn something from these examples, and may they recognize their responsibilities in such matters in the near future.32
Also noted was what the Declaration of Facts said to appease the Nazi government and try and show that the Witnesses were for the principles of the Third Reich. (The Declaration was printed in the 1934 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses.) Under the subheading "Jews" the 1934 Yearbook's reprinting of the Declaration said:
"It is falsely charged by our enemies that we have received financial support for our work from the Jews. Nothing could be further from the truth.... the Jews entirely reject Jesus Christ and emphatically deny that he is the Savior of the world sent of God for man's good. This of itself should be sufficient proof to show that we receive no support from Jews and therefore the charges against us are maliciously false and could only proceed from Satan, our great enemy.
"The greatest and the most oppressive empire on earth is the Anglo-American empire. By that is meant the British Empire, of which the United States forms a part. It has been the commercial Jews of the British-American empire that have built up and carried on Big Business as a means of exploiting and oppressing the peoples of many nations."33
The Declaration also stated the following which was clearly designed to further show their support for the German government's principles:
"The present government of Germany has declared against Big Business oppressors and in opposition to the wrongful religious influence in the political affairs of the nation. Such is exactly our position..."34
"Instead of being against the principles advocated by the government of Germany, we stand squarely for such principles, and point out that Jehovah God through Christ Jesus will bring about the full realization of these principles... Instead, therefore, of our literature and our work's being a menace to the principles of the present government we are the strongest supporters of such high ideals."35
The only statement by the Society about the contents of the Declaration mentioning the type of statements recorded above are in the 1974 Yearbook. It basically claims that an individual Witness claims that the German translator of this and other Society publications "weakened" its attacks on the German government. However, since the Declaration's English translation in the 1934 Yearbook says what it does, this seems unlikely or at least irrelevant. The English version has the compromising, anti-Semitic statements recorded above. On top of that, the 1934 Yearbook has Rutherford's signature at the end of its text as the author. It was an official Watchtower recording of the Declaration's contents.
After the August 22, 1995 Awake! issue came out, Penton wrote an open letter to Watchtower president Milton Henschel along with photo documentation of the German and English documents (Declaration of Facts, etc.) as well as a copy of the Christian Quest where he presented this material. In the letter he stated:
Yesterday I obtained a copy of the August 22 Awake! magazine with its articles on "The Holocaust: Who Spoke Out?". On reading the articles in that issue of Awake!, I was thoroughly shocked and disgusted....as a former Jehovah's Witness, a professional historian, and as a Christian who believes that God has no use of our lies, I feel forced to expose the facts.... In closing, Mr. Henschel, I would beg of the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses, who carry a heavy responsibility before God and humankind, to come clean and admit the facts. Hypocrisy and falsifying the historical record are serious sins, as I am sure you are aware.36
Jehovah's Witnesses in Mexico
In the 1983 book, Crisis of Conscience, former Governing Body member of Jehovah's Witnesses, Raymond Franz, wrote about the "double standard" and "subterfuge" in Mexico by the Watchtower Society. In 1943 the Society decided to reorganize as a cultural or civil organization and not as a religion. They did this to protect their real estate holdings in Mexico as the government decided to make all property currently held by religious organizations state property.
As a result of their decision to be a cultural and not a religious organization, Witnesses could no longer pray out loud in their meetings or sing worship songs. But they could keep their property which apparently was more important to Society leaders who didn't have to submit to their decree. This was a double standard Ray stated as the Society officially stated Christians shouldn't compromise their worship by complying with a man-made decree. The case of Daniel refusing to follow the King's decree and continuing to pray publicly is an example the Society frequently cites.
(In addition to this, Franz discussed the fact that Witnesses also regularly bribed military officials in Mexico to obtain military certificates stating they had completed their mandatory military service when they hadn't. This was done so they could maintain their "neutrality"!)
The Society reorganized again in the 1980s, this time as a religious institution. When this change occurred, The Watchtower announced it in the following manner:
A highlight of 1989 was a change in the status of Jehovah's Witnesses in Mexico. As a result, the Bible could be used in the house-to-house preaching work for the first time, and meetings could be opened with prayer.... "We could not hold back the tears of joy. The results have been manifest in better punctuality. Everyone wants to be present for the opening prayer."37
Nothing was stated as to why Jehovah's Witnesses were previously prohibited from even saying a prayer during their meetings or why Bibles were banned. Based on the reaction of the Witnesses in Mexico as reported here, this would leave Witnesses in other countries with the impression that it must have been the government of Mexico "persecuting" Witnesses. The real "persecutors" in all this banning of prayers, etc. was the Watchtower Society! I haven't found any official statement prior to this article that tells of this situation in Mexico or the reasons for it. It appears that Ray Franz' disclosure made the change by the Society inevitable. (His Crisis book was also published in a Spanish edition.)
However, in the 1995 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses a discussion of this situation in Mexico was given for the first time. Is speaking of the change in legal status of Jehovah's Witnesses in Mexico in 1943 the Yearbook stated:
Objections were raised to the house-to-house activity of the Witnesses, since the law stipulated that 'every religious act of public worship must be held inside the temples.' For this reason, objections were raised to our conventions in public places.... Owning property also presented problems, because the law required that every building used for religious purposes had to become federal property.
For these and other reasons, the Society decided that it would be wise to reorganize, with a view to giving greater emphasis to the educational nature of our work. Therefore, on June 10, 1943, application was made to the Secretariat of Foreign Affairs to register La Torre del Vigia [Watchtower Society] as a civil society, and this was approved on June 15, 1943.38
The Watchtower Society in Mexico after 1943 was officially and legally not "God's organization" that promoted the worship of Jehovah God, but was simply a "cultural" or "civil" organization. Thus it was the Society itself that banned the reading of the Bible in their door-to-door work and banned prayers and singing in their non-religious meetings! That this decree of the Watchtower meant that Witnesses in Mexico had to seriously compromise their worship of God (if they were to remain Jehovah's Witnesses) is admitted in the following amazing statements:
With this arrangement, singing at our meetings was discontinued, and the meeting places became known as Halls for Cultural Studies. No audible prayers were said at the meetings, though nothing could prevent a person from saying an earnest prayer silently in his heart. Every appearance of a religious service was avoided.... use of the Bible at doors was avoided.....Only on return visits and on studies (which were termed "cultural" instead of "Bible") was the Bible itself used.39
Why was this compromise of their worship of Jehovah and what Ray Franz called "a subterfuge" undertaken? The Society says it was "necessary" for them to adopt such a policy:
The organization of Jehovah's Witnesses has always operated along the same basic lines in Mexico as in other parts of the world.... Yet, for many years, in Mexico, it was necessary for the organization to function as a civil and educational society, as explained earlier.40
The fact is, this whole situation was not "necessary" but voluntary on the part of the Watchtower Society. They could have remained a religion and kepted on worshipping God and praying at their government owned Kingdom Halls. The only things they would have to give up would have been their property and perhaps they would have had to curtail some or all of their door-to-door work and assemblies.
The Society headquarters instead instituted a policy of avoiding "every appearance of a religious meeting" at their "Cultural Halls." It was the Society headquarters who stopped the praying, the singing, and the avoidance of the use of the Bible. And, of course, the evidence indicates that the average Jehovah's Witness in Mexico simply complied with "Mother's" wishes. I haven't heard of any that complained, or who, like Daniel, went right on praying and singing songs to God, i.e., kept on worshiping God despite what government, or in this case, Watchtower Society "kings" decreed. If they did, they apparently could have been disfellowshipped!
Compare this "necessary" step with their following typical comments on Daniel's refusal to obey a King's decree banning prayer to Jehovah:
What a glowing example Daniel left as to facing such issues!.... He did not cease his customary worship of Jehovah. In similar fashion, faithful witnesses of modern times do not stop their worship of God because some dictator bans or restricts their Christian activity.41
Unless, apparently, the "dictator" banning such Christian activities as praying and singing worship songs at Jehovah's Witnesses' meetings is the Watchtower Society. Also, the Watchtower's comment that their new arrangement in Mexico in 1943 didn't "prevent a person from saying an earnest prayer silently in his heart" is a hollow consolation for worshipers of God. The same could be said of another non-religious "cultural" or "secular" organization: the American Public Education system. It also contradicts their published statements on what Christians, like Daniel, should do in these situations:
... Daniel did not need to keep on praying three times a day before an open window... and thus let all men see how different he was from everybody else, did he? He could have prayed to God in secret. But he did not want to give anyone the impression that he was, even superficially, complying with the king's anti-God decree.42
Mexican Government Pressures the Watchtower
Apparently after Ray's book was published in Spanish in the 1980s and this whole "subterfuge" of the Watchtower to maintain their property holdings in Mexico came to the attention of government officials, the government investigated the matter. After investigating the "cultural" organization's activities, they determined the Watchtower Society was a religion masquerading as a cultural organization and that they had thus been deceived (Watchtower "theocratic war strategy"). They apparently didn't think very highly of all this and meetings with Society leaders on the question ensued. Here is the Society's sanitized version found in the 1995 Yearbook:
However, during the decade of the 1980's, changes began to take place. Government representatives repeatedly visited some of our meeting places and insisted that they be registered with the government as places for religious meetings and that these become federal property. On the other hand, it became more and more difficult to rent public places for our conventions and assemblies because the authorities insisted that the law prohibited religious meetings in public places.
This led to meetings with government representatives in 1988. We learned that the authorities, even though they had no complaint against our organization as to comportment, felt considerable distrust because of what others had told them about our organization and our attitude toward the national emblems. Furthermore, they had the idea that our organization operated underground since the meeting places could not be easily identified. At our meetings with the authorities,.... Our position of Christian neutrality was made clear, also our respect for government authority.... The conclusion drawn from these interviews was that our organization should operate openly as the religion of Jehovah's Witnesses, even if it meant that all of our meeting places would become government property.....
In 1989, with the approval of the Governing Body, a letter was written to all the "companies" saying that as of April 1, we would be operating in Mexico as a religious organization. Afterward, in the June issue of Nuestro Ministerio del Reino (Our Kingdom Ministry), which was changed from being called Informador (Informant) de la Torre del Vigia, further details were given. From then on, the Bible would be used from door to door, and prayers would be offered at meetings. Later, we began to sing songs at the meetings.43
Thus it was the government of Mexico that pressured Witnesses to stop living a lie before their god and fellow man and act like regular religious folks. Prayer, songs and an open use of the Bible soon followed the April Fools Day change after their meetings with government officials about their "underground" activities. It was the Watchtower who stopped the praying and it was the government of Mexico who played a major role apparently in bringing the worship and praying back to the average Witness. Who are they serving anyway if they are willing to stop praying and worshiping God openly in their meetings simply to retain minor real estate holdings?
Conclusion
Does the evidence warrant the Watchtower's contention that all professing Christians are guilty of spiritual fornication and adultery and Jehovah's Witnesses have been the only true and virtuous followers of King Jesus? Or have the leaders of Jehovah's Witnesses time and again been willing to compromise their worship, even with the most notorious despots such as Hitler for such "worldly" concerns as Watchtower real estate holdings?
Jehovah's Witnesses may be offended by this exposure of Watchtower hypocrisy. As Jesus said, if you judge someone else for something you yourself are guilty of, you can expect the same condemnation or judgment back from those you are condemning, and it will be well deserved:
Stop judging, that you may not be judged; for with what judgment you are judging, you will be judged; and with the measure that you are measuring out, they will measure out to you. Why, then, do you look at the straw in you brother's eye, but do not consider the rafter in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, 'Allow me to extract the straw from your eye'; when look! a rafter is in your own eye? Hypocrite! First extract the rafter from your own eye, and then you will see clearly how to extract the straw from your brother's eye. (Matthew 7:1-5, NWT)
Notes
1 Commentary on the Letter of James (New York: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society), 1979, pp. 148-149.
2 Ibid., pp. 149-150.
3 The Watchtower, August 1, 1983, p. 12.
4 J. F. Rutherford, Enemies, 1937, p. 329.
5 The Watchtower, April 15, 1940, p. 127.
6 The Nations Shall Know That I Am Jehovah -- How?, 1971, p. 117, §12, p. 121, §18.
7 The Watchtower, October 1, 1985, p. 15, §7. See further, God's Kingdom of a Thousand Years Has Approached, 1973, pp. 314-315.
8 The Watchtower, October 1, 1985, p. 11, §14.
9 Let Your Kingdom Come, 1981, pp. 165, 167.
10 Ibid., p. 169.
11 The Watchtower, August 1, 1967, pp. 454-455.
12 The Watchtower, September 15, 1971, p. 560.
13 The Watchtower, October 1, 1983, p. 16, §9.
14 The Watch Tower, February 15, 1919, p. 51.
15 The Watchtower, July 15, 1950, p. 216.
16 1986 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, p. 112.
17 The Watchtower, June 1, 1987, p. 15.
18 The Watch Tower, June 1, 1919, p. 174.
19 The Encyclopedia Americana International Edition, 1995, vol. 17, p. 305. Quoted in Witnessing to Jehovah's Witnesses by Jay Hess.
20 Alexander D. Noyes, The War Period of American Finance 1908-1925, 1926, p. 183. Quoted by Hess.
21 The Watch Tower, May 15, 1918, p. 152.
22 The Watch Tower, June 1, 1918, p. 168.
23 The Watchtower, October 1, 1984, p. 22.
24 The Watchtower, April 1, 1997, p. 14, §4.
25 Ibid., p. 6.
26 The Golden Age, February 18, 1920, p. 334.
27 Awake!, March 22, 1984, p. 6.
28 Awake!, August 22, 1995, p. 3.
29 Ibid., pp. 6-8.
30 Ibid., p. 14
31 James Penton, "A Story of Attempted Comprimise: Jehovah's Witnesses, Anti-semitism and the Third Reich," The Christian Quest, vol. 3, no. 1, Spring, 1990, p. 37.
32 "Kanrad Franke's Testimony," The Christian Quest, Spring, 1990, p. 50.
33 1934 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, p. 134.
34 Ibid., p. 135.
35 Ibid., pp. 136, 138.
36 Letter from M. James Penton to Milton G. Henschel, August 11, 1995.
37 The Watchtower, January 1, 1990, p. 7.
38 1995 Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses, p. 212.
39 Ibid., pp. 212-213
40 Ibid., p. 232.
41 The Watchtower, October 15, 1979, p. 20, §8.
42 The Watchtower, August 15, 1970, p. 493, §16.
43 Ibid., pp. 232-233.
