The UN letter?

Question

Someone asked for proof of the Watchtower's involvement with the United Nations "the Scarlet Colored Wild Beast". Check this out, and don't forget to read the letter of lies that the Society sent to all the local congregations within the Kingdom Halls.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jehovah's_Witnesses_and_the_United_Nations

Answer 1

The fact is that Watchtower's "involvement" was limitted to their use of the UN's libraries, which are used by tens of thousands of scholars, educators, students, and writers in New York City.

Years ago, a volunteer from the Watchtower Society filled out a one-side-of-one-page document requesting approval for him and his colleagues to use the libraries at the United Nations (which are only 5 miles from WT offices) .

By most accounts, at the time no signature was even required on that form. Each accepted applicant was designated by the UN and became listed as an 'NGO' (a "non-government organization"). The term is not specific to the UN and everywhere else on the planet the term "non-government organization" simply implies that the entity is:
1. Not a government entity; and
2. An organization (rather than a person)

Sooner or later, the annual renewal began requiring a signature, which a WT representative submitted each year thereafter. According to the form itself, the signature simply verified that this was a bonafide request.

At some truly arbitrary point, some United Nations bureaucrat decided that the term "non-government organization" (which had been and still is used millions of times each day by thousands of agencies of all types around the globe) was a special term! This bureaucrat decided that the term "non-government organization" meant that the organization endorses the UN!

Existing UN NGO's were not asked to enumerate this supposed endorsement. This incredibly presumptuous change was not even formally communicated to renewal applicants, and there was nothing on the renewal form which could possibly be interpreted as authorizing this remarkable conceit.

Weeks or months after the renewal request was submitted and accepted, the UN bureaucracy finally sneaked this ridiculous after-the-fact assumption into two sentences of fineprint at the end of a boilerplate booklet sent to non-government organizations. The UN website contains a carefully-worded statement that dishonestly implies that the UN bureaucracy's remarkable changes in definition of "NGO" preceeded WT involvement, but you'll see that they stop short of making such a clear (and libelous) statement; there is 'no love lost' on the part of the UN bureaucrats for JW's.

For decades, Jehovah's Witnesses had discussed the United Nations as a human counterfeit of God's global Messianic Kingdom government. Suddenly, enemies of Jehovah's Witnesses pretended that Jehovah's Witnesses must actually be in some kind of secret alliance with the UN (apparently along with the thousands of other library patrons). Jehovah's Witnesses acted quickly to distance themselves from the idea that they endorsed ANYTHING associated with the United Nations. They "tore up" their library card, as it were, and formally renounced the idea that Jehovah's Witnesses had ever endorsed the UN.

The matter is unconfusing and straightforward to any fairminded person. The remarkable conspiracy theories of anti-Witness critics fail to explain any possible benefit to Jehovah's Witnesses from "the secret alliance" (which also involved the thousands of other library patrons).

Before, during, and since the supposed "alliance", Jehovah's Witnesses continued to publicly denounce the ungodly nature of the UN. Before, during, and since the supposed "alliance", Jehovah's Witnesses continued to be widely persecuted in dozens of countries. Before, during, and since the supposed "alliance", the UN continued to be consistently unsympathetic to religious persecution.

The conspiracy theorists and anti-Witnesses are illogical and wrong regarding their accusations that Jehovah's Witnesses' status as a "non-government organization" supposedly indicated some endorsement of the United Nations.

Learn more:
http://watchtower.org/library/g/2000/6/22/article_03.htm
http://watchtower.org/library/w/2001/10/15/article_02.htm
http://watchtower.org/library/dg/article_08.htm
http://watchtower.org/library/lmn/article_10.htm

Answer 2

Not even the Witnesses say they are perfect, only trying their best, and looking only to God and Christ for Guidance. In the beginning, they displayed the flag at their headquarters, and celebrated Christmas. There are some good photos of that on their web site. Unlike other religions, who strive mostly to be just enough politically correct as to keep people coming and putting money in their offering plates, they do not try to be acceptable, just as Christ and the Apostles didn't. You may not like what they teach, but you can't fault the fact that they are far more successful at keeping the family together, at preventing teen pregnancies in their members, as well as STDs and all the other things that infect American religions. They do all this without the threat of eternal torture in hell, and the promise of a lot more work ahead, after Armageddon, spending 1000 years tearing down all the structures of the old system, and rebuild the earth back into a Paradise.

Answer 3

Perhaps I missed something but I didn't see anything that said the letter was a lie, or that the reasons were decietful. If anything the article stressed how they werne't about to get involved with the UN

'we, as witnesses of the Sovereign God Jehovah, will continue refusing to engage in such idolatrous worship..."'


They were just using the library files for reaserch and find information. In order to, not break any laws or cause legal problems, they had to agree to the terms of the U.N. but only as far as neccisary. or so that's what I got out of it.

Answer 4

Thank you so much for helping people to further see how Jehovah God views the political powers. They will not be able to stand when Jehovah begins his war against them.

In 1963 Jehovah's Witnesses adopted a Resolution establishing the official view of the United Nations. The Resolution was published in the November 15, 1963 issue of Watchtower. At 24 assemblies held throughout the year, a total of 454,977 convention attendees adopted the Resolution.

Regarding the United Nations, paragraph 5 of that resolution states, "the nations further refused the surrender of their sovereignty to God’s Messianic kingdom by setting up ... the United Nations, ....This international organization stands for world sovereignty by political men. For years men without faith in God’s kingdom have endeavored to get all people to worship this international image of human political sovereignty as the best hope for earthly peace and security, in fact, the last hope for humanity. To date 111 nations have given worship to this political image by becoming members of it. However, we, as witnesses of the Sovereign God Jehovah, will continue refusing to engage in such idolatrous worship..." (This is not a letter of lies)
Yes,thank you rare treat for confirming the fact that God's loyal servants refuse to engage in idolatrous worship of the "wild beast" We remain neutral in all political affairs. We refuse to go to war for we will not take another person's life. The United Nations promotes war.

Read Papa Bears comment--He shows appreciation for what we are doing, and he is right. We are imperfect, just as you are.

Answer 5

Achtung, what a load of rubbish.

There are thousands of libraries yet the WTS decides it needs to use the UN library? Yet it disfellowships its own members for joining a YMCA or painting a church roof. What hypocrisy.

You claim that Watchtower opposers can not give a reason for why they would join. Even if it was just for a library card it is still a huge double standard. More likely it was to help its own political causes to help recognition in countries under ban. The Watchtower has always sent delegates to political events in order to petition governments for support. It is no different than when they lied to the Bulgarian government about a JWs right to accept blood in order to gain recognition.

For an unbiased viewpoint look to what the UN itself has to say, http://www.un.org/dpi/ngosection/pdfs/watchtower.pdf

Answer 6

The involvement was not limited to using the UN library.

It included publishing articles about UN programs in the Awake journal - in order to fulfill their obligation to inform people about UN activities and programs.

That is the only reason the UN approves a non-governmental org to be associated with the DPI . If the Society didn't help the UN in publicizing their programs, why would the UN renew their association each year?

Why would the UN want to misrepresent what happened? It's nothing to them. Achtung's version seems to be quite embellished and not supported by actual verifiable factual information.

Answer 7

check this website about the UN question. This is to defend JWs.

Thanks.

http://www.jehovahsjudgment.co.uk/watchtower-un-ngo/

Answer 8

It sure looks like your annoyed that any Witnesses are here to refute your lies.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061019171942AA2mNqN

You even stopped letting people vote on your repeats of this question:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061020184732AAexpyV


Who else is afraid of the light?
http://tinyurl.com/6n94d