A government that will solve our problems

[JehovahsWitness]

Jehovah's Witnesses do not vote because we are already committed to God's government.

My question is, do you really believe that a human government will one day solve the major problems facing mankind?

[JehovahsWitness]

At least JW's are doing something with education, you are appealing to minds and hearts, and that is excellent.

But we need your votes too, until Christ returns, don't all life-affirming Christians have that obligation to do everything we can to stop evil?

Yes, everything they legitimately can. Violating Christian law and principle (ie disobeying God) is not an option, at least for Jehovah's Witnesses. You may not agree with how we interpret scripture, you may find it absurd and be convinced we are wrong, but that is how it is: We believe Christians must be politically neutral. That's our belief system, we have paid and are presently paying the highest of prices for this. It's not just theory, this stand has cost the lives of our brothers and sisters: but for us it is a matter of our loyalty to God. Political neutrality is a non-negotiable.

Further reading: Why Do Jehovah's Witnesses Maintain Political Neutrality?
https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesse ... t_index]=0

[DanieltheDragon]

Jehovah's Witnesses do not vote because we are already committed to God's government.

My question is, do you really believe that a human government will one day solve the major problems facing mankind?

The major problems facing mankind are related to territory and resource scarcity. Government may or may not solve these problems but I suspect a government will be involved in implementing these solutions. I don't see how a belief in God or god's government will help though.

[Elijah John]

At least JW's are doing something with education, you are appealing to minds and hearts, and that is excellent.

But we need your votes too, until Christ returns, don't all life-affirming Christians have that obligation to do everything we can to stop evil?

Yes, everything they legitimately can. Violating Christian law and principle (ie disobeying God) is not an option, at least for Jehovah's Witnesses. You may not agree with how we interpret scripture, you may find it absurd and be convinced we are wrong, but that is how it is: We believe Christians must be politically neutral. That's our belief system, we have paid and are presently paying the highest of prices for this. It's not just theory, this stand has cost the lives of our brothers and sisters: but for us it is a matter of our loyalty to God. Political neutrality is a non-negotiable.

Further reading: Why Do Jehovah’s Witnesses Maintain Political Neutrality?
https://www.jw.org/en/jehovahs-witnesse ... t_index]=0

You JWs may have paid a high price in Nazi Germany, but not in the USA. No one is legally compelling you to vote here.

But if a JW dissents from JW custom or teaching, and on an individual matter follows their conscience, and in this case votes, would that person be disciplined, shunned or excommunicated?

You say that according to God's law a Christian is not supposed to vote, what if a JW reads that passage differently?

[JehovahsWitness]

But if a JW dissents from JW custom or teaching, and on an individual matter follows their conscience, and in this case votes, would that person be disciplined, shunned or excommunicated?

You say that according to God's law a Christian is not supposed to vote, what if a JW reads that passage differently?

We have no policing system and are not currently employing our covert camera surveillance network, so each Witness is free to do as he or she pleases. Voting is an entirely personal matter and there is absolutely no way (unless the Witnesses decided to share the information) for anyone to know if he or she has decided to vote or get involved in politics.

If someone disagrees with the teachings of Jehovah's Witnesses then they would not qualify to become one (these matters are discussed during the course of their studies and their agreement on all the major issues is discussed before they can be baptized as one of Jehovah's Witnesses).

If in the course of their lives they decide they have changed their minds about any or all of the major beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses and would like to leave, they are free to do so at any time. All they have to do is stop attending our services and go play golf instead. If they wanted to continue to be known as one of Jehovah's Witnesses but in their heart didn't believe what Jehovah's Witnesse teach, that's between them and God.

If they want to continue to preach as a recognized Jehovah's Witness Minister but would like to preach a different message: ie that the kingdom is on hold and that Christians SHOULD be involved in politics, they would be asked politely to stop. After all, what would your anti-abortion political party do if someone decided to stay with your group but canvass FOR abortions (because they'd had one and decided they were a great idea after all) under your group's name?

If for some bizzare unexplicable reason, they refused to stop, but also refused to leave, they would be shown the door (shunned/disfellowshipped). I've been a Jehovah's Witnesss for 35 years, I know hundreds of Witnessnes, visited dozens of congregation on all 5 continents and have never in my life heard of this scenerio... but hey, one never knows.

[Youkilledkenny]

[Replying to post 1 by JehovahsWitness]

No so long as their is beliefs based on fables, myths, what they said he said, etc.
In other words, never.
But has anyone ever said a government will solve all our problems...

[JehovahsWitness]

You JWs may have paid a high price in Nazi Germany, but not in the USA.

Jehovah's Witnesses have for your information been submitted to some terrible treatment in the United States, thankfully such things have ceased there but I think it fair to say there is hardly a country where JWs have not been subject to imprisonment and ill treatment at one time or another and the US is no exception.

[Elijah John]

You JWs may have paid a high price in Nazi Germany, but not in the USA.

Jehovah's Witnesses have for your information been submitted to some terrible treatment in the United States, thankfully such things have ceased there but I think it fair to say there is hardly a country where JWs have not been subject to imprisonment and ill treatment at one time or another and the US is no exception.

When and where have JWs been imprisoned in the USA for their beliefs?

Also, in the other post you say that one must agree with every teaching of the JW organization in order to be baptized.

How is that Biblical?

Where in the Bible is there a "checklist" for doctrinal purity before one can be baptized?

John preached simple repentance, the apostles, "repent and be baptized" as well, in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Nothing more.

[JehovahsWitness]

When and where have JWs been imprisoned in the USA for their beliefs?

JEHOVAH'S WITNESS IMPRISONMENT IN THE UNITED STATES

During the [war] period, over 4,300 Witnesses in the United States were imprisoned for their refusal to join the military - Watchtower 2009, Oct 1, p. 31

Since the turn of the century, the Jehovah's Witnesses have consistently maintained their stand of nonviolent Christian Neutrality through two major world wars and the subsequent military clashes of the Cold War period. Their continuing stand against national service of any form, military or civilian, and their refusal to honor symbols of national identity have resulted in periods of prosecution, imprisonment, and mob action in many countries throughout the world, including the United States, Canada and Germany - University of Michigan Press, p. 23.

PERSONAL TESTIMONIES

** "When the United States entered World War II in 1941, there was widespread opposition to Jehovah's Witnesses due to their stand of neutrality. (Isaiah 2:4) Mobs were formed against them throughout the country, and thousands of young Witnesses were imprisoned." - Samuel B. Friend
w86 8/1 p. 24

** "Despite the documented evidence of my being a minister of the gospel, in the fall of 1943 I was sentenced to five years in the federal penitentiary at Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. I was not the only Witness in Lewisburg, though, for there were about 50 other brothers there too. By the time I was released, the number had grown to about 200" - Simon Kraker, w 86 2/1 p. 22

** It was reported that from 1940 to 1944, Jehovah's Witnesses in the United States suffered more than 2,500 violent mob assaults. The persecution increased when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. [...] because I refused to discontinue my ministry and report for military training, the FBI arrested me and instructed me to report to the federal court in Syracuse, New York, the following week for trial. [...]I received a sentence of four years in the federal prison in Chillicothe, Ohio." - Edmund Schmidt w10 9/1 p. 26

** "For a while I had a circuit of twenty-one prisons to visit during World War II [...] I visited them every six weeks to encourage our brothers who were confined there because of their refusal to violate their Christian neutrality." A. H. Macmillan, w66 8/15 p. 504

On May 17, 1936, 176 Witnesses were arrested for preaching in La Grange [Georgia, USA] and were jailed. The next day the women were released, but 76 men were detained for fourteen days in the Troup County Prison and Stockade, four miles outside the city. The regular inmates there were chain-gang prisoners, who actually were shackled while working on roads from sunup to sundown. When the Witnesses were tried, they were pronounced guilty [...] the brothers lost their appeal rights and 57 returned to complete the thirty-day sentence in the stockade on May 28, 1937. Despite their innocence, these Witnesses now wore prison garb, two persons had to share one blanket during the cold nights, and they did hard labor on streets and elsewhere. - Yearbook of Jehovah's Witnesses 1975 p. 176

JW


RELATED POSTS

Should Christians expected to be hated?
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FURTHER READING : The persecution of Jehovah's Witnesses
https://www.jw.org/en/search/?q=Persecution

To read more please go to other posts related to...

RELIGION, CHRISTIANITY and ...RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION

[Elijah John]

[Replying to post 28 by JehovahsWitness]

If those reports were accurate, then that is wrong and I too condemn imprisonment of concienteous objectors.

I don't think that happens anymore in the USA.

Thanks for the info.

[Kenisaw]

My question is, do you really believe that a human government will one day solve the major problems facing mankind?

And by the way, the United States was at least on the right track until 2017.

Do you think it would have been on the right track if Hillary had won?

Now it looks like we've been seriously derailed. The EPA and human rights may have just taken a major step back into the dark ages.

How have human rights taken a step back based on the presidential election?

We can't hold all of humanity responsible for the mistakes Americans make.

You lost me on this one...