RWilliams:

Quote from my Joe
Do also know your Organisations’ alliance with political powers?

I Guess you mean this, amazing how so many people are just itching to hype something up to try and  prove gods people wrong, it is really laughable the time and effort you put in to it 

RWilliams:
The UN "Debacle"

Spokespersons at the Witness' headquarters in Brooklyn, NY, has since explained that:

"Our purpose for registering with the [United Nations] Department of Public Information as a nongovernmental organization (NGO) in 1991 was to have access to research material available on health, ecological, and social problems at the United Nations library facilities. We had been using the library for many-years prior to 1991, but in that year it became necessary to register as an NGO to have continued access.

RWilliams:
Registration papers filed with the United Nations that we have on file contain no statements that conflict with our Christian beliefs.

RWilliams:
Moreover, NGOs are informed by the United Nations that 'association of NGOs with the DPI does not constitute their incorporation into the United Nations system, nor does it entitle associated organizations or their staff to any kind of privileges, immunities or special status."

RWilliams:
Still, the Criteria for Association of NGOs-at least in their latest version-contain language that we cannot subscribe to. When we realized this, we immediately withdrew our registration. We are grateful that this matter was brought to our attention." 3

RWilliams:

Also how can you call venerating and worshiping the Murder weapon of Jesus "a minor thing"

RWilliams:
especially when you realise that Cross worship has many pagan roots, and nothing in the bible alludes to it being a cross.

RWilliams:

Not sure how to quote an excerpt from another blogger on this forum, help please?

RWilliams:

MyJoe, my apologies, I should not have said what I did about your stance on some things being laughable, I guess whatever they are, history has shown that ones beliefs are something that can bring out the best and also the worst in any of us.

RWilliams:
The following from your last post:
It appears you, sir, are incapable of comprehending why your church’s alliance with the UN generated so much furore, so I decided to lay it for you as I have above. You see, nobody cares who signs up with the UN. But the Watchtower? Declaring fast and drinking water in hiding is universally frowned upon. And rightly so. So what is laughable, sir, is seeing an adult endowed by God with the gift of reasoning swallowing weak lies and mumbo jumbo without asking questions.

Since you came back with a response I would have expected you to address the important issues I raised like your claim to being the one true religion in the entire world in the light of love, preaching and the other matters; your doctrines which change with phantasmagoric constancy; prophecy; the lie that Christendom’s waters are drying up; the non-disclosure of history; and the other sundry matters raised. After all, those issues bother on the “truth” which you are trying to spread here. But no, you had to dig up that hurriedly cobbled together paragraph that caused me considerable laughter when I first read it six years ago. Anyway, let’s address the “response”, a very weak attempt to explain away a horrendous mistake that cost your organisation hundreds of thousands in membership.[/i]I hope to respond to this in time, however I have a small business to run and a family to look after, so just do not have the time to make an in depth response,  I will ASAP.

RWilliams:
As for the UN, they did not “join the UN” as you put it, the DPI is just that, a useful department of Public Information, and if you check on the UN site, it even states that being a NGO affiliated with the DPI, does not tie you to the UN, other than to support and respect the principles of the Charter of the United Nations.

RWilliams:
Jesus said we should support and respect the authorities, unless it comes to “obeying gods rule rather than mans” When it comes to the third Reich, or Malawian party cards, they were working directly against god’s will,

RWilliams:
and if those Christians were “Duped” at least they were “duped” into staying peaceful with each other and held there integrity for many til death, instead of joining in the massacres like the members of so many other lip-service pago-christain religions.

RWilliams:

Spokespersons at the Witness' headquarters in Brooklyn, NY, has since explained that:

"Our purpose for registering with the [United Nations] Department of Public Information as a nongovernmental organization (NGO) in 1991 was to have access to research material available on health, ecological, and social problems at the United Nations library facilities. We had been using the library for many-years prior to 1991, but in that year it became necessary to register as an NGO to have continued access. Registration papers filed with the United Nations that we have on file contain no statements that conflict with our Christian beliefs. Moreover, NGOs are informed by the United Nations that 'association of NGOs with the DPI does not constitute their incorporation into the United Nations system, nor does it entitle associated organizations or their staff to any kind of privileges, immunities or special status." Still, the Criteria for Association of NGOs-at least in their latest version-contain language that we cannot subscribe to. When we realized this, we immediately withdrew our registration. We are grateful that this matter was brought to our attention." 3

Jehovah's Witnesses and the Jews
One of the most aggressive missionary groups operating today in the State of Israel is the sect which calls itself 'Jehovah’s Witnesses'.
Lately, this sect started an aggressive publicity campaign in order to build for itself a positive image in the eyes of the public. They hope to succeed based on the fact that most people in Israel are unaware of the true nature of this sect and of its sordid history. They’re pouring a lot of money into this publicity campaign from their vast resources (their income in USA alone is surpassing $1.25 billion dollars).
As a part of this propaganda they sent an expensively produced book and a videocassette to every member of the Knesset. There they describe in great detail the suffering that members of the sect underwent during the Nazi regime. Our brochure is the first modest step in exposing the true face of this fanatical sect, which bases all of its propaganda on historical revisionism and outright lies.
Aharon Rubin & D. F.   

­ Jehovah’s Witnesses and their conflict with the world

  In contrast with the situation in Israel, in the rest of the world 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' are well known, and intensely disliked.
“Of all modern religions, the group which has experienced the most conflicts from citizens of their own country are members of the modern sect known today as the 'Jehovah’s Witnesses.'(1) Noted sociologist, Seymour M. Lipset concluded from his study of attitudes towards minorities that the 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' were among the most disliked of all religious minorities he researched - the group average showed that Americans disliked them more than even the most hated ethnic minorities.(2) 1990 study by Barna Research Group found that a whopping 74% had a negative view of the sect. In comparison, 88% had a favorable opinion of Protestants, 85% of Catholics and 84% of Jews. The only other group for which this amount of antagonism existed was the 'Hare Krishnas.'(3) The attitude to the sect outside of the USA is even more negative. In the words of one researcher:
“The Watchtower (one of the names of the sect) has experienced conflicts in almost every nation of the world - this writer was unable to locate a single country where they have not experienced problems. At one time or another they were banned or their activities severely restricted in almost every nation of the world, and are still banned in twenty six countries according to their official world-wide activities report published in 1995.” (4)

In the United States alone, members of the sect were repeatedly charged in the courts of law, with among other things, blasphemy, ridicule of other religions and of authorities, inciting violence, breach of peace, desecration of the American flag, criminal syndicalism and sedition.(4) In July 1940 the government of Canada banned the 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' outright. The law, passed under the War Measures Act, was vigorously enforced.(5) According to recently declassified wartime documents, the reason for the ban was: “The federal government described 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' as subversive and offensive religious zealots,  in a secret report given to special parliamentarian committees in 1942”.(6) The government report on the sect concluded that, “probably no other organization is so offensive in its methods, working as it does under the guise of Christianity.”(6)

What are the reasons for so much world-wide antagonism to a rather unremarkable and pedestrian Christian sect?
Historians and researchers who studied the subject concluded that the major reason for all the conflicts was the attitude and teachings of the leaders of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses'. Writes Dr. C.E. King: “many of the teachings have led the sect into bitter conflict with civil authorities all over the world, in democratic as well as in totalitarian states.”(7) In the words of Dr. J. Bergman Ph.D.: “Especially during the presidency of J.F. Rutherford (second president of the sect), many articles in Watchtower publications were deliberately designed to stir up trouble. Rutherford’s vitriolic attacks were not only against the government, but also the clergy,  He repeatedly called them scum, roosters, jackasses, harlots, s.o.b.s, even advocating violence and encouraging Witnesses to stir up trouble. Many of the articles would today, no doubt, engender legal action against the Watchtower with claims that they were inciting religious hatred. And the claimants would likely prevail, at least in American courts.”(4) Articles in the 'Golden Age' and 'Consolation' (official publications of the sect) depicted members of other religions in the vilest of terms, and numerous illustrations showed them in a slanderous light. (4),(
An American history book describes 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' as scornful of all other religions and notes that “members of the sect repeatedly collided with the law.”(9)
A well-known researcher summarizes the attitude of the sect to the outside world from 1922 to the present as “the extremist attitude”, “it could only be interpreted as complete negation of all governments, religions, churches and international organizations.”(10)
What is the root of so much hatred for everybody outside the sect?!
Explains Dr. Bergman - “The major reason for their troubles was because Witnesses are taught to believe that all governments and all religions are of Satan - and under pain of excommunication all of them must follow Watchtower policy.”(4) Another researcher observes: “Resentment ,  attached themselves to the Jehovah’s Witnesses partly because of vehemence of their religious attacks on the established order and partly because of the militancy of their proselytizing,  they were,  preaching that the evil triumvirate of organized churches, business and the State are the instruments of Satan.”(11) Rutherford “declared open war on the State, in which he saw the handiwork of Satan.”(12)
In the Watchtower’s own words, they teach that: “All organizations on the earth that are in the opposition to God and his kingdom (all religious and political organizations outside of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses') therefore, necessarily take the name “Babylon” and “harlot.”(13)
And what is their ultimate goal? They openly declare that they work for the establishing of Worldwide Theocratic Government.(14) In other words, replacement of all existing governments by worldwide rule of Governing Body of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses'. The members of the sect joyfully wait for the day when “the rest of humanity would be condemned to death; whoever did not join 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' would have no hope of receiving God’s mercy and would be destroyed.”(15)

Jehovah’s Witnesses and Anti-Semitism

As Jews there is another aspect of this sect’s ideology that should worry us. This is that teachings of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' are infused with huge doses of anti-Semitism! Of course, members of the sect are doing everything to hide this fact, so it wouldn’t interfere with their attempts to missionize the unsuspecting Jews.
Here we will bring some blatantly anti-Semitic statements which all appeared in official publications of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses'.
First, we must emphasize, as we have already mentioned, all members of the sect must accept all the views of their leadership under penalty of total excommunication. In other words all members of the sect have to espouse anti-Semitism! The fact that this sect decided to call itself 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' is ample testimony to their views. The expression 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' never appears in the Hebrew Bible. What does appear several times is God telling the Jewish nation “you are my witnesses.”(16) Anybody opening the verses will see that the term “witnesses” refers clearly and exclusively to the nation of Israel! In 1931 Josef Franklin Rutherford, president of the sect for 26 years, decided that the Jewish nation has finished it’s role in history, and belongs in the dustbin of history. He declared that the Hebrew prophets in all their prophecies had in mind only him and his sect.(17) In their official publications they openly declare that they and only they are “the true Israel”.(18) This ideology is known to historians and theologians as the “Replacement Theology”. After the Holocaust many Christian churches and groups admitted that it is anti-Semitic in essence, and disavowed it. For example thus writes Dr. David Allen Lewis, a well-known Christian author and lecturer: “Replacement theology is inconsistent. It places all the curses of the Old Testament on the heads of Jews of today, and transfers all the blessings to the “new Israel”, the church. Replacement doctrines are theological anti-Semitism,  (emphasis in the original).
These doctrines make is easier for the blatant, active anti-Semites to persecute and kill the Jews. The doctrines of replacement and contempt led directly to the Holocaust.” ('Christians and Israel' pp. 10-11) But 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' today continue to espouse these anti-Semitic doctrines with even greater fervor.
Rutherford in his book 'Enemies' writes about Jews “ultra-selfish men called 'Jews' who look only for personal gain.”(19)
In the same book he writes that the Jews “practice religion, of which the Devil is the author.”(20) In another book he again writes about the Jews: “Be it known once and for all that those profiteering, conscienceless, selfish men who call themselves Jews, and who control the greater portion of the finances of the world and the business of the world, ”(21)
Speaking at 'Bible Students'(22) convention in Winnipeg, Manitoba in the early 1920’s, Rutherford described a Jew as “the hooked-nosed, stooped-shouldered little individual who stands on the street corner trying to gyp you out of every nickel you’ve got.”(23) We see here clear examples of vulgar and primitive anti-Semitism. In yet another book he wrote that Jews lost favor with God when they murdered Jesus.(24)
Nowadays 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' continue to disseminate huge amounts of anti-Seminic materials. As a matter of fact, they’re one of the biggest distributors of hate literature in human history. A few examples will suffice. In 1982 they published a book called “You Can Live Forever In Paradise On Earth.” It was published in 15 million copies and distributed worldwide in 55 languages. On pages 25-26 of the book we can see what is their current opinion of the Jews. Among other things it says there of the Jews:
“Was God really their father? Did God accept their form of religion? Not at all!”,  Jews are “from their father the Devil, and they wish to do his desires.” The Jewish religion “served the interest of the Devil.”And they concluded that because of their evil, the Jews “were on the way to destruction”.
In another official publication from 1984 (25) they say that 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' “have no intention to falling into the sad course of the Jews”, because the Jews “exchanged the truth of God for the lie.”(26)
And these are only some of the many crude anti-Semitic statements found in the 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' literature.

Jehovah’s Witnesses and Nazis

Anyone coming in contact with 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' will sooner or later be reminded of how terribly they suffered in Nazi Germany. In correspondence with government officials, journalists, etc., often totally out of context and unrelated to the subject discussed, it will be mentioned again and again. Apparently it is regarded as some sort of magic argument, which will immediately erase all the evil the sect has committed and open all the doors for them. In the 1990’s they even staged several propaganda shows aimed at 'milking' as much sympathy and benefits from the authorities and general public out of what happened to them during the Nazi regime. Even in the State of Israel they’re not ashamed of trying to get benefits using this argument. The 'Jerusalem Post' quotes Professor B. Beit-Hallahmi that the sect successfully used the claim of their suffering during the Nazi period to gain material benefits. He said, it was one of the reasons that a court ordered the Tel-Aviv Municipality to grant them a building permit for their missionary center.
If all the claims that 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' bring forth would be true, then all we would be faced with would be shameless exploitation of tragic deaths. But the reality is much worse than that. 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' are guilty of horrible distortion of facts and of historical revisionism! First, let’s see what their claims are, as presented by propagandists of the sect.
In their official publication ('Watchtower' May 15, 1975 p. 294) they write “thousands of European Jews can testify that one religious group in Germany underwent persecution equal to that heaped upon the Jews: ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses’ ”.
But equating their suffering to that of the Jews, apparently wasn’t enough for them. In another publication they went further: “, a horrible Nazi persecution of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses', worse than that of the Jews”.(27)
But even that apparently was just not enough!
In yet another publication of the sect(28) under the headline 'The Holocaust - victims or martyrs?' they 'kindly' explain that “all those who suffered as a result of the Holocaust were victims, but only a minority were truly martyrs.” Jews just like Poles, Russians and Ukrainians were merely victims. “But the case of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' in Europe was different.” They and only they were true martyrs of the Holocaust.
Audacity more base than that is hard to imagine!
According to the above-mentioned bombastic claims, we might have thought that millions of members of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' perished during the Nazi period. But in the 1974 Yearbook of the sect they admitted that a total of 2,000 of their members were sent to concentration camps, and from these 838 died or were executed.(29)
It is impossible to take lightly the suffering of even one human being. But the idea that deaths of a few hundred members of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' is more horrible that the death of 6 million Jews during the Holocaust, could only sprout in the distorted minds of the leaders of that sect!
  Worse than that, the Watchtower Society seems to view the Nazi horrors simply as ammunition in its wars against other religions. Time after time they repeat that all Christian groups cooperated with Hitler, and only 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' were, in their own words, “the one voice in the midst of silence.”(30) We will not deal here with the subject of what all Christian churches did or did not do during the Holocaust, but will attempt to establish what did the leaders of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' do during that era.
First of all, it has to be clarified once and for all that 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' were never against Nazis! In one of their official publications from 1984 they profusely praise themselves on their behavior during the Nazi regime. The height of praise that they could think of writing about themselves was that “theological principles were adhered to; Witnesses remained “neutral”…(31)(emphasis ours). In other words at the time when all the free world was fighting against the Nazi monstrosity, 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' were neutral! Can you imagine moral blindness more extreme than that ?! And they’re still proud of it!

But the truth is even more sordid that that. The fact is that the leaders of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' tried to co-operate with the Nazi regime. For that purpose they distributed millions of copies of anti-Semitic materials in Germany. And only after rejection by Hitler, having no other choice, they came out against Nazis.
This is the chronological order of events:
On January 30, 1933 Hitler came to power in Germany. On April 4, 1933, the German police seized the sect’s offices in the city of Magdeburg. The reason for the seizure, for sure, wasn’t any anti-Nazi activity by 'Jehovah’s Witnesses', because there simply wasn’t any such activity. In the book 'Encyclopedia of the Holocaust' (published by 'Yad Vashem') it’s written about the 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' that before the years 1933-1935 “there isn’t any evidence of any real action by them against the regime.”(32) The reasons for Nazi persecution were probably the refusal of some members of the sect to join the German army, and the known philosophy of the sect, which completely refuses to recognize any government or rule. Nazis knew that all members of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' had loyalties to another totalitarian regime (the sect’s headquarters in Brooklyn) and did not consider themselves citizens of the German State. Their refusal to join the German army also didn’t come from any opposition to Nazis per se, because in the same time members of the sect refused to join American, Canadian and British armies, fighting against the Nazis. As we already mentioned, that was one of the reasons they were outlawed in Canada during WWII. At the same time they were also outlawed in Australia.
And now leaders of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' are cynically trying to claim that the reason for Nazi persecution was “favorable comments in earlier Watch Tower publication about the Jewish people and strong denunciations of anti-Semitism.”(33) In light of the many anti-Semitic statements from Watch Tower publications, which were quoted above, it sounds more than ridiculous!
As a response to seizure of their Magdeburg branch, leaders of the sect organized an assembly in Berlin, on June 25, 1933. The goal of the assembly was clear – to publicly declare that the Nazis have nothing to fear from 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' and to declare support for Hitler’s regime. Two leaders of the sect, J.F. Rutherford and N. Knorr especially came from America to see how they can achieve this goal.(34) (35)
The assembly unanimously adopted a special statement, written by the leaders of the sect, 'Declaration of Facts.'(34) A personal letter of J.F. Rutherford (president of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses') to Hitler accompanied the 'Declaration of Facts.'(34) 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' themselves translated the 'Declaration of Facts' from the original German into English and published it in their yearbook in 1934.(36) In all their historical falsifications 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' always skip the contents of these two documents and hope that nobody will ever find out.
The truth is that the contents of both of these documents are profoundly repulsive. They are exceedingly anti-Semitic and show the clear attempt by 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' to cooperate with Hitler.
Let’s let the documents speak for themselves(37).
Before they get to the main point, the write under the sub-section entitled 'Jews':
“That is the same class to whom Jesus referred as his persecutors… it was the Jewish clergy, that is to say, the Pharisees and priests, that violently opposed him and persecuted him and caused him to be charged with all manner of crimes and offenses… Jesus told them that they were in fact representatives of Satan the Devil.”(38)

They continue:
“The present government of Germany has declared emphatically against Big Business Oppressors… Such is exactly our position.”(39) “Big Business… proceed from the Devil”(40)

Whom exactly do they mean, when they say “Big Business”?
They themselves clearly explain:
“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.”(41)

We see here a plain example of vulgar anti-Semitism.
After the leaders of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' finished explaining to Hitler what they really think of the Jews, comes the call to cooperation on the mutual basis of anti-Semitism:
“Instead of being against the principles advocated by the Government of Germany, we stand squarely for such principles… A careful examination of our books and literature will disclose the fact that the very high ideals held and promulgated by the present national government are set forth in and endorsed and strongly emphasized in our publications…”(42)

It is superfluous to explain what were “the very high ideals” of Nazis, that 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' endorsed with such enthusiasm.
This is how the 'Declaration of Facts' was summarized in the monumental 'The Encyclopedia of the Holocaust' :
“An assembly of 'Bible Students' (the name of the sect then) in Germany was capable of declaring that there was actually no disagreement between them and the National-Socialist government… and that they’re just as anti-Semitic as the Nazi regime.”(43)

Millions of copies of this hate tract were published and distributed throughout Germany(44), and without a doubt fanned the flames of anti-Semitism even further.
And this exceedingly repulsive document comes from people who dare to claim that they were, in their words, the “one voice in the middle of the silence” against the Nazis!(30) One voice indeed!

A personal letter of J.F. Rutherford to Hitler, which accompanied the 'Declaration of Facts', was equally revolting. After addressing Hitler as “Most Honored Mr. Chancellor”, they get down to business:
“…administration of the Watch Tower Society is and in the past has been outstandingly friendly to Germany… …The administration of our Society not only refused to participate in the horror propaganda against Germany, but it took a position against this. This is emphasized by the attached Declaration, which refers to the fact that the circles which led [in promoting] horror propaganda in the United States (commercialist Jews and Catholics) are also the most eager persecutors of our Society’s work and it’s administration. …Bible students are fighting for the same high, ethical goals and ideals that the National Government of the German Reichproclaimed… At the convention, it was stated that there are no opposing views in the relationship between German Bible students and the National Government of the German Reich, but that to the contrary … these are in complete harmony with the similar goals of the National Government of the German Reich.”(45)
Later in the same letter they explain with which Nazi goals they’re in complete harmony:
“The [Nazi] Party, as such, represents the viewpoint of positive Christianity without associating itself with a specific confession. It opposes the Jewish-materialist spirit domestically and abroad…”(45)
Truly “one voice” against Nazis!

The Nazis were not impressed by this attempt at cooperation by the 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' and rejected such unwanted partners. And only then, having no other choice, did the leaders of the sect come out against the Nazis.

And now propagandists of the sect are busy distorting historical facts and covering them up. All this so as to paint themselves as innocent victims instead of would-be partners of Hitler.

Dr. Christine King is a historian who, among other things, studied the conduct of “Jehovah’s Witnesses” during the WWII. Propagandists of the sect love to quote her at every opportunity when she describes the suffering of the ordinary members of the sect in the camps. But they always forget what she wrote about the 'Declaration of Facts'. In a brief evaluation of that document she makes a rather damning remark:
“The document is a master of its kind and worthy of the other four sects [the Christian Scientists, the Latter-day Saints, the Seventh-day Adventists and members of the New Apostolic Church] all of whom supported, in one way or another, the Nazi state.”(46)

When all these embarrassing facts came to light, 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' were forced to find a way of dealing with them. And the way they found was,  to put the blame on somebody else. The 1974 Yearbook of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' admits that Rutherford prepared the 'Declaration' together with Paul Balzereit, one of the top officials of the sect in Germany at the time. But then they report that a member of the sect by the name of Mütze, accused Balzereit of weakening the original text.(47) And based on no more authority then the unsubstantiated beliefs of one Mütze, propagandists of the sect consider themselves absolved from responsibility for those wretched documents. The fact that Paul Balzereit later on left the 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' helped the leaders of the sect to make him into a scapegoat. Even if the claims that Balzeit “weakened” the text were true, it wouldn’t at all absolve the 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' from the heavy responsibility for anti-Semitic documents, for the following reasons:
1) Paul Balzereit was not an outsider, but one of the top officials of the sect. To an objective observer it matters not at all which official inside the sect was responsible for the text.
2) 'Declaration of Facts' was unanimously adopted by the several thousand members of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' at their convention, as they themselves report in their official publication entitled 'Jehovah’s Witnesses in The Divine Purpose'.(34)
3) Both anti-Semitic documents ('Declaration of Facts' and the accompanied letter to Hitler) were printed in German and in English as official documents of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses', as such they were published in their official Yearbook(36) and distributed worldwide in millions of copies!

But the truth is, that the claims of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' are just another desperate attempt in an ongoing cover-up of their ugly past. Professor M. James Penton from Canada, a well-known authority on the history of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses', wrote a paper on the subject entitled “ ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses’, anti-Semitism, and the third Reich. The Watchtower Society’s attempted compromise with Nazism.” There he forcefully rejects all the propaganda of the sect and clearly establishes that J.F. Rutherford was in fact responsible for these anti-semitic documents.
The following case sheds more light on the real opinion that leaders of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' had of the Nazi regime. In May 1933 the Gestapo searched the house of one, Ewald Vorsteher, a former member of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses'. They found materials that unsparingly denounced the anti-Semitic and inhuman objectives of the Nazi regime. The Nazis by mistake thought that he was still a member of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses'. When 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' found out that the Gestapo is trying to connect them with anti-Nazi materials they became embarrassed. Instead of agreeing with Vorsteher’s just attacks on the Hitler regime, they condemned him in the harshest of terms. A letter of January 28, 1935 to the Nazi Home Office by one of the Watchtower Society’s official representatives Hans Dollinger, reads:
“… I became painfully aware of the outrageousness of what this man named Vorsteher has done. I can really understand that the National Socialist state will not put up with such a thing… Never during all the years that National Socialism fought for Germany has the Bible Student’s Association(22) tried to impair the fight. Never in any talk given, nor in written form, nor in it’s overall policies the association has given any negative statement against National Socialism. This applies to Germany… as well as to foreign countries in general.” (emphasis ours)

In 1996, in one of their publications they actually bragged how they “courageously spoke out and exposed Nazism as the evil that it was.”(48) All that we can hear is the voice of fear and opportunism.

In 1938, in yet another of their official publications in Germany, the true attitude of the sect to the Jews came loud and clear. Under the headline 'The Jews in Palestine' they write that Jews’ “eyes are blind and their ears are deaf to God’s truth.”(49) They explain that the Jews will never succeed in returning to Palestine because it is against the will of 'Jehovah'. And anyway the Jews belong to “organization of the Devil”. (49)

And the declaration ends:
“The Jews are the epitome of the fact how terrible it is not to be under Jehovah’s blessings. Separated from God’s grace, they are restless here, too. Sowing the wind they are reaping the whirlwind! Just how long?”(49)

A clearer example of deep theological anti-Semitism is hard to imagine.

Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Camps

There is yet another issue which the heads of the sect like to bring up often to glorify themselves – the conduct of sect’s members in concentration camps. Let’s see what they themselves say: “Yes, history reveals that“Jehovah’s Witnesses” have always shown love for their fellowman, even in the face of intense pressure.”(50) “Out of love of neighbor —cell-mate, barracks-mate, camp-mate — the witnesses shared not only their spiritual food but also whatever physical food they had.”(51)
Was that really the case?
The noted psychoanalyst, and himself a concentration camp survivor, Bruno Bettelheim in his famous book 'The Informed Heart' describes 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' as very aloof and set apart from the social life of the camp.(52) Not exactly a picture of “sharing spiritual and physical food.”

That’s how 'The Encyclopedia of the Holocaust' describes the behavior of members of the sect in the camps:
“… they refused to cooperate with other illegal political groups, to try to escape or to rebel against SS… in the end the SS exploited this unusualbehavior of the 'Bible Students'” for their own benefit. For example, by the orders of Heinrich Himmler, they were allowed to gather mushrooms and fruits outside the camps, because there was no danger of them trying to run away or to attack members of the SS. As a result of this policy change by SS, the conditions of“Bible Students” in the camps improved."(32)

The truth is that the moral conduct of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' in the camps did not differ from conduct of other non-Jewish prisoners – some of them behaved like human beings and others not at all. This is how they are described in a book 'Face to Face with Nazis – fighters tell their story' (published by the 'Association of Invalids of War on Nazism' in cooperation with 'Yad Vashem') by a Jew who was together with them in the concentration camps:
“In the camps in Poland they did not always behave according to their teachings. They served the cruel Nazi enemy very well with everything connected to murdering the Jews.”(53)
The writer of these lines could not have known what were the teachings of the sect. If he had known, he would’ve understood that they behave totally “according to the teachings.”

Rudolf Hess, commandant of Auschwitz, in his book of memoirs 'The Commandant of Auschwitz Testifies' describes the faith and behavior of several female members of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses', who worked as faithful servants of SS officers in Auschwitz:
“The strange thing was that all of them were convinced that causing suffering to the Jews and killing them was justified, because their ancestors betrayed God.”(54)

In light of all the citations mentioned above, we’re not at all surprised.

Attitude of Jehovah’s Witnesses to Zionism and the State of Israel

Professor Yona Malachy in his definitive work 'American Fundamentalism and Israel', dealing with the relationship of Fundamentalist Churches to Israel, dedicates the whole chapter to 'Jehovah’s Witnesses'.(55) The chapter is an in-depth research with many original sources on the theological and political views of the sect and it’s attitude to Zionism and the Jewish State.
Prof. Malachy notes that in the beginning of 20th Century the attitude of the sect towards Zionism was positive, but around 1931-32 it “gradually became negative and eventually hostile.”(56) From that time on the views of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses', whom Prof. Malachy describes as “theocratic dictatorship”(57), “became anti-Zionist in tone.”(58)

An accurate example of the sect’s opinion on Zionism we find in the book 'Vindication' by J.F. Rutherford:
“…during the World War the Jews received recognition of the heathen nations.(59) In 1917 the Balfour Declaration, sponsored by the heathen governments of Satan’s organization,(60) came forth, recognized the Jews, and bestowed upon them great favors… The Jews have received more attention at their hands than they really deserved.” (61)

After the death of Rutherford the anti-Zionist approach of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' was crystallized and given an appropriate theological foundation, which was formulated in another book of the sect 'Let God be True'(62). In that book, according to Professor Y. Malachy, 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' “launched a sharp attack on the State of Israel.”(63) The book overflows with anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism and it is full of descriptions of various “sins” of the Jewish people in general and the State of Israel in particular. For example, the book attacks the Jewish State for the “sin” of joining the United Nations, which “was a flat rejection of God’s Kingdom of the Heavens”. Instead, Israel should have… submitted itself to the authority of the sect and joined its ranks, for after all they are “the sole, true and legal apostles of Jehovah on earth.”(64)

The following is the summary by Professor Y. Malachy on the attitude of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' to the Jewish State:
To the present, this has remained the view of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' on the status of the Jewish people. In this view Israel,  is denied the right to exist as a state, for, having been established against the will of Jehovah, it has thereby become an additional instrument in the hands of Satan.”(65)
“From the point of view of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses'… Lucifer assumed command of the Jewish people, who had now returned to Zion. The State of Israel thus became in their eyes yet another deplorable political entity, and additional rampart in Satan’s fortress.”(66)

This venomous anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism does not remain with the members of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' on a purely theoretical level, but finds it’s practical application in that all members of the sect living in the State of Israel refuse to serve in Israel’s Defense Forces, completely ignore all the National Holidays (including the Holocaust Remembrance Day, Remembrance Day and Independence Day), refuse to vote in any elections, refuse to join any cultural or political organizations, etc. In the words of Professor Y. Malachy they learned to “develop a complete indifference to… the political fate of the land in which they lived.”(67)

Summing up

Shortly after the Holocaust, the following lines were written in the mouthpiece of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses':
“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.” (68)
These lines perfectly describe the leadership of 'Jehovah’s Witnesses' in their attempts to rely on shortness of human memory, as they try to cover up their anti-Semitism and their deplorable conduct during the Holocaust. ¯

*   *   *

We have devoted much of this article to quotes from the Jehovah’s Witnesses' own publications. The facts speak for themselves.
It is our fervent hope that our efforts will draw public co-operation and support, to speedily bring to the passing of effective anti-missionary legislation in Israel.

http://www.yadlachimusa.org.il/Index.asp?ArticleID=577&CategoryID=203

Perrito4u:

@MyJoe

    How come you don't back up anything you say with the bible? I don't see you mentioned anything directly from the scriptures? Are you a christian?

RWilliams:

My Joe, How can you not see that 1914,  the year WW1 started, was not a turning point, even many historians attest to this.

RWilliams link:
It is not co-incidence that the first sign jesus gave of his parousia was "Nation against Nation"

RWilliams link:
if you want too look more into the bibles timeline for 607/ 1914 follow this link

http://thetruthaboutthetruthaboutthetruth..com/2005/11/jerusalems-destruction-587-or-607.html

MyJoe:

@RWilliams
Are you seriously saying there were no wars before 1914? That nations just started rising against nations in 1914? No, I believe not. Relative to population and technological advancement there were similarly destructive wars before 1914. But how about 1938, the year the much more destructive World War II started? Was that a turning point, too?

Perrito4u:

1914 was the beginning of an epoch. After 1914 the following wars where more destructive than ever before. From WWI on, the nations started using airplanes, tanks, subs, poison gas, bombs, etc. Definitely a turning point. Yes there were wars before 1914 but never like this. One of the US presidents even said more people have died in the 20th Century than all of previous war before. Definitely a turning point.

Perrito4u:

1914 was the beginning of an epoch. After 1914 the following wars where more destructive than ever before. From WWI on, the nations started using airplanes, tanks, subs, poison gas, bombs, etc. Definitely a turning point.

Perrito4u:
Yes there were wars before 1914 but never like this. One of the US presidents even said more people have died in the 20th Century than all of previous war before. Definitely a turning point.

MyJoe:

Once people had swords – they used them. Then they had gunpowder – they used them. Then they had warplanes – and they used them. Can you please explain why the last case a “turning point” but the previous ones aren’t?

Ndipe:

Still, Jesus Christ did not come to the world in 1914.

Perrito4u:

The presence is invisible to human eyes. Remember, Jesus discussed the sign of his presence. (Matthew 24:3) If his presence were visible to human eyes, would a sign be needed? To illustrate: Imagine that you are traveling to see the ocean. You may see road signs directing you along the way, but once you are at the shore, standing at the water’s edge with the vast expanse of water stretching out to the horizon, would you expect to see a sign with a big arrow pointing ahead, emblazoned with the word “Ocean”? Of course not! Why have a sign to point out what you can easily identify with your eyes?
Jesus described the [b]sign [/b]of his presence, not to point out something that humans could see with their eyes, but to help them discern something that would occur in heaven. Thus, Jesus said: “The kingdom of God is not coming with striking observableness.” (Luke 17:20)

Ndipe:

Read this: Jesus Christ says in His Holy Bible that no man knows the day or hour of His second coming, not even the angels. And that includes JW.
http://bible.cc/matthew/24-36.htm

Perrito4u:

Developments in two areas have a bearing on identifying what the Bible calls the last days. The Scriptures foretell events that would take place during the time of “the conclusion of the system of things.” (Matthew 24:3) The Bible also speaks of changes in the attitudes and actions of people living in “the last days.”—2 Timothy 3:1.
“Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom,” said Jesus, “and there will be food shortages and earthquakes in one place after another.” He added: “All these things are a beginning of pangs of distress.” (Matthew 24:7, 8 )   Vast numbers of people were slain in wars and ethnic disputes during the past century. “Three times as many people fell victim to war in [the 20th] century as in all the wars from the first century AD to 1899,” states a scholarly report from the Worldwatch Institute. In his book Humanity—A Moral History of the Twentieth Century, Jonathan Glover writes: “An estimate for the period from 1900 until 1989 is that war killed 86 million people. . . . Death in twentieth-century war has been on a scale which is hard to grasp. Any averaging out of the numbers of deaths is artificial, since about two-thirds (58 million) were killed in the two world wars. But, if these deaths had been spread evenly over the period, war would have killed around 2,500 people every day, that is over 100 people an hour, round the clock, for ninety years.” Can you imagine the grief and pain this must have caused the millions of relatives and friends of those who lost their lives?
Despite the fact that the world produces plenty of food, the features characterizing the last days include food shortages. Researchers say that over the past 30 years, food production has outpaced population increase. Nevertheless, food shortages prevail in large areas of the world because many people do not have sufficient land to grow food or enough money to buy food. In developing countries, some 1.2 billion people subsist on a dollar (U.S.) a day or less. Of these, about 780 million suffer chronic hunger. According to the World Health Organization, annually malnutrition plays a major role in the deaths of over five million children.
What can be said about the foretold earthquakes? According to the U.S. Geological Survey, the number of earthquakes powerful enough to destroy buildings has averaged 17 a year since 1990 alone. On average, earthquakes strong enough to cause almost total destruction of buildings have occurred once each year. “Earthquakes have claimed hundreds of thousands of lives in the last 100 years,” states another source. One reason for this is that since 1914 many large population centers have developed in earthquake zones.
“There will be . . . in one place after another pestilences,” said Jesus. (Luke 21:11) Medical science today is more advanced than ever before. Still, both old and new diseases continue to ravage mankind. A U.S. National Intelligence Council document states: “Twenty well-known diseases—including tuberculosis (TB), malaria, and cholera—have reemerged or spread geographically since 1973, often in more virulent and drug-resistant forms. At least 30 previously unknown disease agents have been identified since 1973, including HIV, Ebola, hepatitis C, and Nipah virus, for which no cures are available.” According to a Red Cross report of June 28, 2000, during the preceding year, the number of people who died from infectious diseases was about 160 times greater than the number who died in natural disasters.
“The increasing of lawlessness” is another noteworthy feature of the last days. (Matthew 24:12) In most places around the earth today, people do not leave their homes unlocked or feel safe on the street at night. And what about the pollution of the air, the water, and the land that we see taking place, often because of illegal practices? This too is in fulfillment of what the Bible foretold. The book of Revelation speaks of God’s appointed time to “bring to ruin those ruining the earth.”—Revelation 11:18.

MyJoe:

Are you, ma’am, really blissfully unaware that diseases are killing fewer people today compared to the past?

MyJoe:

That there is no famine today compared to what they had in the past?

cardini:

Hi just been reading about Jehovah s Witnesses and 1914. Sorry if I am being a bit thick here, but the Watch Tower Society publications teach that Jesus Christ returned invisibly and began to rule in heaven as king in October 1914. How come the 1st world war had already started on the 28th July 1914? If the 1st World War proves that JW are right, then how come the war had already started? From what I read, the first world war was started by Satan because he was bringing woe to the earth for being cast out of heaven after Christ became king (October 1914). It looks to me that the 1st World War is a red herring and just a coincidence and proves nothing.

Perrito4u:

1- First we need to recognize that Satan had the ability to come and go -Job1:7. So he didn't actually need to be kicked out of heaven to start a mess down here. He knew what was coming.
2- “The dragon [Satan] kept standing before the woman who was about to give birth,” states Revelation 12:4, “that, when she did give birth, it might devour her child.” This shows that Satan wanted to dispose of the newborn Kingdom quickly, at the moment of its birth if at all possible. Though Jehovah’s intervention prevented Satan from realizing his wicked intention, Satan was determined and relentless in his effort to do harm to the newly established Kingdom. It stands to reason, therefore, that “Michael and his angels” would waste no time in taking action to remove “the dragon and its angels” from the heavenly scene so that no harm could come to the Kingdom. This suggests that the defeat and ousting of Satan took place soon after the Kingdom’s birth in 1914.
So actually Jesus prophecies on Matthew 24 was an indication of the Kingdom’s birth not Satan's ousting.

When and how is the perfect government established? When Jesus was on earth this Kingdom was the main theme of his preaching. (Matthew 4:17; Luke 8:1) However, he did not establish the Kingdom at that time, nor at his resurrection. (Acts 1:6- Even when he ascended into the heavens, he still had to wait for Jehovah's appointed time. (Psalm 110:1, 2; Hebrews 1:13) Bible prophecy shows that appointed time came in 1914 C.E. However, someone will ask, 'Rather than perfect government, did not 1914 mark the start of increased world woes?' That is exactly the point! There is a close connection between the coming of God's Kingdom and the catastrophic events of recent years, as we shall now see.

cardini:

Thank you for your explanation. This makes more sense but kind of takes the magic out of the JW prophecy.

I see what the Jehovah's Witness publications are doing now thanks to your explanation. Everything I read misleads the reader into thinking that the prophecy has a WOW factor in that being 'Christ became king in 1914, cast Satan down to earth and this caused great woe for the earth. think what happened in 1914? OMG the 1st World War started!!! It must be true and wow the witnesses said this would happen 40 years before 1914!'.
Some examples of this dishonest reasoning I found are in the articles on http://www.watchtower.org : The article at http://www.watchtower.org/e/lmn/article_10.htm says:

When and how is the perfect government established? When Jesus was on earth this Kingdom was the main theme of his preaching. (Matthew 4:17; Luke 8:1) However, he did not establish the Kingdom at that time, nor at his resurrection. (Acts 1:6- Even when he ascended into the heavens, he still had to wait for Jehovah's appointed time. (Psalm 110:1, 2; Hebrews 1:13) Bible prophecy shows that appointed time came in 1914 C.E. However, someone will ask, 'Rather than perfect government, did not 1914 mark the start of increased world woes?' That is exactly the point! There is a close connection between the coming of God's Kingdom and the catastrophic events of recent years, as we shall now see.