Expert: Brenton Hepburn - 10/30/2009

Question
QUESTION: Hi. can you tell me why God would use one organization to tell mankind what to do with his life, then a number of years later his organization desides that tesching was wrong,i am thinking of the party card issue, where one country was allowed to bribe the police to have their card stamped, and yet in another country JWs had to remain loyal and could not get out of army training, many were put to death, or imprisioned. i relly dont understand dont you think that God would not give the people he is useing wrong infomation, all i know is that we were told that God was useing the f,and,d,s. so why do they change their teaching on a lot of subjects, and of course dates for the end of this system.i lookforward to your answer. thank you. jan uk

ANSWER: Hello Jan

Thank you for your questions and sorry for the delay.   Over the last 2 - 3 weeks I have had to put my blind mother into a nursing home and organise many legal papers and get her unit ready for sale to pay for the nursing home, so, unfortunately my time has been limited and I have had to look up some information on this to get it clear in my mind.

The two countries that I assume you are referring to are, Malawi and Mexico.  From the information I have been able to find both these countries and situations may sound similar but are fundamentally different.

The instructions Jesus gave to his followers were to be no part of the world (John 15:19) In the “Lords Prayer” Jesus taught his followers to pray for “Gods Kingdom” to be established (Matthew 6:10) and continuing in his sermon he told his followers to be seeking first the kingdom (Matthew 6:33)  Before he died he told Pilot that his Kingdom was no part of this world other wise he would have let his followers defend him (John 18:33-36)


The party card that was required by law in Malawi was to show that one had made allegiance with the government of that time.  The only governmental rule that we recognize as being all-important is Gods Government under the ruler ship of his son Jesus.  That being said we are obliged to acknowledge the governments of the country where we live.  Jesus said that we were to pay to Caesar’s (governments) what was theirs, but, we also had to render due to  God.
(Mark 12:17).  We recognize the responsibility that they must not only “pay back” money in the form of taxes to the secular government but also fulfill the superior obligations they have toward God.

When Peter had been arrested for preaching he said “‘We must obey God as ruler rather than men.’ (Acts 5:28, 29) When there has been a direct conflict between the commands of human rulers and the requirements of God, true Christians have imitated the example of the apostles by putting obedience to God first.

The principle then in the case of Malawi is that we have to stay by Gods Kingdom and so we can not make allegiance with a government by agreeing to carry a card that shows our allegiance is to that country.

It does not matter what country JWs are in we will not salute the national flag or sing a national anthem, but we will and are required to show due respect for them (Mark 12:17)
Romans 13:1 tells us that the governmental authorities have been allowed there by God for our benefit, They provide services such as health care etc

The case of Mexico is different. No direct Biblical laws were involved. The information I was able to find suggests that the cards that the young men had to have was to say that they had completed certain training for the military.  They were not in an army at all.

This is some information I found on a site that argues that there was a saying there is a double standard in policies between the two countries.

Quote

In Mexico, men who underwent military training for one year were eligible to obtain a Military Service Card . Persons who held the card were obligated to report for military duty in the event of war or other activation by the national government in the first reserve.  (Here in Australia we calls these the reserves.).  Although it was not absolutely necessary to undergo the training and obtain the military service card, THE CARD WAS SOMETIMES required by employers and necessary to obtain a passport.  (There was actually a special waiver to obtain a passport without having the cartilla that could be applied for.)  [CAPITALS USED FOR EMPHASIS BY ME]

End quote

The only reason for a young man to have his card stamped was to obtain certain jobs. So JWs did not have to have a card in Mexico, it was not law, where as in Malawi they had to and it was law.


The WTBTS said to the JWs in Mexico it was entirely up to their conscience if they paid a monetary price to get the card stamped.  It seemed this was the general practice in Mexico at that time for any young male.  Did you notice that the men…. “who held the card were obligated to report for military duty in the event of war or other activation by the national government in the first reserve.”….

However if they were called upon to actually join the army the individual JW would have to carry the consequences.  Either stand firm and not join the army, or, compromise and join the army.  A photocopied letter from the WTS on the subject posted at another site says ...“If they would get into any difficulties over their course of actions they would have to shoulder such difficulties themselves, and we could not offer them any assistance.”... Where as in Malaw1 the WTBTS did all that the law would allow them to do to help the JWs there  

In reality the Mexico military card was not a real problem.  It only applicable SOMETIMES for certain jobs and in some instances to get a passport (but not always)

It would appear to me as if there are some anti JW proponents that have looked at some details and have exaggerated the Mexico case for their own ends.

I hope I have been able to give some balancing remarks toward this problem, so that you can have a better understanding from both sides of the argument.



If you would like some information on.. “dates for the end of this system”… see my old web site regarding this subject  

http://users.picknowl.com.au/~hepburn/prophecy.htm



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION:  thanks for the info you sent me, i am still not sure about an organization that claims God is useing, and only this one in the whole of mankind, to feed and tell his people what is going to happen before it happens for their protection, and get so many things wrong? things are changing so much now like the blood issue, where they can seperate the factions, and many jw's have lost their lives, where as if they had been alive today, becouse of advances in the medical field they would be alive becouse they would be able to accept the fraction that they may have needed. i say this with the greatist of respect for you and the God you represent but theses people seem to be so controling as to what their people do and who they talk to what they wear what they speak about what work they can do. in fact it seems jw's cant make their own mind up about anything to do with their own life, dont you think this is very dangerous? i look foreward to your answer have a good day. jan

Answer
Hello Jan,

Again thank you for being patient with me.

The warning God gives is open for all to read about.  I know several different religious organizations that belive from the Bible that we living in the last days and will quote some of the texts that we use that shows we are living in troubled times.

On the the fundamental difference is that these groups are not doing the work Jesus commissioned his followers to do and that is to preach the good news of Gods Kingdom.  And most of these other groups belive that the literal earth will be completely destroyed and a whole new literal heaven and earth will be created.  Where as we teach what the Bible says from the earliest of times that the earth was made for man and that it will remain for ever.  Even Jesus preached that on his sermon on the mount in relation to Gods Kingdom - the meek shall inherit the earth -

Yes many JWs  have lost their lives standing firm for what they belive in.  Many soldiers volunteered during World War 1 and 2 and lost their lives for something they belived in.

Going back to the first century even Jesus lost his life for something he belived in and many of his followers were put in the arena and eaten by wild beasts for the pleasure of onlookers others such as Stephen were stoned to death.

The Bible promises a resurrection back to life here on a cleansed earth.  We do not fear death.  If we die for what we belive in we know we will live again.  We could compromise our faith and live a little while longer now.  It is true that God does forgive us for our sins,if we are truly repentant, but why would we want to risk our relationship with him?

The Bibles is clear on blood.  Humans are not to use it to sustain life. (transfusions are not mentioned in the Bible but using it as a food source is)  It is up to each JWs conscience to decide just when blood stops being blood. Let me illustrate.

Imagine on a page there is a line that goes all the way across it.  At one side the line is definitely blue. At the other end it is definitely green.  It is easy to distinguish the two opposite ends.  Now as the line moves together it very slowly changes. If we draw a line right in the middle the colour is aqua.  Now every one can see the three colours.  The hard part is recognizing just where the blue stops being blue and where the green stops being green.  Everyones perception will be different.

With blood we now that whole blood is wrong.  That is one side. the other side is full substance.
Now the Israelites could eat the marrow where the blood is made.  The animal had to be drained only. The law did not require it to be washed out with salt as many Jews do today, so there were small amounts of blood left in the animal.  Now how much was a small amount and how much was too much, how long do they leave it hanging upside down draining before being able to eat eat?  It was their conscience.

Now when it comes to clothing the same sort of example with the line can be used.

The Bibles advice is that our manner of grooming be modest and well arranged both for men and women. We are also counseled not to stumble anyone. Just where does modesty start and where does it end.

What is considered modest and well arranged does vary from culture to culture.  What we ware or do not wear can be a stumbling block for different people in different circumstances.  Even in our every day society there are ways of dressing that are deemed as inappropriate at certain times.

JWs are not told what we can or can not wear or what our hair should look like or how long or short it should be.  However if a JW wants to have any sort of privilege or responsibility in a congregation, then they are expected to be groomed in a manner that is acceptable.  Our grooming says a lot about us. Go to a high school where there are not uniform requirements.  It would not take long to find the "Barbie" want-a-bes the "Jocks" or the "Geeks".  They seem to have a style of dressing that stands out.  Our recommendation is that in what ever but as a person with a clean modest style that generally blends in with the "norm"