by Blueblades 14 Replies latest jw friends
Is voting now a conscience matter? I remember it being discussed here somewhere and that there was an article on voting and that it is now a conscience matter. Does anyone know where that article can be found? I appreciate the help, it's for a friend of mind who is not quite out of the Watchtower yet.
Blueblades
Greetings Blueblades,
I had the same question. I hope this helps
The Watchtower, June 15th 1999 Issue, Page 30:
Questions From Readers
How do Jehovah’s Witnesses view voting?
...As for Jehovah’s Witnesses, they do not interfere with the right of others to vote; neither do they in any way campaign against political elections. They respect and cooperate with the authorities who are duly elected in such elections. (Romans 13:1-7) As to whether they will personally vote for someone running in an election, each one of Jehovah’s Witnesses makes a decision based on his Bible-trained conscience and an understanding of his responsibility to God and to the State. (Matthew 22:21; 1 Peter 3:16)
...those who have a part in voting a person into office may become responsible for what he does. (Compare 1 Timothy 5:22, The New English Bible.) Christians have to consider carefully whether they want to shoulder that responsibility.
[...]
In view of the Scriptural principles outlined above, in many lands Jehovah’s Witnesses make a personal decision not to vote in political elections, and their freedom to make that decision is supported by the law of the land. What, though, if the law requires citizens to vote? In such a case, each Witness is responsible to make a conscientious, Bible-based decision about how to handle the situation. If someone decides to go to the polling booth, that is his decision. What he does in the polling booth is between him and his Creator.
The November 15, 1950, issue of The Watchtower, on pages 445 and 446, said: “Where Caesar makes it compulsory for citizens to vote . . . [Witnesses] can go to the polls and enter the voting booths. It is here that they are called upon to mark the ballot or write in what they stand for. The voters do what they will with their ballots. So here in the presence of God is where his witnesses must act in harmony with his commandments and in accordance with their faith. It is not our responsibility to instruct them what to do with the ballot.”
What if a Christian woman’s unbelieving husband insists that she present herself to vote? Well, she is subject to her husband, just as Christians are subject to the superior authorities. (Ephesians 5:22; 1 Peter 2:13-17) If she obeys her husband and goes to the polling booth, that is her personal decision. No one should criticize her.--Compare Romans 14:4.
What of a country where voting is not mandated by law but feelings run high against those who do not go to the voting booth--perhaps they are exposed to physical danger? Or what if individuals, while not legally obliged to vote, are severely penalized in some way if they do not go to the polling booth? In these and similar situations, a Christian has to make his own decision. “Each one will carry his own load."--Galatians 6:5.
There may be people who are stumbled when they observe that during an election in their country, some Witnesses of Jehovah go to the polling booth and others do not. They may say, ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses are not consistent.’ People should recognize, though, that in matters of individual conscience such as this, each Christian has to make his own decision before Jehovah God.--Romans 14:12.
Whatever personal decisions Jehovah’s Witnesses make in the face of different situations, they take care to preserve their Christian neutrality and freeness of speech
Dismembered
Whatever personal decisions Jehovah’s Witnesses make in the face of different situations, they take care to preserve their Christian neutrality and freeness of speech
Despite the WT's leading one to think that JWs can vote if their consciences allow this is really not the case. If you vote in an election and it is found out you will immediately become a marked person within the congregation. Also, shortly to follow will be some type of judicial charge such as causing dissension. This is another case of the WT's actual policy being the unwritten word.
Accepting or rejecting a blood transfusion is advertised by the WTS as being a "conscience matter" yet we know that the WTS says that the JW who chooses to have a blood transfusion is "disassociating" themselves.
This is just a ruse by the WTS to make it seem to the governmental authorities that they are not telling their members not to vote, not to join the military, not to take a blood transfusion.
It makes it seem that there is some personal choice in the matter. It is like being on a railroad track and seeing a train speeding down towards you and saying you have a choice to stay on the track or get off.
Blondie
In a democracy it is impossible not to vote.
In my opinion, whether one actually goes to a voting booth and marks the spot so to speak, or not either way one is voting, if you don't want to change the status quo then you are voting for it. As far as that nonsense in the 99 WT about you may be responsible for what someone does that you help elect into office, then thereby, you are also responsible for what someone does if you don't vote them out of office and they do something wrong while in there, just a bunch of convouleted reasoning. they the society that is should be held accountable for trying to violate one's civil rights. i.e. voting they will ostracize and mark you if you vote, voting is a right for "legal" citizens of "legal" age, if you punish someone for exercising their right to vote aren't you in effect stepping on their right to vote?
In view of the Scriptural principles outlined above, in many lands Jehovah’s Witnesses make a personal decision not to vote in political elections
Notice that they do not say that "Many witnesses make a personal decision" they say "in many lands Jehovahs Witnesses ....." So it is clear that they are really saying that Witnesses do NOT vote. The conscience matter is whether to go into the booth and spoil the paper, or not, if the law requires you to vote.
If anyone admitted voting for a candidate they would be considered d/a'd unless they repented .
If a JW is technically responsible for the bad things that government does when it is in power, if they voted for them, are they also technically responsible for a very bad government getting into power, when they could have voted for a 'good' government and helped them get into power?
Interesting.
As I read it. The allowance only really applies in lands where the vote is compulsory. One is allowed to go to the polls in such lands and it is none of the congegation's business whether one actually votes or not. however, in lands where the vote is not compulsory, we things haven't changed. that is how I read that.
Forscher
The circuit overseer came to our congregations several months after that article came out and said, "There are some people who think the Society has changed their view on voting. This is not true. Nothing has changed." I taped his talk and wish I could find the tape now. But I do remember a few points.
He referred back to an article in the WT of 1950 that said it was OK to go to the voting booth as long as you cross out the name on the ballot or write in the name Jesus Christ. He said if the country you live in requires you to vote, that you could do this. Then he said, "If your employer requires you to vote, you should go to the elders for direction on what to do." So that means nothing has changed?
We started going to meetings in the middle 1950's, and I remember a reference back to that 1950 article. In the 1970's I read about brothers in countries like Cameroon who were beaten, tortured and more for refusing even to go to the polls. I was confused but thought maybe I had imagined the reference to the 1950 article.
If anybody can find a scan of that 1950 WT, I would love to see it.
I see this as another flip-flop.
Bonnie
