by jwfacts 28 Replies latest watchtower bible
SWALKER,
I agree! I believe Christians should not impose themselves on others and I believe as Christians we should do what we can for the environment, the creation around us.
As for politics, though, I also believe the scripture that says, it does not belong to man to direct his steps.
"Put not your trust in nobles, or in the son of earthling man, to whom no salvation belongs." (NWT)
"We must obey God as ruler rather than men" (NWT)
"blah blah blah no part of this world blah blah blah" (NWT)
Now let's look at modern representational democracies. How about we go with the US, since it's the political system I'm most familiar with. Who is the boss in the US? The President? Screw that. That guy is my employee. Like my janitor. I have delegated my authority to him. I am the boss--and so is every other citizen here. I did not run for this office. I didn't seek it at all. I automatically gained it when I turned 18. I have it whether I choose to exercise it or not.
Let's say my road has potholes. I'd really like someone to come fix them. If I'm a JW, I could wait for God's Kingdom to come 'round and fix them, but all indications are that it's going to be a while before an angel comes down with a bucket of tar and some gravel, so I might as well fix it myself. How can I do that? Well, other people live on this road too. It's not really fair if I have to go fix it completely out of my own pocket. They should help too, if they want it fixed. We're going to have to pool our cash to get this done. And then we can pay someone to do it who actually knows what they're doing. If I can get everyone to agree to pitch in for this, then we each only have to pay a fraction of the total cost, and everyone benefits. And we can all decide what kind of road material we'll use, since we all paid, and we can all decide who will do the work. Better yet, we could just all agree to choose ONE person who can do the research and make those decisions, since we all have jobs and lives. We could even pay that person.
I'd also like to make sure my kids grow up well educated. But, geez, I don't know the first thing about teaching kids! Wouldn't it be nice if we could build some building where teachers could teach my kids? But other people have kids too. I shouldn't have to foot the whole bill.
Apply the above to whatever you'd like. Public health. Property rights. Criminal justice. Etc. Etc. Etc.
Does anyone really think that it shows lack of faith in God's Kingdom to help decide how immediate issues are handled? Is it really putting our trust for salvation in "earthling man" if we just want him to pick out a road material? Or build a school? Does anyone really think that Jesus expected his followers to be completely uninvolved in local and regional government when he said they were no part of the world? We have the birthright, whether we want it or not. And the authorities, apparently, were placed in their relative positions by God. And the Witnesses sure don't have any qualms participating HEAVILY in the judicial branch of government.
The no voting-no running for office-no joining political parties shtick is illogical and indefensible, but it's a JW teaching, so does that surprise you?
I won't site scriptures for or against politics, really. But I do know of one
religion that goes beyond what is written and tells their members what to
do and what not to do. I do know that's wrong, so if you, jwfacts, want to
make up your mind on what to do about voting or running for office, then
you decide.
As far as telling others what the Bible says, tell them what it doesn't say.
Under_believer,
In the U.S. the law requires that we pay our taxes. I do. I obey all the laws of the U.S. In the U.S. there is no law that requires I vote. Therefore I'm a law abiding citizen!
...and you are either ignoring or missing my point, which was more about why it's okay to participate in the local political process, even given the Witnesses' warped viewpoint regarding government, than whether it's illegal to vote or not.
I went to work for a political party when I was a JW. The elders never even counselled me for it. I guess it was more important for them to counsel me for going to school, having a moustache, and wearing bright ties.
W
Sure.
But I think it'd be best for all involved if they didn't let their religion influence their decisions...
Otherwise...
George Bush
'nuff said
Currently, I am reading "The Moral World of the First Christians." (author Wayne A. Meeks) He speaks of the early Christians and their battle to define their involvement in society. Here is a quote: "Could someone like Erastus, treasurer of the city (Rom. 16:23), continue to participate in the government of the colony without compromising his confession of Christ?"
I intend to research the Society's position on Erastus; I'm suspect they will say he was simply a civil servant. However, the generic civil servant as we know it today didn't really exist in Rome. All leadership positions were in some manner political.
Justitia
Deborah, Interesting comment. Politics is a big part of life and history. That Jesus said little about it is very telling, surely if political involvement was bad Jesus would have said so. The WTS is a high control religion, and as with the Pharisees have made many rules that go beyond what Jesus said. For instance, marijuanna was in use in Jesus day, gambling were common etc, yet Jesus never said anything about these. Surely then they should be conscience matters, not disfellowshipping matters.
In Australia the law says you must vote. However, you can abstain as a conscientious objector. However, in other countries a person legally must vote, or as in Malawi hold a political card. So a JW is breaking Caesars law by not voting, or holding the card. That Malawians JWs have died for breaking Jesus command to obey Caesar by not holding a card seems to be far more reprehensible than being involved in politics.
ub, good comment, we are hugely affected by who is in politics, whether we vote or not. If we can have a say it may help everyone. 1 million US JWs may have been enough to have Gore in power ... no Iraq war.
When the lawyer from Australia, Vin Toole, went to the Hansard enquiry about religious intolerance his comments about tolerating the JW position on blood held no weight. The politicians could not care less as Vin's opinions had no affect on the politicians careers. However, if he had been able to add that 60,000 votes were depending on the outcome of the inquiry there would have been more likelihood of supportive action.
