Sister Williams

watson

http://www.slate.com/id/2194321/>1=39001

mrsjones5

She don't know the truth do she? The rank and file jws aren't reps for jehovah's kingdom, the fds/gb are. The rank and file are only the drones who receive the crumbs of glory from the fds/gb.

Why Don't Jehovah's Witnesses Vote? Because they're representatives of God's heavenly kingdom.

By Jacob Leibenluft
Posted Thursday, June 26, 2008, at 6:39 PM ET Serena Williams

Serena Williams told reporters at Wimbledon on Wednesday that she's excited about Barack Obama's candidacy but won't vote for him because Jehovah's Witnesses "don't get involved in politics." Her sister Venus—who is also a Jehovah's Witness—wouldn't even comment on the presidential election. Why don't Jehovah's Witnesses vote?

Because of John 17:14 and other passages in the Bible. In that verse, Jesus says of his followers: "They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world." Jehovah's Witnesses have interpreted that statement as a call to remain neutral in all political matters. (In some of the sect's literature, members are described as "representatives of God's heavenly kingdom"; they are thus obligated to stay out of local political affairs in keeping with the behavior of ambassadors.) Witnesses also refrain from serving in the military, running for public office, and pledging allegiance to the flag.

Voting is not expressly prohibited, but it is discouraged. The Watchtower, the official publication of the Jehovah's Witnesses, ran an article in 1999 suggesting that the decision whether to vote was one of personal conscience, although it carefully laid out reasons for staying out of the voting booth. In reference to countries that require all citizens to show up at the ballot box, the Watchtower has explained that "[w]here Caesar makes it compulsory for citizens to vote … [Jehovah's Witnesses] can go to the polls and enter the voting booths," but the Watchtower did not specify what Witnesses should do with the ballot itself. According to some, the requirement for political neutrality led to the violent persecution of Witnesses in Malawi during the late 1960s and early 1970s, when adherents refused to register with the ruling Congress Party.

Most Jehovah's Witnesses in America do, in fact, abstain from voting. According to a survey released this week by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, the religious group is far more likely than any other to believe that there is only one true way to interpret religious teachings. In keeping with that adherence, just 13 percent reported they were registered to vote.

While Witnesses have shied away from electoral politics, they have left a strong mark on the judicial branch: The group has brought several dozen civil-liberties cases before the Supreme Court, including a famous 1943 case over whether Jehovah's Witnesses could be forced to recite the Pledge of Allegiance in schools.

Jehovah's Witnesses are by far the largest religious group that refuses to vote, but they are not the only ones: Old Order Amish, Christadelphians, and Rastafarians have all traditionally shunned politics. (In the case of both the Amish and the Rastafarians, though, attitudes have changed a bit in the last few years.) Nationally, about 2 percent of people who don't register to vote cite religious reasons. If Jehovah's Witnesses did vote, they probably wouldn't form a large bloc anyway: the group makes up less than 1 percent of the U.S. population and is widely distributed across the country.

Got a question about today's news? Ask the Explainer .

Explainer thanks Jim Beckford of the University of Warwick, John Green of the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, Bryce Hemmelgarn of the Watchtower Office of Public Information, Donald Kraybill of Elizabethtown College, and Rodney Stark of Baylor University.

ohiocowboy

Thanks for the link.

Here is the comment I posted.

Williams Sisters
by ohiocowboy
06/28/2008, 2:56 PM # Rate this topic Delete Favorites Reply They say they can't vote because they are Jehovah's Witnesses, yet Venus is the Global Ambassador for UNESCO, which is part of the United Nations. Jehovah's Witnesses consider the UN to be the Wild Beast mentioned in Revelation, and teach that it is fit for destruction by their God Jehovah. There has already been a big scandal in regards to the Watchtower Society joining the UN, they got caught with their hands in the cookie jar so to speak, and withdrew their membership, yet Venus is allowed to be an Ambassador for the UN??? Methinks it is very hypocritical. I am really glad I am no longer part of that Cult. Here's another thread dealing with this. http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/12/161034/1.ashx

V

Loving this! The article has a link on the "according to some" regarding the Malawi incident.

The link goes to jwfiles.com! MSN Slate is hooking in to the apostate network as a source.

Layla33

This is a great way for those of us that know different and better to challenge the information the WTS is spreading to the media.

CoonDawg

I posted quite a bit on the comments thread as joebazots. I have yet to have a witness reply to ANY of my comments. They got nuthin. The funniest thing to me was how so many of them went apeshit crazy about being called a "sect". I replied to one that "Just because the governing body uses the word sect as a derogatory description of other religions does not mean that it's the widely accepted definition of the term." This stupid article spawned 16 pages of threads.

On many comments, I asked if the individual JW was counting their time posting on that board....

Too funny.