An open Letter to the Governing Body of Jehovah's Witnesses:
Gentlemen:
“All major world religions are accredited to the United Nations as non-governmental organizations.” Why did the Watch Tower Society feel compelled to withhold that statement from public scrutiny?
The June 1, 1991, Watchtower, page 17, par. 11, quoted from the book New Genesis by Robert Muller, but it failed to identify the source of the quotation. Muller had written: “All major world religions are accredited to the United Nations as non-governmental organizations. No less than twenty-four Catholic organizations are represented at the UN. Several of the world’s religious leaders have visited the international organization. Most memorable were the visits of His Holiness Pope Paul VI during the General Assembly in 1965 and of Pope John Paul II in 1979. Many religions have special invocations, prayers, hymns and services for the United Nations. The most important examples are those of the Catholic, the Unitarian-Universalist, the Baptist and the Bahai faiths.”
In a study article entitled “Their Refuge—A Lie!” the Watchtower denounced Christendom’s religions which were represented at the United Nations as deserving destruction by God’s executional forces at Armageddon, and used Muller’s quote to support their indignation at such religions. However, when quoting Muller’s statement, the Watchtower curiously omitted the sentence which stated, “All major world religions are accredited to the United Nations as non-governmental organizations.” Could this omission have been made because in that same year, 1991, the Watch Tower Society (WTS) itself became accredited to the United Nations as a non-governmental organization (NGO), and for the following ten years, from 1992 to 2001, served essentially as publicity agents for that international political body? What purpose do non-governmental organizations serve for the UN?
To become accredited to the UN as an NGO, an organization has to demonstrate its ability to publicize to large numbers of people the various activities and accomplishments of the UN. The Watch Tower Society easily demonstrated this capability. Each year, the WTS had to reapply for accreditation, providing examples of how it had publicized UN activities during the previous year. The WTS continued to do so until this curious alliance was exposed by the United Kingdom’s daily newspaper, The Guardian, in October of 2001. Two days after the expose was published, the WTS withdrew its association from the UN.
There is little doubt as to what action would have been taken toward an individual Witness who had done the same thing that the Watch Tower Society had done. The September 15, 1981, Watchtower, page 23, par. 15, had stated: “A person might renounce his place in the Christian congregation by his actions, such as by becoming part of an organization whose objective is contrary to the Bible, and, hence, is under judgment by Jehovah God. So if one who was a Christian chose to join those who are disapproved of God, it would be fitting for the congregation to acknowledge by a brief announcement that he had disassociated himself and is no longer one of Jehovah’s Witnesses.” Furthermore, the January 1, 1979, Watchtower, page 31, had stated: “In joining the YMCA as a member a person accepts or endorses the general objectives and principles of the organization. . . Hence, for one of Jehovah’s Witnesses to become a member of such a so-called ‘Christian’ association would amount to apostasy.”
It is clear that the Watch Tower Society is guilty of a double standard in this matter, and God’s Word makes it clear that such double standards are something detestable to Jehovah. (Prov. 20:10) By the Watch Tower Society’s own standard of judging others, it itself stands condemned. Clearly, the Watch Tower Society has lost all credibility as far as being God’s visible organization.