Outlaw, you are so funny!! LOL!!
Kingdom Hall in Chile has National flag!!
by wolfman85 49 Replies latest watchtower scandals
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fulltimestudent
Could someone quote a WT/JW publication that says the JW's could not display a national flag?
I quoted, in a previous post, the fact that an early WTS film (like, The New World Society in Action ) had pictures of the American flag flying over tents used for Assembly purposes at a International Assembly featured in the film.
Maybe my memory is failing me (OK, I'm getting to that age-grin), but I just cannot remember any publication saying that it was forbidden to display a flag.
If intellectual honesty and integrity is not valued within Yahweh's organisation, surely one may expect to find it outside of Yahweh's people?
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Sammy Jenkis
haha, anything to avoid a fine- and by anything I mean allegiance to a worldy entity. Wow!
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ILoveTTATT
Well folks if you want more proof then we will have to wait until September. I have asked exJW friends in Chile to take as many picture of Kingdom Halls as possible that have the flag... So this September we should have more proof.
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cultBgone
saving this for September!
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blondie
Well, I missed this. It depends if they own the property or not. If they rent the property, the owner makes the call what is displayed. My grandparents rented a building from the Oddfellows and in one case the Turners (a German gymnastic club) who displayed a flag by the podium. Because the jws did not own it, the flag stayed in place. Also at a large convention center used for sports events as well as concerts, had 2 large flags displayed at either end during the whole jw convention...because the jws rented did not own the facility.
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Band on the Run
OMG! I am stunned.
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blondie
BOTR, I assume you say this tongue in cheeck; but it was a question asked by several jws every day at the convention. The flags in rented KHs were related to me by my grandparents. Also, can a jw whose duties include raising and lowering the flag every day, do so?
*** w77 1/15 pp. 63-64 Questions From Readers ***
● May a Christian raise or lower a flag at his place of work?
When such a job assignment is not part of a flag ceremony the individual Christian is free to decide what to do, taking into consideration the local circumstances and his conscience.
It is well known that many persons view their national flag as a symbol meriting reverence. The Encyclopedia Americana states: “The flag, like the cross, is sacred. . . . The rules and regulations relative to human attitude toward national standards use strong, expressive words, as, ‘Service to the Flag,’ . . . ‘Reverence for the Flag,’ ‘Devotion to the Flag.’” Special ceremonies are often held, with the flag being the object of special “devotion.”
Each person is free to determine if he will share in such ceremonies. Jehovah’s Witnesses feel convinced, though, that what the Bible says about refraining from giving devotion to material, inanimate objects has a bearing on the matter. (Ex. 20:4, 5; 1 John 5:21) So, while respecting the rights of others to do what they want, Jehovah’s Witnesses do not share in flag ceremonies. Still, they are exemplary citizens who daily uphold the laws of the land.—Rom. 13:1.
Often the national flag is displayed at public buildings and assembly places, such as firehouses, municipal offices and schools. In view of their respect for the government and what is used to represent it, Jehovah’s Witnesses have no objection to being in or working at buildings where the national flag is on display. Similarly, a flag might appear on postage stamps, automobile plates or other government-produced items. Yet that does not mean that a person of the public who uses such is necessarily participating in devotional acts toward the flag. What is significant is not the presence of a flag but how a person acts toward it, what he does.
Sometimes an employee at a public building is assigned to put up the flag in the morning and to take it down at the end of the day. This might be part of a special ceremony, with persons standing at attention or saluting the flag. In that case it is understandable that a person who does not share in flag-saluting ceremonies would have conscientious reasons for not raising or lowering the flag, for to do so would be to share in the ceremony. It would be contributing to a ceremony, just as musicians in a band might be expected to contribute by playing patriotic music.
However, in many cases no ceremony accompanies the daily raising or lowering of the flag over a public building. Putting it up, for instance, may simply be part of preparing the building for use, as with unlocking the doors, opening the windows, and so forth. In such instances the flag is simply viewed as an emblem representing the government of the land in which that building is located.
When this is the case, a Christian employee who is asked to handle this duty among other routine tasks is free to decide what to do. The conscience of one person in this situation might move him to ask his supervisor to have some other employee put up and take down the flag. But another Christian might feel that his conscience will permit him to handle the flag as long as no ceremony is involved. Each person faced with such a request on his job should analyze the local circumstances as well as the proddings of his Bible-trained conscience. Then he should make a decision that will leave him with a clear conscience.—1 Pet. 3:16.
(see also
*** w02 9/15 p. 25 “Salvation Belongs to Jehovah” ***
An employer, for example, may ask an employee to raise or lower a flag displayed at a building. Whether an individual would do so or not depends on his personal view of the circumstances. If raising or lowering the flag is part of a special ceremony, with people standing at attention or saluting the flag, then performing this act amounts to sharing in the ceremony.
On the other hand, if no ceremony accompanies the raising or lowering of the flag, then these actions constitute nothing more than performing such tasks as preparing the building for use, unlocking and locking the doors, and opening and closing the windows. In such instances, the flag is simply an emblem of the State, and raising or lowering it among other routine tasks is a matter for personal decision based on the dictates of one’s Bible-trained conscience. (Galatians 6:5) The conscience of one person might move him to ask his supervisor to have some other employee put up and take down the flag. Another Christian might feel that his conscience would permit him to handle the flag as long as no ceremony is involved. Whatever the decision, true worshipers should “hold a good conscience” before God.—1 Peter 3:16.
There is no Scriptural objection to working in or being in public buildings, such as municipal offices and schools, where the national flag is displayed. A flag might also appear on postage stamps, automobile license plates, or other government-produced items. Using such objects does not in itself make individuals participants in devotional acts. What is significant here is, not the presence of a flag or a replica thereof, but how one acts toward it.
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disposable hero of hypocrisy
Bumpity bump....
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Coded Logic
Wow, I gotta say, I am genuinely shocked to see this. Guess we'll find out if they do the same thing again this year.