Message to the Governing Body -- DENY THIS!
"A lie is a false statement made by one to another one who is entitled to hear and to know the truth, and which false statement tends to work injury to the other. A false statement made for the purpose of deceiving and working injury to another is a deliberate and malicious lie." (Riches Book, 1936, Page 177)
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"Rahab of Jericho was under no oath in Jehovah's name to tell the facts to the king's officers and hence was not a false swearer or a false witness." (The Watchtower February 1st 1956 Issue, Pages 88-89)
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"Use Theocratic War Strategy"
"A WITNESS of Jehovah was going from house to house in Eastern Germany when she met a violent opposer. Knowing at once what to expect she changed her red blouse for a green one in the very next hallway. No sooner had she appeared on the street than a Communist officer asked her if she had seen a woman with a red blouse. No, she replied, and went on her way. Did she tell a lie? No, she did not. She was not a liar. Rather, she was using theocratic war strategy, hiding the truth by action and word for the sake of the ministry."
"In this she had good Scriptural precedent. Did not Rahab hide the Israelite spies by both action and word? Did not Abraham, Isaac, David and others likewise hide the truth at times when faced with a hostile enemy? They certainly did, and never do we read a word of censure for their doing so. Rather, we read of their being termed exemplary servants of Jehovah. Their actions were in line with Jesus' wise counsel: "Look! I am sending you forth as sheep amidst wolves; therefore prove yourselves cautious as serpents and yet innocent as doves."-Matt. 10:16"
"At times [a Jehovah's Witness who takes the witness stand in court] may prefer to refuse to speak and suffer the consequences rather than betray his brothers or the interests of God's work."
"...hiding the truth, which he is not entitled to know, from an enemy does not harm him..."
"So in time of spiritual warfare it is proper to misdirect the enemy by hiding the truth. It is done unselfishly; it does not harm anyone; on the contrary, it does much good."
"Today God's servants are engaged in a warfare, a spiritual, theocratic warfare, a warfare ordered by God against wicked spirit forces and against false teachings. God's servants are sent forth as sheep among wolves and therefore need to exercise the extreme caution of serpents so as to protect properly the interests of God's kingdom committed to them. At all times they must be very careful not to divulge any information to the enemy that he could use to hamper the preaching work." (The Watchtower May 1st 1957 Issue, Page 285)
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"Gods Word commands: Speak truth each of you with his neighbor (Eph. 4:25). This command, however, does not mean that we should tell everyone who asks us all he wants to know. We must tell the truth to one who is entitled to know, but if one is not so entitled we may be evasive."
"As a soldier of Christ he is in theocratic warfare and he must exercise added caution when dealing with God's foes. Thus the Scriptures show that for the purpose of protecting the interests of God's cause, it is proper to hide the truth from God's enemies." (The Watchtower June 1st 1960 Issue, Pages 351-352)
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"In warding off the immediate threat, Hezekiah agreed to pay tribute to Sennacherib, and he even cut off the overlaid doors and doorposts from Jehovahs temple, in order to make this payment (2 Ki. 18: 13-16). No doubt this was part of Hezekiahs theocratic war strategy, a move to gain time, and to put him in a better position to grapple with the enemy. Likewise, today, there are occasions when Jehovahs Witnesses have to move cautiously in preserving their God-given right to true worship" (The Watchtower March 15th 1968 Issue, Page 170).
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"Lying generally involves saying something false to a person who is entitled to know the truth and doing so with the intent to deceive or to injure him or another person"
"While malicious lying is definitely condemned in the Bible, this does not mean that a person is under obligation to divulge truthful information to people who are not entitled to it." (Aid to Bible Understanding Book, 1971 Edition, Pages 1060-1061)
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"LIE"
"The opposite of truth. Lying generally involves saying something false to a person who is entitled to know the truth and doing so with the intent to deceive or to injure him or another person."
"While malicious lying is definitely condemned in the Bible, this does not mean that a person is under obligation to divulge truthful information to people who are not entitled to it. Jesus Christ counseled: "Do not give what is holy to dogs, neither throw your pearls before swine, that they may never trample them under their feet and turn around and rip you open." (Mt 7:6) That is why Jesus on certain occasions refrained from giving full information or direct answers to certain questions when doing so could have brought unnecessary harm. (Mt 15:1-6; 21:23-27; Joh 7:3-10) Evidently the course of Abraham, Isaac, Rahab, and Elisha in misdirecting or in withholding full facts from nonworshipers of Jehovah must be viewed in the same light. -Ge 12:10-19; chap 20; 26:1-10; Jos 2:1-6; Jas 2:25; 2Ki 6:11-23." (Insight on the Scriptures Book Volume 2, 1988, Pages 244-245)
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"If a Christian is asked to submit to something that would be a violation of Gods higher law, the divine law comes first; it takes precedence [and if a court] ... authorized the forcing of a blood transfusion on a Christian ... Christians must take the same stand that the apostle Peter did; we must obey God as ruler rather than men--Acts 5:29 ... [and must be] absolutely determined to obey God even if a government directed them otherwise"
"[A twelve year old Jehovah's Witness] would fight any court-authorized transfusion with all the strength she could muster, that she would scream and struggle, that she would pull the injecting device out of her arm and would attempt to destroy the blood in the bag over her bed. She was firmly resolved to obey the divine law." (The Watchtower June 15th 1991 Issue, Page 31).
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"Sarai could say that she was Abram's sister because she really was his half sister. (Genesis 20:12) Furthermore, he was not under obligation to divulge information to people who were not entitled to it. (Matthew 7:6) Faithful servants of God in modern times heed the Bible's command to be honest. (Hebrews 13:18) They would never, for instance, lie under oath in a court of law. When the physical or spiritual lives of their brothers are at stake, such as in times of persecution or civil distress, however, they heed Jesus' counsel to be "cautious as serpents and yet innocent as doves." -Matthew 10:16; see The Watchtower, November 1, 1996, page 18, paragraph 19." (The Watchtower August 15th 2001 Issue)
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"Of course, being truthful does not mean that we are obligated to divulge all information to anyone who asks it of us. Do not give what is holy to dogs, neither throw your pearls before swine, that they may never ... turn around and rip you open, warned Jesus, at Matthew 7:6. For example, individuals with wicked intent may have no right to know certain things. Christians understand that they are living in a hostile world. Thus, Jesus advised his disciples to be cautious as serpents while remaining innocent as doves. (Matthew 10:16; John 15:19) Jesus did not always disclose the full truth, especially when revealing all the facts could have brought unnecessary harm to himself or his disciples. Still, even at such times, he did not lie. Instead, he chose either to say nothing or to divert the conversation in another direction.Matthew 15:1-6; 21:23-27; John 7:3-10" (Awake! February 8th 2000 Issue, Page 21)
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"This fact cannot be overemphasized: We are in a war with superhuman foes, and we constantly need to be aware of this." (The Watchtower January 15th 1983 Issue, Page 22)
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"Unfortunately, some "unreasonable men" in [governmental] authority persecute us or oppose us in other ways - such as by promoting smear campaigns against us. Still, in Jehovah's due time, their lies are always exposed, and their "ignorant talk" is effectively muzzled." (The Watchtower November 1st 2002 Issue, Page 17)
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"Officially, the [Jehovah's Witness] church denies all knowledge of the concept of theocratic warfare" (A Reporter's Comment from the Australian Sunday Program Television Show)
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Are YOU Entitled to Know the TRUTH?
What does the Bible say?
"And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free." (Jesus Christ Speaking, John 8:32, The Holy Bible)
"Therefore, putting away lying, 'Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,'..." (The Apostle Paul Speaking, Ephesians 4:25, The Holy Bible)
"...no lie originates with the truth..." (The Apostle John Speaking, 1st John 2:21, The Holy Bible)
"But outside [in the Lake of Fire] are dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters, and whoever loves and practices a lie." (Jesus Christ Speaking, Revelation 22:15, The Holy Bible)
