http://watchtower.virtue.nu/index_en.htm
Post your refutations in this thread
I'm refuting the UN issue.
The Watchtower Society and the United Nations
The accusation
An article in The Guardian of October 8th 2001 gave quite a stir (the article can be read here). From the article it appeared the Watchtower Society was at least 10 years a member of the United Nations as a NGO (Non Governmental Organisation). To verify the validity of the article, many questions were posed at the United Nations, which lead to the publication of an official press-release in which they confirmed the facts as mentioned in the article of The Guardian. This press-release can be read here.For admittance as a NGO an organisation had to meet certain criteria, like: "NGO must support and respect the principles of the Charter of the United Nations". See also the letter from the United Nations on this subject on this site or the official site of the United Nations.
The reason for the questions being asked was as follows: thorough studies of especially the Biblebooks Daniel and Revelation show clearly to Jehovah's Witnesses the UN serve as surrogate for God's Kingdom and therefore distract from the real Kingdom. Although it is beyond the scope of this article to set forth the complete prophetic application, we believe the United Nations can be identified as the "wild beast" in Revelation 17:3.
Although the response of the Watchtower Society concerning the membership of the United Nations came soon, most were not satisfied with the answer that can be read here. In the press-release by the Society, it states the reason for membership was the use of the library-facilities of the United Nations, of course referring to the editors of our magazines The Watchtower and Awake! Unfortunately it appeares the library also could be used without membership, albeit under certain conditions that van be read here at the site of the United Nations. Probably, the brothers were not aware of this.
To prepare the elders to respond properly to questions by our brothers and sisters, the Society sent out this letter to all service-comittees. This letter is also the basis of our defence.
The refutation
It is clear that membership of the United Nations under the applicable conditions is not appropriate for the Society. As soon as the membership and its conditions became public, the brothers took steps and cancelled the membership of the Society!
Which is clearly an admittance of guilt. And why did it take them 10 years to realise they were thought of as an NGO? Maybe because they didn't really care?
The question is to what extent the Society really supported the charter of the United Nations. We think this is not the case at all. What should have been their actual support then?
Perhaps this is a case of the notorious "small print". The might for instance have been a brother that needed some material that only could be found in the library of the United Nations. What could be more simple than filling out some forms and becoming member of the library without realising this also meant membership of the complete organisation? How often did you read all conditions of insurances or certain purchases?
So what you're saying is that a person who is TRAINED to sign documents missed that little fine print that says "Becomming an NGO will in effect, make you a member of the UN." Not to mention that the WT is in the same city as the UN. They could have asked around about getting a library card instead of becomming a full fledged NGO.
We think there should not be read more into the membership than access to the library.
Why? It might be embarrassing to your church?
We think all insinuations - like the more positive approach of the United Nations in the publications (like in Awake! of November 22nd 1998, page 3-5) as part of a deal to be permitted membership - lack every ground.
Hey, where there's smoke there's something hot.