Freefallin,
I am guessing that you saw MacHislopp's thread about this issue?
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.asp?site=3&id=10732&page=1
The July 22, 2001 issue of Awake! was devoted to the issue of volunteerism. I was quite surprised to see a large text box advertising the UN's designation of 2001 as the "International Year of Volunteers." I don't have the magazine handy, but if I'm remembering correctly, it even included a picture of the UN insignia. Here is the text:
International Year of VolunteersOn November 20, 1997, the General Assembly of the United Nations proclaimed the year 2001 to be the “International Year of Volunteers,” (IYV 2001). According to the UN, there are four objectives to be achieved during the year.
Increased recognition Governments are encouraged to recognize the importance of volunteers by studying and recording their achievements and bestowing awards on outstanding volunteer activities.
Increased facilitation Countries are urged to encourage volunteerism by, for example, accepting volunteer service as an alternative to military service or providing certain tax exemptions.
Networking The media are invited to assist more in publicizing success stories of volunteer work. As a result, such projects could be replicated, “avoiding the need for each local community to reinvent the wheel.”
Promotion Volunteer organizations are encouraged to arrange exhibitions to inform the public about the benefits that society is reaping from volunteer work.
The UN hopes that IYV 2001 will result in more requests for the services of volunteers, in more offers from people to serve as volunteers, and in more funding and facilities for volunteer organizations to tackle society’s growing needs. A total of 123 governments have joined in sponsoring the objectives of this UN resolution.
I saw no mention in any of these articles of the scarlet-colored wild beast of Revelation.
On their media site, explaining their beliefs about the role of Jehovah's Witnesses in society, they use a scripture evocative of the "Let Us Beat Swords into Plowshares" sculpture in the United Nations garden:
Following the examples set by Jesus and first-century Christians, Jehovah's Witnesses do not share in the politics or wars of any nation. Their stand of Christian neutrality is well documented in history. They firmly believe that they must "beat their swords into plowshares" and not "learn war anymore." (Isaiah 2:4) At the same time, Jehovah's Witnesses recognize the authority of nations to raise armies and defend themselves, and they do not interfere with what others choose to do.—John 18:36.from http://www.jw-media.org/beliefs/society.htm
I cannot think of a way for them to justify their involvement with the UN. Even if they view the UN as politically neutral among various member countries, they have considered the UN in direct opposition to God's righteous theocratic government.
It would be interesting for a JW to test their stance by volunteering for UNESCO or UNICEF.
http://www.unv.org/volunteers/index.htm
Ginny
