We know that The WTBS has been racist from the get go but, how do we show a R&F JW that at least the WTBS practiced Segregation Unrepentantly if they will not read “Old Light”?
Well I think they will regret this new CD-ROM they put out because I typed in Segregation and this is what I got….
There are WT Quotes here not only admitting They Practiced Segregation but also some condemning Christendom for doing so!
There is one quote that shows some fell away from “The Truth” because Segregation was practiced! I couldn’t believe it when I read it!
Since the only excuse The R&F JW will read for why Segregation was practiced in Southern KH’s and South African KH’s is That Christians Must Follow Cesar’s Laws I include Quotes to show there are times Christians should not follow Governmental Laws when they are against God.
If a R&F JW says now KH’s are not Segregated point out that The GB has never admitted it was a mistake to do so with an Apology and there for if Segregation became the law again in some regions they would once again enforce it At Jehovah’s Spiritual Table.
Hope you enjoy these quotes and pass them on!
Gotta Luvz You Guyz,
Utopian_Raindrops
*** w52 2/1 pp. 94-95 Questions from Readers ***
Questions from Readers
• If the Watchtower Society is free from racial prejudice, why does it tolerate segregation at its assemblies in certain sections of country? Is this not a course of compromise?—F. C., Wisconsin.
Why do we tolerate the segregation laws and policies of certain governments and organizations of this world? Because Jehovah has not commissioned us to convert the world, which is wicked beyond recovery and hence will be destroyed. Jehovah has commissioned us to preach the gospel. Now what should we do? Drop preaching to fight racial issues? We never have separate meetings and baptisms when we can have them together. But when impossible, shall we have separate meetings and baptisms, or none at all? Shall we serve spiritual food to all, even if separately, or serve it to none? Shall we provide baptism for all, even if separately, or provide it for none? Should we buck Caesar’s segregation laws, when they do not force us to violate God’s laws? God does not forbid separate assembly and baptism, and he commands assembly and baptism. (Matt. 28:19; Heb. 10:25) So should we disobey God to fight a racial issue? To buck the segregation laws would bring on disruption of the witness work, halting of it, mob violence, and possible loss of life. Only laws prohibiting gospel-preaching will we buck at that price.
Some may argue segregation is prohibited by God, citing Galatians 3:28 (NW): "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor freeman, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in union with Christ Jesus." That Paul spoke in a spiritual sense and not in a literal, physical sense is obvious, since actually there were male and female, slave and free, Jew and Greek. Because of the existence of Jew and Greek he specially accommodated himself and his preaching to such classes. (1 Cor. 9:19-22) His recognition of slave and freeman we will consider in more detail, since it bears directly on segregation. How so? Because segregation is rooted in slavery, is the outgrowth and hangover of slavery. Segregation, the stain left by slavery, is a lesser evil than slavery. So if the Bible does not instruct Christians to fight slavery it would not sanction them to battle the lesser evil of segregation, at the expense of gospel-preaching.
Even within the Christian congregation Paul did not protest the slavery of his time. Onesimus was Philemon’s slave, and both were Christians. (Philem. 10-16) Paul wrote Timothy, who pictured the society of witnesses today: "Let as many as are slaves under a yoke keep on considering their owners worthy of full honor." Why? "That the name of God and the teaching may never be spoken of injuriously." Kingdom preaching and Jehovah’s vindication are the issues to keep foremost, not creature equality and racial issues. "Moreover, let those having believing owners not look down on them, because they are brothers. On the contrary, let them the more readily be slaves, because those receiving the benefit of their good service are believers and beloved." (1 Tim. 6:1, 2, NW) Here again note that the slavery of those times existed even within the Christian congregation.
Paul also wrote: "In whatever state each one was called, let him remain in it. Were you called a slave? Do not let it worry you; but if you can also become free, rather seize the opportunity." If Paul could say this regarding slavery, how much more so can it be said to those discriminated against by segregation laws: "Do not let it worry you." It is no cause for Christian concern or anxiety. But if the Lord’s people are in locations where they are free of segregation laws or policies, they rejoice in the greater freedom and delight to be together in assembly. All are slaves of Christ, as Paul goes on to show: "Anyone in the Lord that was called a slave is the Lord’s freedman: likewise he that was called a free man is a slave of Christ." (1 Cor. 7:20-24, NW) Surprisingly, some colored brothers have strenuously objected to this, protesting as offensive the use of the word "slave" in the New World Translation. Any who do not wish to be Christ’s slave, whether white or black, can cease such service at any time; but they will be slaves nonetheless, only slaves of Satan and sin. (Rom. 6:16-23, NW) Those who magnify human importance soon hide from their view the really vital issues.
Jehovah is no respecter of persons. Neither are his people. But the world in which we live is. Whites are prejudiced against colored, colored are prejudiced against whites. In some colored communities after nightfall a white person would enter at the risk of his very life. To justify this on the grounds that the whites started the discrimination is not Scriptural. (Rom. 12:17) Now, where the danger is extreme should white persons enter these hostile communities and suffer beating and possibly death to prove they have a democratic right to be there? Should a white witness endanger his life to attend a meeting of colored witnesses in such places, or stay overnight with his colored brothers there, just to prove his democratic right to do so?
Many colored persons practice color-prejudice against their own people. Lighter-colored Negroes will shun the darker ones. Some from the Western Hemisphere look down upon the very dark ones from Africa. In South Africa, whites discriminate against the mixed coloreds, the mixed coloreds against the native blacks, the native blacks against the Indian coolies, and in their native India the Indians discriminate against the no caste or outcasts. Who is innocent to throw the first stone? Can we not see that all classes of the human race are evil, that if we start reforming we shall be lost in an impossible task, with endless discriminations and many varieties or injustices to beat down, which crusading social and political organizations of this world have hopelessly fought for years? For us to become like them would be to fail with them, consume our time in such reforms, lose out as Jehovah’s witnesses, and please only the Devil.
So let us please God by preaching the gospel despite the undesirable conditions the Devil’s world may make for us. Let us not be sidetracked by Satan and caught in a subtle snare camouflaged in lofty motives and ideals. Can we not wait upon Jehovah to avenge the wrongs we suffer now? Really, our colored brothers have great cause for rejoicing. Their race is meek and teachable, and from it comes a high percentage of the theocratic increase. What if the worldly wise and powerful and noble look down on them as foolish and weak and ignoble, not on an equality with self-exalted whites? It is to God’s ultimate honor, for he confounds the wise of this world by choosing those the world considers foolish and weak and ignoble. Let us boast in Jehovah and in our equality in his sight, rather than wanting to boast in equality in the world’s sight. (1 Cor. 1:26-31, NW) In due time the exalted ones will be humbled, and the humble ones will be exalted. (Matt. 23:12) All of us await this vindication from God, which will come in his due time. Until then, as Paul advised concerning slavery we advise concerning its lingering trace, segregation: "Do not let it worry you." (1 Cor. 7:21, NW) When possible we will meet together, when not possible we will meet separately; but in either event we are always united in spirit, brothers equal in our own sight, in Christ’s sight, and in God’s sight.
*** w56 10/15 pp. 611-613 Is God a Segregationist? ***
Is God a Segregationist?
SOME people say that God is the one who segregated the races; others say that racial segregation is just the opposite of the Christian principle of love. Last June 27 the American Baptist Association unanimously adopted a resolution putting God on the side of segregation. According to reports in the public press this resolution included these four points:
"God created the races distinct from one another. God scattered the races over the face of the earth at a time when they attempted to integrate and become one (Genesis 11:8). All flesh is not the same flesh (1 Corinthians 15:39) and just as animals, fishes, and birds are of a flesh peculiar to their kind . . . so He has also drawn the lines of demarcation between the black and white races. A great segment, if not the majority, of the Negro population of the South does not desire integration."
The American Baptist Association represents only a small part of the Baptists in America, but these arguments are quite common and they deserve investigation. The following paragraphs will consider the four points made in this resolution.
First, God does not say that he created the races distinct from one another. Instead, he says that they all are one. "Eve . . . was the mother of all living." Of "the three sons of Noah . . . was the whole earth overspread." God "hath made of one blood all nations of men." These are the things the Bible says. When such differences arise, between what men have said and what the Bible says, whom do you believe, God or men?—Gen. 3:20; 9:19; Acts 17:26.
Further, the Bible does not say that God scattered men because they began to integrate. The scattering was at Babel, and all the men there were of the same general family anyway, this being only a short time after the Flood. Integration was not the issue; false religion was. When the men at Babel went to "build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and . . . make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth," then God divided these false worshipers, not according to color, but according to language. So, again, the Bible does not support the segregationists’ claim.—Gen. 11:4.
The resolution continues: "All flesh is not the same flesh (1 Corinthians 15:39) and just as animals, fishes, and birds are of a flesh peculiar to their kind . . . so He has also drawn the lines of demarcation between the black and white races." But 1 Corinthians 15:39 says: "There is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds." On its face this text disproves the American Baptists’ argument. It says there is "one kind of flesh of men," not two kinds, as these people say. Again, whom will you believe, God or man?
The final point: "A great segment, if not the majority, of the Negro population of the South does not desire integration." This statement, whether true or false, is of no point to our discussion here, for it has no effect on whether God can be blamed for segregation.
Some people argue that the colored race was sentenced to a secondary status by Noah after the flood, in that he cursed Canaan, the son of Ham. However, the facts show that the colored race sprang not from Ham’s son Canaan but from his son Cush. Therefore not even Noah’s curse as recorded at Genesis 9:26, 27 can be used to argue that God is responsible for segregation.
Some people argue that God segregated the Israelites. But this too dealt with religion, not with race. The Law given to Israel said: "You must form no marriage alliance with them. Your daughter you must not give to his son, and his daughter you must not take for your son. For he will turn your son from following me and they will certainly serve other gods, and Jehovah’s anger will indeed blaze against you and he will certainly annihilate you in a hurry." (Deut. 7:3, 4, NW) However, the Israelites could marry people who accepted true worship. Salmon married Rahab, and Boaz married the widow Ruth, both of whom were non-Israelites, and both of whom became ancestors of Jesus.
But still some segregationists say: "If God didn’t segregate the races, then why are they of different colors?" Skin color, slant of the eye, color of the hair, etc., are inheritance factors. All the variations, including the many shades of skin color that the human race knows, were available in the genes provided in the first man and woman. Skin color is a result of the genes a person inherited, just as blonde hair or blue eyes are. God allowed for great variety, but it is man’s activity that has put one group into a superior position over another.
Far from teaching segregation, the Bible condemns it. Paul publicly rebuked Peter for being ashamed to be seen with the uncircumcised Gentile Christians. And he wrote: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, . . . for you are all one in union with Christ Jesus."—Gal. 3:28, NW.
But whether the Bible teaches it or not the issue of segregation will remain. Actually, it is one of the most power-charged issues of our times. Even many people who think they oppose segregation actually practice it when the issue comes to their neighborhood instead of its being in the other person’s.
Then what should the true Christian do about it all? He does not spend his time trying to solve all such social problems, because neither Jesus nor the apostles took such a course. They did not agitate against Rome’s occupation of Palestine or even against the actual slavery that was common then. They stayed free from such issues so that they could do their far more important work of pointing to God’s kingdom as man’s only hope.
Today true Christians follow that good example. They follow the Christian principles of love, pointing to the blessings of God’s kingdom as the only real solution to all of earth’s problems, and announcing that under that kingdom rule there will be no segregation on any basis but a oneness of all mankind under their Creator, Jehovah God.
Men of all races are examining the Scriptures. They are seeing this wise course and are teaching others of the glorious conditions of peace that God’s kingdom soon will bring to earth. The blessings that this God-directed kingdom will provide will prove once and for all that God really does love all men who serve him, and that he is no segregationist.
*** g77 10/8 p. 4 Races Are Strikingly Different ***
Basis for Segregation?
In 1954 the United States Supreme Court ruled against racial segregation in the public schools. But many Americans do not agree with that decision. Nor do they agree with the Court’s 1969 order for public-school districts to desegregate "at once." This is evidenced by the fact that in the late 1960’s a larger percentage of black children attended predominately black schools than in 1954!
Also, there are many persons in the United States who don’t agree with the 1967 Supreme Court’s ruling that it is unconstitutional "to prevent marriages between persons solely on the basis of racial classifications." This decree invalidated all laws in the United States against interracial marriages. Yet people are still commonly heard to say that they don’t believe blacks and whites should marry.
The situation in the churches is further evidence that many persons believe racial differences warrant segregation. Kyle Haselden, as editor of The Christian Century, wrote in 1964: "Everyone knows that 11 o’clock on Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in American life." And segregation persists. This year the minister of the Plains, Georgia, Baptist Church "said his resignation stemmed from ‘backlash’ over his efforts to integrate the church." New York Post, February 22, 1977
Although much progress has been made in improving race relations, some persons have recently seen causes for discouragement. A black, writing in The Christian Century of April 28, 1976, said: "I am worried, really worried, about the serious deterioration in relations between blacks and whites. Black friends share their sense of frustration and powerlessness with me."
There is often a polarizing, with races harboring hostility and sticking to themselves. As the above writer noted: "I went for a walk on the Yale campus. Two white students joined me. They complained of being forced into segregation by their black classmates who chose to live and take their meals alone, and to maintain little or no social intercourse with their white male peers."
*** g77 10/8 pp. 13-14 Are Whites More Intelligent than Blacks? ***
Examining the Question in Context
There are many factors that can account for their lower average IQ scores. In particular, American blacks have been greatly disadvantaged by their treatment by whites as inferiors, and as undesirables. Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren illustrated modern racial attitudes in an April 1977 Atlantic article.
When the Supreme Court’s school segregation decision was pending in the mid-1950’s, President Dwight Eisenhower of the United States invited Warren to a White House dinner for the purpose of influencing him to decide in favor of upholding the segregation law. "The President," Warren writes, "took me by the arm, and, as we walked along, speaking of the southern states in the segregation cases, he said, ‘These [Southerners] are not bad people. All they are concerned about is to see that their sweet little girls are not required to sit in school alongside some big overgrown Negroes.’"
As vocalized by this president, whites have commonly attempted to "keep blacks in their place"—in a segregated, subordinate position cut off from the benefits enjoyed by whites. During slavery, and later during legalized segregation, this was easy to do. Blacks who stepped out of line were whipped, lynched or otherwise punished. The effect was to produce the childlike, subservient, mentally slow "Sambo" personality. Whites have commonly believed that this personality was inherent in blacks. However, Harvard professor Thomas F. Pettigrew explains:
"No African anthropological data have ever shown any personality type resembling Sambo; and the concentration camps [in Nazi Germany] molded the equivalent personality pattern in a wide variety of Caucasian prisoners. Nor was Sambo merely a product of ‘slavery’ in the abstract, for the less devastating Latin American system [of slavery] never developed such a type."
Thus, IQ test results must be considered in this context of over 300 years of oppression during which many blacks, for their own defense and survival, adopted a subservient personality. And remember, until the latter part of the last century it was against the law in many places of the United States for blacks to learn to read or write. Even since then, blacks, taken as a whole, simply have not had the same educational opportunities as whites.
*** yb76 pp. 188-189 South Africa and Territories (Part Two) ***
A few days later Brother Knorr, along with Brother Phillips, paid a visit to Durban, that fine modern city on the shores of the Indian Ocean. He had to give his talks in three different places, in accordance with local segregation regulations. At the Colored meeting he was happy to see fifteen Indians present and took the opportunity to speak to some of them after the meeting. There is a very large Indian population in Durban and the Kingdom message was just then beginning to break through to them
*** yb76 p. 233 South Africa and Territories (Part Two) ***
Due to racial segregation in South Africa and the fact that the various racial groups live in separate townships, three different assemblies had to be arranged. The Europeans met at Milner Park Show Grounds, the Colored in the Union Stadium in the Colored area, and the African brothers met in Mofolo Park in the huge complex of Soweto where hundreds of thousands of African people live.
*** yb76 p. 235 South Africa and Territories (Part Two) ***
Very few things were done by outside firms, as there were brothers who could do almost anything—yes, the architect, engineer, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, and so forth, were all dedicated brothers, happy to have a share in the building work. Also, this building project provided a fine opportunity for brothers of the various races to work together in Kingdom service. Because of segregation laws, they generally meet separately, each one in his own community and language group, but here African, Colored, Indian and white brothers were working together in a unity that this world can never achieve
*** g84 4/8 pp. 5-6 Gandhi—What Shaped the Man? ***
He later wrote: “So long as we have this contempt on the part of white races for the coloured man, so long shall we have trouble.” Interestingly enough, Gandhi’s verdict applied just as much to the Indian who for thousands of years had perpetuated a caste system based on differences of skin colour. In this segregation it was now Indian against Indian, Brahman against Untouchable
*** g84 4/8 p. 6 Gandhi—What Shaped the Man? ***
Self-Respect for the Untouchables
On his return to India, Gandhi found hateful divisions and scars fostered by caste segregation. How can we condemn the British, he noted, when we are guilty toward our own Untouchable brethren? “I regard untouchability as the greatest blot of Hinduism,” he said. In giving sanction to untouchability, Hinduism had sinned, according to Gandhi
*** g84 4/8 pp. 6-7 Gandhi—What Shaped the Man? ***
“In the dictionary of nonviolent action, there is no such thing as an ‘external enemy,’” Gandhi said. With the world’s future itself at stake, as one modern writer commented, all differences would be “internal,” and if our aim is to save humanity we must respect the humanity of every person. Segregation based on caste negates respect, therefore people suffer. Their suffering is not silent anymore. It is reflected in statistics of crime and violence. Therefore the questions come up: Have Gandhi’s ideals worked? What about nonviolence in India? How practical are Gandhi’s ideas for the world in general?
*** yb92 p. 83 Kenya and Nearby Countries ***
Those being colonial times with enforced racial segregation, Sister Whittington had to limit her circle of listeners to the Europeans when she began to preach from house to house in her neighborhood. The householders were very friendly; they often invited her in and accepted Bible literature. She was frequently asked: “Where do you hold your meetings?” Her reply was that as far as she knew, she was the only one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the entire country!
*** yb92 p. 132 Kenya and Nearby Countries ***
A Segregated Field Opens Up
It took effort to overcome the segregation left over from colonial days. Stories held that it was unsafe to enter the African parts of town, even in daylight. But the new missionaries and the brothers serving where the need was greater were anxious to expand their activities. A location of railway workers was chosen as the first territory.
*** g88 6/22 pp. 4-6 Protestantism and Apartheid ***
Protestantism and Apartheid
AN ARTICLE in the South African Digest reported that DR (Dutch Reformed) Church “buildings, church services, and membership have been declared open to all, regardless of race or colour.”
For decades the DR Church stood for total segregation of races. What brought about this historic change adopted at an October 1986 meeting of church leaders?
Perhaps it would surprise many people to know that in the last century whites, black slaves, and those of mixed European and African ancestry all belonged to one DR Church. In 1857, however, a church synod bowed to mounting racial animosities and stated that services for people of mixed race could be held in separate buildings. The Bible did not encourage such a decision, admitted the synod, but the decision was made “as a result of the weakness of some.” This led, in 1881, to the establishment of a separate denomination for people of mixed race, which was called the Nederduitse Gereformeerde Sendingkerk, or DR Mission Church.
Little did those church leaders realize what they had started. Soon separate denominations were also established for blacks and Indians. Attendance in many DR churches was reserved for whites only. What had once been viewed as a “weakness” became rigid church policy. Blacks were sometimes turned away from the funeral services of their own white employers. Such humiliation stirred resentment among black church members.
“Apartheid . . . a Church Policy”
In 1937 the FC (Federal Council of DR Churches) requested the government to pass a law forbidding whites to marry people of mixed race. The government refused. In 1939 the FC repeated this request, at the same time also asking that whites be given separate residential areas, schools, and universities. Several delegations of clergymen approached the government about this. In 1942 the Federal Mission Council of DR Churches wrote the government: “The Church wants to see that this principle of racial apartheid is strictly enforced in the future.”
Then, in 1948 the white National Party was elected to power, promising to work for the legislation of apartheid policies. New apartheid laws soon followed. After the election, Die Kerkbode, the official DR Church magazine, proudly stated: “As [a] Church we have . . . always deliberately aimed at the separation of these two population groups. In this regard apartheid can rightfully be called a church policy.”
A Bible Teaching?
Until then, church appeals for apartheid were based mainly on tradition. In 1948 the Transvaal Synod even admitted they had not made a “conscious claim to being bound by Bible principles.” A new approach, though, now gathered momentum—the presentation of apartheid as a Bible teaching.
In 1974 the General Synod of the DR Church published a report entitled Ras, Volk en Nasie en Volkereverhoudinge in die lig van die Skrif (Human Relations and the South African Scene in the Light of Scripture). “In [it] the theology of apartheid found its classical expression,” states Dr. Johann Kinghorn, editor of the book Die NG Kerk en Apartheid (The DR Church and Apartheid). Dwelling at length upon the account of the division of mankind at Babel, the report stated: “A political system based on the . . . separate development of various population groups can be justified from the Bible.” The report also commented on Jesus’ request that his followers “be perfected into one.” (John 17:23) Such unity, the report claimed, “need not be revealed in one institution.”
A “Credibility Crisis”
South African Protestantism has become the target of much criticism. In 1982 the World Alliance of Reformed Churches met in Ottawa, Canada, and declared apartheid theology a “heresy.” South Africa’s DR Church was suspended from membership. In addition, the South African government itself placed pressure on the churches by scrapping some apartheid laws, including the one forbidding so-called mixed marriages.
How have the churches responded? Some DR Church ministers have also become openly critical of apartheid. In the book Apartheid Is a Heresy, DR Church theologian Professor David Bosch states: “The Afrikaans Reformed Churches have only to return to their roots to discover that what they now cherish is nothing but a heresy.”
But what effect has such backtracking had on church members? Observes DR Church theologian Professor Bernard Combrink: “Some members do not hesitate to speak about the credibility crisis in the church, in the light of the fact that a certain standpoint or policy has been advanced as Scriptural for many years, and now ‘suddenly’ other standpoints are being advanced as in agreement with Scripture.”
Indeed, the “credibility crisis” in the DR Church reached a climax in October 1986 when its general synod accepted a resolution about apartheid that stated in part: “The conviction has grown that enforced segregation and the separation of peoples cannot be deduced as a prescription of the Bible. The attempt to justify such a prescription from the Bible must be acknowledged as erroneous and repudiated.”
This rejection of apartheid theology has caused mixed reactions among whites. Many feel that the DR Church synod has not gone far enough, since it is unwilling to unite as one body with its black reformed churches. Yet, others feel that the church has gone too far and so are withholding financial support from it. On Saturday, June 27, 1987, 2,000 DR Church dissidents met in Pretoria. By a majority vote, they formed a new church for whites only called the Afrikaanse Protestantse Kerk (Afrikaans Protestant Church).
While Dutch Protestantism took the lead in establishing apartheid, the English-speaking South African churches have publicly condemned the controversial policy. Yet, two white ministers, Methodist and Congregationalist, admit that life in the English-speaking churches still “reflects racial division and discrimination which is sometimes as consistent and intense as that which is to be found in the Afrikaans Reformed Churches.”—Apartheid Is a Heresy.
What has been the reaction of black church members? While white theologians have hotly debated apartheid, prominent black theologians have been forming some views of their own.
[Box on page 6]
Catholics Also Divided
In September 1986 a meeting of Catholic clergymen in South Africa passed a resolution concerning ending apartheid. Reports The Cape Times: “Roman Catholic priests countrywide formally gave their support to the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference for its stand supporting economic pressure on South Africa.”
When such views were aired earlier in the year at Masses held in Johannesburg, however, a number of Catholics walked out of church. As one man left with his family, he shouted objections to the priest and was applauded by most of the congregation. Significantly, a number of South African Catholics have formed an organization opposed to political involvement by the Catholic clergy.
[Picture on page 5]
Church leaders presented apartheid as a Bible teaching
*** g86 7/22 p. 4 A Disunited Country—What Is the Solution? ***
It was in the 18th century that white farmers (Boers) met up with the Xhosa nation—part of a black wave of immigrants from the north. Again there was friction. Bitter wars were fought. Meanwhile, the British had taken possession of the Cape. But many Boers chafed under British rule and in the 1830’s trekked north. After many hardships and conflicts, they carved out new states beyond the Orange and Vaal rivers. Both British and Boer practiced racial segregation
*** g86 7/22 pp. 4-6 A Disunited Country—What Is the Solution? ***
The Church Endorses Apartheid
The increase in non-white converts during the 19th century made many whites feel uneasy. As a result, the Church Synod made a historic decision in 1857: “Because of the weakness of some [whites] . . . the congregation from among the heathens [non-whites] . . . would enjoy its Christian privileges in a separate building or institution.” So the church endorsed separation.
The process of division continued. Today there are separate Dutch Reformed Churches for whites, blacks, Coloureds, and Indians.
The late 19th century saw a further separatist trend. By then many religious missions, mainly of British origin and firmly in white control, had been established. According to James Kiernan, Professor of Social Anthropology of the University of Natal, “the African clergy in these white-dominated churches took this exclusion [of African clergy from leadership] to be based on discrimination and reacted against it by setting up churches of their own.” The first was formed in Johannesburg in 1892. Today, there are some 4,000 religious groups in South Africa, mostly black.
The 20th century began with “Christian” whites, British imperialists and Boer nationalists, fighting for supremacy. By sheer weight of numbers, Britain took over the Boer Republics, and together they later formed the Union of South Africa.
But the Boers, now called Afrikaners, gained a political victory when, as the National Party, they won an election in 1948 and came to power on the strength of their apartheid (separateness) policy. A comment in Die Transvaler, an Afrikaner daily, said: “We have the policy of apartheid . . . based on Christian principles of justice and fairness.” A stream of laws and regulations followed to consolidate the segregation of races.
As a result of living apart and having no social contact, many whites are not aware of the poor living conditions in black townships, nor can they fully appreciate the humiliation caused by apartheid. Almost all blacks resent the policy of apartheid. Such resentment has been used to fuel the flames of unrest.
Is There a Solution?
Pressure from within and without South Africa to end apartheid has intensified. Recently the government decided to make far-reaching changes. It made some reforms and repealed certain apartheid laws. But it appears impossible to solve the problems of South Africa in a way satisfactory to all. Many, both blacks and whites, want peaceful change, but some white hard-liners are determined to maintain the status quo. Both sides are torn between extremists and moderates. The blacks are also seriously divided by tribal loyalties.
What solutions do the churches offer? Spiritual ones? The Kingdom of God? No, they have entered the political arena. Some clergymen even advocate civil disobedience and negotiate with leaders of liberation movements known for their violence. As a result, many church-goers complain that they hear ‘too much about politics and too little about God.’
Compounding the confusion is the dissension in the churches. Among the different branches of the Dutch Reformed Church, there is now much criticism of apartheid. Many ministers both black and white have condemned it. The Western Cape Synod decreed in October 1983 that racial discrimination is “sinful” and that henceforth the church should be open to people of all races.
On August 29, 1985, the Presbytery of Stellenbosch, another Dutch Reformed Church regional body, officially recognized that racial discrimination “is contrary to the Biblical principles of love of one’s neighbour and justice” and that “apartheid” has “led to human misery.” Dissension on racial matters also plagues some of the English Churches. For sincere people who grew up believing that apartheid is “God’s will,” this is puzzling and confusing.
The Only Solution
World spotlights have been focused on South Africa for a long time. It has become the in thing to point the finger of criticism. But many countries doing that are as bad or worse themselves. This points to a deeply significant fact: The real, lasting solution not only to South Africa’s agonizing problems but to the world’s is beyond the scope of human power and wisdom.
World history is one long record of mistakes, injustice, strife, and bloodshed. And in this 20th century, the situation worsens as the world staggers from one crisis to another, all the while haunted by the fear of nuclear war.
Early in this century, mankind realized the need of a world-wide, supreme authority to control the nations. Yet experiments with the League of Nations and the United Nations have failed. Is there a supreme executive body that can and will clean up the mess and establish peace and unity? Yes—the Kingdom of God.
It will “crush and put an end to all these [man-made] kingdoms,” clear the earth of violence, injustice, and evil in all its forms, and usher in Christ’s Millennial Reign of peace. It will be just and fair to all peoples, regardless of race, colour, or background.—Daniel 2:44; Psalm 37:10; Acts 10:34, 35.
Millions around the world, including thousands in South Africa, have put their hope in the Kingdom, the government of God. On the basis of fulfilled Bible prophecy, they believe it will soon take over control of the whole earth. It will unite people of all races.—Luke 21:28-31.
A heartwarming demonstration of this was given at two special conventions held in South Africa in December 1985. Read about them in the next article.
[Blurb on page 4]
The church endorsed apartheid “because of the weakness of some”
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Apartheid was presented as the will of God
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Many ministers of the Dutch Reformed Church have condemned apartheid
*** g77 10/8 p. 24 They Found the Solution to the Problem of Race ***
White Southerner Finds Solution
I was born white and raised in the deep South in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Segregation was written, not only into the law of the land then, but in the hearts of my family and our white neighbors. From youth up, the inferiority of the black race was instilled in us so that it was only natural to believe this. Everybody did. Besides, as we grew up, we saw what appeared to us as proof. For one thing, Negroes are black. No amount of washing can rid them of this evidence that they are of the ‘cursed race,’ our elders pointed out.
*** g77 10/8 p. 26 They Found the Solution to the Problem of Race ***
Particularly frustrating to me was the vicious economic cycle that blacks were held in by whites. In the past, because of slavery and forced segregation, blacks were limited in education and employment opportunities, and thus were unable to improve their economic status or family life. Even in recent times, due to lack of education or discrimination, a black father often would be unable to provide adequately for his family, either materially or educationally.
*** g77 10/8 p. 26 They Found the Solution to the Problem of Race ***
I began to wonder: Will a good education really free me from these injustices? Will it change the basic attitudes of whites toward me? These questions caused me much consternation. However, becoming involved in a Bible study with Jehovah’s Witnesses helped me to see the real reason for the racial injustices that are so prevalent. I also learned that the prayer that I was taught as a child offers the only lasting hope for relief—the kingdom of God.—Matt. 6:9, 10.
From my Bible studies I could see that all men are imperfect and do not always treat others in the way that they should. As the Bible says: “Man has dominated man to his injury.” (Eccl. 8:9) .However, associating with Jehovah’s Witnesses helped me to see that they have the same view of race that the Bible sets forth. They really believe that God “made out of one man every nation of men, to dwell upon the entire surface of the earth.” (Acts 17:26) Indeed, the Witnesses demonstrate the love Jesus said his true followers would have.—John 13:34, 35.
*** yb76 p. 69 South Africa and Territories (Part One) ***
The government’s policy is that each racial group develop separately and independently. South Africa has come under heavy criticism for its apartheid, or segregation, policy.
*** yb76 p. 115 South Africa and Territories (Part One) ***
The Catholic Church has dominated the religious field for centuries, although there is supposed to be freedom of religion, and there are quite a number of small Protestant sects operating in the cities. Forced labor was used on the farms, and for this African workers got very little remuneration. Also, the punishment of Africans was severe. On the brighter side is the fact that Portuguese East Africa has no official color bar. There are no signs “Europeans only” and no segregation in transportation, banks, shops, or anywhere else. What they do have is distinction among the Africans themselves between “uncivilized” Africans and what they call assimilados, or “civilized” Africans. Any African may rise from his status as “uncivilized” and become “civilized” by a process of law. He passes certain tests and becomes a “white” man instead of “black,” no matter what his color. An African who wishes to do this applies to a local tribunal and must prove that he is literate in Portuguese, belongs to the Christian faith (Catholic), has a certain financial standing, and is willing to live in the European manner. The main thing is that he should be capable of adopting the white man’s way of life. He then has a right to a passport, his children are entitled to free education and he has a right to vote, but he becomes subject to military service, and has to pay a high income tax. Only a very small proportion of Africans are able to qualify.
*** g75 3/8 p. 30 Watching the World ***
Is This Integration?
· Some have boasted about the success of U.S. efforts to end segregation in its schools. But has real integration been achieved? Says U.S. News & World Report: “Racial barriers, in many places almost nonexistent in the early grades, become clear and firm as youngsters reach adolescence—and tend to stay that way through college. . . . This self-segregation is usually civil and comfortable. But for most schools it means a tendency toward separate tables in lunchrooms, separate cheering sections at athletic events, and practically no contact interracially after school hours.”
*** w65 3/1 pp. 156-157 Eternity Is My Goal in Jehovah’s Service ***
When the correspondence file was completed, I began to travel in the northern and southern parts of the United States to help my Negro brothers in their service of Jehovah. Coming from the North, I was not fully prepared for the many indignities that came my way in the South because of my race, such as segregation on buses, trains, restaurants, and so forth. The first few unpleasant encounters were a real test on me, but they strengthened me for the later ones. Some of the Negro brothers became offended and would not comply with segregation laws in the South. They are no longer in Jehovah’s service, having fallen away from it a long time ago. I realized that mankind must look to God’s new order of righteousness to see injustices permanently corrected. As long as we are in the old system of things, we, as Christians, must abide by Caesar’s laws, doing as the Bible instructs: “Be in subjection to the superior authorities.” (Rom. 13:1) Although a color line exists in the world, there is none among Jehovah’s servants. This was demonstrated to me on many occasions
*** w61 12/15 p. 762 Spirituality and the Modern Synagogue ***
As in the temple of Herod there was a court for the women, so in Orthodox synagogues there is a separate section for them, in large synagogues this being the upper balcony. As a result of this segregation comparatively few women are on hand for the sabbath morning worship; in one large synagogue only a handful of women were seen, compared with several hundred men and boys. In the Reform synagogue, which more often is called a temple, there is no such segregation. In most Conservative synagogues it is neglected, although held to in principle. The same, more or less, is true of such customs as wearing a hat and donning a prayer shawl at synagogue worship.
*** w59 12/15 pp. 749-750 The Pursuit of Peace ***
The Christian congregation started out as an almost Jewish Christian organization in ancient Jerusalem, except for some circumcised proselytes from other nations. (Acts 2:10; 6:5) Then circumcised Samaritans were added to the believers. (Acts 8:4-25) It was first three and a half years after Jesus Christ died on the torture stake outside Jerusalem that there was introduced into the Christian congregation the first uncircumcised Gentile or non-Jew, an Italian named Cornelius, together with a number of his relatives and intimate friends.—Acts 10:1 to 11:2.
4 At first this occasioned considerable unrest among the circumcised Jewish Christians, but in time they got peaceably adjusted to this merciful arrangement of God. This final admission of uncircumcised non-Jews into the Christian congregation was made possible by God. How? He took away the fence barrier, the wall of separation, namely, the Law given through Moses, which had divided off the Jews from the Gentile world. By Jesus Christ as Mediator between God and men he established a new covenant with Christians.
5 The apostle Paul explained why there must be no segregation inside the Christian congregation on the grounds of race, tribe, nation or color. He wrote to the congregation at Ephesus, which included Gentiles or non-Jews who were once far off from Jehovah:
6 “But now in union with Christ Jesus you who were once far off have come to be near by the blood of the Christ. For he is our peace, he who made the two parties [Jews and Gentiles] one and destroyed the wall in between that fenced them off. By means of his flesh [impaled on the torture stake] he abolished the hatred, the Law of commandments consisting in decrees, that he might create the two peoples [Jews and Gentiles] in union with himself into one new man and make peace, and that he might fully reconcile both peoples in one body to God through the torture stake, because he had killed off the hatred by means of himself. And he came and declared the good news of peace to you, the ones far off [Gentiles], and peace to those near [the Jews], because through him we, both peoples [Jews and Gentiles], have the approach to the Father [Jehovah God] by one spirit.”—Eph. 2:11-18.
7 Jesus’ sacrifice on the torture stake is the basis for desegregating the believing Jews and the believing Gentiles, of all the nations. Certainly, then, today that same sacrifice of Jesus for the “sin of the world” is the basis for the desegregating and the unifying of the small remnant of spiritual Israel and the “great crowd” of earthly sheep out of all nations, tribes, peoples and tongues. In this time when Jehovah’s Right Shepherd is gathering his other sheep to his right hand, there must be no segregating of this great crowd of other sheep from spiritual Israel. “They will become one flock, one shepherd,” said the Right Shepherd Jesus Christ. (John 10:16; Matt. 25:31-40) There must be Christian harmony, unity and peaceableness among all those in the one flock under the Right Shepherd Jesus Christ, “for he is our peace.” It is exactly in connection with Jehovah’s promise to shake all nations and to cause the precious things, the desirable things, of all nations to come to His house of worship that he says: “And in this place will I give peace, saith Jehovah of hosts.” (Hag. 2:6-9, AS) To this date Satan and his demons have been unable to frustrate this prophecy.
*** w56 9/1 p. 516 “He Made Out of One Man Every Nation” ***
Jehovah’s witnesses do not believe in prejudice or discrimination or segregation because of race or color. Where communities are democratic enough to allow it, Jehovah’s witnesses of different races and colors meet together in one congregation. Colored persons, Puerto Ricans and Mexicans, along with all other races and colors, are in the bride of Christ and are in heaven with God. They are not segregated in heaven; they should not be on earth. But there are many things on earth that should not be. These evils will be erased from earth at Jehovah’s war called Armageddon and they will not exist in his New World of righteousness. Jehovah’s witnesses cannot convert the world, do not try to, but await God’s destruction of it. Only in the new world that follows will prejudice and discrimination and segregation completely end.
*** w54 6/1 p. 349 The Mind of the African ***
In spite of the European colonization of South Africa since 1652 it is remarkable how the African culture and mind, even “town Africans,” have resisted change to and acceptance of the white man’s mind. Several factors have thwarted real changes: (1) the Europeans’ “segregation” policy has isolated the African from social intercourse;
*** w54 6/1 p. 350 The Mind of the African ***
The New World organization, thanks to Jehovah, is provided with the “weapons of the light” and has the only successful program for renovating the mind and clothing its subjects with a changed personality conformed to Christ Jesus, the Head. Secular education, admittedly, has failed to inculcate love. False religion, likewise, has failed to teach and follow true Christian principles, and the African has not been deeply impressed by what is so often hypocritical and partial. True religion, which does not make distinctions but which operates on the basis of love and abounds in the “fruitage of the spirit,” wins his approval, respect, sympathy and co-operation. The African mind has one obvious characteristic: it is childish and imitative. The visits of African circuit servants are doing much to set a good example. What could help much would be for African brothers to mix socially with the European brothers. This is ruled out by the strict segregation arrangements in South Africa.
*** w53 4/15 p. 233 Preaching the Good News in South Africa ***
RACIAL SEGREGATION—APARTHEID
One of the big problems in South Africa is that of racial segregation, known as apartheid. The laws require African, Colored (mixed) and European (white) to meet in separate halls, and every effort is being made now by the government to keep these three segregated, even in the cities and villages. This made it necessary for us to have three separate meetings. On Saturday afternoon two hundred of the European brothers came together in their section of the city. The branch servant, Brother Phillips, spoke first and then I talked to them on making public declaration of our hope. The importance of engaging in the house-to-house work and the need of advancing to maturity in order to have a full share in Kingdom activities was brought out, and that it should be the heart’s desire of everyone dedicated to Jehovah’s service to thus preach from house to house and equip himself to conduct home Bible studies.
*** w50 1/15 p. 29 United States District Assemblies of 1949 ***
Everyone who observed the progress of the assembly was impressed by the way in which Jehovah’s spirit was manifested upon the brethren, many of whom had little previous experience in the work of the assembly assigned to them. But organization did not lack; the work progressed smoothly from preconvention days even to the end of the last session on June 5. The witnesses present appreciated the fact that, even though forced by the law of the southland to practice segregation, Jehovah’s hand was in no wise shortened; rather, it was more gloriously seen upon his people, for it made the gifts of the participating brethren more manifest. As they left for their scattered homes the cheery call “I’ll see you in New York in 1950” was upon many lips. And when Jehovah’s witnesses meet in that northern city in international convention, with scores of thousands attending from many nations and with a variety of skin colors and many different tongues, there will be no segregation of Christian brethren necessary. A glorious prospect, that!
*** g98 3/8 p. 25 Christians and Caste ***
The True Christian Way
Had the missionaries of the church organizations taught Christ’s teachings based on love, there would have been no “Brahman Christians,” no “Dalit Christians,” no “Paraya Christians.” (Matthew 22:37-40) There would have been no separate churches for Dalits and no segregation at meals. What is this liberating Bible teaching that transcends class distinctions?
“For Jehovah your God is the God of gods . . . , who treats none with partiality nor accepts a bribe.”—Deuteronomy 10:17.
“Now I exhort you, brothers, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you should all speak in agreement, and that there should not be divisions among you, but that you may be fitly united in the same mind and in the same line of thought.”—1 Corinthians 1:10.
“By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love among yourselves.”—John 13:35.
The Bible teaches that God made all mankind from one man. It also says that all descendants of that one man should ‘seek God and find him, although he is not far off from each one of us.’—Acts 17:26, 27.
When class distinctions began to creep into the early Christian congregation, the writer James, under inspiration, condemned it roundly. He said: “You have class distinctions among yourselves and you have become judges rendering wicked decisions, is that not so?” (James 2:1-4) True Christian teaching does not allow for any form of caste system.
*** w97 11/1 p. 8 Christians and the World of Mankind ***
Christians and the World of Mankind
“Go on walking in wisdom toward those on the outside.”—COLOSSIANS 4:5.
IN A prayer to his heavenly Father, Jesus said of his followers: “The world has hated them, because they are no part of the world, just as I am no part of the world.” Then he added: “I request you, not to take them out of the world, but to watch over them because of the wicked one.” (John 17:14, 15) Christians were not to be separated physically from the world—for example, by segregation in monasteries. Rather, Christ “sent them forth into the world” to be his witnesses “to the most distant part of the earth.” (John 17:18; Acts 1:8) Still, he asked God to watch over them because Satan, “the ruler of this world,” would incite hatred against them on account of Christ’s name.—John 12:31; Matthew 24:9.
2 In the Bible the word “world” (Greek, ko´smos) often designates unrighteous human society, which “is lying in the power of the wicked one.” (1 John 5:19) Because Christians comply with Jehovah’s standards and also heed the command to preach the good news of God’s Kingdom to the world, sometimes a difficult relationship has existed between them and the world. (2 Timothy 3:12; 1 John 3:1, 13) However, ko´smos is also used in Scripture to refer to the human family in general. Speaking of the world in this sense, Jesus said: “God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life. For God sent forth his Son into the world, not for him to judge the world, but for the world to be saved through him.” (John 3:16, 17; 2 Corinthians 5:19; 1 John 4:14) So, while hating the things that characterize Satan’s wicked system, Jehovah showed his love for mankind by sending his Son to earth in order to save all who would “attain to repentance.”
(2 Peter 3:9; Proverbs 6:16-19) Jehovah’s balanced attitude toward the world should guide his worshipers.
*** w96 6/1 p. 3 Are You a Victim of Prejudice? ***
Are You a Victim of Prejudice?
WHAT do ethnic violence, racism, discrimination, segregation, and genocide have in common? They are all consequences of a widespread human tendency—prejudice!
What is prejudice? One encyclopedia defines it as “an opinion formed without taking the time or care to judge fairly.” As imperfect humans, we are prone to be prejudicial to some degree. Perhaps you can think of instances when you made a judgment without having all the facts. The Bible contrasts such prejudicial inclinations with the way Jehovah God judges. It says: “Not the way man sees is the way God sees, because mere man sees what appears to the eyes; but as for Jehovah, he sees what the heart is.”—1 Samuel 16:7.
*** g95 12/8 p. 28 Watching the World ***
Empty Summit
Approximately 20,000 delegates from around the world met in Copenhagen, Denmark, on March 6-12, 1995, to attend an assembly sponsored by the United Nations entitled: “World Summit for Social Development.” Their purpose in meeting? To discuss ways to bring an end to poverty, unemployment, and segregation in developing countries.
*** w77 7/15 p. 440 The Apostle Peter—Why So Loved by Many ***
Peter also played a prominent role in the meeting of the governing body of the Christian congregation to consider the question of circumcision for the Gentiles. (Acts 15:7-11) However, not long thereafter we find him letting the fear of man, fear of certain Jewish Christians from Jerusalem, cause him to compromise his principles by withdrawing from association with Gentile Christians. This weakness prompted the apostle Paul to give Peter a stinging rebuke seemingly in front of the entire congregation where this happened. (Gal. 2:11-14) Here again, we note the “humanness” of Peter. All who at one time or another have yielded to the fear of man can empathize with Peter’s example and take comfort and benefit from it.
In conclusion, we must not overlook the two fine letters that
*** lp chap. 9 pp. 102-103 Universal Law Reveals Purpose in Life ***
12 The Bible expresses the principle with regard to moral laws in this way: “God is not one to be mocked. For whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap; because he who is sowing with a view to his flesh will reap corruption from his flesh, but he who is sowing with a view to the spirit will reap everlasting life from the spirit.”—Galatians 6:7, 8.
*** hp chap. 17 p. 161 Whose Laws Will You Put First? ***
3 Many persons develop a resentment toward legislated laws. One reason is that humans have tended to make needless laws and to oppress others by means of laws. (Matthew 15:2; 23:4)
*** hp chap. 17 p. 162 Whose Laws Will You Put First? ***
6 Many persons agree that, as the ultimate authority, God has the right to decree what humans can and can not do. That is, they agree until they strongly want to do something that God forbids. Obviously, that is dangerous. There is ample proof that God’s commands are for our good. For example, avoiding drunkenness, wrath and covetousness will help us to enjoy better health and to have more contentment. (Psalm 119:1-9, 105) Also, God’s laws can help us to gain his approval and salvation. (Proverbs 21:30, 31) So even if persons do not yet understand the reason behind some of Jehovah’s commands, for them to refuse to obey, perhaps because of prideful independence, is folly.
*** hp chap. 17 pp. 166-167 Whose Laws Will You Put First? ***
BEING IN RELATIVE SUBJECTION
17 Sometimes there is a conflict between laws. A civil government may require something that God forbids. Or civil law may forbid a thing that God commands Christians to do. What then?
18 Such a conflict occurred when rulers forbade the apostles to preach about the resurrected Jesus Christ. Read the faith-strengthening account at Acts 4:1-23; 5:12-42. Though imprisoned and flogged, the apostles would not stop preaching. Peter said: “We must obey God as ruler rather than men.”—Acts 5:29.
19 So a Christian’s subjection to the governmental authorities is a relative subjection. His first obligation is to obey the Supreme Authority. If, as a result, he suffers punishment, he can gain comfort in knowing that God approves of what he is doing.—1 Peter 2:20-23.
20 The early Christians faced decisions in another area involving what God directed and what the Roman government expected. This had to do with supporting or being in the Roman army. God had said of his people: “They will have to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war anymore.” (Isaiah 2:4; Matthew 26:52) If, then, the Roman government demanded that a Christian be in its army or support its war efforts, there would be a conflict between Caesar’s law and God’s.
21 Early Christians also put God’s law first when they were ordered by men to offer incense to the deity of Rome’s Caesar. Others may have thought the act to be patriotic. But history tells us that Christians saw it as a form of idolatry. They would not perform idolatrous acts toward any person or object, knowing that their devotion belonged to Jehovah. (Matthew 22:21; 1 John 5:21) And rather than get involved in politics, even by shouting idolatrous praise to a ruler, they kept neutral so as to be “no part of the world,” as Jesus had urged.—John 15:19; Acts 12:21-23.
22 Will you accept God’s thinking and his directions on the matter of law? Doing so will protect you from many sorrows experienced by persons who disregard God’s laws on conduct and morals. And you will not experience needless punishment from existing civil authorities. But God’s thinking on the matter includes, above all, recognizing him as the Supreme Ruler. If you will do that under all circumstances, then you will fit in when the laws of God’s kingdom will soon prevail over the entire earth.—Daniel 7:27.
*** w93 11/15 pp. 28-30 Why Admit a Mistake? ***
Why Admit a Mistake?
IT WAS one of the most unusual encounters in military history. An unarmed envoy turned back 400 battle-hardened soldiers bent on avenging an insult. After hearing the entreaties of just one brave woman, the leader of those men abandoned his mission.
That leader was David, who later became Israel’s king. He listened to the woman Abigail because he wished to please God. When she tactfully showed him that taking vengeance on her husband, Nabal, would result in bloodguilt, David exclaimed: “Blessed be Jehovah the God of Israel, who has sent you this day to meet me! And blessed be your sensibleness, and blessed be you who have restrained me this day from entering into bloodguilt and having my own hand come to my salvation.” David was grateful that God used Abigail to keep him from making a grave mistake.—1 Samuel 25:9-35.
In a psalm, David asked: “Mistakes—who can discern?” (Psalm 19:12) Like him, we may not be aware of our mistakes unless someone points them out to us. On other occasions unpleasant consequences force us to realize that we have been mistaken, unwise, or unkind.
No Cause for Despair
Though all of us make mistakes, these need not be a cause for despair. Diplomat Edward John Phelps observed: “The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything.” And the Christian disciple James said: “We all stumble many times.” (James 3:2) Would a child learn to walk without ever stumbling? No, for a child learns from mistakes and keeps on trying until balance is achieved.
To lead balanced lives, we also need to learn from our mistakes and those of others. Since the Bible relates the experiences of many whose circumstances may mirror our own, we can be helped to avoid making the same mistakes that they made. What, then, can we learn from their mistakes?
Humility a Vital Quality
One lesson is that God does not condemn all who make mistakes but judges only those refusing to rectify them if possible. Israel’s King Saul disobeyed Jehovah’s instructions about the annihilation of the Amalekites. When confronted by the prophet Samuel, Saul first minimized matters and then tried to blame others. He was more concerned about losing face before his men than righting the wrong. Hence, ‘Jehovah rejected him as king.’—1 Samuel 15:20-23, 30.
Though Saul’s successor, David, made serious mistakes, he was forgiven because he humbly accepted counsel and discipline. David’s humility moved him to heed the words of Abigail. His troops were poised for battle. Yet, in front of his men, David admitted that he had made a rash decision. Throughout his life, such humility helped David to seek forgiveness and correct his steps.
Humility also moves Jehovah’s servants to rectify thoughtless remarks. During a hearing before the Sanhedrin, the high priest ordered that Paul be slapped. The apostle retorted: “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall.” (Acts 23:3) Perhaps because of poor eyesight, Paul did not realize who he was addressing until bystanders asked: “Are you reviling the high priest of God?” At that, Paul immediately acknowledged his mistake, saying: “Brothers, I did not know he was high priest. For it is written, ‘You must not speak injuriously of a ruler of your people.’” (Acts 23:4, 5; Exodus 22:28) Yes, Paul humbly admitted his mistake.
They Admitted Mistakes
The Bible also shows that some changed their mistaken way of thinking. For instance, consider the psalmist Asaph. Because wicked people seemed to fare well, he said: “Surely it is in vain that I have cleansed my heart.” But Asaph came to his senses after going to Jehovah’s house and meditating on the benefits of pure worship. Moreover, he admitted his mistake in Psalm 73.
Jonah also allowed wrong thinking to cloud his viewpoint. After preaching in Nineveh, he was concerned about personal vindication instead of the sparing of that city’s inhabitants. Jonah was displeased when Jehovah did not punish the Ninevites in spite of their repentance, but God corrected him. Jonah came to realize that his viewpoint was mistaken, for the Bible book bearing his name honestly acknowledges his mistakes.—Jonah 3:10–4:11.
Mistakenly assuming that Jehovah God, not Satan the Devil, was causing his distress, the man Job tried to prove that he did not deserve his sufferings. He was unaware of the greater issue: Would God’s servants remain loyal to him under test? (Job 1:9-12) After Elihu and then Jehovah helped Job to see his mistake, he admitted: “I talked, but I was not understanding . . . That is why I make a retraction, and I do repent in dust and ashes.”—Job 42:3, 6.
Admitting mistakes helps us to maintain a good relationship with God. As the foregoing examples show, he will not condemn us for our mistakes if we admit them and do what we can to rectify wrong thinking, thoughtless words, or foolhardy actions. How can we apply this knowledge?
Doing Something About Our Mistakes
Humbly acknowledging a mistake and doing something about it can strengthen family ties. For instance, perhaps because of fatigue or annoyance, a parent may have been rather harsh in disciplining his child. Refusal to correct this mistake can have bad effects. Accordingly, the apostle Paul wrote: “Fathers, do not be irritating your children, but go on bringing them up in the discipline and mental-regulating of Jehovah.”—Ephesians 6:4.
A young Christian named Paul warmly recalls: “Dad always apologized if he felt that he had overreacted. That helped me to respect him.” Whether an apology is necessary in a particular situation is something for personal decision. Nevertheless, apologies need to be followed by earnest efforts to avoid similar mistakes in the future.
What if a husband or a wife makes a mistake that causes distress? Frank admission, a heartfelt apology, and a forgiving spirit will help to maintain their loving relationship. (Ephesians 5:33; Colossians 3:13) Jesús, a Spanish man of strong temperament in his 50’s, is not too proud to apologize to his wife, Albina. “We have the custom of apologizing when we offend each other,” she says. “This helps us to put up with each other in love.”
When an Elder Makes a Mistake
Admitting mistakes and making sincere apologies will also help Christian elders to work together harmoniously and ‘show honor to one another.’ (Romans 12:10) An elder may be reluctant to admit a mistake because he fears that this will undermine his authority in the congregation. However, trying to justify, ignore, or minimize a mistake is much more likely to cause others to lose confidence in his oversight. A mature brother who humbly apologizes, perhaps for some thoughtless remark, earns the respect of others.
Fernando, an elder in Spain, recalls an occasion when a circuit overseer presiding over a large gathering of elders made an inaccurate statement about how a meeting should be conducted. When a brother respectfully corrected what he had said, the circuit overseer immediately acknowledged that he had been mistaken. Fernando recalls: “When I saw him admit his mistake in front of all those elders, it impressed me greatly. I respected him a lot more after that apology. His example taught me how important it is to recognize my own shortcomings.”
Be Quick to Admit a Mistake
An apology is usually appreciated, especially if made quickly. In fact, the sooner we admit a mistake the better. To illustrate: On October 31, 1992, Pope John Paul II admitted that the Inquisition had acted “mistakenly” 360 years ago in punishing Galileo for asserting that the earth is not the center of the universe. Yet, postponing an apology for such a long time tends to diminish its value.
The same is true in personal relationships. A quick apology can heal a wound caused by an unkind word or deed. Jesus urged us not to delay in making peace, saying: “If . . . you are bringing your gift to the altar and you there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, and go away; first make your peace with your brother, and then, when you have come back, offer up your gift.” (Matthew 5:23, 24) Often, restoring peaceful relations simply requires admitting that we handled matters wrongly and asking forgiveness. The longer we wait to do this, the more difficult it becomes.
Happy to Admit Mistakes
As the examples of Saul and David illustrate, the way we handle our mistakes can affect our lives. Saul stubbornly resisted counsel, and his mistakes multiplied, eventually culminating in his death in God’s disfavor. Despite David’s mistakes and sins, however, he repentantly accepted correction and remained faithful to Jehovah. (Compare Psalm 32:3-5.) Is that not our desire?
The greatest reward for admitting and rectifying a mistake or repenting of sin is knowing that it has been forgiven by God. “Happy is the one . . . whose sin is covered,” said David. “Happy is the man to whose account Jehovah does not put error.” (Psalm 32:1, 2) How wise it is, then, to admit a mistake!
[Picture on page 29]
Would a child learn to walk without ever stumbling?
*** w01 4/1 p. 22 Do You Feel Misunderstood? ***
Of course, even when misunderstandings are cleared up, there may still be hurt feelings or enduring negative consequences. What can be done? Where necessary, sincere apologies are certainly in order, along with any other action that can reasonably be taken toward setting matters straight. In all such situations, the injured party would do well to follow the inspired counsel: “Continue putting up with one another and forgiving one another freely if anyone has a cause for complaint against another. Even as Jehovah freely forgave you, so do you also. But, besides all these things, clothe yourselves with love, for it is a perfect bond of union.”—Colossians 3:13, 14; 1 Peter 4:8.
*** w96 9/15 p. 22 Do You Really Need to Apologize? ***
So, then, are apologies essential? Can they really accomplish anything?
*** w96 9/15 p. 23 Do You Really Need to Apologize? ***
Similarly, if two Christians need to resolve a difference between them, let each one humbly meet the other in the valley, so to speak, and make suitable apologies.—1 Peter 5:6.
*** w96 9/15 p. 24 Do You Really Need to Apologize? ***
Practice the Art of Apologizing
If we make it a practice to apologize when necessary, we are likely to find that people will respond favorably. And perhaps they will even apologize themselves. When we suspect that we have upset someone, why not make it a custom to apologize rather than go to great lengths to avoid admitting any fault? The world may feel that an apology is a sign of weakness, but it really gives evidence of Christian maturity. Of course, we would not want to be like those who acknowledge some wrong yet minimize their responsibility. For instance, do we ever say that we are sorry without meaning it? If we arrive late and make profuse apologies, do we determine to improve our punctuality?
So, then, do we really need to apologize? Yes, we do. We owe it to ourselves and others to do so. An apology can help to ease the pain caused by imperfection, and it can heal strained relationships. Each apology we make is a lesson in humility and trains us to become more sensitive to the feelings of others. As a result, fellow believers, marriage mates, and others will view us as those who deserve their affection and trust. We will have peace of mind, and Jehovah God will bless us.
*** w52 2/1 pp. 94-95 Questions from Readers ***
Questions from Readers
• If the Watchtower Society is free from racial prejudice, why does it tolerate segregation at its assemblies in certain sections of country? Is this not a course of compromise?—F. C., Wisconsin.
Why do we tolerate the segregation laws and policies of certain governments and organizations of this world? Because Jehovah has not commissioned us to convert the world, which is wicked beyond recovery and hence will be destroyed. Jehovah has commissioned us to preach the gospel. Now what should we do? Drop preaching to fight racial issues? We never have separate meetings and baptisms when we can have them together. But when impossible, shall we have separate meetings and baptisms, or none at all? Shall we serve spiritual food to all, even if separately, or serve it to none? Shall we provide baptism for all, even if separately, or provide it for none? Should we buck Caesar’s segregation laws, when they do not force us to violate God’s laws? God does not forbid separate assembly and baptism, and he commands assembly and baptism. (Matt. 28:19; Heb. 10:25) So should we disobey God to fight a racial issue? To buck the segregation laws would bring on disruption of the witness work, halting of it, mob violence, and possible loss of life. Only laws prohibiting gospel-preaching will we buck at that price.
Some may argue segregation is prohibited by God, citing Galatians 3:28 (NW): "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor freeman, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in union with Christ Jesus." That Paul spoke in a spiritual sense and not in a literal, physical sense is obvious, since actually there were male and female, slave and free, Jew and Greek. Because of the existence of Jew and Greek he specially accommodated himself and his preaching to such classes. (1 Cor. 9:19-22) His recognition of slave and freeman we will consider in more detail, since it bears directly on segregation. How so? Because segregation is rooted in slavery, is the outgrowth and hangover of slavery. Segregation, the stain left by slavery, is a lesser evil than slavery. So if the Bible does not instruct Christians to fight slavery it would not sanction them to battle the lesser evil of segregation, at the expense of gospel-preaching.
Even within the Christian congregation Paul did not protest the slavery of his time. Onesimus was Philemon’s slave, and both were Christians. (Philem. 10-16) Paul wrote Timothy, who pictured the society of witnesses today: "Let as many as are slaves under a yoke keep on considering their owners worthy of full honor." Why? "That the name of God and the teaching may never be spoken of injuriously." Kingdom preaching and Jehovah’s vindication are the issues to keep foremost, not creature equality and racial issues. "Moreover, let those having believing owners not look down on them, because they are brothers. On the contrary, let them the more readily be slaves, because those receiving the benefit of their good service are believers and beloved." (1 Tim. 6:1, 2, NW) Here again note that the slavery of those times existed even within the Christian congregation.
Paul also wrote: "In whatever state each one was called, let him remain in it. Were you called a slave? Do not let it worry you; but if you can also become free, rather seize the opportunity." If Paul could say this regarding slavery, how much more so can it be said to those discriminated against by segregation laws: "Do not let it worry you." It is no cause for Christian concern or anxiety. But if the Lord’s people are in locations where they are free of segregation laws or policies, they rejoice in the greater freedom and delight to be together in assembly. All are slaves of Christ, as Paul goes on to show: "Anyone in the Lord that was called a slave is the Lord’s freedman: likewise he that was called a free man is a slave of Christ." (1 Cor. 7:20-24, NW) Surprisingly, some colored brothers have strenuously objected to this, protesting as offensive the use of the word "slave" in the New World Translation. Any who do not wish to be Christ’s slave, whether white or black, can cease such service at any time; but they will be slaves nonetheless, only slaves of Satan and sin. (Rom. 6:16-23, NW) Those who magnify human importance soon hide from their view the really vital issues.
Jehovah is no respecter of persons. Neither are his people. But the world in which we live is. Whites are prejudiced against colored, colored are prejudiced against whites. In some colored communities after nightfall a white person would enter at the risk of his very life. To justify this on the grounds that the whites started the discrimination is not Scriptural. (Rom. 12:17) Now, where the danger is extreme should white persons enter these hostile communities and suffer beating and possibly death to prove they have a democratic right to be there? Should a white witness endanger his life to attend a meeting of colored witnesses in such places, or stay overnight with his colored brothers there, just to prove his democratic right to do so?
Many colored persons practice color-prejudice against their own people. Lighter-colored Negroes will shun the darker ones. Some from the Western Hemisphere look down upon the very dark ones from Africa. In South Africa, whites discriminate against the mixed coloreds, the mixed coloreds against the native blacks, the native blacks against the Indian coolies, and in their native India the Indians discriminate against the no caste or outcasts. Who is innocent to throw the first stone? Can we not see that all classes of the human race are evil, that if we start reforming we shall be lost in an impossible task, with endless discriminations and many varieties or injustices to beat down, which crusading social and political organizations of this world have hopelessly fought for years? For us to become like them would be to fail with them, consume our time in such reforms, lose out as Jehovah’s witnesses, and please only the Devil.
So let us please God by preaching the gospel despite the undesirable conditions the Devil’s world may make for us. Let us not be sidetracked by Satan and caught in a subtle snare camouflaged in lofty motives and ideals. Can we not wait upon Jehovah to avenge the wrongs we suffer now? Really, our colored brothers have great cause for rejoicing. Their race is meek and teachable, and from it comes a high percentage of the theocratic increase. What if the worldly wise and powerful and noble look down on them as foolish and weak and ignoble, not on an equality with self-exalted whites? It is to God’s ultimate honor, for he confounds the wise of this world by choosing those the world considers foolish and weak and ignoble. Let us boast in Jehovah and in our equality in his sight, rather than wanting to boast in equality in the world’s sight. (1 Cor. 1:26-31, NW) In due time the exalted ones will be humbled, and the humble ones will be exalted. (Matt. 23:12) All of us await this vindication from God, which will come in his due time. Until then, as Paul advised concerning slavery we advise concerning its lingering trace, segregation: "Do not let it worry you." (1 Cor. 7:21, NW) When possible we will meet together, when not possible we will meet separately; but in either event we are always united in spirit, brothers equal in our own sight, in Christ’s sight, and in God’s sight.
*** w56 10/15 pp. 611-613 Is God a Segregationist? ***
Is God a Segregationist?
SOME people say that God is the one who segregated the races; others say that racial segregation is just the opposite of the Christian principle of love. Last June 27 the American Baptist Association unanimously adopted a resolution putting God on the side of segregation. According to reports in the public press this resolution included these four points:
"God created the races distinct from one another. God scattered the races over the face of the earth at a time when they attempted to integrate and become one (Genesis 11:8). All flesh is not the same flesh (1 Corinthians 15:39) and just as animals, fishes, and birds are of a flesh peculiar to their kind . . . so He has also drawn the lines of demarcation between the black and white races. A great segment, if not the majority, of the Negro population of the South does not desire integration."
The American Baptist Association represents only a small part of the Baptists in America, but these arguments are quite common and they deserve investigation. The following paragraphs will consider the four points made in this resolution.
First, God does not say that he created the races distinct from one another. Instead, he says that they all are one. "Eve . . . was the mother of all living." Of "the three sons of Noah . . . was the whole earth overspread." God "hath made of one blood all nations of men." These are the things the Bible says. When such differences arise, between what men have said and what the Bible says, whom do you believe, God or men?—Gen. 3:20; 9:19; Acts 17:26.
Further, the Bible does not say that God scattered men because they began to integrate. The scattering was at Babel, and all the men there were of the same general family anyway, this being only a short time after the Flood. Integration was not the issue; false religion was. When the men at Babel went to "build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and . . . make us a name, lest we be scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth," then God divided these false worshipers, not according to color, but according to language. So, again, the Bible does not support the segregationists’ claim.—Gen. 11:4.
The resolution continues: "All flesh is not the same flesh (1 Corinthians 15:39) and just as animals, fishes, and birds are of a flesh peculiar to their kind . . . so He has also drawn the lines of demarcation between the black and white races." But 1 Corinthians 15:39 says: "There is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds." On its face this text disproves the American Baptists’ argument. It says there is "one kind of flesh of men," not two kinds, as these people say. Again, whom will you believe, God or man?
The final point: "A great segment, if not the majority, of the Negro population of the South does not desire integration." This statement, whether true or false, is of no point to our discussion here, for it has no effect on whether God can be blamed for segregation.
Some people argue that the colored race was sentenced to a secondary status by Noah after the flood, in that he cursed Canaan, the son of Ham. However, the facts show that the colored race sprang not from Ham’s son Canaan but from his son Cush. Therefore not even Noah’s curse as recorded at Genesis 9:26, 27 can be used to argue that God is responsible for segregation.
Some people argue that God segregated the Israelites. But this too dealt with religion, not with race. The Law given to Israel said: "You must form no marriage alliance with them. Your daughter you must not give to his son, and his daughter you must not take for your son. For he will turn your son from following me and they will certainly serve other gods, and Jehovah’s anger will indeed blaze against you and he will certainly annihilate you in a hurry." (Deut. 7:3, 4, NW) However, the Israelites could marry people who accepted true worship. Salmon married Rahab, and Boaz married the widow Ruth, both of whom were non-Israelites, and both of whom became ancestors of Jesus.
But still some segregationists say: "If God didn’t segregate the races, then why are they of different colors?" Skin color, slant of the eye, color of the hair, etc., are inheritance factors. All the variations, including the many shades of skin color that the human race knows, were available in the genes provided in the first man and woman. Skin color is a result of the genes a person inherited, just as blonde hair or blue eyes are. God allowed for great variety, but it is man’s activity that has put one group into a superior position over another.
Far from teaching segregation, the Bible condemns it. Paul publicly rebuked Peter for being ashamed to be seen with the uncircumcised Gentile Christians. And he wrote: "There is neither Jew nor Greek, . . . for you are all one in union with Christ Jesus."—Gal. 3:28, NW.
But whether the Bible teaches it or not the issue of segregation will remain. Actually, it is one of the most power-charged issues of our times. Even many people who think they oppose segregation actually practice it when the issue comes to their neighborhood instead of its being in the other person’s.
Then what should the true Christian do about it all? He does not spend his time trying to solve all such social problems, because neither Jesus nor the apostles took such a course. They did not agitate against Rome’s occupation of Palestine or even against the actual slavery that was common then. They stayed free from such issues so that they could do their far more important work of pointing to God’s kingdom as man’s only hope.
Today true Christians follow that good example. They follow the Christian principles of love, pointing to the blessings of God’s kingdom as the only real solution to all of earth’s problems, and announcing that under that kingdom rule there will be no segregation on any basis but a oneness of all mankind under their Creator, Jehovah God.
Men of all races are examining the Scriptures. They are seeing this wise course and are teaching others of the glorious conditions of peace that God’s kingdom soon will bring to earth. The blessings that this God-directed kingdom will provide will prove once and for all that God really does love all men who serve him, and that he is no segregationist.
*** g77 10/8 p. 4 Races Are Strikingly Different ***
Basis for Segregation?
In 1954 the United States Supreme Court ruled against racial segregation in the public schools. But many Americans do not agree with that decision. Nor do they agree with the Court’s 1969 order for public-school districts to desegregate "at once." This is evidenced by the fact that in the late 1960’s a larger percentage of black children attended predominately black schools than in 1954!
Also, there are many persons in the United States who don’t agree with the 1967 Supreme Court’s ruling that it is unconstitutional "to prevent marriages between persons solely on the basis of racial classifications." This decree invalidated all laws in the United States against interracial marriages. Yet people are still commonly heard to say that they don’t believe blacks and whites should marry.
The situation in the churches is further evidence that many persons believe racial differences warrant segregation. Kyle Haselden, as editor of The Christian Century, wrote in 1964: "Everyone knows that 11 o’clock on Sunday morning is the most segregated hour in American life." And segregation persists. This year the minister of the Plains, Georgia, Baptist Church "said his resignation stemmed from ‘backlash’ over his efforts to integrate the church." New York Post, February 22, 1977
Although much progress has been made in improving race relations, some persons have recently seen causes for discouragement. A black, writing in The Christian Century of April 28, 1976, said: "I am worried, really worried, about the serious deterioration in relations between blacks and whites. Black friends share their sense of frustration and powerlessness with me."
There is often a polarizing, with races harboring hostility and sticking to themselves. As the above writer noted: "I went for a walk on the Yale campus. Two white students joined me. They complained of being forced into segregation by their black classmates who chose to live and take their meals alone, and to maintain little or no social intercourse with their white male peers."
*** g77 10/8 pp. 13-14 Are Whites More Intelligent than Blacks? ***
Examining the Question in Context
There are many factors that can account for their lower average IQ scores. In particular, American blacks have been greatly disadvantaged by their treatment by whites as inferiors, and as undesirables. Former Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren illustrated modern racial attitudes in an April 1977 Atlantic article.
When the Supreme Court’s school segregation decision was pending in the mid-1950’s, President Dwight Eisenhower of the United States invited Warren to a White House dinner for the purpose of influencing him to decide in favor of upholding the segregation law. "The President," Warren writes, "took me by the arm, and, as we walked along, speaking of the southern states in the segregation cases, he said, ‘These [Southerners] are not bad people. All they are concerned about is to see that their sweet little girls are not required to sit in school alongside some big overgrown Negroes.’"
As vocalized by this president, whites have commonly attempted to "keep blacks in their place"—in a segregated, subordinate position cut off from the benefits enjoyed by whites. During slavery, and later during legalized segregation, this was easy to do. Blacks who stepped out of line were whipped, lynched or otherwise punished. The effect was to produce the childlike, subservient, mentally slow "Sambo" personality. Whites have commonly believed that this personality was inherent in blacks. However, Harvard professor Thomas F. Pettigrew explains:
"No African anthropological data have ever shown any personality type resembling Sambo; and the concentration camps [in Nazi Germany] molded the equivalent personality pattern in a wide variety of Caucasian prisoners. Nor was Sambo merely a product of ‘slavery’ in the abstract, for the less devastating Latin American system [of slavery] never developed such a type."
Thus, IQ test results must be considered in this context of over 300 years of oppression during which many blacks, for their own defense and survival, adopted a subservient personality. And remember, until the latter part of the last century it was against the law in many places of the United States for blacks to learn to read or write. Even since then, blacks, taken as a whole, simply have not had the same educational opportunities as whites.
*** yb76 pp. 188-189 South Africa and Territories (Part Two) ***
A few days later Brother Knorr, along with Brother Phillips, paid a visit to Durban, that fine modern city on the shores of the Indian Ocean. He had to give his talks in three different places, in accordance with local segregation regulations. At the Colored meeting he was happy to see fifteen Indians present and took the opportunity to speak to some of them after the meeting. There is a very large Indian population in Durban and the Kingdom message was just then beginning to break through to them
*** yb76 p. 233 South Africa and Territories (Part Two) ***
Due to racial segregation in South Africa and the fact that the various racial groups live in separate townships, three different assemblies had to be arranged. The Europeans met at Milner Park Show Grounds, the Colored in the Union Stadium in the Colored area, and the African brothers met in Mofolo Park in the huge complex of Soweto where hundreds of thousands of African people live.
*** yb76 p. 235 South Africa and Territories (Part Two) ***
Very few things were done by outside firms, as there were brothers who could do almost anything—yes, the architect, engineer, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, and so forth, were all dedicated brothers, happy to have a share in the building work. Also, this building project provided a fine opportunity for brothers of the various races to work together in Kingdom service. Because of segregation laws, they generally meet separately, each one in his own community and language group, but here African, Colored, Indian and white brothers were working together in a unity that this world can never achieve
*** g84 4/8 pp. 5-6 Gandhi—What Shaped the Man? ***
He later wrote: “So long as we have this contempt on the part of white races for the coloured man, so long shall we have trouble.” Interestingly enough, Gandhi’s verdict applied just as much to the Indian who for thousands of years had perpetuated a caste system based on differences of skin colour. In this segregation it was now Indian against Indian, Brahman against Untouchable
*** g84 4/8 p. 6 Gandhi—What Shaped the Man? ***
Self-Respect for the Untouchables
On his return to India, Gandhi found hateful divisions and scars fostered by caste segregation. How can we condemn the British, he noted, when we are guilty toward our own Untouchable brethren? “I regard untouchability as the greatest blot of Hinduism,” he said. In giving sanction to untouchability, Hinduism had sinned, according to Gandhi
*** g84 4/8 pp. 6-7 Gandhi—What Shaped the Man? ***
“In the dictionary of nonviolent action, there is no such thing as an ‘external enemy,’” Gandhi said. With the world’s future itself at stake, as one modern writer commented, all differences would be “internal,” and if our aim is to save humanity we must respect the humanity of every person. Segregation based on caste negates respect, therefore people suffer. Their suffering is not silent anymore. It is reflected in statistics of crime and violence. Therefore the questions come up: Have Gandhi’s ideals worked? What about nonviolence in India? How practical are Gandhi’s ideas for the world in general?
*** yb92 p. 83 Kenya and Nearby Countries ***
Those being colonial times with enforced racial segregation, Sister Whittington had to limit her circle of listeners to the Europeans when she began to preach from house to house in her neighborhood. The householders were very friendly; they often invited her in and accepted Bible literature. She was frequently asked: “Where do you hold your meetings?” Her reply was that as far as she knew, she was the only one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in the entire country!
*** yb92 p. 132 Kenya and Nearby Countries ***
A Segregated Field Opens Up
It took effort to overcome the segregation left over from colonial days. Stories held that it was unsafe to enter the African parts of town, even in daylight. But the new missionaries and the brothers serving where the need was greater were anxious to expand their activities. A location of railway workers was chosen as the first territory.
*** g88 6/22 pp. 4-6 Protestantism and Apartheid ***
Protestantism and Apartheid
AN ARTICLE in the South African Digest reported that DR (Dutch Reformed) Church “buildings, church services, and membership have been declared open to all, regardless of race or colour.”
For decades the DR Church stood for total segregation of races. What brought about this historic change adopted at an October 1986 meeting of church leaders?
Perhaps it would surprise many people to know that in the last century whites, black slaves, and those of mixed European and African ancestry all belonged to one DR Church. In 1857, however, a church synod bowed to mounting racial animosities and stated that services for people of mixed race could be held in separate buildings. The Bible did not encourage such a decision, admitted the synod, but the decision was made “as a result of the weakness of some.” This led, in 1881, to the establishment of a separate denomination for people of mixed race, which was called the Nederduitse Gereformeerde Sendingkerk, or DR Mission Church.
Little did those church leaders realize what they had started. Soon separate denominations were also established for blacks and Indians. Attendance in many DR churches was reserved for whites only. What had once been viewed as a “weakness” became rigid church policy. Blacks were sometimes turned away from the funeral services of their own white employers. Such humiliation stirred resentment among black church members.
“Apartheid . . . a Church Policy”
In 1937 the FC (Federal Council of DR Churches) requested the government to pass a law forbidding whites to marry people of mixed race. The government refused. In 1939 the FC repeated this request, at the same time also asking that whites be given separate residential areas, schools, and universities. Several delegations of clergymen approached the government about this. In 1942 the Federal Mission Council of DR Churches wrote the government: “The Church wants to see that this principle of racial apartheid is strictly enforced in the future.”
Then, in 1948 the white National Party was elected to power, promising to work for the legislation of apartheid policies. New apartheid laws soon followed. After the election, Die Kerkbode, the official DR Church magazine, proudly stated: “As [a] Church we have . . . always deliberately aimed at the separation of these two population groups. In this regard apartheid can rightfully be called a church policy.”
A Bible Teaching?
Until then, church appeals for apartheid were based mainly on tradition. In 1948 the Transvaal Synod even admitted they had not made a “conscious claim to being bound by Bible principles.” A new approach, though, now gathered momentum—the presentation of apartheid as a Bible teaching.
In 1974 the General Synod of the DR Church published a report entitled Ras, Volk en Nasie en Volkereverhoudinge in die lig van die Skrif (Human Relations and the South African Scene in the Light of Scripture). “In [it] the theology of apartheid found its classical expression,” states Dr. Johann Kinghorn, editor of the book Die NG Kerk en Apartheid (The DR Church and Apartheid). Dwelling at length upon the account of the division of mankind at Babel, the report stated: “A political system based on the . . . separate development of various population groups can be justified from the Bible.” The report also commented on Jesus’ request that his followers “be perfected into one.” (John 17:23) Such unity, the report claimed, “need not be revealed in one institution.”
A “Credibility Crisis”
South African Protestantism has become the target of much criticism. In 1982 the World Alliance of Reformed Churches met in Ottawa, Canada, and declared apartheid theology a “heresy.” South Africa’s DR Church was suspended from membership. In addition, the South African government itself placed pressure on the churches by scrapping some apartheid laws, including the one forbidding so-called mixed marriages.
How have the churches responded? Some DR Church ministers have also become openly critical of apartheid. In the book Apartheid Is a Heresy, DR Church theologian Professor David Bosch states: “The Afrikaans Reformed Churches have only to return to their roots to discover that what they now cherish is nothing but a heresy.”
But what effect has such backtracking had on church members? Observes DR Church theologian Professor Bernard Combrink: “Some members do not hesitate to speak about the credibility crisis in the church, in the light of the fact that a certain standpoint or policy has been advanced as Scriptural for many years, and now ‘suddenly’ other standpoints are being advanced as in agreement with Scripture.”
Indeed, the “credibility crisis” in the DR Church reached a climax in October 1986 when its general synod accepted a resolution about apartheid that stated in part: “The conviction has grown that enforced segregation and the separation of peoples cannot be deduced as a prescription of the Bible. The attempt to justify such a prescription from the Bible must be acknowledged as erroneous and repudiated.”
This rejection of apartheid theology has caused mixed reactions among whites. Many feel that the DR Church synod has not gone far enough, since it is unwilling to unite as one body with its black reformed churches. Yet, others feel that the church has gone too far and so are withholding financial support from it. On Saturday, June 27, 1987, 2,000 DR Church dissidents met in Pretoria. By a majority vote, they formed a new church for whites only called the Afrikaanse Protestantse Kerk (Afrikaans Protestant Church).
While Dutch Protestantism took the lead in establishing apartheid, the English-speaking South African churches have publicly condemned the controversial policy. Yet, two white ministers, Methodist and Congregationalist, admit that life in the English-speaking churches still “reflects racial division and discrimination which is sometimes as consistent and intense as that which is to be found in the Afrikaans Reformed Churches.”—Apartheid Is a Heresy.
What has been the reaction of black church members? While white theologians have hotly debated apartheid, prominent black theologians have been forming some views of their own.
[Box on page 6]
Catholics Also Divided
In September 1986 a meeting of Catholic clergymen in South Africa passed a resolution concerning ending apartheid. Reports The Cape Times: “Roman Catholic priests countrywide formally gave their support to the Southern African Catholic Bishops Conference for its stand supporting economic pressure on South Africa.”
When such views were aired earlier in the year at Masses held in Johannesburg, however, a number of Catholics walked out of church. As one man left with his family, he shouted objections to the priest and was applauded by most of the congregation. Significantly, a number of South African Catholics have formed an organization opposed to political involvement by the Catholic clergy.
[Picture on page 5]
Church leaders presented apartheid as a Bible teaching
*** g86 7/22 p. 4 A Disunited Country—What Is the Solution? ***
It was in the 18th century that white farmers (Boers) met up with the Xhosa nation—part of a black wave of immigrants from the north. Again there was friction. Bitter wars were fought. Meanwhile, the British had taken possession of the Cape. But many Boers chafed under British rule and in the 1830’s trekked north. After many hardships and conflicts, they carved out new states beyond the Orange and Vaal rivers. Both British and Boer practiced racial segregation
*** g86 7/22 pp. 4-6 A Disunited Country—What Is the Solution? ***
The Church Endorses Apartheid
The increase in non-white converts during the 19th century made many whites feel uneasy. As a result, the Church Synod made a historic decision in 1857: “Because of the weakness of some [whites] . . . the congregation from among the heathens [non-whites] . . . would enjoy its Christian privileges in a separate building or institution.” So the church endorsed separation.
The process of division continued. Today there are separate Dutch Reformed Churches for whites, blacks, Coloureds, and Indians.
The late 19th century saw a further separatist trend. By then many religious missions, mainly of British origin and firmly in white control, had been established. According to James Kiernan, Professor of Social Anthropology of the University of Natal, “the African clergy in these white-dominated churches took this exclusion [of African clergy from leadership] to be based on discrimination and reacted against it by setting up churches of their own.” The first was formed in Johannesburg in 1892. Today, there are some 4,000 religious groups in South Africa, mostly black.
The 20th century began with “Christian” whites, British imperialists and Boer nationalists, fighting for supremacy. By sheer weight of numbers, Britain took over the Boer Republics, and together they later formed the Union of South Africa.
But the Boers, now called Afrikaners, gained a political victory when, as the National Party, they won an election in 1948 and came to power on the strength of their apartheid (separateness) policy. A comment in Die Transvaler, an Afrikaner daily, said: “We have the policy of apartheid . . . based on Christian principles of justice and fairness.” A stream of laws and regulations followed to consolidate the segregation of races.
As a result of living apart and having no social contact, many whites are not aware of the poor living conditions in black townships, nor can they fully appreciate the humiliation caused by apartheid. Almost all blacks resent the policy of apartheid. Such resentment has been used to fuel the flames of unrest.
Is There a Solution?
Pressure from within and without South Africa to end apartheid has intensified. Recently the government decided to make far-reaching changes. It made some reforms and repealed certain apartheid laws. But it appears impossible to solve the problems of South Africa in a way satisfactory to all. Many, both blacks and whites, want peaceful change, but some white hard-liners are determined to maintain the status quo. Both sides are torn between extremists and moderates. The blacks are also seriously divided by tribal loyalties.
What solutions do the churches offer? Spiritual ones? The Kingdom of God? No, they have entered the political arena. Some clergymen even advocate civil disobedience and negotiate with leaders of liberation movements known for their violence. As a result, many church-goers complain that they hear ‘too much about politics and too little about God.’
Compounding the confusion is the dissension in the churches. Among the different branches of the Dutch Reformed Church, there is now much criticism of apartheid. Many ministers both black and white have condemned it. The Western Cape Synod decreed in October 1983 that racial discrimination is “sinful” and that henceforth the church should be open to people of all races.
On August 29, 1985, the Presbytery of Stellenbosch, another Dutch Reformed Church regional body, officially recognized that racial discrimination “is contrary to the Biblical principles of love of one’s neighbour and justice” and that “apartheid” has “led to human misery.” Dissension on racial matters also plagues some of the English Churches. For sincere people who grew up believing that apartheid is “God’s will,” this is puzzling and confusing.
The Only Solution
World spotlights have been focused on South Africa for a long time. It has become the in thing to point the finger of criticism. But many countries doing that are as bad or worse themselves. This points to a deeply significant fact: The real, lasting solution not only to South Africa’s agonizing problems but to the world’s is beyond the scope of human power and wisdom.
World history is one long record of mistakes, injustice, strife, and bloodshed. And in this 20th century, the situation worsens as the world staggers from one crisis to another, all the while haunted by the fear of nuclear war.
Early in this century, mankind realized the need of a world-wide, supreme authority to control the nations. Yet experiments with the League of Nations and the United Nations have failed. Is there a supreme executive body that can and will clean up the mess and establish peace and unity? Yes—the Kingdom of God.
It will “crush and put an end to all these [man-made] kingdoms,” clear the earth of violence, injustice, and evil in all its forms, and usher in Christ’s Millennial Reign of peace. It will be just and fair to all peoples, regardless of race, colour, or background.—Daniel 2:44; Psalm 37:10; Acts 10:34, 35.
Millions around the world, including thousands in South Africa, have put their hope in the Kingdom, the government of God. On the basis of fulfilled Bible prophecy, they believe it will soon take over control of the whole earth. It will unite people of all races.—Luke 21:28-31.
A heartwarming demonstration of this was given at two special conventions held in South Africa in December 1985. Read about them in the next article.
[Blurb on page 4]
The church endorsed apartheid “because of the weakness of some”
[Blurb on page 5]
Apartheid was presented as the will of God
[Blurb on page 5]
Many ministers of the Dutch Reformed Church have condemned apartheid
*** g77 10/8 p. 24 They Found the Solution to the Problem of Race ***
White Southerner Finds Solution
I was born white and raised in the deep South in the 1920’s and 1930’s. Segregation was written, not only into the law of the land then, but in the hearts of my family and our white neighbors. From youth up, the inferiority of the black race was instilled in us so that it was only natural to believe this. Everybody did. Besides, as we grew up, we saw what appeared to us as proof. For one thing, Negroes are black. No amount of washing can rid them of this evidence that they are of the ‘cursed race,’ our elders pointed out.
*** g77 10/8 p. 26 They Found the Solution to the Problem of Race ***
Particularly frustrating to me was the vicious economic cycle that blacks were held in by whites. In the past, because of slavery and forced segregation, blacks were limited in education and employment opportunities, and thus were unable to improve their economic status or family life. Even in recent times, due to lack of education or discrimination, a black father often would be unable to provide adequately for his family, either materially or educationally.
*** g77 10/8 p. 26 They Found the Solution to the Problem of Race ***
I began to wonder: Will a good education really free me from these injustices? Will it change the basic attitudes of whites toward me? These questions caused me much consternation. However, becoming involved in a Bible study with Jehovah’s Witnesses helped me to see the real reason for the racial injustices that are so prevalent. I also learned that the prayer that I was taught as a child offers the only lasting hope for relief—the kingdom of God.—Matt. 6:9, 10.
From my Bible studies I could see that all men are imperfect and do not always treat others in the way that they should. As the Bible says: “Man has dominated man to his injury.” (Eccl. 8:9) .However, associating with Jehovah’s Witnesses helped me to see that they have the same view of race that the Bible sets forth. They really believe that God “made out of one man every nation of men, to dwell upon the entire surface of the earth.” (Acts 17:26) Indeed, the Witnesses demonstrate the love Jesus said his true followers would have.—John 13:34, 35.
*** yb76 p. 69 South Africa and Territories (Part One) ***
The government’s policy is that each racial group develop separately and independently. South Africa has come under heavy criticism for its apartheid, or segregation, policy.
*** yb76 p. 115 South Africa and Territories (Part One) ***
The Catholic Church has dominated the religious field for centuries, although there is supposed to be freedom of religion, and there are quite a number of small Protestant sects operating in the cities. Forced labor was used on the farms, and for this African workers got very little remuneration. Also, the punishment of Africans was severe. On the brighter side is the fact that Portuguese East Africa has no official color bar. There are no signs “Europeans only” and no segregation in transportation, banks, shops, or anywhere else. What they do have is distinction among the Africans themselves between “uncivilized” Africans and what they call assimilados, or “civilized” Africans. Any African may rise from his status as “uncivilized” and become “civilized” by a process of law. He passes certain tests and becomes a “white” man instead of “black,” no matter what his color. An African who wishes to do this applies to a local tribunal and must prove that he is literate in Portuguese, belongs to the Christian faith (Catholic), has a certain financial standing, and is willing to live in the European manner. The main thing is that he should be capable of adopting the white man’s way of life. He then has a right to a passport, his children are entitled to free education and he has a right to vote, but he becomes subject to military service, and has to pay a high income tax. Only a very small proportion of Africans are able to qualify.
*** g75 3/8 p. 30 Watching the World ***
Is This Integration?
· Some have boasted about the success of U.S. efforts to end segregation in its schools. But has real integration been achieved? Says U.S. News & World Report: “Racial barriers, in many places almost nonexistent in the early grades, become clear and firm as youngsters reach adolescence—and tend to stay that way through college. . . . This self-segregation is usually civil and comfortable. But for most schools it means a tendency toward separate tables in lunchrooms, separate cheering sections at athletic events, and practically no contact interracially after school hours.”
*** w65 3/1 pp. 156-157 Eternity Is My Goal in Jehovah’s Service ***
When the correspondence file was completed, I began to travel in the northern and southern parts of the United States to help my Negro brothers in their service of Jehovah. Coming from the North, I was not fully prepared for the many indignities that came my way in the South because of my race, such as segregation on buses, trains, restaurants, and so forth. The first few unpleasant encounters were a real test on me, but they strengthened me for the later ones. Some of the Negro brothers became offended and would not comply with segregation laws in the South. They are no longer in Jehovah’s service, having fallen away from it a long time ago. I realized that mankind must look to God’s new order of righteousness to see injustices permanently corrected. As long as we are in the old system of things, we, as Christians, must abide by Caesar’s laws, doing as the Bible instructs: “Be in subjection to the superior authorities.” (Rom. 13:1) Although a color line exists in the world, there is none among Jehovah’s servants. This was demonstrated to me on many occasions
*** w61 12/15 p. 762 Spirituality and the Modern Synagogue ***
As in the temple of Herod there was a court for the women, so in Orthodox synagogues there is a separate section for them, in large synagogues this being the upper balcony. As a result of this segregation comparatively few women are on hand for the sabbath morning worship; in one large synagogue only a handful of women were seen, compared with several hundred men and boys. In the Reform synagogue, which more often is called a temple, there is no such segregation. In most Conservative synagogues it is neglected, although held to in principle. The same, more or less, is true of such customs as wearing a hat and donning a prayer shawl at synagogue worship.
*** w59 12/15 pp. 749-750 The Pursuit of Peace ***
The Christian congregation started out as an almost Jewish Christian organization in ancient Jerusalem, except for some circumcised proselytes from other nations. (Acts 2:10; 6:5) Then circumcised Samaritans were added to the believers. (Acts 8:4-25) It was first three and a half years after Jesus Christ died on the torture stake outside Jerusalem that there was introduced into the Christian congregation the first uncircumcised Gentile or non-Jew, an Italian named Cornelius, together with a number of his relatives and intimate friends.—Acts 10:1 to 11:2.
4 At first this occasioned considerable unrest among the circumcised Jewish Christians, but in time they got peaceably adjusted to this merciful arrangement of God. This final admission of uncircumcised non-Jews into the Christian congregation was made possible by God. How? He took away the fence barrier, the wall of separation, namely, the Law given through Moses, which had divided off the Jews from the Gentile world. By Jesus Christ as Mediator between God and men he established a new covenant with Christians.
5 The apostle Paul explained why there must be no segregation inside the Christian congregation on the grounds of race, tribe, nation or color. He wrote to the congregation at Ephesus, which included Gentiles or non-Jews who were once far off from Jehovah:
6 “But now in union with Christ Jesus you who were once far off have come to be near by the blood of the Christ. For he is our peace, he who made the two parties [Jews and Gentiles] one and destroyed the wall in between that fenced them off. By means of his flesh [impaled on the torture stake] he abolished the hatred, the Law of commandments consisting in decrees, that he might create the two peoples [Jews and Gentiles] in union with himself into one new man and make peace, and that he might fully reconcile both peoples in one body to God through the torture stake, because he had killed off the hatred by means of himself. And he came and declared the good news of peace to you, the ones far off [Gentiles], and peace to those near [the Jews], because through him we, both peoples [Jews and Gentiles], have the approach to the Father [Jehovah God] by one spirit.”—Eph. 2:11-18.
7 Jesus’ sacrifice on the torture stake is the basis for desegregating the believing Jews and the believing Gentiles, of all the nations. Certainly, then, today that same sacrifice of Jesus for the “sin of the world” is the basis for the desegregating and the unifying of the small remnant of spiritual Israel and the “great crowd” of earthly sheep out of all nations, tribes, peoples and tongues. In this time when Jehovah’s Right Shepherd is gathering his other sheep to his right hand, there must be no segregating of this great crowd of other sheep from spiritual Israel. “They will become one flock, one shepherd,” said the Right Shepherd Jesus Christ. (John 10:16; Matt. 25:31-40) There must be Christian harmony, unity and peaceableness among all those in the one flock under the Right Shepherd Jesus Christ, “for he is our peace.” It is exactly in connection with Jehovah’s promise to shake all nations and to cause the precious things, the desirable things, of all nations to come to His house of worship that he says: “And in this place will I give peace, saith Jehovah of hosts.” (Hag. 2:6-9, AS) To this date Satan and his demons have been unable to frustrate this prophecy.
*** w56 9/1 p. 516 “He Made Out of One Man Every Nation” ***
Jehovah’s witnesses do not believe in prejudice or discrimination or segregation because of race or color. Where communities are democratic enough to allow it, Jehovah’s witnesses of different races and colors meet together in one congregation. Colored persons, Puerto Ricans and Mexicans, along with all other races and colors, are in the bride of Christ and are in heaven with God. They are not segregated in heaven; they should not be on earth. But there are many things on earth that should not be. These evils will be erased from earth at Jehovah’s war called Armageddon and they will not exist in his New World of righteousness. Jehovah’s witnesses cannot convert the world, do not try to, but await God’s destruction of it. Only in the new world that follows will prejudice and discrimination and segregation completely end.
*** w54 6/1 p. 349 The Mind of the African ***
In spite of the European colonization of South Africa since 1652 it is remarkable how the African culture and mind, even “town Africans,” have resisted change to and acceptance of the white man’s mind. Several factors have thwarted real changes: (1) the Europeans’ “segregation” policy has isolated the African from social intercourse;
*** w54 6/1 p. 350 The Mind of the African ***
The New World organization, thanks to Jehovah, is provided with the “weapons of the light” and has the only successful program for renovating the mind and clothing its subjects with a changed personality conformed to Christ Jesus, the Head. Secular education, admittedly, has failed to inculcate love. False religion, likewise, has failed to teach and follow true Christian principles, and the African has not been deeply impressed by what is so often hypocritical and partial. True religion, which does not make distinctions but which operates on the basis of love and abounds in the “fruitage of the spirit,” wins his approval, respect, sympathy and co-operation. The African mind has one obvious characteristic: it is childish and imitative. The visits of African circuit servants are doing much to set a good example. What could help much would be for African brothers to mix socially with the European brothers. This is ruled out by the strict segregation arrangements in South Africa.
*** w53 4/15 p. 233 Preaching the Good News in South Africa ***
RACIAL SEGREGATION—APARTHEID
One of the big problems in South Africa is that of racial segregation, known as apartheid. The laws require African, Colored (mixed) and European (white) to meet in separate halls, and every effort is being made now by the government to keep these three segregated, even in the cities and villages. This made it necessary for us to have three separate meetings. On Saturday afternoon two hundred of the European brothers came together in their section of the city. The branch servant, Brother Phillips, spoke first and then I talked to them on making public declaration of our hope. The importance of engaging in the house-to-house work and the need of advancing to maturity in order to have a full share in Kingdom activities was brought out, and that it should be the heart’s desire of everyone dedicated to Jehovah’s service to thus preach from house to house and equip himself to conduct home Bible studies.
*** w50 1/15 p. 29 United States District Assemblies of 1949 ***
Everyone who observed the progress of the assembly was impressed by the way in which Jehovah’s spirit was manifested upon the brethren, many of whom had little previous experience in the work of the assembly assigned to them. But organization did not lack; the work progressed smoothly from preconvention days even to the end of the last session on June 5. The witnesses present appreciated the fact that, even though forced by the law of the southland to practice segregation, Jehovah’s hand was in no wise shortened; rather, it was more gloriously seen upon his people, for it made the gifts of the participating brethren more manifest. As they left for their scattered homes the cheery call “I’ll see you in New York in 1950” was upon many lips. And when Jehovah’s witnesses meet in that northern city in international convention, with scores of thousands attending from many nations and with a variety of skin colors and many different tongues, there will be no segregation of Christian brethren necessary. A glorious prospect, that!
*** g98 3/8 p. 25 Christians and Caste ***
The True Christian Way
Had the missionaries of the church organizations taught Christ’s teachings based on love, there would have been no “Brahman Christians,” no “Dalit Christians,” no “Paraya Christians.” (Matthew 22:37-40) There would have been no separate churches for Dalits and no segregation at meals. What is this liberating Bible teaching that transcends class distinctions?
“For Jehovah your God is the God of gods . . . , who treats none with partiality nor accepts a bribe.”—Deuteronomy 10:17.
“Now I exhort you, brothers, through the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you should all speak in agreement, and that there should not be divisions among you, but that you may be fitly united in the same mind and in the same line of thought.”—1 Corinthians 1:10.
“By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love among yourselves.”—John 13:35.
The Bible teaches that God made all mankind from one man. It also says that all descendants of that one man should ‘seek God and find him, although he is not far off from each one of us.’—Acts 17:26, 27.
When class distinctions began to creep into the early Christian congregation, the writer James, under inspiration, condemned it roundly. He said: “You have class distinctions among yourselves and you have become judges rendering wicked decisions, is that not so?” (James 2:1-4) True Christian teaching does not allow for any form of caste system.
*** w97 11/1 p. 8 Christians and the World of Mankind ***
Christians and the World of Mankind
“Go on walking in wisdom toward those on the outside.”—COLOSSIANS 4:5.
IN A prayer to his heavenly Father, Jesus said of his followers: “The world has hated them, because they are no part of the world, just as I am no part of the world.” Then he added: “I request you, not to take them out of the world, but to watch over them because of the wicked one.” (John 17:14, 15) Christians were not to be separated physically from the world—for example, by segregation in monasteries. Rather, Christ “sent them forth into the world” to be his witnesses “to the most distant part of the earth.” (John 17:18; Acts 1:8) Still, he asked God to watch over them because Satan, “the ruler of this world,” would incite hatred against them on account of Christ’s name.—John 12:31; Matthew 24:9.
2 In the Bible the word “world” (Greek, ko´smos) often designates unrighteous human society, which “is lying in the power of the wicked one.” (1 John 5:19) Because Christians comply with Jehovah’s standards and also heed the command to preach the good news of God’s Kingdom to the world, sometimes a difficult relationship has existed between them and the world. (2 Timothy 3:12; 1 John 3:1, 13) However, ko´smos is also used in Scripture to refer to the human family in general. Speaking of the world in this sense, Jesus said: “God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son, in order that everyone exercising faith in him might not be destroyed but have everlasting life. For God sent forth his Son into the world, not for him to judge the world, but for the world to be saved through him.” (John 3:16, 17; 2 Corinthians 5:19; 1 John 4:14) So, while hating the things that characterize Satan’s wicked system, Jehovah showed his love for mankind by sending his Son to earth in order to save all who would “attain to repentance.”
(2 Peter 3:9; Proverbs 6:16-19) Jehovah’s balanced attitude toward the world should guide his worshipers.
*** w96 6/1 p. 3 Are You a Victim of Prejudice? ***
Are You a Victim of Prejudice?
WHAT do ethnic violence, racism, discrimination, segregation, and genocide have in common? They are all consequences of a widespread human tendency—prejudice!
What is prejudice? One encyclopedia defines it as “an opinion formed without taking the time or care to judge fairly.” As imperfect humans, we are prone to be prejudicial to some degree. Perhaps you can think of instances when you made a judgment without having all the facts. The Bible contrasts such prejudicial inclinations with the way Jehovah God judges. It says: “Not the way man sees is the way God sees, because mere man sees what appears to the eyes; but as for Jehovah, he sees what the heart is.”—1 Samuel 16:7.
*** g95 12/8 p. 28 Watching the World ***
Empty Summit
Approximately 20,000 delegates from around the world met in Copenhagen, Denmark, on March 6-12, 1995, to attend an assembly sponsored by the United Nations entitled: “World Summit for Social Development.” Their purpose in meeting? To discuss ways to bring an end to poverty, unemployment, and segregation in developing countries.
*** w77 7/15 p. 440 The Apostle Peter—Why So Loved by Many ***
Peter also played a prominent role in the meeting of the governing body of the Christian congregation to consider the question of circumcision for the Gentiles. (Acts 15:7-11) However, not long thereafter we find him letting the fear of man, fear of certain Jewish Christians from Jerusalem, cause him to compromise his principles by withdrawing from association with Gentile Christians. This weakness prompted the apostle Paul to give Peter a stinging rebuke seemingly in front of the entire congregation where this happened. (Gal. 2:11-14) Here again, we note the “humanness” of Peter. All who at one time or another have yielded to the fear of man can empathize with Peter’s example and take comfort and benefit from it.
In conclusion, we must not overlook the two fine letters that
*** lp chap. 9 pp. 102-103 Universal Law Reveals Purpose in Life ***
12 The Bible expresses the principle with regard to moral laws in this way: “God is not one to be mocked. For whatever a man is sowing, this he will also reap; because he who is sowing with a view to his flesh will reap corruption from his flesh, but he who is sowing with a view to the spirit will reap everlasting life from the spirit.”—Galatians 6:7, 8.
*** hp chap. 17 p. 161 Whose Laws Will You Put First? ***
3 Many persons develop a resentment toward legislated laws. One reason is that humans have tended to make needless laws and to oppress others by means of laws. (Matthew 15:2; 23:4)
*** hp chap. 17 p. 162 Whose Laws Will You Put First? ***
6 Many persons agree that, as the ultimate authority, God has the right to decree what humans can and can not do. That is, they agree until they strongly want to do something that God forbids. Obviously, that is dangerous. There is ample proof that God’s commands are for our good. For example, avoiding drunkenness, wrath and covetousness will help us to enjoy better health and to have more contentment. (Psalm 119:1-9, 105) Also, God’s laws can help us to gain his approval and salvation. (Proverbs 21:30, 31) So even if persons do not yet understand the reason behind some of Jehovah’s commands, for them to refuse to obey, perhaps because of prideful independence, is folly.
*** hp chap. 17 pp. 166-167 Whose Laws Will You Put First? ***
BEING IN RELATIVE SUBJECTION
17 Sometimes there is a conflict between laws. A civil government may require something that God forbids. Or civil law may forbid a thing that God commands Christians to do. What then?
18 Such a conflict occurred when rulers forbade the apostles to preach about the resurrected Jesus Christ. Read the faith-strengthening account at Acts 4:1-23; 5:12-42. Though imprisoned and flogged, the apostles would not stop preaching. Peter said: “We must obey God as ruler rather than men.”—Acts 5:29.
19 So a Christian’s subjection to the governmental authorities is a relative subjection. His first obligation is to obey the Supreme Authority. If, as a result, he suffers punishment, he can gain comfort in knowing that God approves of what he is doing.—1 Peter 2:20-23.
20 The early Christians faced decisions in another area involving what God directed and what the Roman government expected. This had to do with supporting or being in the Roman army. God had said of his people: “They will have to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war anymore.” (Isaiah 2:4; Matthew 26:52) If, then, the Roman government demanded that a Christian be in its army or support its war efforts, there would be a conflict between Caesar’s law and God’s.
21 Early Christians also put God’s law first when they were ordered by men to offer incense to the deity of Rome’s Caesar. Others may have thought the act to be patriotic. But history tells us that Christians saw it as a form of idolatry. They would not perform idolatrous acts toward any person or object, knowing that their devotion belonged to Jehovah. (Matthew 22:21; 1 John 5:21) And rather than get involved in politics, even by shouting idolatrous praise to a ruler, they kept neutral so as to be “no part of the world,” as Jesus had urged.—John 15:19; Acts 12:21-23.
22 Will you accept God’s thinking and his directions on the matter of law? Doing so will protect you from many sorrows experienced by persons who disregard God’s laws on conduct and morals. And you will not experience needless punishment from existing civil authorities. But God’s thinking on the matter includes, above all, recognizing him as the Supreme Ruler. If you will do that under all circumstances, then you will fit in when the laws of God’s kingdom will soon prevail over the entire earth.—Daniel 7:27.
*** w93 11/15 pp. 28-30 Why Admit a Mistake? ***
Why Admit a Mistake?
IT WAS one of the most unusual encounters in military history. An unarmed envoy turned back 400 battle-hardened soldiers bent on avenging an insult. After hearing the entreaties of just one brave woman, the leader of those men abandoned his mission.
That leader was David, who later became Israel’s king. He listened to the woman Abigail because he wished to please God. When she tactfully showed him that taking vengeance on her husband, Nabal, would result in bloodguilt, David exclaimed: “Blessed be Jehovah the God of Israel, who has sent you this day to meet me! And blessed be your sensibleness, and blessed be you who have restrained me this day from entering into bloodguilt and having my own hand come to my salvation.” David was grateful that God used Abigail to keep him from making a grave mistake.—1 Samuel 25:9-35.
In a psalm, David asked: “Mistakes—who can discern?” (Psalm 19:12) Like him, we may not be aware of our mistakes unless someone points them out to us. On other occasions unpleasant consequences force us to realize that we have been mistaken, unwise, or unkind.
No Cause for Despair
Though all of us make mistakes, these need not be a cause for despair. Diplomat Edward John Phelps observed: “The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything.” And the Christian disciple James said: “We all stumble many times.” (James 3:2) Would a child learn to walk without ever stumbling? No, for a child learns from mistakes and keeps on trying until balance is achieved.
To lead balanced lives, we also need to learn from our mistakes and those of others. Since the Bible relates the experiences of many whose circumstances may mirror our own, we can be helped to avoid making the same mistakes that they made. What, then, can we learn from their mistakes?
Humility a Vital Quality
One lesson is that God does not condemn all who make mistakes but judges only those refusing to rectify them if possible. Israel’s King Saul disobeyed Jehovah’s instructions about the annihilation of the Amalekites. When confronted by the prophet Samuel, Saul first minimized matters and then tried to blame others. He was more concerned about losing face before his men than righting the wrong. Hence, ‘Jehovah rejected him as king.’—1 Samuel 15:20-23, 30.
Though Saul’s successor, David, made serious mistakes, he was forgiven because he humbly accepted counsel and discipline. David’s humility moved him to heed the words of Abigail. His troops were poised for battle. Yet, in front of his men, David admitted that he had made a rash decision. Throughout his life, such humility helped David to seek forgiveness and correct his steps.
Humility also moves Jehovah’s servants to rectify thoughtless remarks. During a hearing before the Sanhedrin, the high priest ordered that Paul be slapped. The apostle retorted: “God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall.” (Acts 23:3) Perhaps because of poor eyesight, Paul did not realize who he was addressing until bystanders asked: “Are you reviling the high priest of God?” At that, Paul immediately acknowledged his mistake, saying: “Brothers, I did not know he was high priest. For it is written, ‘You must not speak injuriously of a ruler of your people.’” (Acts 23:4, 5; Exodus 22:28) Yes, Paul humbly admitted his mistake.
They Admitted Mistakes
The Bible also shows that some changed their mistaken way of thinking. For instance, consider the psalmist Asaph. Because wicked people seemed to fare well, he said: “Surely it is in vain that I have cleansed my heart.” But Asaph came to his senses after going to Jehovah’s house and meditating on the benefits of pure worship. Moreover, he admitted his mistake in Psalm 73.
Jonah also allowed wrong thinking to cloud his viewpoint. After preaching in Nineveh, he was concerned about personal vindication instead of the sparing of that city’s inhabitants. Jonah was displeased when Jehovah did not punish the Ninevites in spite of their repentance, but God corrected him. Jonah came to realize that his viewpoint was mistaken, for the Bible book bearing his name honestly acknowledges his mistakes.—Jonah 3:10–4:11.
Mistakenly assuming that Jehovah God, not Satan the Devil, was causing his distress, the man Job tried to prove that he did not deserve his sufferings. He was unaware of the greater issue: Would God’s servants remain loyal to him under test? (Job 1:9-12) After Elihu and then Jehovah helped Job to see his mistake, he admitted: “I talked, but I was not understanding . . . That is why I make a retraction, and I do repent in dust and ashes.”—Job 42:3, 6.
Admitting mistakes helps us to maintain a good relationship with God. As the foregoing examples show, he will not condemn us for our mistakes if we admit them and do what we can to rectify wrong thinking, thoughtless words, or foolhardy actions. How can we apply this knowledge?
Doing Something About Our Mistakes
Humbly acknowledging a mistake and doing something about it can strengthen family ties. For instance, perhaps because of fatigue or annoyance, a parent may have been rather harsh in disciplining his child. Refusal to correct this mistake can have bad effects. Accordingly, the apostle Paul wrote: “Fathers, do not be irritating your children, but go on bringing them up in the discipline and mental-regulating of Jehovah.”—Ephesians 6:4.
A young Christian named Paul warmly recalls: “Dad always apologized if he felt that he had overreacted. That helped me to respect him.” Whether an apology is necessary in a particular situation is something for personal decision. Nevertheless, apologies need to be followed by earnest efforts to avoid similar mistakes in the future.
What if a husband or a wife makes a mistake that causes distress? Frank admission, a heartfelt apology, and a forgiving spirit will help to maintain their loving relationship. (Ephesians 5:33; Colossians 3:13) Jesús, a Spanish man of strong temperament in his 50’s, is not too proud to apologize to his wife, Albina. “We have the custom of apologizing when we offend each other,” she says. “This helps us to put up with each other in love.”
When an Elder Makes a Mistake
Admitting mistakes and making sincere apologies will also help Christian elders to work together harmoniously and ‘show honor to one another.’ (Romans 12:10) An elder may be reluctant to admit a mistake because he fears that this will undermine his authority in the congregation. However, trying to justify, ignore, or minimize a mistake is much more likely to cause others to lose confidence in his oversight. A mature brother who humbly apologizes, perhaps for some thoughtless remark, earns the respect of others.
Fernando, an elder in Spain, recalls an occasion when a circuit overseer presiding over a large gathering of elders made an inaccurate statement about how a meeting should be conducted. When a brother respectfully corrected what he had said, the circuit overseer immediately acknowledged that he had been mistaken. Fernando recalls: “When I saw him admit his mistake in front of all those elders, it impressed me greatly. I respected him a lot more after that apology. His example taught me how important it is to recognize my own shortcomings.”
Be Quick to Admit a Mistake
An apology is usually appreciated, especially if made quickly. In fact, the sooner we admit a mistake the better. To illustrate: On October 31, 1992, Pope John Paul II admitted that the Inquisition had acted “mistakenly” 360 years ago in punishing Galileo for asserting that the earth is not the center of the universe. Yet, postponing an apology for such a long time tends to diminish its value.
The same is true in personal relationships. A quick apology can heal a wound caused by an unkind word or deed. Jesus urged us not to delay in making peace, saying: “If . . . you are bringing your gift to the altar and you there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, and go away; first make your peace with your brother, and then, when you have come back, offer up your gift.” (Matthew 5:23, 24) Often, restoring peaceful relations simply requires admitting that we handled matters wrongly and asking forgiveness. The longer we wait to do this, the more difficult it becomes.
Happy to Admit Mistakes
As the examples of Saul and David illustrate, the way we handle our mistakes can affect our lives. Saul stubbornly resisted counsel, and his mistakes multiplied, eventually culminating in his death in God’s disfavor. Despite David’s mistakes and sins, however, he repentantly accepted correction and remained faithful to Jehovah. (Compare Psalm 32:3-5.) Is that not our desire?
The greatest reward for admitting and rectifying a mistake or repenting of sin is knowing that it has been forgiven by God. “Happy is the one . . . whose sin is covered,” said David. “Happy is the man to whose account Jehovah does not put error.” (Psalm 32:1, 2) How wise it is, then, to admit a mistake!
[Picture on page 29]
Would a child learn to walk without ever stumbling?
*** w01 4/1 p. 22 Do You Feel Misunderstood? ***
Of course, even when misunderstandings are cleared up, there may still be hurt feelings or enduring negative consequences. What can be done? Where necessary, sincere apologies are certainly in order, along with any other action that can reasonably be taken toward setting matters straight. In all such situations, the injured party would do well to follow the inspired counsel: “Continue putting up with one another and forgiving one another freely if anyone has a cause for complaint against another. Even as Jehovah freely forgave you, so do you also. But, besides all these things, clothe yourselves with love, for it is a perfect bond of union.”—Colossians 3:13, 14; 1 Peter 4:8.
*** w96 9/15 p. 22 Do You Really Need to Apologize? ***
So, then, are apologies essential? Can they really accomplish anything?
*** w96 9/15 p. 23 Do You Really Need to Apologize? ***
Similarly, if two Christians need to resolve a difference between them, let each one humbly meet the other in the valley, so to speak, and make suitable apologies.—1 Peter 5:6.
*** w96 9/15 p. 24 Do You Really Need to Apologize? ***
Practice the Art of Apologizing
If we make it a practice to apologize when necessary, we are likely to find that people will respond favorably. And perhaps they will even apologize themselves. When we suspect that we have upset someone, why not make it a custom to apologize rather than go to great lengths to avoid admitting any fault? The world may feel that an apology is a sign of weakness, but it really gives evidence of Christian maturity. Of course, we would not want to be like those who acknowledge some wrong yet minimize their responsibility. For instance, do we ever say that we are sorry without meaning it? If we arrive late and make profuse apologies, do we determine to improve our punctuality?
So, then, do we really need to apologize? Yes, we do. We owe it to ourselves and others to do so. An apology can help to ease the pain caused by imperfection, and it can heal strained relationships. Each apology we make is a lesson in humility and trains us to become more sensitive to the feelings of others. As a result, fellow believers, marriage mates, and others will view us as those who deserve their affection and trust. We will have peace of mind, and Jehovah God will bless us.