by UnDisfellowshipped 27 Replies latest jw friends
UD, great post, good line-up of the history.
Over the decades, so many things have been changed, sometimes drastically (like voting) that it's almost impossible to catalogue them all.
hehe, I started voting last year for the first time in my life. It felt weird...good, but weird.
Craig
Thanks to everyone for all of your comments!
Also, a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who pointed out that I had posted the wrong Watchtower Issue for the New Light on Voting.
I can't believe I messed up the Issue on such an important Magazine.
I tried to Edit my post and correct my error, but it keeps giving me some sort of Error Message.
REQUEST TO SIMON: Simon, could you do me (and everyone on the Board) a favor and Edit my first post in this Thread, and insert the correct Magazine Issue for that Voting Questions From Readers Article?
It should read "The Watchtower, November 1st 1999 Issue, Pages 28-29:" instead of "The Watchtower, June 15th 1999 Issue, Page 30:".
That would be great if you could do that.
My impression of when I read the article about voting in the year 1999 was that the WT Society was now saying that voting is a conscious matter.
But, regarding the article about voting I remember that some time (months?) after it came out a traveling overseer in a talk to the congregation told us that the article does not mean it is OK for JWs to vote for a human in a political election. Instead, the overseer said the article was about what may be done in countries where the law requires people to go the voting polls. He said the article was saying in those situations JWs may go to the polls and even cast a ballot, but that they are not to vote for a human. I think he said they can vote for "Christ the King". He also said they can do something to their ballot (such as by marking it a certain way) to make it invalid. I thought his comments about this (representing the WT Society) went way beyond what the article itself said. To me it became an example of how the WT Society says one thing in writing that is accessible to the general public (including the governments) and something contrary to that to JWs in settings that the vast majority general public (including government officials) has(have) no exposure to. Interestingly, during at least one election after the November 1999 article I heard on TV that some ballots in my country (maybe specifically in my general locality) had write-in votes for "Christ the King".
In the 99 article, wt is freeing itself from legal responsibility, it shifted the burden entirely onto the hapless "publishers" they are the publishers, although wt prints the literature, makes the video productions, the ver changing doctrines.
since the governments are placed in their position by the deity, how do we humans humans dare to effect that process? or, are we not god's fellow workers?
Avoid a Malawi fate at all cost. wt does the shifting, the jws do the 'schufting".
This post is old enough to vote!
It was my understanding, even in the early to mid 80s, that you could vote. You just had to, as Disillusioned JW pointed out, write in Jehovah or something similar.
While it is sad that people had to die because of their inflexible rules in the past, better to soften those rules rather than double down on them.
Unfortunately they still seem to be doubling down on other forms of stupidity. i.e. if you got caught voting for real you would be metaphorically murdered by them in the form of DFing.
Not being neutral so no longer one of JWs is the last I heard
In print they can show they are not preventing voting.....even while they do
Where I live all political voting has been by "vote by mail" only - and that has been the case for several years. Thus, where I live JWs and faded ex-JWs living alone can vote without any other JW ever knowing, provided the person voting is cautious. However there is one caveat. Anyone can obtain a copy of the voter registration list for where I live - including political party affiliation/membership (if any), though not including who and/or what the persons cast their votes for (since the ballots are private). It does however cost money to obtain the voter list.
Without reading all this post ..... The wording in the Watchtower used to start this article.is deliberately misleading .. they say that if one has to, he may enter a voting booth but must write in a vote for the Kingdom. You had better not let it be known that you voted for a political candidate or the elders will come knocking !
See these more up to date quotes ..
WT 05..07 2021
Do we see the same problem today? Yes. Many today are stumbled because of our neutral stand with regard to politics. They expect us to vote in elections. However, we realize that from Jehovah’s standpoint, if we choose a human leader to rule over us, we are rejecting Him"
"Keep Yourself In Gods Love ,published 2014, p212./213
What should a Christian do in lands where voting is compulsory or in a situation where feelings run high against those who do not go to the voting booth? Remembering that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego went as far as the plain of Dura, a Christian, under similar circumstances, may decide to go to the booth if his conscience permits. However, he will take care not to violate his neutrality."
