The Watchtower and the UN:
What is the truth?

Yes, the Bible clearly teaches that we do owe earthly governments our relative obedience and even a measure of honor for the good works that they perform. What is particularly telling, though, is that the Society took the opportunity to state our position towards the United Nations in the October 1st, 1995, issue of the Watchtower magazine—which the Defender quotes. Paradoxically, that very issue was specifically written to commemorate the UN’s 50th anniversary. So, it would appear that the Society was trying to defuse any criticism that might arise from the article itself by wrapping up their UN propaganda as if they were merely giving Caesar his due honor.

But relative subjection is just that—relative. According to the Watchtower Society there is a line which must not be crossed—a line which separates relative subjection and worldly compromise. The Society condemns Christendom for crossing that line. As all of Jehovah’s Witnesses know, since the formation of the League of Nations over 85 years ago, the Watchtower has lambasted Christendom for supporting the League and its successor—the UN. But here is a question to consider: Why doesn’t the Watchtower also dismiss Christendom’s relationship with the UN as being in accord with the principle of relative subjection to the superior authorities? Why is Christendom’s relationship idolatrous while the Watchtower’s is theocratic? In 1951, more than a half century ago, the September 15th issue of the Watchtower boasted that Jehovah’s Witnesses were "refusing to enter partnership with the abominable League of Nations or the United Nations." The question is did the Watchtower actually enter a partnership with the United Nations by becoming an NGO in 1992? Yes, they did. The DPI/NGO Section of the United Nations’ website explains the relationship between NGOs and the UN:  

 

"NGOs have been partners of DPI since its establishment in1947. The NGO Section of DPI is part of DPI’s Outreach Division, and acts as its liaison to the UN… The DPI/NGO Section oversees partnerships with associated NGOs to better support the work of the UN… The importance of working alongside NGOs as an integral part of UN information activities was recognized when the Department of Public Information was first established in 1946.

 

So, judging the Watchtower by the same standards they have measured out to Christendom, we would have to conclude that the organization has definitely compromised.

This is true. But there are also many more indirect references to United Nations as well. For example, oftentimes the magazines simply refer to a UN agency by its acronym, such as UNICEF, UNESCO and WHO, etc.

On the same page considering the question if it is appropriate to publish pro-UN articles, the Defender basically argues that because the Watchtower quotes from numerous sources, such as the New York Times, and because it also reports on the activities of other governments too, that there is nothing unseemly about the appearance of so many articles touting the United Nations. Defender is succumbing to still another fallacy of argumentation called a straw man. That is when the arguer constructs and attacks a weaker position under the pretext that his argument is applicable to a more formidable position. Here is why Defender’s argument is a mere straw man:

Citing UN sources or even reporting on the UN’s activities is not necessarily politically compromising—it depends upon the motive for doing so. If the Watchtower wrote articles specifically for the purpose of meeting the accreditation criteria for NGOs, that is a problem. Since the Watchtower Society is dedicated exclusively to the work of announcing God’s kingdom any deviation or compromise in that mission is a very serious sin. The Watchtower itself is fully aware of that. In fact, the Watchtower Society admits to having made just such a compromise many years ago. Apparently under government pressure the Society deleted a few pages from the controversial Finished Mystery book. The 1975 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses commented on the incident on page 119:

"After their trialsome period of 1917-1919, Jehovah’s people subjected themselves to scrutiny. Realizing that they had acted in ways that did not meet with God’s approval, they sought forgiveness in prayer repenting of their former course. This led to Jehovah’s forgiveness and blessing. One compromise had been the cutting of pages from The Finished Mystery, this to please those who had assumed the position of censor. Another occurred when The Watch Tower of June 1, 1918, stated: "In accordance with the resolution of Congress of April 2nd, and with the proclamation of the President of the United States of May 11, it is suggested that the Lord’s people everywhere make May 30th a day of prayer and supplication." Subsequent comments lauded the United States and did not harmonize with the Christian position of neutrality."

 

The Watchtower admits that it was wrong in the eyes of God to compromise with any censor or to laud any human government. Now the question: Did Bethel specifically write articles lauding the UN in order to please DPI reviewers? Consider the facts:

First, according to the United Nations Department of Public Information all NGOs that meet the qualifications are required to send six samples of their work to the DPI when submitting their application. Here is what is stated on the DPI/NGO website under the subheading: What is the procedure for NGOs to become associated with DPI?

"Interested NGOs that meet the criteria should send an official letter of request to be associated with DPI, provide a brief description of their organization and at least six samples of recent information materials."

The Watchtower has never explained how they were able to obtain associate NGO status with the DPI without complying with the requirements—one of which was that they must submit samples of their work to the DPI for approval. While the Watchtower claims that they merely signed an application because they wanted to use the UN library, the head of the DPI section of the United Nations has unequivocally stated that the Watchtower met the requirements, which means they willingly submitted samples of their work to demonstrate their commitment to the United Nations.

Of course, it is true that the Watchtower has described the UN as a disgusting thing and so forth; but all that tells us is that the Watchtower did not submit those particular articles as samples of their commitment to the ideals of the United Nations. In order to gain the approval of DPI reviewers Bethel’s writers did not necessarily have to stop referring to the United Nations as a disgusting thing altogether. They merely had to employ a very subtle pen and alternatingly write more positive articles and submit those to the DPI reviewers as samples. It is doubtful that the DPI reviewers were regular readers of the Watchtower and Awake and so the odds were in their favor that the Watchtower could pull off the ruse, which they apparently did for 10 years. The question is did the Society actually make such a compromise? Well, each reader can consider the evidence:

The following is an excerpt from the forthcoming book Jehovah Himself Has Become King, a chapter of which discusses the NGO affair in detail.

In 1991, the very year the Watchtower originally applied to become an associate NGO, the Awake magazine published a baffling piece that seemed intended to give the unwary reader the impression that Jehovah’s Witnesses actually endorsed the political objectives of the United Nations. The September 8th, 1991, Awake, article was entitled: "What is happening at the United Nations?" The opening sentence stated:

"Something is happening at the United Nations. Startling developments are taking place that are going to affect your future. World leaders are very optimistic about them."

To what "startling developments" was the Awake referring? The article went on to cite how the nations began to promote the UN after the end of the Cold War in the optimistic belief that it might finally live up to its own ideals. Indeed, the Awake seemed to lend credibility to the notion that the reason the UN had failed to bring world peace was because individual nations had not fully cooperated with the United Nations. The Awake also seemed to echo the call for the UN to be given more power in order to enforce its edicts.

What was noticeably missing from the three-part series, however, was any reference to the United Nations being the symbolic scarlet-colored wild beast of Revelation or the "disgusting thing that causes desolation." Absent, too, was any mention of the UN being a modern idol or a counterfeit of Christ’s kingdom. In fact, there was not even a single word about how God’s kingdom is going to replace all existing kingdoms on earth. Instead, the Awake spoke hopefully of the possibility that a retooled UN might actually succeed in bringing a measure of peace and security to a war-weary world. Praising their "noble aims" and sincere efforts, the Awake informed the reading public concerning the preamble to the UN charter:

"The preamble to the United Nations Charter expresses these noble aims: "We the peoples of the United Nations determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, . . . and [desiring] to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, . . . have resolved to combine our efforts to accomplish these aims."

 

Did the UN "accomplish these aims"? Did it get the nations to unite their strength and maintain peace and security? No, not so far, although the UN has sincerely tried to be a significantly better way than the League of Nations. However, the generation that saw its establishment in 1945 has since been scourged by wars, revolutions, invasions, coups, and aggression in many parts of the earth. And this violence involved many of the nations that had resolved to "maintain international peace and security."

Unquestionably, the September 8 th, 1991, Awake was a noticeable departure from the Society’s previous writings on the UN. The concluding paragraph on page 10 typifies the ambiguous double-speak, which was obviously cleverly crafted to leave uninformed readers with the impression that Jehovah’s Witnesses believe, perhaps like the UN-promoting Bahai faith, that the United Nations is an instrumentality of God to bring peace. Carefully note in the following quotation how the unfamiliar reader could easily form the impression that the United Nations might accomplish political objectives other than what Jehovah’s Witnesses have come to expect.

"Jehovah’s Witnesses firmly believe that the United Nations is going to play a major role in world events in the very near future. No doubt these developments will be very exciting. And the results will have a far-reaching impact on your life. We urge you to ask Jehovah’s Witnesses in your neighborhood for more details on this matter. The Bible clearly paints a picture showing that the United Nations will very shortly be given power and authority. The UN will then do some very astonishing things that may well amaze you. And you will be thrilled to learn that there is yet a better way near at hand that will surely bring eternal peace and security!"

If the reader were to actually follow the Awake magazine’s suggestion and ask one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in their neighborhood "for more details on this matter," surely they would find out that the exciting developments we except have to do with the United Nations fulfilling its role as the prophetic 8th king of Revelation the 17th and 18th chapters. The Watchtower has in the past written reams about how the UN will soon be empowered by the nations to become a militarized tyrant, and thereafter, it will initiate a horrific holocaust that will annihilate all organized religion from the earth—including Christendom. Those are the "astonishing things" Jehovah’s Witnesses are anticipating in the future!

But why didn’t the Awake writers simply say that?

The Awake article is only comprehensible in light of the necessity for applying NGOs to submit samples of their commitment to the ideals of the United Nations.  In that knowledge it becomes abundantly clear why the concluding paragraph was ambiguously worded to appear to Jehovah’s Witnesses one way, while adroitly giving unfamiliar readers (such as DPI reviewers) an entirely different impression.

In view of the Watchtower’s arcane legerdemain, instead of considering the question "What is happening at the United Nations?" the more relevant question for Jehovah’s Witnesses to ponder is: What is happening at Bethel? (End of excerpt)

Most of Jehovah’s Witnesses assume that everything the Society has written about the United Nations is a lead-in to how God’s kingdom is going to solve mankind’s problems. But that simply is not true. The September 8th, 1991, Awake said nothing about God’s kingdom. Instead it spoke hopefully that even though the UN had not accomplished its mission to establish peace "so far"—leaving readers with the impression that some day they might. Perhaps most telling is the fact that the September 8th Awake was published just one month before the Society originally submitted their application and samples to the DPI—in October of 1991.

Has the Defender really looked "through everything the Awake! magazine has published about the UN’s activities"? No, he simply wishes to persuade the reader that all the relevant information has been considered. In this his argument falls under the category of a hasty generalization. Because the Society has cleverly packaged UN propaganda with their own "kingdom message" it is not that easy to grasp the extent to which they have gone to inform the public about the UN. But when we actually begin to consider "everything" that has been published it becomes clear that the Society went far beyond merely using UN source material. In actual consideration of "everything" the Society has published here is another series of excerpts taken from Jehovah Himself Has Become King:

Bethel seemed especially keen to make mention of the UN’s special year declarations. So, in keeping with its obligation to inform the pubic of a broad range of UN-related issues, the July 22nd, 1999, Awake, featured a series of articles on aging. It just so happened that 1999 was also the UN’s "International Year of Older Persons." Not surprisingly, the Awake published the following announcement:

THE INTERNATIONAL YEAR OF OLDER PERSONS

 

"Having turned 60 myself…I am now counted among the statistics I cited earlier," said UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan recently during the launching of the International Year of Older Persons. Mr. Annan has plenty of company. Researchers say that by the turn of this century, in many countries 1 out of every 5 people will be 60 or older. Some of them will be in need of care, but all of them will be in need of ways in which they can retain their independence, their dignity, and their productivity. To help policymakers meet the challenges created by this ‘demographic revolution’ and to get a better appreciation of "the value of old age in society," the UN General Assembly decided in 1992 to designate 1999 as the International Year of Older Persons. "Towards a Society of All Ages" is the theme of this special year."

 

The Watchtower discussing family problems drew attention to the fact that 1994 also happened to be the "International Year of the Family":

"THE family—the United Nations tried to make it the focus of world attention. How? By declaring 1994 the "International Year of the Family." Although world leaders, sociologists, and family counselors have been quick to lament such things as the rise in illegitimate births and skyrocketing divorce rates, they have been slow to come up with workable, realistic solutions to such problems." (9-15-95)

 

1995 was to be the "Year of Tolerance"—as declared by the United Nations, of which fact the October 1st Watchtower of that year also informed their readership, saying:

"In harmony with their declaration, the United Nations has declared 1995 to be the Year for Tolerance. Realistically speaking, though, will it ever be possible to achieve peace and security in a world divided by religion?"

The year, 1998, was the UN-declared "International Year of the Ocean," which the Awake mentioned in two separate issues that year. One of which stated:

 

"Ruthless overfishing, poisonous chemicals, and radioactive waste in the oceans endanger the basis for life on the whole earth," reports the newspaper Nassauische Neue Presse. According to the newspaper Kieler Nachrichten, a foremost victim is the Black Sea. It is considered to be one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world, with 90 percent of it totally lifeless. Unprocessed sewage has turned the waves lapping on the shores of Ukraine into a greenish-brown slop, and the beaches around Odessa were opened for only one week last summer. "The Black Sea is fatally wounded," said Romania’s president Emil Constantinescu. "If we let it die, we are in for consequences worse than we can imagine." The United Nations has declared 1998 to be the "International Year of the Ocean." (9-22-98)

 

The June 8th, 1998, Awake informed its readers that the United Nations declared 1997-2006 as the Decade for he Eradication of Poverty."

 

James Speth, administrator of the United Nations Development Programme, stated: "We cannot accept that [poverty] will always be with us. The modern world has the resources, the know-how and the expertise to relegate poverty to the pages of history." But can the modern world eradicate poverty?

The United Nations General Assembly evidently hopes that human efforts can eliminate poverty, as it proclaimed the years 1997 through 2006 as the first "United Nations Decade for the Eradication of Poverty." The UN proposed to work alongside governments, peoples, and institutions to foster economic development, improve access to basic services, improve the status of women, and generate income and employment.

 

The January 1st, 2001, Watchtower belatedly announced that 2000 had been declared as "The International Year for the Culture of Peace."

 

In THE International Year for the Culture of Peace was launched in Paris and New York City on September 14, 1999. This was proclaimed for the year 2000 by the General Assembly of the United Nations. Federico Mayor, former director general of UNESCO, made a solemn appeal "to create a global movement for a culture of peace and non-violence."

UNESCO has a maxim that "since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace must be constructed." In harmony with this, the organization intends to promote a culture of peace through "education, dialogue and co-operation." Mr. Mayor commented that it is not enough "to be peaceful, not even to be pacifists, but to be peacemakers."

 

The year, 2001, was designated by the United Nations as the "International Year of Volunteers." So, just a few months before the Watchtower was exposed and forced to hastily dissolve its NGO membership, the July 22nd Awake magazine was devoted to volunteerism. While not surprisingly touting the volunteer work of Jehovah’s Witnesses around the world, the Awake also gave the United Nations "International Year of Volunteers" a plug too:

"The UN hopes that IYV 2001 (International Year of Volunteers) will result in more requests for the services of volunteers, in more offers from people to serve as volunteers, and in more funding and facilities for volunteer organizations to tackle society’s growing needs. A total of 123 governments have joined in sponsoring the objectives of this UN resolution."

 

But the Watchtower Society did not merely commemorate and publicize current UN special year crusades, such as the International Year of Volunteers; they also informed the reading public about the UN’s past initiatives as well.  For example, the UN declared that 1979 was the "International Year of the Child." More than likely the December 8th, 2000, issue of the Awake magazine was also one that Bethel sent to the DPI reviewers as proof of their ongoing support for United Nations’ global agenda. That particular issue of the Awake is devoted to praising UNICEF and publicizing the "International Year of the Child." The article entitled "An Ongoing Search for Solutions" opens by enthusiastically endorsing UNICEF:

"FROM its very inception, the United Nations organization has been interested in children and their problems. At the end of 1946, it established the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) as a temporary measure to care for children in areas devastated by war.

In 1953 this emergency fund was turned into a permanent organization. Although it is now officially known as the United Nations Children’s Fund, it retained its original acronym, UNICEF. Thus, for over half a century, UNICEF has been providing children throughout the world with food, clothing, and medical care and has been trying to look after children’s needs in general…

…The needs of children were given greater prominence in 1959 when the United Nations adopted a Declaration of the Rights of the Child. (See box, page 5.) It was hoped that this document would generate interest in the problems of children and would help solve them by encouraging public support, financial and otherwise.

 

…So in recognition of the continuing need to solve the problems of children and in accord with its declared goals, the United Nations designated 1979 the International Year of the Child. Government, civic, religious, and charitable groups all over the world were quick to respond to the search for solutions."

 

Others, though, do not share the Awake’s assessment of the United Nations’ concern for children, and for good reason. For instance, a former UN official, Denis Halliday, called the UN-sponsored sanctions against Iraq a form of genocide, in which probably over one-million Iraqis died as a result—many being infants and children. Contrary to the Awake’s glowing endorsement of their UN partner, apparently the UN Children’s Fund was not all that interested in the plight of starving Iraqi children.

Of course, the Awake commentary concludes with the obligatory reference to God’s kingdom being the answer; but it is obviously ancillary to the focus on the United Nations and their ongoing search for a solution to the problems of children. Even at that, the article adulterates the uniqueness of the good news by shamelessly applauding the United Nations for sharing the same lofty ideals as the very Kingdom of God. (Remember: The DPI requirements stipulate that NGOs must share the UN’s ideals.) In conclusion the Awake unabashedly gushes: 

"Under God’s Kingdom humans will be enabled to rear children in a balanced way. Young folks will be raised in the spirit of peace and universal brotherhood, the ideal set forth in the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child. Never again will there be the need for an International Year of the Child or for a Convention on the Rights of the Child."

 

It seems that many of the articles in the Awake magazine that deal with the world’s many health, social and environmental problems, only offhandedly mention the Bible’s solution to such problems, almost as an afterthought. For example, in the January 8th human rights piece, the Awake quoted UN officials a dozen times and the Bible just three times. Many articles appear to be written primarily for the purpose of informing the public about the United Nations proposed solutions. For instance, a series of articles in the August 22nd, 1997, Awake, on the water crises, took the opportunity to tout the UN’s plans and achievements, saying:

"On November 10, 1980, the United Nations General Assembly spoke confidently about the coming "International Drinking Water Supply and Sanitation Decade." The goal, proclaimed the assembly, was to provide, by the year 1990, full access to safe water and sanitation for all those living in the developing world. By the end of the decade, about $134 billion had been spent to bring clean water to over a billion people and sewage-disposal facilities to over 750 million—an impressive achievement."

 

On the topic of the goal of good health the June 8th, 2001, Awake, publicized the efforts put forth by the United Nations WHO agency.

 "DO YOU wish that you and your family could enjoy better health? Of course you do. But while most of us may suffer only occasional minor illnesses, for millions of people, infirmity is a painful, lifelong companion. Nevertheless, large-scale efforts are being made to stem the tide of sickness and disease. Consider the World Health Organization (WHO), an agency of the United Nations. At a conference sponsored by WHO in 1978, delegates from 134 lands and 67 UN organizations agreed that health is not simply freedom from sickness or disease. Health, they declared, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being." The delegates then took the bold step of declaring health to be a "fundamental human right"! WHO thus set the goal of achieving "an acceptable level of health for all the people of the world."

 

As another example, the August 8th, 1997, Awake, discussing the problem of food shortages, is really just a disguised advertisement for the United Nations World Food Summit held the previous year. The opening paragraphs state:

"EVERY man, woman and child has the right to be free from hunger and malnutrition" proclaimed the World Food Conference sponsored by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) back in 1974. A call was then made to eradicate hunger from the world "within a decade." However, when representatives of 173 nations met at FAO headquarters in Rome late last year for a five-day World Food Summit, their purpose was to ask: "What went wrong?" Not only has there been a failure to provide food for all but now, more than two decades later, the situation is worse."

 

There seem to be few social ills that the Awake covers which are not used as an opportunity to quote some UN official. For instance, the excerpt below taken from an article on drug abuse quotes from Kofi Annan and the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs:

"UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan observes: ‘Drugs are tearing apart our societies, spawning crime, spreading diseases such as AIDS, and killing our youth and our future." He adds: ‘Today there are an estimated 190 million drug users around the world. No country is immune. And alone, no country can hope to stem the drug trade within its borders. The globalization of the drug trade requires an international response’…In 1997 the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs warned…" Awake 11-8-99

Most people probably do not even know that there is such an agency as the United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs; but the Watchtower Society has seen to it that its readership is made aware—if only superficially—of even obscure UN agencies. (End of excerpt)

"The documentary evidence" that proves the Watchtower knowingly committed itself to supporting the United Nations are the many Watchtower and Awake articles themselves.

The Watchtower seeks to give the impression that they merely signed an application back in 1991 and that was all there was to it. In reality, it was necessary to reapply every year in order to retain their NGO status. So, the Watchtower would have us believe that year after year they innocently signed off on a detailed accreditation form without giving the slightest thought to what they were doing. (Click here for a sample of the kind of annual accreditation form the Watchtower would have had to submit. Perhaps that form has been revised over the years but it does establish the fact that much more was involved than the Watchtower is willing to admit)

As for actual documentation, the UN publishes an annual brochure listing the various accredited NGOs and their special fields of interests. In 1997 the Society added human rights to their particular listing. (Click here for a photo copy of the Watchtower’s listing as an NGO with interests in the field of HR—human rights.)

What is the relevance if this? For one thing, contrary to Defender’s baseless assertions that there is no way of establishing if any Watchtower official knowingly involved the organization, it shows that Lloyd Barry and Ciro Aulicino, who signed off on the accreditation form that year, knew full well that the application involved more than merely applying for a library card. By updating their application to include an interest in the field of human rights those Watchtower officials had to have known that the purpose for doing so was so that the DPI and other NGOs would know that the Watchtower was actively involved in promoting human rights issues.