Rational Compassionate Living

While condemning other religions for being “steeped in paganism” it’s interesting to see how many pagan things the Jehovah’s Witnesses themselves participate in. Every time they tell a householder something like: “I’ll be back on Wednesday, January seventh” they invoke the names of two pagan gods in one sentence:

 

1. Wodan [Wednesday is a corruption of Wodan’s Day, named for the Norse god Wodan, aka Odin]
2. Janus [January comes from Januarius, named for the Roman god of beginnings and endings].

 

 

Weddings

Witnesses attend weddings, where pagan customs abound, such as:

• Bridesmaids (which originated in order to confuse the evil spirits as to who exactly was the bride),
• The wedding veil (which was originally intended to block evil spells),
• The wedding cake (originally thrown at the bride to magically ensure fertility.)
• The throwing of rice eventually replaced the throwing of the cake, but retained the same magical purpose of ensuring fertility. Unmarried women would pick up the fallen rice kernels to ensure their own future fertility (this aspect was later replaced by catching the bridal bouquet, and the meaning then morphed into symbolizing who would be the next woman to be married.)
• The bride’s bouquet and bridal wreaths were originally made of herbs, which had magical meanings for the couple’s future life.

[I don’t mean to suggest that Witnesses participate in all of these pagan-originated customs. My point is that they don’t use the existence of such customs as a reason to outlaw weddings, while they do use such reasoning to outlaw birthdays.]

 

A Visit From a Witness

A young man recently came to my door, Watchtower and Awake! in hand. During our brief discussion, I noticed a wedding ring on his finger as he was pointing out an article in the Awake! dealing with insomnia. On a personal note he told me that a bowl of cereal with warm milk usually cured his insomnia, and if that didn’t work he would strap on his Nike’s and jog around the block a few times to tire himself out. Before he had a chance to do the Watchtower tie-in I told him I was an apostate. Then I watched him sprint over to his Saturn and drive off.

Quiz question: In how many ways had he proven himself to be one of Jehovah’s Pagan Witnesses?

Answer: Five:

1. Wedding rings have pagan origins (originally, the groom would wrap the bride’s ankles and wrists with ropes of grass believing this would keep her spirit within her, eventually this morphed into a ring on the finger).
2. Insomnia comes from Somnus, the Roman counterpart of Hypnos: god of sleep.
3. Cereal comes from Ceres, Roman counterpart of Demeter, goddess of agriculture, harvest and grains.
4. Nike is the name of the Greek goddess of victory.
5. Saturn is the name of the Roman counterpart of Cronus: god of agriculture, liberation, and time.

And that’s not even counting the pagan phallic symbol he wore around his neck!

The odds are also good that my Witness visitor was carrying around a pagan symbol in his pocket: the “eye of Horus”: a god of the ancient Egyptians, which appears on every U.S. dollar bill.

 

 

Amen!

When I was a devoted follower of the Watchtower religion, every prayer I uttered or heard uttered ended with “Amen”. I always thought this meant “so be it.” Imagine my surprise when I learned that Amen is the name of an Egyptian god:

The ancient Egyptians called the sun Ra, and all other gods and goddesses were forms of Ra, the Creator. One of these gods was Amen (aka Amon, Amun, Ammon and Amounra.) For the first eleven dynasties (c. 3000-1987 BCE) Amen was just a minor god, but by the 17th dynasty (c. 1500 BCE) he had been elevated to be the national god of southern Egypt. This position gave Amen the attributes and characteristics of the most ancient gods, and his name became Amen-Ra.

Jews settled in Egypt for around 400 years from 1847 BCE and during that time they would have witnessed the worship of Amen. Amen was seen as a powerful god and his name found its way into their prayers and eventually into the Bible, one prominent instance of which is:

“This is the solemn pronouncement of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the originator of God’s creation”

–Rev. 3:14

Witnesses identify Amen in the above passage as none other than Jesus! So, is the Jesus of Revelation really a pagan god?

 

Paganism in the Annual memorial

The eating of bread and drinking of wine, as symbolizing the flesh and blood of a dying-and-reviving god, was practiced in the pagan “mystery religions” which preceded Christianity. One such was the cult of Dionysus: a son of god by a mortal woman (virginal until god had his way with her). He was a “savior” who performed miracles, was executed, and came back to life. His worshipers commemorated him with a meal of bread and wine. “Eating God” was a ritual rife throughout the world in pagan religions [see Frazer’s The Golden Bough, in fact if you’ve ever been a JW I highly recommend that you read the entire work.]

The idea  behind the mystery was that by eating the body and drinking the blood of one’s god (or son of god) one would share a magical connection with said being, and stand a better chance of thus surviving death as well.

 

Conclusion

Given all of the above, how can it be that Jehovah’s Witnesses claim to be free from all paganism? Their loathing of paganism is so extreme that they refuse to admit that Jesus would most likely have been executed on a cross–all because the cross was a pagan symbol (and supposedly God would’ve prevented the pagan Romans from humiliating Jesus in this way [right: just like he prevented the humiliation of the crown of thorns — also a pagan symbol]). They assume their god is so jealous of other gods that he will rename the months and days of the week in the “New Order” so as to remove their pagan connotations. Wednesday, January the seventh will doubtless become Witnessday, Jehovah the seventh.

The Witnesses refuse to celebrate birthdays because of possible pagan origins, and the fact that customs they regard as pagan commonly accompany such celebrations (such as the oh-so-sinful gifts and candles.)

Well, I’m here to tell them that their stance is inconsistent, and hence ridiculous.They attend weddings where customs of pagan origin are typically observed, but refuse to attend birthdays where customs of pagan origin are typically observed. They say “Wednesday” and “Amen” but balk at saying “fate” or “good luck”.

Their efforts to rid their religion of magic and paganism are futile. The Bible is full of magical practices (such as Jacob setting a spotted stick in front of the cattle to cause them to give birth to spotted offspring via sympathetic magic.)

The whole idea of a dying-and-reviving god (or son of god) is of pagan origin. Since this is the cornerstone of their religion (i.e., the “ransom sacrifice”), and since they condemn all things that had a pagan origin as “paganism,” we shall apply their own formula to them and henceforth call them, not Jehovah’s Christian Witnesses, but Jehovah’s Pagan Witnesses. Or better yet, in light of this previous post, we should call them: Yahweh’s Pagan Perjurers.

For the rest of civilized humanity, we can happily acknowledge the pagan origin of some of our words and customs without being pagans (unless, of course, we want to be pagans.)We can refrain from practices we consider “pagan,” or reinterpret their meaning, or just go with it as-is — without damaging our integrity or offending anyone with an ounce of sense. Witnesses could do this too, if they were unshackled from the Watchtower for a moment. For example: just as they can attend a wedding without throwing rice themselves, they could attend a birthday party without beheading any of the other guests. Problem solved!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Addendum

Since posting this, a visitor was kind enough to share the following inconsistent quote from a “Questions from Readers” article on the use of piñatas:

“…if it is very obvious that a custom has no current false religious significance and involves no violation of Bible principles, each Christian must make a personal decision as to whether he will follow such a custom.”

—Awake!, July 8, 2004, p.30

Since birthdays have “no current false religious significance” and involve “no violation of Bible principles,” Witnesses have hereby been officially freed by the Watchtower to join the celebrations!!! (It’s just that they don’t realize this, since the Watchtower doesn’t point out the contradictions in their rules.)

For my dear Witness readers: go ahead and celebrate, and if your local elders try to counsel you, just smile and refer them to the above Awake! quote. Go party!

“By their fruits you will know them.”

Overview: This scorecard compares the Watchtower against science/”the world” in two dozen categories. I was curious to see who would fare better, and by how much. Would it be close? Or would one viewpoint greatly outshine the other?

Scoring: I’ve tried to be objective here, but please understand that some subjectivity is unavoidable in such ratings. I have limited scores to:

• +1 when the belief/action corresponds to facts/morality
• -1 when the belief/action is false/immoral
•  0 when the topic is either not applicable or, in the case of science/”the world” science deserves a +1 while “the world” deserves a -1: thus canceling each other out.

When a wrong belief is no longer held, the side which clung to the erroneous belief the longest will score -1.

The Scorecard

Topic	Watchtower	Science/”The World”
1. Astrology	+1	0
2. Blood Transfusions	-1	+1
3. Charitable Actions	-1	+1
4. Cosmology	-1	+1
5. Disfellowshipping	-1	0
6. Earth-Wide Flood	-1	+1
7. Environmental Action	-1	0
8. False Prophecies	-1	0
9. Freedom of thought	-1	+1
10. Germ Theory	-1	+1
11. Historical Accuracy	-1	+1
12. No-fault Divorce	-1	+1
13. Organ Transplants	-1	+1
14. Origins of Holidays	+1	-1
15. Participation in decision-making processes	-1	0
16. Patriotism	+1	-1
17. Phrenology	-1	+1
18. Proper View of Bible	-1	0
19. Protection of Children	-1	+1
20. Scientific Method	-1	+1
21. Theory of Evolution	-1	+1
22. Vaccination	-1	+1
23. Vibration theory of disease	-1	+1
24. War	+1	-1
TOTAL	-16	+12

Conclusion: We see that science/”the world” wins by 28 points over the Watchtower. Even if you disagree with some of the scores, from this landslide victory it should not be difficult to decide on which side you should look for truth, and on which side you should honestly align yourself.

Detailed explanations of the scores follow, in the Footnotes below.

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Footnotes

1. Astrology: The WT gets a point, here, for recognizing that astrology is pseudo-science. Science also recognizes this fact, having frequently debunked astrology. However, since astrology seems ubiquitous within “the world,” it cancels out the positive influence of science, and we arrive at a zero score for the combination of science/”the world”. return

2. Blood Transfusions: The WT continues to regard the life-saving procedure of transfusing blood as sinful, while those in “the world” continue to save lives by making use of it. Please see: The Watchtower: A bloody Mother Thou Art! return

3. Charitable Actions: The WT has stated that starving people are more in need of Watchtower publications than they are of bread. When disaster strikes, they pretty much just help other Jehovah’s Witnesses. The “world” meanwhile engages in massive charitable efforts to feed the hungry and bring relief to victims of poverty and disasters (regardless of their religious beliefs). return

4. Cosmology: The WT believes in a “young Earth” and that the universe was created 7 “days” ago by a conscious act (with each “day” being somewhere around 7,000 years in length.) This does not accord with the facts such as light having traveled millions of light years from distant stars before reaching Earth, and rocks and fossils whose origins have been dated to at least half a billion years ago. It also does not account for the expanding universe that anyone can detect with a simple experiment. Science clearly wins on this one. return

5. Disfellowshipping: The WT mandates disfellowshipping for any believer who either breaks their rules or comes to disagree with something the WT holds true. Disfellowshipped individuals are actively shunned by Witnesses. The concept is not applicable to “the world”; being “in the world” does not require membership or certain beliefs. However, some small-minded people in the world do practice shunning: score zero. return

6. Earth-wide Flood: The WT believes the Bible’s account of an Earth-wide flood covering the highest mountain peaks some 4,500 years ago after 40 days of rain. Science has proven that this did not occur, and could not possibly have occurred.  return

7. Environmental Action: The WT does not advocate or engage in actions to protect the environment. Instead, they rely on God’s kingdom to restore the Earth to paradise conditions following the battle of Armageddon. In contrast, science has pointed out the urgent need to protect Earth’s environment. However, much of “the world” ignores the solid science behind this, and continues to harm our home: resulting in a zero score. return

8. False Prophecies: The WT claims to be a “prophet of God” and has made several predictions (which thereby qualify as “prophecies”). Some of these involved dates which have since come and gone without fulfillment. For example, they prophesied the resurrection of Abraham and David in the year 1925. The World is not in the prophecy business. Though there are deluded and fraudulent “psychics” in the world who sometimes foolishly make predictions, such people are a minority who do not represent the world: score zero. return

9. Freedom of thought: Witnesses are required to believe and follow whatever the Watchtower publishes. They are discouraged from “independent thinking.” In contrast, “the world” incentifies creative outside-of-the-box thinking. return

10. Germ Theory: The WT has published the statement: “It has never been proven that a single disease is due to germs.” (The Golden Age, Jan. 16, 1924, p. 250) Meanwhile, science has proven the cause-and-effect relationship between germs and disease, and the world has acted on the science of germ theory to bring better health to all (including the eradication of smallpox.)  return

11. Historical Accuracy:   The WT clings to its date of 607 BCE for the destruction of Jerusalem. They do this in order to arrive at their date of 1914 for the “end of the Gentile Times” and the start of the generation that would witness the “last days” and their culmination in Armageddon. However, the date for the destruction of Jerusalem is one of the firmest dates in all history: it happened in the year 587 BCE based on a plethora of evidence.

The WT belief in the significance or the year 1914 drives their belief in the year 607 BCE for the destruction of Jerusalem. But the 1914 generation is dead, and the “Gentile Times” (whatever we can reasonably take that to mean) still seem to be ongoing. Furthermore, the WT has stated: “The date 1925 is even more distinctly indicated by the Scriptures than 1914” (Watchtower 9/1/22, page 262). Since the date 1925 proved false, and by their own admission the 1914 date rests on even flimsier Scriptural support, there remains no reason to believe in any Scriptural significance for the year 1914.

Without 1914 to drive it, there remains no excuse for belief in the 607 BCE date. Yet the WT persists in espousing this completely baseless belief. return

12. No-fault Divorce: The WT, in an attempt to make sense out of the Bible’s contradictory statements regarding divorce, holds that divorce is only acceptable when one party in the marriage has committed adultery. This forces people who have been badly matched to stay together and make life miserable for each other. In the secular world, however, divorce is not considered a “sin” no matter what the reason (including “incompatibility”). return

13. Organ Transplants: From 1967 to 1980 the WT held that organ transplants were “cannibalism” and hence against God’s law. Science gave us organ transplants, and while Witnesses who needed transplants were dying, patients in “the world” took advantage of the life-saving procedure and lived. return

14. Origins of Holidays: The WT has correctly pointed out the pagan origins of many holidays, and has questioned why we celebrate certain others. Although this information is available in the world, the world largely ignores the origins and “true meanings” of holidays and celebrates them blindly: often simply following the dictates of those who merchandise the events. In some ways these holidays can be destructive: cutting down massive quantities of trees, slaughtering millions of birds, using valuable resources to overproduce unneeded items, etc.  return

15. Participation in decision-making processes: The WT is an aristocracy in which the minions have no say. The Witnesses “must adhere absolutely to the decisions and scriptural understandings of the Society”  (Watchtower 5/1/1972 p.272). In contrast, the world at least appears to sometimes consider the input of the rank and file by means of representative government. However, since this seems to be largely for show (as evinced by the U.S. presidential elections in which the carefully gathered “popular vote” is irrelevant since the election is decided by an aristocracy known as the “electoral college”), the world scores a zero.  return

16. Patriotism: Next to religion, patriotism has led to more atrocities being committed than any other ideology. It is a travesty that the world by and large promotes patriotism and lets where we live divide us,  and perpetuates the illusion that murder is acceptable (as long as it is the murder of someone in a country that our country has declared war on.) For eschewing patriotism (even for the wrong reasons) the WT earns a point, and the world’s stance costs them a very bloody point.  return

17. Phrenology: This is the belief that the shape of one’s head indicates one’s intelligence and personality. On at least one occasion, the WT published a phrenology reading of their president’s head, to support their belief in his being chosen by God. Phrenology had been mostly discredited as a scientific theory decades before.  return

18. Proper View of Bible: The WT views the Bible as the inerrant “word of God”. Most of the world knows that it is filled with impossible legends, tall tales, and contradictions. return

19. Protection of Children: The WT has a policy of refusing to report child molestation unless there are two witnesses to the crime. They also encourage parents to inflict physical pain on their children in order to get them to conform. The world has set up agencies and counselors to deal with child abuse.   return

20. Scientific Method: The WT uses the Bible and its interpretation thereof as the source of all truth. They do not follow or advocate the scientific method of determining truth based on evidence. return

21. Theory of Evolution: The WT denies the theory of evolution: the key to understanding the reality of our world and ourselves. return

22. Vaccination: From 1921 to 1952 the WT held that vaccinations were against God’s law. They taught that vaccines were merely “filthy pus” which “never prevented anything and never will”. Meanwhile, “the world” made use of the science behind vaccinations to rid the world of its deadliest killer: smallpox. return

23. Vibration theory of disease: The WT bought into the crackpot theory of “electronic reactions of Abrams” (E.R.A.) They advertised and extolled quack medical devices based on the theory. Science had debunked the theory years before. return

24. War: We have to give the WT a full point for taking a stand against war and refusing to participate (even if it is for the wrong reasons). The world has used science to build ever more powerful weapons, and so is deducted another very bloody point. return

“Apostates often bring out points that may be true, but are taken way out of context.”

–From the speech “Feed Your Mind at Jehovah’s Table”  delivered by Watchtower spokesmen at the “Safeguard Your Heart” Circuit Assemblies of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Autumn, 2012

I listen to constructive criticism and try to take it to heart. I agree that context is very important.

When I was a Witness non-Witnesses were always accusing me of “taking things out of context.” I always thought that the people making the accusation didn’t really know what they were talking about. It seemed a convenient catch-all defense for them: broad and vague enough to refute any argument that I’d put forth without them having to provide details of exactly where something was out of context. It turns out in hindsight that they were mostly right, but I don’t think they understood what it was that was lifted from its context, what that context was, or why it mattered.

So it’s rather ironic, now that I am no longer a Witness, that the Watchtower is accusing me of “taking things out of context.” {sigh} But if the Watchtower thinks my points are taken out of context, then I will happily put them solidly within context for them.

The Context

According to The Center for Disease Control and Prevention, smallpox is an acute, contagious, and sometimes fatal disease caused by the variola virus. Symptoms of smallpox begin with high fever, head and body aches, and sometimes vomiting. A rash follows that spreads and progresses to raised bumps and pus-filled blisters that crust, scab, and fall off after about three weeks, leaving a pitted scar.

A person exposed to smallpox virus will initially have no symptoms and is not contagious. Sometime between 7 and 17 days later, symptoms will begin. The person becomes most contagious once the rash begins, and remains contagious until the last smallpox scab falls off.

The disease is spread through the air when an infected person breathes, talks, laughs, or coughs. It can also be spread by infected clothing or bed linens. An individual who contracts smallpox has a 20-35% chance of dying from the disease. People who survive are left with ugly scars on their bodies or face, and some become blind and/or impotent.

The origin of smallpox appears to have been from an African rodent-borne variola-like virus at least 16,000 years ago.

The first case in history that we know of was that of Pharaoh Ramses V somewhere around 1157 BCE. But there were almost certainly countless cases before this — we just don’t have their pockmarked mummified remains, as we do for Ramses.

Smallpox was spread throughout the Old World during the fourth through fifteenth centuries centuries CE by international trade. In the early sixteenth century, Europeans brought the disease to the Americas, sometimes purposely infecting the indigenous people. [In 1623 “Mather the Elder” delivered a sermon in Plymouth in which he gave special thanks to God for the devastating plague of smallpox which had wiped out the majority of the Wampanoag (who had been their benefactors). In 1763, Lord Jeffery Amherst ordered that smallpox-infected blankets be distributed to the indigenous people in Pennsylvania.]

According to Wikipedia:

Smallpox directly and profoundly influenced the course of human history. Its tremendous morbidity and mortality led to indiscriminate killing of kings and warlords and tipped the balance of power with regularity in Europe and elsewhere. As a result of smallpox infection, whole civilizations, including the Incas and the Aztecs, were destroyed in a single generation.

Smallpox has killed about half a billion people in the world’s history (300 million in the 20th century alone). To put this number in some sort of perspective, it is more lives claimed than in all the wars in human history put together. Other plagues pale in comparison: the Black Death, for instance, which ravaged Europe for over 400 years (1340-1771) killed 75 million people.

Treatment

There is no cure for smallpox. There is only prevention.

Inoculation against the disease began in India before 1000 CE. The practice spread slowly around the world, reaching Europe in the 18th century. Those inoculated had a mortality rate of approximately one tenth that of individuals with naturally occurring disease.

In 1796 Edward Jenner developed a smallpox vaccine from the cowpox virus, closely related to smallpox. Although the immunity was not lifelong, this approach was significantly safer than vaccine containing smallpox. The method quickly spread throughout the world. In subsequent decades, the strain of virus used was sustained by means of arm-to-arm inoculation or maintained as dried material on threads.

Over time, the vaccine virus changed from cowpox to the strain of vaccinia used in current vaccines. In the latter half of the 19th century, the practice of growing virus for vaccines on the flank of calves was adopted to lessen the risk of transmitting other human diseases (e.g. syphilis) during vaccination.

“True Points” within this Context

Within this historical context there emerged a new American religion which eventually came to be known as Jehovah’s Witnesses (though claiming antecedents back to first century Christianity.) Their official pronouncements issued forth from the Watchtower publications, initially written primarily by Joseph Franklin “Judge” Rutherford.

The Watchtower also published The Golden Age magazine (a precursor to today’s Awake! magazine). Within the pages of that periodical medical advice was sometimes given, such as the following [my additional “worldly” counter-point is shown in green]:

Even years ago it was known by some people that the use of pacifiers by babies is one of the chief causes of diseased and enlarged tonsils and adenoid growths, which results from the suction.
— The Golden Age, Nov. 26, 1919, p. 153

Pacifiers have been shown to decrease the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). They can be a very beneficial tool in soothing a fussy infant and toddler, so with avoidance of the few pitfalls, I do recommend their use. — Dr. DANA JOHNSON, pediatrician
Enlarged tonsils are not caused by sucking: they are caused by germs when tonsils become infected or overwhelmed by the very microbes that they help to fight.

there is no such thing as rabies!
—The Golden Age, Jan. 1, 1923, p. 214

(Information from the Center for Disease Control)

It has never been proven that a single disease is due to germs.
—The Golden Age, Jan. 16, 1924, p. 250

Germs can be classified into four major groups: Virus, Bacteria, Fungi, and Parasites.
Infection occurs when bacteria, viruses or other microbes enter your body and begin to multiply. Disease occurs when the cells in your body are damaged — as a result of the infection — and signs and symptoms of an illness appear. — Mayo Clinic

Quack medical devices were also extolled and advertised in the pages of The Golden Age. Today, people researching early twentieth-century quackery often use The Golden Age as a source book, since almost every quack device of the period was eventually advertised there. One such device was the Electronic Radio Biola which claimed to diagnose and treat every disease with 100% accuracy by means of radio-waves: all for only $35! The Golden Age ran more than one article praising the efficacy of this device despite the fact that it had previously been thoroughly debunked by the medical community. [Two major scientific investigations had determined that the ideas behind the Biola were “the height of absurdity” and useless in detecting and curing disease. (Scientific American, “Our Abrams Investigation”, March 1923 to September 1924: The Lancet, January 24 1925, pp. 177-181, British Medical Journal, January 24, 1925, pp. 179-185.)]

Due to complaints from readers about the ineffectiveness of these recommended sham medical devices,  such advertisements had ceased after 1925. The Watchtower even offered a rare apology for the ads (albeit in a joking manner), though at the same time they reaffirmed their conviction in the healing powers of the Radio Biola.

The ads may have disappeared from The Golden Age, but the medical advice continued:

“If any overzealous doctor condemns your tonsils go and commit suicide with a case-knife. It’s cheaper and less painful.”
— The Golden Age 1926 Apr 7 p.438

“Sleep on the right side or flat on your back, with the head toward the north so as to get benefit of the earth’s magnetic currents. Avoid serum inoculations as they pollute the blood stream with their filthy pus…. Stop chewing gum, as you need the saliva for your food.”
—The Golden Age 1929 Nov 13 p.107

“Medicine originated in demonology and spent its time until the last century and a half trying to exorcise demons. During the past half century it has tried to exorcise germs.”
— The Golden Age 1931 Aug 5 p.728

“The earlier in the forenoon you take the sun bath, the greater will be the beneficial effect, because you get more of the ultra-violet rays, which are healing”
–The Golden Age 1933 Sep 13 p.777

In humans, prolonged exposure to solar UV radiation may result in acute and chronic health effects on the skin, eye, and immune system.  Annually, around 1.5 million DALYs (Disability-adjusted life years) are lost through excessive UV exposure. — World Health Organization

More “True Points” within this Context

From 1921 to 1952 the Watchtower organization banned the use of vaccinations.

“Vaccination never prevented anything and never will, and is the most barbarous practice…We are in the last days; and the devil is slowly losing his hold, making a strenuous effort meanwhile to do all the damage he can, and to his credit can such evils be placed…Use your rights as American citizens to forever abolish the devilish practice of vaccinations.”
—The Golden Age 1921 Oct 12 p.17

“Thinking people would rather have smallpox than vaccination, because the latter sows the seed of syphilis, cancers, escema, erysipelas, scrofula, consumption, even leprosy and many other loathsome affections. Hence the practice of vaccination is a crime, an outrage and a delusion.”
—The Golden Age, May 1, 1929, p. 502

“Vaccination is a direct violation of the everlasting covenant God made with Noah after the flood… Vaccination has never saved a human life. It does not prevent smallpox.”
—The Golden Age, February 4, 1931, pp. 293-294 

Unvaccinated people were 40 times more likely to die if infected with smallpox. This statistic was well known long before 1921. Any organization claiming to be “God’s mouthpiece” should’ve known the facts before issuing a denunciation of a life-saving medical procedure.

The diseases mentioned by the Watchtower Society such as syphilis, leprosy, etc., cannot be contracted from the smallpox vaccine. Such things were caused in the early days when arm-to-arm vaccinations were done from one patient to the next: contaminating the recipient with all of the donor’s diseases. It was also common knowledge in 1929 that the practice had ceased half a century earlier.

Presumably the Watchtower Society’s objection to the vaccine may have been on the grounds that it was blood: cow’s blood (although the prohibition against blood transfusions was not given until 1945). However, this never was true. Even back in the 18th century when the vaccine was made using the poxvirus that infects cows, the virus was isolated and then given to the patient. An ironic footnote to this issue is that the Watchtower today condones the use of cow’s blood (“Hemopure”) for Witnesses who are in need of a blood transfusion! (See our course on blood.) So, there never should have been an objection to the smallpox vaccine even if it had involved cow’s blood.

Refusal of vaccinations was a very controversial stance which cost individual Witnesses dearly. No one knows how many lives were lost to smallpox because of it. In the United States unvaccinated children were officially forbidden to attend school (though exceptions were made for “religious beliefs” which resulted in placing all of the other school children at risk). This mistake of the Watchtower Society caused a great deal of turmoil in the lives of many of its trusting followers in addition to putting their health and their very lives in danger.

In the late 1940s, large-scale production of freeze-dried vaccine enabled mass vaccination campaigns. And in 1949 the last case of smallpox was recorded in the United States, three years before the Watchtower lifted its ban:

The matter of vaccination is one for the individual that has to face it to decide for himself … our Society cannot afford to be drawn into the affair legally or take the responsibility for the way the case turns out … all objection to vaccination on scriptural grounds seems to be lacking.
—Watchtower, Dec. 15, 1952 p. 764

In the 1960s the World Health Assembly intensified its efforts to eradicate the disease by using highly potent and stable vaccine, by rapidly identifying outbreaks, and by performing “ring vaccination” on all the contacts of a person who was infected.

Unable to deny the evidence any longer, even the Watchtower was forced to admit:

There can be little doubt that vaccinations appear to have caused a marked decrease in contagious diseases, including “smallpox” and “polio”.
—Awake!, August 22, 1965, p. 20

They didn’t bother to mention that this contradicted their previous confident statements that: “Vaccination has never saved a human life. It does not prevent smallpox.”

Routine vaccination of the American public against smallpox stopped in 1972 after the disease had been eradicated in the United States.

The last case of endemic smallpox occurred in Somalia in 1977.

In 1980 the disease was declared eradicated following worldwide vaccination programs.

Vaccination, together with an aggressive process of surveillance-containment, eliminated the disease from the face of the earth! That’s right: the smallpox disease is gone. The mortality rate is now zero! Breathe a sigh of relief, and rejoice that you’ve probably never known a single victim, and now you never will.

The smallpox vaccine represents one of the greatest success stories of medicine in all human history. It is possibly the greatest triumph of humankind, period. Using our intelligence and working together in global cooperation we conquered our most deadly disease!

Except there was at least one group that, through arrogant ignorance, stubbornly refused to cooperate in this global effort. Please go back and re-read the above quotes from the Watchtower’s Golden Age 1921-1931. Remember: the Watchtower claims to be God’s prophet on Earth, faithfully and discreetly dispensing spiritual food at the proper time! It pats itself on the back for being “dependable” since 1879. And while “the world” was busily engaged in ridding this deadly disease from the face of the Earth, the Watchtower’s followers were lugging around their gramophones house-to-house playing Rutherford’s recorded speeches denouncing vaccination as a trick of the Devil!

Using Deception to Cover Up Fatal Stupidity

“Previous articles in this journal and its companion, The Watchtower, have presented a consistent position: It would be up to the Bible-trained conscience of the individual Christian as to whether he would accept [vaccinations] for himself and his family.”
—Awake! 1993 Aug 8 p.25

The above quote is outrageously misleading! The Golden Age clearly stated that vaccination was against God’s Law, and hence not a matter up to one’s individual conscience. Awake! (the source of the above quote) was just a new name for The Golden Age, as acknowledged in the following Watchtower published quote:

Since its first issue back in 1919, the magazine successively known as The Golden Age, Consolation, and now Awake! has played a major role in the preaching work.”
–Kingdom Ministry (WBTS) 2005 Mar p.1.

Do you get what they’re doing here in the Awake! quote? They are claiming consistency by disowning what was said under a different name! This tactic is about as honest and mature as a kid trying to get out of going to school by telling his mom “I don’t feel well” while secretly pinching himself. They changed the name of the magazine and now think they bear no responsibility for what was written under its former name. Today they’re probably using a similar strategy by not posting publications prior to the year 2000 on their website. When your history is so incriminating I guess you do everything you can to distance yourself from it, and hope that everyone just eventually forgets how stupid you were.

The Watchtower has played this same game with other issues as well. Based on the pattern, we see that the rules of their game appear to be:

1. Say something outrageously stupid.
2. Stubbornly and arrogantly maintain what was said in #1 for years, despite all evidence to the contrary, and disfellowship anyone who disagrees.
3. Change your mind.
4. Pretend you never said #1.

No wonder they don’t want anyone going back and reading the older publications! Their lies become so apparent when you do.

This raises a few questions in my mind. I’m hoping that some Jehovah’s Witness reading this will kindly leave a comment with the answers to the following:

• How is it that “God’s prophet” was behind the times, and didn’t know the facts?
• How could medical science know more than God’s prophet?
• Why would God use his “visible organization” to cause potential harm to “his people” by withholding this valuable, life-saving preventative medicine, and causing them undue persecution?
• How could vaccination be a “direct violation of the everlasting covenant God made” when “all objection to vaccination on scriptural grounds seems to be lacking“?
• How could a group claiming to be “discreet” call vaccination a violation of God’s everlasting covenant, watch people suffer and die in consequence of that statement, and 31 years later retract it without so much as an apology?
• Now knowing all of the above, could you honestly call it anything other than just plain stupidity if you were to continue to trust them with medical advice?
• If they can be so diametrically opposed to the facts that are right in front of their eyes, how could you possibly trust them on invisible “spiritual” matters?

More Context and Still More “True Points”

The Watchtower continued to make deadly rules following the vaccination debacle. In 1945 they banned blood transfusions. In 1967 they declared organ transplantation unlawful. This latter law was revoked in 1980. In the intervening 13 year period Witnesses died who needed transplants.

Today the Watchtower continues its fatal policy against whole blood transfusions and platelets. Though it has progressed to the point of allowing human blood fractions as well as cow’s blood(!)

Whole blood and platelets save lives. Period. That should be the end of the discussion. It should be obvious, given the above, that the Watchtower doesn’t have a clue when it comes to medical advice or what God’s laws are regarding the same. If you need more convincing about how dead wrong they are in their current stance on blood, then please see the following links.

• The Jehovah’s Witness Blood Issue: Resolved!
• How a leech sucked the lifeblood out of the Watchtower
• Watchtower: A Bloody Mother Thou Art!
• Blood Course for Jehovah’s Witnesses
• Layers of Truth