To ALL Jehovah’s Witnesses & Interested Persons:

WHAT IS THE PUBLISHED OFFICIAL POSITION OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES TOWARD CHURCH ORGANIZATIONS BEING NGOs FOR THE UNITED NATIONS?

The following is the official policy, and the actual words the Jehovah's Witness must speak in the door-to-door work to explain our position on being an NGO for the United Nations, if asked this question:

When the Watchtower Society stated above: "...NO LESS THAN TWENTY-FOUR CATHOLIC ORGANIZATIONS ARE REPRESENTED AT THE UN," they were referring to twenty-four (24) NGOs maintained by the Catholic Church for the UN.

Therefore, how can this be APOSTASY before Jehovah on the part of the Catholic Church and others being UN NGOs, and NOT apostasy for the Jehovah's Witnesses, who were also voluntary NGOs for the UN for ten (10) years?

How can this be?

Please see below, the original quote from Robert Muller:

 

"PRAYER AND MEDITATION AT THE UNITED NATIONS"             -- By Robert Muller

 

"Prayer, meditation and spirituality at the UN are fascinating subjects. All major world religions are accredited to the United Nations AS NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS (NGOs). For example, NO LESS THAN TWENTY-FOUR CATHOLIC ORGANIZATIONS ARE REPRESENTED AT THE UN. Several of the world's religious leaders have visited the international organization. Most memorable were the visits of His Holiness Pope Paul VI during the General Assembly in 1965 and of Pope John Paul II in 1979. Many religions have special invocations, prayers, hymns and services for the United Nations. The most important examples are those of the Catholic, the Unitarian-Universalist, the Baptist and the Bahai faiths. It is a common practice of the Unitarian-Universalists to display the United Nations flag in their houses of worship. So does the Holy Family Church, the parish church of the UN, with its international reliquary and its many religious services and activities catering to world peace and to the international community."

The quote in paragraph 11 of the Watchtower, June 1, 1991 article (above) is not credited by the Watchtower Society of course, but it appears to have been taken from the 1982 book, NEW GENESIS: SHAPING A GLOBAL SPIRITUALITY chapter 6, under the subheading, "Prayer And Meditation At The United Nations" by Robert Muller.

Also, it has been suggested that this material may have been a revised version of a speech that Robert Muller delivered in 1977/8, when as Secretary of ECOSOC, he spoke at the 20th Anniversary of the U.N. Meditation Room.

When you make a close comparison of the two above quotes, you will clearly see the Watchtower LIFTED their quote from Mr. Muller's quote. And it is clear from reading the entire quote from Mr. Muller, he was specifically referring to NGO participation.

So to the Watchtower Society, it is the NGO status itself, that constitutes apostasy in God's eyes.

© 1994 - 2010 Donald C. Burney