Monday, February 8

We do not wage warfare according to what we are in the flesh.2 Cor. 10:3.

True Christians, who have their conscience trained by the Bible, do not learn war or participate in warfare. As a result of holding to this Christian position, thousands of Witnesses, young and old, male and female, have been persecuted. Many have suffered in forced-labor camps and prisons. During the Nazi era in Germany, some were even murdered. Regardless of the vicious persecution they faced in Europe, the Witnesses never forgot their commission to preach the good news of Jehovah’s Kingdom. They faithfully did so—in prisons, in concentration camps, and in exile. The strict neutrality of Jehovah’s Witnesses has convinced thousands of observers around the globe that the Witnesses practice genuine love of God and of neighbor. In other words, they are practicing true Christianity.

COMMENTARY

Having a Bible trained conscience that doesn’t allow one of Jehovah’s Witnesses to join the military is easy to maintain when there is no draft. Right now the only country with a lot of Jehovah’s Witnesses with mandatory conscription is South Korea. But a draft in peacetime is not the same as during war, when patriotic feelings run high.

In the USA there is talk of forcing women to register for the draft. Of course, it is not an issue now since there is no mandatory draft anyway. However, that can change very quickly and I expect it will. With the United States and the European Union fully committed to war, war and more war, there is a very high likelihood that the draft will be instituted at some point. And when it is women may find themselves facing mandatory military service or prison, or worse. 

Then we will see if Jehovah’s Witnesses, brothers and sisters, continue practicing true Christianity, as the Watchtower boasts. Certainly, at the very least the leadership of Jehovah’s Witnesses will learn some humility. 

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