NEW vs. OLD LIGHT: Examining the Watchtower Society's "new views of truth."
"If we were following a man undoubtedly it would be different with us: undoubtedly one human idea would contradict another and that which was light one or two or six years ago would be regarded as darkness now: But with God there is no variableness, neither shadow of turning, and so it is with truth; any knowledge or light coming from God must be like its author. A new view of truth can never contradict a former truth. "New light" never extinguishes older "light," but adds to it."
–Watchtower Reprints February 1881, p.188
CONCERNING CHRISTMAS
"Even though Christmas day is not the real anniversary of our Lord's birth, but more properly the annunciation day or the date of his human begetting (Luke 1:28), nevertheless, since the celebration of our Lord's birth is not a matter of divine appointment or injunction, but merely a tribute of respect to him, it is not necessary for us to quibble particularly about the date."
–The Watchtower December 1, 1904, p.364
"It is clear, therefore, that Jesus was not born on December 25.... Hence, celebrating his birthday through Christmas observance on December 25 is totally inappropriate for those guided by the Scriptures."
–The Watchtower December 15, 1979
CONCERNING MILITARY SERVICE
"There could be nothing against our consciences in going into the army. Wherever we would go we could take the Lord with us, the Captain of our salvation, and wherever we would go we could find opportunities to serve him and his cause."
–The Watchtower April 15, 1903, p.120
"The clergy have constantly supported this world's wars and have become involved in its political intrigues. They are definitely part of this world. But what about Jehovah's Witnesses? Chicago's Today of October 18, 1969, observed: "Their belief pattern, moreover, calls for total non-involvement with the political society in which they dwell."
–The Watchtower August 1, 1971, p.466
CONCERNING VACCINATIONS
"Vaccination is a direct violation of the everlasting covenant that God made with Noah after the flood."
–The Golden Age February 4, 1931, p.293
"The issue for such persons is not a religious one but one of health risks."
–Awake! August 22, 1965, p.20
CONCERNING ORGAN TRANSPLANTS
"There are those, such as the Christian witnesses of Jehovah, who consider all transplants between humans as cannibalism; and is not the utilizing of the flesh of another human for one's own life cannibalistic?
–Awake! June 8, 1968, p.21
"...there is no Biblical command pointedly forbidding the taking in of other human tissue....It is a matter for personal decision."
–The Watchtower March 15, 1980, p.31
CONCERNING THE CROSS
"Another change in viewpoint involved the 'cross and crown' symbol, which appeared on the Watch Tower cover beginning with the issue of January 1891....At the assembly the cross and crown emblems were shown to be not only unnecessary but objectionable.
–1975 Yearbook of Jehovah’s Witnesses, p.148
CONCERNING 6,000 YEARS OF HUMAN HISTORY
"In this chapter we present the Bible evidence which indicates that six thousand years from the creation of Adam were complete with A.D. 1872."
–The Time Is At Hand 1889, p.33
"According to this trustworthy Bible chronology six thousand years from man's creation will end in 1975..."
–Life Everlasting in Freedom of the Sons of God 1966, p.29
CONCERNING THE RETURN OF CHRIST
"The Millennium (Rev. 20:3, 4, 7) began in 1874, with the return of Christ."
–The Finished Mystery, 1917, p.386
"Nonetheless, the invisible 'presence,' or parousia, of the glorified Jesus Christ began at the end of the Gentile Times in 1914."
–The Watchtower June 15, 1979, p.27
CONCERNING THE BODY OF CHRIST
“Clearly the loaf pictures not Jesus’ fleshly body but his body members, the Christian congregation.”
–The Watchtower March 15, 1954, p.174
“So he did not transmute the loaf, but merely used it to symbolize his body....” “His body? Yes; his own body, his whole body, head and all, that he was to give for them. Jesus meant his own body.”
–The Watchtower, January 15, 1956, p.49
CONCERNING JESUS AND MICHAEL
"Jesus means Savior....His position is contrasted with that of men and angels, as he is Lord of both....Hence it is said, 'Let all the angels of God worship him'; [that must include Michael, the chief angel, hence Michael is not the Son of God]..."
–Watchtower Reprints November 1879, p.48
"'Michael the great prince' is none other than Jesus Christ himself."
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