Originally posted by stellspalfie doesnt really answer the question though.
what would you do as a leader of the free world during ww2. if you were churchill would you surrender to hitler?
I can't answer that as I'm not Churchill and he was not a JW. If I were Churchill and not a JW I probably would do as any world government leader would have done.
But I'm not and I do as God commands his followers to do.
Originally posted by galveston75 I can't answer that as I'm not Churchill and he was not a JW. If I were Churchill and not a JW I probably would do as any world government leader would have done.
But I'm not and I do as God commands his followers to do.
im not asking you to be churchill, im asking what would you do. what would your opinion be. if you were a j.w. living in the 1940's what would you want your nation to do?
i can only think of two possible scenarios, surrender or war.
Originally posted by stellspalfie im not asking you to be churchill, im asking what would you do. what would your opinion be. if you were a j.w. living in the 1940's what would you want your nation to do?
i can only think of two possible scenarios, surrender or war.
Our conduct during war is well documented, we do not fight other people. In the UK we were incarcerated in prison, in Germany we were sent to the concentration camps where many lost their lives rather than compromise their integrity to Christian principles. In America here was a wave of hysteria and persecution as one can imagine from a people indoctrinated into nationalism from an early age as are the Americans. All you need to do to read about the shameful conduct is google Jehovahs Witness persecution. Our actions may be summed up by the words of Mahatma Gandhi, 'I am prepared to die, but there is no cause for which I am prepared to kill.' Do you understand? it is pointless asking what we thought Churchill should have done, we are a-political in that sense and we do not do war.
Originally posted by robbie carrobie Our conduct during war is well documented, we do not fight other people. In the UK we were incarcerated in prison, in Germany we were sent to the concentration camps where many lost their lives rather than compromise their integrity to Christian principles. In America here was a wave of hysteria and persecution as one can imagine from a people indo ...[text shortened]... we thought Churchill should have done, we are a-political in that sense and we do not do war.
Originally posted by stellspalfie are you against all forms of violent action?
its quite interesting, we realise that as the Bible states, Gods war of Armageddon will remove those who are opposed to the Christ's rule, violently it seems. Christ himself is depicted as a warrior King. So while we do not welcome the violence it seems that its inevitable. We ourselves take no part in this war, because it is Gods war, not ours, so in that sense we oppose all forms of violent action. However , it stands to reason that if you are being personally attacked, you should defend yourself as far as it is incumbent upon you for your safety, that is simply common sense. This of course does not mean that we carry weapons for fear of being attacked.
Originally posted by robbie carrobie its quite interesting, we realise that as the Bible states, Gods war of Armageddon will remove those who are opposed to the Christ's rule, violently it seems. Christ himself is depicted as a warrior King. So while we do not welcome the violence it seems that its inevitable. We ourselves take no part in this war, because it is Gods war, not ours, s ...[text shortened]... ly common sense. This of course does not mean that we carry weapons for fear of being attacked.
war can also be a 'personal attack'. if you know that when an aggressor invades it is going to ethnically cleanse you off the planet it becomes personal. would you fight then?
Originally posted by robbie carrobie its quite interesting, we realise that as the Bible states, Gods war of Armageddon will remove those who are opposed to the Christ's rule, violently it seems. Christ himself is depicted as a warrior King. So while we do not welcome the violence it seems that its inevitable. We ourselves take no part in this war, because it is Gods war, not ours, s ...[text shortened]... ly common sense. This of course does not mean that we carry weapons for fear of being attacked.
So while we do not welcome the violence it seems that its inevitable. We ourselves take no part in this war, because it is Gods war, not ours.
Hypothetical for you -When 'God's war' comes, what would you say if God requests you join in?
Originally posted by Proper Knob [b]So while we do not welcome the violence it seems that its inevitable. We ourselves take no part in this war, because it is Gods war, not ours.
Hypothetical for you -When 'God's war' comes, what would you say if God requests you join in?[/b]
he doesn't, the Bible states, stand back and see the salvation of Jehovah, i wouldn't nor could I fight, its not that i am incapable, its just i cannot stomach violence, even in video games or the movies, i gave up fishing for goodness sake because i didn't like being violent to fish or worms!
Originally posted by stellspalfie war can also be a 'personal attack'. if you know that when an aggressor invades it is going to ethnically cleanse you off the planet it becomes personal. would you fight then?
no, you are blethering, war is a national affair, a personal attack can hardly be described as an act of war. No i wouldn't fight them.
Originally posted by robbie carrobie no, you are blethering, war is a national affair, a personal attack can hardly be described as an act of war. No i wouldn't fight them.
no, no blethering here.
example 1. you are walking down the street with your j.w. friends and a gang of men attack you because they hate j.w's and intend to kill you and your friends.
going by what you said earlier you would be happy to fight back in this situation.
example 2. you are walking down the street with your j.w. friends and gang of invading soldiers attack you because they have had orders to wipe out all j.w's they find.
going by what you have said so far you would not fight with the soldiers because their actions are part of a war and therefore political?!?!?!