wants new; for he says, ‘The old is nice.’”—Luke 5:33-39, NW.

17. How did this illustration forcefully show there was to be no mingling of different faiths?

¹⁷ By this illustration Jesus pointed out that he was bringing in an entirely new system of things, and that it was not to be attached to the groups that followed John the Baptist or the Pharisees. The disciples of Jesus were not to attach themselves to such groups or conform to their customs or ceremonies. Jesus was not bringing in this new system of things to patch up or bolster up or prolong old worn-out systems of worship that were ready for the discard. The previous religious systems could not contain the new system of things, were not adequate for this new system, could not exist alongside the new system, but would be brought to their end by the new system of things. Even the Law of Moses was to be nailed to the torture stake as being fulfilled and canceled. Just as a new outer garment was not to be cut up and used to patch up hopelessly old garments, but was to remain intact and entirely new; just as new wine was not to be poured into dried-up old wineskins that had lost their elasticity and would burst, but was to have its own new wineskin, just so the new Christian organization must have an entirely new system of things, permanently separate from the old religious systems that had either failed or passed the period of their usefulness. Yet, the adherents of these old systems would cling to the old, saying they had become accustomed to the comfortable fit and mellow age of the old systems. To them the old was nice; they were satisfied with their religion, it had been in the family a long time, and they did not want to change to anything new. So there is a separateness existing that prohibits the inclusion of the true faith in any interfaith movement.

18. Why is it so necessary for the true faith to stay aloof from interfaith moves?

¹⁸ Christ Jesus in unmistakable terms showed that he wanted no interfaith movement with the clergy of his day. Instead of joining with them he told his followers: “Let them be. Blind guides is what they are. If, then, a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.” (Matt. 15:14, NW) On another occasion Jesus said: “Be on the alert and watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Seeing that his disciples were confused and thinking of literal loaves with yeast in them, Jesus enlightened them as to the meaning of his pictorial language: “‘How is it you do not discern that I did not talk to you about loaves? But watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees.’ Then they grasped that he said to watch out, not for the yeast of the loaves, but for the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.” Jesus also said: “Watch out for the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” The great danger that this yeast of false religion would be to the true Christian congregation is stated for us, as follows: “A little yeast ferments the whole lump.” (Matt. 16:6, 11, 12; Luke 12:1; 1 Cor. 5:6; Gal. 5:9, NW) So the true faith stays aloof from contaminating interfaith moves.

19. What facts crush the claim that Jesus favored interfaith?

¹⁹ If Jesus favored silent toleration of error, as do modern interfaithers, why did he unleash such torrid denunciations at the scribes and Pharisees, calling them hypocrites, blind guides, fools, outwardly beautiful but inwardly filthy, serpents and viperous offspring doomed to destruction? (Matt. 23:1-33) If he considered brotherhood “a divine command” and “a religious duty”, why did he tell religious leaders: “You are from your father the Devil”? (John 8:44, NW) Would he join with them in a Brotherhood Week? To acknowledge them as his brothers would be to acknowledge their father as his father. He would never link up with a brotherhood scheme that would make the Devil his father instead of Jehovah! Yet modern interfaith zealots would embrace all, as shown by an editorial on “Interfaith Day”: “Christian, Jew, Moslem, Buddhist, or whatever we may be, we are all children of God, however differently we may conceive him.” (New York Times, September 23, 1951) But our conception of God does matter. He is approached only through Christ. (John 14:6) Even professed Christians that do not allow themselves to be disciplined by God into conformity with his Word “are really illegitimate children, and not sons”. (Heb. 12:4-11, NW) The broad road of interfaith, on which “anything goes”, is the broad road to destruction.—Matt. 7:13, 14.

20. Centuries after Jesus’ day what interfaith move was launched, and on what Scriptural grounds did Christians shun it?

²⁰ Centuries after Jesus’ day the Roman emperor Constantine launched an interfaith movement to fuse all religions, allowing the various sects and cults to retain their many conflicting beliefs, but agreeing on a few principal points, just as in interfaith movements today. Its purpose was to promote political solidarity and religious uniformity. Only true Christians resisted, knowing that the apostate Christians that merged with paganism and succumbed to the state-sponsored interfaith drive had violated Jehovah’s Word: “Do not become unevenly yoked with unbelievers. For what partnership do righteousness and lawlessness have? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness? Further, what harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what portion does a faithful person have with an unbeliever? And what agreement does God’s temple have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said: ‘I shall reside among them and walk among them, and I shall be their God, and they will be my people.’ ‘“Therefore get out from among them, and separate yourselves,” says Jehovah, “and quit touching the unclean thing,’” ‘“and I will take you in.”’” Then Jehovah will be our Father and we his sons, but not otherwise.—2 Cor. 6:14-18, NW.

“Record Record”

“From Washington last week came some figures which caused one sect to rejoice, while other churches might well feel ashamed.

“In the biggest religious gathering ever assembled in the nation’s capital, Jehovah’s Witnesses held a three-day meeting of 57,500 persons. The members heard good news: Their numbers since 1900 have grown from 6,000 to 425,000 this year in 115 [now 121] countries. The Watchtower, major publication of the group, is now available in 32 [36] languages and sells 1,210,000 [semimonthly; now 1,310,000] copies. . . . But even more encouraging to the Witnesses—who refuse to serve in the armed forces and will not salute the flag because they consider it an act of worship—was the increase of understanding of their beliefs. From 1935, when 500 Witnesses ran afoul of the law because of such accusations as peddling papers without a permit or disorderly conduct, the number of annual arrests rose to 2,500 in 1942. Last year, only 50 were arrested.

“The sad story was that, in general, churches and religious organizations are employing fewer workers and paying them lower wages than they did 22 years ago. The U. S. Department of Commerce revealed that religious groups this year were employing 218,000, but this was 4,000 below the 1929 figure. Moreover, in 1929 clergy and lay workers earned about $200 above the yearly average for all occupations (which was $1,421). Now the average yearly income is $3,024—but religious workers got about $750 less than that.”—Newsweek magazine, October 29, 1951.