Mankind United​—What It Could Mean

“WHETHER Hindu or Catholic, Jew or Lutheran, Quaker or Moslem, Buddhist, Amish or Mormon, if we put as much devotion and zeal into making a heaven right here on Earth as we do in striving to qualify for the hereafter, just think what a brilliantly clean, uncontaminated and beautiful world we would live in.”

With those words American journalist Mel Ellis expressed the desire of many people today. They want a beautiful world to live in. Yet, they continue to keep their religious, political, economic and social divisions​—the very things that have led to so much hatred, strife and bloodshed throughout history.

Still, the earth could be greatly transformed if people were only united in purpose. One immediate result would be that wars would cease. Then phrases such as “armaments races” and “nuclear weapons stockpiles” would be things of the past. There would never again be the maiming of human bodies and the injuring of minds in warfare. Families would not again experience the heartbreak of losing loved ones in armed conflict.

The money spent on arms and military preparation now amounts to about 800 billion dollars (U.S.) a year. If all of that were devoted to peaceful pursuits, what a transformation could take place even amid present imperfect conditions! Think of the necessary homes, hospitals, schools, basic sanitary needs, clean water and other things that could be provided. And all of that could easily result in full employment for those constructing things for the benefit of mankind. If the entire human family, too, worked together for the common good, there would be plenty of food for all. French newspaper editor André Fontaine stated: “There is enough wealth for everyone if only we would use it for the benefit of mankind.”

So think about what a united human family could mean. It could mean loving cooperation instead of heartless competition; fellow feeling instead of blind hatred; upbuilding peace instead of senseless violence; unifying mutual respect instead of divisive nationalism.

But how could such changes ever be accomplished? Surely, they must begin in the minds of people. And to change the mind there has to be a complete change of moral and spiritual education to rid humans of all influences that divide. But where could you get that kind of unifying education? From the political, economic, religious or educational systems of this world?

The Bible gives us its clear answer in these words of the prophet Jeremiah: “I well know, O Jehovah, that to earthling man his way does not belong. It does not belong to man who is walking even to direct his step.”​—Jeremiah 10:23.

That conclusion is supported by the words of Mark Thee, director of the International Peace Research Institute in Norway. He stated: “Today’s international situation is characterized by a profound crisis pervading almost all spheres of human activity: economic and social, political and military, spiritual and moral. Conflict situations are accumulating, violence is on the increase and the use of force as an instrument of policy and diplomacy has become widespread. . . . The balance between peace and war is becoming ever more precarious.”

Is it not evident, then, that humans, on their own, do not have the answers because they lack the wisdom to direct their own step toward global unity? True, some may feel that this is an exaggeration and that humans on their own could someday bring about unity. However, what does the record show? Does it give us any basis for hope that one or more of this world’s elements could be a force for world unity? If not, what would?

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Think what could be done even now if all the money spent on arms were used to build a peaceful world!

Can Unity Ever Come From This World?

COULD the dream of world unity ever be realized by this world’s efforts? Is it possible that one of the leading elements in world affairs might direct mankind toward that goal?

This world has had thousands of years to experiment with different governments, as well as economic and social systems. Has any one of them ever been a force for unity? Could any of them now reverse the tragically disunited state in which the human family finds itself? If not, what could?

The Political Record

A powerful force in human affairs is political leadership. But, sadly, history clearly shows that this has not been a force for uniting people. On the contrary, after thousands of years of trying every possible political ideology, the world is more divided than ever. There are now more independent nations and different types of political systems than at any other time in history.

If human government could be a force for world unity, surely it should have demonstrated this by now. Instead, every century has been stained with the blood of one war after another​—thousands of them. And far from any gradual progress toward unity in modern times, our 20th century has proved to be the most disastrously divided of all. Two horrendous world wars have been fought, with about 70 million lives cut short. As if that were not enough, the recent book War in Peace declares that since World War II some 130 military conflicts in over a hundred countries have killed about 35 million people. Imagine that! In a time of so-called peace!

A basic reason for this deplorable condition is mankind’s adherence to political and national loyalties. These have kept the human family utterly divided and working at cross-purposes. That is why historian Arnold Toynbee said that nationalism “has been in truth the master religion,” since many people give worshipful obedience to it. Toynbee stated that this worship of sovereign states sets their respective members against one another “because this religion is an expression of self-centredness.” And he felt that this “self-centredness is the source of all strife.”

Political divisions are far more disastrous now because mankind is well into the nuclear age. Nuclear war is feared in every nation, especially considering the capacity of nuclear weapons today. In The Fate of the Earth, Jonathan Schell writes: “What happened at Hiroshima was less than a millionth part of a holocaust at present levels of world nuclear armament.”

Schell added: “Politics, accordingly, is fully stuck with the glaring absurdity that with one hand it builds for a future that with the other hand it prepares to destroy. Each time a politician raises his voice to speak of making a better world for our children and grandchildren . . . the peril of extinction is there to gainsay him with the crushing rebuttal: But there may be no children or grandchildren.”

Foretelling this very situation for our day are the prophetic words of Jesus Christ at Luke 21:25, 26: “On the earth anguish of nations, not knowing the way out because of the roaring of the sea and its agitation, while men become faint out of fear and expectation of the things coming upon the inhabited earth.” What an apt description of mankind’s present divided state!

With such fearsome prospects in view, the question may be asked: Since no one political system can unite the human family, could the United Nations do so? The answer must be no. Why? Because, in reality, the UN is just a reflection of our strife-torn world. The UN secretary-general acknowledged: “Certainly we have strayed far from the U.N. Charter.” He noted that the body’s resolutions “are increasingly defied or ignored by those who feel themselves strong enough to do so.” As a result, he concluded: “We are perilously near to a new international anarchy.” Thus, based on its record, the credibility of the UN as a unifier of mankind is doubted even by its own officials.

If we face the facts honestly, we must admit that the historical record shows that no political system of imperfect humans is capable of uniting mankind, however sincere the leaders. Appropriately, at Psalm 146:3 God’s inspired Word counsels: “Do not put your trust in nobles, nor in the son of earthling man, to whom no salvation belongs.”

Economic Disarray

Could we look to any economic system of this world as a unifying force, so that the entire human family could benefit from the earth’s ability to produce bountifully? Again, the record of history answers no. Not one of man’s economic systems has ever produced a model for a unified approach so that all mankind’s best interests are served. Every economic system has brought great dissatisfaction and hardship to millions.

In recent years there has been one crisis after another in the global economy. The debts of underdeveloped lands have risen enormously, but their ability to pay has not. Even the debts of most developed nations have grown astronomically. Poverty is rampant. Millions are unemployed. Every year other millions continue to die from hunger or disease brought on by malnutrition. For masses of poor people throughout the earth, the truth of God’s prophetic word at Revelation 6:6 is verified: “A whole day’s wage for a quart of flour.” (The New English Bible) Yes, in many places a day’s wage barely buys just a loaf of bread.

Regardless of temporary improvements after recessions or depressions, the economic picture continues to be much as that reported by The New York Times: “The world economy is facing the most serious threat to its cohesion and prosperity in the postwar period. Inflation, recession, high unemployment and extraordinary trade and financial pressures are placing the principles and institutions of international economic cooperation under enormous stress.” And French newspaper editor André Fontaine declared: “I see no Government in the world today which appears capable of coping with the major economic problems of our time. That is because they are really world problems, and no country can resolve them singlehandedly.”

That is at the heart of the matter. The world’s economic problems require united, global action. But too many different selfish interests are involved for there to be any lasting solution by this world’s leaders.

Social Problems Mount

Social problems also reflect mankind’s growing disunity. Hatred and prejudice, crime and violence, terrorism and armed conflict​—on all continents—​are symptoms of a sick world. Life in many big cities has become especially dangerous. Thus, when a police officer in Italy tried to encourage a prisoner by telling him that he might be released soon, the prisoner’s surprising reaction was, as reported by La Nazione: “I couldn’t care less about getting out. These are difficult times. I prefer to stay in prison. It is too easy to get killed outside.”

There are also human weaknesses that divide families and undermine the quality of life in every type of political system. Divorces are on the increase nearly everywhere; in some places nearly half of all new marriages end that way. Escapism, too, in the form of excessive drinking affects both the Eastern and the Western world. One result is that each day people driving automobiles under the influence of alcohol add victims to a world slaughter that numbers some 300,000 deaths annually.

The plague of drug addiction has brought grief to millions. Rampant sexual permissiveness is resulting in an enormous harvest of dreaded venereal diseases, some now resistant to treatment. And accompanying that is a tidal wave of unwanted pregnancies and abortions.

The situation is just what Bible prophecy foretold for this age when it said: “In the last days critical times hard to deal with will be here.” This prophecy catalogues conditions that sound like a reading from your daily newspaper. It noted that people would be ‘lovers of themselves, lovers of money, haughty, disobedient to parents, unthankful, disloyal, having no natural affection, not open to any agreement, without self-control, lovers of pleasures rather than lovers of God.’​—2 Timothy 3:1-5.

Social problems are made worse by the 800 billion dollars a year now spent on armaments. That is over two billion dollars a day! Yet, millions of children die of malnutrition every year, as do many adults. Thus, we cannot escape the truth on this matter: Social problems and inequalities are increasing. Hundreds of millions of disappointed and oppressed people find themselves without hope. And no social system of this world can solve these problems since there is no united approach to them.

Surely, it is evident by now that no political, economic or social system of this world can serve as a uniting force for mankind. But what about this world’s religions? Can we look to them as a unifying factor? Indeed, just what can we look to as a force for uniting this pitifully divided human family? The next two articles will consider these questions.

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Mankind now has the capacity to destroy all life on earth

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Hundreds of millions are hungry

Where Can We Find Unity in This Strife-Torn World?

“In unity I shall set them, like a flock in the pen.”​—MICAH 2:12.

1, 2. Why can we not look to world leaders to unify the human family?

FOR thousands of years the human family has been tragically divided. Political, economic and social differences have split mankind into conflicting, warring factions. Our 20th century has seen the worst results of this. For instance, World War II alone took an estimated 55 million lives, culminating in the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by atomic bombs.

² In recent decades, scores of additional conflicts have taken many more millions of lives. Now, the nuclear weapons of conflicting political systems threaten the very existence of life on earth. And, as The Guardian of England notes, preparations for war, “material and mental, are being vigorously advanced” by the nations, large and small. Surely, then, we cannot look to world leaders to unify the human family.

The Record of World Religion

3, 4. What does history tell us about worldly religion as a potential unifier of people?

³ However, might we look to the religions of this world to unite peoples? Does their record inspire any greater confidence? History answers no. An editorial in the Chicago Tribune stated: “Every major religion preaches peace and brotherhood and mercy, yet some of the cruelest and most intolerant repressions in history have been committed in the name of God.” Newspaper editor C. L. Sulzberger similarly observed: “Disagreeable as the subject may be, should it not be realized that in addition to other causes​—imperialism, racism, militarism—​religion has developed into a persistently greater threat to human life?”

⁴ Yes, history is stained with the blood of religiously inspired or approved strife. Just in our century, during the nationalistic world wars and others, we have witnessed the God-dishonoring practice of Catholic killing Catholic, Protestant killing Protestant, Muslim killing Muslim, Jew killing Jew. Truly, the facts of history spell out the fact that, far from being a force for uniting the human family, worldly religion is responsible for adding to its divisions.

5. Where do this world’s divided religions originate?

⁵ The confused and divided state of this world’s religions demonstrates clearly that God is not their backer. That may come as a surprise to those who think that all religion must be good if it claims to represent God. But God’s own inspired Word plainly states: “God is a God, not of disorder, but of peace.” (1 Corinthians 14:33) Not God’s holy spirit, or active force, but an unholy spirit, or motivating force, produces ‘enmities, strife, contentions, divisions, sects.’ (Galatians 5:19, 20) James 3:14, 15 identifies the wisdom associated with this bad spirit as “demonic,” emanating from “the god of this system of things,” Satan the Devil.​—2 Corinthians 4:4.

A Divided House

6. What principle given by Jesus applies to this world?

⁶ The divided state of the human family brings to mind these words of Jesus: “Every kingdom divided against itself comes to desolation, and every city or house divided against itself will not stand.” (Matthew 12:25) On that basis, this divided world must fall. In fact, even the nations agree with the saying, “United we stand, divided we fall.”

7. What need have some people seen to try to avoid catastrophe?

⁷ To try to avoid a calamitous fall, some prominent people call for a drastic change in man’s thinking. Nuclear scientist Harold Urey stated: “There is no constructive solution to the world’s problems except eventually a world government capable of establishing law over the entire surface of the earth.” Similarly, Albert Einstein “insisted that peace among nations could be maintained in the atomic age only by bringing all men together under a system of world law.” He urged: “We must overcome the horrible obstacles of national frontiers.” Yes, many people see the need for a world government.

8. Can this divided world avoid a fall?

⁸ However, is it likely that the nations of this world will give up their sovereignty? If so, to whom? Surely not to the United Nations organization. Nations often go to war rather than submit to the decisions of the UN. Thus, this world, with its divided political, commercial, social and religious systems, is headed for a fall.​—Zephaniah 3:8; 1 John 2:15-17.

A Truly United People

9. What likelihood is there of a united human family?

⁹ Does this mean, then, that world unity is out of the question? Not at all! On the contrary, world unity not only is possible but is inevitable! In fact, the foundation for world unity already has been laid! Already there is a people who are doing what Einstein said, ‘overcoming the obstacles of nationalism.’ Already a truly united people exists worldwide. Already a superior world government exists that has the first allegiance of millions of people throughout all nations.

10. What characteristics must a real government have?

¹⁰ Many will feel that such a view is farfetched. They may ask: ‘Are you talking about a real government with real laws and real citizens? Where is all of this supposed to be happening? Who are involved?’ Well, what makes up a government? Several things: (1) It must have real, living leaders; (2) the place from which it governs must also be real; (3) the nation must have real laws to preserve order; (4) it must have real subjects​—people. For instance, in the United States there is an executive (the president) who has Washington, D.C., as his seat of government. There is a legislature (Congress) that makes laws. There is a judiciary (courts of law) to enforce the laws of the country. And there are over 230 million people who are subjects. Would anyone contend that all of this is not real?

11. How has even the secular press acknowledged that a truly united people does exist?

¹¹ Just as real is the existence of a truly united people today! Where? Which government do they serve? Why can we say that they are fully united? The Brazilian newspaper O Tempo noted this unique people when it wrote: “Although there are many imposing religions with their propaganda in all parts of the globe, there does not exist a single one on the face of the earth today that shows the same love and unity as the Theocratic organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

12. What view expressed in a Belgian newspaper agrees with a reality recognized by Jehovah’s Witnesses?

¹² In Belgium, the newspaper La Nouvelle Gazette carried this headline: “To Avoid a Nuclear War in 25 Years’ Time, American Experts Have Found Only One Solution: That of Jehovah’s Witnesses!” The article stated that the only remedy would be “a radical change in the life-style of mankind . . . in favor of a world government.” The publication concluded that this view agreed exactly “with the proposition upheld by Jehovah’s Witnesses.” And just what “proposition” is that? The one that Jesus made the central theme of his teaching: God’s new government for all the earth, His heavenly Kingdom with Christ as ruler. That government is God’s remedy, the only remedy for all mankind’s ills, including its divided condition. Jesus taught people to pray for that government when he said: “Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10, Catholic Jerusalem Bible) And, as this same Bible version renders the prophecy of Daniel 2:44, that government of God soon “will shatter . . . all the previous kingdoms, and itself last for ever.”

Demonstrating True Love and Unity

13. Regarding a world government to unite people, what has happened since 1914?

¹³ World events in fulfillment of Bible prophecy show that God’s heavenly government began to rule in 1914. At that time God installed as ruler his proved King, Jesus Christ. (Matthew 24:3-14; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; Revelation 12:10) That government has superior laws and principles, as recorded in the most sacred of all documents, God’s inspired Word, the Bible. (2 Timothy 3:16, 17) And since 1914 the Fine Shepherd, Jesus Christ, has been gathering the citizens of God’s New Order. So right now the foundation of that new earthly society is being laid! Yes, all of this is very real. It is not just a dream.​—Matthew 25:31-46; John 10:14-16; 2 Peter 3:13.

14. What disuniting factor have Jehovah’s Witnesses overcome?

¹⁴ As citizens of the New Order, Jehovah’s Witnesses in every land give God’s heavenly Kingdom government their first allegiance. Thus, when Jehovah’s Witnesses read the command of Jesus, “Love one another just as I have loved you,” they take that to mean what it says, and they do it on a worldwide scale. (John 15:12) As a result, they have really broken the restraining bands of petty nationalism. They are able to demonstrate true love for all mankind, regardless of a person’s race, tribe or nationality.

15, 16. How has the overcoming of nationalism been recognized by others?

¹⁵ In this regard, in the Italian church magazine Andare alle genti a Roman Catholic nun wrote the following about Jehovah’s Witnesses: “They are worthy of our admiration for the way they refuse any form of violence and without rebelling put up with the many trials inflicted on them because of their beliefs . . . How different the world would be if we all woke up one morning firmly decided not to take up arms again, whatever the cost or the reason, just like Jehovah’s Witnesses!”

¹⁶ The Italian newspaper Il Corriere di Trieste observed: “Jehovah’s Witnesses should be admired for their firmness and coherence. Contrary to other religions, their oneness as a people prevents them from praying to the same God, in the name of the same Christ, to bless two opposing sides of a conflict, or from mixing politics with religion to serve the interests of Heads of State or political parties.”

17. How do 1 John 3:10-12 and John 13:35 distinguish between God’s children and Satan’s children?

¹⁷ Note how this harmonizes with 1 John chapter 3, verses 10 to 12. There it states: “The children of God and the children of the Devil are evident by this fact: Everyone who does not carry on righteousness does not originate with God, neither does he who does not love his brother. For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should have love for one another; not like Cain, who originated with the wicked one and slaughtered his brother.” No, God’s children do not slaughter their brothers. It is Satan’s children who do.​—John 13:35.

18. What happens to formerly disunited people when they become Jehovah’s Witnesses?

¹⁸ Thus, when Arabs, Jews and professed Christians in Israel and Lebanon become Jehovah’s Witnesses, they unite in an unbreakable bond of love and unity. So do former Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. So do blacks and whites in the United States. So do members of different African tribes who formerly hated and fought one another. The British magazine New Society noted: “The Witnesses are perhaps more successful than any other group in the speed with which they eliminate tribal discrimination among their own recruits.”

Source of Unity

19. In what two vital respects are Jehovah’s Witnesses extraordinary?

¹⁹ Why can Jehovah’s Witnesses display such love and unity? Is it because of their secular education, prominence, wealth or cleverness? No, they are just ordinary people. But they are extraordinary in two vital respects. First, Jehovah’s Witnesses accept the entire Bible as the inspired Word of God, and they do their utmost to live by it. As the apostle Paul said: “When you received God’s word, which you heard from us, you accepted it, not as the word of men, but, just as it truthfully is, as the word of God, which is also at work in you believers.” (1 Thessalonians 2:13) Secondly, Jehovah’s Witnesses take the same position as that of Jesus’ apostles, who said to the rulers: “We must obey God as ruler rather than men.”​—Acts 5:29.

20. What is the real source of unity among Jehovah’s Witnesses?

²⁰ What happens to a people who accept the entire Bible as God’s Word, live by it and obey God as their Ruler in all things? Acts 5:32 states that God gives his powerful holy spirit, or active force, “to those obeying him as ruler.” That is the source of strength that enables Jehovah’s Witnesses to accomplish and maintain a world unity that is impossible for others.

21, 22. (a) Who, then, fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah 2:2-4? (b) What prophetic fulfillments do Jehovah’s Witnesses now experience?

²¹ Who, then, in view of the evidence, fulfills the prophecy at Isaiah chapter 2, verses 2 to 4? Speaking of the time in which we live, that prophecy declares that the true worship of Jehovah would become firmly established under Kingdom rule, and that many would say: “Come, you people, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, . . . and he will instruct us about his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” The prophecy also says: “He will certainly render judgment among the nations and set matters straight respecting many peoples. And they will have to beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning shears. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, neither will they learn war anymore.”

²² Who is it that have let God and his Word “set matters straight” among them? Who have really responded to God’s command ‘not to learn war anymore’? Who have spent a total of thousands of years in prisons and concentration camps in our time rather than kill their neighbors? Who show respect for the Bible as God’s inspired Word and obey God as Ruler? Who demonstrate an international brotherhood that is unique in this strife-torn world? The answer can only be, Jehovah’s Witnesses. And now the “other sheep,” in the hundreds of thousands, are being gathered as companions of the remaining ones of the anointed “little flock.” (John 10:16; Luke 12:32) These are also benefiting from the fulfillment of a prophecy given in Hosea’s time. It foretold that all of Jehovah’s servants would “certainly be collected together into a unity” under one Head, Jesus Christ, in Kingdom power. (Hosea 1:11) They also see fulfilled in their unity the words of Jesus when he prayed to God that his followers “may be one just as we are one.” (John 17:20-22) Thus, toward them God has kept his promise of long ago: “In unity I shall set them, like a flock in the pen.”​—Micah 2:12.

² To Jehovah’s united servants, the spreading disorder is a sure sign that an old system of things is nearing its end, while a new system of things is emerging. (Luke 21:28) Yet, in the midst of a world that more and more imitates its debased god, Satan the Devil, Jehovah is cleansing his people and leading them toward a bright New Order. He gathers them to his pure worship, which has been exalted as if on a mountain, high above all other forms of worship. The ones who turn to this united worship of the true God then say to others: “Come, you people, and let us go up to the mountain of Jehovah, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will instruct us about his ways, and we will walk in his paths.” (Isaiah 2:2, 3) Those brought into this united worship look forward eagerly to ‘new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness is to dwell.’​—2 Peter 3:13.