The Watchtower in Singapore: Putting Evangelicals to Shame

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58647485

Conscientious Objection is an ancient practice in the Church. With few exceptions the testimony of the Early Church is near universal – Christians were opposed to warfare and participation in the military and other forms of government violence.

The ancient New Testament system of ethics and Kingdom living was revived by elements of the First Reformation – particularly among the Waldensian groups spread from Southern France to the Baltic Sea, and the from Italy and the Rhineland to the vast Kingdom of Hungary.

The Magisterial Reformation largely destroyed the Kingdom testimony of the First Reformation as the descendants of the Waldensians and others would succumb to the new ethic – the Reformation version of Constantinianism.

As reported elsewhere, the testimony among the Lollard and Hussite movements was mixed and yet the non-resistance of the New Testament was gradually eliminated from these groups by the tide of the Magisterial Reformation and the social upheaval it brought.

Conscientious Objection would reappear among some of the Restorationist movements, the otherwise unorthodox Watchtower Society being one of them. The once vibrant tradition largely disappeared among groups like the Church of Christ and the Plymouth Brethren – eradicated by the social pressures and propaganda associated with the World Wars. The Anabaptists have retained the historic position though the current generation hasn't worked out its implications in other areas of life. And it must be admitted that the Catholic tent is so broad that there have always been a minority among them that embraces the views of non-violence and poverty – for the two always go together, something contemporary Anabaptists seem to have forgotten.

The suffering of the Watchtower society demonstrates that if Christians are faithful to the New Testament (which the Watchtower is at this particular point) they will experience hardship even within liberal societies. There are many countries in which this is the case but Evangelicalism has taught world affirmation and thus it has embraced power and mammon. Christians suffer at times – but not for the gospel. Usually they suffer for their political activism, related scheming and as a result of their mammonism. And while in the United States we can be thankful that the draft was eliminated as a result of the Vietnam War, Evangelicals remain a large bloc that continue to argue and advocate for its restoration – which again would result in persecution for those being faithful to the ethics of the New Testament.

The Witness stories both sadden and inspire me. I feel in some respects that some of these people could be reached more easily with the true gospel of the New Testament than the recalcitrant and worldly sect of Evangelicalism that is more interested in building wealth and acquiring power. In terms of ethics it's as if some of the Watchtower folks are already 'halfway there' as it were, far closer to the vision of Kingdom life than what is found in the more popular (and yet reckoned orthodox) segments of Protestantism.

And what of Singapore? The world (and Evangelicalism) views it as a success – a testimony to capitalism and the triumph of British-Western values in the heart of Southeast Asia. And yet is it? Are these the metrics we are to employ when weighing what 'success' looks like?

Singapore is also unique in that its population and political order is dominated by its Chinese demographic and given its close relationship with the West and the United States, and the current situation in the region vis-à-vis China, Singapore is set to play a unique but potentially dangerous role. Treasure can be accumulated but then it must be guarded and as the rather wealthy city-state of Singapore has little in the way of land or resources it is reliant on trade and relationships with powerful nations. This pulls the tiny nation into the geopolitical chess game and as it stands – the Asian front of the New Cold War.

This only amplifies Singaporean militarism and thus the pilgrim ethic (which in the case is followed by the Watchtower) puts its followers at odds with the Establishment. Their convictions and willingness to pay a price are both inspiring and convicting – and stand in judgment of Western Christians (and Evangelicals in Singapore) who would never take such a stand, all the more one in which they would become pariahs in terms of the larger society.