In the April 15 2014 study edition of the Watchtower magazine, in the article “No One Can Slave for Two Masters,” Jehovah’s Witnesses provide counsel for those considering leaving their families behind to work abroad. The story of “James” and “Marilyn” is told, with Marilyn leaving her husband and their son Jimmy to work overseas. The article admonishes those contemplating such a move, noting how raising children is the job of parents and not grandparents or extended relatives, and that there are unintended consequences to leaving. The article stated, “Marilyn began to realize that she could not raise her son by ‘teleparenting’ through letters, telephone calls, or video chats. She explains, ‘You cannot hug your child or kiss him good-night over the Internet.'”
This is all well and good, except that just one month before, in the March 15 2014 study edition of the Watchtower, when talking about, “A sudden deterioration in a parent’s health, perhaps as a result of a fall, a broken bone, or some other crisis,” the magazine said that, “Those serving as Bethelites [working at the headquarters of Jehovah’s Witnesses], missionaries, and traveling overseers … would be wise to consider prayerfully whether [leaving their assignments] is what the parents really need or desire … No one should hastily give up service privileges, and it may not always be necessary. Could the health issue be temporary, one with which some in the parents’ congregation would be happy to help?”
So, apparently working overseas and leaving your family behind is bad when it benefits your family, but it’s good when it benefits the organization of Jehovah’s Witnesses?
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On January 7 2015, a group of Islamic militants stormed the offices of a comedic Paris newspaper and opened fire, killing 12 staffers before fleeing. They did this to avenge cartoons the paper had printed of their prophet Mohammed, believing the cartoonists had been disrespectful of their religion.
