‘They Talk About Goodness and Love’

IN RECENT years, Jehovah’s Witnesses in France have been the target of an intense campaign of vilification. Half-truths and misinformation have been used by their opponents to misrepresent them before the public. At the beginning of 1999, Jehovah’s Witnesses throughout France distributed 12 million copies of a tract entitled People of France, You Are Being Deceived! In this tract, they denounced the defamatory statements made against them.

A few days after the campaign, Mr. Jean Bonhomme, a medical doctor and former member of Parliament, sent an open letter to a local newspaper. He wrote: “From time to time, Jehovah’s Witnesses come to my home. They come to talk to me about goodness and universal love. . . . They do not force their presence. They express themselves mildly and listen kindly to my skepticism.”

Speaking of the spiritual viewpoint of Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mr. Bonhomme said: “Otherworldliness, in their case, can hardly do any harm. On the other hand, the otherworldliness of certain politicians is much more of a threat to the peace of citizens and the harmony of society.”