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Pursuing Peace With All PeopleAwake!—1986 | December 8
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Religion had much to do with the warlike nature of the Vikings. They believed that only if they died in battle could they gain entrance to Valhalla, the supposed paradise of the Vikings. It was said to be located in the home of their gods, prominent among whom was Odin, their god of battle and death. Thus the Viking religion encouraged a warlike nature. One source called it a “blood-reeking religion.”
It disturbed me that religion could be such a promoter of violence. As a result, I often wondered if it would ever be possible for people of all different nationalities and religions to live in peace. Did history have to keep repeating itself so often in outbursts of hatred, war, and violent death, much of which was encouraged, supported, or at least condoned by religion?
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Pursuing Peace With All PeopleAwake!—1986 | December 8
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The Woman Identified
What about the woman sitting on the unusual wild beast that I remembered from the program 14 years before? Well, Revelation 17:18 states: “The woman whom you saw means the great city that has a kingdom over the kings of the earth.” And in that “city,” Revelation 18:24 explains, “was found the blood . . . of all those who have been slaughtered on the earth.”
Who was that woman? The startling answer was that she represented the world empire of false religion! But how could world religion, generally believed to be a force for good, be responsible for such ghastly misdeeds? I decided to do some research on my own. Ironically, it was statements made by religious leaders that removed all doubt from my mind. Not only had the ancient Vikings been led astray by false religion but so had the nations of our 20th century!
For example, during World War I the archbishop of Cologne, Germany, said to German soldiers: “We command you in the name of God, to fight to the last drop of your blood for the honor and glory of the country.” On the opposite side, the bishop of London, England, urged: “Kill Germans—do kill them . . . As I have said a thousand times, I look upon it as a war for purity, I look upon everyone who died in it as a martyr.”
So during wartime, Catholics killed Catholics and Protestants killed Protestants, showing that they were not genuine Christians, for Jesus Christ told his followers: “By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love among yourselves.” (John 13:35) The love I saw among Jehovah’s Witnesses at the convention in Stockholm and that they had for one another all over the world regardless of nationality identified them as true disciples of Jesus. Never would they go to war and take the lives of fellow Christians or anyone else. The Bible clearly shows that God’s children do not slaughter one another.—1 John 3:10-12.
Thus I learned that this world’s religions could never be a force for international peace. They support a divided, warring world that God has ‘weighed in the balances and found deficient,’ a world that will soon be crushed out of existence, along with its religious supporters. (Daniel 2:44; 5:27) On the other hand, Jehovah’s Witnesses not only believe but actually practice what Jesus taught. They are indeed a true international brotherhood in which genuine peace and unity exist. Yes, religion can be a force for peace—but not this world’s religions.
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