Pattern for Brotherhood

IT WAS a beautiful, warm night in the spring of 33 C.E. A small group of men gathered in Jerusalem around a table set for a meal. Their leader was Jesus Christ, a man of 33 years, kindly, purposeful and dignified. He was giving his followers vital instructions, for this group was the first nucleus of a real brotherhood of mankind.

The spirit of the group was warm and loving. Although Jesus knew that his death was near, he was not concerned about himself. Instead, he calmly and lovingly took advantage of this last evening meal with his disciples to encourage and instruct them.-Please Read (John chaps. 13to17)

Humility and Service

Jesus often taught by actions as well as by words. On this occasion he astounded his disciples by suddenly taking a basin of water and a towel and washing the feet of each one!

However, Peter objected, saying: “You will certainly never wash my feet.” But Jesus corrected him, washed the feet of the faithful apostles, and then explained: “I set the pattern for you.” —John 13:8, 15.

Yes, Jesus was setting the pattern of true brotherhood: a humble, loving spirit, and a willingness to serve without partiality, no matter how menial or unpleasant the task might be.—Please Read (John 13:1-17).

Love and Unity

What was Jesus’ main theme in his discussion with his disciples that night? It was love, genuine brotherly love, the mark of the real brotherhood of man. As Jesus said: “By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love among yourselves.” (John 13:35) That is the decisive test of true religion.

Do the Churches of Christendom pass that test? Do the other religions of this world? No, not at all. How can they when they encourage their members to kill one another in “Caesar’s” nationalistic wars?

True love creates unity, both in families and in communities. So, logically, unity was another theme Jesus used that memorable night. He prayed that his disciples might “be one.” Please Read (John 17:11, 20, 21) Later, the apostle Paul similarly wrote: “Clothe yourselves with love, for it is a perfect bond of union.” (Col. 3:14) Yes, a true brotherhood must be united.

On this score, how wretched Christendom’s condition is! Why, there are at least 4,000 Churches and sects in South Africa alone, which claim to be very religious! The mere fact that Christendom is not a brotherhood, but, instead, is shockingly divided, is proof that it is not Christian. That is why all who claim to be Christian should think very seriously about Jesus’ warning: “A house divided against itself falls.”—Luke 11:17.

Who Controls the Brotherhood?

However, you may say: ‘All this talk about humility, love and unity sounds fine. But who is to control such a brotherhood?’ That is a valid question.

Since a brotherhood, including of course sisters, is a “family,” there must be a “father” able to exercise complete control and win the loving respect of his “children.” But who? A Caesar? A Hitler? A Stalin? A pope? The results of control by such human “fathers” speak for themselves. As the Bible points out: “It does not belong to man . . . to direct his step.”  —Jer. 10:23.

Hence, the “Father” of a true brotherhood must be a heavenly one—Almighty God. Recognizing and being subject to this Father is absolutely essential to becoming a true brother or sister.

There is nothing illogical about this. Although God is invisible, so are many powerful forces such as gravity or electricity that produce visible results. All the beautiful and amazingly complex things around us, from galaxies to atoms, all the delicate, intricate parts of our bodies, such as the eyes with which you are reading these words, declare the existence of a Maker with infinite power and wisdom.—Please Read - (Ps. 19:1, 2; 139:14).

Amplifying the voice of creation a thousandfold is the voice of the Bible. Its inspired prophecies have come true, or are in course of fulfillment now. It has a magnificent message of real hope for today, as it reveals the heavenly Father’s purpose and goodness.

Since man can guide a craft a thousand million miles out in space, surely it is a simple matter for God Almighty to guide his servants on earth. And he has powerful invisible forces at his command—such as his active force, or holy spirit—compared to which man’s puny strength is nothing.

Failing to recognize and be humbly subject to the Father, whose name is Jehovah, is the main reason why so many attempts at forming a true brotherhood have failed. In much of Christendom as in other religions, paternal honor, in a spiritual sense, has been diverted from God to men.

To come to know and really love and be loved by both Father and Son is the way to become a “brother” or “sister,” and is also the way to everlasting life. As Jesus said to his brothers that historic night: “This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ.”—John 17:3.

Earth’s New Ruler

Some might ask: ‘Did Jesus actually refer to his humble disciples as “brothers”?’ Yes. One day, when Jesus was speaking to a group, someone told him that his mother and fleshly brothers wanted to see him. He replied: “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers? Extending his hand toward his disciples, he said: “Look! My mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.”—Matt. 12:46-50.

So Christ is the “head brother,” as it were, in the universal brotherhood, He is the one through whom God ransoms mankind from slavery to sin and death.—Please Read (Matt. 20:28).

However, Jesus’ vital role now is far greater than when he was on earth. He is now earth’s new ruler! No, not the ruler of this decaying old world, which is actually ruled by Satan the Devil, for Jesus declared: “My kingdom is no part of this world. If my kingdom were part of this world, my attendants would have fought that I should not be delivered up to the Jews. But, as it is, my kingdom is not from this source.”—John 18:36; Luke 4:5-8.

God’s Government

The Kingdom is the government of God for which Jesus taught his followers to pray when he said: “Let your kingdom come. Let your will take place, as in heaven, also upon earth.” (Matt. 6:10) It is the main theme of the whole Bible, and Christ’s principal teaching.

Despite these facts, the Kingdom government is rarely mentioned by church leaders. Historian H. G. Wells called attention to this, writing: “Remarkable is the enormous prominence given by Jesus to the teaching of what he called the Kingdom of Heaven, and its comparative insignificance in the procedure and teaching of most of the Christian churches.”

God’s heavenly government, with Christ as ruler, will shortly cleanse the earth of all corruption and evil, putting an end to all present governments of men. The prophet Daniel foretold this, saying: “The God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be brought to ruin. . . . It will crush and put an end to all these kingdoms [of this world], and it itself will stand to times indefinite.”—Dan. 2:44.

That takes place at “the end of the world,” when “the war of the great day of God the Almighty”—Armageddon—is fought. (Isa. 34:2; Rev. 16:14-16) But will all mankind be destroyed? No, for the inspired psalmist answers: “Evildoers themselves will be cut off, but those hoping in Jehovah are the ones that will possess the earth. . . . the meek ones themselves will possess the earth, and they will indeed find their exquisite delight in the abundance of peace.”—Ps. 37:9-11.

Who are these “meek ones” who are “hoping in Jehovah”? They make up the true brotherhood of mankind who will survive Armageddon and enjoy paradise when it is reestablished on this earth under God’s government, when His will shall be done on earth as it is in heaven.—Please read-(Rev. 7:9-17).

Is this not a glorious prospect? What a privilege it will be to live under a world ruler like Christ—so kind and humble, so just and merciful, so understanding of mankind, since he knows us so well! And how different he will be from the Machiavellian school of politicians ruling today! How pleasant to live and serve with a worldwide family of brothers and sisters and to enjoy “exquisite delight in the abundance of peace”!

However, perhaps you are thinking: ‘But does such a true brotherhood really exist today? Does it really work? If so, who constitute it? Where can I find them?’

What Obstructs Universal Brotherhood?

IN 1469 C.E. a man named Niccolò Machiavelli was born in Florence, Italy. He wrote a book on politics entitled “The Prince,” using as a model Cesare Borgia, son of Pope Alexander VI. Borgia, according to one historian, was “an artist in ‘power politics,’ using without scruple and remorse such measure of force or fraud as may enable him to extend and secure his conquests.”

The Encyclopædia Britannica says that Machiavelli “founded the science of politics for the modern world.” “Machiavellianism” is now a word meaning the political principle “that any means however lawless or unscrupulous” may be used by a ruler to maintain his power.

Such politics has plagued humanity for the last past 200 years since the days of Napoleon. Wars, coups, corruption, horrible violence and terrorism are all manifestations of it. Politics divides the East from the West. It divides nations, cities (such as Berlin) and even families. Politics is one of the most divisive influences of mankind.

Closely related to such politics and often exploited by political leaders is the spirit of . . .

Nationalism

On this subject an amusing story is told about an army chaplain in Scotland who, at a new military camp, asked for volunteers to convert an old barn into a chapel. In the absence of the chaplain the volunteers painted in large letters above the altar: “Scotland forever and ever.” The surprised chaplain asked them to make the sign a bit more religious. They did. The inscription then read: “Scotland forever and ever. AMEN.”

Scotsmen are known for being very proud of their country. But they are not alone in this. For example, English children, especially in the days when the British Empire was dominant in the world, were fed nationalistic fervor from earliest childhood. They were taught to believe that ‘Britannia Rules the Waves,’ and that the English are a superior nation, blessed by God.

In every nation similar feelings are promoted by politicians who know that a strong nationalistic spirit serves their purposes well. But their purpose may not be in the best interest of people. In an article entitled “Nationalism Is Alien to True Patriotism,” columnist Sydney J. Harris observed: “Nationalism means ‘going along’ with a Hitler or a Stalin or any other tyrant who waves the flag, mouths obscene devotion to the Fatherland, and meanwhile tramples the rights of people.”

Too, as the story of the chapel in Scotland shows, nationalism and religion often go together. Wrote Dr. Robert L. Kahn, a rabbi: “Religion and Nationalism always tend to go hand in hand. In times of war, particularly, . . . ‘For God and Country’ becomes a sort of battle cry. This has always been so. [In World War II] one of the popular songs was the war-whoop of a chaplain, ‘Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition.”’

A nationalistic spirit has even seriously affected sports. For example, at a European soccer championship match between the teams of England and Belgium held in Turin, Italy, play was held up for several minutes while English fans fought a battle with Italian riot police, resulting in many persons being hurt.

Racism

On many farms in South Africa the white children of the farmer and the black children of the laborers spend some of their early childhood playing together in a peaceful, almost brotherly way. Race prejudice is not a feeling people are born with. However, as they grow up they absorb the attitudes of their respective races. So, in most cases, that early, charming innocence disappears. Feelings such as animosity, pride, resentment and frustration take over.

However, racism is not confined to Africa. Many people in the United States are ashamed of the treatment given to the Indian tribes in their country. Also, the way blacks were treated in the days of slavery, and the ghastly conditions in which they were transported across the Atlantic and sold like cattle in the Americas, are well known. Ugly race riots still break out in the U.S. In England, too, racial tension is rising as immigrants from the West Indies, India and other places flood certain areas.

Those who suffer because of racism in Africa or elsewhere can be glad that they were not Jews living in Germany under the Nazi regime. Looking back, it seems incredible that in a country of Christendom, under a leader (Hitler) who was a Roman Catholic, millions of Jews, people of Slavic origin and others were massacred because of their nationality.

The fact that such atrocities were committed by people forming a part of Christendom raises doubts as to whether that system of religion is genuine. Is it, instead, a colossal fraud? Let us carefully consider the effects that the religions of this world have upon true brotherhood.

Has Religion Affected Brotherhood?

ALTHOUGH there is a general loss of confidence in religion today, yet many people believe that religion instills love and brotherhood. Of course, on the individual level there have always been noble lives lived by all types of religious people. But what do the facts reveal about this world’s religions in general? What, for example, is religion’s record in relation to war—the very opposite of love and brotherhood?

It is a very shocking one. The record of suffering, cruelty and bloodshed caused or blessed by false religion is frightful. Speaking of “holy wars,” the book Age of Faith says: “None have been bloodier than the Christian Crusades of the Middle Ages. . . . The Crusaders . . . raped and plundered fellow Christians and committed incredible atrocities on their Moslem foes.”

In 1208 C.E., Pope Innocent III organized a special crusade against a religious sect called the Waldenses, followers of Peter Waldo, a French merchant. Waldo had denounced the luxury of the clergy. According to historian H. G. Wells, the pope’s crusade sanctified “the enlistment of every wandering scoundrel . . . to carry fire and sword and rape and every conceivable outrage among the most peaceful subjects of the King of France. The accounts of the cruelties and abominations of this crusade are far more terrible to read than any account of Christian martyrdoms by the pagans.”

One of the results of the crusade was the formation of the “Holy Inquisition” under the Dominican Friars (Brothers). The comment of H. G. Wells on this is: “Now in a hundred market-places in Europe the dignitaries of the church watched the blackened bodies of its antagonists . . . burn and sink painfully, and their own great mission to mankind burn and sink with them into dust and ashes.”

Such inhuman conduct and other abuses led to the Reformation in the early 16th century. But before long, the Protestants became deeply involved in politics just as the Roman Church had been for centuries. Then, in 1618, the Thirty Years’ War broke out between Protestants and Catholics in Germany. Soon it involved most of Christendom. It was “a war waged with a ferocity to which history offers few parallels. . . . moral restraints broke down and ceded to wild bursts of profligacy.”—A History of Europe, by H. Fisher.

These are but a few brief accounts of the many wars caused or supported by religion in the past. But what about today?

Religion’s Modern Record

 

Bitter animosity between Catholics and Protestants has plagued Ireland for centuries. The violence in Northern Ireland in recent years has caused great misery and loss of life on both sides. The churches have a direct responsibility for much of the suffering because of their involvement with nationalism and politics.

To this day, also, the Middle East remains a center of religion-based strife. For many years, “Christian” and anti-“Christian” forces have been slaughtering one another in Lebanon, and there appears to be no letup in the bloodshed. It was the same story in India, when the British pulled out in 1947 and the various non-Christian factions in that country set upon one another in ghastly massacres.

The facts about these and other conflicts in which religion plays a major role are common knowledge. Not only are the great world religions involved, however. So are the minor cults. One in particular sent a shock wave of horror around the world in 1978. This was when some 900 disciples of a certain “Reverend” Jones committed mass suicide in Guyana at their leader’s instigation.

But that was a minor tragedy compared to what took place in World Wars I and II. During those conflicts, millions of Christendom’s members, along with Jews, Buddhists, Hindus and others, inflicted appalling loss of life and misery on one another. Yet the clergy on both sides of the conflict prayed for God’s blessing.

The failure of this world’s religions to act as a force for promoting true brotherhood stems from this basic error: getting people to follow human leaders and their ideas instead of doing what God says in his Word, the Bible.—Please Read (John 12:43) .

Hence, such worldly religions cannot be true religion. As an inspired Bible writer clearly said: “Pure, unspoilt religion, in the eyes of God our Father is this: coming to the help of orphans and widows when they need it, and keeping oneself uncontaminated by the world.” (Jas. 1:27, The Jerusalem Bible) Those words breathe the spirit of love and brotherhood. But on the other hand, think of the millions who have been made widows and orphans due to the violence and persecution caused by impure, false religion! And it is because such religion is ‘contaminated by the world.’

How clear it is, then, that we can never hope to see a true, universal brotherhood established by false religion, of which the churches of Christendom are the dominant part. They have had centuries of power and opportunity to do so. Instead, the result is a world agonizing in crime, terrorism and wars, a world deeply divided by politics, nationalism, racism and thousands of religious sects.

Is there no hope, then? Is the situation so bad that the brotherhood of man will remain just a dream? Many people would probably agree with these plaintive words of a popular song entitled “Why?”: “Someone’s lost the plan For the brotherhood of man And no one’s trying to find it anymore.”

But take courage! The “plan for the brotherhood of man” has certainly not been lost. In fact, the nucleus of the brotherhood of mankind is already being formed!

Brotherhood of Man - Just a Dream?

IT HAPPENED during the last few days of December of that momentous year 1914. The initial savage onslaughts of the first world war had spent themselves, costing—in only five months—about three and a half million casualties.

On the night of December 24, at the front near Ypres, Belgium, a British platoon was ordered to erect posts and wire 40 yards (37 m) from the German trenches. To the amazement of the British, not a shot was fired from the German line. The next day, hundreds of men on both sides climbed out of their trenches and fraternized in no-man’s-land, exchanging greetings and souvenirs.

What had happened? Here, as elsewhere along the front, the festive season had turned the minds of the war-weary men to a deep-felt desire for peace and friendship.

But it was not to be. The nations fought out World War I to its bitter end, with a cost of millions of lives and incalculable misery. That fleeting glimpse of brotherhood was just a dream. And the dream was further shattered by World War II. Today, instead of a dream, hostile forces and weapons of mass annihilation cause a horrible nightmare.

Efforts at Forming Brotherhoods

The history of man has been a long, sad sequence of bloodshed and violence. Yet many people have hoped for a brotherhood of mankind. For example, the French Revolution of 1789 stirred the people of France with the slogan “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité” (“Freedom, Equality, Brotherhood”). But a few years later, France’s Napoleon Bonaparte bathed Europe in blood.

Down through history, fraternities (brotherhoods) and sororities (sisterhoods) of many types have flourished. But they have lacked the characteristics of a true universal brotherhood. For example, Freemasonry, a well-known international brotherhood, is secretive and open only to men.

Obviously, all such efforts have never achieved a brotherhood of mankind. But consider for a moment: what if this idea could be transformed from just a dream into a practical reality? What a difference it would make! A real international brotherhood would put an end to frontiers, political and religious rivalries, hatred between nations and races. Wars, terrorism and all the factors causing the frightfully dangerous conditions in the world today would be eliminated.

Would you like to see that? Of course. But you may say: ‘That could never be. History shows that the idea of all people being brothers is no more than a dream.’ And from the viewpoint of man’s past and present record, you would be right.

A Higher View

However, there is another viewpoint to be considered, one that makes all the difference. To illustrate: If you were lost in a dense jungle and could find no way out, your life would be in danger. However, someone in an airplane overhead might clearly see the way out and, with radio contact, guide you. That elevated view could mean the difference between life and death.

Today many people see no way out of this world’s growing problems. Therefore it is urgent, indeed a life or death matter, to consider the situation from an elevated viewpoint—from the viewpoint of the Almighty God. Concerning him, an inspired prophet wrote: “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For with rejoicing you people will go forth, and with peace you will be brought in.”—Isa. 55:9, 12.

However, before discussing the Creator’s lofty view of the formation of true brotherhood, we can ask: What has made it impossible from man’s viewpoint?