in yourself, take up the psalmist’s prayer: “Set a watch, O LORD, before my mouth; keep the door of my lips.”—Ps. 141:3.

Taming the tongue is so vital because “death and life are in the power of the tongue”. Misused in inflammatory outbursts and it is full of deadly poison, but “a soothing tongue is a tree of life”. (Ps. 34:12-14; Prov. 15:4; 18:21, AT) With it one acknowledges God and confesses Christ and “makes public declaration for salvation”. So with such glorious service and life prospects in view, let us progress toward taming the tongue as we press on to maturity.—Rom. 10:10; 14:11; Phil. 2:11; Heb. 6:1, NW.

An Open Answer to “The Vindicator”

Dec. 26, 1950

The Vindicator,

3111 Grover St.,

Fort Worth 6, Tex.

Attention of E. C. Fuqua, Publisher.

Gentlemen:

Someone was alert enough to send us a copy of the November, 1950, issue of your paper, calling our attention to your editorial on page 8 with the heading “ANOTHER ‘NEW BIBLE’ COMING UP”. As we are the publishers for Jehovah’s witnesses against which your editorial has considerable to say we feel called upon to answer and set some things straight in your mind. Not expecting you to publish our answer in your columns, we are turning over a copy for publication in the official magazine of Jehovah’s witnesses, The Watchtower.

That we may confront you as well as Watchtower readers with what you published in derogation of these devoted Christians, we first copy here your initial paragraph:

“Jehovah’s Witnesses,” 70,000 strong, have just had a convention in New York, making a great noise. Their leader, Nathan H. Knorr, has promised them extremely interesting things for “the near future,” among which is the abolition of Hell as set forth in the Scriptures. This will ease many minds—those who had read enough of the New Testament to understand that there is such a place in store for the wicked. Now they may rest in complacence, seeing (?) that such a place, if it ever existed, is to be finally removed.

It was three months from the holding of the international convention of Jehovah’s witnesses in Yankee Stadium, New York, July 30 to August 6, to your November issue, and yet with all the time and opportunity you had to inform yourselves from all the publicity and convention releases setting forth the facts, you have the rashness to publish such a paragraph under such a heading. Certainly you destroy all confidence of informed people in the soundness of anything you publish by your statement, “Their leader, Nathan H. Knorr, has promised them extremely interesting things for ‘the near future,’ among which is the abolition of Hell as set forth in the Scriptures.”

First of all, Mr. Knorr is merely president of the Watch Tower Bible & Tract Society. He disclaims being the “leader” of Jehovah’s witnesses and points to Jesus Christ as our God-given Leader; and Jehovah’s witnesses acknowledge and follow, not Mr. Knorr, but Jesus Christ as Leader. That is why during the Nazi regime in Germany from 1933 to 1945 Jehovah’s witnesses in that land refused to heil Hitler! as their Fuehrer or Leader, and went to