The Watchtower's Half-Century Crusade Against the Germ Theory

Jerry Bergman, Ph.D.

Introduction

One of the most bizarre Watchtower campaigns was against medicine in general and specifically the germ theory. The crusade against medicine was not primarily a phenomenon only during the Rutherford era but was the dominant Watchtower view from the late 1880s to the early 1950s. Hundreds of articles were published, primarily in the The Golden Age and its successor Consolation, which lambasted orthodox medicine and many of the basic conclusions of modern medical research. Typical Watchtower comments include "sickness abounds . . . and the M.D.'s and dentists have waxed rich at the expense of suffering humanity" (Newcomb 1929:106). Watchtower writer Shelton stated that

among the drugs, serums, vaccines, surgical operations, etc., of the medical profession, there is nothing of value save in an occasional surgical procedure. Their whole so-called 'science' grew out of Egyptian black magic and has not lost its demonological character. By their own admission, more deaths are caused by their practices every year in this country than from any other cause. We shall be in a sad plight when we place the welfare of the race in their hand. Readers of The Golden Age know the unpleasant truth about the clergy; they should also know the truth about the medical profession, which sprang from the same demon-worshiping shamans (doctor-priest) as did the 'doctors of divinity'. . . medicine originated in demonology and spent its time until the last century and a half trying to exorcise demons. During the past half century it has tried to exorcise germs. Its methods are the same in both efforts at exorcism, and instead of injuring the demon or the germ, the injury is often to the patient (1931: 727-728).

The Watchtower taught the function of germs was to serve as sanitary engineers to help keep the body clean. When disease occurs, the germs attack and break the tissue down into its various constituents. We thus blame the germs when they are only responding to the disease. The real problem is causing our body to become unhealthy by "constipation" and nerve pressure. In light of this "truth" the Watchtower criticizes the medical profession stating that this truth about constipation "is far too cumbersome for the twentieth-century experts of medical science, who, 'knowing better what is needful for us than the God who made us,' have devised costly nostrums to be injected directly into the blood stream by means of the syringe furnished with a hypodermic needle, which penetrates the tough skin provided by nature as a shield" (Parrett 1938: 12-13, paraphrase from Fitzgerald, 1938: 12-13)

The Watchtower once quoted Florence Nightingale who allegedly wrote that the disease doctrine "is the grand refuge of weak, uncultured, unstable minds such as now rule in the medical profession. There are no specific diseases; there are [only] specific disease conditions" (Parrett 1938: 13). Among the arguments the Watchtower uses is the conclusion that if only a small number in a town are taken ill with typhoid fever, how can we blame water-borne typhoid germs when everyone drinks from this "same polluted water" (Parrett 1938: 13). Of course, the answer is the defense system and health of persons varies as does their tolerance and immunity to typhoid bacteria.

Among the many "cures" the Watchtower advocated was the "milk diet" which recommended a whopping two quarts of milk a day because "milk is the greatest curative food known" (Holmes 1920:145). Frappy (1922: 564) cites the case of a man who was a nervous wreck and suffered from sleeping sickness, depressed spirits, memory failure and despondency to the extent that he contemplated suicide. Frappy adds "the services of skillful (sic) physicians and specialists were of no avail." The medicine that finally cured him was the milk diet which first required a two-day long complete fast except pure water. On the third day he was allowed to eat three oranges five hours apart and was given an enema for each of the three days.

The Watchtower describes this prelude as "house cleaning" to put his system into proper shape to welcome the milk. On the fourth day a small cup of milk was ingested each hour. The next day the same amount was ingested in three-quarter-hour intervals. The intervals were then changed to a half an hour and the quantity of milk ingested was gradually increased until seven imperial quarts a day was reached. After four weeks, he went back to his previous diet. The milk diet, the Watchtower claims, is good for not only despondency but also rheumatism, hardening of the arteries, high blood pressure, catarrh, kidney troubles, asthma and other diseases. If you are ailing, "no matter what the doctor says, try it [the milk diet]; but don't think simply to drink milk is the milk diet. Take it scientifically" (Frappy 1922: 565). How one could drink milk "scientifically" was never stated. Watchtower writer Coffey (1922: 659) concludes that milk is one of the few foods containing all of the essential elements necessary for health, and consequently "it will probably be used throughout the Golden Age."