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Doctrine changes · Claim record

In 2005 The Watchtower still listed employment connected with the promoting of tobacco products, along with gambling and the misuse of blood, as work that is in clear violation of Bible principles and should be avoided.

Claim ID claim-doctrine-tobacco-employment-still-in-force-2005Concerns 1 November 2005Explicit statement
Explicit statement · 1 November 2005 Verified

In 2005 The Watchtower still listed employment connected with the promoting of tobacco products, along with gambling and the misuse of blood, as work that is in clear violation of Bible principles and should be avoided. The Watchtower, 1 November 2005

Show the evidence (1 source)
Primary JW publication Verified

The Watchtower, “Questions From Readers”

1 November 2005 · p.31 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society

“However, certain forms of employment are in clear violation of Bible principles and should be avoided. These include employment connected with gambling, the misuse of blood, and the promoting of tobacco products.”

The question is whether a Christian may accept employment that involves being armed. The answer says armed work is a personal decision but lists three kinds of work that remain prohibited outright.

Official source

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Document opened on the Watchtower Online Library on 19 September 2026; the quoted sentences sit after the page 31 marker.

Notes. Evidence that the employment rule created in 1974 was still in force thirty-one years later. No later published relaxation was located.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-chg-p-w-2005-1101-qfr-armed-employment

Claim page

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