The anti-aluminum view was NEVER a “doctrine” of the Bible Students. In fact, it was never consideredanything more than a personal health issue which could be accepted or rejected by the individual.
Further, it is extremely hypocritical for anyone to criticize the Witnesses for publishing information against aluminum cooking utensils in the early 1900's!
Any criticism of the Bible Students' view is lyingly deceptive because this view was not unique to JWs. Rather IT WAS THE VIEW OF A GOOD PERCENTAGE OF COMPETENT MEDICAL AUTHORITIES including some very prominent and educated scientists, doctors, AND CLERGY of all persuasions!!
What critics fail to tell others is that the vast majority of such health related articles printed in the Golden Age were submitted by individuals who were NOT Bible Students. In fact, the majority were doctors and medical professors and at least one was an atheist.
So it is egregiously hypocritical and dishonest to criticize the Witnesses when many Protestant and Catholic clergy likewise denounced aluminum cooking pots.
These clergymen even claimed that sickness was sent by God, and so using cures to avoid it was "fighting against God" and "demonic." Other churches were even preaching against anesthesia during childbirth, teaching that it "was of the devil"!
Are there any Catholics, Protestants, or Atheists who accept the argument that because their members promoted such ignorant “health” ideas it is a valid reason to condemn their current beliefs?!! If not, then there is no justification for them to use the same argument against the Witnesses!
Criticizing the Golden Age magazine, medical doctors, and clergymen for their past view of aluminum is like criticizing the reputable scientists in the past who taught that space travel was impossible. That is, we can improperly use our *current* knowledge to show where their knowledge and reasoning was faulty. But this is a Logical Fallacy of Anachronism because, in both cases, the evidence they had available AT THE TIME supported their conclusions.
Now, critics would like us to believe that these anti-aluminum quotes were the view of a “fringe element” of loony doctors and clergy. But, this was not the case in the early 1900s! These were the views of some of the most eminent and respected doctors, scientists and clergymen. So again, any criticism of the Golden Age is hypocritical and promotes ignorance of the situation.
So, putting the comments of The Golden Age in their proper historical perspective can help one to see how prejudicial, dishonest and hypocritical some of our critics can be in their criticism of Jehovah's Witnesses!
This information is not hard to find so it is inexcusable to be so lax in research that someone continues to present such dishonest and biased criticism of the Watchtower Society on this matter. We can only assume that those who pass on such false statements are either ignorant or they are purposely deceptive!
The evidence is clear proof that the criticisms of the WTS on this are fallacious. So will opposers correct themselves, or will they willfully continue to pass on false information?!!
Those who use such Anachronistic and Distractive Fallacies only demonstrate that they have no real evidence to disprove the accuracy of Jehovah's Witnesses CURRENT beliefs. Such critics can only depend on their audience to be gullible or prejudiced enough to just blindly agree.
Witnesses don't pay much attention to past beliefs from 50 to a hundred years ago because it just doesn't matter nor does it disprove what we believe now. Having to correct misinterpretations is not proof that a religion is not God's organization, or that an individual is not a Christian. But, a failure to correct false doctrine when presented with solid evidence would be!
Source: This is an answer given by Bar_Anerges to a question from Yahoo! Answers.
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