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Doctrine changes · Claim record

The Golden Age of 1 May 1929 (p. 502) published a reprinted article declaring that “the practice of vaccination is a crime, an outrage and a delusion”. Its issue of 13 November 1929 carried a signed contribution by H. W. Newcomb, on page 107, telling readers to “avoid serum inoculations and vaccinations, as they pollute the blood stream with their filthy pus”. Both are contributors’ pieces in a general-interest magazine rather than statements of the organisation’s doctrine.

Claim ID claim-doctrine-vaccination-1929-crime-delusionConcerns 1 May 1929Explicit statement
Explicit statement · 1 May 1929 Verified

The Golden Age of 1 May 1929 (p. 502) published a reprinted article declaring that “the practice of vaccination is a crime, an outrage and a delusion”. Its issue of 13 November 1929 carried a signed contribution by H. W. Newcomb, on page 107, telling readers to “avoid serum inoculations and vaccinations, as they pollute the blood stream with their filthy pus”. Both are contributors’ pieces in a general-interest magazine rather than statements of the organisation’s doctrine. The Golden Age, 1 May 1929The Golden Age, 13 November 1929

The organisation’s position or later explanation: jw.org's FAQ on vaccination does not mention this material; it states the organisation is 'not opposed to vaccination' and cites publications from 1965 onward.

Show the evidence (2 sources)
Primary JW publication Verified

The Golden Age, “Vaccination (by Dr. H. R. Rickards, reprinted from The Quest)”

1 May 1929 · pp.502-503 · H. R. Rickards (reprint) · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society (Golden Age Publishing)

“Thinking people would rather have smallpox than vaccination, because the latter sows the seed of syphilis, cancers, eczema, erysipelas, scrofula, consumption, even leprosy and many other loathsome affections. Hence the practice of vaccination is a crime, an outrage and a delusion.”

A reprinted anti-vaccination article appearing in the 1 May 1929 issue (issue contents list 'VACCINATION'); the page-502 marker precedes it and the 'May 1, 1929' running head follows within the article.

Scan of original

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Scan OCR opened; wording, issue date and page position confirmed from page markers in the OCR.

Scan provenance. Internet Archive item 'golden-age-1929' (bound volume of The Golden Age 1929; uploader-contributed scan; OCR text file 'Golden Age 1929_djvu.txt' downloaded and searched).

Notes. This is what actually appears at g 1929 5/1 p. 502. The 'filthy pus' sentence widely attributed to this page is in the 13 Nov 1929 issue (see the 13 November 1929 record).

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-g-1929-0501-vaccination-crime

Primary JW publication Verified

The Golden Age, “Health”

13 November 1929 · pp.106-107 (the sentence on p. 107) · H. W. Newcomb · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society (Golden Age Publishing)

“Avoid serum inoculations and vaccinations, as they pollute the blood stream with their filthy pus.”

A signed contribution by H. W. Newcomb, beginning on page 106 and listed in the issue contents under “Science and Invention”. The Golden Age was a general-interest magazine that carried signed articles by outside contributors alongside its own editorial matter, so this sentence is the contributor’s, not a statement of the organisation’s position. Four lines above it in the same contents list is an item advising readers to avoid aluminium cooking utensils.

Scan of original

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Scan opened; the sentence is on printed page 107, whose own running head reads "NOVEMBER 13, 1929 - THE GOLDEN AGE - 107". The by-line was confirmed from the article heading on page 106 and the issue contents list.

Scan provenance. Internet Archive item 'golden-age-1929' (OCR text searched).

Notes. Two common miscitations: the sentence is often given as The Golden Age of 1 May 1929 p. 502, which is the wrong issue; and it is usually quoted without "and vaccinations", which is in the printed text. It is also commonly presented as the magazine's own voice when it carries a by-line.

Accessed. 19 September 2026 · Source ID. src-g-1929-1113-vaccination-filthy-pus

Claim page Correct or update

A direct link to this claim is https://jwtruth.org/evidence/claim-doctrine-vaccination-1929-crime-delusion/. Every source above opens the original document or the best available copy. If you believe the wording, date or context is wrong, report an error.