JWTruth.orgDocumented comparison resource
Search

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', and its 13 November 1929 issue (p. 107) advised readers to avoid vaccinations because they 'pollute the blood stream with their filthy pus'.

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', and its 13 November 1929 issue (p. 107) advised readers to avoid vaccinations because they 'pollute the blood stream with their filthy pus'. 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, “(dietetics article)”

13 November 1929 · pp.106-107 · Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society (Golden Age Publishing)

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

One of a list of health tips in a dietetics article; the OCR shows the 'NOVEMBER 13, 1929' running head before the sentence and 'GOLDEN AGE 107' after it.

Scan of original

Provenance and verification note

Confidence note. Scan OCR opened; wording and issue confirmed; page inferred from adjacent running-head/page tokens (106-107).

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

Notes. Commonly miscited as g 1929 5/1 p. 502 (e.g. jwfacts). Use the correct issue on the site.

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

Claim page

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.