Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, “Views From the Watch Tower — "Can the Ethiopian Change His Skin?"”
“We answer, No. But all will admit that what the Ethiopian cannot do for himself God could readily do for him. The difference between the races of men and the differences between their languages have long been arguments against the solidarity of the human family. The doctrine of restitution has also raised the question, How could all men be brought to perfection and which color of skin was the original? The answer is now provided. God can change the Ethiopian's skin in his own due time.”
The item appears in the magazine's unsigned news department "Views From the Watch Tower". It goes on to report a newspaper account by Prof. H. A. Edwards, superintendent of schools at Slater, Missouri, of a nine-year-old boy at New Frankfort, Missouri, said to have begun turning white in September 1901, together with a corroborating letter from a railway surgeon.
Numérisation de l’original (s’ouvre dans un nouvel onglet)
Note de provenance et de vérification for Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, Views From the Watch Tower — "Can the Ethiopian Change His Skin?"
Note sur la fiabilité. Read in the 1904 Reprints volume on the Internet Archive on 19 September 2026. The Reprints page carrying the item has the running head “(52-53) ZION’S WATCH TOWER Allegheny, Pa.” and closes with the marker [3320]; the department opens on the page carrying the masthead “Vol. XXV ALLEGHENY, PA., FEBRUARY 15, 1904 No. 4 VIEWS FROM THE [WATCH TOWER]”. This confirms the commonly cited pages 52-53.
Provenance de la numérisation. Internet Archive item “Magazines: Zion’s watch tower and herald of Christ’s presence, 1904”, the Watch Tower Reprints volume for 1904.
Notes. The magazine does not say that black skin is a defect to be cured in so many words; it treats the newspaper report as evidence that restitution to "the grand original standard" is physically possible. Critics' paraphrases sometimes drop the opening words "We answer, No".
Date de consultation. 19 septembre 2026 · Identifiant de la source. src-race-zwt-1904-0215-ethiopian-skin