by FlyingHighNow 36 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
I want to compile a list of ways the WTBTS has gone beyond scripture. Example:
Deciding that God will destroy you forever if you smoke cigarettes.
Thank you. I know someone will come back and say there have been 900 threads on this subject. There is always someone who will add something different to the mix though. Thank you for your help.
Heather
Gosh, there's so many.
But how about the whole idea that you need to devote a certain "quantity" of time to please God. ie: field service, five meetings a week, etc. Where's that written?
Onintwo
Gone beyond ? They're in them - well represented - in words like, "do not go after them" and " Beware of false prophets" etc.
As for the ways the wtbts misrepresents scripture - just look at blood fractions - where in the Bible does it say which parts of blood can or shouldn't be eaten - anyone who really thinks these things are for following could do with their head read.
There is a long list.
The caste system is a perfect example. Where in the Bible does it mention publishers or pioneers?
1. Blood Transfusions.
2. Certain sexual acts between a married, heterosexual couple.
3. Judicial Committee meetings.
4. Setting dates for Armegeddon.
Can't think of any more right now, but as I do I'll post.
Couldn't resist. Perhaps :
1) Shutting up the Kingdom: of the Heavens to mankind since 1935 by setting up an artificial date.
Mat. 23:13
2) Substituting themselves (GB) as the 'sole channel' between God and humankind instead of Jesus.
Gal.6:3, 1Tim 2:5
3) Guilty of Organizational Idolatry, substituting a billion dollar publishing corporation as ' the way, the truth and the life' instead of Jesus.
John 14:6, 2 Cor.11:15, 1 Cor.10:14,15
4) Cultivating dependence upon a myriad of books and magazines which elevates the opinions of men as divine revelations from God.
2 Tim. 3:16
5) False prophecy. Mat.24:11, Deut.18:20 need not get explicit do to the obvious.
6) Unscriptural 'Class' system imposed upon members. Acts 10:34
7) Substituting a pseudo 'Good News' in place of the 2,000 yr. old Gospel . 1 Cor.15:4, Gal.1:6-9, Col.1:5,6
8) Judging the millions of Christians in the world for having the false hope of putting faith in Jesus, wrongly believing they belong to him, and dare think of going to heaven, and oh no!, have not apostasized from their current belief system to be a JW James 4:12, Eph.4:4,
9) Ignoring Rev.22:18,19 (They have an exemption card)
10) To imply that Gods' Word and his Spirit are somehow impetent since 1914 and that Jesus set up an instrument for people to put faith in and obey for salvation in these last days.
11) Vilify ,label and shun anyone who realizes the above and exposes them for who they are.
Allen
Hi Heather:
1. Baptism vows, for one, changed in 1985 from "baptize in the name of the Father, Son, Holy Spirit" to "baptize in the name of the Father, Son, and God's Spirit-Directed Organization." (choke & gag!) That's the main one that sticks in my mind.
2. Where Paul said there is only one mediator between God and men, a man, Jesus Christ -- 1 Timothy 2:5 -- well, we know how WT 'went WAY beyond' that scripture by saying THEY are the mediator FOR US (between US and God). Ughhh, I don't THINK so! -- See also John 14:6 where Jesus said, "I AM THE WAY AND THE TRUTH AND THE LIFE, no one comes to the Father BUT THROUGH ME."
3. These next topics may not qualify as 'going beyond what is written,' but more like 'leaving OUT what is clearly written' ;-) : ie, the WT teaching us in an 'allegorical' way rather than teaching scripture literally. I have since heard that 300-400 years after Jesus, when he had not yet come back in his kingdom literally (which they believed he WOULD), that the 'church' back then got all confused and didn't know how to deal with that fact, so they decided Jesus must have meant everything he said would never happen literally, but 'spiritually,' so they quit taking scripture literally; and it seems WT bought into that line of thought. For example:
(a) The WT saying the nation of Israel was forever abandoned by God and that everything to do with the rebirth of Jerusalem/Israel is "spiritual Israel" rather than what is really is: The Real, Literal Flesh and Blood Israel over there in the Middle East! The WT completely took us down the wrong road in that respect, directiing our attention completely AWAY from what has been happening over there; telling us all the scriptures to do with Israel meant the 'JW anointed' in a 'spiritual sense' and not literal Israel in a fleshly sense. That may sound confusing, but, imho, it's really a HUGE deal and is quite simple when we remove the 'fog' of WT's convulted reasoning, ie, when God said he would bring the Jews back to their homeland and recreate that nation in 'one day', he meant it literally and he made sure it happened, back in 1948, when the 'new nation (of Israel)' was 'rebirthed' (Isaiah 66:7-9; Zechariah 3:9; Romans 11:1; Genesis 17:7-8; Ezekiel 20:40-44; Ezekiel 36:21-22; Amos 9:15; Romans 11:26. For add'l info, check out: "Modern Miracle of Israel's Rebirth," http://www.cuttingedge.org/ce1054.html )
(b) The WT teaching that the 144,000 applies in a 'spiritual' rather than a 'literal' sense, and is their JW- 'anointed few' rather than literal fleshly Jews like the scripture says! - Revelation 7:2-8
(c) For the WT to think they are sooooo 'privileged' with prophetic knowledge, why are they not teaching JWs about the 7-year literal tribulation? - Daniel 9:27, 11:31, and 12:11
(d) And there were sooooo many scriptures they applied to themselves 'spiritually' which were not accurate at all, such as: the two witnesses prophesying for 42 months, being killed for 3 days and coming back to life -- Rev. 11:1-14 (baloney, the real application of the 'two witnesses' hasn't even occurred yet); and the WT saying they are the 'burdensome stone' which all the nations are against: baloney again -- Zechariah 12:3 -- as that applies to the REAL Jerusalem, not the WT; and etc. etc. ad nauseum. You get my drift... ALL those scriptures about Israel/Jerusalem that we spent hours hearing/reading WT mags re: the 'spiritual' application of... well, they were ALL WRONG. We were sooo duped along these lines, that world news about the Middle East didn't even phase me as a JW, yet everything that is happening there today LITERALLY is in scriptural fulfillment of all these Bible prophecies.
4. Finally, and this one really bugs me... :-) heehee... The WT always taught us there would NOT be a literal, individual ANTICHRIST (which, actually, never made sense in view of 2 Thessalonians 2:4 which says he will set himself up as "THE" God, NWT). But WT reasoned that since John had said there were 'many antichrists' (plural) among them way back then -- I John 2:18 -- that 'antichrists' referred to ongoing widespread apostacy, rather than one man. That is true there were/are many 'antichrists', but there are other scriptures than speak of the One, Real, Individual, Singular Man, Antichrist, that is coming at the end of the days, and since the WT had us so convinced there was NO SUCH SINGULAR PERSON to be on the lookout for, that if we had stayed with WT, we would/could have been completely caught offguard when he DOES arrive on the scene. As a matter of fact, it wouldn't surprise me the least little bit if the WT, since it so thoroughly misleads its members on this particular subject, that when Antichrist DOES appear, they will think HE is Jesus and WT will convince JWs to follow HIM! --
In various translations The Antichrist is referred to as the Man of Lawlessness, the Son of Perdition, the Son of Destruction, the Dog of Satan, the Son of Doom, the Man of Sin, etc. (sounds like ONE MAN to me). Some speculate he may be a homosexual due to the scripture at Daniel 11:37. He was also explicitly described by Daniel AND Paul. They describe how he will use craftiness/deceit/intrigue/dark sentences/etc. to destroy many when the people are 'taking it easy,' they are 'at peace,' he will 'catch them off-guard' and 'without warning' he will 'destroy many.' -- 2 Thessalonians 2:2-13; Daniel 7:25 (the 11th horn); 8:20-27; Dan 11:21-45; Revelation 13; 1 John 2:22; etc.
That's my soapbox for now. I was just reading again about this stuff earlier today, so that's why it was right on the top of my mind.
HTH!
Grits
Clothing dogma.
I remember walking door to door in -40c in a skirt, with track pants, leggings and a long to the floor coat on. You couldn?t even see the skirt but you had to wear it no matter what. Talk about cold!
No beards, who thought that up. Interestingly a brother from Europe came to visit my family and he showed me some pictures from Europe. This brother wore a beard. It?s acceptable there! But here, no he had to shave it off to be accepted.
Not be able to go bare legged for a sister! Not all congregations had this ?rule? but even in the hot summers you had to wear panty hose or else. (Song of doom heard in the back ground).
Brothers must wear a suit jacket, long sleeved shirts and tie, no matter what. I have been in non air conditioned halls where the inside temperature reached well above a hundred, no breeze and high humidity. Suit jackets and all the rest. The men looked like morons. Take off your jacket in such a case. Are we not supposed to be ?reasonable?? No it?s better to pass out on the platform from heat stroke.
Need the list go on. It appears that outward appearance means more then common sense or shifts in society perception on attire. It?s a wonder we are not all still wearing long dresses and top hats.
Jahna
No beards
Suit and ties
regional building comittees and international construction work
regular and auxiliary pioneers
acceptable 4 door "service" cars
Reporting of field service activity
Books, magazines, tracts, brochures
kingdom halls
Oneintwo, that grueling schedule is what finally did me in. I had a lot going on including extreme health issues at the time. Because we couldn't keep the schedule as a family, we were dropped like hot potatoes.
APaduan, "just look at blood fractions': yes, who told them you can't eat whole blood but you can have this fraction or that one? Which fraction is the life of the animal or person in? They know??? Life and death matter literally.
Oxnard, caste system, I never thought of it that way. I'll add, that irregular meeting attendance is sliding the slippery slope into the untouchables.
A_Big_Dawg, I appreciate your list and hope you will come back with more. 2. on your list: the Bible doesn't say anywhere that oral sex or anal sex is wrong even between people who are single or of the same sex . Has anyone noticed that?
WokeUp, it really is a psuedo good news. And your number 11. How much pain has that one caused us?
Grits, thank you sharing what you've been reading. Very interesting points and thoughts. 2) I remember envying the churches because they could just keep things between them and God through Jesus and wishing they were right.
Dahna, I'm just shaking my head thinking how behind they times they are in clothing and grooming. Even the Catholic Church doesn't insist that women wear dresses and men suits and clean shaven faces anymore.
iiz2cool, reporting field service activity, do you think the biggest reason they do this is to intimidate JWs?
Thank you all for getting this list off to a wonderful start. I am getting this list together in case family members who are still in ask me about this subject. Hey, this is still eye opening for me as well: an unexpected bonus.
Please keep adding to it everyone. Again, thank you all.
Heather
