How will these Christians be known?

by ozziepost 4 Replies latest jw friends

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  ozziepost

  Claiming that its adherents are the true Christian followers of Jesus, The Watchtower of November 1, 2001 illutrates how "Christians today make good use of Jehovah's long-suffering".(p12)

  Three pictures are shown:
  1. Cheery well-dressed older man volunteering a comment at a Kingdom Hall meeting.

  2. Mother and father leading a family (Bible) study with their three sons.

  3. Young woman and female companion at the door of a stranger offering the "Purpose" brochure.

  And there you have it. Nothing about the "feeding of widows and orphans in their tribulation" (James 1:27), nor of the compassion to strangers exhorted by Jesus in the Parable of the Good Samaritan.

  Come to think of it, can you recall ever being encouraged to do those things as a JW? True Christians?

  Ironically, these illustrations and caption are used to illustrate the article "Jehovah Is A God of Long-Suffering".

  As a postscript, notice that again we have unrealistic illustrations, where idealistic scenes are shown; mum and dad with three sons, how representative is that? One man I knew stopped his studies with me and stopped attending the Kingdom Hall because he felt that he could never measure up. He heard the comments at the meetings and saw the illustrations and realised that his family was not like that, and so he felt inadequate and inferior. He gave up. Such is the effect of this Westernised idealised perfect ("true Christian") portrayal of serving God.

  Cheers,
  Ozzie

  "It's better to light a candle than to curse the darkness."
  Anonymous
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  Fredhall

  Ozziepost,

  Just standing there and doing nothing doesn't make you a better person either.
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  ozziepost

  Sir Fred,

  I can always tell when someone has made a telling point: I see you respond with a "cheap shot"! And you haven't let me down. How we'd miss your input!

  OK, I'll answer you.

  "Stand there": I don't

  "doing nothing": those who know me know that ain't so. BTW care to come to a bbq tomorrow? You might learn something!

  Cheers,
  Ozzie

  "It's better to light a candle than to curse the darkness."
  Anonymous
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  Gopher

  Jesus said (Matthew 11:28-30) that people would be drawn to him because they are loaded down, but his load was light and refreshing.

  How different are the experiences of some who try to measure up to the Pharisaical rules and expectations of the WT Society. As in your example,

  One man I knew stopped his studies with me and stopped attending the Kingdom Hall because he felt that he could never measure up. He heard the comments at the meetings and saw the illustrations and realised that his family was not like that, and so he felt inadequate and inferior. He gave up.

  It's probably a wise choice on his part not to try to join a group where he'd be burdened with those expectations!

  Speaking of doing nothing, Freddie it's Saturday morning... Isn't it time to be out in your Field Ministry? Hurry up before they get to the donut shop!

  GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
  Mark Twain (1835-1910)
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  ozziepost

  It's probably a wise choice on his part not to try to join a group where he'd be burdened with those expectations!

  A cautionery tale! The reality is that this man would find, if he "came into the Truth", that his life would be a constant struggle to comply with the standards. If he failed, he would always feel inadequate. How would he feel when he was excluded in little ways, like missing out on 'privileges'? We know how Jesus felt about the Pharisees loadsing down the 'flock' with burdensome rules. No different to today in the WTS.

  Cheers,
  Ozzie

  "It's better to light a candle than to curse the darkness."
  Anonymous