From House to House, From Door to Door....

by individuals wife 26 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Thirdson

  Sean

  To quote Arg again,
  

  The negative figures in the U.S. can be looked at positively. As the last remaining sheep are gathered, the work would slow down. This is another sign that Jehovah's Day is near.

  The other sign that the day is near is Jehovah "speeding it up". Which ever way you hold the graph up it is fufilling Bible prophecy.

  If it has taken a US based religion more than a 100 years to shake out a million righteous ones out of 280 million Americans how long will it be to get the "good" ones out of China? Until China is thoroughly covered down to every last "not-at-home" the work will have to go on.

  As for effectivness, less than 300,000 get baptized each year out a billion hours spent knocking doors, standing on street corners and informally talking to relatives. Do the math. How many years does the average Joe Witness have to put in to get one convert?

  Thirdson

  'To avoid criticism, say nothing, do nothing, be nothing'
• 

  Jim Lad

  Good point name withheld. The book I read about sign of the last days really opened my eyes. The 14century should have been the end!!! Everybody was dying, dying, dying. I remember being stunned when seeing the population graph of humanity and seeing that like 300 yrs ago there was hardly anymore people on earth then Jesus day because of all the things that killed people over and over. 200 000 villages in Germany with everyone dead on account of the plague, etc...I'm looking forward to telling a pioneer how I'm doing when they ask because I feel so priviledged to live in the century, the most beautiful in human history with proportionately so much less problems! That is the TRUTH! Can you handle it?
• 

  Farkel

  : But you do have it right, everything works for the benefit of Jehovah's purpose

  If everything works for the benefit of Jehovah's purpose, then it doesn't matter WHAT you do. Whatever you do, "everything" still works for the benefit of Jehovah's purpose. Whatever ANYONE does, it still works for the benefit of Jehovah's purpose. In fact, that kind of reasoning makes the concept of "free will" irrelevant, since any exercise of free will doesn't matter: everything still works for the benefit of Jehovah's purposes.

  It's statements like this that can rationalize and justify virtually anything and everything that happens.

  How do you explain this:

  1) "Jehovah is a God of Love."

  2) "Love is not Jealous."

  3) "Jehovah is a Jealous God."

  These quotes are all from the Bible. If 1 and 2 are true, then 3 must be false. 3 cannot be false because it's in the Bible, so if 3 is true, then Jehovah cannot be a God of love, since love is not jealous. Yet 1 is also in the Bible, too. If 2 and 3 are true, then 1 must be false.

  Does this arouse some cognitive dissonance in you, my dear dub? How do you deal with the mental tension caused by it? Do you choose to ignore it, do you try to rationalize it, or do you just accept it?

  If you just ignore it or just accept it, then you are truly braindead. If you try to rationalize it, we will help you see that it cannot be rationalized. If you then ignore the facts and evidence, then you are still truly braindead.

  If you are willing to look at other possibilities, then there is hope for you.

  I hope there is hope for you (at least in the way you think), but that is decision is in your own hands.

  Farkel
• 

  TweetieBird

  Farkel,

  You just gave me a lightbulb moment,

  "How do you explain this:

  1) "Jehovah is a God of Love."

  2) "Love is not Jealous."

  3) "Jehovah is a Jealous God."

  I can't believe that I never connected the dots.

  Thank you, Thank you, Thank you.

  Am I dense or what?

  "By doubting we come at truth" -Cicero
• 

  Gopher

  Farkel and TweetieBird,

  In reply to the point about jealousy:

  The word "jealousy" has multiple definitions, here are the first two from the Merriam-Webster online dictionary at http://www.m-w.com

  1 a : intolerant of rivalry or unfaithfulness b : disposed to suspect rivalry or unfaithfulness

  So to work this out, Jehovah would fit the (a) definition, not tolerating any false gods. But if he is a loving God, he would not fit the (b) definition, of being inclined to believe his people are unfaithful.

  It's kind of like a good marriage (few and far between???) where you as a marriage mate would (a) not tolerate unfaithfulness, but hopefully also you wouldn't (b) always be suspicious of your mate.

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

  Moxy

  thx gopher for clearing that up. that very conundrum is actually addressed in the talk on zeal (forget exact title but have heard many times) in just this way. jealously just seems like one of those concepts that didnt translate well into english.

  mox
• 

  betweenworlds

  Hey Farkel!

  Another great post

  Doesn't make much sense for a logical God does it?

  BW

  "The important thing is to not stop questioning" Albert Einstein