Can anyone post W01 7/1 p18-21 - "do not let doubts destroy your faith."

AlmostAtheist

I have a sudden urgent need to see this article, but I don't have the CD here at work. Can someone post this article, or pm it to me?

Thanks!

Dave

AlmostAtheist

Thanks, Forscher, you're better than Google!

Dave

AlmostAtheist

My analysis, comments welcome. (This is editorial in nature, so copyright isn't an issue)

*** w01 7/1 pp. 18-21 Do Not Let Doubts Destroy Your Faith ***

Do Not Let Doubts Destroy Your Faith

One day you think you are in good health. The next day you feel ill. Suddenly, you have no strength or vitality. Your head aches and your body is racked with pain. What has happened? Dangerous pathogens have breached your body’s defense systems and have attacked vital organs. Left untreated, these invading organisms may destroy your health permanently—even kill you.

OF COURSE, if you are not in good health when an infection strikes, you are even more vulnerable. If, for example, your body is weakened by malnutrition, your resistance “become[s] so low that the least infection may be fatal,” says medical author Peter Wingate.

That being so, who would choose to live in famine conditions? Very likely, you do whatever you can to eat well and stay healthy. You probably also do all you can to avoid exposing yourself to viral or bacterial infection.

******* False illustration. They are equating a proven medical/biological situation
******* to the "faith" they have in their own dogmas. These are not two things that
******* can be compared. If we ask Peter wingate from paragraph 1 how he feels about
******* Jehovah's Witnesses, do you think he would say they are as well established
******* as the "true religion" as medical science has established infection research?

Do you, however, exercise the same care when it comes to remaining “healthy in faith”? (Titus 2:2) Are you, for example, alert to the danger posed by insidious doubts?

******* What makes a doubt "insidious"? A doubt is neutral, a doubt is a thought.
******* If we never doubted our decisions, how would we ever make changes?

These can so easily invade your mind and heart, damaging your faith and your relationship with Jehovah. Some people seem oblivious to this danger. They leave themselves vulnerable to doubts by starving themselves spiritually. Is it possible that you might be doing that?

******* Another false illustration. If a person doesn't eat food, it is known that
******* he will starve to death. But there are thousands of happy ex-JW's that can
******* attest to being happy and healthy both physically AND spiritually without
******* feeding from the Watchtower's table.

Doubt—Is It Always Bad?

Of course, not all doubt is bad.

******* This is important. The Watchtower admits that not all doubt is bad.

At times, you need to suspend acceptance of something till you are sure of the facts. Religious exhortations to the effect that you should just believe and should doubt nothing are dangerous and deceptive. True, the Bible says that love “believes all things.” (1 Corinthians 13:7) A loving Christian is certainly ready to believe those who have proved trustworthy in the past. But God’s Word also warns against ‘putting faith in every word.’ (Proverbs 14:15) Sometimes a person’s past record gives legitimate reason for doubt. “Although [the deceptive talker] makes his voice gracious,” the Bible warns, “do not believe in him.”—Proverbs 26:24, 25.

******* Another important point: a person's (or organization's) past record gives reason
******* for doubt. The Watchtower has been openly deceptive in the way it quotes
******* others. (Look up "watchtower misquotes" on Google.com for examples) There
******* are many other examples of deception. So by their own words, we see that
******* they qualify as ones that deserve to be doubted.

The apostle John also warns Christians against blind belief. “Do not believe every inspired expression,” he writes. Rather, “test the inspired expressions to see whether they originate with God.” (1 John 4:1) An “expression,” a teaching or opinion, might appear to emanate from God. But did it really come from him? Exercising some doubt, or suspending belief, can be a real protection because, as the apostle John says, “many deceivers have gone forth into the world.”—2 John 7.

******* Could a Christian -- even a JW -- say he was honestly applying this counsel
******* from God's word if he didn't require the watchtower to prove its claims of
******* of being the one true religion, led by Jehovah?

Unfounded Doubts

******* Here's the second category of doubts. Interestingly, they never actually
******* mentioned any examples of the first category, the "not all doubt is bad" ones.

Yes, an honest, humble examination of the facts to establish the truth is often called for. This, however, is not the same as allowing unfounded, damaging doubts to develop in our mind and heart—doubts that can wreck our firmly established beliefs and relationships.

******* Here is an example of a propaganda technique -- using "loaded language".
******* According to this, if you are doing it right, you are "honest, humble".
******* But there are also "unfounded, damaging" doubts that can "wreck" your
******* "firmly established beliefs". One wonders how something can be both
******* "firmly established" and at the same time vulnerable to "wrecking"
******* through "unfounded" doubts?

This doubt is defined as an “uncertainty of belief or opinion that often interferes with decision-making.”

******* Interesting. I've never seen a definition quite like that. There's no
******* reference, so I can't go check and see it for myself. (Another common
******* Watchtower tactic.) Here's 3 definitions of doubt from dictionary.com:
******* 1) To be undecided or skeptical about: began to doubt some accepted doctrines.
******* 2) To tend to disbelieve; distrust: doubts politicians when they
******* make sweeping statements.
******* 3) To regard as unlikely: I doubt that we'll arrive on time.

Do you remember how Satan infected Eve’s mind with doubts about Jehovah? “Is it really so that God said you must not eat from every tree of the garden?” he asked. (Genesis 3:1) The uncertainty created by that innocent-sounding question interfered with her decision-making. That is typical of Satan’s methods. Like the so-called poison-pen letter writer, he is skilled at using innuendo, half-truths, and lies. Satan has destroyed countless wholesome, trusting relationships through insidious doubts planted in that way.—Galatians 5:7-9.

******* More loaded language. "infected", "innocent-sounding", "Satan, "Poison-pen".
******* They make an interesting move, again typical of propaganda. They are talking
******* about Satan, and they say he uses "innuendo, half-truths, and lies". The
******* implication is that any "innocent-sounding" doubt originates in "innuendo,
******* half-truths, and lies". Of course, Eve could have quickly verified or dismissed
******* her doubts by getting the facts. Go to God, verify what he said and what
******* he meant, what the consequences would be, etc. It wasn't her doubt that
******* destroyed her, it was her acting on unverified information.

The disciple James clearly understood the damaging effect of this kind of doubt. He writes about the wonderful privilege we have of freely approaching God for help in time of trial. But, James warns, when you do pray to God, “keep on asking in faith, not doubting at all.”

******* Another false comparison. James is talking about the doubt one might have
******* that your prayers will be fufilled. This isn't related at all to the sort
******* of doubts in doctrine or dogma that the article is actually warning about.

Doubts in our relationship with God make us “like a wave of the sea driven by the wind and blown about.” We become like “an indecisive man, unsteady in all his ways.” (James 1:6, 8) We develop an uncertainty of belief that leaves us floundering. Then, as happened to Eve, we become vulnerable to all sorts of demonic teachings and philosophies.

******* I don't think I need to point out the "loaded language" in this section.
******* Look back at the earlier paragraph where it says, "Religious exhortations
******* to the effect that you should just believe and should doubt nothing are
******* dangerous and deceptive." So, is doubting bad, or is it not bad? This sort
******* of ambiguity leaves the JW retreating to the "better safe than sorry"
******* mantra.

Maintaining Good Spiritual Health

******* You are either not doubting and "healthy" or doubting and "unhealthy"

How, then, can we protect ourselves from damaging doubts? The answer is remarkably simple: by firmly rejecting satanic propaganda and fully availing ourselves of God’s provisions to make us “solid in the faith.”—1 Peter 5:8-10.

******* This is circular reasoning. If we have doubts that the Watchtower is
******* actually providing us with god's provisions, then we should reject
******* all other information and read the Watchtower until we have no doubts
******* any more. Let's remember what they said earlier, "Religious exhortations
******* to the effect that you should just believe and should doubt nothing are
******* dangerous and deceptive." What are they doing, if not that very thing?

Absolutely essential is good personal spiritual feeding. Author Wingate, mentioned earlier, explains: “Even when the body is at rest it needs a continuous supply of energy for chemical processes and for the work of its vital organs; and the materials of many tissues need constant replacement.” It is the same with our spiritual health. Without constant spiritual feeding, our faith, like a body deprived of food, will be progressively damaged and will eventually die. Jesus Christ emphasized this when he said: “Man must live, not on bread alone, but on every utterance coming forth through Jehovah’s mouth.”—Matthew 4:4.

******* So we have the authority of both a doctor (presumably, we aren't told) and
******* Jesus Christ, but what are they saying? The doc says we should eat right,
******* and Jesus says we should listen to Jehovah. What does any of that have to
******* do with believing everything the Watchtower says?

Think about that. How did we build a strong faith in the first place? “Faith follows the thing heard,” writes the apostle Paul. (Romans 10:17) He means that we initially built our faith and confidence in Jehovah, his promises, and his organization by feeding on God’s Word. Of course, we did not just blindly believe all that we heard. We did what people living in the city of Beroea did. We ‘carefully examined the Scriptures daily as to whether these things were so.’ (Acts 17:11) We ‘proved to ourselves the good and acceptable and perfect will of God’ and made sure that what we had heard was true. (Romans 12:2; 1 Thessalonians 5:21) Since then, we have likely reinforced our faith as we have come to see ever more clearly that God’s Word and promises never fail.—Joshua 23:14; Isaiah 55:10, 11.

******* What if we had discovered in the early process, prior to baptism, what
******* we have discovered now, this source of our doubt? Why were we ENCOURAGED
******* to investigate before, but DISCOURAGED from doing so now? The Watchtower
******* carefully wound the scriptures that talk about faithfulness to god around
******* the idea of not doubting THEM. Are the two really the same, as they seem
******* to suggest?

Avoid Spiritual Starvation

Now the challenge is to maintain our faith and to avoid any uncertainty of belief that can weaken our confidence in Jehovah and his organization. To do this we must continue to examine the Scriptures daily.

******* This is a contradiction. If reading the scriptures made you doubt that the
******* Watchtower's interpretation of them was right, how will doing it more
******* alleviate that doubt?

The apostle Paul warns that “in later periods of time some [who may initially seem to have a strong faith] will fall away from the faith, paying attention to misleading inspired utterances and teachings of demons.” (1 Timothy 4:1) These misleading utterances and teachings create doubts in the minds of some and alienate them from God. What is our protection? To continue being “nourished with the words of the faith and of the fine teaching which [we] have followed closely.”—1 Timothy 4:6.

******* What is our assurance that the Watchtower itself is not the source of
******* these "misleading inspired utterances"? How can we know? More importantly,
******* how can we CHECK if we're not allowed to doubt? How could a Christian
******* take proper heed of this warning recorded in the Bible without
******* entertaining doubts?

Sadly, though, some today choose not to be “nourished with the words of the faith”—even when such nourishment is freely available. As one of the writers of the book of Proverbs indicates, it is possible to be surrounded by good spiritual food, a spiritual banquet, as it were, and still not actually eat and digest the food.—Proverbs 19:24; 26:15.

******* How are we to know the "words of the faith" from the "misleading
******* inspired utterances"? Wouldn't a doubt allow us to examine the "words"
******* and verify it for ourselves? How else could we obey this advice from God?

This is dangerous. Author Wingate says: “As soon as the body begins to consume its own protein its health begins to suffer.” When you are starved of food, your body begins to use up fuel reserves stored throughout the body. When these sources are exhausted, the body begins to consume protein that is essential for continued growth and repair of tissue. Vital organs begin to break down. Your health then quickly deteriorates.

******* Again, Mr. Wingate would probably not choose to have his words used to
******* support a theological position. He was speaking medically. Just because I
******* hold up an orange and a wheel of cheese and declare them similar due
******* to roundness and color doesn't make it so.

That is what happened in a spiritual sense to some in the early Christian congregation. They tried to live off their spiritual reserves. Likely, they neglected personal study, and they became spiritually weak. (Hebrews 5:12) The apostle Paul explained the danger in doing this when he wrote to Hebrew Christians: “It is necessary for us to pay more than the usual attention to the things heard by us, that we may never drift away.” He knew how easy it would be to drift into bad habits if we “neglected a salvation of such greatness.”—Hebrews 2:1, 3.

******* Be wary when the Watchtower uses the word "Likely". It means they are making
******* up whatever follows it, and implying their conjecture is now bible-based. The
******* fact is that some fell away from "the faith" in the first century. That
******* doesn't guarantee that the Watchtower represents that same "faith" today.
******* They attempt over and over to equate doubting THEM with doubting GOD. They
******* are simply not the same thing. Anyone that claims they are should be
******* able to show you why.

Interestingly, a person suffering from malnutrition does not necessarily look sickly or thin. Similarly, it may not be immediately obvious that someone is suffering from spiritual starvation. You can have an appearance of spiritual well-being even when you are not being nourished properly—but only for a short time! You will inevitably become weakened spiritually, susceptible to unfounded doubts, and unable to put up a hard fight for the faith. (Jude 3) You know—even if no one else does—the true extent of your personal spiritual feeding.

******* This is a little insurance policy. They have said essentially, that if
******* anyone stops reading their literature, they will start to have doubts
******* and lose the faith. Sure enough, when people leave the Watchtower, they
******* stop reading the magazines and going to meetings. Sure enough, they
******* stop having faith in teachings about blood and whatnot. So, the Watchtower
******* was right all along! Of course, they don't allow it to be stated as it
******* truly is. That is, people doubt the Watchtower, prove it wrong, and leave
******* it altogether. That only makes sense, doesn't it? When you realize you
******* don't like bowling, you quit.

Hence, keep up your personal study. Fight doubts vigorously. To ignore what appears to be a trivial infection, to do nothing about nagging doubts, may have disastrous consequences. (2 Corinthians 11:3) ‘Are we really living in the last days? Can you believe everything the Bible says? Is this truly Jehovah’s organization?’ Satan would love to plant doubts like these in your mind. Do not let a negligent attitude toward spiritual feeding leave you easy prey to his deceptive teachings. (Colossians 2:4-7) Follow the advice given to Timothy. Be a good student of “the holy writings” so that you can “continue in the things that you learned and were persuaded to believe.”—2 Timothy 3:13-15.

******* By burying a possible doubt about the Bible itself in between two others
******* about the Watchtower, they have again tried to equate doubting god with
******* doubting them. Many people that have left the Watchtower don't doubt the
******* Bible at all, but they are no longer convinced that we are in the last
******* days, and they certainly don't think this is Jehovah's organization. By
******* naming these doubts specifically, and linking them to doubting the Bible,
******* they hope to force them out of your head. And of course, please go back
******* and note the loaded language.

You may need help to do this. The writer quoted earlier goes on to say: “With severe starvation the digestive organs may be so injured by lack of vitamins and other necessities that they can no longer take up ordinary foods if they are provided. People in this state may need food that requires little digestion for some time.” Special care is needed to remedy the effects of starvation on the body. Similarly, someone who has grossly neglected his personal study of the Bible may need much help and encouragement to regain his spiritual appetite. If that is your situation, seek help and gladly accept any assistance offered to rebuild your spiritual health and strength.—James 5:14, 15.

******* They are really getting some mileage out of this medical illustration,
******* aren't they?

Do Not “Waver in a Lack of Faith”

******* If you're "doubting", you're "wavering" and you 'lack faith' -- loaded language

Considering the circumstances of the patriarch Abraham, some may feel that he had legitimate grounds for doubt. It may appear quite reasonable to conclude that he was ‘beyond hope of becoming the father of many nations’—despite God’s promise. Why? Well, from a purely human point of view, things did not look promising. ‘He considered his own body, now already deadened, and also the deadness of the womb of Sarah,’ the Bible record says. Still, he resolutely refused to allow doubts about God and his promises to take root in his mind and heart. The apostle Paul writes: “He did not grow weak in faith,” or “waver in a lack of faith.” Abraham remained “fully convinced that what [God] had promised he was also able to do.” (Romans 4:18-21) He had built a strong, personal, trusting relationship with Jehovah over many years. He rejected any doubts that might have weakened that relationship.

******* God spoke directly to Abraham. Has god ever spoken directly to you? If
******* "some may feel that [Abraham] has legitimate grounds for doubt" about
******* sacrificing HIS son, then no doubt MANY would feel you have legitimate
******* grounds for doubting the blood policy that might call upon you to
******* sacrifice your children.

You can do the same if you “keep holding the pattern of healthful words”—if you feed yourself well spiritually. (2 Timothy 1:13) Take the danger of doubts seriously. Satan engages in what might be called spiritual bacteriologic warfare. If you neglect to take in good spiritual food through personal study of the Bible and through attendance at Christian meetings, you lay yourself wide open to such attacks. Make good use of the generous and timely supply of spiritual food provided by “the faithful and discreet slave.” (Matthew 24:45) Continue to “assent to healthful words” and remain “healthy in faith.” (1 Timothy 6:3; Titus 2:2) Do not allow doubts to destroy your faith.

******** And they tie themselves to god again with, "study of the Bible and
******** through attendance at Christian meetings". And of course, this is
******** "proved true" when people leave the Watchtower, stop attending
******** meetings, and sure enough, they don't uphold the laws of Jehovah's
******** Witnesses anymore. But again, did they leave God? The Bible? No,
******** they left the Watchtower.

BizzyBee

".......just nibble on a few Awake articles to regain your strength. If you can keep that down, move on to a lightly prepared Watchtower. If any any time you start projectile vomiting, lie down with a moist KM on your head til it passes."

Good job, AA!

beksbks

This reminds me of how my grandmother used to shake her head when she saw me reading. "If you're going to read hon, why don't you read some of the literature?" Or the time some zealot handed me a pamphlet before I had time to refuse, and she ripped it away from me in horror, as though it were the devils own hand

Can anyone post W01 7/1 p18-21 - "do not let doubts destroy your faith."

AlmostAtheist

Forscher

AlmostAtheist

Forscher

AlmostAtheist

BizzyBee

beksbks

Gregor

Darth Yhwh

daniel-p

Share this