Changes to the qualifications for Publisher 1989 - 2005?

by jgnat 10 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  jgnat

  I just finished a word-by-word comparison of the qualification questions for publisher, between the 1989 "Organized to Accomplish our Ministry, and the 2005 "Organized to Do Jehovah's Will". Could you confirm that the addition I discovered is new? Avoiding "unwholesome association" - is that a new requirement? Perhaps the scan I reviewed was imperfect. Also, not unexpectedly, they changed the wording for mind-altering substances, probably due to the variety of street drugs available today. Tobacco is no longer specifically mentioned.

  Anything highlighted and in italics is the older 1989 wording. Anything in CAPITAL LETTERS AND ITALICS is my own additions.

  Organized to Do Jehovah's Will (c) Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 2005, Pages 79-80

  compared to

  Organized to Accomplish Our Ministry (c) Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, 1989, Pages 97-98

  Meeting the Requirements for Publisher

  • Do the person's expressions show that he believes the Bible is the inspired Word of God? (2 Tim. 3:16)
  • Does he know and believe the basic teachings of the Scriptures so that, when asked questions he will answer in harmony with the Bible and not according to his own ideas or false religious teachings? (2 Tim. 2:15; Matt. 7:21-23)
  • Is he heeding the Bible's command to associate with Jehovah's people in congregation meetings if he physically and circumstantially can? (Ps. 122: 1; Heb. 10:24, 25) BRACKETS REMOVED AND VERSES REORDERED
  • Does he know what the Bible teaches (says) about fornication, adultery, polygamy and homosexuality, and is he living in harmony with such teachings? If the person is living with one of the opposite sex, are they properly married? (Matt. 19:9, 1; Cor. 6: 9;1 Tim. 3:2, 12; Heb. 13:4)
  • Does he heed the Bible’s prohibition of drunkenness? (Eph.5:18; 1 Pet. 4: 3, 4) Is he free from all nonmedical use of addictive or mind-altering natural or synthetic substances? (Does he keep himself clean from the defilement of tobacco, betel nut and other things that contaminate the body?Is he free from nonmedical use of addictive drugs'?) (2 Cor. 7: 1) NEW WORDING
  • Does he see the value of avoiding unwholesome association? (1 Cor. 15:33) NEW!
  • Has he definitely broken off membership in all false religious organizations with which he may have been affiliated, and has he ceased attending their meetings and supporting or sharing in their activities? (2 Cor. 6:14-18; Rev. 18:4)
  • Is he free from all involvement in the political affairs of the world? (John 6:15; 15:19; Jas. 1:27)
  • Does he believe and live in harmony with what the Bible says at Isaiah 24 about the affairs of the nations? REORDERED
  • Does he really want to be one of Jehovah's Witnesses? (Ps. 110:3)
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  greendawn

  They better fix their own problems before they can dictate to others what they should do. Do they practice charity, do they have brotherly love , do they use correctly the scriptures, do they know humility?
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  FairMind

  No major changes. The addition of betel nut addiction is because of the prevalence of this addiction of African and other third world countries where membership numbers are growing.
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  DaCheech

  Question: Are you an apostate?
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  FairMind

  Am I an apostate or is the question addressed to anyone seeing the question? As for myself, it's a matter of opinion? In my opinion I'm not but since I don't worship the SLAVE or WT organization I suppose in the opinion of closed mined JWs I am.
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  Jeffro

  FairMind

  No major changes. The addition of betel nut addiction is because of the prevalence of this addiction of African and other third world countries where membership numbers are growing.

  Your comment is incorrect. Though membership in third-world countries is growing, the specific mention of betel nut is in the old publication, not the new version. The new version has the more general comments regarding non-medical drug use.
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  Hellrider

  betel nut

  ?? What the hell is a betel nut? Bethel nut? Bethelites?
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  DaCheech

  You gotta come to 1 meeting a year in order to be still considered a JW. DF!!!

  kidding, but you hear of those announcements lately "xxxx is no longer a JW!"
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  Woodsman

  If I didn't get my Organized To Do Jehovahs Will book does that mean I'm not a JW? I feel left out.
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  A Paduan

  not what goes into the mouth defiles a man, but what comes out of the mouth

  Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach, and so passes on? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a man.