by hallelujah 14 Replies latest social humour
The 1 May 1957 at page 285 the Watchtower states:
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With thankful hearts we acknowledge God’s mercy and gratefully and willingly show our respect for Jehovah’s organization, for she is our mother and the beloved wife of our heavenly Father, Jehovah God.
What on earth is Jehovah's [visible] organisation????
Actually, the WTS does differentiate between
God's [heavenly] organization (God, Jesus, angels, 144,000 (at least all but the 8,000 they say are still on earth)
God's [earthly--visible] organization--anointed and other sheep (great crowd) who are all JWs
Notice the "mother" mention?
According to the WTS the heavenly organization is the mother of Jesus and the 144,000 and God is their Father but not the other sheep. Jesus is their father and the anointed (144,000) are their mother. Jesus' brothers are only the anointed and the other sheep are Jesus' children.
Confused? I'm not surprised. Most JWs don't realize that they are not Christ's brothers. But then they don't understand that Jesus is not their mediator according to the WTS.
Blondie
Though they distinguish between the two, when they simply refer to "God's organization" they usually mean themselves.
Very weird relationships as described by Blondie above, that has a very cultic ring about it. Jesus and the annointed are the spiritual parents of the non annointed JWs. That's a queer little thought.
In reality there is no jehovah's organisation but there is a church of Christ and all its members are part of the body of Christ. That's how things are in Christianity, and God is the Father of all.
It is every Jehovers Witness as a whole. Contrary to popular belief it is not the Watchtower Society.
Basically it is an abstract concept that cannot be clearly identified or examined as a distinct entity.
Thanks Blondie, Leolaia, and Greendawn
I think I get it now. I figured that some creature(s) must constitute Jehovah's Organisation, otherwise it could not be Jehovah's wife and our mother. When the Governing Body tells us that Jehovah's Organisation is "our mother" it appears that they are not talking for themselves here but "our mother" actually means "your mother", i.e. the GB is talking at me not to me.
Just as I suspected, it appears that Jehovah's Organisation is simply what the association of living men and women who claim anointment call themselves. I find a similar problem with the Catholic Church, which also claims to be God's wife, but when I try to locate this wife of God I find only men and women in silly robes.
The question arose because I was trying to witness to my family members who are witnesses. I sat down for a watchtower study with the old literature only to receive the reply from one family member that I will not shake his faith, and that he will only examine current literature, that means anything which is on the Watchtower CD, or in the insight book, etcetera, or in the New World Translation. But he was willing to engage on the topic of just what the above phrase meant and nobody could come up with a meaning that reflected favourably on the WTBTS other than that since like most Watchtower's it was unfathomable and simply reflected the fact that the Bible too is written in metaphors.
If we look at it charitably, then since Jehovah's organisation is the wife of God, we get promoted to be once again sons and daughters of God and not merely grandchildre. But if that means that the former Sons of God (the Brothers of Christ - Bride Class, Anointed class) get promoted to be 144,000 virgins engaged in polygamous marital bliss with Jehovah then it's quite a turpid thought. I am assured that this imagery is only a metaphor, but it's still disturbing.
The teaching about us 'other sheep' being grandchildren of God while 'the anointed' are Sons of God (see insight book "Sons of God") goes against the Lord's prayer taught by Jesus and his statement that whoever does the will of his Father is Jesus' brother or sister. Actually the insight book does grudgingly admit (page 999) "This must mean, then that the revelation of the sons of God in glory opens the way for others of the human family to enter into a relationship of actual sonship with God and to enjoy the freedom that accompanies such relationship"
But what is "the revelation of the sons of God in glory" - I surely hope they don't mean the fact that they reveal themselves by drinking the wine and eating the bread at the memorial, but what other point does there seem to be for it?
If Jehovah's Organisation is us, then how can it be our mother and the wife of God? I do not presume to be God's wife. Moreover how can we show respect to an abstract idea, which was the whole point of the Watchtower article?
If Jehovah's Organisation is us, then how can it be our mother and the wife of God? I do not presume to be God's wife. Moreover how can we show respect to an abstract idea, which was the whole point of the Watchtower article?
You're not actually trying to understand this, are you?
This concept (or concepts) mentioned on this thread get more and more bizarre as the years go by. They all seem to be chucked into one big melting pot of disinformation and go downhill from there.
There is one woman on another board (who I spend WAYYY too much time debating with) that comes out with the strangest (even for JWs) ideas that other JWs won't even touch, LOL! They won't correct her, but as JWs are known to do----let the nonsense get flung here and there to prevent a "disunity" between them.
According to her---the new "WTS belief"---is that the WTS is a nation that Jesus has chosen and taken out of the world, and that the WTS IS the kingdom that he told us to pray for!!!
I have asked on several occasions IF this was what she meant to....and she will not reply to my question, but has referred to this on other threads and with the same idea.
I asked if this WAS "new light" but not one JW will own this or reply pro or con to this notion! What a wacko cult!
I was giving it a charitable shot for the sake of my nephew but I think it's absolutely impossible.
Dan
