Scotsman said: Apostates dragging up the past again.
Blah Blah Blah.
WT SAYS: *** w98 3/1 3-4 The Churches Confess *** Between 1980 and 1996, John Paul II ‘recognized the Church’s historic faults or asked forgiveness’ at least 94 times, says Vatican commentator Luigi Accattoli in his book Quando il papa chiede perdono (When the Pope Asks Forgiveness). According to Accattoli, “in the Catholic Church, only the pope can rightly make a mea culpa.” And this he has done, referring to the most controversial pages of Catholic history—the Crusades, wars, support of dictatorships, division in the churches, anti-Semitism, the Inquisitions, the Mafia, and racism
*** w98 3/1 6 Why Are They Asking Forgiveness? *** However, more than ecumenism is involved. Today, the far from exemplary history of Christendom is widely known. “The Catholic can’t just shrug off all this history,” says theologian Hans Urs von Balthasar. “The very Church he belongs to has done or allowed to be done things that we certainly can’t approve of nowadays.”
*** w97 4/15 11 True Peace-From What Source? *** 15 What must not be overlooked is religion’s role in these wars and killings. Mankind’s blood-drenched history can be attributed in great measure to the misguiding influence of false religion. Catholic theologian Hans Küng wrote: “There is no disputing that in negative, destructive terms [religions] have made and still make an enormous contribution. So much struggle, bloody conflicts, indeed ‘religious wars’ are to be held to their account; . . . and this also goes for the two world wars.”
*** w95 2/1 3 Your Religion-A Ship That Should Never Be Abandoned? *** Theologians, especially Catholic scholars, often compare their church to a ship that is weathering a storm. They say that this ship, with Jesus or Peter at the helm, represents the only means of salvation. The position of the clergy is, ‘Never abandon the ship. The church has been through serious crises before, but it is a ship that has weathered all of history’s tempests.’ Some say, ‘Why abandon her? What alternatives are there? Why not stay and help steer her into calmer waters. (my note-I just thought that this was interesting in light of the ‘tacking’ explanation that the WT has given to their own doctrinal changes, in fact it sounds intriguingly similar to statement made fairly recently in WT history--*** w81 12/1 27 The Path of the Righteous Does Keep Getting Brighter *** 2 However, it may have seemed to some as though that path has not always gone straight forward. At times explanations given by Jehovah’s visible organization have shown adjustments, seemingly to previous points of view. But this has not actually been the case. This might be compared to what is known in navigational circles as “tacking.” By maneuvering the sails the sailors can cause a ship to go from right to left, back and forth, but all the time making progress toward their destination in spite of contrary winds. And that goal in view for Jehovah’s servants is the “new heavens and a new earth” of God’s promise.—2 Pet. 3:13. 3 There is no question that Jehovah God is continuing to bless the global activity of his witnesses, as directed by the “faithful and discreet slave.” This can be seen by the fruits. Remember, Jesus said: “Every good tree produces fine fruit.” And such righteous fruits are to be seen internationally today in one people only—the united, global society of Jehovah’s Witnesses.—Matt. 7:17. (
*** w90 2/1 18 God's Judgment Against "the Man of Lawlessness" *** 18 This writer concludes: “The record of the Inquisition would be embarrassing for any organization; for the Catholic church, it is devastating. . . . What history shows is that, for more than six centuries without a break, the papacy was the sworn enemy of elementary justice. Of eighty popes in a line from the thirteenth century on, not one of them disapproved of the theology and apparatus of Inquisition. On the contrary, one after another added his own cruel touches to the workings of this deadly machine. The mystery is: how could popes continue in this practical heresy for generation after generation?
*** tp73 24 3 Are the World's Religions Giving the Right Lead? *** 7 Have this world’s religions taught their followers such love? Have they taught them that this love should surmount national boundaries and racial or language differences? Have the churches of Christendom, Catholic and Protestant, proved true to their claim to follow Jesus Christ as “the Prince of Peace”? Though it may surprise many, history proves that the opposite is true.
Shelly says-The WT has given me lessons on digging up history. And when one considers that most of theirs has happened in the last 150 years, rather than millenia ago, I think your statement shows a lack in understanding of the way that the WT org. actually operates.