If the Sunday speaker were to show up late, the whole congregation would be abuzz about how jarring it was to do the Borgtower study first, then hear a talk.
Active JWs: lurkers and posters, is your religion ritualistic?
by AuldSoul 22 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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jwfacts
So Jesus was saying that the teaching of the "scribes and Pharisees" could corrupt pure worship. How? In that it taught people to view God’s Law solely in terms of their arbitrary rules and rituals, while ignoring "the weightier matters," including mercy. (Matthew 23:23) This ritualistic form of religion made worship of God an intolerable burden.
Matthew 23:23-24
"Woe to YOU, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because YOU give the tenth of the mint and the dill and the cumin, but YOU have disregarded the weightier matters of the Law, namely, justice and mercy and faithfulness. These things it was binding to do, yet not to disregard the other things. Blind guides, who strain out the gnat but gulp down the camel!"Two of the more damaging aspects of the WTS are also two of the most regulatory- BLOOD DOCTRINE and DISFELLOWSHIPPING DOCTRINE.
Disfellowhshipping offences include over 30 different rules. With an infinite number of possibilities once you start to mix the WTS defined principles of Loose Conduct, Greediness and Uncleaness. By claiming Loose Conduct includes disrepect for elders almost anything can become a d/f action at the discretion of the elders.
The current blood doctrine (discussed visually at http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/16/121601/1.ashx) claiming some blood fractions are acceptable but others are not is straining out to gnat to the nth degree. Furthermore it certainly disregards the weightier matter of respect for life.
I always found the REASONING BOOK to be ritualistic. If the customer says this conversation stopper, then you say this retailiation. If the customer raises this objection, then carefully wording your answer this way will sidestep the issue, allowing you this alternate counter attack.
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AuldSoul
Figured this one was worth another go ... I really enjoyed reading a lot of these responses.
—AuldSoul