JW Children Lie in Custody Cases

by compound complex 290 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  compound complex

  [continued]: Jesus described it as the 'laying of heavy burdens on men's shoulders,' burdens that the religious leaders would not budge with one of their fingers. (Matthew 23:4) Ultimately their zeal for ruling on all possible applications of the Law brought them into conflict with God's Word, as the traditions they developed in applying that Law resulted in nullifying the more vital principles of that Word. (Matthew 15:1-9) Their extreme focus on law inevitably caused them to become self-righteous, priding themselves on their superior obedience and their various abstentions. As a result they became judgmental of others who did not measure up to their standards and adhere to the interpretations of law they developed and the program of routine acts of piety they performed. They "trusted in themselves that they were righteous and...considered the rest as nothing." [Luke 18:1-14, compare John 7:49.]

  I believe that ancient pattern can be seen in modern times, with virtually identical results.
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  compound complex

  BTTT

  A Great Body of Law Developed:

  An upcoming discussion of how the WTBTS has developed its own body
  of extensive and complex laws, that are binding and enforced upon JWs.
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  compound complex

  A Great Body of Law Developed

  The Watch Tower's publications have often spoken in very negative terms about the development among the Jews of a Talmud based on rabbinical interpretations of the Mosaic Law. Yet over the past four decades the organization has developed its own body of law, one of remarkable extent and complexity. This has all been done in the name of "keeping the congregation clean and "separate from the world," thereby assuring its righteousness before God. The organization itself acknowledges the existence of such law.
  Thus, in an article titled "Do You Belittle Discipline?" under the subheading "Disciplined Every Step of the Way," the WATCHTOWER stresses the role of the "New World society" (a once popular name for describing the Witness organization) in supplying such discipline and said:

  So it is that by the New World society's application
  of the stated Scriptural commands, examples, rules
  and principles to the issues and problems of life, a
  great body of theocratic law is being built up.
  

  [WT, 5/15/63, p. 300]
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  compound complex

  That "great body of theocratic law" has become far greater during the three decades since that article was written. Clearly, this is not merely a matter of taking statements from Scripture, for in that case it would not be described as a 'building up' of a great body of "theocratic law." The 'building up' results from the INTERPRETING of such Scriptural statements, ENLARGING upon them, EXTENDING them into more and more detailed application "to the issues and problems of life," not merely as a form of exposition or exhortation but with the interpretations themselves now becoming "theocratic law." [Emphasis: RF]
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  compound complex

  BTTT

  The difference between law and precept to follow.
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  AllAlongTheWatchtower

  Your enthusiasm is commendable, but don't you see by now that you're preaching to the choir?
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  compound complex

  Dear Lovers of Truth,

  We are all in various stages of recovery as we exit the WT. Our foot may be out the door, but our heart and mind still could be confined within the TOWER walls. This thread started out on the subject of lies and deceit in a single arena of Witness life. It has expanded to include valuable "inside" information on Watch Tower legal practice. Your responses are greatly appreciated as they round out the aspect of personal experience. I close this entry with the hope that you will click on again and again to Dr. Jerry Bergman's invaluable article on lying in the name of God. Special thanks to ones such as Danny and Randy and sKally and Abbagail, who shout from the rooftops.

  www.dannyhaszard.com/whylie.htm

  CoCo
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  compound complex

  ISOCF, Ray Franz, p. 239.

  It is not necessary for such rules of conduct or action to be specifically called "laws" for them to be laws. As we have seen, law is rightly defined as "A BINDING CUSTOM OR PRACTICE OF A COMMUNITY: A RULE OF CONDUCT OR ACTION PRESCRIBED OR FORMALLY RECOGNIZED AS BINDING OR ENFORCED BY A CONTROLLING AUTHORITY." Law contrasts with a "precept" since law "IMPLIES IMPOSITION BY A SOVEREIGN AUTHORITY AND THE OBLIGATION OF OBEDIENCE ON THE PART OF ALL SUBJECT TO THAT AUTHORITY," whereas precept "COMMONLY SUGGESTS SOMETHING ADVISORY AND NOT OBLIGATORY COMMUNICATED TYPICALLY THROUGH TEACHING." [Emphasis: RF; Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary, under "law," with synonyms.]
  While believing that they are no longer under Mosaic Law, the evidence is that Jehovah's Witnesses have come under another law and submit to it; they have come to believe that their righteousness is firmly tied to keeping it.
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  compound complex

  Replacing One System of Legal Control with Another [ibid., pp.239, 240]

  That is the way matters are presented in another Watch Tower publication titled "PAY ATTENTION TO YOURSELVES AND ALL THE FLOCK," part of a KINGDOM MINISTRY SCHOOL TEXTBOOK designed for use in seminars held with elders of Jehovah's Witnesses in 1981. [This textbook was prepared under the direction of the Teaching Committee of the Governing Body. Among its members then were Albert Schroeder, Karl Klein, Leo Greenlees, Ted Jaracz.] On page 144, we find the following:

  Unit 8 (b)

  UNDER "THE LAW OF THE CHRIST "
  (Gal. 6:2)

  Jehovah's people today are not under the control of
  the body of law known as the Mosaic law of ancient
  Israel. (Col 2:13, 14) Paul showed that since there has
  been a change in the priesthood from Aaron to that of
  Jesus Christ in the manner of Melchizedek, Christians
  are under a new legal arrangement of control. (Heb.
  5:4-6; 7:12) Some rules of conduct found in the old
  law of Moses have been restated under the law of
  the Christ and are enforceable upon Christians. (Acts
  15:19-21) Other rules of conduct from the law of Moses
  with their underlying principles, though not enforceable
  in the Christian congregation, are nevertheless useful to
  Christians as they walk in the way of holiness. (Jas.
  2:8, 9) It is well for elders to consider some of these
  guidelines that are intended to protect the Christian
  congregation and keep it clean in Jehovah's sight.
  ---Eph. 5:25-27.

  LAW OF THE CHRISTIAN CONGREGATION

  Christians are not under the Mosaic law, but under
  "the law of the Christ." (Gal. 6:2; 1 Cor. 9:21)

  Consists of a body of rules for Christian
  conduct. (Gal 6:16)
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  compound complex

  The doctrine is advanced that Christians are "under a NEW LEGAL ARRANGEMENT OF CONTROL, a "BODY OF RULES for Christian conduct" that is "ENFORCEABLE on Christians." This is no more than a roundabout way of saying "A NEW LAW CODE." A simple reading of the texts cited in the paragraphs following the heading will make plain that the words found in those verses are made to say something other than what they actually say, often by ignoring the context. The Scriptures themselves make clear what the "law of the Christ" (referred to at Galatians 6:2) is, and it is definitely NOT a "new legal arrangement of control" or a "body of rules." [The context, in fact speaks of it as being fulfilled in 'bearing one another's burdens.' ; Emphasis: RF]