IN SEARCH OF CHRISTIAN FREEDOM - Ray Franz

by compound complex 33 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  compound complex

  Dear Friends,
  
  Some have expressed interest in the above title and their wish to have it for themselves. The chapter of particular importance to many of us is "Legalism - Opponent of Christian Freedom." At the following links you will find comments from JWD members and observations by Ray Franz on child custody cases, theocratic legislation, alternative service, acceptable secular work situations, and "labelling."

  www.jehovahs-witness.com/10/126156/6.ashx [see also pages 7 -14]

  www.jehovahs-witness.com/10/131171/1.ashx

  Thank you and happy reading!

  Compound-Complex
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  compound complex

  ISOCF, R.F., "Legalism - Opponent of Christian Freedom," p.271:

  Generalizing and categorizing are particularly prominent in matters of employment, as has been seen. In many cases, the factor that determines whether a particular employment is ruled "acceptable" or not is - not what the work performed actually is - but whether it is supervised by, paid by, or performed on the property of, a religious organization or a military organization.
  At Romans chapter thirteen, verse 4, the apostle Paul wrote of the "superior authority" of government:

  It is God's minister to you for your good. But if you are
  doing what is bad, be in fear: for it is not without purpose
  that it bears the sword; for it is God's minister, an avenger
  to express wrath upon the one practicing what is bad.

  NEXT: the beneficial services provided by the military in Bible times and today.
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  compound complex

  The "sword" of the superior authority in Paul's day was the military, for there was no separate police force operative in his time. The purpose of the Roman army in Palestine was to maintain the Pax Romana, and in doing so it served particularly as a force for peace and order, taking action against lawbreakers. It may be noted that in Paul's own experience it was the military that rescued him from the angry mob in the temple area. It was the military that protected him from an assassination plot and provided him safe conduct to Caesarea. [footnote 43: Acts 21:35-40; 23:16-33.] To this day, military forces are often more active in maintenance of law and order in times of crisis than they are in warfare. In the Dominican Rerpublic during my years of service there, many occasions arose where the danger of riots and violence got beyond police control and it was the military forces that were then brought in to serve as the prime peacekeepers. While one may rightly feel conscientious objections to the wrongs involved in military agression and bloodshed and to participate in these, that does not justify a refusal to recognize any beneficial service performed by military forces or provide the basis for categorizing everything connected with the military as inherently, automatically and totally bad, so that any contact therewith is contaminating, making one bloodguilty.
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  compound complex

  The same is true of politics. It is easy to convert this term into a synonym for all the unsavory aspects appearing in human rule. The divisiveness and selfish ambition typical of much political campaigning, with its slurs and smears, along with the hypocrisy, corruption, and tyrrany that are all too often to be found in political systems, can be used by this equation to classify as automatically bad anything to which the term "political" can be attached. It is this same blanket condemnation and categorization that produced the organization's policy in Malawi with its calamitious results. [footnote 44: See CRISIS OF CONSCIENCE, pages 112-116.] But the politics basically means GOVERNMENT [emphasis: R.F.] and the Scriptures teach that government definitely has a beneficial aspect.
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  compound complex

  According to Watch Tower policy, if a Witness were ordered by the government to serve as the SECRETARY of some government-arranged community administration (as took place in the Philippines with its system of BARANGAYS), he must refuse, even at the risk of fine or imprisonment, to avoid disfellowshipment. [footnote 45: This issue came up in the Philippines in 1973 when a number of the Governing Body members (myself included) attended an assembly there during a tour of the Orient.] This is difficult to harmonize with the attitude of Daniel and his three companions during the political rule of the Babylonian and Medo-Persion empires. Not only did Daniel accept appointment to a high position in the Babylonian political structure, he actually requested administrative positions for his three friends. [footnote 46: See Daniel 2:48, 49; 5:29.] This was not some display of a lack of integrity, for they proved themselves willing to face death rather than be disloyal to God. (Daniel 3:8-18) In the matter of serving in the governmental (political) structure, they showed CONSCIENTIOUS DISCRIMINATION - not BLANKET CATEGORIZATION. Christians today can also reject the bad and shun it while still recognizing whatever good there may be. I could not conscientiously share in political campaigning with its divisive, agressive tactics. Yet that does not cause me to view anything as automatically and intrinsically evil simply because it bears the name "political." [ibid., page 273; emphasis: R.F.]
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  compound complex

  With regard to Daniel and his three companions, there is additional evidence of their ability to distinguish what was truly an issue and what was not. This is in connection with the names that were assigned to them by the Babylonians. If not in all, then at least in some cases those names included the names of Babylonian gods. [footnote 47: Daniel 1:6, 7. See INSIGHT ON THE SCRIPTURES under "Belteshazzar," "Shadrach," Meshach" and "Abednego."] Nebuchadnezzar himself is shown as specifically saying of the name assigned to Daniel, Belteshazzar, that this was "after the name of my god." (Daniel 4:8, 9) Bel, (corresponding to the Canaanite term Baal), was a chief Babylonian god. I seriously doubt that any of Jehovah's Witnesses would have responded if addressed by a name assigned him by a pagan source and having any connection whatsoever with the name of a false god. Yet the accounts in the book of Daniel show that, when addressed by these names, Daniel and his three companions did not refuse to reply. [footnote 48: Daniel 3:13-18; 4:19. (ibid., p. 273.)]
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  Arthur

  One of the most important chapters (in my opinion) was chapter 14 entitled: A People For His Name. He did a very good job in debunking the JW myth that Christians must use the name Jehovah when identifying themselves as a group or organization.

  I had known about the Tetragam being absent from the over 5,000 surviving Greek manuscripts; but I had not fully compehended how the Watchtower Society had misrepresented the issue by dogmatically claiming that the apostles extensively used the name Yahweh despite evedence to the contrary.

  This is an important chapter in that it highlights the overall theme that runs through the New Testament - that being the glorification of the name of Jesus Christ; and that Christ's followers were to identify themselves as His followers. To arbitrarily state that adopting the name Jehovah into a sectarian name somehow makes it superior is off base.
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  compound complex

  Greetings Arthur,

  Thank you for mentioning and commenting on "A People For His Name." You are right about that chapter's importance - you inspired me to look into it further. I cannot get over the depth of research and degree of first-hand knowledge found in Ray Franz's two books. Read and reread.
  
  Gratefully,

  CoCo
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  Vinny

  Best JW material I have seen anywhere. A real masterpiece. Nothing helps one to to see the true JW picture more than that book!
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  needproof

  Great book, masterpiece.