They simply belong to a religion. They cannot explain why they follow all the dictates of the Organization. They live in blind faith.
Jehovah's Witnesses Are Believers But Know Not What They Teach
by minimus 24 Replies latest jw friends
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prologos
true, if they really KNEW what wt teaches, and be thinking it through, they would not be believers. -
smiddy
Jehovah Witnesses used to critiscize Christendoms religions because they had born ins who followed their parents religion without having much knowledge of the faith they were professing.
Guess what , the children of Jehovah Witness are no different.The majority have no idea of bible knowledge , history ,geography or cultural differences that existed in bible lands.
Come to think of it the average adult witness would have no clue either.
Jehovah Witnesses are not students of the Bible , they are , to term the phrase loosely, students of the Watchtower and its publications .
Which is never consistent from one ten year period to the next ten year period.
How is it that the Bible text has not changed in a 2000 period , however the WT interpretation of those very same scriptures has continually changed in less than 140 years ?
Is any Jehovah Witness out their thinking at all ?
smiddy
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Divergent
Adding on to what Smiddy said, it's totally mind-boggling as to how shallow Bible knowledge is among old timers. These are people who supposedly spent decades or even their entire lives studying the Bible, and what do they have to show for it in the end? NOTHING! Their Bible "knowledge" consists of the same old list of well-known scriptures which are usually taken out of context then twisted & misapplied. They don't even know how to explain & defend basic organizational doctrines which are fundamental to their beliefs! Ask them about 1914 or the overlapping generation & watch them squirm! -
never a jw
So true. I used to have a great deal of respect for JW's years ago. I thought they adhered to, and knew the Bible well. That opinion changed when I decided to do some studying of the Bible, its history, history of Christianity, history of antiquity as related to Jews, comparative religion, ancient texts, bible scholarship. Then I realized that JW's may know the Bible better than Catholics, but they both are quite unaware of all the relevant context surrounding the Bible. Just two days ago, I asked my brother, a zealous, fairly intelligent and diligent JW with 30 years serving, if he knew who Arius was. He didn't. They have no clue as to the origins of their main doctrines. In fact, an elder tried to claim credit for exposing false beliefs such as the trinity and hellfire. I had to respond that those doctrines were considered false many, many centuries ago, way before C.T. Russell was born. -
Wrath of Jehu
I don't need to "think" all the thinking I need is done by the Faithful and Discreet Slave..as is written in the Bible.
I recall a story related to me by a dear elder who told of a 4 yr old girl who made a stand for the Truth among her family members. She had attended a family reunion of sorts with her parents. Even as a young one of 4 yr's she knew the Bible dictate to "not mix with those of that sort". Spending any time with those not in the Truth could lead to suffering and...death, even it was her extended family and relatives. "If they don't love our Grand Creator who has so lovingly given HIS SON so that we may attain life everlasting, then I don't love them" were her exact words.
Shortly after arriving at her relatives home she knew she had made a horrible mistake. One of her cousins came to her to ask if she'd like to play with some of her dolls. The young one responded "It is not proper to enjoy playing with inanimate objects. It is simply a waste of time. i spend my time in worship of my heavenly Father, both in service and in my personal study. Indeed, if I were to waste time playing with dolls how could I ever expect to enjoy the favor of the perfect god that I and my immediate family worship"? Indeed, I could not."
The great part of this story is that the youngling ended up starting a bible study with her cousin and it is the youngling's hope that it will lead to baptism. When the parents of the other girl came into the room where the girls were studying they were shocked to see the two young girls smiling and reading the Bible. The young witness girl addressed the other girls parents and said "Indeed, I have started a bible study with your daughter Samantha (not her real name). It is my hope that she might gain an accurate knowledge of Truth and progress soon to water baptism as I am headed toward. Our heavenly father is a wise and just creator. Indeed, I think He would approve of such an endeavor and would be to your daughter's rich benefit. Please allow your daughter to accept this invitation as it will undoubtedly lead to rich blessings for both you and your daughter". The parents of the girl broke down and cried and said "Indeed. it is a fine blessing that you and our daughter are going to study the Bible. might it be in her best interest if you utilize one of the many fine publications as provided by this Faithful and Discreet Slave Class I have heard mention of?". "Indeed", responded the 4 yr old witness, "and furthermore you too can enjoy rich blessings if you too were to avail yourselves of the life saving knowledge as dispensed by our Grand Creator through His Faithful and Discreet Slave". "Indeed" responded the father of the girl. "I will seek out one of Jehovahs Witnesses at my earliest convenience and ask if we too could engage in a study of the Bible via the publications of the Faithful and Discreet Slave Class".
At that very moment the witness girls parents walked in the room and said "Well, yopu won't have to look far. We would be more than happy than to study God's word the Bible with you through the publications as provided by the Faithful and Discreet Slave Class so that you too may gain an accurate knowledge of Truth and thusly lead you toward the goal of water baptism". Tears streamed down the faces of the girls parents and they embraced the parents of the witness girl and exclaimed "Thank you..thank you. Praise to be to Jah and His Faithful and Discreet Slave Class. Oh how Faithful...." "AND discreet" said the witness girls parents. They then all began laughing with joy and happiness.
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St George of England
Not only do they know nothing about the Bible, they know nothing about their own religion.
Ask any JW to name the current WT President(s). In fact one elder in my congregation said in a talk that we no longer have a President, just a GB. The name Leon Weaver Jr in each WT must have passed him by!
George
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minimus
I love every one of your comments. Two thumbs up!! -
Pistoff
Jehovah's Witnesses individually do not have beliefs; their single belief is that whatever the faithful and discreet slave tells them is truth.
That truth is subject to change at any moment.
That is why whenever someone who does not attend meetings is quizzed by elders or whoever is doing the questioning, they don't ask, "Do you believe in Jesus" or "Do you believe that the New World is near"; they are asked:
"Do you believe that this is Jehovah's organization?"
That is the payoff question; that is the only belief that is of any importance whatsoever to the true blue.
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Half banana
Perhaps it’s the nature of the evolving beast. JW org is, or until recently, trying to morph into a big player on the religious scene. More street cred and a bigger property portfolio are the aims. (Although street cred is being shot to ribbons at the moment with all the paedophile harbouring going on.) A high degree of knowledge will no longer be required for the individual JW, it will become just as it is in the RC church with the elders like the priests and the GB like the Roman Curia; they know it all, they do all the thinking, “so we don’t have to”.
This is how most religions evolve with the ‘sacred text’ lingering in the background as if giving consent to all the religious goings on. You just need faith. The door to door work is too unattractive and time consuming for the average publisher, so in the future all you will need to do is contact your non witness family members and show them your magic tablet.
With the decline in new converts, parents are just going to have to grow their own! Increase is just going to come from indoctrinating their offspring from birth (poor things). So without the need to personally understand the doctrines and with proselytising being done electronically...the brave new Electric Church of Jehovah's Witnesses will resemble all the other religions. The difference being that most Christians put faith in JC but JWs will continue to put their faith in the 'holy' governing body. Gawd bless ‘em!