Some may have seen this tid-bit being passed around in certain JW email circles. A "deeply concerned" JW relative (who knows I have soured on the whole JW thing) emailed this to me in hopes that it would improve my attitude. At first I was just going to thank them for their concern and for the "encourgaging" email, but then I decided I must respond to this. In case others are interested in a good rebuttal to this, I have put my response immediately following. This is the original email:
Illustration about obedience given by a brother at a new Kingdom Hall in New England:
"...do you realize that in the Bible there are many instances of situations where Jehovah's people were given directions that made no sense from a human standpoint and seemed totally illogical? For instance - Abraham sacrificing Isaac; Noah building an ark when there had never been rain; Moses having the Israelites march out in battle formation and then marching back in the direction they left. Pharaoh thought they were crazy and then Moses led them to the Red Sea; Pharaoh thought he could kill them all as their backs were against the wall (sea). Also Gideon; his army was whittled down to 300 men. With torches and jars they went out to defeat the enemy. And what about Jericho; for six days they marched around the city once and on the seventh day they marched seven times and then shouted. Then there was Jehoshophat who was afraid when the Ammonites and others were coming to annihilate them. He prayed, and Jehovah said put the singers and women and children in front of the armed forces and go and meet the enemy! All of these situations were Jehovah's direction but they seemed foolish, illogical from a human standpoint. It seemed each time as if they would be killed."
Then the brother asked these questions: "Do you have the faith to follow the direction of the faithful and discreet slave in these last days even if you don't understand what they are asking and it seems as if you will die because the direction is illogical? Will you quickly obey and trust the channel Jehovah is using?" He told us to carefully meditate on that because we will be in a similar situation in the great tribulation where we will think we are facing death, but we need to obey quickly the directions given.
Thanks for sharing this email with me. These are good bible points for sure, but this brother's statements shows his ignorance of the facts (like most witnesses) regarding the modern-day so-called "faithful and discreet slave." It's like comparing apples to oranges. All these bible individuals had an impeccable record of faithful service to Jehovah, and he gave ample and visible evidence for all to see that he was working out his will through them. Noah, for example, was "faultless among his contemporaries" and enjoyed Jehovah's protection and blessing in a violent world.
Abraham was considered "God's friend" and Jehovah spoke to him personally through visions, angels, and in other ways. Along with the many other evidences of Jehovah's favor, Abraham experienced a personal miracle when he and Sarah produced their son Isaac in their old age - exactly as predicted by three angelic messengers. The Israelites personally witnessed Jehovah's power through Moses as each of the 10 devastating plagues befell Egypt exactly as announced by Moses. After leaving Egypt, the Israelites had no reason doubt Moses instructions at the Red Sea. As for their march around Jericho, this happened only after an angelic prince appeared to Joshua (Moses successor) giving him instructions on what to do. Of course, let's not forget that the Israelites had just witnessed visible evidence of Jehovah's using Joshua during their miraculous crossing of the Jordan. Jehosaphat also had ample evidence that he was used by Jehovah. His 25 year reign was one of great peace and prosperity for the southern kingdom of Judah as he worked diligently to rid the land of image worship while instituting a special educational campaign where traveling instructors taught the people from the book of Jehovah's law. And by the way, the incident at the mountainous region of Seir did not exactly happen as this brother described. Only the Levite singers were stationed ahead of the armed men. The women and children did not go out to meet the enemy, but are only mentioned as being part of the large congregation of Judah who gathered the previous day when Jehosaphat offered prayer to seek Jehovah's direction. Finally, Gideon was given ample evidence that he was used by Jehovah. First, an angel appeared to him and announced "Jehovah is with you" after which this angel provided visual evidence of his being sent by Jehovah when he miraculously caused fire to consume an offering Gideon had made. Later Gideon, through a series of miraculous signs, was given visual evidence of Jehovah's backing prior to the battle with his 300 men. In the case of each of these individuals, Jehovah not only gave visual evidence of his backing, but every prediction made and spoken through them came true and happened exactly as they said it would. As to the modern day "faithful and discreet slave" (governing body) - their record shows absolutely no such evidence that Jehovah is using them. Not only have their many predictions not come true, but they have been repeatedly guilty of "going beyond what is written" in making such predictions. Furthermore, instead of accepting responsibility for such failures, they have either blamed the rank- and-file for making false assumptions (eg. 1975), resorted to outright deception by falsifying their own history (eg. 1914), or when out of all other options, repeatedly flip-flopped on doctrines while claiming that God has given them "new light" (eg. generation doctrine). While the aforementioned bible individuals certainly had imperfections and sometimes had serious failings, the bible record does not cover over or leave these out, but candidly reports it. Conversely, the "faithful and discreet slave" (governing body) hides and/or buries everything that is the least bit negative about themselves while "shouting from the roof tops" any small court victory or other "nugget" for all to know. The 10 year secret alliance with the U.N. is a prime example. They resigned promptly in 2004 when this relationship became known , yet they still have not said one word publicly about it. Same thing with all the recent pedophile court cases and settlements (I don't count the blase' rebuttal to the NBC nightly news piece where the WT spokesperson grossly mis-stated the facts about the incidents of pedophilia in the WT org. over the past 100 years). Finally, the bible record shows that none of the previously mentioned faithful bible individuals ever appointed or promoted themselves as God's "spokesperson" or "channel", but in fact, they were so humble they didn't even feel worthy to be used by Jehovah. In contrast, the modern-day "faithful and discreet slave" (governing body) has presumptuously and arrogantly appointed themselves as a "mediator" between man and Jesus (totally non-scriptural) and as the only "channel" to which any salvation can be obtained. The endless self-promotion and self-eulogizing of themselves while sanctimoniously heaping heavy burdens on those seeking truth and spiritual refuge is disgraceful and goes against everything that I have learned that Jehovah looks for in humans when working out his purpose. No, instead they have behaved exactly like the Pharisees that Jesus denounced and warned his future followers to watch out for. As to our loyally obeying their instructions as this "brother" suggests, this is risky at best - even downright foolish in light of the evidence (or lack of it). It's obvious that most of what they are saying and printing is complete drivel and speculation. I hope you will see the light soon.