by wobble 20 Replies latest watchtower bible
Dear All,
I know this has been covered,but my pioneer sister said in a letter to me about what convinces her Dubs have the truth,re the Worldwide Preaching of hope of life on a Paradise earth, "Who else does that?"
Now I know other religions teach a kingdom on earth,but she will say they don't preach that worldwide.
Could you give me some ammo. for my reply? I tried searching on here and didn't come up with anything great.
Many many thanks,
Wobble
this imo is where the society couples religion and politics (or what has come to be encapsualted within politics)
you may have success in choosing a roundabout way of discussing democracy and what it tries to become in the future, with her.
best wishes to you
ql
My first response would be even if that were true, it doesn't in of itself prove anything. Being different is different then being right.
This has been the JW marketing M.O since Rutherford. Their basic rule of thumb has been to assume that anything in traditional religion is wrong before they even get started.
Thus the formula is basically: Traditional Christian Teaching = JW must take the exact opposite tack.
That's why they get so excited to point out that they are "the only ones who teach _________"
Remember, to take the premise of those who teach that people will live on paradise earth forever is to assume that there is only one of two ways to view the earth theistically. (disclosure, I don't believe any of it, but I am aware that these theories exist)
I think a great way to respond would be for her to look for the phrase "paradise earth" in the NWT. It doesn't exist.
But they don't preach to "the entire inhabited earth". The way I approached it with my husband is that virtually no one has had a witness in China; the most populous nation on earth:
Me: "Will Jehovah destroy everyone in China at Armageddon?"
Hubby: "No, that wouldn't be fair. He'll just read their hearts."
Me: "So why can't he just do that for the rest of mankind?"
Hubby: "Because Jehovah is giving us an opportunity to demonstrate our faith to him."
Me: "So is it 'fair' that a person in the US or Europe gets destroyed because he didn't listen toJWs at his door, yet a Chinese person who observes the celestial phenomena of Armageddon gets automatically saved and has firsthand evidence to decide whetherJWs are 'God's people'?"
He couldn't argue with the logic of that one.
So, all those who belong to religions that don't teach about the paradise deserve to be slaughtered? Any day now? I don't think JW's spend enough time thinking about just what exactly their religion teaches will come before paradise. It's all an abstraction to them - "Bablylon the Great" and "Wicked People" will be "destroyed", these are euphemistic and vague terms that disguise violent and hateful teachings.
And, the fact of the matter is, very few "worldly" people have any real knowledge of JW teachings, even the most basic ones. JW's, especially their la-la-land ivory-tower leaders who seem to believe that every non-JW the world over is in constant anguish over whether those nice people who came to their door might Really Have the Truth™, are incredibly self-deluded on this point.
The Mormons also preach worldwide. Their coverage is extensive. In fact...they even baptize dead people into Mormonism. Which goes to show ya, just because something is preached or told on a global scale doesnt make it either truth or fact or...Christian for that matter.
13% of the world was Christian in 2005 and the JWs discount all of those people as even BEING Christian since they claim they alone are the only Christians. So there are what...only 7 million JWs now with a 1.3% (and dropping) increase in their membership? There are 6.75 billion people and counting on the planet. So thats 877 million people who are supposed to be Christians and only 7 million of those are JWs.
The Society has already said that those countries who are not allowing the preaching work by the JWs, will be destroyed at Armageddon. And all those who live in and by default "support" those opposing governments, will be destroyed, deservedly so, at Armageddon. So they dont have to worry about actually PREACHING to each individual and trying to save them...their actions (by virtue of the fact that they were born and live in those opposing countries) will be their just demise. I got to tell you...I was REALLY upset when I heard that explanation. That was the answer given when Matthew 24:14 was questioned about the plausibility of actually preaching this Good News to All the inhabited earth...before the end comes. If its an impossibility..then they just make shit up to cover themselves.
They preach all around the world? So do many many other religions. But the OTHER Christian religions preach that the CHRIST will save people not membership to the Watchtower Society...and therein lies the difference. The Society thinks that becoming a JW somehow gives people the E-ticket to live through Armageddon. Whenever a JW says that they dont know if a non JW will live through Armageddon that God will read those peoples hearts...they are FLAT OUT lying to your face. They know damn well their literature says SPECIFICALLY that anyone who is NOT a baptized JW in GOOD STANDING will not live through Armageddon. They know it, we know it and you know it.
Last time I checked, the bible said "whoseoever believeth in HIM shall never perish but have eternal life" ...not whosever carry-eth a blood directive card.
Well you could point out that other religions do have a worldwide work!
They are called missions and missionaries, often times spreading the gospel of Christ while doing charitable acts.
The fact that they don't heavily advertize there works isn't evidence of lacking but only evidence of her not knowing anything beyond what the WTS prints....... perhaps akin it to those who pray privately compared to those who do so in public to draw attention to themselves.
Furthermore ask her what exactly is the gospel of Christ as compared to the 'kingdom message'......
This could lead into a discussion about Rutherford and his claims.
Other people have suggested that it's about perspective; not many other organisations have a formal doorknocking service, but many, many of them market in a wide variety of other ways.
The World Council of Churches is a fellowship of churches, now 342, in more than 100 countries in all continents from virtually all Christian traditions. The Roman Catholic Church is not a member church but works cooperatively with the WCC. The highest governing body is the assembly, which meets approximately every seven years. The WCC was formally inaugurated in 1948 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. Its staff is headed by general secretary Konrad Raiser from the Evangelical Church in Germany.
Evangelical Church Alliance. The ECA International is an alliance of ministers serving throughout the world. The ministries of ECA members include, but are not limited to pastors, teachers, para church leaders, church executives, missionaries, evangelists, speakers, youth ministers, professors, military chaplains, and fire, industrial, hospice, police, and prison chaplains. The ECA has been serving God’s servants since 1887
". . . Paradise earth, "Who else does that?"
That's an idiotic statement. Your sister might not be an idiot but she doesn't want to talk about Watchtowerisms with you. That's a conversation stopper. I tried all that with my dad and when he finally admitted everything Witnesses ever promoted in his lifetime, turned out to be wrong, he said: "I couldn't of had a better life.".
We reduced his cult to the ridiculous and he still wouldn't let go. I found debating with a believing Witness a waste of time and messy . . . it's sort of like being in a pissing contest with a skunk.
