Why does every prophecy has to have two (or more) completions?

by teel 25 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  DrJohnStMark

  drew sagan: I totally killed this thread...

  After you analysis, the slot machine is empty, perhaps... In any case, it is exactly how it goes and I remember that kind of strategy was even recommended in the KM. The level-1 stuff is mostly things you want to believe, the level-2 those you would not like to believe but are made to. Level-3 might contain the things the rank-and-file JWs are never supposed to know (about the history of the organization etc) but some of them learn to know.
  
  Some twenty years ago a well-known convention speaker used the following metaphor in trying to strengthen the trust of the audience in the end-of-this-world predictions of the WT society: "When a fisherman comes to you telling about the big salmon he just got out of the water and starts to pull the salmon out of his bag then, after you see the big head of the fish, you would not think that the rest of it is not salmon, would you?" It perhaps had not come into his mind that some people in the audience knew quite well what the WT predictions had been from the very beginning...
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  drew sagan

  The level-1 stuff is mostly things you want to believe, the level-2 those you would not like to believe but are made to. Level-3 might contain the things the rank-and-file JWs are never supposed to know (about the history of the organization etc) but some of them learn to know.

  Interesting idea about level-3. I think this might contain things such as the Elders book and letter collection, official legal policy, as well as teachings that are on the fringe. The typologies mentioned in this tread by AllTimeJeff probably are level-3 (many of these teachings were printed years ago, and few witnesses today have ever come in contact with them)
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  TD

  Hi Drew,

  The levels of JW doctrine you describe makes a lot of sense. I was thinking of the sheer number of times the JW's have gone through the Revelation book. I guess most of that goes right over the head of someone studying with JW's (?)

  I totally killed this thread...

  LOL -- I've killed so many threads that my screen name should be 'Anthrax'
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  neverendingjourney

  A person who converts (such as myself) eventually supresses their dobuts about the level-2 stuff in light of the "truth" of the level-1 information.

  I agree with your analysis, but I've looked at it a little bit differently. From my perspective, it's the buy-the-whole-ranch-because-you-like-the-cow syndrome. A potential convert becomes throughly schooled in the flaws of the major Christian denominations. Long-held articles of faith such as hellfire, the trinity, heavenly hope for all the faithful are attacked from every angle while the flaws in JW doctrine are ignored. The potential convert becomes convinced that all of the other major religions have it wrong, so therefore JWs must have "the truth."

  If the potential convert is astute, she will pick up on the fact that there are plenty of holes in JW theology as well, but the 'truths" she has been presented with are seemingly unavailable anywhere else, so she accepts the JW dogma despite its flaws. If you combine this with the fact that many new converts are in vulnerable positions in their lives (single mothers, immigrants, suffering the death of a loved one, etc.), the flaws in JW teachings become easier to swallow in light of everything else they have to offer.

  Of course, the flaw with this is that all denominations have flaws in them. It's not science. It's faith. If there weren't any flaws, it'd be universally recognized as fact. Any religion can come along and poke holes in other religions to foment loyalty among its members, and many do. The key is: Can a religion adequately defend it's own creed without resorting to comments about "the light getting brighter" or "God working in mysterious ways?" Unfortunately, people who seek religion tend to be searching desperately for answers and are therefore prone to overlook the logical problems associated with religions like the JWs.
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  drew sagan

  I was thinking of the sheer number of times the JW's have gone through the Revelation book. I guess most of that goes right over the head of someone studying with JW's (?)

  I tend to believe that the Watchtower purposefully makes those books confusing. I remember being an unbaptized publisher, reading through the revelation book. I understood none of it. I believe I actually read the book before me and my study conductor came to the information about the 'faithful slave' in the Knowledge book. When we went over that FDS stuff, I had no idea what he was talking about, even though I had actually read that revelation book! It just goes right over your head.

  I can only use my own experience, but from what I remember a new convert is so fixated on the "important things" (i.e. hellfire, trinity, paradise, ect) that anything complicated or strange gets set aside. You really don't notice the strange stuff.

  I agree with your analysis, but I've looked at it a little bit differently. From my perspective, it's the buy-the-whole-ranch-because-you-like-the-cow syndrome. A potential convert becomes throughly schooled in the flaws of the major Christian denominations. Long-held articles of faith such as hellfire, the trinity, heavenly hope for all the faithful are attacked from every angle while the flaws in JW doctrine are ignored. The potential convert becomes convinced that all of the other major religions have it wrong, so therefore JWs must have "the truth."

  I agree with your assessment, it is basically how I felt when I converted.

  I will add that the potential convert probably never believes that the JWs have "flaws" per se. New converts tend to be idealistic, something that is exploited by the JWs. They buy the argument that there are simply things that they don't understand at the moment, but that understanding will come in time. These items get "put on the shelf" for further consideration at a future point in time (which never actually happens).
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  DrJohnStMark

  drew sagan: the Revelation book... I tend to believe that the Watchtower purposefully makes those books confusing.

  In an old WT book on the Revelation, the 'Babylon book', there was a drawing of the second beast (13:11). The book sure induced a lot of confusion and still, if you just randomly open the book somewhere and read the text aloud now, it's like reading the Mad magazine... try this at home! Anyway, I was a small kid when this book was studied in the congregation, but I still remember one 'highly intellectual' discussion by 'mature christians' after the actual study about whether or not the beast purposedly resembled R.M.Nixon or not... I was so impressed. If I never was a JW, I would not have this kind of hilarious memories, would I?