by Chalam 28 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
As a bethel elder once said to me, "We put our faith and wish to be identified with, the God of the OT, with jehovah and not with anything from the NT".
And this is made very clear by the name that Rutherford chose for them, along with the vainglorious ruse to put the name Jehovah all over the NT.
Plus their love of Arianism.
As a bethel elder once said to me, "We put our faith and wish to be identified with, the God of the OT, with jehovah and not with anything from the NT".
Quite true. JWs are trying to be made righteous by following the law. They need to learn about God's grace and focus on some verses like these
20 Therefore no one will be declared righteous in his sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of sin.
15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance—now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.
The old covenant is obsolete and has been superseded
13 By calling this covenant "new," he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.
There is one covenant, one hope, one faith and one Mediator
24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
Blessings,
Stephen
I said "Jesus is Lord" when someone like Stephen (Chalam) took the time at a door when I was a "We've Got Da Troof" teenage JW. He patiently took me to Romans 10:9, had me read it out loud, and then asked me to say: "Jesus is Lord".
I think he was a bit surprised and maybe a little frustrated that I gave in so easily. By that time in my JW indoctrination, I knew that "technically" when you're pinned to the mat at the door with a Born Again Christian, it's OK to say "Jesus is Lord" and that he's "a god" and even "Mighty God". But it's all to the glory of ALL-Mighty (sp, I know) GOD, Jehover.
On a daily basis though, when JWs are talking amongst themselves, Jesus is an afterthought, IMO. It's fairly analagous to asking JWs now if they're allowed to vote. If they're really savvy, they'll say sure, but as a practical matter, they all know it's really not OK to actually vote for a human.
om
I can say this:
The furthest I have ever been from God and Jesus was when I was doing bible studies with my mom and sister, I did not like and didn't wan to know "their" God Jehovah, this was not someone I liked very much, but even through them I saw the love and compassion of his son, but I had a jard time reconsiling the two.
I stopped the BS, it was just not interested anymore.
Then something happened and the love of our Lord and saviour came to me, I found it and I received it with joy and tears in my eyes.
I thank the Lord every day for my wife ( and a co-workers of hers) that showed me that path to God, a loving, caring compassionate God with a Son that I WANTED to know.
So I studied, I picked up a bibel and read it, from the firts page to the last ( NT) and there I saw the Lord and Saviour that I had been looking for and Our Beloved Father that I missed so much.
Jesus is my Lord and Saviour and I have no problems in saying that and don't know whay anyone that proclaims to be a christian would.
To the average Witness--at least to me--saying "Jesus is Lord" seemed too synonymous with saying "Jesus is God", so it was a phrase I preferred to avoid. But in my private thoughts I noticed how little Jehovah was actually mentioned in the New Testament, and I knew for sure that the first century Christians definitely were not Jehovah's Witnesses.
The irony of this, a huge irony, is the fact that this is a very, very scriptural teaching. To be nervous about glorifying Jesus is an awfully odd thing if you're a Christian. Oh, of course. Being a Christian isn't good enough...one has to be the kind of CHRISTian that Jehovah would approve of. Yeah. Nothing like bad logic.
SD-7
As I said to a couple of JWs, I'm with Thomas with regards to Jesus.
28 Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!"
Blessings,
Stephen
I think a JW not saying "Jesus is Lord" has alot to do with the WT Mediator Teaching and WT application of NT scriptures to the annointed only. The average JW don't feel a close attachment to Jesus. Jehovah has all the power.
Chalam
When I was at Bethel in the 70's, I would sometimes hear one of the elderly annointed speak that way.
Was also reading an old CTR WT from the 1890's and they spoke in those terms. In fact JG harldy existed....
Most Denominations and Religions have their own versions of what we called 'Theocratic language'. What does it amount to, group think mainly.
Does someone self proclaiming themselves Born Again have any meaning outside of a 20th century context, not really. Are they a better person than someone who does not use a specific Group's lingo? If you say the English 'Jesus' or the Spanish pronunciation does it have any more or less meaning than the Hebrew way to say the name. Look at the polarization over a simple thing like the pronunciation- Jehovah, some people love it and others run screaming out of the room
One of the things we learned about 'theocratic language' is that it becomes a tool for control, and superstition.
