MadJW. The Society claim they are God's chosen organization, hand selected by Christ himself in 1919. They teach that God uses them only to communicate his 'truths' and that by means of his Holy Spirit the his faithful and discreet slave (the annointed) provide us with food at the proper time.
There have been countless predictions, including the return of the prophets of old. For them the house beth-sarim was built. Several dates were given for the 'end' prior and even after 1914. This did not happen.
Many have given their lives to an organization to be cast out, cut off from families, sometimes dieing before they can reconcile.
The date used to get 1914 uses a false date for the destruction of Jerusalem. Even the Societies own literature, if you look and read carefully proves this date as incorrect as do Babylonian records.
The teaching that if a rape victim didn't scream, she/he was therefore to blame. That has since changed but think of the phsycological damage this could possibly have done to some.
There is evidence to show that abuse victims have recieved little or no protection while the molesters (frequently in positions of prominence) are allowed to continue visiting the congregation where there are children present.
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If you genuinely seek the truth then i implore you to see reason. God either uses this organization or he does not. By the Bibles own terms, the Watchtower Society is a false prophet and a bloody bad one at that because they never openly admit the truth extent of their errors.
Deuteronomy 18:20-22 (New International Version)
20 But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death."
21 You may say to yourselves, "How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD ?" 22 If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.
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You cannot sit on the fence. That is one thing the Society had right. It is pretty black and white. You either believe they are the only source of truth or or you do not. If you pick the former, you go down a very dangerous road. You yourself admit they make serious errors of judgment. My opinion is this is not a mistake but instead, they act according to their own agenda. It is a cult that has claimed lives, caused heartache and irreparable damage.
You say the truth still stands, society or not. If you claim to be a Christian, i would hope you know that the truth is not at all complicated. The truth is quite simply one thing, that Christ died for you, and for me and for us all. That there is a hope and nothing more. Have you ever heard that from the platform? All i ever heard is that we need to do more and more. The yolk of the Society is not light, it is a back breaking load that many crumble beneath. There is one mediator between God and Man and that is Christ himself, not a group of old men who sit in a room, deciding the fate of millions. That is not found anywhere in the Bible.