Are There ANY Prophecies or Beliefs That The Witnesses Have Right In Your Opinion?

by minimus 93 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  rocketman

  They probably have the trinity (or lack thereof) right. They probably have afterlife and hellfire (or lack thereof) right. They have Christmas right, even though Christmas has largely evolved into a family holiday, and people generally no longer care about or are aware about its pagan roots. Their total avoidance of it (not even acknowledging "Merry Christmas") is an extreme reponse.

  They may have neutrality right in terms of religious involvement in politics. However, in terms of warfare, as long as evil exists, there is a need for a response to it.
• 

  james_woods

  I think Minimus had in right in his original post.

  Depending on your beliefs, it is possible to say that they have certain beliefs "right".

  However - and this is very telling - ABSOLUTLEY NONE of their prophecies has ever been even close to being right.

  And, for any thinking person - the total failure of their prophetic output completely negates the belief structure.

  For comparison - you might say that Harold Camping had some beliefs right, too - but look what a mess he made of end-time prophecy.
• 

  InterestedOne

  james-woods - JW's I have spoken with do not like to use the word "prophecy" when describing WT writings. Rather, they describe the WT writers as simply searching the scriptures and sometimes having incorrect understandings about what they thought the scriptures said about the future. The scriptures make the prophecies, and the WT just tries to understand them.
• 

  minimus

  Nearly everyone can get something right once in a while! A "true prophet" always gets it right. JWs track record sux.
• 

  wasblind

  So true James

  And because they claim to represent Jehovah , they still meet their qualification as "Prophets" On page 133 Reasoning book

  But they now qualify as "false Prophets" according to Deuteronomy 18:21-22

  Hello there Interested one

  The WTS always tries to worm It's way out of things, I reason like this

  What does a preacher, teacher,and a prophet do????

  A preacher preaches, a teacher teaches, and an organization that meets the qualification of a prophet, made prophecies
• 

  james_woods

  james-woods - JW's I have spoken with do not like to use the word "prophecy" when describing WT writings.

  Quite true. But that is weasel-wording specifically to avoid the charge of "false prophets" because the Bible is so adamant in denouncing the false prophet.

  Which they obviously are.

  Like Time Magazine said over 1975: "This group has been burned by false prophecies in the past".

  They just cannot get around it. ALL of their prophecies have failed.
• 

  InterestedOne

  Is there a difference between misunderstanding a scripture and making a prophecy? If so, did the WT just misunderstand a scripture, or did they make a prophecy?
• 

  james_woods

  Is there a difference between misunderstanding a scripture and making a prophecy? If so, did the WT just misunderstand a scripture, or did they make a prophecy?

  I go by the simple understanding of words - as they are defined in the english language dictionary. If you interpret a scripture - you are making a statement on what that particular scripture means. If you take the interpretation to the level of predicting what will happen in the future, you are making a prophecy. If your prophecy does not come about, then you are a false prophet. This is what the WTBTS has done many times in their history, and this is what makes them false prophets.
• 

  designs

  I liked that they did not go to war but there are many organizations who oppose war and actually are activists about it.

  Peace Alliance org.
• 

  InterestedOne

  james_woods - That makes sense. Your third line is the determining factor between a misunderstanding vs. a false prophecy - taking one's interpretation to the level of actually predicting the future.

  Edit: Still, I wonder if one could say that taking the interpretation to the level of actually predicting the future is a natural result of believing the interpretation of scripture to be correct. Naturally, one would behave as though the interpretation is correct and plan accordingly, thinking the events will actually occur in the future. Is belief in the correctness of one's interpretation the same as making a prophecy?

  Edit 2: Upon further reflection on your post, James, yes I think predicting the future, whatever the prediction is based on, is making a prophecy. If the prediction does not come true, the one making the prediction is a false prophet. Thank you.