<<<I don't get the " popularity " reference. I am dead serious>>>
Neither do I! (said while lifting right buttock and discharging suitable quantities of broccoli-scented fartgas for the occasion).
I wonder... Who are the top apostates the Watchtower HATES the most?
by Greybeard 84 Replies latest jw friends
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Refriedtruth
Jehovah's Witnesses have a major apostate problem 70% of all children born JW will leave on adulthood.
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DaCheech
yep
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tim hooper
There's a few apostates at this Norway / Brit fest, Kent Steinhaugh, Jan Haugland and Norm Hovland included!
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jws
Another name, William J. Schnell, a decade before Franz came out with 30 years a Watchtower Slave in 1971. I remember the pious annointed pioneer we used to give a ride to the meeting being real indignant about the book.
Call it whatever you like, but Franz's book got me out in the early 90's. I've read others. His book might have been the only thing to do so. There were other books about how the doctrine was wrong, usually promoting some other religious belief. At the time, I didn't care. "Knew" they were just twisting the bible somehow. Didn't want new beliefs pushing Trinity or whatever. Didn't want to hear what the JWs believed and published 80 years ago. That was old-light anyway.
Franz was the one who showed how it all worked behind the scenes in a way no other ex-JW or non-JW could really. Everyone else could only guess at motives or why they did this or that and say they're wrong. But Franz was there in the meetings at the top, knew who did what, who championed what opinion or another, who didn't agree, etc. It showed me how man-made it all was. And that got me out in a way a doctrinal argument never would have. And I also liked that Franz didn't say, here you go, here's what you should believe now.
Not everybody got out because of Franz, but I'll bet there's underlying connections. Maybe the person or the person who wrote the book that brought you out was influenced by Franz.
It's like an expose on the government's secret workings written by an ex-president vs. a Washington reporter. What's gonna be a more compelling read?
But really, whoever helps you get out, it's a good thing.
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Refriedtruth
All cults have a boogieman Scientology has the SP (Supressed Person)
Jehovah's Witnesses have the DF (Disfellowshiped Person)
David Koresh it was the federal govt.
Jim Jones 'fascist terrorist'
Hitler had the Jews
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yadda yadda 2
Can't believe no one's mentioned the scholarly Greg Stafford. Not sure they hate Greg though, since he defends much of what they teach.
And don't forget Robert King, aka e-watchman. Robert has p*ssed them off no end with his regular letter campaigns, sending thousands of letters and boasting a very professional looking website. Total conspiracy theory wack-job of course but he's still impressive for being that special breed of apostate, like Greg Stafford, who can almost irresistibly undermine JW's confidence in the org by convinging them the org has got a lot wrong but defending what they think the org has got right.
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apostatethunder
If Jesus was alive today, how would they welcome him and his message? How do they dare to call themselves Christians?
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processor
#1 most hated and feared Apostate is...... JESUS!!!
True ;)
This is from The Witchtower 07/2010:
Jehovah’s Witnesses consider apostasy the worst of all sins. They “share Jehovah’s feelings toward such apostates … they ‘feel a loathing’ toward [them].” (The Watchtower, October 1, 1993, page 19) The manual Pay Attention to Yourselves and to All the Flock makes it plain what “apostasy” means: “Persons who deliberately spread (stubbornly hold to and speak about) teachings contrary to Bible truth as taught by Jehovah's Witnesses are apostates.” – page 94.
So it is apostasy when someone spreads teachings contrary to those of Jehovah’s Witnesses. A man who excelled in doing that was Moses. He even introduced a complete code of law which was contradicting the Watchtower doctrines in many respects – for example, he claimed that divorce would be allowed as long as the man issues a “certificate of divorce” to his former wife. (Deuteronomy 24:1) He also asserted that preaching from house to house would not be required for salvation (Exodus 14:3). He ‘stubbornly held to and spoke about’ these teachings, so he surely is guilty of apostasy.
Many centuries later, the apostle James too spread false teachings when he claimed: “The form of worship that is clean and undefiled from the standpoint of our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their tribulation, and to keep oneself without spot from the world.” (James 1:27) The most important aspects of worship – witnessing from house to house, attending meetings, and obedience toward the “faithful and discreet slave” – he did not mention at all! Rather he encouraged Christians to waste their time ‘looking after orphans and widows’ instead of participating “in the lifesaving preaching work.” – Our Kingdom Ministry, December 2009, page 1.
The “Bible truth as taught by Jehovah's Witnesses” involves the obligation to hate apostates. The August 1, 1953 Watchtower issue applied Psalm 139:22 to them: “[Apostates] we hate and count as our enemies … ‘I hate them with perfect hatred: they are become mine enemies.’” (page 479) The October 1, 1952 issue explained: “We must hate in the truest sense, which is to regard with extreme and active aversion, to consider as loathsome, odious, filthy, to detest … We cannot love those hateful enemies, for they are fit only for destruction … These are the true sentiments, desires and prayers of the righteous ones today.” – pages 599, 600.
The July 15, 1992 Watchtower issue confirmed this viewpoint: “Our attitude toward apostates should be that of David, who declared: ‘Do I not hate those? … With a complete hatred I do hate them.’” (page 12) What an impudence it was that Jesus dared to disagree with this clear doctrine! He said in public: “You heard that it was said [to wit, in the Watchtower], ‘You must love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ However, I say to you: Continue to love your enemies and to pray for those persecuting you.” (Matthew 5:43) He prized his own word above the Watchtower’s and claimed that “he knows better … than the ‘faithful and discreet slave!’” – The Watchtower, August 1, 1980, page 19.
Moses, James and Jesus were not the initiators of these false teachings; they only shared in spreading them. The one who brought these “teachings contrary to Bible truth as taught by Jehovah's Witnesses” into the world was Jehovah. (Deuteronomy 26:16; 2 Timothy 3:16; 2 Peter 1:21) So, more than anyone else he is guilty of apostasy.
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Farkel
ros,
A comment you made about Kent being threatened with a lawsuit from the WTS for putting up the Flock book reminded me of a similar experience with him.
Over a dozen years ago I wrote a piece called "1914 For Dummies" and put it up on H20. Kent snatched it and put it up on his site. Kent never asked anyone for permission, he just took stuff he liked and put it up, but that was alright with me.
Later, he wrote me and said he got a nasty letter from the people who publish the "Dummies" books claiming that was their trademark and threatening to sue him unless he took that article down. (As if anyone could get a trademark on a common word like that!)
A while later we were talking on the phone and I asked him what happened with that threat the dummies people made to him. He said, "I told them to go f*** themselves!"
Yep. That was classic Kent!
Farkel