WT Elders school: Avoid black and white thinking - now look at this zebra

by sir82 53 Replies latest jw friends

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  sir82

  Continuing on with my haphazard review of the recent one-day elders school....

  In one of the introductory talks, the CO was making the point that we can't view things merely from a black and white perspective. Many issues have "shades of gray" and we need to use discernment in such situations.

  And I'm thinking "Finally! Maybe he will continue on to make an actual, reasonable point!"

  Alas! The sparks of my hope were quenched mere seconds later.

  As an example, he instructed us to read Numbers 15:32-36.

  Here it is from the NWT:

  While the sons of Israel were continuing in the wilderness, they once found a man collecting pieces of wood on the sabbath day. 33 Then those who found him collecting pieces of wood brought him up to Moses and Aaron and the whole assembly. 34 So they committed him into custody, because it had not been distinctly stated what should be done to him.

  35 In time Jehovah said to Moses: “Without fail the man should be put to death, the whole assembly pelting him with stones outside the camp.” 36 Accordingly the whole assembly brought him forth outside the camp and pelted him with stones so that he died, just as Jehovah had commanded Moses.

  The point? From our perspective, it may have seemed like a minor thing. The man was just trying to help his family, right? There were other Sabbaths that he could observe, right? What's the big deal with gathering a few sticks?

  But no - Moses and Aaron prayed about it, and Jehovah said "kill him". So they unhesitatingly killed him. From Jehovah's perspective, a day set aside for holy things was of utmost importance.

  Likewise, the CO said, we need to make sure that we judge using Jehovah's perspective. That is quite often different than what we as imperfect humans might see.

  And I'm sitting there thinking, "Wait - what? You just got done saying we have to avoid 'black and white' thinking, and the scriptural citation you use is perhaps the most striking example of 'black and white' thinking in the entire Bible?"

  Any hopes of a "softening" by the WTS are quite misplaced, if this school is any indication.

  The emphasis seems to be, "If in doubt, DF the MF-er".

  This was also stressed in another of those "real life video dramas", which I'll cover in another post.
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  Doubting Bro

  Is it any wonder the WTS is a huge fan of the "Hebrew" scriptures??? I mean, that Jesus dude was ok and all but WAY too soft on people.
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  james_woods

  Fascinating, Sir82 - so you should be stoned for gathering firewood, but it is OK to save your farm animal which fell into a water hole?

  It is also quite interesting that the CO bypassed the more tolerant New Testament references on the sabbath - and went straight back to the vengeful god of Noah...
• 

  perfect1

  WOW.

  I feel its just a matter of time before the official policy changed from shunning to stoning.
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  undercover

  so you should be stoned for gathering firewood, but it is OK to save your farm animal which fell into a water hole?

  Yea, that was the first thing I thought of... and how Jesus used saving that animal as a basis for his reasoning of healing on the Sabbath

  But no wonder the pharisees wanted to do away with Jesus, they were just carrying on the righteous principle as set before them by Moses and Aaron.

  And today's elders are being taught to be just like the pharisees.
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  Theocratic Sedition

  LOL!!!!!! So their solution to avoid black and white thinking is to err on the side of what? I don't even know how to word that. Err on the side of divine caution as depicted by the Hebrew side of the Scriptures. You know of all the verses to illustrate the need to avoid black and white thinking, a man getting stoned for collecting stickes was probably the worst example to use if you're an easy going kinda guy. Especially if as others pointed out you're the type of person that recalls to mind Jesus' words on that one sheep being down in the pit.

  I can't recall who said it a million times while I was lurking, maybe Jonathan Dough or Perry? Both of them were some hardlined individuals yet one of them, perhaps even both, stated numerous times that Jehovah's Witnesses are NOT Christians. While I agreed with them back then to some degree and with some reservation, it took this thread to REALLY put things in perspective. If there was any question as to what direction the leadership of this organization wants to go.........................
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  cedars

  Wow, it's shocking to see the dreadful direction the Society is going in. You would think they would want to distance themselves from Israelite stonings - not sympathize with them.

  What dreadful stuff. It looks like the Governing Body wants to "radicalize" its elders. Things must be bad for them if they are resorting to such drastic measures.

  Cedars
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  ThomasCovenant

  "If in doubt, DF the MF-er".

  Lol
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  cofty

  wow - that is real kool aid stuff.
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  Theocratic Sedition

  I feel its just a matter of time before the official policy changed from shunning to stoning.

  Oh without a doubt, the mentality is already there. Heck there are older articles where it specifically states the only thing preventing them from stoning family members is Caeser's law. They'd absolutely LOVE to murder each and every poster on this message board. I get the feeling they'd love to have the ability to enter a hospital after someone has recieved a blood transfusion and then put a pillow over the person's face like the Godfather II. Crazy!!!!!!!!