Bloody hell C.A , are you saying the WT is a money making scam ?
FREE Home Bible Study?!?!?
by Christ Alone 41 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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Christ Alone
You know Phizzy, I'm not sure. I know that many think it is. But I'm still unsure of it. I tend to think that the GB is actually honest hearted. I think they believe what they are saying. It seems hard to believe with the apparent purposeful use of mind control tactics. But being in Brooklyn and seeing bethel first hand, it did not seem like it was just after the money.
I don't know. It's such a contradictory organization. On one hand they seem genuine (wrong but genuine). On the other hand they seem crafty and greedy. On one hand it seems that they know what they are doing in teaching error (changing quotes as they see fit, ignoring data, etc...). On the other it seems like they are lying to themselves, but actually believe the lie.
Most of those that were at bethel and left the org did not have the experience that money was the primary importance at bethel and that there was purposeful deception going on there. Of course, we could be wrong. They could be better at covering their tracks than we thought.
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Phizzy
I know it is difficult to asses C.A . Certainly being IN Bethel is not the place to objectively look at it, anymore than being in the cult is an objective place to look at it religiously.
Just as in my own Congregation of J.W's there were many sincere and loving people, I do not doubt that is true of Bethel. As to the G.B's sincerity I think that will vary according to how much each one is aware that the Cognitive Dissonance they are feeling is trying to tell them something.
All of them have come up through the ranks, some quicker than others, but all were ,if they are not now, "Captives of a Concept".
The G.B members are aware though, of how doctrine and policy are arrived at, they are aware too that they are giving a false impression about this to the R&F JW's.
I know how shocked one H.Q Bethelite was when he passed the door of the G.B's meeting room amd heard them loudly disputing with eachother, this Brother asked himself "Where is the Holy Spirit ?". The G.B know of all this subterfuge , so are not just deluded, they are dishonest too.
As I outlined on another thread, the GB know that they are subject to the expertise they necessarily have to call upon, men who are Lawyers, Financiers and other specialist skills the uneducated G.B do not have, every doctrine and policy change is run past these faceless puppeteers who pull the strings, and ensure the survival of the Cash Cow that is the W.T
I do not believe these men are believers at all. they just love the easy pickings, and the control of Billions in Funds that the G.B know little of , or understand.
The G.B are proud of their position, and are supported by a sycophantic body of Behtelites who convince them they are doing God's will.
It is, without doubt, a money making scam.
How guilty individual people at the top are, how much they really recognise the truth about the organisation, is moot, and not that important, they all , to a degree know they are feeding crap to the R&F , and they don't care.
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Splash
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Splash
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Jeffro
Ethos:
Because very few (no one I know) people can obtain a Bible for free.
That's nothing short of a lie (even ignoring the high likelihood that most people you know are probably JWs anyway). Just about anyone can get a free Bible. Most churches give Bibles away. Failing that, anyone with Internet access can access many translations online, or for download in various formats. See also http://christianity.about.com/od/practicaltools/ht/freebible.htm
Theres a reason its called "the best selling book of the year, every year."
This claim is trotted out quite often, but there are several problems with it. When the claim is made, there usually aren't any statistics provided to show that it has been the 'best-seller' in any particular year, or that it still holds that position. It isn't clear if the claim refers to number of copies actuall sold (rather than given away) or number of copies printed, or whether it refers to the number of copies printed per year, or total printings ever. Many people have a Bible essentially as an ornament, and either rarely read it at all; many only flip to a few cherry-picked favourite verses rather than actually reading it through. The number of times the book has been printed or even sold doesn't automatically attribute any moral value to it.
How can you have a Bible study without a Bible?
The question is based on the initial false premise. But more relevant with JWs is why can't you have a Bible study without JW literature.
Nevermind the fact that books that help explain the Bible (lexicons, dictionaries, biblical exegesis) are very costly. I've been to churches where you can receive a personal Bible study, but the materials alone costed about 40 bucks.
Various biblical dictionaries and other expositions are available online for free. For example, see http://www.blueletterbible.org/study/
Still waiting for your response at the 607 thread.
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carla
Ethos- "no one I know"- maybe because all you know are jw's?
How you can flat out lie like that is beyond me especially on this board! You may think you are getting away with lying to the public but fortunately jw's reputation usually preceeds them at the doors.
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Jeffro
Ethos:
Because very few (no one I know) people can obtain a Bible for free.
This claim is also inherently false, because as a JW, anyone you know is able to obtain a Bible for free from you.
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Ethos
Talk about overanalyzing and overscrutinizing my every statement. Obviously when I said no one I know I was talking about people who weren't JW's. Most people pay for Bibles. How about you do some research and stop using special exceptions (such as online websites and charitable organzations/churches) to argue your case. That is like trying to use the success of Adele's 21 to argue that piracy is not affecting album sales.
The Bible is the most bought book of the year, everywhere....and people wanna argue and say it's crap that I said most people have to pay for their Bibles when the facts show that it is.
It's also unfair how I'm given a plethora of statements every time I post...when you guys know my posts are restricted and then expect me to reply to everything. At least be reasonable?
607 response coming tonight.
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mrsjones5
"Talk about overanalyzing and overscrutinizing my every statement."
Waa! What a baby you are. You made the mistake of not doing any research and obviously didn't know what you were talking about.
"Obviously when I said no one I know I was talking about people who weren't JW's."
Obvious to you maybe, LoL.
"Most people pay for Bibles."
I need fact and figures to back that up. Making a statement isn't proof.
"How about you do some research and stop using special exceptions (such as online websites and charitable organzations/churches) to argue your case"
Beat ya to it. You're just pissed someone did it before you.