by confusedteenager 108 Replies latest jw friends
no, that is a termite colony!? that the way they want
the R&File, a mindless hoard, Great Crowd of pre-programmed, unquestioning workers sacrificing themselfs for the Inner Party.
of course it is a BROKEN termite hill is it not?, and as such it is accurate and prophetic.
p. 17, par. 8: "With unwavering loyalty, they looked to the apostles to explain the words and deeds of Jesus and to shed fresh light on the meaning of the scriptures pertaining to him."
There's that buzz word--loyalty. I feel once more like I'm being mentally set up for something. Fresh light, huh? Well, there you have it.
p. 18, par. 11: "Notice that those congregations prospered as a result of their loyal cooperation with the governing body of Jerusalem. Is that not proof of Jehovah's blessing on the arrangement by means of which his Son fed the congregations?"
Well, gee, here I thought it was because of that thing called "holy spirit" that the congregations prospered, not loyal cooperation with the governing body. We might add, of course, that if anything, a lot of those congregations were pretty disloyal, 'cause Paul had to keep reminding them about the circumcision issue years after the decision was already made. Proof of God's blessing in the first century is no doubt going to be equated, at least in a JW's mind whether they're aware of it or not, with proof of God's blessing today, you guessed it, because of loyal cooperation (obedience) to the Governing Body. Subtle.
p. 18, par. 16: "The Bible Students' diligent study of the Scriptures yielded rich results. Those loyal men and women exposed false doctrines and spread spiritual truths, publishing and distributing Bible literature far and wide."
There's that word again--loyal.
Into the fourth article, it seems that everything hangs on Jesus becoming King in 1914. It's offered as if to be taken for granted as true. But then the audience will assume it's true, it's not like this is being directed at the public or something.
p. 23, par. 13: "Early in the last days, the domestics were all anointed ones. Later, the domestics came to include the great crowd of other sheep."
"Came to include"? They just became "domestics" like last year. I suppose that does qualify as "later", doesn't it? Much, much later. You could say that the domestics now include the great crowd, and therefore, the domestics always included the great crowd...
Still in par. 13: "What about the Governing Body members who today make up the faithful and discreet slave? Those brothers also need to be fed spiritually. Hence, they humbly recognize that as individuals they are domestics just like all the rest of Jesus' genuine followers."
You really think these guys actually study these articles with the same interest as the regular JWs? I mean, they presumably were the ones who wrote the articles in the first place. I think my efforts at writing The Beast-Tower demonstrate just how little spiritual feeding is required for the people who write the literature. But this line to me seems to suggest there may be a subtle jab being thrown at someone on the Governing Body who may think a little too highly of his own personal thoughts. I may be wrong.
Box on p. 24: "In effect, Jesus was saying: 'If the faithful and discreet slave were ever to mistreat his fellow slaves in these ways, this is what the master will do when he arrives.'...However, the composite faithful and discreet slave has continued to keep on the watch and to provide nourishing spiritual food."
What a relief! The 'faithful slave' has informed us that they have continued to keep on the watch and provide nourishing spiritual food. You know, when people are fed by someone, do we usually go on the opinion of the person who cooks the food or the opinion of the person who eats it? That can be subjective, of course. But imagine if you go to a restaurant, and you find the food unacceptable, so you send it back to the kitchen. Then, you find yourself surrounded by three men and escorted out of the restaurant! The reason you're given? Because you didn't like the food! This is the no-win situation a JW finds themselves in, a world with only one restaurant, run by the faithful slave. So if the slave says the food is good, you just have to pick the mold off and find the section that looks cooked enough and hope for the best.
Ah. Well, that's it for my thoughts. I'm sure I'm covering stuff that's already been covered...now to read over what I wrote and fix it up a little before clicking 'Submit'...
--sd-7
Excellent illustration about food sd-7.
Another change: they now portray Jesus' "evil slave" Mt 24:48-51 remarks as a hypothetical reminder of encouragement to the "faithful slave." And, those that disagree with their doctrines are simply "apostates." pp. 24
So, they know to take the "evil slave" out of any discussions. Cautiously they realize they're at risk of being painted with the "evil slave" image.
Very interesting!
Another change: they now portray Jesus' "evil slave" Mt 24:48-51 remarks as a hypothetical reminder of encouragement to the "faithful slave." And, those that disagree with their doctrines are simply "apostates." pp. 24
I bet this will be one refinement that will go right over the heads of many of the still-surviving old timer JWs who have become so accustomed to referring to "apostates' as belonging to the "evil slave" class they won't be able to see it any other way.
seems like this thread is going better than the others .. yah so now they found yet another great crowd to make promises too , just becuse they don't take the bread and wine on NISAN 14 doesn't mean they are the great crowd , the GC has to endure until the end through all the trials and tribulations and then survive the day of GODs anger , no mark of the beast as of yet but who knows when that happens , the lamb beast is on the rise IMO otherwise known as the NWO , I just wonder how many times the org. has encouraged false expectations only to accuse the R&F of being at fault , sounds like something the evil slave would do .
Actually the 'clarification' that the evil slave is not a separate class but a state that the faithful and discrete slave has to remain vigilant to avoid becoming nicely leaves open the door to allegations they HAVE virtually become an evil slave. Indeed, over the years many, many former witnesses and others have precisely stated that the Watchtower has behaved like such an evil slave. It is either a step too far of self-incriminating stupidity or a mark of profound self-awareness that the GB approved the new 'understanding' on this text. I think the evidence strongly points to self-incrimnating stupidity as the most plausible explanation, showing how some supposedly intelligent rats have a self-sabotaging need to set their own traps.
Good News From God!™
. . . Words are failing me utterly. They are serving up a load of . . .
Seems those four directors voted to give Rutherford full control as President. Then, once they saw he was going to be a tyrant, they wanted to repeal the bylaws and restore the sharing of authority amongst the members of the board. They didn't even want him to stop being President of the Society, they just wanted to go back to what the gameplan was based on C.T. Russell's will, which was for the 7-member board of directors to make decisions together. Rutherford used his legal knowledge to have it declared that they weren't legally members of the board of directors at all, then gave them the boot and put his own people on the board so he'd have no one who would challenge him on anything.
Aha, thanks sd-7, full control. That is what I've been thinking since last October. Rutherford had full control of what went in the publications. He had full control when in 1919 Jesus supposedly appointed the FDS.
So that nonsense that "there have always been anointed brothers at world headquarters" and "when these work together to provide spiritual food they become the FDS", which is on the annual meeting report on jw.org, is nothing more than a smokescreen to cover up the fact that as you elegantly put it Rutherford was the one who had FULL CONTROL of the publications. There was no governing body. Rutherford was the one "on hand" back then, so basically he was the first "faithful and discreet slave".
And then as Cedars expertly pointed out the apostolic succession principle ensures that once he had that office, all his heirs and successors inherited it too. It just took them 93/4 years to figure that out.
Alec.
Yet that very same month JWs go D2D with this sample presentation:
In light of the WT magazine currently under discussion, how will you respond to that question?
