A QUESTION FOR JW'S who say, "The brothers were overly zealous" about 1975

by Terry 49 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  Terry

  "WHAT WAS the actual significance of that year, then?"

  If JW's were OVERLY zealous, what was the exact amount of zeal encouraged by the WTS for a NON-EVENT which took up

  over 7 years of every JW's time?

  _________________________

  When the Watchtower Society predicted that 1873 was the END of 6,000 years of human existence--they got THAT wrong too.

  WHAT DO YOU CALL PEOPLE WHO DON'T LEARN FROM THEIR MISTAKES?

  _______________________

  What is the chief difference between GUESSING and getting it wrong and CHANNELING JEHOVAH'S SPIRIT and getting it wrong?

  ____________________

  The Faithful Slave is supposed to feed the flock "meat in due season" which means nourishing truth at the right time.

  If BOTH times you were WRONG--how was it NOURISHING orTRUE and how was it AT THE PROPER TIME?
• 

  AnnOMaly

  I found that the question, "Then why did the Society/Org. leadership officially express regret over the part they played in the 1975 hype?" usually shuts the person up.
• 

  Terry

  Recently, I spoke with a 19 year old JW. He was a young man of 19 currently DF'd. He is trying to get reinstated,

  but he has his doubts (however slim.)

  I asked him if anybody had ever asked, "Exactly HOW does Jehovah manage to use the GB to channel something

  if it comes out wrong and requiring adjustment? How is it merely an adjustment if it completely changes?

  How was it "true" if it changed to its opposite? Why keep 7 million JW's busy preaching and teaching things which

  turn out NOT to be worth saving?"

  He gave the usual replies. If you wait on Jehovah He makes it come out right.

  I asked how DANGEROUS it is to expect people to accept or reject salvation itself BASED ON CONTAMINATED teaching?

  That's what they say they are doing: separating sheep and goats BASED ON the response to what they are teaching!

  Is it doing anybody a favor to offer them something UNTRUE (it later changed, so it must be) which they rightly reject--

  and then calling that separating sheep from goats?

  Why shouldn't a one hundred year continuous history of wrong date-setting make householders REJECT JW teachings?

  ____________________________

  You know what? He listened. Each time he came back, he had recovered from those doubts.

  However--they were still bubbling beneath the surface.

  "What if you are really only STUMBLING PEOPLE instead of feeding sheep truth at the proper time?"
• 

  OUTLAW

  "WHAT WAS the actual significance of that year, then?"

  Most JWs don`t know about the WBT$ Official response..

  I haven`t met one yet..

  From my experience the Robotic JW Answer is: "Nothing!....Some JW`s were just overly Zealous!"

  .

  WHICH MEANS WE`RE SUPPOSED TO BELIEVE:

  There were groups of Renegade JW`s.....The WBT$ had No Control over!!..

  Renegade JW`s went Door to Door with Their Own 1975 Message..

  The WBT$ was Powerless to do anything about the Renegade JWs.....They couldn`t even Disfellowship them!!..

  Renegade JWs preaching Their Own 1975 Message were Untouchable!!..

  .

  As the WBT$ is a High Control Group,that Advises JWs on Every Tiny Detail about Anything..

  We should be able to find WBT$ Literature advising Renegade JWs "NOT TO PREACH 1975"..

  Where is it?!..

  ...........................................OUTLAW
• 

  Terry

  Damn those renegades! They're spoiling the good reputation of the rest!
• 

  NotNew

  I asked how DANGEROUS it is to expect people to accept or reject salvation itself BASED ON CONTAMINATED teaching?

  This is a very good question! One I hope to put to use...Thanks Terry

  SW
• 

  Mum

  I remember the book that first "suggested" the 1975 date. It was entitled something like Life Everlasting in Freedom of the Sons of God. (Perhaps daughters of God do not have freedom?) I used to recall the page number, but have forgotten it. I also recall a Watchtower article entitled "Are You Looking Forward to 1975?" It was all the talk. People were postponing health care and dental work. People were quitting good jobs and becoming handymen to have more time for the preaching work. The Truth that Leads to Eternal Life (the "Truth book") was published about 1968, and we were instructed to study with people only 6 months and press them to make a decision within that time frame because the end was SO CLOSE!

  They can't fool anyone who participated in that collective madness, particularly if we still have a working memory.

  I posted this information for those who were not there in the pre-1975 hysteria so they could have a frame of reference if anything ever came up about this issue.

  Letting go of our delusions is one of the most painful human experiences, but so worth it!
• 

  AndDontCallMeShirley

  No, of course WT didn't hype 1975...the rank and file came up with the concept all on their own and even managed to get their ideas into WT literature and preach it for several years before WT caught on. Sneaky devils, those R&F.

  .

  Awake! 1969 May 22 p.15

  "If you are a young person, you also need to face the fact that you will never grow old in this present system of things. Why not? Because all the evidence in fulfillment of Bible prophecy indicates that this corrupt system is due to end in a few years. ... Therefore, as a young person, you will never fulfill any career that this system offers. If you are in high school and thinking about a college education, it means at least four, perhaps even six or eight more years to graduate into a specialized career. But where will this system of things be by that time? It will be well on the way toward its finish, if not actually gone!"

  .

  1968: "Why Are You Looking Forward To 1975?" … "What about all this talk concerning the year 1975? Lively discussions, some based on speculation, have burst into flame during recent months among serious students of the Bible. Their interest has been kindled by the belief that 1975 will mark the end of 6,000 years of human history since Adam's creation. The nearness of such an important date indeed fires the imagination and presents unlimited possibilities for discussion." (Watchtower, Aug. 15, 1968, p. 494)

  .

  1974: "Yes, the end of this system is so very near! Is that not reason to increase our activity?...Reports are heard of brothers selling their homes and property and planning to finish out the rest of their days in this old system in the pioneer service. Certainly this is a fine way to spend the short time remaining before the wicked world's end." (Kingdom Ministry, May 1974, p. 3)

  Of course, WT has gone down this road before...and failed then as well. Compare to this statement to one made 58 years earlier:

  1916: "We see no reason for doubting, therefore, that the Times of the Gentiles ended in October, 1914; and that a few more years will witness their utter collapse and the full establishment of God's kingdom in the hands of Messiah." (Watchtower Reprints, VI, Sept 1, 1916, p. 5950)
• 

  DATA-DOG

  LOL!!! Renegade dubs!! HAHAHAHAHH!!!!!

  DD
• 

  Kalos

  1) From The Watchtower, October 15, 1969, pages 622-3

  "More recently earnest researchers of the Holy Bible have made a recheck of its chronology. According to their calculations the six millenniums of mankind's life on earth would end in the mid-seventies."

  2) From “Our Kingdom Ministry, May, 1974, page 3:

  “Yes, the end of this system is so very near! Is that not reason to increase our activity? In this regard we can learn something from a runner who puts on a final burst of speed near the finish of a race. Look at Jesus, who apparently stepped up his activity during his final days on earth. In fact, over 27 percent of the material in the Gospels is devoted to just the last week of Jesus’ earthly ministry!—Matt. 21:1–27:50; Mark 11:1–15:37; Luke 19:29–23:46; John 11:55–19:30."