To You Know and other pro-JWs who are posting here

by sunshineToo 34 Replies latest jw friends

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  ozziepost

  If I am still alive then and counted worthy I would expect to be alongside the brothers of Christ who will at some point be in various stages of incarceration, nakedness, homelessness, and starvation, and otherwise humilated. / You Know

  Pardon?
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  hillary_step

  YK,

  That's a very clever misapplication of Christ's parable. The point of Jesus' illustration was to move the hearer to show kindness to strangers. You would pervert Jesus' message to have me believe that Christ would have us tolerate the pernicious ideas of those who are opposed to the truth.

  Not really YK. the point I am making is that the Samaritans were viewed as apostates by 'Jehovah's Witnesses' throughout the Hebrew ages. You cannot deny this. Christ on the other hand used a Samaritan, an apostate, as an example of identifying a superior love to the self-righteous and 'saved' Jews of his day. So you tell me then YK, why did Jesus use a Samaritan, and I re-emphasize, an apostate, to show that God judges the heart not the doctrine. Why not use the example of a Roman, or Syrian, these too were viewed as 'dogs' by the Jews, why choose a Samaritan? You did not answer this challenge from my first post.

  For one thing, Paul was quoting what was the commonly held opinion of the day regarding Cretans, that's why his comments are in quotations. Too, people weren't concerned back then about being politically correct back then.

  You made my very point YK, that is exactly what I said in my post! Paul was using in his writings and no doubt in his thinking, the culturally acceptable modes of behavior of his day, behavior which he would no doubt adjust today to suit C21st culture. The issue of how God punished Annanias and Sapphira, again as I have noted, shows that perhaps even God has changed his methods to suit a more enlightened age, yet many of his worshippers cannot seem to follow his lead. The core principles of Christianity, that is, love God and love your neighbor as yourself, do not ever need to be compromised whatever the age or fashion.

  Now, I agree that Pauls condemnation of the Galatians ( being the Celts ) whose belief systems naturally leant them to absorption of other philosophies was vigorous. I also agree that the Judaizers were rightly Pauls most bitter enemies. I actually think that the battle to rid Christianity of 'Judiastic' thinking is still alive and well in the C21st. My biggest criticism of the WTS, of which you may have noticed that I have a few.....lol, are that they have fallen foul to a Judaistic mentality and cannot determine whether they are Jews or Christians, hence the corporate struggle with a sort of internal cognitive dissonance. They sit on an uncomfortable fence. I also believe that Paul was saturated in Pharasaic thinking himself, and was struggling to make his own mind over to Christian thinking, not always successfully by his own admission. Who did seem to be of special disgust to Paul were those persons who having been shown God's love and given his spiritual gifts, then used them to damage others. The Samaritan apostate was not damaging, but healing. From what I can see many Christians damage others with their faith rather than heal them.

  The parable of the 'Good Samaritan' is not about tolerance imho but about attitude. No doctrines were mentioned, but attitudes were. Kindness by an 'apostate' to a believer was accepted by God as a simple, but costly act of kindness, and held up as a lesson throughout time for those who believe themselves superior in grace. Perhaps the lesson is that doctrine always holds a position of secondary importance in the mind of God, continually overshadowed by mercy, kindness and compassion, while many of Gods followers gleefully kill for doctrine both in a literal and figurative way.

  Best regards - HS

  Edited by - hillary_step on 8 August 2002 7:23:58
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  sunshineToo

  You Know wrote:

  An apostate, as I use the term, applies to any JW or XJW who imagines that Jehovah is not going to bring his people into judgment.

  Well, then I guess I'm not an apostate after all. I pray everyday that Jehovah would bring justice to the WTS and to the world.

  When C.T. Russell started this organization, maybe he had a good intention. But his followers had fallen and still are falling for a big time. I believe Jehovah will bring justice soon to this org. even if that's by means of a Caesar's law.

  Thank you, You Know for your replies and encouragement. I feel much better now.
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  dubla

  An apostate, as I use the term, applies to any JW or XJW who imagines that Jehovah is not going to bring his people into judgment

  thats a lie. yk considers many on this board to be "apostates" that have never in fact been a jw to begin with.....thus they cannot possibly be a "jw or xjw".

  aa
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  DocBob

  Not really. Paul, for example, confirmed the generally agreed perception of that day regarding Cretains that they were "liars, injurious wild beasts, and unemployed gluttons," which is why he advised Titus to "keep on reproving them with severity."

  Actually, Paul was repeating Epiminides' Paradox where Epiminides, who was a Cretian said "All Cretians are liars."