God’s wisdom in allowing bearded JWs July 25 Watchtower

by Listener 27 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  Ron.W.

  In truth, this is not theology—it is manipulation. By attaching the name of God to every policy shift and preference of the leadership, the line between divine will and human control is intentionally blurred. Once, Jesus was portrayed beardless in Watchtower publications, against all historical and scriptural evidence, simply because the cultural taboos of the time demanded it. Now that society has shifted again, so has "God's guidance." This is not revelation; it is reinvention.

  This is so so true and very eloquently put - thank you!👍👍👍
• 

  FedUpJW

  And when those instructions arrive, they must be accepted as if descending from Sinai itself, even when they contradict what was once taught as sacred.

  All the JW males (I refuse to call them MEN) seem to now be sporting beards, no matter how unkempt and ragged lookiing they are. The term I bleieve was used earlier in this thread was infantilism, which describes these older in years males who are still emotional children.

  in·fan·til·ism

  /ˈinfən(t)lˌiz(ə)m,inˈfan(t)lˌiz(ə)m/noun: infantilism
  

  1. • Psychology

     the persistence of infantile characteristics or behavior in adult life.

  
  
• 

  Biahi

  Hey, Hoser, I think Rahela from Slovenia is Andre’s mom!
• 

  TonusOH

  Ron W: I hate the way they try to include 'Jehovah' into every pathetic facet of their lives..

  ...unless it is something that went wrong, and then they remind us that unforseen circumstance may befall us at any time. They never come to the realization that Jehovah sure is fickle.
• 

  Listener

  Fedupjw “All the JW males (I refuse to call them MEN) seem to now be sporting beards, no matter how unkempt and ragged looking they are.”

  They see this as a problem and they have mentioned it before. They require beards to be groomed and neat but it’s still not happening. In this article, they go to the extreme and show four Elders sporting extremely short beards, closer to a stubble than a beard. I’ve seen elderly JWs at carts that look like Santa Clause.

  JWs haven’t heard the end of it.

  Another excuse used by the GB in laying down rules is to train JWs to obey in even the ‘little things’ so they will easily survive/be faithful when tested on the bigger things.

  
  
• 

  Phizzy

  from the O.P :

  " It’s almost as if Jehovah is now the puppet and the GB is pulling his strings." LOL , yes what a surprise ! But that does explain why they are never proactive, never ahead on ANYTHING, but always reactive, and usually WAY too late, as in this case.

  I know of a number of suitable guys who would have made good Elders, but were rejected for wearing a beard, despite having been given "counsel", so what was that "counsel" based upon ? Scripture, no, only by twisting what is said.

  In 1975 a sister I knew well wrote to H.Q in N.Y. and asked about the wearing of a beard by her husband, would it preclude his being an Elder ? The reply from Bethel was that they COULD NOT MAKE RULES about dress and grooming, because different standards were found in different parts of the World. But they never made that known via the literature did they ?

  The brother in question decided way back then that as in the U.K many professional men and other men well respected in society, wore beards, it was fine to do so. LOL

  He was an excellent M.S, but, strangely ,never made it to Elder.
• 

  blondie

  Phizzy, I know of a case about making rules about dress and grooming. I was in a circuit when one congregation body of elders that felt that having 2 piercings in each ear by sisters was allowed. Then another congregation body of elders, told the female congregation members, that they could have one. Well, of course a sister in the congregation with the one piercing rule, saw a sister in the other congregation with 2 piercings in each ear, and complained to her husband. Then the one BOE had a heated discussion with the other BOE and finally called the "service desk" in Brooklyn to determine which BOE was right. Headquarters told both BOEs that the body of elders in each congregation were responsible on determining directions on grooming and dress. So that was the official answer. Bad feelings still remained though. There has long been disagreement between congregations as to whether visiting speakers had to wear white shirts or not. WT 11/1/1989 p. 30 "We can illustrate this in the matter of dress. The Bible requirement​—God’s requirement—​is that a Christian’s clothing must be neat and clean, well-arranged and not betraying a lack of “modesty and soundness of mind.” Obviously, then, the elders in one congregation went “beyond the things that are written” a few years ago by requiring every public speaker in their congregation to wear a white shirt, even though pastel colors were generally acceptable in that country. Guest speakers who showed up with a colored shirt were asked to change into one of several white shirts kept in the Kingdom Hall for just such emergencies. How careful we have to be in order not to impose our personal taste on others!"
• 

  Rivergang

  Wearing beards are just a sign of the laziness and rebelliousness of the people today.

  "Laziness", did you say?

  In fact, keeping a properly groomed beard (such as depicted in TD's post) requires at least the same amount of effort and attention as does being clean shaven.

  I speak here from experience!