They don’t even know that they have become Scribes & Pharisees

Muddy Waters

“Father, forgive them, for they know naught what they do...”

- said Jesus as they were killing him.

“... and the man who comes to kill you will imagine he is doing it as a deed to God.”

”Oh, Father, I thank you that I am not like these sinners, these unrighteousness, lowly, and ungodly people.”

- said the Pharisee in his prayer, as he looked upon the dirty “worldly” people all around him....

They - the JWs - don’t even know that they have become like the Scribes and the Pharisees... with their harmful, hurtful rules and teachings and doctrines and decrees of men ...

They don’t even know, they don’t even see... they look upon themselves and feel like they have “love”,

yet they are like white-washed graves...

they have the appearance which outside looks nice, yet inside and underneath there lie rottenness, death, destruction, and doom ...

their love is like a velvet glove with a rock inside of it...

they desire to be seen by men, to be observed doing good works, to receive commendation, and to also keep careful track of all these good works

(the good works are geared mostly toward “the Organization” and what you can do for it and its agenda...)

As a JW, I would sometimes read Matthew 23 and other verses, and wonder....

And how easily, and often, does the WT/ GB trump the Bible..? They alone can interpret the bible correctly, and accurately, according to ... themselves. So they do this profusely - proudly profusely, even - with their prolific production of literature, pamphlets, books, videos, talks, Bible study “aids”, etc., etc., till the “production of many books proves wearisome to the flesh” - Ecclesiastes something... and they still pile it on... and command it, and demand it...

to the destruction of families (thru extreme shunning practices, for example), to those bleeding to death for them (thru obedience to blood transfusion policies & restrictions, even while those policies continue to undergo further understanding & ‘enlightenment’), to the choosing of education, careers, marriage mates (all major life decisions with huge future ramifications) ...

all in the name of ...

?

blondie

I have brought up these points many times in my comments and to elders (one at a time) privately with specific examples they would remember. Watched my tone of voice and never suggested that they individually had the problem. I was told that only a few might be that way, but the majority were not. Elders are conditioned when trained by the elders to do it they way they do, the book that guides them is the elders book, letters from the WTS and cos, not the bible. WT publications trump the bible every time.

"All of us must be ready to obey any instructions we may receive, whether these appear sound from a strategic or human standpoint or not." Watchtower 2013 Nov 15 p.20

TD

If there are various stages to leaving the JW's in both body and mind, one of them should be overcoming their anti-semitism:

https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/149881/jesus-pharisees-jehovahs-witnesses

Finkelstein

JWs are mentally bound by the very instilled corruption which exists within the structure of the organization, that structure was formulated by the past leaders such as C T Russell and J Rutherford.

That corruption built and expanded the organization over time but really is the reason why it expanded so slowly and even one time regressed shortly after 1975.

It will always be a slightly corrupt religious publishing house which indoctrinates people with fear, ignorance masked as righteousness in the face of god.

Acluetofindtheuser

That's why they keep misinterpreting bible prophecy. The spirit does not exist in the leadership. If it was there they wouldn't have to get majority vote on a matter. The spirit would incline them to all vote exactly the same.

Maybe a Elijah Baal/God test is needed to see who really has the spirit of God.

Jidders

Definitely feels they've come to be like the Catholic Church that they love to demonize. Ironic that they also condem many groups of Christianity on grounds that they hide the Bible truth and prevent their followers from studying but then in the guise of study aids they basically use the Bible as a reference book for their own literature.

Something Ive been musing lately is how in the talks of the false prophets from the OT and NT that they would disown their of prophets, which until recently seems to be what happened to Russel and even now the truth about his life has been scrubbed so hard that you wouldn't know he belonged to a very similar group of doomsday Christians before.

Evey time I have a second thoughts that maybe I should start studying with the witnesses again I get reminded how corrupt the head is and how general their use of the endtimes can be that it feels like you can reverse it and apply it to their own organization's current state

DesirousOfChange

It was posted on here recently --

God gave Adam & Eve two commands -- reproduce and avoid the "Tree".

God gave Moses & the Israelites 10 commandments, that eventually swelled to 100s and by the time of the Pharisees in Jesus' day had swelled to 1000s or 10,000s.

Jesus gave the 1st Century Christians 2 commands.

Who do the JW Organization appear to be imitating?