I just don't understand this, what am I missing???

by Greybeard 47 Replies latest jw friends

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  Greybeard

  As I am watching this video about changes at Bethel, the speaker said, "Aren't we glad the faithful and discrete slave continues to make adjustments when necessary."

  What about this change? "Finally, we examined why Jesus’ arrival to appoint the faithful slave over all his belongings did not occur in 1919 but will take place during the great tribulation" That is from this online Watchtower article last paragraph: https://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/w20130715/jesus-prophecy-last-days/

  Did I miss another change in the Watchtower? Who really is the faithful and discrete slave he is talking about now? From the above Watchtower quote. I would think they would have stopped making this statement. What am I missing???
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  OneEyedJoe

  You're missing that they don't really care that everything makes logical sense. In fact, it's an advantage if it doesn't. It forces people that really dig into things to come to a logical contradiction on small things and trains them to get used to discarding their own reason and yielding to the cult.

  I think the official doctrine is something like this: Jesus appointed 3 slaves to look over his crap, the ones that did so in a wise manner were declared to have been "faithful and discrete" and at that point they are appointed over "all his belongings." Right now the GB is merely appointed to look after things and assuming they do a good job they'll be declared the FDS. Since they've been using the term FDS for so long, though, they find it convenient to continue this usage as an assertion of their authority.
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  sir82

  Echo OneEyedJoe's comment.

  They no longer care if their doctrine makes sense.

  In years past, they at least made a passing attempt at coherency & internal consistency. Now they just throw words on a page and hope for the best.

  Now the appeal is fully geared toward emotional manipulation. Stay "faithful", stay "loyal", or you will never get to see your resurrected grandma, and you won't get your 6000 square foot mansion with beach and mountain views.
  
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  Greybeard

  It does not make any logical sense and I know the governing body doesn't care. Obey every word or be disfellowshipped is their game. But what I don't get it this, how can anyone who knows they finally admitted they were not appointed as the faithful and discrete slave go along with that statement? I thought maybe I missed another change or something because they still are making this assumption.

  Here is what I think they might be planning on doing and I'm sure I'm not the only one. My guess is they will soon announce the great tribulation has started because the courts are questioning the governing body. This is a perfect time for them to proclaim the great tribulation and Jesus appoints the governing body as the faithful and discrete slave again. Hahaha... very funny... but sad... Now they can milk this "tribulation" for years to come. Controlling our families with more fear then ever before.

  News flash governing body, you are a evil slave who beats your fellow slaves, you lifted yourself up over your brothers and disfellowshipped all who did not believe you were divinely appointed by Jesus in 1919. What does your Bible say Jesus will do to the slave that has done what you have? Appoint him to rule the world? This is so laughable its ridiculous! With the judgment you have rendered, you shall be judged. Didn't Jesus say that?
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  OneEyedJoe

  But what I don't get it this, how can anyone who knows they finally admitted they were not appointed as the faithful and discrete slave go along with that statement? I thought maybe I missed another change or something because they still are making this assumption.

  That's actually another desirable effect of having incoherent doctrine - like you many JWs are confused. The ones that try to understand doctrine fail to make sense of it. Through years and years of indoctrination they've trained most JWs to accept that any problems are because of a personal inadequacy and nothing to do with the cult. So they run into something that doesn't make sense, but they just know that it has to make sense. The only conclusion that they can come to is that they're not able to understand and this is just more evidence that they must follow the leadership because they're unable to decipher "the truth" for themselves. They put more trust in the organization and hope to be saved through association, and not through knowledge and understanding of doctrine. They crave the rules because the rules are clear and easy to follow and since they can't understand the basis for the rules they can't question it. Meanwhile, they want to save face so they act like it all just makes perfect sense and the next guy sees this and draws similar conclusions - I'm inadaquate because I don't understand and everyone else does. In truth, though, no one understands and they either just don't care or they're pretending or they invent extra "back story" to the doctrine to make it all fit together.

  So in short - no you're not missing something, no you're not lacking in intellect because of your inability to make this all add up. That's just what they want you to believe. In truth, it just doesn't make sense. It doesn't add up. But it's convenient and most JWs are complacent enough not to question and the ones that aren't are mostly controlled by fear. If not, they end up here.
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  TD

  I think you might be conflating the appointment over all the Master's belongings (i.e. The reward for remaining faithful over the long haul, even when the Master doesn't seem to be in any big hurry to return...) with the alleged faithful and discreet status at any given moment prior to that return.

  For many years, the JW leadership claimed to have been appointed over all the Master's belongings not based on any tangible confirmation, but on their own subjective interpretation of early 20th century events.

  --And they were soundly criticized for it.
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  OneEyedJoe

  I think you might be conflating the appointment over all the Master's belongings (i.e. The reward for remaining faithful over the long haul, even when the Master doesn't seem to be in any big hurry to return...) with the alleged faithful and discreet status at any given moment prior to that return.
  

  But the appointment over the master's belongings was reward for being faithful and discrete. They go hand-in-hand, as is demonstrated by the fact that one of the 3 slaves did not use the money wisely and was cast out, not to be appointed over all the belongings. This means that they could potentially be cast out at a future time in the GT (according to the article pointed to above) if they do not behave in a manner Jesus deems to be faithful and discrete. They haven't earned the title yet so they haven't been appointed. The two go hand-in-hand.

  Not that it really matters in the grand scheme of things. It's a cult based on an ancient nonsensical book...
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  David_Jay

  The "appointment" is an alteration of an almost century-long interpretation that, according to previous JW theology, Jesus had assigned the "faithful and discreet slave" class to essentially rule over Christ's "belongings" or servants and other earthly interests beginning in 1919. Beginning in that year, it was taught, that Jesus' assigned the "anointed remnant" (which previously was synonymous with the "faithful and discreet slave") the control over the following:

  1. THE PREACHING OF THE RESTORED GOSPEL: With Christendom being found lacking, Jesus assigned the anointed who associated with the Bible Students prior to 1914 to be the official mouthpiece instead of the churches. This was in exchange for their faithfully preaching about 1914 some 40 years prior and left in confusion (or placed under trial by Jehovah) for the 3 and a half times that were prophesied to follow in Daniel and Revelation.

  2. THE WORK OF GATHERING THE LAST OF THE ANOINTED: Being that they had not been transferred to heaven in 1914 as previously taught, the job of in gathering all into the "Little Flock" was "obviously" not complete. Thus it was taken away from Christendom and given to this faithful group to complete the number of 144,000.

  3. GATHERING OF THE EARTHLY CLASS: The official interpretation is that the remnant was all but complete except for a few spots, and the thousands of others who were responding were a new group of people who would inherit eternal life in a paradise earth. These people were baptized as members of the Kingdom, and thus became part of Christ's "belongings" that the anointed were assigned to care for.

  This previous teaching was that the anointed remnant as a group were the physical representation of the heavenly government of God's Kingdom, each exercising that royal rule in their own way since 1919.

  When the current time frame proved the above impossible, the current Governing Body dismissed all of the above. When the Governing Body declared themselves and only themselves to be the composite "faithful and discreet slave," they also had to change the previous teaching. They now claim that no such assignment as outlined above was ever given to the anointed remnant as a whole. The time for members of the anointed as a whole to exercise rule is now after the Great a Tribulation has come, and not before...except for members of the Governing Body, of course.

  As the reality of the "faithful and discreet slave" mentioned by Jesus, the Governing Body members are now the only ones who exercise any leadership over JW members. With this new interpretation, it has yet to be seen whether the Governing Body will now claim that only members of their group ever gets such "right to rule" in the future.
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  leaving_quietly

  Seems to me they're simply referring to themselves in the third person, like "The Jimmy" on Seinfeld.

  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Apa0nG1OfUc
  
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  TD

  They go hand-in-hand,

  They do go hand in hand, but the appointment does not happen until the Master returns and finds the faithful slave still being faithful after more than a 2000 year interregnum.

  "Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods."
  

  In JW theology, the Apostles were tasked with feeding Jesus' sheep in his absence.. This was to continue from generation to generation in an unbroken chain until he returned.

  The JW's have simply moved the Master's return forward in time while still retaining their alleged status as the spiritual successors of the Apostles.