blondie’s first thoughts wt study (DECEMBER 2018, pages 10-12)
EXCELLENT GENERAL WEBSITE: www.jwfacts.com
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www.jw.org (new) see WT Online tab
WT child abuse www.silentlambs.org
Blood issue www.ajwrb.org
Discussion board www.jehovahs-witness.net
https://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/watchtower-study-december-2018/
OVERALL: “HONORS ‘WHAT GOD HAS YOKED TOGETHER’”
First thought on the scripture was if you were married in a secular way or in another religion, does that mean god has not yoked them together?
Jesus said, yet in the Law, only men could divorce their wives, have more than one wife and/or concubine, could sell his family into slavery to pay his bill, could own property including their own wives, that if a man only had daughters, they could not inherit, that if a single was raped, she had to marry her rapists, and the rapist could not divorce her, and the rapists paid reparations to the father not the woman, woman’s vow to god had to be approved by her husband, etc. The WTS/GB forgets to mention these or dances around them and finds specious explanations.
http://www.evilbible.com/do-not-ignore-the-old-testament/sexism-in-the-torah/
Paragraph 1: Why no mention of honoring Jesus?
https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/402017322?q=honor+jesus&p=sen
3 “The Lamb” mentioned at Revelation 5:13 is Jesus Christ. How do we know? When he was on earth, Jesus was called “the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29) What other king has ever willingly died as a ransom for his subjects? That is certainly a good reason to honor him. Jesus deserves honor because “he is the King of those who rule as kings and Lord of those who rule as lords.” (1 Timothy 6:14-16) Maybe you feel as do the creatures in heaven who sing: “The Lamb who was slaughtered is worthy to receive the power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing.”—Revelation 5:12.
4. Why would it be wise for us to honor Jehovah and Christ?
4 John 5:22, 23 says that Jehovah has made Christ the judge of all humans. That is a main reason why we should honor Jesus. And when we do this, we also honor Jehovah. When we choose to honor Jesus and his Father, we can have everlasting life.—Read Psalm 2:11, 12.
Did the WTS/GB always teach that the superior authorities were government officials?
https://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/superior-authorities.php
The understanding of the “Superior Authorities” of Romans 13:1 is a teaching where Watchtower doctrine has flipflopped back and forth in clear violation of the principle of the light getting brighter.
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Up to 1929 |
1929 to 1962 |
1962 onwards |
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“Evil as these Gentile governments have been, they were permitted or “ordained of God” for a wise purpose. (Rom. 13:1)” Studies In the Scriptures Series I - The Divine Plan of the Ages p.250 |
“The Superior Authorities are the Most High God Jehovah and his exalted Son Jesus Christ.” This Means Everlasting Life (1950) p.197 |
“The Expression “superior authorities” means the political governments or authorities.” Life everlasting in Freedom of the Sons of God (1966) p.189 |
Paragraph 2: Remember until the Law, men were allowed to have more than one wife. Why that not important then to god?
Paragraph 3: Jesus evidently knew that had not been god’s purpose in the beginning; so another flipflop.
Paragraph 4: Yes, “God did not tell Adam and Eve that marriage could be ended in divorce,” but under the law given to Moses, men could (but not women).
Paragraph 5: “Adam’s sin brought changes.” At times the WTS/GB says Adam and Eve both did and at other times blames Eve alone.
Genesis 3:16
To the woman he said: “I will greatly increase the pain of your pregnancy; in pain you will give birth to children, and your longing will be for your husband, and he will dominate you.”
Paragraph 6: “the Law that God gave to the nation of Israel…allowed for polygamy..regulated…We are not under law but” The law also regulated slavery but did that mean it then became a good thing?
Paragraph 7: “as a concession an Israelite could divorce his wife “found something indecent”..The laws did not describe what was meant by “indecent.”” “it must have been” and now the WTS/GB puts their own interpretation of this.
Paragraph 8: But the Israelites could divorce pagan women and send them away without providing for them or their children (see also Abraham, Hagar and Ishmael)
Ezra 10:44.
All of these had taken foreign wives,+ and they sent their wives away, along with their sons. Not daughters, why?
Paragraph 9: “is there every a basis for a Christian to divorce and remarry…adultery” But what has been considered as not a basis, then was changed?
https://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/quotes/divorce.php
The Watchtower definition of fornication (porneía) has changed over the years, and quite illogically homosexuality and bestiality were not grounds for divorce in the 1970's.
Homosexuality IS/ISN’T Grounds for Divorce
IS NOT
"While both homosexuality and bestiality are disgusting perversions, in the case of neither one is the marriage tie broken." Watchtower 1972 Jan 1 p.32. I
IS
Watchtower 1983 12/15 p.27
"That fornication (which in the Bible sense includes adultery and gross
sexual immorality such as homosexuality) can break up a marriage. Scripturally,
the innocent partner has the right to divorce the guilty one and remarry
without sin in God’s eyes."
Watchtower 1983 3/15 p.30
“Back then a woman might feel compelled to remarry to gain financial support.” What would cause a man then to remarry, to gain access to sex?
Paragraph 10: “sexual immorality” (remember the WTS/GB once said bestiality and homosexuality were not considered ‘porneia.
Paragraph 11: A wife can decide whether to divorce him or not (not husband?). “She would face challenges” (not husband)…material and sexual needs (how many husbands don’t have these; especially most wives have custody of the children)? “harder to raise them in the truth”!
Sounds like sisters are being told to stay with their unfaithful husband. Are witness husbands encouraged to stay with their unfaithful wives? Over the last 60 years of association with the WTS, I would say about 1 in 10 husbands stayed with their wives.
Paragraph 12: Hosea was imitating god supposedly staying with his unfaithful wife. Or perhaps he had another wife on the side as Jewish men were allowed to?
Paragraph 13: Only the innocent mate can decide to divorce but if they find out the other mate lied about the extent of his immorality, she is stuck (is the innocent mate able to required the unfaithful mate to get an AIDS or HIV test?
https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1101996021?q=hiv+test+marriage&p=par
Second, an honorable courtship also includes honest communication. As your courtship progresses toward marriage, certain matters will need to be discussed openly. Where will you live? Will both of you work secularly? Do you want to have children? Also, it is only fair to reveal things, perhaps in one’s past, that could affect the marriage. These may include major debts or obligations or health matters, such as any serious disease or condition you may have. Since many persons who are infected with HIV (the virus that causes AIDS) show no immediate symptoms, it would not be wrong for an individual or for caring parents to request an AIDS blood test of one who has in the past engaged in sexual promiscuity or was an intravenous drug user. If the test proves positive, the infected person should not pressure the intended mate to continue the relationship if that one now wishes to terminate it. Really, anyone who has engaged in a high-risk life-style would do well to submit voluntarily to an AIDS blood test before beginning a courtship.
Paragraph 14: “Some may fail to do so” with the out of being imperfect humans. Most female jws are passively or directly told that they weren’t good enough wives and it is their fault.
Paragraph 15: “Paul did explain what led to such a separation” but women have to the elders to be “advised” if they should do so. Are wives advised? “Avoid taking sides”? When an elder, my husband sat in on judicial meetings, and the male elders were almost always on the man’s side. And then the elders pressured the wife to stay or threatened her with being viewed as the bad one.
Paragraph 16: Though Paul did not give the acceptable reasons for separation, the WTS/GB will give its own interpretation.
Extremely physical: So does this mean she had to go the hospital, the police were involved, she has to show evidence to the elders? What if the children have seen their father abuse their mother? “she feels that her health or life is in danger.” What about the health or lives of the children?
“personally decides” or do or do the elders and other jws pressure her to stay saying “God has hated a divorcing.”
Refuses to support: What about not supporting their children? Have you ever seen a jw father do that and nothing is done to him by the elder body, encouraging the wife to go to governmental assistance?
Severely endangering her spiritual (and her children’s?)
Have jw men stayed and endured?
Paragraph 17: What scripture is used most often, that the wife will win over her non-jw husband so she should stay and have him beat her within an inch of her life (and her children?)
Paragraph 18: What does 1 Cor. 7:14 really mean? So if a jw wife divorces or separates from her non-jw husband, her children are no longer in god’s favor (die at Armageddon?)
Paragraph 19: Yes, Paul’s advice may have been inspired; but is the WTS/GB inspired? Are jws living proof that not many separate or get divorces?
https://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/divorce.php
The rates of divorce from non-WT sources might be interesting to look at above.
Final comments: The WTS/GB tries to give a good spin by trying to say the right things, but they say and do not do.
Love (philia), Blondie