WTS law and oral law

by lurk 16 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  lurk

  has the WTS commited the same folly as the writers of the oral law?

  in a magazine some years ago there was an article on the oral law.

  it discribed how the oral law was developed to be like a fence around the writen law to prevent ppl from breaking the writen law.The article showed how the priests, who invented the law ,were laying a burden on jehovahs ppl that the didnt need ,sort of saying how wrong and misdirected the priests were.

  i was thinking that the WTS has done the same thing with the new testement.

  after all its a collection of the history of jesus and the letters of his followers (imperfect men)but non of the NT exsisted when jesus died as a ransom for us.so its not part of faith or the thing that saves .

  It almost like there the NT has replaced the law code ,while alwas refering back to the law code in the margin referances .on top of that you have the added WTS /oral law such as dont be on your own with opposite sex ,the appearence of evil (which i read about in happymans post )

  (seems like jesus sacrifice gets by passed to refer backwards to the law too)

  rather than a guide and reference to chrstians its liek its taken over as a rule book with a fence round it
• 

  Elsewhere

  One of the main red flags of a high-control / abusive religion is the use of many unwritten rules... something the WTS is well known for.

  IE: Smurfs are EVIL... but you will never see the word "smurf" written in any publication.
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  RandomTask

  My 19 year old brother in law just had all priveleges stripped from him for his hair being too long in the "opinion" of the elders.
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  Elsewhere

  Oh no! He won't get* to clean the toilets... what a shame!

  * have
• 

  dan

  RandomTask, I think the Buddy Christ is an awesome representation of the moral relativity that has swallowed up so many churches these days. How funny.
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  lurk

  the messages are almost subliminal at times

  yet theres this definate NT law code running through the WTS

  random your kidding!!!!!!!!

  the WTS should be made to declare all its rules

  let the donkey see the carot and the stick
• 

  XQsThaiPoes

  RT then he does not know much about the bible.

  (Numbers 6:5) 5

  "?All the days of the vow of his Naziriteship no razor should pass over his head; until the days that he should be separated to Jehovah come to the full, he should prove holy by letting the locks of the hair of his head grow. . .

  (Leviticus 19:26-27) 26

  "?YOU must eat nothing along with blood. "?YOU must not look for omens, and YOU must not practice magic. 27 "?YOU must not cut YOUR sidelocks short around, and you must not destroy the extremity of your beard.

  If we can't eat blood or do magic "just because" why do we cut out hair. Jehovah does not care. If they talk about stubling tell them

  (Matthew 15:12-14) 12

  Then the disciples came up and said to him: "Do you know that the Pharisees stumbled at hearing what you said?" 13 In reply he said: "Every plant that my heavenly Father did not plant will be uprooted. 14 LET them be. Blind guides is what they are. . . .

  Tell your brother to take his privalege back IF HE WANTS THEM. It is sad how lazy or stupid JWs are they do things for no reason. Elders are not "clergy so they don't out rank a baptised person they are just a legal firewall to protect the watchtower.
• 

  stichione

  And here I was thinking this thread was about oral sex...
• 

  Corvin

  I do believe there is a parallel between the Pharisees in Jesus day and the WTBTS. The following is taken from the Watchtower about the Pharisees, but these words aptly apply to the Governing Body as well . . .

  ***

  w99 1/15 p. 26 The Oral Law?Why Was It Put in Writing? ***

  The Pharisees became the new scholars of the Law, doing the job that they felt the priests were not doing. [In much the same way WTBTS feels about all of Christendom] Since the Mosaic Law did not allow for their authority, they developed new methods of interpreting Scripture through cryptic allusions and by other methods seemingly supporting their views. As the chief caretakers and promoters of these traditions, they created a new base of authority in Israel. [Bethel] By the first century C.E., the Pharisees had become a dominant force in Judaism.

  ***

  w96 1/15 p. 29 Light Ends an Age of Darkness ***

  The Pharisees originated during the Grecian period as a vigorous reaction to anti-Jewish Hellenism. By Jesus? day, however, they were rigid, tradition-bound, legalistic, proud, self-righteous proselytizers and teachers who sought to control the nation through synagogue instruction. They came mainly from the middle class and disdained the common people. Jesus viewed most Pharisees as self-seeking, merciless money lovers who oozed hypocrisy. (Matthew, chapter 23) They accepted the entire Hebrew Scriptures in the light of their own explanations but attached equal or greater weight to their oral traditions. They said that their traditions were "a fence around the Law." Far from being a fence, however, their traditions invalidated the Word of God and perplexed the public.?Matthew 23:2-4; Mark 7:1, 9-13.

  But hey! Who says the WTBTS does not like oral?

  Corvin
• 

  Mr. Kim

  WTS law and oral law =

  Whatever the elders say, that will be the law of today!