WT Comments You Will Not Hear at the 7-11-04 WT Study

by blondie 11 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  blondie

  Comments You Will Not Hear at the JULY 11, 2004 WT Study (June 1, 2004 issue) ABBREVIATED

  Review comments will be in black and parentheses ()

  WT quotes

  will be in red and quotes ""

  Quotes from other sources

  will be in blue

  CREATION DECLARES THE GLORY OF GOD!

  "The heavens are declaring the glory of God; and of the work of his hands the expanse is telling."?Psalm 19:1

  www.biblegateway.com /cgi-bin/bible

  Opening Comments

  It?s been a busy week for Blondie. I have had to cram 5 days worth of work into 4 days with only 3 staff instead of 5. I have a new job in 2 weeks so have to tie up the loose ends on the old one. This week?s article is so blah that I have more white space than highlighted "comments." I always hated the articles where the WTS pretends to have a scientific background. It reminds me of an elder who thought because he sold measuring devices to scientists that made him a scientist and so always gave the "scientific" public talks. I would always be out of town on those Sundays.

  START OF ARTICLE

  Paragraphs 1-2

  Because humans are made of frail flesh, they cannot withstand viewing God?s glory directly.

  Unlike humans, loyal spirit creatures are able to look upon Jehovah?s face.

  If that is true, how was Satan able to go into God?s presence in this scriptural account?

  Now it came to be the day

  when the sons of the [true] God entered to take their station before Jehovah, and even Satan proceeded to enter right among them. 7 Then Jehovah said to Satan: "Where do you come from?" At that Satan answered Jehovah and said: "From roving about in the earth and from walking about in it." 8 And Jehovah went on to say to Satan: "Have you set your heart upon my servant Job, that there is no one like him in the earth, a man blameless and upright, fearing God and turning aside from bad?" 9 At that Satan answered Jehovah and said: "Is it for nothing that Job has feared God? 10 Have not you yourself put up a hedge about him and about his house and about everything that he has all around? The work of his hands you have blessed, and his livestock itself has spread abroad in the earth. 11 But, for a change, thrust out your hand, please, and touch everything he has [and see] whether he will not curse you to your very face." 12 Accordingly Jehovah said to Satan: "Look! Everything that he has is in your hand. Only against him himself do not thrust out your hand!" So Satan went out away from the person of Jehovah. JOB 1:6-12

  Why "Inexcusable"

  Paragraphs 3-5

  Are you moved to give God glory? The vast majority (6 billion plus) of mankind (humankind) are not?

  For instance, one astronomer wrote:

  "Was it God who stepped in and so providentially crafted the cosmos for our benefit??A heady prospect. Unfortunately I believe it to be illusory?God is not an explanation."

  Why didn?t the WTS name this astronomer and the source of the quote?

  Notice how they do give his name in this article.

  http://www.watchtower.org/library/g/1996/1/22/universe_something_missing.htm

  (George Greenstein, astronomer, from his book the Symbiotic Universe)

  As we survey all the evidence, the thought insistently arises that some supernatural agency-or, rather, Agency-must be involved. Is it possible that suddenly, without intending to, we have stumbled upon scientific proof of the existence of a Supreme Being? Was it God who stepped in and so providentially crafted the cosmos for our benefit?

  A heady prospect. Unfortunately I believe it to be illusory. As I claim mankind is not the center of the universe, as I claim anthropism to be different from anthropocentrism, so too I believe that the discoveries of science are not capable of proving God's existence-not now, not ever. And more than that: I also believe that reference to God will never suffice to explain a single one of these discoveries. God is not an explanation.

  ("Symbiotic Universe", p27)

  Scientific research is limited?restricted to what humans can actually observe or study. Otherwise it is mere theory or guesswork (could be describing WTS policies and prophecies).

  Since "God is a Spirit," he simply cannot be subject to direct scientific scrutiny?It is arrogant, therefore, to dismiss faith in God as unscientific.

  Scientist Vincent Wigglesworth of Cambridge

  http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/Biographies/MainBiographies/W/Wigglesworth/1.html

  observed that the scientific method itself is "a religious approach." "It rests upon an unquestioning faith that natural phenomena conform to ?laws of nature.?"

  http://mpec.sc.mahidol.ac.th/preedeeporn/CquotW.htm

  Astronomer Allan Sandage said:

  There has to be some organizing principle. God to me is a mystery, but is the explanation for the miracle of existence, hwy there is something instead of nothing."

  The Universe Declares God?s Glory

  Paragraphs 6-10

  One source says that it has a mass of "2 billion of billion tons"?

  Why this seesawing of giving the name of the source and then not?

  This source?

  http://www.pd.astro.it/E-MOSTRA/NEW/A2003SUN.HTM

  The Awesome Stars and Galaxies

  Paragraphs 11-15

  However, according to one recent study, the number of stars in the universe visible by means of modern telescopes is 70 sextillion?7 followed by 22 zeros.

  Why not name the study?

  http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/space/07/22/stars.survey/

  The Earth and Its Creatures Glorify Jehovah

  Paragraphs 16-24

  Dolphins, whales, seawater, mountains, trees, albatross, warbler are all discussed in terms that JWs can regurgitate from the paragraph and pretend to be the scientists they are not. Most never took a science class beyond 9 th grade, in fear of being contaminated by the teaching of evolution.

  But all of this is just a lead-in to how humans are supposed to bring glory to God like the rest of his creation.

  Concluding Comments

  Next week?s lesson reveals it true agenda with statements such as:

  "Christians today are exposed to the pressures and burdens of Satan?s system; no miraculous protection protects us from grappling with them."

  "Some must endure "a thorn in the flesh" in the form of a serious disability or ailment (and having no support from the congregation)."

  "We are constantly exposed to "the spirit of the world," the spirit of rebellion and moral corruption that Satan and his demons promote."

  "meeting attendance in his congregation was low"

  "easy to view God?s worship as another pressure, a burdensome obligation"

  Blondie
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  HadEnuf

  Well Blondie...better a short Blondie review than no review at all. I don't know how you stomach it anyway!

  So thanks for the review and GOOD LUCK on the new job! I hope it works out well for you and some of your stress will be relieved (even though starting a new job is stressful at least I'm glad you found a new one)!

  Cathy L.
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  Odrade

  Thanks for the laughs this morning! (Pointing out the lack of credit to proper sources always makes me laugh.)

  I agree, better a short Blondie review than none at all...

  O
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  Gopher

  Are you moved to give God glory? The vast majority are not.

  There they go again, setting up a straw-man called "the vast majority" and demonizing those outside the JW organization.

  Every survey I've seen shows that the vast majority of people believe in God in some form or fashion. Just because most of them don't feel a need to go and try to force their viewpoints on "persuade" others [in the way JW's do] to accept their particular viewpoint of that Creator doesn't necessarily mean that they don't give God glory in their own, private way.

  Using their God's power and wisdom, this article attempts to re-instill in rank-and-file JW's a fear of the Watchtower-God named Jehovah. Then, using the idea that Jehovah and the Watchtower Society are aligned (the key doctrine of the WT Society), they will continue to seek to influence and dominate the lives of their own people. In other words, resist the Watchtower, and you're resisting the almighty God Jehovah.

  They don't seem to talk much about "love", which is supposed to be God's greatest quality.
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  stillajwexelder

  Thankyou Blondie I appreciate your hardwork as usual
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  willyloman

  "meeting attendance in his congregation was low"

  Add this to the file under WT doublespeak. It's another classic line from the boys in writing.

  Notice how it's carefully written to suggest low meeting attendance is a bit of an aberration; however, the writer knows this will have universal application to dubs in nearly all congos, because meeting attendance is low almost everywhere! The statement, however, doesn't acknowledge that disturbing fact, and it written in such as way as to not encourage any discussion or even the thought that there may be some systemic problem in this organism. You see, the meeting attendance was low in "his" congregation, not all the congos, just "his" (and perhaps, dear reader, "yours"), and so if your congo's attendance is down, don't be discouraged; it doesn't MEAN anything.
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  cyber-sista

  Thanks blondie,

  Great review as usual. Don't know how I sat through 45 minutes of this stuff week after week--it just never changes, but I can almost hear the elder on the platform saying "Wasn't that a great study article (and the audience nods in agreement) and don't we appreciate the abundance of spiritual food we receive each week from meetings such as this? And you are all invited back next week--same time, same channel, same show, same old same old.
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  Soledad

  It reminds me of an elder who thought because he sold measuring devices to scientists that made him a scientist and so always gave the "scientific" public talks. I would always be out of town on those Sundays.

  so in your congregation you knew ahead of time what the theme of the public talk was and the presenter? cool. we never knew in ours. most of the time they wouldn't show up.
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  jgnat

  Yeah, a pretty blah article extolling God's virtues in the heavens and the earth. As Gopher has already pointed out, most people will not argue this (no matter how "worldly" the WT may claim the rest of us to be). The sloppy logic got to me this week, so I decided to dissect it here:

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/10/74906/1.ashx

  Basically, they first debunk the ability of science to quantify God, then try and use "evidence" to prove God's existence.

  I have no problem with faith in God. I do have a big problem with mixing faith and pseudoscience together to try and bolster their belief.
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  BluesBrother

  For once I could not argue with the article today. I still wonder at the beauty of creation , as I gaze at a beautiful horse, a wonderful whale, a good looking woman, a baby, these things enforce my inner belief that there is a designer and creator of it all. OK , now that is based on my own feelings , but same feelings got me to see that Armageddon was a false doctrine just becuase it is not Godly or sensible.

  That is not to say that the WT always has these things right in detail, I know they do not... In principle, I just have to acknowledge the hand of God in these things.

  Thanks to Blondie, and to Jgnat for the link to that site, I love quotes.