I'm one of the ones that threw the baby out with the bathwater. I feel the baby should have been aborted, anyway.
If the Watchtower crumbles will God survive?
by truth_about_the_truth 25 Replies latest watchtower bible
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TheOldHippie
To quote Stafford in his preface to "Three Dissertations",
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I was forced to take notice of more pressing concerns, concerns that threaten to destroy much good that has come out of the ministerial activities of Jehovah's Witnesses over the past century or more. These concerns are the kind that threaten family, friends, even life itself. With that in mind, I set aside my work on John 8:58 and prepared myself for a new undertaking.
The result of that undertaking is this book. The concerns that motivated its creation are concerns over the treatment of people in the Jehovah's Witnesses' organization. No, it is not the treatment at the hands of some oppressive government. It is not even the treatment by various hostile or otherwise opposing religious groups. The treatment that is of concern to many Witnesses is that which comes from the leadership of this fine organization. By this I certainly do not mean to call to account all of the persons in positions of responsibility in the Watchtower organization. I am not even concerned about the majority of those who `take the lead' among Jehovah's Witnesses (Hebrews 13:7, 17). But those responsible for conscious-binding [sic] policy are presently in a position that is doing great harm to many in the organization and by their action or inaction they could do significant damage to the faith of many who look to them for guidance and direction in their Christian ministry.
The Watchtower Society has many positive teachings and policies, several of which receive due attention in the pages that follow. But the structure of the organization is such that it has created an environment where error is not only tolerated, but in some cases it seems to be knowingly advanced at the expense of others. This is not only unacceptable in and of itself, but such actions or policies threaten to destroy or negatively affect all of the positive teachings that one might point to in defense of Jehovah's Witnesses. As difficult as it can sometimes be, Christians must do their best to deny the advancement of error and preserve truth. To accomplish this, we must give serious attention to what Christian leaders teach and we must be in a position to do something about it if the need arises. Part of the concern involving the structure of the Watchtower Society is that few are really in a position to do something about errors or problems that exist. There is a reason for this:
Watchtower publications have, since the first issue of what was once called Zion's Watch Tower and Herald of Christ's Presence, advanced various interpretations of Bible chronology. Most of these interpretations have come and gone, but they are usually always replaced with some other, and today the Witnesses hold to a variety of chronological interpretations. Several of these provide the basis for a small portion of Jehovah's Witnesses to exercise authority over other members of the organization. This authority manifests itself in various organization procedures, policies, and teachings. The chronology gives rise to the authority and the authority gives rise to the doctrines, policies and procedures. This is why we have Three Dissertations, to explore each of these three aspects of the Watchtower Society. (Of course, the chronology is enforced as a doctrine by means of the authority derived from it, and so we actually have a situation where, absent the authority, the chronology may not exist in the first place, hence, disallowing the use of authority to establish any kind of interpreted chronology...
... No one human alive today is given authority by the Scriptures to require that others accept all of the different teachings of an organization in order to be considered a true Christian. A person's belief in the importance of God's name should not be affected by whether they accept or reject the Watchtower's doctrine concerning 1914 CE. And no Christian should feel they have to abandon faith in God and in the Bible simply because there may be a question about the Watchtower's blood policy. Yet, many Witnesses who doubt the correctness of certain Watchtower interpretations have subsequently lost their faith in clear Bible teachings, including God's name and identity. Or if they have not lost their faith then they may have lost their zeal in proclaiming what the Bible does clearly teach, because their faith in God and in his Word is so closely aligned with a belief in God's use of the Watchtower Society to dispense "food at the proper time" (Matthew 24:45-47).
When such doubts manifest themselves in one area of a person's faith, they can spread and infect all aspects of that faith. Since there is no outlet in the Watchtower organization to discuss doubts or express differences of opinion over what the Watchtower has deemed to be a sure biblical understanding, then any person who finds him- or herself in such a position is likely to either leave the organization in search of another or gradually disconnect from the organization's activities. This precarious position is partly due to the fact that Bible teachings which exist independently of the Watchtower are directly connected with acceptance of the "faithful and discreet slave" among Jehovah's Witnesses. So, if a Witness loses confidence in the "faithful slave" then his or her faith in basic Bible teachings may waver or falter altogether.
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peacefulpete
Mr. Stafford is a classic example of a person who was forced to leave because of doctrinal differences. He is still a JW at heart. His description of doubt as a pernicious 'infection' rather than a healthy reevaluation of assumptions betrays his as of yet incomplete recovery from the cult. I find it also revealing that he still sells his WT apologetic books dispite their having labeled him apostate.
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Ticker
Stafford quoted:
"then any person who finds him- or herself in such a position is likely to either leave the organization in search of another or gradually disconnect from the organization's activities. This precarious position is partly due to the fact that Bible teachings which exist independently of the Watchtower are directly connected with acceptance of the "faithful and discreet slave" among Jehovah's Witnesses. So, if a Witness loses confidence in the "faithful slave" then his or her faith in basic Bible teachings may waver or falter altogether."
I do believe that this statement rings true with ones who leave the Witnesses. It is hard to start over from scratch and find that your belief system was faltered, especially when you thought you had all the answers spelled out only to find you really had no answers to begin with. Many if not careful do replace one system of beliefs with another, one crutch for another, because it can be easier then researching your own answers. I feel the key is knowledge, knowledge of what was faulty with the present beliefs, and knowledge of what is God truly saying in his word apart from some Organizations or someones bias.
Ticker
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truth_about_the_truth
Ticker,
Very nicely put.
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Carmel
Starting over from scratch, IMHO, requires a lot of time to reflect, a lot of honest evaluation of motives and a lot of false starts and blind alleys. In my case, after actively searching the multitude of christian "options" and still being influenced by JW lenses, I simply had to chuck all religion (little did I know that I was only chuching churchianity) and lead a fairly secular life without thinking about relgion. After nearly fifteen years, two degrees and lots of detached inquiry into other faiths, I concluded that a) there was a "god" but b) It was beyond me to describe or define said entity.
I am much more at ease with my beliefs and can and do include everyone in the tent of humanity without seeing good guys and bad guys. No need to worry about which christian doctrin is right or wrong or how any of them view me and my views. My faith is not conditioned upon the opinions of others, yet I can easily discuss (not argue) anything.
Scratch is a great place to be, if one is open to new ideas and an inclusive cosmology rather than having to find the "one true religion".
carmel
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TheOldHippie
Stafford has not been "labelled apostate", which would meant his being df'ed. He is still a JW, although he seems to have retired form the world for the time being as the new planned books have not been published etc., and he has been very careful in his wordings when dealing with controversial stuff in his books. I think Stafford is worthy of great praise and not critisism, he is the Gorbachow of the JWs, and does not deserve the fate G met.
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vitty
I myself am having real problems trying to divide the WT and God, even saying Jehovah brings me instantly back to the org.
I realize now that whatever relationship I had with "jehovah" was that he was the author of the WT. and that was my problem. I sometimes detested the mags, laughed at the study books (especially the Isaiah crap) So when I did that I felt I was scorning God, and so felt evil, I always prayed to God the same pray " please help have more faith, what is wrong with me, help, help, help"
I do believe in God, I just dont know him and never have.
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truth_about_the_truth
I dont know who Stafford is but with quotes like these:
No one human alive today is given authority by the Scriptures to require that others accept all of the different teachings of an organization in order to be considered a true Christian. A person's belief in the importance of God's name should not be affected by whether they accept or reject the Watchtower's doctrine concerning 1914 CE.
How in the world is he still accepted as a JW by the org? Maybe he's contributing a large amount of "unrighteous riches"?
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AlmostAtheist
I do believe in God, I just dont know him and never have.
That's the way Gina (FreedomFrog, my wife) feels, too. She never felt close to "Jehovah", never felt that friendship that so many describe. Now that she's out, she often mentions how much closer she feels to god. There are up's and down's in it, lots of facts that she's trying to reconcile with beliefs, but at least she's on a voyage now instead of just spinning in the Watchtower whirlpool.
As for me, I am aware that I may be rejecting only the god I've been taught to believe in and not the "real" god. I don't think so, but what are thoughts worth? In a few years, who knows? I wouldn't bet heavily on me being a believer again, but only time will tell.
Dave