by Survive1999 19 Replies latest jw experiences
I have always been a little bit puzzled by JWs loudly proclaiming that the Pope is not the "Voice of God on Earth", and turning around and vernerating the Watchtower as "The Voice of God on Earth."
I have repeatedly told JWs to apply the same standard you do against the Pope to the Watchtower and you will be more than a bit dissapointed. The best answer I could ever get was, "Well that's different".
Can any exJWs explain this?
Well, I'll try my best as an ex-dub to explain it.
the pope ain't the voice of God on earth. Neither is the Borg. You are. So am I. We're His voice & legacy ... we're His genetically modified experiment gone wrong.
In many ways the WTS is a miniature Catholic church. A top down power structure with all authority being placed in 1 man or a small group of men who claim to speak for God. The way the Catholic church has survived is by not enforcing their mandates. The Catholic church would be a lot smaller if excommunication of it's members took place for breaking church law. Such as using birth control, premarital sex etc. But the Catholic church has changed over the years, just like the WTS has, in order to survive. Though the numbers are impressive for the Catholic church it is basically the WTS big brother. It's been around a lot longer but it is basically the same.
Same S***, different pile.
Will
The WT a mini- Catholic church? Really? How many Catholics do you know that have to attend every church service to be considered a good catholic? How many catholics do you know that end up getting shunned by their families after leaving the church or getting ex-communicated? And isn't it pretty damn hard to get ex-communicated?
I don't think the comparison matches. The Catholic church may have some rigid rules but a person can still be considered a good catholic and break those rules at the same time from what I've seen.
Sorry Survive...didn't mean to hi-jack the thread with a rant.
Under74,
Read my whole post. I said the RCC has survived because they have become soft. Just like the WTS is going to have to do. That is why they will drop the blood ban and have softened many policies such as alternative service. The Catholic church used to burn people at the stake, they don't do that anymore. If they did they would not have survived. Pope John Paul II was so embracing of other faiths that basically he had the view that if you have any type of faith that is fine. Christian, Jewish, Muslim, whatever. That is radically different than the church used to be. The same with the WTS. Only with the WTS their changes are more obvious because they have been around far less time and have had to change far quicker than the RCC.
To tell all you good folks out there is : I really don't know who is worse. The impression I get is that the catholic people consider the pope to be a God. They call him Holy Father, I always thought that there was only one Holy Father and he is the creator not a pope ! The scriptures say "All men come short of the glory of God" It sure as heck does not say " Except for the pope"
On the other hand the witnesses are liars, vidictive, hateful of others. It shocks me how many people are influenced by others, especially in religions instead of seeking out the scriptures to find the truth.
Sorry zug...got a pitbull reaction to things today.
I just don't understand the cognitive dissonance that alloows that thought process. I guess my question should have been what is the "official WT stance" on a question like that.
BTW: If ya had to put a label on me Evangelical would fit.
And as far as Popes go, this last one stood up to Commies and Nazis, getting cudos from me!
Under74,
Don't sweat it. Most all of organized religion has similarities to the RCC and the WTS. Some are just more destructive than others.
