Preach the Good News ... how?

by OldSoul 34 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  Bagira

  Hi NeonMadman,

  I'm new to the forum and first of all I would like to introduce myself. I had been a witness for 34 years (born in the "truth") was elder for 10 years, a HLC member for 5 years and got disfellowshipped two years ago because I asked questions about the UN scandal. Live in Hungary, Europe.

  It is interesting to see that in Acts 20 Paul was not talking to the members of the congregation, but to the elders. Thus, imho he was talking about the small congregations gathering in the houses of the individual elders, which had nothing to do with the style of preaching work of the witnesses today.

  Have a nice day :-)

  Bagira
• 

  ithinkisee

  By the way, I've used Acts 2:46 with a dub or two and it confuses the crap out of them. They just are not prepared to discuss it.

  Do you mean by asking how they found time to go door to door when they were supposedly in the synagogues all day? Or something else?

  -ithinkisee
• 

  peacefulpete

  Welcome Bagira. stick around
• 

  OldSoul

  Bagira, you have a whole thread to yourself. The stage is your's.

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/91020/1.ashx

  Just pop in and say "hi" at least.
• 

  moanzy

  I believe that the main reason the FDS preaches that you must go door to door is because they are a publishing company. In sales you are taught how to make cold calls to increase your sales. For anyone who has been in sales meetings for places like Combined Insurance they will tell you the best way to increase sales is going door to door.

  The FDS knows this and are just using the scriptures to make it look legite.

  Moanzy
• 

  TheListener

  Ithinisee,

  They get confused because the NWT translates the Greek word Kai'oikon(sp?) differently in the two places, Acts 5:42 and Acts 2:46. The footnote in the NWT reference bible tries to show how kai'oikon means literally from house to house (like door to door); but when you show the dub Acts 2:46 with the same greek word they quickly understand that it can't mean from door to door because it wouldn't make sense.

  I found this older thread that I think is excellent: http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/6/2384/31930/post.ashx#31930 - especially the paragraph about Acts 20:20 and Paul's public and private ministry.

  I truly believe it's simple things like this that add up to a dub that will eventually create cracks in their cult personality. Holidays (some pagan things ok other are baaaad) and blood (don't accept blood but you can accept fractions) are other ones. Inconsistent applying of the rules by Brooklyn will be their undoing.
• 

  JT

  i have always found it interesting how former jw will argue over going from house to house with jw

  jw will say it is biblical , former jw will say it is not, and it is funny to watch this process

  i love when folks take stuff 2000yrs old and try to apply it to the 21st century, while it is true somethings will fit perhaps, most don't

  the wt has merely made the house to house work thier TRADEMARK - they pretty much got the market sewed up on door to door,

  yet i see so many other groups who do the same thing

  instead of viewing house to house as merely another "method" to let folks know about the lord, the jw elevate it to the heavens, while former jw will downplay it to death

  common sense should tell you that house to house, like radio, tv ,tracts, books, talking to ones neighbor whether organized or on an indiviual level if one is a christain would accomplish the same thing, and that is getting ones brand of bible truths out to folks

  i just love how folk argue over such minute details and the level to which it can be elevated to, - for the jw it is at the level of determining ones salvation

  suppose a jw only wanted to call folks ON THE PHONE or witness on the net thru email,

  well according to wt that would NOT BE GOOD ENOUGH- EVEN IF IT resulted in 10 folks getting baptized at the summer assembly, and why ----cause you didn't do it the way WE SAID DO IT- the one size fits all is very common in high control groups

  talking to folks in the market place, at their homes, on the street was very common in bible times, today we have technology that makes it possible to contact and communicate with folks in various ways

  it is so sad to see both jw and former jw arguing on the "Method" used to communcate with folks about the bible-

  communication is the exchanging of ideas and views, whether it is done using highspeed internet service or dog and pony walking to folks homes, is not the same thing accomplished

  the real issue in my VIEW is not -THE METHOD- but the MESSAGE-

  IF THE MESSAGE IS WRONG or incorrect does it matter if i got it door to door or in a tract found in the laundrymat

  this is why i found the bible to be such an interesting book, for one is able to take it and make it support anything almost one wants it to

  YOU GOT TO LOVE IT
• 

  TheListener

  I'm glad you find us amusing JT.

  Although I don't totally agree with your post I do agree that being dogmatic for or against is inappropriate. When discussing Door to Door with a dub my intent is to merely state that using the bible to back up this particular method of preaching is inaccurate. Does it work? History has shown it does. Should christians do it? That's up to each individual. Should it, however, be taught that it should, nay, must, be done because of the early christian example? No. That is where dogmatism leaves reasonableness outside.
• 

  Sunspot

  the real issue in my VIEW is not -THE METHOD- but the MESSAGE-

  To take a little bit of a different view than JT offered, the WTS "message" has an entirely opposite way of looking at things.

  JWs are going uninvited to people's homes to tell them that if they don't accept the WTS warning, that they will not be approved by God and will die.

  Does this even sound like the message that Jesus preached???? Does anyone think of Jesus as promoting such a thing?

  Yes, he did warn of many obstacles that would stand in the way of salvation----but his primary focus was to inform them of his Father's love and mercy. Christ also spoke of doing for others in a physically helpful way, and to treat others as you would want others to treat you.

  The JWs message is simply one of fear and coercion, candy coated with a false hope of a perfect world coming in their lifetime. Accepting this message doesn't change these recruits into kinder and more "Christlike" personalities----quite the opposite!

  Being baptized as JW then has them slowly cutting off all their former friends and relatives under the umbrella known as "bad association" and only encourages friendships with other JWs. We all know about the "love" when the shunning of fellow JWs arises.

  They cannot celebrate anything any longer (I don't count the Memorial as "celebration") and those former friends and families feel hurt, and are alienated even further. Family bonds are shattered and people are upset. It doesn't sound like anything that Christ would be in favor of.

  The ridicule of any other religion than the WTS, is smug and elitist, yet this is what the JWs consistantly do. Looking down on others is not the Christian way, but this is the goal of every JW when they go to homes to "spread their message" of "love" for their fellow man.

  JWs like the scripture at 2 Cor 11:13-15, "For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into apostles of Christ. And no wonder- for Satan himself into an angel of light. It is therefore nothing great if his ministers also keep transformig themselves into ministers of righteouness. But their end shall be according to their works"

  We always thought that passages like these applied to "every other religion", when in fact, they applied to the WTS itself!

  Annie
• 

  greendawn

  Having asked a native Greek speaker about the verse translated as from house to house he said to me that almost certainly that is a wrong translation.
  
  The words in question are "kat'oikon" "at the house/home" which is still used occasionally in that sense in Modern Greek, eg students get "kat'oikon ergasian" which means "at home work" ie homework, as opposed to work done at school.
  
  So Paul having first taught at the Synagogues he would follow up teaching those interested, privately at their homes.
  
  From house to house would be correctly rendered as "ex oikon eis oikon" where ex=from, oikon=house/home, eis=to, which doesn't appear in Acts.