a point to consider is that the bible states that if a prophet says things that god as not given them to say, they are to shun that individual or persons.. deuteronomy 18:22 ...... if a prophet speaks in the name of the lord, and the thing does not come about and does not come true, the lord has not spoken that word.
the prophet has spoken it presumptuously.
do not be afraid of him.. another scripture to note or consider would be 1 john 4:1 ......... dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from god, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.. so to observe if someone is saying things wrongly or what they have not been instructed to say in the preaching work, one has to play close attention to the instructions handed out by jesus christ himself.. one of the admonishments handed out to his followers is that they should not set a time upon god's own sacred time and that not even he knows of the time.. yet the wts and its top leading men have set numerous times on their own accord, taught and preached them, which were acts of disobedient apostasy.
We're not prophets, just god's mouthpiece. You are required to treat us as if we're infallible. However we can and will be wrong but we will never admit to a specific mistake If we ever allude to a mistake in the past it will be you that takes the blame.
That's a great summary of the GB's method of operation, and JWs are required to be grateful for all the light they provide...
what is the most insensitive thing an overseer or elder has ever said and done to you?
i have had many insensitive things said to me by some elders, but for some reason one self-righteous elder was always on my case.
he didn't like the fact that i missed meetings, didn't like that i never went out in field service, that i didn't answer at the weekly meetings and he didn't like that i carried my books and magazines in my hands and not a service/book bag.
I once showed an elder copies of Watchtowers that contained false prophecies and other "old light."
He started screaming at me, "This is garbage! This is garbage!"
I said, "This was published by the Watchtower Society and offered door to door. When did it stop being the truth and turn into garbage?"
big news from israel, some previously undiscovered dead sea scrolls have been found with portions of the ot in greek.
it says the name of god is included in hebrew letters within the greek text.. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/03/16/world/middleeast/dead-sea-scrolls.html.
"the new fragments contain verses from zechariah 8:16-17, including part of the name of god written in ancient hebrew, and verses from nahum 1:5-6, both from the biblical book of the twelve minor prophets.".
Actually, this is an argument against the Watchtower position.
The Dead Sea scrolls were of the Old Testament.
If it was important to include the Hebrew Tetragrammaton in the Greek text, why didn't the New Testament writers do it as well?
someone is researching jehovah’s witnesses.
they happen to come on to this site.
do the witnesses have the truth??.
The WT "truth" keeps changing, but JWs are required to believe that the latest version is always the real truth.
why do some people who were trapped in the wt and wake up after much frustration and anger that they were lied to, still believe in the bible god who allowed them and their families to be deceived and trapped for years.
i have an acquaintance who is a lot older than me and for the past 30 years he has been out of the watchtower religion and is sola scriptura.
sola scriptura is a theological doctrine that posits the christian scriptures as the sole infallible source of authority for christian faith and practice.
PistolPete,
In the words of lawyer Bill Clinton, "It all depends on what the meaning of the word "is" is..."
why do some people who were trapped in the wt and wake up after much frustration and anger that they were lied to, still believe in the bible god who allowed them and their families to be deceived and trapped for years.
i have an acquaintance who is a lot older than me and for the past 30 years he has been out of the watchtower religion and is sola scriptura.
sola scriptura is a theological doctrine that posits the christian scriptures as the sole infallible source of authority for christian faith and practice.
Pistolpete,
Is it possible for anyone to write something that is so clear that human beings can't twist or misinterpret it?
The more words a writer uses to avoid misunderstanding, the more chances there are that someone will read something into those words that wasn't intended.
I personally have published a number of things (articles and the like), and invariably people have demonstrated a capacity (whether deliberately or inadvertently) to mischaracterize (sometimes greatly mischaracterize) what I wrote.
we were told we were part of the world if we got involved in politics.
if we had employment that had political involvement we were instructed to get another job.
we were told we might be considered disassociated if we voted and then it became questionable.
Rutherford got "new light" that the superior authorities of Romans 13 were Jehovah and Jesus, not the worldly governments (as taught by Christendom).
After he died, Knorr got newer light that they were the government authorities after all.
So instead of getting brighter and brighter, on this issue it was a strobe light.
I'm reminded of this statement from the May 15, 1976 Watchtower:
"It is a serious matter to represent God and Christ in one way, then find that our understanding of the major teachings and fundamental doctrines of the Scriptures was in error, and then after that, to go back to the very doctrines that, by years of study, we had thoroughly determined to be in error. Christians cannot be vacillating—‘wishy-washy’—about such fundamental teachings. What confidence can one put in the sincerity or judgment of such persons?"
i know there are a lot of 'wise heads' out there on this forum - so i would appreciate your suggestions.. several years ago, i studied with a guy, whose wife is a jw.
(he had studied with several elders before i came along).
the study went reasonably well.
This might depend on how confident you are that you can show him contradictions between WT teachings and the Bible.
Be especially careful not to get sucked into the WT yourself.
If you decide to give it a go, remember that questions work better than statements.
Don't try to prove anything to him; let him prove to you that the WT is right. After all, he thinks they have the truth and it's his job to teach you.
If you want to take a biblical approach, you might look for resources to help you.
I'd recommend Rhodes' book, Reasoning from the Scriptures with the Jehovah's Witnesses or Englund's book, Getting Through to Jehovah's Witnesses.
Both are available on Amazon.
i like subjects that delve into the history of the religion and proofs that the witnesses are not the true religion.
i’m not so much into apologists saying we need to go to meetings, especially if the poster looks like a scammer trying to get ex jws going.
what subjects interest you ?
Even though many -- maybe most of -- us here are now well informed about WT theology and issues, there are always new ones joining the forum who are trying to sort through all of it.
I want to be of as much help as I can, being thankful for the people who helped me.
a letter from a jw arrived the other day.
nothing remarkable.
i wondered why i was sent the letter?
Counting time...
