many on here are ex jw....they have left the jws because of coming to find out the many false indoctrinations.
one of the things learned as a jw is that there isn't anything true about xmas being the birth of jesus.
( matt chapter 2 tells a whole different narrative about the baby jesus than what is portrayed by the christian churches) they learn the ways that are celebrated are pagan practices jesus told the samaritan woman that god wanted to be worshipped in spirit and it truth.
Given that Romans 14 says that it's up to the individual what days to celebrate or not celebrate, I never could understand why the WT made such a big deal about holidays, including Christmas.
Now I understand that it's all about a much larger program of thought and behavior control.
ronald curzan ( helper to the teaching committee ) gives a talk on the real reasons jehovah's witnesses should attend meetings.
it looks like the zoom meetings have softened up many witnesses.
many are probably turning off their cameras and zoning out.
Unfortunately, the local KH parking lot was full on Sunday...
if anyone were to come up to you claiming that they are the faithful and discreet slave, how would you go about proving them to be false, based upon scripture?.
estephan.
The Governing Body says they are the faithful and discreet slave.
How do we know that's true?
Because the Governing Body says so, and they are the faithful and discreet slave.
Don't you just love circular reasoning?
well well am3 made it to norweigian media with hsi rant about religouse persecution.. hereis the link.. share your thoughts.. ble nektet statstøtte: jehovas vitner vurderer juridiske skritt – vårt land (vl.no) .
"Humility" isn't a word I associate with the GB, despite their claims.
They think our salvation depends on how we treat them and the rest of the "anointed."
watchtower has just lost its appeal in the norwegian courts over the withdrawal of the funding it receives from the government as an officially recognised religion.
the initial decision will now stand due to what the court termed 'exclusionary practices' which includes the witnesses barbaric practice of shunning minors, even by family members in their own homes.
the ministry of children and families have decided they are now no longer eligible for the state grant of 16 million norwegian kroner given to officially recognised religions.. the following is a statement has been issued, i have summarised if it isn't readable: .
Follow the money...
if anyone were to come up to you claiming that they are the faithful and discreet slave, how would you go about proving them to be false, based upon scripture?.
estephan.
<< Rutherford was noted to have said afterward about his own predictions of 1925 as FDS: “I know I made an ass of myself”- WT-10/1/1984- pg.24. >>
That didn't seem to deter him.
i have three questions.
i would be most grateful if someone could respond for me, please.
thank you.. 1. can jehovah's witnesses practice faith with the bible as a guide, or is it crucial to include the teachings of the watchtower society?
I want to clarify that I don't agree with the WT teachings in any of the three areas -- the importance of organization, the nature of Christ, or lack of assurance of salvation.
My comments above are in response to the questions in the OP as to why JWs believe as they do in these areas.
i have three questions.
i would be most grateful if someone could respond for me, please.
thank you.. 1. can jehovah's witnesses practice faith with the bible as a guide, or is it crucial to include the teachings of the watchtower society?
1. JWs must believe the teachings of the WT because the Governing Body claims it is the only one that can properly interpret the Bible. It claims to be the "faithful and discreet slave" of Matthew 24:45, appointed by Jesus to give his true followers spiritual "meat in due season."
2. The WT cites several passages against the deity of Christ. For example, in John 17:3 he himself calls the Father "the only true God." They cite the subordination passages, such as John 14:28, which show the Father's positional superiority over the Son. They note that Colossians 1:15 calls Jesus the "firstborn of all creation," which the WT says means that he was the first thing Jehovah created. They also note that Jesus died and ask, "If Jesus is God, who ran the universe for 3 days when he was dead."
As Vanderhoven said, this topic merits a thread of its own. In fact, entire books have been written on this topic.
3. Non-anointed JWs (the great crowd of other sheep) have no assurance of salvation since they believe their salvation depends on their faithfulness to Jehovah and his organization. Even after the end of the Millennial Kingdom and even if they pass the "final test" by Satan, if they sin willingly (as Adam did), Jehovah will annihilate them. So their salvation will never be 100% secure.
It's different for the anointed 144,000 after they die because they will go to heaven and receive spirit bodies, so they will no longer be subject to temptation. Until they die, though, they could still forfeit their salvation if they are unfaithful.
i thought about this when i read the expression in another thread, "someone was stumbled", they would never tell you who the person was, and simply used it to control you, or it got worse, some times it was "you might stumble someone" .. who were these stumbling loons of which they spoke ?
not only was it a control mechanism, it encouraged you to not be your real self, ever.. i liked the response of one of my jw relatives to this, where they expected him to change the person he was, he said "these people accusing me are not perfect are they ?
no, well then, they cannot expect perfection from me".
Some JWs will say, "You're stumbling me" as a way of getting others to stop what they're doing and make them feel doubly guilty for doing it in the first place.
Of course, as Punkofnice pointed out, it's the spiritually weak, not the spiritually strong, people who get stumbled.
what i mean by the title of this thread is what has happened to a relative of mine, one who is really upset about this factor:.
this relative is a distant cousin on my mother's side of the family.
she studied as a child and got baptized at 14 1/2 years old.
Russell taught that the end would come in 1914, following a 40 year harvest period after Jesus' (supposed) invisible return in 1874.
Since then, the organization has speculated on numerous dates for the end, all of which came to nothing.
They said there was no need to go to college or plan for retirement because the "new system" was so close and because "you will never grow old in this system of things."
Despite seeing many brothers and sisters like HiddlesWife's cousin grow old with no savings, no retirement plan, minimal (if any) insurance, and no chance for improvement, most JWs continue to believe that the end is just around the corner and that they have no need to plan for their own futures.
