The February 15 Watchtower Article "Walking In The Path of Increasing Light" reviews what they consider evidence that they are directed by holy spirit.
Sometimes it's what isn't said that speaks the loudest. The article tries to highlight what they consider significant events. First of all they skip one-third of the organizations history from 1879-1919. Apparently they figure the Russell years weren't significant. Or maybe it's too hard to explain pyramidology. They conveniently sweep all that stuff under the carpet of "Babylonian Captivity"
Next they fast forward to 1919 when they supposedly took the first step toward getting democracy out of the organization. What's so "enlightened" about top down management. It makes more sense to view that move as the consolidation of Rutheford's personal authority. The next big event was the invigorating introduction of "Advertise, advertise, advertise the king and his kingdom". What a novel inspired idea - combining a word , hated by everyone except Madison Ave, with redemption and salvation!! 1931 Rutheford put his trademarked Jehovah's Witnesses name on what was rapidly becoming HIS organization. No doubt he thought any name that uses "Christian" in it was a little time-worn and wouldn't attract much attention. He needed something different to go along with his advertising concept.
1932-1938 continues the attack on democracy. But then the article jumps forward to the next big change in organizational structure - which really involved a return to democracy. Well not exactly - democracy. By 1972 the organization was full of second-bananas all wanting to be top bananas. So they organized a coup. The actual article involving the change came out in the 11/15/71 Watchtower and the title was "A Body of Elders with ROTATING CHAIRMANSHIP".
Whatever happened to the "rotation" feature? The current Watchtower doesn't tell us what happened to that aspect of this divinely guided improvement. Back in 1971 we spent a couple hours on Sunday studying all the reasons why rotating the chairmanship of the elder body was THE DIVINE WAY of running things. Many secular theologians were quoted in those articles justifying this idea. But there was some amazing new light that came out in the July 1983 Kindom Ministry. In the announcement section there is a brief reference to presiding elders being appointed to "indefinite" period (time indefinite = forever?) But the article about increasing light made no reference to this move back to the old structure.
1976 is marked by the establishment of Governing Body committees. 1992 is a reference to the "given ones". Apparently this controversial explanation is still in good standing. What all of this really amounts to is the very ordinary changes (evolution, really) any organization goes through over time. There is nothing enlightened in any of it. It surely bears no extraordinary mark of being directed by some omniscient "mind". Why does it take over 100 years to get things right when God supposedly organized the Israelites in a few weeks at Sinai?
THE BRIGHTER DOCTRINAL PATH
Again the pre-Rutheford era is ignored. 1925 marks the revolutionary discovery (March 1st 1925 article "Birth of the Nation") "that there are two distinct organizations - Jehovah's and Satan's". Now that's a dichotomy that never passed through the mind of any religious person until then! And once again you have to wonder about Rutheford's use of popular culture to come up with names for things. "Birth of a Nation" was a popular movie in 1916. Was the title of that inspired article planted in D.W. Griffiths head first with the real target being a Watchtower article in 1925?
1935 was another no-brainer. When you have more than a 144,000 members combined with first century Christians you've got to come up with another hope. Guided by holy spirit?. Nope. Guided by simple math.
Although the article mentions new light about the relationship between JW's and the authorities it avoids talking about the realization that all those JW men who had their lives interrupted with prison terms because they couldn't do alternative military service really didn't need to go to prison after all. Blood doctrine is also presented as significant new light. But nothing is mentioned about the confusion over organ transplants. Nothing is mentioned about the startling new light that the "heart" mentioned in the Bible was figurative and that it didn't have it's own brain.
The article tells us in paragraph 18 that in 1987 the meaning of the Christian Jubilee was thoroughly explained. And I thought the jubilee was thoroughly explained in 1966 and that it was going to start in 1975. No mention of that.
The article says in paragraph 19 "In 1995 the separating of the sheep from the goats was more clearly understood. Then it jumps to the year 1998. But didn't they forget the biggest doctrinal brightening that took place in 1995? Yes it was in the November 1 1995 Watchtower where it was explained that we were wrong to be counting years from 1914. The "generation" that we believed for over a "generation" was no more. Again we have to ask Was this spirit guided enlightenment or just a matter of doing the math. This is an obvious sore spot that they didn't want to deal with.
The article ends with the ATF rules (Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms).
All in all it portrays an organization struggling for identity, organization power grabs, failed attempts at prophecy and petty pharisaical rules. No extraordinary knock out proof that this organization has an invisible divine hand guiding it.
Missing Light
by proplog2 13 Replies latest jw friends
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proplog2
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proplog2
It looks like this post was a complete waste of time.
No Comments?
If after 4 years on this forum no one cares to read what I've written - then I guess I'd better quit wasting time.
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IP_SEC
If after 4 years on this forum no one cares to read what I've written - then I guess I'd better quit wasting time.
(revised after some thought)
???? Its a very long piece. It has 22 views. It hasnt been up that long. Give it some time. chill.
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greendawn
It is a great post but a long one and many people don't like reading long posts, even when it has great information as this does.
The JW new light doctrine is an absolute mess, first of all the increasing light in the Proverbs refers to the way of the righteous that is his lifestyle or way of living and not to any dogmatic truths of a shady sect of our times.
The fact that they can not get their doctrines right shows that they are not God inspired, God is not a God of disorder to be behind such a mess. They usually do not add new light to old light anyway, but substitute one for the other a discredited concept is rejected not developed. -
VM44
I find it interesting that the article omits saying anything about the Russell era.
Only the things taught from Rutherford's time forward apparently matters.
--VM44
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Nina
My comment:
I haven't personally read the article. I'm certainly not going to give credence to your interpretation.
My guess is that not many people on this board read The Watchtower....or care much what it says.
In that light, no comments are a Good Thing.
Nina
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proplog2
I know it sounds a little self-absorbed. But I've been on this forum long enough. I don't expect anyone to comment on what I wrote but I am surprised at how slowly it has taken off. I used to post and within an hour there would be 200 readers. Perhaps the subject doesn't grab attention.
The length has no bearing on how many click on it. You don't know the length until you click.
It seems to me that there used to be a place you could click that would bring up the posts in chronological order. It doesn't do that anymore. For some reason a post can take a pretty quick dive as soon as its put up.
Certainly there are a lot of excellent threads here that don't get much attention. That was Farkel's gripe - and I believe that's why he doesn't post extensively anymore.
So be it.
Thanks for paying attention.
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Honesty
I had the extreme pleasure of discussing WT Light with a Jay-dub this afternoon. He knows I left the cult because I had issues with almost 100% of their doctrines. He starts off by saying that even though the JW's misunderstand God at times the light keeps getting brighter. He almost messed his britches when I asked him how come God couldn't just explain it all right the first time around instead of letting the poor Jehovah's Witnesses stumble around in a half lit room until He decided they needed a few more watts to brighten up their paths. That's also when the lights went out of his eyes and he said I was introducing him to apostate ideas and I was starting to harrass his intelligence. Well, things calmed down and we parted company on good terms. His employer is one of my friends and is a Christian. He hired him specifically to plant some seeds of truth about Jeus in his mind.
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Sunspot
*Sometimes it's what isn't said that speaks the loudest.
I've been saying this for some time now. There used to be a game show on TV that started out by saying "It's not what you say---it's what you DON'T say"....and the WTS are masters at this. A lot of their writing "skills" and tactics are fashioned after the old-fashioned snake-oil salesmen of days gone by.
*The next big event was the invigorating introduction of "Advertise, advertise, advertise the king and his kingdom". What a novel inspired idea - combining a word , hated by everyone except Madison Ave, with redemption and salvation!!
Is their "preaching work" then seen as "advertising work"?? You betcha!
*Whatever happened to the "rotation" feature? The current Watchtower doesn't tell us what happened to that aspect of this divinely guided improvement. Back in 1971 we spent a couple hours on Sunday studying all the reasons why rotating the chairmanship of the elder body was THE DIVINE WAY of running things.
It beats the hell outta ME! It must have beat the hell outta them, too....for some reason that WE'LL never know about! LOL! With all the WTS sneaky and secretive "ways"...I hate to see all that we were never told after one of these "inspired" directions went south.
*If after 4 years on this forum no one cares to read what I've written - then I guess I'd better quit wasting time.
I HEAR YA, Proplog! Maybe if you put something asinine and inane up as "bait" like PMJ does.....you'll have folks putting up posts every five seconds. Go figure.
hugs,
Annie
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Spectre
proplog2,
I read a lot(most) of topics on this site and rarely comment. When I do its usually just to make some goofy comment. I always appreciate everybodies effort though.