Good News for dub's raised in the "Truth"

by ringo5 8 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  ringo5

  Just some good advice from the Watchtower regarding researching the religion of your upbringing...
  
  

  *** w85 7/15 pp. 3-4 ‘My Religion Is Good Enough for Me!’ ***
  
  ‘My Religion Is Good Enough for Me!’
  
  HAVE you ever reacted with such words when one of Jehovah’s Witnesses called at your home? Perhaps you added: ‘It was good enough for my parents and my grandparents. So why bother with any other religion?’
  
  Of course, we benefit greatly from the wisdom and experience of our parents. But is that necessarily a wise basis for following a religion? Certainly we do not imitate our parents and grandparents in everything we do. Why not? Because there has been progress in knowledge and understanding.
  
  To illustrate: Over 40 years ago when people got sick, they may have died simply because available treatment was inadequate. Since 1943, antibiotics have been available and have saved many lives. Do we refuse to consider using antibiotics just because our grandparents did not know of them? No, we keep an open mind and weigh the merits of new developments. That same attitude is wise with regard to religion.
  
  The apostle Paul’s case further illustrates that the religion of our forebears is not necessarily true worship that pleases God. Prior to Paul’s conversion to Christianity, his reaction to the Christian “Way” was violent in the extreme, for he “kept on persecuting the congregation of God and devastating it.” But why? Because he was ‘zealous for the traditions of his fathers.’ His sincere adherence to his former religion prevented him from recognizing the truth about Jesus Christ—and that could not have pleased God.—Acts 9:1, 2; Galatians 1:13, 14.
  
  Your Religion—By Choice or by Chance?
  
  In most cases, a person’s religion is really a matter of coincidence. In what sense? In that you may have been born a Catholic, a Protestant, a Hindu, a Taoist, or a Buddhist because that was the religion of your parents. But suppose you had been born in another country or family. Perhaps you would now be fervently professing a different religion. Therefore, is it logical to assume that the religion of your birth is automatically the true one?
  
  Whether you were born into your religion or not, you may still feel that it is good enough for you. But is right religion just a matter of personal opinion or taste? Is that a reliable guideline?
  
  Perhaps we can illustrate this with food. Ask a child to tell you which he prefers—a slice of cake or a dish of spinach. Most likely he will choose the cake. But will that choice be the most nutritious? Similarly, the fact that a religion appeals to your personal taste does not necessarily mean that it is the best for you spiritually.—Compare Romans 10:2, 3.
  
  Religion is not just a matter of subjective opinion. It involves the worship of God, so it must please him. Therefore, the vital question is not, Is my religion good enough for me? Rather, it is, Does my religion really please God?
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  mrsjones5

  Yeah they want people on the outside of ask themselves that question but if you're a jw don't you do it...big time no no
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  greendawn

  Those are the double standards if you are in and you question their doctrines or basis of authority they will either marginalise you or throw you out. That's in the nature of a cult.
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  ringo5

  I don't know anyone that likes double standards, and the org displays many examples of this kind of thinking...
  
  

  (Proverbs 20:23) 23 Two sorts of weights are something detestable to Jehovah, and a cheating pair of scales is not good.

  
  
  
  

  *** w67 10/1 p. 584 Is the Religion of Your Parents the Right One for You? ***
  
  Does the religion of your parents prepare them to do this? Can they turn directly to the Bible to answer questions about God, his Son, Christ Jesus, God’s purposes and about what is proper conduct, as could Timothy’s mother and grandmother? If not, it should cause you to question seriously whether their religion is the right one for you. For the true religion equips its adherents to provide this vital instruction.
  
  It is not sufficient merely to feel that your parents’ religion is the right one for you. Unless you can prove the correctness of their beliefs from the Scriptures, no amount of religious fervor or sincerity will make them right. It is foolish to conclude: “If my religion is good enough for father and mother, it is good enough for me.” What would have happened if Rahab had reasoned that way, and relied upon the gods of her parents and continued to worship them? Why, they would have all suffered destruction with the rest of those in Jericho! As it was, because of her bold stand in favor of the true God Jehovah, “Rahab and her father and her mother and her brothers . . . and all who belonged to her, Joshua preserved alive.”—Josh. 6:23-25.
  
  In this day, too, all false religion faces a condemnatory judgment. Therefore, search the Scriptures! Examine your religion carefully in the light of their teachings. Abandon false religion, as the Bible commands: “Get out from among them, and separate yourselves.” (2 Cor. 6:17) Find the religion that takes the Bible seriously and that equips each of its adherents to be a minister of God. This is the religion for you. Enjoy God’s protection and blessing by accepting it.
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  ferret

  Total hypocrisy. did I spell that right.
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  Effervescent

  Haha- This reminds me...

  When I first left, my Dad called me and told me- "I know you'll come back to the truth, because you're a smart girl and you'll figure it out just like I did".

  Geez... I really hope he wasn't holding his breath.
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  Iforget

  I found it tiring to keep listening to the "you need to go to meetings" lecture. Now after a couple of years my mother has taken the hint and just left me alone.

  Although every single time something tragic in the world happens...I get the lecture again.

  I love the posting...I may have to whip it out next time. Which reminds me...memorial is coming up to be missed again.
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  ringo5

  It's hard for them not to take it personally, but you can point out that difference of opinion does not change how you feel for them...
  
  

  *** w55 5/1 p. 259 Will You Reason on Religion? ***
  
  Is it showing hatred to disagree with someone’s religious doctrines? Far from it! An intelligent discussion can be greatly beneficial. Sometimes even a degree of controversy may be a good thing, stirring us to investigation. Too few people really have investigated their religion. How did you choose your religion? Did you merely accept the one your parents had, or did you examine the facts for yourself? Is yours an inherited religion, or a believed one? There can be a great difference between the two.

  
  
  Surely your parents wouldn't want you pretending to believe something you don't?
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  ringo5

  Inevitably, they will admit there have been some mistakes misunderstandings in doctrine and expectations, but these were the result of being anxious to see Jehovah's name vindicated.
  
  In contrast, again to:
  
  

  *** w64 2/15 p. 103 Does Sincerely Believing Change Wrong into Right? ***
  
  GOD’S WORD IS TRUTH
  
  This brief analysis of just a few beliefs of “pagan” and “Christian” religions should show the thinking person that sincerity in believing a doctrine does not change what is wrong into what is right. It does not make it acceptable to God. He cannot condone what is wrong. He cannot bless what is falsehood. He is a God of truth. “It is impossible for God to lie,” states Hebrews 6:18; so surely he would not approve lies even when sincerely taught in his name.
  
  God wants us to show sincerity in worship, true. But it is sincerity in true worship that he wants, not sincerity in false worship.
  
  To aid those who are truly sincere in wanting to worship in truth, God has provided an infallible guide, his Word, the Bible. By this revelation of his mind humans can ascertain who he is, what his purposes are, and what the accurate knowledge of the truth is. As Jesus Christ said in prayer to his heavenly Father: “Your word is truth.” (John 17:17) Those who want to live in God’s righteous new order, wherein man will live amid paradise conditions in perfect health and happiness forever, need to study God’s Word to determine what the truth is. Jesus also stated: “This means everlasting life, their taking in knowledge of you, the only true God, and of the one whom you sent forth, Jesus Christ.”—John 17:3.
  
  No doubt you are sincere in your beliefs. But remember, sincerity in itself will not change a wrong belief into a right one nor make it acceptable to God. God wants you to use his written Word to determine what is right. In this way he puts you to the test to see if you deserve his blessings. If you are apathetic, trusting in others to do all your religious thinking for you, then you cannot expect God’s favor.
  
  No, do not be as the young child, consuming what you do not know to your own hurt, for “there exists a way that is upright before a man, but the ways of death are the end of it afterward.” (Prov. 16:25) Rather than choosing such a course, “trust in Jehovah with all your heart and do not lean upon your own understanding. In all your ways take notice of him, and he himself will make your paths straight.”—Prov. 3:5, 6.