Could someone please fill me in? Whats this all about?
Sounds interesting.
Cheers,
J
Theocratic War Strategy??? I'm new...
by jambon1 8 Replies latest jw friends
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whyizit
I believe it is a "means justifies the end" type of deal. A fancy way of saying it is okay to lie to people. It is for their own good. If we tell them the truth, they might get some red flags, and we wouldn't want that. Then they might not be willing to follow our way of thinking. They don't deserve the truth anyway, because they are not one of "us". That is how Theocratic War Strategy seemed to be to me.
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AuldSoul
Despite the absence of a single example in the Bible where lies were employed—in a positive context—by anyone who had authority over anything, JWs teach that deceit is an appropriate response for a wide range of questions and in a wide range of circumstances.
They point to Rahab (who was not a servant of God) and David (before becoming King and while Saul was trying to kill him) and to Ehud (who didn't actually deceive anyone, the guards just checked the wrong leg since he was left-handed) as examples of deceit that would be appropriate for Christians. None of these examples involved lying organizationally, nor is God ever pictured as supporting an organizational lie or a lie from the leadership.
The other odd thing is, these people weren't Christians and we are told to follow the example of Christ.
1 Peter 2:21-22—In fact, to this [course] YOU were called, because even Christ suffered for YOU, leaving YOU a model for YOU to follow his steps closely. 22 He committed no sin, nor was deception found in his mouth.
They quote verse 21 like it was etched into their brains, but they ignore the context. According to the Bible, our exemplar did not deceive anyone. Ever. Even to save his life or the lives of others. His complete confidence, as related in the Bible, was in a source of power greater than himself—he did not need to deceive anyone.
Respectfully,
AuldSoul -
greendawn
That's what it boils down to it is a euphimism for lying and you can imagine how much the GB have being lying to the R&F for theocratic reasons.
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ballistic
Just as it is interesting, if not disturbing to find:
A. Points of Doctrine which have changed one way and back again as the "light has got brighter"
B. Points of Doctrine which have changed - meaning people have been disfellowshipped unnecessarily.
C. Points of Doctrine which have changed on blood and organs - meaning people have died unnecessarily,
It will be interesting to collect points on which the society uses "theocratic war strategy" (lies) and then susequently changes doctrine making the lies completely without excuse.
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stillajwexelder
Despite the absence of a single example in the Bible where lies were employed—in a positive context—by anyone who had authority over anything,
Actually not quite true -they will cite the example of the spies sent out by Joshua into promised land and Rache ltold lies in Jericho to protect the spies
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AuldSoul
stillajwexelder,
I mentioned Rahab. She was a Jerichite harlot, not a servant of the Israelite God. She had no authority over anything, which was the stipulation I made in the comment you quoted. Just as David had no authority when he deceived the Philistines into thinking he was insane.
Respectfully,
AuldSoul -
insearchoftruth
How can an intelligent person accept stuff like 'theocratic war strategy', 'light is getting brighter' etc without seeing right through it I just don't understand. What amazes me is that people not only from the dubs, but many other faiths just accept what the leadership shoves down the chute, sort of like on animal house when the pledge is getting paddled and he keeps responding "Thank you sir, may I have another". After a bit of time an intelligent person should be able to say when enough is enough.....
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Elsewhere
Here ya go... this will tell you all about "Theocratic War Strategy" in the words of the WTS: