I have found this a good line of reasoning to use with JW's to really get them thinking, are there any differences between the Governing Body and the Pope? I can think of a lot of similarities, and the WTBTS officially condemns the practice of having a 'Pope' like figure in charge.
http://www.popechart.com/FAQ.htm
Papal Prophecies: These are the 1139 Prophecies of St. Malachy. They state that there will be 110 popes after Celestine II and then the world will end: "In extreme persecution, the seat of the Holy Roman Church will be occupied by Peter the Roman, who will feed the sheep through many tribulations, at the term of which the city of the seven hills will be destroyed, and the formidable Judge will judge his people. The End.". (Do I need to say anything here?)
Infallibility: This is the gift of "infallibility" which Jesus gave to Peter and his successors. Jesus did not give Popes the gift of impeccability, which means they can't sin. Then, he would have to take away their free will. Even Peter had the free will to deny him three times... Popes, like you and I, will be answerable on how we use our free will. (Indeed, I believe this is exactly how the GB would describe themselves, not using the word infallibility of course, but saying personally they can sin as individuals, but as a body what they say comes from God.)
http://people.howstuffworks.com/papacy1.htm
Origins: The Catholic Church dates back to the time of Jesus Christ, when Christ selected Peter to lead his Church. In the book of Matthew (16:18) of the Bible, Christ says to Peter, "And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." This statement, now known as the Petrine guarantee, gave Peter the fullness of power, according to the New Catholic Encyclopedia. (The WTBTS also traces its origin to the time of Jesus and says that Peter, Paul and others were the first GB.)
Authority: As head of the Roman Catholic Church, the pope is the supreme spiritual leader of the Church and controls the church doctrine. With a billion followers, the pope's decisions impact societies and governments all over the world. (The connection here with the GB is obvious, although the WTBTS only has 6 million followers, their practices of no blood; shunning and door to door apostasy have affected many countries and families around the world.)
Both the Pope and the GB's doctrines supersede the bibles authority, they are both considered to be God's channel for communicating with humans on earth, both are considered to be inspired or guided by holy spirit.
Are there any other similarities you have noticed?
Governing Body and The Pope
by SickofLies 5 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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SickofLies
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jgnat
You've said what I've been thinking lately.
Also, a few people have commented to me lately the similarity between the JW's Judicial Committees and the Catholic confessional. A friend said, "At least with the confessional it's in privacy..to only one person!"
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Star Moore
Yes, they are exactly the same....but with different names or tags on it..so the JW don't recognize it and so they can feel they are so 'different' . But actually the Catholics are better than the JW's as there is alot more freedom of choice and beliefs. They can be involved in politics.. and believe in birthcontrol.
And many other things..they have freedom to be different than the church. But with JW's, one false move and you are either marked as bad association or reproved or DF'ed.
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greendawn
Confessionals do not lead to severe sanctions as the JW JC's usually do the catholics are more flexible and merciful with those going for confession.
The similarity I can think of is between the medieval Catholic church and the present day JWs both are extremely authoritarian and absolutely intolerant of any criticism and they mercilessly torment(ed) their dissenters, the first physically the second emotionally.
And as you said the GB act as if they are infallible though they admit that they are not. -
greendawn
I forgot to add that they both torment their victims on the justification that though this is unpleasant it is necessary for the salvation of their souls or lives, and there is no need to feel guilty about such cruel actions.
The archetypal hypocrisy of many evil doers, the ends justify the means. -
Evanescence
Authority: As head of the Roman Catholic Church, the pope is the supreme spiritual leader of the Church and controls the church doctrine. With a billion followers, the pope's decisions impact societies and governments all over the world. (The connection here with the GB is obvious, although the WTBTS only has 6 million followers, their practices of no blood; shunning and door to door apostasy have affected many countries and families around the world.)
Both the Pope and the GB's doctrines supersede the bibles authority, they are both considered to be God's channel for communicating with humans on earth, both are considered to be inspired or guided by holy spirit.I guess some newfaiths survive by saying that they trace back to the time of early christians... But really the watchtower has no proof of existing beforehand, nor historical proof at all.
I take it from your post your more in support of "Sola Scriptura" bible alone. I can understand your viewpoint eversince yes there are a lot of false prophets who claim to have the authority. However look at it from this point, protestants believe in Sola Scriptura but look at how many protestant denominations there are! Millions! Who sadly cannot agree on one interpretation on scripture.
That would be the main reason why I believe in the magisterium of the church, to keep the truth at all its fullness.
God bless
Evanescence