The Society Says...

drew sagan

Reading another thread reminded me of this time long ago before I was ever baptized. During a book study the conductor (who was the P.O.) made a comment about being out in the field service and using the Bible.

Anyway he mentioned that he has to catch himself from time to time when he is at the door. When the householder says something that diagrees with Watchtower teaching he just wants to blurt out "But the Society Says', when he means to say 'The Bible Says'.

I remember only being a young 15 year old kid an thinking this was just absurd. He was proving to me one of my biggest fears about the JWs, that they simple believe what the Watchtower says verbatim. I was able to sweep that under the rug, but never totally forgot it. It's amazing how when looking back there where so many things that really concerned me but I just didn't let it get to me.

Wasanelder Once

You speak truth Drewsagan. I could never fathom the whole destruction of everyone but "us", lie. As a kid I was mortified by the idea. The picture in the paradise lost book of the earth opening and swallowing people made such an impression on me. If you think hellfire creates fear, just be 10 years old and look at that illustration and think about it being you falling in that crevice!

I call paradise, "Picnic with a panda" world because of the tract. Both illustrations are so stupid, destruction and paradise.

Better to love and be respectful of all your assets, people and otherwise, while kicking.

Hope you're enjoying your trips around the sun.

W.Once

Jourles

I can't remember how long ago it was, but I believe there was an article in a KM or WT about having jw's use the phrase, "The Society says..." It basically told the r&f not to use that phrase but instead substitute "The bible says..." I think the reason it gave was to show householders, relatives, etc. that we teach from the bible, and not from the WTS literature(which is incorrect, but the r&f went along with the reasoning anyway).

slimboyfat

Is this like a game of SImon says?

Slim

Arthur

He was proving to me one of my biggest fears about the JWs, that they simple believe what the Watchtower says verbatim. I was able to sweep that under the rug, but never totally forgot it. It's amazing how when looking back there where so many things that really concerned me but I just didn't let it get to me.

This is something that began to become more and more problematic to me. I began to notice that the Watchtower holds a level of authority that even surpasses the Bible itself at times. This is because all scripture is subject to the interpretations of the GB. Interpretation is everything. A JW can only be privy to the "current understanding" of the scriptures by dutifully studying and applying every Watchtower article.

When JWs are discussing a certain issue or question among themselves; how often have you heard them say: "Well, 1Corinthians says this . . " or "Romans chapter 3 has this to say . . . ."? Very seldom if ever. Instead, what JWs will say is: "Well, the September Watchtower said . ." or "We were instructed in the latest Watchtower to . . . .".

I am astounded that it took me so many years to realize this. It astounds me that more JWs do not see through this smoke screen. The Watchtower magazine has been elevated to a position of sacredness and authority that have clearly contradicted what the Apostle Paul had written in certain verses.

What also amazes me is how the WTS can persuade people to believe that they cannot have Jehovah's holy spirit unless they are reading WTS publications. A person could read the Bible for hours a day; but it is useless unless they are reading WTS publications. Such an idea has no scriptural precedent. However, it has become a part of the "New Gospel" that governs the minds of so many JWs. It's really quite amazing.

Jourles

Not only that, but even the WT is elevated above the Awake in terms of spiritual food. My mother once told me after I referred her to an Awake on something-or-other, that the Awake is more or less reserved for worldly people to get an overall grasp on the jw's and that it is not meant to distribute the real hard hitting doctrines that we know of today. So basically in a nutshell, if a particular doctrine is addressed in the Awake, just ignore it. The real meaning will appear in a WT instead.

Oh, and you can ignore what the bible says on the matter too....

freetosee

In recent years, the "faithful slave" has encouraged Jehovah's Witnesses to present their beliefs as though the Witness came to these beliefs as a result of their private study of the Bible.

Here is the quote from the 3/15/98 WT, page 19, para 4. After discussing the difference between the Watchtower Society and the "faithful slave," the article says:

"In order to avoid misunderstandings, Jehovah's Witnesses try to be careful about how they express themselves. Instead of saying 'the Society teaches,' many Witnesses prefer to use such expressions as, 'the Bible says,' or, 'I understand the Bible to teach.' In this way they emphasize the personal decision that each Witness has made in accepting Bible teachings and also avoid giving the false impression that Witnesses are somehow bound to the dictates of some religious sect."

This quote is interesting on a couple of levels. First, any distinction between the Watchtower Society and the "faithful slave" is a distinction without a difference. The Watchtower Society publishes exactly what the "faithful slave" sends to it - nothing more, nothing less. Second, the vast majority of Jehovah's Witnesses immediately adopt whatever teaching is transmitted to them by the "faithful slave" by means of the Watchtower Society. As a friend of mine puts it, "Every time the 'faithful slave' changes directions, 6 million people get whiplash."

http://www.docbob.org/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=28

fts

Seeker4

Yes. The WTS literature really takes on greater importance than the Bible among JWs.

You cannot really believe anything you read in the Bible without first running it past what the WTS says it really means. When an organization gets to that point, and allows no open debate about what the organization is saying, then it has entered the realm of the cults.

At some point, the WTS elevated protecting itself as an organization above teaching what it thought was real biblical truth. When I began to realize this, I was on my way out.

S4

Arthur

When an organization gets to that point, and allows no open debate about what the organization is saying, then it has entered the realm of the cults.
At some point, the WTS elevated protecting itself as an organization above teaching what it thought was real biblical truth. When I began to realize this, I was on my way out.

This was my experience as well. Personally, I do not think that it is a stretch of the immagination to label the WTS a cult. If it looks like a duck, walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck . . . .

Warlock

Now, how can you really use the bible in service? There are too many scriptures surrounding the one you are using that you don't want the householder to see! LOL

Warlock

The Society Says...

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