New "doom and gloom" brochure

by TR 46 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  RedhorseWoman

  I think, Jehu, that Frenchy was referring to external Bible authorities other than a dictionary.

  Since you're in college (boy, have things changed....when I was a young JW, college was pretty much forbidden (sigh)), you can probably understand the danger inherent in researching just one author's point of view when you write a paper. In order to determine the truth of a matter, one usually researches various authors and various points of view, rather than just one.

  I'm sure you'll admit that a dictionary does not really do much as far as researching ideas and theories. It has been my experience that the Society quotes from those who support what the Society is trying to present, while ignoring any who disagree. Using only the Society's publications (along with a dictionary), gives a very narrow perspective on any subject that you're investigating.
• 

  Frenchy

  Jehu:
  Actually the elders are not allowed to 'understand' the scriptures anymore than you. I was one for many years until just recently and the direction we always got from the Society was to NOT give a personal evaluation of a Scripture but to 'look it up in the Society's publications.' So when you ask an elder you are asking someone to give you what is in the publications and nothing else.

  Alan:
  You seem upset about something. Care to talk about it?

  -Seen it all, done it all, can't remember most of it-
• 

  waiting

  Hey Frenchy,

  In our southern usa city, our congregation has been taught again and again to trust that our elders are not speaking of their own initiative but are following the scriptures and the teachings of the FDS.

  That, for a long time, was a real encouragement to me, as I respected the insight and abilities of only 2 of the 7 elders in our congregation. I believed the rest to be good men, but there were some brothers & quite a few sisters who were more insightful, better educated, more time in field service, better able to quote WT articles & Bible, and more intelligent than the rest of the body of elders, imho. They accepted what the elders said, but it helped us believing that they weren't passing on their own opinions to us, at least in spiritual matters. We all knew many opinions of theirs on many other subjects. It was a relief to believe we were free of their opinions in at least one area - spirituality.

  Even the Watchtower study articles admonish the elders to not counsel or answer questions from their own opinions. They are to go strickly by the WTBTS published teachings. They don't many times, which works for the harm, but sometimes the good, of the individual.

  waiting
• 

  Frenchy

  waiting
  Here's the drill. The FDS is God's channel of communication to the world and his only channel. All information that God wants man to have comes through the FDS. Elders are expected to have a good working knowledge of that information and to know where to get what they don't have, i.e., the publications. Ideally, (nowwithstanding a few independent thinkers as well as not so few idiots)when you ask an elder a question concerning the meaning of a particular scripture you will get the 'information' that presumably God has revealed to the FDS and which the latter has conveniently published in one or more of a very prodigious volume of writings which have come to be fondly referred to as 'the publications.'
  Is this good or bad? Depends on your point of view which of course is colored by your motive or objective.

  -Seen it all, done it all, can't remember most of it-
• 

  Frenchy

  Jehu & alan:
  I know that I ask some difficult questions and that I bring up some uncomfortable subjects. For years I fought with these questions and everytime I brought them up they were met with anger. I kept asking myself why that was so. Why would someone be angry at a question dealing with something so important? It would be years before I found the answer to that question. It was fear. Those questions were disturbing because once asked they revealed something that no witness ever wants to think about.
  Some went back into their shell but some of those people I talked to are just now able to face those questions without getting the cold sweats. They don't like what they see but see it they must.

  -Seen it all, done it all, can't remember most of it-
• 

  RedhorseWoman

  Fear....oh, yes, I can remember the fear of thinking about things that weren't totally in accord with Brooklyn. It is wonderful to finally be able to discuss points and read various viewpoints and actually THINK about them.

  I love your posts, Frenchy. You bring to light so many facets that I hadn't considered before. I hope that those such as Alan and Jehu can also some day learn to enjoy the intelligence and thinking ability that God has given them without fear.
• 

  Frenchy

  Thank you, Red. I share your hope for all who through conditioning find it very difficult to be able to openly discuss things of this nature. I know how they feel because I felt if for some forty years. You feel like you are being disloyal to Jehovah God himself for questioning when in fact Jehovah Himself through his Word encourages us to do this very thing.

  -Seen it all, done it all, can't remember most of it-