"Published by Jehovah's Witnesses"

by Nosferatu 14 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  VM44

  "Then why do they call the average JWs - 'publishers'?"

  I think I know the reason for this.

  When asked what is a "Publisher", a JW replied that "A publisher is one who preaches the Good News of the Kingdom."

  So why not just say that they are "preachers" if that is what they do? Because the Watchtower did not WANT to use that word, it was a word already used by Christendom, and they wanted to separate the JWs away from "False Religion" even in the choice of words they used to describe their activities.

  So the WT chose to use the word "publisher" as the name for those who go from door to door. A name that never really sounded right, at least to me it didn't.

  --VM44
• 

  blondie

  Quotes from the NWT:

  (Acts 13:4-5) 4 Accordingly these men, sent out by the holy spirit, went down to Se·leu´cia, and from there they sailed away to Cy´prus. 5 And when they got to be in Sal´a·mis they began publishing the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They had John also as an attendant.

  (Acts 13:38-39) 38 "Let it therefore be known to YOU, brothers, that through this One a forgiveness of sins is being published to YOU; 39 and that from all the things from which YOU could not be declared guiltless by means of the law of Moses, everyone who believes is declared guiltless by means of this One.

  (Acts 15:36) 36 Now after some days Paul said to Bar´na·bas: "Above all things, let us return and visit the brothers in every one of the cities in which we published the word of Jehovah to see how they are."

  (Acts 16:17) 17 This [girl] kept following Paul and us and crying out with the words: "These men are slaves of the Most High God, who are publishing to YOU the way of salvation."

  (Acts 17:1-3) . . .. 2 So according to Paul’s custom he went inside to them, and for three sabbaths he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving by references that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and [saying]: "This is the Christ, this Jesus whom I am publishing to YOU.. . .

  Notice this could not mean printing but:

  2. To bring to the public attention; announce. http://www.thefreedictionary.com/publish
• 

  Alpheta

  There is a legal concept from which the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society will not be able to protect itself - it's called "piercing the corporate veil." The bottom line is that the GB can't speak out of both sides of its mouth - it cannot pretend that it does not control the "other" corporations, that it does not control what is printed in the Watchtower and Awake, that it does not control what goes into the books, that it does not control who the DOs, COs and elders, are, etc., when everyone knows damn well they do. The legal department and outside counsel can set up as many shell corporations and sub-structures to try and hide assets and obfuscate control as they wish - all over the world - but in the end, if the suits are filed in the United States Federal District Courts under "diversity" jurisdiction, those suckers are going to be nailed. It's just a matte rof time. The times, they are a-changin' - it's just a matter of time until the first BIG judgment is entered against the WTBTS, et al. As other posters said, it's just a shell game, and not a very good one.
• 

  done4good

  Terms such as "publisher", "pioneer", etc were Rutherford era terms. His contrarian nature kept him from applying mainstream Christianity's terms, such as "preacher". He also had a very legalistic nature, (as a wannabe lawyer, I'm not sure he ever passed the BAR anywhere), and preferred to use terms that had rather ambigous meanings outside of the jw organization.

  j
• 

  Lady Lee

  I'd like to know just how they are going to disown the almost 1000 documents they have declared they have published over the last 100+ years.

  This organization has spent over 100 years denying not only what they have done, but what they have forced people to accept on pain of losing their families, friends and beliefs and in many cases their lives

  Signed

  Disgusted-Lee.