Did the early Christians teach some "wrong teachings"?

booker-t

I was talking to my "devout" JW's mom when she called and invited me to the Memorial. I love my mom dearly but I have told her a hundred times that I will not go back to the WT. She kept on and on about how it is the truth and that Jehovah is revealing new things to the JW's because he wants his organization to be as close to perfect as possible. I then brought up the 1935 heaven closed doctrine to her and told her to look in the May Watchtower about how they have changed that teaching now. She said she already saw the change and a brother gave a talk about it in her hall telling them that no matter how much worshippers of Jehovah and Jesus past and present have tried to totally understand the bible they have always believed in some false things but that did not eliminate them from being used by Jehovah and Jesus. She pointed out that Paul thought the kingdom was going to be set up in his lifetime as many of the early apostles. Jehovah and Jesus still used them even though they might have taught some false teachings. Even after the disciples died off many of the earlier christians were still teaching that in order to be saved one had to be circumcised, some of them taught it was of the devil for women to wear wigs, some christians thought that being "left-handed" was a sign of Satan and burned many left-handed people. My Mom said these people really thought what they were preaching were correct but were wrong. And it did not eliminate them from being believers in Jesus. So her point is that Jehovah's Witnesses are always going to have to make some adjustments on some of their minor teachings but they have never changed their view on the Trinity, immortality of the soul, hellfire, Rapture, etc;

Navigator

There was a considerable "schism" in the early church between the Gnostics and the Orthodox. There were many differences in the teaching of various groups. Read Paul's letters to the Corinthians. Since Constantine was on the side of the Orthodox, they won the battle. He who writes the minutes of the meeting gets to say what happened at the meeting. The Gnostics were actively suppressed by the orthodox group, often with the help of the state.

Pahpa

If only JWs would use the same tolerant attitude toward members of other churches, we probably could accept your mother's explanation. But the fact is that JWs feel they alone have "the truth" to the exclusion of all other Christian groups. And the severe consequences of a JW who questions or expresses doubts about a Watchtower interpretation of scripture illustrates just how intolerant the organization really is.

Your mother is trying to rationalize an irrational situation.

Nathan Natas

Until the invention of movable type in 1450 C.E., Zion's Watch Tower was produced entirely by hand as the work of professional scribes. The circulation at that time was about 50 issues every two weeks, worldwide.

Clearly this was an error, and Jehovah caused the path of the righteous Russell to shine like freshly cast linotype plates.

Today the WTB&TS can spread bullshit in three and a half gadzillion languages.

AMEN!

Hooperman

didn't the early WT congregations use parchments that were spread around, and a giant ram's horn as a microphone for the assembly hall? It must have been hard for those brothers to pass that heavy hunk of ivory around in the seats back then. maybe they had two of them to get it passed into the audience? also, what did they do for the early "sing praises to jehovah" books? did they use sheep's skin for that too? how did the questions and answers pages work too? it is rather difficult to imagine how well jehovah's orgnization was working back then despite such crude conditions. how did they do the phone ins?