I'll make a few comments but I know you're outnumbered 100 to 1, so I'll understand if you prefer to comment to other statements.
I have said this before on this forum - the vast majority of your qoutes are from 60, 70 years ago and even older than that on a few cases. Those who question the organisation tend to fall into 2 categories - had a bad experience or get hung up on 80 year old articles.
The Bible is much, much older than any WT quotes. Has anything in the Bible needed to be revised or changed? The argument that the WT publications are not inspired is suspect because the F&DS claims to be spirit directed. If they are spirit directed then anything they write while be directed would also be spirit directed, or in other words inspired. They can't claim one with the other. So if they were spirit directed 60 years ago and wrote something then and called it "truth" and today claim to be spirit directed and changed this "truth" to something else today, which is "truth"? Both can't be truth. One is "false".
I personally have not had a really bad experience with the JWs...other than being lied to by the leadership. And I got "hung up" on the "generation change of 1995 shortly after it happened. I also got hung up on the WT involvement with the NGO/DPI of the UN during this decade. Clearly a direct violation of their principles. And they expect their followers to hold to these high standards at the threat of being DFd while they can clearly act above those same principles and standards.
Also a few of the articles qouted are not changes of any significance. (The Watchtower re: Generation will not pass away.)
The core point is the same, it is the understanding of the word generation which has changed. For JWs this was not anything of significance.
How is it not significant that up till the generation change that "millions now living will never die" to "we bring a spirit of wisdom" to the subject and drop that teaching.
The WTS made definitive statements that the end would come in our lifetime...and now have reneged on that statement.
To anyone paying attention, this is a significant change in doctrine. It is of life changing significance, for all those who were hoping to see the new system in their life time now no longer have that guarantee. That "truth" changed, so that "truth" was false. We were lied to. Whether purposely lied to or if it was a genuine mistake doesn't matter. They were wrong. If they were what they professed to be, God's Earthly Organization, with his spirit directing them, this mistake would not have been made.
Despite all of this - where else can we go to have a verse by verse explanation of Revelation - Daniel, Ezekiel etc. Who else could truly claim to be preaching worldwide? What about the high moral standard displayed by Jehovahs people. No involvement in war or politics.
"Where else can we go" is a paraphrased quote from Peter who actually asked Jesus "to who should he go", not where. A minor point, sure, but significant in that JWs feel that we must be directed through the Organization instead of Jesus Christ.
JWs aren't the only missionaries in the world. They may have a higher concentration of their everyday membership who goes door-to-door, but that work is obviously not very successful. How many millions or billions of hours are spent each year and the growth of the membership is almost stagnant in many developed countries? If a publicly traded company had such dismal reports based on the hours spent, they'd be finding new ways to market their product.
JWs are a typical fundamentalist sect in that they promote high moral standards. No big revelation there. Many fundie sects do the same. But in a world of 6 billion people, is your claim that only 6 million JWs are moral and everyone else immoral?
JWs aren't the only ones to avoid war and politics. Hell, the Church of Satan is apolitical and refuses to get involved in political stances and positions. Does this make them worthy of consideration as a way to worship? Granted, many churches and religion curry favor with the political entities of the world and the JWs do not, something that can be generally applauded.
I hope you take the time to really research the history and doctrines of the WTS. I think if you are completely honest with yourself and can take the WT blinders off for a while, you'll see where many of us are coming from.
In the end, however, if you choose to worship with the JWs inspite of knowing that what we are saying is based on fact and not hysteria, then I can only wish you well in your endeavor. I just hope that you give us the same consideration and not condemn us for choosing to not worship with you.
