Unquestioning Obedience

trudy

I shared this in another topic list, but wanted to share it again. I was reading an old Watchtower I
found in one of the Watchtower bound volumes, year 1963. The May 1, 1963 Watchtower page 283, at the
bottom of the page is this short paragraph:

UNQUESTIONING OBEDIENCE

Catholic Priest James J. Navagh, bisop of the Ogdensburg Diocese, New York, told
delegates to the 67th. annual state convention of the Knights of Columbus, that Catholics
should obey church orders without question. Quoting a Catholic scholar, he said,"If you
believe something is white and the church says it is black, believe it is black."

sound familiar?

Didn't Rutherford say something quite similar?

Only the book he held up was green. LOL!

Hiddenwindow

Yes, Trudy, it sounds very familiar. The unquestioning obediece situation is very dangerous, because that is the type of mentality that has lead many cult followers to their own destruction (and sometimes that destruction is more than a metaphor).

trudy

I couldn't help but to laugh! And I couldn't believe my eyes!

What was it Christ said?

Matthew 7:3
And why behold thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but consider not the beam that is in your own eye?"

Do the Watchtower leaders allow anyone to Question their authority and doctrine?

NO!

trudy

The beginning paragraph says:
Truth is important to man. It can mean the difference between life and death, riches and
poverty, health and sickness, misery and happiness. With good reason does the Bible command,'Speak
truth each one with his neighbor.-'Eph 4:25. Just because man is fallen, imperfect, weak and selfish,
he often takes liberties with the truth. While at times this may be due to emotionalism, misguided zeal
or a lack of the facts, not infrequently it cannot be so excused, but must be charged to dishonesty,
to a deliberate attempt to deceive for the purpose of advancing one's view point or profit."

Really? Then there is no excuse for them, as they put it.
What ever happened to Watchtowers leader's saying: "Religion is a snare and a racket."

Must obey!

Trudy, nice find, but may I ask what the article was about in which this quote is contained in that May 1, 1963 Watchtower?

Bonnie_Clyde

Reminds me of a word for word quote from the district convention in 2006 (the last one I attended).

"To disobey the elders is the same as divination and idolatry."

V

Good timing! The Watchtower Study just last week had this gem:

15) What else can we learn from Israel's Exodus from Egypt? That we must obey Jehovah no matter what he asks us to do. The Israelites were obedient in carrying out the detailed preparations for the Passover. They obediently stayed indoors during the night of Nisan 14. When they finally left Egypt, they had to go "in battle formation." (Exodus 13:18) Today, it is so important that we follow the guidance that comes to us through "the faithful and discreet slave"! (Matthew 24:45) We have to listen very carefully to God's word behind us, saying: "'This is the way. Walk in it, you people,' in case you people should go to the right or in case you should go to the left." (Isaiah 30: 21) As we get nearer to the outbreak of the great tribulation, we may well receive some detailed instructions. Our safe journey through those troublesome days will depend on our keeping in step with other loyal servants of Jehovah.
16) Remember, too, that Jehovah diverted the Israelites into a position where they appeared to be trapped between the mountains on the one side and the Red Sea on the other. It just did not seem to be the right move. But Jehovah had everything in hand, and all worked out to his praise and to the salvation of his people. Today, we may not clearly see why some organizational matters are handled in a certain way, but we have every reason to trust in Jehovah's guidance through his faithful channel of communication. At times, our enemies may seem to be getting the upper hand. From our limited perspective, we may not be able to see the whole picture. Still, Jehovah is capable of maneuvering matters at the right moment, just as he did back there for the sons of Israel. -Proverbs 3:5.
The Watchtower, December 15, 2008, pages 16-20 (paragraphs 15 & 16)

See whole article with comments here.

WTWizard

This is why I call it idolatry to be a witless. When you unquestioningly obey the Filthful and Disgraceful Slavebugger, you are in effect worshiping them. They do not have all the answers, and they are going to start banning more and more ridiculous things.

And, any God that would require such unquestioning obedience would not be worth worshiping, either. If that happens, the new order that waits for us is going to be so full of stagnation that no one would want to be there. Only those bicameral thinking people (those who obey first and not ask questions) will be there, since anyone that thinks on their own will die for it. And, if anyone later decides that they do not need to blindly follow that Tyrant, and decides to create value, they die. That, to me, is a waste of a perfectly capable brain.

Homerovah the Almighty

Power in the hands of old ignorant corrupt uneducated men is never a good thing for humanity.

Yes this obedience by the exploited slaves is how they maintain their wealth and power by the very virtue of commercialism of their litature......lies for profit

Gopher

I had a conversation with my best high-school buddy, who still is a fervent Catholic. (He knows I'm out of the JW's now.)

He confirmed that you could have disagreements with the church and still remain in good standing. One example I can think of is that many active Catholics practice birth control, something expressly forbidden by their church's hierarchy.

A JW will get counselled for the most minor of offenses. I remember an older white JW woman (one who wasn't very hard-core) being taken into the back room after a Sunday meeting for showing up with unusual hair braiding. I'm sure they read the scripture to her about hair-braiding.

Unquestioning Obedience

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