by minimus 23 Replies latest jw friends
but then, Christ himself was not a Christian, he was an anarchist Jew
Bingo. Christianity today has little to do with what most "Christians" accept as the teachings of Christ.
A group of folks that lived in harmony with what is accepted as "Christs teachings" wouldn't even be noticed nowdays. 20 million of them might be another matter, thousands though wouldn't even be a blip on the radar.
Just use the Christian scriptures against them. Jesus contrasted 2 class of people. The pharises and the common people. As you break down each class which side does the Dubs fall on?
Jesus taught his followers to love their enemies, do they? When his disciples found other's who were preaching in HIS name and expelling demons, He said to leave them alone. How do the dubs feel about those who preach about Jesus but are not associated with them? Jesus taught complete and immediate acceptance, of any who turned from their sins(prodigal son,)do the dubs follow this example?
I could go on but you get the gist. What the dubs like to do is skirt christianity. They ride along a razor's edge, that cuts them away from true christian values. There is always an outlook to approve behavior and rules that clearly are not extolled in the christian scriptures. This is one thing that I really learned from BLONDIE. They offer the carrot of christianity, than use OT scriptures to push their dogmatic agenda.
The scripture at Matthew 5: 46 "If you love them which love you, what reward do you have." Fits them perfect. They only love you if you are one of them.
Being Christian is not an act, it's a transformation, an ongoing process aided by the Holy Spirit himself.
Regarding the "prodigal son", I can never understand how a so- called "Christian" religion can use this parable over and over in the publications and then BLATANTLY do just the opposite of Christ's message.
"They will know that you are my deciples if you have love amongst yourselves" . . . Need I say more.
The common thread here is that JWs do NOT have love.
Fortunately we have a yardstick to measure someone with and substantiate their claim of being a Christian.
"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control." (Galatians 5:22)
Some people have it, some don't, and I have never seen any organizational affiliation have any involvement in it.
Good point about those fruits. Sadly, to a JW, it's permissable not to show those fine qualties to those they deem undeserving.
