Is this a good question to ask the PO and sister studying with my wife???

insearchoftruth

My wife has been studying for a short while with a sister from a local congregation whose husband happens to be the PO of the congregation. They are not presently doing a conventional Bible study, they are doing a topical study, having done heaven and paradise earth, next week (when he shows up to chat with me and answer some of my questions) the topic may be either generation or Michael/Jesus.

In a phone conversation with the PO husband, I had asked him about the last days section of the 1989 Reasoning Book and the statement 'the generation that was alive at the beginning of 1914 is now well along in years. The time remaining must be very short.' And he told me that by further studying the bible this change was made.

He is supposed to be showing me how the bible dictated this change....

Would it be a fair question to ask that prior to the change of the generation if he was pretty sure that he would be alive 'when all these things occur' (am pretty sure he is only about 50 or so) and if he was disappointed when the new research showed a change?

tijkmo

sure..no harm in asking..

his reply will be he wasn't serving to a date

insearchoftruth

What about asking then what would have happened to someone who did not agree with this teaching?

blondie

It could be done respectfully. You will be told that even if you might see that a doctrine is faulty scripturally, that a good jw must not "run ahead" and "wait on Jehovah." I found it was best to share my personal experiences with the WTS organization rather than discuss doctrine and theory. I would have elders say that they had shown love to me and I would ask in what way. I pointed out to 2 that they had eaten my food at my house many times yet I had never seen the inside of their homes; that my FIL and BIL and died but I had never received a card from their family although they had my address and I had sent cards to their families during similar times. One I had visited in the hospital when he had had a heart attack, but on my 3 hospital stays, not a glimpse of his face, not even a card.

They started getting uncomfortable and started saying they were busy, one even said they would have us over and send a card re my FIL. It is 8 years later and we have never received a card and after 7 invitations, I still have never seen the inside of that one elder's home, yet he had been in mine and eaten a fine meal several times.

In the end you can't win with confrontational question. You have to listen to their nonofficial comments and observe their actions.

I would suggest reading Steven Hassan's book (I'm re-reading it) about how to "Combatting Cult Mind Control."

Blondie

darth frosty

Those are all good questions, but the key is this. How can he try to switch others to his belief when it is so flawed. Obviously they made predictions that were not true. According to the scripture in duet this makes them a false prophet. If you point to his literature and it says the gen of 1914 will live to see the big A. why did they believe this in the first place? Why did they change it?

Now if you ask him the reason for the change, He will use the spill about new light and a better understanding of the scriptures. That is BS. The only reason they change and use 'new light' to justify the change is when it becomes painfully obvious that their prediction or belief was wrong.

Alwayshere

AWAKE MAGAZINES FROM MARCH 1988 TO OCTOBER1995 SAYS ON THE INSIDE COVER "THIS MAGAZINE BUILDS CONFIDENCE IN THE "CREATOR'S PROMISE" OF A PEACEFULL AND SECURE NEW WORLD 'BEFORE" THE GENERATION THAT "SAW' THE EVENTS OF 1914 PASSES AWAY.

choosing life

The message inside the cover of the Awake for so many years show just how strongly it was taught. I believe they have deleted it now from bound volumes or the Wat. CD.

" Who controls the past controls the future: who controls the present controls the past."

Freedom2003

the change in "the generation' teaching is why many left the organization. And I'm sure many others, who are still active, have severe doubts about this organization now, but still are bound to it by friends and family that they don't want to lose. The PO studying with your wife probably knows he's not in "the truth" but just can't figure out how to leave.

Quandry

You will be told that even if you might see that a doctrine is faulty scripturally, that a good jw must not "run ahead" and "wait on Jehovah."

This is so true.

By all means try to pin him down and "hold his feet to the fire" on his personal view and if he is dissappointed. How does he think non-witnesses view all these changes? Ask him if he feels people in the churches should accept their doctrines and not "run ahead." Ask him how witnesses should view all the changes. What should they do if they don't agree?

I was so confused when the "new light" came out about the 1914 generation in 1995, stating that the generation was now changed to mean anyone living at the time of the end, after YEARS of being told that the generation of 1914 WOULD NOT ALL DIE BEFORE THE END COMES and now it has been changed again to the annointed. Maybe ask the elder to show you the progression in the Bible of how the meaning keeps changing, but the organization still has the truth and doesn't have false prophesies.

They said the end would come in the year 1874 first, then 1914,(yes, at first they taught that Armageddon would be in this year) then that in 1925 the "ancient worthies" would be resurrected, then the end would be in 1975, then the recent changes. Please check all this information on the Freeminds website.

Get back to us.

insearchoftruth

http://www.jwsupportforum.com/index.php?topic=815.0 is a summary of how it is going so far.....

Is this a good question to ask the PO and sister studying with my wife???

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