by insearchoftruth 6 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
My wife was wondering why some people fast as religious practices and I told her that fasting is often spoken about in the Bible, both OT and NT.
What is the viewpoint of the WTS on the practices of gleaning and fasting? I am amazed about how many things these "Bible Students" just gloss over in their teachings and studies.....but I guess neither fasting nor gleaning gets magazines and books distributed, do they?
Not sure if this helps you. but this may be the reason they don't speak about it!
Another Miracle Cure: Fasting
The Watchtower also pushed the quack "Ehret system of elimination" which blamed diseases on the alleged "ten pounds of uneliminated fecal matter which most persons carry around with them throughout life." The Ehret system also teaches that drugs (a term never defined) are stored up in the body like food wastes, causing the person's health to become "serious or even dangerous when these poisons enter his circulation," a condition which can occur when the person fasts (Woodworth 1929: 399). Ehret advocated the "milk diet" which works because "abandoning three 'square' meals a day gives the intestines a chance to partially rest and eliminate some of the obstructions" (Woodworth 1929: 400).
The Watchtower spent much effort on discussing the virtues of elimination and fasting almost as if fasting were the solution to our every health problem because by not eating the intestines will be perfectly clean and never have to work thus will never need a rest. Poor health is partly due to "too much dissolved mucous and probably old drugs in the circulation" (Woodworth p. 400). Weakness, disturbed sleep and bad dreams, Ehret concluded, are caused by the "poisons passing through the brain" (Woodworth 1929: 401). In short, the Ehret system teaches "there is but one disease, and that is constipation" (Barnes 1929: 434).
Among the Watchtower's wilder conclusions was the mistaken belief that secreting mucous is a "cleansing" process that works like soapy suds helping to clean dishes. If the mucous accumulations are great enough, the condition "may be diagnosed as influenza" (1929 p. 434). If the eliminating works deeper into the body's system, Ehret concluded, mucous and poisons are loosened in the amount that they slow circulation down to the degree that it has to work "under great friction, similar to a dirty machine" or a car trying to move with its brakes on (1929: 434). If sugar or albumin is found in the urine, the disease is called diabetes; if elimination by the kidneys occurs, it shocks that organ, a condition is called nephritis.
In short, "over four thousand names are given by 'medical science'" for one disease -- elimination problems -- and "names are made up according to the respective locality of elimination" (Barnes 1929: 434). It is known today that diabetes is caused by a malfunction of the beta cells on the pancreas, nephritis is kidney infection, and none of the "four-thousand" other diseases are caused by "elimination problems." Conversely many diseases can interfere with elimination by causing intestinal problems.
The mucousless diet also avoids dietary starch (the scientific recommendation is 55% of one's calories should come from starch) because starch
. . . will kill you before your time. Clean up by allowing your expanded stomach and colon to rest, thus allowing nature to throw off the waste. Get the relief that is sure to come by allowing the stomach and large intestine to contract and once again assume their normal size and shape (Barnes 1929: 434).
After "inner cleaning" with warm enemas, the Watchtower's prescription to health is complete. The Society cannot claim such irresponsible and dangerous advice they gave was because they were writing in a less enlightened time. Research had already confirmed the foolishness of these beliefs when they were published. Ehret was considered a quack in the 1920s, and one reason the Watchtower put their faith in him was because he condemned medical doctors. Anyone who condemned orthodox medicine had a sympathetic hearing from the Society, and often had their approval. The Golden Age supported him and even noted that his ideas were "old when he was born" (Shelton 1929: 564).
The Watchtower repeatedly lambasted all medications, once even quoting a prescription for hydrophobia recommended by the New York legislature in 1830 which included an ounce of a dog jawbone burned and pulverized to a fine dust and other unsavory ingredients. Whether the nostrum worked is not stated, but the Watchtower implies it did not. The advice was 120 years old when the Consolation article was printed, and publishing this article would not seem to have any other purpose than to poke fun at the pharmaceutical industry (Quackenbush 1939: 19).
bttt
It is very probable that most people could benefit from a cleanse. However, I would never trust the Washtowel Slaveholdery to provide workable guidelines as to how to execute that cleanse. There are so many better sources out there, ranging from some of the natural cures books to health food stores and natural foods departments. Cleansing is classified as alternative medicine, and may work for some people (however, many will develop symptoms during the cleanse as the poisons are stirred up).
As with any health issue, it is best to research multiple independent sources. And not trust the Washtowel Slaveholdery (which is the one organization that is probably even worse than straight allopathic medicine at providing unbiased answers). And, even if you do cleanse, results are not guaranteed because your issue might not stem from toxicity. And, if toxicity is not causing a problem, cleansing will not cure it.
The reason I am asking is my wife was shocked to hear about people who fast for religion and was wondering why. I told her that there were so many things that people do that are Biblical that she has no idea about.
The JWs have a huge doctrine about paradise earth, (never mentioned in the Bible), Michael=Jesus (Michael mentioned few times in the Bible, never equating with Jesus) and made the effort to change the Bible to clarify their stance on the Trinity (whether the Bible says so or not, the point is they Bible has been altered to strengthen their position) but then fasting, which is common in both the NT and OT is not even mentioned to a JW.....neither is gleaning, and even more surprising to me, neither is tithing.
There have been articles on gleaning and tithing. Basically the jw's go with the principle of the matter and not the physical aspect of it.
Bethelites glean after meals (they run around like maniacs with tupperware and stuff to gather leftovers from the various dining tables).
They don't really discuss fasting.
...but then fasting, which is common in both the NT and OT is not even mentioned to a JW.....neither is gleaning, and even more surprising to me, neither is tithing.
Many people think the WT -- since it seems to focus so much on the OT -- that it requires alot of the OT teachings on its members, but not in these instances...
Tithing was under the "Old Testament," per WT, and no longer required under the New... (of course they NEVER say "Old Testament" either... it's Greek and Hebrew Scriptures to them). Instead they often quoted Paul that "God loves a cheerful giver," etc.
Ditto re: Fasting, I remember reading or hearing from WT mags or podium that fasting was OT and therefore not part of the New Testament required of Christians. Rather than ever focusing on the benefits of it, WT always focused on the negative way the pharisees would fast by making a showy display of their sacrifices via fasting. I was so sick by 1987 that I was praying my head off to Jehovah back then for three months as to what route to take, and He plopped a book in my direction re: fasting (from a secular source but it came through a JW friend) and I "ate it up" and went after it wholeheartedly as I felt it was the answer to my prayers. But I didn't make it public knowledge since I actually felt a little "guilty" for fasting since I got the impression back then it was "taboo" in WT-land. So I did a 21-day fast and it was fantastic (the results, a true makeover from the inside out, etc.) But a few years after that I remember a WT article that fasting was still taboo and "unsafe" and all those lies the medical establishment tells. I remember that article made me MAD because I knew better. There were a few far-flung "health nuts" in the congs in the area back then, and they all understood the benefits of fasting -- at least for health reasons. It never occurred to me to do it for "spiritual" reasons back then.
And by "gleaning" (from the four corners of the field?), I'm guessing you mean giving to the poor and charities? WT and JWs are only to give to the WT's "own projects" and NO others, secular or religious! Whoa, that'd be a Big NoNo, as you'd be aligning yourself with the Harlot and/or the World! Also it was highly suggested by repetition that when Jesus said, "you will always have the poor with you," that meant JWs shouldn't worry about such things and just concentrate on "WITNESSING."
That's the best I can do from a rusty-WT-memory. ;-)
/ag
