How far away from their original beliefs are JW's? (page 2)

garybuss

How far away from their original beliefs are JW's?

I wasn't around for the original dogma. I have read a good deal of the early writings of Pastor Russell and the current Witnesses are not even in the same hemisphere as the Bible Students and Russell. My real Witness perspective is the baseline I came to know from age 7 at my first door alone in 1951 to the present day.

From the days of the Let God Be True book era of the 50's to now is a huge difference. In those days Jehovah's Witnesses were NOT a religion. They were a political action group called The Theocracy.

Religion dogma was nothing more that justification to oppose established governments.

Witnesses that I grew up around have always been extremely superstitious and they still are. They believe if they talk to a certain person, take certain medical treatments, or eat certain foods, a goblin will come out of the sky and murder them. They make ordinary superstitious people seem passive by comparison.

steve2

My grandparents who converted to the Bible Students in the 1920s and who died as loyal JWs in the (1970s) would simply not recognise the teachinigs and outlook of the modern-day JWs in this 21st century.

I don't think they were ever the kind of people who would protest about the changes, but I bet they'd feel mighty confused - but they'd probably feel even more confused by the fact that here we are in 2008 and the end still hasn't come (although their individual lives did end)!

besty

OK thanks Blondie - here is the other quote I had in mind:

*** w07 12/15 pp. 19-20 pars. 15-16 “Stand Firm and See the Salvation of Jehovah” ***

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.

To the best of my knowledge Jehovah stopped asking us to do things a couple thousand years ago.

Additional stuff is man-made - although see OP for clarification that the WTS now includes its own published works as part of the Bible.

I'm sure there was another WT article saying you must obey the elders even if you don't understand the reasons why you are being asked to do something.

Nuremberg anybody?

Jeremy C

*** w07 12/15 pp. 19-20 pars. 15-16 “Stand Firm and See the Salvation of Jehovah” ***

“‘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.

I commented on this trend in another thread. Witnesses are being systamatically indoctrinated to believe that "instructions" (commands) will come down the pike for which there is no Scriptural precendent or basis. They are also being indoctrinated to believe that their safety will hinge on their unquestioning compliance with such "instructions", even if they do not understand them. Just think about the implications of this.

When an organization reaches this point, the centralized leadership can institute any kind of draconian policies without any Scriptural reason for doing so. What will the deluded subconscious minds of these leaders tell them to do? And how far will the majority of the members go in their misguided allegiance to this kind of system? It makes you think. Yet, this is where the Watchtower organization is headed.

When we look at history, we see that when an organization reaches this tipping point; it's gets very interesting; perhaps a bit frightening. This is the point at which all cultic groups have made their biggest blunders, and where their members have suffered the worst consequences.

Mickey mouse

How far away from their original beliefs are JW's?

"As far off as the sunrise is from the sunset...." Psalms 103:12.

Seriously, JeremyC makes a very good point and it's one that concerns me a fair bit.

ninja

it looks to me they were talking about the letters of John and the "new testament" "christian teachings" being part of the bible as far as I can see from the magazine article...

jwfacts

That is quite a stunning statement. I would like to see the entire article and see that statement fits in context.

I wonder what the long term affect on the number of publishers is going to be with the WTS becomes more inwardly focussed and paranoid. I imagine long term JWs may become even more hardcore, but hopefully these types of comments will stand out like red flags for newly interested ones.

wha happened?

I'm no fan of the grumpy old men in Brooklyn but this sounds more like a reference to The NT. If they made a reference to the "modern day" Christians I would be concerned for any JW because the control level has tipped over into crazy.

oompa

at least from pluto...to sol..........oompa

WTWizard

In 1920, they taught that not believing everything from the Filthful and Disgraceful Slavebugger was no big deal. Now, you can get disfellowshipped for "apostasy" if you do not believe every little thing from the Filthful and Disgraceful Slavebugger.

Additionally, they are setting the witlesses up for even worse teachings and rules. Up to now, they had to at least loosely base their rules on the Bible. Now, they will no longer have to. "Where in the Bible does it say that" no longer constitutes an admissible objection to a rule. They could suddenly ban all fun, tell people that they have to stay out in field circus from 5:30 in the morning to 1:30 the next morning every day, quit work, and keep their children out in field circus in lieu of school, all without a single scripture, even one out of context, to back it up.

Hey, if I am going to worship the Devil, I will be upfront about it. I have nothing whatsoever about those of us who choose to worship Satan, but when you teach that you have a monopoly on Christianity while worshiping Satan, and force others to believe that yours is the only true way, that is a fraud issue that is far more serious.

How far away from their original beliefs are JW's?

Share this