Is there any difference between the GB & the 1st century Pharisees?
by Newborn 8 Replies latest jw friends
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yknot
Beards..........
Kaftans..........
Open toed sandals...........(but this is subject to change as newer, youger more hip GB begin to be elected)
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WTWizard
Basically, the specific rules. The Pharisees banned work on the Sabbath--so far, the Filthful and Disgraceful Slavebugger still wants people going out in field circus on all the days of the week.
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Lady Lee
According to Matt 23 there isn't much difference at all. A while back I posted my thoughts on this subject
Matthew 23 and the WTS
1 Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples:
2"The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat.
The Governing Body takes this place now. In words and in deeds they now take the place of Christ and set themselves up as mediator.
3 So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach.
You must obey them as long as they alone speak the Word of God. The teachers at that time were very careful about making sure they spoke the Word of God and did not add to or take away from it - unlike the WTS today.
As for the second half of the verse: The GB holds one set of rules for themselves and another set for members (UN/NGO vs Malawi/political affiliations) as well as one set for all JWs and another set for non-JWs (Theocratic War Strategy).
4 They tie up heavy loads and put them on men's shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them.
Rules for how to behave in a wide variety of situations, to the point where people believe they must consult the elders on many decisions. Very little support given financially or materially, even when one is sick or dying. Just take the example of the JWs that was laid off from Bethel and given no help in establishing herself in her new "assignment" They help only when it might benefit them financially or publicly. And they will lie and invent or embellish stories to make themselves look good. The needs of the people are never first place regardless of the burdens they put on them.
5 "Everything they do is done for men to see: They make their phylacteries[1] wide and the tassels on their garments long;
There is great attention made of and warnings about how non-witnesses will think of them. Many decisions on behavior is made to appear as though they are better than other people "so as not to stumble" someone or "to give a good witness". It is always about appearances. Even in cases of child abouse and the abuse of wives the stand is that if it can be covered up then do so. If the problems known then do everything possible to tear down the reputations of the individual in efforts to make the WTS look good and place the blame on the person.
6 they love the place of honor at banquets and the most important seats in the synagogues;
Interestingly the WTS is beginning to participate in many symposiums on cultural affairs. They are involved in the discussions on monetary awards to Holocaust survivors and have a Holocaust memorial for JWs. They are often in the courts and make sure people know how they have fought for and won many of the human rights they have.
7 they love to be greeted in the marketplaces and to have men call them 'Rabbi.'
Well now it is "Brother" but Elder is a pretty important status and one the elders want people to know. At conventions they often have experiences of how their appearance or behavior has "won someone over" Also see vs. 6.
8 "But you are not to be called 'Rabbi,' for you have only one Master and you are all brothers.
9 And do not call anyone on earth 'father,' for you have one Father, and he is in heaven.
10 Nor are you to be called 'teacher,' for you have one Teacher, the Christ.[2]
The GB has replaced God and Christ. They have loudly proclaimed that they are the only path to salvation and that unless one is associated with them they will die at Armageddon. Obedience is to the WTS even over God and Christ. Russell even went to the point of saying the WT was above the Bible
11 The greatest among you will be your servant.
The whole idea of "servant" is lost. Those that lead now are judge, jury, and executioner leading many to fear the elders just as people had grown to fear the Scribes and Pharisees
12 For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
This is beginning to happen. For all the finger-pointing they have done towards the Catholic Church regarding the pedophile scandal, they are not in the same place and worse even due to their refusal to accept responsibility. They have no idea how the world views them - as nothing. Most elders are a far cry from being humble servants.
13 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! [14]You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.
Through their false teachings and prophesies they have not allowed people to get to know the true message in the scriptures
15 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.
Once a person is baptized they are on their own regarding their spirituality. Open discussion and questioning about teachings is forbidden. No further spiritual growth can occur in this environment. And those who fall away or dissociate or are disfellowshipped are cast aside as no longer useful. So much for leaving the flock to find the one lost sheep.
16 "Woe to you, blind guides! You say, 'If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.'
17 You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred?
18 You also say, 'If anyone swears by the altar, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gift on it, he is bound by his oath.'
19 You blind men! Which is greater: the gift, or the altar that makes the gift sacred?
20 Therefore, he who swears by the altar swears by it and by everything on it.
21 And he who swears by the temple swears by it and by the one who dwells in it.
22 And he who swears by heaven swears by God's throne and by the one who sits on it.
Basically disregard your vow to serve God and serve the WTS instead. There is constant incessant, demand to do more regardless of personal strength or ability. Everyone is measured by the same yardstick and those who do not meet it are considered weak and are marked as dangers to the spirituality of others.
23 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices--mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law--justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.
The "more important matters of the law" have been forgotten. People are judged based on hard and fast rules with little or no consideration for personal circumstances. Instead, they follow petty rules - beards, shirt colors, skirt lengths, hairstyles etc. They totally disregard teh needs of victims of abuse in favor of a 2-person rule or how it will look to non-JWs.
24 You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel.
25 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence.
26 Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean.
27 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean.
28 In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.
JWs are disfellowshipped for smoking, talking to disfellowshipped people, buying party cards (Malawi), celebrating Christ's birth, getting help from the Salvation Army etc. but they allow sexual offenders to roam free in the congregations. GB members practice homosexuality but then preach that it is unacceptable. The WTS joins the UN as an NGO but condemns others for other political and spiritual acts.
29 "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the graves of the righteous.
The WTS is very proud of its facilities all over the world. They get richer while taking from the poor. They are in effect building their own tombs and call themselves righteous.
30 And you say, 'If we had lived in the days of our forefathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.'
They put themselves above other religions and say they do not cover over the sins of the members. They say they correctly care for the sheep. They do not care for the sheep and by their inactions condone the abuse that goes on. They ignore the plea to let the children come to Christ, the greatest of prophets.
31 So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets.
By their actions they prove they are against the Bible, against the prophets, against God and Christ.
32 Fill up, then, the measure of the sin of your forefathers!
33 "You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?
The time will come for their condemnation. In fact it is here. The real truth about the WTS/JWs is splattered all over the internet, in the courtrooms around the globe and in the media.
34 Therefore I am sending you prophets and wise men and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.
The media and the internet are doing a great job of teaching the org what is right. And they get labeled as coming from the devil for it.
35 And so upon you will come all the righteous blood that has been shed on earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah son of Berekiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar.
Yes the blood-guilt of the innocents will be on their heads: suicide victims, victims of their blood policy, those who have died for beliefs that have later been changed, etc.
36 I tell you the truth, all this will come upon this generation.
Self-evident
37 "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing.
The WTS has not been willing to tenderly care for the sheep. They have used them for their own purposes and then disposes of them when they are no longer useful. People who have served a life-time, still wait for prophesy to be fulfilled and often die alone and uncared for.
So. . . is there any difference? I don't think so.
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Narkissos
As a side note, let's not forget that much if not all of our mental picture of "1st century Pharisees" depends on an anachronistic and biased "Christian" caricature from the late 1st and 2nd centuries. However, it is all the more remarkable that this Christian-fashioned "strawman" of Judaism has not detracted "Christian" churches and sects to reproduce similar patterns, and then has regularly served as a tool for internal criticism of Christian hierarchies, institutions and practices (e.g. the Reformers against the Catholic church, the Watchtower against "Christendom," "apostates" against the Watchtower...). The history of the word "Pharisaic" is in itself a fascinating recurrence of irony.
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Farkel
:Is there any difference between the GB & the 1st century Pharisees?
Yes.
The GB has made tons more money than the Pharisees ever dreamed of making.
The Pharisees finally ran out of ways to be hypocrites. The GB finds new ways to be hypocrites every week.
Lastly, some people actually LIKED the Pharisees.
Farkel
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kurtbethel
The Pharisees had scribes who had little pots of ink.
The GB gets ink by the barrel.
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shamus100
They're both haughty and self-righteous.
They're amazingly similar.
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isaacaustin
I thought that the GB was the modern-day prototype of the 1st century Pharisees. I believe that what happened was that Satan began a full examination toward the end of 1914 of all relgions looking for the one that he felt could best turn people away from god. He selected the IBS as his channel due to their track record of false prophecying and felt that over time he could refine them to what he envisioned them to be in the 21st century. And they are exactly what he envisioned them to be!