by donny 21 Replies latest jw friends
As I was exiting the Society back in 1992, the elders were frantically trying to reason with me and kept saying that I was trying to run ahead of Jehovah or running ahead of the organization? Just what does that entail?
Or they would tell me to "wait on Jehovah" and eventually some of my beliefs/issues will be in line with the truth. Does that mean they somewhat agree with my view and maybe it will soon be the Societys view as well?
It means that you're not allowed to believe anything else, unless the GB is teaching it officially.
Enforced unity, even under accepting false prophecy, is all the WT cares about.
This is one of my big issues. If God doesn't lie, then what would you call "revealing" information to his earthly agents that is wrong? What they call the light getting brighter, is nothing more than correcting things they had wrong. Now that's fine, if you admit it. If the organization was to say, "We are trying to figure things out, but sometimes we get it wrong and have to make corrections," that would be okay. But what they do, in effect, is blame all the wrong information on God and make it a disfellowshipping offense for anyone to disagree with them. When they say that we shouldn't run ahead of the organization, they are saying that we might be right. Why should anyone have to wait to do things or see things correctly until the organization does. Why is it necessary to die rather than accept an organ transplant one year, but the next year you can accept one and live? You didn't just prove your faithfulness to God; you followed blindly an organization that had it wrong!
Cate
Just another cult control tactic. Like you can "get ahead" of Jehovah. Assumes god is less intelligent than humans.
Actually means dont run ahead of the GB, or dont read the scriptures on your own and reach your own (logical) conclusions.
Can anyone even think of a scripture they use to back this up?
I liked the one where they mention that scripture about the ark of the covenant. In the scripture the ark is being transported improperly and is about to tip over into the mud when an Israelite keeps it from falling but gets killed by Jehovah for his effort (No good deed goes unpunished).
The JWs liken the ark to their organization and tell you that anyone who tries to correct it will suffer a similar fate even if they're wrong.
"Running ahead of Jehaovah" = presenting compelling evidence of some position that opposes official JW orthodoxy. The more reasonable and logical your argument, the viler you are.
It's a cult control mechanism. Inaction/Uncertainty is preferrable than "independent thinking".
In other words, if there is no Stock Answer to your question, you're forced into forgetting about your question. You must pretend that you don't have a question or pretend that your question does not exist.
By this doctrine they place themselves above God and the bible.
First example is something is true in the bible but not endorsed by the FDS:
If a JW finds something to be true in the bible, without a doubt in their mind, they can only believe it if it's endorsed by the FDS. Similarly, if the JW finds something the FDS teaches to not be in the bible then they are not allowed to reject the teaching. Here is a great example of this: My dad was the PO for most of my teen years and at one time he was the only elder in a cong of around one hundred. Well, one day we were talking about the disfellowshipment arrangement and why the people have to wait so long before they are reinstated. I thought that if a person was repentant that they would be reinstated immediately, so I posed a hypothetically question to my dad. If someone were repentant after one month or less of being disfellowshipped wouldn't they be reinstated? He said no!! and then said that he did not agree!!!!!! I about fell out. He proceeded to tell me that there were mandatory time limits placed on disfellowshipped ones and they could not return before they had reached those time limits. Then he explained that this was not a biblical teaching and could prove it! Nonetheless he had to enforce the FDS teachings over what he knew to be true in the bible. Both my dad was placing the authority of the FDS over the bible, simply because he would be seen as "running ahead".
Second example is something that is taught by the FDS but it is not found in the bible:
There is one slightly different way that a person can disagree with the society and still be running ahead. Say, that a JW in the Golden Age period found that the reasoning for not allowing vaccinations was not found in the bible. This JW would have to wait on the FDS to change their minds before they could receive vaccines; they in no way would be able to claim that they don’t want to follow something that is not in the bible.
Just imagine... they are saying you are capable to performing faster and better than the allmighty creator of everything!
Jehover needs to get it's lazy ass off the couch and run on the tread mill some.
It's funny how a mere mortal being can figure out a teaching is wrong before Jehovah does. Maybe he should be worshipping us.
