Sorry for the cobbled version. I did not get my scan, could not type it all out, and the PDF I found is missing the last page.
Comments You Will Not Hear at the 04-19-09 WT Study (February 15, 2009, pages 10-14)(ATTITUDE)
Review comments will be in red
WT material from today's WT will be in black
Quotes from other sources will be in quotes boxes
w = Watchtower
g = Awake
jv = Proclaimers book
Bible translations www.biblegateway.com/cgi-bin/bible
WT publications www.strictlygenteel.co.uk
WT child abuse www.silentlambs.org
Blood issue www.ajwrb.org
United Nations http://www.randytv.com/secret/unitednations.htm
Also posted on
http://exjehovahswitnessforum.yuku.com
www.jehovahs-witness.net
http://www.jwsupportforum.com/index.php
http://www.jehovahswitnessrecovery.com/
LET JESUS' SAYINGS AFFECT YOUR ATTITUDE
"The one whom God sent forth speaks the sayings of God."--John 3:34
OPENING COMMENTS
Attitude--thinking the WT way only. Check on the WTS CD how many times the word "attitude" is used and how it is applied.
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*** w02 10/1 p. 17 par. 22 Jehovah Blesses and Protects Those Who Are Obedient ***
How important, therefore, that we have an obedient attitude toward that “slave”! As the following article will show, such obedience also reflects our attitude toward Jesus, the ‘slave’s’ master. He is the One to whom ‘the obedience of the peoples belongs.’—Genesis 49:10.
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*** w00 5/1 p. 16 par. 11 Hear What the Spirit Has to Say ***
From time to time, we also receive counsel that deals with specific aspects of our conduct. What attitude should we have if we are really listening to what the spirit says through the slave class? The apostle Paul answers: “Be obedient to those who are taking the lead among you and be submissive.” (Hebrews 13:17) True, all involved in this process are imperfect men. Still, Jehovah takes delight in using his human servants, though imperfect, to guide us in this time of the end.
START OF ARTICLE
Scan did not work and I don't have time to type whole article. This is a PDF source.
http://www.lewissaddleshop.com/watchtowers/2009/02-Feb-09.pdf
Q1,2 To what might Jesus' words in the Sermon on the Mount be likened, and why can we say it was based on the "sayings of God"?
Q1. ONE of the largest cut diamonds known today is the 530-carat Star of Africa. It is truly a precious gem? Far more valuable, however, are the spiritual gems found in Jesus' Sermon on the Mount. No wonder, for the sayings of Christ have Jehovah as their Source? Referring to Jesus, the Bible says: "The one whom God sent forth speaks the sayings of God."--John 3:34-36.
Why does the WTS compare "precious" to something monetary rather than something such as family members?
Q2. Although the Sermon on the Mount may have been given in less than half an hour, it contained 21 quotations from eight books of the Hebrew Scriptures. So it was solidly based on "the sayings of God." Let us now see how we can apply some of the many priceless sayings found in this masterful sermon of God's beloved Son.
"may have been given in less than an hour"--is that why WT public talks have been reduced to 1/2 an hour?
Are WTS sayings solidly based on the sayings of God?
Beards
Transfusions
1914
superior authorities
resurrection of people of Sodom and Gomorrah
and so on
"First Make Your Peace With Your Brothers"
Q3. After warning his disciples about the effects of wrath, Jesus gave what counsel?
Q3. As Christians, we are happy and peaceable because we have God's holy spirit, and its fruitage includes joy and peace. (Gal. 5:22,23) Jesus did not want his disciples to lose their peach and happiness, so he warned them about the death-dealing effects of prolonged wrath. (Read Matthew 5:21,22.) He next declared: "If then you are bringing your gift to the altar and you there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar, and go away; first make your peace with your brother, and then, when you have come back, offer up your gift."--Matt. 5:23,24.
Christians--only jws
we have God's holy spirit--but no one else
prolonged wrath--how many of us know of jws that refuse to talk to each other (and they were not df'd) and will still continue to do so after reading and studying this article, perhaps even after having commented on this article at the KH?
http://www.lewissaddleshop.com/watchtowers/2009/02-Feb-09.pdf
Q4,5. (a) What was the "gift" referred to in Jesus' statement recorded at Matthew 5:23,24? (b) How important is it to make peace with an offended brother?
Q4. The "gift" that Jesus mentioned was any offering presented at the temple in Jerusalem. For example, animal sacrifices were important because they were then part of the worship rendered to Jehovah by his people. However, Jesus stressed something of greater importance--making peace with an offended brother before offering a gift to God.
How many jws do you know that held a grudge against another jw and still went door to door for years?
Q5. "Make your peace" means 'to bring about a reconciliation.' So, what lesson can we draw from this saying of Jesus? It must surely be that our way of dealing with others has a direct bearing on our relationship with Jehovah. (1 John 4:20) Indeed, offerings made to God in ancient times were meaningless if the one making them did not treat fellow humans properly.--Read Micah 6:6-8.
What about our relationship with Jesus?
What does the WTS consider offerings today? Meetings, preaching the WT doctrine, prayer to God although Jesus is not our mediator (1 Tim. 2:5)?
aren't sisters involved in making peace?
Humility Must Play a Role
Q6,7. Why is humility needed when endeavoring to restore peaceful relations with a brother (sister?) we have offended?
Q6. Making peace with an offended brother (sister?) is likely to test our humility. Humble people do not argue or contend with fellow believers in an effort to establish supposed rights. That would create an unwholesome state of affairs--one similar to that once existing among Christians in ancient Corinth. Concerning that situation, the apostle Paul made this thought-provoking point: "It means altogether a defeat for you that you are having lawsuits with one another. Why do you not rather let yourselves be wronged? Why do you not rather let yourselves be defrauded"?--1 Cor. 6:7.
fellow believers--only jws
But the WTS makes exceptions to this no lawsuit directive.
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*** w73 11/15 p. 704 Questions From Readers ***
There may even be times when Christian brothers conscientiously feel that they could go to court with fellow believers. This might be to obtain compensation from an insurance company. In some countries the law may specify that certain matters have to be handled in a court, such as wills that may have to be probated by courts. But this does not create adverse publicity or bring reproach upon the congregation. In handling such legal matters that would not affect the congregation adversely, Christians can be governed by what they consider to be best under the circumstances.
Q7. Jesus did not say that we should go to our brother (sister?) just to convince him (her?) that we are right and he (she?) is wrong. Our objective should be to restore peaceful relations. To make peace, we must honestly express how we feel. We also need to acknowledge that the other person's feelings have been hurt. And if we have been in error, surely we will want to apologize in a humble way.
Did the elders ever come to you with the concept that they might be wrong?
How many had an elder (any jw in authority) ever apologize? (Not "I'm sorry you were upset by what I said")
Q8. Comments only:Isn't morality more than sexual? What is the WTS focused on sex then? Do you think there was no oral sex in Jesus' time that the practice sprung up full bloom in the 20th century?
Q9. Body parts cause to stumble...which body part, why so vague. Strong action, what is being alluded to. Not wearing tight underwear?
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*** Young People Ask chap. 26 p. 206 Masturbation—How Can I Fight the Urge? ***
For example, if you find that engaging in certain activities, wearing tight-fitting clothing, or eating certain foods has caused you to become sexually stimulated, then by all means avoid such. Alcoholic drinks, for example, can lower one’s inhibitions and make self-control harder. Also, avoid like the plague any reading matter, TV programs, or movies with sensuous themes.
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*** g88 3/8 p. 21 How Can I Fight the Habit of Masturbation? ***
Therefore, if you find that certain activities, types of clothing, or foods have caused you to become sexually stimulated, then by all means avoid such.
The Encyclopædia Britannica (1946), when discussing what can allay sexual desire, mentions: “Avoidance of a diet rich in meats and spices, and especially of intoxicating beverages, is important.” Alcoholic drinks can lower one’s inhibitions and make self-control harder.
Q10. Why was Job concerned about looking at a virgin? He lived in a time where polygamy was tolerated by God. It wasn't adultery since the woman was a virgin, not married to anyone else. Think of the case of Judah having sex with a temple prostitute, the WTS reasons that since Judah was a widower that there was nothing wrong with have sex with a prostitute along the road.
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(Genesis 38:15-19) 15 When Judah caught sight of her, he at once took her for a harlot, because she had covered her face. 16 So he turned aside to her by the road and said: “Allow me, please, to have relations with you.” For he did not know that she was his daughter-in-law. However, she said: “What will you give me that you may have relations with me?” 17 To this he said: “I myself shall send a kid of the goats from the herd.” But she said: “Will you give a security until you send it?” 18 And he continued: “What is the security that I shall give you?” to which she said: “Your
seal ring and your cord and your rod that is in your hand.” Then he gave them to her and had relations with her, so that she became pregnant by him. 19 After that she got up and went and removed her shawl off her and clothed herself with the garments of her widowhood.
Look how the WTS "reasons" on this discounting that Judah came from a family where his own father had 2 wives and 2 concubines.
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*** w73 6/15 p. 383 Questions From Readers ***
Judah was not married at the time; he was a widower, and so he was not sinning against a wife of his. And the disguised Tamar he mistook to be an unmarried prostitute, in no sacred bonds of marriage. As far as Judah was concerned, he thought he was having relations with a prostitute. In this he was not acting right, for it was God’s original purpose for a man to have relations with his wife and not for the earth to be filled with prostitutes. Still, Judah did not sin in the sense of transgressing a specific command of God’s law, for the Mosaic law was not given until much later.—Gen. 2:24; compare Leviticus 19:29.
Q11. Would the bible or WT talks count as immoral material? Would the accounts of Lot having sex with his 2 daughters and father 2 sons, would the account of Lot offering his daughters to a mob to be raped? Would David's wives being raped publiclly because of his sins? Would the account of the concubine that was give by her husband to be gang-raped all night till she died and then her husband cutting her up into 12 pieces, be immoral material; or talks about oral sex?
BTW, why does the WTS capitalize "Internet"?
Q12. Proper use of hands, is the WTS hinting a masturbation.
What are "strong measures" hand amputation?
Q13. So why aren't there more one-handed men in the WTS trying to avoid eternal destruction in Gehenna. If people cannot be df'd for masturbation how is it they are subject to Gehenna?
Q14. Lack of gratitutde towards the WTS is the most important thing....not donating enough to the point that congregations have received letters from headquarters that their donations!! do not match their literature orders.
Q15. jws are told that giving gains them riches in heaven.....so will they give without any expectation in return. Have jws learned that "giving" to the CO or DO gains a plum assignment at the assembly/convention?
Q16. After 54 years in and around the WTS, I have only seen the spiritually weak give spontaneously. The elders are instructed to help the needy to fill out forms for help from secular governments or that first their jw and even non-jw have to step up to the plate first before the congregation will help monetarily.
Q17. give cheerfully? sow bountifully and expect to be rewarded.
material resources to promote true worship....the fact that "giving" at the KH is anonymous lends itself to few donating. After 10 years as an
account servant, one brother found that it was only 4 or 5 families that donated with any regularity. There definitely was no accounting individually to the congregation. It is not as if jws have to turn in a contribution slip like they do a time slip.
Q18. Translation: conforms to divine will = WTS will as defined by the GB (FDS?)
In one congregation everyone always knew through the grapevine who had pulled the congregation out of the monetary pit; it was no surprise that this brother received special treatment when it came to his associating with his df'd adult children and suddenly after 20 years was given at talk at the convention despite his obvious lack of skill.
Q19 PROPER attitude--and what is that, conforming to the WTS rules?
Who are the needy? Does not count non-jw needy?
Front seat--who sits/sat in the skyboxes at the conventions? Or the better seats in administration with treats and drinks set out and a private bathroom, line free?
Q20. Is the WTS saying that their PR group does not "advertise" their doings for the world to see?
Q21. Relationship with God but not Jesus?
CARROT: Eternal life
Q22. Not having joy in a troubled world--you must have a bad attitude.
Q23. Who is blessed per the WTS?
CONCLUDING COMMENTS
Next week, long prayers. Think of some memorable long prayers in your jw career to share. I have one from 1963.
Love, Blondie