Is not all religion organised and man ruled with their traditions and list of dos and don'ts? Surely then all religion is part of the babylon the great? including the JWs?
Does the JW religion fall under organised religion?
by LouBelle 15 Replies latest jw friends
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blondie
Babylon the Great is not defined by the WTS as alll "organized" religion but all false religion and the WTS considers themselves the only "true" religion based on their opinion they are the only ones teaching true doctrine.
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shopaholic
Yes, it would fall under organized religion.
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blondie
This is one case where the WTS speaks out of both sides of their mouth.
*** w80 3/1 p. 17 par. 17 After Destruction of Organized Religion, Which Way? ***We are to expect the destruction of the most influential section of Organized Religion, namely, Christendom with all its babel of religious sects and denominations. This will occur at Jehovah’s unchangeable time. Therefore, the question is, When that does occur, then to which course will all witnesses of that astonishing occurrence commit themselves?
*** rs p. 326 Religion ***
Is belonging to an organized religion necessary?Most religious organizations have produced bad fruitage. It is not the fact that groups are organized that is bad. But many have promoted forms of worship that are based on false teachings and are largely ritualistic instead of providing genuine spiritual guidance; they have been misused to control the lives of people for selfish objectives; they have been overly concerned with money collections and ornate houses of worship instead of spiritual values; their members are often hypocritical. Obviously no one who loves righteousness would want to belong to such an organization. But true religion is a refreshing contrast to all of that. Nevertheless, to fulfill the Bible’s requirements, it must be organized.
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isaacaustin
while all do seem to have their do's and don't in one way or another, the Wt is alot more controlling than most...especially in its strict requirement of lockstep conformity.
Yes, they are organized religion.
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blondie
I'd like to make it clear that I'm not saying they aren't an organized religion or that the WTS doesn't represent itself as an organized religion when it is convenient, just that they have represented themselves both ways. Here they make an apologetic statement.
*** w06 9/1 p. 7 Worship That Is Good for You ***Of course, you may feel uncomfortable with the idea of organized religion. As we saw in the preceding article, however, the problem with most religions is not that they are organized but that they are not organized in the right way and for the right reasons. Many organized religions serve unchristian ends. God’s people are organized by Jehovah himself for a noble purpose. The Bible says: "God is a God, not of disorder, but of peace." (1 Corinthians 14:33)
Here's another confusing statement:
*** w84 6/15 p. 17 par. 8 Happiness Despite a Lawless, Loveless World ***In his own way Jehovah will put into the hearts of the political elements of this world to turn against all organized religion of the world, including Christendom, the fraudulent Kingdom of Christ.—Revelation, chapter 17.
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WTWizard
Ritualistic? How is getting up at 5:30 in the morning so you can do street work? What about all the "many facets" of our misery being almost identical, save for small changes in the venue? Or, always having to say the same thing at every door? When you go to boasting sessions to hear the same crap all the time, I would call that a "ritual", too.
Money collections? How often do they harp on donations? No, they don't have a collection plate--but at least that only gets passed around once. The witlesses have their "collection plate" in a fixed location near the back of the Kingdumb Hell, so anyone can donate (hopefully Zero Dollar Bills and Void Checks only) upon entering, and again after exiting (and I have seen people loading that f***ing box with $20 bills as if they were air). And, if they get more than around $3,000 in their account, they bleed it to the headquarters--hence, it is actually possible to create negative revenue for the congregation by donating money.
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Gayle
The JW criticize organized religion, yet ironically, they call themselves "THE organization".
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shopaholic
Most JWs don't like to refer to it as an organized religion because as highlighted in Blondie's post,s they associate organized religion with something man-made and deserving of destruction. Of course, JWs believe they are neither of those things.
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Spike Tassel
• To blondie (Post 27094): It would seem to me that "both sides of their mouth" are actually trying to say the same thing on this one, if I understand the problem correctly. Note that the "Organized Religion" is expanded to mean "the most influential section of Organized Religion, namely, Christendom with all its babel of religious sects and denominations" according to the example you cited. The problem is in the shortening that takes place in the subheading. That is a difficulty of trying to encapsulate any argument in a sound-byte. I hope this helps.
• To blondie (Post 27097): Again, it is important to note the full expression "organized religion of the world". The phrase "of the world" should also be highlighted, since that expression is an important nuance.
— Spike Tassel.