Amazing how a simple scripture can provoke so many interpretations.
The 'other sheep' - Isn't it so obvious that Jesus is talking about gentiles?
by jambon1 22 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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ProdigalSon
A big part of the problem here, with Bible interpretation, the reason why the Watchtower's bullshit can be so convincing, is that you would be hard pressed to find any of the major religions explaining this stuff to you. I was not a born in JW, I was baptized as a Catholic as an infant and my family attended Church until I was about 8 years old. I went to religious instruction where they started teaching evolution one day, and I was so besides myself that I had them call my parents down. There was a big brouhaha between my parents, the deacon and a nun, and to make a long story short that was the end of Catholicism for us. So my mother and I tried a few other religions, just looking for ONE of them to answer some basic questions about life, the world, and why we are here. None of them could. None of them would attempt to try and explain the Bible. Looking into a Catholic encyclopedia and the footnotes of the Douay Version, it was obviously to me, even as a young child, that they had no clue what they were talking about. For example, they say the Trinity is "incomprehensible to human intelligence". The scripture in 2 Timothy chapter 4, where Paul says that demons would cause some to come up with the doctrines of celibacy and lent, the footnote explained it away as something to the effect of, if the doctrine came from anywhere outside the Catholic church, it would be from demons, but since it came from them, it can't possibly be from demons. HA!! I knew right then and there it was all bullshit!
So, here come the JW's at the door, and when you give them a chance, ask them these basic questions, like why does God allow suffering, why is life so short, we all know very well that to someone who is just looking for answers, it can be very convincing, I mean, they open right up to a seemingly appropriate scripture every time you ask them something, and it all sounds really good. Why? Because NOBODY ELSE EVEN MAKES AN ATTEMPT! Not my preist, not the nuns, not the instrustors in my Bible study classes. All they could do was to teach me to make a wooden cross out of ice cream sticks.
So I think that this is why the Watchtower can twist the scriptures the way they do, which are mostly bogus or metaphorical to begin with, and tell you it means this or that, and it sounds good! But really what it comes down to, is that the only way to really test the Bible is through PERSONAL STUDY, REAL PERSONAL STUDY. Not the kind where they "guide" you, but through personal, Berean-like scrutiny. Only then can one see that the Bible is not the "Word of God" and never was.
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Ding
ProdigalSon,
Kingdom of the Cults and Jehovah of the Watchtower author Walter Martin used to say that Bible-based cults thrive because the church has failed to give credible answers. He summed it up this way: "The cults are the unpaid bills of the church."
Although I was raised Protestant rather than Catholic, my experience was similar to yours in that the people at my church didn't seem interested in trying to answer my questions whereas the JWs with whom I studied seemed to have a ready-made answer for everything. I didn't seen then that many of their answers were supported by only one or two proof-texts taken out of context. All the church people would say to me was, "Don't get involved with Jehovah's Witnesses. They're a cult." Of course, this just played into WT hands because they told me this would happen. How many people have been sucked into the WTS because of this!
Years later, I was helped by a series of tapes by Walter Martin and Bill Cetnar. First, they built a positive biblical case for doctrines like the Trinity. Then they dealt head-on with all the WT proof-texts. What I liked was that they gave a demonstration of how a JW would handle the topic in your living room. It was a fair summary of the WT position with argumentation as a well-trained JW would present it. This showed that they took the WT seriously and understood their doctrines and proofs. Then they proceeded to give their refutations of the WT positions.
Of course, no one is required to accept Martin and Cetnar's views, but at least they saw the need to come up with answers.
Former JW David Reed also wrote a book called Jehovah's Witnesses Answered Verse by Verse, which I found helpful.
Nowadays with the Internet, people have instant access to all sorts of literature, so finding alternative points of view is much easier than ever before.
I am always willing to talk with JWs (even though they won't talk with me if they know my background) because I don't want any of them to be able to say that no one ever had an answer to the WT teachings.
I have gone to local churches to teach them about the WT and give answers. The interest level was high (especially among people with relatives in the borg). Problem is, a lot of churchgoers don't care. Many of them are in it for the social aspects and aren't really concerned with the doctrines. Then again, they may have been bored because the questions I was answering were my questions, not theirs.
I once attended a series of sermons where the pastor invited attenders to submit questions for sermon topics. They came up with tough ones like, "What happens to babies when they die?", "Why do you believe in Hell?," "Why does God allow so much suffering?" and so on. He would attempt to come up with answers. He always tried to distinguish between matters on which he thought the Bible was clear and ideas which he thought were more his own speculation.
If done in the right spirit this can be very interesting and helpful. If done in the wrong spirit, it can lead to spiritual laziness on the part of hearers and even the formation of a new cult based on the pastor's ideas (Pastor Russell, anyone?).