I thought it would be hard but I probably spent about 45 minutes on the prologue and another 45 on the first three paragraphs (and A LOT of that time was spent trying to get the formatting right with this board's flaky software!). I think the fact that I am right in the thick of reading Hassan's "Combatting Cult Mind Control" at the moment makes seeing the mind-control (or thought reform) in the text easier. That said, it is frustrating to go through, with the realization that millions of people (hundreds of which are/were personal friends and family) are duped by this psycho-garbage.
God's Love book - Prologue examined
by Mad Sweeney 16 Replies latest watchtower bible
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Cadellin
I like it, Mad! You're doing a pretty close analysis; I never cared for the tone of the book and you're helping me put my finger on exactly why.
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MrMonroe
Furthermore do not expect simple black and white rules on matters of conscience... Jehovah thus entrusts us with extraordinary freedom."
What the ...? This is a Watch Tower book and you're not going to give us black and white rules? Oh, I get it. We're ignoring for the moment all those pharisaic laws you've given us, demanding complete obedience to Brooklyn. Out of pure love and brotherly concern you did carefully define for us which piddling areas of our lives are still determined by conscience and that's what we're talking about. Yep, compared with all those rules, that is certainly extraordinary freedom. Er, within limits the Governing Body has set, of course. We don't want people going and thinking for themselves, now, do we?
You whackers! Yes, God does entrust us with extraordinary freedom. Why then, do you set yourselves up as masters of our faith and override that freedom with your own laws?
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Mad Sweeney
More to come. . .
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lrkr
This whole book is a soft sell (love and stuff) with a hard message- here's what will get you disfellowshipped, followed by a talmud of rules and regulations.
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heathen
The counsel in jerusalem stated to keep yourself in Gods love was to abstain from fornication, blood , idolotry and things strangled. Acts :15;29. Of course the apostle Paul later has a huge list of things but basically that was it .Since most of them believe they aren't going to enter the kingdom of the heavens then how can you be denied access to it anyway? True the blood dogma is way too convoluted to take seriously , it is apparently alright to use 99.9% of blood , just not whole blood. I love the part about marriage where they flat out contradict within 2 sentences whether marriage is a burden or not . I'm sure you'll get to that eventually .
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Mad Sweeney
Next subheading:
“THIS ISWHATTHELOVEOFGODMEANS”
4 “The love of God”—what did the apostle John have in mind when he penned those words? [ Beginning a subheading with a question, or series of questions, primes the reader to believe that the answer is forthcoming, mitigating the writers’ responsibility to adequately support their answer. ] This expression refers, not to God’s love for us, but to our love for him.[ Dogmatic answer given without any support, scriptural or otherwise. ] Can you recall when love for Jehovah began to grow in your heart?
5 Reflect, for a moment, on when you first learned the truth about Jehovah and his purposes and you began to exercise faith.[ Encouraging the reader to look back at these events serves to remind the reader that the source of “the truth” was the publisher of this book and their agents. In addition, the writers make sure to include two Loaded Language phrases again: “the truth” and “exercise faith.” ] You came to understand that although you were born a sinner alienated from God, Jehovah through Christ opened the way for you to attain the perfection that Adam lost and to inherit everlasting life. (Matthew 20:28; Romans 5:12, 18) You began to appreciate the magnitude of the sacrifice Jehovah made in sending his most precious Son to die for you. Your heart was moved, and you began to feel a love for the God who has shown such great love for you. [Cognitive dissonance is used to great effect here. First your thoughts changed, then your feelings. Behavior comes next. “You” is used throughout this section, separating the non-Jehovah’s Witness sinner of the past from the now-holy “We” of the present. The writers will return to “we” later, when it suits their purposes. ] —1 John 4:9, 10.[ This scripture contradicts the unsupported assertion in the previous paragraph that John is speaking about our love for God, not God’s love for us. Verse 10 clearly and unambiguously states, “the love is in this respect, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son.” ]
6 That feeling, however, was but the beginning of genuine love for Jehovah.[ By labeling love for Jehovah as “genuine” the writers have taken the license to determine which forms of love for Jehovah are to be considered genuine and which are bogus. That proves to be a theme underlying the entire book. ] Love is not just a feeling; nor is it a matter of mere words. True love for God involves more than simply saying, “I love Jehovah.” Like faith, genuine love is defined and characterized by the actions it prompts. (James 2:26) [ This scripture is cited, not quoted, because it doesn’t exactly say what the writers imply it says. Again, the adjective “genuine” is used, reinforcing the implication that some love may not be such. Subtly, fear of not loving God the “genuine” way is established in the reader’s mind.] Specifically, love expresses itself in deeds pleasing to the one who is loved. [ Again, love is defined the writers’ way, without support. The writers already trust that their authority to make dogmatic statements is firmly established .] Hence, when love for Jehovah took root in your heart, you were moved to want to live in a way that pleases your heavenly Father. Are you a baptized Witness? If so, this deep affection and devotion caused you to make the most important decision of your life. You dedicated yourself to Jehovah to do his will, and you symbolized your dedication by getting baptized.[ The “love” expressed in 1 John 5:3, the verse under consideration, is not a “deep affection and devotion,” it is the agape form of love which the publishers of this book have defined as, “the love based on principle, which might be said to be synonymous with unselfishness, the love the apostle John referred to.” 10/15/93 WT. The writers are ignoring their own published doctrine, as well as Greek grammar and scholarship in order to establish and reinforce the mindset that the reader owes God certain actions. ] (Romans 14:7, 8) [These verses remind the reader that since baptism, he or she ‘belong(s) to Jehovah.’ The concept of the reader being a “belonging” will return later. ] Fulfilling this solemn promise to Jehovah involves what the apostle John next mentions.