by mindfield 26 Replies latest jw friends
Fred,
That's it? That's IT? Jeez, I would have expected more. I never said I had the ultimate truth, fred. I'm still open-minded. If someone can prove to me the JW's are God's religion, well I guess I'll go back. Of course, that will be pretty hard since you can't seem to answer with more than one line at a time.
To the others, who provided some hard evidence of the origin of God's "name", what about the preaching of JW's? Is there some other "organized religion" that does about the same?
Mindfield,
Concerning the name "Jehovah's Witnesses":
According to instructions Russell left behind, his successor to the presidency would share power with an editorial committee and with the Watch Tower corporation's board of directors, whom Russell had appointed "for life." But vice president Joseph Franklin ("Judge") Rutherford soon set about concentrating all organizational authority in his own hands. A skilled lawyer who had served as Russell's chief legal advisor, he combined legal prowess with what opponents undoubtedly saw as a Machiavellian approach to internal corporate politics. Thus he used a loophole in their appointment to unseat the majority of the Watch Tower directors without calling a membership vote. And he even had a subordinate summon the police into the Society's Brooklyn headquarters offices to break up their board meeting and evict them from the premises.
After securing the headquarters complex and the sect's corporate entities, Rutherford turned his attention to the rest of the organization. By gradually replacing locally elected elders with his own appointees, he managed to transform a loose collection of semi-autonomous democratically-run congregations into a tight-knit organizational machine run from his office. Some local congregations broke away, forming such Russellite splinter groups as the Chicago Bible Students, the Dawn Bible Students, and the Laymen's Home Missionary Movement, all of which continue to this day. But most Bible Students remained under his control, and Rutherford renamed them "Jehovah's Witnesses" in 1931, to distinguish them from these other groups.
ps
you won't find this explaination in the proclaimer's book.
thinker
isn't what the JUDGE did, become part of that cleansing thing that Jehovah did with his org? Isn't this procedure supposed to happen again soon? Thats why its ok for some chafe [sp?] to mix with the pure golden wheat?
Mindfield,
JW's used to print articles in the newspapers. They had a radio program for a while. Both these were canceled. Now they have stopped the subscriptions to WT and awake. How do these actions enhance the "spreading of the good news"? Other religions make use of every media available.
Will Power,
Every big drop in WTS membership is explained as the "separating". That explaination does not really determine which are wheat and which are chaff.
Mindfield,
I am assuming that you do believe the Bible is inspired by God? (personally I can't see it but to each his own) Going on that premise, I would have to say that none of the religions have the truth. Even if we were to accept the Bible on it's own merit, I believe that if there is a God such as it teaches, doctrine would not be important.
What would be important is for those who read it and believed it to show love and try to make a positive impact on any around them.
Obviously the Witnesses do not do that. And since they themselves personally use John 13:35 as one of the identifying marks of true Christianity that leaves them out by their own rule.
I have recently attended two different church services. A Presbytyrian funeral and a Episcopal baptism. I was appalled at the lack of substance. There was a lot of reading from a book. The people, some who were obviously of that respective religion were just doing it by rote and it was quite apparent to me that that was the case. It made me sad. Because although I believe religion serves a purpose (it seems to help some be better people) there just was nothing in it that spoke to me. It seemed very empty and non-appealing.
Personally, I believe spirituality is a very individual thing. We each have to make peace with ourselves and live our lives as well as we can. But keeping that bottom line in mind. Have love/compassion for others and a positive affect on those around us. We can be spiritual without attending any church or even reading the Bible. This of course, is just my opinion for what it is worth.
Peace to you Mindfield, may you find what you are questing for.
TW
Thinker's wife,
Nope, I don't believe the Bible comes from God, if there is such a God. I sure hope not...
But others do believe fervently that the Christian God exists, that his Word is the Bible, and NOTHING will change their minds. Like you said, to each his own. It kinds of overthrows Aristotle's concept of truth: an absolute, inchangeable one. I don't believe in that kind of "truth"... We have to make our own decisions based on our sound reasoning and conscience (to a certain degree, of course). I agree, spirituality is a good thing, when it is used wisely. I don't have any spirituality right now, as I'm borderline atheist. But I guess being capable of expressing emotions like love is one kind of spirituality by itself.
Another question: Why oh why did the WT have so much success? If they hadn't, none of this would have happened. So how did they achieve such a high level of converts?
Mind,
I think their success is due to the great training they recieve in the speaking and teaching area.
For myself, it was a matter of pride to be able to reason from the Bible and know where the scriptures were without using anything printed. I was very offended when the Reasoning Book came out because I had worked so hard to develop lines of reasoning and scriptures to support the thoughts.
TW
