Generation teaching. What is it about witnesses that they don't see this for what it is?

by garyneal 32 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  garyneal

  Redefine the "King of the North" after the collapse of the Soviet system.

  Now that you mention that, many churches in Christendom would have to redefine that one too. I remember hearing this one in my old Indy Fundy church and on Jack Van Impe Presents.

  Make the "generation" teaching chronologically viable.

  I think the Society is being clever by trying to buy itself some time until the old codgers die off or leave. Leaving behind a bunch of younger witnesses who don't really understand (or care to understand) the whole premise of 1914 to begin with.
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  steve2

  The capacity of Bible believers to adjust their thinking on the "correct" interpretation of Scripture is limitless.

  JWs are simply a specific example of that maxim. I knew of only a handful of JWs who could ever "explain" from Scripture the 1914 doctrine. Most could not do so and took the convoluted doctrine at face value.

  So, when a new interpretation was made, most JWs did not have much of an adjustment to make. I swear that most JWs would not give the "new light" more than five minutes thought before turning their minds to more pressing matters like how disappointed they were at the anticlimactic end to Lost (the TV series that finally finished last week).
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  ThomasCovenant

  I suppose it is no big deal really, their mental laziness and complacency. Unless, of course, it is this same state of mental laziness and complacency that allows themselves and those around them to die from lazily and complacently following the 'blood' doctrine. Then it borders on criminal negligence, which is what I firmly believe ALL Jehovah's Witnesses are guilty of.
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  Mickey mouse

  The same thing that prevented the people in Jonestown from saying "hell no" and refusing the koolaid.

  The same thing that makes suicide bombers believe that they are doing Allah's will and will receive their reward in heaven with 72 virgins.

  The same thing that caused people to commit suicide along with Marshall Applewhite in the Heaven's Gate cult.

  If mind control can cause people to gice up the thing most valuable to them (life), it can certainly stop people from letting their mind go to an uncomfortable place, a place where they have to acknowledge they've been had.

  There's too much sunk investment for many JWs.
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  moshe

  Can you imagine how convoluted it would be to explain the overlapping generation concept to a semi-intelligent prospective JW?

  Exactly TMS! What about their studies? Just what publication will they use to study with converts? None of them have the new generation teaching in them and how could anyone get baptized without having the 1914 overlapping generation concept explained? I think they underestimate how hard it will be to make this convoluted 1914 overlapping generation concept pass muster with their studies.
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  sir82

  "What is it about the Witnesses?"

  It's not just JWs.

  There is a surprisingly large part of the population that finds thinking and reasoning and weighing choices and selecting from different alternatives just way too much effort.

  The JW lifestyle fills the niche for those with such laziness.

  There have been, and are, many other groups which fulfill similar needs. JWs just happen to be moderately successful at it and thus have managed to stick around for 130+ years.

  If there weren't 7.3 million JWs on earth today, the ranks of the [Mormons / Scientologists / Hare Krishnas / You-name-it] would be 7.3 million higher.
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  designs

  Its really no weirder than Preterists and Post-Tribulationists and all of the stuff that has been crammed in between.

  Hey its Religion!
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  Designer Stubble

  To illustrate: F.W. Franz was born in 1893, baptized in 1913, and thus alive to discern “the sign” in 1914

  Since Brother Franz lived until 1992,, many present –day anointed ones were contemporaries of his and are part of the “generation” that Jesus said would not pass away “until all these things occur”

  Fred Franz is used here to illustrate. Fred lived one year short of a century - not exactly the average age of a Generation. Some example to use as an illustration.

  Now all we need is someone who, as a young child, met Fred in 1992 and we can stretch this teaching till the turn of the 22nd century.

  I truly am wondering if this will be swallowed easy - perhaps by the majority, but it will push the serious doubters into research. Well, we are ready to assist them.
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  garyneal

  The capacity of Bible believers to adjust their thinking on the "correct" interpretation of Scripture is limitless.

  I understand what you mean. I remember back when I was first baptized and serving the Lord (or Lahd as Rutherford pronounced it) how important it was for me to understand what the Bible was saying about the coming end times and what we needed to do. I was concerned with doing things the 'correct' way. I remember challenging a Southern Baptist preacher when he stated things that did not agree with what my Independent Fundamental Baptist preacher was saying.

  But, that pastor went above and beyond scripture when it came to his divulging his 'correct' interpretations of scripture. It eventually left a bad taste in my mouth and I had to get away.

  666 was (and still is) a favorite amongst preachers who love to interpret (or teach someone's interpretation of) Bible prophecy. Amongst the theories I've seen: it is a barcode with your SSN, a microchip with your SSN, it is a state of mind, it is an 18 digit number that (in america) has your SSN as the last nine digits of it, oh and my personal favorite, it's R-O-N-A-L-D W-I-L-S-O-N R-E-A-G-A-N.
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  wobble

  Moshe says it will be a job to get this concept past Bible Studying interested ones.

  It would be if presented to them in its bald form, but do you remember the old "Knowledge" book ? it hardly touched on 1914, just mentioned Jesus starting to reign in that year as a fact.

  The lazy minded will be fobbed off , and will believe that the doctrine will become clear in time, and put it on the back-burner never to be re-visited.

  There are many in the Cult today who are of that category, they never had the doctrine explained to them, and never examined it for themselves.

  DumbDubs a?