"Come Be My Follower" - Christendom is bad for sponsoring charities and feeding the poor - what?

by Bonnie_Clyde 38 Replies latest jw friends

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  Bonnie_Clyde

  I just got the "Come Be My Follower" book and am shocked at their illustration on page 186. Maybe I'm more shocked that at one time I would have accepted this warped reasoning.

  First they quote Jesus at Matt. 7:21-23: "'Lord, Lord, did we not...perform many powerful works in your name?' And yet then I will confess to them: I never knew you! Get away from me, you workers of lawlessness."

  para 11: Many today who call themselves Christians might find those word puzzling. Why would Jesus direct such strong words to people who have been performing "many powerful works" in his name? The churches of Christendom have sponsored charities, aided the poor, built hospitals and schools, and performed many other works. To see why they have earned Jesus' anger, consider an illustration:

  para 12: A father and mother need to go on a trip. They cannot take their children along, so they hire a babysitter. Their instructions to her are simple: "Take care of our children. Feed them, make sure they are clean, and keep them from harm." When the parents return, though, they are shocked to see that their children are famished. They are dirty, sickly, and miserable. They are crying for the babysitter's attention, but their cries go unheeded. Why? She is up on a ladder, washing the windows. Furious, the parents demand an explanation. The sitter replies: "Look at all that I did! Aren't the windows clean? I made repairs to the house too, all for you!" Would the parents feel better? Hardly! They never asked her to do those jobs; they just wanted their children cared for. her refusal to heed their instructions would infuriate them.

  They admit that Christendom is trying to take care of the physical needs of their people and somehow this is going to incur God's wrath. But the Watchtower does very little in a material way (unless they can get newspaper publicity), but God loves them because they feed people spiritually. See James 2:14-17.
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  Mad Sweeney

  They never asked her to do those jobs

  The irony is that the Bible, and Christ himself, DID ask Christians to do charitable works.

  The Borg sucks. What a hateful and evil organization.
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  NeonMadman

  "Many today who call themselves Christians might find those word puzzling. Why would Jesus direct such strong words to people who have been performing "many powerful works" in his name? Jehovah's Witnesses have preached throughout the earth, distributed millions pf pieces of literature, sponsored meetings, assemblies and conventions, and performed many other works."

  They never asked her to do those jobs; they just wanted their children cared for. her refusal to heed their instructions would infuriate them.

  You mean instructions like these?:

  Mat 19:21 Jesus said to him: "If you want to be perfect, go sell your belongings and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven, and come be my follower." (Isn't that the text the title of the book is taken from?)

  Gal 2:10 Only we should keep the poor in mind. This very thing I have also earnestly endeavored to do.

  Jas 1:27 The form of worship that is clean and undefiled from the standpoint of our God and Father is this: to look after orphans and widows in their tribulation, and to keep oneself without spot from the world.

  Mat 6:3 But you, when making gifts of mercy, do not let your left hand know what your right is doing,
  Mat 6:4 that your gifts of mercy may be in secret; then your Father who is looking on in secret will repay you.

  Mat 25:37 Then the righteous ones will answer him with the words, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty, and give you something to drink?
  Mat 25:38 When did we see you a stranger and receive you hospitably, or naked, and clothe you?
  Mat 25:39 When did we see you sick or in prison and go to you?'
  Mat 25:40 And in reply the king will say to them, 'Truly I say to YOU, To the extent that YOU did it to one of the least of these my brothers, YOU did it to me.'

  Luk 6:38 Practice giving, and people will give to YOU. They will pour into YOUR laps a fine measure, pressed down, shaken together and overflowing. For with the measure that YOU are measuring out, they will measure out to YOU in return."

  Act 20:35 I have exhibited to YOU in all things that by thus laboring YOU must assist those who are weak, and must bear in mind the words of the Lord Jesus, when he himself said, 'There is more happiness in giving than there is in receiving.'"

  Rom 15:26 For those in Mac·e·do'ni·a and A·cha'ia have been pleased to share up their things by a contribution to the poor of the holy ones in Jerusalem.
  Rom 15:27 True, they have been pleased to do so, and yet they were debtors to them; for if the nations have shared in their spiritual things, they also owe it to minister publicly to these with things for the fleshly body.

  Eph 4:28 Let the stealer steal no more, but rather let him do hard work, doing with his hands what is good work, that he may have something to distribute to someone in need.

  Which group is it that is really failing to follow the Master's instructions?
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  nelly136

  they seem to have got that a bit arse about tit.

  while theyre busy washing windows the church is leaving them in the dust.
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  sabastious

  God is not partial. Jesus taught if you are naked to clothe you, there is no hidden agenda for doing so...

  It's the right thing to do.

  -Sab
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  Elgiard

  What would the parents do if the babysitter told the youngest one horrible and ridiculous lies about the parents, and then sent her to try to convince her brothers and sisters that the lies were true? Then when the others rejected the horrible lies she completely ignored them and forbade the youngest from having anything to do with the others, punishing her if she did. If evil people hurt the children, rather than report them to the authorities she'd tell them to be patient and wait for the parents to deal with it in their own time. She would also deny them medical attention, telling them that's what their parents wanted.
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  DaCheech

  gotta love their spin on things, and selective quoting
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  designs

  The Foreign Bethel workers and Special Pioneers I would talk to about the help given to local people always concerned helping people read and write, which is fine, but what do you do for a hungry student. I found out with one couple who were serving at the Zimbabwe Branch, they invited some of the local Witnesses to have a chicken dinner, when the couple left the room for a moment they came back to find all of the chickens stuffed into clothes of the Witnesses, they were taking them back to their hungry families whose main source of protein were Rats.
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  blondie

  All I can think of is the Good Samaritan.

  As the Jew lay beaten on the road, the priest and Levite walked past rather than give practical help. It was the non-jew, the Samaritan that stopped his travels and treated the man's wounds, took him to the inn, paid for the innkeeper to look after to him, and checked back to see how he was doing. jws are like the priest and Levite too busy rushing off to their traditional duties at the temple rather than help their fellow worshipper.
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  jwfacts

  Damn that reasoning annoys me.