Excellent thread. I have a question: I can hear my family reply that it doesn't matter WHAT they were teaching, what matters is that they were the only ones alert and looking forward to the establishment of God's kingdom. But I am sure there were other groups as well, such as the one that Russell was originally associated with. Does anyone have any documentation proving this, or do I have to do my own dashed research?
How credible is the wt claim to be chosen by Christ in 1919.
by coffee_black 63 Replies latest jw friends
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isaacaustin
Obviously the Adventists were also looking for Christ's imminent return- that is who Russel got much of his theology from.
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coffee_black
Crazycate,
The wt claims to be chosen on the basis of what they were teaching in other words they were chosen because of what they taught. Other groups were expecting something to happen as well... the Millerites/Adventists for example from whom Russells whole end times stuff began. 1914 was not the first date Russell pointed to... initially Christ was to return in 1874... and armageddon was to come in 1914... and of course armageddon didn't come in 1914...so they got new light and changed it!
Coffee
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isaacaustin
The SDA believed 1844 to be the date of Christ's coming- a date they still hold onto today at the period of 'investigative judgment'.
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coffee_black
Miller was the origin of 1874...but had the good grace to admit he was wrong!
Coffee
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Yan Bibiyan
I can hear my family reply that it doesn't matter WHAT they were teaching, what matters is that they were the only ones alert and looking forward to the establishment of God's kingdom.
No, they weren't.
In 1919 JWs still believed that Christ had returned to earth in 1874 - teaching changed in 1920, when the return was "moved up" to 1914.
Soooo, if they believed in 1919 that Christ was present, they couldn't have been "looking" for him.
You don't wait for your master to return from the wedding if you believe he is already home...
-Yan
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crazycate
Good points and information. Thank you. It is so hard to talk about this with them. When someone won't even look at their religion's own history, how do you proceed?
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smiddy
I liken jw`s to to the false gods in psalms 115:5-8.... eyes they have but they cannot see,ears they have but they cannot hear,a mouth they have but they cannot speak..... the truth about their own religion and historical beginnings from C.T Russell onwards...".Their are none so blind as those who refuse to see "
smiddy
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Black Sheep
When someone won't even look at their religion's own history, how do you proceed?
Don't tell them anything. They are trained to not listen.
They are taught that they are teachers, so ask a question designed to steer them to trying to defend the chronology to support their selection in 1919.
Don't let them weasel their way out of answering your questions and don't stop asking until they tell you they are wrong.
If it becomes neccessary to show them something, make sure it is a source they trust, or have quoted from, and make them read it to you and explain it.
They can't tell you they are wrong if you are doing all the talking.
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thetrueone
I'm not in any way a bible scholar but did it say in the bible that Christ would return to reestablish his kingdom invisibly ?
And did it say that he would give a calculable date of his return by use of his faithful discrete slave ?
If these are all nil then the only thing that the JWS can use to say he has returned is the sigh of the end times,
which is mis-informative ignorance once you study human history and geological science.
Any intelligent person who has the capabilities to evaluate things properly should be able to discern
that the WTS publishing company has propagated its own self serving doctrines to establish a kingdom of their own
and to circumvent attention to its published literature.
Freedom of religion is a wonderful is it not.