False advertisements for a fake future that will never happen
I was a young man at Bethel about 30 years ago, back in the early 80's and the one place I could get away with saying almost anything was on the factory floor. Sure, you had your congregation, your table mates, and your room mates and so on, but you pretty much had to be careful about what you said with these people, especially regarding JW dogma. But, with the guys you worked with every single day, other young guys just like you with no real authority or importance, well, you could pretty much get away with postulating anything.
In this environment, we often had many a discussion about Bible doctrine just to pass by the many boring hours. Sometimes, the nature of the job allowed more than one of us to be in close proximity of each other for hours on end, so, we had lots of time to discuss nonsense and trivia, hopes and dreams and so on. So, when something popped into our heads, we just talked about it. It didn't matter what it was about. Sometimes when we argued or disagreed on something, we would bring something up again later, even if we had already discussed it, just to goad each other on into continuing the fight. It was fun to make each other mad if we could; it was boys being boys.
One day the discussion came up about the Earthly resurrection. One Bethelite stated quite confidently that if you died and were resurrected to Earth, you could not be married again and definitely could not have children. This was the current understanding of that time by all JWs. I forget why it was brought up, but this issue bothered me quite a bit as I had hoped some day to get married and have children. However, most Bethelites agreed with this brother even though others stayed quiet about it taking a more neutral stance. Those that agreed with this brother took their stance based on two things: 1) Luke 20 where Jesus said those in the resurrection "will neither marry nor be given in marriage" and 2) because the Society said so.
I said flat out that they were all wrong.
So, when I pressed them on this issue further by putting an extreme example in front of them, these folks concluded that if you were to die during the Great Tribulation, even if you died protecting Bethel and the entire Governing Body (Christ's Brothers) you would not be able to marry in the Earthly resurrection. This would be the case even if after your death Armageddon came only a few hours later and wiped everything clean for a new Earth. When your sorry behind came back, you could not marry and you would of course never be able to have children either. Too bad, so sad. Forget about that family you always wanted. Maybe you should have told the evil doers where the faithful slave was hiding in order to save yourself instead.
I thought this was patently unfair and was more than a little miffed by it because they were also saying something else that was huge: NO SEX FOREVER! How could it be Paradise without sex? When I brought that up they said Jehovah would take care of that for us. I wondered aloud to them if God would zap us with an anti-horny ray or something. They just laughed.
So, we had a traditional doctrinal back and forth debate on this subject. I brought up arguments like the New Testament really being written for people going to heaven and Jesus showed this by usually speaking in heavenly terms like using the phrase "Born Again" for example. I also pointed to the part of "they can no longer die but are like angels". All of these things told me Luke 20 was about a heavenly resurrection. I even pointed out that if we could not get married, then we would be alone and it was God himself that said in Genesis that it was "not good" for man to be alone. This didn't add up to Gods original purpose for man which was to have companionship for life. They gave me the typical Aid Book responses at that time and were not swayed. Nope, they said, if you die before Armageddon, you cannot get married in the New System nor have children. Period. Case closed.
So, I decided to try a different way to argue this. I am paraphrasing here what I said to these stubborn Bethelites:
Me: Show me the latest Watchtower magazine and Paradise Earth book. [They bring me one each]
Me: What pictures do you see here when paradise on Earth is depicted? How are the people shown and how are the comprised?
Them: [discussion result] Well, we see happy smiling people, mostly youthful looking people together and some children.
Me: OK, so mostly people together, that is couples. And children there too? This is the Society's idea of paradise Earth regarding its people there and this is how they show it all everyone who hopes to learn the Truth?
Them: Yes.
Me: OK, so next, how many people will make it through Armageddon alive as couples, together? Your best guess and approximation. [understand I was under the impression then like all witnesses that only witnesses would be saved.]
Them: [some discussion] Millions. After all, "millions now living will never die" is a classic.
Me: Really? Well, first of all, I'm talking couples, not just anybody. So, of approximately 3 million Witnesses alive today, you are saying that most of them are couples and most of them married to each other and most of them will make it through the worst tribulation in Earth's history intact, together, as couples? You want to try that again?
Them: [more discussion] OK then, maybe only hundreds of thousands, a half million couples, a million people, tops will be in the new system.
Me: OK. Fine. Now, how many people will be resurrected to Earth then? Remember, righteous and unrighteous. Discuss.
Them: [after some discussion] Well, there are estimates that we have had 8 to 10 billion people that have lived so far in history including the billions now. So, we guess billions in the resurrection, since most of these probably never had a chance to know God. So, maybe 5 to 6 billion people coming back or even more.
Me: OK, so you are saying maybe six thousand million, that is, 6 billion, will be resurrected?
Them: Yes.
Me: Then given those things, why does the Watchtower and PE book and most other Society publications always depict paradise mostly as couples together? With children no less?! Isn't that misleading since most people at that time will be alone, never to be married and never to have children? Billions resurrected alone and only a few hundred thousand couples will be fortunate enough to be married and have children! These few by the way only have this privilege because they were fortunate enough to be alive at the right time in history and not die during a horrible "great tribulation" as well? So, in Paradise, if most will be resurrected and only a few not resurrected, then aren't all these pictures in our literature about the New System just false advertisements for a fake future that will never happen?
Them: Whoaaaaa.
Me: To me then, it's like The Society is promising one thing to hook people in, then teaching an entirely different thing once they got them. That's classic bait and switch if you ask me.
Them: [nervous murmuring, low talking and head shaking]
SILENCE
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I was with a friend of mine later who was also one of the guys in this factory discussion. We had continued the debate on this subject in private when we both happened to run into George Gangas together. Now I knew this particular Governing Body member had a mind of his own, so I took a chance. I brazenly asked him right on the spot what he thought about this subject. I asked him in a way that I thought would be provocative and he responded in a way that was even more so, in a way I'll never forget:
Me: Brother Gangas, in the Earthly resurrection, will Abraham be married to Sarah or not?
Gangas: [getting all dramatic as he used to be quite a theatrical character] Ahh, well... first, what do you think brother?
Me: I think death severs the marriage union, but that upon an Earthly resurrection, we would be free to do again as we please. I think God will allow Abraham to marry Sarah again if he wants to and if she is agreeable as well.
Gangas: [very dramatically in his Greek accented, old man voice] When Abraham opens his eyes in Paradise, he will immediately say "Where is my beloved Sarah?!?" And, upon seeing her he will run to her to hold her in his arms, to hug her and be with her as he always did, since he was only asleep! He just woke up! But, Jehovah, upon seeing Abraham approach Sarah, says to him "No, No, No, Abraham! YOU... SHALL... NOT... TOUCH.... HER! FOREVER!"
Gangas: [stopping for even more dramatic effect, then waving his finger in the air] If Jehovah did such a thing... HE WOULD BE A TYRANT!
I thanked brother Gangas and then looked over at my friend with my eyebrows raised. He smiled and looked down, shook his head and said nothing.
LivingTheDream