"it may delay! but it will not be late!!"

by highdose 8 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  highdose

  So declared a JW to me recently. It was the begining of the classic JW guilt trip.

  It was the answer in responce to me pointing out that she had spent her whole life as a JW wasting it away, telling scores of people over the years that armardegon was coming soon, telling her children they wouldn't make it to school because the new system would be here before then, seeing them grow, graduate and have children of their own, still the years tick on with no promised armargedon and slaughter of billions in sight?

  Her responce was to acknowledge that she had thought it would have come by now, and she said she doubted that it would now come in her lifetime... but she followed up this sad fact with the above statement.

  Which is a total oxymoron... responces please?
• 

  steve2

  Yes, it is classic JW-speak. Yet, to be fair, it is more widely held in one form or another by Bible believers who have been panting for over 2,000 years for the nailed one to return. I'm afraid the JWs are a drearily more specific irritant of the general hogwash occupying every church corner with their "just when you think it's most unlikely, expect it" mentality.
• 

  cantleave

  Common illogical response uttered by people of Faith!
• 

  Aussie Oz

  That has to be the daftest thing they say, any of these second adventist 'faiths'.

  If you miss a connecting flight because your plane was 'delayed'...

  It was bloody late!

  it can't be both ways.

  oz
• 

  ambersun

  Unfortunately most JWs do not stop and reason things out for themselves which is a shame as a simple online check indicates that the verbs are basically interchangeable.

  TO DELAY

  to put off to a later time;

  defer (tr) to slow up, hinder, or cause to be late; detain (intr) to be irresolute or put off doing something; procrastinate (intr) to linger; dawdle

  TO BE LATE

  the act or an instance of delaying or being delayed

  the interval between one event and another; lull; interlude Coming, occurring, or remaining after the correct, usual, or expected time; delayed: The bus is late. See Synonyms at tardy. Beginning after or continuing past the usual or expected hour: a late breakfast; a late meeting.

  Occurring at an advanced hour

  Conclusion: If something is delayed, it is flippin' LATE!!!!!!
• 

  Mary

  In fairness to the Borganization, this was not their invention, but was in fact, written down long before Jesus ever came on the scene. The offending verse is in HABAKKUK 2:3 that reads:

  "For the vision is yet for the appointed time, and it keeps panting on to the end, and it will not tell a lie. EVEN IF IT SHOULD DELAY, keep in expectation of it; for it will without fail come true. IT WILL NOT BE LATE."

  If my train is scheduled to arrive at 9:00am but is delayed for some reason and won't get there until noon, then by definition it will be late. If it's announced that it will arrive "soon" or "very soon" but it doesn't show up at noon, nor at 2:00 or 4:00 or 6:00 or 8:00 or 11:00 or midnight, then how exactly is it not "late"? If it still hasn't arrived 3 weeks later, then chances are, it ain't showing up at all.

  People have been "keeping in expectation of it" for thousands of years and every single one of them have gone to their graves waiting in vain for The End to come and it has never showed up. While I think the vast majority of Christians do not let any 'expectation' of The End interfere with their everyday life, there are some wacky religions, like the Witnesses, who let scriptures like this guide their entire lives and the decisions they make.
• 

  sir82

  Ask her to define what, exactly, is the difference between "delayed" and "late".

  Oh, and then ask her what, precisely, is the difference between "spirit inspired" and "spirit guided".

  Go for the strikeout by asking her where, in the Bible, is the explanation of the difference between a "blood fraction" and a "blood component".
• 

  DesirousOfChange

  If it's announced that it will arrive "soon" or "very soon" but it doesn't show up at noon, nor at 2:00 or 4:00 or 6:00 or 8:00 or 11:00 or midnight, then how exactly is it not "late"?

  But what if it is VERY, VERY SOON?

  "GRADUATION OF GILEAD SCHOOL
  The principal speaker was F. W. Franz,....He appropriately asked the 27 students from eight lands: “Some 36 years of the current peace period have elapsed, so how long is it going to last? And what indications do we have that it is going to terminate very, very soon?" wt 12/15/81

  Is 30 years what you'd call "LATE"?
• 

  Velour

  Man, just when they get close to recoginizing their own cognitive dissonance their brain shuts off and out comes these mindless robotic responses which are also really conflicting! Can't believe that at any time in my life I thought, "oh yeah, ok, that kinda makes sense."