A powerful question: HOW LONG has this been true?

by Terry 16 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Terry

  When counseled not to pursue Higher Education because the end of this system will come before you get any benefit....why not ask:

  HOW LONG has this been true?

  The answer will be: "Always!"

  And the retort you are waiting to make is:"Thirty years ago what if you got a better education and could earn more money? Wouldn't you have a 30 year headstart by now?"

  When you are admonished to devote more time to the field service or pursue Pioneering because the End is Near...why not ask:

  How Long has this been true?

  The answer will be: "Always!"

  And the retort you are waiting to make is: "All those books and magazines contained Old Light and Expired Dates! We fed people emergency instructions for non-emergencies and the details have changed!"

  When reminded that the Governing Body is the mouthpiece of god and our "mother" whom we must not question and should only obey, we might ask:

  How long has this been true?

  Until the early 1970's the Organization was really only run by the President and immediately after splitting into a group the Presiding leader was the same man who gave us the failed 1975 date!

  Truth matches reality.

  Where there is no reality there is no truth.

  WHEN something is true is when the facts support the claims.

  Evidence doesn't expires.
• 

  Bella15

  Good one and duly noted.
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  NewChapter

  This is a good point. The fact is, if they had persued education 30 years ago, they WOULD have benefitted! What is it now, 5 generations or so of undereducated people? It's a good thing there is a large turnover. They need the infusion of skills and money.
• 

  Ding

  Terry,

  Your "How long has this been true" question is a great one for pointing out the foolishness of the "present truth" lingo and for showing how "the light gets brighter and brighter" is nothing but a WT euphemism for repeated errors and flip-flops.

  For example, if a JW tells you about overlapping generations, "How long has this been true?" provides an opening to point out all the different definitions of "generation" the WTS has used in the last 100 years. I guess "the truth" changed there about half a dozen times...
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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  How long has Watchtower been getting it wrong?

  Always.
• 

  sd-7

  *** w50 10/1 p. 366 It Is Nearer than They Think ***
  Now is no time for one to be captivated by this world's glitter or be fooled by its 'all is well' gush of propaganda. Now is no time to scramble for all that one can seize of this world's possessions for protection. Neither is it a time to postpone Armageddon in one's mind. (1 Thess. 5:2-4) Now, as never before, is the time to bestir oneself and take life-saving action while there is yet time. "Now it is high time to awake!" the apostle Paul says. (Rom. 13:11) Destruction of modern Babylon will clear the ground for the extension of God's blessed Theocratic rule to the limits of the earth. Praise be to God that such momentous events are nearer than most people think!

  --If you were born when this was written, you'd be 60 years old. If you were 20, you'd be 80. If you were 40...you are probably either dead, or part of the Zombie 1914 Generation That Did Not Pass Away.

  And another gem is found in a bizarre contradiction from that same era:

  *** w50 6/1 p. 175 Letter ***
  The remnant of the anointed members of Christ's body are likewise not the mother of the "other sheep" class of today, and it would not be right for the "other sheep" to address the remnant as either father or mother in a spiritual sense.

  THREE MONTHS LATER....

  *** w50 9/15 p. 326 God's Blessed Family ***
  THE MOTHER ORGANIZATION The Scriptures identify God's "woman" as his universal organization; and as in the human family, so also in God's household, the mother serves an important function.

  *** w50 9/15 p. 326 God's Blessed Family ***
  The Father is the great Provider of spiritual food, and he delegates to his organization the duty of preparing and serving this life-sustaining "meat in due season". The table is the Lord's, he sits at the head, and the children seated at the table are waited on and served and helped by the mother organization.--Matt. 24:45; Ps. 23:5; Isa. 25:6.
  God's children on earth live in a delinquent world, though no part of it. (John 17:11, 14) They therefore need maternal guidance and direction in order to avoid entanglement with this sex-maddened generation now living in these perilous "last days". (2 Tim. 3:1-5, 14-17) As a consequence, God's children are commanded to honor and respect their spiritual parents and give heed and obey the Lord's instructions coming to them by and through the mother organization.--Deut. 5:16.

  --sd-7
• 

  designs

  Be sure and Blame the Leader of the pack: Matt.24:45

  This Somebody played on human weakness...
• 

  Terry

  I'm surprised the FDA doesn't require the Watchtower to stamp a shelf expiration date on its "Truth" as food at the proper time.

  Does "proper" mean ONLY WHEN IT DOESN'T APPLY TO FACTS?
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  Band on the Run

  We can easily surmise why education bothers them so much more than almost any other religion. I would think it would be in their interest to even pay for education for key people. Imagine all the knowledge turned over to Jehovah's org. Education of Witnesses would make them stronger in JW beliefs. An apostate could not spin their minds around in endless loops.

  They create a false dichotomy between education and religion. Since studying academic religion in college, my discoveries or exposures has strengthened my affiliation with my present denomination. Sometimes I sit in a Bible study or spirituality discussion and I must stop the crying. I no longer live a very splintered life. Questions are encouraged. I will disagree with almost everyone present. My view may not be supported but it is respected. There is not even a hint to shut up and conform. We acknowledge stalemate. Often, it is cultural. The same remarks that garnered me a following in NYC, garner me a that is a very different take here. I support the important things, such as the creeds.
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  Band on the Run

  Paul used his superb Jewish education in the service of Christianity. Presently, I am reading the bio of St. Augustine, the early Church father. Austine lived a very worldy life before his education. He had a classical Roman nobility education. All these deficits were turned to assets for Christianity. St. Francis of Assissi is another marvelous example. These Christians were not country bumpkins. They had transferable skills.