Interesting, dgp: I have had online discussions with JWs who believe Penton is utterly biased against the WTS. Others have evidently chosen not to read the book, believing it to be a hatchet job on their beloved religion.
James Beverley's book on Penton's expulsion now on Abebooks
by MrMonroe 20 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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dgp
Opinions.
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William Penwell
Nothing new to me as to what he said in the video.
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ScenicViewer
I have had online discussions with JWs who believe Penton is utterly biased against the WTS. Others have evidently chosen not to read the book, believing it to be a hatchet job on their beloved religion.
Jehovah's Witnesses typically believe that any person that doesn't completely agree with them is biased, since they see themselves as God's only true religion. Almost all of them will refuse to read anything that doesn't come from their leadership; they are taught to only read literature that comes from their 'faithful and discreet slave.'
Penton, having once been one of Jehovah's Witnesses, will be viewed as an apostate rebel for leaving the religion, and the Witness that would read his book is rare indeed, and probably has already seen reasons to have doubts about the rightness of the religion.
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Farkel
Scenicviewer/newbie,
: Penton, having once been one of Jehovah's Witnesses, will be viewed as an apostate rebel for leaving the religion, and the Witness that would read his book is rare indeed, and probably has already seen reasons to have doubts about the rightness of the religion.
You have much to learn, grasshopper.
Farkel
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ScenicViewer
@ Farkel
I'm a little confused, and wondering where I went wrong in my remarks.
Penton, having once been one of Jehovah's Witnesses, will be viewed as an apostate rebel for leaving the religion.
Is it not true that the ex-Witnesses who left because they disagreed with the Watchtower on issues of teachings and beliefs, are viewed as apostates? Especially when they go public with their criticisms? Isn't Penton one such person?
...the Witness that would read his book is rare indeed
Witnesses are strongly warned not to read literature from 'apostates'. Isn't this true? Maybe there are some reading such literature in secret and I should wise up to that...Is that what you meant by saying I have a lot to learn?
...probably has already seen reasons to have doubts about the rightness of the religion.
Myself, I would not touch anything that the Society had deemed to be apostate until I had noticed double standards in beliefs, and dishonesty on the part of the Society and it's appointed elders. I can imagine other witnesses having developed doubts about the rightness of the religion, then looking elsewhere for answers. But I can't imagine many witnesses who are strong believers taking a look at anything the Society condemns. I never would. Maybe others are different.
Newbie...Yes, new to this forum, but not new to the Watchtower.
So, if you can, please explain more about what you meant when you said I have a lot to learn, based on my brief remark above.
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Farkel
scenic,
: ...the Witness that would read his book is rare indeed
That is where you might be wrong. In the years since Jim published that book, I have seen huge numbers of dubs who had their eyes opened because of it.
For dubs, it was not nearly as powerful as Ray Franz's books, but nonetheless, Jim's "Apocalypse" books had made a huge contribution from my experience.
Consider:
Dubs can say that Ray "had a grudge" and that he was probably a liar because of (fill in the blanks).
Now consider Jim Penton:
Dubs can say that Jim "had a grudge" and that he was probably a liar because of (fill in the blanks.)
Now, read COC, ISOCF and then read "Apocalypse Dealyed" and tell me which book sounds subjective (possibly suspicious), and which book sounds objective and even schororly.
Nah! It's all bullshit! If the lord God himself came down and told the dubs they were full of shit, they would ask their leaders if God knew what He was talking about, and if the dub leaders told the idiot dubs that God was wrong, then the dubs would believe that the Creator of them and everything else was WRONG.
Then next weekend they would go out and sell more Watchtower books and convince themselves they were pleasing the God who just last week descended from the Heavens and told them they were full of bullshit.
Sigh. What can we do when faced with that kind of thinking?
Farkel
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ScenicViewer
scenic,
:...the Witness that would read his book is rare indeed
That is where you might be wrong. In the years since Jim published that book, I have seen huge numbers of dubs who had their eyes opened because of it.
Gotcha Farkel! Your explanation is so "schororly" . (Now go edit that if you have time.)
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Botzwana
Farkel...I LIVE in Mexico...I actually accidentely moved to his town of Ajijic back in 2006 while I was still a witness. The brothers told me the head apostate Penton used to live there but he recently moved back to Canada.
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Disillusioned JW
I didn't start reading books which JWs label as apostate until after I began seriously doubting the JW religion as a result of me noticing problems in the WT's own publications and in their policies.
I very recently checked out from the library M. James Penton's book called APOCALYPSE DELAYED: The Story of Jehovah's Witnesses (copyright 1985). Yesterday I noticed that on page 106 it says the following. "Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose and Alexander H. Macmillan's Faith on the March presented false history, in particular with respect to the Watch Tower schism of 1917." I own both the JW books and while I noticed that Macmillan's book makes false claims (in addition to half truths) [which thus caused me want to get rid of it by selling it for a profit] and that Jehovah's Witnesses in the Divine Purpose also makes some half truths (or made some misleading statements and left out major faults of the WT), I didn't think that the latter book made outright false claims. I am thus shocked that Penton says the WT book "presented false history, in particular with respect to the Watch Tower schism of 1917". I will have to research that claim of Penton.