"Lord, whom shall we go away to?"

by cedars 14 Replies latest jw friends

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  cedars

  Hi everyone

  I'm afraid this is a shameless plug for my latest article on www.jwstruggle.com - a relevant and non-commercial website!!

  I was asked to write an article on John 6:68 where Peter famously told Jesus, "Lord, whom shall we go away to? You have sayings of everlasting life..." As you may be aware, the Society frequently uses this scripture to try to convince those who are doubting that there is NOWHERE for them to go to if they decide to flee the organization. In my article, I attempt to set the record straight.

  http://www.jwstruggle.com/2011/11/lord-whom-shall-we-go-away-to/

  I would obviously appreciate your thoughts on this subject, and any constructive criticism that will help me to improve my writing in the future.

  Warm regards to you all,

  Cedars
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  N.drew

  Reword this because it sounds like them

  As organizational and doctrinal refinements are introduced, one should accept these unflinchingly without question – because after all, there is nowhere else to go beyond the confines of the organization.

  and you did underline without question. I'm going back to read more...
• 

  cedars

  Thanks N.drew - the preceding sentence says "the message is simple", and the sentence you have highlighted paraphrases the quoted passage from the Society. Hopefully it's clear what is meant in context, but I will give it some thought...

  Ah-hah! I appear to have fixed the problem with a strategically placed colon. That should do it...
• 

  N.drew

  This sounds like propaganda:

  – particularly one that distorts the words of Christ to suit its own ends and perpetuate its legacy.

  Proof? We know it's true, but it sounds scary to someone who doesn't know.
• 

  Ding

  On page 7 of Millions Now Living Will Never Die, Joseph Rutherford wrote, "We, therefore, assure the reader that we have no ulterior motive in putting out this message. It is not propaganda. There is no desire nor effort to induce the reader to join anything."

  Really?
• 

  N.drew

  Imagine you are communication to the subconscious mind. Do not give them anything to strenghten their "divinely" inspired view. Because as soon as it sounds the same as what they believe, or the opposite, they will shut down. IMO
• 

  cedars

  I agree that those words are forthright, but like you said, they are also true. Unfortunately, it gets confusing if I don't stick to the topic in hand, i.e. drop the scriptural discussion like a hot potato and go off on a tangent to support the statements I've made. However, I will definitely take your observation on board - perhaps I can tone it down a little in future! Thanks N.drew. It's appreciated.

  edit post: I've toned down the final paragraph. N.drew's right, I don't want to scare people away, I want to help them.
• 

  wobble

  Well done Cedars, I am sure that your well chosen words will give many the courage to examine their position, and to move on, away from the clutches of the WT.

  Just one little typo you might like to change, you wrote : " eat his blood and drink his flesh "or similar, the eat and drink need swapping around in the sentence.

  Well done again !
• 

  cedars

  Wow - well spotted Wobble, I'm really glad you told me! I'll fix that straight away.

  I do appreciate your encouragement...

  Cedars
• 

  WTWizard

  This is a blatant example of how the witlesses take the Bible out of context and distort the meaning to fit their doctrines. Jesus was referring to a person, not a place, in that passage. There was no one else to turn to, but plenty of other places.

  What the Washtowel is doing is twisting the Bible to make it look like it's the place, not the person, that Jesus was referring to. That makes the witlesses afraid of leaving, even when the Filthful and Disgraceful Slavebugger comes out with something blatantly wrong (like "a generation"). People are now trapped in an organization that is sucking the lives right out of them, when in fact they aren't even being led to the real source of truth (and, if you believed what they said, that would be Jesus). The Filthful and Disgraceful Slavebugger exploits this to the max, and the witlesses get fed a bunch of rubbish in lieu of the truth.