Watchtower doctrines failed or discredited in the past 20 years -

by james_woods 31 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  james_woods

  The several threads on the literal 144,000 got me to thinking about this: It is getting pretty obvious that the literal 144,000 is at least getting very questionable and likely will not be able to stand long without a serious remodeling. What else has fallen by the wayside?

  I thought of these -

  1) - The seven-thousand year creative days. It was silly from the beginning, but I think the kiss of death was Freddy's crazy 1975 making the end of 6000 years of the seventh day, and bringing in the millenium as the last 1000 - . They were not willing to give up the 1914 chain of chronology, but obviously the 7,000 years caused a problem. (or else Freddy was just plain wrong). Sooo - the seven thousand year days seem to have just vanished like the pyramid chronology.

  2) - The traditional blood doctrine. Yes, I know - they still say no blood transfusions. But now they technically say "whole blood". Blood fractions would have been maranatha to the old-time JWs I knew in the 1960s - we were looking for blood fractions in candy bars of all places. Witnesses were worried that some vaccines or other medicines might have been made from horse blood, and other hysteria abounded. I think this (the mysterious fraction rule) is a move to get away from the blood doctrine.

  3) - Conscientous Objection status (draft issues) is wrong for a Christian. This is the one they most openly rejected - they even have said that they never even said it - it was all done by the individual witnesses on their own conscience. This is, of course, a total and self serving lie. But still, this doctrine (which sent hundreds of witness men my age to Federal Prison) did get unequivocally changed.

  4) - Millions now living will never die. Well, they didn't exactly say why, but they sure aren't putting this in the inside cover pages of their magazines any more, are they?

  5) - The generation alive and cognizant in 1914 would see the Great Tribulation. Inexplicable explanation, (overlapping generations), but the original doctrine outlived itself and had to die.

  6) - The U.N. was an evil manifestation of Revelation. I am going out on a limb here a little - but the NGO scandal sure seems to me to have slowed down their 1960s-era fetish of bashing the U.N. Seems like they are a little shy to print this up any more...

  This is an astonishing number of core beliefs that have had to be changed - simply because they could be proven to be ridiculously wrong.

  Wonder what is coming next???

  My guess - 1914 fades away and becomes forgotten history.
• 

  undercover

  My guess - 1914 fades away and becomes forgotten history.

  They're de-emphasizing 1914 these days but they haven't completely dropped it. They still allude to it, just not in the way they used to. They conveniently leave out all that BS about "generation seeing 1914 living to see the end" but like to point out how ole Charlie pointed to 1914 as a signigicant date. In that way, they'll continue to hold on to the date as important and mention it occasionally but it will not be a core doctrinal point.

  another one:

  We're already seing the groundwork being laid - the significance of the remnant class of the 144,000 is losing less and less importance and the significance of the Governing Body as representing all the anointed is of more importance. At some point, the remnant will become just another class of publishers and the Governing Body will be looked to as the anointed class. It may take time to reprogram the dubbies to this so it will be a slow change with language in the publications that makes it hard to distinquish between the teaching of the old days to the new teaching. In fact, it'll probably be as obtuse as the teaching on what constitutes being a Christian really entails. Technically, only the anointed are part of the true Christian congregation leaving all others as supporters of the congregation, not members. Yet the WTS continues to use language that confuses the clarity. They don't want anyone, especially their own followers to realize that they are not really Christians... in the strictest sense of the their own doctrine.
• 

  james_woods

  They don't want anyone, especially their own followers to realize that they are not really Christians... in the strictest sense of the their own doctrine.

  This is their key doctrinal failing - the thing that practically makes them anti-Christian.

  Ed Dunlap was fond of saying that all the rest of it would eventually work itself out if they would come clean on that one thing.
• 

  james_woods

  As to the 1914 issue - note that 1874 used to be just as important, and it is certainly gone for all practical purposes.
• 

  DesirousOfChange

  Thanks, James W. That is a very complete, but concise summary. Very factual without exaggeration or attack.

  DOC
• 

  Ucantnome

  The seven-thousand year creative days. It was silly from the beginning, but I think the kiss of death was Freddy's crazy 1975 making the end of 6000 years of the seventh day, and bringing in the millenium as the last 1000 - . They were not willing to give up the 1914 chain of chronology, but obviously the 7,000 years caused a problem. (or else Freddy was just plain wrong). Sooo - the seven thousand year days seem to have just vanished like the pyramid chronology

  I dont think that they have vanished.

  I think that they still hold to 4026 BCE as the creation of Adam.

  They believe that the 7th creative day was blessed and will end as God intended it. (After the 1000year reign of Christ brings it back to how it was intended.)

  They believe that the tribulation is imminent. Which will occur just prior to the thousand year reign of Christ.

  Therefore if the 7th creative day could not have started before 4026BCE and the thousand year reign of Christ is imminent that will bring the 7th creative day to a blessed condition. The 7th creative day is around 7000years long.

  As days are usually the same length. I think they still believe that they are about 7000 years long.
• 

  undercover

  7,000 year creative days haven't vanished. They're still there...technicaly. They just don't advertise it.

  In order to appear that their literal interpretation of the Bible jives with scientific knowledge, they have separated the creation of the earth with the rest of the creation on earth. They claim now that the creation of the actual planet could have happend eons ago, but then waffle on how long each creative day was, just saying each was a long period of time. They have not officially retracted the 7,000 year day, they just don't go 'round talking about it anymore.

  More problematic is the belief that Adam was created 6,000+ years ago. This does not jive with any scientific finding. Yet the WTS can't drop this teaching as easily. If Adam wasn't created 6,000 years ago, what happens to the ransom sacrifice of Jesus? Without Adamic sin, without an actual Adam, the story of Jesus dying as a ransom becomes just as big a myth as Adam's creation. So they have to hold onto Adam's creation and the date they've already attached to it, no matter how stupid it really is.
• 

  james_woods

  They have not officially retracted the 7,000 year day, they just don't go 'round talking about it anymore.

  Yes, thanks for the clarification - Undercover and Ucantnome. This was what I meant...the 7,000 year days are too closely associated with the failed 1914 - 1975 idea, and can no longer be directly taught as literal truth.

  As poster Terry said in another thread: You can argue all day long about some doctrinal things (soul, hell, trinity, cross) that are not provable anyway.

  But when you post a date and put all your so-called "logic" behind it - it is the achilles heel. It is too easy to logically disprove.
• 

  JW GoneBad

  Due to failed speculation the following quote from the Reasoning Book (pg 234 par 2) now requires major re-wording:

  "The present wicked system of things, which extends worldwide, entered its last days in 1914, and some, few, none of the generation alive then will also be on hand to witness its complete end in the 'great tribulation'.”
• 

  james_woods

  "The present wicked system of things, which extends worldwide, entered its last days in 1914, and MILLIONS, some, few, none of the generation alive then will also be on hand to witness its complete end in the 'great tribulation'.”

  LOL, JWgonebad. Note that I fixed it for you...