The Watchtower Society Tells Us To Not Look At Older Publications

by God_Delusion 23 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

• 

  kurtbethel

  I had a JW try to pull that nonsense on me, so I showed him these items from the Watchtower.

  Should JW's look into older publications?
  
  *** w57 5/15 p. 313 Appreciating Basic Christian Publications ***
  
  Their zeal for knowledge may even prompt them to dig back into things that were published long before they came into the truth, expanding and deepening their understanding, and ever growing in Christian maturity. Do you dig into our older publications to expand and deepen your knowledge on subjects about which questions arise? Have you really studied these earlier publications? How is your background of knowledge? Never think: "Oh, I know most of that." For you will find, indeed, that you do not and that you will be strengthened by your additional study...once you have completed your study of them you can then look to even older publications. Only by studying earlier publications and digging back through previous issues of The Watchtower kept in the library at your local Kingdom Hall. There is much in the way of spiritual riches and aid toward mature knowledge in these earlier publications, and their study is most certainly worth your time."
  
  
  *** km 11/02 p. 2 Very Good Reading! ***
  
  Would you not agree that the following titles of past Watchtower articles sound like very good reading?
  
  “God Knows and Protects His Own”
  
  “Progress Toward Taming the Tongue”
  
  “When Christianity Went Underground”
  
  “Preaching Effectively at the Doors”
  
  “Answering the Question, Are You Saved?”
  
  These articles and scores of others appeared in The Watchtower during the years 1951 and 1952. Are they too old for us to benefit from them now? Far from it! You can still obtain Watchtower bound volumes in English for the years 1951 and 1952. (Some English bound volumes for the years 1953 through 1959 are also available.) Any publishers who desire these Watchtower bound volumes may now request them through the congregation literature servant.
  
  The Theocratic Ministry School overseer should check to see if any bound volumes are missing from the Kingdom Hall library and order accordingly.
  
  
  *** be p. 31 par. 3 Study Is Rewarding ***
  
  In addition to this, some have wisely invested time in studying some of our Christian publications that were printed prior to their learning the truth.

  Then I asked him, should I accept his counsel on the matter, or the counsel of the Watchtower?

  
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  St George of England

  The following is a reminder from the KM Benefit book about changes:

  If you are considering using current events or material from the ever-changing fields of science or medicine, make sure that the information is up-to-date. Realize, too, that some points in older publications of ours may have been updated, so consider what has most recently been published on the topic.

  There is a special need to be cautious if you choose to compile information from secular sources. Never forget that God’s Word is truth. (John 17:17) Jesus occupies the key role in the fulfillment of God’s purpose. Therefore, Colossians 2:3 says: “Carefully concealed in him are all the treasures of wisdom and of knowledge.” Evaluate the fruits of your research from that perspective. With regard to secular research, ask yourself: ‘Is this material exaggerated, speculative, or shortsighted? Was it written with a selfish or commercial motive? Do other authoritative sources agree with it? Above all, does it harmonize with Bible truth?

  I like the bit about secular sources!!

  George
• 

  DesirousOfChange

  The greatest Wt. Theologian Fred Franz who mislead us all with 1975 is now just 'Old Light'

  Designs -- Now THAT is funny. I remember when he was idolized as the most indepth and educated speaker at Dist Convs.

  Doc
• 

  blondie

  Not read older publications, but the WT-CD has WTs back to 1950 (62 years a go), and other books and magazines back to 1970. Bethel continues to have older publications in their libraries and gives Bethelites access to them. I was once told by a non-jw that the WTS had ordered jws to get rid of the book The Way to Paradise written by Van Amburgh (WTS board of directos) written in 1924. I found copies in the KH library, 3 family libraries, and in the library at Brooklyn Bethel.

  Many congregations were formed after 1950 and so don't have older publications before that unless an older jw dies and donates them to the KH. In some cases older publications were not meant to last 50 to 75 years, or not many were published originally compared to the number of jws today that might want them in their library.

  *** km 4/11 p. 3 Use Them Rather Than Store Them ***

  Many congregations have accumulated a supply of older publications. Why not obtain copies for your personal theocratic library? Of course, likely you already have access to the contents of some of these older publications in Watchtower Library. However, there are benefits to having a hard copy too. Are you studying with a progressive Bible student? Then encourage him to obtain these older publications and begin building his personal library. The Theocratic Ministry School overseer should make sure that the Kingdom Hall library contains any older publications that the congregation has in stock. These publications still have value. It is better for us to make use of them than to leave them at the congregation’s literature counter!

  ---------------------

  And the other side of their mouth:

  Why you should encourage Jehovah's Witnesses to read their older literature!
  Use this in your witnessing to Witnesses!

  Watchtower May 15, 1957 pp.313-315 Appreciating Basic Christian Publications:
  …Their zeal for knowledge may even prompt them to dig back into things that were published long before they came into the truth, expanding and deepening their understanding, and ever growing in Christian maturity. Do you dig into our older publications to expand and deepen your knowledge on subjects about which questions arise? Have you really studied these earlier publications? ... How is your background of knowledge? ... Never think: "Oh, I know most of that." For you will find, indeed, that you do not and that you will be strengthened by your additional study.... once you have completed your study of them you can then look to even older publications.... Only by studying earlier publications and digging back through previous issues of The Watchtower kept in the library at your local Kingdom Hall. There is much in the way of spiritual riches and aid toward mature knowledge in these earlier publications, and their study is most certainly worth your time.

  or

  *** w85 6/15 p. 12 par. 18 Digging Deeper Into God’s Word ***But that does not relieve each individual Christian of the responsibility to dig deeper into God’s Word, for the purpose of getting the full depth of the thoughts explained. This involves looking up the scriptures cited. It means reading the footnotes in Watchtower articles, some of which refer the reader to an older publication that provides a fuller explanation of a certain passage or prophecy. It requires digging deeper, putting forth effort to locate that older publication and then studying the pages referred to. It consists of making full use of specialized Bible study aids that the “slave” class has made available over the years, such as indexes, concordances, Aid to Bible Understanding, and “All Scripture Is Inspired of God and Beneficial.” Yes, Christians have been provided with excellent digging tools, the latest of which is the new English-language Reference Bible, which, in time, will be available in a number of other languages. Let us use these digging tools to good advantage.
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  Quendi

  The best statement the WTS has made about whether Witnesses should read, consult, or study the older publications can be seen in the Watchtower Library CD and the online Watchtower Reference library. The former has the publications going back to 1950 (in the case of The Watchtower) and the latter only to 2000. “Clearly”, as the WTS would like to say, they don’t want people to have access to the older material.

  The reason is plain because anyone reading it and comparing what they say to what is put forward today would conclude that holy spirit has nothing to do with doctrinal development among Jehovah’s Witnesses, that the “new light” is nothing of the sort.

  Quendi
• 

  ziddina

  Marking....

  I wish I was as knowledgable regarding the specific examples of Watchtower double-speak as Blondie and many others on-board...

  [Well, maybe not. That would involve a LOT of reading - of material that didn't set well with me in the first place!]

  However, I've seen - in past posts - clear examples of Watchtower double-speak. Blondie brought out a few; I've got some REALLY old material - but it's more likely that one would find such references in the old Rutherford literature, especially as he rooted out all Russellites from Bethel.

  Around 1920 - 1950, I suppose.

  Oh, and post-1975 debacle, too... Might find some comments to that effect in the late 70's - early 80's.

  Wish I could have been more helpful...

  Zid
• 

  Jeffro

  The Watch Tower Society is, foremost, a publishing company. It is fairly predicable that they would want members to pick up the 'older publications' that remain in stock. Although the publications are free 'without charge', most JWs are fairly well trained to 'donate' for the publications. And even a little bit of revenue is better than having old stock laying around.

  On the other hand, people aren't going to make a donation every time they jump on the web-based library. It may be too early to tell if the new web-based library will not add older publications later. In any case, it's in their interests to provide publications online that JWs are still ordering, because it lowers the demand for printing as many physical publications. But there's not much benefit in adding publications that are otherwise out of print or that no one wants.
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  Billy the Ex-Bethelite

  Logically, it would be reasonable to conclude that reading Pastor Russell's Studies in the Scriptures would be the course of true wisdom!

  Anybody like a side of pyramidology with your old light?
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  cobaltcupcake

  There may not have been a formal declaration not to read older publications, but I do remember that when the CD-ROM library came out there was something said about the fact that it went back only to 1950, and that indicated that it might be "confusing" to read older pub's.

  The reason this stands out is that I was somewhat offended by that. Here we had a KH library stuffed with books from Millenial Dawn and onward, but we were told not to read them.

  The greatest Wt. Theologian Fred Franz who mislead us all with 1975 is now just 'Old Light'

  Designs -- Now THAT is funny. I remember when he was idolized as the most indepth and educated speaker at Dist Convs.

  Doc

  And holy cow, he also had the worst voice for speaking. I heard him at the 1978 International Assembly. Very thin, reedy voice, difficult to listen to. I think he said something then that condemned disco music. Or maybe that was another talk.

  http://scottleblog.wordpress.com

  The Odd Life of Jehovah's Witnesses
• 

  BluesBrother

  cobaltcupcake...F Franz " Very thin, reedy voice, difficult to listen to. "

  Nah, I think not. I heard him several times back in the day and his voice was booming and powerful, STRESSing EVERY other WORD ! At first it made you sit up but the rhythmic monotony did send you to sleep after a while.

  I doubt that he knew or cared what disco was. The bubble he lived in was just books and language and stuff

  BTW, my wifes congo has a decent collection of C T Russell's books I have never been criticized for reading them . The library is a good place to lurk until the song starts