Idolatry....Do the JW's do it?

Tammie

Now please bear with me on this. I came across this information in a book. I'm not trying to preach to anyone, but just wanted to share with you all what I learned (and some that I already knew). When we all was JW's, they talked a lot about this subject, of Idolatry. But with what I came across, it made me kinda wonder if they are doing it themselves.

We all know, that we are not to make or to worship idols. But how many really gave thought about it? Not I, well at least until now. We are all very familiar with Jesus words at Matt. 6:24 "No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You can not serve two masters. We was also taught to be on guard, so that we don't get sidetrack from God.
But think about this. What about something, that becomes so important to us that we loose site of God? Basically what is more important. Here is a question that every Jehovah's Witness should ask them selves. Do you love preaching about your God more than you love God about whom you preach? So when a good thing becomes overly important to us, it becomes our possession. We get so excited about it that we worship ourselves rather than the Lord. That sin can and will destroy the ministry's effectiveness.
Now just bear with me a little longer. Do you get terribly upset when other don't come to your place of religion, or that people don't share your vision? That my dear person, is IDOLATRY. You are probley asking why do I say that. It is because if you think like that, you are putting yourself as a god, because people don't worship at your place of worship.

This part got me to thinking on when the JW's shun former members when they leave the orgization. There was so much more on this subject, but I did not want to make it so long it would be boring to you.

The truth can never be hurt by a lie,
but a lie can be exposed by the truth.

KistByQpid

Absolutely. Why else can they NOT separate the Watchtower from Jehovah himself. The Watchtower is an organization...but they follow it's directives...and go to great lengths to protect "it". They serve "it" but is "it" God? No. There seems to be a great intellectual dishonesty when it comes to idolatry.

Introspection

Yep. Funny enough, I actually thought of this when I was still a witness with the whole energy is matter stuff, though I didn't know much else. But yes I've come to the same conclusion, people tend to stick to their ideas about God more than God, it's about faith in what you think (your *beliefs* etc) rather than faith in God. A person that has no theology can have more faith in God than someone with elaborate ideas of what they think God is.

I think there's a more fundamental principle involved here, which is that people tend to focus on and stick to certain things to the exclusion of others. (which can be totally fictional and exist only in their mind) Now that's fine, in practical everyday life you have to be selective with your attention. But frankly it's just a matter of being narrow minded, if you don't consider new ideas as is the case with most JWs pretty soon your ability to think starts to collapse too. How many of us have seen how JWs just shut down when they can't answer what is basically a simple, logical question?

"Ours goes to 11."

Billygoat

Tammie,

That's an interesting quote. Gives some good points. Who was it?

Andi

Nowfree

They also treat individuals like Circuit Overseers like gods.

I remember all the running around, panicking, making sure everything was in order. All the report cards uptodate. Everyone out in field service and at meetings for that one week. Everyone answering up at the meetings. And why?

Just because it was the CO visit.

Don't they realise that, if God exists (and i am not going into that one), that he would see everything that goes on ALL THE TIME??

They miss the whole point.

Nowfree

Tammie

Billygoat,
I got the information from a book named
The Ten Commandments
Playing by the Rules
by Stuart Briscoe

The truth can never be hurt by a lie,
but a lie can be exposed by the truth.

AlanF

Most JWs do indeed commit idolatry in their virtual worship of the Society.

This is easy to see by comparing the responses a JW will give to someone who at the door questions the truthfulness of God to someone who questions the truthfulness of the Watchtower Society. Most JWs will calmly reply to the first, but will get rather upset at the second.

It's even easier to see if the questioner is a current JW. Let a JW tell another JW that he's having serious problems believing in God, and the response will usually be fairly calm, and the person will try to help the other with his problem of faith. But let the questioner express doubt in the Governing Body, and there'll usually be hell to pay. The questioner will usually quickly hear from the elders, who will concentrate on one further question: "Do you believe that the Governing Body represents the 'faithful slave' and is giving you spiritual food?" or something like that.

I have no doubt at all that a large fraction of JWs would kill others if the Governing Body instructed them to do so in just the right way. I don't doubt that a large fraction would quit worshiping Jehovah and start worshiping Jesus -- as long as the Society told them in just the right way.

I think that most JWs are extremely ambivalent in their deep-down assessment of the Watchtower role in their faith. It's this ambivalence that produces the fear that in turn produces the extremely strong emotional reaction from questioning "Mommy" but not "Daddy" -- JWs have no deep-down doubts that God exists but have plenty that the GB represents God. This fear of having their innermost doubts exposed to the world, and most of all to themselves, along with a desire to be seen as faithful to the JW organization by other JWs in order to maintain their social world, produces the seemingly contradictory response of the typical JW to questioning JW leaders. It's contradictory because it's based on fear of lack of faith in a group of humans rather than righteous indignation. It's idolatrous because it's putting fear of men ahead of fear of God.

AlanF

compton

They block Jehovahs spirit by setting up that Oganisation trying to stop you from reaching
Jehovah, thats what idolatry is. It was not always like that, there were times when you were free
Its quite wicked.its been very subtle" Remember Jesus said the Devil will do miracles that will
decieve the very elect if that were possible" You have to be awake to see it! its a form of thought control.

compton

Let me say that Ray Franz's book will help you. He exposed the GB and remember Christ
Jesus is head of the christian congregation and he is the one who gave his
life that you may live,and every person is going to be examined individually.

Tammie

Yes, I got to read Ray Franz's book a few months back. It just amazes me how a few who are actually crupted can stay in power. I guess that was why they kick out Ray Franze and the others he mentioned. I told my husband, that I felt like God had taken his Holy Sprit away from that orgization, because of the crupted ones who is in power. That is if they ever had it.

The truth can never be hurt by a lie,
but a lie can be exposed by the truth.

Idolatry....Do the JW's do it?

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