Preparing the jw mind to accept past evil technology
Weasel words and phrases
Speaking out of both sides of their mouths
Not name sources of quotes
So how is the WTS get
out of demonizing technology in an internet world in the past. This article and the next shows how
Even if their
message would be well-received everywhere,
how could they possibly take it
“to the most distant
part of the earth”?
(Acts 1:8)
Whatever concerns they may have
had, the disciples got busy preaching
the good news not only in Jerusalem
and Samaria but throughout
the then known
world. Although the disciples
experienced difficulties, within 30 years
the good news was being “preached
in all creation under heaven” and was
“bearing fruit and increasing in all the
world.” (Col. 1:6, 23)
The book Evangelism
in the Early Church
states: “Probably no period in the history
of the world was better suited to receive
the infant Church than the first
century AD . .
. By the second century
Christians . . . began to argue that it was
a divine providence which had prepared
the world
for the advent of Christianity.”
To what extent God
maneuvered
first-century
developments to make extensive
preaching work
possible, the Bible
does not say
But this much is certain:
Jehovah wanted the good news to
be preached, and Satan did not. In this
article, we will consider some factors
that may have made the preaching work
easier in the first century than it might
have been during other times in history.
In some ways, the first-century Roman
world brought benefits to Christians.
For instance, there was the Pax
Romana, or
Roman Peace.
For about 200 years from
the time of Jesus, however, the Mediterranean
world was comparatively
free of
strife. One reference book states
The common, or Koine, Greek language
helped to promote good communication
and unity among the Christian
congregations.
one reference work states: “So universal
is the Christian use of the codex
in the second century that its introduction
must date
well before A.D. 100.”
Roman law was in force throughout
the empire, and
Roman citizenship
offered valuable rights and immunities.
Paul made use of his Roman
citizenship
on several occasions
In some respects, Christians may
have found their evangelizing work easier
because Jewish communities were
scattered
throughout the Roman world.
Because the Jews were so widely
dispersed, many
non-Jews became familiar
with the Hebrew Scriptures
The Jews had established a pattern
of worship. They regularly
met together
in synagogues or at
open-air meeting
places. They sang
songs, prayed, and
discussed the
Scriptures. Similar
practices
are followed in Christian congregations
today.