The WT has said that the only reason they don't kill non-believers is because of the laws of the land.
Okay.........Where?
by Cold Steel 81 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
The WT has said that the only reason they don't kill non-believers is because of the laws of the land.
Okay.........Where?
Im not an apologist by any stretch but
I'll see if I can find the article. I'm sure Blondie has it somewhere. It says something along those lines. Maybe not exactly worded that way. Keep in mind I believe it was a really old article.
*** w52 11/15 p. 703 Questions From Readers ***
We are not living today among theocratic nations where such members of our fleshly family relationship could be exterminated for apostasy from God and his theocratic organization, as was possible and was ordered in the nation of Israel in the wilderness of Sinai and in the land of Palestine. “Thou shalt surely kill him; thy hand shall be first upon him to put him to death, and afterwards the hand of all the people. And thou shalt stone him to death with stones, because he hath sought to draw thee away from Jehovah thy God, . . . And all Israel shall hear, and fear, and shall do no more any such wickedness as this is in the midst of thee.”—Deut. 13:6-11, AS.
Being limited by the laws of the worldly nation in which we live and also by the laws of God through Jesus Christ, we can take action against apostates only to a certain extent, that is, consistent with both sets of laws. The law of the land and God’s law through Christ forbid us to kill apostates, even though they be members of our own flesh-and-blood family relationship.
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But I get what you mean...........(added) but what if in the WTS earthly paradise....could the "scrolls" give humans the right to kill apostates?
Yes that's the one. Didn't remember the part about God's law being thrown in there.
Thank you Blondie!
Yes, forget to mention, thanks Blondie!
All religions have produced their share of fanatics, including that of the Watchtower. Also, in the scale of history, it wasn't that long ago that the so-called "Mainstream" Christian churches used to burn people at the stake for such offences as "heresy" (read apostasy) and witchcraft.
In its own way, burning at the stake is just as gruesome as stoning a person to death. Yet it was sanctioned by what we like to now call the "Mainstream" (i.e. not the lunatic fringe element type) Christian churches - and in the Western countries, which like to view themselves as the very pillars of "civilization."
To those who say "Come On!", and "Really", I am not so sure.
While I don't ever recall any elder making an outright statement that he would like to stone somebody to death, nothing would surprize me too much in this regard. I certainly knew all too many JWs of a fanatical enough frame of mind that they would have carried out the order if it had been issued.
As has often been noted:
"Good people will do good things, and bad people will carry out bad things. However, if you want to get good people to do bad things, just introduce the G.O.D. word into the equation!"
This applies to the JWs just as much as anybody else.
Bill.
Of course they would -- all of them. Disfellowshipping is a substitute for stoning in the cultural sense. Communities going through mimetic crises tend to locate a scapegoat -- who is always guilty -- and focus their hatred on him. JWs have never read the gospel, so they need this sort of cleansing. Stoning is just a more effective disfellowshipping.
I think that there was as Watchtower article that said something to the effect of " Mans law prevents us from killing apostates today, even though they my be our own family"
NJY