Would anyone agree that recent comments and changes to WT doctrine are designed to try and pull the rug out from under long established counter reasoning put forward by those the WT would consider apostates?
For example:
1 - Wrong expectations. The section in the recent WT, whilst not an apology, is apologist in it's tone and suggests that the WT society has just been doing the right thing by setting expectations.
Apostate: "You keep saying the end is coming and it still hasn't."
WT - "Well, our zeal in following Jesus may have prompted us to raise expectations too much but we are only doing what we are asked to do."
2 - Generations. The current teaching along with a reduced emphasis on dates suggests that the WT can easily argue that it is not setting a time limit on things even though it constantly preaches the nearness of the end.
Apostate: "We are well over what anyone would reasonably suggest a generation is since 1914."
WT - "Well, the bible clearly shows that it is not 70/80 years, but an overlapping generation. Regardless, we are not focused on a date just on the fact the end will come. In line with that we are maintaining our preaching work through these last days however long Jehovah allows them to continue."
3 - F&DS definition. The change to the doctrine about who the F&DS are reduces the impact of the growing number of anointed ones.
Apostate: "If we are close to the end of the last days, why has the number of anointed ones grown by 50% in 6 years?"
WT: "Well, it's up to individual's conscience if they partake and there is biblical proof that the gathering of the 144000 continues through the last days. Regardless, the critical thing is that it is the group of anointed responsible for dispensing the spiritual food at the proper time are doing that faithfully since these are the ones that Jesus has asked to do this work and will soon examine once again so as to appoint over all his belongings. The rest of those that claim a heavenly calling we shall just have to leave to Jehovah to examine directly."
4 - F&DS appointment. The doctrine that Jesus did not appoint the F&DS over his belongings in 1918/19 means that all the false teachings at that time are irrelevant.
Apostate: "So, given the WT were teaching just rubbish in the lead up to 1914-19, how exactly was Jesus able to appoint them over all his belongings?"
WT: "Well, the facts are that he did not. Right now the F&DS have the role of dispensing food at the proper time to his domestics. This, they are trying to do as faithfully as possible. As light gets brighter so the food changes at the proper time. Jesus will at a future point inspect the F&DS once again and we are confident that our prayers shall be answered and an appointment over his belongings shall be forthcoming. After all, no other organisation on earth is preaching the truth and pointing mankind to God's kingdom."
5 - 607. Tricky one this as the evidence is overwhelming that it's the wrong date but they have recently published an updated rebuttal which is convincing for those who want to believe it.
Apostate: "607 is a crock of the brown stuff".
WT: "No it's not. This was recently addressed in the WT and we shall always follow scriptual, Bible chronology even if it has not yet been validated by secular historians. No doubt the future shall bring a validation of the biblical facts but even if not we know we are showing faith in Jehovah's written word."
Apostate: "But all your rebuttals have been comprehensively debunked."
WT: "Only by apostates and we know that no faithful witness would even read such Satanic material let alone be swayed by such lies."
On top of all of these there are the silences in the publications about anthropology, archeology, geology, biology, chemistry etc. where science is constantly throwing evidence of the age of humankind and the development of the natural world around is that contradicts the Bible over and over again. All they do is promote the views of a few educated ones and emotive comparisons (e.g. "what do you think, could this amazing thing in nature really have come about through evolution") and make it sound as if you must be mad to accept anything scientific where is disagrees with the Bible.
Have the WT society undermined a number of core arguments that thinking ones have been considering?
...OUTLAW