Have the leaders of JWs ever said 'sorry'?

JWB

Well have they? Given that 'we are all imperfect and fall down many times' one would expect them to have made at least some mistakes since Rutherford founded the JW religion. As Christians are supposed to be humble, including those who 'would be great among you', should we not have seen evidence of this over such a long time period?

moggy lover

No.

Designer Stubble

This is the closest they came, following 1975:

*** w80 3/15 p. 17 par. 5 Choosing the Best Way of Life ***

5 In modern times such eagerness, commendable in itself, has led to attempts at setting dates for the desired liberation from the suffering and troubles that are the lot of persons throughout the earth. With the appearance of the book Life Everlasting—in Freedom of the Sons of God, and its comments as to how appropriate it would be for the millennial reign of Christ to parallel the seventh millennium of man’s existence, considerable expectation was aroused regarding the year 1975. There were statements made then, and thereafter, stressing that this was only a possibility. Unfortunately, however, along with such cautionary information, there were other statements published that implied that such realization of hopes by that year was more of a probability than a mere possibility. It is to be regretted that these latter statements apparently overshadowed the cautionary ones and contributed to a buildup of the expectation already initiated.

"It is to be regretted" is the best they could do FIVE years after the 1975 failure.

Now look at the NEW LIGHT in the July 15, 2013 WT - pushing aside a century of teachings - again not the slightest apology - just the comment that some "adjustments" are needed.

In contrast, look at this apology:

“We are acutely aware of the heavy legacy of our past. Our flawed doctrinal understanding clouded the plain gospel of Jesus Christ and lead to a variety of wrong conclusions and unscriptural practices. We have much to repent of and apologize for. We were judgmental and self-righteous – condemning other Christians, calling them “so called Christians” and labeling them “deceived” and “instruments from Satan”. We imposed on our members a works-oriented approach to Christian living. We required adherence to burdensome regulations of the Old Testament Code. We exercised a strongly legalistic approach to church government. Our former old covenant approach fostered attitudes of exclusivism and superiority rather than the new covenant teachings of brotherhood and unity. We overemphasized predictive prophecy and prophetic speculation, minimizing the true gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ. These teachings and practices are a source of supreme regret. We are painfully mindful of the heartache and suffering that has resulted from them. We’ve been wrong. There was never intent to mislead anyone. We were so focused on what we believed we were doing for God that we didn’t recognize the spiritual path we were on. Our hearts go out to all whom our teachings have misled in the scriptures. We don’t minimize your spiritual disorientation and confusion. We earnestly desire your understanding and forgiveness. We make no attempt to cover up the doctrinal and scriptural errors of our past. It is not our intention to merely paper over our cracks. We are looking our history squarely in the face and confronting the faults and sins we find. They will always remain part of our history, serving as a perpetual reminder of the dangers of legalism.

This apology titled “Forgive us our trespasses” can be found in the magazine “The Plain Truth Magazine” of the Worldwide Church of God, after the death of their longtime leader Herbert W. Armstrong.

This is something the Governing Body will never ever do. CULT Leaders!

mrquik

You will never get a heartfelt apology from the GB. They are well aware that their claim of being "Jehovah's channel" would evaporate should they have to admit they're only human after all. Once the rank & file realizes they've been following flawed opinions instead of the voice of Jah, the party would be over. Same goes for their preemptive move of claiming the be "the faithful & disreet slave." They know full well with the ranks of the anointed swelling, it would only be a matter of time before someone demanded a voice in doctrinal matters. In the end, it's all just business.

moshe

When the "new light' came out in 1980 about organ transplants (no longer cannibalism) I was bothered by the article- I asked the elders why the GB didn't say they were sorry for the previous (wrong) understanding that cost people there lives- don't they have blood guilt? You would have thought I was the enemy! They explained- the resurrection will fix everything! So no harm, no foul for the WT leaders. That is why they never say, we're sorry.

DATA-DOG

Sadly, they don't seem to be showing any indication of humility. The above apology was very sincere. It made no excuses. Real apologies to not use legalistic speech, or contain loopholes, or say, " I am sorry but YOU said this, or thought that, or misunderstood." The above was exactly what the WTBT$ should do. I have the desire to share that with family members should the opportunity arise.

wha happened?

AHHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHA!

ShirleyW

Re: Have the leaders of JWs ever said 'sorry'

Why of course the Borg has said they're sorry, many, many, many times, however the words they use to apologize are "new light"

rocketman

Designer Stubble, that's a great quote - and it could actually be used, virtually verbatim, to construct an apology by the Watchtower Society, since it covers most of what's wrong with the Witness religion, which also refers to others as "so-called Christians" and has clouded the gospel message with its own predictions and works-oriented approach.

Newly Enlightened

rolling on floor in hysterical laughter

Have the leaders of JWs ever said 'sorry'?

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