by ilikecheese 73 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Hello there Yadda Yadda
Jehovah's witnesses prey upon the householders usin' a
Hook ( A question ) Line (from the Bible) and sinker ( Appearance of havin' all the answers )
When I obtained and read the things in thier own literature that showed a contradiction to the Bible
they had no answers. They always promised to come back to answer
these things. And they never do
Only one sister came back, and still failed to have an answer
I give her credit for tryin'
.
We're not there to debate with householders.
We're searching for Jehovah's lost sheep.
If you don't want to serve Jehovah with us, then you're not who we're looking for....a watcher
Here is a more Truthfull Description:
We're not there to debate how full of shit we are.
We're searching for Suckers.
If you don't want to peddle WBT$ Crap with us, then you're not who we're looking for.
.............................
...OUTLAW
In my experience the vast majority of J-dubs don't expect or don't even want to engage in lenghty conversations. They are so used to the " Hi, isn't the world bad? Here is a magazine. Ok bye" script that most are really taken aback when someone actually starts debating them.
Whenever i open the door and actually engage them, they usually look at me with a blank stare as if thinking " is this guy actually asking me questions?". Then as someone said here, they are completely not prepared to answer anything aside from the very basics and more often than not, most conversations end with " let me find the answer and return next week."
I know that when i was preaching, i really just wanted someone to take my magazines and leave me alone. I didn't want to debate anybody. In fact when someone showed interested, i tried to get this person to a meeting, so that the meeting would do all the work in converting.
Retention being what it is, the Society risks losing its missionaries by people who know the scriptures.
Back in the 70s and early 80s, many JWs knew their stuff and were fairly interesting to talk with. That's all changed. Now if they can't answer questions, they bring elders and then they shut up and let the elders pontificate.
The Watchtower now is the main canon of the Society. Studying the Bible too carefully without proper supervision and guidance can result in people leaving the faith. That's why active JWs are forbidden to read the tracts and literature of other religions. It's easier to retain people if the Society controls the things they read and watch, the people they associate with and the limits of education they receive. Rebellion can be nipped in the bud by turning one's family against a recalcitrant member and threatening him with extermination by his God. They do this because it works. Scientologists and other groups do the same thing.
What is so weird is, when I was a JW going door to door
I had no idea what I was talking about, type antitype, 144000,
Harlots, paradise earth and etc. Hell if I didn,t know what I was talking
about how could the householder understand. But know, I could stand
at the door for hours and discuss the bible. The problem I have gone
past the crazy teaching of the WT and I would end up talking about
the lunacy of some of the bible stories.
It,s funny how that work out, from declaring myself to be an expert
on the bible as a JW (not knowing do do) and now to able to hold my ground
with any theologian. And guess what, this is without God,s Holy Spirit.
They don't want to talk to me because I always tell them, "You may be sincere but you're in a cult. Go look it up on the internet." Of course, they won't do it openly but you never know what seeds of doubt you can plant.
Outlaw, I've missed you. Love you, man!
I've been on a sabbatical from JWD for awhile because it makes me depressed sometimes.
Here's an abbreviated answer to your opening question from my historical perspective (your mileage may vary):
Long ago, back when Chuck Russell was still around and doing his jellyfish thing with all the babes, Chuckie was cheesed over the fact that he wasn't triumphing over his opponents in his once-famous "public Debates," so Chuck issued a general order to all his "Pilgrims" (salesmen) that it was a waste of time to debate religious foes.
One of Chuckie's boys, Joey "Da Judge" Rutherford, gets this smart idea in April 1915 and decides that he will ignore Chuck's standing order and go out to California to debate Baptist preacher J. H. Troy over four nights before an audience of 12,000. Rutherford got his ass kicked and when he returned to Brooklyn Bethel he found Chuck rather displeased with the mega-flop and Rutherford began the oblivion spiral. Then on Halloween Russell recieved his reward and Joey's friends in Bethel called him back to Bethel to stage his coup.
"Say 'Hello' to my little fr'ends" he is reported to have said as he pointed to his trousers.
I was...disappointed with the so-called "Bible Study" I received. It usually went like this:
"Okay, if you'll read to us the first paragraph under the heading, 'Where Are the Dead?'...."
Sigh. I read it out loud. "Many people believe that when they die, their spirits will depart their bodies to go to Heaven or Hell. But the Bible clearly teaches that such beliefs are wrong."
I then pause, then say, "Uhhh...I think...."
"So what does the Bible clearly say about such beliefs?"
"Well, I don't think they go to Heaven or Hell, but I believe they go to either a temporary place of rest to await the resurrection, or to a remedial place of torment...."
"...Yeah, that's interesting. But what does the Bible clearly say about such beliefs?"
"Ummm...that they're wrong?"
"Yes, now if you'll read the next two paragraphs."
That's a Bible Study???
This I my opinion could be expanded to anyone on the low educated on the right (not all conservatives fit this but pretty much most of them now)
It used to be back in the day conseratives put up good intellectual debate points but as time went on and more evidence debunked those points and they failed to come with new ones. The right slowly fell into using two of the oldest and least civilised but rather sucessful debate techniques; demonizing and denial.
Demonize your opponet so that anything they say will instantly be rejected by the masses. No matter how credible it is.
Deny you are wrong no matter how obvious it is that you are wrong. Becuase remember your opponent is in with the devil.So the right, must be right, no matter what.
Here in the U.K it is now rare to find a householder who wishes to debate religion, most have scant knowledge of the Bible, and even less interest.
The Education Minister has tried to revive interest in the Bible by pushing the KJV, providing copies for Schools, but that is probably as much a waste of time as when we were given a KJV as we left school nigh on 50 years ago.
I think his motive is more that the language of the KJV is the basis of modern English, especially many idioms, not so much for the religious merits of the book.
JW's here are generally not equipped to even explain WT teachings, let alone what the Bible says, and are finding it harder and harder to generate a flicker of interest in an increasingly secular population, the exception being immigrants who have a grasp of the Bible.
When I see groups of JW's off (slowly) to do some knocking, I actually feel sorry for them, what a waste of time and their lives.
