WT Study for 2013/08/18 Jehovah's Generosity

by Bobcat 9 Replies latest watchtower bible

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  Bobcat

  For those who consider the WT Study:

  There is an interesting distortion in this WT lesson. Paragraphs 4 - 8 form a sub-topic entitled "Jehovah Is Generous."

  Paragraph 8 starts by saying, "Jehovah's most generous gift is available to everyone. What is it? The ransom sacrifice of his Son." This is followed by a quotation of John 3:16, "God loved the world so much that he gave his only-begotten Son . . ."

  The distortion is not so much in what the paragraph says, as in, what it does not say.

  If you do a search on the word "gift*" in the WT Library, and focus on the results from Acts thru Jude, so as to see how the Bible letter writers explained the results of God 'giving Jesus' (per John 3:16), you will see that the majority of references pertain to God's "gift" involving the giving of the Spirit, and the various sub-gifts (if you will) that result from receiving the Spirit, all of which comes from 'exercising faith' in Jesus.

  In a few instances "everlasting life" is described as the "gift." In a number of instances "undeserved kindness" (or "grace) is associated with "the gift of God." But by far, the most references to God's "gift" involve being given the Spirit, something the WT denies to the vast majority of JWs.

  It's like the WT first takes the "gift," removes the contents, and hands JWs the wrapper, and says, 'Here's your gift from God.'

  Here are some of the verses that resulted from my search of the WT Library:

  Acts 2:38, 39; 8:20; 10:45; 11:17

  Rom 3:24; 5:15-17; 6:23; 9:28-32; 12:6

  1Co chaps. 12-14

  Eph 2:8; 3:7; 4:7, 8

  Heb 6:4

  1Pe 4:10

  Edited to add:

  I re-thought that there might be a needed explanation concerning the Spirit being given. The WT does not deny that JWs can receive holy spirit as pre-Christian servants of God are sometimes described as having.

  They do deny that most JWs can receive it in the way the NT Bible writers were talking about it. As Galatians 3:14 (and context) alludes to, the gift of the Spirit involved being accepted into the New Covenant and, by relation to Jesus in faith, becoming part of "Abraham's seed." This, the WT most strongly denies to all but 144,000, stretching over a period from about 33 AD to present.
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  Ding

  Good examples of WT doublespeak.
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  WTWizard

  Generosity? As in expecting us to give up our souls to that thing so it can enslave the whole human race?
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  konceptual99

  I found the paragraph that stressed encouraging young ones to be trained to donate as their way of giving gifts pretty sickening. Let's not encourage them to help people, demonstrate practical charity or even do preaching/talks etc - just get 'em givin' to an organisation already awash with cash...
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  Saltheart Foamfollower

  So if all faithful ones were blessed, why were some so poor they could only afford some flour?

  The (not so) pure one
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  Listener

  Thanks Bobcat you make some interesting points, they want the r & f to think they have been given all that they need.
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  jookbeard

  deathbed disfellowshippings, lifetime of shunning from all immediate families, the harbouring a sexual predators, real loving stuff from The Jerkhoobah
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  Splash

  Bobcat: "exercising faith"

  Take a look at the interlinear to see how that ought to be translated - the surrounding verses have it correct numerous times.

  The word should be 'believes'.

  Splash
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  DATA-DOG

  Splash!!

  Good eye Bobcat. The lesson was really deceptive. Jehovah will protect his faithful servants. Hmmm, like the sister that had her face eaten off by a dog until a "worldly" man saved her? Couldn't the angels have directed her to another house, or stopped the mouths of the lions?! What about all the dubs killed on the way to a DC in a bus crash? What about Candice Conti? What about the sister that killed her passenger on the way to the Memorial, the most sacred night ever!! She missed the whole thing because she was in the ER! Where were the angels?! Where was her blessing for all her loyal years of service as a regular pioneer!?

  My favorite was how they twisted Matthew 16:22 to apply to slacking off in field service when you have limitations. All Jehovah wants is your best. We want to make sure that you know resting is bad. Don't get to thinking that you can judge what your best is, we will do that. The real sad thing is they took a scripture about Jesus' destiny and Peter's well-meaning but misplaced advice, and totally misapplied to placing literature, giving money, and resources to the WTBTS. Pretty disgusting.
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  DATA-DOG

  Oh yeah!! Speaking of being closed-fisted. The WTBTS just made $800 million dollars, but they can't fly volunteer workers to other countries. I know someone who may be asked to travel for some work at different WT facilities, but they have to pay their own way. The GB are soooo generous.