HELP! NEED INPUT/EXPERIENCES

by stevieb1 12 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  thinker

  Hi Stevie,
  

  They say that all worship alike in the organization yet many in Christendom, even in the same churches do not always believe the same even on such doctrines as the Trinity.

  Are they saying that ALL JW's believe the same? This is not true. The only difference is that other churches have the freedom to voice their different thoughts, while JW's must harbor their doubts privately.

  For a reference on church authority see the Feb. 1886 WT:

  "The church of our Lord Jesus Christ is composed of converted people only, and is of divine institution.

  Christ is the only Head of the church; and the Word of God the only rule of faith and practice.

  Every person who loves the Lord Jesus Christ, and who obeys the gospel of God our Saviour, is a member of his Spiritual Church, and entitled to a recognition as such by fellow members.

  There is but one church, of which Christ is the living head.

  When men affirm that something more than membership in the body of Christ is essential to membership in their religious organizations, they make it other than the church of Christ, and make themselves greater than the Lord, for they refuse to receive him whom they admit the Divine Master has accepted. (June 1, 1985 Watchtower, p30:
  2 Do you understand that your dedication and baptism identify you
  as one of Jehovah's Witnesses in association with God's spirit-
  directed organization?)

  The only division that is recognized by the divine word is a local division. All the members of this holy church who are found in a given locality, are the church of that place. They ought, indeed, to recognize and receive one another, but only as Christ has received them. In all things they ought to regard it as his church, that he alone can constitute membership, and that all whom he has accepted are for that reason to be recognized as members of his church in that place.

  Let all then who regard each other as members of the body of Christ, come together in any given place as the church of that place. Let the great object be in all cases, not the building up of an organization, but growth in grace and knowledge; let such local churches be in true fellowship with all of God's people; not because they hold to certain beliefs or are organized in a peculiar method, but because they belong to our common Lord.

  thinker
• 

  Dawn

  Hi Stevieb:

  I struggled with these same two issues a few years back when I was contemplating returning to the JW's.

  My husband gave me a great scenario on the issue of "unity" and it stuck with me - I think it makes good sense:

  1000 people are seated in an auditorium and shown a large blue/green colored block. They are all asked to write down it's color. How many variations would you have? (green, blue, aqua, aqua-marine, etc). The hosts of this function then stand up and announce that the block is GREEN. All those in the audience who do not agree that the block is GREEN are asked to leave.

  So who is left? 2 groups: (1) those who agree that the block is GREEN, and (2) those who don't agree but want to stay for some other reason - they keep their dissent quiet.

  Now the hosts again state that the block is GREEN - everyone LEFT in the room appear to be in agreement. Does that mean that they are right - the block is GREEN? Of course not - it only means that the people who didn't agree aren't in the room.

  See the similarity?

  As for the preaching work - the JW's believe they are the only ones doing the preaching work because they go from house-to-house. However, look at Matthew 24:14 a little closer - it says this good news would be preached in the whole world. It did not specify in what way. There are NUMEROUS churches who are actively involved in the preaching work - supporting missionaries, building orphanages, working with hospitals, providing counseling services, etc. In addition, there are many christians who "witness" in every day activities - to friends, neighbors, aquaintances, etc. I witness about the gospel quite often in informal settings. So JW's are not the only ones involved in the witnessing work - they're just the only ones that count their time!
• 

  anewperson

  Love: is it loving for them to go by the pedophile coverup policy etc?

  Unity: Colossians says LOVE is the greatest bond of union; unity is not the same as uniformity; they have a forced uniformity, not unity via love

  Preaching Fulfillment: Christianity at large has indeed fulfilled the great commission; name a land with no Christians at all, or even a continent? The WTS is also not the one true faith that Paul said exists for when it said it exists the WTS did not exist; but Christianity did; yes there's good, bad and mostly mediocre Christians but the true faith is Christianity in general