Blondie's Comments You Will Not Hear at the 02-09-2014 WT Study (QUICKLY SHAKEN)

by blondie 36 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  88JM

  It certainly did feel like the cognitive dissonance was turned up to "MAX" for this one.

  I couldn't believe some of the comments at the meeting here.

  In the very first paragraph, one brother mentioned "a Times newspaper article that said the witnesses had done a U-turn on blood transfusions, which was of course false..."

  Later in the study, the conductor said how "amazing that so much has changed in the past few months. If you hadn't come to the meetings in a few months you would feel like you didn't know anything."

  He also threw in his own extra question on some of the "new light", as Thessalonians was being discussed. He asked about the order of things with the cry of peace and security, destruction, and the final sealing of the anointed. No one put up their hand to answer it!

  However there was a bit of slightly "heated discussion" afterwards with a few brothers who couldn't even quite agree themselves on the order, and they seemed to be arguing whether there was a gap between the sealing of the anointed and them being taken to heaven, or whether it happened at the same time. One brother argued that if there was a gap, then that would perhaps give the anointed a chance to prove unfaithful, so they must happen at the same time. I don't think they realise they are supposed to believe in the rapture now!
• 

  DesirousOfChange

  PAR #8: ". . . how much more would that be true of ones who were veering toward apostasy! Yes, close association with such individuals back then was especially dangerous and was to be avoided—and that is also true today."

  VEERING TOWARD APOSTASY -- What the heck is that?

  Prob someone who dares to ask any (critical) question.

  Never, never question God's Channel.

  Doc
• 

  Socrateswannabe

  I think paragraph 2 might have been accidentally omitted from your excellent summary. This paragraph was the one I found to be most odious:

  "Misleading statements and outright lies about Jehovah's servants and their beliefs are sometimes featured in the media. Newspaper headlines, televison documentaries, and Internet Web pages are used to propagate untruths. As a result, some people become disturbed, gullibly believing such lies."

  These guys are the ultimate spin doctors. If people who believe what they read in the media are gullible, what word can be used to describe those who believe what they read in the pages of the Watchtower? I'm not sure there's a word for that.
• 

  carla

  Thanks Blondie.
• 

  blondie

  Thanks all.

  #2 & #3 was imbedded in error in the material below #1.

  2 Misleading statements and outright lies about Jehovah’s servants and their beliefs are sometimes featured in the media. Newspaper headlines, television documentaries, and Internet Web pages are used to propagate untruths. As a result, some people become disturbed, gullibly believing such lies.

  3. What can help us to counteract deception?

  3 To counteract this demoralizing tactic of our enemy, we are grateful that we have God’s Word, which is “beneficial . . . for setting things straight.” (2 Tim. 3:16) It is significant that we learn from the apostle Paul’s writings that some Christians in first-century Thessalonica had been misled, accepting what was untrue. He exhorted them “not to be quickly shaken from [their] reason.” (2 Thess. 2:1, 2) What lessons can be learned from Paul’s loving admonition, and how can we apply these to our situation?
• 

  Frazzled UBM

  This WT study really is cult- mind control 101:

  - don't use critical thinking otherwise you will lose your hope of everlasting life (fear)

  - the enemy (Satan) is trying to deceive us so be on your guard against people who use critical thinking (fear again)

  - don't drift away - i.e. keep going to the KH to be indoctrinated (guilt)

  - spend as much time as possible in servide (guilt)

  - only associate with those who accept WBTS indoctrination (guilt)

  In summary avoid doing anything that might cause you even remotely to start thinking for yourself rather than accept WBTS indoctrination uncritically
• 

  Xanthippe

  Do they ever talk about anything else in the Watchtower these days apart from avoiding apostates? Seems to be their only subject either directly or indirectly. They are terrified of us Thanks Blondie, it's all good.
• 

  BluesBrother

  "Avoid Being Quickly Shaken From Your Reason" 2 Thess 2.2

  Well it was not "quickly " with me - took 40 years to realise it was falsehood ! Incidentally the Greek word that Paul used for "reason" was "nous" (anglicised) It was translated "mind" in KJV & Vine's comments as follows:

  "mind," denotes, speaking generally, the seat of reflective consciousness, comprising the faculties of perception and understanding, and those of feeling, judging and determining"

  They are all qualities that the WTS seeks to suppress in it's followers. It prefers blind obedience to perception and judging.....

  Paragraph 2 was a clever piece of damage control :

  2 Misleading statements and outright lies about Jehovah’s servants and their beliefs are sometimes featured in the media. Newspaper headlines, television documentaries, and Internet Web pages are used to propagate untruths. As a result, some people become disturbed, gullibly believing such lies.

  That statement is not untrue in itself. We know that false statements have appeared, but does that mean that every criticism may be brushed off as "another apostate lie"? Not if they were honest.....At the meeting yesterday the anecdotal stories all came out, about dodgy websites and twisted journalists. The result is that genuine scandals like the U N association and child abuse settlements in court are just not believed.

  Para 6

  ....The apostle pinpointed the reason for this judgment on them; it was that “they did not accept the love of the truth.” (2 Thess. 2:3, 8-10 ) We do well to ask ourselves: ‘How much do I love the truth? Do I keep up-to-date with our present understanding as set out in the pages of this magazine and other Bible-based publications provided for the worldwide congregation of God’s people?’

  Hmm. If one loves "the truth", should not the primary reading be of The Bible itself, rather than the simplified everchanging products of Brooklyn?? Actually this is symptomatic of constant blurring of the WTS publications and The Scriptures themselves. We used to have a clear demarcation that The Bible was "gospel" and the Society's stuff was purely an aid, and we read it as something written by our brothers...Nowadays the flock are being trained to see it as all the same and of equal importance..

  An elder commented yesterday that "just as the first century Christians had epistles from Paul, so we have regular issues of The Watchtower" . I find that disgusting, if one appreciates The Scriptures !

  If you have read George Orwell's "Animal Farm" you will know what I mean when I say that the "pigs" are starting to walk on their hind legs......
• 

  Frazzled UBM

  If the WBTS and the rank file loved the truth and actually undertsood what that word meant then the WBTS wouldn't exist!
• 

  AnnOMaly

  The first two paragraphs alone got my back up and I couldn't continue. 'The media and internet tell untruths about JWs and deceive the gullible.' What about the WT publications with their own loyal readership?

  God's Kingdom Has Approached (1973) chap. 17 p. 353-4 par. 45-47 The “Slave” Who Lived to See the “Sign”

  The eight-day general convention held at Cedar Point, Ohio, on September 1-8, 1919, was a notification to all the world that the invisibly present Lord Jesus Christ was regathering his faithful “sheep.” It indicated to the world who it was that the returned Lord Jesus had found to be his “faithful and discreet slave” class. This made the “slave” class happy. It meant their being retained in the service of their heavenly Master. ...

  ... APPOINTED OVER ALL THE MASTER’S BELONGINGS

  47 The Lord Jesus pronounced the “faithful and discreet slave” happy because of what awaited him as a reward for his doing as his master appointed him to do. He gets a promotion, with larger responsibilities toward the master to whom he is so faithful. ...

  Never true, either under the old understanding (even the Bible Students knew nothing about a slave 'class' until 1927) or the new one (there was never a promotion in 1919). Which category for this one? Hoax? Scam? Deception? Lie?

  Organized to Do Jehovah's Will (2005), p. 18

  WHY TRUST "THE FAITHFUL AND DISCREET SLAVE"

  There are many reasons to have complete trust in the slave class. First and foremost, Jesus has appointed them over all his precious "belongings." This is a clear indication that he has complete trust in them. [italics in the original]

  Not true. Which category? Hoax? Scam? Deception? Lie?

  w11 11/1 p. 28 When Was Ancient Jerusalem Destroyed?—Part Two

  [N. 18a on VAT 4956] ... Though the cuneiform sign for the moon is clear and unambiguous, some of the signs for the names of the planets and their positions are unclear. (Mesopotamian Planetary Astronomy—Astrology, by David Brown, published 2000, pages 53-57) Because of this, the planetary observations are open to speculation and to several different interpretations.

  Not true. Brown's reference indicates otherwise. Both WT articles are peppered with various untruths and misrepresentations of the facts. 607 BCE as the date of Jerusalem's fall by Nebuchadnezzar is demonstrably untrue. So which category do these WT articles fall into? Hoax? Scam? Deception? Lie?

  g94 11/8 p. 10 The Real Significance of 1914

  AS INDICATED on page 4, “this magazine builds confidence in the Creator’s promise of a peaceful and secure new world before the generation that saw the events of 1914 passes away.”

  No doubt many of our readers find that statement surprising. ...

  ... This time of the end is, however, to be a relatively short period—stretching over one generation. (Luke 21:31, 32) The fact that we are now 80 years beyond 1914 indicates that we can soon expect the deliverance that God’s Kingdom will bring.

  'Creator's promise'? The one generation who actually saw the events of 1914 would not pass away? The same generation that's now dead? How short is 'short'? 20 years? 100?

  Which category would this fall into? Hoax? Scam? Deception? Lie?

  These are a mere sampling. Before damning the media and internet (or 'apostate' boogeymen) for any real or perceived untruths, first get your own house in order, Watchtower!