False premise/ self-contradiction / intellectual dishonesty / Willful stupidity = Watch Tower anointing

by Terry 10 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Terry

  We've all heard the true story.

  William Miller, a Baptist lay preacher and war hero, carefully worked out the 2nd coming of Jesus using the Bible and chronology.

  He was invited to speak and explain his warnings and proof in many churches. Tens of thousands heard and believed and waited.

  NOTHING HAPPENED. The great big nothing was called "The Great Disappointment."

  End of story--right? WRONG!

  ****

  A young man named Charles T. Russell looked at the embarassing failure as a GOOD thing!

  C.T. Russell framed the failure of 1844 to bring what Miller had predicted in an entirely different context!! It is stunning to read Russell's words:

  "But, notwithstanding the disappointment, (Miller's) movement had its DESIGNED EFFECTS- of awakening an interest in the subject of the Lord's coming, and of casting reproach upon the subject by reason of mistaken expectations. We say designed effects because without a doubt the hand of the Lord was in it."

  Did you read that?? (Thy Kingdom Come 1891) Read on..........

  "...we recognize that movement as being in God's order and as doing a very important work in the separating, purifying, refining, and thus making ready, of a waiting people prepared for the Lord."

  "...it has ever since served to test and prove the consecrated...it was the beginning of the right understanding of Daniel's visions, and at the right time to fit the prophecy."

  ****

  Are you able to follow that reasoning by Pastor Russell?

  1.Miller was wrong about the facts and details and it brought reproach on the entire subject of end times prophecy. BUT THE IMPORTANT THING IS THAT IT DREW ATTENTION to end times prophecy and that is a good thing! This is the most extreme example of cognitive dissonance I've ever seen.

  A bad thing really is a GOOD thing!

  2.God designed his Kingdom coming to be made public BY MEANS OF FALSE PROPHECY in the following way:

  A. Miller would get people's attention by incorrectly predicting the event.

  B. The consecrated (true)Christian would have his faith tested by believing and being disappointed in the false prediction

  C.It would call attention to the fact that a genuine prophecy needed to be discovered in an accurate manner.

  D. The right prediction would be made and come to pass as a result of all the above.

  ****

  Wow!

  If you have ever doubted the sanity of C.T.Russell it is now the time to contemplate that fact.

  BUT BE AWARE---this thinking has never left the core of the JW mentality!

  In effect, it is a double standard of logical illogic. It is down the rabbit hole and in a Wonderland where everything is topsy-turvy.

  There is no such thing as "false prophecy" when it comes from Jehovah's select few (they "reason") because he is using them to set up

  readiness and a focused awareness of what really will happen eventually.

  Compare this to the story of the Little Boy Who Cried "Wolf" A constant warning followed by a non-event dulls the awareness and actually creates the opposite effect intended.

  ****

  One more example of particular language of certainty in a more recent venue:

  1968: "During WWI, God's people expected it to lead directly into Armageddon (notice they don't say exactly "why") but Jehovah prevented such a climax at that time. We didn't succumb to such an expectation during WWII." (Kingdom Ministry Jan 68)

  1942: "The Watchtower does not consist of men's opinions" (WT Jan 1 1945)

  1943: "This is not giving any credit to the magazine's (Watchtower's) publishers, but is due to the great Author of the Bible with its truths and prophecies, and WHO NOW INTERPRETS its prophecies. He it is that makes possible the material that is PUBLISHED IN THE COLUMNS OF THIS MAGAZINE.." (WT April 15 1943)

  1968: "True, there have been those (Who??) in times past who predicted an "end" to the world, even announcing a specific date. yet nothing happened. The "end" did not come. They (WHO??) were GUILTY OF FALSE PROPHESYING. WHY? What was missing? Miss from such people were God's truths and the evidence that He was using and guiding them...BUT WHAT ABOUT TODAY? Today we have the EVIDENCE required, ALL OF IT."

  ****

  ASTONISHING, ISN'T IT?

  Here is the same mindset as C.T. Russell demonstrated and the same (non) reasoning and (ill) logic.

  Any body OTHER than the Watchtower who makes a prediction that falls flat as an obvious non-event and error identifies themselves as a FALSE PROPHET. But, when the Watchtower does it --it means just the opposite! It means he is using them to accomplish his will be demonstrating they are EAGER for God's prophecy to come true!!

  A double standard.

  A false premise.

  A self-contradiction.

  Intellectual dishonesty.

  ****

  “STRONG BIBLE EVIDENCE concerning the Times of the Gentiles, we consider it an ESTABLISHED TRUTH the final end of the kingdoms of this world, and the full establishment of the Kingdom of God, will be accomplished at the end of A.D. 1914..." (Time Is At Hand 1908)

  Contrast the above statement with the one below....

  1914: "We did not say positively that this would be the year." (WT Nov 1 1914)

  ****

  What may we conclude other than willful stupidity is the foundation corner stone of Watch Tower theology?
• 

  FatFreek 2005

  Miller was so important to Watch Tower that he was referred to in its pages as Father Miller till the mid 1920s. And to think we used to jump all over Catholics at the door for addressing priests that way.

  Len
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  pixel

  Thanks Terry. This is good.
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  TTATTelder

  Well put Terry. The spin, half truths, and out and out lies are shameful.

  The double standard is absolute arrogance. They act as if they are above the law, above accusation.

  .

  The Watchtower is a work of fiction. They just can't keep the plot straight.
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  DATA-DOG

  Excellent, and marked!!

  DD
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  eyeuse2badub

  Good info Terry but what amazes me is that we all bought this stuff for so long! Why were we so afraid to "look behind the curtain"?

  Just asking!

  eyeuse2badub
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  Londo111

  Today, Jehovah’s Witnesses are completely unaware of their origins in Miller and the Adventist movement. They’ve no idea that they are cousins of the Seventh Day Adventists, the Worldwide Church of God, the Branch Davidians, and so forth. Most likely have never even heard of Miller and would scoff at such a notion that he is their theological great-grandfather.

  By that same token, Russell is slowly being downplayed.
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  heavensgate11

  George Storrs was publisher of the magazine Bible Examiner, in Brooklyn, New York. Storrs, who was born on December 13, 1796, was initially stimulated to examine what the Bible says about the condition of the dead as a result of reading something published (though at the time anonymously) by a careful student of the Bible, Henry Grew, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Storrs became a zealous advocate of what was called conditional immortality—the teaching that the soul is mortal and that immortality is a gift to be attained by faithful Christians.

  He also reasoned that since the wicked do not have immortality, there is no eternal torment. Storrs traveled extensively, lecturing on the subject of no immortality for the wicked. Among his published works was the Six Sermons, which eventually attained a distribution of 200,000 copies. Without a doubt, Storrs’ strong Bible-based views on the mortality of the soul as well as the atonement and restitution (restoration of what was lost due to Adamic sin; Acts 3:21) had a strong, positive influence on young Charles T. Russell.

  While, as the reader will have observed, we disagree with Mr. Miller’s interpretations and deductions, on almost every point—viewing the object, as well as the manner and the time, of our Lord’s coming, in a very different light, C.T. Russell

  Anxious to learn, from any quarter, whatever God had to teach, I at once wrote to Mr. Barbour, informing him of my harmony on other points and desiring to know particularly why, and upon what Scriptural evidences, he held that Christ's presence and the harvesting of the Gospel age dated from the autumn of 1874. The answer showed that my surmise had been correct, viz.: that the time arguments, chronology, etc., were the same as used by Second Adventists in 1873, and explained howMr. Barbour and Mr. J. H. Paton, of Michigan, a co-worker with him, had been regular Second Adventists up to thattime; and that when the date 1874 had passed without the world being burned, and without their seeing Christ in the flesh, they were for a time dumb-founded.

  Expecting the Lord Jesus to come in 1878 to catch them up miraculously to be with him in heaven, some who had beenSecond Adventists (including Barbour)were disappointed when that miracle did not occur

  In 1878 Russell had a major disagreement with one of his collaborators, who had rejected the teaching that Christ’s death could be atonement for sinners. In his rebuttal Russell wrote: “Christ accomplished various good things for us in his death and resurrection. He was our substitute in death; he died the just for the unjust—all were unjust. Jesus Christ by the grace of God tasted death for every man. . . . He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.” He continued: “To redeem is to buy back. What did Christ buy back for all men? Life. We lost it by the disobedience of the first Adam. The second Adam [Christ] bought it back with his own life.”—Mark 10:45; Romans 5:7, 8; 1 John 2:2; 4:9, 10.
  Paton did write the article, and it was published in the December issue. After repeated unsuccessful efforts to reason on the matter with Barbour from the Scriptures, Russell broke off association with him and withdrew support from his magazine. In July 1879, Russell began to publish a new magazine—Zion’s Watch Tower

  Always a staunch advocate of the ransom doctrine, Russell severed all ties with this former collaborator. In July 1879, Russell started to publish Zion’s Watch Tower and Herald of Christ’s Presence, known worldwide today as The Watchtower—Announcing Jehovah’s Kingdom.
• 

  LongHairGal

  TTTATElder:

  You are right that the whole thing is a work of fiction and they can't even keep the plot straight.

  I feel at this point the religion is just a stupid game, and they know it's crap.

  Anybody still sitting there after having their intelligence insulted over and over again and their brains fried by absolute bullshit, has no pity from me.
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  Jon Preston

  Hey terry you put this:

  1968: "True, there have been those (Who??) in times past who predicted an "end" to the world, even announcing a specific date. yet nothing happened. The "end" did not come. They (WHO??) were GUILTY OF FALSE PROPHESYING. WHY? What was missing? Miss from such people were God's truths and the evidence that He was using and guiding them...BUT WHAT ABOUT TODAY? Today we have the EVIDENCE required, ALL OF IT."

  which magazine and month was it from? Id like to use this for my wife.