Jehovahs Witnesses make a big deal about following first century christianity, so please explain this. (page 2)

JustVisting

Had an elder comment on WT study (recently) that Jesus carried scrolls when he preached to people-roll eyes!

jgnat

Sounds like a Sarah Palin history lesson, JustVisiting. Yes, Jesus read from the Torah....once...in the synagogue...where the precious, hand-copied document was kept under watchful eye...

Torah

humbled

This is RIGHT ON THE MARK, Smiddy.

Yes, Jgnat. Women and reading? Not happening in 1st century. Serving one another and eating together? These are so carefully managed by the Overseers of WT that it's ridiculous.

Aarrggghh!

Sir82, Good point! First century? Christianity was all over the place and totally unhomogenized!

BUT! as wasblind points out: The WT has pictures to prove their version of reality!

It proves that a picture is worth a thousand words--especially if no one is allowed to research outside The Society's literature/picture books. (like who care to really read it)

Maeve

Seeing a WT illustration of two "First-Century Christians" preaching door-to-door in Palestine (with book bags and scrolls, no less) a few years back was one of the more surreal WTF moments I experienced when my fade was in gear...

ABibleStudent

If the WTBTS follows 1st Century Christians, then why did WTBTS recently warn the R&F to blindly follow the GB and not to bring reproach on the WTBTS by JWs public disagreeing with the WTBTS's doctrines? According to Acts, 1st Century Christians allowed discussion of opposing points of view.

Peace be with you and everyone, who you love,

Robert

The Council at Jerusalem

15 Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. 3 The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad. 4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.

5 Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.”

6 The apostles and elders met to consider this question. 7 After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 8 God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9 He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. 10 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? 11 No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”

12 The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. 13 When they finished, James spoke up. “Brothers,” he said, “listen to me. 14 Simon [ a ] has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles. 15 The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:

16 “‘After this I will return
and rebuild David’s fallen tent.
Its ruins I will rebuild,
and I will restore it,
17 that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,
even all the Gentiles who bear my name,
says the Lord, who does these things’ [ b ] —
18 things known from long ago. [ c ]

19 “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20 Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. 21 For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”

minimus

Jehovah's Chariot is always on the move and true Christians need to keep up with it!

Band on the Run

Every Holy Week I seem to make some comment about washing feet that the locals don't get. It is an actual demonstration of service to others. I find it humorous and moving at the same time. Can't help but note all the fresh pedicures. Some women truly get into it. There always seems to be an abundance of female washers compared to men.

I suppose the WT has some take on how pagan and depraved this tradition is.

daringhart13

Wait, does this mean they have gone beyond the things written??

NeverKnew

I JUST had a conversation with a group of witnesses into the wee hours of this morning.

The eunich was not reading "the BIBLE." It didn't exist. He was connected to means and therefore had access to Hebrew scrolls. He was reading scriptures that had existed for a few hundred (yes, "hundred") years and trying to make application of Isaiah's words to this "Yeshua" dude (wrangling with the Maschiach ben Yosef/Maschiach ben David challenge, I suppose).

Gentiles were being baptized with absolutely no reference material. Hebrew scriptures were unobtainable to the common person and there was absolutely no Christian New Testament. Our New Testament scriptures seem to suggest that these ignorant masses were considered accepted by God but somehow to be accepted by God in the 21st century one must endure hours of study with a WTS adherent.

The acceptance of an Almighty being contigent upon the acceptance of one group of men's hermeneutics is complete arrogance.

Seeing a WT illustration of two "First-Century Christians" preaching door-to-door in Palestine (with book bags and scrolls, no less) a few years back was one of the more surreal WTF moments I experienced when my fade was in gear...

I would love to see this picture.

fulltimestudent

An aside -

Outside of the traditional Christian sects of Catholicism, the Orthodox churches, the Coptics and the Syriac type churches of west Asia, no modern Christian group reflects the first century Christians. (There were not many by the end of the first century, anyway).

Modern European churches reflect the medieval traditions of Lutherism. Modern American churches and their ilk reflect modern Americanism, the Jws in particular.

Rutherford seems typical of his era, his connections to modern American business methods via William Heath who was connected to Coca Cola, may be seen, I suggest, in the publicity seeking methods he established. Turning the previous smaller scale get-togethers of the Russel era into much larger publicity seeking functions, with controversial statements (e.g. Millions now living will never die) designed to get maximum publicity. Knorr seems like a hard-driving businessman, who organised "Yahweh's people" - the way Joe R, had foreseen in his slogan," Advertise, Advertise, Advertise the King and his Kingdom", while he left the theology to poor Freddy. Coca Cola missionised a product into an international household brand. Rutherford, Knorr and their successors have been less successful.

The Jws, organised to within an inch of their lives, reflect modern American thought, not the first century.

My statements are assertions - I'm not going to waste my time demonstrating them to be true. Just think about it.

Jehovahs Witnesses make a big deal about following first century christianity, so please explain this.