cha ching, ‘quote mining’ cuts both ways, which is a good reason for doing it, for then the JW must confront the conflict. For example, consider the following three quotes that all JWs would have to endorse;
A: “… really, would you want to be even associated with a religion that had not been honest with you?” (Is This Life All There Is? 1974, page 46).
B: “When a Christian phrases things in such a way that he inwardly knows is leading brothers to a wrong conclusion, to believe something that is really not true, not accurate, how do you think God feels?” (Live With Jehovah’s Day in Mind, 2006, pages 114).
C: “… there have been those in times past who predicted an “end to the world,” even announcing a specific date. Yet, nothing happened. The “end” did not come. They were guilty of false prophesying.” (Awake! October 8, 1968, page 23).
All three of these can be supplemented with other quotes from the FDS that show that they stand guilty on all three counts, therefore in order to accept the above, they must reject the FDS - they face a similar pridicament to Vega in the first Star Trek film. Here’s a sample from many thousands of quotes that exist, that are already familiar to most on this forum, but I’ll give them for any that may not be familiar;
A: “At the evening meeting Russell determined that now, since they had evidenced their interest in Christ’s return and … his presence, it was necessary for him to go deeper into this matter and talk to them about the time that these things would take place. This he did, pointing to 1914.” (Jehovah’s Witnesses in the Divine Purpose, 1959, pages 35 and 36). Not for one moment in his entire life did Russell point to 1914 as the year Christ’s return and his second presence would take place. It was a quarter of a century after Russell was dead before the Watchtower assigned that event to 1914.
B: “For over thirty years before [1914] … Jehovah’s Witnesses have pointed to the year 1914 as the time for the end of “the appointed times of the nations” and the time in which Christ would begin his Kingdom rule.” (Watchtower, February 15, 1966, page 103). While it is true that years before 1914 Jehovah’s Witnesses declared that the Gentile Times would end in 1914, to imply that this was also the case for the time in which Christ would begin his Kingdom rule is deliberately misleading, at that time they believed the latter event occured in 1878.
C: “in 1914 … the kingdom of God ... will have broken in pieces and consumed all earthly kingdoms.” (Zion’s Watch Tower, August, 1880, page 2). “The parallel, therefore, would establish definitely that the harvest would close forty years thereafter; to wit, in the spring of A. D. 1918.” (Watchtower, October 1, 1917, page 292). “The Scriptures clearly indicate that the climax is the fall of Satan’s empire and the full establishment of the Messianic kingdom. This climax being reached by 1925” (Golden Age, January 4, 1922, page 217). “Within a few years at most the final parts of Bible prophecy relative to these last days will undergo fulfilment” (Watchtower, May 1, 1968, page 272)
