by DATA-DOG 31 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
DCMShirly: See, the LDS and WT have more in common than you think, Cold Steel...practically twins.
Ummm...in what way? I wish someone would list these commonalities.
The LDS faith resembles more the first century Christian church than it does the WTBTS. Doctrinally and socially we're entirely different. Or do you throw all religionists in the same basket?
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The book the day of jehovah witnesses by Rachel Walsh explains how they exert control by exclusivity of information...They alone decide what is and is not truth...quite scary .
Surely the following statement is tantamount to blasphemy?
"The anointed and their other sheep companions recognize that by following the lead of the modern-day Governing Body, they are in fact following their Leader, Christ." Watchtower 2010 Sep 15 p.23
have a look at this from a 1973 watchtower:" only this organization functions for Jehovahs purpose and to his praise. To it alone God's sacred Word, the Bible, is not a sealed book"..... (July Ist page 402. 1973)
to it alone...says it all.
Cold Steel: The LDS faith resembles more the first century Christian church than it does the WTBTS
.
How so?
This is yet another way LDS and WT are similar; WT makes the same claim- they resemble first century Christianity more closely than any other Christian religion.
If you take a step back from your prejudices CS, you'll see the forest beyond the trees.
Lord Shirley - "See, the LDS and WT have more in common than you think, Cold Steel...practically twins."
Well, not so much twins, actually...
...more like weird (inbred?) cousins.
Cold Steel - "The LDS faith resembles more the first century Christian church than it does the WTBTS."
Really?
The first century Christian church received divine revelations in the form of golden plates? Performed posthumous baptisms? Endorsed polygamy?
Gosh, I had no idea.
The LDS and the JWs are both sectarian fundamentalists of Christianity that take a literalist view of the bible that are less than 200 years old, formed in the United States of America during a time of growth, expansion, arrogance, and with animated evangelism follows a leader with a “new” interpretation of the scriptures granted to him exclusively by god.
This puts them in a position to be remarkably similar in their view of the ancient civilization in which the bible was written, taking it by-the-letter as inspired historical fact, and is reflected in current civilization with their arrogant refusal to budge on social issues of women's equality, homosexuality, and humanitarianism.
They are both believers in the strict adherence to the “last days” concept and apply such to their own lifetimes, whatever that lifetime may be. They are both hierarchical religions structured in the same format as the patriarchal families of the old testament and that of Paul's direction in the new testament. They do not necessarily resemble the first century churches as they were a mess filled with people who were trying to balance who they were as a people (Jews) and who they were as a faith (belivers in Christ). So the first century Christians were all over the place. Also, there were MANY forms of Christianity in the first century and each remained seperate for at least 200 more years.
Both the LDS and the JWs feel that their way is the only way to salvation, and that anyone that disagrees with them will die at Armageddon... which is due at any moment.
Structurally and systematically, they are pretty much the same religion. Dogmatic differences are many, but that comes with the invention of a new religion. They focus more on how they are different from everyone else and fail to see how similar they are. From an outside vantage, they are not. Yes, their belief may be different, but they function in the same format and the end result is exactly the same: Nice people who appear to do good, but drowning in a sea of self-superiority with the “fact” that they are the one true religion.
There is nothing new under the sun... and these two barely toddler religions on the world's scene are hardly exceptions.
Does the GB claim the sole power of scriptural interpretation?
The short and simple answer to that is Yes, just like very other Christian based religion.
The bible in men's hands is power , power they create, power they can immerse themselves with.
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The damaging part comes into play when they try and emulate the social moral standards of the ancient
Hebrews, who lived 3000 years ago.
They were ignorant on most things concerning human rights, sociological behavior
to name a few.
