by Splash 31 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Since the JW are taught to believe all that comes from the GB is "core" doctrine to be followed without question, it is absurd to see only four have not changed, yet.
My husband brings up these four teachings as part of "proof" it is the true religion. But I think he had more than that. It was in a WT or booklet within the past few years. ( He regurgitates habitually, and then when challanged will many tiimes silently stare like a deer in headlights)
A couple of years ago, journey-on started this tread on the same topic:
Here is a comment summarizing that discussion:
"So we've got only two beliefs that have remained from Russell's time until now:
1. Soul Sleep, taken from the Second Adventists, which has two sub-beliefs:
2. Gentile Times ended in 1914 which came from:
So practically EVERYTHING taught in Russell's time has been since discarded except two basic beliefs, one of which he got from another religion and the other conceived of and then twisted and mangled by a bunch of crackpots all vying for one-upsmanship to prove their personal understanding of the incontrovertible Word of God!
...
Of the two beliefs, the evidence is clear that the second is false and the first is, from our perspective as living human beings, completely unverifiable either way."
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In the very early years of the Watchtower, there were Trinitarian writers who wrote pro-Trinitarian articles. There was more room for a diversity of viewpoints back then.
Paul Grundy, aka jwfacts, had this to say about the Trinity:
"The Watchtower teaching on the Trinity has changed over time.
Russell's Adventist influences had mixed views about the Trinity. At first, Russell's associates and early influential Watch Tower contributors were primarily Trinitarian, including Nelson Barbour and John Paton. George Storrs believed that Jesus was God, but believed that the relationship of the Father and the Son was a mystery, and would not characterize his belief as either Arian or Trinitarian.
In Three Worlds, and the Harvest of this World, p.58, published 1877 by N. H. Barbour and C. T. Russell, Christadelphians were criticised for not accepting the Holy Spirit as a person.
"I will give a sample of their way of reasoning: The words Satan, and Devil, says the above book, means accuser, or adversary; and are only Bible synonyms for sin. And if they really set about it, as the Christadelphians do, they can explain away the Holy Spirit."
The first assistant editor of Zion's Watch Tower was J. H. Paton, a Trinitarian. He wrote the 1880 Watchtower book The Day Dawn. Page 225 personifies the Holy Spirit, capitalising the word and referring to the Holy Spirit as He, Him, or a Person and interchanges the Holy Spirit with the Spirit of Christ.
"The work of the Holy Spirit is one of the most important elements in the plan of revelation and salvation. He is always spoken of by the Saviour as a Person, and is called the "Spirit of truth." He inspired men to write or speak the truth; and second, He enables men to understand it. By comparing this with 1 Pet. 1:11, it will be seen that the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of Christ are used interchangeably."
Russell did not start printing articles disputing the Trinity until after Paton left the magazine's staff. Even then, Russell described Jesus as a god to be worshipped and prayed to, and this teaching was not changed until the 1950's."
Not to be nit picky, but I don't think that CT Russell did give prominence to the name Jehovah. He obviously did acknowledge that God's name was Jehovah, but look at any Watchtower magazine that he printed and it clearly states Announcing CHRIST's Kingdom, or CHRIST's Presence.
I think Rutherford changed it to announcing Jehovahs Kingdom rather than Christ's.
When it's all said and done, the only JW belief that is true is that when you die you are dead and you don't have to worry about going to hell.
Everything else is bullshit.
That's why I'm a secular humanist now.
Two points to be made.
First, back in 1861, an ADVENTIST named Loughborough wrote this:
"The first step of apostasy is to get up a creed, telling us what we shall believe. The second is, to make that creed a test of fellowship. The third is to try members by that creed. The fourth to denounce as heretics those who do not believe that creed. And fifth, to commence persecution against such."
**
The second thing to be said is even more pertinent.
BELIEF, or CREED or THEOLOGY is non-testable and non-falsifiable and cannot be proved wrong.
What is DIFFERENT about Jehovah's Witnesses is the crazy way they have set themselves up time after time to be DISPROVED.
How?
They have always indulged in being very bold in asserting (behind God's authority) SPECIFIC DATES which they explained
in excruciating detail as to exactly what that DATES would mean.
JW'S HAVE MADE THEIR INEPTITUDE FALSIFIABLE like no other religion!
EXAMPLE:
By teaching 1874 was the invisible, Second Advent of Jesus, C.T. Russell and Judge Rutherford merely asserted a certain belief.
HOWEVER--by CHANGING that date to 1914 (done so in the year 1942) they automatically made themselves WRONG publicly and irrevocably.
See?
Simply believing and teaching an IDEA of INTERPRETATION is what all religion does.
JW's CHANGE their minds--but--they do so after having carefully explained how Jehovah, angels and holy spirit were channeling BOTH the "wrong" teaching and new "right' teaching.
They have done this over and over again.
Craftily, they act as though this is GRADUAL and organic growth. IT ISN'T--it is SELF-CONTRADICTION.
EXAMPLE:
Judge Rutherford, through Watchtower publications and public speeches, CHANGED the historic Christian doctrine of ROMANS 13:1,2 peremptorily.
Rutherford said, The actual Superior Authorities were Jehovah God and Jesus Christ.
Okay, but the WTS changed back to Christendom's ORIGINAL and HISTORIC literal understanding in 1962. So what?
BY CHANGING BACK they automatically MADE THEMSELVES WRONG.
See how stupid this is?
The WTS disproves itself because IT CAN'T KEEP ITSELF FROM TAMPERING constantly with its own belief system.
This makes it a SELF-REFUTING religion.
How about Paradise Earth? Rutherford introduced it in [1922/23???] at Cedar Point. But I would call it a "core" belief.
Thank you. I've been trying to narrow down Witnesses to their core beliefs for some time. There's just so many.....
Terry, I love your posts. I cannot articulate what an anchor they are for my psyche. Don't ever make the mistake of believing that your comments are unimportant.
The sand goes for everyone. We are literally writing for the next genertion of JWN readers.
DD
