Well??? What do you say, bible gurus??? A relative asked me what I thought of the Zone Visit. I am in the process of gathering my thoughts. This e-mail could have far reaching consequences.
DD
Best scriptures for countering TOMO III's comment about "inactive ones"??
by DATA-DOG 28 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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Oubliette
The burden of proof is ALWAYS on the person making the assertion. ToMo said he'd use scriptures to back up HIS claims. He did not. Why not?
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DATA-DOG
ANYONE?? Searcher, Bobcat, anyone??? I'm writing the e-mail that may cost me my relationship with family. Throw me a frigging bone for the love of God!!
DD
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Oubliette
I gave you a pick-axe and you want a bone?!?
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smiddy
DD
I havent associated with JW`s for over 20 years and I certainly didnt hear his talk , however their have been a few threads on his talk and a lot of crtiscism , surely you could use some of those in your e-mail ?......just saying .
smiddy
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DATA-DOG
There are so many damn threads, that I can't find what I need! I'm going to bed!!!
DD
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runForever
I'll try. The witness philosophy is a whole bunch of if's. If all their base assumptions are right then it makes sense. If the governing body is God's channel then what they say must be right. So there is many layers here. First off the bible never mentions inactive ones as a label. The letters to the congregations in revelation are good things and bad things about the individual congregations. It's like judging someone when you say they are inactive because what that really means is they are slacking and good people don't slack therefore the 'inactive one' is not a good person. You know what this is exactly what happens in society such as 'oh that person is succesful so he must be a good person' or 'that person is poor so he must be a bad person'. It is like the man who built his house on sand- maybe he built it faster and it is complete so all those watching judge him to be the better man and the man who dug down and built on rock is mocked by onlookers saying 'he is not a good worker look at the other man - he is done already!' So appearances can be deceiving and the witnesses have built appearance based works by their very nature i.e. time slips, number of return visits, years an elder, return visits. How bout the widow who dropped 2 coins of small value in.
Anyhow their works are bad anyway and it's little wonder noone wants to go spreading that garbage around.
Heres a scripture: 1 Pet 2:20"But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God." So it is actually a credit to not spread cult literature around.
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Crazyguy
Romans chapter 8 or 10 says if you proclaim christ your saved, 1 john 5 says all that believe have life and anyone that says different is calling god a liar. Not sure if this is what your looking for? Also to note that these idiots are saying because the inactive ones are not warning people of the end they are blood guilty but Galations 1 says that the good news is the Messiah and not that you need to join a religion or die.
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Oubliette
Why use scriptures? ToMo didn't use any!
Try logic instead: “Whenever you find yourself getting angry about a difference of opinion, be on your guard; you will probably find, on examination, that your belief is going beyond what the evidence warrants.” ― Bertrand Russell
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Vidqun
DD, this point is discussed under the thread “Inactive ones are bloodguilty?” Here’s my contribution, with a few additional points added.
As usual, their application is all wrong. He was talking to the Israelite watchman, standing guard (Ezek. 33:6). The next chapter [34] is a prophecy against the "shepherds of Israel." Interestingly, here he makes a division between "a lean sheep and a plump sheep, between rams and he-goats," and mentions that God's judgment would be directed against the plump sheep (Ezek. 34:17, 20).
Here one reads of the function of an Israelite watchman – 2 Sam. 18:24; 2 Kings 9:17. Reason it out: Would it make sense to use a fainthearted, weak or sleepy (= inactive) person as a watchman? A fearful or fainthearted person was not even allowed to join their army. They were sent home in case they demoralized their fellow-soldiers (Deut. 20:8).
So, the Ezekiel watchman scenario is very far removed from the tasks of a Christian evangelizer. It is rather directed at the leaders of God's people. Ezekiel was appointed as watchman to warn his people of their impending destruction because of their unfaithfulness (Ezek. 3:17 NET). Had he not done so, he would have incurred bloodguilt.
Watchtower theology also distinguishes between “anointed ones” and the “other sheep.” The watchman, an Israelite, had to warn fellow Israelites, which makes it an internal (Israelite) matter. So also, a spiritual Israelite(s) should warn his brothers (fellow spiritual Israelites) if/when they went wrong.
This is why they should rather apply this internally, e.g., some of those sounding the alarm, after finding out about the Society's involvement with the UN/OSCE, would warn “their brothers.” These were persecuted, either being silenced or kicked out of the congregation. So the application is much closer to home than they think and has nothing to do with inactive ones.