Howdy folks,
Last night I was reviewing the new publication: "Worship the Only True God" ("Worship") which is an update of the "United in Worship of the Only True God" ("United").
While I only spent a short time doing this there are evidently many changes. Some are just grammatical or stylistic changes and others I am wondering if they may be more significant in terms of doctrinal shifts.
Examples:
Chapter 14, paragraph 6 (pg. 130) of the new Worship book corresponding to old United book pg.118.
The United book says:
"Such theocratic direction was very much in evidence when the first members of the congregation were stirred to action by holy spirit at Pentecost of 33 C.E."
replaced with:
"Such direction was very evident at Pentecost"
Also in paragraph 7 of the new Worship book it has totally ommitted the sentence from the United book which read: "Their appointment was confirmed by holy spirit at Pentecost of 33 C.E." (para 6 in United book)
(Seems like a deemphasis of the action of the holy spirit?)
United reads: "Not only do Jehovah's Witnesses acknowledge his [Jesus] headship, but it is evident that it would be impossible for them to continue to proclaim the Kingdom message in the face of intense hostility without his help.
Worship changes this to: "Today, Jehovah's Witnesses acknowledge Jesus' direction. Without that, proclaiming the Kingdom message in the face of intense hostility would be impossible."
(Is it significant that the reference to "headship" has been changed?)
Now what may be a significant change to the text:
The United book says about the "Faithful and Discreet Slave" (para. 6, pg. 119):
"That "slave," according to Jesus' description, would be on hand when the Lord departed for heaven and would still be alive at the time of Christ's return. Such a description...." (emphasis added).
The Worship book changes this to:
"That "slave" would be on hand when the Lord departed for heaven and would still be working hard at Christ's invisible return in Kingdom power. Such a description...." (emphasis added)
In a paper I have written I discuss thouroughly the Faithful and Discreet Slave doctring. One of the things I say is that the "master's returning" as contained in the FDS illustrations refers to Jesus' actual return, i.e. when he stands up and the start of Amageddon. (Date TBD ) but this revision in the new Worship book clearly emphasizes, under current JW belief, the date 1914.
This change is hammered home by reviewing the changes to the next paragraph. The United book reads at paragraph 7:
"At the Master's return, if the "slave" was faithfully doing his work, he would be entrusted with enlarged responsibilities. The years that followed would be a time for a global witness....." (emphasis added)
But now compare the Worship book's revision:
"Since the slave class was loyally doing the Master's work at his invisible return in 1914, there is evidence that it was entrusted with enlarged responsibilities in 1919. The years since then have been a time for a global witness...."
Now one could just be tempted to say that the Society is only updating and making things more concrete to comply with what is believed by JWs. But the thing is that under the previous version in the United book and under and independent study of the illustration, one could argue for the future fullment of the FDS illustration to occur at the time of Christ's actual return, i.e. Armageddon and not the "presence" viewpoint held by the Society. Recall that the FDS illustration includes the punishment of the "evil" slave cotemporaneously with the rewarding of the faithful slave and other scriptures indicated that the time for the "weeping and gnashing of teeth" is at Armageddon.
This revision however squashes that possible understanding of the timing and application of the FDS illustration and definitely attaches the 1914 and now (shockingly) the 1919 dates!
Yet again JWs are left to ignore the scriptures pertaining to the "evil" or unfaithful slave. Now with such firm dates asserted for the rewarding and enlarging of responsibilities, does this mean the Society is going to perhaps make attempts to firmly identify the "evil slave" whose punishment is to be thrown outside to weep and gnash the teeth? Or will the Society continue to ignore the second part of the FDS illustration?
Further Worship book changes:
"The United read: "These, too, would need spiritual food, and it wouild be served to them by the composite "slave," Christ's spirit-anointed servants."
Changed to: "These too need spiritual food, and it is served to them by the slave class."
(Is this just economy of language or is the dropping of the reference to the anointed significant? Maybe it is meant to encompass the enlarged role of the other sheep in distributing the "food"? Or perhaps it is an admission that the vast majority of the anointed have nothing to do with providing the "food"?)
Finally along the line of "other sheep" responsibility the United book says at paragraph 10: "They look to the Governing Body to provide for appointment of elders and ministerial servants to care for the smooth functioning of the congregation."
Changed in the Worship book:
"Jehovah's Witnesses worldwide look to the Governing Body to select qualified brothers who, in turn, are authorized to appoint elders and ministerial servants...."
(Nice change, at least it more closely reflects reality! Although one could argue the prior statement was not totally inaccurate.)
Other interesting changes in the Worship book:
The whole discussion of head-covering and the possibility of a woman teaching that was in the United book paragraph 11 has been excised.
New question at end of this chapter with the popular phrase: "..through slave class and its Governing Body...."
Concluding paragraph of this chapter in United said:
"By cultivating wholesome respect for Jehovah's organization and wholeheartedly doing the work that he directs, we give evidence that Jehovah truly is our God and that we are united in this worship."
(Notice how this nicely said that we should "respect" the organization--leaves open the possibilty to disagree with it doesn't it?)
Now the Worship book says instead: "By being loyal to Jehovah's organization, we show that Jehovah is our God and that we are united in worship of him." (emphasis added).
(Any room left to disagree now?)
Now for some more HUGE changes, I hadn't even noticed until last night.
The old United book had Chapters 19, "What the Mosaic Law Means to You" and perhaps more importantly Chapter 20 "Life and Blood--Do you treat them as Sacred?"
These chapters have been deleted from the new Worship book!!!
In fact a quick review of the new Worship book does not indicate ANY discussion on the Blood issue at all! For those of you not struck by this, keep in mind that this new publication is meant to be one of the principal publications to use with new Bible Studies.
Naturally, the new Worship book in Chapter 20, "Keep Close in Mind Jehovah's Day" deletes the prior references contained in the United book to the GENERATION doctrine.
(Was this the last presence of this old and important doctrine, which many of us learned, in the "active body of literature" being used with new bible studies? Will new ones ever learn--outside of the Net of course!--that this Generation doctrine was even taught and only discarded recently?)
Out of nostalgia consider what the United book used to say at paragraph two of this chapter:
"The Scriptures clearly show that the "generation" that saw the beginning of Christ's presence would also see the "great day of Jehovah" in which he executes judgment against all who practice unrighteousness....That "generation" is now well along in years....."
(Everybody sigh)
Now please note something VERY curious at page 179 of the Worship book, paragraph 10, the highlighted sentence has been added!
"...they were brought into organizational unity. The completion of the sealing of these anointed ones draws near.--Revelation 7:3, 4"
Wait one moment! Is this a stepping away from the belief and prior assertions that the sealing up of the anointed number occurred in 1935?
Is this maybe the beginning of the discarding of the belief that the anointed class is sealed up already and that may allow for new additions?
If so perhaps the Society is realizing that it has been placing a "biological limitation" for the end-time arrival by combining the beliefs that 1) Armageddon will come while some of the annointed are yet left on the earth and 2) the belief that the Annointed class was sealed in 1935.
I have been saying for some time that these two beliefs are the new "Generation doctrine fiasco" and are logically pitted against each other. One or the other has to give and perhaps with the added statement in the Worship book the Society is now starting to say that the sealing of the number is not yet completed? At least that's how it reads to me.
Continuing on..
The Worship book of course omits the whole "Sheep and Goats" allusion.
In the United worship book, the Society speculated that persons in traditionally religious lands were forsaking their religions. (Page 183). This has been omitted in the Worship book.
Well these are just some observations, I haven't gone through the whole book.
Any comments?
--Eduardo