Bleep, in your comment to palmcrazy you are using a dishonest form of argumentation called "circular reasoning". You are building a premise on which building, bells and weekly sermons are not good methods to teach and preach the Good News about the Christ, but fail to demonstrate sound reasoning as to why.But I will try to address it anyways.
I will not argue with you that speaking to others about the Good News of Jesus Christ is of utmost importance to Christians.The method employed however, can be multifaceted. Door to door preaching is good, in fact it can be most effective. JWs also use street work, telephone work, letterwriting, informal witenssing and so forth. But these methods are not the only ones that can be used. As a JW you are reminded constantly that you must preach door to door weekly and not weakly. In fact you are made to feel guilty if you do not. I should know, I would feel very guilty if I don't go door to door on a Saturday morning. I had to have a pretty good darn reason not to go. Why? Because of the constant barrage of "you MUST go door to door in service to Jehovah" that is proclaimed from the stage week after week.
You quote Matthew 10:7 about Jesus telling his disciples to go preaching. You obviously mean DOOR TO DOOR, do you not?
A similar command from Jesus is given to 70 disciples in Luke 10: 1-16. The instructions Jesus gives in these two instances
are pretty much the same, except, read verse 7 of Luke 10, Jesus says of those who listen: "So stay in that house, eating and
drinking the things they provide for the worker is worthy of his wages. DO NOT BE TRANSFERING FROM HOUSE TO HOUSE".
Did you ever notice those words in capital letters? The Society normally doesn't give much attention to them, since they work against their argumentation of going consecutively door to door.
Read Matthew 10 and Luke 10. In both cases, Jesus is giving instructions to his disciples about simple things they would need during their preaching activity, such as money, food and clothing. But he also talks about LODGING. Remember that Jesus never preached
door to door, but in public places such a Synagogues and the streets. He also wanted his disciples to follow his example. But logically, once you find interested persons after preaching in public places in town after town, they approached you and invited them
to their home. Ergo their lodging and food was immediately provided for. Money and clothing would come eventually as needed by
voluntary contributions of the newly converted ones.
But the notion of going from one door to the next in a consecutive manner such and the JWs do today is not spoken of in a clear manner in the Bible. Point one out to me if you can. Nor Jesus nor Paul or any other make any mention of it. You can do it if you want to. But you shouldn't force people to do it the way the Society does, which can also include being looked down by your fellow brothers for not being regular in field service. I should know I used to do it myself and call them "loser". But now I'm a little bit more educated and know better. It is not Christian to judge others who do not employ the "door-to-door" preaching method advocated by the Society.
So in the end, church building and bells and talks are OK. Don't the JWs also have church buildings (kingdom halls) and bells (handbills) and sermons (public talks)? By the way yes, I would like more examples of Jesus publicly preaching DOOR TO DOOR.
Edited by - stichione on 12 August 2002 2:17:42
