Ferret merit - The Doctrine

by garybuss 4 Replies latest jw friends

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  garybuss

  Doctrine of "Family Merit", VS Animal Merit.

  The Watchtower January 15 1971 pp. 63-64

  Questions from Readers

  At 1 Corinthians 7:14 the Bible shows that God can consider as "holy" the minor children of a Christian parent. Though they are young and not yet to the point of being personally responsible to Jehovah, their parent is trying to develop in them a love of God and of the way of righteousness. It seems clear that at the time of the destructive war of Armageddon God will preserve them on the basis of the . . . family merit . . . of the Christian parent, even though the children are not yet dedicated and baptized. (end quote)

  If there is such a thing as "family merit" as the Watchtower Corporation writes, there must have been "animal merit" for the animals of Noah's flood fame. And for those animals failing to gain a boat ride there would have had to have been "animal de-merit".

  Was Noah a Jew? Why did he take a pig pair on the ark or were they a late creation? If he did take a pig pair was there doctrine called "pig merit"? Was there a ferret on the ark who got there by ferret merit?

  What if the family's name was Merit? Then that would be "Merit merit". Or a parent named Mary would make it "Mary Merit merit".

  Comments? Additions?

  gb
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  The Alchemist

  I believe the French apostate family would be called 'the family DeMerit'.
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  garybuss

  The French are soooo cute! I wonder if the Watch Tower ever paid their tax bill there. Anyone know?

  gb
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  waiting

  ...minor children of a Christian parent. Though they are young and not yet to the point of being personally responsible to Jehovah, their parent is trying to develop in them a love of God and of the way of righteousness.

  But what if the JW parent is NOT doing their Christian part in developing in the child a love of God? Will Jehovah still save that child or kill them because the jw parent wasn't teaching them the way of jw's?

  After all, if the child isn't being taught jw thinking, isn't that child on equal basis with a worldly child.....the WTBTS says it depends on the JW parent. (At this point in being questioned, the jw will shrug and say "Well, we must leave that up to Jehovah to decide."

  The WTBTS is presenting "conditional love" and "conditional safety" from Jehovah's Wrath. "Stay a Jehovah's Witness or your kids will be killed by Jehovah God."

  It seems clear

  Yeah, right ........and can be changed later. That word "seems" is important - just insert, "perhaps, maybe, most likely, probably." Damned lawyers.

  waiting
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  garybuss

  
  Waiting, It was due to the *family merit* doctrine that caused my parents to set me in the baptism line at a Denver Colorado district assembly in 1957. I was 12. I was separated from my parents by the arrangements and we had no plan to rejoin. I will never forget it. It was a terrifying experience.
  
  The convention was at a ball field in Denver but all we baptismal candidates were driven up to a motel swimming pool at Idaho Springs in the mountains. I was having anxiety spasms when I realized I was separated from my parents and on a road trip with a bunch of strangers.
  
  Many of the other people being baptized were adults and I was in a car with all older people I did not know. Then after we were baptized, they took a sight seeing side trip on the way back to the convention. My family could have ran the convention seat savers school and I just returned to their block of seats and there they were.
  
  I recall my mother explaining the family merit teaching to me and it all seemed so strange. I didn't question it then. I trusted my parents and all my relatives were there so it seemed all okay.
  
  I am surprised that the doctrine of family merit is not examined here very often. It is fascinating and there is a fair amount written about it in the Society produced literature. It is the reason so many of us were induced to be baptized at a young age.
  
  gb