Whenever I go to a Witnesses Now For Jesus convention, I plan a significant budget to purchase literature and other materials, cause there's just so much neat xjw stuff there. This time, one of the items I bought was a CD-ROM of all the Watchtower magazines from the 1940's, from Research Applications International (found online at www.researchapplications.org - they have all of the WT's from 1879-1949 available on CD in .pdf format, fully searchable and printable).
Anyway, I was just playing with it for the first time, and found this quotation (from WT 5/15/44, p. 157), which I thought was interesting, considering how little freedom of thought there is in the organization nowadays:
Such proper fear means to "hate", and hence to refrain from doing, anything that works injury to another; to avoid pride and arrogancy, because such are displeasing to God; and to hate and hence to avoid the way of any who substitute for Gods Word of truth the theories of men and thereby mislead others. Fear means to refrain from and to hate anything that is fraudulent. The one that will please God must pursue the course as instructed by the Lord, to wit: "As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith," and then let the Lord do the judging. (Gal. 6: 10; Rom. 14: 4) As you gain a knowledge of the truth be diligent to pursue the truth and to present the truth to others as you have an opportunity and to do good to them thereby and show an appreciation of Gods goodness toward you. A knowledge of Gods truth must be had before anyone could possibly receive the riches of Gods gift. It therefore follows that any man or organization that has kept you in ignorance of the Bible and has induced you to refrain from reading books and magazines that explain the Bible, such man or organization has been instrumental in keeping you in ignorance of Gods means of bestowing his blessings upon you. The Holy Scriptures were written that man might have an opportunity to know the truth. No man or company of men has the right to make merchandise of the people by assuming to teach them religious errors in the name of the Lord God.
So, does that mean that it would be proper today to hate the WT leadership?
Edited by - NeonMadman on 28 October 2002 11:51:51
Edited by - NeonMadman on 28 October 2002 13:31:31
Edited by - NeonMadman on 28 October 2002 13:32:27