I have a few people from my jw past that no longer attend, but still struggle with whether god is with the WTS and that all religions are flawed and the WTS is least flawed. I asked them:
1) Would you have gone to worship (or could you have) god at the temple when this was going on inside?
(Ezekiel 8:5-18) . . .. 6 And he went on to say to me: “Son of man, are you seeing what great detestable things they are doing, the things that the house of Israel are doing here [for me] to become far off from my sanctuary? And yet you will see again great detestable things.” 7 Accordingly he brought me to the entrance of the courtyard, and I began to see, and, look! a certain hole in the wall. 8 He now said to me: “Son of man, bore, please, through the wall.” And I gradually bored through the wall, and, look! there was a certain entrance. 9 And he further said to me: “Go in and see the bad detestable things that they are doing here.” 10 So I went in and began to see, and, look! there was every representation of creeping things and loathsome beasts, and all the dungy idols of the house of Israel, the carving being upon the wall all round about. 11 And seventy men of the elderly ones of the house of Israel, with Ja·az·a·ni′ah the son of Sha′phan standing in among them, were standing before them, each one with his censer in his hand, and the perfume of the cloud of the incense was ascending. 12 And he proceeded to say to me: “Have you seen, O son of man, what the elderly ones of the house of Israel are doing in the darkness, each one in the inner rooms of his showpiece? For they are saying, ‘Jehovah is not seeing us. Jehovah has left the land.’” 13 And he continued on to say to me: “You will yet see again great detestable things that they are doing.” 14 So he brought me to the entrance of the gate of the house of Jehovah, which is toward the north, and, look! there the women were sitting, weeping over the [god] Tam′muz. 15 And he further said to me: “Have you seen [this], O son of man? You will yet see again great detestable things worse than these.” 16 So he brought me to the inner courtyard of the house of Jehovah, and, look! at the entrance of the temple of Jehovah, between the porch and the altar, there were about twenty-five men with their backs to the temple of Jehovah and their faces to the east, and they were bowing down to the east, to the sun. 17 And he went on to say to me: “Have you seen [this], O son of man? Is it such a light thing to the house of Judah to do the detestable things that they have done here, that they have to fill the land with violence and that they should offend me again, and here they are thrusting out the shoot to my nose? 18 And I myself also shall act in rage. My eye will not feel sorry, neither shall I feel compassion. And they will certainly call out in my ears with a loud voice, but I shall not hear them.”
--------------Would a faithful Israelite been able to worship in a clean way in that temple with those people? No they would have stayed home with his family.
2. Does a worshiper of God have to attend meetings or festivals to be faithful.
Naaman, a Syrian, became a worshipper, but did not have to go to the temple to worship or live in Israel. In fact he helped the king to worship false gods in a temple. Can you imagine a jw going to a church and supporting their non-jw father/mother in their worship? The WTS says:
-----------It works if they listen long enough. Most must have slept during the meeting when these points were brought out. But it convinces me everyday that I did the right thing based on what their bible says and how they conveniently
apply it to fit any situation.
*** w05 8/1 p. 9 par.
3 Highlights From the Book of Second Kings ***
5:18, 19—Was Naaman
requesting forgiveness for having to participate in a religious act? The
Syrian king evidently was old and weak and had to lean upon Naaman for support.
When the king bowed down in worship to Rimmon, Naaman did also. For Naaman,
though, it was a purely mechanical act, strictly for the purpose of supporting
the body of the king and not for rendering worship. Naaman was asking Jehovah
to forgive him for performing this civil duty. Believing Naaman, Elisha said to
him: “Go in peace.”
