I had a pretty good meet up today with some good buddies and one of them brought up a great point from the Greatest Man book. Doesn't it look like JW's believe in hell to you from the picure of the rich man and Lazarus?
Do JW's believe in hell?
by Israel Ricky Gonzales 11 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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Israel Ricky Gonzales
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LoveUniHateExams
From what I remember, JWs do not believe that hell is a place of fiery torment.
They believe hell (apparently from the Hebrew 'she'ol' and the Greek 'hades') is the resting place of the dead, the common grave of mankind.
They view the parable of the rich man and Lazarus as just that, a parable.
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cantleave
They live in Hell! -
The Searcher
Yes they do - but they don't call it Hell now, they call it The Australian Royal Commission! -
Vidiot
They don't believe in Hell at the moment...
...but if the GB told them to, they probably would.
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punkofnice
When I was a JW the Rich man and Lazarus story was simply a parable not to be taken literally.
Strange how the parable about the wise srvant IS taken literally by the cult leaders to give them power and a cosy lifestyle.
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SecretSlaveClass
Village Idiot: Im convinced there are a vast number of JWs that would do the Jim Jones Boogie without blinking an eye if the GB commanded it so. -
freemindfade
"do JW's believe in hell"?
Ever had to sit through one of their meetings? www.sadtrombone.com
sorry couldn't resist
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paradisebeauty
They changed the pic in the new book. No fire around the rich man. -
Ding
If I were the GB I would avoid the rich man and Lazarus story completely.
Its interpretation is absurd.
In Luke 16:28 the rich man asks Abraham to send Lazarus to his five brothers "in order that he may give them a thorough witness so that they will not also come into this place of torment." (NWT, 2013 edition)
But according to the WT it was Lazarus' thorough witness -- especially his fiery message of judgment -- that was CAUSING him and his brothers the torment in the first place!
If so, shouldn't the rich man have begged Abraham to make sure Lazarus DIDN'T give the brothers a thorough witness? In fact, shouldn't he have been begging Abraham to keep Lazarus and other faithful followers of Jehovah AWAY FROM his brothers entirely?