Serving Shoulder to Shoulder - Jan 25 Study Articl

by jgnat 6 Replies latest watchtower bible

  • jgnat
    jgnat

    I have seen gossip and innuendo split a church and wound a good man. This was my church, and I loved it dearly. The whispered conversations late in the night were distressing and disturbing. Could these people and this place that I thought I knew so well, have an evil side? As I tossed and turned on my bed, a confusing array of fears and doubts wrestled for my mind and heart. Two thoughts won out:

    1. No sin or error was levelled at our leader or his wife. All the rumours suggested is something had

    to be wrong, since so many people were upset. The wronged parties mentioned nothing specific.

  • Had this good man or his wife wronged me in any way? The answer to this was a resounding no.
  • Vague rumours smell of the devil. When Jesus accused the Pharisees, he was very specific. I resolved that I would not leave the church over unspecified, unverified rumours. If I left, it would be because I knew that I had been wronged.

    I have also met people either too afraid to confront their offender, or unsatisfied with the result, insist on spreading their complaint to everybody they meet. Professional whiners, they attract sympathy for a time. But there are always two sides to a story. As the whiner spreads their story, the other person is left with no defence. I have seen the damage that gossip and murmuring can do. I understand why the bible warns against it.

    So I have to consider the January 5, 2003 study article, Keep on Serving Shoulder to Shoulder (Nov 15 WT) with some seriousness. The headings should give you some idea on the content; Keep Free from Murmuring , Guard Against Slander , and Stop Judging ! By critiquing WT articles, am I being judgemental against the WTS? Am I a Vessel without Honour (2 Timothy 2:21 1 Timothy 6:5)? Am I critiquing the WTS just to cause trouble?

    And what of the good brother or sister who is having doubts? If they share these doubts, are they Vessels without Honour? Are they bringing strife and division to the organization? It seems to me the debaters mentioned in 1 and 2 Timothy were not wicked because they had honest questions. These men were liars and troublemakers who used debate and strife to further divide the congregation, for their own selfish gain.

    One example given in the article is criticism of an elder.

    11 ..someone my criticize the way a certain elder handles his parts in the congregation or cares for his duties. If we listen to the complainer, we may begin to think as he does...This kind of conduct is not fitting. If we follow the biblical instruction for handling such differences, the offended one should go and talk to the elder privately. If he is unrepentant, the aggrieved person can take it forward. Every man should be held accountable for his actions. Even Moses took direction from his father-in-law. As long as WTS leadership claims they are imperfect humans, every one along the chain of command must be accountable to someone.
    "Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely." -Lord Acton

    I guess it all boils down to whether the WTS is standing on the firm foundation of truth. If that is so, no storm can destroy it. If it is not, its foundation will crumble under scrutiny. By the way, even though the WTS says that everybody else is wrong does not make them right. Even if they have PROOF that others have done wrong, it does not make the WTS right. To properly scrutinize the WTS, we have to know what they stand for, not what they stand against. If the WTS has lied about being the direct spokesman for Jehovah, I have no qualms about exposing them. In my personal example, if there had been truth to the accusations, my pastor would have resigned, or lost the congregation, or both. And he certainly would have lost me.

    Tabby and Jay, a parable on trust

    Aye, theres the rub. The men at the end of the line are the Faithful and Discreet Slave who are accountable only to Jehovah, who makes no mistake. His invisible direction has proven infallible for 1% of the worlds population for just over a hundred years of world history. At least, that is how the men running the WTS tells the story. If I, as an imperfect human being, find holes in the WT foundation, dont I have an obligation to speak out?

    Edited by - jgnat on 31 December 2002 13:59:54

    Edited by - jgnat on 31 December 2002 14:1:58

  • cruzanheart
    cruzanheart

    Yes, you do have an obligation to speak out! Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and numerous other prophets were probably considered apostate by the ruling class of Jehovah's Chosen People, yet they felt an obligation before God to speak out at what they saw was wrong. Be true to yourself. And if the articles start causing your head to feel like a squirrel in a cage, stop, put it down, take a deep breath, watch an episode of Sponge Bob Square Pants, and relax. Nothin' better than Sponge Bob to totally clear your mind of any working brain cells!

    Lots of love,

    Nina

  • jgnat
    jgnat

    If the articles start causing your head to feel like a squirrel in a cage

    cruzanheart, thank you. I needed that! I couldn't find a squirrel in a cage, but I found a monkey going slightly bananas. About the same sentiment.

    Edited by - jgnat on 2 January 2003 16:45:56

  • BluesBrother
    BluesBrother

    Several disturbing points in this article for today, 05.01.02.

    p12. "Murmering about the men whose duty it is to shepherd the flock of God may lead to reviling .......Unrepentant revilers will not inherit Gods kingdom"

    Elders have carte blanche to carry on un criticised. Not a humble attitude

    p17"Avoid becoming judgemental" - are they not the most judgemental of organisations?

    p23 "Christian congregation is a place to find loyalty " To the borg even at the expense of natural family ties

  • jgnat
    jgnat

    Excellent points, Blues Brother. It is all right for them to judge all other churches, former members, and "weak ones". But who will judge the FDS??? There was plenty of evidence that Moses was fully directed by Jehovah himself. Cas in point was that massive pillar of cloud and fire. What evidence has the FDS supplied? It all falls apart under scrutiny. They don't want people to look because their paper castle built on air (oops, I mean print) will fall down. Blondie added her two cents here.

  • stichione
    stichione

    I found nauseating the amount of times the same brainwashing expressions were used in this study, the same technique used in all study articles:

    -Serving shoulder to shoulder
    -harmoniously
    -unitedly
    -loyal to him and to one another
    -a united family
    -family-like arrangement
    -harmony
    -we need one another

    This is good cult-like indoctrination.

  • jgnat
    jgnat

    sharp eyes, stichione. When we recognize these terms for what they are, they lose their power to control us. We need one another was heavily emphasized in the previous article, and it is repeated here. Is the hidden message that no one else will take care of you (since you have already cut off wordly friends and relatives)? I had noticed the heavy use of loyalty, too, and discussed it on another thread, here.

    hos'-ee-os Of uncertain affinity; properly right (by intrinsic or divine character; thus distinguished from G1342, which refers rather to human statutes and relations; from G2413, which denotes formal consecration; and from G40, which relates to purity from defilement), that is, hallowed (pious, sacred, sure): - holy, mercy, shalt be.

    As well, all throught the OT, a similar Hebrew word, chasiyd, is consistently translated as loyal in the NWT. I can see no need to make such a radical departure, unless the organization desires loyalty from it's sheep more than a personal divine relationship with their creator. Is holiness a foreign concept to the WT culture?

    Edited by - jgnat on 6 January 2003 20:31:27

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