by Big Jim 6 Replies latest jw friends
I have been having long conversations with my brother in-law who is the only one that will talk to me about the non-truth.
He claims that my attacks on the Society in reference to there false prophecy is nothing more then a test on our faith and that the fact that JW'S are the only ones that don't teach the immortality of the soul makes them the only true relegion.
How would any of you respond to the the test of our faith response?
"
He claims... that the fact that JW'S are the only ones that don't teach the immortality of the soul makes them the only true religion."
so that is what the identifying mark.........of a true religon.......is ?
is that what THEY(JWS) TEACH........hmmmmmmm
was Paul teaching a true religon then........"Live in spirit not flesh"...... OK..he s right.. I''ll cave.......
has this gentleman seen the 100 yrs of false prophecies made by this identified true religion?
http://www.freeminds.org/history/list.htm
You might want to point out to him ..they are not based on truth...it's Unity......... see the post from yesterday
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/forum/thread.asp?id=4781&page=3&site=3
or
bring him here.
S
If criticism of the Society by former members about their false prophecies is a test of faith; then I guess the criticism of the Catholic Church and other religions by the WTBTS is also a test of THEIR faith.
Doesn't the bible say by their fruits you will recognize them? It doesn't say by their faith or their teachings. Unfortunately, those who are still in the organization will probably have a hard time seeing that, but that's about as basic as you can get. My approach would always be back to the basics. What does the fact that so many get disfellowshipped or otherwise leave the organization tell you? If a person can't see the lack of love in the organization as a whole, then proving the other stuff to them isn't worth a whole lot as far as I'm concerned.
With that type of reasoning, David Koresh could say his group and himself were God's people. Actully, that type of reasoning is used by cults all over the world. It is one of the criteria for judging whether a group is a cult or not.
angie
If you haven't already, you might point out the Biblical test for a false prophet, found at Deut. 18:22.
If you have, and your brother-in-law agrees that the Society has falsely prophesied in the past, you might want to try this using the following from the Reasoning book, page 323:
Because the Society teaches that the soul is not immortal, which make it the true religion in your eyes, is that reason enough "to drink a glass of poisoned water because someone assured you that most of what you were getting was water?" Or is the poison of false prophecy enough to make you want to assure yourself that there isn't any more poison in the glass of water offered? Then kindly explain that this is your dilemma.
Of course, this approach will not work if you have already railed against the Society and bombarded your b-in-law with all sorts of information already.
Another thing that may help is Randy Watters' "Opening the Closed Mind" which you can find at
the http://www.freeminds.org site. As his opening paragraph states:
It is rare to find a Witness who has not seen or heard information exposing the dishonesty of the Watchtower. Why, then, do they not see a problem? Evidently, something else has prevented them from objectively analyzing factual information. Their minds are trained to stop short of doubting the organization - a wall has been erected which says, in effect, "This far you may go, and no further."
This is where your brother-in-law is at, and it's frustrating. Randy's article will suggest how you may sensitvely try to extract your loved ones from the Borg. I think you'll it find very useful.
Be Gentle. Patient. (Hard to do, I know. )
Peace,
outnfree
P.S. And then there'a always:
Test of faith in GOD? or
Test of faith in the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society?
GOD's word always is true.
He's already agreed with you on the faulty record of the WTBTS.
Still, with the wall up, he may not be able to differentiate, so ask him , "Is God's word always true?" THEN, "Have any of his true prophets in the Bible spoken a falsehood, been excused, and allowed to falsely prophesy again?" (Because the WTBTS has made ONLY false prophecies in the past 100+ years.) "So why must we in faith accept any more of the Society's pronouncements?" THEN back to "When a prophet speaks in the name of Yahweh and the thing does not happen and the word is not fulfilled, then it has not been spoken by Yahweh. The prophet has spoken with presumption. You have nothing to fear from him." -- Deut. 18:22 Jerusalem Bible. "Surely you don't want to be following a presumptuous prophet with misguided faith?"
For what it's worth.
outnfree
