by Funchback 39 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
I'm in the middle of dissecting the June 2017 JW Broadcasting video.
In the first minute, they summarize a story about a guy who apparently was a one-time bad ass (showed a picture of him with a beard while posing on a chopper). Then, they show him shaving at the exact same moment the narrator is saying how he regained "a clean conscience".
This no-beard obsession by the JWs is beyond nuts.
Crazy isnt it? There's strong hinting in all of their videos where they show people converting. Even in the Remember The Wife Of Lot video, the young latino man is seen shaving when he accepts "the truth".
Yes, pale.emperor... Shaving apparently means one is spiritually strong.
I guess in JW land the motto must be "All shaved brothers are not necessarily good, but all unshaved brothers are definitely bad".
I don't get the big deal that a group feels that having a beard is a bad thing and wants people not to have them. There are employers who make rules like that. If you want to be part of an organisation and they have a rule like that, you have to follow the rule.
Yes John, but then your employer wouldn't have the gall to say "but we don't make rules, especially as God doesn't make arbitrary lists of rules like the Pharisees did" whilst at the same time expecting you to follow the list rules you were just given!
@John Davis At least if you disagree with the rules your employer poses, you can quit your job. It's not so simple in Watchtower Land.
John Davis-
I'm 99.9% certain you don't have a beard for obvious reasons.
And you are correct when saying the Watchtower is an employer. A publishing company, actually.
John Davis: There are employers who make rules like that. If you want to be part of an organisation and they have a rule like that, you have to follow the rule.
When you quite your job, you would not expect your family and friends to shun you. As a matter of fact, it is the precisely the opposite: You would spend more time with them, seeking their moral support in this hardship.
This religion is not simply a "Job" or a "social club". Falling out of favor of that club usually has a serious impact on every aspect of your life. For some people this means losing family, friends, employment and even a place to live!
These consequences are not the only type of threats used! In one of his talks, Governing Body Member Antony Morris III explained that he would come back as an angel and take part in the killing of the unfaithful ones at Armageddon. Coming from a man that makes the rules, should this not be considered as a threat? Can you imagine a boss telling his employees: You better listen to what I say, otherwise, at Armageddon, I come back as an angel and I will massacre you and your kids, and I will leave your corpses for the birds to feast upon! " ?
Considering that this group frequently and regularly makes such threats to its millions of believing members, it is an abomination to see that they make up intrusive rules such as wearing a beard. It is not only abusive, it is excessively manipulative.
There are employers who make rules like that. If you want to be part of an organisation and they have a rule like that, you have to follow the rule.
True. Employers, especially large, in the public eye, ones, have specific grooming rules for employees. If you want to work there, then you have to follow the rule.
But, as mentioned, you can always quit your job at that company and find another one in a similar position, or even something better. Not so in Watchtower World. The catch at this company is that without them, you will be destroyed, along with all the evil people, at Armageddon. So, basically it boils down to, 'obey and shave - live; or disobey, grow a beard - die'. That's a simplistic equation, but that's how it's presented, so that's how you have to accept it.
True story: when I was first waking up to the lies of the WTS, I had sheparding calls from elders. In these calls, I questioned some WTS rules that aren't biblical. Beards was one of them. One elder mentioned a large US company that had similar grooming rules, as they wanted their employees to represent them in a certain way, similarly for JWs. They should want to represent the organization in a good way. That's when it hit me - we weren't representing Jehovah, able to use Christian Freedom in our day to day lives, we were representing the WTS as door to door magazine sales reps, and had to obey company rules.
Undercover: we were representing the WTS as door to door magazine sales reps, and had to obey company rules.
Yep! That's about it!
