Do You Think That Jehovah's Witnesses Are Basically Good People?

by minimus 45 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  dedalus

  Most Witnesses don't glory in the concept of billions of people dying.

  Are you sure? Look at what Witnesses read, study, believe, and distribute:

  ***

  "Every kind of terror will be used to destroy the evil world--cloud bursts, lashing rains, overflowing floods, earthquakes, giant hailstorms and a rain of fire. There will be terror on the land, terror in the sea and terror in the air. With shocking surprise Armageddon will catch all those persons outside the New World society." -- From Paradise Lost to Paradise Regained, 1958, p. 207.

  "On Satan's side will be all the rest of mankind, more than 99.9 percent, as we read, 'The whole world is lying in the power of the wicked one.' That includes all the governments of the world together with their supporters, the commercial, religious and social institutions. Even the professedly Christian organizations? Yes, because all such that are making themselves friends of the world are making themselves enemies of God." -- Watchtower 10/15/58, p. 614-5.

  "Do not conclude that there are different roads, or ways, that you can follow to gain life in God's new system. There is only one. There was just one ark that survived the Flood, not a number of boats. And there will be only one organization--God's visible organization--that will survive the fast-approaching ‘great tribulation.’ It is simply not true that all religion lead to the same goal … You must be part of Jehovah’s organization, doing God’s will, in order to receive his blessing of everlasting life." – You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth, 1982, p. 255.

  "Never forget that only God’s organization will survive the end of this dying system. Act wisely, therefore, and make plans for life eternal by building your future with Jehovah’s organization." – Watchtower 7/15/84, p. 20.

  "Only Jehovah’s Witnesses, those of the anointed remnant and the ‘great crowd,’ as a united organization under the protection of the Supreme Organizer, have any Scriptural home of surviving the impending end of this doomed system dominated by Satan the Devil. (Revelation 7:9-17; 2 Corinthians 4:4) They will make up the ‘flesh’ that Jesus Christ said would be saved through the worst tribulation in human history." – Watchtower 9/1/89, p. 19.

  "The masses of people facing annihilation if they fail to respond to the good news include out unbelieving relatives, neighbors, workmates, schoolmates, and acquaintances. But our concern is to reach out to ‘all sorts of men’ in imitation of God, who manifested his love for the entire world by giving his Son, Jesus Christ, as a ransom for all (John 3:16). We must zealously invite all to flee to God’s place of safety. By fully carrying out the preaching work, we can avoid bloodguilt." – Kingdom Ministry, September 2000, p. 1

  ***

  When I was aux. pioneering, all of the regulars, the best representatives of the congregation, loved to talk about which houses they would take when the new system came and destroyed the current, "worldly" inhabitants. This kind of talk, I understand, is not unusual. Someone didn't take the magazines that morning? Over coffee at Dunkin Donuts we'd snicker about the "goats" who were going to get it. "Not interested? Well, you'll be interested when you're engulfed in a rain of fire -- but it will be too late then!" Ha, ha, ha.

  Of course Witnesses glory in the concept of billions dying. They study and distribute magazines that vividly describe the bloodshed and destruction, as shown above. And who can blame them? Until billions and billions die, they're stuck here, knocking on your door, sizing up your property. (No, not all of them do that -- okay, okay -- but they are directed toward that kind of thinking by the literature in their bookbags.)

  Dedalus
• 

  minimus

  Just as the literature and talks constantly stress living simply and pioneering, most JW's simply do not do it. It's in the literature but it's not typically, commonly practiced. In over 45 yrs. as a JW, MOST people did not gloat about billions supposedly dying. They SHOULD have because the "slave" says they're all wicked anyway, but the majority of people that I know, do not have this view. I remember many years ago, going to the better parts of the territory and hearing how so-and-so is going to scoop that house at Armageddon. Then the Society said we should not view people as "goats", but "goatlike" was O.K. As time has gone on, I believe fewer witnesses GLOAT over seeing scores of people die. That's a proof that the JW's of yesteryear are not the same as today's.
• 

  micheal

  Very good point Dedalus. I too have come across and I too am guilty of exactly what you said . This is very common behaviour of the witnesses. It is very very cold hearted.
• 

  dedalus

  Well, Minimus, I think you're telling the absolute truth from your perspective and experience and I respect that.

  All I can say is that I'm not exaggerating when I write about stuff I've seen and heard. I don't need to. I grew up constantly aware that any day the God my parents served was going to take the lives of my classmates, my teachers, people on the street, and probably me for not mustering up enough faith to really believe in Him.

  I'm not exaggerating when I say that every day, going here and there with my parents, I would look at strangers on the street and think: Jehovah's going to kill them someday. That man with his young daughter, lifting her to drop letters into a mailbox. The gas station attendant with his hat on backwards, pony tail tucked into the collar of his shirt. My science teacher, with her round tortoise shell glasses and rack of test tubes. All to be incinerated at Armageddon. Seriously, Minimus -- as a Witness child, I looked around and saw death.

  Perhaps Witnesses don't "gloat" in the sense that they talk about it a lot, in graphic detail, with lots of hand clapping and maniacal laughter -- after all, it must be a difficult sort of thing to dwell on, even if you hope for it. But (again, anecdotally) even my sister-in-law, the most liberal Witness I know, who still talks to all of us that are disfellowshipped/disassociated, occasionally calls and tearfully begs her mother to come back to "the truth." Why? Because if she doesn't, Jehovah will kill her handicapped seven year old brother at Armageddon.

  Again, Minimus, I think there's worth in what you're saying. Maybe the balance of our two perspectives is closer to some kind of objective reality. But I can never say what you're saying, because my experience utterly refutes it. And, I'm afraid, so does the organization's literature.

  Dedalus
• 

  Country_Woman

  I read all your comments and found in every one something I agreed with. ... I think, with most of you that JW's are not automatical "good" but they are good willing. In every organisation there is bad and wrong, and it is a personal struggle to keep at the "right" side.. Being a JW child, yes, i think Dedalus is right - they are hearing so much over death that they see the world with different eyes. I was just (still are but not for long) for 5 years a withness. They come visiting my mother for more then 40 years and when she finally decided to go on with the withnesses (after my father died) I went with her to be sure that she did'nt buy everything that they told her. We (family) were no members of any church but my father was and he had a big part raising us. The name Jehovah was familiar to us. I was'nt smoking or doing anything they forbid and what I heart over the bible did match what my father told me - and there were things I likes very much. ..... Then and still I decided that there was only one book worthy to study - but okay, when other people wanted all that magazines if that's what they want, why not...... When they babtised me (with several others ofcourse) we had to answer two questions "do you want to be a follower of Jezus and do you want to be closer to the organisation?" On that last question I did not answer, but being in a group, nobody mentioned. I wanted to be a member of that group of persons - the organisation in Brooklyn did'nt mean anything to me....Viv knew, and was very upset and worried about - I could stay as a withness till there was a personal conflict: Viv's getting out - but it was stil easier to stay then leave (my mother was a withness till she died - but in my opinion in the same way as I was/am: Viv has allways been very wellcome and dear to her - and she had 11 grandchildren in total - at the end none withness at all) Summararized, without conflict situations you can stay a JW, else it cost you enormous pain to do what "they" expect from you. And I think that it is very difficult to not-obeying Jehovah when "they" told you it is God himself asking it from you. That's the point: Brooklyn never tells that they want something, they allways put Jehovah's shoes on............. and when you are a truly serious believer, then you are in big trouble............ Country Woman
• 

  Country_Woman

  By the way, telling all of this wil sure blow my cover. In our congragation my family-history is well known. They even told about us at the big meeting. CW