Do Jehovah's Witnesses view faithfulness to Jehovah as being equivalent to faithfulness to the Governing Body?

by Vanderhoven7 20 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Vanderhoven7

  I thought this was an interesting response to the question.

  What say you?

  "Being faithful and loyal to God implies or includes

  • being faithful to your spouse (Hebrews 13:4),
  • being trustworthy and faithful to your employer (Col 3:22–24),
  • being a law-abiding citizen who respects the authorities (Rom 13:1, 7),
  • being obedient to the elders who take the lead in the Christian congregation (Heb 13:17).

  Of course, this does not mean that we put God, our spouse, our employer, our authorities or the Governing Body on the same level.
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  ThomasMore

  Vanderhoven - JW's do equate loyalty to the GB as loyalty to God. They absolutely do.

  Say something negative about the GB and it is an immediate conversation stopper.
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  Ding

  They equate Jehovah and "Jehovah's organization."

  In Crisis of Conscience, Ray Franz said that even the GB members themselves seemed to think of the organization as if it were a separate entity from themselves, as though "Jehovah's organization" made decisions and set policies, and they only administered them.
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  Sea Breeze

  If you quit going to meetings, people accuse you of leaving Jehovah. After a constant barrage, people just accept that they are the same. It’s weird how they replace Jehovah, little by little.

  If you go to a different church they also accuse you of leaving Jehovah.

  The funny thing is that in their own Bible, Jehovah instructs people to listen to Jesus at the transfiguration.
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  enoughisenough

  When I left the org, my best "friend" said " I have to loyal to Jehovah"...the JW cannot separate God Almighty from the false teachings of the GB...I said: you are being loyal to 8 men.
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  ExBethelitenowPIMA

  Doing that the GB says even if you don’t understand why, this is what we have rammed down our throats. It’s the same as obeying or not following direction from Jehovah himself.

  Follow the GB direction even if you don’t agree. We were always told at a later time you will look back and think “I’m so pleased I faithfully followed the GB direction even though I didn’t agree at the time”

  Following direction to remain fully vaccinated has been very harmful and has now cast doubt on any future direction
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  FedUpJW

  Of course, this does not mean that we put God, our spouse, our employer, our authorities or the Governing Body on the same level.

  Just like a concert where the last act is the main attraction this sentence says it all. The governing body is JW's main attraction. Nothing else raises to the level of importance in a JW's life than the governing body the human representation on earth of God.
  
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  peacefulpete

  Loyalty to family is loyalty to family. Loyalty to employer is loyalty to your employer. Loyalty to your nation is loyalty to your nation. Loyalty to the leaders of a church is loyalty to leaders of a church. Etc.

  I can and must distinguish these. My loyalties are often divided. My employer may misuse my trust. My nation might be in the wrong. My family may be abusive. My church is no different.
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  Vanderhoven7

  Excellent point.
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  Diogenesister

  Is the pope a Catholic?