by BoogerMan 4 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
Some of Christianity's denominations/tribes/clans claim that God Almighty/Christ Jesus personally selected their leadership/clergy to represent heaven on earth.
Question for JW's: What scriptural or divine proof convinced/convinces you that it was the org/governing body?
Self-proclaimed statements from literature does not qualify as proof.
Ask a JW (or any similar) if they ever wonder how other people can be devoutly loyal to their church but still be wrong. (of course they believe them to be wrong)
They will likely say they were "lied to, deceived" because they haven't really deeply considered what makes a person devoutly loyal to a religion. Instead of getting mired in a debate about doctrine with them ask :
Might culture and family have had an influence?
Might it be a sense of community, commonality even affections members of the church have for each other?
Might it be the religion gives them a sense of certainty in a changing world?
Might it offer comfort in times of grief?
Then ask if those are also true of their religion, does it offer certainty and comfort? does it have a warm familiarity from years of memories with family and friends? Do you feel a part of the community of worshipers?
So might what you believe to be true of others be true for you?
There is no such proof. I don't want to go with scriptural proof since that is based on individual interpretation.
I am still searching to know if there is any church out there with supernatural proof of God's approval.
I agree that there is no proof that a God/god has cast approval upon any religion. I also agree that extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. Maybe a growing number of other people also recognize such and many that is one reason why the "religiously unaffiliated" are now expected to be more numerous in the USA than Christians by the year 2070. See https://www.npr.org/2022/09/17/1123508069/religion-christianity-muslim-atheist-agnostic-church-lds-pew . It says the following.
'A new study from the Pew Research Center shows that America's Christian majority has been shrinking for years, and if recent trends continue, Christians could make up less than half the U.S. population within a few decades.
The study found that Christians accounted for about 90% of the population 50 years ago, but as of 2020 that figure had slumped to about 64%.
... In the four scenarios that Pew modeled, Americans who were religiously unaffiliated were projected to approach or overtake Christians in number by 2070.
... "It's almost what I expect," Hasan Tauha, a student at Stanford University, said of the rising numbers of religiously unaffiliated people in the United States.
"I don't think it's surprising. I think it's a product of modern comforts. I think when life is good, when it's better, you know, religion is just not as important."
Tauha was not raised Christian. He spent most of his life as a devout Muslim but decided four years ago to leave his religion, and he now identifies as atheist.
At one point, Hasan Tauha considered becoming an imam and even attended a seminary school. However, he says that studying history, philosophy and other subjects opened his mind to question his faith.'
