Watchtower August 2020 Are they introducing new light? (page 2)

cofty

I think they are just using the term 'children' in a more casual sense.

It illustrates the problems raised by their pedantic theology. If the 'other sheep' are not sons of god why do they call him their Heavenly Father in prayer?

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We cannot pick and choose which of the above descriptions of those who belong to God apply to us, and which ones do not. We cannot for example be reconciled to God, but not be a “new creation”. (see 2 Cor.5:16-19) We cannot be “beloved children” of God, but not be “born of God”. We cannot draw a line between calling God “Father”, and calling him, “Abba, Father”. If we have not been adopted then we are not His children, He is not our Father, and we have no right to call Him such at all. If we are His children then we are also joint heirs with Christ. If we are “in harmony with the Spirit” then “God’s Spirit truly dwells” in us, but if we do not have the Holy Spirit then we do “not belong to” Christ. (See Rom.8:9-17) Only if we are “led by the Spirit” can we produce the “fruitage of the Spirit”. But again, if we are, then we can cry out “Abba Father” and we are adopted as sons of God and joint heirs with Christ. (See Gal.4:6,7;5:16-24)

Half banana

There is something Trumpian about ambiguous information. Is it the spirit of the age?

It is confusing to the rank and file. It demands trust in authority to sort things out.The permanent state of cognitive dissonance in JW thinking discourages deep enquiry but not brand loyalty!

So as the WT paint themselves into a corner, perhaps we will see this method become more frequently used?

BluesBrother

I don’t think it was intended to be taken as literally as you did . Yes , you are technically right in saying they don’t become adopted as God’s children until the end of the Millennium.

It just reads to me as a sloppy piece of writing. Standards are not what they were ..

Room 215

Pointless speculation (yawn).

Biahi

LongHairGal, you are spot on! I didn’t feel worthy even at age 6. My god, little more than a baby.

Still Totally ADD

This is a teaching I never throughly understood. Why all these test for the great crowd? You are tested at armageddon, you are tested throughout the 1000 year reign and then you are tested at the end of 1000 year reign when Satan is released. But the anointed dies and goes to heaven and that's it with the testing. Then to top it off the great crowd are just adopted children not children. So for the rest of their lives will it be in the back of their minds they are nothing more than a step child of God instead of a worthy child?

Of course it's all nonsense on the wt. part. It really shows it is all speculation on a subject of fantasy. It must be fun to be a writer of the borg. All they need now is a comic illustrator. Still Totally ADD

nowwhat?

If you think the guilt trips are bad now wait until the new system. If you are not praising Jehovah from the time you wake up to the time you fall asleep. You will be considered ungrateful selfish undeserving etc etc

Drearyweather

It seems that this sentence uses the term God's children in a casual way, as cofty told, rather than alluding it to the anointed ones.

This term is also used in the songbook, Song "Life Everlasting is Promised"

Paradise brought to perfection;

All of God’s children set free.

Under Jehovah’s direction,

Peace on earth we will see

It has also been used in the Watchtower for the JW's living now. For e.g. w15 9/15, "As God’s children, we feel truly loved because Jehovah has promised us a wonderful future. That gives genuine meaning and purpose to our life."

sir82

Don't be so sure that they carefully research their articles to make sure everything is consistent.

They have no central direction and no "oracle" any more. Their doctrines are a mishmash of the less wacky of Fred Franz's ideas and various random reinterpretations by Splane & company.

Best bet? Someone in the writing department just used "children of God" because it sounded nice & warm & fuzzy and his proofreader didn't think about "official" WT doctrine about not becoming "children of God until after the 1000 years" because (1) in WT-world, it's not a particularly important point, and (2) as noted above, outside of the core doctrines, it's such a tangled mess who can possibly keep track of it all?

LongHairGal

BIAHI:

I’m sorry that as a little kid you felt this! A child shouldn’t be burdened with feelings of unworthiness...As a Catholic I certainly wasn’t. There was the confessional and something known as ‘grace’.

In the Witness religion you are climbing a greased pole hoping to be ‘righteous’. 🙄But, they always rub it in that you are not.

They can’t have people believing they are ‘saved’ or have ‘grace’...If JWs had this they wouldn’t knock themselves out attending meetings or getting hours of public ministry in! The religion wouldn’t like that.

Watchtower August 2020 Are they introducing new light?

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