Society's position on water dowsing?

by mizpah 15 Replies latest watchtower beliefs

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  Euphemism

  I've got to agree with minimus... I think it's always been condemned. There was a slight loosening in '79, when an article in New Scientist suggested that there might be some scientfic basis for dowsing. But the article concluded:

  g79 6/22 19
  Even if it is proved that there are responses to changes in the electromagnetic field, which some attribute to the presence of water, it still does not explain the extreme reactions of some who claim that the stick or rod jerks about wildly and is sometimes broken by the violence of the reaction. Nor is there any explanation for the claim that some can pass the rod over a map of an area and locate water. In such cases demonic forces may still be at work. Wicked spirits sometimes seize upon normal reactions and distort them out of all proportions, or take a truth and push it to such an extreme that it becomes a gross deception.

  The last mentions before that were in '62 and '63, and they were completely negative.
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  freein89

  I think they dows with it, not for it
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  NeonMadman

  Wicked spirits sometimes seize upon normal reactions and distort them out of all proportions, or take a truth and push it to such an extreme that it becomes a gross deception.

  Sounds like a description of normal Watchtower teachings and policies...
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  GentlyFeral

  Author Ben G. Hester was originally convinced that dowsing was simply a "not-yet-understood physical phenomenon." But after eight years of investigating the subject, he wrote the book Dowsing—an Exposé of Hidden Occult Forces.

  Some quotes from his book (this is a Seventh-Day Adventist site):

  Admittedly, all dowsing reports are open to repudiation by...the individuals who will accept NOTHING not provable by the scientific methods.

  The three of us are Christians. We belong to different denominations. … It happens that the three of us see eye-to-eye on the supernatural, believing that there is a malevolent intelligent entity-leader known as Satan…

  CHAPTER IV
  "FOR CHRISTIANS ONLY" as a courtesy to the non-Christian who wishes to avoid the conservative Christian interpretation of dowsing and the power source behind it. This viewpoint is offered without apology since it is reasonably the best explanation of dowsing, by comparison, so far.

  In other words: the WTS once again quotes Babylon the Great as an authority.

  Dowser Robert H. Leftwich wrote in his book Dowsing—The Ancient Art of Rhabdomancy:

  Can’t find any quotes from this one, but it’s a little bitty how-to book from 1976.

  Once again, the WTS dresses up "sliders" as solid spiritual food for deep thinkers.

  GentlyFeral
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  Francois

  My father, as an elder, used dowsing on his property to locate water. Seemed to work mighty fine. Since I don't believe at all in demonic forces, there must be some other explanation.

  Remember that at one time, man believed that everything he didn't understand was of origin in the debil. Things like lightening, storms, eclipses, orgasm, and a huge list of other things took origin in the debil, mainly because ancient man had no other explanation. JWs today aren't much further progressed. IF they don't understand it, then the DEBIL did it.

  Ignorant anti-intellectual god-damed filthy little cult.

  francois
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  Bendrr

  I was always taught that water dowsing was demonic. Since leaving I've never thought much about the practice. Thanks for bringing the subject up. I think I'll spend a little time tonight reading up on water dowsing.

  Now that you mention water dowsing, I can remember once when I saw it being used "officially". It was back when I was living in Perry and they were doing some road widening in town. They must have been trying to locate a water line or something, don't really know why, but I remember driving by and seeing the surveyors out there at the side of the road and one man was walking along with a dowsing rod. At the time I thought how strange that looked, the D.O.T. using "spiritism" to plan road construction.

  But of course when you consider things that all of our local D.O.T.'s do, sometimes you can't rule out "demonic" influence.

  Mike.