I'll bet that MOST could not explain why JWs believe that 1914 was a marked year, the Watchtower definition of the Faithful & Discreet Slave, not accepting blood transfusions, the differences between porneia, loose conduct and uncleanness, etc..........
Could You REALLY Explain All The Beliefs of Jehovah's Witnesses?
by minimus 28 Replies latest jw friends
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little witch
No, it is learned in stages. An ancient idea commonly called the "mysteries".
Apply staggering labels such as "interested ones, worthy ones, accepting ones, true christians
Where does the line end, I wanna stand in line.....NOT....
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blondie
I'll agree with that minimus, most could not. I saw it every time I listened to a JW talk to someone at the door. I knew every time someone came to me to take on their Bible study to explain it to the student for them. I saw it every time someone said, "I'll have to ask an elder" rather "I think I'll look that up."
JWs do not do much personal study and what they do is superficial. The WTS knows that the rank and file are not equipped, that is why they are making them go through the Reasoning book by making it part of the ministry school schedule and are insisting they keep it in their bookbags and how to use (not how to use the Bible). I had one JW tell me she didn't need to the Bible if she had the Reasoning book.
Blondie
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minimus
Even those that have been in for decades still have no idea how to defend that which is indefensible!
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Blueblades
Only with "The New World Translation.".
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minimus
If you only did use the NWT, it was because it is the only real Bible out there, right?
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Euphemism
Personally, I didn't know all the Franz crap from the 60's and 70's, but I kenw pretty much everything they taught through the 90's.
I always wondered why people said that things like the Isaiah book or the Revelation book were 'confusing'. Now I think that for a lot of people, 'confusing' really meant 'this is a bunch of BS'... but of course they couldn't say that.
At the time, I was proud that I could understand it all. Now, I wish my BS detector had been as good as everyone else's.
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dannyboy
Min,
At the time, I could explain the "party line" if you will, quite well, I did a lot of personal study, and prided myself on being up to date on everything, etc. Yessiree, bought the whole program hook, line and sinker. Thought at the time I was very discreet, objective, etc.
I was "raised in the truth", and hence was indoctrinated from an early age.....looking back, I feel a combination of guilt and anger over what I believed and was convinced of. Many many wasted years.
It took a particularly difficult situation/circumstance very close to me to shock me to my senses as it were, for me to "get it"....to have the scales fall from my eyes to borrow a Scriptural anecdote.......I have enormous respect for those who have a smiliar background and yet maintained an objectivity that escaped me, and who were able to "cut through" the Watchtower baloney just by using their thinking faculties.....
So, yes I thought I could REALLY explain ALL the beliefs of Witnesses at the time.
My two cents.
-----Dan
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LuckyNun
If you only did use the NWT, it was because it is the only real Bible out there, right?
right! um, right?
p.s. is there a dummy's guide to this forum, where it shows new people how to make quotes of other comments and put them in nifty little boxes and stuff like that?
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Corvin
I dunno . . . I was always pretty confident when "discussing" Bible related topics. I used the Reasoning book quite a bit, tho. At the doors, it rarely got down to really "deep things". With the Bible studies I conducted, we always studied the "elementary things" and the studies never progressed to the "meatier things".
When I was 20 years old, I started a Bible study with my next door neighbor, Scott, and his brother in law. His mother was upset that he was studying with a Witness, so she arranged a meeting between me and her church's pastor to try and convince the kid (18 yo) that the JW's were wrong. Me and this minister sat debating doctrine infront of my Scott and his mother . . . everything from the trinity to life after death. I relied heavily on the Reasoning book, but I am such a good sales man that it appeared I had the poor guy on the ropes most of the time, and mom was pissed that her paster was getting "pimp slapped" all over the place, while I was becoming Scott's hero. (either he was a very stupid minister, or I was super Bible dude ) At the end of our 90 minute debate, the minister was ragged and I was beat, and we parted company. My Bible study, Scott, said to me right in front of his mother, "Dude! You totally kicked his ass!" He departed with me leaving his mother wringing her hands.
Scott eventually went back to drugs and stopped studying .
A couple months later, I ran into that pastor again in a place where two Christians had no business being. It was very awkward and very funny (in retrospect). I was embarrassed, and so was he. We talked for a couple minutes, but never brought up Scott, the Bible or anything else.
Corvin