The following article excerpt from the WT is an attempt by the Society to explain why they are so full of crap. The red highlights are my own commments.
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w00 1/1 pp. 9-11 Serving With the Watchman ***A
Progressive Cleansing15
During some 40 years up until Christ?s heavenly rule began in 1914, the Bible Students had been freed from many of the non-Biblical doctrines of Christendom, such as cow tipping, infant baptism, wheat grass enemas, immortality of the human soul, purgatory, bath houses, hellfire torment, Wednesday night poker games, and a Trinitarian God. But it took additional time to purge all wrong ideas. For example, in the 1920?s many Bible Students wore a pin featuring a cross-and-crown (weener and hoo-ha) emblem, and they celebrated Christmas and other pagan holidays. However, for worship to be pure, all vestiges of idolatry must be discarded. God?s Word, the Holy Bible and our everchanging interpretion of it, must be the sole basis of the Christian?s faith and way of life. (Isaiah 8:19, 20; Romans 15:4) It is wrong to add to God?s Word or to take anything away from it, but we do it as cleverly as we possibly can and hope nobody notices or takes exception.?Deuteronomy 4:2; Revelation 22:18, 19. Never mind that some of our absurd interpretations of Holy Scripture have needlessly cost many their lives, broken up families, protected child molestors and causes a little thing called generational neurosis, clinical depression and suicide.
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One example will underline how important this principle is. In 1886 when C. T. Russell published a book that came to be called The Divine Plan of the Ages, this volume contained a chart *giggles* linking the ages of mankind *snort-laughs* with the Great Pyramid of Egypt. It was thought that this memorial of Pharaoh Khufu was the pillar referred to at Isaiah 19:19, 20: *muah ha ha ha ha ha* "In that day there will prove to be an altar to Jehovah in the midst of the land of Egypt, and a pillar to Jehovah beside its boundary. And it must prove to be for a sign and for a witness to Jehovah of armies in the land of Egypt." What relationship could the pyramid have with the Bible? Absolutely none! And that's the thing! We were actually teaching that crap and also telling our members they should not be vaccinated because it was evil! Ah, good times, good times. Well, as an example, the combined length of the Governing Body's organs and certain passages in the Great Pyramid was said to indicate the time for the beginning of the "great tribulation" of Matthew 24:21, as it was then understood. Some Bible Students became engrossed with measuring their own organs and the different features of the pyramid to determine such matters as the day they would be going to heaven!
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This so-called Bible in Stone was held in esteem for some decades, until the Watchtower issues of November 15 and December 1, 1928, made clear that Jehovah needed no stone monument built by pagan pharaohs and containing demonic signs of astrology to confirm the witness given in the Bible. Rather, Isaiah?s prophecy was seen to have a spiritual application. As at Revelation 11:8, "Egypt" is symbolic of Satan?s world. The "altar to Jehovah" reminds us of the acceptable sacrifices made by anointed Christians while they are temporary residents in this world. (Romans 12:1; Hebrews 13:15, 16) The pillar "beside [Egypt?s] boundary" points to the congregation of anointed Christians, which is "a pillar and support of the truth" and which stands as a witness in "Egypt," the world that they are about to leave.?1 Timothy 3:15. (We were total kooks with the pyramidology thing and we just could not keep a straight face when trying to cram that crap down your throat. When we just could not make it work, we tossed it out).
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As the years pass, Jehovah continues to give us further clarification of truth, including a clearer understanding of his prophetic word. (Proverbs 4:18) In recent years, we have been encouraged to look again with deeper understanding at?among other things?the generation that will not pass away before the end comes, (because obvioiusly they are all dead now), the parable of the sheep and the goats, which had a tendency to turn on a few of the Governing Body originating from the midwest, the disgusting thing and when it will stand in a holy place (because we hung out with and "touched" the discusting thing for about 10 years), the new covenant, the transfiguration, and the stone temple pilot vision of the book of Ezekiel. It may be difficult at times to understand such updated explanations, but the reasons for them become clear in due course; the reason being we will say anything to bring new ones into our direct sales organization and say anything to keep the older schmucks from wandering off before they kick without leaving everything to us in their last will and testimony. If a Christian does not fully understand a new explanation of a scripture, and has the nerve to think, reason and question what we say, he will be admonished and if he does not cowar before the elders, their little green Bibles and a fist full of Watchtowers, he will most likely be disfellowshipped and denounced as an apostate . . . he does well, by God, humbly to echo the words of the prophet Micah: "I will show a waiting attitude for the God of my salvation."?Micah 7:7.
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Recall that the watchman "proceeded to call out like a lion: ?Upon the watchtower, O Jehovah, I am standing constantly by day, and at my guardpost I am stationed all the nights.?" (Isaiah 21:8) The anointed remnant have shown lionlike courage (the essence of Satan seeking to devour someone) in exposing false religion and showing people the way to freedom (while we do our damnedest to hide and justify the crap we do in secret). (Revelation 18:2-5) As "the faithful and discreet slave" pretenders, they have provided erroneous Bibles, poorly researched and slanted magazines, and other publications in a multitude of languages?an endless diet of tainted and recycled "food at the proper time" that causes diarhea and/or spiritual constipation. (Matthew 24:45) They have taken the lead in gathering the "great crowd (of ignorant suckers) . . . out of all nations and tribes and peoples and tongues." These too are cleansed by the ransoming blood of Jesus and show themselves lionhearted in rendering (the WTBTS) God "sacred service day and night", which cause revenues to go through the roof as a result! (Revelation 7:9, 14, 15) What has been the fruitage this past year of the small surviving group of anointed Witnesses of Jehovah and their companions, the great crowd of polyester wearing JW's? The Governing Body gets to sit fat and pretty while the "great crowd" keeps buying our publications and knocking on an infinite number of doors selling those publications! We are like the great ancient army of Amway in that 90% of our consumers are also distributors! Our next article will tell.