Do you still preach?

by Theocrat 127 Replies latest jw friends

  • Mary
    Mary

    Ephesians 4:11 "...And his gifts were that some should be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ..."

    Now I don't think anyone would try to say that every single Christian should be an apostle, or a prophet or a pastor, but this is totally ignored by Witnesses when they're trying to promote the idea that all Christians should be evangelists. It clearly states in the above scripture that only SOME would be evangelists, not all.

    And by the way, Jesus NEVER preached door to door and he certainly never told his followers to keep calling back on the same people over and over and over again for the next 50 years. He either preached in public places, Mount of Olives, Synagogues or in casual conversation, but there's not one single scripture that even hints that he went door-to-door. As for Act 20:20 to support the idea that the 1st century christians went door-to-door, well, this is resting on pretty shaky grounds. The verses before verse 20 are talking about Paul's travels for sure and his talking and preaching but verse 17 shows he is talking to the elders: "...And from Mile'tus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church 18: And when they came to him, he said to them: "You yourselves know how I lived among you all the time from the first day that I set foot in Asia, 19: serving the Lord with all humility and with tears and with trials which befell me through the plots of the Jews; 20: how I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house."

    Paul would hardly be calling out in Service on fellow Christian Elders to preach to them as they were already Christians. This would be equivalent today to a Circuit Overseer knocking on an elders' door and preach to him-----makes absolutely NO sense at all. Act 20:20 is more than likely referring to these elders getting together to discuss matters going on in the congregation and to upbuild one another.

    And to top it all off, there is absolutely NO evidence at all that 1st century Christians were required to report how many hours they got in each and every month, or how many scrolls they placed; this is just another man-made rule by the Governing Body.

  • little witch
    little witch

    Welcome Concerned Mom. Sorry you landed in the midst of such a heated debate, but I see that you understand the points. Welcome to the board!

  • Stefanie
    Stefanie
    And by the way, Jesus NEVER preached door to door and he certainly never told his followers to keep calling back on the same people over and over and over again for the next 50 years.

    Thank You!

  • a friend in need
    a friend in need

    Mary:

    You've made some thought provoking comments. I hope they are a comfort to you.

    a friend in need

  • little witch
    little witch

    A friend in need says " I doubt anything I say can make you see jw's in a different light".

    Would that be light, new light, recycled new light, new light in a different light, new light new and improved, or new old fashioned light?

    Yep, I dont see you as any different.

  • a friend in need
    a friend in need

    Little Witch:

    I guess you neglected to read my last post to you. The comments of mine you are referring to were directed to Valis. You really should read posts more thoroughly.

  • itsallgoodnow
    itsallgoodnow
    Question to Still a JW....

    When you are putting JW-magazines in people's hands... you tell you want change from within... and what about those people who "come in the "truth" (!)" "thanks to" your placing of magazines? Will you tell them you are a reformer? Don't you feel guilty for the possibility that you convert people to a cult?

    When I saw the replies of stillajwexelder and doubtfully yours, I knew they would get some crap for it. Personally, I understand their positions completely. While I feel stillajwexelder has his work cut out for him, I feel he is very brave to be doing this. If I knew there was someone in my hall I could really talk to about my doubts, as stillajwexelder probably is, that would have been so great. How is stillajwexelder hurting anybody? You know how much bullying it takes to get a person to start studying. Even still, if very few people are going to buy into Watchtower crap, how can stillajwexelder be blamed for it?

    This board is great for exJWs and faders, but sometimes I wish there was a board just for faders so we could talk freely, and not get jumped every time we say something fader related. I can't bring up whatever nonsense I hear at the KH here or I'll get 10 people saying "you still go to meetings!?" Why do we have to be so judgmental, people? Haven't we got that out of our systems yet?

  • little witch
    little witch

    You mean that your stupid statements were not directed at apostates at large but as a personal insult to valis? Duly noted. My comments still stand.

    Funny how such a seemingly new personality to the board zeros in on Valis....but that is another topic also...

  • a friend in need
    a friend in need

    Little Witch:

    I don't know the extent of your problems. Seems obvious you should be getting some kind of care.

  • Elmer J. Fudd
    Elmer J. Fudd

    I am agnostic. My views are my views and I'm happy with them.

    After "preaching" door to door for over 20 years and having Bible studies with so many people, teaching them the "Within this generation" crap, I learned my lesson. I'll believe what I want and will never force those beliefs on another.

    No, I do not preach! I do teach however.

    Elmer

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