by kj 25 Replies latest jw friends
Not only is a witnesses faith in God potentially intertwined with their faith in the Watchower, but also their prospects of eternal life itself can be intertwined with the watchtower.
It may also be heplful to find out if the witness believes this as well, and as in the issue of faith, attempt to separate the witnesses prospects of eternal life from their continued involvement in the WT organization.
I used to even defend the WT on the Usenet using my real name. I was cautious to defend their official views even if I had doubt or did not believe in them because I did not want to deliver the proof in writing that I was having other perceptions.
I wana hear from JWs who have heard this "If someone gave you a Rolls Royce and it had 4 flat tires would you walk off and leave it because it could not run, Or would you stay with it anyway and fix the flats?" I have heard this or a simular arguments from JWs. It does not matter if the JWs believes you. Heck I am a JW I know most of the WT dirty deeds. I dont care. People are inheirently evil. What you expect. I just have stopped flying on auto pilot. Anyone ever deide the watchtower is no worse that phillip moris or RJ rynolds. People still work for those companies even thought smoking regularly kills millions. Do they think their product is evil and that they are being paid in blood money. Nope.
THe problem i the future is the Watchtower is making less gradious claims. They are becomeing mundane. The new converts wont have the same attatchment. It is seen today in the JW youth culture. They dont really give a crap about the watchtower. There are so few new servants the halls are running dry. To be able to enforce these werid parochial laws of JWism you have to believe they matter. RIght now if the elders get too loud a CO can chomp them down delete them. Then merge their hall if too few remain. The org is too large and too pedominately female and children to do that forever. So unless there is a mass shrinking of the RF one day the elder are going to do what they want. So instead of them thinking the watchtower being liable they will think of them selves being liable. The will accept personal resposiblity. THey will stop blaming the man upstiars.
Thanks again, everybody, for your replies.
Hooberus, thanks for the link. I've heard some of these things before, but worded differently. I never thought about it that way, but it is true- JWs treat an attack on the WT as an attack on God Himself. If someone attacked my church, I wouldn't take it as an attack on God, because my church is not God. I will definitely keep some of the questions from the link in mind for our next meeting.
kj
The January 15, 1970 Watchtower p. 37-40 contains arcticle titled:
"Which Comes First- Your Church or God?"
"The "first man" represents the believers who remain faithful to their church out of loyalty to the religion they were brought to believe in. Thier attitude is: Right or wrong, it is my religion! Is that the way you feel? If so, you are certainly a loyal person. But to whom do you owe the greater loyalty-to your church, or to God? With so much disbelief rife throughout the earth, you are to be commended for maintaining your faith, but where should your faith be placed-in a religious organization, or in God?" p.37
"The "second man" mentioned in the Nouvel Observateur represents those Catholics and Protestants who stay with their church because they do not know where else to go. They havebeen taught that their church represents God, and they do not want to turn away from him. They disapprove of many church practices or doctrines, but they hope to reform their church from within. Typical of these are the 744 French Catholics who, in November 1968, sent a long open letter to the pope. In it they stated: "Today the Christian needs to live in a 'true' Church . . . Therefore all that is false, contrary to the Gospel and scandalous within the Church today wounds the Christian." Then followed a long list of grievances against the Catholic Church and it current teachings and practices. Yet, toward the end, these catholics expressed their unconditional adherence to their church by alluding to John 6:68 and stating: "Who could we go to? In her [the Roman Catholic Church] we find the One who has words of eternal life." p.39
I beileve that this Watchtower arcticle can with a few simple questions (see below) be used effectively to separate the witnesses "Loyalty to God" from "Loyalty to the Organization". The Issue of faith in a religious organization being separte from faith in God is addressed nicely. Also issues of "where else to go" and the misappication of John 6:68 from Christ to a "church" or "organization" can be very effectively brought up using this arcticle.
In an earlier post the follwing was given by a former witness as some of the reasons for staying in the Watchtower Organization.
"Obstacles/hinderances: Loyalty. Thinking that there was no where else to go. Fear of the unknown. Believing God and the Watchtower were inseperable. Believing we would lose Gods protective barrier and bring death on our family (Like Job) if we left."
I believe that the above article can be used effectively and non-offensively to deal with these common issues.
Questions for your friend (these questions can be used with or without the above arcticle):
1. Is serving an organization that claims to represent Jehovah the same as serving Jehovah himself?
2. Does the fact that a religious organization uses the name "Jehovah" necessarily mean that the organization is "Jehovah's Organization?
(many religious organizations use the name "Jehovah" or other forms such as Yahweh for example: "The Assemblies of Yahweh" organization.)
3. Is doubting an organization that claims to represnt God the same as doubting God himself?
4. Is faith in a religious organization that claims to represent Jehovah the same as faith in Jehovah himself.
5. If you were to loose faith in the Watchtower Society would you also loose faith in Jehovah at the same time?
7.Is loyalty to a religious organizaion that claims to represent God the same as loyalty to God?
8. Is John 6:68 talking about not leaving a religious organization or about not leaving a person (Jesus Christ)?
Excellent post hooberus!
Valuable insights and questions to help separate the witnesses "Loyalty to God" from "Loyalty to the Organization"...
