I just stumbled on something at the bookstudy last week! O.K as you all know we are studying the Draw Close To God book and in chapter 15: "Jesus Sets Justice in the Earth" read paragraph 10 on page 152 and tell me if you do not see a correlation: (and i quote)
" The religious leaders buried God's Law under a mass of man-made rules and regualtions. The sabbath Law, for instance, simpy forbade work on the Sabbath, setting that day aside for worship...But the Parisees made a burden of the law. They took it upon themselves to decide just what "work" meant. They labeled as work 39 different activities, such as reaping or hunting. These categories gave rise to endless questions. If a man killed a flea on the Sabbath, was he hunting? If he plcuked a handful of grain to eat as he walked along was he reaping?..Such questions were addressed with rigid, detailed rules."
HELLLOOO??? Was I the only one in the bookstudy who actually read the paragraph clearly? Who do you know with rigid detailed rules for every little thing that they can come up with? Who do you know causes people to call in the branch offices and elders with ridiculous questions b/c they can't think for themselves? For example we all have heard the scripture in John 2:15-17 concerning dress and grooming: It should be modest, no external braiding of the hair (whatever that means) no excess of jewelry etcBut notice that the scripture isn't some 30-page rule book on what to wear and not to wear. God left it up to us. That's why he did not create us as robots.-Romans 15:4b: "Let each man be convinced in his own mind." But where in the Bible is the scripture about a skirt is to be at least 3 inches below the knee, no beards, no excessive hair coloring (do you really think Jehovah cares if i put in some blue highlights in my hair for a night on the town?) The society has taken it upon themselves to be the sole rule maker in every little thing that you can imagine and misinterpreting scriptures to back up their claims. Proof of this is in the watchtower volume indexes. There are hundreds and hundreds of ridiculous topics from credit crads, mobile phones, tattoos, college even masturbation (which if was such a sin would of been clearly included in the bible right?) THEY HAVE GONE BEYOND THE LAW JUST LIKE THE SCRIBES AND PHARISEES OF JESUS' DAY! And what did Jesus say people: "You make the word of God invalid by your tradition which you handed down." -Mark 17:3 Oh and guess what else I found : There is a topic in the index on hunting and there was a "Questions Readers Ask " section on it about wether this activity is appropriate for a christian or not! I thinking I am starting to be able to de-brainwash myself all on my own! it's a cool feeling