Fantastic scripture about man made rules

by Jez 5 Replies latest jw experiences

• 

  Jez

  NWT says in Matt 15:8,9

  "This people honors me with their lips, yet their heart is far removed from me. It is in vain that they keep worshiping me, because they teach commands of men as doctrines."

  Contemporary English Version says:

  "All of you praise me with your words, but you never really think about me. It is useless for you to worship me, when you teach rules made up by humans."

  Sometimes I think that the JW's recycle the same ol scriptures over and over and over and over. WHY have I not seen this scripture in all my years as a dub? They don't want me to see it, or maybe I am seeing it anew without the ol' twists/interpretations added for me.

  Jez
• 

  candidlynuts

  i've seen it in wt publications in regards to catholic repetitive prayers.

  your right.. on this side of the fence it takes on a whole new meaning.
• 

  blondie

  It pops up about 300 times on the 2003 WT-CD, once last year.

  ***

  w03 9/1 p. 6 One True Christian Faith?A Reality ***

  And what of the other churches that sprang up following the so-called Reformation? Did they return to the model of the early Christian congregation? Did they restore the purity of the original Christian congregation? It is true that following the Reformation, the Bible became available to many of the common people in their own language. Yet, history shows that these churches continued to teach erroneous doctrines.?Matthew 15:7-9.

  ***

  w02 4/15 p. 21 Guide Your Steps by Godly Principles ***

  Knowing and applying principles also protects us from the snare of empty, formal worship. There is a difference between following principles and legalistically obeying rules. Jesus clearly showed this in the Sermon on the Mount. (Matthew 5:17-48) Remember that Jesus? listeners were Jews, so their conduct should have been governed by the Mosaic Law. But in reality they had a distorted view of the Law. They had come to stress the letter of the Law rather than its spirit. And they emphasized their traditions, putting such above the teaching of God. (Matthew 12:9-12; 15:1-9) As a consequence, the people in general were not taught to think in terms of principles.

  ***

  w01 6/1 p. 14 "If God Is for Us, Who Will Be Against Us?" ***

  Logically, to enjoy God?s backing, one must teach only what God reveals in his Word and reject teachings based on human wisdom or tradition.?Isaiah 29:13; Matthew 15:3-9; Colossians 2:8

  ***

  w01 10/1 p. 5 You Can Have True Faith ***

  But any reasonable person can see that Christendom only pretends to follow Bible principles.?Matthew 15:8.
• 

  M.J.

  Thanks. Good one. I also like: You were bought at a price; do not become slaves of men. 1 Cor 7:23
• 

  M.J.

  I agree that the JWs recycle scriptures. Their talks on the Bible seems so shallow, as they spout off line after line of assertions peppered with all-too-familiar Biblical "sound bites" collected anywhere from Genesis to Revelation.
• 

  BluesBrother

  Quite right Jez , and Candidly N put it very succintly. Once one has crossed over to this side it is all so clear.. We used to trot out the line that "All our beliefs can be proved from the Bible" , Oh yes?

  I once heard a speaker take a quote from this writer - Demosthenes,

  "The easiest thing of all is to DECEIVE one's self; for what a man wishes he generally believes to be TRUE."

  The speaker applied that to followers of worldly ideas and philosophy. The poor lad was unable to see that it applied moor than ever to himself and his audience