Comments You Will Not Hear at the 1-2-05 WT Study

blondie

Comments You Will Not Hear at the 01-02-05 WT Study (November 15, 2004 issue)

Review comments will be in black and parentheses ()

WT quotes from today?s WT

will be in red and quotes ""
Quotes from other sources
will be in blue

SEARCH FOR JEHOVAH, THE EXAMINER OF HEARTS

"Search for me, and keep living."?Amos 5:4

For thus says the Lord to the house of Israel: Seek Me [inquire for and of Me and require Me as you require food] and you shall live!?
Amos 5:4 (Amplified Bible)

www.biblegateway.com /cgi-bin/bible

Opening Comments

Search for "Jehovah." Where is Jesus in this equation? Does Jesus read hearts?

w02 9/1 p. 21 Imitate the Great Teacher

Unlike Jesus, we cannot read hearts.

w01

7/15 p. 23 Are You Truly Tolerant? ***

Unlike Jesus, we lack the ability to read hearts.

w00

2/15 p. 18 Do You Have "the Mind of Christ"? ***

Jesus?could read human hearts.

w95

10/15 p. 31 Watch Out for Self-Righteousness!

But Jesus could read people?s hearts. We cannot.?Matthew 23:33.

Keep living?is this time a parallel with today as the WTS says? Did some of the wicked Israelites survive? Didn?t their descendants return to Israel? Don?t the wicked Israelites who were executed/died then going to have resurrection into the paradise earth? Did they descend into Gehenna, everlasting destruction as taught by the WTS? No.

START OF ARTICLE

Paragraphs 1,2

God sees the heart?he looks beyond outward appearance and focuses on what a person really is.

Do JWs judge people inside and outside the congregation? What has been your experience?

God Examines Israel

Paragraphs 3-6

Amos 6:4-6

In the comfort of their well-appointed homes, the rich enjoyed the best in food and drink and were entertained by the finest in musical instruments.

Was Jehovah God displeased that the Israelites were living comfortably, savoring tasty meals, drinking fine wine, and listening to beautiful music? Of course not! After all, he provides such things richly for man?s enjoyment. (1 Timothy 6:17)

w03 12/15 p. 24 Prove Yourself Ready for Jehovah?s Day ***

A materialistic life-style can blind us, leaving little or no time for spiritual pursuits. How can we examine ourselves and avoid being ensnared by such a life-style? We need to consider prayerfully how and to what extent we can simplify our life. King Solomon of ancient Israel said: "Sweet is the sleep of the one serving, regardless of whether it is little or much that he eats; but the plenty belonging to the rich one is not permitting him to sleep." (Ecclesiastes 5:12) Does taking care of unnecessary material possessions consume a lot of our time and energy? The more we own, the more we have to maintain, insure, and protect. Could it be to our advantage to simplify our life by freeing ourselves of certain belongings?

What displeased Jehovah were the wrong desires of the people, their wicked heart condition, their irreverent attitude toward God, and their lack of love for fellow Israelites.

"Are you putting out of your mind the calamitous day?"?Many people today have a similar attitude. They may acknowledge that we are living in difficult times, but as long as they are not affected personally, they care little about the plight of others.

How many JWs today are concerned about the plight of those in the East? Except for those few JWs that might be affected, and some of those deserved it because they weren?t at the meeting or out in field service, but on vacation.

Israel?A Nation in Decay

Paragraphs 7-10

Because of their failure to heed divine warnings and correct their viewpoint, Jehovah would abandon them to their enemies.

1914, 1925, 1940, 1975, 1984 (70 Years), 1994 (80 years), 1995 end of the generation of 1914 (how many false warnings has the WTS given)

http://quotes.watchtower.ca/1914.htm

http://quotes.watchtower.ca/1925.htm

http://quotes.watchtower.ca/1975.htm

Jeroboam convinced the people of his domain that it was too much for them to travel to Jerusalem to worship Jehovah?he was trying to protect his own interests.

Thus calf worship became the State religion in the kingdom of Israel.

Doesn?t the WTS divert their members from going through Jesus to going through them as the only channel on earth?

w94 10/1 p. 8 The Bible?A Book Meant to Be Understood ***

Even as Bible prophecy pointed forward to the Messiah, it also directs us to the close-knit body of anointed Christian Witnesses that now serve as the faithful and discreet slave. It helps us to understand the Word of God. All who want to understand the Bible should appreciate that the "greatly diversified wisdom of God" can become known only through Jehovah?s channel of communication, the faithful and discreet slave.?John 6:68.

Is Jesus their mediator?

http://quotes.watchtower.ca/mediator.htm

Who do they pray through then?

Present-Day Parallels

Paragraphs 11,12

Clearly (buzzword), Jehovah examined the hearts of those engaging in Israel?s festivals and rejected their observances and offerings. Similarly today, God rejects Christendom?s pagan celebrations, such as Christmas and Easter. For worshipers of Jehovah (buzzword?not to be confused with ?Christian?), there can be no partnership between righteousness and lawlessness, no fellowship between light and darkness.?2 Corinthians 6:14-16.

Unless you are the WTS and enter into an association with the UN (scarlet colored wild beast of Revelation per WTS) as a non-governmental organization (NGO).

http://quotes.watchtower.ca/united_nations.htm

http://www.randytv.com/secret/unitednations.htm

Other parallels can be noted?although some professed (only JWs are true Christians) Christians accept the truth of God?s Word, Christendom?s worship itself is not motivated by genuine love of God. If it were, she would insist on worshiping Jehovah "with spirit and truth" because that is the kind of worship that pleases him. (John 4:24)

Moreover, Christendom?consistently soft-pedals God?s moral requirements. She tolerates fornication and other gross sins and even goes so far as to bless homosexual unions!

I think the WTS spends too much time in the ivory tower and didn?t pay attention to the political scene the last 2 years.

How about tolerating pedophlles in their midst and persecuting the victims and others who speak out.

www.silentlambs.org

"Love What is Good"

Paragraphs 13-17

"Hate what is bad, and love what is good." (Amos 5:15)

Or hate WHO is bad?

1961 July 15 p 420 A Time and Place for Everything

Jesus encouraged his followers to love their enemies, but God's Word also says to "hate what is bad." When a person persists in a way of badness after knowing what is right, when the bad becomes so ingrained that it is an inseparable part of his make-up, then in order to hate what is bad a Christian must hate the person with whom the badness is inseparably linked. Indicating that Jesus did not mean for us to love the hardened enemies of Jehovah, David expressed this God-approved attitude: "Do I not hate those who are intensely hating you, O Jehovah, and do I not feel a loathing for those revolting against you? With a complete hatred I do hate them. They have become to me real enemies."-Matt. 5:44; Amos 5:15; Ps. 139:21, 22.

Watchtower 1980 June 15 p.8 What It Takes to Keep Separate from the World

Without a doubt, our appreciating just how wicked and corrupt Satan's world is will help us to keep separate from the world. Such appreciation will make it easy for us to obey the command found at Psalm 97:10: "O you lovers of Jehovah, hate what is bad." No matter how pleasant, how enticing, wicked things are to the fallen flesh, we must abhor them, even as the apostle commands. (Rom. 12:9) More than that, we want to hate those who willfully show themselves haters of Jehovah, haters of what is good. As David of old expressed it: "Do I not hate those who are intensely hating you, O Jehovah, and do I not feel a loathing for those revolting against you? With a complete hatred I do hate them. They have become to me real enemies." (Ps. 139:21, 22) We hate them, not in the sense of wanting to do them harm or wishing them harm but in the sense of avoiding them as we would poison or a poisonous snake, for they can poison us spiritually.

http://quotes.watchtower.ca/apostate.htm

Love and hate are strong emotions that emanate from the figurative heart.

What did the WTS teach in the past as to the figurative heart? (Interestingly, I could not find this in the index under "figurative heart" but had to use the fine search on the WT-CD 2003)

w70 10/1 p. 603 Grand Blessings of the "Men of Goodwill" Assemblies ***

Also focusing attention on the heart was the edifying talk "Serving Jehovah with a Complete Heart." When the Bible refers to the heart, it was explained, the literal heart and not the mind or a figurative heart is meant. So, as the Bible says, the heart, yes, one?s literal heart, can impel and incite. (Ex. 35:21, 26, 29) How vital it is, therefore, that we guard the heart by always filling it with good impressions!

We allow our heart to nurture wrong desires (as defined by the WTS)?by practicing sin, all the zeal in the world will not bring us back into God?s favor.

Not all Israelites were doing what was bad in Jehovah?s eyes. For instance Hosea and Amos?others took vows as Nazirites?How did the other Israelites view the self-sacrificing course of such doers of good things?."You kept giving the Nazirites wine to drink, and upon the prophets you laid a command, saying: ?You must not prophesy.?"
Let us never urge fellow Christians who are pioneers, missionaries, traveling overseers, or members of the Bethel family to discontinue their full-time service simply to return to a so-called normal life.

Oooh, not enough brothers (and sisters) are stepping up to the plate and the ones who are at the plate are leaving?can?t be anything the WTS is doing wrong, it?s the bad publishers discouraging them.

Although many Israelites were enjoying a materially satisfying life in the days of Amos, they were "not rich toward God."

Materialism raises its ugly head (see section God Examines Israel, paragraph 5).

Remember the Israelites in the wilderness, folks.

They had not feasted on manger-fed bulls or sprawled sluggishly on couches of ivory?always they had what they truly needed (as defined by the WTS).

But why had God led those early Israelites out of Egypt and into the land of promise? Was it so they could live a life of idle luxury and reject their Creator? No!

I think the WTS thinks too many JWs are loafing.

Jehovah Holds An Accounting

Paragraphs 18-20

Jehovah has not set us free spiritually so that we can pursue selfish goals.

The Israelites had not cultivated proper desires (see Nazirite above).

Those obstinate calf worshipers?would have to die in their sins!

It must not have been easy for anyone living in Israel in those days to remain faithful to Jehovah (where is Jesus?). It is difficult to swim against the current, so to speak, as Christians today, young and old, well know.

And where are JWs swimming, but amongst other people claiming to be JWs. The hypocrisy in the WTS makes it difficult for people to truly be "Christians" rather than JWs. Wasn?t the problem for Amos living amongst other Israelites, not Gentiles?

CARROT ALERT:

It is not easy to pursue this course, but doing so leads to everlasting life.?John 17:3

Prosperity Despite Spiritual Famine

Paragraphs 21-23

Christendom in the throes of such a spiritual famine. But honest-hearted ones in her midst can see the spiritual prosperity of God?s people (Christians?) and are flocking to Jehovah?s organization (buzzword).

Flocking??? Dropped to 2% and in many countries 0 and negative postings.

VOMIT ALERT

As Jehovah?s servants (only JWs)?when we study the Bible and Christian (not Bible-based this time) and attend our meetings, assemblies, and conventions, we do indeed feel like crying out joyfully?we rejoice in the clear understanding that we have God?s Word, including the divinely inspired prophecy of Amos.

Concluding Comments

May the nations of the earth respond quickly and effectively those affected in the East.

May we do what we can to help.

May the JWs find some way to rationalize giving people WTs instead of water, platitudes instead of food.

May they find a way to rationalize helping only JWs and only giving non-JWs the leftovers.

Love, Blondie

cyber-sista

Thank you and

Nice conclusion blondie.

It is hard to go on through the day without thinking about the Asian disaster--it is so monumental.

I can't imagine sitting in the KH on Sunday morning and be able to focus on this WT study without this tragedy coloring my thoughts. Another poster made the comment that it may cause some caring JWs to turn away from the WT who seems to care so little and their main focus continually being--do more, do more, do more...

Let us never urge fellow Christians who are pioneers, missionaries, traveling overseers, or members of the Bethel family to discontinue their full-time service simply to return to a so-called normal life.

I find this to be one of those "weird" WT statements. What are they really saying here? How does this make the average JW feel who is not participating in any of these activities above? Are some of the brothers who are living a "normal" life guilty of swaying those who are not? I remember these sort of WT statements as being open ended--meaning different things to different people and creating uncomfortable paranoid guilt type of feelings.

cybs

willyloman

Good points, as usual. I am amazed I never really examined statements like this one:

Christendom in the throes of such a spiritual famine. But honest-hearted ones in her midst can see the spiritual prosperity of God?s people (Christians?) and are flocking to Jehovah?s organization

As Blondie said, "Flocking?"

In one of the fastest-growing areas of California, we watched attendance at our congo fall from 130 something on Sunday to the mid-80s in less than two years. At the same time, circuit assembly attendance for this area dropped nearly 20% and the number of newly baptized at these assemblies dropped into single digits, almost all of them kids.

Flocking? Not even close.

Then there's this:

Thus calf worship became the State religion in the kingdom of Israel.

The WTS "take" on this is that the Israelites left the worship of the creator and replaced it with the worship of the created; that was their big sin. But the WTS has done the very same thing -- they worship what they have created, a man-made organizational structure with buildings, a hierarchy, a list of rules that have to be followed in order to advance within the organization, and a whole cultural and social system that has to be learned and adopted by the worshippers... whose worship is otherwise rendered useless.

heathen

It looks like more finger pointing from the WTBTS, OH it's not us and never was it's always you .

We hate them, not in the sense of wanting to do them harm or wishing them harm but in the sense of avoiding them as we would poison or a poisonous snake, for they can poison us spiritually.

I think they are writing about themselves here and describing our attitude toward them . I seem to remember the apostle Paul stating that if you are not loving your nieghbor you are a manslayer .

Christendom?s worship itself is not motivated by genuine love of God.

Excuse me but don't you claim to be christian ? I think this crap might have worked whenever rutherford said religion was a snare and a racket but today they are boldly claiming to be a chritian religion ( in small print only ). It might have worked better if they just used the old catch phrase ,"apostates."

All who want to understand the Bible should appreciate that the "greatly diversified wisdom of God" can become known only through Jehovah?s channel of communication, the faithful and discreet slave.?John 6:68.

Who do they think they are kidding with this line ,LMAO . I've seen posters on this board that can out do what the WTBTS publishes .

OH and BTW I had me a friendly visit from some sisters today , what a way to start the new year . Great job again blondie and God bless through new year .

sf

Nice job blondie. As usual.

As I usually do on the weekends, I'm about to paste this review into the jw/exjw chatroom on yahoo. Let's see how fast it clears the rooms, this time!

"Are you putting out of your mind the calamitous day?"…Many people today have a similar attitude. They may acknowledge that we are living in difficult times, but as long as they are not affected personally, they care little about the plight of others.

Seems the WT is indeed trying to put out the receny Calamitous Day in Southeast Asia out of their minds, but quick.

sKally

heathen

sf --- I go into those rooms sometimes myself but it usually has people that talk about things other than WTBTS stuff . That part there that you quoted sounds like the typical draw close to ~~jehovah~~ ( publishing corporation ) since he will kill you soon.

I can't wait till blondie gets ahold of the next WT that I got this morning . Now this should be interesting as I have read some of it .

stillajwexelder

EXCELLENT as usual thankyou Blondie

SallySue

Thank you Blondie....

As usual, you are right on...

czarofmischief

It's amazing how twenty odd paragraphs can still say absolutely NOTHING. I mean NOTHING. Passive writing, third person, hypotheticals... my god, if I was trying to I couldn't write twenty paragraphs of NOTHING.

No wonder the dubs spend so much time trying to interpret the nuances of words and the meanings of what the pictures in the WT indicate. The actual content is stupefying and is empty of all substance.

How could I not notice it before? Thanks Blondie for that refreshing bath of reality.

CZAR

cyber-sista

czar...

No wonder the dubs spend so much time trying to interpret the nuances of words and the meanings of what the pictures in the WT indicate. The actual content is stupefying and is empty of all substance.

exactly...We always thought those ones who could dredge up some details from the empty substance of the meaningless drivel and give those lengthy answers at the WT study were so wise...Anything to break the boredom. I have commented before on my last comment ever given at the KH...Long story, but I brilliantly came up with a comment one Thurs night about remembering to clean the toilet handle ( a much overlooked part of cleaning the bathroom, but a place where many germs reside) when we were cleaning the bathrooms ( a talk about hall cleaning). The audience nodded in agreement---the elder complemented me on my awesome answer (everyone else was in a coma and very few were raising their hands). It was the end of my WT daze.

cybs

Comments You Will Not Hear at the 1-2-05 WT Study

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