by Sunspot 21 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
WHY Doesn't The WTS Observe The Resurrection?
Two reasons come to my mind.
First, that would come very close to celebrating Easter. JWs can't have that.
Second, the resurrection is all about Jesus. And Jehovah's Witnesses can never do anything that pays too much attention to Jesus. For doing so might seem to some that JWs put Jesus above Jehovah or that they consider Jesus to be, in at least some way, equal to Jehovah. And that is a very big JW no-no.
Re: WHY Doesn't The WTS Observe The Resurrection?
If this is referring to the resurrection of the righteous and the unrighteous which lies in the future during the millenium then nobody has 'observed' it yet. As far as I know, only Jehovah's Witnesses believe in it as actual and real but am open to correction (and there will certainly be no lack of that!) There are some church doctrines which present the resurrection as 'elitist' and even as part of a 'kangaroo court' scenario but Acts 24;15 belies those views.
Regarding others' comments on my own postings, I avoid these as this could create an unfriendly atmosphere and wouldn't that be against the 'spirit' of this forum?
dostprefer:
If this is referring to the resurrection of the righteous and the unrighteous which lies in the future during the millenium then nobody has 'observed' it yet.
If you had read anything that had been posted in this thread, you would know it was referring to the resurrection of Jesus, the foundation of Christianity - which, like his divinity and eternity, are denied by JWs.
There are some church doctrines which present the resurrection as 'elitist' and even as part of a 'kangaroo court' scenario but Acts 24;15 belies those views.
There are few doctrines more elitist than the JWs unique and unbiblical two-tier salvation belief.
Regarding others' comments on my own postings, I avoid these as this could create an unfriendly atmosphere and wouldn't that be against the 'spirit' of this forum?
Not at all. Polite disagreement is allowed, even encouraged. It's not like the Watchtower cult where questioning will get you marked. If you continually make "hit-and-run" posts, however, most people will consider you a troll and start ignoring you. You'll probably find some people have started that already.
~~"Where did Jesus command his followers to have 5 hours of meetings a week?
Silence....
Blondie---you were way too logical to be a JW!
~~Jesus is just a foil for the recruitment propaganda and behavior control being dispensed.
PPete---The "guise" of Christianity.....yes.
~~Would another way to ask this question be,
~"Why does this group celebrate or even acknowledge the death of Jesus, & not the resurrection!
WillP---(Every time I see your name I hear Gary Puckett!) I struggled over how to word this topic---and I'll explain why I wrote as I did further down.
~~Special little cult speak that only insiders will understand. Yeah, he is risen, if you are a christian just about the biggest deal that there is in the whole enchilada and the borg don't even mention it. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...
Big Dog---Even as a JW (I guess I've said this....) I never KNEW WHY we didn't celebrate it and had difficulty telling others why!
~~These people don't care anything about Jesus or even Jehover all they care about is control and the APPEARENCE of right... Buncha turds!
mkr---But how could totally ignoring Jesus' resurrection...fit the "appearance of right"?
Annie
I was told it was because Jesus did not command his followers to observe it...
He couldn't have.....he was dead
~~They talk about the organization more than they talk about god.
iiz2cool---yup! And Jesus gets an honorabl mention now and again!
~~Blondie, the simplest reasoning is always the best, isn't it?
classicist---That's what *I* figured out after I left the WTS. Took me 30 years. I'm a slow learner!
~~lol@blondie. Nice one!
JeannieB---Yeah, I would have loved to have been there!
~~they (WBTS) have a pathological need to be different, they equate different as marking them as special. Yeah special, as in the the short bus.
~~Oh my gawd how true!
u/d---I thought that was pretty funny when I read it too! AND true!
Annie
~~Two reasons come to my mind.
~~First, that would come very close to celebrating Easter. JWs can't have that.
~~Second, the resurrection is all about Jesus. And Jehovah's Witnesses can never do anything that pays too much attention to Jesus. For doing so might seem to some that JWs put Jesus above Jehovah or that they consider Jesus to be, in at least some way, equal to Jehovah. And that is a very big JW no-no.
a Christian---Now answering Will Power's post and yours; I purposely avoided using the term "Easter" because I knew that would bring the comments about being a Pagan holiday, etc, etc. I tried to think of a way to state this that would be JW-friendly!
I find it ridiculous and unforgivable that the WTS would deliberately give Christ's miraculous resurrection so as not to focus on him! But what else COULD it be? It's got me baffled!
I would have appreciated a JW to post to this and come up with a real answer-but unfortunately they always seem to bypass the real questions that need to be addressed. I was being truthful when I said I never DID understand the reasoning behind it. I went under the old "whatever you don't understand--let it go--it will be explained when you trust in Jehovah" line. It didn't. 30 years of wondering. Hmmmm.
~~If this is referring to the resurrection of the righteous and the unrighteous which lies in the future during the millenium then nobody has 'observed' it yet.
dostprefer---It wasn't. I thought I had made myself fairly clear. Maybe not. Whatever the case.
I went to your profile (no profile) to see if you were a JW or not so I could answer accordingly. I really wish that folks would at least put their "standing" and their sex so we could address them a bit more accurately. It would make communication so much easier.
~~Not at all. Polite disagreement is allowed, even encouraged. It's not like the Watchtower cult where questioning will get you marked. If you continually make "hit-and-run" posts, however, most people will consider you a troll and start ignoring you. You'll probably find some people have started that already.
Funkyderek---Exactly! And thanks for clearing up the resurrection of CHRIST as being the topic!
Thanks to everyone who took the time to comment!
Annie
I was told it was because Jesus did not command his followers to observe it...He couldn't have.....he was dead
JH---Yet one more poster who leans towards just the basics! How simple and logial is that? The WTS (and others) go into great detail and why's and wherefores, anti-typical and typical "meanings"....OMG it makes ya crazy!
That "looking into the deeper things" (especially from only WTS publications) means to focus on the WTS "take" on things, and keeps the JW sheep heading for the communal trough.
The WTS has certainly detracted from, diminished and preached a different message than the REAL Jesus.
Thanks for your post, JH.
Annie
concerning the resurection of christ,
The Watchtower organization says that Jesus did not rise from the dead in the same body he died in (You Can Live Forever on Paradise Earth, p. 143-44). Instead, it says that He rose as a spirit creature and that the material body of Jesus was taken away by God the Father. Therefore, they deny the physical resurrection of Christ. Is this important? Most definitely!
1 Cor. 15:14
says, "If Jesus is not raised, then our faith is in vain." In other words, if Jesus did not rise from the dead, then Christianity is a waste of time and we are then still dead in our sins. It is obvious that the doctrine of the resurrection of Jesus is a vital and essential element of Christianity. But what of the Jehovah?s Witnesses? Are they accurate in their assessment of Jesus? resurrection in denying the bodily resurrection but affirming a "spiritual" resurrection? The answer is a definite, "No."
It is obvious from Jesus' own words in
John 2:19-21
that He would raise Himself from the dead:
"Jesus answered and said to them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." 20 The Jews therefore said, "It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?" 21 But He was speaking of the temple of His body."
John 2:19-21 is a clear prophecy of Christ. Note that He said He would raise up "this temple." John the apostle clarifies for us that "this temple" was actually Jesus physical body. Therefore, Jesus' physical body was raised from the dead. Very simple. However, the Jehovah's Witnesses do not believe Jesus' own words here.
In order to help you see the error of the Watchtower position and aid you in refuting their arguments, I've compiled the following list of arguments used by the Jehovah's Witnesses to support their position.
some of their arguments the JW use to keep their beliefs check out the middle part of this website:http://www.carm.org/jw/jw_ressurrection.htm
The only explanation that I ever got was that Jesus said to "do this in remembrance of me" meaning the taking in of the wine and unleavened bread.
And they don't do that properly either. For JWs, their public rejection of the bread and wine is the important thing, not the resurrection.
Walter
