by dothemath 10 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
John wrote that many put faith in Jesus, but because of being afraid of getting expelled from the synagogue, they wouldn't confess him.
John 12: 42
It was a powerful weapon back then, and it's still used today. Even when some want to stop being a Witness, they're lumped in with ones who are unrepentant sinners, and expelled from the congregation.
Wouldn't the Pharisees be proud of many of the things done in the organization today?
My #1 problem with the dubs dothemath. The leadership is the modern incarnation on the Pharasees.
Thanks
The parallel is perfect.
Jesus may have alluded to the same Jewish "organizational procedure" when he said:
Blessed are you when men hate you,
when they exclude you and insult you
and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. (Luke 6:22)
Reminds the WT's DF modus operandi a lot, doesn't it?
Neo
I was talking with a buddy of mine about a similar thing a couple of weeks ago. When Jesus announced that he was the son of God most Jews thought that he would be the one to conquor the roman empire and free them from their second class citizenship. Instead he all but ignored the Romans and went against the pharasees that were abusing their power.
Today many Christians feel that Christ will come again and free them from their bondage to an unchristian world. instead, if and when he does come I think he's more likely to clean house the same way he did 2,000 years ago.
My guess is that the JW's and Mormons will be first on his shitlist.
Even when some want to stop being a Witness, they're lumped in with ones who are unrepentant sinners, and expelled from the congregation.
This is the standard deception employed. To the JW (pharasaical/legalistic) mind, it is inconceivable that anyone could lead a life relatively free of the works of the flesh without the WT.
The absolute worst thing for a JW, the one thing that drives them slap silly batty is for someone to leave the WT and to have a normal life where they enjoy stable relationships, marriages, well behaved children etc.
THIS IS the actual purpose of the shunning policy. The fact that many of us get really mad and angry at the injustice of it all simply feeds the illusion that only JW's are righteous.
Try telling JW's how much you love them and see how fast they mentally shut down. It disturbs their phobic worldview.
This is the standard deception employed. To the JW (pharasaical/legalistic) mind, it is inconceivable that anyone could lead a life relatively free of the works of the flesh without the WT.
Good point, Perry.
That is precisely why, to those few witnesses that will still allow us to speak to them, I always make sure I include in my comments how well we are doing in terms of our marriage, love of the family, ect. And I always include a scriptural notation [in emails and letters]. That way they know that we are still living life as Christians.
I know they still think we are out of God's favor, but they know too that the Bible and morality still guides us. They prob wonder how that can be under the rule of Satan though.
Jeff
This is the standard deception employed. To the JW (pharasaical/legalistic) mind, it is inconceivable that anyone could lead a life relatively free of the works of the flesh without the WT.
Can't add to much more to what's been said by all of you.
I was talking to a DF'd sister (DF'd because she refused to shun her DF'd daughter) yesterday and she just couldn't believe an apostate had a relationship with Jesus. Then when she was directed to several newspaper articles regarding molestation in the WTBTS she just went bananas and said, "I don't care what they say it is the truth." When she saw the inconsistencies in the Awake Masthead she still refused to believe the truth about the truth. When she got her Kingdom Interlinear and NWT out and saw with her own eyes how the translators had altered the NWT from the original Greek she did have a reaction. She got PO'd at the messenger and shut down mentally. What makes the hold so strong on these people? Is it because they want to believe they can't have a relationship with Jesus or is it that they can't put faith in something unseen? Whatever it is Satan sure has instructed the GB and JW B.O.E. how to keep the rank and file from Christ.
Yeah, their influence was so great they had the crowds screaming for Jesus's death!!!!
Golf
Although most of the opposition between the "Pharisees" and "Jesus" is anachronistic in an early 1st-century setting (the Pharisees only gained a dominant position in Judaism after 70), it's interesting how the Christian caricature of Pharisaism later served as a negative "legalistic" type within Christianity itself (down to this very thread). The bogeyman sticks to its maker.
They prob wonder how that can be under the rule of Satan though
Good point. The Pharisees accused Jesus of doing his miracles by means of the power of Satan. Christ pointed out the illogicalness of this stating that the house of Satan could not stand if it was divided.
There is a Christian parallel. The miracle of a life of grace in Christ is just as big a mystery to JW's as was Jesus' miracles to the Pharisees. So, it is automatically "Satanic", although it IS the biblical answer to sin.
JW's simply refuse to be treated as anything other than cattle. They must be "driven" through fear and intimidation (you're ignorant if you don't keep up with the new light) by the elders and the WT. Contrastingly, Christ leads His sheep through grace and his indwelling. Totally different impetus, totally different worldview, and totally different resulting lifestyles.
Letting them see this up close, I think can be one of the main things that can pop the JW bubble they're in.
