Misquotes

troubled

Has anyone ever written to the Society,with evidence of misquotes, and asked them for an explanation of this? Or has anyone ever written and asked them why they quote and don't give the source of the quote? If I did this, do you think I would get into trouble in the congregation, etc.? It shouldn't be wrong to ask a question or want some proof, since the scriptures tell us to make sure, as the Boreans did, that what we are told is "really so." I'm just thinking about writing and asking about this matter, and wondering if anyone else has done this and/or what the response was.

humble

I suggest that you write to them. Instead of pages and pages of letters, just give them two or three examples. Also, write with the purpose of learning and not in a defiant way. They will answer your letter if you write with a humble tone.

Please share their response.

Anchor

Frankly the Writing Correspondence department handles a ton of mail like this. You are not writing "the Society," some kindly GB member or wisened elder. Letters are scanned, digitized and processed, with template-like replies that are generic and rarely specific. It may be suggested that you spend more time in prayer and personal study, that perhaps your faith is beginning to wane in Jehovah's organization. If a matter is unclear and they cannot explain it, there is a line the word processor will invariably drop in: "Adopt a waiting attitude like that of Micah."

Depending on the level of your comments, a letter may go to your body of elders from "the Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses," formerly the Service Department, to help "readjust" you, humble tone or not. Of course it should not be wrong to ask questions, but by the new baptism vows you have joined an organization and should fully embrace its beliefs--all of them. That's their position.

The position is this: "If it is in print, it has the authority of the faithful slave and therefore is truth." They are the sole arbiters of truth. The President of the Society N. H. Knorr was fond of saying: "Once it leaves the sixth floor [press room], it is truth."

The distorted quotations are nothing new, they have existed for many, many decades. It's a shock to recognize them for oneself.

This is not to dissuade you, but to let you hear the voice of experience.

Anchor

troubled

Anchor, are you still in the organization?

You Know

Do you really want to go down that path? What if you find things that disturb you? What is your motive for wanting to delve into the Society's mistakes? That's how it all starts with apostates, and frankly, I doubt if you are strong enough to handle what you might find. In one of Jesus' letters to the congregations in Revelation, he commended those who had not come to know the "deep things of Satan." Typically we think of witchcraft and such as being the deep things of Satan. But, really, those deep things of the Devil could be the reasonings of our apostate accusers.The Devil, being the original apostate, is the chief accuser of God's people. He knows every mistake and stupid thing we have ever done. And when the Scriptures call him "the accuser of our brothers," we shouldn't necessarily imagine that his accusations are simply made up. No, he accuses us, particularly the anointed ones, for all our sins before God. His evil slave is merely his earthly mouthpiece that echoes his accusations in an effort to turn others against Christ's embattled brothers. Really, Here's the thing: Your faith should not be in the Watchtower. The Watchtower is just the instrument of an agency that is otherwise described as a "slave." The brothers have made all kinds of mistakes and misteps and gotten themselves into some serious mess with the way they have handled certain things---and it's only going to get worse going forward. Loyalty, though, is a different thing. We can still be loyal to the organization and the brotherhood, not because they are infallible, but because they are serving Jehovah, or at least trying.

It was said of Christ, that he loved his disciples until the very end. Think of that. Jesus did not abandon his apostles even though even on his final night with them they were still arguing over who was the greatest. And, of course, a few hours after they all boasted that they would never leave Jesus or betray him they were all scattered. Christ set the example in being loyal to those whom Jehovah chose.

Our loyalty will likewise be tested. Many obviously have failed the test already, and it appears that many more will eventually be stumbled from the truth before it's all said and done. In Jesus' great prophecy of his presence he foretold very palinly that "many will be stumbled, and will hate one another and betray one another." Evidently we are just beginning to see that aspect of Christ's prophecy. Notice, too, that Jesus linked that stumbling to the activity of the so-called false prophets that would arise and mislead many. II Peter the 2nd chapter indicates that apostates are the false prophets. So, while the organization has made numerous mistakes, which are as stumbling blocks before others, it is the apostates that avertise and exploit these things in order to ensnare others in their trap.

Jehovah, of course, allows his organization to go astray in some ways in order to make a test of our hearts. Those who don't really have a close and personal relationship with Jehovah, who have failed to really get the sense of the truth, are those whom Jehovah allows to be ensnared and stumbled by Satan's apostate partners.

Anyway, there are numerous prophecies in the Hebrew text that foretell that God's organization would inadvertantly set stumbling blocks before others, and that we ourselves will also be stumbled, even as the apostles were on the night Jesus was arrested. That's why Jesus emphasized that only those who actually endured to the end would be saved. But, the very fact that there are many now succumbing to apostasy is the surest indication that Jehovah's judgment is not far behind.

/ You Know

Anchor

For a very, very long time. Hanging on by fingernails, trying to keep sane.

Trying to avoid the bludgeon of shunning by friends and family, just for withdrawing, so I cannot say more.

Anchor

Seeker

troubled,

Yes, many people have written to the Society about misquotes. AlanF went one better: a couple of years ago, he went to Bethel and asked to meet with Harry Peloyan who was the principal writer of the Creation book. They sat in the lobby of the 25 Columbia Heights building for a couple of hours while AlanF presented his findings about dishonest quoting in that book. Harry's response was essentially this: "Hey, those words appear in the original text, right? I got the words right, didn't I?"

He seemed to completely ignore the fact that by selectively quoting, he was giving the completely wrong impression, even if the actual "words" he picked were correct. AlanF illustrated it to him by saying, "What if the Watchtower, in an article on evolution, said: 'Some people feel evolution is a fact, but the Bible shows otherwise.' What if someone then wrote: The Watchtower said, "evolution is a fact."? They would be getting the actual words correct, but by selectively quoting they would be giving a wrong impression.

That seemed to make an impression on Harry, but he quickly came back to the attitude of 'So what, evolution really isn't true, so that's what counts, and besides I got the words right anyway.'

If you write to the WTS, you won't get as thorough a response as what AlanF got from the author himself. Yet you see the futility of trying to express how dishonest this practice is. They don't care. And the WTS still publishes this book without correction, and still asks the friends to place it in the field, despite being informed of extensive dishonest quoting.

troubled

You Know,

I understand what you are saying about even Jehovah's organization making mistakes and stumbling blocks coming up, etc. But if I adopt that "waiting" attitude, leaving it to Jah to take care of the problems, it still creates a difficulty in field service.
I mean, how can I continue going out and inviting others to come into the organization when I see some very serious stumbling blocks inside it? I mean, using the logic, "All human organizations are imperfect, there's bad things going on in every religion, but the Witnesses have less bad than the others" isn't going to fly, is it?

Also, I'm not sure how Jehovah wants us to handle these mistakes going on in the organization. The Bible is full of examples, both of those who chose to ENDURE and WAIT on Jehovah to correct matters (David, who wouldn't strike out against Saul), and those who SPOKE UP about wrongdoing (counseling David for taking Bathsheba and killing her husband).

So it's not so black and white, trying to determine how to handle it.

Seeker

troubled,

While you are considering Bible examples, consider what happened in the Bible when a faithful person had mistakes pointed out to them (David, Peter, etc.) How did they react?

Now consider those Bible examples where an unfaithful person had mistakes pointed out to them (Saul, etc.) How did they react?

Now apply it to the modern day. When mistakes are pointed out to the WTS, which Bible examples do they resemble?

JanH

I suggest that you write to them. Instead of pages and pages of letters, just give them two or three examples. Also, write with the purpose of learning and not in a defiant way. They will answer your letter if you write with a humble tone.

Nonsense. I wrote such a letter, years ago. It has been available on the Net for years (still is? Kent??). Nobody can claim it is anything wrong with it.

No reply, of course.

Except a kick in the ass.

- Jan
--
Faith, n. Belief without evidence in what is told by one who speaks without knowledge, of things without parallel. [Ambrose Bierce, The Devil´s Dictionary, 1911]

Misquotes

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