How the WTBS sets itself up to be wrong.

JeffT

I'm writing an essay on "A Personal Exprience with Religious Fanaticism" (I'll post it here when I'm done, although it is intended for a non JW audience). This has led me to doing a lot of research and I was really struck by something last night.

No matter what the subject the Watchtower has to have a single right answer. A ten headed dragon in Revelation has to mean one particular thing, no matter how silly. There can't be a variety of possible answers, and certainly they can't just say "well nobody knows." As a contrast I have a five volume Bible encylopedia published by Zondervan. When discussing something like the rapture they will lay out the pros and cons of the various views (in this case pre-tribulation, mid-tribulation, and posttribulation) and let the reader draw his own conclusion.

By sticking it with its only-one-possible-explanation interpretation that Watchtower creates situations where parts of its various teachings disagree with each, or have to be explained away. Of course if they leave it up to the members to think for themselves they will be out of business.

Quotes

Stated less eloquently:

The WTS paints itself into a corner. Then denies that it did the painting, denies the existence of the paint, denies the existence of the corner, and frequently then walks through the paint to another corner. It then denies the existence of their footsteps in the paint they just walked through, because (a) there is no paint! and (b) they don't walk anyway, they float on air!. Besides, they were always in the second corner anyways; the new corner is just an "adjustment" from the other side of the room.

~Quotes, of the "Paint Tray" class

Odrade

This is also, unfortunately, one of it's greatest attractions and means of convincing people who know nothing about the bible. "No matter what I ask them about the bible they always know the answer. That PROVES they study!" Nah, just proves that if they don't know they just pull something out of their ass and impose it on 6 mill adherents.

Looking forward to the essay! should be interesting.

katiekitten

Totally agree Jeff. It struck me for a long time that they had to have an answer for everything (thinking of the revelation book, and all that coblers about horses with yellow vests on supposed to being the literature - stinging people with its truths)

Also if there was really no explanation, they stayed right off topic.

greendawn

Or they discard their doctrines time and again proving that they are totally at a loss as far as the truth is concerned. They don't know what to believe.

Narkissos

One remarkable exception within WT literature was the Commentary on the Letter of James, which repeatedly offered alternative interpretations (it can mean this or that), without ultimately deciding. I found it quite refreshing back then, but many JWs were very uneasy with the uncertainty -- of course the writer proved to be an apostate...

hubert

quotes and odrade,

Thanks for the laughs! Ha, Ha !! Made my day !

Hubert