There is a fundamental
lie which I couldn’t help noticing today in the Our Christian Life and Ministry—Meeting Workbook for August 1-7,
2016. It is in the little supplemental page considered this week under the
title “Improving Our Skills in the Ministry—Helping Bible Students to Progress
to Dedication and Baptism,” in the first paragraph (labelled “WHY IMPORTANT”),
third sentence. Here is that sentence:
“A
Christian’s dedication is to Jehovah—not to a human, a
work, or an organization.”
(The
highlighting of the pertinent words is mine.)
Here is a
direct link to that particular page: http://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/202016284
Did you
catch it? As I’m sure everyone is aware, the two questions addressed to
baptismal candidates were changed in 1985 (as per the Watchtower of June 1, 1985, p. 30).
BEFORE
1985, those two questions had been:
(1) Have
you recognized yourself before Jehovah God as a sinner who needs salvation, and
have you acknowledged to him that this salvation proceeds from him the Father
through his Son Jesus Christ?
(2) On the
basis of this faith in God and in his provision for salvation, have you dedicated
yourself unreservedly to God to do his will henceforth as
he reveals it to you through Jesus Christ and through the
Bible
under the enlightenment of the holy spirit?
HOWEVER, SINCE
1985 the questions were changed to:
(1) On the
basis of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, have you repented of your sins and
dedicated yourself to Jehovah to do his will?
(2) Do you
understand that your dedication and baptism identify you
as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses in association with God’s spirit-directed organization?
(Again, all
the highlighting of the pertinent words is mine.)
It’s rather
sly and crafty in the way this somewhat subtle change was brought about. It may
not seem like a lot, at least on the first glance, but in actuality it is rather
glaring and quite telling about the workings of the Watch Tower Society and how
it views itself. This week’s Meeting
Workbook states that a Christian’s dedication is not to a human, a work,
or an organization. Yet, indeed, as we can readily see from the
current second baptismal question, the candidates are asked to confirm that
their dedication and baptism are in identification with Jehovah’s Witnesses (a fundamentalist
sect) and their supposedly “spirit-directed” (very human) organization!
Just how
honest is that statement being read at the evening meeting this week in all the
congregations? Well, I believe that I don’t need to answer that. I will simply
let everyone answer for themselves. It’s all, as they say, in black and white.
