now that you don't practice the religion, is it safe to say that you reject everything that you were taught??
?
I too haven't found the Trinity, immortality of the soul, hellfire, etc. in the Bible either. But the difference now is that I'm free to look at what the Bible says without any fear of noticing something that might change my mind and then get charged with apostasy for disagreeing with "God's organization." It feels good to have the freedom to feel the way Russell expressed it in the September 15, 1895 Watch Tower.....
"Believe and obey so far as you understand God's Word today."
Don
foreword
according to the annual report for the year 2003 in the january 1, 2004 watchtower, 6.5 million jehovah?s witnesses spent about 1.2 billion hours distributing hundreds of millions of pieces of literature while going door-to-door and conducting 5.7 million bible studies in 235 lands.
all that activity resulted in 16 million people attending their annual "memorial of christ?s death.
The book isn't out yet. Hopefully it will be in a couple of months. I'll let the Forum know.
Don
foreword
according to the annual report for the year 2003 in the january 1, 2004 watchtower, 6.5 million jehovah?s witnesses spent about 1.2 billion hours distributing hundreds of millions of pieces of literature while going door-to-door and conducting 5.7 million bible studies in 235 lands.
all that activity resulted in 16 million people attending their annual "memorial of christ?s death.
That's "Foreword" not "Foreward"
foreword
according to the annual report for the year 2003 in the january 1, 2004 watchtower, 6.5 million jehovah?s witnesses spent about 1.2 billion hours distributing hundreds of millions of pieces of literature while going door-to-door and conducting 5.7 million bible studies in 235 lands.
all that activity resulted in 16 million people attending their annual "memorial of christ?s death.
Foreword
ACCORDING to the annual report for the year 2003 in the January 1, 2004 Watchtower, 6.5 million Jehovah?s Witnesses spent about 1.2 billion hours distributing hundreds of millions of pieces of literature while going door-to-door and conducting 5.7 million Bible studies in 235 lands. All that activity resulted in 16 million people attending their annual "Memorial of Christ?s death."
But, as will be shown, all this effort has been in support of an illusion ? an illusionary concept that has become the ?foundation cornerstone? of the Watchtower religion upon which everything else rests; a concept that dominates and controls the thinking of both the Witnesses who write their literature as well as the Witnesses who read it.
In order to understand this illusionary concept and how it affects Jehovah?s Witnesses it is not be necessary to compare the teachings of the Bible (or other religions) with the teachings of the Watchtower Society because?
It isn?t what Jehovah?s Witnesses believe about the Bible that has made them captives of a concept. It is what they believe about the Watchtower Society that has done it.
But there are two things that are necessary to compare?
The reason why this comparison is necessary is because the concept holding Jehovah?s Witnesses captive is based upon the outcome of it. If the way they interpret Matthew 24:45-47 did happen in Watchtower history in the Spring of 1919, then everyone on earth may want to consider leaving their present religion and joining this one. But if it didn?t happen, then Jehovah?s Witnesses may want to consider leaving it. This single Scripture/Event is that important to their religion.
Those who make this comparison before they get baptized by the Watchtower Society don?t get baptized! Most who make made it after they got baptized realize that they made a mistake. For when this comparison is made, at least three things become evident?
An example of the above point #3 appears on page 11 of the March 1, 2002 Watchtower where what is said is obviously not trying to encourage Witnesses to examine anything for themselves. Rather, they demonize those who try to encourage Witnesses to check up on what their Governing body has told about the organization?s history by labeling them ?apostate servants of Satan.? They then reason?
If we entertain the false reasoning of such ones, our confidence in Jehovah?s Word of truth, the Bible, can be weakened and our faith can die.
But that?s not what happens to most Witnesses when they look at what former Witnesses have to say. What they discover does not weaken their confidence in the Bible or their faith in God. But it does cause them to loose confidence in the Watchtower Society. And what dies in the process is their faith in its Governing Body! Whatever "false reasoning" is going on is finally seen to be coming from their religious leaders and not from so-called "apostates."
This brings up the question, How is it possible for men who claim to represent "the only true God" in "the only true religion," be anything but completely truthful with those who depend on them for their "direction and guidance in matters of worship?"
The first answer that may to come to mind is that the Society?s religious leaders are no different from the religious leaders of Jesus? day whom he said were hypocrites, serpents, off-spring of vipers, etc.
But there is something that the apostle Paul said that might be an alternative explanation that doesn?t necessarily require these men to be hypocrites, serpents, or offspring of vipers?
Because they did not accept the love of the truth [
?] that is why God lets an operation of error go to them that they may get to believing the lie. ? 2 Thessalonians 2:10,11Only God knows if this is how he has been dealing with these men, but if this is what is going on it would explain a lot.
Once they "get to believing the lie" then the lie becomes "the truth" in their minds. And once that happens it doesn?t matter what the Bible says or what went on in the Society?s history. Nothing will be allowed to disprove the lie. Anything that is contrary to it will either be ignored, as is done throughout their Proclaimers of God?s Kingdom book, or else it will be manipulated to force it to apparently fit the lie, as is also done throughout their Proclaimers book. And yet they will do these things while thinking they are being candid in their efforts to uphold the truth. Apparently this is one of the strange ways the human mind is capable of working when "God let?s an operation of error go to them that they may get to believing the lie."
And so, what is this particular lie that God has let the Governing Body get to believe? It?s the concept or premise upon which their religion rests. A concept so powerful that upholding it rather then upholding the truth is what influences and ultimately controls the decision-making process of not only the men of the Governing Body, but all the rest of Jehovah?s Witnesses as well.
Don
The publisher is 1st Books Library. (1stbookslibrary.com )
They tell me it will be available at 25,000 outlets! I don't know exctly how this will work. I'll let you know when I know.
It is about 140 pages (8 1/2 X 11"). It will be available as an e-book and soft cover. I've tried to use a format that is easy to read and easy to find stuff after it has been read.
There are probably as many ways of saying things as there are those who say them. I've tried to say things in a way that may have helped me to notice what was going on while I was still a captive of an illusionaory concept.
Qustion: Is it allowable for me to post the "Foreword" to the book on this Forum? If so, do I add it to this current "Topic" or should it be as a New Topic?
Don
About The Book
"You?ll never get sick. You will never grow old. And you will never die."
Although the above words come from the movie "Cocoon," they could have come from the Watchtower Society because this is exactly what they have been proclaiming for years as part of "the Creator?s promise of a peaceful and secure new world that is about to replace the present wicked, lawless system of things."* This very appealing prospect attracts many people to begin to study the Bible with Jehovah?s Witnesses. It then sustains them as they eagerly wait for the fulfillment of this promise.
But during the course of their study they imperceptibly get drawn into an illusionary concept involving the Watchtower organization that gradually takes over their decision-making process and even their conscience without them realizing it. It happens because of a mistake that everyone makes before they decide to become a Jehovah?s Witness.
Captives of a Concept identifies both the concept and the mistake that has caused millions of people people to become captives of it. The book also offers a few suggestions about how to go about helping Jehovah?s Witnesses teach themselves the truth about their religion. __________________________* See the masthead page of the Awake! Magazine
NOTE: This upcoming book presents my attempt to help the reader understand why Jehovah's Witnesses think and act the way they do - (why many of us use to think and act the way we did when we were captives of a concept). The following "Contents" will give you an idea of the approach the book takes. It is written with the non-Witness primarily in mind. It says a lot of things that have already been said, but it says them differently. - The book should be available in a couple of months or so. Don Cameron
Captives of a Concept
"Understanding The Illusionary Concept That Holds Jehovah's Witnesses Captive"
"There is only one thing that needs to be known about the Watchtower Society and there is only one way to know it."
Contents
Important Terms Foreword CHAPTER 1 The Concept That Holds Jehovah's Witnesses Captive
CHAPTER 5
The One Mistake All Jehovah?s Witnesses Have MadeCHAPTER 10 Why Jehovah?s Witnesses Have Unity of Belief
The Internet ? The Watchtower?s Worst Nightmare
CHAPTER 19The Key To Their Escape
CHAPTER 20 Evidence Alone Is Not EnoughCHAPTER 22
When Illusion Meets Up With Reality
REVIEW
APPENDIX
.
has anyone heard (or seen) any comments from witnesses about the december 15, 2003 watchtower that seems to be to be pointing to 2034 as possible date for the end of this system of things?
don
Has anyone heard (or seen) any comments from Witnesses about the December 15, 2003 Watchtower that seems to be to be pointing to 2034 as possible date for the end of this system of things?
Don
this weekend, while katie and i were at the beach, we both spent a little time reading coc (no, it wasn't a study lol ...i can honestly say that i did not favor the disfellowshipping decision made by the [governing] body.
for when the vote came i conformed to the majority decision.
i felt dismayed when the body assigned me to prepare mateiral in support of the decision, yet i accepted the assignment and wrote it as was desired by the body...my belief in the organization as god's only agency on earth caused me to do what i did at that time without particularly great qualms of conscience.. .
Someone said,
"It's Not What you Think, It's How You Feel...that matters"
I wonder if Ray would have said it something like this:
"It's what we are as persons that matters."Don
the new danish and swedish revisions of the nwt have "lifted up" the nwt-with references footnote alternative rendering of jeremiah 29:10 into being the preferred one, so that it no longer says "in babylon" but "for babylon".
has there been any change or revision in the english issue?
It's been a long time sime I looked at this stuff but it seems to me that I read somewhere that Josephus eventually changed his earlier reference of 70 years down to 50 years. But again, since that was many years ago that I was looking into this, I may not now remember it correctly.
Don
