i always tended to avoid using the word 'cult' to describe jehovah's witnesses.
instead, i preferred referring to them as a 'high control group'.
however, having watched the shocking and bizarre behaviour by so called jehovah's witness elders toward eric wilson (borean pickets), this now confirms beyond any doubt in my mind that the watchtower organisation is nothing more than a cult.. i would seriously encourage everyone to watch the video in it's entirety and see how truly cultlike they are.. my jaw still hitting the floor đŽ.
That raises an interesting question, because the elder book does apparently allow the accused person to present evidence and witnesses.
Does anyone know of a case where an accused person has convinced a committee not to disfellowship because he is not guilty?
i always tended to avoid using the word 'cult' to describe jehovah's witnesses.
instead, i preferred referring to them as a 'high control group'.
however, having watched the shocking and bizarre behaviour by so called jehovah's witness elders toward eric wilson (borean pickets), this now confirms beyond any doubt in my mind that the watchtower organisation is nothing more than a cult.. i would seriously encourage everyone to watch the video in it's entirety and see how truly cultlike they are.. my jaw still hitting the floor đŽ.
These seem like particularly nasty elders to me.
You know, even if these elders believe this man is a terrible apostate, in league with the devil, or whatever. Do they really need to behave like this? Youâd think that confidence about having the âtruthâ would enable elders to display some grace in such situations. But I donât think they are confident that they have the truth, which explains why they are so petty and nasty, because they feel psychologically vulnerable and defensive.
Not all elders are like that. Some of the elders who met with Mark on YouTube last year, in the north of England, for example, seemed pretty reasonable. Some of them, anyway. In particular I remember one elder laughing and saying, âheâs probably filming us now - smile for the cameraâ.
on pages 27 & 28 of the august 2019 study watchtower, it perverts the translation of scriptures yet again, in order to drum it into jw's minds that they have to work for their salvation.
âon the evening before his death, jesus told his disciples: âexercise faith in god; exercise faith also in me.â (john 14:1).
according to strong's lexicon, the greek word pisteuĹ is translated thus - âto think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in, of the thing believed, to credit, have confidence.â.
An American Translation by Goodspeed:
10 and have made them a kingdom of priests for our God, and they are to reign over the earth.
Modern King James Version
10 And You made us kings and priests to our God, and we will reign over the earth.
Ferrar Fenton
And have made them into a kingdom and priests for our God;
And they will reign over the earth."
Ronald Knox
Aramaic Bible in Plain English
10"And you have made them a Kingdom, Priests and Kings to our God, and they shall reign over The Earth."
Weymouth
10 And hast formed them into a Kingdom to be priests to our God, And they reign over the earth."
Williamâs New Testament
10 and have made them a kingdom of priests for our God; and they will rule over the earth."
John Wesleyâs New Testament
10 And hast made them unto our God kings and priests, and they shall reign over the earth.
snippets of two talks by co at ca and during his visit to a congregation in ohio.
fear mongering at it's best.
has anyone else heard their co say the same nonsense?.
Actually, I heard him say âa few minutesâ, which canât reasonably be construed to mean years or months of minutes. It must be imminent!
1 John 2:18
on pages 27 & 28 of the august 2019 study watchtower, it perverts the translation of scriptures yet again, in order to drum it into jw's minds that they have to work for their salvation.
âon the evening before his death, jesus told his disciples: âexercise faith in god; exercise faith also in me.â (john 14:1).
according to strong's lexicon, the greek word pisteuĹ is translated thus - âto think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in, of the thing believed, to credit, have confidence.â.
Many translations use âreverenceâ, or similar. And yes, I can see that fear is connected with respect, depending on the shade of meaning in the context. I am a bit dubious about your method for detecting bias in the NWT, because these donât appear particularly compelling examples.
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That having been said, I have another thought:
This is a religion that seems almost addicted to making unnecessary alterations. Consider the fact that many religions are content to use the same hymns for hundreds of years, whereas Watchtower feels the urge to create a substantially new song book every 20 years or so. Or all the other pointless terminological changes over the years: swapping assemblies and conventions back and forward, circuit servant and circuit overseer, region/convention, sanctified/vindicated, presiding overseer/coordinator, and so on.
Consider the name of the Watchtower magazine itself. Itâs had about five different titles in 140 years, whereas The Christadelphian magazine has had the same name since 1869.
Could it simply be that some brother piped up during a GB meeting and said, âweâve not changed the baptism questions for nearly 40 yearsâ. Someone was assigned to âimproveâ the questions, and this is what he came up with? Making direct reference to Jehovah might be construed as in some sense more revenrtial, like how they boast about the song book using Jehovahâs name more often than Jesus.
Could it just be change for changeâs sake, and nothing more? Sometimes attempting to derive meaning from Watchtower actions is Kremlinology at its finest.
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Well, Iâm still reserving judgment if this is for real.
If it is real, then I agree that some legal advice they have received is the best explanation, as with Bulgaria, closing the book study, and other presumably legally motivated actions.
That being said, just because Watchtower may make a decision for legal reasons, doesnât necessarily mean it was a necessary, or even particularly advantageous change. They are clearly capable of making poor decisions which they believe to be vital or strategic, but which are in fact ineffective or even counterproductive. So if it looks and seems like a stupid change, then it might really be a stupid change.
Because I honestly cannot imagine in what scenario a religion gains benefit from removing reference to a spirit or supernatural power in their baptism. Unless they are going to systematically remove all references to the spiritual in all their activities, and quit calling it a religion, which is just absurd. Besides which, isnât calling it âJehovahâs organisationâ just as strong a claim as calling it âspirit directedâ? It doesnât make sense on any level. But these are the people who think an overlapping generation makes sense, so there is really no telling what if any logic lies behind some of the decisions they make.
on pages 27 & 28 of the august 2019 study watchtower, it perverts the translation of scriptures yet again, in order to drum it into jw's minds that they have to work for their salvation.
âon the evening before his death, jesus told his disciples: âexercise faith in god; exercise faith also in me.â (john 14:1).
according to strong's lexicon, the greek word pisteuĹ is translated thus - âto think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in, of the thing believed, to credit, have confidence.â.
Well there are cases of bias in the NWT, but the examples I would cite are not the usual ones. For instance the 1950 NWT removed most references to âeldersâ in the New Testament because JW congregations didnât have elders at that time. In the 2013 revision they put elders back into the text because JWs now have elders.
Another instance is the use of the word âimpaleâ in the old NWT for the execution of Jesus, an awkward and misleading rendering resulting from their extreme aversion of the words cross and crucify, which has now been abandoned in the 2013 version.
on pages 27 & 28 of the august 2019 study watchtower, it perverts the translation of scriptures yet again, in order to drum it into jw's minds that they have to work for their salvation.
âon the evening before his death, jesus told his disciples: âexercise faith in god; exercise faith also in me.â (john 14:1).
according to strong's lexicon, the greek word pisteuĹ is translated thus - âto think to be true, to be persuaded of, to credit, place confidence in, of the thing believed, to credit, have confidence.â.
Watchtower has argued that the particular construction used (âfaith intoâ; eis) calls for a rendering that emphasises action in addition to belief. A few scholars have made comments which lend some support this idea. As with a lot of criticism of the NWT, itâs far from straightforward that the NWT is tendentious or has got it wrong. Just because the NWT may be unusual in many of its renderings doesnât mean there is no basis or insight behind their perspective.
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ja2 replies4 retweets12 likes.
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If this change is for real, among other things, doesnât it once again display complete disregard for ordinary JWs? Many religious organisations would consult members before making such an important change. Far less than consulting members, often Watchtower doesnât even offer any explanation for such changes. Wouldnât it be at least courteous to ordinary JWs who have already been baptised using the old wording, as well as prospective members using the new wording, to explain the reasons for the change? Instead ordinary JWs are left to speculate and wonder: as lesser mortals they apparently have no right to know the whys and wherefores of changes that impact them personally. Watchtower may argue that this is how âtheocracyâ functions. That might excuse the decision making process, but it doesnât explain the complete lack of explanation for decisions made. The attitude of Watchtower toward ordinary members dispalys contempt.
