the watchtower, september 15, 2002 issue, pages 16-18: .
the watchtower, january 1, 1942 issue, page 5: .
the watchtower, may 1, 1957 issue, page 274: .
"We are not a cult!" Riiiight.. as if saying it makes it so.
These quotes speak for themselves. Hoist by their own petard!
Here's some further reading about how to recognize a cult: http://www.ex-cult.org/General/identifying-a-cult Especially notice the "How They Do This" section about halfway down the page. It's basically a checklist of how the WTS operates.
Great work, ithinkisee. Thanks for taking the time to get this together.
After learning about the UN scandal & still trying to rationalize it away like a good little dub, reading about the ridiculous early doctrines & flip-flops is what sealed the deal for me. Off came the blinders!
How could anyone research the WTS's history & still think they have been led by God? God must've been really confused...
i wanted to share some pearls of wisdom from a book of native american proverbs.
btw: anyone here from a native american background?.
when we show our respect for other livings things, they respond with respect for us - arapaho proverb.
Really nice thread, Lilly! I have blood of several different Native American tribes... quite a few generations back. I have always been fascinated with Native American culture & religion. I can imagine living so close to nature would make it very hard to put God in a box. It's hard to express how I feel about all this without coming off sounding like a parody of the "Circle of Life/Lion King" stuff... hehe.
I enjoy the way JamesThomas words things... there is a beauty & truth in simply existing, being still, so close to the earth & other creatures that seems hard for many modern "civilized" people to understand. Some of my most spiritual experiences have been outside listening to the roar of a waterfall, or under the shade of a huge, ancient tree... a far cry from the Kingdom Hall! Such a beautiful planet we live on.
I really appreciate what you said here:
One way of finding God is in reading what is written by believers in him but another just as valid way is to look around us and appreciate all the things he created! I often find God in this very way.
It would be nice if more people felt this way.
Anyway, here are some quotes I really liked. Some I've known for a while, others I just uncovered with Google. :-) Hope you enjoy.
Before eating, always take time to thank the food. - Arapaho
If a man is as wise as a serpent, he can afford to be as harmless as a dove. - Cheyenne
Do not judge your neighbor until you walk two moons in his moccasins. - Cheyenne
All who have died are equal. - Comanche
Man's law changes with his understanding of man. Only the laws of the spirit remain always the same. - Crow
Wisdom comes only when you stop looking for it and start living the life the Creator intended for you. - Hopi
If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies in yourself. - Minquass
We are all one child spinning through Mother Sky. - Shawnee
I saved the best for last. I absolutely love this one. So much wisdom in these words.
So live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart. Trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. Love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. Seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people. Prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide. Always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. Show respect to all people and grovel to none. When you arise in the morning give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself. Abuse no one and no thing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision. When it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with the fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. Sing your death song and die like a hero going home. - Chief Tecumseh
russell did not teach that all the wicked would be destroyed at armageddon.
neither did rutherford, initially.
that is why he preached that millions then living would never die.
I've had the very same question recently... I appreciate all the links & research on this.
i am reading shelly's 'church history in plain language', and enjoying it's down to earth 'layman' style very much.. i would like to read some books on the evolution of church doctrine - hopefully written in the same style.
i am no biblical/historical scholar by admission - and would love to read some literature on how doctrines altered and changed in the early centuries - something that doesn't put one to sleep with it's long-windedness - but also detailed enough, and in plain language enough, to keep me interested.. many of you folks must have favorites - can you recommend them ?.
jeff .
A lot of good info in here. Thanks, everyone.
"... shortly, within our twentieth century, the 'battle in the day of jehovah' will begin against the modern antitype of jerusalem, christendom.
" the nations shall know that i am jehovah - how?
1971, chap.
Great find Fatfreek! Bumped and bookmarked.
from the golden age issue of april 30, 1930:
"it is stated that if a human corpse is left on a float in a tank it will inevitably turn with its head to the north.
even through the lifeless body the lines of magnetic force will go in the direction they prefer.
This thread is hilarious, it must be bumped! They don't make our spiritual food like they used to!
romans 14:1 .
nwt welcome the [man] having weaknesses in [his] faith, but not to make decisions on inward questionings.
niv accept him whose faith is weak, without passing judgment on disputable matters.
Mouthy, that article is a hoot isn't it? What a bunch of crap! But didn't you see the footnote? :-P
"Obviously ,a basis for approved fellowship with JWs cannot rest merely on a belief in God ,in the Bible,in Jesus Christ & so forth"*
* "Our "basis for approved fellowhip" also rests on your accepting traditions & speculations of men as Holy Writ
recently shadow posted this on another topic, however it is so good i felt it deserved it's own thread.
remember when you are reading this that the watchtower wants all of us to ignore our questions regarding change within the organization.
calling it new light.
Good grief... Pot, meet Kettle. Sickening.
sheer madness --- perpetuated by two madmen who prevailed over the judge [almost].
"after the judge's death, as world war ii was ending and persecution against the witnesses began declining, along with the attendant drop in news-media publicity, hayden c. covington told the author [of the four presidents] that fred franz saw the prohibition against blood transfusions as a way to accomplish two things: to continue to publicize the religion, and to create an uproar in the community.
this reaction would convince the membership they were being "persecuted" and "suffering for righteousness sake," a sure sign they were "in the truth.".
Absolutely sickening. Nothing about this organization surprises me anymore.
