Doug Mason

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Posts by Doug Mason

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  8

  False prophets with other religions

  by lostsheep82 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i remember when i was young an article we studied that stated something to the effect that, religions or other people have at times set dates or tried to set dates using chronology but that those were deemed false prophets.... can anyone point me to any or multiple articles or quotes that can help me in my fight with my parents?

  i'm battling the 1914 generation change at the moment.

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  Doug Mason

  "1914" and "this generation" represent two of the problems facing the WTS.

  They are dishonest when they present their method for arriving at October 1914. They reject secular chronology yet they completely depend on secular chronology for their year 539 BCE; they do not know when Jews assembled at the site of the destroyed temple; they do not start their 70 years at the moment Jerusalem's temple was destroyed; they cannot prove when Jews went into Egypt nor can they prove that this event marked the start of the 70 Years, as on on and on. The WTS ends their 70 Years in October, the Jews' seventh month, yet Jerusalem was destroyed in the 5th month, corresponding with August.

  Regarding "this generation", contemporary Advent groups apply these words to these times. They start with the conclusion and then look for evidence (this is called "begging the question"). At every time in every age there have been people saying the Divine Intervention would take place in their generation. Russell, for example, dated the Second Coming to take place in the 1870s.

  When you read "this generation" in the "synoptic" gospels, you are reading words being addressed to each of their respective communities. Writing about 50 to 70 years after the Jesus-event, they were telling their own community that the Divine Intervention would take place during their time, and that some would still be alive when it takes place.

  They were no different than today's "second-comers" or any of the people who lived between their time and ours.

  Even Apostle Paul writing to the Thessalonians, comforted them by saying it was about to happen during their lifetime.

  Doug
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  13

  Hierarchy of Organization

  by lostsheep82 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  hi, i'm looking for the article published in the 90s i think (i was a teenager) and it showed a diagram of the organizational hierarchy, at the top was jesus, then governing body all the way down to publishers it was in a pyramid style org chart.... can someone point me in the right direction?

  additionally, does anyone remember the article or any articles that stated how bad it was that other religions had hierarchy like that?

  i remember this being discussed at like a watchtower study or maybe it was a bookstudy.... i am on the hunt for another topic to discuss with my jw parents.

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  Doug Mason

  Lostsheep82,

  You will find my email address on any of my material I referred you to.

  I keep confidences.

  I have never been associated with the Watchtower Society in any way, so you can rest assured you could trust our communications,

  Doug
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  8

  False prophets with other religions

  by lostsheep82 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i remember when i was young an article we studied that stated something to the effect that, religions or other people have at times set dates or tried to set dates using chronology but that those were deemed false prophets.... can anyone point me to any or multiple articles or quotes that can help me in my fight with my parents?

  i'm battling the 1914 generation change at the moment.

  .

  1. 
  2. 
  3. 
• 

  Doug Mason

  Remember that the organisation was set up on the basis that the Parousia had taken place in 1874 and that this date was still being taught as late as 1930.

  https://jwstudies.com/The_Watch_Tower_Society_Reveals_Itself.pdf
  

  Also

  https://jwstudies.com/Changed_MD_and_SS_words.pdf

  Doug
• 
  13

  Hierarchy of Organization

  by lostsheep82 in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  hi, i'm looking for the article published in the 90s i think (i was a teenager) and it showed a diagram of the organizational hierarchy, at the top was jesus, then governing body all the way down to publishers it was in a pyramid style org chart.... can someone point me in the right direction?

  additionally, does anyone remember the article or any articles that stated how bad it was that other religions had hierarchy like that?

  i remember this being discussed at like a watchtower study or maybe it was a bookstudy.... i am on the hunt for another topic to discuss with my jw parents.

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  Doug Mason

  Hi,

  Something I wrote some time before later changes were introduced:

  https://jwstudies.com/FDS_and_its_GB.pdf
  

  Doug
  
• 
  36

  Watchtower August 2020 Are they introducing new light?

  by Listener in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  the latest watchtower is now out and they make this statement -.

  7 during the thousand year rule of christ, all of jehovah’s earthly children will have to make changes to please him.

  so all of them will have true fellow feeling as they help the resurrected ones to combat sinful tendencies and to live by jehovah’s standards.

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  Doug Mason

  Did someone expect rationality to come from supernatural superstition?
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  16

  Rear cover of: “Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Secular World: from the 1870s to the Present”

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  “jehovah’s witnesses and the secular world: from the 1870s to the present” (histories of the sacred and secular), zoe knox.

  palgrave macmillan.

  isbn 978-1-137-39604-4. .

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  Doug Mason

  In her book, Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Secular World, Zoe Knox incorrectly writes that Russell and Rutherford believed the Coming of Christ took place in 1914. They actually placed the Coming (Parousia) in 1874.

  This is my Critique of that passage in Knox’s book.

  https://jwstudies.com/CRITIQUE_OF__JEHOVAH_S_WITNESSES_AND_THE_SECULAR_WORLD___PAGES_32-33__BY_ZOE_KNOX.pdf
  
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  16

  Rear cover of: “Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Secular World: from the 1870s to the Present”

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  “jehovah’s witnesses and the secular world: from the 1870s to the present” (histories of the sacred and secular), zoe knox.

  palgrave macmillan.

  isbn 978-1-137-39604-4. .

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  Doug Mason

  Hi Scholar,

  I am most interested to know that Zoe Knox might be working on Russell and his cohorts. I hope she will be more accurate than some of the details she presents in this book.

  She presents her specialist expertise at:

  https://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/history/people/staff-pages/zknox

  It is interesting to think how the totalitarian Watchtower operates with totalitarian states such as Russia. It creates fascinating situations as they rub up against one another.

  All the best,

  Doug
  
• 
  16

  Rear cover of: “Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Secular World: from the 1870s to the Present”

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  “jehovah’s witnesses and the secular world: from the 1870s to the present” (histories of the sacred and secular), zoe knox.

  palgrave macmillan.

  isbn 978-1-137-39604-4. .

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  Doug Mason

  To be fair to Zoe Knox, the following shows the scope of her book.

  =================

  This book examines how Jehovah’s Witnesses have challenged the jurisdictions of modern states and influenced understandings of religious tolerance and freedom of worship worldwide. Their influence is all the more remarkable given that they aim to remain aloof from the world. This detachment differs markedly from many other religious organisations. … The Watch Tower Society is remarkably insular. Whilst it engages with the secular state through courts of law, this is to a narrow end, namely opposing attempts to inhibit the public ministry of Witnesses. They have unintentionally championed the rights of a wide range of other religious minorities around the world. The Society has long acknowledged the broader impact of its legal advocacy but has never presented this as a motivation for legal challenges.

  In addition to how and why Jehovah’s Witnesses have come into conflict with governmental authorities, this book also explores the ways in which the secular world has shaped the organisation. Like other religious groups, the Society has had to respond to new technologies, secular ideologies, and geopolitical configurations to avoid obsolescence. Its interpretation of scripture has altered along with worldly developments, which has in turn led to new policies, some of which have posed novel challenges to governments. Since 1971, the Society’s doctrines have emanated from the Governing Body, a group of men based at the world headquarters. Between seven and eighteen men have served on the Governing Body at any one time. The Body has determined policies and procedures that shape the behaviour of Witnesses worldwide. This includes public conduct, such as deportment when manning information stalls, and intimate acts, such as the sexual positions permitted between husband and wife. These behavioural guidelines sometimes shift: sexual relations within marriage are now regarded as a matter of individual conscience, for example.

  More generally, the rapid pace of the modern world has challenged it to adapt to ever-changing conditions, just as it has the leadership of other Christian churches. The theological foundations of even the best known of the Society’s doctrines have not been investigated by historians, nor has the evolving position of the Governing Body on these issues. (Knox, 5-6)
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  16

  Rear cover of: “Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Secular World: from the 1870s to the Present”

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  “jehovah’s witnesses and the secular world: from the 1870s to the present” (histories of the sacred and secular), zoe knox.

  palgrave macmillan.

  isbn 978-1-137-39604-4. .

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  Doug Mason

  Yes, Vienne, I thoroughly agree with you.

  Doug
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  16

  Rear cover of: “Jehovah’s Witnesses and the Secular World: from the 1870s to the Present”

  by Doug Mason in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  “jehovah’s witnesses and the secular world: from the 1870s to the present” (histories of the sacred and secular), zoe knox.

  palgrave macmillan.

  isbn 978-1-137-39604-4. .

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  Doug Mason

  This passage at page 32 of her book concerns me:

  "Russell taught that Jesus returned to rule the Earth invisibly in 1914. Rutherford reaffirmed that it was indeed a watershed year marking the invisible presence of Christ in a speech in February 1918" (She gives no references for these statements.)

  There is no mention of the importance of the organisation's appointment by Jehovah God and Jesus Christ in 1919.

  The sole reference to 1874 is: "[Barbour] convinced Russell that Christ had returned invisibly in 1874".

  She correctly recognises Russell's support for Zionism (page 229)

  I did not see her acknowledge that Russell was the Society's second President.

  I only downloaded the book last night so there is much more to digest..

  Doug