we brainstormed a while back on this forum and pooled our knowledge on how to recognize false religion.
i think the list is worth reviewing and adding to if possible.
please feel free to correct and or add insights of your own to this list:.
@ Godbeliever
<<We need to listen to what Jesus has to say at his second coming too.>>
That's great! So do you think that it is possible that some who don't believe that Jesus presence (parousia) has occurred yet could be among those who survive Armageddon?
Have you been saved by faith Godbeliever? In other words, have you been justified by faith?
do you have any amazing quotations that have been produced by the faithful slave over the years?.
remember it's important that we should learn to love and value truth for it’s own sake; to respect and honor it by owning and acknowledging it wherever we find it and by whomever presented.
a truth presented by the faithful slave himself is just as true as a truth stated by god.. share some of those amazing quotations that have fascinated you.
Awake! 2009 July p.29 (p.28) "No one should be forced to worship in a way that he finds unacceptable or be made to choose between his beliefs and his family."
Watchtower 2012 Apr 15 (p.12) “Consider just one example of the good that can come when a family loyally upholds Jehovah’s decree not to associate with disfellowshipped relatives. A young man had been disfellowshipped for over ten years, during which time his father, mother, and four brothers “quit mixing in company” with him. At times, he tried to involve himself in their activities, but to their credit, each member of the family was steadfast in not having any contact with him. After he was reinstated, he said that he always missed the association with his family, especially at night when he was alone. But, he admitted, had the family associated with him even a little, that small dose would have satisfied him. However, because he did not receive even the slightest communication from any of his family, the burning desire to be with them became one motivating factor in his restoring his relationship with Jehovah."
we brainstormed a while back on this forum and pooled our knowledge on how to recognize false religion.
i think the list is worth reviewing and adding to if possible.
please feel free to correct and or add insights of your own to this list:.
@ Godbeliever,
Thanks for the URL for the Salvation book. I'll have to take a look at it. In fact I may have it in my library.
<<I believe that we have no personal merit in regards to our salvation.>>
Great! So have you been saved by faith? In other words, have you been justified by faith.
And do you think that it is possible that some who don't believe that Jesus presence (parousia) has occurred yet could be among those who survive Armageddon?
do you have any amazing quotations that have been produced by the faithful slave over the years?.
remember it's important that we should learn to love and value truth for it’s own sake; to respect and honor it by owning and acknowledging it wherever we find it and by whomever presented.
a truth presented by the faithful slave himself is just as true as a truth stated by god.. share some of those amazing quotations that have fascinated you.
Do you have any amazing quotations that have been produced by the Faithful Slave over the years?
Remember it's important that we should learn to love and value truth for it’s own sake; to respect and honor it by owning and acknowledging it wherever we find it and by whomever presented. A truth presented by the Faithful Slave himself is just as true as a truth stated by God.
Share some of those amazing quotations that have fascinated you. I hope to catagorize them later for our use and edification. I'll start with a few of my favorites.
- - - - -
"No one should be forced to worship in a way that he finds unacceptable or be made to choose between his beliefs and his family." -- AWAKE!, July 2009, p. 29.
"What, then, can we deduce from the fact that one of the 24 elders identifies the great crowd to John? It seems that resurrected ones of the 24-elders group may be involved in the communicating of divine truths today. Why is that important? Because the correct identity of the great crowd was revealed to God’s anointed servants on earth in 1935. If one of the 24 elders was used to convey that important truth, he would have had to be resurrected to heaven by 1935 at the latest. That would indicate that the first resurrection began sometime between 1914 and 1935." – Watchtower, January 2007, p. 28 paragraphs 11-12
"It is a serious matter to represent God and Christ in one way, then find that our understanding of the major teachings and fundamental doctrines of the Scriptures was in error, and then after that, to go back to the very doctrines that, by years of study, we had thoroughly determined to be in error. Christians cannot be vacillating - 'wishy washy' - about such fundamental teachings. What confidence can one put in the sincerity or judgment of such persons?" Watchtower, May 15 1976, p. 298
"We cannot worship Jehovah in spirit and in truth if our worship is based on speculation. Truth and theory are not synonymous. " Watchtower, June 15, 1962 p.383
"Some people insult those who disagree with them by questioning character or motives instead of focusing on the facts. Name-calling slaps a negative, easy-to-remember label onto a person, a group, or an idea. The name-caller hopes that the label will stick. If people reject the person or the idea on the basis of the negative label instead of weighing the evidence for themselves, the name-caller's strategy has worked." --Awake!, June 22, 2000
i know this subject has been talked about lots over the years, just thought i would share a recent finding from canada.. while visiting with a group of friends, an elder (don’t recall how the subject came up) mentioned the local body had voted to allow brothers with beards be allowed to give talks from the platform.
(it was a very close vote).
the direction given was for each congregation to decide for themselves if that is now acceptable.. so some congregations will be for, and for many it will not.. it’ll probably be a long time before we see any pictures on the watchtower where they’re allowing this though..
Seems like growing a beard will soon be a conscience matter. But i took a double take when I saw what was behind the changing WTS beard restrictions.
i am reading a lot on quora digest about this chap joel osteen.
i and other brits have said that he is hardly known in the uk .
it has been asserted that he is filling stadiums over here.
I liked his dad as well. The following may change some impressions about his theology.
this from my book: good news for jehovah's witnesses.
before we discuss any doctrinal issues, i would like to distinguish between what i believe is proper versus improper interpretive practice.... so you know what i can accept as biblical and what i can't accept.. basic guidelines for validating doctrinal claims`).
i. there must be at least one scriptural reference that can be cited for support of any doctrinal claim or position.. ii.
Comparing James with Paul on justification
James writes: Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? James 2:21
Paul writes: What shall we say then that Abraham our father, as pertaining to the flesh, hath found? 2. For if Abraham were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory; but not before God. 3. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness. Rom. 4:1-3
How can we harmonize James and Paul on the subject of justification?
It is critical to note that Abraham was justified by faith before God not only prior to the giving of the law but also prior to offering Isaac on the alter, and actually even before Isaac was conceived. Genesis. 14:6
The solution then is that Paul was talking about justification before God, while James was talking about justification before men. “Show me thy faith by thy works,” says James, “let thy faith be justified in the eyes of those that behold thee by thy works;” but Paul speaks of justification in the sight of God, who justifies those that believe in Jesus, purely on account of the redemption that is in him.” Thus we see that persons are justified before God by faith, but faith is justified before men by works.
CONCLUSION: Genuine faith is invisible to all but God. Visible works alone can demonstrate to others that a person is truly justified. Works alone can attest to whether faith is genuine i.e., saving or justifying faith. However works are not the basis of salvation but rather the product of salvation.
this from my book: good news for jehovah's witnesses.
before we discuss any doctrinal issues, i would like to distinguish between what i believe is proper versus improper interpretive practice.... so you know what i can accept as biblical and what i can't accept.. basic guidelines for validating doctrinal claims`).
i. there must be at least one scriptural reference that can be cited for support of any doctrinal claim or position.. ii.
@Ding
Excellent point!
They often cite their door-to-door fieldwork ministry as "good works" when in fact they are spreading an extra-biblical gospel which is foreign to scripture. There are no rewards for that.
this from my book: good news for jehovah's witnesses.
before we discuss any doctrinal issues, i would like to distinguish between what i believe is proper versus improper interpretive practice.... so you know what i can accept as biblical and what i can't accept.. basic guidelines for validating doctrinal claims`).
i. there must be at least one scriptural reference that can be cited for support of any doctrinal claim or position.. ii.
@Godbeliever,
"Nobody can see Jesus again if they do not accept his newly established kingdom in heaven."
Nobody can see or enter Christ's Kingdom unless they are born again.
this from my book: good news for jehovah's witnesses.
before we discuss any doctrinal issues, i would like to distinguish between what i believe is proper versus improper interpretive practice.... so you know what i can accept as biblical and what i can't accept.. basic guidelines for validating doctrinal claims`).
i. there must be at least one scriptural reference that can be cited for support of any doctrinal claim or position.. ii.
@ Scholar
"Eisegesis is not common and usually not favoured by scholars but is practised to a great extent in WT publications and I have no issue with this fact...."
I'm sure you don’t. Witnesses can't have an issue because their religion depends entirely on adding to the word of God. The LDS elders in the OP didn't object to interpretive abuse either. After all their leader was given the divine mandate and ability to add to the word of God.
The fact is that your religion is not biblical. By that I mean that every doctrine which is unique to Jehovah's Witnesses is not in the Bible. You can justify that fact to yourself, but not to those who believe the Bible can not legitimately be made to say whatever a person or group wants it to say.
