WHY RUSSELL COULD NOT HAVE BEEN THE FAITHFUL AND DISCREET SLAVE (FROM THE STANDPOINT OF JW BELIEF)
This thread was started in order to answer a question raised elsewhere about Russell being the Faithful and Wise Servant (aka FDS).
The reason Russell was originally considered the FDS was that he taught 1874 as being the start of the Parousia, with 1878 as the time that Jesus began to reign proper. That would mean he was alive at the time (according to his calculations) of the selecting of the FDS. Remember that the FDS was identified as such, in the parable, only AFTER the Master's return. However, we know that Russell's calculations for the 1874 date was based on a 100-year error. His dating hinged on the supposed start of human creation and a time period of 6,000 years stretching from there up to 1874. However, JWs base their FDS time calculations on 2,520 years stretching from 607 BCE to 1914 CE, with the subsequent selection around about 1918-1919. So, by the current reasoning, Russell could not have been selected as the FDS (or part thereof) since he died before the time of selection!
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Charles Taze Russell's Hundred Year Error
"In 1877, Russell joined Nelson H. Barbour in publishing the book Three Worlds, and the Harvest of This World. It indicated that the end of the Gentile Times in 1914 would be preceded by a forty-year period to open with a three-and-a-half-year harvest beginning in 1874 C.E. According to Bible chronology thereafter adopted, it was understood that 6,000 years of man's existence on earth ended in 1872, whereas six millenniums of human sin concluded and the seventh millennium began in 1874. Christ's presence was thought to have begun in October 1874, at the start of the great antitypical Jubilee.--Lev. chap. 25; Rev. 20:4." [Watch. 15 Aug 1974, pages 506-507, "No Spiritual 'Energy Crisis' for Discreet Ones"]
"Man's creation was placed in 4128 and sin's entrance in 4126 B.C.E. Such chronology followed an incorrect manuscript rendering of Acts 13:20 in the Emphatic Diaglott, which said that God gave Israel judges 'about four hundred fifty years, till Samuel the prophet.' A footnote stated that this was at variance with 1 Kings 6:1, where the Hebrew letter daleth (thought to represent the number 4) supposedly had been mistaken for the similar character he (5). Hence, it was suggested that 580 (not 480) years elapsed between Israel's exodus from Egypt and the time that Solomon began building Jehovah's temple. But the oldest manuscripts spell out all numbers. So a transcriber's visual error could not have occurred at 1 Kings 6:1, which gives this period correctly as 480 years. This harmonizes with a correct reading of Acts 13:20, which indicates that the period of 'about four hundred and fifty years' there mentioned preceded the era of the Judges. In 1943 the Watch Tower Society's book "The Truth Shall Make You Free" did away with the nonexistent extra 100 years in the period of the Judges and placed the end of 6,000 years of man's existence in the 1970's. It also fixed the beginning of Christ's presence, not in 1874, but in 1914 C.E.'" [Watch. 15 Aug 1974, footnotes, "No Spiritual 'Energy Crisis' for Discreet Ones"]
Posts by JWB
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14Why Russell could not have been the faithful and discreet slave (from the standpoint of JW belief)
by JWB inwhy russell could not have been the faithful and discreet slave (from the standpoint of jw belief).
this thread was started in order to answer a question raised elsewhere about russell being the faithful and wise servant (aka fds).. .
the reason russell was originally considered the fds was that he taught 1874 as being the start of the parousia, with 1878 as the time that jesus began to reign proper.
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JWB
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35
Dear Recovery...
by OneDayillBeFree init is 3am here and i just finished reading your last post and even though i have to be up at 6am tomorrow morning (technically later), i felt obligated to login to jwn and write to you.
i thought about saying many things.
hurtful things.
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JWB
Onedayillbefree, thank you so much for writing that letter. What a gentle, kind tone you showed. That is indeed the type of attitude I would expect from many folks at the local KH. We were always taught to be careful how we treated householders, as we did not want "the truth to be spoken of abusively". Unfortunately, I found out that there were some 'brothers' who did not appear to manifest such a Christ-like disposition in the FS. Thankfully, they were in the minority! But no doubt it made it difficult for those returning to the territory some time later.
"But a slave of the Lord does not need to fight, but needs to be gentle toward all, qualified to teach, keeping himself restrained under evil, instructing with mildness those not favorably disposed; as perhaps God may give them repentance leading to an accurate knowledge of truth, and they may come back to their proper senses out from the snare of the Devil, seeing that they have been caught alive by him for the will of that one." - 2 Timothy 2:24-26 (NWT)
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Rutherford's smear campaign (a must read)
by Leolaia inthere has been some interest recently about the moyle case, and how it may have set a precident in what became the society's disfellowshipping policy.
in july 1939, the chief legal counsel of the watchtower bible & tract society, olin r. moyle, resigned from his position in a protest over conditions at bethel and rutherford's mistreatment of workers.
he did not want to continue living under those conditions and he felt he could effect positive change for his brothers by taking such a stand.
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JWB
First of all, I'd like to thank Leilaia for taking the time and effort to post all the information so far.
frankiespeakin, it seems I'm not the only one who questions the appropriateness of someone with Rutherford's personality in leading an organization that claims to be acting under the direction of Jesus himself.
The following comments are simply my own views. I have come to the conclusion that Joseph Rutherford suffered from some form of megalomania. The way he handled the Olin Moyle affair reveals, I believe, an example of this condition. Rutherford's over-the-top reaction to the private letter sent to him by Olin Moyle shows he was a man with a huge ego and feeling of self-worth. His control of the Society was maintained by demonizing what he saw as his 'opponents' and gathering around himself various yes-men. He couldn't cope with the criticism Moyle brought and seemed to equate it with an attack against "God's Organization"!
"Megalomania is a psycho-pathological condition characterized by delusional fantasies of power, relevance, or omnipotence. 'Megalomania is characterized by an inflated sense of self-esteem and overestimation by persons of their powers and beliefs'. [I. B. Weiner/W. E. Craighead, The Corsini Encyclopedia of Psychology: Vol III (2010) p. 977] Historically it was used as an old name for narcissistic personality disorder prior to the latter's first use by Heinz Kohut in 1968, and is used these days as a non-clinical equivalent. [Megalomiacs abound in politics/medicine/finance Business Day 2011/01/07] [Kohut H The Psychoanalytic Treatment of Narcissistic Personality Disorders: Outline of a Systematic Approach, 1968] It is not mentioned in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) [The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual published by the American Psychiatric Association] or the International Statistical Classification of Diseases (ICD)." "A quotation by Bertrand Russell gives his interpretation of megalomania: 'The megalomaniac differs from the narcissist by the fact that he wishes to be powerful rather than charming, and seeks to be feared rather than loved. To this type belong many lunatics and most of the great men of history.' ['The megalomaniac differs from the... at BrainyQuote'. Brainyquote.com. 1970-02-02.]" "During his final years, and especially after the death of Hephaestion, Alexander the Great began to exhibit signs of megalomania and paranoia. [Green, Peter Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age, pp. 23–24] His extraordinary achievements, coupled with his own ineffable sense of destiny and the flattery of his companions, may have combined to produce this effect. [Green, Peter Alexander the Great and the Hellenistic Age, pp20–21]" - Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megalomania
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Possibly The Most Important Issue Of Our Time
by metatron indoes the us government have highly advanced technology that it is concealing?.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4n0fo_htf5s&feature=youtu.be.
forget the obamney election.
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JWB
Could this technology be of a more earthly origin?
Nazi Flying Saucers of WW2(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3swu_lC-7zc)
Maybe "Operation Paperclip" brought in some expertise in this area?
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wernher_von_Braun
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Paperclip -
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I would love for you to know my Oompa.... (from one of his closest friends)
by Robert7 in[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>normal</w:view> <w:zoom>0</w:zoom> <w:trackmoves /> <w:trackformatting /> <w:punctuationkerning /> <w:validateagainstschemas /> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:saveifxmlinvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:ignoremixedcontent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext> <w:donotpromoteqf /> <w:lidthemeother>en-us</w:lidthemeother> <w:lidthemeasian>x-none</w:lidthemeasian> <w:lidthemecomplexscript>x-none</w:lidthemecomplexscript> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables /> <w:snaptogridincell /> <w:wraptextwithpunct /> <w:useasianbreakrules /> <w:dontgrowautofit /> <w:splitpgbreakandparamark /> <w:dontvertaligncellwithsp /> <w:dontbreakconstrainedforcedtables /> <w:dontvertalignintxbx /> <w:word11kerningpairs /> <w:cachedcolbalance /> </w:compatibility> <w:browserlevel>microsoftinternetexplorer4</w:browserlevel> <m:mathpr> <m:mathfont m:val="cambria math" /> <m:brkbin m:val="before" /> <m:brkbinsub m:val="--" /> <m:smallfrac m:val="off" /> <m:dispdef /> <m:lmargin m:val="0" /> <m:rmargin m:val="0" /> <m:defjc m:val="centergroup" /> <m:wrapindent m:val="1440" /> <m:intlim m:val="subsup" /> <m:narylim m:val="undovr" /> </m:mathpr></w:worddocument> </xml><![endif].
[endif][if gte mso 10]> <mce:style><!
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JWB
Some people just don't think about the consequences of their actions in connection with those who are under a huge emotional burden. Those representatives of the WTS, who consider themselves to be spiritual physicians 'binding up the broken-hearted', do well to consider that medical maxim "first, do no harm". As far as I'm concerned, there is huge culpability attached to those who help the WTS in enforcing the shunning policy. To some who are extremely emotionally fragile, this can cause the end of not just their spiritual life, but also their physical life.
I'm so sorry for Oompah that it came to this. Believe me, I do understand. My heart goes out to his family and friends.
In a related matter, it is a pity that a person would have to actually threaten suicide for a WTS judicial committee to back off (see below), rather than approaching each case on an individual basis according to awareness of a person's general emotional/mental state. It is also a pity that JWs are not allowed to exercise their own consciences, based on the understanding of mitigating circumstances, to decide for themselves whether or not to shun.
"In judicial cases where the accused threatens suicide, it may be best for the committee to suspend the hearing to focus on helping him regain his balance. (See 7:12) They should assure him of the committee's desire to help him, then broach the subject of depression and suicide, using the Scriptures and Bible-based publications. (Prov. 3:11, 12; 4:13; Heb. 12:5, 6, 11-13) Depending upon his emotional state, it may be best to do this a day or two later. The elders can prepare by reviewing articles that will help them deal sensitively with the depressed individual. (w00 9/15 pp. 3-7; w88 10/15 pp. 25-29; 11/15 pp. 21-24; w82 6/1 pp. 9-14) The judicial committee should avoid prolonging the case unnecessarily, as this can cause stress for the accused. They should take notes for the confidential file, outlining the dates of their conversations and the scriptures and articles that were considered. They should sign it and place it in the file for the case. The judicial committee should communicate with the branch office if there are questions about a certain case." - Shepherd the Flock of God, page 86, paragraph 16 ("If the Accused Threatens Suicide") -
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The European Association of Jehovah's Christian Witnesses and the OSCE
by JWB inthe european association of jehovah's christian witnesses and the osce.
on 29 december 2000 a document originating from ibsa (international bible students association) house in london was signed by david carpenter.
the purpose of this document was to give notice of the first annual general meeting of the european association of jehovah's christian witnesses (teaojcw).
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JWB
THE EUROPEAN ASSOCIATION OF JEHOVAH'S CHRISTIAN WITNESSES AND THE OSCE
On 29 December 2000 a document originating from IBSA (International Bible Students Association) House in London was signed by David Carpenter. The purpose of this document was to give notice of the first annual general meeting of The European Association of Jehovah's Christian Witnesses (TEAOJCW). It was stated that the meeting, to be held in the morning of Tuesday 23 January 2001 at IBSA House, would be "for the purpose of considering and, if thought fit, passing the following resolutions." Those resolutions included "to elect a chairman, secretary and treasurer for the Charity" and "that the Constitution be adopted as the Charity's governing instrument as from the date of the First Annual General Meeting." Those to be proposed as the Charity's Management Committee were Rollo Burgess, David Birch, David Carpenter, Robin Williams and Geoffrey Young. [1]
According to the Constitution, adopted in 2001, the main reason for TEAOJCW's existence is "to advance from the Continent of Europe, the Christian religion as practised by that body of Christians called Jehovah's Christian Witnesses", by means of "promoting Christian missionary work", "providing, maintaining and building places of meeting for public Christian worship", "advancing religious education" and "providing and promoting spiritual assistance anywhere in the world in particular to the poor, the homeless, and the sick and to those suffering from the effects of natural or man-made disasters and in other times of need."
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By 1975 the Cold War had thawed enough for 35 States, including the United States and Russia, to sign what came to be called the Helsinki Agreement. The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) was born. It was a multilateral forum for dialogue and negotiation between the two blocs.
At the Budapest Summit in 1994, the CSCE changed its name to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Today, it is composed of 54 participating States, including the United States, Canada, and all the countries of the former Soviet Union.
The objective of the member nations of the OSCE is to guarantee the security of Europe as well as to foster the implementation of human rights, disarmament, democratic freedoms and the management of regional conflict.
A summit meeting of the OSCE was held in Lisbon, Portugal, on December 2-3, 1996. At first, attention was focused on NATO, since several NATO members, including the United States, are in favor of the expansion of NATO to include more nations from Central and Eastern Europe. But rather than support the enlargement of NATO to include former Eastern bloc allies, Russia and some of her former Eastern bloc allies want the OSCE to become the forum for matters of European security. [2]
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One might wonder what connection there is between TEAOJCW and the OSCE. On 13 and 14 September 2004 there was an OSCE Conference (held in Brussels), on the subject of "Tolerance and The Fight Against Racism, Xenophobia and Discrimination." The participants at that conference included Marcel Gillet, Paul Gillies and Luca Toffoli as representatives of TEAOJCW. [3] On 9 and 10 December 2010 another OSCE conference was in Vienna, with the title "OSCE Supplementary Human Dimension Meeting on Freedom of Religion or Belief", which was attended by Paul Gillies on behalf of TEAOJCW. [4]
It is interesting to note that a number of other JW-related participants have also been involved with the OSCE. Between 29 September and 10 October 2008 there was a "OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting" held in Warsaw. Represented at this meeting were: the Administrative Centre of Jehovah's Witnesses Russia, The European Association of Jehovah's Christian Witnesses, the Office of General Counsel for Jehovah's Witnesses, the Religious Center of Jehovah' Witnesses in the Republic of Kazakhstan, as well as the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society - Poland. [5]
For more information of TEAOJCW's interaction and association with the OSCE, simply go to the OSCE website (www.osce.org) and do a search (including double quotes) using such terms as "Paul Gillies", "Watchtower", "General Counsel for Jehovah", and "Christian Witnesses".
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[1] A copy of this document is available along with the European Association of Jehovah's Christian Witnesses' 2001 Constitution from the UK (England & Wales) Charity Commission (www.charitycommission.gov.uk/sendmailCRM.aspx). It is necessary to put in a request to the Commission, either by post (printed format) or online (electronic format), for a copy of the Governing Document for charity number 1085157. Be patient as it can take a few weeks before receiving a copy.
[2] Extract from Awake! 1997 Aug 22, page 31 ("OSCE - What is it? Will it succeed?")
[3] www.osce.org/cio/36448 (page 52)
[4] www.osce.org/odihr/75756 (page 15)
[5] www.osce.org/odihr/34404 (pages 41, 49, 63, 65 and 71) -
33
Apostasy Trial - Part 6 It's finally all online...
by RayPublisher inthe entire saga, all 3 hours are now online.
this last one took hours and hours to edit and i am so glad it is done.
(although i still have the behind the scenes footage to put up on how i did the hidden camera lol!
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JWB
Eric, I'll be listening to this concluding part with much interest. Thank you for all the hard work you put into making the videos and putting them in the public domain. You have created a valuable tool for instructing others about the way loyalty to the organization is seen by many JW elders as more important than the exercise of one's own conscience. Well, join the long queue of 'apostates' who tested and found wanting those with 'spiritual authority' during their own lifetimes:
Jeremiah
Jesus
Paul ("teaching an apostasy from Moses" Acts 21:21)
Martin Luther
William Tyndale
etc, etc.
[Added:]
Charles Taze Russell
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Was There a First Century Governing Body? - Fred Franz's View
by JWB inwas there a first century governing body?
- fred franz's view.
on 7 september 1975, during the graduation day of the 59th class of gilead, wts president nathan knorr introduced wts vice-president frederick franz to the audience.
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JWB
WAS THERE A FIRST CENTURY GOVERNING BODY? - FRED FRANZ'S VIEW
On 7 September 1975, during the graduation day of the 59th class of Gilead, WTS President Nathan Knorr introduced WTS Vice-President Frederick Franz to the audience. The talk that Franz then gave makes, I think, a powerful argument against the view that there was some first century 'governing body' situated at Jerusalem which somehow had executive power over all the various Christian congregations.http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ah6TJ5Aa2xg
Quotations from the talk
What appears between [] is my own text, meant for purposes of context clarification and showing approximate audio times.
Although I believe the quotation texts below are accurate transcripts of certain parts of the talk, I cannot guarantee it is free of errors. Therefore, I would advise the reader to listen to the complete audio, which is about 30 minutes in length.
[00:43] (Fred Franz speaking:)
"Now this class is being sent forth in collaboration with the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York incorporated by the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania. Now, the question may be raised today; what right does the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society have to send missionaries out into the field? Or evangelizers? The American Translation renders the word evangelizer: Missionary. Who authorized the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania to send missionaries all around the globe? Now such challenging questions may be also raised with an earlier circumstance, and that is based on the fact that the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society was founded by a man who became an evangelizer of world note, one of the most eminent evangelizers of this 20th century and especially attaining global fame when he made his trip around the world in the year 1912. That man was Charles Taze Russell of Allegheny Pennsylvania. Now, I've often wondered about this matter, and maybe you have too. Just how did Russell become an evangelizer - who made him an evangelizer?"
[2:42]
"At the time that he [Charles Taze Russell] lived, this professed Christian organization that was symbolized in Jesus' parable by the dragnet that gathered in fish suitable and unsuitable for orthodox Jews to eat, this professed Christian organization was still in operation and was gathering in these different qualities of symbolic fish. That meant that the various religious establishments of Christendom were in operation. For instance, there was the Anglican Church with its ruling body and the Protestant Episcopal Church with its ruling body, there was the Methodist Church with its conference, there was also the Presbyterian Church to which Russell used to belong with its synod. There was also the Congregational Church which Russell joined with its central congregation, but none of these controlling organizations of this dragnet organization was Russell made an evangelizer or a missionary. Well now, since Russell broke away from all these religious institutions of Christendom they didn't recognize him and he became known as Paster Russell, and I remember how the clergy would raise the question: Who made him a Pastor? So the validity of his ministry was questioned and challenged by the clergy of this dragnet organization about which the Lord Jesus Christ spoke in the 13th chapter of Matthew. So, in view of those things I often wondered now, how did Russell become what he did become, and maybe you've wondered about the matter too. So I just began to think about the 1st Century when this Christian evangelistic work or missionary work was first started."
[12:59]
"Now, where these 12 Apostles of the Lord Jesus Christ, by unloading this responsibility for taking care of tables [in the distribution of food to widows], were they making themselves really figure heads in the congregation of God and of Jesus Christ? They certainly were not making themselves figure heads because they specialized on spiritual things. They were more active at the spiritual end of the matter than at the semi-secular end of the matter. So things prospered when they did that; when they rendered the things to which they had not been appointed by Jesus Christ as Apostles to take care of as his witnesses to all the congregation. And they specialized on preaching, and the Lord God blessed them. Now we find with regard to this Philip that he left his job of taking care of tables at Jerusalem. Did you know that? He left that Job, and he went down to Samaria, and when he was down there in Samaria he did a preaching work and performed many signs and wonders, and it was because of the work that he did down there and afterwards that he became an evangelist. Now who made Philip an evangelist or evangelizer? Oh, you say 'the Apostles! The body of Apostles! Of course; it couldn't be any other way'. But was it? We read the account; let the Bible speak for itself."
[16:55]
"So that's what happened with Philip; how he became and evangelizer. Now these are things to note friends! Then something happened right after that and the Lord Jesus Christ took action, and he took direct action without consulting any man or body of men on earth! And that's when he, the head of the congregation met Saul of Tarsus the persecutor there in the road leading to Damascus. He stopped him and he said; now this is a chose vessel under me. I'm choosing him as [I am] the head of the church, without consulting any people on earth. And he chose Saul to be an evangelizer to carry the message not only to the Jews but also to all the Gentile nations. Later on the account tells us that Barnabas took Paul, or Saul of Tarsus down to Jerusalem, but they were all afraid of him. And Saul of Tarsus or Paul tells us that when they went up there to Jerusalem he saw none of the Apostles, except Peter with whom he spent 15 days, and also the apostle James. Those are the only two! Then he went back to Tarsus and he continued on in his labors. Well, later on, why, Barnabas was sent down there to Antioch and he ended up - Saul brought him there, and they taught in Antioch for quite a while. Paul became a member of the Antioch congregation, and he was one of the prophets there in that congregation specially mentioned. And then, all of a sudden as he was serving there in Antioch - in Syria, not in Israel, but in Syria, why, God's Spirit spoke to that congregation there in Antioch and said now, of all things you set aside - this congregation in Antioch, YOU set aside these two men, namely Barnabas and Saul for the work for which I have commissioned them, and so the Antioch congregation did that."
[19:52]
"And they [members of the Antioch congregation] laid their hands upon Paul or Saul and Barnabas and sent them forth, as a number of translations read, sent 'em forth! And then they went forth by the Holy Spirit operating through the Antioch congregation and they went out on their first missionary assignment. So you see, the Lord Jesus Christ was acting as the head of the congregation and taking action directly, without consulting any body here on earth what he could do or what he could not do! And he acted in that way with regard to Saul and Barnabas, an they were both apostles of the Antioch congregation, and so they went out to the work and had great success. And in the course of time they completed their first missionary tour, and where did they go? Where did they report? Well there's a record, you read it for yourself in the closing verses of the 14th chapter of Acts. They went back to Antioch, to the congregation there and the account says, 'They related things in detail to them, to this congregation that had committed them to the undeserved kindness of God for the work that they had performed'. So there's where they reported! So, the record also says, now they stayed in Antioch 'not a little time'. Well note what happened."
[21:43]
"All of a sudden something occurs and Paul and Barnabas they go up to Jerusalem. Well, what's the matter? What brings them up to Jerusalem? Well, is it the body of the Apostles and the other elders of the Jerusalem congregation that have summoned them up there and said: Look here! We have heard that you two men have gone out on a missionary tour and you've finished it and you haven't come up here to Jerusalem to report to us! Do you know who we are? We're the council of Jerusalem! Don't you recognize the headship of the Lord Jesus Christ? If you don't come on up here in a hurry we're going to take disciplinary action against you! Is that what the account says? Well if they had acted that way toward Paul and Barnabas because they reported to the congregation by means of which the holy spirit had sent them out, then this council of Jerusalem of apostles and other elders of the Jewish congregation would have put themselves above the headship of the Lord Jesus Christ! But that isn't what occurred. You know what happened; how Jews came down from Jerusalem and stirred up the matter of circumcision and it troubled the congregation there in Antioch so much that the Antioch congregation sent Paul and Barnabas up to Jerusalem to have the council settle the issue, and of course being sent by the congregation of Antioch they had to come back and report and advise the congregation of the settlement of the question of the decision that was made by the council there at Jerusalem. And then it was when they were arguing in favor of Christians from the gentiles not having to be circumcised like Jews, it was then that Paul and Barnabas told what God had done by means of them in the Gentile world. And then it was that the council got the report. Then they went back to Antioch, which had sent them forth to make known the decision and the Jerusalem council, why, sent along two men Judas and Silas with them. And so they delivered the report from the council, and there was great rejoicing among the gentile believers. Now time passes, and Paul and Barnabas are at Antioch."
[28:14]
"And so, as we examine this account of these two most outstanding among the missionaries recorded in Bible history, we find that they were sent off specially by the Lord Jesus Christ - the Head of the Church. A fact which the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society has upheld and accepted ever since the Society was formed. So we see how the Lord Jesus Christ as the Head of the Church has the right to act direct without any other organizations in view no matter who we are. He is the Head of the Church, and we can't challenge what he does."
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[29:13] (Closing comment of video maker:)
"The Biblical presentation Fred Franz has made is correct, fully in accord with what the Scriptures themselves say. It also directly contradicts the claims made by the Witness organization, that God and Christ deal with all true Christians through one central authority structure, acting as a sort of divine channel of communication and direction. Clearly Paul and Barnabas did not view Jerusalem as a seat of any such authority, nor consider it the right of any group of men to, as the Vice-President himself expressed it, 'put themselves above the headship of the Lord Jesus Christ' and act as if anything that he did should be done by and through them as a governing body. The Scriptural evidence against the concept of an earthly centralized authority structure, exercising control over all Christians globally, was clearly presented in Fred Franz's talk. God's Son told his disciples they had but one leader, Christ himself, and that they themselves were all brothers. Holding to that teaching would protect against the infringement on Christ's leadership role as to the elevation of any man or group of men to a position of superior authority over their brothers." -
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hello I recently got away from the so called "truth" looking for people to talk to
by LuLu4YouYou inhello my name is louis.
i have seperated myself from the jws and am looking for people to talk to.
i dont have many people in my life who will even speak to me anymore or even acknowledge that i exist.
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JWB
Welcome Louis, I'm so sad to hear about all your pain and suffering. I think you will find many here (and on other support sites) who can truly empathise with you and encourage you.
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Help me wake up my friends please!
by MsGrowingGirl20 ini know that this may be impossible and will surely get me a judicial comittee but i'm tired of keeping mum about how i feel.
so, i'm going to e-mail my two friends (two women under 35 who both got baptised within the last five years and one married a brother this year.they're both pioneers) and tell them what's bothering me and ttatt.. i'm going to do it tomorrow night.
i have some points already but i may have left out some.
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JWB
How about sending them to the link below to find out about the Candace Conti case?
www.youtube.com/channel/UCh69QHtZNzYb9oZeX8yhTjA/videos?sort=da&view=0