Read Don Cameron's book "Captives to a Concept", it explains really well their motivation...they are held captive to the concept a god is involved with the GB.
Once they are held captive to that then that is their motivation.
i’ve struggled for some time with this question.
why would the elders, cos, branch committee, helpers to gb and the gb themselves devote their lives to progressing in the organization, if the whole thing is one big sham?
i have 3 ideas so far.. 1) money.
Read Don Cameron's book "Captives to a Concept", it explains really well their motivation...they are held captive to the concept a god is involved with the GB.
Once they are held captive to that then that is their motivation.
this statement was answered in a form of a question to a question posed by one of his followers;.
jesus realized that composite slave had to qualify for such an appointment when he came into power of his kingdom promised by jehovah god.
[and they came to life and ruled as kings with the christ+ for 1,000 years].
Don Cameron's book "Captives to a Concept" is single-handlely the best resource to debunk that the GB are appointed by a "God".
i do not want this to develop into another discussion on "607 bce date is wrong".. when the a-e section of "aid to bible understanding" was published, i was able to show that the article on "chronology" employed deceptive techniques when it cited its sources.
whenever i provided jws the evidence in print, it was like water off a duck's back.
"the brothers in brooklyn have done all the research, write to them", they would tell me.. i soon recognised that the jws followed the wts because of who it claimed to be.. it became clear that another, stronger force existed--the impact of shunning with the loss of close friendships and with the impact on their family relationships.. one could only stand by with concern thinking of the impact of the cognitive dissonance and observing the regular changes requiring lock-step obedience.
Er because their whole religion is found and supported on the idea that the GB are in God's hands.
Most of the JW doctrine is an interpretation of scripture, that interpretation coming from the GB.
They must have authority in the rank file members eyes and 607 > 1914 > 1919 gives the GB that self-appointed authority.
If you remove 607 you remove that authority then all their doctrines are interpretations of men, not God appointed.
JW's cannot accept that, cognitive dissonance.
The whole reason why many of us have left is simply down to the fact we realize that the GB are not appointed by a "God" and are indeed self-appointed.
This is why when people leave for other reasons and do not research and still "believe" that the GB are God's spokespeople that they will either go back or their conscience cripples them to mental health issues.
607 BCE as the destruction of Jerusalem is the absolute core and foundation of JW's because it then gives credence in their eyes that all other doctrines are from "God".
Ironically, 607 is one of the easier doctrines they profess to disprove.
this statement was answered in a form of a question to a question posed by one of his followers;.
jesus realized that composite slave had to qualify for such an appointment when he came into power of his kingdom promised by jehovah god.
[and they came to life and ruled as kings with the christ+ for 1,000 years].
1919 is based off 1914 which is based off 607 BCE as the destruction of Jerusalem.
I think you will find that 607 is incorrect. It was 587/586. Thus, 1914 doesn't work and therefore neither does 1919.
The whole house of cards falls down without its foundation and that foundation is built on an incorrect date.
Anything else to discuss on this matter is futile.
a month ago i sent a letter to the us branch about 607. my purpose for sending it was because i wanted to show to my parents through the letters the truth behind the date system.
two days ago, i received a response from them.
i think this is gonna be the first of many.
Has anyone mentioned 606 BCE? The WT taught that was the date until they realized no zero year between 1 BCE and 1CE.
When they realized that, and if they had the date of 606 BCE right as the destruction then the prophecy works out to 1915.
YET they chose to change something set in history by changing 606 to 607 rather than the end date of a prophecy unseen by its results.
Imagine I said I was 30 years old and my wife said I was 31 and I changed, not my professed age, but the year I was born to suit me being 30 years old is that trustworthy?
There is zero proof that 607 BCE was the destruction and is only selected to suit their man-made prophecy which co-incidentally leads to 1918/1919 and their only scriptural point of authority.
The fact they altered a date set in history to suit their prophecy tells you something.
what are the craziest books or magazines the tower ever printed?
i know of the millions now living is crazy the finished mystery.
.
From 1920 WT publication "Talking with the Dead":
p. 116 Materializations
"These materializations occur by a power which the demons posess of being able to draw out of the mediums body connected streams of the cells of which her body is composed, and then changing the form of these living cells into any desired appearance. They thus transform the medium into a hideous octopus-like creature, and this is the reason seances occur in a dimly lit room, with the medium in a cabinet, so that the circle of investigators cannot witness the horrible scene as it really is."
p. 123 Demons control mediums by seizing the base of the brain
"The cerebellum of the brain is the power house of the body and it is from this center that the evil spirits seek control over the reasoing faculties, located in the cerebrum, and over the whole body."
p. 126 Heavenly whiskey, dentistry and manure
"According to Sir Oliver Lodge's book 'Raymond', the spirit world is inhabited by spirit beings who have flesh but do not bleed. They wear tweed clothes, drink whiskey and have manure piles."
Food at the proper time.
....or any other religion for that matter!
financial cost.. if they were afraid to tackle the plymouth brethren christian church minnows, they will not tackle the jw cult.. here are 4 main reasons why the charity commission challenged the pbcc's charitable status:.
the nature of the doctrine and practices of the pbcc generally.
Most likely true but then again most did not expect them to do so or remove their charity status etc.
But what is happening, all round the globe, is the spotlight on the JW religion and their child abuse policies.
And look what happened with the Catholic church when that happened to them...the simplest form of hurt to the JW religion is in their pocket via lawsuits and compensation.
has anyone read the article about the great crowd in the september study watchtower?.
i read an elephant in the room.
is there a change comming?
Could you post bits that you give you the thinking there may be a change?
this happened yesterday.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0pfyty9bs3i.
This thread is not about Lloyd Evans...there are numerous other threads about him.
As you may know I'm not a big fan of his "personality" or the way he does things or comes across but that is my opinion based on not knowing him personally but his online presence.
I may be wrong and whilst I will be vocal in the things I see him do wrong ultimately he is a great activist working towards the good of the exjw community.
I could write paragraphs on the man and things I disagree on and in the past in threads I would post such stuff but can we not move on and be mature and see past the person that he is and see his work? Why does every thread that involves him have to turn the same way in that we talk about him?
I admire his work and enjoy fort the most part...I have reservations about him that I see but I won't keep bringing them up, it is unfair to his work.
He was simply part of this exjw event which I enjoyed watching.
I do the same with the GB now...see past the idiots in the GB and look at them as a whole and what they produce.
personally i think it is 1914 and the following " this generation " doctrine.. this particular doctrine went right against jesus's own words of " no one knows of the time not even he " .
he also admonished his true followers to not set a time upon god's own sacred time .. the leaders of the wts even back to the late 1800's set a time calculated on their own theology 1874 being the first time set and proclaimed by c t russell, also proclaiming 1914 would likely be the year of the final day of judgment armageddon.
all throughout the 20th century the wts held to this doctrine but was eventually revised of course when it was realized this generation had passed away who saw the events of 1914. .
Hi Finkelstein - ever considered that that clay tablets could be faked by poor people digging in Babylon and getting paid good money by some wealthy Europeans? Just a thought. Dates may not be all they are cracked up to be.
All 13,000 of them?