the following has been copied from my personal copy of the finished mystery:.
even the republics will disappear in the fall of 1920.
in one short year, 1917-1918, the vast and complicated system of sectarianism reaches its zenith of power, only to be suddenly dashed into oblivion.
Maybe one day the Society will realize that just saying a thing doesn't make it so and that unlike God, they cannot merely speak and it comes to pass.
A little humility -- never the Society's strong point -- is in order. Jehovah's Witnesses represent nothing more than another failed attempt by a long line of Apocalyptics to force God's hand.
Dismal failure never seems to dampen the enthusiasm of date-setters, but in the end it is all just a futile exercise.
are you an elder in the congregation?
timothy 5:17, ephesians 5:23; hebrews 6:10-12).
yes, an elder needs to ?accomplish his ministry fully.?
Thanks for another fine job, Blondie. Indeed, "time well spent.
I notice that frequently the scriptures the WT throws out to support a point in the paragraph really does not support it at all. For example, the last sentence in paragraph 4:
All servants of Jehovah should share regularly in the Kingdom-preaching work.—1 Corinthians 9:16-18.
So what does 1 Corinthians 9:16-18 actually say? Here the apostle Paul is declaring, "Woe is me if I did not declare the good news...I have a stewardship entrusted to me..." Every Christian, or 'servant of Jehovah' is not an apostle.
Similarly, Paul's admonition to "preach the word...do the work of an evangelizer, fully accomplish your ministry" (2 Timothy 4:2, 5) is given in the singular ("I solemnly charge you," not YOU, verse 1) to one person, the elder Timothy. Throughout the New Testament the specific order to preach is given only to apostles, elders/overseers, not to "all servants of Jehovah." Even Jesus' "great commission" at Matthew 28:19, to "go therefore and make disciples..." was given, not to all who followed Jesus at the time, but to "the eleven disciples" (Matthew 28:16) who in turn became apostles.
Any preaching done by "rank and file" Christians in the NT was of the informal type, according to the accounts in the book of Acts. It was not highly structured as an "obligatory" thing, as among JWs. People did what they could, when they could...and often 'when the Spirit hit them,' so to speak.
recently, an article appeared in broadcasting and cable magazine concerning the show "who wants.
to be a millionaire?".
apparently, the show isn't having as much success in russia because "people over.
Happiness is suspicious, unless you get happy by preaching. Enjoy yourself too much now, and you won't feel the need for the glorious "new world," which is right around the corner!
dear leolaia
from reading your research, which is wonderful, i'm confused about what moses was trying to say in exodus.
and god went on to speak to moses and to say to him: ?i am jehovah.
Thiis kind of information must burst the bubbles of the average fundamentalist or bible literalist. If it disturbs you I hope you simply dismiss it for now ......................................
Nah, I've been reading this sort of stuff for years. But I consider myself neither a fundamentalist nor a "bible literalist." Call me a Bible maximalist. I read the ruminations of ANE scholars with interest, but also know that there are two sides to every story. Because ancient peoples shared a religious vocabulary does not prove that the Israelites borrowed their God from surrounding peoples.
I peruse the minimalist scholars to get their take on things. Their thinking is evolutionary, but doesn't explain the uniqueness of Israel's YHWH, nor the ethical monotheism that developed among the sons of Abraham, the admitted son of a polytheist.
In sum, I find the intellectual gymnastics of Bible minimalists to be engaging, but not entirely convincing.
hello everybody i was just wondering if anybody knows how raymond franz is doing or how he is continuing his life outside of the org.
Maybe it was the name of the man rather than the title of the book. Many Witnesses who have been around for a while know about Ray Franz, even if they don't know his book(s).
I read COC and ISOCF when they first came out. I suppose they have been revised by now. At the time, I appreciated the insightful information, but the books offered me nowhere else to go. So I didn't go anywhere.
But if one must deal with the devil (the Society), it is good to know just who and what the devil is.
because the society does not teach a basic christian doctrine, salavtion by grace, but rather teaches that salavtion only comes through them by works, this in itself creates a dilemma.
if salvation is by works only, then you need a system that puts you under an obligation to perform these works.
what are these works?
because the society does not teach a basic christian doctrine, salavtion by grace, but rather teaches that salavtion only comes through them by works, this in itself creates a dilemma.
if salvation is by works only, then you need a system that puts you under an obligation to perform these works.
what are these works?
The next two WT studies (which I am sure Blondie will examine for its many fallacies) make it plain that the only "good work" that counts now is preaching. And not just preaching, but house to house preaching. The constant "reminders" must mean that many are "slowing up" in that work.
According to the WT, we will never be free of the house to house preaching work since it must continue "until the end," which will come when only God knows. So keep plugging, folks.
Nothing wrong with preaching, but the Society is stuck on only one primary way to do it, and it must be done that way because the Society says so, not the Bible.
I will wait til Blondie gets to the WT comments on Acts 20:20, 21 to have a say on how the WT has thoroughly misapplied that verse about preaching house to house.
All that Jesus did for us, apparently, is not enough. If we do not preach, the Society says, and in the way the Society wants us to preach, we are doomed.
because the society does not teach a basic christian doctrine, salavtion by grace, but rather teaches that salavtion only comes through them by works, this in itself creates a dilemma.
if salvation is by works only, then you need a system that puts you under an obligation to perform these works.
what are these works?
gawwwwwwddd, how many times did i say that, and how many times have i heard it.
notice how much it has to do with nebulous isues?
"that elder is an unchristian jerk.
This sad and strange thing I am seeing:
Many of those who waited on Jehovah to fix things and obediently did everything the Society said are now facing their later years scrimping by in near poverty...
While new ones coming in, who completely disregarded what the Society said, lived their own lives and did well for themselves, have the big houses and the luxury cars and the college educations and the lucrative jobs.
Old brother faithful sees that the new Witness is sucked up to, respected, and lionized, because he has something. Something he got by doing for himself and paying the Society's predictions no attention at all.
Old brother faithful also sees that he has little or nothing, even though he did everything the Society demanded, and is disregarded in the congregation.
Moral: He who waits on "Jehovah" -- the Society -- ends up with nothing.
He who uses common sense and gets what he wants, ends up with everything. He can even become a Witness on his own terms, if and when he wants to.
i have recently been studying some of the theology of the baptists and comparing it to that of the watchtower and i have learned some very interesting things.
by the way, i am new to this forum and i am not sure if it usually discusses topics such as this, but i will be interested to read everyone's responses.
my question is simply:.
Nice post hooberus, but we Arians do not have to resort to mumbo-jumbo and contortions of language to explain our belief.
