Many visiting this site have been Jehovah witnesses, Scientologist, Bible Students or one of the denominations based on the writings or beliefs of one man or set of men.
How can we avoid these pitfalls again, now that we have managed to get free? One major scripture was misquoted to all Jehovah witnesses for a century: "Who versus Whom"
67 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve.
68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.”
I like this post from Bro Andre on the Berean Bible Students site:
Secondhand “Faith”
Hast thou faith? Have it to thyself before God (Romans 14:22).
Many, if not most of those in professing Christendom have secondhand “faith.”
It can be a wonderful thing when others share their “faith” with us; but sadly much of what many believe was simply passed to them by others, untested and unproven. The only way for faith truly to be ours is for us to go to the Scriptures themselves, to be convinced by them.
Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth (II Timothy 2:15).
Note carefully Paul’s words, “Study to show thyself …” and earlier, “Hast thou faith? Have it to thyself before God.”
God has called us into an individual faith before Himself. No one has the right to tell us what to believe, or to provide us with creeds or doctrinal statements. Our faith is to be personal, without constraint, without manipulation.
Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand (II Corinthians 1:24).
The walk of faith truly begins with freedom from the bondage of religious dominion, and finds its completion standing alone before God by personal faith. Embrace this true liberty: freedom from religion, to freedom of faith – the freedom to follow your own heart of faith wherever God may lead.
Being strong in such personal faith is what brings glory to the Father.
He [Abraham] staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God (Romans 4:20).
Do not settle for secondhand “faith,” for that is not truly faith at all – or at least it is not faith in God and in His Word – it is merely faith in men and their words. We must not merely go on what we have heard, or on our preconceived notions and supposition. God desires us to have a faith all our own, so that we may know and believe first-hand what He has said; for faith is simply taking God at His Word.
Don’t be caught up in the mimicry of a secondhand “faith.” Dare to believe God and His Word for yourself!
Clyde L. Pilkington, Jr.
The Bible has many scriptures that can be interpreted in different ways, especially when taken out of context. When anyone or any organization insists that others follow their interpretation it leads to strife and division. Do you really believe that Christ did not foresee this? He himself said that he came to cause division! It has been over 2000 years. Many thoughts of the Bible have been misinterpreted due to translation variants and added dogmatic slants and even spurious additions. But one thing remains constant! Our Lord came to save the WORLD from the sin of Adam, that he died for us and was resurrected to the glorious right hand of God. This was the Gospel taught by the Apostles. Disagreements regarding such things as prophecy are really not salvation issues. The TRUTH and details shall be revealed in Gods due time when they are finally fulfilled. Just as the Jews expected Christ to be revealed in a totally different way, I think we too may find that our expectations may not be fulfilled exactly as we think. Is the 144000 in revelation symbolic or literal? Who really is the Faithful and wise servant? Who goes into second death? Who is Gog of Magog? There are many beliefs regarding these questions. There are many conflicting answers to these questions, all with seemingly sound scriptural reasoning. But we really will not KNOW until we actually see the fulfillment. Rather than arguing among ourselves regarding these matters and insisting on our own understanding, we should show the love and unity among each other as Christians. Unless a person manifests a spirit of antichrist, denying the resurrection and salvation of our Lord and putting themselves in his rightful place as head of the Church, we should not judge that persons beliefs. All Christians are at different points in their quest to follow Christ. Paul recognized this when he said not to judge others for eating meat sacrificed to idols or placing one day above another.There were many disputes even in Pauls time. Nowhere does Paul recommend shunning a person for disagreeing regarding these disagreements. Only when a person denies the resurrection or Christ himself do we see any indication that we should cut off that person from association. Even in the case of wrong doing the council is to readjust the sinner but to keep an eye on ourselves so that we do not fall into a sinful course ourselves and freely forgive those who are repentant. We, as Christians do not have the right or power to condemn someone to second death or a fiery Hell! When Christ sits in judgment it is he who will determine who is truly a wicked person incapable of repentance. So let us learn to love one another, forgive one another, be merciful and kind thus showing that we have the Fruit of the Spirit. Doing so we can truly follow the example of Christ and the love and mercy he showed us by his sacrifice on the cross.
TedR, I think this puts into proper words what I was trying to say last night on the BBB conference. Some think we should be careful questioning the doctrines passed down to us or not hold them up to scrutiny. But we should go straight to the Bible and convince ourselves individually with God. Each child talks to their father in human life and my parents had 9 children but each of us had a very personal relationship first then as a family.
Jehovah and Jesus can deal with each of us and what we are able to understand. These men have used the expression meant to demean and put us down, Independent Thinking.” That is exactly what we should be doing. When it is a woman with insight they add the demeaning expression “Jezebel Spirit” to cut her down.
Andre makes some good points. We need to see for ourselves what the Bible says about Armageddon, great crowd, Jesus signs, Israel and all subjects and not be afraid to disagree completely with Charles Taze Russell, governing body of the witnesses and it’s elders.
I for one have dropped this fear of men. Thank you.
John 13:34 “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
One of Christ\’s final commands to his followers was that we should be united in LOVE. Love is what identifies us as Christians. Christ taught us not only to love fellow Christians, but also even our enemies, freely forgiving them for their transgressions. One problem I see in Christianity today is the tendency to argue about who is right about some topics and who is wrong. Bickering between different beliefs, especially among those who choose to follow dogmatically the teachings of men on matters subject to interpretation.
Paul discouraged this: 1 Corinthians 1:10 I appeal to you, brothers and sisters,[a] in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought. 11 My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. 12 What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos”; another, “I follow Cephas[b]”; still another, “I follow Christ.”
13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius, 15 so no one can say that you were baptized in my name. 16 (Yes, I also baptized the household of Stephanas; beyond that, I don’t remember if I baptized anyone else.)
Christians are united by there love for Christ and the Gospel of his death and resurrection for the redemption of ALL mankind. We are united in our love for each other. We follow what the Bible clearly spells out for us. Satan has been misleading people for nearly 2000 years. Erroneous teachings and understandings permeate Christianity due to following the teachings of men. As a result, no one religion, no one man, no one organization has the complete truth of Gods Word. Rather than insisting on our own views, or that we blindly follow a man or an organization, we should respect each others love for Christ. We follow Christs example of love and humility. We never want to condemn others who are sincerely trying to follow Christ. It is only when a person commits act contrary to the clear principles set out in Gods word through acts of immorality that we have any part in judging others. (1 Corinthians 15). Even that should be done with love and mercy to help that wrongdoer repent of his course. It should never be so judicial in nature that we go beyond Scripture and hurt others both physically and spiritually, such as a complete shunning and refusal even to pray for that person.
So let us follow Paul\’s council at Colossians 3:12: Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. 14 And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.
Yes love is what binds us in unity, not dogmatism nor doctrine. Salvation comes from our Lord, Jesus Christ; not man, not an organization, but rather his love for us as our redeemer. We are all part of the body of Christ. Each of us has a different role, just as our body members have a different role. We may not all think exactly the same, but we are unified under Christ. Unity is not Uniformity! I love my wife, we are one flesh, we are in complete unity, but we do not think the same way all the time. We are willing to put up with each others weakness and short comings. This is how those professing to be Christians should be if they truly want to follow Christ\’s example of LOVE, the greatest commandment!
TedR, I will listen to this from Raymond Franz tonight and comment. Also your other comments. I have been at doctor appointments all day today and have more tomorrow.
I am getting the best care and have decided to have the doctors treat me now instead of later. See you tomorrow.
Is this really much different than the attitude today? Notice the information from this commentary from Ray Franz
https://youtu.be/xA9P-6mQtT8
TedR, I just listened to this and discussed with another person. I actually question not so much Russell’s sanity but the men who over 100 years later can’t see the godlike, want to replace Christ,attitude of this man.
I agree that the watchtower society is from Russell not Rutherford as some are trying to rewrite history. Rutherford actually disliked this haughty attitude displayed by Russell but went on and became the same. Freddie Franz was the exact personna of Russell and he was indeed suffering from a mental illness. He thought he was gifted and his word was law as Russell and his followers now feel.
There is no difference in Jehovah witnesses governing body and Charles Russell except at least they are alive and not a read person.
Livingston (Africa), McClintok, Strong,Body just to name a few of the men that left much helpful information for us without claiming to be an angel of Revelation or “ye olde slave” of Matthew.
I am so glad to have journeyed into the Russell cult so we can now better understand where the governing body got their behavior.
It is the same game by a different name. Thanks for sharing.
Yes Sister Jacqueline. David and Vivian’s videos are very informative. I follow their videos as well as Beroean Pickets and Critical Thinkers. All by exJWs. I like them because they are exposing facts and not just slanderous rhetoric like many YouTube posts.
TedR, some of these brothers actually came to the fojw site many years ago and I see many of them with their own sites and pages. This to me is what therapy and helping are about, not bringing persons into a new religion but to set them free to go to God directly and reach back and help others. I love “Critical thinking” as they have evolved from the first youtube. I had them on this site and I think I will add them back.
As for other more critical pages, I think they have made the governingbody backed down! Many of these women and men are victims of child sexual abuse and treated like dogs by the watchtower organization. Without their fierce outcry of their pain this giant watchtower society would be worse than it is.
I have many case files of the judicial committee treatment of some of these victims and the elders and governing nody should be banned and jailed. So unless I have walked a mile in their shoes I can’t condemn them but rather pray they can heal after the stages of grief are complete.
I am about to see if I can put the BAR library on this site as I subscribed for one year and everyone should be able to use it by clicking here. Working on that now.
I think now is the time to branch out and get to know what is really in the Bible with all this knowledge. Even ones staying within their perspective religions have freedom now to branch out and learn without fear.
Some of the local Jehovah witness congregations have elders that are stepping up to the plate and introducing new thoughts and what the internet has allowed us to see. So tell me if you can access the BAR library from your computer when I get it up, please.
Another great video:
https://youtu.be/llAFZmOPDPo
Watchtower BLASPHEMY — trust Russell rather than Spirit, Word, prayer (Franz free 39)
Ted this couple has more videos following and they are revealing. The root of this whole deception is “Charles Taze Russell” then onward to Rutherford and now the present day governing body which more resembles Russell than the “Russellites” or followers of “Studies in the Scriptures” volumes study.
I was confused when I studied on Wednesday night out of the volumes that the conductor skipped volume “four” and went to vol. five. I was the only one that protested vocally to him, others did so away from the study and he lost half of his audience. I mentioned this to a Chicago class elder and he said ” I wouldn’t study it with you either”. No explanation when I asked why. Ecclias vote on study material Wednesday conductor said you are not an ecclias just a study group! Like the witnesses he lays out your indoctrination process!
A man writes a whole volume of “lies” that shouldn’t be studied but his other stuff is “truth”???
When I looked at it, the pot was calling the kettle black on the friendsofjehovahwitnesses
site and I was a part of their great deception. I try to look at it as a revealing of a religion that no one knew existed and now we can get to the root of this 19th century deception of putting men in Christs place. I often wonder if Russell didn’t phantom himself as divine??
I say this because one sister sent to the archives to get the real divorce records of Russell and it revealed he had warrants for refusing to pay his wife her support and other brothers would pay it.
He went on tours to evade being in the state to be brought to court on warrants.
He didn’t have big crowds in all those cities, sometimes a few or none. Rutherford put Russell’s wife out of a house they owned together, at Russell’s request. She was making a living by renting out rooms to support herself!
This sister has a treasure trove of info and you haven’t seen her and other sisters since they became aware of who this man actually was.
He died in disgrace before decent people for his outlandish 1914 debacle and disregard for law. He phantomed himself as special. I find it strange that a small group still exists with this great devotion to him.
I often wondered if I was not “born in” would I accept these teachings from a door to door encounter. Now I know my answer is No, I wouldn’t accept one man’s explanation of the Bible over Christ’s words to listen to him and the helper, the Holy Spirit to give understanding. So my sojourn into this American religion was not totally in vain as it got me to Christ. Thanks for your posting.
I found this post on the Berean Bible Student Facebook page from Brother Andre extremely refreshing and in harmony with what I believe.
https://www.ebbereanos.org/2019/02/the-berean-bible-students-in-brazil.html?fbclid=IwAR00pAWA8FLJ9huu3B3P8IzpqgZtj1wWV0rX3VSni1qlKTmmfj63B5qE4uQ
Thanks Ted, I met this brother before. Glad to see his group. I will check out what he says. We had many interesting conversations, nice to see him.
He and I have very similar views but realized it was useless like with the witnesses to explain our views.
The shunning is called no fellowship of minimum fellowship. Same as witnesses. Apples never fall far from the tree. I wish followers of Russell no ill will as Christ died for all. I just can’t worship a man or a group of men.
This has been a 70 year journey for me, a captive because of being born into an American religion started by Charles Taze Russell.
My next 70 is going to be worship of Jehovah and his son Jesus as my saviour.
Free at last!
Ted, I found this in my mailbox and think it might help focus ones on personal study.
https://s3.amazonaws.com/web-assets.youversion.com/html-email/2019-02-21-day-challenge-start/2019-02-21-day-challenge-start-en.html
I found this article on Christmas I thought might be of interest:
https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-topics/new-testament/how-december-25-became-christmas/
TedR thanks for posting this I read this in the Bibliography emails.
Ephesians 4 New International Version (NIV)
Unity and Maturity in the Body of Christ
4 As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. 2 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you were called to one hope when you were called; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism; 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.
14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.
As Christians we are unified under our Lord Jesus. We must avoid contentions among us. We all serve each other and with the help pf the Holy Spirit we are able to maintain that unity. We never want to insist others accept our personal beliefs and understanding of Scripture. We worship the Father in spirit and truth! Truth does not mean uniformity in understanding. When we worship in truth we are doing so without hypocrisy, not trying to be a friend of the world with its immoral practices. We serve our Father with our whole soul, mind and body, never using the grace of God as an excuse for sin. This is Christian unity! We love and respect each other, doing good toward all, but especially those who are our brothers and sisters in Christ. Each of us have gifts provided by our helper, the Holy Spirit. We use those gifts to serve others. We examine all things in light of Scripture, not allowing ourselves to be “tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming” following the traditions and philosophies of man,
Our unity comes from the Scriptures, following the example of our Lord Jesus, putting away all badness, and putting our Lord first in our lives. Thus we become part of the body of Christ and attain the reward of eternal life in Gods kingdom.
Matthew 7 New International Version (NIV)
Judging Others
7 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.
Because of our imperfection, we have a tendency to be judgmental of others. Christ knew this, which is why we have this admonition. We all have faults. We all have sinned, some to a large degree. That is why we need Gods grace! Just because we are Christian does not free us from temptation, and at times we may give in to that temptation. So why be critical of others who, although they are trying to serve our Lord, may fall short and fall into even serious sin. Jesus taught us to be merciful and forgiving, even to our enemies. True, we never want to excuse wrong doing and use the grace of our Lord as an excuse for sin. At the same time we must be careful not to judge others and hold others faults against them. Our judge is Christ! As Christians we make an honest effort to overcome our human weakness and when we fall short we ask our Lord\’s forgiveness, repent, and make an effort not to repeat our sinful conduct.
If we want others to forgive us, shouldn\’t we be willing to forgive them? Mathew 6:14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Someone may have said something to us that hurt. It may have been just a poor choice of words, or it may have been in anger or in judgment. Are we willing to overlook the wrong? Non-Christians have used the imperfections of Christians as an excuse not to serve the Lord, calling us hypocrites. While we always want to set an example and make every effort not to engage in conduct that would bring reproach upon Christ, we are human and we will say or do something that will bring criticism from others. If we do, what is our attitude? Are we humble enough to apologize to someone we may have wronged and ask them for forgiveness? Do we make an honest effort to overcome our weakness? If we are wronged by another, do we follow Christ\’s admonition to go to that person and try to talk with them about the issue? Mathew 18:15 “If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ 17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.
Here we see that, while we should be ready to forgive, there may be times when the wrongdoer refuses to show repentance. While we should be forgiving, we are not obliged to maintain a close relationship with an unrepentant sinner. We should however, be willing to forgive if that person shows that he is honestly sorry for what he has done.
Read Mathew 18:21-35
Aren\’t we glad that our Lord is willing to forgive us for all the wrongs we have done in our lives? Shouldn\’t we, as his followers, also be willing and ready to forgive? If we are repentant wouldn\’t we want the forgiveness of others? Let us follow Christ\’s example and admonition thus we show ourselves to be true followers of Christ.
Ted, I enjoyed revisiting this scripture and many Christian have to review as we come into conflict.
One aspect of this deals with perceived conflict, not a tangible like adultery or lying against another. Therein lies the problem.
We can take away others freedom and border on control if we don’t know the difference in choice and conflict. An employee or executive may decide to pursue another career or the same field on their own. It would be choice not conflict. There may not be anything wrong with their job but they want a change. Immature employers or partners might take offense of the freedom and rights of this individual.
Application of the above scripture does not apply. This scripture is not to be used to have an argument with your brother or control them to come over to your way. There is no sin commited against a brother but rather the other brother made a choice.
So this is my take on the back side of this scripture to accept choices made by our brothers and not perceive an offense when they approach their worship to God differently.
I recently had discussion with my family as my illness has brought us closer. I told them I prefer going to God through Christ with a small study group and it is going well. I said I don’t want to join an organization or association with bodies of elders but prefer where we are all brothers in Christ. It is taking days and many conversations as this is new to those who have been under the strict dogma enforced for over a hundred years.
Our choice to reject organized religions but not Christ is difficult for the brains of some to adjust especially elders or Pastors as the laity system gives little men more power than they will ever have in a lifetime. So sin vs choice to be free.
TedR, could you give me your thoughts please on this.
19:8,9. I am limited on copy and paste scripture because of my fingers still stiff.
But am I seeing here that after Israel is scattered through the world and nations, Vs 8, that they will be burned or holocaust??
Maybe I am wrong but the Bible foretold the holocaust. Maybe this is another time period? I would appreciate some thoughts from anyone.
I came across this YouTube video I found extremely interesting. Thought I would share it.
https://youtu.be/VI1yRTC6kGE
As I look at various YouTube posts and comments on exJW sites I feel so much sorrow. So many of these young people who leave the organization or are disfellowshipped have left the Lord completely. It is understandable, because so many of these young people were raised to believe that the organization is the truth. When the truth is proved false, the feel that all religion is false. They are left with skeptical outlook and bitterness. As a result they turn to drugs, alcohol, and an immoral lifestyle, losing all faith in the Lord. Some have committed suicide as a result of losing the support of their families. While they must share some of the blame, the organization in my opinion has the biggest share. The unjust treatment, and extreme treatment of these poor young people is truly a discredit and blasphemy of our Lord Jesus. Christ said that he who stumbles the least of his children will be under judgment. The organization has become blood guilty!
Another problem people have when leaving the Organization is that, while they don\’t leave God, they come again under the bondage of other religious organizations. They fail to realize, because they were never taught, that the only truth is the Bible and the only organization is Christ. Faith in the Lord is an individual thing and can only be gained with help of the Holy Spirit and Bible Study, not by following the word of man. We don\’t need organized religion to be close to God. While we look at others writings and interpretations and find it beneficial, we must be like the Boreans, examining the Scriptures to make sure that those interpretations are truly from the Bible.
Any time we decide to look for a true religion we will be disappointed because there is no one organization that has the complete truth. The best we can do is find others who have a love for the Scriptures and share in Bible Study and association. If we choose to attend a Church we need to be careful not to put our faith in the religions creeds, the pastor, or others interpretations. We need Christian fellowship so associating with people of other denominations can be beneficial, but we must be careful not allow ourselves to be in bondage to those other organizations. Most Churches have some truth and do many things to bring honor to Christ. But never do we want to blindly follow any teachings of man. We must prove for ourselves the Word of God from the Word of God and never rely on the philosophies of man.
We also need to be careful not to allow our bitterness to cause us to retaliate with slander, lies, or any kind of violence. I look at some of the videos and there is a great deal of this type of behavior. I have no problem with statements of truth exposing the false teachings and injustices of any religion but these should be in the form of reason and backed by Scripture and facts. Any time we distribute lies and half truths we are proving to those still in the organization that the governing body is right when it says apostates are deceptive and liars. Some of the information being distributed is not coming from exJW\’s, but from persons of other religions.
The Scriptures tell us; \”whatever things are true, whatever things are upbuilding, continue considering these things\”. A Christians goal is to help others come to Christ, using the Bible and sound reasoning. Some, like Critical Thinkers, David Aspinal, and Borean Pickets have great information presented in an informative way, exposing false teachings without slander or stretching the truth. Ray Franz set a great example in this regard. We don\’t need to come across in a mocking, critical way. We just need to tell the truth, backed by Scripture.
TedR, I notice also the different approaches those leaving take to express their anger and disgust and I think; “what kind of teachings and abuse have they indured to cause this anger”?
The pen and video (lol) is mightier than the sword. It at least sends a message to others to not come near an insular group like this and it make save someone from feeling the pain of being forced from your youth upward to hear only one way of understanding the Bible. In this information age it might make others consider the other men that Holy Spirit is helping, their thoughts and views. To realize they too can get understanding directly also from Christ with the help of the Spirit and their just reading what the Bible actually says, not what books say it says.
I hear their pain when I go on You Tube and feel the courage they must have mustered to reveal these manipulated teachings based on dates and the thoughts of a few men.
Br. Franz added the powerful support they needed to add to their story.
God and Christ are listening also and Divine Providence is allowing these voices to speak out. You Tube, what a marvelous invention. Take Care
Thank you, Ted.
For me, Unity is about harmony, and mutual agreement about values and a shared purpose. It’s not about abandoning one’s individuality. Unity is singleness of goal, not singleness of mind, attitude, and methods.
In my experience, it seems that the Jehovah’s Witnesses Organization’s obsession over Unity has to do with fear and an unwillingness to trust that God knew what HE was doing when gave Adam and Eve free will along with a choice. If you’re going to try to stamp out the possibility that people might do something “wrong” then you’re going to feel compelled to assume and then pursue ever-greater control. I believe that’s what JW unity is all about: Control (in a rather thin –albeit arguably effective–disguise).
Alfie Kohn wrote, “Some who support [more] coercive strategies assume that children will run wild if they are not controlled. However, the children for whom this is true typically turn out to be those accustomed to being controlled— those who are not trusted, given explanations, encouraged to think for themselves, helped to develop and internalize good values, and so on. Control breeds the need for more control, which is used to justify the use of control.” ― Alfie Kohn, Punished by Rewards: The Trouble with Gold Stars, Incentive Plans, A’s, Praise and Other Bribes
One of my favourite fictional lines come from George Orwell’s book, Animal Farm. In chapter 5, the character “Squealer” has been this to say in support the newly self-appointed Commander, Napoleon: “Comrades, I trust that every animal here appreciates the sacrifice that Comrade Napoleon has made in taking this extra labour upon himself. Do not imagine, comrades, that leadership is a pleasure! On the contrary, it is a deep and heavy responsibility. No one believes more firmly than Comrade Napoleon that all animals are equal. He would be only too happy to let you make your decisions for yourselves. But sometimes you might make the wrong decisions, comrades, and then where should we be?…”
Anyone else see the striking similarity between Orwell’s Napoleon and the Orwellian Governing Body?
And to save everyone the trouble of looking it up on Wikipedia, I’ll quote it: “Orwellian” is an adjective describing a situation, idea, or societal condition that George Orwell identified as being destructive to the welfare of a free and open society. It denotes an attitude and a brutal policy of draconian control by propaganda, surveillance, misinformation, denial of truth (doublethink), and manipulation of the past, including the “unperson”—a person whose past existence is expunged from the public record and memory, practised by modern repressive governments. Often, this includes the circumstances depicted in his novels, particularly Nineteen Eighty-Four but political doublespeak is criticized throughout his work, such as in Politics and the English Language. –From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orwellian
Unity vs Uniformity
Ephesians 4 English Standard Version (ESV)
Unity in the Body of Christ
4 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to the one hope that belongs to your call— 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. 7 But grace was given to each one of us according to the measure of Christ\’s gift.
Does Christian unity require that all Christians believe exactly the same? Does it require complete uniformity? Whats the difference?
Notice what this article has to say:
Unity vs uniformity: which do you mean?
LIAN KUAL SANG 09 JAN 2012
\”In my view, uniformity represents the past: dictatorship, societal restrictions and a lack of democracy. It does not accommodate differences in ideas, beliefs, shapes and colors. Instead, it seeks to eliminate all differences, creating a “one size fits all” society. A system of uniformity relies on force to bring about change or to achieve certain objectives. In extreme cases this means using violence to reach a particular goal. One aspect of uniformity is demanding another party change, or conform, in order to achieve agreement, peace or prosperity. Uniformity does not allow for negotiation or compromise.
In contrast, unity values differences. It acknowledges that people have different religions, cultures and political views. It sends the message that although we may be different in many ways we can work and live together in a way that benefits both of us. Genuine unity is based on democratic values, open mindedness and the concept of multiculturalism. Unity is a nurturing environment where all live side by side harmoniously based on the principles of equality and mutual respect.\”
Christian Unity does not require everyone believe, act, dress or behave the same. We all have freedom in Christ, unified by our love for God and Jesus.We follow Jesus example, we walk in his footsteps, but this does not require us to give up our Christian freedom to disagree over items that are not plainly spelled out in Scripture or to force others to follow our beliefs. Notice what Ray Franz says in the following two videos:
https://youtu.be/wy4K_-UP_dM
https://youtu.be/Y5nWKhS4OHY
No organization has a God given right to dictate our faith and require complete uniformity. While some order must be established in any organization and there must be some rules, when those rules go against Gods inspired handbook we must, as did the apostles,\”obey God as ruler rather than men\”. Only God and Christ can judge. The Bible is very clear on the established organization for Christians. Christ is the head of the congregation and the head of Christ is God. Christ, as head of the congregation provided only one helper, Holy Spirit! While he did provide for older men to take the lead in providing assistance to weak ones he did not give them the authority to require complete uniformity of doctrine, preaching methods, dress, or conduct. He did not give them authority to put his congregation under restrictive laws and severe punishment, putting \”unity\” over Scripture. Christians have a unity of spirit and love for Christ in harmony with freedom in Christ.
TedR, this is beneficial information. What some elders and organizations call unity of thought is actually conformity to the long held established beliefs, even if these beliefs have been shown not to be in harmony with what is clearly stated in the Bible.
I found that sometimes what is clearly NOT STATED in the Bible. For instance the Bible does not mention a pyramid in the Bible but it is an over 100yr old misconception of it’s time. Sincere men may have been fascinated by the structure and it’s many marvels but that doesn’t mean you twist a scripture to describe it. And if you do don’t make others have to accept it or suffer a form of shunning and talks. Having catechisms, book of Mormon, Studies in the Scripture, watchtower with unchangeable dogma in books considered holy and on a par with the Bible causes insular religions to behave like tyrants and cults. They all have some truth but the push to make every one think like their self appointed holy men causes you to ignore or not accept or look into what truths they may have.
So now I glean what I can from other voices and am trying to look freshly at the Bible. The Holy Spirit is really helping me understand just from reading,thinking and comparing to other parts of the bible. It is so uplifting.
I received a text to join a group to read the Studies in the Scriptures in two years doing 5 pages a day then comment on the Whats app. ( from an elder)
If it had said 5 pages of the Bible instead of a book that most have gone thru as many as 9 times one person told me, I might have considered it.
It was a disrespectful request when I have personally said I am doing 66 books.
I got this from an elder yesterday. It’s as if there is some sense of ownership just like the witnesses if you ever attended their meetings. But in my case worse than the witnesses and they all have one man’s teachings in common. They have built a system of conformity based on the organization He started.
Thank you once again Ted. I’ve not finished watching the video in it’s entirety yet, but already there are some very thought-provoking things expressed. I always enjoy learning and pondering and reassessing and refining my current beliefs.
Ted, thank you so much for telling us about the freedom you have found in Christ.
You men are stepping up and out to show these religious organizations and associations what love looks like.
The more insular groups that think only of going to heaven for themselves see no need to help others now and that is okay. They can do their part and hopefully not try to stop brothers in Christ like you guys from doing what the Holy Spirit moves you to do. My observation is that Great Babylon today collectively, feeds itself and members by meeting together in groups to talk and exhibit their supposed great knowledge of scripture.
But to see you guys get your hands dirty so to speak, warms our hearts and that of our God.
On Christmas, why would anyone not want people to talk about Christ? I have found because they have someone normally in their religious hierarchy that sits in his place as mediator. Someone that you have to filter your petitions and beliefs through first before approaching God.
I think you are right that the scriptures were written for those that would come with the control of what days and seasons you could observe. God knew about them.
Thank you so much for giving our readers some thinking material to check out.
We are in the Christmas season. As Jehovah’s Witnesses it was considered an act of apostasy to celebrate the birth of our Lord. One reason given was that Dec 25th was not the actual date of Christs birth.Most Bible scholars agree with this. So what was Jesus Birthday? I found this You Tube video that offers a compelling argument I thought I would share. https://youtu.be/ptlsXtTf6n0
Whether we choose to celebrate Christmas is a matter of conscience. Some of us may choose to celebrate, others do not. Paul tells us not to judge another over the celebration of special days. As long as we do so for the Lord to bring him praise. What matters most is that Christ was born, the angels rejoiced at his birth as should we. Most importantly however is his death, of which there is no doubt as to the day.
Another compelling argument can be found at this YouTube video: https://youtu.be/jUJUhZEUXa0
Notice that both arguments make sense but come to different conclusions. Which of these make the most sense to you? Personally I like the first argument.
Correction. The amount of money our small Bible study group raised for Seed net today was $8700. Can anyone truly say that our Lord was not behind our efforts to praise his name and spread the gospel? This money was unsolicited. Donations were anonymous with no pressure.