Hot Cross Bun

A common belief is that disagreeing with the WT Society is disagreeing with the Bible, and that leaving the Organization is leaving Jehovah. This is not true.

We are not trying to win any argument, but just to make you think objectively.

We chosen a simple subject on “Cross vs. Torture Stake”. Examine the attached excel file and decide what is Truth (1Th 5:21) ?

From this exercise, you can clearly see how Watchtower:
a. uses selective quotation of information that favors their own interpretation

b. “…” (ellipses) to conceal or twist the ideas of original author that was quoted

c. uses manipulative reasoning like” This scripture suggests…”, “ This weighing in favor of…”,”Scriptures seems to indicate..”

d. encourage blind obedience to interpretations of the self proclaimed faithful salve

e. ignore established facts and promote fear mongering by claiming that demons are behind those who did not share Watchtower belief

f. when all else fail, dispel reasonable doubts with phrases like “Well, leave it to Jehovah’s hands…”, “Is this really that important?” or “It does not really matter…”

Above strategies were also used to support of other wrong doctrines such as Jerusalem destruction at 607 BCE, blood transfusion, shunning…etc.

Cross or Stake Comparison Table
For more info, click http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/cross-or-stake.php

Watchtower Bus

This article is taken from JWR.com. Expertly written by a brother-“Stuckinamovement”, and we can totally relate to.

Imagine boarding a bus with your family for a long anticipated vacation. The destination is a place that is promised to be beautiful warm and sunny. As you are boarding the bus you are given a ticket stub with several paragraph’s of fine print. Thinking nothing of it you stuff it in your pocket and find your seat on the bus. As you sit down you notice that all of the windows on the bus have been blacked out. The inside is lit with rows of florescent lights.

The bus is full of friendly excited people who are looking forward to the same vacation. There is a palpable sense of joy as the bus pulls away from the curb. Many people on the bus are pleasant people with their children, who are along for the holiday. Your wife and children join in an impromptu sing along to pass the time.

Reaching into the seat back pocket you find the on board magazine that the Corporation publishes. It contains articles about the resort and promotional material about the corporation.

The bus stops several times and picks up a few more excited families who are on their way to the vacation resort. Dinner time approaches and the crew delivers the meal consisting of a single slice of toasted white bread. Unusual you think, but you eat it anyway thinking of the buffet that awaits you at the resort.

Minutes stretch into hours and day turns to night. The bus continues on. You begin to hear mumblings from some of the passengers as to how long the bus had been on the road without a stop. The Driver ignores the mumblings and presses his way into the darkness.

Daylight breaks and it becomes clear that the bus is continuing to motor along with no sign of stopping. The drivers have changed sometime during the night. The passengers mood has changed from exuberance and anticipation to somberness and fearfulness. The crew delivers the morning meal which is again a slice of dry white toast.

You try to scratch against the window to see where you are, to no avail. You become alarmed because now this “short trip” has now become very long. Reaching into your pocket you find your ticket stub which has the following printed on it in very small type.

Welcome to Paradise Vacation Tours!

We are glad that you have chosen Paradise Vacation Tours as your transport to your unforgettable vacation. Paradise Vacation Tours is the only Tour company of its kind. You will not receive a better experience anywhere else. You will notice that the windows are darkened for your protection and security.

By purchasing your ticket and boarding the bus you hereby agree to the following terms:

No one is permitted to leave the bus at any time for any reason. The only way you will be permitted off of the bus is if the crew removes you for disorderly conduct which includes any of the following:

Asking the bus driver questions about the route
Questioning the length of the trip
Speaking negatively to your fellow passengers
Failing to speak positively about the Paradise Vacation Corporation or Staff
Reading any other material other than is provided by the Corporation.
Refusing the on board meals specially prepared for this trip
Asking to leave the bus.

Fine print states, We reserve the right to change course at any time for any reason. Due to our state of the art Navigation system the trip is for an unknown duration.

We appreciate your patience and consideration. Thank you for choosing the most trustworthy and loving transportation company in the world.

Alarmed now, you lean over and whisper to the elderly man sitting next to you. “How long do you think the trip will be?”

The old man looks at you with sadness in his eyes and whispers back “ I boarded this bus in 1974”. “I thought it was a short trip to the resort and have been here ever since. I am afraid to leave because I wonder where will I go once I get off of the bus? for all I know we might be in the desert or in an inner city full of crime. Plus, Paradise Resort has got to be close I keep thinking. I mean, I am at least a million miles closer than I was then”

Shocked, you turn to the window that is blacked out and look out at the world that you know is out there but hidden. The bus rolls on with yet another change of driver. The corporate magazine sneers at you as it displays a picture of a happy family in a mountain meadow.

The bus continues to roll on into the distance. The years pass and you become the old man.

Questions for Readers:
If you were in this situation, would you decide to leave the bus?

Many of us now realize that we are trapped within the “bus” of the Watchtower organization. We know that the promises that we have been given in the pages of the Watchtower and Awake have not materialized. We watch year after year, and mile after mile pass with no sign that we are close to our destination or that the drivers or leaders have any clues where they are going. The “spiritual food” that is served at each meeting and assembly is the same exact stuff that had been presented for years. It is as dry as white toast, devoid of nourishment and bland.

There are many in our local congregations who have been patiently waiting for many years for something that will not happen. Just like the old man on the bus they feel that they have so much time invested that it makes no sense to leave at this point in time. They had invested too much time to let go.

The actions of the Society have proved the “Corporation” to be corrupt. We are threatened with punishment if we question the direction of the Society. Simply put, we are trapped. The bus will never stop. The passengers will change as time progresses but the destination to nowhere remains the same.

Which is better, to put faith in a man made organization that has NEVER delivered on its promises, or to take that chance and live your life in a moral way, trusting in God and walking in the Way Christ shown us.

The Watchtower organization wants you to stay on the bus. They demand your obedience, your effort, your time and your life.

Our Brothers, our Sisters, it’s your time to alight at the next stop.

Inconvenient Truth

Christ is an inconvenient Truth which vilifies the name, “Jehovah’s Witnesses”.

Acts 11:26 – “the disciples were by divine providence called Christians.”

Matthew 10:18 – “…..for my sake, for a witness to them and the nations.

Mark 13:9 – “……before governors and kings for my sake, for a witness to them.”

Acts 1:8 – “You will be witnesses of me….”

John 1:15 – “John bore witness about him…” [JESUS]

John 5:37 – “the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me.”

John 8:18 – “the Father who sent me bears witness about me.”

John 15:26,27 – “..will bear witness about me; and YOU in turn, are to bear witness.”

Acts 4:17,18 – …upon the basis of this (Jesus’) …. upon the basis of the name of Jesus.

Acts 10:39 – “And we are witnesses of all the things he [Jesus] did…”

Acts 10:43 – “To him [Jesus] all the prophets bear witness…..”

Acts 13:31 – “who are now his (Jesus’) witnesses to the people.

Acts 22:15 – “because you are to be a witness for him [Jesus] to all men……”

Acts 22:20 – “……the blood of Stephen your [Jesus’] witness was being spilled…”

Acts 23:11 – “….. a thorough witness on the things about me in Jerusalem…”

Acts 26:16 -“I [Jesus]..choose you as an attendant and a witness..respecting me”

1 Corinthians 1:6 – “even as the witness about the Christ………..”

1 Tim. 2:6 – “……what is to be witnessed to at its own particular times.”

2 Timothy 1:8 – “…………of the witness about our Lord.. [Christ]”

1 John 5:9 – “the witness God gives…the fact that he has borne witness concerning his Son.”

Revelation 1:9 – “….for speaking about God and bearing witness to Jesus.”

Revelation 3:8 – ….”and you kept my word and did not prove false to my name.”

Revelation 12:17 – “…….and have the work of bearing witness to Jesus.”

Revelation 17:6 – “……..and with the blood of the witnesses of Jesus.”

Revelation 19:10 -“…..the work of witnessing to Jesus…. bearing witness to Jesus.”

Revelation 20:4 – “………… for the witness they bore to Jesus.”

Compare these with Isaiah 43:10 – “You are my witnesses” said Jehovah “my servants whom I have chosen…”

Isaiah refers these chosen “witnesses” to the Jewish nation, who later rejected Christ. They fallen short of Jehovah’s expectation, despite being chosen.

Why is Governing Body still clinging on to this ill-fated name when 1st century Christians are largely known as Witnesses of Jesus?

Because they had not understood the full meaning of this verse.
John 14:6 – “I am the Way…no one comes to the Father except through me”.

Light Gets Brighter

“Yes, millions of persons have been shocked to learn that things they were taught as being vital for salvation are now considered by their church to be wrong. “Just ten years ago we Catholics had the absolute truth, we put all our faith in this. Now the pope and our priests are telling us this is not the way to believe any more, but we are to believe ‘new things.’ How do I know the ‘new things’ will be the truth in five years?” Awake! 1970 Apr 22 pg.8

Sad State Of Things

This post referenced on JWN, from “Magnum”. We could not agree more.

“I don’t know whether the org will cease to exist in the next ten years, but in one sense it’s already gone. As I and others have already indicated, it’s not the same anymore. Consider some athletic team that used to be exciting – attracting new fans, etc. Now, that team just exists and nobody cares about it or follows it. I think something similar has happened with JWs.

Have any of you seen any normal, stable, well-read people with decent intelligence and good common sense become JWs lately? In the past, such did. Probably a lot of us are in that category. I see virtually no new converts in my area now, and certainly none of the caliber I just mentioned. People of that caliber are not going to buy into the religion without doing some simple research and asking some simple questions. And when they do, they are going to get answers – answers that will at least cause them to be skeptical enough of JWs that they’ll never make a full commitment. With the increased availability of info now and the passing of time showing JWs to be more and more wrong, I don’t see how they can attract any quality members anymore. For sure, the material is dumbed down, nothing’s exciting, and the doctrines are largely unprovable and indefensible. Some are outright ludicrous.

Consider the new generation teaching. According to JWs, Jesus was supposed to have been a master teacher who explained things in simple terms that the lowliest of people could understand. How, then, could he use a term like “generation” in a very important message and mean something as ludicrous as two groups of people whose lives overlap? It just doesn’t make sense. If that’s what he meant, I would not call him a master teacher. The pre-1995 generation definition made a lot more sense (see footnote). And even though it was somewhat flawed, I had no problem teaching it to others. I would not teach anybody the new doctrine.

And it’s not just that higher caliber individuals aren’t coming in anymore; it seems that some already in are beginning to gain a sense of smell and are realizing that something doesn’t smell right. Consider my favorite brother in our circuit. He is very humble, kind, and by far the smartest, most knowledgeable JW I know. He’s one of those people who loves to learn – not to be a show-off, but because he loves it and wants answers. He studies Hebrew, Greek, and Aramaic. He reads and compares different Bible translations. He has a big library. He is always seeking and questioning. He knows the Bible better than anybody I know. I don’t know the whole story, but I know something’s up with him. He’s not an elder anymore. He has talked to me a few times and expressed some points that I really appreciated because I like people who are real and honest. I don’t feel that I can give anymore details right now about him – maybe later.

Consider some more anecdotal evidence. In my area it’s an awful chore to get an assembly or convention part that requres interviewing, for example, a family. An average, stable family with members having common sense and being able to say “Jehovah’s Witnesses” (instead of “Jehovah Witness” or “Jehovah Witnesses”) is just almost nonexistent.

A couple of decades ago, I knew JWs who were smart, well-read, and knowledgeable. One older brother studied Koine Greek. Another chose world history as an area of expertise. I was proud to take new ones to meetings then. I invite no one to meetings now; it’s embarassing. There are some smart non-JW people that I know that I really care about and when I was still pretty confident that JWs had the truth, would have loved to invite to meetings, but doing so would have destroyed any possible favorable impression they might have had of JWs. For the last ten or fifteen years, I’ve had a number of older sisters confide in me about the quality (actually, lack thereof) of public talks. It has gone, and is going, downhill. One regular feature of the Watchtower study in our area (in at least two congregations) is what Mrs Magnum and I call the dictionary game. The conductor will ask, for example, “now what does this here word “transgress” mean?” For some reason sisters always play the game. One will comment in a higher tone: “well, my dictionary says….”. Another, in a lower tone: “Well, my dictionary says…”. Then a third, in a mid-level tone: “My dictionary says…”. Then the conductor says “yes, and another dictionary says…”. And, I swear, it’s common words like the one I mentioned.

So, I have no prediction as to how long the org will last in the sense of just existing, but I think to some, in another sense, it’s already gone.

footnote: Even though it made a lot more sense, it wasn’t without its problems. By 1994, it had been 80 years; that’s a life-span, not really a generation.”

The All Powerful Slave

This is the most powerful Slave in the history of the world.

– Give out “new light” as often as they see fit
– Broadcast videos of themselves across the globe
– Subject others to themselves
– Have no accountability for their words or actions (http://www.jwfiles.com/wt_control/malawi.htm)
– Amass millions from the sales of Brooklyn Headquarters
– Make demand of unquestioning obedience

Acting in this way shows that they are in no way discreet nor faithful.
Nowhere did Jesus instruct his followers to find the slave and follow it. It’s A PARABLE!

Jesus calling them to him and said: “You know that the rulers of the nations lord it over them and the great men wield authority over them. This is Not the way among you; but whoever wants to become great among you must be your minister, and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave” – Matthew 20:25-27.