Srecko Sostar

I think we should take a more moderate view of it. Everything is subject to change. Even for God himself, although it is written that He does not change, we must be less dogmatic about such statements. Who gave the Law at the time of Moses? YHVH. Who abolished the law in 29 BCE? YHVH. The Law changed because God himself changed in his treatment of man. Or is it not? The law through Moses is still alive and there are people who obey it. Therefore, the Law remained unchanged. But at the same time it was changed because there are more people who don't follow it. Thus the very purpose of the Law changed, because it became dead. Especially if we look at it theologically as something that was interrupted by the act of Jesus' sacrifice by which it fulfilled, terminated and ceased to exist as an eternal decree for Jewish generations. It seems confusing. A modern example from WTJWorg that we can use describes this conflict. The law was given in the time of Moses not to eat blood. And people do not eat blood out of respect for that decree. The ordinance continues in the same form in the early days of Christianity....... Then, centuries later, the interpretation arises that the commandment not to eat blood means not to receive a blood transfusion. Has the original Commandment been changed or not? Then we go even further in time where the Bible scholars at WTJWorg add a later explanation about blood transfusions and say that some parts of the blood are forbidden and other parts of the blood are not forbidden to take. Has there been a change in the Law/Regulation/Order? Or do you think it isn't? Do you think it was just a clarification? :))

If conscience is implanted in man directly by God, then it is the best guide for man. You mention that as an "addition" he gave his wise advice and instructions. I assume that this means written sacred things, mainly what can be found in the Bible, at least as far as the Christian world is concerned. If the conscience can be corrupted and become dull, and as most people believe, it is placed in a man by God himself, then it is a terrible misfortune for mankind. If God's wise counsels and instructions, aka the Bible, can be corrupted through human intervention through theological explanations and interpretations, then it is nothing strange, because conscience as the first line of defense has already fallen much earlier. Because the conscience should be able to distinguish between human interpretations and recognize deceptions. But a misconception prevails. When JW members are able to recognize this, that deception is also in their house, then they will be on the road to restoration. Renewal is an ongoing process. And, in my opinion, it is not an institutional matter, but a personal one.

Thank you for your truly great compassion. Please don't feel like that anymore, because, well, we survived and it's "as if nothing happened". I have three siblings and a mother. Two brothers and mother decided not to contact. The oldest brother makes a phone call from time to time. Wife is JW. Stay well!

How do you show respect to a person who left the Church or was excluded from it? Is it so that you don't greet her on the street? Who is the God you worship? Jesus spoke not only to tax collectors and adulterers but also to religious opponents. Everyone who talks to me and others like me on this forum is violating religious rules and beliefs if they are JW members. They should also be excommunicated...immediately ..... hahaha

I generally agree with your position. The difference between an old car and the Bible is that the condition of the car does not have such a big influence on our decisions, as does a religion that waves the Bible in front of the noses of believers. Copying the actions and decisions of people from the past does not always end well. On the other hand, the repurposing of their experiences in order to be adapted to the ideology of today's Church Administration and the circumstances of life is also a dangerous precedent. In general, we all know what is right and what is wrong. How to achieve that the wolf is fed and the donkey alive? For that, you don't need religious leaders who will tell a believer not to vote in state elections, but at the same time the WTJWorg Administration will participate in political conferences to promote religious activity and sue states that restrict WTJWorg "freedom".

One representative of WTJWorg, I think it was for the needs of a court case, openly admitted that the JW Corporation is structured the same as the Catholic Church, that is Hierarchical. Agree! Collecting money is acceptable to help the poor and the afflicted, not for the needs of the Administration. Tons and tons of paper, and now digital content of questionable value. Well, WTJWorg himself is destroying his old spiritual food and rejecting their value. Can we trust the current instructions that will end up in the spiritual graveyard in the future. Additionally, I read that someone removed the pyramid from Russell's cemetery. WTJWorg owns Russell's grave right? Why was it important to do this? Because it reveals their spiritual origin.

Can the biblical text be completely trusted? The first Bible was created by the Catholic Church. Then the Protestants made their own Bible. Afterwards, WTJWorg intervened and made their own Bible/s (few versions). And to make everything more interesting, theological minds of different religions have created intricate interpretations and are harassing lost human souls with them day and night. Other souls who are not considered lost, but have found meaning for themselves in one of the interpretations will not fare any better than other people..., For time and chance happen to all.

Now I understand why WTJWorg has an increasingly confusing theology.., and it's only going to get worse if they all of them in heaven keep arguing over interpretations and who is smarter and greater among them.

JWTV viewers should ask themselves; Can and should one imitate the faith of a TV preacher? GB has found an excellent way to spread manipulation. They have criticized TV preachers in the past. TV Evangelism—God’s Way? If Jesus Christ were on earth today, asserted TV evangelist Jim Bakker, “he’d have to be on TV.” Why television? Because, according to Bakker, “that would be the only way he could reach the people he loves.” Like Bakker, an increasing number of fundamentalist preachers in the United States feel that television is the best medium for spreading the Word of God. Yet, a 1984 study showed that, for the most part, TV evangelists “reinforce people already committed to evangelical religion.” Interestingly, in a letter to the editor of the magazine Ministry, one reader wrote: “You said they [television sets] are the church’s most powerful gospel seed-sowing tools, and yet God says the most essential work is house-to-house visitation—soul hunting. . . . Our Saviour loved to get away from the multitude, and then He went from house to house—soul hunting. The one-soul audience was His delight. . . . Can we not do the same?” According to Jesus Christ, the purpose of the Christian ministry was not just to ‘spread the Word’ but to “make disciples.” (Matthew 28:19, 20) He directed his followers to go to people’s homes. (Matthew 10:7, 11-13) The apostle Paul accepted this preaching method and said regarding his ministry: “I did not hold back from telling you any of the things that were profitable nor from teaching you publicly and from house to house.” The personalized house-to-house ministry of the disciples reaped good results.—Acts 5:42; 20:20. If Jesus laid such emphasis on this method of preaching in order to make disciples, why do many evangelists prefer TV as their medium? The Courier-Mail of Brisbane, Australia, notes that TV evangelists “make up to $120 million a year selling salvation. They appear in a blaze of electrified power and glory on 300 TV stations, and are worshipped like pop idols. . . . For all their tactics, these men who claim to manipulate even God, come down in the end to a straight business deal. Send them $10 and they will send you to heaven.” - https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1986845?q=religion+on+tv&p=par WATCHTOWER 1986 Religion on TV ● “Religious programming has proliferated enormously in the past decade,” reports The Plain Dealer. A two-week survey in 40 U.S. cities turned up 18,845 religious programs broadcast during that period. “These included everything from worship services to game shows, cartoons, variety shows and even soap operas with a religious theme,” says the paper. “Analysis of the programs found that characters were disproportionately male, white and middle-class. Characters who worked for the church were overwhelmingly male; so were the wealthy and the powerful.” Solicitations for money were also common. “During an average hour, viewers are asked to donate or buy products valued at $189.52,” the article states. “Programs featuring a preacher or a revival meeting plead the most; they ask for an average of $328.78 an hour.” - https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/101984289 AWAKE 1984 RELIGION GOES “ON THE AIR” One of the factors limiting attendance at church has been the invention of devices to carry entertainment into the home. Especially true is this of the newest device, television. Of 190 ministers surveyed in the Louisville, Kentucky, area late in 1952, “most agreed that video was serious competition for the church: In 50 congregations, attendance at evening services has dropped 10 per cent.” So, not to be outdone in this progressive age, religion has gone “on the air.” Jumping at the first opportunity, they opened their “air-borne” assault in 1949, over the Du Mont television network, with the “Morning Chapel” program, featuring leaders of Protestant, Catholic and Jewish faiths. By November of 1953 interest in religious TV was so great that the Lutheran Church’s “This Is the Life” dramatization could lay claim to being “by far the most widely telecast program in the world,” broadcast by approximately 125 American TV stations, shown throughout Canada and regularly featured by the British Broadcasting Corporation. Later, on January 31, this year, Catholic Bishop Fulton J. Sheen’s “Life Is Worth Living” edged out the Lutheran program, tallying up over 169 stations, to gain first place on the networks. The Catholic Herald, of January 8, claimed over 15 million listeners for the bishop. Today, rather than religion’s being on the defensive against secular TV, the reverse is true. Milton Berle, Sid Caesar, Hopalong Cassidy and company have gained a most unusual competitor, the church. -https://wol.jw.org/en/wol/d/r1/lp-e/1954805?q=religion+on+tv&p=par WATCHTOWER 1954

We have two kinds of dead in biblical theology, as I remember. Those who are buried in cemeteries or otherwise. And there are those who are biologically alive, but are considered spiritually dead (by religious leaders and their followers, or by god).

How many times a year do you or another JW think/meditate about Jesus' ransom?

Taking the symbol of bread and wine is a JW practice once a year. From your interpretation, it means that they reaffirm the same contract every year. That's a little funny. How will the dead benefit from the ransom? The dead cannot make decisions. So Jesus needs to resurrect them in order for them to become alive and then make a decision. But this (resurrection) means that the ransom was already applied to them by the very act of resurrection, because all sin is paid for by death already. Ransom is an act of mercy, not of conditioning. If the resurrected do not want to accept GB theology then what will become of them?

What is the behalf, value of spiritual food in 1078 languages when that food is subject to constant changes and contradictions and manipulations to make it look like everything is arranged properly, "to fit" as Mr David Splane said, when it is not. What nonsense is this when a GB member says, and a WT magazine writes, that Jesus did not promise perfect food? It shows that at least two. That GB members are pompous clowns, or that they consider their listeners to be mentally narrow people who do not know right from wrong. How can JW members not see that, in fact, the GB blames Jesus because the spiritual food in 1078 languages, which the GB proudly pronounces, is not perfect, is full of error and is untrustworthy.

Unfortunately for you, even this extended context doesn't help GB. Here GJ says that, we view ourselves as ..., GJ did not dare to claim before Judge that Jesus chose and appointed them, but says, in fact, that their own feeling/emotions and theological ideas are the cause of the self-selected role in which they are just one of many who are spokesmen for God. Any JW who does not see the true state of affairs that is being revealed more and more day by day is living in his own fantasy and cognitive dissonance. Maybe it's not nice to say, but I feel sorry for all of you.

Everything that is written without clear application and/or guidance from the person who wrote it is open to interpretation.

In order to be able to discern whether what GB is saying and doing is meaningful, it is not necessary to strive for special benchmarks or standards in theological or biblical terms. Propaganda programs on JWTV and statements of GB members before various secular bodies, along with written texts distributed to the clergy class aka elders and the lay members class aka rank and files members, show that they do not deserve to be trusted. For example WTJWorg publications and other digital content repeat the litany that they are the only ones to whom God reveals His truth and that they are the only "channel". On the other hand, G. Jackson claims before judge of ARC that they are not the only ones who are God's spokesperson. The double personality of G. Jackson or is it really the true spiritual and mental state of the collective GB as the main ecclesiastical body? chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.childabuseroyalcommission.gov.au/sites/default/files/file-list/Case%20Study%2029%20-%20Transcript%20-%20Jehovahs%20Witnesses%20-%20Day%20155%20-%2014082015.pdf 35 Q. And do you see yourselves as Jehovah God's 36 spokespeople on earth? 37 A. That I think would seem to be quite presumptuous to 38 say that we are the only spokesperson that God is using. Notice, the lawyer did not ask him if they were the only ones on earth who spoke for God. But the GB anointed himself found it necessary to say just that, they are not the only ones.

Regardless of whether we would agree on whether something is a core teaching or not, the more important thing is whether a core teaching is correctly explained or is it just a nonsensical interpretation. WRJWorg GB has proven many times that it has no basis to call itself a chosen or appointed spokesman of God who distributes spiritual food in the name of God at the right, proper time, while at the same time saying that it is normal to be imperfect and to distribute imperfect (incorrect) spiritual food to people who believe them unconditionally.

They are affected by the syndrome of their own greatness and importance. They tend to change theology.

Yes, I know it's your bad habit

I see Sir you made copy/paste from this link - https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/manual/come-follow-me-for-aaronic-priesthood-quorums-and-young-women-classes-doctrinal-topics-2021/14?lang=eng Well, yes, Russell believed that the truth is always the truth, even if Satan said it. Mormons are also people who believe they are telling the truth regardless of not believing the same doctrines as WTJWorg. This second highlighted sentence, which is bold, is interesting - "It can be easier to obey the commandments when we understand the reasons behind them." In fact, it is the opposite of GB's claim that they should be trusted and how members have to follow their instructions even if JW members do not understand them. WTJWorg religion is manipulative.

My comment is linked to a link that someone else posted as authoritative. So, the "mistake" is with the other participant in the discussion.

Did Russell write that somewhere in his diaries, memoirs? You claim that he was looking for a new approach in one of the countless "false religions"? Funny. Unnecessary and unimportant conclusion. Adventists and Russell are not the only ones who show zeal and still remain in their delusions. And the Pharisees were zealous. Zealots were also zealous and many other groups. JWs are also zealous, so this does not save them from useless and dangerous interpretations and actions. And Paul was a zealous persecutor in one part of his life.

Russell was spiritually/religiously dissatisfied with his affiliation with his parents' religion. And he wandered around looking for a religious group that would accommodate his wanderings. This is also discussed in the WTJWorg publication "Proclaimers", which does not hide his connection with Adventism, and others theologies, and the influences they had on him. The link you posted here as more credible than the video at the beginning posted by Libranian does not satisfy the WTJWorg theology you are promoting. Timeline of religion says that people/mankind are older than 7000 years. (100,000 BC: Earliest known human burial in the Middle East). This contradicts the GB teaching that God created the first man a little over 7000 years ago. Who do you want us to believe?

That Jewish God is unusual and unpredictable at times. ..., Jewish people too. It is not always possible to find the right diopter on the first try.

The perception of the author of the video is that the JW religion originated from the Adventist movement. JWs consider Adventism to be a "false religion." But that is just the perception of JW members. The author of the video, if I listened correctly, does not claim which religion is false and which is true. You Sir set your perception that Russell was under the influence of a "false religion" until YHVH "enlightened" his mind to found a new religion which has since become "the only true one", according to the perception of JW members of course. The comment you made includes your perception. You answered my questions according to your perception, too. Why should I open a new topic? Another comment about "forbidding" and "allowing" Russell to see the truth. JWs have a doctrine where they claim that YHVH "allows" all evil to happen. According to this thesis, it was God, not "false religion", that made it possible for Russell not to see "the truth". In his spiritual darkness, Russell rebelled against the established religious system. But this does not mean that all the roots of "false religion" have been cut off. By the same or a similar method, Rutherford made changes after Russell, but just like his predecessor he created new "false truths". How would Rutherford's successors be different? The thesis that YHVH allows darkness, even over WTJWorg, is still valid, right?