Pudgy

g93 3/22 p. 3
THE story is told of a boy who watched the sheep of the villagers. To stir up a bit of excitement, one day he cried out, “Wolf! Wolf!” when there was no wolf. The villagers rushed out with clubs to drive off the wolf, only to find that there was none. It was such great fun that later on the boy repeated his cry. Again the villagers rushed out with their clubs, only to discover that it was another false alarm. After that a wolf did come, and the boy sounded the warning, “Wolf! Wolf!” but the villagers dismissed his cry as another false alarm. They had been fooled too often.
So it has become with those who proclaim the end of the world. Down through the centuries since Jesus’ day, so many unfulfilled predictions have been made that many no longer take them seriously.
Does the failure of such predictions to come true convict as false prophets those who made them, within the meaning of Deuteronomy 18:20-22? That text reads: “The prophet who presumes to speak in my name a word that I have not commanded him to speak or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet must die. And in case you should say in your heart: ‘How shall we know the word that Jehovah has not spoken?’ when the prophet speaks in the name of Jehovah and the word does not occur or come true, that is the word that Jehovah did not speak.” 
There are some who make spectacular predictions of the world’s end to grab attention and a following, but others are sincerely convinced that their proclamations are true. They are voicing expectations based on their own interpretation of some scripture text or physical event. They do not claim that their predictions are direct revelations from Jehovah and that in this sense they are prophesying in Jehovah’s name. Hence, in such cases, when their words do not come true, they should not be viewed as false prophets such as those warned against at Deuteronomy 18:20-22. In their human fallibility, they misinterpreted matters.
 
We can see the Wt is trying to remove itself from being labeled “false prophets”. Does this mean that God also has turned a blind eye to their many failed predictions as they have done?
The leaders of “Israel” and all anointed (New Jerusalem/holy city) are to bear the name of God, symbolically. (Jer 25:29; Dan 9:18)  Anything that comes out of their mouths is to be in truth with Jesus Christ’s teachings. But are they?  Jesus tells us that we can detect the false teachers/prophets from the genuine teachers he has sent, by what comes out of their mouth, what “fruit”/teachings they have produced.  (Matt 7:15-19)  In Matt 7:15, Jesus calls them “false prophets" - "ravaging wolves". 
The second key to labeling the leaders of the organization as false prophets is their “voicing expectations based on their own human interpretations.”  God calls these ones, false prophets, because they are “prophesying” and filling their hearers with false hopes…as well as grabbing the attention and a following of those witnessed to, as in the house-to-house work. 
“This is what the Lord Almighty says: “Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you; they fill you with false hopes. They speak visions from their own minds, not from the mouth of the Lord.”  Jer 23:16
“Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. 21 For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.”  2 Pet 1:20,21
Can an organization claim to be guided by Holy Spirit when every prophesy made, was at the will of a human and not the will of God?  
 “Offer yourself as a role model of good actions. Show integrity, seriousness, 8 and a sound message that is above criticism when you teach, so that any opponent will be ashamed because they won’t find anything bad to say about us.”  Titus 2:7-9
 
It is a lie that the WT has never called itself "prophets".  Wt. 1972 Apr 1 pp.197-199 'They Shall Know that a Prophet Was Among Them'
False Prophets:  Malachi 3:18 - http://pearl-distinction.blogspot.com/
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

... a VERY good question!

Not really. Somewhere down the line watchtower got mixed up in thinking their organization can offer the same salvation as Jesus Christ. According to the Bible, it’s only Jesus Christ who can save. “Only Jesus has the power to save! His name is the only one in all the world that can save anyone” Acts 4:12 [CEV]

Sure. Maybe God will prove to be a soft touch. He sure did with Nineveh. All you had to do is not know your left hand from your right and there are many here that meet those qualifications. Plus, there are some who are dumber than domestic animals, fulfilling the second portion of the verse. Still, I see no reason to take any chances and not hang out in the place of known safety.

I've had arguments with myself and others about all of this. I am, by nature a supremely independent person who would never, ever want to lord anything over anyone or corral them in any way. I am also not particularly gregarious. I'm also quite critical of myself and everyone else on planet earth. I work with a Calvinist and when he mentioned to me the "Doctrine of Total Depravity",https://babylonbee.com/news/i-am-a-depraved-wretch-says-calvinist-smugly I had to laugh and agree at the same time. So organizations and groups are not things I gravitate towards. It always seemed that groups trampled individuals. Yet how would we have a Bible, or have anything else even nominally known as Christian or even know of the history of the world (beyond vague forensic investigations) without people organizing themselves to worship God? I had to admit, that if everyone was like me it would never have happened. Fortunately enough people are not like me and these formed organizations. Fortunately there are a myriad of these from which we can look at and compare with regard to doctrine and also the broader consequences to the individuals and groups as a result of their adherence to these groups. Like the scripture said "whether in pretense or in truth, the Christ must be preached".

I was an atheist visiting the KH w/my gf who was studying, and I observed them for months and also went to a day of a district convention when it struck me what was most different about JW's was that their behavior improved to the extent that they got together as a group. This I contrasted with every other group I'd been with. To the extent the group grew in size, to that extent it became unruly and more badly behaved.

According to Scripture? Perhaps than,  JW Judicial Committee need to be public in front congregants and other people. Role model is written in OT. Perhaps Moses Law is fulfilled in Legality and Legalism for Christians. But still, GB calls and promote OT Principles not just or only from NT. If so, please Public Hearings and Court Decisions guided by JW elders. Even secular Court in Valencia have this method.
 

No wonder I can’t get them to answer the phone.

Of course! Why would any advertiser make any exaggeration at all? It is the most reliable bedrock indicators of truth there is—almost up there with propoganda.
And when the TV news anchorperson looks you in the eye, you just know you’re getting truth and nothing but the truth!

No scorn came from me. I merely quoted scriptures associated with those who would try to make predictions about the times and seasons. If you felt scorn, perhaps that is why the scriptures speak of the Word as "sharper than any two edged sword:"
(Hebrews 4:12) For the word of God is alive and exerts power and is sharper than any two-edged sword and pierces even to the dividing of soul and spirit, and of joints from the marrow, and is able to discern thoughts and intentions of the heart.
Your words on this topic fit a pattern of unhealthy words that most of us have seen from others either working from door-to-door, or on the street. And these patterns are all the more prevalent online. Personally, I have seen about a dozen persons who have presented themselves as some kind of prophet, with the same strong assurances as you that they are 100% correct in their predictions about the near future. Specifically, of course, there is nothing wrong with the idea that the end of the parousia could come before 2034. It could come today, or it could come at any time Jehovah wills. If we are "awake" to this fact, we will be patient and be more concerned about our Christian personality, not making predictions which show ourselves to be presumptuous.
(James 5:7-11) . . .Be patient then, brothers, until the presence of the Lord. Look! The farmer keeps waiting for the precious fruit of the earth, exercising patience over it until the early rain and the late rain arrive. 8 You too exercise patience; make your hearts firm, because the presence of the Lord has drawn close. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brothers, so that you do not get judged. Look! The Judge is standing before the doors. 10 Brothers, take as a pattern of the suffering of evil and the exercising of patience the prophets who spoke in the name of Jehovah. 11 Look! We consider happy those who have endured. You have heard of the endurance of Job and have seen the outcome Jehovah gave, that Jehovah is very tender in affection and merciful.
Even if the end of the parousia were 1,000 years off, the instructions for those who stay spiritually "awake" do not change. If we are in the "dark" we will be trying to make predictions, and trying to focus on the "times and seasons" which are not in our jurisdiction. But we are not in the dark about those things we should focus on instead.
When 2 Peter 3:17 speaks of having "advance knowledge" it is important to note that this "advance knowledge" is the knowledge that it would come as a thief, unpredictably, whether immediately or 1,000 years from now. That's exactly the opposite of trying to put a time prediction on the parousia. Second Peter says that people even in his day were already ridiculing the fact that this day of judgment (parousia) hadn't come yet. Were Christians supposed to answer this ridicule by assuring naysayers that they knew it would come within a few short years?
(2 Peter 3:8-18) 8 However, do not let this escape your notice, beloved ones, that one day is with Jehovah as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day. 9 Jehovah is not slow concerning his promise, as some people consider slowness, but he is patient with you because he does not desire anyone to be destroyed but desires all to attain to repentance. 10 But Jehovah’s day will come as a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar, but the elements being intensely hot will be dissolved, and earth and the works in it will be exposed. 11 Since all these things are to be dissolved in this way, consider what sort of people you ought to be in holy acts of conduct and deeds of godly devotion, 12 as you await and keep close in mind the presence [parousia] of the day of Jehovah,. . . 14 Therefore, beloved ones, since you are awaiting these things, do your utmost to be found finally by him spotless and unblemished and in peace. 15 Furthermore, consider the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote you according to the wisdom given him, 16 speaking about these things as he does in all his letters. However, some things in them are hard to understand, and these things the ignorant and unstable are twisting, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. 17 You, therefore, beloved ones, having this advance knowledge, be on your guard so that you may not be led astray with them by the error of the lawless people and fall from your own steadfastness. 18 No, but go on growing in the undeserved kindness and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. . . .
Similarly, the letters of Timothy put the emphasis on healthful words, which help us avoid being puffed up with presumptuousness, or abusive speech, or wicked suspicions.
(1 Timothy 6:2-8) . . .Keep on teaching these things and giving these exhortations. 3 If any man teaches other doctrine and does not assent to healthful words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, nor to the teaching that accords with godly devotion, 4 he is puffed up [with pride], not understanding anything, but being mentally diseased over questionings and debates about words. From these things spring envy, strife, abusive speeches, wicked suspicions, 5 violent disputes about trifles on the part of men corrupted in mind and despoiled of the truth, thinking that godly devotion is a means of gain. 6 To be sure, it is a means of great gain, [this] godly devotion along with self-sufficiency. 7 For we have brought nothing into the world, and neither can we carry anything out. 8 So, having sustenance and covering, we shall be content with these things.
(2 Timothy 1:12-14) . . .For I know the one whom I have believed, and I am confident he is able to guard what I have laid up in trust with him until that day. 13 Keep holding the pattern of healthful words that you heard from me with the faith and love that are in connection with Christ Jesus. 14 This fine trust guard through the holy spirit which is dwelling in us.
(Acts 15:29) . . .Good health to you!”
 

..."listening" to all this is better than the old 1950's Soap Opera TV shows, where pained expressions in close-up camera angles were accompanied by an off camera Organist providing the emphasis.
...at least back then you could get a free kitchen towel in every box of detergent ....

When Bible said how "whole world is under the power of devil", that is not proof how whole world is automatically evil, but only that ruler of this World is devil. But because JW beliefs how Jesus is King from 1914, that would mean how Jesus is Ruler and how this World is under power of Jesus, too. Or not? That is question for WTJWorg Bible Scholars.
But back to first issue. Humanity is not more or less evil because of JW interpretations. Would we say how Eve and Adam became evil because of devil question about fruit? Did the evil influence of the devil come through the question? Or through some bad mental energy? Or by spoken words? Or by visualization  with snake? 
People are in capacity to doing bad things, but people are ready to help too. Also today, centuries after Adam and Eve perfection. So, whole world is mixed with good and evil things no matter of devil. Even in JW Spiritual Paradise we  see good and evil "fruits".

It was written that way, but it sure wasn't pronounced like that. It was pronounced in ancient Hebrew with pertinent syllables. We speak English. Each language pronounces names differently. Jehovah understands all languages of the world, including his name in that language. 
But we've gone through all of this before....
So my observation seems correct

I think those who are serious about not pronouncing God's name in English should also stick to pronouncing Jesus's name as Yeshua. After all he is God's son, the second most important person in the universe. And it would probably be best if they used a Hebrew accent too.
 

You are such a whiny little girl you don’t even notice when the barbs you hurl contradict themselves. Here you advocate building an immune system and would condemn anyone neglecting to do so:
Here you go in exactly the opposite direction as you draw on the pandemic.
The last people you want in these pandemic days are those who trust in their immune system. These are the ones who protest the most about wearing masks accepting vaccines. Before you let fly, think of whether what you say makes any sense. It usually doesn’t.
You may not have noticed, but not all parents in the world are ideal. There is good reason to test the waters before you toss your child into it. What did I just to your ally? It’s not uncommon for children to be completely neglected emotionally and physically. They fall into depression, anxiety, and suicide as the reassuring world Srecko promises them falls apart. They become addicted to violent gaming, to online porn, to cyberbullying. They are afflicted with STDs. They are unsupported even in gender and are persuaded that maybe switching them is the pathway to happiness.
To touch upon your favorite topic, if you can hold families together, as Witnesses do to a far greater extent than the overall world, you are taking a huge step in fighting child sexual abuse. There is no place more conducive to it than in ever-changing boyfriends and girlfriends in the wake of a divorce. A step family is far more fertile grounds for CSA than a natural family.
You would think that receiving a child-like letter from a child would be a small price to pay for knowing that child is raised in an environment that will spare him those calamities, even if it presents some unique circumstances of its own. So much hatred does the world have for meaningful religion that there are few Witnesses not familiar with the scenario of someone having cleaned up their act, quit their smoking, drinking, thieving, carousing, and generally odious ways, saved their marriage,  only to find that people, sometimes even family, prefer them as they were.

... apparently not, as it IS up to God ...

... apparently not, as it IS up to God ...

... apparently not, as it IS up to God ...

... apparently not, as it IS up to God ...

... apparently not, as it IS up to God ...

I'm sure he's a fine fellow, but it's still dull material under discussion. There are times when you knock on a door and then out pops a minister who wants to talk to you about how awesome the trinity is and you look down at your watch and say "Yeah....Not today."
 
(I just re-read that...reminds me of the diffs between the puerto ricans and the mexicans in their use of spanish... My accent is mexican because of where I grew up on the border, but border spanish has a lot of nonstandard spanish that puerto ricans would always whine about when I used it. I'd say "Vamos a fencear la casa!" and they'd say "That's not real spanish" and I'd say "It is if you want your fence put up pronto", otherwise we'd of hired puerto ricans!

Parents are the ones who give consent to anyone, whether it be an Elder, a ministerial servant or a publisher to study the Bible with their child and/or go in service.  It is a private arrangement and agreement between the parent and the relevant person. Everyone is educated at the meetings, including the children who should sit with their parents. If someone else is "teaching their children" or if children are sitting with someone else besides their parents, then that is by the parents own arrangement. As regards the ministry, that is a grey area because the ministry can be considered "church activity" this is especially the case when someone who is not the parent, assigns the child to work with someone else (Candace Conti). As far as I know, this no longer happens. But people still make their own arrangements, for example little Johnny might ask to work with little Davie and his dad because they are buddies.
 
Like I said, there is no institutional program with MS or elders involved. If it happens, then it is outside the congregational arrangement, and at the discretion* of the parents.
*the freedom to decide what should be done in a particular situation.
And CC is wrong when he applies "It takes a village to raise a child" to the spiritual raising of children. That is exclusively the parent's/guardian's responsibility.

..."listening" to all this is better than the old 1950's Soap Opera TV shows, where pained expressions in close-up camera angles were accompanied by an off camera Organist providing the emphasis.
...at least back then you could get a free kitchen towel in every box of detergent ....

..... inspiration is where you find it.
When attacked by the Japanese Empire, the United States was faced with an enemy that was determined to control half the World, and to slaughter anyone that resisted that effort.
.... whole nations, if necessary.
The Allied invasion of Japan to destroy their war machine would have taken One Million American lives, and Four Million Japanese lives, not counting wounded which could be easily four times that on each side.
..... counting the cost of that inspired the development of the atomic bombs, which ended the war in the Pacific.
The United States is still awarding "Purple Hearts" manufactured in 1945, and never used.
Women since time not memorialized have changed allegiances when they marry ... and it's easier if all their bridges to the past have been burned.
... and better than being in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, in early August, 1945, when to save 5 million lives, 250,000 men, women, and children were incinerated.
In a world where the Jews were surrounded by relentless determined and evil enemies, who were trying to destroy them in wars of attrition, and wipe them off the face of the Earth, Jehovah's instructions to take the virgins of the enemy, and destroy their families was practical, just, and reasonable.
.... those that think otherwise are living in a Winnie-The-Pooh cartoon.
 
 
 
 

For example; When Moses wrote “under inspiration, things like - ”don’t murder", or when he wrote that "soldiers can have captive virgins and take them if they want but they have to kill all her family before", - I wonder if passing/adoption/writing such regulations requires only influence of "inspiration" or can it be done/achieved in another way, without inspiration.