D
DonCameron
Guest
The men of the Governing Body of Jehovah’s Witnesses realize that Jesus would never have anything to do with a false teacher or a false prophet. And therefore he would not have anything to do with the Watchtower Society it has ever produced even one false teaching or prophecy. For that would mean that the Society is a false teacher and/or prophet. And that will just not do.
And so they have had figure out a way to eliminate every trace of the Society’s teachings that have ever been false. But how can they convince anyone (including themselves apparently) that the Society has never had a single false teaching or prophecy when they have had so many of both? The following shows how they have been able to accomplish this seemingly impossible feat…
They simply eliminate the word “false” in connection with anything the Society has ever taught no matter how false it was. (e.g. President Rutherford’s “Millions Now Living Will Never Die” is never referred to as a false teaching or false prophecy.)
In place of the word “false” such teachings have been referred to as “past truths” – thereby not only avoiding the word “false” but using the word “truth” in its place!
The word “false” is reserved for all other religions which just happen to be full of “false teachings,” “false teachers,” “false prophets” and “false prophecies,” and therefore are “false religions.” On the other hand the Society has never had a single one of any of these and is therefore “the true religion.” Or as they so often refer to it, “The only true religion.”
It really is amazing to see the various terms they have come up with in order to avoid using the word “false” when referring to their former teachings that were false. They call them ‘everything in the book’ except “false”…
**“errors”
"mistakes"
"misplaced zeal"
"unrealized hopes"
"previous failures"
"misinterpretations"
"misunderstandings"
"our understanding"
"misplaced optimism"
"wrong expectations"
"hopes and expectations"
"premature expectations"
"misplaced expectations"
"disappointed expectations"
"errors in their teachings"
"incomplete concepts"
"inaccurate concepts"
"serious disappointments"
"formerly cherished views"
"mistakes in their understanding"
"views in need of refinement"
"an expressed opinion"
"cherished errors"
"wrong beliefs"
"old truths"
"past truths"
"expectations needing some adjustment"
"matters on which corrections of viewpoint have been needed"
**
Since the men Jehovah’s Witnesses look to for their spiritual guidance (their Governing Body) don’t refer to any of their former teachings as “false,” then Witnesses don’t think of them that way. Rather, they are told to view them simply as “old light” which were eventually corrected by “new light” according to the way they interpret Proverbs 4:18.
This helps to understand what Catholics (and everyone else) are up against when trying to help Jehovah’s Witnesses realize what has happened to them. As long as they believe that the Watchtower Society is “God’s organization” they will continue to look at things they way “God’s organization” tells them to look at them. Why? Because, in their mindset, whatever comes from “God’s organization” is coming from God Himself.
The key to their ‘escape’ from this way of thinking is for them to come to realize that the Watchtower Society is not God’s organization. The question is, How can they be helped to realize this?
Here is a recent comment I came across that indicates how NOT to go about doing this…
"We don’t change people’s minds about their religion by proving them wrong!"
Most of us have had this fact proven to us over and over again. But what other way is there for them to learn the truth about their religion if someone cannot teach them that what they believe about the Watchtower Society is wrong?
There is another way that is recommended in “Captives of a Concept.” It is based on the principle of teaching and learning mentoned by St. Paul at Romans in 2:21.
If you would like additional information you can contace me at camryn@bluefrog.com
Don at www.CaptivesOfaConcept.com
And so they have had figure out a way to eliminate every trace of the Society’s teachings that have ever been false. But how can they convince anyone (including themselves apparently) that the Society has never had a single false teaching or prophecy when they have had so many of both? The following shows how they have been able to accomplish this seemingly impossible feat…
They simply eliminate the word “false” in connection with anything the Society has ever taught no matter how false it was. (e.g. President Rutherford’s “Millions Now Living Will Never Die” is never referred to as a false teaching or false prophecy.)
In place of the word “false” such teachings have been referred to as “past truths” – thereby not only avoiding the word “false” but using the word “truth” in its place!
The word “false” is reserved for all other religions which just happen to be full of “false teachings,” “false teachers,” “false prophets” and “false prophecies,” and therefore are “false religions.” On the other hand the Society has never had a single one of any of these and is therefore “the true religion.” Or as they so often refer to it, “The only true religion.”
It really is amazing to see the various terms they have come up with in order to avoid using the word “false” when referring to their former teachings that were false. They call them ‘everything in the book’ except “false”…
**“errors”
"mistakes"
"misplaced zeal"
"unrealized hopes"
"previous failures"
"misinterpretations"
"misunderstandings"
"our understanding"
"misplaced optimism"
"wrong expectations"
"hopes and expectations"
"premature expectations"
"misplaced expectations"
"disappointed expectations"
"errors in their teachings"
"incomplete concepts"
"inaccurate concepts"
"serious disappointments"
"formerly cherished views"
"mistakes in their understanding"
"views in need of refinement"
"an expressed opinion"
"cherished errors"
"wrong beliefs"
"old truths"
"past truths"
"expectations needing some adjustment"
"matters on which corrections of viewpoint have been needed"
**
Since the men Jehovah’s Witnesses look to for their spiritual guidance (their Governing Body) don’t refer to any of their former teachings as “false,” then Witnesses don’t think of them that way. Rather, they are told to view them simply as “old light” which were eventually corrected by “new light” according to the way they interpret Proverbs 4:18.
This helps to understand what Catholics (and everyone else) are up against when trying to help Jehovah’s Witnesses realize what has happened to them. As long as they believe that the Watchtower Society is “God’s organization” they will continue to look at things they way “God’s organization” tells them to look at them. Why? Because, in their mindset, whatever comes from “God’s organization” is coming from God Himself.
The key to their ‘escape’ from this way of thinking is for them to come to realize that the Watchtower Society is not God’s organization. The question is, How can they be helped to realize this?
Here is a recent comment I came across that indicates how NOT to go about doing this…
"We don’t change people’s minds about their religion by proving them wrong!"
Most of us have had this fact proven to us over and over again. But what other way is there for them to learn the truth about their religion if someone cannot teach them that what they believe about the Watchtower Society is wrong?
There is another way that is recommended in “Captives of a Concept.” It is based on the principle of teaching and learning mentoned by St. Paul at Romans in 2:21.
If you would like additional information you can contace me at camryn@bluefrog.com
Don at www.CaptivesOfaConcept.com