Watchtower Governing Body Casts Its Ballot on "New Light" For Voting

[zach_dunn]

“Vasian”, is “William” in Russian.

Oh! You learn something new everyday, right?

 

[spn82756]

Exactly. Their stand on organ transplants and blood is very similar. It has changed repeatedly over the years…

I don’t see how it is any different than if the Watchtwoer Society made a rule that Jehohovah’s Witnesses should not wear seat belts. Just another arbitrary rule… and so Jehovah’s Witnesses stop wearing them. And they begin to die by dozens… deaths that could have easily been prevented had they been allowed to wear seat belts. And this goes on for years and years… of course it doesn’t affect the Governing Body who don’t own cars and instead take the subway. Other than they say, “Oh how sad that our brothers and sisters are dying. But look hwo faithful they are abstaining from the evil seat belt!”

Jehovah’s Witnesses wouldn’t dream of going against the no seat belt rule because to do so is to go against Jehovah and how foolish is that when Armegeddon is literally months away??

So good JWs bury their loved ones… their children, their spouses, their mothers and fathers… until finally, one day, they go to their mailbox and pull out the latest Watchtwoer that states that it has been decided that the wearing of seat belts should be left up to the individual. So the JWs begin wearing seat belts again and talk about how wonderful it is to be part of an Organization that feeds them truth… at the proper time. This is normally where I’d roll my eyes but I find it all just too sad.

I’m sorry…but I can only do this. Your example is so profound. It must be hard for jw’s to even comprehend the foolishness of their ever changing “laws” from God.

 

[Protestant101]

Really? How so? It was the Governing Body who would not allow them to purchase the card. And because of that, they were beaten, raped and murdered. Now, they are allowed to purchase voting cards… and even vote. What do you say to those who watched family members die? Opps. My bad. I guess Jehovah didn’t mind so much after all?

Thats interesting that you would blame the WT and not the animals who did these despicable acts. You are putting the blame in the wrong place, and you haven’t proven that that WT actions or policies are why all that stuff happened.

 

[Vasian]

Thats interesting that you would blame the WT and not the animals who did these despicable acts. You are putting the blame in the wrong place, and you haven’t proven that that WT actions or policies are why all that stuff happened.

Of course those animals who did the murdering and raping are to blame for “their” actions.
**
Who initiated the scenario which lead to such vile actions?**

 

[Vasian]

“The first step of apostasy is to get up a creed, telling us what we shall believe. The second is, to make that creed a test of fellowship. The third is to try members by that creed. The fourth to denounce as heretics those who do not believe that creed. And fifth, to commence persecution against such.”

“Doings of the Battle Creek Conference, Oct. 5 & 6, 1861” (DJVU). Review and Herald 18 (19): 148. 1861-10-08. adventistarchives.org/docs/RH/RH1861-V18-19/index.djvu. Retrieved 2006-11-06.

 

[Vasian]

I’m sorry…but I can only do this. Your example is so profound. It must be hard for jw’s to even comprehend the foolishness of their ever changing “laws” from God.

When you are in it, it is not that difficult to let pass or ignore such things because you believe you are “in” the “truth” and that your are, (by way of the Governing Body, i.e. “The Channel Of God”) being led by The Almighty Himself.

It is very easy to relegate one’s thinking responsibilities to those you believe to be God’s mouth piece as it were, on earth today.
Add to it, that if your entire family is in the organization and you step out of line with the Laws, you’ll get excommunicated and for the most part your entire family may just shun you 100% as this is the practice. and guidance from the leadership. It’s a powerful motivation to just go along with the program, as it were.

“God’s Channel”…The LDS believe this of their leaders as well, as do the Adventists, and I’d say just about every other religion of Christendom who claim they are being led by The Holy Spirit via their church leaders.

 

[Hesychios]

I’m sorry…but I can only do this. Your example is so profound. It must be hard for jw’s to even comprehend the foolishness of their ever changing “laws” from God.

New Light is another name for Development of Doctrine.

 

[yellowbird]

Thats interesting that you would blame the WT and not the animals who did these despicable acts. You are putting the blame in the wrong place, and you haven’t proven that that WT actions or policies are why all that stuff happened.

Go back and read my post (#14) again SLOWLY… I said the people who commited those heinous acts were to blame OF COURSE… but the Watchtower is also to blame for insisting it’s members obey such arbitrary rules knowing they will face torture and murder in doing so. How do we know the rules were arbitary? Because the Watchtower changed them two decades later. Unless you believe that it was God who changed His mind?

Seriously… read the posts carefully. Otherwise you’ll jump to silly conculsions like you did here.

 

[Sulla]

What Protestant 101 does not, perhaps, grasp is the Watchtower argot. When something is declared to be a “personal decision” or a “conscience matter” after being neither a personal decision nor a conscience matter, that means the doctrtine has changed.

Thus, thirty years ago, voting was an act that could get a JW disfellowshipped (roughly analogous to excommunication). Now, it is not an act that can get a JW disfellowshipped. It should not be controversial that this represents a significant change in doctrine. It is very much as if the Catholic Church were to declare that a Catholic may provide abortion services without sanction.

Obviously, the complaint here is that the leadership created a situation where martyrs for their religion were made; and is seems that the principle at stake was not particularly important. But the Watchtower seems to have allowed some to pay with their lives for an issue that the Watchtower hadn’t really thought through, apparently. That is a very bad thing.

How is this hard to grasp?

 

[Vasian]

What Protestant 101 does not, perhaps, grasp is the Watchtower argot. When something is declared to be a “personal decision” or a “conscience matter” after being neither a personal decision nor a conscience matter, that means the doctrtine has changed.

Thus, thirty years ago, voting was an act that could get a JW disfellowshipped (roughly analogous to excommunication). Now, it is not an act that can get a JW disfellowshipped. It should not be controversial that this represents a significant change in doctrine. It is very much as if the Catholic Church were to declare that a Catholic may provide abortion services without sanction.

Obviously, the complaint here is that the leadership created a situation where martyrs for their religion were made; and is seems that the principle at stake was not particularly important. But the Watchtower seems to have allowed some to pay with their lives for an issue that the Watchtower hadn’t really thought through, apparently. That is a very bad thing.

How is this hard to grasp?

Well put!

 

[Protestant101]

Of course those animals who did the murdering and raping are to blame for “their” actions.
**
Who initiated the scenario which lead to such vile actions?**

It sure wasn’t the JWs

 

[Protestant101]

What Protestant 101 does not, perhaps, grasp is the Watchtower argot. When something is declared to be a “personal decision” or a “conscience matter” after being neither a personal decision nor a conscience matter, that means the doctrtine has changed.

Thus, thirty years ago, voting was an act that could get a JW disfellowshipped (roughly analogous to excommunication). Now, it is not an act that can get a JW disfellowshipped. It should not be controversial that this represents a significant change in doctrine. It is very much as if the Catholic Church were to declare that a Catholic may provide abortion services without sanction.

Obviously, the complaint here is that the leadership created a situation where martyrs for their religion were made; and is seems that the principle at stake was not particularly important. But the Watchtower seems to have allowed some to pay with their lives for an issue that the Watchtower hadn’t really thought through, apparently. That is a very bad thing.

How is this hard to grasp?

Well; you folks can go ahead and have another Catholic turkey shoot if you like; but don’t expect the world to agree with you.

 

[Vasian]

It sure wasn’t the JWs

Believe what you want:thumbsup:

 

[yellowbird]

Well; you folks can go ahead and have another Catholic turkey shoot if you like; but don’t expect the world to agree with you.

None so blind as those who will not see…

 

[Vasian]

Well; you folks can go ahead and have another Catholic turkey shoot if you like; but don’t expect the world to agree with you.

“The first step of apostasy is to get up a creed, telling us what we shall believe. The second is, to make that creed a test of fellowship. The third is to try members by that creed. The fourth to denounce as heretics those who do not believe that creed. And fifth, to commence persecution against such.”

“Doings of the Battle Creek Conference, Oct. 5 & 6, 1861” (DJVU). Review and Herald 18 (19): 148. 1861-10-08. adventistarchives.org/doc…-19/index.djvu. Retrieved 2006-11-06.

 

[mackbrislawn]

It sure wasn’t the JWs

That’s right, it wasn’t the JW’s. It was their leadership, the men running the Watchtower Society.

 

[yellowbird]

That’s right, it wasn’t the JW’s. It was their leadership, the men running the Watchtower Society.

Very true. Rank and file JWs are so brainwashed… I feel so sorry for them. They are good people trying their best to serve Jehovah. It’s so sad that they have been taught nothing but lies.

My heart breaks for them.

 

[Hesychios]

Very true. Rank and file JWs are so brainwashed… I feel so sorry for them. They are good people trying their best to serve Jehovah. It’s so sad that they have been taught nothing but lies.

My heart breaks for them.

Mine too.

 

[Protestant101]

That’s right, it wasn’t the JW’s. It was their leadership, the men running the Watchtower Society.

Well, “JWs” are comprised of those leaders too. They are all part of the same package. And this denomination cannot be faulted in the way you are trying to do here.

If I were to start saying on this forum things like: “Catholics in general are not responsible for such and such, only their leadership,” you would soon be all over me crying about how if I am going to attack your leaders; then I am attacking you.

In your zeal to characterize this denomination as “not having the truth” you state mistruths yourself to try and discredit them.

It would be better to just discuss their teachings, and show from the Bible why they are wrong; which, I think most of us here would agree that they are. But, Jehovah’s Witnesses don’t have everything wrong; just like Catholics don’t have everything right.

 

[adelore]

This article may “say” all of this, that it is up to each person to decide if they choose to vote or not.

However; all the JW’s that I have known and still know today will **Not **vote. They tell me that they don’t because that would make them part of the system of the Government of the U.S. and they won’t do that.

This article may say they can choose for themselves, but the Kingdom Hall is still teaching that it is wrong to vote in any government election. And yes they are still afraid to vote for fear of being disfellowshiped. Just like none of them will join the Service. (Army, Air Force, ect.) yet it is their right to if they wish, but just let them and see how fast they are disfellowshiped.

Of course this article is going to say it is their choice, to say otherwise would be infringing on their civil rights of the land and I believe breaking the law. Legally they can’t tell their memembers that they Can’t vote. Just like the Catholic Church won’t tell us Who to Vote for, yet the Catholic Church reminds us of what “topics” are important to us as the church body.