DEFINING APOSTASY

[Patiently waiting for Truth]

13 hours ago, TrueTomHarley said:

13 hours ago, Patiently waiting for Truth said:

If they denied Christ it was because Christ wanted them to.

One must not argue with a dodo.

Well then why would Jesus have known it was going to happen ? It was preplanned. 

Matthew 26.     Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

³¹ Then Jesus told them, “This very night you will all fall away on account of me, for it is written:

“‘I will strike the shepherd,
    and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’^[c]

³² But after I have risen, I will go ahead of you into Galilee.”

³³ Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”

³⁴ “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster crows, you will disown me three times.”

All pre-planned Tom. Jesus was protecting his closest followers. 

[Arauna]

16 hours ago, Patiently waiting for Truth said:

why would Jesus have known it was going to happen ?

When my kids were too cock sure - I knew certain things were going to happen. ... 

[Arauna]

17 hours ago, Patiently waiting for Truth said:

you seem to apologize for proving them wrong

Politically correct.   His scriptures are bunched together to create the idea of scholarliness or proof - so you would believe it.  Be careful!

[Srecko Sostar]

19 hours ago, Witness said:

The GB may change doctrines that appear as loving adjustments, but are they repentant for telling a previous lie?

PENITENCE, REPENTANCE, CONTRITION, COMPUNCTION, REMORSE mean regret for sin or wrongdoing. PENITENCE implies sad and humble realization of and regret for one's misdeeds.  absolution is dependent upon sincere penitence  REPENTANCE adds the implication of a resolve to change.  repentance accompanied by a complete change of character  CONTRITION stresses the sorrowful regret that constitutes true penitence.  tearful expressions of contrition  COMPUNCTION implies a painful sting of conscience especially for contemplated wrongdoing.  had no compunctions about taking back what is mine  REMORSE suggests prolonged and insistent self-reproach and mental anguish for past wrongs and especially for those whose consequences cannot be remedied.  thieves untroubled by feelings of remorse 

Feeling or showing regret for something said or done is a prerequisite for reconciliation with those to whom we have erred. Are they in remorse too? Do they show penitence and contrition? etc.

It is not possible to know how any of those who contributed to the misconceptions in the JW organization felt about it. Some who have been involved in past misconceptions have been involved in change, but I don’t think most of them have, but some new people have done so when they came to positions of power.

What about the current creators of delusions? Some of them believe in their delusions because they feel they have offered something better than their predecessors. Or they have to adapt their new delusions to existing concepts with some modifications for several reasons.

Yet, no text in WTJWorg publications, known to me, contains any of the previously described characteristics of someone who is aware of his (individual or collective GB) error. It simply all comes down to a so called “human error” that can happen to anyone. But in most cases (throwing blame and responsibility) it refers to ordinary members who have "misunderstood" something or many things in publications.

The founders of doctrines and interpretations themselves have always found a way to explain their "error" by a lack of sufficient "light" and "knowledge", because then, when they wrote about a topic, there was no "God-given time" to know "real truth". But now, in this very moment when they "clarified" things, it is "true and proper knowledge" that have to be accepted, because it is from God ..... again    

 

[Witness]

18 minutes ago, Srecko Sostar said:

Yet, no text in WTJWorg publications, known to me, contains any of the previously described characteristics of someone who is aware of his (individual or collective GB) error.

"The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron." 1 Tim 4:1,2

"seared with a hot iron" -"to render unsensitive"

24 minutes ago, Srecko Sostar said:

The founders of doctrines and interpretations themselves have always found a way to explain their "error" by a lack of sufficient "light" and "knowledge", because then, when they wrote about a topic, there was no "God-given time" to know "real truth". But now, in this very moment when they "clarified" things, it is "true and proper knowledge" that have to be accepted, because it is from God ..... again

CHARLATON - "a person who pretends to have skills or knowledge that they do not have"  Cambridge Dictionary

Under "Related words and phrases" - a wolf in sheep's clothing.

"I know that after I leave, savage ("burdensome, imposing, impressive") wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. 30 Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. "  Acts 20:29,30

 

 

 

 

[TrueTomHarley]

On 7/3/2021 at 4:38 AM, Pudgy said:

Several years ago JWs worldwide sent about 8 million letters to the Russsian Federation, and to the best of anyones' knowledge, not a single one was read.

In the splendid book “I Don’t Know Why We Persecute Jehovah’s Witnesses,” I wrote:

“Putin’s response was that “we should treat the representatives of all religions in the same way—this is true, but still, it is also necessary to take into account the country and the society in which we live. True, this does not mean at all that we should include representatives of religious communities in some destructive, or even in terrorist organizations. Of course, this is complete nonsense, you need to carefully deal with it. Here I agree with you.”

Later in the meeting, Putin returned unbidden to the topic to observe that “Jehovah’s Witnesses are Christians, too. I don’t quite understand why they are persecuted. So this should be looked into. This must be done.”

One reason for his apparent puzzlement might be that he read a few of those letters. Somebody would have read them, or at least opened them to see what they were. They are postage of the going rate, not what the USPS calls ‘standard’ (and everyone else calls junk) mail. His office or representative thereof either opened the letters from unknown persons or they never open any letters from anybody, which I think is unlikely.

So there are millions of letters pouring in. No way will Putin not be informed of it and who almost all of them are from. He has never seen nor heard anything like it. Will he really read none of them? Is he absolutely dead as to curiosity? 

At any rate, that is one possible explanation to his very peculiar response to a question posed him by a government minister. 

I think you play the “nobody read them” card too much. Granted, no one is saying that they read a lot of them. But it cannot be that none were read by anyone, after which those anyones would have reported to the responsible persons, and quite possible they would sneak a peak at one or two of them.

In fact, when I heard Putin answer a question with “Zip, zero, nada” at a press conference, not only was I sure he had read at least one, but I’m pretty sure I know who wrote it.