Tuesday, February 19



You must not follow after the crowd for evil ends.—Ex. 23:2.


In taking a long journey, what would you do if you felt unsure about which way to go? You might
feel tempted to follow other travelers—especially if you saw a great many making the same
choice. Such a course is risky. After all, those travelers may not beheading toward your destination,
or they too may be lost. In this connection, consider a principle that underlies one of the laws given
to ancient Israel.

Those who served as judges or as witnesses in judicial matters were warned of the danger of ‘following after
the crowd.’ Without doubt, it is all too easy for imperfect humans to bow to peer pressure, perverting
justice. However, is the principle about not following the crowd restricted to judicial matters? Not
at all. In truth, the pressure to “follow after the crowdâ€￾ can affect us at almost any time. It may
arise suddenly, and it can be very difficult to resist. w11 7/15 1:3, 4
​

 

This good advice is especially poignant when so called anointed ones are following
after a GREAT crowd who is just as clueless when it comes to spiritual matters.

[irony intended for rehabilitational purposes of a spiritual kind]

 

Hi Diagonal:

That is a weird comment to me. You mean to say that you know the faith and conviction of all the great crowd and all the anointed to make such a statement? You must have been a very busy boy, doing all those comprehensive interviews and all. Very condescending if you ask me, but that's only me.

frank

 

Hi Frank,
yes, it is very easy to do this kind of research among JWs, because they ALL
subscribe to the ‘invisible presence dogma,’ for instance, or if they don’t,

then they are living a lie by pretending to do so, and all this in order to
please the God of truth – now THAT is what I really call weird,
actually right off the weird meter scale, to be precise.

To pretend to believe something one does clearly not subscribe to is
called hypocrisy, the leaven of the Pharisees, according to Jesus,
the founder of Christianity, if I recall correctly.

So, I guess, the truth hurts most to those least serious about it -
now that also is quite weird to me.

 

Hi Diagonal:

You must be Jesus then, or should I say Yahshua, the arbiter of truth and life and all lack of hypocrisy, am I correct?

frank

 

Frank,
no, I am imperfect, but I try to take the Word of God serious,
which contains the truth for all to see who want to subject themselves to it.

 

Hi Diagonal:

Who's version of truth? Yours? And you are quite sure you have it all correct? I do not at all question your seriousness nor your faith, it is well represented in your comments. You don't suppose there are any Jehovah's Witnesses that are equally as serious as you about understanding the Word of God? Really? I am not one of JW's but I am quite sure that there are many JW's who's seriousness about God's Word is very strong. That does not mean that they know everything, and yes, it also means that they may not have "gotten out of her my people" yet, but I'm fairly certain that many of them will hear the voice of our Messiah, as will many imprisoned in Christendom, and will come out. And who is the "body of Christ" in your opinion, and where do they preach the word, so that if I was so inclined I could travel there to hear them? Who do they say Almighty God is? Who or What is the Holy Spirit? What happens to unfaithful mankind when they die in the time of the end? I would very much like to know what you think and how your faith is achieved! Your brother,

frank

 

Frank,

I just read your comments on the other thread about the UN affair and found them
very encouraging.

You raise some interesting questions here, and I have to say that what I know
is not due to any personal virtue or effort, other than that produced in me
by the Father.

Yes, I don’t doubt the zeal in others, but I have spoken with many anointed
ones of the WT over the years, and found them all to go quickly off topic
when they discern some unpalatable truth the Holy Spirit is raising in our
conversations.

This raises some troubling questions about their honesty and love of truth -
which is quite different from the zeal they exhibit in their proving themselves
righteous before men.

If I would shy away from discussing certain aspects of my faith, views or practice,
I would be quite concerned about my love of the truth for truth’s sake.

If you know any unreservedly honest JWs, I would be grateful if you could
introduce me to them.

My time is up just now, but I look forward to discuss the other issues you raise
in due time.

 

Hi Diagonal:

I have only met 1 or 2 unreservedly honest people in my whole life as they are a rare breed. As far a JW's are concerned, I think many are very honest people, but I think it is the very rare person who is completely and unabashedly honest. I try to be, but I think even I hold back a little. Not so much that there is anything that I would not like to reveal about myself, OK, maybe 1 or 2 things, but I would not purposely try to hurt someone with my honesty. Like if your wife asks "Honey, does this dress make my ass look fat"? Well, if it did, being honest would not only hurt her feelings but it would cost you some diplomacy points as well. In that case, I reserve the right to embellish the truth just a teensie.

I look forward to you revealing yourself a bit and also answering the other questions that I asked in my previous comment. I don't think that Jehovah's Witnesses have a corner on the market when it comes to how they view the administrators of thier faiths. I have seen that quality in most religions in my experience. It is disturbing though when I see persons putting fear of man before their love of God. I try very hard to avoid that in myself, to my own personal detriment, I fear.

frank

 

Joshua,


point taken; but where are the others - the other "Israelites for a certainty, in whom there is no deceit?"

 

Frank,

yes, I agree, there are a lot of things which are better handled on a ‘need to know’
basis, but I think that spiritual matters and one’s honestly held beliefs are not among
those exceptions.

Those who lie to themselves in these important areas are showing signs of deep
spiritual problems which are closely connected to their will, which even God
rarely ever overrides, because it defeats the purpose of independent creature-hood
He has bestowed on us in good faith.

At times it is not easy to square one’s rationalizations with one's conscience and
one’s own personal and eternal interests, but such are the unalterable consequences
of living in a universe of cause and effect.

I like, and share, your determination to suffer for the sake of righteousness rather than
taking the comfortable way out.

 

Joshua,

yes, that is interesting reasoning, but at the end of day we are all responsible
for what we know, and the things we cannot ‘un-know,’ or do not wish to know.

God is never going to send people to Gehenna for not knowing the truth, but for
knowing it and not LOVING it more than one’s own soul.

Sooner or later there comes the time in every person’s life when God reveals the
truth to them – even if only gradually and in small increments –

and this awareness of truth elicits a response from the heart of the individual
to either embrace it and pursue it at all costs, or to play games with it and
ultimately live a life that denies its power.

Can we really be pleasing the God of truth by promoting or condoning lies?

What do we love more, the approval of man, or the glory of the Only God?

Is God really so weak in our lives that He needs to use false religion in order
to sustain us spiritually?

And if indeed so, how can we tell those of other religions to abandon their
relationship with God through their Church because of the lies they teach,
while living a lie ourselves?

Hence those knowing the truth about the WT have no freedom of speech
when telling other people to honestly examine their religion and fleeing
from it, while not doing so themselves.

This is sheer hypocrisy, the leaven of the Pharisees.

Only God knows how long each individual needs to transition from worship
based on location and ‘approved arrangement,’ to worship in spirit and truth.

But I understand the tremendous dilemma that people face.