We have all heard a bad report or negative comment about the Watchtower society and discounted it. “It’s only one person’s opinion — He’s an angry apostate — He’s returned to his own vomit — etc. etc. etc.”
Even Solomon under inspiration said: Also, do not give your heart to all the words that people may speak, that you may not hear your servant calling down evil upon you. 22 For your own heart well knows even many times that you, even you, have called down evil upon others. (Ecclesiastes 7:21-22)
So we have heard the negative report(s) about the Organization and the Governing Body. If one bad report is a rumor is 100 bad reports pure gossip too? How about a thousand? Where is the breaking point? What if a disgruntled publisher says the elders wronged him. It may go like this:
Well yes I committed adultery a few dozen times over the span of two months, but they still wronged me! And that Elder’s daughter is a horrible example anyway…
So we know that we can’t believe every terrible thing we hear about the WTS. There’s even a bumper sticker that says “Don’t believe everything you think”, and that is so true! We have to investigate. We have to “make sure of all things”.
So what about the circuit overseer that steps down and says that we need to go to Christ and not an organization…Or the current C.O. that acknowledges the Society has a lot of problems but shrugs his shoulders and admits he can’t do much about it. (See Captive to a Concept by Don Cameron) What about the HUNDREDS of web sites, filled with a myriad testimonials and first-person accounts of ones that have realized something’s wrong, and have investigated only to find out that their worst nightmare is true? The Wizard of Oz exclaimed “pay no attention to that man behind the curtain” when Toto discovered the truth that he was no All-Powerful Wizard. He was a man. And a wimpy one at that.
Interesting question; “We can discount the one- but should we listen to the many?”
A responding question might be: “Where have the “many” gone?” What have the majority of Witnesses who have left their religion become? Some are today Trinitarians, some are agnostics, others atheists, and still others searching and searching. Going from one Christian religion and Christian site to another, attempting to find something that fits. Some have tried the Bible Students but most JWs who try to fit into the Bible Students end up leaving. There is no perfect fit unless one is going to do what they did in their Witness youth; trust, believe, hope and blindly follow. That is the only way to be completely happy in a religion but it does not have to be. The prophets of old and the Apostles did not expect things to be almost perfect, they expected and hoped that they would persevere in God’s service no matter what the obstacles were before them.
We dedicated to God not men. God holds us to that dedication and to helping those in our midst to continue in their dedication by loving them as we love ourselves.
Difficult Places Common to Scripture(Quote)
i dont listen to the many, i listen to gods word and my own heart, i do not wish to be a lost sheep but i dont want to be a blind one,im hoping that iv done the right thing in my search for god and that i dont need to belong to an org to be saved.
serein(Quote)