2009_Jehovahs Witness and Watchtower Doctrine Analysis (by Mary Patterson).pdf

Table of Contents:

Belief vs Facts ....................................................... 2

Smoking ............................................................ 4

New Light .......................................................... 16

Blood ............................................................. 22

Disfellowshipping & Shunning .......................................... 35

607 BCE ........................................................... 49

144,000 ............................................................ 63

What Constitutes a ‘False Prophet’? ..................................... 71

Date Setting ........................................................ 85

‘This Generation’ .................................................... 94

The Faithful & Discreet Slave .......................................... 105

Preaching House to House ............................................ 115

The Cross ......................................................... 127

Pagan Celebrations ................................................. 143

Belief vs Facts

In the last few years, there have been numerous “adjustments” in the Organization,

both doctrinally and procedurally. While many find these changes enlightening, there

are still many brothers and sisters who are concerned about all these changes and

what it means for Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Change is never easy, especially when it comes to doctrinal changes. You can be told

that something is “truth” for years, even decades, only to have it change in one simple

article. Why is it so difficult to perhaps accept that a doctrine we had long believed to

be based on the scriptures, turns out not to be? The fundamental reason is the way

our brain is hard-wired. Beliefs (whether religious or otherwise) are designed to

enhance our ability to survive, they are biologically designed to be strongly resistant to

change.

"Belief" is the name of the survival tool of the brain that

is designed to enhance the danger-identification function

of our senses. Beliefs extend the range of our senses so

that we can better detect danger and thus improve our

chances of survival as we move into and out of

unfamiliar territory. Beliefs, in essence, serve as our

brain's "long-range danger detectors."

Because our senses and beliefs are both tools for

survival, our brain considers them to be separate but

equally important. In other words beliefs operate

independent of our sensory data (evidence). Beliefs are

not supposed to change easily or simply in response to

evidence. If they did, they would be virtually useless as

tools for survival. A police officer unable to believe in the possibility of a killer lurking

behind a harmless appearance could easily get hurt or killed.

As far as our brain is concerned, there is no need for data and belief to agree. They

each augment and supplement one another. They are designed to be able to disagree.

So when data (or evidence) and belief come into conflict, the brain does not

automatically give preference to the data. This is why beliefs-even erroneous beliefs,

do not die in the face of contradictory evidence. The brain doesn't care whether or not

the belief matches the data. It cares whether the belief is helpful for survival. Period.

To have your beliefs challenged is, quite literally, a threat to your brain's sense of

survival. It is entirely normal for people to be defensive in such situations. The brain

feels it is fighting for its life. 1

For example, a woman might be married to a man for 30 years. Let’s say she has

never worked outside the home, married young, had children and has always been a

stay at home mom. She loves her husband and is completely dependent on him

emotionally, financially, socially and physically. Her belief is that she is secure in the

knowledge that hers is a good marriage and it is the foundation for the security in her

life.

Lets say the telltale signs that her husband is having an extra-marital affair begin to

surface: late nights, unexplained absences, smelling of another woman’s perfume,

taking extra care with his appearance. Her friends even try to warn her that they’ve

seen him with another woman. What will the wife normally do? More often than not,

she will continue to believe in her husband and she will ignore all the evidence that he

is having an extra-marital affair. As described above, the “belief” part of her brain

interprets the “facts” as a threat to it’s survival and it refuses to accept the

overwhelming evidence that something’s not right. And since she is dependent on her

husband for virtually everything, her brain refuses to accept the “data/evidence” that

clearly tells her he is seeing someone else.

Religion can be the same way. If someone has been trained to believe that a

polygamous marriage at the age of 13 or 14 is normal and approved by God (as is

common amongst offshoots of the Mormon Church), then naturally they are going to

become defensive and angry when it is shown to them that it is not normal or approved

by God. That is their belief system kicking into high gear and once again, it ignores the

data that is contrary to their beliefs, because the brain will interpret it as a threat.

Although it might seem absurd to some that the brain cannot recognize “truth” when it

sees it, let us put this theory to test. When you read the following pages, beliefs and

facts will come in direct contact with each other. What you decide to do with this

information, is entirely up to you.

1 Gregory W. Lester , Ph.D. is a psychologist on the graduate faculty of the University of St. Thomas in

Houston, Texas,

Smoking

Everyone knows that smoking is bad for you. Smoking harms nearly every organ of the

body; causing many diseases and reducing the health of smokers in general. The

adverse health effects from cigarette smoking account for an estimated 438,000

deaths, or nearly 1 of every 5 deaths, each year in the United States alone. 1

Most Witnesses are well aware that in 1973, everyone who worked in the tobacco-

growing industry (whether selling cigarettes, manufacture, tobacco machinery, or

farmers producing tobacco), were given 6 months to sever all business relations with

the tobacco industry. This included those who smoked, those who owned tobacco

farms, and those who worked in the tobacco fields. This was because of the scripture

at 2 Cor.7: 1 that says “Beloved ones let us cleanse ourselves of every defilement of

flesh and spirit.” 2

Failure to comply with the instructions set out meant you would be disfellowshipped

from the congregation as described in the June 1, 1973 Watchtower:

“What, then, of those who in the past were baptized while still using such addictive

products as tobacco, other drugs, or who are on some treatment such as the

“methadone program” and who continue in such practice? They may now be given a

reasonable period of time, such as six months, in which to free themselves of the

addiction. So doing, they will show their sincere desire to remain within Jehovah

God’s clean congregation of dedicated servants......................If persons already

baptized are not willing to abandon their addiction to damaging and enslaving

products, what then? Then they show that, like Esau, they do not ‘appreciate sacred

things,’ preferring such habits to the privilege of being part of Jehovah’s clean people.

They should therefore be removed from the congregation due to such conduct

unbecoming a Christian.—1 Cor. 5:7; Heb. 12:15, 16.

The February 1974 Kingdom Ministry on page 3 left no doubt that any affiliation with

tobacco products would be grounds for removal from the congregation:

“... The Watchtower of June 1, 1973, presented the Scriptural reasons why it is

1 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Annual Smoking-Attributable Mortality, Years of Potential Life Lost, and

Productivity Losses ---- United States, 1997–2001. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report [serial online].

2002;51(14):300–303 [cited 2006 Dec 5]. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5114a2.htm.

2 While there is no doubt that smoking is extremely harmful to the body, and can cause heart problems, liver problems, stroke,

lung cancer, emphysema, and even death, it begs the question as to why other ‘sins’, such as gluttony, are not disfellowshipping

offenses as well. It is a well known fact that over-eating contributes to obesity, heart problems, diabetes, cancer, and death, yet

there has never been one single Jehovah’s Witness disfellowshipped for gluttony, even though it contributes to health problems

just as much, if not more, than smoking does.

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