“Let us continue loving one another, because love is from God.” 1 John 4:7
[Study 2 from ws 1/21 p.8, March 8 – March 14, 2021]
All was good for the first nine paragraphs, but the Organization just could not stick to the theme and resist the temptation to twist the Apostle John’s course of life for their own ends and spoil the Watchtower study article.
All was good for the first nine paragraphs, but the Organization just could not stick to the theme and resist the temptation to twist the Apostle John’s course of life for their own ends and spoil the Watchtower study article.
We find the usual culprit statements such as:
- “Satan’s system would have you spend all your time and energy on yourself, trying to make money or to make a name for yourself.” (para. 10) Really? I am sure Satan would like us to do that, but out of the hundreds of non-Witnesses I know and some of whom I work with, only a few individuals spend all their time and energy on themselves, trying to make as much money as possible or trying to make a name for themselves. For most there are more important things in life, such as their family life, having sufficient to be comfortable, as opposed to being rich and being respected, rather than famous. Furthermore, Did the apostle John really give up an attempt to make lots of money or a name for himself? There is no evidence that he made such an attempt, much less give up such an attempt. No lesson from the Apostle John to be learned from here.
- “Some are even able to preach and teach full-time.” (para. 10) Translation: Some are able to spend their lives preaching for the Organization, often without getting one recruit, until they realize the Organization is training them to preach lies. They then realize they have wasted 1,000’s of hours for no benefit to God, themselves or the ones to who they spoke. Again, is there evidence that John gave up secular work and just preached for the rest of his life? The scriptures do not indicate this. No lesson from the Apostle John to be learned from here.
- The Study article would not be complete without a plug for donating time free of charge and also donating money to support the Organization: “faithful publishers support God’s organization in any way they can. For instance, some are able to provide disaster relief, others can work on construction projects, and everyone has the opportunity to donate funds to the worldwide work.” (para. 11). The message is, if you cannot preach full-time then you should help financially support those who want to live off of you. But, again, did the Apostle John do this. In the first century, there were no construction projects, no worldwide work fund, and any disaster relief was given directly to the needy Christians by their fellow Christians, not via some unaccountable Organization. No lesson from the Apostle John to be learned from here. The lesson that can be learned is, do not be fooled into parting with your time and money by an Organization that does not follow the example of first-century Christians.
- “They do these things because they love God and their fellow man.” No, that is an illusion. Many do these things to look good in front of others and to try to prove themselves righteous. (para. 11). Finally, this is at least one lesson we all can learn from the Apostle John. He did love God and Christ and his fellow man.
- “Each week, we prove that we love our brothers and sisters by attending congregation meetings and participating in them. Although we may be tired, we are present at those meetings. Although we may be nervous, we comment.” Is that really true? Or is it not the case that most attend because they believe that attending will mean God will allow them through Armageddon? As for participating or commenting, our congregation rarely, if ever, has more than 25% of the audience attempt to participate. (para. 11). No lesson from the Apostle John to be learned from here. There is no evidence of formal meetings, nor the format of any such gatherings during the first century found in the scriptures.
- “And although we all have problems of our own, we encourage others before or after the meeting.” True, we all like encouragement, but very few try to encourage anyone at all, even the elders. Months go by without some elders speaking to me and we do not have a big congregation. (para. 11). Given the reality, that the congregations which are truly loving and warm, and encouraging are rare, then this is one lesson we all can learn from the Apostle John.
In summary, another missed opportunity to impart real beneficial spiritual food to the brotherhood. Instead, we were served bland spiritual food without any nutrition. Only 2 points out of 6 had anything to do with the Apostle John and the Bible record of his actions.
Archived Comments
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Comment by Paolo on 2021-03-07 18:51:19
Tadua, I was a JW for 40 years and I appreciate your weekly contributions and thinkings about the WT-studies enormously. Please continue!
Comment by lost in space on 2021-03-07 19:52:57
Another option,' Just wondering', is finding another forum to be a part of. It seems like you have been upset reading the WT commentaries on here "month after month". Really. why?
Both Eric Wilson and then Tadua continue to provide commentary on the weekly studies here voluntary, using their own time and effort and people can read or not read any articles of their own volition.
There are also a variety of other contributions on this site and not just he WT review as well.
I think your comments could have been sent to Tadua, or Eric privately. And be encouraging yourself. Unnecessary unkind and mean-spirited, Just wondering.
Comment by Mike Felker on 2021-03-08 12:26:18
Tadua, i'm curious as to how you didn't find any of the first 9 paragraphs problematic? I found just the mere citation of 1 John 4:7 to be problematic since they failed to quote the rest of the verse, since it showed an application directly to those born again. This was similarly the case in par. 8 where 1 John 5:3 is cited, also about the new birth.
I also found par. 2 problematic because "we may find it easy to obey the first commandment." Who is finding the first commandment to be easy? This is the one we all fall the most short on. At least, that's the way I see it. Is there another way I should be taking this?
I really appreciated your points though about so many of the points to NOT be lessons from John at all. When I reviewed this article on my podcast, I completely missed this point. So thank you for pointing this out.
I rarely comment on here, but I do want you to know that I read your reviews weekly and learn a lot from them. Even though someone else in this comment section thinks you should stop, I would encourage you to keep doing this. New people find this material to be very helpful. So while it may not be new to some people, it may be for others and can benefit them greatly.Reply by Tadua on 2021-03-08 12:46:23
Hi Mike
Many thanks for all your helpful and encouraging comments.
We definitely need your comments, as I didn’t pick up on those additional points you mention, so many thanks for drawing our attention to them.
Iron sharpens iron.
Tadua
Comment by Tadua on 2021-03-08 12:59:13
Hi Just Wondering
I would just like to reassure you that the well being of our readers is of the highest concern to me. I continue with the reviews because there is a need for them based on the comments received over the months.
I am saddened that you appear not to view the other material on this site, as encouraging and upbuilding instead of critical of the Organization.
The series on Genesis for example (which is not alone) is based purely on the Bible record and research. It mentions nothing about the Organization and its teachings, nor will it.
I am left just wondering why you make such comments.
All I can suggest is please read the other material on this site of which plenty is not a Watchtower article review.
Perhaps you would like to assist us by writing an encouraging article that we could publish.
Feel free to write one and email to myself.
One thing I can assure all readers is that I am not obsessed with critiquing the Organization, far from it.
I look forward to your article.
Comment by Leonardo Josephus on 2021-03-08 14:08:10
Hi JW,
For some of us, leaving is not the option. I have family in, and I will not leave until my wife comes with me. Tadua's reviews help to keep me alert. He often picks up things that I do not.
However, this site is all about truth. It is not a religion. It is very much a support site for those of us who have woken up, or in the process of waking up to Watchtower teachings. It is very hard to discuss Watchtower articles and be encouraging at the same time. If there is encouragement, it can come from other articles, as is the case from time to time..
Having said that, if find it encouraging to discuss any scriptures and highlight their truths, because truth is what we all seek .
At least that is where I am.
Comment by Mike Felker on 2021-03-08 14:23:09
Just wondering, I found your comments to be extremely disingenuous. If you think Tadua should just stop, are you then saying that all efforts to criticize the Watchtower should likewise stop? Or do you think that there are ways to do this other than Tadua's approach that are more helpful?
You also have to keep in mind that Tadua isn't just writing these articles for himself or for those who want to completely move on from anything Watchtower-focused (like this website). From what I can gather, he is writing these because people find them to be helpful. And leaving the org is a process, and an extremely difficult one for many people. Keep in mind too that new people stumble upon this material every day that causes them to view the Watchtower critically for the first time. If Tadua ended his efforts, what would that say for those who would otherwise benefit from finding this material?
Comment by katrina on 2021-03-12 22:29:59
I always enjoy reading the commentary on this site including the WT articles by Tadua, never boring and more nourishing.