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Food for Thinking Jehovah's Witnesses
“‘But you are seeking great things for yourself. Stop seeking such things. For I am about to bring a calamity on all flesh,’ declares Jehovah, ‘and wherever you may go, I will grant you your life as a spoil.’”
Disclaimer: this site does not claim to hold the truth. The reader should be able to exercise good judgment, carefully examining the Scriptures as to whether these things are so. (Acts 17:11)
For new visitors
Before anything else, I want to welcome you and I sincerely hope that you will find here many interesting points that will guide you on your spiritual path. I feel compelled to reassure you: this site is not the umpteenth site that aims to denigrate the religion of the Jehovah’s Witnesses. Over the internet, you will find many pages that will tell everything and its opposite about the organization run by the Governing Body from Warwick, NY, United States. This is not the purpose of this website. However, we must not be afraid to say it: having focused on a date, and being set dead on it, for reasons that we can understand, the Society got entangled in a mishmash of explanations of prophecies turning around 1914, obliging it to many contortions to justify it’s attachment. Here you will find why 1914 became the pivotal date in the history of the Watchtower, and what are the facts about the year 607, which is supposed to be the starting point of the appointed times of nations, to which the Governing Body arrived, against the opinion of every recognized historians, counting backwards since 1914. But this is not the main subject of these pages. You will also have a lot of information, thanks to the articles of Perimeno, Robert king, and other occasional contributors who will strengthen your faith in the Divine Word. Finally, know that I am not an embittered ex-Jehovah’s witness, but that I have been following the teachings of the Watchtower since the sixties. I have no personal reproach to do to the Organization and I can only encourage everyone to follow the advices given in the publications to manage his life when they are taken from the Bible, the only work that must have authority in our lives. In the Society’s literature there has never been an incentive to theft, crime, indecency, or anything else illegal or compromising. Even accusations of extremism in some areas seem exaggerated. One must not confuse obeying the commandments of God and following rules from men. Every Christian must think for himself and with the help of the Bible, refusing to go beyond the things that are written, at the risk of make the word of God invalid. (1 Corinthians 4:6, Matthew 15:6) Jesus gave two commandments: love your God and love your neighbor. All the rest is human literature and a heavy burden on the shoulders of the Lord’s sheep. – Matthew 11:28-30 What you read here is not the absolute truth: only the word of God is truth. (John 17:17) Similarly, being a Jehovah’s witness does not authorize us to say that we are in the truth, that we were born in the truth, or any other expression of this kind. If this would be the case, the truth being by definition immutable, and because there can be only one truth, the Governing Body would not have had to change many biblical interpretations over the years. Are we reading in the Bible a statement from Jehovah, presenting it as the present truth, then a few books later a correction of point of view? Any other allegation is, at best, an error of interpretation, at worst, a lie. So, and it will be the last word, do not take for granted all that is said here. Open your Bible and show discernment. Remember the Beroeans: they accepted the word with the greatest eagerness of mind, carefully examining the Scriptures daily to see whether these things were so. – Acts 17:11 May the Lord God and his son in whose name every knee should bend bless you, amen.
What is the purpose of this site?
Years ago, during a convention, the speaker made a speech about the King of the North and the King of the South. Reaffirming the Society's position on the King of the South as the double Anglo-American world power, he noted that following the fall of the Soviet empire, the king of the North will have to change his identity again. Who will be next? Faithful to the Watchtower, I was waiting patiently for an explanation from the Governing Body. Then, one day in 2013, consumed with curiosity, I typed into a search engine on the web the expression "King of the North". I fell on the book of Robert King, "Jehovah Himself Has Become King!" It was with avidity, but also with fear of displeasing God, that I undertook the reading of this work. A new horizon was opening before me. Until then, I was convinced that apart from the writings of the Society, there was no truth. And there I saw that a person, a former Jehovah's Witness, kicked out for denouncing the collusion of the Watchtower and the UN, as well as the instruction of silence in pedophile cases in congregations, knew as much, if not more than the leaders of the organization. The first thing I wanted to do was to share this newly acquired information; I contacted Robert and asked him permission to translate his articles into French and Italian. Then naturally came the desire to extend the languages to Spanish first, then to Portuguese. I began to study these two languages, not to the point of sustaining a conversation, but enough to produce a translation that I hope understandable. My thirst for knowledge led me to do more and more research on the net, and I came to different sites, such as e-jw.org and especially the very humble Perimeno. I found good to put some of his articles online. Then came other sites, others who edited different points of view from those we are habituate to in the Organization. Some contacted me to offer their writings. The goal here is not to collect anything and everything, and especially not to denigrate the Society. I want to show that there is not only the voice of the Watchtower, that there are also other sounds of bells equally interesting. The purpose is above all to encourage reflection, that everyone can think for themselves and not just repeat the key phrases from the Watchtower study. Or, with the words of Robert King, "not only to announce Jehovah’s judgments, as contained in prophecy, but to prepare at least a relative few of Jehovah’s Witnesses for the day of stumbling; to cushion the blow – if that is at all possible – to make the unexpected expected, in the hope that all will be able to clear the last hurdles in our race for life." I wish you a good study.
About the copyright of this site
Question: Can I copy one or more articles from Baruq's website and distribute them freely on the internet or in any other medium? It is reasonable to ask this question. Today, there is a real battle between copyright owners and supporters of a no charge and free internet where information, culture and everything else would be available to everyone. About the information on the website, here is my position: Over the years, I have read the Bible several times, I have looked carefully at the beginnings and ends of chapters and books, I have searched in the original texts in Hebrew or Greek, and I have not still found the mention from Jehovah saying that copyright was reserved for him. It does not seem to me that the spread of His Word is limited in a number of countries only. I do not believe that at the bottom of the tablets of the Ten Commandments, in very small, it was written "copyright reserved for any country, including Russia"! Jehovah has written the Bible for the good of everyone and it is our duty to spread his writings. The last commandment that Jesus gave to his apostles is this: Go, therefore, and make disciples of people of all the nations, baptizing them and teaching them to observe all the things I have commanded you. So, is it to obey the command of Jesus to prevent the spread of his teachings? Would it be a proof of love to prevent anyone from having access to knowledge, even if it is a limited knowledge? Translations of the articles on this site have been made with the consent of their authors, who fully approve their dissemination; this is a proof of love for God and his Word. The attitude of these persons, whom I want to thank here, is the same as that of Moses when Joshua complained that Eldad and Medad behaved like prophets in the camp. Moses said to him: “Are you jealous for me? No, I wish that all of Jehovah’s people were prophets and that Jehovah would put his spirit on them!” If some people behave differently, limiting the spread to their own site, it is their responsibility before God. But with the billions of pages on the web, how can anyone think that someone craving for knowledge will surely arrive on his pages? If anyone thinks he have had an unpublished understanding of God's plan, should he not try to disseminate it as much as possible so that everyone can benefit from it, or that a discussion takes place to see what it really is that understanding? Or would not this man risk losing sight of the main purpose of the Lord's teaching by focusing on the statistics of his site and the number of visitors? What importance if one come to God by the mean of Peter, Paul or James? What matters, is it not that a sheep found the way to the fold? So, of course, there is no limitation to copying the texts of this site. If you want, you can inform me, it's always a pleasure, but it's not an obligation, and it is not one to put a link to baruq.uk. But if you want, you can, of course. On the other hand, I can only authorize what is mine. The photos and illustrations here present do not belong to me but have been acquired or made available without the authorization for the diffusion outside of this site, and I can not therefore give any authorization about them. Most are subject to copyright and that is with the permission of their owners, or their agency or web platform, that they are on this site. If you want to use them, you must contact the beneficiaries and negotiate with them the conditions of use. If you are the owner of one of the illustrations here and you think I should not use it, please contact me through the registration form. Question: can I contribute financially for the maintenance of this site? I do not see a PayPal button. And you will not find one! To this question, I want to make the answer of Charles T. Russell in the second issue of his brand new periodical: "Zion’s Watch Tower" has, we believe, JEHOVAH for its backer, and while this is the case it will never beg nor petition men for support. When He who says: "All the gold and silver of the mountains are mine," fails to provide necessary funds, we will understand it to be time to suspend the publication. W 08/1879 P. 2 I have a job that gives me enough to live without, however, bringing me wealth. But I do not have to complain. I defer to Jehovah for the sustainability of this site on the net. If things were to turn out so that I could no longer bear the costs, then I will understand that the time has come to suspend the publication. Of course, it will with a heavy heart, but I consider myself a temporary instrument in the hands of God and I submit to his will. Perhaps he will give me another privilege of service? He alone knows. All I ask from you is your prayers so that I can have the strength and health to continue my work. And maybe also a feedback about the quality of translation in your language, so that the sound of the truth is as clear as possible. And if you speak another language, and you want it to appear here, then contact me and we can consider a collaboration. Then, if you really want to please Jehovah with your valuables, look around you, there is surely a person who needs your help: this unemployed neighbor for months with a newborn child, this elderly lady who finds it difficult to go out to do his shopping, or that humble brother who is embarrassed to speak of his difficulties; perhaps a garnished basket discreetly in front of his door, without any mention of the author of the gesture, will allow him to eat his fill for a while. (Matthew 6:3) I would just like to finish with that little thought, going back to Russell's statement above: When He who says: "All the gold and silver of the mountains are mine," fails to provide necessary funds, we will understand it to be time to suspend the publication. Since January 2018, the publication of the Watchtower are reduced to the strict minimum (three per year). Should we draw a conclusion?
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