Multiplying Laws and Organizing Them into Books.
In the previous article it was shown that the Watchtower society gave five examples that they claim demonstrate that the Catholic Church follows in the pattern of first century Christians that advocated an extremely authoritarian approach to worship. Thus by implication witnesses are given the impression that the society itself is not at all guilty of these abuses. Is that so? Let’s take their list of examples and put the organization under its own magnifying glass. But first in order for an abuse of power to take place, there first has to be a recognized authority structure.
The Watchtower society argues that they follow the pattern of the first century:
“Christ Jesus continues to exercise full headship of the true Christian congregation earth wide today. And, just as he did back then, he uses earthly agencies to express that headship. The first-century Christian congregation had a governing body composed of apostles and elders at Jerusalem. A similar body of anointed Christians functions now. This governing body is the administrative part of a “faithful and discreet slave” or “steward” class concerning which Jesus promised: “His master . . . will appoint him over all his belongings.” (Matt. 24:45-47; Luke 12:42-44) So, recognition of that governing body and its place in God’s theocratic arrangement of things is necessary for submission to the headship of God’s Son. (The Watchtower December 15, 1972 pg. 755)
However, there is no indication that the apostles sought to govern the lives and faith of all Christians. (2 Cor. 1:24) Nowhere does Jesus ever say that submission to his headship depended upon recognition of a governing body. Instead of being a prophecy of the appointment of a future governing body, Jesus words in Matthew 24:45-47 are part of a parable in a series of parables that were designed to encourage all his disciples to remain awake and alert to his return for which none of them could know neither the day nor the hour. He says nothing about the “slave” making rules that needed to be adhered to by all Christians. The idea of governing others came later as elders from Jerusalem sought to exert undue influence over others to accept their interpretation of God’s law and make rules for Gentile Christians to follow. (Acts 15:24)
The very reason the meeting of the apostles and older men in Jerusalem was convened was to address the disturbance caused by rule makers. Even after the matter of circumcision was decided and letters were sent out to all the congregations, these were regarded not as laws but as recommendations since there were no stated punishments for those that failed to follow them. Hence, if a religious authority structure today claims to have authority to speak for Christ and demands obedience, it is not following the pattern of the apostles.
Multiplying Laws and Organizing Them Into Books
“To the making of many books there is no end and much devotion to them is wearisome to the flesh.” (Eccl. 12:12)
The organization has stated how proud it is of the accumulation of information that it relies upon to guide the lives of baptized Jehovah’s Witnesses:
“In our progress toward maturity of understanding and conduct in harmony with Jehovah’s Word, we are assisted by the invaluable disciplinary provisions of the New World society. The Bible contains commandments of God, his prophecies, and the revelation of himself and of his principles. Such are a guide for the New World society and all who are in it. So it is that by the New World society’s application of the stated Scriptural commands, examples, rules and principles to the issues and problems of life, a great body of theocratic law is being built up. We should benefit by this. It is theocratic because it is in harmony with the Bible law of the Great Theocrat, Jehovah God, and is based upon it. We need to understand Jehovah’s Bible and also respect the judgment, authority and instructions of the New World society. They will discipline us, guiding us in all the issues and problems of life to take a course that will be in accordance with and not in violation of the Word of God. (The Watchtower May 15, 1963 pg. 300 par. 25)
While such a description of the law of the Christ no longer appears in print in the society’s publications, in reality such a body of rules governing virtually every aspect of the lives of witnesses does exist and regularly appears in Watchtower articles. For example:
“in modern times, the faithful slave through its Governing Body has clarified such important issues as Christian neutrality, the sanctity of blood, and the use of drugs and tobacco. (Isaiah 2:4; Acts 21:25; 2 Corinthians 7:1) Jehovah blessed his people for their obedience to his Word and the faithful slave.
7 By submitting to the slave class, God’s people also show their subjection to the Master, Jesus Christ.” (The Watchtower October 1, 2002 pgs. 18-19 pars. 6-7)
“The instructions may be on how to share in the preaching activity, how to deal with problems in the congregation, how to give counsel and encouragement, how to comfort afflicted ones, and so forth. There are also directives on how to prepare instructive and upbuilding meetings for all who associate with the Christian congregation. (The Watchtower October 1 1990 pgs. 30-31)
“Are we familiar with up-to-date directions, such as those regarding conducting home Bible studies, preaching to foreign-speaking people, regularly sharing in family worship, cooperating with Hospital Liaison Committees, and conducting ourselves properly at conventions? …
Today, Jehovah’s steward class gives a clear signal whenever it is time to make a move. How does the steward do that? By means of articles in The Watchtower and Our Kingdom Ministry, new publications, and talks at assemblies and conventions. Instructions are also conveyed to the congregations through traveling overseers or through letters or training sessions attended by brothers having congregation responsibilities.” (The Watchtower April 15 2011 pgs. 4-5)
Additionally the society has produced a manual entitled “Shepherd the Flock of God” to be used only by congregation elders that outlines procedures for the handling of wrongdoing in the congregation. Regarding this book, former elder Rolf Furuli in his book “My Beloved Religion and the Governing Body” stated the following:
“In 1974, the GB introduced a new interpretation of the word porneia (“sexual immorality”). It could also include actions inside marriage, such as oral and anal copulation and different lewd practices. This new view created big problems: marriage mates were disfellowshipped, and marriages were dissolved on the wrong basis; husbands, wives, and children were suffering, and some elders behaved like police officers and were interrogating the sexual lives of married couples. In 1978, the view of porneia-inside-marriage was abandoned: “in view of the absence of clear Scriptural instruction.” The reason given for the change is extremely important—every law in the Christian congregations must be based on the Bible. However, the present GB ignores this, and it hasinvented many human commandments. This includes actions that the GB defines as disfellowshipping offenses. In the book for elders, “Shepherd the Flock of God” 1 Peter 5:2 (2019), I count 39 actions that are listed as disfellowshipping offenses. Bible references are connected with all of these 39 actions, and this shows that the GB agrees that any law or rule for Christians must be based on a clear Scriptural instruction. But the problem is that most of these references are not said to represent disfellowshipping offenses in the Bible. This will be shown in detail in this chapter. In fact, I have found only 11 actions that the Bible explicitly says are disfellowshipping offenses. For the others, a clear Scriptural instruction is lacking.” (Pg. 171)
Not only are elders provided with instructions on how to judicially deal with situations in the congregations that go beyond the things that have been written, the various branches are provided with a manual of guidelines for elders that call or write the service department when they are unable to resolve matters locally. The following are some examples taken from the table of contents of the most recent copy (2007) of Branch Correspondence Guidelines I have been able to obtain:
Alcoholic Beverages
Apostasy
Blood
Clothing and Grooming
Conduct With Opposite Sex (Single Persons)
Disassociation
Divorce
Employment
Firearms
Flag Salute and Anthems
Funerals
Gambling
Head Covering
Holidays and Anniversaries
Honor to Government Officials
Medical and Health Treatment
Membership in Various Organizations
Neutrality
Political Elections
Recreation
Religious (False) Involvement
Schools, Secular Education
Self-Defense
Tobacco (and Drugs)
Weddings
In the introduction to this publication it is stated:
“If the point about which there is a question has been specifically commented on in one of our publications in recent years, your answer should conform to what has been published. It is often helpful to refer the inquirer to the specific publication or publications that deal with the subject. This may make for shorter letters. Avoid being needlessly repetitious. Bear in mind that much of what is published on matters of conduct is to be viewed not as law but rather as mature Christian counsel. So it is not always necessary to think in terms of imposing sanctions if a person does not fully conform to the counsel given.”
The statement in bold is commendable, however, Witnesses are routinely admonished to be quick to comply when counsel is given, even when it is felt that it does not specifically apply to their situation. This is because they are trained to view the counsel as coming from Jehovah himself:
“But whether the issue is racial prejudice, materialism, social involvements at school and work, or the need to attend Christian meetings, we must be responsive to the direction provided through God’s Word and his organization. Never should we feel that valid Scriptural counsel is not applicable to us and ignore it. Recall that the unfaithful Israelites said: “The way of Jehovah is not adjusted right.” Is it not we who must adjust to Jehovah’s ways?—Ezekiel 18:25. (The Watchtower November 1, 1990 pg. 31)
In my experience it is very difficult for the recipient to prove that what is being offered is not valid Scriptural counsel. Furthermore, the measure of a person’s spirituality is often judged by how receptive he/she is to counsel. Although failure to fully conform may not result in judicial sanctions being applied it can, and often does, prevent one from receiving privileges in the congregation.
So when it comes to multiplying laws and organizing them into books how can the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society claim this is not something they themselves are guilty of?
Another trait that the Watchtower society considers an identifying mark of apostate Christianity is instilling in their members a distrust of outside material. How does the organization stand in this regard? This will be discussed in the next article.