Four quotes to start with: “All who want to understand the Bible should appreciate that the "greatly diversified wisdom of God" can become known only through Jehovah's channel of communication, the faithful and discreet slave.” Watchtower 10/1/1994 p. 8
From JR: See the word “only” there? The JW masters have stated that THEY – no one else – are the ONLY communicators of God's truth.
Why? Because THEY say so. Nothing more to it than that.
“Jehovah poured out his spirit upon them and assigned them the responsibility of serving as his sole visible channel, through whom alone spiritual instruction was to come. Those who recognize Jehovah's visible theocratic organization, therefore, must recognize and accept this appointment of the "faithful and discreet slave" and be submissive to it.” Watchtower 1967 October 1 p.590 - Finding Freedom with Jehovah's Visible Organization
From JR: Again, we have the statement by the JW masters that THEY are the ONLY ones who give right or true spiritual instruction. All others are wrong, false, apostate, and so on. They go on to say if anyone wants to know the truth, they "MUST" (that's a REQUIREMENT) recognize and accept their appointment and be submissive to them and whatever they write. Why? Because THEY say so. Nothing more.
JWs are directed to “….respond to the directions of the “slave” (the Watchtower Society) as we would to the voice of God, because it is His provision.” (Watchtower, June 15, 1957, p.370) From the October 1, 1967 Watchtower:
“Thus the Bible is an organizational book and belongs to the Christian congregation as an organization, not to individuals, regardless of how sincerely they may believe that they can interpret the Bible. For this reason the Bible CANNOT be properly understood without Jehovah’s visible organization in mind.”
From JR: In other words, it's not what the Bible says that has the final say in a person's life; it's what the JW masters SAY the Bible says that has the final say. This means that reading the Bible apart from the (GUFFAW!) “study materials” in the publications is not encouraged. You are simply not to read the Bible by itself – You HAVE to have the dictations of the JW masters in order to arrive at JW beliefs. It's required.
And here's the BIG quote that actually does say that JW are discouraged from reading the Bible on its own: "From time to time, there have arisen from among the ranks of Jehovah's people those, who, like the original Satan, have adopted an independent, faultfinding attitude...They say that it is sufficient to read the Bible exclusively (by itself), either alone or in small groups at home. But, strangely, through such 'Bible reading,' they have reverted right back to the apostate doctrines that commentaries by Christendom's clergy were teaching 100 years ago..." The Watchtower, Aug. 15, 1981.
From JR: Did you get that? If you read the Bible by itself, you will believe in the Deity of Christ (actually, you'll become a Trinitarian) because that is exactly what the Watchtower is referring to here when it says "apostate doctrines." In other words, IF YOU READ THE BIBLE ALONE BY ITSELF YOU WILL NOT ARRIVE AT WATCHTOWER DOCTRINES. This is an amazing admission by the Watchtower organization. It is clear that Jehovah's Witnesses do not get their teachings from the Bible, but from the dictations of the JW masters in the Watchtower literature.
From JR: See the word “only” there? The JW masters have stated that THEY – no one else – are the ONLY communicators of God's truth.
Why? Because THEY say so. Nothing more to it than that.
“Jehovah poured out his spirit upon them and assigned them the responsibility of serving as his sole visible channel, through whom alone spiritual instruction was to come. Those who recognize Jehovah's visible theocratic organization, therefore, must recognize and accept this appointment of the "faithful and discreet slave" and be submissive to it.” Watchtower 1967 October 1 p.590 - Finding Freedom with Jehovah's Visible Organization
From JR: Again, we have the statement by the JW masters that THEY are the ONLY ones who give right or true spiritual instruction. All others are wrong, false, apostate, and so on. They go on to say if anyone wants to know the truth, they "MUST" (that's a REQUIREMENT) recognize and accept their appointment and be submissive to them and whatever they write. Why? Because THEY say so. Nothing more.
JWs are directed to “….respond to the directions of the “slave” (the Watchtower Society) as we would to the voice of God, because it is His provision.” (Watchtower, June 15, 1957, p.370) From the October 1, 1967 Watchtower:
“Thus the Bible is an organizational book and belongs to the Christian congregation as an organization, not to individuals, regardless of how sincerely they may believe that they can interpret the Bible. For this reason the Bible CANNOT be properly understood without Jehovah’s visible organization in mind.”
From JR: In other words, it's not what the Bible says that has the final say in a person's life; it's what the JW masters SAY the Bible says that has the final say. This means that reading the Bible apart from the (GUFFAW!) “study materials” in the publications is not encouraged. You are simply not to read the Bible by itself – You HAVE to have the dictations of the JW masters in order to arrive at JW beliefs. It's required.
And here's the BIG quote that actually does say that JW are discouraged from reading the Bible on its own: "From time to time, there have arisen from among the ranks of Jehovah's people those, who, like the original Satan, have adopted an independent, faultfinding attitude...They say that it is sufficient to read the Bible exclusively (by itself), either alone or in small groups at home. But, strangely, through such 'Bible reading,' they have reverted right back to the apostate doctrines that commentaries by Christendom's clergy were teaching 100 years ago..." The Watchtower, Aug. 15, 1981.
From JR: Did you get that? If you read the Bible by itself, you will believe in the Deity of Christ (actually, you'll become a Trinitarian) because that is exactly what the Watchtower is referring to here when it says "apostate doctrines." In other words, IF YOU READ THE BIBLE ALONE BY ITSELF YOU WILL NOT ARRIVE AT WATCHTOWER DOCTRINES. This is an amazing admission by the Watchtower organization. It is clear that Jehovah's Witnesses do not get their teachings from the Bible, but from the dictations of the JW masters in the Watchtower literature.
