Aunty Jane
It was a very long time ago and my conclusions were not just defined from my encounters with this member of my husbands family. Right from an early start in my Christian life I tested things - his words impacted me , so it sparked a questioning time.
Our communications spanned many years and
It ultimately led me to ‘ look into ‘ things for myself.
Not a bad thing to “look into” whatever questions you want answered.....right? That is what led me out of Christendom and into the Bible for my answers. My questions were deep and the church never had answers to them....only excuses for not having them.
Apparently they had excuses for everything that they were
not doing and even for the things that they
were doing that were contrary to Jesus’ teachings.
e.g. I wanted to know why the church was hand in glove with the political system and it’s wars and bloodshed, since Jesus and his apostles taught otherwise. (Matthew 5:43-44; 2 Corinthians 10:3-5; Romans 12:17-21)
I wanted to know why the church did not send out disciples to preach like Jesus did....taking the message out to the people rather than waiting for the people to come to them? (Matthew 10:11-14; Acts 20:20 Matthew 28:19-20)
I wanted to know why there was such an inordinate emphasis on money, when Jesus said “you received free, give free”.....nothing was free in my church. You had to pay the minister for baptisms, weddings or funerals and the plate was passed twice so that the minister could live off the congregations donations. Everything he had was paid for by the congregation...his house, his car, all his bills...even his lawns were mowed by some willing volunteer. Yet we never even had a personal visit from him.
It was a known fact that we were we celebrating pagan holidays along with their pagan customs, but somehow it didn’t matter as long as we were putting a thin veneer of Christianity over them so that no one thought to question why Christendom had no holidays (holy days) of their own.....every single one was based on things that had nothing to do with the worship of the true God...and everything to do with the worship of false gods. (2 Corinthians 6:14-18) All I got was justification.
When Jesus established the Christian congregation, which eventually separated from Judaism, God showed the Jewish people that his favour had shifted from that corrupt religious system to a small band of Christ’s disciples who came to know the truth of Jesus’ teachings in their heart.....not of their own will, but because God “drew” them to it. (John 6:44, 65) God chooses us as much as we choose him. Those who are not afraid to separate from a majority held view to an inconvenient truth....and the ostracism that was bound to come from agents of the devil, masquerading as God’s servants. (John 15:18-21, Matthew 23:13-15)
I had no idea how indoctrinated I was until I started to study the Bible for myself. It exposed Christendom for what she really was...a disunited rabble who cannot agree on anything...hopelessly divided and slaves to the traditions of men, just as the Pharisees were. Christianity was to become a global brotherhood, united by Christ’s teachings in peace and love....do you see Christendom like that?
As part of his prophesy on the end times, Jesus said....
“And this good news of the Kingdom will be preached in all the inhabited earth for a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” (Matthew 24:14)
Do you see the churches preaching about God’s kingdom? When I ask people what God’s Kingdom is....all I hear is crickets....
Because Christendom is clueless about the kingdom, they cannot preach about it....and this, despite parroting off the Lord’s Prayer every week in their churches. How do you pray that prayer which is a request for God’s Kingdom to “come” if you cannot explain what it means?
This is what Russell did, he saw massive discrepancies in Christendom’s teachings but he was not alone. He found others who were just as curious as he was about so many things in the scriptures that did not gel with what Christendom taught. And yes he found that the Adventist’s were onto something which prompted him to do a lot of research. His Bible knowledge made him an excellent debater....and he took on many a clergyman and wiped the floor with them.....they hated him with a passion. Jesus said that was to be expected. (John 15:18-19)
Russell is not the “founder” of Jehovah’s Witnesses....he was the spokesman and he had the personal circumstances at the time to promote the truths that his group were exposing. They started to publish the Watchtower magazine, which has continued to this day exposing the false doctrines of Christendom, and promoting the truth about God’s Kingdom. Many people responded to what they heard, because the truth “sets you free”. You don’t even know how shackled you are to Christendom’s beliefs until you break the chains.
There is no trinity....there is no immortal soul....there is no heaven or hell as opposite destination for good and bad people....there is no truth in Christendom’s churches because she is a product of the devil....the “weeds” of Jesus’ parable....an awful counterfeit with blood on its hands. (Isaiah 1:15) The deceiver “masquerades as an angel of light” so unless you know what you believe and why you believe it, he can steal your heart with what appeals. It’s what he has done from the beginning.
So if God is the one who chooses us, and Jesus said that “few” are on the cramped and narrow road to life (Matthew 7:13-14)....what is that telling you? Will any of us know know until the judgment whether we have the qualities that God is looking for in the citizens he allows into his kingdom? A label doesn’t mean much, but unity and peace certainly do. (2 Peter 3:11-14)