Why Do Jehovah's Witnesses
Seek "New Light" if They Already
Have the Truth? [Revised]
Except for a handful of slip-ups up to 1995, "New light" is a term not generally used in Jehovah's Witness literature since the 1950's, because it is not accurate. The current editing process since the 90's prevents the article writers from making that mistake. However, the source of the term "new light" comes from the common colloquialism "to shed [or cast] new light on" or present something "in a new light". The term currently used in our literature is actually "increased light", in line with the scripture that says, "So we have the prophetic word made more sure, and you are doing well in paying attention to it as to a lamp shining in a dark place (until day dawns and a daystar rises) in your hearts," and "the path of the righteous ones is like the bright light that is getting lighter and lighter until the day is firmly established." (2 Peter 1:19; Proverbs 4:18; compare with Daniel 12:4 and John 16:13) This clearly indicates a gradual process rather than a sudden revelation. Certainly, "increased light" isn't that easy of a term to recall in conversation, and it is not as dramatic as "new light", but it is the term we are supposed to use.
The fact that Jehovah's Witnesses seek greater understanding should be of comfort to people, because we are not afraid to admit that we are human and "those taking the lead among [us]" are born into sin and therefore imperfect. (Romans 3:23; Hebrews 13:7) But I suppose that people do not want to know that those who are taking the lead among them are fallible. They want to believe that their leaders are infallible. They want to believe that everything they believe is 100% accurate. The problem is, with humans in charge, that is impossible at this time.
It is, in fact, the height of arrogance for any human or human organization to state or imply that they are infallible.
While those details are coming clear, we may have a misunderstanding about the bigger picture, such as when looking down a road in the distance on a hot day, leading to your house. The distortions and mirages of evaporating water causes you not to be able to discern details clearly. As a person walks closer to you, you may think at first that it is a dog walking in the distance. But as they come closer, we see that it is in fact a person wearing a brownish-red shirt, and may think, "Oh that's Jorge's favorite color, it must be him." What details did we have correct to start? It's a living thing and it is walking, but then you perceived the details of form and color. But then they come closer and you realize that their walking gate is feminine and they have long hair. As they draw closer, you speculate, "It's got to be Veronica", then "It's Teresa!", but finally, you figure out that you do not know the woman in the brownish-red business suit and figure out that there are details that only the woman can tell you. Regardless of what those details are, you went through a lot of guesses about who or what she was. The details of a living human woman wearing a brownish-red business suit are all correct, but you did not see many of those details right away, but had to wait until they became clear. Other times, you may figure out who it is at a distance and even understand why they are there before they ever reach you. Point being that if you stay on the watch, you will not be caught off guard or miss anything important. (Mark 13:28-37; compare Matthew 25:1-13)
In "guiding" us, the spirit does not give us information we would not otherwise find. Why? Because Christians today have not been granted the privilege of the gifts of prophecy or knowledge, nor in receiving a visit from Jesus or the angels. (1 Corinthians 13:8-12) The knowledge must be accessible to us, but the spirit still needs us to uncover the specific details. In the meantime, we must continue to focus and to make an effort to understand, or else we may be found to be sleeping when the Son of Man comes to destroy Satan's system. (Mark 13:32-37)
The Scriptures themselves say that we should continually search after truth, (Proverbs 4:18) so it is a fallacy to claim that one already has the whole of the truth without error. Peter himself recognized, humbly, that there was room to learn when he said: "Consequently WE have the prophetic word [made] MORE SURE...For you all know this first, that NO PROPHECY OF SCRIPTURE SPRINGS FROM ANY PRIVATE INTERPRETATION. For PROPHECY WAS AT NO TIME BROUGHT FROM MAN'S WILL, but men spoke from God as they were borne along by holy spirit." (2 Peter 1:19-21)
Really, though, how many different organizations can be infallible if they have directly conflicting doctrines with each other? Obviously, they can't all be right. In fact, only one can be right, and not even that is likely. But there can be just one who is chosen by God, just as God only ever used one organization up to the death of the apostle John.
So for any religious organization to claim they are infallible is first lacking humility and is second refusing to recognize their need for the ransom provision of Jesus Christ, which would automatically disqualify them to receive Jehovah's spirit. (1 John 2:2; Hebrews 7:11; James 4:6) We are imperfect and we cannot understand God's word perfectly nor administer it perfectly until we have been made mentally and spiritually perfect and God chooses to reveal all things to us. But not even Jesus, the second person in the universe, knew all things. (Mark 13:32) Jesus said in prayer to his Father: "I publicly praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have carefully hidden these things from wise and intellectual ones, and have revealed them to babes." (Luke 10:21) If those to whom he is revealing those things are babes, then they are not adults, and are thus still learning. Indeed, Jesus again said: "Therefore, whoever will humble himself like this young child is the one that is the greatest in the kingdom of the heavens; and whoever receives one such young child on the basis of my name receives me [also]." (Matthew 18:4-5)
Think about it. Can God's organization (whichever you believe that to be) know everything? (Matthew 24:36) Should they not seek greater understanding of God's word? (Daniel 12:4) When the disciples began their preaching work in the first century, did they have the whole canon of Scriptures we have today? Of course not. It was revealed to them over time, and which they wrote down. (Acts 15:6-23) But then the truth became muddled by apostate Babylonish teachings after "he that [was] acting as a restraint [got] to be taken out of the way," (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12) who turned out to be the last remaining apostle, John; when he died, the truth became suppressed by "the church". (1 Timothy 4:1-5; 2 Timothy 4:3-5; Romans 1:18-32) So there was a need to slowly uncover the truth once again. With all these organizations in the world calling themselves the true Christian organization, it is certainly not any that claims to be infallible or never seeks to adjust its teachings to more closely conform to the Scriptures.
The fact that Jehovah's Witnesses seek greater understanding should be of comfort to people, because we are not afraid to admit that we are human and "those taking the lead among [us]" are born into sin and therefore imperfect. (Romans 3:23; Hebrews 13:7) But I suppose that people do not want to know that those who are taking the lead among them are fallible. They want to believe that their leaders are infallible. They want to believe that everything they believe is 100% accurate. The problem is, with humans in charge, that is impossible at this time.
It is, in fact, the height of arrogance for any human or human organization to state or imply that they are infallible.
"Now We See in Hazy Outline...Then it Will Be Face-to-face."
In order to find that truth, one has to study and attempt to draw conclusions. Those conclusions cannot be assumed to be infallible. We must seek to answer hard questions and yes the organization has often been wrong in the past, and yes there continue to be adjustments in understanding, sometimes multiple times on the same subject. That is the process it takes to get at the truth, because we figure out one thing at a time, but often something like the wheat and the weeds, the separating of sheep and goats and who are "the faithful and discreet slave" are made up of many smaller details. It is those details we come to understand more and more of, which adjusts are understanding of the bigger picture. As we come to understand the true meaning of those details, we do not change our understanding of the details later, but we may get clearer understanding on other details that we may have missed or that have received a new understanding due to understanding something else more clearly.While those details are coming clear, we may have a misunderstanding about the bigger picture, such as when looking down a road in the distance on a hot day, leading to your house. The distortions and mirages of evaporating water causes you not to be able to discern details clearly. As a person walks closer to you, you may think at first that it is a dog walking in the distance. But as they come closer, we see that it is in fact a person wearing a brownish-red shirt, and may think, "Oh that's Jorge's favorite color, it must be him." What details did we have correct to start? It's a living thing and it is walking, but then you perceived the details of form and color. But then they come closer and you realize that their walking gate is feminine and they have long hair. As they draw closer, you speculate, "It's got to be Veronica", then "It's Teresa!", but finally, you figure out that you do not know the woman in the brownish-red business suit and figure out that there are details that only the woman can tell you. Regardless of what those details are, you went through a lot of guesses about who or what she was. The details of a living human woman wearing a brownish-red business suit are all correct, but you did not see many of those details right away, but had to wait until they became clear. Other times, you may figure out who it is at a distance and even understand why they are there before they ever reach you. Point being that if you stay on the watch, you will not be caught off guard or miss anything important. (Mark 13:28-37; compare Matthew 25:1-13)
In "guiding" us, the spirit does not give us information we would not otherwise find. Why? Because Christians today have not been granted the privilege of the gifts of prophecy or knowledge, nor in receiving a visit from Jesus or the angels. (1 Corinthians 13:8-12) The knowledge must be accessible to us, but the spirit still needs us to uncover the specific details. In the meantime, we must continue to focus and to make an effort to understand, or else we may be found to be sleeping when the Son of Man comes to destroy Satan's system. (Mark 13:32-37)
Humbly Seeking Truth
It comforts me that improved understanding is sought for the very reason that I know the leadership are all humans trying their best to understand God's word. But in all other organizations, the leadership claims to be infallible, which only scares me. They are humans. It is not possible for them to be infallible.The Scriptures themselves say that we should continually search after truth, (Proverbs 4:18) so it is a fallacy to claim that one already has the whole of the truth without error. Peter himself recognized, humbly, that there was room to learn when he said: "Consequently WE have the prophetic word [made] MORE SURE...For you all know this first, that NO PROPHECY OF SCRIPTURE SPRINGS FROM ANY PRIVATE INTERPRETATION. For PROPHECY WAS AT NO TIME BROUGHT FROM MAN'S WILL, but men spoke from God as they were borne along by holy spirit." (2 Peter 1:19-21)
Really, though, how many different organizations can be infallible if they have directly conflicting doctrines with each other? Obviously, they can't all be right. In fact, only one can be right, and not even that is likely. But there can be just one who is chosen by God, just as God only ever used one organization up to the death of the apostle John.
So for any religious organization to claim they are infallible is first lacking humility and is second refusing to recognize their need for the ransom provision of Jesus Christ, which would automatically disqualify them to receive Jehovah's spirit. (1 John 2:2; Hebrews 7:11; James 4:6) We are imperfect and we cannot understand God's word perfectly nor administer it perfectly until we have been made mentally and spiritually perfect and God chooses to reveal all things to us. But not even Jesus, the second person in the universe, knew all things. (Mark 13:32) Jesus said in prayer to his Father: "I publicly praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have carefully hidden these things from wise and intellectual ones, and have revealed them to babes." (Luke 10:21) If those to whom he is revealing those things are babes, then they are not adults, and are thus still learning. Indeed, Jesus again said: "Therefore, whoever will humble himself like this young child is the one that is the greatest in the kingdom of the heavens; and whoever receives one such young child on the basis of my name receives me [also]." (Matthew 18:4-5)
Think about it. Can God's organization (whichever you believe that to be) know everything? (Matthew 24:36) Should they not seek greater understanding of God's word? (Daniel 12:4) When the disciples began their preaching work in the first century, did they have the whole canon of Scriptures we have today? Of course not. It was revealed to them over time, and which they wrote down. (Acts 15:6-23) But then the truth became muddled by apostate Babylonish teachings after "he that [was] acting as a restraint [got] to be taken out of the way," (2 Thessalonians 2:1-12) who turned out to be the last remaining apostle, John; when he died, the truth became suppressed by "the church". (1 Timothy 4:1-5; 2 Timothy 4:3-5; Romans 1:18-32) So there was a need to slowly uncover the truth once again. With all these organizations in the world calling themselves the true Christian organization, it is certainly not any that claims to be infallible or never seeks to adjust its teachings to more closely conform to the Scriptures.
Comments
Regular exposure to material from apostates and opposers can cause a subtle disease of mind, even if you never agree with it. Eventually the mindset rubs off and one begins to look for fault within the organization, and suddenly, instead of refuting accusations, they end up looking for support to the accusations. With being so new to the truth, you should be looking to bolster your faith through reliance on Jehovah and service to him through the ministry, helping people come to know about our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. On the other hand, research to refute challenges has little spiritual value. I recommend that you become sure in your faith, knowing once for all time, without any further question, that this is Jehovah's organization headed by Jesus Christ and his "faithful and discreet slave", and then you will have the spiritual qualification to speak in defense of the organization by a book.
Not everyone has been "once for all been enlightened." I myself have been, and I know with such absolute certainty that this is Jehovah's organization that I will not be swayed by anything. The only threat to my faith is my own failure to maintain it. But what got me here was not refuting the lies of Christendom and apostates about the organization, but through my absolute reliance upon Jehovah and Jesus Christ and the answering of my prayers to the extent that they can be neither refuted nor repealed in my mind.
As for the question I excised from your post, I am lacking reference, and therefore lacking context. Due to its being out of context and its questionable nature and unknown source, I cannot permit it to be quoted here. Your statement said that it was a statement made to Bethel members. How am I or anyone else supposed to check that and even so, an impromptu statement made in front of the Bethel family in 1980 would not have gone through the rigorous process of editing that Watchtower articles go through since 1994.
But understand that I have trained myself extensively in critical thinking. I analyze each and every statement as either "true" or "false" according to my own research in the publications and other areas.
Usually the mistakes that don't get caught have to do with one of two things: 1) Understanding of something in the world, or 2) an opinion of the speaker that is not advanced by the publications.
So these aren't really things most elders would care to correct unless they are dangerous to the spiritual welfare of the congregation. If elders spoke up for every one of these little mistakes, it would become tedious, so elders focus only on correcting information that is of a doctrinal or spiritual nature, and rightfully so.
Thus, no need to worry, I was not criticizing the integrity of the organization's speakers, but only highlighting the human tendency to get some things wrong and to inject one's own feelings into a talk. We're not perfect. We err frequently. That's why we need the salvation through Jesus Christ.
One mistake is to think that the English word under each Greek word is the 'literal' meaning of the Greek word. In actual fact, the English word is a 'gloss' that often, but not always, is the basic meaning of the Greek term. Greek is a tricky language and to get the real meaning of a term requires a decent lexicon, an understanding of the grammatical form of the word and an understanding of how Greek words are affected by the grammar - no easy task.
The 'worst' mistake I have heard is when someone looked at a Greek word, transliterated it into English and thought it sounded like an English word and so defined the Greek word in terms of that English word. He actually got the transliteration wrong but it is usually a mistake to define a word by one of its cognates, especially when that cognate is centuries younger than the original word...
Andy
I invite you to challenge anything you find on the following page:
http://dismythed.blogspot.com/2009/01/three-are-not-greater-than-one_06.html
You might also consider my series on identifying dangerous cults.
There's no posturing here. Just truth.
CT Russell, on the other hand, never assumed these titles, never wanted them. In fact, he issued statements distancing himself from such titles/praise:
"We have not the gift of prophecy" - Zion's Watch Tower - January 1883 p 425
"Nor would we have our writings reverenced or regarded as infallible, or on par with the Holy Scriptures" - Zion's WT and the Herald of Christ's presence" - Dec 15. 1896.
On par with this, the Governing Body has also make similar statements:
"It is not claimed that the explanations in this publication are infallible". - Revelation Book, 1988 P 9.
"Although the slave class is identified as the "faithful and discreet slave", Jesus did not say they would be infallible...they can be mistaken, as such men sometimes were in the first century" - Watchtower, December 1 2002. P 17.
I am sure that the Witnesses reading this post are familiar with these or perhaps similar statements, and I'm posting this just to support CJ's wonderful explanation as to why "increasing light" is needed even though we believe this is God's organization.
By the Governing Body recognizing this, they're instilling confidence in the members of the organization that (1) we're open to adjustments when they are clearly warranted, and (2), we are humble enough to actually make those adjustments without the excuse that "God just told us to".
Brother A.H Macmillan said that even though we make adjustments where needed, the clear Biblical teachings will remain the same, namely, no immortality of the soul, no Hellfire, and no Godhead or Trinity. These are foundational, and thus, we build from them.
As CJ said, this should be a tremendous comfort to people. This indicates that the Governing Body is continually questioning their conclusions, checking the Scriptures to see how closely we are or are not aligned to them, and discussing the direction in which the organization is going.
This process clearly identifies and corrects errors, and this is what I find to be an attractive quality.
But some understandably object: "Well, if you have the truth, then it should never change". When we say we have the "truth", we are not saying that every sentence printed in the Watchtower Magazine is factual, we're speaking of the overall body of beliefs. If someone says that that they have "great parents", they're not saying that everything their parents have done has been "great", or has always been beneficial -- they're referring to the total scope of the parenting they received.
This is what we mean by having the "truth".
The Bible is a book of change based on circumstances. Moses had a practice different from that of Noah, and Christians have one different from that of Moses. Does this mean God wasn't with them and not causing these changes?
Interesting discussion that increased my knowledge.
Read John 21:21-23. Being wrong about something does not necessitate being wrong about all things. A religion not willing to make course corrections is not worth its salt, nor are they humble, and therefore cannot be trusted.
http://dismythed.blogspot.com/2013/07/waiting-on-jehovah.html