Updates listed at the bottom of the post. Last updated Mar 8 at 2:25 PM. FINAL EDIT with conclusion. Author's Note:   This post focusses on the actual context of the words and related symbolism, not on incidental peripheral concepts unimportant to its interpretation. Many of their opposers have criticized Jehovah's Witnesses on "the faithful and discreet slave." But let us examine the merits of our critics arguments on the verses in question. The method of discovery used here is proof by exhaustion, a tried and true method. But first, let us review the Scriptures and the stand of Jehovah's Witnesses. Source: “The Faithful and Discreet Slave” Jesus himself related the prophecy, saying: "Who really is the faithful steward, the discreet one, whom his master will appoint over his body of attendants [or "domestics"] to keep giving them their measure of food supplies at the proper time? Happy is that slave if his master on coming finds him doing so! I te...

You would likely agree that today it is popular to equate critical thinking with abandoning belief in God and/or religion. Hence some of our opposers claim that Jehovah's Witnesses do not employ critical thinking for the very reason that they are still Jehovah's Witnesses. Obviously, such ones do not understand what critical thinking is. Others claim that we prohibit critical thinking. Is this so? What Is Critical Thinking? The fact is, critical thinking has less to do with what conclusion one arrives at and more to do with how one arrives at said conclusions. A person could accept the Trinity because he was told to accept it, or simply because he was raised in that belief system by his parents. He may then justify his belief by seeking support for it. Does justifying one's beliefs make them a "critical thinker"? Critical thinking is best defined as: "the analysis of available facts, evidence, observations, and arguments to form a judgement," as per Wik...

Life happens from time to time, but you can help improve the Dismythed sites while you wait for posts. Over at Salvation vs., we have many posts that provide info-dumps on the Trinity, hellfire, the Mosaic Law and other information. It is a lot of information. You can help find errors in posts there or here at Dismythed or at JW Advisor. There may be grammatical errors, spelling errors or information that should be brought more in line with Jehovah's Witnesses publications. I do recall there were a couple of points that needed adjustment to be in line with the publications, but I don't remember which. Maybe you think something could be stated in a way that reflects better on Jehovah, or maybe you have a scripture that should be addressed. You do not have to be one of Jehovah's Witnesses to make a suggestion. Only erroneous comments, rude people or former Jehovah's Witnesses get rejected. If you are looking for an activity to fill downtime, feel free to help improve thes...

 A new post at JW Advisor discusses concerns over recent statements in the Watchtower study articles we discussed in the meetings the other month about obedience during the Great Tribulation. Unconfident: How Can I Rely On the Counsel of Flawed Men?

I had withheld writing about this because I thought it was obvious what our unchanging stand has been on this subject, but some have been negatively affected by false and misleading claims so much that it is listed among the major claims against us by sociologists. (Perhaps, as psychologists, they take the accusation personally.) Disgruntled former members claim that Jehovah's Witnesses used to prohibit consulting a psychiatrist. This claim originated with a former member, a psychiatrist who used to treat Jehovah's Witnesses. After leaving the way, he claimed that we had a higher number of those with mental disorders than the general populace. (I addressed this claim in another post .) Obviously the claim was bogus. Being a JW at the time while treating JW's, of course he had a larger number of JW clients than non-JW clients because they trusted him to do their treatment over anyone from the world. (A trust which he ultimately betrayed.) Thus he got taken by data bias. He c...