Today, which is March 20th, 2014, it was announced on CNN that Fred Phelps has died.
I don't expect you kids to know who Fred Phelps was and I truly do hope that the Westboro Baptist Church disbands in which as of now you kids, upon reading this will have no idea who they are.
Fred Phelps was the founder of a radical sect of Christianity out of Topeka, Kansas. They were really small and inconsequential, but due to their fanatical approach to their beliefs, they became a spotlight for media coverage.
The parishioners of this little Church would regularly picket funerals, concerts and events to spread their messages of God divine judgement. Below is an example of these pickets:
While I do understand that the Bible may condemn homosexuality - Does that spiritual conviction really justify this kind of hate? Many people would say no, and these pickets generated much outrage even among the Christian community.
Fred Phelps was described as the most hated man in America due to his extremist teachings.
Was he wrong? Is his message wrong? Or just his approach?
These events have been on my mind today. Last year, there was a District Assembly which had a symposium dedicated to remaining loyal to Jehovah. One talk entitled: "Human Apostates" went as far as to aggressively attack people who no longer wanted any part of "God's Organization." by labeling them as Apostates and mentally diseased.
Honestly, this made me angry.
Apparently, according to the doctrine they teach my family; I am bitter, I am angry, I am mentally diseased and I am a liar. Now, normally I wouldn't care what they think, but since my family does hear this kind of fearful and hateful speech, I do keep an eye out for it.
Basically kids, I didn't want to be one of those children in the picture above. I didn't believe in the faith any longer and so I walked away peacefully. Does that make me a bad person like the Organization likes to paint?
The answer is no.
Here's a copy of the word-for-word outline from that Assembly. Please don't be like the Westboro Baptist Church and let hate define your sense of right and wrong.
Beware of Human Apostates
You cannot be partaking at the table of Jehovah and the
table of demons. These inspired words of
the apostle Paul, found at 1 Corinthians 10:21, show that two figurative tables
are set before us. For the last
day-and-a-half, you have been partaking at the table of Jehovah, and haven’t
you found it to be good? (applause) Jehovah uses human representatives, the
faithful and appointed elders, to dispense truths for those eating at his
table.
The apostate Satan disseminates falsehoods in a similar
way. He mimics Jehovah by using human
representatives. Who are they? If Satan and his demons are chefs in this
evil kitchen, then human apostates are his helpers. Wicked humans imitate the original apostate,
Satan. Like Satan, human apostates are
unruly men, who cook up wicked reasoning, and season their brew with poisonous
lies that deceive minds. Human apostates
have sat at the table of Jehovah. At Jehovah’s
table, they enjoyed a table of well-oiled dishes, a banquet of wine kept on the
grapes. They were domestics. Part of the household of faith, and partook
of Bible truths, prepared and dispensed by the faithful steward, the Governing
Body. But, they pushed away from the
table of Jehovah. Their preference is to
partake of falsehoods at the table of demons.
This action of pushing themselves away from the table of Jehovah is
described for us at 1 John 2:19.
(Scripture read)
Apostates do not drift away from the truth. They deliberately decide to go out from among
God’s people, because they are not our sort.
Human apostates are part of the see of the serpent, spoken of in Genesis
3:15. If we wish to please Jehovah, we
cannot sit at his table and, at the same time, be nibbling at the table of
demons, eating from the hands of Satan’s helpers, human apostates.
So, for the next few minutes, we are going to discuss how to
identify human apostates, and what you must do to protect yourself from the
poison of apostasy. Let’s first discuss
how to identify human apostates.
Apostasy often starts with prideful rejection of counsel, and escalates
into bitterness and jealousy. Because
apostates allow bitterness to take root in their heart, they become defiant of,
and false to, the truth. How does this
defiance of the truth manifest itself?
The actions of apostates bear three characteristics. These characteristics help us identify human
apostates.
The first identifying mark of human apostates is commented
on at Luke 6:46 (Scripture read)
Apostates profess to be followers of Jesus, but are not obedient to his
commands. A recent example of when this
happened was in the mid-70’s, when some prominent elders, some who even served
at Bethel, felt it was below their dignity to witness from house to house,
proclaiming the message as commanded by Jesus.
They urged others to take it easy, because the humble work of witnessing
from house to house was not necessary or unscriptural. The Governing Body expelled the unrepentant
apostates from the organization. The
faithful slave did not allow the efforts of these apostates to distract it from
the primary work of Jehovah’s Witnesses, proclaiming God’s word of truth. So, the first characteristic we can use to
identify human apostates is that they reject God’s service. Many bock at Jesus’ command to go and make
disciples.
A second characteristic that identifies human apostates is
commented on at Acts 20:30. (Scripture read)
What is it that apostates want?
Most are not content to simply leave the faith they once viewed as
true. They want to take others with
them. Rather than going out and making
their own disciples, many apostates seek to draw away Christ’s disciples after
themselves. Like a kidnapper who carries
an unsuspecting victim away from his family, apostates prey upon trusting
members of the congregation, seeking to carry them away from the flock. In addition, they seek to cause divisions in
the congregation. To accomplish their
goal of drawing away disciples after themselves or dividing the congregation,
apostates may use smooth talk on the internet, on television, or through
letters to loyal witnesses of Jehovah.
So, a second characteristic that identifies human apostates is that they
seek to draw away Christ’s disciples after themselves and cause divisions.
A third characteristic manifested by human apostates is they
claim to serve Jehovah, yet they reject his representatives. (3 John 9-10 read) Apostates claim to serve God, but reject his
representatives. They lie to
authorities. Through the media, they
seek to discredit Jehovah’s people, and incite bans of our work. For instance, in one country, a news report
instigated by apostates, falsely stated that Jehovah’s Witnesses supported
Hitler’s regime during World War II. In
other countries, apostates used the media to accuse Jehovah’s Witnesses of
refusing to give medical treatment to their children, and of deliberately
condoning serious sins committed by fellow believers. So, a third characteristic that identifies
human apostates, is that they reject and try to discredit Jehovah’s representatives
here on Earth.
Now that we know how to identify human apostates, what must
we do to protect ourselves from the poison of apostasy? (Romans 16:17 read)
Suppose a doctor told you to avoid contact with someone who
was infected with a contagious, deadly disease.
Would you reason that limited contact is okay? Similarly, human apostates are mentally
diseased, and they try to infect others with their disloyal teachings. Jehovah, the great physician, tells us to
avoid contact with them.
What is involved in avoiding apostates? (2 John 10-11 read) Avoiding apostates means
we will not allow them in our homes, reading their literature, watching TV
programs that feature them, examining their websites, or adding comments to
their blogs. Why do we take such a firm
stand? We do not want to become sharers
in their wicked works. We love the God
of Truth. We are not interested in
twisted teachings that contradict God’s word of truth.
We love Jehovah’s organization, the organization that taught
us thrilling truths. Truths about
Jehovah’s name and its meaning. God’s
purpose for the Earth. The condition of
the dead, and the hope of the resurrection.
Can you recall how you felt when you first learned these and other
precious truths? Why then allow yourself
to be sour, poisoned by anyone who would belittle the organization through
which you learned these truths?
Does avoiding apostates imply that our faith is not strong
enough to discern truth from falsehood?
That our faith is not strong enough to discuss different views? Not at all.
In our ministry, we discuss with those who have different views. Apostates differ from those we meet in our
ministry. Apostates are not sincere in
their expressions. Their aim is to
manipulate your mind, and undermine your faith.
(Psalm 12:2 read) With good
reason, the Bible then tells us to avoid apostates, just as we would avoid a
person who was infected with a deadly contagious disease. (1 John 2:18-19 read)
Because they oppose the truth, apostates are part of the
Anti-Christ. They are liars and
deceivers, out to destroy your relationship with Jehovah God and his son,
Christ Jesus. Therefore, we want to
avoid them, for they are not of our sort. (Deuteronomy 32:46-47 read)
Heeding his inspired warnings means our very life. How thankful we are for divine warnings
against apostasy. May we show our
appreciation, by walking in God’s word of truth. May we stay busy in the work Jesus assigned
us to do: sharing God’s word of truth
with others. By doing so, you will forever
enjoy Jehovah’s divine seal of approval.
