Bridge of Reason

James tells us that, "All kinds of animals, birds, reptiles and creatures of the sea are being tamed and have been tamed by man, but no man can tame the tonugue". I have particular cause for thinking of these words this week because I just can't get my tongue out of my cheek. You see, inspired by the astonishingly convincing efforts of the Mormon Church to control even the way people talk about them behind their backs by publishing a style guide, we at Reachout Trust have produce one of our own. The original Mormon style guide can be found here http://newsroom.lds.org/ldsnewsroom/eng/style-guide Here is our very own:. Reachout Trust Style Guide The official name of Reachout Trust is” Reachout Trust”, or “The Reachout Trust”. This name was devised to reflect the aim of the trust, which is to “Reach Out” with the Good News of Jesus Christ to people in the cults. The clue is right there in the name. While the Trust is sometimes referred to as “anti” something or other, e.g. ...

The Watchtower Society make a number of damming statements concerning Christendom and the error of their ways as well as some strong statements about their own beliefs. However, they don't always apply the same standards to all their teachings of the Society. We just want to take a minute of your time to look at some very important issues. For instance the Society makes a lot of fuss over the pagan roots of Christmas and Easter but according to the following quote shouldn't’t they make the same fuss over baptism? The practice of baptism, however, predates the Christian faith. It was employed in Babylonia and in ancient Egypt, where the cold waters of the Nile were thought to bestow immortality. The Greeks also believed that baptism could bring regeneration or could procure immortality for the initiate. - The Watchtower, 1 April 1993, p.4. In mid 1990 the Society wrote the following: Jesus warned his disciples not to speculate . . . Thus, the Bible is no supporter of any growing...

The Sixteenth president of the Mormon Church, Thomas S Monson, has been sustained as prophet, seer and revelator and now heads the, nominally 13 million strong church. He has issued the traditional invitation to “the less active, the offended, the critical, the transgressor” to come back and “feast at the table of the Lord and taste again the sweet and satisfying fruits of fellowship with the Saints.” In a series of emotional addresses to world-wide Mormonism other church leaders, in the 178th General Conference of the Mormon Church, have given their thoughts and endorsements, explaining again how everyone can know “in their hearts” the truth of the work in which they are engaged. It is rather like a meeting of the Old Russian politburo in which every member of the leadership, no matter how he feels about the present incumbent, is anxious to endorse the system which has elevated him and may elevate him further – provided he lives long enough. And, by endorsing the system that has se...

The Generation Game Even a dcade later, I still think that Proverbs 13:12 must have come to the mind of a number of Jehovah’s Witnesses as they studied The Watchtower’s from 15 October to 15 November 1995. It says, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick"; and as ‘the generation’ had changed again the long time Witness must have been feeling at least a little off colour." The generation we are referring to is the one in Matthew 24 that would see the end of this world, as we know it or in Watchtower language, ‘this system of things.’ Over the years the generation that would be alive when God set up His Kingdom on earth has changed as follows: “Jesus was obviously speaking about those who were old enough to witness with understanding what took place when the ‘last days’ began.” - Awake!, 8 October 1968, p.13. “Thus, when it comes to the application in our time, the ‘generation’ logically would not apply to babies born during World War I. It applies to Christ’s followers and...