Bridge of Reason

  I recently spent a day in London as a tourist. I had come down to spend time with my son who works in London and lives just inside the M25 ring. During the day I had the opportunity to interact with a number of Jehovah’s Witness teams on their carts. The conversations went much like I expected, having had many such conversations, but there were a few points that stood out for me. The first team I noticed were outside the tube station in Theydon Bois where my son lives. This was at 7:30am, just as the morning commuter rush hour was getting going. This cart couple were well dressed, as always, and made no attempt to interact with us as we passed, as always. My immediate thought was why were they there at that time and place bearing in mind that no one had the time to stop and chat at that point in their days?  I think the most likely reason was that they didn’t expect anyone to  stop, which was the whole point of choosing that time and place. Many former-Jehovah...

  The above title comes from a jw.org article as an answer to one of their Frequently Asked Questions .   This is of particular interest around this time as they have just celebrated their annual memorial of Christ’s death.   I have to say, for full disclosure, that I have never attended one of these memorial meals despite having been invited several times.   I just don’t think I could manage to bite my tongue hard enough not to respond to the talks being made.   However, I have read and listened to a number of accounts from non-Jehovah’s Witnesses who have attended, some repeatedly over many years.   The Memorial Meal , as Jehovah’s Witnesses refer to their version of communion, only takes place once a year and is always regarded as a very special event.   As they do not celebrate any other event, such as Easter, Christmas, birthdays, Pentecost, and so forth, they do make a big thing of it. Potentially millions of invites are handed out around the...

  The Watch Tower Society writes: 'Each year, anointed ones look forward to attending the Memorial as partakers. Why do they appropriately partake of the bread and the wine? To answer that, consider what happened on the final night of Jesus’ earthly life. After the Passover meal, Jesus instituted what has come to be known as the Lord’s Evening Meal. He passed the bread and the wine to his 11 faithful apostles and told them to eat and drink. Jesus spoke to them about two covenants, or agreements the new covenant and the Kingdom covenant. * (Luke 22:19, 20, 28-30) These covenants opened up the way for those apostles and a limited number of others to become kings and priests in heaven. (Rev. 5:10; 14:1) Only the anointed remnant, * who are in these two covenants, may partake of the bread and the wine at the Memorial.' ( Study Watchtower for January 2022 ) Did Jesus introduce one new covenant or two? Is there a second 'Kingdom Covenant,' also available only to the '...

After convincing those listening that they only have an earthly hope, the brother announced the third question: Who partake of the bread and the wine? There is no doubt in my mind that what was taught here is thoroughly anti-Christian. Not only is it foreign to the Word of God, to the early church and to Christians for the past 2000 years, it has huge implications for those who, like the Jehovah’s Witnesses, claim to be Christian. From their founding in the 1870’s through to 1935, the then named ‘Bible Students’ had no problem partaking of the memorial meal. They believed that the Bible taught them that they should. So, what changed? New Light The story is told of a young man who was one of the first to hear of the change: As was true of all Bible Students back then, this sincere young man partook of the bread and the wine each year at the Lord’s Evening Meal. However, his entire outlook on life was changed by a history-making talk entitled “The Great Multitude.” That talk ...

  I was completely unaware. There appeared no reason for me to be concerned. The two softly spoken, well dressed and extremely friendly people opened their bibles and, showing me various verses, they told me what the future held for me. They said that my recently deceased mother, though not a Jehovah’s Witness, will be resurrected to the earth and given a second chance. When I asked if I would see her again, they offered me three potential scenarios: 1)   If I died before Armageddon - God’s coming judgement which was to happen very soon - I may also be given a second chance and be reunited with my mum. 2)   If Armageddon comes whilst I am still alive, they told me this was very possible, I will probably be annihilated. 3)   If I became a loyal and obedient follower of Jehovah, I could survive Armageddon and be reunited with my mother. We can then join the great crowd who are tasked with restoring earth to its paradisical beginnings. So, I bought the suit an...