'The Question' JW’s cannot answer!

I have recently had several conversations with JW’s via email that eventually gets to the Question JW’s cannot answer. It generally starts with me asking this question.

“Is the WT a false prophet”? I have written at length about this here and here and here. I usually share this quote made in 1918:

"Therefore we may confidently expect that 1925 will mark the return of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and the faithful prophets of old, particularly those named by the Apostle in Hebrews 11, to the condition of human perfection." Millions Now Living Will Never Die, page 89.

The WT so believed the above prediction that they built a home in San Diego, a home for Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, etc. They called the home Beth Sarim (meaning House of Princes)--they picked San Diego because its climate is similar to the climate in Israel .

The Witness then emails me something similar to this.

The WT, the official journal of JWs, has said: “We have not the gift of prophecy.” (January 1883, page 425) “Nor would we have our writings reverenced or regarded as infallible.” (December 15, 1896, page 306

The Watchtower has also said that the fact that some have Jehovah’s spirit “does not mean those now serving as Jehovah’s witnesses are inspired. It does not mean that the writings in this magazine The Watchtower are inspired and infallible and without mistakes.” (May 15, 1947, page 157)

“The Watchtower does not claim to be inspired in its utterances, nor is it dogmatic.” (August 15, 1950, page 263)

“The brothers preparing these publications are not infallible. Their writings are not inspired as are those of Paul and the other Bible writers.” (2 Tim. 3:16)

I then respond with the Watchtower’s own words:

"The Watchtower is a magazine without equal on earth because God is the author." (WT 4/15/43)

“Nothing is interpreted but the interpretation comes from God and is then published.” (WT 1943 July 1 pp. 202-203)

"God uses The Watchtower to communicate to his people; IT DOES NOT CONSIST OF MEN’S OPINIONS." (Watchtower 1/1/1942, page 5)

So the WT says “our publications are put together by men and men make mistakes” but the WT also says the WT does NOT consist of men’s opinions,“NOTHING is interpreted by men—the interpretation comes from God—and then it is published.”

I then ask the question that JW’s cannot answer?

Who is the author of the Watchtower, Man or God?

The WT’s problem is that they want it both ways. They want their followers to view their writings as coming from God so that those same followers will do whatever the WT asks or demands since who (with eternity in mind) would go against the will of God.

The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society rests ultimately on the belief that it is omnipotent and infallible.”

But since in reality The WTBTS is not omnipotent or infallible (check out some of their just plain weird teachings from the past here) there is a need for an unwearying, moment-to-moment flexibility in the treatment of facts. The keyword here is blackwhite (I borrowed this word from George Orwell’s book 1984). Like so many Watchtower beliefs, this word has two mutually contradictory meanings. A Witness has the ability to say that black is white. (For example, JW’s believe that the material in the WT is provided by God AND at the same time they believe that the WT is published by men who can make errors). A JW not only can say that black is white when The WTBTS demands this but that JW also has the ability to believe that black is white, and more, to know that black is white, and to forget that one has ever believed to the contrary. This demands a continuous alteration of the past, made possible by the system of thought which is known as double think (another Orwellian term).

The typical Witness can receive his/her copy of the WT magazine and view its contents as coming from God. An hour later, that same Witness, can go on the door-to-door service and when confronted with a obvious ‘untruth’ in the Watchtower magazine reply that “the authors are just men and not infallible.”

Another hour later that Witnesses is home reading his Watchtower magazine taking in the information coming directly from God since "God uses The Watchtower to communicate to his people; IT DOES NOT CONSIST OF MEN’S OPINIONS." (Watchtower 1/1/1942, page 5) and “Nothing is interpreted but the interpretation comes from God and is then published.” (WT 1943 July 1 pp. 202-203)