Posted by Cygnus [Cygnus] on November 03, 1999 at 02:55:06 {eZOTANvCI6Rsyhp1gUYkL4bdfUTIaI}:
In Reply to: *Response to AF: Part One posted by Contradiction! on November 03, 1999 at 02:05:19:
No, it doesn't make him an apostate. It makes him a good apologist.
There is no clear, unambiguous understanding amongst the JW community regarding who gets saved and who doesn't based on whatever conditions and criteria. Realistically, if certain JW acquaintances of mine really felt that I am an incorrigible apostate (which I am), then they would have absolutely nothing to do with me. But they do. I think I've made it clear that I'll never go back to being a practicing JW, so in that scenario, I'm doomed at Armageddon, technically speaking. So why fellowship with me at all?
There was a WT article over a year ago that admitted that the preaching work would not reach every individual before the great tribulation breaks out. Therefore, God would have to judge those persons based on their own merit as abiding by Christian principles. I think that's what Greg was getting at.
Sometimes the Watchtower prints stuff that is not necessarily a statement of doctrine, but rather encouragement for the flock, rallying up the troops, as it were. The 1989 quote you provided can be construed as one of those. Several KM articles are similar. But do most JWs really believe that God will kill 2 billion Indians and Chinese? Even Indians and Chinese who somehow come to believe in Christ apart from JWs?