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The Broad Road of Religious DivisionsThe Watchtower—1953 | June 15
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and one with the good will come to the church anyway. At last report (eight years ago) their numbers had dropped to a mere 200. Their doctrine is based on a misinterpretation of Genesis 3:15 about the seed of the woman.
Then, as one writer commented: “In any large city unheard-of sects can be located, frequently consisting of only one or two churches. A dissatisfied preacher finds it easy to lead off a group and start a new denomination of his own. . . . Most of the little groups have no history save a church quarrel, and few of them possess any distinctive doctrines or practices.” It has been estimated that there may be as many as 3,000 of these independent groups.
Away back in 1890 a little book, Short History of the Church in the United States, truthfully said: “The multiplication of ecclesiastical organizations has been one of the characteristics of American religious life.” Some like to call them the “many mansions” in the Father’s house, perverting John 14:2, which refers to heavenly blessings. In most minds today a shamefully hazy blending occurs to where divergence of doctrine and difference of belief are passed over, put aside with the view that they are all different roads going to the same place. But they are not. While propounding their own theories they cannot be gathering with Christ. He called the tradition-following religious leaders of his day who did not hold to right doctrine while claiming divine authority for their acts hypocrites, blind guides, fools, serpents, viperous offspring doomed to destruction. (Matt. 12:30; 23:1-39) Those seeking life and truth must get off these broad paths, dust off their Bibles and learn from that thousand pages the difference between all this hodgepodge of self-contradicting doctrines and the true inspired Word given by Jehovah God. But for a discussion of this and of its importance we must refer you to our following article, “The Narrow Way Leads to Life.”
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The Narrow Way Leads to LifeThe Watchtower—1953 | June 15
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The Narrow Way Leads to Life
Beware of the dead-end streets!
SOME people think religion’s purpose is just to make good men. Their view is: “If one is sincere in his religion, that is all that is expected of him.” Others view religion as a drug for the mentally distressed or a help to those in trouble. They say: “All these religions fit some people’s needs; if they are doing good, that is fine!” Still others who think just having the name “Christian” is sufficient say: “They are just different roads, all going to the same place.” Hence, it is often proposed that these various roads be fused into a broad middle way, a uniting of all religions. The frame of mind behind such a view was shown by Dr. Norman Vincent Peale in the June, 1948, American magazine, where he said doctrinal differences “are of little real significance to the average man today”, and, “Not one modern Protestant out of 50 could tell you in what doctrinal respects
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