great post truthseeker. im typing a story but ill start a new thread.
Acknowledging the opposition within: Small number of JW's disgruntled
by truthseeker 26 Replies latest jw friends
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slimboyfat
There was more of a "response" to opposition in the WTs of the early 1980s. Nowadays the Society think that the best way to combat apostate criticisms is just to ignore specifics and condemn apostates in general in the blandest of terms.
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AuldSoul
sbf,
Eventually it will dawn on them that there is no effective way to combat sincere and substantiable criticism. Personally, I hope they keep lying up a storm to cover up and misdirect. It will hasten their demise.
Respectfully,
AuldSoul -
sinamongurl
The vitriolic rhetoric towards apostates and higher education has increased in talks at conventions and in WT aticles.
has anyone wondered if the WT could be the anti-christ? because u know jehovah is the main god and jesus is secondary....any other religion i know has jesus primary....just a thought...
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metatron
Excellent post!
Isn't it obvious that, with each passing year, more cracks are forming in the organization? While I acknowledge that true believers
will always exist for the Watchtower to exploit, this does not rule out a general collapse as a possibility. Their 'knee-jerk' strategy
of avoiding meaningful change will not hold up in a rapidly shifting world scene. Legal and economic issues continue as their
greatest threat. Even with their spin doctors working overtime, they will not be able to overcome the effects of a further deep drop
in cash flow, if that trend continues. Handing people a tract to go door to door will quickly reduce their 'preaching work' to the level
of competing groups , such as 'born agains' and Mormons. Throw in the social retardation of most congregations, and they be will
be at a real disadvantage. It may be "later than they think".
metatron
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M.J.
has anyone wondered if the WT could be the anti-christ?
Anti-Christ? No. False Christ? Yes.
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greendawn
They may well be the antichrist since they are so opposed to the idea of Him as the head of the Christian church, its Lord as well as of the whole world. They have greatly compromised his status relegating him to a mere king of Jehovah who receives all honour from the dubs. They are Jehovah's not Christ's people.
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sir82
Isn't it obvious that, with each passing year, more cracks are forming in the organization?
Of course, I have few if any connections to the movers & shakers of the Org., so my observations are limited to my small sector of "the front", but...
My impression is that there is an ever-increasing gap between what is said, and what is done. Just listening to the comments at the WT study, you'd think the zeal was the same as 30 years ago.
But in field service? Virtually nobody shows up for Sunday service, except for the handful of pioneers desperate for time and/or the brain-dead. Last Saturday, most of the book study who showed up for field service said they had "calls to do all morning". These are publishers who leave maybe 2 magazines per month, and who have reported maybe 3 return vistis all year, but suddenly they all have "enough return visits to last the morning"?
We live in a "hot" area, dozens of new homes are being built weekly, thousands are moving in from the north, as this area still has lots of room for development of new houses, so real estate prices are kept reasonably low. Our congregation has grown by 50% (all of them moving in from other areas) over the past 16 months. Our Kingdom Hall currently has 4 congregations meeting in it, and one of the congregations is close to splitting. But our meeting attendance hovers around 70% of publishers, even on Sundays.
We have 3 ex-elders who show no inclination to "reach out" again. There is maybe one potential new MS, but he won't be ready for a few years. There is maybe one MS who might one day be an elder. No one else shows the slightest ambition for much of anything.
Based on other reports on this DB, it sounds like conditions are similar elsewhere.
And the Society's reaction? "You lazy slackers, why aren't you falling on your knees and thanking God that we, the GB, are your lords and masters?!?"
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Forscher
nd the Society's reaction? "You lazy slackers, why aren't you falling on your knees and thanking God that we, the GB, are your lords and masters?!?"
And that is the problem in a nutshell. Folks are getting weary of all the negative feedback. The "you are not doing enough for Jehovah's organization" despite all the years of effort many have put in, the sacrifices they've made. They are realising that no effort is enough in the view of the folks up top. And they are getting tired.
Forscher -
Justitia Themis
Eventually it will dawn on them that there is no effective way to combat sincere and substantiable criticism.
AuldSoul is correct. I am an active, practicing JW. By way of background, I do not believe that the FDS has yet been appointed, I do not believe that Jesus returned in 1914, etc. I am part of a growing development among JWs, namely, those who pick and choose what they believe based upon their own research and understanding of the Bible. This weekend several of us had a discussion regarding the Writer's Inkhorn (a topic that was marched out at the last assembly). Long story short, we do not believe the WTBTS's understanding. The preaching work is NOT a marking work, and we do not believe the Writer has been marking since 1919. What about those that were 'marked' in 1919, but have since died? They have the resurrection hope REGARDLESS of their stance (or mark) in 1919. So, does the mark wash off upon death? That would make it a pretty useless mark.
What is interesting is that none of us are considered 'fringe.' The WTBTS has a bigger problem than the openly "disgruntled." They have us, those that give the appearance of being compliant, but who practice and believe what they want.