People who make the truth EXCITING! (page 5)

LouBelle

You are free to do with your life as you will - but you know it's not the truth....and yet you're willing to go back...for other people. I can't tell you what to do but that's just turning a blind eye dude.

Witness 007

I love how genuine and enthusiastic the Nazi's were....I mean even when all was lost they carried on with joy....they preached their doctrines right till the end....you have to admire their zeal....And "Jones Town" and "Heavens Gate"...their zeal makes Special Pioneer Witnesses look weak.

slimboyfat

Penny, I haven't decided. I will play it by ear. I won't go down the 'captives of a concept' route that has been suggested though. I might try to get them talking about the Society's recent stance on university and see how that goes. Something not too controversial. I gather that they both gave up the opportunity to go to university when young, but then went back and did postgraduate degrees a few years ago. This was probably during the brief period when the Society was more relaxed on the issue. I went to university too during that period, so I might try to see how they reconcile the previous relaxation on higher education with what the Society is now saying. I think the sister even studied history like me, so it would be interesting to get her into a conversation about JWs in Nazi Germany. If I am feeling brave it would be good to know if she has heard about Penton's book and what she thinks about it.

M.J. my position is not really comparable to Greg Stafford. He is a nutter (with apologies to nutters) sorry I mean holy prophet of Jah.

I got my wife to read this thread last night, and she tends to agree with those of you who think they are attention seekers. But I just can't agree with that. Maybe I want to think the best of them partly because I don't want to believe by dad was fooled by people who are either idiots or insincere. Although my dad never became a Witness himself, this couple did manage to convince him that Witnesses have the truth. He continues to believe that to this day. My wife doesn't read this forum often and she was a bit taken aback by some of the strident expressions. She thinks I am a delicate soul, but I have told her I can handle being called a semi-apologist and so on.

I really appreciate many of your replies. I especially enjoyed Vinny's post, and Narkissos was evenhanded and reasonable as ever. Even AuldSoul is playing nice with me.

By the way, I went to the meeting last night and I got a bit bored half way through. I went to the toilet and read some of your replies on my iPhone. JWD really helps relieve the tedium of the meetings.

I wish I could post the name of this couple because I bet many of you know who they are. But then my cover would be well and truly blown.

Quandry

Slimboy-

I know exactly what you mean. Last night I was looking through old videos in a cabinet and came across one of a Kingdom Hall build in Florida in the 1980s. Before the regional building committees came in with rules about who could and could not work, etc.

I had walked around with a video camera and chronicled the building over several days. There were young people everywhere helping. I saw people laughing and talking. There were friends that are now dead. Even children were there. Everyone was doing something to help, whether skilled or not.

I told my husband....I wanted it all to be true. I saw companionship and working together in an atmosphere of safety and goodness. I mourned when I found out things about the WTS.

The thing is, I can't unknow what I know. I can't pretend that the WTS didn't really join the UN as NGO, or that they keep changing the "generation" so many times because the prophecies are false.....

But I can empathize with the feelings.....

M.J.

SBF, I was just messin with ya. You're all right.

I recently had long conversations with some former members of a couple other "high-control" groups. It's fascinating, to say the least. There were some really dynamic, charismatic personalities in the International Church of Christ.

sf

something happened recently to make me think about going regularly again

Shunning is no longer an option or mandatory? The lethal policies have been denounced? Apologies given and reimbursement to families of lost loved ones is guaranteed by the legal department?

Pardon me, but I can't stomach reading the rest of the post. You people are truly amazing in your warpness.

sKally

BluesBrother

Slimboyfat {You have to be a fan of Norman Cook to pick that name?)

Your post reminds me of the "good old days" in the large congregation on the South Coast ..Armageddon was on the doorstep and we were all buzzing. We had some great people. There were elders with whom I served that were real men, intellectually and of heart - good men who had given their lives to their work. I recall some speakers who could hold an audience in the palm of their hand and reduce women to tears of emotion.

Where are they now? The Organization seems to have stifled the next generation and turned it into dull rote.

What happened to that enthusiasm? It was of course misplaced zeal . Even the Bible speaks of those who have a "zeal for God but not according to accurate knowledge"..That was us all right.!

Those people that led us, in all sincerity, were sincerely wrong. All the infectious enthusiasm in the world cannot make a wrong thing right, no matter how much you want it to be the truth.

FlyingHighNow

What happened to that enthusiasm? It was of course misplaced zeal . Even the Bible speaks of those who have a "zeal for God but not according to accurate knowledge"..That was us all right.!

What happened is that the governing body micromanages JW's into uniformity and they have become dulled drones for the borg.

drew sagan

This happens from time to time. A man and wife who are very excited about being JWs (usually because they get a lot of social prominence because of it) move into an area and get everybody excited about being JWs again. It never lasts. Usually the local group begins to expect far to much out of these people, and everybody becomes disappointed.

I remember a man from bethel who married a girl from the local area. They asked the CO 'what congregation needs us' and he sent them to ours. Everybody was ecstatic. People were doing all kinds of things and it was obvious that they felt these people would fix all the congregational problems. They quickly made him an Elder.

They moved away in less than a year, probably to the next congregation that would treat them like saviors.

JK666

sbf,

This reminds me of the old saying "You can't go back to holding hands."

You know too much from being here about the Organization to be satisfied in it. The UN scandal, blood fractions, university bans, shunning, 607 lies, the various versions of "generations." The cognative dissonance will tear you apart!

Good luck, but be cautious.

JK

People who make the truth EXCITING!

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