by AllTimeJeff 81 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
What especially jumped out at me was how uncomfortable I used to get at bookstudy, studying about how the bible prophesied this organization. It always hit me as ridiculous and wrong; I never bought into that, but just brushed it aside as just another one of those things that would eventually change. But it always gave me a really icky feeling inside, how presumptuous it felt.
I felt exactly the same way.
Halcyon
What was offensive to me was seeing 3rd worlders who are so trusting not have the resources to investigate. So many in Africa come from a superstitious background as it is. Even the Christian churches can be very different from America and Europe. To have these people treat you like you are a prophet (no exaggeration) and want the "special training" that I had received made me very ill at ease.
One reason why JW's continue to make strides in Africa is the precise reason why they fall behind in developed lands. Access to information is scarce (compared to the West) The populace is more conditioned to believe with smaller evidence (compared to the West) That is why that growth has been steady in Africa (compared to the West)
Gilead training as they told us during our first week was not going to be very helpful to those we came in contact with, at the congregation or in the minsitry. It was to "build our faith", which was code for "really going to indoctrinate you with all our BS stuff". It's a high risk, high reward way of indoctrination, Gilead that is. If they pick those who are pioneering and very zealous and somehow get them to see the bible as the Da Vinci code (if you will) that is a direct road map to "Christs brothers", the GB, then you will go anywhere and do anything that they ask.
Conversley, it had the opposite effect on me. Their training backfired because I knew there was no way that the presidency of the WTBTS could ever have been god ordained. Subsequent logical questions pulled back the curtain from the wizard.
I appreciate what you have said. And I agree with you, that being a "mature" witness really means swallowing whatever comes from the leadership without questioning. I really like what you said about "Christ brothers" only being them. I seems so obvious to me now, that Jesus words in Matt. 25 seem to be talking about just average sincere people including children (like the poor and starving ones in Africa). Why else would he have used the term "The least of these my brothers" Anyway good post and hope to read more of your experiences. seek2find
Excellent post, thank you for taking the time.
Thanks for the great post Jeff. It is a real eye opener. I'm one who can't really put my thoughts into words and print. Ones like you and others on this forum show maturity and reasonableness when explaining the BS we once were so eager to believe. I wish you a good life in whatever you choose to do. HappyDad
"Mature" JW's is a misnomer. It has nothing to do with maturity. That is code for "willingness to believe whatever you are taught, and to follow whatever the GB says, even if they change back and forth on doctrine in a god-dishonering fasion." Mature ones are impatient with the immature for questioning what they are taught. Mature ones become elders, ministerial servants and pioneers more quickly because they blindly obey. To question, esp after any period of time elapsing after baptism, means you are "immature".
Great observation! Reminds me of what "spirituality" means to the JW's, the more meetings you attend and the more times you answer when there and the more hours you put in the more spiritual you are.
It means you are still a babe to the fact that JW's really teach that practically ALL "faithful" OT charecters from Noah and Abraham through Elijah and Elishah and David to Hezekiah are prophetic of the Presidents of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society. The one I refer to the most is as an answer to one of the questions on a Gilead test, Elijah prophetically pointed to Judge Rutherford, Elisha pointed to N H Knorr. That is my favorite, that is when I realized I was mislead
WHA WHA WHAAAAAAATTTTTTTTT?????????????????????
If the R&F knew what you knew .... MASS EXODUS!!!
*** yb73 pp. 60-61 Brazil ***Just as the work of Elijah the prophet came to its close and was succeeded by the zealous activity of Elisha his successor, so also, following a period of witnessing comparable to that of Elijah, a new push seemed to be given to the activities of the brothers here in Brazil. Though the death of Brother Rutherford, the second president of the Society, came as a shock to the brothers, their heavy hearts were lightened when they learned that Nathan H. Knorr had been appointed as the new president of the Society. They were confident that the work would push ahead victoriously under Jehovah’s direction through Christ.
