by hamsterbait 18 Replies latest jw friends
Remember how the bible Students had to make a pledge, among other things "never to be alone in a room with a member of the opposite sex, except a sister, mother or daughter?"
Do you think they will start to demand a "pledge of alliegance" to the Borganisation?
Will those refusing to make it then be summaraily DF, since they have shown by their refusal, that they do NOT believe that the Gibbering Buddy, is the appointed "FDS" of matthew 25.
How likely is this do you think?
HB
I think a pledge to Tithe will come first.
Not likely - they already make a pledge to the WTS at baptism.
I've often wondered, though, if / when the elders' manual is updated (it's overdue), if elders will be required to sign some sort of nondisclosure agreement, outlining penalties (perhaps even legal repercusssions) if someone reporduces part or all of it and/or uploads it to the internet.
I could definitely envision that.
We used to pledge that we would leave enough room for the holy spirit between us, when we danced with someone of the opposite sex.
I like the tithe one. They already are making pledges as to how much you might contribute for a KH fund. Then why not to the WWFund?
Haven't been close enough to them to know (for over 30 years now) - but there used to be a thing called a "theocratic vow" or "personal vow". It usually involved a person making a godly promise that in such and such many months they would go to part time work and pioneer, or that they would not marry until the new system, or some such thing.
There were actually serious talks on how important it was to take such a vow and really, really, keep it. I remember COs asking people for vows like this to be made if they thought they were pioneer material, or "live where the need is great" material. It was understood that this "personal" vow had to be told to a few certain key witnesses in order to make it really serious. (this meant they would have a handle on you if you didn't keep it, of course).
I can easily see how they might extend this to "theocratic material giving" under the right circumstances.
They make some sort of dopey group vow at almost every District Convention in the form of a "Resolution" that nobody really listens to before agreeing to en masse.
In the days of Rutherford they demanded a pledge to them and to the president of the society. History does repeat ...
