Thanks for the review of the circuit assembly. It just amazes me how the WTS can explain nothing substantial to a doubter about the new generation explaination and it now becomes clear to the doubter what the WTS really means. The first time I took my vacation and used it to work with the circuit overseer in field service, the co stabbed me in the back with the other elders. I never worked with the co or used my vacation for field service after that.
Attended 2-Day Circuit Assembly--Highlights
by Cadellin 51 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
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Billy the Ex-Bethelite
A CO once tried to press me into using my vacation time to pioneer in "seldom worked" territory. I was getting irritated and responded, "I will if you will. You get more vacation time than I do. If you and your wife sign up and go for a week in Podunk, so will I."
Him: "Oh, well, we have plans to take a trip with our family."
Me: "In fact, you get Sunday evening, Monday, and Tuesday morning off and see your family at least once a month. I only get to see my family once a year during my vacation. What entitles you to pressure me into doing something that you wouldn't do?"
COs and DOs have an easy life. If anybody should be doing more, it would be them. But, in fact, COs and DOs do less today, and get much more than they did decades ago.
Here's how it should have gone:
One demo that was particularly telling was a monologue by a CO who'd just come home from a congregation all stressed out. He sits down at a table and starts looking through the latest mags, all the while talking to himself. The upshot was that he's doing "all he can" as far as service, cong., and supporting the congregations financially and he's tired (he sighed A LOT all the way through) but--wait for it--yup, you guessed it: He wants to DO MORE! He doesn't know how, though, because, as he says, "My plate is already full with spiritual things." OH WAIT--he has a week of vacation coming to him. He can use those days to work EVERY DAY with the pioneers in April. If he does that and goes out all day Sat and Sun and Mon and Tues, then he can get tons of time in and encourage all the friends!! And since his insurance, car, and expenses are so well covered, he's going to use his society stipend and those green handshakes to help pay off the deficit in the circuit. How refreshing that will be! The demo concludes w/him leaping to his feet to go tell his wife what their "new" schedule and budget is going to be for the next month.
Yeah, tell the COWife that she's going to have to really work in the service for pioneer hours, make the meals for themselves, actually figure out how to pay the bills rather than turning everything over to the congregation to pay, and that she's not getting any days off to sleep late, go shopping, maybe do some laundry. Then you'll understand the acronym COW!
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JW GoneBad
"... but there was a demo where one bro. says to another that he can't understand the overlapping gen. and it seems like the FDS is "putting Armaggedon off." The new explanation is so hard to understand! The "mature" brother says, "You're making it harder than it is. When Jesus used the term "generation," he EVIDENTLY meant the lives of those anointed living in 1914 would overlap with those anointed who would see the end." The "unsure" brother responds: "Oh, is that it? Well, that's not so hard." Or something to that effect (paraphrase). Duh!! The rhetorical strategy was pretty slick--divert attention away from the underlying, though unspoken question of "Why are they changing the meaning again?" to "Is it really that hard to understand?" Then present a simplified one-sentence summary of the new light, without bothering to spend even a moment on any kind of factual or Biblical evidence that might support such a ridiculous "definition" of generation."
Yep, that's pretty much how the overlapping generation commentary went down at the CA that I attended a while back. It was, for a lack of a better term ...."A Quickie"! A brief comment followed by a short exhibition of nonsense (demonstration) and the overlapping generation brainwashing was over and on to the next speaker!
The Society is definitely being shy and cautious about spending too much time on this overlapping generation topic. Why??
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00DAD
Good one, Billy, really funny!
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Sic Semper Tyrannis
To have been a fly on the wall when Ray called out the GB in session about vacation pioneering! He was preaching to the choir. I'm glad someone stood up for all of us who had to hear all of the nonsense about using our vacation time as if we weren't entitled to leisure time. They might not live a life of extreme luxury, but they get to fly all over the world and stay in nice hotels.
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blondie
They say "kidnappers" because the WTS does not want to admit they are in any way responsible for people leaving.
IT'S NOT MY FAULT!
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wha happened?
yep Blondie. Apostates kidnap people from the truth. It has nothing to do with the shifting sands of dogma they have been loading on people until they can't take it anymore
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00DAD
And so when a "mentally diseased" "apostate" "kidnaps" someone from "The Truth" what do they do with them?
That is such a dumb illustration!
Does anyone have a facepalm with both hands AND both feet?
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breakfast of champions
And so when a "mentally diseased" "apostate" "kidnaps" someone from "The Truth" what do they do with them?
Evidently, we collect them like Hummels. . .
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Cadellin
Billy: "Hardening" attitude toward porn--ha!
DoC: Our DO is a short little twerp with a rather comical vocal intonation. That's all I can say b/c I need to keep a low profile. But, yeah, I thought the "kidnapper" analogy was a bit over the top. The ego allusion was also rather mystifying.
Why the hell would any "apostate" want to entrap, kidnap or otherwise gather "followers"? The fact of the matter, based on reading this board, is that most of us just want to get on with living our lives, making up for the time lost w/this high-control religion. I can't imagine anything worse than to have "disciples" tagging along behind me like a string of mini-me's or wanna-bes. Yikes.
Yet, because that is how the NT presents specific apostates in the first century--and clearly Paul was referring to the numerous schisms that existed within Christianity--the WT cannot conceive of modern-day "apostates" being any different. If they were supposedly like that in Paul's day (never mind that Paul was referring to specific situations), then, by gum, they must be exactly the same today!! In all their verbage about "apostates," there's never any contemplation that maybe they just want to live ordinary lives and--some of them--maybe would like to get their family to wake up too. But that's hardly "kidnapping" or collecting disciples.
Yeesh.