by PopeOfEruke 3 Replies latest watchtower beliefs
I would like to ask our Australian contingent here if they
know of any success of the Dubs with regards to conversion of Australian Aborigines.
Are there any Aborigines who are JW's? In which areas are they more prevalent? Are they welcome in "white" congregations or are there aborigine-only Kingdom Halls?
And what about the Australians who were missionaries in Papua-New Guinea? Are there any JW's there anymore??
Thanks for any info....
The Pope
This is from my recollections, so I may not be up-to-date. However, I became from an area of Australia where there were plenty of Aboriginals and an Aboriginal congregation. I also had friends that happened to be Aborigines.
There are Aborigines who become witnesses, but it is very hard for white witnesses to get through to the Aborigines. Often they become witnesses through their families or friends, which are very close-knit. However, if an Aboriginal witness studies with them, they are more likely to become witnesses than if they studied with whites.
Aboriginal congregations are more prevalent in the country areas, although there are Aboriginal congregations in the capital cities. This is because more Aborigines live in the country areas than in the cities.
Of course they are welcome in "white" congregations, but it has been found that they are more at ease with other aborigines. They are more likely to listen to an Aboriginal witness than a white person. So Aboriginal congregations have been set up so that they feel more comfortable with others from their own culture, and they become better trained as witnesses due to being more receptive.
That's very upsetting to hear that there are aboriginal JWs. I thought that white people had done enough to them already, but that takes the cake - and I thought that they would be too spiritual for that sort of thing, but I suppose there's all kinds of aboriginals too.
I did once see an article in one of their magazines(Watchtower?) where the Aborigine come from Queensland, and mentioned that he was in an instition run by the Catholic church who abused him.
