by WingCommander 194 Replies latest jw friends
These are good changes but really they are still marginal. It has occurred to me the dress changes were going have to happen because when you look at what is available nowadays it's getting harder and harder to find suits.
This may have made a difference to me 20 years ago but now it seems too little, too late.
On a side note, when will yoga pants be allowed for women?
Also, for us apostates, nothing has changed.
I wouldn’t say that.
When I first started fading , I’d already come to realize that evolution had to, in fact, be true (for a number of reasons, actually)…
…and I inevitably found myself asking, “Gosh, if the WT is wrong about something like that, WTF else are they wrong about???”
And here I am, now.
So look at it this way…
…more and more of our arguments, allegations, and assertions are being proven right, often simply by the actions the Org has taken.
That won’t be lost on any of the rank-and-file who still have half a brain…
…which can’t help but foster unspoken questions like, “Gosh, if ‘apostates’ were right about this, that, and the other thing, WTF else are they right about???”
😏
Ron.W.:
People being able to acknowledge/say a warm greeting to me would have made a massive difference to me back then...
This is precisely why this new change is just more emotional manipulation. If, and only if, someone shows interest in returning do they get the slightest bit of attention.
So will they be love bombed straight away? No to start with just smiles and greetings then once reinstated then the love bombing hugs and invites to gatherings
Maybe Vidiot, or witnesses might say this is simply where the chariot is at right now. If those changes were made earlier, that would have been running ahead of the chariot. I had a conversation with a branch overseer from a foreign country one time who said something interesting in response to a smart alec and negative remark I made about Ray Franz once. He said, "I knew Ray Franz and liked him. He may have been right about some things but too far ahead".
The nonsense about new light at the right time is a fancy way of not wanting to admit they had it wrong all along and are just making it up as they go.
Years from JWs will ask: Which generation of JWs took their Ministry more seriously...The Z & X Generation or the Baby Boomer Generation...you tell me!
LeeMerk - “…I had a conversation with a branch overseer from a foreign country one time who said something interesting in response to a smart alec and negative remark I made about Ray Franz once. He said, ‘I knew Ray Franz and liked him. He may have been right about some things but too far ahead’...”
I get that, but you know what’s weird?
Whenever I hear sentiments like that, it always reminds me of the museum date scene in Some Kind of Wonderful.
Seriously.
IMDB quotes Amanda’s confession… “I'd rather be with someone for the wrong reasons then be alone for the right ones” (paraphrasing, but not much)…
…but Kieth’s simple response is what resonated with me…
…“I’d rather be right”.
It wasn’t an ego or knowitall thing… it was an “I’d rather stand alone for the right reasons than live a lie just to be conditionally accepted” thing.
I never forgot it.
(Interestingly, that IMDB quote entry doesn’t include Kieth’s response. I don’t know why.)
If you commit a 'serious sin' or some other thing that makes you subject to a JC the new directive to the Elders is to meet with you more than once with the aim of making you 'repent'. This is going to be a form of unwelcome harassment for many but accepted so as not to lose family and friends. It will potentially be worse than before.
It seems that they will have to accept JWs declarations of repentance more so than judging them as non repentant. Even then, they will generally only be allowed to df for three months.
There's going to be a lot of counselling given to parents of minors.
The Elders can tell that you're not into the religion but they are being forced into persuing PIMOs. I can see this harrassment happening to those that just want to fade.
It's going to be more work and pressure for Elders. No wonder some of their work has been reduced but the worst part of their job will increase and in a way that they will feel powerless and uncomfortable with.
"...the new directive to the Elders is to meet with you more than once with the aim of making you 'repent'."This is not a new directive! Back in the day, say the 80s & 90s the elders would have numerous meetings with those who were in trouble. The thinking was to reach & readjust such ones. Then the hammer came down from HQs telling elders that we had better things to do than to continually meet with wayward ones. We were told to be men & drop the ax so to speak & disfellowship. So yah...we started to disfellowship right & left. In one congregation I was in we had as many as 14 disfellowshipped ones & numerous others on restrictions. So now, as before, it seems the elders are being told to spend more time with errant ones with a view to readjusting them. Go figure!
