What if the Watchtower Changed .......

by IslandWoman 69 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  sf

  Would exJWs be willing to refrain from putting down JW religious beliefs while in their presence, in other words to respect their personal religious choice, if the Watchtower did away with its more destructive practices?

  (edited to embed quote)

  You mean would the 'claimed' painful persecution you all thrive on cease?

  ROFLOL!

  Respect lies, fabrication and man-ipulations? How? It isn't a religion. It's a book publishing ENTERPRISE. Religion is 'It's' front.

  Destructive practices??? ROFLOLOLOL

  Please, how are you going to bring back the dead?

  IW, I smell something fishy up with you, yet not sure yet what it might be. I'll just keep observing.

  Hillary step,

  Bingo!!

  Excellent break down on Jaracz and his Plans.

  Alan,

  Love ya, always.

  {{{{{{{DANNYBEAR}}}}}}}}

  sKally
• 

  IslandWoman

  Hi Alan,

  The Watchtower, as you know, is a complicated place. There are company men there for sure but there are also men who love God and love their brother. It's never just a business, it is a religio/business institution within which are found men whose personal integrity, humility and love for God runs the gamut from the R.Franz and Dunlap types to the Ted Jaracz types. The religious dynamics at Bethel cause polarizations and a below the surface seething of emotions and issues, as I'm sure you know.

  A year before the Franz/Dunlap explosion at Bethel it would have been hard for most brothers at Bethel, not to mention those outside of Bethel, to predict such an earthquake. The forces that brought about all those God awful things were already in place though, not the least of which was the removal of the Watchtower President's authority and the placing of that authority on the GB. Also, Franz' and Dunlap's private conversations with some became water slowly heating and rising to a boil. Bethel was ripe for turmoil but in 1978 or '79 who could see such a terrible thing coming?

  It is not too different today. Critical changes in structure have taken place, and much private talk is going on concerning how to best facilitate change and turn the Organization towards God. The water is heating up again and it will boil over.

  As for changes in the Watchtower, the exJW community would, I hope, be very happy if the blood, shunning and child abuse problems were addressed and taken care of. The rest of the Watchtower theology though must remain in place at least for a few years. Taking steps to increase the level of maturity in the elder ranks and to build up a more loving atmosphere in the congregations will take precedence over all other concerns and will take years to accomplish. In addition, arriving at a solution to the theology problems and then deciding which limbs of the Watchtower theology to cut and which to keep and prune will take quite some time, if it is to be done correctly and with the spiritual welfare of the publishers in mind.

  Bethel must be prepared to downsize not because of money concerns but because I believe it could lose as many as one third of their publishers if these needed changes take place. The time is right to move out of Brooklyn and to the Farm and Pattersen, the time is also right for them to gather a good amount of cash. The time is right for them to stop producing the Awake magazine and other non-essential materials. The time is right for them to make right the wrongs of Rutherford and F.W.Franz.

  The exJW community itself will have to come to terms with these changes. Some who have spent decades "fighting" the Org. will have a hard time adjusting. They can certainly take some of the credit for the changes made and will I hope remember that the purpose of the fight was to help people not just to get back at the Watchtower. At least I hope that was the purpose of the exJW fighting stand.

  Sometimes winning a fight is not as sweet as the fighting itself.

  I would like to sincerely thank everyone who participated in this thread.

  IW
• 

  happy man

  Thanks
• 

  happy man

  Thanks IW.

  Very intresting points, as an ongoing former elder, and I think liberal JW, I waiting on this things,most important fore mee is the shunning polyci, who think hurt us tremendesly.

  I dont now if you have some insder from Brooklyn, or if this is your one thaugts, but i sure hope some of this things happening.

  I think we are a lot of peoepl who dont fitt inn now, and if the society dont want to lose us, they must do some of this changes, we are still waiting, and some suffer, but we are still inn, your points are I think most fore us, and not fore this who hate Jw, and want to destoy it.

  most of us like many docktrins from JW, and see that this is the only religion who stand free from war and corupt politiks, this religion have also give us hope to live on earth forever, also that unik belife.

  when I talk to many of my friends inn JW they see the problem but they go on, beaucause this religion have give them a lot of happiness, some tell me that they have no other place to goo, so we are not so few, who are waiting on this to come , thanks IW fore giving us some hope, I thnik I am one of few aktive JW who are here, and fore mee this site have been like a relife, i was not crayzy, it was not only in our cong it wAS THIS hard men ruling, tracking down at us who was more liberal, and push us out from elder psition, here I find that this was ongoing thing on many places, fore me this was a proff of that we have wolfs in our leadership, and if We have a Jehova widh power he must ackt, I say like bibel, if this religion is from men it will die, and if it is from Jehova it will stand.
• 

  Its so simple

  They will never apologize.

  The words, it was ALWAYS up to the individual conscience to decide will get them off the hook.
• 

  Francois

  I could never respect the WT "dogma"...never.

  francois
• 

  J.P

  I would have to question there motive. Is this another strategic decision to get the numbers back up,so they may boast on how Jehovah has blessed them with such an increase in "publishers".

  I think that would be the more likely scenario,not apologizing out of love.

  for example the annoucment at the last km school about "inactive" elderly and infirm being able to count field service time in 15 minute increments. surely that "provision" as explained, allowed many to report time, and thus, giving the illusion of the great influx flocking to the one true religeon.
• 

  metatron

  You've got some good thoughts, Island Woman.

  but I'm afraid that they may be just wishes. I see a prolonged Nazification of the organization. When I quit,

  a fellow elder told me how sad he was observing the 'good' elders give up. While you express hope for increased

  maturity of elders, I see a strong trend towards 'reverse cleansing' - they weed out caring brothers and replace them

  with unfeeling robots. After years of this, what are you left with?

  I'm sorry --- please tell me I'm wrong but short of an actual coup de etat or pushing these sociopaths down a flight of stairs,

  I don't see how change emerges. The renewed committee governance of headquarters only creates more inaction.

  I agree they should dump the Awake - it's really gotten useless. With so much platitude laden material being cranked

  out by the Writing staff, what's the value of 'Truth Lite'?

  metatron
• 

  kgfreeperson

  Just to clarify, is the argument that this is a period of ferment at Bethel and within the organization similar to that of the late seventies and that good things are going to come out of this ferment? Were there good things for the r & f that followed from the disfellowshipping of Franz et al?
• 

  DannyBear

  There is very little real meat left to jw doctrine. Fred Franz's 'wild beast' (UN) has been fornicated with by the WTBS. The Awake mag even extolling some it's (the beasts) virtue. They no longer bare sharp fangs of indignation against the 'harlot' christendom like the good ole days.

  The 'king of the north' has lost his dominance. The remenant of the 144,000 who were knowledgable about the events happening in 1914 are all but extinct. The hopes pinned on 'this generation' by millions have been effectively dashed.

  In other words the real bible students, the jwdubs who cooed and awed at every utterance from the 'faithful slave' have been relegated to sifting through cd's of old watchtower pubs......just to get a fix of the old 'its just around the corner' feelings they used to get high on.

  All in all the WTBS needs a new guru. The boys in writing are just not fantasizing enough.

  Danny