if you're inactive for over six months you can't really call yourself a JW anymore (as you're not Witnessesing), and that if I wasn't a JW they couldn't really DF me.
Wouldn't they just DA you?
Answers to elders who ask " Do you consider yourself one of JWs"
by blondie 32 Replies latest jw friends
-
drwtsn32
-
drwtsn32
Good ones, Mulan!
-
drwtsn32
So I hired a lawyer and began a harrassment suit (not against Watchtower; against the elders personally).
How much did that cost you? Do you think it was worth it? I agree that meeting with them is pointless, so I would never do it. At this point I don't think I care what label they put on me. All of my JW "friends" have terminated contact with me just because I'm "inactive." And my JW family doesn't communicate much with me.
-
Obviously Secret
Ya you can not win. If both sides can't listen in an arguement nobody can win. Say what they want to hear, that's just what my brother is doing. "I want to be an active Jehovah's Witness however, I am still going through alot of personal problems and I am pleading with Jehovah to help me through them." He's a good liar.
Sad thing is I never really seen Jehovah answer ANYBODIES prayers, except the obvious ones. "Help my son through this sickness." I just had a common cold. "OH ITS A MIRACLE THANK YOU JEHOVAH!" The freakin robitosin helped better than jehovah did... crazy parents.
-
Scully
It hasn't happened to me ... yet. But if it does (or perhaps "when" it does?), I'm going to ask them for their Bible, and open it to Romans 14:12
So, then, each of us will render an account for himself to God. (NWT)
Then I'll say, "Gentlemen, the answer to that question is between me and God. Have a nice day."
Love, Scully
-
blondie
I personally belong to the "never meet with them" class and "no pearls before swine." I just screen my calls, don't bother going to the door.
Blondie
-
willyloman
I have found it best to say what they want. It appears that they do not see through the subterfuge and are happy to go away with what you tell them. I would be thinking, Hey this guy's trying to pull a fast one. I'll ask some more searching questions..' but they don't.
This is often, if not always, true. It depends on the individual elder, of course, but in my experience most elders are not looking for a confrrontation and don't have time, experience, nor the desire to solve people's problems so they are pre-conditioned to want to hear any story they can buy into.
Possessing this knowledge is power when circumstances dictate that you fade rather than use the raise-arm-extend-finger approach to leaving. With a little planning, you can usually come up with a couple of simple phrases that will mollify all but the most inquisitive elder. The trick is not to say too much, and not to grant any extensive interviews.
Therefore, I support Franklin's approach, above. And I really like Mulan's strategy because it puts them on the defensive. Combine these two and you should be able to wiggle out of most confrontations.
-
Undaunted Danny
drwtsn32 So I hired a lawyer and began a harrassment suit (not against Watchtower; against the elders personally).
I think you got it.I'm out for good now,but in hindsight i shoulda threatened them with a lawsuit even if it was just a bluff.
The elders are scared stiff of being $ued. COP A PLEA / AOP
"$uing is better than stewing"
-
TD
Have some fun, In a "sincere but confused" manner fall back on the sifting sands of Witness ideology:
****
Elders: Do you consider yourself to be one of Jehovah's Witnesses?
JW: I'm not trying to split hairs here, but sublteties are sometimes important. Would that be with an uppercase or lowercase 'W'?
Elders: What difference does that make?
JW: I consider myself to be one of Jehovah's witnesses --very much so, but by the use of that term I'm not describing an organized religion. As the book Jehovah's Witnesses In The Divine Purpose explained in the chapter, "A People With A Most Ancient History", the term Jehovah's witnesses describes persons living thousands of years before the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society of Pennsylivania ever existed.
(Say "organized religion" with as much vehemence and disgust as possible)
Elders: Yes, Yes, We see your point, but our question is a little more specific than that. Do you consider yourself to be one of Jehovah's Witnesses? --With an uppercase 'W' if that makes you happy.....
JW: I'm not sure what that means.
Elders: Why not?
JW: Well as you are also probably aware, the 'W' began to be capitalized in the literature sometime in the 1970's and there was insofar as I am aware never an accompanying explanation. I just want to make sure I understand you because your question frankly puzzles me.....
(If the conversation gets this far, the Elders likely will not be able to get it back on track unless you let them. There is nothing in the literature of JW's that I know of that really describes what the spelling change actually meant and they can't come right out and say. They'll be in hot water with WT legal if they admit that they answer to an organizational authority higher than the congregational level. The CCoJW greatly values this legal firewall.)
Elders: Why are you puzzled by the question?
JW: Because I don't know why you feel the need to ask it. I consider myself a faithful witness of Jehovah. I always have --- It hurts that anyone would doubt this.
Elders: Come now! You yourself brought up the distinction, not us. To be honest we've never even noticed it before and don't even think of it. It almost seems like you're trying to evade a simple question.
JW: Not at all, not at all. I've answered your question to the best of what may be an imperfect understanding . I do consider myself to be a witnesses of the True God. ---along with Able, Enoch, Noah, Moses, Daniel, the Apostles and so on...If it now means something more than that, you'll have to bring me up to speed.
Elders: (Getting nowhere and shifting gears) Well look at it from this angle, Do you believe Jehovah has an organization on Earth today?
JW: Yes, well I've always expressed it differently. I think Jehovah uses organizations on earth.
Elders: OK Good enough. Do you think Jehovah uses the organization known as Jehovah's Witnesses?
JW: I didn't know "Jehovahs Witnesses" was the name of an organization ---- Oh I know there's currently an organization behind the name, just as there was no doubt an organization behind the name in the first century. True Christians after all need to be organized. Organizations may come and go out of convenience, but Jehovah's witnesses are a people with a most ancient history, going all the way back to Able. That's one of the differences between us and the false religionists of Christendom that I'm particularly proud of!
Elders: I think you are splitting hairs...
JW: No brother, I'm sure there was a good reason for phrasing it that way. (Sound shocked that they would even think of contradicting the "slave.")
Elders: OK, OK, the organization behind the name then. Do you believe that it is Jehovah's organization?
JW: (Dismissively) Why all things belong to Jehovah. He certainly owns the legal corporations if that's what you mean. But as it relates to your original questions that's neither here nor there.
Elders: What do you mean by that?
JW: Well I'm not a member of The Watchtower Bible & Tract Society. I've no shares to control either by vote or proxy. For that matter, I don't think I've ever even been to a shareholder's meeting in my entire life or known anyone else that has either.
Elders: (Growing impatient) That's not what we mean at all. -----OK, You've said that true Christians would need to be organized. What organization on earth today do you believe represents true Christianity?
JW: Why I don't believe that true Christianity is represented by an organzation. If anything, I think it would be the other way around.
Elders: What do you mean by that?
JW: Because the tail doesn't wag the dog. Earthly organizations are simply legal instruments at the disposal of true Christians. You know as well as I do that if the work was banned tomorrow and all the legal entities were dissolved and all their assets and chattel seized and liquidated, true Christians would secretly reorganizae and continue to witness. We've had many fine examples in the Yearbooks.....There was even one faithful brother that was in solitary for seven years. He never stopped being a witness of Jehovah....even though he had to celebrate the Lord's Evening Meal all by himself.
Elders: (Again getting nowhere and shifting gears) OK, OK --- Do you believe that Jehovah has a faithful and discreet slave on Earth today?
JW: Why of course! He has ever since Pentacost of 33 CE.
Elders: And who is the Faithful And Discreet Slave today?
JW: My understaning is that it is a composite class of true anointed Christians
Elders: You don't know who the Faithful And Discreet Slave is today?
JW: I didn't say that at all, I just want it to be clear that you're not only asking me to speculate, you're asking me to do something, I'm not sure is appropriate.
Elders: And what is that?
JW: Judge the heart of fellow Christians. A slave may not declare himself righteous, neither may another slave declare his fellow to be righteous. Only the Master may decide that. Besides the very nature of the universal issue facing mankind precludes what all your questions seem to be suggesting.
Elders (Visibly getting headaches) I'm lost, what do you mean......
JW: Well you seem to be suggesting that an exact mirror of Jehovah's heavenly organization exists in the flesh on earth today. I don't see how that's compatible with the universal issue. Jehovah never exerted that level of control, even when inspired prophets walked the earth. It would have raised serious questions as to the degree that humans were being allowed to exert their free will. Were they truly serving Jehovah out of faithfulness or were they being compelled to do so?
(This can be drug out forever)
-
minimus
Of course there is a catch! If you say "yes" then you are expressing that EVEN you feel you are a Witness and the elders might try to getcha. If you say no, they might assume that this declaration is a way of your disassociating yourself........My answer: "I'm not telling you brothers anything."......They can't get you on anything with that response.