anyone notice the ads for jw singles sites are on this board? or is it just targetted at me......
this isnt 'scriptural' is it?
are they run by jws?
i've been trying to see if anyone i used to know is using them.... tee hee
JWs online dating sites????
by Woman know your place 11 Replies latest jw friends
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RR
Yep ... It's an actual JW dating service, in fact there are several sites to choose from.
Partners in the Truth (fee-based for full access) JW Connections.com (100% free for a time) dating sites and jehovah's witness (portal to general non-specific religion dating site) JW-connect (100% free)
JWMatch.com (fee-based for full access)
There is even a JW run adoption agency. Don't have the link with me at the moment.
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Sassy
wonder if they will stay up after all the DC's.. word is JWs were told to get off of those..
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The Thinker
JW were told to get of those web sites. They should stay home and study, become a full time Pioneer etc..etc.. and then every thing else will work out. blah..blah.. And then if someone in the KH sees you talking to someone of another gender, the gossip starts and they blame you for it. And they wonder why the Bro's and Sis's have to use these web sites to meet.
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Dogpatch
A little more info on these at:
http://www.freeminds.org/dating_and_singles.htm
Dating and Singles Sites for Jehovah's Witnesses:
The Next Generation
by Randall Watters
In the last few years since the popular advent of the internet, the Watchtower has warned its members on several occasions not to spend (i.e., waste) time on the internet, for several reasons:
1. the time is better spent pursuing "Kingdom interests"
2. Web sites can be deceiving without being cleared by the "mother" organization
3. You can actually come across information on the net that can lead you into apostasy
In spite of the warnings, many Witnesses developed their own websites and discussion boards in good faith, believing (correctly) that the worldwide body of Witnesses needs help in communicating within their own private community. The most friendship and romantic association most Witnesses get with other people is limited often to those within their own kingdom halls. Feeling this too restrictive, and by nature of the fact that most people in Western countries have accessed the internet at least once for information or help, the average Witness feels it does no harm to "surf the net," as long as one steers clear of sites that cause them to doubt their faith, or avoid those that are "pornographic."
At least one psychologist has written on the need for this, saying,
"According to Dr. Andres Madrigal, who lent his expertise as a psychologist and behavioral scientist to this project; The desire to retain spiritual correctness and Religious conviction has prevented many Jehovah's Witnesses, from choosing marriage partners outside their Faith. There also exists the assignment of responsibility for both parents to bring up children who are educated in the teachings of the Bible, and this particular Religion." from the article: Private Sector Company Provides Marriage Introductions Exclusively for Jehovah's Witness Members and Assists Them in Keeping the Faith
On a casual search on the internet, I found five such sites as follows:
Partners in the Truth (fee-based for full access)
JW Connections.com (100% free for a time)
dating sites and jehovah's witness (portal to general non-specific religion dating site)
JW-connect (100% free)JWMatch.com (fee-based for full access)
No doubt there are several others already. As of this writing (Feb. 2004) I am not aware of any articles in the Watchtower magazine or on their website that condemns such activity, but it would not surprise me to see this very soon. Why? For the following reasons:
1. It makes keeping track of the individual members of the "flock" much harder if they do not contain their fellowship within their own or nearby congregations,
2. Elders may become suspicious that "singles" or even those who are already married may be fornicating behind closed doors , yet the elders are not nearby to "chaperone" or to watch them,
3. Those who head such websites may not be in good standing, or may not even be Witnesses,
4. Disfellowshipped persons may be posing as Witnesses in good standing and "enslave" those who are in the "truth" to fornication or at least "bad association."
What They Offer
At least one (JWConnections.com) of the sites offers: Anonymous email, Multiple photo postings, Unlimited searching, and Live chat, all for free. Warnings and user guidelines are typical to protect the innocent, and searchers are encouraged to keep their anonymity for safety's sake (not to speak of keeping out the eyes of prying elders and "elderettes." Interestingly, some sites may make no statements about posting information that could be considered "apostate leanings" or critical of the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society, indicating that any "policing" or monitoring of the site may be for purely legal reasons, i.e., to discourage hacking or the posting of false or multiple identities.
Others, such as the link above "dating sites and jehovah's witnesses" are simply portals advertised to JWs but really lead into a general dating site that does not appear to censor non-JWs (or even gay and lesbians for that matter). Most Witnesses in good standing would likely be wary of such sites, though I am sure some Witnesses would not care.
Another, JW-connect, does not seem to concerned about policing any immorality, even allowing "male to male" searches or "female to female" searches (just for "friendship?") but still requires the following:
"Please enter the first song number of the service meeting as listed in the December 2003 Kingdom Ministry for the week of the 29th:" -- from http://www.jw-connect.com/protected/
Such a caution supposedly assures the browser that others on the site are all Jehovah's Witnesses, though experience with bulletin boards and chat sites run by Witnesses has proved that ex-Witnesses and others can easily "hack" their way into the site, posing as a JW in good standing.
PartnersintheTruth.com was erratic in loading, but I finally got it to come up. It first offers a screening process, so that you have to answer a question that indicates you are one of Jehovah's Witnesses, such as "What does P.O. stand for?" Anyone with any education in JW lingo could figure that one out. They then go on to say,
"Are the employess (sic) and consultants of Partners In The Truth Witnesses?
"Yes, some are. All employees are required to have fundamental knowledge of beliefs and practices of the Jehovah's Witness Organization in order to more effectively work in the interest of all members." (source)"Some are" does not even indicate a majority, which should raise a red flag in the Witness' mind, and the $25.95 per month fee for full access (less if you sign up for longer periods) is a bit steep in my opinion! Especially since the others are free at this time. They did, however, offer this note of JW "safety":
"Partners In The Truth is the first and largest service of this kind in North America. We support the principles established thru Christian doctrine and defined by the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society." (source)
How that is enforced is impossible to tell, although as I mentioned in the first part of this article, it is easy for predators to "deceive" the registrants by common internet tricks.
"jwmatch.com employs and co-operates with Witnesses and Non-Witnesses."
In other words, although in order to get in you have to possess certain information from the latest Kingdom Ministry (an in-house publication for Witnesses only printed by the Watchtower), they fall short of insisting you have to be an active Witness, saying only "please do not join if you are not yet baptized or if you are not yet legally divorced and free to be remarried."
JWMatch.com appears to have quite a following as they state:
...more than 25 000 members have registered worldwide, almost purely by word-of-mouth recommendation. On the more technical side, jwmatch.com reach more than 1,3 mio pageviews a month. jwmatch.com does not actively advertise in newsletters, magazines, or on other websites. It's hard to find this site by search engines without entering exact keywords.
What To Expect in the Future
Although one might think that the best solution for Jehovah's Witnesses is to have online dating and singles interaction supervised by elders in good standing, my guess is that that will never happen. When you understand that Witnesses are ENCOURAGED to turn each other in for various sins, including unchaperoned dating by younger ones, one-night stands and pedophile activity, most Witnesses are aware that the elders would be VERY nosey about all that is going on. Most people who join online dating services presumably would want the most privacy possible, while appearing to the outsider to be in "good standing." There are MANY horror stories where elders have hid in the bushes looking for evidence in the yard of one of their members, or tapping phones, peeping, private investigations, and so forth. Likely, most Witnesses who join such services are playing on the outer edge of their faith, perhaps inviting "trouble" with their local congregation. However, given the current state of affairs in the Watchtower organization (low meeting attendance and declining numbers in many Western countries), such services are likely to grow. Since they are not actually operated by Witnesses under any supervision of the Watchtower, they are not accountable to the elders. This, for many Witnesses, may very well be the greatest attraction to such sites.
Randy
Net Soup!
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Dogpatch
Also don't forget to read the guestlog towards the bottom (a link) where a lot of ACTIVE JWs have posted their comments!
http://www.freeminds.org/JWsinglesguestlog.htm
Some of them don't realize that there have been many stories of elders hiding in the bushes or spying on their flock. They don't have the time? Give me a break, what are they doing, feeding the hungry? Charity work? No, they want the DIRT on who is misbehaving!
Randy
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Woman know your place
Thats brilliant Randy!
I can understand why the society discourages use of the internet.... how can you have a control group when you can't see what the members are doing?
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kilroy2
dating is a problem, in vanderbuilt michigan, there are at least 2 mariages that are second cousions ans no one thinks it is strange, one if the mother and father were reversed so the last name was babcock it would have read at the wedding does **** babcock take ****** babcock to be............ I think you see what I am trying to say, not a good sight, but they all think this is ok, and the problems with many dubber mariages after the vows when you dont want to have oral sex or other types of recreation as you can be df'ed for it, and one party feels deprived, they weave a very tangled web
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johnkumar
Hello friend I am a preacher from India and I like to have your friendship [email protected]
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dannyboi
New social site for Jehovah's Witnesses is JWFind.net. Though the admins do not encourage members to use it for dating, it may be used for this purpose too. All services there are free of charge:
Find Jehovah's Witnesses friends worldwide for free
A true companion is loving all the time, and is a brother that is born for when there is distress. (Proverbs 17:17)
Find Jehovah's Witnesses friends
Jehovah's Witnesses around the world are governed with love which crosses age, cultural or nationality borders (John 13:35) . They wish to expand the love by meeting spiritual brothers and sisters worldwide and exchange greetings, wishes or experiences. (Proverbs 13:20) Brothers and sisters already joined many online social or dating sites, found friends and established certain relationships. But, how safe were the sites they've been exposed to? Internet is a wild space.
Trustworthy space for Jehovah's Witnesses
Do you trust a person upon first meeting? Of course not! Trust usually grows slowly. Well, that is exactly what JWFind.net is all about. We wish to provide a safe and trusty platform to help Jehovah's Witnesses find and keep trusting relationships within their worldwide spiritual family. Site members expect servants of Jehovah here, so only baptized active Jehovah's Witnesses may join the site. Members are further obliged to respect site rules.
Advanced services totally free-of-charge. Forever.
The web provides many features, such as detailed profile specification, searching, matching, e-mail like messaging, chat, forum, gallery, blog, media sharing, content wall, comments, bible verse helper, stationery, content-access permission settings, and more, all free-of-charge. Are you interested? If so, just look around and if you decide to join, follow a registration how-to. If you meet the requirements, we like to welcome you here :)