"New system" questions

by JustTickledPink 38 Replies latest jw friends

• 

  Hondo

  Why don't JW's want to go to Heaven? I recently had a discussion on this with a JW friend of mine. She was so happy that she would "soon" be able to live on earth (with 6 billion+ dead bodies and total destruction) forever. I told her that as a Christian I have been promised eternal life in the presence of God and that I look forward to this. This upset her somewhat, and then she told me that I was totally wrong, certainly not "annointed", and that I would be sorry, soon, that I had not joined God's "chosen" organization...!! ho hum...No matter what I said to her, or showed her in the bible could convince her that she may be even the slightest bit wrong.

  Anyway, I don't understand this mindset. It is totally off the wall and irrational. I know as JW's are told they can't go to heaven and that an earthly existance is all they can ever look forward too, but I just don't get it. How does the Watchtower Society convince these people that a promis of heaven and living in the presence of God is out of their reach, and that all they can ever hope, if they are good little JW's, is a destroyed earth.

  Appreciate any JW or Ex-JW comments. Thanks

  Hondo.
• 

  Gill

  Hi Hondo,

  The Watchtower society can convince its members of anything, including that the sky's pink if it wanted to because those who are still witnesses are brainwashed at five meetings a week and regular study and field service. Those who have left, no matter how they argue it still have a tiny splodge of their brain's screaming out at them, no matter how much they ignore it or deny it, what if it's true and Armageddons about to happen!!!!!

  The story is told in such a simplistic and genuinely believed way that people are lulled into a brainwashed, unthinking submissiveness.

  I believe, when you read all of our stories and comments here from ex JW's the reason they are so humerous is that we are all laughing at ourselves and not just the WTBTS, and laughing at how we could have been so stupid.

  But the brainwashing is thorough, and no matter how much we come to realise that we were living a total brainwashed lie a tiny bit of it still remains even when we are finally free.

  If somebody tells you something, in the case of say a baby and young child and through their life, over and over again, that person will BELIEVE it. And in the case of someone who is just looking for hope and answers and want something good, they will believe it also.

  It's just Brainwashing, plain and simple.

  These people WANT a new system because life IS bloody hard and so they want to BELIEVE.

  But that's just my opinion.
• 

  JustTickledPink

  Hondo,

  It's because they say that it was God's ORIGINAL plan when he put Adam and Eve here on the earth and if we will only serve him willingly we can be part of fulfilling his plan. That way, we are proving Satan to be false by being faithful to God.

  It's all about Satan challenging God and God needing his chosen faithful people to fill the earth and make it into a paradise to prove Satan a liar.

  If you don't sign up to do all this, then you are choosing Satan. So it's not really like JWs get a choice of heaven or earth... they are only told it's either earth or become a Satan worshiper.

  And from the way they describe it, we are already living in hell, everything is horrible and everyone is horrid, and the paradise is going to be soooo wonderful. But they talk to people who are very hopeless, so it's very appealing.
• 

  doodle-v

  Look! Po-ca-hon-tas! Paradise Earf! We need to start a bible study with you immeadiately because you can no longer worship your heathen tree god, or your ancestors!

  No Po-ca-hon-tas...you cannot eat that deer for lunch, we are all vegetarians now.
• 

  cyber-sista

  Too funny doodle-v.

  This is a picture from the newest version of the "Learn from the Great Teacher book." A JW woman commented to me that her little boy just loved the new book because the pictures were so "realistic." I have a question though--Why was Po-co-hon-tas ressurected wearing a leather deer suit--and that cowboy in the background has leather pants on too--hey looks like that little girl is wearing leather shoes too. Of course the WT would argue that these are only artist"s "depictions". Hey but aren't these Wt publications supposed to be inspired by Jehovah--if so woudn't the pictures be accurate too? Does this mean the writings in these publications are also speculations? hmmmm makes a thinking person wonder...
• 

  steve2

  This is the question I struggled with as a JW:

  What actual part of dead people would be resurrected in the new system?

  According to the JWs, we do not possess immortal souls. So, nothing remains after death to be resurrected. JWs teach that the dead person is held in memory by Jehovah and that the dead are "asleep in death" - which is really just a euphemism. If you follow the JW line, they're not really talking about resurrection of the dead (because the dead disappear into the dust of the earth). Instead, what they're talking about is reconstruction: Presumably, in the new system, a grand reconstruction will occur in which the newly constructed bodies will simply think they are the people who lived and died in the old system. But they actually won't be those people - because there is no physical or mental continuity for the deceased from the old to the new system. Is this confusing?

  I can now read what I've just written and laugh at the absurdity of it. But it seemed such a vexed question many years ago. Now I see the whole concept of a mass resurrection of dead people as a fanciful notion - the more I scrutinise it (the way the JWs scrutinise the doctrines of other religions). Quite apart from questions about what part of the person is resurrected, I can think of nothing worse than the thought of having endless bar-b-ques in a paradise world filled with judgemental clones... I can imagine JWs frowning upon Pochahontas' wearing that type of garb to the Kingdon Hall.
• 

  cyber-sista

  I can think of nothing worse than the thought of having endless bar-b-ques in a paradise world filled with judgemental clones... I can imagine JWs frowning upon Pochahontas' wearing that type of garb to the Kingdon Hall.

  LOL

  Aloha and welcome Steve2,

  But remember Steve there wouldn't be any bar-b-ques of steaks, burger or ribs, but endless days of soy burgers and tofu dogs...
• 

  steve2

  Hey LOL

  No problem: I can take substitutes for meat (bring on the soy), but not substitutes for living life with open-minded and genuinely loving people. For me, the hardest part of being a JW was not dealing with what Jehovah would think, but with what the brothers would think!

  steve2
• 

  StinkyPantz

  I haven't read the other answers so sorry if I repeat. I was highly concerned with whether or not we'd have tampons and toilet paper.