by ezekiel3 40 Replies latest watchtower bible
I see they're basically saying that as long as you're a Christian, just don't be weak. More "New Light" (look out!).
Well, hell, they need to make up their minds. Do they want people to be a Witless or not?
Seems they're losing their grip.
laters
kaykay
Yes, Zeke, I have read through this article and was thinking that they must be leaking out lilke water through a sieve. I know that the JWs we still see tell us that the attendance at the meetings is way down, 1/3 or 1/2 missing. I'm sure they aren't missing all 5 meetings every week but one or 2 every week. And I have found that if you miss meetings, your field service time goes down (unless you are creative). You were right to highlight the statements pointed at young men and women that are "raised" as JWs. I've said before that the only one out of 15 remains in the congregations I know of; attrition through drifting away never being baptized, getting baptized and then drifting, and then those that are DF'd.
It must be pretty bad for the WTS to make so many guilt-making comments in a study article to admit that people are leaving.. Usually they ignore it in the publcations and try to address the problem through the COs riding the elders. But that must not be working. Time to ride the publishers.
Over the last 10 years, the WTS has blown the 1914 generation out of the water, "adjusted" their thinking on alternative service, confused the populace regarding blood fractions, changed when the "disgusting thing" stood in a holy place, that the sheep and goatas have not be separated yet (at the beginning of the great tribulation).
I'll try to address the entire article(s).
Makes you wonder what the district convetion has in store.
Blondie
You know they're really being hurt by all the info and efforts by exjws, when they're trying to get people to avoid "looking for any answers outside of the congregation".
Their biggest worry has to be the disenchantment thats becoming pervasive among all the jws. I see alot of it in the two congregations I bounce between. Its about time!!! I've been anxious for something ever since they changed the "generation" doctrine back in 95.
All I have to say is that the appeals and attempts to manipulate will be all too transparent to alot jw teens I've talked with (while supplying). They're so cynical and sacriligious that they even make me cringe.
I look forward to Blondie's analysis of that article.
Our sense of identity as servants of Jehovah can weaken if it is not solidly based on knowledge of the Scriptures...Young Christians who belong to God-fearing families must realize they cannot live off the faith of their parents. (paragraph 9)
I was raised to have a very solid knowledge of the scriptures. I knew every Freddie Franz quack theory inside and out from about the age of 10 on. I paid attention to the book study discussions of page after page of repetitious mind-numbing 400 page tome with catch phrases repeated over and over. Catch phrases like "The Nations Shall Know That I Am Jehovah" and "God's Nation of 1000 Years Has Approached." It was that last one that having read thoroughly just prior to 1975 that made me question the most why 1975 did not bring about even a whimper on the world scene. So I studied more.
Strangely, the more I studied, the more doubts I began to have. Then I began to do research into other texts quoted by the Watchtower. I found H.G. Wells A History of the World and The Two Babylons (I forget the author) in used book stores and began reading what they said.
The Two Babylons was a rather crazy book, with many parallels to the Watchtower beliefs. I began to wonder if Watchtower beliefs were just as crazy and began to examine them from a different perspective. The Two Babylons also talked a lot about false religion's (Babylon's) version of the ransom sacrifice, which originated centuries before Christ. I studied the Gilgamesh after that.
Then I read a book about "Is That In The Bible" that my Uncle Vern had once read. I began questioning the Watchtower version of Jephthah's daughter. I began to read some of the apocryphal books of the Bible. I began to question why the Scriptures Inspired book endorsed certain books of the Bible (NWT) as authentic, but not books like Judith, Maccabees, and so on. What made Esther acceptable to be included in the NWT, but not Judith? There were no answers to be found in the Watchtower indexes.
In all of this there was no one key that helped me point to the Watchtower and say "Pure Hogwash!" but I sure did suspect it. Eventually it was my feelings that led me out, the instinct that something wasn't right, more than any real knowledge or evidence. The idea that young people leave the organization because they don't study enough is just more hogwash. It isn't the amount of study that determines who leaves their religion; it is the fact that they have over a century of BS that people eventually see through and say something's just not right here.
Tammy
I think these kinds of articles are self-defeating. They are digging their own graves. This is the type of shit that got me thinking and made me get the hell out of that crap.
The last meeting I went to was a TMS meeting. The guy giving the talk said something to the effect of: "If you are not 100% Jehover's Witness, then you might as well leave.". That is when I packed up my book bag, got up and left never to return.
"Makes you wonder what the district convetion has in store."
It does indeed! Watch out!
Observador.
They still hang on to the tired old term "spiritual"! Me thinks the r&f is getting nothing of the kind and is slowly awakening to the reality!
carmel
"God's Nation of 1000 Years Has Approached."
Hehe I remember that book! I was just a little kid at the time but I remember wondering if the 1000 years refered to was the length of time it would take to study it.
Blonde, you right. The COs have been badgering us. "Its a well known fact The flock will do a little worse than you and your family does, Now I know you brothers are tired blah blabh blah." Its our fault that the school and svsmeat was off 50% and service average is 6 & 7 hours per pub.
Two of us are elderly men, one is very sick, and one is an apostate that :) that tells the friends they are doing the best they can, dont sweat it. Through it all we get skipped by the CO alot, the GB hasnt sent us any help (thank goodness) and they keep telling us we arent doing it right, more more more with less less less.
Speaking of slow death, has anyone seen the numbers this year? HOly CRap, at least 3 years of sharp decline IT IS NEGITIVE GROWTH, IN OTHER WORDS GOING FORWARD IN REVERSE, just because the number hasnt slid to the minus end of the number line doesnt mean we are in positive territory. Jah is blessing us thats why we are growing, oh wait. Well its the last days you know, so we can expect things to slow down. REALLY??? Which is it? blessed are not? OHHH you mean you not only want to have your cake, but now you want to eat it too?
**They still hang on to the tired old term "spiritual"! Me thinks the r&f is getting nothing of the kind and is slowly awakening to the reality!
It's rather hard to be spiritual in a place of learning. Did any of us feel anything remotely spiritual while in school?
The WTS proudly boasts that the meetings at the KHs are for learning about Jehovah and how we can be more pleasing to him. (trying not to gag as I'm writing that) They also take pride in the fact that JWs don't experience anything "emotional" as in traditional churches, but maybe now they are realizing that people *need* more than book-learnin' on how to appreciate God's rules 24/7.
They keep trying to replace the idea of "worship" with "following rules", and let's face it---this has worked pretty well for them til this point. For myself, I just kept telling myself that I'm doing what I'm supposed to but way down deep inside, I still missed the emotion I felt on Easter Sunday morning, and solemn candlelit services that made me feel SO good along with many other times all Church-related.
I recall hearing that WE don't need that-OUR worship is not based on emotions......but damn---I missed those emotions, and I'll bet I'm not alone in this. It has got to hit us in a place that we can't describe, but a "connection" anyway. JWs don't have anything of the sort, and are getting more clinical and cold as the years go by.
We've read a lot on here about the lack of gatherings, etc and the closeness that us "oldies" used to feel. I feel very sorry for those who are still caught up in it--and the new ones coming in-thinking they are being "trained" under God's direction. They will lose out on so much in their lives.
Annie
I love it.
Last year's Yearbook mentioned being "assimilated". Now they mention becoming "mainstream".
Always ask yourself, what's their next step? They seem to be slowly crawling out of complete denial - into brief
admission that they have threatening problems. The good thing is that, eventually they are forced to face up to the
mess they've created and all the rot they've let accumulate. I'm hoping for a total collapse of their faith in their
self created "God", the Organization, once they exhaust all options.
metatron
