Can someone explain the generation change?

by feelinglost 43 Replies latest jw friends

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  stillajwexelder

  Take 1914 and 100 years add another number we have not even thought of yet and hey presto that is the Generation
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  ithinkisee

  I heard rumors about the "new understanding" of the generation teaching being in a Watchtower, but when I heard it at an assembly I had a sick feeling in my stomach and knew for certain that the Witnesses were totally full of shit. I just didnt know how to get out and it was the first time I really felt alone, even though I was surrounded by fellow cultists.

  My sentiments in 1995 EXACTLY.

  Sinking feeling is right!

  -ithinkisee
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  Nellie

  I remember that this was a turning point for me too. The year prior to the change I had been conducting a study with a young girl who was about to go off to college. I remembered impressing upon her the urgency of the fact that "the generation" of 1914 was about to end and that that had to mean the end was imminent... As I sat there during the convention listening to them tell me that there was a "new understanding", excuse me "new light", I got sick to my stomach. I remember telling my husband that I felt like I owed her an apology. I was also floored at the fact that no one else seemed to get it! Same thing happened again with the NGO thing! It physically makes me sick!
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  Carmel

  Yup! Yup! Switched over from a 5kw gas driven generator to a 12.5 kw diesel! More power by the hour with all the lights on and the stove. Best generation change I've made for years.

  carmel
• 

  vitty

  Its truly amazing that some "get" it and others dont

  This was the begining of the end for my husband, even though it took another 10 years for him to get out. Me ? I just put my head even futher in the sand, and wouldnt even discuss it with my husband.

  I knew in my heart what it was, but I just couldnt join or wouldnt join the dots. And to think my kids were only 7 and 10 at the time, I wouldnt have the problem of my adult daughter being still in, I doubt if my daughter even knows about the change and its significance
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  MidwichCuckoo

  Its truly amazing that some "get" it and others dont

  Well I DON'T get it. And I don't believe the average dub would either. It's like being at school and not understanding what the teacher is saying - which kid will put their hand up and admit it and ask for clarification thus making themself look thick in front of the rest of the class? Easier just to pretend.

  I understand the need for the WTBTS to change the meaning. But I don't understand this (and the very casual insertion of the word 'apparently') -

  12 Therefore, in the final fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy today, "this generation" apparently refers to the peoples of earth who see the sign of Christ's presence but fail to mend their ways. (WT Nov 1st 1995)
• 

  steve2

  I was also floored at the fact that no one else seemed to get it! Same thing happened again with the NGO thing!

  This gets to the crux of the whole issue. The fact that my then-fellow believers didn't appear to see or hear what I was seeing and hearing was one of the loneliest experiences in my life. It was an utter shock to me that these people who had put so much pressure on "interested" persons checking out the facts and to be totally honest when doing so, could themselves be so complacent about a significant (and convenient) change in a central teaching.

  This recalls the sociological research on group influence: This research has shown that if a whole group observes the same event and later when an obvious fact is disputed by all group members except one, the lone individual will frequently change his or her answer to agree with the group - even though the thing being disputed obviously ocurred. Scary. People will doubt what they see and hear in deference to the group.

  I suspect that far more JWs than we may ever know may have been disturbed by the generation change, but looked around the stadium, saw everyone else blindly lapping it up and so put their doubts - and brain cells - on hold.
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  googlemagoogle

  12 Therefore, in the final fulfillment of Jesus' prophecy today, "this generation" apparently refers to the peoples of earth who see the sign of Christ's presence but fail to mend their ways. (WT Nov 1st 1995)
  
  that's such nonsense, isn't it? "this generation won't be gone until the end comes" or so it goes. and now they define "this generation" with "the generation that sees the end come". that ridicules the whole text.
  
  everyone who can think a bit and reads the passage knows, jesus was talking about the people present. the generation he supposedly lived in.
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  MidwichCuckoo

  I was also told that the redefinition of the word 'generation' is linked to the Greek word To'Te, and the interpretation of it.

  I see there is a token black man on the GB - but I think they would benefit by having a token Greek bloke too.
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  MidwichCuckoo

  I think they would benefit by having a token Greek bloke too.

  Actually, someone with a Greek name who once spent a fortnight in Crete would be as qualified as far as the R&F are concerened....