Posts by Divergent

67

Recent mistakes of the Governing Body contributing to the decline of JWs

by slimboyfat in

they have made so many strategical mistakes it's hard to keep track.

some changes within the last decade or so that are contributing to declining numbers of jws:.

1. elimination of book study groups, the most informal, enjoyable and sociable of the jw meetings, contributed to loss of sense of community among jws.. 2. policy of consolidating kingdom halls.

Divergent

3 other points that I would like to add:

1. Discouraging higher education has resulted in many JW's being low wage earners who are unable to contribute much financially to the org

2. Encouraging singleness / not having children has resulted in congregations comprising almost entirely of middle-aged / older ones with no future growth potential

3. The "marry only in the Lord" policy has left hundreds of thousands being unable to find a suitable marriage mate, many of which end up being single & childless while growing old & bitter. Many of those who ignore such counsel & find a non-JW marriage mate get hurt over the judgemental attitude of the congregation & end up leaving. No points for the WT in either scenario!

23

"Belief" and "Faith" are Simply Emotional Terms for Ideas and Opinions (long post)

by xjwsrock in

this is my current bottom-line conclusion after starting to see through the jw game 3 to 4 years ago and going through my own process of waking up.

it helps to write it down and put it "out there".

i hope it helps or resonates with you in your own personal process.. basically if i were given 10 seconds to say something to an active jehovah's witness that i cared about it would be the headline above.

Divergent

Perry:

I have started to get used to waking by faith and not by sight.

So Perry...how does it feel like walking around in circles? ;)

18

Listen to Terri O'Sullivan XJW on Croydon Radio !

by Phizzy in

terri o'sullivan was interviewed by croydon radio for a programme called "leap of faith", it was broadcast on sunday.. she does a great job of showing how wacky and weird the jw beliefs and practices are, the interviewer asks perceptive questions, either he was well briefed by terri or he is an ex jw !.

she also gives info.

on her meetup group for xjw's, great fun !.

Divergent

Well, when people who are restricted & surpressed go off the rails, they REALLY go off the rails! Nothing really surprising here...

12

JWs do Volunteer To Help Worldly Organizations Distribute Food to the Needy

by Athanasius in

some months back i posted a topic asking if jws were now encouraged to volunteer their time for charitable organizations, as one of the volunteers who i work with was promoting jw.org to one of the spanish speaking workers.

because of that, i guessed that he was a jw.. https://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/5708790489939968/jws-now-encouraged-volunteer.

well the other day as he and i were folding and stacking tables after distributing food to the needy, i mentioned that after i retired i got bored and decided to do volunteer work.

Divergent

I asked what had been his profession before he signed on to help with the food distribution. His reply was rather interesting: "I worked for the kingdom."

So I said: "So you are a retired minister?" He nodded in the affirmative.

Sounds funny. JW's NEVER retire from "ministering" and stop "working" for the "kingdom"!

7

What the Org Teaches #5 "God's" Law on Shunning is Flexible For Elders!

by The Searcher in

parents are forced by the org to regard their disfellowshipped children as if they were dead, non-existent - even if their child was in dire straits.

's feel when they hear that it's ok for elders to try and encourage disfellowshipped ones back to the org, but they can't?.

what the org says: km 8/02 p. 4 par.

Divergent

No visit would be made on any who evidence a critical, dangerous attitude

LOL! They can't handle dissent!

15

What's your passion???

by Faith after Deception in

yesterday, i was feeling very blue.

this is quite unusual for me, as i tend to be quite an upbeat, positive person, so spells of sadness or depression take me by surprise and are a real shock to the system.

you know, i don’t believe in “putting on a face” or pretending to be ok; this “fake it ’til you make it” malarkey has never been something i’ve liked.

Divergent

Socialising & making new friends. I've lost almost all of my JW "friends"!

28

Jehovah loves "even rounded numbers" or could this be a way to disprove the inspiration of the Bible?

by notjustyet in

while i am not able to recall them all at this time, i remember so many instances that when a number was quoted in the bible, especially large numbers, they were all "rounded up" to the nearest hundred or thousand.

for instance the angel killed 185,000 syrians, not 184,879. sampson killed a thousand men with the jawbone of an ass, not 961. and on and on on the even rounded numbers.

i would guess that it could be agues that these numbers were correct but is that realistic?

Divergent

Adam lived for 130 years and then became father to a son in his likeness, in his image, and he named him Seth.+ 4 After becoming father to Seth, Adam lived for 800 years. And he became father to sons and daughters. After becoming father to Seth, Adam lived for 800 years. And he became father to sons and daughters. 5 So all the days of Adam’s life amounted to 930 years, and then he died.+So all the days of Adam’s life amounted to 930 years, and then he died.+6 Seth lived for 105 years and then became father to Eʹnosh.+ 7 After becoming father to Eʹnosh, Seth lived for 807 years. And he became father to sons and daughters. After becoming father to Eʹnosh, Seth lived for 807 years. And he became father to sons and daughters. 8 So all the days of Seth amounted to 912 years, and then he died.So all the days of Seth amounted to 912 years, and then he died.
9 Eʹnosh lived for 90 years and then became father to Keʹnan. 10 After becoming father to Keʹnan, Eʹnosh lived for 815 years. And he became father to sons and daughters. After becoming father to Keʹnan, Eʹnosh lived for 815 years. And he became father to sons and daughters. 11 So all the days of Eʹnosh amounted to 905 years, and then he died.So all the days of Eʹnosh amounted to 905 years, and then he died.
12 Keʹnan lived for 70 years and then became father to Ma·halʹa·lel.+ 13 After becoming father to Ma·halʹa·lel, Keʹnan lived for 840 years. And he became father to sons and daughters. After becoming father to Ma·halʹa·lel, Keʹnan lived for 840 years. And he became father to sons and daughters. 14 So all the days of Keʹnan amounted to 910 years, and then he died.So all the days of Keʹnan amounted to 910 years, and then he died.
15 Ma·halʹa·lel lived for 65 years and then became father to Jaʹred.+ 16 After becoming father to Jaʹred, Ma·halʹa·lel lived for 830 years. And he became father to sons and daughters. After becoming father to Jaʹred, Ma·halʹa·lel lived for 830 years. And he became father to sons and daughters. 17 So all the days of Ma·halʹa·lel amounted to 895 years, and then he died.So all the days of Ma·halʹa·lel amounted to 895 years, and then he died.
18 Jaʹred lived for 162 years and then became father to Eʹnoch.+ 19 After becoming father to Eʹnoch, Jaʹred lived for 800 years. And he became father to sons and daughters. After becoming father to Eʹnoch, Jaʹred lived for 800 years. And he became father to sons and daughters. 20 So all the days of Jaʹred amounted to 962 years, and then he died.So all the days of Jaʹred amounted to 962 years, and then he died.
21 Eʹnoch lived for 65 years and then became father to Me·thuʹse·lah.+ 22 After becoming father to Me·thuʹse·lah, Eʹnoch continued to walk with the true God* for 300 years. And he became father to sons and daughters. After becoming father to Me·thuʹse·lah, Eʹnoch continued to walk with the true God* for 300 years. And he became father to sons and daughters. 23 So all the days of Eʹnoch amounted to 365 years. So all the days of Eʹnoch amounted to 365 years. 24 Eʹnoch kept walking with the true God.+ Then he was no more, for God took him.+Eʹnoch kept walking with the true God.+ Then he was no more, for God took him.+25 Me·thuʹse·lah lived for 187 years and then became father to Laʹmech.+ 26 After becoming father to Laʹmech, Me·thuʹse·lah lived for 782 years. And he became father to sons and daughters. After becoming father to Laʹmech, Me·thuʹse·lah lived for 782 years. And he became father to sons and daughters. 27 So all the days of Me·thuʹse·lah amounted to 969 years, and then he died.So all the days of Me·thuʹse·lah amounted to 969 years, and then he died.
28 Laʹmech lived for 182 years and then became father to a son. 29 He named him Noah,*+ saying: “This one will bring us comfort* from our labor and from the painful toil of our hands because of the ground that Jehovah has cursed.”+ He named him Noah,*+ saying: “This one will bring us comfort* from our labor and from the painful toil of our hands because of the ground that Jehovah has cursed.”+ 30 After becoming father to Noah, Laʹmech lived for 595 years. And he became father to sons and daughters. After becoming father to Noah, Laʹmech lived for 595 years. And he became father to sons and daughters. 31 So all the days of Laʹmech amounted to 777 years, and then he died.So all the days of Laʹmech amounted to 777 years, and then he died.
32 After Noah reached 500 years of age, he became father to Shem,+ Ham,+ and Jaʹpheth.+

God seems to like 'zeros' and 'fives'!

11

Inactive ones talk... some lies I noticed

by purrpurr in

the brother giving the saturday"inactive ones helping them to return".. he said, this year the society has been making an effort to contact all inactive ones.. and also... the elders visit all the inactive ones at least once a year .

bs!

totally bs!.

Divergent

The brother giving the talk at the RC I attended didn't mention those things, so I don't think that was from the outline...

19

Listing Bros cv's in their intro

by purrpurr in

at the assembly i noticed something new and disturbing.

when a brother is introduced before a talk the audience is now given their life history/ major accomplishments .. "brother arsehole who served at bethal for five years, pioneered in the foreign language territory for ten years, is an elder in x congregation and serves in the construction projects blah blah blah".

this puffing up never used to happen?

Divergent

I remember hearing that at the 2015 RC, so it's not a new practice that was just introduced this year

38

2016-07-15 TO ALL BODIES OF ELDERS IN RUSSIA New law on missionary activity

by wifibandit in

2016-07-15 to all bodies of elders in russia re: new law on missionary activity.

translation:.

to all bodies of elders in russia new law on missionary activity.

Divergent

Sophia 3:9???