this is the scuttlebutt in one of the "bethel congregations" by us.. no details as to exactly what this "faith-testing" announcement might be.. anyone else hear any of this pre-zone visit hype?.
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Haha glad to help. Its the only way to keep my sanity at these damn cult meetings.
Currently an GB helper is going on about how we need to shut out the noise (anything that conflicts with the cult's doctrine) of this world, and ensuring that jah will protect us from tribulation "as a group"
now he's spinning some stats to look like wondrous expansion
this is the scuttlebutt in one of the "bethel congregations" by us.. no details as to exactly what this "faith-testing" announcement might be.. anyone else hear any of this pre-zone visit hype?.
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Of course the r/f can't help themselves from a little GB worship - the applause for herd was a good 3-4 times longer than for any previous speaker.
this is the scuttlebutt in one of the "bethel congregations" by us.. no details as to exactly what this "faith-testing" announcement might be.. anyone else hear any of this pre-zone visit hype?.
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Yup, total waste of time, even if I was still indoctrinated. If there's anything interesting, it will probably be at the very end, so probably 45 minutes to an hour out now.
this is the scuttlebutt in one of the "bethel congregations" by us.. no details as to exactly what this "faith-testing" announcement might be.. anyone else hear any of this pre-zone visit hype?.
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I did just notice that the door to the library is closed and the blinds drawn. This is unusual, especially since the kh is so full -normally they'd have people sitting back there. Probably nothing since the library for the other auditorium (its a double KH) has people in it. I'm probably being paranoid again.
Herd is now going on about the importance of meetings (so its odd that they keep eliminating them) and punctuality. Pretty standard fare.
this is the scuttlebutt in one of the "bethel congregations" by us.. no details as to exactly what this "faith-testing" announcement might be.. anyone else hear any of this pre-zone visit hype?.
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More nothing...updates on some missionaries in Alaska and a puff piece on the international conventions and some talk about how theyre having trouble keeping up with the need for new KHs. The whole time I was thinking the reality is that their real estate scam is having trouble keeping up with their needs for more money. Of course after that a song followed by one important announcement - there are contribution boxes available for those who want to support the work.
Now herd is doing a talk that seems aimed at convincing people that time flies. The subtext is to stay busy supporting the cult and ignore the fact that its been 100 years of nothin'
this is the scuttlebutt in one of the "bethel congregations" by us.. no details as to exactly what this "faith-testing" announcement might be.. anyone else hear any of this pre-zone visit hype?.
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So far its just fluff intro and a summary of the watchtower.
I know I'm being paranoid, but todays WT seems to be making lots of hints that could be groundwork for a literal drink the koolaid type pronouncement. Also in the intro there was a full minute, maybe 2 saying not to record, or stream the program, and don't even share your notes with anyone (that's right, anyone. Not the typical "recordings should be for immediate family that can't be present" stuff that they do at conventions.
as a child, i was made to believe that i loved my mom and family and close friends but that i loved no one more than jehovah god.
did you ever really love him?.
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So there's this all-powerful guy out there who created you with the ability to reason, but in order to get his approval you have to bypass your supposedly god-given powers of reason, opting, instead, to rely on faith. He gave you the ability to weigh the evidence before believing something, but refused to give any firm evidence to even demonstrate his mere existence. And if you don't blindly believe in him (and, what's more, spend all your free time in pursuit of his "kingdom interests") you will lose any opportunity at an afterlife.
No, I could never love that guy. That guy was a dick.
i happened to attend a session of the summer convention on sunday morning.
one thing that that struck me was how their view of paradise was that we would all be the same.
they kept talking about how nice it would be if we all spoke the same language.
I've said it a number of times here, but I often thought that for me to be happy in the jw paradise I'd pretty much have to be lobotomized. The bulk of things that make me happy would be impossible or unlikely in jw-world - Scotch, cars, computers, beef, etc, etc.
i posted here a week ago some disturbing news for congregations being consolidated in britain.
my goodness that was nothing !
a letter was read today from bethel addressed to all congregations in britain that can only be described as the biggest news for years.the main points:.
i wonder if the wts will try the sell and lease back method ?
sell the hall to a bank--pocket the dosh---then lease it back
the congregation would have to pay the rent --of course.
My instinct is to say that would be to obvious a scam - but the r/f aren't exactly known for picking up on the obvious...
We should stop giving them ideas.
i've, over the years, looked into many religions.
obviously, from those that have seen me post here, i've become an atheist simply because i couldn't find any reason to believe in god.
recently, though, over the past few months, a new change has started.
I seem to be somewhat of an oddball in this respect (though I think there were a few here that went through a similar process). I've been atheist in all but name for probably about 12 years (all my adult life). Of course I did lip service to god, sometimes I prayed but it was always more of "cover your bases" kind of way because there was always that little bit of doubt that the JWs might be right. All the while I spent much time musing on the impact of atheism on morals and on the meaning of life and the conclusion I always came to was that religion was unneccesary. But always there was that tiny bit of doubt. When I found jwfacts, and the outright lies in the creation book, it was like flicking a lightswitch. In that moment I became a full-fledged atheist and a weight was lifted from my shoulders (but a heavier one replaced it since I'm not stuck in for my wife's sake).
This seems to be a pretty common tragectory that people take upon leaving their religion - once you start thinking about things critically it's a difficult habit to lose. This appears to be especially the case among former JWs. So much of the JW religion is about mocking other religions and pointing out their flaws that it makes it very difficult to then go and join up one of those religions without being able to see them for what they are.
