i'm not going to list all the changes here that have happened in 2014, most of you who frequent the boards know about them.. in reference to anthony morris' talk, i can't help feel that the organization is behaving so abnormally out of character for itself that it is bewildering even to ex jws.. cultish behavior is perfectly normal for cults, but whats happened this year is so far out of whack it beggars belief.. what do they think they are doing?
are they psyching jws up for some major announcement?.
i can't help but feel that something really strange is going on, this does not feel like the regular "special announcements" followed by articles in the watchtower.. .
Some times, my friends, it seems the WT is its own worst enemy. And it seems especially so the "higher" the speaker is.
If that doesn't give you a hint that something is fundamentally wrong, nothing will.
Also, I think tony could stand to get a little higher, if you know what I mean. That man needs to relax.
there is no room for self-expression in a cult.
this weekend's condemnation fest proved that.
looking forward to the november 2015 article, "boxers or briefs?
LOL. Would probably be more entertaining than the usual drivel out of this cult!
i was reading an article from a '95 wt called "watch out for self righteousness" it exposes amiii as a true pharisee by their own definition.
the style and content sound a lot like ray franz but it obviously was not.
i am confident you would never see an article like this in todays wt land.
Good find. The hipocrisy is astounding. The fact that they're constantly criticising christendom for their hipocrisy only adds an extra level of irony.
I honestly think that this branch visit has induced in me the greatest level of absolute disgust that I've ever experienced. Disgust doesn't even seem strong enough a word right now.
when i am3 was going to speak i was ecstatic to hear this lunatic embarass himself.
after the propaganda indoctrination session, a relative asked me what my spiritual goals were, i told em i want to become a servant before i turn 23 so i could get laid.
lmfao.
Mark 7:13
Thus you make the word of God invalid by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like this.”
1 John 4:8
Whoever does not love has not come to know God because God is love.
Lamentations 3:31-33
For Jehovah will not cast us off forever.
Although he has caused grief, he will also show mercy according to his abundant loyal love.
For it is not in his heart to afflict or grieve the sons of men.
2 Corinthians 9:7
Let each one do just as he has resolved in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
AMIII (paraphrasing from memory) after talking about inactive ones being blood guilty:
And they say "god will understand" - that's not any god that I know!
Yep, looks like the word of god is invalid in his mind.
i will have plenty of "snark" to post later on, but please indulge me while i get this out of my system..... suppose you are the leaders...yes, the leaders...there are only 7 of you...for the one true religion in all the universe.. jehovah the god of the whole universe speaks to you, you alone, out of 7 billion+ people on teh planet.. you have an opportunity, thanks to the advancements in technology, to speak to 750,000 of your followers "live", and another 750,000 or so within 24 hours.. 1.5 million people!
hanging on your every word!.
this is the first time in history you can simultaneously, or nearly simultaneously, address so many of your adherents.. what message are you going to present for this special occasion?.
Luke 12:45,46:
But if ever that slave should say in his heart, ‘My master delays coming,’ and starts to beat the male and female servants and to eat and drink and get drunk, the master of that slave will come on a day that he is not expecting him and at an hour that he does not know, and he will punish him with the greatest severity and assign him a part with the unfaithful ones
What was Jesus refering to when he suggested that the slave might "beat the [...] servants" in this scripture? I think we can all agree, since he was speaking in parable, that this would be somewhat metaphorical. Would, perhaps, going on rants publicly shaming the (ostensibly) hardest working servants (bethelites) and rants designed to induce guilt and horrible mental images, and guilt about personal style decisions and guilt about entertainment with no mention of the provision of Jesus' sacrifice to wash away our sins and no mention of Jehovah's making our "scarlet" sins as "white as snow" and no mention of the god who IS love? Would that qualify as beating the servants?
I can't think of anything that the "evil slave" could have done that would more closely resemble beating god's servants without it being a literal beating.
This is the tack I think I'm going to take if I'm able to get the topic of the zone visit to come up again. Or maybe just the next time that we read the FDS scriptures in a meeting again, they love those scriptures so I'm sure it won't be a long wait.
i've been thinking about brother morris' statement at the zone meeting this past weekend that inactive ones are bloodguilty.
bloodguilt is defined as "guilty of murder or manslaughter.
" murder is #1 on the list of disfellowshipping offenses- all they would have to do is change the wording from "murder" to "bloodguilt" and suddenly there you have grounds to disfellowship anyone who's inactive.
I doubt this statement was anything to do with trying to get the inactive back going out in serve-us. The inactive ones that attended the meetings where almost certainly only there for family and will probably be mostly unaffected by it. The impact will be upon the super-dubs who will feel that much more guilty even at the thought of skipping a saturday out. Telling them to imagine looking at their hands and seeing blood on them is a powerful image that will make a lasting impact on the minds of many, even without their realizing it.
What's more, the bloodguilty thing is going to justify those who are currently shunning inactive friends/family in spite of their not being DF'd. They'll justify the shunning because they "know" that the inactive one could do more in the ministry than they are and they therefore "know" that the inactive one is bloodguilty.
This type of thing is what keeps the system going - encourage the JWs to judge one another and guilt one another into staying with the cult.
be patient, she will get it done.
maralee.
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Also, from someone who sat through it - it's too late for me, save yourselves! I can't imagine why anyone would want a recording...
im sure you all have heard at one point or read that being an elder or ms isnt a position higher up but rather that you work under the congregation.. anthony morris just threw that out the window!
i have privileges in the congregation and even i was offended and felt bad for anyone who was 23 or older and not a ms!.
he goes on to tell this story of how a sister wanted to marry a brother and that anthony morris discouraged it because he was 23 and not an ms yet.
I don't have to imagine - I'm 30 and never was an ms. My wife jokingly said that she shouldn't have married me because I wasn't an ms.
above is a quote from the close to jehovah book.. well, after last nights branch visit we can now add colorful socks, tight dress pants for men, yoga pants (he got the word very wrong), not being an ms by age 23, not working 8-5 fully at bethel etc.... that was just from two talks last night alone!
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Don't forget that he went from saying we should decide for ourselves on what movies are appropriate to setting a bunch of rules about what movies are wrong - no twilight movies for the kids!
If your kids leave the cult, its probably because you let them watch twilight.
i am starting this thread to discuss the financial points i picked up during the branch visit.. firstly - as an elder we were told that all donations from the event - local and worldwide work were to be sent to the branch.
first of all - could the money-grab be any more obvious given these instructions?
is it even legal to take funds a person gave to a non-profit for one specific purpose (pay the light bill) to allocate them for another (www slush fund)?
Truthseeker - they need money just to keep things going. The GB have a cushy life and want to sustain it (lord knows "cult leader" wouldn't look good on a resume if they had to look for a different gig)
We've also seen that some of the "translation offices" are beautiful, well-appointed homes that I'm sure the GB use when they travel. They've got it good and want to keep it.
