as has been observed in western congos, the decline is real.. usa is 12.475 % less -2015 vs 2014.
I stand corrected - there was a 0.36% increase in 2014 once the merged branches are accounted for, pulling numbers from the thread below.
http://www.jehovahs-witness.com/topic/282591/october-2014-kingdom-ministry-km-10-2014-pdf
Even so I think it's clear that we've reached stagnation at the very least, and decline as a percentage of the population.
as has been observed in western congos, the decline is real.. usa is 12.475 % less -2015 vs 2014.
i was very hooked on the rc videos, really interesting to watch.
i started questioning stuff a couple of months ago.. however there is still a scenario that makes me wonder.
considering the israelites as god's chosen people and the kings as anointed, the bible shows many bad decisions the people made, including the rulers that were anointed.
You pose the exact example that I use to explain my stance to separate myself from the watchtower society. Many times in the Bible the ones who were "just following orders" so to speak were punished for following someone that they presumed was gods chosen representative, when that person or entity was violating gods commands. It happened with many bad kings and it happened in the first century when loyal Jews were killed when Rome destroyed Jerusalem.
Personally, I don't believe that the watchtower society was ever "gods organization" but explaining it this way seems to make it more palatable to active jws. I think there's plenty of examples in the Bible that demonstrate that each one is responsible before god not only for their own actions, but also for their allegiances. It would be wise, therefore, to examine the organization to determine if it really is the standard of moral purity that one would expect (and indeed that it claims to be) from gods chosen representatives.
do you think that any of the clueless, amnesiacs that appeared before the rc will have a crisis of conscience over the abuse situation?
seriously, with the grilling they received from our new heroes, they would have to be sociopaths not to do some long hard thinking about the lack of empathy and compassion the borg displays as a top down policy towards abuse victims.
i can understand these idiots not having an awakening within the confines of their daily lives since they stay cloistered in their belief system, but the rc forced them into the real world with their questions and one would hope, made them think.
i have always said that if a god showed itself i would follow the evidence and renounce my atheism.
i have now seen enough to start believing again, i am so happy, i feel a inner contentment, when he connected with me i really knew it was him.
if you are not a believer you will not understand this, but trust me, look at the evidence, open your heart to him, let him in and your life will change for the better.
oh man I was so ready to be super annoyed by this post, but that was some good stuff, thank you.
Praise be unto him, the mighty flying spaghetti monster. May he touch you all with his noodley appendage.
I had the same initial thought about the "is religion dying out?" cover as the one I had when my wife made a point of leaving out the "Is science replacing the bible?" magazine a month or so back. My thought was "Let's hope so."
I love the WT study articles. Train your kids to serve the cult! Good to see they're still loosing kids!
someone please tell me how or if i can find proof that the rumor [that is pasted below] that was posted by a friend [still in, but should know better] on my face book page is false, [which of course we all know it is,] this makes me so angry, i have to stick my neck out and comment on this post but need something to back me up....anyone want to enlighten me where this got started?
i need proof he never said such a thing, it seems to me its false.
whats interesting is this, the bible in the photo accompanying the statement below is the latest version.... [photo].
i was born into the jw's religion.
was an active jw for over 30 years.
i remember when i was a child my mom would take me in the bathroom and switch me so hard with the nice little switch she got from the tree outside.
because of the belief that the bible is quite literally the word god jws must shut out many logical concepts and theories.
it's not just evolution although that is a large one.
i know when i was in there were certain concepts that made sense to me but i would try not to think about them too much.
Well of course they don't think about those things. They can just point to me and say "he allowed himself to consider those concepts, and now look where he is! He's in the world!"
Thinking about stuff like that was definitely instrumental in my waking up.
i've thought and said too much to ever gain jehovahs forgiveness and love if i want to be a christian again.
i made a topic on my unforgivable sin and blaspemy of the holy spirit.. i feel saddness everyday having no relationship with god, no religion and fear of the afterlife.
even when i was kid i feared death and the end of the world.
Yeah, I agree with Morpheus and FMF. I consider myself generally pretty well-adjusted (in spite of my upbringing in a cult) and generally happy, but even so therapy has been helpful. I think in your case it may really help you to understand many of the cognitive distortions that you're employing that give you a rather dim view of yourself and of your future.
If nothing else, I would recommend that you read up on cognitive behavior therapy, which can be quite helpful in situations that you seem to be facing. A good book on the topic is "Feeling Good" by David Burns.
There's absolutely no reason why you need to live in a state of fear and anticipation for a terrible future. That's the type of thing that can often result in self-harm and I hope that you are able to avoid going any further down that path. Please, please, please find a way to get some help.
Again as morpheus said, this comes from a place of concern with absolutely no judgement (hey, I'm seeing a therapist myself!) so I hope you will at least consider it.
