Posts by Alive!

19

Personal thoughts and evaluations upon the Jehovah's Witnesses Organization

by Finkelstein in

from my own personal feelings about the jws when i was involved and i was brought up in the is religious practice from birth, was one of feeling of being lied to, exploited and manipulated to a certain extent.

reflectively though i could see some wholesome social behavior direction being propagated not surprising nevertheless since this faith is based from christianity at its core.. where and how the wts/jws got bit corrupted i believe is that this organization has always had a publishing house and its core operation and supporting finances were mostly from that endeavoring operation.

this also included creating doctrines which were to support and enhance the proliferation of those published works.

Alive!

And as you said Finkel...surely, one of the most profoundly disturbing issues is the vow to the org.

It's absolutely not biblical and is one big red flag.

19

Personal thoughts and evaluations upon the Jehovah's Witnesses Organization

by Finkelstein in

from my own personal feelings about the jws when i was involved and i was brought up in the is religious practice from birth, was one of feeling of being lied to, exploited and manipulated to a certain extent.

reflectively though i could see some wholesome social behavior direction being propagated not surprising nevertheless since this faith is based from christianity at its core.. where and how the wts/jws got bit corrupted i believe is that this organization has always had a publishing house and its core operation and supporting finances were mostly from that endeavoring operation.

this also included creating doctrines which were to support and enhance the proliferation of those published works.

Alive!

Finkelstein,

That was very well expressed - so true.

Below is exactly how I felt.

Preaching the Gospel in the descriptive version of JWS was perceived by myself as doing so with a sort of tainted commercialization, which eventually brought my own lets say spirituality (belief) down to such a low level I couldn't stand it anymore, so I left a bit bewildered and a bit confused.

58

Now you don't even have to go to the Kingdom Hall - ALL meetings to be recorded & available on jw.org (if you have a password)

by sir82 in

jw
friends

latest boe letter:.

october 22, 2015. to all bodies of eldersre: use of jw stream.

dear brothers:we are writing to inform you that arrangements are being made for video recordings ofcongregation meetings, circuit assemblies, and conventions to be uploaded to jw stream (accessibleat http://stream.jw.org) in various languages.

Alive!

Check out mainstream church websites - sermon videos/ notes are downloaded every week.

No 'secret' password required.

I visit a local baptist church on and off - always a good 100 - 150 attending I guess - yesterday they sang a hymn about the resurrection for mankind. Oh, and everything will be on their website- re the Sermon and Pastors notes - with the invitation to email the pastor re questions and comments re his delivery and words.

Not saying they have the 'truth' per se: just saying it's good to have open discussion offered. No force fed wacky stuff. So different to what the WT told me.

Main issue for them is to sing praises, take time for reflection and be part of a community.

Probably not my only 'choice' as in a spiritual home - but I appreciate the diversity within the church.

No big deal for them having local sermons live streamed.....

144

JW message becoming more and more relevant

by lsw1961 in

mans requirements are limited which can be satisfied with a little and tension-free endeavor..

however man attempts not only to collect but also to grab and amass everything to the excess.

somehow he feels that he can be happy only when he has in abundance whereas others have nothingwhich seems to be the thread that runs throughout the history.

Alive!

ISW1961

As someone else said here, one can't help but respect an individual's courage in speaking out when they feel deeply motivated.

I was a deeply dedicated JW who converted. Many times I'd take that lonely stance for Jehovah's sake - speaking amongst family, at work - street witnessing in shopping areas, in parks to get 'my time in'. I know how it feels to want to make a stand for my perception of God.

My close internal relationship with my Heavenly Father caused me to question 'men'.

Men.... Their motives, their honesty and their way of 'love'.

Be careful. God can make the very stones cry out. It is one thing to teach that there is a wonderful hope for ALL creation. It's another thing to force ERROR down people's throats, giving them no choice - as in 'you either believe this and have Gods approval or you dont have his approval' - it wrecks havoc with the conscience and integrity of people who have prayed in gratitude for this organised Watchtower org programme of teaching re a prophecy, 'supplementary teachings' etc - only to find its not true. Proved wrong.

Apparently false teachers would be prevalent in this age - I'm reading this from the word of God and taking it seriously.

I noted you said the 'the JW' message - not Jesus's message. Are JWs a division? A sect? They have rudely denounced the sincere faith of other Christians who do not subscribe to their wacky 'supplementary' rules and non scriptural teachings/ regulations.

The JW track record of wacky prophetic announcements are not attractive. Many christians would read the word of God and think, NO - God is not among this people - he wouldnt allow such disturbing misleadings.

Personally, I hold Our Father in higher esteem than that.

92

Reflections

by Frenchy in

jw
friends

im starting a new thread because its time i left the bergman discussion.

i would like to address some comments made by ahhah, however, comments which have given me reason to look deep into myself.. even then, i wonder how objective a person could ever be after having had part of their life taken from them by a cult association.

on the other hand, who else (other than an ex-jw) would ever care enough to work as tirelessly as he seems to have in attempting to document the potential harm of this religion (biased as it may be).

Alive!

What a wonderful thread. Thank you for bumping it up.

129

Silent And Sweet Rebellion Going On Within JW Organization!

by lsw1961 in

after 1975, the vast majority remained as though nothing has happened.

but some left the organization.

however, there arose a third category who did not leave the organization, but brought a new view into their heart: jws are right in their core cause (gods kingdom as the solution to mankinds problems) but may or may not be right in their supplementary teachings, hence are not bothered about changes happening in this unimportant area..

Alive!

Funnily, just this weekend - hubby and I were talking about the adverse influence of the controlling aspect of the GB/FDS on our consciences.

The organisation/The FDS teach us that they are God's mouthpiece.

We are taught that obedience is non- negotiable unless we would care to be compared to Koran or whatever.

Yet, all the time, our consciences are getting weakened and undermined by the implementation of strict and often unbiblical directives from these men.

When we turn up, go out on service, attend meetings - we get counted in.

We give the message to others that it's OK to be manipulated by leaders who don't seem to know what they are about.

Instead of engaging the worldwide brotherhood in gentle discussion - they send out harsh and sometimes whacky 'new light' to be read, repeated and amened by an often bewildered population of believers.

Some of us can't sipport that, even in a non cooperative way.

129

Silent And Sweet Rebellion Going On Within JW Organization!

by lsw1961 in

after 1975, the vast majority remained as though nothing has happened.

but some left the organization.

however, there arose a third category who did not leave the organization, but brought a new view into their heart: jws are right in their core cause (gods kingdom as the solution to mankinds problems) but may or may not be right in their supplementary teachings, hence are not bothered about changes happening in this unimportant area..

Alive!

I wrote a different post - but have deleted.

Regarding your last post ISW1961 - I hope you are OK and managing all this.....

Not easy.

15

What Is She Thinking?

by thankyou in

i'm a non-jw guy.. joined this forum 2 weeks ago to learn about jw.

i enjoy the valuable intelligence, humor, and "community" it provides.. question:.

it appears that a non-jw guy is "off limits" to a jw girl-gal.

Alive!

Just to chime in...the key to witness 'thinking' is that if one doesn't do things 'Jehovah's' way, only bad can come out of it.

Your belief in God, your love for God is considered non- valid under current JW doctrine. Instead you are one of 'Satans' according to JW theology.

That doesn't mean that they don't desperately want to save you - they do! But you will be kept at arms length.....from the JW gals perspective, she will be under huge internal mental pressure, whilst being haunted by fears of Satans cunning....ie believing Satan is using you to pull her away from 'God's organisation'.

It can mentally break the more sensitive and naturally compassionate folk who are indoctrinated and caught by this fearful way of living.

Take care.

129

Silent And Sweet Rebellion Going On Within JW Organization!

by lsw1961 in

after 1975, the vast majority remained as though nothing has happened.

but some left the organization.

however, there arose a third category who did not leave the organization, but brought a new view into their heart: jws are right in their core cause (gods kingdom as the solution to mankinds problems) but may or may not be right in their supplementary teachings, hence are not bothered about changes happening in this unimportant area..

Alive!

'The kingdom message'

Sadly the 'kingdom message' is not the over riding hallmark of JW.org in the 'world'

How about conducting a small experiment.

Go out on service and stop as many people as you can, knock on doors or stand by a cart - and FIRST ask them if they can tell you what JWs believe.

Do this systematically over the coming year - I'd be interested to know how many would say 'that Jesus is invisibly present and is about to usher in the kingdom of God, which is a real government' -

I'd suggest it would be the 'supplementary' stuff that will come to their minds first....JWs don't celebrate birthdays, Christmases etc - don't give or take blood and so on. .... And er...do they believe in Jesus?

17

The Appeal and Draw of the Watchtower

by Saved_JW in

when i first left the watchtower organization in 2008, a flood of emotions came back to me.

betrayal, anger, resentment, deep depression from the relationships lost.

emotions seemed to guide my viewpoint of others as well.

Alive!

Draw cards.....

Back in the late 80s, unraveling bible prophecy was fascinating.

The hope that mankind would have the joy of really living in freedom, in a physical universe of delight with a close relationship with the Father and Creator, possible interaction with spiritual beings (Angels) and no fear, but joy - that was a life sustaining hope.

The social interaction with an unlimited number of lovely people grew to be incredibly comforting.

I was, for many years, very happy.

But, when I saw that in the urgent 'the time of the end' - the message I had delivered through books and magazines was unclear, that there was dishonesty in the pages - really.

It was the start of my first real mental breakdown.

It was a receiver of our books that pointed out the misleading quotes after some research. I was gutted. From there, I discovered the truth about Beth Sarim and the news coverage of Rutherfords proclamation that the old prophets were to rise in 1925 or whatever and live in the states.

I wondered what kind of people would be attracted to the crazy teachings of this man at that time? Why didn't people walk away on mass?

And really, would a true God sanction such public rantings at a time when crystal clear 'truth' should be a guiding light to real 'truth -seekers'? The ancient worthies scandal was a truly unsettling discovery - and I was not prepared to diminish my inner hope that God is greater then that. It was just man- made spiritual junk this Rutherford had publicised. Which in turn afforded him a very nice, palatial residence.

There was much about the worldwide association that was really attractive, I loved bible teaching, and I always nurtured the hope that everyone, I mean everyone would turn around and live in a peaceful universe where all things are made 'new', only the truly evil ( whatever that is) would have to be left out.

I didn't relish death or destruction. I hated how some of the brothers and sisters mocked 'worldly' people. I remember driving past a terrace of outdoor restaurants with a pioneer sister who has a heart of gold - she laughed 'look at them' as we passed the diners 'scoffers in the last days' - and I thought, that's a horrible attitude. I looked at her and thought, You have know idea what human troubles each of those people might be struggling with.

Over the years, I found a profound lack of respect amongst witnesses for those who are not JWs.

The attractive 'love' soon shows itself for something else. And I think man-made pride drives the culture.