i am a non-participating christian who is fully respectful of but never had anything to do with jw.. i have a jw friend who seems to closely follow his jw belief's.
i have met most of his family and friends who all are also jw's.
he says i am his only non-jw good friend.. he is getting married this year to his long time gf and with our recent growing more guarded and distant friendship, i am wondering what is going on?.
It is not encouraged. If you have non JW friends, you keep it to yourself but if someone sees you hanging around with them you WILL get a talking to about bad association.
I have non JW friends. They are better friends then ANY JW friend. They don't dump you when you no longer believe what they believe. Even though you are the same person. They like you for who you are. I had lunch with 2 of them today. No judgement, just a really nice lunch with 2 people who like ME.
so went to the meeting last night.
i had not been to one since before the holiday break (3 weeks ago).
besides, it was our first meeting in the new format.
"Mother in law said that she felt like she was in one of those churches with the big chorus and the hand up in the air."
That is coming soon! lol
hello everybody :) i have been visiting this forum for some time.
i noticed that many can't really free from the past in the org despite many years outside of jw.
i was awaken with a bang.
I guess we all have to do what works for us. Personally, we could not live the lie anymore. It's like staying in a loveless marriage. I hate faking it...it does not work for me.
I think the reason a lot of people seem to harbor some ill will to the religion is they have been deeply hurt. I know we have. It's hard to forget but time moves on and things get easier each day. It helps to be able to talk with others who feel the same way. You can't talk to a JW without consequences so people end up online.
recent developments make me think they might be.
the problems they are facing are not just lack of funds but also draining authority, and the two could be a heady and explosive mix.
one of the best analyses ever written of the watchtower was a book called "trumpet of prophecy" by sociologist james beckford in the 1970s.
The religion will stay in tact but I believe some will leave. The critical thinkers will fly the coup unless they have family or need the social life.
The one thing that really makes us feel good about it, we are NOT contributing any money to the beast. Not for over 3 years. The money we are making will go to enjoy the remainder of our life and send our youngest to college.
I look at many JW's facebook pages and some have that sad look about them. I really think it is a mind set that they can't enjoy life until a future date. No kids, no learning/college, no home, no large gatherings, etc. The list goes on and on. Well...WT we are enjoying our lives with a big fat smile on our faces!
There is a quote from the movie Shawshank Redemtion (oh oh Rated R!!) ..."get busy living or get busy dying."
recent developments make me think they might be.
the problems they are facing are not just lack of funds but also draining authority, and the two could be a heady and explosive mix.
one of the best analyses ever written of the watchtower was a book called "trumpet of prophecy" by sociologist james beckford in the 1970s.
" I don't know how it will affect the majority of witnesses when it doesn't come."
The same way it is affecting the long time in JW's. They are relying of prescription meds and alcohol. We see countless family members and friends taking this route. It's a bigger problem than we can imagine. We were shocked at how many people are dealing with issues this way.
the worst thing, someone could call you at bethel, was a "jack.
" as in "that guy is a real jack, he doesn't work at all".
the other term not used very much anymore, was "pot licker" used basically the same way.
"Isn't that always the way it is, it’s always the more righteous ones you need to watch. Just like in the KHs."
100+% TRUE!!! Never been to Beth Hell. I guess it's NO spiritual paradise. I don't even get treated that poorly by the dreaded "worldly people."
recent developments make me think they might be.
the problems they are facing are not just lack of funds but also draining authority, and the two could be a heady and explosive mix.
one of the best analyses ever written of the watchtower was a book called "trumpet of prophecy" by sociologist james beckford in the 1970s.
just read speculation about this on another thread.
who thinks vincent tool, if looses his law license and becomes less useful to wt that he will then be reassigned to the field.
or is he just to big of a player to lose even with out a practicing law license.
Anders Andersen
There is some good info on Greenlees/Chitty on JW Facts. Notice when the announcement was made, it was clearly stated that when Greenlees was no longer a member of the Bethel family, the matter was closed. These 2 were shipped off (to the field) never to come up in topic again. How Convenient. I wonder how much WT paid these 2 to keep their mouths shut?
phttp://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/directed-by-holy-spirit.php
this is a rant mainly in response to my wife's reaction to the stupid clam meeting last night.
bear in mind, while i am not sexist, i am also not politically correct.
.... it is no secret that the women in this organization outnumber the men.
"Or maybe that's a part of why you were able to wake up - you don't need it."
Good point OneEyedJoe.
just read speculation about this on another thread.
who thinks vincent tool, if looses his law license and becomes less useful to wt that he will then be reassigned to the field.
or is he just to big of a player to lose even with out a practicing law license.
Anders Andersen
If you are fresh out, I suggest you read Ray Franz's book Crisis of Conscience. It's an eye opener. We learned quite a bit about our not so perfect organization.
Google the names, interesting info.
