as some of you may know, i posted a bit about the convention this weekend, regarding internet dating services for jws.
unfortunately, there was a lot more that didn't post, only the first line, so here we go again.. the three day convention was bordering on the paranoia.
paranoia over dating jw's on the internet, even with witness websites, paranoia over "lies and half truths" spread by apostate opposers of god and truth, and paranoia over "our young ones," and what they will do with their lives.. the talk on young people was fairly non-eventful.
We recently attended the convention also...........the program sounds identical to the one you described.
With all the talk about not over-doing recreation, and not being materialistic..........on the last day they announced that the baptismal pool was for sale...........including all the great features it had.
It seemed a little odd............with all the reminders we just had.
Also Brother Splane went overtime about a half - hour on Sunday.........on and on and on...........
a morbid topic i know, but one that has played on my mind since i was df'd.. my mum is still a very devout witness.
if anything happened to her, what would the witness position be on my attending the funeral ?.
i know she would (quite rightly)expect a service at the kingdom hall.
I've found it discouraging to be at the last several funerals in our area. The talks have mentioned very little about the person who has died..........and the speaker goes on and on about "what he/she would have wanted you to hear right now"
The outline covers so much material.........144,000, great crowd, sign of the end,.......etc. etc. that no one who wasn't a witness would make any sense of it.........
There's been some real fiascos with disfellowshipped relatives........no one allowed to attend any function after the funeral, etc.
It's left a bad impression within the community.........it all seems very un-christian to me.
the watchtower, june 15, 2004 issue, pages 14-24:.
" for the benefit of current readers, the answer is reprinted on pages 29-31 of this magazine.
19 near its conclusion, the reprinted answer on pages 29-31 says: "does the fact that opinions and conscientious decisions may differ mean that the issue is inconsequential?
For a long time Witnesses were proud of the no-blood stance, what with the aids, etc. in the blood supply.
Now, it's so complicated..........they're actually endorsing the blood-collection system.
I think they're between a rock and a very hard place..............trying to make life easier without losing all credibility over the ones who have refused blood over the years, at risk to their own life.
i'm trying to get some comments that active jehovah's witnesses may have heard after dateline aired back on may 28, 2002.
do you remember any comments made about the dateline program either made from the platform at the kingdom hall, or in private conversations with other jw's?
how were the people who where on dateline viewed in your area, especially at the kingdom hall or by other jws?
Many in our congregation watched it............it obviously had quite an impact. But what was the "Christian" response? We were villified at our next assembly for even talking about the program.........the DO and CO mentioned apostates repeatedly, and included lots of warnings throughout the day.
I'm glad I watched it.........the witness leaders are so quick to criticize other religions, but not willing to examine any issues themselves.
If this hadn't been made public........how many more people could easily be victimized?
everyone knows the golden rule 'do unto others as you would have them do to you'.
mostly people seem to see the good side of this rule, i.e.
be kind to people if you want them to be kind back, etc, but couldn't it also mean you can be as evil as you want as long as you don't mind if people are evil back to you?.
I was thinking about the golden rule, and organ donation. Since many Witnesses now accept organ donation (some organs anyway).............shouldn't they be encouraged to live by the golden rule, and be willing to donate organs also?
I'm sure there are very few witnesses that take this step..........and in fact are discouraged from doing so.
if the average congregation has about 83 publishers in the us, then the organization may be sinking into a crisis.. take that 83 and consider that half the congregations may have less.. take away '15 minute publishers' who don't attend.
take away completely fake publishers who rarely attend.
take away increasingly tired publishers who 'feel sick', are depressed, or just want to stay at home and watch tv.. .
There's been a dramatic decrease in this area...........cities with 4 congregations going to 3..........an assembly hall that used to have 7 cong.......now down to 4 (none of them share a hall anymore).
There's been whole circuits dissolved, let alone congregations.
I think it's going to get worse as time goes on..........I feel sorry for the elders left to keep up the schedule when they're the only ones left...........(last one out can turn the lights off)
yeah, it's -34 degrees celcius, windchill is in the -50s (i guess their scale doesn't go any lower) and the boss came by to ask me to shovel snow.
various schools have been closed, apparently it's colder here than many places up north, and here i am, an electronics technician who just finished a college course which half was paid by the company, and i'm shoveling snow.
the measley 24 cent raise i got this year isn't worth it.
It's pretty frosty here too, Nosferatu......-40 last night..........colder if you add in the wind chill. But, you know what they say about the Prairies......."it's only a dry cold".
well, looks like they do have a new date for the conclusion of the end, and that we should "be prepared".
even some people that commented said that 90 years of the 120 years have passed by and we should be prepared for the time at hand.
2034 people, 2034.... i've had enough, i'm talkign to the elder about this one, i don't care if i get labelled or not.
As a few more years go by...........I foresee another big problem for the Society.........the members of the Governing body themselves days are numbered (as in their normal lifespan), so who is going to fill their shoes if a couple more decades go by?
I know they've already included a number of "regular" people in many areas........but never have any of these people taken over for any GB members.
I think there's only 11 members currently............appointing very recently anointed members (well after 1935) would cause a major credibility problem.
Note: very interesting essay on E-watchman.........."the coming collapse of the Watchtower"
there has been a lot of advice given to parents from the organization over the years.........mainly "don't have any"............ it seems that the ones who would make the best parents (from the society's point of view) are the very ones following this counsel and for the most part are deciding against children.
our cong.
has many childless couples...........they're very theocratic.. this results (in many cases) the not so "spiritually strong" individuals being the ones who are raising families in many congregations.. (i mentioned recently about a pioneer couple being interviewed at a district convention several years ago.........when asked by the do about their goals...........they mentioned they had "vowed" to never own a house, and "vowed" to never have children...........do said "that's great!
There has been a lot of advice given to parents from the organization over the years.........mainly "don't have any"...........
It seems that the ones who would make the best parents (from the Society's point of view) are the very ones following this counsel and for the most part are deciding against children. Our cong. has many childless couples...........they're very theocratic.
This results (in many cases) the not so "spiritually strong" individuals being the ones who are raising families in many congregations.
(I mentioned recently about a pioneer couple being interviewed at a District Convention several years ago.........when asked by the DO about their goals...........they mentioned they had "vowed" to never own a house, and "vowed" to never have children...........DO said "that's great!".......most of the audience applauded.......)
In any case, the people the organization feels shouldn't be having kids, (ones who don't follow the letter of the law) are the very ones raising families today in the congregations.
Is this the general trend in congregations you're familiar with?
the rank and file fears "apostates" hence jws will not accpet any evidence or arguments from succh like ones.
the mind set automatically rejects any charges against the wts without examining facts obejectivle because the wts cannot be wrong.by definition jws view the wts as god's agency, so it cannot be wrong and even if it is wrong, it is for a reason that god is allowing it and it is god's arrangement and not the business of the rank and file to judge for themselves on that but,to leave it in j's hand and in time it will be taken care of.
in law that is called a catch all, which is sometimes the power that a judge is empowered with by the state to use his discretion and do whatever the hell he wants, pardon the phrase.. it is true that the wts has opoosers that distort facts and trump up charges in order to discredit the wts, but false accustaions against thewts do not camcel out real evidence that challenges the wt and above and beyond wt teachings is the evidence that puts a differebnt spin on and shows another perspective of the bible, and the concept of god affecting in peoples lives.
An elder told a group of us that "it's okay to not agree with the Society on some of their teachings, you just have to keep it to yourself........." (I won't say how long ago.......can't be too specific)
He didn't elaborate on which "teachings" he didn't agree with, but I certainly got the impression there was more than one.
He's still extremely spiritual...he would never be lurking on this board I'm sure.........but this and similiar comments by others in general conversation show that they're not so excited when some "new thought" is printed in the Watchtower.
