I remember when I was a devout JW one of the things that convinced me that we had the "truth" was that I was taught that JW's were not false prophets because they admitted their mistakes. I swallowed this for years until I read Deut 18: 20-21 and read the definition of a false prophet. It never says if the prophet admits his mistake he is no longer a false prophet. After that I became clear on what a false prophet really is. Also the JW's used to harp on the fact that they "Disfellowshipped" sinners while the churches let anything go as long as they paid their tithes. I have visited some churches and I think the JW's are right about this one. The churches do everything under the sun and the members are still prominent in the church. My niece was having an affair with one of the married deacons in the Church of God in Christ church and they never removed the deacon from his position and he is still with his wife. But their view on false prophets need an overhaul.
booker-t
JoinedPosts by booker-t
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Can the "Annoited JW" lose their position if their kids are DF'd or Reprove
by booker-t ini remember a sister that held book study in her house and she was very devout as a jw.
she claimed to be of the annoited class and would partake of the wine and unleaven bread.
i looked up to her as some sort of saint.
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booker-t
I remember a sister that held book study in her house and she was very devout as a JW. She claimed to be of the Annoited class and would partake of the wine and unleaven bread. I looked up to her as some sort of saint. Of course I was only 8 years old when we went to her house for bookstudy in the year 1974 so I did not know any better. Now 30 years later I ran into this same sister at the supermarket and was suprised she remembered me after all of these years. She still looks good and has not aged much at all. She moved away many years ago from the neighborhood and was only back visiting her kids some of who I went to school with. Many of her kids were constantly in trouble with the elders. Her oldest son was Disfellowshipped years ago and has never come back, one of her daughters was disfellowshipped for having an abortion, the other daughter ran off with a "worldly man" one son joined a gang and was shot 4 times. Her oldest daughter married a circuit overseer and moved away. This daughter had a stepson that was disfellowshipped for drugs. So out of all her 5 children only one is still a active JW. She told me that she no longer partake of the emblem. I did not ask any questions but was shocked. I asked some JW friends of mine that still talk to me since I am DA'ed, why doesn't this sister partake anymore. They told me that if a person family is falling at the wasteside then alot of times The elders look at the annoited person with suspect. I have never heard of this before but I am not suprised. I think that the elders feel that only men are supposed to be of the annoited and not women. There is a chavunist attitude within the WTS and women are treated as second class citizens.
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"Evil slave" vs. "Apostate" Which is the WTS favorite word?
by booker-t inwhen i was growing up in the 70's and 80's before i moved out on my own all you would hear was so and so is of the "evil slave" class.
when i left the jw's in the late 80's and formally da'ed myself in the early 90's my mom told me i was with the "evil slave" class.
now the wts uses the word "apostate" i was wondering why did the jw's change their hate word?
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booker-t
When I was growing up in the 70's and 80's before I moved out on my own All you would hear was so and so is of the "evil slave" class. When I left the JW's in the late 80's and formally DA'ed myself in the early 90's my mom told me I was with the "evil slave" class. Now the WTS uses the word "Apostate" I was wondering why did the JW's change their hate word? Is the word "apostate" more demeaning then calling someone of the evil class? Is it better to use because it is easier on the tongue? Basically they mean the same thing to the JW's but I was wondering why they love to call ex-jws "apostates" instead of "evil slave"? It took me years to get over that feeling that I was of the "evil slave class" now I am an "apostate" according to my family. You just can't win with them. What are your thoughts on this subject posters.
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Why do my family still treat me like I have the "plague"?
by booker-t inwhen i "disassociated" myself in the early 90's i thought that finally i could go on with my life and not have to be subjuected to wt rules and regulations.
wrong!
my family will not let it go.
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booker-t
When I "Disassociated" myself in the early 90's I thought that finally I could go on with my life and not have to be subjuected to WT rules and regulations. Wrong! My family will not let it go. My mom who can overlook my brother's "adulterous affair" my niece getting pregnant out of wedlock, my sister running off with a married man, just won't let it rest the fact that I DA'ed myself. I asked her what sin is worst my brother's adultery or my leaving the Watchtower? Her response was that my brother just became weak and fell into sin but my turning my back on the WTS is unforgivable. I told her I will never come back to the WTS and she told me that I will never be welcomed in her house again as long as I am an "apostate" My brother has not spoken to me since 1991. When we were growing up we were very close. But now he acts as if he does not know me. I saw him with his wife in the supermarket the other day and tried to say hello and all hell broke loose. He was screaming at me not to talk to him or his family that I was of the evil slave class and that I would be destroyed at Armaggeddon. All I did was say hello. Now this is the brother who is cheating on his wife mind you but yet he can cast stones at me. The people in the supermarket were totally shocked and did not know what was going on. I just left and vowed never to utter a word towards my brother or his family again. Was I wrong or should I still try and talk to my brother because maybe I can help him see the lies the WTS has told him. Posters please help me with some good advice.
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the united nation scandal and all other Watchtower Society scandals
by booker-t ini was recently talking to a jw elder at my job that i have been working at for over 20 years(he knows that i am da'ed but still talks to me trying to get me to come back) and i brought up the un scandal and all of the wts scandals that are hitting the wts.
he said it does not surprise him that "apostates" would try and deceive many jw's with lies and 1/2 truths.
i told him that i can get a printed copy of the un ngo membership and that the wts was a member for over 10 years.
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booker-t
I was recently talking to a JW elder at my job that I have been working at for over 20 years(he knows that I am DA'ed but still talks to me trying to get me to come back) and I brought up the UN scandal and all of the WTS scandals that are hitting the WTS. He said it does not surprise him that "apostates" would try and deceive many JW's with lies and 1/2 truths. I told him that I can get a printed copy of the UN NGO membership and that the WTS was a member for over 10 years. He just laughed it off and said that the WTS has done nothing wrong because they joined in 1991 as a NGO so they could use the UN library and used it for 10 years. But the UN started to change their policy and that is why they quit being a NGO member. He said that "apostates" don't tell the whole story only 1/2 truths. He also said that they printed a whole article on the child abuse problem within the WTS and how they had to disfellowship over 36,000 jw's for immorality including wife-swapping and homosexuality. I must admit this elder was sharp with his responses and it kind of stumped me. I have been out for so long I don't know what the society has printed in the pass years. Did JW's print an article in 1983 or 1984 admitting that they disfellowshipped over 36,000 jw's for child abuse, wife swapping and homosexuality? If this is true than the JW's have covered their tracks and kicked out bad associates. Would not this be the honorable thing to do? What are your thoughts on these answers(posters)? This elder said that JW's still feel that the UN is the beast of revelation and that has not changed. Is this true or was he just lying to me?
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Do JW's disfellowship or reprove JW's for celebrating Holidays and birthday
by booker-t ini remember when i was growing up in the 70's and 80's the thought of even looking at a birthday card was thought to be satanic.
now i hear that jw's are alittle lax on celebrating holidays.
my niece who is not a jw but lives with my mom who is a devout jw had christmas lights in her room and the elders came over to my mom's house and did not raise cain and abel.
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booker-t
I remember when I was growing up in the 70's and 80's the thought of even looking at a Birthday card was thought to be Satanic. Now I hear that JW's are alittle lax on celebrating Holidays. My niece who is not a JW but lives with my Mom who is a devout JW had christmas lights in her room and the elders came over to my mom's house and did not raise cain and abel. Are JW's a little more lenient with holidays now then when I was a kid. I remember a sister was "publicly reproved" for having a christmas tree in her house for her non-jw husband. What are the rules now regarding holidays? Can you be "reproved" or "disfellowshipped" or "disassociated" now for celebrating holidays?
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The WTS "Revelation Grand Climax book"
by booker-t ini have been out of the jw's for some years now.
i left a few years after the revelation book came out.
i remember when it came out my mom who has been a staunch jw for over 40 years told me that the jw's are indeed the truth and provide food at the proper time.
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booker-t
I have been out of the JW's for some years now. I left a few years after the Revelation book came out. I remember when it came out my mom who has been a staunch JW for over 40 years told me that the JW's are indeed the truth and provide food at the proper time. When I read on this website that they have had so many revisions and "new" adjustments since the book came out I was wondering what my mom would say now. Have JW's discarded the "Revelation" book or do they still use it. I think I skimmed through it once and saw that they preached the 1914 generation doctrine but now I know they don't teach that anymore. So I was wondering how can they still offer that book in field service if there are so many void beliefs in there? Also a friend of mine who is an "apostate" said that the Revelation book slipped up and says that Rev 22:12, 13 is Jesus and I know that this verse is talking about the Alpha and Omega. JW's have been bouncing back and forth with this "Alpha and Omega" thing. One year Jesus is the Alpha and Omega then Jehovah is the Alpha and Omega then Jesus then Jehovah then Jesus I feel like this is a tennis match. Can't they decide who is the Alpha and Omega. So any apostates out there that have info on this subject please respond. My mom want talk to me if I say any thing negative about the WT. Are JW's still using the Revelation Grand Climax book? Do they now teach that Jesus is the Alpha and Omega? Please respond thanks.
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Hard to get over: No New System
by confusedjw ini have to tell you something.. i really find it hard getting over the idea of no new system and all that it meant to me.
to be with my children and their children forever in perfect health.. too many days it just leaves me empty.
i just wish i could shake it and enjoy life, but the idea that we just live for 70 years and die kills me.
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booker-t
Confused this is a very good topic that you bring up. I was baptized in 1983 eight years after the "1975" blunder thinking that maybe the "end of the world" might be a generation away from 1914 whch would be 1984. The JW's never said 1984 but many JW's were kind of thinking that 1984 might be the end. I remember that the whole year of 1984 I was on pins and needles afraid that Jehovah might not see me worthy enough. I was young back then barely out of High School and trying to please Jehovah. Now 20 years later in the year 2004 I see things differently then I did back then. It hurts my heart to see some of the old timers JW's still waiting for Armageddon such as my mom who turned 75 this year and nothing has happened. As I have stated before and I will state again that this is not a JW problem this is a religion problem. Anytime you have a religion or religious group that expects total submission you will have problems. Many Born-Agains have been led to believe that the rapture is right around the corner. I have been hearing born-agains preach that nonsense all of my life and I am only 40 years old. Christians have been let down countless times waiting for the rapture and nothing has materialized. I know of some Born-Agains that have had nervous breakdowns after being programmed to believe in everything the church tells them. Many of my friends who are ex-jw's that went to born-again christian churches have come to me crying that they still feel empty. That grass on the other side was not greener as they thought it would be. I truly believe now that the end of the world is way into the future and that this generation will not see it. People living in the year 2050 or later will probably see the end. I now feel that we have been disillusioned to think the armageddon was around the corner or that the rapture was right in front of us.I have finally woke up and smelled the coffee. Again Confused I like your topic. Ps: Religion will never again controll me.
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Catholic Answers comment on the REASONING book
by Dogpatch instrategies of the jehovah's witnesses .
there may be no religious organization that engages in more publishing, proportionately to its membership, than the watch tower bible and tract society (watch tower society or wts for short)?the publishing arm of the jehovah?s witnesses.
each month jehovah?s witnesses (jws) distribute millions of books, magazines, and pamphlets, in dozens of languages.
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booker-t
While I am no longer a JW I still feel that the "reasoning" book was on of the best books ever published by the JW's. Many born-again christians have tried to copy this book with their ex-jw books. Ron Rhodes blantantly "stoled" the name "reasoning from the scriptures" and printed his own serious of books. Now talk about being christ-like. If the JW's had did something like this born-agains would be shouting from the rooftops that JW leaders were thieves and plagerists. But when born-agains do it is ok. No matter what crimes the born-agains christians do other born-agains see nothing wrong with it but the minute the JW's, or Mormons or other "so called cults" as born-agains( love to call anyone that don't agree with their interpretation of the bible) they scream "cult", "cult". Since I have been out of the JW's and can see both sides of the coin I think that JW's and born-again christians are two of a kind. Both judgemental, arrogant know-it alls that think they have a monopoly on the truth. If this is what a person must do to get saved go to the JW's or Born-Agains then I will go to the Atheist.
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Were there any cliques in your congregation?
by badboy in.
hope i spell cliques right?.
know what i mean?
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booker-t
I remember when I was growing up as a JW there was an elder in our hall that lived in a very nice home and his wife wore the most expensive clothes around. They would not let people sit down in their living room because they did not want dirt or sweat on their furniture. I overheard this elder make a comment about another brother who was a MS "he needs to stop buying his clothes at "K-Mart". I was so shocked as a 14 year old JW that there were JW snobs around. I thought that JW would accept all no matter how rich or poor you were. I heard through the grapevine that this elder was Df'd years ago