Posts by Village Idiot

wt writers ( klein) admitted at one time, that his majesty's doctrinal ship was zigzagging to find the right course, and many of us believed, that if we accepted the bible as true, cleaning up the teachings would establish the right bearing.

so: did you have a hobby-horse idea you were riding?

writing to brooklyn perhaps?

Village Idiot

My "pet" idea was an explanation, through metaphor, of Christ's relationship to God and the Holy Spirit. It was based on the JW, non-Trinitarian concept of Representative Christology. Ready?

God was like a sun and the Holy Spirit (impersonal) was like the sunlight. Christ, the son of God (created as firstborn), was like a prism through which the light shone turning it into a rainbow. All the angels and perfect humans were like diamonds reflecting the light from the prism (Holy Spirit) their sparkling being the act of worship.

Fallen men were like dirty lumps of coal from which diamonds could be made when held under enormous pressure.

This belief in mind was in contrast to the JW metaphor in which an individual JW was like a piece of charcoal in a coal heap - all the JWs - which would die out unless it remained close to the others. Of course, this was an analogy which ignored the act of individual salvation in favor of group salvation which the Watchtower holds so dear.

I never wrote to Brooklyn, they would have just sent the letter to the local congregation. I did mention it to one of the elders who was later part of my judicial committee (For a reason that was unrelated to my disfellowshipping). The elder had used the charcoal analogy implying that I was getting too far away from the heap which represented the organization. I responded to that with my analogy which showed that being in proximity to others was not a prerequisite to salvation.

It's so good to be clear headed now. I don't waste my imagination counting angels on the heads of pins.

18

Prince died from overdose?

by TweetieBird in

jw
friends

i just saw where the emergency landing that prince made several days ago in moline was due to an opiate overdose.

this came from tmz and sounded pretty credible.

if true, just curious if he would still be given a jw funeral, if that is what he wanted..

Village Idiot

Does anyone think that the elders will hold a judicial committee by his casket?

9

Emoticons?

by BluesBrother in

are emoticons ever coming back, please?

Village Idiot

Damn! Now I can't sign out of Chrome. Anyone have that problem?

9

Emoticons?

by BluesBrother in

are emoticons ever coming back, please?

Village Idiot

I tried Chrome and I get the full compliment of 69 emoticons exactly like IE. Curiouser and curiouser.

56

Generation expiry date?

by pleaseresearch in

how long will it take for a jw to see that even the overlapping generation is wrong?.

the org waited and waited to see if their interpretation of it came true.

those alive in 1914 would still be alive obviously it didn't and jws have to believe in an overlapping generation.

Village Idiot

16

Novelist With Questions

by Researcher With Questions in

jw
friends

i am a writer, who is at present working on a novel, and i am developing a character/characters who has/have been jehovahs witness(es), and i have some questions that i am hoping someone may be willing to answer.

first, my general credentials.

i am a working writer, with a number of professional poetry publications in journals and lit.

Village Idiot

Researcher With Questions:
Yet, as I've structured my plot, my fictional couple would have had at least three children during those years (between 1966 and 1975--in 1969, 1972, and 1974).
This seems as though it might be a problem when it comes to authenticity of my couple as JW folks, especially if quite devout.

Don't worry about it too much. There were exceptions.

I do remember, in the late 70s, that I held bad thoughts of a girl who was engaged to be married thinking that the end was near. Not everyone would think alike though.

You might want to name the character child born in 1974 Armageddon. Just kidding.

16

Novelist With Questions

by Researcher With Questions in

jw
friends

i am a writer, who is at present working on a novel, and i am developing a character/characters who has/have been jehovahs witness(es), and i have some questions that i am hoping someone may be willing to answer.

first, my general credentials.

i am a working writer, with a number of professional poetry publications in journals and lit.

Village Idiot

1. If someone is disfellowshipped, how common is it (if at all) for that person to NOT seek reinstatement, but to still adhere to most or all of the tenants/beliefs of the Jehovahs Witnesses? (Aside from attending meetings, going door to door, etc.). In other words, to continue to adhere to doctrine, without this sort of formal practice?

I believe you meant to say tenets/beliefs. It's very common for inactive JWs to still believe that the "organization" is "The Truth".

2. If one half of the couple in question desires to be reinstated, but the other does not, what would happen? Would or could one half of the couple do so? What would be the likely impact on the relationship if that person were to be reinstated? Would/could they even be reinstated in the scenario above?

Anyone can be reinstated by him/herself. It does not matter who they were with when they got disfellowshipped. And yes, this would make a major and negative impact on any couple's relationship with each other especially if they have children.

3. if someone were disfellowshipped for this reason, (or any reason, for that matter) how long does this process take, and what form does it take? How does it come about, and how is it carried out?

Once the judicial committee is formed by three elders the disfellowshipping can take place in as little as an hour. There is the possibility of appeal but the appeal committee usually rubberstamps the first committee's decision.

4. What are the problems with the scenario I have presented (the plot line I've described at the top of the post)? Based on the knowledge you have of the Jehovahs Witnesses, what are the "plot holes" in this idea?

No holes I could find but it might be good to know just a little about the non-Witness characters in case you can improve the contrast between your characters.

5. Is a more likely scenario for the couple in question to have walked away from the Jehovahs Witnesses, moved to a new town, but to have continued to adhere to the doctrine (or, for one of them to have continued to adhere to the doctrine)?

Fading is common amongst the JWs. A few still believe in it even after they have walked away. If the couple in your book simply walked away it would not make the emotional impact that a disfellowshipping would.

I recommend that you go through the threads and posts here, especially from the newbies, and you'll see a lot of grief and drama concerning married couples and their relationship with the Watchtower.

76

Socialism

by Perry in

socialists think that money will solve all man's problems.

everything is obsessively related to money in the socialist ideology.. they have an almost supernatural ability to blame others with more money.

god calls this greed and envy.