Just to clarify, I've known some witnesses who were indeed kind, decent people. And I have no doubt that they would go out of their way as individuals to help people in need. The fact that they were JWs was, IMO, beside the point. I have no doubt there were people who acted kindly, even heroically, who may have been JWs. My main beef with my mother's comments and no doubt others' of her kind, is her attempt to show that the JW's as an organization demonstrated incredible generosity and heroic efforts BECAUSE THEY ARE JWs. They are somehow better than the rank and file human, more loving, more giving, more, whatever. I don't believe that for a minute. But they wouldn't hesitate to embellish events to try to show that they were.
blacksheep
JoinedPosts by blacksheep
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9
How many "Friends" died in the WTC at...
by battman indoes anyone know the mortality situation on this attack with.
regard to any bros/sis that may have perished at the wtc.
site on 9/11??.
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9
How many "Friends" died in the WTC at...
by battman indoes anyone know the mortality situation on this attack with.
regard to any bros/sis that may have perished at the wtc.
site on 9/11??.
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blacksheep
Thanks for the clarification, Redhorse Woman. THAT actually sounds more like it. My dear mother has an uncanny way of making the WTS quite undeservedly sound like heroic saints and downplaying virtually any other info on acts of heroism that come her way. I remember as a child seeing a plane wreck on the the news, and reports of how certain passengers gave their lives to save others. My mother was sure those brave selfless people must have been JW's. Ughhh!!!!! Whatever.
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143
Why Ex-JWs Will Never Go From Door to Door
by comforter injehovah's witnesses proclaim the good news of the kingdom under the power of god's holy spirit.
jesus commanded his followers to preach in the most distant parts of the earth and promised them that the spirit of god would guide them in this life-saving work (acts 1:8).. without the spirit of god, one cannot continue preaching about jesus and god's kingdom (matthew 24:14).
one surely will not have god's spirit if one preaches a negative message (against jehovah's servants) from door to door.
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blacksheep
" I would say that the Scriptures tell Christians not to associate with ousted brethren (1 Corinthians 5:11-13). But I might then ask what it means to associate with someone. Is it associating with ousted brethren if I come to this place? I do not understand the biblical command that way. I do not fraternize or hobknob with ousted brethren. So am I really violating the Bible?"
No, I personally dont think so. But I do think youre probably counting your time. Beats pounding the pavement, Im sure. Plus, with apostates, you don't have to pretend to be so wonderful. You can cut right to the chase. Get right to the heart of those "spiritual truths..."
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143
Why Ex-JWs Will Never Go From Door to Door
by comforter injehovah's witnesses proclaim the good news of the kingdom under the power of god's holy spirit.
jesus commanded his followers to preach in the most distant parts of the earth and promised them that the spirit of god would guide them in this life-saving work (acts 1:8).. without the spirit of god, one cannot continue preaching about jesus and god's kingdom (matthew 24:14).
one surely will not have god's spirit if one preaches a negative message (against jehovah's servants) from door to door.
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blacksheep
Without the spirit of God, one cannot continue preaching about Jesus and God's kingdom (Matthew 24:14). One surely will not have God's spirit if one preaches a negative message (against Jehovah's servants) from door to door.
And exactly how many people do you know who GO door to door preaching a negative message (against Jehovahs servants)? JWs have the market on THAT particular delivery method. People confident in their beliefs and respectful of others dont generally feel the need to peddle their religion door to door like salesmen.
So, Im not sure exactly to whom your words are directed. You must be delusional if you feel ANYONE, apostate or no, even has an inclination or NEED to go from door to door to PREACH against JWs. Most intelligent people can dismiss them from their doorstep without having to have a counterpart anti-JW group go around telling them WHY they should ignore them.
Got (bad) news for you: The ability to peddle religion from door to door is NOT a sign of its truth nor is it a sign that such a group has the spirit of god.
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9
How many "Friends" died in the WTC at...
by battman indoes anyone know the mortality situation on this attack with.
regard to any bros/sis that may have perished at the wtc.
site on 9/11??.
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blacksheep
I haven't a clue about the numbers. But what I found annoying (yet so typical) was when my JW mom started talking about the WTS situation, she made it sound like the "brothers" at bethel single-handedly saved people fleeing from the disaster. I asked her whether any "brothers" were known to be in the WTC and perhaps died (which is what *I'd* be concerned with). She acted like she didn't want to even talk about it. "I'm sure there were some," she said. "But they fed and took care of so many people fleeing." Good god, like THEY were the only flipping heroes in the event. LIke their behavior was such a witness for JAH.
No one else, of course, acted so bravely during the tragedy...
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To Bethel Lurkers: Declare Victory!
by metatron into all bethel monitors of this site:.
please declare victory on your statistics and move on!.
this year, there will be a huge (2-3%) increase in publishers reported in the.
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blacksheep
Jesus waited until he was 30 and he was allegedly the son of God! But then again, the WT has never used Jesus as any sort of role model when what Jesus said and did interfered with their policies and doctrine.
You think like I do. My familys constantly held it up in my face that Im not living up to my dedication. A decision I made when I was 13 years old! How many life-decisions do we encourage kids to make at that age. Now 10???
Funny, dont the JWs use the fact that Jesus was preaching at the temples at 12 as some sort of basis for ultra young baptism?? Too bad they leave out the MAJOR detail such as his baptism at 30. Another logic-defying move. I've never heard a sound explanation from them on this one.
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To Bethel Lurkers: Declare Victory!
by metatron into all bethel monitors of this site:.
please declare victory on your statistics and move on!.
this year, there will be a huge (2-3%) increase in publishers reported in the.
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blacksheep
No kidding, 15 minutes? Wow, had I known that I might've stuck around. When I was a publisher, anything under 10 hours a month was a cause for unspoken, personal concern. All those years of fudging the numbers, and taking liberty with exactly how many "placements" I made. (Loved the old, stick an old "Awake" magazine at a Not-at-home: that really brought the number up with no actual fudging necessary.
Really, 15 minute time requirement? *I* probably can even make THAT number now as a DA'd ex-JW. Surely I spend at least 15 minutes a month "educating" non-jw friends/family about JW's beliefs...
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What's the deal with not needing Bethelites?
by blacksheep inas a disclaimer, i am an ex-jw (da'd) for about 15+ years, so i really haven't kept up on what's going on in bethel (come to think of it i wasn't really interested in it when i was a jw!
recently, however, one of my relatives (current jw) commented that, although my nephew had applied to bethel (oh what a privilege!
), he was basically told he wasn't needed at this time because they aren't "mailing out the publications" there like they used to.
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blacksheep
Sorry for the absense of punctuation (particularly apostrophes) in the last post. I swear they were there when I wrote the message in a Word doc. Sorry for the annoyance.
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What's the deal with not needing Bethelites?
by blacksheep inas a disclaimer, i am an ex-jw (da'd) for about 15+ years, so i really haven't kept up on what's going on in bethel (come to think of it i wasn't really interested in it when i was a jw!
recently, however, one of my relatives (current jw) commented that, although my nephew had applied to bethel (oh what a privilege!
), he was basically told he wasn't needed at this time because they aren't "mailing out the publications" there like they used to.
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blacksheep
Hi All,
Thanks for your replies. (To Grits, youre more than welcome to post any part of my message on any email lists you have. If anyone has the scoop (which btw, Im delighted if it means the disbanding of the Bethelite life Id be interested. I dont quite have the stomach to call the WTS, although I am curious. And Im a relative newbie in navigating around the ex-jw sites. Tthis one has been great: I wish it were here when I was leaving many years ago).
I guess my deep down hope is that the need IS drying up. That people are WISING up. It surprised me to learn of the cancellation of mail subscriptions. How do they plan to get the truth into peoples hands??? Wasn't the subs one of their big measures of success??
What many of you say makes a lot of sense: the fact that theyve always advertised for Bethelites, and that its such a privilege to get in. Ill be honest, I was under the impression my nephew be snapped up the way the need was always positioned when I was in. And yes, the self-sufficiency of the org was always driven home, so if thats been changing slowly (or even dramatically recently), then I find that very, very interesting
Also, as my relatives and I dont talk very much (wonder why), I found it quite interesting that both my mom and sister made it quite clear whenever we talked that my nephew was applying and waiting to here from Bethel. Like it was a very big deal, and they were very proud of his decision. And like even *I*, a DA'd witness should be somehow PROUD of the possiblity of his going. (Right, yeah...) Prior to the most recent (final) news that he wouldnt be going due to lack of need, my sister seemed like SHE was getting some mixed messages from the WTS or from somewhere.. She said you know theyve reorged, and are making some changes. The only changes Id heard about Ive read here, so I played dumb. She didnt elaborate, but she definitely acted guarded.
It wasnt rocket science to figure out that neither she nor my nephew were exactly being leveled withThey had also gone back to NY (cross country trip) to do a tour and to make contacts to get him in (again, he has a couple of uncles who were/are? there), so it seemed like a pretty big deal, and I thought it was a foregone conclusion that hed be packing his bags any day now. Hes not, much to MY relief. Guess MY prayer was answered.
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What's the deal with not needing Bethelites?
by blacksheep inas a disclaimer, i am an ex-jw (da'd) for about 15+ years, so i really haven't kept up on what's going on in bethel (come to think of it i wasn't really interested in it when i was a jw!
recently, however, one of my relatives (current jw) commented that, although my nephew had applied to bethel (oh what a privilege!
), he was basically told he wasn't needed at this time because they aren't "mailing out the publications" there like they used to.
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blacksheep
As a disclaimer, I am an ex-jw (da'd) for about 15+ years, so I really haven't kept up on what's going on in Bethel (come to think of it I wasn't really interested in it when I was a JW!)
Recently, however, one of my relatives (current JW) commented that, although my nephew had applied to Bethel (oh what a privilege!), he was basically told he wasn't needed at this time because they aren't "mailing out the publications" there like they used to. I surmized that this was the reason the "free labor" wasn't needed. I didn't pry too much, for a couple of reasons: my interest would probably raise suspicion in my relative that I was an "apostate," and I really didn't trust my relative to give me (or even KNOW) the real story, just the WTS's condensed, sugar-coated explanation (if there was one); and I was so blasted relieved that my nephew WASN'T going to get the "sacred privilege" of providing free-WTS labor. He's already got several major strikes against him living a productive, fulfilling life as a JW, at least I can cross THAT dead-end experience of my list of concerns for his possible future. I confess, it really bugged me when I learned he had applied. May even college be in his future?? Dare I hope?
Anyway, anyone have the scoop on what's really going on? Were they just giving him a line? Maybe they just didn't like the cut of his jib (sp??)? (Note, two of his uncles were "bethelites," his dad's an elder, he's smart, able-bodied, looks like good "slave material", lol. Anyone have a clue as to the REAL story?
Thanks for any input.