Posts by BluesBrother

24

What's the deal with Cheese and Apple Danishes at conventions.

by pistolpete in

this was before my time, but there was this post that had 308 comments testifying that the best thing of being a jehovah witness back in the day was the convention's meals.

is this true?.

one quote out of 308;.

BluesBrother

Hmmm... as for assembly food, in the U.K. we used to always grumble about it. When I was young we used to queue to stand in a tent to have food plopped into compartmental Trays . A careless server meant that you had some gravy in your desert .. and for the tables were made for an adult to stand next to and eat , so if you were a kid your meal was level with your nose !

Over the years the service improved but the food didn’t. We still grumbled but then they took it away and we had nothing bar what we could take. Then we kept saying how we wanted the hot food back !

22

JW’s and Charity Organizations

by longgone in

i was wondering if anyone is aware of the jw’s in general being involved financially and/or as volunteers in charity organizations?

i was a born in jw for 56 years and left in 2016. as far as i remember there was never any encouragement to help in the community in any way.

including soup kitchens, tutoring at schools, united way, etc.

BluesBrother

When I was a Cong. Secretary back in the day I used to run the Gift Aid scheme whereby the cong claimed back the income tax contributors had paid on their donations. Every year we received a cheque from The Government. Thank you.

Nowadays I think it has to be done through Bethel, if it still exists. Our only claim to being a charity was being a recognised religion,but that was enough to have the British tax payer subsidise the work.

Nowadays the Society makes much of their relief work after disasters but that is for their own , through the congregations, not for the community...

13

Counseling for Ex JW

by Iamallcool in

jw
friends

i have been thinking that it would be very nice if the us government would be willing to fund ex jw counseling services all over the united states.

i understand that many counselors do not really understand ex jw issues but we can educate them if we have additional funds, etc…if someone here is willing to write a letter to their local representative about it, that would be great!

.

BluesBrother

You have to have been in it to understand the subtle pressures that it applies. The belief the “ Jehovah will be displeased with me if I ........ “ is very difficult to break . The argument that “ Now you are going against the Holy Spirit “ when you think contrary to the Society is a hard to fight against in the early days of waking up .

An outsider doesn’t usually grasp all that .

11

Watchtower online religion.

by asp59 in

should we refer watchtower as to a online religion now?

i mean we could discuss if they ever return to kingdom hall's in the future.

if most of them haven't been sold.

BluesBrother

The dubs want to go back to meetings… I hear rumours that it will happen here (UK) soon and then I hear denials by others. Whatever, I do believe that it is under constant review but no decision yet ..

It will happen though, and a return to “the Ministry “

13

AM III off topic remarks online @ jw.org

by Gorb in

jw
friends

am iiii off topic remarks at the anual meeting, are online at broadcasting.. he says in the early 70s he did not believe the end was near, and told his sons not to believe jw's who stating the end is near because the system could go on to 2020.. g..

BluesBrother

We discussed this a little while back when the video was leaked.

O K , it is one thing to say this now, but whatever he told his family, he would not have said that openly at the time. I bet he was on the platform stressing The nearness Of the end along with the rest.

Today it is easy to say “ I always thought it could last this long “ ...... but they still say it’s coming soon!

NB . Seeing his old photo there, it’s hard to believe he has become what he is today

26

Watchtower Study: How Strong Will Your Faith Be?

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

the watchtower—study edition | november 2021. study article 47. how strong will your faith be?.

16 note the example of geydi, a sister from guatemala.

her husband, edi, was murdered as they were returning home from a congregation meeting.

BluesBrother

Konagirl , I am sorry for your loss and I hope that you are coping better now.

For some people I think that to “keep calm and carry on “ is a grief coping mechanism. A sister I knew when we lived away lost her husband in an accident. It was noticeable how she seemed to just carry on as normal, smiling and chatting.... at meetings of course.

I met a woman in “the ministry “ once who had evidently been a regular call for someone. She said she had now been put off JWs because this sister called one day and calmly said her own son had been killed that morning,on his bike , but that it was all o k because she knew she would see him again in the resurrection........

This woman sad she was shocked and could not understand how anyone could be so blasé about such a thing. I agreed with her and said the poor sister must have been hit by it later but I did not understand either.. I do think that some people need to cling onto routines and strong beliefs at times of tragedy....

26

Watchtower Study: How Strong Will Your Faith Be?

by RULES & REGULATIONS in

the watchtower—study edition | november 2021. study article 47. how strong will your faith be?.

16 note the example of geydi, a sister from guatemala.

her husband, edi, was murdered as they were returning home from a congregation meeting.

BluesBrother

I see a lot of negative speculation in this thread , not based on facts. In the example given , the bereaved widow finds support and comfort in her faith. This could be said of any Christian Church and has been widely attested by many people. She also found support from her friends and social network, again a common experience

I do not like the article though for other reasons. It states categorically that “ Jehovah will see to your material needs” . Oh yes? If you lose your business but have good friends they may be able to help but that is hardly the hand of God.

All in all an article to say , whatever happens just keep on serving with the WT and you will be fine…..

We shall see .

9

"A thousand years as one day"

by Awakened07 in

the scripture saying: "...one day is with the lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

" (2. peter 3:8) is often used both by jehovah's witnesses and others, to show that a day can literally mean a thousand years in the eyes of god.

this is then used especially for the creation story, and for the fall of adam and eve.

BluesBrother

Like many things, this is something the WT used to talk about a lot and use it to discuss the age of Adam , the creative days and so on. Now it is almost never mentioned and those time periods have been quietly dropped. I am sure you are right when you say

“When I just read that scripture as-is, it simply tells me that God is 'outside of time'; time does not apply to him.”

11

GB Says You Can Fellowship Without Being Reinstated

by Sea Breeze in

there is another way to fellowship with your loved ones after disagreeing with the wt besides getting reinstated.

all you have to do is fling yourself off a boat and start drowning, says watchtower:.

"suppose, then, a member of a christian congregation boating on a lake were to see another boat containing a disfellowshiped person capsize, throwing the disfellowshiped one into the water where he struggled to stay afloat.

BluesBrother

This is the article That I referred to in a recent post about the changing nature of the attitude towards the d/f’d. Times have changed and the pendulum has swung back to much stricter attitude today. Notice this part :

“As to disfellowshiped family members (not minor sons or daughters) living outside the home, each family must decide to what extent they will have association with such ones. This is not something that the congregational elders can decide for them. What the elders are concerned with is that "leaven" is not reintroduced into the congregation through spiritual fellowship “

I know some older dubs who still cling to this opinion if they had to deal with it. However, if you quoted this article I am sure that it would be disregarded as old light and that things have moved ahead

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

BluesBrother

As Ex JW’s we are a totally disparate bunch of people and I have never seen anyone claim that we adhere to a strict code of morals as the JWs do. We only expect statements to truthful and accurate.

HOWEVER, there are limits and I have no reason to disbelieve these allegations. I have never paid him any money , only watched some videos. I agree with others that the man is done with, after this.

I only hope that those who supplied him with information can find another channel to get their info out.