Posts by BluesBrother

35

Hello Everyone

by JohnPaul in

jw
friends

hi everyone i would like to say hello to everyone,.

i just started attending kingdom hall about a month ago now and am doing bible study with a brother..

BluesBrother

I will pick up your question, Why are we here if we no longer follow the JW religion?

Largely because we want to share our experiences with newcomers like you and maybe help you stop yourself from making the same mistakes that we did.

With me, I did not suffer at home as some have but I did experience the crushing disappointment of realising that the beliefs that I had molded my life around - were just not true!

Having been taught to expect a brand New World imminently, back in my childhood, I am now in my eighth decade and still it is awaited. Such expectations go back to the nineteenth century, without fulfilment.

I could no longer stomach a teaching that all non JWs , old or young, good bad or indifferent by normal standards will horribly slaughtered at Armageddon, by our “ God of love”

If you can accept and find joy in such things , then feel free to continue your study but please consider all the other information that is available about this organisation, before committing yourself.

43

Does this look like the WT is going to be around a long time? One Watchtower @ One Awake for the public in 2022

by pistolpete in

i keep hearing that the watchtower org is going to be around forever because of the many other religions that have been around a long time.

but i disagree because the wt is not like other religious cults.. the watchtower's breath of life is dependent on the last days that started in 1914. .

you can’t change 1914 without a death blow to the entire organization.. the watchtower's 2nd reason for staying alive, is it's continual urging that the life saving preaching work of warning people is the most important work ever.. but- it's very obvious to many, even the old ones that instead of speeding up the work------the work is slowing down to a drip.. comment by former believer; .

BluesBrother

I would love to believe those who predict the imminent demise of the WTS , I have seen it on this board for the last 20 years . As time passes the 1914 date becomes more and more ridiculous. However they can change that when they have to.

Probably they could start by inserting the word “around 1914” , then just refer to the early 20th century, and eventually just say that “world events before us show that Jesus’ words are coming true today” , dropping dates altogether. They could eventually blame It all on the Bible Students….The blind sheep will follow along.

49

Start of the Great Tribulation will be announced soon

by joey jojo in

at the 2021 annual meeting, samuel herd revealed new light and claimed the anointed will all have passed away before armageddon.

it has since been revealed that while they will die before armageddon, there will be some anointed still around that will witness the start of the great tribulation.. so the question is, how many years until the existing members of the governing body have passed away?.

im not a doctor, but based on their age and various stages of obesity, im thinking 10- 15 years- give or take, sounds about right.. with that in mind, the great tribulation could be announced any day.. the new understanding has now freed the org from the burden of having to identify a particular generation in relation to the date of armageddon.

BluesBrother

“According to the GB, the only anointed that really count are themselves, all the rest are irrelevant.”

No, they won’t be irrelevant when the GB needs them to count.

Have you noticed how the helpers of the “other sheep” can suddenly feel a heavenly calling when they get within sniffing distance of the GB .

If they want to , they can maintain this for years...... or if not just change it ..

31

Does the WTS have a clergy class

by blondie in

jw
friends

this can be confusing because the wts has adjusted from not having a clergy class to not having a "paid" clergy class.. "a congregation of brothers precludes having a proud clergy class that honors itself with high-sounding titles and elevates itself above a laity" wt 6/1/2001 p. 12, pp 11. still same idea in 2021 wt october, p. 20, pp.

7, but 2022 in the wt publication, frequently asked questions about jehovah’s witnesses, page 13, the wts inserts "paid" in front of "clergy perhaps to shore up their current statement in secular courts they have clergy, just not paid) "following the model of first-century christianity, jehovah’s witnesses have no clergy-laity division.

all baptized witnesses are ordained ministers and share in the preaching and teaching work.

BluesBrother

Talking about taxation made me think.... When I worked there was the concept of a “benefit in kind” . That was something that your employer gave you as a perk of the job but was not money,e.g. a company car or a heavily discounted mortgage. The value of this was estimated and you were taxed on it.

If you added up all the perks that live in Bethelites receive, accommodation, food , laundry etc , what would their true income be? They would have a tax bill......

32

Bad Associations spoil useful habits. Are the JWs right? Scripturally?

by Open mind in

it has been interesting for me to learn the various ways that the jws twist the scriptures to fit their own dogma.

(of course jws aren't alone in that, but that's another topic.

) two quick examples of jws not following or going beyond the bible are blood and birthdays.

BluesBrother

As a principle of life it is perfectly sound , eg, how many youngsters get into trouble through bad company?

It is taken to extreme by the WT when they say that association with non believers will undermine your faith. Well , it can if they show you that you are wrong, but a real faith based on knowledge and sound arguments will not be easily affected.

12

Would a JW accused to be a murderer (in a judicial committee) be reported to the police?

by psyco in

i am wondering if a jw accused to be a murderer (or any other serious crime except csa) in a judicial committee would be reported to the police.. if i sexually abused or molested a child, i would not be reported to the police.. what about if i killed a person: would i be instead?.

it is not a matter of being right or wrong but i am only curious to know if there is at least a sort of coherence regarding the internal policies for serious crimes....

BluesBrother

In my experience, the question has never been asked within the Society, at least I have never seen it commented on. Supposing a man confessed to a murder that had happened some years ago ? I don’t know, I guess these days they would ask the Branch Office what to do.

I do recall the exchange of words at the Australian investigation into child abuse. The presiding judge asked the elder “ So what if a member confessed to murder , would you keep that quiet?”

The elder said “No” .

16

Is it okey to express your love for Jesus currently as a Jehovah's witness?

by Kosonen in

jw
friends

is it okey to express your love for jesus as a jehovah's witness?.

it should be, even though it would lift some eyebrows in the congregation.

let's see what jesus said:.

BluesBrother

I don’t see how you could be criticised for it . After all they have studied how Jesus laid down his life for us. If I went and if I commented, then I would do so and make a spirited reply to anyone that questioned it.

In my childhood we had an old brother who was what my wife would call “ one of the real anointed “. He was always speaking of “ The Lord “ as though he was close to him, and he did not mean Jehovah.

20

WT's Impact on Children

by Sea Breeze in

what is your opinion of the wt's impact on children?.

here, children get to connect the dots and see what will happen to you if you are disobedient.

.

BluesBrother

I am not so sure about harm to children from this stuff. I grew up with the same teachings and same scary pictures in the Paradise book as everyone did . It never affected me at all.

Kids love violence… it does not seem real. We had the cartoon characters doing “ Bam, Splat, Your Gone” and it was funny. The nursery rhymes and fairy stories had violent themes. I recall looking at my nieces book of Raold Dahl ( Sp?) horrible stories, just the same.

To me , somehow all the WT stuff seemed much the same when I was that young . The good people survive and the baddies get their come-uppance so all is well..

That is how my very young mind saw it anyway. It was when I was older that I started to see the terrible side of the message.

18

Billions to die at Armageddon?

by BoogerMan in

not according to this verse:.

(mark 3:28, 29) truly i say to you that all things will be forgiven the sons of men, no matter what sins they commit and what blasphemies they speak.

but whoever blasphemes against the holy spirit has no forgiveness forever but is guilty of everlasting sin.”.

BluesBrother

Many dubs do not really want to believe this . I have heard it flatly denied by those who cling to the one or two Wt paragraphs that weasel around it saying “We don’t know exactly who will die”….

The main teaching is absolutely clear . Any non JW is to come to a grisly end at the hand of God. This was a major factor in my awakening. I had wrestled with it for years and kept shelving my disquiet with it . Couple that with the passing of too much time , and the penny finally dropped.

20

Caleb & Sophia - The Watchtower gets weirder

by Listener in

the latest video release 4/4/22 (lesson 44 'don't give up') in the comic series of caleb & sophia just got weirder.

the plot is about caleb & sophia preaching door to door, caleb with his father and sophia with her mother.

it shows each of them having doors slammed on them four times.

BluesBrother

“Some PIMI old timers would prefer if those JW cartoons were excluded from meeting programs in congregations with no children of applicable age.”

Some? All the old timers I talk to hate any video content of meetings, let alone the kiddy ones that are treated with pure contempt

If I were a dub parent I would vet any Caleb and Sophia video before I showed it to children . It is not right for the Borg to teach directly to young kids . Some of the videos are just “off”

This one seems set to put any kid off going door to door, which they are not doing currently anyway.