as someone brought up as a jw and been an elder and been disfellowshipped (twice!!!
) i find it difficult to understand why ex jws have to attack the religion, yes religion, not cult or sect.
i am no longer disfellowshipped just do not want to practice anymore.
There are a lot of people with a lot of hate in their heart. I'm not sure why that is. Some need to lash out and convince themselves JW's are somehow harmful and a cult and every evil connotation hey can think of.
That's a lot easier than taking ownership of one's own decisions they make in their life. It's a lot easier if all your problems are someone else's fault. At least that what I experience and witness in many posts.
i've been looking on this site for some time but never posted.
i'll give a little about myself, but not too much.
i'm a ex-bethelite ( brooklyn )and currently serving as an elder (10 years) (thinking about stepping down) on the service committee.
Most JW's know the GB has no idea when the end is coming, and let's be honest the GB keep saying they don't know when the end is coming and they're just going to go on doing what they do until the end comes. I've heard that a dozen times. It irks me when I hear the GB say: we don't know when the end is coming. And then a brother gives a prayer saying: we're in the last seconds of the end. Ah, I've been hearing that for 40 years now. Perhaps you might not want to say that in your prayer even if you're right.
And there are a lot more thinking people than most care to believe. I think Generation X and the Millennial generation witnesses are a lot more pragmatic than all the old timers who hang on every word of the GB or anyone from Bethel. Generation X and Millennial Gen witness think the GB is out of touch. Most do anyway.
just found out the memorial is this coming friday, which is good friday, don't recall that happening before, or has it?.
just seems strange that the dubs would celebrate their only special day on the same day that christendom celebrates as well..
are their any newer people here, who recently found out ttatt, who has been disturbed by all the new changes in the organization?
it is turning into something that feels impersonal.
i know change is good.
What happens is that there is life at Bethel, which is not how 99.9 percent of JW's live, and then there is the rest of the organization who has to live in the realities of the real world.
At Bethel they live isolated and can't see the forest for the trees at times. In the congregation you have to deal with ten-thousand things; and things like JW.TV and the cart song and new songs and all this other stuff and changing everything around seems kind of like weird reality #795 and not something that is so very important.
i was raised in the truth my whole life, my immediate family are jws and my moms mom is a witness as well as my fathers mom.
other than that the rest of my family are non jws.
i was raised very balanced, my parents never forced the truth on me or my siblings like most of my friends parents did getting baptized at ridiculous ages!
You should never go to the same Kingdom Hall as your own family. That is a recipe for disaster.
Sorry to hear about all your troubles. Too bad your family can't be a little more understanding.
at a recent one day assembly i walked away with the thought that the wtbts sure does not like witnesses who have the opportunity to make a good living.
there were, in one day, three experiences of witnesses who turned down "6 figure salaries" because there would be some traveling involved and some meetings would be missed as well as missing family worship night.
i thought it strange that the exact phrase was used of "6 figure salary".
Some people have to feel good about themselves for turning down a 6 figure salary, but that's just plain silly. I know plenty of brothers and sisters who have two jobs and miss meetings and service because they can't hold the fort down. That's okay, but missing a meeting once in a while if you make 6 figures isn't.
It's kind of silly if you think about it. And most people just ignore this kind of talk that doesn't apply to 99.9 percent of the witnesses anyway.
i have a serious problem that i cannot solve on my own.
i was born-in but am only in by a thread at this point.
i quit the tms a few weeks ago and wrote a post on it.
You are the head of the household. Bring this up to another elder. You're also probably feeling needlessly under the microscope. Plenty of brothers step down from the TMS and/or miss a few meetings. Maybe some judgmental dummy might think something, but not everyone.
Talk to another elder and tell them you don't feel comfortable not being in the loop and about decisions being made without your knowledge. It's not scriptural to do that.
i realised something today.... we all happily accepted something really ridiculous.....something that if worded how i will word it now, we would have rejected as ridiculous, but after a moments thought, would have to concede.. we once followed the governing body because we believed they had supernatural powers.
how ridiculous you may say, no we didn't!
of or relating to things that cannot be explained according to natural laws.
I was raise a witness and I was never taught anyone on the Governing Body had any special powers. If you thought that well that's on you my friend.
Weren't they supposed to mediate on the matter, study what the scriptures had to say, pray about it, and then come to a decision? That's what I was always taught by my parents. The GB don't have visions, special divine instruction implanted into their heads, or any special knowledge any other JW may not have. They are just in charge. I've never heard any modern GB member say they were Moses, although I'm sure a few thought it.
i didn't find this particularly surprising given jw indoctrination is all about how evil the non-believers are (and how deserving they are to be destroyed during the big a) and how the wbts is absolutely right and everyone else is absolutely wrong - so it is not a big jump to islamic fanaticism.
I think there is a huge leap from being a Jehovah's Witnesses to ISIS members who go around cutting people's head's off and throwing gay people off of buildings.
I don't see an intellectual comparison there. Sorry dude. I think you're letting your hate get the best of you. Believe it or not most of the world's problems do not stem from someone being a JW once. That's an insult to all ex-JW's.
positions of trusta jehovahs witness spokesman said: we have tried to educate families to try and educate and protect their children, so that children can protect themselves if they find themselves in a situation.if jehovahs were found to have abused someone if they are in a position of trust they would no longer have a position of trust.asked why about the claims sewell had not been kicked out of the jehovahs the spokesman insisted we cant comment on specific situations.we dont give out personal information, he said.http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/jehovah-cult-kicked-out---8891636
It doesn't quite make sense, because if you have been convicted of molesting/raping more than one person that automatically shows you cannot be repented.
So this guy was never disfellowshipped at all? Something seems missing in this story.
