Yes, indeed! The level of religious apathy in the congs has grown to the point where it is threatening to reach critical mass. It is becoming socially acceptable in many congregations to ignore the WTS' continual calls for conformity: people are determining for themselves what they will or will not believe or think, how they will or will not spend their time (and money!), with whom they will associate, etc. Many only stay to maintain family ties and friendships. At some point the non-conforming members will seriously erode the structure simply by existing outside the close control of the zealous core, thereby providing an alternative paradigm. No doubt Brooklyn is rather concerned, but it appears that the the usual heavy-handed methods are beginning to repulse people rather than retain them. (Wonder what the "Godly Obedience" District Conventions will bring -- no doubt some one will keep us informed. )
bennyk
JoinedPosts by bennyk
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16
Smart JWs
by greendawn inmost of us often talk about what we don't like in the jws and why we left but i think there are some smart persons/families/entire congs there who know how to play the system, they don't really give a toss about the wts ideology (or behaviour) but they stay there just to have a good social or family life in exchange for giving 5 or 7 hours to the org per week.
to them it is a social club not a religion.
have you seen or heard anything on this?
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63
Did You Ever Think You'd No Longer Be A Witness?
by minimus indid you ever dream that you'd be posting here too?
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bennyk
I was baptized despite serious reservations re: the Organization ("God's sole channel"). I could not accept the WTS doctrine that Jesus was mediator for only 144 000 individuals in the whole of human history. The change in the baptismal vow (1985(?)) was really the beginning of the End for me. The continual, strident calls for reverence toward the WTS became unbearable, the doctrines proved to be unscriptural, the palpable lack of Christian love was unacceptable. At long last, it was time to jump...
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Name Things You Can Get Counseled,Reproved or Disfellowshipped For
by minimus insince the jw religion is sooooo restrictive, it is good to think about just how wacky this cult is.....for example, you can get counseled for buying a 2 door car as opposed to a "pioneer" car (4 door).
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bennyk
Yeah - even if you're supposed to be a member of the F&DS.
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Adoption and shunning
by Bigbro inmy wife was adopted and raised in a jw family, at a young age she made the mistake of being baptized.
as a teenager she was disfellowshiped only to be reinstated.
we met in collage and hit it off, and after dating (which her parents didnt know about) we decided to get married.
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bennyk
Believe you me, Bigbro: you are in numerous and good company.
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Name Things You Can Get Counseled,Reproved or Disfellowshipped For
by minimus insince the jw religion is sooooo restrictive, it is good to think about just how wacky this cult is.....for example, you can get counseled for buying a 2 door car as opposed to a "pioneer" car (4 door).
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bennyk
EvilForce:
An "untidy" woodpile means a pile of wood which is not piled in a manner consistent with the GB/WTS standard for the piling of wood (!) [In the past, we used firewood to heat our home.]
"Covering" refers to the wearing of a piece of cloth on the head during a prayer or when prophesying (1 Cor. 11:4-6). [Apparently, the unsubmissive wives in the Cong disliked being confronted with an example of a wife who was submissive; God alone knows what the Elders may have found disturbing about the whole business - perhaps it was because it was found in the Bible (?)]
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1975 - Lest We Forget
by GetBusyLiving ini find the topic of the 1975 end of the world scenario facinating, especially since i never lived through it.
do you old schoolers ever feel concerned that people will one day forget about what really went down?
with whitewashed tripe like the 'proclaimers' book informing dubs that it was just the false expectations of over enthusiastic apostates, are you at all concerned that the legacy of bullshit that is 1975 will be a forgotten moment in history blamed on you instead where the blame really belongs?
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bennyk
Love2Bworldly:
Everyone who can prove discreet is invited (BYOB). This clearly exempts the GB!
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Name Things You Can Get Counseled,Reproved or Disfellowshipped For
by minimus insince the jw religion is sooooo restrictive, it is good to think about just how wacky this cult is.....for example, you can get counseled for buying a 2 door car as opposed to a "pioneer" car (4 door).
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bennyk
My wife was counseled for having become pregnant (probably something in the semen...) even though it was the result of marital sex (!)
I was counseled for having an "untidy" woodpile (!)
My wife was shunned by a number of "sisters" and two Elders for "covering" during prayers at the KH (and she was informed that the 1964 WT articles re: said "covering" were "Old Light" (!)
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1975 - Lest We Forget
by GetBusyLiving ini find the topic of the 1975 end of the world scenario facinating, especially since i never lived through it.
do you old schoolers ever feel concerned that people will one day forget about what really went down?
with whitewashed tripe like the 'proclaimers' book informing dubs that it was just the false expectations of over enthusiastic apostates, are you at all concerned that the legacy of bullshit that is 1975 will be a forgotten moment in history blamed on you instead where the blame really belongs?
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bennyk
Most of the SIX MILLION know nothing of 1975 (they entered the Org after "Armageddon"!), and if the WTS may have its way, they never will hear anything TRUE about it. It is quite amazing that even those who were JW's IN 1975 seem to have a real ignorance regarding that most fateful date. Selective memory? Defective memory? NO memory? I remember, and that's why we'll be having a 30-year-Anniversary-of-Armageddon party this October!!!!
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A poem - tell me what you think - I am posting for someone else
by schne_belly inthe slave has lied to me for years
my eyes fill with tears
all wrong dates
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bennyk
Hi, Schne-
Good Stuff! We got our copy of the poem in the US mail this morning (already congratulated the Poet!), also a copy of the poem which "inspired" the REBUTTAL. Maybe you'd like to post the other as well, so we can see a fine example of the Lemming-thought-process which is so much a part of the JW-subculture....
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Have you ever commented at the meeting
by homme perdu inim not talking about q & a from wt literature.
im talking about asking questions to the speaker during a meeting.
if not do you know someone that has did he or she get punished?
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bennyk
"Honesty", you take the words out of my mouth; it's not really worth the aggravation and why become a magnet for unwelcome attention?
I DID make a statement regarding my disbelief in "1975=Armaggedon" during a meeting for Field Service once, when I was about ten years old. An Elder cured me of my talkative nature in short order. (Well, not really. I still suffer from Foot-in-Mouth Disease.)