Posts by Jeffro

33

Fading ... Do You Owe Witness Friends An Explanation?

by What Now? in

i'm curious about what you all think on this subject.

when my husband and i became irregular about a year ago, and then inactive around 5 months ago, i felt that it would be hypocritical to take advantage of the social side of the witness community if we weren`t going to meetings or in service.

we stopped entertaining (which we did quite regularly - theme parties, card parties, movie nights, big turkey dinners, breakfasts on holidays etc), and i slowly stopped accepting invitations for get togethers, playdates etc.

Jeffro

What Now?:

If someone asked me to come over for dinner, should I have said "well, we're inactive right now, is that still ok with you?".

No. If you like the individual(s), go to dinner. If it's just someone from the congregation who doesn't really give a damn about you personally but wants to 'encourage' someone to 'go back to meetings', tell them you've got other plans.

Should I send a letter or email or text to everyone, advising them of our situation?

Only if you're the kind of person who generally sends letters/emails. There's no need for a 'special' announcement, and such an action to a large number of people will most likely result in almost instant shunning, even without 'official' 'judicial' action. When JWs probe about your situation, try to avoid JW jargon like 'inactive' or other jargon like 'fading'. Keep conversations informal. If they question you about doctrinal views, be honest (which may mean saying nothing, or politely changing the subject), but don't feel compelled to go into any detail, especially if you haven't fully researched things yet and are still forming your views.

The JW mindset is that their religion is 'special' and 'different' to other groups. In reality, you're just not attending religious services anymore (don't use the words 'religious services' with them though).

42

classification of Jehovahs Witness members by when they joined up

by besty in

just got to thinking how long can the watchtower peddle the 'soon' story with any credibility?.

i would say there are the oldtimer or born ins in the 70+ age group - they possibly remember the 2nd world war, and maybe joined for 1975 or made life affecting decisions meaning they are so commited with 'nowhere else to go' that they have surrendered to the resurrection hope.. then you have the '1986 international year of peace, the 1914+70 year' generation crowd.

people in their 40s and 50s now.

Jeffro

slimboyfat:

Until 1995 JWs always had a specific timeframe to work with (1914, 1925, 1975, the generation).

That's obviously incorrect. Bible Students in 1926 (and Jehovah's Witnesses from 1931 onwards) weren't 'patiently waiting for 1975'. The 1975 thing (after several alterations to JW chronology) was only invented in the late 60s. Prior to that, the end was supposed to come 'soon'. After the rather predictable dismal failure of 1975, they were again expecting the end to come 'soon', until renewed (and modified) focus was again later put on 'the generation'.

42

classification of Jehovahs Witness members by when they joined up

by besty in

just got to thinking how long can the watchtower peddle the 'soon' story with any credibility?.

i would say there are the oldtimer or born ins in the 70+ age group - they possibly remember the 2nd world war, and maybe joined for 1975 or made life affecting decisions meaning they are so commited with 'nowhere else to go' that they have surrendered to the resurrection hope.. then you have the '1986 international year of peace, the 1914+70 year' generation crowd.

people in their 40s and 50s now.

Jeffro

zed is dead:

They need another Crazy Freddy prediction to scare the masses.

I think they've learned their lesson about making predictions that are too specific from the fallout after 1975. It took years for their growth rates to recover from that fiasco.

But in case they're still that stupid... they could spin 2020 as 'the year'. It's near enough to scare some inactive JWs back into submission. And they could do a slick Awake! article about having '2020 vision'.

It's worth noting that the '1975' scare tactic was spun in the late 60s following a few years of low growth rates in the years throughout the early to mid 1960s. Their growth rates for the last 16 years have been worse than the decline in growth rate in the 60s, so some kind of desperate action wouldn't be that surprising.

Growth rate (average publishers)

43

Private meetings banned??

by franticfran in

jw
friends

i have just spoken to a brother who is part of a group of single brothers and sisters who meet together once a week to discuss bible topics and he has been told by and elder that the organisation "banned" these private meetings years ago.

i told him i remember that article but he is adamant that the society would never do that (!

) now i am fairly sure i remember that article whether it was in a km or one of the mags i cant recall but i am sure i remember them saying we needed nothing more than the food that the slave class provided (another means to control us),does anyone have the details of that article because i have said i will find it and let him have it.

Jeffro

franticfran:

By the way,if the headline doesnt say "No independent study" what does it say??

It just says "Question box" followed by the main question in bold.

So if you did need to check anything you couldnt anyway,do any of you keep old articles and how is it you all seem to have this information?

Our Kingdom Ministry is not included on the website version of the 'Library' (which only has other publications back to 2000), but it's on the Watchtower Library on CD-ROM.

43

Private meetings banned??

by franticfran in

jw
friends

i have just spoken to a brother who is part of a group of single brothers and sisters who meet together once a week to discuss bible topics and he has been told by and elder that the organisation "banned" these private meetings years ago.

i told him i remember that article but he is adamant that the society would never do that (!

) now i am fairly sure i remember that article whether it was in a km or one of the mags i cant recall but i am sure i remember them saying we needed nothing more than the food that the slave class provided (another means to control us),does anyone have the details of that article because i have said i will find it and let him have it.

Jeffro

Iown Mylife:

Yes Jeffro, those brothers mentioned in C of C said it was their own business, what was discussed at a private dinner and yowza, they were kicked out so fast their heads were spinning.

There's no need to actually say, "it's none of your business". You could just say there was an informal 'gathering' for 'association' (they like that word). Keep it informal. They're looking for a 'defensive' reaction. Don't give them one.

43

Private meetings banned??

by franticfran in

jw
friends

i have just spoken to a brother who is part of a group of single brothers and sisters who meet together once a week to discuss bible topics and he has been told by and elder that the organisation "banned" these private meetings years ago.

i told him i remember that article but he is adamant that the society would never do that (!

) now i am fairly sure i remember that article whether it was in a km or one of the mags i cant recall but i am sure i remember them saying we needed nothing more than the food that the slave class provided (another means to control us),does anyone have the details of that article because i have said i will find it and let him have it.

Jeffro

Watchtower-Free:

NO INDEPENDENT STUDY
Does "the faithful and discreet slave" endorse independent groups of Witnesses who meet together to engage in Scriptural research or debate?-Matt. 24:45, 47.

Please note that "NO INDEPENDENT STUDY" did not actually appear in the material provided in the quoted Our Kingdom Ministry.

43

Private meetings banned??

by franticfran in

jw
friends

i have just spoken to a brother who is part of a group of single brothers and sisters who meet together once a week to discuss bible topics and he has been told by and elder that the organisation "banned" these private meetings years ago.

i told him i remember that article but he is adamant that the society would never do that (!

) now i am fairly sure i remember that article whether it was in a km or one of the mags i cant recall but i am sure i remember them saying we needed nothing more than the food that the slave class provided (another means to control us),does anyone have the details of that article because i have said i will find it and let him have it.

Jeffro

OnTheWayOut:

It's a word game.

Absolutely. But if they want to play word games, so can others.

If some nosy elder says that someone has made an accusation about 'independent Bible study groups', just tell them you had some close friends around for dinner/coffee/whatever. It's really none of their business what people happen to talk about, and they're probably just jealous that they weren't invited.

43

Private meetings banned??

by franticfran in

jw
friends

i have just spoken to a brother who is part of a group of single brothers and sisters who meet together once a week to discuss bible topics and he has been told by and elder that the organisation "banned" these private meetings years ago.

i told him i remember that article but he is adamant that the society would never do that (!

) now i am fairly sure i remember that article whether it was in a km or one of the mags i cant recall but i am sure i remember them saying we needed nothing more than the food that the slave class provided (another means to control us),does anyone have the details of that article because i have said i will find it and let him have it.

Jeffro

The Watch Tower Society cannot ban private meetings for any purpose, but it doesn't endorse independent Bible study groups. If such private groups develop independent thinking, it may result in a judicial committee (which has no authority or legal standing). Note that the article is careful to choose words such as "does not endorse" and "we recommend". Other than that, elders can't (officially) stop groups of JWs having 'private meetings', and it's none of their business anyway. If elders don't like private group discussions, don't invite them and don't tell them about it.

24

587 BC vs 607 BC: VAT 4956

by Londo111 in

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5ckh0lhmf4&list=plynx0om_bmgcurq9a8qz4xy6yrlznyx-l&index=6.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tkau04g-bmi&list=plynx0om_bmgcurq9a8qz4xy6yrlznyx-l&index=7.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szllngobifm&list=plynx0om_bmgcurq9a8qz4xy6yrlznyx-l&index=8.

Jeffro

Londo:

Oops. Sorry! I was mowing the lawn today. I think the heat must've zapped my brain.

I'll forgive you. Maybe.

20

Being told you are hated by everyone?

by trailerfitter in

okay, after a discussion with the seperated wife who admitted that because she is a jehovahs witness that she expects to be hated by everyone.

she expressed that she was "foreign" and not the same as others since she is not of this world.

okay, reality check - this is actually taught by the watchtower?

Jeffro

trailerfitter:

The discussion started after she had an incident with some children outside my house. They were cheeky and basically her to say thank you for them moving out of the way so she could park her car. Okay, sort of thing that could be shrugged off as the kids are just cheeky. But for her it is and issue and a big one.

Sounds like the same kind of paranoia as in the mysterious case of 'Splane and the staring children'. The children most likely neither know nor care that the person is 'a JW'. The belief that 'the world' 'hates' JWs is just another silly JW superstition, based on a cultish 'us versus them' mentality. Kind of like how conventions in the 1920s were supposedly 'fulfilments' of things from Revelation. And the 'main aim' of 'demons' is to stop people becoming JWs.