whilst most witnesses are brainwashed, many are instinctively honest (i hope!).
those who have left or faded have displayed enormous courage.
when we stop behaving as we were taught would that make us more or less honest?
I wouldn't say I'm more or less honest now than I was as a jw. I'm the
same person I always was, without the guilty feelings and judgemental
attitude I developed in the org.
In a way, all active jws are unknowingly dishonest - they are trying to
teach people what they perceive to be the truth when it's really total bs.
The most dishonest jws IMHO are the governing body, who must know
or at least have a good idea that what they write is bs, but keep on doing
it anyway.
hi - i have jw friends (really!
) and have gone to kh for some talks and study every couple of weeks.
things like the new watchtower policy, selling buildings (i am from nyc and know the heights well - that will make a boatload of money), the sex abuse settlements, drop in membership and donations, and some of the changes i have seen in the magazine (the annointed qfr, for example).
Hi dontomas
"New light" tends to flash when time is running out on a prophecy, like the
"this generation (those who remember 1914) will by no means pass away
before the end comes" one, which they had to change in 1995 when the
1914 generation was dying off rapidly. That so-called prophecy was well
on the way to failing miserably, just like all their earlier prophecies have done,
so they changed it to "any generation" that won't accept the truth, which has
rendered it completely meaningless.
The "new light" on the anointed covers their asses if members question why
the number of memorial partakers never falls, and sometimes increases -
they are still being gathered of course! Since the anointed have, according
to them, be gathered before "the end", armageddon is once more postponed,
which again buys them time.
Any future "new light" is likely to be for the same reasons - one of their doctrines
is about to fail and they need to change it to escape the embarassment of having
to explain why. I'd say they might get a flash or two about their 1914 theory in
the next few years.
I don't know if you are interested in becoming a jw, but if you are I advise you to
think long and hard before making a commitment, and do plenty of research into
the watchtower. The link below is to one of the Quotes sites, an excellent resource
for old watchtower publications. You can see what they did with the 1914 generation
idea there.
why you were part of the jw faith and you were by yourself at a persons door ,who was really rude toward you, did you ever say anything nasty back instead of saying have a nice day?
also did you ever want to just knock someone out?
any experiences or thoughts of what you wanted to do?
I had a few rude ones, but I think they had the right to be abrupt - we
weren't there because they'd invited us.
what are the new publications released at the district conventions this year?
?
Hi testigay, and welcome
The "new" release is to be a book called "Come be my follower", which
it's probably fair to assume is supposed to be in line with the convention
theme.
It won't be anything new if course, just old information recycled and repackaged.
in view of the breathtaking mistakes made by the governing body in the last 10 years, the time has come for all with influence in or out of the organization of jehovah's witnesses to ask for the resignation of the entire governing body.
<br>in the past 5 years alone, we have seen the defacto president of the watchtower society, theodore jarascz, dismiss reporters from the bbc without addressing their questions about sex abuse; they have denied repeatedly that there is a problem in the 2 witness to sex abuse policy; they have arranged the excommunication of whistleblowers in the organization, implying that they are spiritually deficient or worse.
<br>thousands of members of this fellowship have been sexually abused by family or friends in the group, only to be told that it didn't happen, that they misunderstood it, and if they could not produce a second witness or the accused confessed, they were told that they must be silent or face shunning.
Well, they've been making mistakes for a lot longer than 10 years.
Jaracz was on in 1975, and Barr and Losch had joined by the time
of the generation change in 1995.
However, I doubt they'd resign. That would mean admitting they had
made mistakes, and that isn't their way. If anything goes wrong, they
always blame the brothers.
what are the concequences of being marked?
what qualifies a person to be marked?
who determines whom shall be marked?
This is from the flock book:
If individuals Persist in "walking, disorderly" in serious
violation of well-established Bible principles, but not yet
to a degree warranting judicial action, they may be
«marked» by members of the congregation. (2 Thess. 3:
6, 14, 15; w85 4/15 pp. 30-1; om pp. 152-3)However, this would occur only after repeated efforts to
provide authoritative Scriptural counsel and admonition
have been ignored and in many cases after a warning talk
has been given to the congregation. (w85 4/15 pp. 30-1;
w81 9/1 pp. 19-21 )If a person who has been marked continues his wrongful
course in brazen defiance of Christian standards, ada-
mantly rejecting loving Scriptural counsel, judicial action
may be taken if the situation becomes scandalous loose
conduct.
http://www.sectes.net/tj/ecrits/anciens.html
As far as I can remember, and I only ever heard one marking talk, the person
isn't named in the talk, but most of the congregation will know who it is, and
will be expected to avoid associating with them.
press release 5/10/07.
http://www.freeminds.org/history/16lawsuits.htm.
sixteen child sex abuse lawsuits against jehovahs witnesses are settled.
Undercover:
Were they DFd for going to the police? Or was there some other trumped up charge they got on them so they could shut them up in the congregation?
They were df'd about 3 weeks after the father's arrest, and no reason was given from
the platform, just an announcement that they were no longer a jw, but the gossip mill
suggested they were apostates as they had done something contrary to the society's
teachings, when all they had done was to try and protect themselves. The oldest
daughter was 18 by then, and daddy was less interested in her than in her two youngest
sisters, then 11 and 8. I am still in touch with her, she lives near us, and she was trying
to protect her younger sisters more than herself, as was her mum.
It's obvious that they were df'd to stop other jws asking them about what had happened,
and sad to say, the elders ploy worked, though not all the congregation accepted the
elders reason, and some have left the org since then.
Anybody that accuses a child of 5 or 8 of being promiscuous and tempting an adult to committ these crimes should be fucking punched in the face
I totally agree. This was apparently hinted at from the platform by the po after the father was
convicted and sentenced. Some of the congregation actually believed it, though anyone who
did needs a lobotomy IMHO. I'm not violent, but if any of those ba**ards ever told me those
kids had been promiscuous, he'd be eating through a straw for a while.
press release 5/10/07.
http://www.freeminds.org/history/16lawsuits.htm.
sixteen child sex abuse lawsuits against jehovahs witnesses are settled.
As a JW the one thing that always baffles me is the parents that would allow their children to be alone with these pervs.! Now, they want to sue the WTBS? I understand the victims suing the WTBS based on the cover up and proclivity to admit guilt, but someone should slap the stupid parents! Perhaps coming out of the world where pedophiles and rapists were rampant gave me "street smarts", but even my children that were raised in the truth know to "be as cautious as serpents"! Where were the parents when the articles on "wolves dressed in sheeps clothing" were being discussed. They must have became witnesses because of the social gatherings.
Boerean,
Believe it or not.in a lot of cases, the abusers WERE the parents, or one of them, or some
other "trusted" relative. If you don't believe me, take a look at some of the case histories on
silentlambs.
i've noticed many of you that have your own ministry.
i'm curious as to what doctrines you teach.
is it "jesus is love.
I've noticed many of you that have your own ministry. I'm curious as to what doctrines you teach
No ministry or doctrines here. I left that bs behind when I woke up and
left the watchtower.
No beliefs in any religion either, I'm an atheist.
<!-- .style1 { font-family: arial; font-size: 18px; } .style3 { font-family: arial; font-size: 16px; } .style4 { font-family: verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; } .style5 {color: #0000ff} .style6 {color: #000000} --> what was your mindset like when you were disfellowshiped?recalling the day, i wrote the watchtower society to tell them that they were disfellowshiped .
as an organization for conduct unbecoming a christian organization was one of mixed feelings .
it was a sad heart wrenching reality that fourteen years of my life in this organization had finally .
When I disassociated by letter almost 2 years ago, I had no regrets whatsoever.
I didn't believe in any of the doctrines anyway, having done my own very thorough
research several years earlier in 1999, which was the last year I attended any meetings.
I finally decided to da in 2005 after a couple of elders dropped in on me to see if I wanted
to return. I gave them short shrift, and they went away mumbling something about a jc,
so I saved them the trouble. I didn't want any more visits anyway.
