Posts by Ingenuous

45

144,000 A "theillogical" evaluation

by AuldSoul in

144,000 a "theillogical" evaluation

revelationits grand climax at hand!.

chap.

Ingenuous

I wonder if JWs still hold onto this number as literal because it's one of the few things of C. T. Russell's that they still agree with. Then again - Russell said the 144K were those who'd inherit the "divine nature", while the "great crowd" was still a heavenly class, just not gifted with divinity.

Or - perhaps it's another power-play. If the number wasn't literal, than any old JW could be anointed, have God's spirit, and have a right to question, challenge, and generally disobey the Org without any meaningful sanction. Who has a right to tell you how to worship God when you're as much of a spiritual heavyweight as they are?

7

I experienced a Jewish Shabbat Service tonight!

by Billygoat in

my very best friend, casey, is a member of a local baptist church.

her church is similar to mine, known to be a very liberal baptist church, holding very loosely to the "baptist traditions" and holding more tightly to the life of christ and his example set for us.

the other day she invited me to an interfaith shabbat service held at a reformed jewish temple.

Ingenuous

Thank you for sharing, Andi. Some of us may never have the opportunity to do something like this and reading your experience is the next-best-thing.

9

Library containing early Watchtower mags & books

by cyberdyne systems 101 in

i would be interested to be able to look up references made from now unavailable literature, does anyone know of a library that contains them?

by the way i am in england.

its not that i doubt the many quotaions i have seen, but its frustrating to not see them in the flesh.

Ingenuous

C. T. Russell's works and Zion's Watch Tower 1879 through 1916: http://www.ctrussell.us/

Works by Rutherford and some out-of-print Watchtower brochures: http://www.strictlygenteel.co.uk/

64

Question for JWs still on the "inside":

by Hellrider in

just a question: if you are still jws (for any reason, many just can`t leave because their entire families are wrapped around it, etc), but don`t believe in it, and lead a "double life", how do you cope with going door to door?

i just can`t imagine how it must feel like to go out there and try to tell people at the doors or in the streets things you know are just bs!

how do you deal with that?

Ingenuous

I had a problem with this the last few years I was still "in." I still believed the Org taught The Truth, but was mightily ashamed of the behavior and lack of refinement (i.e, just plain laziness of thought) found at my Hall. Not to mention that many brothers were so ill-prepared when they gave talks that they didn't infrequently say things that were totally off and just plain wrong - not just by Society standards, but by anyone's standards. I didn't want to find someone in the field who was so interested that I'd have to start bringing them to my Hall. I talked it over with my elder Dad and, while he agreed, we concluded that there was no where else for people to go and that Jehovah would straighten it out in time - with a little help from me pulling my study aside after every meeting and straightening out anything that got screwed-up on the platform.

Insane! I was absolutely insane!

24

Comments You Will Not Hear at the 1-29-06 WT Study (Decisive)

by blondie in

jehovah used many prophets...to warn...elijah was one such prophet.

jehovah's servants...god's people--only jws.

worshippers of jehovah.

Ingenuous

I can think of a much clearer title: "Now is the Time for Decisive Acion: OBEY OR DIE!"

12 Sadly, some baptized Christians have become irregular or inactive in their

worship. (Hebrews 10:23-25; 13:15, 16) Some have lost their zeal because of fear

of persecution, the anxieties of making a living, efforts to get rich, or the

pursuit of selfish pleasures. Jesus warned that these very things would stumble,

choke, and ensnare some of his followers. (Matthew 10:28-33; 13:20-22; Luke

12:22-31; 21:34-36) Instead of `limping on two opinions,' as it were, such ones

should "be zealous and repent" by taking decisive action to carry out their

dedication to God.-Revelation 3:15-19.

Apprently, the only reasons to leave are laziness, cowardice, materialism and selfishness. Never, of course, because the Org is hypocritical and un-Chrisitian. And what makes them assume those who leave are weakly "limping on two opinions?" I have only one opinion when it comes to "The Society"!

38

SO MAD, HURT, Crying at WORK

by unique1 in

damn her!!!

ok, sorry, i have to let some of this out before i start crying at my desk again.

my mom and dad told me that they would stop talking to me.

Ingenuous

{{{{{unique1}}}}}

13

No help from the JW brotherhood?

by greendawn in

jw
friends

during your time as jws were there times that you were in need for some help from the jw brotherhood but felt let down because no one cared to help you?

did you feel resentful and began to suspect that this org is heartless and hypocritical?

Ingenuous

I never got a call, a card, a vist during the years I was struggling with depression and anxiety and would miss meetings, though I struggled to get to the ones I could. When I purposely stopped going, my folks "sicced" the elders on me and they thought the elders (actually, elder) who called was so loving to reach out to me in my "time of need".

A friend of mine knows a sister who was struggling financially to take care of medical bills. A brother suggested that, since the congregation had a few thousand just sitting in the bank, they might be able to help her. After the brothers talk, she gets a call from one of them saying she won't get a dime of the congregation's money. When she told him she'd be driven to using a local church's soup kitchen, he told her to by all means do so. That was the last straw for my friend and that's when he quit going to meetings.

41

Jehovah's Witness skating parties were da bomb!

by PaNiCAtTaCk in

jw
friends

was this just a local arkansas thing or were jw's everywhere getting jiggy at the skating rink?

we used to have awesome skating parties and witnesses from 150 miles away would come sometimes.

or sometimes we would drive that far to go to one.

Ingenuous

Did all the JWs clear the floor when an "inapropriate" song come on, like they did here? It was hilarious when the rink was full of almost all JWs and there were only a couple "worldly" people left to skate til the end of the song.

52

Can you celebrate your 100th birthday when you are a JW?

by blondie in

jw
friends

as a devout jehovah's witness, mrs. merle is prohibited from celebrating her birthday.

but a week from tomorrow, relatives and friends will flock to the camoset village country living mobile home park in johnstown to attend a super bowl party that just happens to feature ice cream and cake.. "that's why we're calling it a super bowl party," explained her son bob merle, 73, who lives just five trailers down the road.

"we don't celebrate birthdays, but we have to celebrate 100 years," said mrs. mechem, 78.

Ingenuous

Apparently, you can't.

My 95-year-old grandmother went south to see her sister when her sister turned 100. She went with my inactive aunt and uncle and my non-JW aunt and uncle. No presents, no speeches, just dinner and time together. My grandmother has pioneered for over 40 years, her health and memory are just starting to deteriorate, and she hadn't seen her sister in a long while.

When she got back, my elder father (her son) made sure to call her and lay her out for going to a birthday party. Had to get her good and upset to teach her a lesson. Ironic that she turned to my inactive aunt and uncle for comfort afterward.

41

Here We GO - Can't Fade No More

by unique1 in

ok, a little update on my story.

i told him yes.

i told him, i just couldn't do it.

Ingenuous

{{{{{unique1}}}}}

I expect a similar, final confrontation with my folks is coming.

I can't find it, but someone may be able to point you to the threads re: baptism nullification.