i've never been completely shunned because i've never been baptized.
my father side has always talked to me and included me in family events.
but my mom's side is in denial of shunning me.
Did you really want to go or did you really just want to know if you would be allowed to go?
At one time, I would sometimes test the waters too, just to see if they were still holding on to their isolationist/"if you aren't with us, you're against us" mentality. It was the same every time.
seen in the 03/2018 watchtower study :.
"during the 2017 service year, more than 284,000 “rightly disposed” individuals symbolized their dedication to jehovah by water baptism.".
https://www.jw.org/en/publications/magazines/watchtower-study-march-2018/baptism-requirement-for-christians/.
In a way, JWs are predatory. They will always move to more fertile ground to get more members. They are growing exponentially in some 3rd world countries, in Africa, for example.
If North Korea ever becomes free, I suspect the JWs will pounce in and will be able to explode in membership there by pushing their fairy tale belief system onto desperate people needing hope. That seems to be their style.
i was wondering how many of you still enjoy (or maybe you just feel the need) to discuss and debate jw doctrine and scripture.
i find myself scrolling right past those topics i see online.
i could care less.
My interest in these topics is only to expose the wt as wrong, with humour if possible. Mental gymnastics for my aging mind's sake too.
And waton, I absolutely respect that. We need people willing to do that. I just can't stomach it anymore. Apologies if I took your previous post the wrong way.
i was wondering how many of you still enjoy (or maybe you just feel the need) to discuss and debate jw doctrine and scripture.
i find myself scrolling right past those topics i see online.
i could care less.
But my interest in these topics only exists as far as my JW ignorance. That is to say - how surprising it is how little I knew about a book I supposedly studied every single week.
This is the absolute truth. While I am not interested in debating anything Watchtower, sometimes I find myself reading things about their beliefs that I didn't even know, and I was a 3rd generation JW.
For example, I was a 3rd generation JW, elder dad, I was a pioneer, and I have been out for over 17 years, and I just realized that the GB (may) think that former dead GB members communicate with them. I don't know why it never occurred me to question HOW the GB claimed they got their inspiration. It all sounds so crazy now.
after reading and seeing so many detailings of the dealings with people in this religion, i have to wonder how to get people who are just extremely asleep.
reasoning doesn't seem like it works, there needs to be some kind of plug pull event, like the leaders doing something so uterly stupid that it causes the immediate downfall of the entire religion.
but because i am naturally curious i want to know from people who have more experience with jw structure why they seem to have a resistance to an event like this?
It seems like people are leaving in droves right now and they are waking up. I think the ones that are still asleep are the ones that don't allow themselves to question, think, or satisfy their curiosity to look things up. I think a large number of people stay in out of feat of losing their family and friends and being shunned.
i was wondering how many of you still enjoy (or maybe you just feel the need) to discuss and debate jw doctrine and scripture.
i find myself scrolling right past those topics i see online.
i could care less.
I read all the posts on doctrine changes and debates, murders in Venezuela, just about everything in order to keep up to date and casually pass snippets of info on to my still in wife. She seems to appreciate knowing about things before others. It doesn't seem to make a difference but who knows. I'm getting this activity down to a fine art now.
Yes, I still have family in, and it helps to know what it going on. It does help to explain their behavior when I find out they are discouraging any contact with worldly family, for example. If I had someone I was interested in convincing to leave, I might have more interest in the debates I see here online, but none of my JW family speak to me anymore.
i was wondering how many of you still enjoy (or maybe you just feel the need) to discuss and debate jw doctrine and scripture.
i find myself scrolling right past those topics i see online.
i could care less.
wild thing, thanks, and you have proven my point too. Confronted with indisputable hard facts, some people will mentally shut down, will resist to learn further, and
waton, you don't have to convince me. I know that Watchtower doctrines are bullshit. I just don't care to debate them anymore, it really doesn't matter. It doesn't really matter what religious dogma a group follows if they continue to suppress and abuse their members. True, sometimes they go hand in hand, but not the ones that I see debated so often.
Quite frankly, you sound like a pompous ass. My comment about my eyes glazing over was meant to be a sort of joke, but one that has some truth in it. I am not "mentally shutting down" because your evidence is so super-duper and I am resisting your awesomeness to teach me. My eyes glaze over because that is what Watchtower jargon does to me.
But keep fighting the fight. I am sure someone needs convincing somewhere.
I have seen many more people leave the organization over sociological issues (being shunned, suppressed, abused, etc.) than over doctrinal issues. Quite frankly, its not hard to prove the Watchower's ever changing doctrines are wrong. Allowing yourself the freedom to research it and prove it to yourself is a whole other story. I did that already so I'm kind of done.
it could be argued that all jws are weird.
.
i’m referring to really weird odd witnesses.. most of the oddballs that i remember were elders..
Yes. And I am related to all of them.
last night i had a sit down with a family member and some older friends who went to my hall.
didn't realise my family member who is active has been feeling alot of the same emotions i have.
my family member who is in high standing said he has alway been afraid to go to the elders because he has always felt they weren't ever understanding from his experience.
A college education will do it every time. If you don't start questioning things on your own, you will after going to college ... where questioning is encouraged and the proof of any "truth" matters. Quite the opposite of how we were raised.
i was wondering how many of you still enjoy (or maybe you just feel the need) to discuss and debate jw doctrine and scripture.
i find myself scrolling right past those topics i see online.
i could care less.
scratchme1010 -- I agree. I think maybe some of it has to do with where people are in the process of leaving the JWs. I just almost don't have the patience to listen to the nonsense anymore. I guess that's a good thing and means I've moved on. I don't begrudge anyone who needs to still discuss it, I just can't go there anymore.
waton -- You've sort of proven my point. My eyes glazed over when I got to the word "anointed". :P
