all the jws that i know of look miserable.
they look burdened, tired and hopeless.
do you see any happy witnesses?
Great thread...
I don't have much direct contact with the jws any more. (I was last in line of 3 generations of jws...all dead now but me) I left in the early 90s and noticed the unhappiness back then. I remember happy jws as I was growing up...lots of them, including my family. I think this is something that has changed slowly over the years. The happiness and hope have been replaced by control, doubt and paranoia....
Coffee
we just got back from spending two weeks in denver, co. call us crazy (yeah i dont know what the hell we were thinking) but we decided to drive.
from seattle to denver and back is over 3,000 miles.
we had both kids and a crap load of stuff.
Boston to LA by the southern route... I was newly married at 18. We got to LA and 2 weeks later there was a huge earthquake. I thought Armageddon had come. Then a 1 1/2 years later the return trip....from LA to Boston... I've driven from Boston to Florida and vice versa more times than I can remember...sometimes with family...sometimes by myself.
Coffee
we are not used to this, here in the northeast.
friday evening, i checked out the cellar for any water coming in, and it was dry, so i went back on the computer.
about midnight, i decided to hit the sack, so i shut off the computer, turned around, and stepped into water !!
I am sooooo happy to see the sun! After my morning coffee, I'm spending the day outside!!!!!!
Basement is dry... we are very lucky. Yesterday, though, my 83 year old aunt drove to the next town over, and got stuck in flooded roadway. The water poured into her car... up to seat level...she and her 15 year old grand daughter were soaked....and scared. Car had to be towed... it's still at the shop. My aunt is a trooper though.. by the way, she drives a little red sports car, and still works every day.
Coffee
no long...... "see you later's"....just bye bye.. .
my time has come to leave this place.
thanks for the memories, good times, and useful information.. .
All the best... I'll miss your posts....
Coffee
yes i know the standard answer - they want to sell books but hang on a minute.. .
something that has always bothered me is that the average jw is incapable of explaining some of the most basic teachings without a wt book in hand.
after all those years, all that time, all those meetings, why is it so hard to understand and teach to someone else?
It also keeps them busy....and if they're not keepimg up with reading all the latest publications they are made to feel guilty... which keeps them in line.... which makes them try harder to get out in service more to sell....er place more publications....
Coffee
if you had a chance to make a documentary about some aspect of the jws, what would ou choose?
would you talk about shunning, the blood issue, explain how its a cult, or what?
unfortunately this would only be for an 8 minute segment on a current affairs programme so i need something that'll get peoples attention and make them think without having to go too deep into the subject.. what would you choose to talk about?.
a segment raising the question: Where does all the money go? It has the status of a non profit...but there's billions of dollars involved, and little or no accountability.
Document the income...show the property... document their involvement in the stock market...Show the attitude for charity...like the announcement not to earmark contributions for Katrina relief...but to give to the world wide work. I think that the public would find this interesting....
Maybe the media can find out things that we have been unable to ....follow the money... Where does it really go?!?
Coffee
organization and the faith.
what hope do yall entertain for the future....the everlasting future?
do you still believe, want to be on a paradise earth or what?
R6laser,
I agree to a point... but many of us were raised in it and really didn't have a choice...until we became of age...and by that time the indocrination had a lot of influence. It took me until I was 38 to see through it... wish I could reclaim the years I lost to my "free will". It took me all those years to realize that I had a choice. Nearly all the people I grew up with in the borg are still in it....probably most there because of family.
Coffee
a book excerpt published on the website of national public radio ought to give pause to those who think the wt society carefully checks its facts.. the soviet spy agency kgb was publishing a disinformation campaign against the usa in the mid-1980's.
check out this one that got into a 1989 awake magazine.
link: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyid=4948068&ft=1&f=1004it is, however, possible to identify some causes of widespread anti-american indignation which were clearly of soviet origin.
They will publish anything that seems to support their world view. They are not alone in this....some of mainstream media does the same thing.
Coffee
organization and the faith.
what hope do yall entertain for the future....the everlasting future?
do you still believe, want to be on a paradise earth or what?
Well, defd,
Sounds to me like someone hit a little close to home...made you do some thinking... So, instead of digging deeper, or questioning your own viewpoint you insult 2 women whose wisdom and compassion are far greater than your own. hardly a mature response. I have had the priviledge of meeting Mouthy in person. She is a lovely lady...and doesn't deserve your ill treatment of her.
The fact is that your organization cannot give you salvation or the paradise you hope for. Most people here have realized that. It wasn't an easy conclusion to face...but it has caused most to search for answers beyond what the watchtower offers. We don't all agree about what all the answers are...we just know the watchtower is not what it claims to be and is short on honest answers. We are all in different places in our journeys... From the sound of things, you have begun a journey too...but it scares you...and you lash out when your armour is dented...
Coffee
getting baptized should be between you and god, and the watchtower should bud out of your personal relationship with god, right?
Jesus gave instructions to baptize "in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit". He didn't mention the watchtower society. ..or any organization or individual. The watchtower took it upon themselves to change the instructions given directly by Jesus. They have substituted the watchtower organization for the Holy Spirit in their current baptismal vows. There is nothing in the Bible to give them that kind of authority. What do you think Jesus would say to them for usurping His authority?
Baptism is intended to be an outward symbol of dedication to God....not a loyalty oath to a publishing company.
Coffee
