Posts by James Free

69

A long overdue statement

by truthsetsonefree in

most of you have seen me post under my alias truthsetsonefree.

some call me "tsof" which is cool too.

one or two of you know me by my real name.

James Free

because I am firmly committed to changing the poilicies of this organization.

...pursuing an empty pipedream

Sorry, but you are wasting your time. Eventually you will be forced to teach something you know to be wrong. You can't pick and choose all your talks.

I am sure you are sincere, but I suspect the real reason you stay in is fear of the consequences. (And that's quite understandable)

The other reason you give, whilst true, are likely to be secondary, self-comfort to justify your double life to yourself.

Unfortunately, in time you will be caught out.

I wish it were otherwise, but the Org. could not be steered away from its spiritual corruption by Ray Franz even when he was in the GB.

It cannot be changed from within. It is built on sand.

I don't know you, and I certainly do not want to be critical. You sound sincere and like you really want to help the 'brothers'. It's just that you need to realise it won't work in the end, and you are only postponing the inevitable.

29

When do you think WTBS became a cult?

by lighthouse1956 in

jw
friends

most believe it was rutherford took over, any ideas?

James Free

it seems to me that when the emphasis was shifted from "building the Christian personality" to preaching .... folks lost the love.

I agree totally.

When someone used to say to me brother x was 'strong' in the 'truth' I would always ask why they say it. The answer was NEVER he had a Christian personality, always about priviliges, meeting attendance and being seen on the ministry (being seen was the important part).

29

When do you think WTBS became a cult?

by lighthouse1956 in

jw
friends

most believe it was rutherford took over, any ideas?

James Free

Now, if that challenges a Jehovah's Witness and causes discomfort for him or her, then I believe that’s totally appropriate. Sometimes, you just can't sugar coat something in an attempt to win someone over.

I guess it depends on your motive. Personally, I see little to gain from causing 'discomfort'. That is a quick way to cause them to raise their defenses and stop listening.

If, on the other hand, you want to help people to see for themselves that they are being deceived there are better ways than name-calling to get the point across. Also, the term cult means different things to different people, so often all that is left is its negative, attacking, connotation.

The Org. uses this sort of tactic every day, branding 'apostates' as 'immoral', 'evil' and so on. It's not right for them and it's not right for us - well that's my opinion anyway.

8

Rip it apart: A Letter from a First Century Christian

by serendipity in

jesus or paul?

" he gives his opinion and has the nerve to say that he thinks he has god's spirit in what he says.

well, i have jesus telling me what is the good news and i will listen to him and his father, not men who committ apostasy and flip flop back and forth and misinterpret prophecy and do not show love and want all the glory for themselves.. .

James Free

after re-reading it I noticed the letter is from someone else - so my previous words are addressed to the author. Sorry about that.

8

Rip it apart: A Letter from a First Century Christian

by serendipity in

jesus or paul?

" he gives his opinion and has the nerve to say that he thinks he has god's spirit in what he says.

well, i have jesus telling me what is the good news and i will listen to him and his father, not men who committ apostasy and flip flop back and forth and misinterpret prophecy and do not show love and want all the glory for themselves.. .

James Free

Well written letter. How did you know so much about all the bad stuff going on in the first century - Peter being told off by Paul etc.?

Because it is recorded in the Bible! So, Peter hardly got away with it unscathed - it became public knowledge that he had done wrong. How did you know Paul had an argument about who went on his tour. Because he admited it.

The apostles were appointed by Christ himself. To prove it, they were able to perform miracles etc. Today the GB is self-appointed, and is unable to prove its position. In fact, even the so-called 'faithful and discrete slave' is not consulted in any way about who 'represents' them - so much for 'being given authority over his belongings'.

Now ask yourself, how often do the GB admit to errors of judgement today? After the 1975 fiasco, they blamed the rank-and-file for having too many expectations even though they instigated and fed such thoughts, talking about 'the remaining months'. Then, years later, they said, well maybe we were a little hasty BUT that's only because we are so awake to the times we are living in, unlike all the other religions ...

You will not find humility in the leadership of the Org., only use of the word. Even the term 'servant' has been elevated to a de facto clergy class.

I thought your letter was interesting, but the situation described in the letter does not parallel today as much as is inferred.

29

When do you think WTBS became a cult?

by lighthouse1956 in

jw
friends

most believe it was rutherford took over, any ideas?

James Free

Wikepedia: In religion and sociology, a cult is a cohesive group of people (often a relatively small and new religious movement) devoted to beliefs or practices that the surrounding culture or society considers to be far outside the mainstream. Its separate status may come about either due to its novel belief system, because of its idiosyncratic practices or because it opposes the interests of the mainstream culture.
In common usage, "cult" has a negative connotation, and is generally applied to a group by its opponents, for a variety of possible reasons.

When someone resorts to 'name-calling', like calling the Org. a cult, it damages their case. When the GB call oponents 'apostates' they do the same.

Stick to the arguments and you might win over some honest hearted ones currently being deceived by the WT.

48

The GREATEST IRONY of Shunning and Disfellowshiping

by Trojan in

i have lately started to think many things over.

as i adquire more knowledge, or other kind of knowledge, i see things more and more in another light.

it's a strange and thrilling experience i'm going through.

James Free

So, the leadership is knowingly hanging on to a corrupt practice to maintain control. Knowing this, why would the elder community continue to support it?

Oh how many years I held on to this innocent view. In time I realized that the ELDERS themselves like the power and control it gives them too, not just the GB in Brooklyn. The only elders I knew who were genuinely interested in their 'flock' all eventually resigned, or were overlooked and ignored, after becoming disillusioned with the rest.

23

I am going to read every Watchtower and Awake! magazine

by slimboyfat in

jw
friends

i am not doing too well at the moment with my uc and am practically housebound.

so i have decided to do something productive and finally read all the magazines the society have ever published.

i remember greg stafford claiming that he has read all the watchtowers and thinking that was a good idea to get a real overview of the witnesses' history and development of theology and ideology.

James Free

Read one years WT and you have read 10!. This is because they recycle the same old stuff, only interrupting the cycle if they change their minds on something.

Every 3 or so months you will find an article on obedience to the Organization.

Each year all the main talks from the previous year's convention are recycled just in case your brain forgot something.

Every few articles, expect lots of praise for the 'faithful and discrete slave' - the same humble ones who approve the articles that are praising them.

The study articles will include endless reminders to what makes a good Christian - attending meetings, being seen on the ministry. Once every two or three years or so you will find a cycle of articles on the fruitages of the spirit and how you display them by, yes you guessed it, attending meetings and being seen on the ministry.

And so on. There are many cycles and patterns at work. Maybe others have noticed them too. That's why you can miss a couple of year's meetings, go back, and it is like you were never away - though they will tell you it is vital not to miss a single meeting.

27

Dances With Watchtowers - Witnessing to Native Americans

by Clam in

jw
friends

i've had a life long fascination with native americans, starting of course as a kid who watched westerns, and then learning of about their true culture and spirituality.

i have often wondered how jws in other countries, particularly the us, would interact with the indigenous people of their country.

do any americans here have any stories about witnessing to native americans?

James Free

I remember an 'Awake' article on totem poles made by a native american Witness. Lots of talk about it being the history of the tribe etc. and having no religious significance blah blah

15

MUSIC IN WORSHIP

by Raphael in

.

something that always bothered me as a jw was the lack of praise and worship with music at meetings , yeah there were the tapes of dull and uninspiring piano music along with the same songs that noone ever felt enthusiastic about - i actually remeber feeling embarrassed whenever i had invited a bible study or interested person along to a talk and the singing was just pathetic.. singing durring the meetings was never considered a serious act of worship, but an opportunity to visit the bathroom etc.

i also found it sad that those who did have a musical talent could not use that talent in worship - no alternative forms of musical instruments were permitted inside the kh other than the wts piano tapes - no freedom of expression to worship and praise god was ever allowed , it seems that the gb want to rob jw's of the experience of joy in worshipping god.. now that i have experienced worship and praise in a spirit filled church , i can testify just how liberating freedom of expression in worship can be...i recently came across "the psalm drummers" and highly recommend getting the cd.. http://www.psalmdrummers.org/.

James Free

Yes, I remember the Kingdom Melodies - the worst piece of crap I ever heard.

I said that to someone once and got a shocked whispered reply about how they were written by the anointed as if the holy spirit inspired them, and to object to them was walking on the rocky road of murmerers and apostates...

Actually, guess we were both right after all. I DID eventually leave the WT, and the Kingdom Melodies ARE total crap.