this is my first time ever participating in any discussion with ex -witnesses ever, and it's long overdue.
i discovered the real truth about 6 years ago with the aid of websites like this (cannot contain my gratefulness), now i am stepping into your world and it feels right.
my family runs four generations deep in witness muck,my great-grandmother was the oldest living pioneer in our region for what seemed like forever, three of my great-grandparents were "anointed",my grandfather hobnobbed with the governing body, etc.,etc.
I have to send him a detailed letter
DO NOT WRITE ANYTHING. If you do, you will probably be disfellowshipped. Talk to him by all means, but if you put it in writing you take a big risk. Don't think that because he is your father it will stay private. Even with good intentions, he may seek the advice of fellow elders to respond to your observations and they will follow a different agenda.
Being Disfellowshipped is something to avoid if you can.
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.
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.
most believe it was rutherford took over, any ideas?
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).
most believe it was rutherford took over, any ideas?
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.
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.. .
after re-reading it I noticed the letter is from someone else - so my previous words are addressed to the author. Sorry about that.
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.. .
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.
most believe it was rutherford took over, any ideas?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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
