Posts by Arthur

9

Need info on Jesus being FDS Mediator but not for the rest of us ...

by AWAKE&WATCHING in

my husband said he never heard anything like that.

i told him that was the point, that we don't even notice the bull****.. where can i get the most ludicrous quotes and when did they decide they are the mediator for the rest of us ?.

anything on this subject will help.

Arthur

Where can I get the most ludicrous quotes and when did they decide they are the mediator for the rest of us ?

You can start by attending this Summer's district convention. There will be no shortage of material which lovingly informs you that Christ is not your mediator, and that no salvation is to be gained outside the organization. Just bring a sack lunch and a lot of antacids.

When the Watchtower organization tells people to "Follow the Christ", they are really telling them to follow his publishing company. For all intents and purposes, the Watchtower Society is mankind's mediator. It's a wonderful product when you think about it: no independent thinking required, you get to earn your own salvation through works, you can get your own teritory card, and best of all: the end is just around the corner!

24

How Many Former Elders/MS Taught What You Wanted & Ignored The Rest?

by Seeker4 in

jw
friends

this was prompted by the thread on whether you enjoyed being an elder or ms. some mentioned they taught what they wanted when they were an elder.

that was personally true of myself.

there were some things i stopped teaching over the years, and would refuse to counsel the friends about.

Arthur

When I served as a Ministerial Servant, we had the Service Overseer give a local needs part where he basically raked the congregation over the coals. He took a blackboard up with him and wrote down field service figures for preceeding months and he pointed out how "low" they were. He flat out told the congregation that they were not doing enough; but he did it in a very caustic manner. His part was more of a diatribe; really Many of us were absolutely shocked. I personally was sickened.

The next week roled around, and I had a Service Meeting part on - guess what? Field Service. I went up and stated that no human has the ability or the right to decide if one is doing enough in the ministry; that only Jehovah and us alone could decide this. I remember the look on the Service Overseer's face when I was giving this part. He looked like he wanted to kick me in the groin. Needless to say, my part went over like a lead baloon. Not one elder told me I did a good job, later. This was a major defining moment for me in my career as a Watchtower employee.

23

A JW is threting to sue over a Video on YouTube unless its taken down.

by A-Team in

i have to share this, because i actually think he will go through with this...and if he does, i think the wts will be embaressed to no end: the vidoe in discussion is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rtpotsd8ml8 .

him to the poster on youtube: .

stity - i must say you have no idea what your talking about.

Arthur

I think a JW who threatens any kind of legal showdown over this little video blurb is merely beating their chest and kicking their hooves. There really is nothing libelous about this video, as it is simply commentary. It would be like someone at the Republican National Committee threatening to sue a radio talk show host for saying that George Bush is a bafoon.

43

Just Witnessed at my Door to an Elder and his Wife About Child Molestation

by flipper in

hello all, just had an interesting conversation with a p.o.

elder and his wife who were leaving me a incognito invitation to the "follow the christ" convention.i declined the invitation, but told them i had an associated press article i'd like to leave with them about molestation settlements jw's made outside of court.

i asked if they were aware of this settlement.

Arthur

Anyone have a link to that Dateline special? It came on when I was a witness so we avoided watching it in my family. I'd really like to see it now.

You can find links to this, as well as other documentaries at http://silentlambs.org

11

Since mentally leaving JWs I finally can......

by R.F. in

do household chores without the rush....... spend time with my little neice(now fatherless) without worrying..."i need to take her back home, i gotta study that wt lesson for tomorrow!".

hang out with my younger brother without thinking..."crap it's monday...that lesson in the "revelation" book ain't studying itself!".

visit my sister without thinking......."should i see her before the meeting or after field service?

Arthur

What has been so refreshing for me is to view associations in a rational, healthy way now. I do not have to view people as either "Jehovah's people" vs. "worldly people". I can still be practical in my avoidance of unhealthy or negative associations without having to broad-brush everyone as "worldly".

I have found that there are so many people (whom I would have previously regarded as "worldly") who are just as kind, decent, and compassionate (in some cases, even more so) than JWs. I have met people at church who are just as devoted to the Bible and living a Christians life as JWs. I have met and befriended many others who are truly loving, honest, law-abiding people who really do care about doing the right thing and helping others.

Cult-like groups always paint life, people, and concepts as either black or white. This way of thinking actually reveals spiritual immaturity. To be able to see and work with the "gray areas" of life, to be able to make decisions based upon a Bible-trained conscience instead of a Watchtower-trained conscience requires much mental effort, and spiritual maturity.

43

Just Witnessed at my Door to an Elder and his Wife About Child Molestation

by flipper in

hello all, just had an interesting conversation with a p.o.

elder and his wife who were leaving me a incognito invitation to the "follow the christ" convention.i declined the invitation, but told them i had an associated press article i'd like to leave with them about molestation settlements jw's made outside of court.

i asked if they were aware of this settlement.

Arthur

It's sad. His rote responses were exactly the kinds of responses that I would have provided when I was a Witness. Reading this thread reminded me of myself - five years ago.

While active, I began to feel deeply disturbed by the way that I (as well as all JWs) were expected to uphold the loftly image of the organization no matter what. There were many instances where I knew that householders had very legitimate disagreements with us - that these people were not wicked or goat-like for disagreeing with us; but I could never acknowledge those observations to be valid. To do so, would mean that I was "weak in the truth". I began to see that what I was doing was merely performing a rhetorical tap-dance at the doors in the efforts of being a faithful organizational apologist.

I see so many people who truly believe that they are Witnesses of Jehovah and Jesus; but this is not so. In reality, they are Witnesses of the Watchtower Bible, and Tract Society.

17

Rutherford's Rainbow

by choosing life in

jw
friends

i was on amazon.com today and noticed that they were selling a collection of rutherford's books on cd.

there was also the watchtower from 1920-1929 and a selection of yearbooks on cd.

they were all being sold under the name of research applications.

Arthur

I am sure the Watchtower would not allow someone to sell their copywrighted material.

Actually, I do know of a website that sells CD-ROMS of all of the old pre-1950 publications; including the Watchtowers. The CD-ROMS contain actual scans of all of the pages (not just text like the WT Society's CD-ROM); so when accessing these CD-ROMS, you can actually access all of the photos and graphics that were in the articles as well. Rutheford's Rainbow is one of the collections that is available. This website has been doing this for some time now. Somehow, they have been able to accomplish this without the Society shutting them down.

14

Talk about a lazy way to go in field seervice!

by NikL in

so i am at home by myself.

my active jw wife is in town.. i hear an engine running out front and peek through a window.

some car i don't recognise.

Arthur

Anyway there they are not even knocking but just tip toeing to the front door leaving thes ~~pieses of crap~~ invitations.

That's funny. Many people on this forum reported this happening when the false religion tract campaign was under way. It appeared that many JWs were afraid of confrontations, so they opted for the covert route; which was humorous. It reminded me of the way the allied forces would drop leaflets into cities during WWII before a bombing run. I think that's how JWs may have viewed it as well - warn the goats to get out of the harlot's clutches before the battle ensues.

31

Former or Current Elders, MS, Pioneers.......Did you enjoy these positions?

by R.F. in

jw
friends

did you ever enjoy serving in this way or did you view it more as, "it's the thing that's encouraged, so that's what i'll do"?.

im currently a ms and pioneer(will shed this one immediately) and before i ever were appointed these, i always wanted to.

i thought it was a pretty cool thing for someone my age to be instructing the congo, and to have so many look up to you.

Arthur

I was a Ministerial Servant for a few years (which included my time at Bethel). The only part of it that I enjoyed was getting to give Service Meeting parts and Instruction Talks. The rest of the responsibilities weighed heavily on me. I couldn't keep up with the unwritten quota of field service hours that is expected for a MS; and was eventually removed for not keeping up my hours.

18

Where was Adam?

by kifoy in

adam was somewhere else.

so adam was *with* her?

where was adam?

Arthur

Where was Adam when Eve sinned?

He was trying to figure out why he had nipples too.

Later, when Cain and Abel were lads, Adam could warn them not to try to nurse the mongoose.