thats right, about 2 weeks ago i confronted the po and told him i just could not do it anymore.. i genuinely have been under alot of pressure recently with my work so i used this as the pitch.
he was not happy but i received little resistance, which suited me.
i handed him my letter last week before i went on holiday.. i have to say it is a great weight off my shoulders, no book study, meetings for ministry, talks, public talks etc etc.. i will no doubt be the subject of local congregation gossip!
the scotsman,
Congrats buddy. It will feel a little weird at first sitting in a meeting and not having to jump up and do a part or the first time they announce "there will be a brief elders meeting after the meeting". But, the relief and weight off your shoulders will feel great.
I'm sure the rumor mill will start, just be prepared for it. You will be treated differently.
maybe this just pertains to southern ontario, but have any dates been announced yet for 2008 district assemblies?.
my cousin asked me the other day if i had noticed that we still had not had an announcement for 2008 but that we have had an announcement for 2009 international convention.
after our last dc the accouncement was made that there was nothing to announce as of yet for 2008 dc.
...BTW...some correspondence/letters is now coming via PDF emails to the CO then emailed to the POs and secretaries...saves tons of postage/envelopes/printing costs for them
I was wondering when they were going to start doing that. Especially since postage is .41 in the US. I know that they've been sending out letters in batches to save money and it just makes sense to send it to the CO via e-mail.
I know the last few years, the letter and outline for the pioneer meeting (that each congo holds in Dec) often didn't reach my congo until the first week or two of Jan.
jws are officially told the "right" reason for baptism is a heart motivated out of love and appreciation for all jehovah has done combined with the desire to please him.
now let's get real.
be honest.
75% - Peer pressure (parents/friends)
25% - Stay alive at the big A
I resisted until I was 17 which made me the oldest person in my circle of friends to take the dip.
Later on, my devotion to the WT was because I really thought that's what God wanted me to do.
i have a question about my religion.
when people turn apostate, why do they seem kinda... weird.
they turn back to false teachings and their bible knowledge even proves that.
Nimzo,
Just a couple of quick points. I don't think many people object to the YHWH (Jehovah, Yahweh) being used in the NT when the OT is being quoted and it appeared there. I think the problem becomes when Jehovah is added in the place of Lord in spots where the OT is not being quoted. I have yet to find one shred of scholarly evidence to support that the original texts included YHWH. I'd love to see it if you have it. I'm a life long JW and recently "stepped aside" as an elder because I couldn't get answers to some serious doctrinal questions and therefore could not in good conscious continue to teach these doctrines from the platform.
In regard to baptism, you are not in line with the official JW teaching because if you read the book of Acts, you'll see several examples where people heard the good news and were immediately baptized. Right after Pentecost thousands immediately responded, after one of Paul's speeches, again thousands. Auld Soul already mentioned Cornelious and his family. How about the jailer and his family when the angels broke Peter & John out of jail? There are other examples that I'm sure you are familiar with.
You may say things are different now and maybe they are. But, if you believe in the Bible, then you really can't deny that at least in some cases it would appear that knowledge of Jesus and his part of the universal plan and faith in that sacrifice is sufficient for baptism.
I don't have any answers for you if you are searching. But, I would encourage you to continue to search for truth. I have come to the painful conclusion that the organization I thought was God's chosen channel of communication isn't.
what, in your opinion, is most important thing for a typical jw?
what affects him in his day to day life?
what causes them to make the decisions they do?
I think Sir82 hit it right on the head. I never noticed it before, but when I was a zealot, I used to do things just to impact my "standing" in the congregation. For example, a 5th grader has no trouble picking out the answers to the WT or KM, yet I would underline every piece of study material for every single meeting and bring printouts of scriptures, ect to boot!
Now, I just don't care what others think.
due to the lack of brothers did you marry down??.
i've seen it time and time again really lovely sister marry total dork..
Hey, us dorks need love too!!
Yeah, I definately married "up" Although where I grew up, there were more young JW males than females for some reason. But, I moved to an area where the ratio was reversed.
Doubting Bro of the "at least I reconized I married up and treat my wife as the princess she is" class
i'm planning on giving him t w o dollars!
and i plan on making a h u g e deal of it as i secretly tickle his palm with the bills.
any hints?
That's great! Make sure you fold it up so that he'll think its a lot more than it really is. Hey, didn't you bust his chops earlier this week asking him who the leader of the Christian congo is?
If you're trying to piss him off, I think this just may do the trick!! Can I ask, are you an elder? They seem to always expect the elders to give them the green handshake. I only did it once but my wife & I gave him a card with cash and suggested that he & his wife go to dinner. That was the only CO I really liked.
How about giving him a gift wrapped paperback Bible and write sometime corny on the inside cover!!
when i interviewed for my position my now boss asked me why i didn't have a degree.
my mind filtered out "well you see sir i wasn't allowed to go to college and without that hope basically glided through high school and then went to a trade school so that i could eat.
" instead i told him that it was one of my major goals.
That's awesome! I was in my mid-30s when I started going back to school and I found it very rewarding.
I love your line about not telling your employer the real reason why you didn't go to school when you were younger. I always tell people that I got some bad advice but am making up for it now.
Congrats!
http://www.maconareaonline.com/news.asp?id=18798.
don't try to convert me, please by: lewis grizzardtues oct 23, 2007 9:05 am edt.
macon,ga.- religious freedom is a wonderful thing.
Think of the families we can save if we hold them up for 10-15 minutes or
longer and don't even have to talk to them.
True and most JWs I know would be more than happy to stand at the door for 30 min rather than go try talking to someone. The other group working with you could finish the whole block while your waiting! Win - Win
this osce conference occured just this month.. .
http://www.osce.org/conferences/hdim_2007.html.
scroll down to ngos.
While I could understand why a religious organization, especially one that proselytizes like JWs would want to attend such a conference. Working the political process makes sense but I thought we believed that God's Kingdom was going to solve mans problems. I could come up with a bunch of quotes on how the WTS has over the years discouraged and outright banned using the political process to effect change. I've heard WTS representative compare working the political process to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic. Historically, the WTS has always used the courts, but ever since they realized that it is much easier to get things done by engaging in the political process (1992-UN
Affiliation ) its like they can't miss an internation conference of this sort. Of course, there's nothing wrong with engaging in this sort of discussion, it is the hypocrisy of forbidding me to try to effect change on a local level through the political process (voting will still get you df'ed in the US) while they go around lobbying international organizations with this objective:
The objective of the member nations of the OSCE is to guarantee the security of Europe as well as to foster the implementation of human rights, disarmament, democratic freedoms and the management of regional conflict.
Association of Full Gospel Christian Churches
B'nai B'rith International
Campaign Against Homophobia
Church of Scientology; Human Rights Office
Foundation of Regional Initiatives
Republican Association of Churches of Evangelical Christians-Baptists of Tajikistan
So, they can rub elbows with these folks (I had to put in the campaign against homophobia because they obviously haven't read any WTS literature) yet if I join the YMCA to use their workout facilities, I'm practicing interfaith??
Sorry about the red, not sure how to change it back. I know I shouldn't get annoyed but these guys are something else.
