Posts by thecarpenter

when i first started studying with the jehovah witnesses, although i am a technical, matter of fact type of guy, the thing that got my attention was the genuine love i saw in the congregation (this was in the early 80's).

it made such a impression on me that i ignored some of the serious questions i had about the organization and went ahead and got baptized (i figured things would get sorted out over time and decided to give the society the benefit of the doubt) .

the congregation i went to was a fireball, full of activity and good works and growing fast.

thecarpenter

That is another thing that I noticed, overly scrutinizing one another. I found this quite disturbing. Many people look at you to see how much and how loud you scream the party line. Legitimate and sincere questions are looked at poorly.

The problem is that the society realizes they are on shaky ground and more and more brothers and sisters in the congregation are asking questions, some are getting a little vocal and the society is trying to limit the damage of their own making. That is why they have been becoming more and more vocal to stick with the organization, read only organization books, trust in the organization, don't manifest a independent spirit (ergo, don't think for yourself), the truth gets brighter and brighter. It is hard to be loving in this environment. Hence, a further erosion of love.

In so many congregation that I have visited in my years, I have noticed a distinct cooling off, especially in my area.

22

Love is eroding away in the Congo, why?

by thecarpenter in

jw
friends

when i first started studying with the jehovah witnesses, although i am a technical, matter of fact type of guy, the thing that got my attention was the genuine love i saw in the congregation (this was in the early 80's).

it made such a impression on me that i ignored some of the serious questions i had about the organization and went ahead and got baptized (i figured things would get sorted out over time and decided to give the society the benefit of the doubt) .

the congregation i went to was a fireball, full of activity and good works and growing fast.

thecarpenter

Incidentally, the brothers who said this (three different brothers) were all bethelites. Two of them were bethel elders. I don't know if this was stressed at bethel but in thinking back on the different occasions, I just realized that they were all bethelites. (kind of ironic, huh..)

Another thing that struck me was the general distrust amongst the leadership toward the flock. This may be one of the reasons why so little love is show. Numerous times while sitting in on various committee meetings, brothers in different positions of authority would make broad sweeping comments that were disparaging and displayed a real lack of trust toward the friends. (Of course, not all the brothers felt that way but it surprised me how many did)

In my opinion the Elders that are in their 30's and 40's now are the worst.

Drew's comment hit the nail on the head. It was among this group that I noticed the most mistakes, anger issues and least trustful. It seemed to me that many were more thoughtful about how they handled their personal assignments than the general welfare of the friends. Last year I spoke with one of the elders in a neighboring congregation about a old bible study that I had (baptized for ten years now) just to see how he has been doing. He mentioned to me that this brother and his wife hardly makes it to the meetings and went on confessing the sins of his congregation. It seemed that this elder (in his late 30's) was very quick to point out the shortcomings of his hall but failed to take on any responsibility for the welfare and spirit of his hall. I should point out that the elder body for this hall is young and his congregation cold.

My mother (a ex-catholic) visited the Kingdom Hall once. Her impression what that she got the feeling that it was like a business meeting, not a spiritual atmosphere.

Exactly!

12

Smoking 101

by freedomlover in

jw
friends

okay - just to show how naive i am as to "wordly" things like smoking - i have a question.

why do people bang their cigarette pack against their hand before opening a new pack???????

moving the tabacco or something????

thecarpenter

I hate to be the voice of reason here but just found out one of my coworkers is going to Sloan Kettering Hospital to verify he has lung cancer (smoked for 20 years). The guy is totally out of it and seems to have lost all hope (drunk as a skunk yesterday morning).

22

Love is eroding away in the Congo, why?

by thecarpenter in

jw
friends

when i first started studying with the jehovah witnesses, although i am a technical, matter of fact type of guy, the thing that got my attention was the genuine love i saw in the congregation (this was in the early 80's).

it made such a impression on me that i ignored some of the serious questions i had about the organization and went ahead and got baptized (i figured things would get sorted out over time and decided to give the society the benefit of the doubt) .

the congregation i went to was a fireball, full of activity and good works and growing fast.

thecarpenter

When I first started studying with the Jehovah Witnesses, although I am a technical, matter of fact type of guy, the thing that got my attention was the genuine love I saw in the congregation (this was in the early 80's). It made such a impression on me that I ignored some of the serious questions I had about the organization and went ahead and got baptized (I figured things would get sorted out over time and decided to give the society the benefit of the doubt) . The congregation I went to was a fireball, full of activity and good works and growing fast. I contributed to that spirit as much as I could by pioneering, being rich in good Christian works, love and taking on as much responsibility as I could. Slowly though, the spirit in the congregation started eroding to the point that today, it doesn't even remotely resemble the congregation I use to know.

Why is this? Well, I noticed a a very legalistic spirit creeping in little by little (not that it wasn't there before but it became more noticeable). The elders seemed to be getting harsher and more distant. One thing that reallyreally ticked me off was a event that happened about 12 years ago. On one of the meeting parts, an elder was talking about some who were missing their meetings. He said that if you noticed someone has missed a few meetings, not to call the person because there maybe something wrong going on in their life and you don't want to endanger your spirituality. He said to call the elders first to make sure everything is okay then to call the person if they give the go ahead. I nearly had a aneurysm over that one. There were so many things wrong with those statements, I was monetarily lost for words. Where in the bible does it say to get the elders permission first before showing love to a fellow Christian? I could go on and on but the statements speak for themselves. Since that time, I heard that counsel two more times. (I felt like vomiting each time)

Although I noticed a lot of little disturbing things over the years showing a lost of love, that event made a major impression on me.

What are some pivotal events dealing with Christian love that made you do a double take?

37

Re: What do you do for a living?

by MARTINLEYSHON in

jw
friends

as many of you are aware being brought up in the organisation, there was a general directive from the wt that secular education was good, but not encouraged as far as university and further education was concerned.

many witnesses left school in the 70s with no formal qualifications.

my question therefore is 2 fold.. 1. what would you have liked to become as far as your career is concerned?.

thecarpenter

I'm a union carpenter. Great job, lots of fun.

23

Anyone Here Do Any Stock Market Investing?

by BlackPearl in

jw
friends

not sure if this is the right forum for this, but....anyone want share any recent stock purchase?

if you own stock, please make an argument as to why you purchased it.

this is my hobbie, i look for undervalued companies to buy and wait for wall street to recognize it's true value (anyone heard of warren buffett?

thecarpenter

I'm into the stock market. Not that good at it though. I now use mechanical investing as my strategy. I also manage my retirement annuity and have been doing well. You may be better posting in a different forum though, most people here are into posting about post JW life.

36

What are the most insincere things JWs say?

by Spectrum in

it really makes me angry when they say i love jehovah.

they don't know what they are talking about.

if they read with an open mind the carry-ons of this cruel mesopotanian god they would feel ridiculous and embarrassed for putting this god before their family, their children.

thecarpenter

Brothers and Sisters on this forum, it disturbs me to hear you speak speak in such disparaging tones about our loving brotherhood. We realize that many of you are depressed and suffered setbacks but rest assured, the governing body loves you and appreciates all the hard work and sacrifices you have made in the past. You are always welcome at the local kingdom hall where loving spiritual shepherds will grease you with healing oil and provide nourishing spiritual counsel to restore you back to health. Please avail yourself to these spiritual provisions.

Christian love

Watchtower and

41

Update Update

by RichieRich in

jw
friends

well, it's cold in alaska.. i'm on a billion dollar boat with a dial up internet connection, and a, well, boat load of asians.. god, those people photograph everything.

i took my shoes off in the gym, and i had like sixteen little asian girls looking at them.

oh, the stories i could tell..... the funniest thing is watching my grandfather communicate with the foreign staff.

thecarpenter

Awesome Richie, keep us updated and when you get a chance, pictures please thnx