Great job XYZ!
I find that less and less JWs really "believe" the BS.
d4g
done4good
JoinedPosts by done4good
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45
Talked to JW's in Service Today (kinda long...sorry)
by exwhyzee ini was in my company vehicle and i spotted some jw's going from door to door.. i circled around the block and pulled over.
when they passed, i rolled down the .
window and asked the pleasant looking middle aged couple as they passed, if they were jehovah's .
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Hardcore JW Friend Predicts the End of the Organization within 10 years.
by kneehighmiah inhad a conversation with an aspiring elder.
he said the end must be close because people are so discouraged that the organization can't last more than 10 years.
this is before we received the please come to the international convention letter.
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done4good
emeth-i think 8,5 million will be reached in 2016 9,2 milllion in 2020, 10 milllion in 2024
Even if that is true, (which I doubt the actual numbers would be), it does not matter. The organization has prided itself on numbers too long, and really it only goes to show how shallow and superficial it all really is. Quality matters little in the WT.
d4g
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Do you think not having the book study in private homes has had much effect?
by truthseeker init's been a few years since the organization ended the book study arrangement in private homes.. gone was the last opportunity to have tea and biscuits and a natter with the friends afterwards.. do you think people regret losing the book study?
for some, it may have been the only time they were able to get some "associaton".
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done4good
I was out three years before this went into effect, but I cannot see this as a good thing for the organization overall, even if people enjoy the extra night off.
The book study was one of very few "warmer" aspects of the organization. It is now just one big cold and itellectually lacking void.
Long...............Slow........................................................Brain.......................................................................Drain
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Has a critical mass of exJWs been reached?
by truthseeker init took the better part of 15 years but i believe we have finally arrived at that point where there is now a critical mass of former witnesses.. thousands of exjws come together on forums like this one and discuss findings, ideas and research.
there have been documentaries and even a movie made about life in the jehovah's witnesses.. ex jw websites, online forums, and discussion boards that set the wheels in motion in the early to late 90s have matured into powerful tools of social change within the organization.. the lies and false doctines taught by the watchtower bible & tract society are plainly accessible with just a cursory google search.. active elders leak boe letters, often weeks before they hit the notice board in a kingdom hall.. social media has allowed exjws to connect with those still in as well as those who have left.. the society have no game plan because information is power and they have lost the information war.
all they can do is cry wolf and warn the rank and file not to listen to apostates.. i don't know what future the society will face in the next ten years, but changing world events, social trends, and reactionary change from headquarters based on their own faulty biblical chronology has got them cornered like a raging animal.. it doesn't look good..
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done4good
Good post, and comments.
There will not likely be any large exodus or "sudden" collapse, (unless a major issue with negative publicity takes place). However, the long slow brain drain has been taking place at least since the late '70s and is picking up steam considerably in the last 20 years since the information age was consumerized, (i.e. the internet brought into the everyday user).
Society's entire approach to information has changed. Even formal educational approaches are very different from what they used to be, (memorization, for example is no longer stressed, nor is an authoritative approach to sources, unless peer reviewed). People have learned to think critically for themselves, and in most cases, have learned to do so naturally, just by using information sources now available.
marlu-BTW, one interesting phenomenon I see fairly recently are "demi-apostates". That is, people who are somewhat half-believing. They choose to stay in the org despite some major flaws they see, they think the WTS still has some/many things right, yet post on ex-JW forums without regrets. According to the WTS, such people shouldn't even exist. Goes to show that they're losing more and more control.
Great point, and something I have observed as well. My approach with these types, (at least recently), has been to educate them about cognitive dissonance and let them connect the dots. It does get them thinking...
The WT cannot healthily survive in this climate forever.
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Was There Anything A JW Said That Made You Raise Your Eyebrows?
by minimus inwe had an elderly pioneer/ms in our hall and he used to like to rattle the elders.
he liked using the "n" word in his comments.
he one time started to comment about the "ni##er pool" that he would observe among the poorer blacks.
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done4good
And as far as an answer to the OP goes, too many to count.
d4g
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Was There Anything A JW Said That Made You Raise Your Eyebrows?
by minimus inwe had an elderly pioneer/ms in our hall and he used to like to rattle the elders.
he liked using the "n" word in his comments.
he one time started to comment about the "ni##er pool" that he would observe among the poorer blacks.
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done4good
vidiot-Willful ignorance bothers the hell out of me, almost as much as intellectual dishonesty.
Basically, those actions are two variations of the same behavior.
d4g
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I think my D.O. Is a closet apostate. References Stanford Prison Study and hints he sometimes disagrees with the Branch
by kneehighmiah ini find it odd that the district overseer today made.
1. zero yes 0 references to the fds in any of his talks.. 2.he also told elders that the brothers worship god and not them.so therefore the elders have no authority to order the friends around.. 3. he also talked about the stanford prison study and said that people who receive authority over others often abuse it.
4. he mentioned that when he disagrees with the branch (aka the fds) he's learned to just do what they say.
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done4good
Maybe I'm wrong about this guy? If so, he walking on thin ice!
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What is / was the first thing(s) you looked forward to doing once you were out for good?
by SecretHeart11 inone of the things that keeps me going is thinking about the things my family and i will be able to do once we are all out, together, and free at last.
(and we will be out together, i'm staying positive!).
i soooo look forward to christmas.
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done4good
Being able to finally think for myself.
Everything else just followed naturally.
d4g
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Weekends Are Wonderful Since Leaving The Cult
by minimus inno silly meetings.
no wasting time knocking on doors, bothering people.....life is good..
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done4good
Yep. I used to dread weekends. Even when I did not go out in FS, (most of the time), I got the guilt trip from the ex...
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Are JW's Fundamentalist Christians
by What is Truth? intop ten signs you're a fundamentalist christian.
10 - you vigorously deny the existence of thousands of gods claimed by other religions, but feel outraged when someone denies the existence of yours.. .
9 - you feel insulted and "dehumanized" when scientists say that people evolved from other life forms, but you have no problem with the biblical claim that we were created from dirt.. .
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done4good
Agree with Phizzy, that not every detail in the list matches perfectly, but the concepts fit well.
The WT is most definately fundamentalist in the broader sense of the term in modern usage, since fundamentalism is mostly defined as a strict adherence to beliefs, dispite modern understanding of science, history, etc.
In the more strict sense, Christian Fundamentalism is a very specific American brand of Protestant Christiology that was developed during the 19th century in response to Darwin, Paine, and others that were considered to be undermining traditional Christian beliefs. The WT is somewhat of a hybrid at best when considered in comparison to the strict definition of the term.
d4g