why the watch tower society is already in decline.
good article, cedars.. http://www.freeminds.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3236:why-the-watch-tower-society-is-already-in-decline&catid=31:governing-body&itemid=346.
it's also on the front page of freeminds.org.
Why The Watch Tower Society Is Already In Decline
Here you go! Good article, Cedars.
It's also on the front page of freeminds.org. Cedars is now officially one of our bloggers. (Though I haven't set up the blog section for him yet). Please visit his site at: http://jwsurvey.org.
Look for his future articles on the front page for 2-3 days and permanently under People>Blogs>Cedars, though longer articles like this will be listed under the Articles tab.
Randy
i've just finished an article for randy over on freeminds.org, which i've submitted to him for review.
hopefully it should be online soon, so please keep checking!.
the article discusses the fact that the watch tower society is already in decline, and suggests the year 2005 as the turning point.
Sorry y'all, life and work is running me ragged at the moment, but I'll get the letter up in an hour. :-))
Thanks Cedars, but please send the file again. I see the email, it has a paper clip (like it has an attachment), but I can't for the life of me see the file! I hate the new Google mail interface.
Randy
Ucant, I apologize for leaving out the great number of godly women in the WT, who can often operate more effectively than the men, who are so closely monitored. Plus they will actually show COMPASSION and HUMOR, something sorely lacking with many elders.
Women come alive at 45, men's fantasies usually die before they reach 30 (Sex and Fantasy).
Kudos for the untold Great Crowd of JW women who think for themselves!
R
Cedars, my friend, you have a PM.
You are officially disfellowshipped by the GRAND POOBAH. :-))
Randy
tornapart says,
I only know about my own husband who is an elder and it is because he genuinely loves the brothers and wants to do his best to help them. There may be many who do it for the 'prestige' it gives them but I'm sure there are just as many like him.
You are right, my dear, there are many great men in the org that just haven't worked it out, or are not interested in philosophical diatribe. They really love people, but are often hampered by WT restrictions, especially now that they want the elders to carry all blame in any court case involving pedophilia, blood transfusions, and private opinions. They are cock-blocked by the GB. All for the mighty organization.
Think of the WT as Enron or other recent scams with high-profile organizations. Then it all makes sense.
I have worked with pastors of churches for decades. I have been one myself for three years; licensed with Foursquare for several more before starting a church. Kudos to most of them that go unnoticed and would bleed to death to save one of their own, and live off peanuts. I never even took a salary from pastoring, and that is not unusual. Hats off to people who give their all to others. There are many, even in the Watchtower.
The average pastor of most churches carries more respect to me than most other people. They give too much, and suffer later often. I don't care about their pet doctrines so much as how much they really love people and their own self-sacrificing nature. There are just as many of those elders in the WT as there are pastors in churches - just human nature, no mystery. But they are hampered from their real potential by a corporation which has little interest in individuals.
I think being a pastor, and in some cases a WT elder, are second to being president of the U.S. in terms of rapid aging yet an uncanny ability to understand people's primal nature and what their problem really is, rather than taking their words as an accurate explanation of themselves. A mother with several kids is equally aware of this nonsense. I think Bill Clinton was one of the presidents most aware of all of this charade. I liked him.
C.S. Lewis wrote a book about a man who had an imaginary P.R. spokesman to cover his sorry ass (forgot the title of the book, read it 30 years ago). C.S. was an enlightening Christian author, well-respected, a student of J. R. R. Tolkien in fantasy, but managed to convert Tolkien to Christianity. But that ended up like Prince being converted to JWs, it did not fit Tolkien's unique perspective or style. I don't think it damaged Tolkien's style in the end. Unlike Prince, C.S. never gained the unusual talent of Tolkien, but actually plaigarized Tolkien's style.
That was a mistake because C.S. writing talent was far inferior, partially hampered by his need to cater to the "Christian world." BTW, C.S. believed in evolution, but because he was a good author, it was overlooked by most evangelicals. He didn't attempt to hide it. He was a good man, but his writing skills were far inferior to Tolkien's mind. But it is good fantasy to many. Most of it is cheesy to me. (Lion, Witch and the Wardrobe? Tolkien wouldn't be caught dead writing such evangelistic drivel.)
For Christian writers (actually Catholic), I much prefer G. K. Chesterton, an amazing writer. Catholics are much more honest about church history than Protestants, despite their other faults. Why? They have no need to develop ridiculous concepts like sola scritura, or Calvinism, which conveniently detaches such sectarians from responsibility to historical records and accepted reality. U.S. Protestants are, for the most part, very poor scholars. Visit some seminaries if you doubt me. I have spoken in a couple, and monitor the others. German protestant theologians are actually the most reliable when it comes to interpreting the 66 books that we have come to accept as "the Bible." Even the WT trusts in the early Father's decisions, at least up until the political Trinity conferences in the fourth century.
BTW, Marvin's blog is pretty good today. Check it out.
Randy
i want to write a short article on the new wt sects (not considered harmful cults) of the watchtower that have been developing in the watchtower world, if for nothing more than to scare the watchtower into the full-blown realization that their greatest fears have now begun to develop into early fruition.. many witnesses have had enough, and are demonstrating it by "shaking the dust off their feet" and forming their own associations, registered or not, with the noble motives of helping lost witnesses and ex-witnesses.
this information will not be used to discredit them, rather to advertise them.
(in the article i will leave the word "sects" out because many consider it an evil term... but hey, the watchtower is a sect of judaism/christianity itself and also a high-control cult.
LOL, well that sounds like a cult of a cult. I'm not about to advertise some idiot macho alpha male dingbat and his stupid self-interpretation of scripture. I want the legitimate groups, free from the Jim Jones ego.
R
if yes, would you buy it?
what would be the suggested topic for the book?
any idea are welcome.. .
Barb IS a book in her own right, with all her postings. I don't think she is interested in becoming an icon. And for those who tell me I should write a book, the same applies. I am a simple Okie. Writing a book can be cheesy. I need no applause. The ego returns are minimal, I have my own agenda and outlook on the fragile world of men's minds. A book would not be popular, but rather controversial. I care little about others' view of myself as most of you that know me are aware of; I was born almost autistic.
Barb's writings are all over the internet, consider that far more valuable than the self-serving instinct to aggrandize ones self.
Just tell your story in all honesty, and if it is authentic and verifiable, you need nothing more.
Kind of like street cred.
Dogz
i want to write a short article on the new wt sects (not considered harmful cults) of the watchtower that have been developing in the watchtower world, if for nothing more than to scare the watchtower into the full-blown realization that their greatest fears have now begun to develop into early fruition.. many witnesses have had enough, and are demonstrating it by "shaking the dust off their feet" and forming their own associations, registered or not, with the noble motives of helping lost witnesses and ex-witnesses.
this information will not be used to discredit them, rather to advertise them.
(in the article i will leave the word "sects" out because many consider it an evil term... but hey, the watchtower is a sect of judaism/christianity itself and also a high-control cult.
Thank you Vanyell,
Duh! I should have known to type in the right keywords in the search engine, but this is good!
Randy
i want to write a short article on the new wt sects (not considered harmful cults) of the watchtower that have been developing in the watchtower world, if for nothing more than to scare the watchtower into the full-blown realization that their greatest fears have now begun to develop into early fruition.. many witnesses have had enough, and are demonstrating it by "shaking the dust off their feet" and forming their own associations, registered or not, with the noble motives of helping lost witnesses and ex-witnesses.
this information will not be used to discredit them, rather to advertise them.
(in the article i will leave the word "sects" out because many consider it an evil term... but hey, the watchtower is a sect of judaism/christianity itself and also a high-control cult.
I want to write a short article on the new WT sects (NOT considered harmful cults) of the Watchtower that have been developing in the Watchtower world, if for nothing more than to scare the Watchtower into the full-blown realization that their greatest fears have now begun to develop into early fruition.
Many Witnesses have had enough, and are demonstrating it by "shaking the dust off their feet" and forming their own associations, registered or not, with the noble motives of helping lost Witnesses and ex-Witnesses. This information will not be used to discredit them, rather to advertise them. (In the article I will leave the word "sects" out because many consider it an evil term... but hey, the Watchtower is a sect of Judaism/Christianity itself and ALSO a high-control CULT.) Technically, even Christianity is a sect of Judaism (not implying a negative connotation). Mainstream Christianity as a whole is not a cult, nor am I implying such.
Excluding Bible Students and older such groups (although a list of them would be handy) I would like a list of new havens for the broken and lost that I can link to, with a favorable short description of each. These are not destructive cults by modern parlance, but technically sects (not a derisive term if you are a sect of a false representation of historical Christianity like the WT) but rather break-off groups mostly concerned with the welfare and nurturing of those disaffected by the WT.
If you belong to or know of such a group (not hearsay but proof of the group's existence) please tell me a little about the name, purpose and link to their site. I think this will shake up quite a few JWS, but even more so advertise an alternative, more healthy felowship without authoritarian leadership.
This will embolden many borderline JWs to have hope that they are not alone and DO have alternative fellowship options. A link to their purpose or beliefs would be helpful, too.
Randy Watters
this deserved its own thread.
one thing i have observed being able to speak freely to individuals now about the wtbts is that even though they fade, they hold one to all or a portion of the doctrine.. if you examine the doctrine openly and fully you will see it has as many holes in it as the org does.
although it may appeal to you it doesn't make it sound scripturally.
Leavingwt says,
Throw a dart at an organization chart of religions and pick any of them. Chances are, the food and music will be much better.
That will be their downfall... their total and utter selfishness and lack of compassion for individuals. That's why groups like Mormons are here to stay, and Scientology is doomed.
Randy
