Posts by OnTheWayOut

59

what is the best line to say to a JW handing you an invite to the memorial

by nonjwspouse in

jw
friends

i have some ideas, but want more to choose from..

OnTheWayOut

"You know, I will accept your invitation and I will come to your meeting, if you just answer a few questions for me. I recently heard about Jehovah's Witnesses on ABC Night-line. Are you aware of all the pedophile members at your local church? Do they still make children go out in their recruiting work? Do you believe bad reports about other religions like the Catholic Church but give your own religion an automatic pass or have you watched that report?"

"Wait. I really meant what I said about going."

64

POLL: Will You Be Attending The Memorial & If You Are---Why?

by minimus in

jw
friends

i was just invited.

i thanked my old elder friend and he left.

(i'm not going).

OnTheWayOut

No calls, not even an invite placed at my front door. I barely knew the date because my wife had to inform me.

I guess I am supposed to walk up to the cart and take my invite.

On another thread, Blondie posted Watchtower information that inactive ones are still part of the flock and elders have to answer for what they do for them. I guess Jehovah will be upset at some elders around here this year.

38

rumor out that governing body is going to adjust the loveing disfellowshiping arangment df yes shunning no.

by poopie in

jw
friends

can anyone confirm they seem to be having disagreement writing dept and service dept some feel that df ok as long as you do not add wholesale across the board shunning regardless of the sin ..

OnTheWayOut

If there is a rumor, I would suspect that it is for the courts or the governments to hear about. Maybe it is something that will wind up on their website, But it won't be actual policy. They will say that members choose to shun on their own, and that it is not a written policy. They will say that they never encourage things that are damaging to fragile teens but that some family members are choosing tough love in order to protect the family and to show the best kind of love.

They are too far gone to abandon their actual enforcement of shunning DF'ed/DA'ed ones. It's still their policy and I wouldn't even believe anything they put in writing.

27

Why do people "come back"?

by kairos in

jw
friends

i know of several examples of ones that "left the truth" for up to 20 years, only to suffer through the reinstatement process and feel like they are finally back on track.. how does this happen?.

i personally know of one example where a father of three, leaves jws, abandons wife and family, lives as a gay man then comes back 20 years later as a partaking member of the anointed..

OnTheWayOut

I think some on this site have commented that the Witnesses as a religion seem quite different now than some years ago. There has been changes I believe over the years. These changes may continue until it reaches a point that I may feel differently about the preaching work.

I know the thread will be derailed anyway, so I will try to stick to the main point and address that comment.

Why do some go back? There are some, like the one I quote above, who must feel that the Watchtower and it's leaders are the closest thing to "the truth" and just need some adjustments. They just don't consider enough how the Watchtower has NEVER EVER EVER been correct about any of their doctrine that are unique to them. NEVER!!!!!!! They just don't think enough about how Watchtower leaders demand total obedience or else members are shunned. Maybe they lack social skills and don't want to try to fit in anywhere but would rather suffer the shunning in order to be totally accepted back into the fold in a few months.

I suppose that if you are done with education, and don't care to share birthday cake with coworkers, and are prepared to either give up your free time or else have your friends and elders criticize you for not doing so, then you may be ready to start examining the doctrine itself before returning.

I don't expect such a person to listen to the likes of me, as I have seen the light about all of Bible-based belief, but even if a person still wanted to worship the God of the Protestant or Jewish Bible, they could do better to go without organized religion or find some nondenominational group. Deciding on a percentage of correctness just seems silly to me. Either your religion lets you believe what you want without shunning or ostracizing you, or who needs it?

27

Why do people "come back"?

by kairos in

jw
friends

i know of several examples of ones that "left the truth" for up to 20 years, only to suffer through the reinstatement process and feel like they are finally back on track.. how does this happen?.

i personally know of one example where a father of three, leaves jws, abandons wife and family, lives as a gay man then comes back 20 years later as a partaking member of the anointed..

OnTheWayOut

Well, besides UCANTNOME and a handful of people who "go back" for the sake of loved ones, people do not typically go back when they figure out that it's a cult or that it is not "the truth."

My sister-in-law got pregnant and disfellowshipped. She was out, had nothing to do with JW's. Her son, from that pregnancy, nearly graduated high school, then she went back. She went through the grueling reinstatement process, apparently so that her son would embrace "the truth." So in more than 16 years, she never looked at the facts of Jehovah's Witnesses.

We need to educate ourselves and, when possible, our loved ones.

13

Confusion over the parable of the prodigal son

by economy in

though parable of prodigal son is superlative in quality as it graphically picturizes the scientific law of cause and consequence, its conclusion defames god.

when the prodigal son returned repentant, his father showed his delight saying: let us celebrate this by killing a fattened calf.

(luke 15:23) such a concept (let us rejoice by giving maximum pain to another innocent living being) seems to be interpolation for the following reason:.

OnTheWayOut

The "lost son" goes and enjoys his FAT TUESDAY before sacrificing all during his season of LENT, then the "father" is glad he returns to the church and celebrates in the great feast of EASTER.

I hope I showed you how people can make up anything from the Bible. They can even try to make up a vegetarian message out of it.

This parable appears only in the Gospel of Luke. It is made up by the author. It is the third parable in a series, the first about the lost sheep, the second about the lost coin, this one about the lost son. The god of the Jews is a cold killer and the authors are trying to make a kinder, gentler image for him, so this parable shows how forgiving and festive God can be.

It has nothing to do with a message about killing animals. The author (known as "Luke") may say it is kindness to save a cow on the sabbath in the previous chapter, but then I don't know where you read into the story that killing a calf is "maximum pain." If your personal beliefs reject eating animals, I am sure you can find things in the Bible to support your beliefs.

26

Can we verify that Watchtower is on lockdown right now?

by Newly Enlightened in

there is a rumor going around that watchtower is on lockdown right now and the news media parked outside, circling like vultures every since the abc nightline report, is there anyone that can verify it true or not?.

https://youtu.be/ilbvzop6uua.

OnTheWayOut

I saw another facebook report from the same source. I believe it was posted yesterday. Now, THE GATE TO WATCHTOWER is closed with the excuse that it was St. Patrick's Day, but the source doesn't believe that is the real reason and hints that this is so that the press cannot come in and ask about the court case and child abuse policies.

Edited to add: When the sensational story doesn't seem to be believed, it's funny how the tame story comes out but still hints that the sensational one was true. A gate is locked, probably to keep the press out. Sounds almost like lockdown with press outside. Well, it's actually nowhere near that.

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