WOW. And again I say, "Wow!"
Add this as a chapter in the Reasoning book!
Scriptures and reasoning would lay this matter to rest after this last teaching about who the Slave is.
qualifications to become gods channel of communication[this article was contributed by apollos].
the new teaching of the appointment of the faithful and discreet slave has arguably made 1919 an even more important date to jehovahs witnesses than 1914. appendix b1 of the revised nwt bible shows a time line of the message of the bible in relation to gods rulership.
it is of note that the official doctrine of the establishment of gods kingdom in 1914 is not even mentioned only that satan was cast down around that time.. ever since the 1919 doctrine was announced at the 2012 agm, and subsequently published in the july 15th watchtower 2013, the appointment of the slave seems to have become a much more prominent topic in our teaching, and indeed in general discussion among witnesses.. of course we should remind ourselves that this new level of interest really has nothing to do with the date, and everything to do with the nature of the appointment.
WOW. And again I say, "Wow!"
Add this as a chapter in the Reasoning book!
Scriptures and reasoning would lay this matter to rest after this last teaching about who the Slave is.
micah 6:8 might be - or have been - a favourite verse of many.
the verse used to read:.
"he has told you, o earthling man, what is good.
Phizzy--Another good point--and a problem for their argument for their consistent word-for-word rendering of scripture that was supposed to prop up their claim to superiority of the JW bible.
What JW will ever know it if they are forbidden to research anything outside or inside the Society's literature?
O, the poor dumb-bunnies! and I was in that racket, too.
micah 6:8 might be - or have been - a favourite verse of many.
the verse used to read:.
"he has told you, o earthling man, what is good.
Great catch, roryks.
steve 2--YES! Absolutely!
Next time I hear that Christians NOW know better what the scriptures mean--- this self-interested change to the text will be brought up!
No way to trust scriptures when you don't know who will wield the pen--today-- and yesterday--and the day before that.....
Maeve
i left as an inactive person.
i pretty much have been left alone by the elders and witnesses, as far as being hounded.. i know of many that either disassociated or got disfellowshipped.. i'm wondering if you think you would have remained a jw, in name only, if the religion (cult) didn't shun and penalize as they do..
I left and had to. I just couldn't go when I realized the whole thing was rotten from the head down. It had made me sick, too. The shunning didn't matter one way or the other. But looking back and knowing that my best friend and I said good-by because she knew they would Df me if I disassociated--well, it is revolting to have not seen the sickness of it before.
greetings, fellow posters!.
movies can easily show emotion on an actor's face, or depict what he's thinking by his actions.
not so easily in writng.
she is a vision of peace--other-worldly.
or magical realisism.
lovely
hey i joined this thread recently and thought this was a good way to introduce myself.
i am 15, still going to school and i live in the uk.
a good chunk of my mum's side of the family are jws.
Great clear thinking.
Do not waver. You have good reasons not to join up. You won't miss a beat in getting on in life as long as you steer clear of a religion that will not respect your thinking and your conscience.
Hang on to your convictions, DuvanMuvan.
I had 7 children and the ones who stood up to me and the Witnesses about the "Truth" are the happiest--Now ALL of them are out and so am I. They are all out and doing fine.
Maeve
im a long-time lurker turned member, finally felt the need to share my experience with people who know where im coming from.
will try to be as succinct as possible!.
am from the uk and was born in as 3rd generation.
OLK, Welcome.
I really hope your Mom will think how beautiful her toleration is and how void the WTBTS is.
Your post was a delight of clear thinking, marching out one thought following another--to action.
Maeve
i posted this on the private board 2 years ago but now don't care who sees this as i'm no longer in hiding from the wbt$ cult members.. these are transcripts of the 2 letters i recieved leading up to my being da'd (not df'd), for apostacy(tm).
dear punk.
i am aware that you have requested that there be no contact from the congregation, but there is an outstanding matter that needs to be resolved, and we would like to have your co-operation in resolving it.. .
Punk,
Is this like a "break-up" letter where he/she can see the marriage is obviously in the crapper and doesn't want to hear the reasons why it is? This is so obviously a one-sided matter, only one side's interest of concern. It reflects a lack of appreciation for the psycological suffering that has to be felt by the one who has been going down.
Why do these elders have to make themselves so emotionally dead?
When the Org. does this it corrupts the congregations. IF they would be open to talk how different things would be! But this way they are clean, pure and holy--my way or the hiway. The elders have to have new hearts to do this work-- the hearts of butchers.
We who are expelled at least have a chance to recover. They do not.
I forgot--have they been worried about you since? (Mine haven't looked me up)
anyhow, take care
Maeve
my first special pioneer assignment.- part 1.. in australia, western civilization is a thin strip of land, that hugs the coast.
all the major cities are on the coast.
i grew up on the east coast of australia where the great dividing range, as its called, runs parallel to the coast, and limits the extension of cities like sydney and brisbane.
FTS,
That is a great story and well told.
You may have referenced this in another thread, namely the absolute reason(s) you scuttled the "Truth".
I myself have lived much of my married life in situations as you describe and found some of the exhortations and examples in the literature to be unrealistic. No plumbing, many children and no gas money and chores at home a-plenty. Yet I found the "Jesus teachings" to be invaluable in living with neighbors of all sorts.
I told the elders one time that my own experience was like "Legion" in the gospels. Healed of spirit, not allowed to go with the other disciples---and yet given the commission to go about telling others of the good things he had received at Jesus' hand.
The futility of trying to conform to the requirements of the WT program made me think a lot about what was in the bible and and what was not--so as to find where I and others like me could be a good witness to God even if we were "bad" J-Witness.
That helped me to leave when trouble came later.
I say again, Good story. I doo hope you will tell more of the struggles you saw in the community you were assigned to serve. Life being a struggle, I am sure some of those salty folks had some comments on the kind of spiritual needs they felt and the menu the WTBTS offered.
Thanks for your posts.
Maeve
in the past few weeks, the shunning issue has become a very personal one for me, and i have begun to realize that it is not just enough for me and my family to fade out.
after some recent events, i am motivated to start some anti-watchtower activism of my own.. i, like many others, have hoped that there would be a scandal of epic proportions within the organization, something that would wake others up and trigger a mass exodus.. while i am still hopeful that this may happen, it seems that the organization is too good at damage control, and heightening the paranoia surrounding apostates.. but what if the ex-witness community tried a different approach?.
what if, to borrow a hockey term, a sort of shut out situation was created?.
I occasionally see religious fliers on car windshields or in laundromats, but they can be tedious. With a few illustration-comic book style--it would be read by most who see them.
Your post makes me think.
We used to go door to door with a "Life-saving message" as JWs. Maybe this message of Anti-witnessing would really be lifesaving.