i think of how judgmental we were as witnesses.
"worldly ones" were almost as bad as disfellowshipped ones but not as bad as "apostates"..
I'd like to think a was one of the "good JWs" for the bulk of my association with them. I was on a high-horse for the first year or so, though. I was a teenager then and I relished the opportunity to argue points of doctrine with religious householders.
In hindsight, it was in extremely poor form. A 16 year old kid arguing with grown men and women about things I had very little knowledge of. Ignorance was bliss, however.
they announced last week that the new atanta assembly hall has thus far raised 3.4 million dollars.
my local told that will become the society's come may 1. i wonder how that will go over with the ones who have been contributing to this fund..
i'm a non-witness who is doing research on jehovah's witnesses (and has been for several years).
i just got out of a meeting with an elder and his wife.
i'm still somewhat stupefied.
They don't encounter people like you very often. I don't know if you were a return visit or if this was their first time there, but JWs are typically ill-prepared to speak to people who've done their research. I wouldn't expect them to return. They were probably caught off guard and resorted to reciting talking points they were comfortable with regardless of the topic.
It's good that they were forced to confront an inconsistency in their beliefs (the end-is-near stuff). It probably made them uncomfortable having to lie to you that way. It may not bear fruit immediately, but it was a series of these types of confrontations that led me to loose my zeal for field service. Years later I quit the religion altogether.
a few things noticed in last nights annual, jesus who?
gathering:.
1: only one scripture from the gospels was read or cited.
I think it's been four or five years since I've been to one. I didn't even get a call from my family this time until 5:30 the day of, which I didn't answer. Things have are turning out quite well for me on that front.
my first year after more than 20 years.... it seems strange.
happy fellings but at the same times feeling some loniness.. is your first one as well?.
veterans: how do you feel after some many years?.
I began waking up rouglhy during the summer of 2003, but I kept going to meetings for another two years or so. For a few years I was 99% out, but that last 1% exercises a huge influence over your life.
The last memorial I can remember going to voluntarily (without family begging me to go) was in 2007. I had already discovered this site and was completely out mentally but something about the indoctrination wouldn't allow me to stay at home. It's difficult and for some it's harder than others.
just read a post on jwsurvey about the new donation arrangement.
congregations are to pledge a monthly amount to be sent to the society to fund the building of assembly halls and kingdom halls.
congregations who already have a loan from the society will no longer have to pay back the loan but the amount pledged should not be less than the current monthly repayments to the society.
JV,
Keep doing what you do. Some folks will get carried away with speculation. Others will express skepticism and try to bring them back down to Earth. Healthy debate and the free flow of information is superior to groupthink.
As to the trolls...it's the internet, man. I belong to another board centered around a football team I follow closely. This is tame compared to the stuff that gets thrown around over there. Don't take comments from anonymous internet commenters too seriously. Just my $.02.
just read a post on jwsurvey about the new donation arrangement.
congregations are to pledge a monthly amount to be sent to the society to fund the building of assembly halls and kingdom halls.
congregations who already have a loan from the society will no longer have to pay back the loan but the amount pledged should not be less than the current monthly repayments to the society.
JV,
Go back and look at my comments. There's nothing in there that could be remotely construed as a personal attack or a threat against you or your sources.
The point is, everytime the WT announces a change, regardless of how minor (and I've been on this board for over seven years), it results in rampant speculation. There's a disconnect between the importance of the change to the everyday lives of ordinary witnesses and the banter on this board. I don't think I'm out of line in counseling restraint or that people take what they read with a grain of salt.
just read a post on jwsurvey about the new donation arrangement.
congregations are to pledge a monthly amount to be sent to the society to fund the building of assembly halls and kingdom halls.
congregations who already have a loan from the society will no longer have to pay back the loan but the amount pledged should not be less than the current monthly repayments to the society.
What are you saying? That I am as fanatical as the Watchtower? That my contact who is genuinely trying to keep me and others reading this thread informed - is somehow being "fanatical"?
I realize you didn't direct this question at me, but i scanned this thread yesterday and when I read the actual letter on JW Survey there was a big disconnect. I think an outside observer would easily conclude this is nothing more than a tempest in a teapot.
just read a post on jwsurvey about the new donation arrangement.
congregations are to pledge a monthly amount to be sent to the society to fund the building of assembly halls and kingdom halls.
congregations who already have a loan from the society will no longer have to pay back the loan but the amount pledged should not be less than the current monthly repayments to the society.
This thread has evolved a rumor into opinion, which then gave way to conspiracy, which is now quickly becoming hearsay.
This happens every time the WT announces a change. What results in a 20 page thread on JWD typically elicits nothing more than a shrug from your typical JW.
just read a post on jwsurvey about the new donation arrangement.
congregations are to pledge a monthly amount to be sent to the society to fund the building of assembly halls and kingdom halls.
congregations who already have a loan from the society will no longer have to pay back the loan but the amount pledged should not be less than the current monthly repayments to the society.
I can't quite put my head on what this means.
It's bizarre. The trend had been away from exercising control from HQ, likely in response to sexual abuse lawsuits. They didn't want liability flowing upward. This new arrangement bucks the trend.
Just thinking back to my old hall, I don't see how this arrangement changes anything. The friends would likely try to step up their game, but after a few months things would return to normal. The elders would do some hounding, but at the end of the day these people are not well off and you can't squeeze blood out of a turnip. The elders won't make the difference up out of pocket. The only way this sticks, at least with respect to the poorer congregations, is if they step it up and set a standard or minimum sum directly in the WT literature.
