what will you be doing new years eve?.
my wife and i will stay home, watch the big doings on tv, and at midnight, my wife will take a frying pan and a big spoon, go to the front door, bang hell out of the pan and yell at the top of her voice, happy new year.!.
hey, we live on the edge, don't we??
if anyone has information different from these facts about the average jw please let me know.
the list is pretty long.
i have quotes from the wts publications for any disagreements on the rules listed below.. dos and donts for all jws everywhere.. 1. do pioneer.
Pureheart,
Wow! That post must have taken a while to put together! And YES, there are more do's and don'ts then you listed here. What do you expect from the Pharisees?
In contrast, Jesus indicated there were just 2 laws involving love (thanks jst2laws and joy2bfree!!).
It's been fun watching the tone of your discourse evolve over the past 3 months since you joined this (evil, haha) board!! It feels so good to be free of an organization where you NEVER could please them.
And you are right, the majority of the JW membership is interested in "keeping up appearances". They are forced to by the social pressures and the threats of "being caught" and dealt with! It's not about righteousness, but enforced adherence to social / societal norms.
Their motto could well be, "Keep seeking first the appearance of serving the kingdom, keep looking like you are righteous, and then the approval of the brotherhood will be added to you."
GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
Mark Twain (1835-1910)
http://www.nationalpost.com/search/story.html?/stories/20011222/944050.html&qs=richard%20foot.
december 22, 2001. .
lawsuit bankrupts first diocese.
Help me out here. Is this bishop still in denial?
To be told your church abused little children, and now it faces bankruptcy -- to say we haven't felt any pain simply isn't true.
Where is there any remorse for wrongdoing? Why does he concentrate on the pain he and his fellow higher-ups feel, instead of the pain they caused?
Why not even a small gesture of apology toward victims? The arrogance!
I suspect the government is right, the church has greater ability to pay then it is indicating. On all counts, the church is exhibiting a "cover their butt" mentality.
[edited for spelling]
GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
Mark Twain (1835-1910)
i am curious.
does anyone really believe the dateline show will make very many current dubs "wake up" and leave?
do you think it will bring the organization down?
This program will only affect the subset of people who pay attention and have an actual open mind, plus a conscience.
Francois, love that reference to Hairy Charismas. LOL. A good nickname for the Hare Krishnas if ever there was one!
GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
Mark Twain (1835-1910)
why jehovah's witnesses are the "happiest people on earth".
thus spake homer simpson:.
"those germans!!
Erich,
The title of this thread is why JW's are the happiest. While your viewpoints are interesting, maybe you should open a different thread to outline them.
If you want to keep this thread on course, you cannot avoid the truth that most JW's indeed wish for the destruction of all unbelievers on the outside, and all unfaithful in their own midst!
You said,
We do not know the way HOW the process will take place, we do not know WHEN and we do not know the DURATIONYes, those seem to be eternal mysteries, don't they?
However, what you are not addressing is WHY Armageddon even needs to take place in the first place. WHY a loving god would subject many innocent and ignorant people to such a slaughter as the JW's envision?
And how does this fit in with God's promise spoken after the flood, "Never again shall I deal every living thing a blow just as I have done". (Genesis 8:21) So logically, God has different ways of bringing about his purpose than an earthwide slaughter.
GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
Mark Twain (1835-1910)
what's more important?
what i'm getting at is, is it more important to impose your views on what is right in the bible, or to encourage other members of your religion?.
i remember that my past seems to be more a memory of elders telling people "oh, that's wrong.
Oscar,
I think maybe you're trying to say, it's easier to criticize (nitpick)than it is to be helpful. To really help someone, you have to be thoughtful and considerate of a person's overall circumstances. And then you must think carefully about how to approach someone with an offer to help.
So yeah, in the congregation, it is much easier to be self-righteous and say "you're wrong" for doing this or that. I think it's human nature, simply aggravated by the tense, critical atmosphere inside the spiritual non-paradise of the JW's.
GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
Mark Twain (1835-1910)
did you ever use this response, or know of someone who did?
it's in page 16 of the "reasoning from the scriptures" book.
the "conversation stopper" being addressed is, i'm not interested .. the 7th and final suggested answer for a jw publisher is as follows: is that your usual reply when jehovah's witnesses call?....have you ever wondered why we keep calling or what we have to say?....briefly, the reason is that i know something that you should know too .
Did you ever use this response, or know of someone who did? It's in page 16 of the "Reasoning from the Scriptures" book. The "conversation stopper" being addressed is, I'm not interested .
The 7th and final suggested answer for a JW publisher is as follows:
Is that your usual reply when Jehovah's Witnesses call?....Have you ever wondered why we keep calling or what we have to say?....Briefly, the reason is that I know something that you should know too . Why not listen just this once?Who could get away with this kind of response, or who could keep a straight face while saying it? Was the Society serious when they put this response in the book, or did the writers "slip one by" the editor?
Remember, they claim they're out to persuade people, NOT to win arguments. Hmmmm!!!
GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
Mark Twain (1835-1910)
the more i studied, the more i got sucked into being a witness, the more depressed i've become.
i don't want to do anything anymore, i mean what is the sense: the end of days is upon us!
the more i became involved with witnesses, the more i felt that i was loosing a part of myself.
xjw,
You wrote a very thought-provoking post. I had never heard of "learned helplessness" before, but I have seen it and been a victim of it!
You also said,
I believe belonging to the JW religion is a way of accepting emotional/mental abuse in your life as normal, because you probably don't think you deserve any better.I have two "takes" on this. First of all, it seems that quite a few JW's honestly believe that their way is the "best way of living", and they look down on outsiders and do not suffer from depression much or at all.
Second, of those who are struggling, feeling like something is missing, and that being a JW is NOT "the best way of living", it seems a lot of their frustration is over broken expectations about the present and promises about the future. For the present, they're told that they're part of a "loving worldwide brotherhood", and that they'll be spiritually well-cared-for. These expectations, of course, are largely fantasy. And for the future, they keep hoping for a never-coming "end of the system", and are constantly disappointed or "on edge" because it never comes. It is like the Bible proverb "expectation postponed is making the heart sick".
Just my $.02.
GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
Mark Twain (1835-1910)
thank you for the warm welcome i received when i made my first post last week.
it is a beautiful christmas day here,more like early autumn than the beginning of winter.
so i was a little surprised when i drove by my old kingdom hall a little after 9:00 am and saw that there were no cars parked in the lot----no one had met for field service.
Agreeing with JT here,
I remember the Kingdom Ministry (the 4-page pamphlet used for the Service Meetings) used to announce when the "worldly" holidays would be, so that the congregations could adjust the times for their "meetings for field service". But usually (at least in my area) only one elder would go out and take the group, and a small handful of publishers would participate (similar to what happens on Sundays).
GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
Mark Twain (1835-1910)
every holiday they have to go out and pester people.
they are offering the "greatest man" book.
it used to be hard cover.
Target,
I understand your point. My thought is... pestering is pestering, no matter when it happens.
Of course, some people actually like JW's visits, viewing them as harmless messengers of the Bible. (We know different, but not all do.)
I remember being one of the few who'd actually go out in the ministry on Christmas day, and found many householders wouldn't answer. But of those who did, they seemed more open to a religious discussion --- maybe because it was a religious holiday.
However, I only went out ONCE on New Year's day, and promised myself never again! People had really been partying the night before, and even 12 noon was too early to call on most folks!
GopherWhy shouldn't truth be stranger than fiction? Fiction, after all, has to make sense.
Mark Twain (1835-1910)
