Posts by Gordy

29

Would the WT club have mandated the prodigal son be shunned?

by LexWatson in

jw
friends

the prodigal son's father met him out on the road as he approached, put a fine robe around his shoulders and had rings made for him.

they had a big party as he announced "my son has come home!!

" everone knew he had blown his inheritance on liquor and prostitutes.. wouldn't the wt "arrangement" have mandated a comittee meeting to have been held to determine if they felt he was truly repentant and most probably he would have to had a period of time that he was shunned so they could tell the congregation "that situation had been dealt with".

Gordy

From when the 1981 Watchtower dealt with the Prodigal son, I was puzzled how they made it fit disfellowshipping.

To me it was saying that if you left God, not some church/organisation. Then you realised you had made a mistake and returned to Him. He was there waiting and watching for your return. There were no recriminations, you had come back to Him thats all that mattered.

Another parable that I always felt showed the real compassion of God was the Shepherd and the Lost Sheep.

A sheep strays gets lost and trapped . The shepherd sets off to find it, leaving the other 99 safe in the pen. They are ok they at that time don't need the shepherd because they are already safe and sound. The shepherd finds the lost sheep picks it up and carries it back to the rest of the flock. Celebrating that he found the sheep.

The Watchtower version would be that the sheep strays, gets lost and trapped. Its the sheeps own fault for leaving the flock(congregation) going off into the world and ending up in trouble. The shepherd/s (Elders) don't set off to find the sheep. They instead decide that the sheep should be ignored completly. If the sheep goes off like that its its own fault so we don't want anything to do with it. We will not allowed the rest of the flock tohave contact with it. If it wants to come back it will have to find its own way. If it does we will keep it in a separate pen for as long as we think it needs to be. And don't any of you other sheep dare speak to him.

5

Mesmerizing young songstress

by Madame Quixote in

she's beautiful, talented, and seems really sweet; some really emotional performances and decent range.

mary ann (ysabellabrave on you tube).

here she is singing pretty woman:.

Gordy

That was GOOD !!!

I think I've fallen for her.

21

2007 DC "Follow the Christ" Locations Available

by blondie in

jw
friends

i finally got the list for the us and canada.

i can't say which one your relatives or "friends" are going to but i can tell you what the sites are.

i notice they are not posted yet on the www.jw-media.org website.. many did not get their march 1, 2007, wts in us congregations until this week because the site of their convention had not been announced at the congregation level.. there are several english conventions being held at the newburgh, ny assembly hall and the queens, ny assembly hall as well as at the west palm beach, fl assembly hall.

Gordy

Anyone know when the conventions for Britain are? Especially Manchester

63

April 1, 2007 Craptower---All About Obeying 'The Slave'

by Mary in

i've just been looking through the latest garbage literature in the above mentioned wt.

both study articles are on obeying the governing body, although the second article is more on obeying the elders.

losing your grip there a little bit fellows?

Gordy

Sounds like the usual thing when things are going badly for the Watchtower.

You have got to be loyal to the organisation etc. obey the Governing Body.

Otherwise you will all die at Armageddon.

19

Australian Bethel Visit - I have to get this off my chest

by wozadummy in

i was baptized in adelaide south australia in 1983 and around this time my first wife and i , along with our small children decided to go to the bethel in sydney new south wales as part of our holiday one summer.

we camped along the way as we travelled the coast road from adelaide and had a really interesting time and when we got to sydney we decided to stay at a caravan camping ground right near bethel ,so we did not have to travell far the next day for our visit there.. when we pulled in to the park and went to register at the office the two people in charge seemed to be very strained and distant when we spoke to them .we setup our tent and unpacked to settle in for dinner and on the way to the shower block i spoke to someone there for a few minutes and remarked that the people who ran this park did'nt seem too freindly.

he then pointed out why, that day a man had killed one of his family and everyone felt nervous and upset because of this .. of course i jumped into witness mode as i was full of "the spirit" not being long baptised ,but just got a blank stare and i knew i should not persue this any more - i feel so stupid now but i'm sure some here can relate to this blind faith enthusiasm as a chance to witness to the great god of the printing presses and think we can help heal all the troubles of the world!.

Gordy

We visited London Bethel in the 1980's I think. Not long after they had taken over some optical firms old buildings.

The congregation hired a coach to about 50 of us went.

. You were told how wonderful Bethel was and the brothers and sisters there were so happy being there.

I always remember thinking how lifeless the place felt. The JW sister who was the guide for my group was nice enough. But you did get the feeling she was just going through the motions.

We saw very few others, those that we did see it was almost as if they had been told not to acknowledge that we were there. As we passed through areas no one smiled or said hello.

We went through one area were they had the rolls of paper for the presses. There was just one brother there, who seemed to be just making notes. He never greeted us or acknowledged us. I was at the end of the group as we left the area and I always remember looking back across the floor and seeing him he just looked at me no wave or goodbye. I think what I know now of Bethel I think he was saying "Take me with you"

About 2-3 years ago my daughter was out we a JW brother, Elders son, who was doing 2 years at Bethel. She said how he couldn't wait to finish. He described it as one of the most soulless, miserable places he had ever been to.

14

Jehovah Witnesses and love

by DanielBrazil in

jw
friends

hello friends, my name is daniel, i was baptized a catholic a few months after i was born but i don't practice.

i'm having personal problems and i'd like you to give me some insight.

i'm in love with a wonderful devoting girl who happens to be a jehovah witness.

Gordy

Jehovah Witnesses and love

Surely not?

Since when did "Jehovahs Witnesses" and "Love" go together?

17

The Alpha Course Holy Spirit Week End?

by Mrs Smith in

my hubby and i are doing the alpha course and are finding very interesting.

in about 3 weeks time we have been invited to a weekend away to go through the information on the holy spirit.

has anyone on this forum been on this weekend.

Gordy

When I attend an Alpha course about 4 years ago. The Holy Spirit section was done in one day.

All the churches in the area that were doing the course came together at a hotel venue in North Wales.

Churches ranged from Church of England, Baptist, Methodist, Salvation Army, United Reformed, Pentecostal.

The session was taken and run by a local Church of England minister. Other members of his church gave various talks on the subject.

Towards the end prayers were said that the Holy Spirit would come on the people present to help them find others for Christ.

It was a pleasant day most of the time we sat around and chatted with others.

There was a meeting held last month on starting Alpha courses in the area this year. It was taken by the regional director for Alpha who himself is a Methodist.

Some members of the churches represented have been holding Alpha every year since it started. One said that they had nearly a 1,000 people attend theirs last year, I think they were over on the Liverpool side of the county.They had to split it into two courses because they didn't have enough room in their church for so many.

The director said that the courses are well attended, many accept Christ at the end of them. They are enouraged to attend any church they like to not necessarily the one which is holding the course.

24

Is there any bitterness between you and the one who brought you to the Org.

by JH in

jw
friends

do you feel any additional bitterness from the brother or sister that gave you a bible study and expected you to remain a good jw.. althought i'm not df'd, the one that gave me a bible study that led to my baptism never calls, or comes over, although he is an elder today.. i feel plenty of bitterness from his part..

Gordy

In my case there were two involved.

The first one, back then, was a JW young guy, who used to speak to a friend of mine. Who in turn used to tell me, that got me interested. Met the JW and he arranged for me to meet an Elder. Eventually had study etc. Over the years the first JW guy moved to a different congregation in the area, and I only saw him at assemblies. Then about a month ago I saw him. Where did I see him in the Pentecostal church I am now attending, he was there at a Sunday morning service!! He was across the otherside of the church, don't think he saw me. Unfortunately before I could get to were he was at the end of the service he had gone.

The Elder who took my study was such a quiet mild spoken man. He had been in prison during World War 2 as a concientious objector. In all the years I knew him he never altered. He died about 12 years ago from a brain tumour. He and his wife, loverly woman, they never had children.

17

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

by Terry in

ever wonder why, if the watchtower society is publishing truth, it becomes necessary to print what is essentially the same book over and over again?.

i mean; don't they all start in the garden of eden?

don't they all cover the same story?

Gordy

I was a part of the 1975-is-the-end group. I know what REALLY happened. Don't you think it is hard to keep your mouth shut when you hear newbies blow off the debacle like it was no big deal?

I became a JW in 1971 at the age of 20, and I find it hard to get worked up about 1975.

Why? Because the congregation I was never made a big thing about 1975. I got married to a JW sister in July 1974 about 4-5 others got married that year as well. Two of the couples bought houses.

We had our first child in October 1975. Couple of the others did as well.

Not once did we have anyone say to us anything about having a child "so near the end"

I never heard of anyone given up their jobs to go off and preach before the end.

I always put it down to the fact that the 4-5 Elders we had back then had their heads screwed on right. They were guys who had been JW's 40-50 years a couple of them since the 1930's.

In fact when I was having my "bible study" in 1971, the only time the Elder who took it, mentioned 1975 was that it was the end of 6,000 years since mans creation according to the Watchtower.

So when I started on my journey out of the WT. I was surprised too read how some areas took 1975 so seriously. Since leaving I've met an ex-JW Elder whose father sold up his business, bought a caravan and went and preached in the Cornwall area of England. Also read on here the experiences of many others with 1975.

After 1975 the congregation grew to such an extent we had to enlarge the Kingdom Hall. Then we had to split the congregation into two. Then by end of 1980's we had to build a new KH, which both congregations shared. Up to end of 1990's everything look good for them. Now in last 5-6 years they have just fallen apart. Numbers falling, people being DF'd or just leaving. Last heard that the two congregation may again become one.

29

JWs and Gambling

by JohnnyMarr in

jw
friends

i've been inactive for a while and i can't remember the jws stance on gambling.

i'm kinda big into poker now and i want to know what to expect if i'm televised or spotted in a public tournament.

is it a disfellowshipping offense, public reproof offense, or conscious decision?

Gordy

Awake! 1994 August 8 p.15 Is Gambling for Christians? What if a person is offered a free lottery ticket or free money to use for gambling? In either case, accepting such an offer would still be supporting a gambling operation—an operation out of harmony with godly principles.

Interesting.

In my congregation it was always taken that as long as you made no financial outlay it was OK. I knew of a JW who would accept a Lottery ticket off his non-JW brother.