why were some ancient writings not included in the bible as we know it?
for instance the book of enoch goes into detail of his experience of being taken to heaven and later coming back to earth to share his experience with his sons, and then later died a natural death.
i have read this book and it is full of details that no one back then could have described without our modern science and technology we have today.
Wouldn't "serious Bible Students" already know about all these books. And want to seek them out.
Strange that people all know about these books and that they are available.
Yet no one even the Bible's biggest critics seemed to have brought them forth to disparge the Bible. If they do, do that.
Please no conspiracy theories
They exist they are freely available, though it takes a bit if searching to find them, they haven't been hidden away or anything.
riding around the city this morning i saw 2 witnesses from my congregation talking to a man at his door, and they seemed to have placed a book or magazine.
although they did not enter his house, they stead there at his door a couple of minutes.
although most do not answer or accept anything from witnesses, he seemed to be an exception.
What do you mean "the house to house work is getting tougher these days" !!!
It always was. I used to work a huge suburban residential estate, for 12 years, 1977 to 1989. It was just as tough when I moved away than when I first started. Many were just as busy then as they are now. Trying to get people at home was a nightmare, mornings, afternoons, evenings we tried them all. Evenings where marginally better, but you still rarely got anyone to talk to you. Also after about 8pm many wouldn't open their doors. So we did 6pm to 7pm, then they would be having dinner and couldn't talk. Sometimes the "not at homes" were so many that it was easier to just work that territory map again. Probably in all that time we had 3 who became JW's and one of them left a couple of years later.
We moved to a more central part of town, probably just as many homes, but more closer together. It was exactly the same story. I've worked whole roads and got about 5/6 people in. Also another problem that started to occur was that many of the blocks of flats would now be fitted with security systems. Before you could just walk in and knock on the flats door. Now the entrance had a security door, you had to ring a flats bell, ask through the intercom for them to open door. They would ask why, if you said you were a JW, often they said no. If you didn't give a straight answer they often said no. Sometimes brothers would be approached by the police because people were suspicous of them trying to get in.
We also tried informal (street) witnessing. Brothers would say they stopped 20 people in half an hour and only two would have stopped to talk. Others you would give a tract to, then you would see it screwed up on the pavement later.
In all the 30 years as a JW the congregation I was in never really grew. In 1971 they had 86 publishers, 2 pioneers. In 2003 they have 84 publishers and 2 pioneers. In that time maybe 10-12 moved away, about 6-8 died. In the last 5 years 7 have DA'd, 4 DF'd. This is not just confined to this congregation, others also in the area are also going through the same thing. Some haven't had a person baptised for 2/3 years. Those that are being baptised are usually from JW families. Baptisms at Circuit Assemblies used to be in double figures, now you'd be lucky to reach 8/9.
.It has not been helped by changes in long held doctrine, the UN fiasco, Rand Cam, child abuse programs and articles. People now see the JW's as no better or different than any other religion.
The great increases of years ago have gone. Here in Britain I think they still hover around the 120,000 mark. Yet I remember it being 126,000, with a peak one year of 132,000.
The person that was called on years ago has gone, very little information was to be found on the WT then. when a JW makes a return visit now he is likely to have found the person has checked up on the Watchtower on the Internet.
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what do hemphiliac jws do?
they must have blood tranfusions to live, so how does the society work with them?
No they don't have blood transfusions.
hemophiliacs suffer from their blood not being able to clot, so they can bleed to death from even a minor cut or internal injury.
They need to take I think it is called "Factor 8" which is the clotting agent in blood. This at one time was forbidden for JW hemophiliacs because it is made from blood.
But that all changed some time ago and they are allowed to take it now. As are many other blood fractions allowed.
and i don't just mean "formal" hospitality that is scheduled on the announcement board for visiting speakers and travelling overseers.. i mean real, from the heart, love of strangers (xenophilia in greek).
xenophobia (fear of strangers) is the antithesis of hospitality.. when you visited other halls where nobody knew you (and you weren't the guest speaker or the travelling overseer), did people go out of their way to make you feel welcome?
or did they mutter to themselves, "i wonder who the stranger is?
During the 30 years I was a JW, my wife and I would often invite brothers/sisters for a meal with our family. Usually at least once a month. Sometimes it would just be a couple, sometimes up to six of them. One of the strangest things I used to notice was that no one would discuss anything to do with the "truth". The Watchtower was always saying when brothers get together they should discuss "spiritual things" but that seemed to be the last thing they wanted to talk about. Even the Elders who we had, didn't even make any effort to do so. It was as if it was the last thing they wanted to do. Since leaving I now think it was because they were frightened that they may say something out of place or deemed to be critical of the WT. Compared to now with my Christian brothers/sisters we have some good discussions about spirtual things. Even taking opposite views on certain points, but no one is condemend for doing so.
Yet in all those years I can probably count on my fingers the amount of times we were invited to another JW's house for a meal.
Also my wife would often throw parties for the young JW children, even hiring a bouncy castle.
I remember one brother and sister who at the Kingdom Hall would appear so nice and loving, speaking to everyone etc. Yet if you called at their house you were never asked over the doorstep.
We lived some distance from the Kingdom Hall and had to use public transport to get there. Yet we were often the first there. Coming home from a meeting, very rarely would anyone offer us a lift home, even those in cars by themselves. Even in winter.
Now I can't walk out my church or from the home-group without someone offering a lift. The church even bought a mini-bus so those who needed it could have transport to meetings.
If the JW's had shown half as much love and care as the church I'm in now does, I might have been tempted to stay a JW.
in fact, it is very, very soon.
my jw honey came back from the meeting with this earth-shattering announcement.
he is prancing around the house with this new-found knowledge that i have not had the priveledge to hear, understand, or appreciate.. got any good comeback lines?
jgnat
Just exactly what was the information about the "end" your husband heard that got him jumping.
kind of similiar to minimus question, this one got me thinking.. the funniest for me has to be the elders telling me i should buy a 4-door car for field service and not to buy a camaro.
i almost believed them.
telling me in would not be proper to drive that in field service.
What is thing about 2 door and 4 door cars???
Never heard it hear in Britain.
It seems to be a totally American thing.
Sames as the thing about Smurfs, they never bothered anyone here, and I certainly never heard any counsel about them in all my 30 years as a JW.
Are American JW's more paranoid then British ones??
my only jw friend, to whom i wrote four months ago, wrote back and said, in part, "you are accusing the wts and have condemned the brothers without hearing their side.
that is not fair.
you need to write to the society and give them a chance to explain".. has anyone done that re: un, silent lambs, etc.
A non-JW friend of mine wrote to London Bethel about active JW's writing on such discussion forums as this.
Go to link to see his letter, then from there to to see the reply he got.
after reading cruzenheart's post on the letter about her father, and the treatment he received from the co, william osbeck, and the elders of his congregation, it brought back my own memories of this particular co and his treatment of people.
it was 1995 and one of the hardest years of my life.
in february of that year, i learned i was pregnant with our fifth child.
To Sadie and all the others who sufffered at the insensitive hands of the WT, I know how you feel.
In 1996 after I had a breakdown, attempted suicide, and was diagnosed with acute clinical depression, and losing my job.
What help did I get from "Jehovah's loving organisation" ??
No visits from brothers/sisters to see how I was. Only the Elders were allowed to visit me.
How soon could I go before a Judicial committee andremove me from being a Ministerial Servant.
They decided on just a reproof, because of my past good record!!
Help in getting over the depression?? I was seeing a psychiatist, which according to one elder was as bad as spending time with Satan.
Elders answer to it was attend meetings and get out on field service. As anyone who has had depression knows the last thing you want to do is mix with and talk to people. Especially knocking on someones door and telling them how wonderful the future will be
After 6 months, they tell my wife that I should leave the family home. Because I was a "spiritual danger to the family" !!
Their attitude through the whole thing was I was problem which they should not have and must be got rid of. Jehovah's people don't get depressed!! Boy!! have I learnt differently since.
If these people had shown an ounce of CHRISTIAN love and care and compassion. I would probably still be a JW. With my family who have been split in two over it. I DA'd three years later, my wife hasn't spkoen to me since end of 1999, and I have no contact with my two JW's daughters. Two of my other children DA'd over it and came to live with me.
Can't they see that their attitude and policy, destroyed a family, did more damage to the WT, than if they had showed love and support.
But on the otherhand I came to find out what the Watctower really is. I could NEVER go back now.
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would love to hear about some seriously botched disfellowshiping cases.
u know the ones that could have been handled better by a trio of rhesus monkeys.
like when my auntie had an affair with a circuit overseer and they told her " no matter what u say, no matter how repentant u are, u are definately going down for this!!!!
WHOA!!! Forget the beer!!
watchtower bible & t
watchtower bible &tr
watchtower bible & t
Go to this link:http://www.freeminds.org/history/wtinnewyork.htm
