Wow, that is exceedingly lame. I remember when I was a young, good, little kool-aid-drinker some muckety-muck, grand-poobah type visited from HQ. He started his talk by observing the dearth of sheep sitting in the front two rows (by that I mean there weren't any). so he decided to take a stand asking sheep to herd on up. I did. :-( so did the PO and about 5 others. I'm now disturbed at how ready I was to do everything that "god" told me to from the platform. sigh. I'm a different person now!
Not Feeling It
JoinedPosts by Not Feeling It
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Forced Seating
by Tired of the Hypocrisy inanyone else have to deal with being herded to the front of the hall before a meeting?.
i recall one cong in particular...west sacramento was notorious for this crap.
i was a large individual and today i am even larger....lol 6'2" and around 250 lbs back then.
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what have jws got against beards ?
by looloo inand it really used to annoy me that jesus and john the baptist both had such neat and well trimmed beards in the watchtower literature , how unlikley would that be in reality ?
also they never wore a suit so why do "true christians "have to wear one , is all about appearences by any chance and giving a false impression ?
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Not Feeling It
I've heard from my dad that there are a few more elders at the training sessions who have facial hair. his BOE doesn't disparage based on facial hair but the are probably a LOT more that do. in any case this was a big turn off to me. I guess in a way it did symbolize rebellion for me. but it also got me thinking about many of the other contradictions as well. too much free thinking will be the death of them. not anytime soon I think but eventually.
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Denied re-instatement
by MMae ini am curious: how many of you also experienced this, as i did?
prior to my own experience i had never known of anyone who had "served their time," attended meetings regularly, and in everyway demonstrated a good heart, being turned away.
but then, i guess i wouldn't have, would i?.
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Not Feeling It
mine was in the 6 month to 1 year range after my 2nd request. it was about 20 years ago when I was in my late teens. I had *completely* forgotten the letter writing and the begging. thanks for rehashing that horrible memory!
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Not Feeling It
IT COULD BE OF THE 1ST KIND;PHYSICAL
2ND KIND;NO ELDERS ETC
3RD KIND LACK OF MEMBERS ETC
4TH KIND;OTHER REASONS
I knew a Hall I used to go to about 15 years ago that was disolved. The reasons had something to do with the issues in the ranks around building a new Hall. The members that were left were sent to a few neighboring congregations. I'm way too out of touch to know any recent examples.
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Are you part of a progressive Hall?
by Not Feeling It inwith the proliferation of the vague concept (to most jws, not me!
) of a conscience matter, do you think there are more liberal (i don't mean politically) jws?
have you come across many or any halls where the boe or the membership are content to really let the conscience decide the small stuff rather than the iron-fisted approach?.
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Not Feeling It
AlyMC
Most other places I've lived have not been that way at all... at all
Are you still in? I quit going despite the last place I was active being way more liberal/non-condemning than average. I found that as easy going as that BOE was, there were members -- MEMBERS! -- who would say things like "they are far to understanding", "they'll let anything slide". I became disgusted that the membership had an institutional desire to be opressed and controlled. Wow.
WTWiz
And I don't think it's going to be toward being more liberal, either.
I tend to agree with you. Since it is the Bethel lifers that are coming up into the new FDS and writing spots rather than people living in the real world with real challenges and responsibilities, I think they continue with thier rose colored glasses on.
I have heard that there is a faction or some other disparity between Writing and Service departments on how to run things. Doesn't seem to have changed much. Maybe once the last "original" GB member passes on and there are only post-1935 replacements left, things will lighten up. OK, I don't really believe that. But for the sake of friends and family still in, I hope so. Every time I go to a Hall or Convention-thing (about 4 times a year) I don't recall hearing anything encouraging or truly Christ-like (a kindly yoke and load lightening).
I really think they can't maintain the constant state of pressure and urgency coupled with "do more in your ministry" because it will NEVER be enough.
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Are you part of a progressive Hall?
by Not Feeling It inwith the proliferation of the vague concept (to most jws, not me!
) of a conscience matter, do you think there are more liberal (i don't mean politically) jws?
have you come across many or any halls where the boe or the membership are content to really let the conscience decide the small stuff rather than the iron-fisted approach?.
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Not Feeling It
par·en·thet·ic –adjective
1. of, pertaining to, noting, or of the nature of a parenthesis: several unnecessary parenthetic remarks. 2. characterized by the use of parentheses. Yo Dawg, I was just making an aside regarding my rambling writing (constantly using said parentheses)
Monophonic and B,
I've heard the same thing about Cali. I've never been to a Hall there so I can't say from firsthand experience. I can't speak directly about the places where I have seen the wild inconsistencies. I don't know if I should be worried about anyone from the "inside" figuring me out. I'd rather not find out the hard way. Should I be worried?
I agree with your frustration around the stupid micromanagement of the congregation. The biggest thing that led to my fading away was redundancy and lack of mental stimulation at the hall and once I started to go to school, I started to realize that there was no real questioning and scholastic process at the hall, just answering strictly inline with the format. After that I started to study the other intellectual dishonesties that were present. (Wait! No WONDER pursuing higher education is so bad!)
I appreciate your takes. Thanks,
NOT Feeling It.
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Are you part of a progressive Hall?
by Not Feeling It inwith the proliferation of the vague concept (to most jws, not me!
) of a conscience matter, do you think there are more liberal (i don't mean politically) jws?
have you come across many or any halls where the boe or the membership are content to really let the conscience decide the small stuff rather than the iron-fisted approach?.
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Not Feeling It
With the proliferation of the vague concept (to most JWs, not me!) of a conscience matter, do you think there are more liberal (I don't mean politically) JWs?
Have you come across many or any Halls where the BOE or the membership are content to really let the conscience decide the small stuff rather than the iron-fisted approach?
I'm wondering how long (if at all) it will take things to change with revisions to birthdays, alternative service, blood, and such.
By the way, I am highly parenthetical (so sue me )
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Birthdays are now a matter of conscience????
by sacrebleu ini just heard this.
i can't believe it.
does anyone know if this is true?.
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Not Feeling It
Hah! Sounds like my mom regarding the "mature christian" thing. They are not your average (majority of) true believers, but are still very much a part of it. She has given up on a number of the clearly unscriptural rules. They keep telling me that there are more and more people in the org that are more progressive. I'm just not seeing it. Hmm... I may have to post a separate thread.
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Not Feeling It
Thanks a bunch. As a long time reader and non-member, I have found many of the concepts and ideas here VERY thought provoking. Unfortunately this kind of reasoning is absent from most of the Halls I have observed.
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What is your current status with the Watchtower Society and Congregation?
by RULES & REGULATIONS ini'm a baptized member considered ''inactive.
'' i don't hand in ''service reports'',attend maybe 3 meetings a month,ain't signed up for the ministry school and will never attend any convention or the ''book study.
'' always make the ''memorial.
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Not Feeling It
I go to meetings/conventions/assemblies occasionally -- usually when my mostly witness family comes to town. I go to the Memorial (because I've gone all my life). My wife and I quit going regularly about 10 (wow, time flies) years ago. For me it was boredom and feeling like it was never enough. Other issues crept in since then. Moving to new areas has helped, but we ALWAYS seem to find someone who knows us where ever we go. I'm thinking a Witness protection program is in order. (I imagine that has been used before here, sorry). Really though, I am still very close with most of my friends who are still feeling it. I, however, am not; Thus the name.
I've been a lurker here off and on for probably 3 years. Sometimes I look more than others. Now is a "more than" time. I guess I've been wondering if I'd sign up and post. I never thought I had much of value to add.
Meh, that'll do for now I guess. I will probably always read more than post. But if something interesting comes up, I'm sure it may be cathartic to chime in.