i was told recently by a ministerial servant that the word had come down from above that from now on only two comments by children will be allowed during the wt study.
the reason: the meetings are geared to adults, not children.
has anyone else heard of this policy??
It is hard to figure out why comments by children would be limited to an arbitrary number. So much of the Watchtower material is sophomoric and childish anyway. Who else is going to answer such simplistic questions such as: "Who is the Grand Instructor?" "Who is the Greater Moses?" "Who are the only people preaching in all of the inhabited earth?".
Apparently, children are not qualified to contribute adequately to the Watchtower's discussions, but adult-sized spiritual infants are.
jehovah's witnesses are not really jehovah's witnesses!
first it is important to understand why the watchtower society calls their followers "jehovah's witnesses".
the average jw will tell you that this is because isaiah 43:10 is speaking about them when it says: isaiah 43:10, nwt.
Those are some good points. However, the Watchtower organization can tap dance their way around these points by highlighting the fact that they are now officially called "Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses", and that all members thereof, give a public witness regarding Jehovah God and His rulership. As surogates to the "John Class", they are assisting in delivering a "witness" or testimony regarding Jehovah's purposes for mankind. Unfortunately, rank and file JWs do not really give this area of doctrine the depth of consideration and Biblical analysis that they should. They are satisfied to repeat the Watchtower's talking points.
Rutherford's selection of the name Jehovah's Witnesses was indeed arbitrary; and based upon a self-serving desire to distinguish themselves from all other Christians. In the book of Matthew, Christ stated that his disciples would be "witnesses of me"; not witnesses of Yahweh. He also stated that "where two or three are gathered in my name, their I will be in their midst." Again, he gave no injunction to gather in the name of Yahweh; or Jehovah. To simply identify oneself as a "Christian", was more than sufficient. Even when apostasy crept into various congregations in the first century, the Apostles did not see any need to branch off and make a "name change" to those following the "true teachings". There was no evidence to suggest that any congregation changed it's identification (from Christian to Yahwah Witness) whether it be Phillipi, Galatia, Antioch, Rome, or Corinth. There was also no need for a religious organization 1,900 years later to expand on or clarify Jesus' words by making a name change.
Russell himself had initially taught that the Bible Students should simply identify themselves as Christians without attempting to form another sect or exclusive organization. But this line of thinking soon fell out of fashion, particularly after the failures of 1914, 1918, and 1925 caused many of the Bible Students to split off from the Watchtower corporation and meet independently of the leadership in Brooklyn.
The name Jehovah's Witnesses served the purpose of separating themselves from all other "false Christians", the disaffected Bible Students who repudiated the Watchtower leadership, and to bolster their exclusivistic claims. The name change had more to do with self-serving grandiosity and a cynical pragmaticism than it did with any Scriptural foundation.
during the 1930's when the society was quietly moving jesus' presence from 1874 to 1914, it only seemed to ruffle a few feathers and most accepted this "brighter light.
" how could the society abandon 1914 and still keep most of its followers?
There is no reason for the Watchtower leadership to abandon the 1914 date. The vast majority of the Jehovah's Witnesses have no idea that that the book The Gentile Times Reconsidered, or Crisis of Conscience exists. Many JWs do not even fully comprehend the chronology of the 1914, or its Adventist origins. The only people who really care about all of this are ex-Witnesses, and Evangelicals who study up on the Watchtower.
There are perhaps a few JWs who are concerned about the chronology, but they are intellectually isolated by the climate of fear that is fostered in the organization toward dissenters. The Watchtower organization has also convinced its members that those who disagree with the 607 date are those who do not trust the Bible - despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary. If the Watchtower can convince its members that humans have only been on earth for some 6,000 years despite the enormous archeological findings which disprove such a claim; then it is relatively simple for JWs to be kept in the dark regarding the 587/607 issue.
The entire foundation of the authority bestowed to the "Faithful Slave Class" ultimately rests upon the 1914 date. There is a chain which links the 1914 date to the 1919 selection of the Bible Students as Christ's Faithful Slave. (see the book: Paying Attention To Daniel's Prophecy) There is really no upside to the Watchtower trying to discard the 1914 date now. Why bother? Why make such a radical change in a foundational doctrine when it would only cause them to loose more members? We need to remember that the Watchtower is a religion that places much more importance on pragmaticism than it does intellectual honesty.
i look back and think of how mindless, boring and dumb it all was.
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i think of having to sit at mind numbing meetings, bored to tears, making believe i was enjoying the fine spiritual banquet.. i think of how we used to drive around in "service" looking for nothing to do----just so that we could put our time in---hoping that no one was home.. everyone had to conform to direction and whims of elders or the society.. i am soooooooooo glad i'm out!.
The Watchtower organization enforces a "one size fits all" regimen of activity which ignores the unique and diverse needs of its varied members.
I have noted that many large churches have varied programs and activities which contribute to the spiritual refreshment of its members without compromising the central theme of their Christian faith. For example, many provide specific educational programs for children and teenagers. They also have Biblically-based support groups for single mothers, those suffering from depression, and other issues.
Other churches also have outlets for people’s creativity and desire for charitable activities. There are groups of musicians which produce music for the services, outings organized to outreach to the homeless, and other activities.
The Watchtower organization micro-manages every detail of the Witnesses worship activity from Brooklyn. Everything is pre-canned, pre-planned, and pre-packaged so as to maintain absolute unanimity of thought. Even all of the music is pre-recorded. The organization is predominantly focused on distributing literature, and is obsessed with numerical figures as the dominant measurement of people’s spirituality. It is no wonder so many of the youth are leaving.
paris july 11 (agence france presse).
the jehovah1s witnesses lost a defamation action friday .
which they brought against deputy jean-pierre brard, vice president of the.
For the Watchtower organization to have this kind of knee-jerk reaction to a few words uttered by public official is truly pathetic. The Watchtower organization has been a staunch advocate of free speech; particularly when it involved their "right" to blast their sound cars during Sunday Catholic services. They appealed to the concept of free speech when it involved Rutherford's public diatribes against religion and commerce. They called for the defense of free speech when it involved their public sandwich sign campaigns where they lambasted the churches.
But when one official makes some unflattering observations about their practices, they publicly demand redress from the government. Their behavior can hardly be characterized as dignified, rational, or even mature. Their behavior is that of a petulant child.
one thing that always got me upset -- .
sisters wearing pantyhose all year round?
brothers or sisters frowned upon for wearing snowpants whilst going outside in snowstorms or incidences of high snow (quite often in the mountains of pa) .
The organization is just as Pharisaical and legalistic as ever. Many researchers have noted that cultic groups take pride in "majoring in minor things". This means that they set themselves up as superior due to prohibitions and rules about matters which should not even be an issue. They continuously congratulate themselves on how they are different than everyone else - even if those differences are trivial or irrational.
The Watchtower organization is fixated upon outward appearance. Remember what Judge Rutherford used to say? "Advertise the King and His Kingdom". To this day, there is indeed a lot of advertising going on. When it comes to the Watchtower's promoting itself among the nations, outward appearance of its members is an obsession.
What other religious group besides the Mormons would require their members to wear their name badges out in public after the conventions had concluded? It this really a matter of witnessing about Christ Jesus; or advertising the organization? When we consider the fact that Jehovah's Witnesses care much more about the trivial details of a sister's attire than they do about her ability to explain 1914 chronology to a householder; it becomes clear that advertising the organization is the major emphasis.
recently i wrote, and re-wrote (and re-wrote and...you get the picture) a letter to my entire family 8 living siblings, 5 of them jw and my witness parents one of whom believes himself to be anointed.
before sending it i asked my older sister who is also df'd like me, to critique it.
she decided that she would like to add her name to the letter also, a little more bang for the buck coming from two of us.
I believe that Ray Franz offered the best assessment of the Watchtower's disfellowhipping policies in his book: In Search Of Christian Freedom. There is a chapter titled: The Misuse of Disfellowshipping. His Scriptural aguments against the Watchtower's judicial committee processes, as well as some of the shunning policies are excellent; and can be shared with active JWs. The secret "star chamber" committee proceedings which are enforced in the JW congregations have no Scriptural backing; were not used in the first century congregations, or even in ancient Israel's judicial system. When such methods were employed, they were considered heretical and unjust.
What is notable about the Watchtower organization's hubris in all of this is the analogy that can be made with that of ancient Israel. Those in power at that time felt justified in their injust practices and lack of mercy because of their use of the name Jehovah. They felt that since they were God's "chosen" people with a Dvine covenant; maintained God's temple in Jerusalem, and were scrupulous in their ritualistic worship, that they were in a morally superior postion. Those who dared to disagree with such elitists of the time were vilified and condemned.
One of the most blatant aspects of their wickedness was not so much the "false practices", but included the lack of mercy and justice shown to the people. This was a central theme in Jeremiah's message. According to Jeremiah; use of the Divine name was no protection against lack of mercy and justice. As a result, Jeremiah was considered an apostate by the power structure.
If these points can be calmly and rationally articulated to the average JW, sometimes some good can result from the conversation. Almost every JW family has been affected by disfellowshippings at one time or another. The unscriptural nature of secretive judicial proceedings and expulsion for not adhering to exra-Biblical policies does indeed trouble many active JWs. This can be a good topic for discussion. Unfortunately, many former Witnesses do not get this opportunity. They are considered to be spiritual lepers by the "mother" organization.
canadian archaelogist zhichun jing, writing about the decline of the highly creative shang dynasty, said "...after a century the shang vitality slackened.
the initial diversity and creativity devolved into a dull sameness.
by the end we see that things like their pottery, architecture and artwork had become standardized and simplified.
There is a reason that churches have different activities tht appeal to different groups. There is nothing wrong with programs that teach little children, youth groups that keep older youths engaged or special arrangements to encourage the elderly.
Not only is there nothing wrong with such groups, but such activities were actually built into the day to day affairs of the congregations in the first century. The letter of James reveals that various men were entrusted with the responsibilities of food distribution to the poor, and caring for the widows and fatherless children of the congregations.
There was indeed a diversity of activity within the activities of the first century church which did not detract from their central purpose. I Corinthians chapter 12 describes many different ways in which Christians served the body of Christ; whereby various ones contributed differing talents and abilities to the church.
The modern day Watchtower organization is run very similarly to a multi-national corporation such as Starbucks. In terms of Starbucks: no matter which store you go into around the world, you will always see an identical menu, identical decor, identical packaging, identical uniforms, and identical merchandising. Far from being a manifestation of God’s spirit, such an identical sameness is merely a product of an efficient centralized management.
One could say that the Watchtower is the Starbucks of Christianity.
canadian archaelogist zhichun jing, writing about the decline of the highly creative shang dynasty, said "...after a century the shang vitality slackened.
the initial diversity and creativity devolved into a dull sameness.
by the end we see that things like their pottery, architecture and artwork had become standardized and simplified.
This is a major reason why the Watchtower is having such a difficult time retaining its youth. The "one size fits all" regimen that is institutionalized into the JW lifestyle does nothing to address the individual and diverse needs of its members.
I have noticed that other large churches are light years ahead of the Watchtower when it comes to understanding and working in accord with the challenges of its members. One large non-denominational church that is located in the city where I live, has several smaller groups which are organized to address specific needs. There are free support groups for single mothers, teenagers, fathers, people suffering from depression, and one for those suffering from alcohol dependency.
There are also groups which are organized once a month for recreation such as a men’s mountain biking trips, women’s sewing, or teenager outings. The church also has a group of musicians and singers who perform for the church services.
These activities contribute to the refreshment, mental and emotional well-being of the flock, and help develop a closer cohesiveness. The Watchtower leadership would never allow such activities to be organized. Through their sycophants (the traveling overseers), the leadership would squash such activities like a bug.
Many Jehovah’s Witnesses are becoming depressed and burned out from the lack of refreshing spiritual uplift. The Watchtower puts forth a treadmill of monotonous activity that is micro-managed from Brooklyn. Many are simply slowing down due to discouragement. Those who are very intelligent and creative people do not have any kind of outlet for their talents and abilities in the organization. Many must turn to food and alcohol to supress their dissonance.
It is laughable that the Watchtower would blame "Satan" or "this system of things" for the large number of youths who leave the organization. Such statements are nothing short of immature, and arrogant self-servingness. The organizational leadership has no one to blame but themselves. The Watchtower leadership unfortunately, has no ability to accept personal responsibility or engage in any kind of meaningful self introspection. They choose to blame the rank and file, or "this system of things" instead. They choose to play the blame game. The blame game is a hallmark characteristic of incompetent managers, and petulant children.
up until the purges that took place at brooklyn bethel in 1980, ed dunlap had served as the registrar and one of the senior instructors of the gilead school.
dunlap was one of the victims of the witch hunts that took place in 1980 and was disfellowshipped for "apostasy", along with members of the translation department.
in raymond franzs book crisis of conscience, ray franz discusses ed dunlaps experience in detail.
Up until the purges that took place at Brooklyn Bethel in 1980, Ed Dunlap had served as the Registrar and one of the senior instructors of the Gilead School. Dunlap was one of the victims of the witch hunts that took place in 1980 and was disfellowshipped for "apostasy", along with members of the translation department.
In Raymond Franz’s book Crisis of Conscience, Ray Franz discusses Ed Dunlap’s experience in detail. Dunlap and Franz were close friends who often discussed various Bible topics with one another. Ed Dunlap got into serious trouble when he began to offer his personal honest viewpoint regarding various Bible teachings to members of the Bethel family who asked him questions.
In this two-part audio recording, Ed Dunlap in his own words, talks about his decades of full time service and devotion to the organization. He explains the serious problems that he began to see with various Watchtower teachings and practices. He elaborates on what lead to him being interrogated by members of the Governing Body, and summarily disfellowshipped.
Here is the link to his two hour talk. The audio is not of high quality and a little difficult to understand at times, but is definitely worth listening to. Scroll down the page about a third of the way, and you will see the section titled:
