Posts by passwordprotected

9

Advice to Lurking Newbies?

by sweet pea in

i was thinking about how it's a shame that all our potential newbies, who are undoubtedly still visiting for the first time and reading, aren't able to register and ask for everyone's help and advice with things they are experiencing right now.. so, if you had a few words of wisdom, encouragement, advice, what would it be?.

i have a feeling someone i once knew may be watching...... my advice would be:-.

don't be afraid.. if truth is truth it will stand, if it is false it will fall.. you are among friends who will not judge or condemn you for daring to use your brain, open your mind and ask questions.

passwordprotected

My advice;
Read Heb 13:13 and realise what Paul was saying and to whom. He was encouraging the Hebrew Christians who were still relying on their 1500 year old traditions to consider the Christ. He had to go outside the city of Jerusalem and be put to death. Along the way he suffered shame and was despised. He lost his good name and good standing in the community he came from. But he was glorified and taken up by his Father afterwards.

Realising that the 'city' or 'camp' of the Society won't offer you protection and is perhaps even founded on lies and misinterpretation of Scripture, is very, very scary. I mean, like the Hebrews, the JW traditions go back a long way, and like the Hebrews the JWs claim to be the only people chosen by God.

But, when we go outside the camp, find Christ and suffer with him, our Heavenly Father will protect and guide and strengthen and bless us.

It's painful at first being here, but once you've freed your mind the feeling is incredible. And while most of us here have suffered, some are still sore, I'm confident none of us would say it wasn't worth it.

Keep Psalm 27 in your heart too.

15

On what occasions do JW's give undue 'worship' to humans?

by jambon1 in

jw
friends

celebrating birthdays is wrong according to the wts.

we all know their crazy reasoning on the matter.

so what are some occasions that jehovahs witnesses get involved with that give undue 'worship' to humans?

passwordprotected

@ Gregor;

LOL re. blood pressure pill!

Great example though, loved it.

12

How to not get disfellowshipped even though you do not believe anymore

by BonaFide in

this has been working for me well in talking with family and friends about "the truth.".

1. before you bring up a topic, talk about how we are allowed to ask questions, and we are encouraged to do so.

i have tried saying, "one thing i like about the organization is that it encourages us to use our minds, and we don't get into trouble for asking questions, the organization loves questions like the ancient bereans did.. 2. always phrase things in the form of a question.

passwordprotected

I have! I've been told never to talk them about my beliefs ever again. They've made themselves 'Do Not Calls'. Thus, I've very little to talk to them about anymore.

18

"Accept Jehovah's Authority" - Study Article 24th Aug

by passwordprotected in

what space does that leave for jehovah?

the theme text is 1 john 5:3 which refers to the un-burdensome commandments of god.

quite what that scripture has to do with authority is puzzling, as it talks about the love of god not jehovah's authority.

passwordprotected

Very fair assessment.

The reason the R&F accept this is because they feel the end is so near that we must obey the FDS so that we can be saved!

24

The growth from within - more focus on youth coming soon

by passwordprotected in

with the wts blatantly 'stealing' the lds practice of family worship (home) evening (see previous thread), i foresee them going even further.

[b]it's going to become about keeping the youth[/b].

think about it, asides from 3rd world countries, there's little growth happening from the door knocking.

passwordprotected

@Sir82

I agree, and I know of at least 3 people who eagerly the WTS making a change of such magnitude and ineptitude that allows them to leave the Org for good...Here's hoping.

24

The growth from within - more focus on youth coming soon

by passwordprotected in

with the wts blatantly 'stealing' the lds practice of family worship (home) evening (see previous thread), i foresee them going even further.

[b]it's going to become about keeping the youth[/b].

think about it, asides from 3rd world countries, there's little growth happening from the door knocking.

passwordprotected

@NewYork Sept 2008 KM Question Box.

24

The growth from within - more focus on youth coming soon

by passwordprotected in

with the wts blatantly 'stealing' the lds practice of family worship (home) evening (see previous thread), i foresee them going even further.

[b]it's going to become about keeping the youth[/b].

think about it, asides from 3rd world countries, there's little growth happening from the door knocking.

passwordprotected

I agree on their power hunger, and I agree on their wish to hold on to the panic-inducing Armageddon syndrome.

However, the foundations are in place for them to ease off on the 'it's right around the corner' teachings.

One of the key indicators to how 'close we are to the end' is the number of the remnant still on earth. They've been undermining that teaching for a while by stating that - contrary to what the book of Revelation says - some of the anointed will still be on earth AFTER the great trib. and beyond.

Factor in last year's 'bombshell' that the number of anointed was not, in fact, sealed in 1935 (duh; Rev 7:3 shows that it's right up until the great trib. before the number of anointed are sealed. Rutherford was an ass..).

This means that anyone can claim to be of the anointed, even a little 9 year old girl. She thus become part of the generation of Matthew 24:34.

Most Dubs haven't put the 2 together yet because they haven't seen both examples of 'new light' on the same page. But that day will come and the penny will drop that Armageddon is actually as far away as it's ever been and that, woah, maybe we actually won't know the day or hour after all!

It's my contention that the WTS are in it for the long haul. Yes, they make noises of 'it's closer than ever before', but their doctrinal changes play a different tune. Now we have shorter meetings, of which there are less of them. We have reduced hours for pioneers (oxymoron?). We have a tightening of the purse strings internationally (less magazines, fewer high-maintenance Bethelites). We have a distancing from the 1914 doctrine (hardly ever mentioned).

The WTS are settling themselves in for the wait, slowly unfolding the notion that, sorry folks, Armageddon could be as far away as ever, and look, we've adjusted our meetings and our doctrine to face that fact.

24

The growth from within - more focus on youth coming soon

by passwordprotected in

with the wts blatantly 'stealing' the lds practice of family worship (home) evening (see previous thread), i foresee them going even further.

[b]it's going to become about keeping the youth[/b].

think about it, asides from 3rd world countries, there's little growth happening from the door knocking.

passwordprotected

Re. the new publication;
I think they already have it - the public edition of the WT.

Example: the latest issue has the cover story re. the Bible foretelling the future. Here the use the classic bait and switch
- the second article discusses at length the Bible prophesying the arrival of the Messiah and how he, in turn, fulfilled many prophecies
- the third article turns to the 'last days' and features all of the signs from Matthew 24. What's interesting is that 1914 is mentioned only once, but not in reference to the last days, the start of the last days, the end of the Gentile times, or Christ taking heavenly power. Instead it's mentioned in direct relation to WWI

They also quote Paul's 'last days' "prophecy" and talk about how his words, along with Jesus', have all come true.

The last article is all about the paradise earth promises (all from the OT).

Let's get this straight;
This is the 2nd cover article this year dealing with the 'last days'. It very cleverly juxtaposes the prophecies re. the arrival of the Messiah - all of which are in concrete in scripture - with their own interpretation of Matt 24. Yet they do this with no reference to their dusty, creaky, limping chronology.

On the one hand the Dubs are still peddling the same old message. But now they're doing it without the pink elephant of the 1914 doctrine.

Expect more of the same.

18

"Accept Jehovah's Authority" - Study Article 24th Aug

by passwordprotected in

what space does that leave for jehovah?

the theme text is 1 john 5:3 which refers to the un-burdensome commandments of god.

quite what that scripture has to do with authority is puzzling, as it talks about the love of god not jehovah's authority.

passwordprotected

...and 99.9% of them refuse the sacrifice of Christ - the whole basis of the Christian faith - at their celebration of his death.

24

The growth from within - more focus on youth coming soon

by passwordprotected in

with the wts blatantly 'stealing' the lds practice of family worship (home) evening (see previous thread), i foresee them going even further.

[b]it's going to become about keeping the youth[/b].

think about it, asides from 3rd world countries, there's little growth happening from the door knocking.

passwordprotected

I'm not so sure about the anti-child stance being toned down. The most recent study article from earlier in the year was extremely negative against marriage and children, only highlighting the down-sides of family life. It was so bad at least one bro in our cong raised his hand and at length extolled the virtues of having children. He was clearly and openly offended at how the WTS was making it sound awful to bear children, when in reality having and raising children is highly rewarding and fulfilling, hence it being a gift from God...!

After the meeting a couple of 'spiritually strong' individuals commented to me that they thought the article was very unbalanced in it's view of child rearing.

A quick glance around at a typical assembly or convention shows the high numbers of young couples with young children, showing that of all things the WTS would like to clamp down on, child rearing is still happily taking place. I think it's worth noting the number of couples in their early 40s without children, as per the 1988 articles...

All in all the WTS must realise the number of children between the ages of 1 and 12. They must realise that holding on to these ones is the whole future of the Org. It has to be. The current crop of 17-24 year olds are, on the whole IMO, doing little. The ones leaving the Org, again IMO and experience, are among that age group. In the city within which I live there are very, very few young brothers reaching out.

So, the WTS will start to look to those under 12 year olds and realise that to survive past 2014 they need to nurture and develop (AKA brainwash) these youngsters to take up the reigns.

The young brothers with energy and zeal - and no family responsibilities - are leaving due to boredom and a failure to feel the WTS Trademarked 'urgency'.

Do the WTS feel they erred when the slacked off on the further education embargo back in the late 90s? Perhaps. The youngsters of that generation are leaving 'the truth' or are stagnant! So, tighten up on the education policies now so that when the current 11 or 12 year olds reach school leaving age, they'll be so set on a 'career in the truth' that they'll be cemented into the Org for at least a further 10 years. Hey, it worked before...

But maybe they've learned from some mistakes. Maybe they're now realising that to hold on to the youth they need to give them something back. Family Worship Evening may be a start, but I can't help but think there's more focus on youth coming to the KH very soon.