The WTBTS is the North Korean of American religions.
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JoinedPosts by passwordprotected
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76
Bizarre comment about jw.org at SAD
by sir82 inrecently attended a sad.. bethel speaker was gushing about the wt's embrace of new technology, in the part of his talk warning about "apostate" web sites.. a loose summary of his comments:.
"and the brothers at headquarters have made it very safe for you to go to our website.
in fact, the brothers talked to the folks at google, and they made a special arrangement so that when you type in 'j w period' into the google search engine, it automatically shows you the jw.org website.
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Standing on Street Corners, Counting Time - the Impotent Future of Preaching
by passwordprotected inyou see them all over the place now, 2 or 3 of them standing near a portable display of bible-based literature, chatting to each other.
counting time.. i've seen them in london, glasgow and cluj (romania).
the portable display is always the same.
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You see them all over the place now, 2 or 3 of them standing near a portable display of Bible-based literature, chatting to each other. Counting time.
I've seen them in London, Glasgow and Cluj (Romania). The portable display is always the same. Their behaviour is always the same. The effectiveness at reaching the globe with the good news of the kingdom is always the same.
The other consistent element is that I've never once seen anyone approach them to discuss their Bible-based literature, nor have I ever seen them seek to engage any passerby.
For example, 2 weeks ago I was approaching Unirii Square in Cluj-Napoca, and there they were, right on the corner of the busy thorough-fare. It was a Sunday afternoon, the sun was out and people were milling around with their kids like in any European town on a sunny Sunday afternoon. The portable display stand was stood a few metres away from the wall of the building they were standing in front of, the "they" being two JW women in their late 20s and one older JW man.
My companion jokingly pointed over to them and said in English "he used to be one of yours", refering to me. We both chuckled. The JWs looked over at us, then quickly looked away again. No effort was made by them to engage us in conversation or even to return our smiles. They quickly went back to talking to each other. Ignoring us.
Folks, we've seen the future of the JW worldwide preaching campaign. And its even more ineffective than it was before. Praise Jah, you people...
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Goodbye JWD/JWN (my last post)
by slimboyfat inafter some considerable thought i have decided that i will no longer post on this forum because i want to return to jehovah.
thank you for all the kindness and many interesting discussions over the years.
i wish you all well in the future and the decisions you make.
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I remember Slimboyfat saying a thread argument with me years ago that he still went to the meetings, anyway. His reasons included he didn't want his aunt to stop speaking to him.
Maybe that's what's happened now.
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Is Jesus just an "escape" for ex-jws and Born Agains to hide their unhappiness?
by booker-t init is amazing how clear everything is when you just except yourself for whoever you are and not try to live up to a certain expectation.
since i have been out i have received my ba in psychology and now i am in grad school working on my ma in counseling therapy.
and one of the things i have learned since being in school is that i believe people try to use jesus as an escape for unhappiness.
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In a word, yes.
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Unstop, what about seikhs, Muslims etc who claim to have felt the spirit of their god'S?
BTW, I disassociated and was baptised in a Christian church in 2010. Once I studied the historicity of Jesus and and the bible I realised what quite a few new revelations.
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My struggle in leaving WTBTS - What is yours- if you want to share?
by Junebuggie inmy struggle- my journey finding salvationoctober 16, 2013 at 8:03pm"anyone who believes in the son of god has this testimony: god has given us eternal life, and this life is in his son.
he who has the son has life; he who does not have the son of god does not have life.
i write these things to you who believe in the name of the son of god so that you may know that you have eternal life.
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I left the WTBTS in July 2008. Around a month later I started going to a local evangelical church, and as a result was deemed as disassociated by my former congregation.
I did the whole "finding Jesus" thing, had a "conversion" experience, talked in tongues, felt filled by the "holy spirit" etc etc.
However, when I realised that many people of many difference religions at times experience similar things I concluded that "Jesus" and the "holy spirit" have nothing to do with it.
Since then I've lost all notions of faith and have never been happier, freer, more confident and more optimistic.
Replacing one all-consuming religion for another is common. But it's best to move into a place where your faith and trust is in yourself.
Enjoy life.
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What Happens at Judicial Committee Meeting on Apostasy
by passwordprotected inthis was a famous case here in the uk, based around the experiences of matt barrie (aka hobo ken).
we've uploaded the audio recording of his judicial committee meeting with the glasgow bishopbriggs congregation elders and you can listen/download the (long) unedited file here:.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/k1pajlf7duc5zgh/matt%20judicial%20raw.mp3.
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We're all getting on with our lives. I haven't seen Ninja for a while, but I know he's moved on from the ex-JW stuff, as have I for the most part. I'm agnostic to the point of atheism these days.
I see Hobo Ken and Lorraine fairly regularly.
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What Happens at Judicial Committee Meeting on Apostasy
by passwordprotected inthis was a famous case here in the uk, based around the experiences of matt barrie (aka hobo ken).
we've uploaded the audio recording of his judicial committee meeting with the glasgow bishopbriggs congregation elders and you can listen/download the (long) unedited file here:.
https://www.dropbox.com/s/k1pajlf7duc5zgh/matt%20judicial%20raw.mp3.
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passwordprotected
This was a famous case here in the UK, based around the experiences of Matt Barrie (aka Hobo Ken). We've uploaded the audio recording of his judicial committee meeting with the Glasgow Bishopbriggs Congregation elders and you can listen/download the (long) unedited file here:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/k1pajlf7duc5zgh/Matt%20Judicial%20RAW.MP3
Matt appealled the decision, and his appeal committee meeting hearing can be downloaded here (again unedted):
https://www.dropbox.com/s/0058vb4sz896ff9/Matt%20Judicial%20Appeal%20RAW.MP3
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Burglars posing as JWs, will WTS change D2D
by doinmypart inhttp://www.wsbtv.com/news/news/local/burglars-pose-jehovahs-witness/nblnt/.
in georgia, u.s. burglars are posing as jws, canvassing and breaking into homes.
something similar happened a couple months ago in nevada.
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I'm seeing more and more JWs hanging around "ministry carts" in city centres. Is there already a move afoot to do less actual door-to-door (in your face) witnessing, and be more like wallpaper, merely in the background?
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Anticipating future changes in the organisation - crystal ball gazing
by yadda yadda 2 ini posted the comment below on another thread on elders stepping down.
although i left the jw's years ago, i still hold a fascination for the evolution of the religion and am curious on what future trends and developments may occur.
so i thought i would start a thread on what future changes you think will occur in the organisation as the years go by, either doctrinally or organisationally:.
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I left the Org in 2008, a few months after the letter re. the abolishment of home book studies was read. Back then the Org was riding a cusp, particularly locally in the Glasgow, UK area; many foreign language groups had been started (I was part of the Farsi one in Glasgow for a while), a few foreign language congregations had been started.
But now I know that behind closed doors the WTBTS was starting to fight fires in terms of the child abuse cases.
How much of a toll have they really had on the resources of the corporation? And with no end to them in sight, I can only imagine further claw backs sanctioned.
Is the WTBTS moving more "mainstream", as high-control religious groups go? Are they trying to draw their head back in, what with no more tract campaigns denouncing all other religions and attacked big politics?
Does the Governing Body intend to keep flexing its control over the R&F, while minimising the religion's already tiny footprint, keeping it out of the news - below the radar, so to speak- all the while gradually lightening the expectations of works on the R&F (ie. numerous meeting attendance and double-digit ministry hours), reinventing themselves as a religion for families who just want a secure, moral framework to bring their kids up in (from the outside, at least)?
The foreign language field, I'd have to imagine, is shrinking, and I'm seeing more and more "ministry carts" popping up in big cities; is the emphasis moving away from actually speaking to people at their doors to just standing on a street, hoping "interested ones" will approach? Such a tactic lessens the public's consciousness of the religion; they aren't at the doors on a Saturday morning, they just blend in with the street architecture in city centres?