me i'm a 2nd generation (in the real sense of the word) witness. many of us are suffering the consequences of what our parents or grandparents got into at a time when becoming a JW wasn't so intellectually shameful and actually sort of made sense.
agent zero
JoinedPosts by agent zero
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26
Long time lurker, but new here.
by ICUstaryn inafter watching serenity's video i had to comment.
i kept pausing the video looking for family members or others that i might know but haven't seen in years.
hated the drive to holt, but loved the soft serve ice cream.
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Long time lurker, but new here.
by ICUstaryn inafter watching serenity's video i had to comment.
i kept pausing the video looking for family members or others that i might know but haven't seen in years.
hated the drive to holt, but loved the soft serve ice cream.
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agent zero
Welcome!
wow 5-6 years is a long time lurkin'!
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GB said, "We will change our name from Jehovah's Witnesses if..." where was this stated...
by Praise YaHuWaH inhello all!
can anyone provide me the link or the document where the gb stated basically that they would change their name of jehovah's witnesses... specifically jehovah if there was new light on the name.. or words to that effect.
i read it somewhere once on a mentally diseased apostates webpage... lol and i cannot recall where... .
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agent zero
sorry, never heard anything to that effect
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Some pretty blatant stuff coming up in bookstudy
by agent zero inso i was reading ahead in the bookstudy book "bearing thorough witness" about god's kingdom, and i came upon some shockingly direct damage control on behalf of the gb in the material for the upcoming weeks.. on page 104: what a privilege it is to be instructed and molded by our patient and kind heavenly father!
the results are always good and always to our advantage.
so let us never proudly push ahead with our own ideas or react negatively to organizational changes or to adjusted explanations of certain scriptures.
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agent zero
So i was reading ahead in the bookstudy book "Bearing Thorough Witness" About God's Kingdom, and i came upon some shockingly direct damage control on behalf of the GB in the material for the upcoming weeks.
on page 104: What a privilege it is to be instructed and molded by our patient and kind heavenly Father! The results are always good and always to our advantage. So let us never proudly push ahead with our own ideas or react negatively to organizational changes or to adjusted explanations of certain scriptures. If you detect even a hint of such a tendency in yourself, why not meditate prayerfully on the timely principles found in Acts chapter 15?
box on page 105: Today, too, Jehovah's people adjust their beliefs to conform to revealed truth; they do not force the Scriptures to fit their views. Impartial observers have recognized this fact.
on page 123: Similarly, Jehovah's Witnesses today enjoy the blessings that come from submissively obeying the direction received from "those who are taking the lead" among them. Because the scene of this world is always changing, is it vital that Christians keep pace with the spiritual food provided by "the faithful and discreet slave." Doing so can prevent spiritual calamity and help us to remain without spot from the world. [...] But because the Governing Body strictly follows God's Word and sticks to the pattern set by the apostles, they prove themselves trustworthy. As a result, the congregations are being strengthened and made firm in the faith.
it will be interesting to see how that goes..
comments?
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Governing Body... meet WORLD... world... meet Governing Body! The JW Survey website has been launched!!
by cedars inwell, things have moved very quickly with the survey, and it now has it's very own website at www.jwsurvey.org!!.
if you are new to this forum and would like to have your say on what the governing body is teaching and practicing, then please visit this new site and register your views.. for those of you that have followed the development of the survey over the past month or so, feel free to visit and take a look around.. the website gives those who participate in the annual survey the opportunity to review the results of the survey at the same time as they register their responses.
that way they can get a feel for how the rest of the world is voting once they have submitted their own answers.. you can also check out the progress of the survey by logging on from time to time (anonymously, of course) and checking out the latest results.. there will also be a number of "mini surveys" run regularly, which i feel represent a completely unique experience for those who enjoy visiting jw-related forums.
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agent zero
cool! thanks for doing this! i'm going to check it out right now.
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Question...?
by cptkirk indoes anyone come into this religion who is doing well in life?
not to say any one particular person never did well in life, but when they were studying and getting baptized, at that particular time in their life, were things going good for them?.
i'm trying to figure out if anyone comes into this religion, while life is going good for them.
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agent zero
cptkirk - yes you're right they are exposed to many depressing things, but you'd think they have a higher level of education and a more scientific and rational way of thinking.
DoC - again, there's a real or perceived need for a moral environment that could easily be filled otherwise, AND JW relatives, so not truely PURE converts..
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Question...?
by cptkirk indoes anyone come into this religion who is doing well in life?
not to say any one particular person never did well in life, but when they were studying and getting baptized, at that particular time in their life, were things going good for them?.
i'm trying to figure out if anyone comes into this religion, while life is going good for them.
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agent zero
not "only", but mostly... you know... generalizing
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Question...?
by cptkirk indoes anyone come into this religion who is doing well in life?
not to say any one particular person never did well in life, but when they were studying and getting baptized, at that particular time in their life, were things going good for them?.
i'm trying to figure out if anyone comes into this religion, while life is going good for them.
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agent zero
For that reason I suspect that a greater concentration of troubled, uneducated and/or lazy-minded recruits tend to dominate the demographic in developed countries now more so than then.
thats a great way of putting it. whereas in the past, both troubled and successful (and anywhere in between) people would get sucked into the org, the internet age has put a filter over those on the top half of that scale, leaving only the lower half walking blindly into k-halls.
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agent zero
me too spiritual not religious. (i have a feeling that's the most common response you'll be getting here)
the two terms are quite different but are traditionally a bit of a package deal, ESPECIALLY to JWs to whom they are one and the same distorted unreality. however it still depends on a personal interpretation of each.
to me, religious, besides the belonging to an organized religion part, connotes belief, doctrine, tradition, specifics.
spiritual is a much looser, more organic identification, connoting open-mindedness, appreciation, interest, relativity.
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Question...?
by cptkirk indoes anyone come into this religion who is doing well in life?
not to say any one particular person never did well in life, but when they were studying and getting baptized, at that particular time in their life, were things going good for them?.
i'm trying to figure out if anyone comes into this religion, while life is going good for them.
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agent zero
wow! this is a great topic! all of your insight and viewpoints so far are very interesting.
the question of disadvantaged ones being more prone to JW conversion is a facinating one. i certainly don't think a blanket statement or generalization can be made about it, because there are ALWAYS exceptions. as was already brought out, often people who seem to have it all together outwardly, have other internal issues others don't know about. it could be "issues" in the traditional sense, or emotional needs, or perceived needs- or even spiritual or intellectual ones if those can be considered needs, more like longings. and almost all people feel there's something they need. whatever the case, all those needs can be adressed by other means and for many they are. but the WTS presents itself from many different angles, covering all these perceived needs. line the correct approach up with the right person and you could have a connection.
i'm not saying that's how all conversion takes place. there are tons of other factors, just like the tons of factors that make up a persons personality, which are actually the same, since basically those factors determine if someone has the personality inclined to listen to a message.
i also think that that's more how it used to be, and still is in the 3rd world. but things are changing with education and the internet. people who would still be initially inclined to show interest, and follow up on that interest, will look up JWs on the internet which IMO is a near-certain roadblock. even at last night's meeting, the brother playing the part of householder in the service demo, said "thank you, i will look up more about that on the internet." (if only he actually would!)
in my case, i'm a born-in, so it doesn't count in this. but i've seen a number of converts come in, or be in the process. i would say that the majority of these are "loser" types, some downright bizarre people, or ones who have almost nothing going for them. there are also contrasting examples, such as one guy, albeit divorced, jovial guy, very nice and wealthy too, got baptized and is now an elder and made his 2 kids witnesses too. also, a nice 20something regular girl came out of nowhere, got baptized and is now pioneering-- BUT it turns out they both had witness links in the past (the divorced elder's mom was a witness but died when he was a kid; the pioneer girl also turns out to have some JW relatives living somewhere far away)
also a medical professional, very wealthy AND intelligent also, became an unbaptized publisher just recently. that one puzzles me still..