can anyone tell me if associating with dfd/dad people or reading "apostate" literature is a disfellowshipping offense?
is it one of those unwritten rules, or is there something written about it in the wt?
kj
I've known of witnesses who we're 'caught' reading apostate literature. They were warned not to continue, and were certainly 'marked', but if they kept to themselves they were OK. No DF/DA action taken.
Elders have privately told individual dubs that they can read whatever they want, the problems start when it goes public in the hall.
the theme text for jehovah's witnesses this year is, "keep on the watch...prove yourselves ready.
" (matthew 24:42, 44) .
and what a year it has been for the watchtower bible & tract society.
My staunch JW sibling recently informed me that she plans on starting Grad School in a few months. I can't tell you how freakin' happy I am.
More and more, it seems that the dubs are picking and choosing what WT crap to pay attention to, and discarding the rest. That choke-hold sense of absolutism is apparently waning; I applaude that.
It is a slippery slope, and the WT is painfully aware that if witnesses ignore WT demands on 'minor' issues, it is only a matter of time before they do the same on 'major' ones. I expect a hard-line crackdown from the Tower.
Or maybe, this is it. Maybe this is the best the WT can do...print worthless articles that go largely ignored.
dear friends:.
most witnesses do not vote, and have not done so for many years, although strictly speaking current watchtower policy does not forbid voting in a political election, but rather leaves it as a matter of conscience.
so, it is up to each witness to decide for themselves if it is ok to vote or not.
Heh - I can't wait until some candidate runs on a platform promising to close the deficit by taxing the hell outta religions.
Watch and be amazed as mysterious, wonderful 'New Light' tells the WT that witnesses can vote in good conscience, as long as they're voting to protect the cult's dollars.
Once upon a time, I would've never believed such a thing possible. Once upon a time I was quite stupid.
my best friend and his girlfriend came over for a visit tonight.
he used to be a jw, drifted away, and is a very spiritually enlightened person.
she is a mormon.
On a side note - how do I get rid of that yellow highlight on my text after I use the quote feature?
my best friend and his girlfriend came over for a visit tonight.
he used to be a jw, drifted away, and is a very spiritually enlightened person.
she is a mormon.
he is in the top 2 percentile of those who WILL NEVER become Mormon or any other high control religion.
Regarding your friend, or anyone else, how is this determined?
How do I find out what percentile I'm in?
it was discussed by the president & kerry, it will be all over the news over the next few days because of the death of a hero, for some reason the stem cell issue scares me and i dont think i could support it, taking some voiceless life to improve another, maybe i am misinformed?
it all seems unethical.
i dont know all the facts, can you enlighten me please?.
Seems to me that once we can divorce the stem-cell issue from abortion, some real progress can be made. Then, the science can stand or fall on its own merits.
I guess someone better get crackin' on obtaining stem cells in a way that doesen't involve human embryos? I imagine once that happens, most objections would go away?
the internet has only been around for 10 years, yet it has profoundly changed the way we live, work and entertain ourselves.
particularly for children, they have readily adapted to this technology so much so, that teachers and educators are finding that their traditional based curriculums are leaving kids bored.
these are the kids who are used to surfing, instant messenging and downloading digital music.
I see the WT in a catch 22...
Discourage kids from getting college diplomas, and their main source of future cult members have a limited earning potential. Limited earnings mean limited donations.
Let up with the anti-college crap, and the future dubbers may earn more and donate more, but are more likely to leave.
It can't be both ways. The WT is gonna have to decide what they like more : brainwashed loyalists or $$.
My guess is that cash flow will win out over the hard-line position on college, eventually. After all, this is a business we're talking about. I just hope it doesen't take too long. Enough people have made regrettable career decisions based on heavy-handed WT advise.
i remember when i was growing up in the 70's and 80's the thought of even looking at a birthday card was thought to be satanic.
now i hear that jw's are alittle lax on celebrating holidays.
my niece who is not a jw but lives with my mom who is a devout jw had christmas lights in her room and the elders came over to my mom's house and did not raise cain and abel.
To Little-Toe's point -
The WT seemed to make an allowance for JW women with 'worldly' husbands. In so many words, they told these women to do what their husband demands regarding holidays.
I found this quite telling. I believe that this crap will loosen up over the next few years - they have bigger fish to fry.
HYBRIDOUS
i was speaking to a lady today who isnt a witness.
she's a very intellegent, well educated and well travelled girl, and she tells me how much she enjoys reading the watchtower and awake.
i said to her that she has to be joking, and she tells me that she she likes them a lot.
I certainly don't enjoy reading that crap, but I force myself to. The family that I love is in the WT cult, and I need to know what's going on in their lives.
as an animal lover, i have some questions jws have never dared to breach (according to a search of jw publications).
if humans die because of inheriting adam and eve's sin, why do animals die?
were animals created imperfect?.
I always figured that animals died, simply because, nature needs them to.
If humans lived forever or grew old and died, nature would still need complex biomolecules fed into the ecosystem to sustain itself. Plants need nutrients from soil, and these must be continuously be replenished. The answer: dead animals.
