http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2l8uvv3gytw.
He uses a couple of JW buzz words, but he sure doesn't sound like he's been exposed to the JW religion.
At best, he may have studied for a bit and gone to one or two meetings. Even then the info they asked for doesn't make sense. He should have known the people who came to his door, so he could have asked them.
startfragment.
for what's is worth (since this topic comes up frequently) here are, in simple terms, the primary teachings the society has used to define the "generation".
1897 a group of contemporary people.
OnTheWayOut,
I thoroughly enjoyed your WatchTower paragraph adjusting our understanding of the generation. If a member of the Writing Committe is lurking on here, he might just copy that to a personal file for use in a future issue.
The WTS has already hinted at 2034 as being significant as it is 120 years from 1914. I beleve it was in an '03 WT, the same one that Ray Franz highlighted in CoC.
SM
i saw one up close and personal because the jw annointed sister who was studying with me, told me that if i looked up every scripture in her (illegally gotten before the school started) pioneer school book and cut it out of old green nwts and pasted them in the margins, it would make her a stronger pioneer and jehovah would reward me.
and in the process i would learn where things were in the bible.. gosh what an incredible honor i was blessed with!
you know i did it..i didnt know a damn thing.
winstonchurchill:
I agree that it's cool to have an ex-CO here. Are you still serving as an elder? Can you relate your story, or have you already and I missed it?
i saw one up close and personal because the jw annointed sister who was studying with me, told me that if i looked up every scripture in her (illegally gotten before the school started) pioneer school book and cut it out of old green nwts and pasted them in the margins, it would make her a stronger pioneer and jehovah would reward me.
and in the process i would learn where things were in the bible.. gosh what an incredible honor i was blessed with!
you know i did it..i didnt know a damn thing.
I can confirm that they let you keep it. I've thrown out a lot of stuff, but I still have the pioneer book because it makes me feel "elite."
When I flip through it, I can't believe how many notes I've written in the margins referring to "life-saving work". I must have thought I was pretty important.
i saw one up close and personal because the jw annointed sister who was studying with me, told me that if i looked up every scripture in her (illegally gotten before the school started) pioneer school book and cut it out of old green nwts and pasted them in the margins, it would make her a stronger pioneer and jehovah would reward me.
and in the process i would learn where things were in the bible.. gosh what an incredible honor i was blessed with!
you know i did it..i didnt know a damn thing.
I have my book from the Pioneer School I attended about 6 or 7 years ago. The school was very long and boring (missed out on 2 weeks work), and the book was nothing special.
The one positive thing that came from Pioneer School: this was when I finally realized that the WTS teaches that only baptized JWs in good standing and their children will survive Armageddon. I've always suspected this, but like most JWs I didn't want to believe it. My doubts started at this point so some good came from Pioneer School.
SM
well where do i start, perhaps will go into more detail later, though briefly - 40 years young, raised in the truth (kingdom baby, which meant i was never going to make it to primary/secondary school/work/get married/have kids....) former ms, regular pioneer, learnt 3 foreign languages, served in foreign language group, married (wife still goes to meetings), beautiful kids, baptised at 15 years of age, regular pioneer at 15, grew up in divided house.. .
hmmm, will go into my issues with all things organisational later, though firstly want to apologise, for being a self righteous spiritual pratt who did things by the book and sat with other elders/mss and prejudged others for not doing enough and having a wrong attitude about all matters spiritual and organisational.
i stepped down as an ms over a year ago (they were grooming me to be an elder), havent been to a meeting in 3 months, i knew it wasnt the truth for a number of years and have struggled badly the last few years.
Welcome! I look forward to more insightful posts from you.
is there a way to know in any given period of time, like a month or year, how many visit jwd/jwn that are non-members.
so many of the newbies mention they have been "long time lookers"...... that i am now curious.
i can understand why early doubting dubs are prob scared to death at first, since any non-jw material is so taboo...they prob just take a quick peek....then another....then really start reading and looking back on on threads..............oomps.
I have spent countless hours on this site since last summer. There have always been things I thought were not right, but when I got home from the DC, these things seemed to all of a sudden add up and set off alarms. I did some research and arrived here pretty quickly. By the time I felt comfortable enough to register the site was no longer accepting new people. But here I am now!
Thanks to Simon for keeping the board open! This site has been invaluable to me.
SM
thinking about this paradise thingy lately, possibly due to a@g's video.
just because wt figures out there is both a earthly hope in addition to a heavenly hope around 1936 i guess, how did they come up with the idea that all christians prior to that date were all heavenly?
there was no big date prophesied like 1914 regarding 1936, so how did they decide the number 144k were sealed then, and that everyone from then on will be stuck on earth?.
These are good points. I can't believe I never realized when I was in how many assumptions the WTS makes to support their doctrines.
One thing that really bothers me is how the WTS can make changes to their doctrines and interpretations and JWs hardly seem to notice. But I would love to be there for the WT study when the "new light" is revealed that the 144,000 is not literal, but is a symbolic number after all! I think that would be one of the few "corrections" that would actually get the drones' attention.
SM
if jws would stop shunning - how many do you think would disappear from meetings in 1 year?.
my guess: 30%.
albert.
It's very hard to say. I know I would be one of those who would leave in an instant if the shunning tactics were not enforced. Who knows how many others only stay in to maintain contact with their family and/or friends? It's not exactly something you share with others in your congregation.
Based on my observations with peers I have grown up with and the apathetic attitude in my congo, 30% just might be accurate. Those who are semi-regular at meetings and in service and who rarely comment would be good candidates.
SM
the use of the word "soon" at the kh is used so much by jw's.
that it has almost turned into a "soon" doctrine.. i counted the word soon 15 times at the meeting yesterday during the.
public talk and wt.
You're absolutely right! "Soon" has got to be the most over used non-theocratic word in JWS literature and meetings. This fun new exercise gives me something to look forward to next meeting. And people will think I'm taking notes - they'll be shocked! I just attended our SAD, I wish I had this idea then!
SM
