Posts by freddo

42

Beards

by HowTheBibleWasCreated in

i have a beard.

i spend a month on vacation with no worry from the congregation overseas of course.

i grew a full beard now and with glasses i finally have posted my picture on facebook og me... next to half life 2 cover showing i look like gordan freeman lol.

Here (UK) it is the elders decision for each cong. - but of course the "Alpha's" and "Brownnosers" want to be seen to be "progressing" to be the circuit overseer's henchmen at the assembly halls and be seen on the assembly platform so they look up the line to the CO and dance to his merry tune.

His pressure comes from the Branch (where no beards are allowed) and so they, with an eye on the GB looking over their shoulder will decide and tell the CO's what "the policy is".

Here in middle England each cong BoE makes up it's own mind and about 50% allow beards on appointed men on all duties including public talks. I hear that this recent WT has made some BoE swing more to leniency so on this matter an improvement may start to be seen.

Strangely though, on circuit and district (regional) assembly volunteering (attendants etc) and KH construction beards have not been a problem - at least round here.

9

When leaving was due to "Sin" and not Apostasy

by Cat2016 in

it has been 18 years since i decided to leave and fade away, and at that time i was feeling a lot of pressure that i wasn't doing enough, didn't fit in with the folks in my congregation, and was unhappy in my young jw marriage.

needless to say i recklessly went and had an affair that left me pregnant.

i did not know what to do, i panicked and got major anxiety.

freddo

Welcome. We can offer you much non-judgemental support and advice. You can still respect the teachings of Jesus or even continue to believe he is your saviour and that Jehovah is his father without having to ally yourself to any religion or cult.

Personally, as an ex elder who still attends some meetings to keep a relationship with family and a handful of "semi-awake" but attending friends I hate what the drilled in beliefs of the WT a.k.a jwborg do to good people.

Please let us help you on your journey.

24

I guess the latest WT killed any hope of US jws growing beards.

by Crazyguy in

in my area i'd guess 30% of the men maybe more have some kind of beard.

this craps gotta wake up somebody still in!.

freddo

P17. What are some factors that may affect whether a brother wears a beard?

17 What about the propriety of brothers wearing a beard? The Mosaic Law required men to wear a beard. However, Christians are not under the Mosaic Law, nor are they obliged to observe it. (Lev. 19:27; 21:5;Gal. 3:24, 25) In some cultures, a neatly trimmed beard may be acceptable and respectable, and it may not detract at all from the Kingdom message. In fact, some appointed brothers have beards. Even so, some brothers might decide not to wear a beard. (1 Cor. 8:9,13; 10:32) In other cultures or localities, beards are not the custom and are not considered acceptable for Christian ministers. In fact, having one may hinder a brother from bringing glory to God by his dress and grooming and his being irreprehensible.—Rom. 15:1-3; 1 Tim. 3:2, 7.

24

I guess the latest WT killed any hope of US jws growing beards.

by Crazyguy in

in my area i'd guess 30% of the men maybe more have some kind of beard.

this craps gotta wake up somebody still in!.

freddo

It was the last Sunday -13th Nov - study WT. (September 2016 study edition of the WT) Article entitled:-

"Does Your Style of Dress Glorify God?" paragraph 17.

It is of course written so you can have hours of endless debate but here in my patch of the UK (Southern England but not on Bethel's doorstep) this article has been read as slackening control. I even heard that one nearby body of elders nearby discussed the article and relaxed their "no beards" rule for appointed men.

35

Some recent baptism figures in the UK - is there a "bounce back"?

by freddo in

jw
friends

well, round my way (south of the uk) all the way up to and including the regional conventions this summer, baptism numbers have been extremely low.

but i have just received news of three recent circuit assembly days where the figures seem to be higher.

(all have been across the last three weekends at a uk assembly hall in october).

freddo

@Dropoff ...

Good to hear normal low service is being resumed!

13

Update on MIL shunning

by BeautifulMind in

hello on this beautiful sunday!

just a quick little update to the post i made a few months ago about my mil shunning us.

quick recap: during a convo after she attended the rc and was going on and on about how powerful it was and how great the videos were, blah, blah, blah...i couldn't take it anymore and told her that's not our lives anymore and i didn't want to hear anymore about it and to please respect that and move on to something else to talk about.

freddo

@diogenesister

Indeed. But it doesn't say "young" children and it doesn't say anything about which roof they live under. And Beautiful mind is not even DFD or DA'D so paragraph one applies.

Of course for a JW to break the unwritten, the spoken behind the hand and the implied rules he/she needs to be prepared to stand up to the social pressure within dubland but for the reverse Nicodemus's amongst them there is that loophole.

13

Update on MIL shunning

by BeautifulMind in

hello on this beautiful sunday!

just a quick little update to the post i made a few months ago about my mil shunning us.

quick recap: during a convo after she attended the rc and was going on and on about how powerful it was and how great the videos were, blah, blah, blah...i couldn't take it anymore and told her that's not our lives anymore and i didn't want to hear anymore about it and to please respect that and move on to something else to talk about.

freddo

Those who were baptized as Jehovah’s Witnesses but no longer preach to others, perhaps even drifting away from association with fellow believers, are not shunned. In fact, we reach out to them and try to rekindle their spiritual interest.
We do not automatically disfellowship someone who commits a serious sin. If, however, a baptized Witness makes a practice of breaking the Bible’s moral code and does not repent, he or she will be shunned or disfellowshipped. The Bible clearly states: “Remove the wicked man from among yourselves.”—1 Corinthians 5:13.
What of a man who is disfellowshipped but whose wife and children are still Jehovah’s Witnesses? The religious ties he had with his family change, but blood ties remain. The marriage relationship and normal family affections and dealings continue.

13

Update on MIL shunning

by BeautifulMind in

hello on this beautiful sunday!

just a quick little update to the post i made a few months ago about my mil shunning us.

quick recap: during a convo after she attended the rc and was going on and on about how powerful it was and how great the videos were, blah, blah, blah...i couldn't take it anymore and told her that's not our lives anymore and i didn't want to hear anymore about it and to please respect that and move on to something else to talk about.

freddo

Not easy beautiful mind. Well done for sticking to your principles.

Direct her to the FAQ on dotborg and ask her why it is different to the videos she sees at the assembly and the CLAM meeting.

"Do Jehovah's Witnesses Shun Former Members of Their Religion?

Those who were baptized as Jehovah’s Witnesses but no longer preach to others, perhaps even drifting away from association with fellow believers, are not shunned. In fact, we reach out to them and try to rekindle their spiritual interest.

42

Beards

by HowTheBibleWasCreated in

i have a beard.

i spend a month on vacation with no worry from the congregation overseas of course.

i grew a full beard now and with glasses i finally have posted my picture on facebook og me... next to half life 2 cover showing i look like gordan freeman lol.