Posts by sd-7

10

Observation on the external appearance of Kingdom Halls (or are they JW.ORG facilities?)

by sd-7 in

i happened to be picking up the family from the kingdom hall today, and it struck me how the outside appearance has changed a little.

i know it's not new, but perhaps being away from it all for so long made a difference.. of course i noticed the blue jw.org box on the side labeled "kingdom hall of jehovah's witnesses", but it was two things that stood out to me.

the first thing was the meeting times.

sd-7

I happened to be picking up the family from the Kingdom Hall today, and it struck me how the outside appearance has changed a little. I know it's not new, but perhaps being away from it all for so long made a difference.

Of course I noticed the blue JW.ORG box on the side labeled "Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses", but it was two things that stood out to me. The first thing was the meeting times. The second thing was the complete lack of any mention of Jesus Christ anywhere on the outside of the building.

The meeting times: Instead of "Theocratic Ministry School" or "Watchtower Study", now it's "Midweek Meeting" and "Weekend Meeting". That's a really vague description. Seems to fit into the "inside information vs. outside information" category. Not harmful in itself, but why be so cryptic with the names?

Jesus: Well, we know the deal here. But, and I say this without holding onto a bunch of anger about it, how is it that a WEBSITE gets more mention outside your building than JESUS CHRIST? This is supposed to be the one true Christian religion, yet a visitor would be unable to identify you as a Christian meeting facility. Strictly speaking, "Jehovah's Witnesses" could easily be applied to a Jewish synagogue, given the Old Testament origin of that phrase. It was addressed to the Jews, after all. It simply underscores the feeling I've had since waking up, that the organization is an idol, it gives itself more attention than Jesus Christ. Or worse, lumps him in as another part of the organization, rather than truly being the Head of every man, as it were.

I could be wrong, and I've got other problems to attend to. Just wanted to share those thoughts. I know this is an old topic, but thought it was worth mentioning. As opposed to other things I could talk about (Borg cubes are inbound again, but they're probably not coming for me, this time). Until later, you lying, treacherous, ravenous wolves.

--sd-7

28

Do You Ever Have Dreams You’re Still a JW?

by jp1692 in

last night i dreamt i was at a circuit assembly; i even had a walk-on speaking part early in the morning program.

i spent the rest of the day “working” the event in a security detail.

the dream lasted until the entire day’s program was over.

sd-7

Yes, I've had these recurring dreams. The last one I had, I was out in the recruiting work, going from door to door. The people I met were actually pretty nice, but I had this nagging feeling that something was terribly wrong. Usually I'm just in the audience at a meeting or assembly or what have you. Other times I'm arguing with my mom, or an elder, about doctrine, and it bleeds over into my waking moments for a little while.

My therapist suggested I try to take control in the dream. I had another, different recurring dream while I was still on the inside, and that strategy worked. (Usually the other recurring dream was terrifying, and invoked fear of being possessed by a demon. From trying to have sex with me, to attempting to take over my mind, to offer me what I assumed were magic spells on a computer screen, it was always weird. I'd always pray in the dream, and it would go away. But eventually, in the dream, I fought it off myself, and it went away. I never had the dreams again, after that.) Perhaps it's a tricky thing to do while you're asleep, but I'm curious to see if I can accomplish the same thing again. Cue 'Inception' music.

--sd-7

13

"Its not about the numbers...Its about Love"

by Solzhenitsyn in

in the org did anyone ever tell you that its not about the numbers...yet the reality was that it was all about the numbers?.

i ran into a pimi who asked why my family and i were awol.

i told him that it was private and personal and i wasn't at liberty to discuss it.

sd-7

I say we let the WT speak for itself, with regards to numbers:

*** w60 10/1 p.579 NumbersAreNotEnough***

NUMBERS are not a sound basis on which to build faith. If Christianity had been founded on numbers, it would have failed. At Christianity’s darkest hour, namely, when Jesus was on the torture stake, there was not one of his apostles that stood by him. Yet Christianity triumphed, not because of its numbers, rather because it is of God.

Large numbers tend to create a false sense of security.

*** w60 10/1 p.580 NumbersAreNotEnough***

Today, religious organizations have a habit of pointing to their great numbers and wealth as proof of their being favored by God.

*** w092/15pp.26-27par.10They“KeepFollowingtheLamb”***

Shortly before he ascended to heaven, the resurrected Jesus appeared to his faithful disciples and made a promise to them, saying: “Look! I am with you all the days until the conclusion of the system of things.” (Matt. 28:20) Has this promise proved reliable? In the last 15 years, the number of congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses worldwide has grown from some 70,000 to over 100,000—an increase of over 40 percent. And what about the new disciples added? Nearly 4.5 million disciples were baptized in the last 15 years—an average of more than 800 a day. These spectacular increases are clear evidence that Christ is directing his anointed followers at their congregation meetings and is supporting them in their disciple-making work.***

Okay, finally got around to watching this video. The intended audience is clearly adults, right? I mean, right? It's a clever way to get the information across without boring people to death with an entire Service Meeting part on it, so I'll credit them on that. (They'll still have that boring Service Meeting part, I'm sure.)

But the implications here--so they expect JWs to dress as if they're literally at the convention the entire time?? Ha ha! I never did that. It's freaking a hundred degrees outside and I'm going to sit around in my dress clothes all night after I sat around in them all day? HA HA HA HA HA! Go flock yourself. You have no Biblical basis for those orders, so I felt perfectly free to ignore them even as a JW. Oh, and remember the day's text this week about God being impartial and seeing more than the outward appearance? So much for that!

Still trying to figure out who would want to be waiting outside the convention at 7:50 a.m. After driving half the day to get there, I'd be lucky to wake up before 7, much less be there before 8.

Sadly, I actually did enjoy the program when I believed in it--though I found certain things they said to be a bit extreme--but the process of getting there made the whole thing a pain in the behind. I was always too tired to enjoy it anyway. I did occasionally notice when they cut and paste whole paragraphs straight from Watchtower articles. Why not just reread the old magazines and save your money?

Well, thanks for sharing it. It's nothing worth commenting much on, the cartoon, I mean. I actually think it's better than how they usually present this same information every flocking year.

--sd-7

27

Assembly Survival Kit

by pronomono in

so, i've got the assembly tomorrow, or so the wife says.

i should have bought this in preparation..... .

http://cdn.blessthisstuff.com/imagens/stuff/gentlemans-survival-kit-2.jpg.

sd-7

I found that a good pair of Skullcandy headphones and an iPod mini were suitable entertainment for three days of convention. Of course I'm already out, so...it may be that you would have trouble getting away with that if you're still in. Thankfully, I will not be attending this year, so...it all works out nicely.

If all else fails, you can always just pick a Bible book and read it just so you actually learn something about the Bible while you're there...ha!

--sd-7

88

Why JW marriage is a huge problem for the organization.

by kneehighmiah in

jw
friends

the difficulty of finding a marriage mate is well known for sisters.

but i would say it's hard for brothers also.

i was talking to a jw last night.

sd-7

I don't think there was ever a lack of attractive JW women in my area. Nor do I think that's that much of a problem throughout the group. The problem to me was just the difficulty of dating itself. Being under a microscope from elders to the gossip hounds. How can anyone have a meaningful relationship that grows into marriage under circumstances like that? You'll find out almost nothing about the person until after you're married, and since it gets suspicious if you date too long, it's a no-win situation.

The other thing is that beauty is subjective. When I first started dating the woman who is now my wife, my brother said to me that she wasn't even all that attractive. Well, I'm not sure who he was looking at, but I think she's gorgeous and even five years later I love looking at her, even with no makeup and snoring in the bed. So to me, she's beautiful.

It's just statistically improbable that out of eight million people, there's a lack of attractive women of marriage age. I'd say you just have to look around, meet more people.

--sd-7