no more assemblies or conventions.... no more service meetings, book studies, bible studies..... no more bethelites, gilead graduates, no more missionary work.. no more watchtower studies, field service, pioneers, elders, ministerial servants.. no more 'serving where the need is great.'.
its over, its over.. the watchtower has decided to end it all, suspend the organization work.
no more money.
I have a feeling some folks would just carry it on independently, start the whole thing over. The leadership may enforce the beliefs, but the system has the potential to be self-sustaining if enough people believe in it.
But based on how I felt as my eyes were opened...yeah, there could be a LOT of suicides. Sad to even ponder, but it's there.
--sd-7
one of the most persistent myths on this website is that jws are already in decline, the rot has set in, and the descent of the watchtower is inevitable from here on in.
unfortunately the facts do not bear this out.
jws are still increasing even in most developing countries, and they are still growing worldwide at a faster rate than the general population.
Well, I never believed they were declining, just that, along with their continued, gradual growth (usually takes maybe 3-5 years for them to get the next million recruits), there are more who are waking up and wanting to leave. But they're merely replaced by new recruits, is all. In terms of numbers, it's a pretty solid entity. It's a body with a replaceable head and numerous parts. There's no end to what people will believe, so even its demise would ultimately accomplish little, even assuming everyone under its spell woke up somehow. It sucks.
--sd-7
http://www.townofwarwick.org/wt_con/_appendix%20j.pdf.
of course i was aware that the new headquarters would be there but according to the above plans it is immense!.
253 acres???
I had no clue it was this big!!!
At least...that's what she [may or may 'evidently' not have] said...
--sd-7
quite on the contrary to jehovah's witnesses being a fulfillment of the promise jesus made that the truth shall set you free, the religion acts as a device through which to escape from freedom, or as erich fromm puts it, to get rid of the burden of freedom.
the following passages, taken from the book the fear of freedom, by erich fromm, can be left largely to speak for themselves:.
the first mechanism of escape from freedom i am going to deal with is the tendency to give up the independence of one's own individual self and to fuse one's self with somebody or something outside oneself in order to acquire the strength which the individual self is lacking.
Fascinating thread. I think I find myself on the masochist side of that equation. Dang it. I wanted to be sadistic! That one sounds way cooler. Although...this also reminds me a little too much of my marriage/relationships as I was transitioning out of the JWs. Hmm. Maybe I need to study more of this psychology stuff...
--sd-7
for the first time in years today.
to say that it took me five minutes to read the whole thing would be to flatter the rag.
it doesn't even seem to contain actual articles any more, just headings and bullet points and pictures.
Excellent summary, ha ha ha!
--sd-7
for the first time in years today.
to say that it took me five minutes to read the whole thing would be to flatter the rag.
it doesn't even seem to contain actual articles any more, just headings and bullet points and pictures.
All hail Watchtower progress, hail the theocracy ever increasing.
I can't help LOL on this one! I started to hear the old song all of a sudden.
--sd-7
for the first time in years today.
to say that it took me five minutes to read the whole thing would be to flatter the rag.
it doesn't even seem to contain actual articles any more, just headings and bullet points and pictures.
I have to say, even as a JW I was disappointed at how lightweight the newer publications were becoming. There were rarely any deep discussions of anything in any book or magazine. I get wanting to, as my JW brother used to say, 'dumb it down', but...at a certain point you're left with vegetables-for-brains. I mean, how are you so much cooler than 'Christendom' if you're spoon-feeding your own people, who are presumably supposed to reach some sort of maturity at some point? Then again, seeing as it was rare in my congregation to find someone who could actually read, it does make a certain sense.
--sd-7
for years the so-called faithfull slave has brainwashed us with their doctrine.
number 6 the possessions?
according to the text only the servants are being inspected!
I think understanding the evil servant is a key here. First, the evil servant has in mind a specific time his master is due to come back. When enough time passes and nothing happens, he begins to wonder if the master is coming back at all. He then appoints himself master, and starts doling out discipline, 'beating his fellow slaves', that would have been reserved only for the master. The master gave him authority to feed everyone, but not to enforce the rules of the household or punish/be the judge of fellow slaves. His job was to do his job, not to make sure everyone else was doing theirs, otherwise he's an overseer, which is a bit different.
He can be pronounced happy if he's doing what he was told to do when the master arrives. What was he told to do? Feed everyone at the proper time. Was he told to rule in the master's stead, or create new rules and enforce them? No. Was he told to offer predictions from his own mind as to what time the master would get back? No. Was he told to use the master's resources to build really big houses for himself? No. If he bears in mind his position, he wouldn't even think of doing stuff like that. If he had authority to do that before the master came back, there'd be no need for the master to appoint him over all his belongings at the end! It'd be the equivalent of giving him what he already had!
So...there you have it.
--sd-7
so what is a jw's explanation on why animals grow old and die?.....
last time i checked, animals did not sin nor did they rebel against god.... so why do they have the same fate as humans?.
has anyone asked this question?.
Does anyone else think the title of this thread would make for a great, '80s style Watchtower brochure or tract? Or is it just me?
--sd-7
i received the following explanation in favor of the date of 607 bce.
accepted comments on the points at issue.. .
conclusion.
I've read C.O. Jonsson's book, though that was probably a few years ago. Pretty technical stuff, but it was clear that the foundation on which 607 was resting was nonexistent just looking at the idea of 'Bible chronology' alone.
Just read much of Jeffro's website about this issue. Brilliantly executed. A very comprehensive rebuttal to that jehovahsjudgment website. Which, as a website is a massive paradox in its very existence, as it composes a JW response to material that JWs are supposed to be forbidden from reading in the first place.
--sd-7
