It would be interresting to see a census of people. I was only a simple R&F, regular pioneered once, and I feel like I'm in minority here, most men were at least MS, or more up the ladder. Some have said the higher you are in the hierarchy, the more of the BS you are able to see, perhaps that's the explanation.
Posts by teel
-
21Wha was a Missionary, Bethelite or CO here?
by cyberjesus inwe have 3 missionaries for sure and lots of bethelites.
i was a permanent volunteer for a year in the branch in mexico.
oh and we have one gb member :-).
-
-
-
10
easier to leave christendom or wts?
by diamondiiz inthis is mostly for those that were recruited by jws from another christian religion.
i was brought up a rc and converted to wts religion when i was young and naive.
when i switched over to wts i felt some anger towards my former religion but it was nothing compare to what i feel towards wts.
-
-
teel
Leaving my former protestant religion: went to the local priest and told him to cut me off their list. After long discussions I found out I was never on their list, because after I turned 18 I should have gone to register myself as a member of the church. Now, after clearing my head from mind control, I can see the stark contrast between my "forced" child-baptism, and the "optional" child-baptism of the JWs. A 12 year old child will be full member of the JWs before he can understand what's he getting into, and I, the "infant baptized" was never actually a member.
Leaving the JWs: the difference is the amount of control. It's a world of difference between the mainstream churches' control and the JW one. So once you fight your way out, you're left with realization that you gave up so much, and followed an immense amount of rules just to be on the good side of a cult that is in no way better than any other religion. Anger is an understatement...
-
64
What Are Some Ridiculous Things JWs Have Said?
by minimus in....either in publications, during talks or by individual witnesses?.
-
-
teel
Adam and Eve didn't notice that they were naked before they eat the fruit, because they were too preoccupied with spiritual things.
Inspirational stories - one elder from an other congregation who often visited was constantly inserting in his public speach on of those inspirational stories you can read on the internet. I particulary remember the one that had the clear message of Carpe Diem twisted to sound like you have to go on FS more.
Urban legends - JWs are notorious for promulgating them, especially if they can spin it to support some wacko idea of theirs. I also heard the "Nasa and missing day" urban legend told as truth.
-
55
Letter from WT's Haiti Branch Committee re: Society's relief response
by Dogpatch injust got this in, don't know if it was mentioned here yet, but this illustrates how the watchtower views/responds to emergencies.
note the dig on university and "higher education" (especially sad for a poor country like haiti with poorly educated masses).. randy.
it was a terrifying moment for all!
-
-
teel
Look to be fair, in a disaster we would all look after our family first, friends and neighbors second, then everybody else. So in that sense I don't fault the Witnesses.
True, that is the normal reaction, no fault in that. Fine by me, but: don't say you're charitable then!
With the words of Jesus:
Matthew 5:46,47 : "If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that?"
-
19
Disfellowshipping, what else can they do in a case like this one? .....
by HappyGuy inokay, the disfellowshipping doctrine is inhumane, usually.
but, i remember a "brother" in jacksonville, florida, can't remember his name, i was 17 at the time, i think he was 18. this scumbag claimed to be a jehovah's witness.
we went to the same school.
-
-
teel
Oz, I completely agree with you, and wanted to post the same thoughts (though not in such eloquence ).
Reading Bible examples of excomunication shows to me that is exactly what the Bible is saying to do too. Every Christian has his own conscience, and I don't need a church to enforce the shunning, the person HappyGuy described would have been shunned by me anyway, religion or not.
Edited to add: to reach a proper conclusion regarding my choice of shunning someone would need a proper flow of information too, meaning when asked, elders (or priests, or whatever) should tell me openly what was his fault. A generic "X Y is no longer a J W" will not do it.
-
55
Letter from WT's Haiti Branch Committee re: Society's relief response
by Dogpatch injust got this in, don't know if it was mentioned here yet, but this illustrates how the watchtower views/responds to emergencies.
note the dig on university and "higher education" (especially sad for a poor country like haiti with poorly educated masses).. randy.
it was a terrifying moment for all!
-
-
teel
Can anyone explain this to me? What do they mean by 'sideline'? "-Jehovah is a sidelineone!"
I think it means that Jehovah doesn't really matter, he sits on the sideline, not in the main course of action. In this context it's more important that the children get education than to serve God. Like the two are supposed to be contradictory...
-
21
Dubs at the Door
by Farkel inknock, knock.... hh (householder): yes?
dub1: good morning.
we are working with a group of your neighbors today sharing some christian good news about the future.
-
-
teel
Good reading material here! Hats off to 'Dub2'.
Yeah.
-
13
Our 'Mediator'?
by MidwichCuckoo inthis has probably been touched on before - but something that's on my mind.
have i got this correct...?
jesus said, 'no one comes to the father except through me' - and jws always pray to god through jesus.
-
-
teel
This thought occured to me too, I posted it somewhere on the forum. Jesus Christ is the mediator of only 144.000, the rest are only "associated" or whatever they call it (w91 2/15 pg. 18). This association is through the annointed, so technically the Governing Body (the only annointed ones, who are different than the non-anointed) are the mediators between us and Jesus. The role of mediator is also to convey our prayers to God, and represent us before Him. So the proper ending of a JWs prayer would be "in the name of Jesus Christ, through the Governing Body, amen".
-
5
JWs vs. Christ's Witnesses?
by metaspy ini was talking to my dad today, and he asked when the jws changed their name.
i replied "in 1933 or 34, cedar point - they became the jehovah's witnesses" he said "no, when did they change to christ's witnesses?
" i had no reply.. apparently, he had a jw come to his door (from a car group of 5 doing the neighborhood).
-
-
teel
It might have been a JW trying out her power of deception. I remember advice that only say that we are JWs if asked directly, otherwise just say "we're just here to bring you God's message" or something like that. Saying that she's "Christ's Witness" is just a step further in deception. I noticed in your quote she didn't deny she's a JW.
It would be funny if it was a break off group.
In my experience break off groups are even worse, they take the worst part of the JWism with them, and leave exactly the good parts behind. There are a couple of groups goups here in Eastern Europe, and they're even more wacko than the average JW.
-
23
Let's get the emblem partaker up to 12,000 this year
by semelcred ini am calling all who are willing and able to partake at this years memorial.
the figure is growing and if reports are to be believed the numbers are made up mostly of experienced and long serving bros and sis!
the numbers for last year have not been as high as in 1967. with the youngest gb for decades!.
-
-
teel
Neither, I was born here, but I'm a minority. It's got to do with the history of this country, going all the way back to WW1 and before that. But enough hijacking of threads