Posts by imzadi

9

February 15th issues of Watchtower and Awake!

by razorMind in

jw
friends

.

have they come out yet?

is there any way someone could get me 1 copy of each?

imzadi

You are required to go to the meetings to get the magazines now

Or have them dumped into your lap while you're sitting down for coffee at the mall.

Iz

11

What about birthdays do JWs forbid?

by imzadi in

some recent threads on christmas celebrations got me to thinking about birthdays.

do jws forbid any aknowlegement of birthdays at all, or just the trappings of birthdays, such as cake, gifts and singing happy birthday?

what specifically is forbidden and what is ok?

Some recent threads on Christmas celebrations got me to thinking about birthdays. Do JWs forbid ANY aknowlegement of birthdays at all, or just the trappings of birthdays, such as cake, gifts and singing Happy Birthday? What specifically is forbidden and what is OK? Does it vary greatly between congregations?

Iz

24

Please can someone help me with this question?

by finger in

jw
friends

a friend of mine is becoming a jw, but her boyfriend is not, will this cause problems?

imzadi

One of my best friends married a third generation JW two years ago. It hasn't been easy for either of them, and I'm worried -less that if he ever gets into a situation where he needs blood to survive she'll let him die. For now, they are happily walking a tightrope between his world of birthday and holiday celebrations and hers of <almost> absolute obedience to the WTS. My gut feeling is that they won't be able to keep this up indefinately and one of them will ultimately have to convert if the marriage is to survive.

PM me if you would like more info.

Iz

7

New Tactic?

by imzadi in

early this morning while on my way to work i stopped off at starbucks, my usual routine.

while i was in line waiting for my coffee, a frail young woman loaded down with magazines wondered among the tables offering people "something to read".

i did a double take as i recognized her as the same woman who had approached me in the parking lot while i was loading my car with groceries, and again when i had my nails done just before the holidays.

imzadi

I remember when a new CO was assigned to us (in Minnesota) and his first assignment was in the summer.. he told us when he came back for his next visit, he was going to go out on the frozen lakes and talk to the fisherman in their little fishing houses on the ice..

This reminds me of a story my brother-in-law told me years ago about his grandparents who owned a dairy farm in MN during the 1960s. One day some missionaries his family will only refer to as "Tamborine Bangers and Bible Thumpers" came through and put on minstrel-type shows for "donations" while they preached "The Word of God". By this time the couple was quite elderly and were completely taken in by these "good Christian young people". Over a period of about 18 months they gave these missionaries more than half their life savings and were persuaded to sell their farm to "the cause" for only a fraction of its real worth. My brother-in-law's parents knew what was hapening, but were unable to persuade the grandparents from giving away their farm or their money to these con artists. "We have to help them, they're Christians!" was the standard reply. I don't know what religious sect the missionaries belonged to, but my guess is that they were some type of charismatic.

In my opinion, all evangelical religions are alike in that they are all trying to sell you something. If you tell them you don't want it, they will do whatever they have to do to make you think you can't live without it. It's just one big scam.

Iz

7

New Tactic?

by imzadi in

early this morning while on my way to work i stopped off at starbucks, my usual routine.

while i was in line waiting for my coffee, a frail young woman loaded down with magazines wondered among the tables offering people "something to read".

i did a double take as i recognized her as the same woman who had approached me in the parking lot while i was loading my car with groceries, and again when i had my nails done just before the holidays.

imzadi

Early this morning while on my way to work I stopped off at Starbucks, my usual routine. While I was in line waiting for my coffee, a frail young woman loaded down with magazines wondered among the tables offering people "something to read". I did a double take as I recognized her as the same woman who had approached me in the parking lot while I was loading my car with groceries, and again when I had my nails done just before the holidays. My neighborhood must be her territory. But this is a Thursday morning. I thought JWs usually go out in service on weekends?

Anyway, this is something I've only noticed recently. It's been at least 3 years since any JWs have knocked on my door. When I first started living here I would see them around at least once a quarter. Is the door to door campaign being phased out for a new tactic? .

Iz

30

A JW at my work, question?

by Beans in

there is a guy at work that i had heard was a jw, so i was working with him and we had a few laughs talking and joking around so i was starting to pry and get it out of him that he was a jw, also i had heard a few things and wanted to ask him as well.

so i asked what he did for christmas and he avoided the question and then i said, "oh yeah your a jehovahs witness" and he said he was, right after he said "but i got some good presents" (admitting your a jw seemed to be awkward for him) as he is the only jw in his family.

i told him that my parents were as well and my grandparents went to the same hall as he did many years ago.

imzadi

This discussion reminds me of when I first learned that one of my co-workers was JW. We had been hanging out together socially for about a year and a half before she very reluctantly confessed her religion. She had just started dating one of my best friends when she confided over coffee that his Roman Catholic religion was a problem for her. When I asked her why, she told me his family had a problem with her religion. When I asked her what religion was, she replied that she was Christian. I told her "Christian" was a generic term and asked her to be more specific. Again she said she was Christian. I continued to press her. Finally, with her eyes to the floor, she said she was JW.

As it turned out, she had fewer problems dealing with a Catholic family than she did with her own congregation. She and my friend took great pains to hide their relationship from everyone except their immediate families and closest friends until they announced their engagement so she wouldn't get into any trouble with the elders. She once laughingly told me a story about how she dealt with a "sister" she and my friend ran into at a popular restaurant. She told the sister she was having lunch with a business client!

Since she and my friend are now married and she is still "in" the organization, I agree with the posters who say that a JW dating or marrying a non-JW is not a disfellowshipping offense. However, from talking with both of them, I think dealing with the issues involved puts a lot of needless stress on a relationship.

Iz

28

Disfellowshipped for celebrating holidays?

by Robert_V_Frazier in

does anyone know of any specific cases of jehovah's witnesses who were disfellowshipped because of celebrating any of the forbidden holidays -- christmas, easter, birthdays, etc?

i have a discussion going with a jehovah's witness who claims that he doesn't know of anyone ever being dfed over that.. thanks in advance,.

robert v frazier

imzadi

I know of ones who were disfellowshipped for celebrating christmas. They may have been able to avoid it if they had begged forgiveness and said they would repent...elders The wt has softened lately in that they allow some flexibility for jw women when their husbands celebrate christmas

Well, that explains why my friends attend mega Christmas parties with family out of town, but don't put up a scrap of decoration at their home. They do the same for Thanksgiving and Easter. He doesn't want to go without celebrating, and she doesn't want to get into trouble. How long can people walk this kind of tightrope?

Iz

28

Disfellowshipped for celebrating holidays?

by Robert_V_Frazier in

does anyone know of any specific cases of jehovah's witnesses who were disfellowshipped because of celebrating any of the forbidden holidays -- christmas, easter, birthdays, etc?

i have a discussion going with a jehovah's witness who claims that he doesn't know of anyone ever being dfed over that.. thanks in advance,.

robert v frazier

imzadi

I disfellowshipped somebody for having a christmas tree in their home

I've always wondered about this. Can a JW be disfellowshipped if he is the only one living in his home who is JW? For example, if a JW woman has a non-JW husband and the husband insists on having a Christmas tree, can the wife be disfellowshipped? If not, what other sanctions or penalties might she face? Would she be "encouraged" to either get her husband to convert or divorce him? Iz

23

Did you ever lead a double life?

by imzadi in

those of you who are now x-jws, did you ever lead a double life while you were "in"?

did you have "worldly" friends, watch r rated movies, drive fast cars and do other things you weren't supposed to do, yet believed you were a "good" jw because you belived in the truth, "put in time", and attended meetings?

if you did, how long did it take you to see the truth about the truth and leave?

imzadi

Those of you who are now X-JWs, did you ever lead a double life while you were "in"? Did you have "worldly" friends, watch R rated movies, drive fast cars and do other things you weren't supposed to do, yet believed you were a "good" JW because you belived in The Truth, "put in time", and attended meetings? If you did, how long did it take you to see the truth about The Truth and leave? I have seen this kind of behavior first hand and it really confuses me.

Iz

113

Witnesses coming Saturday... I need HELP!!!!

by Globetrotter in

i got into a rather heated discussion this morning with my unbaptised but raised jehovah's witness wife.

we discussed so many things: feb 1 watchtower article on 607 and 1914, the un, beth sarim, blood, god's mouthpiece here on earth, etc.

this was yet another attempt on my part to try to plant a seed of doubt.

imzadi

Oh Globertotter, You are soooooooo history. They're going to invoke the doctrine of absolute endangerment of spirituality on you and go for trying to retain your wife and children

I really, really hope you're wrong about this Gary, but I'm afraid you might be right. Like everyone else reading this thread, I'm waiting with bated breath to see how this ends for Globetrotter.

Iz