I remember reading that the whole JW-beardless business started not long after Rutherford forced his way into becoming the Tower's second president. Charles Russell, the first president, had a full beard as many men did during that time period. As a result, many of the Bible Students also had beards.
After Russell's death, the beardless Rutherford became the new president. Rutherford's arrival created a divide between the Russell followers and Rutherford's boys. I read that Rutherford didn't like full beards because, well. . . it looked a little too much like Russell. It didn't take long before anybody who wanted to become anybody in the movement shaved. From that point on, the Tower has not really changed their stand on men wearing beards.
I'm not sure now because it's been years since reading this, but I think it's discussed in "Thirty Years, a Watchtower Slave" by Schnell. Penton might have too, but I don't remember.
Posts by JAVA
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67If God doesn't want brothers to have beards, why does it grow?
by JH in.
men have facial hair and women don't, and that's god who decided that.. so why can't brothers have beards or goatees.
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JAVA
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If God doesn't want brothers to have beards, why does it grow?
by JH in.
men have facial hair and women don't, and that's god who decided that.. so why can't brothers have beards or goatees.
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JAVA
Beards are a mystery--that's why we don't understand why God made men (and some women) with beards, and why the Watchtower demands they come off.
Everybody knows beards stumble weak ones; about 6,000,000 JWs. They are ugly, and you can't trust men with beards!
Now lets move to another topic, such as "how long should men's sideburns be?" -
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Did You Ever Think You'd No Longer Be A Witness?
by minimus indid you ever dream that you'd be posting here too?
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JAVA
For the first 10 years as a JW, I saw myself as a Jehovah Witness, and being in "the Truth." Never thought I would be anything else, and never thought I would grow old in "this system of things," etc.
After the Tower's 1975 failure, and after seeing how they blamed the rank-n-file for their failure, I entered into the "going through the motions" phase.
By 1980 I couldn't imagine why anyone would be a JW.
By 1983, I wanted to expose the Tower for what it is--nothing more than another self-serving cult religion. -
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Did You Hate Meetings and Special Events?
by minimus ini really hated "special" programs and events such as a visiting bethelite giving an extra 1 hour talk after the wt.
study.
everyone was expected to stay.
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JAVA
LHG said: ** Everybody remembers the meeting/article that got them thinking that it was all over for them and they could no longer feel the same. **
I have not thought about this for some time, because it happened over 20 years ago. I remember attending a few meetings at the KH after my "this is baloney" epiphany. It was as if something snapped, and the blinders fell off. The JW-mind set no longer worked, and I saw the religion as nothing more than a setup. When that happens--you can't go back! -
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Did You Hate Meetings and Special Events?
by minimus ini really hated "special" programs and events such as a visiting bethelite giving an extra 1 hour talk after the wt.
study.
everyone was expected to stay.
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JAVA
We had a so-called Special Event when a GB member was brought into our area. I traveled an hour to get there, and it took a half hour to find a parking spot. I was there for about two hours, and it was at that point that I realized this was a bunch of baloney. During the end, a speaker got up and said, "Brothers, wasn't this an exciting program?" I couldn't believe anyone clapped, but the crowd responded loudly with applause.
That Special Meeting was the end of the Tower road for me. Indeed, it was a SPECIAL EVENT !
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Awful Friends.
by Englishman ini have some awful friends.
loud, demanding, boorish, mean, cantankerous, boozy, critical, flirtatious, foul-mouthed and generally obnoxious in every possible way.
but they're still my friends.
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JAVA
Isn't that what Christ did?
Oh Jesus -- well yes, I guess he was accepting of most people, "warts and all."
Jehovah, on the other hand, seems more Witness like than Jesus. If you're not for Him, you're against Him. KILL everyone who isn't on the ark; men, women, children, and while I'm at it--drown the animals, too. I guess that's why the cigar-smoken, whiskey-drinken, 2nd Pres of the Tower changed the name from Bible Students to Jehovah's Witnesses. Jehovah was a guy Rutherford could like.
Jesus had "people skills." He could get along with just about anybody except the religious leaders. Like Englishman, he enjoyed some "awful friends" too.
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30...who woulda thunk it
by zanex inwell i did it...i actually made it to age 30. today, april 12th 1975 i was born and i am still trying to full comprehed the feeling that comes along with it.
my office threw me a party and i am having another one on fri, more the drunken type of gathering.
it is a good week but a part of me will never fully be able to comprehend the simple feeling of "birthday" lol..anyhow..i'm still alive!
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JAVA
quite normal I think (for me it is 31 years ago)
Yeah, 28-years ago I was 30 and doing time in the Tower--time goes fast when you're not a JW.
Happy Birthday, Zanex!
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Are Kingdom Halls ever used for AA Meetings?
by TresHappy ini found this article online and thought it quite interesting.
i always thought kh's were used for kh business only.... the weekend shooting death of harvey county sheriff's deputy kurt ford could lead to murder charges today against a newton man.. several of those who know greg moore said his life began deteriorating several years ago after he stopped attending alcoholics anonymous meetings in the jehovah's witnesses kingdom hall just up the street from his house.. "he drank a lot -- i know that," said doug foulk, who lives in the neighborhood and worked with moore at excel industries in hesston for several years in the 1990s.
"he'd been in trouble with the cops quite a bit.".
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JAVA
** Remember, Drunkards Will Not Inherit Gods Kingdom. **
I guess we won't see the Second President of the Tower in Never-Never Land. :) -
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"I can't stop thinking about Jehovah's Witnesses!"
by logansrun ini've heard this said by a few ex-witnesses in my three years away from the organization, and have sometimes said it myself.
sometimes it is said in the context of, "i'd like to move on, but i just can't stop thinking about them.
could it not be that one of the reasons ex-jws "can't stop thinking about" the organization -- and their past involvement with it -- is that they daily log onto this site, read about the society and talk about them?
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JAVA
Interesting topic, and from the number of posts, others feel the same way.
As already suggested, being a JW for god knows how many years, is a little different than being a Cubs Fan. We become one with cults. "My name is Joe Smith, and I'm a Jehovah Witness." I believe we all know that feeling. The religion was imbedded into our very being, and you couldn't imagine life beyond its scope. Exiting the sect means you're no long attending meetings, and it usually means you no longer buy into the theology (however many still do to some extent). There is no getting around it, being a JW is a very big part of our history; it's where many of us came from.
No wonder the JW theme doesn't cross our thinking regularly, years after the fact. No, I don't think about it every hour of the day, but there is seldom a day or two that goes by when my JW history doesn't come to mind. -
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Are Kingdom Halls ever used for AA Meetings?
by TresHappy ini found this article online and thought it quite interesting.
i always thought kh's were used for kh business only.... the weekend shooting death of harvey county sheriff's deputy kurt ford could lead to murder charges today against a newton man.. several of those who know greg moore said his life began deteriorating several years ago after he stopped attending alcoholics anonymous meetings in the jehovah's witnesses kingdom hall just up the street from his house.. "he drank a lot -- i know that," said doug foulk, who lives in the neighborhood and worked with moore at excel industries in hesston for several years in the 1990s.
"he'd been in trouble with the cops quite a bit.".
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JAVA
** Could it be that the congregation and the AA meeting attenders were renting space in the same public building? **
If there was an AA Meeting at the same location of a KH, I believe Blondie's suggestion could be the answer to the mystery question.
I did PR for our circuit and district assemblies, and was amazed how the media could screw up names, locations, and about anything else you fed them. I wouldn't be surprised if the article was wrong about the location, which would be another possible answer to the question.