Posts by tjlibre

7

Obedience to Jehovah Is.......

by lepermessiah in

jw
friends

a good friend of mine gave his first public talk sunday.. after much prodding, i decided to attend the meeting.

the wt study on sunday (as blondie commented on so well) was more mindless drivel about total obedience to jehovah the elders and the governing body.. two comments struck me - on paragraph 4, the wt conductor asked a specific question on this statement:.

and there have always been some individuals who chose to subject themselves to god, even though they were.

tjlibre

As a group, we willingly submit ourselves to the direction given by the Governing Body and cooperatewith the corporate appointed elders company men in the congregations.

I strongly feel that the current emphasis on obedience to the GB and the ‘elders’ is a sign of weakness. I believe that over 50+% of the membership are not 100% are drinking the GB's "Kool-Aid". Loyalty to the Organization is at an all time low…and they know it.

I don’t know if any of you have noticed. But in my congregation (100+ publishers), it’s always the ‘corporate men’ and the self righteous witnesses that comment on paragraphs like these.

28

Does Anyone Like the New Songbook?

by metatron in

jw
friends

i'll try not to be 'knee-jerk' critical about this subject but do any witnesses like the new songbook?

ok, they got rid of some awful lyrics about molesting bees - and downsized references to the ever redundant jesus - but the music itself sounds like forced piano practice.

trying to sing these slow, pedantic tunes is awkward and painful.. i haven't seen any witness e-mails about this 'wonderful provision from jehovah' and his faithful hacks, so i wonder if the rank and file aren't enthused either.

tjlibre

The new songs sound "empty".

I see no better word to describe the lyrics and music of the new song book. The message in the lyrics clearly shows that the GB got their little hands on almost all of the songs. There is no melodic flow, no uplifting emotion, not joy. Was anyone here at the meeting yesterday? Wasn’t that last song just depressing? The old version of that song was murdered.

However, I have noticed that the new songs that are uplifting and emotional are the ones related to the resurrection (carrot) paradise earth (carrot), staying in the Organization (control), and working for the GB (slaving).

136

Memorial 2010 Your Experiences

by scotinsw in

just got back from memorial.

only went so that i could say to my parents that i had gone and to remind myself why i left.. oh my word!!!

it was sooooo painful.. got there a bit late - it was a couple of minutes into the talk.

tjlibre

I went…shut off 5 min into it…right when the speaker started talking about the 144k going to heaven and how no one in the audience belonged to that group. At one point I even chuckle a little…

I took a look at the audience and though, WOW I can’t believe how I bough into this just like they are.

I have to admit that I’m starting to envy those of you who are finally free. I hope to continue building the strength to be there with you soon.

39

Are the elders appointed by Jehovah?

by asilentone in

.

tjlibre

SIR 82,

Character traits not required to be appointed as an elder:

Honesty, Intelligence, Compassion, Humility, Altruism, Generosity, Kindness. Come to think of it, these are most often impediments to being a "successful" elder.

You mentioned so much truth in such a short sentence. If those characteristics were present in at least 50% of the “elders”, then the argument would’ve been in favor of sort of “divine” appointment.

I whish could disclose what I’m dealing with right now with the BOE…but put it this way, collectively…these men have no respect for the bible, are full of pride, some are cowards, others have no concern whatsoever for the well been of others…those that try to be a little bit “good” are stepped on, humiliated and get morally bankrupt, to say the least.

39

Are the elders appointed by Jehovah?

by asilentone in

.

tjlibre

Nope...

21

6/15/10 WT - p. 8, par. 12

by sd-7 in

"what else do we learn from the experience of the psalmist?

he found security and wisdom among god's people.

he started reasoning clearly and logically when he went to the place where jehovah was worshipped.

tjlibre

SD-7

I’m getting off topic here. But watch this video, I enjoyed it watching and learning from it.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8059991273314767024#

28

What is the main issue you have with this religion?

by Quillsky in

jw
friends

like the big one?.

.

tjlibre

It’s hard to pin point one issue… but I’ll split my issues into two categories.

Organizational:

1) That’s the MAIN problem. There should not be a centralized organization holding the last saying in everything.

2) That the congregations are not independent.

3) That a corporation has appropriated a religion that had the potential of being a good religion, where they not to have some dangerous and wacky doctrines…

which brings me to…

Doctrinal:

1) The Blood ban. At this point, they should turn it into a matter of “conscience”.

2) Shunning and Judicial Committees. Each congregation should have the right to expel any member, but they should not impose a shunning policy that breaks families apart. Each individual should have the right to decide whether or not to associate with a diss-fellowship member without repercussion.

3) Pastoral and Eldership. Too many managers and supervisors and not enough God fearing and loving humble men.

In my opinion, there one thing that needs to be done in order to make this an OK religion…Free the religion from the corporation…that’s it…that’ll solve a lot of problems. I’m ok in becoming a Baptist that doesn’t believe in hell, the trinity; don’t celebrate certain holydays, and do missionary work.

P.S Terry. I don’t think I ever had the chance to say that I enjoy your posts. I can’t quite put my fingers on it…but there is something different in your approach.

33

Why do some of you JW's stay in the organization?

by dgp in

jw
friends

i have read that up to 67% of all jw's leave the religion when they come of age.

so i wish i could know why the others stay.

in your opinion, what keeps them in?

tjlibre

For me…the only thing holding me back is my wife. And because of that, I’m trying very hard to keep my sanity while being a “consensus objector”. Its not driving me crazy yet…but some days are better than others. As the Spanish saying does…“No hay mal que dure 100 años, ni cuerpo que lo resista” (No ill could last 100 year, nor there is a body that could endure it for that long)

What’s holding her? I guess her biggest fear is to loose her friends and by extension the relationship with some members of her family that are JW. Also….I think that deep inside she doesn’t want to fully accept that this is not the so called “Truth”, that this is a damaged religion, and that 90% of the “theocratic” work done for the “society” in the name of GOD was a waste of time and energy. Also, fear of freedom.

39

RUSSIA: Raids, literature confiscations and criminal case in Tambov--first such reported home raids against them since the Soviet era--Forum 18 News Service reports

by cattails in

22 march 2010. russia: raids, literature confiscations and criminal case in tambov.

by geraldine fagan, forum 18 news service , and felix corley, forum 18 news service .

russia has raided three flats of jehovah's witnesses in tambov in the first such reported home raids against them since the soviet era, forum 18 news service has learnt.

tjlibre

OldHippie, I see your point, but...

This is a specific case where the government is attacking a specific group of innocent people because of the extremist propaganda from a specific source. This has to be dealt in the same manner that you trample abuse, oppression, pollution and disease…you attack the source, not the victims. In this case, the Russian government should be dealing with the JW Governing Body, not with the gullible JWs. (Because a thoughtful JW will not put him/her self at risk by distributing watchtower propaganda. I’m still a JW, and I know I would not go to jail for distributing watchtower and awakes if it was illegal to do so).

Keep in mind…nobody has the authority nor the right to violate another persons freedom of speech. But if a human authority has the power to stop a group from disseminating an obviously dangerous ideology, they should do so. Because their duty is to protect the interest of their people, that’s why they were elected. That’s not to say that in some cases governments could and have abuse that power.

Members of some the groups that you mentioned are all victims of cult leaders. Real communism has never been practiced in the world; totalitarian governments hide behind that political ideology to accomplish their oppressive goals.

So answer this…should we let Sun Moon and the likes rule the world? Would you like for the members of the JW Governing Body to have a stronger influence in the government, media, and national health care? What will the world be like if Sharia Law makes its way to the USA and the rest of the Western World?

Don’t get me wrong…I’m against abuse, but lets be real here…we should not let wacky, delusional, control hungry religious (political) nuts run all nilly willy trampling on others rights.

39

RUSSIA: Raids, literature confiscations and criminal case in Tambov--first such reported home raids against them since the Soviet era--Forum 18 News Service reports

by cattails in

22 march 2010. russia: raids, literature confiscations and criminal case in tambov.

by geraldine fagan, forum 18 news service , and felix corley, forum 18 news service .

russia has raided three flats of jehovah's witnesses in tambov in the first such reported home raids against them since the soviet era, forum 18 news service has learnt.

tjlibre

I agree that some, not all JW are border line religious extremists. When you tell a person it’s ok to let a child die for refusing a blood transfusion…you are a religious extremists! When you tell a person that Jehovah will annihilate over 99.99% of the world population simply because they are not JW…you are a religious extremists! When you tell families to turn their backs on their sons & daughters that no longer abide by the rule of a couple of fallible men…you are a religious extremists! When you teach that ALL religions other than yours are demon controlled…you are a religious extremists! When you instill in your followers (in the words from another poster) to “view people as walking corpses”…you are a religious extremists! Therefore, the Russian government should go after the leaders…send Interpol to arrest the members of the GB and throw them in a frigid, dark, wet GULAG for their extremist propaganda and crimes against over 7 million people.