A new view of truth never can contradict a former truth. ‘New Light’ never extinguishes older ‘light’ but adds to it.”—Zion’s Watch Tower, February 1881, p. 3
It is compared to lighting a building, where you light up one gaslight at a time (this approach makes sense). Not having past truth suddenly be a DF offence.
Designer Stubble
JoinedPosts by Designer Stubble
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12
A New Lightbulb
by wearewatchingyouman in"the truth" it seems to me like a lightbulb.. .
when i think of "new light", i don't think of the sun or the moon or the stars.
an ever present ray of light.
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Designer Stubble
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If they changed their blood ban would their be a floodgate of lawsuits?
by Londo111 ini know nothing about legal matters, but there are those here who are quite keen at these things.. if they changed the no blood teaching, would this open the watchtower society up to litigation?.
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Designer Stubble
This did not happen when they ended their ban on vaccinations, nor did it happen when they ended the ban on organ transplats. Therefore, I think it will not be too bad.
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Designer Stubble
ex-MS; wife an ex-Pioneer
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Listened in on two Elders talking about my old congregation!
by RULES & REGULATIONS inlast night at my brother's house ( he's an elder ) i listened in on a conversation he was having with another elder about my old congregation ( which i haven't attended in 2 years and have been left alone).
our congregation had at one time 86 members.. they talked about:.
* how the congregation went from 86 members to 26.
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Designer Stubble
Nice, thanks for sharing. Good News to make you Happy!
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THE QUOTE THE WBATS DENIES MAKING OF 1975!!!
by ADJUSTMENTS inthe wtbats like to state "we never stated when the end will come" when they blatantly have:.
1969 "if you are a young person, you also need to face the fact that you will never grow old in this present system of things.
because all the evidence in fulfillment of bible prophecy indicates that this corrupt system is due to end in a few years.
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THE QUOTE THE WBATS DENIES MAKING OF 1975!!!
by ADJUSTMENTS inthe wtbats like to state "we never stated when the end will come" when they blatantly have:.
1969 "if you are a young person, you also need to face the fact that you will never grow old in this present system of things.
because all the evidence in fulfillment of bible prophecy indicates that this corrupt system is due to end in a few years.
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Designer Stubble
*** w68 8/15 pp. 500-501 par. 35 Why Are You Looking Forward to 1975? ***
One thing is absolutely certain, Bible chronology reinforced with fulfilled Bible prophecy shows that six thousand years of man’s existence will soon be up, yes, within this generation! (Matt. 24:34) This is, therefore, no time to be indifferent and complacent. This is not the time to be toying with the words of Jesus that “concerning that day and hour nobody knows, neither the angels of the heavens nor the Son, but only the Father.” (Matt. 24:36) To the contrary, it is a time when one should be keenly aware that the end of this system of things is rapidly coming to its violent end. Make no mistake, it is sufficient that the Father himself knows both the “day and hour”! -
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1973 "Divine Victory" International Assemblies
by Bungi Bill inhow many here attended the "divine victory" international assembly that was held 12- 16 december in christchurch, new zealand?.
the venue was lancaster park.
if the truth be known, that stadium was probably a casualty of the february 2011 earthquake?.
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Designer Stubble
I attended this one at Yankee Stadium, New York.
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Why do so many think JW Religion is a Cult? (NO APOSTATES PLEASE)
by Brother Mike inmy question is, why do so many think the watchtower bible tract society is a cult?
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Designer Stubble
From "Freedom of Mind" by Steven Hassan:
CULT: Tightly controlled, high-pressure social environment. Limit access to outside information (Page 3)
Some religious cults have “An elite group that claims to know the real meaning of Scripture” (Page 4)
They rail on about how all the other Churches are dead and unscriptural (Page 7)
Threatening Prophecies (Page 12)
“Love” depends on meeting expectations and goals (Page 13)
Demand for purity: Establishing impossible standards for performance, thereby creating an environment of guilt and shame. No matter how hard a person tries, he always falls short, feels bad and works even harder. (Page 17)
Sacred Science: The belief that the groups dogma is absolutely scientifically and morally true, with no room for questions or alternative viewpoints (Page 17)
Dispensing of existence: The belief that people in group have the right to exist and all ex-members and critics or dissidents do not (Page 17)
Cult control is a social process that encourages obedience and conformity. It discourages autonomy and individuality. The groups dogma becomes the persons only concern (Page 19)
Thought Reform: Create a tightly controlled system with a closed system of logic, wherein dissenters feel their questioning indicates something inherently wrong with them (Page 20)
Behavior Control (Page 22)
- Dictate with whom the member lives and associates
- Restrict leisure and entertainment
- Encourage group-think (not stumbling others)
- Impose rigid rules & regulations
Information Control (Page 23)
- Discourage access to non-cult sources of information - Internet, Critical Information, Former Members
- Keep members busy so the don't think and investigate
- Outsider versus insider doctrines
- Encourage spying on other members
- Extensive use of cult-generated information, including magazines and other media
- Misquotations, statements from non-cult sources taken out of context
- Unethical use of confession
Thought Control (Page 24)
- Members required to internalize the groups doctrine as “the truth”
- Instill Black and White thinking
- Good versus Evil; Us versus Them
- No critical questions about leaders, doctrine or policy allowed
- Alternative belief systems viewed as evil
Emotional Control (Page 25)
- Make the person feel that problems are their own fault – never the leader or group
- Excessive use of guilt – You are not living up to your potential
- Excessive use of fear
- Fear of the outside world
- Fear of losing one’s salvation
- Fear of leaving the group or being shunned by the group
Phobia indoctrination
- No happiness or fulfillment possible outside of the group
- Terrible consequences if you leave
- Shunning of those who leave, fear of being rejected by friends and family
- Never a legitimate reason to leave; Those who leave are weak, unspiritual, worldly or seduced by sex -
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Finally getting a shepherding call... or so I thought
by Zoos ina few weeks ago i got a visit from a sister from the old congregation.
she was our uber pioneer, fearless, regular and often accompanied by her husband, a ministerial servant.
she didnt know i lived here so it was a brief visit after she found out i had disassociated myself.. i got a knock at the door a few minutes ago and it was her husband this time.
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Designer Stubble
Thanks for sharing. Make sure to support this man and his wife - they will need it and it is good for you too.
On a positive note, glad to read of the snowballing effect and that it is a constant issue at BOE meetings.
It will take time, but the pace of crumbling will only continue to increase.
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Question for exjws who are now atheist..
by EndofMysteries inthis question is for athiests who had been jw's, and when leaving, had to pretty much start fresh (if most of your association had been jw's).. to help you better answer the question, here is first the reason i am asking it.
my whole life and assocation were jw's only.
when i left, it was at first being pretty isolated while making new friends/etc from scratch.
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Designer Stubble
The community you descibed, seems something good - that I would not just write off. A lot of Atheists attend UU churches. Just saying.
In my case, leaving after having been a JW most of our lives, lead to loosing every last friend. There are no UU churches where we live and as an Atheist I do not want to expose the children to religion. In the five years we are out, we have slowly and gradually built a small circle of friends - from work, parents of our childrens friends, in the neighborhood, etc... But remains indeed an area in shich we somewhat struggle. We do some volunteer work and also find some satisfaction in that, with like-minded persons.
No silver bullet here - but true unconditional friendships take time.
