MMXIV

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Posts by MMXIV

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  25

  Thanks and farewell...

  by Alfred in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hello all..... a few months ago my wife expressed serious concerns about the time i had spent over the past couple of years reading old watchtower literature (printed circa 1880 through the late 30s) and the time spent on this site and several others.

  she is very grateful that i was very persistent in trying to convince her that this is just a mind-control cult run by clueless men who simply make things up as they go along.

  it wasnt easy, but im thankful that i was able to wake her up thanks to many of you.

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  MMXIV

  Alfred,

  Always sad to hear a great contributor to JWN will post no longer. Always welcome to drop in from time to time for a few minutes to see what's new and let us know how you are doing.

  Mod's - please note Alfred has sent in a letter to confirm he will be inactive - please send round "the boys" to interrogate him to see what he actually believes, to encourage him to return and more importantly try and categorise him as either sheeplike or brazen. If required establish a JC to ensure a humiliating and damaging farewell and so we know to shun him from future posts.

  mmxiv
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  22

  The BRAND is what sells JW's and the alternate lifestyle

  by Terry in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  jehovah's witnesses don't have a message.

  they have an alternate lifestyle.. for persons put off by teachings of eternal torment they offer eternal sleep or a paradise earth.. for christians disaffected by tepid sermons and rituals they offer a vital lifesaving field service ministry.. in a world saturated in sex and exhibitionism, loud rude music and apathy they offer modesty of dress, cleanliness and worldwide family.. they are seen by the world much the same way as the amish only more modern.. people find their teaching quaint or laughable but think they are sincere and eager for postive change.. .

  this is a brand more than a religion.. when the average person looks at jw's they see loyalty.

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  MMXIV

  The brand is delivered with fake plastic smiles and insincere interest. Love-bombing for the newbies that makes people feel welcome and special. Lasts for as long as it takes to sign your life away on the dotted line.
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  76

  What the Watchtower needs to do to survive.

  by jwfacts in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  drop its teaching on paradise earth.. the primary issue facing the watchtower results from it's teaching that members will never die, but live forever on this earth in paradise.

  this teaching is cause of most of the doctrinal failures, and will be its eventual demise.. the promise of never dying is one of the foremost motivations for people that join the religion, and the message of living forever in paradise is compelling.

  however, it is also the watchtower's achilles heel, as it forces false predictions of the nearness of the end.

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  MMXIV

  All valid points although I think their future survival has less to do with teachings and more about control of their members.

  Who are the new members? Most new baptisms are children or family members. So to survive they need for their members to continue to have children and for these to be coerced into committing their lives to the cause.

  The WBTS and JW's in general have always been very negative about having children. Quite a foolish strategy. This is where they need to change - get the average number of kids in the KH to increase and they have potential new members.

  Those indoctrinated don't care about the intricacies of what the beliefs are and we know the WTBS can try and justify any belief...evidently.

  They have more recently been promoting family life (family study night) so possibly going down that route? Might we soon see positive articles on the joys of parenthood?

  Generation Y and generation X testing their faith and researching on the internet is a time bomb and huge threat to the WBTS. It needs to bring many more members in to offset the large numbers fading. It's all about getting them while they're young and ensuring a large enough supply of these children.

  mmxiv
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  10

  I don't like volunteer work.

  by moshe in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i think the jws ruined me for doing volunteer work.

  i always feel imposed on when they ask me to take on responsibilities- i can help out in an unofficial capacity, but don't ask me to take on a real position with duties and deadlines.

  i guess any volunteer job that brings back those negative feelings from being an elder and ministerial servant counteract the good i feel from volunteering.

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  MMXIV

  Giordano, that sounds like you've truly given back in a field you have a passion and aptitude for. Imagine what 7 million people could achieve if they actually gave something back to their communities? I hope you've found peace in your volunteering.

  mmxiv
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  10

  I don't like volunteer work.

  by moshe in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i think the jws ruined me for doing volunteer work.

  i always feel imposed on when they ask me to take on responsibilities- i can help out in an unofficial capacity, but don't ask me to take on a real position with duties and deadlines.

  i guess any volunteer job that brings back those negative feelings from being an elder and ministerial servant counteract the good i feel from volunteering.

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  MMXIV

  Well sorry to hear that moshe. Might I suggest that this is not entirely an issue with the WBTS but also how the work is being doled out to you.

  We're all aware that volunteer work is generally just that... work whether it's fun stuff or hard stuff. When those organising it want more and more out of you or want you to do something that is actually something you do not agree with (either the process or end result) then it will start to seem like unpaid employment that you'd rather avoid.

  I've been involved in lots of volunteer events and sometimes when its doing something I like it's great. However frequently after I've agreed to do something then I'm given a rather expansive specification that involves way more work or time. It becomes hard to say no and it would have been better if the organiser had been realistic up front.

  Rarely though have I had to volunteer in a situation where the people aren't fantastic and the cause hasn't been worthwhile. I guess doing pretty much any volunteering must be more worthwhile than policing whether apathetic leaflet distributors have knocked on enough doors or are spiritually clean enough.

  mmxiv
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  28

  How Do JWs View Gluttony?

  by Bubblegum Apotheosis in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  this thread is dedicated to the judgemental fat and not so jolly elders and elderettes (non judgemental loving brethren, please disregard!)..

  in my county, some of our appointed brothers and sisters are suffering from obesity, eating disorders and heavy drinkings.

  what is the best way to approach brothers in charge, who are morbidly overweight, don't care about their physical appearance?

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  MMXIV

  noni1974's mum avoided being disfellowshipped for gluttony by going on a crash course diet - she got reproved instead:

  http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/199901/1/Can-you-get-Dfd-for-Gluttony

  I think this is more of an exception as it's an issue that is normally totally ignored.

  I found it hypocritical that JW's could be obese given how strong the bible is on the matter. They are very happy to punish people for plenty of obscure things that are not in the bible yet overlook something that is obvious to every other JW and householder on fs.

  Maybe this is a result of it being an American religion and they do not want to lose so many of their American members. Had the HQ been in a country where obesity was not a problem then I'm sure it would have been considered up there with smoking or blood.

  The WBTS actively police their members but this would be very difficult to do where gluttony is concerned. On a humorous note what could they possibly do? Weight is a factor but there are numerous medical conditions that could cause or contribute to being overweight. Also what if someone slim eats loads and someone prone to putting on weight eats little? Would they introduce scales at the Kindon hall and have monthly weigh-ins with results put on the monthly report? Also would increasing body weight by a certain % in a month constitute gluttony even if the JW is only a little overweight? One things is for sure - any solution to obesity that the WBTS provides would be revolve around increased field service.

  mmxiv
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  322

  My son was murdered today

  by truman in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  i have been on this site daily, almost from its beginning, since i left the jws in 2001, but i have been more of a reader than a poster, as you can see from my post count.

  i know few here know me, although i know many of you through reading your posts.

  maybe it is not right to ask for support, when i generally stay quietly in the background of this forum, but i want only to speak a human misery of the deepest kind.

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  MMXIV

  (((Truman))) doing your teaching sounds like a good and brave step. Hope all goes well. I'm sure your students will fully appreciate the efforts you are making for them. If you do not feel able to teach on some days then so be it - like a physical injury - it will take time to function properly again and some days will be better than others.

  (((Still thinking))) I am truly sorry for you loss.
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  41

  Alteration in the German Watchtower about spousal physical abuse

  by slimboyfat in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  i noticed that the german edition of the study watchtower for today didn't include the phrase about the husband "hitting" the sister.

  instead it just says that he became ferociously angry, which need not imply physical abuse.

  i wonder if the german translator altered it off his own back or was instructed, and how other language editions compare.

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  MMXIV

  with such a crack team of translators the WBTS should think about making an accurate translation of the bible

  mmxiv
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  15

  "Feeling sorry for yourself" about being hit by your husband is not Christian 2/15/12 WT Page 25 P 12

  by Alfred in

  1. watchtower
  2. scandals

  they changed the story in the spanish version !!!.

  in the spanish version, steve does not hit selma... he merely gets "furious" with her.... 12 a ella se le quedo grabada una leccion que le enseno la testigo que le daba clases biblicas: fue un dia que no tenia ganas de estudiar.

  la noche anterior habia estado discutiendo con steve y el se habia puesto furioso conmigo, asi que estaba triste y me sentia muy mal.

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  MMXIV

  damage limitation? when this comes out in cd-rom they may try and change the English version as well. Well spotted Alfred!
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  449

  "Feeling sorry for yourself" about being hit by your husband is not Christian 2/15/12 WT Page 25 P 12

  by yourmomma in

  1. watchtower
  2. bible

  have anyone of you read, the absolutly jaw dropping paragraph in this article about a women who was hit by her husband?

  its in page 25 of the 2/15/12 wt study edition (i read the dumbed down version).. .

  if there was any question, that the watchtowers stance is for wives to simply take it when their husbands abuse them, this makes it crystal clear.. who the hell is scanning these things before they go to print?

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  MMXIV

  I gave a talk yesterday about a chosen topic of domestic violence to a group of 20 business professionals who were surpirsed to the point of tears at how widespread a problem this is and what it is like from a victims perspective. To be clear I am not an expert on this topic or have I suffered it.

  I sourced some of my understanding from the duluth model (please google it) which has made progress to change the law and intervene in domestic violence - they are a big player in this field and have stood up to be counted.

  Perhaps they would be interested in hearing about the WBTS shocking advice?

  Any organisation such as the WBTS that has policies which shelter abusers and that educates it's members to accept abuse is very damaging and will have caused deaths. Based on average statistics (1 in 4 UK women will experience domestic violence - stats from Women's Aid) there could be a million victims of the 4 million plus female JW's and many of their abusers may be JW's.

  This is a huge issue that the WBTS wants to continue to supress and allow victims to suffer.

  Any JW woman who has or is suffering from domestic violence - you are not to blame - seek immediate help from the local authorities such as the police.

  mmxiv