Hi Terry,
That chart link didn't show anything for me. Is this what you wanted? Len.
FatFreek 2005
JoinedPosts by FatFreek 2005
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37
The LEGAL mindset of Jehovah's Governing authority (Plenary Power)
by Terry ina lot of the glaring distortions of common sense inherent in jehovah's witness mainstream thought flowed from the erratic legalist mindset of.
judge joe rutherford.. rutherford served for awhile as a prosecutor in a district attorney's office.. his view of "getting the job done" consisted of hammering away at an "enemy" with a litany of bullet points.. his theological mindset was hardly any different!.
look at the legal terms that seeped in to jw everyday parlance.. .
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Little known "interview" with BOTH Russell and Rutherford
by Terry inin depth interview with c.t.russell and joseph franklin rutherford *.
q: how do you wish to be called; mr.russell...dr.russell, pastor russell?.
russell: for many years i served as a pastor although i never darkened the doorway of an institution of theology for purposes of obtaining certification in the mindset of christendom.. rutherford: you can call me judge or you can call me joe as long as you call me for supper!
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37
Hello Everyone :-)
by new one ini've only recently joined but i've been lurking for well over a year.
i'll just start with a bit of my story so you'll have a better idea on were i'm coming from, i've read that much of most of your posts that i feel i already know you all anyway lol.. i'm 32 years old now and for most of my life i've had jw's around me at times, my mom used to study on and off with them all through my child hood alough she never took the plunge i'm not sure why because even to this day she say's she holds the same beliefs but somethings held her back so there's doubt somewhere!.
anyway, having had the magazines around me for most my life i'd read them from time to time,but, when i reached about 17 years old i discovered nightclubs, alcohol and, well you know the rest ;-).. fast forward to my early 20's and i'd had a failed attempt at setting up my own business, my parents had split up after 25 years together and long story short i had a nervous breakdown.
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FatFreek 2005
Hi new one. You are proof that very often our gut feel can be trusted. It also didn't hurt that you did your own internet research -- which that elder obviously didn't like.
The very next study he turned up with the Cd Rom and "Encouraged" me to use that to do my research as the Internet was full of bitter ex Jw's and nothing could be trusted.
Ha! That's a good one. Hey -- if you still have that Watchtower Library CD (I hope you hung on to it) you may want to check out THE GREAT WATCHTOWER CONTRADICTION, a free online essay which has some 20 (very embarrasing) quotations from that CD. It's an 11 minute read and next time someone calls you'll even be better prepared.
Len
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Can you be a JW in good standing and NOT go door to door?
by Terry inthe 2nd president of the watchtower bible and tract society, j.f.rutherford was criticised by some elders in the (then) independant congregations for urging members to go door to door while neglecting to do so himself.
rutherford responded:.
frequently some elder says: the president of the society does not go from house to house selling books.
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FatFreek 2005
I know a few JWs who barely go D2d yet they always have a report. IF i was an active witness today i'm pretty sure i could get away with not going door to door at all and still report.
I know of witnesses who "claim" to write letters and place phone calls. Others use the informal witnessing excuse. Others simply go to field service but have already arranged to go with someone they know who hates it as much. So when they go out, they spend the entire time having coffee.
Good observation.
And, how about today -- the internet age? I suspect that many (such as Mankelli) report gobs of time yet don't ever leave their shadow on a doorstep. They paste huge clumps of Watchtower text with little to none of their own commentary, thinking that new bLight will speak for itself.
Len
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Can you be a JW in good standing and NOT go door to door?
by Terry inthe 2nd president of the watchtower bible and tract society, j.f.rutherford was criticised by some elders in the (then) independant congregations for urging members to go door to door while neglecting to do so himself.
rutherford responded:.
frequently some elder says: the president of the society does not go from house to house selling books.
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FatFreek 2005
Good post, Terry.
Remember reading about Rutherford's Children, the book? The one that was a bit optimistic about Armageddon being only months away?
Note the following following 1941 Watchtower quote, having to do with ministry hours back then -- by the same Rutherford who did zero hours in door-to-door.
SUNDAY, AUGUST 10, "CHILDREN’S DAY" ...
... I am going to have handed to every
one of you 15,000 children one of these books as a gracious gift.
I ask that you first study it faithfully. Ask someone else to sit
with you under the shade of a tree and study that which leads
to life and endless blessings .... It is your privilege between
now and before the day school opens to spend 6 hours a day
in taking the book Children to others." The parents should encourage
their children to do this very thing, if they would have
them live. The Watchtower, 1941, p. 287
Len Miller -
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One at a Time
by arko_n9ne ini live with my wife and her two brothers.
her two brothers are witnesses, though one seems to have "faded" but denies it whole-heartedly.
regardless of position, they stick to their guns, well, the wts's guns, about everything.. unless you've read my other posts, you wont know their names, so i'll refer to them as 28 and 31, for the sake of time.. to understand my passion, you need to understand the audacity of my experience with these two.. a lil bit about me-.
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FatFreek 2005
Thanks for that, Arko. I'm considering putting it to a short Youtube video with brief references along with the charts, then a final link to the main essay.
You seem to have extreme creativity and I look forward to hearing more of your stories here.
Len
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One at a Time
by arko_n9ne ini live with my wife and her two brothers.
her two brothers are witnesses, though one seems to have "faded" but denies it whole-heartedly.
regardless of position, they stick to their guns, well, the wts's guns, about everything.. unless you've read my other posts, you wont know their names, so i'll refer to them as 28 and 31, for the sake of time.. to understand my passion, you need to understand the audacity of my experience with these two.. a lil bit about me-.
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FatFreek 2005
Hi arko_n9ne and welcome to the board. It sounds like you've picked up quite a bit about Watchtower in a brief time. Congratulations that you've avoided the magic step -- baptism. In your position you're relatively immune from Watchtower's punitive actions no matter what. As to 28 and 29, you haven't won them over yet. Arguing doctrine is usually futile for those in a cult.
You chose one thing, non-doctinal -- the U.N. thingy. That was good but they've now learned a bit of wiggle room on that based on their evasive replies.
Here's one you may try, THE GREAT WATCHTOWER CONTRADICTION. While it's especially for new ones who are exploring the Watchtower, old hands will find some startling facts about their teaching history, all quotes substantiated from their Watchtower Library CD. It's only an 11 minute read and it may hit 28 and 29 like a ton of bricks.
Winning over these former best friends by showing them that Watchtower can't possibly be a group chosen by God may be more successful than ratting them out for behavior that apparently doesn't directly affect you. If they ever learn the source (you) thanks to the local gossip mill, you're toast with them. Good luck to you.
By the way, you express yourself very well and we look forward to more of your experiences.
Len
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WTS successfully counters claims it is a "false prophet"
by trthskr ingreetings.. http://www.jehovah.to/xlation/fp.html.
"do not interpretations belong to god?".
but as the saying goes; you can never satisfy a critic.. .
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FatFreek 2005
Mankkeli -- ceased posting some 28 days ago (12/6/2011)
trthskr -- began posting on 12/31/2011
ya'll may have hit on something.
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Hi - I'm new here!
by Flicka ini have been lurking on this site for the past 2 months.
for the past few years i have been going to the meetings and doing fieldservice out of guilt.. my husband (twisty) told me regularly i only do it out of guilt but i denied it and said it i want to do these things because i love jehovah and it is the right thing to do, but how can it be the right thing if you don't feel welcome and it feels like everyone is judging you the moment you walk into the kingdom hall.. it has taken a few years and a lot of tears to open my eyes.. over the past few years twisty spoke to me about the various things he didn't agree with but it just went over my head.
a few months ago we were lying in bed and he brought up his concerns again, and i'm not sure what was different this time but i understood and agreed with the points he was making.
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FatFreek 2005
Flicka: My husband and I are currently doing a lot of reading and trying to document what we are reading so when the day comes when my family has questions I can show them the answers from our research, which I think that is still very far in the future as I'm currently trying to avoid any questions from the family.
You and Twisty have had some excellent suggestions and the two of you appear to be well on your way to freedom. Here's another bit of reading (some 11 minutes) that tends to shock JW's who listen. THE GREAT WATCHTOWER CONTRADICTION is based on quotations from Watchtower publications, designed for new ones, but is more than plenty thought-provoking for seasoned JWs. They don't want to meet up with the main question this one poses.
Len
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question for older ex-elders
by scooterspank ini have only just begun to talk to my father about why he left the truth.
i know why he stepped down as an elder many years ago but we have just scratched the surface about why he "faded" in his 60's i would say (he is now 74).
i just wonder how much leaving the "truth" that much later in life has an effect on depression, anxiety, anger (he joined in his 30's)?
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FatFreek 2005
I am 71 but was only 37 when I announced my resignation as elder. So the last 1/3 century has been free (mostly) from the cult. Unfortunately, your dad has not had that much freedom and I empathize with him.
The problem, as I see it, with those that leave -- is many still feel they have left the truth. I can only hope that isn't the case with your father because he hasn't yet found true freedom.
I left because of having read the '75 yearbook. Well, there were other things, of course, but that yearbook was the catalyst.
The Watchtower yearbook recap of the 1925 debacle didn't work for me. They were clearly trying to soften their 1975 buildup and all their implications so they could potentially blame the flock once again. I could see cover-up and deception, their quoting an elderly sister (Anna McDonald, I think her name was) in how she recollected that many fell out in those post 1925 years because they had perceived 1925 as a certainty -- instead of a possibility. Ha! I could see Rutherford smiling from his grave, knowing fully well how he was the one -- in pages of Watchtower publications -- who had advertised all that certainty in the years before 1925.
For me, it wasn't leaving the truth, but just the opposite.
Len