i would assume that some or a good number of us here as normal humans in this society - consider " lawless " actions to include murder , robbery, extortion, rape, child abuse, war , terrorism, etc.
the wt society has their own definition of what's considered " lawless ".
anything that's considered a disfellowshipping offense in the jehovah's witnesses is now considered " lawless ".
After reading the posts, all I have to say is DJEgghead is really fooling himself. I feel sad for him when he finally realizes that he will die in this old system after spending his life in service to a man made publishing corporation masquerading as the only true religion.
Egghead, my guess is you realize it already and are trying to convince yourself otherwise. You are kinda overcompensating.
Not to pile on or anything
SIAM
i could record a speech by stephen lett (of governing body) here in brazil:.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdaz8cb0uck.
.
We had him once for a SDA. His facial expressions are off the charts. One brother told me that Stephen Lett had a form of tourettes.
do you vacillate between caring that he/she is still entrapped in this cult and wanting to show them everything you have learned since your awakening and not wanting to rock the boat and therefore just keeping all this knowledge to yourself?
i wonder if it is normal to go back and forth like i do.
one day i want to tell my husband something i may have read here or on another forum and maybe, just maybe i will pique his interest.
I am still working on finding that balance. My wife has called me an apostate to my face yet still will listen to any comments I make about the Organization. She saw that I resigned as an elder due to matters of conscience and supported it. She has not taken me to the elders and probably won't.
However she is not ready to leave just yet but is starting to almost allow herself to consider it. We both still go to meetings but I have told her that I am giving it six months before I make a decision to stay or go. (5 mos left). She gets very defensive if I bring up something that is too hard to process mentally like, "this organization has never had God's spirit as evidenced by all of the false predictions in Jehovah's name". I think that it is a cumulative effect of inconsistencies that will finally help her to realize that she is trapped in a lie.
Bottom line is it is tough to admit to yourself that you have been suckered into devoting your whole life to a religious publishing corporation that pretends to be guided by God. I would like to think that I am of average intelligence yet was suckered into giving my youth, sacrificed an education and spent 1000's of hours promoting a fabrication.
Sucks once you realize it. Some people are more comfortable ignoring the obvious. I wish you the best.
SIAM
if you are an elder or an ex-elder please add a comment.
i hope that the governing body will see this.
it is too bad it has to be on an anonymous forum.
Welcome JW Struggle,
There are a lot of us out there who are or used to be elders who have doubts about the truthfulness and direction of the organization. It says something about an organization when the only way you can question it is through an anonymous internet forum for fear of being disfellowshipped.
More and more elders are realizing that the way the organization operates is contrary to the principles that Jesus taught. I know that there are Bethelites who are aware of this site and I hope that they can see that the large number of elders resigning is not because the brother wants to live an immoral life or break God's principles but instead because he sees that the hypocrisy and authoritarian false teachings are not in harmony with what the Bible teaches.
As one of Jehovah's Witnesses Elders you are required to teach and preach certain doctrinal/organizational teachings even if you feel that they are wrong. If you express doubts or a contrary opinion you will lose your family and friends. This doesn't make for a healthy organization. Most of the elders that I have known are men of principle and sincerely want to help the flock. These type of men won't last long in an organization that requires hypocrisy.
SIAM
with the new " overlap generation " theory that the wt society is pushing onto rank and file jehovah's witnesses since last year this article i found really heavy hitting in the jw version of the wt.
the wt society is leaking oil in that confidence is low among jw's in not really buying into the " generation overlap " theory as many younger jw's are exiting the organization.
so what better way to try reeling members back in by giving them an article entitled " do not deceive yourself with false reasoning " !
Flipper, Great post,
Last weeks study article cited Proverbs where it says "expectation postponed makes the heart sick." There are a lot of sick hearted ones out there right now. People who have sacrificed the right ot have a mate or children, or even owning a home all for a hollow promise that the organization made. These are the sick hearted ones. The organization stole their lives, and their futures with the scam of "Armageddon coming shortly"
The Society has got to be on crack if they suddenly try to accuse publishers who have been in high gear all of their lives and made tremendous sacrifices because they were promised by the society that the end was near and imminent, of a lack of faith. Who the hell told them the lie in the first place?
The fact that the organization is not taking any responsibility for the expectations it has raised and dashed, is criminal. It is even worse that they claim to speak for God.
Most all of us have heard the story of Peter and the Wolf. Is it the villagers fault that Peter's claims of the wolf were false?" Or was it Peter's? The villagers responded with good faith to Peter's shouts for help. When they saw that they were mislead they stopped giving Peter any credibility.
The Governing Body and the retards in the writing department are just like Peter. They have cried wolf for so long that no one believes them. It is ridiculous for them to chastise the people they have mislead.
SIAM
whether you are a male or female, the organization was always making you try to reach out for extra privileges whether it be pioneering for a month, year or a lifetime, going to bethel, or becoming a "servant" in the hall.. did you feel compelled to "reach out" or did you want to do more for "jehovah god"?.
Yeah, I reached out. Turned out to be both the biggest blessing and mistake of my life. If I wasn't an elder I probably would not have seen the problems and contradictions that made me wake up to the lie.
That said, I still wasted a good portion of my life that I will never get back.
SIAM
below are two paragraphs from the upcoming wt study (dec 15th study edition, pages 13 and 14) here the watchtower writer praises the methods used in the past for their effectiveness in bringing many into the organization.
i have bolded phrases that emphasize these points.. 11 for example, as noted in the book .
jehovahs witnessesproclaimers of gods kingdom, at the turn of the 20th century, c. t. russell and his associates strongly believed that they were in a time of harvest and that people needed to hear liberating truth.
Because they don't believe it themselves. Why put money into methods that broadcast a message you don't believe in?
hypothetical scenario.
you are a city manager in a major metropolitan city with a population of 3,000,000.. .
if the governing body was truly convinced themselves of the impending disaster and the fact that the end is imminent would they not focus their efforts in spreading the message through effective means such as telephone, television, internet, social networks etc?
Bump to compliment- Lost Generations post.
When you look at this next weeks Watchtower lesson and look at the pictures you can see that they really believed in their message getting the widest distribution as possible.
SIAM
(reuters) the world of 7 million jehovah's witnesses took a horrific turn this morning when an aviation stunt went bad and claimed the lives of the seven members of the governing body of the watchtower bible and tract society.
the governing body directs both the spiritual and temporal lives of their followers, who believe their leadership speaks to them directly from god.
dead are samuel herd (age 75), geoffrey jackson (55), m. stephen lett (61), gerrit losch (69), anthony morris (60), guy h. pierce (76) and david h. splane (66).
LOL,
Lion Cask, I think you have just inspired the GB to move their meeting room to the basement.
SIAM
i was looking at another thread and began thinking..... isn't it amazing that the "slave" has put itself in the place of the "master" ?
anyway you look at it, the organization has taken matt.
24:45-47 and twisted it beyond recognition.. witnesses have become slaves of the "slave class" and not of the master.
I was looking at another thread and began thinking....
Isn't it amazing that the "slave" has put itself in the place of the "master" ? Anyway you look at it, the Organization has taken Matt. 24:45-47 and twisted it beyond recognition.
Witnesses have become slaves of the "slave class" and not of the Master. The Master Jesus Christ was fired from his job by the self appointed group of 6 old white men and a token brother living in Brooklyn. In effect they have said "we are stand ins for Christ, serve us instead."
Way to go Governing Body! Self Serving Arrogant Assholes.
SIAM
