does anyone remember the rationale that was used in rebranding "back calls" as "return visits"?.
while on the subject does anyone else remember any theocratic name changes like,.
district assembly to district convention.
Why change colporter to pioneer?
Cole Porter was an American Composer of Broadway Musicals etc and that name was associated with having a good time, which would have been inappropriate . The term Pioneer was adopted because like the Amish, early JW's drove around in Covered Wagons. (4 door of course because 2 doors are just too hard to get in and out of)
so earlier today i was having lunch with my sister when 3 ladies walked in to the restaurant.
one in her early 20's..one in her late 30's early 40's and the last one maybe somewhere in her 50's.
when i looked up and glanced at them i said to my sister that i bet those are jw's since they were all dressed in service clothes.
Not everyone has the "trained eye" or their "JW Dar" isn't very sensitive for some reason.
To solve that problem Home Depot is now selling "Bible Detectors" that they can install on their front doors ....so they know when to hide.
at least for many..... i remember looking around at meetings and so many in the audience seemed to be in another world.
people would get up and talk at the back shamelessly.
meetings were a good opportunity to make plans with friends.
Good topic... I agree with Elben and Undercover and have said much the same thing for decades. The social aspect is the only thing that holds the whole thing together. The doctrines are just a minor inconveniences.
Most are clueless about the real history of the organization, just how completely whacky some of the beliefs are. It's Jehovah this and Jehovah that. Revelation?
Daniel? 1914-1919, 1922, 1926, 1938, 1944 - all identified as prophetic years? Most have no clue let alone being able to show something from the Bible proving
these dates
So true....yet when it comes to shunning someone who left the game.....they're all over it ....only too happy to comply ! Nothing gives you a feeling of superiority and camaraderie like a good shunning.
they are causing mental problems by pushing and pushing the ones in to do more and more and more.. the dec 15th wt on page 7 says .
"you have a document that needs a certain person's attention by the end of the day.
you mare it urgent!
JAM...I hear what you are saying. I remember getting chewed out back in the late 70's, by householedrs or having them exclaim " Hey someone else from your church was here just a few days ago ! ". One time I knocked on the door of a house and when the lady answered it, I could see straight through to the back door which was open and a pair of Witnesses were standing on her back porch. I live a few miles from the local hall and I haven't seen one person in the door to door work here in the last 3 years. I think the majority of Witnesses now are "Born in's " and they don't have the sense of urgency that the WT Society wants them to have. They've heard it all too many times before.
Lukewarm. Good job on finding those old articles. It's funny that they aren't able to check thier own literature the way you did, to verify that they aren't contradicting themselves.
Having to spread the "urgent message" from door to door when Television and the Internet could get it done more efficiently is like rushing to the Emergency Room on a pair of roller skates while a perfectly good car sits in your driveway.
The past doesn't matter...what matters now is not to get caught up in the past.
This sentiment doesn't apply when the Watchtower folks drag up every error made by the Catholic Church, the United Nations, Governments of the world and anything connected with what they call Babylon the Great.
Work done by charitable organizations, humanitarian efforts, strides toward peace, cleaning up the environment etc...are glossed over. All past errors, (except their own) are continually thrown in the faces of any group they choose to denigrate in their literature. All of mankind not associated with their organization are painted with the same brush....Condemned.
they are causing mental problems by pushing and pushing the ones in to do more and more and more.. the dec 15th wt on page 7 says .
"you have a document that needs a certain person's attention by the end of the day.
you mare it urgent!
Despite being told since I was a toddler that I would never finish school because the end was so near, I graduated anyway in 1975. My best friend and I were the the only kids in the Hall that didn't drop out. We didn't even go to our own graduation because doing so was considered a misuse of time that could be spent in the ministry. I didn't even get so much as a graduation card from anyone. Decades later, my oldest kid graduated in the year 2000 and just went to his 10 year reunion this past summer. My old friend left the Org decades ago. He called me a while back and said " Hey Exwhyzee... weren't we supposed to be perfect by now???" "How many 96 year olds do you see walking around" (referring to the 1914 generation)
Over the last 3 and a half decades since 1975, if I hadn't disregarded the constant talk about the urgency of the times once in awhile, other than sitting through long assemblies and driving around in field service, we would have no lifes experiences or great memories to look back on with our family. I would feel even more cheated than I already do.
does anyone remember the ban on life cereal, because it was supposed to contain blood?
i've ben disfellowshipped for more than 20 years, so it's been quite a while since i heard this.
did anyone hear this?
I remember that rumor.... after all "Life is in the blood and Blood is in Life...cereal" Thats probably why we had to carry "No Life Cereal" cards in our wallets back them. LOL !
Remember Mikey....he didn't care if had blood in it.....bad Mikey !
they are causing mental problems by pushing and pushing the ones in to do more and more and more.. the dec 15th wt on page 7 says .
"you have a document that needs a certain person's attention by the end of the day.
you mare it urgent!
If getting the word out is so urgent....why is so much time spent going door to door when one television broadcast/commercial would reach millions around the globe ? The word would be spread world wide in a matter of minutes. Even a simple announcement via television, explaining the message JW's are spreading would be a headstart toward the householders understanding of what those poeple at their front dour are saying. The preaching work in Bible times was considered "Urgent" but spreading it door to door was the only way they could do it. Why is it still being done this way?
Perhaps if the preaching work got completed (spread around the world) too quickly and the end still didn't come...they would have nothing left to do and no way of explainig (again) why Armegeddon didn't arrive. In the past they apparently thought the preaching work was complete enough because it was thought that Armegeddon would come before 1975.
If the time is so urgent, why do the Elders and others in the Congregation I attended, regularly take Cruises or several vacations per year rather than spend their time off work in the ministry. Will they be "blood guilty" for this? Shouldn't the Elders be required to demonstrate the urgency to the flock by spending any free time they have, including vacation time, in the ministry?
do you believe that just because you start your posts with, may you have peace, that you are genuinely kind?
when in actuality, when you greet people with that message, then follow it with sarcasm and snide remarks, you are really being cruel.
when was cruelty ever synonymous with being faithful?
but they are in obedience to what my Lord has instructed me to do.
(correction) It might be more considerate of others who do believe in God to refer to him as OUR Lord rather than YOUR Lord.
If I were speaking to my Siblings about our father, and I kept referrig to him as "MY Father" they'd be annoyed by the implication that I had some special "in" with him and a relationship of a higher level than they did. By saying to them "MY father said this or MY father wants me to do that" makes it sounds as though they are excluded.
You do beleive we are all his children...right?
Your comments sometimes sound as if you are speaking in behalf of God to those of us who you feel aren't able to relate to him as well as you think you are.
do you believe that just because you start your posts with, may you have peace, that you are genuinely kind?
when in actuality, when you greet people with that message, then follow it with sarcasm and snide remarks, you are really being cruel.
when was cruelty ever synonymous with being faithful?
I too have wanted to say something for a long time about the over use of "may you have peace" and "dear one" by AGuest. ( stopped reading his/her posts because of them ) Since my first visit here, I've found those phrases to be very condesending. Perhaps I've been taking it wrong...but to me, these are inappropriate expressions to use while in a discussion with virtual strangers. When you refer to someone you haven't even met, as a "dear one", it comes across as sarcastic. Rather than an expression of kindness from someone you know, it becomes more like a pat on the head from one who is amused by your silly views and thinks of you as lower than themselves....as if you are being humored. ( exactly the desired effect intended, me thinks.) Can you imagine the reaction of an audience listening to a debate team or public discussion, if one of those involved began using these experssions? "There there dear one...those of us in the know realize someone of your low mentality is easily excitable...run along with your little notions...and let me take care of thinking for you...may you have peace (like I do)" It reminds me of this Caftan clad, Beret wearing, naturopath visiting, no deoderant using "sister" at the hall I used to attend. She used these expressions and had no idea how smug she sounded and was clueless as to how people were reacting to her. She came across as someone who was extremely sure of her own salvation...and thought of herself as being on the same level as the Apostles from whom she "lifted" these expressions. These words loose their meaning when used too often and out of context. The spirit of the intended message, however noble, is lost because of them. Just my opinion ( sweetie )
