Posts by nmthinker

41

Sheep and the Goats - The Light Gets Brighter

by nmthinker in

perhaps some of you remember a new understanding of the sheep and the goats in the epic march 2015 wt study edition - specifically the article "loyally supporting christ's brothers".. while this article was studied many months ago, it was instrumental in helping me wake up.

during my study of the 2015 article i recalled that we had just revised our understanding of the sheep and the goats a few years ago and this caused me to research the real progression of the jw understanding of this parable.

i put the results of my research in an excel spreadsheet.. .

nmthinker

2013 Edition (Source - jw.org)

12 Jesus’ prophecy about the last days reveals that he will for the very first time act as Judge of all nations after the destruction of false religion. As mentioned in paragraph 8, some of the events that will occur during that time are recorded at Matthew 24:30, 31. When you examine those verses, you will note that Jesus there foretells events that are similar to the ones he mentions in the parable of the sheep and the goats. For example, the Son of man comes with glory and with angels; all tribes and nations are gathered; those judged as sheep “lift [their] heads up” because “everlasting life” awaits them.

13 So, then, what can we conclude? Jesus will judge people of all nations as sheep or goats when he comes during the great tribulation. Then, at Armageddon, the climax of the great tribulation, the goatlike ones will be ‘cut off’ forever.

2015 Edition (Source - jw.org)

“The sheep” and “the goats” represent individuals from all nations. These ones are not anointed by holy spirit.
And what of the reason why people will be judged as either sheep or goats? The outcome hinges on how they have treated the remaining ones of Christ’s spirit-anointed brothers on earth.

He [Jesus] describes the sheep as “righteous” because they recognize that Christ has a group of anointed brothers still on earth, and the sheep loyally support the anointed during these critical last days.

The growing number of prospective sheep count it a privilege to support Christ’s brothers not only in the preaching work but also in other practical ways. For example, they give financial contributions and help to build Kingdom Halls, Assembly Halls, and branch facilities, and they loyally obey those appointed by “the faithful and discreet slave” to take the lead.

41

Sheep and the Goats - The Light Gets Brighter

by nmthinker in

perhaps some of you remember a new understanding of the sheep and the goats in the epic march 2015 wt study edition - specifically the article "loyally supporting christ's brothers".. while this article was studied many months ago, it was instrumental in helping me wake up.

during my study of the 2015 article i recalled that we had just revised our understanding of the sheep and the goats a few years ago and this caused me to research the real progression of the jw understanding of this parable.

i put the results of my research in an excel spreadsheet.. .

nmthinker

steve2 I posted the link anonymously. I don't have a Facebook account. Can you PM me what you are referring to please? Thanks for looking out!

41

Sheep and the Goats - The Light Gets Brighter

by nmthinker in

perhaps some of you remember a new understanding of the sheep and the goats in the epic march 2015 wt study edition - specifically the article "loyally supporting christ's brothers".. while this article was studied many months ago, it was instrumental in helping me wake up.

during my study of the 2015 article i recalled that we had just revised our understanding of the sheep and the goats a few years ago and this caused me to research the real progression of the jw understanding of this parable.

i put the results of my research in an excel spreadsheet.. .

nmthinker

Perhaps some of you remember a new understanding of the sheep and the goats in the epic March 2015 WT Study Edition - specifically the article "Loyally Supporting Christ's Brothers".

While this article was studied many months ago, it was instrumental in helping me wake up. During my study of the 2015 article I recalled that we had just revised our understanding of the sheep and the goats a few years ago and this caused me to research the real progression of the JW understanding of this parable. I put the results of my research in an Excel spreadsheet.

http://imgur.com/UDnGfPn

What was shocking about this new understanding is how the judging of the sheep and the goats pivoted from mankind as a whole to a focus exclusively on JW's. According to this new light, those who are sheep are those who support Christ's brothers, either by preaching or, as the illustration shows, engaging in building and maintaining kingdom halls. If you don't do this you will be judged a goat. Logically then, the parable cannot be directed to the world as a whole, as they do not even know who Christ's Brothers (the anointed) are and therefore, cannot be expected to loyally support them. This logic is omitted and covered over in typical WT doublespeak form. But the underlying message remained, 'listen obey and be blessed.'

This article typified the tightening of control over the flock by the newly self-appointed Faithful and discreet slave - the Governing Body. The rank and file can either obey the GB and their appointees, or risk being judged as a GOAT and destroyed forever. They discarded teachings as recent as 2013 to drive this point home!

113

I just found out that my youngest brother committed suicide

by SnakesInTheTower in

jw
friends

my middle brother called me a couple of hours ago.

our youngest brother, josh, who was 38, was found by his friends in his apartment.

he hung himself.

nmthinker

I'm sorry for your loss. Truly tragic.

26

Our assembly expenses were $16,900 for ONE DAY - Please share yours

by nmthinker in

~2300 in attendance.

one day cost of $16,900!.

this was at romeoville, which was built ground up in the 90's and was fully paid for by the illinois circuits!.

nmthinker

~2300 in attendance

One day cost of $16,900!

This was at Romeoville, which was built ground up in the 90's and was fully paid for by the Illinois Circuits!

28

Assembly baptisms/attendance - keep 'em coming!

by freddo in

jw
friends

don't forget to post your reported assembly and convention attendance and baptisms and whether they are higher or lower than customary (if you know).. here's some detail passed to me of the last circuit assembly held at surrey (uk) assembly hall.. attendance 922 baptisms 3 (half circuit).

nmthinker

Perusing the stats in this thread and the reddit thread (which is gone for some reason) I think WTBS has GOT to be faking their baptized and increased numbers.

In the yearbook they consistently report about a ~3% baptismal rate where 2/3 of that number leave the org as deduced by the actual increase of average publishers. But the baptismal numbers I've seen here and in the reddit thread are consistently less than .5%, half a percent, many times less than .3%

I think they are making their numbers up. With the baptismal rates so low as evidenced at every convention and assembly they are likely losing numbers in the Unites States. Its almost guaranteed

49

Forgiving Loans the Watchtower Way

by cofty in

bank - thank you for maintaining your loan repayments for the past 3 years.

to show our appreciation we are forgiving the balance of your loan.

borrower - yeah!.

nmthinker

It should come as no surprise that the LDC video has been removed from the jw.org website. It was called "Designing Future Kingdom Halls".

LDC? What LDC?

30

Pledge for Global Assistance Arrangement - $15 per publisher!

by nmthinker in

last night our congregation read a letter for the global assistance arrangement combined with the traveling overseer assistance arrangement.

the "recommended" amount was $15 per publisher, which was well over $1000 for our hall.. it seemed steep.

our congregation does not have this type of money.

nmthinker

ThinkerBelle - The letter basically admits that the funds can be used for anything. There is no separate fund, it all goes into one big slush account.

30

Pledge for Global Assistance Arrangement - $15 per publisher!

by nmthinker in

last night our congregation read a letter for the global assistance arrangement combined with the traveling overseer assistance arrangement.

the "recommended" amount was $15 per publisher, which was well over $1000 for our hall.. it seemed steep.

our congregation does not have this type of money.

nmthinker

Last night our congregation read a letter for the Global Assistance Arrangement combined with the Traveling Overseer Assistance arrangement. The "recommended" amount was $15 per publisher, which was well over $1000 for our hall.

It seemed steep. Our congregation does not have this type of money. I would be surprised if we had that amount in the bank and would be able to send it right away. Strangely our latest finance report is not posted on the board.

Also we have separate pledges after the circuit overseer visit is done. Something doesn't add up.

The final bit of irony is that there is a special fund for taking care of unexpected events that affect the kingdom hall BUILDINGS. Meanwhile they are firing people all over the world without giving them any compensation! Where is the "orphans and widows" fund?

Pathetic, really. I will never give WTBS another dime of my money. I'll be giving it to orphans and widows, the needy of my family and the congregation.

20

need input: My wife is at it again...this time about the faithful and discreet slave

by goingthruthemotions in

so you all know that i go with my wife to the meeting to protect the kids from the drival and pacify her.

tonight we are sitting there and she points to mathew and says something about the faithful and discreet slave and she said eplain this.

so breaking away from what i was reading in the meeting..." in search of christian freedom by franz"...i said.

nmthinker

When I try to reason with my wife she becomes visibly agitated and lashes out. One night we watched the faithful slave is not 1900 years old video. She doesn't understand doctrine even though she is a regular pioneer. She asked for more explanation so I detailed the reason for the talk and why is was necessary for them to bring this up (post 2013).

Within 20 minutes we had an extremely heated argument on an unrelated subject. I won't go into details but it struck me how absolutely off the rails she went. I couldn't make sense of what what going on in her head. It was like a switch clicked in her brain and she became mentally unstable. My wife has never shown any symptoms of mental illness. She is an extremely smart and capable woman.

Anotjer time I shared how the way the elders deal with child abusers could lead to cases where know child abusers were in the hall unknown to other families. The discussion started calmly but within 10 minutes she basically exploded and was shouting every vile thing at me. What made this especially remarkable was that I had just shared with her something I hadn't told another person before (except my therapist) that I had been touched inappropriately by a MS (study instructor) when I was between 10-12 and that the brother is now a coordinator at his congregation. I was asking for her advice and support is how to handle the situation and confront the brother. When I turned the discussion towards the org's policies she shut down and became very agitated.

I'm convinced this is the cognitive dissonance which we hear so much about. I believe it is physically painful for her and causes her to act very erratically.

If your wife is listening to you that's step 1. But it sounds like she is experiencing cognitive dissonance, which is painful for her and causes her to lash out. Im waiting for the opportunity to talk to my wife when she is in her genuine self, away from meetings and indoctrination. It will probably be when we are on vacation next.