today i turned in my field service time for may.
i believe its my 6th month of zero time (seems like a year) so on my time slip i put my name, month and wrote in inactive.
i told my wife she just said i was crazy.. .
Awesome! And congratulations!
I am still in my 'extended period of rest' according to the letter I wrote to the elders.. If they ask how long it will last, I will tell them until Armageddon comes, so not very long, since it's right around the corner.
i'm still a semi member of the kh but not at all active and have major doubts when i started reading all kinds of opposing literature.
talked to elders about this and also my father but my father but he still believes it's the "truth".
anyways jist of this story is i gave my father a copy of "crisis of conscience".
The CO is probably going to say that Ray was a manifestation of Satan.
i don't even know where to start.
every jw i still have contact with is poor, their health is bad, they're stressed out, they're unhappy people.
they put on a good front but you can see the strained smiles, those distant looks into nowhere (or where their life could have gone).
If you have to ask the governing body how to wipe your ass, you don't have time to be happy.
I think the topic starter is jealous that we don't have to go into field service anymore.
the article that caught my eye as i was thumbing through it was on page 18 entitled "a peaceable people defend their good name".
this was all about the issues being addresssed in russia and how the j.w.
's were being oppressed/repressed.. but if you look in the box to the left under "a note to the citizens of russia", you will see that they quote the scripture in luke 12:2 "there is nothing carefully concealed that will not be revealed, and secret that will not become known.".
I think Russia is right in saying that the literature is extremist. It is extremist.
is there really a god?
is there really a divine creator or did the universe around us just "evolve?
" what an incredible thought to even imagine that there could be a supernatural being so powerful as to create a universe.
Yes of course it's a good idea to believe in a fairytale of a thousands of years old goatherding tribe about a superbeing who waves the universe into existence with his magic wand. That's much better than trying to build up a worldview based on actual reality. And instead of looking and thinking about the things we find around us, it's much better to believe in this divine entity who made everything juuust right. I mean who wants to look at nature without prejudice? That's no fun.
The earth is such a fantastic place! It's so clear that there must be a God who designed this inviting, welcoming planet. I mean, who doesn't want to live on a thin wafer of rock on a giant hot ball of lava, where earthquakes and volcanic eruptions can happen at anytime. Yes the loving Jehovah provided us with a gigantic mass of water to drown in, should we ever feel the need. Most of the earth is covered in water, where we can't live at all, but at least we can swim in it! And who doesn't love swimming? And even if we don't want to drown, the multitude of cyclones, hurricanes and tsunami's can visit this exciting experience on us when we least expect it. We're so lucky with the large amounts of hostile territory where man can barely survive. I mean who doesn't want to camp out in the Sahara, or have a nice picknick on the north pole, or build a lovely little cabin somewhere in the himalayas?
And we are also extremely happy with all of the great diseases floating around in our ecosystem. Thanks God! I mean, if all those millions of african children wouldn't be able to die from malaria, who else was going to kill them? Can you imagine God and his masterworker, Jesus, carefully designing the mucus glands of the mosquito in just such a manner that it has the highest change of transmitting this fantastically successful disease? Surely this must be a clear sign of design. Nobody in their right mind would think this could come into existence by mere chance!
Those archeologists and evolutionary biologists are so dumb. I mean imagine that you would find a watch next to a watch factory. Would you think that this watch was made in that factory? Or would you believe that a superpowerful wizard came along, and cast a wondrous spell to create this watch?
We are so lucky to be on this one, unique perfect little planet. I mean, there are only 50 billion other planets who are comparable to earth's size and distance from their host star and chemical makeup. So it's not like there is a wide range of habitable planets to choose from! Am I right guys?
i post on a couple of forums and read and lurk and all that stuff.. a theme that seems to be gaining momentum is about how the gb are 'tightening their grip' and 'becoming more cultish'.. i don't read the publications anymore and oddly i read extracts of them on the forums.. punk is babbling now.............sorry...................my questions are (sorry if they're a bit long.
sorry if i sound like satan: 'is it really so?
' but then i am a mentally diseased apostate).. 1. are the gb really tightening their grip or is it just the same as it ever was........but..........we just notice the propaganda more now we're out?.
Amazing difference between those two translations. When you think of the kind of countries where simplified english will be used... it's clear that the WTS is abusing their power there.
when it comes to cults, jehovah's witnesses have a very strong hierarchical leadership system.
in many ways it enforces their control on the individual.
one of the tricks is that the lower levels of followers never get direct contact beyond the circuit overseer level.
When it comes to cults, Jehovah's Witnesses have a very strong hierarchical leadership system. In many ways it enforces their control on the individual. One of the tricks is that the lower levels of followers never get direct contact beyond the circuit overseer level. They know who the district overseer is, because they see him in the circuit assembly or at the district assemblies, but they usually can't talk to him. The zone overseer is rarely seen and bethel is a big mystery. And then after bethel comes the highest level, the governing body. Most JWs don't know who is in it, their names, for how long, or any personal information about the individuals that make up the governing body.
As a cult leader the governing body is in the best position possible. They don't even have to face their followers. They are anonymous. Whatever mistakes they make can be scapegoated down the chain of command. There is no way for lowly followers to contact them. In the worst case scenario they can even scapegoat one of the GB members. They are immune to criticism of a true believer. How can you criticize somebody you don't know and you are not even sure what they do? Most JWs don't even know how they get appointed or how to become one if they wanted to. Because of the great mystery surrounding them they become infallible. They are an invisible target.
This strong position also means that they fully control the information that reaches the followers. As a cult leader in small group, you have to interact with your followers personally, and they might see you when you are not at your best or catch body language that indicates you are not agreeing with what you are saying. No such problems for the governing body. Only what they want to say gets communicated and only when they want to. They leave out much information that would intrigue their followers, for example, how they get new light. They never have to answer difficult questions. They are fully in control.
Because of this they are able to make many statements without explanation. When they say that overlapping generations are divinely inspired, how are you going to factcheck that? You can't. The only explanation they have is that the holy spirit is guiding them through prayer. More vague mysticism. They are hiding behind the bushes, with a big megaphone shouting out commands. It doesn't get any more man-behind-the-curtains than that.
When the watchtower society decided to draw power away from the big-name presidents such as Rutherford and Knorr and anonymize the leadership, they made a very important and powerful change that would tighten the grip on their followers.
sorry if this has already been discussed.
i've only just had a quick look at the 15th july wt.
once again i've looked at it from the point of view of the governing body dictating to their secretary, the text to rush down to the printing press.. page 21 para 16/17.
"I have special access to the aliens."
that's the facebook message i just got from one of my friends on facebook that is studying ..she was raised a jw but the family left for years.
her mom (widowed) is now back in and is trying to get her 35 year old daughter now staying with her to come in by telling her how she wil lbe destroyed if she doesn't..same old love.. snoozy.
JWs are so fantastic, they don't even kill people! What more could you ask for?
Of course they do go around threatening people with death, it's just somebody else who is performing the actual killing so that makes it OK.
