i don't believe it's possible to post pdf files here, so here's a link to it.
let me know if it needs any tweaking.
it makes sense to me, but i made it.
I can't help but wonder:
Are the GB so arrogant they consciously think, "These people are so stupid and brainwashed they'll never put 2 and 2 together"?
...or is there a conscientious group in Bethel trying to sneak the information into the literature, under the radar of the power structure, that is frustrated with the inability and unwillingness of 7M people to put 2 and 2 together?
i don't believe it's possible to post pdf files here, so here's a link to it.
let me know if it needs any tweaking.
it makes sense to me, but i made it.
Okay, I changed it a little. I would like to keep it on one page, because the concept is simple arithmetic; nothing complex. The Society hiding the real numbers so they can just insert whatever date they want is what makes it difficult, using only their literature. If you want to see the new version, here's the link again.
Thanks for the input.
i don't believe it's possible to post pdf files here, so here's a link to it.
let me know if it needs any tweaking.
it makes sense to me, but i made it.
hey all, i know that the references for 'theocratic warfare' are ancient and not considered useful.. i would like a reference to the wt saying that one does not have to give truth to those who are not worthy or something similar.. help!.
this information is for a court case.
I enjoy the articles that permit lying to people who don't deserve the truth. Since there is zero evidence that elders are actually appointed by Holy Spirit, I feel no compulsion to tell them anything, per the Society's own standards. Also, the Society feels no compulsion to tell us many, many things about the GB, Beth-Sarim and Beth-San, 1975, Heaven is the Pleiades, "bedroom laws", organ transplant and vaccination bans, etc., etc., etc... I feel they can fall under the Golden Rule and they have demonstrated they deserve no candor, because they offer no candor.
i ask because i've been posting at jwd/jwn for 10 years now.
i was a rapidly fading jw when i started but still considered myself a christian for a good few years more.
now i've embraced reason and rejected faith i'm a very happy atheist and enjoy learning more about the fact of evolution.. what about you?.
That has been a source of great mental debate for me...
the blindness spreads.. as reported here:.
church membership for more than a third of the nation's largest churches took a hit last year while non-orthodox christian churches are on the rise, a new report on denominations finds.the southern baptist convention, the nation's second largest denomination, reported a .42 percent decline in membership to 16,160,088 members, according to national council of churches' 2011 yearbook of american & canadian churches, released monday.. still dominating the list of the nation's top 25 mainline churches is the catholic church, which posted a .57 growth at 68.5 million members.. but a few church bodies, regarded as cults by some christians, continue to increase in size.. ranked 20th in size, the jehovahs witnesses denomination reported a 4.37 percent gain in membership, with 1,162,686 members total.
seventh-day adventist church, which didn't make the top 25 list for at least the past two years, squeezed in the list this year in the 24th spot.
(fingers in ears, blinders on) La, la, la, la, la! I don't hear any of your lies. The WTS keeps telling me membership in churches is plummeting, while JW numbers are skyrocketing. Don't try to confuse me with any of your "facts". "statistics", or other "smooth talk".
subject of the show: "is this a cult?".
i hope they do a good job, my wife watches him every day.. hope steve hassan is a guest..
The only thing most brainwashed JWs listen to is JW literature w2/15/1994 p3-4 had what should have been a very eye-opening description of what a cult is. It described the WTS to a tee and the next article went on to deny the reality that should be obvious to every JW. The average JW is right out of 1984, in that they brainwash themselves and that is the nastiest type of brainwashing. It's very difficult to get through, because the people don't perceive any problem with their mentality and any attempt to "fix" them only offends them, because you're pointing out a problem they don't admit they have. You're the "unbeliever" or the "apostate", so you're the one who needs fixed. In their minds, outsiders calling JWs a cult is like the pot calling the snowflake "black".
you may have heard of "the great equalization" that is supposed to happen, so no one has "too much" or "too little".
but what exactly does this mean to the witlesses?.
what this very well could end up meaning is that, when coming crises hit, they are going to start hounding the witlesses that prepared well for them to share with those who didn't.
Communism doesn't work, mostly because people suck. The Pilgrims tried being "good neighbors" and sharing everything. Many starved to death until they decided to own and sell their produce. Since everybody got the same, no matter what they contributed, nobody contributed. "From each according to his ability, to each according to his need" encourages people to take without giving anything back. In communist countries and socialist programs like the various forms of welfare, it's amazing how many people suddenly have a bad back.
i ask because i've been posting at jwd/jwn for 10 years now.
i was a rapidly fading jw when i started but still considered myself a christian for a good few years more.
now i've embraced reason and rejected faith i'm a very happy atheist and enjoy learning more about the fact of evolution.. what about you?.
For me, the changes stemmed from reading the Bible and being attacked for it, in my hall. Obeying God, rather than men and not caving or cowering to man-made doctrine and not hiding my contempt for Pharisaic behavior. Being dragged into the back room and "counselled" for speaking the truth (even having the elders admit "you're not wrong, but...") and exercising my God-given, Bible-trained - not WT-trained (1John 4:1) - conscience. Realizing the erroneous interpretation of FDS and "Be obedient to those who are taking the lead among YOU and be submissive" didn't allow men to seize control of my mind and heart was the catalyst for the distancing myself from the JW mentality (Pro 14:15). Coming to sites like this was a result, not the cause. I never intended to start any tension between myself and the people I believed were fellow lovers of God and Scripture. They picked the fights with me and attempted to coerce me into denying the Scriptures and the Christ in exchange for their "love" and approval (Mat 23:15). Fortunately, I'm not the typical loser with low self-esteem that most JWs are and didn't need their permission to feel fulfilled. I had the feeling of "Now to me it is a very trivial matter that I should be examined by YOU or by a human tribunal." - 1Cor 4:3
Repeated attempts were made - mostly by Watchtower study conductors, I realized - to force me to preach the literature, but I refused and would only base my ministry on the Bible (Psa 118:8): I made it clear "If the Bible doesn't say it, I won't preach it" (Pro 30:5-6). I quickly came to realize the main doctrine of the JWs is the hierarchy and total submission to men, which they deny exists. All other doctrines are secondary to "You have to believe whatever we tell you." It's impossible to avoid that doctrine, even on things where the Bible remains silent, because the totalitarian control exercised by the Society permeates everything. They have to weigh in on every conceivable detail and have decided there is no such thing as a "conscience matter" anymore (Eph 7:16). They have made hoops to jump through and lines in the sand to pick a side on (Eph 4:14-15), just like the Pharisees; yet they perceive absolutely no correlation. Likewise, Jesus pointed out to the 1st-century Pharisees "Isaiah aptly prophesied about you" and they still refused to see.
Just like the temples and synagogues were God's houses, even though power-hungry attention whores had taken over the leadership, I still attend meetings and consider myself a member. While I stand out like a sore thumb, have been "marked" and all but silenced from the ministry (their version, but the Internet is now my field), I feel I actually belong there. It's the vast majority of the others who I feel don't (Jer 5:29-31), so I'm not leaving. They'll have to throw me out (Isa 66:5, Luke 6:22-23), which I won't be surprised if happens very soon (John 16:1-4).
this is an exact copy of my letter to the watchtower.
it never recieved a reply (i did not include 'attn writing committee' in the address however).
please keep in mind that when i wrote this i had just started my intensive research into their beliefs/history, and despite my agressive tone i really did expect a satisfactory answer.
Nothing they haven't heard 100s of times before, I'm sure. Now someone in Bethel feels "persecuted". If you gave your name and congregation, a copy is now in your file and a JC is forming as we speak. How many Pharisees repented from Jesus calling them out on their lies and hypocrisy? I don't recall any scripture talking about them falling to their knees en masse to beg forgiveness for their transgressions. Instead, they conspired against the messenger. While it may have felt good to take a pot shot at them, I fear it's all striving after the wind.
Jehovah himself points out that only when his enemies are staring their own destruction in the face, "And my anger will certainly come to its finish and I will appease my rage on them and comfort myself; and they will have to know that I myself, Jehovah, have spoken in my insistence on exclusive devotion, when I bring my rage to its finish upon them." - Eze 5:13
They wouldn't listen to the prophets, they wouldn't listen to Jesus, they wouldn't listen to the apostles, and they're not going to listen to you or me or anyone.
