i'm reading babylon the great has fallen, god's kingdom rules, published 1963. this was studied years ago when i was about 10-12 years old.
i wanted to just read some of the beliefs from decades ago.
my wife wants to know why i'm reading this book.
I've always thought that the WTBT Society was a lot closer to being akin to Amway then the bible.
The products we had to offer always had an invisible expiration date.
"Do not continue to believe in or use this particular product as it could damage your health. However we regret that refunds are not available. We can assure you that we will continue to get our shit together....praise Jah......."
has anyone turned it down or know of someone who did turn down being an elder or ms?.
yes, it should be one of the biggest privileges a brother can get !!
(how do i put the barfy icon in?
I turned down numerous positions. This was in the middle 1960's.
After High School I pioneered....... same boring old congregation....... same neighborhoods in field service. So I decided to make a change and pioneer where the need was great.
I went from a large NY City congregation to a rural area in Northwestern Pennsylvania. Within a week I was asked to give my public talk all over the circuit as my new congregation had only one mature ex missionary servant holding everything together.
Since he was the only brother qualified I was urged to continue pioneering, give my weekly public talk until we had 'paid' back those congregations who had sent their speakers to us.
I also became the assistant presiding minister and the Ministry School servant. I filled in other positions as needed.
I courted my future wife....... a 'casual' JW and served for three years...... until enough became enough and we wanted to experience real life. Get some advanced education. Do something with our lives other then knock on doors.
When we moved back to my Mother's home we presented as active JW's and we tried out a couple of Kingdom Halls where I had a fair number of friends.
It was during this time that I was recruited to take on various positions. Ones that I had already served in. I danced around the offers and postponed even joining a congregation.
A year went by while I finished a Trade school and could find a job. We moved out of my JW mother's house and we were free and clear of being a JW. Never took any position in any congregation......never even joined or attended a meeting in any congregation.
We were going to live free and clear.
And we did.
both my 84 yr old jw father and my never my jw mother 82 with both together died from the the corona in 24 hours of each other.
i can tell many fighting i have had here in the last 20 years.on this site .
i juy hope they rest in peace.
Very sorry for your lose, They will rest in peace....it's the same gentle peace we all experienced long before we were born.
besides growing up in the religion, why do you think people turn to jehovah’s witnesses?
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what made you become a witness?
I came in without a choice at age 12. My Mom was all about not dying......she and her close family would survive Armageddon and live forever. Sounded OK to me.
My sister died for want of a blood transfusion. My mother-in-law died for want of a blood transfusion needed to prepare her for a much needed open heart surgery.
My wife and I left the religion because of four things, Armageddon which was utter nonsense, the resurrection utter nonsense, the ban on blood the dumbest teaching the Society still pushes. And it's one of the most boring religions ever.
What's to like or be inspired by?
I read this blood issue thing during another discussion on this forum and it cracked me up........ It's one of the truest things I've heard.
The HLC...... Hospital Liaison Committee All male JW's will counsel you to not accept a life saving blood transfusion and there-by lose everlasting life.
The same three idiots who counsel you will be outside the hospital washing the windows.
Become and stay a JW at your own risk.
why do the elders always stress to the rank and file members of the congregation how important meeting attendance is, as well as the importance of always paying attention to every word that's being presented from the slave?
but then, during the meeting, they rarely sit and pay attention themselves to the wonderful spiritual banquet being presented?
they always seem so busy, don't they?
It is thus with most of us; we are what other people say we are. We know ourselves chiefly by hearsay....... Eric Hoffer.
We attended meetings so that we knew who we were. Otherwise we were just nobody's .
Hey BobsGirl!
I've been on this forum for..... I guess some ten years.
There is a vast change in the Society's policies in recent years. Encouraging everyone to use the internet to rediscover their religion......... Bad move....... now members are looking up the history of this religion and saying...... Holy shit!
Kingdom Halls are being sold to cover their guilty verdicts and settlements when it comes to their policy re pedophiles and their two witness rule. The Society permitted evil to take place. Real evil. The Society urged that we didn't get proactive about Child Sexual abuse.
Speak no evil of a brother JAH will fix it. But evil has a way to leave stains and the WTBTS is filled with many stains.
What do we say to the child that is raped two or three times a week for years?
JAH will fix it.
The times have changed and the Society and it's religion is no longer a player in the world of marginal religions.
It's time to spit in the face of the WTBTS and deny them any positive encouragement
or money contributions.
one thing that aggravates me is long concluding prayers, especially at the midweek meeting.
you work all day, rush home, grab a quick bite, dress up in meeting clothes.
then, go to the meeting.
Way back in the day like very early 1960's we had a visit by the Circuit Servant or CO. He was invited to have lunch with a good and decent JW family and I was invited.
The CO was known for his long prayers.
Now this family had an old dog who was beloved and tolerated.
One thing he did was to lay under the dinning room table during a meal. Knowing this dog pretty well I was surprised that they didn't lock him up.
We didn't know he was under the table until the CO started his prayer. It was like all long winded prayers as it didn't amount to anything just to impress.
The dog was not impressed it began to whine. It also stuck his head in every person's crotch to get a little attention.
Which of course set off a round of laughter...... the kind that starts with a hushed sort of giggle. As the dog made his rounds everybody lost control except the CO he kept mumbling JW this and JW that.
I do believe that dog didn't head bump him but I did hear a soft growl.
a thesis: the discursive construction of freedom in the watchtower society.
https://ris.cdu.edu.au/ws/portalfiles/portal/24632569/thesis_cdu_24577264_chester_h.pdf .
be aware, this thesis, although supremely stimulating, thought-provoking, fascinating, attention-grabbing, remarkable, noteworthy, and appealing, the author made use of out of the ordinary, worthy of note, and fascinating words and statements that, for the reader of average intelligence (like me), make for laborious reading.
After reading through this dissertation one understands the following....it also generated my own thoughts as well: So this will be a mix.
This is a religion where men dominate......... as all theocratic decisions are presented by men. The entire congregation and the Society is a men's club.
Obedience is as important as faith....if not more so.
When the Society speaks, through it's publications, it's web site, it's Elders and CO's ................the thinking is done. Your thoughts or opinions will not matter. There is no real discussions, no real objections.....try to understand THE THINKING IS DONE!
The Ban on Blood has killed more JW believers every year....... then Jim Jones did one time out.
That No Blood card one carries around becomes a suicide note if bad stuff happens to you or yours.
The Society like other religions has a morbid fear of masturbation. Why?....... no one can adequately explain what the problem is. A healthy urinary tract and prostate care calls for at least a weekly release so my proctologist told me. What a nice thing to learn!
The hatred of gay people is a mainstay of just about every religion even though people do not choose to be gay........ they are simply gay. There are 100 species of animals that can manifest as gay including lions and tigers............ if there are no female partners........so much for creation.
The Watchtower....... as other religions like the Mormons and Amish practice the art of coercion. Coercion is a criminal act. In law it's called the crime of duress. If you don't shun a disfellowshiped person you in turn can be DF and shunned.............
The definition of coercion refers to the act of persuading or convincing someone to do something using force or other unethical means.
There are now over 100 reasons that a JW can be disfellowshiped for. Look up Shepard the Flock....... its available on jwfacts.com. Check out disfellowshiping and the reason for acting on it........ you will need to scroll down the page to see the reasons.
It is the fear that you in turn can be be disfellowhiped......... If you don't shun family and close friends. This is an impossible situation for many JW's.
The overall take I got re the WTBTS it's rules, changes and life time punishments is that this is a very sick religion.
How sick do you have to be to rejoice in the death of Billions of innocent people.
you will die.
i will die.
those who have gone before us, the great and the small, the powerful and the weak, have shared the common fate of dying.
Van we all get sharp pains in and around the heart........... glad yours was not the final pain.
And P.S......... your wife was right! Hope you bought a sufficient amount of life insurance for the wife and family.
The entire appeal of the WT and JW construct was summed up by Freddy the ass hole Franz......when he spoke about the 1920's when the doctrine was put forth......... that 'many living today will never die'. Soon changed by the legal dept. to 'many living today MAY never die'. The Society protecting their ass.
So many people born in the turn of the century experienced WW 1, the Spanish flu which killed a hundred million people world wide. All sorts of diseases that were killer diseases. Cancer of course had no cure, TB, Polio, heart disease etc.
So a new religion actually before the WT created a religion........ presented this doctrine of living forever.
If there was ever a bull shit doctrine that was a life changer....... not dying...... was dreamed up by the WT Society and to this day people are desperately holding on to that hope.
A typical JW from the old school of thinking is ready to sacrifice billions of people so that they can live forever.
Freddy Franz gave a talk about how popular that saying was and how it drove people to the 'truth'. A big smile on his stupid face almost breaking into gleeful expressions.
He was oh so happy that someone, maybe Freddy..... thought that expression up.
Of course the Ban on Blood made sure that the faithful would get a 'dirt nap' until the Resurrection.
Jesus only had to wait for three days....what about the rest of us?
My Mom clung to this belief until she passed at 91. Never gave up hope. Spent half her life going door to door.
i am 15 years old and recently just doubting this whole religion that was introduced to me when i was very small from a very good family friend.
doubt obviously comes with shame and guilt and i hate those feelings because it feels like i'm betraying this whole organization that i grew up in.... anyways, i've been doing research and found that jehovah's witnesses dislike/shun kids who attend colleges & universities that are more than 4 years long?
have you heard of this?
Welcome to our forum. I think I can say that virtually no one on this forum would discourage you from getting higher learning........ especially in a field that you are interested in.
I'd start early to plant the seeds of your interest in getting some serious education with your parents. The society at times has a desperate need for college level JW's............ so that's a good fall back point. In fact Bethel itself looks for skilled believers as well as those who have useful educations.
I don't know if your baptized........ hopefully not. Hopefully never. Resist that option. Jesus wasn't baptized until he was 30 years old.....some how the Society slides past that fact.
There will be a number of options open to you in the years to come. In the mean time when you turn 16 an after school job working for a vet, or helping out at some health care facility.
When you work along side professionals it is amazing how much you can learn.
A lot of JWs teens these days are living at home while they attend 1 year or a two year community college.
In the meantime be kind and loving to your family members, keep up with house hold chores. And stay focused on who you are and what you want to be.
