Posts by InterestedOne

31

Apostasy and Df question

by jam in

speaking hypothetically, a elder can not except the logic on the.

new understanding of the doctrine change (over lapping generation).. he voice his concern to his wife, she being a good jw , tell the elders.. the brother have not spoke to anyone in the cong.

about his doubt.. the elders question him, he remains firm, he tell the brothers, i have.

InterestedOne

Sorry to be OT, but Stargater: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolf_Furuli

(not that that means JW's are credible, and I don't know how his work is viewed in the scholarly community. Just an FYI)

3

Do you feel trapped- Born in Lurkers?-

by stuckinamovement in

jw
friends

if you are "born in" to the organization you have a lot at stake.

all of your friends are witnesses, most times all of your family are witnesses.

you might work for or with a witness.

I wonder the same thing SIAM. My study conductor is a born-in with a wife who is also a born-in. Imagine if he had to go home to his wife & tell her he didn't believe it anymore! It would disrupt his life. When he and I have conversations, I realize how difficult it would be for him to admit anything could be wrong with the ideas he is supposed to proclaim. He would have to evaluate which is more important to him: expressing his true feelings/beliefs or maintaining the lifestyle he is currently embedded in. He may have decided that the latter is more important, and I suspect others have decided that as well. When I attend the meetings, I also look around and wonder how many of the people there have chosen the latter. I don't know how I would identify them though because the very nature of their choice requires hiding their true feelings.

As Ding mentioned, any secret handshakes/passwords wouldn't work b/c it would be too easy for JW tm 's to learn of it. I wonder if there is a more general way to tell just by talking with them. Like maybe they say all the right things, but there could be some telltale sign, some slip of the tongue or accidental gesture that would give them away to a perceptive person. I'd be curious to hear how those more familiar with this culture spot someone who is trapped.

39

The Soul

by free2beme in

jw
friends

so we were all taught basically this thought.

the soul is our life, not seperate and not something that moves on when we die, right?

yet, for those who die and get ressurected, jehovah remembers them and makes them come to life with their memories, personalities, appearance and so on, right?

InterestedOne

Thank you Leolaia. You helped clarify the matter in my mind. The idea of creating a new body with all the same memories, etc. is clarified when you imagine it happening before you die. Which one is the real you?

92

Wanted to get reinstated... Almost ready to give up

by headisspinning in

jw
friends

i'd like to hear from anyone who was disfellowshipped but fully intended to go back as soon as possible and how that worked out or didn't.

i'd like to hear how soon you went back to meetings, how many letters requesting reinstatement you wrote, how you were treated, and how long it took you to get bitter and jaded.... or in the off chance you had a positive experience, what exactly happened.. really struggling here... thanks!.

InterestedOne

headisspinning wrote:

We want it to be the Truth...

I can understand what it feels like to want something to be true. I don't know how much you have read on the topic of "critical thinking," but if you are in the mood for it, google it. It does not always mean being negative or "critical." It is part of what I consider to be a healthy process of developing what one believes. It has to do with examining what is more likely to be true, and thus more "believable," and what is not as likely to be true.

31

Did The Elders Ever Try To Adjust YOUR Thinking?

by PublishingCult in

.

did the elders ever try to "adjust" your thinking?.

can you share what they felt was incorrect about your thinking?.

InterestedOne

PC - another beauty. I'd like to see the original article.

4

Evolution of a Con

by Resistance is Futile in

jw
friends

help me out here, ive never been a jw (family are in the cult) but im trying to fully understand the madness that is their doctrine and subsequent mind control over their captive members.

its seems logical that they will eventually abandon the 144,000 doctrine as being a literal number.

time is the enemy of a false prophet.

InterestedOne

Although I'm certainly no JW expert, off the top of my head I think they have a long time before the 144,000 could be theoretically exhausted. As time goes by and current anointed die off, more can claim to be anointed since they abandoned 1935 as the closing of the heavenly calling. The only time the 144,000 would become a problem would be far into the future when the JW TM organization has accumulated enough history of existence of its Governing Bodies such that the total number of GB members who ever lived, plus a few token Rank & File anointed (the rest could be accused of being mistaken) and a few early Christians, exceeded 144,000. I think that gives them a long time before they have to bother figuring out a solution. Maybe I'm missing something, but that's how it looks to me.

I think they'll be ok. They did a brilliant job with the overlapping generation, and I'm sure they'll come up with some other carny trick if 144,000 becomes a problem.

18

Exclusive use of the name "Jehovah's witness"

by InterestedOne in

does the organization headquartered at 25 columbia heights in brooklyn have some kind of exclusive rights to the name "jehovah's witness?

" i noticed some of the recent letters from them posted here are signed "christian congregation of jehovah's witnesses.

" what if i wanted to start my own "christian congregation of jehovah's witnesses" that had no affiliation whatsoever with 25 columbia heights in brooklyn?

InterestedOne

wasblind - Thank you for pointing out Acts 1:8. That definitely drives home the point that Christians are witnesses of Jesus. I totally agree with you that by leaving Jesus out of their label, the JW's are making people wait until later to see how Jesus fits into their doctrine. It has a different tone than what I get from reading the NT where it seems like the Christians put the name of Jesus front & center.

18

Exclusive use of the name "Jehovah's witness"

by InterestedOne in

does the organization headquartered at 25 columbia heights in brooklyn have some kind of exclusive rights to the name "jehovah's witness?

" i noticed some of the recent letters from them posted here are signed "christian congregation of jehovah's witnesses.

" what if i wanted to start my own "christian congregation of jehovah's witnesses" that had no affiliation whatsoever with 25 columbia heights in brooklyn?

InterestedOne

The word "witness" does not only mean eyewitness. See the following definitions:

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/witness

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/testify

A witness can be someone who is willing to testify - to express that they believe something is true. By that definition, any Christian or Jew could be called a "Jehovah's witness" because they are willing to testify that Jehovah is real. Calling oneself a "Jehovah's witness" does not exclude Christ. That's probably why you hear the term "Jehovah's Christian witness." It seems wrong to me for someone to take possession of that term to mean only those who submit to the GB at 25 Columbia Heights.

37

When You Look Back, Can You Believe That You Actually . . .

by PublishingCult in

.

believed you were going to live forever in paradise on earth?.

InterestedOne

PC - This might sound crazy, but in my various interactions with JW's over the years, I have seen their eyes look like that in that picture. I keep thinking it's my imagination, and then I'll see it again. It always scared me. I don't want to hijack your thread, but I had to say something. Have you seen it too? Do you have an explanation for it?

18

Exclusive use of the name "Jehovah's witness"

by InterestedOne in

does the organization headquartered at 25 columbia heights in brooklyn have some kind of exclusive rights to the name "jehovah's witness?

" i noticed some of the recent letters from them posted here are signed "christian congregation of jehovah's witnesses.

" what if i wanted to start my own "christian congregation of jehovah's witnesses" that had no affiliation whatsoever with 25 columbia heights in brooklyn?

InterestedOne

I would be curious to see what names they have registered. Also, it just occurred to me that this kind of branding feels wrong to me. It seems almost as bad as if I created a group with the registered name "good persons." Then someone could not call him/herself a good person unless they were part of my group.