since starting to wake up, i can't help notice how so many talks emphasise preaching, increasing your hours, pioneering etc...with a hefty load of guilt on the side.. i always noticed the guilt, but now i'm noticing how talks that seem to start out on another issue always seem to come back to hours!
visit talk seemed to start out about persecution, trusting in jehovah etc...but the main thrust in the end was, 'do more hours, pioneer, don't get an education or pursue a career, don't get distracted, hooray for the pioneers!
if you dont do more hours you will be 'the sort that shrink back to destruction'.
In other words, nothing much has changed since I started taking an interest in this #u&*ing bloody cult some 50 years ago. Back then, the only thing that mattered was the column on the monthly field service report slip entitled "Hours" . Lo and bloody behold, it is still the same now! (Sad to say, none of this comes as any surprise).
Bill.
i am initially thinking of the major religious institutions of christianity , catholic ,many branches , church of england , and the major protestant religions , too numerous to mention here.. after all their is 40,000 plus christian religions in the world today ?so obviously j.w.`s are not the only false religion .. so my real question is really , to do with the mainstream christian religions , why are`nt they more aggressive in their condemnation of the jehovah witness religion for their obvious failings ,flip backs ,contradictions ,prophecy`s that never eventuated , end of the world predictions ,re-inventing their past history , even distancing themselves from their past history , and their founding members , such as c.t.russell and j.f.rutherford whose policies they now reject... they need to get on board and bleed it for all it`s worth .. smiddy .
Mainly, I think, because the mainstream churches regard fringe-groups like the JWs as being beneath contempt.
Bill.
you think it's the holy spirit that appoints the elders, at least that's what new jw males are told.
the culture within the organization dictates to all young male jehovah's witnesses that unless you are an elder, you will not get the sultry, passionate- brunette, the voluptuous, curvaceous,- blond, or the seductive, erotic, red headed-vamp..
so unaware of the social forces that are shaping your mind, you succumb to the dictum issued by the governing body to conform to the structure already in place- if you want to be successful.
Sparrowdown,
You're right on the mark there. I never did have much of a taste for kissing people's backsides - no matter what it was going to gain! I guess my taste bud's were against me advancing too far in The Borg (and in retrospect, that was a bloody good thing, too).
Bill.
you think it's the holy spirit that appoints the elders, at least that's what new jw males are told.
the culture within the organization dictates to all young male jehovah's witnesses that unless you are an elder, you will not get the sultry, passionate- brunette, the voluptuous, curvaceous,- blond, or the seductive, erotic, red headed-vamp..
so unaware of the social forces that are shaping your mind, you succumb to the dictum issued by the governing body to conform to the structure already in place- if you want to be successful.
Never!
I had one hell of a battle even getting to be an MS - despite being equipped with the necessary plumbing!
No doubt he good old Holy Spirit had something against me (read : I must have got in somebody of importance's bad books somewhere along the line - and that person in turn had a direct telephone circuit to the Holy Spirit).
as i understand it ,a christian minister of god is someone who goes to school gets the opportunity to further their education at a higher level ,then studies greek hebrew , latin , and what is available in ancient manuscripts , and demonstrates they have a comprehension of all these issues.....and of course they would need to get a pass on these subjects.. i think this would be the minimum standard required in the mainstream christian churches ,greek orthodox , catholic, all branches ,church of england ,and most of the mainstream protestant religions.
then we come to jehovah `s witnesses , none of the above applies to them , all they have is , they have been baptized by water immersion into their religion with none of the above qualifications.. and this includes minors , some as young as ten , possibly even younger in some situations who are classed as ministers of god simply by their baptism by water immersion.. they are also on record as saying higher education is a waste of time.why ?
because the end is just around the corner , a phrase that has been repeated and repeated since the year 1914 till now.. what young child could possibly hold their own with a discussion in theology or even comprehend the complexities of christianity with their counterparts.?.
smiddy,
What young child could possibly hold their own with a discussion in theology or even comprehend the complexities of Christianity with their counterparts.?
It is something of a joke, isn't it!
Cathloic priests have to have at least a bachelor's degree, preferably in fields such as religious studies or philosophy, before they can even be considered for seminary training. They then have to graduate from a seminary, where academic work includes such subjects as biblical theology and philosophy.
Contrast that with the case of the JWs, where - as you have correctly observed - even a baptised 10 year old child is classed as a minister.
How many JWs would these days be willing to cross swords with a priest / pastor / minister of any of the mainstream churches, I wonder? My guess is that most would be looking for the very first excuse to disengage from the enemy, and then to flee the field!
Bill.
earlier this morning, i posted off to the the institute of engineers an application for membership as an "engineering associate":.
- today being just over 40 years since the congregation's retards elders made me abandon my apprenticeship.. (in this part of the world, the pre-1975 hype was taken to that level.
not being content to prevent young persons attending university, they went one step further and treated with hostility any youngster who would "tie up five years of their lives" by entering into an apprenticeship.
berrygerry,
Absolutely:
- Watch out for the bloody carborundum!
fulltimestudent,
Sad that it has taken you until almost 80 years of age before reaching the final stages of achieving your degree, but you show them! (which is the very best way of waving the good old two-fingered salute at those #&^*s who prevented you from attempting university studies in the first place).
Bill.
earlier this morning, i posted off to the the institute of engineers an application for membership as an "engineering associate":.
- today being just over 40 years since the congregation's retards elders made me abandon my apprenticeship.. (in this part of the world, the pre-1975 hype was taken to that level.
not being content to prevent young persons attending university, they went one step further and treated with hostility any youngster who would "tie up five years of their lives" by entering into an apprenticeship.
Once again, thanking everybody for their kind words of support.
Bill.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/581439/rise-isis-earthquakes-warnings-before-armageddon-apocalypse-end-destroys-volcanoes-earth.
the "end" of mankind, which has been long predicted by jehovah's witnesses, could happen as soon as this year - according to latest announcement from the christian religion.. in the latest edition of jehovah's witnesses monthly publication watchtower, an article translated into 700 languages - urges people to join the religion or face certain death when god sends his forces from the heavens to "remove all world leaders," "exterminate his enemies" and "rid the world of satan".. critics have lambasted the warning of a coming armageddon as yet another "failed prediction" by the religion, which has previously delivered similar alerts such as a foretold apocalypse in 1975.. indeed, jehovah's witnesses have been warning people of the need to recognise jehovah or face certain death when the "end" comes for more than 100 years.. the christian-based religion was founded in the 1870s by charles taze russell in pittsburgh, pennsylvania, us, as an offshoot from the bible studies movement.. today, there are 8.2million jehovah's witness evangelists, while 19.9 million celebrated their annual memorial festival marking christ's death - worldwide in 2014.. followers do not believe in military service and will not accept blood transfusions.. in a new eight-page article, watchtower said jehovah's witness leaders are now "convinced" humans are in their "final days" before the armageddon.. they cite an increase in global armed conflict, such as the rise of the islamic state terror group, as well as natural disasters such as volcanoes and earthquakes.. the lengthy article, written by an unnamed author, said: "will god let humans continue to dominate one another and threaten the future of mankind?
no, as we have seen, he will step in and bring an end to centuries of misery and oppression.
Bogeymen keep changing from era to era. Earlier, the articles ranted about "godless" communism and the precariousness of humankind from nuclear obliteration.
My wife and I were only reminded of that recently, while listening to a recording of Barry Mcguire's Eve of Destruction. The WTS /GB (or whatever else you want to call them) didn't exactly invent any these "bogeymen". However, they certainly played upon people's fears of such things.
For example, there were the statistics they once liked to bandy around, that equated the world's nuclear arsenal to the equivalent of so many plugs of gelignite:
- then decided that it would take one plug of "jelly" to kill one human being; and so therefore by dividing the total explosive blast of the world's nuclear arsenal by the total number of human beings, you could (and they did) determine its "overkill" factor.
Now they use the threat of terrorism to similarly try to frighten people.
Bill.
how many times have elders read their bible in its entirety?
these are the leaders that give counsel to married couples, to teenagers, to single girls and single boys on everything from marriage, education, sex, association, dress, and recreation..
how well do they know their bible?
I realize what I am about to say could be interpreted as an embittered old veteran, insisting that "These new guys aren't as good as we was". However, when the elder arrangement first came in (c.1972), I can recall ones who did have an extensive ( perhaps even impressive) knowledge of the bible.
Conversely, towards the end of my time with the JWs, the typical elder came over as well versed in WTS procedure - but rather lacking in knowledge about the bible, or even about their very own JW doctrine. There were times when one elder I was familiar with would direct questions about JW doctrine to me, who wasn't even a ministerial servant!
That the earlier breed of elder often had a sound biblical knowledge had little to do with the JWs. Most were converts, rather than "born ins". Also, they grew up during a time when practically everybody was a regular churchgoer, and most people actually took some interest in the Christian teachings, biblical doctrine etc. I would hazard to guess that at least a goodly part of their bible knowledge came from their time before "coming into the Truth." (Of course, how such persons managed to be sucked into the JW cult is quite another story!)
Bill
im here sitting and listening to youtube video songs and practicing on my guitar and checking out posts on jwn.
and one more thing, im seeing the spanish jws going door to door in my street.
they work my street every single week.
Primarily, I feel cynical.
The "pioneer shuffle" walk of the JWs gives them away long before they even get to open their book bags. Additionally, their body language speaks volumes about their general level of interest in the task at hand:
- just watch the reluctant way in which most of them edge towards somebody's front door, in a manner suggesting they would rather nobody answer it.
This general aura of reluctance always reminds me of a person on their way to a dentist's appointment!
Bill
