I wonder if they fear the massive exodus of young people, especially those raised in? Or the lack of men willing to "reach out"?
Because as the jw population grays and Armageddon delays, these will translate into income drying up!
well i think what worries them the most is that more and more witnesses are becoming free thinkers and that is troubling them, it worries them that thinking freely will cause them to seek answers elsewhere and that is the last thing the gb wants.
they have pulled the reins so tight now how much tighter can they pull before many witnesss crack under their yokes.
what is your thoughts on this matter.. .
I wonder if they fear the massive exodus of young people, especially those raised in? Or the lack of men willing to "reach out"?
Because as the jw population grays and Armageddon delays, these will translate into income drying up!
we always know when the gb or wt leaders are nervous and worried about potential alleged " threats " to jehovah's witnesses - because they repetitively keep mentioning these perceived " threats " in talks at assemblies or in wt articles constantly.. the " witness only " august 15th wt is no different.
in a non-study article entitled " the internet - making wise use of a global tool " once again the wt society instills doubt and fear into witnesses by " warning " them about use of the internet.
3 " while the internet can provide valuable information, save us time, and serve a useful function, it can also misinform us, consune an inordinate amount of our time, and corrupt us morally.
I found it interesting that pornography is no longer featured as the main "danger". It's almost an admission that what the wt really fears is information availability.
i have severe clinical depression and right now, for whatever reason it is really acting up....
PM sent, Retro
we know an out of state couple, (early 40's) who have been jw's for most of their lives.
i'll call them dave and kathy.. when they got married 15 years ago, kathy was a hard worker who did this religion mainly to keep her parents happy ( dad was the po).. dave was starting his own business, he never held a real job in his life, and he was pretty zealous for the jw way of life.. over the years they had their ups and downs, but around 5 years ago they both stopped attending the meetings, and were doing a textbook "fade".
we would hear from them about every 2-3 months, and his business seemed to be doing well, kathy was a stay at home wife who worked pt at home doing computer work.
Poor "Kathy"!
And even for "Dave", it must be a big stretch to believe that "Jehovah providing" means that you have to leech off friends and acquaintances.
i have severe clinical depression and right now, for whatever reason it is really acting up....
Youngbro, I can't chat as I'm at work but happy to send you my email if you'd like it.
Trust what the other posters have siad it will get better!
Retro
a little background info.
i have never been a jw always felt the "cult" was not something i wanted to get involved in.
anyway i hired a young man about a year ago to do a little remodel on my house i found out later he was a jw.
Hi and welcome, Visitor!
I'm another non-jw, and would dearly like to get my SIL and a couple of others out. Unfortunately it is very difficult to do.
As you've found, everything has to be done the jw way. Of course this young man will arrive in a suit and "study" the "Bible" with you; that is, he'll bring a book called "What does the Bible really Teach" and that's what you'll study.
Then he can count time.
If you are not amenable to this, you are under Satanic influence and not good association. He will be fearful of contamination and being seen to be "weak" and willing to associate with "Worldlies". Cannot count time, so he's not keen on this.
Sending books (they call it "apostate literature"!) will probably make him even more wary; now you are trying to convert him! He'll avoid you like the plague.
Bottom line is, unless he's willing to spend time with you you have little chance. And if he is, simply encourage him to relax and have a good time. Talk about sport or cars or something. Any mention of religious stuff and all the warning bells go off.
Can I , why is it important to you what he believes? And does it relate to your own beliefs or spirituality?
Retro
when a person is depressed, their cognitive abilities are depleted.
they are processing reality through a very negative filter and need help getting balanced.
they often experience fear, guilt, hopelessness and anxiety.
((((NC))))
when a person is depressed, their cognitive abilities are depleted.
they are processing reality through a very negative filter and need help getting balanced.
they often experience fear, guilt, hopelessness and anxiety.
NewChapter,
just saw this! Of course it's reasonable! My take on it may or may not be correct. . .I just empathise a lot with lurkers and newbies
Peace to us all, Retro
when a person is depressed, their cognitive abilities are depleted.
they are processing reality through a very negative filter and need help getting balanced.
they often experience fear, guilt, hopelessness and anxiety.
NC and Sizemik, I understand.
bad advice is always bad, and when it's from an "authority" like a parent or elder it can well be lethal. No excusing that. But the comment didn't seem to be intended as advice, but as exploration, IMHO. Still not appropriate on thread!
But there's lots of depression among jws (my relative who's in has chronic depression), and this newbie may have been exploring from a personal perspective and attracted to the thread because s/he has a problem also.
when a person is depressed, their cognitive abilities are depleted.
they are processing reality through a very negative filter and need help getting balanced.
they often experience fear, guilt, hopelessness and anxiety.
I don't disagree with the OP, NewChapter, but the poster was new and may well have grown up believing implicitly in demonic inluences.
Likely no harm was meant, although it shouldn't have been brought up on that thread.
Retro