hi friends, i have not been on this board in awhile, and i would like to get some thoughts from some of you.
i have noticed a change within my 4 siblings in approximately the last year and a half to 2 years regarding their communication with my mother and i. they have either phoned us, texted, emailed, or written a letter or card to us.
the conversation has been good, and on any topic that comes to mind.
I think there’s a number of other factors in play, too.
The threat of DFing doesn’t seem to carry the weight it once did…
…it’s harder and harder to keep from asking oneself “if they’re wrong about this, that, and the other thing, what else are they wrong about?”…
…and a hardline stance can never last long-term… it’s just too fucking exhausting for regular people to maintain it.
i had to attend a family event recently which involved attending the kh.
before i went i had it in my mind this was going to be a different experience.
tbh i’ve had an interest in super hero socks.
joe134cd - “…The first song on the playlist was from ‘system of the down”. Which shocked me. I observed another brother there on the dance floor looking some what intoxicated…”
in case you're unfamiliar with the acronym, an npc is a "non playable character" in a game.
typically, they are kind of a placeholder that do set things rather than being controlled by another player or any kind of ai to vary what they do.
they just follow a script.
Funny thing about NPCs (IRL or video games)…
…you know they’re there…
…but good luck remembering anything about ‘em.
😏
i’ve not been paying close attention to watchtower developments, but talking to a jw yesterday it occurred to me the society (yes, still use that term - old school) have been sending out mixed messages in recent years.
from what i gather, a few years ago the gb announced that during the great tribulation jws would be required to preach a “hailstone message of judgement” which involved telling people it was too late for them to repent and they were definitely going to be destroyed.
there were hints that this could be very soon, “any day now” preaching could stop and the hailstone message come in, kind of thing.
Yup.
There’s a difference between objective critical analysis and apologetics.
Learning how to differentiate between the two is a useful skill for XJWs.
.
Why SixScreens / Rick Fearon?
imagine if all the governing body resigned and a new set of brothers came in and said we are very very sorry for all those who have been disfellowshipped and disassociated over the years.
we know many mistakes have been made.
we are really genuinely sorry to all those who have been hurt and especially those who have died and been hurt by these mistakes.
i’ve not been paying close attention to watchtower developments, but talking to a jw yesterday it occurred to me the society (yes, still use that term - old school) have been sending out mixed messages in recent years.
from what i gather, a few years ago the gb announced that during the great tribulation jws would be required to preach a “hailstone message of judgement” which involved telling people it was too late for them to repent and they were definitely going to be destroyed.
there were hints that this could be very soon, “any day now” preaching could stop and the hailstone message come in, kind of thing.
It’s funny…
…back in the 2000s and 2010s, there were suggestions in the literature that even some dutiful JWs might not make it through.
Looking back, that was when I first started asking myself “well, where TF’s the incentive to even be a JW, then?”
mark jones writes:.
how will history treat joseph rutherford?.
like ben gorden has said, it would depend on who’s looking back.
“How will history treat Judge Rutherford?”
Relegated to a footnote, at best.
i’ve not been paying close attention to watchtower developments, but talking to a jw yesterday it occurred to me the society (yes, still use that term - old school) have been sending out mixed messages in recent years.
from what i gather, a few years ago the gb announced that during the great tribulation jws would be required to preach a “hailstone message of judgement” which involved telling people it was too late for them to repent and they were definitely going to be destroyed.
there were hints that this could be very soon, “any day now” preaching could stop and the hailstone message come in, kind of thing.
It’s a helluva quandary…
…keep doubling down on all the old outdated hardline stances, and they can’t help but alienate more and more members (not to mention putting their tax-exemption at risk just when they’re experiencing serious financial difficulties)…
…but…
…keep watering things down the way they have, and before too long they’ll have effectively neutered all the things they held up as “proof” they had The Truth…
…up to and including the claim of “God’s Exclusive Earthly Organization”.
Either way, where’s the incentive to even be a Jehovah’s Witness?
i’ve not been paying close attention to watchtower developments, but talking to a jw yesterday it occurred to me the society (yes, still use that term - old school) have been sending out mixed messages in recent years.
from what i gather, a few years ago the gb announced that during the great tribulation jws would be required to preach a “hailstone message of judgement” which involved telling people it was too late for them to repent and they were definitely going to be destroyed.
there were hints that this could be very soon, “any day now” preaching could stop and the hailstone message come in, kind of thing.
jhine - “…what exactly was the point of telling people that it was too late for them and they were going to die?”
Schadenfreude.
