we are nearly 18 months into this pandemic and lot has been learned and our behaviour modified to make things safer for us, e.g.
the wearing of face masks and social distancing.. many countries such as australia, new zealand, the uk and usa either have things under control or have vaccinated a large portion of the population.
therefore, given the very passive nature of the 'cart witnessing', i can't see why this hasn't be re-started.
IMO, all this simply supports the theory the WT leadership has actually been wanting to eliminate the ministry work (as we knew it) almost altogether.
The risk of rank-and-filers having to face more and more child abuse accusations and encountering "apostates" who were articulate and knowledgeable was simply getting too high.
i'm just thinking of examples of jw doublethink.. here's one - jws will tell a bible study or unbaptised publisher that there is no hierarchy within the org.
they typically remark on christendom's hierarchy but then say 'we are all brothers'.
but as a person gets further into the cult, jws will constantly stress the need to obey the governing body.. jw hierarchy .
Doublethink goes all the way up to the top.
They know it's wrong...
...but believe it's true...
...at the same time.
i realize many here think that in-person meetings will return as soon as things are safe with covid.
but many acknowledge it will likely be 2022 or later when this happens.. surprisingly, many pimi jws in our congregation are not shy about saying they are fine with zoom meetings forever and do not want to go back to in-person meetings.
many speculate similar thoughts that are on this site....such as a combination of in-person and zoom meetings.
Really hard to put toothpaste back into the tube.
someone made reference in another post that the awake magazine had ceased publication.
maybe i missed it since i have not been on here as much in the last 6 months.
is this true?
smiddy3 - "Maybe they will combine the two and call it 'The Watchtower and Awake Announcing Jehovahs Kingdom'"
This... actually makes the most sense to me.
i sent a list of statements about current wts teachings to a friend who is being carefully recruited by a seasoned witness.. hi em..... just a quick summary of what all “good” jehovah's witnesses believe...even though some of these things witnesses are not always willing to be transparent about.
this is your crash course.
i have quotations for every item listed if you want or need them.. witnesses believes that:.
Vanderhoven7 - "..Witnesses believe everything on the list but probably would not want to reveal these unique exclusivitic beliefs to the uninitiated at the start..."
Once again, for the newbies, lurkers, and trolls...
...if you have to cheat to defend your beliefs, your beliefs don't deserve to be defended.
the thread about old timers got me thinking about trends i see with the watchtower.
i've changed my opinion about where the organization stands.
when i joined the religion in 1973 it was dynamic, even the small congregation i attended sent out three or four pioneers.
Yeah, like I've said before...
...ol' Freddy kicked the bucket without leaving behind any kind of protege, Jaracz used 9-11 to purge out all the moderates and liberals, and now there's no one left with the creative or narrative chops to properly overhaul the Org's old Cold-War-era cosmology/eschatology for the 21st Century.
All they seem able to do are half-assed software patches, like Splane's whiteboard overlapping explanation.
how many accounts of the bibles use of excesses can you recall ?
i will start off with a favourit of mine.. the inauguration of solomons temple and the sacrifices offered .2chron.7 :4-5 , 22,000 cattle and 120,000 sheep ?
c,mon.
@ Sea Breeze...
Didn’t Jesus teach almost exclusively using parables and allegories?
i'm actually looking forward to their warped view of matthew, mark, luke and john for this.
the drama from 2015 wasn't that bad.
however.... yeah steven lett mentions othe films about jesu are plagued with false religion.
Tom Ellis as Satan.
don't know how many of y'all still watch it.. this month's topic is "the king of the north" - cook goes into monotonous detail over the jw interpretation about rome, germany, ussr, russia, etc.. leaving aside for other commentators the emotionally manipulative videos of jws in russian holding cells, the tearjerker interviews, the god-awful stiffness of cook (i suspect he has never genuinely smiled, much less laughed, in his 60+ years), just thought i'd comment on one topic.. the centerpiece of the program is a "morning worship" monologue from splane.
let's again just leave to the side the dude's pomposity, smugness, and inflated sense of his own genius, and think about this part of his monologue.. he was tracing the history of the "king of the north" and talked about how "britain" (not england, not the united kingdom, not great britain, but "britain" - no idea why they have that fixation - anyway...) became the kotn in the 19th century.. paraphrasing his comments: "britain would not have become kotn if france had its way.
france was much wealthier and more powerful, but at the battle of waterloo, britain defeated france.
"...Brexiteer..."
Like the Rocketeer, but more political.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-9545969/amp/jehovahs-witnesses-criticised-failing-stop-devout-followers-plan-stab-wife-49-times.html .
elder should face some kind of criminal prosecution..
Also remember that the vast majority of these folks were positive that Armageddon was right around the corner, so why bother air the Org's dirty laundry when the New System would solve any problems like that?
BTW, something you said before...
"...a means to protect the image of the organization in the public's eyes..."
Don't kid yourself.
At this point, the Org doesn't give a hairy blue fuck about how "Satan's World" thinks of them, and hasn't for a while now.
It's all about shoring up their legitimacy and authority in the eyes of the membership now, by whatever means necessary (and keeping their tax-exemption to stave off insolvency, IMO).
