even elders can be part of the new jw lite brigade these days.
they don’t need to go on door to door anymore and there is no requirement for anything really.. taking meeting parts is all dead easy you could turn up on the day with zero preparation because it’s all in the meeting workbook.. quarterly elders meetings are just old men having a good old natter just like old men do down the pub.. congregations could be likened to pubs or bars these days just without the drinks, those come at other times.. no need for territory maps, these almost went away with covid letter writing now they are extremely slow getting finished as those who still go door to door only do ten mins.. you could even voice your questions these days about things the gb say and then just say “we can’t be dogmatic we just don’t know”.
i predict they will say this about 1914 soon..
ExBetheliteNowPIMA - “…Otherwise there won’t be enough sisters left to do microphones, let alone brothers…”
Suddenly, I’m picturing the whole meeting being done by one poor burnt-out old guy…
…literally saying all the prayers, giving all the talks, reading the paragraphs, zipping across to the back to operate the audio system, and running around with the mic, Oprah-style, or maybe just even answering the questions himself.
😅
a slightly tongue in cheek, but also serious roundup of jw speak and why trying to reason with them is like trying to chip through concrete with a plastic spoon.. how many can you think of??.
elder: 'yes.
i read through the material you asked me to at your judicial meeting - you're right we're both in a cult!
Anything acknowledging the possibility of evolution.
there're the obvious ones, like the smurfs.
although why still escapes me.
was it because of the magic, that they were "magical creatures", that there were wizards, etc?.
NotFormer - “…for some reason the 70s and 80s was a very fearful time for parts of Christendom, including, it seems, the WT branch of it…”
A “Demon-Haunted World” (props to the late Carl Sagan) was a quick and easy explanation for what was - to repressed, ultraconservative religionists - a radically (and rapidly) changing environment that felt increasingly hostile to them, and where it seemed like everything they valued and spent their lives defending was being flushed down the toilet.
Not to mention the potential loss of cultural dominance that they (correctly) anticipated.
with what is arguably the biggest change to jw life in recent decades (the scrapping of publishers counting hours) what does this lead to?.
in my mind these are the results;.
1) a massive decrease in 'preaching hours'.
re. Teddnzo’s post…
Sure, they can theoretically do all those things, and it actually looks like they just might be attempting to head down that road. It’s pretty apparent by now that they’re really anxious about staying solvent, and if projections indicate that mainstreaming is the only way to stay in the black, they don’t really have much of a choice.
But…
…at what point can you not help but ask “what’s the point?”
All their strict rules, deliberately atypical Biblical interpretations, and dialed-up authoritarianism were the tools they used to “prove” their legitimacy, authenticity, and most importantly, exclusivity…
…i.e. their position as “God’s Earthly Organization”.
Genuine, authentic mainstreaming ultimately involves abandoning that claim, explicitly or otherwise.
But at this point, if the WTS did that, virtually everything they’ve done to shore up that claim for the past century will have been for nothing, and their demand for loyalty and obedience to the Org above all else becomes meaningless.
There’d be virtually zero incentive left to even be a JW.
it's not only the jws who do door to door witnessing.
the independent baptists for the most part have "soul winning", mainly door to door witnessing and leaving tracts, as a tennet of their faith.
this discussion is interesting:.
I can’t shake the feeling that it was originally suggested as a joke, one of the stupider higher-ups thought it was serious, and thought it as a good enough idea to give it a green light.
prompted by a mention in a different thread.. cracks in the sidewalk, a pinch of salt over the shoulder, black cats🐈⬛; do jws have such superstitious beliefs.
are they allowed to?
would they be counselled if the elders became aware?.
NotFormer - “Do you think that the hysterical beliefs were more likely to be held the further a JW was from any responsibility within the organisation? i.e. were the elders expected to keep a lid on it and maintain discipline, but they tolerated it within the ranks?”
Oh, abso-fucking-lately.
If it kept the rank-and-file scared of “Satan’s World”, it was useful…
…of course they tolerated it.
I got the occasional stink-eye for debunking that shit.
prompted by a mention in a different thread.. cracks in the sidewalk, a pinch of salt over the shoulder, black cats🐈⬛; do jws have such superstitious beliefs.
are they allowed to?
would they be counselled if the elders became aware?.
We’ve heard the occasional rumour here that a lot of the more out-there JW urban legends were actually made up by Bethelites for fun, just to see how far the stories would go.
I… kinda respect that, actually. 😏
on february 22, 2023, anthony morris iii was officially removed from the governing body of jehovah's witnesses.
a few months later it was revealed that the watchtower bought him a house in lumberton, north carolina.. however, and correct me if i am wrong, since leaving the gb nobody has reported seeing tony attending jw meetings or participating in field service.
in fact nobody has reported seeing him anywhere, not even at a local liquor store.
And I keep saying…
…they know it’s wrong… but believe it’s true…
…at the same time.
it's not only the jws who do door to door witnessing.
the independent baptists for the most part have "soul winning", mainly door to door witnessing and leaving tracts, as a tennet of their faith.
this discussion is interesting:.
You… you mean this… this wasn’t real???
with what is arguably the biggest change to jw life in recent decades (the scrapping of publishers counting hours) what does this lead to?.
in my mind these are the results;.
1) a massive decrease in 'preaching hours'.
ExBetheliteNowPIMA - “…The top dogs don’t seem to mind it…
Don’t kid yourself.
I guarantee you they mind it very much.
They just can’t truly understand it.
