Posts by dontplaceliterature

14

Bible Chapter Search Occurrences in Watchtower Library CD-ROM

by dontplaceliterature in

jw
friends

on jwfacts, there is a quote that points the emphesis that the watchtower places on certain chapters of the bible.

5 chapters are mentioned specifically, with matthew 24 being the dominant occurance.

this chapter focuses on "the last days" as well as the "faithful and discreet slave.

Bible Chapter Search Occurrences in Watchtower Library CD-ROM

by dontplaceliterature in

jw
friends

on jwfacts, there is a quote that points the emphesis that the watchtower places on certain chapters of the bible.

5 chapters are mentioned specifically, with matthew 24 being the dominant occurance.

this chapter focuses on "the last days" as well as the "faithful and discreet slave.

On JWFacts, there is a quote that points the emphesis that the Watchtower places on certain chapters of The Bible. 5 chapters are mentioned specifically, with Matthew 24 being the dominant occurance. This chapter focuses on "The Last Days" as well as the "Faithful and Discreet Slave."

Does anyone know if there is already an available spreadsheet, or some document that lists the quote occrurances of EACH CHAPTER of The Bible in Watchtower literature?

The statistics would seemed skewed to prove a point to anyone who is not already questioning things. Not that I disagree with what they are getting at, I think more data would be needed to really impact someone who is a logical thinker with this information.

http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/questionable-watchtower-doctrine.php

33

The Pressure Is On to Pioneer in April

by dontplaceliterature in

jw
friends

i know there have already been a couple of threads posted about this, but i thought it made since to bring it up again.

i hadn't really heard any "oh my what a blessing, are you pioneering in april?

" talk right after the big announcement last month.

dontplaceliterature

Misery ; you handle it very well, I thought perhaps I could have gone along with the farce for a few years after i was found "not guilty" on my apostasy charge all those years ago but I couldn't carry on, you know what that biggest problem was with me? knowing too much about the Borg, I knew every single GB member off the top of my head, I knew every doctrinal change , every president, how long they ruled for,every member of the Board of Directors, members of various committees,zone over-sears etc, and you could only have known this info from outside sources (R Franz) so my knowledge of their own workings was starting to raise suspicion especially from my sister,you know where I'm coming from ? I couldn't hold it in any more!

I am afraid the same thing will happen to me. I have only been venturing into the world of "conscienciousness" for a few months now, but I am bursting at the seams to share what I've been learning. The more meetings I go to, the angrier I become. The more time I spend on a personal level with Jehovah's Witnesses, the more "brainwashed" I feel they are. I hate it. It's so weird that these people who I have so much love for, and who i formerly had so much respect for, now seem so "elementary" to me. I'm not sure how to strike a balance that allows me to remain among them, and yet have any respect for myself.

I really do love Jehovah's Witnesses, because they are typically very humble, teachable, loveable people. But, it is unfortunate that they are so narrow-minded. I know it's nothing new for any long time defectors, but it's a total mind-game for me.

Please, keep the comments coming.

33

The Pressure Is On to Pioneer in April

by dontplaceliterature in

jw
friends

i know there have already been a couple of threads posted about this, but i thought it made since to bring it up again.

i hadn't really heard any "oh my what a blessing, are you pioneering in april?

" talk right after the big announcement last month.

dontplaceliterature

As far as why anyone can justify not being involved in the full time service, I can think of one reason..............its not scriptural. We don't know how many hours any of the 1st Century Christians spent preaching. There's enough evidence to indicate not all 1st Century Christians were involved with the door to door work. You gotta love how this religion took the example of the Apostle Paul who lived the life of a missionary, yet this religion makes it seem like all Christians were doing exactly what he was doing. They're full of crap, and they're a bunch of scumbags for pressuring their flock in this fashion. The word or term Pioneer isn't even in the scriptures, neither is Auxilliary, Special Pioneer, Regular Pioneer, Bethelite, Governing Body, Writing Department, Legal Department, and a million other things this religion pressures their flock to aspire towards.

BINGO. You hit it on the head here, MLE. This is my big problem with the push to Pioneer. I really do feel like a Christian has an obligation to share the "Good News" with neighbors/co-workers/family/friends. However, there is no proof that the early Chrisitans shared it with anyone but the people they interacted with day-to-day.

The title of "Pioneer" is not Biblical, and has just become a superficial carrot for anyone who is not comfortable with their spirituality.

It becomes an excuse not to take an interest in anyone in the congregation on a real meaningful level, and focus all your energies on your time...er..um...title.

33

The Pressure Is On to Pioneer in April

by dontplaceliterature in

jw
friends

i know there have already been a couple of threads posted about this, but i thought it made since to bring it up again.

i hadn't really heard any "oh my what a blessing, are you pioneering in april?

" talk right after the big announcement last month.

dontplaceliterature

Shameless bump.

33

The Pressure Is On to Pioneer in April

by dontplaceliterature in

jw
friends

i know there have already been a couple of threads posted about this, but i thought it made since to bring it up again.

i hadn't really heard any "oh my what a blessing, are you pioneering in april?

" talk right after the big announcement last month.

dontplaceliterature

I know there have already been a couple of threads posted about this, but I thought it made since to bring it up again. I hadn't really heard any "Oh my what a blessing, are you pioneering in April?" talk right after the big announcement last month. However, as suspected, it is becoming a huge topic of converstaion at the meetings now. My Service Overseer seems to find a way to mention it in every single one of his comments.

Our local needs part was scrapped this week so that he could get up on stage and encourage everyone to Auxillary for at least 30 hours in April. He kept asking "by show of hands" questions regarding the audiences love for Jesus, including "Would you die for Jesus?" Then, of course, he compared the Governing Body's request for 30 hour pioneers to a lot less of a sacrafice than "dying for Jesus", and yet most raised their hands that they would die for him. I found it interesting though, that he never mentioned the Governing Body or "Faithful Slave" once during the whole part. He kept saying "Jesus" is asking us to do this.

I kid you not, he had the mic handlers pass out an Auxillary Pioneer application to every baptized person in attendance along with suggested schedules printed on the back, and asked us to put them on our refridgerator and pray about it. If that is not pressure, I don't know what is. What ever happened to the Scriptural suggestion in the announcement letter? "Let each one do just as he has resolved in his heart, not grudgingly or under cumpulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." -- (2 Corinthians 9:7)

What is more, we had our Circuit Overseer's visit not too long ago, and he also ratcheted up the pressure to Auxillary Pioneer in April. One talk during the week in particular focused on our level of committment to The Ministry. He spoke about being in a "Saturday Only Field Service Rut," and said that we should always be striving to do more in the service of others as ministers. However, he convenienctly neglected to point out that ministers do a lot of other things besides go door-to-door pushing literature. He ACTUALLY SAID that "Armageddon is coming and if that's not incentive to do more in the service of Jehovah, I don't know what is."

He went on to point out that we should never be satisfied with what we are doing now, and should always be striving for more. He mentioned a talk on a District Convention from 1981 where these questions were asked:

"If you are a single person without Scriptural obligations, can you justify before Jehovah why you are not in the full-time service?"

"If you are a married couple without Scriptural obligations, can you justify why one or both of you are not in the full-time service?"

"If you are a retired person without Scriptural obligations, can you justify before Jehovah why you are not in the full-time service?"

Towards the end of the talk, he made a statement that really got my blood boiling. He said: "Would you expect The End to come when Jehovah has got more people than ever involved in the Pioneer work? Could it happen in April?"

MiseryLovesElders mentioned in a previous thread on this same topic that he somewhat suspected that this April Pioneer Drive could be on some level a sort of "weeding out process," for the mechanical witnesses and faders. In that same thread, I agreed. Whether this is an effort by the Governing Body to weed out people or not, I don't know. It probably isn't. However, there will certainly be some sort of sub-conscience "marking" of the individuals who do not sign up, by the rest of the congregation. Those who do not sign up will either be viewed as weak, rebellious, our lazy. If this Pioneer Drive becomes a repeated effort in the future, this will no doubt compound the problem.

I certainly do not intend to sign up in April. Field Service is a complete waste of time, I struggle justifying the time I spend in the ministry already, let alone spending 30 hours. A young man in my congregation who has been Regular Pioneering for about a year mentioned to me last weekend that he feels like it is a total waste of time, and he hates it. So I said to him: "Go off the list. Jehovah doesn't want you to do anything your heart isn't into."

He's 17. I advised him that he should be preparing for college anyway, and if he decides not to go, at least he'll have the option if he's applied for Financial Aid and Scholarships. Good kid, smart kid, and definitely has some potential to wake up. However, I tried to keep quiet as much as possible. I don't want to be responsible for "polluting" a teenager against the organization. If there is anything that would get me accused of apostasy and df'd fast, it would be that, I think.

Anyhow, I'm off to do something else. Thoughts?

7

Local Kingdom Hall Suing the WTBTS

by dontplaceliterature in

maybe a month ago i read on this forum that there was a local boe from the southwest usa suing the wtbts over ownership rights to their kingdom hall property.

was it true?

any recent developments?

dontplaceliterature

Maybe a month ago I read on this forum that there was a local BoE from the SouthWest USA suing the WTBTS over ownership rights to their Kingdom Hall property.

Does anyone know about this? Was it true? Any recent developments?

I searched for it and didn't come up with anything.

21

Russia: JW convicted over refusing blood transfusion for her 5 year old son

by behemot in

jw
friends

in a first, a court convicted a member of the jehovahs witnesses religious sect over her refusal to sanction blood transfusion for a relative, a procedure banned by the sects teachings, interfax reported wednesday.. natalya podlozhevich was fined 5,000 rubles ($170) by a magistrate of the khanty-mansiisk regions town of kogalym, which found her guilty of abandoning in danger her 5-year-old son.. the unnamed boy was hospitalized last february in serious condition, the cause of which was not specified.

medics said he required blood transfusion, but his mother refused to sanction the procedure.

the boy died two days later.. the ruling may set a precedent for other cases against jehovahs witnesses members on similar charges.. source: http://www.themoscowtimes.com/news/article/jehovahs-witness-convicted/430292.html.

dontplaceliterature

I believe that fines in Russia are levied proportionately according to income. She was probably dirt poor...like most of the Jehovah's Witnesses in Eastern Europe.

37

Dinner With a Pioneer Couple Last Night

by dontplaceliterature in

jw
friends

my wife and i had dinner with a pioneer couple last night that we've been friends with for a long time.

they are both nice people, with the wife having a few dashes of pretentiousness mixed in.. usually when we are together, they always talk about pioneering, which makes some sense as it's the primary focus of thier lives.

however, it has gotten progressively more dominate in conversation over the last couple of years, to the point of being annoying.

dontplaceliterature

My wife and I had dinner with a Pioneer couple last night that we've been friends with for a long time. They are both nice people, with the wife having a few dashes of pretentiousness mixed in.

Usually when we are together, they always talk about pioneering, which makes some sense as it's the primary focus of thier lives. However, it has gotten progressively more dominate in conversation over the last couple of years, to the point of being annoying. I'm not sure if they feel like they are encouranging my wife and I to pioneer by bringing it up so much, or if they are just trying to pat themselves on the back by constantly reminding everyone how hard they are working in the ministry. This dynamic has lead to the corrosion of a good friendship and we really aren't together with them much anymore.

Last night, they mentioned at least 8 (maybe more) times their struggle to stay on their hour schedule. Comments were made like this: "I would like to sleep in and make cookies tomorrow, but I need to go in service before the meeting or I won't get my 70 hours this month."

It took all I had to bite my tounge and not blurt out the fact that Jehovah doesn't give a diddly squat if they get their 70 hours or not, because most of it would have been a waste of time driving around and knocking on Not-At-Home doors.

Has anyone else noticed that pioneers complain about their hour requirement regularly?

20

Something's been on my mind...

by Vidiot in

..., and while i usually contribute in a thread that's already been created, i thought this particular topic might warrant it's own.. like many of you, on friday i was persusing the "concerned elder speaks" thread about higher-ed and the gb's ross/rachel relationship with it, and a couple of posts caught my eye:.

room 215 - "that's it, boys; alienate the remaining elders, drive them to resign and exacerbate the shortage already underway.".

baltar447 - "it's like they want fewer elders and servants.".

dontplaceliterature

@GrandmaJones,

You're right. I would never have considered picking through "apostate" websites before I started becoming "conscious." The only reason I stumbled across this one is because I was searching for a copy of a Kingdom Ministry online that I had lost a few months ago.

My previous perception of apostates was that they were just bitter axe-grinders and I detest people like that. So, even if I had doubts or reservations about Watchtower doctrine, I certainly would never have gone probing around on the internet for like-minded individuals.

I would say though, now that I've been here, that this website has fed my anger and frustration from the point of mild discomfort to full-blown disgust. So, I wouldn't write off the "information age" all together. However, I don't see it being the root cause of the implosion of the WTBTS. If anything causes a mass fall-out, I think it will be a major doctrinal change most likely dealing with 1914. Even that is highly unlikely, in my opinion. Its demise will probably be slow and steady as the younger generations refuse to be dedicated to serving the Governing Body.