This is just my opinion: Helping the needy and actively making the community a better place to live gives a better "witness" to Christ than banging the heck out of someone's door on a Saturday morning and handing them a poorly written piece of literature. Not to mention the return on investment. As was mentioned above, the time and resources wasted in door-to-door (at least in more developed countries) is astounding. Mention it to a JW and offer a better idea of how to spread the message and all they can say is, "We just follow the direction of the FDS."
Franklin Massey
JoinedPosts by Franklin Massey
-
66
Heads up! Jesus is angry at the churches for their hospitals and feeding the poor......
by miseryloveselders innext week's congregation bible study will explain and illustrate why christendom is toast, and how we can contribute to the joy of christ by supporting "the faithful and discreet slave.".
the anger and the joy of the messianic king.
10. like his father, our master is by nature happy.
-
-
-
61
Wow, This is Getting Tougher!
by Franklin Massey ini'm having a really hard time giving my meeting parts.
i had a service meeting part this week and i could hardly get through it.
i am no longer convinced of some of the things jws teach and so i try to either eliminate those things from my parts, or reword them so that i'm not speaking about that which i do not personally believe.
-
-
Franklin Massey
http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/206565/1/WOW-This-is-getting-tougher-II
Thread has been moved. Use the above link to pick up the discussion.
-
65
So I finished reading the Origin of Species last night.....
by Mr. Falcon in...oh my.. i am not trying to start a creation vs. evolution debate, but something else really did stand out in my mind upon reading this "infamous" book.
and that is that the theory of evolution is a very complex and at times, logically interesting theory.
it makes valid points as well as asking fair and legitimate questions of the theory of creation.
-
-
Franklin Massey
I too learned all the JW tricks to argue away the evidence for evolution. Some of them are mildly clever and provide a person the self deluded comfort of feeling right about something which they know nothing about. But when I began deep research into the WT creation doctrine, I began to notice that it, like many other WT teachings, has done its own evolving over the last century. Then I started looking into the "scholars and experts" that the Society would quote to prove creation or disprove evolution and found that many quotes were out of context and many others were quotes from wacko Creationists whose "theories" have been totally disproven.
The problem is, people still use the out of date material to battle evolution.
I got in a bit of trouble when I told some JWs that I found Darwin's work interesting and compelling. I was barraged with passionately delivered misinformation and anti-evolution jargon. It was almost funny. Almost.
-
66
Heads up! Jesus is angry at the churches for their hospitals and feeding the poor......
by miseryloveselders innext week's congregation bible study will explain and illustrate why christendom is toast, and how we can contribute to the joy of christ by supporting "the faithful and discreet slave.".
the anger and the joy of the messianic king.
10. like his father, our master is by nature happy.
-
-
Franklin Massey
When I read the paragraphs MLE quoted, I thought it was made up. It sounded like a parody. I checked my book. Yikes! What a joke.
Yesterday I needed help getting a message about an upcoming charity event that my business is sponsoring out to the community (sorry I'm being vague but I don't want to give away personal details). I contacted a local community organizer for help. She told me, "One great way to get the word out is to contact the local churches. They'll add your event to their announcements on Sunday and I'm sure you'll get a great response from the congregations." I thought, "What a nice arrangement." Then I thought, "If someone contacted the local Kingdom Hall for help, we would turn them down. At best we would just tell them to come to one of our free public meetings with no promise of helping with their event."
The choice to not participate in helping the community is one thing, but to say that Jesus is all mad at the Churches that do reach out is ridiculous. Watchtower elitism at its finest.
-
19
WOW. This is getting tougher II
by Franklin Massey inhttp://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/206514/3/wow-this-is-getting-tougher.
after the last comment from sweetbabycheezits, the thread disappears with no place to continue posting.
i went to page one and added a comment to the thread but i can't see it.. suggestions?
-
-
Franklin Massey
Thanks Leaving, I'll read it on my break today.
SBC, I read some Mencken articles yesterday. Thanks for the tip!
-
19
WOW. This is getting tougher II
by Franklin Massey inhttp://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/206514/3/wow-this-is-getting-tougher.
after the last comment from sweetbabycheezits, the thread disappears with no place to continue posting.
i went to page one and added a comment to the thread but i can't see it.. suggestions?
-
-
Franklin Massey
Beware, thank you for joining in the discussion. Good points about finding solutions. This stood out:
it can be okay to not know the answers
I wish JWs were "allowed" to feel this way. Bible students aren't even allowed to feel that way. How many times have you heard of a study who has been through multiple books, knows the local friends, attends some meetings, lives a good life, but never takes the dip because of some small hangup on a JW doctrinal issue. I shouldn't even call it a hang up. They have every right to their viewpoints. But not to JWs they don't. If someone disagreess with a JW, then that person is wrong because if the Society says it's true, it's true. A JW is at risk even admitting that they maybe just aren't convinced by the current printed explanation of a doctrine. If you don't believe something JWs teach, then the problem is with YOU, not with them. That is unfair, dishonest, and a big part of why I'm struggling with having to dispense this stuff on a regular basis.
This thread has been very helpful to me as it has made me realize that I can't go on like this for the rest of my life. If I don't change something, the best parts of my life will begin to suffer. What that change is and when it will happen is yet to be determined. I sincerely thank everyone who has read and/or posted on this thread.
-
19
WOW. This is getting tougher II
by Franklin Massey inhttp://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/206514/3/wow-this-is-getting-tougher.
after the last comment from sweetbabycheezits, the thread disappears with no place to continue posting.
i went to page one and added a comment to the thread but i can't see it.. suggestions?
-
-
Franklin Massey
Thanks! It's probably a sign from God that I shouldn't be on this site
-
19
WOW. This is getting tougher II
by Franklin Massey inhttp://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/206514/3/wow-this-is-getting-tougher.
after the last comment from sweetbabycheezits, the thread disappears with no place to continue posting.
i went to page one and added a comment to the thread but i can't see it.. suggestions?
-
-
Franklin Massey
http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/206514/3/Wow-This-is-Getting-Tougher
After the last comment from SweetBabyCheezits, the thread disappears with no place to continue posting. I went to page one and added a comment to the thread but I can't see it.
Suggestions? Help?
-
61
Wow, This is Getting Tougher!
by Franklin Massey ini'm having a really hard time giving my meeting parts.
i had a service meeting part this week and i could hardly get through it.
i am no longer convinced of some of the things jws teach and so i try to either eliminate those things from my parts, or reword them so that i'm not speaking about that which i do not personally believe.
-
-
Franklin Massey
You inspired me to check him out. Great stuff!
-
61
Wow, This is Getting Tougher!
by Franklin Massey ini'm having a really hard time giving my meeting parts.
i had a service meeting part this week and i could hardly get through it.
i am no longer convinced of some of the things jws teach and so i try to either eliminate those things from my parts, or reword them so that i'm not speaking about that which i do not personally believe.
-
-
Franklin Massey
Thanks for the tip, Leaving. I expect it. I already get it from some non-JWs that I share my beliefs with. My lack of "faith" is not a reaction to my lack of belief in WT doctrine. I'm not a "throw the baby out with the bathwater" kind of person. What I am trying to do is get a grasp on key spiritual concepts and then test them against all the available evidence. The more facts I have, the more evidence I have, the less faith I need. I'm weighing everything out and choosing the most plausible side of any given issue, fully aware that absolute truth is rare and I should never be dogmatic about my personal conclusions on matters which can never really be proven (like, the existence of God). In my deep research of humanity's grasp on God and the history of religious practices in general, I have arrived at my current state of agnosticism. Could there be a God? Sure. Could there not be a God? Yeah. Has any person, document, vision, miracle, or religious group given me reason to believe that their way of understanding God is the best way? Not really. So I'm following the evidence. For me, faith is too reliant on emotion. Like the Stoics, I can see where emotion can cloud my better judgement. So I dial back what makes me personally feel good or bad and instead, look for the ideas that clearly tip the scales with overwhelming evidence.
I am born-in, btw. My wife too. Very big, very spiritual families on both sides. 4th generation JWs.