Posts by Quendi

15

Not just false teaching--but worse: plagiarized false teaching from the GB

by Terry in

jw
friends

as october 22, 1844 slowly faded into october 23 a great weeping swept the countryside as 50,000 true believers in the accuracy of william miller's.

prediction (of christ's return to earth) faced the stark reality of total soul-crushingly great disappointment.. .

how had they come to this bizarre conclusion and what would they now face by way of recrimination and disconfirmation?.

Quendi

I want to thank you, Terry, once again for your tireless investigations into WTS history. I had known about the connection between Russell’s theology and Adventism because even WTS literature mentions it. Of course, the organization does not show how closely tied together they were. As we also know, Russell mined other religious systems for components of his doctrines as well, merging all of them together into a religion that evolved into Jehovah’s Witnesses.

Naturally, the WTS has kept all of this hidden from its followers. And yet, I have the feeling that even if this was made known to the rank-and-file, it would make no substantial difference to the majority of them. Cult mind control runs very deep, and only those with a sincere desire to learn the facts would actually leave the WTS because of its history. As Don Cameron points out in his book Captives of a Concept, this kind of information must be shared with people before they get deeply involved with the Witnesses. Once inside the cult, it usually takes some kind of traumatic event to get them to question what they have accepted as “the truth.”

Quendi

32

EVERYTHING you always wanted to know about shunning, excommunication and disfellowship practice

by Terry in

the policy set by pastor russell concerning disfellowship procedure wasn't changed until 1944?.

what was disfellowship policy?.

russell had recommended in a 1904 publication that each separate congregation (remember there was no organization back then!

Quendi

The last time I talked to my closest Witness friend, he asked me to “come back to Jehovah” and get reinstated. He was disfellowshipped at that time—and may still be for all I know—and was pursuing reinstatement himself. I told him that if he could find even the outline of the WTS procedure of trial-by-judicial committee anywhere in Holy Writ, I would humble myself and return to the Kingdom Hall. His silence spoke volumes and I still remember the look of fear which crossed his face after I issued that challenge.

Quendi

9

Watchtower's fortune without any audit and given account

by Gorbatchov in

jw
friends

the society has hit the jackpot with selling most of it's property in brooklyn, and some other prominent buildings outside the us.. so, they got an estimated $ 700 million dollar income and getting even more when they sell 124 columbia heights etc.. in total they will have then some $1 billion dollar on their bank and investment funds.. in the past questions about audit and giving account by the society about their finance, were answered "the brothers trust each other".. but now, the society has become a mayor financial player, this answer about trust is not enough anymore.. i asked my father about this and he told me "the money get a tag "world wide work and will be used only for good things, don't worry, trust them".. i told him that i don't trust them, because they act like a financial institute.

he told me "we are getting big, it's all part of fore told the publishing work".. so, speaking with jw family and friends is allways a dead end... :(.

.

Quendi

Your father’s answer to your question, Gorbatchov, was as predictable as tomorrow’s sunrise. That is exactly what the WTS is counting on. Just look at how money matters are handled at larger Witness gatherings when donations are being solicited. The rank-and-file are never told what the expenses for putting on the meetings actually are. Instead a “total cost” figure might be given with the news that at the time of the announcement a deficit has appeared. That announcement is meant to prompt more donations from the Witnesses present.

So we can expect something similar with these property sales. No accounting will be given. Witnesses won’t be told how much money the WTS raked in or how it will be spent. The men in charge are counting on the inertia of the ‘trust the brothers’ sentiment to stifle any inquiries. Sadly, they are counting rightly.

Quendi

79

JWStruggle post: Bethel Layoffs Reveal a Kingdom without Clothes

by Londo111 in

http://www.jwstruggle.com/2013/07/bethel-layoffs-reveal-a-kingdom-without-clothes/.

despite everything, i still have a lingering admiration toward those who serve or have served in bethel.

it is not that i believe it is gods organization in any way, shape, or form.

Quendi

While I appreciate the thoughts which Londo111 has shared with us regarding laid-off Bethel workers, I find myself in agreement with what steve2 has stated. It is certainly very bad that these people have effectively been rendered jobless and homeless by the WTS, that doesn’t mean they deserve unqualified support from those outside their immediate families.

Like others here, I have known many former Bethelites. They were the usual mix of good and not-so-good people you can find in any population. So my reaction toward their plight is conditioned on that understanding. But I have to say that they have had a “free ride” for years and gave little thought to their individual futures. They were quite confident that either the WTS or God would always provide them with the comfort they thought they had earned and deserved.

All of us must take responsibility of our own choices and actions. True, young Bethelites believed their work at headquarters was temporary because long before they reached middle age, they would be in the new world. They never took time to critically examine their hopes as the years turned into decades and the world stubbornly refused to adhere to the WTS scenario regarding its end. Now they are paying the price for their lack of vision. It may not be fair or right, but it is the reality and they had better get used to it.

But we must not think that all the discharged are facing economic crises. I know a man, age sixty, who was sent to serve in the branch in the Republic of Georgia in southwest Asia. He and his wife have quarters at the branch office as well as a small allowance from the WTS. He regarded his posting in Georgia not as a layoff or exile, but as another assignment from Jehovah and is determined to make the best of it. Of course, he was one of the lucky ones, although I think that he will find his “assignment” in Georgia to be very difficult. He does not know the language or predominant culture there and the country is riven by ethnic and civil unrest. Furthermore, the government is implacably hostile to Jehovah’s Witnesses. The WTS really did him no favor by sending him there. And if he is eventually forced to leave the country due to its continued ferment, where will he go? But I don’t think he is giving that any thought at all.

I believe we will find that attitude typical of these former Bethelites. Jehovah will provide—or so they earnestly hope and pray. But I believe those prayers will go unanswered because the Bethel arrangement never had divine sanction or support in the first place. It was and is a heartless and cynical exploitation of gullible people as these current layoffs amply demonstrate.

Quendi

79

JWStruggle post: Bethel Layoffs Reveal a Kingdom without Clothes

by Londo111 in

http://www.jwstruggle.com/2013/07/bethel-layoffs-reveal-a-kingdom-without-clothes/.

despite everything, i still have a lingering admiration toward those who serve or have served in bethel.

it is not that i believe it is gods organization in any way, shape, or form.

Quendi

marked

25

Information Gatekeepers

by still thinking in

jw
friends

everything you look at and search for on the internet has been recorded and tailored specifically for you.

theyve figured out how to filter everything which they call a filter bubble.

we dont get to decide what we do and dont get to see anymore.

Quendi

marked

53

What piece of WT literature is worth holding onto, or have you kept? Why?

by losingit in

i have basically thrown away all of my bound volumes and loose wt and awake magazines.

i kept some bpoks, the insight to the scriptures, god's love, the reasoning book, and daniel's prophecies (this was my favorite) .

i held onto insight to the scriptures after reading some of ray franz's book, crisis of conscience.

Quendi

I kept all my copies of the New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures, including the Reference version, the Kingdom Interlinear Translation, the Comprehensive Concordance, the 2007 Watchtower Library CD and the oldTheocratic Ministry Guidebook. I always liked the old TMS guidebook and I have learned that some outside the organization have developed an appreciation for it as a wonderful guide to public speaking. I believe I also kept my Pioneer Service School textbook, Shining as Illuminators in the World. I got rid of everything else.

There may be a few odd volumes still in storage, but I made a concerted effort to eliminate all the WTS literature I had. I kept the Bibles and have added other translations to my library as I have learned a lot by doing comparative readings of the Scriptures.

Quendi

43

Change of 144000 doctrine?

by Julia Orwell in

jw
friends

a friend of mine just got given a recording of the last ca which was held here a couple of weeks ago and she said there's been a change to the 144k teaching.

she didn't understand what the hell they were rabbiting on about.

she's really waking up as a result of all these changes, and so are some others she knows.. anyone know of any change to the 144k doctrine?

Quendi

The WTS theologians find themselves between a rock and a hard place. The mushrooming numbers of partakers at recent Memorial celebrations led to two most unwelcome developments. First, it discredited the teaching that the number of partakers would shrink as The End™ approached. Since they also taught that all who professed to be anointed were part of the “faithful and discreet slave class”, the Governing Body began to face unwelcome pressure from these newly-minted anointed to have a say in the direction the religion would take.

The second development was on the teaching that the number 144,000 was a literal one rather than a symbolic one. The WTS had maintained that the selection of anointed followers had been an ongoing one since the first century. This didn’t present much of a problem during the twentieth century, particularly after 1935 when the number of the professed anointed started to steadily shrink. The reversal of this trend in the early twenty-first century has made many think that the number mentioned in the book of Revelation must be symbolic.

I think the Governing Body will soon embrace this view. Doing so will enable them to acknowledge anyone who professes to have this status without admitting them into the ruling clique. In effect, there will be two classes of anointed Christians: those who are among Christ’s “domestics”—a teaching already advanced; and the Governing Body which alone is the “faithful and discreet slave class.” Should this develop, I expect that rank-and-file Witnesses will accept this without a demur. Most have been thoroughly brainwashed and so won’t even question this but will gladly accept it as “new light™.”

Quendi

3

ANYBODY IN THE COLORADO AREA?

by Sittingstraight1212 in

hey there!

just trying to find a meet up group in the denver metro area!

and to make new friends, cause ya know , now that i faded...i am shunned.

Quendi

I’m in south Denver, just east of I-25 and Hampden.

Quendi

72

Apostate: From 279 Facebook friends to 81 overnight... thanks MOM!

by sosoconfused in

the drama continues, i log on to facebook this morning and notice that i have about 20 some odd personal messages from people calling me an apostate to they will return to me when i return to jehovah.. all of this based upon my brother informing others that i have "apostate thoughts".

my mother also encourage long-time famil friends to "unfriend" me because i have taken my stand on the side of satan... wow.

don't you just love this international brotherhood.

Quendi

I’m sorry for this latest turn of events, sosoconfused, but I have to agree with those who have told you that you’re better off without these people. I don’t use Facebook or other social media, so I can’t completely identify with what is happening to you now, but I do know the pain of losing those with whom you have formerly been very close. All of us who have left this cult can identify with that. But it does get better and you will find that without this dead weight of false friends you can now really fly.

Quendi