even if you don't regard yourself as a practicing jw, some may view you simply as inactive, a lost sheep, etc.. if you were baptized but not disfellowshipped or disassociated, you may still be a jw---right?
your thoughts please..
I'm technically still in. My official status is inactive. I haven't attended for about 7 years. According to my friend ( an elder's wife) at the recent Elder's school - they were told to treat all of the inactive as if they were still sheep. So my friend said, "that is how I look at you - you are still a sheep and I want to bring you closer to the fold."
It is sort of sad to me that this was a big revelation. Like being nice to people is such a new thing to them.
BAFH
the watchtower study edition, august 2015, "keep in expectation!
" article:.
paragraph 3: "after looking forward to the end of this system for what may seem to be a long time, however, some may wonder, do we still have sound reasons to keep in expectation?
It seems to me so much of people's faith and therefore their actions is based on their reward being "imminent". You can do or believe almost anything for a short time especially if there is some greater reward to look forward to in a very short time.
This has been a pet peeve of mine for a while now - the Bible says, "You do not know the day nor the hour, neither the Son. Only the Father." (or something like that). So it hasn't made sense to me for a long time that they have been obsessed with 1914 and predicting the time of the end.
Now that it has come to nothing, they are backtracking. It will be interesting to see how many people leave now that there is no timeline for the reward.
And I will be interested now to see if this gives them the opportunity to focus on what kind of people they are instead of what kind of works they produce that other people can see.
I think this is the beginning of an important turning point.
found these gems in this edition:.
- keep in expectation!- prepare now for life in the new worldthe passing of time should not cause us to lose hope thatkingdom blessings will be realized.
there are solid reasonsto keep our scriptural expectations alive.
i need some research done so if anybody has the time, please see what you can find on the subject as stated in the title.. i clearly remember attending my first circuit assembly.
on october 30, 1956, i definitely answered two questions, along with about ten other people including my mother, not at the assembly, but we were standing at the side of a small baptismal pool that was in the basement of a kingdom hall in ronkonkoma, then a small hamlet on long island in the town of islip, suffolk county, new york, united states.. i know for a certainty that in 1945 candidates for baptism were not asked any questions but they were informed through their congregation that there would be a baptism and told where and when it was to be held.
usually the baptism was done at a beach and when candidates showed up in bathing attire, they were dunked, no questions asked.. so sometime between 1945 and 1956 two specific questions began to be asked of candidates.
It seems to me, that even though the questions have moved to include the identification with the organization as a primary feature of the baptism process - that in the WT they proclaim our dedication is and should be to Jehovah and not to any organization. Therefore, if we leave the organization because it offends our conscience, we can still say we have not abandoned our commitment to Jehovah - if we were so inclined.
How would JWs respond to THAT?
i've been dating a jw girl for about 4 years and we've recently had a lot of issues with the fact that her family doesn't like that i'm not a jw.
i've been looking into the religion and am interested in it.
but is it wrong to join just so i don't lose her?
Don't join a group that won't let you leave, or have an independent opinion. If you plan on having children, don't become a JW. I don't imagine they will treat you any better once you are married if you don't join - and if that is the case - do you want to marry a woman who continues to also think like that?
Run for your life!
wife and i have not reported a single hour of fs in 3-4 months.
while my wife is mostly doing for me (positive thing), i know she would have rather done it.
elder asked me to turn in my fs report this past week and then he added... "we need to talk".
"We need to talk".
"Ok,-" and then never be available or if you get cornered, be on your way to an appointment.
avoid, avoid avoid
from so many posts and conversations on here, you'd think over 1/2 the posters here possess doctorates in theology, physics, biology, etc.
i'm curious aside from the books and research people have done here, what degrees they have.
to start, i just got an aa and going straight through full time to an mba.
this is my first year i will not attend memorial.
to be honest if it wasn't for my husband i would probably be going still.
he says what's the point, don't be one of those people who doesn't give a sh** but just shows there face once a year.
I will be going. As a 4th generation born-in with a true-believer regular pioneer for a mom, it's the last vestige that signals "I'm not a danger to your spirituality".
While I haven't attended meetings in about 7 years, this is one hour of my life once a year that keeps things easy for me. I usually have a martini or two before I go, attend, chit-chat and then leave and have another drink.
its worth it for me and I feel I get a big return on my investment in terms of social grease for the rest of the year.
I have to say though that the more " out" I am the more ridiculous they sound. It may get to the point where I can't stand it any more and I will join you all in the non-attendee group.
i've been looking on this site for some time but never posted.
i'll give a little about myself, but not too much.
i'm a ex-bethelite ( brooklyn )and currently serving as an elder (10 years) (thinking about stepping down) on the service committee.
I have a friend who is exactly as described in the OP. He thinks most of it is crap, but is "hedging his bets." I don't think the whole thing is bad, but I don't think I could ever assimilate back in now that I've been out for the last 7 years. It would make my life easier on many levels, but I just can't.
george bernard shaw once said: .
"all great truths begin as blasphemies" .
why not check out the following link to see if such a thing spoken of by mr. shaw, could not be soooo true, even in our day and time.. click here to see: link to newspaper article discussing genesis 3:15 and jehovah's witnesses.
