i remember many years back a fellow ministerial servant saying this to me.
he felt that even if jehovah’s witnesses were not the only true religion, the regimented routine of meetings and field service and the strict rules and enforcement provided a beneficial structure for his life.
at the time i thought if this wasn’t “the truth”, i’d have no need for all that “structure”.
I'm with rebel8, guy should have joined the military if he wanted "structure".
Of course, after a certain amount of training and time the military expects you to be able to function on your own, progress in making improvised decisions, and ultimately lead others. That could be a small problem for someone refusing to think for himself.
i mean this with all due respect, i would like to hear from genuine people who think jw have it wrong and then what is the truth?.
im not talking about silly little quibbles here and there.. is jehovah real?
the the bible is word?
An alternative would be actual Christianity. Or simply following the example of Christ in your daily life.
Don't let anyone ask you "where will you go"? There is no "where". The scripture reads "To WHOM would we go" (John 6:68) and of course that "whom" is Jesus.
If you want Christianity then you have to go to and through Christ, not man.
The WTBTS has lied to the majority of its adherents by telling them Jesus isn't their mediator. The GB has placed itself in that seat. Well, if you don't have Jesus as your mediator, then you don't have God. Period.
So.
i assume they get most of it from cash donations and assets left in wills.
there may also be some income from invested assets.
i guess they get a lot of money from old jws who die childless or with only df'd kids.geographically i assume they get it mostly from a few countries that have many publishers and strong economies.
Who knows LostanfFound.
It isn't for any "world wide work". The publishers are doing the "work" world wide ( in retrospect, they ARE the world wide work) but I haven't heard of monies being given to Congregations where members may be in dire need of monetary help.
Weird how they discourage buying a new house or car so close to "the end" while they're out buying/building new HQs and other large aquisitions.
i was watching a documentary from last week about saudi arabia.
there are many human rights violations going on, supported from islam ideology.
apparently is(is) is an off-shoot of saudi society.
The Saudis are Wahaabists. This is a form of Islam made up in the 1950's, as is Saudi Arabia.
As for JWs, I wouldn't put much stock in their view of paradise. Lots of uneeded middle men in that picture.
is it possible to have an effect from the inside?
with well thought comments that reveal more of the history of the organization?
the next book we study will be "god's kingdom rules!
Noooope! One thing I did learn in psychology class : The hardest thing to do is to change the way people think. (Particularly if they are happy thinking the way they do).
With a lot of JWs, there's not much thinking at all, just rote existence.
I will say this tho'. Do you think first Century Christians faked the funk for the sake of consoling their families? Or did they speak up for themselves and what they felt was true? To death they went & they knew it was a likely consequence.
You think it's bad for friends & family to throw you away, just imagine a lion ripping your arms off.
The decision and outcome is yours.
"you miss 100% of the shots you don't take".
"you always regret the things you didn't do more than the things you did".
"think for yourself, question authority".
yes, i too have wondered how an assembly that is held in a fully paid for assembly hall, with no food service, could possibly have $10,000 in expenses.
i suppose the bethel speakers have transportation expenses - maybe $1000 or so.
as for rent on the assembly hall, well you have already paid for it once, why pay again?
The only "expense" would be electric and that's certainly not 10 grand for a weekend. Everything else is already paid for and any maintenance is done free by volunteers. Literature is already paid for, trucks bringing it, paid for. Bethel drivers, paid for. That's all paid for through 200 yrs of adherent donations.
Why does a DO have 600 dollars worth of weekend expenses? Whole families don't have that. Rental cars are only $99 for a weekend.
I mean really.
after i retired i volunteered for several community service programs, including working with the local food bank.
every fourth thursday of each month i help out in distributing food to needy families at the local veterans building.
i've been helping out for five years now.
Interesting loneranger,
I used to say, "giving someone a magazine when it was obvious they needed real food was like giving your son a rock for dinner."
please post some comments on this news-site!
it's not a bad piece of journalism, but there are definitely some gaps that need to be filled.
the pro-jw apologists have already started posting on it!
Lol Faye,
Even the GB downplay Jesus by calling him their "big brother". Not their Lord, head, savior, husbandry owner, or King ... but "big brother". How's that for minimalization?
You know like I know, anyone acknowledging "Jesus is Lord" out loud in a KH meeting would get labeled "mental". Even if they added, "to the glory of God the Father". Whooooo hoooo, that would be fun times if a JW actually said such!
so that other thread was fun but now i need some help with something.
i was born in the truth most of my family is in.
although they aren't outwardly super spiritual i doubt any of them would ever leave.
