It's CYA of some sort. I think JWLeaks made a good point that it could be an organizational change.
They are effing up everywhere so there's no telling.
the statement in the article "who is leading gods people today?
" in the feb 17th study edition of the wt is very interesting.. it states: ""the g.b.
is neither inspired nor infallible" ..we can err .in doctrinal matters....".
It's CYA of some sort. I think JWLeaks made a good point that it could be an organizational change.
They are effing up everywhere so there's no telling.
the statement in the article "who is leading gods people today?
" in the feb 17th study edition of the wt is very interesting.. it states: ""the g.b.
is neither inspired nor infallible" ..we can err .in doctrinal matters....".
On the 1914 topic....
There is a precedent already for moving the Last Days and they love past precedent in this organization.
The original Last Days beginning date was 1799 and then moved to 1914. So this religion has already taken the liberty of allowing the entire Last Days to roll forward 115 years.
Since we are only 102 years into this round, I don't see 1914 being messed with anytime soon.
the statement in the article "who is leading gods people today?
" in the feb 17th study edition of the wt is very interesting.. it states: ""the g.b.
is neither inspired nor infallible" ..we can err .in doctrinal matters....".
Lol....
the statement in the article "who is leading gods people today?
" in the feb 17th study edition of the wt is very interesting.. it states: ""the g.b.
is neither inspired nor infallible" ..we can err .in doctrinal matters....".
I read through the entire thread and agree 100% with Steve2. This is about pedophiles if it's about anything. Here's a quick reason why - the other doctrines aren't costing them millions of dollars and trouble with major governments!
Also, I agree this double-speak in the WT is not new. I will add this though:
The JW's have already swallowed the mind-twisting concept that GOD'S DIRECTION IS INTERMITTENT!
Look, these are just imperfect men that love Jehovah and have dedicated their entire lives to the doing of his will and the preaching of the good news in every corner of the earth. They pray for God's Holy Spirit before they teach anything or give any direction. Occasionally, though, these men run ahead or allow their imperfections to get in the way, and Jehovah allows this for a while. But we know that Jehovah lovingly corrects the faithful slave in time and redirects their step. Even the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for years before finally being directed to the promised land. May we be determined to follow Jehovah's direction wherever it leads and always be ready to obey his faithful and discreet slave!
So says the super dub.......
having seen many, many people leave the org over the years, i have to say that, when it comes to married couples, it's almost always the man who makes the first move to leave.
conversely, when it comes to being converted into the witnesses, more often than not it's the wife who joins up first.
although that wasn't the case with my own parents, my father became converted and my mother followed very reluctantly..
I would agree with Xanthippe. The org is even more stifling to women. As an elder you can at least sling an occasional odd ball comment out. If you are a sister you are expected to basically be a Stepford Wife. Many times I have been in congregations where sisters were being murmured about simply for making too many comments at the meetings. They were accused of "teaching the congregation", and of course that's a no-no.
But back to the original question of why don't they leave. I would say again that they on average fall harder into the trap emotionally and are more influenced by the community element.
having seen many, many people leave the org over the years, i have to say that, when it comes to married couples, it's almost always the man who makes the first move to leave.
conversely, when it comes to being converted into the witnesses, more often than not it's the wife who joins up first.
although that wasn't the case with my own parents, my father became converted and my mother followed very reluctantly..
My two cents. As a general rule women are more sensitive than men and usually feel emotions stronger. This can be a great thing or a bad thing depending on circumstances. I think 90% of the pull in the JWs is emotional. Also the FOG manipulation techniques (fear, obligation, guilt) play on these emotions. I think men generally resist authority more readily also.
In my wife, as I have mentioned on here before, I see the organization being used as a father figure in her life.
If interested I started a thread on it back several months ago:
there continues to be more and more rumors of more halls being sold off some even taking the first offer.
the borg trying to get thier bond money back from the court in san diego asap and there's been elders meetings about this consolidation.
my questions is why after selling off all this real estate in new york for over a billion dollars are they still acting like thier broke?
I have started thinking that they borrowed money against the New York properties and thus had some huge loans to pay off when the properties sold.
Some have speculated that the construction moratorium had to do with the bank shutting down their construction line of credit - which could be for many reasons - none of them good.
Again, though, who knows. No financial transparency means there's secrets. They invite suspicion by not being forthright and open about what they are doing with other people's money.
It gets under my skin when they throw around the "dedicated funds" term. It's as if the money was given to God and then the Watchtower was entrusted with it. Not so. The money should be referred to as donations. Plain and simple. Donations come from donors. The "dedicated funds" term has a veneer of religious respect but actually disrespects and ignores who the money actually came from.
supposedly the disciples witnessed jesus' super-power awesomeness first-hand.. so they were all 100% on-board to-the-death martyrs ... right?.
erm .... judas betrayed him.
thomas didn't believe he'd come back.
It really clicked for me at that Jesus convention a couple of years ago. These are just Stories. Unverifiable tales from 2000 years ago. To your point, many were apparently not so convinced by these tales - maybe because they actually saw what really happened before the spin was applied.
Don't get me started on Paul practically carrying the entire New Testament.
this is absolutely feckin' priceless.. https://www.jw.org/en/publications/videos/viewpoints-origin-of-life/petr-muzny-law-professor/.
in yet another appeal to authority, jw.org has trotted out a professional to vouch for creation.
this guy is a law professor.
I like this article on why some smart people still believe in nonsense:
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/godlessindixie/2015/10/09/why-do-intelligent-well-educated-people-still-believe-nonsense/
Also I have found that some people that grew up in the former Soviet Union see religion with rose-colored glasses. It was a forbidden fruit in their youth under that government. Couple that early life experience with the hot young witness wife and you have confirmation bias for miles.
this is my first time posting on here so i’m not sure where to start.
i’m trying to keep it as short as possible since i could expand much more.
i’ve been in the process of waking up in the last year and a half.
I have a similar dealio. I too am still serving as an elder. I too have a super loyal uber dub wife. I have pushed it longer than you and am now finding myself unable to find the energy to keep going with this elder thing. I have worn myself out mentally and emotionally pretending to be a witness for my wife. Unfortunately it has affected my attitude, so no-go for me right now with the "stay happy" plan. I am not happy and can't not show it.
I refuse to comment at the meeting unless I believe what I am saying. So guess what? I comment like every other meeting maybe. I cover parts on the program by skimming over the crap and spending the majority of the time on sections I can stomach. I'm not sure if it gets noticed but nobody has said anything. The audience is zombies anyway.
I have never disfellowshiped anyone. Some of that is luck, some is not. I have reinstated several. I just advised a young couple to stop pioneering and give up the "I'm sure Jehovah will bless us soon" routine (I used different language of course). They are struggling financially but believe miracles happen if you put Jehovah first. Wonder who told them that?
I have vomited ttatt on my wife a few times. That certainly doesn't work. She seems to think I will snap out of it someday. How funny. I talked to her once in depth about the "new light" doctrine. She seemed to listen pretty well. I think that is a good one to start with since it is so obviously contrived and yet so integral to the belief system. I made some in-roads lately asking - why doesn't the organization simply take on the apostates head on? If they have the truth and the others have twisted reasonings and lies, why not just pull popular apostate websites up on the jumbo-tron at conventions and go through them point by point? They seem proud to do that with apostate Christendom. (I actually just thought of the Christendom part, but it's true)
Anyway, good luck. I feel for you and understand. PM me anytime.