Welcome Cane,
I am so glad to know that people are reading here and getting something that helps them even if they have never posted.
It makes me want to write more thoughtfully. So thank you for that reminder!
hello and thanks to everyone for participating on this forum it has really been of much value, for those of you that post here know that your words are not lost you never know who is reading your expressions, lives are being changed and nonsense challenged.
i’m not much of a writer so excuse my untrained writing style and grammar but i want to share my story to help anyone who is visiting here to see that we are real people, fathers, mothers, sons and daughters who have come here for answers, there is no agenda, just searching for truth.
i hope my story will help others as so many here have helped me..
Welcome Cane,
I am so glad to know that people are reading here and getting something that helps them even if they have never posted.
It makes me want to write more thoughtfully. So thank you for that reminder!
i just finished reading chapters 11-12 of raymond franz, crises of conscience & i must admit, i am pretty strong person, however the way ed dunlap & ray franz were treated left me crying, i had tears rolling done my eyes driving home from work on friday... & how ed was kicked out by wt, left me feel soo disgusted & outraged.... it was very obvious he needed to stay at bethel because of his age & medical conditions but i admired he didn't compromise his conscious, it's sickening to me how cold & callous these men can treat a christian after all his service.... & of course ray franz situation was no exception either, the witch hunt they did to get him out was, well, there's just isnt enough adjectives to describe their disgusting motives against him... he was 59 yrs old trying to make a honest living with his wife & for them to go after him was devious & demon like.... i'm soo grateful i came across this book & i wished i had much much sooner.... i know god will reward both ed dunlap & franz plus many many more who have been unjustly & unchristian like treated during that time & this time, sooo sickening.....i still feel very much upset & emotional over the whole thing .... i never met any of them & then yet i feel deep christian love for them......
Olivia, what you say about foreign language congregations is interesting.
My brother started to have problems with individuals in the Hall. I think he is smart enough that it would have lead to questions on a bigger level (like it did with me) but he hopped off to a foreign language Hall and immersed himself in a very intricate and complicated language and he keeps himself happy there in his little bubble.
At least for now.
having recently read orwells 1984, i was impressed with how he understood that both politicians and people abuse language.
this further confirmed to me how the w.t had deceived me by using words to distort reality.
the book 1984, also contains many other great thoughts of george orwell.. of course there have been many other great thinkers, buddah, darwin, freud, einstein and marx come to mind.
Flipper I think your post is a gem.
Having a realistic grasp of oneself s abilities and limitations is an incredible accomplishment in and of itself.
Good for you!
( I like how you think too)
pdf.
why won't watchtower tell abusers "i'm going to tell on you!
" and follow through with the proper authorities?
Is this new?
it embarrassed me.
when i was young my folks made me wear one and i opened it up and took the paper out making it look like it fell out.
after my folks ask what happen i said i dont know.
Not really. I didnt like poking holes in my clothes!
The more I look back, I wasnt a very cooperative JW in many ways.
Its probably why I lasted so long and retained a modicum of sanity.
having recently read orwells 1984, i was impressed with how he understood that both politicians and people abuse language.
this further confirmed to me how the w.t had deceived me by using words to distort reality.
the book 1984, also contains many other great thoughts of george orwell.. of course there have been many other great thinkers, buddah, darwin, freud, einstein and marx come to mind.
The Rebel
A) Who do you consider the great thinkers are who have influenced the way you think today and why?
Bertrand Russell.
I like the way his thoughts evolved throughout his life.
B) Do you think great thinking often comes about by average thinkers debating together?
No, but I guess it would depend on what one calls "average". I do not believe great minds exist only in the realm of the well educated or affluent.
Money and education are enhancers that may unleash a great mind that is already there but so can other things such as exposure. Travel is one form of exposure for example.
I think there are great minds all around us, the way to find them is to be open eyed and eared enough to recognize them and focus on them. Just like the empty tin can makes the most noise - so it is with people. We have to really be aware to seek out the treasures amongst us.
as the song goes..."the words of the prophets are written on the subway walls and tenement halls"
the recent buzz that has hit the online communities concerning the watchtower society and their evil offspring - the jw org - revolves around their apparent financial difficulties.
many factors have been discussed - the real estate flips (and flops), the changes in meetings and field service, the need for donations to cover expenses, the push for donations.
where does the money come from to operate the hospital information network?
Good point Vidiot.
They probably think that God is protecting them.
well, well, that was quite a heartfelt welcome on this site four days ago.
thank you all for the encouraging replies.
one of them was this one from magnum: "hey now, don't just pop your head in and disappear.
How interesting your observations are.
You are getting more "truth" now from people than you were before when you served as a Shepard.
If that is not an indictment of the "doing business model" of the Org I dont know what is.
Looking forward to more from you, so glad you are here.
this is my first post here (not being comments) but i still have to tell my story but for that i need to get my mind together in other to give as much detail as possible to be able to share it.
will do in a future post.. anyway i had to share this.. so i went out on service this morning (i never do i always end up excusing myself because i hate field service) reason i did was to see what the new c.o had to say and he sure did say something.
he was saying what we had to present and he went over the watchtower magazine.
this weeks meeting under the section - living as 'christians', starts off with 'repentance makes a difference', which is a talk given by an elder taken from w06 11/15 27-28 par 7-9. in a nut shell it discusses those who have been disfellowshipped and then show repentance.
it then goes on to discuss reinstatement and how a certain amount of time must pass by before this can take place.
it makes the following point in the paragraph.. 'a disfellowshipped person is not automatically accepted back into the congregation after a certain amount of time has passed.
In the original post it is mentioned that merely restricting privileges would be more appropriate than DFing.
I agree.
However, the restricting of privileges is a "lesser" punishment used on those who dont turn in enough field service hours or who have less than perfect meeting attendance or who are guilty of some other minor infraction, such as dress, grooming etc.
Its all about layers and levels of controlling behavoir.