i just had a two-hour doctor's appointment (treatment for branch retinal vein occlusion) that requires screenings, scans, dilation, anesthetic and injection, etc.
this makes it necessary to spend a lot of time in the waiting room..
my former p.o., book study conductor and later field service overseer was there and greeted me in a friendly way.
There is a sub message these days among some of the brighter Witnesses to take a softer approach.
It sounds like your friend is one of those who has internalized that message.
Good for him and you. I hope it makes his life a little easier in the Org and it certainly made it easier for you!
Hope your eye is doing well sailaway!
can jws read publications by other churches?
or by atheists?
i've always heard these are apostate materials.
blondie
5/1/84 WT p 31 Questions From Readers
·
Why do Jehovah’s Witnesses decline to exchange their Bible study aidsfor the religious literature of people they meet?
{snipped}
Hence, it is out of wisdom and respect for God’s counsel that Jehovah’s Witnesses do not make a practice of exchanging valuable Bible study aids containing Scriptural truth for religious literature that disseminates error or apostate views
Respectively snipped for space...
That last sentence in Blondies above post is the "out" that a JW can use if they want to defend what they read.
It has to be a "practice" of it before the elders can attempt to do anything. Like so many non scriptural rules the JWs have "something"..... (anything really) can become wrong just by how many times you do it without being "wrong" in the singular form.
my hairdresser warned me that he had taken on a jw apprentice and asked me what i thought.
she attends the kh that disfellowhipped me.
i told him that i would have to be careful about what i said concerning my personal life as she would report back anything she heard to the elders.
Perhaps this young lady is seeking her own way out of the Orgs clutches and a job is one of the steps for her.
I remember putting up Christmas decorations for my boss once also. I didnt want to get found out but I didnt mind the actual doing of it.
They are two different things!
i feel like everything that comes out of my mothers mouth is something negative and cringe worthy.
all she seems to talk about with me is how terrible and demonic our disfellowshipped relatives are, how horrible the world and holidays are, or how she is so much better and "holier than thou".
it really makes me sick sometimes.
Hugs to you Blackwolf. Life is scary when your 18 (or almost) even when everything with your parents is great. Its a lot to think about being on the threshold of an adult life.
I dont usually give advice but I would say get all the education you can.
That seems to be the thing people regret most if they dont.
Hopefully your parents will help you with that.
so, i am around 50,4th gen born in- christmas.
strange thing this christmas thing.
i've been watching people this year, really watching them.
Very eloquent post notalone.
Whether its Christmas or another avenue (you mentioned politics) that veers away from the narrow hallway of JW thinking, the mindset that it dooms a person is very pervasive. Very.
All cultures, tribes and peoples have holidays and celebrations. It is inherent to human nature to do so.
Even the Jews were told in Deuteronomy that at their festival they were to be "nothing but joyful".
Where did that go? Modern day JWs are still locked in to the Puritan standards of their modern day founders.
So sad really.
firstly thanks to cofty & smiddy for the kind words on my " final post" .
this post is simply to say over two months have passed since my last post and since then i have with my wife and son seen elton john live, visited stockholm, berlin, and most importantly appreciated " the natural beauty of my neighbourhood" with out even thinking about the watchtower.
i have also attended 3 watford football matches with my son and made better relationships with my parents, discovered harvey's draught beer and made new friends in my local pub.
Thank you The Rebel for being you,
Your musings on life and my being able to come here and read them are "one of those liittle things that really are the big things" for me.
i bet most witnesses could not explain their blood policy, their understanding of the slave, and even simple biblical doctrines....they are an embarrassment to any old timer..
Everything above is so very sadly true....
theres not even a Reasoning Book in sight. Now its just point to the website on your mobile device.
Similar to the old Victrola playing at a door in the beginning days.
So they have come full circle.
Another way to say theyve gone no where.
i attended a sunday meeting today after missing a couple due to a bout of chronic apathy.
out of 74 publishers we had a grand total of 33. wonderful.
for those that attend, how are you finding the numbers?.
nakanozzi
Hi, Darkknight757.
May I ask you a question?
What does COBE stand for?
Chairman of the Body of Elders.
That is the new term for the head elder in a congregation. It used to be "Presiding Overseer" (PO) and now it is COBE - Chairman of the Body of Elders.
Apologies to Darkknight if I intruded!
i was born in four gen, been d.f.d.
for about eight years now.
my father had always been a true company man, although more times than i can count, he's always been floppy.
Every family has its "thing" MTsman. This is yours.
Since you are not dealing with your authentic parents but rather with the "firewall" the Org has placed around them, dont do or not do anything based on their actions. Do what is best for yourself since you are the authentic functioning person in your relationship with them.
I like all the answers above because they demonstrate that a variety of approaches can be correct.
For me, I always like to think "act dont react"
10 response of the jehovah’s witness organisation to the sexual abuse of children.
having regard to the various matters we have discussed in this report, we have reached a number of general conclusions on the jehovah’s witness organisation’s response to the sexual abuse of children.
we do not consider the jehovah’s witness organisation to be an organisation which responds adequately to child sexual abuse.
Thanks Steve. That is very helpful to read.
I was glad to see that this quote from Jackson made it in to the report:
When asked if the Governing Body members saw themselves as ‘Jehovah God’s spokespeople on earth’, Mr Geoffrey Jackson answered that it ‘would seem to be quite presumptuous to say that we are the only spokesperson that God is using’.
