Posts by Acluetofindtheuser

5

144,000 is a literal number

by Sour Grapes in

jdubs are the only religion that believes that only 144,000 are going to heaven and of course they are all jdubs.

the number is found in the bible book of revelation.

i could never wrap my brain around the fact that the jdubs will openly tell you that everything else in the book revelation is not literal and is symbolic.

I think they had a Messiah complex from the beginning of the religion's founding. They thought they were a special group set apart from the rest of Christendom. They assumed everything in the scriptures were fulfilled in them. They see that part about 12,000 x 12 in Revelation, they are automatically going to assume it means them.

They got into the habit of explaining everything in the scriptures as if it was directly from God. They assumed everything future meant them and every special angelic guy was Jesus. They just can't say we don't understand what this means right now and leave it unknown. They also simplify things too much and they assume everything is spiritual and there's no physical component to prophecy. He returned invisibly is one such example. The new heavens and new earth is symbolic is another.

43

Why are there more sisters than brothers at the Kingdom Hauls?

by Sour Grapes in

i have always wondered why there are more females than males in all of the congregations that i have visited?

some of these females are in their 70's so maybe their husbands have died and women just live longer.

or could the reason be that years ago men were the breadwinners and women stayed home to raise the children thus they were home during the week when the jdubs came a knocking?

Acluetofindtheuser

Males are more inclined to be independent. An independent person is not welcome in JW land. Independent thinking is from the devil as they would say.

It appears women also seem more submissive than men. When males preach from the platform what other males need to do then an internal hard-wired war takes place in the congregant.

27

Do You Think a Schism is in the Future?

by lepermessiah in

jw
friends

i was thinking about this over the weekend.

just this week, there was the "consolidation" talk (in my wife's congregation) , the article about shunning that went viral, and the annual "show your love and obedience to jehovah by giving us your money" watchtower.

i know my wife said people are running scared about this consolidation even though it was sold as maximizing space to help other areas, build kh in other countries, etc...... the media and government has hit them hard in many countries, but they have gotten off easy in the usa, where the majority of the people and money reside.

Acluetofindtheuser

Samuel Herd vs Anthony Morris III. - A future schism

Did you notice in the last AM that they didn't let Herd mention any nu-lite? Herd mentioned at the beginning of his talk that no new info would be presented in his discourse. Maybe he holds a grudge about that. I wonder how much input he provides to the writing committee?

13

Who is going to make the earth a paradise?

by Sour Grapes in

when i was a jw elder and dreamed of living in paradise, i pictured all of the animals, beautiful people, perfect weather, welcoming back the dead and teaching them about god.

the only problem is to get to the point of making the earth a paradise first there will be around 8 billion bodies to bury.

then how are we going to dig through all of the rubble and collapsed buildings using what tools?

Acluetofindtheuser

Maybe the higher-ups believe Armageddon will be a worldwide rototiller event. No clean up because the wicked people are down with the dinosaurs.

41

suicide

by zeb in

jw
friends

who among us has known a jw who has committed suicide.

i believe this as a separate subject has not been covered..

Acluetofindtheuser

I have witnessed 5 in my life time. Four of them were JW's. They were all men. The non-JW was indirectly effected by the elder arrangement that caused his suicide.

A JW buddy of mine, who is on the fringes like me, believes the memorial services for these people are not allowed in the KH because the leadership doesn't want to admit that it's a problem within the organization.

The more suicides I hear about in this circle of mine makes me more angry at the organization.

52

Funny News From My Old Congragation - Elder Fight!

by pale.emperor in

i haven't stopped laughing since i heard this.

a pimo in my last congregation told me that an elder has been removed from his elder position.

apparently he grabbed another elder by the throat, put him up against a wall in the back room and punched him in on the nose... during an elders meeting on thursday evening after the meeting.. the congregation were running round like headless chickens wondering what to do?

Acluetofindtheuser

Thanks for telling us this story Pale Emperor. This reminded me of about an elder I was around many years ago. I found out this guy was way out of his territory when I went to his hall. Someone told me he was at my hall because he did not like the elders or one elder near his home town.

If the CO's are letting this rift remain between the elders then they are violating the commands of Jesus. No wonder there is no holy spirit. The CO's are either lying to the GB about the state of the congregations or the GB are turning a blind eye.

15

Regarding this so called judgment message..

by nowwhat? in

will our fearless leaders the gb call a news conference and invite all the major news networks and outlets and put their asses on the line and declare "you are all doomed!

" or will they have the rank and file do all the dirty work while they sit back in their gated corporate country club?!

ask any jdub that question!.

Acluetofindtheuser

I wonder how long they have had this idea of a judgement message?

I don't know how long they have been promoting this idea but I may know where they get the idea of a warning message. I think they are relating the Armageddon event with the Flood. Peter called Noah, "A preacher of righteousness" and the JW's assumed that meant a warning message to the pre-flood worldly people.

It's strange that the book of Genesis makes no mention of a warning or preaching campaign by Noah prior to the Flood. I don't know where Peter got his information unless it was by divine inspiration. I still find it strange that Noah's preaching activity is not mentioned in the OT. I think the large boat construction was the only witness given.

I find it hard to believe that if Noah really preached he would have been able to save more than his immediate family and their wives. What about grandparents, cousins, sisters of the wives, the wives parents and so forth. Something doesn't add up.

20

When did Watchtower writings start becoming anonymous?

by Wild_Thing in

jw
friends

i think most people know that authorship was credited in the old watchtower literature, but at some point everything became anonymous.

i still do not know exactly when this started, but i found this in charles taze russell's last will and testament.

his will was not honored in other respects, so i doubt they would have honored this request.

Acluetofindtheuser

Angels and Women was not published by the WT. It was endorsed by them in the Golden Age, and reportedly the reprint/ revision of Seola was done by some of the Russell era Bible Students, but the fact remains that it was not published under the Watchtower label.

It might as well have been written under the WT label. The Angels and Women revision has 36 Appendix notes mentioned throughout the novel. All these notes reference publications of the Bible Students to support the passage in the book. The Appendix section quotes the following Bible Student works.

The harp of God

Studies in the scriptures volume I, II, IV, V, VI, VII

Photo-drama of creation

A desirable government

Thankfully the novel does not have a question for each paragraph.

20

When did Watchtower writings start becoming anonymous?

by Wild_Thing in

jw
friends

i think most people know that authorship was credited in the old watchtower literature, but at some point everything became anonymous.

i still do not know exactly when this started, but i found this in charles taze russell's last will and testament.

his will was not honored in other respects, so i doubt they would have honored this request.

Acluetofindtheuser

I have never heard of Angels and Women. Was it a significant book in Russell or Rutherford's time?
Without knowing what the book is about, I will say that I have read about many women writing things and either using a male pseudonym or giving it no authorship at all. That could be a possibility in this case.

The 1924 revised edition was authorized by Rutherford because they endorsed it in a 1924 Golden Age magazine, which is now called Awake. They renamed the revised version to "Angels and Women" from the original title "Seola".

The original author, Ann Eliza Smith published her other books under her husband's name. This is how her name was shown in authorship to them:

From Dawn to Sunrise - Mrs J.G. Smith (1876)

Seola - Anonymous (1878) - It's written as a diary from an ancient person

Selma - Mrs J. Gregory Smith (1883)

Atla - J.G. Smith (1886)

Notes of Travels - Mrs. J. Gregory Smith (1886)

She gave a special exception to the book, Seola with claiming authorship. The novel mainly reads as a diary and she lets the main character remain the author. The main character's name is Seola, the wife of Japheth.

20

When did Watchtower writings start becoming anonymous?

by Wild_Thing in

jw
friends

i think most people know that authorship was credited in the old watchtower literature, but at some point everything became anonymous.

i still do not know exactly when this started, but i found this in charles taze russell's last will and testament.

his will was not honored in other respects, so i doubt they would have honored this request.

Acluetofindtheuser

Russell and or Rutherford could have picked up the idea of writing anonymously from the original author who wrote Angels and Women. I'm not talking about the 1924 revised edition. I'm talking about the original 1878 version which left out any authorship.

The Library of Congress data revealed the original author was Mrs John Gregory Smith, AKA Ann Eliza Smith.