on one hand, he's enlightnened many to the internal circle jerk that is the governing body (circa the 70s).. but if there's one reason that can be pointed to for the jws becoming full on cult, it's ray franz.
without him leaving in the manner he did, and stirring the pot, they might not have change the rule (retroatively i might add) on shunning of disassociated ones.
they specifically changed that so they could remove him and eliminate his influence.. his actions single handedly have created the situation where we have to fade, evade, leave marriages, say goodbye to family, just because we don't buy the jw bullsh!t anymore.
confusedandalone: I googled the definition ofn "hero," and here's what I got
Hero: (1) A person, usually a man, who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievement, or noble qualities; (2) a submarine sandwich
How dare people imply that Ray Franz was a sub sandwich!
what is the(or what was your) main motivation for serving god as a jw(or any christian)?.
a) love for god and genuinely trying to learn more about him and bible truths?.
b) to escape punishment/death at armegddon?.
It's a wacko story, but here goes: When I was about 9 years old, my dad ran into his boss, a JW, doing street work. The boss persuaded my dad to have a "Bible study" in the Let God Be True book. My dad, the son of a country preacher, had never been interested in religion, but understood the value of "ass kissing" and having an inside track with the boss. After a few years, my dad got a great government job and discontinued the "Bible study."
A coupld of years after that, a friend of my dad's was killed in a coal mine cave-in. My dad had some kind of (probably drug-induced) "experience" that made him believe he had been present at his friend's judgment, and he stated that he knew his friend was in heaven. So, we started attending a large Baptist church near our house. The evangelist Jack Van Impe came to that church to have a revival. He gave two sermons against Jehovah's witnesses. Unfortunately, I knew that much of the stuff he sermonized about was not true.
As a result, after years away from any JW contact, I started feeling that there must be a reason why this wealthy evangelist felt so threatened by the little rag-tag groups of JW's in existence at that time. In my 15-year-old brain, I concluded that the JW's must be right and were being "persecuted" by the mighty, wealthy churches of Christendom. I started attending meetings and publishing. It went on for 17 years, until I could no longer tolerate my life as a JW.
http://o.canada.com/news/national/blood-transfusions.
thoughts?.
How many children had to die in the process? I do not admire the WT's "stand" regardless of the benefit to some, while others had to die!
hi folks,.
i've been reading posts here off and on for years.
i decided to go ahead and join in with a post.
Welcome to real life! Enjoy your freedom!
and that jehovah's witnesses are proud to use that name?.
When I was a dub, I came to realize that everything about JW's was modeled on the Roman Catholic heirarchy and organizational structure. President of the society = Pope; GB = college of cardinals; Bethelites = nuns and priests; DO - cardinal; CO = bishop; CO = parish priest; Elders and MS's = deacons. In her book, Visions of Glory: a History and a Memory of the Jehovah's Witnesses, Barbara Grizutti Harrison pointed out that the JW's were just like the Catholic Church of the middle ages.
No, I'm not at all surprised. Without Catholicism, the JW's wouldn't know how to operate at all.
i guess i am just venting.
its a mess.
i just dont even know where to start with this crap.
If you decide against divorce, you and your child must go to counseling to maintain some level of sanity. Personally, I believe the well-being of a child trumps marriage for the sake of that institution itself. I don't know your child, but if she's typical, she is quite desparate to want her parents separated.
Best wishes to you and your child.
i am sure we have all seen the recent letter to the boe concerning the change that will take place to the meeting arrangement during the week of the co visit.
to recap the basics: the meeting that usually contains the cong bible study (book study) and a co talk will be discontinued, publishers are encouraged to use their family worship night that week to cover book study material.. so here is a point that i think has been missed, or not even considered:.
if that particular meeting is hereby deleted from the schedule, the co and his wife will never ever have to participate in or go to another "book study", or "bible study" night again.
It may be, in reality, that the WT is running out of steam in creating new fantasies for their followers to "study." A certain level of intelligence and creativity is involved, and it does not appear that the current GB has either.
as an aside to the recent thread discussing what 'spirit' is, this article is about 18 months old, but may be of interest if you haven't seen it before.. the study (or at least this summary of it described on the mail online news website), doesn't define what exactly is meant by a 'spiritual' person, but i personally take it as a very broad term covering everything from new age hippies who feel they have a relationship with the energy of the universe or those who are striving to reach innner calm by meditating and living a simple life communing with nature, to beliefs in astrology, feng shui, and a host of other paranormal phenomena, plus many shades in between.
some 'spiritual' beliefs are obvioulsy just superstitions, but others are currently neither provable nor disprovable by science.
maybe it's open to debate, but i guess if a belief can be demonstrated as 100% true by science, it's not considered 'spiritual'.. one interesting point is that apparently unlike some surveys undertaken in the us, this one from the uk found "no clear relationship between religious belief and happiness".. hope this doesn't offend anyone who considers themselves spiritual, that's really not my intention; but at least it's not branding anyone as "mentally diseased"!.
I know a person who claims to be "spiritual." She smokes like a chimney, drinks like a fish, loses her temper at the drop of a hat, and has been a stripper and a prostitute. She is uneducated and loud and boisterous. She has made me understand that "being spiritual" is not for me.
i really do not like that word (apostate), as used to represent someone who decided to remove themselves, or was removed from the influence of the watchtower... but i am curious.. how long have websites like these been in existence?
when did this movement begin?.
personally, how long did it take for you to dare exploring information outside the watchtower publications, about jehovah's witnesses (especially online)?.
My daughter found H2O in 1997, after we finally got a computer. I really enjoyed posting there and reading the intelligent observations of other posters there. I actually left the borg in 1979. I'm happy this online support system exists for people leaving now. I'm sure it makes the transition to a more normal life much easier.
across that stage tommorrow dressed in graduate garb picking up a masters degree.. .
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You make apostates look good! Congratulations!
