wtf?
i thought no way they'd name an article that.
wow.
@littlemac I have no idea what or who the article is about, frankly I could care less. I was struck by the striking resemblance to the guy in the photo to Larry David, he is the creator of Seinfeld and stars in the HBO series, Curb Your Enthusiasm. That was my only point. BTW i lovved your comment;
70 yrs.? At what point does it become harrassment???
the april 2012 wt study article has some of the most strongly worded statements about contact with disfellowshipped family members.. page 12, paragraph 17: -.
good that can come when a family loyally.
upholds jehovahs decree not to associate.
I echo many of the comments reflected in this very interesting thread. The simple fact is, these articles and the strong language scream desperation from the WTS. So many of us are "just going through the motions", we have mentally checked out of this farce of a religion and they know it. In fact they are probably reading this thread right now. The free flowing information from the internet has freed my mind and probably thousands of others. The WTS can do nothing to stem the tide, so they resort to desperate tactics. I see this trend in most of the articles now, not just this one.
Not that I am comparing myself to a primate, however in the movie "Rise of The Planet of the Apes" all it took was one of them to become self-aware to cause a paradigm shift in nature. I know it is fiction but the analogy is similar, there are probably tens of thousands that are self-aware of the falsehood and deception and these ones can have a powerful influence on others. Primarily with your spouses, children, parents etc. The message can be delivered, in a very contrived and subtle fashion without creating allot of suspicion. It is only a matter of time before the WTS self-destructs and that day can never come soon enough!
Lost Generation...great post, that was funny.
OMG, I was laughing so hard. My coworkers just came to see what so funny. Thanks for sharing MM, I needed a good laugh!
i'm just going through the latest april 15th watchtower, and in particular the study article entitled "betrayal - an ominous sign of the times".. predictably, the article has a lot to say about the perils of being disloyal to god and his organization.. it gives examples of three wicked individuals:.
coniving delilahtreacherous absalomtraitorous judas iscariotthen notice the summary paragraph (pages 9 and 10):.
what have we learned from these warning examples?
Here is another gem from Paragraph 17 of the same article;
17 Consider just one example of the
good that can come when a family loyally
upholds Jehovah’s decree not to associate
with disfellowshipped relatives. A
young man had been disfellowshipped
for over ten years, during which time his
father, mother, and four brothers “quit
mixing in company” with him. At times,
he tried to involve himself in their activities,
but to their credit, each member
of the family was steadfast in not
having any contact with him. After he
was reinstated, he said that he always
missed the association with his family,
especially at night when he was alone.
But, he admitted, had the family associated
with him even a little, that small
dose would have satisfied him. However,
because he did not receive even
the slightest communication from any
of his family, the burning desire to be
with them became one motivating factor
in his restoring his relationship with
Jehovah. Think of that if you are ever
tempted to violate God’s command not
to associate with your disfellowshipped
relatives.
...finally the WT puts it in print the ONLY reason people seek reinstatement. It has nothing to do with any remorse towards Jehovah or feeling guilty about their lifestyle, it is all about restoring their relationship with family-not Jehovah. Never once did this shunned individual say ANYTHING about missing the meetings, ministry ect, he does not even mention anything about his relationship with Jehovah. Hilarious! Most people I know that finally capitulate and get reinstated to restore family ties, do enough spiritually "to get by", their only motivation is to restore family ties-period!
when you left the man-made organization currently known as the wtbts??.
and for those still "in" but mentally "out" what have you started doing thats against the silly, stupid and non-scriptural watchtower policy/law/rule??.
i know the question has been made before on another thread but i couldn't find it and also there's been quite some growth in new ones here to jwn, so just wanted to see if we could all share some lovely/funny/random experiences.
Ripped up and disgarded mine and my children's "Medical Directive" cards.
i'm starting to get a clearer picture of what's been happening with my nephew who has recently decided that he no longer wishes to be a part of "the lie"... it appears that my nephew may have been forced to move out by his elder father who was afraid of possibly losing his privileges by having a non-believing son under his roof.
that is the impression i'm getting by talking to my sister (his aunt who is not a jw).. while i try to figure this out... does anyone know if that is a valid possibility in general?
i'm referring to the possibility of an elder losing his privileges because his son no longer wishes to be a jw but still lives under the same roof... any insight by recently faded elders would be much appreciated.... thanks.
I served as an elder for close to 15 years. One of my baptized children began dating a non-believer (WT slang for dirty rotten worldly scum) the elders talked to my child but would not sacrifice his/her relationship. It was concluded that no actual wrongdoing was committed so the CO recommended to the body to review my qualifications and a marking talk be given on the dangers of dating a non believer. It was a relief as I could not bear to serve any longer due to my new found knowledge. The principle that was evoked in my case was some earlier references, “would I still have respect from the congregation”. I did not wait for the tribunal to decide my fate. I gladly stepped aside, and what a relief it has been. In my opinion “Cedars” and “Billy the Ex-Bethelite”, this point of maintaining the respect from the congregation is their “out-clause”. What do you do to determine this? Take a poll? In reality it rests on the decision of the body to determine congregation respect regardless of how objectionable they might be.
Incidentally, a “Marking Talk” was never given!
the 2nd president of the watchtower bible and tract society, j.f.rutherford was criticised by some elders in the (then) independant congregations for urging members to go door to door while neglecting to do so himself.
rutherford responded:.
frequently some elder says: the president of the society does not go from house to house selling books.
Some time ago I was at a Field Circus group and the elder conducting the arrangement went a step further and asked if someone who is a baptised witness ceases his/her witnessing activity; would they still be considered a JW? Nobody wanted to answer so finally he turned to me and I answered, “of course they would still be considered a witness”. He then said NO! I rebutted that saying there are a variety of circumstances that prevent people from engaging in the ministry. He then said well there are many examples of our faithful brothers that are disabled etc. and still manage to do what they can.
After the arrangement I challenged him and said when someone stops ministering they are known as “Inactive Witnesses” only. I was really pissed at his comment because there were some at the arrangement where their spouses were very irregular in the ministry (I am one of those now!) I just hated his cocky judgemental tone and said if they were no longer considered Witnesses then what are they? Disfellowshipped, reproved what…can we still talk to this person? Has there been an adjustment from headquarters? He finally conceded that he was wrong. dah
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I was reading an interesting thread found here; http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/220041/1/What-a-Blatant-A2424-Lie
It made me wonder if any unsuspecting bible study has ever gone through the entire bible study program and progressed to the point of baptism but put on the brakes and cut off all association with the WT when he/she read the baptism question that ties their worship to the organization. If there are some stories like this out there I would like to hear about them.
what saying made it all around the country?.
the ones that were passed around, word of mouth.. for example.
"donations basis proves jehovah is behind the work!".
sorry...
"don't let the actions of imperfect men keep you away from the meetings"
