At the risk of derailing this topic, I have to respond to Pete, Painted, Sparky, and Titch. My experience seems almost identical to yours. Back in the 60's and 70's we had a congregation servant/PO who did about 75% of the teaching parts in our congregation. He used the platform to air his favorite topics, which were persecution and armageddon, and you could tell that he loved the gore. He also had a neat little trick to keep all of us in line. He constantly dropped hints that there were some in the congregation who were secretly sinning and that it was hindering the holy spirit in the congregation and keeping the congregation from prospering. I was just a kid when this was going on and it frightened me to the core. I believed I was one of the sinners, so the guilt almost killed me. And of course, the build up to 1975 was fodder for this guy and he made the most of it. Funny though, after 1975 came and went, like the WTS itself, he was unapologetic and unaffected for having been so incredibly wrong. In the meantime he had changed me forever, and not for the good.
Socrateswannabe
JoinedPosts by Socrateswannabe
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1974 Special Meetings
by NeonMadman inas we all know, armageddon was just around the corner in 1974. at the district conventions that year, it was announced that there would be two special meetings during the month of september; one would be for interested people (e.g., bible studies, family members, inactive, etc.
), and the other would be for baptized publishers.
these were to be held in place of the service meetings for the two weeks, iirc.
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GB bites off more than they can chew!
by biblexaminer inthe gb bit off more than they can chew.
they promised that the nwt revised would be available in so many languages by now, and they have failed miserably.. english stands alone.
as a result, they are in damage control mode.
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Socrateswannabe
What a great catch, bibleexaminer. And I also think what you said in a later post was interesting:
When I compare their behavior, as of late, to other big companies that have had troubles, what I see is a large unseen liability sucking the life out of their asset column, as in the case of a Ponzi scheme.
I don't know what that unseen liability might be unless it is undisclosed molestation settlements, but I do think that the WTS is now the Sears/KMart of the religious world. Their irrelevance in the marketplace has finally caught up with them.
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Writing Department Interview on "The Generation."
by cappytan ina member of the writing department was gracious enough to allow me to interview him about the "overlapping generation" doctrine.. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6eo1o5qmagu.
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Socrateswannabe
Thank you for bumping this. I searched for it a couple of times recently and couldn't find it. Could be that truth is stranger than fiction, and this is just about the way it happened. Hilarious! -
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My experience with the people in my hall
by Freeandclear ini've been awake now for about 6 months i'd guess and a member here for a couple of weeks.
it's been eye opening to read other peoples experiences on here and i appreciate all of you.
i've noticed in many, seemingly most, of your comments that you were not treated well at your hall or you have had very negative experiences in the "org" so i thought i'd like to share mine.. in all my time as a jw i have to say for the most part i always loved the people.
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Socrateswannabe
Freeandclear: In all my time as a JW I have to say for the most part I always loved the people..I preferred to look for the good in people and so I did...All of my local elders were good men who were trying very hard to shepherd the flock in their care and to be loving people. I can't honestly say a bad word about any of them. Even when I got DF'd back in April of 2015 I felt they had made the right decision and they handled it with genuine love.
You're a better man than I am, Gunga Din. I hate the doctrine, but to me the people--from the POPs (plain ole publishers) to the most exalted ones (COs, Bethelites, GB, etc.)--are mostly awful. -
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2016-1-12-BOE--Mentioning Donation Arrangement to Householder!
by Atlantis in2016-1-12-boe.
"apply yourself to the field ministry," the "initial call" assignmentdirects the student to mention the donation arrangement..http://postimg.org/image/tayz8pawn/..atlantis!
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Socrateswannabe
A donation in exchange for what? Just a few short years ago, the publisher would have handed over 64 pages of magazine (Watchtower & Awake at 32 pages each) and now, if the witness leaves anything at all (in light of the BOE letter "Making Wise Use of the Magazines"), it's a single, 16 page magazine. What would this motivate the householder to donate--a buck or two? -
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Is this a true statement? Elders that are DF will be reinstated much quicker than the average publisher.
by James Mixon inback in the early 70's there was a brother, well known in the circuit did the no no with.
a few of the young sisters in the congregation.
he was df and the word, he would never be.
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Socrateswannabe
It depends upon the makeup of the judicial committee so every case will be handled differently. When there is judicial action against an elder or when a former elder is being considered for reinstatement, it is pretty commonplace to call or write the branch office about it, but my experience is that doing that is no guarantee that things will be handled any less haphazardly. I don't doubt the posters who say that they know elders who were DFed and quickly reinstated with privileges, but I know of other situations where elders were DFed and the committee decided that the elder in question had breached the trust of the congregation, thus requiring a very long time for him to show works that lead to repentance (or words to that effect). I know of two cases where elders were DFed and eventually reinstated, but decades later, they are not serving and probably never will. Judicial committees are like a box of chocolates--you never know what you're gonna get. -
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Does Believing in God Make You Dumb?
by Brokeback Watchtower inhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rzqaeusdmtk.
http://jdc.jefferson.edu/jmbcimfp/5/.
abstract.
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Socrateswannabe
I don't think believing in god means you're dumb...but it may mean you're a little naive, just as I was when I believed. -
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JW Expressions We Hate
by Socrateswannabe ini was browsing through stuff on jw.org recently and ran across some expressions that really grate on my nerves: loyal love, loving-care, and loving-kindness, as in: "please exercise loving-kindness toward your servant.
" who talks like that?
they must be relics of the fred franz era.
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Socrateswannabe
Those are some good ones, folks! And thanks Outlaw, I agree with Clint! -
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JW Expressions We Hate
by Socrateswannabe ini was browsing through stuff on jw.org recently and ran across some expressions that really grate on my nerves: loyal love, loving-care, and loving-kindness, as in: "please exercise loving-kindness toward your servant.
" who talks like that?
they must be relics of the fred franz era.
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Socrateswannabe
I was browsing through stuff on jw.org recently and ran across some expressions that really grate on my nerves: loyal love, loving-care, and loving-kindness, as in: "Please exercise loving-kindness toward your servant." Who talks like that? They must be relics of the Fred Franz era.
How about you? What JW words or phrases do you hate? And please don't say all of them!
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Any former elders brains I could pick?
by BarelyThere ini posted in another topic a few hours ago.
it is my first time on here or any website like this, ever.
i was dfed back in september for adultery.
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Socrateswannabe
I hope you didn't confess your game plan to the judicial committee. Committees almost always prefer to hear that someone was overcome with passion in the moment and succumbed to it. They don't like hearing that it was a plan to break the marriage through adultery. If you were able to keep that from them, you might have a better chance at getting reinstated sooner than later.