Posts by Socrateswannabe

7

A WRITER (me) looks at the "character GOD" from the standpoint of bad writing

by Terry in

i pay attention to what other writers write about writing.

writers always have limits--even writers of fiction.. do you choose to live in a world where pigs fly and deuces are wild?

that would be an imaginary world.. do you choose to live in a world where god rules?

Socrateswannabe

Terry, I agree with you, there is some god-awful writing in the bible. The greatest writers/teachers understand how to take a complex subject and explain it in an easy-to-understand way. The bible seems to do just the opposite.

There were people like Homer turning out great pieces of literature at around the same time as the bible was being written, and yet the almighty god could only manage what we have come to know as the bible--a wholly inferior work.

Thank you for providing the link to the book, "Who Wrote the Bible?". I found that book in the public library many years ago. It was the first book I read on higher criticism of the bible, and it was an eye opener for me.

161

I am leaving the JW's . I am alone and scared. Advice and help needed please

by scared and lonely in

i am sorry that on my first post i am asking for help and advice but i am at my wits end.

i have been brought up a witness all my life and it is all i know.

i am an ex-elder and pioneer and i don't know anybody outside of the congregation.. i have been unhappy for so long and wanted to leave.

Socrateswannabe

With apologies to those on the board who have kinder natures than my own, I'm not buying S&Ls story. It sounds like a put up job to me and he digs himself in deeper with every post. If I'm wrong S&L, and only you know for sure, then my best advice, without a trace of sarcasm, is to seek mental health counseling--immediately. If you live in the UK you can probably get it free of charge. If that's not available to you, call a crisis hotline. In my opinion you need that before you need our help.

22

TWISTING context to produce false LIGHT (Tricks our Governing Body uses)

by Terry in

as a jehovah's witness:.

two things finally struck me:.

1. i was really in a grown up kindergarten and .

Socrateswannabe

@ Blondie: Their question, "Why does God have an organization", might better read, "If God needs an organization, is this the best he can do?"

When you watch the Republican and Democratic debates, you have to wonder that about those organizations. 300 million people in the US and these people are all we could come up with. When you look at the GB and the WTS, you have to wonder--with billions of people to choose from in the world, that's it?

50

2016-2-17-Destroy Previous S-77 Forms!

by Atlantis in

these numbers and letters:--gbr659967--are the only identifying markson this boe..the "informant" who sent it said:.

"this letter came through the congregation inbox and so hasn't got theusual identifying information.

the name of the file is probably thebest way to identify it.

Socrateswannabe

I'm as ready as the next guy to accuse WTS of underhanded operations, but Sir82 is correct. This is not a directive to shred evidence or documents of past DFings. It's telling the elders to destroy unused obsolete forms, just as he said. I haven't done a comparison yet, but I'm sure the new forms are designed to ever more insulate the bOrg from liability and shift any blame to the local BOE, but that is the extent of their subterfuge on this one anyway.

38

1974 Special Meetings

by NeonMadman in

as 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.

Socrateswannabe

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.

56

GB bites off more than they can chew!

by biblexaminer in

the 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.

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.

52

Writing Department Interview on "The Generation."

by cappytan in

jw
friends

a 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.

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!

37

My experience with the people in my hall

by Freeandclear in

i'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.

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.

28

2016-1-12-BOE--Mentioning Donation Arrangement to Householder!

by Atlantis in

2016-1-12-boe.

"apply yourself to the field ministry," the "initial call" assignmentdirects the student to mention the donation arrangement..http://postimg.org/image/tayz8pawn/..atlantis!

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?

21

Is this a true statement? Elders that are DF will be reinstated much quicker than the average publisher.

by James Mixon in

back 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.

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.