Posts by Socrateswannabe

66

THE LINGERING SHADOW OF '75

by Terry in

none of you are old enough to have been there, i suspect.

i had been in prison two years as a jw conscientious objector when the exciting news about 1975 spread like wildfire.i was paroled from prison in 1969 and immediately began pioneering.

the pressures began mounting throughout the organization.

Socrateswannabe

Punk:

"Out of zeal and enthusiasm for the vindication of Jehovah's name, Word and purposes, and the desire for the new system, some of his servants have at times been premature in their expectations." Watchtower 1979 Jul 1 p.29 How Jehovah Guides His People

I was at a convention at Candlestick Park, San Francisco, It seems like it was 1973. Nathan Knorr gave several talks at that convention and he left absolutely no doubt in anyone's mind. Armageddon was coming in 1975. To later counsel us poor schmucks in the Watchtower against "premature expectations" was about as dishonest as one can be.

66

THE LINGERING SHADOW OF '75

by Terry in

none of you are old enough to have been there, i suspect.

i had been in prison two years as a jw conscientious objector when the exciting news about 1975 spread like wildfire.i was paroled from prison in 1969 and immediately began pioneering.

the pressures began mounting throughout the organization.

Socrateswannabe

Terry: JW's were defeated, dispirited, and depressed and they just gave up.
Those people have swallowed the whole thing and shit it out and flushed it away like it never happened.
There. That's your answer.
Cognitive dissonance.

Pre-1975, the brains of Brooklyn were still laboring under the notion that there were 7 creative days of 7,000 years each. They believed that Eve's creation marked the end of the 6th creative day and that the next 7,000 year period was god's rest day.

They concluded that Adam had been created in 4026 BCE and that Eve was created shortly afterward. If you add 6,000 years to the year date of 4026 (no zero year), the result is 1975 CE. By 1975, 6/7ths of god's rest day would have been expended. It made such a neat package to say that the last 1,000 years of god's rest day would be the 1,000 year reign of Christ. So, 1975 must be the beginning of the 1,000 year reign, ergo armageddon is coming or will be over by 1975.

After the big letdown that Terry described, the spin doctors had to come up with something to rally the troops. So they claimed that they missed the mark on 1975 because there is no way to tell how long the period was between the date when Adam was created in 4026 and when Eve was created. Now, they conveniently decided that it could have been a few months or it could have been a few years, which pushed out the 6,000 year anniversary of the end of creation a bit. That bought them enough time so that some of the faithful let the whole thing drop, and no longer "served Jehovah for a date". Yes, according to the Society, this whole thing was our fault. We were the ones who pushed ahead and made 1975 into such a big deal.

Some JWs couldn't dismiss that whole mess quite as easily, some dropped out, some couldn't cope. I am very sorry to hear of what happened to your wife, Terry. What a tragedy.

61

The Watchtower Org will die.

by Freeandclear in

jw
friends

i was just reading through some posts and had a startling realization.. the comment that sparked this went something like this: why oh why when i started into this in 1989 did i not research the history of the wtbts?

etc....... i too was studying and moving towards baptism around that same time.

i got dunked in dec of 1990.. my thought.

Socrateswannabe

Coded Logic: Already there. The growth rate for Jdubs is less than the population growth rate. And the Jdub growth rate has been falling every year for at least the past 15 years. I think within the next two to three years we'll actually start seeing negative numbers.

The bOrg doesn't break down statistics by language within a country, but given the paltry overall growth rate in the US for many years, my guess is that the only growth has come from Spanish speakers, and that the English speaking numbers have actually decreased. The Spanish have saved the bOrg's butt in the US and allowed them to continue to report gains.

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!