i had to write some text about my observations at last sunday's watchtower study... .
the curious case of the 2012 year text watchtower article.
the march 4 study article of the watchtower lay the foundations of the 2012 year text of jehovah's witnesses: "your word is truth.
"we cannot say for certain which individuals or groups belonged to the anointed wheat class, but we can confirm that there have always been some who have courageously defended God's Word and exposed the church's unscriptural teachings". - Watchtower
This implies that at some point in time the Catholic Church was the Faithful and Discreet Slave.
"The logic of this article: 2 + 2 = eggplant" - Londo111
The WTB&TS can also count to potato.
i have been running this through my head now and again for decades.
was i truly baptized as a jw?.
i ask because although i was dunked at a da in el paso, tx in 1981, i never prayerfully dedicated myself to anyone, including jah.
Remember, baptism symbolizes your dedication to Jehovah. It would be assumed by others that if you were baptised you dedicated yourself. However, only you would know if you truly dedicated yourself.
When I was about 14 or 15 my father told me he felt I was ready for baptism. As an elder, he would get in trouble for saying certain one were not ready and he was usually right. He told me I should tell the Presiding Overseer I want to get baptised because a Circuit Assembly was coming up.
The next meeting I went to I was shocked as the Presiding Overseer came up to me and said,"Your father tells me you want to get baptised. Is that true?"
What was I supposed to say?
So, I never dedicated myself. I did it because I didn't want to piss off my father. Therefore, I was never dedicated.
will higher gas prices bring about some new light regarding field service?.
in the part of the u.s. where i live most of the territories require driving long distances.
some congregation members are unemployed and many are retired/living on limited income.
No.
The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society cares not for those who peddle their goods.
Their reason will sound something like:
"Reducing your the time you spend in the Field Ministry due to gas prices shows a lack of faith that Jehovah will provide for you. Ask yourself these questions: 1)have I sacrificed enough for Kingdom Interests? 2) Could I use the money I spend on cable television to further Kingdom Interests? 3) Could I use the money I spend on internet service to fund my personal ministry?"
did you ever have a problem with one of jehovah's witnesses?.
i always got along with everyone very well except for a couple of people.
this experience was partly my fault.
My post was supposed to point out a couple of side points.
"The next day, the elders showed up at my house and asked me to attend another congregation."
I knew a Ministerial Servant who asked to switch Book Studies because a sister assigned to it used to be his father's mistress. The elders told him that whatever she did prior to becoming a Witness was not to be held against here. They also said that if he switched Book Studies he would be removed as a Servant.
So, if he would have been removed for that why would it be alright for elders to ask you to go to another congregation other than to help out where "the need is great"?
"There was also a local needs part during the next service meeting about not pressing charges against members of the congregation."
Romans 13:1-7 states that the authorities (e.g. the police) are God's ministers and he has given them a sword and we have nothing to fear if we follow the law.
So, the elders telling the congregation not to press criminal charges against those in the congregation who break the law are circumventing God's arrangement.
did you ever have a problem with one of jehovah's witnesses?.
i always got along with everyone very well except for a couple of people.
this experience was partly my fault.
i was 25 years a congregation member; ten years an elder; all told, up to 18 years an appointed man; a decade or so as a full-time minister; assembly speaker, with the pinnacle giving the public discourse at a district convention.. .
i stopped being an active member of the congregation in november 2010, but it had been brewing for several years, with the customary gradual drifting away - all the necessary mental gymnastics as my spiritual views changed and doubts set in; quitting the theocratic ministry school; ceasing to answer; sitting quietly off to the side.
i think the straw that broke the camels back was when family worship inevitably became family worship.
rory-ks, welcome!
I have found that this website is the root cause for helping cut all ties to the evil empire. Although I was inactive for 5 years and saw serious issues within the organization, it was not until I read some great posts from those who post here that I knew in my heart that Jehovah's Witnesses as a religion is a snare and a racket.
You will find many members who were elders and bethelites that have contributed eye opening stories as well as people like yourself who retell storied of their bravery when confronted because of their beliefs.
question: how does the leadership of jehovah's witnesses instruct its members to prepare for the eventual elder care of its members?.
answer: it pretends it will never happen!.
is this responsible leadership or some kind of cognitive dissonant malfeasance?.
Jesus promised his followers that, if they would put kingdom interests first, they would have food and clothing for the day provided by God. Jesus also said that the Son of God had no place to lie his head. Therefore, there is not guarentee of shelter for Christians. (Matt. 6:25-34)
With this being said, elderly Witnesses who have put kingdom interests first in their life (as defined by the WTB&TS) and do not have the means to provide for their food and clothing for the day are proof of 1 of 2 things:
1) Jehovah's Witnesses are not really putting kingdom interests first as defined by Jesus or
2) There is no God.
For the WTB&TS to take steps to provide for elderly ones in the congregation they would be giving concrete evidence of either #1 or #2.
here in california, i have to get a smog, which is an emissions test in order to register my vehicle.
does your state require an emissions test?
a regular inspection of the vehicle, or none?
In Texas you must have your vehicle inspected every year and you receive an inspection sticker that goes next to your registration sticker. The state does not allow the inspection to cost more than $39.99. It may include an emissions test. The inspection makes sure your breaks work, all your lights, seatbelts, horn, gas tank cover, and even the windshield wiper blades (no breaks).
I'd gladly deal with the California smog check.
a couple of years ago, a psychologist i know made the off-handed comment that there is conclusive evidence that "atheists are not as happy as the ordinary, average person?
we tossed that subject around for a few minutes and then moved on to something else.
at the time, i didn't think too much about it.
obsolete: good fortune :prosperity a: a state of well-being and contentment :joy b: a pleasurable or satisfying experience
Above are definitions of the word "happy" according with Webster's Dictionary. How can anyone who is in constant fear of a diety cutting their life short in a cataclismic event or placing them for eternity in a place of torment live in "a state of well-being and contentment". If you have to be constantly asked: "Are you doing enough for God?" or refusing to partake in life because it might offend a diety can you be content? How pleasurable or satisfying is it to be shunned or to have to shun family and friends because a diety demands it? When I was about 14 I came home from school one day and, as I was walking to my bedroom, I had a very sharp pain suddenly appear in my chest. It happened so quickly and it was so powerful my legs buckled to the point I almost fell. I thought I was dying from a heartache. At that very moment I was also overcome with a feeling of content. I thought to myself if I was to die at that very moment I was okay with that. However, I did not think this for one second because thoguht I was going to be resurrected. I was a full-on Kool-Aid drinking Witness at the time, but it just didn't come to mind. At this point in time I am an atheist. I am content with the fact that I am alive, I have experienced life, and will one day die. I am ok with death.
i was reading a book and read the following quote:.
"one of the most tragic things i know about human nature is.
that all of us tend to put off living.
It truly upset me to hear Witnesses say,"This isn't the real life?" Well, what the hell is it?
Living a highly restricted lifestyle in hopes of receiving eternal life after death is no different than gambling.
