most witnesses i knew were exteeemly reluctant to go out in the ministry.
but when they did, they were simply scraping by, eager to avoid conflict and just do their hour or so speaking to lonely old ladies or widowed old men.
placing magazines in a car group, doing route calls, plodding along in the utter boredom of their responsibility to get some time on a report by the last day of the month.. this was never a warning work.
Very good OP.
If only JWs actually went around warning people, the public would instantly recognize that they are an apocalyptic cult.
The message is moderated and watered down to be appealing. But even so, actions speak louder than words. JWs have made wasting time a science.
conventions always just seemed like more of a vacation to me than anything else, especially if you had to travel out of town for it, but definitely were exhausting especially toward the end of each day.
for some reason i didn't mind the special and circuit assemblies too much, probably because they seemed like more of a social event than anything else and only 1-2 days.
the memorial always was kind of boring to me.
i am curious as to what current religion is similar in beliefs and organization to jw's.
i've only come as far as christadelphians.
are there any others you know of?.
The biggest differences seem to be the Christadelphians do not believe in the preexistence of Jesus, nor do they believe in a literal Satan.
Of course, really the biggest core belief of JWs is this: In 1919, Jesus chose the Watchtower leaders as the one and only channel through which God communicates his will--salvation through the impending Armageddon depends on obeying this channel now and in the future.
Every other JW belief is window dressing.
indoctrinated into all things watchtower, i once believed the bible was true history, that evolution was false and evil, and that the bible could be trusted to be reliable when it touched on science issues.
then i got introduced to the official catholic bible translation of u.s. catholics, the new american bible revised edition (or nabre--not to be confused with the protestant nasv or new american standard version) and things changed.
i was shocked to learn that the nabre teaches.... the creation and flood stories of genesis are jewish adaptations of mesopotamian heathen creation-flood mythology, not history.
I reread the Bible using the Catholic New Jerusalem Bible and learned tons. The footnotes were extensive. Especially reading Genesis, it was interesting seeing the various sources highlighted via the Documentary hypothesis. I came away with mad props for Catholic scholarship.
Evidently, both Catholic and mainline Protestants, learn this stuff in seminary.
In contrast, JWs (especially the Governing Body) know little to nothing about the Bible.
i have done this exactly as quoted more than once.
i ask elder if it's better to hide serious sin or reveal, of course we know the answer.
then i ask them to explain elders book page 38 paragraph 19, which say it's sometimes ok for elder who has committed immorality and has kept it secret to continue serving as elder.
Had I known this when I was a JW, I would not (as a regular rank-and-file publisher) reported a matter about myself to the elders.
I was under the impression that if I did not confess:
[1] I would be destroyed at Armageddon
[2] God could not forgive me without the elder's "spiritual healing"
[3] I would impede God's bless and the "flow of holy spirit" in my congregation and be just like Achan.
*warning this is long* it all started on the last day of the "remain loyal to jehovah" convention.
a little background story, i've been raised as a jw, been in and out of the religon, never baptised but was made an unbaptized publisher about 3 years ago, always felt out of place in the congregation, blamed myself for this because if i had just went to meetings and did all the right things then i would have friends and not be in the mess that i was.
right after becoming an unbaptized publisher i met my now fiance, end up leaving my mother's house to live with him, elders haven't contacted me about my situation even though i'm sure they know as my step father is an elder...but anyway on the last day of the convention my fiance came with me as i was visiting my mother and had planned to go with her and her husband to the convention.
Welcome!
And congrats for starting to see the organization through open eyes.
You might also want to read Combatting Cult Mind Control by Steven Hassan.
i was reading again the parapble jesus spoke to his disciples about the sheep and goats.
when i read it, it was plain and simple in my eyes.. 34 then the king will say to those on his right, come, you who have been blessed by my father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the founding of the world.
35 for i became hungry and you gave me something to eat; i got thirsty and you gave me something to drink.
I suspect "the least of these my brothers" will be reinterpreted to not mean the "anointed remnant", but supporting the Governing Body. In practice, that is how it works out in the Watchtower org.
had two lovely jws (stephen and ruth) visit this morning.
this was our second study in the last 2 weeks.
they first knocked on my door (bell is out) 3 weeks ago and i shared my testimony and we arranged to meet last tuesday which we did.. our first study went like this:.
It's like playing a boardgame with a kid who overturns the board and storms off when you don't let him him...
lets imagine you're a jehovah's witness elder.
you have zero theological training aside from what you've read in the watchtower and the currently still approved watchtower publications, you have zero counseling skills, and no medical training.
a recently bereaved sister approaches you in tears and tells you she just wants to die.. what do you do?.
And everyone knows more field service will solve all her problems...
If she is pioneering already, perhaps she can find ways to do more?
a new video is up about the commencement of moving to warwick.shawn bartlett tells the viewers that jehovah has said, through the governing body, ‘it’s time to move out of brooklyn.
‘ then helper robert lucciona says ‘ the governing body, these brothers, as soon as they see god’s direction, they just move, it doesn’t matter if it is long held, cherished ideas, this is the way it has to be done, as soon as they see jehovahs direction.
he just kept nudging imperfect humans, he knew where he wanted us and then we end up where we are supposed to be.
They Governing Body are prophets who get to play the "imperfect men" card.
