Posts by Phizzy

47

Retirement savings

by TxNVSue2023 in

what's the current jw stance on retirement savings?

i know it changed.

pre1975 it was an attitude of "don't worry about retirement, this system is ending soon".

Phizzy

I never bought in to the 1975 nonsense, it was all supposed to be over by October, but in August 1975 I started my private pension Plan.

32

“a circuit overseer started out by saying that on this last round of the circuit, the one thing he noticed the most...is that everyone is physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually drained...and that cuts across all barriers and demographics within the truth.

he then said that the one common thread that ran among nearly everyone was this: we feel guilty for feeling bad.

he said because we are told to endure with joy, our minds can cause us to feel enormous guilt over feeling this way...and then, my dear brothers and sisters...he proceeded to blow our collective minds.. he asked us to turn to daniel 8:27….

Phizzy

One of the things that added to our Cognitive Dissonance, my wife and me, was that it went through our minds that something was wrong if we did not feel this constant "Joy", and also we never felt the "excitement" at the prospect of an upcoming Convention.

Of course, being "in" we blamed ourselves, we didn't make the connection with the truth that it was not us at fault, but the so-called "truth", for about a decade.

I think ultimately hearing this kind of Talk from a C.O. will make the JW's feel that he cares, that he wants to be helpful, which I hope is true of him, but such poppycock from the Bible will not alleviate those feelings that J.W's have, which ARE a form of depression, and can lead to that spiralling down in to dangerous Depression, as in my case, at the point I left, I was suicidally depressed, but did not identify it as such.

The G.B, who provided the outline for that Talk, do not have a clue about Psychology, how to help the depressed, or how dangerous their Brand of Religion is.

26

Greenlees, Chapman and Chitty

by Libby in

so after being rudely awakened by a cat fight outside (it's 3am here in the uk) and then proceeding to go outside to rescue my cats from the neighbourhood tom....... i'm now laying wide awake trying to make sense of jw "truth".

(it's all my mind does these days, the lights gone on and won't turn off).

anyway i found myself reading about the gb and came across these fellows , greenlees, chapman and chitty.

Phizzy

From an old Alan Fuerbacker thread, 22 years ago, the words are not Alan's but another Poster :

“The Branch overseer until 1959 was Percy Chapman who was sent over from London Bethel in 1936 after the schism in Canada over elected elders. Along with him came his long-time room-mate and companion, Leo Greenlees. Canadian Witnesses were shocked and puzzled when Percy Chapman was forcibly removed from his position by N.H. Knorr and demoted to janitor. He was also forced to marry although his stance on marriage for Bethel members was even more damning than Rutherford's.

It was not until I heard rumours of Greenlees' and Chitty's forced resignations from the Governing Body for homosexuality that I knew definitely about Percy Chapman. They had been room-mates for thirty years at London and Toronto Bethels. "

9

Faded then apostate?

by Teddnzo in

if someone has faded so they are not known as a jw for a few years there is no need to be disfellowshiped or announced that they are no longer a jw.. so they wouldn’t need to be shunned the same way as if they did a hard exit like writing a letter or something.. so if evidence arose that such a faded person was sinning there still would be no need to announce that they were no longer a jw the same as if they were known as a jw.

family members and members of the congregation would not shun them?.

what would happen if such a faded person became apostate?

Phizzy

IMHO it depends upon the BOE and their attitude, Apostasy is the BIG NO NO, I wouldn't get caught doing that, but carefully check their definition in the Elders Handbook.

I don't think in their minds seven years is long, and they view us as lifelong J.W's if we are merely "faded".

I spoke to an Elder last year, he was reminiscing, as we had known each other for many decades, I have been out far longer than you, and yet in the conversation he said to me : "You are a Jehovah's Witness" !! I am an Atheist/Humanist not some religious nut-job, but it shows how they think of us. There seems to be a slight danger of being D.F'd even two decades or more after you left.

Just be careful, there is no need to put yourself in their power, but there is no need to keep looking over your shoulder. I Vote, Donate Blood, Smoke and dress in a very Worldly way, I don'r care what they think. I live my life now as if I were never a J.W.

68

Is JW.org going Broke?

by Vanderhoven7 in

https://youtu.be/e6gh6w7v03y.

Phizzy

Weasel Words most times.

12

So, What's Been Going On In Watchtower Land Since January 2023?

by JW GoneBad in

so what's been going on in wt land since january 2023?.

recap and summary of events most jehovah’s witnesses are not aware of:.

1) pennsylvania attorney general statewide investigation of jehovah’s witness elders' child sex abuse cases.

Phizzy

" They live their happy life as usual. " Yes, happy in their Bubble of Ignorance.

Thank you JWGoneBad, for the above List, I was not aware of the telling accusation of CSA ! explains a lot that ! Wow ! The Elders will have to "investigate" , if they take no appropriate action, then expect another Court Case ! Ha Ha .

11

One True Religion

by mrquik in

is there one true religion?

applying jesus' identifying requirements, not one religion qualifies.

coming close doesn't count.

Phizzy

No Religion can be true. Truth is only established upon irrefutable Facts and Evidence, no Religion has, or will ever, have that.

55

If JW is not the truth, then what is the true religion?

by TxNVSue2023 in

even though i'm disfellowshiped ( & i belive wrongfully so).

i still belive this is the truth.

i have been d'f for about 8 months now and working on reinstatement.

Phizzy

No Religion can be true. Truth is only established upon irrefutable Facts and Evidence, no Religion has, or will ever, have that.

3

John 8:1-11

by TxNVSue2023 in

this passage of scripture is not on my jw bible app ( the study edition or nwt).

does anyone know why it was taken out?..

Phizzy

The problem with this argument, about it not being in the earliest MSS, is that if you start taking out later additions and interpolations to the Gospel of John, where do you stop ?

I do wonder if the Org's motive is not purity or accuracy, but the same as that of those in the early Church who objected to the Pericope, because it challenged their misogynistic and paternalistic attitude to women, and their legalistic preferences. *

Scholars have highlighted many such changes as above, including the position of some verses as we now have them, and of course, the well known later addition by another hand, of Chapter 21, why do the Org. include that ?

The Gospel of John is somewhat of a mess, and should be looked upon as an uncompleted work in progress.

* That is the reason I rather like the story !

56

Are we living in the LAST DAYS?

by Fisherman in

are we living in the prophetic last days that will climax into armageddon?

if this is true then how long should it take?

as jw saw it, wt compared timing to within a generation using 70 ad as a parallel.

Phizzy

The Last Days in all the Bible predictions were supposed to have happened shortly after the time of Writing, those predictions ALL failed !

We cannot expect other features of failed prophecies to be fulfilled now or later.