Posts by tornapart

18

Basic JW Doctrine

by crolson in

jw
friends

hi, i am not a jw, but i am a student studying the jehovah's witnesses.

i was wondering if a jw could answer a few questions for me about your doctrine?.

where does your teaching come from (which writings)?.

hello Crolson, I'm a born-in JW, middle aged now, so know the doctrines well (but have rejected many of them). I still associate occasionally (for my husband's sake) but inside no longer consider myself one.

Anyway, here's the basics... They believe in an Arian God (no trinity) whose personal name is Jehovah. that he's the Almighty with a balance of qualities such as love, wisdom, justice and power. Jesus Christ is the Son of God but created by God, as a prehuman they believe he was Michael the Archangel. They believe he was solely human while he was on earth (albeit perfect, like Adam). They believe he was resurrected as a spirit (not a physical body, they believe that was consumed by God). Any body he had after his resurrection was a materialised one the same as they believe the angels have. They believe Christ is a ransom buying back the perfect life Adam lost, so that they can have perfect life again forever on a paradise earth. (Only 144,000 get resurrected to heaven). Death is the end of life, non existence. A life can only be regained by resurrection in the future. Salvation comes by belief in God and Christ, putting faith in them, dedicating oneself to God (meaning having to preach, attend meetings etc) It is a very works based religion... (although caring for the poor and needy is not that important, preaching is). Salvation also comes by being part of what they consider 'God's Organisation', one has to be faithful and obedient to it. Anyone that doesn't, won't have salvation and will be destroyed at 'Armageddon', God's war against mankind. After this war the earth will be restored to a paradise under God's Kingdom (Jesus as King along with the 144,000 resurrected from the earth). God's Kingdom is a government that is in heaven. During 1,000 years all the dead will be resurrected to earth along with the nucleus of the 'Great Crowd' (Jehovah's Witnesses) that survived Armageddon. After the 1.000 years anyone who doesn't worship God will be destroyed (again). All their teachings come from their interpretations of the bible, along with all their publications, especially the Watchtower magazine. The Holy Spirit is seen only as God's power, impersonal but can guide us. Sin is a missing of the mark of perfection inherited from Adam. It will only be completely gone when man becomes perfect at the end of the 1,000 years.

Hope that helps :)

29

How will many JW's react ?

by Phizzy in

i did not believe i would see the demise of the wt in my lifetime, and maybe i will not, they may be able to ride out their present problems.. but how do you think this will affect the average, loyal, believing jw ?.

usually most things just wash over them, if there is a slight niggle, they use their well-worn way of explaining things to themselves as in "the end is near" or "jehovah knows best" etc etc.

but the huge sea-change in corporate policy that we see unfolding, all construction work stopped, except warwick and maybe their biggest project, chelmsford u.k. huge bethel layoffs, and the lifestyle of the remaining staff reduced to virtual slavery, more bethel closures, spiritual food reduced for the public as well as the r&f, and all of this being the opposite of what they have claimed was evidence of jehovah's blessing ???.

tornapart

I wasn't going to say anything to my elder husband about this until it seemed official but it came out... from him. We had the CO visit and he worked with him on the FS at the weekend. The CO told him about it. I'm going to wait to see what else happens to find out what the effect is on my husband. I think from the way he is that this will affect him quite a lot.

124

My Mom Is Dying

by minimus in

jw
friends

i just wanted to say that my dear 89 year old mom is terminally ill and will soon pass.

she is on morphine and hanging on.

she has been a devout witness for about 60 years and a wonderful mother.

tornapart

So sorry Minimus, I was in the same place as you earlier this year and know how hard it is to watch your beloved mother suffer and then to lose her. It's heartbreaking. I feel your pain. Will be keeping you in my thoughts

33

A simple explanation for the financial changes

by JeffT in

jw
friends

as i've mentioned from time to time, i'm a retired accountant.

i have tried many times to come up with some logical, sound business reason why the wtbs has made the big changes in its financial arrangements: taking the congregations savings, the monthly donations per congregation etc.

i finally came up with the answer.. the leadership of the watchtower society is batshit crazy.

tornapart

Maybe it's got something to do with getting involved in hedge funds from 2010 onwards and their investments have all gone pear shaped.

14

"Be Generous" caleb cartoon

by EndofMysteries in

anybody see the new cartoon?

the girl has a quarter and is going to get an ice cream but then puts it in the contribution box instead.

the gb want to make sure they guilt and suck the kids meager allowances dry as well and prep them as they grow up to keep giving!

tornapart

It would have been much better if they'd shown her wanting to buy an ice cream and then seeing another child without one and buying the other child an ice cream and watching the pleasure on the other child's face, More realistic and in my opinion a lot more effective in teaching a child about generosity.

31

How to evade questions from elders when you stop going out door to door

by Olivia Wilde in

due to circumstances right now i cannot leave permanently the watchtower, however i need honest advice of what to say when elders question me how come im not meeting the group out for door to door & going out in " field service"... what would be proper responses not to draw suspicions since i'm aware of ttatt.. .any serious advice please...

tornapart

I've had the same problem, not with elders but other sisters. I simply say I no longer go on the first call, when asked why I just say that I have my reasons but would rather not say. Any further probing and I just say it's personal and I don't want to talk about. it usually works . :)

11

A Techno-phobe seeks advice.

by Phizzy in

jw
friends

this may seem simple to all you young folks(under 50) out there, but this old fart is just wondering, how much can people see on facebook in the way of comments, if you have privacy up and running so that, i thought, only those you have friended can see what you comment ?.

i am not overly bothered, but it occurs to me that since in recent times i have been more active on fb, my outspoken comments against the jw scam may be visible to those who are not actually "friends" ???.

i am just wondering if i should expect (as in monty python) the spanish inquisition ?.

tornapart

Phizzy, if you post on your own page you can select your audience for each post you make. If you comment on a friends post it will be see by whoever they have made their post visible to (either public, friends of friends, friends only or custom). You have to check on the icon for their post to see which it applies to. Best thing to do IMO is to not write anything on FB you don't want the world to see (just in case).Stick to places like this to vent on JW stuff, it's far less likely to get you in trouble! (That's if you want to stay in 'fade' mode).

43

Do you find it hard to be around active JW's now?

by EdenOne in

i do - actually, it's become close to unbearable.. and herein lies the paradox: i tried to fade in the illusion that i might keep contact with family and friends still "in".

was it worth it?

because not only most of them shun me anyways, but i find it almost unbearable to be around them, especially when the cult chit chat kicks in: every cute animal video clip triggers endless comments about glimpses of the future paradise and how "god did it"; those greasy praises to the organization and the governing body; the dumb awe about every jw broadcast and those cheesy music videos; the endless drivel against other religions when one knows perfectly well that we're no better than them; the endless flow of "experiences" of field service or spectacular conversions into "the truth"; the relentless congregation gossip; and so on .... i ask myself: is this why i am fading for ...?

tornapart

I find it's easy with some, especially with friends who have an axe to grind, have been treated badly or can't agree with certain things (and there are many things that a lot of JWs aren't happy with). The ones that I find difficult are the ones who can't see any fault at all with the Borg. I try and keep away from those. On the occasions when I have to be in their company (because of hubby) I just try and smile, be pleasant and change the subject or just zone out.

39

So I was enjoying a business trip in down town Bangkok...............Next thing BANG!!!

by cantleave in

jw
friends

so last night i was having a wonderful meal in a very nice restaurant when we heard what we thought was a loud clap of thunder.................. it was a bomb.

yards from my hotel.

thankfully i made a few decision that meant i wasn't in the wrong place at the wrong time.

tornapart

I have just read Perry's comment and feel very sad by it. I'm a christian but feel that was a very unchristian thing to say. Perry, you should be ashamed of yourself! Cantleave, I can totally understand the way you feel about what happened. You survived but others didn't. I have no answers as to why some suffer while others don't. I'm just so glad you're still here with us! Some people are just evil and some people are just in the wrong place at the wrong time. So glad it wasn't you!

39

So I was enjoying a business trip in down town Bangkok...............Next thing BANG!!!

by cantleave in

jw
friends

so last night i was having a wonderful meal in a very nice restaurant when we heard what we thought was a loud clap of thunder.................. it was a bomb.

yards from my hotel.

thankfully i made a few decision that meant i wasn't in the wrong place at the wrong time.

tornapart

wow! Cantleave... I am SO glad that you weren't caught up in the bomb blast! So very very sad for those that were.