This goes booth ways.
If they were still hidden, you would have accused them of being arrogant and pompous.
in the movie the wizard of oz, while the whole yellow brick road gang was being addressed by the great and powerful wizard of oz, the dog toto ran off to the side, pulled back on a curtain, and showed that a normal-looking humbug of a person was operating cranks and levers.
for a short while, the normal-looking man kept yanking levers and cranking cranks, and said into the microphone (which made the great and powerful wizard speak the same words) "pay no attention to that man behind the curtain!
i am the great and powerful wiz .
This goes booth ways.
If they were still hidden, you would have accused them of being arrogant and pompous.
someone at my workplace, i don't know who, is a jw and has been leaving magazines in the cafeteria.
any suggestion as to what i could do?
i thought of writing up a note stating: "to whoever is bringing these magazine: jw have broken up my family, please don't bring religion to work.
I'm a fadder, so I can't exactly reveal my identity either.
You can tear them and throw them away. The JW will put new magazines again. You can throw them away again. However, with this cycle your identity won't remain secret for long.
Just to know: What would you do if you find a koran or a muslim literature there instead of the JW mags?
terry walstrom posted this exceptional link on another thread.
i think it so amazing that it should have a thread of its own so everyone can have clear and easy access to the document.
terry wrote:.
I am still not sure, if all the points in the document are accurate and shows old light - new light.
For e.g. the following about Saunas:
ARE SAUNAS SHOWN IN A GOOD OR BAD LIGHT??
GOOD, BETHEL HAS ONE - yb 93 p. 29 Jehovah's Witnesses—1993 Yearbook Report
The new five-story wing of 77,000 square feet [7,200 sq m] consists of 39 Bethel rooms, also health-care facilities, saunas, and storage areas.
BAD - w02 10/15 p. 11 par. 10 "Oppose the Devil"
In some countries, mixed bathing in saunas and hot springs is popular, not to mention nude bathing on some beaches. Just as in the early centuries of Christianity, Satan tries to entice God's servants by means of worldly leisure activities.
BE CAREFUL! - g03 7/22 p. 22 The Sweat Bath—Then and Now
Saunas are becoming ever more popular throughout the world, especially in hotels and sports facilities. A word of caution: Unfortunately, in some countries the term "sauna" is used to designate certain places of prostitution. Hence, make sure that the sauna you visit is a real one, used for decent purposes.
GOOD - g06 4/06 p. 22 I Learned to Trust in God
Meeta immediately heated the sauna for me so that I could warm up. The next day she went to Tartu and contacted Linda Mettig. Linda urged me, "Let's start preaching now and cover all of Estonia with the good news."
BAD, CHURCHES HAVE THEM - g07 2/07 p. 6 What Is Happening to the Churches?
Church complexes may include restaurants, cafés, beauty salons, saunas, and sports facilities.
GOOD - g08 3/08 p. 25 In the Land of Thermal Baths
In the 19th century, spa culture was enriched when the Finnish steam bath, or sauna, became better known. In time, saunas, steam rooms, and cold-water pools were added to Budapest's baths.
For e.g. in w02 10/15 referenced above, the wt is not teaching that saunas are bad in itself, but that mixed bathing in some saunas are not acceptable. I don't think this an as example of old light-new light.
For e.g. a person may say the beaches are good, however he may feel that nude beaches are not appropriate for him and his family. This doesn't mean that he is contradicting himself.
each individual may have their own views as to why they feel the meetings are boring and uninspiring.
in my case i find the midweek meeting so, because of the constant emphasis on pitching watchtower literature.
its just monotonous and one big yawn.. i watch other christian faiths where they open up a chapter of the bible and discuss it's contents.
because of the constant emphasis on pitching Watchtower literature.
That's what the mid-week meeting is made for!!
It is like saying that you find Chemistry class boring because of the constant emphasis on chemicals and compounds.
i think the overwhelming problem with trying to wake up friends and family is they have nowhere else to go.
i mean these people all their friends are jws a lot of them their family is jws.
if they wake up or agree with you in anyway they know instantly that they loose all this, many will even loose jobs.
Among the fence sitters, there are many Jw's who have doubts, however, they are sincere believers who love their God and want to continue as JW's. These are the ones who happily wait on Jehovah to correct matters.
Leaving JW's is not an option for them. It is like you may hate Donald Trump and his policies, but that does not mean you have to leave America and settle in another country.
i know this sounds very outlandish by the title but hear this one out:.
a few months back i spoke to an old friend of mine raised "around the truth", but never baptized and wanting nothing to do with the wt.
he is very hip to what is going on in the wt however.
Not exactly what I would imagine Jesus doing or encouraging others to do!
With regards to the motivation to protest is concerned, WT does not consider it to be different from their Biblical counterparts. There are many stories in the Bible where believers have gone against their ruling governments. In fact, when asked by high officials to stop preaching, the disciples of Jesus blatantly disregarded it and answered in a way that JWs use to their benefit: "We shall obey God as ruler rather than men."
Regarding political neutrality, even though JW as an organization claims to be politically neutral; as individuals, there many many other non-JW's who are neutral in politics as well and don't vote in elections. But neutral or not, each individual who pays his taxes is eligible to exercise his civil rights. Individual JW's pay their taxes and as citizens have their civil rights to practice their religion and thus as citizens have the right to voice his opinion and legally fight for his cause.
Regarding the disruption to the government is concerned, each and every protest of any kind causes disruptions not only to the government but to the general public too. Look at the BLM protests and the Sec 377 protests in India.
When the government of India decided to uphold the Sec 377 which criminalized gay sex, there were large scale protests throughout the country. Many people were concerned about the problems that these protests were causing. However, the disruptions caused to the government and public was pale in comparison to the impact that unjust decision of the government would have on LGBT people.
Similarly, the letter writing campaign of JW's did disrupt the workings of the government. However, the decision of the Russian government of criminalizing JW's would have a far long and a more disastrous impact on the lives of individual JWs in Russia.
despite decades of the feminist movement, watchtower's attitude of woman being inferior has changed little, with pauline sexism justified as inspired, on the basis that women are lesser emotionally, intellectually and physically.
jehovah's witnesses seem to accept this with little resistance.
is there anything about the #metoo movement that may wake followers up?
I doubt it will have an effect.
Most of the wives of the Elders and MS and the corporate big-shots of the Watchtower are happy with what they are and play a crucial part in supporting their husbands in the JW org.
Also, a greater percentage of Pioneers in the JW world are women.
Taking these factors, instead of changing the WT doctrines, i feel that JW women are forefront in enforcing these doctrines.
i know this sounds very outlandish by the title but hear this one out:.
a few months back i spoke to an old friend of mine raised "around the truth", but never baptized and wanting nothing to do with the wt.
he is very hip to what is going on in the wt however.
JW's = terrorist! Peaceful nonviolent terrorist! Yes, nonviolent terrorist do exist.
Is this your conclusion only for the JW's or for anyone who participates in a letter writing campaign?
What are your thoughts on the "Write for Rights" campaign organized by Amnesty Internatiional which led to the release of two activists- Yorm Bopha and Vladimir Akimenkov?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhnseocpffq.
so according to the law department's meeting in feb 2016, russia has been studying the linguistics of the watchtower articles and discovered its brainwashing abilities!.
lol it's funny now that i'm on the russian side of this debate now, ban them all!.
The only thing that I can see in this entire Russia vs JW scene:
Russia being Russia. JW's being JWs.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhnseocpffq.
so according to the law department's meeting in feb 2016, russia has been studying the linguistics of the watchtower articles and discovered its brainwashing abilities!.
lol it's funny now that i'm on the russian side of this debate now, ban them all!.
So are you saying watchtower isn't a mind control cult??
I don't apologize for feeling that way even if Kohanic was kind enough to.
Diogenesister, This is a superb example of what happens when you try to read what I have not written.
I have clearly mentioned in my response that the JW religion is harmful. However, criminalizing individual JW's or harming them in any way is not the way to tackle the problem. Did you agree with Hitler when he wanted the JW's banned? Did you agree with the way he implemented it?
We shame the JW's that they believe that all the non-jw's would be killed in Armageddon. However, by supporting the Russian ban and wishing ill on individual adherents, we are proving that we are not different from them.
Target the GB, but don't harm individual believers. Arrest the GB, but help the individual JW's. That's what I was trying to say.