Posts by wisdomfrombelow

14

Impact of NWT

by menrov in

hi all, just recently i was thinking about the period of my study and eventual baptism as jw.

it took many years, i guess in all about 10 years.

various times i stopped the study but after a while it started again.

I agree with oldhippie on this. If you want to use another translation it might be viewed as odd but that won't stop you from being baptized. The focus of the meetings is not the bible but their bible study aids. That is what they care about. If you can agree with the baptismal questions then you can get baptized no matter what version of the bible you use.

As regarding the "need to get baptized" that is a requirement for Christianity. Almost universally it is done but the method and prerequisties vary amongst the denominations. Some people have many doubts but get baptized anyway in hopes of getting the "prize"

23

Why Marrying An Outsider Is NOT A Disfellowshipping "Offense"

by Divergent in

jw
friends

so yeah, i was thinking about this.

marrying an unbeliever is considered to be wrong, but at the same time, it is not a disfellowshipping "offense".

well, the reason is simple: there is more to gain than to lose by not disfellowshipping.

wisdomfrombelow

You can get disfellowshipped for marrying an unbeliever. And it is automatic if the unbeliever is a disfellowshipped witness. I think the branch manual said that if a person would willfully remarry their disfellowshipped former mate, that would be grounds for their disfellowshipping. Someone can "fact check" that but I believe it is one of the only instances where it is automatic disfellowshipping and not automatic disassociation.

23

Why Marrying An Outsider Is NOT A Disfellowshipping "Offense"

by Divergent in

jw
friends

so yeah, i was thinking about this.

marrying an unbeliever is considered to be wrong, but at the same time, it is not a disfellowshipping "offense".

well, the reason is simple: there is more to gain than to lose by not disfellowshipping.

wisdomfrombelow

So why not allow polygamy?

Where is polygamy shown to be unacceptable for Christians? It used to be permissble for a Jehovah's Witness to have more than one wife in countries where the practice was legal. I think Knorr changed the policy in the 50s so that it became a disfellowshipping offense. But I believe there was a "grandfather clause" where those who had multiple wives were allowed to keep them.

26

The bOrg Cult Tactics

by pale.emperor in

i'm wondering if the borg actually studied mind control and coercion tactics deliberately or wether they just evolved over time through trial and error.

from reading steve hassans books, studying hypnosis and methods psychopaths use it all seems very complex.

like it would never occur to me to do a, b and c in the right order at the right time in order to get control of someone or control their lives.. for example, repetition of words (the word "loyalty" was a big one in the last convention), using loaded language, encouraging people not to trust their own thoughts, restricting their information, demonising those who leave etc.

wisdomfrombelow

I'm wondering if the bOrg actually studied mind control and coercion tactics deliberately or wether they just evolved over time through trial and error.

I believe that the methods evolved over time. It is just "see what works" and then the methods that work most effectively are the negative ones. Just look at how some of the early decisions were made in the organization versus how they are made now. A heavy hand is used for everything because that is found to be effective.

33

What's Is The Goal Of This Religion?

by pale.emperor in

what's is the goal of this religion?.

i mean, if it's for money they could do a lot more like other religions do: tithing, paying for prayers from the gb, selling "miracles", selling "blessed" items, selling courses.. if its for power then what are they hoping to do with that power?

they dont seem to do anything.

wisdomfrombelow

The goal of this religion hasn't changed since it began as a religion. To financially support the Watch Tower Society in any way possible. Previously it was primarily though literature sales and now that has changed to other means. The Watch Tower organization's one goal is to continue to exist.

17

If Watchtower can use a non-sequitur to say that Jesus now knows the day and the hour, despite Matthew 24:36 ....

by Island Man in

... where's the good sense preventing them from again making a date prediction for the end and using a non-sequitur to justify their claim in the face of matthew 24:36?

"... but christ has been empowered in heaven to wage war against satan's world.

(rev 19:11-16) thus, it is reasonable to conclude that jesus now knows when armageddon will occur...." - watchtower july 2016, page 14, par.

wisdomfrombelow

Not to derail the OP but what they did was state the complete opposite of what the bible said was fact. The bible says "Jesus doesn't know"...they say "Jesus knows". With that kind of logic anything can be changed. Whatever is stated as true can be redefined as "true when it was written." Which reminds me of the Catholic viewpoint that the Apostle Peter and hence future popes could make whatever changes they deemed necessary because when he was given the keys to the kingdom whatever they loose will be loosed in heaven.

Why can't someone jiust say "do you follow the bible or the governing body" to a witness and show them the scripture and ask them what the bible says and then show them what the Society says and then ask them what they believe. If they answer in harmony with the Society then they reject the bible when the Society differs from what the bible says. Good and simple talking point.

38

Be careful what you wish for (in case you want to wake up your spouse)

by nevaagain in

jw
friends

i want to spare you a long post about my background.

because this topic is about something else.a small information is that i knew ttatt before i got married.

but then i somehow pushed it back for quite some time because i didnt want to change my life and it was convenient to instantly meet new people when you move into a new city.couple of years into my marriage and seeing all the changes in the jw my thirst for ttatt resurfaced.

wisdomfrombelow

So how should I react this time?

You have a difficult situation in your relationship. I am not a certified counselor or anything else but hesitate to make an evaluation of things with so little information and only one side of the story. If you want to try to work things out a qualified counselor might help you both communicate better with each other.

What you are willing to put up with and what you need from a relationship is unique to you. Perhaps your wife has mental issues? Some people can tolerate physical issues and gladly take care of someone who might be house bound or otherwise very sick while others might not like the limitations it puts on them.

Perhaps it was not the information concerning TTAT that upset her but the method by which it was conveyed. I hope you figure out what to do next and I hope you can find peace in whatever the outcome is.

2

Trump and Rutherford

by wisdomfrombelow in

jw
friends

when i was thinking about trump's personality and appeal it reminded me of joe rutherford.

be loud, bombastic, always project that your viewpoint is 100% correct and you will nonetheless get people who will follow you to the ends of the earth...

wisdomfrombelow

When I was thinking about Trump's personality and appeal it reminded me of Joe Rutherford. Be loud, bombastic, always project that your viewpoint is 100% correct and you will nonetheless get people who will follow you to the ends of the earth...

15

Higher Education - is it really the end of the WT?

by OutsiderLookingIn in

as a non-jw, before i started looking into things, i must say i only encountered intelligent jws.

so i was quite surprised to read here and in the pew report about their low overall educational achievement.

granted, my exposure was limited (less than a handful of people over a lifetime) but i met two of them in post-college education (graduate school) at a very good school.

wisdomfrombelow

The thing about most higher education is it teaches critical thinking. Also, people might start to realize that they are smarter than their religious "bosses" so they are harder to control. When people start to get a measure of independence it spreads and it infects others.I know many well-educated witnesses but there are even more who have left later on because they can connect the dots.

42

2016 Convention Video Trailers

by wifibandit in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkpr0je0g1e

wisdomfrombelow

The cost to produce that versus the cost to produce a book or a magazine? No wonder they have money problems.