Posts by wisdomfrombelow

39

The Paranormal

by Peony in

jw
friends

i'm interested to know if anyone has been to see a medium/clairvoyant since leaving jw's.

i must admit now i can make my own choices i seem to have a fascination with it although haven't acted on it as a) am i just jumping into believing another load of rubbish?

and b) what if it really is the demons pretending to be loved ones!!

When is a commandment ever worded with "IF"?

by Israel Ricky Gonzales in

acts 15:28 for the holy spirit and we ourselves have favored adding no further burden to you except these necessary things: 29 to keep abstaining from things sacrificed to idols, from blood, from what is strangled, and from sexual immorality.

if you carefully keep yourselves from these things, you will prosper.

good health to you!.

wisdomfrombelow

I thought the Society admitted that the "good health to you" was nothing more than a common greeting of the day. Not to be interpreted as following the command would result in good health.

39

Let’s Speculate!!!

by John Aquila in

you know the organization is slowly going down.

not as fast as we would wish, but nevertheless it is crumbling.

five (5) year old child baptisms, smaller magazines, child sexual abuse exposed, smaller annual growth, no one wants to reach out, young ones leaving.

wisdomfrombelow

What will the Watchtower look like in 30 years?

It will look very much like it looks today. Slowly changing and trying to always be 20 or 30 years behind the progressive times so they look conservative and elusive.

Will there still be a Governing Body? - yes, someone needs to be a scapegoat

Will they finally drop 1914? - nope, it was the start of WWI so they will point to it but not really explain it with chronology anymore.

Will the blood doctrine finally be dropped? - nope, they need something to make them seem different. It might weaken but the truly faithful will be as resolute as ever.

Will disfellowshipping be dropped? - NEVER. As long as there is freedom of association in the USA they will keep their ace-in-the hole.

Will there still be Circuit Overseers, Elders, Pioneers? - Nope, they will find a new name for all of them. Overseer seems like a dead word, maybe coordinate of the circuit or something goofy like that. The positions will remain

Will there still be Judicial Committees? - Yep

Will they still have conventions 3 times a year? - 2 times a year, one circuit (or whatever they will call it then) and one regional (or whatever they will call it then)

How many meetings will they have a week? - 2 meetings a week so they can get maximum usage of the kingdom hall and put as many congregations in them as possible.

Will they still go door to door preaching? - yes, people need a busy work that keeps them isolated. If they were to spend time reading the bible or thinking or helping the poor it would help them break free of the cult

Will they drop the name; “Watchtower Bible and Tract Society?” - They won't but that is just a legal name. It owns all the publishing. I think "Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society" owns all the real estate.

How many members will they have worldwide? 10 million

23

Getting the Urge!

by Theburstbubble in

jw
friends

evening folks, so as some of you may know we have recently decided to leave the witnesses and can see it for the man made organisation it is.

so, why do i get the urge to go back and feel guilty for not being there!

it's like my mind is telling me to be logical about it all but then something keeps pulling me back.. don't get me wrong i really want to break free from it all and i'm resisting the urge to go back as i have been miserable in the truth for a long time as i've known it's not right and want to do the best by my daughter.

wisdomfrombelow

Everyone has the fear of the unknown. If you were a born-in then that is all you know and the outside world can be scary. I don't know how old your daughter is but giving her better more positive world view will be important in the choices she makes. Just find something to do on the midweek meeting night and the Sunday morning meeting time and soon it gets easier the more meetings you miss until you don't miss them anymore.

43

Advice Needed - JW Grandparents

by What Now? in

my family has been out (inactive no meeting attendance or field service) for just over two years..

weve made many changes in our lives, including with our personal appearances (tattoos, piercings etc) that are a pretty obvious sign that we arent going back any time soon.

our families went through a period of time about a year ago when they made a lot of threats that if we left the truth, they wouldnt even be able to share a meal with us, they would stay loyal to jehovah etc.

wisdomfrombelow

Only you can decide if they would make good babysitters. Perhaps you might consider your kids only being with the relatives while you are with them. That way you can prevent any indoctrination. It does make a difference how old your children are when it comes to exposure to things you deem negative. Also, remember your kids will get exposed to a lot of different viewpoints in school and in life and you will have to navigate those as well. How you teach them to deal with diversity and differences in opinions and beliefs will shape how they will do the same in the future.

If they enjoy Christmas then you could explain how some people (like Jews, Muslims, Hindus and Buddhists) don't celebrate it but that is no reason for them not to enjoy it. They are under your care until they are adults but they are their own individuals and will make their own choices when they get older. All you can do is give the best guidance and all the love and hope for the best.

44

How do you manage to keep JW friendships after you left the organization?

by Bonsai in

jw
friends

it seems incredibly difficult.

those who leave the org.

(or fade) no longer have anything in common with jehovah's witnesses, nor do they want to stick around to get radiated by the fear and guilt that saturates every aspect of a witnesses' life.. i've lost all but one of my jw friends quite simply because i can no longer condone the evil things that they condone.

wisdomfrombelow

It is more difficult because I am disfellowshipped but I was surprised to keep a few active JW friends. They are close friends and real friends and I am thankful for that. They know that they can have consequences for associating with me but they accept that risk. I think many friendships are based on proximity but I find that living some distance away makes it much easier because I'm not in their congregation. My real friends accept me for who I am even if they don't agree with my choices and that is what makes them a real friend...not so much what religion they belong to.

32

If you were put in charge of the Governing Body tomorrow...

by FusionTheism in

if you were somehow magically put in-charge of the governing body tomorrow, by jesus, with the rules being, you could not teach anything that would be considered outright apostasy and you could not teach anything that would be considered to cause doubt about god's existence... (so as not to arouse suspicion).

what "new light" or "clarified understandings" would you introduce first?.

and which later on?.

wisdomfrombelow

I would probably institute a 2-way dialog with people being able to send comments and feedback via the jw.org website and do many more anonymous polls and surveys of the congregations. Then I would institute that names of the writers are listed for all articles just like they list the names of the speakers so people are held accountable for what they write. No more hiding behind anonymous written words. Not much of a change at all but something that the congregation could easily accept and then once they start to get empowerment it will be hard to stop it from growing.

16

Learners

by freemindfade in

if you were at the watchtower how many times did you hear this idiotic condescending word?

i think i must have heard it 500 times.

the learner.

wisdomfrombelow

In the educational context the word "student" is being replaced by "learner" in many instances. There are some differences between the two of them but in Watchtower land "student" brings up the connotation of "bible student" and hence someone usually not baptized yet. I did think they overused the term but I didn't find it as irritating. Perhaps apprentice would have been more appropriate.

1

The Revelation of New Light--The Need for Change (April 15, 2015 Study Edition)

by wisdomfrombelow in

paragraphs 16 and 17 might be an explanation to how new light grows and how change is done in the society.

in paragraph 16, "apparently, elisha did not feel that since he was now at the helm, he needed to change course right away...[he] showed due respect for his teacher..." then, in paragraph 17, "do not feel that as soon as you receive some responsibility...you need to change course--to do things in a way completely different from the way they were done before...change is determined by ...the needs...as you gain experience, you will no doubt share in...changes.".

they just keep doing things as they were before until they paint themselves into a corner and must react.

wisdomfrombelow

Paragraphs 16 and 17 might be an explanation to how new light grows and how change is done in the Society. In paragraph 16, "Apparently, Elisha did not feel that since he was now at the helm, he needed to change course right away...[he] showed due respect for his teacher..." Then, in paragraph 17, "Do not feel that as soon as you receive some responsibility...you need to change course--to do things in a way completely different from the way they were done before...change is determined by ...the needs...as you gain experience, you will no doubt share in...changes."

They just keep doing things as they were before until they paint themselves into a corner and must react. There is no real forethought or planning just reactionary behavior. There is also the feeling of pride and arrogance that they are now in charge and are better than those before them, after the appropriate "grieving period" and they will just do whatever they want. Revised bible? Why not? Sell Brooklyn properties? Of course.

GB 2.0 has told us that things would change a lot and they will continue to change. The re-branding will continue and the new wine will need new wineskins. Anyone who doesn't adjust will be left behind and trampled over.

46

Well another one leaves the Borg.

by John Aquila in

i took a quick trip to the store and i happened to see a young man (about 26-28 years old) who got baptized about the same time i was leaving- about 2 years ago.

a couple of pioneer sisters found him in the door to door work.

one of them, a very attractive girl.

wisdomfrombelow

I started writing my reply before you posted the comment about her age. (I multitask) I imagined her younger--maybe 20, so that is why I edited my post to say basically "nevermind". Adults can do whatever they like....