Skepsis

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Posts by Skepsis

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  22

  Has WT actually drafted an End of Days tract?

  by schnell in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i heard in years past that there was such a tract planned for the great tribulation.

  my father at the time denied this, and reasoned that that would not be a loving thing for them to do, to essentially say, "told ya so!".

  last year, the bunker videos had brother brown mention "a message of judgment".. has such material been drafted or is this just another bluff?.

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  Skepsis

  Watchtower Corporation. Announcing the imminent end of this system since 1879.
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  28

  A question for those who still go to the meetings

  by no-zombie in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  and it is ... why do most at the hall prefer to sit at the back and leave front rows empty?.

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  Skepsis

  Let's be clear. Meetings are tedious and boring even for zealous JWs. Especially since the changes made to the midweek meeting.

  But I find especially boring the weekend meeting. Public meeting is redundant. There are no new ones at meetings and the themes are the same from a long time ago: 'Why don't believe in Trinity?' or 'Does hell exist?' are questions with no real significance: JWs already know the answer and visitors at the meeting (if there's someone) don't have real interest in that.

  And what could we say about the Watchtower Study? Reading a paragrah and then answering word-by-word from it is so... so... stupid.

  That's why meeting attendance is at 60-70% of publishers in many congregations.

  So if you need to go for family reasons, it's better to sit down at the back, close to the door to waste the less posible amount of time in all that nonsense.
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  63

  Is it possible to decline preaching in the carts?

  by Skepsis in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  hi folks,.

  i have a difficult dilemma.

  since i'm not pioneering any more, i'm reducing my hours wasted at that artifact known as cart or trolley.

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  Skepsis

  Hi folks,

  I have a difficult dilemma. Since I'm not pioneering any more, I'm reducing my hours wasted at that artifact known as cart or trolley. I want to do it little by little. At first, I told the elders to be at the cart once a month. Still don't have their response since there has to be a brother always present and there are not so many males in the congregation. Some elders are never in the cart since they work all the week and those who are on the list don't like it and don't want to increase their hours.

  Once I can decrease my participation, I'd like to never be there. Don't know how to do it. Any suggestion?
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  15

  Shunning and apostacy

  by biblexaminer in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  hey folks.

  i have been looking for the latest on shunning of those who have drifted.

  i recall the 2016 convention had a part, and i believe there was a video.

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  Skepsis

  Don't know in other areas, but here I know of a MS who was removed of all privileges because he and his wife decided to have their son at home after a divorce although he was disfellowshiped. That was all. After a year, he changed congregations and was invited to be a MS again. But he declined without giving a reason.

  But I also know of brothers shunning their sons and daughters for fading. So it may depend on the fanaticism of a particular JW.
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  63

  Life is changing for me: no pioneering, got a job!

  by Skepsis in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a month ago i decided to register in this board.

  i had decided to step down pioneering but was frightened about the consequences.

  i had finished my university degree some months before (despite disaproval from brothers in my congregation) and i had to choose: continue pioneering and working in jobs with no future or starting a career, working full-time.. i was thinking to postpone the decisiton but... i was fed up with preaching.

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  Skepsis

  Thank you for all your responses!

  A quick update: I have still not been removed officially from regular pioneering. They called me a couple of times since I spoke with that elder and finally had to say to them: 'Ok, from next month I will report considerably lower hours in the ministry, you'll know what to do'.

  Don't know if that's normal or they're overzealous on this. My decisition is meditated and repeated to all the elders.

  I also told them I want to be in the JW cart less days. I suggested that since I'm now a publisher, I could do it once a month but still have to wait to the new arrangement on paper. They told me if I could do as until now but answered them I can't. I'm not a regular pioneer any more so not in need to spend all weekends in the carts.

  I'm also planning on losing some weekend meetings to go to the countryside and other activities. I didn't go to a meeting last week and a sister told me by Facebook openly that it was not good to lose a meeting since I have so many responsibilities in the congregation and that she needed a territory and I wasn't there.
  

  They don't have a respect for private life! Don't know how things will evolve.
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  63

  Life is changing for me: no pioneering, got a job!

  by Skepsis in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a month ago i decided to register in this board.

  i had decided to step down pioneering but was frightened about the consequences.

  i had finished my university degree some months before (despite disaproval from brothers in my congregation) and i had to choose: continue pioneering and working in jobs with no future or starting a career, working full-time.. i was thinking to postpone the decisiton but... i was fed up with preaching.

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  Skepsis

  Thanks for your messages! I really appreciate all the advices you are giving to me as I feel now the great responsibility of having to take my own decisitions for the first time without the 'guide and advice' of the Org.

  First thing to do is to start a career. As @scratchme1010 said, I feel a bit lost in this area. Most of my colleagues at the office I'm working with have more experience and I'm quite overwhelmed by this. But, I have to recognise they're not the bad people the Org says and they're giving advice on what to do regarding my own career.

  My goal is to fade. Don't know how exactly I will do having family, friends and all my life inside the WT. I'm serving in a foreign-language congregation and speaking with the elders I told them I would need to move during this year to another congregation in the area. I'm planning to move to a big local congregation in another area where I could go unnoticed. Having no relatives or personal friends there would make my fade easier or at least give me the chance to lose meetings as now it's almost impossible for me being in a congregation with less than 30 publishers. But I said, I haven't taken a final decisition yet except to focus on my own life.

  My JW ex-girlfriend got in contact with me last week. We broke because I started having doubts about the Org and she was a hardliner zealous pioneer. She wanted to move where the need is greater and I understood I couldn't live a lie so the relationship had no future. She messaged me because she's deppresed and tired and thinking about stepping down as pioneer. Nevetheless, she still believes 100% in the Org. I still love her but I don't want to live a lie for the rest of my life.

  I want to start a new life from scratch. The meetings are tedious and now I'm going because I feel the pressure to go. I think stepping down as pioneer has been a great step, don't know exactly what I'll do after this although meetings like the WT study of this weekend are hard to stomach.
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  63

  Life is changing for me: no pioneering, got a job!

  by Skepsis in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  a month ago i decided to register in this board.

  i had decided to step down pioneering but was frightened about the consequences.

  i had finished my university degree some months before (despite disaproval from brothers in my congregation) and i had to choose: continue pioneering and working in jobs with no future or starting a career, working full-time.. i was thinking to postpone the decisiton but... i was fed up with preaching.

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  Skepsis

  A month ago I decided to register in this board. I had decided to step down pioneering but was frightened about the consequences. I had finished my university degree some months before (despite disaproval from brothers in my congregation) and I had to choose: continue pioneering and working in jobs with no future or starting a career, working full-time.

  I was thinking to postpone the decisiton but... I was fed up with preaching. I couldn't stand for more time. And then, a week ago I got a job! So I preached with an elder and told him I was quitting pioneering.

  Firstly, the brother encouraged me to continue pioneering insisting he knows others who are able to work full-time and pioneering. I told him clearly I couldn't do it and that I had other reasons to step down as I want to have a normal life. I've been pioneering, leaving college until last year I resumed university and got my degree and I'm almost 30 years old. I need to start living my own life. I've been suffering for deppresion for a long and need to stop.

  This brother told me he could understand my reasons. But then at the meeting, another elder told me how is possible that I'm turning away from my service to Jehovah. He told me I'm selfish as the end is near and there's a shortage of young brothers in the Org. No empathy for my situation, just thinking in the needs of this sacred Organisation!

  I'm still serving as MS with lots of responsabilities to do and another elder insisted on this. He told me: "Brother Skepsis, you are MS and we hope you have more responsibilities in the future. We count on you".

  I don't know what my next steps will be. I thought I would quit pioneering in March or April and I had to advance this as I was feeling very deppresive and presured in my life.

  Now I have more time for me and a perspective of a better life here, not in the Paradise coming just around the corner. I'll thinking what to do next. I have a lot to lose as all my life is in the Org but at the same time I have so many doubts that I don't know what to do.

  I'm thinking about getting new friends outside the congregation but then I feel like it's very hard. I don't want to go out from the Org from the moment but I feel so bad about serving as a MS. You can step down as pioneer and still being seen as a good standing brother although some may not share your choice. But how can you step down as MS?

  For the moment I feel relieved. Thanks for all the info in this board as I've been reading for months before participating!
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  42

  Elders getting burnt up.

  by biblexaminer in

  1. jw
  2. experiences

  the elders in this area are getting burned out.

  i have overheard comments that demonstrate this, but in my dealings with them, i clearly see it.

  they can't keep it straight.

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  Skepsis

  It's also happening in the area I live.

  I'm serving as pioneer and MS and it's stressful to serve in that positions being young. There are very few young brothers who want to volunteer and all the tasks are assigned to the small group of young 'spiritual' brothers.

  It was the reason behind my awakening. I just can't do it. I'm doing the accounts, territories, assignments in the meetings, conducting meetings for field service and also pioneering.

  I just told the elders i'm stepping down as pioneer and their response was: "But... you're the only young male pioneering in the congregation! How are you doing that to the congregation?". They're frustrated as they see there are no replacements for the old guard of strong spiritual men of past decades and it doesn't matter the physical, mental or spiritual wellbeing of brothers serving VOLUNTARILY!

  Sometimes, I'm feeling as MS worst than in a secular job. The elders and COs treat you like an employee without taking into account you're doing it as a volunteer. There's nothing special in serving as a MS or elders, it's just like a job but whithout getting paid. You're sacrificing your free time and you get nothing, not even a 'thank you'.

  In fact, although there are other MSs and elders in my congregation, they can't do some tasks like the accounts because they can't understand how to do it thanks to the WT anti-education policy! And they're the same who reprimanded me for studyng at university. What a nonsense!
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  35

  The Governing Body are doubling down on dogma!

  by DATA-DOG in

  1. watchtower
  2. beliefs

  in case you were wondering if the governing body we're going to become kinder and gentler, the answer is a big "no!!!

  in the current study edition of the wt magazine, the sheeple are reminded of some very important key points.

  1) god has an organization ( corporation ) that you must respect.. 2) only the gb/faithful slave can dispense spiritual food and only the gb/faithful slave can interpret the bible.. 3) individual dubs absolutely cannot learn "truth" on their own.. 4) god requires "unity of doctrine.

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  Skepsis

  Quite remarkable that this religion is so closed to the Catholic dogma of Papal infallibility. The only difference is that we have a body of 7 Popes and Catholics have only 1.
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  58

  Mexico branch......Now closing!!!

  by krismalone in

  1. social
  2. current

  a circuit overseer friend of mine serving in latin america called me today to say hi.

  i asked him what's new and he dropped the news that they have received notification that the branch in mexico will be closing!!

  this branch also called the central american branch (although located in mexico) oversees all of mexico's 800,000+ publishers plus all 7 countries of central america of over 100,000 publishers.

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  Skepsis

  Wow! If that's true, there would be huge consequences!

  I know a lot of brothers in Mexico and Latin America in general, and that area is the only one where the JWs are really growing.

  That's true, donations in those countries must be low but it's not better in Europe. Having so many aging congregations implies that in the near future donations in Western Europe will drop. Don't know how they are financing their operations.

  I could see an internet-based religion with fewer KHs, but if you know a bit Latin America, you can see how important is there the social aspects of religion. Maybe in the US and Europe, it could fit well the necessities of the remaining JWs loyal to the Org, but in Latin America it would be suicidal for the religion.