Posts by Salud

13

What is the Governing Body doing now?

by sunshineToo in

jw
friends

according to "crisis of conscience", the gb didn't have power/control before 1975. the corporation ( the watchtower bible and tract society inc.) had the power, and they were neglecting the people.

after the 1975 commotion, they tried to act like the gb.

so they took over the control.

Salud

Besides living in the infirmary most of the time, not much. Beign a member of the GB is not what it used to be years ago. Part of the problem is finding enough 'qualified' anointed men to run the show. Hence they have had to resort to those of the 'other sheep' to carry most of the load. Because of the shifting of this the balance of power has had to be distributed among the many different committees. That is why you hear of the power struggle going on within the WT and it's various committees and departments, esp. Service, Writing, and Legal.

The only figure head that somewhat emerges from the GB class with any wielding authority is T. Jaracz. But even he is having to deal with his own demons, and is not liked by some members of the GB and many of the Bethel family.

38

Did John Denver hate the Witnesses?

by writerpen in

jw
friends

i remember hearing stories as a kid that john denver would ask all the witnesses present at his concerts to stand.

and, then after they stood, he would play the national anthem.

any truth to this?

Salud

Years ago when I lived in Colorado I was at a social gathering with Witnesses and this subject came up, and I asked if it was true that John Denver asked witnesses to leave his concerts, well one of my friend says, "yes it is true, I was there". I guess he asked all Witnesses to stand and then asked them to leave. There were other non-Witnesses there who were taken back by this and also walked off. No national anthem though.

On a side note I have heard Gloria Estefan does not like Witnesses either. But I never got rid of any of her albums though.

57

The Meaning of Names....?

by SpiceItUp in

jw
friends

there are some that are obvious and then others that just baffle me to no end..... yes i am talking about your user names.... do any of you have stories behind them or are they significant for some reason or are they just a word you made up?.

mine...well its easy.... i got the nickname of spicy back in nov of last year when i dyed my hair this crazy red color and the name of the color was "spiced ginger".

the rest of it is because i love to make things more interesting---- sorta of like adding a bit of spice to the stew (hopefully i come across as that as well .

Salud

Salud means health in spanish. In Spanish-Latin culture when friends get together and drink and are having a good time they often toast by saying 'salud', to your health! It is like saying cheers in english.

I think part of life is getting together with friends and sharing this wonderful thing called life over a good glass of merlot or a cold bottle of Corona with lime and salt of course!!

I got myself thirsty writing about it, I might just take myself up on my own advise.

SALUD!!

134

THE DILEMMA FACING APOSTATES

by You Know in

the dilemma facing apostate jehovahs witnesses, or apostate dubs, as i have dubbed them, (no pun intended) is the very fact of their seeming success.

one of the great ironies of the apostate movement, that presumptuously boasts of "know the truth about the truth," is that apostates themselves are bound by the watchtower's own interpretive shortcomings, and hence are massively ignorant of jehovahs judicial decisions regarding his organization.

in that the presumption in operation is that if enough scandal and error can be brought to light regarding the governing body, the watchtower society's teachings, as well as individual jehovah's witnesses, then that somehow means that jehovah's witnesses have no connection with jehovah god.

Salud

You Know,

The examples are all fine and good. The problem is that all of your examples are from the Hebrew scriptures. I am not saying that we cannot learn anything from them, but supposedly these were written for the Hebrews anticipation of Christ. Nowhere do you find God dealing adversely with a group or organization of people in the Christian Greek Scriptures.

The whole structure of the Christian faith in the Greek scriptures is so different from what the Jews were used too. When you read the Greek scriptures you find a stress on individual faith, and not so much of groups of people much less an orgaznization.

The problem today is that the Watchtower has gone back to a Judeo form of worship. Just like you had the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin with the Jews you have the Governing Body and Brooklyn today. Just like you had sacrafices and festival, and all the requirements you had then, e.g. you have to wash your hands to your eldbows, you have all the requirements today, eg. turning in hours, going to five meetings a week, going out in the field service, attending conventions etc. In fact, back then Christians would only meet once a month, and it was not a structured routine like we have today. They would gather arouned 10 or 15 for a day and have meals with each other and enjoy each others company and discuss spiritual things.

You Know, it would behoove you to study the nature of the first century Christian and compare it to today with the WT form of worship. You will find stark contrast.

23

Will they disassociate me?

by Sirona in

my boyfriend was disgusted with the jws after the panorama programme, and has decided to da himself.

none of his family are jw and he just simply does not want to be listed as a jw anymore.. since we are known by the congregation to be together, will they da or df me for seeing him?.

bear in mind, neither of us have set foot in the kh for a couple of years.

Salud

Sirona,

The official view on a divorce is that if the governments consider you divorced so does the Society. There is a part in the 'Flock' (elders) book that discusses this. Basically it states that if a couple divorces, even if it us an 'unscriptural' divorce, and they have sexual relations then they commit adultry and can be disfellowshipped.

Now if you get married to one who is disasociated, there is not really much they can do, especially if your not attending meetings. Now if you were attending regularly some elders might see this as you supporting the views of one who is dissociated and my try to make something of it. Then it gets really murky. My suggestion would be for you and your BF to stay away from the meetings so you don' have to deal with any of this. Why bring unneeded problems on yourselves.

Good luck and best wishes...

Salud

18

JW's told NOT to watch Panorama.......??

by Latte in

jw
friends

i have just been told of two people who were told yesterday at the meeting, not to watch panaorama.

latte .

edited by - latte on 15 july 2002 9:46:52.

Salud

The Society has always used double-talk to say one thing but mean another. The Society likes to throw words and phrases like 'reccommend', 'encourage', and 'in the best interest of' around to get people to do something. I remember in a meeting with a CO he read some instructions from the Society, in their they used the word reccommend. After the letter the CO asked the elders then what should one do when the Society reccommends us to do something? The answer was you do it, no questions asked.

So if the Society sends a warning re. a specific topic, w/o spelling out exactly what one should do, the dubs are to read between the lines and draw the Society's conclusion on matters, otherwise one's faith might be called into question. So it is easy to see where after a letter is read some elders might reason with a publisher in the following manner:

elder: So brother/sister publisher, after listening to that letter from the Society, what do you suppose would be the wise course to take let say for example with watching shows like Panorama/Dateline?

publisher: In view of the warnings from the Faithful and Discreet Slave, I think it would be in my best interest not to watch any shows that call into question Jehovah's (Society's) arrangements.

elder: Do you suppose that Satan can use such shows to bring reproach on Jehovah's name and the congregation?

publisher: Oh, I am sure he can and does. I will make sure my family is studying for the upcoming meeting when the show is on.

elder: You are doing a good thing brother/sister.

So as you can see how even though the elder does not tell the publisher what to do, by his leading questions he gets the publisher to say exactly what the Society's wants him/her to do. This is repeated time and time again in many cong's. throughout the world.

23

Will they disassociate me?

by Sirona in

my boyfriend was disgusted with the jws after the panorama programme, and has decided to da himself.

none of his family are jw and he just simply does not want to be listed as a jw anymore.. since we are known by the congregation to be together, will they da or df me for seeing him?.

bear in mind, neither of us have set foot in the kh for a couple of years.

Salud

Sirona,

Since your BF does not have any family in and he is looking out for your best interest, you might want to consider what will be best for you. Even though you have not been to meetings, but if your BF dissasociates himself it will put you in a difficult situation. If the elders find out you are associating with him after the fact and having association with your JW relatives at the same time they will disfellowship you.

Sometimes it is better to walk away and not cause much comotion, esp. if you have Witness relatives who might be affected. This way even though you both do not agree with the teachings and not go to meetings, the witness relative will still feel it is OK to speak with you. But once you get labeled as a disfellowshipped person then everything changes. Something clicks in the JW mindset that tell him your are now an evil and wicked person. I know, it is stange but true.

Wish you the best.

Salud

26

Give the BBC your comments on "PANORAMA"

by Prisca in

jw
friends

http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/audiovideo/programmes/panorama/newsid_855000/855727.stm

on this link you can give public comments on your views of the panorama programme.

already, several jws are in denial over the claims of the programme, and i think we need to add some balanced comments to show that there are many ex-jws who have been hurt by the wts, and that we appreciated the programme.. please tell the bbc your thoughts..

Salud

Thanks Prisca for the heads-up.

We'll be sure to give our united ex-JW support, after all, we need to find the balance in this world don't we?

17

I AM ABSOLUTELY SICK IN THE STOMACH!!

by deceit in

jw
friends

after watching panorama on line

http://news.bbc.co.uk/olmedia/cta/progs/panorama/latest.ram

, i am sick in the stomach.

Salud

What sickens me is how there are throngs of Witnesses who come out and defend these pitifull losers, never ONCE giving consideration to the victims or the pain and hurt that they are enduring.

10

An interesting conversation

by Salud in

i want to share this experience i recently had with everyone here.

last weekend i spoke to my good friend who was a jw elder but has since stepped down, nonetheless still calls me on a regular basis despite my being df'd.

first he tells me that the dateline topic is hot.

Salud

Dutchie,

You said re. JR Brown:

when he explained to Dateline that the reason he would not appear on camera was because the people in question still considered themselves Jehovahs Witnesses and that the media was not the place to settle difference between brothers. He even quoted scripture. So the argument that they were apotates does not hold water.

I know that JR Brown made those comments even posting them on the Society's own website. But try telling this to any loyal Witness. The problem is that the elders are not relaying this info. to the publishers in their respective congregations. I'm also hearing that many elders are telling publishers that the reason Bill and Barbara are being DF'd is due to moral issues. Talk about slandering your name, I wish the courts, as liberal as they are getting, would give us more leverage to sue against these religions who have no regard for peoples character.

One:

I knew that she would not be all that reasonable. Perhaps the reason I called was more of closure for myself. If she felt she could call anytime w/o regard for the Society policies regarding disfellowshipped individuals, then I felt I could also return the favor, in a loving way of course.

Golden Girl,

Hope your hubby did not send them too much money.